Lemon-tree grown from seed. Year three I think.
I was out detecting today for a quick hour or two and found what I thought was a George V penny but when I got it home and cleaned some of the muck off it I found it was slightly older than that and not a penny at all. I had a bit of fun researching this and found that it is actually a halfpenny token issued by the British Copper Company. Which had smelting works at Landore, Wales, and rolling mills at Walthamstow, Essex.
Apparently, copper pennies and halfpennies were in short supply after the war with Napoleon of France — and the war against America in 1812 — and earlier coins had largely been melted down for their value as a metal. Nothing was done in parliament to alleviate the situation but c
Issued by The British Copper Company which had smelting works at Landore, Wales, and rolling mills at Walthamstow, Essex, which buildings are reported to be still standing.
This morning I asked Mitzi a question about ghosts. She was sunning herself on the back of the sofa but I knew she was listening.
“I’m working on a short story involving a ghost you see, and I’m having trouble deciding where and when the ghost should appear. As near as I can figure it, ghosts appear in 4 different places: where they were killed, where they lived, where their loved ones are, and wherever their ‘unfinished business’ is. It will affect the story’s outcome–which I admit I haven’t written yet–depending on where the ghost appears. What do you think?”
Mitzi flicked an ear in my direction and I saw her tail tip thump the sofa once, declaratively. “Ghosts appear to me whenever I want them to. All I have to do is close my eyes and think of someone and they appear to me.”
“Uh, that’s not a ghost, that’s called a memory. A completely different thing.”
“Really? Are you so sure? What is a ghost then?”
“I have to admit I don’t know, but I know what one isn’t,” I said, suddenly feeling defensive at the unexpected direction our conversation had taken. “And what you describe is just a memory, not an apparition, not a spiritual entity communicating from the Great Beyond.”
When I looked over I saw she was staring right at me, or something over my right shoulder. You can never be quite sure with cats. “Close your eyes right now. Picture someone who’s passed over. Imagine them standing right in the corner over there.”
“OK….”
“Can you see them? What they’re wearing, how their face looks?”
“Yes but–“
“No buts! Quickly, tell me how a ghost would be any different from what you’re imagining right now?”
“Ummm, a ghost would actually be there.”
“Would it?”
“Well, I wouldn’t need to close my eyes to see it, It would be real!”
“Are you saying ghosts are real, that we imagine them with our eyes open?”
“Are you saying ghosts and memories are the same things?”
“To me. “
“Are you saying ghosts and memories are the same things?”
“To me. “
“To you?”
“To me.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between us. Well uncomfortable for me, I think Mitzi was enjoying the sound of gears turning in my head. “Ah! But what about someone who’s not dead yet? I can remember someone who’s not dead and therefore not a ghost.”
“Really? And that is different how?”
“Because they’re not really there.”
“Like a ghost. Not really there, because they are somewhere else?”
Here I struggled to clarify terms and instead of answering, I asked: “So you’re saying a memory is the ghost of someone who’s somewhere else and a ghost is the memory of someone who’s not here anymore?”
“Oh you almost have it, but think about what you just said. If someone is not here anymore, aren’t they somewhere else?”
“You really ARE saying a ghost and a memory are the same things, aren’t you?”
“To me.”
“Yes, to you.”
Mitzi half-jumped, half-rolled off the sofa and nosed her way thru the cat door. I heard her comment to herself as the last of her tail slipped thru: “And he wonders why cats and humans never talk to each other!”
I’ve got a second brew project going on right now requested by my wife.
It’s a bottle of ginger beer that I hope will taste nice enough to fill the gap between now and when the current batch of cider is ready.
It’s early days yet but that should become Ginger beer in about a week.
I’m using a 4.5L Demi-John from Amazon to ferment in, filled it about 3/4 the way with warm water (not hot) and then added half a kilo of brewing sugar. The other half will go to flavoring the finished product. Then I added a packet of yeast that came with my cider making kit since I still had one packet of cider yeast from last year.
In a small saucepan I heated up a cup of water then I used a veggie peeler to peel off the skin and upper layer of a ginger root about 4 inches long. A good portion of it is left so that gets wrapped up for the Mrs. to use in her cooking. Then I squeezed in the juice of 1 large orange and added a few tablespoons of sugar. I’m not trying to make a syrup here but I could have just by adding more sugar at this point.
I let that simmer on low till it smelled really nice then strained it into a measuring cup and added some warm water till it was about the same temp as the water in the Demijohn. You don’t want it too hot or it will kill the yeast. Now the orange/ginger broth you’ve made goes into the bottle and you add enough water to bring the level up to where you see it in the photo. Top with an airlock and sit back for about a week. I should mention you can use lemons if you want but as I said, this is for the Mrs.
It started bubbling away thru the airlock very quickly so I think the yeast (that’s the yellow bits you can see floating in the bottle) is happy in there. JUST in case I overdid the sugar and it might overflow thru the airlock I sat the whole thing in a rubber mixing bowl to make a moat which will catch anything that might dribble down the sides. I’ve never had one do that when making cider but doesn’t hurt to look like you’re thinking ahead, eh? 🙂
The Mrs. asked when we would know it’s ready? I am planning on using the same rule of thumb I use for cider. When the frequency of the bubbles escaping from the airlock slow way down, it’s time to have a taste.
Remember at this point you still have a bunch of sugar to add so it may be quite sharp on the tongue but if the balance of ginger and orange is acceptable add a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle (or to taste, I don’t like mine overly sweet) and then set it aside somewhere cool. There may be some additional fermentation at this point so be sure to store it someplace cool. I would wait at least a day for the yeast to settle back to the bottom of the bottle before drinking.
AS usual, I forgot to measure the SP before fermentation but I will try hard to remember when I’m done. I don’t want it to be too strong alcohol wise, nor too flat to make any fizz. I am shooting for around 4% but if it has a gentle fizz, less is fine by me.
Cross your fingers, I’ll update this in a week or so to let you know how it went!
You can’t tell much from this picture, but this is a clump of moss I’m using as a sort of accent plant. I learned about accent plants when I studied bonsai but have never applied the idea to house plants. I kinda like it and it currently looks lusher than this, I should have waited for it to recover from transplanting before I took the picture. Gold pot donated by the Mrs.
I am having a bit of a dry spell detecting wise but I did find something interesting. This old bottle and lid.
It’s an odd octagonal shape, is heavy white glass and says ‘outdoor girl’ on the bottom with the letters U C B. It was about 6″ down but not in too bad a shape. The lid might have had something written on it but it’s too bashed up now to tell. Just a hint of red or pink around the edges. Nothing inside but some dirt, not even a whiff of what it might have once held. I found OG cosmetics on the web easily enough and searching a bit further reveals that there’s been Outdoor Girl make up since the 1930s. I spent a lot of time reviewing different bottles but none in this odd shape. Hope that didn’t skew my google analytics too much!
It is different today, and yet it is not. Little changes are made noticeable by the memory of the sameness. A new ramp made of asphalt, a fountain where there were only buskers.
The drawings on Trafalgar Square’s stony space are the same as yesterday yet different from the day before. “Your economy or Google’s?” one asks. “Write the name of your beloved in the heart!” another exclaims.
I give a nod to the statue of Washington as I pass, our secret status as expats binding us. His alabaster eyes gaze heavenward and we envy Nelson’s perspective over it all.
https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/
A little night music for our delicious friends…
Found another military button today. It says 104th Bengal Fusiliers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/104th_Regiment_of_Foot_(Bengal_Fusiliers)
104th Formed in 1862 and lasted till amalgamation in 1881. Could be from any time in between, but likely to be early as the battalion was Ireland based from 1873.
One of three pieces that made up a medieval sword hanger. Circa 1500-1600.
I remember reading about sword hangers in John Carter of Mars. I had no idea what they were until now.
There is a record of similar on the British Museum’s finds website:
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/727202
Reported to the finds liaison officer (FLO) in Salisbury.
A complete set would have looked like this:
