July events

Cat, Bobby, Louise and Mat

I've got you mum!

This month we have done a couple of things. There has been the World cup soccer on, we have watched bits, but they keep falling down for no reason and do not seem to have proper line ups, a bunch of wimps really. We started the month by going on a camping expedition to Belton on the Hill in Rutland near Rutland water. The camping site was only an hour away, so we did not have to spend hours in the car on busy highways on a Friday afternoon. I have not been camping for years and neither has Liz, so it was all great fun. My job was to get the braai up and running, while the tent was being erected, as everyone was hungry. I was more than happy to do this as my back was not up for that much exercise, the joys of age. We braaied some chicken burgers and sausages and basted the meat in some marinade I had prepared at home. Liz had made a sauce for the sadza, so I prepared some of that as well, we had tons to eat as we also had bread rolls and some potato salad made by Liz, we took so much food that I thought the cars would be only half full for the return trip, this did not appear to be the case, however, we obviously hadn't eaten and drunk enough, although we did try. The weather was truly great and so was the company, we also polished off copious amounts of lager, cider and wine. The camp site did have a shower and toilets available, so no hole digging like the good old days, talk about luxury. I prepared a full English breakfast in the morning an the skottel braai, bacon, sausages, eggs and black pudding, with beans on the side, no further food was required until the evening. We went for a little walk around Oakham on Saturday.

It was carnival time on Saturday in Ramsey. Liz and some of her workmates were as busy as little elves making dwarf costumes for the Co-op float. I gather an evening of sewing and merriment was enjoyed by Liz and her 'girls' while I was at work. The little dwarf hats were dyed in rooibos tea, and very good they looked too, as you can see from the pictures of the float. The procession through the town started at one o'clock, boy was it warm about 300 C with hardly any breeze. The people on the various floats were roasting in their costumes. There were quite a few floats in the parade which went from one end of town to the other, there were various trucks and vehicles, including an old American 1940s military truck. The Co-op vehicle was a curtain sided truck which Liz tried to clamber on to, but it was a bit too hard for her to climb, there was a ladder provided that she eventually was persuaded to use. There was much hilarity when she tried to get on and when she asked how she would get off the other end she was assured this would not be a problem as she would find a way! There were very good crowds lining the streets and they were bombarded with various sweets etc from the floats, some of the children on the roadside were a bit nonplussed and had to be urged to pick up the sweets, but once they saw them they got excited. The parade finally reached the bus parking area at the school and after a bit everyone got off, well nearly. The 'girls' with Liz sprung off the truck like the youngsters they were, Liz however found it a little more difficult and went into deaf mode when everyone started to explain about the railings underneath the bed of the truck, they formed a bit of a step ladder, but she managed to avoid them, even though they ran along the length of the truck. Catriona had to act as the catcher to help her of the vehicle, which she managed very well without any injury.

More sauce for the sadza?

The Liz serenade