Newcastle Untied

Yes Indeed!
Allow me to potentially spike the initial display on Facebook, which has become somewhat erratic and unpredictable.

David Janssen and Anthony Zerbe

     You will recognise David as the lead character in "The Fugitive" and also in the detective series "Harry O" - where he travelled about on the bus, which for an American private detective was, and is, utterly unheard of. Respect to David J!
     Anthony Zerbe was a character actor who has  never run out of work as he is both dependable and good.  If you ever watched American television during the Sixties and Seventies and Eighties you cannot fail to see him.  Appreciate him as one of those unsung workmen who sustain the television and film industry.  He was also in "Harry O".

Newcastle Untied
Yes, indeed, and also in photograph, to wit:

The pun begun

     As you can clearly see, this bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale has been released from cruel confinement by green twine.  Hence - Newcastle, untied.
     What? This sounds suspiciously like the name of a football team called "Newcastle United"?  Surely only a wild coincidence!

Sweet Potato Cottage Pie
If you have been following the blog's posts of recent weeks, you will recall the mention of recipes and menus from the English Civil War that include the term "pottage", which seems to be a seventeenth century equivalent of "stew".

Oh, if only you could smell the smell.

     Thus we might condense this particular creation as "Sweet Pottage Pie", as it contains a lot of sweet things - red peppers, potatoes and corn.
     I have to admit it was made up of Yum! - the topping of grated cheese and sweet potato especially effective.  Luckily there is some left, the photo above being proof*, so Conrad will be dining on it tomorrow.

Saturday Morning
I present this photograph as evidence that I am still diligently reading "Against The Day" and today reached page 900.  Only another 128 pages left!  The plot has advanced to circa the year 1910, so Conrad wonders if it will quite get to that unpleasantness in Sarajevo that kicked off You-Know-What One before finishing.

Books, tea, notebook and crumpets.  This sums up Conrad in a single photo

     Thomas Pynchon is not an easy, or quick, read**.  I have a critical analysis of "The Crying Of Lot 49" that is actually longer than the original novel, so how long a critical analysis of ATD would be is rather up there, but certainly runs to several million words.

How Sad Am I?***
If you know anything about Conrad, it probably concerns his 1) Obsessive purchase of books and 2) His rather worrying interest in military history.
     Thus any reason that stokes both is liable to be worrisome to the commonweal of humanity - after all I am here to prepare for the arrival of an interstellar invasion fleet^.
     Relax!  The only worry is to my bank balance, for Naval & Military Press have sent out their usual catalogue:

Oh!  Apologies - it's upside down.  Australian edition?

     Here we have an offer, you can get 4,500 war diaries from British army battalions on the Western Front during 1914 - 1918.  
     I know!  An incredible resource! All on DVD, collected in one place.
     The catch?  Oooh er missus - £450.  BUT only £350 if you order in advance!
     It is possible to access these war diaries individually, if you pay the National Archives, but it costs at least a couple of pounds to do so - which would work out at £9,000.  At least.
     Oh the dilemma!

Say Hello Wave Goodbye
Darling Daughter is home for a visit, and accepts the risk that she will have to go back to halls carrying twice what she came home with.  There's the "Gravy Bag", full of gravy and stock products provided free from my Enormous Anonymous Employer, and a bag of sweet potatoes, and "The Oxford Companion to Art", which is the size and weight of a house-brick, plus whatever else Wonder Wifey can lade upon her.

Darling Daughter in a characteristic pose.
(Eating and drinking whilst wearing Hat)

     Also she came home to trawl around the charity shops in Oldham, as there are no decent ones in Manchester.

There Is No Spoon, Nor Food
Edna Wunderhund, resident Mobile Alarm System and Tormentor Of Toys, is ever one to investigate the possibility of leftover food.  

Note absence of food, apart from crumbs

  "Coo-ee!  Edna?  Do you -"

Note absence of crumbs

" - oh you did.  No, Edna!  The plate is empty!"

* Derek take note ...
** But he is interesting, educational, not precious at all and with a rather mischievous sense of fun.
*** RHETORICAL question.  No need to answer!
^ Me being an alien spy.  I could shout this from the rooftops and nobody would believe it.