tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74552338476555708922024-02-02T04:29:57.143+00:00ChrisCrossMusings of a Grumpy Old Woman as she Muses on Life,the Universe and EverythingChristine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-34272097476320793512017-12-30T01:30:00.000+00:002017-12-30T15:49:06.802+00:00Floods and Woods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water had burst its banks and covered the land beside the pub.</td></tr>
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'<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Tis the end of another year and, as usual I am filled with enthusiasm for new starts for the new year, which involves taking more exercise, eating more sensibly, and being more organised. So, as a kind of prelude, I am trying to re-instate this blog, kicking off with a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Saturday Snapshot' post about an after-Christmas walk with the Man of the House, our Younger Daughter, and her Boyfriend. </span> </div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We went for lunch at a local pub, by the River Anker, which widens out into a kind of lake at this point - it's part of a wetlands nature reserve, known as Alvecote Pools, and I think the pools and lakes were caused by some kind of industrial activity, like mining or quarrying. We'd planned a nice walk, but found the area flooded, which surprised us, because although it's very low lying we didn't realise there had been that much rain recently. The grass verge was like a quagmire, and part of the road was under water, but everything looked spectacular in the winter sunshine, so I took a few photos.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The field on the other side of the road was also flooded, but the cattle seemed <br />
unfazed - there was still enough grass for them to graze.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then we went off to Hopwas Wood, which was very muddy, but wasn't flooded! The wood dates back to the 11thC at least (it's mentioned in the Domesday Book). </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is
owned by Tarmac and the Ministry of Defence, and much of it is fenced
off, but there are footpaths and bridleways open to the public. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was halfway through the afternoon, but the leaf-covered tracks were still frosty.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There
is an Army shooting range, which I thought was no longer used, but
apparently it is, and the wood is closed during those periods.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are lots of birches and other deciduous trees,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">but I like this view through some conifers looking out at the </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">surrounding countryside.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Actually, I move Saturday Snapshot back to https://thebooktrunkblog.wordpress.com/, but for the moment it's here, on my old, original blog, and I've linked it to Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Melinda at </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.westmetromommyreads.com/">http://www.westmetromommyreads.com/</a>, thought it's a long time since I joined in. You'll find the latest sign up, with links to other participants, at </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.westmetromommyreads.com/2017/12/saturday-snapshot-december-30.html">http://www.westmetromommyreads.com/2017/12/saturday-snapshot-december-30.html</a>. </span>Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-6447981564769751572016-12-30T21:36:00.000+00:002016-12-30T23:03:52.513+00:00A Water Coal Man!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today's walk was along the Coventry Canal, on one of my favourite routes, from The Glascote Road Bridge to the Fazeley Aqueduct, where you can stand by the canal and look down at the River Tame, which always intrigues me. It was mid-afternoon when I set out, accompanied by the Man of the House, and we'd only gone a yard or two along the towpath when our attention was caught by the sign on this boat:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aha, we thought, a waterborne coal man - how apt is that when you remember that coal was one of the cargoes carried on the waterway when it was first built! Indeed, according to some sources the canal was created specifically to transport coal from the midlands coalfields to the city of Coventry where it fuelled homes and industry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;">Work on the waterway began in December 1768, after the Coventry Canal Company was established earlier in the year. The scheme had to be approved by an Act of Parliament, and the great engineer James Brindley was taken on to oversee the project. But the following year he was replaced by Thomas Yeoman because there was no money left to take the waterway beyond Atherstone - less than halfway to the planned destination at Fradley (near Lichfield), where it was to join the Trent and Mersey Canal.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I love looking at the boats moored by Tamworth Cruising Club.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">Financial problems continued, and it was seven years before work got under way again, and the canal reached Fazeley and linked up with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal - but it was still a long way before the proposed finishing point.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I couldn't resist trying to snap a picture of a bridge </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">and the bank reflected in the water.</span></td></tr>
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</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Eventually, in 1789 the whole 39 miles was completed in</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> after Parliament let the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Trent and Mersey company, and the Birmingham and Fazeley company build the missing section. This gave boats easy access to Birmingham and Liverpool, opening up trade with a huge part of the country.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaR0qxOwvqKmKZJg7FuV3WHw8abOTpvtKPdjNEzh_T4s32WS5qNG9HM2Zrkj9mG1Z-WefJuHFXhS5oJTrKdPi5TdAP73E_htYeX_YQlziwnxe1GofKmc8LfA205Faa0JBy8PUqWbUtVI1/s1600/DSCN9161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaR0qxOwvqKmKZJg7FuV3WHw8abOTpvtKPdjNEzh_T4s32WS5qNG9HM2Zrkj9mG1Z-WefJuHFXhS5oJTrKdPi5TdAP73E_htYeX_YQlziwnxe1GofKmc8LfA205Faa0JBy8PUqWbUtVI1/s400/DSCN9161.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And another reflection. Isn't this beautiful? </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scenes like this always lift my spirits</span>.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Links with the Oxford Canal and the Ashby Canal followed and, for a time, Midlands canals were the motorways of their day, carrying manufactured goods all over the country, as well as things like coal. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is the aqueduct at Fazeley, where the canal crosses the River Tame. It always feels a little unsafe </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">perched up there on the towpath which runs alongside the canal, looking down at the river through the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the old iron railings, and it seems very bizarre, to be standing by water, and looking down at water.</span></span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the 19th Century, of course, canals lost out to the railways which provide fast, cheap freight transport, and in the 29th Century trains were supersededby road haulage.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were going to walk a little further, but as the viaduct ended the light began <br />
to fade (it was mid-afternoon when we set out) so we turned and headed for home.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The heyday of the waterways may have long since gone, but the Coventry Canal has remained navigable for its entire length (some commercial boats were still using it in 1970). It's become immensely popular with leisure boaters, and the towpath is well used by walkers, cyclists, joggers and fishermen. And it's a haven for wildlife - not just waterfowl and fish, but all kinds of insects, birds, small mammals, and wild flowers. It really is life in the slow lane, a place where you can stroll along, gaze at butterflies and ducks, wave at the boaters, smile at other amblers, so you return home feeling relaxed and refreshed.</span></span>Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-18406593206332976852016-12-29T21:18:00.000+00:002016-12-29T21:18:00.219+00:00A Frosty Day!<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, it's an awfully long time since I've posted anything on this blog,</span> but I thought I'd have a go at resurrecting it, since I'm currently full of post-Christmas enthusiasm for eating more healthily, taking more exercise, attempting to keep the house tidier, and generally trying to be happier/more positive! <br />
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Woke this morning to find a hard frost had transformed the world into a glittering wonderland, made more magical by the mist which softened and blurred everything slightly, so I donned my warmest clothes, and set off for a walk - it was much too nice to be cooped up inside, and I am trying to get back into the routine of walking somewhere every day, even if it is only a short distance. I went down the main road that leads into town, over the canal, through the park, through the Castle Grounds alongside the River Anker, over the bridge, and into town, then back over the river (different bridge this time) and back up the hill to home. Everything looked so beautiful, so I took lots of photos.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Coventry Canal on a frosty, misty morning, looking towards Amington <br />
from the Glascote Road Bridge (also known as Bridge No 73, or the Anchor <br />
Bridge, after a pub which used to stand nearby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwm2Y_7h6nFS1yTD1A7Xo6iDJ0aftNqhrfXbCNJ7waLYnvxv4ekH7bQWwSJBeQFIyrM3eeYtnF7evyWYJkXCtnwOlSzAGuUWqBdQ-0v5d6al3YBieQK6ivu0QaaI3qyRdI90Y2xsUfRBf/s1600/DSCN9056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwm2Y_7h6nFS1yTD1A7Xo6iDJ0aftNqhrfXbCNJ7waLYnvxv4ekH7bQWwSJBeQFIyrM3eeYtnF7evyWYJkXCtnwOlSzAGuUWqBdQ-0v5d6al3YBieQK6ivu0QaaI3qyRdI90Y2xsUfRBf/s400/DSCN9056.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the other side of the road the bridge over the canal was festooned with frost-rimed cobwebs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQxNR81TD4vsdyUbehAEOpB7jMy1IJuK_PlYQ2CGnvsEBg4KRz_2cLpK6sR7_B_DUU6YzIRN4jKu90tbH8r82ZlpyMUyyGI0MJ6QyuIlpIV8lFXa4J8d7_zdsYjz6pRpm46nJUMNSy-3B/s1600/DSCN9052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQxNR81TD4vsdyUbehAEOpB7jMy1IJuK_PlYQ2CGnvsEBg4KRz_2cLpK6sR7_B_DUU6YzIRN4jKu90tbH8r82ZlpyMUyyGI0MJ6QyuIlpIV8lFXa4J8d7_zdsYjz6pRpm46nJUMNSy-3B/s400/DSCN9052.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View along the canal, from the Glascote Road Bridge, towards Kettlebrook.<br />
There's a boat moored by the towpath, and can you see bits of ice floating <br />
in the water.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DPWXVvqv0XoqtPoWpv6UCPR7IekQPceAMvx45UTMA8cdJLh3RK7_CebH_UHzEr58VJ1mbfSN0XAmzAQ27Ll55Q0gq-dD2VC4V_4pd3yZyZLFQtU94igxCbEwX-68qdCEl03GWq5752HQ/s1600/DSCN9063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DPWXVvqv0XoqtPoWpv6UCPR7IekQPceAMvx45UTMA8cdJLh3RK7_CebH_UHzEr58VJ1mbfSN0XAmzAQ27Ll55Q0gq-dD2VC4V_4pd3yZyZLFQtU94igxCbEwX-68qdCEl03GWq5752HQ/s400/DSCN9063.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MacGregor Park, given to Tamworth 'in perpetuity' by Victorian vicar and philanthropist <br />
William MacGregor. It looked lovely, with the frost glittering in the sunshine, and trees<br />
outlined against the blue sky.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E2PiRLFxrgFdy8xL_KzdcXiGnghCkZ50-jv7fQUmOxEmpxgUrSxfZLaUj-kBRs6zuQ5UhlE6N0HVCYq2_4iKShg13XKB7WIWsAZ3Hfb12uA_498gtM0NWBcZVT4n9NmcHIVm39rL19sc/s1600/DSCN9069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E2PiRLFxrgFdy8xL_KzdcXiGnghCkZ50-jv7fQUmOxEmpxgUrSxfZLaUj-kBRs6zuQ5UhlE6N0HVCYq2_4iKShg13XKB7WIWsAZ3Hfb12uA_498gtM0NWBcZVT4n9NmcHIVm39rL19sc/s400/DSCN9069.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo doesn't really show it all that well, but the fallen leaves and the grass were all edged <br />
with frost, like sugar around the rim of a glass. But underneath each tree was a frost-free area - <br />
perhaps the branches protect those areas, or perhaps the roots make the ground warmer. <br />
I shall have to find out!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEkmQPaV_FOMK4E8wZPObtxgjMdaHOHr7WRVlKW_Okzpe488yIVPCAtE410JkdVxY91iX_hAwEsSCSsaLQol0DUMpRjZ7i8pmocY_QGtMZByZaq3BJp0KPwbLoz8W18IOu59jS6kCD4pK/s1600/DSCN9078+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEkmQPaV_FOMK4E8wZPObtxgjMdaHOHr7WRVlKW_Okzpe488yIVPCAtE410JkdVxY91iX_hAwEsSCSsaLQol0DUMpRjZ7i8pmocY_QGtMZByZaq3BJp0KPwbLoz8W18IOu59jS6kCD4pK/s400/DSCN9078+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Arches (there are 19 of them, carrying the railway line across the Anker Valley) looked<br />
positively picturesque (they don't always!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTYUZzNe_eaeh9Cg62ef7xx1kCcgQfg_yEhueW0QHNZaB494XmLpve8nj5QC_gAXABcHP3Ffk3EMeIozvwEos7SPsw_96eGx28aEtyAsoskyX0Ex-xOpfK9ko_kpMUOj4xlfF3scPghsN/s1600/DSCN9085+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTYUZzNe_eaeh9Cg62ef7xx1kCcgQfg_yEhueW0QHNZaB494XmLpve8nj5QC_gAXABcHP3Ffk3EMeIozvwEos7SPsw_96eGx28aEtyAsoskyX0Ex-xOpfK9ko_kpMUOj4xlfF3scPghsN/s400/DSCN9085+%25282%2529.JPG" width="327" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A magnificent heron, in a tree on a little island bit in the River Anker as it<br />
runs through the Castle Grounds. There are lots of herons in and around Tamworth,<br />
and I'm always amazed at how close they come to built-up areas and human <br />
habitation - this one is right beside a busy carpark.<br />
</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_DxRTedcwSe3Qh4uVtitzfWgOgiJglvifgYzqs0n2cj6-_xb3RhvAGYFjhI9X3fehNZZx7yYiN3gk5QjSRMMkWHLEOHSv-UeuZZJBY-WyNCe_h-3b77grdMQjp6rb0TZD-2eAfyCvxgr/s1600/DSCN9094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_DxRTedcwSe3Qh4uVtitzfWgOgiJglvifgYzqs0n2cj6-_xb3RhvAGYFjhI9X3fehNZZx7yYiN3gk5QjSRMMkWHLEOHSv-UeuZZJBY-WyNCe_h-3b77grdMQjp6rb0TZD-2eAfyCvxgr/s400/DSCN9094.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view in the Castle Grounds. I thought this looked so beautiful, I couldn't resist trying<br />
to capture it on camera. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzJzyPwGB2vTnITo0i1MIjPbAGH5IK1H5QgBAipNnH0WGWpVsAHbGrFd49M96yGe-LQLi-F3k3VAvbH0tMuCiP881dCBqRKTSYqM6hNiVcmvmQ1P4s8tUJL9HkW9maEf38NeTcBuJ_0VE/s1600/DSCN9099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzJzyPwGB2vTnITo0i1MIjPbAGH5IK1H5QgBAipNnH0WGWpVsAHbGrFd49M96yGe-LQLi-F3k3VAvbH0tMuCiP881dCBqRKTSYqM6hNiVcmvmQ1P4s8tUJL9HkW9maEf38NeTcBuJ_0VE/s400/DSCN9099.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another nice scene! I think this is a storm channel rather than a stream, but it attracts lots of <br />
wildlife, and on a bright sunny winter day, with frost on the ground, and a slight mist, it looks <br />
almost like a fairy tale landscape. By the time I got this far the sun had melted some of the frost, <br />
and drops of ater water were dripping through the trees like rain!<br />
</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkg-Q0I8vJsQ1ZmF9PAZJnRMCSHiZ55-SdPJuF7yvzM-qLIjwiEiDuTaoIIwpxxUaGXZ7Tmhrm1OyM2T6F8JgVWi-1Jfg9oaMTX7FNjS6iFxCE1Wws1cBgGAUh-6i8Vfow7KhEgiGUeU4k/s1600/DSCN9106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkg-Q0I8vJsQ1ZmF9PAZJnRMCSHiZ55-SdPJuF7yvzM-qLIjwiEiDuTaoIIwpxxUaGXZ7Tmhrm1OyM2T6F8JgVWi-1Jfg9oaMTX7FNjS6iFxCE1Wws1cBgGAUh-6i8Vfow7KhEgiGUeU4k/s400/DSCN9106.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AI love this shot of the bare trees against the sky. They always look quite dramatic, especially<br />
at this time of year hen they've shed their leaves. I think they're poplars, but I don't know a lot<br />
about trees.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YaN5voBDqzKySnjCDXCujui0QSUYW3F7l0CAXowZjy-J7OjgDRoRXl9BM4LfNzdX4AcdsEMxW2U8tSj2OK62hbaT0sMsmW8S-Hf74LPJphnmD5UrpZK_ZSdoWEfUjCyE9eImnFrk64js/s1600/DSCN9109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YaN5voBDqzKySnjCDXCujui0QSUYW3F7l0CAXowZjy-J7OjgDRoRXl9BM4LfNzdX4AcdsEMxW2U8tSj2OK62hbaT0sMsmW8S-Hf74LPJphnmD5UrpZK_ZSdoWEfUjCyE9eImnFrk64js/s400/DSCN9109.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The silver birches have lost most of their old bark, and the new white 'skin' really gleamed in<br />
the sunshine, looking even brighter against the small patches of old greenish brown bark.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITvpW_2sYDD9pe0xIptHygH7m-eBJbl2qsWl3MD7bBD9ofk2mU0QO6Aqf1__Cy78SUoEWt5TiauMeyXqwPIe2s6D6kRtfEhTPVRC23jtAxP4jNrKih9twWU1IxBTGd2-L4s77BvUzDKRD/s1600/DSCN9113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITvpW_2sYDD9pe0xIptHygH7m-eBJbl2qsWl3MD7bBD9ofk2mU0QO6Aqf1__Cy78SUoEWt5TiauMeyXqwPIe2s6D6kRtfEhTPVRC23jtAxP4jNrKih9twWU1IxBTGd2-L4s77BvUzDKRD/s400/DSCN9113.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tamworth is very urban, but we are very lucky to have some lovely little green spaces, and the <br />
Castle Grounds is just about the best. I love it here - the beauty, and the sense of history, and the<br />
air of peace. Sadly, structures like the Snowdome, the Ankerside Shopping Centre and the <br />
multi-storey flats all intrude on the views, especially in winter when most of the trees are <br />
bare, so it takes a bit of ingenuity trying to find spots where you can take photos that don't show<br />
modern buildings.<br />
</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2bDyyFtHybWFGCQ4_s7qLe7FEVyNI-0BC9xzu6FmiKlPztEbm7yqPlHomiYRw8fWlYYwyOy-rW6cjyBDutBD3OKKwyAke5RaAsaXmkGk4rez6Pk6ZE5I3eZwYLVUjxBJC2oe9coPHyY9/s1600/DSCN9124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2bDyyFtHybWFGCQ4_s7qLe7FEVyNI-0BC9xzu6FmiKlPztEbm7yqPlHomiYRw8fWlYYwyOy-rW6cjyBDutBD3OKKwyAke5RaAsaXmkGk4rez6Pk6ZE5I3eZwYLVUjxBJC2oe9coPHyY9/s400/DSCN9124.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another frozen cobweb! Bridges, railings, benches and all kinds of plants were<br />
festooned with them. If cobwebs looked like this throughout the year I'm sure <br />
it would make us see spiders in a different light. I wish I could 'pick' these and keep them!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI9jcXc_YQxb-NCmQjalnF83CJDmNEnupkOf-E-QqZVvZWVCY9_NANt8nXuc37O08-QFDfWZd1w1xg_99amdaWBYrOe_sKBRk78dh8y1TG1_HrEfZMuwQaMcRjMwObZXe4UR_HSiN9yw4/s1600/DSCN9138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI9jcXc_YQxb-NCmQjalnF83CJDmNEnupkOf-E-QqZVvZWVCY9_NANt8nXuc37O08-QFDfWZd1w1xg_99amdaWBYrOe_sKBRk78dh8y1TG1_HrEfZMuwQaMcRjMwObZXe4UR_HSiN9yw4/s400/DSCN9138.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This yellow mahonia makes me feel happy on the dullest days, but it was amazing today - <br />
really glowing in the sunshine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93YvcsoS9K0tdelRgr9-tiHXZi5qFphxgLjiDDN-fUjhmbrohyQWJ-olWvmKhqj7Bh8WJ4lmk4hrW4AiH-A7ifCEjOW1yzYUnwv1crLxel-71VG4Pn7CrKpHY2-aMHEI9vedImwghyphenhyphen8bx/s1600/DSCN9140+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93YvcsoS9K0tdelRgr9-tiHXZi5qFphxgLjiDDN-fUjhmbrohyQWJ-olWvmKhqj7Bh8WJ4lmk4hrW4AiH-A7ifCEjOW1yzYUnwv1crLxel-71VG4Pn7CrKpHY2-aMHEI9vedImwghyphenhyphen8bx/s400/DSCN9140+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Castle and the Bandstand. They're not lopsided - I didn't hold the camera straight!<br />
The Castle dates back to Norman times, and I take lots of pictures of it because it looks <br />
different at different times of day, and in different weather, and I love that. Today it was <br />
very pink, which is the best I think. Sometimes it looks greyer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-17667495406281954902015-03-14T13:51:00.003+00:002015-03-14T13:56:02.404+00:00Waterbirds in the Picture!<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">We have a lot of water in and around Tamworth – rivers,
canals, lakes, ponds, streams, drainage channels, worked-out gravel pits, old quarries…
Which means we have a wealth of water birds. I’m getting better at identifying
them, but I’m not much good at capturing them on camera – birds are not very co-operative
about having their photo taken! But I was quite pleased with the ones I took
earlier this week, and I thought I'd share them for a <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a>.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGk1S5envdk8iyLxjmFkC-e-BRb68z_vzYW949TPYi98BQTgFOhyYeRKQhe7OnDuajomYQJOdpt0p5htTBvC4rFs9XTQ_MpONdzpaSfos8hzK9-obOdWzcNNEBsIyGAJqo-qlvlbGXESb/s1600/DSCN0315+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGk1S5envdk8iyLxjmFkC-e-BRb68z_vzYW949TPYi98BQTgFOhyYeRKQhe7OnDuajomYQJOdpt0p5htTBvC4rFs9XTQ_MpONdzpaSfos8hzK9-obOdWzcNNEBsIyGAJqo-qlvlbGXESb/s1600/DSCN0315+(2).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm just quackers about ducks!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As you might expect, mallards are ten a penny everywhere you
go, but even though they’re so common, I always enjoy watching them. I love the
iridescent colours of the drakes’ plumage, and the glorious markings on the
females – from a distance they look brown and drab, but close to they’re a riot
of patterns, in more shades of brown and beige and cream than you’ve ever
dreamed of.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jpx1oHRyv748gJxWl_vdUGunAOi5cHM3nlSHBfjDO-t1J7fV_ECa6u1AyGd689kLnAKjFzTPghuZe9troWAr2SRCrXYGm_yT1B3j_Xu14dcN0BrLQKUL8bC4OTMRVSjfDu-IkdEpnYjM/s1600/DSCN0425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jpx1oHRyv748gJxWl_vdUGunAOi5cHM3nlSHBfjDO-t1J7fV_ECa6u1AyGd689kLnAKjFzTPghuZe9troWAr2SRCrXYGm_yT1B3j_Xu14dcN0BrLQKUL8bC4OTMRVSjfDu-IkdEpnYjM/s1600/DSCN0425.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Canada goose was just raising his wings as I took this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And there are masses of Canada geese, all very vocal, and
not a bit shy. To be honest they can be a nuisance, and occasionally seem quite threatening, because they get so used to people feeding them, that every time
they see someone they rush up, demanding titbits. It's a shame, because
bread (which is what they usually get given) is bad for all waterfowl - it doesn't meet their nutritional needs, and can cause wing deformities, which prevent birds flying.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKy1oCRSbTTC8AMpaY5OnJMi3wL6oTOKk5N4wReQdloE58vJKWn9hwYou6bBah5aAtWMLijNvBUzyGIpUyXu4bNqV7B9pL5OXTAWzg7Nkalr0FAearJ0my-x-Mz43edIS3wLQrwpqNjEj/s1600/DSCN0372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKy1oCRSbTTC8AMpaY5OnJMi3wL6oTOKk5N4wReQdloE58vJKWn9hwYou6bBah5aAtWMLijNvBUzyGIpUyXu4bNqV7B9pL5OXTAWzg7Nkalr0FAearJ0my-x-Mz43edIS3wLQrwpqNjEj/s1600/DSCN0372.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mute swans look so ungainly when they walk on land, but as long as they stand still <br />
they still look beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">There are beautiful, graceful mute swans who tend to
keep themselves to themselves. When I first came to Tamworth there were lots of swans in Tamworth - the town had one of the biggest swan populations in the Midlands, but I think the numbers have declined over the years, although the geese have increased.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEwsjEzNEApc3WzZfLxhZibpBXTd06zkBRAAxhM47ATzFwJzPa-oxuFOqjsWPNDU7Eo-Yuuh2WcCu8YoGJY_a_yCPlrxpOBwwXSjZVOpW_3t28-gt3jmsWPv_6u894E0FrvioAgdYdB5Z/s1600/DSCN0312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEwsjEzNEApc3WzZfLxhZibpBXTd06zkBRAAxhM47ATzFwJzPa-oxuFOqjsWPNDU7Eo-Yuuh2WcCu8YoGJY_a_yCPlrxpOBwwXSjZVOpW_3t28-gt3jmsWPv_6u894E0FrvioAgdYdB5Z/s1600/DSCN0312.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A moorhen - this photo is a little blurred, but I rather like it. The moorhen was racing along the bank, <br />
and it shows the green legs, and the red beak with the yellow tip. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Then there are moorhens, which have greenish legs, and red marks on the face and beak, and yellow tips and end of the beak. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzhHIdHSdOmy0cvtarvPWGAIZSgjW-_0BdC6EB19J6vdvJx67vjdSxcfzR9EprZoAouH_pb2fgTGXtTolqdf5Qdq9Ntj8xecEsrKQrd32KKGksavGfV5TZSzD5IGoVeTfEKZZEYjb93Ye/s1600/DSCN0397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzhHIdHSdOmy0cvtarvPWGAIZSgjW-_0BdC6EB19J6vdvJx67vjdSxcfzR9EprZoAouH_pb2fgTGXtTolqdf5Qdq9Ntj8xecEsrKQrd32KKGksavGfV5TZSzD5IGoVeTfEKZZEYjb93Ye/s1600/DSCN0397.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a coot, with its white beak and white mark on the head.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And there are coots, with white beaks and head marks.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1x2hjYHsBQknIxMoRtQ6uQIhOGW4tffdzIJRBCghH0HZejiNEvxfRTu0Iy2Ia8ltg8hGFvMkm11oT4N9vUX_-J96nJlQjK37eeObgT46bPrF-Q7Kb9EFyEZS3uBp-D-Yi_E4tyRUkbJf/s1600/DSCN0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1x2hjYHsBQknIxMoRtQ6uQIhOGW4tffdzIJRBCghH0HZejiNEvxfRTu0Iy2Ia8ltg8hGFvMkm11oT4N9vUX_-J96nJlQjK37eeObgT46bPrF-Q7Kb9EFyEZS3uBp-D-Yi_E4tyRUkbJf/s1600/DSCN0421.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birds perched on a kerb in a carpark by Borrowpit Lake, Some kind of gull <br />
I think - not tern, because their tails aren't crossed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Various gulls and terns flock to Tamworth, filling the air with
their raucous squawks, and their acrobatic antics, and perching in the most
unlikely places.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAUOy-HN_DW-4oIE2rpTcH4NsKjLJtyCNsq85bywiTJlvKdqYQeSL6JTR0wYoPC5gXxzTC-9XalrTIu9e7p5F0XfxntEEWqtN2NOt5J027XhwGY8Uc3N-NKEEUBGfHiXV4wmSGXZLVyS9/s1600/DSCN0436+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAUOy-HN_DW-4oIE2rpTcH4NsKjLJtyCNsq85bywiTJlvKdqYQeSL6JTR0wYoPC5gXxzTC-9XalrTIu9e7p5F0XfxntEEWqtN2NOt5J027XhwGY8Uc3N-NKEEUBGfHiXV4wmSGXZLVyS9/s1600/DSCN0436+(2).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blobby bird... An out of focus tufted duck. I do wish he'd stayed still, just for a moment!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Sadly, at the moment there’s no sign of the crested grebes I saw last summer, but
I did spot a pair of tufted ducks, which are not exactly rare, but are nowhere
near as common as mallards, and are certainly much shyer. As soon as I pointed
the camera at them they took off at a great rate of knots, and this was all I
managed to get… a blobby bird! </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KhwS294vMqZr1v3Ho_eFxtLfkQFshyphenhyphen67ufRsOo2XMb5DJsMTSXxkXu12EQgEYJQUmFGMCjoupMw9op_oxoSPuF55HyMoNeuIhDhOw23Mt7VQUoxvWzAg1S50RINHkNVptSPa6l9fCA-n/s1600/DSCN0432+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KhwS294vMqZr1v3Ho_eFxtLfkQFshyphenhyphen67ufRsOo2XMb5DJsMTSXxkXu12EQgEYJQUmFGMCjoupMw9op_oxoSPuF55HyMoNeuIhDhOw23Mt7VQUoxvWzAg1S50RINHkNVptSPa6l9fCA-n/s1600/DSCN0432+(2).JPG" height="400" width="332" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AI guess these hybrid ducks are oddities, but I think they are beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I had better luck with these beauties, two of our hybrids.
They’re a cross between mallards and other waterfowl, and there are a few of them around. I’ve featured them
before, because they fascinate me. Over the last few years they’ve bred, and I
think these are descendants (if that's the right word) because they are lighter, with more colour
variation.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fohe1c_IfUwWpvv_oDJPHV5WQhRVzuZNRO7b6pOAGIJ7K1eNTdoTiINWr_0mMFiAByQ3LQ0oL2SIhPioPHEhdbxrbcaHRbvDsb-txfVie8h4SDQLTARwtsYUD4i-VWprOnU31D29gCpM/s1600/DSCN0394+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fohe1c_IfUwWpvv_oDJPHV5WQhRVzuZNRO7b6pOAGIJ7K1eNTdoTiINWr_0mMFiAByQ3LQ0oL2SIhPioPHEhdbxrbcaHRbvDsb-txfVie8h4SDQLTARwtsYUD4i-VWprOnU31D29gCpM/s1600/DSCN0394+(2).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An oystercatcher! In landlocked Tamworth!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Now this is the bird I was really excited about, because I’m
positive it’s an oystercatcher, which is amazing, since they are coastal birds,
and we’re about as far from the sea as you can get. It’s very distinctive, with
those red eyes, feet and legs, and that red beak, which must be as vicious as
it looks because it can break open oysters. Apparently they do breed on inland
sites, by water, and then they eat earthworms – this one was digging his beak
into the damp earth when I spotted him, and it seems to have some brown soil stuck
halfway up the beak. If anyone can confirm my identification of this bird I would be grateful - and if I'm wrong I'm sorry!</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF3n7o0Hh6xSTJWsfIL0oKjN5U1yMJ7k2C8wzQmKzT-FWF0z1EmFHnbn05h_145_gOLxeV8Tj3TclvIP1rAwduPXXO1iGZYExFeXfTqSJIj98P_GFY463Y7xHoqR8k2DgcPZQBDkxmzsX/s1600/DSCN0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF3n7o0Hh6xSTJWsfIL0oKjN5U1yMJ7k2C8wzQmKzT-FWF0z1EmFHnbn05h_145_gOLxeV8Tj3TclvIP1rAwduPXXO1iGZYExFeXfTqSJIj98P_GFY463Y7xHoqR8k2DgcPZQBDkxmzsX/s1600/DSCN0473.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Herons are so amazing, with those long spindly legs and their elegant<br />
necks, but they're deadly hunters, spearing fish and small mammals<br />
with their sharp, pointed beaks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally a grey heron. Isn’t he gorgeous? I am so
pleased with this picture – you can see the feathers really clearly, and that
wispy ‘beard’ beneath his beak. There are quite common really, but some of them look very scruffy indeed, while others are kind of faded looking. But the colours and markings on this one are particularly crisp, bright and clear. Herons look incredibly elegant with their long, spindly legs, and graceful necks, but they are savage killers, and their sharp, pointed beaks like a spear to catch fish and small mammals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">S</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">aturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">West Metro Mommy Reads</a>, and you'll find all kinds of photos there, from all around the world.</span></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-43479616839756292352015-01-03T10:03:00.002+00:002015-01-03T10:51:41.703+00:00Seagulls and Crab Pots!<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, Christmas and New
Year have been and gone, and the world is slowly getting get back to normal. We had
some snow on Boxing Day, then the temperature plummeted and everything was covered
in ice and thick frost, until yesterday, when it got a little warmer, but very
windy. So, somewhat perversely I suppose, I’ve got some nice, cheerful,
sunshiny piccies for my </span><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Saturday Snapshot</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">! These were taken in Brixham, on a
lovely sunny day back at the end of August when we were kitten sitting for our
Elder Daughter and her Boyfriend while they went on holiday – they acquired two
little black cats after they’d booked their trip, then found the local cattery was
full up… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, of course, it was Mum and
Dad to the rescue, and we had a wonderful (but unplanned) stay in Devon!</span> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ-4gjL1owcLRbAETaaNWouDf2v2vO0OIrX7SAbxxIOki-RY98iQBIla6Jwc5Da2HbRi-Y_q0q7sK9Ds6aw00VXUfJ9bsMy7vQtN9FnUF0HqaUubb3UJP1XlMgATP8DXB9Vps1tE7sP2d/s1600/DSC_0780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ-4gjL1owcLRbAETaaNWouDf2v2vO0OIrX7SAbxxIOki-RY98iQBIla6Jwc5Da2HbRi-Y_q0q7sK9Ds6aw00VXUfJ9bsMy7vQtN9FnUF0HqaUubb3UJP1XlMgATP8DXB9Vps1tE7sP2d/s1600/DSC_0780.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Brixham - isn't it beautiful?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">While we were there we had a day out in Brixham, which is a beautifully unspoilt little fishing town, and isn’t really ‘touristified’, if you know what I mean, and we thoroughly ourselves. As we arrived the first thing we noticed was the picturesque row of old, brightly coloured, fishermen’s cottages up on the cliff (though I doubt if many fishermen live in them these days).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkBwVivF7q55hG7aEax6NFBCgSvY4qbf8NBdaxBC7f39gvS214xU4QevMn6xuDlYWgmrSQx7B4XzdfrG3kZECgtPgRPzRAx7yjRhkYBH0PPmb0SH6SRy4GGDa5AYQiD5ckQ4yyat6Eq0F/s1600/DSC_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkBwVivF7q55hG7aEax6NFBCgSvY4qbf8NBdaxBC7f39gvS214xU4QevMn6xuDlYWgmrSQx7B4XzdfrG3kZECgtPgRPzRAx7yjRhkYBH0PPmb0SH6SRy4GGDa5AYQiD5ckQ4yyat6Eq0F/s1600/DSC_0806.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Golden Hind - at high tide she floats but, as you can see, it wasn't high tide!</td></tr>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Then, in the harbour we spotted a full-size replica of the Golden Hind, the ship in which Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe back in the 16th Century (I know, I’ve already seen one reproduction of it at Southwark, in London – there are obviously a lot of them around!). </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Apparently, this particular vessel is here because in 1963 a TV series about Drake was filmed in and around Brixham, and this is a replica of the replica used in filming, because the first one was destroyed in a storm… confusing, or what?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ghgACIVVzC_-XlmRKaEleZ6ouZ2QhORZDYptMNJloPFVAAXez_16eMAyP27cZTWSnVSex4A6HziCWv9sS-s_Yw5g14dH6pusx33KGHRMt0LdjAmu5sZIFv9zfmaVxsbI-y8U-6grv8Je/s1600/DSC_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ghgACIVVzC_-XlmRKaEleZ6ouZ2QhORZDYptMNJloPFVAAXez_16eMAyP27cZTWSnVSex4A6HziCWv9sS-s_Yw5g14dH6pusx33KGHRMt0LdjAmu5sZIFv9zfmaVxsbI-y8U-6grv8Je/s1600/DSC_0814.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to be arty and get a close-up of the masts and all <br />
that rigging. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The original Golden Hind (Drake’s flagship – there were four other ships in his fleet) was launched as the Pelican, but was renamed to honour the wealthy patron who provided most of the funds for the expedition. Officially the brief, as explained by Queen Elizabeth, was to explore new lands and ‘find out places meet to have traffic’, which I gather means discovering new opportunities for trade. But unofficially the Queen had let it be known that she wanted revenge on the King of Spain for ‘divers injuries that we have received’. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyZJ4nai458_b_FY2Wr0WQv2J8EA-VRZ7mqG_N8XCZHd4D76GCoklJmxI4PlZdw40jnuCbf2HY2p20uPI-MibmL20vY4f6-sf9exMnnYk7zWdhtgEJ9TrwN9vZW1NMnX5OU9sz5G9qqLy/s1600/DSC_0822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyZJ4nai458_b_FY2Wr0WQv2J8EA-VRZ7mqG_N8XCZHd4D76GCoklJmxI4PlZdw40jnuCbf2HY2p20uPI-MibmL20vY4f6-sf9exMnnYk7zWdhtgEJ9TrwN9vZW1NMnX5OU9sz5G9qqLy/s1600/DSC_0822.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Brixham seagull. There are gulls everywhere!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">So Drake and his crew had carte blanche to harry the Spanish, and that’s exactly what they did. They set sail in 1577, and the Golden Hind made it back three years later, laden with riches looted from Spanish treasure ships. The Queen was delighted – and no wonder, because she got half the proceeds. Drake made his fortune, was knighted, and became a national hero. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3k_m9yFB7c3DnUK7ENzCGmkAhP3CPwTaKA_mIj1UUP6w42Ln_rex8V-NMxnLSMJ-wm2QfoCeZoCGeJT8cKU8F3ood43AN_TkbqBGegdffiaxtNucZE04SU0wfLZDS-BQo9FhSL1d7bq3c/s1600/DSC_0801+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3k_m9yFB7c3DnUK7ENzCGmkAhP3CPwTaKA_mIj1UUP6w42Ln_rex8V-NMxnLSMJ-wm2QfoCeZoCGeJT8cKU8F3ood43AN_TkbqBGegdffiaxtNucZE04SU0wfLZDS-BQo9FhSL1d7bq3c/s1600/DSC_0801+(2).JPG" height="320" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fire juggling pirate.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Brixham seems to have a long history of piracy, smuggling and the like. When we visited there was some kind of pirate event going on, with children (and adults) dressed as buccaneers, and there were market stalls, street theatre performers, and all kinds of activities going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gave a real carnival atmosphere to the day, but we never did discover what was happening – there is a proper Pirate Festival every May, so it can’t have been that!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wall of crab pots..</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Fishing has always been important for the town. From the Middle Ages right through to the 19th century it was the biggest fishing port in the West Country, and it’s still a thriving, working fishing port today. The quays around the harbour are piled high with nets, ropes, pots, baskets and all kinds of paraphernalia to do with fishing, and it all looks just as you imagine it should.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... And a close-up. I was trying to be artistic - again!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Brixham, apparently, was famous for its fast-moving, powerful sailing boats, which were able to trawl for fish in the deep sea, in all weathers. Several of them, with their distinctive red sails (dyed with local ochre, which helped protect the canvas against sea and weather damage), have now been restored, and provide cruising holidays and training expeditions. We had hoped to see some of these Heritage ships in the harbour, so we could get a good look, but they were all out, and we were a bit disappointed - until we spotted this glorious craft sailing past in the distance, and felt as if we'd been transported back 150 years or so. We were really thrilled to see this - much better than looking at one in the harbour!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red sails in the sunshine!</td></tr>
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<span class="hascaption"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Doubtlessly,
WW2 buffs will know that the Americans trained in Brixham prior to the D-Day
landings, as part of Operation Overlord, and the 'slipway and hard' that they used is now officially ‘listed’,
and there is a blue plaque explaining how troops and tanks left from here bound for
Utah Beach, and convoys followed loaded with supplies and equipment. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A D Day landing - A reminder of World War II.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There's a</span> big, modern marina as well, and all alongside the quay, nestling up against the cliff sides, are little gardens, created by local volunteers as part of a Pride in Brixham project, and there were people fishing for crabs with string and bits of bacon, and I do wish we'd had a go at that - next time, perhaps!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden by the sea... One of the gardens created for the Pride in Brixham project.</td></tr>
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The town itself was lovely, with some nice little independent shops - and a statue commemorating William of Orange who landed at Brixham in November 1688 with his Dutch army during the ‘Glorious Revolution; when the Catholic King James 11 was forced to abdicate in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William..</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowned with a seagull! I accidently deleted my photo of the e statue of <br />
William of Orange in Brixham, so I've borrowe this one, from the<br />
<a href="http://www.devonperspectives.co.uk/brixham.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia;">http://www.devonperspectives.co.uk/brixham.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> site.</span></td></tr>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You’ll
find more photographs, and details of how to participate in Saturday Snapshot
at Melinda’s site, at </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">West
Metro Mummy </a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Reads</a>. </span></span></i></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-87628102542061499882014-12-06T14:28:00.002+00:002014-12-06T14:33:02.834+00:00Hooky Happiness <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7B8wNNqWZVxbEY1LJwKk2c2VNrWxX1fTfqI2dB7x5SC4hWbkXT6C8K9_hh6aTHx4aku2Kg5rYu1DVUTiXasvkQ7X8dSzsj90ZoP02zzmAe4mrdbjf1aoarEGOV9MBFgPc7ARWG8NqL1t/s1600/DSC03317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7B8wNNqWZVxbEY1LJwKk2c2VNrWxX1fTfqI2dB7x5SC4hWbkXT6C8K9_hh6aTHx4aku2Kg5rYu1DVUTiXasvkQ7X8dSzsj90ZoP02zzmAe4mrdbjf1aoarEGOV9MBFgPc7ARWG8NqL1t/s1600/DSC03317.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ta dah! My first effort at designing a crochet blanket</span>.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This week's <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a> is an update on a blog piece I posted in August last year showing</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> a piccie of a Work in Progress for my Younger Daughter. At that point she and her Boyfriend were just about to move to a flat in London, and they wanted a cuddly crochet blanket big enough to wrap around them both as they sat on the sofa - even though they didn't actually have a sofa at that time!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">They wanted something bright and cheerful, in Superman colours, which is not necessarily my usual style, but I was happy to oblige. I decided on granny squares, because they're quick and easy, and I love making them, but I didn't want my usual random effort with a mish-mash of different colours and yarns in random squares or stripes. No, I wanted something clever, with a properly designed pattern, and I had in mind a central panel, of blue and yellow squares, edged in white, surrounded by lots of red (YD's favourite colour) with yellow and blue stripes all around the edge. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://chriscross53.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/hooky-happiness.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://chriscross53.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/hooky-happiness.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Y55YvqE_satoRDfBpyMQWe5b132w8BOyR4TyPGGJhR0u3WuywKMDiD9DGnsCKFDm8M0bMlOfVBWIwkIfQVHEiuaoZdGtCiJHKC12A2R4ezC4cONEX477tpuccJKIdlG3GKWToQg6x2bS/s1600/DSC01048_editedEm's%2Bblankie.jpg" height="400" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Work in Progress</span>!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I originally planned one shade of red for the main part of the blanket, but it was very red indeed, and I was afraid it might be too dominant, especially as red is not my favourite colour (but YD loves it, and that's the main thing, because it is her blanket, after all). Anyway, I added a second, slightly darker shade (like a nice dark, red wine) to give a bit of interest, and I really liked the effect. It wasn't my usual palette at all, but I loved working with these colours because they were so cheerful and uplifting. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Woollie wonders... Vibrant colours for a crochet blanket.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The worst bit was trying to fathom out how many different squares I could produce with four colours (two blues and two yellows) for the central panel. However, YD's Boyfriend, who is a real whizz at maths, came to my rescue, and explained that I would end up with 24 different squares, which really surprised me - I never dreamed that so many variations could be created from just four colours. Apparently it's all to do with something called factorial notation (hope I've got that right), and there's a magical formula for working this kind of thing out. I never knew numbers could be so fascinating - or so useful for arty-crafty stuff!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUAMK0N3YXxv_ATyzehvrnhcKXgD8kSd9xf3Er3vhQZsmtcsR7jmXZlYjomRxWh8By3cqC1Loeh9WrwlMkFi52fteyokN3N2NO5hGsjNE8dr_kaRCqwUteEMIExC5tehoRsUCRHioC9lW/s1600/1405042_10201175618494983_490810423_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUAMK0N3YXxv_ATyzehvrnhcKXgD8kSd9xf3Er3vhQZsmtcsR7jmXZlYjomRxWh8By3cqC1Loeh9WrwlMkFi52fteyokN3N2NO5hGsjNE8dr_kaRCqwUteEMIExC5tehoRsUCRHioC9lW/s1600/1405042_10201175618494983_490810423_o.jpg" height="400" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thready, steady, go... Stitching in the loose ends.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the end it turned out that 24 little squares didn't make a big enough panel, so I doubled up and made two of each design. And I was amazingly well organised, and made a chart, listing the colour patterns for each square, and ticked everything off as I went along, so I didn't lose my way and end up with lots of the same block, and none of another! Then, once I'd stitched all the pieces into shape for a rectangular panel, I just kept hooking round and round and round until it was more or less the right size, then made a pretty, loopy, shell-like edging, and ta-dah, it was finished - apart from all the loose ends which had to be stitched in... Hundreds of them... I always promise myself I'll do that as I go along, but I never do, and I always regret it!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BJ5BZqSBFp7C8QTIyNwX3FA4pX4IFFxK5nWtxG7bcsyQoSsGchwVE5mg6tnSNL5j-Z2SkDx3G6WtGYUS9RaEPgxifVDpgMnRiaFw8cIrYw_pjxSxFdrwbI7k5J5w9_qCMiwlAD4lWPcw/s1600/DSC03317+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BJ5BZqSBFp7C8QTIyNwX3FA4pX4IFFxK5nWtxG7bcsyQoSsGchwVE5mg6tnSNL5j-Z2SkDx3G6WtGYUS9RaEPgxifVDpgMnRiaFw8cIrYw_pjxSxFdrwbI7k5J5w9_qCMiwlAD4lWPcw/s1600/DSC03317+(2).JPG" height="173" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earning my stripes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It took an awfully long time, and used an awful lot of wool (I wish now I'd kept track of the amount) and there was quite a bit of unpicking and redoing as I went along, and I had no idea how big it should be, so I kept laying it out on the bed - I figured if it covered a double bed it was OK! And, of course, I had other sewing/woolly projects on the go at the same time, so there were periods when I didn't anything on the blanket for quite a while, and sometimes I wondered if it would ever get finished. But eventually I stitched the very last loose end in just a couple of weeks after YD and her Boyfriend bought themselves a bright red sofa, so between us our timing was pretty good. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">My blanket (I still think of it as mine) now has pride of place draped over the sofa, and, though I say it myself, it looks absolutely fabulous. And I know self-praise is no recommendation, but I feel very proud of my achievement. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLfXjRxi67FHXvGCgo3G6y_w8tdYwyBBjpghpogOTx2vNwuL9oJxwGMSVzkzm9M54ScmdPv3Bc6TDLVNl_aDJiLL8k3GEtOxGsZldLbdnKktDHo5YJW58xqDfSUV097tHOBsRTmm6sR3E/s1600/DSC03316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLfXjRxi67FHXvGCgo3G6y_w8tdYwyBBjpghpogOTx2vNwuL9oJxwGMSVzkzm9M54ScmdPv3Bc6TDLVNl_aDJiLL8k3GEtOxGsZldLbdnKktDHo5YJW58xqDfSUV097tHOBsRTmm6sR3E/s1600/DSC03316.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosy comfort.... I draped the finished blanket over our sofa, and liked it so much <br />
I was really sorry when I handed it to my Younger Daughter!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-30721183222876782922014-12-03T08:47:00.000+00:002014-12-03T08:47:50.364+00:00Reindeer and Candles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoj3Pl4huVMyNlc5VOifGzC5O-Yo6jy5lygX1L4wltgqbuv5bPClzakq09yDmuvAxcYg8RSztpypAjnEu6pmuk7v1HSkg_gosGPLulF7I17SO6HImol4mcJORocPYGgs4UlkU_s_EBODD6/s1600/Reindeer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoj3Pl4huVMyNlc5VOifGzC5O-Yo6jy5lygX1L4wltgqbuv5bPClzakq09yDmuvAxcYg8RSztpypAjnEu6pmuk7v1HSkg_gosGPLulF7I17SO6HImol4mcJORocPYGgs4UlkU_s_EBODD6/s1600/Reindeer.jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Look what I
saw yesterday – reindeer!!! At the local garden centre!!! I was so excited when
I spotted them I felt as if Christmas had already arrived. There were two of
them, in a pen, outside with all the plants, and they looked beautiful,
although it does seem sad that creatures which roam wild and free in a land of
ice and snow should be cooped up on a bed of straw in an alien environment for
people to look at. But I daresay this duo were bred in the UK, and have never
been further north than the Midlands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I went with
a friend I hadn’t seen for a few weeks, so we treated ourselves to a snack in
the café – coffee and a huge Christmas tree shortbread for her, and tea and a
toasted cheese sarnie for me. I almost wished I’d had the shortbread, but I was
hungry, and the sandwich was yummy. Then we mooched around, looking at all the wonderful
Christmas displays, which featured lots of penguins, and glittery baubles, and
twinkly lights. Part of me always thinks stuff like this is very commercial,
and it’s not what Christmas is all about, but it looks so magical, and is such
fun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And there
were stacks of pretty, useless things, and tables full of festive jams, chutneys,
sweets, cakes and wines. And, of course, there were lots of plants, including
Christmas cacti and poinsettia. I was determined not to spend money on things I
don’t need, but my resolve wavered, and I bought a box of spiced orange tea lights
because I love the smell!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZkpGmOmTNiGd0fgTmRgl58LOACFeA8vGndqvLu-9VNqJ_kDwgRRk-yS24SJHE3lR2axpD0wh_8oxyGXHeEJpUGFoWxNP5uX4wHHpFgQRrinDRWTPyuL9IKIYqYDjKYUXfBt5bBcMdsYr/s1600/DSC_0052+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZkpGmOmTNiGd0fgTmRgl58LOACFeA8vGndqvLu-9VNqJ_kDwgRRk-yS24SJHE3lR2axpD0wh_8oxyGXHeEJpUGFoWxNP5uX4wHHpFgQRrinDRWTPyuL9IKIYqYDjKYUXfBt5bBcMdsYr/s1600/DSC_0052+(2).JPG" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-18946045228267936522014-12-01T15:27:00.000+00:002014-12-01T15:31:41.305+00:00My Week!<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Oh dear, I was going to be so good, and blog every other day,
and it’s been over a week since I last wrote anything here, so I’m going to
post some words and pictures about my week. Let’s start with last Sunday, when
the Man of the House joined me for a walk along the Coventry Canal. We went up
as far as Fazeley Aqueduct, which runs over the River Tame. And you can look
down and see water below you, as well as the water beside you, which always
amazes me. It was a very grey drizzly sort of day, and there were raindrops
hanging everywhere, so I took this picture of raindrops hanging from one of the
metal work on one of the beam bars at the lock - not my usual style of photography, but I am trying to get some different and more un usual shots, instead of landscapes and flowers. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAt68dFPfkKyJ5mc9SeBekgj_P42AZTGpL1LiTY_33Bh6dwlWt8hwo7xvXFXH1x5lq0Whe3Ywgg5zCnEtJT4yZMPxNJxa1qYeu35eg7MeDyyLeyHYgiNehAvTWlLXDWtb_SAhR7Zp9__KC/s1600/DSC_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAt68dFPfkKyJ5mc9SeBekgj_P42AZTGpL1LiTY_33Bh6dwlWt8hwo7xvXFXH1x5lq0Whe3Ywgg5zCnEtJT4yZMPxNJxa1qYeu35eg7MeDyyLeyHYgiNehAvTWlLXDWtb_SAhR7Zp9__KC/s1600/DSC_0478.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raindrops on metal... I liked the way the drops of water contrasted with <br />
the rusty marks on the metal handle.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Then we went into town and treated ourselves to Sunday lunch,
and had a wander round. Children were singing in the Market Square, as part of
the celebrations for the Christmas Lights ‘Switch-On’, and there were craft and
food stalls selling all kinds of goodies, including these home-made pies, which
the Moth (the Man of the House, remember!) </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmIaJZ9DrC5fOVBFSCPVg6neKCfcg7Ls1HedZfsSJENHxXSpgfPv8q4evl7hodN5Yda5xiQiLym-Cvo_rnrCQwJEFc-syWEtZiQhF81eTbgVj-qfzDQ1JkZF-ooLF8tz9Ry8cl5OkttQ2/s1600/DSC_0498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmIaJZ9DrC5fOVBFSCPVg6neKCfcg7Ls1HedZfsSJENHxXSpgfPv8q4evl7hodN5Yda5xiQiLym-Cvo_rnrCQwJEFc-syWEtZiQhF81eTbgVj-qfzDQ1JkZF-ooLF8tz9Ry8cl5OkttQ2/s1600/DSC_0498.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were assured that no penguins were hurt making this pir!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">We </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> were a little alarmed at the Penguin Pie, but it turned out
to be filled with fish and penguins eat fish, so I guess it’s pie for penguins,
not pie of penguins! Penguins seem to be everywhere at the moment, so I dug out
an old Jean Greenhowe knitting book with patterns for these…</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO150vAenKvk2mwmKFpPOj2VXRNbvSPvSGyQesxVdFke6ubCf5zqSmL07-Ilwt281FMxz21ZO6irhaDTyqGeW14J7VL-_x4BATTues2RvnkW-Wpygi1aDNtCkIsjUvIhSwkN4M-f4mZ6Dw/s1600/DSC_0036+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO150vAenKvk2mwmKFpPOj2VXRNbvSPvSGyQesxVdFke6ubCf5zqSmL07-Ilwt281FMxz21ZO6irhaDTyqGeW14J7VL-_x4BATTues2RvnkW-Wpygi1aDNtCkIsjUvIhSwkN4M-f4mZ6Dw/s1600/DSC_0036+(2).JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right, which penguin shall I try and knit?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Actually, I prefer crochet, but these are kind of cute, and I’ve
always meant to have a go at them, and I’ve got black and white wool in the
stash, and some knitting needles, so perhaps now is the time to knit a penguin!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m trying to walk every day, so on Monday off I went to Warwickshire
Moor, one of our local ‘wild spaces’. It’s a small remnant of what was once a
large area, and it’s not how I think of a moor at all – we’re definitely not
talking Dartmoor here! It lies alongside the River Anker, and there are lots of
little pools, and streams and drainage channels, with reed beds, and grassy
areas, and a small wood. In summer it’s glorious, with masses of dragonflies
and butterflies and all sorts of other insects, and a lot of the water dries
up. But in winter every little dip and hollow fills with water, and the land
oozes water with every step you take, but there’s still plenty to see and
enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhL9S_fsQqbb_7Wpy_7Xx_twazX4tUMUlbc89AAhvdjCAY9AHHOqlsYbIqI8WmWFkfs5uTtUg8kEPKcGgcRsLW1hTXmxzasUlu1YjJCSNX5ntf55jxzdhZlB8ndbxJdIucLsffr2MPdxk/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhL9S_fsQqbb_7Wpy_7Xx_twazX4tUMUlbc89AAhvdjCAY9AHHOqlsYbIqI8WmWFkfs5uTtUg8kEPKcGgcRsLW1hTXmxzasUlu1YjJCSNX5ntf55jxzdhZlB8ndbxJdIucLsffr2MPdxk/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The viewing/dipping platform is usually well above the River Anker, <br />
but there's been a lot of rain, and the water is very high.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtjy3jsRrnax_DmseGwc-6UH1T0iK9PRvojSgDfKXLC9bDSH-NihmvJntStpQyKuQMphxqh3knsP_RgXVoKYOzFUSgEb43bI4PaFFtlGysBb7ZFXDiBSgnWlFaZr7lxCXpl7VOlNrPQ78/s1600/DSC_0572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtjy3jsRrnax_DmseGwc-6UH1T0iK9PRvojSgDfKXLC9bDSH-NihmvJntStpQyKuQMphxqh3knsP_RgXVoKYOzFUSgEb43bI4PaFFtlGysBb7ZFXDiBSgnWlFaZr7lxCXpl7VOlNrPQ78/s1600/DSC_0572.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mud, glorious mud.... Wellies might have been better!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">On Tuesday I woke to a different world – there had been a hard
frost overnight, and everything was encrusted with thick, white, icy crystals,
while all the puddles had frozen solid, and everything was festooned with
cobwebs which looked as if they had been spun from twisted cotton threads. They
were unbelievably beautiful, so I grabbed the camera, and went out for a walk to
snap them – and I got some jolly strange looks and comments from people who
obviously thought I was a madwoman! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhT7kVXwl_IcCwN6I3uvzOlgnSGZDS2cWtRZutn4e9EuwANeSz1v_wkORnSQ1CAHGjtzyluEq5-cDRqjO5NS5lKsmM2UTt12uEujIEZuQk9WUymgFWaTv3B37lYwuyfu9GU_hWZtYWRCA/s1600/DSC_0601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhT7kVXwl_IcCwN6I3uvzOlgnSGZDS2cWtRZutn4e9EuwANeSz1v_wkORnSQ1CAHGjtzyluEq5-cDRqjO5NS5lKsmM2UTt12uEujIEZuQk9WUymgFWaTv3B37lYwuyfu9GU_hWZtYWRCA/s1600/DSC_0601.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cobweb, covered in frost.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Sadly, by the next day the temperature had risen, all those
magical cobwebs had vanished, and the weather was back to a grey, murky, misty,
drizzle, so I walked to Lakeside (another of our little ‘wild spots’) looking
for some colour to brighten the day. And I found it! Golden leaves glowed
through the mistiness, and all kinds of red berries positively shone through
the gloom in the most cheery fashion you could imagine. And I met lots of dog
walkers, who all stopped for a chat, and one of them recommended other places
to walk, and another told me about Thailand, where he used to work, so it
turned into a very sociable morning!</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzyXKBvwXDoEK2rHDq9ANiWGrdcJQdIwomFcvda0yeCu0GpUoQuRpY-H9zNC_ai2nFxN5_qIpZzUuzXpicfjiL1vmA8ImPaqjUXTHvsV3dpsIyj408gtCKHYemkpgkTuiJhDhkhFmXLMy/s1600/DSC_0764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzyXKBvwXDoEK2rHDq9ANiWGrdcJQdIwomFcvda0yeCu0GpUoQuRpY-H9zNC_ai2nFxN5_qIpZzUuzXpicfjiL1vmA8ImPaqjUXTHvsV3dpsIyj408gtCKHYemkpgkTuiJhDhkhFmXLMy/s1600/DSC_0764.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rosy view of life... There were lots of rosehips, in all shapes and sizes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7ktwZ99jmqHFx9b8ejbxsDRc5NjLxvt8qe82RabxC4UDBRqhB76fHUJdmpFltsxmWncc6KdjMuplKPYbNa3r3k27AobNRlxCCMZHfD18bEVxAg60tBgK4pGgrJV4lVLY8n6NPguJzEWm/s1600/DSC_0858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7ktwZ99jmqHFx9b8ejbxsDRc5NjLxvt8qe82RabxC4UDBRqhB76fHUJdmpFltsxmWncc6KdjMuplKPYbNa3r3k27AobNRlxCCMZHfD18bEVxAg60tBgK4pGgrJV4lVLY8n6NPguJzEWm/s1600/DSC_0858.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bright and shiny holly berries. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Thursday was Oxfam day, and I was busy in the Lichfield Books
and Music Shop – I only walked as far as the bank and the sandwich shop. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHr4W59sDdgQnfvHI_jMFkiBFjjx-MAyuiAbRP-TArIax3xefj0owwVHL1fcj0dP6uMJ3-2UOoIyTZGj1OGo5wew9VApVEYO9X2mBxS-coNhqiyGUbcDFEJnv3P7EBOgguHEBjisrelbc/s1600/mebrolly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHr4W59sDdgQnfvHI_jMFkiBFjjx-MAyuiAbRP-TArIax3xefj0owwVHL1fcj0dP6uMJ3-2UOoIyTZGj1OGo5wew9VApVEYO9X2mBxS-coNhqiyGUbcDFEJnv3P7EBOgguHEBjisrelbc/s1600/mebrolly.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my Oxfam brolly pictured outside our lovely shop earlier<br />
in the year - but I've used it so yuo can see how nice our shop is.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">However, on Friday I donned my walking boots again, and the
Moth went with me, down through the Castle Grounds, which are beautiful at any
time of year, and into town where we browsed around the shops, and ended up
enjoying a restorative lunch in Wetherspoons before wending our way home! </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA42E_omzW_F4org3lyCZzSbDdHgomHzdyBcOYUw_aChuUPeN11NNyXGIqRz156oASoAc_AOkDEKT0KxLKbtVmAiv_bAnrbnDyRB4izbZ3NPTqSoEcoCDOJ-HZdboGNQL3toP1MXfD6Ylh/s1600/DSC_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA42E_omzW_F4org3lyCZzSbDdHgomHzdyBcOYUw_aChuUPeN11NNyXGIqRz156oASoAc_AOkDEKT0KxLKbtVmAiv_bAnrbnDyRB4izbZ3NPTqSoEcoCDOJ-HZdboGNQL3toP1MXfD6Ylh/s1600/DSC_0901.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tamworth Castle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">For some reason Saturday was a ‘bleh day’ when I lacked the energy
and enthusiasm to do anything, and when nothing seemed to go right, so I sat
crocheting a <a href="http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/2014/11/cosy-blanket-cal-part-5.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">blanket</span></a>,
which is now big enough to go over my knees while I work, and is all snuggly
and comforting!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsT-OqlyxkPxRl87kLPRI2cXIDvImdQJgjT2X8509ivG7fydj-4LtAXwBXcWilaIjo-ITWfUvkFZvCJYzCxo_Ae_A0AF6u1kWpxaxtt1lNLQF9b5K58EX7xtYG9p_m6atahMFJLoTy9UTm/s1600/DSC_0039+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsT-OqlyxkPxRl87kLPRI2cXIDvImdQJgjT2X8509ivG7fydj-4LtAXwBXcWilaIjo-ITWfUvkFZvCJYzCxo_Ae_A0AF6u1kWpxaxtt1lNLQF9b5K58EX7xtYG9p_m6atahMFJLoTy9UTm/s1600/DSC_0039+(2).JPG" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snug as a bug in a rug... Or a blanket! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And that brings us back to Sunday again, and a walk round <a href="http://www.alvecotewood.co.uk/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Alvecote Wood</span></a>, which is one of my
favourite places. It’s a patch of ancient woodland, full of dappled light,
which always makes me think of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, ‘<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173664"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Pied Beauty</span></a>’. There’s a
wildflower meadow, and pools, and all kinds of plants, fungi, birds, insects
and other wildlife, and it’s very beautiful, and very peaceful. Owners Stephen
and Sarah, bought the wood after falling in love with it seven years ago, then
acquired some adjoining land, and planted new trees. They’ve won environmental awards
for the work they do to preserve and improve the area. This was their last Open
Day of the year, and the wood will be closed to the public until the new
programme of Open Days gets under way in the spring.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeRfb4nloDbQXNqWsEVPtDK_mRZ_Fh7aUV8Vh7q5VQd89fMbI2fESa0h5gw9HaOabMnrK4OcSuMCiFkfVO2_jhv_hoEBBeR4D8fpsL-2tB2XSOvoMWeYdLvNZ7vOcVzcFkk9Bmac3HeQt/s1600/DSC_0922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeRfb4nloDbQXNqWsEVPtDK_mRZ_Fh7aUV8Vh7q5VQd89fMbI2fESa0h5gw9HaOabMnrK4OcSuMCiFkfVO2_jhv_hoEBBeR4D8fpsL-2tB2XSOvoMWeYdLvNZ7vOcVzcFkk9Bmac3HeQt/s1600/DSC_0922.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you go down to the woods today...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-1211176013289466972014-11-23T10:45:00.001+00:002014-11-23T17:21:24.565+00:00Mushroomy Things!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfM1BOeZRjgElQE04N8rjoojHqrxydsuLrWeTn5_I5u6sb6-B-pUNVKqR2Nnv2V766LyLDOSvuMimmuyTBpdDQEiNv_I58-Bn7O9ef3kxvtg6eyLuzjrhHBFFqOkk-7hp8nhr55XfwnMk/s1600/DSC_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfM1BOeZRjgElQE04N8rjoojHqrxydsuLrWeTn5_I5u6sb6-B-pUNVKqR2Nnv2V766LyLDOSvuMimmuyTBpdDQEiNv_I58-Bn7O9ef3kxvtg6eyLuzjrhHBFFqOkk-7hp8nhr55XfwnMk/s1600/DSC_0180.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was on an old tree stump.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">Oh dear, late again... This is supposed to be a <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a>, but I'm having a Sunday Snapshot this week instead, because Blogger had a hissy fit about uploading piccies and came to a full stop every time I tried to do it. Fortunately it seems to be working OK this morning, and it's still Sunday in some parts of the world, so let's go for it!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiSr1Csx8M_vzZsTsj-OmtpegjjDQOSxG-Xb2mVk63WihimWh6pTb6Map4BUteTUnPbGgmeSHkH4Z3iXyVoFrJU4d9wTAGN6tykjpmHQ-7BNbz70UVWxLzqckhL9hOOLMjDdKqpL-1FXX/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiSr1Csx8M_vzZsTsj-OmtpegjjDQOSxG-Xb2mVk63WihimWh6pTb6Map4BUteTUnPbGgmeSHkH4Z3iXyVoFrJU4d9wTAGN6tykjpmHQ-7BNbz70UVWxLzqckhL9hOOLMjDdKqpL-1FXX/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this was on the same tree, but I'm not sure if it's the same species or not.<br />
I think they look some alien life form which might crawl off across the landscape!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">Has
anyone else noticed how many fungi seem to be around this year? There are more
than I ever remember seeing before, and there seems to be variety than I’ve
spotted before. Everywhere I’ve walked this week I’ve seen mushroomy things… In
hedgerows and meadows, and on trees and tree stumps, in all sorts of shapes and
colours and sizes. They are quite spectacular, and somehow rather alien and a
little sinister I think – probably because so many of them are very poisonous.
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUAznWSb3ZoDw8JpA_mYirDVO2efv7fvR18JqqfaAs-1kXq5uFbETvdGhqeLYBpOQ28azA3FhYqp7yZkDJHFVSjGhZ22kC3zgpnAeB5Ksgtge8G-SLlqY6ipjKGUOliYYLswtPOn5iObi/s1600/DSC_0186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUAznWSb3ZoDw8JpA_mYirDVO2efv7fvR18JqqfaAs-1kXq5uFbETvdGhqeLYBpOQ28azA3FhYqp7yZkDJHFVSjGhZ22kC3zgpnAeB5Ksgtge8G-SLlqY6ipjKGUOliYYLswtPOn5iObi/s1600/DSC_0186.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same tree again. The tree has been split, and there's a great hole that's got protective wire mesh across <br />
it, for safety reasons perhaps, or to stop people shoving rubbish in in it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">Personally I’ve got no intention of foraging (there’d be no going back if you get it wrong!), and I buy my mushrooms in the supermarket, or from the greengrocer, so I know
they’re safe, but I do think it would be nice to know what these
strange plants are. I've been using my photos to try and identify them, but
I’m none the wiser than I was to start with!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCt4XQNsjMmg239nUpUwh4s-9gYUdHsb3fqpUzR7R8WrviDfXLtmw3xjZWNqA7nmOCEI4al8N0-CzV1nlMGeIJpHLreQK-zPicBs811tSSf9tz1rDA8ZBUd7zcFchIK2B4E3l8XvfbdtZP/s1600/DSC_0168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCt4XQNsjMmg239nUpUwh4s-9gYUdHsb3fqpUzR7R8WrviDfXLtmw3xjZWNqA7nmOCEI4al8N0-CzV1nlMGeIJpHLreQK-zPicBs811tSSf9tz1rDA8ZBUd7zcFchIK2B4E3l8XvfbdtZP/s1600/DSC_0168.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spotted this in the grass and leaves at the base of a hedge on the canal towpath. <br />
I think, it's a shaggy ink cap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">Actually,
I haven’t even got that right, because fungi are not plants, although that’s
what I was led to believe when I was at school. In those days we were told that
fungi were non-flowering plants but, apparently, modern science shows that the
molecular structure of fungi is different to plants or animals, so they are now in
a class of their own.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ezjR2CVXGe1CDvWFi7WTymyG8vRBOPEWtnkmbhF_Dvct997xG0uH0MJl3ywzOfNBKP7-iB4VJjEqkGQpwq0YkkRr5hV7gVGWUAWQLwB_o7Q_-D1H_tscbZ1RsL_MfeGQzDRTGUuPVsIa/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ezjR2CVXGe1CDvWFi7WTymyG8vRBOPEWtnkmbhF_Dvct997xG0uH0MJl3ywzOfNBKP7-iB4VJjEqkGQpwq0YkkRr5hV7gVGWUAWQLwB_o7Q_-D1H_tscbZ1RsL_MfeGQzDRTGUuPVsIa/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No idea what this is - the top is all folded, and looks a bit like gills - very odd! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">As
well as mushrooms, fungi include yeasts, mould that grows on
rotting fruit and the infection that causes athlete's foot! According to the </span><a href="http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">British Mycological Society</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"> fungi are used to make
bread, cheese, wine, beer, soy sauce and Marmite. Fungi also help make coffee,
flavour chocolate and put the bubbles in lemonade – but, sadly, the website
doesn’t explain how these things are done.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2DcgZTEPo7IT104dRbR_4LOeyUtihsUMPz_cDx0JcYAUevSX7N1cldqQqHswqKwZtrCHZH0IJ4lw08t8nEt-ocdTD5WH0eXcuc-MLBK2DZ8UnFT8ZGYLrN7LGV91ewUzQuNEKsZCeBrk/s1600/DSC_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2DcgZTEPo7IT104dRbR_4LOeyUtihsUMPz_cDx0JcYAUevSX7N1cldqQqHswqKwZtrCHZH0IJ4lw08t8nEt-ocdTD5WH0eXcuc-MLBK2DZ8UnFT8ZGYLrN7LGV91ewUzQuNEKsZCeBrk/s1600/DSC_0303.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were growing in the cleft of quite a big tree, and there were masses and masses of them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">However,
it does have lots of information about fungi – for example the bit which you
see above the ground is known as a fruiting body, which produces spores, which
are like seeds, but so small they can’t be seen with the naked eye. But below
the ground there’s a much larger section (bit like an iceberg I guess) consisting of
lots of fine threads that group together to form a branching network called a mycelium. And
when conditions are right mycelium group together to form the fruiting body (I'm not a scientific sort of person, so I may have misunderstood this bit, but I
think I’ve got that right). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGz4vy1t4fRc6sJ0L2Q7jv9X-grhU0CKCB49zdXknljfwErglSMA_2Xr6esuXtXq5N-8zJgf1yQUuu832mFTIADBweSDRPgnvlrm9DcjeBRBho88undNjw5PmS_kRKihD7lmqzms068SqY/s1600/DSC_0308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGz4vy1t4fRc6sJ0L2Q7jv9X-grhU0CKCB49zdXknljfwErglSMA_2Xr6esuXtXq5N-8zJgf1yQUuu832mFTIADBweSDRPgnvlrm9DcjeBRBho88undNjw5PmS_kRKihD7lmqzms068SqY/s1600/DSC_0308.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a close-up!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">Fungi
are good for the environment because they break down decaying plant and animal
matter, producing food which is absorbed by the fine hair-like filaments.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFIs1QI7b5N0UevYxe_kwq7wucknIcAAU2yo7XPMEJ5XMcTo0hE2KotP2p32r_WHgdKsUTQe7XIsrzOxOMfrwRsoMCX9fFvd07MVrzcO3YET00QZ2nhbr_fZmJokvYU0ClB-YHynLDFjj/s1600/DSC_0320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFIs1QI7b5N0UevYxe_kwq7wucknIcAAU2yo7XPMEJ5XMcTo0hE2KotP2p32r_WHgdKsUTQe7XIsrzOxOMfrwRsoMCX9fFvd07MVrzcO3YET00QZ2nhbr_fZmJokvYU0ClB-YHynLDFjj/s1600/DSC_0320.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I assume this is some kind of bracket fungus, on a dead tree stump.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">I’d always been under the impression that fungi are very simple organisms, but from the little I've read this week they strike me as being very complex, especially their adaptability and the ways they reproduce. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihL8Urh6Bw-3Rm6BMftURtQrZy8YK8lmunCqJsbOPZhe1OqTovcuPyf2_4ONlmZDVApBBhQowuvCoRMYNE8L2ufIgFhXw_X7iurzt-aUc5cTQpG87YLidW30gMUGd2-6Qtqq_OG3F-vSfd/s1600/DSC_0324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihL8Urh6Bw-3Rm6BMftURtQrZy8YK8lmunCqJsbOPZhe1OqTovcuPyf2_4ONlmZDVApBBhQowuvCoRMYNE8L2ufIgFhXw_X7iurzt-aUc5cTQpG87YLidW30gMUGd2-6Qtqq_OG3F-vSfd/s1600/DSC_0324.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same stump, but I think this a different kind of fungus - they look different at different stages of<br />
development, which adds to the problems of trying to identify them!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">And I was surprised to discover that so many of them seem to be beneficial – even the ones which are inedible. Apparently, most plants have some kind of fungi living on their roots, and this is usually beneficial to plant and fungus. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRJIU5Vd80N3UvPq35IOHslTQeUfvbDCftbzITmjuj_aInlQT-1oqRjVbDNX-ola66EiNjHczUZfwXzkPCNx6qL8fa7eNVMMS0NBlR86KOQayG0QR2cPYUVm2pbSr2Ome_ty-qs7LcDow/s1600/DSC_0327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRJIU5Vd80N3UvPq35IOHslTQeUfvbDCftbzITmjuj_aInlQT-1oqRjVbDNX-ola66EiNjHczUZfwXzkPCNx6qL8fa7eNVMMS0NBlR86KOQayG0QR2cPYUVm2pbSr2Ome_ty-qs7LcDow/s1600/DSC_0327.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And yet more fungi on the same stump - it was very big, but it was absolutely smothered in<br />
fungi, as well as mosses and lichens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">Amazingly, they're used in all kinds of industrial processes, including the production of pesticides, weedkillers and antibiotics (penicillin is a mould, after all, so I suppose I should have known this). </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJo_E1rMR7J8pSLZnrGL6BP2u2zOveUgZSgI-hn1h5mVTPHliNpyW17sv01nzLyUmgJygNNFwW3ppm3Bo4IlRrZoRNYwjoQO7MvkvxCRP3HnI8pBaKWk04FOJTfeXQoM6yZUh3lKMvw9E/s1600/DSC_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJo_E1rMR7J8pSLZnrGL6BP2u2zOveUgZSgI-hn1h5mVTPHliNpyW17sv01nzLyUmgJygNNFwW3ppm3Bo4IlRrZoRNYwjoQO7MvkvxCRP3HnI8pBaKWk04FOJTfeXQoM6yZUh3lKMvw9E/s1600/DSC_0331.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were growing all around the base - for such a small stump it supported an<br />
incredible amount of life!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">You'll find more Saturday Snapshots, and details on how to take part, on Melinda's blog over at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">West Metro Mummy Reads</a>.</span>Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-5496069008458473702014-11-15T21:05:00.002+00:002014-11-15T21:23:29.558+00:00Poppies at the Tower<br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">This
<a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a> is a little late, but it is still Saturday (just), so here goes.
Since it was Remembrance Day on November 11, I decided to share a couple of
three pictures that I took when my Younger Daughter and I went to see the
ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, created by Paul Cummins to commemorate
the 100</span>th<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"> anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, with
settings by theatre designer Tom Piper.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QlmdKc6YkCvOmie3zz4JS7HMv_C5_ny0rstEmeVVW6tI_BoWrJJ883_HXFZFjXi-fSr3mR-qFMcWbga_74gn8y8zodzx9QpdTZQBNmn2yFHIFzVXw-D-GGZoo3kXmvweqdCSJ5xzIm2F/s1600/DSC_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QlmdKc6YkCvOmie3zz4JS7HMv_C5_ny0rstEmeVVW6tI_BoWrJJ883_HXFZFjXi-fSr3mR-qFMcWbga_74gn8y8zodzx9QpdTZQBNmn2yFHIFzVXw-D-GGZoo3kXmvweqdCSJ5xzIm2F/s1600/DSC_0200.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceramic poppies in the moat at the Tower of London.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">It
was back in September that we visited the art installation </span><span class="italic"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, when </span></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">it was about half-way to
completion, but even at that stage it was stunning, thought provoking, and very
moving. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">The
whole project was also very symbolic. There are the poppies of course, more
than 8 million of them (888246 to be precise), filling the moat and spilling
from a tower window, like a river of blood, surrounding the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each bright red ceramic poppy represents one
of the 888246 British and Colonial servicemen who lost their lives during WW1.
In addition, work on the project got under way on August 6 (the day that
British troops were engaged in their first action back in 1914), and finished on
November 11, or Armistice Day, when hostilities finally came to an end at the
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02k1qqmpcacuEfK1jdcZdFJsbskEa_0_uV2dMBOxbhyphenhyphenTYySbXnJK8yB7_padgSlf_6eLJhEruUCpMkKPMJQ9fhKLw7D55yIuRn18VjIp134UvZRnX2RCiKFcuXLsSWG8rQtf22MQpwhfu/s1600/DSC_0215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02k1qqmpcacuEfK1jdcZdFJsbskEa_0_uV2dMBOxbhyphenhyphenTYySbXnJK8yB7_padgSlf_6eLJhEruUCpMkKPMJQ9fhKLw7D55yIuRn18VjIp134UvZRnX2RCiKFcuXLsSWG8rQtf22MQpwhfu/s1600/DSC_0215.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poppies cascading from a window.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">According
to <a href="http://poppies.hrp.org.uk/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Historic Royal Palaces Tower of London</span></a>
Cummins took his inspiration </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">words written by a soldier
who died at Flanders: “The Blood Swept lands and seas of red, where angels fear
to tread.” And potters at his studio created the poppies using hand-made techniques
common at the time of the Great War. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZt8hIEAlDAAEVjYeLh0ZWygc9LlXZn3fVVuLH-eLCqomBOQcpA8nrAqahAIfZo7hN0CZAYV3SeEiHbu6XiW5Nrlldt65jaAxbv2538Es0912xWtuLmCHxbsZWUpBAzEvD0zk9_Z4T3z6/s1600/DSC_0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZt8hIEAlDAAEVjYeLh0ZWygc9LlXZn3fVVuLH-eLCqomBOQcpA8nrAqahAIfZo7hN0CZAYV3SeEiHbu6XiW5Nrlldt65jaAxbv2538Es0912xWtuLmCHxbsZWUpBAzEvD0zk9_Z4T3z6/s1600/DSC_0240.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another view of the poppies, from the other side of the cascade.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">While the poppies were there, the Last Post was played at
sunset every evening, but this week volunteers have been dismantling the art
work. Some parts of it, including the poppies cascading from a window, will be
displayed at a series of temporary exhibitions around the country. But many will
be sold to help raise cash for service charities in the UK. I believe they’re
£25 each, and 10 per cent goes to the charities, plus all net proceeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I must admit that when I went to see the poppies I didn’t
quite know what to expect, and feared it be rather mawkish and sentimental, and
that it might glorify war. But it wasn’t like that at all. I thought it brought
home the pity and horror of war, and somehow this monumental piece of art made me
realise just how great the slaughter was, especially when you multiply the
numbers across the various nations involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUILglVakUF5W8cYcZmFJPkmSZPC9z6FR-86bYvZSqCNp-Sb3T3cgTVmKHD1o191QiB0sCun15iwfH2y1eF1BqqJaRe4tvvWVrFO373y3uWvEmkslqN7mOBNjQYZh9oq1WplSER3tKg-p8/s1600/DSC_0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUILglVakUF5W8cYcZmFJPkmSZPC9z6FR-86bYvZSqCNp-Sb3T3cgTVmKHD1o191QiB0sCun15iwfH2y1eF1BqqJaRe4tvvWVrFO373y3uWvEmkslqN7mOBNjQYZh9oq1WplSER3tKg-p8/s1600/DSC_0232.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An individual poppy on the information board.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;">To see more Saturday Snapshot photos, or to participate, go to <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">West Metro Mummy Reads</a>.</span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-48349203915442278882014-11-12T08:16:00.000+00:002014-11-12T08:20:54.783+00:00Poppies and Gargoyles<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">I
was aiming to post something here more or less every other day, and schedule it
so it pops up nice and early, but the plan has gone awry, and I’m a little
later than I meant to be, but better late than never! I blame the fact that I’ve
still got a cold, and I don’t feel well, so my routine (such as it is) has gone
to pot. I’ve had this for almost a week now, and it doesn’t seem to be shifting
at all, and I feel very sorry for myself, and I don’t want to do anything, so I’ve
been curled up in my armchair, crocheting and watching Cadfael DVDs.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt;">But
I did manage to nip over to Lichfield on Monday for an hour for some wool and
some fresh air, and I took a few photographs while I was there, because they made me smile.</span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnicr5P-smwGfnxJ9Yezh4MDqrRlIKWpFe2nfu3PEl_yFgG4-Ny9JRZ0cwpc4IsSUZnDFaCnO3_mfePXPDqPQpfMeXZTatvtzz9rHHzeo7K7NP7Jd-yGHvbXuwRlabm7d-IsGonrHKSXCc/s1600/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(5)a.NEF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnicr5P-smwGfnxJ9Yezh4MDqrRlIKWpFe2nfu3PEl_yFgG4-Ny9JRZ0cwpc4IsSUZnDFaCnO3_mfePXPDqPQpfMeXZTatvtzz9rHHzeo7K7NP7Jd-yGHvbXuwRlabm7d-IsGonrHKSXCc/s400/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(5)a.NEF" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The first red berries of
autumn</span>!<o:p></o:p></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wYQaNPw6aep3rqj3HuE2BAvWL0CGs8_U5uZ5rDu0WyYS-wXOA-YguBxiWaizCy-9DvkD-5ygj9uZraBRtcpfnLDriSepWBlQJXi_st5pv-WvASbwd8cG7j9XYAfez3ACA-QLguXFNyo7/s1600/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(66).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wYQaNPw6aep3rqj3HuE2BAvWL0CGs8_U5uZ5rDu0WyYS-wXOA-YguBxiWaizCy-9DvkD-5ygj9uZraBRtcpfnLDriSepWBlQJXi_st5pv-WvASbwd8cG7j9XYAfez3ACA-QLguXFNyo7/s400/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(66).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: x-small;"><em>Bright red poppy wreaths in the Memorial Garden - not really a happy topic, </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: x-small;"><em>but it was such a wonderful splash of colour.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3X6GrimuLsIxVCD_QOGhEtIOi3gDyiQV7HcnVdtdbYo7LITcqgqjyIFBQ1_pCzlHSTywtP75_HTZ_OpgCWjsSQMeF3lLNXSFnXPN5u64X-TIlGZavyPWeSTGqjMC5bsWo1IV8js7uc94/s1600/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(39).NEF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3X6GrimuLsIxVCD_QOGhEtIOi3gDyiQV7HcnVdtdbYo7LITcqgqjyIFBQ1_pCzlHSTywtP75_HTZ_OpgCWjsSQMeF3lLNXSFnXPN5u64X-TIlGZavyPWeSTGqjMC5bsWo1IV8js7uc94/s400/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(39).NEF" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">The three spires of Lichfield Cathedral.</span> </em></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesWOEFMOjurvigT42kHDybV-c6Mpcp9dvggKyGF-odmyG1HSkEDeJfT0CiaUAdWS47My4ijl9xDL5qhOvuRw1Cul9JQmPRvQ8XfeC5vK3-lsfG-8qVcMaMDD5QHEHixXQxnwk4HYNAYqc/s1600/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(39).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesWOEFMOjurvigT42kHDybV-c6Mpcp9dvggKyGF-odmyG1HSkEDeJfT0CiaUAdWS47My4ijl9xDL5qhOvuRw1Cul9JQmPRvQ8XfeC5vK3-lsfG-8qVcMaMDD5QHEHixXQxnwk4HYNAYqc/s400/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(39).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: x-small;"><em>A devilish gargoyle on the north wall (if I got my directions right). I love the way it's</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">covered in moss or lichen</span>.</span></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ3DySPoth8tNLcNecVfaDcWNl1bGT3xg17B4C-e4K6oCD4VKihXGokMWexXkmH_Mbf-jBHiO98nqAl-zMsaPuwgGvGLuM-q0x4OAAyu8v8-vQ_4_rbUxBWXlNocvEN0iRJBvpTlyfNJW/s1600/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(49).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ3DySPoth8tNLcNecVfaDcWNl1bGT3xg17B4C-e4K6oCD4VKihXGokMWexXkmH_Mbf-jBHiO98nqAl-zMsaPuwgGvGLuM-q0x4OAAyu8v8-vQ_4_rbUxBWXlNocvEN0iRJBvpTlyfNJW/s400/lich+10.11.14+DSC_0001+(49).JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: x-small;"><em>Late flowers blooming in the Darwin House garden.</em></span></td></tr>
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Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-40284216614204143532014-11-10T01:30:00.000+00:002014-11-12T08:38:50.517+00:00Tangled Wool!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Good
morning all! Are there any other crochet enthusiasts out there who battle with self-tangling
wool? Or perhaps some mischievous elf or gnome has taken up residence in my
home, like one of those brownies or hobgoblins you come across in old
folktales, you know, the kind who help with the household tasks as long as you keep them happy
and well-fed… But break the rules and they can be very tricksy indeed, creating
chaos and confusion instead of order and comfort... <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmZvjeFBLRdCTujmKLwmk1V-rFQaxTAvDa12-wG0h8BUQi1ODMB0uqRILCS0r4X7cssAoDDXQ4zZHsLzt1NxdJh_qTKg536jMu6MRGkaHt0NlDCSxfymeQmRdIQpx-oVbVA_JUeC-UbkU/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmZvjeFBLRdCTujmKLwmk1V-rFQaxTAvDa12-wG0h8BUQi1ODMB0uqRILCS0r4X7cssAoDDXQ4zZHsLzt1NxdJh_qTKg536jMu6MRGkaHt0NlDCSxfymeQmRdIQpx-oVbVA_JUeC-UbkU/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Things were worse than this to start with! I was half-way through</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">sorting it out when I decided to take a photo.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When
I stop hooking I carefully wind my yarns, and stash them in one of those
brightly coloured plastic baskets you can pick up quite cheaply in
supermarkets, garden centres and DIY stores. I’ve got a couple, and they’re
pink, so they look pretty, and have handles, so they are practical as well, and can be
toted around the house with ease. You wouldn’t think things would get so muddled
up inside them, but they do… Scissors and hooks vanish overnight, while yarns
fling themselves about, coming to rest with strands entwined round strands, like
beans on a stick, but much more tenacious… Then there are the knots that appear
by magic… Knots previously unknown to Man, impossible to unravel… Who makes
them? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The
whole thing is one of Life’s Great Imponderable Mysteries, but whatever the
reason, I need a solution – and I think I’ve found it! I had a Lightbulb Moment
whilst trying to disentangle the latest Work in Progress (actually it’s one of
several, because I like to have a number of projects on the go at the same time).
This particular WIP is a ripple blanket (pattern courtesy of Lucy over at </span><a href="http://attic24.typepad.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Attic 24</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> – I wonder if she gets this
problem?). Anyway, there are an awful lot of threads because there’s an awful
lot of wool (oddments and new), to say nothing of all those loose ends
I promised to weave in as I went along, but never did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxWsvGeI9L2aVM7r21yC7RkUxlV3zA2-YifvOQ55R1EUHyP52lXPZeupL0bFDOhTM7m8pVpyCngdJNzyU1lvkgMXLh73hVeoA1eJZlYv5_wWUfZmTFvXdwV-0TboFer0Uxoei5Bg7Z1UD/s1600/DSC_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxWsvGeI9L2aVM7r21yC7RkUxlV3zA2-YifvOQ55R1EUHyP52lXPZeupL0bFDOhTM7m8pVpyCngdJNzyU1lvkgMXLh73hVeoA1eJZlYv5_wWUfZmTFvXdwV-0TboFer0Uxoei5Bg7Z1UD/s1600/DSC_0074.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Old-fashioned brown elastic bands make great wool detanglers -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"> much better than the pretty coloured ones which are too thin to</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">hold the ends of wool in place.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I
did consider investing in one those natty gadgets that winds wool into
neat little cakes, but they might not stay that So I’m trialling my
Brainwave - elastic bands!!! Yes, that’s right, elastic bands…. Not to crochet
with (that’s just silly, even though Loom Bands, their posh cousins, are so
popular at the moment).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyway, I've untangled threads, cut off the knotted sections, and wound my wool into misshapen balls(I defy anyone to produce
perfect spheres). Then I slipped an elastic band around each of them, and slung a
few into a carrier bag to test my Invention. I jiggled them and joggled them,
and shook them all about. I threw the bag up and down and round and round. I
prodded it and poked it, and jumped up and down on it! </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FXluyODUgFF7ifR92eAn_cp4ZUkpt8xaFN7W-B8t1JnsgBOOXkTpGkczbClD3ra5gNXlpI5N7Qqdw49AgsHW_zW4xQ7MtmwtqmBjogrPfli5drYP7Kz5vIeWcsYKoLf7ipNQrQqx38RP/s1600/DSC_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FXluyODUgFF7ifR92eAn_cp4ZUkpt8xaFN7W-B8t1JnsgBOOXkTpGkczbClD3ra5gNXlpI5N7Qqdw49AgsHW_zW4xQ7MtmwtqmBjogrPfli5drYP7Kz5vIeWcsYKoLf7ipNQrQqx38RP/s1600/DSC_0076.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Balls of wool held neat by a simple elastic band. It's dead simple. You don't </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">even have to check that the ends are securely trapped. - you just stick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">an elastic band over the ball of wool, and that's that!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then
came the moment of truth, and I crossed my fingers and held my breath as I upended the bag. I could hardly
bear to look, but each ball of wool came rolling out in perfect
condition, neat, tidy and ravelled (if that’s not a word, it should be – after all,
you can have unravelled, so what’s wrong with ravelled as its opposite, especially where yarn is concerned). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqzYQXRj5HPmegqagSQ1XPzgDjIoxunm976pJNvXWn0u8hXjf87wBkyef5MwoQdJFI2cJcR600HTjgBRg1e8KEFJYCN_yDQO83qLnoaEFOrtX9Az6yR7-1Pqu3U-O5gW-rK7fOVr6Dii_/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqzYQXRj5HPmegqagSQ1XPzgDjIoxunm976pJNvXWn0u8hXjf87wBkyef5MwoQdJFI2cJcR600HTjgBRg1e8KEFJYCN_yDQO83qLnoaEFOrtX9Az6yR7-1Pqu3U-O5gW-rK7fOVr6Dii_/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Ta-daa! A pink plastic basket of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">untangled wool!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m
pleased to say my home-made wool detangler appears to work, but only time will tell
how effective it really is. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watch this
space for a progress report!</span>Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-11639558654569730452014-11-08T17:27:00.001+00:002014-11-12T08:37:54.932+00:00Recreating a Medieval Abbey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZtA5KbDqqtH6FapHAHGGa_FvbTjmOK_Apt8g8nWZxcS09SbuZ8IJ8P8JODKNFe1y49Ato-DlPJsqmxFfxJgZoJL3iJcmDhIC7lQXle_qhXXoaMiiJTpL5dQw3rdw7W2ajs-tGxXBhaHW/s1600/DSC_0587+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22WkGdupAuskiABCZkzyLggNjJF6HlzgU4XU6U3vaWBxOtuvO-HXPaICQkSV15ed-QiyxJ-Q5GZbQX1aMtxXQZwHNprRNkoaEPXdE16s7wmUgWu5W1napBQYCoidQospthT56hcpI0LWA/s1600/DSC_0614.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lavender blue dilly, dilly... Relaxing in the Lander Garden at Buckfast Abbey.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I
seem to have been a very sporadic blogger this year. In fact, sporadic is a bit
of an understatement – non-existent is nearer the mark. Anyway, I thought I
would share some pictures on </span><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Saturday Snapshot</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, though it's a long time since I've posted anything. These were taken during a visit to Devon a couple of weeks back. Not Plymouth
this time, where our Elder Daughter lives, but Paignton. We wanted to explore a
different part of the county, so we treated ourselves to a package coach
trip/weekend in a hotel. Stupidly, on the Saturday I let the Man of the House
persuade me to join a trip across Dartmoor, which turned out to be a Big
Mistake for a Bad Traveller like me… Besides, Dartmoor can only be fully
appreciated when you’re walking.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We
stopped briefly at Princetown, the small village where the prison is, and there
was another stop at Tavistock, which had a fabulous market with crafts and books
and suchlike, and looked a really nice little town – just my sort of place! But
we weren’t there all that long, and I was just beginning to feel better when it
was back on the coach again, and off we headed for an unscheduled surprise location,
and all I wanted was fresh air, ground under my feet, and not to move!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But
the journey was worth it, because this is where we ended up:</span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EYD5cFBm2FVmEwzVM17K-5orQYuyQ5hLQirUCxMaNRC8Cpt6_D_jUC_m4DpAKtdKpgn22MkDKe1WfcbmrtMPBreIJSIw0b3dwiyAupYAG9COy8Bqb97OAYcpOKLtDthJ_qUC13fm9EAf/s1600/DSC_0580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EYD5cFBm2FVmEwzVM17K-5orQYuyQ5hLQirUCxMaNRC8Cpt6_D_jUC_m4DpAKtdKpgn22MkDKe1WfcbmrtMPBreIJSIw0b3dwiyAupYAG9COy8Bqb97OAYcpOKLtDthJ_qUC13fm9EAf/s1600/DSC_0580.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Buckfast Abbey</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Buckfast
Abbey has to be one of the nicest places I’ve ever been, providing balm
for body and soul. It is magical, really, really beautiful, and so tranquil and
soothing. It’s a modern building but, unlike most 20th century cathedrals (Coventry, for
example), it looks old – as we walked towards the entrance I thought it was
Medieval Gothic, cleaned up and restored, although the MOTH felt the two types
of stone used meant it was more likely to be ‘new’. But we agreed it has to be
the most incredible architectural feats we’ve come across, built by just six
monks, only one of whom had experience as a mason, in 31 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that is so amazing. It is the most
stupendous achievement, and whether or not you’re religious you have to admire
the faith, skill, energy and sheer hard work of that group of men who turned
their dream into reality. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujZecP2QaDrfbyUcH321-Kc7XoPo81U6cenuIQRTmf4j3sPVpnxUf76Yk5fQsLYcBVBiyXaNlQg0blDulwi8CRNrOWcuI0Uv9b5veiyzBYqaN-ZqETD2PtKLRkT41CAMNbL-tO7M8yM9Y/s1600/DSC_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujZecP2QaDrfbyUcH321-Kc7XoPo81U6cenuIQRTmf4j3sPVpnxUf76Yk5fQsLYcBVBiyXaNlQg0blDulwi8CRNrOWcuI0Uv9b5veiyzBYqaN-ZqETD2PtKLRkT41CAMNbL-tO7M8yM9Y/s1600/DSC_0581.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another view of the Abbey.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apparently,
Buckfast was established as a Benedictine monastery in 1018 – when King Canute
was on the throne. In the following century it was taken over by the Cistercians,
and was largely rebuilt. From that point on it was a thriving community for some
400 years until, of course, dear old Henry VIII Dissolved the Monasteries. The
monks had to leave in 1539, and anything of value was sold off, along with the
Abbey lands, manors and so on (it strikes me that the Dissolution of the
Monasteries was a nice little earner for the Royal Coffers). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpK6lhc9ChyphenhyphenwUiaOrOFgT-lWAnQ6Exz7SNuuOslghiNg-Tv119sYpVLxgjQ1bC20i4gknSNtAL62GdNKOc25zAAwi9Pqp8Uky3J2VXveNbjdFlfxFBFFETubzSHRuJwoZ1KGXZiiLwkwI/s1600/DSC_0583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpK6lhc9ChyphenhyphenwUiaOrOFgT-lWAnQ6Exz7SNuuOslghiNg-Tv119sYpVLxgjQ1bC20i4gknSNtAL62GdNKOc25zAAwi9Pqp8Uky3J2VXveNbjdFlfxFBFFETubzSHRuJwoZ1KGXZiiLwkwI/s1600/DSC_0583.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I just love this doorway - it is so ornate.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In
the centuries that followed, the Abbey Church and most of the monastic
buildings fell into decay, but a few were put to other uses – for instance the guest
house complex was turned into a farm and cottages, and wool was dyed in the
almshouses.</span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1c_S9dnf3xOKEga9ZStBA0_WDWGnoktWJqZSLoVXOtX_QlP-YNyy2MHdpKwEcF9RVxFVFp2ns5wYYeqcs6b6n5YH4opMpPRFntIwuw2L-IGO1ImknKNLPPTGoowB72FKziE9i0VoAmaC/s1600/DSC_0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1c_S9dnf3xOKEga9ZStBA0_WDWGnoktWJqZSLoVXOtX_QlP-YNyy2MHdpKwEcF9RVxFVFp2ns5wYYeqcs6b6n5YH4opMpPRFntIwuw2L-IGO1ImknKNLPPTGoowB72FKziE9i0VoAmaC/s1600/DSC_0598.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Inside... I think the arches and the ceiling are lovely.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then,
in 1800 most of the remains were demolished to make way for a grand mansion
house - only the Abbot's Tower and the Undercroft were left. However, the house
changed hands again, and again, and again… four times in all, in just a few years.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final owner put it up for sale in
1882, describing it as ‘a grand acquisition could it be restored to its
original purpose’. And that, amazingly, is exactly what happened, because the
site was bought by a group of exiled French Benedictine monks. They refounded a
monastery, dedicated it to Saint Mary, and set about building. Originally they based
their plans on an old print of the ruins – then, while digging in the vegetable
garden, one monk stumbled across part of the Medieval foundations. Gradually,
more stonework was unearthed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWUvB3NFrAXc91-y1hW8yqxLDlKn5HLZfuvGCfGXqJje0lC0WJ0_nywGWwu9DsnnbFgsn6KLG2CyKGNKnXazWxNbFzm0D051_ROWnvljkcDZRiBxaGZ_iaFLL8_mMNNoNWSDnwPx1pgdS/s1600/DSC_0595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWUvB3NFrAXc91-y1hW8yqxLDlKn5HLZfuvGCfGXqJje0lC0WJ0_nywGWwu9DsnnbFgsn6KLG2CyKGNKnXazWxNbFzm0D051_ROWnvljkcDZRiBxaGZ_iaFLL8_mMNNoNWSDnwPx1pgdS/s1600/DSC_0595.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Arches and windows.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It
meant new designs were drawn up, enabling another Abbey Church to rise from the
outlines of the old building. It was based on other abbeys built in the middle
of the 12th century, such as Kirkstall, Fountains and Tewksbury. Work
on the church started in 1907, and finished in 1937, and it’s as magnificent
inside as it is out, with stone arches and pillars, vaulted ceilings (I hope that’s the
right word), a decorative marble floor, and a great, golden altar. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWH3tf62kkt_3vj12gZay-cdzoYblomXUawbZ0irYOJE41qegxRWUCSqMWK9Q_F5Q_t77iIC5xOiaM3HWF8v_2Mo4BAm1oF73YidsKEBV_-F_GnNpUfuj8_Z_4L6QenuSzsKB8REK99Zha/s1600/DSC_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWH3tf62kkt_3vj12gZay-cdzoYblomXUawbZ0irYOJE41qegxRWUCSqMWK9Q_F5Q_t77iIC5xOiaM3HWF8v_2Mo4BAm1oF73YidsKEBV_-F_GnNpUfuj8_Z_4L6QenuSzsKB8REK99Zha/s1600/DSC_0586.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Altar.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Most
amazing of all are the stained glass windows. The ones in the main part of the
church are beautifully traditional, based on those at Cathedrals in Canterbury
and Chartres. Then you walk into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and it’s
something else altogether. It’s like entering another world. Ahead of you is
wall of blue glass fragments, forming a giant picture, Jesus at the Last Supper,
with light pouring through, and it is truly, truly awe inspiring. And when you
turn around there are other windows, in other colours, in abstract designs, and
the whole thing just takes your breath away. You seem to be surrounded by
colour and light, and it is so modern, and such a contrast to the rest of the
building. The <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.buckfast.org.uk/"><em><span style="color: blue;">Buckfast website</span></em></a></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">acknowledges this difference, saying:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“In contrast to the rest
of the Abbey, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel brings a touch of modern. After the
main church was completed, the chapel was added to provide a place for quiet
prayer, especially during the summer months when thousands of people visit the
church daily. The splendid stained glass windows depicting Christ at the
Last Supper, were designed and made in the Abbey’s workshops by the monks.” </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltV6ZFJHRbX9wzH9YrVbEq4e9vYOxgZt4cZ9nRyAEQ3EFc8ESTl_ICDp1GSyvu6D754bWpTecuWTBSMISyjD3TGTf7AEOTVOw9yum658BXmZIcy5fb37v-2w7Xm7OM00HxsjhbHSTSyfj/s1600/Blessed_Sacrement-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltV6ZFJHRbX9wzH9YrVbEq4e9vYOxgZt4cZ9nRyAEQ3EFc8ESTl_ICDp1GSyvu6D754bWpTecuWTBSMISyjD3TGTf7AEOTVOw9yum658BXmZIcy5fb37v-2w7Xm7OM00HxsjhbHSTSyfj/s1600/Blessed_Sacrement-14.jpg" height="261" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A wall of glass: Jesus at the Last Supper in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(Pic courtesy of the ?Buckfast Abbey website)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I did try to take some photos, but they didn’t come out, which I guess is some kind of Divine Retribution, because there was a sign saying photography was forbidden… So, as you can see, I’ve used a piccie from the website.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">While downloading some other pictures from my camera, I just found this, showing the above window from the outside - for some reason it didn't get downloaded with everything else. Anyway, the contrast between colourful interior and dull exterior is so great I felt I had to add the photo to this post - it shows a kind of transformation between the outer and inner picture.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROft96jvpQ4_SZRnhIiC1ecgWqK8X9-Wa4gO2dZvUSSz4a5-JCN5JXM23jY01WyeCf52qHm4A_56P6DK7HI1Jo72Dd17o-V724fCppwLa_tX9WPNJmQkmVR2hd0iCrAwCud0NQR3XE_BN/s1600/DSC_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROft96jvpQ4_SZRnhIiC1ecgWqK8X9-Wa4gO2dZvUSSz4a5-JCN5JXM23jY01WyeCf52qHm4A_56P6DK7HI1Jo72Dd17o-V724fCppwLa_tX9WPNJmQkmVR2hd0iCrAwCud0NQR3XE_BN/s1600/DSC_0607.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">That insignificant looking square on the left of the building is the outside of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">that incredible stained glass window, though you would never know when you </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">view it from outside - the glass needs natural light pouring through to bring it to life.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZtA5KbDqqtH6FapHAHGGa_FvbTjmOK_Apt8g8nWZxcS09SbuZ8IJ8P8JODKNFe1y49Ato-DlPJsqmxFfxJgZoJL3iJcmDhIC7lQXle_qhXXoaMiiJTpL5dQw3rdw7W2ajs-tGxXBhaHW/s1600/DSC_0587+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZtA5KbDqqtH6FapHAHGGa_FvbTjmOK_Apt8g8nWZxcS09SbuZ8IJ8P8JODKNFe1y49Ato-DlPJsqmxFfxJgZoJL3iJcmDhIC7lQXle_qhXXoaMiiJTpL5dQw3rdw7W2ajs-tGxXBhaHW/s1600/DSC_0587+(2).JPG" height="323" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Stained glass windows in the main part of the church.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">According
to a leaflet I bought, all the windows were made by the monks, under the
guidance of the late Father Charles Norris, who trained at the Royal College of
Arts, and developed new techniques in this ancient art. The monks’ work is so
highly acclaimed that they have produced stained glass windows for churches all
over the world, as well as a memorial in New York dedicated to the firemen who
died in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre. </span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbu-dSiIQCSKfq3qW184imUgN2diBLzBV3tlUm99qQTCNd-XoswPC1sB0MhC7nEMGei2f3zDu8i5mldtAKP1F371J-N2jUdWum62tWXXk7LHSaaO-EgCPyqJr009NtBAKImeSSH9_aHmf/s1600/DSC_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbu-dSiIQCSKfq3qW184imUgN2diBLzBV3tlUm99qQTCNd-XoswPC1sB0MhC7nEMGei2f3zDu8i5mldtAKP1F371J-N2jUdWum62tWXXk7LHSaaO-EgCPyqJr009NtBAKImeSSH9_aHmf/s1600/DSC_0616.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A peaceful spot in the gardens.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">gardens that surround the Church are lovely but, sadly, we didn't have time to wander round the Sensory Garden and a Physic Garden. But we sat in the Lavender
Garden for a while, enjoying the perfume from some 150 varieties of the plant –
I had no idea there so many different types of lavender! It was a warm, sunny
day, and there were still a few bees around, even though it is late in the season.
According to another leaflet I bought during our visit, the ‘Buckfast Bees’
bred here are much sought after because they are good honey producers, and
disease resistant.</span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nEg_1VMmIN4qpYcG4Cj9uPjuuDZDrL0Wzf4KsowxWjQylQnOMyT28Ii92iQFzUOAXeivJDqELsn-9Z2RRFrelrQIOGpNR4iHqWZhJaeIoadDRvYsoyxGzlG_TWaN9G78mtBUy1nQGssZ/s1600/DSC_0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nEg_1VMmIN4qpYcG4Cj9uPjuuDZDrL0Wzf4KsowxWjQylQnOMyT28Ii92iQFzUOAXeivJDqELsn-9Z2RRFrelrQIOGpNR4iHqWZhJaeIoadDRvYsoyxGzlG_TWaN9G78mtBUy1nQGssZ/s1600/DSC_0613.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And another shot of me by the Lavender Garden. If you look carefully</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">you can see there are little sculptures and things dotted about in the formal planting,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and it smelled wonderful, and was very peaceful - just the thing to restore</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">you when you're feeling poorly after an icky coach trip.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’d
hoped to have tea and cake in the restaurant, but there was no time for that
either (that’s the problem with coach trips, you’re on a strict timetable). But
it’s easy to get there from Plymouth, so we can return and explore at our
leisure – and make sure we have time for afternoon tea!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">To see more Saturday
Snapshot photos, or to participate, go on over to </span><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">West Metro Mummy</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></strong><br />Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-85858051342022368912014-09-01T19:04:00.002+01:002014-09-01T19:29:57.507+01:00Wine Making Month!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ54-Z2H7xlVnoYHuzj8WBce82eUxAUm4Loq7yARP_2MuD0MVKlSdz6kp7ZCbFQ51bGz-j8cVVIEg2cQzmo-_qp4q97qLZ_yMToiDvRxpDoUbbT_77fL-83gUMMSjos0PDAK34IFTU1m4F/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ54-Z2H7xlVnoYHuzj8WBce82eUxAUm4Loq7yARP_2MuD0MVKlSdz6kp7ZCbFQ51bGz-j8cVVIEg2cQzmo-_qp4q97qLZ_yMToiDvRxpDoUbbT_77fL-83gUMMSjos0PDAK34IFTU1m4F/s1600/untitled.png" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Well, it's a
long time since I posted anything on this blog or The Book Trunk. Not sure why.
It seems to have been a funny sort of year, where I've never really got
going with anything. I've put weight on again (after being so good last year),
and am only walking every now and now again, and didn't feel like writing or
blogging - and the longer I left it, the more difficult it seemed to start
again after such a long gap. So I’ve decided to just jump in and do it!</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Anyway, ‘tis
the First of September, and there’s already an autumnal feel to things; the
nights are drawing in, the trees are beginning to change colour, and this is
the second morning I’ve woken to find the world outside shrouded in mist.
Yesterday it turned nice and sunny when the mist cleared, but today it’s
drizzled on and off, but after the hot summer we’ve had I think cool weather
and rain is wonderful!</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">September, of
course, was originally the seventh month of the old Roman calendar, which only
had 10 months. I had always assumed this was due to the creation of July and
August, created to honour Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus, but apparently
both months merely involved the renaming of existing months, and it was January
and February which were introduced by the Romans at some stage. However, September,
October, November and December were never renamed to take account of the change,
and some 2,000 years later we still use those ancient names, which is pretty amazing
I think.</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">The Romans
harvested their grapes and made wine during September, a practice which continues to this day. Some of the old Books of Hours feature wine making scenes for September (although many show ploughing, which was - and still is - an important farming activity at this time of year).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love this picture from a Book of Hours created in Paris in 1490. A September illustration, it shows worker treading grapes, and another tipping fruit into a vat, while in the background someone seems to be sneaking a sample of the end product - presumably checking that it is fit for purpose! The book is on permanent loan to the State Library
of South Australia from the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide, and cab seen at their
website </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><a href="http://www.winelit.slsa.sa.gov.au/topdozen.htm"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.winelit.slsa.sa.gov.au/topdozen.htm</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-22896833386871652012014-01-18T01:00:00.000+00:002014-01-18T07:17:51.596+00:00The Gherkin: A 21st Century Fairy Tale Tower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBiifJCue_Nwu6pXuaiDtuwYFj5uxI8efzbCC35OBpBZZXqwoYFBM6WRdreWYdocsO-pEd8cjWfn_uy7PTX_tNXw02HKKR9CFqNR5kV5mDT6ShiQVfRFvYxQ40r7s1ELkoSgdV3TaW-Df/s1600/DSC02677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBiifJCue_Nwu6pXuaiDtuwYFj5uxI8efzbCC35OBpBZZXqwoYFBM6WRdreWYdocsO-pEd8cjWfn_uy7PTX_tNXw02HKKR9CFqNR5kV5mDT6ShiQVfRFvYxQ40r7s1ELkoSgdV3TaW-Df/s1600/DSC02677.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More pictures from London for today's <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/">Saturday Snapshot</a> because I had such a good time on my day trip! Following on from last week's 'Paleys Upon Pilers', which echoed a Medieval city gate and Chaucer's 'dream' buildings, here are a couple of shots of the ultra-modern Gherkin, which seems to have become an architectural icon. We saw it on the skyline from further away, but it disappeared from view as we walked along nearby streets. Then, as we turned from Leadenhall Street into St Mary Axe, wham! There it was! It was so stunning, and so unexpected, it took my breath away, and I just stood and stared. </span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Oddly, for such a huge building (40 floors and 591 feet high)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> it seemed smaller than
I expected, even though it’s big, big, big… When you’re close to it the scale
is difficult to take in: perhaps it has to do with that strange disappearing
act as you approach, or a shift in perspective. Then there’s the glass, and
that fabulous curved shape, and the slightly distorted reflections of clouds
and buildings, and the way it pushes sky-ward. Somehow it all seems to make the
building appear less substantial, less bulky, less weighty than impressions
given in photographs. And it rises from a surprisingly small patch of land, squeezed
in between roads and other older, more historic buildings, as if it’s trying to
escape the ground which confines it, like a rocket, or a helter skelter.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yuUnnKk2nU64abtaDYdcHSx8nJqr34GKftLpy6ROSUgpBb-2qVEVJ0cZVrWuJPM593xBBb9CQdndUZuC2LwEkZNktcIVa7LamK-80mWMSLoPANbsdUjX1wHVpp94Y1a5T7e4ZSJTsK5y/s1600/DSC02664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yuUnnKk2nU64abtaDYdcHSx8nJqr34GKftLpy6ROSUgpBb-2qVEVJ0cZVrWuJPM593xBBb9CQdndUZuC2LwEkZNktcIVa7LamK-80mWMSLoPANbsdUjX1wHVpp94Y1a5T7e4ZSJTsK5y/s1600/DSC02664.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But let’s not forget that the site has its own history. The Baltic
Exchange, built in the mid-18th Century to protect the interests of merchant
shipping companies around the world, stood here in the heart of London’s
financial district until it was wrecked by a Provisional IRA bomb in 1992. I
gather that originally it was hoped to save part of the building, and
incorporate it into something more convention, but the damage was too
extensive. As a rule I’m not a fan of modern architecture, but I make some
exceptions: Coventry Cathedral is one, and this is another. I love </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Norman Foster’s design, and all those giant glass triangles and
diamonds remind me of the leaded lights in Medieval and Tudor buildings, but
whether that's intentional or not I don't know. And, perhaps, in
circumstances like this it’s better to create something new and completely
different, that’s true to itself, rather than producing a pale imitation of
what’s gone before.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6D_6m8bPfF2BMV75NidXJ9y8kfLJpWIayF-ToXV_NDjCHNcESQUppl7wme7zpSiJ2YhMOdvOTpNz9r-ExBSeQ9GbH1lvWacpAm9lOePQdZHOu5gINStJ7WHs7iZa3wcz_N7XvMLAYpf0o/s1600/DSC02681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6D_6m8bPfF2BMV75NidXJ9y8kfLJpWIayF-ToXV_NDjCHNcESQUppl7wme7zpSiJ2YhMOdvOTpNz9r-ExBSeQ9GbH1lvWacpAm9lOePQdZHOu5gINStJ7WHs7iZa3wcz_N7XvMLAYpf0o/s1600/DSC02681.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t expect to like it, but I do. I think it’s like a 21st Century
fairy tale tower (and I’ve always liked fairy tales and towers), with ever-changing
pictures playing across its curved surface. And it’s much, much, much nicer in
reality than I imagined – photographs, drawings, even TV or video images, don’t
do The Gherkin (otherwise known as 30 St Mary Axe) any justice at all. It has
to be seen to believed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda, at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/">West Metro Mummy</a> - click to follow the links to other participants).</span></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-35821555991522449442014-01-13T15:12:00.001+00:002014-01-13T15:13:09.305+00:00Ice, Frost, and a Cold Saint!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72Yr63a2SMpauUAzuXNmUXbgeRhk6cbU4jtZKfdcoiKbgzs8GxCPgNsA-0q1-jbdAV626dvbSpSniex6ZkKmWlTseTZbMLVFgIyj9Su0WRjbnNrL2Mo3ROzmNMy4P2W5OcVe5qQ5IY97N/s1600/1601246_10201383254085743_513189601_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72Yr63a2SMpauUAzuXNmUXbgeRhk6cbU4jtZKfdcoiKbgzs8GxCPgNsA-0q1-jbdAV626dvbSpSniex6ZkKmWlTseTZbMLVFgIyj9Su0WRjbnNrL2Mo3ROzmNMy4P2W5OcVe5qQ5IY97N/s320/1601246_10201383254085743_513189601_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today
is St Hilary’s Day, traditionally the coldest day of the year, but it seems
warmer outside than it was yesterday, when there was a hard frost, and it all
looked so beautiful I wrapped up well and went for a walk along the canal,
which is one of my favourite places – it’s always so quiet, and whatever the
weather is like there isalways plenty of wildlife to be seen, and plants to look at.
Yesterday everything glittered and sparkled in the sunlight, which was bright
but gave out very little warmth.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2t6QJtSu2UQRrhFtdczfPbO_Fbj0DkzG0LnhjFCewPizvqO-G8dnLdz2Zg2eYr7M_7BbKAO9uYjCPwxxGr9xAsmndar3_Xd53riYFhh53VbpnJJF7cEw3bgXKDk0WbWDKel96AVY6Fxm/s1600/1560678_10201383233165220_1290813777_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2t6QJtSu2UQRrhFtdczfPbO_Fbj0DkzG0LnhjFCewPizvqO-G8dnLdz2Zg2eYr7M_7BbKAO9uYjCPwxxGr9xAsmndar3_Xd53riYFhh53VbpnJJF7cEw3bgXKDk0WbWDKel96AVY6Fxm/s320/1560678_10201383233165220_1290813777_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
recent weeks all the rain has turned the towpath into a quagmire, but yesterday
morning it was so cold the mud had turned hard as rock, and all the puddles had
changed to ice. I had a wonderful time looking at the ice patterns, which were
all different. Some were made up of spiky lines, while others looked as if some
strange alchemy had transformed the water to marble, and they looked quite, quite
extraordinary – such a shame one can’t pick them up and carry them home to
keep, but perhaps the ephemeral nature of these natural artworks is part of
their charm.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoG9AcQlTtQgfRXnoVptDyNlszqByhJlN33jLtFS0-mMhc99L0tx8O7moPHSwbLKQnBk3TiB6X5kA4gUnAF3TbXB8EOY9HDFuFy1euhvR9s-N-cRzlNGdkhlzMmHZoqHsI0fy-BxuwhFh/s1600/1479213_10201383232885213_1870981258_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoG9AcQlTtQgfRXnoVptDyNlszqByhJlN33jLtFS0-mMhc99L0tx8O7moPHSwbLKQnBk3TiB6X5kA4gUnAF3TbXB8EOY9HDFuFy1euhvR9s-N-cRzlNGdkhlzMmHZoqHsI0fy-BxuwhFh/s320/1479213_10201383232885213_1870981258_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">arts of the surface of the water in the canal were covered with a thin tracery
of ice, like scraps of some fine, delicate, lacy fabric, laid out ready to be
stitched together and made whole. And because the ice was so thin and
fragmented, you could see reflections in the water below, as well as
reflections in the ice itself, and everything looked slightly distorted. It
didn’t seem to bother the ducks though, because there were still able to swim
through the ice pieces, opening up pathways which closed again in their wake.
When the ice is thicker and more solid they skate around the surface, slipping
and sliding in comical fashion, but we haven’t reached that stage yet this
year.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2o8YUCibmiXXGeaY1CvYHX4vhbRYz5aXhCRsiv2F8Jr5Sp-strYD8UZrHJIiB1U9nANB7ATnDos4amXVe27ciMUf7LLr7pDYPOF5gRA5pmX58mDCVBbG6S5YgY1DLqCB_fVxHj1QXDmr/s1600/1555468_10201383253325724_2122743209_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2o8YUCibmiXXGeaY1CvYHX4vhbRYz5aXhCRsiv2F8Jr5Sp-strYD8UZrHJIiB1U9nANB7ATnDos4amXVe27ciMUf7LLr7pDYPOF5gRA5pmX58mDCVBbG6S5YgY1DLqCB_fVxHj1QXDmr/s320/1555468_10201383253325724_2122743209_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
were buds and catkins on some of trees and hedges (which seems very early in
the season to me), but others still bore scarlet berries and dead leaves on
their branches. And I saw a lovely, glossy male blackbird, perched on a twig in the
bold, cocky way they have, but just as I got near enough to take a picture, he
flew off! And I could hear birds singing, but have no idea what they are. Actually,
I have a CD of birdsong, and this year I want to spend time listening to
it, and if I focus on the birds which are common in this area, I might
eventually be able to recognise a few of them. I can but hope! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNm2VV6eWUEvvyOorBFYDQdSCioDEEZs4VaheurfVHzrPFYvit2uXH31Cs-MHGVJlh45PlvyOy_mTis6IGKylHT-69j66y4e-AuFwGaBk9V8kZu8vF_ee9OAKzxcliSED10MjIfqYDb7D/s1600/1505056_10201383261045917_189896169_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNm2VV6eWUEvvyOorBFYDQdSCioDEEZs4VaheurfVHzrPFYvit2uXH31Cs-MHGVJlh45PlvyOy_mTis6IGKylHT-69j66y4e-AuFwGaBk9V8kZu8vF_ee9OAKzxcliSED10MjIfqYDb7D/s320/1505056_10201383261045917_189896169_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oddest of all on my walk was an orange and black plastic ball, caught in the bank opposite the towpath, and reflected in the canal. The ducks kept swimming backwards and forwards at that spot, and dabbling their beaks in the reflection. They didn't seem to be able to make any sense of it - perhaps they thought it was something good to eat!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJO9vImoaIHoGBNFbalxrlyEyAKfKdNXvfc5W3q_0p-piFmYJ6tZ8kW0FdgtNj5jVl8VyyIYjXmvCy6vZ6y20lBDCpCTAFiZkCpNreefPBvxtCK4CdM7FDszNpG2H_Og0dGNajXhHiHgO/s1600/1511663_10201383253845737_1329484775_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJO9vImoaIHoGBNFbalxrlyEyAKfKdNXvfc5W3q_0p-piFmYJ6tZ8kW0FdgtNj5jVl8VyyIYjXmvCy6vZ6y20lBDCpCTAFiZkCpNreefPBvxtCK4CdM7FDszNpG2H_Og0dGNajXhHiHgO/s320/1511663_10201383253845737_1329484775_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And, before anyone asks, I have no idea what the connection is between the weather and St Hilary. I can only assume it was part of the Medieval weather lore which helped farmers decide which tasks should be undertaken at various stages of the year. St Hilary (whose name comes from the Latin for happy and cheerful) was a pagan doctor in France in the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4th </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Century, but was converted and became Bishop of Poitiers. He was exiled for what we would now call doctrinal differences, I suppose. He opposed a group of heretics who were favoured by </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">Emperor Constantius II. Eventually he returned to Poitiers, but during his exile he studied, and wrote books and hymns to support his beliefs, s</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">o his symbol is three books and a quill pen.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPeSlFVw0BGtuRs275QXfInV5NB3P2KsSqEOX9CopSBn38IsRC-SCf0Z859iYC2FvHxEeASR_NTTJJAFbiJ8fb2Q-u-oXvixLy5s9L2O1F27H2Y5MCxZt3bEqhPA2HSLwcj7kmfTKaAO0/s1600/1528475_10201383231405176_2097808223_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPeSlFVw0BGtuRs275QXfInV5NB3P2KsSqEOX9CopSBn38IsRC-SCf0Z859iYC2FvHxEeASR_NTTJJAFbiJ8fb2Q-u-oXvixLy5s9L2O1F27H2Y5MCxZt3bEqhPA2HSLwcj7kmfTKaAO0/s320/1528475_10201383231405176_2097808223_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
lives of the Saints fascinate me, and I like to try and dream up suitable
celebrations for them, so I think St Hilary calls for a spot of writing – and ice
cream!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-24392212837010231952014-01-11T11:09:00.000+00:002014-01-11T11:14:45.348+00:00A Palace Upon Pillars...<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Well,
I was going to post up some photos from my trip to the Mary Rose Museum in
Portsmouth, but I’ve had a day trip to London this week, to visit my Younger
Daughter, and one of the places we saw was this fantastic ‘Paleys Upon Pilers’,
so I couldn’t resist showing it on <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/">Saturday Snapshot</a>. This was
created as part of the celebrations for the Olympics in 2012, and you can find
it at Aldgate, where the oldest gate into the city once stood – it’s thought the
original entrance dates all the way back to Roman times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBidVu_oWauwyWhqDZqhh3Z45zTzLYisFRL5J72DFdS5_VtlIjkDoHVFs9Zq3g1U0u6JgC_AFzV0vPZ4Co2RgaBP5KzDZivnku4DXyF85m6wfKC_rXiWCng8STybCvpVbnuxLJmplJBgwL/s1600/DSC02684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBidVu_oWauwyWhqDZqhh3Z45zTzLYisFRL5J72DFdS5_VtlIjkDoHVFs9Zq3g1U0u6JgC_AFzV0vPZ4Co2RgaBP5KzDZivnku4DXyF85m6wfKC_rXiWCng8STybCvpVbnuxLJmplJBgwL/s1600/DSC02684.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Chaucerian fantasy: The 'Paleys Upon <br />
Pilars' at Aldgate, London.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
were various buildings here over the centuries, and between 1374 and 1386 the
poet Geoffrey Chaucer (who was working as a customs official at that time)
lived in a room above the gate. The Parliament of Fowls and The House of Fame,
two of his early works, were written there, and it is these poems that inspired
the <span style="background: white;">‘</span>Paleys Upon Pilers’, or Palace upon
Pillars as we would call it on the 21</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size: 13px;">st</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Century. Both poems describe
strange buildings raised high over the surrounding landscape, and when you read
them it’s easy to imagine that Chaucer must have been influenced by his bird’s
eye view of the city, and the noise, and the hustle and bustle around him.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFOSA2aiXjY9G74AQzeuG9txZAkADc28dGIq-DF85Yg29rpvEQfG71LBc9swkLOGBjBeE_XQtqf_pIjjXbl1Vj54bA0H6_6BMwMOr4zZ8gZC-uLW4a-ROIgB7FmSaTVQEDEv8WrGY7O1U/s1600/DSC02687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFOSA2aiXjY9G74AQzeuG9txZAkADc28dGIq-DF85Yg29rpvEQfG71LBc9swkLOGBjBeE_XQtqf_pIjjXbl1Vj54bA0H6_6BMwMOr4zZ8gZC-uLW4a-ROIgB7FmSaTVQEDEv8WrGY7O1U/s1600/DSC02687.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up on the roof... Or through the roof to be precise!<br />
The wooden structure is open to the elements.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">His
poetic architecture includes a temple of glass built on pillars, as well as a wooden
house made like a cage or basket, with a thousand holes in the roof. This is
full of the ‘whisperings and prattling’ that men and women still talk about
more than 600 years later - war, peace, love, hate, work, travel, relationships,
the weather, food, the government…</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
like the way today’s Palace upon Pillars echoes the imaginary buildings in the
poems, and the real buildings, made of wood, that existed in Chaucer’s time,
and for centuries before that. The wood forms beautiful patterns against the
sky, and the pillars are decorated in red, blue and gold, using designs based
on old illuminated manuscripts of Chaucer’s work (he was writing before the
invention of the printing press). And there is, apparently, a carved wooden owl
up in the eaves, but we missed this, because we didn’t know it was there, which
is a shame, because my daughter loves owls.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktSrF7gyXJOxAaExxrkPzkLOJ81aN7OY44m5SF3QbL5UFHTLwXys-PbbgwV_CqWhi0WZRvXWkYIetxzChRSgE_it6DLdhlttAH8A3gwi3Q2Wd_aymy5i5Q7kT2JQRbEhNE5n48O9DhrMn/s1600/DSC02686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktSrF7gyXJOxAaExxrkPzkLOJ81aN7OY44m5SF3QbL5UFHTLwXys-PbbgwV_CqWhi0WZRvXWkYIetxzChRSgE_it6DLdhlttAH8A3gwi3Q2Wd_aymy5i5Q7kT2JQRbEhNE5n48O9DhrMn/s1600/DSC02686.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the pillars, decorated in red blue<br />
and gold, which doesn't shine out in the <br />
photo like it did in real life.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s
surrounded by people and traffic, just as the old gate would have been, with
travellers bringing news and new ideas to the city. And the ideas contained in
Chaucer’s poems engage us just us much today as they did then. Our modern
society is obsessed with celebrity culture, and in The House of Fame reflects
on the nature of fame, while in the The Parliament of Fowls birds choose their
mates and discuss the meaning of love.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvClVqC6KYfISxq4o4I2iVkhEmrc2lZZyeStlZ5B3xtv3d8edXWrgB5iAVlQdlQ0bntxdRZKEQ1_PX2cfm0n1lenXvrsN9W7fYo0NvkuwGi36APYRAhdYgWK0Ex8bntGw_YLCJfEPVOth/s1600/chaucer+palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvClVqC6KYfISxq4o4I2iVkhEmrc2lZZyeStlZ5B3xtv3d8edXWrgB5iAVlQdlQ0bntxdRZKEQ1_PX2cfm0n1lenXvrsN9W7fYo0NvkuwGi36APYRAhdYgWK0Ex8bntGw_YLCJfEPVOth/s1600/chaucer+palace.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An illuminated manuscript of<br />
Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's<br />
best-known work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Apparently
the structure, commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants,
and designed by the architectural firm <a href="http://www.studioweave.com/projects/paleys-upon-pilers-aldgate/">Studio
Weave</a>, was intended to stand for three months, but it’s still there, and I
hope it remains, as a tribute to the past and present. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
the way, if you’ve not come across these particular works of Chaucer (I’ve read
the Parliament of Fowls before, but The
house of Fame was new to me) you can find modern English prose translations of
both poems <a href="http://machias.edu/faculty/necastro/chaucer/index.html">here</a>
and poetic versions (which I prefer) <a href="http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/English/Dreamhome.htm">here</a>.
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Saturday
Snapshot is hosted by Melinda, at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/">West Metro Mummy</a> - click
to follow the links to other participants).</span></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyL34rk2xLWgMXmVi9vo5jATgL78zfHhVuZDsnYoI7lXqmjG9bfgrbGLu8mTbDbeSep_z73Q2zzhMlgWMuPZo-MxzN1YNJBmmwJ2fvGrpqDzQ8QSuEU186o0NlywBBO8sLHegg4NRP3xb/s1600/DSC02689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyL34rk2xLWgMXmVi9vo5jATgL78zfHhVuZDsnYoI7lXqmjG9bfgrbGLu8mTbDbeSep_z73Q2zzhMlgWMuPZo-MxzN1YNJBmmwJ2fvGrpqDzQ8QSuEU186o0NlywBBO8sLHegg4NRP3xb/s1600/DSC02689.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We thought this information plaque, set into the ground,<br />
was easily overlooked - but the structure didn't seem to<br />
be well advertised.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #191919; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-23248709470113398552014-01-04T13:20:00.001+00:002014-01-04T13:20:38.376+00:00A Trip to HMS Victory<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmPElr75lY04IJAeoDplvZnC1QKKOhMLvANg8-s26U1TfahWZ6waZKwJtSYDC1XrgX9exaWU_CQk2iPZieT2cI1gHVE-0SlHal0EKt2op5834NuPpBxVM_0M67ioN7XjeIfqO2Wdn7ssf/s1600/DSC_0250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmPElr75lY04IJAeoDplvZnC1QKKOhMLvANg8-s26U1TfahWZ6waZKwJtSYDC1XrgX9exaWU_CQk2iPZieT2cI1gHVE-0SlHal0EKt2op5834NuPpBxVM_0M67ioN7XjeIfqO2Wdn7ssf/s320/DSC_0250.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship, which led the British fleet<br />to Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1905.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Way
back in the autumn (it seems such a long time ago now), the Man of the House
and I spent a long weekend down on the south coast. The weather was dire (it
still is) but nevertheless we had a wonderful time, and spent a day in
Portsmouth, where we looked round Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, which was
absolutely fascinating. I took the camera with me, but stupidly forgot to
charge the battery before we went. However, before it died on me I did manage
to get a few pictures of Victory, which I’m putting up for this week’s <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: white; color: #4a9065; line-height: 25.625px; text-decoration: none;">Saturday Snapshot</a>, as well as some of Henry VIII’s
ship, the Mary Rose (I’ll try to remember to post piccies of that next week).</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4_zE_ozH8_ToqOgGR1s4KLEG_OXXj-pnXfZcXigI3lyBTswH-AvfIJaX-4Q_uX3pKsPJdqzezwCc5moj8v121TySMVx7PS77qT0BVQMgswiStQixv88rRbMyKh1mMtnDPx9mmV8F_Xi0/s1600/DSC_0283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4_zE_ozH8_ToqOgGR1s4KLEG_OXXj-pnXfZcXigI3lyBTswH-AvfIJaX-4Q_uX3pKsPJdqzezwCc5moj8v121TySMVx7PS77qT0BVQMgswiStQixv88rRbMyKh1mMtnDPx9mmV8F_Xi0/s320/DSC_0283.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sightlines: Once upon a time this gun (or is it a cannon?) would <br />have been used in war, and you would have seen a battle<br />raging outside, but all we saw was rain! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">HMS
Victory is, apparently, the oldest commissioned warship in the world, completed
in 1765, but not commissioned until 1778, and the facts and figures about its
history and construction are amazing. She (I should call Victory she, not it –
ships are always female, don’t ask me why!) has 26 miles of rigging, and 6,510 square
yards of sail and was designed to carry 100 guns.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuvLCWbLpYDtz-KaQHx2-QE-mXuTg-4qck3ylDdjaFbgu6CP-s8iINPmS9-JkfKGVNp-mVmIzjSOUF9QMKYhyphenhyphennTVqz1hjleMMpFlDdHIWL8yxmwpx0TnLWdaZ5IVW4yJNaLYFOOx5YieC/s1600/DSC_0272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuvLCWbLpYDtz-KaQHx2-QE-mXuTg-4qck3ylDdjaFbgu6CP-s8iINPmS9-JkfKGVNp-mVmIzjSOUF9QMKYhyphenhyphennTVqz1hjleMMpFlDdHIWL8yxmwpx0TnLWdaZ5IVW4yJNaLYFOOx5YieC/s320/DSC_0272.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man and ropes! The Man of the House up on one of the decks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All
I knew about her was that Admiral Horatio Nelson died on board after he was
shot during the Battle of Trafalgar, when the British beat the French, so I looked
it up and found that 27 British ships defeated a combined force of 33 French
and Spanish ships, off the south west coast of Spain, near Cape Trafalgar. For
some reason I thought Trafalgar was in Belgium, but I think I may have confused
it with Waterloo!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEd0wO46Rf2-oYKsTAtRQLH3L_tBHBt1yVugVecRXA7h6TUOvmFkdMJnoseiY28E90pl4IXCc2AkYNUPw_LbEQo4hH8ReAoKpIiaPlvJF4bPrMM4DiGJd3tTYNc4HVNODtsh1T0o-gPln0/s1600/DSC_0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEd0wO46Rf2-oYKsTAtRQLH3L_tBHBt1yVugVecRXA7h6TUOvmFkdMJnoseiY28E90pl4IXCc2AkYNUPw_LbEQo4hH8ReAoKpIiaPlvJF4bPrMM4DiGJd3tTYNc4HVNODtsh1T0o-gPln0/s320/DSC_0268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no idea of the technical terminology - I just wanted to <br />get a shot looking up at one of the masts!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Actually,
it came as something of a shock to see just how small the Victory was. It must
have been so cramped for the 820 men on board, very dark and uncomfortable, and
pretty dangerous as well, since this was a warship, and they had no guarantee
they would ever make it back home, for they ran the risk of being killed in
action, or dying from wounds or disease. Some were ‘pressed’ into action, but
many more had chosen to join because life in His Majesty’s Navy was better than
life ashore – at least they had an income, and regular meals (however awful the
food may have been).</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfC3dx3-SWn2-HLLRyrMLKygHs2YY4UhHJ_9yfkPVu6PPRaE6PrN_4fMrG3qHXiI1GK2BGrN9PvCEzBzUVDiYesdRh3-i0q6muOBTs85rfXbS0-XGAt9Kgj1ZL8HhLEZvxNK-JhPeYs9O/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfC3dx3-SWn2-HLLRyrMLKygHs2YY4UhHJ_9yfkPVu6PPRaE6PrN_4fMrG3qHXiI1GK2BGrN9PvCEzBzUVDiYesdRh3-i0q6muOBTs85rfXbS0-XGAt9Kgj1ZL8HhLEZvxNK-JhPeYs9O/s320/DSC_0278.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dishes and containers for the men were all made of wood,<br />and you can see the hammocks strung up behind the table.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And
I’d thought of the men as all being sailors – wrong again, because there was a
hierarchy. At the top of the ranks were the officers, and the non-commissioned
officers who included specialists like the ship’s master, the bosun, the
surgeon, the gunner, the carpenter, the purser (who was 67, which must have
been pretty old in those days) and the cook, as well as midshipmen. Then there
were petty officers, able seamen, ordinary seaman, landsmen who had never been
to sea before, and 40 boys – one just 12 years old. In addition to that there
were four Royal Marine officers and 149 marines, who were a sea-based unit of
soldiers.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hjJUsn5SWs8hyphenhyphen6HiinvGD2lunMuBxP_fXHCjwZgBRDVSeP8blX0ZpEdTLY7RjnnVfb01BssNi0diNwi-c1JwLnKbQieNxmTkxpxOQW6sztUyzBdHuh8Ae-ovu-3CTxu2UcEhdYkiAt2M/s1600/DSC_0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hjJUsn5SWs8hyphenhyphen6HiinvGD2lunMuBxP_fXHCjwZgBRDVSeP8blX0ZpEdTLY7RjnnVfb01BssNi0diNwi-c1JwLnKbQieNxmTkxpxOQW6sztUyzBdHuh8Ae-ovu-3CTxu2UcEhdYkiAt2M/s320/DSC_0277.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up view of a hammock... not at all what I imagined.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s
the details about the men who lived and worked on board that I found most
interesting. There’s masses of information about them as you walk around, and the
most charming serving naval officers act as guides, to answer questions and
explain what went on 200 years ago. The narrow hammocks, made from strong
material, with proper sides were another surprise – they in no way resembled
the flat, swinging, knotted string bedding of my imagination. But they must
have been difficult to get into, and they were not very big. I think they are
about 16 inches wide, so those Georgian sailors must have been jolly fit, and
jolly thin!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJthaI0dnv1rzeOxdtNFO_BCE5ULGsn4dogiwOgRJVjoMrT7Y3EjGh5WmnJh-MF9XkbvvHeo240AneTErUcSgHoCA5qMcAABdvR2moBEADylAX8AsSctor5UQicgE1wNYpBgsNgdSzYnAV/s1600/DSC_0288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJthaI0dnv1rzeOxdtNFO_BCE5ULGsn4dogiwOgRJVjoMrT7Y3EjGh5WmnJh-MF9XkbvvHeo240AneTErUcSgHoCA5qMcAABdvR2moBEADylAX8AsSctor5UQicgE1wNYpBgsNgdSzYnAV/s320/DSC_0288.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The galley: I reckon this is smaller than my kitchen!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
I never dreamed the galley would be so small! It was dwarfed by the huge iron
cooking range - however did anyone ever manage to cater for almost 1,000 men in
that confined space? And what about the chickens and pigs kept on board to
provide some fresh food!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6U7AjAadw6ZxKwTJ3_mg6ajPpHz1008vhoT0xcT-Dmui9QPIgOBusUomZgeg_vGloihyXy0oTFwOWt-jN1AkOOR8L9r8QEfJFjCSQQKz6Z5brOizCcbtidRFRU0KcHrFQJC3ogstDv20f/s1600/DSC_0286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6U7AjAadw6ZxKwTJ3_mg6ajPpHz1008vhoT0xcT-Dmui9QPIgOBusUomZgeg_vGloihyXy0oTFwOWt-jN1AkOOR8L9r8QEfJFjCSQQKz6Z5brOizCcbtidRFRU0KcHrFQJC3ogstDv20f/s320/DSC_0286.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cooking range - would you like to cook on that? At sea? <br />In rough weather? What with this, and lanterns, and candles,<br />and all gunpowder on board I'm amazed there was never a<br />fire or explosion!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Even
more astonishing are the Admiral’s quarters, which are positively luxurious compared
to the space where the ordinary crew members slept and ate. Nelson’s bed, or ‘cot’ as it was called,
looks bigger and more comfortable than the hammocks used by the crew, and was
hung with drapery embroidered by Lady Emma Hamilton (a replica is on display). And
his dining room wouldn’t have looked out of place in an elegant stately home of
the period, with fashionable furniture, delicate china and fragile glassware –
I dread to think what the breakage rate must have been like in rough weather!</span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjbBtJbnsjYCWdPWh2sFgnHzeX2T8_VjU2YE9uwhrAdzr8ZNVOfZZ9ZGZrw6aSSQf8x0QiaJKQ8ozKImI_RE3zlPi3BDA44RPfMhyphenhyphen0_TlcfzOU4HHwnSukkgVpPXiOH5RGki7dZSZVaZP/s1600/DSC_0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjbBtJbnsjYCWdPWh2sFgnHzeX2T8_VjU2YE9uwhrAdzr8ZNVOfZZ9ZGZrw6aSSQf8x0QiaJKQ8ozKImI_RE3zlPi3BDA44RPfMhyphenhyphen0_TlcfzOU4HHwnSukkgVpPXiOH5RGki7dZSZVaZP/s320/DSC_0261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Admiral's Quarters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However,
life for the men was much less grand: they had to make do with mugs and
platters made from wood, which had the advantage of being cheap, and
unbreakable. Breakfast was normally cold oatmeal porridge, and there was often
some kind of stew, made with salt meat, in the middle of the day, while the
evening meal was more likely to be ship’s biscuits and cheese.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBTP_DR2cUgku6Gz2oNW9tZ6Po5BQuAfInt8sFQkD5WsyhtB2EmAB_CAbDXTRxlssEQfCB7AZP42Lt_YMbRUcx8frdEt2M2bjrSkNmKOQCHoPhAxP9tLgkoSHub5_VO84iNTqHgQh1aQZ/s1600/DSC_0284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBTP_DR2cUgku6Gz2oNW9tZ6Po5BQuAfInt8sFQkD5WsyhtB2EmAB_CAbDXTRxlssEQfCB7AZP42Lt_YMbRUcx8frdEt2M2bjrSkNmKOQCHoPhAxP9tLgkoSHub5_VO84iNTqHgQh1aQZ/s320/DSC_0284.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Men had chests to store their possessions - the scarlet jacket<br />is part of a marine's uniform.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fresh
water went off quickly so, according to the guide book, the daily rations
usually included eight pints of beer. That’s a gallon of beer a day – just
imagine that sloshing around inside you all the time! When you stop and think
that there were 820 men on board, all drinking a gallon of beer a day for the
duration of a voyage, you can see it adds up to an awful lot of alcohol, which
was all stored in barrels down in the hold. Gunpowder, food and water was also
kept down, along with vast quantities of iron shot, and baskets of shingle,
which could be moved around to ‘trim’ the ship and improve sailing performance.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One, two, three... BANG!!! Re-enacting firing a gun.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
ship had to be kept clean, and the decks were scoured with ‘holystones’, which
were blocks of sandstone, cut to the size and shape of a Bible. But we didn’t
see any provision for washing facilities for the men. Perhaps they didn’t bother,
because fresh water was in such short supply, or perhaps they hauled a bucket
of sea water on board and doused themselves in that. And don’t even think about
toilets. All they had was a bench, right up by the bow or the head of the ship…
and there were holes in the bench, open to the sea down below! Isn't that horrible? </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjRbr4fkm6yL4pyOuYDheMflPlAqf6OiV8JJFGhyphenhyphen0C6BmAEHdXKzWG0_5MWdjuGL8Yr9U2vfFC_wTkBKk9mFp6ub7qMB-eaax5TqzyQ9SgFV2WzgdO1iUtIAkjI2ItWaYnm8WoDQ8ShWa/s1600/DSC_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjRbr4fkm6yL4pyOuYDheMflPlAqf6OiV8JJFGhyphenhyphen0C6BmAEHdXKzWG0_5MWdjuGL8Yr9U2vfFC_wTkBKk9mFp6ub7qMB-eaax5TqzyQ9SgFV2WzgdO1iUtIAkjI2ItWaYnm8WoDQ8ShWa/s320/DSC_0281.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leg irons, known as bilboes, were a form of<br />punishment. Sailors were also lashed with the <br />cat o'nine tails for things like theft or insolence.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As an unexpected bonus, our
visit coincided with Trafalgar Day Celebrations (the battle took place on
October 21, 1905 ), so we were lucky enough to see a re-enactment showing how a
canon was fired - but without actually firing it for real, which was a bit
peculiar, but there would certainly been an outcry if they used live ammunition!</span> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were ropes and wheels and stuff<br />all over the place - you had to watch<br />your feet and not trip over!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
saw the spot where Nelson died, and a barrel like the one in which his body was
‘pickled’ to preserve it for burial when they finally got back home. I’d heard
this tale before and always thought it was a myth, but apparently it really is
true. They stuck the body in a barrel of brandy, and I think they added other
stuff to help with the preservation – a bit like making brandied peaches!
Thankfully, the barrel on display is a reproduction, and is about as tall as
me, so it must be around five feet, which may not be all that big for a person,
but is pretty large for a barrel. And that seems like a good place to finish!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1J3MTyG_xVuQ-jnieKsOtbbgkGvVxUCgxMKzKLZkx6-v2vUR9cUnNbkFPU89b9FubiPuybtFn-ZKfxkw_jrlOWeH4EbHiDfh74JCk5C69ti7wPSQ_OwHjvci39C52u7lK4XMrp3XPSnp3/s1600/HoratioNelson1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1J3MTyG_xVuQ-jnieKsOtbbgkGvVxUCgxMKzKLZkx6-v2vUR9cUnNbkFPU89b9FubiPuybtFn-ZKfxkw_jrlOWeH4EbHiDfh74JCk5C69ti7wPSQ_OwHjvci39C52u7lK4XMrp3XPSnp3/s320/HoratioNelson1.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nelson, painted by Lemuel Francis Abbott.</td></tr>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 25.625px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*(Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda, at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" style="color: #4a9065; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">West Metro Mummy</a> - click to follow the links to other participants).</span></i></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-29150724831009231582014-01-01T10:13:00.002+00:002014-01-01T11:13:49.362+00:00Best Foot Forward for 2014...<div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 25.625px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Gateway to the past - or door to the future? This ruined arch</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">is thought to be part of the old Friary that once stood in Lichfield.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">‘Tis the First of January, the month named after the Roman God Janus, who had two heads (back to back) and was therefore able to look backwards and forwards at the same time, to the past and the future. He was the Guardian of Gates and Doors, Custodian of the Universe, and the God of Beginnings. Presumably that’s why our New Year has become a time for reflecting on the year that’s gone, and considering what lies ahead over the next 12 months – and it offers the chance for us to make amends for past mistakes, and create ourselves anew as better, happier people.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAh2ziJFIqPZy_9p9WkXyRPQSXaGXUjdu5KuwHZfdHMDPGhdduCWqoJmk9LlTf1huGkd_VODMXpz5Yk8Ryqr56LHY09RLjpd5NFk32TfORux91CLp6_9VxkGOzfrwf9kEGkNKR3GV-Y0ST/s1600/DSC02274.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAh2ziJFIqPZy_9p9WkXyRPQSXaGXUjdu5KuwHZfdHMDPGhdduCWqoJmk9LlTf1huGkd_VODMXpz5Yk8Ryqr56LHY09RLjpd5NFk32TfORux91CLp6_9VxkGOzfrwf9kEGkNKR3GV-Y0ST/s320/DSC02274.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">It doesn't take long to walk down to Tamworth Castle,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">but it always looks glorious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And that, of course, is what all those New Year’s Resolutions are about, as I noted at the start of January last year (actually, I've lifted the opening paragraph here from that piece, but never mind - inspiration is a little lacking this morning). At that stage my aim was to try and get fitter by eating more sensibly, with no snacking between meals, and no junk food, and to walk for at least 20 minutes every day. I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, slimmed down from size 16 to 10, and felt much better.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nbqfLjSBat5bpiPw3hOgBm16X8SUgZEKxbnm9XosaiDlFCb8ISWpbezv43s154pS5GU6WbFREjT6G1C1Yyia0Cxnw9lRFuXkIVg7VSfJvyE3CbmPdCMCXYcE8zaj1MIpzFO5erUX1W2r/s1600/Walking+boots.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nbqfLjSBat5bpiPw3hOgBm16X8SUgZEKxbnm9XosaiDlFCb8ISWpbezv43s154pS5GU6WbFREjT6G1C1Yyia0Cxnw9lRFuXkIVg7VSfJvyE3CbmPdCMCXYcE8zaj1MIpzFO5erUX1W2r/s320/Walking+boots.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">These boots are made for walking!</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Having bought proper walking boots (with pink laces!!!) I explored the local area on foot, noted the passing of the seasons, researched some local history, and learned a lot about plants and wildlife, as well as clambering up hills and cliffs on holidays - which was a real achievement. And I halved the time it takes me to walk from my house to the local railway station, which I thought was real achievement (walking into town still takes me ages, because I go through the Castle Grounds, and keep stopping to look at the river, the ducks, swans and geese, the flowers, the trees, the Castle...).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLXtQv8NqQJsvNIuLeIso3l1y3dlmxvCUof-FXrJLEeJ0rlFb_UIEvcj5Kwe-d5By_oE27eknPFRxauXoWxlqd8mj688W9uVatQ94wI-dMO_8qIOw_aaC0QM404_0s1qNg5w3M9zN2MLR/s1600/DSC01685.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLXtQv8NqQJsvNIuLeIso3l1y3dlmxvCUof-FXrJLEeJ0rlFb_UIEvcj5Kwe-d5By_oE27eknPFRxauXoWxlqd8mj688W9uVatQ94wI-dMO_8qIOw_aaC0QM404_0s1qNg5w3M9zN2MLR/s320/DSC01685.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">I was thrilled to spot this heron on an</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">early morning walk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I started recording the things I saw on my walks with a little 'point and shoot' camera, and enjoyed it so much I've progressed to a bigger, better, more complicated one (I'm still learning how to use it). I've had tremendous fun with this, and in 2014 I'm hoping to be a bit more organised - I'd like to take some pictures of my favourite places to show how they change during the year.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifeJj9NqS3Fd8ZFju2IvnE6Qo15gTDuC4N5Yz1Ghkdr1GohAZAcB9avdV_wSzDiZp7gAjJocGaurW2upxaS4SFja2S_NOheAJh7SN6to_CqZ5YwMNNvlOjTkrWzUedcgExkfdMmZeLWtvS/s1600/burnet+moth.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifeJj9NqS3Fd8ZFju2IvnE6Qo15gTDuC4N5Yz1Ghkdr1GohAZAcB9avdV_wSzDiZp7gAjJocGaurW2upxaS4SFja2S_NOheAJh7SN6to_CqZ5YwMNNvlOjTkrWzUedcgExkfdMmZeLWtvS/s320/burnet+moth.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">I saw a group of burnet moths on knapweed flowers</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">at a local nature reserve, and sat in the sunshine</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">watching them - my photo brings back memories</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">of a lovely walk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But I haven't been very good over the last couple of months, and I've been very slothful and very greedy over Christmas so, once again, here I am on the First of January resolving to eat sensibly and take more exercise. Hopefully, it won't take me that long to get back into shape, and in a few weeks I'll be feeling happier and more energetic!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-uCYjQIs4TY-ta-GVlbE0n5DU758-oUAJXC4dCr8Se7B-GT-W9ijcRIyPYt7AYbTPIN7dEU72jRekSzYNYgqkQGQXouenTTbwj2F1zOeH-8nv14U86LX7jH4BoNiCM3yWXUZ4jg7W6q5/s1600/boots+and+dress+2+(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-uCYjQIs4TY-ta-GVlbE0n5DU758-oUAJXC4dCr8Se7B-GT-W9ijcRIyPYt7AYbTPIN7dEU72jRekSzYNYgqkQGQXouenTTbwj2F1zOeH-8nv14U86LX7jH4BoNiCM3yWXUZ4jg7W6q5/s320/boots+and+dress+2+(2).jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Birthday boots... I wore my</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">walking boots with a favourite dress</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">on a Birthday Treat to Oxford,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">but it's not a look I'd recommend,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">even though they're so comfy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First though, I need to clean my boots, and spray them with some more waterproof stuff. I must admit, they a lot scruffier now than they do in this photo, which is the one I took when I first had them, and I loved them so much I nearly didn't wear them, for fear of spoiling of them!!! I'm aware that pink laces may be regarded as frivolous for a woman who wants to be taken seriously, but they make me smile every time I look down at my feet. And the boots are so comfortable I love them just as much now as I did a year ago, and I've worn them everywhere - even when wearing posh frocks! I tell you people, until you have worn footwear designed to for walking, you have no idea how uncomfortable fashion flatties and spindly heels actually are.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Bust of the Roman God Janus, from the Vatican</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Museum. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)</span></div>
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Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-28105453340471566402013-12-14T16:55:00.002+00:002013-12-14T16:55:35.729+00:00Speaking Machines, Mechanical Birds, and Evolution!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBE3z1zRzXorkqgm8JLArmZZ7D0elOfRAiScVZDobLjWKh0mw6HWJ0rVzwFVZUTsLSd4943KSXFlvn-nRD9F03nAwmfUIBnxAq9Kp6SHqtC3ETinCLuP5ljNhkVrDWBsidx4MHDCU2RGpK/s1600/DSC01940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBE3z1zRzXorkqgm8JLArmZZ7D0elOfRAiScVZDobLjWKh0mw6HWJ0rVzwFVZUTsLSd4943KSXFlvn-nRD9F03nAwmfUIBnxAq9Kp6SHqtC3ETinCLuP5ljNhkVrDWBsidx4MHDCU2RGpK/s320/DSC01940.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spectacular view of Lichfield Cathedral<br />
from a window at Erasmus Darwin House -<br />
imagine enjoying that view ever day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">A couple of weeks back my Younger Daughter popped home on a flying visit, so on the Friday
morning we decided we wanted to go out, but we’re both a bit short of cash at
the moment, so it had to be somewhere near, easy to get to, and cheap - plus it
had to be an ‘inside place’ because it was pouring with rain! Erasmus
Darwin’s House, at Lichfield, fitted the bill on all counts, and we had a
lovely time learning about the man who was Charles Darwin’s grandfather,
followed by tea and cake in one of the city’s cafes (home-made strawberry
cheesecake and tea in a china pot – Lichfield is very civilised like that!). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxWsTU0ejLpRlA6GccNrWoYoRjvN4u5RWOf4XdZai9YLFqi9k1BqTG8ELc1A5QDy6O9Nng9QvZLnV4W7GcIqJCTFtWq8trOC_VxMw0-QNAN_K2kfvyakMgD4BX5AYyTalRQpg3t2DiJyH/s1600/DSC01883+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxWsTU0ejLpRlA6GccNrWoYoRjvN4u5RWOf4XdZai9YLFqi9k1BqTG8ELc1A5QDy6O9Nng9QvZLnV4W7GcIqJCTFtWq8trOC_VxMw0-QNAN_K2kfvyakMgD4BX5AYyTalRQpg3t2DiJyH/s320/DSC01883+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon Tea then (above) and now (below). Things<br />
haven't changed that much, but in Erasmus Darwin's<br />
time tea was very expensive - if you look carefully you<br />
can see a metal caddy, where tea was locked away.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicIbLCC3_bwPzfEClquEu7dFnKHdb6TU-Tq2zALSqiFNN0BDKHRxGHqW-jZRscQMGMjeaIOKVXnby7hhW3jC_rXivrZ_FIc6V4OWDkRjDXXGCyNP1EpKf6qGm54bgVpQv2k_ctBil3H05/s1600/Em+Lichfld+Tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicIbLCC3_bwPzfEClquEu7dFnKHdb6TU-Tq2zALSqiFNN0BDKHRxGHqW-jZRscQMGMjeaIOKVXnby7hhW3jC_rXivrZ_FIc6V4OWDkRjDXXGCyNP1EpKf6qGm54bgVpQv2k_ctBil3H05/s320/Em+Lichfld+Tea.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">And,
since people outside Lichfield never seem to have heard of Erasmus, I thought
I’d share some photos on <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/">Saturday
Snapshot</a>, because he’s a fascinating character who really does deserve a
wider audience.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> And today seemed a good time, because Thursday (December 12) was the anniversary of his birth in 1731, and there are all sorts of activities going on there all weekend.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKqGqYBmxhNAeYicKj1kVS9QolH5ecVT5eY_OAohhhBBboW6OIXbeIghDsxAipLwDpAok6Qxgrfbp8_ZP2IeuT9_QcGds_JIvIVVf5Q-TbCtz74v_emKumAzGKJeBv46K2E7UY0Rx_SOt/s1600/erasmus+darwin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKqGqYBmxhNAeYicKj1kVS9QolH5ecVT5eY_OAohhhBBboW6OIXbeIghDsxAipLwDpAok6Qxgrfbp8_ZP2IeuT9_QcGds_JIvIVVf5Q-TbCtz74v_emKumAzGKJeBv46K2E7UY0Rx_SOt/s320/erasmus+darwin.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A portrait of Erasmus Darwin, taken off the<br />
Erasmus Darwin Foundation website.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Erasmus
was one of those 18th Century polymaths who seemed to be an expert at
everything – the extent of his knowledge and expertise just takes my breath
away. He was a physician (I love that word, it sounds so much better than a
plain old doctor), scientist, inventor, poet and philosopher, and wrote about
evolution long before his grandson got in on the act! He had great curiosity in
the world around him, and observed and recorded things in a very detached and
methodical way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He
was a newly qualified physician when he moved to Lichfield in 1756, aged just
25, and quickly became renowned for his ideas and skills. George III asked him to be the Royal Physician, but Erasmus turned the offer down, preferring to remain independent.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJwF7VRHeIIGMNzBj1RiwU_FW07p-l7Tqr1BhW-xhBHy4hKMskisR-y1uYkav58dYggunfNvwKS9OOpDCs9xcg7FX2r6IvUK67bjGooAGq3oS_SRbKYyqhLlvGeM946iqHX5MYNItSw9J/s1600/DSC02519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJwF7VRHeIIGMNzBj1RiwU_FW07p-l7Tqr1BhW-xhBHy4hKMskisR-y1uYkav58dYggunfNvwKS9OOpDCs9xcg7FX2r6IvUK67bjGooAGq3oS_SRbKYyqhLlvGeM946iqHX5MYNItSw9J/s320/DSC02519.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darwin House: The posh front entrance! The white,<br />
ghostly shape in the top, left-hand window, is a model<br />
of Erasmus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He was a leading
member of the Lunar Society, a group of Midlands-based friends, whose work gained
them national acclaim and helped power the industrial revolution. The circle
included James Watt (the steam engine man) and pottery manufacturer Josiah
Wedgwood, and the informal club (a kind of ‘think-tank’ I guess) gathered once
a month, when the moon was full, so they could see their way home! And they
called themselves ‘lunaticks’! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway,
Darwin and his wife bought an old Medieval house, and he promptly embarked on
an improvement scheme, enlarging it and building a stylish new frontage looking
out on to Beacon Street. I believe the correct term for it is Palladian, but I
always say Georgian – all symmetrical, with steps and big windows.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobb5_cJG_hnBfbTcvM2deYhqa9v2vWU7f-p-LpjA9qJQKrr_qAVPZUmDa4fLtXnQP2pXSNOlsVZimOqLq1tAUqsTRBCIfzr97JDRWA4CDVJKVhVTdgMK5U0khMOMswF4hTAusog_c0Quv/s1600/DSC02512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobb5_cJG_hnBfbTcvM2deYhqa9v2vWU7f-p-LpjA9qJQKrr_qAVPZUmDa4fLtXnQP2pXSNOlsVZimOqLq1tAUqsTRBCIfzr97JDRWA4CDVJKVhVTdgMK5U0khMOMswF4hTAusog_c0Quv/s320/DSC02512.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steps up to the door - I'll bet it it seemed a long, steep<br />
climb after a night out with the 'Lunatiks'.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The
back part of the house remained unchanged, and is less imposing, but much
nicer, and this is where the entrance used by visitors. You reach it along a little
alley from The Close (the area around the Cathedral –I’ll put up some more
pictures from around there another day, because it really is very beautiful,
and very historic). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oL8Y4FZSeUvdAnGknPREE5HUgXRrcY6oprvM4gnLX_mgtG99nm6gYUnsZk4-f9qRCoWzWvLDVoCotjjmbsXvwM4je6E7Gt7WoaZ7m-zD5v2gSRb4iu-VJUExoBL5QuiRciHJplVZZARj/s1600/DSC01878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oL8Y4FZSeUvdAnGknPREE5HUgXRrcY6oprvM4gnLX_mgtG99nm6gYUnsZk4-f9qRCoWzWvLDVoCotjjmbsXvwM4je6E7Gt7WoaZ7m-zD5v2gSRb4iu-VJUExoBL5QuiRciHJplVZZARj/s320/DSC01878.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my Daughter in the alley which runs<br />
along the back of historic old houses and <br />
leads to Erasmus Darwin House.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The
little gardens have been planted out into areas with sweet-smelling medicinal
and culinary herbs, and are absolutely glorious in the summer. On a nice day you
can sit there with a good book, soaking up the sunshine and inhaling the fragrant
air, and it’s absolutely idyllic.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYpm3vQsaakpXTZHQzmKtf04PDxAM30UpHBl5YiwPs8wQeEsmPC5xxFSVMHrVDLmuvCFFXSEOMZHHzWkLVmsmgnRM0CjUq7s8_71S6PuJRkedscTlztImNJqSIQYbDcQw_DbxFlBki0Ar/s1600/DSC01950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYpm3vQsaakpXTZHQzmKtf04PDxAM30UpHBl5YiwPs8wQeEsmPC5xxFSVMHrVDLmuvCFFXSEOMZHHzWkLVmsmgnRM0CjUq7s8_71S6PuJRkedscTlztImNJqSIQYbDcQw_DbxFlBki0Ar/s320/DSC01950.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the moment the garden is a shadow of what it is like<br />
in summer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Once
you’re inside the house, doesn’t seem as big as you expect (it’s the opposite
of the Tardis), but I think the back bit is deceptive, because it's joined up to other buildings. When
I worked in Lichfield, in the 1990s, the house was empty and terribly
dilapidated, and I think most people had forgotten all about Erasmus. But a
group of enthusiasts got together and campaigned, and raised money, and won Lottery
finding and other grants, so everything could be put into good order. They carried
out research, acquired exhibits, and finally opened to the public in 1999</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cjW2FJdZm_3o_nuLm9P_ex87hQdM6r3KqlX2ms89eK2qo5ZhTuY0w4VSzbipQLG8ZRAWGducSNPXFOZUIboVqkjmQhLbF0W8gDjiOftfi3_3h-1GTSzhyphenhyphen-S6wwhbEZ1w_G17b7tIaLD5/s1600/DSC02503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cjW2FJdZm_3o_nuLm9P_ex87hQdM6r3KqlX2ms89eK2qo5ZhTuY0w4VSzbipQLG8ZRAWGducSNPXFOZUIboVqkjmQhLbF0W8gDjiOftfi3_3h-1GTSzhyphenhyphen-S6wwhbEZ1w_G17b7tIaLD5/s320/DSC02503.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back door - in the window you can see<br />
the reflection of one of the Cathedral spires</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now v</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">isitors can see Erasmus Darwin's parlour, his library, an inventions room, and a study and consulting room, and there is also a seminar room where it is thought the Lunar Society met, as well as an exhibition room, with a display showing how his poetry influenced Coleridge and Southey. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s
all very hands on, with videos and recordings of people trying out his inventions,
reading his poems, and telling you about his life, as well as some really clear
information bards. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And, best of all, you can try on reproduction Georgian
clothes – and play with models of some of his inventions!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqmhyphenhyphenx8q1heCUHeZklro60Iz6gsiDe-gq-t5v6AhF1Ccs4YDnbTL7HzZg-6Jbisb9sjqe31r7pWGVl95tGpWdnG8OCegEwOLC6bg2d9ORLHTqt1afZvKgNETL_VXuI2cUxbamkJsGPuh4/s1600/DSC02505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqmhyphenhyphenx8q1heCUHeZklro60Iz6gsiDe-gq-t5v6AhF1Ccs4YDnbTL7HzZg-6Jbisb9sjqe31r7pWGVl95tGpWdnG8OCegEwOLC6bg2d9ORLHTqt1afZvKgNETL_VXuI2cUxbamkJsGPuh4/s320/DSC02505.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the upper stories at the back - from these<br />
windows you can see the Cathedral.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">My Daughter and I loved the speaking machine, which says ‘ma’ and ‘pa’ and is
not a recording device, but a man-made version of a human mouth, nose, lungs and
larynx! Emily, who is studying to be a speech therapist, was fascinated to see how
Erasmus had observed the way sounds (and speech) are formed, and documented his
findings, detailing what he learned about phonetics. The machine he made actually said 'mama' and 'papa' and, as you can imagine, it was an absolute sensation. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrx3l-05k32o4CZ5hJd_LX0MIqwW7TWevVOAmYBLKFxmS8XhPOgUW4hAfhUj1Custi6SP93syhEzl8rRMRk1X8v90l9LAZhGDwj9D3guHlWp99QQbVrrXjXvL6Ulm69zZn86FdFClCkjWm/s1600/DSC01892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrx3l-05k32o4CZ5hJd_LX0MIqwW7TWevVOAmYBLKFxmS8XhPOgUW4hAfhUj1Custi6SP93syhEzl8rRMRk1X8v90l9LAZhGDwj9D3guHlWp99QQbVrrXjXvL6Ulm69zZn86FdFClCkjWm/s320/DSC01892.JPG" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> The model of a speaking machine created<br />
by Erasmus.The bellows at the bottom<br />
represent the lungs, and there are holes<br />
for the mouth and nose.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">He also invented a horizontal windmill (for Wedgwood's factory), a turning mechanism for coaches which is still used in vehicles today, and a copying machine - a sort of hinged, swivelling arm, fixed in the middle, with a pen at one end which wrote as </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">a marker at the other end traced a signature. There used to be a children's plastic toy which worked along similar lines, but I don't know if it's still made.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozaChS8qMOBbSQJ7sSXo40bUkBU_Sa6zAFe5iy_kUugm8aAraiDq-O-uLGFF8xkivYaRfBr6CPnyRtrtTPVNk87EJ7kxnZLWaR6dU9Bw4ASxNzzq3VbFm4kd0YbcSzbhPhulmdy7p-Vlo/s1600/DSC01903+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozaChS8qMOBbSQJ7sSXo40bUkBU_Sa6zAFe5iy_kUugm8aAraiDq-O-uLGFF8xkivYaRfBr6CPnyRtrtTPVNk87EJ7kxnZLWaR6dU9Bw4ASxNzzq3VbFm4kd0YbcSzbhPhulmdy7p-Vlo/s320/DSC01903+(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erasmus highlighted many of the medical, environmental<br />and scientific issues which are still being discussed today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I expect that for many visitors it's the information about evolution which is most fascinating. Charles
Darwin may have been credited with proving the theory of evolution by natural
selection, but Erasmus published the idea some 70 years earlier (in verse!). He
knew humans were descended from ape-like creatures, and traced the origins of
life back through amphibians and fish to specks in primeval seas. He took the words '</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">E conchis omnia' (everything from shells) as his personal motto, and even had it painted on the side of his carriage - but painted it over following criticism from the Canon of the Cathedral, who denounced Darwin for blasphemy. There is a new statue of him (which I've managed to miss each time I've been up to the house) holding a shell, which references his comment, and his theories on evolutionary development.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hlBY4m7nJms3lWUa1MeYcV5SMM-xh_pEQj3OiZYaSXYKHwKs-T8p4BglHfvotJ7kCFs-3RkyLVE-XlEFC3VI2MlcHQtYxIIa4mCE8FZyfPvHH7uL9Y4cNV-9FJkhhJEBI-rhm2zlEbmn/s1600/DSC01886+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hlBY4m7nJms3lWUa1MeYcV5SMM-xh_pEQj3OiZYaSXYKHwKs-T8p4BglHfvotJ7kCFs-3RkyLVE-XlEFC3VI2MlcHQtYxIIa4mCE8FZyfPvHH7uL9Y4cNV-9FJkhhJEBI-rhm2zlEbmn/s320/DSC01886+(2).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Erasmus Darwin' at his writing desk.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">He
was, apparently, a devoted family man. He and his first wife Polly had three
sons who survived, Charles, Erasmus and Robert (who was the father of Charles,
of evolution fame). When Polly died in 1770 he employed Mary Parker to look
after the children, and had two daughters by her. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Then
he fell in love with Elizabeth Pole, who was married (you can listen to one of
his love poems to her) and married her after the death of her husband in 1781,
and had another seven children with her. However, Erasmus left Lichfield at that
point because she insisted that they move to Derby.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgje1TH0VqFVHggedGbGHrLRksguRCyshKcR4u0j7rAmg5VVp3gI_8BssbkUvx0c9bKy2gDmVY-cZPr5vwjQM8ErHlq6EJRFLppmYfT1c7MFSdZmpovB8JCRVqRxiBk9JDKJoAslTElaGV9/s1600/DSC01928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgje1TH0VqFVHggedGbGHrLRksguRCyshKcR4u0j7rAmg5VVp3gI_8BssbkUvx0c9bKy2gDmVY-cZPr5vwjQM8ErHlq6EJRFLppmYfT1c7MFSdZmpovB8JCRVqRxiBk9JDKJoAslTElaGV9/s320/DSC01928.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daughter and Friend... Emily, peering<br />
through a window alongside a figure<br />
of Erasmus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">His
house isn’t a grand place, and it’s not all that big (if you’re in Lichfield
you could easily visit Erasmus’ home and Samuel Johnson’s birthplace on the
same day, and have time to mooch around in the Cathedral as well). Anyway,
Erasmus is such an extraordinary man I am delighted that Lichfield celebrates
his life and achievements this way, and I think the Erasmus Darwin Foundation, which runs the place, needs support, because members work so hard to preserve the building, and to ensure
Erasmus is not forgotten. Their website is brilliant (I've stolen most of my information from it) and you'll find it at </span><a href="http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGuQsonsvyCIW3k6cYNfIimmekGjKTiu5IMC932MIxWlIo-I1rTnCBVFBgChYUgPssYFQZgYylbVM_2xp8LMdh9m77m27S0y3Vdnwi6guR11UeiABYKn-cp72CfaGfk_6CN_i-jm9yRQ9/s1600/DSC01921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGuQsonsvyCIW3k6cYNfIimmekGjKTiu5IMC932MIxWlIo-I1rTnCBVFBgChYUgPssYFQZgYylbVM_2xp8LMdh9m77m27S0y3Vdnwi6guR11UeiABYKn-cp72CfaGfk_6CN_i-jm9yRQ9/s320/DSC01921.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spectacular mechanical bird designed by Erasmus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">*(Saturday Snapshot is
hosted by Melinda, at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">West Metro Mummy</a> - click to follow the links to other
participants).</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEuTvqM6G2Xy6fLft0UPcAd8Xsv1Ibc4J1SRZZTblXoBvVu_INw7KYQGyXEtMkhTRsl_FnrKPPvMgjAAvaTw1QOCia1PPeGl1ge7me8iB0QdzZLruT0w2YAy_iPpYYkYL3-V7IKPHDNqH/s1600/DSC01937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEuTvqM6G2Xy6fLft0UPcAd8Xsv1Ibc4J1SRZZTblXoBvVu_INw7KYQGyXEtMkhTRsl_FnrKPPvMgjAAvaTw1QOCia1PPeGl1ge7me8iB0QdzZLruT0w2YAy_iPpYYkYL3-V7IKPHDNqH/s320/DSC01937.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I do like hats - especially when they're 18th century style!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-31586855146213347932013-11-09T12:41:00.002+00:002013-11-09T12:50:36.239+00:00Pumpkins, Spiders, Candles and Leaves!<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Well,
October has been and gone, the clocks have gone back, dark nights have arrived,
the weather has been truly awful, and winter seems to be well on the way, so
it’s a bit late for an autumnal post, but I’m doing one anyway for this week’s
<a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUDDd8mzFerCAV6ehFX_iCLl78llRtY6ap8h1ByugtjYbIOw5qIJiM1jn7FuG4n8gwNF_lSGGuRyPf5PHVGtzRTfq9oh7svsEPHs4r0A4ZQGs_cA3B1reCOTzqLkivRobOyEthJ7kUo5q/s1600/haloween+lucy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUDDd8mzFerCAV6ehFX_iCLl78llRtY6ap8h1ByugtjYbIOw5qIJiM1jn7FuG4n8gwNF_lSGGuRyPf5PHVGtzRTfq9oh7svsEPHs4r0A4ZQGs_cA3B1reCOTzqLkivRobOyEthJ7kUo5q/s320/haloween+lucy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table Scene for Hallowe'en.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">First
up is a Hallowe’en photo, taken by Elder Daughter when she and her boyfriend
visited us a couple of weeks back, and I created a seasonal table centre. I
crocheted pumpkins and leaves, and made pompoms,and balanced them all on this
spooky spider (it’s really a cardboard cake stand – part of a Marks and Spencer
donation of goods to Oxfam), and there were Hallowe’en crackers (M&S again,
gifted to Oxfam – I couldn’t resist buying both items). And I dug out my little
pumpkin candles (saved from last year) and bought chunky orange candle, and hey
presto, we had instant table décor, with very little effort! And I know
self-praise is no recommendation, but I still think it looks pretty, and I didn’t
forget the food (after all, it’s the meal that’s important), so I cooked cooked
nut roast, with added cranberries and pumpkin seeds, for myself, and chicken,
roasted with fresh rosemary and grated lemon rind for the carnivores, who
tucked into both dishes with great relish, so it’s just as well I did </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">plenty of
the veggie recipe!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46vRWjZoYTv09h6YSzP9rE0d_DOd1Yqjr_cPK5UcVm6maHyw4wMDu24HSHk5y9Tplc8LjZqAdwEcqGdoaQHttzF2DPT9_BjVjDHrIoZ6EPmyeV0KIYeLQRSKNyNT0POjA42bLhjX4_2ea/s1600/DSC01958_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46vRWjZoYTv09h6YSzP9rE0d_DOd1Yqjr_cPK5UcVm6maHyw4wMDu24HSHk5y9Tplc8LjZqAdwEcqGdoaQHttzF2DPT9_BjVjDHrIoZ6EPmyeV0KIYeLQRSKNyNT0POjA42bLhjX4_2ea/s320/DSC01958_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 'rescue' embroidery of a Woodland Cottage in<br />
Autumn, complete with trailing threads!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Next
up is an autumnal embroidery. A friend of my mother’s started doing it years
ago, and gave it to mum to finish, because she felt she wasn’t up to working on
it any more. Mum said her eyes weren’t good enough for cross stitch, so she
gave it to me, and I’ve been working on it (on and off) over the last six
months or so. It’s not quite as easy as I thought, because the lady who was
stitching it worked inwards from the edges, and I continued that way, although
I always find it better to start at the middle and work out. However, although the
edges are now finished, the central panel is not aligning correctly, so I am
following the chart as best I can, adding in compensatory stitches to fill the
gaps in some places, and missing some stitches out altogether. Hopefully,
because there’s a fair amount of flowers and foliage, no-one will realise there’s
anything wrong!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqT4yvNGLmw3U_x8cUTuu1UMmVJtYoUeBnRLISOOJtWLi6ogSJPF6x7qaivCvNjDWiIjpmVFrYGaeauFPyEukzrapwsONCIlQ9NFAB_hURG3gzLaM8rY6p04EKMpIjTGhNrmWMeF3wLPY/s1600/DSC01961_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqT4yvNGLmw3U_x8cUTuu1UMmVJtYoUeBnRLISOOJtWLi6ogSJPF6x7qaivCvNjDWiIjpmVFrYGaeauFPyEukzrapwsONCIlQ9NFAB_hURG3gzLaM8rY6p04EKMpIjTGhNrmWMeF3wLPY/s320/DSC01961_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There only seems to be a black and white image with <br />
the instructions, but it's supposed to look like this,<br />
and was a kit from the Craft Collection Ltd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
want to finish it because the lady who started it died recently, and she was
such a nice person, and was a such a good friend to Mum. Anyway, I love the autumnal
colours, and the shapes of the leaves and seeds around the edge, and I’m sure
it will be OK when I finally complete it. It should look like the picture above.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKVttfHCXlA6N58MyxNPAoBYD9jAfInVOZVSH09sWJq7ecxCm3otLmAAJDWkzVE1q0Pv9l60BC2WX1qvZxYpbZlUcUQwQSdrH0Q_RSI-TBBwiNnNdq299hUegtgVsmLGDjfDqIuZ3WJYE/s1600/DSC01749_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKVttfHCXlA6N58MyxNPAoBYD9jAfInVOZVSH09sWJq7ecxCm3otLmAAJDWkzVE1q0Pv9l60BC2WX1qvZxYpbZlUcUQwQSdrH0Q_RSI-TBBwiNnNdq299hUegtgVsmLGDjfDqIuZ3WJYE/s320/DSC01749_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Chestnut Tree in MacGregor Park - it's lost a lot of<br />
leaves since I took this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">Continuing the autumnal feel, I have some photographs I took a few weeks ago, showing trees, leaves and berries before the bad weather kicked in, and we were still at the stage where I was thinking of Keats – you know, the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ and so on, and so forth. I love that poem. </span><br />
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_mBAIRaDWN13iHy8P0nLDNU6UzHrI99bxkpiom0J7vO2rGOy4_U8Smpu7fNk_WUYzGvLdMjjgIRRuEsIvtTyZEfQJFzKHaC6V1D3wkMZAIePyjPtyHvkgXRijqrVXkHlp00_dARfqQ4x/s1600/DSC01255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_mBAIRaDWN13iHy8P0nLDNU6UzHrI99bxkpiom0J7vO2rGOy4_U8Smpu7fNk_WUYzGvLdMjjgIRRuEsIvtTyZEfQJFzKHaC6V1D3wkMZAIePyjPtyHvkgXRijqrVXkHlp00_dARfqQ4x/s320/DSC01255.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawthorn berries- I can always recognise these!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">The sky was blue, and the sun shone, and the trees were still full of leaves, which were just beginning to turn colour, and there were berries, and fruits, and seeds. It certainly doesn’t look very mellow or fruitful at the moment: there are tattered dead leaves blowing everywhere, and lots of fallen twigs, and the outer casings of conkers and beechnuts, and broken wings of sycamore seeds, and acorn ‘cups’ (the acorns have disappeared).</span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJGmWrNphA88bNg5EgQXWlxNulgkK_pO2_5Gkq83ytaK0UNvnGB94pidL2pO9yDtX5km5NbTXUMItQwN7KATk4LqR-2ktOHz_K4YAZaHXSreO3q8cRLS5TwxoELK8FXkwBkmQ314FV1Kr/s1600/DSC01509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJGmWrNphA88bNg5EgQXWlxNulgkK_pO2_5Gkq83ytaK0UNvnGB94pidL2pO9yDtX5km5NbTXUMItQwN7KATk4LqR-2ktOHz_K4YAZaHXSreO3q8cRLS5TwxoELK8FXkwBkmQ314FV1Kr/s320/DSC01509.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oak 'apples' - they are made by some kind of gall wasp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">And everything looks very wet, and it’s quite blustery, but there are still bright scarlet berries on many trees and bushes, and if you look closely in the wooded areas you can spot fungi growing through the debris.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgz23AeQDLdZNNDtILyfE7m9Ah-XDAFSPNmKXpLupkpQKtG3oMPOQpEW71wGOV80dMwnw3i2vEmvx1kSWS1FUTp218g7T7QIOD6ECaCrhi0kyC6x3ueDFhSvkZq2ARTsSONq4lRxiYoq8/s1600/DSC01319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgz23AeQDLdZNNDtILyfE7m9Ah-XDAFSPNmKXpLupkpQKtG3oMPOQpEW71wGOV80dMwnw3i2vEmvx1kSWS1FUTp218g7T7QIOD6ECaCrhi0kyC6x3ueDFhSvkZq2ARTsSONq4lRxiYoq8/s320/DSC01319.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautifully coloured leaves were everywhere in the Town<br />
Wall Nature Reserve, and this was one of the nicest.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Saturday
Snapshot is hosted by Melinda, at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/">West Metro Mummy</a> - click
to follow the links to other participants.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6ejBKZVScPMVYOz5t57yCoLkK4TCFrZY5wGJbx5TCfw7IQOFEbHhHPtO3-0CUWjq2SpgnYqu86yQi9JOm43NAizloEbNfwnTSHVI5Rm_sHpx_SHlCqwTzpJB_mL9n6eeoaG7m-5dEbkm/s1600/DSC01522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6ejBKZVScPMVYOz5t57yCoLkK4TCFrZY5wGJbx5TCfw7IQOFEbHhHPtO3-0CUWjq2SpgnYqu86yQi9JOm43NAizloEbNfwnTSHVI5Rm_sHpx_SHlCqwTzpJB_mL9n6eeoaG7m-5dEbkm/s320/DSC01522.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some kind of fungus in Alvecote Wood.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-47830207958116964592013-09-21T01:00:00.000+01:002013-09-21T11:54:41.566+01:00Saturday Snapshot: Getting Back into My Stride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9RnwMnh0hajdbyJWzLMsKIiBnvT2cJ3VE7D67488-6YVZ-P4apOY-2Eyd8fv8oBKyNoLXWW12K_4x06mGN7PIIwUGh4ixeADKl42CmBNSm5N_rlitcHgtczNn0b21bUUyOyCQBNEbzmy/s1600/DSC01125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9RnwMnh0hajdbyJWzLMsKIiBnvT2cJ3VE7D67488-6YVZ-P4apOY-2Eyd8fv8oBKyNoLXWW12K_4x06mGN7PIIwUGh4ixeADKl42CmBNSm5N_rlitcHgtczNn0b21bUUyOyCQBNEbzmy/s320/DSC01125.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Lakeside view: Tamworth's Borrowpit Lake is fringed by</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">bushes and trees, and provides a home for water birds.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;">For
some reason the walking has gone a bit to pot over the summer, and I’m not
really sure why – partly, I think, because there were several days when I
didn’t go out because I thought it might thunder. I know, that’s sad. I’m sad.
Anyway, I got out of the habit of taking a regular walk, but I have been busy
in the garden over the summer, which is good exercise, and I did a lot of
walking on our various trips.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirost6UjZWpECrRc-YPB441X_g-gts2yINjTyNwJcZLU_RrMxSL6EEzivmTAac3w5BvxUjfVam8LSbQRlL6PQS6u218EpFpIZy3hDMFEPdBQ9uE7tYyp-CJfaI7wQjmZ6sYS1MMncUYl3m/s1600/DSC01121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirost6UjZWpECrRc-YPB441X_g-gts2yINjTyNwJcZLU_RrMxSL6EEzivmTAac3w5BvxUjfVam8LSbQRlL6PQS6u218EpFpIZy3hDMFEPdBQ9uE7tYyp-CJfaI7wQjmZ6sYS1MMncUYl3m/s320/DSC01121.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Snowdome has a ski slope with real snow, a pool and a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">gym. From this angle it doesn't look too bad, but it;s a</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">hideous building, which dominates the landscape.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">However,
I decided I must get back into walking again, because it makes me feel so much
better, mentally and physically. So on Tuesday morning I donned a jumper (it was
jolly cold outside), and my wonderful walking boots (I still love them, and the
<a href="http://chriscross-thebooktrunk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/walking-boots-and-pink-laces.html" target="_blank">pink laces</a>) and set off to see what’s been happening in the Big Wide World. And I'm posting some photos for <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a> to show you where I went - including some shots </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">of Tamworth's modern buildings (which I tend to avoid), alongside photos of nice things!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The town may not be very big, but it's very built up, and I really value our little 'wild' areas and parks. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsvfCYgPJrXx_gei1uOpiGcpFEzdqCddtO4MV9QA4JSKLAgoxLYHMS77J3hRMkIQHdbus8exT8x2eaCpXz1SknD32TU5xftzg53CuV86bfjcFalMT6YZqERyWrkNijJzMkJVg0kdebVlQ/s1600/DSC01186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsvfCYgPJrXx_gei1uOpiGcpFEzdqCddtO4MV9QA4JSKLAgoxLYHMS77J3hRMkIQHdbus8exT8x2eaCpXz1SknD32TU5xftzg53CuV86bfjcFalMT6YZqERyWrkNijJzMkJVg0kdebVlQ/s320/DSC01186.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">These vivid yellow flowers added a welcome splash </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">of colour to the day.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Anyway, I went down the road, under the Arches (which I've written about <a href="http://chriscross-thebooktrunk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/underneath-arches.html" target="_blank">here</a>), into the Castle Pleasure Grounds, across the
the Snowdome car park, round the edge of Borrowpit</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lake, over the River Anker, alongside the
drainage channel and over the road to Ventura Park (our out-of-town shopping
area).</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwyGhtLr2R2uV5fsQQKhas5DXagix5qLrYeCl1NeaBw1EoPiOb8Y48edd4GJ81UgYSD0VZgEvqEWAxeTmhKvtMEfZXqJht4UoesJJHs9tBNHoFo1K3se9yxTgv-CUb6MD4cFJnNgWG4SI/s1600/DSC01122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwyGhtLr2R2uV5fsQQKhas5DXagix5qLrYeCl1NeaBw1EoPiOb8Y48edd4GJ81UgYSD0VZgEvqEWAxeTmhKvtMEfZXqJht4UoesJJHs9tBNHoFo1K3se9yxTgv-CUb6MD4cFJnNgWG4SI/s320/DSC01122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the Holiday Inn which, like the Snowdome doesn't</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">look too bad here, but from the other side it's vile,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and the photos don't show how big the buildings are.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It
was very grey, and bitterly cold, but there were flocks of ducks and geese on
the water, and the two mallard crosses, which are much bigger and darker than the others, are still there. Back in the summer I was pleased to see they had young - I had wondered if they would breed, because sometimes hybrids don't, but this week there was no sign of the youngsters. I know they would be well grown by now, but their colouring was so distinctive they would be quite unmissable if they were around.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgj3RGfQ0B0OfYDzxeNOGyTuguWN67vWj8OxcIQKP4AiG2a9J_MhHK084AFM8hYmD80dcmDtUi-_1wZkGBKlxXBONPHWPZX2BFKsCkMbLMrkfk9IoPT4zWAs75S1rcVy8qJY424nGIuIm/s1600/DSC01151_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgj3RGfQ0B0OfYDzxeNOGyTuguWN67vWj8OxcIQKP4AiG2a9J_MhHK084AFM8hYmD80dcmDtUi-_1wZkGBKlxXBONPHWPZX2BFKsCkMbLMrkfk9IoPT4zWAs75S1rcVy8qJY424nGIuIm/s320/DSC01151_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Part of our out-of-town shopping area. This was very early</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">in the morning - by 10am the car park is always packed, and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">vehicles are circling round, hooting, and fighting for a space.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grey squirrels were scampering about, and there were plenty of birds (but I could only recognise pigeons and magpies!). And there were still
masses of wildflowers blooming in the grass, along the river bank, in the car
park, and in the Castle Grounds. I spotted a drift of pale purple balsam growing on the very edge of the River Anker. I think this is Himalayan Balsam, which can grow quite tall, and is very invasive, but it might be another variety. At any rate, it looked pretty. But flowering season is coming to an end. The leaves on some trees were just beginning
to change colour, and there were lots of berries on the trees, some of them still
green or orange, rather than the bright red they become later in
the season.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCdH1cbbCC6R06MhMaQwKM2-NOC5znWSjluHtvVMeps7AYGUf0zbrecboe8yRLG2PM0CW1gP-ya7xe3nuqL9_ZYf3IVfGBDSUBCtnoFkJTIQNwexOvXyrno6L7uqL08hy5bwD5-XsYnFY/s1600/DSC01164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCdH1cbbCC6R06MhMaQwKM2-NOC5znWSjluHtvVMeps7AYGUf0zbrecboe8yRLG2PM0CW1gP-ya7xe3nuqL9_ZYf3IVfGBDSUBCtnoFkJTIQNwexOvXyrno6L7uqL08hy5bwD5-XsYnFY/s320/DSC01164.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From the front I think this flower looks like an</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">open mouth! Is it Himalayan Balsam?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over
by the shops I had to indulge in a spot of retail therapy – just to keep warm
you understand! I was sooooooo cold I couldn’t move my fingers! It was
FREEZING, and it’s only September, so I hope this is not a foretaste of what’s
to come. In any case, I need to find my gloves, which I stashed away in a safe
place at the end of winter, but it’s such a safe place I can’t remember where
it is!</span><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4JaPZkhwFIBzopIEJDP1npHaeOA3Qgu3PSLJkEfJgxgKgTJW9gsl3QOFxBuoF62bKrZWDHvNwnBgU0KeEC1QVfxv4WeIsj0zRvdHJe93n9YySgm_4zsM8AxYMPFw2WORUUlaLLg9_CEx/s1600/DSC01183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4JaPZkhwFIBzopIEJDP1npHaeOA3Qgu3PSLJkEfJgxgKgTJW9gsl3QOFxBuoF62bKrZWDHvNwnBgU0KeEC1QVfxv4WeIsj0zRvdHJe93n9YySgm_4zsM8AxYMPFw2WORUUlaLLg9_CEx/s320/DSC01183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In another couple of weeks these berries will be a glorious red.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What’s
that you say? What did I buy? I bought a pretty notebook and matching file to keep things in, because
I got an old printer working with my new laptop, and went mad printing off crochet patterns, and maps and information about the local nature reserves! And I got some some vitamin pills and Echinacea tablets, in the hopes they will help ward off winter colds, and some loose tea, because I love the ritual of making
tea in a pretty china pot.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXWS-Y9n8HUGs8hACOdFqLk-BbwU0syY8FObEQM-ooSIBKa4hkq9s8QeEMYmPJlJBzAfbsyWvGvUGPYbxKZIPdEJ7PHCY4PBsNV_lixPhITVR9yN-TBEjx8TFeFTgNyl3SLdT8Nv60KPc/s1600/DSC01233_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXWS-Y9n8HUGs8hACOdFqLk-BbwU0syY8FObEQM-ooSIBKa4hkq9s8QeEMYmPJlJBzAfbsyWvGvUGPYbxKZIPdEJ7PHCY4PBsNV_lixPhITVR9yN-TBEjx8TFeFTgNyl3SLdT8Nv60KPc/s320/DSC01233_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love the pretty design on this notebook and file.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the time I’d warmed enough to venture outside again, it was raining, but it was so nice to be out walking in the fresh air that I really didn’t mind, and I made my way back through the Castle Grounds and up the road to home. (<i>Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda, at <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">West Metro Mummy</a> - click to follow the links to other participants</i>.)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmCseKwuYSkQPnPPkyOjaSD88YwAZbQBqOHI39OVxEVzdgcnWg5k_DBC__dLZ83eLuITZNbKFN1-NlsFdj_n9IpC_T8plaOruqei_kTFEKvlWLscbjIlskwEY6gCnHl4h3KdDe1byFQSf/s1600/DSC01219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmCseKwuYSkQPnPPkyOjaSD88YwAZbQBqOHI39OVxEVzdgcnWg5k_DBC__dLZ83eLuITZNbKFN1-NlsFdj_n9IpC_T8plaOruqei_kTFEKvlWLscbjIlskwEY6gCnHl4h3KdDe1byFQSf/s320/DSC01219.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Castle is the most beautiful building in</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tamworth.</span></td></tr>
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Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-70485023932044767272013-09-14T14:19:00.000+01:002013-09-14T15:56:06.716+01:00Copper Sinks and Chinese Silks<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJqVIZWuJpBBejSVDDsFhq6Dn4GpLO5Oo_Z4NyEjBBBjyZteUGyrfBoLvJf6RlZ4gOpRkhNOURoyAmFJYj6DTqJT4ZnAveGUa889o_d_oS9aVhNGmNOc4NCF4wlVfHwCNL4hIb50AsYPp/s1600/DSC00322_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJqVIZWuJpBBejSVDDsFhq6Dn4GpLO5Oo_Z4NyEjBBBjyZteUGyrfBoLvJf6RlZ4gOpRkhNOURoyAmFJYj6DTqJT4ZnAveGUa889o_d_oS9aVhNGmNOc4NCF4wlVfHwCNL4hIb50AsYPp/s320/DSC00322_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The poshest back door I've ever seen! Much nicer than<br />
the front I think. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It seems a while since I posted a <a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/saturday-snapshot-september-14.html" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a> – we’ve been away three times over the last few weeks (the Man of the House teaches, so he has to take time off during the school holidays) so we’re completely out of routine at the moment. Anyway, the new term has started, so normality is slowly re-establishing itself, and for this week’s Saturday Snapshot I thought I would post up some more of the photos I took when we visited our elder daughter and her boyfriend in Plymouth.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_kxtn1HY1FE8XjMtkUQ2s_ayv-xqttRRhHNDnCT7hs7SHSfzkBnFtZNS3QCojWqfvs1Ws6f3SHktiT9j0qVjtJrWEb8AUkxEyxl7kLg8kwEjdURdMO2w2mmiKQHrNwBnvIdHpdH1sMiP/s1600/DSC00346_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_kxtn1HY1FE8XjMtkUQ2s_ayv-xqttRRhHNDnCT7hs7SHSfzkBnFtZNS3QCojWqfvs1Ws6f3SHktiT9j0qVjtJrWEb8AUkxEyxl7kLg8kwEjdURdMO2w2mmiKQHrNwBnvIdHpdH1sMiP/s320/DSC00346_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saltram's front entrance,</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">These were taken at Saltram, a beautiful Georgian mansion about a 20-minute walk from Lucy’s home in Plympton. During our visit we looked at an old map on the wall and were fascinated to discover that the housing estate was built on land which once belonged to the ‘big house’. We were also intrigued to learn that the house featured in Ang Lee’s film of Sense and Sensibility (the where Emma Thompson played Elinor) – Saltram was ‘cast’ as Norwood Park, the home that Mrs Dashwood and her daughters are forced to leave when her husband dies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj497c8ucxMBYrKdVFimlA374F0Kd7qiMerO_uxA4UxJ1BZXGBrtspTgvq62s9wJfc7uznWSVaSAssVuDSSR0nCpQUWf0EIEYQv0csQP7qDgee3fzYIe36rmf3KL830QrdJvwdsNdDMS_0x/s1600/DSC00369_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj497c8ucxMBYrKdVFimlA374F0Kd7qiMerO_uxA4UxJ1BZXGBrtspTgvq62s9wJfc7uznWSVaSAssVuDSSR0nCpQUWf0EIEYQv0csQP7qDgee3fzYIe36rmf3KL830QrdJvwdsNdDMS_0x/s320/DSC00369_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the saloon, where guests would have been<br />
entertained. It is very ornate indeed!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The estate gets its name from the salt that was harvested on the nearby river estuary, and the original house seems to date back to Tudor times, but was extensively altered and enlarged in the 18</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small;">th</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">C, when it was acquired by the wealthy Parker family, who became Earls of Morley. It was they who had it fitted out in the fashion of the day, with no expense spared. Each generation added and embellished, keeping it sylish and luxurious. Most of it was designed by the great Robert Adam, and the ornate drawing room (or saloon, as they would have called it), with its decorative plasterwork and furnishings, is considered to be one of his finest interiors. The walls are packed with paintings, and there;s golden gilding, and glittering crystal chandeliers, and it's all very beautiful, and very opulent, but a bit overwhelming - almost intimidating. A room to impress visitors perhaps, rather than somewhere for the family to curl up and relax.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSXEI1b6c8ILIpXXOqKDTddS8j9qBS9BHkEr1omaXFclb-LDN4xcFf8dxvVMDpaDevBDBBZdkFjKS4kIfB4Jlr5lz7qzByXkmE6rHTCU2aTNb-dYN6i22QdZCjxJThWv6NPhh_1T6583R/s1600/DSC00365_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSXEI1b6c8ILIpXXOqKDTddS8j9qBS9BHkEr1omaXFclb-LDN4xcFf8dxvVMDpaDevBDBBZdkFjKS4kIfB4Jlr5lz7qzByXkmE6rHTCU2aTNb-dYN6i22QdZCjxJThWv6NPhh_1T6583R/s320/DSC00365_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh dear, this is saved upright, and it's doing that weird<br />
thing again, but you can get a glimpse of the ceiling, and<br />
the chanderliers, and some of the paintings. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">At the same time formal gardens were created, and a landscaped park was established, forming artistic 'natural' views from the windows.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCKZ-_xJQq3myOfEkHkRGrh8YOOqs459gh-bfTikgcPTi8Ttc0Ux5bXCUG6Ii-O6AdGz302xoppI_YbF6IYoUdlkrXcCR20J7xKpaFkls4B5lBYavZQv85mhWULD8u1BasX4rMqEkZdXq/s1600/DSC00316_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCKZ-_xJQq3myOfEkHkRGrh8YOOqs459gh-bfTikgcPTi8Ttc0Ux5bXCUG6Ii-O6AdGz302xoppI_YbF6IYoUdlkrXcCR20J7xKpaFkls4B5lBYavZQv85mhWULD8u1BasX4rMqEkZdXq/s320/DSC00316_edited.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it time for lunch yet? I love the clock<br />
perched up on the roof.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">There are so many rooms and corridors I wonder if guests or new members of staff ever got lost! I certainly would have done: I have no sense of direction, and without the Guide Book I might still be wandering round and round searching vainly for the exit! There are the most incredible bedrooms, with four-poster beds and adjoining ‘dressing rooms’ – the walls of one bedroom and dressing room are covered in exquisitely hand-painted silk, all the way from China, showing little Chinese scenes. And there’s a grand staircase, and a dining room with a table laid out with out with silver cutlery and delicate china and glasses. It all looks so posh I would be terrified of eating or drinking, but I guess this was what the Parkers were used to. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oriental Art: A room papered with hand-painted<br />
Chinese silk..</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Then there's a mirror room (more Chinese paper and decorations here - chinoiserie was very popular in high society), a garden room, a map room, a study, and a wonderful library, lined floor to ceiling with leather-bound books, and there were lots of little bookshelves in the other rooms, so I like to think the family enjoyed reading. I get the impression they were very cultured; they were certainly patrons of the arts, and the place is packed with paintings, many by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was a friend of the family (he was brought up in Plympton, where his father was in charge of the school).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The big hearth, with its open range and roasting spits.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">But, as with so many period houses, it’s the areas where the servants lived and worked that are the most unforgettable. There must have been an army of people employed here (in the house and on the land) to keep the family in such luxurious style, and it must have been such hard work. With no electricity, the only form of heat and light would have been open fires and candles, which must have created a lot of smoke and soot, so the maids must have been constantly sweeping and dusting and cleaning and polishing. There were clothes to be laundered and pressed, bedding to be regularly aired, acres of carpets to be beaten clean, and what seems like miles of woodwork to be polished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copper pans on the cooking range. This was state-of-the-art<br />
kitchen equipment in the 1880s. The range would have been <br />
buffed to a shine with black lead.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">In the kitchen a whole host of staff must have been kept busy cooking for the family, guests, themselves, and their fellow workers. The servants ate plain, filling fare made from cheap ingredients - the sumptuous dishes served up in the dining room were obviously considered to be far too good for them, and I guess there was the cost to be considered as well. Kitchen staff didn't just do the daily cooking. Sure, they baked and roasted and boiled and fried to produce meals for everyone, but there were no fridges or freezers remember, so food had to be preserved using traditional techniques, which were very labour intensive. There were jams, pickles, and chutneys to be made; meat to be cured, and fruit fruit to be bottled. Butter was churned here, and I am sure they would have made cheese as well. And on top of all that food preparation, there was cleaning to be done...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original slow cooker: A hay box, used for long, slow<br />
cooking in the 19th and early 20th centuries.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The kitchen was remodelled in 1913, but still has the great hearth and roasting spits, as well as open range installed around 1810, so you get a pretty good impression of what it was like working here a couple of hundred years ago. And the huge, cast-iron, coal-fired closed range which stands in the centre of the room also predates the early 20<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>C revamp, dating from 1885. There’s a pantry, a scullery, a butchery, a larder, and the most incredible collection of copper utensils I’ve ever seen – some 600 items ranging from minute intricately shaped sweet moulds up to gigantic, plain saucepans, and all gleaming like new pins. There were even copper sinks in the scullery for washing the pots and pans! Just imagine the scouring and polishing that must have gone on to keep it all in tip-top condition! <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: progress is a wonderful thing where housework and cooking are concerned!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj_JTnybjbfxeURRy3UAkVYVATkQVCpZLO1Lsy0tKTyLvZ4Q800GFSTLTz8_pcdYllySx9ZeOPkmtqI9cn80m9U6Hxy_ZjNAKydwUmvwNJ_sqoW31I3h1DBmM4LFP3T3GMtXwwUlxW2CV/s1600/DSC00378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj_JTnybjbfxeURRy3UAkVYVATkQVCpZLO1Lsy0tKTyLvZ4Q800GFSTLTz8_pcdYllySx9ZeOPkmtqI9cn80m9U6Hxy_ZjNAKydwUmvwNJ_sqoW31I3h1DBmM4LFP3T3GMtXwwUlxW2CV/s320/DSC00378.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dining in style - but this room was a long way from the kitchen.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">There must have have been an awful lot of fetching, carrying, and lifting as well. I bet most of the staff ended up with back problems. They were cooking for vast numbers, and the pots and pans were enormous - they must have been so heavy when they were full of food. In addition, the kitchen quarters are a fair old distance from the family rooms (this is always the case at these places - the landed gentry didn't want to be disturbed by common things like cooking smells and noise). So food, and hot serving dishes and everything would have been carried backwards and forwards to the dining room, which must have been a task and a half. Makes you wonder how much stuff got dropped, spilt and broken!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, it's not a giant's watering can - it's for filling baths<br />
with water, and you have no idea how heavy it was!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">But the worst job of all must have been carting hot water along the corridors and up the stairs to the bedrooms, where it was poured into 'hip' baths so the family, and their visitors, could wash themselves. And when they had finished, the dirty water had to be heaved away and disposed of! Metal hot water cans, which look like watering cans for a giant's garden, were used to transport the water. When full, one of these containers weighed around 13kg, which is 28.7lbs, or just over 2 stones - and it took around six of them to fill a bath! It was one of the duties allocated to chambermaids, who were usually about 15 years old, and I cannot imagine how they coped. Neither my daughters nor I could lift the full can displayed in a sink in the scullery, and even the Man of the House struggled to move it, so how these young girls managed I just don't know. They must have staggered under the weight, and walked along with the hot metal can banging against their legs, which must have been permanently bruised, and hot water slopping over their feet. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The family make a new friend!dd caption</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The gardens and grounds would have been just as busy, for Saltram would have been pretty much self-sufficient, producing fruit and vegetables for the estate, raising animals and poultry on the estate farms to provide meat, milk and eggs, and even growing its own grain and brewing beer. Timber was grown on the estate woodlands and sold to shipyards and barrel makers in Plymouth, so foresters were employed, as well as men to work in the sawpit and the mill where wood was processed (though neither of these has survived). But the stables can be seen, as well-built as the house itself: top quality accommodation for top quality animals - race horses were bred here. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUETYkrDM3uaxjSRpRXJ_CVCa4bqlTTAbAcqV2y_oflrbC-7AdVlHKgsq-7GrixTJ1KGGrIrDB0_YVd67Tdn_dyxH-HZJAmX0IzJSyQ1RI4BfS7LSgy-NN2tf8EIeW-D4RTCFTFQDb9p8/s1600/DSC00328_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUETYkrDM3uaxjSRpRXJ_CVCa4bqlTTAbAcqV2y_oflrbC-7AdVlHKgsq-7GrixTJ1KGGrIrDB0_YVd67Tdn_dyxH-HZJAmX0IzJSyQ1RI4BfS7LSgy-NN2tf8EIeW-D4RTCFTFQDb9p8/s320/DSC00328_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the pink! Waterlilies in the formal pool.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Exotic plants from all over the world can be seen in the formal gardens, which were largely developed in the 19thC, and are a joy to behold, with winding paths leading you through all kinds of little areas, and fabulous flowers and foliage, all very lush and green. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The orangery. Isn't it beautiful?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">There's an amazing orangery, built in 1773 in neo-Classical style - so says the Guide Book. I'm never sure exactly what that means, but it has pillars, and lots of glass windows, and is all in proportion. It looks like something from Versailles, and best of all, it is still used to over-winter citrus trees. How cool is that? We were tremendously excited to see little green fruits hanging from the branches (the trees were all lined up outside in the largest of large pots, and appeared to be thriving, despite the vagaries of the English weather). We so hope these are oranges, but one small, unripe citrus fruit looks much like another to us. However, the trusty Guide Book only mentions oranges, so I shall assume we have seen oranges growing outside an orangery, and that makes me happy!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcUSmtL0j9-lGyUWcBcLvORrYoLFZhPr9PpF1T0I5G-Z9e-UG3vrXhH4oV5P4s8SPWUjqnCvDa7q9MusvXlkVf9DUaHfdz0F6L0GdNukGhjbG3Nxjjs0kLxAZmLKhEuxGN8Ikk_qm1QH9/s1600/DSC00338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcUSmtL0j9-lGyUWcBcLvORrYoLFZhPr9PpF1T0I5G-Z9e-UG3vrXhH4oV5P4s8SPWUjqnCvDa7q9MusvXlkVf9DUaHfdz0F6L0GdNukGhjbG3Nxjjs0kLxAZmLKhEuxGN8Ikk_qm1QH9/s320/DSC00338.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citrus fruit growing outside the orangery - you can see from<br />
the water droplets that it was a bit rainy that day.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We even saw a ha-ha, a kind of ditch, running along the edge of the lawn in front of the house to separate it from the fields where cattle still graze, down at a lower level. I’ve read about ha-has, but don’t remember seeing one before, and there's a duck pond, as well as an ornamental pool with a fountain and water lilies. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't push! Younger Daughter and the Man of the House<br />
by the ornamental pool.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The house and its lands remained in the hands of the Parker family for more than 200 years. They were still here during the Second World War, when an American army unit set up camp in the grounds. But the property suffered bomb damage, the family fortune dwindled, and life changed - people were no longer prepared to spend a life of drudgery 'in service', and by the 1950s there only two servants left to look after the elderly fourth earl, who was childless, and his bachelor brother. So when the fifth earl succeeded, everything was transferred to the National Trust.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shady spot in the garden.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Like all NT properties, it isn't cheap to go round, but the house is wonderful. There's masses to see, including photographs and portraits of the family, and lots of information about the way (and their servants) lived, with a special focus on the late 1700s and early 1800s. And the gardens are an absolute delight - there are plenty of labels telling you what the plants are, which is nice if you are not much of a horticulturist. You could spend a day just roaming around outside, and I gather the remaining parklands have become a wildlife haven, with rare species of plants and animals, which I think is rather nice, but you need to know what are looking for.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqKxQFmbyLbd4Wjb8wqnhO4bOsHd2kA5VpkWl8Dkpq_YoG_0l2_gFJkyDA5DgxGNKMGO63tvbsFSykA7YGtWMU_XX8ZiuqK-PRPX8TzWzZ_sFzMZ6SsbxlHzxZ5OCc3F0D2ey0mYj-5Vx/s1600/DSC00428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqKxQFmbyLbd4Wjb8wqnhO4bOsHd2kA5VpkWl8Dkpq_YoG_0l2_gFJkyDA5DgxGNKMGO63tvbsFSykA7YGtWMU_XX8ZiuqK-PRPX8TzWzZ_sFzMZ6SsbxlHzxZ5OCc3F0D2ey0mYj-5Vx/s320/DSC00428.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't let Mum loose in the library - we'll never get her out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">We thoroughly enjoyed our day out, and saw so much it's hard to know what to write about. In addition to the house and garden there's a lovely little cafe, a shop, charming follies in the grounds, and the old chapel has been turned into a gallery for local artists and craftspeople. And there were second-handbooks stacked in one of the old stables. Just for once, I didn't find anything I wanted, but I thought it was a lovely touch. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And so to bed!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/saturday-snapshot-september-14.html" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshots</a> is hosted by West Metro Mummy - click to follow links and see photos from other paticipants.</span></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-82724898529200625002013-08-28T11:03:00.002+01:002013-08-28T11:16:42.764+01:00Hooky Happiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rosy view of life...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today
Hooky Happiness is the order of the day… And half-finished hooky happiness at
that. I love crochet. I’m not very good at it, but you get such quick,
colourful results, and you can work the same designs in different yarns to
produce a chunky flower or a delicate snowflake. And, as long as I’m not
following a complicated pattern, I can sit and hook while I listen to a good play
on Radio 4, and watch an old film, preferably in black and white. Something
like Brief Encounter, or Casablanca. When it comes to books I like a happy
ending, but when it comes to films I love sad love stories and, odd though it
may sound, I really enjoy sitting weeping into my wool.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0jZxqqTc6XaH4NxlTBJpO8x1SfcYqHBl5pbY1KZv_xwu7e76pQ_5KU5E-l1AFboWLCzH5Wsyo1k1IsfGrclQM2Ee8-BYUVltpAieSsZVsEkgM1Eezr2Prraus7CBKQZTHFdqTdGAhlkZ/s1600/DSC01061_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0jZxqqTc6XaH4NxlTBJpO8x1SfcYqHBl5pbY1KZv_xwu7e76pQ_5KU5E-l1AFboWLCzH5Wsyo1k1IsfGrclQM2Ee8-BYUVltpAieSsZVsEkgM1Eezr2Prraus7CBKQZTHFdqTdGAhlkZ/s320/DSC01061_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squaring the Circle: I'm sill trying to decide how to<br />
get straighter edges and corners on this!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
I think I must have a low boredom threshold, because I like to have several
projects on the go at once, preferably in different colours and designs, so I
can pick and choose depending on my mood. So, at the moment I’m working on a
blanket for my elder daughter, all in shades of black, white and grey. It
features a large circle, edged into a square, surrounded by five smaller ‘square
circles’ to make lots of blocks. I’m going to join them so they’re offset,
rather than is straight rows, and fill the gaps with more of the smaller ‘square
circles.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
design is from Dorien, at </span><a href="http://madebydo.blogspot.nl/2013/02/large-circles-in-square-tutorial.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just-Do</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
who gives lovely clear instructions (although you need to be aware that she
uses American terminology, but it’s simple enough to write an English version,
which is what I do, because otherwise I get confused). Her completed blanket is
fabulous, in a rainbow of colours, and her technique is much better than mine. I
must admit, I’m having problems with edging and corners on this one – I’d like
it to be much sharper and more geometric looking. . I’ve put in an extra chain
on my corners, as she only uses one, and I think it’s better with two – the crocheters
(is there such a word?) among you will understand what I mean. Hopefully, I can
steam or block into a better shape by damping it down and pinning it out, which
is something I don’t usually bother with, but on this occasion I think it will
help. However, I’m not sure whether to do each individual square, or create
the larger six-piece shapes first. It calls for a bit of experimentation I
think.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKSaqGXGuh1tIYIVQsQ8TfD24W44-C1GHnhddqUfEudz843CDPhoNKdk60nSR5PW3W0_TH1706_FscM2HW4uu_MvlbjdbqBgqNTOMo_qpHs9PyPRmLS258SeWEOE5lid04P09Dqi-43t-/s1600/DSC01048_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKSaqGXGuh1tIYIVQsQ8TfD24W44-C1GHnhddqUfEudz843CDPhoNKdk60nSR5PW3W0_TH1706_FscM2HW4uu_MvlbjdbqBgqNTOMo_qpHs9PyPRmLS258SeWEOE5lid04P09Dqi-43t-/s320/DSC01048_edited.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work in Progress: I'm going to unpick the red edge,<br />
and add another two squares, so I've got six in each<br />
panel. And I might try some with navy instead of red.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then
I’m doing a very different blanket for my younger daughter (it wouldn’t be fair
if I didn’t do them one each!). This one is lovely and bright and cheerful,
with lots of yellows and reds and turquoises, and I’m still fiddling around
with the design, but basically I’m using traditional granny squares, and making
them up into panels, edged with red. Grannies are very forgiving if you’re not
always as accurate as you should be!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Lzjwmh01XVpw_7SM3o_-nMgcOIKX_M_kpAJQqExnVzl8WzUBYNNd4Kp8VmVuJ5gI432_BHgumRPhSLheRbE2EXfrk8LLs6L_PipGHsD5LFQs1fBo0GjIhEjFiQto2sJQwii5hYCN20YA/s1600/DSC01026_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Lzjwmh01XVpw_7SM3o_-nMgcOIKX_M_kpAJQqExnVzl8WzUBYNNd4Kp8VmVuJ5gI432_BHgumRPhSLheRbE2EXfrk8LLs6L_PipGHsD5LFQs1fBo0GjIhEjFiQto2sJQwii5hYCN20YA/s320/DSC01026_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting Pretty!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
I’ve made a round rainbow cushion cover (thanks to Lucy at <a href="http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/">Attic 24</a> for the idea). This is
so so easy to do: you just keep whizzing round and round, increasing as you go, and
using colours that please you. My work buckled up now and again, but it was
easy peasy to remedy – I just skipped an increase round, and did the same
number of stitches as the previous time! Occasionally I had to unravel before I
could put things right, but it was like magic! And I was surprisingly sensible,
and kept track of what I’d done, so I had a pattern to follow when I hooked the
back (using the same sea-greeny turquoise as the outer edging), so back and
front are exactly the same size and shape. Clever, huh?!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7_MNLEw-wDBuE0Qy-04Kp4N65C6FJ02BYuoRQyyzPVesuT7o8q9MfyNdRGOm6zCXuWvlwGfSr_0wnezdRdkRQ39WkJYJm_0JTq4FJfO-ePtXkxWcJvN2SN83E6RBRjFvaLYE-FmdH5W2/s1600/DSC01028_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7_MNLEw-wDBuE0Qy-04Kp4N65C6FJ02BYuoRQyyzPVesuT7o8q9MfyNdRGOm6zCXuWvlwGfSr_0wnezdRdkRQ39WkJYJm_0JTq4FJfO-ePtXkxWcJvN2SN83E6RBRjFvaLYE-FmdH5W2/s320/DSC01028_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bead Feast!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then I made a lovely, wavy, lacey edging, with glassy beads (threaded on to the wool
at the start) which will probably make it most uncomfortable to sit on, but
looks sooooo pretty – all shiny and glittery, which doesn’t really show in the
photo. I’ve still got to stitch this together, but it was an absolute joy to work,
and I’m going to try making another one, using lots of different stitches, like
bobbles and clusters, to create texture and interest.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZFv6Kxhj_dGJTkSPq7lQj9ZFEqipPIo9hm98lEXJ7p0D_gPCtpQSTgsD61BoiKF2Cgrd-pzQFD6yGPsCIFsg_vAdddN_UV3FRD-_2B8Nb-WmnOdzNExa2MyvFMQSVMV0jxD5QocAaoY6/s1600/DSC01072_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZFv6Kxhj_dGJTkSPq7lQj9ZFEqipPIo9hm98lEXJ7p0D_gPCtpQSTgsD61BoiKF2Cgrd-pzQFD6yGPsCIFsg_vAdddN_UV3FRD-_2B8Nb-WmnOdzNExa2MyvFMQSVMV0jxD5QocAaoY6/s320/DSC01072_edited.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping Cosy!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then
there’s my cosy which has transformed a manky old plastic container into a
handy hook holder, and is very environmentally friendly, and ideologically sound,
because it uses oddments from the scrap stash, as well as something that was
going to be thrown away. It’s so useful, and I’m so delighted with it, that I’m
going to cover a collection of old jars in rainbow hues to store pens, pencils,
scissors and all sorts of other things.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo7mHBfm6fk512LGImGf91nrugXmovB9YxvDeUwfIXauy4kY-mW2UpWRIAePXv6YHbFgPZP-_FEZdQytCGYjZTZw2AvA8e8fjuoBPDJM1B5jbrhperR6y-aV2oyuUO45AilRaylqGSGRt/s1600/DSC01083_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo7mHBfm6fk512LGImGf91nrugXmovB9YxvDeUwfIXauy4kY-mW2UpWRIAePXv6YHbFgPZP-_FEZdQytCGYjZTZw2AvA8e8fjuoBPDJM1B5jbrhperR6y-aV2oyuUO45AilRaylqGSGRt/s320/DSC01083_edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, more creations from the scrap stash…. little two layered flowers!
Please don’t ask me what they are for, because I don’t know. I’ve made them
before, for my Easter wreath, and a garland, so I am sure I can turn them into
something – but basically I do these because they are so much fun, and I love them!</span></div>
Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7455233847655570892.post-70644933065931766962013-08-24T23:28:00.001+01:002013-08-28T07:03:49.758+01:00Snapshots of a Camera<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44C5PxsUgbebSHnOG_Ty-tr9ZhMEr84yod7AXmBfP280R617qdkwsyL31rSSEcpwsgmaOo6n1KjpkfxSEOnsEdIPtjerfbc6rR0MTSqJ4HT0EF7ICV7kVJjTRV40MXXQe5G8j7VB68u0/s1600/dads+camera+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44C5PxsUgbebSHnOG_Ty-tr9ZhMEr84yod7AXmBfP280R617qdkwsyL31rSSEcpwsgmaOo6n1KjpkfxSEOnsEdIPtjerfbc6rR0MTSqJ4HT0EF7ICV7kVJjTRV40MXXQe5G8j7VB68u0/s400/dads+camera+034.JPG" width="242" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This week's </span><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is really special to me because it shows my Father's old camera. Dad died nearly seven years ago, just before Christmas, and this camera lay hidden in a cupboard for a long time because I felt tearful every time I looked at it. But recently I took it out and prised it open, and made a little display on a shelf, a kind of memory corner, with a couple of shots of Dad holding the camera, and a few of the pictures he took with it, and a photo of him and Mum at their wedding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a No 1 Pocket Kodak Camera Autographic model manufactured by the Eastman Kodak company some time between 1926 and 1932, and it must have been old he acquired it (he was born in 1922) but it was his pride and joy for many years, and he kept it long after he stopped using it. Other cameras came and went over the years, with assorted lens, filters and flashlights, but this one outstayed them all, and it must have meant a lot to him because he hung on to it, even though was (and is) unusable without some kind of restoration work being carried out.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ptu8a1_dSAz9iL6qCH0NBLfKnNvoCSTGeWt4Yob1IJluqLT9s95nS5aBftY-CajghLvwJXBJ-y38XiWS6_4aOh1IhAxXo0pA0lwgYam0DHbsXeD2t3KeIqQna7k4l4yef33RiMhk14A/s1600/dads+camera+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ptu8a1_dSAz9iL6qCH0NBLfKnNvoCSTGeWt4Yob1IJluqLT9s95nS5aBftY-CajghLvwJXBJ-y38XiWS6_4aOh1IhAxXo0pA0lwgYam0DHbsXeD2t3KeIqQna7k4l4yef33RiMhk14A/s320/dads+camera+011.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTA2pgJaMgWJGUKiwly3ll4pN61uCbN2keTl8MKtITAPvGsQqseWJqxh3Cv7ApFp6dYoRPGT_SGp-9OYs_0RArqDoKJRMFNdLCzgtSnBEzsH-y5PRzluhStpn1SK2aB6uSZgHAkdjEUI/s1600/dads+camera+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTA2pgJaMgWJGUKiwly3ll4pN61uCbN2keTl8MKtITAPvGsQqseWJqxh3Cv7ApFp6dYoRPGT_SGp-9OYs_0RArqDoKJRMFNdLCzgtSnBEzsH-y5PRzluhStpn1SK2aB6uSZgHAkdjEUI/s320/dads+camera+012.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Personally I think the name is a misnomer, because you'd never fit this into a pocket - the leather case is around 2mm thick, and it measures about eight inches, by four inches, by two inches, and is quite heavy. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The concertina bit that pulls out is actually called a bellows, and now lets in little pinpoints of light along its edges and points, so there's no way you take pictures,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> because any </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">film put through it would almost certainly be badly fogged and damaged by light, but film is still available which would fit it, and I would love to know if it could be repaired. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The original film, which is no longer manufactured, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">could be written on with a beautifully decorated metal stylus which looks like a pen or pencil and is clipped to the side of the lens. Apparently the stylus slotted into into a hole, and could be used to write the date on a film, or the place where a photo was taken, or the name of the person in it. people could write the date on the film (there is a little hole at the back that the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The photos taken on it were all black and white (I guess no colour film was available in those days) and they were quite small, and some of them seem quite fuzzy, but the camera is surprisingly sophisticated, with variable shutter speed and all kinds of features. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dad loved taking photographs. The more complex a camera was, the more he liked it, and he took everything very seriously, checking the position of the sun, and his light meter, and the distance from his subject. Sometimes he spent so long setting things up that we all got fed up, and would wander off, but it was worth being patient because he took some beautiful photos when we were on holiday, and lovely portraits of my brother and I when we were young, and of my daughters when they were small (but not on this camera, of course). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R2LJTaHJOMHe4tqkwaMnENFC9sY7OV0mCZZGW40opxSMvuhQFsnt0H1-oDTvrxHnUH_yxbjtWcm-2uHu4FlhQoBTuknSYkXbkAp8nZb9ceaintI-s6jUwxVQF7-FAcK2Nlg5OlFA4VY/s1600/dads+camera+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R2LJTaHJOMHe4tqkwaMnENFC9sY7OV0mCZZGW40opxSMvuhQFsnt0H1-oDTvrxHnUH_yxbjtWcm-2uHu4FlhQoBTuknSYkXbkAp8nZb9ceaintI-s6jUwxVQF7-FAcK2Nlg5OlFA4VY/s320/dads+camera+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, now I have the camera on display I find I can look at it and smile at the memory of Dad taking his pictures and think of how much pleasure it gave him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://westmetromommy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Saturday Snapshot</a> is hosted by Melinda at West Metro
Mummy.</span><br />
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Christine Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814026435889782750noreply@blogger.com24