Sunday, May 2, 2021

No embarrassment

Loic has had his second shot. I guess this means he has been fully Pfizerised. The doctor and a nurse went to the home and allowed twenty minutes per patient. Ample time to explain and calm. The old medical routine of one distracts while the other acts . After the jab Loic was given a small bag of Smarties . He'd happily do it all over again such is his liking for Smarties.


Sophie and her master set off on their walk. Our morning village focused routine takes us to the waterfall for a drink...


....then across the fields to the old Roman  road . We see from the oblong of grey that's appeared on the horizon that the farmer has pulled the netting across his apple trees.  The gold finches adore young apples....


..... then up the hill to the village and the pond. Some noisy toads but no sign of the moorhens this morning although 'The Font' saw them yesterday. Then home . Sophie makes it as far as the front door and then settles down for a restorative nap. There is only so much excitement a girl can take.


Angus has finished the weighty book on the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Boy was it heavy going.  It has been replaced by this  raved about, history of October 1962. Boy did we get close to the unthinkable.


Pandemic creativity. 75 variations of America the Beautiful coming on July 4th: https://www.america-beautiful.com/ . 75 versions sounds a lot - even for the most ardent patriot to listen to. Some of them I'm sure will be very avant garde.  Not wanting to put a damper on things but this World Series performance by Ray Charles is surely unbeatable : https://youtu.be/HlHMQEegpFs?t=32   Although this may come a close second and what a youthful looking backing choir ! :https://youtu.be/y1fihSpdEx8?t=125  

A truly important question :https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/best-pizza-every-state


10 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Well, that's interesting... I came across an interview with author Plokhy by one of those serendipitious tubular threads just last month... The actual presentation doesn't begin until minute 10:26, and that is for a two minute intro which is monotonic and metronmic to say the least... but you may find it a worthwhile adjunct to your reading. YAM xx

Angus said...

Thank you. Monotonic sums it up.

WFT Nobby said...

I heard Serhii Plokhy talking about the Cuban missile crisis book on Radio 4 recently, and having found his Chernobyl book deeply fascinating, will give this new one a go too soon..

Angus said...

How time flies. I read his book on Chernobyl at a new and very 'Glasgow' restaurant that had opened up near the West Port in St.Andrews. The restaurant has not survived Covid and the absence of golfers/students, but Plokhy has managed to write another book .

Liz Hamblyn said...

I have just ordered Plokhy's book about Chernobyl from our local library in Wanganui, New Zealand.

Coppa's girl said...

Somewhat heavy reading for me these days, so I'll give it a miss. As a youngster I can remember the Cuban missile crisis, and the worldwide tension it generated. The very dark days of the Cold War. It seems that the planet/life/fate always has something nasty up it's sleeve to throw at us.
Sophie, as usual, looks adorable, if somewhat exhausted in the last photo.
How I wish all life's ills could be cured with a bag of Smarties.

WFT Nobby said...

This was the Radio 4 programme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v1mz

Camille said...

I shudder to think how close we came to the unthinkable. Two world powers having a spitting contest. I remember being taught in school to shelter under our desks in case of a nuclear attack. I was six years old at the time so it seemed a reasonable request and great fun.

The good news is Food and Wine's top pizza pick for New Hampshire is only a 15 minute drive away from our house and yes, they do make a darn good pie. It's the start of a cloudy and cold Sunday over here so restorative naps and Smarties seem like excellent options for the day.

rottrover said...

Thank you for the Ray Charles video. I sure do miss him. And Willy's "youthful back up choir" made me feel really old! I guess 20 years is a generation...

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Ray trumps everybody.
Sorry, bad choice of words.
Ray's the best.