Tuesday 22 September 2015

A Pleasant Day.

It is a lovely Autumn day today - when the weather is right then I really think that Autumn is the best season of all.  Sunshine, pretty clouds and a light breeze - what more could anyone want.

The farmer has picked me so many blackberries that the freezer has a complete drawer full - that means lots of blackberry and apple crumbles in the Winter - can't be bad can it?

Into town this morning as usual - lots of jobs to do - bank to call in to; newspaper bill to pay (it is £15 a week, so I try never to forget it, because £30 is a great blow to my housekeeping finances!);  my old age pension to collect from the Post Office (I know, I could have it paid into my bank account directly but there is something rather nice about having a separate account and actually getting the cash 'over the counter' as it were;) and last - but by no means least - meeting friends.   Friend W was off on another errand today so friend C and I had a pot of Earl Grey with our cheese scones in the usual cafe,and sat and watched the world go by for an hour.

Everywhere is beginning to quieten down for Winter here.   The schools are back and the caravan sites are beginning to empty of their caravans and there is much more space in the car park.   I don't suppose our traders are so happy but I am sure the residents are.

Now I am going to spend the afternoon completing a job I have been putting off.   Three or four times a year I produce a cryptic quiz and print off a hundred copies.   These are sold (mostly by a friend or by the place itself) for Foxglove Covert Nature Reserve and probably bring in about three hundred pounds a year towards their much needed funds.  So off to get my brain into cryptic gear.

20 comments:

Elizabeth said...

All sounds most satisfactory!

donna baker said...

A cryptic quiz deary? That sounds very interesting. Good for you. I read recently that blackberries were one of the most healthy fruits. Ours died off this summer and I don't know why. We usually get many gallons of them. We have the thornless kind so I had to pick a few wild ones though because of the chiggers and thorns, very few. In fact, just enough to pop into my mouth.

Gwil W said...

I think it's you and your friends that keep that local cafe' going!

Well done. You can sit there and cook up your clues.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Cryptic quizzes are much easier to set than to solve I find!

Anonymous said...

Very impressed with your cryptic quiz! And the cafe sounds nice. Same here with berries in the freezer :o)

Joanne Noragon said...

Running an errand these days seems to be running to the computer to pay a bill or transfer money or order a meal delivered. How I would miss the interaction. My village never quiets down; winter sports are as prevalant as summer.

Heather said...

What a clever way to raise funds for a favourite charity. We have had a lovely day here today too, lots of cloud but sunshine too. I think I have probably missed out on blackberries this year and haven't managed to get out to pick any. I always feel sorry for locals when we holiday makers overrun their towns and villages. I have mentioned it to one or two but they say we are welcome and our custom is much needed.

angryparsnip said...

Sounds like a lovey day to me.
Every fall I write about why I love it so much.
Thank you for your kind comments, and yes I am back to normal (what ever that is) after a few days of crying.

A freezer filled with hand picked berries ? Lovely !
cheers, parsnip

Derek Faulkner said...

How I love blackberry and apple crumbles, the Farmer is a lucky man. I've just finished starting off this year's Slow Gin, another treat to look forward to in a year or so's time.

Dawn said...

Your cryptic quiz sounds good a lovely way to raise funds, I am no good at cryptic quizzes. I like Autumn its a time to slow down and enjoy the world we live in :-)

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Cryptic quiz?? Crud balls, I've flunked already. Google, here I come.
Ok, I'm back without an answer. So, Pat, what do you mean by "cryptic quiz?"
Anyway, your 22th September errand run did sound quite nice. The only things I must leave the house for on a recurring basis are the grocery store, the bank, and the library. I agree with Joanne (above). Everything else is done online. Who would have thought?
Anyway, hope you are having a good evening over there in the Yorkshire Dales of England.
:) m & jb

Terry and Linda said...

I'm heading into town soon to do all sorts of business...sometimes going to town (by myself) is a nice treat!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

I'm impressed ! I'm absolutely rubbish at Cryptic quizzes and crosswords.
Sounds like a lovely day.

Frances said...

The prospect of blackberry apple crumbles over the cooler months sounds rather wonderful. I could make the tea?

I do agree with you about the value of having regular contact with folks in various connections, like your calling in at the Post Office. Wouldn't it be awful to have everything to become automated, computer driven. And at the same time isn't it grand to have our computers make it possible to trade comments about our lives right around the world?

Is there a way in which we might be able to partake of your quizzes, and give some benefit to the cause they support?

xo

Cro Magnon said...

Our Blackberries failed totally this year, so it'll be Tayberry and Apple Crumbles for us this autumn/winter. I wonder what they'll taste like!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

That cryptic quiz sound most interesting. Certainly a worthy venture for the Nature Reserve.

Glad today was better than your loss of yesterday.

Bovey Belle said...

I'm very impressed by your compiling cryptic crosswords. My brain is not geared to do such things - though I get the occasional "lucky" answer but OH has a good brain for cryptic puzzles. I am better at the general knowledge sort.

We have a rather pink sky this morning which I hope isn't frightening shepherds and sailors! I didn't see the forecast yesterday but I am hoping for a dry warm autumn day so I can get on out in the garden again. I am all blackberried up now I found some good spots with huge berries, but they have been very late here. I can remember reading someone's blog last year and she had picked some for a pie, and "another pound for the freezer" which I was amazed at - I pick and I pick and I pick until I run out of room!

This is quite a holiday area too but no noticable lessening of traffic, only fewer caravans on the roads.

thelma said...

Also rubbish at crosswords and cryptic stuff, you must be very clever Pat. Weather is beautiful here as well, lovely crisp sunny mornings, mists rising over the fields.

Rachel Phillips said...

It may be true that cryptic quizzes are easier to compile than solve as Sue says. I picked up a cryptic quiz sheet in the local RSPCA shop and it was so difficult I couldn't answer one single question and it was find the breed of dog which I thought would narrow it down enough to make it at least a little bit possible. The woman behind the counter told me they hadn't received any completed sheets back. It put me off cryptic quizzes for life.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Interesting what you all say about cryptic quizzes - the trouble is with the one that I do the whole point is to raise money, so I must not make the quiz too hard; on the other hand it must not be too easy or we shall get them all back correct. We usually sell about a hundred and get about a dozen back all correct.
What do I mean by cryptic as several people - well any clue which is not a straightforward question/answer - things like anagrams, hidden clues - that kind of thing.

Regarfding blackberries - out cultivated one has been a complete failure and never ever produces any fruit for some reason. The ones I am speaking about are wild ones and of course, because it has been a wet year they have done well in terms of being fat and juicy.

Wouldn't it be good if I could bake a very large crumble with some of them and we could all meet round a huge round table and eat and have a lovely face to face chat?