Silence is Golden!

Photo of the Day
03.11.07
Me, aged 4

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
joyfully, playfully watching me.

Supertramp

I met up with my good friend Maria yesterday for coffee.
We planned to have a nice hour or so catching up with each other's news.

The "must have" item of the day seemed to be a baby, preferably a crying baby or better still a full blown tantrum!

Seated on the next table were 5 young mums, all with the items of the day.

We could barely hear each other, so we moved to a quieter corner.

No sooner had we sat down when we were joined by anothergroup of young mums.
Once their children heard the din the contest began...who could scream the loudest!

We left shortly afterwards....
Peace and Quiet!

Wonder why the children of today never seem to be as good as I was, when I was a girl!

LOL!

Childhood

Childhood, sweet and sunny childhood,
With its careless, thoughtless air,
Like the verdant, tangled wildwood,
Wants the training hand of care.

See it springing all around us --
Glad to know, and quick to learn;
Asking questions that confound us;
Teaching lessons in its turn.

Who loves not its joyous revel,
Leaping lightly on the lawn,
Up the knoll, along the level,
Free and graceful as a fawn?

Let it revel; it is nature
Giving to the little dears
Strength of limb, and healthful features,
For the toil of coming years.

He who checks a child with terror,
Stops its play, and stills its song,
Not alone commits an error,
But a great and moral wrong.

Give it play, and never fear it --
Active life is no defect;
Never, never break its spirit --
Curb it only to direct.

Would you dam the flowing river,
Thinking it would cease to flow?
Onward it must go forever --
Better teach it where to go.

Childhood is a fountain welling,
Trace its channel in the sand,
And its currents, spreading, swelling,
Will revive the withered land.

Childhood is the vernal season;
Trim and train the tender shoot;
Love is to the coming reason,
As the blossom to the fruit.

Tender twigs are bent and folded --
Art to nature beauty lends;
Childhood easily is moulded;
Manhood breaks, but seldom bends.

David Bates

Bike Adventure today, Wedding Fayre tomorrow.
Watch this space!

Somewhere over the Rainbow Happy Birthday Mum

Photo of the Day
02.11.07
The end of our drive, yesterday morning.

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

from Fiddler on the Roof

I had been thinking about today's photograph for a while now, ever since infact i worked out that skywatch Friday fell on November 2nd.
You see today would have been Mum's birthday.

I need not have worries, as when I went to open the gates yesterday morning the rainbow greeted me.

It is an example of the inspiration around us.

November 2nd is Day of the Dead in Mexico.



More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.

It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate.

A ritual known today as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

The ritual is celebrated in Mexico and certain parts of the United States, including the Valley.

Celebrations are held each year in Mesa, Chandler, Guadalupe and at Arizona State University. Although the ritual has since been merged with Catholic theology, it still maintains the basic principles of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of skulls.
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Today, people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend, according to Mary J. Adrade, who has written three books on the ritual.

The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth.

The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed came back to visit during the monthlong ritual.

Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.

"The pre-Hispanic people honored duality as being dynamic," said Christina Gonzalez, senior lecturer on Hispanic issues at Arizona State University. "They didn't separate death from pain, wealth from poverty like they did in Western cultures."

However, the Spaniards considered the ritual to be sacrilegious. They perceived the indigenous people to be barbaric and pagan.

In their attempts to convert them to Catholicism, the Spaniards tried to kill the ritual.

But like the old Aztec spirits, the ritual refused to die.

To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved it so it coincided with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is when it is celebrated today.

Previously it fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, approximately the beginning of August, and was celebrated for the entire month. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The goddess, known as "Lady of the Dead," was believed to have died at birth, Andrade said.

Today, Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and in certain parts of the United States and Central America.

"It's celebrated different depending on where you go," Gonzalez said.

In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate gravesites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones.

In Guadalupe, the ritual is celebrated much like it is in rural Mexico.

"Here the people spend the day in the cemetery," said Esther Cota, the parish secretary at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. "The graves are decorated real pretty by the people."

In Mesa, the ritual has evolved to include other cultures, said Zarco Guerrero, a Mesa artist.

"Last year, we had Native Americans and African-Americans doing their own dances," he said. "They all want the opportunity to honor their dead."

In the United States and in Mexico's larger cities, families build altars in their homes, dedicating them to the dead. They surround these altars with flowers, food and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them next to the altar.

"We honor them by transforming the room into an altar," Guerrero said. "We offer incense, flowers. We play their favorite music, make their favorite food."

At Guerrero's house, the altar is not only dedicated to friends and family members who have died, but to others as well.




You can read more about it here

When i was reading about the many things the people did I came across the way some people make an alter to remember their loved ones.

I will be making my alter for mum today.




I have played around with another photograph of the same rainbow from yesterday, this was the other part of it, over our hedge.

Please enlarge and print off, it is to be shared.

Have a good day.

November comes and brings A tale of 2 Bears.

A Thought for Thursday!

The name 'November' is believed to derive from 'novem' which is the Latin
for the number 'nine'.
In the ancient Roman calendar November was the ninth month after March.
As part of the seasonal calendar November is
the time of the 'Snow Moon' according to Pagan beliefs and the period
described as the 'Moon of the Falling Leaves' by Black Elk.

- Mystical WWW

Photo of the Day
01.11.07
Cuddled on the settee last night

Me and my teddy bear
have no troubles have no care
Me and my teddy bear
just play and play all day.

Some years ago, when I was Foundation Stage Co-ordinator in a large primary school we had to have a big clear out for a building programme. The bear on the left was due to be thrown in the skip.

I brought him home.

For the past couple of years he has sat in the porch.

On Tuesday night, earlier this week I was collecting my friend Lisa.
As I manoeuvred the car something caught my eyes in the headlights.
Something was lying next to a rubbish bag.
It was the bear on the right.

I picked him up and brought him home.
Gave him a wash and snuggled him up with his new pal.

Don't you think they look as though they are related?

Last week I was all excited when I read this advertisement in our free cycle group.

Offered: Desk for Teddybear!

I responded immediately, saying I could give the desk a new home.....

And I have!

Now my bears do not have names....
any ideas?

I will have a little competition.
The winner will receive one of my special Christmas Cards.
here are some from last year

I thought it would be a bit of fun over the next couple of weeks, now that November is here, the nights are darker, sooner and we will be preparing for Christmas.

November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.

- Clyde Watson

Rain check?

Any better?

ABC Wednesday!

O is for.........Open!

Whistlestop cafe,Whitby, 29.10.07

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open”

John Barrymore

I love going out in search of the ABC photograph, keeping an open mind.
On Sunday when we went out late afternoon for a bike ride I took my camera.
As we passed through the village of Lealholm I caught a quick glimpse of a shop, but although the lights were on the shop displayed the "closed" sign......this set me thinking!

As we pulled up outside the Whistestop cafe the sign was glowing in the dark.
It was a lovely sight.
I jumped off the bike, fumbled for my camera and took this photograph.
I had to rush because the shop was closing and the sign would be switched off at any moment!


Photography is all about timing.....a bit like life in a way!

Bad Timing?
by Julie Donner Andersen


One perfect segment
of frozen time;
Choreographed by
a higher power,
Rendering us
mere puppets
In a master plan.

One perfect mate
for each person;
Hand chosen
by fate and good timing,
Unaltered by
Circumstance or feeling,
Since love blinds.

One perfect idea
presented on a silver platter;
Unchangeable by
guests or servers:
Follow the rules
and no one gets hurt,
Since love is a vacuum.

One perfect moment
shatters perfection;
Unconceivable defiance;
Risky, yet bold.
The soul stirs, and
mistakes are made.
But the heart remains true .

Imperfect people
Give into temptation;
Recklessly following
their own dreams
Even if they differ
from spoon-fed morality
Or defy the odds.

Imperfect timing
Careless emotion
Caution thrown
Into the winds of change.
We belong to others;
Yet in our hearts,
We are lovers.
Are we imperfect,
or is this simply
Bad timing?

October hangs on, but not for long!

Photo of the Day
Whitby
29.10.07
4.45pm yesterday!

Phantom Of The Opera -

The Music Of The Night

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night

Close you eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams
purge your thoughts of the life you knew before
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar
And you'll live as you've never lived before

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly posess you
Open up your mind,
Let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to be!
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night

You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night

We have both been very busy this weekend, but yesterday at 4pm Jon suggested we went for a little bike tour over the moors.

Off we went!
It was quite dramatic to see the sky changing before our very eyes.
We travelled over the moors through Danby, Glaisdale, Egton and eventually arrived in Whitby just before 5pm.
We had a quick cup of tea as the night was really beginning to settle in.
As we rode out of Whitby I was suddenly aware of the huge globe in the sky, low over the sea.
We travelled home on the coast road, through Sandsend, Lythe, Hinderwell, Staithes, Boulby and Loftus.

The huge globe stayed with us for the entire journey.
It was quite dramatic!

A little bit of something nice to start a new week!

Very busy here, DIY today, Hospital tomorrow to see the specialist, A Christening Commission to post today and a wedding fayre at the weekend!

No rest for the wicked!
Oh yes.....and the niggles!Hmmmmm!

Waste Not Want Not! Pumpkin Recipes to try!

Pumpkin song (tune: I'm a little teapot)

I'm a little pumpkin
Orange and round.
Here is my stem,
There is the ground.
When I get all cut up,
Don't you shout!
Just open me up
And scoop me out!

Using pumpkins as lanterns at Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic custom brought to America by Irish immigrants. All Hallows Eve on 31 October marked the New Year of the Celtic calendar year, the Festival of Samhain, and on that night hollowed-out turnips, beets and rutabagas with candles inside them were placed on windowsills and porches^{[citation needed]} to welcome home the spirits of deceased ancestors and ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called "Stingy Jack," hence the name "Jack-o-lantern". On Halloween night, Linus Van Pelt of the comic strip Peanuts waits in a pumpkin patch for "the Great Pumpkin", a fictional pumpkin with many of Santa Claus's characteristics, which seems to exist only in his imagination.

(Wikipedia)

Over the next few days many of us will be making lanterns for Halloween.
Here are some recipes I have got together to use up the pumpkin flesh,
all part of my waste not want not campaign!

Thanks to the contributions from my pals over at It'sNot Easy Being Green!

I will be sharing this information at 4pm GMT Saturday when I will be on the Hospital Radio!

Sweet Pumpkin pie

300g Pumpkin puree
350g Evaporated Milk
2 Free range eggs
175g Granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground clove

Method:

Scoop out pumpkin, chop roughly & steam for 15-20 minutes. Blend until smooth.

Line a deep 23cm/9" tart tin with shortcrust pastry (Homemade is obviously best!)

1. Pre heat oven to 220c/ 424f/ Gas mk 7.
2. Combine Sugar,salt,cinnamon, ginger and clove in a small bowl
3. Beat the eggs lightly in a large bowl.
4. Stir pumpkin puree and sugar/spice mix into eggs.
5. Gradually stir in the Evap milk
6. Pour into pastry case (Put it on a baking tray to catch any spills)
7. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce temp to 180c/ 350f/ Gas mk 4
8. Bake for 40 -50 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean
9. Cool on a wire rack for approx 1-2 hours Yeh riiiight!
10. Serve with Maple Whipped cream (recipe bellow!)

Maple whipped cream - Delicious!!

1 cup (240ml) Whipping cream
1 & 1/2 Tbsp Pure Maple syrup

Pour Maple syrup into a bowl with the cream and whip until it forms soft peaks.


Don't throw away the seeds - lay them on a baking tray and dust with sweet spices & roast.


pumpkin risotto

1 pumpkin flesh (skin made into lanterns obviously)
1 bag risotto rice
1 lump of parmasan
1 tub of creme fraich
1 onion (chopped)
1 vegetarian stock cube
good knob of butter

cube pumpkin into 1cm cubes and fry with onion and rice for a few mins in the butter.

add enough vegetable stock to completly cover the risotto by a good 1.5 inches bring to a rolling simmer, then turn down and leave for 20mins (coming back to check its not out of water periodically)

when rice is cooked stir in the creme frache, serve with grated parmasan.

Mock Pumpkin Soup

2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 swede
lots of carrots (sorry for the lack of pounds and kilos here, I just don't cook that way - relax, it'll taste great, trust me)
About half a pint of milk (are you happy now?)
About a pint of vegetable stock
Butter
Cream
Bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg

Chop the onions and fry in a knob of butter with the crushed garlic. Peel the swede and the carrots and chop into smallish chinks, then fry them also until they start to change colour. Add the stock and milk and simmer with the bayleaf until the veg is tender. Remove the bayleaf and liquidise. Add salt and pepper to taste and generous amounts of nutmeg. Serve with a swirl of cream, and home-made crusty bread.


Pumpkin Gnocci

Flesh of a Small Pumpkin - cubed
1 sweet potato, grated
roughly 2 cups flour (may needplus extra for dusting


Steam the pumpkin until *just* cooked, and dry off. Mash down and stir through the grated sweet potato, leave to stand for about 20 mins.

Knead in the flour until you get a soft dough (you may need a little more flour or a bit less)

Dusting the surface, divde the dough and roll out into snakes about 2 cm diameter, cut each of these into 2-3 cm pieces. If you want a trad shape roll slightly and flatten slightly with the tines of a fork.

Ideally refridgerate your Gnocci for at least 15 mins before cooking in boiling water (when they rise to the surface they are done) around 5-10 mins depending on the finished size

Serve with a plain tomato sauce (onion, tom, basil, garlic) or DP likes these as they are with a good grating of Parmesan and some black pepper. Personally I think they are very nice with pesto

pumpkin soup - with leek and curry powder:

heat oil or butter in the soup pan,
add the chopped leeks to the hot fat, stir for a little while,
add the diced pieces of pumpkin
with two or three diced potatoes,
some stock and a spoon of curry powder, plus pepper
(madras or garam massala or whichever massala you wish to use)
bring to a boil quickly and then let simmer for a good 30/45 minutes.

if the potatoes and pumpkin is ready to "melt", you can either use a spatula - for uneven effect - or whizz the liquidiser (?) inside the pan for a smooth effect.

add a few drops of cream to it just before serving. only if you wish.

Butternut and orange soup.

1 butternut squash, 1 lb. + peeled and chopped
Zest and juice of 1/2 an orange.
1 apple peeled ,cored and diced
2 onions, finely chopped.
3 tablespoons butter.
1 teaspoon curry powder, pinch nutmeg, 1 bay leaf.
750 mls. chicken stock or veg. stock.
salt and pepper to taste.
yougurt or cream to garnish.
Saute onions until tender, add squash for a further 3 mins. Add all other ingredients except the garnish. Cook until tender and then liquidise. Check for seasoning and consistency.
Serve with garnish.


Little Pumpkin Cakes (aka Splats!)


115g butter
175g dark muscovado sugar
200g cooked pureed pumpkin
150g raisins
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 190'C.

Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in pumpkin, raisins and vanilla. Sift together remaining ingredients and add, mixing well. Place large spoonfuls of mixture onto a greased baking tray, spaced well apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes until light golden and spongy.


Pumpkin Fritters

2 cups cooked pumpkin, mashed.
about 2 tablespoons flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix together, fry big spoonfuls in a frying pan with either butter or oil until golden brown.

Sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon & eat while warm.

Curried Pumpkin Soup Recipe

2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 med onion, peeled and quartered
1 lg. jalapeno pepper, seeded and -coarsely chopped
2 Stalks celery, cut into -2-inch lengths
3 lg. Carrots, peeled and sliced -1/4 inch thick
2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 3/4 lb. pumpkin, peeled, -seeded, and cut -into 1-inch dice
3 c Low-salt chicken stock
1 Bay leaf
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. Turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 c shelled raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp. sour cream (optional)

Place garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add onion and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Place jalapeno in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add celery and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Place carrots in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Heat 1 tbsp. of the olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add jalapeno, celery, and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin, chicken stock, bay leaf, curry, turmeric, cayenne, 1 tsp. of the salt, and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat remaining tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 1/2 t salt and cook for about 30 seconds, shaking pan constantly to prevent burning, until all the seeds have popped. Remove from heat and add parsley.

Place 2 cups of the cooked vegetables and about 1/2 cups of the liquid in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Stir puree back into the soup. Adjust seasonings, and stir in the sour cream, if desired. Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)
3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin*
5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.

2 Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

3 Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.

4 With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. You might want to add a teaspoon of salt.

Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds


Pumpkin Scones

- 1 tbs butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin
- 2 cups self raising flour (and a little extra, just in case)

Method:
Beat together butter, sugar and salt with an electric mixer.

Add egg, then pumpkin.

Finally, stir in the sifted flour by hand.

Turn onto a floured board and cut.
Place on a heated floured tray and cook on the top shelf of a very hot oven (225C - 250C) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Photo of the Day
27.10.07
Robbie, next to our house,
showing his sheer pleasure of the taste of the apple I had just given him!

I close my eyes, drew back the curtain,
to see for certain,
what I thought I knew!

Far far away...........

I had a wonderful surprise this morning when I switched on my computer.
It was notification of a comment from Chewy!

I have been enjoying seeing Chewy's artwork and a few weeks ago she posted some fantastic roses, which you can see here!

What I loved about the picture are the calming colours, which have been a source of inspiration during the past couple of days as I soldier onwards with the niggling issues.
Yes, they are being sorted and I feel as though I am making progress.

Those amongst you who are creative peoples will fully understand, and indeed the comments you have left have been a reassurance, thank you.

I have had some computer issues, spam from "pharmaceutical" sources telling me my life would be better if I had a bigger penis! Well what can I say???? The name Mrs Nesbitt would suggest to the average intelligence that I do not need one! LOL!

We have had issues with photo loading and then to cap it all we lost the internet connection yesterday afternoon.

All seems to be okay now, but lost me time, and time is of importance at the moment and was one of the niggles which I am dealing with.

I am continuing with this that and the other today, sorting out niggles, my study, my head! LOL!

First a walk up the lane, a chat with my pals in the coats....no not the people in the white coats, the horses in their tartan winter coats! A walk always helps me clear my head, ready to take on the new day!

Morning Walk

A sweet melody on the lips,
Pack's snug on the hips,
Feel the early morning nip,
Far away a lonely farm.

Breathing in the mountain air,
A squirrel chatters over there,
Bliss and beauty everywhere,
A little bird sings his song.

Feeling nature's harmony,
Wild apples are sweet honey,
Trees majestic so many,
Beauty shows in every form.

The trail entrances with her charm,
An overwhelming sense of calm,
Body, spirit, arm in arm,
Nature is soul's soothing balm.

Sridhar V Ramasami

(Note squirrel originally chipmunk, but we dont see these here!)



Watch this space!
D

Photo of the Day 26.10.07 Sky from the back window, last week.

Smile at the Sky

Smile at the sky
It’s so pretty
It sets me free
When I’m sad
I go outside
When I’m happy
I go outside
A smile emerges on my face
So far and wide
Just like the sky
The smiling sky whom I smile back to
Smile at the sky

Are you happy?
You’re already outside and smiling
Are you sad?
Get your ass outside and show the sky a smile
Smile at the sky
Smile at the sky
And give him a grin or two
Remember he loves you too
Smile at the sky
Smile at the sky

pierre singla

This poem made me smile, it is so true for me.
Yesterday I spent most of the day inside, sorting stuff!
Papers, phone calls, clutter, tat!
I felt claustrophobic!
At one point I looked out of the window and saw a bird eating seeds from the feeder.
In the few minutes I stopped to observe I felt my spirits lift.
Then it was back to sorting and dealing with the niggles.

I felt better in the long run, but need to press on.
I have stuff to do, but need a blank canvas and right now the canvas still needs clearing.
I hope I am making sense.

This weekend we see the nights getting darker sooner, due to the official end of British Summertime.
Some of us may well ask what summer?
But fear not, there is an EU rule!
Would you believe it eh?

British Summertime Rules

(from UK Government - Department of Trade & Industry - DTi)

For 2003-2007 inclusive, the summer-time periods begin and end respectively on the following dates at 1.00am Greenwich Mean Time:

In 2003: the Sundays of 30 March and 26 October
In 2004: the Sundays of 28 March and 31 October
In 2005: the Sundays of 27 March and 30 October
In 2006: the Sundays of 26 March and 29 October
In 2007: the Sundays of 25 March and 28 October

Since 1981 EC Directives have prescribed the start and end dates of summer time in all Member States. There have to date been eight Directives which have set summer-time arrangements for fixed periods. The Summer Time Act 1972 sets the appropriate dates in the UK and summer-time orders have been made as necessary to implement the European Directives. The 9th EC Directive prescribes the start and end dates of summer time as the last Sundays in March and October respectively. These dates are in line with those already operating in the United Kingdom. The 9th Directive provides that these start and end dates should apply indefinitely.

Implementation of the 9th Directive in the UK is through an Order in Council under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, which amended the relevant sections of the Summer Time Act 1972. The Order came into force on 11 March 2002. A Regulatory Impact Assessment and Transposition Note were produced in conjunction with the laying of the Order.

Proposals have been made from time to time about changing the UK's time zone to Central European Time. However, any changes would need to have full regard to the effect on business and transport links with other countries, on health and safety issues such as road traffic accidents, and on social and community life. Although there could be some advantages, adoption of Central European Time in the UK would result in later sunrise in winter, affecting particularly outdoor workers and people in the north of England and Scotland. There are no current plans to change the UK’s time zone.

While I am busy with little things,
I am not required to do greater
things.

Francis De Sales, St.

Niggles!

What's a niggle to you?

nig·gle (ngl)intr.v. nig·gled, nig·gling, nig·gles

1. To be preoccupied with trifles or petty details.

2. To find fault constantly and trivially; carp.

Today I am dealing with the niggles which have found their way into my everyday comings and goings.

Watch this space! It should be less cluttered and running more smoothly on my return!

ABC Wednesday! N is for...........Nipper!

Photo of the Day
24.10.07
Nipper, posing for the camera, yesterday.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere,
but after a while he gets to know something.

Wilson Mizner

If you have ever been left money by a relative you will know the responsibility which goes along with spending it wisely.
So when my Uncle Bob died in the early 1990's I found myself with a sum of money he had left for me. It was about £250.

From an early age when we visited nana and grandad's, Uncle Bob would always share his latest pop records. A lot of the early records I have listed on my playlist I heard first played by Uncle Bob.

He started the first pub music quiz in the Eston Institute and would always test out the questions on the family.
He had a varied record collection.

With the money I bought this replica of Nipper, the famous RCA dog and some new doors for the porch. Nipper, to always remind me of the love of music Uncle Bob shared and the doors because it is always wise to put money into something property based. Uncle Bob loved our house and I felt the doors would always reflect the fact that part of him was here.

He left his record collection to myself and Jon, having had many discussions with Jon about their love of Elvis's music.

On the night he died we played a selection of the varied collection. Two in particular were Guy Mitchell's "She wears Red Feathers" and Mario Lanza singing "The Student Prince" such a display of the diversity of the record collection.

Nipper the dog was born in Bristol in 1884 and so named because of his tendency to nip the backs of visitors' legs. When his first master Mark Barraud died destitute in Bristol in 1887, Nipper was taken to Liverpool by Mark's younger brother Francis, a painter. In Liverpool Nipper discovered the Phonograph, a cylinder recording and playing machine and Francis Barraud "often noticed how puzzled he was to make out where the voice came from." This scene must have been indelibly printed in Barraud's brain, for it was three years after Nipper died that he committed it to canvas. Nipper died in September 1895, having returned from Liverpool to live with Mark Barraud's widow in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey. Though not a thoroughbred, Nipper had plenty of bull terrier in him; he never hesitated to take on another dog in a fight, loved chasing rats and had a fondness for the pheasants in Richmond Park! In 1898 Barraud completed the painting and registered it on 11 February 1899 as 'Dog looking at and listening to a Phonograph.'

Barraud with original painting.

A celebration, A Video, A White House Appearance and Monty Python!

I am experiencing some technical problems this morning and was unable to load some pictures, so I will share the awards later on this week. I want to share some which I have received and also have designed one of my own to share. 40,000 visitors! What a celebration! Yet so humbling! The wonderful Terry pulled out the stops and showed me how to make a tag cloud, so my ramblings can now be seen! Thanks Terry! Check out his blog.......wow! It doesn't feel the same without a Photo of the Day to start my post, but I am sure the content of the next couple of subjects will bring a ray of sunshine to your day. David asked us if we have ever googled our name...

so I checked on mrs nesbitt................ One of the favourite quotes from Toy Story! Woody: [thinks Buzz has gone crazy] Let's get you out of here Buzz... Buzz: Don't you get it? [points to a doll's hat on his head] Buzz: You see the hat? I am Mrs Nesbitt! Housekeeper to Eleanor Roosvelt! When Henrietta Nesbitt (1874-1963) first saw the White House on March 4, 1933, she remarked that it resembled “a big wedding cake.” The day was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first inauguration as president. The following day Nesbitt became the housekeeper at the White House. Although Mrs. Nesbitt, who was fifty-nine, had never worked as a professional housekeeper before, she was undaunted by the challenge. Her philosophy was that she had been keeping house all her life and it wouldn’t be any different at the White House, just on a larger scale. Little did Nesbitt know that she would spend more than a dozen years managing the nation’s busiest household during the trying times of the Great Depression and World War II. A cast member of a Monty Python Episode Submarine As featured in the Flying Circus TV Show - Episode 26 The cast: FIRST PEPPERPOT Graham Chapman SECOND PEPPERPOT Eric Idle VOICE John Cleese THIRD PEPPERPOT Terry Jones FOURTH PEPPERPOT Michael Palin MRS NESBITT Herself VOICE OVER Eric Idle The sketch: (Cut to traditional shot through periscope of ocean, cross-sights scanning the horizon. Submarine-type dramatic noise - motors and asdic. Cut to interior of submarine. A pepperpot looks through the periscope, then looks round at her colleagues.) First Pepperpot: Oh, it's still raining. (Her four companions continue to knit.) Second Pepperpot: I'm going down the shops. First Pepperpot: Oh, be a dear and get me some rats' bane for the budgie's boil. Otherwise I'll put your eyes out. Second Pepperpot: Aye, aye, captain. (goes out) (Attention noise from the communication tube. A red light flashes by it.) Voice: Coo-ee. Torpedo bay. First Pepperpot: Yoo-hoo. Torpedo bay. Third Pepperpot: She said torpedo bay. First Pepperpot: Yes, she did, she did. Fourth Pepperpot: Yes, she said torpedo bay. She did, she did. Voice: Mrs Lieutenant Edale here. Mrs Midshipman Nesbitt's got one of her headaches again, so I put her in the torpedo tube. First Pepperpot: Roger, Mrs Edale. Stand by to fire Mrs Nesbitt. All: Stand by to fire Mrs Nesbitt. First Pepperpot: Red alert, put the kettle on. Voice: Kettle on. First Pepperpot: Engine room, stand by to feed the cat. Voice: Standing by to feed the cat. First Pepperpot: Fire Mrs Nesbitt. (ANIMATION: a pepperpot is fired from a torpedo tube through the water, until she travels head first into a battleship with a load clang.) Mrs Nesbitt: Oh, that's much better. (Cut to a letter as in the last series, plus voice reading it.) Voice Over: As an admiral who came up through the ranks more times than you've had hot dinners, I wish to join my husband O.W.A Giveaway in condemning this shoddy misrepresentation of our modern navy. The British Navy is one of the finest and most attractive and butchest fighting forces in the world. I love those white flared trousers and the feel of rough blue serge on those pert little buttocks... (Cut to a man at a desk.) Presenter: I'm afraid we are unable to show you any more of that letter. We continue with a man with a stoat through his head. (Cut to man with a stone through his head. He bows. Cut to film of Women's Institute applauding.) I know we have all experienced technical problems from time to time, this poem made me laugh! I hope it does the same for you!

Remember When A Poem About Technology By James Huggins A computer was something on TV From a sci fi show of note. A window was something you hated to clean And ram was the cousin of goat. Meg was the name of my girlfriend And gig was a job for the nights. Now they all mean different things And that really mega bytes. An application was for employment. A program was a TV show. A curser used profanity. A keyboard was a piano. Memory was something that you lost with age. A CD was a bank account. And if you had a 3 1/2" floppy You hoped nobody found out. Compress was something you did to the garbage Not something you did to a file. And if you unzipped anything in public You'd be in jail for a while. Log on was adding wood to the fire. Hard drive was a long trip on the road. A mouse pad was where a mouse lived. And a backup happened to your commode. Cut you did with a pocket knife. Paste you did with glue. A web was a spider's home. And a virus was the flu I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper And the memory in my head. I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash, But when it happens they wish they were dead. ABC Wednesday tomorrow...............something beginning with N!

Photo of the Day
View of Kilton Slag Tip
April 2007

A fallen leaf is nothing more
than a summers wave good bye

This photograph is a very intriguing one.
At first glance it would appear the pink cherry blossom is the main subject, but in the distance the slag tips can be seen.
These are now protected.
They are a reminder of the heritage of this area as these were a product of the coal mining industry which the North East Coast was involved in.

I have been reading a few books lately and came across an account of a mining disaster in Scotland, which happened on 22nd October 1877, exactly 130 years to this very day!

Blantyre and the blackness of darkness


The explosion was heard by the women and children
With grey painted faces they ran to the mine
When the news was made heard all the hills cried with mourning
Two hundred and seven Scottish miners were slain.

THE LYRICS of the lament are agonisingly accurate. When the horror and the enormity of Scotland's worst mining disaster began to sink in to the relatives of those left behind in the dingy little town known as "Dirty Auld Blantyre", their cries of sorrow could be heard for many a mile. The hills around Blantyre truly echoed with their mourning.


It was October 1877 and the coal extracted from Scotland's pits went a long way to powering the country. The Industrial Revolution had given rebirth to dozens of little villages in Scotland's Central Belt. Along with shipbuilding, engineering and other forms of heavy industry, mining helped keep the economy of Scotland buoyant.

In High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, a few hundred yards from where African explorer David Livingstone was born, stood five pits run by William Dixon Ltd. Together they produced hundreds of thousands of tons of coal and made wealthy men of the mine owners. The miners and their families, by contrast, carried out back-breaking work for little more than a pittance and were housed in cramped tied cottages. The High Blantyre pits were known locally as "The Fiery Mine" because of the heavy presence of a gas called firedamp, which consisted chiefly of methane.


On 22 October the early shifts of more than 230 men had gone down the mine as usual at 5.30am. It was a gloomy start to the Monday and the villagers were beginning to go about their business when, at 8.45am, a huge underground explosion heard for miles around rocked Blantyre and sent flames from two of the five pits. Frantic efforts were made to rescue those in the mine but the blast claimed 207 lives, the youngest a boy of 11.

A local newspaper reported at the time: "How indelibly it is engraven on our memory. A sudden flash arose …then forthwith a dense volume of smoke, 'the blackness of darkness', which spread itself, a terrible funeral pall, over the surrounding plain. We were soon at the scene of the disaster, whither hundreds of eager and terrified creatures were hurrying, and there for hours we remained, a stricken shepherd amongst a stricken flock."

It took a week of painstaking searching with the stench of firedamp continually hanging in the air before the bodies were all recovered. The accident left 92 widows and 250 fatherless children. An inquiry into the disaster failed to find the precise cause of the explosion but it is generally held to be a sudden release of gas that was then ignited by a naked flame.
From the archive


Complaints about the working conditions at High Blantyre had been made over and over again. They were, as in most pits, ignored. Only days before the explosion a foreman named Joseph Gilmour had told a group of unhappy miners that, "There'll not be a man fall in this pit, I'll guarantee that".

A year before, the Blantyre miners had been so fearful for their safety in the mines that, when Dixons refused them a wage rise to compensate, they went on strike and were immediately sacked. They and their families were evicted from their homes, with police officers using clubs on hand if necessary. The mine owners turned to Irish Catholics to take the place of the men.

Two years on and disaster struck High Blantyre for a second time when an explosion killed 28 workers. Soon after the second blast Dixons erected a large granite monument to commemorate those who had lost their lives. The site of the mine now lies buried under the East Kilbride Expressway.

The heavy-handed behaviour of mine owners like those at Blantyre undoubtedly had a great influence on the rise of left-wing politics in industrial Scotland and stimulated men like the Red Clydesiders to act on behalf of the poor and downtrodden.
In 1977, on the 100th anniversary of the first accident, Labour MP Alex Eadie addresses onlookers at the unveiling of "The Blantyre Explosion" monument.

In 1977, on the 100th anniversary of the first accident, Labour MP Alex Eadie addresses onlookers at the unveiling of "The Blantyre Explosion" monument.

And there is one quite disgraceful postscript to the disaster at High Blantyre. Six months afterwards, Dixons raised summonses against 34 widows whose husbands had been killed and who had not left their tied cottages despite having received eviction notices. The women told a sheriff at Hamilton Sheriff Court they could not afford to pay a rent elsewhere. He said they should be grateful the firm had allowed them to stay in the houses so long and ordered them to be evicted in two weeks time.

After losing their menfolk in Scotland's worst mining tragedy it is most likely that the widows of Blantyre and their children were sent to the Poor House - to be hidden from view as a social stigma.

This, that and the other!

Photo of the Day
21.10.07
A Cottage in the village, sepia effect.

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”

Dorothea Lange

I took this photograph last February when we awoke to find it had snowed here in the village.
This cottage belongs to some nighbours of ours, Colin & Veronica.
On Friday night we were invited to Colin's retirement "do" at the village pub, The Waterwheel.

For a gift I played around with the photograph and framed it in a matching frame, Colin loved it.
Their house is up for sale at the moment so I thought it would be a reminder , in years to come, of the happy times spent in the village.

We had a good time and the wine flowed.....ahem a little too much I guess.
Yesterday I was under the weather for a few hours but as the day wore on I felt better.
This morning I felt really well and realised what a blessing Good Health is, yet how it is so easy to take it for granted, or worse still, abuse it.

Failing Health

I heard about an older, widowed lady.
This energetic woman loved to dance
but underneath her rapture something shady
had sought the Doctor, such was circumstance.

"It isn't all that serious", she told him,
"but every time I dance with male friends,
if I should snuggle close to one, and hold him,
I break wind as my body twists and bends".

"It's not so bad - they're never ever smelly.
They don't make any noise that you can hear,
but I am so embarrassed. If my belly
is ailing, are there pills to ease my fear?"

The doctor said "I'll give you this prescription.
Two pills each night. Come back in ten more days".
He smiled at her and finished his transcription.
Days later she was back with anguished phrase -

"Doc. what was in those pills? The floor was clearing
last night because the sound was loud as hell!"
He answered "Great! The pills have fixed your hearing.
And now to just regain your sense of smell!"

By Brian Bell

The weather is very sharp today, but we are venturing out on the motorbike.
Camera will be packed!

Watch this space...oh and watch the counter, approaching 40,000th visitors! Wow!
Will have to celebrate some way!

Will have a think whilst out on the motorbike!

Friday, and a change of plan!

Friday's Winner!

Carol Cabbagerose said...

'Mum, I cannot get this dammed quilt cover off, my bed needs changing'

Thanks to everybody who had a go, some really funny responses.

I am having a little change now, until after Christmas anyway.

There are so many things I need to do and I want to create some time to think and create. I have Christmas Cards to design and am busy with a wedding order and a lovely christening commission.

I am also working on a village calendar which will be a collection of my photographs and well loved poetry, an exciting project!

Dot is going to be posting a sky picture each Friday and I am going to join in.

Dot has called it Skywatch Friday. Great idea!

The weather has definitely changed these past few days and the nights are really much colder. The skies have been so dramatic too.

Here is a photograph I took on Wednesday night.

I was working at my desk here in my study and became aware of the dramatic atmosphere created by the sky.

So evocative..

It Must Be October

The harvest moon hangs round and high
It dodges clouds high in the sky
The stars wink down their love and mirth
The Autumn seasons is giving birth
Oh it must be October
The leaves of red bright gold and brown
To Mother earth come tumbling down
The breezy nights the ghostly sights
The eerie spooky far off sounds
Are signs that its October
The pumpkin yellow big and round
Are carried by costumed clumsy clowns
Its Halloween lets celebrate
Come one come all and don't be late
We know now its October
We'll roast and toast some luscious food
For apples we'll be bobbin
While tales are told around the fire
Of timely ghosts and goblins
Oh how we love October
The moon has grown pale
The stars have grown dim
Our Halloween party is over
With a hi-de-ho homeward we'll go
What a delightful month October

By Pearl N. Sorrels

Exploring!

Up the Village

"Do not follow where the path leads,rather go where there is no path, and leave a trail."

-David Perkins-

Do you have a favourite walk?
As you know I do have a few special places I like to walk with Wilma.
The beach, Handale, Rosecroft are some I have shared here.
If we go to the beach it means I have to drive the few miles as to walk would be dangerous.
Some mornings I just want to walk and explore........
There are many walks and lanes in our village which I have not yet explored so today I am going out with Wilma and we are going to explore!
I am taking my camera as I want to find a new photograph for my header.....hmmmm now let's see what we can find!

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

Isn't it exciting!



Watch this space!

ABC Wednesday......M is for Migration!

Housemartins
In the nest, under the eaves just by our bathroom window
August 2005

One Sunday, in June 2005 we had made plans to go out with a few friends on the motorbikes.
We were to meet at our house at 11am.
The weather wasn't glorious but it wasn't bad either.
The phone started to ring and various excuses were made...mostly the weather.
Now we don't mind setting out and taking a chance with the weather, it is all part of the fun.
Jon had been quite busy and had not had a Sunday off for a while, so this day was going to spent doing something productive.

Around 11am, after yet another "I don't really know......" phone call Jon was exasperated and we decided not to go after all and do some gardening. The hedges were in desperate need of cutting so we set to and worked through the day.

We worked as a team. Jon cut clipped the hedges, we loaded up the pick-up and whilst Jon clipped some more I drove the pick-up to the tip.
All in all I made 5 journeys that day, so you can tell how hard we worked.

Whilst we were working in the garden we became aware of ferocious activity in the sky.
Two housemartins were flying up to the eaves of our house with mud they were swooping down to snatch from the goose pond.

As dusk settled the nest was complete and the visitors settled in for the night.

Now the location of the nest was over the airbrick in our bathroom, so over the next few weeks when we were using the bathroom we could hear the noises from the nest.

When we heard extra noises we knew the eggs had hatched.

After a while we noticed the tiny heads peering out of the nest.

On one occasion I perched myself in the bathroom, on the steps and dangerously balancing on the windowsill and the sink I managed to take this photograph through the window.





Moments later, the parents flew back towards the house, suspecting danger, so this had been my one and only chance to capture the young chicks, days before they left for warmer places.

In 2006 they returned, but we didn't see them this year, I wonder if we will in 2008?
Watch this space!

The voice of ancient gossamer
rises still its ancient way
in the quiet thunder of eager wings
trying what the north winds say.

What do winds whisper in clever ears
that makes the time to go just right?
The wonder is the message comes
to all at once like second sight.

Preparation, patient, strong
born from the egg with what they need
each bird follows its primal plan
ten thousand years could not impede.

We came, once with reckless sway
and cut across the natural flow.
But now repentance pricks us on
as we repair the status quo.

Man and bird are strangely one
yet each cannot know the other.
Along the route soon remembered well
the wild and tame are somehow brother.

The goal is fixed in the mind as one.
All eyes peel the horizon away.
It's time to soar where long ago
all nature held its solemn sway.

Motion liquid below autumn clouds
a man-bird combination flies.
Like an ancient myth we integrate
and put sweet mystery in our eyes.

A wrong is righted heroically.
A beauty we have never known
gives hope our world at least in part
will reap the harvest we have modestly sown.

The voice of ancient gossamer
rises again its ancient way
in the quiet mystery of new born winds.
They know again what the north winds say.

From a poem by Owen Neill