Thank You to a Lovely Blog Reader

 This arrived in the post  yesterday.

 Thanks to A. who asked if she could pass on my address to P.  a kind reader from Wales who wanted to send me her copy after I said the library waiting list had over 500 people on it..... I would have waited but it's a treat that I don't have to and I promise to pass it on to someone else. Thank you P  - I will write and thank you properly.

Which reminds me......Spoiler alert! My Advent photos 2020 are going to be Christmas books, some of which I'd like to also pass on to blog readers. More about that next month as I have to read them myself first!

On what would have been library day last week Andrew the library man rang just to remind me that they wouldn't be round. We had a discussion about it being a shame that there wasn't a way to get the books reserved by mobile library readers to a library building so we could pick them up. He said he had 400 books in crates stuck waiting until the mobile can start up again. That has been the only problem with being a mobile user as readers who use a library building are able to book a slot to collect their reservations. But I've plenty to read here so waiting isn't a problem.

And talking about Spoiler Alerts............ with no one being allowed into the studio the Strictly Spoiler website has lost it's 'mole'. As the whole world knows, the "Sunday" results programme is recorded after the Saturday live programme so up until this year it's been possible to look online on a Sunday morning and find out which two couples were in the dance off and who got voted off. But "mole-less" this week it was completely wrong! Whoops.

 And STOP PRESS - I accepted an offer on the house yesterday - which means it sold (subject to contract and all that jazz) within 4 days of going on the market! That's never happened before. The family buying have sold subject to contract to someone in rented accommodation but need to finalise here by end of March to catch the Stamp Duty Holiday and that means I'll need to rent for a few months (a holiday let maybe?) until the new build I want is available in May (Or April or June -  with a new build - who knows!) 

I'm taking a few days off  blogging to start sorting things out!

Sue

St Clement's day 23rd November

St. Clement Gives the Winter

 

The direction of the wind at Midnight on St Clement's Day forecast the conditions that will prevail until Candlemas

 Clement of Rome was the 3rd Pope after St Peter. In the year 95 St Clement wrote a letter begging the Christians in Corinth to show mutual tolerance and love and to respect those set in authority. Peace must be the aim of all who follow Jesus, he said.

 

This is the page from my book A Calendar of Saints 

 

Of course one of the best known writings that gives St Clement a mention is the children's rhyme

Oranges and lemons, 

Say the bells of St. Clement’s.

You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin’s.

When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey.

When I grow rich,
Say the bells of Shoreditch.

When will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.

I do not know,
Says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!

 When I looked up the origins of this nursery rhyme I found the directions for the playground game. This is where two children form an arch and the rest go through until the "chop off your head" bit. But what I'd completely forgotten was that the two children in the arch secretly decide which of them is oranges and which is lemons and when someone has their head chopped off they whisper their choice of "oranges" or "lemons" and then stand behind whichever child in the arch. - Yes we did that - simple pleasures!

 

In another of my books "Cattern Cakes and Lace" by Julia Jones is this recipe..........

 

I have to say it does sound very good,

 

There's much more about St Clement on Wiki HERE

 

 

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Saturday in Week 36 of Strange Times

 Another week gone - surely we are getting to the end of this second lock down? How many days left?............. 9 I think.......Only 9 I hope but who knows and as for what's happening for Christmas, no one seems to agree on the way forward.

What have I done this week......................Not A Lot, apart from doing a good house clean and tidy ready for the House Photographs it's been a nothing sort of week (and apologies for not replying to all the comments yesterday about the house ad and St Edmund)

Although I did get one vegetable bed weeded so I suppose that's a plus and made half a dozen jars of lemon marmalade from a tin of the prepared lemons.

 

 

Haven't  mentioned  how I'm getting on with.................

 

 

(Direct Debits for Council Tax, Phones, Car Breakdown Insurance,Charity Donation Total £260)

1st.        No Spend

2nd        Food  £33 + Cat £6 +  Diesel £18 + Printer Paper £4.          = £61  

3rd         No Spend

4th        Swimming £2.25

5th         No Spend 

6th        No Spend

7th          No Spend

8th         No Spend

9th        No spend

10th       Food £18 + Cat £5 + Kitchen stuff £2.50 + Pharmacy £3.80 

               Christmas bits £3.50      = £32

11th        No Spend 

12th        No Spend

13th       No Spend

14th        Fruit, Veg and Yellow sticker pizzas + Flowers  £11

15th      The cat calming stuff for Polly which I have on a 3 times a year regular order £34

16th      No Spend

17th      No Spend

18th       No Spend

19th       No Spend

20th      No Spend

 I will be popping out today for fresh fruit and some frozen bits and I really must get on with ordering/buying some presents for the grandchildren that are not yet sorted. Already organised are hampers for the 2 sisters and Brothers in Law, small presents for penfriends. The 3 children and their OH's will get money. Just leaving BiL who is always a problem.  I'm not doing gifts for niece and nephews this year, who are all grown up with their own houses and earning more than me!........ (now there are 4 grandchildren something had to give). The plan for my 12 days of Christmas treats has ground to a halt at 7 as I can't think of anything else!

 

Oh, remembered another thing I've done, and that is to take a whole lot of photos for the Advent Photos 2020 posts. I'm planning something a bit different to the last 5 years. 

This week I'm grateful for

• Good photographer who took some excellent house photos
  
• Some dry days to get gardening done
• Always something to watch on TV .......... tennis this week
  
• Mild weather most of the  week - saving oil.

And finally isn't it brilliant to see Pat at Weaver of Grass home safe and sound and back blogging and also hello and welcome to some new followers.

 I will return on Monday - full of bright ideas for blog posts.................I'm lying about the bright ideas!

Sue