Welcome to the Fifteenth Edition of Our Newsletter

Edition 15 Monday 6th July 2020

Welcome to the Fifteenth Edition of our Newsletter

Another fabulous edition with lots of interesting reading and fun things to do. A huge thank you to all the contributors of this edition and if you are still thinking about what you can send in to share with all our members, here are some ideas - Have you seen a good film recently? I know we can’t get out to the cinema but maybe you have seen a film on television you could review. Or perhaps tell us about a book you have read recently and would recommend. Have you been sent a funny story or a joke you would like to share? I am sure we all have our 8 Desert Island Disc choices in our heads – if you do, and you are not sure how to go about writing about your choices we can help! Have you got a favourite recipe that our members would like to try? As I have said many times before, the newsletter is totally dependent on you, the members. Without your contributions, your stories, poems, jokes, news, gardening tips etc, there would be no newsletter so please keep sending in anything you think would be of interest to other members.

Please send any contributions to Karen: [email protected]

Music in Our Time This is a regular item so if you have a relevant piece of music which reflects either the season, an event or our wonderful land, please email [email protected]

Music Inspired By Summer by Alan Malloy

Well, it’s raining again as I contemplate writing about Summer-inspired music. I thought of abandoning this idea again, but was worried that it would rain every time I thought about it, so I’ve decided to just carry on regardless in the hope that the sun will return soon.

‘Here Comes the Sun’ by the Beatles. This song is more of a prayer than an observation. The song was written by George Harrison in 1969, while he stayed at his good friend Eric Clapton’s country house, Hurtwood Edge in Surrey. George wrote the song to reflect the arrival of Spring rather than Summer, but I think it’s still a very appropriate tune for our theme today. This song is one of the most popular Beatles’ tunes, being streamed more than 50 million times. Harrison was at a low ebb when he wrote it, having left the Beatles temporarily, as well as having other ‘issues’. He says: “I walked around Eric’s garden with one of his guitars and wrote this song.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQetemT1sWc

‘Sunny’ by Bobby Hebb. While Hebb’s name may not be familiar, this soul/jazz song, written in 1963 is rated one of the top 100 songs of the last century, coming in at 25. It has been recorded by many artists, but I think that Bobby Hebb’s own version is the best. It is, as you might expect, an optimistic song as its first line says: “Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain.” Hebb wrote this song immediately following the assassination of John F Kennedy and the murder of his brother Harold that same day in 1963. It is very revealing that Bobby chose to write about happiness, not grief and loss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvYQxTXO3U

‘Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Felix Mendelssohn. Felix wrote his Overture when he was just 17 (in 1826). This music has happy memories for me: we watched the ballet of the same name in Milton Keynes - a Mother’s Day present to Rhoda from our daughter Claire. Mendelssohn was probably the greatest child prodigy since Mozart. He didn’t start playing the piano until he was six, but by the age of nine he made his first public concert appearance. The music is based on Shakespeare’s play of the same name. It is about love and marriage. As often happens, the course of true love never runs smoothly, so this comical play involves fairies who try unsuccessfully to help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEkcP8lZvZA

‘Summertime’ George Gershwin. This song was composed for Gershwin’s opera ‘Porgy and Bess’ in 1935. It was inspired by the blues and spiritual styles of the southern states of America. One can easily imagine the hot, oppressive summer days of Alabama and Tennessee. The song is sung several times in the opera. By the time Gershwin wrote ‘Porgy and Bess’, he had already written several successful compositions including ‘Rhapsody In Blue’, ‘An American In Paris’ and the song ‘I Got Rhythm’. ‘Porgy and Bess’ is considered to be one of these most important American operas of the Twentieth Century, enabling Gershwin to move to Hollywood. Sadly, he died at the age of 38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7-Qa92Rzbk

Karen’s Crafty Corner

Please remember to send in your craft ideas!!

Pebble Painting

Pebble painting is great fun and a very effective way of expressing your artistic talents!

You can decorate them and

keep them for yourself or give them as gifts. They look great displayed on shelves or as paperweights. They also make

lovely garden ornaments. Somebody even used them as

place names for guests at their wedding.

One idea is to decorate the pebbles and leave them in locations for others to find as a ‘random act of kindness’. It is a lovely to think of making someone happy with a pretty painted rock. In a world where we’re just looking for a little something to brighten our

days, these rocks are perfect!

This is a lovely craft for all the family and I think it would be fun to do with grandchildren.

Here are the materials you will need:

Small rocks or large pebbles

Acrylic or waterproof craft paints

Large & small paintbrushes

Sharpie pens 1 1

1) The first thing to do is choose your pebble, preferably one with a smooth flat surface. If you can’t find any suitable pebbles in the garden or on the beach then you can buy bags of large pebbles from garden centres. Hobbycraft also sell bags of pebbles for painting.

2) Then wash your pebbles and thoroughly

8 dry them.

3) The next step is to seal the pebbles with a clear primer if you wish. This is not essential but pebbles can be porous so may absorb the paint.

4) Then paint your pebble, it is completely up to you whether you paint the whole pebble or just the top. Use one colour as a base, you will probably need two coats to ensure good coverage, ensuring each coat is completely dry before decorating. The best paints to use are waterproof craft paints or acrylic paints.

5) When your base coat is dry you can start decorating your pebble using a fine brush. You can also use a Sharpie to decorate your pebble.

6) If you are putting your pebble in the garden or leaving it for someone to find outdoors then it is a good idea to varnish your finished pebble. This will also give your pebble a lovely shiny finish.

When it comes to how to decorate your rock it’s really up to

your imagination! Sometimes the shape of the pebble might lend itself to a particular image – an animal or insect or a leaf or flower. The list is endless - faces, cars, birds or just design your own pattern. You could also write a message or saying on your pebble.

One wonderful thing with pebble painting is if you make a mistake you can simply wipe it off or wash it away while the paint is still wet.

Foxgloves - also known as Goblin Gloves, Witches’ Gloves and Dead Men’s Bells

By Rhoda Malloy

This beautiful army of foxgloves has recently appeared in all its splendour at the edge of woodland to the rear of our house. They just had to be chosen as ‘Plant of the Week’. Their colours range from ivory through to the softest pink, then lilac through to the deepest purple, with every shade of mauve in between.

The origins of the name foxglove are unclear, but can be traced all the way back to the Anglo Saxon period. It is thought that the ‘glove’ part of the name is simply due to the flowers looking like glove fingers. Less certain is the connection to foxes. One theory is that people believed foxes wore the flowers on their paws to silence their movements when hunting. Another is that these flowers are often found growing close to the earths where foxes raise their young.

Foxgloves contain a chemical called digitalis that can be used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure, however the plant is poisonous if consumed directly and can cause a number of serious health problems.

Please email your 8 record choices and your book and luxury item you would take to your desert island to Karen [email protected]

Letters to the Editor

Every week I am delighted/moved to tears/astonished/pleasured immensely by the gifts of our members in their ability to so wonderfully express themselves (Dan's poem this week) - always by the pets and their pictures - Hector and his pals, Lavanja, Sufi - all of them. I append a little

'Dog's Prayer' for all the dog lovers: Treat me kindly my beloved friend, for no heart in the entire world is more grateful for your kindness than mine. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as a punishment. After all, you have your work, your friends, your entertainment, I only have you.

Morley Meinertz

Zentangles - our first attempts

After being very impressed by Karen’s Zentangles in last week’s newsletter we decided have a go ourselves. Minimal equipment and time was required, which was an attraction, plus we thought we could do with a bit of mindfulness and meditation after a busy morning. I prepared two squares of paper and found some pencils and felt-tips. Hector was asleep. We turned the radio off and began. After a short dithering period we very quickly became engrossed in our patterns and lost ourselves in the simplicity of the task. Fully absorbed, even for just ten minutes, we were living in the moment - it felt refreshing. We would recommend this activity - it is calming and mesmeric, and if every member produced a Zentangle or two, we would have enough for a virtual patchwork quilt!

Alan and Rhoda Malloy

Have you got some news you would like to share or are there features in the newsletter you particularly enjoy or maybe those that you don’t! I am hoping many members will use this page to keep in touch and let us all know how they are getting on.

Poets Page Please send us your poems, either ones you have written yourself or let us know of a special favourite which we can publish

Jeanie saw this in Scunthorpe U3A’s newsletter and thought it would be fun to share!

I have a little Satnav - attributed to Pam Ayres

I have a little Satnav, it sits there in my car. A Satnav is a driver's friend it tells you where you are. I have a little Satnav, I've had it all my life. It's better than the normal ones, my Satnav is my wife. It gives me full instructions, especially how to drive "It's sixty miles an hour", it says, "You're doing sixty five". It tells me when to stop and start, and when to use the brake And tells me that it's never ever, safe to overtake. It tells me when a light is red, and when it goes to green It seems to know instinctively, just when to intervene. It lists the vehicles just in front, and all those to the rear. And taking this into account, it specifies my gear. I'm sure no other driver, has so helpful a device. For when we leave and lock the car, it still gives its advice. It fills me up with counselling, each journey's pretty fraught. So why don't I exchange it, and get a quieter sort? Ah well, you see, it cleans the house, makes sure I'm properly fed. It washes all my shirts and things, and keeps me warm in bed! Despite all these advantages, and my tendency to scoff, I only wish that now and then, I could turn the !!!!!! off.

Have you a poem you have written? Or perhaps a favourite you would like to share? Please email [email protected] with any poem you would like to see published

Pets Page

Ospreys: or rather the incredible journey of a Bachelor

Osprey (PP7) from Kildary to Dakar and back to Aviemore

in one year

by Anne Fenech who has collated the sightings of an Osprey who lives just beyond Lavanja’s lochan. This shows the mind-bending journey it undertook aged 2.

Pandion haliaetus or Ospreys grow to 55-62cm in length and have a wingspan of 145- 180cm. The wings take a characteristic ‘W’ shape, making the bird unmistakeable in flight. They are larger than a buzzard but smaller than a golden eagle. They are dark brown above and white below and can sometimes be confused with some of our larger gulls. The breast has a variable brown band, more pronounced in females than males. The head is white with a dark brown band across the eyes. The eyes are yellow, although orange in young ospreys. They weigh 1.2-2kg and males are 5-10% smaller than females. The osprey’s diet consists solely of fish. Ospreys require a good supply of medium-sized fish which can be caught from the surface of the water. They are very widely distributed and are found on all five continents. The outer toe of their talons is reversible, meaning that prey can be gripped firmly between two talons in front and two behind, and the strong black bill is curved into a hook for tearing up fish. They have a fleshy nostril that closes as it dives into water. On arrival at a fishing site, an osprey flies steadily above the water’s surface, with the head swivelling and looking intently at the water. When a fish is spotted, it stops and hovers, then drops halfway to the water and continues to look at the fish. If satisfied, it closes its wings and carries out a most spectacular plunge into the water, at the last moment throwing its outstretched talons directly in front of its head to grab the fish. An osprey needs to consume 300-400g of fish per day. They fish in all types of environments, including lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters.

Reproduction Ospreys are a migratory species, spending the breeding season (March-September) in the UK, then migrating to Africa for the winter. Breeding pairs do not spend the winter together but meet up once back at the nest site. Ospreys generally build nests at the top of prominent trees, adding to it every year. The female lays a clutch of 2-4 eggs. Eggs are incubated for 35-

37 days, predominantly by the female, with the male hunting for them both. Once the chicks hatch the female only leaves the nest for short periods of time, and the male catches fish for the whole family. The chicks grow quickly and fledge after 51-56 days. About 3 weeks later the female departs for Africa and the male continues to feed the chicks for a further 1-2 weeks. The rest of the family then follow suit, all departing within a few days of each other. The adults return to their breeding quarters the following spring, but juveniles remain in Africa for a year and do not return to the UK until the spring of their second year. On 25th August 2015, Cromarty was caught and ringed (PP7) at Rothiemurchus fishery, near Aviemore, it was fitted with a satellite transmitter. This osprey had been ringed as a chick, one of a brood of two, on 13th July 2013, at a nest near our home, just outside Kildary in Easter Ross. Cromarty continued to fish at Rothiemurchus until 3rd September when he set off for Africa. He passed over Loch Rannoch at 12.35, Aberfoyle 1.34 pm, then Paisley, at 2.20pm and Newton Stewart at 4.30pm. He flew out over the Whithorn coast at 5pm and flew on down over the Irish Sea. At 6.18pm he was 7 km west of the Calf of Man and at 9.12pm midway between Pembroke and Ireland. th On 4 September at 0.36am he was 90 km west of the Scilly Islands flying SSW. At 4.11am he was 420 km west of Brittany, flying southish. After midday he was well over the Bay of Biscay and finally at 9.05pm he stopped for a rest on the estuary at Camarnas in NW Galicia, Spain. A continuous flight of over 1700km in 33hrs 50 mins! Who needs Easyjet anyway?

On 7th September 2015, Cromarty set off South through Spain and Portugal, stopping for the night beside the River Tejo near Alvega. On 7th he flew on south and stopped along the River Odemira on 8th – 13th September where he joined up with 3 (maybe 4) more ospreys in Rio Mira. On 15th September 2015, Cromarty flew ESE from Odemira and settled for the night at Santa Clara reservoir. Cromarty departed the Odemira area at 11am on 17th September and flew south, heading for southern Portugal. At the start of his Atlantic Ocean flight he was over 1000 metres above sea level and this high flying continued for an hour before he dropped down to 100 metres. 9

His flight path was west of the Moroccan mainland, so he flew on through the night, being 100km west of Marrakesh at 03.58GMT on 18th September. He came ashore near Cap Draa in southern Morocco. During the night he was flying over the sea at 500 metres but was down 50 metres when he reached the coast. His over-water flight was 990 km and when he reached land, he did not rest but turned down the coast before quite quickly heading over the Sahara Desert. He flew another 500 km before stopping for the night in the desert south of the NW corner of Mauritania. In the two-day flight he covered 1,546 km in 31 hours 20 mins. On 22nd September 2015, Cromarty continued over the Sahara, and covered 720km. On 23rd September 2015, he roosted 60 km east of Dakar, probably heading for wintering areas on the Senegalese coast. On 24th September 2015,

Cromarty flew SW to the Senegalese coast and then turned south down the Atlantic coast, flying over the Sine Saloum delta and at 14.34 GMT over the River Gambia. He cut across Gambia and finally turned coastwards to Southern Senegal and at 17.02hrs settled in an area of creeks and mangroves south of Kafountaine, having completed his migration. 27 th September 2015 to 18th April 18th 2016, Cromarty has ranged out to the coast and back in the last couple of days, but his main roost is inland in the mangrove creeks. A favoured wintering habitat for Scottish ospreys. He is flying over quite an area of land – out to the Atlantic coast and north to Kafountine – in an area of 50 square km. 10th – 11th May 2016, Cromarty set off back to Scotland! Over the last month Cromarty started to wander more around his wintering area in southern Senegal making frequent visits to the Atlantic coast. In winter, his daily flights were very local but recently he had covered nearly 200 square km. Several times he headed north towards The Gambia. But at

10.10am today the 10th May he set off north and at 11.27am thermalled up to 534 metres altitude. He crossed the Gambian border at 11.46 He was too late to breed that summer, but he might find a mate and nest for next year. 11th May 2016, Cromarty crossed the Gambia and entered northern Senegal at 15.19 hrs roosting for the night near a marsh north of the road from Sandicoly. At 12.30 he was out in the Atlantic Ocean fishing. 12th May 2016, Cromarty has thermalled his way up the coast, reaching up to 816 metres above sea level, but spent a lot of time wandering around the Mbour area where he roosted overnight.

On 13th May 2016, Cromarty flew up the Senegal coast after roosting overnight inland near Yenne Tode. At 11.40am he crossed the eastern suburbs of Dakar to the Atlantic and flew on up the coast before heading NE inland at 13.30 and roosted for the night south of Diender.

On night of 13th/14th May Cromarty roosted inland of Kayar and then wandered on up the coast and at 14.46 headed north-east inland and roosted that night in semi-desert near Tiambene. He flew north up the coast and then headed into the Djoud National Park, in northern Senegal. On 16th May 2016, Cromarty crossed the River Senegal into Mauritania at 16.13GMT and then flew another 40 km north-east over Mauritania before settling to roost On 18th May 2016 he flew over Mauritania and back to the Atlantic coast. Cromarty avoided the direct Saharan crossing and turned west towards the coast. He flew west and then north up the Atlantic Ocean coast. At 12.30GMT he flew over the coastal fishmarket of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. His flight was leisurely at 24kph and an altitude of 50 metres, and by late afternoon he turned inland to roost south of Jreida. st On 21 May 2016 Cromarty turned north before roosting just south of Atar in the Sahara. On 22nd May, he headed NNE and reached the huge Fderik mine and flew round the eastern flank to Zouerit. He then headed NE to roost in the desert after 306 km. He was thermalling during the day reaching a maximum height of 2630 metres at 17.19. On 23rd May 2016 he migrated north again using the thermals over the desert. He roosted in the desert just south of Morocco border after 350 km. Yesterday he was travelling north at 80kph at an altitude of 3500 metres above the desert. He completed a high level high speed evening flight to roost NWof Taghjijt after a day flight of 435 km. The 25th – 28th May 2016 saw Cromarty speeding north through Morocco. Cromarty eventually roosted in a river valley 90 km west of Marrakesh. Today he reached the Atlantic coast at 12.28 and flew up the coast to Sidi El Abed at 15.16 when he flew inland eastwards for 60km before roosting. On 27th May Cromarty flew 360 km north through Morocco; passing Casablanca at 0955GMT and Rabat at 12.03. At 14.46 he was north of Kenitra over the coast and then headed ENE inland to roost the night in wooded hills. He left Africa from above Tangier at 11.42GMT, flying north at over 90 kph at an altitude of 655 metres above the sea. He completed the crossing to north of Tarifa in Spain in 29 minutes at a speed of 70kph. Flying on north he crossed over Barbate reservoir, well known to me when we moved young Scottish ospreys to the reintroduction project at Barbate, and the last signal of the day was north of Alcala de los Gazules. He is heading home through Europe.

On 30th May 2016, flying north through Spain, Cromarty roosted in wooded hills 10 km NNE of Cordoba on night of 28th/29th May. Heading north, he roosted beside the River Alberche, just north of Calalberche. The last signal of the day was flying north about 50 km west of Madrid. On 30th May 2016, Cromarty flew steadily NNW from Madrid, passing east of Valladolid. He roosted the night beside a dehesa lake just north of Calzadilla de la Cueza after a 250 km flight. Instead of heading out over the Bay of Biscay he turned inland and stayed tonight near Cabrera. From 1st to 11th June, 2016, Cromarty remained on the North Spanish coast, spending most of his time in woodland on the eastern shore. The weather is clear but there is a fresh easterly wind which is not good for crossing the Bay of Biscay. th On 12 June 2016, Cromarty crossed the Bay of Biscay. He departed at 0915 GMT on an ENE heading and arrived at the Ile de Re at 1935GMT. His initial altitude over the sea was over 900 metres but much of the flight was 100 – 300 metres above the waves. Once he reached the French

mainland he stopped in several places before roosting the night on a big farm just east of Longeville-sur-Mer. His day’s flight was 560km. th th On 13 - 14 June 2016, Cromarty reached north coast of France at 1307GMT and turned NW to the Cherbourg peninsula. He left the NE corner of Cherbourg at 1637GMT and tracked NE across the channel with a westerly wind. He was heading for and crossing the English Channel. At 8.11pm he was heading for the Sussex coast and should come ashore at Saltdean, between Brighton and Newhaven just after 9pm. He roosted in woods just north- west of Falmer. On 16th June 2016, there were no signals received due to the heavy rain making Cromarty stop his migration, somewhere with no mobile coverage, and the lack of sun will mean the battery is low. Ah ha so it’s not just me then! I could never find a signal when we lived near Lewes either. On 27th June 2016, Cromarty (PP7) was photographed at Aviemore lochan and stayed the summer in Badenoch & Strathspey, but the transmitter had stopped working. Cromarty was first seen and photographed during 2017 on the 8th May at the Aviemore fishpond. He has subsequently been seen at various sites including intruding at the RSPB Loch Garten osprey nest on 19th and 20th May. Unfortunately, the GSM transmitter, which he is still carrying, failed to operate past June 2016.

Family Sayings by Catherine Vass

I wonder if other U3A members have memorable family or work sayings.

I have been recalling my maternal grandfather’s garden bringing back happy memories. It was magnificent, enormous rhododendrons, a proper rock garden, hothouse and beautiful beds full of exhibition fruit and vegetables. He wore a panama hat or a fedora plus a waistcoat complete with fob watch to garden. He died when I was 6 years old but my sister and I spent every Saturday in summer shadowing him in his garden. If we had carried out some task well he would say “that’s neat but not gaudy as the monkey said when he painted the piano green”. If he was standing contemplating and we asked “what are you doing grandpa” his reply was

“looking for better weather”.

My father was a farmer and farmers do not “do” illness. If you complained about feeling ill he would say “I’ve had more on the point of my nose often.”

If he decided I or my sister looked particularly unkempt he would say “you look like a sheep looking through a drift”. I presume he had seen sheep looking through snow drifts in the severe winter of 1946-47

My son had one saying which either reduced me to laughter or to even higher levels of annoyance depending on his crime. He is considerably taller than me and whilst rubbing the top of my head with his knuckles would say “calm the beans mother!”

From our time in living in the land of the Doric my children picked up two sayings also used when being remonstrated with. Their reply was either you are “nipping ma heid (head)” or “buggin ma happiness”.

I really enjoy vivid language which paints a picture and the Doric is vivid. One retired fishing skipper had me in stitches. He was describing another skipper he thought reckless and he said “he hasnae got a’ his oars in the watter”.

Of course there is the famous Doric conundrum of “fit fit fits fit fit” reputedly said by an Aberdonian trying on some ski boots. Translated it is “which foot fits which foot”.

If a patient described themselves as fair forfochen you knew they were under the weather and if they said they were pewed awa you knew they were totally exhausted.

The Easter Ross reply to an greeting of “how are you?” is “you’re seeing it”. This is a magnificent cover all reply. If you look miserable you probably are feeling that way. If you look cheery and healthy, you probably are.

Work produced a few gems. I was having an animated discussion with a patient over a “slight” disagreement on the appearance of her sister-in-law’s tablets, red and she wanted white! She then proceeded to accuse me of nearly killing her sister-in-law. Another patient was looking on with great interest and when the disgruntled lady left he said “If you had spat on her she would have fizzled” which defused my irritation immediately.

I worked one day a week with an extremely efficient and brisk dispenser in the Dornoch pharmacy. After any particularly busy day she would thump my upper arm and say “we have earned our oats today”. I would be driving out of Dornoch with a tender upper arm and it began dawn on me the clock was saying 5.30, the time we should be closing. On subsequent enquiry I discovered she kept the dispensary clock 5 minutes fast to ensure we were gone on the dot of 5.30.

It could be interesting if U3A members shared treasured “bon mots”

From our Chairperson, Franca Newsletter Prattle Hello All

You should have received notification of Easter Ross and Sutherland U3A AGM this week. We are going to hold it on the third Thursday of August probably by getting you to vote by email. By law we have to have our AGM within 15 months of the last one so as our AGM is normally in May, August is the last opportunity to hold it. We are hoping that things will change by then but reality is that I doubt the COVID situation will have changed sufficiently for us to meet face to face by then. We shall see. Many other U3As are doing the same as we are so we are not alone. We are all living such different lives from those we ever would have expected so this will just be one more challenge for us to overcome. Whatever happens we hope you will support us by participating in the AGM as we need to be sure we are quorate. If we aren't we will have to hold another one so please support us the first time round. We will let you know by the end of the month how everything will work and what we want you to do. Don't worry it will be easy.

Meanwhile stay safe and enjoy the fact we are now allowed to travel a bit further afield.

Take care

Franca

I had to share this with you. I ordered this jigsaw four months ago at the beginning of lockdown (I thought I might get bored but that was before the newsletter!!). It arrived yesterday, I haven’t opened the box yet and I am still wondering how they managed to fit 1,000 jigsaw pieces in a box 5” by 7”. Has anyone else received an order which didn’t quite live up to expectations? Email me - [email protected] 15

This recipe is from

Jeanie Lloyd

Easy Cheesy Courgette Scones

I came across this scone recipe on the internet last year, when I was looking for ideas on how to use up the inevitable glut of courgettes. The author, whose name I don’t know, grates raw courgettes with their skins on, bags them up into 340g and freezes them (without blanching first). She defrosts them as she needs them and makes scones.

The first time I made them, I followed the recipe exactly. Although the flavour was fine, I think I overworked the dough and also I have a fan oven, so they came out more biscuit- like than scone. Since then I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit and find it works well for me. I also use fresh courgettes.

Because there are only 2 of us, I make half the quantity. Somehow 112g of cheese divided by 2 came out to 65g (not 56g), when I made them the first time. And I’ve stuck with 65g of cheese ever since – I like cheese. While the recipe calls for margarine I use butter and I also use full fat milk, because I like a rich scone. I give the tops a wash with a little milk. Otherwise they look a bit peely wally. Last time I made them, I only had Red Leicester to hand and that was perfectly acceptable. I also use a 2” cutter, which gives me about 12 small scones. 3 for my brother, 3 for my sister and 6 for Steve and myself, i.e. 4/5 for me and the remainder for Steve!

Sorry there’s no photo of the batch I made today, but they got eaten too quickly.

Ingredients Oven: 220 C / Gas 7 450g self raising flour Put the grated courgettes in a clean tea towel or muslin and squeeze out as much liquid as possible 2 level teaspoons of baking powder In another bowl rub the margarine into the flour 340g grated courgettes (grated with and baking powder until it looks like breadcrumbs the skin on) Add the grated cheese and courgette and mix, making sure the courgette doesn’t stick together in 112g margarine large lumps Approx 10 tablespoons of milk Add enough milk to make a soft dough that is not 112g grated cheddar cheese too sticky (add more flour if your dough is too sticky) Preheat the oven Gas 7/220C/425F Roll out the dough 1cm thick and cut into rounds with a pastry cutter (do not twist your cutter, as

this will give you funny shaped scones) Place the scones on a greased baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes. They should be a nice golden brown and well risen 16

A Brief History of Hector Malloy by Rhoda Malloy Hector’s Friends 3 - Lavanja Fenech

Due to the lockdown, Lavanja, Anne Fenech’s Bearded Collie puppy, had never met or played with another dog. As soon as restrictions were eased, we arranged to meet up on Dornoch beach so that she could be introduced to Hector.

Lavanja is an absolutely adorable pup, full of bounce, energy and eagerness to explore, just as Hector was four years ago. He greeted her warmly, but very quickly returned to his constant, overwhelming mission of sniffing out anything that could possibly pass as a snack on our way down through the dunes.

Because of an unusually high tide that afternoon, there was relatively little sand for romping on, but when the two dogs were released from their leads we were amazed to watch little Lavanja race straight towards the sea, bounding in fearlessly to dance over the waves and try to drink the salty water!

We looked on in disbelief, so impressed by her bravery.

Not wanting to appear less bold and adventurous than a four and a half month old puppy, Hector surprisingly followed Lavanja into the oncoming tide, but quickly remembered how much he disliked the coldness and wetness of water! He speedily returned to the sand where he began charging about with Lavanja’s football and string of plastic sausages.

Intrigued by the sea, Lavanja set about frantically digging a hole in the sand which rapidly filled with water each time a new wave arrived. Unperturbed, she carried on, oblivious to her onlookers, concentrating fully on what she was doing.

We did not spend too long on the beach as Lavanja is so young and her walk times are strictly limited, but what a wonderful time we all had that afternoon, sharing in one of her important milestones - her very first trip to the seaside!

We were extremely pleased with Hector’s behaviour, but he did unfortunately let himself down on the way back to the cars when he suddenly vanished, only to reappear seconds later with the skeleton of a seagull clamped tightly in his jaws. He very thoughtfully took it over to Lavanja to share, but fortunately, Anne was able to grab it and dispose of it before he could initiate the innocent little pup into the darkLavanja arts of scavenging. and Hector

Gardening News from Nettie

If you are a member of the Gardening Group then you will already have heard about this!

If you want a rest from tending your plot and our missing visiting other gardens this summer have you found the 'virtual garden’ tours? The Scotland Gardens Scheme has lots of gardens to visit and you can even watch when it’s pouring with rain. Yesterday I found and watched all the open gardens in Letchworth, England, where the town folk opened various gardens of their own. As long as you can cope with the slightly ‘sea sickness' inducing videos this is a wonderful way to see outside your own hedges and fences. Although there were also still photos of beautiful flowers and gardens as well.

So grab a cup of tea and a comfy chair and have a surfeit of other gardens. 18

Just for fun

Edition 14’s ‘Guess the Object’ was, of course, a caterpillar!

Many thanks to Rhoda Malloy

Can you guess what this object is? Answer in next week’s newsletter Thanks to Anne Fenech for this week’s interesting object

Just for fun

Continued

Here are the solutions to the puzzles in Edition 14

 Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet you miss me, when I have flown. What am

I? Time

 Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am

I? The number 8

 There is a word in the English language in which the first two letters signify a

male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four signify a great man,

and the whole word, a great woman. What is the word? Heroine

 A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog,

who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge

or a boat. How did the dog do it? The river is frozen

Read clockwise to find a 16 letter word. Only alternate letters have been shown, and you have to find the starting point. What number should replace the question mark?

Solution

CIRCUMNAVIGATION 24, 30, ?, 60, 84, 114

Solution 42

The sequence is +6, +12, +18, +24, +30

Even more fun......

Can you solve these puzzles? – answers will be in next week’s edition

Beginning at the top of the upside down pyramid, remove one letter from the word “strides” and rearrange the remaining letters to build a new six-letter word beneath. Continue the same process to each word until you get to the bottom. (There may be more than one solution)

By changing the third letter of each of the words below, can you make another valid word?

You have to change each word such that the third letters will reveal a ten letter word when read downwards.

Therefore, what now reads KRZSAPROKD will be a real word.

BAKE CURE MAZE PEST NEAT ROPE PORT FOOD Find the missing number POKE SODA ? Unscramble the letters to create six worlds that relate to reading.

Lyn Dyke was sent this by a friend and thought she would share it!

For those of my generation who do not,

and cannot, comprehend why Facebook exists, I am trying to make friends

outside of Facebook while applying the same principals. Therefore, every day I walk down the street and tell passers-by what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, what I have done the night before, what I will do

later and with whom. I give them pictures of my family, my dog and of me gardening, taking things apart in the garage, watering the lawns and standing in front of landmarks, driving around town, having lunch, and doing what anybody and everybody does every day. I also listen to their ‘conversations’, give them ‘thumbs up’ and tell them I ‘like’ them. And it works

just like Facebook. I already have 4 people following me - 2 police officers, a private investigator and a psychiatrist.

Beat the Boredom

Some of you may have already discovered ‘rest less’. It is a great website for the over 50’s with lots of advice and ideas to keep busy. There are details on learning, volunteering and lifestyle ideas. Here are a few tips from their website that may make life a little easier. For more information go to https://restless.co.uk/

Use a trouser hanger to hold your recipe book

This useful tip will stop you losing your page and your flow when you’re getting creative in the kitchen. Simply hang your hanger Below are some tips and tricks from theirfrom website one of your – to kitchensee all of these go to cupboard handles and clip your book to it for a stress-free, hands

free cooking experience.

Use toilet paper tubes to make seed starter pots

If you’ve got seeds that you’ve been meaning to plant but nothing to plant them in, then consider using toilet paper tubes to make seed starter pots. They’re biodegradable, take just a few minutes to make and will be sturdy enough to allow seeds to start putting down roots, before you upgrade them to a larger pot later on.

This hack is a great way to recycle your toilet roll tubes because the microbes in the soil will break the Freezecardboard grapes down to into chill carbon wine – whichwithout your watering seedlings it down will use as plant food! With summer in full swing, you might be looking for ways to keep your white or rose wine chilled for longer. Ice cubes are an obvious choice but will water your wine down. An alternative way to keep your wine cool without watering it down is to freeze grapes and use them as ice cubes – plus you can always eat them afterwards! Extra tip: Frozen grapes or cherries on their own also make for a great snack to cool you down during the warmer months.

Fix scratches on wooden furniture Furniture gets scratched and scuffed over using a walnut time, and many people assume that they will either have to live with the damage or sand down and re-varnish the entire piece of furniture. But did you know that you can cover up dings on wooden furniture in a matter of minutes, by rubbing the area 23 with a walnut?

Simply rub the walnut over the scuff or scratch a few times. Then rub the area Keep bugs away with peppermint spray

Many of us are scared of bugs so if you really want

to keep them at bay then try mixing 10-15 drops of peppermint oil with a cup of water and putting it in a spray bottle. Then lightly spray window and door frames, or anywhere that bugs are most likely to gain entry to your home. While we might enjoy the pleasant smell of peppermint, the majority of bugs (including spiders) find it offensive and will usually head in a different direction once they smell it.

Consider baking your eggs instead of boiling them

Although most of us boil our hard-boiled eggs, it’s also possible to create the perfect hard-boiled egg in the oven. Baking them in the oven can be much easier if you’re making large quantities of eggs. The shells are also less likely to crack and splinter – making for easier washing up! To bake eggs in the oven, preheat your oven to 175 degrees celsius. Then place eggs in a muffin/cake tray and cook for 20-30 minutes depending on how hard or soft you like the yoke.

Put tea bags in smelly shoes

If you want to remove odours from your shoes, then try putting a few dry tea bags in each shoe to absorb the smell. There are many different types of tea bag out there, but it helps to choose ones with a more appealing scent. Peppermint or lemon are usually popular choices.

Cure a headache with lime Looking for a natural way to cure headaches? Try cutting a lime in half and rubbing it on your forehead. This one is a bit of an old wives tale, but many say that they have found success with this method.

IT Tips from our IT Group Leader Alan Malloy

Using Search Engines

What is a ‘search engine’?

They are computer programmes or applications which look for documents containing chosen words, phrases or characters on the World Wide Web. All of our computers and most of our mobile phones have search engines pre-installed. These programmes are very useful, enabling us to find out about almost anything from online shopping to the latest news. There are many search engines. Some are well-known such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. Google (or Google Web Search) is the biggest search engine, handling over 92% of all web searches in the world.

Other good search engines There are some more specialist engines which you may find useful. -GoogleScholar: This is the world’s largest ‘academic’ search engine, with around 400 million documents: academic journals, dissertations, technical reports, patent information, etc, etc. It is free to use and invaluable for serious study. scholar.Google.com -DuckDuckGo: is one of the most secure search engines. Again, it is free to use and gathers information from over 400 sources, including Yahoo, Bing and Wikipedia. One other advantage of DuckDuckGo is that it doesn’t save your personal information when you use it. This can be useful, as some websites, e.g. airlines, hotels etc give you the lowest price the first time you enquire, but on second and subsequent visits the price may be higher. (DuckDuckGo.com )

Go Incognito When Comparing Prices Incognito mode in any search engine does not allow websites from e.g. airlines to save your information, through the use of ‘cookies’. It is perfectly safe and legal to use. Windows users: In Google press ‘CNTL + Shift + n’ (three keys) at the same time In Google Chrome: Click on the three dots on the top right of the screen. A dropdown menu appears - tap ‘New incognito tab’ Apple / Safari users: press: ‘cmd + Shift + n’ simultaneously. You will get a message saying: ‘Private browsing enabled’. Re-pressing these keys undoes the incognito mode.

Ask the right question. I’m constantly amazed at the depth of knowledge which is available on the internet. It is rare that a search engine will not produce an answer to your query. The key to getting the information you really want, is to be as precise as possible. You don’t need to write a question, just be precise with your key words.

Use speech marks to protect a name or phrase. If you type more than one word into a search engine, it searches around each word separately and while that might be fine for most searches, on some occasions, two or more words may need to be kept together. This may be particularly useful looking for music or songs.

A note of caution Most search engines rank answers based on popularity, so while what you find out on these will for the most part by true, it is wise to take what you read with ‘a pinch of salt’. We’ve all heard of ‘fake news’. Some unscrupulous groups ‘bomb’ a search engine or social media site to manipulate the results. Checks are in place to try to stop this.

Secret Garden Diaries Episode 4 by Franca Reid

Hello All

A huge thanks to all those of you who have responded to my articles with tips and your own pictures. Please keep these coming as it's great to get advice and see what you're doing.

Top tip for me was to spray the white fly in my poly tunnel with a mix of soap and water. I'm going to try this as soon as the strawberries are finished as I don't want soapy strawberries.

I also got ideas on what to do to enrich my clay soil and how to make compost. This is great I am learning so much. If you want these ideas too let me know.

I got asked about what to do with courgettes as there are only so many you can fry. I pick them, zap them in a food processor till they are a paste and freeze them in silicone cake cases. I tip these into boxes and store in the freezer to use in winter in soups, stews, pasta sauces etc. I also do this with excess tomatoes and pumpkins. If you have any further ideas please let me know.

This week I thought I would focus on “The Bank” in my garden. This is on a slope formed from some of the spoil the builder dug out when building our house. He then covered it with a thin layer of top soil. Despite this it is not boggy like most of the rest of the garden and many plants are happy to grow on it. It is approximately 20 x 7 metres. It is south facing with a fairly high wall at the back and gravel at the front. It has various paths to section it off for maintenance. The main feature is a mature copper beech tree. It is an evolving garden or at least that's my story! My main aim has always been to fill it in so it is low maintenance and I am very close to having achieved that now although some may say it better resembles a jungle. I prefer organised chaos!

At the start I put in plants given to me, bought some but a huge number have self seeded. Some have flourished, some survived and quite a few died. The self seeded tend to be the most successful and the most colourful. That is definitely the case with the leycesteria, astilbe, foxgloves and yellow poppies. One of my favourite plants which “just arrived” are the perennial purple Canterbury Bells.

Cucumber

Many plants have been given to me for special occasions, from visitors and friends. Perhaps I should rename the “Bank” and call it the Memory Garden but that reminds me of cemeteries.

To illustrate what I mean about self seeding I cleared this area below which was my herb

in spring 2019 I completely cleared this bed. However, as herbs do, they got

area below and kept it weeded all of last completely out of control. They were also summer. In September I left it to its own infiltrated by the dreaded ground elder. So I devices and look at it now. It doesn't take dug them all out except for this large fennel long to fill my garden! I do selective plant. I will replant it with something else. weeding though. Any ideas are very welcome.

I was delighted to get these pictures of her garden, from Catherine.

Keep gardening, Please email me on fnreid@btinternet with how your Franca plants are doing. It'd be great to 28 share experiences.

Just a thought to end on

Coming in the Next Edition

 Desert Island Discs – could it be you?  More Craft Ideas  More IT Tips  Hector’s next instalment  Franca’s ‘Secret Garden’  As well as lots of interesting news and features I would welcome feedback on your thoughts and ideas about this newsletter and let me know if there are any items you would like to see in future editions, Please remember when sending in items for inclusion in this newsletter, make sure you let me know if you are happy for your name to be added. Many thanks The Editor (Karen) [email protected]