Marty

Hey B! Just don't run yourself into the ground.

No worries, Page!

Speak for yourself! (And none of us are getting any younger.)

Yea. And I thought I made it clear in the original comment that that's what I decided to do...

A bit of a late reply, but the weekend went well, thanks! I trust yours did, as well...

Which just goes to show.... Perfection takes time!

Contemplative musings, indeed! You may be a man in darkness, but you certainly manage to shine a light around yourself! And I love the sentiment in the puddles haiku!

Well, it's certainly quiet in here tonight... And, in other news, I finally got the oil-fired central heating in my new (old) house inspected today. Turns out the boiler is banjaxed (that's an Irishism, meaning, in this case, that it's broken). The plumber told me he could order parts for it and hope to get it working again, but that the cost of the parts alone would be almost as much as buying a replacement boiler. So that's the plan. He hopes to do it this Saturday. Boiler around €250. Hopefully labour charge won't double that. And this plumber reminds me of just how long I have been living around these parts. I remember his dad, back in Easter 1987, telling me the wife was expecting a baby in a few weeks. Who'd a thought that baby would now be my plumber? (Or should I call him my central heating technician?)

Good evening, all This evening I am making homemade applesauce from Bramley apples. I intend bottling (canning) it in screw top Kilner jars (I think the common variant is Mason jars across the Pond) to give to some friends for the Christmas. Wish me luck. I've never tried this before.

Hey, young Albert

Good afternoon, Gary

I'll give him two pieces! Along with a cup of tea.

Hey, duggie

Cheers, B! There's actually another cake in the red tin on the right of that photograph...

Your wish is my (royal?) command, my liege! (Mental note to self: Try not to forget on the day)

And now, ladies and gentlemen... [Insert drum roll here] For the first time ever to be seen in public... [Continuing drum roll] Brought to you by the Royal Command of none other than Prince Albert, himself! I bring you.....

Hey, Gary! And did Albert call me a fruitcake a comment or three back? 😮 Or was he asking for a photo of the Xmas cake I baked? (Just in case it was the latter, I'd better see what I can do....) Hi, Page

Hi, everyone!

The cake mixture has rum in it, strangely enough. But the cakes will be fed with a dessert spoonful of Irish whiskey each every week now until they're marzipanned about a week before christmas day.

Yea, you're right. A bit of a tear jerker indeed. Eagerly awaiting the next chapter! As an aside, I was completely flummoxed when you mentioned rag pudding. Having Googled it, I am now amazed I never came across it when I was growing up in the Manchester area, especially as my mother actually worked in the cotton mills when I was a child. Perhaps the reason was because, even though we only lived six miles from the centre of Manchester, we were actually in Cheshire, not Lancashire. But a favourite recipe of my mother's was steak and kidney pudding, which I suspect may have been the local variant of the rag pudding...

Good afternoon, Albert. (Sorry, it was too wet today for gardening... )

Well if he wants pictures of me naked whilst gardening.... Hey, Gary!

Seems like Bill slipped Jason some sort of date-rape drug. Whether he was intending to rape him himself, or he had planned to sell him to one or more of the people he had been dealing with during the day, isn't clear. Hopefully Jason will make a full recovery and the hospital will identify whatever drug Bill added to the coffee. But I'm not sure all that sure whether anyone in authority will be able to pin it on Bill. Now, I wonder if Steve and Kate have room for another foster child..?

If you insist... You offering to be the naked photographer?