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Dear me, elle, have you never made butter ;-))

Whenever a dairy product is made that involves a liquid being separated from a solid, you need to strain the liquid off. Butter muslin has a close weave and was used for that- it still is used if you make (soft) cheese at home. Personally I find Mr Tesco does fine at that, though I have made soft cheese in the past.
It's also used for making jelly - straining the yummy liquid from the fruit. I still have some of my son's old muslin nappies stained deep purple in the middle from blackberries.

Hello, Elle!
It is very noisy here now!
I would like to run these folk out of town on a rail!
Yes, I agree with your parse. It is as I have it.
Not too hard once you twigged the "camp fellow"?
I have not heard of "butter muslin", too.
I have not heard of Bert Harte in "hartebeest", and could not be bothered looking for him, as it was my final solve.
I was convinced "hartebeest" was right, though.
The clue did not appeal to me, probably because I had no inkling of Bert.
I liked Damon Runyon short stories but it is many years since I read them.
How is your dog this evening?

Hi, Rusty!
Noisy here, too, albeit not as bad as on Saturday night!
The fireworks are rather further away.
Dog is following me everywhere......I feel rather like "Mary".....
I feel our bed might be a tad overcrowded again tonight!
I have put the crosswords to bed...and am reading my "Enzo File".
I have just realised ,though, that Ii have yet to watch "Eggheads" (recorded earlier) so I shall make a coffee, and go and pit my wits against Kevin!


Missed an "s" off , Chris!
Just a typing error.....


Ros, I hope you don't seriously think that I might be found making butter..... or straining fruit to make jam.....?

haha, no elle. Not butter, that is very energetic! And not worth it. You have to start with cream so it's expensive as well.

I make bramble jelly every year, it is delicious. The jam would be with the whole fruit, and the seeds get in your teeth. I used to make pickles too, though I don't like them. Still make sloe gin sometimes.

Almost no fireworks here tonight.

Hello, Elle!
Mary ?
As in Peter, Paul and ?
Did she have a dog?
My granddaughters are out at the fireworks!
They think it's great.
I wonder how I go about disowning them!
I think, on Wednesday, The Times are using one of the puzzles used in the Championship final on Saturday.
Should be fairly tough, I think!
I am looking forward to it!

You've reminded me, rusty - what has six legs and a handbag?

I heard a great joke on "Quote Unquote" this afternoon.

It's well-known that Dickens published most of his novels in installments in newspapers. What's less well-known is that "A tale of two cities" was published in two regional papers.










Yes, it was the "Bicester Times" and the "Worcester Times"!

Hello everyone,

When I first heard of 'sloe' gin, I must have been 12 or so, I thought
that people could drink a lot of it before getting drunk because it
was 'slow'!

Needless to say there are no fireworks here!

July 14th for you, pigale?
We were once on holiday in Gascony when our daughter was fairly young. We went to bed all afternnon so that we could stay awake for the fireworks in Fleurance.

Yes Chris, 14th July, and sometimes some at New Year's Eve Midnight.
But these are private - 14th July are both private and big displays
organised by towns and villages.

Never been to Fleurance, but the Gers department is beautiful!

Hi, Rusty!
As in "Mary had a little lamb....."
All seems to have gone quiet...hopefully for the rest of the night!
Dog still needs to make her nightly trip to the garden before she retires......
She refuses to go outside if there are any bangs.
I watched "Eggheads" .....no Kevin tonight.
A Monopoly question for the Challengers.....
" On the Monopoly Board, what colour is Oxford Street?
Red; yellow; or green ?"
I can hear you groaning from here!




Hello, Pigale!
How are you feeling now?
I hope there is some improvement in your pain levels?
Fireworks around here start at Hallowe'en, and persist through, off and on, until the New Year!
A veritable nightmare for pets!