Are you sure. really absolutely positively sure?
It rather reminds me of the time many many years ago when I was a young teenager. My parents borrowed a book on sex education for teenagers but wanted to look at it first to make sure it was suitable. So just before they took out the pet dog for a walk Mother told me that they had borrowed this book, but they were checking it and told me not to look at it whilst they were out.
So what do you think I did once they had gone out? I'll leave you to guess.

You little .
 I may have to put security cameras in the greenhouse, just to make sure that the strawberries aren't being "liberated" behind my back.

You could always place bugs (not the aphid type) on the tomato plants looking over the strawberries and watch from the comfort of your armchair.

I see over in the BB forum that there are threads about Ben quoting from Animal Farm. I have to confess that I've never read it, but now I have no excuse. Whilst looking through my late parents' library of books (3000 of them!) I found that they have a second edition of Animal Farm (although it would have some value it would be nowhere near the value of a first edition which would be worth around £2000).

That sounds like a plan. I could put my "Spooks" addiction to good use.

I have to confess that I have never read "Animal Farm" either, although I know my sons did, for Standard Grade.
In my day, it was "One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich" and "Macbeth" for O grade, 'cos I am old.

Oh no, you've said the Scottish Play - we're all doomed . What a choice for an O level - 2 really cheerful books/plays. If you had One Day, you can't be any older than me - I'm 58. I failed my Eng Lit first time, but I had Heart of Darkness, one of the historical plays, and a collection of World War 1 poetry - just as cheerful as yours. But the syllabus for the second go which I passed was easier. The play was Romeo & Juliet which was a doddle as I was already familiar with the play. One of the other books was The Diary of a Nobody written by the Grossmith brothers which is one of the classics of Englsh comedy. I was lucky enough to be able to use my father's copy which is a first edition, but in poor condition so worth little. Unfortunately, so far I have not been able to find this in my parent's house - I know they got rid of 2000 books years ago and I think they may have got rid of it then

I watch Spooks as well. I wonder if another series is going to ba made as I know that in the spin off series, admittedly set a bit in the future, London had been wiped out but I never saw that series.

I'm 50 years young, El Loro.
We also studied WWI poets, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon in particular.
For English Higher (We do Highers, not A Levels in Scotland), we did Hamlet, which I preferred to the Scottish play - sorry for mentioning the name last time.
Your parents must have been avid readers to have had so many books.

Re Spooks, I checked with my youngest son (also an addict) and he is sure there is to be another series.

Yes, I remember them - we probably had the same collection. I used to get Sassoon and bassoon confused. Sassoon had no German ancestry - his mother christened him Siegfried as she was a fan of Wagner's operas.

The supposed Scottish Play curse only applies when the title is mentioned inside a theatre and relates to those who think that the curses from the 3 witches are genuine. So I think we're safe

It was my father who was the avid reader, but until his mental facilties got really bad, every single evening for over 50 years of their marriage he would read to my mother. His main interest though was classical music - he had no time for any music other than classical apart from giving John Lennon & Paul McCartney credit for some ability.

I've just checked on the IMDB website (it is an extremely good source of information about television series and well as films) and it suggests that series 9 is in production but no mention yet of scheduled dates.

All sounds very "booky" in here this afternoon!!  I cannot remember any of the books I had to read for my 'O' levels.

Pleased to report all went well at the hospital.  Eye scans all clear.  Pressures still slightly high.  Had my corneas measured and apparently they are very thick.  Because of this the pressure readings have to be scaled down by 4 points, which means the pressures are well within normal limits.  Discharged by the hospital so no more return visits.

joyron, that's wonderful news. Glaucoma is one of those things I'll have to look out for when I get older as my aunt suffers from that.

Great news Joyron, puts your mind at rest

Excellent news El Loro, thank you for that.

Joyron, I am really pleased everything went well at the hospital today.
Isn't it wonderful when they say "You don't need to come back".

I have to say, I think that sounds really lovely and romantic.

My parents were extremely close - apart from the reading, they played duets on the piano, my father was good enough that if he had the courage to play in public could have been a concert pianist.

Good morning everyone.
El Loro, it sounds like your parents had a long and happy marriage, and were able to keep the romance alive. I think a relationship like that is a real blessing.

It was - they were very happy for most of their marriage, though the last years were tough dur to my father's health, but that is in the past. I try to remember the good times they had rather than the more recent times.

I see yoor BB HMs Ben & Mario survived their eviction - I've only seen glimpses of them, but they seem to be nicer & more normal than some of the others.

So we've got Andy Murray playing his next match I think late this afternoon, and then this country will come to a halt tomorrow at 3 when they play Germany. Good luck to them.

It's a great weekend for sports lovers, isn't it? Grand Prix, Wimbledon and football.
My sports mad, middle son will be spoilt for choice.
Good luck to England in their match against Germany, my hubby will be over the moon if they win.
Even though he is Scottish, I'm not a big fan of Andy Murray. He always looks so miserable - what we Scots call "dour". However, I still wish him luck in his match today and hope he wins.

Will you be watching the last episode of Doctor Who tonight? I can't believe it's the end of the series already. Matt Smith has been such a good Doctor, I am really looking forward to the next series.

Very very definitely yes, yes, yes. We'll need to watch out thought for when it starts or if it swaps channel, because it will be on at the same time as Murray's match. I know that the BBC1 coverage is due to be finished by the time it starts and the BBC2 Wimbledon coverage will be on, but from past experience, Murray's match could well be shown on BBC1 with subsequent matches either being shown later or on a different channel or even rescheduled for another day. I think there would be a major outcry from the public if they rescheduled Dr Who to a different day particularly as today's date is central to the plot.

I agree with you that Andy Murray is dour. I love that word as it says more about someone's personality in just one little word, combining forbidding, gloomy and obstinate so effectively. To me, the epitome of dourness is Gordom Brown.I don't think that Murray will ever come across as likeable, but then Henman's likeability probably stopped him from getting right to the top.

The BBC1 Wimbledon coverage has switched to BBC2 so Dr Who should be shown at the advertised time on BBC1.

I've just heard that where I live is the hottest place in the country today, and I can believe it
 

I just had a look at the weather forecast for my area for the next week as our church fete is next Saturday.

Day	Time	Temp	Feels	UV	Pressure	Rain	Cloud	Dir	Speed	Weather
Sat 26 Jun	Afternoon	25 °c	27 °c	8	1015 mb	0.3 mm	4 %		4 mph
	Evening	13 °c	13 °c	0	1016 mb	0.8 mm	3 %		4 mph
Sun 27 Jun	Morning	20 °c	21 °c	4	1017 mb	0.0 mm	73 %		3 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	25 °c	7	1017 mb	0.0 mm	100 %		6 mph
	Evening	12 °c	11 °c	0	1019 mb	0.0 mm	2 %		5 mph
Mon 28 Jun	Morning	19 °c	20 °c	4	1019 mb	0.0 mm	23 %		3 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	24 °c	8	1018 mb	0.0 mm	19 %		7 mph
	Evening	13 °c	13 °c	0	1017 mb	1.6 mm	96 %		4 mph
Tue 29 Jun	Morning	14 °c	14 °c	1	1016 mb	1.1 mm	100 %		6 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	20 °c	19 °c	4	1015 mb	1.1 mm	90 %		4 mph
	Evening	13 °c	13 °c	0	1016 mb	0.0 mm	53 %		3 mph
Wed 30 Jun	Morning	22 °c	23 °c	4	1016 mb	0.0 mm	0 %		1 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	25 °c	27 °c	8	1014 mb	0.0 mm	13 %		2 mph
	Evening	15 °c	15 °c	0	1013 mb	0.0 mm	83 %		5 mph
Thu 1 Jul	Morning	19 °c	16 °c	3	1011 mb	0.0 mm	100 %		184 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	22 °c	13 °c	1	1010 mb	0.5 mm	100 %		187 mph
	Evening	14 °c	8 °c	0	1012 mb	3.8 mm	100 %		213 mph
Fri 2 Jul	Morning	15 °c	9 °c	0	1013 mb	1.0 mm	100 %		173 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	22 °c	6	1014 mb	0.0 mm	85 %		218 mph
	Evening	16 °c	12 °c	0	1016 mb	0.0 mm	84 %		100 mph
Sat 3 Jul	Morning	17 °c	13 °c	0	1015 mb	3.1 mm	100 %		153 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	20 °c	6	1014 mb	0.1 mm	98 %		201 mph

I'm a little bit concerned about the wind speeds on Thursday to Saturday, because if this is correct, we are in for an apocalyptic storm which will smash all world records. However this is not from the Met Office website, and it's obviously a very bad error (I hope).

Bl'ody 'el Loro !!
Zed used to do weather in the swillers fred but I don't recall anything that comprehensive

Lol
It's 2012 all over again

I'm not about to start doing weather forecasts on a regular basis, and the above was just a copy and paste job, but I've never seen such a ridiculous forecast in my life and I thought I should immortalise it.
If you want to check the Metcheck weather forecast for your area, here's a link, and you'll be able to see the forecast for where you live (or used to live if the wind speeds are correct ).

Day	Time	Temp	Feels	UV	Pressure	Rain	Cloud	Dir	Speed	Weather
Sat 26 Jun	Evening	11 °c	11 °c	0	1016 mb	0.1 mm	15 %		4 mph
Sun 27 Jun	Morning	16 °c	16 °c	4	1017 mb	0.0 mm	38 %		6 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	19 °c	19 °c	8	1016 mb	0.0 mm	46 %		9 mph
	Evening	10 °c	9 °c	0	1018 mb	0.0 mm	11 %		4 mph
Mon 28 Jun	Morning	16 °c	16 °c	3	1018 mb	0.0 mm	71 %		6 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	17 °c	16 °c	3	1018 mb	0.0 mm	99 %		7 mph
	Evening	11 °c	12 °c	0	1017 mb	0.5 mm	100 %		1 mph
Tue 29 Jun	Morning	11 °c	10 °c	0	1014 mb	5.2 mm	100 %		5 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	14 °c	14 °c	0	1014 mb	0.9 mm	100 %		7 mph
	Evening	10 °c	10 °c	0	1017 mb	0.0 mm	98 %		3 mph
Wed 30 Jun	Morning	16 °c	17 °c	3	1016 mb	0.0 mm	84 %		2 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	20 °c	21 °c	4	1013 mb	0.0 mm	99 %		6 mph
	Evening	11 °c	12 °c	0	1010 mb	0.6 mm	100 %		5 mph
Thu 1 Jul	Morning	15 °c	14 °c	2	1006 mb	0.0 mm	99 %		12 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	18 °c	13 °c	0	1006 mb	3.4 mm	100 %		7 mph
	Evening	13 °c	12 °c	0	1008 mb	3.4 mm	91 %		7 mph
Fri 2 Jul	Morning	17 °c	17 °c	4	1013 mb	0.0 mm	38 %		5 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	21 °c	18 °c	6	1013 mb	0.7 mm	60 %		5 mph
	Evening	14 °c	15 °c	0	1015 mb	0.5 mm	96 %		2 mph
Sat 3 Jul	Morning	21 °c	22 °c	4	1014 mb	9.4 mm	80 %		6 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	25 °c	27 °c	8	1013 mb	10.6 mm	61 %		7 mp

Dont look like a bad week for me (wind-wise)

But next Saturday looks a bit of a wash out for you up North

As I indicated I was certain that the forecast I posted was hopelessy wrong, and they did change the forecast which is for me now:

Day	Time	Temp	Feels	UV	Pressure	Rain	Cloud	Dir	Speed	Weather
Sat 26 Jun	Evening	13 °c	13 °c	0	1017 mb	1.2 mm	0 %		4 mph
Sun 27 Jun	Morning	20 °c	21 °c	4	1018 mb	0.0 mm	20 %		3 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	24 °c	7	1018 mb	0.0 mm	100 %		6 mph
	Evening	11 °c	11 °c	0	1020 mb	0.0 mm	16 %		5 mph
Mon 28 Jun	Morning	19 °c	20 °c	4	1020 mb	0.0 mm	87 %		3 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	24 °c	8	1018 mb	0.0 mm	27 %		4 mph
	Evening	11 °c	11 °c	0	1018 mb	0.4 mm	73 %		3 mph
Tue 29 Jun	Morning	15 °c	15 °c	0	1016 mb	0.2 mm	100 %		6 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	20 °c	21 °c	3	1016 mb	0.0 mm	99 %		10 mph
	Evening	13 °c	13 °c	0	1017 mb	0.0 mm	31 %		4 mph
Wed 30 Jun	Morning	19 °c	20 °c	4	1017 mb	0.0 mm	53 %		3 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	25 °c	8	1014 mb	0.0 mm	89 %		6 mph
	Evening	14 °c	13 °c	0	1012 mb	0.0 mm	96 %		6 mph
Thu 1 Jul	Morning	19 °c	19 °c	1	1010 mb	0.0 mm	100 %		9 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	23 °c	22 °c	3	1008 mb	0.0 mm	100 %		9 mph
	Evening	16 °c	16 °c	0	1011 mb	0.1 mm	94 %		6 mph
Fri 2 Jul	Morning	21 °c	22 °c	4	1013 mb	0.0 mm	54 %		4 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	26 °c	28 °c	6	1013 mb	0.0 mm	63 %		6 mph
	Evening	15 °c	18 °c	0	1013 mb	0.6 mm	53 %		5 mph
Sat 3 Jul	Morning	23 °c	25 °c	4	1012 mb	3.0 mm	74 %		6 mph
In Detail	Afternoon	31 °c	33 °c	7	1010 mb	0.0 mm	46 %		7 mph

But it looks blisteringly hot on the Saturday - the day of our fete. We could do well with the icecreams. But I know from experience that forecasts for more than a few days are little nore than guesswork

Germany has just beaten England
(In the Grand Prix race in Valencia where Vettel beat Hamilton and Button)
And on Vettel's radio after he'd won, we heard his manager tell him that that was the best German result of the afternoon. Let's hope that's true.

We're used to it oop here Loro, we're all born with gills you know

Down here, we're born with webbed feet

Unfortunately it wasn't the best German result of the afternoon. The only consolation for me (and it isn't much of a consolation) is that I don't need to worry about missing the quarter final on Saturday when our church fete is, and attendance is mandatory. So mandatory that I had to pursuade the BBC to run the Doctor Who series a week earlier so that I didn't miss the finale

The world's most expensive coin has recently been auctioned off:

It's from Canada and was sold for 4 million dollars - it is an exceptionally large coin and being made of solid gold is why it reached that price.

Years ago I found and kept an 1869 penny

It's not in good condition so is probably worth around £10, but if it was in perfect mint condition it would have been worth more like £2,500.

I've also got an 1933 penny in good condition worth some £40,000 (I'm telling fibs )
I think this is the rarest penny in this country.

Just to let you know that England have just beaten Australia at thier one day cricket match. This means that they have won the 5 match series already with another 2 games to go.

 
It's a good size Loro

 
Theres one on ebay here
looks a bit worse for wear
 

Used to have a full set of coins from 1966, don't know what happened to them though??

Like this? - you can still get a mint set for £39-95.

Yes, that's just like the 1869 penny I've got, somewhere. I had a bit of a sort out when I was getting my house repairs being done and I put it in a cardbox, but which one?

Lol
I moved a year ago and that is still often uttered round here

I didn't have a full set...I forgot about the threepenny bit

REF: threepenny bits
 
£2.50 on ebay

But it may be worth paying that to get a full set because the chances are that a full set is likely to be worth more than you pay for compared to the value of an incomplete set?