text:
It is over!! The torture in the Ovens. OMGTG!! or
Oh my gosh thank goodness!!
I am sporting a very nice tan. Not that I care about such things any more. The excess bits are mostly tanned also... apart from the overhung patches. I must say, excess does not look more attractive tanned. It is still excess!!
I once aspired to a nice tan. Now? Pah! Meh! Could-not-care-less!
Slack as ever, I cannot locate the pics of the young & foolish Meggie, out on the beach, 'getting a tan'.
I have concluded the self humiliation, of standing naked, in a what seems to me, to be a primitive method of delivering the 'light treatment' to my body, is offering no relief. It also causes much humiliation, in the fact that I have been required of late, to stand knickerless, astride a contraption of light, to 'improve the itching of the groin'. Let me tell you, there was no relief, & there was anxiety, in that I had to stand in an open space- 'protected' by cotton curtains, with my head covered, & wearing sunglasses, while passing sundry nurses, who came to gawp-
gape, & snigger, considerately informing me of their passing presense!
Imagine if you will, standing astride some infernal contraption, from everyone's idea of Hell, with the roaring of the machine, a countdown timer going, & your head covered with 2 layers of 'masking fabric', Dark glasses, & top clad only.
This, to me, seems primitive in the extreme, & I am sure these hideous prehistoric machines are the 'rejects' from much more sophisticated clinics, which now provide treatment to the WHOLE body,
ie, the bits which hang, & obscure, etc which does not entail standing astride some primitive light delivery arrangement. Or standing, with your hands upon your head, counting down the seconds because the Nurse 'forgot' to set the timer, for your underarm lights!!
More Joy is to come. You can sit, or stand for your consultation with the Professor!
There is a scungy little room, with a mirror, many pamphlets, notices on the wall, & 'sickly looking, dirty', but recently cleaned carpet, on the floor. You are perusing the literature provided, to advertise the Moisturisers, in the slots.
Suddenly, you are made aware Proff is standing, squished in the corner... huddled almost! You turn, & are confronted by his inversley magnified glasses. They make his eyes look much smaller than his face! Very disconcerting, since I like to look people in the eye, when in consultation.
Later, he writes a request for blood tests.- again. He enquires if I am a blood donor? I am not. My veins dont like being invaded, nor asked to give!! They are very shy, & a GP once told me not to bother. I have a relatively rare blood group, & it is not readily 'donatory' !! Apparently donating, can redress the balance for iron surplus! Who Knew!!
He is not amused when I mention perhaps leeches might be the answer... It seems I have high blood Iron. How 'ironical', ha ha , as my iron was dangerously low, when in the childbearing years. FFS, I don't even eat red meat! At all! WT??
I am to take the prescribed drugs, & hopefully they will control the itches....
I hope they work, but will not hold my breath. Plus, I may have trouble staying awake to pass judgement..............zzzzzzz.
In the midst of the whirl & swirl that is everyday living, I would urge people who love nature, & natural beauty, along with fabulous writing, to go visit A Garden In The Mountains.
It is a real treat to visit, & comments are disabled, allowing for complete relaxation, & just the joy of the visit.
We are having SG for the morning again, so must be off to ready myself for his visit. His mother said he was so excited to be coming again, so that is nice.
U2, The Sweetest Thing.
Tuesday, September 30
A Liberation!
It is over!! The torture in the Ovens. OMGTG!! or
Posted by meggie at 9/30/2008 06:16:00 p.m. 19 comments
Labels: itches, Mountain Garden, ovens, SG.
Monday, September 29
What was I thinking??....
Posted by meggie at 9/29/2008 06:50:00 p.m. 19 comments
Labels: SG. Dogs. Their clips.
Sunday, September 28
While reading over at Jelly's about their Disco Dance party, I was reminded of when our children were young.
We loved having picnics. We would pack our picnic fare, & off we would go, to some riverbank, or park or even to visit friends who lived on a farm.
I pinched this pic from the Internet. It seemed to represent everything romantic & enticing about picnics. The checkered cloth the basket, the goodies in plenteous array. The thermos flasks of hot coffee, cold lemonade.
It doesn't depict the oftentimes reality of picnics in the open. The sandflies at the River bank, the glaring sun, the sprinting off to catch a child about to leap into the river! The ants trying to share the food, the sand if we were at the beach. The proximity of dog droppings or the waft of pigs, at the farm, if the wind changed direction.
The rashes from too much sun, sandfly bites, or grass allergy. Ah the 'free treats'.
Of course there really were 'free treats'. The children invariably had fun, & the friendly games of tennis ball cricket would amuse.
Until my head, aka as the Ball Magnet, collected a ball in the face!
Because we lived in an inner city hotel, we didn't have lawns or a garden, so a picnic was a great chance to get out in the fresh air.
We would hire a big van, & a whole bunch of us would go down to Ashburton to the races, on Boxing Day. A country Race meeting, trots (Harness?) if I recall. It was usually very hot, & we had a designated driver.
The first year we did the group thing, we took our cars, & I was the driver, for our little group. Needless to say the others were all the worse for wear at the end of the day. Our children loved these days, & as we were the only ones who had children, they were always made a great fuss of, & grew to be very good conversationalists, with adults.
Gom, who was HYPH -Happy Young Publican Husband- in those days, let our daughter mix the drinks for everyone, one year. We found out that she had been adding a 'little of everthing' to the drinks. No wonder there were some very sore heads, & some slumbering passengers on the way home!
On other picnic occasions,we would pack our picnic fare, & off we would go, to some riverbank, or park or even to visit friends who lived on a farm, where we would sit out in the paddock!
I think this particular picnic, was a Barbeque, & it was early Spring, which can be rather cold. Friend D was cooking the meat, & we tried to find a sheltered spot out of the wind.
The quality of these grainy old photos is very poor. They have been in an Album with the sticky pages, & the plastic covers, & I suspect the film was not very good either.
Perhaps our favourite picnics were the ones we had at home. On the lounge room floor.
I would prepare all the the usual suspects in the way of food & drink, & we would spread out a cloth or rug, & sit on the floor, & pretend the grey skies outside did not exist. We could even have the gas heater going, when it was really cold, or even snowing.
We were lucky enough to have a huge lounge, & it was easy to pretend we were not at home. We would play music, & games, & always had a lot of fun.
We liked to play board games, or I Spy- pity I didn't make quilts in those days.
When we lived in that Hotel, I made what we called Filled Rolls for the bars every day. These were long bullet shaped rolls, & I would fill them with salad & various meats. I would have a whole bench full of rolls waiting to be filled, & would go flat out to get them all ready.
I then wrapped them in cling film & HYPH would take them downstairs to the bars, while I would take the children to school. Of course I made the children some for lunch, while I was making the Bar fare.
Occasionally I would buy savouries & little cakes or treats, go & collect the children from school, & we would go to a park, & have a little picnic lunch, before I would take them back to school.
Once one of my daughter's teachers told me her mouth watered every time she saw my daughter's lunch. She was shocked one day when DJ was buying a pie. It turned out DJ had sneaked her pocket money out to buy a pie! Hence Pie buying one day a week ensued, as well as the little picnics for variety.
Posted by meggie at 9/28/2008 08:06:00 a.m. 14 comments
Thursday, September 25
Odd & Imaginary Conversations.
Why does such a sweet perfume, bring on so many sneezes?
Sweet Jasmine, dripping from the neighbour's garden. Over the trees, in unruly fashion. No gardener, the neighbour, he lets it grow in wild profusion, to the annoyance of another neighbour, who leans over the fence to trim it back!
This member of the Fuchsia family flowers in wild disarray in our garden. No perfume. Just the bright splashes of colour. It was contained in a pot, but it has escaped, & established itself in the soil.
Op Shopping Jaunt.
Posted by meggie at 9/25/2008 11:13:00 a.m. 23 comments
Labels: ends, Fire, odds, op shopping., sewing
Tuesday, September 23
Where did Spring go??
Hee hee! (Or not) I will add more to this further down the post! This is just a 'teaser'??!
Before he jumped onto the chair. "Nooo Please dont take my photo!!"
***********************This is the story attached to the lead pic.
A disturbing new fashion trend has been sent to me, & I am sincerely hoping it will not become the 'fashion'!! Or even a trend, in reality!
I hope "he" gets Cholera or something worse. I hope "he" has to wear photo image jeans with a small withered Chilli pepper for the front view!
Now it is so late, I can't give the "Oven Story", so that is for the next post.. Insert evil laugh at this point...
Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil.
Posted by meggie at 9/23/2008 06:57:00 p.m. 12 comments
Labels: skirts??, Where is spring. cold
Sunday, September 21
Storm in a Teacup.
Before I begin my rant, here is a brag. My beautiful Grand nephew. He looks good enough to eat! He is 6 moths old now. No wonder he is the Star of the Family!
I am not a tea drinker, apart from herbal teas.
My mother was one of the last of the great tea drinkers. Now I suspect my Beloved Brother IS the last of the great tea drinkers.
What better way to procrastinate for hours, sitting sucking up gallons of tea. Vile brown stuff that it is. Then you can spend the next few hours looking for places to empty the 'used' product, so to speak. He loves his tea so much it can interfere with travel plans. Given half a chance he will remain another hour or so drinking "Just one more pot of tea". Being the bossy elder sister, I have been known to head him off at the pass, as it were, rushing to unplug the jug of water, or declaring loudly that "NO" he is not going to make just one more pot of tea.
I used not to mind tea. Weak & black. A dainty thin slice of lemon was nice, the way my Grandmother liked it. It had to be freshly brewed too. When I became pregnant with my daughter, I began to vomit at very strange times, & finally worked out I had become sickened by tea. Never did take to it after that.
My mother's generation seemed to live on Tea. They would make pots of tea, & sit around talking & drinking for hours. I didn't like the taste until I got to be a late teenager, but I really preferred coffee.
You could be frowned upon for asking for coffee, since at one stage you almost needed a bank loan to buy coffee!
My mother was thin most of her life, & I swear the strong black tea she drank, probably took away her appetite. Towards the end of her life, she could not take it too strong, & she had cut down on her intake. She would enjoy a weak coffee, with milk, though once all her drinks were strong & taken black.
I do think she is right about one of her preferrances. My mother always said the cup or mug made a difference to the taste of the tea, & I do now believe she was right. I have recently got myself a new cup, it is nice bone china, & I seem to prefer to take my herbal tea, as well as my black coffee out of that cup. I like the whiteness of it's inside. I like the delicate little violets on the outside.
I don't have a tantrum if it is not available, & I still like the black Weiss mug my daughter gave me many moons ago, for coffee. I have several decorative teapots, but they never get used for actual tea. If friends want tea we have it, & Gom drinks it every now & then. I try to drink lots of water now, instead of hot drinks.
Gom has stomped off downstairs in a huff. He is doing his displacement activity of retiring in wounded silence to play Cher at the top volume. I used to not mind a little Cher, but have gone right off her since Gom adopted her as his security blanket. haha.
Yesterday we bathed Leo, & he was not impressed. He got away as soon as he was able, & before clipping could take place. He needs to be clipped again, as it is getting quite hot some days. He is ok with his face being clipped but his feet are out of bounds, & he hates his tail feathers being brushed or clipped. Honey is ok, she takes her bath with a resigned air, & will stand a fair amount of clipping.
Our daughter came up with SG last evening, & it was nice to spend time with them, though SG flies close to the wind with his taunts to his Grandfather. They don't always see eye to eye, & there is not that helpless devotion that was there for our granddaughter, sadly.
Though there has been little quilty content here lately- lost the Mojo again- I do still think about it all the time. I do believe that once you become a quilter, it completely changes the way you view the world.
Patterns for quilts leap out to the eye. Colour combinations strike you as being quiltable- or not.
I bless the internet for allowing me access to so many varied quilting styles & ideas. I just need to employ some of them!!
In other news, I sourly view the politics of the world, & feel sickened, at the way the sycophants of certain would-be Political Bigs, flock about those people like blowflies about fresh cow dung. I cant apologise for that, because that is how I see them. Support is one thing, but dotage is quite another.
Cat Stevens, Wild World.
PS. I had to edit this post. I had labelled it gogreous baby! Just could not leave that!
Posted by meggie at 9/21/2008 02:17:00 p.m. 23 comments
Labels: Gorgeous baby, pollies., tea teacups
Wednesday, September 17
What is old??
Styles? Music? Perfumes? Recipes? Bodies? Beliefs?
Who can define "OLD"?
I am always stunned by the power of a perfume. The ability of the olfactory sense, to transport me to another time, place, or feeling, is amazing.
I consider myself so lucky, to still have my sense of smell. I know many people begin to lose that sense once they are around 60. I am one of the lucky ones, who still has a sharp sense of smell at 65.
I can be transported to other times by perfumes.
Today, for no apparent reason, I was gifted with strong scents of a perfume I loved when I was younger.
This particular perfume was "L'air du Temps", by Nina Ricci. Oh how I loved this fragrance when I was a young wife. It spelled romance & exciting nights, of rapturous love, with the man I married. Many happy times are resurrected in memory when I smell this perfume!
Where did the strong odours come from? Was it some nostalgic memory, generating the scent, of days, (& nights) long gone? It seemed to arrive, unbidden, out of the ether.
I was reminded of songs of love & sentiment, that I have loved over the years.
There is a deep core part of me, that will always remain, in the magic of my past. I will always be, "Forever Young"
Posted by meggie at 9/17/2008 08:03:00 p.m. 19 comments
Labels: and other little thoughts, crap, in this huge world.
Tuesday, September 16
Gratitudes, I wish I could make....
There are so many "Thank You"s I wish I could make.
So many joys, my life has been given.
One of my favourites, is the humble little Grape Hyacinth, Muscari.
This is a muted, blurred vision of my favourite little flower.
This is a slightly muted, munted, version of the lemons on our pitiful tree. I love them, in spite of their imperfections..
I love their lemony colour, & their bold happiness, intending to be stupendous! I won't say, if they are, or not. I will just enjoy them, & thank them for being.
I wish I could thank all of the composers, the performers, the songwriters, the singers, who have given sound to the wonderful Sound Track of My Life!
They can never know the pleasure, the joy, they give to me, on a daily basis. The light, the genius, they give. The purpose, when all seems so dark.http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3HoOR8OhuRMhttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3HoOR8OhuRM
I thank all of the composers, the performers, the musicians, for the sheer magic they can give to a world sadly lacking in enough Joy, & sheer Pleasure.
The contribution to the soundtrack of my life is beyond measure.
Credence Clearwater Revival, Down on The Corner.
Posted by meggie at 9/16/2008 07:23:00 p.m. 10 comments
Monday, September 15
Absurd Observations.
Somehow pictures gladden the heart, when looking at a blog.
These are some taken in the garden late this afternoon.
The Promises of the lemon tree. I think it needs weeing on, as it never seems to produce more than 2 lemons, even though it has all these blossoms. Gom is open to all sorts of ideas, but draws the line, at being one to wee on the lemon tree!
This is a struggle. The Allamanda struggles bravely through the vigorous orange vine, & they compete for space along the fence.
The strong looking ribbed stem, in this 2nd pic, is the orange vine, pushing the Allamanda aside.
This looks like the portent of summer fires to come. I hope not. We have had plenty of rain, but the downside of that is the fact that growth is very lush & full, & when Summer's heat arrives.... bad combination.
Anyone for salad? I keep threatening the wild Nastursiums I am going to use them for salads, but I never do, & I do enjoy their bright flowers, with endless variations.
This is my loved Port Wine Magnolia. When Gom
This next section might cause offense to some USA Citizens.
No offense is intended. This was merely my impression, as I watched bemused, & somewhat popeyed, at a part of a programme of an interview with John McC.
There seemed to be 5 women conducting the interview. Whoopi Goldberg & Barbara Walters
OMG it is so long since I had seen this woman! What hell happened to her? was she in a train wreck? Or has she been shrink wrapped, & all facial expression sucked out of her body?.
There were 3 other women on the other side of J McC. I didn't recognise any of those women. One did have hair that might have needed a vehicle of it's own to transport it- you know the kind- BIG hair! ( have just remembered, the programme was called The View.)
I didn't take much notice of the questions or answers, but then heard one of them say that next up Mrs McC was coming onto the show. I had never seen a picture of Mrs McC so I waited to see her appear.
This apparition like an aging Barbie appeared, dressed in Fire Engine RED! A whole pants suit, with red undervest! I was expecting klaxxons, & sirens.I was rivetted. Not so much by the startling choice of colour for the Missus, but by the body language of J McC. He sat ramrod upright. He desperately clutched his hands together... almost white knuckledly! They seemed to sit just a tad further apart than I would have expected as the discussed their 'happy 28 year long' marriage.
Nervous is the way I would describe Mrs McC's answers. J McC sat, carefully angling the 'better side' of his face for the camera. He had to
pounce join in once, & 'add' -forcefully- to an answer of Mrs McC.
The thing that got me the most, was the terribly, anxious, cheek-clenching stance (if you can use that word to describe a seated position) of J McC! He looked as if he was momentarily expecting a large cracker to explode in his anus. Please pardon that description, but that is honestly how it appeared, here in OZ, the land Down Under, to one viewer.
I will add that I did listen to those questions & answers, & will keep my views to myself over both. Suffice to say, I would never vote for that man in a million years.
I swear 'Barbie' is afraid of him??
Lonnie Donnegan, Does Your Chewinggum Lose It's Flavour, On The Bedpost Overnight!
Posted by meggie at 9/15/2008 05:36:00 p.m. 30 comments
Labels: Only the really old will remember that song. Usa political antics.
Sunday, September 14
Long time gone..
Firstly, I thank you all for your kind wishes, & thoughts during the dog days.
I am feeling a lot better. We had 2 lovely warm days, & yesterday was downright summery, climbing to 31 degrees, & making us begin to think about summer clothes.
OMG what the hell am I going to wear? I can't have really gained that much weight... can I?
I had a letter from my Dear Niece, with news of family. Also, sadly the passing of their lovely cat, Paddy.
Paddy was very old, & had been with my niece from the beginning of her marriage, & the eventual arrival of her 2 daughters. Paddy cat was really so much a part of the family. She took turns sleeping with the girls as they grew up.
Paddy had 6 toes instead of the usual 5, & she was a very dignified darling. In the end her 'father' had to take her to the vet's to be put to sleep. She had begun to just fall over, & had fallen of the couch. The vet was quite amazed at her age, & she had moved many times with her family. She was born a country cat, but became a city cat, while just a kitten.
My niece said 'Daddy' brought her home in the cage, so the girls could say their goodbyes. The younger daughter asked if she could take Paddy to school for Show & Tell. My niece said she could just imagine the teacher's horror!
She was made a very elegant coffin, & laid to rest in their, hopefully, peranant garden. RIP Paddy.
Recently I was looking for recipe ideas among my old battered books, one, given to me when I first got married, by my mother. It is a Collins recipe book, they were common in New Zealand. First aid tips. Pages of alternative measurements. Sections for various dishes. Meats, Savouries, Desserts etc.
The book is somewhat splattered in parts. New Husband learning to cook Afghans. Children learning to cook various dishes. Hurried Meggie splatters, making hasty teas.
There are wonderful memories of friends & family. Usually when I wrote a recipe in the book, I also named the person who gave me the recipe. Hence I have 'Sue's Sponge' 'Bob's Chicken Casserole', that sort of thing. Some recipes I have no memory of ever making! How extraordinary. Plus we found our tastes changed over the years & things I once made often, are little thought of now.
One old favourite is Golden Sausages. Gom still loves them, but I am not keen anymore- they give me indigestion. Our Daughter still loves them, though. I was given the recipe by a neighbour, when our children were small. We still keep in touch, & she still makes the recipe now & then too, for her grandchildren.
When I was a newlywed, there were plenty of cooking shows on TV. It seemed to be a 'Thing' of the era, in the 60s & 70s.
There was Alison Holst, who was a sensible 'downhome' cooking Mum, & her recipes were usually family friendly. She had an easy manner, & was very popular. I still have quite a few recipe leaflets, featuring her recipes.
Then there was Graham Kerr, who was more flamboyant, & he tried much more daring recipes. New Zealand was beginning to open up to more varied cuisine. Graham was such a success, and his lighthearted humour was very popular. He did move on from NZ, & became a star with his series "The Galloping Gourmet".
I am not sure where, in the timeline of it all, there came upon the TV scene anther cook, Des Britten. He was an amusing flamboyant cook, who owned a restaurant. He really shook up the nations taste buds, & organised a nationwide cooking competition, with people entering various sections, from all over the country. I have a copy of his cookbook to this day, & though I rarely use it, I still enjoy looking through the recipes & reading his tips, he usually added at the end of each recipe.
I do believe Des 'got God' & became a minister of some religion.
I sometimes watch another exKiwi, cooking show host, Iain Hewitson, who is on TV here in Australia. He sometimes mentions Des, & being a contemporary of his. I don't remember Iain cooking on TV in NZ.
Another really flamboyant & highly humourous couple, was Hudson & Halls. I was surprised to find a documentary about the couple has been made for NZTV.
They were a male gay couple who were very entertaining. I was surprised to learn they are both now dead.
I know that not everybody enjoys watching cooking shows, nor even likes to cook. It is something I really enjoy, when I am in the mood, but now I also love to dine out when I get the chance. So nice not to have to do the dishes or think of the plan!
Bryan Adams, Summer of '69.
Posted by meggie at 9/14/2008 11:59:00 a.m. 12 comments
Labels: cooking, feeding the inner man, paddy cat.
Thursday, September 11
Down Under
I am too down to post.
Too sad to do funny- either funny.
I am not sure why.
It could be the Black Dog, paying me back, for keeping him artificially, at bay .
Or it could be the tears that I have not cried, over the death of my beloved Aunt.
Whatever it is, it has to run it's course.
I see the glimmer of light, struggling behind that cloud.
I have to believe it will shine again on me.
For now, it is too dark.
To believe, or see.
Bread, He's A Good Lad.
Posted by meggie at 9/11/2008 09:36:00 a.m. 35 comments
Labels: clouds of black. black dog
Monday, September 8
Mystery & Intrigue
Here is another Lily. This one is not torn, & has a brown edge. The stems are very short, so they are quite hard to photograph.
Really, I am not sure if I like them or not, but the leaves are quite attractive.
We had SG here for the morning yesterday. His parents were both working, & so was his adult sister, so he came spend time with us. He was good really, got bored a couple of times. Nana's lecture about not being bored fell on deaf young ears! haha.
I had heard a peeping all morning, & went out side to discover this very young little baby Black Shrike, sitting in the Grevillea. His mother would come back every so often & stuff food down his little throat.
The dogs barking didn't seem to phase him & he only spooked when SG came roaring up the path.
I was sorry to see he had gone, & looked carefully about, then saw him sitting in the tree fern. I suspect his wings are underdeveloped, & he -or she- cannot fly very far.
SG came barrelling out when I pegged out the washing, so the little bird took off again. I lost track of it after that, but I could still hear it's little calls to the mother, & her piping replies. I hope it survives.
I am not very interested in politics. Irresponsible I suppose. I used to listen to my mother's heated rantings, & wonder why she bothered. A friend's husband used to stir her up- he loved to hear her sound off!
I vaguely remember my grandparents heated arguments. They each supported a different party. I think even way back then, I decided that it was not worth the agravation.
I have been dismayed over the past few days. The State's Premier has resigned, along with several others, & now there is a new Premier in place, along with a new Deputy- much being made of the fact that the Deputy is a woman! Gasp.
I watched some news item when the outgoing Premier was making his farewell speech or interview to media personnel. I did not particularly like or dislike the man. He looked humiliated, & sad, & as he strode off with his children & wife at his sides, I felt sorry for him.
I also felt angry that people who fall on their swords, or walk away, or are dismissed for whatever reason, seem to feel it necessary to flaunt their children, like some mantle or garb of protection. I cannot feel that it is fair to those children, to be paraded in that fashion.
They may choose to support the parent, but I don't think that choice is an option if you are 5 or 6 or even 8 years old.
Perhaps it is the bandaid for the wounds of leaving public office under a cloud. As if to say, 'well someone still loves me, someone respects me!' I wonder at the poor spouse. Does he/she feel they are being used?
I have often thought about this family factor, when watching political figures around the world. It seems a universal reaction.
I wonder about the children, & the effect it leaves on their lives. Do they suffer later? Do they feel bitter? used? Do they always remember the feeling of humiliation their parent had. Are they embarrassed by the public glare.
The 'Gorilla at the helm'
for want of a better title, feeling peeved as I am must have felt that our son has not been kicked enough, recently. His wallet fell out in a taxi & he had to cancel his weekend plans. Along with his cards, of various sorts. Calls to the taxi company held no offers of help. As he said, your whole life goes on hold, if you lose all those cards.
So Gorilla, just know that I would love to be able to Kick Back!
Augie March, Bottle Baby.
Posted by meggie at 9/08/2008 07:55:00 a.m. 16 comments
Saturday, September 6
Wouldn't it rot your socks!
I feel this weather would rot anyone's socks, - & probably while they are wearing them!
It has blown, & howled & rained all night! Great gusts of wind, trying the windows, & sneaking in cracks. Thrusting against tree trunks, forcing the palms almost double.
This is the dismal view from our lounge window. Grey on grey, with more grey for salsa.
We have watched all our taped & DVD entertainment. I am trying to locate some tempting books to read, but Gom, the
meddler Efficient, has taken them all out of the bookcase by the bed. grrrr.
No doubt they are squirrelled away down in the garage. It will take me a week of searching to locate them. *^%$$@!
No bread for toast in the house, meant I had to be creative, with my breakfast choices.
I actually dislike toast, it mostly tastes like cardboard. I also detest cereal, due I suspect to the sickening -as in vomit- effect of milk when I was young.
I decided to treat myself to hash browns, bacon & eggs, this morning.
As I cooked the bacon, I was swept back to my childhood, when my Grandmother used to cook us breakfast every morning, & made sure we left for school, with a full nourishing hot meal to begin our day.
I remembered how she used to cook the bacon in the huge cast iron frying pan, which was covered in pale green, cream speckled, enamel. It was a very heavy pan, & the bacon would crisp up nicely. To avoid the spatter factor, my Grandmother would take a sheet of brown paper, & tear a small hole in the center of it, then place it over the top of the pan.
I would watch as the grease spatters gradually turned the paper to 'greased' paper.
She would place the bacon on more brown paper, which was crinkled up, so that the bacon fat drained off, & place the plate in the oven, on the warming plates for our breakfast. Those days were before Paper towels had become a household staple. Groceries still came in brown paper bags, & the butcher wrapped the meat in nice clean sheets of white paper, with a final wrap of brown paper. No plastic to pollute.
The eggs were always cooked in the fat from the bacon, & she would ladle, flick, or spoon, the fat over the yolks, so they turned white, & were cooked, but not hard. We would usually have toast under the eggs, or beside the eggs.
We walked, or rode our bikes to school, so I suppose we burned off the fat! It was always butter for the toast too, as margarine was yet to be introduced to New Zealand.
Some days we had hot baked beans on toast, or tinned spaghetti, or creamed corn. And other days there would be poached eggs, or delicious scrambled eggs.
My tastes must be changing, because I was never one for sauces on foods. My mother loved Worcestershire Sauce, & we always had Tomato sauce in the cupboard, but I was happy not to use either.
I was never very keen on the taste of Worcestershire sauce, & when I became pregnant with my son, I could not stand the smell of it, & it is an aversion I have until this day.
My Mother & Father in law used to make delicious tomato sauce, & I did occasionally eat some on meat. We never did get the recipe from them, & so now it is lost to us forever.
Lately I have taken to having a little tomato sauce on bacon. I am surprised with myself.
When I think of my Grandmother, or my Mother & their cooking I am always reminded of words from a Phoebe Snow song, Sweet Disposition-
"You have got a sweet disposition,
Warm like the oven, in my mother's kitchen."
There must be 'something in the air'. I have just received an email from my Beloved Brother, with memories of the eggs I have been posting about!
Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here.
Posted by meggie at 9/06/2008 09:34:00 a.m. 23 comments
Labels: eggs. childhood, windy wet weather.
Thursday, September 4
The weather has turned snakey again. We had 2 teasingly beautiful days, with mild breezes, & warm sun, & no humidity. Perfection. Tricking us into believing in the myth of Spring.
It all turned to custard, however, with slushy sleet showers yesterday, rain during the night. Lazy winds, cutting right through your body. Outdoor activities to be avoided, where possible.
This pic of one of the measly crop of flowers on the vine. Others have these vines dripping solid walls of colour. This one never has produced that dreamed of wall of colour.
This small blossomed Azalea, a happy pink splash, somewhat overshadowed by the red Grevillea in our back garden. It struggles with the lace bug all over it's leaves, but still seems to valiantly produce a full array of flowers, in spite of neglect & crowding.
Some years ago, I took some lilly plants from a compost heap/wild garden in the untamed backyard at a house being rented, by acquaintances. I brought them home, & planted them in our garden. They initially threw up a few leaves, then seemed to vanish- for years! I know Gom was responsible for the destruction of some of them, but finally this year,
under threats from me, he restrained himself, they were left alone, long enough for them to develop. Imagine my surprise when I met the shy flower.
A light delicate green with the gentle yellow ?stigma?style?. How much of school biology I have forgotten! This is the second flower the group of plants have produced this year. The other group of plants seem to have vanished. I won't blame Gom. They might just be sulking...
Speaking of which...
I have long enjoyed Patricia Cornwell's books. I rather like the gory details & intrigue.
I am wondering though, if I am the only one who finds the 'romance' between Scarpetta & Benton somewhat tedious, for want of a better word.
They seem to deserve each other, both being written as given to arrogance & a certain disregard for the feelings of others. I am just finishing Predator. I have Trace waiting. I am unsure which was written first. I dont care, since I also find the BS about Lucy a little tedious too.
Bottom line, I dont really 'like' the characters any more. I used to rather like Marino, but even he has changed to someone who I am finding irksome?
In fact, I am beginning to wonder why I continue to read these books?
The detail to 'brand name' objects, the detail to guns, vehicles. Perhaps I
have got am getting old & crabby!
Yes, I do realise I could always stop reading her books!
In the same vein I have enjoyed Kathy Reichs' books. 'Bones', the TV show, has almost cured me of reading the books. I find the TV version so irritating I cannot watch it! I become enraged at it's seeming stupidity.
Sitting ranting at a TV screen is neither healthy nor attractive!
Much more fun, to find a kindred spirit & sit & rant with them, about all the TV shows, books etc, that we 'hate'.
That was one thing V & I could do in tandem. What fun we had, & how liberating.
Who says Little Old Ladies can't cuss! We could prove that wrong. Really it was healthy, cleansing, venting. How we laughed, & laughter is always good for everything that ails one! Plus no one got hurt, or offended.
My back seems to be determined not to improve much. So no sewing, not even any hand work.
I was born without the sport gene. Exercise & I have been sworn enemies for most of my life. I know that I need some form of exercise though, so am reluctantly thinking of (shudder) 'joining' something. Since I have a knee that needs replacement, walking it out. The idea of sitting solitary on an exercycle doesnt really appeal much.. although, perhaps if I had an ipod or something??
I did love swimming, & guess that would be my best avenue. But what the hell does a ruined body wear to 'swim exercise'? A tent would be good....
Sting, Fields of Gold
Posted by meggie at 9/04/2008 10:10:00 a.m. 25 comments
Monday, September 1
Murphy's Law again..
I had plans to photograph some of the lovely Spring blossoms about the neighbourhood.
I resolved to get some of the colourful 'art work' on walls.
Was never going to happen. I didn't know of course.
I am unwell, have an infection. Spent the day cringing about in agony, like some bent over old hag. Barely moving & in wrinkled agony. I caught sight of my face unexpectedly, & what a creased old mess!! Wizened springs to mind, except I am a bit too plump.
I couldn't make the Oven today. Could barely walk, so I dozed & read, & self medicated for pain until I could see the Dr for pain meds, & antibiotics.
Our son had to go for an endoscopy today. I felt sick when he told me what they found. I wished we had gone to collect him, & take him home. He has had so much trouble with his stomach, for such a long time. He has been to numerous Doctors seeking some answers.
This is the first time he has had an endoscopy. It seems he has really, really bad ulcers, so inflamed & raw, many are bleeding. He has to take 2 weeks medications then go back for another endoscopy.
He is relieved at last to have some answers. His pain level has been dreadful to see. I feel furious that he has spent so long trying to find some answers. It is as if no Doctors he consulted believed him. I guess that is why I believe in one 'family doctor' who is familiar with my body & it's foibles.
I will never get over being a mother. His father will never get over being his father.
Meanwhile, I have to say Gom has made me a wonderful tea, & he even gave me some of his Coffee chocolate. I am not a big chocolate eater, but I did appreciate this taste!
A friend plays Scrabulous online. She invited me to join her. Her current score is something in the 90's. Mine is a pitiful 27! I will have to engage my brain!
Today was beautiful. It was 24 degrees at one stage. Perfect 1st day of Spring. It is to be sh!te weather again by Wednesday, so I won't get too excited.
I am sure tomorrow might still be a nice day.
John Denver, Farewell Andromeda
Posted by meggie at 9/01/2008 09:07:00 p.m. 28 comments
Labels: sick of me. son. spring.


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Here's some news from the local Yucatan papers this week…
Hotel occupancy rates in Cancun were up 18% last weekend and 15,000 visitors arrived in Progreso on the first official Sunday of the vacation season. Retailers, service people, and public service agencies expect approximately 15,000 more visitors in Progreso next Sunday. Many of these visitors are Meridanos, who own second homes on the coast and who spend at least the month of August, if not July and August, in Progreso and other towns along the beach. This time of year is called La Temporada, and it is a Merida tradition.
Last Sunday night, at about midnight, Mama Sea Turtle decided that the beach along the malecon in Progreso would be a great place to lay her eggs. Needless to say, the police and ecology folks were called and took the eggs to a safe place when Mama headed back out to sea. Good job! …by Mama Sea Turtle, by the quick eyes of those on the beach, and by the police and ecology people.
Look out Izamal – here come the tourists! With the election of Chichen Itza as one of Seven New Wonders of the World, the eastern end of our state is going to see a rapid increase in tourism. A few years ago, Izamal was designated one of Mexico's Pueblos Magicos, and with that designation came an influx of money and attention. Now, this little municipality is loaded for tourism bear! With the help of Banamex, they have a new spa, called 'Three Cultures' at the Cultural Center. Here visitors can get massages, based on mystical practices from Mayan culture, that harmonize body and soul. All massages are done by well trained local Mayan women. The municipality also has a museum and a store, with almost every product and craft indigenous to the State of Yucatan. In addition, there is a cafeteria staffed by students who are learning the arts of cooking and operating restaurants from teachers and chefs. Izamal also has Hecho a Mano, another great craft store with handicrafts from around Mexico, as well as a calesa tour of the homes of the local craftspeople.
Did you know that Tizimín has a zoo? Yes! – it's in a recreational park and is named La Reina. This past week, three white-tailed venaditas (little female deer) were born there. One was born 15 days earlier and did not survive, but these three are in excellent health, as is their mother. Oscar Nah González, manager of the facility, assures us that there was a general cleaning of all the spaces these babies will occupy so that they will live and grow under the best conditions. They also have a mama turkey incubating 22 peacock eggs! Can you imagine? …and they have 15 more peacock eggs being incubated artificially. …and the authorities of the zoo have also found 25 lagartos eggs! For more information on the White-tailed Deer of Yucatan, see the website of the Rainforest Alliance.
Through the years, women have formed groups for various functions throughout the State of Yucatan. Some have more than 100 members and meetings are well attended. Yet, we have never seen as many women come together as did those who visited "Marine Breezes" (Brisas Marinas), a exhibition of floral designs by 30 members of Club de la Flor Alhelí. For this event, 300 women visited the summer home of the Millet Vales family, on the highway between Progreso and Uaymitún. Far from being just a little local floral club show, this event was attended by Lucia Gómez Lynx, of Mexico City, making her third trip to Yucatan to teach new floral design techniques to the members of the club. All flowers used for the show were cut by members in their own gardens and designs included a number of other elements, such as bamboo, all of which had been approved by Maestra María de Lourdes Muñoz Delgado, of the Federación Mexicana de Jardinería y Diseño Floral. With 300 ladies in attendance at one floral design show, something tells us that it won't hard to reforest – and maybe even landscape – the entire State of Yucatan!
New news on tree planting! According to Greenpeace-Mexico, our planting 250 million trees this year will only make up for about half the deforestation that is going on in the nation in this one year. If deforestation is taking place that fast, we can't do much about Mexico (or about the rest of the world either), but we can sure do something about Yucatan. Never mind about planting a tree… plant two trees!
Looks like that big old airport out at Kaua (Valladolid) isn't such a white elephant after all. Chichén Itzá was named one of the Seven New Wonders of the World on Friday night and 1,000 Spaniards landed there on Saturday. The airport is an international airport named Chichén Itzá. It officially opens in August and one of the first big planes to land there will carry 50 wealthy and powerful industrialists. They're coming with the resources to have a significant impact on life in that entire end of our state. Airlines, and investors in airlines, are jockeying for position in what is going to be a new tourism boom in Yucatan. Is this a good thing? Maybe… maybe not… just so long as we remember what happens when people are ignorant of – or ignore – history.
Don't swim in those artificial lagoons left over from road construction over around Progreso. Several local people have already lost their lives there. The lagoons don't seem to be that deep, but the depth is not marked. This could lead to someone hitting their head in shallow water that they assumed was deeper. In addition, some of these lagoons have broken through to the paths of the underground waterways that lead from the cenotes and/or to the Gulf.
Ticul needs blood donors, according to Juan Robert Ayuso Centurión, Hospital Director for El Comunitario. If you can help, why not drive down and donate? Its a nice drive and you'll be saving lives. Or if anybody has worked on blood drives before, how about organizing one to travel through the north end of the state? We gringos (visitors too!) do have a few skills we can bring to Yucatan and this just might be one of them.
We often forget that much of the population of Yucatan lives in isolated villages throughout the countryside. In many areas, children still suffer from infant malnutrition. When recently surveyed, it was discovered that 75% of Yucatan's two-year olds are deficient in height and weight, and 35% suffer from a delay in cognitive development, according to Abelardo Avila Curiel, a researcher for the Dr. Salvador Zubirán Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición. Six years ago, Yucatan had the greatest incidence of infant malnutrition in the nation. Today, we stand at number five from the bottom of the list. This is an big improvement, due in large part to a successful, state-implemented, public initiative that targets children under the age of two, but more needs to be done.
Rates of diarrhea, long a problem throughout the nation because of water quality, are improving dramatically throughout the State of Yucatan. Last year, rates among children, age five and under, decreased by 32% and decreased 18% among adults. This has taken a statewide effort in both education and infrastructure. Congratulations to the combined efforts of Health, Water, and Ecology professionals for this one!
The preference for whiskey, in Mexico, is growing by 30% per year. Target marketing is pushing this as a party drink to the 18 to 24 year old age group that is just finishing school and starting to work. With our new super-highways in Yucatan, there can be little surprise at the number of alcohol-related, fatal automobile accidents lately, mostly all young people and mostly all one car accidents at night.
If you take the free road between Merida and Chichen Itza, just to avoid paying a few dollars in tolls, be aware that the free road has a local name – La Via de Terror.
While we're on the subjects of alcohol and roads, it is strongly recommend that, if you are anywhere near the beaches of Yucatan, you have a designated driver with you. Just a little word of warning – the police (especially in Sisal and Celestún) are cracking down on driving under the influence. They have decided it is easier to stop your vehicle before you kill yourself and others, than it is to pick up the pieces after. So – have a good time, but remember to have a sober designated driver.
The people who live in Cancun are finding it increasingly difficult to enjoy their own beaches and just getting to the beach is listed as their biggest problem. Crowds of foreigners cover the beaches, fill the streets, and take up all of the parking places. Could this be a harbinger of things to come in Yucatan? It might be a good idea to begin early to think about ways to ensure that the people of Yucatan are never displaced from their own beaches.
All over Mexico, graduates of the best schools in various medical technologies and engineering are taking their degrees and leaving their home states. El Diario published the salaries of some professionals in Campeche, noting that "low salary" is listed as one of the reasons for this nationwide migration of the professional graduates of Mexico. Mining and Electrical Engineers make $12,822 per month ($1,187 USD). Graduates in Ecology, Environmental Engineering, and Atmospheric Sciences make $19,141 per month ($1,772 USD). These are the graduates who are most likely to move, as are people in biomedicine, accounting, and finance. Of the Library Sciences and Education graduates, almost all remain in their home states, in spite of very low wages, as do – oddly enough – physicians, who could easily leave for higher pay but choose to stay and serve their own people. Unfortunately, many college graduates (up to 80%), in Dance, Music, and the Arts, are not able to find full time work in their field. Since somebody has got to handle all that paperwork and all those databases, the fastest growing work sector in all of Mexico is public service and administration.
Quote of the Week: On the subject of the purpose of Animal Welfare Associations comes from Dr. Mariano Romero Méndez, president of the Asociación Yucateca Protectora de Animales: "It is not that we want to place animals on a plane that is superior to man; what we want is that man [through his capacity to be indifferent to the suffering of animals] does not descend to below the level of the beasts himself." Want to help some of the animals of the Yucatan? Donate to AFAD.

subset: commoncrawl


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Unlocking the Key to Deep Sleep
By Sarah Fenske
Making the Ferguson Commission Matter
By Danny Wicentowski
My Fake Boyfriend Became a Real-Life Crush
By Lindsay Toler
Rep. Jeffrey Pogue Bill Would Ban Unisex Bathrooms
By Danny Wicentowski
Darren Wilson Gives Speech to Nonprofit
By Danny Wicentowski
Angel Stewart and Other Victims of Violence Ask for Mercy
By Jessica Lussenhop
Obama Praises St. Louis' LaunchCode
By Lindsay Toler
By Lindsay Toler
It is perhaps time that your company should put its efforts toward building a moral fiber in the area instead of such sensationalism.
Deborah Wurdack
Buckley Up
Leave Jeff out of it: I typically find myself flipping to the music section first in the RFT. Your columns in particular bring me more than a few smirks. Today, however, I'm absolutely leveled at the thought that Rob Harvilla made me sit down and write a letter like the people I normally make fun of.
The headline "Die, Jeff Buckley, Die" [October 13] is absolutely inflammatory. You seem to credit Buckley with the kudos he is due and attack more rightfully his "estate" for the onslaught of Buckley releases since his untimely death. But couldn't you have left him out of it? They did.
Grace was an absolutely brilliant album. For me it serves as a shining example of all that's right with music and delivers without argument some of the most well-written and convincingly performed music I have ever heard. Sketches was completed and released postmortem, and I took it as such. I was grateful to have more, no matter the motive. You act as though Buckley himself has been giving orders from the afterlife to see to it that you are personally annoyed.
The likeness to Tupac you offered was apples and oranges at best. The mention of Kurt Cobain, though, was maligning and hateful. The sensationalism surrounding Cobain is akin to a car wreck with bodies strewn in every direction. He was without talent, without ambition and without the sense to ever rent Sid and Nancy, apparently.
Jeff Buckley did more than mend the image of the white guy in music, Mr. Harvilla. Unlike either Tupac or Cobain -- or for that matter substitute any deceased rock icon -- Jeff Buckley created a legacy based on one album, and did so without the benefit of major-market radio support. His last date in St. Louis was at the Hi-Pointe, for chrissake. I doubt if Jeff Buckley is benefiting by, any more than he is supervising, the reissues and rereleases of anything since Grace.
Aerosmith has made a career of recycling outdated crap, inundating the world with best-ofs and greatest hits and soundtracks -- and they still tour! Call them next time you want to bitch about "the evil machine." For now, though, I'll be happy to take any of the freebie Buckley promo stuff you're so angry about off your hands.
Bruce Eads
St. Louis
Troubling Symptoms
Fired when ready: I am a former employee of the St. Louis College of Health Careers whose employment was terminated one week before Lori Nichols was fired. I loved Shelley Smithson's article and believe she painted an exact portrait of the facts that represent the character of the institution ["Bad Medicine," October 6].
Although I was never asked to forge, cut and paste or participate in any illegal activity, the college's administrators certainly were well aware that I had knowledge of what was going on. Hence, I was fired two weeks before the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education's visit. I was ready to tell all, and they knew it.
Thank you for such a wonderful job!
Jason Henry
Malvern, Arkansas
Money for nothing: I graduated from the St. Louis College of Health Careers in May, after which I was supposed to go on an externship. When I got there, they didn't even know I was coming. I called the school and no one returned my call for a week. I never got to go on an externship and I have a certificate saying that I completed my courses.
A lot of the students in my class that I contacted after graduation do not work in the medical field and have to pay back all that money for nothing. That school is a rip-off. I think they should be closed down.
Qiana McNair
St. Louis
In Mike Seely's news story "No-Look Pass" last week, we erroneously stated that Saint Louis University political-science professor Ken Warren is black. Professor Warren is white. Additionally, in Jedidiah Ayres' "Riches for Bitches" blurb in Night & Day, we misidentified the Web address for the Metro East Humane Society. The correct address is www.mehs.org.
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This form allows to Log in to EldeScrollsOnline.info. You have two options: use your e-mail and password or Facebook account.
You can use the quick login through the social network, provided that you`ve already registered through the mail and tied some of the services to their account.
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I am looking at buying this laptop cos its cheap and I don't have much money
Anyway the graphics card and stuff is a AMD Dual-Core E1-1200 Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics. Would I be able to play anything decent or released this gen with a card like this? Obviously its not going to play Far Cry 3 on Max but is it even worth having?
Also if anyone has any good hints on a laptop under £400 that might be able to play some games - (it will mostly be for music, writing, internet etc) I would be grateful.
Don't know why the link didn't work - this is the lap top


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Invitation to Attend Lectures
The School of Pharmacy is extending an invitation to all pharmacists to attend any of the undergraduate Therapeutics lectures which are being taught in the School.
Please keep in mind that these lectures are focused for undergraduate students. They will provide you with a great overview and refresher on a specific topic and will cover the latest treatment guidelines.
Unfortunately, we have to restrict the number of pharmacists attending to a maximum of 5 so we ask that you pre-register with Heather Bugler (777-8300). This will guarantee your space and will ensure that handouts are available.
These are not accredited CE lectures but may qualify as non-accredited sources acceptable for CEUs as per the NLPB Standards of Pharmacy Practice for Continuing Pharmacy Education.
We hope that you can take advantage of this learning opportunity.
Clinical Faculty
MUN School of Pharmacy


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Buy Tickets Film Comment Double Feature
Show From Series
Saturday, September 21
Sunday, September 22
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Tuesday, September 24
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Film Comment Double Feature
December 02, 2014
Film Comment magazine resurrects the lost art of the double feature with monthly pairings of cinematic classics, cult and otherwise. Enjoy two films for the price of one! Read more »


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We were all waiting for it, even though it seemed like Motorola might not have any plans to release the Droid 2 outside of the United States. But thanks to an error on someone at Moto's part, for but a brief moment an official promotional video for the Motorola Milestone 2 found its way to YouTube. The video was subsequently pulled, but not before someone could get a quick screen grab for posterity's sake.
If you aren't familiar, the Milestone branding was applied to the original Droid when it launched to carrier around Europe, Canada, and smaller US carriers that weren't Verizon. The same will happen with the Droid 2 it looks like. Expect the Milestone 2 to carry an identical spec sheet and feature decidedly less dark and droning Droid advertising.
[via Engadget]
Continue reading:
- Motorola Milestone 2 (DROID 2 For Not-America
- European Motorola Milestone 2 Getting Android
- SIM-Free Motorola Milestone 2 Headed to the U
- Motorola Milestone 2 On Sale at Amazon German
TAGS: Motorola Milestone 2


text: Prev | Next Purchase this photo Billy Summers/The Putnam Herald Three-year-old Huntre Cossin smiles big on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, while grabbing an early dinner at McDonald's in Winfield. Gallery: Putnam in Pictures, Friday, Dec. 14 Dec. 14, 2012 @ 01:00 PM 2012/The Herald-Dispatch Did you miss something in Putnam County this week? Chances are, one of our photographers was there. ()


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Patriots 31, Broncos 21: Three Observations
The Broncos said they were prepared for the Patriots' über-quick tempo, in which they not only eschewed the huddle, but often snapped the football with 25 or 28 seconds left on the play clock at a pace that resembled Mike D'Antoni's seven-seconds-or-less Phoenix Suns — or Paul Westhead's Loyola Marymount teams and failed Nuggets squads of the early 1990′s — than anything seen in this sport.
In the first half, the Patriots ran a play every 22.6 seconds they had the ball — even quicker than the Broncos' rate of one snap every 25 seconds. New England often snapped the football with as many as 25-28 seconds left on the play clock, giving Denver's defense no chance to substitute — or even to catch its collective breath.
"It almost looked like we'd never seen it before, but we prepared for that all week. We've just got to make sure we carry things over from practice and meeting room to the game," said cornerback Champ Bailey.
Studying it in meetings and on the iPad-based playbooks was one thing. It was something else in person.
"It caught us off guard," said linebacker Joe Mays. "He knew they were fast; we knew they were going to get to the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage and hike the ball, but it's the difference from seeing it on film to playing against it. It's a lot different."
Simplistic? Yes. But the Broncos lugged a turnover ratio of minus-two onto the team buses Sunday, dropping them to minus-6 for the season, and have — amazingly — lost all seven fumbles they've committed this season.
While the dropped passes are down from the season-high six of two weeks ago, one led directly to a turnover on downs, when Willis McGahee — in the midst of his worst game as a Bronco — dropped an easy fourth-down catch in the right flat with 10:54 remaining and the Broncos trailing 31-14. Seven minutes and six seconds later, he fumbled.
"I've just got to be a better pro than what I've been doing lately. All I can say is that I can get better," McGahee said.
Joining McGahee in the one-fumble, one-drop column was Demaryius Thomas, who at least got his wobbles out of the way on the first series and rebounded with some magnificent receptions, including a one-handed, 30-yard catch late in the first quarter. But Thomas has lost fumbles in the open field in two consecutive games — and counting a fumble lost on the desperate last play against Houston on Sept. 23, has three fumbles in as many weeks. He also has three drops in the last three games after letting Manning's pass sail through his hands.
Worse was that McGahee and Thomas' fumbles came inside the New England 15-yard-line — which, in a 10-point loss, proved to be the difference. The Patriots lived up to their reputation as thieves; they now have 14 takeaways. The Broncos now have 10 giveaways this season — and have forced just four turnovers.
Denver's defense is designed to play from ahead and force takeaways. Rarely has it done either. It's no wonder that its form through five games has been disappointing.
And he's the by far the least of this team's issues – something John Fox already understands.
"I don't know if he's way up on the list of my worries, to be quite honest with you," Fox said. "This is a football team mixing it all together. You saw a week ago, we put it all together. I would have expected us to put it all together a little more this week and we fell short of that."
Expecting such a complete performance against the Patriots was unreasonable; the Patriots are as far removed from the Raiders as Boston is from Oakland on a map. But Manning did just fine; the lost fumble didn't help, but he had a typical Manning game: 31-of-44, 345 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 116.2 rating that was 11.6 points higher than Brady's.
Through five games, Manning has completed 66.0 percent of his passes and his per-game average performance is 26.0 completions in 39.4 attempts for 301.4 yards and 2.2 touchdowns and 0.6 interceptions. Why point these numbers out? Because Manning is on pace to set Broncos single-season records for yardage, attempts, completions and touchdown passes and just a whisper off pace in quarterback rating.
The doubts about Manning's effectiveness at the age of 36 after four neck surgeries are fading. The questions now revolve around his supporting cast, and whether it can reach something close to Manning's level.
Manning, to his credit, is trying to keep the faith.
"Well, I stick with them. I told Willis after the fumble and the other fourth down when we had it, and I told Demaryius after that — I'm with them," Manning said.
He has no other option — although at this point, it's easier for Manning to drag his offensive teammates closer to his plateau than the defense, which allowed the Patriots to amass a club-record 35 first downs — the most ever allowed by the Broncos in a regular-season game.


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WHITLEY COUNTY, Ind. — Whitley County's Coroner identified the body of a man who was found in a wooded area in Whitley County Wednesday night.
The man has been identified as Dillon Travis Warner, of Fort Wayne.
Coroner Randy Dellinger said the cause and manner of death are uncertain, pending complete autopsy results.
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ANAHEIM, CA (May 27, 2010) -
Moody's , Standard & Poor (S&P), and Fitch Rating Agencies recently completed credit reviews of Anaheim Public Utilities as part of the utility's participation in the Canyon Power Project, a 200-megawatt generating facility financed through the Southern California Public Power Authority. The three rating agencies affirmed ratings of Aa3/AA-/AA-, and with those ratings Fitch also moved Anaheim Public Utilities from a negative to a stable outlook.
"In this current economy, to receive such high remarks and recognition from the rating agencies is a testament to our utility's structural strength and innovative business plan," said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle.
In their credit reports, Moody's, S&P, and Fitch recognize Anaheim Public Utilities for having:
· a deep and diverse economic base
· a mature blend of industrial, commercial, and residential development
· a diverse power portfolio with a growing renewable energy component, which is achieving and exceeding renewable energy goals
The rating agencies have long recognized the City and its overall economic strength as a driving factor for the excellent ratings the electric utility received.
"Anaheim Public Utilities itself is widely recognized for having very competitive rates compared to neighboring investor-owned utilities" (Moody's), and Anaheim Public Utilities' residential retail rates "are among the lowest of any municipal utility in Southern California" (S&P). Anaheim Public Utilities maintains rate-setting authority and thus is able to conservatively manage finances with "implemented sound risk management procedures" (Moody's).
The Canyon Power Project definitely benefitted from these positive ratings—as the Canyon Power Project bonds recently sold at an amazing overall interest cost of 3.91%, the lowest cost ever achieved by Anaheim for 30-year money. Moody's and S&P, in particular, recognized the value of a local power resource for Anaheim Public Utilities. As described by S&P, The Canyon Power Project will provide "firm capacity and energy to help meet its native load requirements, reduce market dependence, reduce California Independent System Operator local capacity requirement fees, provide quick-response ability to meet changes in customer demand, and provide reliable firming of wind and hydro resources."
ABOUT ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITIES For more than 100 years, Anaheim Public Utilities has served Anaheim water and electric customers with low rates and reliable service. Anaheim Public Utilities is Orange County's only publicly owned water and electric utility.
ABOUT ANAHEIM The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation's premier municipalities and is California's 10th most populous city. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 2,100 City employees. The municipal corporation's annual budget is $1.3 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as CKE Restaurants, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, Anaheim Arsenal, and the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning USA Men's Volleyball team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.


text: The Recycling Industry Operating Standard has named Jeremy Miller of William Miller Scrap Iron & Metal Co. in Winona to its Board of Directors for a three-year term. RIOS is the recycling industry's management system standard for quality, environment, and health and safety. Specifically designed for the recycling industry, it integrates the key operational elements found in other standards, bringing them together into one streamlined management system. Miller said he looks forward to the opportunity to learn from other experts in the industry as well as to bring some of his family's knowledge to the Board. Miller Scrap is to always looking for ways to become better at what it does. Jeremy Miller is a fourth-generation recycler, serving as the Chief Financial Officer of the family owned business. Today, the company has 20 employees.


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Narragansett, R.I. -- June 7, 2000 -- The URI Narragansett Bay Classroom
at the Graduate School of Oceanography is offering an exciting new course
for teachers who want to experience exploring coastal environments first-hand
and gain valuable insight on how to incorporate coastal ecology into their
"Coastal Ecosystem Exploration" will be held on three consecutive
Mondays, July 10, 17, and 24. The July 10 and 24 class will meet from 9
a.m. to 2 p.m., and the July 17 class will meet from noon to 5 p.m. For
each meeting, teachers will participate in a classroom session at South
Laboratory on the Narragansett Bay Campus and then travel to a field location.
Led by URI Outreach Scientists, participants will learn about the plants
and animals that live in a Rhode Island salt marsh, explore a coastal pond
ecosystem aboard a coastal vessel, and examine the unique creatures that
reside in a tide pool.
The cost for taking "Coastal Ecosystem Exploration" is $120
per person. A for-credit option to earn graduate credits to satisfy Rhode
Island teacher certification requirements is also available. For further
information about the for-credit option, course content, or registration
procedures, call URI's Office of Marine Programs at 401-874-6211.
Contact: Lisa Cugini, 874-6642, firstname.lastname@example.com
Copyright © 1999
University of Rhode Island
more information about this site, contact firstname.lastname@example.com
File last updated: Saturday, February 24, 2001
The University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity
All rights reserved. URL: http://www.uri.edu/news/


text:
Hévíz: Attractions and more...
During the winter the temperature of the lake reach 25 deegres, quite pleasant, so you can have a lot of fun, having baths in there!
On summer temperature 32 deegrees (too much!).
The town has an abundance of different types of accommodation ranging from Four Star Hotels to quaint little Pensions or for those of you who like to travel "Al Fresco" there is plenty of self-catering apartments that come very well equipped.
There are no particular attractions in this small city, but nature is the maker of unforgettable landscapes on the forests: you cannot miss to see the lake, because there is a concentration of substances from curative effects at low price.


text:
Surely the finest movie ever made featuring a wisecracking robot and Fisher Stevens in South Asian makeup, Short Circuit holds a special place in our adolescent moviegoing memory. (There is nothing more awesome to a 12-year-old boy than a robot saying "Nice software!" to a naked Ally Sheedy.) If you're like us but way richer, perhaps you'd like to bid on the original full-size Johnny Five robot that's going to be auctioned on eBay starting August 3.
Complete with the exoskeleton used to control the robot during filming — though the listing is (deliberately?) vague about whether Johnny Five still works — the robot has an estimated sale price of $100,000 to $150,000. This may seem like a lot, but don't forget that Steve Guttenberg is going for about $200 these days, so it'll still be quite affordable to film your long-gestating script of Short Circuit 3 in the backyard.
Just promise us that if you do win the auction, No disassemble!
Original full-size Johnny Five robot from Short Circuit [eBay]


text:
Originally Posted by Diapositivo
I think you mean palette, although a skin tone can be very palatable as well
Astia is as far as I know derived from Accurate Skin Tone, Ast... followed by the suffix "ia" which become the Fuji way to say "film" (actually meant to say "slide film" but then way "Superia" is a negative film? I don't understand that).
Astia isn't available any longer... Lol
And you're right, I'm a horrible speller
Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk


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Jerry Wear named Rotary district governor
Twenty-eight years ago, Jerry Wear got involved with the Pigeon Forge Rotary Club, and he was quickly convinced of its importance in the community and abroad. On Wednesday, Wear became only the second Sevier Countian to be named district governor elect. Presiding over Rotary District 6780, Wear will oversee 63 clubs.
In a speech following his pinning at the Holiday Inn, Wear emphasized the importance of individual members and noted that of the myriad of projects undertaken by the organization, they are most recognized locally for their community involvement and support of schools.
Addressing Rotary Club members at Wednesday's meeting, he said, "It's members like you that make Rotary Club great. I'm very appreciative that you gave me this opportunity and I hope I live up to your expectations."
Wear has numerous goals that he'd like to achieve during his year as district governor. Globally, his primary ambition is the eradication of polio. Since 1985, Rotary club members have helped immunize over two billion children against polio, and with only 77 cases of polio diagnosed this year, the club is well on its way to reaching its goal of a polio-free world.
Another project important to Wear is the Heart 2 Heart Mission, which provides philanthropic service to Mexico through grant projects, providing water tank systems for grade schools and kidney transplants for young adults and teens. Renal failure is prevalent in Mexico.
Wear further hopes to aid Mexico in efforts to develop a rainwater harvesting system that will enable a three-month growing period for crops. "Starvation is the biggest killer besides disease in Mexico," Wear said.
In addition to the club's international focus, the organization is active locally, as Wear pointed out. The group's current local focus is on building a playground at Wear Farm Park that will be accessible to all children, including those with physical handicaps.
"We want brothers and sisters to be able to be together and play, and it won't be for just Pigeon Forge residents, it will be for our visitors and for everyone in the Sevier County Community as well," he said.
Working with youth is important to Wear, who said that over 600 students attended the Interact Conference last year. In additon, Rotary Club provides annual high school scholarships to seniors at Pigeon Forge High School.
"The Rotary Club really does a lot for the community, and they do it secretively," Wear said. They probably should be more outspoken about what they are doing. There are five Rotary Clubs in Sevier County, and they all give free dictionaries to third grade students."
Rotary Club member Laurie Taylor, who works as director of sales and marketing at Country Tonite Theatre, said, "The club is very honored and proud to have Jerry Wear in this position. He really is Mr. Rotarian, and I know he will be a huge asset to the group." n


text:
Hang tight!
Recipe by TheThreeDogKitchen
"Tender pastry cups with a tasty chocolate pecan filling. You will need a mini muffin pan to make these. "
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1/2 cup
1 (3 ounce) package
cream cheese
1 cup
all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon
1 (1 ounce) square
unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup
packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
1 cup
chopped pecans
2 tablespoons
confectioners' sugar
Thought they were pretty easy to make, although the crust could have used more oomph. My husband couldn't get enough.
Made two batches over Thanksgiving weekend and we ended up having dessert one evening with slightly sweetened whipped cream. We just dipped them in and yum!
Not really worth the trouble they took to make.
6 Ratings
Wonderful, light, flakey crust. The chocolate flavor gives these cookies their special compliment to the cream cheese crust.
Tedious to make. Filling was like a dry, bland brownie. Bummer. Crust was ok & I might try it w/a different filling--lemon maybe.
These are DELICIOUS! I added extra cream cheese frosting (obviously w/ a little red, white, and blue food dye for the 4th of July), and, although it made them very rich, it was a fun treat and a surprising hit! Great recipe, ThreeDogKitchen.
I made them without the confectioners sugar and the inside turned out very bland. I just tasted the cocoa and crunch. The shell was also very dry.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Chocolate Pecan Tassies
Serving Size: 1/36 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 36
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 86
Calories from Fat: 58
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Meatloaf is the hearty, family-pleasing meal that makes the greatest leftovers ever.
Delicious recipes, party ideas, and cooking tips! Get a year of Allrecipes magazine for $7.99!
See how to make tasty pastry cups filled with chocolate and raspberry jam.
Put a sweet, chocolate twist on classic pecan pie with this recipe.
A few chocolate chips will take rich, gooey pecan pie to amazing new heights.


text:
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Hawks Ridge Assisted Living Community on the Heights hosts a health fair Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the second floor. The fair is open to the community.
Hawks Ridge is located at Eighth and Pacific streets, just east of Rosauers.
The event starts with an 8:30 a.m. continental breakfast, courtesy of Pine Street Bakery and Hood River Coffee Co.
Here is the list of presenters and topics scheduled for the fair:
n 9 a.m. — "Low-Impact Chiropractic," with Marla St. John, DAC, of Hood River Chiropractic
n 10 a.m. — "Denture Health for your health," with Hood River Dental
n 11 a.m. — "Acupressure for pain and stress relief," Janice Lee, LAC with Cascade Acupuncture
n Noon — Lunch hosted by New York City Sub Shop
n 1 p.m. — "Nutrition & Seniors," with Maureen Sprague, licensed dietician from Providence
n 2:30 p.m. — "Range of Motion, with Joleen Wampler, licensed massage therapist
n 3 p.m. — "Fall Prevention," with Clint Harris, physical therapist with Tim Foley PT


text:
Todd falls from contention, says he'll still gain from Open
Brendon Todd's first U.S. Open Championship, being played in his home state where he was a three-time high school state champ not too far up the road from Pinehurst, was going great until his first-ever U.S. Open weekend round on Saturday afternoon.
Paired with tournament leader Martin Kaymer, who took a six-shot lead into the day at a record-setting 10-under par, Todd found trouble two holes into his round and it never turned around for the tour pro from Cary and Green Hope High grad.
Following a double-bogey six on No. 7, Todd had put bogey or worse up five times already and had gone from four under par beginning his afternoon to one over. Four more bogeys in a five-hole stretch, Nos. 11-15, took Todd entirely off the leaderboard and he finished with a 79.
Todd didn't chalk the rough day up to nerves. He said he was more nervous while winning the HP Byron Nelson Championship, his first PGA Tour victory, in May.
"I mean, Dallas, for sure, 17, 18 there was pretty nerve-wracking. Even the first tee shot on the Saturday in Dallas I remember being nervous," Todd said.
"I kind of got that out of my system and felt pretty good today," he said.
Todd, who has plenty of experience at Pinehurst dating back to his high school and junior successes, thought the course was set up tough, then momentum went bad quickly for him.
"Yeah, the pins were very aggressively set, especially early on, on the back corners," he said.
After three straight bogeys, nothing went right the rest of the way.
"In a U.S. Open, for sure," he said when asked about the difficulty of turning momentum around in a major, and on a course such as this.
"There's no chance to hit the ball close when the pins are tucked like that. You never get that birdie to get your momentum going back the other way," Todd said.
Todd, who shot rounds of 69 and 67 to play in the last pairing yesterday can still make it three good rounds out of four at his first U.S. Open. Falling out of contention is obviously disappointing, though he says he will still gain a lot from this week.
There is likely to be another huge gallery for Todd to play in front of in the final round. He'll have his local supporters and he's paired with Phil Mickelson.
"That's impossible to separate from the experience, for sure, because we play golf tournaments to win," he said. "But still, it's cool to have fans out there. It's cool to be in the final group at the U.S. Open. All in all, I'll take a lot from it."


text:
What Tony Blair needs to know
The Food and Farming Commission will report to the PM by Christmas. Stefan Jarmolowicz asked leading
The Food and Farming Commission will report to the PM by Christmas. Stefan Jarmolowicz asked leading
by Stefan Jarmolowicz Published
Richard Burge Chief executive, Countryside Alliance
The commission should think along the lines of putting forward proposals to turn the Common Agricultural Policy of "volume subsidies" into something more practical. We should get rid of the existing CAP and replace it with something that will aid all the rural community. It's about time we started looking abroad. Many of the successful projects I've been involved with were in Asia, and look at some of the successes France has had in its rural communities, where farmers have been able to come up with solutions themselves. The commission has to be radical, but not to the extent that things are not practical. I have a sneaking suspicion that this commission is ready for change.
Second, I would like to see recommendations to ensure and sustain opportunities for employment. We need to make sure that jobs are emerging from farming that can go to locals, diversifying their opportunities. Many of the jobs are either high-grade technicians or security guards; sometimes their pay is two-thirds of the minimum wage. We really need to ensure that farming can provide profitable livings for everyone.
Vickie Swales Head of Agriculture, RSPB
In the short term, there is certainly scope for Defra to make increased funding available in order to diversify the quality of food produce coming from our farms. It's really crucial that the government recognises that food production is the link between social, environmental and economic needs. Funding is the key. We would like to see significant funds made available for integrated rural projects and agri-environment schemes. We've worked closely with projects such as those in Bodmin and the Bowland project in Yorkshire, which are prime examples of how farmers have worked successfully to integrate themselves into the rural community, and have not intensified their farms, and have farmed in more wildlife-friendly ways. To do this, the government has to ensure that advice is available on the ground. Farmers have been told for so long how to run things that asking them to do things radically differently means setting up government training schemes.
Unfortunately, all this is going to take a lot of money and investment from the government. So the longer-term aim has to be reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which will hopefully free up the money needed to maintain these agri-environment schemes and achieve greater integration at a grass-roots level.
Tony Banks MP
First, we need to get some economic sense in organising our agricultural industry. You don't need to be a screaming Thatcherite to realise that the current economics just do not make sense. The agricultural industry gets more subsidies than anything else, but let's face it, tourism contributes much more to GDP than agriculture. It employs more people as well. Paying farmers not to grow things seems completely nonsensical. If we can rethink the economics, it will give us a good opportunity to rethink our entire rural policy and allow us to concentrate on restoring the countryside for the enjoyment of everyone. There is so much talk about not chopping down the rainforest - well, why not apply the same sort of thinking to our own countryside? We should employ the farmers also to be custodians of their land, and make sure that the countryside is a valuable source of eco-tourism.
Second, we should take the opportunity to reform the husbandry of animals. Animal welfare should be a paramount concern, and I think that intensive farming is both damaging and degrading, not only to the animals themselves, but also to us, because we're poisoning ourselves.
Julian Morris Co-director, Environment and Technology Programme, Institute of Economic Affairs
Farmers still feed from the subsidy trough, to the detriment of consumers and the environment alike. Environmental and consumer groups thrive on fear and tend to exaggerate the risks of modern agriculture. Organic producers and retailers benefit from these scares and have sought to claim - in spite of much evidence to the contrary - that their food is safer and more environment-friendly than other types of food. If this odd coalition had its way, Britain would be turned into a museum of 19th-century farming supported mostly by the state.
What should be done? A radical approach would be to acknowledge that the primary sources of trust in matters of food safety and quality are the brand manufacturers and retailers. In a competitive market, these organisations have strong incentives to ensure that the food they supply is safe, nutritious, plentiful and cheap. While the drive to reduce costs might in principle create incentives to cut corners, reputation and the threat of legal action would, to a very large extent, keep these in check. Tesco's swift and absolute response to the presence of E coli on a consignment of organic mushrooms last year is in stark contrast to Maff's slow and inadequate initial responses to BSE and foot-and- mouth.
More importantly, though, the subsidies must stop. And that means "environmental" subsidies, too. Those who want to preserve the British countryside as a museum can do so by donating money to one of the many charities that favour such an approach, but don't expect the rest of us to pay for it.
Patrick Holden Director, Soil Association
The top priority is to recognise that public health is directly connected to agricultural practices. Intensive farming is both directly and indirectly responsible for all these food scares. It is the underlying cause, and we believe that this will be the cause of public health problems for years. Many of these are in the pipeline; it's a long-term problem. There is practically no one on the Food and Farming Commission representing this interest, and the connection has got to be addressed.
Second, the government has got to have the courage to be radical. Previous ministerial reports have just gathered dust on the shelf, doing nothing more than upholding the status quo with an insignificant green "tint". If this commission is going to make a difference, it's going to have to have the courage to bring about change. Even when we have a crisis like foot-and-mouth and the government is presented with a better alternative, namely vaccination, it just doesn't do anything. Trying to stop the super-tank is going to be a real challenge, but it's got to happen. Think the unthinkable, and put it into practice tomorrow.
Kate Parminter Director, Council for the Protection of Rural England
The countryside cannot wait for the CAP to reform itself; the government needs to make changes now. We would like to see more money diverted from the CAP to the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), which gets money out to aid rural support. At the moment, the government diverts 2 per cent of farm subsidies delivered by the CAP into the ERDP. The commission should ensure that up to 20 per cent of EU farm subsidies is directed into the ERDP - this is critical.
The other piece of advice is that the commission should recognise that local food, which is largely ignored in the national setting, is crucial to rural economies. Local food accounts for up to 70 per cent of produce in rural areas, and the government must evaluate its importance, not least for employment purposes. If there is higher local employment, then it will link with the natural beauty and tranquillity of the countryside to make a marketable commodity.
Unless the commission recognises the importance of this sector, the monolithic food chain will remain the status quo.
David Coleman Director, Countryside Agency
There are two audiences that the commission, and hence the government, will need to speak to. The first is the public, and it is critical that this report sets out a new vision or framework for food and farming in England, not just confined to the issues of food safety and food security. This vision needs to engage the consumer and show that, when you put something into your supermarket trolley, you are actively influencing decisions about the future of the countryside. This was illustrated by the case of foot-and-mouth. It's important that the public are made aware of their role as consumers in supporting an attractive, lived-in countryside. They can either help or hinder this.
The second audience the commission needs to speak to is young people. We need to encourage young people to take up careers in the countryside, not just as farmers, but in a broader role as well. It's a worrying statistic that the average age of farmers is 58. Even before foot-and-mouth, young people had no vision of a career in farming. We need to attract young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs in the next ten or 20 years, or there's going to be a huge decline.
Elin Jones Shadow secretary for agriculture and rural development, Plaid Cymru
The commission has to recognise that the basis for the future of agriculture has to be food production. Food, in a Welsh context, should concentrate on quality: reared on grass, not through intensive but extensive farming. We cannot compete with the world markets, so farming has to become localised. The commission has to recognise and ensure that the issues of land use, providing environmental goods and access to the countryside can live side by side in a local setting.
Second, employment in the countryside is very important. There is so much depopulation in rural areas, and so many job losses, that the government should look to maintain agricultural employment as part of rural economic development. Agriculture shouldn't become a practice devoid of humans.
Martin Haworth Policy director, National Farmers' Union (NFU)
We have to ignore anyone who claims to have a simple answer to the future of farming in this country. There will be dozens beating a path to the door, claiming that the future lies in farmers' markets, or managing the countryside, or organics, or diversification. All these are important. But the truth is that if farming is to have a viable future, it will have many different futures. There are scores of potential markets open to farmers. For some, it will continue to be in traditional production for traditional markets; for others, it will be in producing speciality foods and capturing more of the value in the food chain. Some will be able to produce new crops for new markets, particularly renewable raw materials and energy; yet others will provide services to society in the form of environmental or landscape enhancement. The key will be to enable farmers to respond to these markets effectively.
Second, the commission must not forget that farming is a business. Society does have special claims on farmers, both because it provides them with a lot of public money and because farmers occupy about 80 per cent of the land area in this country. But the view that farmers can and should be infinitely regulated and directed is a dangerous illusion. The more that farmers are denied the opportunity of making a reasonable return in the market place, the more they will be thrown back to reliance on the public purse. This can result only in ever-growing subsidies or greatly fewer farmers; or probably both.
Michael Jack Tory MP, member of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
When people talk of reforming the CAP, it usually involves reducing or stopping subsidies. But this would take £3bn away from UK agriculture. The commission needs to consider what the impact of that would be: how would we cope with a New Zealand-style no-subsidy regime? We are constantly told that farmers have a stewardship role, so money has to be reinvested to cater for this. But the commission has to first ask themselves whether they want a perfectly manicured countryside or whether it is just a case of pulling up weeds and keeping it tidy? When they have decided that, then they can decide on how best to finance it. The other knock-on effect of a no-subsidy system would be on horticulture. Horticulture receives paltry subsidies, yet is an essential part of agriculture. In East Anglia, horticulture dominates, and has shown in both land use and employment that it can be the way forward. So the commission has to decide what sort of exit strategy will be put in place for both horticulture and agriculture should subsidies be reduced.
Second, the commission should look at how British farmers can co-operate properly. If you look across Europe, then co-operation, in terms of both marketing and vertical integration, is the norm. Yet, in Britain, we have this stoic independence - "I can make it on my own". We should explore this pysche, and then change it so that farmers take responsibility for their own value-added chain.
Caroline Lucas MEP, South East Region (Green Party)
We need big ideas and fundamental change. That means replacing the outdated CAP with a new agricultural system based on the relocalisation of our food supply, limiting the needless transport of food by meeting our basic needs from closer to home. Key elements of this approach would be policies designed to prioritise shorter supply routes and regional markets; the introduction of eco-taxation to internalise the environmental costs of damaging and unsustainable production methods; and support to farmers, enabling them to shift from intensive to extensive systems, including organic agriculture, and an end to the export of live animals.
Second, the commission will have to expose the contradictions that are already inherent in its mandate. The mandate asks for advice on how to make farming more sustainable and better able to meet higher animal-welfare standards, while simultaneously being more competitive in international markets. Yet the message I'm getting from farmers is clear: under the current economic system, it is simply impossible to do both at the same time. If we want higher standards, the government must be prepared to protect them from cheaper imports from countries with lower standards. That will involve hard negotiations at the World Trade Organisation, which currently prohibits countries from distinguishing between products on the basis of production.
Yet challenging this rule is essential: the ability to distinguish between different production methods is central to the task of achieving sustainable development.
Kevin Hawkins Commercial director, Safeway plc
I would like to see the commission focus on the following issues: How can we increase the general awareness of how the food supply chain works? Much comment in the media tends to assume that only two parties are involved - farmers and retailers - to the exclusion of the various stages in between. In reality, the process that separates the farmer and the grower from the final consumer is complex, costly and, in some cases, inefficient. The commission must look very hard at how the supply chain can be shortened and made more responsive to consumers.
Is there a long-term future for smaller farms and food processors, given the growing importance of scale economies at all stages of the food supply chain? Personally, I believe there is, but to secure it we will need a more integrated supply chain, particularly between farmers and processors.Otherwise, those small to medium-sized businesses that can neither compete in commodity markets nor offer any specialist, niche products will go to the wall.
What can all of us do to help regenerate rural communities? There is no magic solution, but if farmers, manufacturers, retailers and the government get round the table, we could do something constructive. We look to the commission for some practical ideas.
Bob Bansback Corporate strategy director, Meat and Livestock Commission
The commission needs to ensure that there are clear recommendations on the future policy framework for the red meat sector, such that all parts of the chain can plan ahead with greater certainty. Second, in circumstances where the red meat industry accepts the need for change, it needs to see commitment from all parties to ensure that these changes result in improved returns for all parts of the supply chain.
Robert Vint National co-ordinator, Genetic Food Alert
While civil society - consumers, small farmers and environmentalists - want to defend local food production and sustainable, humane and healthy farming by keeping it in the hands of small and organic farmers, most western governments seem dedicated to GM crops, global trade and the corporate control of agriculture. World Trade Organisation policies support this insane process by preventing nations from setting high health, safety or environmental standards, and by preventing information about the real quality of food from appearing on labels - but they do nothing to stop government subsidy of agrochemicals. While the public want improved standards, globalisation forces nations into a race to cut all standards in order to survive in the global market.
Bruce Friedrich Senior campaign co-ordinator, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Primarily, I want to stop the dependence on animal agriculture, not only because of the brutality shown to animals, but also because of the potential effects on humans. But it's really the animals I'm concerned with. Take chickens. Due to genetic engineering, some of these chickens have gross deformities before they are even two months old. By seven weeks, they're crippled with heart problems and deformed legs, which isn't really surprising given that they are growing at six or seven times the normal rate.
This is putting profit over principle to an unimaginable degree. Incredibly, chickens and other poultry are not even afforded the protection of the Animal Welfare Act or the Humane Slaughter Act. Every year, producers, for whom profits override common decency, subject five to six billion chickens to misery beyond belief. We have a barbaric situation where chickens are conscious while their throats are slit. This simply isn't on. Related to this would be to overview and reform the slaughterhouse system in its entirety. The commission needs to pressurise the government into following the European model of outlawing battery cages and enacting more humane laws to protect hens. The government should legislate to outlaw this brutal cage system and ensure that more comfortable and healthy nests are built. Our breeding systems need a complete overhaul.
Malcolm Hepworth Retail controller, Co-operative Group
As a consumer-owned organisation that is not only a food retailer but also a major farmer and dairy, we believe the commission must start from what consumers want from the food and farming industries, and must work to promote a new spirit of co-operation between these related industries to meet the needs of consumers. But the real focus must be on achieving a thriving rural economy. The commission must call now for an end to production-based subsidy regimes, and ensure that, from here on in, the Common Agricultural Policy is directed away from production and into rural integration and safeguarding the countryside and the environment.
Interviews by Stefan Jarmolowicz


text:
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