gardengirl

sphinx

me neither, never have I opened my eyes under water

sadly he can [He is The Lord Mayor Of London and a prize nincompoop as Bertie Wooster might say.] I don't give a monkey's if.... I never hear the words 'climate change' again in my life.

Little Boxes [made of ticky-tacky] - Sandy Dennis ? [unsure of singer.] Made by various people over the years.

Itsme had heard enough! He turned and fled, wailing as he did [he wasn't the bravest apple in the barrel]. He shot off in the direction of the river, feet [and heart] pounding, he was younger and fitter than Jack he would outrun him, no problem, and he really would have too, as fear had lent him wings, except just at that very moment......

Books can definitely change the way you think, not so much novels obviously, but non-fiction can open your eyes to the rest of the world, or politics or religion etc. It doesn't always make you agree with the author, but stops you having an narrow minded, parochial view of life.The other thing is, I'm old[ish!] now, and I have found that my views have changed over time, not just once but many times.Nothing is quite as black and white as it used to be, which I take as a good thing.

neither have I never have I written anything for publication [in fact the most I have written is on shopping lists!]

or would have, but realised that 'Dobbin' [and indeed the second black horse] had vanished from their traces [indeed, vanished without trace!] No going 'back oop North tonight ' thought Itsme gloomily, leaping back down to the pavement [still not paved with gold, he noticed.] 'Could things get any worse?' he wondered out loud ' Oh Itsme! Indeed they can' growled a strange voice from the other side of the coach, and as he turned trembling in that direction, a large ...........

the last one is a fantasy item Vimes! sounds like you are settling in there already

Snowla, your English is very good!My grasp of any Chinese is very small [none.] My favourite classic books are........ Martin Chuzzlewit- Charles Dickens 1984 -George Orwell Middlemarch-George Eliot

Under The Dome [book] is so much better than the tv drivel of same name! The Kraken Wakes is a good John Wyndham 'read' and it came to be said [the title] a lot in our house by the kids when their Dad woke up and thudded about the house in quest for coffee in the morning.

Dex have you read Miss Smillas Feeling For Snow by Danish author Peter Hoeg? It's a murder mystery and really exciting, I enjoyed it a lot.You can read it in English obviously [it came out in 1992 but think you could still get hold of it.]

river deep, mountain high - Ike and Tina Turner

...for the night'. 'oh? think yer'll live long enough for that ?' leered the coachman , 'I'll be throwing you orf the coach in the East India Dock Road, an you'll not be finding any fancy hotels there my son!' 'Whitechapel ain't what you'd call a safe place but Jack The Ripoff merchant might find you a bed ......... a river-bed, haw haw hee hee!' Just as he said this, the coach lurched violently and they were both..........

That's a shame VF, I thought you would like it, but hey it didn't cost a lot to buy. I liked the fact that nothing was explained but just happened! We don't know that Rocker was the only one that hopped between worlds, there were people wherever he was , so maybe they did?For me, the power in the story is that awful suspension of all the rules, so that there are no parameters, but that your whole world [and idea of what the world is] is stood on it's head! It's certainly a 'stand out' book for me, because I have never read anything like it before. Yes, surreal is the right word I think, and I agree 'did Rocker do the right thing'....... what is the right thing? [into semantics here.]

A jar of lemon curd, a spoon, my reading glasses [otherwise I can't read the Shakespeare!]

Boris Johnson falls off his bike

then howled as he was grabbed by the hair and hauled in through the carriage window by the foul coachman! 'Sit down and shut up' Itsme was told roughly as he was flung into a corner.'Wh-wh-where are we going?' Itsme timidly asked. 'To Hell' the coachman answered with an awful grin 'well, Whitechapel actually' he went on 'but there ain't much difference!' Itsme gulped, Whitechapel, wasn't that where ........

No, never, but seeing food on tv makes me want to have the same! Maybe it needs to be visual for me.

A buttered hot cross bun [English speciality , a bready bun made with cinnamon and dried fruit.]Also a sliced banana and a huge cup of Earl Grey tea.

Bobblybear, can you tell us your recipe for the cake? my fave meal take-away is really good fish and chips [we don't have one anywhere near us so it would be a special treat.The best I have ever had was last year from a little shop just off the quayside in Appledore North Devon.]

I'm a fairly good cook, had lots of years cooking for my family, but I like to have peace and quiet when I cook!You know these tv programmes like Escape To The Country where the people always say they want a huge kitchen because they like loads of people around when they cook? Well, I'm the opposite , I hate anyone around me so I'm happy in a small kitchen I can shoo them away with a glass of wine, then I don't burn things or get distracted.I only want them to see the meal when it's ready to serve!

Is this all the rage in Essex? I don't think I have heard of this item!

Junior school tapioca pudding circa 1958, It was so mind bogglingly awful that I dropped the dish on the floor [an accident Miss!]

mild chicken curry with rice and naan bread and mango chutney, egg sausages and chips, egg salad, my own cherry tomatoes from the garden, sliced up and sprinkled with a little sea salt on toast my own homemade lasagne