test please delete

[NickFitz]

Afternoon denizens

Cloudy but mild out at 12°C, no rain, barometers up at 1010/1018mB

No Monkey Life on the telly today

[DoctorStrangelove]

Afternoon denizens

Cloudy but mild out at 12°C, no rain, barometers up at 1010/1018mB

No Monkey Life on the telly today

Evening all

Hello hello hello, wot's going on 'ere then?

Monkey Lifeless.

[ladymuck]

I had a close call with the mincemeat. The recipe said to simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. I didn't read the second part of that instruction and just chucked a lid on, set a timer for 10 minutes and sat down with a cuppa. Cue a distinct burning smell some time later.

Turns out the high sugar content from the fruit and light brown muscovado doesn't take nicely to being left over a low heat and I should have done that occasional stirring as instructed.

I extracted the majority of the mixture and left the lower layer that was trying its best to weld itself to my saucepan. I scraped that out and chucked it into one of those freezer bags (as I had one to hand) and the mix was so hot it started melting it!

Anyway, things have calmed and cooled down a lot and the portion I salvaged is edible, even before I've added the booze. I reckon I'll get about 3 to 3.5 jam jars instead of the 4 expected.

I like that the booze is added once the mixture has cooled rather than during cooking, when it would all evaporate off. Ensures that you get a good boozy hit when you use it in mince pies. Probably helps it last longer too.

[NickFitz]

Tea has been roast gammon with fried eggs, chips and beans

[NickFitz]

Tonight's viewing was the latest episode of Surgeons, followed by what I think is the last episode of the current series of the Glasgow station thing

The Christmas special of that from last year vanishes from iPlayer in seven days, so I'd better watch that too this week.

Goodnight all

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Dark.

Dank.

Dreary.

Wet.

Warmer at 14.8 deg in here.

1018 mBar, 30.06 in Hg, 763.6 Torr, 63% RH.

Monday.

The shining of the telex machine was augmented by awakening at 06:00 by The Clangers on the Today programme.

Walk (unabbreviated) walked in the grey gloom.

Lunch: scrambled egg & poached tomato on Morrisons wholemeal sunflower & spelt toasted crust, bramble jelly sandwich on same, marmalade sandwich on same, red pippy corner yog,0.91 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Entertainment: Oz Customs thing: Chinese couple with bags full of "food" jewelry. It didn't end well. Chap going battulip crazy over being required to pay duty on his ciggies.

Both Corollae washed: dunno why I wash the one that's headed to the scrapyard but there you go apparently.

Even vacced the accumulated filth out of the inside & removed some notebooks that Strangelove Mater used to keep track of fuel consumption back in the day (i.e. before 18th December 2013).

Still haven't phoned up to arrange an MOT.

All the above was displacement activity.

Including the 15 minutes hunting for the pipes, crevice tool (oooer, mrs), and brush for the vac, since they weren't Where They Were Usually Kept, but rather Were Where I'd Fecking Left Them The Last Time.

Safely back where they should be now.

Oh, and the salting house had a quick vac, including the filter in the TD which regularly requires vaccing or The Little Red Light comes on.

Tea: chicken in white sauce with rice n peas, some peach slices, a yog, 0.91 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Entertainment:

Discovering Olivia De Havilland.

Quantum Leap S3 E6 "Miss Deep South".
Joy of Painting: the in this one won't need to be strong to achieve due to the 06:00 thing earlier.

NCIS S10 E14 "Smokescreen".

Possibly the Ghosts Xmas Special on BBC1E, which was quite funny.

Then I remembered the dire Oak Island nutjobbery: more fecking wood, a pocket knife, a "patent" label off a musket, the ring bolt from last week was "made by an expert blacksmith" for going into wood on a wharf.

Wow. More wood. Now they think the Money Pit is west of where they're drilling.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Grey day out, though not actually raining at the moment. Quite mild too at 11°C, with 12° expected later (though so is rain). Barometers are up at 1013/1021mB

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Dark and overcast when I got up with signs of a light shower having happened. The sun is now ris and it's still overcast. Currently 11 degrees with a high of 12. Unlikely to rain but will remain cloudy all day. Barometer up to 1024 mBar.

Last week at the coalface before my enforced leave commences.

Today's Kantar diary facts are:
Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations 1974

James Dean begins his acting career with an appearance in a 'Pepsi' commercial 1950

[ladymuck]

My first post-socialising covid test has come back negative.

[ladymuck]

Beans on toast for lunch