Quiztime

For this special Quiztime, something unusual is about to happen. You are going to be presented with ten questions from a guest quiz setter. She is called Kelly and she resides in the state that is shown in red - Arkansas in the heart of the USA. Let's see how you do. Answers will follow in the "Comments" section as per usual....

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1. Which state in the US has the only diamond mine open to the public where the policy is “finders keepers”? (Clue: See above)

2. What year did Pope Gregory XIII propose changing from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar?

a) 1473 b) 1547 c) 1582 d) 2000

3. What was the name of Charles Darwin’s ship?

a) HMS Beetle b) HMS Beagle c) HMS Bagel d) HMS Galapagos

4. Which architect was the founder of the Bauhaus Art School?

a) Walter Gropius b) Mies van der Rohe 

 c) Frank Lloyd Wright e) Louis Sullivan

5. What food widely served in the American south is similar to polenta?

6. Who is this American band leader who disappeared over the English Channel in December of 1944?

a) Benny Goodman b) Tommy Dorsey c) Glenn Miller d) Bob Crosby

7. What traditionally flocks to San Juan Capistrano, California each year in March?

a) swallows b) pilgrims c) monarch butterflies d) hummingbirds

8. What infamous blogger hosts the Laughing Horse Awards each year?

a) Texas Toast b) Yorkshire Pudding 

 c) Boston Baked Beans d) Singapore Sling

9. Both forms of the Black Death are caused by the bacterium yersinia pestis. Which form is transmitted by inhaling bacteria from the infected animal or individual and more deadly?

a) Bubonic Plague b) Pneumonic Plague d) Rhymes With Plague

10. Match the Brontë sister to the novel she wrote.

a) Anne                                                                        1) "Jane Eyre"

b) Charlotte                                            2) "Wuthering Heights"

c) Emily                                    3) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"

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That's it! Thank you Kelly!

How did you do?

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All I have for you tonight is six more sunny pictures from yesterday's walk in the borough of  Barnsley. Above - that is St Paul's Church of England church in Monk Bretton. It was built in the 1870s to serve the area's growing population - all connected with the coal mining industry and associated work.

Below - that is The River Dearne moving through its valley in the heart of Barnsley. Once it was little more than a filthy  drain for industry but now it is a pretty clean river and features importantly in the Dearne Valley Country Park. There are even  fish in its waters nowadays...

Above - the view from Monk Bretton Park north to Athersley South. Below  - Manor Farm in Monk Bretton. The farmhouse dates back to the early 17th century so I guess that it is older than the  United States if you overlook the long era of native American habitation before white settlers first arrived with their wicked ways and a fervent desire to conquer the continent....

Above - another image of the Barry Hines Memorial in Barnsley town centre. It was unveiled in 2021 and paid for by public subscription. The sculptor, Graham Ibbeson, gave his services free of charge. I think that it is a mighty fine statue and I am so pleased that the town honoured Barry Hines in this way.

Below - proof that not all English folk live  in Downton Abbeys. Humble terraced  homes beyond the junction of Burton Road and Hope Street in an area called West Green between Cudworth and Monk Bretton...

Barnsley

A boy and a kestrel. They were made famous by the late Barnsley writer - Barry Hines in his novel, "A Kestrel For A Knave". Both Shirley and I met him - she as his practice nurse and me at a political meeting in the Sheffield Trades and Labour Club.  Now there's this impressive memorial statue to Barry Hines in the very heart of Barnsley. I am delighted that he has not been forgotten. Many is the time I read "Kes" with classes of teenagers. It always went down well. A sure fire winner.

Today I caught a train from Sheffield Midland Station to Barnsley. After photographing the statue, I then went back to the Transport Interchange and climbed aboard a Number 32 bus bound for Cudworth which is one of Barnsley's suburban villages - all of which were once associated with coal mining.

Soon I was back out in the sunshine walking to Smithies and then on to Monk Bretton before descending into the valley of The River Dearne. As I passed Oakwell football ground, I could hear the combined voices of thousands of football fans as Barnsley FC took on  Blackpool FC in English League Division One.

At three forty three, I was on a homebound train - sitting at a table with three black women. Two of them - probably in their forties - had been clothes shopping and were well-groomed. Lord knows what they made of Mr Scruffy. The other woman was seventeen and I had witnessed a lot of her phone conversation on the station platform - much talk about "God" and how "God" guided her decisions.

So yes - a nice day out in Barnsley and a good, long walk - ticking off "Geograph" squares I had not previously covered. I was pretty weary when I unlocked our front door at four forty five and noted with the aid of our television that Barnsley had lost by three goals to nil

Remembering Patrick O'Connor by the Dearne Valley Lake. He was born ten days after me and died just two weeks short of his 70th birthday

Remembering Dylan Sharland who was born in 1977 but did not make his 30th birthday. The bench had so many offerings on it that you could 

not sit there to admire the view of The Dearne Valley

Street sign on the street that is still  home to

Monk Bretton Working Men's Club.

Crocuses in Monk Bretton Park speak 

eloquently of this season - springtime!

Health

Alpha blocker prescribed

Down at our health centre, young doctors come and go. It is a training centre for The University of Sheffield Medical School. They stay for three months and then they are off to their next position - perhaps in orthopaedics or coronary care or geriatrics. When you are a young doctor you never stop learning.

Since it was discovered that I have high blood pressure, I have seen four of these doctors - all women. I heard today on BBC Radio 4 that the number of women doctors working in the NHS now matches the number of  male doctors. It represents quite a turnaround and an achievement that our country should recognise with pride.

They still haven't been able to get my blood pressure fully under control. I have taken different pills with different strengths and now I am adding doxasozin to my cocktail. I believe it is some sort of alpha blocker. Anyway, I hope it will have the desired result without too many side effects.

All of this pill taking has come as a bit of a shock to my self-esteem. Previously, I never took any medication. I was wild and free but now I am corralled. They have got me.

At the end of this week's doctor's appointment, I asked the young doctor if she would have a look at the corner of my mouth where there has been a swelling like an ulcer for months now. My dentist referred me to the local dental hospital last September but it had remained a waiting game.

The young doctor, Rachel,  photographed the problem area and sent that picture straight to the dental hospital whereupon I received a quick referral. This very evening I had an appointment with a dentistry professor and he will be booking me in for day surgery in the next ten days. The lump will be excised and then my mouth will be sewn back up. Hopefully, the excised material will not prove to be cancerous though it could be - only laboratory analysis can determine that.

The professor was a very nice man and we enjoyed some banter. He joked that I would need to keep a stiff upper lip after the surgery and he also made me laugh when he said that I still had the look of a schoolboy about me with my floppy fringe and my mischievous smile. Why wasn't I still teaching? I suggested to him that he should have been a stand-up comedian rather than a professor of dentistry. I would guess that I am twenty years older than him.

I think I will give Dr Rachel a "Thank You" card as she departs from our health centre. Getting me into the dental hospital is not the only extra service she has provided. She also hurried my urology appointment along but I would rather not discuss that matter here and please don't ask about it. It was just between Dr Rachel and  I.

Granddaughters

Here they are again - our lovely girls. We look after Margot every Wednesday. She is sixteen months old now, striding around like a little cowgirl who has just clambered off her horse. What a strong little character she is - often verbalising at full volume.

It is as if she has invented her own unique language and appears puzzled that nobody else quite understands it. She can eat for England - her mouth widening into a circle where she expects food to enter forthwith.

Today it was World Book Day and Margot dressed as Little Miss Sunshine for her day at nursery school. You should have seen her all in yellow. What a little darling!

On Thursdays, we look after Phoebe all day. This morning we took her down to Millhouses Park so she could ride her little bicycle along the flat paths there. She is four years and two months old now and like her little sister, she has a strong, determined character.

After expending energy in the children's playground and upon her bicycle, we took her to the popular park cafe where  she enjoyed a "Smarties Pop-Up" ice cream. Later, she went swimming with Shirley and tonight she is having another sleepover with us.

Oh - how we love those little girls and what a privilege it has been both to watch them grow and to play a significant part in their lives. So many laughs. So much joy. Long may it continue.

Quiztime

It's "Quiztime" once again and we are back to what you know about cartoons. As usual, the answers will be supplied in the comments section. Good luck!

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1) In which Stone Age town did The Flintstones live?

(a) Fossilville  (b) Bedrock  (c) Granite City (d) Los Igneous

2) What were Donald Duck's nephews called?

(a) Quackers, Crackers & Knackers (b) Mike, Spike and Tyke

(c) Ronnie, Johnny & Sonny (d) Huey, Dewey & Louie

3) This is a character from "The Simpsons" but who is it?

(a) Maggie Simpson (b) Lisa Simpson 

(c) Sally Simpson (d) "Baby Doll" Simpson

4) This British cartoon character appears in the children's comic, "The Dandy" but who is it?

(a) Demented Don (b) Desperate Dan (c) Evil Elon (d) Jackass J.D.

5) Who is this famous Australian cartoon character?

6) This is Wickie, a young Viking character who appears in a show called, "Wickie und die starken Männer" -  but in which country?

(a) Spain (b) China (c) Germany (d) Saudi Arabia

7) Who is this Disney cartoon animation star?

8) The first feature length animated film was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). This was one of the dwarfs but can you name him?

9) Who is this famous cartoon bird?

10) What is the name of this futuristic cartoon family?

(a) The Gagarins (b) The Jetsons (c) The Tomorrows  (d) The McRockets

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There. That wasn't so bad was it? How did you do?