Sun, Frost and Lichen

Here is a picture I took today from the window at Aimo's House of sun and frost:

Sun on the fields

Here is a picture of lichen (we like lichen here at Aimo's House)

Lichen on the tree

Sorrel, Butter and Otters

This talk of otters reminded me of a holiday we had in Scotland.  We were staying near Achiltibuie in a rented holiday cottage.  I read the Visitor's Book and someone had written in it about how they picked some wild sorrel and sautéed it in unsalted butter...  What kind of Independent-reading person seriously needs to tell the possible future readers of a visitor's book in a holiday cottage that they foraged some wild sorrel, sautéed it in unsalted butter and ate it.  Delicious!  To take a leaf from the previous post, a knob, I suppose.

I was sorely tempted to write: we went for a walk by the shore, and spotted some sea-otters... we sautéed them in some unsalted butter.  Delicious!; but I thought some animal-lovers might hunt me down and kill me, so I didn't.  I won't try and impress you with how clever we were on holiday, I'll just show you some nice pics:

A Sea-otter?

A Sunset

Not a sunset

A Mountain

The Moon

Near Achiltibuie

A Ruin

Near Achiltibuie

I think I've started to think about holidays.  Have you?







Hobbits, Otters and Knobs

The Book not the Film

Last night me and Aimo went to see The Hobbit 2 - The Desolation of Benedict Cumberbatch.  (I don't see why he's so desolate - Sherlock was good and he does look like an otter.  Maybe he needs to spend more time as an otter: swimming, fishing, giggling.)  Anyway, back to the Hobbit 2 - because it's a bit old now, we were in a tiny screen with not many people.  As the credits started someone piped up: "Peter Jackson's a knob" and it wasn't even Aimo.

So I was wondering, when used in this context is it knob or nob?  Nob is an old word for a posh person, I suppose short for noble or nobility.  It kind of means the same as a knob which is a dick.  So is the spelling of knob (dick) knob with a K?  Like in Bedknobs and Broomsticks - rub your knob and go to another world. I love Bedknobs and Broomsticks.  We used to have it on video, but never got it on DVD.  Who wrote Bedknobs and Broomsticks?  Was it P L Travers?

Anyway, back to The Hobbit 2.  I enjoyed it sort of, and Aimo didn't fall asleep.  Maybe it was his outrage keeping him awake.  It's a funny thing about gendered outrage.  When I'm outraged at the Bank, I'm a crazy pyscho bitch; when Aimo's outraged on the phone to British Gas, he's a customer with a serious problem that really needs to be fixed.  So the boiler's finally fixed now, because they sent the serious engineer for serious customers with serious problems.  It's an ill wind I suppose...

Chocolate Coins and Frank Sidebottom

Got the local paper (Buxton Advertiser) yesterday and spotted this headline:

Shock Story

I know it is actually serious when shop staff get attacked, and there was an assault, but it is a funny headline.  Come to Buxton! Get attacked with chocolate coins!  Buxton - where violence has a Christmassy flavour! 

Best wishes to the staff, hope everyone is okay.  Sorry we laughed at your ordeal.

Then I was in a bit of a papers mood and I checked out this article in The Guardian about Frank Sidebottom, the hero of Timperley, just down the road from Aimo's Flat of the old days.

I was a bit puzzled by this picture, in which Frank Sidebottom had a weird head on:

Weird Head?

"What a weird head",  I thought, "That doesn't look like Frank Sidebottom", who looks like this:

Proper Head

Then I read the story.  The top picture is from the Hollywood film, with Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Bloody Americans (Kate makes shaking fist gesture here)!  As if they could get Frank Sidebottom!  Every time you try to avoid clichés, and try not to say "Americans just don't get silly humour", then they go and do something like that.  How could they not reproduce Frank's head?  Don't they get that his Betty Boop head is really quite important to the joke and you have to get it right?  A large Lego head doesn't work.

Now I'm going to be cross all day.  Let's hope going for a walk with my dog friend (and his people) will cheer me up.  Toodles!

Camel Poo

OMGA!*  Just watched an amazing film:

OMGA!

I don't watch torture, but I do like strong bloody violence.  And swearing.  This film is great, what has really worked in it's favour is that they didn't have much money for special effects and CGI, so they just went to the mountains in Wales and filmed men hitting each other.  Brilliant!  I wish The Lord of The Rings had been filmed like this, as close to real life as we can imagine the Dark Ages to be.

Apparently now it is not PC to say The Dark Ages, you have to say "Early Mediaeval", as Dark Ages implies that some civilisations aren't as good as other civilisations.  It's a fair point, but I still prefer "Dark Ages".  Me and Aimo used to be in a Dark Age re-enactment society (with Allan and Foz as previously mentioned).  No-one was PC in our Dark Age group, we just liked fighting in fields and drinking.  And probably swearing too.  Like that time I left somebody's axe at Clifford's Tower in York.  Sorry about that.  And the time I put my rucksack in a trunk at a banquet because it didn't look authentic, then didn't remember 'til we got home, and then we had to ride back to the University of Lancaster to find it.  Sorry about that Aimo.

Those were the days, heh?  Like the one when we went onto the battle-field after the camel race and no-one wanted to die, because they didn't want to die in camel poo.  Who does?

Actually, that reminds me of the famous camel suit I made master Aimson at Infant's School.  It was the star of many a Nativity play.  And the time Daniel said "No camel poo here" instead of "No room at the inn".  It was quite an adlib, and only added to the famous camel-suit's fame.  If Master Aimson is ever a famous actor, we will have to hope someone videoed the famous "camel poo" scene at the Nativity.

p.s. Hugh - I took your advice and now switch off wireless to conserve battery powere - thanks for the tip.


* For those of you who do not speak the language of the kids like what I do, this stands for OH, MY GIDDY AUNT!

New Technology and Old

I just posted off my first etsy purchase today!  Then Claire gave me some tips for linking etsy to the blog, so I'll see about that tomorrow when I re-stock the shop!  New technology and me, we're like that (I'm holding two fingers together).

Back to some old tech - some more prints from my press:

A Moon-lit Hare

A Lady with a Piggin on Her Head

A Toast to You, Sir!

Fresh Green Shoots

Well there are strange times here.  Life carries on in it's difficult way, but I think fresh shoots of some positive things can be glimpsed.

I set up my new press at the studio and I am pleased with the results

New Print

Do you like it?  It was just an image to try out the new set-up, but I am encouraged that I am heading in the right direction.  I think it has the look of old book illustrations, so will work for the Fleams chapbooks I am designing.

Also I am hopeful about the new Etsy shop, but it is a bit of a steep learning curve for old, no-technology me.  I have got for hang of the basics of my Kobo, though.  I have purchased several classic books now.  The battery seems to go down really easily, which I am surprised about, I thought it was supposed to last for ages so you could read out and about?

Undaunted, I shall carry on trying to work all this new-fangled stuff out. Toodles!