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In this blogposting…
* AGM XXX
* Mulled Wine With A Kick
* A Warning To Us All

* Feed the Birds
* Seasonal Arrivals
* A Fable From France
On Donner, On Blitzen….

AGM XXX
Our AGM took place as planned, despite the admitted awkwardness of the date and the comparative inaccessibility of the venue.  And we loved every minute of it.

I’m pleased as punch that Kev is finally able to say that he has attended one of our AGMs - and that we held it at his workplace (South Tyneside College).

There was much seasonal good cheer; as you can see, even the lasses behind the coffee-bar counter joined in.

Thanks to Vivienne, Hildie and specially Kev for keeping the truckshunter flag flying so raucously!

Anyone who can suggest what Vivienne might have been thinking when her picture was taken - get in touch!

MULLED WINE WITH A KICK
This recipe for mulled wine was sent to me by my old friend Brian.  I dare you to try it.

If you do, get back to me with a description of the taste - and the treatment you needed to recover.

Pour one bottle of red wine into a heat proof jug.   Add a wine glass of port and a wine glass of cointreau.   Then some brown sugar and the juice of a lemon.   Place the heatproof jug into a saucepan of simmering water in order to heat the wine.  Whilst it is heating, shove in a cinnamon stick (cinnamon, good for lowering cholesterol).  Then when the mulled wine is really warmed up, kick your shoes off, put your feet up and imbibe.

I love the line about cinnamon being good for your cholesterol.  Honestly - any excuse! 

A WARNING TO US ALL
Another near-perfect example of human frailty sent to me by Eric and Jean…

The people in the blue car had a 25-litre bucket of paint on the back seat when they had the accident.

The ambulance driver wouldn't let the female paramedic out of the ambulance because she couldn't stop laughing; he said it wasn't professional.

He was able to treat the sad-looking driver, who was apparently overcome with emulsion.

FEED THE BIRDS
Today is the first day of winter and now that the colder weather has arrived with a vengeance, please don’t forget to feed the birds, many of which will be having a rough time of it right now.

You can buy food for wild birds in most supermarkets, or just make do with crushed stale bread, a few peanuts or half an apple.  Improvise.

Two things to remember, though.  Firstly, if you start to feed the birds, please remember to keep on doing so.  They will come looking for food.

And secondly...if you use fat balls, which are very popular with garden birds, please remove them from the mesh netting first.  Birds can get tragically trapped in it by their beaks or feet.

SEASONAL ARRIVALS
Speaking of birds…

At this time of year, on the Blue Bus programme, we always received calls from listeners telling us that the redwings had arrived from Scandinavia and were flocking somewhere locally - including, usually, the car park at the RVI!

I miss those calls very much.  Can someone tell me if they’re here yet?

A FABLE FROM FRANCE
Largely thanks to the diligence and enthusiasm of 17th-century writers Charles Perrault and Jean de la Fontaine, France is undoubtedly the home of the fairytale and the fable.  They spent years collecting old French folktales and transforming them into stories that are told and re-told all over the world at this time of year; La Petite Chaperon Rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Le Chat Botte (Puss in Boots) and many more - including the story behind Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty - all originated with Perrault or de la Fontaine.

So, to rouse you from your over-indulged seasonal torpor, here’s a short rhyming fable sent to me by Serge recently.  It was written by Jean de la Fontaine in 1668.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make a stab at translating it.  It’s called Le corbeau et le renard - 'The Crow and the Fox'.

Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l'odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage:
‘Hé! bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli! que vous me semblez beau!
Sans mentir, si votre ramage
Se rapporte à votre plumage,
Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois.’
A ces mots le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie;
Et pour montrer sa belle voix,
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le Renard s'en saisit, et dit: ‘Mon bon Monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l'écoute:
Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute.’
Le Corbeau, honteux et confus,
Jura, mais un peu tard, qu'on ne l'y prendrait plus.

Good luck.

Wherever you may be or whatever you plan to do, have a good and peaceful Christmas.

CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or email me:  truckshunters@googlemail.com