Penniedarling

The TV Show 'Mapp and Lucia' is sooooo over the top, so ridiculous, so funny and so well acted.  
Anna Chancellor (Lucia), Steve Pemberton (Georgie) and Miranda Richardson (Mapp).

We all know Anna Chancellor, unfortunately usually known as 'Duckface', but I had to look up photos of  both Steve Pemberton and of course I remember him from all sorts of things but it was really Miranda Richardson I couldn't see in Elizabeth Mapp... makeup and maybe false teeth are doing a great job :-)

Sunday evening ABC2 7:41pm.

Labels: 5/15, TV Show

The first thing that came into my head when I woke up this morning ... was ... was ...  was ...  I don't know...  Anger I guess!   How dare they do this to ME!

Last night we watched an old 1974 movie version of Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express'.

It started off brilliantly, the film work, the extras, the gathering together on the train of some very big names in the Movie world was wonderful to watch, the train itself was just beautiful, the carriages magnificent, the scenery brilliant ... but then ... 

Huh!  The 'actor???'  Huh!  given the role of our very well known Hercule Poirot started doing his thing!

The other actors were brilliant, John Gielgud was just wonderful!  Lauren Bacall was brilliantly loud mouth, Ingrid Bergman just perfect, Anthony Perkins and Sean Connery and Michael York played their parts excellently as did the rest of the cast... except for the 'actor??' playing our wonderful Poirot!

Who was this person who outraged my senses you ask?    none other than Albert Finney!   Now I've enjoyed Albert in other movies, thought he was fun... but whoever the DINGBAT was who thought he could play Hercule Poirot seriously needs his head read!  

So by now you must be wondering what Al could have done to incense me to this outrage, well I will tell you!  

He was stiff, didn't look at anyone properly, his accent went in and out of a Belguim one, going into an American accent at one time, he shouted and shouted, he hugged the owner of the rail line...  Poirot hugging someone???   Never!   Oh dear I mustn't upset myself ...  There was never any expression on Albert Finney's face except the one below... take a look for yourself.

 What is this person thinking!  What's with the stiff neck?
 No no no no...  it's all wrong wrong wrong...

 Here is the beautiful David Suchet playing our lovable Poirot perfectly.  The smallest of a smile, head held high just right.


Now in case you think I may be being a bit silly with this post...  I have seen other actors playing Hercule Poirot and they have been okay, fair to middling and have never injured my senses, I certainly didn't loose sleep when Peter Ustinov played Poirot, he did a good job.

In the end my moaning got too much for my beloved sitting beside me so the movie was stopped and deleted! 


P.S.  Very sad when David Suchet did his last performance.
P.P.S.  Very funny that Albert Finney received a nomination for an award for his role!  The nominators must have been on their funny pills that day.

Labels: Hercule Poirot

Mmmmm... there are lots of these cute furry pests over there and I know some have visited us here as well.

Labels: 5/15, Animals

So sorry we missed you Remy, we will make sure we are home next time you ring.

Labels: Remy

This book was written by one of my distant relatives, I only heard about it earlier this month from another distant cousin, Jeff, who had recently heard from Peter Fitzsimons who had read Bert's book and was writing something similar. 

I found 'The Hell, the Humour and the Heartbreak'  available only  in America, there was one used copy for US$19:95 or copies ranging from US$144 to $444....  see below! 

The seller wouldn't send to Australia but that wasn't a problem, David has a cousin in California so I had it sent to Bill and he very kindly sent it on to me.


The book is written by Bert Bishop who signs up for WW1 along with his cousin Raymond Bishop when they were both just 18 years old.   I only heard about this second cousin in 2009 when our distant relative Jeff contacted Rosie's and asked if she would take a DNA test to see if Ray's body could be identified among the bodies that were found at Fromelles... apparently female DNA is easier to trace than male DNA.

The book starts off with a lot of humour about these two 18 year old country boys who are heading to France for adventure. 

When they get to Cairo they are warmly greeted by their Uncle Alex, my Maternal Great Grandfather. Alex is a Captain and takes Bert and Ray along to the finest Restaurant in town...  taking lowly Privates into such a Restaurant was a big no-no to British Officers... at one stage Bert heard one of the British Officers say. "Those beastly Orstralians, they are quate-quate impossible.  My dear chappie, they are hardly civilised, bai Jove."     Two Aussie Officers, at a different table winked at Bert after this comment was heard through the restaurant :-)

This is how the book starts off but it changes as Bert gets to the front lines...  Ray and his brother Harold are killed and Bert is wounded. 
It is indeed a valuable insight into France during WW1.

Labels: Books

 Isn't this snake beautiful, we found it on our tennis court sometime last year... it was dead and we haven't seen any like it since, so it's appearance is a bit of a mystery.

Labels: 5/15, Animals

 Me...  great collection of goodies from Briface  :-)   When I was a child, before Nick was born, our family of five would head up to Queensland for Dad's long service leave in a caravan exactly like this one on this card!  :-) 
 Me again... lots of pretty stamps!

More about this book later...

Labels: Books

I made this pink dress for a little sick girls doll a year or so ago.

Labels: 5/15, Knitting

Welllll...  not exactly borrowed, and not exactly stolen really either!

In 1970, we enjoyed a month of travel across the USSR.  Back in those days, when we knew we were heading to a new country we'd go to a local bank and buy some of that counties currency.  The only country we were not able to buy currency for was the USSR.   Some other Communist countries had the same rules but even banks had some of their currency under the desk and swapped US $'s for it at very favourable prices for us... but not the USSR.

So we entered the USSR by train from Warsaw, Poland and there was no money exchange on the train which meant we were unable to change our US$'s to buy anything to eat or drink... the trip takes 26 hours!   Luckily and very kindly the people in the carriage beside us shared their sandwiches and tea from a Samovar... this is the first and only time I've ever drunk tea, it would have been to rude to refuse.

When we arrived in Leningrad on that first day we asked directions for a bank, and as we headed towards the said bank some young man sidled up to us and said very softly...  'Sell US Dollar?  Sell Dollar?'   so we did a deal there and then on the street getting 2 1/2  Ruble's for each 1US$, the going rate at the Banks was 1 Ruble for 1US$ but we never needed to go into a bank there was always a young man who gave us this much better rate on the streets.  So for the first time in our lives we were Rich!  Pity there wasn't anything to buy and the food was pretty awful.

From Leningrad we trained to Moscow, then across Siberia through Khabarovsk and Vladivostok then to the sea port of Nakhodka where we caught a boat to Japan.

As we were leaving the USSR there were signs everywhere saying we had to give back any Russian monies we still had on us, the USSR Officials at Customs also asked us for any monies we still had, they of course had no intention of giving us back our US$'s in this deal, anyway I only had one USSR Ruble left so taking a great risk to our safety... I hid the above Ruble on my person!

So I guess you could say that ... I borrowed this coin?  :-)

Labels: 5/15, Coins

 When I wake up each morning... 
 ...  I unlock the sliding door...
 ... then I walk up the veranda...
 ... and around the corner...
 ... onto the driveway...
 ... up towards the road...
... I find our local paper...
... I also find the Sydney Morning Herald... and two empty bins!
So...  I bring in the bins and the papers down the driveway...  and then...    I spy one lovely little Iris!

Labels: 5/15, Garden

You know we have Dragons living with us don't you... well the big Mumma of the Clan went into hibernation somewhere between the edge of the pool and the wood pile but this baby Dragon and maybe it's twin is still behind the outside Clock as you can see with the tail hanging out and a little part of it's paw as well.

Last night it got down to 8c again which is far too cold for Dragons to be out and about... so what should I do?
1.  Leave it/them here and hope for the best?
2.  Dig a nice warm hole and remove the clock and hope I can catch them?
3.  We aren't sure if we actually have two or three babies so do I hope they are keeping each other warm under there?
4.  Cover the clock over with a warm insulating something?
5.  Call the Dragon Busters??

Labels: Water Dragon

How lucky was I that I found this Jackeroo on my Aunt and Uncles Sheep Station way back in 1966 :-)

This old box brownie photo doesn't really do him justice!  But it is the first photo I took of this man.

Labels: 5/15, David

I was speaking to my Aunt Pam the other day and we were talking about the 'Cobcroft Family', the 225 year celebrations are happening next month, then I remembered a competition I'd entered a few years ago and won!

The competition was through my Lilliput Lane Cottages Club, and we were asked to write a story about our favourite Cottage.   I knew this competition was held before we had the internet so I searched out my Lilliput Lane folder in the filing cabinet and found what I'd written way back in 1993!

I already knew a lot about my 4th Great Grandfather John Cobcroft, a convict sent to Australia in 1790 and on reading this copy I'm surprised at how much is true with only a little garnish here and there...
The large cottage is 'Hopcroft Cottage' and the smaller one is the Prize I won... called 'Golden years'.
                                                                                                   Wilberforce. N.S.W. Australia. April 1802

Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Hopcroft,
'Hopcroft Cottage'
Old Warden
Sussex. England.

 To my Dear Mother and Father,

      I know this will be a shock for you hearing from your son John so many years since you may have thought I had been dead.  All this time I have often had you in my dreams and thoughts, and especially our beautiful home.  I dream I am walking up the pebble path and pause to breathe in all the beauty and smells around me, the Yew Hedge so prettily trimmed around the fence on my right and on my left the rambling ivy falling over the brick wall, the foxgloves are in flower and so are the poppies.  The smell of flowers, vines and fresh mown lawns is so strong.  The front door is open onto the hall with the fire blazing and the horse brasses gleaming, I can hear cook bustling away in the kitchen shooing away my younger brothers and sisters from the freshly baked muffins cooling on a rack, the sound of chopping wood comes from the yard, I know this is my father.  I leave now and as I glance up at the windows upstairs with their lattice lead light panes I imagine I see mother searching out from the lace curtains and this is where I stop, the look on your face is so sad, is it because you have lost me, your son?

      How do I explain what I did on that wild afternoon with the friends you told me were no good.  I have paid for that now mother and I want to tell you that your son has done well since being transported to Australia.  I married a lovely girl, Sarah, who was nurse to Governor Lachlan Macquarie's children and we have nine living children all of whom we are very proud.  I was pardoned after only four years and given a grant of 30 acres which I have built up with hard work to 485 acres.  We have a comfortable home and I act as the local policeman. 

     Dear Mother and Father I changed my name on that fateful day so as to save you any embarrassment, I am known in Australia as John Cobcroft but my heart still remains in the home and the name of my birth 'Hopcroft'.                       

                                                      Your ever loving son, John.

I have since learned that John was an only child and his mother died giving birth to him, his fathers name was John but his Grandfather's name was Joshua.  Their home was in Keighley... but all the rest is true  :-)

Labels: Lilliput Lane

Labels: 5/15, Garden

Lots of good and happy times have been had in our Big Green Bus over the years... first picnic on top right in 1972.

Labels: 5/15, Buses

This is what they promised... Not nice is it...

And this is what we got!

Labels: 5/15, Weather

I must empty this drawer one day and see what is actually in it!  Very rarely opened this drawer.

Labels: 5/15

The dishwasher was doing clicky click things, the fridge started joining the dishwasher, the Internet was telling me there was no connection and the Solar switches were joining in with the Clickers... something was wrong.

Yes this little bit of wire had burned out in the Meter box and now we have to have all those things? on the left replaced... or did Anders the electrician say we had to have to whole box thing replaced!  I can't remember but it doesn't matter the boss man will send us a quote!   

Oh Joy! 

Labels: Home

 Love, love, love them all equally... 
 Even the wacky ones...
Lots lots of loving  :-)

Labels: 5/15, Griffiths Family

 Big flood of untreated sewerage bubbling up from downstairs loo floor drain hole started the problem.  So who you gonna call... Rob and his friend who dug and dug until they found the clay pipes.
 Then the rains came.
Then we called our plumber Tim and the clay pipes where dug up and disposed of, new plastic pipes replaced the old and the holes were covered up.
 Eventually after leaving the hole to settle, the bricks had to be relayed... here with a little help from Nerys.
 David worked from back to front and look at the beautiful result.

 Then today... Niall finished the job off completely with the trans-planting of some old plants (mothers in law something I think) that were around the pool area and were overcrowding the rest of the garden.
Look at it now... just perfect!

Labels: Garden

My mood today was to enjoy my favourite breakfast... french toast, Jason's bacon grilled, fresh berries, yoghurt and all drizzled with maple syrup

Labels: 5/15, Food

Just popping in from school and straight to the fridge  :-)

Labels: Jackson

Can you see our beautiful Abigail Rose?? 

Labels: 5/15, Abigail

 In alphabetical order..  Abigali.

 Charlie is sick today, he's visiting Pennie and David's while his mummy is working, staying nice and warm and playing with his iPad he is, what a gem.

Today Nerys taught Charlie to use his Ventolin...    I was just a week early wasn't I :-)

 George, beautiful big boy George.

 James William on FaceTime... isn't he beautiful, enjoying a rusk then a peanut butter sandwich.





 Did you know that Remy is really a cute little pussy cat!    Excellent paint job  LOL  he so looks like a cat doesn't he.

Hang on... maybe Remy is a Kangaroo? 

 Beautiful and growing up Tilly... 

This teacher must be on her knees, Tilly can't be as tall as her can she!

Sadly I don't have a recent photo of Jack, I will have to make up for this error next week!

Labels: Grandchildren