True Colours Thursday - CANARY YELLOW!

I always say, my first ever family pet was Wire Fox Terrier 'Sister' Judy.

But, it was in truth, it was Joey, a YELLOW Canary.

I can just remember him, singing sweetly everyday in the window, when the sun shone brightly into his cage.

And, then he was gone???

My Mother explained, that come one Winter, the cold gave him Bronchitis, so his little spirit flew away to sing elsewhere.

Guess, that's why I have a fondness for 'Tweety Pie'...

Moving on - whilst away in Brighton, I was of course, in search of CANARY YELLOW!

I found no Canaries but these 'caged' swimming marker balls waiting for their time again next Summer...

'Noddy' in his car with his girlfriend in the Pier's Amusement Arcade...

And, these blooms @ my favourite florist, from where I always buy my 'Remembrance Flowers'...

Then, last Sunday's Veteran Car Run provided Marshall's in noticeably YELLOW wet weather attire...

Immaculate vehicles...

That looked so much brighter, when the rain finally abated & the sun shone...

And, more than a few bikers were parked up in Town, as they are every weekend...

Now okay, my cake today has only an element of YELLOW!

But, I had to feature it, as it is the 5th of November - Guy Fawkes/Firework Night of 'Gun powder, treason & plot'!

It was today in 1605, that Guido [Guy] Fawkes, Robert Catesby & others, failed to blow up King James the 1st & the Houses of Parliament.
The capturing of these plotters has been celebrated enthusiastically across the country ever since, with spectacular fireworks displays & huge bonfires, on which a 'guy' is ceremonially burnt.

However, back to the cake, @ least one of it's Catherine Wheel's elements is YELLOW, as is the Rocket's tip...

To join True Colours Thursday, all you need, is to post a photo/photographs & text, or better still both, on the specified colour of the week.
If you simply want to use the idea as a 'prompt' for a post, as I do now, with many memes, that's fine.
But, if, you'd like others including me, to visit you, please leave a comment below, so we know you are 'IN'!
For this meme only, I lift my 'Comment Moderation' to help players connect with each other.
Everyone, who to my knowledge has participated recently, is named in the TCT Roll Call in my side bar.
Next weeks colour is VIOLET!

NB...

Although, I've only been home a day, I'm heading off again!

This time, I'm going to WelshAire Country to see Molly, Taffy & Monty.

Same rules apply as last week - I will not be visiting anybody's post till after arriving there in the afternoon!

True Colours Thursday - BLACK & TAN!

Although, this post was as usual, 'Scheduled' to go public @ 1AM British Summertime, Blogger for reasons unknown, decided not to oblige and I found it unpublished this morning!
Apologies!

This weeks, maybe challenging colour combination for mere humans, is courtesy of Maggie & Mitch...They are two of my favourite Airedales, long term friends & great bloggers.
OK, they do have a natural BLACK & TAN advantage but let's play!

However, a quick history lesson first:-
As one, who studied 20th Century British History for an exam qualification - sure, it was a long while ago, but my memory for past times is strong, unlike what I did yesterday - BLACK & TAN has memories!.
It was a highly charged political term in Ireland & still, arouses deep controversy there.
The 'Black & Tans' were a military group of volunteers brought into Ireland by the British government to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary in their work against the IRA!
The first unit arrived in March 1920.
Once landed, it quickly became apparent that there were not enough uniforms for all those who had joined up.
Therefore, they wore a mixture of dress, some military, some RIC.
This odd combination, gave them the appearance of being in khaki & dark police uniform.
As a result, the men got the nickname "Black & Tans", & it fatefully stuck.
They were highly controversial troops, whose primary task was to make the country "hell for the rebels to live in".
The Force terrorised localities, alienating even ardent Loyalists.
They, the 'Black & Tans' were finally pulled out of Ireland in ignominy, when Parliament in Westminster realised that they were a liability rather than a military asset.
The legacy of their brutality lasted for years & is still not forgiven or forgotten by some!
Now, why, do I recall this bit of dark Irish history, not having any Irish roots?
It's due to a fellow student, a Skin-Head, who much to the dismay of our tutor was very keen & proud to boast that his Grandfather had been a B&T, and he that had been regailed with his dark exploits all is childhood!!!
Okay, enough said, on to the fun side...

Entertaining ElvisShmelvis from my stay in Brighton, had the perfect BLACK & TAN guitar...I spotted this interesting, if not my taste mirror a few weeks ago...Of course 'neice' Molly & 'nephew' Taffy are definately BLACK & TAN!
Here's loveable Taffy suck-holing to me... The pair of them, in Winter 'coats'...And, their human, has this fun teacosy, specially knitted for her...Opps, guess I may have stole her thunder re their post!

Now, NO cake from Dreamingspires Celebration Cake Shop or elsewhere, really matched this weeks colours - though, I would love to give the former a commission for an Airedale Cake.
However, as host, I allow myself a little 'colour' licence!
Please use your imagination here, the Groom & fellow male guests @ the Wedding High Table, are certainly are outfitted in BLACK, and if you take the Orange napkins as a loud shade of TAN...

To join True Colours Thursday, all you need, is to post a photo/photographs & text, or better still both, on the specified colour of the week.

Then, LINK back to me & leave a word here, to say you are playing along.
For this meme only, I lift my 'Comment Moderation' to help visiting.
Everyone, who to my knowledge, is or has recently participated, is named & linked in my side bar.
AND, I do generally try to up-date the list throughout the day.
Next weeks colour is MAROON, ie dark red.
Think gemstone Garnet!

Or, remember school uniforms!
If, anyone has a suggestion for a future 'Colour', please feel free to say.

ABC Wednesday - B is for...!

This weeks letter throw up a variety of idea's based around food & drink, my chosen theme for this round - Bacon, Beef, Beer, Beetroot, Biscuits, Blackberries, Broad Beans & Bread being just a few.

But, I've finally settled for a take on the latter one.

B is for Baguette, I usually buy one when the French Food Market's Bakery comes to town...

However, it wasn't till enjoying a coffee in a cafe', that sold a tempting array of filled Baguettes, that I learnt this breads origin.

Per a boldly written board, on the wall, the Baguettes history began with Napoleon Bonaparte.

During the invasion of Russia in the Napoleonic War [1812], the traditional bulky French bread took up a lot of valuable space in the solders backpack, which in the bitter climate was needed for carrying warm battle attire.

Napoleon thus decided a new shaped bread should be baked, one that could be transported more practically ie down the trouser leg of the soldiers!!!

The Baguette was born.

B also, has to be for Bananas...Brillant instant energy food, good for all, especially tennis players, for example - Ms Sharapova..And, Nadal...

Personally, I enjoy mine @ breakfast time with All-Bran & Muesli.

But, when busy baking for a living, one of my best selling cakes continued Bananas!

I, of course therefore, have a cake recipe...

Banana [and Walnut Loaf ]
4 medium Bananas

6 oz (175 g) Walnut pieces

pinch of salt

1 rounded teaspoon Baking Powder

1 level tsp Ground Cinnamin

4 oz (110 g) Plain Flour

4 oz (110 g) Brown Wholewheat flour

Grated rind & zest of one Lenom & Orange

4 oz (110 g) Butter @ room tempertature.

6 oz (175 g) soft dark Brown sugar

2 large Eggs

For the topping:
1 level tablespoon Demerara Sugar

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).
Lightly buttered a 2 lb (900 g) loaf tin, .
In a bowl, peel & mash 3 of the Bananas to a purée with a fork, and peel & chop the other one into ½ inch (1 cm) chunks.
Sift the Salt, Baking Powder, Cinnamon and both the Flours together into a large mixing bowl, afterwards add the bran that's left in the sieve.

Then add all the remaining ingredients [except the chopped Banana and nuts]

Beat well till thoroughly mixed and smoothly.

Then lightly fold in the chopped Banana & Walnuts.

Add a drop of milk to give a mixture that drops easily off a spoon

Pile the mixture into the tin, level the top with the back of a spoon and sprinkle on the Demerara Sugar.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 1¼-1½ hours, until the cake feels springy in the centre.

Allow to cool in tin for about 5 minutes before turning it out on to a wire tray.

It produces a lovely, moist cake that keeps well!

ABC's bright host is Denise; dedicated blog HERE!

Odd Shot Monday & Todays Flowers - A Bird of Paradise!

In the gloom of another grey Winters day, I went in search of some colour in my photographic archives.
Maybe it's just me, but the Bird of Paradise flower [Strelitzia reginae], or Crane Flower as it is sometimes known, always strikes me as an oddity, even when seen growing in the warmth of Hawaii.
But, so much more so, when viewed indoors, in a period English house.
This shot was taken during my visit to Restoration House in Kent last year...
The house is so called because of a visit to Rochester by the future King Charles II, in the Seventeen Century.
When travelling from Dover to London for his restoration, after 15 years of exile in France, he stayed over night @ the house, as a guest.
It's owner, was subsequently knighted for his hospitality!
It is also, well known as the 'Satis House'...This is due to the author Charles Dickens detailed description of it, in his novel 'Great Expectations', where he made it, the home of the reclusive Mrs Havisham.
Hence, my reasons for finding an exotic Bird of Paradise flourishing there odd!

Odd Shots is hosted by Katney @ her Kaboodle.
And, Todays Flowers dedicated blog, can be found HERE!

Two fer Tuesday - His Masters Voice!

Over the weekend I was sorting through STUFF.

That included, my late Mother's ancient 78 record collection!

Regrettably, I no longer have the wonderful 1930's wind-up, portable gramophone that delighted me as a child.

Whilst I was travelling to met Little Buddy & Mother was feeling bitter - some, smooth talking, Antiques Dealer pursued her to part with it - DAM!

But, I still have a case of old LP's, most of which, saw her through the War years, many are in mint condition...

Whilst others, mainly dance music are well worn & His Masters Voice record label features heavily amongst them...

Being the dog fan I am, I've always loved the image of Nipper, the familiar gramophone mascot of HMV!

It seems Nipper first appeared in a 1898 oil painting called "His Masters Voice"
The terrier was born in 1884, lived till he was eleven and was so named because of his tendency to nip the back of visitors legs!

You have to laugh @ that.

Now, Nipper is always presumed to be a Jack Russell, but, according to the site Jack-Russell-Terrier.co.uk, he was more likely a mixed-breed dog, part Bull Terrier with a just a trace of Fox Terrier.

Anyway, after his death, his former owner, Francis Barraud, a little known English artist, painted a picture of him listening intently to a wind-up Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph.

It was apparently, playing a home made recording of Francis's deceased brother Mark Barraud voice, he was Nipper's previous owner - hence the title of the piece...

In the original painting, both Nipper & the phonograph are thought to be shown sitting on what appears to be the lid of a said brothers coffin!!!

Barraud tried to exhibit the work @ the British Royal Academy of Arts annual Summer show, but it was rejected on the grounds, they couldn't understand what the dog was doing!
The following year in 1899, the painting was bought by the Gramophone Company, for the princely sum of £50, plus another £50 for the copyright.

They then, commissioned the artist to paint out the Edison-Bell machine, replacing it with one of their own modern disc playing gramophones...And it was this modified painting that became the now famous trademark of HMV [His Master Voice] records & RCA [Record Company of America]...Two fer Tuesday is friend Jonna's weekly theme.

Today, I've strayed badly from the idea of two or pairs of photo's - Sorry!

It's more a Three fer, but, @ least I have an even number of images in total!

Todays Flowers - The Poppy!

Not my finest flower photograph ever, but there's no other possible choice, with tomorrow being Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day.

It has many names but only one meaning!

This year, it's 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918; the war that was supposedly to end all wars, and yet here we are today with conflicts are still ongoing - 121 young British men & women have lost their lives in Afghanistan, another 177 in Iraq!

Countless others, from other countries across the world have done like wise!

Which is why I feel we should remember.

In the UK, we have no public holiday, Remembrance Day, is just commemorated on the Sunday closest to the 11th of November, which was yesterday.

The Queen, laid a wreath of red poppies @ the Cenotaph War Memorial in Whitehall, London.

Followed by by The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince William & leading politicians.

Then, war veterans, many elderly & frail, proudly wearing their medals & regimental berets marched past the Cenotaph.

Tomorrow, the actual day that marks the end of World War I; i.e. on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the moment will simply be observed by a minutes silence by many business's, shops & individuals including myself!

But, why is a Poppy the symbol of this act of Remembrance?
During the First World War, the red poppies were seen to be among the first plants that sprouted from the devastation of the battlefields of Northern France & Belgium.

Soldiers folklore had it that the poppies were vivid red from having been nurtured in the blood drenched ground, where their comrades fall.

In truth they grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth, which why we see them growing in corn fields.

My Hero loved to race through them...

The shells & shrapnel of World War I's artillery stirred up the earth & exposed the seeds, that could have lain dormant in the soil for years, so causing them to bloom profusely in the trenches & craters of the war torn land.

It was the sight of the prolific red poppies on the battlefield at Ypres in 1915, that moved Canadian surgeon Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write this moving poem:-

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead.

Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

And, from this, the Poppy came to represent the sacrifice made by his comrades; and quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in that war & later conflicts.

The Royal British Legion's annual Poppy appeal raises thousands & thousands of pounds to help ex-servicemen young & old. They said this year, the need for funds is greater than ever!

Young would-be soldiers & Territorials were selling the Poppies @ the finish of the London to Brighton Veteran Run, which is where I proudly bought mine.

"Lest we forget!
They shall not grow old
As we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condem.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them"

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The link to all Todays Flowers can be found HERE!

Sky Watch Friday - The Angel & the Beacon!

In remembrance of those lovely blue skies, I enjoyed whilst away, I've two Sky Watch images to share!
I'm still not participating fully in this photo theme; but for anyone interested, the official site is HERE!

The border between Brighton & more classically designed refined Hove - you can't see the join; is marked on the seafront with the 'Peace Angel', clutching her orb & olive branch...She was erected in 1912 by the inhabitants of both towns as a testimony of their enduring loyalty to King Edward VII, who stayed locally on several occasions while he convalesced from bronchitis due to his heavy smoking!

He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria & was 59 before he became King.

Known as the 'The Peacemaker', he presence helped restore some of the Brighton's fashionable reputation after it's decline during his mothers reign.

And, almost @ the very end of Hove's Esplanade stands this tall beacon looking skywards...

The original stood near by in 1588.

It formed part of a nationwide network of beacons, that were used to alert the public to the threat of invasion from the Spanish Armada's fleet.

On 19th July 1988, the incumbent Lord Major lit this replica to commemorate of the 400th Anniversary of this failed invasion attempt by catholic King Philip II of Spain.

On a such a lovely calm day as it was when I took my photo's, it was almost impossible to believe that the Armada was finally defeated, not by the English fleets 'fireship' attack, but by stormy seas & severe weather!

Gales swept the invading galleons North around the coast, resulting with many of them being wrecked on the rocky shores of Scotland & Ireland.

ABC Wednesday - P is for ...!

Even though, I headed home today, I've decided my post for the letter P has to be Brighton's Royal Pavilion...I've had the pleasant experience of viewing it on many occasions.
The Royal Pavilion was the extraordinary 'dreamchild' of the Prince Regent who was to become King George IV in 1820.

Whilst he was the Prince of Wales, this passionate, pleasure loving young man took a particular shine to Brighton, & decided to build him-self a personal residence by the sea, in which he could enjoy his pastimes of wine, women & playing cards!

In 1787, architect Henry Holland created a neo-classical villa, but this wasn't perfect enough for the Prince.

And, it was transformed into the exotic Indian style pavilion by John Nash, with its contrasting oriental interior between 1815 - 1823.

When the Prince, then King died in 1830, he'd still hadn't finished paying for his palace!

It passed onto Queen Victoria in 1837, she was NOT impressed by the pleasures it offered!

Her noted, cool reaction on visiting was "The Pavilion is a strange, odd looking preposterous place, both outside and inside. Most of the rooms are pitifully low, and I can only see a poorly morsel of the sea, from one of my sitting room windows".

In 1850, having stripped the Pavilion of all its plush furnishings, she gifted, the empty shell to Brighton.

The town resolved to restore the former royal palace & set about redecorating the interiors and Victoria subsequently returned many of the property's original pieces.

On going conservation work has continued ever since, including restoring the impressive Music Room twice.

Firstly, in 1975 after an arson attack & secondly, in 1987, when the great storm of that October, dislodged a huge stone ball that plummeted through the rooms ceiling, destroying it for a second time. I visited in between these two events! It's now been totally refurbished.

As the taking of photographs or filming inside the Pavilion is strictly prohibited unless you're prepared to pay a prohibitive fee; I have borrowed pictures from the official web-site, because seeing is believing!
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The Music Room chandelier & ceiling

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The four-poster bed in Queen Victoria's Apartments with its hand painted Chinese wallpaper

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The Banqueting Room table & the dragon holding the central chandelier

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Although, the ex-royal palace isn't particularly to my taste, I'm glad its preserved.

It's a fascinating colourful place and that element of pomposity you just have to love!

And it's night time illuminations I positively approve of...

P, also stands for precious pet photo's!

So, here's another one of my pal, perfectly posing...