Val’s Comments (group member since Aug 28, 2019)

Val’s comments from the Beyond Zon group.

suzysunshine7 wrote: "Our Tomtato Plants have pretty much almost finished producing now, Val, and we will be thinking about digging them up in the next fortnight depending on how well and advanced the Potato crops that are underneath have grown ;o> ..."

Your tomtaters have always fascinated me. I've never seen anything like them here. Mind you, we have potatoes sprout continuously in our compost bins and they have proved edible too. Most years we have had tomatoes spring up in the compost but I haven't noticed any this year. I'm placing all my faith in my seedlings.

Isabella wrote: "I'm seriously thinking of planting mind your own business by the side of the house. ..."

I had to google "mind your own business"! It sounded as though it might be what we call "Neighbours-Be-Gone"! But the latter is a screening plant. I think yours is what we call baby's tears or angel's tears.

Yes, I tend to use "geranium" when I should use "pelargonium". The peppermint variety has a very insignificant flower but the leaves are like velvet and have a lovely scent. It grows like a ground cover and is easily controlled by cutting back heavily.

Our clocks went forward last night so we can look forward to some light nights at last. Weather is very mild but quite a few showers. Very good for the garden. My older daughter moved into a new house in March and my son and his family are about to move into their new house in a couple of weeks so I am striking a lot of cuttings of fail-safe plants for their gardens - buddleia, cistus, peppermint geranium, etc.

It has always seemed to me that Australian tomatoes have very little taste. Too much sun results in a rather watery product to my mind. The exception is the very small cherry tomatoes. Anyway this year I bought some seeds of Rouge de Marmande variety and planted 12 in an old egg carton. After one week six have shot so now the trick is to see if I can keep them alive till they are big enough to plant out. And I'm hoping I haven't left it too late because I'm sure most folk are planting out established seedlings now. Anyone have any recommendations for tasty varieties?

I'm not a Facebook expert Isabella so I'm sure there's folk out there who know more than me. I'm much like yourself, don't want to air my business on a broad forum. I had to join Facebook because that's where my family post a lot of their doings/photographs. I think you can provide the bare minimum of info when signing up and you can go on their Privacy Settings to protect yourself as much as possible. Join using some name other than that which you are best known by. So maybe your first and second names, your first name and your mother's maiden name or anything that renders you anonymous to anyone who might be searching your name. I would advise not telling any of your acquaintances that you are a member because they'll then ask for your Facebook name and it can be awkward saying you forget. Plus you risk getting Friend Requests and might feel embarrassed refusing them. I have one persistant request from a former neighbour that I just ignore. The next trick would be to only post (if you feel you want/need to) on that group that you have joined. If you do click on the Like button on any page, Facebook will note that as of interest to you and will send you similar sites as suggestions. Tell them you're not interested.

You will find that you do get targeted by ads - often in regard to something you have previously searched for on Google or whatever. You're interested in composters? Look at all these ads for compost bins. You donated online to a charity? Suddenly every charity wants your money. But you can click on a link on these ads to say you don't want to see them again. And I would advise against being sucked into any ad that might look interesting. I love jigsaws and an ad came up for some that looked particularly up my street. I clicked on it and ordered two different puzzles. When they arrived, apart from being really el cheapo and battered in the post (from China), they were both the same and not one of the pictures I wanted. Luckily I always pay by PayPal and by persisting, I was able to get my money back (£40). If an ad comes up that you do like the look of (e.g. plants, a nursery, etc), don't click on the ad, google the product instead and find a reputable website.

Facebook is always suggesting things for you so you might find other art-related sites are recommended and some may even be to your taste. I seem to attract lots of sites for cute animals. I think if you are discriminating in the Pages you choose to follow, you should be okay. I check my Facebook about once a day and it doesn't take up a lot of my time.

I do find Facebook Messenger a very useful tool. That's where you can set up private groups (I'm in a group with my children, their partners and in-laws). It is completely private but we can enjoy audio or video calls (much like Zoom), post photos, cartoons, websites, arrange get-togethers, etc. During the worst of lockdown last year we even had a trivia night with 5 households in Melbourne and one in Spain. No problems with privacy concerns there at all.

Good luck - and if you don't like it, unsubscribe from the group you first joined up for and then forget you ever started on Facebook. I don't know if it's possible to cancel a Facebook account - I suspect not without a lot of difficulty.

Have a great break Duke!

I can remember seeing the 1958 film "The Moonraker" when I was in primary school. The nuns showed a film (probably 16mm) every Friday afternoon in the school hall. It cost 9d to go and my Mum used to tie the money up in a corner of a handkerchief which I would hand to a nun on the door so she could unknot it. The films were always very circumspect and probably already old by the time we saw them but I have fond memories of "Naughty Marietta" and "Rose Marie" (both Jeanette McDonald & Nelson Eddy), "Little Women" (1949 with Elizabeth Taylor & June Allyson", "Interrupted Melody" (1955, Eleanor Parker) and many, many more. We all sat cross-legged on the floor entranced by cinema magic. I sort of remembered "The Moonraker" as being about smugglers but turns out it was Cavaliers and Roundheads. I thought George Baker was gorgeous!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYx0V...

No, I've never heard of her or her endeavours. She sounds a very hardy soul. They don't make 'em like that anymore! I wonder if she was a contemporary of Evelyn and Babs Atkins who were trying to make Looe Island habitable and having to transport all materials over in small boats.

http://www.looe.org/island.html

https://www.polperropress.co.uk/uploa...
(scroll to Page 12)

I have no knowledge of vegan cooking at all but I had some chickpea flour (besan) that I wanted to use up so I wound up making some mini quiches that went down very well.

https://simple-veganista.com/mini-chi...

Suzy - It's many years since I've read Daphne du Maurier but I still have most of her books in paperback editions. I have read and enjoyed Frenchman's Creek; it's quite difficult to rate her books in order. I also have Enchanted Cornwall: My Pictorial Memoir which is very beautiful.

If you enjoy reading about Cornwall, have you read any of Mary Wesley's books? You may remember the TV adaptation of The Camomile Lawn. My favourite of hers is Jumping the Queue. She was in her 70s when her first book was published! And I loved the biography Wild Mary: The Life Of Mary Wesley. "Wild" is putting it mildly!

One of my favourite books about Cornwall is We Bought an Island. Evelyn Atkins and her sister bought Looe Island in the early sixties and she writes with great humour about how they took on island life. There's a sequel too : Tales from our Cornish island. Highly recommended!

suzysunshine7 wrote: "Having had no Children of my own to be able to pass it onto I donated it to a local Children's Hospice for one of their Fundraising Auctions a few years ago, Val. And I was delighted to hear that it raised £270! ;o> ..."

That's a great result! And great use of the book too!

Isabella - would things like thyme and prostrate rosemary do okay in your rocky, hillside garden?

suzysunshine7 wrote: "I was obsessed with the Derek Tangye Books when I was a young child and so M&D often used to tease and also inspire me with the idea that we might actually bump into Derek and Jeann..."

I don't recall you mentioning that story (Daphne du Maurier) on any threads I've been on. That is an unbeatable story! I hope you've still got the book. I love her books too. My favourite is probably My Cousin Rachel, followed by The King's General but everything she wrote is fantastic, especially her short stories.

suzysunshine7 wrote: "Ohhh Val!!! ... I very likely also wouldn't have had the slightest clue either - not least because if you don't expect for it to ever happen while just doing more mundane everyday things then you could very well be unexpectedly face-to-face with one of the most famous and recognisable people in the whole wide World and still not register or realise it at the time ;o>..."

Another time he did elbow me. We were at Denpasar Airport in Bali in 1982 and there were a handful of disembarked passengers waiting on transport to their respective hotels. "That's Bill Wyman" he says - and it was! I'm shocking at recognising anyone. As you say, if you're not expecting to see them in your orbit, your brain just doesn't click.

P wrote: "I was most impressed Suzy, and i’m not really a fan of the Eagles…I booked it because the lad fancied it. They did play one of my favourite rock tracks…Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh who I never realised was in the Eagles back in the 70’s. It made my night😊...."

P - If you're a Joe Walsh fan, did you see the 2019 TV series " Brian Johnson: A Life on the Road" (Season 2)? You'll know Brian Johnson as the AC/DC frontman and he interviewed Joe in one of the episodes. The other episodes are Dolly Parton, Billy Joel, Mark Knopfler, Mick Fleetwood and Paul Rodgers. Johnson is a cheery, engaging interviewer and his subjects really warm to his personality. I last saw The Eagles (with Joe) in 2010 and they were fantastic - everything you'd expect. Of course, Mr H., delights in reminding me that we were stood next to The Eagles in the Australian Consulate in Auckland in 1976 while we, and they, were organising entry requirements. I walked out without even realising who these afro-haired blokes wearing native American jackets and jewellery were. He could have elbowed me and said "Look!"

Looks like we're all having good weather. Today was 22 degrees and it's still winter! However, all change tomorrow with showers and a forecast top of 14.

As we are still in a hard lockdown, I find my pile of goods for the op shop (Opportunity Shop = charity shop) is growing madly. And I still have about 5 large boxes of my daughter's to deliver to her. I feel a bit guilty as she has a two week old baby plus a two year old but I feel I've stored them long enough and they really need to be at her place now. I'm hoping to see her this week. I've rationalised myself that I (fully vaccinated) can visit her under the heading of "giving care". I will compromise by only taking one box this trip. Oh, and the garden is full of the promise of spring - daffodils, jonquils, hyacinths, anemones, ranunculas as well as the jasmine creeper.

Good luck Mrs P. I hope you feel a million quid once this annoying blip is fixed. I agree with Suzy and Isabella - you reach a stage in life when yes, it is totally worth it. I bet she's made plenty of sacrifices in her time. Now it's her turn. Well done Mr P for being supportive.

Some of you may not have seen nocheese's post on the Snails thread.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

We must sadly say farewell to the feisty Les who passed away on Monday. Just a couple of weeks short of her 81st birthday. I am just one of the many who will sorely miss her. xx

I miss backyard incinerators. They were outlawed here in the 1980s I think - just after we had bought a new one which sits in our garage gathering dust. It is made of Besser blocks and one day I will get around to dismantling it and using the blocks for a combination of garden edging/herb containers. I have a shredder which I use for all unwanted paperwork. The shreds then get added to the compost bins with all the household vegetable waste and lawn clippings.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...

Wow, P! What a worry for you all. I'm glad you got a diagnosis but what a shame she's going to have to wait so long for the next step. I do hope the pain remains manageable until then.