Moment after moment

Toyota Hilux Commercial

2011-08-10T19:16:00.000+01:00

How to deactivate a cat

2011-07-18T22:38:00.000+01:00

箱とねこ８。-A box and Maru 8.-

2011-07-06T17:34:00.000+01:00

kitten vs a scary thing (котенок против страшной неведомой хрени)

2011-06-14T20:33:00.000+01:00

2011-06-13T21:20:00.002+01:00

At the moment I'm watching the dvd of Disney's Fantasia for the first time in years. The imagination of the animation is wonderful. At that time it wasn't easy to do the animation- each frame had to be done separately and making the film almost bankrupted Disney. Nowadays technological advances mean that it is much easier and cheaper to do animation. Why then is so much of the animation lacking in imagination and fresh ideas?

In that criticism I do not include Pixar, which seems incapable of making a bad film, especially the Toy Story trilogy. Toy Story 3 in particular always makes me want to shed a tear and wishing that I still had my dolls from my childhood.

Interestingly the only part of Fantasia that really looks dated are the faces of the females in the mythological island for the Beethoven 6th Symphony. Disney showed real courage in including the entire symphony. Stokowsky makes a wonderful fist of the music.

Oh, the ostriches, hippos and crocodiles!

Ce petit chat Minou met son bonnet de laine

2011-04-04T21:23:00.000+01:00

I Believe She's Amazing Flash Mob - Toronto Eaton Centre

2011-04-04T10:31:00.000+01:00

Soroban - All in the mind

2011-03-19T11:00:00.000Z

Can a Thumbcat - Review an Excellent Book?

2011-03-16T18:13:00.000Z

The Beatles In A Flow Chart - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

2011-03-08T16:12:00.000Z

The Beatles In A Flow Chart - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Cravendale - Cats with Thumbs

2011-03-05T22:45:00.000Z

Chocolate Brownies

2009-01-19T14:54:00.002Z

Yesterday the Crimson Crumblies Chapter of the Red hat Society all met at our Queen Mel's house for tea. The purpose of the meeting was actually to have a discussion of some of the things we would like to do in 2009 and a start was made at this. We also discussed the fact that two of our number have recently appeared on television. Queen Mel is currently appearing in adverts of a women's magazine called "Yours" and member Kay has appeared in a programme tracing back her family history to her ancester who was the daughter of The Prince of Wales, later to become King George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert.

For the tea Queen Mel asked us to bring some cake to have with it. I made some Brownies, which received some nice comments. I posted the recipe for them in 2005. Here it is again.

Chocolate Brownies
The recipe originally comes from Helge Rubinstein's book "The Chocolate Book"

4oz Chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
2oz unsalted butter
3oz plain flour
good pinch baking powder
good pinch salt
2 eggs
6oz sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2oz walnuts, roughly chopped

1. Set the oven at Gas Mark 4, 180 C. Grease an 8inch (20cm) square baking tin.
2. Melt the chocolate gently. When cooled a little add the butter cut into small pieces. Stir until the butter has melted and blend with the chocolate.
3. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.
4. Beat the eggs together with the salt and vanilla until fluffy and blend in the chocolate and butter mixture.
5. Fold in the flour and then the walnuts.
6. Pour into the baking tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted just comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool, then cut into squares - they will turn fudgy as they cool.

2009-01-09T17:41:00.004Z

Book Meme

I came across this Book Meme the other day and just couldn't resist it.

Instructions
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Underline those you intend to read.
3) Italicise the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan (No, but I’ve seen the film – that’s enough for me!)
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73.The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

40/100.

2009-01-05T17:07:00.003Z

Happy New Year everyone.

For the Husband and I the actual New Year was quiet – just the two of us, in fact. Both the Stepdaughter and Stepson were spending the evening with their own friends – which was as it should be, given that they are 26 and 22 respectively and have their own lives.

Since then we’ve been waiting for the bitter cold weather to go as it has been too cold to leave the house for any length of time. The cold weather shows no sign of dissipating – we woke this morning to snow that has shown no sign of disappearing all day.

I’ve not mentioned though that we are having a quiet time. Because we are not. Before Christmas the Husband taught two evenings of his music classes on Hollywood musicals of the 30s and 40s, playing song and dance numbers to demonstrate the best of each period. Tomorrow evening he is doing Hollywood Musicals of the 50s and is busy going through all the DVDs of Musicals of the period that we own to work out what to include and what, reluctantly, to exclude. We have a lot of Musicals on DVD. So plugged into our television are currently two DVD players, one DVD recorder and two video players – so we now have cables all over the carpet we are trying not to fall over.

I love the film musicals of the period and have a passion for the music. So whenever he plays – over and over again – songs and dance numbers from the Bandwagon, Silk Stockings, GiGi, Annie Get Your Gun, Calamity Jane, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers and High Society I love listening and watching them. However, into every life a little rain must fall and some of the films from the period, especially Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris, I am less than enthusiastic about or perhaps it is just the one “Actor” in them. Gene Kelly has never been a favourite of mine. He is a good dancer, I fully admit, but I’ve never thought his voice the strongest and his acting, well let’s face it, his overacting, is terrible. I’ve always preferred Fred Astaire whose dancing, singing and sheer professionalism in every film he has appeared in to my mind far exceeds Gene Kelly’s.

Tomorrow evening the Husband undertakes his class. And then he returns all of the electronics back to their usual places. Tonight, of course, we pack up all the Christmas decorations away for another 11 months. And then the household returns to normal for the new year.

2008-12-28T17:50:00.001Z

A good Christmas. There were just the five of us on Christmas Day – the Husband, Stepdaughter, Stepson, Father-in-Law and myself. It’s extraordinary how much shopping, cooking and general Christmas preparation there was in the days running up to The Day for such a small number of people.

I suspect that part of the thing is the expectations put on everyone by the media for THAT Meal. I lost count of the number of articles in magazines and newspapers on the run up to Christmas on how to cook That Dinner. In addition for the two weeks before Christmas the tv channels had lots of programmes by all the famous chefs on how to cook the meal – I wouldn’t mind but all of them had different ways of cooking it and on what accompaniments to include and how to make them: Nigella Lawson soaked the turkey in water overnight, Jamie Oliver forced flavoured butter between the skin and flesh of the turkey, etc, etc. Those who are not confident on how to cook the meal would find it easy to get confused over what to do. It is, of course, a basic roast meal, only with several additional dishes and shouldn’t worry anyone if you take it a step at a time. Certainly our Christmas dinner turned out very well indeed.

Anyway, the Father-in-Law has returned home in time to spend the afternoon and evening of Boxing Day with his daughter and her family. We are now having a good time relaxing and working through the Christmas leftovers. But what do we do with all that leftover cream? We always buy too much cream, both plain and flavoured, and never learn to buy less.

2008-12-22T09:25:00.000Z

Christmas seems to have come very quickly this year, not helped by the fact that the media have been forcing it down our throats ever since Bonfire night.

For our family Christmas started yesterday when the Husband and Stepson went to their church for the annual carol ceremony. Today the Stepson comes to stay with us for a few days. Tomorrow the Husband and I drive over to Whitstable to pick up the Father-in-Law and drive him back here. The following day, Christmas Eve, we’ll have a family day with the Stepdaughter arriving after work presumably in the evening. Christmas Day we are all together until after lunch, when the Stepson goes back to his mother’s house. And Boxing Day we take the Father-in-Law back home to Whitstable where he will spend some time with his daughter and her family.

Listed like that it doesn’t seem a very pressured time. But I’m finding myself getting all tense at the thought of all that Christmas involves: including all the food shopping, cooking etc. Such pressures are put on ourselves this time of year, mainly by ourselves, to make everything perfect. And it doesn’t have to be perfect; it’s just the family enjoying ourselves by being together.

Don’t have a perfect, stressful Christmas. Instead have a relaxed and enjoyable Christmas, everyone.

Wonderful News

2008-12-12T11:50:00.004Z

Shortly after 8.00 am this morning the Husband and I received a phone call from the Stepdaughter. She had heard that she had passed her last set of exams and is now entitled to have the letters CII (Chartered Insurance Institute) after her name. This is exceptionally good when you realise that she did all her studying and work for her exams in addition to holding down a full time job in the insurance industry.

Well done. We are proud of you.

Christmas shopping

2008-12-11T14:47:00.005Z

Does anyone else have difficulty buying presents, whether Christmas or birthdays, especially for men? I know I do, especially as I refuse to go the boring route of socks. I think the thing with our family is that we are all strong minded individuals with our own personal interests and passions. So we decided some years ago that the only thing to do was to issue a “wishlist” of things you would like, so that other members of the family can decide what to buy you that they know you would like.

The one who is especially difficult to buy for is the Stepson. He has, like the rest of us, very individual likes and dislikes. He has, of course, a passion for history and is currently working for his Ph.D at Cambridge University. He has interests and loves outside this too. I well remember trekking the shops looking for a port decanter and cheeseboard for his 19th Christmas on this earth, for him to use at parties in his rooms at college. His wishlists then can be quite something. When they eventually arrive.

So last year he did not produce his list until it was too late to buy anything online (our family works on the principle that the only way to buy Christmas gifts is on the internet when you get the best prices and don’t have the stress of battling through crowds in shops). This year all three of us – his sister, the Husband and I – all have been making the point (i.e. nagging) to him for some time that we need his list before it is too late this year. So yesterday, he sent out a rather exasperated e-mail. It says:

Right here is my wishlist: Beauty and the Beast; Little Mermaid; I
Claudius; Drop the Dead Donkey 1-3; Frasier 1 & 2. Right, back to
bibliography.

Catching Up

2008-12-09T19:47:00.002Z

Several things have happened since I last posted here and up to now I haven’t written about them. The first one that happened, because I just wanted to process it in my mind before I wrote about it. Subsequent things happened once I had thought about the first. Then, once everything had more or less settled down, the Husband took over the computer. He’s out tonight so I can use it – I strongly suspect that tomorrow he’ll be on it again.

The first thing happened on the Friday after I last posted here. I received a phone call from my brother to say that my mother had been taken into hospital after another heart attack, her heart already badly damaged from other attacks, and that I should get to the hospital as soon as possible as it could be the end. So the Husband and I threw a few things in an overnight bag and set off for Wales. The journey should take about 3.5 hours - it took us 5.5 hours, with several extensive traffic jams and torrential rain. When we finally got to Cardiff we went straight to the hospital where she was clearly very ill indeed, and also in massive pain. We stayed late into the evening and then onto my brother's, who put us up for the night. 08.10 the following morning we got a call to go straight in as her health was deteriorating. When we got there though she had rallied a bit. She continued to do so enough for the hospital to send her back to her nursing home (it employs trained nurses, experts in chronic care) as they needed her bed for another patient. She remains very, very weak and can hardly stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. We came home eventually and tried to settle down. She is no better though and I doubt will ever be. I've been told that she could have another heart attack at any time and that the next one will probably kill her - this could be tomorrow or months ahead - and that I should keep my mobile phone on and with me at all times. Needless to say I've felt devastated about this and it has taken a while to feel human again. Every time I speak to her on the phone her voice is so weak and she can only stay awake for a couple of minutes. I now wince and worry every time either the main phone or my mobile rings.

Life continues though and with something really good. Saturday 29th November was the Stepson's graduation ceremony when in addition to having the Bachelor of Arts (BA) he now also is a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil. Cantab). The Husband and I went, of course, and met up with the Stepson’s mother. The ceremony was very similar to the one we went to the summer of 2007, although each college was presenting just a few graduands at the Senate House rather than masses of BA’s and beforehand lunch was in one of the rooms of Pembroke College, rather than a marquee. After the actual ceremony the Stepson was busy for an hour and so we went into the Fitzwilliam museum and saw and excellent exhibition. Then when he was able to join us we all went off and had lunch in a local restaurant. It was a wonderful day and going made you feel better just concentrating on life, youthful energy and the future. We expect two further graduation ceremonies: in two years time the Stepson's current B.A. will be converted to an M.A and then in three years time hyis Ph. D. We can hardly wait.

The day before we went to Cambridge I broke a tooth and have spent the time since trying to get it sorted out. I’ve had a great deal of pain, three appointments with the dentist and another one tomorrow. If I can get near the computer afterwards I’ll write more on the saga and the wonders of Cerec.

I haven’t been able to get near our p.c. much the last couple of days because, at this time of the year the Husband likes to take it over almost completely. He goes to two evening classes each week, one on music appreciation and the other to learn how to sing. He is doing great guns on both and is especially bucked at the complementary things his singing teacher has said about his voice. Anyway, each Christmas he likes to put together a playlist of Christmas music on iTunes. This can take a while because he’s rather slow at the computer and he always complains that Apple’s constant upgrades of the iTunes software make the system less easy to use. I have a very strong suspicion he plans to take over the computer tomorrow as well, to finish what he is doing.

2008-11-17T17:01:00.002Z

Last Thursday I and a number of other Red Hat ladies from my Crimson Crumblies Chapter in Chelmsford in Essex made a long planned visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington.
It all started after the Husband had been to the new Jewellery Gallery at the V&A, on a visit to London with some of his music friends, and he had said to me “you ought to take your Red Hat ladies there, it's wonderful”. And so I proposed the visit and some time ago arranged it for that day. It turned out to be just what I had needed to take my mind off other things.

The original plan was for most of us to set off for London from our local Chelmsford station, meeting up later those who came into London on different railway lines. However, when I arrived at Chelmsford station just before 10.00am I discovered that a major signalling failure meant that no trains were going at that time to or from the London Liverpool St terminus. As my travelling companions arrived I explained the problem and it was decided to try another station and hence another line into the London Fenchurch St terminus. This plan worked and we arrived at the V&A museum, albeit about 90 minutes later that originally planned.

After lunch in the restaurant we headed off to the Jewellery gallery. As all visitors to the V&A find we got a little distracted on the way by the fabulous other exhibits – we walked through a gallery with some wonderful silverware, both old and new, which we really enjoyed, plus some religious exhibits and stained glass. The Jewellery gallery itself looked relatively small but it has a huge number of exhibits and to see them all takes a while. So we spent quite a while looking around them all.

Afterwards we headed back to the restaurant for tea (the restaurant is renowned for the quality of its food and drink) and when I telephoned home the Husband was able to tell me that the Liverpool Street trains still had problems, so we retraced our journey of the morning and found ourselves back in Essex by early evening.

I enjoyed arranging the visit for our Red Hatters and I hope the others felt that it made a good day’s outing. (It was nice and distracting too.) I am now thinking what we can do next in 2009.

2008-11-12T19:43:00.002Z

Pickle has gone. An X-ray and a scan earlier this week made it clear that she had a cancerous tumour and the cancer was quite quickly spreading through her body. I had a discussion with the vet this afternoon and made the decision. We are all sad at the moment, although we know it was the best thing for her.

I am keeping a close eye on Nimrod now. He came from the same litter as his sister and so I need to make sure that he manages this change in his life all right.

2008-11-07T08:58:00.000Z

My hands and arms are lacerated. I have masses of scratches all down them and they are sore and itch like mad. Why? Pickle is on a course of antibiotics.

I feel a little embarrassed to admit such difficulty in giving her such medication because I learnt how to put pills quickly and easily down cats’ throats when I was in my late teens and up to now that method has worked without any problems. But, of course, this is the first time I’ve tried to put a pill down Pickle’s throat. It was only after she and her brother became members of our family that the two of them developed completely different personalities. This didn’t surprise me excessively: every cat I’ve ever known has been their own “person” and with a personality to match. So when it became clear that Pickle is grumpy, demands to be stroked and then when she decides she’s had enough then bites the person stroking them and is the very opposite of a lap cat I thought it was just the sort of cat she is. She is also very intelligent – the usual methods to trick a cat don’t work on her. (The rest of the family calls her Bin Laden, after Osama…. .) I’ve seen her send off a much larger fox that had the temerity to stray into our garden while she was sunning herself outside. But at a routine visit to the vet for her annual vaccinations there was a conversation about how grumpy she was – I think she was trying to attack the vet at the time – and I was surprised when the vet said that she was like this because she is a tortoise-shell. Up to then it had never occurred to me that the colour and pattern of a cat’s coat could have any influence on their personality but he says that he has never known a pleasant tortie, that they are very all very difficult to deal with and bad tempered. Certainly she is a completely different personality from her laid back but lethal (to the local bird, rodent and squirrel population only) brother, Nimrod the Mighty Hunter. He has always treated her with respect but it is obvious seeing them together that she is the boss of the two.

Dealing with Pickle up to now has been easy because she has never been ill and so the only trouble has been catching her and battling to thrust her into the cat basket for her annual vaccinations at the vet’s surgery. However, she is almost 14 years old and it became clear to me recently that she was not well. Pickle has always been a very large cat, not in terms of her body size – she has a much smaller frame than her brother or, indeed most other adult cats – but because of the vast amount of cat food she eats: she’s always been fat. But about four weeks ago she began to lose weight and she has continued to do so. Now she is almost skeletal. So a visit to the vets became necessary and we went on Monday. Blood and urine samples were taken from her and tests taken. At the moment the vet is convinced there is something the matter but he isn’t quite sure what and so as a start she is on a 10 day course of antibiotics, one pill twice a day at that, to get rid of the infection in her system before he investigates further.

What hadn’t occurred to me was that despite her clearly not being well she has more then enough spirit to fight me off. I work on the principle that I am bigger than her and am doing something that is necessary for her health. But all the usual methods of getting pills down a normal cat’s throat don’t work on her. Now I am swathing her in a towel to try to keep her claws under control, wedging her bottom into the back of the sofa so she can’t run away and trying to force open jaws that she is doing her best to force shut.

I wish I could say that great fun is being had by all but, of course, it is not. I have to do this, she is part of our family and this is necessary medication to try to make her better. I just wish she would realise it’s for her own benefit. However as a result I am a mass of scratches, something that is likely to continue for the next 8 days until the course of antibiotics is finished.

2008-10-28T14:53:00.001Z

What on earth is going on with the weather? For some time now all the so-called “experts” have been wittering on about global warming, the melting of the Polar icecaps and the risk of us all suffering from skin cancer due to all the cancerous rays from the sun reaching us through the holes in the ozone layer.

And what have we actually experienced in the weather? Well, in Britain we’ve had two summers which have been cold and wet. Exceptionally wet when one considers the summer that we never had this year. It was as cold and damp as our usual autumn. Last winter (2007/8) wasn’t too bad, I suppose although I say this as someone who lives in East Anglia. Scotland and the North had a bad winter for weather, although it meant the resurgence of winter sports holidays in Scotland which became great popularity and lots of snow and skiing for the first time for some years.

And what has brought on my moans about the weather? This lunchtime’s weather forecast where we were told that today we are seeing the weather we normally don’t see here until the end of December/beginning of January – snow showers not only in Scotland but in many other areas in the North and the Midlands and freezing weather everywhere with temperatures only a few degrees above zero.

Global warming? Ha!

But seriously, are the “experts” who are predicting global warming talking the news media into a panic? Or are the news media currently trying to persuade us all that we are all doomed? I’ve been convinced for some time that the current “Credit Crunch” would not be half as bad if the TV and Newspapers haven’t told us for months now how the world is on the edge of a financial precipice and we are all doomed. No wonder so many have heeded what they have seen or read and given into panics on the price of shares and all the other mysterious financial things that make up the International money markets today.

Another example of believing in so-called “experts”. In today’s edition of The Times there is a half page article which starts by saying that the huge flocks of Beswick’s Swans which normally arrive at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust by 21st October have yet to arrive, preferring to stay on the Siberian tundra. The experts say that this is because the Arctic is so warm that the swans are happy to stay put and not attempt the journey to the Gloucestershire wetlands. The experts also say that there is a risk that the swans will lose their collective memory of their journey to the British wetland and may never return here again. But then, if you continue to read on past the first couple of paragraphs in the article you discover that past records of the swan’s arrival show that they do not necessarily arrive on 21st October: in 1969 they arrived on November 6th; and in 1981 and 1982 they arrived on November 3rd. So, my interpretation of the article is that someone –whether “experts” or the newspaper, I don’t know – is trying to whip us up into a frenzy of panic about global warming. I don’t think I am going to be immediately frightened though. I think I shall wait for another couple of weeks before deciding that some swans have decided not to join us here in Britain this year. And another couple of years thereafter to see whether the swans will come next year or the year after.

What I won’t do is to shout we are all doomed on the basis of supposition from so-called “experts”.

An Engineer's Guide to Voting (Ginger Cat for President)

2008-10-25T10:45:00.001+01:00

And here is that other TouTube piece Paul Klausman mentioned. Enjoy!

2008-10-25T10:15:00.006+01:00

I am staggered. When I found the YouTube video "An Engineer's Guide to Cats" I thought it funny and quirky. I also thought that my friend CopCar would especially like it, given that she was an Engineer for so many years. And so I posted the YouTube video here, on this blog.

CopCar almost immediately responded in the comments, saying

Although I cannot run this video on my computer (security issues!), I can only assume that it is one that I saw on a local TV channel, whose co-author/ producer/director used to work for me at the Little Airplane Company (Cessna). The young man, Paul Klusman, is quite delightful to know, and I have exchanged a few emails with him about the video. On 1 Oct 2008, he wrote, "I'll be in an article in the NY Times this Sunday. It is about single guys who have cats. This cat thing is going to just keep going I guess!" I'm happy that you found his video on cats. Cop Car
P.S. He also wrote, in the above-mentioned email, "We still need more ladies in engineering today. Perhaps I'll do a video interview with you some day to inspire more ladies to go into engineering. I probably never told you this but I really admire how you did not let your gender stop you from doing what you wanted to do. I particularly admire how you got checked out in every taildragger Cessna ever built. I would have LOVED to have done that!"

CopCar subsequently sent me an e-mail that she had received from one of the Engineers who made that original video. It says

Hey......,
I have a new cat video up on YouTube: "An Engineer's Guide to Voting (Ginger Cat for President)" that your friend may also enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-0-WPoq0UM
It is not quite as popular as the first cat video but still well received. I tried to figure out a way to contact her but did not see a means for this on her blog page. If you are in touch with her you might mention the new video. Also I was recently featured in the NY Times in an article about single, straight guys who own cats:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/fashion/05cats.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Thanks and good to hear from you,Paul

And so I went looking for the New York Times article. And I enjoyed reading it so much that I'm posting it here for us all to enjoy. As I said it is from the New York Times.

IF you ask Adam Fulrath who is the love of his life, he will barely blink
an eye before responding: Parappa.
Mr. Fulrath, a 37-year-old design director at Time Out New York, keeps five
photographs of Parappa, a shorthaired, bicolored, mixed-breed cat, on his desktop. He knows that it might be considered a little weird that a grown man would be so enamored with his kitty, but Mr. Fulrath, who is into video games and comic books and calls himself a “straight, geeky guy,” doesn’t care. “She’s my primary relationship,” he said.
Mr. Fulrath is one of a growing number of single — and yes, heterosexual — men who seem to be coming out of the cat closet and unabashedly embracing their feline side. To that end, they are posting photographs and videos of their little buddies on YouTube and on Web sites like menandcats.com, and Twittering
about them to anyone who will listen.
Indeed, it seems that man’s best friend is no longer a golden retriever, but a cuddly cat named Fluffy. This movement, such as it is, is in direct contrast to the most notable in the recent spate of reports about the relationship between a man and a cat, which were far darker; they focused on a young actor who was recently on trial in New York City for killing his girlfriend’s cat — he said it attacked him — only to have a jury decide after several days that it could not reach a verdict.
If it had been a little less violent, that case might have been more in line with what the world seems to expect of men and cats.
The image of the crazy spinster cat lady persists, and plenty of people do wonder about a guy with a cat. As a writer on adventuresofacitygirl.blogspot.com
put it: “Single men and cats are like a burger and broccoli. Separately they are okay, but together it just seems off.”
But those who see a growing link between men and cats see that attitude (not to mention the cat slaying) as old-fashioned.
Clea Simon, who wrote “The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats,” said: “I do think it has become more acceptable for men to own cats — partly for practical reasons, like the growing realization that they’re better city pets, and partly the whole acceptance of our cross-gender traits that men crave intimacy, too.”
Stacy Mantle, the founder of Petsweekly.com, a magazine for pet lovers, said that men are becoming more “cat literate” because they themselves are evolving.
“It’s the unevolved members of the species who tend toward abuse of cats — and oftentimes, women and children,” said Ms. Mantle, who owns 18 cats.
Although there are no hard (or soft) statistics (it is rare to find an owner, man or woman, walking a cat in public), it seems that single, heterosexual male cat owners are on the rise. Over the last few years Sandra DeFeo, an executive director at the Humane Society of New York, said she had seen an increase in the number of single, straight men who are adopting cats.
Carole Wilbourn, a cat therapist (yes, really) in Manhattan, said that
the number of her single, straight male clients has risen about 25 percent over
the last five years.
When the Web site PetPlace.com asked its readers, “Do Real Men Own
Cats?” almost 84 percent of respondents said “yes.” “Only intelligent, aware,
caring men love cats,” one reader said. And in a 2005 survey by Cats Protection,
an animal welfare agency in the United Kingdom, the majority of the 790 people
who responded said it was cool for a guy to own cats.
This line of thinking does not surprise cat lovers, many of whom believe that only pillars of virility and masculinity would dare to own one. They are quick to point out other well-known macho cat owners: Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Victor Hugo and Marlon Brando, who reportedly found a stray cat on the set of “The Godfather” and incorporated it into a scene.
John Scalzi, 39, an author in Bradford, Ohio, has been a cat guy his entire life. In September 2006, he posted a picture of a piece of bacon taped to his cat, Ghlaghghee (pronounced Fluffy — an ode to George Bernard Shaw), on his Web site www.scalzi.com/whatever. Thousands of viewers apparently found this hilarious.
Mr. Scalzi, who is now married and has a daughter, blames Hollywood for the continual bad rap that has befallen the male cat owner. Originally, he said, only strong men like Don Corleone, or the villains in a James Bond film, had cats.
“But then in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, Hollywood decided that we need to have the token gay man as the witty sidekick friend of the main female protagonist,” he said. “ ‘What kind of signature thing can we give him to convey that he is not an
entirely masculine being? I know! We’ll give him a big fluffy cat!’ ”
In fact, Mr. Scalzi thinks that dogs are for the weaker of spirit, since the dog
is, in effect, “your wingman.” “If you’re feeling insecure about your space
in the world, you get a dog because he will always back you up,” he said. “He’s
the insecure man’s best friend.” A man with a cat, on the other hand, “is
secure with himself,” he said. “He’s sharing his space with a predator.”
Many women agree that guys with cats are extra special. “They make the best
boyfriends because they’re totally cool with staying home and watching a movie,”
said Elizabeth Daza, 28, a video producer in Manhattan, who dated a cat-owning
man for eight years. “Straight men with cats seem to be really secure and stable. They don’t need to be running around the park and proving their masculinity like the dog guys.”
On a practical level, cats are easier, male owners say — especially if they (the men) travel a lot. They can leave the cat alone for days on end, and the cat will survive.
“I would feel guilty if I had a dog and was out of the country for three weeks,” said Mark Fletcher, 38, an entrepreneur in Redwood City, Calif. who has two cats, Einstein and Babe (as in Ruth).
What’s more, cats are relatively low maintenance. “A dog is a lot of work,” said Nader Ali-Hassan, 29, an account executive with a digital marketing firm in Cleveland.
Although he is married, he has had cats his entire life, and even has a picture of Ringo, a longtime feline companion, in his office. “Maybe it’s not the most masculine thing in the world, but I’m comfortable enough in my own manhood,” he said. “The cat’s nice. I come home after a long day of work, it sits in my lap, I pet it, and then it goes about its business.”
SOME guys are even using their cats as vehicles to celebrity, like Paul Klusman, 39, a Wichita, Kan., engineer who catapulted to Internet fame after posting “An Engineer’s Guide to Cats” on YouTube in April. The film, which features his three cats, Oscar, Ginger and Zoey, garnered about 3 million views. Mr. Klusman said he received about 300 marriage proposals from “lonely cat ladies from all over the world,” in addition to more risqué propositions. “Any single, straight man who has the slightest bit of insecurity about his own sexuality will probably find it difficult to admit to owning or even appreciating cats” he said, echoing Mr. Scalzi’s sentiments.
Of course, it can become tricky, like when the cat gets in the way of a relationship.
The Cats Protection study found that single male cat owners were more likely than their female counterparts to have made, or consider making, a sacrifice for their cat — including giving up a holiday or going into debt for their cat if necessary.
Single men were also almost as likely as single women to break a friendship rather than lose their cat, and would consider choosing their cat over their partner.
This happened to Mr. Fulrath, who dated a woman who was allergic to cats.
“I thought, ‘This is never going to work,’ ” he recalled. “My cat takes priority over the new relationship.
Realistically, unless there’s something absolutely amazing about her, he
wins.”

(I highlighted the bit in red.)

Talk about Serendipity. I saw something I liked, thought my friends would like it also and it turns out that the chap who made it is a friend of a friend. Thank you so much CopCar for this.

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

2008-10-22T21:57:00.001+01:00

This will be enjoyed by all, and especially by engineers. And cats.

Scotch Broth and Facebook

2008-10-21T16:06:00.004+01:00

Last June I wrote about having just joined Facebook and made a totally incorrect prediction. I said "I doubt I shall spend as much time on Facebook". I was wrong. It sort of sucks you in and you find yourself using it a lot. Also it's a very easy and quick way to keep in touch with family and friends. Both the Stepdaughter and Stepson are on Facebook as are two of my cousins plus several other members of their family. Then there are several Red hat ladies I know and keep in touch with. Using Facebook is a quick and easy way to keep in touch with them all.

Anyway, advertisement for Facebook over. One of the facilities on your own page is quick and easy way to say what you are doing at that particular moment. One day last week I stated that I was in the middle of making a big pot of Scotch Broth. And I was approached by two friends asking for the recipe. In addition to having it written in my personal book of useful recipes I was (and still am) absolutely convinced that I'd put it on the interweb somewhere. Do you think I could find it? Nowhere and I tried looking all over the place. I think it is somewhere in this blog but the blog has been going now for about three and a half years and my quick search through all the posts in the archives couldn't find it. So I typed the recipe onto a Facebook message and sent it out.

So this is why I am posting the recipe here and now. If it is a repeat of an earlier post then sobeit.

100 grms pearl barley
750grms shoulder of lamb cut into chunks ( and with the bone)
2.5 litres stock
1 tsp salt
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 leeks, chopped
300 grms swede (or turnip) peeled and diced
300 grms carrots, peeled and diced
200 grms savoy cabbage, shredded

Put the barley, lamb, stock and salt in a large pot. Bring to the boil, skimming off the froth that rises to the surface. Cover and simmer for an hour.

Add the onion, leeks, swede and carrots. Simmer for a further 40 minutes. Add the shedded cabbage and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Remove the lamb and shred the meat, discarding the bone. Return the meat to the broth, heat through and season to taste.

This makes a lot but cooled and refrigerated it provides a meal for the Husband and myself for a day or two. Sometimes the soup is so thick that I let it down with some more stock so it goes still further. Delicious.

2008-10-18T11:21:00.002+01:00

From the letters page of Thursday's The Times.

Sir,
Could I take the opportunity to gloat to my family. It seems that banking was not a more sensible choice than theatre.
Jimmy Jewell

I am back

2008-10-17T12:40:00.001+01:00

I haven’t been around here for a few weeks, for which I am sorry. But life gets a bit complicated at times. You reach your late 50’s in a healthy condition, the kids have their own lives, you have finished with work and you don’t have to commute to the center of London every weekday. Everything should be going well with you. But, how often is there a spanner in the works. Because this period in your life is often the time when you find new things in your life to worry you.

That is the stage the Husband and I have reached. Each of us has one living parent: his father and my mother. And each of them have lives overshadowed by health problems. My Father-in-Law has mobility problems, since he lost a leg a few years ago. My mother has serious health problems and, at 87, her mind is at times a little muddled and forgetful.

I’m afraid that for a few weeks my life became overshadowed with my worries about the situation. And at the time I decided to suspend posting to my blog for a while as I found it difficult to think of anything to write. But time passes and you get used to the new situation and the different life that you are living. I think one of the things that has helped me is a passion for the quotations of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (AD121- AD180). I have a book of his sayings that I frequently read. Also one of his quotations appears each day on my desktop and I always read them and find comfort in them. Today’s quotation is;

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing
itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any
moment.

How true and something I believe in.

Anyway, I am back and feeling more with it. Hello everybody.

Dames (1934) - title musical sequence

2008-08-20T10:20:00.001+01:00

The Husband and I are on a Busby Berkley passion at the moment after he bought a DVD box set of some of some of Berkeley's Warner Brothers films. The plots of the fiolms are hardly of the best but this doesn't matter because the dance sequences are absolutely fabulous.

2008-08-18T13:13:00.000+01:00

It never rains but it pours. And I’m not just talking about the weather although I can’t think of a day in the last three weeks when we haven’t had at least some rain. Now we haven’t got the flooding they’ve had in some places – I understand that Northern Ireland has been especially inflicted with so much rain that parts have been badly flooded.

As soon as my life begins to settle down to some degree of sanity then, of course, something happens. And in this case it isn’t just something, it’s Something.

My mother has been trying to persuade the nurses in her nursing home to let her out of bed and to sit on a chair. On Thursday, after what I understand was a lot of persuasion on my mother’s part, they finally agreed and got her out of bed and into a chair. Somehow while sitting there she tried to reach something and fell out of the chair. She has broken her knee. She said to me that it was hardly a fall but, as I had to point out to her she does have bad osteoporosis, so her bones are very brittle. At the moment she is in hospital with her leg in a splint. I spoke to her doctor on the telephone this morning and she’s likely to be in there for some time.

Oh well, we’ll cope with it all. It’s hardly the end of the world and soon, hopefully, her leg will settle down a bit.

2008-08-05T11:20:00.003+01:00

A busy few days at the moment. Nothing particularly special, so to speak, but lots of things to do. Doctors' Appointments to check how my blood pressure and asthma are going, dentist appointment for an rampaging toothache that turned out to be an abscess, a visit to the glaucoma monitoring clinic of St Thomas' Hospital in London (my eyes are fine), the Stepson is in town and so we are having him and the Stepdaughter around tomorrow for a meal and family get-together, I'm off to Cardiff to visit my mother on Thursday and lots of other bits and pieces going on too. It's odd how everything like these all cram together in the same period.

And my mind is going around in circles. CopCar made a comment to my note about the petition. I feel I want to reply to this but at the moment I just cannot think of anything sensible to say, there's just too many little things going on. Hang on CopCar, I will reply.

2008-07-25T15:44:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, my friend Buffy added a comment – well, more like a question – to the comments for the piece I wrote on us buying a new car. Buffy asked “did the Husband get the Bang and Olufsen sound system?? You'll find him sitting in the car listening to his CD collection in the middle of the night, until the new car smell wears off! Lol”. Well that’s a story in itself.

Last Monday the Husband and I set off back to the car salesroom. The Husband has a set system for testing a new hifi system, whether it is the very, very good one we have in the living room, the much smaller and cheaper system I put in the kitchen, so that I can have music while cooking or the one in the bedroom, for music while getting ready for bed. The Husband takes several CDs, carefully chosen to test a new system with music both loud and soft, fast and slow (from memory he took Rachmaninoff, Finzi, Shostakovich plus Sting and the Police). He took all these on Monday, plus both our iPods and we tested out the Bang & Olufsen system in one of the cars in the showroom. I suspect he was already minded to buy the system; he certainly didn’t take any persuasion to buy it. When we plugged in my iPod we could see the playlist showing on a panel on the car’s dashboard – so it is easy to choose what to listen to provided, of course, that you do this before you start driving! The sound quality of the music system was excellent, so we’ve ordered it to be added to our new car. One of the good things about it is that someone looking in one of the car windows could not see the music system at all; it is invisible unless you dismantle the car’s innards. And it wouldn’t be worth while doing this to steal the hifi system as it will only work in the car.

I have been driving for 40 years and, up to now, I’ve been able to sit in any car and drive off without any problem as usually they all have the same switches and levers, etc only, perhaps, in different places in different cars. But then up to now they have all, including our current Citroen Xantia, been cars that work mechanically. Nowadays new cars are basically a computer on wheels. Cars nowadays have all sorts of switches and things I just do not recognise and I can imagine it will take me a while to work out what they are and what they do. The thing that does throw me completely is that the car doesn’t have a handbrake. Instead it has a switch that automatically turns on the handbrake when the car stops and turns it on again when the car starts to go again. But still, I’ll get used to it and everything else. Eventually.

2008-07-24T11:14:00.004+01:00

The other day I signed an online petition.

The Petition actually stated:
"By comparison to many other European Countries, Britain has fewer public holidays and none at all for a period of some three months between the August public holiday and Christmas. Moreover, Britain does not have a "National" day. So what better way to celebrate our Nation than to have a National Remembrance Holiday falling on the second Monday in November each year to reinforce Remembrance Sunday which falls on the second Sunday in November? Such a holiday will serve to emphasise our commemoration of The Fallen who gave their lives to save Britain and also the on-going importance of the survival of our Nation. The National Remembrance Holiday will further serve to break that period between late summer and Christmas when there is currently no public holiday."

Yesterday evening I received an e-mail to say that the Prime Minister's Office has responded. This is what was said:-

More than 500,000 people have signed this petition, and we are grateful to you
all for taking the time to do so.
Your support is a clear sign of the strength of feeling across the United Kingdom that we must do more as a country to recognise the contribution of our Armed Forces, and in particular those who have died or been injured in the service of their country.
The Government recently published The National Recognition Study (new window), undertaken by Quentin Davies MP, which looks at the ways in which the Government, other institutions and the country as a whole can do more to recognise the service of our Armed Forces and Veterans.
One of its recommendations was the institution of a special British Armed Forces and Veterans Day, which would complement the events held around Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday in November to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of our country.
These proposals are being given careful consideration by the Government, alongside other representations we have received to institute a new 'British Day', and as part of these deliberations, we will of course examine the case for introducing a new public holiday.
There is considerable debate amongst supporters of a new special public holiday to remember our Armed Forces and Veterans or our fallen servicemen about when in
the year such a day should take place.
While there are a very large number of people - including signatories to this petition- who believe the Monday after Remembrance Sunday is the best option, there areothers - including the Royal British Legion (new window) - who do not support that proposal, because they are concerned that a public holiday then would not be inkeeping with the solemnity and special status of the Remembrance Sunday commemorations.
Quentin Davies MP has suggested holding the new day close to the current Veterans' Day at the end of June, while others have suggested holding the day to coincide with the anniversaries of the D-Day Landings in early June or of V.E. Day in early May.
We greatly appreciate your contribution to this ongoing debate, and whatever the final outcome, we hope that all signatories to this petition will see that we have very much taken on board their desire to see much greater national recognition for our Armed Forces.

Green Pea, Lettuce and Mint Soup

2008-07-22T17:41:00.001+01:00

The other day I was looking for a recipe for a soup I could serve cold, as it has been far too hot and humid for one that had to be served hot. So I had a look through my recipe books and came across my copy of the New Covent Garden Soup Company’s Book of Soups. It had some wonderful recipes and I chose this one. So I had a go and found that it wasn’t good. It was absolutely delicious. And very easy to make. So, here it is.

Green Pea, Lettuce and Mint Soup

Ingredients:
50g (2 oz) butter
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
350g (12 oz) potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
900 ml (1.5 pints) light chicken stock
2 handfuls lettuce leaves, about 200 g (7 oz)
125 g (4.5 oz) fresh or frozen peas
leaves of a small bunch of mint, shredded
150 ml (1/4 pint) single cream
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Method:
Melt the butter and cook the onion and garlic gently until soft in a covered saucepan, without colouring. Add the potatoes and stock. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the lettuce leaves, peas and mint. Cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Cool a little then liquidise the soup. Stir in the cream and add a little more water if you think it necessary to achieve the correct consistency. Season as necessary. Serve.

Notes:
I used the type of lettuce with virtually no heart. I think that if I was using lettuces which have large hearts then I would shred them before cooking them.
I used frozen peas and when I looked at the mixture cooking in the pan thought that it would need many more peas. I was wrong – the amount in the recipe added just the right amount of flavour to the soup.
The recipe says that you can serve the soup cold or warm. I haven’t tasted it warm yet. I will do so. The recipe is so simple and quick and tastes so delicious I will certainly make it again.
I wanted to include a picture of the book’s cover but couldn’t find it online so I assume that my version of the book is not being published now although I see on Amazon that other books by the same company are being published.

2008-07-16T10:14:00.001+01:00

Monday afternoon and evening I felt totally stunned, a feeling that began to wear off as Tuesday wore off. Why? Monday afternoon we bought a new car.

I am a great believer of buying a car that works, maintaining it properly and just keeping it going for as long as the car works and it is economic still to run. This is what we did with our current car, a Citroen Xantia SX 1.9 diesel. We have had it for 15 years, buying it very shortly after we married. We have had very few and those relatively minor problems with it over the years and it has never let us down (touch wood). Of course neither of us used it to drive to work. Taking the train to the center of London for work was both the most economic and far less stressful option of traffic queues and trying to find somewhere to park (our employer does not provide parking spaces for employees) and so the car has mainly been used for local trips and longer drives to visit both the Husband’s and my parents. So now, after 15 years the car has done less than 68,000 miles.

At the Xantia's last service we were told by my brother-in-law, a trained mechanic who has seen to the car’s servicing for years, that at the next service the car will need a new braking system, a new gearbox and lots and lots of expensive work done to the hydraulic system. As the cost of all this work will considerably exceed the value of the car we knew that we would need to replace the car before the next service and MOT in the third week in September. The road fund license expires at the end of August.

So we started thinking about possible replacements. We bought a copy of What Car magazine and read the comments and critiques of all the cars sold in the UK. I have also spent a fair bit of time looking online. We both agreed that our next move was to look around various car showrooms and to take several test drives of various cars before sitting down and discussing sensibly what car to buy. So we made our first visit to a car salesroom Monday afternoon.

Ahem.

We went to an Audi dealers in Chelmsford. We had test drives in two different cars (one of them an automatic which confirmed my total loathing of automatic cars). We chatted to the salesman about prices. And then out of the blue the Husband offered them a deal - What Car says that the most you can get off the model is £700, he asked for a discount of about £1,700 on the overall price. After a lot of thought behind the scenes they took the offer. And we shook on it. So we've bought a car. An Audi A4 Avant SE diesel. We are having only a couple of additions to it: an automatic handbrake switch, the reversing warning system the Stepson suggested (he drives his maternal grandmother’s car) and an adaptor for an iPod. And the colour of the car - Red (there were only three basic colours and we didn't like the other two - black and white - and didn't want to pay more for the metallics).

The car will be built to our specifications in Germany and shipped over here. We were told it will take 5 - 6 weeks before we finally get it. Then we will have to make moves to get rid of our old car.

At the moment the Husband is wondering whether to ask them to add a Bang & Olufsen sound system to the car. We'll see.

2008-07-13T17:45:00.002+01:00

At the moment the Husband and I are staggering around the house, mopping our eyes and, in my case at least, attempting to swallow a huge lump in my throat. We've just watched for the very first time Cinema Paradiso. It is wonderful, one of the best films I've ever seen. Charming, very funny in places and very bittersweet. It is a wonderful, wonderful film.

2008-07-11T15:29:00.004+01:00

Sometimes you read something in the news you just can't believe is true. How on earth can anyone put on a bra and not realise that it is already occupied.

From yesterday's BBC news:-

A teenager who thought movement in her underwear was caused by her vibrating mobile phone found a bat curled up asleep in her bra.
Abbie Hawkins, 19, of Norwich, had been wearing the bra for five hours when she
plucked up the courage to investigate.
When she did, she found a baby bat in padding in her 34FF bra. The reservations agent, who works at the Holiday Inn at Norwich International Airport, said she was shocked but felt bad for removing the "cuddly" bat.
"It looked cosy and comfortable and I was sorry for disturbing it," she said. She was sitting at her desk at work when she decided to investigate the strange movements in her underwear. "I put my hand down my bra and pulled out a cuddly little bat.
"That shocked me very much at the time, but it scuttled off under the desk into the dark. I was shaking from head to toe.
"It looked quite cosy and comfortable in there so it was quite rude of me to take it
out.
"When I realised it was a bat the first thing that occurred to me was how did it get in there.
"I felt quite sorry for it. Perhaps I should have left it there and given it a good home.
"I did not notice anything as I put my bra on. The night before I had had one or two drinks and I was getting ready quickly.
"The bra was in my drawer but it had been on the washing line the day before.
"When I was driving to work, I felt a slight vibration but I thought it was just my mobile phone in my jacket pocket."
The bat was captured by one of her colleagues and released.

2008-07-11T15:16:00.002+01:00

I haven’t been blogging much this year. Not for any major or horrid reasons, just that I’m having difficulty finding new things to talk about. Life keeps jogging along and I go with it.

The weekend before last was nice. Thursday 3rd was the Stepson’s birthday (22) and so he came up to see us all the previous weekend – he is working too hard on his studies to take off his birthday. So the Husband and I dropped down to Whitstable the Friday of that weekend, picked up the Father-in-Law and brought him back here to stay for the weekend. In fact the Father-in-Law thought we were crazy as we drove over there after lunch and insisted on turning around immediately to drive him back. When he saw how busy the M25 was by 4.00pm and how long the queues were for the QE2 Bridge at Dartford he then understood why we hadn't wanted to wait any longer. Saturday lunchtime the three of us met up with the Stepson and Stepdaughter at a good local Italian restaurant and after a very good meal we returned home for the rest of the day. The following day I cooked lunch ( a nice piece of sirloin but what a price! - £31, but it tasted wonderful and we had plenty over for other meals) and we all stayed together and chatted until after tea when we drove the Father-in-Law back to Whitstable.

Actually on the Stepson’s birthday the Husband and went up to Cambridge to meet him for lunch – the only time he was able to leave his studies. He really is motivated to do well. Afterwards the Husband and I had a quick look around the Fitzwilliam Museum for a couple of hours. It was a nice day, except the city was absolutely crowded with people. What we hadn’t realised was that this was the University’ Open Day for prospective new students. All of whom had brought their parents and some of them had brought their siblings also. As Cambridge University takes approximately 1 in 5 of prospective applicants it gives you some idea of the numbers involved. We had wondered why the car park at the Park and Ride was so full on an ordinary weekday. All was well during the day but the queue for the bus to take us all back to the car park was like a rugby scrum. We eventually got on the third bus going back and fortunately we had seats.

Other than that I can’t say we’ve done much. The weather hasn’t helped as we’ve had rain most days. The number of dry sunny days we’ve had over the last couple of weeks can virtually be counted on one of my thumbs. So I’ve had little opportunity to do much in the garden, which is growing and growing in so much warm and wet weather. The problem is that the weeds like this sort of weather too and so the best description for the garden at the moment is “unkempt”. This isn’t helped by the fact that when the Husband mowed the lawn he managed to cut the electrical cable in two by passing the mower over it. No-one was hurt, as he had used the circuit- breaker thingy, but his attempts to find a thing to repair the cable have been thwarted by the lack of such equipment in the shops. At one time lots of different electric equipment could be found but since the Health & Safety lobby has got going the amount of home electrical work that can be done by a householder rather than a qualified electrician is virtually none. He says he shall continue to look for the bits, especially as my look on the web this morning shows that a replacement cable from Flymo will cost about £16. So, Buffy’s requests for more pictures here of the garden will be answered once the weather clears up and my asthma allows me to get outside again. So, watch this space for that.

2008-06-13T23:02:00.002+01:00

Has anyone else noticed how easy it is to get sucked into things on the Internet? You are chugging along quite happily reading all your e-mails (a lot of them if you are me and a member of several Yahoo Groups) and RSS feeds (thank you, Google Reader) and then suddenly something new catches your eye and you get carried away. This happens to me every so often.

Chatting to my cousin by e-mail the other day he said that I could see lots of photos of his family on Facebook and also another cousin and pictures of other members of the family were to be found on Facebook too. Well, I have never ever thought of joining Facebook. For a start from what I have heard it is really meant for a younger generation than my own. Then there is all the fuss about some people putting too much information being put on Facebook and so being made available to the entire world. And then there was the fact that I’ve managed quite well without Facebook up to now and so why bother to add it to my list of things to do. But I wanted to keep more in touch with the family and to see those photos. So I joined….

At the moment I am just starting to use it. I have to admit that my initial reaction is to be very, very careful with the information I am putting on it. I am not the only person on Facebook with my name and so I thought it necessary to post a photo to make it clear who was me (so to speak). Does that mean that I’ve put my own photo on there? No, the world can see a photo I already had of Nimrod the Mighty Hunter. That will do. I am being almost paranoid about what information I am posting there.

Somehow I doubt I shall spend as much time on Facebook as some – I’ve heard stories of some young people being on there for hours every day. Not me. But it does seem a way to keep in touch with some and so I shall visit there. If you want to contact me there just let me know…….

2008-06-10T22:13:00.001+01:00

Here are a few more pictures of Saturday that Blogger didn't allow me to post yesterday. There is a lot more to see at Wisley with acre after acre of lovely gardens.

The RHS (Red Hat Society) at the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society)

2008-06-09T17:58:00.007+01:00

Saturday was a very special day for the British Red Hat Society. The reason for the occasion: the launch of the new official Red Hat sweet pea, Ruby Red Hat, at the Royal Horticultural Society's main headquarters in Wisley, Surry.

A member of our local Red Hat chapter, the Lady Boz of the Crimson Crumblies, works for a local nursery and when they developed a new sweet pea in a wonderful shade of red her boss offered her the opportunity to name it. And so she called it Ruby Red Hat.

Lots of things happen before a new plant can finally be recognised as one that can be sold under a new name. Ruby Red Hat has been through them all and is currently on the Royal Horticultural Society’s trail fields. And on Saturday about 90 of us from all over the UK converged on the Royal Horticultural Society’s headquarters at Wisley.

We all met together at the entrance of Wisley gardens at noon and had time to look around the gardens before we all met at the trial fields at 1.30 actually to see Ruby Red Hat growing under trial.

Then the gentleman who had developed the sweet pea gave us a brief talk. Then came the official photos.

In the afternoon we had more opportunities to look around the Royal Horticultural Society’s wonderful gardens before we all met for a formal Tea in one of the main restaurants on the site.

We were also incredibly lucky with the weather. As we drove into South East England the clouds cleared up and by the time we reached Wisley it became a delightfully warm and sunny day. It really was a very special day and it was lovely to have the opportunity to talk to lots and lots of other Red Hatters and in such a very special and beautiful place.

2008-05-29T10:09:00.003+01:00

The Husband is feeling a great sense of achievement at the moment - the Wisteria has flowered for the very first time.

It doesn't sound a great thing, except we planted it as a young plant against the back wall if the house at least 12 years ago. Neither of us had any experience of this type of plant and, of course, we were both working at the time and so we left it to do its own thing. This was a big mistake as we later discovered as it needs proper pruning to shape the plant and to encourage it to start flowering.

Once we had both finished with work the Husband decided to try and get the wisteria to flower. So for a couple of years he pruned it, albeit rather tentatively. Nothing happened. The Husband got a little frustrated about this and announced that the wisteria had one more opportunity to flower or he would dig it up and throw it away. I wouldn't call his pruning this time as tentative - it was more like buchery. Real kill or cure. After he had finished this task there was very little left, it looked like a few stems and very little green.

And it worked. We've had a good first flowering from the plant. And, hopefully, we'll have more flowers on it in future years.

Pictures taken from a certain angle

2008-05-19T09:47:00.003+01:00

2008-05-15T17:23:00.003+01:00

Does anyone else have the problems I do in choosing greetings cards? Every time I go in a card shop to buy a card my brain fuses. It isn’t the massive amount of choice in cards, it is because I have such difficulty finding any cards that I would actually want to buy.

Virtually every card is addressed to someone – and nowadays the cards will be clearly marked on the front of the card as for: husband, wife, brother, sister, friend, best friend, fiancee, aunt, uncle, gay lover, dog or cat (I’m not joking about these last three, I have actually seen greeting cards for sale addressed to them). And inside these cards is some sickly sentimental verse which usually is so bad it makes William McGonagall seem like the poet laureate. (The standard of verse in Valentine’s cards is especially notable.)

The less said about the so-called “funny” cards the better. I usually look for something like this for my nephew (aged 22, and so of the right age to receive such a card). You have to plough through a huge amount of dross to find anything that is reasonably humorous without being totally offensive. Who on earth sends some of these cards with humour that borders on the obscene? And what does the recipient think?

What is wrong with a nice card with a nice picture on the front which says inside “Happy Birthday”? That’s what I like to find but usually I have the dickens of a job to find anything suitable. I like to think that by sending a card that it goes without saying that I am thinking of the person. I don’t need to send card with some meaningless verse inside to say so.

The local card shop is exceptionally large and full of cards. But those of the type I like fill just a couple of feet of space in the very back of the shop and I generally have to hunt to find them. And even then the choice of decorations on the front of the cards often does not inspire. I can usually find something suitable for a lady with perhaps flowers or something else feminine and pretty on the front. But try to find a card for a man. Just what “manly” picture do you find on the front of a card? Racing cars, yachts and then only if you are lucky.

Often nowadays I go for a card with no writing inside. That always seems the best option. Then I can chose something with a picture I like and am suitable for the person I am sending it to and write something suitable inside.

Am I being too picky about greetings cards? I am just aware of a close friend who was sent an ordinary Christmas card with a printed verse inside that wished her “the best Christmas ever” two months after the death of her son. It was obviously done totally unthinkingly by a sender who just hadn’t thought of what was printed in the card. But seeing how much hurt that card caused made me think twice and forever about the potential impact of a sent greetings card.

HMS Dasher

2008-04-10T17:11:00.000+01:00

On 27 March 1943 HMS Dasher exploded and sank with the loss of 379 lives.

Dasher was built in America but was commissioned into the Royal Navy the following year. Such ships were desperately needed to provide air cover for the Atlantic convoys. These were Britain’s lifeline and were being remorselessly attacked by German submarines. In 1943 the ship’s flight deck was extended by 42 feet and it began to carry Fairey Swordfish aircraft. It undertook one mission successfully but after its second mission it suffered a major internal explosion and sank into the Firth of Clyde.

Various possible causes have been suggested for the explosion but exactly what happened has to date not been officially recognised. Her death toll, 379 out of 528 crewmen despite rapid response and assistance from local ships and rescue craft was amongst the highest in British home waters. Immediately after the explosion there was an official cover-up aimed at concealing what was a significant loss both in Naval and human terms.

One theory for the explosion and sinking of HMS Dasher is that a Swordfish aircraft failed correctly to land on the Dasher’s flight deck but instead crashed into the ship itself. This view is strongly held by several who remember seeing this happen, including a young woman who was taking her infant son for a walk on the sea front.

Another witness was a young naval telegraphist on a tank landing craft nearby. His name was George Humphreys and he is my Father-in-Law. For years he has talked of the day he saw a Swordfish aircraft hit the Dasher, after which he saw the ship explode. He originally told the Husband of this in 1960 and his story of the actual incident has not changed over the years.

On 28th, 29th and 30th March 2008, 65 years after the explosion and sinking, there was a memorial weekend for HMS Dasher. My Husband and his father flew up to Glasgow to become part of the ceremony and to meet some of the others also acknowledging the incident with their hearts and minds. Ceremonies took place where wreaths were laid at the memorial gardens at Ardrossan. The ferry that usually runs between Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran took a small detour to the site of the wreck, a further ceremony took place and the Father-in-law laid a wreath in the sea on behalf of both those who lost their lives in the explosion and its aftermath and also his friends who died during the Second World War.

George still feels very strongly of the need to remember those who were lost during the War, his memories are still sharp of that time. Those he met at the memorial weekend feel the same. It is easy to belittle these thoughts and feelings as being those of the old, but important to remember the lives and times then. They are a part of our history and a sharp reminder of the cost of the freedom we are lucky enough to enjoy.

Above is a picture of George Humphreys as a young naval rating during the war. Below is one of him laying a wreath overboard at the site of the wreck.

HMS DASHER (27 March 1943)

2008-04-08T16:39:00.001+01:00

This is what the Husband and the Father-in-law did a few days ago.

2008-04-03T16:36:00.001+01:00

Easter is finally over. It seemed to go on for an awfully long time.

Easter always starts in our family on Maundy Thursday, not surprising as the Husband and I are both former civil servants and Maundy Thursday is still a noticeable day for the British civil service. And so we started with a big family meal in the evening with lots to celebrate as this was the day that the Stepdaughter finished her current job. The next day (Good Friday) she was setting off for Australia for a 3 week holiday and when she returns she starts a new job that she really looking forward to and at a considerable rise in salary. So she brought two bottles of champagne which we drunk during the meal which, which added to the usual wine made the amount for us to drink more than enough for four people. A good time was had by all.

Good Friday the Stepdaughter set off to Australia (not from Terminal 5, thank goodness), the Stepson disappeared meeting old friends and the Husband and I recovered from the night before. Later in the weekend we drove to Whitstable and picked up the Father-in-law, so that he could spend some time with us. We are conscious that he finds being alone difficult, especially after the death of his wife last October. We came back here and the Stepson came over. We spent that day and the next eating and talking. The day after we took the Father-in-Law home the Husband and the Stepson went up to London to go around the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and to see the Henry Moore sculptures on exhibition there. Too far for me to walk and anyway, all I wanted to do was to curl up in bed with the Cold From Hell which had appeared a few days earlier.

By this time Easter was officially over but it all still felt like part of the Bank Holiday, what with all the family things still going on. The Thursday after Easter became a special day for the Husband and his father as they set off for something special. I’ll describe this in much more detail, and the reason for the trip on another occasion but just to say now that they were away from home for four days. I spent most of the time in bed still with the Cold from Hell and was grateful for it.

The Husband returned home and things returned to normal on Monday. Easter is over at last. And I’m still croaking and coughing but at least the worse of it has gone.

2008-03-15T16:19:00.004Z

Like most people I carry a mobile phone around with me whenever I am out of the house. Its now an essential piece of equipment for modern life, like carrying my glasses and my credit cards. The trouble is that I’ve been cursing my old mobile for ages because although it worked well, recharging it was a real pain. Connecting it to the charger was so very fiddly and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve spent a long time and lots of curses trying to get the connection just right so that the phone would recharge.

After a couple of years of this I decided out of sheer exasperation to make a change and started looking around for a new mobile phone last November. The trouble is that I am one of those people who find themselves baffled by too much choice. I can remember years ago, long before I was married, going into the local Toys-R-Us for a Christmas present for my young nephew and leaving with empty hands after a couple of hours as I was just totally confused and baffled at the amount of choice available. There are so many different mobile phone models around, all with different facilities and all at different prices that my brain fused every time I went into my local mobile phone shop. And I’ve been going into the shop virtually every week, staring at the display of all the different models, failing to make a decision and beating a hasty retreat.

Then this Thursday I saw this one. Not black as in the photograph but purple. Just what a Red Hatter needs. It not only caught my eye, the price was reasonable and it has lots of facilities that I can play with. So I bought it, with real relief that my ordeal was finally over. Orange (the mobile phone service I use and have always received good service) transferred my (old) phone number to my new mobile overnight, and Yesterday it became my new phone.

The first thing I did was to download onto my new phone a tune to become its new ringtone. Too many times I have been on a train or on a station and an ordinary ringtone has gone off and everyone in listening distance has reached for their own mobile phone to see whether it was theirs ringing. I did not want that, I wanted a ringtone that was special to me alone. So my old phone had the music from Mission Impossible (the tv series); this one has the film music from Superman (the original film – I’ve always loved John Williams music from this film). I am unlikely to find too many other people reaching for their mobiles if someone rings me.

I’ve got a lot to learn about my new phone and much I can do with it, from downloading music onto it to learning how to use its FM radio. Those I shall learn and play with over the future months. For the moment I have a phone that works effectively. And isn’t a pain to recharge.

2008-03-10T10:15:00.001Z

The other day I’d moaned like the dickens here when virtually everything that could have gone wrong in my life did, although it was just lots of little things. I’m feeling a lot more cheerful now, although I can’t think of anything in particular that happened. I just got on with things and it all got better.

Last Thursday, though, I didn’t spend all day alone after all, because the Husband did a real Man thing. Last year he walked a minimum of 16 – 18 miles every day and became really fit. He stopped walking last October and winter put him off walking. As the weather has started to improve and the first vestiges of spring started to appear he decided that now was the time to start walking again. So, last Tuesday he walked 8 miles. And in the evening he complained that his feet hurt but that didn’t stop him walking 16 miles on Wednesday. He could hardly walk by the evening and was little better on Thursday morning. So he decided just to go up to London for the evening concert as he wasn’t up to walking around London and walking around exhibitions. So I wasn’t alone all day Thursday after all.

Friday I was, as he had another concert in the evening and felt able to walk during the day. But I wasn’t feeling down and enjoyed the solitude. I also managed to watch a DVD I was given for Christmas but that the Husband didn’t want to watch.

Sunday was nice as I am a member of the Crimson Crumblies, the Red Hat chapter based in Chelmsford and yesterday was the chapter’s third birthday and we all went around to our Queen’s house for tea and chatter. There was about 12 – 13 of us there, some of our members couldn’t make it, and a good time was had by all.

Today is not a nice day to be out as GB is being lashed by heavy rain and high winds. I was woken by the weather early this morning and it hasn't abated. We are staying indoors today in the dry and the warm. The only flaw at this moment is that the Husband is listening to Berg, not my idea of fun.

Dogs in Elk

2008-03-06T22:19:00.002Z

I am crying with laughter. As I write this I cannot see the keys properly because of the tears (of laughter) in my eyes. The mental images I have.....

You can read it here: http://dir.salon.com/story/tt/post/2005/10/19/posts_of_the_decade/index.html

2008-03-04T10:30:00.002Z

This is a post of me moaning. Avoid if you wish. I just want to get it all off my chest.

Yesterday was one of those days when I wished I had never got out of bed. Everything that could have gone wrong did.

First I had made arrangements for a Red Hat visit to the "From Russia" exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts in Picadilly for this Thursday. But it had over the last few days became clear that this date wasn't suitable for many and so I've rearranged the visit for April. Fine for the many but I was looking out for something to do out of the house this week, especially as the Husband is out for two days.

Then I had a phone call to say that the day course in British Prehistory I was going to do on this Saturday had been cancelled due to lack of interest. I am fascinated by the subject. Clearly no-one else is.

Then the doctor had arranged an appointment for me to see the nurse to have my blood pressure checked. That was yesterday afternoon. Only the nurse decided to discuss my "lifestyle" and started wittering on about eating less and walking more. When I left the surgery I bought a big bar of chocolate. And ate it. I've spent my whole life being told what to do - first my parents and then, of course, at work. Now I'm free and NO ONE tells me what to do anymore.

I should have made some soup but I forgot to buy the onions. So the poor Husband went out again just to buy some for me. He is kind and knew how fed up I was.

Anyway, Monday is over and life goes on. Now what shall I do with the time that was formerly booked up?

2008-03-02T20:45:00.003Z

Three of our Camellias are in bloom at the moment, only the white one has still to come out. The problem is that we are expecting snow and cold winds in the next couple of days and I suspect that these blossoms are soon to become damaged.

It's Mothering Sunday today and the Stepdaughter came around for most of the day. After lunch we watched the DVD the Husband has just bought - "Atonement", the one that has had all the plaudits and wone some Oscars and other awards. All three of us decided afterwards that it was one of the most depressing films we had ever seen and we all felt like slitting our wrists. So afterwards we watched "A Close Shave" with Wallace and Gromit, to cheer ourselves up. So the day ended up quite nicely after all.
.

2008-02-29T11:52:00.000Z

A friend sent this to me. Real teamwork and friendship.

2008-02-26T12:26:00.002Z

Sounds like good advice.

I'm not sure whether we are in Winter or in Spring. Neither seems to be the plants. We have had lots of the early Spring flowers out already, including crocuses, daffodills and snowdrops. Unfortunately the very, very mild weather we have been getting at regular intervals since December is being regularly interrupted by very bitter frosts at times. The first blossoms on our pink camellia came out two weeks ago, much earlier than usual, only to be very badly frosted last week. Still I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, living in a part of England that has lots of sunshine and mild weather and absolutely none of the heavy gales and snow that Northern England and Scotland has (sort of) enjoyed. I understand that Scotland has actually had a skiing industry this year, so much snow has fallen (unlike last year when there was no snow at all).

2008-01-03T15:02:00.000Z

When I was a child my father had a favourite saying “from the sublime to the gorblimey”. I’m remembering that saying at the moment as it is an appropriate description of the last week and a bit.

Christmas was good although it was very clear that we are going through a new phase in life now that the kids have grown up. The Stepdaughter is 25, the Stepson is 21 and they want to be away spending time with their friends rather than to be with us, the old fogies. Nevertheless Christmas Day was good: the Stepdaughter and her boyfriend turning up in the morning, there was cooking for the big meal, eating and drinking, mid-afternoon the Stepson left to stay with his mother, an evening with the Stepdaughter and boyfriend who then went home. Boxing Day was even quieter as it was just the two of us.

The Thursday was expensive as the tv in the sitting room had started to play up so we braved the sales and found a new one. Having paid for it we discovered that it would be a while until it could be delivered – in fact Monday 14th (an irritation as our old one has now completely packed up).

Friday was quiet and we prepared for the following day’s drive to Cardiff to visit my mother. Little did I know….

When I awoke on Saturday I had a pain in my tummy, which I ignored. The drive to Cardiff was better than either of us had expected as the roads, usually some of the busiest in the country, were clear of major roadworks or jams. But by the time we had got there my abdominal pain had begun to get worse. But we saw my mother, who was delighted to see us and we stayed for a couple of hours which was as long as she could cope with. The less said about the journey back the better what with the pain and the nausea I was now feeling. So when we got home again I rang the out-of-hours GP and made an appointment for his clinic in the local hospital for after midnight and the Husband drove me there.

I saw the GP who immediately sent me next door to their A&E department. To cut a long story short I was admitted to the hospital with suspected appendicitis…or kidney stones…or gallstones, no-one was certain at that stage. There followed a series of tests and scans, as well as some heavy duty painkillers for which I was very relieved. Monday morning I received a visit from the hospital Urologist who informed me that my appendix is fine but that the scan had shown a kidney stone which was causing the problem. About 10 minutes after he left I had a personal experience of the separation of medical disciplines with the arrival of a General Surgical team which informed me that the scan had also shown that I had a supply of gallstones but they weren’t immediately causing any problems. Wonderful. The next couple of days were a mixture of drugs to get the kidney stone to move through my system and painkillers.

Yesterday the Urologist returned to say that things were clearly getting better and that I could go home that day. So the Husband picked me up in the afternoon and I am at home again. The terrible pain has gone, although my side is still a little tender, not surprising I suppose. And so I am taking it easy and hope soon to be well and up and doing things again.

Then I suppose I shall have to find out how to manage kidney stones and gallstones in future. I wonder how you can prevent them?

The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole

2007-12-23T10:46:00.001Z

Happy Christmas everybody and may we all have a healthy and peaceful New Year.

2007-12-19T16:58:00.000Z

One of the things we do when we put up Christmas decorations is to replace the normal candles in our big candle holder with Father Christmas ones.

Although we've done this for some years this time the Stepdaughter took a step back and said "those Father Christmasses are doing the Nazi salute"

Well, taking another look at them I feel that their arms are at the wrong angle for that. I feel that they are just waving at us.

They certainly give me seasonal feelings and nothing else.

2007-12-18T11:16:00.000Z

Hmmm. I'm feeling a bit dubious at the moment. I've just back from an appointment with my doctor to monitor my blood pressure. Again. This time it was 150 over 85 which is a lot better than a few months ago when he first put me on BP pills. (Loathsome things - difficult to swallow as they disintegrate in the mouth.)

He said that as a last stand before doubling my BP medication I should use a home kit to monitor my BP every day - just in case visiting the surgery is making it go up. So I bought a kit from the chemists and am trying to learn how to use it. I'm not sure I've got it right though. Just now it said that I was 189 over 122. Either I'm not using it right or perhaps the mere effort of using it makes my BP go higher.

The Christmas Decorations are up

2007-12-17T10:33:00.000Z

It took the Husband later than usual this year to decide to put up the decorations, not surprising given what he has been through. But in the last few days he decided the time is right and called the Stepdaughter around the other evening to help put them all up.

I've taken pictures of some of the decorations but not of the chains. Luckily these are chains we've had for years because it's now difficult to find them in the shops. I can't imagine why as I always feel that they give a really Christmassy feel to a room.

And yes, that's a picture of us to the left of the clock, taken on our wedding day. 14 years ago now.

How time flies.

Now This I Couldn't Resist

2007-12-13T17:23:00.000Z

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

You are Charles VI of France, also known as Charles the Mad or Charles the Well-Beloved! A fine, amiable and dreamy young man, skilled in horsemanship and archery, you were also from a long line of dribbling madmen. King at 12 and quickly married to your sweetheart, Bavarian Princess Isabeau, you enjoyed many happy months together before either of you could speak anything of the other's language. However, after illness you became a tad unstable. When a raving lunatic ran up to your entourage spouting an incoherent prophecy of doom, you were unsettled enough to slaughter four of your best men when a page dropped a lance. Your hair and nails fell out. At a royal masquerade, you and your courtiers dressed as wild men, ending in tragedy when four of them accidentally caught fire and burned to death. You were saved by the timely intervention of the Duchess of Berry's underskirts.

This brought on another bout of sickness, which surgeons countered by drilling holes in your skull. The following months saw you suffer an exorcism, beg your friends to kill you, go into hyperactive fits of gaiety, run through your rooms to the point of exhaustion, hide from imaginary assassins, claim your name was Georges, deny that you were King and fail to recognise your family. You smashed furniture and wet yourself at regular intervals. Passing briefly into erratic genius, you believed yourself to be made of glass and demanded iron rods in your attire to prevent you breaking.

In 1405 you stopped bathing, shaving or changing your clothes. This went on until several men were hired to blacken their faces, hide, jump out and shout "boo!", upon which you resumed basic hygiene. Despite this, your wife continued sleeping with you until 1407, when she hired a young beauty, Odette de Champdivers, to take her place. Isabeau then consoled herself, as it were, with your brother. Her lovers followed thick and fast while you became a pawn of your court, until you had her latest beau strangled and drowned.

A severe fever was fended off with oranges and pomegranates in vast quantities, but you succumbed again in 1422 and died. Your disease was most likely hereditary. Unfortunately, you had anywhere up to eleven children, who variously went on to develop capriciousness, great cruelty, insecurity, paranoia, revulsion towards food and, in one case, a phobia of bridges.

2007-12-13T12:59:00.000Z

I’ll be glad when tomorrow comes and we’ll no longer be pestered by political canvassers. Yes, we’ve an election in this ward tomorrow. December is an odd time to have one but it has become necessary due to the exploits of our previous councillor, who was also Mayor for the Borough of Chelmsford.

You could, I suppose, call him a Naughty Boy. Personally I would call him a Complete Idiot. Let’s face it, if you are Mayor and are using a Council’s computer on official business then you don’t download child pornography onto that computer. Of course the police found out and undertook a formal investigation. And then the local media found out and so on and so forth. Finally he resigned as our councillor and as the Mayor.

There are four political parties all desperate to fill his place: the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib-Dems and even UKIP. The trouble for us is that they don’t have every ward in the Borough on which to disseminate their efforts and so this time everything is concentrated just on our ward. So we are being pestered and pestered. Hardly a day goes by without at least one paper or leaflet being thrust through our letterbox. I’ve had telephone calls and one candidate knocked on the door. Yesterday I handed to the Husband a handwritten envelope addressed to him that I assumed was a Christmas card. It wasn’t, it was another leaflet.

We’ve even had a leaflet from the UKIP candidate which really amused us. Talk about a total lack of understanding of the extent of power held by a local councillor: he clearly thinks that being elected will make him controller of our government. But other than that light relief we are just exasperated at the amount of stuff they have sent us. The paper recycling sack is full of it.

Oh well. It’s a prime lesson how the actions on one can affect the many. And the sooner tomorrow comes the better.

2007-12-10T15:20:00.000Z

Yesterday was a good day, busy but good. The Stepson came back from Cambridge for the weekend, spent Saturday with his mother and came to us on Sunday and stayed overnight. His sister came round yesterday with her boyfriend.

It was just a normal Sunday really. I cooked a meal. Then we sat and talked and talked. The Husband pursuaded the Boyfriend, a techie in work life, to look at our computer. He did a lot to the machine but in the very limited time he had we still haven't worked out how to transfer files of audiobooks recorded from cassettes into iTunes. I'll have to have another look at that.

The Husband has just returned from driving the Stepson to visit a friend in Bishops Stortford and turning on the computer I see that the Step Daughter has sent us something that made us smile. Some of them make you think too. So, here it is....

The Philosophy of Ambiguity

1. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
2. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor....
3. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
4. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?
5. The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
6. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
7. What if there were no hypothetical questions?
8. If a deaf person swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?
9. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
10. Is there another word for synonym?
11. Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?"
12. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
13. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
14. Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
15 Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?
16. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
17. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?
18. If the police arrest a mute, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
19. Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?
20. How do they get deer to cross the road only at those yellow roadsigns?
21. What was the best thing before sliced bread?
22. One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.
23. Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra?
24. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
25. How is it possible to have a civil war?
26. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?
27. If you ate both pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?
28. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
29. Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have "S" in it?
30. Why are haemorrhoids called "haemorrhoids" instead of "assteroids"?
31. Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?
32. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
33. If you spin an oriental man in a circle three times does he become disoriented?
34. Can an atheist get insurance against acts of God?

2007-12-04T16:05:00.000Z

Sometimes change is sad but inevitable.

When we moved into this house, about 12-13 years ago there was a cherry tree in the front garden, almost on on the boundary to the pavement. It had obviously been there for some years, we assume since the house was originally built. I used to enjoy the green leaves that really added something to the view from any of the front windows of the house from spring to autumn. And, of course, for about a week every Spring it was a mass of pink which decorated the entire street. For this beauty we used to put up with the layer of pink petals that used to cover every surface of the car, flower beds and drive immediately afterwards.

Anyway last spring there wasn't as many blossoms as usual, in fact they were very sparse. And as the summer continued leaves on the branches died several months prematurely. It became clear that the tree was in a poor way. I knew we had to do something about it and we had decided to remove it. I was getting a bit worried in fact as after every strong wind there would be twigs laying on the road and in the garden. My (always active) imagination began to play visions of a branch falling onto a passer-by on the pavement. But I'd no idea of where to find a good tree surgeon.

Then one day last week I heard the sound of a circular saw close by and looking out of the window I realised that one of the houses nearby was having some work done to their sycamore tree. In fact they too were having the tree chopped down. This was a magnificent specimen but I knew that they wanted to get rid of it and clearly they had found a company capable of doing the job. And to my eyes they looked very capable.

So I nipped along and had a word with one of them and asked for an estimate to remove the cherry tree. He had a look at it and told me that at some stage it had been pollarded and then left to grow naturally, something that always weakened a tree.

Two days later an estimate arrived in the post and it was much less than I expected both to cut down the tree and poison the roots. So yesterday I rang them up and asked them to do the task. Their first action was to contact the council to check that there were no planning restrictions on the tree and no preservation order. They rang us back this morning to say that they had heard from the council, all was well and they could do it today. I nipped down to the bank, for obvious reasons, and by the time I had returned home they had already started.

It didn't take them long. And when they put poison on the roots (to avoid suckers - a real problem with cherries) they also did so on my neighbour's sycamore, which explains how they happened to be in the area.

When he had finished the tree surgeon told us that the cherry's trunk was almost completely dead and that if left the branches could have been a health & safety hazard. So we were right to have the tree cut down.

But it hasn't stopped both of us feeling sad that the tree had to go. It was lovely in its prime. But life moves on. In the Spring I shall look for something pretty to cover the stump.

2007-11-26T15:53:00.000Z

Upon due reflection I would have to say that my favourite piece of kitchen equipment is my stockpot. After I retired I started make a lot of soup and realised early on that my largest saucepan wasn't big enough and even the pan from the pressure cooker wasn't really up to the job. So we went shopping for a stockpot and bought the biggest and heaviest domestic one we could find. Even in a Debenhams 20% off sale it was still a lot of money but it was worth it, definitely. I use it frequently and it has the weight and the volume I need, although at times I still wish it was a bit bigger, especially if I've sized up a recipe as I often do. Anyway, here it is, full of scotch broth and sitting on a chopping board made by my father when I first left home. When he retired from work he developed a fascination with woodwork and although this is just a big piece of wood with no carving on it at all it is definitely fit for purpose as a chopping board.

Photography

2007-11-26T15:41:00.000Z

The Beeb has been showing a wonderful series on BBC4 called "The Genius of Photography", described as the first real documentary describing the history of photography from the very beginnings and the way that the taking of photographs has affected the way we look at the world and the way it still affects us. The most recent one, shown last Thursday was about pictures taken of family life, not happy family pics but pictures of family life showing real lives. We saw pictures of people in the act of taking drugs, pictures one photographer took of his alcoholic father living in a high-rise block in a less then salubrius part of outer London. There was also one Japanese photographer who published series of books of pictures from his marriage day, throughout his marriage until his wife's illness, death and the subsequent funeral. Although it might not seem so we've found the series fascinating and many of the pictures really speak to you. Very, very thought provoking.

In this latest programme several of the photographers were takinhg pictures of everything in their lives and I've found it reminded me of something I had planned to do early this year - namely to take pictures of my life and what interests me. And why shouldn't I start to do so.

Victoria Wood - Let's Do It

2007-11-24T18:43:00.001Z

I just love this.

2007-11-22T16:41:00.000Z

I seem to be going through a period of lethargy at the moment. I have a list of things to do and no wish to get on with any of them. For example the garden needs work, I have all the materials to do a crochet-a-thon but haven’t started it yet, I’ve put my (unfinished) knitting to one side, there’s a pile of papers and books in the study to sort out, and so on……and I don’t feel like starting any of them. The weather doesn’t help – it’s so damp and chilly that it makes me not want to do anything. And when I do try my chest starts to complain – having asthma that is triggered by damp weather isn’t easy, especially in a wet winter in England. Even working on the computer isn’t easy at the moment.

But just before the cold wet weather (and the wheezing) started I found a wonderful site where it’s possible to spend a lot of time improving my vocabulary and at the same time helping to feed the world’s poor. The Free Rice site is well worth a visit.

2007-11-19T09:40:00.000Z

A couple of days ago I went to Cardiff to visit my mother. We chat on the phone every other day but I thought that she might welcome a visit now as my brother is on a three week holiday in Chile hunting cacti. Before I went I had been a little worried that she may not recognise me as some of the painkillers she has been put on, since several of her vertibrae crumbled due to osteoporosis, have made her mind wander into another world. Fortunately though they are now trying her on painkiller patches which help with the pain without afecting her mind. So she was with it, recognised me and was able to chat without any problems. It was a good visit.

Going from Chelmsford in Essex to a suburb of Cardiff involves a mile walk to the railway station, a train to Liverpool St station in London, a tube to Paddington station from where I take a train to Cardiff Central followed by a taxi out to the nursing home. I was lucky this time and everything ran like clockwork going there, so it took just over 5 hours. The journey back was almost as good with just the train delayed going back to london from Cardiff Central.

I am, however, not sure how I shall be able to see her over the Christmas period as, apparently, Liverpool St station is going to be closed from before Christmas until 1st January 2008. Some sort of bridge repairs I think. I suppose it's not surprising as that train journey goes through the area where the Olympics will take place in 2012 and I suppose British Rail is making sure the railway infrastructure is sufficient. However, it makes travelling up to London (and for me onto Cardiff) very problematic over Christmas with long bus journeys to get to tube stations.

I suppose I shall have to drive there, not my favourite journey as the A12, the M25 and the M4 are all very busy roads and I dread to think how long it will take. Then there is the fact you have to pay a toll to cross the Severn Bridge to go into Wales, something I bitterly resent. I never feel at home in Wales and would willingly pay any amount to leave there but not to go there. Oh well, I'll sort something out somehow.

2007-11-15T17:33:00.000Z

Last Friday I posted a piece and a pattern for my Third Red Hat scarf. Well, I finished that scarf the day before my first cataract operation and when that was over I found myself at home with nothing to knit and with every published knitting pattern in such tiny print it was, for me, impossible to read at the time. But I could still remember the pattern of the scarf I had just finished so I bought a ball of green double knitting yarn (again I've last the ball band) and used the same pattern as before. I find the difference,using one colour rather than two,absolutely fascinating.

Music

2007-11-12T09:37:00.000Z

The Husband made an experiment yesterday. He added a piece of music to his iPod and then played that piece from the iPod and at the same time played the original CD in the DVD player – flicking from one channel to another on the hi-fi to which both the iPod and DVD player were connected. There was absolutely no difference in the sound quality at all that either of us could hear. And when he played the CD on his (very expensive) Naim CD player there was a only a very slight difference: the depth of sound on the Naim was hardly different from when it is played on the DVD player.

Incidentally, yesterday he also played a CD with what I believe to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, so beautiful it tears my heart to bits every time I hear it. This is the Eclogue for piano and string orchestra by Gerald Finzi. It’s a sure sign the family is returning to normal – last week we couldn’t have listened to it as it would have been too sad.

2007-11-09T17:18:00.000Z

Is this good? As someone who left school at 16 and went straight into work I am very aware that I'm not a genius. But I hope I'm not stupid either.

Anyway, I don't want to frighten away anyone by the extent of my erudition. (Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it - grin.)

Free Knitting Pattern: My Third Red Hat Scarf

2007-11-09T14:44:00.000Z

I am staggered to realise that I finished my second Red hat scarf in May. Almost immediately afterwards I started on my third Red Hat scarf and finished it the day before my first eye operation. What with one thing after another I put it to one side and just stuffed it in a cupboard. I dug it out this morning and took this picture of it.

Because I finished it four months ago I can't find the ball bands and can't remember the actual yarn I used but I do know that both balls were Double Knitting and contained a high portion of wool. The scarf used one 100 gram ball each of Red and Purple. Oh, and I carried the unused colour up the side of the knitting so there weren't loads of ends to work in. Anyway, here is the actual pattern:

Abbreviation to note:
ssk = slip the next 2 stitches one at a time, insert left needle into the front of the slipped stitches and knit them together.

Yarn:
1 100grm ball of DK each in Red (M) and Purple (C)

Using M cast on 49 sts. Follow stitch pattern as follows:

Pattern:
Row 1: (WS) K1, P3, *K11, P4; rep from * to last 15 stitches, K11, P3, K1.
Row 2: K4, * P11, K4; rep from * to end.
Row 3: K1, P1, * P2tog, P11, P2tog tbl; rep from * to last 2 sts, P1, K1.
Row 4: K2, *ssk, K9, K2tog; rep from * to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 5: K1, P1, * P2tog, P7, P2tog tbl; rep from * to last 2 sts, P1, K1.
Row 6: K4, * [YO, K1] five times, YO, K4; rep from * to end.

Using M (Red) and C (Purple) as follows:
2 Rows M (R1 & 2)
2 Rows C (R 3 & 4)
10 Rows M ( 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
And continue……

I hope this is all understandable. If not give me a shout and I'll try to explain a bit more.

Spiced Parsnip Soup

2007-11-06T14:32:00.000Z

I am never sure about the copyright issues of quoting a recipe here that I have found in a magazine or a book. However, sometimes I find something so good and easy - I don’t believe in making too much fuss when cooking - that I really want to remember the recipe for future occasions and also to let my friends know about how good it is.

Here is a case in point. In the November issue of the Country Kitchen magazine was a wonderful soup recipe. When I made it the Husband said “this is a keeper – you should make it again”. And so I am writing the recipe below and say to everyone – here is a reason to buy Country Kitchen magazine. A good advertisement for the magazine (especially as their website still shows their July issue.)

Oh, I made one small change to the published recipe. I like my soup thicker than the finished article so I added a tin of Butter beans and blended them in too. It all depends on your own particular tastes, of course.

Spiced Parsnip Soup

1 tsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp ground turmeric
700g parsnips, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken or vegetable stock

Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the onion over a gentle heat until it starts to soften. Add the spices and cook for a few minutes before adding the parsnips. Stir well, season with salt and pepper and sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Pour in stock and the simmer for 15-20 minutes until the parsnip is soft. Blend until smooth. (It was at this stage that I decided to blend into the soup a tin of butter beans to thicken it a little.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a swirl of plain yoghurt, if you wish.

(Like many soup recipes this is best made a little before you plan to serve it and store it in the fridge for a while. I usually make it the day before we plan to eat it. This allows all the flavours in the soup to come out fully.) Delicious.

2007-11-05T16:55:00.000Z

It is all over now. And it all went well.

On Thursday the Husband and I set off for Cambridge to pick up the Stepson and bring him home, ready for Friday. He had lectures in the afternoon and would not be free until after 6.00 pm and so we went up to Cambridge earlier in the day and had a look around. As it was a typical dull late October day we ended up in the Fitzwilliam Museum and spent a couple of hours looking at some of the pictures until the museum closed. Some of the pictures were wonderful: there was a Canaletto of the Interior Court of the Doge’s Palace that I would have cheerfully have gone to prison for attempting to steal (I didn’t, of course). After the museum closed we walked around the shops until the Stepson was free to meet us. And then, after a meal at a local Pizza Express we set off for home.

Friday was the day of the funeral and so the Husband, the Stepson, Stepdaughter and her boyfriend and I set off for Whitstable in Kent. We went to the Father-in-law’s flat, from where the funeral cortege left for the crematorium which was at Barham, a good 35-40 minutes drive. The grounds of the crematorium were lovely, situated on the top of a hill so you could look down into a valley of English countryside showing wonderful autumnal colours. We met up with lots of other members of the family and went in for the service. It was a nice service, the Mother-in-law had been a practicing Christian and so it was very much along those terms with two good “old fashioned” hymns all of us knew “All people who on earth do dwell” and “Praise my Soul the King of Heaven”. I remember both from my schooldays – it was good to have a chance to sing them again.

After the service we all made our way back to Whitstable. As the Father-in-law lives in a flat too small to hold all the mourners a function room had been booked in a local hotel which also provided a very good buffet meal. The whole family had a good chance to get together and to chat. After it was over the Father-in-law went home and we went with him and spent a few hours with him. In the evening we made our way home again.

The following day we drove the Stepson back to Cambridge, a rather lengthier drive than we were expecting because a crane was being moved through the town and so all the roads were gridlocked. And then the Husband and I returned home and have tried to relax after a trying period.

The past few days have not been easy on anyone and all of us have had memories and feelings with which to come to terms. Now we are returning to a normal life, except for the one person who is no longer there.

And so I am hoping that this blog will now resume to normality.

2007-10-31T10:40:00.000Z

A busy couple of days ahead.

Tomorrow the Husband and I are off to Cambridge to pick up the Stepson. It's not an easy journey from Cambridge to Chemsford by public transport: the only way of doing it is to take the train from Cambridge to central London and then another train from London to Chelmsford. However by car it's relatively easy (except dealing with the M11 when it goes down to 2 lanes just when it becomes hilly and lots of lorries are crawling along. So we thought we'd take the opportunity to look around Cambridge until he finishes all his lectures/tutorials/etc. Then we'll have a meal together and then come home.

On Friday the three of us plus the Stepdaughter and her boyfriend will set off to Kent for the funeral. We are go down toWhitstable and then set off for the crematorium, which I think is the other side of Canterbury. Afterwards there will be a family get together when we'll have the opportunity to meet some of the Husband's family again. It will be nice to meet them again even if on such a sad occasion.

2007-10-29T17:07:00.000Z

Sometimes when you have a problem it helps to sit down and think about it.

2007-10-28T17:52:00.000Z

Well, things are slowly settling down now. Most of the tasks necessary after a death have been completed, mainly by the Husband: all the legal things like death certificates, informing everyone, sorting out the no-longer-needed clothes and effects. I certainly do not envy him the hard work he has put into all this. The funeral is this coming Friday, the 2nd. After the cremation there will be a small family get together in a function room in one of the local hotels. I am looking forward to meeting the Husband’s side of the family again, although I regret the reason for the get-together.

Still, I hope in future to be around here a little more than has been possible lately.

Sad News

2007-10-22T10:11:00.000+01:00

The Husband's mother Joan died in the early hours of this morning. We were expecting it, her health, which has never been good, had deteriorated badly over the last few weeks and the doctors had said some days ago that she had not long to go. Her immediate family had the chance to see her over the weekend - the Husband, his sister, his brother-in-law, the Stepson and I went to the hospital in Canterbury on Saturday and saw her. Although her mind was going she recognised us and was able to say a few small things. The thing was that although she hadn't been told the end was near she clearly knew: she always said "see you soon" at the end of a visit, but this time she said "goodbye" to each of us. The Stepdaughter went yesterday (having brought a bad throat under control) and told us later that her grandmother said little but clearly knew she was there. She'd always had a close relationship to all her grandchildren and we are so glad that they all had the opportunity to see her over the weekend.

Now our thoughts must not only be on all the arrangements but also on her widowed husband. He is 85 years old and they had been married for 58 years. We are all worried about him and so the Husband is going down to stay with him for the next couple of days- he just doesn't want him to be alone. I am not sure of the extent I shall be around over the next few days but I am sure you understand. .

2007-10-19T10:32:00.000+01:00

Life's a little serious at the moment as the Husband's mother is so poorly but here is a picture to cheer us all up.

2007-10-16T10:00:00.000+01:00

I haven't been around here much because for the last few days the Husband and I both have some sort of bug and neither of us has any energy at all. It's a bit like a cold, a bit like the flu and a bit like nothing on earth. So we haven't been doing much lately.

Having said that we both did things last Saturday - mainly because we'd both had them booked and it would have been next to impossible to have cancelled or to rearrange them. And we each managed what we were doing . But the next day, the Sunday, we were both worn out but have now recovered.

The Husband had made arrangements to get the car serviced and to have its MOT examination. His brother-in-law always does it (he is a car mechanic) and Saturday was the only day he could do it before the old MOT expired and, of course, it's illegal to drive a car over a certain age without an MOT. So he drove down there very early in the morning (it had to be ready to be worked on at 7.30 am) and spent the day there visiting all his family. His mother is not very well so he visited her in hospital and spent some time also with his father.

I, however, was doing something completely different. A few weeks ago I'd decided to try something different and booked a place on a "Drawing for Beginners" one day course at the Adult Education Institute in Brentwood. It was a one-off course and it was then or never. I hadn't done any drawing since I left school 40 years ago and I had been told then that I was no good at any sort of art. But I thought I'd try it, just to see. I really enjoyed it and it was the most fun I'd had for some time. I'm probably not a born artist but that's not the point. It was enjoyable. I shall definitely try to find another class in the subject.

And now we are both trying to recover from this virus thing. The sooner it goes the better.

2007-10-08T16:57:00.001+01:00

Outside the window in our sitting room can be seen a big hardy fuscia currently in full flower and in a flower bed to the right of the window. It would be a lovely picture and well worth looking at if it was not for what is connecting it to a buddleia in a flower bed on the left side of the window. A fine thread, a very fine thread, and to some a very attractive picture - if it wasn’t for the fact that its maker and occupant likes to lurk in the middle of the thread and in full view of the window. I really don’t like spiders and I’m sure that this one knows it. So it sits there and sneers at me.

That I could cope with, if they stayed outside. But this time of year spiders are trying to find themselves shelter indoors and for the last month the Husband has had the job of getting rid of them before I come across them. Frequently over the last few weeks I’ve heard his say “Don’t come in the …hall/dining room/bathroom” and then I’d hear thumps as the creature meets its maker. (We have an unspoken deal in our house. The Husband deals with spiders, whilst I deal with the mice that Nimrod has brought in and let go.)

Then there was yesterday. The Husband had gone up to London for the day as he and other members of his music group first went to see a film at the Barbican (“The Lives of Others” – he said it was very good) and then on to the newly reopened Royal Festival Hall for the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the London Philharmonic Orchestra by Sir Thomas Beecham. I find it nice to spend some time alone sometimes and I enjoyed spending some “me” time yesterday afternoon. However, come the evening I made a quick trip to the bathroom and there It was. A huge great thing with long legs not just lurking in the washbasin but actively running around it and making it clear that it was alive and ready to kill anything in its path. All right, I know all the received wisdom about arachnids and how useful they are keeping flies under control. I also know that I’m bigger than they are. Nevertheless that thing knew who was boss and that It was in charge of the bathroom. It was only when the Husband returned that the balance of power in our household returned to normal and the 8-legged creature was evicted.

There are times when it’s very useful to have a man around.

2007-10-02T10:04:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was Monday, 1st October and a good opportunity to stop and to think a bit about life.

We have lived through the first nine months of 2007 and have three months to go before 2008 is upon us.

Tesco has been selling chocolates for Christmas for the last month and Marks & Sparks is now stocking mince pies.

I went into a card shop yesterday and saw Christmas cards on sale.

Yesterday a stall opened in one of the local shopping centers (mall) to sell calendars and diaries for 2008.

Does anyone else think that Society generally is always looking to the future and never enjoying the moment?

Still yesterday I heard some wonderful news of a new life. My friend Buffy has a new granddaughter – a little girl, born on Saturday and weighing 6 lbs 11 oz. Welcome to the world little one.

2007-09-30T12:00:00.000+01:00

Friday we had the first Red Hat dinner of this autumn. Ther hadn't been any dinners over the summer period as there wasn't enough members available on any one date to make an event practical. But Friday there was a dozen of us. I had difficulties taking a decent picture as I was on the outer side of a dog-legged table and I couldn't move eaily from where I was sitting. So I just aimed the camera to the other end of the table. Generally there was a lot of chatter and much laughter at the dinner. It may not be a good picture but it gives some impression of how much fun was being had.

2007-09-27T18:26:00.000+01:00

Why is it that as soon as I can use the computer properly an IT item in our household decides to play up, requiring me to spend hours searching the internet for the way to put it right?

I decided to spend a small (ha!) amount of time this afternoon dealing with my iPod. I have an account with Audible.co.uk which by the payment of £14.99 each month enables me to download two audiobooks each month. As we both like unabridged books, which are of course, more expensive than the abridged ones, we save a fair bit. Anyway I bought and downloaded the two books for this month ("Monarchy" by David Starkey and "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves) and added them to my iPod with no problems at all. Then the Husband asked what versions of "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier were available. He had heard some years ago a cassette audiobook of the unabridged book read by Anna Massey and he felt this was the definitive reading of the book. Well, it wasn't available on Audible.co.uk (although they had other versions of the book) but it was on iTunes. So I downloaded it and tried to add it to his iPod.

That was when the problems started. His iPod froze and wouldn't do anything. Neither would it appear on the iTunes on my computer. I have just spent all afternoon trying to sort it out. I've tried searching My Computer, restarted the p.c. several times, redownloaded the iTunes software - all without success. I've also spent a dishearening amount of time trying to find the answer on Apple's support pages - which are totally impenetrable if you aren't a techie.

The iPod is only 11 months old and I have a horrible feeling we are going to have to send it off for repair. The Husband is the ultimate Luddite and I even have to turn on the computer for him if he wants to look up something. Giving him the iPod last Christmas was a not very subtle attempt on my part to get him to feel more comfortable around technology. He will not be impressed though if his iPod has to go off for repair.

Oh well, as a last attempt to sort the thing out I've put it on charge overnight. If that doesn't help I've no idea what to do. It shows how helpless we can be when something technological goes wrong. Perhaps Ned Ludd was right.

UPDATE:
The next day, after it became clear that putting it on charge didn't help, I rang a technical help number I found on Apple's Support website. After double-checking that the iPod was still in warranty they did help me and finally we got it sorted so it's now working properly. What happens if it goes wrong again after it is out of warranty I do not know. Oh well, it's ok for now.

I'm back

2007-09-26T21:42:00.000+01:00

I'm back and I can see. The cataract operation on my left eye was in August and all went well, Then I went through what was for me a really weird period when I had what could best be called "limited vision". The sight in my left eye is the same as that in my right eye now - I can see long distance very well but everything else is out of focus. While waiting for my left eye top settle down after the operation I bought a pair of "over the counter" reading glasses which helped with reading the newspaper, etc. However, I discovered that everything between the close and distance work was just a blur which made my life rather interesting for a while. Shopping was a nightmare, unless the Husband was with me as I could not read labels of anything and you just don't know how much you read labels of goods in shops unless you dig out the reading glasses every time you want to read something and then put them away until you get to the next label to read - a generally time-consuming and fiddly thing to do every time you go shopping.

I did try to use the computer after the second operation, using the magnifier which is part of the accessibility package provided by Windows but it gave just a "letterbox" slot of magnified text. This was both disconcerting and wasn't much help when trying to navigate the Internet. As it was, virtually the first time I tried it I managed to click on the wrong link and ended up with a Trojan on my computer that I've now finally managed to dispose of.

I got my new glasses yesterday that have finally given me back my freedom. Varifocals, of course, so I now have full vision both with close work, what I call "middle distance" and they even sharpen up my long distance vision slightly. But for the first time since I was about 5 years old I can go out without glasses at all, a pleasure I cannot describe.

2007-08-08T09:01:00.000+01:00

I am not going to be around at this blog for a few weeks. Not that I am giving up blogging or anything but I am having my second cataract operation on my left eye tomorrow and I don't expect to be able to read anything on the computer for a while. I know this because I am writing this with the benefit of only my left eye at the moment. When I had the cataract operation on my right eye I discovered that I could not read what was on the computer screen with that eye unless it was in huge print. Obviously I need new glasses but it isn't worth all that effort and expense getting new ones until both my eyes have been done and so I've spent the last two months working at the computer wearing my old glasses and with their right lense covered up. Generally life hasn't been very easy since the first operation as I've now one eye with excellent long distance vision and the other eye incredibly weak and fuzzy. So my sight (and life) has been quite weird and tiresome for the last two months.

I have to wait a minimum of four weeks after the op before I can go to the opticians to have my eyes tested for new glasses. But the wonderful thing is that I will be able to wear them for reading and other close work only and not to wear all day long. I've had to wear glasses all the time since I was 5 years old and over the last few years or so I've had varifocals with very strong lenses so it's all going to be worth it.

I'll be back as soon as I can.

Red Hat Videos on YouTube

2007-08-01T15:31:00.000+01:00

I had a really pleasant surprise yesterday. I was contacted via YouTube from one of my fellow Red Hatters. She said

"Hi Adele
I'm a great fan of your blog and found the YouTube link to the Women in Art brilliant.
I put Red Hat Society in search and there are loads there! thought you may want to link these on your blog.
Have fun ......
Love Linda (Witham)

It is nice to be contacted at times and to meet up with friends.

And the links themselves are great fun. As I mentioned before I've never been able to embed YouTube videos in this blog so I've just put the links here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7dCYfUZShQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obanyFbYFuQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1KszhXcS1s

Why?

2007-07-31T18:19:00.000+01:00

Why is it that Pickle has changed where she likes to sleep? She’s a cat who hates to be loomed over, much preferring to associate with humans by sitting next to them on the sofa (and nagging when she thinks it time for dinner). But now for some reason she’s decided to sleep just where we have to step over her to get to and from the sitting room. And gets grumpy when we do so.

Why is it that although you’ve carefully warned the company that sends you two Midsummer Murder DVDs each month that your credit card has been hijacked and given them the new credit card number, that a week later they send you a letter saying that your (old) credit card doesn’t work?

Why is it that GoogleMail decides to put an e-mail from a couple of friends into the most unlikely of folders on my Gmail system and I don’t notice the fact for two days?

Why is it that men (or, more precisely, the Husband) thinks it sensible to go for a 18 mile long walk when he has a huge blister on the base of one foot and afterwards complains of the pain? (Not to mention his bloody socks.)

And why is it that every time I go into town I see lots and lots of Scouts? This at least is easy to work out as the 21st World Scout Jamboree is taking place here in Chelmsford, or to be more precise at Hylands Park. Hylands, which is situated only about a mile or two outside the center of the town is a house together with a huge park that is used for all sorts of events. For example the V festival takes place there every year and so the grounds are an ideal location for the 40,000 scouts currently over here and from all over the world. But clearly they are not confined to Hylands as we often see some in town, often shopping for food, etc.

2007-07-23T09:40:00.000+01:00

I've just stumbled upon.. Stumbleupon. I installed the toolbar on my p.c. just 10 minutes ago and have only just started to look at some of the sites that come up but the third one was from here and it's absolutely fascinating. I especially like the second one with someone wearing a Tony Blair mask overseeing John Major falling into a well. Great fun and Stumbledupon looks an interesting way of finding some of the more fascinating sites on the web. Including lots of cats.

I've also found a fascinating site, part of wikiHow called "How to Fit in when visiting London" and I have to say it made me grin. There's a lot of good advice there but also comments that definitely made me lift an eyebrow - for example "Do not attempt to keep up with your average Londoner when it comes to alcohol consumption." I'm certainly not sure I agree with their comments about drinking being a huge part of our social culture.

2007-07-22T16:59:00.000+01:00

Thank goodness I’ve got a good bank. Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from them. They asked me whether I had just that day spent a sum of money on my credit card. As the sum was in excess of £1,400 I was able to state categorically that I had not. It turns out that my bank had just received such a claim using my credit card number but the associated information (I assume they meant the usual things like card expiry date, its security code and my home address) was wrong. So the bank had smelled a rat and had phoned me up to check.

I was more than a bit taken aback that such a thing could happen, as I try to take such care with the way I use my credit and debit cards. On the net I am always careful to use the credit card only on a few websites, and those are ones with secure payment facilities. At home whenever I no longer need credit card receipts then I shred them and add them to the compost heap.

Interestingly enough the attempted payment was on a website that I do look at occasionally. It sells electrical goods and it’s a good place to use when seeking comparison prices on certain electrical goods. I’ve never actually bought anything from there though, as I’ve always managed to find the same goods at better prices on other websites.

How someone got my credit card number I don’t know. But it’s a good thing my bank checks such things. And they were willing to go that extra mile and ring me at home to check the validity of a payment. When I said that it wasn’t my payment they immediately cancelled my credit card and have put a new one in the post. I should receive it in a couple of days. Hopefully the number of that one won’t leak out. But if it does it is comforting to know that my bank is on my side.

2007-07-17T16:17:00.000+01:00

I haven't mentioned my knitting lately but I have still been doing some. I finished a Third Red Hat scarf in red and purple DK wool the day before the cataract operation and afterwards I bought a ball of dark green DK wool and made another scarf using the same pattern. But I'm going through a phase of wanting to knit with finer wool than DK and at the moment I have absolutely no wish to block or to photograph either of them. That shall probably happen some time in the future, I expect.

And so I've gone back to 4 ply yarn. I wanted something that was easy to make, even when I can't see the detail properly, and so I chose a Feather & Fan pattern which works. All you need is the ability to count up to 6. I haven't finished this one but it's a pattern that I can knit over and over again.

Here is the pattern.

Loosely CO 56 sts using 3.5mm knitting needles and 4 ply yarn.

Row 1: (RS) Knit.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: K1, *[K2tog] 3 times, [yo, k1] 6 times, [k2tog] 3 times; repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 4: Knit.

Follow pattern until scarf is the desired length.

Let's face it, you can't get an easier pattern than this!

Rubbish and recycling

2007-07-11T15:33:00.000+01:00

We have a small house and every room is lived in. However, in addition we have to house somewhere the various bags and receptacles provided by our borough council for their recycling schemes. So our hall, a small room, houses the following:

a green box: for tins; glass bottles and jars (without their lids); clothing and fabrics not good enough to be given to a charity shop; and tin foil. Everything must be washed and clean before it is put in the box.
a sack: for newspaper and general paper. But not for gift wrapping paper, envelopes with windows, brown paper or old telephone directories.
another sack: for plastic bottles. Again these must be washed out and the lids removed. No other types of plastic can be put in this sack.
yet another sack: for cardboard. All cardboard packaging must be flattened before it is put in the sack.

Outside in the front garden is a brown wheely-bin for garden waste of all types. Except for tree branches deemed not to be “very small”.

The council collect all of these containers on a regular basis. And if anything isn’t as they have deemed (i.e. if someone has left the lids on the plastic bottles, say), then it is just not collected. We also have a black bin, the dustbin, which, the council says, is only to be used for those items which do not fit into any of the recyclable categories I have listed above. (The bin-men check too. I have watched them look into our dustbin to make sure it contains nothing that shouldn’t be in one of the recyclable sacks or bins.)

I would like to think that I care about recycling. I certainly would want to make sure that whatever coming from our household that could be recycled was being so. In fact I now have a compost bin, started and kept going by myself, that takes lots of green matter from the garden as well as fruit and vegetable peelings and waste. I enjoy keeping an eye on it (and I’ve even turned it, as well.)

Despite this more and more I find myself resenting the fact that, with the exception of the compost bin, all the other recycling has been imposed on me and I have absolutely no choice in the matter. I look at the newspaper and it is full of articles telling me I must recycle. The television keeps on talking about how essential recycling is. And I understand the global implications, I really do. But as I get older I find myself getting…. well, I suppose I would say I am becoming a bit rebellious at constantly being told how to live my own life. I want to make up my own mind how I live and what I do, I want the decisions that I make to be mine only. And recycling is just one area of my life where my ability to make decisions on what to do and how, has been taken away from me by an outside authority. I have no choice in the matter. And I resent that.

Beautiful and from YouTube

2007-07-06T09:36:00.000+01:00

I'm not a great fan of YouTube. There is a huge amount of dross on it and you can spend a vast amount of time searching through the rubbish to find the stuff worth watching. The fact that I've never managed to imbed any YouTube piece into this blog despite expending a great deal of blood, sweat and tears hasn't helped my attitude to YouTube either.

However every so often I come across something I really enjoy. Here is one, it's really lovely, and I just have to watch it again and again. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

The Graduation Ceremony

2007-07-02T14:47:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday was quite a day. It was the day the Stepson became a graduate. Yes, he is now entitled to have the initials "B.A. Hons (Cantab)" after his name.

The day itself was very good. It was warm, sunny and, I think, the only dry day we've seen in the last month. The Husband and I arrived at the Pembroke College at about noon, in time for a few photographs.

Then we proceeded to the Stepson’s room where we met up with his mother and then the four of us went to one of the parlours in the library block for drinks. Then at 1.00 we all moved on to the College bowling green where, despite the fact that this is the oldest bowling green in the country, a marquee had been erected on the green. Lunch was excellent, a plate of various salads plus small portions of salmon, chicken, a quiche and vegetarian terrine, followed by fruit salad. Oh and a choice of wine or fruit juice. After this all the graduands (what they are called until they formally become graduates) headed off to have a photograph taken together. (I have a few from here but I wasn’t able to get into a good position.)

Afterwards we all headed off to the Senate House for Cambridge University. The Husband, his ex-wife and myself queued for some time while the graduands were given instructions on how to behave in the actual ceremony. The graduation ceremonies are in the same order as the date each college was originally created. As Pembroke was the sixth college to be formed as part of Cambridge university its graduation ceremony was the sixth that day (there were three ceremonies after Pembroke’s on the Thursday, a full day of graduation ceremonies on the Friday and on Saturday too, which gives one some idea of how many colleges form the university.)

The actual graduation ceremony was full of arcane moments and both interesting but baffling at the same time as the whole ceremony was in Latin, which I have never studied. There was a fair amount of university fellows doffing and then donning their mortar boards, a huge silver mace being carried and the statutes and regulations of Pembroke College being formally placed into position as the ceremony actually started. It was reasonably easy to work out what was generally going on though - the main part came when each graduate in turn knelt in front of the Arch-Chancellor of the University’s representative and was welcomed (again in Latin) as a member of the University. Then he/she stood, bowed to him and then left the hall, being given their degree certificate by the exit.

We stood outside the Senate building for a while as people queued to have formal photographs taken and to buy pictures of the actual ceremony (we weren't allowed to take photos or to film/video the ceremony). Then we all walked back to the college for tea and strawberries.

This ended the actual college programme for the day. I have to say the organisation of the day was incredible, but then one of the papers I saw said that Cambridge had been in existence for 798 years, so I think they've had enough practice to get it right (grin).

We stayed on and took the Stepson out for dinner in a local restaurant. Then we went back to the college and loaded up both cars with all the stuff the Stepson had amassed after a year in college. It was incredible how much stuff he carried out to be loaded into the cars, it just kept on coming (it reminded me of some of those daft comedy routines when the amount of stuff just seemed too much to fit into the room).

It was an excellent day. As the Stepson is staying on at Cambridge to do a 1 year Master of Philosophy course and then he wants to do a 3 year doctorate, both in his subject of History, presumably there will be two more graduation ceremonies to come.

2007-06-28T08:20:00.001+01:00

So we have a new Prime Minister. It will be interesting seeing the approach of a dour Scotsman as compared with the more populist approach we’ve had for the last 10 years or so. And hopefully we’ll have some more news now. There has been very little going on since Blair said that he would be going, it was as if everything was in suspended animation. TV news programmes have been short of real news for quite a while.

Off to Cambridge shortly. Apparently after the graduation ceremony there will be an English Garden Party. I’m glad to hear that Pembroke College has arranged for a marquee, so we will have somewhere to hide if any rains come a day or two earlier than predicted. And then we are off to a restaurant for a meal: the Stepson, the Husband, his ex-wife (after a bitter divorce) and myself. This will be interesting.

2007-06-26T10:00:00.000+01:00

How do you comment about the weather? Especially like a day like yesterday that saw flooding and disruption and even death to a few. I think we all knew that the rain we've had this June was exceptional, and we didn't really need the pundits to tell us that this is the wettest June since records begun - we could see that. But even so we weren't expecting what came last night. My heart goes out to all those thousands and thousand of households and businesses flooded so badly, to the cities towns and villages so badly disrupted and to the families suffering bereavement. Brace yourself, everyone. The experts say that by the weekend there will be much more rain.

Fortunately where we live we haven't been affected by the floods.... I hesitate over whether to say "yet" as there has been bad flooding to the North of East Anglia and that isn't too far away and it wouldn't take much for it to travel our way. As it is we've just been stuck indoors for days with wave after wave of rain. The Husband is totally stir crazy and getting quite grumpy as it has been too wet for him to do his daily 20 mile walk. So he went and spent a lot of money on a proper waterproof walking trosers and jacket. I suspect he won't let the weather defeat him in future. He can be quite single-minded that way.

Despite the weather I haven't spent much time on the computer - reading what is on the screen isn't very easy for me at the moment. I tried buying an over-the-counter pair of reading glasses and using them I can now read books and the newspaper with my right eye (but not, of course, my left). But I can't read the computer screen with the reading glasses though. Still I went back to St Thomas' Hospital on Friday and saw the consultant who is happy with the state of my right eye, it's healing nicely. For a couple of days before my visit to the hospital I rehearsed in my mind things to say say to try to pursuade them to get my left eye done too, preferably without being on a waiting list for another 4 months. However, when I saw the nurse at the start of my appointment she tested my vision in both eyes and said something like "your vision in each eye is now so different you must find things very difficult. Have you though of having your other eye done?" To cut a long story short I am now down to have cataract surgery on my left eye on 9th August. I'd have preferred sooner but at least it's not later. Hopefully I won't be as nervous next time.

We have been doing various things recently. The day after the op on my right eye it was the wedding of the Husband's niece down at Whitstable. The bride was a picture as was her mother. In fact everyone looked marvellous and it was good to meet up with members of the family again (why is it that families only meet up for weddings and funerals?).

Last Thursday the Husband and I drove down to Whitstable to see his mother as it was her 80th birthday. She didn't know we were coming and so it was a complete surprise to her when we walked in the door. She burst into tears, hopefully of joy. We went into town for a meal and then went back to their flat and just chatted for hours.

I'm just about talking to the Husband again. Last week, while watching UKTVFood channel I came across a wonderful soup recipe by Claire MacDonald that I decided to try. And so on Sunday I had a go. When it was finished I tasted it for seasoning and thought the mixture of sweet potatoes, ginger, limes and nutmeg delicious. So I put the stockpot in cold water in the sink to cool the soup down before putting it in the fridge. I was careful to make sure that the tap was no where near the stockpot. About 30 minutes later the Husband went out to the kitchen, fiddled about a bit and then came back to inform me that he had ruined the soup. Somehow, and I don't know how he managed to do it, he had poured a lot of cold water from the tap into the soup. We managed to ladle out some of the water and then we heated it up to try to condense the mixture somewhat. The soup still tastes nice, but not as good as before. I shall try it again - next time when he isn't around. The recipe, incidentally, can be found here and is well worth trying - just be aware that there's a printing error in it and it should mention limes, not lemons, that was clear from the actual programme.

We've got a few things coming up later this week. Thursday is the Stepson's graduation ceremony at Cambridge. Yes, he has his degree - a First. And although the usual allocation is two tickets per graduate he managed to get a third ticket, so I can go as well as his mother and father. I am really pleased about this as I am so glad that he is in the right place and enjoying his life now. After the graduation ceremony we shall all have lunch together - the Stepson, The Husband, his ex-wife and myself. That will be interesting. Afterwards we have to lug all ther Stepson's stuff home - he has said that it's a good thing there will be two cars to take everything of his back.

And on Friday the three of us are off to London for a concert which is part of the City of London festival. The concert is actually in Stationers' Hall and as the Husband went to Stationer's School as a youth he really wants to return to his old stamping gropund for a couple of ours. The concert is by the Schubert Ensemble and is pieces by Elgar and Saint-Saens (sorry, don't know how to add the accent to his name). I once went to Stationers' Hall for an event when I was at work and remember it as incredibly decorated and over-the-top. I am looking forward to seeing it again.

A National Shortage

2007-06-18T09:47:00.000+01:00

I'm not finding it at all easy to read at the moment but I do attempt to read The Times, the daily paper that is delivered to our house each morning. I am tending to skim over much of the paper at the moment, especially those subjects that are discussed fully on the tv news but sometimes items are included in the paper that I just have to read in full. This was true on Saturday when I discovered the dramatic news that the UK is currently suffering a national shortage.... of ukuleles!

The full article can be found here but here is part of the article:

Music shops are reporting a national shortage of ukuleles after being caught out by a surprise British love affair with the Hawaiian instrument.
The four-stringed, instrument, beloved of George Formby and George Harrison, has become so popular in recent months that Chinese manufacturers cannot keep up with demand.
A ship of ukuleles is currently on its way to Britain from Shanghai, Britain’s main importer told The Times, but shops from London to Sheffield are warning customers not to expect new stock until next month.
However can we wait?

2007-06-16T03:50:00.000+01:00

At 3.45 am, just 10 minutes ago, I was lying in bed, unable to sleep. So I listened and instead of the silence of the night or cars passing or a train in the distance I heard birds. The dawn chorus. In just 7 days it will be MidSummer's Day, the longest day of the year. And in England this means for a few short weks we have just a few hours each night of darkness after the twilight and before the dawn. And the birds sing. Many have come to England in the Spring after spending the Winter in foreign parts, like South Africa. They will stay until the Autumn when they will go again, to return next year.

Just another element of life and Nature that brings hope. Especially in the middle of the night when one can't sleep and your thoughts dwell on disasters that will probably never happen.

2007-06-12T16:09:00.000+01:00

It always astounds me that the hardy geranium in the front garden does so well. I've said before that the front garden is incredibly dry and open to the elements. Well, this geranium is actually up against the front wall of the house - and the experts always say that you should never plant anything directly against a wall as it will be too dry. But other than a couple of handfuls of pelletted chicken manure in the Spring, if I remember,
and the odd watering can of water when it's been very very dry for quite a while I totally neglect the plants. And you can see how well they are doing.