#89 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Colour, SerendipityLeave a comment

Lola is struggling with the concept of the festive season being over. Her first full day of normality was mostly spent as I de-rigged 3/4 of the Christmas decorations, snuggled in a blanket. The tree remains and it is the red lights from the tree that give her the warm glow to her face. Our local council is not offering a Christmas tree collection service this year. Without a front garden the tree must stay up and indoors until we can wrestle it into an old quilt cover and take it to the local tip. It is a completely different beast from the slender,fragrant and sheathed tree we brought home in mid December. Remarkably it is not yet dropping its needles but I know the minute we start its decommission we will be ankle deep in spiky needles. To be honest I have little truck with the bad luck concept of leaving a tree up beyond 12th Night, and a great deal of truck, maybe the M2 after Brexit, with the concept of keeping this dark time of year illuminated with twinkling lights. So for now snuggling in a cosy blanket illuminated by small red lights is still a thing in our house.

The tree has also gained its own festive coloured bag of Tea Bags. Thank you, again,Brenda Bennett. We may now have enough tea to see us through to the unpredictable end of this pandemic and possibly to next Christmas!

#88 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn ponderingLeave a comment

The first sunrise picture of 2022. The temperature has plummeted and even the coastal pigeon is feeling the chill.

Over Christmas I read a fabulous paragraph that has engaged my pondering head enormously.

A fact is information minus emotion. An opinion is information plus experience. Ignorance is an opinion lacking information, and stupidity is an opinion that ignores a fact.

The first pure ponder of 2022, it’s enough to make a pigeon stare.

#87 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Hugo and LolaLeave a comment

As the days of the festive season give way to January, I was anticipating a return to Sunday normality. Some time alone with a newspaper is one of the regular joys of the weekend. What I had not factored in was two dogs who have had two full weeks of an endless supply of cuddles from a bigger variety of people in the house. Regardless of our level of business or relaxation there has always been someone willing to give them on-demand cuddles, tickles, snacks, access to the yard or bracing walks. Just two of us is suddenly not quite enough for their wish fulfilment. The picture above looks either posed or a lucky moment with a handy camera phone. It was neither, just an absolute certainty. During my twenty minutes of attempting to read the paper this happened more than ten times. He needed nothing, but what he wanted was the undivided attention of the only human available. As soon as I took this picture I gave up reading the newspaper. As soon as I gave up reading the newspaper, he went to sleep on it. As soon as he went to sleep we took him on a walk. I’m not sure which of us is the victor. Only one person did a victory dance

#86 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn 2022, SerendipityLeave a comment

This empty table is the beginning of the end of our festive season. A family birthday breakfast. 2020 and 2021 gave us a lot of empty tables where proper gatherings should have taken place. Celebrations not celebrated, sadnesses not marked and just general gatherings in normal life that we have all failed to  achieve with Covid restrictions and actual Covid infections. Only this week we were unable to be with our friend Prof Steve who got an honour in the Queens New Year Honours.

Here he is wistfully looking out to sea, dreaming of being a Dame. The Queen of course does not gift dreams. She gave him a solid respectable C.B.E for outstanding work in the NHS. I’m sure 2022 will eventually reward him with a Kitchen Disco featuring 90’s Anthems, our usual method of celebrating most things when we are together.

This morning our table quickly filled with family and friends, lets hope 2022 really does give us more fun times and full tables. We are more than ready!

#83 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Food ( but this is not a food blog), SerendipityLeave a comment

As the Turkey leaves the building for 2021 we celebrated with a traditional curry. There is enough for a pie in the freezer but the curry is always the big send off.

Henry VIII was the first English king to serve Turkey at Christmas feasts.I feel a lot like Henry VIII right now. Rotund and somewhat over feasted.

Over feasted yet I wake up hungry in the morning. Deep December is a funny place to live. Mince Pie for breakfast anyone?

#82 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn dog walksLeave a comment

Raindrops keep falling on my blog/dog/seal.

Betwixt and between, hovering, damply between Christmas and the New Year. Hovering also in some marshy uncertainty of the Pandemic and the worlds route forward.

Traditionally this is a time of walking and enjoying fresh air and inspiring views. As spectacle wearers there has to be some expectation of reasonable weather. Today is not that day.

Todays walk was a blurry meander with the sole purpose of doggy elimination. Not the sort that has clearly annoyed a neighbour. We are very responsible dog owners.

Lovely use of a festive gift label, top marks for recycling. The specificity of this message is gorgeous, were I to have a large brown bear would his defaecation really be as welcome as this sign implies?

The high and turning point of todays walk is when both dogs have done a poo, texture and quality are discussed before it is cleared away swiftly and hygienically. ( Should you be interested we have passed through the days of over indulgence of turkey to the normalcy of regular eating and bran flakes)

Even Miss Spearmint feels a little disappointed in the weather. What is the point of hauling out on a dark background if there are not many photographers about.

#81 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Covid Christmas, SerendipityLeave a comment

We took ourselves off for a coffee date this morning with friends and then took a walk around the old Elizabethan Port of Plymouth. An area that still roughly conforms to the pink area on this map of 1620. We walk it so often we quite take it for granted and I took very few photographs today.

Just as the Pandemic took hold of the world, Plymouth was gearing up to celebrate its part in the founding of the New World with the Mayflower 400 celebrations. Plymouth was being primped for many visitors and events. All that preparation and anticipation came to nothing as the world shut down. One of our favourite, tiny corners of Plymouth has been shut ever since. To our surprise the Elizabethan gardens were open today on our walk and we popped in.

December is not a great time to admire a garden but it was really nice just to be back in a favourite space.

I think I was so surprised to be in there at all I only took a couple of pictures, but all around there were signs of the refurbishment of historic buildings which would have been so central to the 400 year anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower to what we now know as the United States of America.

I am disappointed in myself photographically but sometimes ot is just good to lose yourself in the moment which is exactly what I did. A perfect reason to go back, very soon when Spring starts to make an appearance.

In other news, we had a sporting day yesterday with golf and Ten Pin Bowling.

Both venues were totally artificial but we had a great time being competitive indoors away from the somewhat murky weather .

We have been lucky in our new home, and totally grateful,that none of our Christmas visitors have involved grumpy old farts like this chap on the golf course.

My commiserations to any of you who have suffered a friend or family member who has cast shade on your festivities, there is nothing worse. If this Pandemic has taught me anything it is that life is too short to share extended moments with people whose habitual attitude to life tends towards the negative.

We have been extraordinarily lucky this festive season. Smiles and happiness overload.

#80 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Devils Point, Home1 Comment
Tranquility Bay

Three years ago I took this picture of a beach on 27/12/2018. Not in my wildest imagination did I think that I would become a year round swimmer from this beach, or that I would ever live just a short walk from here. It feels like yesterday. Not so very far over that blue horizon was an almost two year long, life altering and time warping Pandemic. It all feels quite unbelievable.