The 1945 government was probably the most visionary government we have ever had and were determined that things would improve for everybody. In 1948 the NHS came into being and thank goodness we have it at this awful time. It is the jewel in the crown of this country that unites us all. So keep making sure our rulers don’t allow it to me neglected. Quiz questions follow a medical theme today.

More House Martins today and I also heard the explosive burst of song of a Cetti’s Warbler.

Yesterday’s answers to Books aimed at young people. I used to love reading books like Stig to my class as a young teacher and I loved the way Ted Hughes introduced the Iron Man’s adversary!

a) The Hungry Caterpillar ate 5 oranges on Friday  b) Axel Scheffler illustrated the Gruffalo    c) Barney was Stig’s friend   d) Joey was War Horse and the Albert who was his friend    e) The Space-Bat-Angel- dragon fought the Iron Man.

Medical Questions

a) What ancient Greek is known as the father of medicine?        b) Which vitamin is known to prevent night blindness?     c) What’s the itchy skin tinea pedis better known as?    d) Which is the largest bone in the human body?   e) Who was the Health Secretary who introduced the NHS ?

On a roll with themes for the quiz-I was worried I was drying up. Today’s title will give you a clue for the quiz at the end of the blog.

Had a wonderful ride for today’s exercise got me thinking what is the collective noun for Primroses possibly a profusion? Saw a few Bluebells as well I hope we will still be allowed out when they really explode everywhere.

Garden Bird update-Chiffchaff, two Sparrowhawks up high possibly male and female and House Martin briefly over.

Yesterday’s small, tiny miniscule little answers were

a) Vatican City is the smallest country   b) Mercury is the smallest planet   c) Rhode Island the smallest US State  d) The Bee Humming Bird is the smallest bird it is only found on Cuba–you had to get Bee because there are many species of Hummingbird !  e) Dwarf Sperm Whale is the smallest Whale (I had to look that one up!)

To mark our first  Beer and Books virtual meeting tonight I thought we ought to have a literary theme! Literary themes may  pop up from time to time so today’s quiz is all on Children’s Literature I don’t think it is that hard!

a) What did the Very Hungry Caterpillar eat on Friday?    b) Who illustrated the Gruffalo?  c) Who befriended Stig of the Dump?  d) What is the name of War Horse and who was his human friend? e) Who did the Iron Man by Ted Hughes have to fight?

I was initially struggling for today’s title and theme. However, the “exercise” slot has previously given me inspiration and today is no exception! Delightful walk around our beautiful village and I was dropping off the Wren biography ( I have just finished reading) to a friend when the idea came to me. The Wren is of course a tiny bird (not the smallest UK bird of course) so today’s quiz at the end of this blog is the Smallest!

I have at last managed to knuckle down to some writing over the last couple of days. I am currently working on a story based on a Gloucestershire Legend, it is fairly raw at the moment and will need several redrafts  but it has potential and it is  developing. Watch this space! I also need to start rewriting last year’s Two Severn Bores script on the River Severn.

Yesterday’s quiz answers

a) Ford Transit came out in 1965    b) Van Morrison was born in Bloomfield, Belfast   c) Dracula was written by Bram Stoker and was first published in 1897  d) Starry, Starry Night came out in 1971   e) Van Dijk’s first club was Groningen and Celtic was his first UK club.

Today’s “Small” Quiz

!) What is the smallest country in the world?     2) What is the smallest planet in our solar system   3) What is the smallest US state     4) What is the smallest bird in the world? (I often tell the young people at Wick Court this fact)   5) What is the smallest whale in the world?   Good Luck!!!!

Just to finish I have to mention the sad death of Raddy Antic. Raddy (a Serbian) was an outstanding footballer and manager (the only person to manage the three big giants of Spanish football). For all Luton Town  fans he will always be remembered for “that goal” at Manchester City one of our legendary moments! COYH!

Everybody is at it finding those jobs they have avoided for ever! I managed to reorganise my tool box last week that has been a mess since the Norman Conquest! Today it was up and down the step ladder as I gave “Cedric” our wonderful camper van a well deserved wash. It may be a little while before he is used properly. He was named after a Dragon that lived with me in our loft and caused us a few problems that featured in many of my stories. Cedric managed to send burnt letters to my old school from places like St Helena, Iceland and Peru! There is a picture of sparkling clean Cedric the van below (Cedric the Dragon has photo phobia!)

So today’s quiz is rather tenuous it is on Vans!!!!

a) When was the Ford Transit Van first introduced 1965, 1969 or 1975?      b) Where was singer Van Morrison born?     c) Van Helsing first appears in the novel Dracula when was it first published (I’ll give you 5 years either side) and who wrote it?   d) Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night was painted in 1869 how many years afterwards did the song Starry Starry Night come out by Don Maclean? e) What was  Virgil van Dijk Liverpool’s centre back first club in Holland and then in Britain?

Well we all know the saying “One Swallow doesn’t make a Summer…..”  Today for our exercise we walked around the lake in Frampton and my target was to see my first Swallow of the 2020. Lovely walk and I saw a Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker some good water birds but still no Swallow. I went up to Splatt Bridge and Bingo there was a Swallow and also a Willow Warbler. So I was very happy but irony of ironies as I walked back into our house two Swallows flew over the house!

No quiz today (it is Sunday after all). Yesterday’s answer to the 6 species of Deer you can see in the UK are     a) Red Deer   b) Roe Deer  c) Fallow Deer d) Sika Deer e) Muntjac     f) Chinese Water Deer . Four of these species have been introduced the only true indigenous species are Red Deer and Roe Deer. Fallow Deer were introduced by the Normans the Romans had introduced them but they had died out.       Sika, Water Deer and Muntjac were introduced in the 19th and 20th century.

Onto today’s exercise I was cycling over Selsey Common and a Roe Deer came hurtling across in front of me. It appeared for a moment to be blind to me hence today’s title-boom boom!

So today’s quiz is inspired by that -there are six species of deer living wild in Britain. I have given you the one that nearly hit me can you name the other five?

Yesterday’s cheese answers

a) The smelly cheese that revived Wallace was Stinking Bishop b) Roquefort Cheese is made from Sheep’s milk c) The German stinky cheese is Limburger  d) The people were injured in the Cheese Rolling on Cooper’s Hill Gloucestershire e) Cheshire Cheese is the crumbly cheese (I gave you plenty of clues!)

Short blog today. Today’s title is taken from our exercise for today! I know you are thinking has the lock down got to him, how can cheese be related to exercise! Well possibly;  we cycled to Stroud to the wonderful cheese stall in the Shambles Market (still open with strict distancing guidelines). So we stocked up with some wonderful diverse cheeses-guess what today’s quiz is about?

First yesterday’s answers-they were all well known poems and you probably encountered them at school so I hope it wasn’t that taxing-depending on how long ago school was!

a) Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll      b) Adlestrop by Edward Thomas  c) The Soldier by Rupert Brooke     d) The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes    e) The Eagle by Alfred Tennyson 

Cheese Quiz

a) Which odourous British cheese had a demand increase of 500% after it was seen to revive Wallace in the 2005 movie “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit?

b) What is unusual about the milk to make Roquefort Cheese?     c) A stinky German Cheese?   d) In which cheese related event were 25 people hurt in May 2005?  e) Dense and crumbly cheese that should be named by fans of Lewis Carroll? (and stop grinning!)

On my exercise ride today as I was climbing up Stouts Hill I caught the early scent of wild garlic-should be more pungent in the next couple of weeks. I will look forward to Bluebells later this month. The good news from the garden we are seeing the male and female Blackcaps regularly; normally only see them in Winter hoping we might have a nest nearby!

Yesterday’s Answers

Substitute by The Who       Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits         No Surrender by Bruce Springsteen (The Boss)        Time by Pink Floyd    Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf

Today’s idea for questions came from looking at my Book Case -it is First Lines of Poems name the Poet and the Poem-fairly straightforward I think-maybe in a later blog maybe a poetic theme for the questions. Good luck!

a)  “Twas brillig, and slithy toves”     b) “Yes I remember Addlestrop…”        c) “If I should die, think only this of me…”      d) “The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees…”  e) “He clasps the crag with crooked hands…..”

Always looking for ideas for blog questions; I do  hope you all appreciate the wide breadth of questions -thanks for the many comments you have emailed me.  So people do read it!

Today’s title acknowledges  where the idea for the questions came from-yes doing the ironing! In the past I have often done the ironing when cricket is on because you can watch each ball and then iron while the bowler goes back to his mark. No sport, so a change of approach!  Today I was rocking away while ironing (I apologise if that image is giving anyone nightmares!) The first question is from one of the songs I was semi dancing/ironing  to today! I apologise to any teachers past or present for the third quote!

Yesterday’s answers first on animal homes- Otter-Holt   Eagle-Eyrie  Hare-Form Squirrel-Drey Crocodile-Nest       

Guess the song and the artist/s-those of a certain generation should find them easy- I may do songs/ballads for future blog questions.

“I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth”

“There’s so many different worlds…….. so many different suns  ………..And we have just one world……..but we live in different ones”

“We learned more from a three minute record than we have learned in school”

“Then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you to run to run you missed the starting gun……….”

“……..There’s a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye…….and a blade shining oh so bright…”

Finally a picture from the time when football was in black and white before the Premier League! I wondered whatever happened to him?