Organic Growth

There is so much going on that I think it's about time to re-launch my Blog. Re-launch is rather overstating it. It was born several years ago when Nogbad had one and before he got in to Blip. I set up an account and posted once to see if it worked. Back in the bad old days of the Polaroid Blipfoto takeover, I considered leaving the sinking ship. Now of course we are sailing a new course and I have a fingernail on the tiller (assuming my bank account still had enough to honour my pledge/share dealings). However as a shareholder I ought to be considering the health of my organisation and save money where possible and this could easily be achieved by cutting my daily essays, thereby saving server costs.

Just a warning to the future Blip Director of Human Resources, the Senior Vice President Blip Marketing and the Blip Director Public Affairs: the day when you publish an annual report stating "Our employees are our most valuable asset", my PC is programmed to sell my shares and spark of a worldwide PC driven share sell off that will make the 2008 crash look like a children's birthday party.

Still need to catch up on a few things yesterday that I forgot. On the drive out for walk, had a wave in the village to Bello and MrsB (not in the same wave) and then saw young Jenny for the first time in probably 18 months. She was the working for the village nursing service, knows my private parts better than I do but most importantly, the dogs love her and were delighted as she came along the path leading her horse out to a field. So we spent a long time catching up on old times and wandering around the riding club stables where she is very active.

Today revisited the site of Flash's near fatal walk last Monday. He showed no sign whatsoever of having any fear. Surprised me as he is terribly over sensitive to such events. He did the whole walk as though he was 3 and not nearly 13. In the evening after various panic calls from the train station (two trains cancelled due to "Person Damage" on the line, the alternative word used after a suicide) Angie got home in time to take Flash for a check up and all looking great.

Last night my daughter had ordered me to now start stage 2 of my healthy eating programme, involving the consumption of apple vinegar. Not just any apple vinegar, not even old Scrumpy but ORGANIC apple vinegar, bugs and all. I was pretty sure I could get some at the Ottobeuren up-market supermarket but then had the brilliant idea of trying to find the organic shop where MrB had once bought me a swede for my Branston Pickle making attempts. After WWII, when they had been almost the only foodstuff available, swedes disappeared and are as good as unknown here. I was expecting a farm shop type plexi-glass covered porch with a tin for the cash and  a few carrots, potatoes and a turnip.

Well when I found it, I was bowled over by a superb large (350sqm) shop in the farm buildings with rows and rows of shelves with everything you could want connected with organic - from wine to water, apples to avocados, milk to meat, baby powder to blue cheese. They say around 6000 products. The place was heaving with customers and staff. I was in a daze and when asked by a member of staff if they could help, I said I need a schnapps - as she led me to the shelf, I tried to explain I needed it for immediate treatment to treat the shock! She luckily quickly understood and then recommended one of the organic apple vinegars, the much cheaper one which she said was at least as good. Will have to return with Angie, especially as it is really quite close by (10km) and will now always be the first stop when picking up daughter Kate from the airport so that she can select some proper vegetarian food herself rather than rely on the droopy organic lettuce head I bought from Aldi, two days before she arrived.

In the Blip, the shop entrance through the large wooden barn door and everything to the left. On the right an (organic?) hairdressers and a wall painting of St Christopher. Although Christopher got downgraded by the catholic church in the 1970s, I still to this day have a medal in the car given to me by my early 1970's girlfriends mother - has worked a treat.

Finally on the way home spotted a tractor out on the road, an Eicher, the cult make around here. I stopped and approached the operator, I guess also of pensionable age, asking him if it was Tuesday today; "Yes, no, no it's Wednesday" - there followed a long chat when I explained Tractor Tuesday and Blip and, and, and.... The tractor - see Extra Photo- is one of four (not three as I wrote a year ago) belonging to a local institution for treatment of young people with various, often drug related, problems. I'm not sure if it's the same tractor as in that Blip but took down the details - An Eicher Tiger EM200b, 1950ccm shown as built in 1963 but apparently the registration papers showed it was on the road in November 1962. At some point was mothballed and spent 29 years in the farm shed but a few years ago was taken out, fueled, started and driven to it's MOT and got through without any faults! The driver, I forgot his name Stefan??, was busy picking up rubbish on the side of the road - bottles, tins, paper cups and all those wonderful things hedges are designed to store - everything is organic with the right marketing, labelling and lots of time - yes even radioactive waste.

OH AND VERY FINALLY - As this is an organic Tractor Tuesday entry delayed by the early arrival of spring and the clocks being moved forward early: Does anyone remember the Scrumpy "champions", the Wurzels and their "I've got a brand new combine harvester"?

OH AND TOTALLY FINALLY  - Where does the name "Wurzel" come from?
Germany -its the word for "root" as in Wurzelgemuse "root vegetables" and also that mathematical thing that I never cracked on my slide ruler.