Last Saturday (today week) I went down with a crashing cold. Ann dosed me with various nursing nostrums. I varied these with my own version of a cold treatment - hot toddy (or rather fairly regular hot toddies). This consists of equal quantities of scotch and water, with a good squeeze of lemon juice and honey to taste, the whole to be heated in a saucepan until simmering, then taken internally. This doesn't cure the cold in any way; it just makes the patient feel a bit more cheerful about things. A couple of days later Ann went down with the same problem (I mean a bad cold, not the hot toddies-they're not a problem). We battened down hatches and stayed in for the duration of the colds. This enabled me to get on in the workshop with various jobs, and I've generally caught up with work. The above illustrated long case movement was made in London around the year 1680. As this was rather an experimental period for English horology, the whole movement is a bit non-standard, and I was having to proceed very carefully, and I must admit that I've been taking me time over it.. However, it's now behaving nicely, and is ready to be returned to its home and be put back into its case (walnut, of course). It will be worth your while enlarging the above photo- the details of the dial are exquisite.
The first time we went outside was on Wednesday, when Ann grabbed the camera and rushed out to take the above snapshot of a stormy sky, with the westering sun shining from under the clouds onto the trees.
Above taken from one of the back bedroom windows a few minutes later.
Yesterday evening we'd just settled down to a game of scrabble, when there was a sound like a fusilade of shots being fired somewhere slightly westward of our home. We (rightly) assumed someone was celebrating Guy Fawke's night a bit early, so went upstairs and watched from the front, spare bedroom window, where we got a grandstand view of the fireworks being let off about fifty yards away or so, in one of the gardens opposite. It was a LOVELY display which went on for fifteen or twenty minutes. When it was all over, I raised the window sash and bellowed our thanks towards our incendiarally (?) inclined neighbours. Rather to my surprise, this started a chorus of "Thank You"s and "Hear! Hear!"s from a few other neighbours, on either side of, and opposite to, us. We'd all had an excellent entertainment, and it was good to express (and to hear) the appreciation of, our gratitude for it.
Just being called upstairs for a cuppa. More later perhaps.
12 comments:
Lovely face of 1680!
I used to enjoy fireworks but nowadays after trying to console a petrified Basset under the table for half an hour I feel like flinging the windows open and shouting something far less generous.
There's a lot of nasty colds around at the moment. Glad you are both over the worst of yours now.
That clock is a thing of loveliness and I cannot believe how old it is!
We went to Weeza's house and had almost silent baby-friendly fireworks. Mind you, the Sage has bought a massive rocket to let off across our field tomorrow night, so we could find we have no friends in the village by Tuesday.
I find adding ginger to a hot toddy is good for colds.
Thank you Rog. Yes, I quite realise that fireworks can't be much fun for dogs/dog owners.
Thank you Rog. Yes, I quite realise that fireworks can't be much fun for dogs/dog owners.
Thank you Liz. When I've delivered and reinstalled the clock tomorrow, I'll try and get permish to photograph it in it's case, and show it.
Hello Z. I do trust that you both survive your neighbours' reactions to Russell's rocket attack on them.
Oh, and thanks for the tip re ginger in hot toddy, I'll try that. It sounds like a sort of hot whiskey Mack.
"Russell's Rocket" sounds like a steam traction engine. Or a Comet. Or a particularly lethal cocktail.
It does rather Rog. Or a mixture of all three, which, knowing the Sage and the Zeddary, might well be so.
I hope you are both fightng fit again.
My Mum used to put a red hot poker in the toddy and rub goose grease on our chests.
Thank you Pat, yes we're both more or less back to normal- Ann is asthmatic, so it always takes her a bit longer than I to shake these things off.
I remember a grandfather of mine used to 'mull' his ale with red hot poker - gave it a slightly metallic taste (not unpleasant though, and an odd- some parts warm, some parts hot - temperature.
See next blog entry -clock delivered, installed, and set going.
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