tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33140511381583122292024-03-12T22:15:46.250-04:00earwig sandwich... and other delicious recipesLulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.comBlogger1083125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-6958000120925803222024-01-31T19:40:00.004-04:002024-01-31T19:41:19.643-04:00Conversation piece January has been a bit draggy, scraggy and irritating... a bit like me At the beginning of the month I started a conversation with a very beautiful woman, I asked her what she was expecting for this coming year. She said that after more than 40 years of marriage to a beautiful but awful man - who'd made her feel worthless and ugly, she'd just finished divorcing him. She'd walked away from Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-59197391096764192522023-12-31T12:28:00.002-04:002023-12-31T12:28:28.096-04:00Things I learned this yearfor me in 2023 there wasrather too much dampnesssad intervals and toothachea weirdly hot 1st week of Septembera new king the nice bits involved swimming and Christmas cake I learned about the Japanese expression Kuuki wo yomu - 'reading the air' This is not simply an ability to 'read the room' In Japan this is an extreme and excruciating mind game, Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-71207253070322705472023-12-26T08:47:00.007-04:002023-12-26T12:58:46.881-04:00The Sneaky Leak That rain water flood that crashed through our roof in August - huge and dramatic - a Niagara event Hadn't noticed the silent, secret river seeping though the house - has been for several years Didn't notice til November - going to write something on the calendar, talking on the phone at the time, not really looking what I was doing but could feel pen slipping rather Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-13653422151657957192023-10-31T12:05:00.004-04:002023-10-31T15:01:52.370-04:00The Wee Willie Winkie RobberOur house is situated on a crossroads, halfway down a hill. A wonky street light outside our gate is where people gather to sing songs, gossip and plan criminal activity. Over the road is patch of grass where general noise-makers like to set up shop and opposite our house is a big high wall - last year, a car of pink balaclava'd drug-stealers drove a stolen car into it and smashed it all down.*&Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-90849551434034519922023-09-30T16:01:00.003-04:002023-09-30T16:04:02.968-04:00Apple Time - Slug Time - BraziliansMabon is the pagan celebration of the autumn equinox, the image associated with this holiday is a fruitful apple tree. My apple tree was fruitful to a ridiculous degree this year, I can't collect them and give them away fast enough so the slugs have been pouring into the garden. Going into the garden at the moment is a squidgy affair.After the Great Flood I needed help - mainly to fix the Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-66949456330532177132023-08-31T17:09:00.006-04:002023-08-31T17:12:11.359-04:00An actual god-sized bathtub of water tipped over our house last saturday it came right into the house like the roof didn't even exist the stairs became a waterfallwhat couldn't wait to come down the stairs squirted itself through the light fittingsI had that look on my face like Carrie after the buckets of blood dropped on her at the prom Apart from that August hasn't been my favourite month this year.Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-4905159531843737822023-07-31T12:35:00.003-04:002023-07-31T16:38:39.662-04:00Kanako returns!!!The lure of bacon baps, donuts and quirky tableware was too much and she returned from Tokyo to come and stay with us for June and July. She tried swimming in the murky chilly water of the Bristol Channel, we also did Art and Musical Theatre but the main event for Kanako was a thorough investigation of England's cafes, cakes and charity shops. Accumulating pretty plates, tea sets that Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-48123405490573125052023-06-30T09:31:00.007-04:002023-06-30T18:19:01.973-04:00Battling I've not posted this month because I've been waiting to ungrump but it's clearly not going to happen before tomorrow. I had a tooth out, then attended a dear person's funeral and then someone was horrid to me, then I spent a day in a hot traffic jam and all year my hormones haven't been working nicely.I'm attempting to keep to at least one post a month so here it is.Next month had Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-69915173913284224212023-05-22T02:48:00.002-04:002023-05-22T03:06:47.915-04:00Exhibition alert!I lurk around noticeboards, if you click on the 'small ads' tag at the end of this post a host of posts around the subject will arrive.These public notices are short stories, often poignant, sometimes funny, sometimes sad - they are an illustration of our society, describing loneliness and need. They show us who is vulnerable, and how labour is valued . There's a lot of everyday sexismLulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-11640042907316982072023-05-01T11:29:00.004-04:002023-05-01T11:31:28.311-04:00Smelly Cat I was in London last month looking after a very hairy cat. My temporary home was a flat with living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and 'another room' I guessed what this room was for and tried to keep the door to that room shut but the latch wasn't strong and the cat could easily push it open and loved going in there. My mother paid a visit. She noticed the cat scratching at the 'Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-18755371315076139522023-03-30T12:30:00.007-04:002023-04-01T17:23:09.239-04:00Offensive Waste Driver = Top job in my feed today - not sure how offensive they want but I'll give it my best shot. I've recently been keeping company with Belcher, a fat snorey old cat who lives in CornwallCornwall is a land of diverse residents. On leaving the main road to Lands End I follow signs to Gnome World then Screech Owl Sanctuary then Indian Queens, I drive on past these delightsLulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-82419360078295144292023-02-28T13:07:00.004-04:002023-02-28T18:18:52.208-04:00This is a drawing of last nights dream Yesterday I drew a circle around a 'situations vacant' ad for a 'Senior Odour Consultant' Then I went to our local pub and overheard someone explaining about biometrics, that her sister has a car that she
can open without a key because the door handle can read her
fingerprints, the person listening looked puzzled - So how does she start it up, does she have to lick the Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-61873592482873178362023-01-29T05:17:00.006-04:002023-02-04T06:50:42.311-04:00Knitting and drugs This
morning our local church hosted the Community Keeping Active Christmas
Luncheon*. For the luncheon I made a stack of salmon and
cucumber sandwiches and carried them carefully up the steep hill to the
church hall, I was a little late and the room was already buzzing with
ladies in lavender twinsets arranging platters of quiche and sausage
rolls. The men Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-86212313252092564512022-12-18T08:33:00.015-04:002022-12-18T09:15:37.161-04:00Drug Drama Our plane back from Turkey landed at midnight, it was after 3am by the time the taxi dropped us home and we sleep-walked the last few yards to our front gate so we only partially registered the sea of scattered rocks in the road outside our house. Waking in daylight, the view outside our bedroom was alarming. We live on a steep hill at a crossroads, the house opposite is considerably Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-30843337377009450812022-11-14T10:41:00.010-04:002022-11-14T11:16:10.740-04:00TurkeyAfter the queen's funeral, the Man and I took a holiday. We stayed in a sleepy town on the Turkish coast, lodging with our friend Selma in the pension she runs with the help of her three daughters. The town is notable for having a mountain that has been perpetually on fire for ever - one can walk up a path at any time of night or day and come to an area where flames are burning out of Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-72111329218197884542022-10-27T09:00:00.005-04:002022-10-27T12:44:36.971-04:00Our Queen died last monthMaybe it was the declining state of our Prime Ministers - thinking that things could get no worse after Boris, she then welcomed Ms Truss and decided that enough was enough. Either way we were all sad/reflective and a large heavy coffin was taken from Scotland to Windsor with a few stops on the way, the longest pause was in Westminster Hall, where the Queen lay in state for a week. We were all Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-23049976457086955802022-09-24T12:56:00.013-04:002022-09-24T13:01:11.384-04:00MAria Maria Soon after my last post Maria came to stay. Everything about Maria was twice life size - her hair, her smile ... and her suitcases. A dazzling array of outfits and accessories were stuffed into a massive heavy suitcase plus some smaller ones. The accessories included leather harnesses and belts and several pairs of clumpy footwear. She arrived at 1 am, Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-16849048927260202302022-08-17T07:17:00.003-04:002022-08-17T07:17:53.878-04:00Ice Man FeetI'm at my favourite swimming place, eavesdropping as usual and this floats through... he made the most delicious ice cream .... my ears prick up and I intervene ..who, where???Old Giorgio he was by the pier but it was really slow, his ice cream was all at the other end, far from the counter and he'd shuffle backwards and forwards with one ice cream at a time, there was always a really long Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-7958734283396984622022-06-29T10:35:00.006-04:002022-06-29T12:45:43.328-04:00Jubilee Celebrations precipitated a plethora of Jolly Events at the beginning of the month. Inhabitants of my parent's village show their love for all the queens by having a scarecrow competition.Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-19256707832134676932022-05-30T18:02:00.001-04:002022-05-30T18:02:13.880-04:00 This month I was a theatrical landlady, a doting daughter and a
Cornish-cat sitter for one lazy cat and his lively sister. The lively
one pissed on my bed the day I arrived and then decided that I was
probably ok and spent the rest of my visit prancing around and testing my bath water. In my capacity as landlady, I hosted a wardrobe mistress from Singing in the Rain - thirty cast membersLulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-59180832915726302962022-05-08T18:29:00.004-04:002022-05-09T17:18:35.370-04:00Monthism He said: May is my favourite month I thought you liked September, September is definitely the best monthSeptember's ok but May is better, although I like April even more and March is pretty good, I like June but not keen on July. I hate August, August can f**k right off, September's nice but October is better That's me told My sister has been staying with our parents, Ma hasLulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-84070749468189160812022-03-07T06:31:00.002-04:002022-03-07T06:32:57.697-04:00There are Young Men in my house They are on tour with the Lion King - a cause for huge excitement around here. Offstage man is slight and seemingly quiet, he nibbles on the edge of a pizza or takes little bit of ham sometimes, he has set up a keyboard in his room and before they set off for the theatre he belts out a show tune to set the mood Onstage man eats like a carnivorous horse, cooking up huge Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-86142483026133446352022-02-20T08:45:00.008-04:002022-02-21T05:26:45.099-04:00Modern Funeral Last week I travelled to Staffordshire where I attended a funeral. I had met Uncle Lewis a couple of times in my life, both times very briefly. I knew almost nothing about this man but had the impression he'd been quite naughty in his time and was intrigued to hear what the memorial tribute would reveal about him. Uncle Lewis had arranged the disposal of his body with the Co-op, they Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-57719526910351668832022-01-24T10:15:00.003-04:002022-01-28T08:58:07.752-04:00Siberian wardrobe problems I sat next to a woman who told me she was from SiberiaTwo Siberian clichés crashed into my brain, I made a pinchy face, she was defensiveIt is not just very cold it is
also very hot, we only have extremes, six months very hot, six months very
cold and very great difference over one day - it can start at minus 20 degrees, then later in day zero degrees - so it really fucks with our Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314051138158312229.post-77709198533156468582021-12-18T13:30:00.008-04:002021-12-19T18:26:35.971-04:00Access all areas. Earlier this year I was getting ready to head out to work when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to see a young woman backing rapidly away while talking to me through her mask. She was out-of-sorts maybe not sober maybe upset, I didn't think I'd seen her before (but I have poor facial recognition skills and regularly blank old friends in the street). What with the mask and the Lulu LaBonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546286547273386382noreply@blogger.com6