Finally managed to upload this by deleting one of my media pix.
The backdrop is what we take to gigs to add a bit of glitz to the place. Did I say that we were available for bookings? Weddings, Parties, Medieval Festivals, Opening Exhibitions, Festivals, not to mention Benefit Gigs...So I won't mention them.

Guess what? It's raining, again. Those poor people oop north wading through their ruined homes. Must be awful, the power of nature never ceases to amaze me. I hope it doesn't rain from tomorrow as I will be pitching my tent at the festival site. Also taking hot water bottle...

Mr A up very early and woke me about 7 to say his battery was flat on his car. I slept through it all, he's gone anyway and his battery is on charge. My car is undergoing a health check next door at our friendly local garage ready at 2.30. Should be a happy car then will new oil change etc etc.

I'm going to see Emsbabees mum's cat's mother's kittens tomorrow on my way to the festival. If unsure of the above sentence then look up Emsbabees blog to see what Slag Cat and daughter have been up to.

I don't know what I'm going to cook yet. I know it won't be more of the stuffed pasta Tortillas we had last night. Mr A not impressed and didn't eat them. He doesn't like pre cooked food, I should have known. They looked so nice in the packet...

I'm exploring and discovered I'm out of space to download any photos.
Also discovered the only way to download my photos from my camera phone is to put the sim card into another phone and download it through that!
Might be time to erase some old photos and slap in some new ones on my blog.
Other bloggers seem to put in loads of pix.......any hints?
ANYHOOOOOOO

LUNCH
Fried Potato
Egg
Baked Beans
Fried Tomato
Bacon

DINNER
4 Cheese Tortellini in
Chorizo and Tomato Sauce
Salad a la Moi

Had a Scarabella photo shoot last night, and there's me and Anna both forgetting our glad rags (black n gorgeous with turqoise scarves). We managed though and the resulting photos caused much laughter with everyone objecting to how they look in different photos. The one we decided on has Brenda's bra glinting through her top, but with everything else ok we decided to go for it. This photo is to be included in a museum to show the history of local bands, along with blurb about our history and the many rich and varied events we've performed at.
I know there are jokes about our collective age being old enough to be in a museum, but we do feel proud to be part of the musical history of Swansea.

Preperations underway for the 4 day camping trip at The Workhouse festival near Welshpool. 3 of us are going free, acting as stewards.
My stint is in the Chill Tent, Friday and Sunday 11-3pm. Guess there will be some bleary eyed punters wanting to know which planet they are on, so I shall be directing them to wherever they want to go. Hopefully it will be somewhere easy, like the loo......

As I gaze outside the window at the vast beech trees over the road, I realise that I have no interesting thoughts to add to this post.

Yes, it's monday, it's pub grub and singing rehersal day.
I am sitting at Carol's after a good stuffing with the delicious Potato Wedges. Lashings of cheese on top. Very satisfying it feels.

My brother in law has left now, on route back to Australia. I didn't manage to blog while he was here, it seems a tad rude to shut away when he came all that way to visit.

The latest cute saying from Liberty.
She went up to her mum, her face covered in spots from a sheet containing stick on spots, like when a painting is sold, the red dots get stuck on.
'I've got cheeky dots' she said.
She meant chicken pox.

Any Motorola V220 phone users out there who have managed to download their photos on to a computer?
Mr A spent about 3 hours trying to download my photos. On the Orange web site there were queries from other users asking the same question. What we needed was a driver (I thought drivers' had to do with cars) and there didn't seem to be the right one available to download.
So, I'll have to get a new phone. Meanwhile, I can't blog the photo's I took with it. Bummer.

Last night I cooked sausages, mash and cabbage. My brother in law invited me to Oz, so I could repeat the mash which he loved!
Watched Glastonbury on the telly. Therefore avoiding the mud.
Enjoyed Kaiser Chiefs. That was the first time I'd really heard their set, and I liked their catchy songs and the band were tight too.
Also enjoyed Gossip, the 3 piece group. The singer is a large lady, who wore a tight bright blue dress with a low neckline, and looked fabulous! It was just her singing with drums and funky guitar riffs.
They had a gospel/punk flavour and were good.
I thought the Killers were shite. What's the fuss about them then?

Going to a festival this weekend near Welshpool. It's sold out and has lots of really good bands, theatre, all sorts going on.
Bought a new tent today and will be part of a 5 tent circle. Helped Brenda cut out flags to encircle the camp before going to the pub.
Bought a new hot water bottle. I enjoy being warm and snug at night in a tent and a hot water bottle is just the job to be cosy.
So, feeling more excited about going there as the days go on.

My computer is going really slowly these days. I am using Carol's computer at the mo. I haven't blogged for a few days and wanted to catch up.
The bruised back from my fall down the steps is healing well but I am aware of it if it touches anything that it is still sore.

Mr A came back from Germany with a present. Hooray! As usual it was a good choice. A pair of silver earrings with a turqoise stone in them.
On sunday we took my brother in law along to Mr A's parents for lunch and a visit. While we were there they were checking something on the computer, and Mr A's dad said 'let's have a look at Avrilo's blog'.
My last post was the thoughtful one going on about how Mr A reminds me of my dad, and how my sister's husband also has similar qualities.
I felt a bit of a berk as his parents read it. Ahem.
Tactfully, they said nothing till the menu of the day appeared and commented on that, saying it sounded delicious.
I know I should be aware that friends and family read this blog, but it doesn't stop me from rambling on about stuff that I would be embarrased to talk about normally with people.
Otherwise, Menu of the Day can get a bit boring.

Finally. When I went outside yesterday, I noticed an awful smell.
The drains had got blocked and sewage was coming up to the surface.
Yeuch!
Mr A donned overalls, got out the very, very long stick with a brush on the end and cleared the drain. What a hero!
After he had seen it run clear through the manhole, before putting the cover back on he said.
'Let us never talk about this again.'
He had seen a lot of poo!

DINNER
Welsh Spring Lamb Chops
Organic New Potatoes
Cauliflower in Yummy Gravy

My brother in law, who lives in Australia is over in this country for a few weeks. He has been staying with his sister lives in London, and has popped over to us for a few days visit.
It is so nice to meet up again, I have known him for 35 years and he has a great sense of humour as well as being a genuinely nice guy.
We went for a walk on the beach earlier and saw cockles in rock pools burying themselves in sand. I've never seen a cockle opened up before and the little creature inside interacting with the outside world! Travelling around places I know with a visitor makes me appreciate what a nice place I live in!

The thought I had that I said I'd share in a previous post I thought I'd elaborate on about some women choosing partners who shared similar qualities as their fathers.
What set off this thought is Mr A saying, on the phone, from Germany where he was working last week, that he will bring me back a present. I can remember my dad going off to work on location (he was a film cameraman) and me going on and on about bringing me back a present. He always brought me back one.
Then I got to thinking about the qualities that I admire in Mr A, and realising that they were the qualities my dad had too.
Thoughtfulness, sticking to itness, supportive, reliability and able to make me feel safe.
My brother in law also has these qualities, and I wonder if my sister choose him in part because he is like my dad.
Mr A and my brother in law get on really well, they both are scientists in their own field, geology and metallurgy.

So, anyone else notice that their partners share similarities with their dads? Any gay couples, the same applies.
Looking at this from a male perspective, do their partners share qualities they see in their mothers?
To any qualified psychologists, this must seem pretty basic stuff, but it is new to me, I can sometimes miss the obvious!

Last nights dinner was Cauliflower Curry, with rice, nan bread, mango chutney, lime pickle, raita and salad a la Moi. Very tasty it was too.

We are looking at lots of photographs, many from Oz, and showing our before and after house renovations. It is good to see my sister's new house in Oz too, as well as catching up on family news.

We went to meet Mr A at the train station only to watch the train go roaring past. Apparently it didn't stop at that particular station. So, a call from Mr A and we went off to meet him at the next station where the train did stop!

SNACK OF THE DAY
Red seedless grapes.(Sweet)

DINNER
Roasted Spare Ribs in Spicy Sauce
Quinoa
FRESH PEAS FROM THE GARDEN - Hooray!
Mini Salad a la Moi

Those of you who wondered if I did eat those out of date sausages yesterday can rest easy. They went in the compost bin.

Accident of the Day
It has been very wet, loads of rain through the night and earlier today. As I went down the steep concrete steps to the road I lost my footing and banged my back on the steps. I hit the base of my spine with a whoomph. I sat down and breathed noisily, and made a whimpering noise that would have attracted or repelled any dogs in the near vicinity. The back of my skirt got soaking wet, but I didn't move till I felt more settled. Ouch! It hurt!
I then put my hands on where it hurt and did some Reiki. The great thing about Reiki is that you can use it to heal yourself. The pain dulled and I could continue to get in the car and drive to the doctors.
I got a prescription for some pain killers.
When I looked in the mirror, there was a red mark down my back where it hit. I put on some arnica (good for bruising) and did some more Reiki.

There is just a dull ache now and I think I was lucky I didn't do some real damage.Next time I'll hold onto the rail. Doh!

Dinner is ready, so gotta go.
I had an interesting thought earlier about women who marry men having similar qualities as their fathers.

Damn! Those sausages have 14th June as their eat by date.
Damn.
Do I risk it, or go for the bacon instead, which lasts forever.
Bacon n Mash.
Hmmm.
E coli n Mash.
Hmmm.

Our singing rehersals have changed from Wednesdays to Mondays, so pub grub night has also changed.
It was, as usual, delicious.
Did I say it is billed as a starter! A huge plateful of potato wedges that have been roasted, then deep fried just prior to serving with a big dollop of tasty mince with chilli, red beans and a thick layer of cheese on top. There is salad on the side, not a huge salad, cos there isn't much room for it. The plate is big too!
For $2.75.
Mmmmmm. If ever there is a blog meet in Wales, then I'd love to introduce this fantastic dish to others, and meet in the pub. Veggies also get a good choice of meals too.

Last night we composed an information sheet about Scarabella for a museum that is compiling a history of local bands and musicians. We went back through our diaries and found out that we've been singing together since 1993 - our first gig in 1994 at a Sea Shanty Festival. We have gigged at some weird and wonderful places, for instance.
A medieval festival. We dressed up in wimples etc and had to lead people through a maze by singing to the table in the centre filled with mulled wine. Only Carol knew the way and we ran and sang after her, just to see her disappearing round the next corner of the maze.

Singing at the opening of a Paul Robeson exhibition in the Dylan Tomas Centre, in front of press, the mayor and local dignatories. Rhiannon's mum was holding my bag for me and my mobile phone went off during the ceremony.

Many, many benefit gigs raising money for all sorts of good causes from the local Diabetic group to Children in Kenya.
We will be at the Workhouse Festival in 2 weeks time - wayhay!

Fathers Day always brings to mind my dad. He died in 2002 at 84. I always used to give him a card on fathers day, he kept them all as I discovered when clearing out his stuff.
My sister, Mr A and I were there, all holding hands when he passed away. He was always a very considerate person, and I'm sure he choose a way to die that was least distressing for his family. He kept his dignity to the end, a huge influence in my life, for the good. A lifelong socialist involved in his union even in his 80's.
A passing rememberance to a decent father who supported his 2 daughters in whatever they did. The only time he showed disapproval was when my sister and family wanted to emigrate. They choose South Africa. It was during apartheid and my father was strongly against the racist regime and told my sister so. They emigrated to Australia instead. (Still racist in their past with the Aboriginals but there you go.)We were brought up with a strong political bias in favour of the working people and equality for all. The tories were the bad guys.Now look at the image they are trying to project!
Hug a hoodie, my arse!

I finally tendered my resignation at work, now hopefully awaiting an ill health retirement pension. I won't know for sure for a while, they are pretty strict, so fingers crossed.
I enjoyed working as a midwife, but the last few years became a bit of a conveyor belt. We were overworked relentlessly, though the service we gave was excellent. Every woman was treated well throughout labour and delivery, we usually managed to allocate one midwife to one woman. Afterwards though, women didn't always get the attention they needed often it was 2 midwives on the ward. If it was full, that was 28 women and babies. They system has now changed where the ward has just post natal women. It used to be mixed, so that you would have women in early labour, pregnant women with problems as well as newly delivered mothers and babies. Often the babies had problems, especially if they were premature. Some babies needed blood sugar taking 2 hourly and tube feeding. Yup, those night shifts could be horrendously busy, so I'm glad to leave that side of midwifery behind.
The positive side was ensuring that women felt 'safe', so important during such a critical a momentous time. A very rewarding job, and I do miss it, but I don't miss the rushing around, dealing with one case after another, or a few cases at the same time, which would leave myself and my collegues absolutely knackered.

This post seems to be a bit of a trip down memory lane. Meandering thoughts put down into form, then left as a fragment of my life enters cyberworld to exist electronically forever afterwards.

Right! Tonight Matthew, I shall either be eating out, maybe try the Sushi Bar again, or I shall be knocking up a salad a la Moi with New Potatoes, mashed and Sausages. (Shall have to check their eat by date.) It depends on whether I can be arsed to drive 45 miles to play with friends (literally, it will be a musical evening) or watch The Apprentice on telly. I missed the last episode last week.

B*ll*cks! Damn and blast!
Have been unable to blog through the bloody server being down this week. Especially maddening as I had some really interesting things to write about. Now, of course, I've forgotten it all...(ahem)

MENU OF THE DAY - From Marks and Spark
Meze Selection" Falafel, vine leaves, houmous, tzatziki, marinated greek olive selection, courgette, potato and cheese fritters.
ALL IN ONE BOX!

3 bean pasta with spinach and pine nuts, rice, lentils,roast aubergine, wheatberries, and giant cous cous with roasted butternut squash.
YES, AGAIN ALL IN ONE BOX

I had to admit that it all sounded scrumptious, and just the sort of feast I like. But. It wasn't as tasty as a Salad A La Moi. The freshness wasn't there. Still, not bad, not bad.....

So, I need protecting from M & S's foodhall. It has the most attractive selection of grub thank god I don't shop there very often.

Wednesday saw Brenda and I devouring the Potato Wedges with Cheese n Chilli at her local pub. As usual it was bloody delicious.
If I told you all that Brenda was a lovely person, it wouldn't begin to describe how much she has enriched my life.
Being honest, I can say I've never come across anyone who is so loving - to everyone! Waiters, nurses, anyone she comes across, she gives them time, sincerity and love. I am so glad that she is now in a relationship that is so right for her, and she has a partner who will return her love, and treat her right. So, thank you Graham for giving our Brenda (she belongs to the world!) what she wants, unconditional love from a man who is 'sorted.'

Gawd, I seem to have gone off on a number and elevated one of my friends to a near saint status. I am loyal, and sometimes get a bit over the top in my description of someone I love....everyone who gets to know her ends up loving her (in a platonic way of course) as she brings out the best in people. You know, one of those people you meet who make you feel better about yourself. Anyway, that's the end of my Brenda rant. Except to say that we also laugh ourselves near to widdling....

Tonight Matthew, I will be frying a Welsh Black Beefburger, encasing it in bread, adding lettuce, pickled cucumber, chilli relish, tomato and onion.

Anyone else enjoying 'Britain's Got Talent?' I can't say I went with the public vote on that little girl singing Mary Poppins. She is good, but not as good as the man with the Michael Jackson dance alike monkey. Or as good as the 13yr old baton twirling Billy Elliot clone. You can see I haven't been too busy going out this week.....Oooo the final's on Sunday.

Liberty, who will be 3 in July has been with me for a few afternoons this week. We were outside and she let out a huge sneeze. She said (this is true, I'm not inventing this.)
"Lucky I didn't blow your house down!"
Now, is that cute or what!

TUESDAY DINNER
Fresh Monkfish and Mussels (picked by Mr A)in a Chilli Tomato Sauce
Basmati Rice

Bloomin' 'eck! This was a scrumptious, bumptious, tastylumptious Menu of the Day! I only put half a chilli in, not wanting to drown the taste in heat. Only seasoning was lemon juice, salt and pepper.
O yes, and this lovely Swiss Boillion vegetable powder....

I'm ready to go out for the usual weekly meal and sing with the girls. Straightened my hair - Chrissie Hinds lookalike again!
Got a new dress, scarlet with black swirls, fitted with a loose roll neck collar. Damn fine dress! Only 10 quid!
Why do I always have to emphasize how cheap I buy my clothes for?
O well, at least it is new rather than second hand.....
On with the clippy cloppy high heeled ankle boots and I'm ready for a rainy day in Swansea.......
First meeting the very lovely Brenda for a chat and then Potato Wedges with Chilli n Cheese. The Sushi phase has passed.

I'm having some fresh ideas of other things to blog about apart from me, but I haven't time now....

I am finding my 'Inner Nanny'. No, nothing to do with goats. It's the feeling of become an ancestor whilst still alive....
More later.

'Stick t'kettle on love, I'm that parched....'

Occasionally I look at my stats and usually find the numbers are dropping as time, and my posts go on and on and on...
Anyhoo, yesterday I got 83 visitors for some reason! Much more than normal.
What's going on?

In the real world, there is a beautiful moth outside the window, attracted to the light. It is big, big as a butterfly with a furry brown body and brown markings on its wings.

DINNER
Salad a la Moi
Cold Roast Chicken

PRE DINNER SNACKETTE
Quorn Cottage Pie

PRE PRE DINNER SNACKERETTE
Dorritos
Tza...yoghurt with mint
Hummus

Watching 2 Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, they seem to be repeats which I've seen before..Still, a good British comedy.

Up at 5am to take Mr A to the station to go off on his working week in Germany. Went back to bed after and managed to sleep and dream.
Enjoying the programme 'Britain's got Talent' I'm a sucker for a good performance, and there were some good ones. Best so far, I've got to say is the guy with the monkey doing Michael Jackson songs.

Rocket, my son's lovely dog is coming into season. We want her puppy!
Haven't heard from the animal sanctuary about the puppy, so I guess that's off.
The search goes on for a little obedient puppy.

Nowt else of interest (as if!) so signing off.....

Last nights barbie was great!
I've made a discover about lager. The more you drink, the thirstier you get. Maybe they put salt in it! I had to drink loads of water in the end as the lager wasn't satisfying my thirst. I can now understand how people can drink so much of it!

Mr A went with his mates fishing this morning. There were loads of seabass but they weren't being fooled into biting on a hook. They did catch one tiddler, but threw it back as it was too small.
They did come back with lots of mussels from the beach, so a catch of some sort.

Visiting friends this afternoon for tea and cake. It's not too far, which is good in such heat. I need an outdoor swimming pool! Oh, there's the sea, of course. Still a bit too cold for me yet though..
Gawd knows what we are going to eat later....

DINNER
Barbequed Welsh Black Beefburgers - bloody gorgeous
Barbequed Fresh Salmon wrapped in Vine Leaves (brill idea by Mr A on cooking the salmon, the vine is in next door's conservatory.)
Salad a la Moi
Fresh Bread and Butter
Lotsocondiments:
Pickled Cucumbers
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Brown Sauce
Olives
Bellini Peppers

2 of Mr A's mates are staying the weekend so they can go fishing early tomorrow. These guys are serious cyclists, using their mountain bikes on special 14k runs. Matt told the story of using too much ingredients when making:
1. Popcorn
2. Prawn Crackers.
Both times he emptied the packet in the hot oiled pan and found the ingredients trying to escape!
Well, I thought it funny....

Saw some of that talent show Simon Cowell has put on. Some of the interesting acts.

The puppet monkey who sings Michael Jackson songs was really good - better than Michael Jackson! Yes, I'm a sucker for real talent, especially voices.

This guy that works in the Car phones Warehouse sung opera and blew everyone away. A tremendous voice that had some of the audience crying.....

A young boy, about 9yrs old telling great jokes with perfect timing...

A punk dance troup doing Michael Jackson type dancing were brilliant, the dancers were from all walks of life, and ages. They were good.

A young Billy Elliot type young boy who was a wizard at baton twirling. He had to hide it from his parents as he thought that they would think he'd get bullied at school if the other kids knew...

Tonight I'm drinking Kronenbourg 1664, a rather nice lager....

My server has been down this week and Mr A has been away, so I haven't been able to post or reply. Of course, he comes back, reboots the wireless box and it's all working again.
Anyhoo, the noo, I've been mostly eating salads, with the additions of:
Fetta Cheese
Apple skinned and chopped
A selection of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts marinated in soy sauce and roasted
capers
Olives
Watercress

I also made a noodles dish with black bean sauce cooked in the wok with some veg. Very tasty, but not something I'd cook that often.

I've had my 2 grandaughters, Molly (almost 14) and Eve (almost 11) staying for a couple of days. We did have some fun, including:
Doing the conga through the house with Liberty (almost 3) and Bran, their half brother (5).
I'm finding that I seem to have more in common with them and chat easily than with others nearer my age. We laugh a lot and do silly things.
I gave some clothes of mine to Eve. They fit! Well, the lycra shorts are stretchy and the leggins are small anyway..
Went shopping for clothes for them. Molly is very particular, as you are, when you are a teenager and didn't get anything in the end. She is a small size 6 and the trousers she tried just hung off her hips...
They are off to Kent for fruit picking this summer so I won't see them so often. I bought an MP3 player for Molly's birthday, on the solstice (June 21st)

I gave a piano lesson to a lovely 12 yr old who is a friend of Molly's. She is very quick to pick things up and has a good sense of rythmn so it was a pleasure to teach her. She (like Molly and Eve) is home educated. So I'm giving her lessons an hour a week - she'll be playing boogie woogie by the autumn!

Mr A is in the woods burning wood to make charcoal, an old art that used to be popular locally. Now, charcoal is imported from abroad cheaply, doesn't make sense in these days of being environmentally aware. The vegetable and flowers are coming on fine, except for the lettuces being eaten by slugs that I had in gro-bags on the ground.
I was told by a friend about the dangers to wildlife of using slug pellets. They kill many birds, plus cats, so looking into alternatives and buying organic ones that are not poisonous. Yes, we use beer traps, but there seems to be the equivalent of teetotal slugs that head straight for the juicy young leaves....
Slugs don't like copper apparently, I may invest in some copper wire and put it around the young plants.....any other natural tips to deter, nay, kill, slugs?

The sun is shining, I must go out and join it....

It was singing rehersal yesterday, so I took advantage of being in the same town as the Sushi restaurant and tried something different.
Sigh, maybe next time I'll get something I can finish!
The 'Californian Shushi' was nice, sushi rice with filling of cucumber, avocado (tiny bit), crab stick and mayonaise. The firey hot
horseradish, soy sauce and pickled ginger on the side were good.
I thought 'pan fried aubergine' sounds nice.
It was exactly that. Half a fried aubergine, with fish scales and something unrecognisable on top. With chopsticks to eat it with!
Ahem...I had some but had difficulty scooping out the flesh of the veg when it didn't want to come out of its skin, so gave up after slurping about a quarter of it.
I had a take away, so I could listen to 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue' in the car on the radio. This is a brilliantly funny impro comedy quiz, hosted by Humphrey Littleton, who is to timing, what the hands are to Big Ben. I was giggling into my sushi!

Ah Jeremy Kyle, you spoil us with your chocolates...
No, that's not right! Isn't he the French Ambassador who carries around a tray of lovely round chocs at posh parties?

See, what I was doing there was a bit of impro, surreal impro, it's called 'Cyber Theatre' as opposed to Street Theatre.
Sometimes it works.......

STARTERS
Tapas! A continental selection of yumminess:
Parma Ham rolled up like a soft newspaper
Green Olives
Halloumi Cheese, grilled so crispy outside and soft inside
Salad of Tomatoes and Onions in Olive Oil

MAIN COURSE
Chilli Con Carne (Mincemeat cooked in Tomato Sauce with Chillies and Red Beans) covered with cheese
Potato Wedges
Feta Cheese Salad

Instead of cooking the usual Spag Bog with mincemeat, I thought I'd try that delicious pub meal I have, Potato Wedges with Chilli n Cheese, as Mr A misses out on that feast.

We had a Rayburn fixing day today. Mr A went and bought new fire bricks, a new bottom plate, and various other bits as the fire kept falling out into the ash pan through a big hole. He had to drill out the old fire bricks, replace them, and them clean the chimney. A dirty, dusty job which filled the hoover bag after cleaning up.
Mr A is now sawing wood. He has cut enough to sell now. I'll just call him Mr Firewood!

After the artichoke incident (planting out artichokes in the flower bed), I dug them up, repotted them and replaced them in the cold frame. They had better produce some tasty globe artichokes after all this fuss!
Planted out lots of Lobelia, that lovely tiny dark blue flowered trailing plant. My flower garden is a bit unbalanced, there's lots of wild flowers taking up the bottom half, and then cultivated flowers at the top, but a bit sparse, most of them are still seedlings, with lots of earth showing in between plants. A giant Comfrey plant has rooted in the middle, taking over I'll cut it after flowering, the flowers are a lovely deep blue. The leaves are really good compost, also, the old name for it is 'knit bone' a good herb for mending broken bones. Fortunately we don't need it for that!

Saw a photo of Damien Hurst's new artwork. A platinum cast of a human skull set with over 8,000 diamonds! Very sparkly! A huge, 4.2million pound diamond set in the forehead surrounded like petals of a flower with other huge diamonds. It is for sale at 50 million pounds. I think it's a fantastic leap of the imagination to create something so awesome. Mind you, he does have the cash to invest in the materials. He says it is a statement about death, that there is a positive side to it, by making the skull beautiful to look at. Rather than turn away from a piece of dead human, he has made it into something to take the breath away with gloriousness. Ok, it is a lot of money, but I wouldn't mind it in the front room!