Canny lass

Thanks Andy! I owe you a pint next time I'm in the shire.

I'm sad to say that I have to agree with you. We've only been a week without restrictions and people are going mad. The damp, cold autumn weather is a perfect breeding ground for any virus - that's why we get colds and flu in autumn/winter and not so much in spring/summer. We're not out of the covid woods yet so stay safe everybody.

Here's another question: I don't know if it's this new lap-top, the site or just lack of knowledge on my part but I'm having difficulties downloading photos from the gallery. All I'm able to do is take a screen dump and cut away everything but the photo. Very time-consuming. Any ideas, anybody?

... quite by accident - same way I found out that it satisfied a craving for something but didn't know just what it was i craved. Just happened to pass a coal scuttle one day and instinctively took a piece of coal and started chewing it. I got a lovely sense of calm and well being from it and realized that coal (or something in it) was what was missing. Later, when I had heartburn, I noticed that it disappeared when I was eating coal and continued to use it for that purpose too. As children my brother and I both loved it when we were near a steam-roller because then we could get our hands on lumps of a hard, but chewy, black, material which we called pitch. I've no idea if that's the right name but it's the stuff they melt and mix with gravel for road resurfacing. It could be chewed for ages without losing its taste. Strange things we did as kids.

Answers to last week's quiz: Dieting Who dares wins Yellow Jack Nicholson Xenophobia Jack Brabham Pontiac Howard Hughes There is no upper limit, though earthquakes of a magnitude of 10 cannot happen. Geno Florence Bamboo New quiz tomorrow.

Is that you in the photo, Vic? Eating coal? You should have seen me during my pregnancies! I lived in Doncaster and it was the only thing I asked for if anybody was visiting me from the North East. Couldn't beat it for heartburn.

I've never stopped! I don't think I'm alone there. I think most women of my generation were brought up learning to help their mother with making plain, wholesome, home-cooked food. I could cook a Sunday dinner for 10 when I was 12 and I don't think I was alone there either. Unfortunately, I don't have access to any pigs but I do have hungry hares, deer and squirrels. I also have a fantastic, year-round, insulated compost so I've never had to buy potting compost and I use about 200 litres a year. I don't think youngsters are raised the same way in relation to cooking today and one of my nearest neighbours, on a visit to England, was flabbergasted at the amount of 'ready-made' frozen food on sale in the average supermarket, not to mention take-aways.

Here we go! What would you be doing if you practiced ‘banting’? What is the motto of the Special Air Service? What colour is the Circle Line on a map of the London underground? Who won his first Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? What is the name for a dislike of foreigners? Which Australian motor-racing driver was World Champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966? Which American car manufacturer produces the Firebird? Whose biography did Clifford Irving fake? What is the maximum number on a Richter scale? What was Dexy’s Midnight Runners first hit? The skyline of which Italian city has been dominated since 1488 by a cathedral dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi? Which plant can grow up to three feet in 24 hours? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The Foreign legion marches at 88 steps a minute. Answers next Thursday.

I remember the Bells well. They had a son, I think he was called Raymond, who used to do a round of the rows collecting 'tettie peelins' and any other vegetable peelings or waste food that most people put in a bucket or dish just inside the gate to feed the pigs. On Sundays he used to do two rounds as there was so much vegetable peelings from the Sunday dinner - 4 veg was the minimum! At the ranch they had an old pot-boiler of the type built into the colliery yards for heating water (and boiling the whites) on washing day. This was used for cooking the pig-swill. Sometimes it smelled lovely but sometimes it smelled b' awful.

@lilbill15 Junior is reserved for male offspring only and the abbreviation would be jr. Naming children was a relatively routine procedure well into the 20th century. The first son almost always got the name of his maternal grandfather. The first daughter almost always got the name of her paternal grandmother. The second son often got the name of his father and the second daughter often got the name of her mother. When looking at old records the capital J is particularly problematic. It can be misread (and therefore often wrongly transcribed) as capital I or capital F. It could even be confused with 'long S' (see attached picture) on printed documents up until the 1820s. On handwritten documents it could still be found well into the second half of the 19th century. If you're researching it's always worth looking at all three alternatives.

@lilbill15Short but informative. You've got the job! Looking forward to more reports.

Fingers crossed! It's the right time of year for hard pruning (this, of course, is pruning of a more drastic nature) but if they've managed to root they stand a chance. Hope the little (or big) beggars are caught and punished. I don't wish to sound hard or inhumane but I think they should have the same degree of hard pruning to their hands.

You can definitely put me down for one.

Answers to last week's quiz: The Great Fire of London Rhubarb Primary Manchester United 1649 John Christie De Havilland Comet The Beach Boys The speed of sound at sea-level Ounce 119.5 seconds James Beck There will be a new quiz tomorrow! I'm just putting the finishing touches to it.

I think it may have been be this one but I don’t know for certain. Telegrams in those days were one single continuous line of text so it may well have covered 440 yards. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adolf-hitler-letter-to-president-roosevelt-on-invasion-of-czechoslovakia-september-1938

This week's brain gymnastics: What tragedy was caused by Thomas Farynor’s/Farriner’s carelessness? Which perennial plant, whose stalks are used in cooking, has poisonous leaves? Red, yellow and blue are what type of colour? Which British football team was originally called Newton Heath? In which year was King Charles 1 executed? Which murderer lived at 10 Rillington Place? Which commercial aircraft made its maiden flight in 1949? By what name were the pop group Carl and the Passions later known? What is MACH 1? Which unit of weight shares its name with the alternative name for a snow leopard? According to the advertising campaign in 1998, how long does it take to pour a pint of Guinness properly? Who played Private Walker in Dad’s Army? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Franklin D. Roosevelt was once sent a telegram a quarter of a mile long

In that case - Welcome to the club!

We could make you an honorary member.

you're forgiven!

Answers to last week's quiz: Shoulder pork and ham Eric Bristow Norway Lobster Woody Allen Duke of Kent A tub of lard.” Imbued with much the same qualities and liable to give a similar performance” according to the producers. Bobby Charlton 27 Goat 112 Mistletoe Flush New quiz tomorrow but can't promise anything next week. We've got a couple of robot lawnmowers being delivered and before they arrive we have to lay cable around 3 000 square metres of lawn (in between rain showers).

17c, That's real summer weather! !0 during the day and 4 at night, Dark by 6pm. Another month and it'll be dark at 3pm. You have a whole week for the quiz so Keep calm and Carry on clarting. Regarding the e-mails, I've never ever had one. I only get a notification here on site. Regarding the drink-driving incident, have ypu got a driving license for that vehicle?

It's impossible to cheat, Vic. I don't mind where you get your answers. It's perfectly acceptable to google, look in a book, ask a neighnour or ring a friend. Think of the quiz as making an inventory of your current knowledge and then filling in the gaps that you find. The family's ages here range from 14 - 56 and they all speak English in varying degrees but naturally they've never heard of some of the names that crop up in the questions. The youngest is football mad and loves the football questions because he gets to read about famous footballers in the past. If we aren't meeting up on Skype, they get 3 questions every ½ hour (SMS) and they text their individual answers to my OH. He keeps score and timing of answers. Sometimes they get together in one house but they can take part whereever they are. They also compete against each other within their own family group. So, it's not only a quiz it's also a chance to practice both their English- and researching skills. I'll see if I can get a new one together for next Friday. Grey matter needs exercise at our age!

Delegating is not an easy task. Be proud that you are capable of assessing the situation and knowing: Who to delegate to How much to delegate to them When to delegate In which manner it should be done Where the delegating should take place Knowing why there is a need for delegation in just this instance ... and finally knowing how much of the task in hand you have some aversion to doing yourself. Truly a skill worth having. Having said that, I' love to donate a tree. That way, me and other ex-pats would have some 'physical' roots in the town. Maybe the keen gardeners who take such good care of keeping Bedlington in bloom with the hanging baskets etc wouldn't mind being delegated to/asked politely?