After six weeks of form filling, e mails and phone calls, I now have a half plot on the site behind my house.
I think I am going to get a gardener to clear it and then I have two months to dig in manure 'n' stuff before I can start planting. Five people have already turned it down, so the lady in charge was dead chuffed that I'm taking it and I am dead chuffed that it is on that site. I will be able to pop round on those light Summer evenings to tend my courgettes and pick strawberries....
It is just visible from the back bedroom which is nice.
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Sunday, 14 December 2008
A few of my favourite things
A tag from Mac.
In no particular order.
1 Music. Instrumental music generally. Orchestral music specifically. The horn, stringed instruments. The piano when played by Angela Hewitt. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Monteverdi, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Schubert, Gregorian Chant, The Chieftans, Cerdd dant - a welsh type of music where a harpist plays a folk melody whilst two singers sing completely different music that fits. How many traditional musics are this contrapuntal? Singing of course with that exquisite Welsh clarity.
2 My family. Meeting cousins of my Mother from say, New Zealand and finding they react to things just like we do makes you fell less alone in the world and also have a different different details of family history. We could write one of those novels that keeps telling the same story from different perspectives.
3 Working with teenagers. It's great to be around people doing things for the first time. It's new to them if not to me and they do ask interesting questions or say new things, occasionally. Last Summer I had to teach a new orchestra how to play some music and how you accompany in a concerto. That's exciting. (You can tell I'm on holiday....)
4 Gardening. Being outside growing stuff is great. I like the fact that it happens slowly. I love flowers, trees, vegetables, can't wait for my blackcurrants and the jam I will make next July. There be farmers on both sides of my family. Growing food is what my Mum calls, 'reality.'
5 Wales I find it very exciting driving along the A5 to my parents mobile home. Wales was our second home in our childhood, or even the real home, but my parents couldn't get jobs there when they graduated. We used to get sent cuttings from the local paper from Grandma. The smell of coal smoke always sends me back. It's different from England and I like it lots.
6 The Church. Too much to say. I find I can walk into a room of Catholics and suddenly I react the same way as everyone else. Doesn't matter where in the world or whether I've ever met them before, mind reading is happening and people attain levels of kindness not found elsewhere. Everything suddenly makes sense and works. The Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
I tag
Maggie Clitherow
Roses and Jessamine
*
Antagonistic Pots and Pans
In no particular order.
1 Music. Instrumental music generally. Orchestral music specifically. The horn, stringed instruments. The piano when played by Angela Hewitt. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Monteverdi, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Schubert, Gregorian Chant, The Chieftans, Cerdd dant - a welsh type of music where a harpist plays a folk melody whilst two singers sing completely different music that fits. How many traditional musics are this contrapuntal? Singing of course with that exquisite Welsh clarity.
2 My family. Meeting cousins of my Mother from say, New Zealand and finding they react to things just like we do makes you fell less alone in the world and also have a different different details of family history. We could write one of those novels that keeps telling the same story from different perspectives.
3 Working with teenagers. It's great to be around people doing things for the first time. It's new to them if not to me and they do ask interesting questions or say new things, occasionally. Last Summer I had to teach a new orchestra how to play some music and how you accompany in a concerto. That's exciting. (You can tell I'm on holiday....)
4 Gardening. Being outside growing stuff is great. I like the fact that it happens slowly. I love flowers, trees, vegetables, can't wait for my blackcurrants and the jam I will make next July. There be farmers on both sides of my family. Growing food is what my Mum calls, 'reality.'
5 Wales I find it very exciting driving along the A5 to my parents mobile home. Wales was our second home in our childhood, or even the real home, but my parents couldn't get jobs there when they graduated. We used to get sent cuttings from the local paper from Grandma. The smell of coal smoke always sends me back. It's different from England and I like it lots.
6 The Church. Too much to say. I find I can walk into a room of Catholics and suddenly I react the same way as everyone else. Doesn't matter where in the world or whether I've ever met them before, mind reading is happening and people attain levels of kindness not found elsewhere. Everything suddenly makes sense and works. The Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
I tag
Maggie Clitherow
Roses and Jessamine
*
Antagonistic Pots and Pans
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Tufty
When I saw this aged 2 after the final line I turned round with tears in my eyes to look at my Mummy.
I like the fact that the weasel gets knocked behind the ice cream van and the main thing you see is that his cornet is ice cream end down on the road. Sensitive.
I took this sort of thing to heart!
Ivor the Engine
Such a brilliant little series.
Here's episode 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWk0BCeblQ
So true to life. Shopping expeditions to the local shops with my Grandmother were just like this.
Also, back in the mostly mono 70s, people played real instruments and you got to hear a bassoon lots. It must have made it easier to learn all the sounds.
I like the way they talk about the day being bright but it's actually pretty overcast. It's just not raining yet and the steam effects with cotton wool. Life was a lot simpler before CGI.
People really do have extra bits to their names in the top left hand corner of Wales. We were always hearing about Mrs Jones the Rectory, Mrs Jones Irish and Mrs Holy Jones and so it went on. I even had both Grandma's who wanted to be called Grandma hence Grandma-in-Wales and Grandma-in-Malden.
I must keep away from You Tube, for I risk watching all 40 episodes back to back.
One of my cousins bought the complete Bagpus for her kids and she said most of it was the title and end credits. One of my brothers has the complete Mr Ben. Fine stuff.
I must also check out the public information films that had improving stuff about castles and battles. Basically lots of still photos, with dates of battles and the odd sound effect of a fracas when they used to alter the camera angle on the pics. After general carnage, BBC composure would be restored and they always ended, 'That was a public information film.' Anyone else pre school in the early 70s watching five minute progs at lunch-time?
My main TV gripe as an infant was the Budget. Because, after a hard day reading 'Janet and John' (that's all the really boring words in English strung together into something that is repetitive and does not tell a story, but by jingo the,them then, there, why where, were etc were etched into your mind,)and learning the two times table mixed in with heavy doses of Catholicism for infants, followed by walking what felt like a very long way, I needed to sit down with what we called a 'drink and a biscuit' in 'the other room' for there were only two downstairs rooms. You were either in the kitchen or, 'the other room.' Time for a stiff Ribena in a plastic beaker and a swift Rich Tea biscuit, whilst settling down for Playschool with my idol Brian Cant, followed up by some series where I now know the theme music is by Faure, Stravinsky and other proper people. Anyway, the Budget was awful because the Children's Programmes were on BBC2 and they started later. Oh the waiting. Parliament was not televised of course, so there was that picture of Dennis Healy at the dispatch box droning on about tax and lots of 'here here.' Poor me. (not.)
Thus ends my childhood nostalgia trip.
Here's episode 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWk0BCeblQ
So true to life. Shopping expeditions to the local shops with my Grandmother were just like this.
Also, back in the mostly mono 70s, people played real instruments and you got to hear a bassoon lots. It must have made it easier to learn all the sounds.
I like the way they talk about the day being bright but it's actually pretty overcast. It's just not raining yet and the steam effects with cotton wool. Life was a lot simpler before CGI.
People really do have extra bits to their names in the top left hand corner of Wales. We were always hearing about Mrs Jones the Rectory, Mrs Jones Irish and Mrs Holy Jones and so it went on. I even had both Grandma's who wanted to be called Grandma hence Grandma-in-Wales and Grandma-in-Malden.
I must keep away from You Tube, for I risk watching all 40 episodes back to back.
One of my cousins bought the complete Bagpus for her kids and she said most of it was the title and end credits. One of my brothers has the complete Mr Ben. Fine stuff.
I must also check out the public information films that had improving stuff about castles and battles. Basically lots of still photos, with dates of battles and the odd sound effect of a fracas when they used to alter the camera angle on the pics. After general carnage, BBC composure would be restored and they always ended, 'That was a public information film.' Anyone else pre school in the early 70s watching five minute progs at lunch-time?
My main TV gripe as an infant was the Budget. Because, after a hard day reading 'Janet and John' (that's all the really boring words in English strung together into something that is repetitive and does not tell a story, but by jingo the,them then, there, why where, were etc were etched into your mind,)and learning the two times table mixed in with heavy doses of Catholicism for infants, followed by walking what felt like a very long way, I needed to sit down with what we called a 'drink and a biscuit' in 'the other room' for there were only two downstairs rooms. You were either in the kitchen or, 'the other room.' Time for a stiff Ribena in a plastic beaker and a swift Rich Tea biscuit, whilst settling down for Playschool with my idol Brian Cant, followed up by some series where I now know the theme music is by Faure, Stravinsky and other proper people. Anyway, the Budget was awful because the Children's Programmes were on BBC2 and they started later. Oh the waiting. Parliament was not televised of course, so there was that picture of Dennis Healy at the dispatch box droning on about tax and lots of 'here here.' Poor me. (not.)
Thus ends my childhood nostalgia trip.
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Monday, 1 December 2008
Monastic Prezzies
Following on from FrZ, I did what Grandma used to call, 'going upstairs pressing a few buttons and then somethng gets delivered.' ( Her description of one of my cousins getting a CD for her from Amazon. She decided that she wasn't going to get involved in technology beyond CD players, so never got into the internet.) I took a timely delivery of Mystic Monk Coffee on Saturday. Timely, because I was off to a 'do' at Church and wanted a little something to give to some people.
They sent a little sample, so I tried that and it's very good. Quite coarse ground compared to what I usually use, which is interesting and very tasty too.
Very good names - Midnight Vigil etc.
The community are saving up to build a monastery and have lots of good deals where they will send you a bag every month.
I have a friend who is a third order Carmelite (I think,) who is a big fan of all their Saints. She went to Rome for St Edith Stein's canonsation. (Big fan.) She's got to have some for Christmas.
Next up, honey from Farnboro' Abbey.
Anyone got any other places they get prezzies from?
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