Taking your ferret on holiday?

I’ve just  heard a bewildering snippet on the news, saying that if we want to take cats, dogs or ferrets over to Europe after Brexit we’ll have to see a vet several months ahead. Cats and dogs I can understand (though I’ve yet to meet a cat that would appreciate being conveyed abroad for a fortnight), but ferrets? Really?

I confess that I know little about ferrets (apart from what I’ve gleaned from the Archers, and hearing about people with a predilection for putting them up their trousers; why on God’s good earth would anyone in their right mind want to do that?), but does anyone, ever, take their ferret with them on holiday?

Any ferret-lovers reading this - please enlighten me. I’d really love to know.

The other royal wedding

Next month, Princess Eugenie is marrying somebody or other (does anyone reading this know his name? No? I thought not. You may not even know who Princess E is, either), and her parents* are upset because the BBC are, quite rightly, refusing to televise the wedding. The couple intend to do (part of) the tour of Windsor that Meghan and Harry did, in a horse drawn carriage. The policing of this event is going to cost the taxpayer 2 million pounds.

I don’t blame the couple - they are young and...well, young. But what are the parents thinking of? Why are the authorities sanctioning this exorbitant cost? Surely someone somewhere should have said no? And who is going to bother to watch, either on TV or on the streets of Windsor? Those who do are probably more likely to be looking out for Kate and William and Meghan and Harry et al rather than the happy couple.

For the record, I am a royalist. I love the fact that we have an apolitical head of state, and the queen has done her job all these years with exemplary forbearance and charm. But this is going too far, isn't it?

Well, isn’t it?

*Prince Andrew and Fergie. Wouldn’t you know it?

An interesting surprise

Well, this was a bit of a surprise! Dead Ernest (last night - it's been deposed now) was Amazon no.1 in Christian romantic fiction. I'd no idea there was such a thing, and the link in this novel is a bit tenuous (an almost-adulterous vicar), but I'm not knocking it. I'd hate the book to be considered churchy or prudish, but at least its being considered! (Still available on Kindle for only 99p. Just
saying…)

How old is your heart?

This is a popular quiz doing the rounds at the moment. I did it here and was told that my heart is four years older than I am! All my readings, history etc were more or less normal, I had no risk factors, and I was the ideal weight for my height. The quiz doesn't mention lifestyle (drinking habits, exercise, diet - all of mine are healthy), so why add four years to my heart's age? I'm mystified.

As a nurse, I'm not at all worried about this; just annoyed. But I can see the "worried well" thronging to surgeries and clinics if similar verdicts to the one I received are dished out.

Out of interest, do take the test, and let me know how much older (or younger) than you your heart is supposed to be. You don't have to reveal your age!

Birthday treat?

How does this grab you for part of a menu?

STARTERS

DIVED SCALLOPS WITH BABY SQUID,
CROWN PRINCE PUMPKIN PURÉE, SQUID INK SAUCE

BUTTER POACHED LOBSTER, JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE,
PEAR AND SORREL (£7.50 supplement)

SEARED CURED MACKEREL, MACKEREL TARTARE, CUCUMBER, AVOCADO AND LEMON GRASS PURÉE, WASABI

RABBIT LOIN, RILLETTE AND PARFAIT, HERITAGE CARROTS,
CARROT AND MUSCAT JELLY

PIGS TROTTER STUFFED WITH SNAILS AND OX TONGUE,
ROASTED GARLIC CREAM

TERRINE OF GUINEA FOWL, HAM HOCK AND
SALT BAKED CELERIAC, QUINCE, HIBISCUS SYRUP

Not my bag, I’m afraid, but the menu chosen by John  for his birthday treat. I  like simple food; food I understand; food that doesn’t have to be translated or explained (by a waiter with one hand tied behind his back. Why do they do that?). And hibiscus syrup? Did someone once think to himself: hm. Pretty flowers. I bet they’d make a nice syrup to go with guinea foul. And pigs trotter stuffed with snails. Really? Who actually has these ideas in the first place?

I think I shall take a picnic 😋