All posts by Keith

I’m a controversialist and catalyst, quietly enabling others to develop by providing different ideas and views of the world. Born in London in the early 1950s and initially trained as a research chemist I retired as a senior project manager after 35 years in the IT industry. Retirement is about community give-back and finding some equilibrium. Founder and Honorary Secretary of the Anthony Powell Society. Chairman of my GP's patient group.
food+drink, ramblings

Disaster. Result.

Well that was a very unexpected result from a bit of a disaster!

Sunday evening, about midnight. Noreen discovers the freezer is not working. I am summoned. I confirm the veracity of Noreen’s suspicion. No lights on the front panel at all; not a glimmer; and none of the buttons does anything. Socket checked: OK. Plug checked: OK. Fuse checked: OK but changed as a precaution. Obviously the kitchen ring main is OK, and there have been no power interruptions. Cable checked as far as possible: OK. How long has it been off? We don’t know; it could even be a day!

Bugger! Especially as the freezer is only 6 months old; an AEG bought from John Lewis. Unfortunately we’ve voided the warranty as we had to remove the moulded-on plug to wire it in. Fortunately it is packed solid. So leave the door shut and see what transpires.

Decision. Do not waste time on trying to get a repair; whether or not the warranty is valid it’ll take too long. Better to spend money and buy another new one as we can get next day delivery. Worry about the warranty later.

Not many people make free-standing, under-the-counter freezers these days; first choice Bosch don’t make them any longer. So at 1AM we’re ordering a new freezer from John Lewis (own brand this time); they’re trusted to do next day delivery. But we’re now in Monday so delivery will be Tuesday. Hmmm. Best we can do. We have neither time nor transport to try sourcing one locally in the morning.

Go to bed, hatching various plans for using the thawing contents.

Monday morning. John Lewis customer service confirm we’ve voided the warranty. Insurance company confirm loss of freezer food is covered on our insurance, but we have a £200 excess. Decide not worth contemplating a claim as contents unlikely to top £200. Still considering how to handle the freezer contents.

Monday lunchtime. Noreen extracts fish fingers from freezer for lunch (may as well use what we can). Reports everything still well frozen. Decide to leave freezer shut and wait until new one arrives tomorrow. Then we’ll consider what to use and what to bin.

Tuesday. New freezer delivered at lunchtime. We install it (without removing the moulded-on plug this time!) and leave it to settle, as instructed. Turn it on at about 5PM. By 8PM (after eating) the freezer’s getting well cold. Decide to unpack the old freezer. We divide contents into 4 categories:

  1. Definitely going to be binned as not immediately useable: ice lollies; bags of stock; bags of fresh pasta; odd portions of curry; couple of small packs smoked salmon (damn we’d even fed the cats, so the fox can have the benefit!); half bag of peas; the same of cauliflower. We knew this was going to be a lot.
  2. Thawing fast, needs using now: couple of boring nut roasts; bag of crumble topping. Is that all? – Not bad. Nut roasts go in the oven and will be OK cold for lunch tomorrow; large dish of fruit crumble also in the oven.
  3. Thawing but useable tomorrow, put in fridge: 3 packs of bacon; pack of sausages; some pork slices; small bag lamb’s liver; some garlic butter. Make casserole? No, a better idea: terrine.
  4. Still well frozen; keep frozen but use ASAP: all the meat in the centre of the freezer (small lamb joints; some bacon; turkey joints; a pheasant; couple of steaks; 2 large boxes fish fingers); pack of pastry; even a bag of ice cubes! And yes this stuff really was rock solid.

Wow! That’s a result! Around 50% of the contents of the freezer (and most of the expensive stuff) is saved. Amazing! We know one is always told a switched off freezer will be OK for 12-24 hours. But we really hadn’t expected to salvage anything much after almost 48 hours.

Yes, it would have been better to have the freezer fixed. But doing so would have taken time and probably lost the whole of the contents and cost for the repair. When added up would that have been greener that buying a new freezer? Maybe. Maybe not. But buying a new one was probably the more economic decision.

Oh, and that (large) terrine has just come out of the oven; now cooling and being pressed. Basically it is a variant of our Ennismore Terrine. It smells gorgeous!

Moral(s): Know when to leave well alone. Do quick risk analysis to enable quick decisions. And above all don’t panic!

amusements, ramblings

Auction Amusement

Our local auction house haven’t recently turned up the usual outstaning collections of oddly composed lots or strange things being sold. However here are the highlights of the last three sales.

A quantity of Egyptian dried scarab beetles

Two person tent, a quantity of cricket bats, a Mandoline Pro in box, a toaster, a Daewoo deep fat fryer, and one by Russell & Hobbs, plus five sculpture puzzles including Darth Vader and an Egyptian

A pine tool-box, an African drum, a vintage three-legged milking stool

Metal milk crate containing 19 milk bottles Middle Edgarley Farm, Glastonbury and a vintage Burroughs adding machine

An Edison Bell Gem phonograph, London-made, No. 21090, a Piccolo zither, a small oak barometer of banjo form, and a combined timepiece and barometer of lancet form

A cut-glass claret jug with Continental silver-plated mount, and a pewter mug inscribed to H Churchill of the Madras Fire Service

Ten saddle stands

A vintage cast iron tram controller dead man’s lever stamped BTH Co Ltd, Rugby, England

A Bo Peep sheep stool with wool cover

An interesting 19th century pine cabin trunk the black front panel painted Pte W Bryers 7/9th Regt the inside lid pasted with a period paper ‘Presentation of Colors to the 9th Regimental of Foot’ 1848, also a paper cutting reporting the death of John Bryers by drowning in the Regents Canal following a contretemps in a local alehouse

A good quality artist’s easel with full adjustments by Winsor & Newton, and two antlers

Four shelves of mixed items including a Tiffany style ceiling light plus another, photo frames including silver-plated, a Victorian silk table screen, framed pictures, a chess set, a four-drawer jewellery box, a cased set of Apostle tea spoons, wicker baskets, a brass clock in the shape of an over-sized pocket watch, vintage advertising tins, display cases, a Cardiff City shield, Chinese scrolls, replica swords, work boots, a Thomas the Tank Engine toy etc.

A pair of silver-plated three-branch candelabra, a mantel clock, a doorstop alarm, a fold-away rucksack, a micro jet tool, cord strap, fly swats, a sensor night light, packs of card, a charger, putty, a briefcase, a hobby drill, a red bag, a portable brush holder etc.

A French bronze spelter figure of an Arab horseman, circa 1900, together with a copper and brass bugle, and four similar horns

An antique AEG Mignon typewriter, Model 4, with TCM London transfers

Three black vintage telephones, a pair of 19th century Lucas bicycle lights, two lanterns etc.

A vintage PerryBuoy lifebuoy, a Smith Maritime rev counter, two old metal pulleys, three pairs of binoculars

An American Todd Protectograph cheque writer, with label for Halsby & Co Ltd, list of patents to December 30th 1924

A Clarice Cliff Bizarre Gayday dwarf candlestick painted with flowers, and an Art Deco vase with runny decoration

A Lark tuba made in China model no. M4050

An to end with, good though this is …

A vintage taxidermy display of three ermine on simulated rocks, with paper label of W.C. Darbey, Naturalist, 12 Banbury Road, Oxford

… the pièce de résistance surely has to be …

Henry John Yeend King, an oils on panel triptych of a classical idyll typical of the Aesthetic Movement, signed, applied to a Victorian upright piano in figured walnut by Justin Browne of London, the lower panel by the pedals also painted with steps to a lily pool

More as and when the mood takes the auction house!

beliefs, nudism

More on Nudism

I happened on a blog post the other day under the title 10 Things Only Nudists Understand.

While I’m not convinced that only nudists understand these things, they are a quick introduction/FAQ to some of the common misconceptions about nudism.

The ten things are:

  1. Nude is not sexual
  2. Life is better without clothes
  3. Everybody has beautiful imperfections
  4. Nudism gives you a sense of freedom
  5. Nudism is great within the family
  6. Nudists don’t live in nudist colonies
  7. Nudists can be everybody
  8. There are many different kinds of nudism
  9. Nudism brings people together
  10. Nudism is just so much fun

Detailed discussion in the actual blog post.

quotes

Monthly Quotes

Another month goes by and we arrive at another edition of our quotes (amusing or enlightening) recently encountered. As usual in no particular order …

What is needed is something in which [we] can all believe irrespective of religion, which in most cases, dare I say it, is a façade. We need something else, and that something is ethics. Goodness, kindness, love, honesty.
[Nicholas Winton]

In this sentence, “-ough” is pronounced nine different ways:
A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed, houghed, and hiccoughed.

Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event.
[Oscar Wilde]

In 2019 Volgograd electrical engineer Pavel Konnov decided that … the [Voynich Manuscript] describes [a] … rite which protected women from sexual violence by vampires.

If you know the wave function of the universe, why aren’t you rich?
[Murray Gell-Mann]

I didn’t know what I was doing. I was like a man fighting bees.
[Charles Portis, True Grit]

Truth-tellers are not always palatable. There is a preference for candy bars.
[Gwendolyn Brooks, poet (1917-2000)]

Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often a torment for me, and I need many days of silence to recover from the futility of words.
[Carl Jung]

Conventionality is not morality. Self righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last.
[Charlotte Bronte’s preface to the 2nd edition of Jane Eyre]

The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me.
[Meister Eckhart]

… the acceptance of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as a means of accounting for the development of species. This was linked to the spectacular industrial and technological developments of the period [Victorians] to produce a cult of progress in which the old and primitive were automatically devalued and despised.
[Ronald Hutton, “Under the Spell of the Druids”, History Today, 13 June 2019]

The British took democracy to other countries, but we can’t even abide by it or believe in it ourselves.
[Quoted in the Guardian, 15 June 2019]

beliefs, nudism, personal

Nudity (again)

I came across an interesting post on the Naked Wanderings blog. It is overtly about the influences nudism has on our (intimate) relationships, but I found it interesting because it also throws some light on why many people find nudity (and thus nudism/naturism) so scary and taboo. Here’s the cut down version:

[N]udism has a positive influence on both our physical and mental health.
. . .
But how does nudism effect relationships?
. . .
[Apparently] the divorce rate among nudist couples is a lot lower than among textiles . . . are nudist couples sharing different values than textiles which are more likely to keep them together?
. . .
The level of trust in our relationship is high enough that we wouldn’t be threatened knowing that our partner was spending time naked among other nudies.
. . .
[But] in many relationships, trust is often linked with an inevitable idea of not letting the fox into the hen house . . . We want our partner to be sexy as hell when we go out together but we wonder why they have to look so fancy when they will spend a night with friends. We know that a couple of her well placed hip movements in that dress can make a guy go crazy or that with his three day beard in combination with that certain shirt he’ll have girls hanging on his lips. Imagine what it would be like if everyone was naked.
. . .
If we allow our partner to be seen naked and to see others in their purest form, have we conquered jealousy? [Maybe.] It’s all about the intention.
. . .
For us, it seems unimaginable not to see our partner nude at least a couple of times a day, but we would probably be surprised if we knew for how many people it has been weeks, months, sometimes even years since they last saw their partner’s naked body.
. . .
According to [one] poll . . . 40% of the interviewees preferred to only have sex when the lights are out . . . because then you avoid getting caught up in thoughts about your physical appearance . . . If you have any intention to spend at least some part of your life with this person, you still feel that you have to hide your own body?
. . .
[T]here is no hiding, we see each other naked so often that . . . we became aware of our bodies and we accept how we and our partner looks . . . nudity still gets us excited, but it depends on the situation. 
. . .
We get the question about how to convince your partner into nudism . . . Propose that they give it a try. Only once, in a secure and not very crowded place.
. . .
[W]e are completely okay with others who prefer to wear clothes. We are not saying that our lifestyle is the only right one.

If even half of this is true, then I find it a very sad reflection on the state of our minds, and the prudish control which has been exerted on us for generations – this is nothing new. A lot of it can certainly be laid at the door of Western religions and the patriarchy; although there are doubtless other influences too.

Isn’t it time we accepted that we’re basically all the same. We all know what’s under your t-shirt and jeans; my t-shirt and jeans.

So where is the problem? Yes, like so many things the problem really is only in your mind, if you allow it to be.

personal, ramblings

Ten Things, June

This year our Ten Things series is focusing on each month in turn. The Ten Things may include facts about the month, momentous events that happened, personal things, and any other idiocy I feel like – just because I can. So here are …

Ten Things about June

  1. June marks the start of meteorological Summer
  2. Dedicated to Juno, Roman goddess of marriage
  3. Magna Carta signed on 15 June 1215
  4. Summer Solstice …
  5. … which is the longest day
  6. Midsummer’s Day is on the Feast of St John Baptist, and not at the Solstice
  7. Well dressing, which is still practised in Derbyshire
  8. Trooping the Colour (above) is part of the Queen’s Official Birthday celebrations
  9. Ratcatchers Day, Hamelin, Germany
  10. Birthstone: Pearl
amusements, personal

Another Meme

Oh dear! It’s time for another meme. This one stolen from David Hallett on Facebook and slightly amended.

  • How old are you: 68
  • Surgeries: 9 – appendectomy, 2x cystoscopy, sinuses & septoplasty, finger nail removal, 2x arthroscopy, 2x knee replacement; all as an adult
  • Tattoos: 0
  • Piercings: 1
  • Broken a bone: no – but have come close a few times
  • Ridden in an ambulance: yes
  • Ridden in a squad car: no
  • Ice skated: no
  • Ridden a motorcycle: no
  • Stayed in hospital: yes
  • Skipped School: no
  • Donated blood: to my shame, no
  • Last text: friend Jean
  • Watched someone die: no; never managed to get there in time
  • Pepsi or Coke: Diet Coke
  • Favourite season: spring/early summer
  • Received a ticket? yes
  • Favourite Colour: yellow, or light green
  • Sunset or sunrise: sunrise
  • Beach or mountains: beach
  • Who will play this with you: probably no-one
  • Cat or dog: always cats
  • Watch someone give birth? no
  • Kids: none
  • Samsung or iPhone: almost anything but Apple
  • Favourite alcohol: Adnams Dry Hopped Lager
amusements

Counters

Each month this year we’re bringing you a post under the general title “Things that Count in [Number]” where [Number] will be the month. And naturally each month’s post will contain the [Number] of items (so just one for January, up to 12 for December).

For our purposes the definition of counting includes things which either come in groups of [Number] (eg. four suits in a pack of playing cards) or things which count in [Number] (eg. decimal coinage counting in tens).

Things which Count in Six …

  1. Balls in an over in cricket
  2. Legs on an insect
  3. Noble gases
  4. Sides on a cube
  5. Wings on a seraph
  6. Dots in a Braille cell
environment, history, links, medical, science

Monthly Links

OK, so it’s time again for our monthly selection of links to items you may have missed the first time. There’s a lot in this month’s selection so here goes …

Science, Technology & Natural World

The mobile 5G technology is supposed to be the great white wonder but there are fears it could jam weather forecasting satellites (and others?).

Beavers are in the news again. New Scientist ran an article on a secret site in England where beavers control the landscape [£££]. And in Scotland they have been given protected status.

Researchers reckon that (some) wasps are able to reason using logic. If true they would be the first insect known to do so. And in other buzzy news scientists tell us that we really should appreciate wasps.

Health & Medicine

We know we’re all subtly different, but it seems that some of us harbour mysterious variations like extra teeth and extra nipples.

Recent work has suggested that having your appendix removed can make you more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. The Conversation takes a look and discovers there really is no good evidence one way or the other.

There are medical reasons why some men need to be circumcised, usually in adulthood, but for a few this creates more trauma than beforehand.

Scarleteen is a great Sex Education resource. Here they talk to one woman about her experience of having an abortion. [LONG READ]

Staying on women’s health … Just what does the menopause do to the body? [Includes video]

Sexuality

How one couple rejuvenated their marriage and got out of a “sex rut”.

Environment

New York is banning glass-clad skyscrapers and iconic architect Le Corbusier warned against them. Now it seems academics are also coming to the conclusion that glass skyscrapers are an environmental folly.

So who would have guessed that urban greening can save species, cool warming cities, and make us happy.

Art & Literature

The genius of Leonardo da Vinci came up with ideas for things like helicopters. Some of them aren’t as far-fetched as it seems.

History, Archaeology & Anthropology

A fossilised bone found years ago in a Tibetan cave turns out to be from a Denisovan, showing they were widespread across Asia. Which would account for the fact that Tibetan people carry a genetic mutation from Denisovans which allows them to function at high altitude.

New Scientist tells the story of the Yamnaya who conquered Europe about 5000 years ago in what seems to have been a fairly bloody era. [LONG READ] [£££]

Here we go again … Yet another academic thinks he has uncovered the secret of the Voynich manuscript. I wonder.

Somewhat echoing my sentiments, Oxford Historian Amanda Power sets out a case for not restoring Notre Dame but keeping it as a symbol of our flawed lifestyle(s). Oh and, I believe, as a teaching aid for historians and architects.

London

London is in danger of flooding and the Thames Barrier is coming to the end of its design life. So what can be done?

London is full of statues. Diamond Geezer looks at a selection of royal ones.

In North London there is a botanical garden that’s home to a variety of bits of London no-one else wanted. It sounds worth a visit.

We all know about the ravens at the Tower of London, but now they have their first raven chicks for 30 years.

Lifestyle & Personal Development

One Guardian journalist took a lot of tests to try to find out if she was being poisoned by modern life.

So you really need five reasons to be naked in your garden! OK, here they are.

Food & Drink

Finally, one to gladden the hearts of many of my friends … Belgian monks have resurrected a 220-year-old beer after deciphering the recipe. And they’re brewing it!

More goodies next month! Cheers! Hic!