Povey Prattle

Steamed or Boiled. Mashed with Butter and Brown Sugar. N  I  C  E The little white specs are because I stored the leftover carrots in a container which also bore leftover mashed potatoes.

  Making an appointment for a mandatory Covid 19 test when I arrive in England Nov 9th 2021.  I am required  to be tested within three day of my arrival.  WAS IT A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT?  SORT OF!     For instance the U.K.  Government site listed providers by region. I went to the South West page.  It listed the names of the providers with  only  their 'phone #.    No indication of  towns or cities  No link to a Web Site.    BLAH! A web search  did not help. It revealed the names and addresses  testing Companies throughout, with no indication whether or not the  Company offered U.K. Govt approved protocols. Then by luck or persistence I found  the above testing company  which offers tests at LHR; in my case at the forecourt of Terminal Three.  YEAH.  it should be simple. 1.Get off the plane.        2.Passport Control.      3. Get luggage and go through customs check point.     4. Walk out of the terminal and get my Covid Test .    5. Be driven to Bristol by brother Martyn and sister-

  I suppose that the glory days for international flights were in the 1960's to 1990's, especially  if you had money. The world was so small; and a local travel agent could make all our bookings; and handle all the nitty gritty, or   online bookings (directly to the airline), or via services such as Expedia, made the the task a wee bit more easy, 2020 and the Corona Virus slowed international travel down.  Come 2021 it has become  a bit more easy; leading me to book flights to the U.K. and back in November.  Trouble was that I could not download from the Delta site, a document which will be entirely necessary when I touch down in Atlanta from London on my trip home.   I spoke to a most helpful Delta staff member this afternoon.   Once she figured out the utterly logical  reason for this problem she, with gentle patience, guided me through all the steps which I gladly followed until I could see and print the essential  document. Good work by this Delta Agent.  She could not ha

  My local Walgreen's Pharmacy is a pretty good place. I get some of my prescriptions there, knowing that Zion will always be welcome;  so much so that a couple of days ago one of the Pharmacy staff members said of Z   "He is family"   NICE EH? I was there today to pick up a script.  The Pharmacy Technician  decided that Zion also needed one.   The Techie didn't have the authority to do so; nevertheless he  wrote a script for Mr. Z. Yer 'tiz DON'T  YOU JUST LOVE IT?   SO DO I!

  There was a festival of Zeds ( or was it Zees? ) at Arlington Park this afternoon. There were three particular dogs in the park at one and the same time.  There was Z eus,  Z eke, and Z ion.  Another way to get my zzzzs! For the first time ever Zion joined in play - with Zeke. (I neglected to ask about Zeke's breed.  He is clearly pure bred, with long legs and very short hair), He and Zion did that play when dogs pounce towards each other. then "crouch down" to put their heads on their paws.   Zeke's mother and I agree that there are at least two dog barks.  There is a bark of aggression; and a bark of invitation to play.  It made my heart glad to see Mr. Z in play. Back to      I think that we all know that British (and British Commonwealth countries) pronounce the letter as ZED. For  English speakers in the U.S.A. it is ZEE. As one who was raised in the U.K.  I was clearly a Zed partisan.  Thus when I moved here in 1976, Store signs (as below)  would confuse me. I

  I posted a photo' of a silly sign, using the Facebook messenger system to some of my friends, and family members. I didn't pay enough attention to notice that my posting to a nephew was not only to him, but also to his group, which included other family members. They got the picture, but not via Facebook. No siree.  They received it via   Well I never!   It turns out that WhatsApp  is a Facebook app.  I am not sure that this is a good thing. The Silly Photo'?  

  I recently downloaded an update for my iPhone's operating  system.  The new system evidently offers a "photo' of the day". Today's offering  (all out of the ether) )  was a boon;   a snap of me with Ashley Lloyd  (my bff,  and the daughter of  my friends Donna and  Jack Chrisman) Ashley looks like the good woman which she is. I look like a "kindly old man"   which I aspire to be at least twice a year. \ 

One wage earning father. One over worked and always tired mother. Nine children. Mum  knew how to feed us at minimal cost. Both budgeting and cooking were hard labour. On some Saturdays it was beef or lamb stew;  with doughboys (a.k.a. dumplings)  filling the carb-gap. On other Saturdays Mum would make a meat pie; to be eaten with  boiled potatoes, veggies and gravy. Her pies were so good,  (even though I  did not wish my portion of meat pie to be assailed by gravy). Mum would therefore place my portion of  meat pie onto  a separate plate ( sans gravy) .  God bless ye Mum!  ( I know people who get weak kneed if the various foods on their dinner plate are touching each other) I    made a meat pie yesterday, some for me,  and some to share. That's  my Saturday practice)  It will do.  But it's not a patch on Mum's. Hard to get an even browning of the crust, but who cares when they are enjoying the pie!