Musings

Thinking things through

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The Dangers of Cycling

Pat at Christmas just a few short weeks before she died

What a strange coincidence, UK’s top cyclist, Bradley Wiggins and head coach for the GB cycle team, Shane Sutton both had cycling accidents within 24 hours. Fortunately, both men survived their accidents. Bradley Wiggins, the Tour de France winner, was discharged last night with broken ribs and a bruised hand according to the news.

British Cycling reported that,

Shane was taken into hospital where it was identified he has suffered bruising and bleeding on the brain. Shane was wearing a helmet. He is set to undergo more tests, and is likely to stay in hospital for the next few days. It is extremely rare that our riders and coaches are hurt while out cycling on the road, even rarer that two incidents should occur in a short space of time, and we wish Shane and Bradley a speedy recovery

Sadly, cycling accidents don’t always have this outcome. On Saturday 15th January 2011 my dear friend from college days was killed cycling on an organised 100 km club run for charity in the Severn valley. It was a foul morning, windy and pouring with rain. But Pat was a very experienced cyclist who used to be a racing cyclist and had cycled in France. I clearly remember my 60th birthday when Pat turned up in full cycle racing gear although she was a bit older than me, having ridden all the way from Berkeley to Cheltenham.

On the day she died, Pat was almost home when she was in collision with a van towing a trailer beneath a narrow railway bridge. It was no-one’s fault, simply a tragic accident. It happened near Old Westfield Farmhouse and there was a retired doctor at lunch there. He gave Pat CPR immediately; the emergency services arrived quickly, and Pat was airlifted to Hospital. It was comforting to hear from that kind doctor that Pat would not have suffered at all.

Pat was definitely one of life’s great characters and we used to have a lot of fun at college and afterwards when we shared a flat in Cheltenham. Before she came to college Pat had been a riding instructor and she continued with this in holidays from college. In the first year at college we shared a tiny bedsit behind Coventry Football Club. We had a wonderful time causing havoc in the local area with our practical jokes and outrageous (but very innocent) behaviour. We had our own favourite corner in the local pub and used to tease the local shopkeeper by asking him for exotic foodstuffs that he had never heard of.

In our second year we moved into college at Newbold Revel (the middle of nowhere) in Warwickshire, and again shared a room. Here we had more fun than ever, breaking every rule we safely could, and bending the rest. Pat loved all animals and our room was soon home to all sorts. We had snakes, guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters, all of which Pat hid and bred from. On one hysterical occasion I remember, we had a young novice nun visiting our room ~ did I mention our college was a convent? She saw a lovely fur hat on the bed and without asking picked it up and put it on her head. Unfortunately for her, the hat was a nest full of gerbil babies. I’m not sure who got the biggest fright ~ the nun or the gerbils.

Pat’s most adventurous pet was a very young, tiny and absolutely adorable Shetland pony. I remember going to collect the pony. Pat borrowed a car and took out the back seats to put the pony in. We drove it back to college and installed it in the grounds. This Shetland pony was called Rupert and it went almost everywhere Pat went, except the Bahamas. Rupert eventually moved to Berkeley where Pat settled with her husband John and children, Lindsey and Robbie. Rupert lived for over 30 years, joined later by Old English Sheepdogs which Pat bred, and a goat called Fosbury.

After College Pat and I decided we would look for teaching jobs together. We applied in Gloucestershire because Pat had been born here in Cheltenham. Her father was the Chest Consultant at Salterley Grange when it was a TB hospital. We got a flat together and started our careers. Pat taught in a secondary school and I taught in a primary school. Every evening after school we would meet for malted milk in a Montpelier café before going back to our flat to work. We loved Cheltenham and again had a very good time and lots of fun.

Eventually we both got married. Pat’s husband went off to teach in the Bahamas and as Pat was expecting a baby, she came to live with me again. She stayed for a few months until her beautiful baby, Lindsey was born. As Pat’s husband, John, was in the Bahamas, I was allowed to be with her at the birth. Typically for Pat, the delivery started dramatically. Pat was at the dentist having her wisdom teeth out when she realised her contractions had started. When the dental treatment had finished she said we ought to go straight to the maternity hospital as she was in labour. In those days I had no car so we caught a bus!! While I got dressed in a gown and green willies.  Pat was whisked off to the labour room. Before long the baby arrived. It was the most moving thing I have ever been privileged to see. When Lindsey was a few weeks old she and Pat set off for the Bahamas to join John. They were there for 5 years altogether and Robbie was born there. When they came back they lived in Cheltenham for a while before moving to Berkeley. They bought a lovely old cottage which they set about restoring. Pat was often to be found up a ladder as she personally reroofed the house. There was a large garden where Pat grew her fruit and veg. There was also a little paddock where she kept Rupert and later Fosbury. Indoors she bred her Old English Sheepdogs. Pat was an outdoor person so although she taught for a while in Gloucestershire she soon gave teaching up and became a Postwoman. This was when Pat discovered her love of cycling. She was never happier than when cycling around the villages delivering mail and chatting to people.

When Pat was killed both of her children were expecting babies. Lindsey, who already had 3 children, gave birth to a little boy called Isaac and Robbie’s wife had a little boy called Ollie. They were both born in March 2011 so Pat did not see them. But she would have been so thrilled with them, as she was with Lindsey’s other children. The boys are delightful and I am sure they have a lot of Pat in them.

 Pat’s cycling friends said she brought a touch of eccentricity into cycling. She did time-trials with Dursley RC for many years as well as road racing and taking part in numerous cycle-cross meetings. She also joined the Stroud Valleys Cycling Club competing in time trials and races as well as fun events such as ‘man versus horse’ in Wales. Pat was a brave lady, a regular Hard Rider and particularly enjoyed the hill climbs. Her forte was as a cross-country mountain biker, and she regularly featured in the national results. One season she took the National Lady Veteran’s title. The fun touch, though, was never far away.

I remember Pat once did the 58 mile London to Brighton race on a unicycle! My children had great fun learning to ride her unicycle when they were young. In later years she took up bog-snorkelling and of course won at the Llanwyrtyd Wells mountain bike event. Pat’s determination stood her in good stead some years ago when she fell out of a fruit tree in her garden and broke her back. When the ambulance men arrived she told them not to move her as she knew she could be paralysed. She made them put her on a spinal board and drive at 4mph all the way to Bristol Hospital. Once there it was confirmed that her spine was indeed broken and she had a permanent metal framework inserted around her spine. One of her party tricks after she had recovered, which of course she did, was to put magnets on her back to amaze people. In a few months bionic Pat was back in the saddle doing what she loved most, riding her bike.

Pat she taught herself to ski and to speak French so that she could join a cycling club in France where she and John had a second home.

She was a great friend and she is sorely missed.  Today’s news just brings it all back for me as I am sure it does for all her cycling friends, and especially her lovely family.  The world is a sadder and duller place without her.

Pat on her much loved bike.
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October 18th ~ Feast of St Luke

Today is the feast day of St Luke the patron saint of doctors.  It is said that he was born in Antioch in Syria.  I have been so worried today by the news from Syria that I thought I would post this article about St Luke from http://www.catholic.org

Would that there was someone so wise in Syria today who could change the course of history in that troubled country.

Luke, the writer of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, has been identified with St. Paul’s “Luke, the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14). We know few other facts about Luke’s life from Scripture and from early Church historians.

It is believed that Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile. In Colossians 10-14 speaks of those friends who are with him. He first mentions all those “of the circumcision” — in other words, Jews — and he does not include Luke in this group. Luke’s gospel shows special sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles. It is only in his gospel that we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, that we hear Jesus praising the faith of Gentiles such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian (Lk.4:25-27), and that we hear the story of the one grateful leper who is a Samaritan (Lk.17:11-19). According to the early Church historian Eusebius Luke was born at Antioch in Syria.

In our day, it would be easy to assume that someone who was a doctor was rich, but scholars have argued that Luke might have been born a slave. It was not uncommon for families to educate slaves in medicine so that they would have a resident family physician. Not only do we have Paul’s word, but Eusebius, Saint Jerome, Saint Irenaeus and Caius, a second-century writer, all refer to Luke as a physician.

We have to go to Acts to follow the trail of Luke’s Christian ministry. We know nothing about his conversion but looking at the language of Acts we can see where he joined Saint Paul. The story of the Acts is written in the third person, as an historian recording facts, up until the sixteenth chapter. In Acts 16:8-9 we hear of Paul’s company “So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ ” Then suddenly in 16:10 “they” becomes “we”: “When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.”

So Luke first joined Paul’s company at Troas at about the year 51 and accompanied him into Macedonia where they traveled first to Samothrace, Neapolis, and finally Philippi. Luke then switches back to the third person which seems to indicate he was not thrown into prison with Paul and that when Paul left Philippi Luke stayed behind to encourage the Church there. Seven years passed before Paul returned to the area on his third missionary journey. In Acts 20:5, the switch to “we” tells us that Luke has left Philippi to rejoin Paul in Troas in 58 where they first met up. They traveled together through Miletus, Tyre, Caesarea, to Jerusalem.

Luke is the loyal comrade who stays with Paul when he is imprisoned in Rome about the year 61: “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers” (Philemon 24). And after everyone else deserts Paul in his final imprisonment and sufferings, it is Luke who remains with Paul to the end: “Only Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Luke’s inspiration and information for his Gospel and Acts came from his close association with Paul and his companions as he explains in his introduction to the Gospel: “Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:1-3).

Luke’s unique perspective on Jesus can be seen in the six miracles and eighteen parables not found in the other gospels. Luke’s is the gospel of the poor and of social justice. He is the one who tells the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man who ignored him. Luke is the one who uses “Blessed are the poor” instead of “Blessed are the poor in spirit” in the beatitudes. Only in Luke’s gospel do we hear Mary ‘s Magnificat where she proclaims that God “has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:52-53).

Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus’ life, especially Mary. It is only in Luke’s gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation, and the story of Jesus’ disappearance in Jerusalem. It is Luke that we have to thank for the Scriptural parts of the Hail Mary: “Hail Mary full of grace” spoken at the Annunciation and “Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus” spoken by her cousin Elizabeth.

Forgiveness and God’s mercy to sinners is also of first importance to Luke. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the forgiven woman disrupting the feast by washing Jesus’ feet with her tears. Throughout Luke’s gospel, Jesus takes the side of the sinner who wants to return to God’s mercy.

Reading Luke’s gospel gives a good idea of his character as one who loved the poor, who wanted the door to God’s kingdom opened to all, who respected women, and who saw hope in God’s mercy for everyone.

The reports of Luke’s life after Paul’s death are conflicting. Some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. The earliest tradition we have says that he died at 84 Boeotia after settling in Greece to write his Gospel.

A tradition that Luke was a painter seems to have no basis in fact. Several images of Mary appeared in later centuries claiming him as a painter but these claims were proved false. Because of this tradition, however, he is considered a patron of painters of pictures and is often portrayed as painting pictures of Mary.

He is often shown with an ox or a calf because these are the symbols of sacrifice — the sacrifice Jesus made for all the world.

Luke is the patron of physicians and surgeons.

English: Saint Luke the Evangelist. Russian Ea...

English: Saint Luke the Evangelist. Russian Eastern Orthodox icon from Russia. 18th century. Wood, tempera. Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. He is considered one of the Four Evangelists. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Liebster Award

I’m delighted to say I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award.  Thank you so much to metaphoricalmarathons .  Do go and visit her blog, she writes with such sensitivity and wisdom and is just an all-round beautiful person.

The process goes as follows: I tell you 11 facts about myself. Answer the 11 questions dipitblack asked. Then nominate 11 blogs, with under 200 followers Then I ask the 11 I’ve nominated, 11 questions of my choice… I think that’s how it goes anyhow!

11 random facts about myself.

If you could go one place right now, where would you go?

I would pack a rucksack and walk the Cotswold Way with a camera and a tape recorder~showing my age there!

What is your favourite thing to do to relax?

Lie in a deep, hot bath with mountains of frothy, heavenly-smelling bubbles and perfumed candles gently flickering on the windowsill.

What is your favourite flower?

The humble wild poppy, vivid red and delicate is my favourite flower.  I love the way the flower head droops before it opens then reaches up to the sun.  I love the seed heads after the petals fall.  I love the way they grow where they will, along the weediest hedgerows or the smartest garden borders.  The poppy shouts summer to me.

What do you most like to do whilst with friends?

Catch a bus to London and wander the streets or ride on an open top bus, getting off at our favourite galleries and restaurants where we would eat beautiful food, drink lovely wine and talk about our latest creative venture.

When listening to music, which track do you have on repeat right now?

Anywhere on this Road from the album The Living Road by Lhasa.

What does writing do for you?

It releases me to truly express myself ~ the real me and say whatever I want.  “Those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter”.

How does blogging help you?

Blogging gives me a readership of like-minded or open-minded people who can dip in and out as they wish.  It also keeps my posts available to look back at without having to hunt through journals.  And I get to meet remotely some fascinating people and read all about them.

If you could be an animal, what would you be?

I rather fancy being a robin living in an old teapot behind a shed in someone’s garden.  I would pop out to sit on a fencepost and sing my heart out daily then fly wherever the mood takes me.

What was the first thing you did when you woke up this morning?

It was very misty when I woke up this morning so I grabbed my camera and walked down the garden path in my pj’s to take photos of the trees in the park opposite my house.

George Clooney, Gerard Butler or Johnny Depp?

It’s got to be George Clooney for me.  Apart from being an amazing actor, film director, producer and screen writer he is noted for his political activism, and has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since 2008.  George’s humanitarian work includes his advocacy of finding a resolution for the Darfur conflict, raising funds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2004 Tsunami, and 9/11 victims, and creating documentaries such as “Sand and Sorrow” to raise awareness about international crises.  He is also a member of the “Council on Foreign Relations”.  I copied all this information from Wikipedia but my admiration for George comes straight from the heart.

 Now some questions for the people I have nominated:~

1. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you choose?

2. If you could travel back in time, which era would you go to?

3. What is your fancy dress costume of choice?

4.What would you put top of your gifts list if money were no object?

5. If you could choose a Master chef to cook for you, who would you choose and what meal would you request?

6. City, beach, mountain, wilderness or forest?

7. What is the city that fascinates you the most?

8. If you could study any subject now, what would you choose?

9. What is your favourite colour?

There are so many blogs I follow and admire deeply it is difficult to choose.  I would encourage you to check out all those on my community widget ~ but for starters try:~ 

My Happiness Experiment

Michael Lewis Glover | Fine Art Photography

Proficiency Paradigms

Into the wild

Writing Your Destiny

Obscured Dreamer

Just This

leaf and twig

Source of Inspiration

Cheltonia

Karin Wiberg

 

My mum and I in days gone by

My mum and I in days gone by

My mum and I in days gone by.  It is 6 years since my mum died, it has gone by so quickly in some ways, yet so slowly in others.  I reckon I think about her more now than ever before.  Today I visited her grave and put her favourite pink flowers there.  It is in a perfect setting near the hills above Cheltenham, ina lawned   garden.  The trees are all golden, orange and red now that Autumn is here and they look so beautiful.  She would have enjoyed that.

As We Look Back ~ unknown

As we look back over time
We find ourselves wondering …..
Did we remember to thank you enough
For all you have done for us?
For all the times you were by our sides
To help and support us …..
To celebrate our successes
To understand our problems
And accept our defeats?
Or for teaching us by your example,
The value of hard work, good judgement,
Courage and integrity?
We wonder if we ever thanked you
For the sacrifices you made.
To let us have the very best?
And for the simple things
Like laughter, smiles and times we shared?
If we have forgotten to show our
Gratitude enough for all the things you did,
We’re thanking you now.
And we are hoping you knew all along,
How much you meant to us.

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Russian Odyssey ~ Part 1 ~ October 1995

My first Russian Trip ~ October 1995

Gloucestershire has always had strong links with Russia thanks to a very active Twinning Committee on the County and Borough Councils.  So after Perestroika, when Russia’s Education Departments wanted to link with those in other countries, it was natural for them to contact the GCC.  At this time I was a Headteacher in a Gloucestershire Primary school and I was very keen to travel.  I was also fascinated by different schools and their pedagogy.  I had already linked with a school in Kenya and found that experience life enhancing.  So, when the opportunity was offered to go to Moscow and link with schools in Sochi, I signed up straight away.

We had a crash course in Russian with a wonderful lady called Sheila who had previously worked at GCHQ.  She assured us that this would help us to ‘get by’ once we went into schools.  Fortunately she was coming with us and would be our guide for the first part of the visit, and she made all the travel arrangements.

So it was that I finished school on the Friday afternoon and headed straight for Heathrow for a very early flight to Moscow on the Saturday morning of half term.  After a delay the plane took off, flying over Denmark and the Baltic Sea.  I sat next to a Mongolian man who was very quiet for the whole 41/2 hour journey!

When we finally arrived in Moscow’s rather dismal airport, it was desperately cold.  Fortunately we were met by a guide with a nice warm car and we were whisked into the city.  The route between the airport and the city in 1995 was very drab with grey trees (silver birch), grey blocks of flats (hardly any private houses then), trolley buses grey with grime, and a few old Ladas.  Very few Russian people could afford cars at that time so the roads were very quiet.  Trolley buses were the main form of transport along with the fabulous Metro system.  We did see some quaint old dachas along the airport road.  Like wooden summer houses, or grand garden sheds, these all had a piece of land around them.  A left over from Soviet times, the dacha was where the Russian people could grow their own fruit and vegetables, and keep chickens to supplement their diet.

We were staying at the infamous Hotel Russia (Россия ) which was situated in what must be one of the world’s most exclusive building plots – overlooking Red Square.  The hotel was huge, built in the 60’s, indeed at the time it was the largest hotel in the world according to the Guiness Book of Records!  The hotel had 21-storeys, 3,200 rooms, 245 half suites, a post office, a health club, a nightclub, a movie theater and a barber shop as well as the 2500-seat State Central Concert Hall.  It held a maximum 6000 people!  It was almost the only hotel that foreigners were allowed to stay in then.  The hotel was still run on Soviet principals in that there was a corridor attendant (дежурная) on every floor.  These were terrifying, large ladies with no sense of humour and no social skills.  They made us feel very uncomfortable as they demanded our passports and travel papers every time we left our room.  They kept them under lock and key until we returned and always wanted to know where we were going and when we would be back.  Inside, the hotel was a strange mixture of austere, tatty corridors and very basic rooms, complete with bed bugs and whole families of cockroaches; but the dining room was totally over the top with flashing lights and lots of gold paint, like a 1950’s ballroom.  The dining room was huge but almost deserted except for a small group of very inebriated ‘businessmen’ with a ‘lady’.  The hotel was demolished in 2007 to be replaced by an entertainment complex.  Overseen by British architect, Sir Norman Foster, the new plans include a new, two thousand room hotel with apartments and secure parking.[

Our evening meal reminded me of a convent I used to go to.  There was no choice or menu, just a salad starter then rissoles with cabbage.  This was followed by tea without milk.  Afterwards we congregated in the room with the most spectacular view over Moscow’s old onion domed churches, and drank lovely Russian Champagne, which at £2 a bottle was half the price of a bottle of water!  I shared a room with a colleague and being very tired we slept really well hardly noticing the cockroaches.

We woke early to see snow falling lightly on Red Square.  I will never forget that sight.  It was truly magical.  On one side there was the Kremlin, opposite that there was the Main Universal Store (Государственный универсальный магазин), abbreviated to Gum (ГУМ), at one end there was the world famous , St Basil’s Cathedral, and at the opposite end the state historical museum.  So after a breakfast of Salami, cucumber and rye bread we set off to see as much of the city as we could in one day.

The best way to get around Moscow was, and still is, by Metro.  It is very fast and very efficient.  The stations are very deep under the city and the old escalators are incredibly long and steep, and move very quickly.  They seemed to be made of walnut and formica and were lit by gas light which emitted a dim glow and a distinctive smell, reminding me of the lighting in my childhood home.  Each station is different and they are all very beautiful.  We got on at the Kremlin station which is decorated with sculptures and frescoes depicting characters from the Bolshoi Ballets.  The ceiling was white porcelain with gold decorations; the walls, white and grey marble.  The station was absolutely spotless with no adverts, no graffiti, not a speck of litter ~ just beautiful.  A token to go anywhere on the Metro at that time cost 1000 roubles which was about 15p at that time.

We travelled around the city stopping at various stations just to see them.  One was a 1920’s art deco style.  The walls were made of Onyx and there were alcoves with fabulous standard lamps made of bronze.  Chandeliers hung from beautiful ceilings.  The Metro stations were used as air raid shelters during the war as were our own in London.  One of the Moscow stations has scenes from the war painted in huge cameos on the ceiling like modern day icons, in deep rich colours and sparkling gold.  Eventually we returned via the Bolshoi station and walked to the Kremlin.

The word Kremlin means fortress and it is actually a walled city.  There are 20 watchtowers on the walls, one with a famous clock.  The Kremlin dates back to the 14th century, and the walls to the 16th; it was home to the Czars.  On the way we passed the monument to the Unknown Soldier.  This is a very beautiful and moving tribute sculpted in bronze.  There is a cloak, sword and helmet, and an everlasting flame.

Once inside the Kremlin we were in awe.  At that time we were not allowed to take photos so those that I have of the spectacular buildings are from a later visit.  There are so many churches all topped with gold domes and icon painted walls inside and out.  We went into the Church of the Assumption, which, like most of the churches had been turned into a museum, but services were held 5 or 6 times a year.  Every inch of the walls, ceiling and pillars was covered in exquisite icons.  The old icons were painted on prepared wood using paints made from natural materials including crushed gemstones.  The finished icons were covered in olive oil to preserve it.  Unfortunately, over the centuries, the olive oil darkens and the icons get very dull.  Many have been restored.  Centuries ago, icons were the only Russian art and they all had a religious theme.

Leaving the Kremlin we walked back into Red Square and visited Lenin’s tomb.  Lenin died in 1954 and for a long time he was revered.  However the cost of keeping his body in good enough condition to be on display to the public is enormous and, while we were there, people in Moscow were questioning whether it should continue.  The body was almost luminous and we were rushed through by the guards.

After a fleeting visit to the fabulously luxurious department store that is GUM, we were rushed to Sheremetova 1 airport for our domestic flights to Sochi by the infamous Aeroflot airline!

I will write about that tomorrow.

Travel was free on buses in Moscow for Russians in 1995
Church of the Assumption in the Kremlin
Churches in the Kremlin
Statues of workers in the underground in Moscow
Metro station in Moscow 1995
Steep and fast moving gas lit escalator in Moscow underground 1995
Memorial to the Unknown Soldier behind the Kremlin. Moscow’s Brides leave their wedding bouquets there as a mark of respect
A typical dacha
Cathedral inside Kremlin
Gate at the end of Red Square
St Basil’s Cathedral
Red Square by Kremlin Walls. Lenin’s mausoleum in the background
Inside the Kremlin
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Free

Image

Free Spirit ~ my beautiful daughter

I know the real me.

At the core of my being,

My spirit is free!

 

Nothing is free!

Mankind is a mess.

Motivated by money,

Morality’s mired.

 

Free Trade ~ there has to be a way found to share the earth’s resources more equitably.  It is unsustainable for the majority to live in dire poverty while the minority consume without conscience.

Free trade or fair trade

Ethical extremities,

Conscience compromised.

Free  people ~ I find it ridiculous that different ethnic peoples can not  respect each other’s differences and reach compromise.  Will conflict never end?

Trapped in tradition,

Hostages to history,

Future’s foreboding.

Free food ~ I find it amazing when I walk in the countryside, that there is an abundance of fruit on the trees and in the hedgerows, and people don’t seem to pick it.  They prefer to go to a supermarket and buy inferior stuff at inflated prices in polythene bags.  Why?

Free for the hungry

Nature’s abundant harvest

Hanging on the trees

Image

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Addictive Blog Award

The Addictive Blog Award Image

Addictive Blog Award was given to me by Renee at :  http://positiveboomer.net

Renee is a life affirming baby boomer with a heart of gold and loads of common sense.  Do visit her blog ~ it will lift your spirits and enrich your life.

The rules for this Award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link them back.
Thank you dear friend!

2. Share a little bit about why you started blogging.

I started blogging as an extension of the daily journal I was keeping for The Artist’s Way.  I enjoy thinking, researching and writing.  The wonderful thing about blogging is that over time you become part of a community of people whom you would never normally meet, who are interested in your posts and interesting in their own right.  It is inspirational.

3. Copy and Paste the award onto your own blog.

4. Nominate up to 10 other bloggers you think are addictive enough to deserve the award.

That is a hard one as there are so many fascinating and addictive blogs out there.

Please know that I totally understand if you are not interested in Awards. I only want you to know your blog is addictive!

http://mariodavalos.com ~ fantastic photography

http://leafandtwig.wordpress.com/~ more great photography plus inspired words

http://selfblossoming.wordpress.com

http://patcegan.wordpress.com

http://mypenandme.wordpress.com

http://nhwn.wordpress.com

http://purplepeninportland.wordpress.com

http://writingyourdestiny.com

http://merlinspielen.com

http://inspiremylife.wordpress.com/

Thank you again Renee x

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How To Have A Great Day

Oh I just love this ~ as one who never gets enough sleep I am going to print it out and pin it to my bedroom door!

Freedomborn's avatarFreedomborn

 
 
How To Have A Great  Day…..
Get enough sleep… 
 
 
Don’t forget those morning exercises…
 
 
 Wash properly and everywhere…
 
 
  
 Have a good stretch…
 

 

 Don’t get out on the wrong side of the bed…

 

And if you are still tired …

Then best go back to sleep till catnip!

(Breakfast)

But Remember to take time out to Pray that’sthe Secret for a great day! 

  

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Paradox ~ haiku

Paradox Lake 6

Paradox Lake 6 (Photo credit: xeaza)

The word prompt for todays haiku from haiku heights is ‘Paradox‘.  Where to start?  Media, Medicine, Religion…

Outrage on front page,

adverts inside, profits from

sinister sex trade.

My blood boils when I buy a local family newspaper such as the recent Gloucestershire Echo.  On the front page they gloat and pontificate, taking the moral high ground, over the police storming local brothels.  Men and women were arrested, masses of money was seized and young foreign girls who were victims of illegal trafficking were rescued and taken away.  Yet, inside the same newspaper, albeit near the back, were lurid adverts for the services provided by these same establishments.  Is this double standards ~ Yes!  Is this hypocrisy ~ Yes!  Is this paradoxical ~ Yes!!  Should I stop buying the newspaper ~ Yes!   Should I start a campaign ~ I know I should……but will it change anything…?

Nurses come nightly,

tenderly numbing his pain

Killing him kindly.

The world of medicine is riven with paradoxes concerning treatments for prolonging life, saving life, ending life.  Decisions and actions can have monumental consequences.  There will always sadly be some people who misuse their position, skills and knowledge to cause harm to themselves or others.  But for the most part the medical staff we meet are caring people trying to alleviate suffering who have to live with their conscience, and their choices .

Fundamentalists

Freedom denying,

Future destroying.

Sadly the most glaring paradoxes are to be found in the world of ‘religion‘.  I listened to a wonderful “Thought for the day” on BBC Radio 4 today about just this.  Canon Dr Alan Billings talks about how the individual’s faith and religious practice can be a very good and positive thing; but collectively, due to desire to protect and preserve ‘their’ values and traditions, hierarchical religious communities can act in damaging, destructive and downright wicked ways.  I think of the dreadful cover-ups of child abuse, of the  unjust and insensitive treatment of women or anyone who does not conform to the perceived ‘norm’, and of course the killing and maiming carried out in the name of religion.  It always comes down to a desire by those in positions of power to subjugate those without it.

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Hummingbird hawkmoth ~ Haiku

Hummingbird hawkmoth

In Autumn hedgerow

Hummingbird Hawkmoth hovers

Foreign visitor

Humming Bird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)

  • Wingspan 40 – 50 mm
  • Not a native to the UK.
  • Description: large proboscis and antenna, fan tailed thorax, orange hindwings and grey-brown fore-wings, marked with two black lateral stripes.
  • Takes its name from the habit of flitting between blooms collecting nectar with its long proboscis, with a flight pattern resembling that of the humming bird.
  • Although it has occasionally been known to overwinter in southern counties, this day flying moth is largely a migrant from the continent, flying any time from  spring to October.
  • A prolonged spell of warm summer weather and a southerly prevailing wind, can result in a fairly large presence of the humming hawk moths in the UK.

I have spotted these exotic visitors to England only twice; once in my garden, and once at the nursing home where my mum lived for the last 18 months of her life.

I read somewhere that the hummingbird hawkmoth is considered a good luck omen in malta and Italy.  Apparently a swarm of them was seen crossing the English Channel flying towards England on the day of the D Day landings in 1944.  My sighting was not such a good omen as I wrote in a previous post amended below!

“Just last year we sat in the garden on a sunny autumn Thursday, my mother and I.  We saw a hummingbird hawkmoth, a rare visitor to the UK.  Like a large bee crossed with a moth, it hovered over the flowers like a hummingbird.   We were at the The Owlpen, mum’s care home, enjoying the last warm days of the year.  Sitting with us were Diana, Phyllis, Agnes and a lovely Welsh lady who didn’t speak at all.   Agnes spotted a plane with four wings flying round and round in circles.  A training flight we thought or maybe a pleasure flight.  No-one else noticed it.  Diana was earnestly knitting hats for merchant seamen.  She has made hundreds over the years from wool that people bring her.  She says it keeps her mind alert and her hands busy.  She doesn’t need a pattern now, she knows the stitches so well, but she has to concentrate on counting the rows.   Phyllis is a large lady with sparkly eyes, very little hair, and sorely swollen legs.  She has difficulty walking and forgets where she has put her stick.  She loves to chat about her grandchildren and to hear about other people’s.  Agnes is mum’s best friend at the Owlpen.  She is a lovely cultured lady who reads the Times from cover to cover every day to ‘keep abreast of the news’. Agnes enjoys good conversation but gets cross with herself when she can’t remember the words she wants to say.

Mum’s eyes do not sparkle today.  They look milky and dull like an aged pet.  She is not joining in the conversation and does not appear to be enjoying the lovely day.  It worries me that she seems so quiet and a bit confused.  I fear she is fading in mind and body so I ask the nurse to make an appointment for the doctor to visit.

On Monday I arrive early to be there when the doctor comes.  He is young, gentle and kind and asks mum lots of questions.  She is overawed by him and doesn’t want to be a nuisance so she says she is fine.  I gently coax the symptoms out of her.  Didn’t you have a pain in your tummy mum?  “Yes, a little bit”.  Doesn’t it hurt your back when you are moved mum?  “Yes, a little bit”.  Haven’t you gone off your food because it makes you sick mum?  “Yes, a little bit”.  Bless her, it breaks my heart to see how dependent and deferential she has become.  Where is the proud, strong, creative lady?  What happened to the northern matriarch who watched over the whole extended family for the last sixty years?

The doctor says he won’t distress her further as she seems a bit down.  So I stay for the whole day.  We read the book of Old Gateshead and go down ‘memory lane’.  We have coffee and share a bit of cake.  At lunchtime I sit with her and she manages to eat a whole bowl of soup.  She is so animated now that we decide to have a girlie afternoon.  Fortunately I had brought my manicure set and some nail varnish.  I cut her nails and massage her hands with Wild Rose Beauty Balm from Neal’s Yard.  Then I buff the nails to smooth them and paint them Midnight Bronze.  By the time I leave she looks relaxed and radiant, and the room is filled with the smell of roses.  I have never felt closer to her and I will treasure the memory of that day forever.  My mum died before the week was out.

I would give the world to be able to see my mum today, take her for a drive, or make her a special lunch.”

http://youtu.be/4SI6Lu9LeBI

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Kindness

  • One of my facebook contacts, Dr david hamilton,  posted this message and video today and it is so cheerful I thought I would pass it on:~

He said, “I spoke at the General Assembly of the World Kindness Movement yesterday and met some really inspiring people. Here’s a video made by one of them (Orly Wahba, who founded, ‘Life Vest Inside’). It’s one of the most inspiring videos I’ve ever seen….you never know how far a simple act of kindness travels. The ripple effect in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU&feature=player_embedded

Super Sweet Blo…

super-sweet-blogging-award

Super Sweet Blogging Award.

I have been nominated for a super sweet blogging award by Jade Jarvis.  I am very grateful, especially as Jade has introduced me to some amazing new blogs that I had not come across before.

Rules to accept this award:

First rule:

  • Thank the super sweet blogger who made the nomination.

Thank you inspiremylife  for nominating me for this blog award. It is a great boost to my confidence.

If you enjoy reading beautiful and inspired writing, following her blog is a must!

Second rule:

  • Nominate a baker’s dozen of other bloggers.  I have an eclectic mix of sites that I follow and these are just a few that I love.

My nominations are:

  • Answer these five questions below:
  1. Cookie or cake? lemon drizzle cake please!
  2. Chocolate or Vanilla Ice cream? Got to be Madagascan Vanilla, preferably soft and whippy with a chocolate flake in! Yummy.
  3. What is your favorite sweet treat? At the moment Weight Watchers caramel wafers as I am on a diet!
  4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Middle of the afternoon when I take a mini break from all the rushing about.
  5. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? Divine White Chocolate.
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Sanctuary ~ a Sacred Space

My Sanctuary

At WI I received a lovely gift in the lucky dip.  It was a silver bag containing a little silver and diamanté heart and 2 bottles of Sanctuary; a brand of luxury bathroom products.  It was lovely, although as I only have a shower, it may be passed to someone else!

The word ‘sanctuary’ comes from the Latin root word, sanctus, which means holy.  So the primary meaning of the word is, ‘a sacred space’.  Following on from this is the idea of a ‘place of refuge’, where someone can escape to and find safety.

In the year 2000 I retired exhausted from full time working, and spent a year seeking ‘sanctuary’ from a life so busy that it had overwhelmed me.  Being too ill to go anywhere, my sanctuary had to come to me, so my wonderful husband built me a summerhouse at the end of the garden where I could find some healing peace.

It was 3metres by 4metres made of solid wood lined with tongue and groove pine panels with a waterproof, pitched roof and 4 doors.  Each door had 12 glass panes and I was inspired to paint them with glass paints.

At the time I was reading “Landmarks”, An Ignatian Journey, by Margaret Silf and the book inspired me to consider my faith journey.  Knowing that the Domain in Lourdes has been the most formative place in my faith life, and thinking (wrongly) that I might never be well enough to go there again, I decided to reflect its importance in my summerhouse.  Each door would have a depiction of the grotto and of water included, as well as images that I love.

I chose the 4 seasons as my theme and decided to paint the doors Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.  Before the doors were hung I measured out 4 pieces of wall lining paper and sketched my designs

 for each door.  I used trees, laburnum, wisteria, maple, holly, bending towards each other to form arched shapes.   I then drew images from nature related to each season, mice, hedgehogs, robins and anything else that came into my mind.  Once the paper design was complete I stuck the paper onto the back of each door and drew over it straight onto the glass with ‘tube lining’.  This dries quite quickly so then I started to paint! 

I am not an artist so the result was very primitive, but because the glaze comes in such beautiful colours, the overall effect was stunning.

Once the doors were hung we laid electricity cables to the summerhouse so that we could light it from inside or out.  This meant that at night we could see the stained glass effect shining down the garden from the house.  If I was in the summerhouse on a sunny day with the doors shut, the stained glass effect cast coloured light all over the inside of the summerhouse.  If I was in there at night I sometimes turned off the lights and lit candles to gain a different effect.

This was my sacred space, my sanctuary, my still point, my little bit of Lourdes and I loved it.  In my summerhouse I looked deep inside my self; I wrote my life story; I restored my spirit; I emerged a different person.

Sadly, I had to move home 3 years ago, and I could not take my summerhouse with me.  But I have the photographs and I just have to think of it to find a beautiful stillness.

Glass-Painted Summerhouse Doors My sacred space in winter
Winter Glass-Painted Summerhouse Door
Spring and Summer Glass-Painted Summerhouse Doors
Glass-Painted Summerhouse doors My sacred space in summer
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Illuminating Blogger Award

Being a relatively new blogger and naturally inclined to need feedback from more experienced bloggers, I am thrilled to receive The Illuminating blogger  award from Karen Wan.

I know not everyone enjoys receiving awards as they involve a bit of an effort, but being a Leo I need all the praise I can get!  So thank you Karen  http://writingyourdestiny.com

The rules for the Illuminating Blogger Award are simple.

You just need to share one random thing about yourself and thank the person who recommended you.  The one random thing that I’m sharing is that I am off to London on Thursday to the National Federation of Women’s Institutes Head Office. I am really looking forward to this as there will be lots of interesting and inspiring women talking.  It also gives me a chance to promote the wonderful book Coin Street Chronicles written by Gwen Southgate.  I don’t know Gwen and have never met her but her book deserves to be widely read.  It was very well received in the USA, where Gwen lives now, and I really want to promote it in UK where it is set.

My nominations for the Illuminating Blogger award are also other blogs that I enjoy reading.

illuminating posts: http://myhappinessexperiment.wordpress.com

http://fivereflections.wordpress.com

http://patcegan.wordpress.com

I hope you will visit them, they will enrich your day x

Field of Rapeseed
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Field of Rapeseed

Rapeseed 18

For those of you who enjoyed the photos of the poppy fields in the Cotswolds I thought I would post a photo I took last month of a Rapeseed field.  There is something new every month in the Cotswolds.  Before the rapeseed there was blossom everywhere from the fruit trees and before that there were the magnolias, snowdrops and daffodils.  Maybe I should do a month by month pictorial journal of Cotswold Flora with a side order of lovely buildings and scenery!  So let’s start with January when we get Hellebores quickly followed by snowdrops, crocuses and aconites.  I took this photo of  wild snowdrops in the woods ………

In February I spotted daffodils at Lindors Country House which is a retreat centre and hotel in the Forest of Dean and at Prinknash Abbey which is my favourite place in the whole world …….

In March  the weather was good and the Magnolias were out early…….

In April the fruit trees were covered in blossom.  The apple blossom is in my garden where I have 2 apple trees and 2 pear trees, 1 quince tree and a cherry tree so I get a good variey of blossom! ………

  In May the rapeseed fields brightened up the fields high up in the Cotswolds………..

Of course the most beautiful time in the Cotswolds is lambing time.  Here are some very happy sheep at hailes Abbey …..

 

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I’ve been nominated for ~ One Lovely Blog Award!

Wow I am overwhelmed! One of the great blogs I follow has nominated my blog for an award! I am so excited and however humble the award it is great to know someone enjoys my writing enough to nominate me.  It means so much to know that someone is reading and enjoying my musings.  So thank you!

I have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award, by http://merlinspielen.com

8 things about me

1. I like to eat caramel in any shape or form.

2. I am addicted to Sudoku.

3. My old and much loved camera goes with me everywhere.

4. I am secretary of Benhall WI www.benhall-wi.org.uk

5. I love creating soups and casseroles and I contributed to a Cookbook.

6. I have 3 of the most beautiful daughters in the whole world and a handsome son.

7. I love wine but can’t drink it!

8. I live in the Cotswolds which is awash with blossom at the moment.

Here are my nominees for the One Lovely Blog Award:

  1. www.merlinspielen.com
  2. www.nhwn.wordpress.com
  3. www.deborahlurkin.com
  4. www.diannemackinnon.com/blog
  5. http://myhappinessexperiment.wordpress.com
  6. http://fivereflections.wordpress.com
  7. http://robwilcox.wordpress.com
  8. www.nhwn.wordpress.com
  9. www.nhwn.wordpress.com

I know the last 2 are cheating but really I can’t get enough of the New hampshire Writers’ group – everyone on it is worth following!

Thank you MerlinSpielen I really appreciate the recognition X

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My Top 10 List of Affirmations by Dr David Hamilton PhD

 

I heard David speak in Cheltenham and he was inspirational.  Thought you might all appreciate these affirmations.  These are David’s words:-

I love doing affirmations and have used them for many years. My recent Hay House Radio show (Monday 30th April 2012) was on ‘The Power of Affirmations’, where I went into the science of how they work and their impact upon the brain and body.

Near the end of the show, I read out my Top-Ten list of affirmations and several people have since got in touch to ask if I could put them down on paper. So here they are:

 

My TOP TEN AFFIRMATIONS

1. I am grateful for all that I am, for all that I have, and for all that I experience.

2. I live each day with happiness and joy, trusting that only good things come to me.

3. I love and accept myself just as I am.

4. I love to cultivate thoughts that enrich my life and my relationships

5. I let go of blame and I speak my truth authentically – without judging myself or others.

6. I love to focus on the good things in my life and I love that doing this brings me more blessings.

7. I have the inner strength to handle any situation that I find myself in.

8. My mind and body are healthy and strong and I nourish them with my spirit, which is infinite.

9. I am flexible. I welcome changes in my life and adapt with courage and ease.

10. I allow myself to feel happiness and joy for no reason at all. Simply because I deserve it.

Why not write a list of your own? I bet each of us have a reservoir of untapped wisdom that only ever comes out when people need our help. Think of your list as advice for people who need it. :-)

Have you got a favourite affirmation?

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