Random Things and Double Takes.

Well I'm feeling human again and good job as I had a couple of nights out planned for this week. Isn't it always the way? You don't go out for ages and then two nights out come along at once. Other than that it's been work, work and more work.

Last weekend Himself had to dash off to Margate so I made myself a lovely shepherds pie topped with cheesy mash which fed me all weekend with different veggie accompaniments. YUM.
I planned a quite weekend in pottering around the house and garden which is exactly what I got.
My parents did call in on the Saturday afternoon as finally the water has receded enough for them to get out of their village, I think they were going a little stir crazy for some different company! It was lovely to see them in person after so many weeks.

It was Soo's birthday this week so a good excuse to go out for a few drinkies and much food. We ended up going to Gino's a little Italian in Oxford where I started with cheesy garlic bread followed by gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce.
Oh.         My.           Word.
It was absolutely AMAZING. I couldn't eat it all and was so full I felt sick but I couldn't stop picking at it because it was just so delicious.
In the end I had to beg the waiter to please take my plate away so I could stop.

We decided to adjourn to Wetherspoons and this was where I had my first double take. I was at the bar and glanced around to clock a lad in the shortest of short shorts I have seen this side of Kylie's hotpants!
The were red, edged in white, and he had accessorised with bare legs, red espadrilles a thick tweed jacket, a hat and scarf.....
The girl behind the bar turned from the fridge, saw him and went
"Christ!" then as the lad turned to reveal the shorts were not only very short, but also wedged uncomfortably up his bum, shook her head and said sagely "Rather him than me."

All in all a great night out, though it has to be said I had the most mental bizarre dreams that night, most definitely due to too much cheese.

Oh and overheard as we left the restaurant from the two ladies seated behind us who were well dressed and in their late 60s.
First lady "Was that when you were living with him?"   
Second Lady crossly "Yes, but it wasn't like that!" I'd love to know what that was all about.....

Next night I was out again, with my friends Liz and Simon. This time just down the local for pub grub and whatever wine was on offer that week, I'm all class me!

Today I caught up with my brother and cadged a lift off him to Tesco. The Brownies were helping to pack bags at the tills and I heard a lady explaining to one rather alarmed tiny Brownie that that "must be the Ice Queen doing her shopping." I glanced down the aisle and did my second double take, a girl with white pancake make-up on her hair, face and lips so thick it was cracking off, was teetering along in a long white dress, huge silver platform shoes and a massive grey fur coat and a tiara.
Now I'm very much one for each to their own, but jesus she looked terrifying!
The lady serving me sighed and said in a very world weary voice " you see it all in Tesco."

My final double take was when I went to the bank in Oxford. The street preachers were out in force and the first one I passed was going on about how human's have souls but animals don't and this is what makes us different to 'the beasts'.
I was pondering on this as I queued in the bank, can't say I agree but there we go. As I passed him on the way back to work he was in full flow and bellowing at the top of his voice "Are you confident if you were dead you could look death in the face and say to him 'where is your sting'?"
I must admit this made me snort with laughter.
I mean let's face it, if you were already dead I'd say death's sting would be pretty obvious wouldn't you? Also I'd say as an already dead person, fundamentally it would be kind of irrelevant. 

To be fair I think I get what he was trying to say but had phrased badly. It did make me chuckle all afternoon though.

I shall sign off with some pictures from my garden. It was a gloriously sunny day today, one brief respite from the rain, more is forecast for tomorrow. *sigh*

Now here's a bit of gardening advice from me that goes completely against what both Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don tell you to do!
They both say the only place for forced bulbs is the compost heap as it takes so much out of them to be forced to flower early and indoors that they will take years to recover. Now I hate to give up on any plant until it is absolutely stone dead. So I ignore their advise and plant the bulbs out in my garden after they have finished flowering. Working on the theory that even if it does take them a couple of years to recoup they will eventually flower again.
Well the daffs above and the hyacinths coming through below were early flowering indoor bulbs from last year.

As you can see they are both either already, or about to, start flowering so so much for coming up blind for years until they recover!
My gardening advise to you is if you have some bulbs like this find a spot and plant them out, don't bin them.