Povey Prattle

Here is Zion looking as charming as ever.  We were at "Ben's Bar", a weekly gathering of friends of the late Ben Morse. Charming as ever?   Maybe he is hoping that the fat old man will drop a bit of food. I will not name the fat old man, but I know him all too well.  So do you!

What a star!  What a voice! Dame Cleo Laine   DBE  (born 28 October 1927) is an English  jazz  and pop singer and an actress, known for her  scat singing  and for her vocal range. Though her natural range is that of a  contralto , she is able to produce a   G above  high C , giving her an overall compass of well over three octaves. I had, but mislaid, a C.D. of Cleo Laine singing superb love songs,  with brilliant piano accompaniment.  It was my comfort on down in the dumps days. I've located one of the songs  "That old feeling"    via You Tube https://youtu.be/fAG6yTe7TBI Isn't it simply brilliant;  singer and pianist alike! Dame Cleo Laine yet lives.   She had a long and good marriage to celebrated  jazz musician John "Johnny"  Dankworth (dec'd). Cleo Laine was honoured by U.K. Queen to become Dame Cleo Laine. John Dankworth was also honoured as a knigh...

Even if this meme does not record an actual conversation it speaks the truth. Via my colleague Gary M

This sign has been at Franklin Lighting on Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota (about a mile from my home) br   for many years,   (probably since I moved to SRQ in 2006). It never changes. What the heck does it mean?  What is an "annual once a year" event?    What is a clearance sale? (Is it one which has been in progress for at least the thirteen years since I moved to SRQ)    If so, how many years until all the stock is "cleared"   Just asking! -------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile  just up the road in Bradenton FL I see this sign at a gas station/ convenience store. "Morningly"?  Is this one of  Pres. Donald Trump's new words?!!

I am a man who is comfortable with a fixed routine.  This has pluses and minuses. I usually rise at 4:00 a.m.  I like the quiet of the early morning. After a visit to the necessary room I greet my dog with "Good Morning Mr. Zion" as I stroke his pate.  He barely stirs.  Then I make my first coffee of the day. Coffee made, I fire up my computer and check my e-mail and my Facebook page. Next I look at four or five newspapers  (U.K. and U.S.A.) on the web. This part of my routine is a mistake. It means that I begin my day by spluttering and fuming at the news of the day;  be it the BREXIT nonsense in my mother land, or the worsening and dangerous news from the White House in my adopted land. Spluttering , fretting, fuming and getting angry is not a good way to start the day. I'd probably be a happier and more whole person if I began each day with beauty. In my case that beauty would involve music.  Here's a starter.  It's...

Not all tomatoes are red, with tough skin and unripe flesh.   These are Heirlooms which I bought today.  The skin is tender, the flesh is juicy and sweet. So juicy and sweet that it's hard to cut them into polite slices for sandwiches.  Better to cut them into quarters or eighths, place them in a small bowl, and eat them with a spoon, just as they are. (A spoon rather than a fork in order to savour every taste of juicy flesh). ---------------------------------------------------------------- We think that carrots should be orange in colour.  That's because the Dutch hybridized them to that hue. Above are photo's of un-hybridized heritage carrots. They are as sweet as sweet can be, and can be eaten raw or cooked. So much more satisfying than those pseudo baby carrots we see in every supermarket.    N.B. 1.    The so-called "baby carrots"  are shaped and formed by a mechanical process using  mis-...

Baby white potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper,  heirloom tomatoes, red snapper, cooked in the oven in miso  soup. N O T BA D