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STARS!

30/10/2021

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What a fabulous afternoon!  Today, I met up with some friends from Sixth Form... so more than 30-odd years ago.  How scary is that? We have met up in the interim but not for a while.  We tried to get together last year but lockdown got in the way.    However, it was like we had only been together a few weeks ago... naturally we only covered a miniscule of the past few years and therefore are planning a weekend away for a carry-on-catch-up!
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"Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find".
by Shakespeare - possibly.!
This was first published in a collection of poems entitled  The Passionate Pilgrim by William Jaggard in 1599 and is commonly attributed to the Bard.
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Goodbye to Cornwall

19/10/2021

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What happened?!

This is a photo from the last evening in Cornwall (wine from a place we frequented in the Hunter Valley when we lived in NSW and now on offer in the supermarket!), and this must have been another dimension because it has hardly got light since coming back to the Cotswolds!

I think Autumn has definitely arrived. Hmmm.
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Simples!

15/10/2021

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​In the USA, October 2021 is Emotional Wellness Month.  As life has been increasingly uncertain and stressful over the past eighteen months it’s important to attempt to maintain a sense of calm and balance. 
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Despite adding this to a Blog, it’s advisable to disconnect from reliance on various ‘devices’ and focus on face-to-face relationships.  
Whilst the word is bandied about like a well-worn sock perhaps consider the benefits of Mindfulness, a simple Eastern meditation practice engaging in the present and focusing on acceptance and non-judgmental thoughts.   Common sense prevails and encourages taking time to eat healthily, drink less alcohol, get more exercise,  breathe deeply and set time aside for activities that make you happy.  Simples!

Here is a list of what has been making me happy over the past few weeks:
Sorting out the garden and greenhouses; things to do in the autumn:
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  • Prune, lift and divide plants and flowers.
  • Cut back faded perennials to add to compost
  • Keep leaves off plants : ensure fallen leaves do not lie on the exposed crowns of plants as this will cause them to rot, especially in a damp autumn.
  • Plants bulbs throughout September and October whilst the soil is still warm
  • Raise patio pots on bricks to avoid them sitting in water throughout autumn
  • Remove stakes and other supports on plants that have died down for winter.
  • Lift vegetables such as beetroot and carrots and store in a cool dark shed in a box of dry potting compost.
  • Trim lavender by cutting off just the dead flowering stems – either with secateurs or hand shears. Do not cut the stems with leaves as they will be susceptible to frost – leave this to the spring instead.
  • October is a good time of year to plant new climbing roses
  • Make a mini cloche as these will keep the soil warm and provide protection and therefore can extend the growing season by many weeks.

REMEMBER - don’t be too tidy! 
  • Plant wildlife friendly plants - shrubs and climbers that bear fruit and seeds will keep the birds going throughout the year  as well as providing shelter to a whole host of wildlife.
  • Undergrowth, leaf litter and log piles provide diverse habitats for hedgehogs, toads, frogs and insects.
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South By South-West

15/10/2021

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The past couple of months have been a busy time again but Paul and I are currently in the fortunate position of being able to chill-out in Cornwall – courtesy of friends who have asked us to stay in their [being] renovated coastal house and report back on the place as a future holiday rental property.  Oh well… twist our arms, we’ll give it a go!?

It hasn’t been too much of a hardship and it has been helped significantly by the unbelievable weather… all week sunshine and minimum daily temperatures of 18 degrees.  The average temperature is usually 14 degrees apparently, so we have been very lucky.

So, we are presently enjoying Cornwall but have spent a lot of time trekking up and down the country between Hampshire and Gloucestershire whilst trying to organise my mother-in-law’s house sale and move to a residential home. I shan’t go into all the details because the navigation through medical, social services, legal, estate agents, and financial channels is bureaucratic headache of the first degree. And, you know how that winds me up at the best of times?*!  As a quick example, Paul recently had to reply to the solicitor who had asked for a copy of his Power of Attorney… saying that perhaps they should check their own records because they had drawn it up originally 15 years ago, and again within the past two months.  Hmm… so if we have to do the work for them, can I have a refund on the initial £90.00 fee?? Outrageous.

So, that is the logistics of the above has been the main focus but in the closer periphery the new academic year has kicked off with a vengeance and I've got statutory requirements, policy guidelines and declarations of all and sundry coming at me from all directions! I have also started my new one-day-a-week on site at Temple Guiting Primary School and that's a bit of a learning curve.... although the curve is a gentle one because there's only so much that can be achieved in 8 hours a week, and with a six days gap between attendance! I'm still getting my head round the smallness of the Reception class... that's both in individual height as well as general numbers!?* Although some of the general character and capacity for volume is not necessarily thwarted by a diminutive stature?!I

I have been lucky enough to be able to swap my working day and therefore can enjoy a whole week away.  As you have already seen, we spent some time at St Michaels’ Mount (fabulous), have wandered in and out of Porthleven itself and walked a very short stretch of the Loe Bar coastal path but otherwise have read, snoozed and quaffed wine! 

Nice!

The photographs are intended to make you jealous!  The house is like something out of a film or magazine, and it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to stumble across James Bond or a Cary Grant character gazing across the sea-view whilst contemplating whether to go out on the yacht…
However, my photos are carefully selected views - avoiding the scaffolding and the team of ten builders and painters who all rocked up at 8am this morning! 
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Cornish Summer...!

13/10/2021

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You would be forgiven if you thought this was a photo of the Mediterranean, but it is St Michael's Mount in Cornwall,  In October!  ​What a fabulous day to visit this amazing place. 
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There Be Giants

13/10/2021

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Image from VegasMike Digital Art and Myth Beasts
In Cornwall there is a small island, called St Michael’s Mount; it is only accessible on foot at low tide. At high tide, you can only get there by boat. St Michael’s Mount is extremely steep and rocky, with a small harbour, village, and a castle at the top of the hill. Some say that the Mount was made by a giant called Cormoran who was reputed to be 18 ft tall and measured about 9 ft around the waist.
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Cormoran lived in the forest with his wife, Cormelian. One day Cormoran said to her: ‘I want to build a stronghold out of granite’ but she suggested that they collected green stone which was both lighter and in closer proximity.  Cormoran, however, did not think that green stone would be good enough for his stronghold.


After two weeks of work with hardly any progress Cormelian decided to secretly sme of the green stone under the granite in her aprons o that her husband would not notice. However, one day Cormoran did notice and angrily instructed his wife to return the green stone to the mainland.  On her way back down the causeway, the apron strings snapped and the green stone tumbled to the ground and Cormelian decided to leave the stone there. The pile of green stone is now called Chapel Rock and the ferry sails from this point to go to St Michael’s Mount at high tide.

Eventually, Cormelian and Cormoran finished the stronghold, which towered high above them.  Upon seeing the Mount the villagers cried: ‘Who will stop this giant? None of our cows or sheep will be safe now that Cormoran can take them to his stronghold! We’ll starve!’

Jack, a local boy, was fed up with the bad-tempered giant stealing his livestock. He decided to act. One night, he crept out and set a trap to teach the giant a lesson; he dug an enormous pit near the causeway and covered it up with straw and branches to hide it.

When it was ready, Jack walked up to the front of St Michael’s Mount and blew his horn.  Outraged at being woken up stormed out of his stronghold and chased after Jack who was taunting him.  Jack sped along the causeway and when the big clumsy giant couldn’t stop in time, he fell down the pit.  Jack walked to edge of the pit and peered down. ‘I hope this will teach you a lesson!’ he said. ‘Giants shouldn’t steal our livestock!’
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Cormoran was killed by a blow from a pickaxe or mattock. After filling in the hole, Jack retrieved the giant's treasure.  A rock was placed on the burial site and this rock is called Giant's Grave. 
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The Giant's Heart. Image - Mike Newman
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My Life on a Plate

12/10/2021

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FALLING

12/10/2021

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Poem by Brian Bilston

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