A bit of New Zealand bush. There is nothing quite like it. It did more for me in a few minutes than many hours of therapy.

Drinking fountain near Dolphin Square

Outside the gelateria on Sun Street is a rather incongruous giant model of a '99' - a concoction of soft-serve ice cream with a chocolate flake, on a cornet wafer. These were made famous in UK by Mr Whippy ice cream vans, starting in Birmingham, in 1958.

Conversely, the dark chocolate gelato sold in this shop is possibly the best I have tasted outside Italy.

Seeing these on my way to work was so uplifting. The feeling lasted all morning.

I've come to Preston to visit The Harris, which reopened a little while ago after a long refurbishment. The Harris was a gift from a local solicitor to the people. It provides a public space to display art, general exhibitions, and a public library. Entry is free but donations towards upkeep are invited.

Miller Arcade is a charming late Victorian arcade.

The hydrangeas approach the end of this year's glorious display. I wish I could embrace aging with the same grace.

What looks like spit under the leaf is evidence of some mites that are making a home on this Turkish sage.

This is an ornamental sage, and not for eating. It looks good though.

I wondered where there colander had gone ...

Eat.

My kitchen is cold enough to hang meat. So, put another jumper on.

Yoga completed for the morning.

Air fryer eggs and soldiers, with grilled black pudding. A1 sauce in the side (knocks spots off that HP rubbish).

Coffee, and a citrus shot.

Still cold but not feeling so gloomy now 😁👍

A herring gull doing its thing.

Today's lunch was a medley of beans - cannelini, borlotti, haricots, black, green lentils, chick peas. And a good quantity of tomato - crushed, puree, whatever I could find.

Soften some onions, add garlic, lots of paprika, salt and pepper. Bring up to a simmer for a while and allow to reduce. Add a heap of grated mozzarella and sharp cheddar; stir well.

Taste ... a bit flat. So a couple of dollops of sriracha to lift but not over-power.

Job done for less than a pound per person.

I love Spanish blood oranges but they leave their mark. I treasure it.

It's still dreich out there. It's going to be a slow day.

In the Tokyo Subway.

Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan.

Galaxy S7 Edge | 26mm | 1/50 sec | f/1.7 | iso 64

Edit in On1 Raw 2018 photo editor.

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Found during excavation for the canal. The Roman road was on a similar alignment.

Vintage marmalade on toasted caraway wholemeal bread.

I'm stuck at home with a painful Achilles tendon. it's also raining. the temptation is to eat everything in the flat.

Toasted, the flavor of caraway comes out very well and goes well with the marmalade.

During the last fortnight of Lent statues and crucifixes are covered with purple cloth to mark a time of deeper reflection.

This altar and reredos were designed by Giles Gilbert Scot for the jubilee of 1909.

Before TV monopolized living rooms, people played games and talked. This was produced in 1934.

To be fair, I have no idea what this poster is about. What I can say is that I have definitely been experiencing the willies today. NO! - stop that sniggering: read the definition:

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/willies

I have done some tweaking on this image using Darktable - apparently it's a bit like Lightroom, but I don't know what that is, anyway. But I need something that will process RAW images ...

And I have finally bitten the bullet and changed my ancient phone for something less antique (but still 'pre-loved'). My, how Android has evolved in nearly 8 years! I have no idea how this phone works, really. It's giving me the willies!

Banana Yoshimoto wrote this. Dealing with loss and love and other stuff, it was very readable and short enough for a single sitting.

Give it a go.

A bold robin scurries past. A grab shot is the best I can hope for. He didn't go far away and was intent on finding some lunch.

The first of my bulbs appear.

I bought a bag of bulbs in the market a while ago and potted them up for spring. This one seems keen to arrive early.

I have no clue what they will be.

Today is the centenary of the birth of the beloved English comedian, Eric Morecambe. He brought sunshine into so many lives.

His statue is on Morecambe Promenade.

Another benchmark. This on the side of St John's Church, Lancaster.

Part of the survey and census of 1840.

I may get this as a tattoo sometime.

My brief is to make food with supermarket ingredients. Today I made soup with canned chicken, sweet corn, and mushrooms.

This serving works out to be 95p including fuel, for 40 serves.

Spring onions (on special) added some color.

Added a cornflour slurry to thicken. Potato would do the same job.

White onions and garlic to frame the flavors.

Makes a change from all veggies and was received well.

#android #androidography #fotodroids #galaxynexus #snapseed #landscape #Switzerland #zurich #2013 #sky

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Today I made a wholemeal bread that for once didn't go mad and produced an acceptable loaf. I used 40% English wholemeal flour and 60% Canadian strong white flour.

Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, (9 May 1801 – 12 April 1866) was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England.

Before its foundation, Fleetwood was described as a massive rabbit warren on huge snd dunes

This bust was made in Rome by Henry Behnes Burlowe.

A bee visits some common ragwort.

This plant is potentially lethal to horse and cattle but is the natural feeding plant for the cinnabar moth, whose numbers are down considerably in the last few years. This particular plant was also full of bees doing their pollination job. Humans should not touch this plant either as it can cause rashes and other irritations.

As I stood next to it in the sunshine, there was the most amazing smell of honey coming from it.

Purple beetroots go with good memories, but this time I couldn't resist these vibrant. sweet red capsicums.

#android #androidography #fotodroids #galaxynexus #snapseed #landscape #snow #winter #forest #zurich

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Friday's almost complete mise en place.

Another benchmark. On St Mary's Gate this time. I can't find any record to state they were cut on anything other than vertical structures.

The local water company had a pop up information stand at the local mall the other day. Giving useful advice to avoid freezing pipes and wasting water. They gave me this ice scraper 'free'.

Imagine my amusement to read that water bills are going up again, 'to cover investment in infrastructure'. The share price is up 30% over the year, so dividends should be up, too. I should be grateful for my piece of plastic.

Get the coffee on, he said.

I've been following Franceso Mattana's YouTube channel for a while and now I've bought his book. I've been divesting myself of many cookery books - I will never cook a gigot d'agneau, for example - but I suspect I will make many of the recipes here.

My time in Sardinia was one of the happiest and most fulfilling times in my career; the people were so kind and the countryside was breathtaking. And the food ...!

I have no intention of living till I'm a hundred but I hope to have some culinary fun in the meantime.

A lot going on here. The reflections caught my eye and then i noticed the bike. Too awkward to rescue from the mud without a grappling line.

Did it fall or was it thrown?

youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I?si=kJ0HXMVwf9TKiMqv

One of the best things about part time work is the lack of pressure.

End-grain boards are forgiving to knives but need a little maintenance apart from regular cleaning. I've scrubbed, sanded, and disinfected my board. Re-oiled now and left to sink in overnight.

Some might compare this with Zen meditation. They might be right.

Saturday morning daydream

Tomato plants grow

Gently healing

From my recently found fence.

I love the flaking layers of paint, like a rusty old trawler that's been hauled ashore.