Prior preparation promotes perfect porridge.

Jameson's whiskey is aged for at least 7 years: "Not a drop sold till it's seven years old."

This soup has been in the fridge for almost a week; it's been a busy day so I was hungry (again!). The last portion of tomato soup looked a bit dull, so I dropped a handful of spinach leaves in with the soup when I heated it up. Finished with a good grating of old 'mousetrap' cheese, a hefty dollop of homemade yogurt, lemon juice, and a few twists of black pepper.

It was 'proper reet good' as we say here!

The tide's in, so it's time to take a short ferry ride across to Fleetwood.

The ferry is privately run and takes just a few minutes to cross the Wyre estuary between Knott End and Fleetwood.

Beyond the trees is the Crown Court. Behind the dock is still the branding iron that was used to mark an M on the guilty person's hand. M for malefactor. No longer used, although the court still sits from time to time.

This is wearing away, so I thought I'd capture it before it goes forever.

Anyone like to tell me what it is?

Done by hand with sharp chisels and a steady hand.

I won't upset proper chefs by calling this pesto.

2 bags of basil leaves

A chunk of Parmesan, grated

A handful of walnuts

2 big garlic cloves

Sea salt

Lemon juice

Oil

Attacked with the stick blender till I got bored (so not long).

Looks terrible but tastes epic.

Apparently this was the oldest supplier to business photography. Shut now.

proud parents with their fluffy offspring

I've just put the ingredients for this week's 'house sauce' in the slow cooker. I have a feeling it will be a cure for almost anything; there are the usual suspects (soffritto) as well as olives, tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, and a small marrow. A friend gave me a bag of aglione spice mix so I added some of that, too. Covered with a glass of red wine and stock.

I'm looking forward to how the kitchen will smell in the morning.

Get the coffee on, he said.

A pretty little Daisy on my walk yesterday. This is a 1.7X zoom from the main sensor on the X90 Pro.

Now the petals drop, especially with this cold wind.

This is why I walk everywhere now.

This ancient right of way has been in use since Roman times at least. The birds' singing encourages my ascent.

What shall i do with all these tomato plant leaves? It's so end of season.

for the BW-Project2019

The story unfolds. I couldn't hear the narrative and was clueless from start to finish.

Reminds me of Yerevan in the fog. I've been helping to paint a room in grey. The under coat was dodgy and the surface so porous. Breaking for tea i spotted this. I rather like the effect. Too bad it will disappear as it dries.

I adore brutalist architecture.

at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire on a clear November afternoon

Windfalls don't cook themselves.

Peeled and quartered, the pears are stewed until soft in water, with brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, and lemon juice. It doesn't take long.

I think this will make a good marmalade spoon.

It looks suitably grand to celebrate the morning.

Serve when the cabbage has wilted but still has some crunchiness and flavor.

The Royal Navy guides itself via an extensive series of BRs (Books of Reference). BR 2806 UK Diving Manual is the one that deals with diving. The 1972 edition mandated divers to be issued with the military spec Rolex (similar to this one on a webbing strap), or an Omega Seamaster. Diving Supervisors got the Lemania (rare, classy, wind-up)

This is a civilian pattern Rolex, and the price is completely mad. And no papers. Good luck with buying this one.

A pretty onboard engine on a small boat. I can almost hear it. Bop bop bop bop bop!

My friend is feeling under the weather. This will restore him for sure.

Best made on Thursday to be served in Friday night but there's no need to wait.

As I have no crafting skills I got these from Etsy

What a day to be alive.

A random assortment of veggies makes an unexpectedly uplifting picture. Makes a nice soup, too.

onion

garlic

celery

mushrooms

tomatoes

persimmon

pomegranate

capsicum

Italian herb mix

chicken stock

blitz and finish with coconut milk

Here's an ancient Italian recipe that i just made up. People seemed to like it and it was easy enough to make. It will be better left to cool and reheated tomorrow.

Today we remember the Blessed Claudio Granzotto, hence the name 😄

This memorial honors Commander Forsberg RN, OBE, a renowned long-distance swimmer known for his record-breaking English Channel swim in 1957 and his 29 crossings of Morecambe Bay.

The sculpture represents his wish to "sit facing wonderful Morecambe Bay and imbibe the matchless view".

In 1957 at the age of 45 he set the England-France cross Channel record. Two weeks later he won the British Long Distance Swimming Association’s Windermere Championship even though he was the oldest competitor in the event.

For 41 years, his monthly column in Britain's Swimming Times "Long Distance Swimming" was worldwide and contained every bit of news, gossip, advice and information a person could want. It served to inform and inspire those involved in open water and marathon swimming. His openness, choice of words and British humor are what made him one of the most sought after writer by readers of the sport and around the world.

Well, i like glass. I found this today in a thrift shop. It's a somewhat marine shape. A big bubble that's been set about with a grinding wheel to produce this interesting pattern. I like how it plays with the light.

In this case two Wongs made a right. Simple and delicious ham and cheese bun for lunch and a good cup of oolong kept me going for an afternoon of wandering about.

This mark was on the same wall at St John's church, but about 1.5 m above ground level.

The website, Trigpointing UK has pictures of many, many trigpoints, and this one appears to be unique, with that deeply-cut triangle going through the traditional benchmark.

So, while I will include this in my Banchmarks album, I believe this is a "3rd Order Trig Point" to use the terminology that's used to describe them.

Now, imagine some dude from Ordnance Survey rocking up to your house today and chiselling a mark on the wall ... that could lead to a fun exchange of words!

Accurate scales build customer goodwill; so says the Herbert & Sons leaflet.

Here are the scales used to weigh out orders at Atkinson's. They may be old, but they are quick and accurate - I re-weighed my tea at home on my electronic scales, and the weight was spot on.

These scales were made sometime between 1910 and 1945. The maker, Herbert & Sons, was established in London in 1760 and is still trading.

You can see different models of Lion scales at 1:36 and 4:32 in this fascinating historical film, here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wNJ78S2GY

You can read more about the Lion Quick Action Scale, here:

www.herberthistory.co.uk/userdata/files/light_on_the_lion...

Smoke results from the incomplete combustion of fuel.

I looked out of the window a year ago and saw this - the abandoned recycling center (in a former power station) had caught fire, and continued to burn for more than two weeks.

The council had to spend about GBP 2 million on putting it out, which included partial demolition of the building so that the fire brigade could access the fire itself.

For some reason, I completely forgot to post this picture until now.