I took these yesterday, and I am glad I did. Today, the clouds have returned, making everything look dreary again.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Monday, 15 April 2013
Back to normal
The Easter Holiday has come to an end - the kids go back to school tomorrow and Number One Son headed back to Uni today. He still has a week before lectures start again but he wanted to get some revision started and get his head back into Uni mode before it all starts again.
Yesterday we all went out for a family meal. We returned to the all you can eat Chinese/Indian/Thai place and had a great time. After a couple of plates of starters I headed to the stir fry bar. Taking a plate I got some noodles, beansprouts, spring onions and a pile of prawns. The chef asked me how I wanted it done - I said "Spicy".
A waitress looked at me. "Are you sure? It is really hot!"
I smiled. "Bring it on!"
It wasn't hot.
It was very tasty.
It was DELICIOUS!
But it was certainly NOT HOT!
So I returned to the stir fry bar, piled up another plate, and asked the chef to make it hotter. He smiled and nodded.
The waitress was very timid when she brought me the cooked food. She told me repeatedly that it was going to be really hot. She even asked me not to go back and complain about it!
I tasted it.
It as hot.
After a couple of mouthfuls I could feel that I was starting to sweat.
That was more like it!
I turned and, catching the chef's eye, gave him a cheery thumbs up.
Mrs RC and the kids seemed to expect me to overheat at some point, but I didn't, although I did sweat a fair amount...
So life returns to normal again - for a while at least...
PS
While in London on Sunday, Number One Son and I started talking to a Scottish guy.
He loudly declared:|
"Ahm frm GLAZ-gor!" (trans - I am from Glasgow!)
My reply was understated in a very English way:
"Clearly."
This made him really happy as, having lived in London for 20 years he felt he had lost his accent - apparently people in GLAZ-gor refused to accept that he was a native any more!
I love encounters like this, you meet some great people.
Yesterday we all went out for a family meal. We returned to the all you can eat Chinese/Indian/Thai place and had a great time. After a couple of plates of starters I headed to the stir fry bar. Taking a plate I got some noodles, beansprouts, spring onions and a pile of prawns. The chef asked me how I wanted it done - I said "Spicy".
A waitress looked at me. "Are you sure? It is really hot!"
I smiled. "Bring it on!"
It wasn't hot.
It was very tasty.
It was DELICIOUS!
But it was certainly NOT HOT!
So I returned to the stir fry bar, piled up another plate, and asked the chef to make it hotter. He smiled and nodded.
The waitress was very timid when she brought me the cooked food. She told me repeatedly that it was going to be really hot. She even asked me not to go back and complain about it!
I tasted it.
It as hot.
After a couple of mouthfuls I could feel that I was starting to sweat.
That was more like it!
I turned and, catching the chef's eye, gave him a cheery thumbs up.
Mrs RC and the kids seemed to expect me to overheat at some point, but I didn't, although I did sweat a fair amount...
So life returns to normal again - for a while at least...
PS
While in London on Sunday, Number One Son and I started talking to a Scottish guy.
He loudly declared:|
"Ahm frm GLAZ-gor!" (trans - I am from Glasgow!)
My reply was understated in a very English way:
"Clearly."
This made him really happy as, having lived in London for 20 years he felt he had lost his accent - apparently people in GLAZ-gor refused to accept that he was a native any more!
I love encounters like this, you meet some great people.
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Odd Photos from the Malta Trip
This one made me think of my MIL and FIL who made similar (but smaller) butterflies at one point. I am sure that my FIL would have loved making one this big!
Simple things amuse me...
The hunt for a Maltese Terrier continued...
And I think we actually saw one in the car below. It was sitting on the driver's lap, but I was too slow with the camera to get a good photo, so you will just have to take my word for it.
When I first visited Malta, mutter mutter years ago, there seemed to be a lot of homeless dogs running loose in the countryside.
This year I was more aware of semi-feral cats...
These were in a garden in Valletta. The people running the cafe/ice cream parlour there seemed to look after them well. There are at least 2 more cats inside the cupboard...
Valletta has some very sudden level changes - the main city is quite high up, but the docks are, of course, at sea level.
To make it easier to get from one level to the other they have just built a new lift, which also includes some stairs...
Heights have a funny effect on me, giving me a terrible urge to jump. However, the view from here just made my feet go funny!
This suit of armour is in the foyer of the hotel we stay at. The weapon (a Partizan) will feature heavily in my zombie book.
In the middle of nowhere there are the remains of a water pipe system. No idea how old it is, but bits of it are still in use to feed water into timy fields. One of the quirky things that I love about Malta.
The hotel corridors have a gentle curve to them. My room was at the far end - the walk seemed endless...
Found this outdoor chapel during my wanderings on Gozo. Isn't that wonderful?
Finally, I saw a castle on the horizon...
Except that closer inspection showed it to be about 5 feet high... Looks good from a distance, though!
Monday, 8 April 2013
The Honeymoon...
So, Mrs RC had the interview for her Passport. I thought it sounded like it went OK, she was not so sure.
We were both surprised when, on Friday evening, I found an important looking envelope that had come through the letter box...
So, what to do next?
Saturday saw us heading to the travel agents to see what they could offer us.
As I have said before, we like to think that we are good customers - we know what we want and are happy to pay for it. We could probably have got a cheaper deal if we had gone online and hunted around, but we like important things like this to be someone else's responsibility, and if we pay a few quid extra for that then so be it.
We told the woman where we wanted to go and when we wanted to go. She phoned for flight prices, and I was pleased when Air Malta came up cheapest. I have flown with them every time I have been to Malta and they are always good. The final price was pretty much in line with the prices we were seeing on the web so that felt good to. We paid up in full to save any messing about and left - Mrs RC seeming to be a bit dazed now that it was really going to happen, so we ambled down the high street and let it sink in.
After that, the weekend was very lazy - lots of time being spent watching True Blood DVDs (I think we must be near the end now) with me spending a few hours working on my zombie novel, which is coming on nicely and seems to have a life ( or "unlife"?) of its own. I am really enjoying writing it and should be able to post a snippet by the end of the week...
Have a great week!
We were both surprised when, on Friday evening, I found an important looking envelope that had come through the letter box...
So, what to do next?
Saturday saw us heading to the travel agents to see what they could offer us.
As I have said before, we like to think that we are good customers - we know what we want and are happy to pay for it. We could probably have got a cheaper deal if we had gone online and hunted around, but we like important things like this to be someone else's responsibility, and if we pay a few quid extra for that then so be it.
We told the woman where we wanted to go and when we wanted to go. She phoned for flight prices, and I was pleased when Air Malta came up cheapest. I have flown with them every time I have been to Malta and they are always good. The final price was pretty much in line with the prices we were seeing on the web so that felt good to. We paid up in full to save any messing about and left - Mrs RC seeming to be a bit dazed now that it was really going to happen, so we ambled down the high street and let it sink in.
After that, the weekend was very lazy - lots of time being spent watching True Blood DVDs (I think we must be near the end now) with me spending a few hours working on my zombie novel, which is coming on nicely and seems to have a life ( or "unlife"?) of its own. I am really enjoying writing it and should be able to post a snippet by the end of the week...
Have a great week!
Thursday, 4 April 2013
April Showers
This time of year is famous for its April Showers...
This is a light, warm, springlike rain that feeds the plants and invigorates people who have had enough of winter...
It is fun to go for dog walks in it, as there is no need to rush, you can just stroll along chatting, enjoying the day...
All winter I look forward to the spring...
and April Showers...
Except this year, the showers are different...
They are not warm and invigorating...
The showers take the form of balls of frozen snow...
It freezes the face and fingers...
And it really puts the mockers on a romantic stroll across the fields with the dogs...
On a more upbeat note, I think that Mrs RC's passport interview went well yesterday. I will let her tell the whole story, but we also managed to turn it into a nice day out too!
Hope you are having a good week!
This is a light, warm, springlike rain that feeds the plants and invigorates people who have had enough of winter...
It is fun to go for dog walks in it, as there is no need to rush, you can just stroll along chatting, enjoying the day...
All winter I look forward to the spring...
and April Showers...
Except this year, the showers are different...
They are not warm and invigorating...
The showers take the form of balls of frozen snow...
It freezes the face and fingers...
And it really puts the mockers on a romantic stroll across the fields with the dogs...
********************************
On a more upbeat note, I think that Mrs RC's passport interview went well yesterday. I will let her tell the whole story, but we also managed to turn it into a nice day out too!
Hope you are having a good week!
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Photography
The Uni recently held a photography competition - the theme was Wildlife and Society.
My entry was called Roadkill...
Not pretty, but I thought it fitted the theme. I was nearly roadkill myself when I stopped on the busy, narrow road to take it!
I came 2nd!
Writing
Some of you will remember when I became Zombie Rock Chef. My bank record showed that I was dead, for some reason. Not that this had prompted them to cancel my card or anything, and no one has ever been able to tell me how long I had been dead for.
Anyway, I mentioned a week or so ago that I am writing a Zombie novel, and I am still at it, grabbing odd moments to add a scene in my notebook. It is taking shape really well, and I hope to have the first draft typed up in a few weeks. I am having great fun writing it and keep thinking of new bits to throw in - the latest addition is a zombie Elvis impersonator. My favourite character has to be the news reporter, though, who is based on a certain female British news reporter. I detest her, she is utterly lacking in feeling and compassion and just goes for reactions or tries to put words into people's mouths. I have her interviewing people who have just seen relatives eaten by zombies - wonderful stuff... I might post an excerpt here at some point, if there is demand.
Tomorrow is a big day - Mrs RC has to be interviewed to see if she can get her passport so that we can book our honeymoon. Shouldn't really be a problem, but we do wonder what happens if they refuse to believe that she is who she is. What happens if they think she is an imposter? Do they deport her to Romania or something? Would she have to claim asylum as an illegal immigrant?
Watch this space to find out, I guess!
Anyway, I mentioned a week or so ago that I am writing a Zombie novel, and I am still at it, grabbing odd moments to add a scene in my notebook. It is taking shape really well, and I hope to have the first draft typed up in a few weeks. I am having great fun writing it and keep thinking of new bits to throw in - the latest addition is a zombie Elvis impersonator. My favourite character has to be the news reporter, though, who is based on a certain female British news reporter. I detest her, she is utterly lacking in feeling and compassion and just goes for reactions or tries to put words into people's mouths. I have her interviewing people who have just seen relatives eaten by zombies - wonderful stuff... I might post an excerpt here at some point, if there is demand.
Tomorrow is a big day - Mrs RC has to be interviewed to see if she can get her passport so that we can book our honeymoon. Shouldn't really be a problem, but we do wonder what happens if they refuse to believe that she is who she is. What happens if they think she is an imposter? Do they deport her to Romania or something? Would she have to claim asylum as an illegal immigrant?
Watch this space to find out, I guess!
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