Sunday, May 7, 2023

God Save the Slides


Despite some rainy, chilly weather, I took a long walk yesterday morning back to Camden Market to look at more old photographic slides. Just as I was leaving the last time, I found a second dealer with a bin I only barely had time to look through. It was the one with "Trish!" in it, as well as the Regent Street photo, so I felt it deserved closer scrutiny.

This time I brought my viewer and looked at every slide in that bin, which took about an hour. A lot of them were birds and flowers, which don't interest me -- they say nothing about time or place. (Of course I take lots of bird and flower photos, but it's different when they reflect my own experiences!) But I found another 50 or so worth bringing home, and I'll get some of them scanned this week.

Because I was sitting in the slide dealer's stall, I didn't actually watch the coronation. I saw snippets of it later. The weather was about as bad as it could be, but it looks like the crowds still turned out, which was good to see. I like Charles -- I think his heart is in the right place and he has some very sensible interests and views, like his appreciation for ecology and architectural preservation.

In Belsize Park I passed a street party where a handful of hardy souls had gathered to watch the ceremony on a large monitor.


(There were people sitting on the other side of the truck too, where there was a second screen.)

I passed buildings with bunting and saw other indications of national pride...


...like this boxer outside Waitrose, wearing his official Union Jack bow tie.


Of course there were some naysayers too.

Soon after I got home, our new hob (stove top, range, whatever you want to call it) finally arrived! Woo hoo! Dave is so happy, and it does look much nicer than our old one. Our landlords and management company had believed for weeks that it had already been installed, because of some kind of record-keeping mix-up at the appliance dealer's. (Or so we were told.) After we protested and made clear that we still had the old one, they slowly ironed everything out.


And here it is, complete with last night's dinner, Coronation Quiche -- which Dave made from the official royal recipe. It was really good. I had two pieces as I watched "Lady in Cement," a groovy Frank Sinatra movie from the late '60s that I love despite its sexism, homophobia and tortured plot. It's the second of two movies featuring Sinatra as a wise-cracking detective in Miami, and the banter between characters is pretty entertaining. Don't be offended by the film's shortcomings; just laugh through them. That's my advice.

I also managed to do a little gardening yesterday, despite the rain. I repotted a few things, including dividing some root-bound mint and planting the halves in separate pots -- just as I'd done for another pot of mint a week or two ago. So now we have four pots of mint, a mixture of peppermint and Moroccan mint. Dave is exasperated that I used four pots rather than throwing some of it out, but why discard perfectly good mint?

25 comments:

  1. That is a very nice looking hob.

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  2. I would call your new appliance a gas hob... You can call it whatever you like!!
    You keep showing pics of the most magnificent wisteria. Ours isn't even in leaf yet. Well, I say ours, but it crept over the fence from next door some years ago and we are training it across the back of our house!

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  3. It is traditional.. Bank Holidays and coronations are wet!!

    Rather ironic that they publicise the quiche as vege....but use lard!!

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  4. I believe the quiche is quite rich. Nothing wrong with that, I say.
    If you live in a country that is a monarchy then the monarch is your bloody king. You might not like it but there it is.
    Could you give some of your plants away to worthy recipients? I love it when people give me herbs and vege plants.

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  5. Growing up, we called the cooktop the stove and the oven [wait for it]... the oven. I take it you're not a mint purist since you've mixed them in the same pots. That wisteria is spectacular. (That IS what I'm supposed to be noticing, correct?)

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  6. Very nice Gas Hob. Silly question. Do ovens there still set temperatures at Regulo 1, etc. Sorry if I spelled it wrong.

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  7. I'm with Mitchell ... I noticed the somewhat well-dressed attractive man BENEATH the wisteria first.

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  8. It's typical ceremony weather, chucking it down. My opinions of the treatment of people by the current occupant of the throne are not suitable for family reading. I also remember the first king with that name was removed and a protectorate took the place of the monarchy. So we'll see.

    I'm glad you're continuing to save slides and show us the results.

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  9. Well done to Dave for making the coronation quiche! With his culinary skills, it's easy to see what first attracted you to Dave. Personality is overrated because you cannot eat it. Looking forward to seeing some of the resurrected slides - insects trapped in amber.

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  10. I suggest gifting that mint. There are so many unappreciated souls in the world. A gay ribbon, a cheerful note. Maybe recognize some people in local gover-mint.

    Funny, yesterday, I was unloading things from the car and managed to crush some mint underfoot. It smells so very nice, doesn't it.

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  11. Lord, I must be getting old. All I noticed in that top picture was the wisteria. But now that others have pointed it out- the guy's not bad either.
    People really don't get upset that the government is spending so much money on a coronation when basic needs are not getting met?
    As someone who cooks, I can truly appreciate Dave's delight in his new stove.

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  12. I thought the wisteria was the point of the picture.

    I can't believe you sat at the guy's booth for an hour looking at every single slide. well, yes, I can believe it. it's so you.

    very nice stove. I have always had a gas stove, which I prefer, until I moved here which came with an electric stove because no natural gas out here. gas stoves can be outfitted for propane but we'd have to buy a new stove and this one works fine. just took some getting used to.

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  13. I love the union jack tie on the dog. That's so cute.
    There is some movement here in California to stop the use of gas stoves. We have one and I've been thinking about electric stoves and wondering if they have improved over the years.
    Love that wisteria.

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  14. I thought you could gift the extra mint away, also. End of the school year gift for your favorite people at work?
    I enjoyed watching the Coronation highlights but I'm glad I didn't have to sit through it! :)
    Well done, Dave! Nice looking quiche!

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  15. Hi,
    I thought of you and Dave and Olga yesterday as Charles was crowned as King. I didn't watch it on tv, but I did see bits and pieces of it online. Just snippets and some of the live updates.
    I had actually forgotten about it until I looked at the news on my phone and said to myself, Oh Yeah The Coronation.
    I think that I would have joined Master Louis in the Yawning catagory. I'm doubtful that I could have stayed awake during those 2 hours!!!
    Didn't you just love how Prince Andrew threw shade at Charles by wearing his formal robes that the Queen had stripped him of? I cannot stand the Entitlement of that one. He really needs to be knocked off his high horse and I hope that King Charles will be the one to do it, but I seriously doubt he will. He seems to be too polite to do it and doesn't want to look spiteful, but one can hope I guess.

    Sorry not to have commented much lately. Just been busy on my end, but i have been reading your blog. Have a great week!

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  16. Quiche is one of my favorites. I look forward to more slides. So tell me now, will somebody be picking over my discarded slides some day?

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  17. Nice looking new stove top and even nicer looking quiche.
    I agree about Charles. He has done a lot of good with both cultural and environmental projects.

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  18. Glad you took the slide viewer so you could pick out only the slides you wanted! I wonder if my mom still has ours in the basement of her house. I LOVE quiche; it's comfort food for me.

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  19. I like quiche but not with green beans (which I think was part of the Coronation Quiche)! However, if someone made it for me I'd eat it. lol

    I've never used a gas stove, only electric. That one looks tricky to clean around all the parts on top. But isn't it nice to have a new one!

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  20. as for the boy queen, he is as loathsome as he is admirable...his faux pas astonish! Lack of family values and choice of lover also are questionable- Don't care a toss about the monarchy grifters one little bit. The next in line is no better- Severely damaged by a golf club to the head requiring surgery has had an effect on character unfortunately. Just give the damned crown to Anne, she would do a much better job.
    Tasty photo at the top!
    Love that you spent an hour sorting through slides! My idea of a good time.

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  21. I like the doggy bow tie. I hope Olga spent some time on her Union Jack bed.

    I look forward to seeing more slides. Going through so many at the shop sounds tedious.

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  22. I haven't had quiche in forever. I'm going to have to ask Mike to work on that for me - ha!

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  23. NewRobin13 - we switched to an induction stove this year when our gas stove gave out. I never liked electric stoves, but the induction stove is fabulous. We are totally happy about it.

    That being said - Steve - your new gas hob looks great!

    Chris from Boise

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  24. River: Thank you! We're happy with it!

    Frances: I would call it a hob, too, but I felt like I needed to translate for my non-UK readers. :)

    GZ: Ha! That IS funny. Dave used a pre-made crust so we cheated on that part.

    Caro: I probably could give them away, that's true. Maybe when I visit friends I'll take them some mint!

    Mitchell: Ha! Yes, I took the photo for the wisteria, but now that you mention it...

    Dov: Ours doesn't. It has temperatures marked in degrees celsius.

    Bob: He doesn't look like your typical M&S customer.

    Boud: Yes, the name Charles doesn't have great associations when it comes to the English throne!

    YP: I had to insist that he follow the recipe, though. He likes to alter and tweak recipes, but in this case I wanted the real thing.

    Debby: I think you're right. I have some friends with gardens and I could give it to them.

    Ms Moon: I haven't heard much complaining about the financial outlay, and to be honest I'm not sure how all that works. Maybe the royals foot part of the bill. In any case, I'm pretty sure it's a separate pot of money from the NHS budget, which is suffering from a more long-term lack of investment.

    Ellen: Well, the wisteria WAS the point. The guy is an added bonus! I always used gas in New York and loved it, but growing up in Florida we only ever had electric.

    Robin: When I used electric in Florida I didn't mind it, but gas is certainly faster.

    Ellen D: I think you're all onto something re. the mint.

    Beth: I think Andrew HAS been knocked off his high horse. He's pretty much in disgrace at this point and doesn't even have official royal duties. He's been forcibly retired.

    Red: Maybe! Unless your kids want them. I think sometimes people die and their kids want nothing, and their houses get cleaned out by professional estate clearers -- and as a result stuff like this winds up in antique shops.

    Sharon: His heart's in the right place.

    Margaret: I bet she does! You should take them out and look at them and get the good ones digitized.

    Jenny-O: Actually I just put the parts in the dishwasher. They're all detachable. The quiche has broad beans, not green beans, which is still pretty weird!

    Linda Sue: A golf club to the head? What? I need to read up on that.

    Kelly: Oh, I find it fascinating and not tedious at all. Each one is a little surprise!

    Bug: It's pretty easy to make! Dave was doubtful that the recipe was correct but it is. Ours set just fine.

    Chris: They asked us if we wanted to stick with gas and we said yes, just out of habit!

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  25. Apart from the rain it sounds like a good Coronation day. I was up at 5 watching on the hotel TV (Rick slept through) but felt bad for those in the rain. I wish him well -- I think he has good ideas and really cares and I hope the reign is a good one.

    Well done on your new hob! And the quiche. The beans in the quiche recipe sounded a tad odd to me. But I do like a good quiche!

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