poppy

Fifth Avenue ~ Shirley Temple

managed to contact her. She looked like the wiggly lines on an old out of focus TV set but I could hear most of what she was saying. 'Fiona has disappeared,' she wailed, 'and I don't know what to do!' Personally I would have been relieved to get rid of the annoying little blister, and got on with my life, but Rosie obviously thought otherwise. 'Calm down, darling and tell me when you saw her last.' 'Well we went ...

Are Friends Electric ~ Gary Numan

finished our tea and it was swiftly back to work for me. I still suffered from panic attacks when recalling my traumatic experiences with Pythagoas and the ex-Missus. I wasn't going to risk a repeat from 'Little Miss Mischievous Fiery Dark Eyes' no matter how cute. I was hard at it in the office, catching up on the latest news in The Sun, when the phone rang. 'Darling, is that you? I have a problem ...

Friends and Lovers ~ Bread (songs can suddenly transport you back years. I've been listening to a nostalgia paylist I've made on Spotify today 🙂 )

Peaceful Easy Feeling ~ Eagles

her custard creams. She managed to extricate her hand holding at least half a dozen. I couldn't help admiring her talent but I was concerned there wouldn't be any left for me! 'Hoy! You better not have eaten them all!' But it was too late, she'd crammed every last one into her mouth and all that was left were a few boring, rather soggy, water crackers. I sighed and put the kettle on, it didn't look like Dolly had any intention of ...

Deacon Blues ~ Steely Dan

a very wet and bedraggled looking feather duster in one hand and a plunger in the other. 'Yes, I'm sure a few custard creams are the order of the day. I've been hard at it, so put the kettle on sweetie and make us both a nice cup of tea. Strong, hot and sweet for me. And then you can tell me all about what you've been doing.' I was actually a bit worried about what she'd been doing, given the equipment she was carrying. 'I'm sorry Mr Revolting, but ...

You're not supposed to, but some people do. I've never had one myself.

did some unmentionable things to Mrs Bindweed's bed of prize petunias. Keiff said the only solution was to surround the 'peripheral extremities' with cat proof fencing. When I asked how much that would set us back, he said he knew a bloke who'd do it on the cheap as long as I didn't ask too many questions. Unlike my nosy neighbour, I was far too busy with my extremely heavy workload since Rosie had deserted me and gone gallivanting off, to go poking my nose into other people's business. 'Well, give us a quote and I'll ...

You're Gonna Look Good In Blues ~ Tony Joe White

Yes, rabbits had already created problems for farmers by the 1870's. There were so many in some parts of the South Island ( we're such an imaginative lot with our place names 🙄) that there was no food left for sheep. Unfortunately ferrets and stoats are devastating on birdlife. Possums here are different from American ones. Ours look like this ... And this is the noise they make. Right outside (an open) bedroom window in the middle of the night gives you something of a start 😁 I had one once that was scratching on a bedroom window. I couldn't see anything so opened up the window only to discover it was clinging to the window frame and swinging backwards and forwards as I opened and closed it! The have very sharp claws, you don't want them running up your leg, as I did once with a pet one 😅

in your washing, dearie. Any mending needing doing or buttons sewing on, I'll be happy to oblige.' That solved one problem. Now there was just the cooking, cleaning, dishes and someone to make my bed. Perhaps I could ask Dolly, a sweet girl who came in voluntarily to help with the cats? 'Well, Mr Revolting,' she said shyly, 'I COULD try, but I haven't really done those things very much. I'm responsible at home for car maintenance... oil changes, new fan belts, checking points and plugs, overhauling the motor, those kinds of things.' 'Well, we don't have a car, so give it your best shot.' And I left her to it. I had a pressing appointment with ...

Most were brought here by early settlers from Gt Britain, in a lot of cases as food sources, I imagine. The possums were introduced from Australia. They're protected there, I understand, but thrive in our climate and decimate our native forests. They can also carry TB that can infect cows. They are quite cute though, but make a fearful screeching and hissing noise. They climb onto our veranda roof at night and clamber around, making those noises. Causes quite a start and since I keep the bedroom windows open (it's summer), I'm always half expecting them to come clambering in! The rabbits and deer don't really cause us problems so we enjoy seeing them 😊

Previous page, happens when you click on a notification and reply to it rather than check the page number 😉 A Good Year For the Roses ~ Elvis Costello

We get fallow deer coming into our garden at night to eat fruit at this time of year. They leap effortlessly over fences and gates. We also have wild pigs which make a real mess digging up paddocks. Neither are native to NZ and considered a pest ( as are rabbits, possums, stoats, ferrets, wild goats and several other animals).

our beloved and revered visitors. Let me assist you in rectifying your unfortunate mistake.' 'I didn't make any mistake,' muttered Fiona. 'I TOLD you not to use that dodgy looking guy, it's your own fault,' hissed Rosie. We will leave them bickering away there and get back to more important subjects ... namely me. Left all alone, I was manfully coping with everything at home by myself. Not only the running of a hectically busy cat cafe (three customers today), but I had to organise to have my laundry, cooking, dishes, bed-making and cleaning all done. It was enough to ...

Wouldn't It Be Fun ~ Cole Porter

about offering a very good rate for exchanging GBP into yen, and that cheered Fiona up, but Rosie didn't think it was a very good idea. She said they should go through official channels, but Fiona ignored her and did a deal, which ended up ...

Dirty Paws ~ Of Mice and Men

's sole grasp of the language stalled at konnichiwa and sayonara and even then was very vague to their meaning. She tried them out now in an unintelligible accent. Hiro just shook his head and muttered something under his breath which loosely translated to 'these foreigners are bonkers'. They plodded on searching for customs, dragging their overweight suitcases, one of which had lost a wheel and the other now sporting a broken handle. Fiona was starting to get tetchy and Rosie began to wish ...

A Salty Dog ~ Procol Harum

Au Reservoir by Guy Fraser-Sampson. A sequel to E.F Benson's Mapp and Lucia novels. He does a pretty good job.

lolly papers, orange peel, chip packets and other bits of detritus careless people had dropped. She was shaking her head and muttering to herself unintelligibly but stopped when Fiona addressed her. She pointed to a long queue snaking off into the distance, so the girls joined the end resignedly. Unfortunately ...