The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread IV

[Octopussy2]

Welcome back, 4ma.

Mother's Day here too - I was presented with Octokitten2's present (made at school) - a mosaic which closely resembles a stingray (in a good way), inexplicably stuck on the bottom of a frying pan. "It's an ornament for balconies, or something" he said. Bless

I am celebrating surviving last night's 10k (I missed my target by 2 mins 23 secs and am genuinely gutted, more than expected) by doing Absolutely Nothing. Breakfast white burgundy already consumed - back atcha the Ex-As , great looking chair btw - now about to make cheddar and pecan scones with Octokitten1. I don't like scones, but cheddar and pecan was enough to persuade me.

Recceing what in Shropshire, TB, if you don't mind me asking? (my part of the world)

[limeygal]

Morning all. Very soggy here. Rain expected for much of the day. Managed to get most of my garden chores done yesterday before I go on my cruise to Cuba tomorrow. Up at 3.30 to catch flight to Miami. Youngest daughter flying in tomorrow to babysit Hubs. He can't be trusted on his own. She has been given instructions-no ladders, nothing sharp or pointy, no power tools, no lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk (doc's orders, not mine) She was in the army so I don't fancy his chances much if he strays from the rules. She will not be taking prisoners.

Breakfast white burgundy already consumed

Octo-clearly, we need a picture of your new frying pan. It's the thought that counts

[ian16th]

Back from SAAFA monthly lunch.

Better meal than usual!

Company the really good point.

[Ex-Ascot]

Down to just three layers of clothes. Nice day. Fresh beans from the farm for lunch. Chef has gone on siesta and says he will dream about what is for our dinner.

[CharlieOneSix]

Just had to dispose of a dead hare that we found in the grass at the side of our driveway. A fox must have caught it sleeping overnight. Pity, I like seeing the hares we have here.

Great weather so have had a hard day mowing and strimming. Looking forward to tonight's meal - a wonderful family size steak pie from our butcher Charlie McHardy... lasts us two days. Hmm - just occurred to me that Charlie McHardy sounds like a character from a Two Ronnies sketch.....can't place it...

EDIT: It was Charley Farley and Piggie Malone - The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976)

[Rwy in Sight]

I am preparing dinner for parents and sister. Steaks are being cooked small house issues are taking care of. Swam to watch some underwater rugby watching some British ladies fighting for a good result. I did enjoy a second espresso.

My word, you really are a commendable family man! Your mention of underwater rugby is a puzzle to me, I've never seen a game of that description, only water polo. "British ladies fighting for a good result" sounds as if this sport is international, so I would be interested if you could give a little more information about it. Glad you enjoyed the second espresso, was the first one not quite "up to scratch"?

The game is played by a team of 12 but only 6 are on the pool at any one time. There are two baskets at the bottom of the pool at each side width wise - so the distance between the baskets is about 6 lanes and not 25 or 50 meter. The ball does sink and it is a foul to take it out of the water. The team of 6 is actually 3 pairs of two - goalkeepers, defenders shooters or whatever the name for those in front is. So each member of the pair is at the bottom of the pool carrying the ball or shooting for a goal the other member is at the surface breathing. The ball can be thrown at any direction - a different from the ground rugby. The game lasts about 12 minute and the members rotate constantly - they get out of the water for a minute and they are back in. There is a camera man and a referee, both using scuba equipment.

The communal pool down the road was used and I went there to get an idea of what is all about - members were not allowed to use the pool on Saturday. However asking around I was told it was ok to swim at a distance from the pitch and have a look. The UK team was from Gloucestershire, the newest one of the tournament so they had a mixed performance. They were teams from Italy, Barcelona and I think France as well. The British ladies were nice to provide info while swimming. The tournament was not a part of any official classification but they used the local pool to attract more audience to the sport - mainly in the northern suburbs of the city. Overall it was fun

A good experience I think for all of us.

Regarding coffee, I am on the four espressoes per day. So I decided to have one the go as I was arranging the final details for the meal. As I have said on the coffee thread coffee is the third of the things I enjoy Aviation and Breasts are the other two hence my ABC approach.

And I plan to attend a first aid course - for the TRABB aspect of the input.

[ian16th]

Who needs Hollywood?

With real life stories like this:

Three years after a Brakpan woman shot and killed her husband, who was also her adoptive dad, in their home, she’s been jailed for an effective 20 years by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
It was a rare family saga that caused public consternation.
Fifty-eight-year-old Chris van Oudtshoorn, an electrical engineer from Brakpan, East Rand, and his wife, Jorina, had been struggling to conceive when they adopted Cathy as a three-year-old.
Seemingly the Van Oudtshoorns were a dead ordinary and happy family. Very soon the couple would also have two healthy baby girls of their own whom they named Anita and Maryna.
But when Chris and Jorina got divorced, Chris married Cathy.
And in 2016 Cathy shot Chris.
'Robbery'
For Anita Brits (28) this nasty chapter of her and her sister’s lives finally ended when Cathy (32) was sent to prison for 20 years on Tuesday for murdering their father. He was shot in the head on April 11, 2016. Cathy alleged there’d been a robbery at the house.
For a long time, Anita says, she had no answers to her questions – until Cathy, who’s in the meantime become pregnant with her second child, finally spilt the beans and admitted her guilt.
“She admitted she’d killed him because she was involved in an extramarital affair,” Anita admitted to YOU magazine on Wednesday
“I’m very happy that it’s over now because the trial opened up all the old wounds again. I was feeling sorry for her child; she’s messed up the life of another child.
“But I didn’t feel sorry for her. Even if she’d been given the death sentence, it wouldn’t bring back my father.”
Anita says she and her sister, Maryna Roets (27), were in court when Cathy was sentenced.
Premeditated murder
Maryna says Cathy, who stood trial on charges including the premeditated murder of Chris and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, was sentenced to a total of 45 years, but will serve just 20 of those.
“I don’t know how to feel; it’s still a jumble of emotions.”
YOU reported earlier that Cathy was 18 years old when Chris and Jorina separated. When Cathy was 20 she fell pregnant and moved into the house with Chris, who was concerned about her.
However, their relationship took a romantic turn and Cathy’s child was barely a year old when Chris married her.
Then, in 2016, she shot and killed him, pretending it was a robbery and even involving Jorina (now 58) in the crime.
Lips are sealed
Jorina had been behind bars for just more than a year for obstruction of justice when she was released and placed under house arrest. In terms of her parole conditions she’s not allowed to talk to the media.
But Maryna says her mom testified in court that she’d helped Cathy to make the murder scene look like a robbery because she was afraid Cathy would kill her too.
The two sisters say they’ve forgiven their mom for her part in the crime and accept that she became involved in the mess because of Cathy.
“Cathy never looked sorry to me in court,” Anita says when asked whether Cathy has any remorse about the murder. “I honestly didn’t believe she was capable of doing a thing like this.”
Anita says her life has been hell for the past three years. Not only did she have to come to terms with the death of her father, but in the meantime her husband, Armand, who was a key witness in the case, was killed in a car accident. She and Armand were the first people on the scene of her dad’s murder.
Chris was sitting on his couch watching television when he was shot in the head.
Jorina, who was visiting Cathy at the time, apparently was instructed afterwards to throw out the contents of all the cupboards to make it look as if the house had been robbed.
"One day I'll probably be able to forgive Cathy, because that's what the Bible commands, but forget? Never. I'll never talk to her again; I'll never visit her in jail," Anita says.

[Capetonian]

Hillbillies. Low class Afrikaners.

Reminds me of those jokes about a man who married his stp-daughtet and they had a child which in turn married a step-parent, and so on. Then the man was his own son and uncle at the same time.

Suppose you marry a widow who already has a grown up daughter, and your father marries the widow's grown up daughter. Now the widow's daughter becomes your mother. Since your mother's mother is your wife, your wife is also your grandmother. As the husband of your grandmother, you become your own grandpa.

[4mastacker]

Thank you for the welcome Mme Octo.

One problem with being away for a few days away is the bloody grass and weeds don't stop growing. So, at SWMBO's "suggestion", the north and south lawns have been hoovered and are now cut to their regulation height - the green bin is now well topped up!

[ricardian]

EDIT: It was Charley Farley and Piggie Malone - The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976)

In full

And "Corner of the Yard"

[ricardian]

Here's one for the Ex-Ascots

Seen on Farcebook

[Karearea]

...Why does Mother's day get spread over three weeks around the world ?...

Two different dates: the fourth Sunday in Lent is the old traditional "Mothering Sunday"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothering_Sunday

which has become more commercialised, like the US-originating "Mother's Day" observed on the second Sunday in May:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day

I prefer the simple traditions of Mothering Sunday myself, the posy of flowers and the Simnel cakes, but it's not so commonly observed here.

With Easter being relatively late this year the fourth Sunday in Lent was also later than usual, hence closer to the May date.

[ricardian]

My word, you really are a commendable family man! Your mention of underwater rugby is a puzzle to me, I've never seen a game of that description, only water polo. "British ladies fighting for a good result" sounds as if this sport is international, so I would be interested if you could give a little more information about it. Glad you enjoyed the second espresso, was the first one not quite "up to scratch"?

And up here Octopush or Underwater Hockey used to be very popular

[Pontius Navigator]

Thank you for the welcome Mme Octo.

One problem with being away for a few days away is the bloody grass and weeds don't stop growing. So, at SWMBO's "suggestion", the north and south lawns have been hoovered and are now cut to their regulation height - the green bin is now well topped up!

I use a high cut technique. On a 2 cut I am always emptying the hopper and soon fill the compost bin. On a 3 cut the grass is soft under food and does not scorch in hot weather. Only fill two hoppers and the previous cut had compacted. Just tried a 4 cut and it makes for quick work and suppresses the weeds.

[G-CPTN]

And up here Octopush or Underwater Hockey used to be very popular

Played by octopushies I suppose?

[Mole]

just got home, heard a scrabbling of strong claws on the concrete road, turned round and there were a couple of badger cubs having a play flight. Horrible sound of teeth clashing but no shrieking.
I stood still as they broke the fight to resume a game of chase, they passed very close to me at top speed and off down the road, to reappear in the opposite direction very shortly after still going
at a rate of knots!
ah, the innocence of it!

[OFSO]

Tramuntana blowing hard all night but nice sunny day. Not awaking to trapped-cat-howls for a change.....

[Ibbie]

Morning folks.

A blue one again, but slightly cooler. Low to mid 20s for temperture today.

It's tax return time. Meetimg gestoria at 10.30 to complete the necessary.

[Pontius Navigator]

Lincolnshire, 6 forecast 16

[Ex-Ascot]

Nice day dead calm sea. We are all unsupervised, hotel owner and wife have taken their boat to Syros for servicing for 3 days. No Mrs Grumpy.

Not going anywhere today bracing ourselves for a trip to the capital tomorrow to see the mayor for what he calls an Englishman's breakfast. In other words beer. He was at Dartmouth. On day one massive lunch and a few beers and he was missing for the afternoon lectures. He couldn't belive that they didn't take a siesta.

Elections in 2 weeks. It is a big mess here with a split party. Almost certain to go to a second vote. All sorts of stupid things in manifestos. Electricity to our remote village is included. We are against it. The mayor said to us privately not to worry about it. Six years ago he showed to me plans for an airstrip which would not work, another election stunt. Told him to forget it, me aircraft, you ships.