Quotes

Some quotes from books i have read recently. 

Stafford, David.  "Skelton's guide to domestic poisons."  (For my friends from my days in Leeds) :-

When God wanted you to enter the ministry, he eased the way by making sure you were no good for anything else and blessed you with a mediocre singing voice.

When they'd first started holding hands and kissing, he was aware that a man of the world might have said, "No, my affections will not become your playthings," but he was not a man of the world, he was a man of Leeds  Central Library who'd rather have his affections used as playthings than have them ignored.

I don't think they could have had sapphism in Leeds when I was growing up.  If Leeds women had known it as an option, I can't see they'd have bothered with men at all.

At the City Palace of Varieties, they threw sharpened pennies at comics who told jokes like that...  Most people in The Pack Horse on Briggate could be funnier on a wet Sunday morning when there'd just been a death in the family.


Raybourn, Deanna. "The dark Road to Darjeeling." :-

 Dedication : this book is dedicated to my daughter.  All the best of what I am is because I am your mother.

Mark Twain :-

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sailaway from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."



Alan Bradley. 
"Thrice the branded cat hath mew'd" :-

Monosyllabic...  Why does a word meaning "a single syllable" require a five-syllable word to describe it ?

Alan Bradley.  "Golden tresses of the dead." :-
O-A-T-S. Oats.  Means 'obfuscation and torrents of ' well I mustn't say, must I.

Something that I will never forget until my dying day - if I live that long.

Alan Bradley. "The grave's a fine and private place." :-
The spell for finding books.."Abracadabra, Alakazam, Angela Thirkell and Omar Khayyam."

Alan Bradley  "Speaking from among the bones." :-
I was the eighth dwarf. Sneaky.

Hippo- thingy

 Today’s fun fact:  the word for the irrational fear of long words is ironically: 

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

It is also one of the longest words in the dictionary.  You need a big mouth to get your tongue round that.. 

UKRAINE

Thanks to Postcrossing and blogging I have made acquaintances and friends in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia over the last fifteen years or so.  It is horrifying and sickening to think of the violent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, supported by Belarus.

I made the acquaintance of one Ukranian family in 2012 and even then there was part of their country that the Russians controlled and fears that Russia would extend that area.  That is the stage at which countries like the UK should have been imposing sanctions on Russia and making it clear that its behaviour was not acceptable. Now, as rockets are landing, houses  being bombed, nuclear plants attacked by tanks and people dying and displaced, is far too late. 

If a country decided to invade the UK we tend to assume that the USA or some neighbours of ours would come to our aid.  Obviously nowadays such an expectation is naïve.  (Especially since, by a tiny majority, the UK made it plain it didn't want to be part of Europe).

Meanwhile, what about my Russian friends.  Should I be blaming them for the actions of their government?  Surely not.  

My Friend-über-special in the USA didn't vote for Donald Trump or support his policies. Nor did most of my other American friends.  Similarly, I didn't vote for Brexit.   I don't believe my Russian friends in St Petersburg endorse the idea of their government going to war and violently invading Ukraine.  Nor does my good friend in Belarus support her government's home or foreign policies.

It is all such a mess. 

The Rollright Stones

 This week a magazine in the States asked to use a couple of photos they had seen on one of my blogs.  I happily agreed and offered to send them higher resolution versions. All I had to do then was find them.  I knew they were taken somewhere between 2007 and 2017 and were digital so that meant I only had about 25,000 photos to go through. Many of my natural history photos for that period are labelled. The rest are not. It proved quite a task to find the ones that were wanted but it was successful and most enjoyable to be reminded of places and things I had totally forgotten. In future I shall try to label my photos better.

I am currently reading Elly Griffiths's excellent "The Lantern Men", the 12th Dr Ruth Galloway story about crime and forensic archaeology. In it the hero mentions the first time she visited the stone circle at Stanton Drew - a 'strange, sullen place, not welcoming to outsiders'.  

That reminded me of my first visit to the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire. So far as I am concerned the jury is still out on most things religious and esoteric. But that site literally gave me goosebumps.  As I walked around the circle of stones my arms were suddenly covered in huge goosebumps and I felt anxious and panicky.

There were two older women also circumnavigating the circle and we met up at the entrance.  "Well," said one of them, "That was the strangest experience I've ever had."  I asked in what way.  She said she couldn't explain but it was as though the stones wanted her to go away.  Her companion looked quite shaken and agreed so I showed them my goosebumps and explained how I had felt.  We all agreed that we would never want to visit there again.  Years later Jo and I went there but I stayed well away from the circle while Jo walked around it. So far as I can recall Jo was not affected but there were a lot more people there that day and that may have made the atmosphere different.

The only other place I had a strange inexplicable experience,  similar to that - but not the same, was in the Old House in Bakewell.

Have you ever had an experience like that?

I am back

 Hello Folk,

How are you all?

So much has happened in the last twelve months that I would not know where to start filling in the gaps since I last blogged.  So I shall settle for letting you know what has gone on this year.

Son-who-cooks and his girlfriend both caught Covid-19 but fortunately not seriously though it was unpleasant for a few days.  Our boiler died as a result of which we have no central heating or hot water and are awaiting quotes for a replacement which will cost about the same as my first house cost.  So at present I am spending a lot of time curled up snugly in my bed with my phone and my books.  Around the same time the washing machine also rumbled to a halt.  We decided adding dirty clothes to our cold and grubby bodies was probably unacceptable so we lashed out on a new machine.

I've been out for a coffee a couple of times but otherwise we have had few adventures though  last month we did have a pleasant wander around the lanes near Pentre Halkyn in North Wales.  A couple of times we have sat looking out over the River Dee and on one of those occasions were delighted to watch an Egret.

This photo of a Little Egret is of one in captivity that I took in 2006.  My attempts with the camera on my phone this month simply show a white blob!

I continue to write letters and swap postcards with friends but have not done any Postcrossing for twelve months or more.  

Last week an embroiderer in the USA asked to use some of my photos with an article he/she is writing.  I happily agreed and offered to find some of a larger resolution.  Silly me.  One of the things I haven't done for many years is label my photos properly.  So although I have access to every photo I've taken finding them is not easy.  I'm quite enjoying the search but it is frightening me to discover how many photos and experiences I have forgotten.  For example, I can recall photographing Golden-ringed Dragonflies in various places but some that I had photographed in Exeter I had completely forgotten despite them being among the best I have taken.  

I was also fascinated to read my blogs and there were dozens of articles I had totally forgotten.  Given time and energy I would love to read them all from the beginning again but time and energy are things of which I never seem to have enough

I am not sure when my next blog post will be but I shall try not to leave it for a year..

Stay safe everyone.

 

Journey to the West

 ...so this is what we said to those who asked us who we were and where we came from:

We are human beings first and last, our religion is our faith in humanity and there can be no religion greater than that.  If we call ourselves Indians we will meet Pakistanis.  If we go as Hindus we will meet Christians and Muslims. If we go as socialists we will meet capitalists.  If we go as human beings we will meet human beings everywhere. 

        Satish Kumar

February 14th

 

One, two, three

 Ì am fond of old rhymes and find it sad that sitting In front of a box watching "Beauty and the Beast" for the umpteenth time has, in many cases, replaced listening to one's  parents or grandparents recite rhymes

One of the fascinating things about old rhymes is that, because they were anonymous and passed on by word of mouth, numerous variations on the same theme would arise.  Memory also plays its part so it will be of interest to see if my bother, GB, recalls it exactly the same as I do.

For example, the version of 'One, two, three, mother caught a flea' that I was taught by my mother was -

One, two, three, mother caught a flea,

Put it in the teapot, 

Made a cup of tea.

The flea jumped out,

Mother gave a shout.

In rushed father with his shirt hanging out.

If you were taught that rhyme were the words the same or slightly different?    When I Googled it there were various versions but the thing that surprised me most was that some had three verses, the second beginning 'Four, five, six,' and the third 'Seven, eight, nine'.

Looking forward to 2021

 Possible New Year Resolutions...

Eat more vegetables (eat a vegetable).

Travel more (perhaps even to the bottom of the garden).

Enjoy the occasional break (but no more bones).

Keep glasses safe (best to leave them in spectacle case by side of bed and never wear them).

Reduce time in bed (19 hours a day to 18).

Reduce time playing with phone (4 hours to 3.75 hours).

Live dangerously (go up and down stairs).

Begin Christmas shopping earlier (say February).

Write diary (and get beyond 10th January). 

Merry Christmas

 

No flying - even sleighs are grounded.

 Rumour has it that there is no air mail until more inroads have been made into Covid-19. My snail mail is going to be drastically reduced. 

Story in Six Words

Story in six words by Anthony Trollope...

For sale: baby shoes; never worn.

Paraprosdokians

 A sentence with a surprise ending is called a paraprosdokian.  Here are couple of examples...

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it."   Groucho Marx  

"If you can' t think  of anything nice and kind to say about anyone - why, do come and sit beside me."  Alice Roosevelt Longworth

"If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I should not be at all surprised."  Dorothy Parker

Walking for Wirral Hospice

Jo and I had a good walk on Sunday in memory of Val Ross and thanks to some very generous supporters raised £240 for Wirral Hospice. Thanks to everyone involved.

Wirral Hospice St John's

When Jo and I got married 33 years ago we wanted our wedding to be a bit different.  We also wanted special friends to be a part of the ceremony as well as part of our lives so my best person was Anne Winfield - a close friend from college days - and Jo was given away by her best friend Val Ross. 

Sadly, in 2018 Val died.  During her last few months she spent a lot of time in Wirral Hospice.  They cared for her wonderfully. And they were always helpful and considerate of her friends and family. 

During these crazy months of 2020 the hospice - like many charities - has had an enormous shortfall in its income.  Its charity shops have all been closed and so far only a couple have reopened.  Even now  accepting items for the shops is fraught with difficulty because they have to be stored prior to being handled.  Nearly all the hospice's  planned fundraising events were dependent on people having physical contact in one way or another and were therefore cancelled.  Lots of people have done sponsored events at home but I believe Wirral Hospice has a shortfall this year on its anticipated income of over £250,000. 

On August 23rd Jo and I are doing a sponsored walk for the hospice in remembrance of Val.   Many other people will also be walking in memory of a loved one but we are all walking separately in our own local area. 

If you would like to make a donation to the hospice you can do so on our justgiving page (link below)  All contributions, no matter how big or small, will be welcomed. 

Https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joandjohnedwards

2020

A breach of the Trades Descriptions Act 1968...

(In the UK the Trade Descriptions Act (TDA) makes it an offence 

for traders to falsely describe goods and services. It would, for example, be an

 offence for a tour operator to say a hotel has air conditioning when it does 

not, or for a retailer to say a handbag is leather when it is plastic.)

Impact

The debate about masks

They were told they had to wear a mask for work....

Some people have a sense of humour.

But some are just a few shillings short of a pound!

Monday 13th

Going to sleep on a Sunday causes Monday. And this month Friday 13th also fell on a Monday.  So I wasn't overly surprised to find another disaster occurring today.  I say 'another' because I'd already had about five in the last six or seven days. 

Today started with a migraine at 3a.m. as most days do but a couple of paracetomol and codeine, a marol and a sumatriptan started to diminish it and a cup of tea and some toast (provided by Rich and Jo who were both wandering around the kitchen at 4 a.m.) finished it off. So when I got out of bed at 6.35 I felt fine.

Until I put my right foot on the floor at which stage I recalled that my bursitis from Friday had not got any better. For those who don't know, bursitis is excess fluid and usually occurs on the knee (water on the knee) or elbow (tennis elbow). I have lacked a right kneecap for over fifty years since I had a motor accident. Consequently, if I kneel for any length of time I get bursitis which is a painful swelling. You would think that 54 years would be long enough for me to learn not to kneel. Silly you if you really think that. And no, water on the knee is not cured by a tap on the ankle!

Anyway, I swore my way downstairs and Jo and I went out shopping.  My first trip outside the gate for about ten days and my first trip beyond the local postbox for over three weeks. Jo did all the shopping while I stayed in the car.  She has been doing every bit of shopping since February and most of it for the last couple years. But that's OK because she loves it.  I mean hates it.  Absolutely hates it. Unless there are clothes or books involved. 

We got home and unpacked the shopping and then drove to West Kirby with a view to having our first café visit since February. 

A cappuccino and a sausage toastie later we headed back home. 

I took my keys, etc., out of my pockets and thought 'That's interesting. No wallet.'  It was then I remembered the date. The 13th. 

A few phone calls later and none of the shops we'd been near had got it. Jo then had to head off to work.  We agreed to leave it to 5pm before phoning to cancel all my cards. 

At 1.30pm a young lady called Nicky from Hoylake arrived at the door with my wallet in her hand. Not only had she been caring enough to bring it well out of her way but she seemed as delighted as me to have reunited us. 

There are some good folk around. 

And perhaps Monday 13th isn't as bad as Friday 13th after all.  How did your day go?

Classifying the Animal Kingdom

In order for us to understand how all living organisms are related, they are arranged into different groups. The more features that a group of animals share, the more specific the group is. Animals are given scientific names so that people all around the world can communicate about animals, no matter what language they speak (these names are traditionally based on Latin words). Animals belong to a number of different groups, starting with the animal kingdom.

Kingdom
All living organisms are first placed into different kingdoms. There are five different kingdoms to classify life on Earth, which are Animals, Plants, Fungi, Bacteria, and Protists (single-celled organisms).

Phylum
The animal kingdom is divided into 40 smaller groups, known as phylum. Here, animals are grouped by their main features. Animals usually fall into one of five different phylum which are Cnidaria (invertebrates), Chordata (vertebrates), Arthropods, Molluscs and Echinoderms.

Class
The phylum group is then divided into even smaller groups, known as classes. The Chordata (vertebrates) phylum splits up into Mammalia (Mammals), Actinopterygii (Bony Fish), Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish) , Aves (Birds), Amphibia (Amphibians) and Reptilia (Reptiles).

Order
Each class is divided into small groups again, known as orders. The class Mammalia (Mammals), splits into different groups including Carnivora, Primate, Artiodactyla and Rodentia.

Family
In every order, there are different families of animals which all have very similar features. The Carnivora order breaks into families that include Felidae (Cats), Canidae (Dogs), Ursidae (Bears), and Mustelidae (Weasels).

Genus
Every animal family is then divided into small groups known as genera. Each genus contains animals that have very similar features and are closely related. For example, the Felidae (Cat) family contains genera including Felis (small Cats and domestic Cats), Panthera (Tigers, Leopards, Jaguars and Lions) and Puma (Panthers and Cougars).

Species
Each individual species within the genus is usually named after it's individual features and characteristics. The names of animals are based on Latin to help them to be understood worldwide,  They consist of two words. The first word in the name of an animal will be the genus, and the second name indicates the specific species.

Example  - Tiger
Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)
Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrate)
Class: Mammalia (Mammal)
Order: Carnivora (Carnivore)
Family: Felidae (Cat)
Genus: Panthera
Species: Panthera tigris (Tiger)

Whilst this is now universally recognised it is not the only way of classifying creatures.  I like this one -