What's the Story in Dalamory » sausages http://www.freda.org.uk Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:37:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Picnics http://www.freda.org.uk/2011/06/06/picnics-2/ http://www.freda.org.uk/2011/06/06/picnics-2/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:39:15 +0000 freda http://www.freda.org.uk/?p=4704 Continue reading →]]> Picnics are one of my greatest pleasures; I remember sandy sandwiches as a toddler and what I thought was sheer sophistication – salmon out of a tin eaten with plastic forks and washed down with orange juice. The fact that it rained most of that day failed to dampen my spirits but of course fair weather is always welcomed for picnics nowadays. As you can see from the photo above, we have tremendous spots nearby. This one is a favourite spot for a thermos of coffee after walking the dog.

When the children were young most of the picnics were on beaches and usually involved collecting wood, making a fire and cooking sausages. We didn’t often have the “lashings of ginger beer” that End Blyton talks of, but on occasion a thimbleful of pink martini made an excellent aperitif.  Friends joined in and we soon formed an encampment staked out with windbreakers, seats and rugs. Mosts of the beaches were of the deserted but beautiful and inaccessible type, so we might have had to carry cool-box, drinks and accoutrements a long way and even down a cliff.

Nowadays, picnics are more sedate varying from today’s dog walk followed by afternoon drinks to a full meal parked up in the campervan. Having doggy company is de rigeur, as is the boiled egg with a twist of salt.

Undernoted is a picture of cairn being where a cairn should be……. dreaming of picnics past and future. Where was your favourite picnic place? Or maybe you don’t like them.

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]]> http://www.freda.org.uk/2011/06/06/picnics-2/feed/ 4 The beginning of the ending http://www.freda.org.uk/2010/07/24/the-beginning-of-the-ending/ http://www.freda.org.uk/2010/07/24/the-beginning-of-the-ending/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:20:38 +0000 freda http://www.freda.org.uk/?p=3480 Continue reading →]]> Family #2 come home from their hols today, so animal duties more or less finish for another year. Him behind the Wheel has done the lion’s share – I’ve been pack leader for the dogs. The littlest farm dog has been away boating whilst the big lab and the fluffy mixture, (both of senior years) have stayed with us; hence Misty’s crush on the big dog. I am banking on sea-sickness keeping the Jack Russell calm when she is brought back into the mix. Dogs teach us a lot about getting on together: 1) If you are in doubt about your neighbour’s mood, stalk round him or her on tall legs with a tall tail, till you know the lie of the land. 2) Be prepared to join in the fun whatever your age. Fluffy dog’s sudden burst of speed yesterday was a joy to behold.  And finally, 3) Enjoy the moment and nap whenever bored or tired.

The other significant thing this year has been the presence of last year’s Gloucester Old Spot pigs. Last year they were pushing and snorting and looking for juicy morsels of food; this year they were being made into sausages. HBTW came from a long line of butchers, so stuffing sausage skins helped him feel close to his Dad who died some 30 years ago. The sausages taste brilliant, by the way.

All in all it has been a very good break from our usual routine, and with the added bonus of being able to be useful. I’ve had to dot around at a much slower pace than the better half, but that is OK. The main thing is to enjoy the scenery, take wee trips to the beach, and gather souvenirs of beach glass to add to the collection.

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