Saturday 12 June 2010

Z is left to look after the bantams

Dilly and Al had a party today.  They relied rather on fine weather because they planned a barbecue, with more guests than indoor chairs, but the Luck of the Sage held, even though the man himself wasn't there and the sun shone reasonably hot, which was more than it looked as if it was going to do.  All week, rain has been forecast which hasn't fallen, but the dry day that was predicted looked quite unlikely for a while.  Almost the whole family came, Dilly's parents and one of her sisters, with her family, Ro and his girlfriend Dora came and so did Weeza and Zerlina, though not Phil because he's visiting other friends this weekend. Various other families came too and the children all played cheerily together, without bothering us at all.  

The Sage has gone away for a couple of days.  Today, there was an Old Boys' Reunion at his school.  I find these things a bit bemusing, but then, as you know, I'm a bit of an old misery at heart and, if I hadn't kept in touch with people from several decades ago, I'd think it a bit odd to catch up with them once in a while just because we shared the same Latin classes.  Actually, I'd not recognise people either, by name or face.  I'm hopeless.  Anyway, I digress: the Sage was thoroughly looking forward to it, because various people who were in the school shooting team with him were going to be there.  They are older than he: he was a crack shot from an early age.  This is target shooting, of course, he has never been a hunter.

He is staying there tonight and tomorrow has some business to transact on the other side of the country, so will go from Derbyshire to Wiltshire and then home again on Monday by way of Towcester (which is, rather fabulously, pronounced Toaster, for those of you who do not herald from these shores).

So I'd be all alone tonight, were it not that Weeza is staying over.  Zerlina is staying with her cousins next door, so Weeza can relax.

And I've got to get up early tomorrow, to set up everything for the 8 o'clock service, so now I'm going to let Tilly out and in again, and go to bed.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the correct pronounciation of Towcester. You would have difficulty pronouncing names of places around here; Puyallup, Issaquah, CleElum, Yakima..

luckyzmom said...

I would not have been able to toast the town of Towcester with the correct pronunciation but the above are all quite familiar to me as our daughter lives in Woodinville and I grew up in Edmonds, Washington.

Dave said...

I knew how to pronounce Towcester. And Wyberton, Burgh-le-marsh, etc. I also know that Gillingham in Kent is pronounced differently to the town of the same spelling in Dorset (and the one not a million miles from Yagnub).

Brom said...

I had a work colleague who had a girlfriend he regularly visited in said Northamptonshire town. I could never resist saying...
"So are you going to pop up Towcester"

Christopher said...

The Sage's journeyings seem a bit limited to me. Could he not have gone via e.g. Bicester, Slaithwaite, Wateringbury, Friockheim, Milngavie, etc.?

Z said...

He's gone to see his friend J0hn Farquhars0n.

Rog said...

I popped up to Towcester once.

By the way I hope you've seen this Z.

Anonymous said...

Towcester sounds a bit ... bell-tower-in-ivy-ish ...

Z said...

It does. doesn't it, Mago - we'll have to ask Rog though, because I've never been there.

I feel a little abashed, Rog. I hardly ever cook with sage (though at least the Sage sometimes cooks for me) and so had nothing to add to the excellent advice. All I've done with sage plants this year is root some cuttings, which Al sold for £1 each.

heybartender said...

Towcester. I love that. (Ditto "pop up to Towcester").
When I was a kid a used to put "Wore-sher -schter" sauce on any meat you put in front of me. I know how to say it correctly now, but as a vegetarian a rarely have to.

Z said...

The art of playing on words is alive and well and living in Blogland!

Worcester sauce goes well on toasted cheese, by the way. If that's what you call grilled cheese on toast in the US.