My Scythe has arrived!
Now I can whack my weeds in an ecologically friendly way and then have something really cool for the wall when I am done. My wife’s father did a fantastic job sourcing the Scythe in Poland and even sent over three useful sharpening stones.
Thanks very much!
O2 Broadband Problems
I have not been posting for a few days as my modem/router box failed. I can’t really blame my provider O2 as they sent me a new box pretty quickly and the failure of the Thomson box is hardly their fault. But it is interesting how much one relies on access to the web and how far one goes to get online. I even sat in a McDonalds car park for a little while trying to check my emails. But it has been nice to read more, hang with my beautiful wife, and walk my dog and kids. It’s almost a shame that I am back online…
… but not quite.
My new Scythe
My lovely wife has organized a new Scythe for me. They are tough to get in the UK but in common usage in her part of Poland – apparently her Dad uses one daily to cut some salads for the livestock. So one will be on its way here shortly. Yippee!
The only downside is that I am incredibly clumsy these days so I have had to assure her that I will not cut my foot off with it.
Stanley’s beautiful hand
We bought this thing from Mothercare. The clay is supposed to roll flat over the whole base of the tin. It does not.
But I love what Marta has done with the clay.
The Belvedere Arms
Stanley, the beautiful Marta Austin and I went out for dinner at The Belvedere Arms near Virginia Water last night. The company was excellent:
- Ilona Furrokh – a charming vet lady who has fallen for the dubious charms of Ian Smith (see below). I suppose if you are used to dealing with unusual furry invalids at London Zoo then Ian must look rather attractive.
- Ian Smith – proprietor of the Connexion and possessor of Europe’s smallest hands. Absolutely not to be confused with his namesake, the Rhodesian ex-Prime Minister, Ian has never been the head of a dictatorial racist regime.
- Peter Willoughby – old friend of Ian and formerly keen exponent of Russo-British relations. Peter is the Managing Director of a new network-marketing venture. He began his career in property development in the mid ’90s when he was associated with a London based Merchant Bank where he first met fellow business titan Ian.
The pub is lovely. Nicely designed with a friendly ambience and good service. However the food was absolutely dire. I had a pizza described as ‘Piccante’ – Pepperoni + Chorizo + Tomato + Jalapeños at £8.95. This was very nearly as good as the Tesco basics range equivalent and for only six times the cost. The beautiful Marta Austin had the Seabass Fillets + Stuffed Romano Pepper + Caponata + Pesto + Baby New Potatoes at £14.95. These were supposed to have been grilled but appeared to have been wind dried in the Gobi Desert such was their utter lack of flavour. It was like a fish based biltong though that overstates the palatability. The vegetables were hidden under the dry fish fillets as if they were ashamed to show their faces. And they should have been ashamed…
For dessert I had Cookies + Ice Cream at £4.45. This was a cookie with a single scoop of vanilla ice-cream – wonderful value at nearly a fiver. Marta plumped for the Summer Berry Eton Mess at £5.25. I think it had been made well in advance as the cream had mostly become yogurt. The berries were fresh when they had been picked which couldn’t have been much more than a month ago.
To recap The Belvedere Arms is a lovely pub with a shockingly poor kitchen. I would thoroughly recommend it for a drink or even a packet of crisps but anything else is at your own risk.
Here is a picture of Peter:
Here is one of Ilona with a client – that is not Ian, his hands are MUCH smaller:
And here is Ian enjoying a drink before dinner:
Vetiver
Vetiver is my favourite scent. I have the Guerlain version (introduced to me by an ex- Amanda Guinea) plus I also have Givenchy’s Vetyver which is softer but also great. For a while I used Vetyver For Men by L’Occitane. Personally, I didn’t like wearing this. It’s weak. Not much sillage or longevity. I think it has more wood than it has vetiver in it. You should save your money for a true vetiver. To me, L’Occitane is a cheap brand that should stick to making soaps and lotions (ouch…did I just say that out loud?).
But now I am being barraged by ads for Grey Vetiver Cologne For Men by Tom Ford – US link
Grey Vetiver feels, almost, like it belongs as part of (Tom Ford’s) Private Blend collection. The choice of ingredients, like orris, and the interesting complexity of the development are all hallmarks of that line. But Grey Vetiver also feels more mainstream than the Private Blends as I think this is a much more approachable scent than even the aforementioned Vetiver Extraordinaire or Encre Noire. I expect this to be a big seller throughout the fall and into the holiday season as I think this is going to be on a lot of men’s holiday lists. So I return to the question I asked previously, “Do I need another Vetiver?” When the juice in the bottle is as unique as Grey Vetiver, the answer is an unequivocal, Yes!
I am doing a gallery tour on Sunday so I will try and nick a sample from the nice ladies on the perfume counters at Peter Jones.
Deaths Head Beetle for sale
My lovely Beetle is for sale here. It just failed its MOT but still drives nice. Bid on it and pick up a bargain as there is no reserve.
Wool and Feathers
Yesterday my daughter and I drove up to a smallholding near Milton Keynes where a nice lady called Alison farms rare sheep, chickens and rabbits. Frances is keen on starting to spin her own wool so we needed a fleece. We also bought some ready spun wool.
The picture above is of the sheep that the raw fleece came from and the one below is the North Ronaldsay’s that the spun wool came from You can clearly see the differences in the two breeds. The horned sheep being the North Ronaldsay.
Her website is at Wool and Feathers and it is well worth a click and the farm is also worth a trip. However, I don’t think she has much wool in stock though at present.