Wash Day?

 Is Monday still washing day?

This is one of the pages in my scrapbook--------------

I came across some old sayings about wash day

They that wash on a Monday

Have all the week to dry;

They that wash on a Tuesday

Are not so much awry;

They that wash on a Wednesday

Are not so much to blame;

They that wash on a Thursday

Wash for shame;

They that wash on a Friday

Wash for need;

And they that wash on Saturday

Oh, slovens are indeed.

Wash your clothes on New Years Day and you'll be 'Washing for the dead' or washing a loved one away, meaning someone in your household will die in the coming year!

Why is wash day on a Monday? One story says "the Pilgrims disembarked from the Mayflower on a Sunday and the first priority of the women after the voyage was to wash all the clothes, thereby setting a schedule from that day forth that continued for centuries".

I was reminded of this old song that used to be on children's radio 'Listen with Mother' in the late 1950s

Back Tomorrow

Saturday 14th

Two Goldfinches on the Niger seed

The plastic bag over the starling proof sunflower hearts feeder was supposed to be stopping water getting in through the top where the hanging loop is.  It isn't working. I'll try duct tape next.

Thanks to everyone for comments yesterday, sorry I didn't get round to replying at all.
 

Great excitement last Monday! The two new recycling bins arrived (three if you count the mini indoor one as well).They are ready to use when the new system starts in June. Unfortunately the larger of the two food waste bins had a lid that was completely broken. I rang to request a new one and the lady at the council said that so many have been broken in storage or during handling. That doesn't hold out much hope for them lasting very long once they are in use.

The same day the 500lt of heating oil was delivered. It was ordered the day before war started . The guy said he'd just done a short order emergency delivery of 500 litres that had cost someone £600! (almost double what I paid). He said they weren't even quoting definite prices now as the cost between the time they take an order and the time they've been down into Essex to get the oil from the terminal on the Thames and back into Suffolk and Norfolk the price will have gone up again. Then on the local Nextdoor website pages many people were saying they had ordered oil, paid for it but then had a email saying the company wanted more money or the order cancelled! Goodness knows how they can get away with this. Seems I was lucky to get mine at the price I paid.

This week I have been grateful for 

• Arrival of 500 litres of heating oil without problems, enough to see me through until Autumn.
• More people at the Keep Moving Group so that we can have free weeks or pay less each week.
• Our free NHS health checks (mammogram last month and the bowel cancer testing pack this week)
• A windy day without rain to get the grass dry enough for cutting.

In the wind of windy March,

The catkins drop down,

Curly, caterpillar-like,

Curious green and brown

With concourse of nest-building birds

And leaf-buds by the way,

We begin to think of flowers

And life and nuts some day.

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI (1830-1894)

Have a lovely weekend, hope all Mum's are treated to a nice day on Sunday. I'll be back Monday, although at the moment the week is a bit blank for post ideas.

Cheese Tasting

 Last week I had a random text message from son " Have you tried the Stratford Blue cheese from Aldi?" 

I hadn't but as I was going shopping in Aldi it had to be tried. I think it's new to Aldi as I'd not seen it before.

Stratford Blue is another cheese made by Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses in Lancashire........ A soft and creamy blue cheese.

From their website............

Something of a dark horse (not literally!), Stratford Blue is really delicate, really creamy and perfectly rich. The blue bite develops with warmth but soon mellows in a sea of creaminess making our Stratford Blue cheese truly unique and unbelievably moreish.

A dreamy blue cheese, smooth in texture and with a distinctive taste.

Using traditional handmade methods, our Stratford Blue cheese it is crafted in open vats, then poured into individual moulds, turned by hand and matured under the watchful eyes of our cheese experts.

There is no escaping it, we are a family business. That’s what makes things exciting, and these family values are the bedrock of our culture. Richard and Annie started it, Jean and Tom nurtured it. Gill and Colin opened it, and the history page is just turning for Matthew and Danie

 

 

After trying it I texted back to son " It's nice, but I think  I prefer Shropshire Blue" .

He said 👍!

We're not great conversationalists in our family!