An eclectic band for today’s title! The Albion band was originally set up by Ashley Hutchings (ex Fairport) in the early 70s and I saw them and even went to a Ceilidh when they were the dance band! I chose the song because on my ride today I saw a Brown Hare. First one I’ve seen for a while-beautiful animals! I went on my social distanced ride with my son David which was a treat. He and Vicky have formed a bubble with his mother in law Pauline in Gloucester. It is bizarre seeing your son and not being able to give him a hug!

I should have some news on some virtual gigs soon. Just did my tax return-I think my 20-21 return might be much easier to do unless things change soon!

Thought today’s Quiz should be on Hares

a) What was the name of the book about a treasure hunt to find a jewelled golden Hare?  b) What is the group name for Hares?  c) What is a male Hare called? d) What is a female Hare called?  e) In British Folklore what might a White Hare be?

Was looking for a song I knew about Monsoons but couldn’t find one so we will stick with Travis! As I write we have had heavy rain for 14 hours now. It did bring a problem for us. There was an almighty crack and  a quarter of our Flowering Cherry Tree  snapped off. It landed on top of our greenhouse and the carefully netted blueberries/ Miraculously despite the weight the greenhouse was intact! Lost a few blueberries! It meant I had to spent quite a bit of time sawing branches/boughs so I could get the tree off the greenhouse. Picture below is just after I had got it off the greenhouse and had dragged a few branches to near where Clare had taken the picture from. It was plenty of tree !!!!Guess what job I will be doing over the next few days!

Yesterday’s Quiz Answers on Sport

a) 6 players on the ice at any one time    b) Montreal 1976 was when 28 African   countries boycotted   c) Golf of course was played on the moon   d) Sunil Gavaskar was  the first player to score 10,000 Test runs   e) India withdrew from the 1950 World Cup because they were not allowed to play bare footed!!!!!!

No Quiz today -sorry!!!!

Thought the Three Lions song  might be appropriate for this surreal world with football coming back. I watched a snippet tonight and surreal is the word! Maybe when Saturday comes and I have an emotional investment I may be able to immerse myself fully in it! I had a beer delivery today so I cam simulate the Bricklayers Arms where we go for a pint before the game! It should help!

To mark football’s return the picture below  has the three Church boys before Dursley U16s played the Dads and our David was the ref(it was a long time ago!) Think it was 2-2 and I know our Peter was marking me for a corner when I nicked in front of him and  scored with a near post header. I’ve never let him forget it!

Yesterday’s Quiz answers on songs connected to Storms.

a) The Doors sang Riders on the Storm (for you Colin!)   b) Neil Young sang Like a Hurricane   c) Dylan sang Shelter from the Storm  d) Led Zeppelin sang the Rain Song  e) Thunder Road was The Boss (Springsteen)  (apart from the Neil Young song they are all in my record collection.)

Today’s Quiz is all on sport!!!!

a) How many players can be on the ice for an ice hockey team?   b) At which Summer Olympics did 28 African countries boycott?  c) What is the only sport to be played beyond Earth?  d) Who was the first player to score 10,000 Test Match runs ?  e) In 1950 India withdrew from the World Cup because FIFA refused to let them do what?

Mr Dylan provides us with today’s song title although I nearly went for Springsteen classic. This was we had a thunderstorm this afternoon, when we had our first significant rain in weeks. Most of recent rain forecast has seemed to of missed us and our water butts were empty-not any more! The garden certainly the grass was parched.

Notable visitor to our garden before the storm was a Nuthatch. They are not many in Frampton in fact can’t remember the last time I saw one in the village, we had one in the garden three or four years ago. This one was a juvenile so there must of been nest nearby! My poor picture out of the window below.

Well done on Marcus Rashford shaming our hapless government into a U-turn of free school meals vouchers for the summer. Perhaps he could now get them to support Children’s Centres if they are serious about equality!

I am currently relearning a story that I’ve only told once before because I may be doing Folk Tales again soon.

Yesterday’s Answers on Drink

a) Yeast was used before Baking Powder   b) Battenberg is Domino Cake  c) Somerset Maugham wrote Cakes and Ale  d) Daniel Craig was in the film Layer Cake  e) 1796 was the year cupcake was invented.

Today’s Quiz on Songs on Storm Themes (who sang the following)

a) Riders on the Storm    b) Like a Hurricane  c) Shelter from the Storm   d) The Rain Song  e) Thunder Road

Today’s title is from a story my Dad gave me which I think was his because I can’t find it anywhere. I often tell it, certainly did when I was a teacher . It is a god visual story or certainly is with my telling! I chose it for today because I am going to have a couple of grumbles now!  Their both originate from my many cycling trips and today just reinforced it.

Why is it that runners/walkers instead of facing oncoming traffic so they are aware of what is coming walk/run with their back to it? It means they are  unaware of what is behind them; so to me it is patently unsafe. If you face the traffic you can anticipate danger. My other grumble is people with headphones on not hearing when you sound your bell or call out and I am talking about roads without pavements! There!!!! I do sound like an old man!!!!! Which of course I am!

Enough of that! I had a wonderful ride up in the high Cotswolds today and I should of taken a couple of pictures of the traditional Cotswold stone buildings up there! I even managed to find a cuppa and cake on the way! Cake is a vital component for long distance cycling!

I have to say I don’t usually praise top flight footballers but isn’t Marcus Rashford an impressive young man with his letter to MPs about poverty.

Today’s Quiz is on Cake!!!!

a)  Before Baking Powder what was used as the prime raising agent?   b) What cake is otherwise known as Domino cake?  c) Who wrote Cakes and Ale?  d) The 2004 crime thriller starring Daniel Craig was called “_____________Cake”?  e)  In what year was the cup cake invented was it 1796 or 1822 or 1885 or 1909?

Using the Nick Drake song (Dan who I work with often sings this one) as I stood looking at  a lovely sunset over the River Severn tonight. Went looking for birds but seems like most of them had gone to roost already so nothing special but I did see a superb male Greenfinch on my way there.

I’ve just ordered a lead for my laptop so I can watch the football through the TV next Saturday! It will be rather surreal! Things you have to do if you don’t support a top flight club!

Yesterday’s answers

a) Saki is made from fermented rice   b) Methuselah is the equivalent to eight ordinary bottles of Champagne  c) Brandy originates from the Dutch word Burnt Wine   d) About 165 million cups of tea are drunk daily in the UK  e) Sauvignon Blanc grapes are grown along the Loire valley.

I have decided the Tom Waits song is right for today’s title. Perhaps it should be broken chain because today I went riding with two pals and one of them ended up breaking his chain when he got a gear change wrong. Having experienced that before with our David memorably when we cycling from Exeter to Frampton I always carry a spare link. My pals were suitably impressed and we were able to continue our delightful ride.

I have mixed feelings about football starting again next week. part of me looking forward to it but empty stadiums will be bizarre. As I am a season ticket holder I will be able to watch all of the last nine games online. Fingers crossed there will no gremlins in the internet.

Yesterday’s answers all about the Beatles

a) Their last performance was on the roof top of their Savile Row HQ in Jan 69 and their last concert with an audience was in San Francisco in August 66    b) The first satellite broadcast was in June 67 and they sang “All You Need is Love   c) Pete Best was the drummer before Ringo  d) 13 albums made    e) Paul famously had no shoes on!

Today’s Quiz on drink

a) From what is the Japanese drink Saki made from?   b) What name is given to a bottle of champagne equivalent to eight ordinary bottles?   c)  Which spirit’s name derives from a Dutch word meaning “burnt wine?   d) How many cups of tea are drunk in Britain daily (will give you five million either side)?  e) Along which river is most of France’s Sauvignon Blanc cultivated?

I thought the John Lennon classic would be a good title. It is a sad and angry world at the moment so I wanted something optimistic and about a better world! I am really just a hopeless sentimental romantic!!!

Good news I’ve finished my initial tidy up of my story so getting close to doing the next stage. So momentum will slow now for a while. The other bit of good news from Dan the other half of Two Severn Bores is the podcast is getting closer to being finished-surprised me to hear that because I thought I had to re-record a section! He tells me it can be sorted by technological wizardry! So watch this space-I will post a link when it is ready so I hope dear reader you will listen to it and perhaps share it with friends!

I hope you managed to see the Golden Valley near Stroud on Springwatch-a beautiful valley.

Yesterday’s Roman Quiz

a) Britannia (Roman name for British Isles)   b) Boudicca’s tribe is the Iceni (one of my favourite stories to tell and I upgraded my telling earlier in the year.) c)  Eboracum  is the Roman name for York  d) Fosse Way goes from Exeter to Lincoln  e)  Claudius of Robert Graves fame was the emperor who invaded Britain.

Today’s Quiz on the Beatles

a) Two parts to this question where was their final live performance and where was their concert with an audience?    b) The Beatles did the first world wide live satellite broadcast what year did it take place?  c) Who was the drummer before Ringo?  d) How many albums did they release not compilations?  e) Who wasn’t wearing shoes on the Abbey Road cover?

I was going for a bookish song title today and I came across the Frank Zappa number and I know I haven’t done a Zappa title before!!!! You hope libraries will open soon there are such a valuable resource. We had a good virtual Book Club last night although we all said we miss doing it in the flesh. We universally enjoyed Cannery Row for it’s humour and humanity. There was much praise for Steinbeck’s writing and several people wanted to read out phrases.

Lovely walk this morning from Wotton Under Edge to the Tyndale Monument at North Nibley. I took the picture of the Whitethroat below on our walk.

Still working on tidying up my story at the moment the title is Pig the Legend but that may change. Still wondering about the next step.

Yesterday’s Quiz on Children’s Classics

a) Max played with the Wild Things (a fabulous timeless book!)   b) James the res engine was Number 5   c) Witches can be recognised by the fact they always wear gloves, they are bald (they wear wigs), have large nose holes, their eyes change colour, they have no toes, they have blue spit! That is my public service broadcast d) Ratty is a Water Vole when I first came to Gloucestershire I used to see them regularly sadly it is a rarity to see one.  e) Pongo and Perdita  or Missus are from 101 Dalmatians

Today’s Quiz is on the Romans in the British Isles

a) What did the Romans call the British Isles?    b) What was Boudicca’s tribe the rebelled in AD61   c) What is the Roman name for York?  d) The Fosse Way went from Exeter to ?????????   e) Who was the Roman Emperor when the Romans invaded Britain in AD 43?

Went with one of my favourite bands The Kinks for today’s title. I wanted a song with book in the title because we have Book Club tonight via zoom. We are doing Steinbeck’s Cannery Row which is the second book of his we have discussed. Despite it dating a bit with time I really enjoyed it. The humour and ultimately the humanity shone throughout. I have since read that many of characters were drawn on real people who actually lived in the community. I look forward to the time we can all meet up in person to discuss the books.

My garden is full of young birds at the moment -it could be Springwatch! Over the last fortnight we have had young Blue Tits, Great Tits, Starlings, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Robin, Jackdaws, Dunnock, and also heard young Great Spotted Woodpecker calling to the parent bird. I’m sure we probably have others as well. talking about Springwatch I have enjoyed the lock down version this year.

Today’s quiz is all on  Classic Children’s Books

a) Who played with the Wild ThIngs?     b) What number train was James from Thomas the Tank Engine  c)  How can you recognise a witch in Roald Dahl’s book?   d) What type of creature is Ratty from Wind in the Willows?   e)  Who are the pair of Dalmatians living with Mr and Mrs Dearly in 101 Dalmatians?