What are you doing today (Number 2)

[Mad Dilys]

Hope your medicine works quickly Kiya bladder infections are miserable.
Buscopan relaxes smooth muscle, like the gut. So we give it to horses with colic. I have been having bad gut spasms - even though I have a very restricted diet with lots of roughage and veggies, virtually vegetarian I still get a bout of diverticulitis every few years. At 3.30am I was tempted to call a taxi and go to A&E but couldn't face the trip to be honest. So the Doc gave me the buscopan , good stuff. I'll be fine.

[Kiya]

Ah thanks for that info

Hope you're feeling a lot better soon

[Horus]

If the day either brightens up or at least stays dry then I plan to pay a visit to a near by attraction, namely Trentham Gardens. I have visited before and shown you a few photographs of the 'Fairie' sculptures and the wooden tree carvings dotted around the lake. It is a while since I paid a visit and hopefully my daughter will be accompanying me as she is not working today and I have downloaded a 2 for 1 entrance voucher. Hopefully it will stay dry and there will be a few more interesting things to find and with any luck some early flowers.

[Jayway]

Good Luck, MD and Kiya. Today is grey again, yesterday sunny and we bounced around the village. Pea time, shelling, blanching, freezing, bagging, should have enough for a year ( I like peas, a dish full with butter, salt and pepper, adding a touch of cider vinegar ! ) Any one here buy frozen peas ?? how long do they take to cook ? My peas take 20 mins boil.

[Horus]

I put frozen Garden Peas into a small bowl with a saucer on top and microwave for 5 minutes, delicious.

[Grandad]

A very sunny morning although a bit chilly. We wanted to know if the seafood stall on Whitstable Harbour had opened for the season so took the short drive to the Harbour to find out.

Derek West is a well known local character, renowned nationally and even about the world for his whelks. He has a website at http://www.westwhelks.co.uk/tag/derek-west/ . At 85 he no longer goes fishing but he and his son run a successful seafood operation on the quayside and during the period Easter to October they also have a very good seafood bar managed by his grand daughters. We often go for some oysters and chips with a bottle of cheap bubbly but today we just bought two fresh dressed crabs for supper this evening.

Here is local character Derek opening oysters for his customers


I know I have posted about Whitstable Harbour in the past. I have connections with Whitstable in that my Grandfather was an oyster dredger, an uncle and cousin were fishermen, and my mother was born in this charming old town that still has a feel of The Edwardian era. If anyone is in this area DO visit Whitstable and its working Harbour.

Here is a picture of the Harbour from the point on the quayside where Derek West has his little tables to enjoy his wares.


The lifeboat had been out on an exersise and here are a few pictures of it being retrieved from the sea and hauled by tractor back up to its shed. ( It is a rigid/inflatable type Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat)


And now, roll on supper time

[Horus]

Oooh I can taste those loverly fresh crabs
All I have for supper is some Cambozola cheese and Melba toast, but I do have a nice bottle of Merlot that I could be persuaded to share?

Have to say that is a lovely harbour and certainly worth a visit, thanks for posting and enjoy your supper

[LovelyLadyLux]

Crab definitely sounds wonderful.........frozen ground turkey is what I have out .... but ...... crab definitely sounds much more enticing.

Not sure what I'm doing today. Had friends swing by en route down island for a coffee and now it is just past noon and I'm still sitting here. What to do this afternoon..........

[Jayway]

What a strange tractor and lifeboat. I cant make out what happens to the metal sides in the last picture ? Does the lifeboat stay on the trailer? The tractor must be quite waterproof, how does that work when the sea is rough and they want to get onshore ?

[Mad Dilys]

Are we all feeling fishy? I had hot smoked salmon with sweet chilli sauce for supper.

Today it's Going To The City Day I'll probably go after lunch as I prefer to shop on a full stomach, don't spend so much.

[Ruby Slippers]

Definitely a fishy day! We had smoked cod with parsley sauce!


Ps. It's sewing club day! Crowns at the ready then!

[Grandad]

What a strange tractor and lifeboat. I cant make out what happens to the metal sides in the last picture ? Does the lifeboat stay on the trailer? The tractor must be quite waterproof, how does that work when the sea is rough and they want to get onshore ?

@Jay. Jay, this is just a small inshore lifeboat. We are in the Thames Estuary so don't need a big ocean going job. The tractor can reverse the trailer into the sea to the depth that the boat needs to reverse between the side buffers. It stays on the trailer when driven into its shed and can be launched in minutes or as long as it takes for a minimum volunteer crew to arrive. But most of the crew work around the harbour so I guess just a few minutes and it is in the water. RNLI, one of our most valued charities.

[Jayway]

Grandad. NEVER repair front tyres, the tyre has a weakness, it is unimportant how much tread it has. I have always bought new tyres, as I value my life and my passengers life. If you cant afford a pair of new tyres you could always sell a camera. This would be advisable before you kill yourself or other people as with a front blow out you will not have the strength to hold the car on the road. Thats all.

[Horus]

Mmm, all this talk of fish has prompted me to get some out of the freezer, has anyone tried those Young's 'Gastro' range of lightly dusted Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper Basa fillets? they are really tasty especially with a few new potatoes, garden peas and a nice Dill & lemon sauce

[Jayway]

Horus, do they not have fishmongers in UK anymore? Basa? I bought that from Makro, frozen, for the cats. How about the new fish they are pushing, Tilapia ? Farmed in China and fed on the muck from the battery hens factory ? We have a great choice of fresh fish here in the daily market and it all came out of the open sea, not a pen.

[Horus]

Jay it is quite safe to have modern tyres repaired providing the pucture was in the tread area. All garages that carry out theserepairs will not legally do so if the puncture is in or near to the wall or it is a 'cut' rather than just a small hole, modern repairs are quite safe. The only time I would be slightly wary would be if I was constantly doing high speeds on motorways, but normal driving conditions would be no problem at all, in fact many tyres will now run for 50 plus miles when punctured.

[Horus]

We have a great choice of fresh fish here in the daily market and it all came out of the open sea, not a pen.

I know, the reason we have to eat imported fish is that Spanish & Portugese factory ships have pillaged our seas and devastated stocks since being in the EU.

[Jayway]

YES - - - and I suppose you are ruled by Brussels on how many fishys you can catch?

[Horus]

We are and most of them have to be thrown back if they are the wrong kind, how stupid is that when they are already dead?

[Ruby Slippers]

Grandad. NEVER repair front tyres, the tyre has a weakness, it is unimportant how much tread it has. I have always bought new tyres, as I value my life and my passengers life. If you cant afford a pair of new tyres you could always sell a camera. This would be advisable before you kill yourself or other people as with a front blow out you will not have the strength to hold the car on the road. Thats all.

Jay, you've got me totally confused! Where has Grandad posted about having tyres repaired?