musings (201) fun Monday (76) friendship (64) K9 (13)

Sunday, 1 April 2012

April come she will...

Sayre wrote a while ago...
Spring is in the air!!! What is it that you look forward to the most once the frost-date has passed?
We don't have a 'frost date' as such. Frosts can and do occur as late a June (ground frost).
Daffydowndillies
A bank of bluebells
The gracious magnolia - over all too soon
Fruit trees in blossom
This is my choice of images to show typical English Springtime flowers... 

Saturday, 31 March 2012

Open Uni

And the Result...
Oh Yes!!!

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Wednesday

is shopping day and sometimes time to top up with fuel.
Having made our purchases and put them in the car we went for fuel. Something was not quite right.
Usually there are four lines of traffic and an 'express' lane. Today there was one lane plus the 'express' and notices saying 'no unleaded petrol'. 
The lady in front pulled up at the pump, got out and went to the cashier, then came back. By now OH was topping up with diesel. So, lady made a point of telling him 'did you know there's no fuel here'? I could not keep my face straight as he told her, 'It's okay, they have diesel'. A most perplexed lady got back in her car and left. 
On the way home we passed another filling station with a queue of traffic waiting on the road to get on the forecourt and go to the pumps. A while later OH went out again and on his return said that that filling station was now closed.


(Reuters) - The government urged the public to fill up with petrol on Wednesday ahead of an impending strike by tanker drivers that could see stocks run dry, but was branded irresponsible by petrol retailers who said the government was creating a crisis.




Tuesday, 27 March 2012

apropos

of a 'conversation' elsewhere...
One of the enduring delights of retirement is to throw out work clothes and never purchase or wear their like ever again.
I remember OH getting rid of his sports jackets and boxed shirts. Work-wear was to look smart in sports jacket, trousers, shirt and tie (double Windsor).
Now he's happy to don denim trousers, t-shirt, sweatshirt or sweater.


When I first started at work women were not allowed to wear trousers except as a trouser suit. If the weather was inclement and you wore boots, they had to be taken off at work and proper shoes put on. A member of the management team told another newcomer that if she could not afford shoes a temporary loan might be had to purchase some!


How happy was I when the dress code was relaxed to include 'smart' trousers. Wearing trousers was preferable and more convenient. 

In the early days I often used to make my own clothes.

Friday, 23 March 2012

Spring forward this weekend?

Or, more precisely...
Let's go an hour ahead of GMT...


Seems Mother Nature is thinking even further ahead if these images are anything to go by...
Daffadowndilly looking a picture in subtle yellows
Camellias are almost over, only a few buds left to flower.
White star-shaped scilla
Bring on the magnolias...

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

What a day for...

finishing off an assignment and treating myself to a dose of relaxation...


OH has got gardening 'fever' hardly anything that can be pruned has escaped being 'scalped'.
We have a recycling collection fortnightly. The last was last Friday. Hey ho! OH has already filled one of the bins to the brim. Fortunately, we have two or three, three if you count next door and 'more' if you include other nearby neighbours. He's also mown the lawn and applied feed and weed. The onion bed has been planted, but according to M, OH has also planted some shallots (groan). Here was me thinking blissfully 'no more shallots'. They are a 'pain' requiring 'topping and tailing' as well as peeling. I thought with my passive resistance I'd convinced him not to grow any this year.


So, as a reward for getting on with my eTMA I shall treat myself to some knitting and perhaps some crochet.

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Three years ago

a lovely, bubbly, delightfully out-going friend...
Died.
Our 'briilant' NHS failed her. She'd been sent as the saying goes 'from pillar to post'. Appointments had been made, only to be cancelled again and again. In the meantime dear Liz struggled with everyday life and hoped 'they' would make her better.

Then, the operation was scheduled on Friday 13th March. Dearest Liz went for her operation and it was then that we lost her...

RIP my dear friend.

What a silly illustration? But one my dear friend would have appreciated so well.


Monday, 20 February 2012

and today

has been spent reading with a break for carpet cleaning...
Postie arrived early bringing a book from the Saint book store, Southport. Not a books on shelves and go browse place, but a repository of texts accessible via Abebooks online. Double bonus, usually new books at discount prices with further discount when accessed via Topcashback.
Why carpet cleaning? I have a snazzy machine from Bissell which deep cleans and uses a formula containing cleaner and protector. OH let Z-dog in without paw cleaning and there was therefore a set of dog footprints in mud to be cleaned away. Why get down on hands and knees when you can use in succession the vacuum cleaner followed by the carpet cleaner. So for a while all smells cleaner and less 'doggie'.




Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Life like Flanders and Swann

Feeling sorry for neighbour who is enduring her personal version of Flanders & Swan 'gas man' song.
Gas supply is 'inadequate' not enough from the mains...
So, no gas yesterday and still none today. She's got two small fan heaters and a hotplate to cope with. 
Men in fluorescent jackets have taken up residence outside her house and are 'digging to Australia' thro' the pavement.
'Twas on a Monday morning the gas man came to call. The gas tap wouldn't turn - I wasn't getting gas at all. Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do.'
When you remember that she is blind and finds great difficulty coping with any changes in routine; I really hope they hurry up and let her get back to normal. 
P.S. intermittent posting here now have begun blog for latest OU course.

Saturday, 4 February 2012

It can pay to ask...

My latest in a long, long line of courses in my OU studies commences today. SXN390 Science in Society project. 
Mid-January notification of tutor allocation; ought not to have been problematic but it was...why?
Reason being the said tutor lives in Galway, Ireland. Beautiful place and all that. but any phone-calls would be prohibitively  expensive. Seeing as this course is more dependent than most on tutor contact this information was worrying.
Typically, I had to investigate further, well why else have access to the world-wide web.
Having honed my skills over the years, I soon found out that not only was the tutor in Ireland, but specialises in Chemistry and Education. Whoa! Not promising especially as tutor also has a Ph.D.


This knowledge set the alarm bells ringing. Okay, I have no axe to grind with folk being highly educated, but I'm not including any chemistry in my project. Last year's tutor was chemistry Ph.D. as I found to my cost we were not on the same wavelength. So, I phoned learning support over a period of a week and a half without reply. In desperation, I sent an email and a lovely lady called Sue worked her magic. Today, when I logged on I found my tutor is in the Lancaster area and has listed a phone number, cell phone number and email address.
So, it pays to ask...please might I have a tutor located on mainland UK instead of one in Ireland? Thank you ever so much Sue.


Happy now!

Friday, 3 February 2012

As the weatherman said...

There's a large area of high pressure over Russia, Scandinavia and central Europe. It's so large and such a heavy airmass it could stay for a while.
So, Jack Frost is here to stay for a while. Not only nipping at fingers and toes, but jamming locks and making it treacherous underfoot. On a brighter note...tis a lovely, sunny day!


Dear Mr. Weatherman, I know you have forecast snow for overnight, please let it pass by and head further inland.

Thursday, 2 February 2012

Dearest OU

 my old friend, my old bacteria (apols Charteris) the c*ourse has not begun yet and am already at screaming pitch.
"log format is not mandatory" but "I prefer portrait orientation" we'd prefer "not to waste time trying to understand a unique format."
Yes your log is personal to you...



Oh and by the way...you know my polite request, followed up a week later by phone-call...?
It is two days to the start of my Course and I still have no tutor...

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

at long last

MJM got together for coffee, laughter and to 'put the world to rights'...


The charity has benefited from some unwanted Christmas presents which added another £300 to the funds. 
One is a tea/breakfast collection from us which is to be raffled next month. Am still puzzling why we received it as our friends know we only keep tea for visitors; neither of us would drink it by choice.
M is busy knitting chicks and the other M is tasked with adding their beaks. M's friend in Orkney posted a parcel to her; and as both Ms were out it was left with us. Turns out is contained creme eggs, hundreds of them as fillers for the knitted chicks.


I really ought to pick up my knitting again soon...


Have been browsing the Lowry theatre website looking for musicals. Starlight Express returns in June; hope I can convince my theatre-going friend to see it again.



Sunday, 22 January 2012

Eventful...

My school friends and I are of a 'certain generation' and this year sees another milestone in our lives.
God-daughter is excellent at planning and organising. Knowing of the approaching milestone, she began planning last July and it all came to fruition on January 20th.
Her Dad is well-accustomed to public speaking and being Master of Ceremonies.
Between them they convinced my friend that she was being taken to Scotland to celebrate her birthday.
Standing on the left of this photo is my friend and focus of the celebrations.
H grandmother to my god-daughter who greeted me with 'You must join the family table'.
In any gathering there has to be one with the mulligrubs. 
Too old to be with the younger children, but, not old enough to party with the older teens.

Saturday, 14 January 2012

Time it was...

I have a photograph from twenty years ago...
Grey showing in his beard has become white and so has his hair. I gave up perming my hair when I retired 10 years ago.
Wishing Happy Birthday to my bff who has her birthday on Monday...

This

was going to be yet another forray into sadness, bitter-sweet times past. Then I ventured into Facebook to find one of my OU and click of the mouse friends had put up some photos.
Thanks to Susan England for giving me permission to borrow from her set of photos. 


A long, long time ago before colour photography became commonplace, let alone the marvels of digital imagery, I visited Coventry cathedral as part of a youth group. I remember the awe in the truest sense of the word when I first set eyes upon the tapestry.


Graham Sutherland tapestry

The city of Coventry was blitzed in WWII. Amongst the devastation was the ancient cathedral. As with other blitzed cities a decision was made to incorporate the old with the new. 


This year marks the cathedral's Golden Jubilee.

Thursday, 12 January 2012

January

Two-faced Janus
Harbinger of sorrows
Memories of departed friends and family.


Why must you haunt the year's beginnings?


Birthday month riddled with deaths.
One by one the days arrive,
Each with a death tag...


Birthday month for self and friends.
Why must death drown out all celebrations?


'Come, celebrate with us!'
Celebration?
Not for this traveller; locked in an enduring embrace with her ghosts.


@2012



Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Wordless Wednesday

One of my friends with grandson #2

Little Sweetie another friend's daughter

With her mother and brother.


Friday, 6 January 2012

Looking back...

In the news today I came across a couple of health stories

  • Whooping cough cases increase
  • Rickets
I had whooping cough when I was young, but no idea at what age. Must have been pre-school and what a nasty illness it was. Lying in bed, under a sheet, blankets and eiderdown. Finding it difficult to breathe, no recollection of seeing the doctor, but house visits were no problem for doctors then. So, I must have been very young and no doubt was visited by the doctor. 
  • "Cases increased from 421 in 2010 to 1,040 in 2011,"

This is not the place to go into details of the illness itself; suffice it to say that it was most unpleasant.
A comfortable memory of that time was when I was well enough to get out of bed. Sitting in the bedroom chair wrapped in the eiderdown in front of a coal fire. Then, of course there was the treat of eating semolina pudding as that was food for 'invalids'. 


If rickets is on the increase then that is a worrying development. It's classified as a Dickensian illness; something 'cured' by the Victorians. Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin. Apparently, children are spending too much time indoors.


Cue nostalgia...I've been reading Paul Feeney's book "A 1950s Childhood". (Kindle e-reader). So, dear reader, if you are of similar 'vintage' to me...it's a must read. 

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

First Monday 2012

Sayre of Sayre smiles writes
"Christmas is over and now the process of changing over to a new year is in progress. It's a time for looking back and looking forward (hence the name January - for Janus, the God who looked to the past and the future). For this First Monday I'd like to hear about one accomplishment from the past year, and one thing you want to accomplish in 2012!"


Accomplishment...
"I am pleased to confirm that you have satisfied the requirements for the Diploma in Geosciences of the Open University"
In the future? tba


One of my friends is a talented artist who for the past few years has been working in stained glass.
I just had to share this with you...
It looks like banded agate...tho' it isn't...
So what is the pendant composed of?  Stained glass, designed and made for me by my friend as a birthday present and to celebrate my diploma.

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Gate of the Year

I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way."
May that Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.

“He'll be coming and going" he had said. "One day you'll see him and another you won't. He doesn't like being tied down--and of course he has other countries to attend to. It's quite all right. He'll often drop in. Only you mustn't press him. He's wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.” 



Quotations from C.S.Lewis
“Safe?" said Mr. Beaver."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”


Dark days dwindle into the past; taking with them friends who are no more...
Each year Christmas and birthday cards become fewer...tempus fugit. But I shall not turn this post into maudlin memories. Far better to concentrate on new beginnings...



That is what I wrote last year, and it's unfortunately even more appropriate now. 
As the Christmas card list shortens and the memories (tristesse) are summoned by the turn of the year. 
Farewell my dear friends, I cherish memories of times that can be no more. 
How long will it be, I wonder, before the folk missing from the list exceed the list itself?

Monday, 26 December 2011

an homage to the season



Christmas Day has been and gone, lovely, peaceful just 'being'. With the warm weather the Lenten roses (hellebores) are coming into flower. So fragile looking yet promising of Spring.  

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Saturday, 10 December 2011

mixed

Today was M(1)s birthday (65), so M(2) decided she must not spend it alone. She hatched a plan, getting M(1) to take her to the library before it closed at noon, and asking me to play chauffeur.
I collected them at 12.30 and we headed for a pub lunch. This was followed by a trip to a nearby garden centre for refreshments. We had a good look round and found a craft outlet. So yours truly purchased a crochet hook to do Tunisian crochet (something I've wanted to learn for a while).
Everyone was in typical silly mood as is out wont so much fun was had by all.
M(2) still does not like the Christmas fracas, and announced triumphantly that she'd bought stamps to send her cards and they were ordinary, not the special grumble-time ones. I bought a couple of calendars, one of the Snowdon area for Dutch friends who live in Belgium and another for our 'twitcher' neighbour. 
Then I was berated (jokingly) for having a birthday on a Bank holiday, making celebration on that precise day problematic. As I said, I was well aware of it having got used to a birthday that is always a Bank holiday with no chance of anything arriving by post on the day. So, it was resolved we'd agree to go for a meal some time later next month.

Wednesday, 7 December 2011

the Gas man cometh

Flanders and Swann sang comical ditties of their own composition and this is one of my favourites.
So, what has got me remembering this?
On one of his intermittent visits 'north' our neighbour arrived last weekend to find no power in the house. He arrived at our door, torch in hand to ask for help. OH dutifully went with him to see what could be done. Result? Power back on but no heating. Next day a shivering H was huddled by a log fire but his house remained cold.

OH suggested he:

  • head back south to his (warmer) other house 
  • phone the gas people
  • arrange for them to visit
  • give them our details and OH would do the necessary when they arrived.

Neighbour has a repair.maintenance contract with them and emailed us the details.
So, this morning I want shopping for groceries whilst OH waited in for the gas man. What a pleasant surprise when I returned to find their van parked outside. OH soon returned with good news, gas supply checked and approved, boiler and pump inspected. Pump declared faulty and replaced. Central heating checked out and fully functioning once more. Success!