Miscellaneous 11/08/2011
Add Comment Crafty 11/05/2011
Following her recent hip-replacement operation, my craftwork-crazy wife felt that she needed something to keep herself occupied during the convalescent period. So, taking advantage of the fact that we had a few empty sacks (which had previously held nuts or seeds for the local wildlife) and an assortment of materials which had seen better days, she decided to have a go at making a rag-rug. After opening out and marking a pattern on the sackcloth (below - top left) and cutting the aforementioned materials into the small strips (below - top right), she set about weaving a rug using the wooden peg (below - bottom left). The reverse side of the completed rug can be seen (below - bottom right). Click on photos to enlarge.     The front side is shown below. The photo doesn't really show the depth of the rug. However, take it from me, it's extremely comfortable to stand on......  Rambling 11/04/2011
Those who pay attention to these matters may have noticed that I've not contributed very much to this blog, this year. The reason for this is that I haven't been walking on the hill as often as I used to - and the reason for that is that I spent some time riding down Memory Lane on my trike (click Trixie category to the right for details). Based on what our New England cousins are experiencing, it seems possible that the Indian summer Old England has enjoyed recently might come to an end soon; so, this morning, I spent a while strolling along some of the local lanes before the really bad weather arrives. Interestingly, walking might be the safest means of travel around these parts because some of the potholes were quite dangerous (see below - click on photo to enlarge). Heaven knows how bad the roads will become when winter really sets in.    However bad the roads might become, it's unlikely to stop people visiting the hill. It's a popular place for walkers and - for that reason - a number of car parking areas have been established. Here's one of them......  As can be seen, there were only about half-a-dozen cars in the park at the time I took this photo (above). In other words, there's plenty of room. Unfortunately, however, it seems that occasional, mindless, mountain-bikers aren't the only inconsiderate people who visit the area. Below is another photo I took within minutes of the one shown above. The vehicle has been abandoned (I won't say parked) in a passing space directly opposite the clearly-signed car park. What an idiot!  Thoughts 08/09/2011
 Although I was fortunate enough to have been evacuated to rural north Wales for most of WW2, I do recall bombs falling on Liverpool and the sense of fear associated with that experience. Fear of an enemy in times of war is something which can be understood. However, fear of those who purport to be British - and in what are supposed to be times of peace - is less easy to understand and, to some extent, much more frightening. Rambling 07/09/2011
Those familiar with my feelings about mountain bikers might appreciate this. Thoughts 07/01/2011
As I may have mentioned in the past - and as many others (particularly some sports personalities and so-called celebrities) have discovered, one of the snags about Twitter is that the 'immediacy' of the medium almost inevitably means that writing in haste often results in repenting at leisure. That isn't to say, by the way, that writers might actually repent - i.e. change their mind about what they have written - but they certainly might regret having tweeted it. Now, as I've also mentioned before, I've tried to restrict those I follow or by whom I am followed (to use the Twitter vernacular) to those with whom I have some sort of genuine association. In other words, apart from one or two exceptions, I tend to avoid 'personalities' in favour of 'real' people and, as a consequence, I haven't come across too much stuff which might be considered controversial. There have, however, been occasions when I've been aggravated by a comment. After all, a number of those within my own Twitter 'community' might be classified as being arty - so, it isn't surprising that (in political terms) some of their opinions are somewhat to the left of my own. However, since I'm aware of this, it doesn't come as too much of a surprise to me when they're expressed - except when they're expressed a little too often and in language which leaves a lot to be desired. Having said that, even those factors can be excused to some extent. What cannot be excused, however, is a refusal to recognise the facts when attempting to present a point of view. For example, if the current leader of the Labour party is prepared to accept that urgent steps need to be taken to address the issues arising from the legacy which his predecessors left their coalition successors, why on earth do some of his so-called followers seem unable to do the same thing? Quite frankly, to suggest that these problems do not exist is blindingly stupid and it is completely beyond my understanding how apparently intelligent and well-educated individuals insist on castigating the coalition for attempting to sort out the mess they've inherited - and to use Twitter to promote these notions merely reminds others of the flaws in their misguided arguments. Fortunately - but, sadly, in a way - in much the same way that television sets have on and off switches, Twitter affords the same degree of control; and, in that respect, actions speak louder than words. Thoughts 06/14/2011
During a recent conversation which examined the emotion known as 'love', I was reminded of an occasion when the future Princess Diana and Prince Charles - during a pre-wedding interview - were asked if they were in love and she answered, "of course", while he made his famous and telling reply, "Whatever love is." Now, I have to confess that I fall into the same category as the prince - in that, even after over fifty years of marriage, I would still be hard pressed to accurately define the meaning of the word, 'love'. That said, however, I can describe my own experience of what might be described as 'falling in love' - and, in so doing, I should explain that, for several years, I believed the circumstances to have been so unusual that I didn't tell anyone (not even my wife). In recent times, however, I've reached an age when I don't give a **** if anyone believes me or not and I've disclosed what happened. So far as I can remember, the fateful event occurred early the autumn of 1955. My family had moved from Liverpool to The West Riding of Yorkshire and, whilst being shown around the area by a lad of around my own age who lived across the road from our new house, we ended up at a former chapel which had been converted into the quaintly-named social club, The Mechanic's Institute. The dancing area was on the ground floor and the balcony (a common feature in non-conformist chapels) was where the bar was located. So, not entirely surprisingly, we headed upstairs and, having bought our drinks, we moved towards the edge of the balcony to look down at the dancers. At this point in my explanation, I can't recall if what I'm about to describe happened as soon as I looked down or whether it took place during a later dance - but, what I can say is that my eyes were drawn towards a young girl who seemed (to me, at any rate) to be completely surrounded by what I can only describe as a milky-white cloud. So far as I am aware, I was the only person who could see this phenomenon - which I now realise is called an aura. I had never seen anything like it up to that point in my life; nor, have I seen anything like it since. I was not - nor, have I ever been - what might be described as a 'spiritual' sort of person; however, the experience had a profound effect on me in that I took it as a 'message' of some sort and, within a relatively short period of time, we became what is nowadays known as an 'item', becoming engaged a couple of years later, and marrying in 1960. Since then - and, for all I know, this might go some way toward explaining what 'love' is supposed to mean, each time I look at her, she looks just the same as she did when I first saw her all those years ago; but without the aura, of course.   n.b. In case anyone imagines I've gone all 'soppy' in my old age, I have to admit that, although she looks just as pretty, it's difficult to deny that there are occasions when she sounds a little louder that she did when we first met. Miscellaneous 06/11/2011
I can't recall the exact circumstances (I suspect it may have had something to do with a mutual acquaintance who had an interest in DUKWs) but, sometime last year, I met a an extremely interesting chap who had constructed a minature railway track in his back garden so that he could entertain young members of his family. In addition to laying down the track, he had also built his own rolling-stock (some of which is shown below) and, somewhat to my surprise, he was kind enough to invite me to 'drive' some of his engines.   As is often the case with resourseful people, my new acquaintance was friendly with like-minded individuals - one of whom lives quite close to where my wife and I live. In fact, we have often been intrigued by the fact that a full-sized railway signal enjoyed pride-of-place alongside his garage. What we hadn't realised, however, was that there was also a significant and very sophisticated minature railway system which extended for several hundreds yards beyond his back garden. Unlike, my original acquaintance (who restricts visitors to his 'operation' to close friends and relatives) my 'neighbour' occasionally holds 'Open Days' and, as a consequence, is keen to enlist the aid of interested people to help run the aforementioned events. So, yesterday, I was delighted to have been invited to attend a training day for 'learner' train drivers. Here's a video...... Miscellaneous 06/07/2011
For the first time in a little over a year, I ventured onto a golf course, yesterday. Putting aside the fact that I played reasonably well, what prompted me to write this blog was the fact that, when I arrived at the nineteenth hole, there was a group of golfers who seemed to be coming to the end of a joke-telling session - and I was reminded of one of my favourite golfing stories (taken from the Humour section). Two really old men decided they would go out and try to play a round of golf together. As they arrived on the first tee, one says to the other, "My eyesight isn't what it used to be. Can you watch my ball for me?". "No problem." the second man said. "I can see quite well. Go ahead and hit. " So the first old man steps up to his ball and hits a lovely drive. He turns to his buddy and says, "Did you see it?". "Sure!", says his buddy. "Where did it go?", the first man asks. The second old man thinks for a minute and says, "I can't remember. " Trixie 06/05/2011
For those who enquired, the reason I have a new helmet is that the first one I bought was what is known as 'open-faced'. In other words, the protective material only covers the the top and the sides of the head. As a consequence, the face was open to the elements unless I used a scarf or a custom-made face-mask as shown below.  Unfortunately, although this sort of protection might be adequate whilst riding around town, it really isn't very good on the open road; so, I looked for an alternative and came up with this.......  At first sight, it might seem that - apart from the colour - there isn't much difference. However, as is demonstrated in this video, the are significant differences. For example, the portion above my eyes (above) is on a hinge and can be lowered down to provide protection for the whole head (face included). Other features of the helmet include an internal sun visor and a ventilation system. |
