Tag: The Highwayman

A Ghostly Embrace

Elizabeth and the rest of her village remain without power. Given the total amount of extended outages across the country and storm Franklin following on the heels of Dudley and Eunice, my sister is likely to be with us for a while longer. This morning she returned to her home, emptied her non-working fridge, and brought back its contents to transfer to our appliance.

As we watched a large pittosporum swaying in winds climbing to a speed of 60 m.p.h. we feared for its safety and, should it fall, that of the nearby arch over the Dead End Path. The South African native shrub had been allowed by our predecessors to grow into a tree and we had simply shaped it a bit.

I completed the scanning of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to ‘The Highwayman’.

End papers.

Back cover.

This evening we dined on flavoursome liver and bacon casserole; creamy mashed potato; crunchy carrots; and firm Brussels sprouts with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and Elizabeth and I finished the Douro.

Watching For Her Lover

This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/11/a-knights-tale-101-we-are-quite-similar-really/

This afternoon I scanned

the next six pages of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes.

(Look away, Yvonne.)

This evening we dined on tender roast lamb; crisp roast potatoes and parsnips; crunchy carrots; firm Brussels sprouts, and meaty gravy, I finished the Douro while Jackie abstained.

The Redcoats Looked To Their Priming

This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/08/a-knights-tale-100-commuting/

After lunch I scanned the next eight pages of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to ‘The Highwayman’.

Frances e-mailed me a photograph to print for Elizabeth’s birthday today.

Here she holds Grandson Jack. We gave it to her this evening when dining at The Filly Inn outside Brockenhurst. Jackie and I started with tasty French onion soup. Elizabeth didn’t opt for a starter; Jackie’s main course was a pulled beef burger with chips, onion rings and salad; my sister’s choice was a lamb shank with Dauphinoise potatoes and vegetable. I settled for steak and ale pie with chips and vegetables after the chef had declined to cook rib eye steak because he decided the meat was not good enough. Jackie’s dessert was sticky toffee pudding; mine and Elizabeth’s poached pear. Having drunk two glasses of very good Merlot I was beyond registering the beers for which the ladies opted.The service and cooking was excellent.

Along The Coastline

This morning I scanned

the next six pages of Charles Keeping’s version of ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes.

By mid-afternoon Jackie finished the first stage of her planting of the new raised bed – by replacing the bulbs and primroses which had to be dug up to make space for it.

Afterwards she drove me to the Ear Clinic at Milford on Sea where a build up of wax was successfully removed. We travelled back

along the coast. The temperature was much colder than of late, the bright sunshine sparkled on the sea; gulls zoomed low; sailboarders skimmed against the backcloth of the Bournemouth skyline; dog walkers silhouetted; and a little boy scooted.

We travelled on to Barton on Sea. A cyclist rested on a bench while I walked down to water level and wished I could have a rest on the way back up. The bench half way down the steep slope was already occupied.

Before going home we diverted to Ferndene Farm Shop for various items.

Elizabeth came to dinner this evening, when we enjoyed second helpings of Jackie’ s casserole from yesterday with fresh vegetables. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden while my sister and I finished the Douro. We spent the rest of the evening sorting out English politics.

Burgeoning Blooms; Snowballing Lichen; Lingering Leftovers

After lunch I published https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/02/a-knights-tale-97-i-branch-out/

I then wandered around the garden with my camera and photographed

The mimosa in the last picture was planted in the North Breeze garden by the last resident, who kindly gave us the benefit of its hanging over our back drive fence. These are the burgeoning blooms.

Lichen is snowballing in more than one sense of the word.

Seedpods and heads linger from last year; fallen twigs remind me of the clearing up that must be done.

Into which category should be placed this pelargonium and a similar one having bloomed continuously since last spring?

Finally, I offer the next four pages of ‘The Highwayman’ featuring Charles Keeping’s marvellous illustrations:

This evening we dined on succulent roast lamb and mint sauce; crisp roast potatoes and parsnips; crunchy carrots; and tender runner beans, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Azinhaga de Ouro Reserva 2019.