The unaided eye

Still Going

You can see: the left wing is a bit damaged. Two-spot markings. Nice yellowy colour. Proboscis - curly bit at the mouth end with which butterflies drink nectar out of plants.

Our friend is still going well in the safety of its home-made butterfly house. It can't fly well so I try to keep it out of trouble for the moment. It sleeps at night and wakes up in the day. It likes warmth from about 25°C, but becomes immobile if the temperature drops below 20 or so. It can still move if necessary in a cold temperature - I know this because when I first found it inside the fridge it could flutter and display its defensive "eye" markings on its wings. Anything with big eyes like that - you'd better keep away! It worked on me the first time.

I'm feeding it on a solution of honey and sugar in water. It is fed this on a chopstick. Since today I have a bit of tissue on the end which can soak up the solution. It would be nice to give it something to drink out of (like a flower) so it can use its proboscis properly.

Ideally this butterfly will get better and start flying properly, then the weather will get warm so I can release it into a lovely garden somewhere near. I try to give it some quality of life but it is designed to live outside, even if it is more dangerous out there.

I will see how it is looking.

A Colourful Visitor

I was looking in the fridge for the butter.

I looked for a while but I couldn't see it.

Then I moved some potatoes at the bottom of the fridge.

And I found something buttery.

But it wasn't butter.

It was a BUTTERFLY!

That's not normally found in a fridge, is it.

So I have taken it out on a piece of paper.

I let it warm up in the room.

Then I started to think about releasing it.

One of its wings seems not to be working very well, so it was a bit hard to release. When it got warm it started walking across the table towards the light. I'm sure that's a healthy sign but I knew there was a long drop coming up if it fell off the table. I tried letting it out of the window, thinking it might be happier outside even if it was damaged. But the wind was too strong! It's very windy lately.

Then I left it on my doorstep for a while. I thought it might fly away or go to a butterfly-friendly place. I looked again after a while and it was still there! I think it was too cold outside.

So now it is living with me.

I left it some lettuce at first, but it seems that's what the caterpillars eat. Butterflies eat nectar. Or they drink it. They have a long tube that sucks it out of flowers.

So I have been trying to feed the butterfly. It has been given water with honey in it, on the end of a chopstick. I think it got stuck a bit but it's OK now. Honey is rather sticky as Pooh will tell you...

I hope it will get stronger!

Let's see what happens.

Pianoforte

I don't know if people realise how much skill it takes to play, not just the wrong notes, but the right wrong notes - and to play them at the right time.

No, my dears, I'm not talking about my piano-playing...

Christmas Pudding - Your Instructions

To those people who kindly accepted the gift of one of my premier high-quality Christmas puddings - here are your instructions!

1. Condition after transportation

The muslin may have slipped a bit during transit. If so, either pull it down at the sides so it gets tighter (more like the skin of a drum) or you can even re-tie the string if you wish.

2. Storage

Fridge or somewhere cool is good. The muslin has brushed with clarified butter so obviously that will solidify as it gets cooler, and if it's warmer it smells less attractive in my opinion. It makes no difference to the pudding though! Don't worry!

3. Heating

In order to eat it, you have to heat it!

Having removed all the plastic packaging, you will now have a pudding in a basin covered with muslin and tied up with string. OK?

To warm it it needs to be steamed for 2 1/2 hours (two and a half hours).
Use a large saucepan. Put something in the bottom of it like a very small bowl or saucer. Then put some water in the saucepan and put the pudding on top of the bowl or saucer, with the little end at the bottom and the muslin at the top. The water should come no more than halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Put the lid on the pan. Turn on the heat so the water starts to boil then leave it simmering for 2.5 hours, adding boiling water if the pan starts to get dry. Just let it simmer, it doesn't need to be boiling fiercely thank you very much! And don't let the water get in the pudding, we are steaming it not boiling it!

You could also do a similar method, but using a roasting tin with water in it and the pudding basin in the water. Cover everything with foil to keep the steam in, add water if it starts to dry out. Oven temperature 150 degrees centigrade or equivalent.

4. Sauce

(for 10 people)
500 ml (18 fl oz) double cream
70 g (2.5 oz) sugar
8 g (1 tsp) potato flour (or cornflour), mixed with 1 tbsp milk
70 ml (3 fl oz) brandy

Put the cream and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and reduce gently by a quarter. Stir in the flour and boil for 1 minute. Add the brandy. Keep the sauce hot without letting it boil.

5. Serving

When you have finished heating the pudding, remove the string and muslin and the round piece of greaseproof paper. Now we're getting closer!

Gently release the pudding from its basin. put it onto your serving plate with the big end at the bottom, like the Great Pyramid except round!

Pour a bit of brandy on it, touch a flame to it and it should burn merrily and mysteriously with a magical flame. Turn the lights down to appreciate. Don't trip over the dog though.

After the flame has burned out, cut the pudding into portions and bash them gently and stylishly into everybody's bowls. Then you can put the brandy cream on.

Then eat it!

Notes:
tsp: teaspoon
tbsp: tablespoon
oz: ounce
ml: millilitre
fl oz: fluid ounce

I hope this wasn't complicated! Good luck!

And of course, Merry Christmas, and to all a good night!

Basketball Saves Lives

Basketball saves lives - it saves the lives of dolphins.

How can this be, you ask?

Dolphins sometimes get bits of plastic stuck in their stomachs. They are friendly but it's not very friendly of us to leave plastic flosting around for them to swallow.

But dolphins are long. Tall is what they would be, but they are normally not standing up.

Dolphins are long, and to get the plastic out can be difficult. That is where basketball players can be useful.

Currently the world's tallest man, Bao Xishun (鲍喜顺, "The Mast") played basketball when he was in the army. He had to leave because of rheumatism, so is no longer a basketball player as far as I know. That is the only thing detracting from the truthfulness of today's assertion that "Basketball Saves Lives", but I think it's broadly true. How so? Because the people at the Royal Jidi Ocean World had two dolphins who were suffering with trapped plastic in them, so they called Bao Xishun so he could reach in and get it out. It worked! The same thing happened when a California dolphin swallowed a screw in 1978. The dolphin's name was Mr. Spock, but they had to call Mr. Ray for assistance - Clifford Ray, player for the Chicago Bulls ('71-'74) and the Golden State Warriors ('74-'81). His arm is 114cm long - 8cm longer than Bao Xishun actually, which I bet the dolphin was very glad of. On the whole!

So there you are. That is your useful fact for today.

Recommendations

There are 25 countries in the world that have no army. Did you assume, like I probably did, that all countries have an army?

I suppose we are used to conflict - it is the rule rather than the exception.

Among the 25, there are different reasons for the absence of an armed force. In a number of cases, the US military takes care of any hostile situation that might arise.

But I can see at least one that deliberately doesn't have an army.
Here is what I read on Wikipedia about Costa Rica:

On December 1, 1948, president José Figueres Ferrer of Costa Rica abolished the country's army after victory in the civil war in that year. In a ceremony in the Cuartel Bellavista, Figueres broke a wall with a mallet symbolizing the end of Costa Rica's military spirit. In 1949 the abolition of the military was introduced in the Article 12 of the 1949 Constitution.

The budget previously dedicated to the military now is dedicated to security, education and culture; the country maintains armed Polices Guard forces. The museum Museo Nacional de Costa Rica was placed in the Cuartel Bellavista as a symbol of commitment to culture.

In 1986, president Oscar Arias Sánchez declared December 1 as the Día de la Abolición del Ejército (Military abolition day) with law #8115.

Unlike its neighbours, Costa Rica has not endured a civil war since.

This is my first recommendation for today: staying away from conflicts.

Further recommendations:

Squid
Squid Ink
Mushrooms: Morels, or any kind, dry-fried for a while, then with lemon juice and black pepper added - tastes of autumn

Quiz: what is the tastiest part of the prawn?

Wild Flowers

Don't say I never send you flowers!

Mister Men

Something strange is happening to the Mr. Men!

The Mr. Men is a series of children's books written in the 1970s by Roger Hargreaves, and published first in England. Roger died in 1988 so after that his son Adam carried on writing the books. He still does, but the whole Mr. Men "brand" was sold for a lot of money - so much that if you spent all the money on Mr. Men books and laid them out end to end, they would stretch round the earth five times! (They cost £2 each and I hope I worked that out right!)

Actually, they are worth more than that. They are very good.

I have two that were printed in the 1970s (because I was produced in the 1970s!): Mr. Sneeze and Mr. Funny. At that time, here were the other books you could get:


And, on the front, this is the kind of thing you would see:



Today, the only difference on the front covers is that the signature by Roger Hargreaves doesn't slope anymore. It is upright:

That's ok. Which do you prefer? (PS Mr. Silly looks funny, eh?)

The other changes are not so OK, in my opinion. First of all, look at what has happened to the back cover line-up of Mr. Men. They have all changed! Look at Mr. Funny and compare him with his picture above:



This is not the same Mr. Man! I don't think the colours came out right here, but one major difference is that his gloves aren't the right colour! Mr. Funny's body is green and his gloves are yellow. In the new picture his body and his gloves are green. Hmm, not good I think. Then look at the eyes. This is the most disturbing change. What is wrong with the eyes? Look at them! They are completely different now, and have no character! The bold lines of the original have been replaced by this hideous cosmetic surgery nightmare operation look. Maybe someone thinks he looks more human? Well, these days, perhaps that is true - when so many people in the public eye do have this weird plastic surgery/botox injection eye-look. Is that what it is? Has Mr. Funny had botox??? I don't believe it! He would never do that! This is the man who cheered up all the animals in the zoo when they had colds! But now they would have us believe that he is a fading star of the 70s, clinging on too long to his share of the spotlight and sinking ever deeper into a whirlpool of alcoholism like many before him (Krusty the Clown?)

Hmm. The Mr. Funny inside the books is the same one as before. Perhaps this back-cover image is some look-alike or impersonator they used for publicity material. Obviously Mr. Funny, like Saddam Hussein, is a person of such importance that he has many doubles for use in public work. I understand.

Having suggested that the insides of the books have not changed, I am afraid this is not true in the case of Mr. Dizzy. What on earth has happened to the images? They look like they have been scanned in by dogs. Or hamsters! (They find it harder to operate the mouse. Which wasn't supposed to be a joke. But I suppose you could see it as one if you want). Just look at Mr. Dizzy's edges:


Dear me. That's what it looks like in the book, I am afraid. Not good!

So you see, I am not completely happy with the state of the Mr. Men books today. But I can tell you: if you want to read them, they are all still with us, even if there is something strange on the back, even if there are a few odd things about them today. The insides are the same (except Mr. Dizzy and I haven't checked all of the books so I can't promise everyone else has escaped this treatment).

They come highly recommended (by me). They have been translated into 20 languages, so you should be seeing some near you! In fact, you are reading this in English so I would recommend you look for the English ones. They are the first and best!

Let me know what you think.