Canny lass

Here's last Friday's quiz, Vic. Answers on Thursday as usual: 1. Who was the first American to orbit the earth? 2. Who was the ‘fastest mouse in all Mexico’? 3. With which branch of medicine is Mesmer associated? 4. What colour is a moonstone? 5. Which Irish county is Blarney in? 6. What do deltiologists collect? 7. What type of tree is a Pirus Malus? 8. What is a labret? 9. A pearl wedding celebrates how many years of marriage? 10. In which town do the Flintstones live? 11. Which football player advertised Brut in the 1980s? 12. If B is Bravo and N is November, what is S? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The custom of carrying a flaming torch from Athens to the site of the Olympic Games was started by Adolf Hitler in 1936.

The "world" doesn't appear to include us, I'm actually pleased to say in this instance! We've had no 'official' lockdown to come out of but the majority of folks still seem to be following government recommendations. for which I'm thankfull. We have had a high death rate from Covid but 50% of them occurred in homes for the elderly. That's tragic of course but, to me, it also indicates that the other half - who, mostly, are going about their business in a sensible manner and following recommendations - have done a fantastic job in keeping the numbers down. Take away the deaths occurring in homes for the elderly and we actually have a very low death rate here. Some other countries complain about our numbers being three times as many as theirs but we have three times the population as well, so I think It's a little unjustified. I haven't been short of time for gardening, Eggy. Just the opposite - the garden has had one of its best 'overhauls' in years. It is big, but we have modern machinery to help and we even have wifi out there. No need to sit indoors to use a laptop.

Everything's fine here, Vic! Day 114 in isolation för the over 70's and not looking like we're to be allowed out any time soon. I'll have to find something else to keep me out of mischief on a Thursday and Friday afternoon/night then. Gardening and feeding the wildlife is morning work. Last quiz, now that Britain is going to the pub on a Friday again: I thought you's didn't want the quiz anymore so I haven't posted one but I still do the quiz, which I e-mail out on Fridays, for the family and friends. I can mail it to you too, Vic - or I can start to post it here again.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Ikea 2. Nothing compares 2 U 3. Blackthorn 4. All Saints Day 5. Brazil 6. Baron Frankenstein 7. K 8. Poult 9. Ice Skating 10. Nunatak 11. Bona fide 12. Larry Grayson

I'll have to find something else to keep me out of mischief on a Thursday and Friday afternoon/night then. Gardening and feeding the wildlife is morning work. Last quiz, now that Britain is going to the pub on a Friday again: 1. Which furniture chain was founded in 1950 in Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad? 2. Which Sinead O’Connor single topped the charts in 1990? 3. Sloes are the fruit of which shrub? 4. By what name is November 1st known? 5. Which was the first country to win football’s World Cup four times? 6. Which screen role connects Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff, Sting and Kenneth Branagh? 7. Which is the only letter worth five points in a game of Scrabble? 8. What is a young turkey called? 9. Brian Orser was a world champion in which sport? 10. What name is given to an isolated mountain peak protruding through an ice sheet? 11. Which well known Latin phrase means ‘in good faith’? 12. Whose catchphrase was “Shut that door!”? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Al Capone’s business card gave his profession as ‘secondhand furniture dealer’.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Twenty 2. 305, Add 61 to each number 3. Bohemian Rhapsody 4. Abraham Lincoln 5. Joule 6. Kedgeree 7. A tree 8. Seth 9. Jack Shepherd 10. Three 11. String 12. Crossed swords New quiz being prepared for tomorrow.

That's an improvement! Thanks Malcolm!

Could be worse - you may have had to cover yourself in jam/glue/ treacle. Be thankful for the small things in life.

I've got the same problem! Must be catching!

Yes, very recently.

Knowledge is not a heavy burden to bear - not even the useless variety!

Photo taken 9th May. I think it was about normal weather for the time of year. (Mind you, we had two days of snow the 13th and 14th!).The narcissus (not a daffodil) is called a 'Whitsuntide lily' here and comes a bit later than the daffodil which is called an 'Easter lily'.

... and say hello to the quintuplets! On their first outing today with no sign of an adult. They seem to have adopted me, accept nuts and climb all over me if I sit down beside them and they are hungry. I saw mum nest-building under the barn roof a few weeks ago so I think they've been born in there. Delightful little creatures!

The cleaning squad. Fizzy the pheasant and his little helpers - the squirrels Nutkin. Keeping things spotless under the birdfeeders.

Visitors to my garden during isolation: Harry, the gardener. doing a great job on the dandelions, and, unfortunately, the daisies!