Monday 26 December 2016
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Christmas
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Christmas: Gary & Ellie kindly invited the family to their place for Xmas Dinner & what a feast they laid o for us! It was good to meet Ellies...
Christmas
Gary & Ellie kindly invited the family to their place for Xmas Dinner & what a feast they laid o for us! It was good to meet Ellies Dad James & his partner Sue, also Ellies sister Izzie, Ella & Julian, Olly & Laura, Beren,Tim and us.
They had worked really hard to make their house very festive with a great looking tree and a very tastefully decorated table. There was loads to drink and eat, instead of turkey they went for leg of mutton with garlic and rosemary and a cockerel rather than chicken, Gary had prepared stuffed peppers for Tara. Loads of veg, roast potatoes, parsnips carrots, cauliflower cheese, pigs in blankets and all delicious. They had worked extremely hard and their efforts paid off handsomely, we were all so full that the puds never came out. They Gary made cocktails , a coffee martini..........very nice, very potent, not many folks were drinking them , so Gary & I did.......... I should have stuck to beer! A really good day , missing Alec & Laura of course but we spoke Xmas Eve & Alec phoned again Xmas Day. Enjoyed meeting Ellies Dad & partner, they are very easy people to get along with. Gary and Ellie gave us a faultless day, they thought of everything, enjoyed it immensely.
They had worked really hard to make their house very festive with a great looking tree and a very tastefully decorated table. There was loads to drink and eat, instead of turkey they went for leg of mutton with garlic and rosemary and a cockerel rather than chicken, Gary had prepared stuffed peppers for Tara. Loads of veg, roast potatoes, parsnips carrots, cauliflower cheese, pigs in blankets and all delicious. They had worked extremely hard and their efforts paid off handsomely, we were all so full that the puds never came out. They Gary made cocktails , a coffee martini..........very nice, very potent, not many folks were drinking them , so Gary & I did.......... I should have stuck to beer! A really good day , missing Alec & Laura of course but we spoke Xmas Eve & Alec phoned again Xmas Day. Enjoyed meeting Ellies Dad & partner, they are very easy people to get along with. Gary and Ellie gave us a faultless day, they thought of everything, enjoyed it immensely.
Sunday 25 December 2016
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Status Quo.
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Status Quo.: I was genuinely shocked and sadden to hear that Rick Parfitt, one of the original members of Quo died yesterday. I have been a Quo fan for ...
Status Quo.
I was genuinely shocked and sadden to hear that Rick Parfitt, one of the original members of Quo died yesterday. I have been a Quo fan for around 38 years & had the privilege of seeing Rick with them on 4 occasions ( saw them again just two weeks ago though Rick had already retired from the band by then). Influenced by my friends back then as to what direction my musical tastes took it was always going to be rock (and Punk!) and I was instantly hooked on Quo.
You could never leave a Quo gig downhearted, their music was always uplifting and great fun,
there have been many jokes about their 3 chord riffs but those 3 chords seem to have worked for them over the past fifty or so years! Always a sense of humour they actually released an album a few years ago called 'In search of the fourth chord,' the cover al la Indiana Jones!
Rick appeared to have lived the life of a rock 'n' roll star with all its drink & drug excesses so perhaps 68 is old for a rocker! Some xmas his family will have this year. As I write this there has been no statement yet from his old side kick Francis Rossi, maybe he is still just too distraught.
'The end of an era' is a much hackneyed phrase but today it rings true.
There'll never be another.
You could never leave a Quo gig downhearted, their music was always uplifting and great fun,
there have been many jokes about their 3 chord riffs but those 3 chords seem to have worked for them over the past fifty or so years! Always a sense of humour they actually released an album a few years ago called 'In search of the fourth chord,' the cover al la Indiana Jones!
Rick appeared to have lived the life of a rock 'n' roll star with all its drink & drug excesses so perhaps 68 is old for a rocker! Some xmas his family will have this year. As I write this there has been no statement yet from his old side kick Francis Rossi, maybe he is still just too distraught.
'The end of an era' is a much hackneyed phrase but today it rings true.
There'll never be another.
Saturday 17 December 2016
A journey from hell saved by The Quo!
Two and a half bloody hours to drive 43 miles from home to the 02!
Set the postcode on the satnav and got taken on a journey through the arse end of London, by the time we were there I thought my ears were going to explode through frustration!
I told Tara & Julian that if I ever suggest driving to the 02 again they have my full permission to kick me up the arse good and proper.
And relax...........Found a pub, pint of Doombar, remembered why we'd travelled to the 02 & all was well again.
Quite an early start to this gig, the first support came on at around 6.40pm, they were called The Lounge Kittens, three birds in short skirts & pink high heels, warbled abit then buggered off............that's a bit unfair, they were very good! They did acapella type singing, mostly rock covers, AC/DC et al with key board accompaniment. They were good fun & had the audience behind them, such as were there for the first support anyway! Given a smaller venue I think they'd be good to see again, something a bit different.
Not a bad seat all things considered, we were tucked in to the right of the stage, quite near the stage but high up, any higher & we'd have had nose bleeds, no big screens which was surprise, they are usually the only way of identifying who is actually on stage!
The second support are a band I've always liked called REO Speedwagon, I suppose they would have once fallen into the category of 'middle of the road' rock, soft rock if you like. They were very good, but Tara said she thought singer, Kevin Cronin sounds like Kermit the Frog, when he spoke anyway!
Then about 8.45pm the mighty Quo hit the stage! This tour is called 'The end of the electrics' as they are hanging up the electric guitars in favour of acoustic but we'll see!
They were of course brilliant playing all the old barnstormers and very little from more up to date albums, nothing from 'Bula Quo' for instance which was definitely a good thing! (You know me, I have always been a huge Quo fan ever since I first got into music around 38 years ago, cut me in two & there'd be 'Status Quo' written through me, but they just shouldn't release any more studio albums!)
Loud enough to cover my dodgy singing I was able to give vent to such classic Quo tracks as 'Caroline,' 'Roll over lay down,' 'What you're proposing', 'Whatever you want' and of course 'Rockin' all over the world.'
Always good value they played for about two hours, Francis Rossi hasn't lost any of his musical ability as Julian remarked. Tara noticed that strangely he did not mention his old sparing partner Rick Parfitt who has had to retire due to health problems, they've played together in Quo for something like fifty years so you'd think he'd have said something about his old mate, nor was there any kind of thanks to the support bands as you might expect from the headliners & is usual with other bands.
However that does not detract from the great evening we had. I ummed & arred about getting a t shirt as they were £25, alot I think for a t shirt. Julian had already decided to get one & I then had second thoughts & succumbed! We nearly didn't end up with them as we didn't get them until after the gig and two of the kiosks selling them were out of what we wanted so we had to go the main sales point near the 02 entrance.
While we were queuing Tara had the great delight of watching some big jessie getting her knickers in a twist as she couldn't find her husband. On being comforted by a member of the 02 staff Tara heard her ask this idiot what her husband was wearing, she didn't know! Has he got a mobile? Yes. Have you phoned it? No. Why don't you then? Some people shouldn't be let out on their own!
The gig wasn't a sell out of the 02 as most of the back of the arena was either empty of curtained off but given the capacity of the 02 being 20000 I reckon there must have been a good 12 to 15000 there, anyway we left the arena happily clutching our new t shirts and made our way to the car park. Traffic was pretty well grid locked as there was alot of people trying to get away. Tara had wisely thought to pack us some victuals which we tucked into, by the time we'd finished the traffic had cleared and we sped away, this time I just followed the signs for Bethlehem...... not really, the M11, then I knew where I was . We got home in an hour! It was a terrific gig!
Lounge Kittens set list.
Who Are You
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Africa
Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)
Pictures of Matchstick Men
Isle Of Wight Festival 2016 Medley
REO Speedwagon set list.
Don't Let Him Go
Take It on the Run
Keep Pushin'
Can't Fight This Feeling
Son of a Poor Man
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Ridin' the Storm Out
Keep On Loving You
Roll With the Changes
Status Quo set list.
Caroline
The Wanderer
Something 'bout You Baby I Like
Rain
Softer Ride
Beginning of the End
Hold You Back
What You're Proposing / Down the Dustpipe / Wild Side of Life / Railroad / Again And Again / Paper Plane
The Oriental
Creepin' Up on You
Gerdundula
In the Army Now
Drum Solo (The Caveman)
Roll Over Lay Down
Down Down
Whatever You Want
Rockin' All Over the World
Encore.
Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again)
Rock and Roll Music / Bye Bye Johnny
Set the postcode on the satnav and got taken on a journey through the arse end of London, by the time we were there I thought my ears were going to explode through frustration!
I told Tara & Julian that if I ever suggest driving to the 02 again they have my full permission to kick me up the arse good and proper.
And relax...........Found a pub, pint of Doombar, remembered why we'd travelled to the 02 & all was well again.
Quite an early start to this gig, the first support came on at around 6.40pm, they were called The Lounge Kittens, three birds in short skirts & pink high heels, warbled abit then buggered off............that's a bit unfair, they were very good! They did acapella type singing, mostly rock covers, AC/DC et al with key board accompaniment. They were good fun & had the audience behind them, such as were there for the first support anyway! Given a smaller venue I think they'd be good to see again, something a bit different.
Not a bad seat all things considered, we were tucked in to the right of the stage, quite near the stage but high up, any higher & we'd have had nose bleeds, no big screens which was surprise, they are usually the only way of identifying who is actually on stage!
The second support are a band I've always liked called REO Speedwagon, I suppose they would have once fallen into the category of 'middle of the road' rock, soft rock if you like. They were very good, but Tara said she thought singer, Kevin Cronin sounds like Kermit the Frog, when he spoke anyway!
Then about 8.45pm the mighty Quo hit the stage! This tour is called 'The end of the electrics' as they are hanging up the electric guitars in favour of acoustic but we'll see!
They were of course brilliant playing all the old barnstormers and very little from more up to date albums, nothing from 'Bula Quo' for instance which was definitely a good thing! (You know me, I have always been a huge Quo fan ever since I first got into music around 38 years ago, cut me in two & there'd be 'Status Quo' written through me, but they just shouldn't release any more studio albums!)
Loud enough to cover my dodgy singing I was able to give vent to such classic Quo tracks as 'Caroline,' 'Roll over lay down,' 'What you're proposing', 'Whatever you want' and of course 'Rockin' all over the world.'
Always good value they played for about two hours, Francis Rossi hasn't lost any of his musical ability as Julian remarked. Tara noticed that strangely he did not mention his old sparing partner Rick Parfitt who has had to retire due to health problems, they've played together in Quo for something like fifty years so you'd think he'd have said something about his old mate, nor was there any kind of thanks to the support bands as you might expect from the headliners & is usual with other bands.
However that does not detract from the great evening we had. I ummed & arred about getting a t shirt as they were £25, alot I think for a t shirt. Julian had already decided to get one & I then had second thoughts & succumbed! We nearly didn't end up with them as we didn't get them until after the gig and two of the kiosks selling them were out of what we wanted so we had to go the main sales point near the 02 entrance.
While we were queuing Tara had the great delight of watching some big jessie getting her knickers in a twist as she couldn't find her husband. On being comforted by a member of the 02 staff Tara heard her ask this idiot what her husband was wearing, she didn't know! Has he got a mobile? Yes. Have you phoned it? No. Why don't you then? Some people shouldn't be let out on their own!
The gig wasn't a sell out of the 02 as most of the back of the arena was either empty of curtained off but given the capacity of the 02 being 20000 I reckon there must have been a good 12 to 15000 there, anyway we left the arena happily clutching our new t shirts and made our way to the car park. Traffic was pretty well grid locked as there was alot of people trying to get away. Tara had wisely thought to pack us some victuals which we tucked into, by the time we'd finished the traffic had cleared and we sped away, this time I just followed the signs for Bethlehem...... not really, the M11, then I knew where I was . We got home in an hour! It was a terrific gig!
Lounge Kittens set list.
Who Are You
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Africa
Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)
Pictures of Matchstick Men
Isle Of Wight Festival 2016 Medley
REO Speedwagon set list.
Don't Let Him Go
Take It on the Run
Keep Pushin'
Can't Fight This Feeling
Son of a Poor Man
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Ridin' the Storm Out
Keep On Loving You
Roll With the Changes
Status Quo set list.
Caroline
The Wanderer
Something 'bout You Baby I Like
Rain
Softer Ride
Beginning of the End
Hold You Back
What You're Proposing / Down the Dustpipe / Wild Side of Life / Railroad / Again And Again / Paper Plane
The Oriental
Creepin' Up on You
Gerdundula
In the Army Now
Drum Solo (The Caveman)
Roll Over Lay Down
Down Down
Whatever You Want
Rockin' All Over the World
Encore.
Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again)
Rock and Roll Music / Bye Bye Johnny
 |
| REO Speedwagon |
 |
| REO Speedwagon |
 |
| Status Quo |
 |
| Status Quo |
Thursday 8 December 2016
An idiots guide to an Idiot: A birthday.
An idiots guide to an Idiot: A birthday.: Fifty five! Bloody hell when did that happen! It means I left school 39 years ago, some of my Junior School teachers, who were getting on ...
A birthday.
Fifty five! Bloody hell when did that happen!
It means I left school 39 years ago, some of my Junior School teachers, who were getting on abit then must have snuffed it by now, I just don't know where all that time has gone, and gone so quickly.
We've always celebrated birthdays ( not Dad he hated the very idea of birthdays & Paul has pretty well followed in that family tradition!) personally I think you should make a fuss of birthdays & of course it means a get together.
We spoke to Alec and Laura again today (we'd spoken on Alec's birthday two days before mine), Alec told me I had a birthday present & when I signed onto FaceBook I found he had unblocked me & invited me to be his friend, on the proviso I don't abuse it! I shall comment wisely!
Tara had booked us a meal at Chez Jerome a fantastic French restaurant in Dunstable & Oliver kindly dropped us down there & what a feast we had.
Starters were Champignons des bois which is mushrooms in a creamy sauce with a crispy poached egg on top for me which was delicious & Halloumi for Tara which was Grilled halloumi cheese, grapes, figs and capers drizzled with honey dressing & salad leaves. Mains we had were Venaison which was a very rich Venison stew with mash and seasonal veg, the Venison just melted in the mouth, it was great. Tara had Loupe de mer which was Sea Bass fillet with lemon and garlic butter, again with veg. Washed down with a couple of Peronei's for me & Bacardi & coke for Tara.
Puds then, I had an old fave of Vanilla Crème Brulee & Tara Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cream Anglaise which is a fave of her's. Couple of Brandys and Tiamarias later we were replete & ready for home & Oliver kindly picked us up as well. A great night with the one I Love, what could be better?
Here's afew photos for evening including a bottle of wine that Tara got me, she tried to get beaujolais nouveau but unfortunately Lina who runs the restaurant couldn't get any from her supplier so she gave be a very nice bottle of Cote Du Rhone which I shall look forward to tasting in due course.
It means I left school 39 years ago, some of my Junior School teachers, who were getting on abit then must have snuffed it by now, I just don't know where all that time has gone, and gone so quickly.
We've always celebrated birthdays ( not Dad he hated the very idea of birthdays & Paul has pretty well followed in that family tradition!) personally I think you should make a fuss of birthdays & of course it means a get together.
We spoke to Alec and Laura again today (we'd spoken on Alec's birthday two days before mine), Alec told me I had a birthday present & when I signed onto FaceBook I found he had unblocked me & invited me to be his friend, on the proviso I don't abuse it! I shall comment wisely!
Tara had booked us a meal at Chez Jerome a fantastic French restaurant in Dunstable & Oliver kindly dropped us down there & what a feast we had.
Starters were Champignons des bois which is mushrooms in a creamy sauce with a crispy poached egg on top for me which was delicious & Halloumi for Tara which was Grilled halloumi cheese, grapes, figs and capers drizzled with honey dressing & salad leaves. Mains we had were Venaison which was a very rich Venison stew with mash and seasonal veg, the Venison just melted in the mouth, it was great. Tara had Loupe de mer which was Sea Bass fillet with lemon and garlic butter, again with veg. Washed down with a couple of Peronei's for me & Bacardi & coke for Tara.
Puds then, I had an old fave of Vanilla Crème Brulee & Tara Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cream Anglaise which is a fave of her's. Couple of Brandys and Tiamarias later we were replete & ready for home & Oliver kindly picked us up as well. A great night with the one I Love, what could be better?
Here's afew photos for evening including a bottle of wine that Tara got me, she tried to get beaujolais nouveau but unfortunately Lina who runs the restaurant couldn't get any from her supplier so she gave be a very nice bottle of Cote Du Rhone which I shall look forward to tasting in due course. 
Sunday 4 December 2016
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Two dinners and a battlefield walk.
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Two dinners and a battlefield walk.: A mix of three events on this blog entry. Met Paul & Kate for Sunday dinner last week, we went to the White Lion in Dunstable & very...
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Two dinners and a battlefield walk.
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Two dinners and a battlefield walk.: A mix of three events on this blog entry. Met Paul & Kate for Sunday dinner last week, we went to the White Lion in Dunstable & very...
Two dinners and a battlefield walk.
A mix of three events on this blog entry. Met Paul & Kate for Sunday dinner last week, we went to the White Lion in Dunstable & very good it was too.
Paul, Kate came round here first so we drove there in one car which made sense. Paul ,Kate & I had roast beef with all the trimmings and Tara had a beetroot & feta salad, wasn't a huge choice for Tara but they could supply wheat free bread for her which was good. All the food was well cooked and prepared, I had a very nice pint of London Pride, others having soft drinks. All too full to do a pud justice I had coffee, Kate a Latte, Paul tea & Tara also had a Latte after that we called it a day there & came home. Good to see Paul & Kate, they told us about the bothy they are staying in over New Year on Exmoor....a very different NY but I'd prefer somewhere with guaranteed warmth! We must meet up again soon. No photos I'm afraid, I did take some on my old Blackberry but it won't download them onto the PC!
Tara & I had dinner at the Bridgewater Arms in Little Gaddesen yesterday evening. It's all very Christmassy here with a real log fire an' all! Quite a snug pub though our window table could have done with being a bit warmer, it's a Greene King house that is waitress service in the restaurant. Had a pint of London Glory. Another relatively light amber coloured ale,4.1% in strength, I was driving so just the one, Tara having a Bacardi and coke.
I had a Wagyu burger. It was very good but no better than other burgers I've had to be honest, don't really know what all the fuss is about this Jap Wagyu beef is this is anything to go by. Tara had Chilli Salmon fillet with salad odds and sods. Mains were a goodly size so didn't really have room for pud so we knocked it on the head then. Got home & watched a couple of films. I'd recorded 'Starter for ten' starring James McAvoy (produced by Tom Hanks no less), a film about a student getting onto the University Challenge team and the ups and downs of whichever bird he fancied. I thought it was a jolly little film, with a great camo by Mark Gatiss as Bamber Gascoigne however Tara fell asleep. Wouldn't watch it again but it was a reasonable film. We then watched 'Now you see me' about some magicians who pull off a bank robbery and annoy Michael Caine. I wasn't so keen on this one but Memsahib thought it the better of the two.
Generally read before going to sleep & at present reading 'Azincourt' by Bernard Cornwell, I haven't read any of his books before & am enjoying this one set in medieval times, Henry V and all that.
That leads me to days jaunt which was a very interesting guided walk around Berkhamsted Castle to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the siege of the castle by the French King Louis in 1216. It's just about to date as to when the siege happened though some allowance must be made for the use of the Julian calendar in those days before it was changed in the 16th century to the Gregorian calendar. About twenty people turned up in freezing conditions to have a very lively and informative talk by Julian Humphrys the Battlefields Trust Development Officer.
Berkhamsted Castle is somewhere that we have known for years having had picnics and walks round it many times when the boys were younger, it's a very ruinous affair now (that's nothing to do with our picnics I should add!) but there is still just enough left to get a flavour of what an imposing castle it would have once been. The faced masonry of the walls has long been robbed away in part to build a manor house nearby so all that's left is the inner core of flint and rubble, also the coming of the railways in the 1830's chopped off the original main gateway into the castle. It had two ditches ( moats by another name I think) which was rare in castle terms. The French king laid siege to it after taking both Rochester and Hertford castles. He eventually ran out of steam when the rebellious English barons who had initially joined him went back to the Royalist side. It was about an hour and a half walk though mainly it was standing listening, also had a chance to meet Laurence again who I hadn't seen for ages. I may well renew my membership of the Battlefields Trust after this as I enjoyed it so much, follow this link to find out more about them: http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/
Paul, Kate came round here first so we drove there in one car which made sense. Paul ,Kate & I had roast beef with all the trimmings and Tara had a beetroot & feta salad, wasn't a huge choice for Tara but they could supply wheat free bread for her which was good. All the food was well cooked and prepared, I had a very nice pint of London Pride, others having soft drinks. All too full to do a pud justice I had coffee, Kate a Latte, Paul tea & Tara also had a Latte after that we called it a day there & came home. Good to see Paul & Kate, they told us about the bothy they are staying in over New Year on Exmoor....a very different NY but I'd prefer somewhere with guaranteed warmth! We must meet up again soon. No photos I'm afraid, I did take some on my old Blackberry but it won't download them onto the PC!
Tara & I had dinner at the Bridgewater Arms in Little Gaddesen yesterday evening. It's all very Christmassy here with a real log fire an' all! Quite a snug pub though our window table could have done with being a bit warmer, it's a Greene King house that is waitress service in the restaurant. Had a pint of London Glory. Another relatively light amber coloured ale,4.1% in strength, I was driving so just the one, Tara having a Bacardi and coke.
I had a Wagyu burger. It was very good but no better than other burgers I've had to be honest, don't really know what all the fuss is about this Jap Wagyu beef is this is anything to go by. Tara had Chilli Salmon fillet with salad odds and sods. Mains were a goodly size so didn't really have room for pud so we knocked it on the head then. Got home & watched a couple of films. I'd recorded 'Starter for ten' starring James McAvoy (produced by Tom Hanks no less), a film about a student getting onto the University Challenge team and the ups and downs of whichever bird he fancied. I thought it was a jolly little film, with a great camo by Mark Gatiss as Bamber Gascoigne however Tara fell asleep. Wouldn't watch it again but it was a reasonable film. We then watched 'Now you see me' about some magicians who pull off a bank robbery and annoy Michael Caine. I wasn't so keen on this one but Memsahib thought it the better of the two.
Generally read before going to sleep & at present reading 'Azincourt' by Bernard Cornwell, I haven't read any of his books before & am enjoying this one set in medieval times, Henry V and all that.
That leads me to days jaunt which was a very interesting guided walk around Berkhamsted Castle to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the siege of the castle by the French King Louis in 1216. It's just about to date as to when the siege happened though some allowance must be made for the use of the Julian calendar in those days before it was changed in the 16th century to the Gregorian calendar. About twenty people turned up in freezing conditions to have a very lively and informative talk by Julian Humphrys the Battlefields Trust Development Officer.
Berkhamsted Castle is somewhere that we have known for years having had picnics and walks round it many times when the boys were younger, it's a very ruinous affair now (that's nothing to do with our picnics I should add!) but there is still just enough left to get a flavour of what an imposing castle it would have once been. The faced masonry of the walls has long been robbed away in part to build a manor house nearby so all that's left is the inner core of flint and rubble, also the coming of the railways in the 1830's chopped off the original main gateway into the castle. It had two ditches ( moats by another name I think) which was rare in castle terms. The French king laid siege to it after taking both Rochester and Hertford castles. He eventually ran out of steam when the rebellious English barons who had initially joined him went back to the Royalist side. It was about an hour and a half walk though mainly it was standing listening, also had a chance to meet Laurence again who I hadn't seen for ages. I may well renew my membership of the Battlefields Trust after this as I enjoyed it so much, follow this link to find out more about them: http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/
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| Smug git drinking beer. |
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| Chilli salmon fillet. Tara's choice. |
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| Wagyu burger. My choice. |
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A roaring fire on a cold winters night.    |
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