Zizzi pizza beat Pizzaland

according to T, who seems to be an expert in such matters.
T, KP and I lunched at Zizzi's in Kenilworth on the way home from Bicester - the manager agreed, apparently they use different bases, but they are owned by the same group, as are "Ask".
Small world!
We bought wonderful food at Waitrose - much cheaper nowadays - and came home to play, rest and cook roast chicken, roast vegetables, bean mix and broccoli, followed by crème brulee for desert.
Jan came for dinner, then we went bell ringing - T spent time on the organ with an organist and KP rang a bell - all great fun.
Came home late and straight to bed - all of us - out like lights!

Malteser cake.

Cooling on the rack, ready to be filled and decorated - the g/children enjoy doing that.
Q. How many Maltesers can you get on a cake?
A. As many as you can lay hands on minus those that disappear into little tummies.
Far fewer needed when I do it.
Friends coming for afternoon tea, I'll make some scones of some sort shortly.

Lots of questions to ponder:
*Do I need "Patch Magic"  to make grass grow on the bare patches/mole hill sites on the lawn.
*Why does my mobile go from 100% charge to empty in a matter of hours, without being used?
*What percentage of the population are "axe murderers"?
* Should I feel guilty as I'm watching "Foyles War"  as it's raining  and I can't garden?

Yesterday was fine - I cleared the remains of the mess/leaves/acorns built up around the goat enclosure, mowed outside and half of the field. Rob came round and started the small mower for me - it sees me coming - so that I could mow under the hedges and around the trees first - makes life much easier.
That took 5/6 hours.
I then had a bath and went to a concert in Solihull - "The Armed Man", Karl Jenkins and "Toward an Unknown Region" - Vaughan Williams - very good.
Home to late to eat  so Sunday lunch was sorted.

Struggling with "Passion".

Having decided to have a hot foaming bath and a pedicure this morning instead of going to the gym - usually the gym wins, honestly - I found it difficult to put on old clothes and get dirty in the garden.
Impossible, actually, so I found a clean option - I did the washing and settled down in the conservatory to admire the lawns and write a sermon for Sunday - Passion Sunday.
Despite a lot of reading and research I didn't put pen to paper and eventually gave up at about 3.30pm.
I packed up some of yesterday's cake and went to Coleshill to visit Phil - he always makes us a cup of tea and eats cake - very gratifying.
I shopped, banked and posted mail, then came home to cook dinner - haddock.
I've had phone calls, answered e mails, but still no sermon.
I'll take the books to bed - wake up early and try again

Grassmere gingerbread,

Victoria sponge and small scones, all made by 8.00am, ready for the coffee and cakes morning - scones in the fridge to cook and serve straight from the oven at 11.00am.
Eight friends, a lot of chatting, a small bring and buy and a good time had by all.
Afterwards, I finished the coffee with another piece of cake and changed out of my pink jeans (admired by T&KP, last summer, but never worn) and went out to mow.
The mower was in fine fettle but failed to mow at all on the first circuit as I forgot to set the cutting height below maximum, so the blade didn't see the grass!
Four hours later I had made a pretty good job of the lawns and mown the goat paddock - still a lot to do.
A slow job as the grass was much wetter than I realised so two rounds to cut and about three to collect the grass, stopping to remove the boxes (crippling) and clear the grass tunnel by sticking your arm up it as far as possible - quite vetinary, but no calf, only clogged grass, thank goodness.

I popped round next door after changing into clothes not bearing lawn detritus, to thank them for looking after ex-chicky, returning over two hours later, too late to bother to cook, so some bread and cheese and bed.

My mobile phone isn't holding it's charge - am I just unlucky with mobiles?
Will the heat wave start tomorrow?
Did Farage outwit Clegg?
Does it take much to outwit Clegg?
Should we come out of Europe?
Just a few things that won't keep me awake for long.

 

What's in it for me?

nothing but sand!
I was unaware of any intake of silicon dioxide whilst playing tennis this morning - I did lose the first set though, which is unusual - but the car was certainly coated  with some fall out from somewhere.
The hot, sunny day did not materialise - I had lunch  and then planned to mow the lawns, but the rain came first so I started on my sermon for Sunday (got the books together and fell asleep).
M&S delivered the 3 seater settee this afternoon - it looks very good and is just as comfortable as the two seater, just shorter.

I've since been to the Lent course at the Meths at 6.30pm, followed by a meeting of the Alms House trustees at 7.30pm.
The course was  difficult and tough going, the meeting went well - no problems, I'm now watching a recorded episode of "Poirot" - on board the Queen Mary on her maiden voyage to new York, protecting  a million pounds worth of bonds, carried in a metal portmanteau.

The field looks lovely - cilla, celandines and daffodils in flower - I did take a photo to post, with my phone and send it to my e mail address.
It's not arrived yet! 

and now for the weather forecast.......

Scientists in Britain have made great strides with the accuracy of weather forecasting, which will now be 62% accurate, which will save the economy millions - wind farms cranked up, ice cream manufacture, hanging out the washing, etc.
Surely the odds are still pretty low, not that earth shattering - not a criticism, more of an observation.
Yesterday was a glorious day - I celebrated by taking the day off - an early trip to the gym followed by coffee with friends in JL, Ventura Park, which lasted until 1.00pm.
I bought a veritable flock of fluffy Easter chicks from Hobbycraft and purple underwear in M&S sale.
I've never had purple before, but I like it - perhaps there was an unconscious reference to women bishops.
I had tea with M&M on the way home, then had tomato and basil salad, having bought a beautiful basil plant in M&S - always superior!
The only sensible thing I bought was milk.

Bell ringing last night - I rang two rounds, with help and less stress.
Perhaps I will get there!

Pranksters open day.

I considered regaling you with my plans for the day - a trip to Stamford to make the acquaintance of my new friend, a German shepherd puppy of almost excellent pedigree - but have decided against it, to avoid recriminations.
Like the men in your life, you always assume that everyone else will love him as much as you do, overlooking the blindingly obvious fact that love is blind, you're looking into the sun and they're not.
Woof, woof.

The clocks springing forward yesterday was wonderful as I am woken by the dawn chorus most mornings, now 5.30 rather than 4.30am.
I didn't wake up until 6.42am - a record!
What followed is probably most mundane by your standards, but I enjoyed it - tennis (2 sets, won both), home to write and circulate a report on Saturday's course, change and head for Solihull, an hour around the shops (M&S sale - UP TO 60% off, nothing that you would even consider for dirty work/gardening clothes, even if they were in your size), ordered wallpaper from Laura Ashley and "took advantage" of the offers in Boots to buy lots of hair toiletries - perhaps you'll notice  a difference.
Drove to P&A's, did the school run on foot, some of it jogging, cooked tea, ironed a few shirts and came home.
I made a "risotto" with Sunday's shredded pork, broccoli, rice and sweet and sour sauce.
It was awful, but I eat it, fell asleep and was woken up by Jan picking me up for the church AGM at NW.
What a farce!
I shall take this as a challenge!

My new cards came from Vistaprint - really good.
I did mistakenly order 50 magnetic copies, rather than the 20 I had intended - I shall give them to everyone I know to decorate their white goods.

The gym then Ventura Park for coffee with a friend  - JL rather than M&S, perhaps - so many elderly in M&S whereas JL merely has the deranged.


All of the churches increasingly in the red, congregations diminishing, 2 out of 4 treasurers not in attendance/no financial report submitted, no activity within the church and everyone sitting back and accepting it