soapdragon

Whereabouts are you, Pips? North or South? Am very envious of your beach proximity

Hello Pips! How's life in Devon? Have you got room for more girls?

I bought a pair of suede Hotter shoes and couldn't find the spray protector that I normally use. I decided to wear them anyway and, of course, managed not only to mark them but get them really dusty first time out and, as they are a pale grey, it really showed up - gah! Having found a tip online about cleaning suede I decided to try it and it worked amazingly!!! Micellar water....yup, that stuff that you use as a cleanser! Applied on a cotton wool pad and wiped over the shoe, left to dry and they look as new! Now I have found and applied the protector - phew! Does anyone have any other tips along similar lines?

Right, am trying to be techie and post a pic of a moped we saw in Bruges! Lends a whole new meaning to 'don't drink and drive'! Edited to add....wow, it worked! Isn't technology amazing!!!!! Fancy swapping your pink one for this CT? Probably far less nifty!

No captain turns down a willing crew! Sounds wonderful - hope you get out on the water again soon! ES and YS had a wonderful time last Saturday and are looking forward to tomorrow! It was hard to get them off the water! I understand that there will be more bacon buttys to make too so I won't be at a lose end!

Thanks, CT. Will give it a go this afternoon when I have more time and tea!

Patricia W - with the Franco Manca/museum connection and now the Merlin sailing stuff it's all getting rather spooky! Do PM me when you are back from hols! The boys had a fab time last Saturday and are looking forward to this weekend too. YS was out in an Opie but no idea about the rope that works the sail (technical term!) but just enjoyed pootling via the tiller! ES rigged a Laser Pico but had it nabbed and ended up in a Topper which he just about managed to concertina himself into! I ended up in the kitchen on bacon butty/tea duty! Now we have a strategy; next Sat we belt down and rig up and get the boys out on the water! OH is hoping that there might be a Merlin out as well, just for old times sake! We'll miss the Royal wedding but it will be much more fun!

Goodness, I am impressed with all the lovely photos and have NO idea how to do that! Its so easy with E Bay!

Well, you can always feed them up with lovely treats and sounds like they'll relish lots of cuddles. Have they been badly treated/neglected, do you think? Surely any pet owner with half a brain could spot lice for goodness sake! Poor little things!

WOW How cool is that!? Hope you have loads of fun with it (her!?) and stay safe!!!

Thanks for the tip about the pink wee; now we won't panic if that's what we find next time we clean the little critter out!

Great pics, PL. Given the fact that those poor women would have been laced into a tight corset or bodice too it's a wonder they managed to move at all. I think I'd have needed the 18th C equivalent of a sack barrow with a footman to get around Mind you, it's a very posh dress so those who'd have worn similar probably didn't need to do more than lift a tea bowl occasionally!

Hugo the hamster adores fresh dandelion leaves. Not too good for humans though as they are a diuretic and their country name is *****thebed! Maybe I should put an extra layer of newspaper and sawdust in the cage

Apparently cleavers/goosegrass has been eaten by humans fairly extensively throughout history. It's just about the first edible 'hedgerow' plant to appear in spring and is also high in vitamin c so perfect for all those hard working peasants out there

The other variety of rose that has absolutely gone mad is Iceberg. I have two (they were on offer ) and, tho I pruned well, they have put on masses of growth. Hope that's matched by lots of blooms!