November 2023 – Page 2 – derrickjknight

Muted Colour

Grey ponies beside Whitemoor Pond on our morning forest drive

blended perfectly with the colour of the day.

Even the autumn leaves and bracken looked washed out,

and the rippling reflections on the surface above the rust-coloured bed of Ober Water, were not exactly scintillating.

Ponies and a foal foraged alongside

Rhinefield Road.

A herd of deer could be seen in the distance from Lower Sandy Down.

We lunched at Fleur de Lys, photographed here on a much brighter day, after which I drafted a review for Secret Diners, of which this is a copy: https://derrickjknight.com/?p=205521&preview=true which may require some editorial editing.

This evening we all dined on further portions of yesterday’s pasta meal with the addition of plentiful spinach, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Malbec.

A Surprise Sunset

Following yesterday’s post

this is Ellie’s favourite position for reading, and her favourite book of Jackie’s crossword puzzles.

After this morning’s sofa session Jackie and I splashed our way to the Efford Recycling Centre where we deposited another carload of garden refuse. Roads were still carrying too much water, but, although the sun had disappeared, at least the wind and rain had subsided.

The afternoon continued dull and dingy when we set out on a forest drive.

Having concentrated on waterlogged roads for the last day or two I

focussed on the soggy woodlands today. These pools were alongside Exbury Road,

the verges of which also contained mushrooms – a rare sight this year.

Given the leaden nature of the skies we were surprised to catch

sunset over Beaulieu Heath on our way home. The third image is Jackie’s.

This evening we all dined on The Culinary Queen’s tasty penne Bolognese with which she drank Zesty and I drank Riserva Privada Chilean Malbec 2022.

Gusts From Garden To Coast

This morning we enjoyed bright sunshine with cotton clouds and fierce 50+ m.p.h. winds which set the clouds scudding at speed;

the slender weeping birch twigs swaying;

the water filling all the containers like rugs and wheelbarrows rippling;

stripped all but the more resistant last leaves from the copper beech;

rustling the foliage of all shrubs and trees around the garden.

Although some of the hostas have died back there has been no frost to jellify the nasturtiums;

even bees are still at work;

roses, Blue Ming Marvellous campanula, and hydrangeas linger on.

Before a shopping trip to Tesco, we drove down to the coast at Milford on Sea in order to have a look at the waves.

Visitors flocked in to enjoy the snow storm of flying sea foam coating the pebbles, the rocks, and the surface of the Solent.

Soon my specs, viewfinder and lens were completely blurred by the white balls, making clear images impossible. It is a wonder that I caught any of these.

I gave up and, leaning into the oncoming gusts, trudged back to the car so Jackie could drive us along to my next hoped-for vantage point. My camera refused to cooperate so Jackie

produced these shots of kite surfers and The Needles.

Later, I posted

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie; crunchy carrots; firm Brussel’s sprouts; tender runner beans, and meaty gravy with which the Culinary Queen drank Zesty, and I finished the Shiraz.

Big Rex And Friends

I have recently begun to take a share in reading to Ellie. Our chosen book is

which is made of well bound soft fabric.

Our great-granddaughter likes to point at eyes and other facial

features in the pictures which help her identify both the animals and their faces. She adapts her knowledge to gently point out the reader’s features. The largest spot on the diplodocus is made of a different, shiny, fabric which the child loves to press. This is therefore an enjoyable indestructible learning tool for a child who still has little speech.

Jackie is without a doubt Ellie’s favourite person. So much so that even her parents have to fight her kicking and wriggling to prise her away. It was therefore very risky to have great-granny be the photographer on this occasion. I was shown rather less gently in no uncertain terms that the toddler had had enough and wished to scamper across the room.

Fords And Headlights

Steady rain fell throughout the morning from the very early hours, subsiding into slight drizzle seeping from the antique pewter charger suspended overhead as we ventured out on a forest drive.

Vehicles plashed through

the swift flowing water over the ford at Holmsley Passage, now clad

in autumnal colour, as depicted by both me and the Assistant Photographer/Chauffeuse.

A small dog was less squeamish than its companions over getting its feet wet while negotiating pools across the former railway track converted to footpath.

There was much scope for reflection on the rippling surface of pools alongside Burley Road.

This flood at Linwood consists of just one of the sets of spreading gutters that have joined across the central camber of the roads.

Headlights approached us from every direction.

The Canadian flag flew alongside the Union Jack at the Bolderwood War Memorial to our loyal allies who lost their lives far away from home in WW2.

This evening we all dined on tender roast pork with crisp crackling; firm sage and onion stuffing; boiled potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts, meaty gravy, apple sauce and redcurrant jelly, with which Jackie drank Zesty and I drank more of the Shiraz.

A Sunny Spell

This being the last day of sunshine for the next few I walked around the garden with a camera and photographed

these flora, each of which carries a title in the gallery.

Meanwhile the jackdaws were most vociferous on the chimney stack.

During the afternoon we splashed our way through lanes such as Sowley where pools on the verges spread across the road.

Roaring its way beneath the road a fast moving bubbling stream alerted me to its presence.

Further along, on a drier stretch, the familiar group of ponies with their Shetland acolyte that we normally see

on St Leonard’s Road had strayed somewhat from their normal beat.

This evening we all dined on cheese centred fish cakes; piquant cauliflower cheese; tangy ratatouille; roast white and sweet potatoes; tender runner beans and broccoli stems; crunchy carrots and firm cauliflower, with which Jackie drank Zesty and water and I drank Mighty Murray Australian shiraz.

Dan Leno And The Limehouse Golem

Throughout the morning, from the middle of the night until some time after lunch, continuous pattering from overhead; swishing of wet wheels and gentle breezes outside, signalled return of the rains; when they ceased indigo skies required inside lights to remain switched on for me, even beside my window, to complete my reading of

Although the imagined golem is briefly described in the book, this is not really about the magical mythical clay creature brought to life in Jewish legend; more about the panic instilled in a gullible public horrified by a set of serial killings.

Ackroyd has created a thrilling murder mystery story displaying his in-depth knowledge of the less salubrious sights, sounds and smells of mid-Victorian London; the atmosphere, popularity, and practices of the Music Hall stage and its performers; poets, novelists, and other notable personalities of the time all woven into the fabric of a tale beginning with a trial and ending with a hanging – but not quite as expected.

The professional name of George Wild Galvin was Dan Leno, considered “the funniest man on earth”. His influence pervades the music hall, although he is not the main protagonist carrying the stage element of the story. The British Museum reading room is the location linking writers and others, some of whom are familiar with Limehouse, one of the most deprived areas of the capital, which is presented in all its unsavoury aspects.

Just as he interweaves all the aspects of his story and his invented characters he skilfully brings his historical people into play.

Ackroyd’s prose is fluid and well paced with a good grasp of credible dialogue. Chapters are of varying lengths usually presented from differing viewpoints. Indeed this 1994 novel could almost read as the script for a film to which it was adapted in 2016 under the title of “The Limehouse Golem”.

The novel was acclaimed by various UK newspapers and by the New York Review of Books.

This evening we all dined on succulent chicken Kiev; roast potatoes both crisp white and soft sweet; juicy ratatouille; tender runner beans and broccoli stems, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Garnacha.

The Russian Dolls

Today we enjoyed a sunny interlude between rainy days (we are expecting another wet one tomorrow). We did, however splash our way to the recycling centre with 13 more bags of garden refuse, and are beginning to catch up with Martin’s collection.

Some 45 years ago I bought Becky a cluster of Russian dolls from a shop in Piccadilly arcade. Her own daughter, Flo played with them during her childhood.

In 2009 I bought Jackie a set from a stall in the precinct of St James’s Church, Piccadilly.

She now plays with them with Flo’s daughter, Ellie, as she did today.

Except that the pizza was pepperoni, this evening’s dinner was the same as yesterday with similar beverages.

Pool At Sunset

Enough steady rain fell throughout the morning for Jackie to join a line of drivers playing water sports spraying each other as they drove through pools speeding out from the verges along Christchurch Road as she drove me to Birchfield dental practice for a hygienist session with Bronya.

By mid afternoon bright sunshine shone on our forest drive.

The Wootton Road post box now carries a crocheted Remembrance Day tribute. This actually stands in Tiptoe. Further along the thoroughfare enters woodland and becomes

Tiptoe Road, which, today was awash. Naturally I stepped out and photographed cars splashing through the pool streaming across the moorland and down into the opposite field. Naturally Jackie photographed me in action and a van from her driving seat.

She also pictured mushrooms and autumn leaves on the ground and leaves on their branches against the clear blue sky.

A young pedestrian was forced to cross the bridge by the Forest Road ford where the water doesn’t usually rise so high.

At first along Bisterne Close, our paths kept crossing with a dog walker at impressively far apart locations.

Despite the continuing comparatively mild weather the woodland alongside the Close looks definitely autumnal.

Jackie produced images of fall’s red-gold ferns and squirrels perhaps stocking up their larders.

Finally the Assistant Photographer caught the sun slip sliding away sunset and me failing to do so.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s stupendous chicken and vegetable stewp and cheesy pizza with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Hacienda Uvanis Garnacha Old Vines 2022.

Rarities

Although by mid-morning it had now desisted despite the winds’ persistence, the precipitation from the steady overnight gales washed over Christchurch Road as we sprayed our way along to Efford Recycling Centre transporting ten more spent compost bags of garden refuse.

Late this afternoon we drove to Mudeford to catch the sunset.

Strong winds whooshing through my ears rippling the low tide failed to drown the tinkling mastheads of yachts moored for the winter; the mewing of gulls; the hammering from a nearby building site; the cawing of rooks. Otherwise the scene was silent, while I perched on a

bench waiting in vain for

the sun to emerge from behind the horizon-obscuring clouds.

Apart from her shot of me Jackie also photographed a gull, a yacht, and a stack of smaller vessels.

The world’s first postage stamps were the UK penny black issued on 1st May 1840 and the twopenny blue, five days later. While contemplating the pyramid of Remembrance Day poppies atop Mudeford’s rare Victorian post box of 1859 I wondered how many of those early receipts for payment had passed, adhered to letters and cards, through that unusual upright slot, now becoming as uncommon as themselves.

I would not expect to see this purple hebe currently in bloom.

This evening we all dined on plentiful portions of excellent food from Kings House Chinese Takeaway, only because the Hordle one is not open on this day. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I decided wine would not complement hot and sour soup.