Thursday, June 23, 2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Serotonin inhibitor?



Feverfew - possibly inhibits the release of serotonin and limits the inflammation of blood vessels in the head, thereby easing fevers and migraines.

Wikipedia

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Monday, June 20, 2011

Saturday, June 18, 2011

99 with chocolate flake



Easton Cowboys C.C. Saturday XI v Whitchurch C.C.3rd XI

Despite enough rain in the morning to nearly drown a local strawberry grower and doubts about the exact location of their 'home' ground, the Cowboys' Saturday XI started their match on time against Whitchurch 3rd XI at the King George V Playing Fields in Downend.

Contrary to reports last week and to considerable cheers, skipper Budge proved that he can be a successful tosser and asked the opposition to bat. Continuing with a positive assertiveness that was to last all afternoon, he opened the bowling downhill with the wind behind him and was soon exploiting the vagaries of the pitch. RobT opened from the other end in a sprightly fashion, dropping his sails and motoring headlong into the gale.

It was evidently a tricky pitch to bat on and the damp outfield and alert fielders further limited the runs on the rare occasions that the ball left the square. The pressure soon took it's toll on the opposition batsmen; Justin took a sharp catch, DaveB another, stumps were clattered. Gretch's remarkable agility behind the stumps was matched by Ev fielding at point, who stuck out a hand on an elastic arm to catch an uppish cut off RobT's bowling and earn himself the Cider Moment.

Having barely conceded any runs and bagged his long awaited first wickets of the season, the skipper replaced himself with Ev who produced a similarly miserly spell while RichG sprang in from the other end, passing the bat and making light work of the headwind. By now, the opposition No.5 was proving not only stubborn but powerfully adept at occasionally smashing the ball down the ground and so it was with some trepidation that your correspondent came on to bowl. However, aided by an able supporting cast the runs were limited, Iggy's wait for a slip catch was rewarded, DaveB caught a lofted drive close to the ground and it looked like the opposition wouldn't bat out the full quota of overs.

After Ev's precision, RobT and RichG returned to see off the tail who had shown a sliver or resistance, but when the latter hit the stumps for a second time, no disco pose appeal was necessary and the Whitchurch innings was over in the 37th over, two short of a hundred.

Tea was taken a short walk or (if you were really lazy/tired) drive away, comprising rustic grazing provided by your correspondent, aided and abetted by Joe, RobT and Gretch. As crumbs were swept away and cases of food poisoning administered to, DaveB and Iggy padded up and strode out to get the measure of a drying but still tricky wicket.

The ball was still in relatively good condition and atmospheric conditions, the wind and opposition bowlers combined to produce swing through the air, while certain patches of the wicket produced unexpected trajectories. Despite all that, Iggy played with positive freedom on his welcome return from hobbledom, DaveB more watchful and apparently solid. Angelo was just remarking how solid everything was looking when a fuller ball hit the base of Dave's stumps off a thinside edge and Justin went out to replace him.

Iggy played more shots, evading fielders by luck or design but after getting bogged down, played one too many and was bowled for 21. Ev went out to join Justin who was playing the ball late off the pitch in a watchful innings, but the score stalled. Around the 15th over, the bowler from the top end, leaking even fewer runs than Joe and Ev had done earlier, bowled Ev for a duck and Angelo a couple of balls later.

Four wickets down and not yet half way to the target, Kalu joined Justin and Iggy went to umpire. With hindsight, opposition fielders might have gone a bit deeper as Kalu's first scoring shot was a six. A few more boundaries later they did. When opportunities came their way they missed or spilled them and Kalu rode his luck, clattering the ball with a lightening fast backlift and spring action punch.

When a catch was eventually held and Kalu departed for 28, still grinning, the balance of the game had swung back in the Cowboys' favour, although a bowling change and some less than friendly vibes were starting to threaten that. When the other umpire, who had travelled with the opposition, made a bad decision in giving Justin out caught off his arm, off a bowler who propelled the ball to the stumps via the Moon, the mainstay and anchor of the innings was a tad reluctant to depart before confirmation.

With around twenty more runs to get, skipper Joe strode out to join a less than comfortable looking Gretch, the remainder of the tail not feeling very chilled either, except by the wind. Still sensing a chance, the opposition appealed for everything and finally got the only LBW decision of the day from a harangued but even-handed Iggy, Gretch falling without playing a shot.

Like the impatient groundsman, Joe wanted the match to finish, but unlike him, he was passionately bothered that the Cowboys would emerge as victors. With no nonsense straight drives he found the boundary twice, smashing balls from the ultra slow bowler back at your correspondent's head, at the non-striker's end, at many times the speed at which they came towards him. The following over, a straight ball kept low and was kept out, a wide ball was called a wide - and the Cowboys had won by three wickets with eight overs to spare.

The skipper's all round performance (but mainly winning the toss) won him the Man of the Match vote and the appearance of Mr Maroon, aka Dick Emery, aka SteveO at the ground and Plough later was another noteworthy CM nomination.

Scorecard

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Wrung



Easton Cowboys C.C. Saturday XI v Wrington C.C. 2nd XI

Well blessed were our souls as the Friday night deluge didn't carry over into Saturday and the Frenchay topography, groundstaff and heavy roller facilitated the prompt commencement of the match against Wrington.

The Cowboys' skipper, it has to be said, is not much of a tosser: Once again he lost and the favoured option of bowling was taken by the opposition but the opening pair of DB and Angelo rose to the challenge, picking off quick early runs against a relatively lacklustre bowling attack.

When Angelo fell to an equitable LBW decision, last week's flashing blade Ev came to the wicket and occupied the crease as DB played shots at the other end. By now, the run rate had dropped from a rosy six an over to around three, as opposition bowling changes revealed depth and threatened.

After Ev was bowled for a long duck, SteveO and Alan stuck around as DB headed towards and just past a half century, but when he was well caught, the innings needed the impetus and improvisation shown by Kalu to muster a respectable total: Time and again, exquisite lofty late cuts evaded fielders and raced to the boundary, but when he was eventually caught for 46, the late order and tail failed to make an impression against tight bowling and worse, left more than three overs unbatted in being all out for 149.

A fine tea from RobT refreshed and revitalised spirits, with the man himself coming out of the kitchen after the break to produce a tangerine with the first ball of a fine spell from the bottom end to bowl the Wrington opener.

Joe tore in from the top end but despite unsettling, couldn't dislodge the batsmen and when Ev replaced him and your correspondent took over at the other end, the Wrington No.3 was establishing himself as the backbone of their run chase.

In bright sunshine the skipper took the first of two good catches, although the real pearler, voted as the Cider Moment and a contender for catch of the season, was plucked, prevented from reaching the ground and presented like a jewel in Angelo's fingertips, diving forward at cover.

After economical bowling and fielding pressure had unsettled the opposition middle order into giving up several wickets, a rotated bowling strategy saw a confident Kalu given the ball and as he started to prise out the first of three batsmen, there was hope in the Cowboys' camp. Most, if not all catches were taken, Gretch kept well behind well kept, recently varnished stumps, but despite good return spells from RobT and Joe, Wrington overhauled the target for the loss of eight wickets with three overs to spare.

Kalu was voted Man of the Match for his fine all-round performance, verging on jug-avoidance, but his post-match tutorial on coin tossing imploded when his demonstrations repeatedly failed.

Scorecard

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Through the mill



Shepton Mallet C.C. 1st XI v Easton Cowboys C.C. Saturday XI

Having lost their home game against Shepton Mallet in May, the Cowboys' Saturday XI travelled south across the Mendips on the first weekend in June in anticipation of a tough away fixture. On paper it was a strong team, but would it hold up on grass, in a field at Oakhill?

The sky was heavy and the outfield thick with buttercups and daisies. Despite the drone of distant agricultural machinery it was not the weather for hay making - or losing the toss - and so it was with caution and watchfulness that the Cowboys' opening pair of DaveB and Angelo strode to the wicket.

The new cherry swerved and bounced awkwardly but tended to die on the occasions that it was stroked off the square. At times the opposition had three slips menacing for an edge. Within half an hour, both batsmen had been bowled and by the time Ben's resistance had ended in a similar fashion the score was still paltry.

Simon and Ev gradually adjusted to the conditions and change bowlers, lifting the ball - and with it, hopes of a defendable total - towards if not over the boundary. After successfully keeping out good bowling, it was disappointing but perhaps predictable that several batsmen fell to bad balls, unable to snaffle their pies without making a mess and causing their unnecessary demise.

Still, the innings was starting to get some colour in its cheeks, largely thanks to Ev (for whom the boundary markers had been cruelly located to deny him a couple of sixes from lofty blows) aided by Kalu's positive intent and Gretch's plucky solidity. Unable to find the boundary himself, your correspondent resorted to giving the opposition catching practice while scampering up and down, eventually finding the middle, of the fielder's grateful hands.

The tail maintained occupation of the crease until the final over, with Rob not out and promising more, Rich and Joe talking to the ducks and the score on 129.

At tea, on being asked by the skipper to open the bowling, your correspondent stuffed some standard fayre white rolls and muffins aside for later and loosened his truss. Kalu echoed an unorthodox attack from the other end.

The Shepton Mallet opening pair had scored over a hundred against the Cowboys in the season's earlier encounter and with bowling conditions less favourable than they had been a few hours before, it was going to be a hard task to restrict their cavalier confidence. It might have been an idea to have hidden archers in the woods into which they despatched the unfortunate Kalu in his first and second overs. Sticking to a plan of spin from one end, the skip then brought DaveB into the attack but the young opposition batsmen continued to go aerial.

On the rare occasion that the batsmen made errors in mistiming drives from the other end, the chances proved too tricky to cling onto and although pads were struck and stumps shaved, the longed-for breakthrough wouldn't come. Rich bowled tidily and got some swing but when he found a top edge, Gretch appeared to step onto an imaginary roundabout from which he emerged with the ball gone to earth. Your correspondent bowled out his eight overs wondering whether the cause might be bettered by another option: We'd be blinkered, apathetic automatons if we didn't each favour different bowling strategies, but it falls to the skipper to plot the course and sometimes walk the plank.

It wasn't until late in the day that Joe brought himself and Rob on to bowl, to no avail, as both batsmen cruised past their fifties, overhauling their target in the twenty-third over.

Ev's innings of 44 deservedly won the majority of Man of the Match nominations and the Cider Moment was either Gretch spinning out, Ev not getting a six, or the moment we drove past the Shepton Mallet cider mill.

Scorecard

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

10p

Friday, May 27, 2011

Demolition Darby and Joan



The Saffron Court home for the elderly in Whitehall is being demolished. It was only built in 1993. Dementia care policies have changed and residential building land is scarce.



The cherry trees went a couple of months ago.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Friday, May 20, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

Guerrillas on Corn St.



The broad beans sown in a disused window box on Corn Street are coming along nicely, although perhaps the vomit from weekend revellers is slightly too acidic to be a beneficial nutrient. No blackfly though.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Escape to victory



E.C.C.C. v Stratton on the Fosse C.C.

The Easton Cowboys Saturday XI gathered at a blustery Frenchay for their encounter with Stratton on the Fosse and in so doing completed an alphabetical hat-trick of meetings with opposition sides beginning with an 'S'.

Skipper Joe broke another emerging pattern by winning the toss and elected to bowl on a dry, worn wicket and the fielders, sharing a common border with the adjacent Frenchay match, assumed their positions amongst the randomly scattered rabbit droppings.

Both Joe and Rich produced tight, miserly opening spells as the opposition batsmen barely troubled the scorers, culminating in an attempted stolen run, excellently curtailed by a direct run out from the arm of Ben P - the original BP1?

The next wicket was a while in coming, until, like buses and bailiffs, two turned up at once and the fielders crowded the bat for Ev's hat-trick ball. As it was, he had to wait a while longer for his third wicket, when some uneven bounce and straight bowling saw the ball roll into the base of the stumps.

The score accelerated a bit as SotF tried to push on, aided by a short boundary and lightening fast outfield but despite a few slip ups in the field the Cowboys continued to apply pressure, triggering another run out. Kahlu bowled particularly well under pressure and was unfortunate not to bag any scalps as your correspondent took the long view, scuttling from deep mid-wicket to deep mid-wicket.

Angelo, wearing the gloves, executed an inspired run out by parrying a high return throw directly onto the stumps, earning him a few if not the majority of the Cider Moment nominations and destroying the opposition's base for a late assault.

Good return spells from Joe and Ev and half a dozen shuffling straight overs from the bottom end helped to restrict the score to a slightly below par 161-9 from the 40 overs.

Ev and his hired help provided the tea and an opportunity to play 'what / where's the contents of the roll' topped off with a melon / strawberry melange, while those batting lower down the order took full advantage of the plethora of scones, jam and cream.

With DB absent injured, Angelo and Paul took the brunt of the SotF opening attack which fully exploited the variable bounce and saw the unfortunate Paul back in the hutch early. Incoming batsman Ben, from the outset more correct than a proofreader with a case of Tipp-Ex, helped Angelo to negate the opening venom until the latter was caught on the attack.

Ev played a watchful innings as the sky darkened and the score crept up and was unlucky to be stumped from the rebound off a fumbling keeper, bringing Kahlu to the crease. Earlier, a thunderstorm had been forecast for 7pm and as rainfall radars were consulted there was some mention of needing to be ahead of the run rate. Ever the man for this type of situation, despite claiming to have learned a new word, 'patience', Kahlu soon dispersed the opposition fielders as Ben raised the tempo too and reached his fifty.

However, when Kahlu was dismissed the Cowboys were still seventy runs off their target, reliant on Steve's steadying presence while Ben continued with immaculate drives and pulls, riding his luck when spilt on a couple of occasions. Before long the end was in sight and for a time it looked like it might coincide with a century, but eventually Man of the Match Ben was caught for the Antipodean devil's number, leaving the new blood (surely?) BP2 to join Steve in carrying the Cowboys over the line to the warm fuzzy glow of a five wicket victory.

Currently not quite right Scorecard

Friday, May 13, 2011

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Totnes earworm



Can't get rid of this earworm, a fine pop song and the best thing to come out of Totnes since KLF pop prankster Jimmy Cauty.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Spuds progress



Some 'earth up' their spuds more than others and some remove the flowers to concentrate growth below soil level. Water helps more than either.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Nature sown



Gherkin seedlings sprouting where they did so well last year.

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Chocolate puns



E.C.C.C v Stanton Drew

Following a long-awaited deluge that left gardening cricketers with a split personality, the wicket at Frys in Keynsham was a bit soggy for the Cowboys' home match against Stanton Drew. Clearly, the only sane option was to bowl first and use the unpredictability of the wicket to get the opposition out, but for the second week running the benevolent Saturday skipper refused to deny the late-arriving opposition captain the chance to toss and when the coin landed in the mud, it was the Cowboys' opening batsmen who padded up.

It was still sunny, muggy and hot enough to melt a factory full of Crunchie bars (had production of the aforementioned honeycombed chocolate not ceased at the Somerdale site last autumn and moved to Poland) but more importantly, make the ball swing. Dave and Paul battled watchfully as the opening bowlers produced bananas, until Paul was bowled by a peach.

The score trickled along while Simon found his feet, until last week's centurion fell early, bringing Ev to the wicket. As Simon stroked the ball around at one end, Ev cautiously blocked at the other, producing a nice symmetry of dots against his name in the scorebook until eventually being caught at the wicket. Steve then provided a similar supporting foil for Simon, who by now had found the boundary a few times and was helping the score along. When he too was bowled, for a Man of the Match winning innings of 34 and Steve had found the keeper's gloves, Kahlu and Gretch came to the wicket to try a different approach, the former smacking the ball into the trees and provoking an extra flurry of blossom.

Such a direct approach was fraught with danger and sure enough, Kahlu soon departed to a good tumbling catch near the boundary, bringing the owner of a 'messy' ankle to join Gretch at the wicket. Defying probability, the ankle was further battered by a mistimed drive a few balls later but held up for a few twenty-two yard scampers. A couple of welcome pies were gratefully gobbled and sent to the boundary until greedily grabbing at one out of the crease, the keeper removed the bails.

Joe came in and looked stylish with the bat for a while, befitting of his orange cap, Gretch departed having arrived at double figures and Rich succumbed after a promising boundary. Not out batsman Rob, seeing the ball well, helped give some respectability to an otherwise rather crumbly and flaky batting performance as the Cowboys went to tea to contemplate defending 127 runs.

The overlap of sporting seasons brought cricketers and footballers into close proximity in the clubhouse as polystyrene plates were impatiently shuffled and doughnuts eagerly anticipated, but as players returned to the top field afterwards, the sky was past overcast and at an ominous dark grey.

The first spots of rain came as the Cowboys gathered towels and prepared to take to the field, but it was the opposition batsmen who declared the earliest interest in not wanting to get wet, retreating to the cover of chestnut trees. For the next hour, depending on your vision and outlook, the weather was improving / worsening and there was every / no chance of further play. There were those in both camps who at one time or another wandered towards and loitered around the wicket looking for a denouement, but in the end, there wasn't even a Wispa.

The match was abandoned just after six o'clock for a cider Cider Moment in the skittle alley.

Scorecard

Friday, May 06, 2011

Callaloo

"Immortal amarant, a flower which once
In paradise, fast by the tree of life,
Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence
To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows,
And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life,
And where the river of bliss through midst of heaven
Rolls o'er elysian flowers her amber stream:
With these that never fade the spirits elect
Bind their resplendent locks.
"- John Milton, Paradise Lost

"Don't you have any West Indian people living near you?" she asked, when I looked blank at the word callaloo.
"Yes," I replied, a little confused. She's Jamaican and lives a hundred yards away. I'd gone round to give her a tomato plant and she'd invited me to dig up a few pumpkin seedlings in a corner of her garden. Something unfamiliar caught my eye and the answer to my enquiry was callaloo, which I'd thought was the name of a recipe, not a plant. Indeed, it turns out that the plant is amaranth, of which there are about sixty different species, used culinarily for centuries and scribbled about by Milton and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, amongst others.

I had even less luck when I asked her the name of a red, ball-like flower, which I recognise from my youth and is usually crawling with ants: "It's a plant," she said.

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Knitbone



Take a good handful of comfrey leaves, aka knitbone, scrunch up and stuff down sock. Hopefully, the bruised ankle will have recovered sufficiently by the weekend.

Apparently, it's all down to the 5-ureidohydantoin, aka allantoin, a chemical compound present in the urine of most mammals, which is presumably what gives the comfrey brew in the water butt, used for feeding plants, such a strong pong. Allantoin is used in a lot of skin preparations and helps tissue repair.

Wikipedia

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Thymus vulgaris



Thymol, present in the essential oil, is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash.

Wikipedia

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Connecticut King



Anagrams on a postcard, if you must.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Easton Cowboys v Shepton Mallet



The Easton Cowboys Saturday XI were eagerly anticipating the commencement of their campaign in Division Three, up bright and early and waiting at Frenchay for the opposition. And waiting. Leaving aside comments about whether our new friends in the south had enough agricultural diesel to drive their tractors to the big city, there was mention of the regulations pertaining to late arrival and the forfeiture of the right to toss.

Naturally, new skipper Joe wasn't so churlish as to deny the Shepton Mallet captain the opportunity when they eventually arrived, by which time the Cowboys were nicely warmed up and ready to bowl. The opposition duly won the toss and put the Cowboys into bat.

Angelo and debutant Dave B navigated through the opening overs, cautious of the variable bounce and pace of the hard oatmeal wicket. When Angelo departed after hitting three boundaries, Ben continued the Cowboys' circumspect approach as the total crawled along. Having done a lot of hard work before he was eventually caught out, he was replaced by Evan who joined an increasingly solid looking Dave. Together they forged a steady partnership, then both cut loose to launch sixes and distribute the ball to all corners of the fast outfield.

When Ev was stumped attacking the ball, Kahlu did well to continue and build upon the momentum, hitting six boundaries in his 32 not out and unfortunate to miss out on more, thanks to some very competent fielding by the opposition. Meanwhile, at the other end, Dave had cruised well past fifty and as the innings approached its conclusion the big question was whether he'd get enough of the strike to make it to a century. This he answered emphatically in the final over, with one of the flattest sixes possible, punched powerfully over point: It was a remarkable performance and having carried his bat, he remained not out on 104, from a respectable and defendable innings total of 198 for 3.



Joe did well to shoulder tea responsibilities in addition to captaincy and somehow just managed to make it feed the multitude. Buoyed by this and the welcome vocal home support and scorer, the Cowboys took to the field.

Disconcertingly, the runs came easily to the opposition batsmen who used the pace of the ball and outfield to their advantage, seeing off Joe and Rich's opening attack. When the breakthrough finally came with Gretch taking a catch behind the stumps, bowler Ev barely noticed and had already started back to his mark. Fortunately, other fielders and the sporting batsmen were more aware, the former joining in muted celebration as the latter left the field.

As the flow of runs continued unabated, it was becoming clear that the Cowboys were not alone in having a solid, aggressive opening batsman who was also capable of finding the aerial route to the boundary. There was little in the pitch for the bowlers who found themselves buffeted by a strong crosswind which didn't help their cause and after a spirited but fruitless spell by Rob, your correspondent was called upon to replace him at the top end while Kahlu tried from the other.

A rare false shot facilitated a caught and bowled while Kahlu was eventually rewarded with the scalp of the opening bat, who departed for 91, thanks to Ben's excellently judged catch in the deep. Unfortunately the runs kept coming, the more so from the seventh and eighth bowlers to be called upon as the batsmen found the boundary with increasing regularity and in the 31st over the opposition overhauled the total for the loss of three wickets.

Any euphoria from the earlier Cider Moment of Dave's ton-reaching six had all but evaporated, as had Dave, clearly alarmed by the demands on his wallet made by the other jug-expecting Cowboys, who'd also voted him Man of the Match. Nevermind, there were lots of positives, our new friends in the south were sound, Rich got the barbecue out and did things to bits of pig, there was beer and dubstep on the way back to the Plough and your correspondent hadn't yet realised that despite a bag of ice his ankle was the size of a melon.

Scorecard

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

New greens for old



As the kale and sprouting broccoli comes to an end in yellow flowers, the first of the spinach is ready and makes a change from the rather tasteless but reliable chard.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Verbascum phoeniceum



Also known as the purple mullein, this verbascum comes back year after year, no matter how cold the winter, but never quite this early.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Angelica archangelica



Used for all kinds of culinary, medicinal and recreational purposes, the angelica plants have flowered several weeks earlier than usual this year.

Wikipedia: Angelica

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Ribes Grossularia



With rhubarb being first past the post in the season's fruit crops, gooseberries look like coming second, although strawberries may yet get the majority.

Saturday, April 23, 2011