The Eighteenth Edition of Our Newsletter

Edition 18 Monday 27th July 2020

Welcome to the Eighteenth Edition of our Newsletter

As I said last week, this will be the last weekly edition of our newsletter. During August the newsletter will be published fortnightly so your next edition will be emailed to you on Monday 10th August.

As you know our AGM is being held on line this year on the 20th August. There is an important message from Franca on page 9 of this issue and she has asked me to ask you to make sure you read it.

You will notice that Alan has kindly written up the Desert Island Disc choices of Ian Rankin which was broadcast on the BBC Radio 4. Alan did this as we haven’t received any Desert Island Disc choices from members so please have a think about your eight favourite pieces of music – don’t worry about the links to hear the music, we can add those for you. Please continue to send me any stories, joke, poems etc for the next edition, as I have said before, without your contributions there would be no newsletter.

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 Blue Skies and Gentle Winds by Alan Malloy

Has Summer finally arrived, albeit for a short time? While out on my morning walk with Hector, I marvelled at the wonderful blue sky, fluffy white clouds, cooled by a fairly gentle breeze. -It kept the flies away from us, which seem to have been more of a nuisance this year. I find that blue skies lift my spirits as much as sunshine - I hope that these four songs also do the same.

Mr Blue Sky Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) It seems perfectly appropriate to start my selection this week with this record. ‘Mr Blue Sky tell us why you hid from us for so long.’ This song was written by Jeff Lynne, who wrote so much of the ELO’s music. ‘Mr Blue Sky’ was the final track of four tracks which made up ‘Concerto For A Rainy Day’. Lynne was inspired to write the track during his time in the Swiss Alps. “It was dark and misty for two weeks…Suddenly the Sun shone and I saw those beautiful Alps.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQUlA8Hcv4s

‘Blue Skies’. Irving Berlin originally wrote this song for a Rodgers and Hart musical. The musical ‘Betsy’ was not a great success, but this song was. It gained universal acclaim when it was included in the film ‘The Jazz Singer’, sung by the brilliant Al Jolson. ‘Blue Skies’ has been recorded by many singers and instrumentalists over the years, reflecting its enduring attraction. The first clip below is of Al Jolson, the second is of Thelonious Monk’s - ‘In Walked Bud’. Monk based this tune on the chords of ‘Blue Skies’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djd1XfwDAQs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuHjgKQDofs

‘Soave sia il vento’ Mozart composed this song for his opera Così fan tutte (‘Women are like that.’, sometimes titled ‘The School For Lovers’). The story is of two soldiers who are certain that their two fiancées will be eternally faithful. Overhearing this, Don Alfonso bets the two soldiers that their fiancées can be ‘persuaded’ to leave them. And so the twisted plot starts. ‘Soave sia il vento’ (May the wind be gentle) sees the two soldiers ‘leaving’ to go to war. Of course, it is all a ruse! Their fiancées are tricked into agreeing to marry two others (the soldiers in disguise!), but all comes right in the end!

This clip is from a 2006 Glyndebourne Festival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_0FHyF3Pyk

‘Blow the wind Southerly’ This is a traditional Northumbrian folk song. It tells of a woman desperately hoping for a southerly wind to bring her lover home. This is sung by the peerless Kathleen Ferrier. Ferrier was one of Britain’s greatest contralto singers, much-love by so many of us. She died tragically young, at the age of 41. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXQuaq_2icU

Karen’s Crafty Corner

Please remember to send in your craft ideas!!

A member of Buckhurst Hill U3A has been in touch with me, she is the leader of their Craft

Group. She too sometimes struggles for craft ideas for their newsletter and asked if perhaps we could share ideas. We now have a reciprocal agreement so this idea is from Fiona of Buckhurst Hill U3A

How to make a little Trinket or Gift Box

All that is required to make this little box is the cardboard tube from inside a toilet roll, kitchen roll or gift wrap, a little bit of card (the inside of a tissue box?) – and some strong PVA glue.

The size of your little box will vary according to the size of your cardboard roll. The box on the left is made from the tube from one toilet roll. The one on the right is from a longer thinner roll from some gift wrap. The process is the same regardless of the size of your tube but you can vary the size of the resulting box. For these instructions, I used a toilet roll which was just under 10½ cm long. This worked perfectly.

1. With a pen, mark the ends of the toilet roll with a little arrow. Later on, it will be important that you can identify the ends as they need to form a smooth join where the lid meets the bottom of the box

2. Take the toilet roll and draw a line 4cm from the end. Then using a sharp craft knife carefully cut off the 4 cm piece – this will be the base of your box. This cut needs to be completely straight so don’t rush. If the inside of the tube starts to ‘unravel’ stick it down with some PVA.

3. Repeat, only this time cut off a 1½ cm piece from the other end of the tube - this will be the lid. This should leave you with a section about 4½ or 5cm long from the middle of the tube.

The centre section of the tube –

regardless of the size of your cardboard tube, always needs to be at least ½cm taller than the

bottom half of your box

1 1

4. Take the centre section of the tube and make a straight cut – as in the photograph.

5. Slip it inside the 4cm base piece. It should poke out over the top by 1cm. Push it back against the sides of the tube, then where it overlaps draw a pencil line inside.

6. Cut the excess card off along the pencil line, then refit it inside the tube. It should now fit perfectly – fingers crossed!

7. Remove the insert and put to one side. Place the 4cm base on a piece of card (inside of a tissue box?). Draw round the end to make a circle. Cut the circle out very carefully. It should fit the end of the tube exactly. Repeat for the smaller tube (the lid) and using the PVA glue, glue the circles to each of the tubes, making sure that they are stuck at the correct end (not the end with the arrow!)

8. Next, making sure you do not glue the top couple of centimetres, put glue on the outside of the insert which slips inside the larger tube. Insert the inner piece, making sure that it sticks well to the inside of the tube.

9. The lid should now fit snugly on top of the tube – fingers crossed!

Your box is now ready for covering and decoration – I used gift wrapping paper and some string (the string can hide any dodgy bits!) – all attached using PVA glue. I embellished with a few paper flowers –

you could use beads or cut out flowers from greetings cards or gift wrap. If you decide to paint the box, (as in photo below right), use acrylic paint or ordinary craft paint with some PVA glue added to it. Avoid painting or covering the inner tube which pokes up out the of base of the box on which the lid sits. Be creative and inventive!

8 6

Each week we usually publish a member’s Desert Island

Disc choices

This week Alan has kindly put together Ian Rankin’s

selection (from the BBC)

Even if we haven’t read any of Ian Rankin’s books (he is a prolific writer, and broadcaster, having written over 25 novels and short stories, most notably the

Inspector Rebus novels), we know the name! Ian Rankin is one of Scotland’s foremost authors, born in Cardenden, Fife, now living in Edinburgh. He also has a house on the Black Isle in Cromarty.

Listening to Rankin’s Desert Island Discs, broadcast in 2006 (click on the link below to listen) his life has not always been easy. Most of his choices are of Scottish musicians.

https://www.b bc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0093vcc

Rankin’s choices are quite contemporary and most of the musicians (with a couple of exceptions) are new to me.

1. ‘Double -Barrel’ by David and Ansell Collins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_7Kx2FlFQY

2. ‘Rage-Man’ by Mogwai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrKtB_pKWUk

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

3. ‘Solid Air’ by John Martyn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UikPQOaJpfU

4. ‘Atmosphere’ by Joy Division https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EdUjlawLJM

5. ‘Snow in San Anselmo’ by Van Morrison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpcsThJEgWM

6. ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ by Rolling Stones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef9QnZVpVd8

7. ‘Boy With The Arab Strap’ by Belle and Sebastian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYj5WS3vntA

8. ‘Linseed Oil’ by Jackie Leven https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU79JuCiVBc

Favourite Track Solid Air by John Martyn

Favourite Book A Dance To The Music Of Time by Anthony Powell

Luxury Item Pinball Machine (traditional American one)

Do you have your favourite 8 pieces of music? Please send in your selection and perhaps the memories they evoke when you hear them.

[email protected]

From our Chairperson, Franca

Hello All

This is a really important week for ERAS U3A as you will all be receiving two very important emails which we need responses to please.

1. By the time this goes out you should already have received an email from Alan Malloy asking for responses regarding using online technology to participate in virtual ERAS meetings if the restrictions continue especially into next winter.

2. An email from Nettie Mewha (Garbett) regarding our AGM. We appreciate there are a lot of papers in this but we really do need you to respond. Everyone has to be given the opportunity to participate. Please do not leave it for someone else to do.

If you have any difficulties opening any of the documents or in trying to respond please contact Alan, Nettie or myself asap. We really need you for this.

Meanwhile stay safe

Franca

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

This powerful poem sent in by Linda McLean

Listen When I ask you to listen to me And you start giving me advice, You have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me And you begin to tell me “why” I shouldn’t feel that way, You are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me And you feel you have something to Solve my problems You have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I ask is that you listen: Not talk, nor do – just hear me.

And I can do for myself – I’m not helpless Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless.

When you do something for me, that I can And need to do for myself, You contribute to my fear and weakness.

But when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, No matter how irrational Then I quit trying to convince you And I can get about the business of understanding What’s behind this irrational feeling. When that’s clear The answers are obvious, and I don’t need advice.

Irrational feelings make sense when we Understand what’s behind them.

So, please listen, and just hear me, and if you Want to talk, Wait a minute for your turn, And I’ll listen to you. ANON

Have you a poem you have written? Or perhaps a favourite you would like to share? Please email 10 [email protected] with any poem you would like to see published Tails of a Bearded Collie By Anne Fenech At the grand old age of 13 weeks, Xemxi had been living with us for about 3 weeks when on August 11th 1999, it was the day of the total solar eclipse.

The radio and newspapers had been full of speculation about this event. It was thought that the birds would stop singing in the trees and that pets should be kept indoors for fear of unusual eclipse related behaviour. The eclipse's maximum was at 12:03 BST and was expected to last for a Duration of 143 sec (2 m 23 s). It was the first total eclipse visible in the United Kingdom since 29 June 1927.

Because of the high population densities in areas of the path, this was one of the most-viewed total solar eclipses in human history. The BBC concentrated its coverage efforts on the first landfall of the shadow across the western end of Cornwall (from St Ives to Lizard), which was packed with an extraordinary number of visitors. One French and two British Concordes briefly followed the eclipse with tourists on board.

The British Medical Journal a month after the eclipse reported only 14 cases of eye damage from improper viewing of the eclipse, a number lower than initially feared. In one of the most serious cases the patient had looked at the Sun without eye protection for twenty minutes, but overall the public health campaign had succeeded in encouraging people to look at the eclipse through a pinhole camera.

The sudden darkness that comes when the moon momentarily blocks the entire sun was anticipated to cause some animals to experience a range of reactions, including confusion, fright and excitement. While animals like insects and bats were thought to behave as if nighttime had come early, other more intelligent animals — chimpanzees, dolphins and llamas — were expected to stop and stare at the sky, showing signs of understanding that something significant was occurring.

A group of dolphins and whales near the Galapagos Islands was reported to have displayed strange behaviour. About five minutes before totality, as the sky darkened, about 20 of them surfaced, arching in and out of the water in complete silence.

Because it was lunchtime my husband and I were at home together. Our puppy, was in the room with us as we fiddled with the computer in our first floor spare bedroom come study. She was having a “moment” and running around the floor playing, she was just learning to climb up on things, she had sufficient run up from the door of the room across the floor that she bounced up onto the sofa bed, however her momentum propelled her up onto the back of the sofa and onto the windowsill that the sofa was touching.

She continued with such velocity that the hinged, but poorly latched window flew open. She flew out of the window and landed with a thump. Then there was the most appalling silence that I have ever experienced. Then she started to scream in pain.

I leapt up and ran downstairs and was puzzled to meet my husband in the garden below the window, (It turned out that he had followed the dog out of the window). Having established that her spine was not damaged we whisked her up and into the car, phoning the vet as we drove. She had broken a front leg, crushed the growth plates between her leg bone and the articulating Surface of her joint, crushed nerves, torn muscles from tendons and basically made a right mess, by straightening and spreading her legs to brace herself for the landing.

She was bandaged up and made comfortable and a first thing in the morning appointment was made with a Veterinary Hospital 100 miles away, for the next day. Over the next six months she went through an intensive process of rehabilitation. Her fractures were pinned and plated, and her muscles sewn back onto her bones, which was the easy part. The hard part was trying to get her to take weight through her damaged bones and joints while keeping her bones in alignment. She had damaged herself in such a way that her elbow would not lock straight but over bent in a way that it was not supposed to. We had to prevent the over extension with our hands while she cried in frustration and pain.

Being a healthcare professional myself, I knew that a human with an injury like that would have been splinted to prevent the over extension of the joint. So I attacked the only large piece of flat plastic that we owned (the kitchen bin) with my sewing scissors and got hold of some neoprene fabric from a local sports shop and made her a splint. It kept her elbow in alignment, and had some catches to stop it allowing her to over extend. Once wearing this she could walk about slowly but unaided. The next challenge was to keep her resting while the fracture healed so we fenced her into her bed under the dining room table. Because she was bored, I took her with me everywhere for a change of scenery. This became known as going for a walk in the car.

Once the fracture was stable (after six weeks) she was prescribed hydrotherapy to build up her muscle strength. We couldn’t afford to pay for this. So we borrowed an old water tank and filled it with cold water. She was not a water lover and so I used the remainder of the neoprene to make her a swimming suit with polystyrene floats to keep her from sinking. It was a snowy winter that year, but bless her, she swam in the garden every day that December and January, in order to get stronger. She was egged on by the squeaks of her friends our Guinea Pigs.

To speed the process, I bought an abdomen trainer which used electrical stimulation to strengthen muscles. When she was dry, I applied this to her large leg muscles to further strengthen her leg. I started gently and gradually turned up the strength of the current. I hoped that she knew that we were trying to help her.

This was all so successful, that the Vet who originally had offered the choice of surgery to amputate the limb, hadn’t had much hope, wrote her case up for the British Veterinary Journal.

Later on in life she became an Agility dog and appeared to have much fun with the sport. She won a prize at one point for being the dog who most enjoyed Agility in our club.

Having been through all that together, there was a very strong bond between Xemxi and my husband and I.

Betty Mollart has sent in a poem which her granddaughter gave her on Mother’s Day

Sometimes you get discouraged

Because I am so small And always leave my fingerprints On furniture and walls But everyday I’m growing

I’ll be all grown up someday

And all those tiny handprints

Will surely fade away So here’s a little handprint

Just so you can recall Exactly how my fingers looked When I was very small

Happy Mother’s Day

April 2011 Love Isla 14

Anne Fenech has sent in some lovely stories of animals going above

and beyond the call of duty!

A Miniature Schnauzer named Danny probably saved the life of Bethe Bennett when Bennett fell, broke her femur, and lost consciousness. Danny was a trained service dog who had cared for Bennett’s mother, and he seemed to know exactly what to do. First, Danny licked Bennett’s face until she regained consciousness. Then he knocked over the phone and nudged it towards her. Knowing her front door was locked, she told Danny to bring her “paper.” Miraculously (or cleverly?), among the five pieces of paper he brought her was the one with her neighbour’s phone number on it. She was able to call both 911, and the neighbours to unlock the door before paramedics arrived, thanks to Danny.

We all know how reliable a dog’s sense of smell is, and dogs are often used to detect bombs and drugs. But Duke the Vizsla is trained to sniff out peanuts, in any form and often in minute quantities, such as in oil, dust, or butter. Duke alerts his owner to the presence of peanuts by sitting firmly in front of her, blocking her from the offending allergen, and refusing to budge. His owner says that Duke saves her life every day.

The heroics of Paris, a Boxer in Cornwall, England, may not be as dramatic as those of other hero dogs, but she does her part just the same. Whenever she goes on walks, Paris picks up cans and plastic bottles, and deposits them in the closest recycling bin. No one trained her for the task; it just comes naturally. And she’s doing her part to save the environment.

Should you be in need of a lifeguard on the Italian Coast, you're more likely to be saved by a dog trained at the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards. The Newfoundlands, Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are on duty at several beaches around the country, ready to rescue swimmers in trouble.

On September 11, 2001, Michael Hingson, along with his guide dog for the blind, Roselle, was working as usual on the 78th floor in Tower One of the World Trade

Centre. When the planes struck, Roselle guided him through the building and down the stairwell —1,463 steps—to safety. The yellow Labrador Retriever led Hingson through the choking smoke and chaos and away from the building just before it collapsed.

Kathie Vaughn, who has paraplegia, was trapped in her van when it caught fire, and was unable to assemble her wheelchair and get out. Eve, her 104-pound Rottweiler grabbed her by the leg and pulled her to safety, before the van exploded. Eve suffered burns to her paws, but Ms. Vaughn was unharmed.

Named one of history’s most heroic animals by Time Magazine, Trakr was a German Shepherd Dog who, along with his handler, dug through the debris at the World Trade Centre and located the last survivor of the 9/11 attack.

In 2004, Service dog Ramsey was teamed up with Scott, a man disabled by a stroke. Five years later, Scott and his partner, Jenny, were on holiday at Disney

World, in Florida. Jenny took Ramsey for a morning walk, but he was acting odd, whining as she stepped into the motel courtyard. She ignored his warning, even though he continued to whine as she stopped to chat with some people. Suddenly, the dog leaped in front of her, blocking the strike of a deadly poisonous coral snake that had been lurking in the grass inches from her feet. In a matter of minutes, the venom killed this brave dog, but his action saved Jenny’s life.

Buddy's owner, was jolted awake early one morning by Buddy’s barking. He smelled smoke and looked out the window and saw his barn in flames, he figured he had lost all 70 goats that lived there. He was in for a pleasant surprise, because when he went outside, he found the goats outside of the barn, being watched over by their canine saviour. Buddy had sensed danger when there was still time, rounded up the flock and got them out.

This recipe is from Morley Meinertz

Twice-Baked Roquefort Soufflés The obvious advantage of twice-baked soufflés is that they can be done

and dusted the day before you need them. Then they rise up again like a dream, with a brilliantly light texture and flavour.

Ingredients Heat the milk, onion, bay leaf, nutmeg and peppercorns in a saucepan until it reaches simmering point. Strain the milk into a 175g Roquefort jug and discard the rest. Rinse the saucepan and melt the butter 225ml milk in it. Add the flour and stir to a smooth, glossy paste. Cook for 3 5mm onion slice minutes, stirring, until it turns a pale straw colour. Gradually add the strained milk, whisking all the time until the sauce is thick and 1 bay leaf cleanly leaves the sides of the pan. Season lightly and cook the Grating of nutmeg sauce over a very low heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 6 whole black Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly, and then peppercorns beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Crumble 110g of the cheese into the mixture and stir until most has melted. 40g butter In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage, then 40g plain flour fold a spoonful of egg white into the cheese sauce to loosen it. 4 large eggs, separated Now fold the sauce into the egg white using a large metal spoon 150ml double cream and a cutting and folding motion. Divide the mixture equally between the ramekins. Put them in the baking tin and place on the Salt and freshly ground centre shelf of the oven. Then pour 1cm of boiling water into the pepper tin. 6 sprigs watercress to Bake the soufflés for 20 minutes then transfer the ramekins to a garnish cooling rack so they don’t continue to cook. Don’t worry if they sink, they will rise again in the second cooking.

When they are almost cold, run a small palette knife around the You will also need: edge of each ramekin and carefully turn out the soufflés onto the 6 ramekins with a 7.5cm palm of your hand, then place them right way up on a lightly diameter, 4cm deep – greased, shallow baking tray. They can now be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours, lightly covered in clingfilm. lightly buttered. To reheat, pre-heat oven to 180C and remove the soufflés from Baking tin – 28x20x5cm the fridge so they return to room temperature. Dice the Baking tray – 35x25.5cm remaining Roquefort into 5mm pieces and sprinkle on top of the soufflés. Place in the oven, on the shelf above centre for 30 minutes.

A couple of minutes before serving, spoon a tablespoon of cream over each soufflé and return them to the oven for a few minutes.

Serve immediately on warm plates, garnished with a sprig of watercress.

Just for fun

Edition 17’s ‘Guess the Object’ was, of course, a chrysalis!

Many thanks to Anne Fenech

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

Just for fun

Continued

Here are the solutions to the puzzles in Edition 17

What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month? Answer: The letter “R.” This riddle works by trying to get you to think about the weather or holidays or other events linked to a calendar. To get this one right you actually need to get super literal.

You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?

Answer: All the people were married.

A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?

Answer: Four sisters and three brothers This trick question is confusing. The key is to keep it simple. Count the sisters and brothers in total and in terms of their own number of siblings.

A is the brother of B. B is the brother of C. C is the father of D. So how is D related to A? Answer: A is D’s aunt

Using letters as placeholders for names like “Uncle Bob” or “Aunt Linda” makes straightforward relationships seem difficult.

How is seven different from the rest of the numbers between one and ten?

Answer – seven is the only number with two syllables

If A small number of cards have been 66 = 2 lost from a complete pack. If I deal 99 = 2 among four people, three cards 888 = 6 00 = 2 remain. If I deal among three people, 7777 = 0 two remain and if I deal among five 667= 2 people, two cards remain. How many 276 = 1 cards are there? 833 = 2, Then what does 2876 equal? Answer 47 cards Answer 3 Each circle within a number is equivalent to 19 1. For example the numbers 6 and 9 are equivalent to 1 because they have one circle in them, whereas the number 8 has 2.

Even more fun......

Can you solve these puzzles? – answers will be in next

week’s edition

Create three words, one from each circle, that all have a similar meaning.

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 POKE SODA

Letters to the Editor

I will miss HECTOR - maybe Rhoda and Thanks very much to you and your team, Allan could get another pup? and to all contributors to the Newsletter, which has been enjoyed and appreciated In Tony's Abbott's piece last week he by all members! asked about ‘wee girls trying on their mother's shoes’. This picture (a chocolate Janet Pool box cover) is one my mother had framed (I don't know if it will work as it is a glass- framed picture and can't be taken out). Dear Editor & ERAS NEWSLETTER Team,

As we’re coming to the end phase of lockdown now, I am sure all U3A members & readers will join in conveying our sincere thanks to Karen , Rhoda & Alan for all the hard work and commitment you put into getting the news letter out

for us to look forward to & enjoy reading each week . Also to all the contributors for their tips, advice,

jokes, recipes & general pieces of interest giving us all something to What about an old photograph section - digest!!! just a thought! Thank you again Team, & hopefully meet up soon. Morley Meinertz Regards Betty & Willie Mollart

IT Tips from our IT Group Leader Alan Malloy IT Tips from our ITToolbars Group Leader Alan Malloy As the name suggests, these digital tools enableToolbars you to personalise and control your laptop or MacBook. The ITtoolbar Tips across from the top o uris the IT section Group where Leader you can setAlan your Malloy preferences for your search engine. Toolbars can be drop-down, only visible when you move the cursor to the top of the screen or permanently visible. I’m using the toolbar from Apple’s Safari search engine, but the

When you click on any of the icons or words on a toolbar, most will generate a ‘dropdown’ menu, which gives you more tools to personalise your laptop. If you haven’t already done so, spend some time clicking on each icon or word. In this article, we will look at some of the tools and a few of the icons.

Top Left Hand Side

Apple Icon - this Icon is present for every application and ultimately controls the application you are using. When you click on the Apple, a dropdown menu appears which enables you to set your preferences, restart, shut down and so on…

Preferences is a useful function to look at, as it enables you to set up your search engine. One example, it allows you to set the website you want as your homepage. It also allows you to amend your favourite websites. Recent Items opens the application you’ve been using on your laptop, not only on your search engine, but also in documents or music or photos Sleep - when you put your laptop to sleep, it uses less power, but it takes less time to start up again. It’s good practice to use this function. Restart - on infrequent occasions, often when new updates have been installed, you are asked to restart your laptop. As the name suggests, this turns every application off and starts up your laptop again. Lock Screen’s function is clear. On pressing this, your laptop screen is immediately locked, needing your password to open it.

Top RIght Hand Side Bluetooth - is a special type of ‘wi-fi’ which operates over short distances. By clicking on the bluetooth icon, you can turn it on and off. If you don’t use it, turn it off to save energy. Bluetooth connects individual devices e.g. headsets to your music centre or laptop. Wi-fi - very similar to Bluetooth, but the range of wi-fi is much larger. Wi-fi connects your devices to the internet. It can cover a house, department store or even larger, but is still localised. The arcs on the wi-fi icon show you how strong the signal is. The more arcs, the stronger the wi-fi signal. Notifications Centre. This often underused icon gives you a host of information about weather and time in places of interest and much more besides.

Secret Garden Diaries Episode 7 by Franca Reid

I thought I'd just update you on various things this week.

Cucumber All strawberries have now been picked, eaten, frozen or made into jam. At least the ones that survived the whitefly and the mice! I am toying with the idea of digging them all out and planting some new ones next year but then that means no strawberries next year. What do some of you experts think? One whole bed of very healthy 2 year old plants produced pea size fruit which was totally unpickable. Anyone know if this is a disease or something wrong with the soil? I have also got quite a lot of strawberries in the outside bed which is well protected from birds and our leveret!

The other good news is that the stuff I bought to deal with the whitefly, Agrilan, has been very

effective and I now have no whitefly in the poly tunnel after just one dose.

I have now picked most of the mangetout and we have had some delicious meals with them. Just a pity the mice hadn’t left us more!

Tomatoes have mostly started to produce fruit and I've

started to feed them now. I am considering cutting off the tops to stop growth upwards and of starting to cut off the bottom branches as there is too much greenery for the tomatoes to have any chance of ripening. Advice re this very welcome.

I’m getting quite a few courgettes though the mice have discovered them and despite the humane traps they are still preferring courgette to cheese or peanut butter! The outside courgettes are actually producing a lot more and so far there are no little pests around!

The cucumbers are coming along well and apparently taste good. I wouldn't know as I don't like them but the grand children do!

Pumpkin plants inside and out are beginning to produce very small babies which will hopefully grow bi g enough for the grand children to have one each at Hallowe'en and for me to make some more pumpkin and chocolate loaves. Yesterday when I looked at the outside plants all the flowers and many leaves were totally covered in blackfly – agh! Fortunately I have an organic spray for them and today there are none that I can see but I'll need to keep a close eye.

I have a glut of rocket, lettuce and spinach much of which is going into compost. I have planted some more seeds so we get the next crop in a few weeks.

We got a lot of black, red and white currants from the bushes in our fruit cage and they are all now in the freezer. What a difference repairing the fruit cage has made. There is no sign of our rasps coming yet. Has anyone noticed if they are particularly late this year?

A few weeks ago I told you that one of my favourite plants on the Bank are the Canterbury Bells, made even more special because they “just arrived”. Here they are in full bloom.

Finally this week we have the annual Secret Garden phenomenon of our humming lime tree! It is in flower and is a magnet for bees. For about a week each year it hums – a lovely natural event and the scent from the flowers is amazing.

Please send me some of your garden pictures too as it is great to see what you have all got growing.

Happy gardening

Franca

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

Just a thought to end on

Coming in the Next Edition Don’t forget that the next edition will be in 2 weeks time!  Desert Island Discs – Could it be your selection  More Craft Ideas  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]