(just for the record)

The Staff-Student Rounders Match


1.

Yes...I did get up early
and make these scones
before work.
Be proud of me!

2.
Yes...I did wear
sparkling white jeans
in the sure and certain belief
I wouldn't be in the team.

3.
Yes...these are the umpires.
You will note that
the two student umpires
are studying the rules.
They are young and responsible.

4.
On the other hand
the Young Academic
is drinking Pimms.
Nuff said.

5.
Yes...this is the student team.
If they look motivated
and ready to crush the opposition
that is because they were.

6.
There is a photo
of the staff team.
I am in it.

7.
So is MissM
who was 'persuaded'
to join in.


8.
Yes...this is Jenny
cutting her scrumptious cake.

9.
Yes...I can confirm that
the Pimms slipped down
very nicely in the sunshine.
So did the cake.

10.
Yes...
I ran.
In public.
Sheesh.

11.
MissM ran faster
and scored a rounder.
Yes...I'm proud.

12.
Yes...there are worse ways
to spend a sunny afternoon
at the end of term.

dinner by candlelight

imagine a table with white roses and candles

a jug of Pimms prepared by MrsM

lemon and thyme chicken cooked by MissM

and chilled apricot tart*

** wishing you were here MasterM! **

*disclosure : made by St. Michael (not MrM)

*****

Thank you for all your delicious comments...
they are the sauce and seasoning for every post!

If you have been reading for a while
you will know that the start of June
is fairly frenetic for me
because I am part of the exams team.
Apologies in the advance
when I am extra slow at responding
to comments and emails
over the next few weeks.

Exam Cake

Using your knowledge
of historical events
and the domestic context,
discuss the likely outcome
of a request for a
coffee and walnut cake
by hard-working examiners
and propose methods
to mitigate the potential
for marital disaster.

Don't blink, it's summer!

It was warm enough to eat outside!
~~~
The outdoors tablemats
came out of the cupboard!
~~~
And a candle!
We lit a candle!
~~~
There were roses...
from the garden!
~~~
We drank chilled white wine
and ate fresh strawberries!
~~~
And somehow, magically,
it felt like Saturday
even though it was Tuesday.

hiatus

Woman Ironing
(La repasseuse)
Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

I regret to announce that
due to the fact that I spent
too much time at the weekend
admiring my shiny new iPad
there is a slight laundry crisis
that I must attend to.

Can you talk among yourselves?

Sunday Evening

MrsM

"Well hellooo Special Offer Broccoli
now is your moment to shine
Do not go soggy or grey
because you have been chosen
to complement the famous
Lamb shanks with cannellini beans
and I shall be extremely displeased
if you let the side down."

MrsM pauses and tries to decide
if talking to vegetables
is an ominous development

or just an indicator of
the amount of gin
in the G&T.

Fly Past

Windsor 19 May 2012

a legacy of beauty

Vergelegen

Inside the house there was a dining room.

Something about the the way that
the light fell on the polished table
from the tall windows with simple drapes
or the subdued lime green flowers
or perhaps the understated colour scheme
created an elegant and tranquil room.
I stood for a long time
trying to commit it to memory
but the details elude me now.

Only the memory of quietness remains.

It must be summer

It's the Finalists' BBQ next week!
Seriously - is it really a year
since the last one?


Anyway - no panic this year
because MrsM has been camping
and knows how to light a fire.


The technical staff
are doing their bit too.
Preparation is their middle name.


And then we let the men
start the cooking.

Can you spot the Head of Department?

betwixt and between

I spent the day
creating new ideas
but they were not for me
and when I got home
I felt empty

and I thought
"is this what I want?"

but then I remembered
the friend visiting my office
as lecturers came and went
noisy with their laughter
who said "I miss the buzz"

and I thought
"is that what I want?"