tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57875883422525668272024-03-05T03:17:31.194-08:00Moth Ball and the MagpieMagpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-62277387465649933252017-10-28T06:54:00.000-07:002017-10-28T06:54:17.418-07:002017 and another holiday!In looking back through my photographs for 2017 it would appear that I have spent most of the year on holiday in one place or another - it doesn't actually feel like it but I have been very lucky :)<br />
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The first trip of the year (just to confuse you if you read yesterdays post!) was to Gran Canaria with my friend JB.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_JZuZahKVmOAt9WrDlPhUm43HGtpO8oZY0TP0WU9XWMxIQa7tihT1kb91Vg7ztH2wil0a5qQKLM6dPSyLIOFx1bE4ubHZdGhJggNDC6g1Ahwkwp1I-AqNpOa8fk2qq0HARNtPvmuKps6/s1600/IMG_2069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_JZuZahKVmOAt9WrDlPhUm43HGtpO8oZY0TP0WU9XWMxIQa7tihT1kb91Vg7ztH2wil0a5qQKLM6dPSyLIOFx1bE4ubHZdGhJggNDC6g1Ahwkwp1I-AqNpOa8fk2qq0HARNtPvmuKps6/s400/IMG_2069.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the balcony and the mountain we almost climbed on the far left of the picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uYXZ0L5yxUvlzndokHcrsc5D5orcBnPVDkU2iWac2QJtnp8rxrQT9gguc1nWWTmvJmmOwkHrrE0nNnmafZV3U9QUKofiyQQ3x31VcDP5nCyRl_Lkt97_2VVOi0_7I4XPM8H4iIesRl3m/s1600/IMG_2071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uYXZ0L5yxUvlzndokHcrsc5D5orcBnPVDkU2iWac2QJtnp8rxrQT9gguc1nWWTmvJmmOwkHrrE0nNnmafZV3U9QUKofiyQQ3x31VcDP5nCyRl_Lkt97_2VVOi0_7I4XPM8H4iIesRl3m/s400/IMG_2071.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same view at night! Obviously you can't see the mountain in the dark!</td></tr>
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I've never been here before but am always up for an adventure - especially when she mentioned there would be lizards...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOf-b8KyihJzHm5S6Nql7T9fPVkDTaEjJV1rgIQjMWzGp37ETt098UwWgwbRE_6ZFg5RDdoZPQeqLE7LWh9ZTqDNP3h-ChM9QfJPdxwTaMokTBsMvr8g-iNTnVG16z20nz7OYrbhQ26br/s1600/IMG_2096+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOf-b8KyihJzHm5S6Nql7T9fPVkDTaEjJV1rgIQjMWzGp37ETt098UwWgwbRE_6ZFg5RDdoZPQeqLE7LWh9ZTqDNP3h-ChM9QfJPdxwTaMokTBsMvr8g-iNTnVG16z20nz7OYrbhQ26br/s400/IMG_2096+%25282%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizards!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9K3D2jTX1ywjyIfp228y72bm7Wox_LSKvaW_aGWrlNvPv4vfCdrbldQxPh1dUTIiWPFKQApiVnRg6lhsc1lNXoDk_vYHuAoY_0sc7iGE3BFoV9LDzDEjPCiZq2KRROtD1LhK5MmCKGhx/s1600/IMG_2089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9K3D2jTX1ywjyIfp228y72bm7Wox_LSKvaW_aGWrlNvPv4vfCdrbldQxPh1dUTIiWPFKQApiVnRg6lhsc1lNXoDk_vYHuAoY_0sc7iGE3BFoV9LDzDEjPCiZq2KRROtD1LhK5MmCKGhx/s400/IMG_2089.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And cactuses - or is that cactii?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9coUywrbGQxOAm8IcYa511_EqUKSuQCZ2RFu_xBFvCZCtMrdMT9U0mF6HlOSKZApgOPKEzRmry5cQeqD4jBPdv0CpCOhxAyGKMP7c4L1z5NN9sXU_COyJM9MJMfEzOpb6XKBXWB6y1UT/s1600/IMG_2080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9coUywrbGQxOAm8IcYa511_EqUKSuQCZ2RFu_xBFvCZCtMrdMT9U0mF6HlOSKZApgOPKEzRmry5cQeqD4jBPdv0CpCOhxAyGKMP7c4L1z5NN9sXU_COyJM9MJMfEzOpb6XKBXWB6y1UT/s400/IMG_2080.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And palm trees</td></tr>
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So, we ended up in her lush apartment, spending most of the days lazing by the pool, her soaking up the sun, me huddling under layers and avoiding any chance of sunshine actually touching me. I even brought a book to read. Note to self, next time go for something frothy and light, not 'Testament of Youth' which just made me cry (thank goodness no one could see me under the layers!). We ate our own bodyweight in ice cream, watched the pool fitness classes and did a great deal of laughing...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTPsZlvt0mIqG14uQR7YZ-stVj02qda9yn6jshXNK7j7-Z6lena6Sij6x3XAjLUWV8uaoLbIY_97aWzDS7y8DMGyNAYOUGymARKWZX-6HXPynv7gMNEOaEkxnihYMJxqhteU2vW-WzauZ/s1600/IMG_2109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTPsZlvt0mIqG14uQR7YZ-stVj02qda9yn6jshXNK7j7-Z6lena6Sij6x3XAjLUWV8uaoLbIY_97aWzDS7y8DMGyNAYOUGymARKWZX-6HXPynv7gMNEOaEkxnihYMJxqhteU2vW-WzauZ/s400/IMG_2109.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We took a boat trip to somewhere I can't recall the name of and the driver/pilot/steering bloke took a detour to spot dolphins.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPYXAIN17DkHNC3PhWV3HI_OHFuDIN6TyQcLfQ27TgftQJQ6nU3nIW25gpGInIewwFPGA-lenYV-uEsw5hFPXinn2q1XBSk1mP_ECqj4vhjfg3wJvhcEvMQRh0ByENqfL-y3uzie-C1Td/s1600/IMG_2112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPYXAIN17DkHNC3PhWV3HI_OHFuDIN6TyQcLfQ27TgftQJQ6nU3nIW25gpGInIewwFPGA-lenYV-uEsw5hFPXinn2q1XBSk1mP_ECqj4vhjfg3wJvhcEvMQRh0ByENqfL-y3uzie-C1Td/s400/IMG_2112.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the aforementioned town. How do you water those window boxes?</td></tr>
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We were so not party animals - in bed by 9pm most nights - but it did mean we got to be up and on the balcony to see the sun rise every morning! We could also view the large mountain across from the town which sported a large cross at the summit. People were clearly climbing up to see it each day and so we idly discussed doing so. However, our plans were abruptly halted when the lady in reception cast her eye at our shoes and shook her head - 'you will die if you try in those shoes'. Dire warning heeded we took our flip flops back to the poolside where they belonged!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcokU2Bmg2U3RnnAGHVyYuWcd-aIqRvzzC2ci9QTj449wyMUj6pddJ7w_g9X6w8wRwfmKTdJO4ASfU-C2P5To-Cghq8krYqmSA0NBKdZ2nQ9AG3raUyYWGd9zHhzMP08PbhMyvvl5NFnoG/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcokU2Bmg2U3RnnAGHVyYuWcd-aIqRvzzC2ci9QTj449wyMUj6pddJ7w_g9X6w8wRwfmKTdJO4ASfU-C2P5To-Cghq8krYqmSA0NBKdZ2nQ9AG3raUyYWGd9zHhzMP08PbhMyvvl5NFnoG/s400/IMG_2114.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which boat shall we have?</td></tr>
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A beautiful and relaxing week with a beautiful friend :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0QGUo151B6U6u2ZL1BKyeF9BfAfATAM2UtgP2iOCnMKOndhLPn2-kUha3FBEtU_3LxERWHVV3MIZooD8RHTaAEkzcKseCx_kXGvGBYgN0Ojcd9MbMw4owphUpASqLSfDVDlWTfW6qkQV/s1600/IMG_2076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0QGUo151B6U6u2ZL1BKyeF9BfAfATAM2UtgP2iOCnMKOndhLPn2-kUha3FBEtU_3LxERWHVV3MIZooD8RHTaAEkzcKseCx_kXGvGBYgN0Ojcd9MbMw4owphUpASqLSfDVDlWTfW6qkQV/s400/IMG_2076.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you gorgeous lady :)</td></tr>
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<br />Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-73257743184449066102017-10-27T04:52:00.000-07:002017-10-27T04:52:40.434-07:00My Trip to IndiaBack at the start of the year I was lucky enough to visit India for a week long yoga retreat. Here are a few pictures of my visit....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBVtWdtdamgrIgLIR8lgyyYK2p3wR2UaItKeGwXF_HiCff-TRLJs1WaJyz5M4Iw3dxMp2Eoq11CHLo84bcfz9jZlxzz9Im4JT5gdJRqY6FmzxViwHAlROnu0jUNz0ji8dKV7T4SwwOt_-/s1600/DSC00004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBVtWdtdamgrIgLIR8lgyyYK2p3wR2UaItKeGwXF_HiCff-TRLJs1WaJyz5M4Iw3dxMp2Eoq11CHLo84bcfz9jZlxzz9Im4JT5gdJRqY6FmzxViwHAlROnu0jUNz0ji8dKV7T4SwwOt_-/s400/DSC00004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No idea what sort of butterflies these are but they were huge!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirt3jn1xilu_nUHMdW_Jwx022GMd00fxR-ldSUvkeRHQzgUapdeSCCBtUnX6a3Pe4K6sNVb-VJcdgp7IKNIzgGhIwZv01ZoQXCRrBKUIVOiWGhsRqRKKSj4-tG8cXsY9yjAdfWQL4vP3CA/s1600/DSC00014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirt3jn1xilu_nUHMdW_Jwx022GMd00fxR-ldSUvkeRHQzgUapdeSCCBtUnX6a3Pe4K6sNVb-VJcdgp7IKNIzgGhIwZv01ZoQXCRrBKUIVOiWGhsRqRKKSj4-tG8cXsY9yjAdfWQL4vP3CA/s400/DSC00014.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who knew this was where baby pineapples came from?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jbo1lZmt8bKNBsTZ4DkEH8AZIwQ5tZVQx8tWv8yeVjQJAYDA6XxJzYKPfoz5Gj9RMlKAtwT4WEuywaIEKzXAOgsF_HPB16I1xVT6EhhLRvhcSoCb1Jvqlvoucx4zlcB2xCIKXvOMMy6H/s1600/DSC00024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jbo1lZmt8bKNBsTZ4DkEH8AZIwQ5tZVQx8tWv8yeVjQJAYDA6XxJzYKPfoz5Gj9RMlKAtwT4WEuywaIEKzXAOgsF_HPB16I1xVT6EhhLRvhcSoCb1Jvqlvoucx4zlcB2xCIKXvOMMy6H/s400/DSC00024.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapping rubber trees for the sap......</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIx2zuz-hH0czRWFeG6uFi-bRu-9-BeAfjUT9moSFJ6qW8PAl1bFCO3hXv6c1Oybzkudd56bwTod4IMTfehZJF_1yoypEadYyXtUbnkMOiC5ilf-1WCs2m5zC_rQrtJqbmGRre5gcCBaWk/s1600/DSC00027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIx2zuz-hH0czRWFeG6uFi-bRu-9-BeAfjUT9moSFJ6qW8PAl1bFCO3hXv6c1Oybzkudd56bwTod4IMTfehZJF_1yoypEadYyXtUbnkMOiC5ilf-1WCs2m5zC_rQrtJqbmGRre5gcCBaWk/s400/DSC00027.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.....which then gets processed into these sheets</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaANxlgSwm4N9DOhgknTxpAOKCOubp1jnsY7q0LbcLe68MaLAe7uXpfvdElR3wE8CpVl9IaiOytCrvC8YjT1Yi6LYls_OB4euf12SYNpqnKINZBKMGfgnUQw_N0Bbay5NfIgnuFuoS3imD/s1600/DSC00033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1600" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaANxlgSwm4N9DOhgknTxpAOKCOubp1jnsY7q0LbcLe68MaLAe7uXpfvdElR3wE8CpVl9IaiOytCrvC8YjT1Yi6LYls_OB4euf12SYNpqnKINZBKMGfgnUQw_N0Bbay5NfIgnuFuoS3imD/s400/DSC00033.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful fruit and veg everywhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9-AvU_xaucOMt4hKbVX9MidM__u0lAxw-SFtLRI_FlPa6wwh2F0IkoDBfjFGGLbpV0UCylobZqQ_aZeWz4uJtGp48KwLdt6YQrz8bhPbxXSvXH3q1NCf64iaWoB-dBdAL58x7K96E7sv/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9-AvU_xaucOMt4hKbVX9MidM__u0lAxw-SFtLRI_FlPa6wwh2F0IkoDBfjFGGLbpV0UCylobZqQ_aZeWz4uJtGp48KwLdt6YQrz8bhPbxXSvXH3q1NCf64iaWoB-dBdAL58x7K96E7sv/s400/DSC00040.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our view for the week :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71uyD9btJtXL71a4Uk7H0EBPhgwQox1x5cnkNd8vGPRb2-wS3_diH9ts1g28e-CJc7c3hG1SXlu2fY1jFKWu1LTMlOvRXJi0SgmsuG3XtwnRyf8ZPYrvXm-eSviojTxd_NYm1xLNBQ0m7/s1600/DSC00051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71uyD9btJtXL71a4Uk7H0EBPhgwQox1x5cnkNd8vGPRb2-wS3_diH9ts1g28e-CJc7c3hG1SXlu2fY1jFKWu1LTMlOvRXJi0SgmsuG3XtwnRyf8ZPYrvXm-eSviojTxd_NYm1xLNBQ0m7/s400/DSC00051.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ventured into the forest to see trees full of fruit bats!</td></tr>
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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/AVvXsEj6sTMe5DV2NbjJD9nqYI-fL9IQvSieLtIu4NRyqVCqcZzmNNSMxW_SrkasGVgaghA6nz4vhOBWkNipH7xb86wDIT39P74OTYLP7cQ7jZcx3rNYIzU9SlFJjvQqxeqHgg5Mv3kYUJAzbbrA/s1600/DSC00058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sTMe5DV2NbjJD9nqYI-fL9IQvSieLtIu4NRyqVCqcZzmNNSMxW_SrkasGVgaghA6nz4vhOBWkNipH7xb86wDIT39P74OTYLP7cQ7jZcx3rNYIzU9SlFJjvQqxeqHgg5Mv3kYUJAzbbrA/s400/DSC00058.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bowl of flowers to welcome us.</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/AVvXsEgU50ioKo14VXGeu1UrgeM90R-BWJ1E3VAdMzfk3MMp_-4h_71Qxc5FGXY7e6CWVAKrkH07xEs1jIyuT2DE5tHKGrC-tKH9_QwpFE19f2PS-2Il1s1e4BASaBfLENz-6HOPWLd-ADaI7AeT/s1600/DSC00063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU50ioKo14VXGeu1UrgeM90R-BWJ1E3VAdMzfk3MMp_-4h_71Qxc5FGXY7e6CWVAKrkH07xEs1jIyuT2DE5tHKGrC-tKH9_QwpFE19f2PS-2Il1s1e4BASaBfLENz-6HOPWLd-ADaI7AeT/s400/DSC00063.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evening lights</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/AVvXsEh5C2x59Jy4BgFSIv4QObews80b1_ORozfj_Bah1QbPUumQcvAT1f6xCrYdhc9tpXpF05U9DjAGe1qm7IY_FsTe2sVgf9zNn-kBoSx6HP53h6ZR_82yVQhJh030I_PChDeBwMviCyd-FeDe/s1600/DSC00069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5C2x59Jy4BgFSIv4QObews80b1_ORozfj_Bah1QbPUumQcvAT1f6xCrYdhc9tpXpF05U9DjAGe1qm7IY_FsTe2sVgf9zNn-kBoSx6HP53h6ZR_82yVQhJh030I_PChDeBwMviCyd-FeDe/s400/DSC00069.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of the valley and mountains from our balcony</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/AVvXsEjHgWiRN2voWqvjlu8xCcBCtvqBtinYW6DpiTlZl5dQjRD9tt_xTQ04JoPPCb3em4RjArJa8xamEvcgA39glhhYOXhS2EUNvyPfUS-sXYxtjkpAuX5RJ5uJDqyjCMW6ZLEMQy0Gn-gYOJZw/s1600/DSC00082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgWiRN2voWqvjlu8xCcBCtvqBtinYW6DpiTlZl5dQjRD9tt_xTQ04JoPPCb3em4RjArJa8xamEvcgA39glhhYOXhS2EUNvyPfUS-sXYxtjkpAuX5RJ5uJDqyjCMW6ZLEMQy0Gn-gYOJZw/s400/DSC00082.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot of my non yoga time was spent trying to get pictures of the camera shy lizards - not brill but the best I got!</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/AVvXsEi9uIpxOQVplW10CUJFFAZQKFd73kbzmjHKB3pF_AhZsW51S0RA0TKv9apCCyqGx-78e2B05g0eqDfdadUMkF-cyZx5leAmSbfcFnNLNWf0ruazMf7J2ms1BevGN0mAT4zfqaITOoMMIYcW/s1600/DSC00086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uIpxOQVplW10CUJFFAZQKFd73kbzmjHKB3pF_AhZsW51S0RA0TKv9apCCyqGx-78e2B05g0eqDfdadUMkF-cyZx5leAmSbfcFnNLNWf0ruazMf7J2ms1BevGN0mAT4zfqaITOoMMIYcW/s400/DSC00086.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chai - made proper</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/AVvXsEjH1AP92a6LvYawjzJVaJuQW7zIlWrcUm92fAzRqY-qwITufY-UeCcb20Gc1hJoWI-bEieWsosPdu43HG4oBpODprCBlwAulbf1p5utoROYSHFA0EhNs1OD7O6G1AJlLjxIylMA5cSjKISF/s1600/DSC00077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1AP92a6LvYawjzJVaJuQW7zIlWrcUm92fAzRqY-qwITufY-UeCcb20Gc1hJoWI-bEieWsosPdu43HG4oBpODprCBlwAulbf1p5utoROYSHFA0EhNs1OD7O6G1AJlLjxIylMA5cSjKISF/s400/DSC00077.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-39608640600160552672017-01-22T09:56:00.002-08:002017-01-22T09:56:32.967-08:00Discovery....<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/AVvXsEjWmVD1dzhKU2pB1GS8zznWrU4eo1HsDHM19Jn-xE79J4Za3NioYFvQ3i_niYRneQmXQrTT71HHC4hWdpI938n7Tj5sv01Nwr9bMx40p6aWStplREtQs9POgl8mVguqMeZkzsACdorZpF1s/s1600/IMG_2050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmVD1dzhKU2pB1GS8zznWrU4eo1HsDHM19Jn-xE79J4Za3NioYFvQ3i_niYRneQmXQrTT71HHC4hWdpI938n7Tj5sv01Nwr9bMx40p6aWStplREtQs9POgl8mVguqMeZkzsACdorZpF1s/s320/IMG_2050.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's been a bit frosty out!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Been slightly blown away by some family discoveries this
week – and weird coincidences.... Let’s start with the Peaky Blinders. For
those of you that follow, you’ll know this is a drama series following the semi
real adventures of a gang in Birmingham, set after WW1. I love a good period
drama and one with the added bonus of gorgeous vintage fashion, slightly edgy
stories and the exceptionally handsome Cillian Murphy – well! I did miss the
series when it first broadcast but DD treated herself to NetFlix and so endless
TV is now a click away. We are most of the way through Season Two and there are
regular flashbacks to the main characters experiences in WW1, along with
associated effects of PTSD. They were tunnellers, an occupation which involving digging
tunnels under enemy lines to plant explosives. Just look it up, the
stories of their part in the war are truly unbelievable. I had only just had a
conversation with a friend about how we can never really appreciate the
conditions that any of those brave guys had to endure (all of them, not just
tunnellers). We also wondered at the job the tunnel diggers had to do, and
could you imagine having to do that. I hate enclosed spaces and would just be
filled with fear at the thought of tunnels let alone explosives and fighting
and the thought of breaking into an enemy trench accidentally!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward a week or so and I am sat at the computer
working on my family tree research. I go back and forth to this as the mood
takes me. I try to be organised but get distracted by random leads to follow...
This particular evening I was following my paternal grandmothers line when up pops
a William Redding, my 2x great uncle. He fought in the Boer War (a whole new
piece of history that I shamefully know very little about) but then ended up
joining the Royal Engineers 184</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Mining Coy, He was a bloody tunneller in the First World War. From what I can make out he ended up near Arras when heavy German bombing caused
massive damage and William was among the casualties. He was taken to Rouen
hospital where he died from his injuries, aged 37, on June 8</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 1916.
He was buried in St Sever Cemetery, Rouen, in France. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend we took a drive out
to see his name on the Roll of Honour at the churchyard in Little Marlow, Bucks.
His name also appears on the War Memorial at Flackwell Heath but my incompetence
and lack of Wifi signal meant that we missed seeing this too. Next time..... </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG1TXa0jrpOLjuztf0Xx6_M653bKzTJfe716JN0POH4e1Z6iEQQldlIzBTutycYM9KHCzLvx6m71l9Ic1daTDL55cQkWYXUBlnBJPdEgyRNk31g6w0sRI7-Oo9J-doxBWjH3p-zokuEis/s1600/IMG_2054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG1TXa0jrpOLjuztf0Xx6_M653bKzTJfe716JN0POH4e1Z6iEQQldlIzBTutycYM9KHCzLvx6m71l9Ic1daTDL55cQkWYXUBlnBJPdEgyRNk31g6w0sRI7-Oo9J-doxBWjH3p-zokuEis/s320/IMG_2054.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roll of Honour at Little Marlow Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbSPU-Kiq060qlN-ZZ6_sRxBpXMbkf5BeoFi8rFcMWZsxjj5HFNJi07HSCyMz2OdHEJF86q1Regyu8m40pMgRwZ6FNtQ2kJSIYT8TQtK2dp5ONlTaSmNcJHE7-Iqw4p1yWKYw8iOx_Kt1/s1600/IMG_2055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbSPU-Kiq060qlN-ZZ6_sRxBpXMbkf5BeoFi8rFcMWZsxjj5HFNJi07HSCyMz2OdHEJF86q1Regyu8m40pMgRwZ6FNtQ2kJSIYT8TQtK2dp5ONlTaSmNcJHE7-Iqw4p1yWKYw8iOx_Kt1/s320/IMG_2055.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Redding - remembered.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
would like to be able to visit his grave in France too – I don’t know whether
any of his family at the time would have been able to make the trip but it
seems to be a small thing we can do to pay respects to one of those brave men that
never came home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lest We Forget x</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-22117242956922569192017-01-07T09:12:00.000-08:002017-01-07T09:12:50.267-08:00Dry January (and a bit of December)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIyf_sDa-uOmhTS_DWhs8CLfSy-8JDtKYD4fk6zlROV6DLyGG1kseaKJhaMdOr1eSCv4jiqVwJkWbAuiq5YsW1r7Dss_LRgME8LlWgAMtIHV5-GwNiG_JhdRQWVOhRo_slo_w3sIOguEI/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIyf_sDa-uOmhTS_DWhs8CLfSy-8JDtKYD4fk6zlROV6DLyGG1kseaKJhaMdOr1eSCv4jiqVwJkWbAuiq5YsW1r7Dss_LRgME8LlWgAMtIHV5-GwNiG_JhdRQWVOhRo_slo_w3sIOguEI/s320/IMG_1112.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, there goes the first week of 2017. It’s been an
interesting one! I didn’t make any resolutions but I did set a few intentions
instead. Not sure if intentions sound less pressured than resolutions but it
works for me.... I have all the usual suspects covered. Eat more healthily, do
more exercise, meditate regularly, make time for self practice of Reiki, have
fun etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, one intention has been more accidental and this one
has given me lots of things to think about this week. I spent a very enjoyable
evening with my beautiful friend Mrs S just before New Year. We chatted, we
drank, we ate good food and drank some more. We giggled (and drank) and
listened to great music. Did I mention the drink? I actually rarely drink to
excess (despite what others might tell you!) but this one was a doozy. I
suffered all the next day, and the day after that. Now, at no point did I consciously
decide to give up alcohol but after a few days I did feel a bit better, then a
lot better and my mind started suggesting “Oo, why don’t we try Dry January?
That might be fun! Bet we can’t do it!” Around this time, coincidentally, two
inspirational ladies that I follow online posted items around alcohol and
giving up. To be fair both <a href="http://raeritchie.com/2017/01/05/740-days-sober-12-tips-for-dry-january-beyond">Rae</a> and <a href="http://www.saspetherick.com/blog/">Sas</a> have totally given up and I am not even suggesting
that at the moment. Mine is more about let’s see how this goes. Bearing in mind
I have both my birthday and a trip to Gran Canaria with a friend planned this
month it could be a bigger challenge than I thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, the positives so far have been great – and even DH has
noticed. He did sheepishly mention that he thought I was drinking a bit too
much. Not lots, but most nights I had a drink or two to ‘unwind’. Now I am
discovering the joy of the evening cuppa and all manner of sparkling juices! Hmmm,
if only I can get to grips with my salt and vinegar crisp habit too :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope you are finding success with any resolutions or intentions
that you have set for 2017 – would love to hear what they are!</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-35335969446031613722016-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:002016-12-30T07:51:45.234-08:00And finally - Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tABk4zTTk9WnUHnSJOaDPo5NktKj0b-Jj-p1iD9UeZ9tA54L1f_2js8MHmskxAxJOhFQalJbOs3jIfscCF3BZnYk7iRFKrEvMoYoMgtDU05vVAW7ZCiUvkCnHySnHWusi0BAGHfqBY2L/s1600/IMG_4211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tABk4zTTk9WnUHnSJOaDPo5NktKj0b-Jj-p1iD9UeZ9tA54L1f_2js8MHmskxAxJOhFQalJbOs3jIfscCF3BZnYk7iRFKrEvMoYoMgtDU05vVAW7ZCiUvkCnHySnHWusi0BAGHfqBY2L/s320/IMG_4211.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instalment 3 Sept – Dec</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well here’s to the final part of my highlights of 2016. I
was very heartened by the messages I received after yesterdays post, mental
health is something that clearly touches lots of people and this makes it so
important to get it out there!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So – DS#2 finished his training at Harrogate and applied to
move to Bovington for Phase 2, working with tanks. We were thrilled when his
change was accepted and very excited to join him for a Family Day on the camp
once he had settled in. It was packed with things to see and do, including a
spectacular display by some of the troops and vehicles. We even got to climb on
and into some of them (the vehicles, not the troops - that would just be weird!) The camp is right on the south coast and so after the
Family Day we were able to spend a little bit of time enjoying the scenery.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkPnBFZ8gU9YZ5yC9_PFT7NMexw6nqm2viYdRd6zOTdjQ2WbdowkWbooTTWmxfMBEEMg_Z32ltlxAJ24nLc7vBqRWts5xm9OdPCBS-1HL0HUQPBp_V-4QOY16Cjs6sadWReZIYowDV0wQ/s1600/IMG_4171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkPnBFZ8gU9YZ5yC9_PFT7NMexw6nqm2viYdRd6zOTdjQ2WbdowkWbooTTWmxfMBEEMg_Z32ltlxAJ24nLc7vBqRWts5xm9OdPCBS-1HL0HUQPBp_V-4QOY16Cjs6sadWReZIYowDV0wQ/s320/IMG_4171.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tanks and people stood on tanks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQNxcqRwdKYp78OpFF7RLdZdCnszT8ZFQebxYLtcWzkZc47_4ehcEOXEIE3UivLZ8aB5pNaLicKZER24CBzCl6EjMQ6z96aDFHvRdCYJNQUkKL5D7576wW7AKP9KejePFqnTBbEklbN4g/s1600/IMG_4172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQNxcqRwdKYp78OpFF7RLdZdCnszT8ZFQebxYLtcWzkZc47_4ehcEOXEIE3UivLZ8aB5pNaLicKZER24CBzCl6EjMQ6z96aDFHvRdCYJNQUkKL5D7576wW7AKP9KejePFqnTBbEklbN4g/s320/IMG_4172.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boy and a Challenger 2</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boy in a Challenger 2</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92FM5dHciuX_684BeBfXWe-ilWXhyphenhyphenzZ8XlpvVPvEU6WNhBmB2OjuvMtBlzQP2MhH_XH-iE-Gwwv9QzSGa8erx8reMMY0GkKPfx8JgbNiz6GtiINSG3WFZZa7_t7eWl7sBYW3ss9oyMtit/s1600/IMG_4169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92FM5dHciuX_684BeBfXWe-ilWXhyphenhyphenzZ8XlpvVPvEU6WNhBmB2OjuvMtBlzQP2MhH_XH-iE-Gwwv9QzSGa8erx8reMMY0GkKPfx8JgbNiz6GtiINSG3WFZZa7_t7eWl7sBYW3ss9oyMtit/s320/IMG_4169.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My friend Kathy and I travelled into London in October to
visit the Om Yoga Show again. We did this last year and had an inspirational
and free sample rich day. There were less free samples this year but we both
came away feeling motivated. I have booked to go on a yoga retreat to India
next year and have been trying hard to keep up my practice. It is still my
little oasis of calm in the week.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YdpCuondnxnk-jD74Kj53aydtdypTH1J5MQwUUlu-dzj0gybTef2VDSDlILvmW74ubpBahVRqKc2uGhfeLshi4QkZrrD-lDuJ0ebN4MMZb7BqLU2X7lDRsXTUTloEq8dRRO7wzNFMiVD/s1600/IMG_4179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YdpCuondnxnk-jD74Kj53aydtdypTH1J5MQwUUlu-dzj0gybTef2VDSDlILvmW74ubpBahVRqKc2uGhfeLshi4QkZrrD-lDuJ0ebN4MMZb7BqLU2X7lDRsXTUTloEq8dRRO7wzNFMiVD/s320/IMG_4179.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were some people doing yoga behind us!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big event for the family during this time was a new
addition! DH sent me a very cute puppy picture via email at work – no message,
just the picture. To cut a long story short, a couple of weeks later we were
heading home with a very lovely bundle of fur and legs in the back of our car.
The new pup was christened Sirius Black (a mix of Harry Potter and the dog
star) and is already a very special member of the family! Part whippet, part
collie, part tornado, he is into everything and everywhere. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a cutie!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">November saw me off on a retreat. Led by the very wonderful
<a href="http://www.saspetherick.com/">Sas Petherick,</a> Sacred Rascals was held in a beautiful manor house in the
Cotswolds. I arrived not knowing anybody, not sure what to expect, full of fear
and so totally feeling it was the right thing to do. Well, the weekend was the
most wonderful experience. The group of women who attended were the loveliest,
most supportive and welcoming bunch ever. We were spoilt with glorious food,
space to rest, read and explore, did some magical self discovery and I even
spoke out loud! Some of us have stayed in touch since – if any of you are
reading this then thank you xxx</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our circle - just magical!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSkwBOaOVAKLQwShe98t66j3BQ80uoBDnoSOHnqcVoWzRyLTGgEd39j9Z8FK6Gch1MwjT5PVn3nloaNq7dg17fqL4VnEqd2mUmphpIaxSxWUg3c1VphBEl7eqOw5IsWgdRbYtCFhdKCto/s1600/IMG_4220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSkwBOaOVAKLQwShe98t66j3BQ80uoBDnoSOHnqcVoWzRyLTGgEd39j9Z8FK6Gch1MwjT5PVn3nloaNq7dg17fqL4VnEqd2mUmphpIaxSxWUg3c1VphBEl7eqOw5IsWgdRbYtCFhdKCto/s320/IMG_4220.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got to live here for the weekend :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wO4whLORxfF_hj0JR5khqBYlTQc_DIPaP5KsiMPLBbqHRzimW4nTWfyVknAEoXXaHI86ZQYTPCYjaQW8E2iS53AAaHK1uwouF_1IrFtuZN_oLtbM04x-dih5C1ynf75CCzKU_kCu078j/s1600/IMG_4223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wO4whLORxfF_hj0JR5khqBYlTQc_DIPaP5KsiMPLBbqHRzimW4nTWfyVknAEoXXaHI86ZQYTPCYjaQW8E2iS53AAaHK1uwouF_1IrFtuZN_oLtbM04x-dih5C1ynf75CCzKU_kCu078j/s320/IMG_4223.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was a spiral in the gardens and I found this heart right in the middle.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December has been a bit of a crazy time. I have fitted in
some craft fairs and Jane and I had a jaunt to the seaside! One of our new
things was to try dancing and so, since around Easter we have been doing a
Lindy Hop class with the lovely <a href="http://swingstyle.co.uk/">Alan and Lisa</a>. It has been a total hoot and we
have loved it. We decided to sign up for a dance weekend away and so the
weekend before Christmas saw us heading down to Torquay. Once there we decided
that although the bands were good and there was some fantastic dancing to
watch, we were probably neither good enough nor brave enough to join in. This
wasn’t a problem as we decided to eat, drink and shop instead. Thus we had a
most wonderful relaxing weekend and came back feeling ready to take on
Christmas and all that good stuff.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made acorns for the craft fair</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmjbMkJ4EBI6-fUAVIjB3HwoRjxw0oPhxu7xF4yImD4UxOSK7RzBfyjFAWhvqX1IthCUhAguGYAx4PP3xdCXC_xI-cGVevLKcRAKYJe1QR4OF_gxCcM6rK_zdGjGNROwI_7xyYnEbTxB7/s1600/Torquay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmjbMkJ4EBI6-fUAVIjB3HwoRjxw0oPhxu7xF4yImD4UxOSK7RzBfyjFAWhvqX1IthCUhAguGYAx4PP3xdCXC_xI-cGVevLKcRAKYJe1QR4OF_gxCcM6rK_zdGjGNROwI_7xyYnEbTxB7/s320/Torquay.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torquay sunset</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so – I have enjoyed a very quiet Christmas with my
family. I have caught up with friends, caught up with some things I wanted to
do and have given some thought to the coming year. It has been good to just
have time to reflect and regroup. However you are spending the New Year, I wish
you well and hope that 2017 is sparkly and wonderful!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJie2njcOITLZkOCUAe_lKQ0eL9vrA6VkWKJaUO3MxdOU1j8EXsmDnZG3R5gyKMOOqa4U0eNywmE168b29FHsvCXpZmTueGPg5p4oqLfXodtGGVwc6jYTEGXt6zzgZ5441c7COko9tI9Y/s1600/Shann+bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJie2njcOITLZkOCUAe_lKQ0eL9vrA6VkWKJaUO3MxdOU1j8EXsmDnZG3R5gyKMOOqa4U0eNywmE168b29FHsvCXpZmTueGPg5p4oqLfXodtGGVwc6jYTEGXt6zzgZ5441c7COko9tI9Y/s320/Shann+bday.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy New Year to you all - see you in 2017!</td></tr>
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<br />Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-74547299103378258062016-12-29T04:29:00.000-08:002016-12-29T04:29:12.897-08:00Instalment 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7rWu8hzi4uhnXxYZiiRFR0RzezGeNNst_XlL7Pmrbp02X51kP6wDRyZC22EcbImCzoy8N96k5h61dc9TLXlSPkcigoVbbY_fUYPhdUWe_6kwOXPSAdqm5THroqbC6AusqmnA8Xg0Bccj/s1600/IMG_4073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7rWu8hzi4uhnXxYZiiRFR0RzezGeNNst_XlL7Pmrbp02X51kP6wDRyZC22EcbImCzoy8N96k5h61dc9TLXlSPkcigoVbbY_fUYPhdUWe_6kwOXPSAdqm5THroqbC6AusqmnA8Xg0Bccj/s320/IMG_4073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instalment 2 – May to August</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well this may be the toughest of the update blogs to
write..... but let’s start with some good stuff! Jane and I continued our ‘new
things’ pact with a spa day in Oxford. All very girlie and relaxing. She also
persuaded me to try Go Karting. This was not such a success unless you count my
impeccable driving manners “please, do go past, I am merely holding you up with
my slow speed” “no, no, after you, I insist!” I was quite frankly shit (but
very polite!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DH and I journeyed down south again for the Dig For Victory
Show. Another awesome day of vintage fun. I treated myself to a proper hairdo
from the lovely ladies at <a href="http://www.heartfeltvintage.co.uk/">Heartfelt Vintage</a> from Bristol. I came away feeling
very beautiful.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My hairdo!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQApzmFk8a-mkzYnobAOv-cUBCi6haxXvxqNBGULuIpefHRDxeBbRZEDgk-vlN-hBzW4-RU5uGgt0a6nPRt5864YIr1-fmBfHq72s9j4pbzaBKjNdUY_9dgj_uurWjASGj9-jUSwvmr6V/s1600/IMG_3969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQApzmFk8a-mkzYnobAOv-cUBCi6haxXvxqNBGULuIpefHRDxeBbRZEDgk-vlN-hBzW4-RU5uGgt0a6nPRt5864YIr1-fmBfHq72s9j4pbzaBKjNdUY_9dgj_uurWjASGj9-jUSwvmr6V/s320/IMG_3969.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An arty shot of iconic planes or a shit out of focus one - you decide!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaVeCq2Rl4gU33_7jP0q1W_LHuyI8FUE3XyUu4xYpymW5zVXIzxRLCwNa_S111o_oc_c7FLKFcVmbbYYjyhLwY6fuYq25VHnqfva6-ZD_gsEcoEsrvqmif_oKiSzY8OGzikYhYhCTj5Je/s1600/IMG_3959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaVeCq2Rl4gU33_7jP0q1W_LHuyI8FUE3XyUu4xYpymW5zVXIzxRLCwNa_S111o_oc_c7FLKFcVmbbYYjyhLwY6fuYq25VHnqfva6-ZD_gsEcoEsrvqmif_oKiSzY8OGzikYhYhCTj5Je/s320/IMG_3959.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A demonstration of wartime cookery.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now the end of June saw the whole Brexit thing but this all
kind of passed us by. I am not sure if I have mentioned on here or not but DH
suffers from mental health issues, something which affects all aspects of our
lives. Things came to a head for him one evening and he took an overdose. I
found him in our garden, hypothermic and unconscious. I still don’t really know
what to say about the whole thing – we got to see the best and worst of the NHS
system and found some amazing support from friends and family. I did ask DH if I could mention this on my
blog and he was keen that anything that got people to talk about mental health
had to be a good thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway – from lows to highs. In August DS#2 had his
graduation parade from his Phase 1 army training in Harrogate. We took the opportunity to
combine it with a visit to York and a couple of nights away. The day of the
parade was very wet and windy. My carefully chosen outfit was hidden under a
very fetching plastic poncho. I also had to hold my hat on, something the poor
lads couldn’t do on the parade ground. This resulted in lots of hats being
whipped off and blown away and having to be retrieved by the RSM’s. It made for great entertainment and huge
cheers from the crowds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I
can’t explain how proud I was of DS#2 on that day. He looked so handsome, so
grown up and had gone through so much to get where he was. I was just bursting
inside.. and crying a bit... and determined that he would have his photo taken.
A lot. He’s not keen on the whole photograph taking thing! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a bit wet!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkm6LyiSCFTBKICS1cUNlknNwyiNz187jQ31UpY0Ow9fE5FCbdCbrLlVw7TqOiEqrX04Xek4UltInUdwpm5aQSuYgLiOCfu5o3bvkjLhQCbnqPUg5Z-I2AgcIXPfESOw1UVlsK5U2CGks/s1600/P8112213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkm6LyiSCFTBKICS1cUNlknNwyiNz187jQ31UpY0Ow9fE5FCbdCbrLlVw7TqOiEqrX04Xek4UltInUdwpm5aQSuYgLiOCfu5o3bvkjLhQCbnqPUg5Z-I2AgcIXPfESOw1UVlsK5U2CGks/s320/P8112213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can see him!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaai8SM35E3A0KU5UPlcrnuX2flCfaE-hTp-nampxgMP0RDzfRqIQwrI7mpSrO55goscl-Asscdhph6cCkvP-BR-3aAMJ7f7xCW9pnkI8WyA2WPY6u8insAcfKqeXkQlfhKIOeDnDmprP/s1600/P8112221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaai8SM35E3A0KU5UPlcrnuX2flCfaE-hTp-nampxgMP0RDzfRqIQwrI7mpSrO55goscl-Asscdhph6cCkvP-BR-3aAMJ7f7xCW9pnkI8WyA2WPY6u8insAcfKqeXkQlfhKIOeDnDmprP/s320/P8112221.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proud Mum moment and DS#2 suffering yet another photograph</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jane and I continued our adventures with a go at punting on
the Thames at Oxford. The guy at the hire place looked quite worried and
suggested, several times, that perhaps we would be safer in a row boat. But no,
punting had been chosen and punting was going to be done. Jane turned out to be
very good and I couldn’t get the sodding pole out of the mud. So technically
she punted and I sat in the punt and cheered her on. We finished the adventure with the worlds
biggest picnic on the banks of the river which sounds lovely but involved
fighting off ducks and wasps and trying to find somewhere to sit that wasn’t
covered in bird poo. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, enough for today. Do look out for
instalment 3 where we get up close to tanks, the family has a new addition and
I 'find' myself - deep and meaningful stuff! </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; 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; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span>Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-44204152348722667542016-12-28T01:30:00.000-08:002016-12-28T01:30:48.071-08:002016 and all that....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Feeling inspired and ready to get back on the blogging train
so thought I would wait until the tail end of 2016 and blast you all with a
whistle-stop tour of my year (not all in one go you will be glad to see!)</div>
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So here goes with instalment 1, Jan to April – we all know
that 2016 has been a pretty crap year for lots of people and for lots of
reasons. This has been no different for me either, it has seen some bloody damn
horrible lows but it has made me incredibly grateful for the bright spots and
good things that happened too.</div>
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My friend Jane and I came up with a plan back in 2015 to do new thing each month – this hasn’t always happened, sometimes life gets in
the way, but we have done some very cool things throughout the year. We went to
the opera to see La Boheme in Feb, lowered the average audience age by a good
40 years and felt somewhat out of place with all the real cultured people. To
my shame I didn’t have clue what was going on but we stayed til the end and I
only fell asleep once! I do remember feeling slightly confused by the gloves
worn by Mimi in her (spoiler alert!) death scene. They looked like giant pork
chops which somewhat detracted from the feel of the moment and I am sure this
is not what the costume designer had in mind.....</div>
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I visited my Dad and stepmother in Denmark with DD in Feb
too. This was a short trip but we packed lots in. We visited the Hans Christian
Anderson museum, which includes the house where he was born. DD enjoyed this as
she loves HCA stories. Highlight was her trying to describe a storyline she
vaguely remembered to the confused lady in the shop who loved a challenge and
wasn’t going to give up! Thank goodness the Danes have a better grasp of
English than we do of Danish – we got there in the end, it was ‘Big Claus and
Little Claus’. We also went to see the Viking ship burial at<a href="http://en.vikingemuseetladby.dk/"> Ladby.</a> This is the
only ship burial where the ship is still in the mound. The display is
breathtaking and very atmospheric. We were lucky enough to be the only ones
there when we went – lots of time to take in the mood of the place. They were also
putting the finishing touches to a replica ship when we went. Totally life size
and built using traditional methods, it was very impressive. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from the ship</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69Wa2U2LzuD9uvL7h8av4IVdz_qeKx0EoZtxit4q7Y-sngtCwC3ueaZyaaoT8VPgY8TH-eqQpxC0DkkiyXTYvSxxF2y1jbbEZ4Qik8_nhhfps8lyO-P_j84uVCxerHZjCf6qXhDs1GYcU/s1600/IMG_3805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69Wa2U2LzuD9uvL7h8av4IVdz_qeKx0EoZtxit4q7Y-sngtCwC3ueaZyaaoT8VPgY8TH-eqQpxC0DkkiyXTYvSxxF2y1jbbEZ4Qik8_nhhfps8lyO-P_j84uVCxerHZjCf6qXhDs1GYcU/s320/IMG_3805.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the skeletons of the horses are still there..</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The replica - almost finished</td></tr>
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I really valued the family time too –
something that we don’t get enough of. I probably don’t tell them how much I
miss them either.....</div>
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Other highlights of the first part of the year were music
related. DS#1 had his first gig at a uni bar which we went along to. We got
about 2 words from him while he chilled with friends but we were well impressed
with his bass playing! </div>
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Musical highlight 2 was also with DS#1 where I
accompanied him to London to see Muse at the O2. Now I have to admit to having
only a vague knowledge of Muse before buying the tickets but I was sent a
playlist to better acquaint myself with some of their well known tunes. DS#1
and I spent a lovely day together exploring London and Greenwich in the rain. I
ended up giving in and buying an umbrella, at which point the rain stopped! We
walked along the river from Greenwich to the O2 in good time for the gig – it was
a spectacular show although I had not researched enough before hand and didn’t
realise the floaty balls were actually drones! This would have made a bit more
sense of the show and I would have been a lot more astounded at the display. Oh
well, my first resolution for 2017 shall be ‘research before you go!’</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrwXIrpCQEPPQoryDvTj9vkdUIfu-J1h2t9QvY3FA4MgX9Pqgdrg0bKvfM0OP-KzkpOkv4isKAq6ILaFK2dGeLbPPjnT0LCbL54YHPbPLFl4JVhDlyXqd1irVqxxy4PG7bH6WoSdopqBT/s1600/IMG_3848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrwXIrpCQEPPQoryDvTj9vkdUIfu-J1h2t9QvY3FA4MgX9Pqgdrg0bKvfM0OP-KzkpOkv4isKAq6ILaFK2dGeLbPPjnT0LCbL54YHPbPLFl4JVhDlyXqd1irVqxxy4PG7bH6WoSdopqBT/s320/IMG_3848.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't want to know how long it took to get this picture with the 'Muse' in the right place! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WievOPuuHUCJ-aXy386-RPZgHireVN0D5nVzLIxND3DhBT35QJ6Nbk20UvNV140kRrs6tSE2rtg89l79mwKmpaXmbRkorVwzR7woUU-W0jMkEb7BYQgHkWDgrdOwnLCM8DgQt1WB09UX/s1600/IMG_3874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WievOPuuHUCJ-aXy386-RPZgHireVN0D5nVzLIxND3DhBT35QJ6Nbk20UvNV140kRrs6tSE2rtg89l79mwKmpaXmbRkorVwzR7woUU-W0jMkEb7BYQgHkWDgrdOwnLCM8DgQt1WB09UX/s320/IMG_3874.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drones - not beach balls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH7MhpFH1U8b3UnFNtRKLqNEPFVbti8YQDeI2wF0LC3ygFaY4qdkmvhkIWLz_CzV7m4n6sPJK0FhPLV3c38MjEyiTm6JB5af_Tu1VfZBQErLyaWOn1FG5xqkaUDozdx6yOivn7X5rFwnj/s1600/IMG_3857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH7MhpFH1U8b3UnFNtRKLqNEPFVbti8YQDeI2wF0LC3ygFaY4qdkmvhkIWLz_CzV7m4n6sPJK0FhPLV3c38MjEyiTm6JB5af_Tu1VfZBQErLyaWOn1FG5xqkaUDozdx6yOivn7X5rFwnj/s320/IMG_3857.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bloody spectacular show</td></tr>
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Please do check in again for instalment 2 where our intrepid
heroine has the best and worst days of the year, has an amazing hair adventure
and doesn’t get drowned!</div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-22839110860855023622015-11-08T12:35:00.001-08:002015-11-08T12:36:01.595-08:00Self Care Sunday #BEDN<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEU15sSJ2Tjtc04FNMg6F1u-d1JAv3pct7WkecgsVcJfo6JbtwgZXSHrGXpIn6gBGxJSOz_w0gfjT0tpNlKBHe_pjUrIvdUkLCZe-ZF7Ml2cEC6m57f8VEUMUBvu5bnV_ZkfW6CX8JXOy/s640/blogger-image-625855196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEU15sSJ2Tjtc04FNMg6F1u-d1JAv3pct7WkecgsVcJfo6JbtwgZXSHrGXpIn6gBGxJSOz_w0gfjT0tpNlKBHe_pjUrIvdUkLCZe-ZF7Ml2cEC6m57f8VEUMUBvu5bnV_ZkfW6CX8JXOy/s640/blogger-image-625855196.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Was inspired to finish this skein of yarn! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have spent this weekend feeling blessed! Got to spend some precious time with #1 son on his visit from uni. He didn't even bring washing home 😊 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have spoken on the phone three times to #2 son up at AFC Harrogate, hearing all about his attempts at swimming and his new skills of rabbit skinning. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I attended the Remembrance Service at our village war memorial. Sobering and very emotional for me especially this year. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHyFNiFJl1Lukt3boDw3NTz_wG25jaEfVtu8lzdb4TgZaarJ5zvd1T2s_bGFgG4MTt5GwY2hN3nEIV7XZV7Yg3YZpNBenlJSQ3nH8vEtBJGrQQcz-nzF0_Y58b2-PS7npgidhIgOkHGtj/s640/blogger-image-1628010224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHyFNiFJl1Lukt3boDw3NTz_wG25jaEfVtu8lzdb4TgZaarJ5zvd1T2s_bGFgG4MTt5GwY2hN3nEIV7XZV7Yg3YZpNBenlJSQ3nH8vEtBJGrQQcz-nzF0_Y58b2-PS7npgidhIgOkHGtj/s640/blogger-image-1628010224.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One of the giant wall art pieces at Harrogate. </div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And this afternoon I spent some time with a lovely friend at a spinning and weaving workshop. Picked up some tips, refined my technique and loved being creative in such good company. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's been a weekend of counting my blessings and being thankful. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">How have you spent your weekend? </div><br></div>Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-74588622589133399922015-11-07T08:24:00.000-08:002015-11-07T08:24:16.519-08:00Unusual Hobbies - #BEDN Day Seven<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great start to the Blogging Challenge – I have missed two
days already! In fairness I have had a busy couple of days and now #1 son has
come to visit from University so I am enjoying his company for a few precious
hours!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am sad that I missed the ‘Firework’ prompt. I thought long
and hard about how I had no interesting (read ‘in focus’) firework pictures. Instead
I had a post all planned out about Guy Fawkes and how pictures of his pre and
post torture signatures had inspired my rather gruesome interest in mediaeval
torture instruments. Now, don’t get me wrong – I wasn't interested in a weird
way, more a horrified fascination... I realise now I am digging a hole so maybe
I should move on to a different prompt!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhst1SYI4mqydeClWLYVOQZMNlXi7wz0zX1TH1ZVSfMHmw5TBl7jV-AlPuoVjfsUJyk-5-aOsq2JumBedDCgakP5p3NuMcOSh0piH2Gr2Rjeo6SylGi1bPSD2H8v_il_PQkkg05r152eqSr/s1600/Guy+Fawkes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhst1SYI4mqydeClWLYVOQZMNlXi7wz0zX1TH1ZVSfMHmw5TBl7jV-AlPuoVjfsUJyk-5-aOsq2JumBedDCgakP5p3NuMcOSh0piH2Gr2Rjeo6SylGi1bPSD2H8v_il_PQkkg05r152eqSr/s320/Guy+Fawkes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Before and After - Image from Google Images</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today’s is ‘Unusual Hobbies’ (which could include the
above?) Hmm – I have lots of hobbies. In fact I drive my family to distraction
by my short attention span when it comes to trying new things. In fairness I
like to dabble and will, more often than not, come back to something when it
once again takes my fancy. I did try asking them what they considered to be my
most unusual hobby and these were the answers I got:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF_smm-5h5H3OMNNtyKo_5J7Jg8CJJmY3APO1KFOZHzRtORUpbeTm6ehqNthbaEp7OZVEatIAJGGMg58cKMtwt1wHQI8Xt0ylZ4KilAb6PmzjHPb0JcltyuDW7p2M6J6RjXwArqr5bL6O/s1600/kaz+308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF_smm-5h5H3OMNNtyKo_5J7Jg8CJJmY3APO1KFOZHzRtORUpbeTm6ehqNthbaEp7OZVEatIAJGGMg58cKMtwt1wHQI8Xt0ylZ4KilAb6PmzjHPb0JcltyuDW7p2M6J6RjXwArqr5bL6O/s400/kaz+308.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Who could not love a face like this? Most of my family apparently...</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">·</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Taxidermy – I have quite a collection and have
had a go at a few things myself. I also have a few specimens in the freezer
which is always good for a laugh when my daughter is trying to find the fish
fingers! (joke) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">·</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spinning wool – I have been trying to teach
myself to spin yarn on a wheel. I'm not great but it’s quite therapeutic. The problem
is I am not very good at knitting.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">·</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Collecting Ugly Cats – My Mum used to collect
Crested China and had a beautiful display case full of it. I never quite got
into it in the same way but did discover that there are a number of quite
startling cats produced so I limited my collection to these lovely creatures. I
have to keep them in my room though as no one else seems to appreciate their
happy faces!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">·</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Bee Keeping – possibly not that unusual but it
is usually a talking point when people find out.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well I guess this post will have either intrigued or scared
people – I think I might be a bit worried to ask which!</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-38062120614563366832015-11-04T12:13:00.001-08:002015-11-04T12:13:37.864-08:00Photography #BEDN Day FourI like photography, I like fairs and I like black and white! <div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhx3O7tUc4hK082qeoSmpalDqt_WPjlRV_Znjoqiv3awAxQ373gi1NykKymZbY8YW3hSxqBRV42LRJaWUz6qCKIlauuBLP8gXUiWQLY5U1RYbMs0Z8q4wHJk7mLo5cEqcM0CEE2ftBgAS8/s640/blogger-image-1054788609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhx3O7tUc4hK082qeoSmpalDqt_WPjlRV_Znjoqiv3awAxQ373gi1NykKymZbY8YW3hSxqBRV42LRJaWUz6qCKIlauuBLP8gXUiWQLY5U1RYbMs0Z8q4wHJk7mLo5cEqcM0CEE2ftBgAS8/s640/blogger-image-1054788609.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnqCHZTldaNgh4pzanFY3vQL2Jml-ulTQT2Y2sQf2XoPwOVCUY9sy-DkoQs8Vx0ge6Y0N_VpvG4ZvvE6HjG-6HS5TVM_b7fAs4FKJgFynkVn1tMe3Gy6SwiYeohD8MKBPY-BnaQOtO2AM/s640/blogger-image--712412319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnqCHZTldaNgh4pzanFY3vQL2Jml-ulTQT2Y2sQf2XoPwOVCUY9sy-DkoQs8Vx0ge6Y0N_VpvG4ZvvE6HjG-6HS5TVM_b7fAs4FKJgFynkVn1tMe3Gy6SwiYeohD8MKBPY-BnaQOtO2AM/s640/blogger-image--712412319.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpoSJwR3kzBJx7CCTIkuRaUbhc0mNgOxbC9pFoOTmownr4OU6aY-CYVFJYcneKmHKgn_1ut8V8vO6FRJq7wsy5KOuv4pGIOV-1fmjqe3-vFo51SXt4DFjEdbBLTJwnBGZWrcYJrxHLBUI/s640/blogger-image--592019652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpoSJwR3kzBJx7CCTIkuRaUbhc0mNgOxbC9pFoOTmownr4OU6aY-CYVFJYcneKmHKgn_1ut8V8vO6FRJq7wsy5KOuv4pGIOV-1fmjqe3-vFo51SXt4DFjEdbBLTJwnBGZWrcYJrxHLBUI/s640/blogger-image--592019652.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-89464216518090609522015-11-03T09:52:00.000-08:002015-11-03T09:52:16.249-08:00Food Glorious Food - #BEDN Day Three<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/AVvXsEjudi8BG_QXntsueGOqrMHthN1sWq-U7zee9T-rOLvAvZive6KvxzJlMmDzd56Qt482S4xJKVbza3FENk1PY61c4SU5AcKbUjSrZX_qEQjh6F6VFp3rNtWDyDQ2lk1pJ1nseA7aIPXDxGsp/s1600/kaz+068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjudi8BG_QXntsueGOqrMHthN1sWq-U7zee9T-rOLvAvZive6KvxzJlMmDzd56Qt482S4xJKVbza3FENk1PY61c4SU5AcKbUjSrZX_qEQjh6F6VFp3rNtWDyDQ2lk1pJ1nseA7aIPXDxGsp/s640/kaz+068.jpg" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ok so I know this doesn't strictly show food but I was on a picnic and this was my Ribena bottle, honest!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought I might go for a more retro theme for today’s
prompt, some things I remember about food and my childhood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a child of the Seventies, the vast majority of meals were
home cooked from scratch. One meal my Mum used to make was what we christened ‘Fishy
Eggy Cheesy Thing’, white fish with hard boiled eggs covered in cheese sauce
and served with rice. I have made it for my own children and they lovingly
christened it ‘Fishy Eggy Manky Thing’. Guess it wasn’t a favourite!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> We rarely had take-aways
and so I remember these being a huge treat. Usually Chinese and usually undertaken
with ‘skilful’ use of chopsticks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we lived close to the Primary School, my brothers and I
would walk home for lunch – sandwiches or spaghetti hoops and toast, scoffed
down whilst watching ‘Tickle on the Tum’ or ‘Let’s Pretend’. If there was a
school trip coming up then we would get a special packed lunch with the
ultimate treat of a Mr Kipling Apple Pie. I still love these as they bring back
such happy memories (even though I know how full of fake stuff they are).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a fabulous newsagents up the street, Mr and Mrs Horne
displayed a proper range of sweets, all in the jars with the little paper bags.
You could get a pretty full bag for 10p (gosh I feel old now) and my favourites
included Black Jacks, Hubba Bubba and those very un-PC chocolate cigarettes. If
I could stretch my pocket money to a whole packet then I would choose Spangles
and Pacers. Visits to my Nandad always included a trip to his local shop in
Frieth for sweets too. They had some great chocolate mice :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t remember having fizzy drinks that often – I do
remember the excitement of getting the special Christmas order form from our
village milkman where you could order such delights as Cream Soda and Dandelion
and Burdock, to be hidden away until the big day. There was often a sugar mouse
in our stockings for Christmas, a tradition I keep up with my own children. I
do remember one year getting a sugar pig which was quite large. I sat and ate
most of it whilst watching an On The Buses special and felt very ill indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s quite amazing the memories that thinking about food has
brought back – I wonder what things my kids will think back on and remember?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PS if any of you three are reading this, don’t even mention
my burnt jacket potatoes thank you!</span></div>
<br />Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-41505878651674802022015-11-02T09:19:00.000-08:002015-11-02T09:19:35.541-08:00'I Don't Mind Mondays' #BEDN Day Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVFLl731wUOiaL2e1KrYiYjC56BdDizRxNVYYJQaOZBCKc1_K8ifbpmgdI8mZxbUj9WO_wb2aqxvehvqtSfo4cGTN4d_wTMLKHn_7s3XhV3FUZk6ZggXsFrwonRx8WxqmGN1F-5Dl7R9k/s1600/Journal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVFLl731wUOiaL2e1KrYiYjC56BdDizRxNVYYJQaOZBCKc1_K8ifbpmgdI8mZxbUj9WO_wb2aqxvehvqtSfo4cGTN4d_wTMLKHn_7s3XhV3FUZk6ZggXsFrwonRx8WxqmGN1F-5Dl7R9k/s400/Journal.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday, Monday, Monday – Can I be controversial and say
that, as a rule, I don’t mind Mondays. Yes, it means the end to the weekend and
a few days of following a more rigid routine. Early mornings (5.15am anyone?)
and the daily chore of deciding what my stomach might fancy for lunch when it
really doesn't want to be thinking that far ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, Monday also means a new start, new challenges and new
opportunities. I am lucky that most of the time I love my job, I work with some
fab people and get to do some quite un-mundane things! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mondays also give me the
opportunity to begin my day and my new week with some journaling and using one
of my sets of cards to pull out a thought or guide or helpful tip to meditate
upon for the week ahead. I do try to journal most mornings over my cup of tea
but Mondays somehow seem important to set the tone for the coming days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now if I’d been more organised I would have sorted out an
arty shot this morning to accompany this piece. But I wasn’t, so I haven’t and so
you’ll have to make do with an old shot!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I have looked ahead
to the prompt for tomorrow though – oh dear, it’s food related and it’s a
miracle if anything I cook looks edible let alone photogenic. Maybe a trip to a
beautiful shop window is in order?</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-26521514104115852722015-11-01T11:35:00.000-08:002015-11-01T11:35:32.814-08:00A Blogging Challenge Day One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vp1paJArjyoJ-8NWvRmJxlzhlnDoV5_dUy30p1-K1kdqQHZJjWnoO9RcZg9yaYkssBcrry74loWwE0a6IdMHVLN4Vg3fb-UxDay6AxcgUc5WhGBV9HZq-gAnWVAK9AU6V4w_x6c2A8HH/s1600/IMG_2653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vp1paJArjyoJ-8NWvRmJxlzhlnDoV5_dUy30p1-K1kdqQHZJjWnoO9RcZg9yaYkssBcrry74loWwE0a6IdMHVLN4Vg3fb-UxDay6AxcgUc5WhGBV9HZq-gAnWVAK9AU6V4w_x6c2A8HH/s400/IMG_2653.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After my return to Blogville yesterday I also spent some
time catching up with other blogs that I follow. In a mad, crazy, creative
moment I decided to sign up for the ‘Blog Every Day in November’ challenge from <a href="http://www.rosalilium.com/2013/10/blog-every-day-in-november/">Rosalilium</a> #BEDN.
Now I am not promising to blog every day (though I will try) but I thought that
having prompts would inspire me and give me some new ideas. It might even give
my blog a bit of direction!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, the first prompt is ‘Something New About Yourself’ and I thought oh bugger.
The 3 people that read my blog already know me and I try to keep my crazy
hidden from everyone else! But, hey, new people might happen along and it’s a
chance to reinvent myself :) (it also showed how woefully out of date my ‘About Me’ page was!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, who am I? Directionally challenged, easily distracted,
random collector, history lover, occasional cusser, underdog supporter,
in-my-dreams yogini, creative crafter, book slut (I’ll read anything!),
painfully introverted, mother of 3, wife, sister, daughter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love Reiki, Autumn and taxidermy. I don’t love crowds,
rude people or peppers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve often wondered what it must be like to do something
totally mad and follow your dreams – but then I’ve also dreamed about what it
would be like to build a time machine and travel back to Elizabethan times with
a Polaroid camera (probably I’d get burnt for sorcery).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mostly I live an ordinary life, work, home, The Walking Dead
and just sometimes I let the quirky out. I am constantly learning new things about myself - sometimes they even surprise me (I had no idea I knew all the words to 'What's New Pussycat'!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this hasn’t frightened you off yet then welcome! Looking
forward to the challenge and discovering some new friends through the power of
blogging!</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-16687642786797107932015-10-31T05:26:00.001-07:002015-10-31T05:26:39.708-07:00Today I am choosing to be happy!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3lL3_MYVKQICZIVhi8av_3ulKNGY5NaDAjvNPubZjyuoiwvZ324ZZsYxgj7aUre1D8PYBaZyDOoQk5uEb_niHMpSYzG5gAFWRxPsOHriu-QKxnfKCt-evun3RRGtJs_diuRyEVCcQOeC/s1600/IMG_2904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3lL3_MYVKQICZIVhi8av_3ulKNGY5NaDAjvNPubZjyuoiwvZ324ZZsYxgj7aUre1D8PYBaZyDOoQk5uEb_niHMpSYzG5gAFWRxPsOHriu-QKxnfKCt-evun3RRGtJs_diuRyEVCcQOeC/s400/IMG_2904.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh my goodness so much has changed in my life since my last
post (which was about 100 years ago, I know!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There have been some fairly major upheavals at work which
are now beginning to settle down. I am looking forward to getting properly
stuck into my new role as Programme Manager, lots to do and lots to learn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine this with the fact I have also ‘lost’ two children
over the last 2 months, one to University and one to begin his Army training
and maybe you can see where this is going....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHte3ZWJsdAUcDvhH7LXNIYoOboB02FiS4ZbzVmIjpRsVtkD0prGmiQCtQ01padyFDK9hwVabTxThRz7Vb9IYASHP5uiC7C9s23Zh0-UR-q99lmhYX1hbPPdqYyWGFSujPKU5g5B4PAMf/s1600/IMG_3686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHte3ZWJsdAUcDvhH7LXNIYoOboB02FiS4ZbzVmIjpRsVtkD0prGmiQCtQ01padyFDK9hwVabTxThRz7Vb9IYASHP5uiC7C9s23Zh0-UR-q99lmhYX1hbPPdqYyWGFSujPKU5g5B4PAMf/s640/IMG_3686.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The uncertainty at work, and the huge changes at home have
had a big knock-on effect on my life. Creativity has been at an all time low –
I have not Instagrammed, blogged or taken many pictures at all. Crafting has
been relegated to bottom of my list of priorities and I have even struggled to
keep up a regular yoga practice (and don’t even ask about the gym!!!) The
allotment and garden have probably seen their least attention in ages which has
rightly resulted in rubbish crops. In fact, confession time, I have spent most
evenings not doing an awful lot, watching mindless crap on the TV and feeling a
bit sorry for myself... This in turn has been making me feel guilty and
therefore even worse about my lack of enthusiasm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But – slobbing on the sofa is no way to spend all your time
and I am ready to embrace the spirit of the season and start afresh, out with
the old and in with the new.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have lots of new projects planned, have booked a couple of
craft fair stalls to give me a goal and am due to go to a couple of crafty workshops
to hopefully inspire and enthuse me. I am also trying hard to recognise and
respect when I need a bit of quiet time, things are all about balance and time
to be reflective and introspective are important too, especially for me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6xckkSnobUc-psCitErK2h9Zx7_3_DMahQHDZl60VTDCsiG_1KXT6BuvuZbw1dtUl-dFIUmVAqnzbPr9O8sJtN-j0tCXUx_aEX1vmaQBfe7Lv7jEcSEY8X06oErIRbu7NTj6tDSkCcC2/s1600/IMG_3605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6xckkSnobUc-psCitErK2h9Zx7_3_DMahQHDZl60VTDCsiG_1KXT6BuvuZbw1dtUl-dFIUmVAqnzbPr9O8sJtN-j0tCXUx_aEX1vmaQBfe7Lv7jEcSEY8X06oErIRbu7NTj6tDSkCcC2/s400/IMG_3605.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not making rash promises of blog updates every week and
masses of creativity happening – but I
am going to promise to do one thing each day which makes me happy. It might be
posting a picture or spending an extra 10 minutes with my journal. It may be
doing a few yoga asanas before bed or spending a few moments breathing and
being thankful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are you doing today which makes you happy?</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-8344783908136158042015-07-27T04:44:00.000-07:002015-07-27T04:49:28.902-07:00Where I Am Right Now...<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeQwB5S73gvngOPDl5HyJ00-2O2YFB7gEYaY6EoEXOxJ7cn3kofRKGvNg9V_2Vf1wAdstTUk0xKU5fNOMbJLkd4Fxqy6MsAI2EWZb9VnKoJ5TtlZjfVVTQfAfgCqV3ud1Gv0TaDMam89M/s640/blogger-image-1209385238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeQwB5S73gvngOPDl5HyJ00-2O2YFB7gEYaY6EoEXOxJ7cn3kofRKGvNg9V_2Vf1wAdstTUk0xKU5fNOMbJLkd4Fxqy6MsAI2EWZb9VnKoJ5TtlZjfVVTQfAfgCqV3ud1Gv0TaDMam89M/s640/blogger-image-1209385238.jpg"></a></div><br>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Right – I am jumping back into the blogging
with an old favourite, my prompt post!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Stuff that I am doing right now on a couple
of precious days off work!<br>
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<b>Making: </b>Some fruit smoothies with my
Nutribullet. I will be more healthy and avoid chocolate!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Cooking: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I have plans to create
some home cooked real food while I am off work – my cookbooks are overflowing
with ideas. We will probably end up eating pizza or fish and chips. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Drinking: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">At this time of the day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Reading: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Around the house I
currently have about 7 books on the go. Bedtime reading is ‘Dark Lover’ the
biography of Rudolph Valentino, in the living room I have ‘Why Can’t I
Meditate’ and in the kitchen pile is ‘Eat, Nourish, Glow’ Just a few.....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Wanting: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">More days off work so I
can get on with the millions of ideas and plans whizzing in my head at the
moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Looking: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">At the grey skies outside
the door and, although I love rain, wishing it was just a teenier bit more
sunny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Playing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">George Formby – gotta love
George!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Wasting: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Valuable housework time
trying to be creative and finally blogging!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Sewing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a summer top all
ready to sew but I am thinking it might not get done in time for this summer
now....<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwacXtSRD6MzaDe2ikigLdBVtGw_tmlzPKTCVc0xJ6Va_GSLBpmUcTvkna1php3x00UxWWW-t14SrIbJPU84eNP-h6OB09_lXOIUsMDxw4HsVBMxQ24ik5I19SubRPH3dy_UkLC-4v8EG/s640/blogger-image--1661446107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwacXtSRD6MzaDe2ikigLdBVtGw_tmlzPKTCVc0xJ6Va_GSLBpmUcTvkna1php3x00UxWWW-t14SrIbJPU84eNP-h6OB09_lXOIUsMDxw4HsVBMxQ24ik5I19SubRPH3dy_UkLC-4v8EG/s640/blogger-image--1661446107.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Wishing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I was back at the mini
yoga retreat I did this weekend – such a treat to spend time doing something I
love with supportive people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Enjoying: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Some time with my boys –
September will see some huge changes with both boys heading off and leaving
home for different reasons. Now I am treasuring each moment they are here (and
trying to to blissfully ignore the annoying boy stuff that they do)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Waiting: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">For my massage appointment
this afternoon – I think it might help the residual pain I’ve been having
following my osteopath treatment for back problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Liking:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> Some new vintage
treasures that have arrived in the house, china, games, more things to find a
permanent home for.....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Wondering: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">If it will rain for both
of my days off or will it now wait until our holiday in Cornwall in a few weeks
and then unleash full holiday weather. As usual!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Loving: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The new reindeer hide
which we have finally decided should go on the bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Hoping: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">My yoga and mindful state
of mind will continue...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Marvelling: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">At how long my computer
takes to do anything and how I haven’t mindfully thrown it through the window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Needing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Pay day to come along just
a little more quickly this month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Smelling: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Penhaligons Hammam Bouquet<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaq9RHvBE2b-3Q0qQz8fIDuKQBOoIHW0njH6UTr1WZ7hrITw8JtCyAzZwJFvHaIBQtol5ASe-daesySVmbI2JCfYnzZYAjKPj4CjHZ-oC__w8GNyedyRwhgrR_EVY_ZxOEhqGA2bLGCsK/s640/blogger-image-1355920305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaq9RHvBE2b-3Q0qQz8fIDuKQBOoIHW0njH6UTr1WZ7hrITw8JtCyAzZwJFvHaIBQtol5ASe-daesySVmbI2JCfYnzZYAjKPj4CjHZ-oC__w8GNyedyRwhgrR_EVY_ZxOEhqGA2bLGCsK/s640/blogger-image-1355920305.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Wearing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Lazy clothes – and now
thinking what I should wear for the massage... oh the worry!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Following: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Not sure now the Tour de
France has finished. Will have to totally rethink my evenings </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Noticing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">How fresh everything
smells after the rain – see, looking for the positives..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Knowing: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">These two days will fly
past and I will not do half the stuff I want to do. But that I need to
appreciate some slower time and things that don’t get done will just have to
wait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Thinking: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Trying not to..... being
present in the moment!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Feeling: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Mostly chilled and relaxed
and quite happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Bookmarking: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Yoga stuff and
mindful stuff and things that inspire me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Opening: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Actually trying to resist
opening another book until I have finished the ones I have started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Giggling: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">At the weather – no point
being too upset by it. At least I won’t have to water the garden. Again....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Well – that’s where I’m at right now.... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-19794584077489375852015-05-10T10:30:00.000-07:002015-05-10T10:30:07.397-07:00Onwards and Upwards...<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/AVvXsEjxt3Ha3BsJXzX2KmEnilpJ5ETatp08WHes6pSwGT7IcEhj3rGjD4pbH29S3NCRcir0gwwSc_Z8t3Hy22JbiY6w83ckJDN3u_bBFTMKSzmgY6gvJg3f0tBF__seAsYQ-yHKPxCjhzjqqOGr/s1600/IMG_3376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxt3Ha3BsJXzX2KmEnilpJ5ETatp08WHes6pSwGT7IcEhj3rGjD4pbH29S3NCRcir0gwwSc_Z8t3Hy22JbiY6w83ckJDN3u_bBFTMKSzmgY6gvJg3f0tBF__seAsYQ-yHKPxCjhzjqqOGr/s400/IMG_3376.JPG" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bluebells - good for the spirit!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well – it’s been a pretty difficult few weeks here.
Don’t really want to go into much detail but to top everything we lost our
beautiful cat Hincapie. He has left a hole a mile wide in our lives, he was the
noisiest, most demanding cat I think I have ever met but the house is so very
quiet without him :(</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3ChneM0OshU1X0Jx1jaNXbv5Ej4jPYCiliuih_qn3PWRzUCab4JIkmj165Xvrp-60GLWkg9gu_h9fIjVG6ssRLSeFNqJAlyOAL98v681Q02pocLDaO059Pf3_RVvE3a6MV_zt1LEBnRT/s1600/kaz+967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3ChneM0OshU1X0Jx1jaNXbv5Ej4jPYCiliuih_qn3PWRzUCab4JIkmj165Xvrp-60GLWkg9gu_h9fIjVG6ssRLSeFNqJAlyOAL98v681Q02pocLDaO059Pf3_RVvE3a6MV_zt1LEBnRT/s400/kaz+967.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mr Noisy </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought long and hard about this post and how I don’t want
my blog to appear a whole picture of rainbows and unicorns. We all have shit
happen in our lives and it would be a false picture to paint otherwise.
However, I have sat back and given it some thought and I have also had some
fabulous things happen in amongst the crap and as I am a (mostly) optimistic
and glass most defiantly half full kind of girl I thought I would concentrate
on the joy and loveliness and not the rubbish and sadness. (reading back this
sentence I saw that spell check had changed ‘definately’ into ‘defiantly’ and
hell, I’m not going to change it back!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bluebells have been out in the woods both locally and at
work. I have spent a lovely couple of evenings out with friends walking and
enjoying them and making up for being so damn antisocial lately. I am also
grateful that friends have supported me feeling a bit rubbish and not my usual
self at all (sorry to you all for that!)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cXX10YNEj5aMCUfyIAhKJKg41VLNy3_yRAJZBwZO3jx4ANjCTq42WXk-1DabCoZMW-GYj64CZtgrV1fJVwfm4XbXy4xnWe9L5GrNsAdRjE6FbzG4iAyEVif4KDN21xkbS3ipeOwBPXuO/s1600/IMG_3378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cXX10YNEj5aMCUfyIAhKJKg41VLNy3_yRAJZBwZO3jx4ANjCTq42WXk-1DabCoZMW-GYj64CZtgrV1fJVwfm4XbXy4xnWe9L5GrNsAdRjE6FbzG4iAyEVif4KDN21xkbS3ipeOwBPXuO/s400/IMG_3378.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Beautiful friends in beautiful surroundings! Counting my blessings.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have had dinner out with other friends that I have not
seen for a long time. One of them is now winging her way to California for 5
years and I am so glad that we caught up before she left. Lots of reminiscing
and laughs!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6KM4868GzRCSc30aWQFDSCYEOFV0pXiKB41uXv1OGJD9VBsjVeP-7ir44imNGUW70ijWKgqKxTDR9LcvQVsTIgGw77ff4lA_55zmOruagnwqBSnpxevKIn0g6w7rxBoZNichHGBrEVAF/s1600/IMG_3416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6KM4868GzRCSc30aWQFDSCYEOFV0pXiKB41uXv1OGJD9VBsjVeP-7ir44imNGUW70ijWKgqKxTDR9LcvQVsTIgGw77ff4lA_55zmOruagnwqBSnpxevKIn0g6w7rxBoZNichHGBrEVAF/s400/IMG_3416.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">More laughs with friends!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DH and I celebrated 23 whole years of being stuck with each
other. We spent a day touring Salisbury where we saw the Magna Carta at
Salisbury Cathedral, had a meal out and then went to see Old Wardour Castle to
get at least a little value from our underused English Heritage memberships...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbgsfYjBtq5Faf0XLwFAUPVxnC5nzg6n9VF1OJNbB6uZotJ1gQcye1MB_2WC2U1Q4UiNUZy376gnie5Q8h52cb4dGyCZyOM5qx6f_nt2psFaZF0QO4YFaNA2f4kK1loGgifVKJPl0L691/s1600/IMG_3392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbgsfYjBtq5Faf0XLwFAUPVxnC5nzg6n9VF1OJNbB6uZotJ1gQcye1MB_2WC2U1Q4UiNUZy376gnie5Q8h52cb4dGyCZyOM5qx6f_nt2psFaZF0QO4YFaNA2f4kK1loGgifVKJPl0L691/s400/IMG_3392.JPG" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The reflections in the font water were stunning.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs53yDfIbfUw4Es8YdiZ4l27gH0774_otaKv2A-vLs7exKb6_nSkPOV3BcVHd5VIyuFwWHC1_k9HEfa66G_56Ia7grEHemgZFjdmZpaX31NG293Mc9fN060fApAQeEqQ6JNurd5kbZ32wM/s1600/IMG_3399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs53yDfIbfUw4Es8YdiZ4l27gH0774_otaKv2A-vLs7exKb6_nSkPOV3BcVHd5VIyuFwWHC1_k9HEfa66G_56Ia7grEHemgZFjdmZpaX31NG293Mc9fN060fApAQeEqQ6JNurd5kbZ32wM/s400/IMG_3399.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My favourite find - historical graffiti!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DE5sV3CR2v24qZrg1bmLqOmkPdRTk_NQ33_XI6_Zwz59QvFLnH3IsuljPcuhLKYCmFwTjyB-2HDMkfBXRweqbgFQm9hAZhxUoF1H_8vm45hBHNnUGC99eAU6RqlKgBPdYf8XNDNHUADK/s1600/IMG_3405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DE5sV3CR2v24qZrg1bmLqOmkPdRTk_NQ33_XI6_Zwz59QvFLnH3IsuljPcuhLKYCmFwTjyB-2HDMkfBXRweqbgFQm9hAZhxUoF1H_8vm45hBHNnUGC99eAU6RqlKgBPdYf8XNDNHUADK/s400/IMG_3405.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Usually I get to do the bunny ears.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OOauM-PTFK9i2RTDjqMCSkqhGPlsmbvf-ZlYssxfm6IZ1T0vTsdJrvGKH1hKdSLYTMrHanLVx50Th8jd6uEfVLXdvS4QNz0q5Xi1PT9ooNT656KOSGUVBPGdyptPacuELuB-uIXQlxdO/s1600/IMG_3412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OOauM-PTFK9i2RTDjqMCSkqhGPlsmbvf-ZlYssxfm6IZ1T0vTsdJrvGKH1hKdSLYTMrHanLVx50Th8jd6uEfVLXdvS4QNz0q5Xi1PT9ooNT656KOSGUVBPGdyptPacuELuB-uIXQlxdO/s400/IMG_3412.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">How I feel sometimes!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have been cracking on with the garden and allotment – not
managing to quite keep up with the weeds and growth of grass but putting up a
brave fight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mostly I have decided that being positive is a good thing
and that I have a great deal to still be grateful for, no matter how things might
sometimes appear otherwise!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin3n8BtSXUTGMYGFzuFfofLZbKEExgHBxNjdhWGFIq1olVXdPRm5T-zZeOs4u0c58nXCyDEq59RLN6YIT9CDOCqXGQIOrDzymJMSKsMlJwaYnzXcsh1M4PAAC6aX6IzxyB5dJiZDsdleH/s1600/shann+146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin3n8BtSXUTGMYGFzuFfofLZbKEExgHBxNjdhWGFIq1olVXdPRm5T-zZeOs4u0c58nXCyDEq59RLN6YIT9CDOCqXGQIOrDzymJMSKsMlJwaYnzXcsh1M4PAAC6aX6IzxyB5dJiZDsdleH/s400/shann+146.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looking for the good things....</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Normal service will be resumed shortly :)</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-87917938675122384032015-04-09T07:25:00.000-07:002015-04-09T07:25:54.302-07:00Negativity<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx23NV44WnsaEg1CLKbv8HSo8ZqBb9MjzzXFfVkwgwytxftsUuuV9NqYMPNis41PNjj_euK6-DZlCiRVOnDhtE9GdZxyphmGuXhVaXsanU-iOQMb644gBBIJNEef-M0Q6flQmUcepTuD9y/s1600/Boscastle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx23NV44WnsaEg1CLKbv8HSo8ZqBb9MjzzXFfVkwgwytxftsUuuV9NqYMPNis41PNjj_euK6-DZlCiRVOnDhtE9GdZxyphmGuXhVaXsanU-iOQMb644gBBIJNEef-M0Q6flQmUcepTuD9y/s1600/Boscastle.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking out at Boscastle</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I’ve been feeling a bit sorry for
myself just recently – I don’t often get ill but I’ve been suffering from a
chest infection and accompanying cough and general lethargy. ‘Luckily’ it
coincided with the Easter break and so my precious few days off work were spent
trying hard to feel human and not too grumpy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anyway, to cheer myself up I sorted out some bits and pieces
at home including some of my vast collection of camera equipment. During the
tidy I found a couple of unexposed 120 films. How exciting! I still love the
thrill of sending off film, not knowing what will come back – and this was even
more exciting as I had no idea what was even on the film!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHni19-mA3iN3FH9xqCsM4CYXtx5PuDuCsg0VwaZ8C3k3SelaeQX1tsCBH22NipXey764kg36cqu1GMnTfdbXdZKjYFurXoiBgyMCIMnuLUi-kX644YzFqFjPSMS4CeYOriX3b_MY1neep/s1600/Taidhg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHni19-mA3iN3FH9xqCsM4CYXtx5PuDuCsg0VwaZ8C3k3SelaeQX1tsCBH22NipXey764kg36cqu1GMnTfdbXdZKjYFurXoiBgyMCIMnuLUi-kX644YzFqFjPSMS4CeYOriX3b_MY1neep/s1600/Taidhg.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DS#1 looking cool at the beach</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The negs and CD came back in super quick time and it
transpired they were from holidays in 2013 and 2014… The rolls of film had been
used in my Diana camera and then stashed safely. The Diana is a fun piece of
kit is based on the 1960’s super low quality box camera. The poor plastic
construction is part of the appeal as the resulting light leakage and soft
focus effects give some interesting results. It uses 120 film which gives large
sized square negatives and prints which several firms are now able to develop.
It’s not a super cheap hobby but it is fun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3KUDWCS-LOghasV_LwqaoQA8euSVBK1mtY7r42_cJEnp1sExe__1HjqubFkGdEy5vZzT50S0YaqpMgDuPxanzt_eWVjkmDW2FXXdWai6pirambmBwPCoqRPgLML0ArkMqabKo6CXD7Fr/s1600/Shann+and+I.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3KUDWCS-LOghasV_LwqaoQA8euSVBK1mtY7r42_cJEnp1sExe__1HjqubFkGdEy5vZzT50S0YaqpMgDuPxanzt_eWVjkmDW2FXXdWai6pirambmBwPCoqRPgLML0ArkMqabKo6CXD7Fr/s1600/Shann+and+I.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not my most flattering shot but I just love the colours</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_p00ZgSs5nE7kNOpaEq6xVmikCZrElkoTsgrhuxrHltYvKgBL6GyWylyrpOQ6yUOEbHQ3sUiyzkFqVqDCnmoHMQXeZa0RM4BIifkxM3SD6KU2gwA45ME4kn18zVckkC5vKiQKX5zi69M/s1600/000007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_p00ZgSs5nE7kNOpaEq6xVmikCZrElkoTsgrhuxrHltYvKgBL6GyWylyrpOQ6yUOEbHQ3sUiyzkFqVqDCnmoHMQXeZa0RM4BIifkxM3SD6KU2gwA45ME4kn18zVckkC5vKiQKX5zi69M/s1600/000007.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Textures</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are some of the better results – some of the shots were
so ‘effected’ that you couldn’t really tell what they were of. It has rekindled
my desire to get out there and take some more and to make sure I get the films
sent straight off this time instead of sitting around for years…..<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/AVvXsEh7P3TQV8opnmKCuVzR-DWHXlPRcvpqjhemPXTLrEMcyEyG8wc02yVaqa2XzXwD5M8QkkXBpFniTZfYcp5Ka5yOMHlnibzyGMktWpqMY8tNu7hdIcZ-fduZuQeOzedA-NA-S93lnRoWPciX/s1600/Sidmouth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7P3TQV8opnmKCuVzR-DWHXlPRcvpqjhemPXTLrEMcyEyG8wc02yVaqa2XzXwD5M8QkkXBpFniTZfYcp5Ka5yOMHlnibzyGMktWpqMY8tNu7hdIcZ-fduZuQeOzedA-NA-S93lnRoWPciX/s1600/Sidmouth.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two pics were taken at Sidmouth when I did my yoga retreat. Happy memories!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wBT3PPa09IYBfpkcqs6T-cxgk1aiXrJ90FQRGjK8vW43qz8enzfVbzBvyIl7fhz9sfKiMzwtvGGd5vvkMkc9ANfmfgG9Cc8Wf7_Gg5nW3FE30S7OUIMKdXNwE55V1MWKUmZN5jbNSIlj/s1600/Sidmouth+-+boats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wBT3PPa09IYBfpkcqs6T-cxgk1aiXrJ90FQRGjK8vW43qz8enzfVbzBvyIl7fhz9sfKiMzwtvGGd5vvkMkc9ANfmfgG9Cc8Wf7_Gg5nW3FE30S7OUIMKdXNwE55V1MWKUmZN5jbNSIlj/s1600/Sidmouth+-+boats.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisbogdAI8pLheKAWThFeq5_lH4yzpGwIelpZ1u4daPUk1kBddkUiBpJK1VBAbx5oRjWlRErH1GaKK_GL4im2PG9QiyBvLdKgK1ydw1FhyphenhyphenWso_HDXDGlD76ISo4yOgDZbyJxUngcRQR28m/s1600/000005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisbogdAI8pLheKAWThFeq5_lH4yzpGwIelpZ1u4daPUk1kBddkUiBpJK1VBAbx5oRjWlRErH1GaKK_GL4im2PG9QiyBvLdKgK1ydw1FhyphenhyphenWso_HDXDGlD76ISo4yOgDZbyJxUngcRQR28m/s1600/000005.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DS#2 being mean and moody (and small)</span></td></tr>
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Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-69905506202343102112015-03-09T12:53:00.000-07:002015-03-09T12:53:50.560-07:00Fashion on the Ration<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/AVvXsEicwrzEnabC7zrobJc4VfRg-tp_h81frC5mmQ-3aE3Cc0GXdM6A4bmQcnu5uj5G-pDKme7fMF4ZMwlcVf3r4TL04wk6BhdhxipIJk5oipKnxp8ZXJQZ3tyIrfJdTkmLr3IuatVURf0kCIWd/s1600/London+March+2015+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwrzEnabC7zrobJc4VfRg-tp_h81frC5mmQ-3aE3Cc0GXdM6A4bmQcnu5uj5G-pDKme7fMF4ZMwlcVf3r4TL04wk6BhdhxipIJk5oipKnxp8ZXJQZ3tyIrfJdTkmLr3IuatVURf0kCIWd/s1600/London+March+2015+005.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CC41 clothing was not all drab and frumpy.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Wednesday I got the huge honour of representing <a href="http://prettynostalgic.co.uk/">PrettyNostalgic</a> magazine at the press launch of the new ‘Fashion on the Ration’
exhibition at the <a href="http://www.iwm.org.uk/">Imperial War Museum</a> in London. And I must just say a huge
thank you to Nicole from PN for allowing some of us this amazing opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Fashion on the Ration’ is all about the role of fashion
during WW2, how people coped with change in their lives, rationing and how
fashion played an important part in the morale of the country. The exhibition
includes not only some wonderful examples of clothing but also accessories,
art, photographs and interviews. You can listen to the clipped tones of Oliver
Lyttelton, President of the Board of Trade, as he announced the introduction of
clothes rationing on 1<sup>st</sup> June 1941. It apparently came as a huge
shock to most people.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3om0fttvvnVbLl16-PMqUvqFTKHFrH0bCjsdW3Woe8MJW1sNxog62LTLcIDSQc49FSbXIeZPDc6SCG3gKmF-snGaO7Mr5zfaKYb4gSAimEHg9CSTtyV1iWJnq2PtVObFP2tFY_GdW4QiU/s1600/London+March+2015+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3om0fttvvnVbLl16-PMqUvqFTKHFrH0bCjsdW3Woe8MJW1sNxog62LTLcIDSQc49FSbXIeZPDc6SCG3gKmF-snGaO7Mr5zfaKYb4gSAimEHg9CSTtyV1iWJnq2PtVObFP2tFY_GdW4QiU/s1600/London+March+2015+007.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some more examples of the beautiful clothing on display.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highlights of the display for me included a range of
scarves, many of them by Jacqmar, which included bright colours and patriotic
messages – a way for women to show their support for the War effort through
their everyday clothing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8EytcVkepAwdHKQC4ZrgPOxD4gpNKCzSUWGqLPT3aNflZCAdlJaoZ3Iy5fyrHJO1DxzUqA4y7ZhCEVC7R8xW9gY-demRAdvWzO_cwGV9lZTkT_tWln-N9LoY2EGhjXwNFlcFegVQNVZQ/s1600/London+March+2015+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8EytcVkepAwdHKQC4ZrgPOxD4gpNKCzSUWGqLPT3aNflZCAdlJaoZ3Iy5fyrHJO1DxzUqA4y7ZhCEVC7R8xW9gY-demRAdvWzO_cwGV9lZTkT_tWln-N9LoY2EGhjXwNFlcFegVQNVZQ/s1600/London+March+2015+012.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbItS06DwEgZ81HrLz8ZqjPDoLrcnmTy4PgcEGXP3cn9QkZ_tjdXJnoXODZP-Fbd1MPyZAm9yh1KoqsPXG7o5X8hB-nVAeEFLlLgvCTz1Vtx0puC3ZUdy4F3CGNJ8VhG-AxnAu59N0C8U/s1600/London+March+2015+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbItS06DwEgZ81HrLz8ZqjPDoLrcnmTy4PgcEGXP3cn9QkZ_tjdXJnoXODZP-Fbd1MPyZAm9yh1KoqsPXG7o5X8hB-nVAeEFLlLgvCTz1Vtx0puC3ZUdy4F3CGNJ8VhG-AxnAu59N0C8U/s1600/London+March+2015+010.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two examples from the scarves - this one features propaganda cartoons by Fougasse.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was particularly interested in the section entitled ‘Functional
Fashion’. This had some examples of luminous black out buttons and brooches and
the most stylish Siren Suit, to be worn in the air raid shelters. It even had a
discreet flap at the bottom for comfort breaks!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wAFYWTntko5Z7LWlhC2r917Y9HMhdiwoOz6laovG7uiMKZHcWTQNUSJKEt2BFDW9-U4wKntMkVG-BFtjgCmIzKA7n-Xu8KTVq8qP3wE9MWiKAbHOIBXSGvy6aB3WzKpxeJZm26FsuqN8/s1600/London+March+2015+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wAFYWTntko5Z7LWlhC2r917Y9HMhdiwoOz6laovG7uiMKZHcWTQNUSJKEt2BFDW9-U4wKntMkVG-BFtjgCmIzKA7n-Xu8KTVq8qP3wE9MWiKAbHOIBXSGvy6aB3WzKpxeJZm26FsuqN8/s1600/London+March+2015+009.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personal appearance was an important weapon in the fight!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yUNlxximPD0wJFkEaHfOq4_HAUSYjdLoi8LxEklfHbP9BICXdoVdvCKLabt0on2Ql6jrKkM7t0WUm57INAK1HGp_DZ4SYhHZfP_L1e4UF-g2S0Zxcu-tHbdijgjVN9RcKw6X52qyuEk3/s1600/IMG_3305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yUNlxximPD0wJFkEaHfOq4_HAUSYjdLoi8LxEklfHbP9BICXdoVdvCKLabt0on2Ql6jrKkM7t0WUm57INAK1HGp_DZ4SYhHZfP_L1e4UF-g2S0Zxcu-tHbdijgjVN9RcKw6X52qyuEk3/s1600/IMG_3305.JPG" height="246" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gas mask handbags and luminous buttons.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAkvZUdj5B7V2TNj7Qzde06M9lb-dItSMLDG_3l42p6b8Eq1KpEk7JNRhWv0xA88sF5R6iNJszmkSopQfiuMjLREPRECk0LdCvK2CoYd2pWrogl6VdjoxuTsnwYWwQvVxgJdP8Je8E5Dq/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAkvZUdj5B7V2TNj7Qzde06M9lb-dItSMLDG_3l42p6b8Eq1KpEk7JNRhWv0xA88sF5R6iNJszmkSopQfiuMjLREPRECk0LdCvK2CoYd2pWrogl6VdjoxuTsnwYWwQvVxgJdP8Je8E5Dq/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want this Siren Suit!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This section also touched on the vast numbers of women who found themselves working in the factories (by mid war 1:3 factory workers were women). They had to combine looking presentable with safety considerations, hence the popularity of the turban style hat and headscarves.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R8eEwyFPi9A1vc6CEwm9GFL2lXmth6pnlhD-RQZvdYip_cMA_KJn5_a_1QuMNatbOFyYu7xGu4Wj9QpuWV8DDMs6_VlEkJpOJ96b484GefI3DWDp-vFg0w_e5z_rCoP4pGLF_znpz8JA/s1600/London+March+2015+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R8eEwyFPi9A1vc6CEwm9GFL2lXmth6pnlhD-RQZvdYip_cMA_KJn5_a_1QuMNatbOFyYu7xGu4Wj9QpuWV8DDMs6_VlEkJpOJ96b484GefI3DWDp-vFg0w_e5z_rCoP4pGLF_znpz8JA/s1600/London+March+2015+015.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Workers getting ready for their shift.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Nan worked in a torpedo factory in Bournemouth so this
had a particularly personal appeal to me. Many of the women continued to wear
their civilian clothing beneath their overalls and I always remember my Nan
saying how she wouldn't go anywhere without her lipstick – a habit she carried
on with throughout her life.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmz53uYUkFSRlLcqwKNfiKzV6ZWpORAwy81iLXIvlFeJTh7j3DTZtRt9ASKg42vc5p70uKehuizL-FzIg4vWVTYY5GKAKiRmvLkP_tTCfa9xdbqKBtyK1_hkg5MwpyBINBq-gDvb9srmg/s1600/Hilda+Beckett.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmz53uYUkFSRlLcqwKNfiKzV6ZWpORAwy81iLXIvlFeJTh7j3DTZtRt9ASKg42vc5p70uKehuizL-FzIg4vWVTYY5GKAKiRmvLkP_tTCfa9xdbqKBtyK1_hkg5MwpyBINBq-gDvb9srmg/s1600/Hilda+Beckett.png" height="400" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Nan during the War.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I was looking around the museum, I heard one lady say to
another “The war wasn't all about killing people you know, it was about living”
and this exhibition definitely captured that – how people carried on living,
demonstrating inventiveness and adaptability under extraordinary circumstances.
Fashion clearly played an important role in all of this.</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-58495968033303707172015-03-01T10:06:00.000-08:002015-03-01T10:06:34.056-08:00A Victorian Mystery.....<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/AVvXsEi_o7uYd32Jz0WVnvKXFpCgsAe4EzYbJ8hZlm5kn-yMQfxf380UUS8nR00FlfELOSb3cOACjgSwpw5M5ksEp0ey0fbK6IjHenPPf9snShGdkjMThnV9RPUy927NzTBc0oD5lWn46HqyCKA8/s1600/Bella+Pateman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_o7uYd32Jz0WVnvKXFpCgsAe4EzYbJ8hZlm5kn-yMQfxf380UUS8nR00FlfELOSb3cOACjgSwpw5M5ksEp0ey0fbK6IjHenPPf9snShGdkjMThnV9RPUy927NzTBc0oD5lWn46HqyCKA8/s1600/Bella+Pateman.JPG" height="640" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Miss Bella Pateman</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It all
started when I decided to face the horror of clearing out the space under our
stairs! Dubbed ‘the computer room’ it was actually a hidey hole of hell. I
rolled up my sleeves and dragged everything out to sort and tidy. Whilst in
there I discovered a box of photographs and bits from my Nan’s house. I have
dabbled with Family History over the years and absolutely love old photos so
this was a double treasure to unearth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In amongst
the photos was an old newspaper cutting with a handwritten message across it.
The cutting was the obituary of an old actress called Bella Pateman and the
handwritten note was by someone who clearly knew her personally – here was a
mystery. Who was Bella and was there a connection to my family?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finding
Bella the actress proved fairly simple – she was a Victorian actress who saw
fame both here and in America in the late 1800’s. She was married to another famous
actor of the day, Robert Pateman. But I wanted to know more and here is where
the story got a little more difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have
access to the Ancestry site and so following up births, marriages and deaths
and other useful Census info is usually a time consuming but fruitful job. This
one proved otherwise! It seems that Bella and her pre marriage records suffered
from a catalogue of alternative spellings and without the magic marriage
certificate (which I cannot locate anywhere so far) I cannot be certain I have
the right family – but playing along with hunches and some matched details this
is what I have so far....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bella was
born in 1846 to Caroline and Robert in Reading. She appears in the 1851 census
in Chatham Street as Isabel Radborn living with her parents and siblings. Mr
Radborn was an engine cleaner and supported his wife and four children,
William, Thomas, Jemima and little Isabel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By 1861 Mr
Radborn had passed away leaving his widow (now documented as Radbowin) with two
teenage girls. Jemima is now listed as a 17 year old comedian and Isabel is 15.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could now
link to facts from her professional career, she met and married Robert Pateman
in 1869. Robert hailed from Ireland and so far I cannot locate any further
information on him. Later that year the newly married Pateman’s set sail for
New York. They remained in America touring some of the major theatres for the
next few years, returning to the UK in 1876. There are tantalising clues as to
the plays they appeared in and some of the famous people of the age that they
mixed with. These included their friend Edwin Booth, actor and brother to the
notorious John Wilkes Booth who assassinated Lincoln.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="http://www.picturehistory.com/images/products/1/9/4/prod_19455.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="248" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Robert Pateman - Google Image</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By 1881 the
Pateman’s were living in Hammersmith and it was here in 1886 they had a
daughter, Isabel Roberta ‘Robbie’ Pateman. They continued living in Hammersmith
and then Barnes while taking a number of prominent roles on the London stage.
Bella is listed at the Adelphi amongst other places. She carried on as a
significant actress until 1902, her last role being that of Lady Ridgeley at
the St James’s. Bella died at her home in Barnes on 30<sup>th</sup> January 1908
at the age of 64. Robbie followed her in 1910 at the young age of 24. Robert
continued acting, travelling to the USA for further roles before he, too, passed
away in 1924 at the age of 83 leaving the not inconsiderable sum of £11000 to
his nephew and another acquaintance.<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/AVvXsEijSv9DtmOFIZgacX3uKLGMGZGV-zP4OS093ZPi-uyI3ugml70sLMxhEVaR5U2oDTjmdMAARtIvTACSKRGBAW0rlXYSicPwS5qIfdw3Ws9CEZPyz7WapAcLkk_uyhmDDgu4rdEIi23fez7q/s1600/Bella+Signature.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSv9DtmOFIZgacX3uKLGMGZGV-zP4OS093ZPi-uyI3ugml70sLMxhEVaR5U2oDTjmdMAARtIvTACSKRGBAW0rlXYSicPwS5qIfdw3Ws9CEZPyz7WapAcLkk_uyhmDDgu4rdEIi23fez7q/s1600/Bella+Signature.JPG" height="640" width="489" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My Ebay find!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is
still much I do not know. The link between Bella and my family is intriguing. I
do have connections to the Reading area and so I assume this is where it might
be – but until I can prove Bella’s early details I cannot go further here. An
interesting aside, while I was searching for links to Bella I found a signed
photograph of her for sale on Ebay. It came as a pair with a signed photo of
Hermann Vezin, a well-known American actor of the same period whom Bella had
acted with at the Adelphi in a production of ‘Amy Robsart’. Of course I had to
buy them! I will continue the search in the hopes that new details come to
light and the mystery is finally solved</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-64759462512262774132015-02-22T10:30:00.000-08:002015-02-22T10:30:55.811-08:00Loafing Around<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/AVvXsEgG2U5aBlLKp7kMA1GKO2jGTPhLZVWBMCOgE0AZ7RTz2sn3ZxJbj68irucxIhFc2TDy6ihwh2ribWg6UhgAdoUWOaY3qrYL8hz624_7K6aMzxUdM5hjCDmU7RUb3hs3PniYHaVvGEIejdvV/s1600/IMG_3279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2U5aBlLKp7kMA1GKO2jGTPhLZVWBMCOgE0AZ7RTz2sn3ZxJbj68irucxIhFc2TDy6ihwh2ribWg6UhgAdoUWOaY3qrYL8hz624_7K6aMzxUdM5hjCDmU7RUb3hs3PniYHaVvGEIejdvV/s1600/IMG_3279.JPG" height="400" width="343" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok so it was a bit heavy - I could have injured someone with it!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh my goodness, I have been doing so many things just
recently and blogging has taken a bit of a back seat I’m afraid. And now,
sitting down at the computer at last I’m not sure which exciting adventure to
share first :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I’ll leap in with my sourdough and save the rest for
other posts....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My friend Helen and I decided we were ‘of an age’ and took
the leap in joining a local WI group to see what it was all about. Forget all
the stereotypes you might have heard, the WI are experiencing a bit of a
revival and many of the groups are seeing huge increases in numbers. This is
great news, especially as the WI are celebrating their centenary this year. The
group we chose to try out call themselves the ‘Folly Dollies’, they are a really friendly bunch and host an
interesting range of talks and events . The night we went a lady was there
talking about Sourdough Bread – if I’m being honest this one didn't strike me as
the most interesting but it was in actual fact a really good evening! <a href="http://www.wildbaker.co.uk/">Judith</a>
(bread lady extraordinaire) spoke about the history of sourdough, some of the
benefits and then talked through the process of making it. Clearly she couldn't show us the whole thing in one evening but we saw a range of highlights from
the starter bubbling away to a batch proving (rising) to the finished product
ready to try. It was delicious! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once home, I read up on sourdough and decided to treat
myself to one of Judith’s starter kits so I could have a go myself. It duly
arrived looking beautiful and slightly scary. I had to transfer the starter
from a zip lock bag into a jar and then feed it regularly with flour and water
to get it to grow. Judith had sent three different starters so I labelled them
carefully and spent the next week tending my jar babies and watching as the
amount of starter grew and grew and grew – a bit like a scene from the magic
porridge pot I was half expecting the mixture to take over the whole kitchen!
DH was a bit worried I was becoming obsessed when he caught me feeding my
babies at 5.30am :)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpirlesdddIVVyyEdwvOQKQr6TaZR2wiN4XphaQM-JNAudpXIGi3oH0hFNIxSHsAcuUS01q1vE0Z1Ca09cSPwMppfn1RgKlZqIz7saIN567nxgu85yrZLPt3tg9qz8ZVXYSs5Nt1-78Kfd/s1600/IMG_3268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpirlesdddIVVyyEdwvOQKQr6TaZR2wiN4XphaQM-JNAudpXIGi3oH0hFNIxSHsAcuUS01q1vE0Z1Ca09cSPwMppfn1RgKlZqIz7saIN567nxgu85yrZLPt3tg9qz8ZVXYSs5Nt1-78Kfd/s1600/IMG_3268.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kit arrived looking very exciting!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This weekend I had
set aside time to actually make the bread – a lengthy procedure involving
kneading (lots of) and rising (lots and lots of) and then baking.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiif7xc5r71E-foJ5qg0-FQSONNh-O6vuj7kS-LbrY6WewSuCwpaKs97tvsD-oNkHnqJNJDoxlr3Jo3xFA7OFiyEl_jNz2Ch-CxmqBReZ3rJqUl5T8n9NOy9KanYlgJn4kA-x5qLIpgC0Eg/s1600/IMG_3274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiif7xc5r71E-foJ5qg0-FQSONNh-O6vuj7kS-LbrY6WewSuCwpaKs97tvsD-oNkHnqJNJDoxlr3Jo3xFA7OFiyEl_jNz2Ch-CxmqBReZ3rJqUl5T8n9NOy9KanYlgJn4kA-x5qLIpgC0Eg/s1600/IMG_3274.JPG" height="400" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I discovered it's quite hard to take a photograph of yourself kneading bread.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh06bwuU9E20CAcvkwn1Sxpd2J1_RV7m45O_aAzf-1ARg4cyl-hQYGBZ7O2ilMFg3stdaYVClPyQNG3mtTwTyFUVbO0tDX7LAqLtwlBiErEvebxGRlTPxsirvpu_z4cPAjXOHfnz1RqSj8/s1600/IMG_3275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh06bwuU9E20CAcvkwn1Sxpd2J1_RV7m45O_aAzf-1ARg4cyl-hQYGBZ7O2ilMFg3stdaYVClPyQNG3mtTwTyFUVbO0tDX7LAqLtwlBiErEvebxGRlTPxsirvpu_z4cPAjXOHfnz1RqSj8/s1600/IMG_3275.JPG" height="392" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arise Sir Oxfordshire Starter - clearly I didn't arise for long enough. Note the clever labelling system which fell off at every given opportunity :(</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won’t bore you with all the details but I really enjoyed
the whole process - I was a bit worried
the kneading would be hard work and a bit ‘mysterious’ (how do you know when it’s
done?) but it was actually really therapeutic and mindful. I was too impatient
with the proving bit – the first rise was very successful but I was in a hurry
to get it into the oven and I don’t think I left it long enough and so my
resulting loaves were a bit dense but vaguely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> edible. Still, it’s a learning curve
and I can’t wait to have another go!</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-1732591661372122692015-01-30T02:22:00.000-08:002015-01-30T02:22:42.722-08:00Birthday Celebrations (for old people)<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/AVvXsEgKW9Eu2-xoNRpRf2-s3kxozbYI3m1uRS4srit8o1zExV5UdnfLBFumRBCA6vYJyrHd0xHOb0GKmSbarZI-QdfaofZfKbTxgePaXntV7JTSVbn1cIjbTjAcFjwMzijuWbcW866w2V2R4QOj/s640/blogger-image-187653100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW9Eu2-xoNRpRf2-s3kxozbYI3m1uRS4srit8o1zExV5UdnfLBFumRBCA6vYJyrHd0xHOb0GKmSbarZI-QdfaofZfKbTxgePaXntV7JTSVbn1cIjbTjAcFjwMzijuWbcW866w2V2R4QOj/s640/blogger-image-187653100.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Blue Skies and Tall Masts</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">I haven’t really been up to anything
exciting recently. It’s been too cold to do any allotmenting, I’m too crafted
out to be creative and it’s that bit of the winter where the enthusiasm of the
New Year has passed and I just want to hibernate for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But – January sees my birthday and a reason to celebrate (if
being a bit greyer and a bit wrinklier is a reason to celebrate). DH and I took
the day off work and had a trip out to Gloucester. He was tempted by the
wonderful industrial architecture of the docks and I had heard tell of a
fabulous Antique Centre. A win-win situation!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><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/AVvXsEhC5mUm0P2w58vAp_kEcpaeIn6gyCBBYfL4nZh7Ac-EGuvml28SmA2iSjgAqyCT9mfc0YBmBNxzUZGV7gYvkTFeolUhR8r06sxfPkXMX3fGGD76yinTN5gpz0DKlwJA1NzrVKp5O59KGPHq/s640/blogger-image--1351089874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5mUm0P2w58vAp_kEcpaeIn6gyCBBYfL4nZh7Ac-EGuvml28SmA2iSjgAqyCT9mfc0YBmBNxzUZGV7gYvkTFeolUhR8r06sxfPkXMX3fGGD76yinTN5gpz0DKlwJA1NzrVKp5O59KGPHq/s640/blogger-image--1351089874.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So we set off on what must have been one of the wettest and
most miserably cold days of the month but determined to have a good time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We parked up and began the day with a hot chocolate which
seemed like the best decision. The antiques then beckoned. I was most disappointed
to not find anything that really drew me. An Enid Blyton book entitled ‘Mr
Pink-Whistle Interferes’ caused some sniggers and I was tempted by a beautiful
wooden Victory puzzle of kittens. We spent some time looking around the docks
and admiring the wonderful restoration they have done. There were lots of artefacts
around the place, giving a sense of the history of the setting and I was filled
with longing, looking at the rows of colourful narrowboats all moored up (we
used to own a narrowboat and I still really miss it)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><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/AVvXsEiJUEM0DGUJGfJxG8iYlrIpleQYDYML-p-2LhaS66kKQNrhHfl9oFh5lglvHruhGGrUmuURufbYUWNZQnBvmzMJeutDbLzYIZSSLe90F_SLpIoiKrBXofp055Xpx9b2bzEpnpOsrJTKODUw/s640/blogger-image-1231006665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUEM0DGUJGfJxG8iYlrIpleQYDYML-p-2LhaS66kKQNrhHfl9oFh5lglvHruhGGrUmuURufbYUWNZQnBvmzMJeutDbLzYIZSSLe90F_SLpIoiKrBXofp055Xpx9b2bzEpnpOsrJTKODUw/s640/blogger-image-1231006665.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Detail from a stone carving</span></td></tr>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We lunched at a small place called <a href="http://www.thehubblebubblecoffeehouse.co.uk/">Hubble Bubble</a> and both
enjoyed some fab burgers. Hubble Bubble is conveniently located right near
Gloucester Cathedral so we decided to look around that too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><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/AVvXsEgJTDUO8kLAeMgQnug5ZFHX69JQvgLlZwoPmWGPSa0kK3pHM4IRJp_oRxVosidlP5adq1ExY-I9x0yBgbEzaKAnhYxy0PAC_tiS_ilOwttaU1WcNRtpWPgw1-hIFTnxZTNegYU2w9ooGsTg/s640/blogger-image-505121218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTDUO8kLAeMgQnug5ZFHX69JQvgLlZwoPmWGPSa0kK3pHM4IRJp_oRxVosidlP5adq1ExY-I9x0yBgbEzaKAnhYxy0PAC_tiS_ilOwttaU1WcNRtpWPgw1-hIFTnxZTNegYU2w9ooGsTg/s640/blogger-image-505121218.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Gloucester Cathedral</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cathedrals are awesome places – the scale, the history, the
architecture! I had absolutely no clue that this particular cathedral had been
used famously for filming some of the <a href="http://www.british-film-locations.com/Harry-Potter-and-the-Chamber-Of-Secrets-2002">Harry Potter</a> films. There was nothing
inside to advertise this fact and I didn’t find out til afterwards – but it did
explain why some of it seemed so familiar! The day we went they had film crews
in again, setting up to shoot some scenes for Sherlock.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Gloucester Cathedral dates from 1089 and its other claim to fame is it houses the tomb of Edward II. Edward was alledgedly murdered at nearby Berkeley Castle and was buried at Gloucester although his heart is at Newgate Church in London (I just love a gruesome detail!). The tomb is pretty impressive and typically covered in graffiti from schoolboys in the 1700's. I didn't purchase a photography permit and so have no actual pics from inside the Cathedral.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO75g7FWdKFHqWlvCUiWwKSlalcrZEWutSDjDfVxvaRqQyloajIcgWFRh3hgcCmRmxVkNEqqMogLFs3Okyd-3yyx4O1MCjLCHsswux8tgn6qZbdHSN2qeSJzMe9CwfFf7e2ydcb0ESOaB/s640/blogger-image--232221231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO75g7FWdKFHqWlvCUiWwKSlalcrZEWutSDjDfVxvaRqQyloajIcgWFRh3hgcCmRmxVkNEqqMogLFs3Okyd-3yyx4O1MCjLCHsswux8tgn6qZbdHSN2qeSJzMe9CwfFf7e2ydcb0ESOaB/s640/blogger-image--232221231.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Detail from outside the Cathedral</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A final visit to some shops and the purchase of a suit for
DS#2 (hang on, it was MY birthday!) saw us finish off the day before heading
home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><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/AVvXsEgHixDe40CvYQRT-xZz6J7yJDWkbwNOVuIuFx33hTtoKlmGWVwAL0eoSO9YqZZt1-qggfJkA-zxWFhLkvEXZltvHSmWhl2OF5tS-tRuWju-vBwB9Ad5wthsL_Z_2zSyNV-Yl0JY2BKI5BHg/s640/blogger-image-1129272572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHixDe40CvYQRT-xZz6J7yJDWkbwNOVuIuFx33hTtoKlmGWVwAL0eoSO9YqZZt1-qggfJkA-zxWFhLkvEXZltvHSmWhl2OF5tS-tRuWju-vBwB9Ad5wthsL_Z_2zSyNV-Yl0JY2BKI5BHg/s640/blogger-image-1129272572.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rain on the Cobbles!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I reflected afterwards on how grown up I must be now,
cathedrals and antiques rather than mad drunken debauchery for my birthday –
but then I don’t think I could keep up with the debauchery any more. I’d
probably be asleep before it really got going!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-9371813633887484742015-01-04T03:16:00.000-08:002015-01-05T09:41:17.822-08:00Handmade Hats<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second post this week! It’s got to be a record!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSKWM_McLP4uWdS3zPJabibsWV_-QoBtjVcTS-YlEQQaZ-0r49Xpa1hL6YCXDKmVCoaHN_1MbY2WL82gc6Q6yJXlxuhcr6OE7HLMFxhyRwXugXGcWBmFbes3AvqSyVuTHleLvpgGRWhvM/s1600/IMG_3147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSKWM_McLP4uWdS3zPJabibsWV_-QoBtjVcTS-YlEQQaZ-0r49Xpa1hL6YCXDKmVCoaHN_1MbY2WL82gc6Q6yJXlxuhcr6OE7HLMFxhyRwXugXGcWBmFbes3AvqSyVuTHleLvpgGRWhvM/s1600/IMG_3147.JPG" height="640" width="480"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All ready to get knitting!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just wanted to update you with my attempts at spinning –
as you may remember I borrowed a wheel from work over the Summer and have been
enjoying teaching myself to spin wool from a mixture of trial and error (mostly
error) and some helpful Youtube videos. Hurrah for technology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was determined to finish something from fleece to knitted
item before Christmas. In my head I had the lovely idea of presenting DH with a
hat and scarf on Christmas morning. In reality I had not taken into
consideration how I would secretly card, spin and knit when he wasn’t looking.
A spinning wheel is not the most easily concealed item in the world and my
knitting is not something I can do without tons of concentration and regular
reference to the pattern. So, my plans were reduced to just a hat. And a reasonably
small hat at that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got the wool spun and the threads were spun into something
resembling yarn. I still have sadly not got a Niddy Noddy and so had to use the
back of the chair! I was unsure of how much yarn I would need for my hat. The ‘recipe’
in the knitting pattern doesn’t work in handspun lumpy balls and so I had to
just go with it and accept that I may well have to be spinning more as I needed
it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Knitting the hat was a case of a few rows as and when. So, I
took it to work, out and about and gave up my gym sessions in order to knit
(ok, this is a slight lie – I didn't need an excuse to not visit the gym).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was all worth it when I finally completed my first ever
handmade hat! I even added a label and gave up a vintage button from my
collection to give it a stamp of originality. I was thrilled! Even DH looked
impressed. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2yrh6Cm6W0Xvo0naAUfnpFdnAAn-Ueiii2x8A1FyzH_X-GJ04mrqjFTq9gthqQF8bR4RbZQ1Xa-MB4kD8ft6sguzbgD2bSykKZfLXnMFfXgQUD860VvSjHa-FlttjjqETJabU1mUejcR/s1600/IMG_3161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2yrh6Cm6W0Xvo0naAUfnpFdnAAn-Ueiii2x8A1FyzH_X-GJ04mrqjFTq9gthqQF8bR4RbZQ1Xa-MB4kD8ft6sguzbgD2bSykKZfLXnMFfXgQUD860VvSjHa-FlttjjqETJabU1mUejcR/s1600/IMG_3161.JPG" height="400" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The finished article </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It’s not the most
beautiful hat in the world. The wool is lumpy, the knitting a little uneven and
in fairness it could use being a bit bigger in size. But I made it myself and
it was the gift that I had the most pride in handing over this Christmas. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYavB6uvvZTV0Q5SmPmQpLj7UGHiJMNskRyv7YJnyCwmqzIST6_NuM6ssV3dmL2_VlLKOcqFcKE-FqvffulbTe5hvh_aMfDMo_uEEmK2UWnuNOQUG0hmyLZCzmeOLqbGBv9-TiZT-lF3Im/s1600/IMG_3176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYavB6uvvZTV0Q5SmPmQpLj7UGHiJMNskRyv7YJnyCwmqzIST6_NuM6ssV3dmL2_VlLKOcqFcKE-FqvffulbTe5hvh_aMfDMo_uEEmK2UWnuNOQUG0hmyLZCzmeOLqbGBv9-TiZT-lF3Im/s1600/IMG_3176.JPG" height="640" width="480"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The new project - it's a fleece not a wig!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I was given a new fleece to work on as a Christmas present – a Hebridean fleece (yes, thank you Helen, you do get the prize for most
random gift!!) and so endless new possibilities present themselves. Well,
endless new hat possibilities anyway!</span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-73451738907620098972015-01-04T02:27:00.000-08:002015-01-04T02:27:30.776-08:00Back to reality.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSFG6JY1X9CWZM_m8lnZ0uKBuemRX9iVeBbrp83TbRamNnVcmLGZQUSduS7MStOdC7i9WwN87KL6r98MLVKPbGCLe0NL36fJdHxpOcAdmaveO6i-ezoJA3ruQ2wZuP-MLARo8yDS6oK-2/s1600/IMG_3124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSFG6JY1X9CWZM_m8lnZ0uKBuemRX9iVeBbrp83TbRamNnVcmLGZQUSduS7MStOdC7i9WwN87KL6r98MLVKPbGCLe0NL36fJdHxpOcAdmaveO6i-ezoJA3ruQ2wZuP-MLARo8yDS6oK-2/s1600/IMG_3124.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Well, that's that. Back to work tomorrow after a week and a half of chilling and relaxing. I had lists of things I wanted to do, sewing to catch up on, crafts, blogging, reading and allotmenting. Instead I have pottered about and not done very much at all. Oh, I did reorganise the larder - does that count?<br />
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Anyway - here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks and a belated Happy New Year to you all!<br />
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<br />Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-20867823581861669452014-12-04T12:52:00.000-08:002014-12-04T12:52:52.677-08:00Christmas on the Home Front<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFglDbeF9s9hpxsqczQIY4_7eRSloHg_I1YUIAaKH6S6lR7UjXLI_-Te-Lg41PNxVc_aVi47sKor77-f6zdZrHPDNvdicrdyBqLvtkJdjK2M5h2xgxvwKFaJGP0QCr3yZBwY_7Is83Bqv/s1600/Crafts+and+WW2+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFglDbeF9s9hpxsqczQIY4_7eRSloHg_I1YUIAaKH6S6lR7UjXLI_-Te-Lg41PNxVc_aVi47sKor77-f6zdZrHPDNvdicrdyBqLvtkJdjK2M5h2xgxvwKFaJGP0QCr3yZBwY_7Is83Bqv/s1600/Crafts+and+WW2+010.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tea and Christmas cake anyone?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have had a very exciting couple of weeks at work (well,
more exciting than normal!) which I wanted to share with you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am involved with the WW2 programme at work where we run an
evacuee camp and get groups of school children to try out lots of different
period activities whilst learning what life was like on the Home Front. I love
running these days – dressing up and indulging in my love of this period of
history. So, I decided to approach Mr Bossman and see if I could run a couple
of weeks of Christmas on the Home Front as a special offer. He happily agreed
to let me give it a try and I am proud to say it was a huge success.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRh9TIGaNk9Ied6mGAbvHOAa3zPO56sHUF0LopMe-sU-kJWBMCkC36-QspQIfkN7d6dtyjdXsVUqgsoSprgn4sv9x3KXX4XRHHcAneYqs1fAwxbVf5cT4hcWZAR_3O9at8Cpx_lCCn4wqW/s1600/Crafts+and+WW2+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRh9TIGaNk9Ied6mGAbvHOAa3zPO56sHUF0LopMe-sU-kJWBMCkC36-QspQIfkN7d6dtyjdXsVUqgsoSprgn4sv9x3KXX4XRHHcAneYqs1fAwxbVf5cT4hcWZAR_3O9at8Cpx_lCCn4wqW/s1600/Crafts+and+WW2+011.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of our props.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We decorated our WW2 building and shop with period
decorations. I spent hours creating paper chains from facsimile WW2 newspapers
and sourcing paper decorations and streamers of crepe paper. We found the
tiniest tree in the world and added some red, white and blue bunting too. I
even found a supply of old Christmas cards to stretch above the mirror. Some
fresh greenery from around the site completed the decor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent hours researching facts and figures. Being a bit
nerdy I wanted everything to be perfectly accurate but in truth we could just
give an flavour of the time. Hence we had some American supplies in the shop
alongside ration guidance from earlier in the War. Petrol rationing facts
didn’t quite match with the dates on the magazines – but overall it gave a good
impression of life in that era. And I just had to get over it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The children got the chance to look at some toys and to
think about what they might find in their stockings. They cooked and tasted
authentic WW2 recipes and learned about rations in the shop. They got to weigh
out a weeks’ worth of sweet ration to take home with them although I suspect
none of them managed to make them last a whole week! Hopefully alongside the
fun we managed to get the children to appreciate some of the hardships suffered
by people, we certainly had several very thoughtful comments from the children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A visit to our authentic Anderson Shelter (also decorated
for the season) and an exciting Beetle Drive game with an onion prize were also
on the agenda.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To top off the fun for me, I got to spend some time away
from my Land Girl dungarees and look a little more dressed up. Curled and
pinned hair, a nice party dress and even some lippy (apparently those Americans
down in the town have a little to spare!!) </span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787588342252566827.post-25224823869305775182014-12-02T09:51:00.004-08:002014-12-02T09:51:50.874-08:00Egypt Adventure Part Three - in which we ride camels and get sand in our crevices!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I promise I won’t be boring you with
any more Egypt Adventure posts but I just wanted to share one last experience
with you all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">DD was determined to ride a camel while we were out there –
it was number one on her wish list. This is actually one of the few things that
I could say ‘done that’ to, but I was quite happy to have another go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, the trip that best fulfilled this brief was the ‘Desert
Adventure’ which promised a day full of excitement and a camel ride too. On
booking the trip we were presented (read ‘sold’) a scarf each. This was the
traditional <span style="color: black;">keffiyeh which I have since learnt has
different political meanings related to colours. We wondered if ours were more
of a stereotypical tourism trap – like selling University sweatshirts to Oxford
or Cambridge visitors but I can safely say they were very welcome out in the
desert!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <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/AVvXsEjsyAgmNFaPjYoEf0bHZxJWTC-9TaeewPQZnvGy3VuX44581zDLC9AGEBrLcvQpCzAsoCy8YUFQPNiEffwuX5BTKJI_D3plSZ-fPlOS1S1txKqHRLiwe6XTT-PeUWX7IhaQFGForoxgLWvq/s1600/Egypt+2014+068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyAgmNFaPjYoEf0bHZxJWTC-9TaeewPQZnvGy3VuX44581zDLC9AGEBrLcvQpCzAsoCy8YUFQPNiEffwuX5BTKJI_D3plSZ-fPlOS1S1txKqHRLiwe6XTT-PeUWX7IhaQFGForoxgLWvq/s1600/Egypt+2014+068.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't you just hate it when you dress for the desert and someone is wearing exactly the same!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The day started at the Centre
where the trips are run from. This was an attractive place just outside of
Hurghada. We arrived and met up with the rest of our group for the day over a lovely cup of Hibiscus tea. First part of the adventure was Dune Buggy driving. DD and I had
teamed up with a couple from Yorkshire. Myself and Julie decided we
would let the others take turns in driving while we admired the view from the
back. DD was very excited – dreams of speeding off into the desert were,
however, cruelly dashed when we found ourselves at the back of the convoy and
stuck behind someone who had to stop and take photographs every 5 seconds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pedal to the metal - not.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next we all piled into jeeps and
set off into the real desert. This took us into the Red Sea Mountains. I was
surprised at actually how beautiful the terrain was, not at all what I expected
from desert.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We made a couple of stops on the
way to a Bedouin Village, the first one to see a real mirage. It was ok, but I didn't feel the awe that I think our guide expected.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The second stop was to climb a
sizeable mountain and run down a sand dune on the other side. Now this <i>was</i>
pretty awesome! The top of the mountain afforded some great views and a chance
to glory in the peace before we whooped our way down the slope.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We arrived in the Bedouin Village
not really knowing what to expect. Clearly they no longer live in the huge
tents that everyone visualises but in huts and shacks. Not so romantic but that’s
the price of progress I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We got to share sweets with the
children – this felt a little weird, were they really hanging out for Werthers
Originals and Haribo? Then followed a tour around the Village. I couldn't help
but feel bad about this too. Many of the Bedouins now make their living through
tourism which basically amounts to herds of us traipsing through their space
while they put on a show of making bread, weaving, and generally getting on
with the day and trying to ignore us. It felt wrong, a little like being in a
zoo and getting them to perform. And I felt bad that I was contributing to this
trade but then also I was helping them to maintain a living. All a bit morally
confusing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">However, we did get to have the
camel ride. Some of the children (buzzed up on all our sugary treats) helped us
on and off the camels and led us for a few minutes’ walk. DD was thrilled! I
was just overawed by the absolute silence in the desert. Not a bird or a
creature, no wind, just nothing…. It was a moment of pure calm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The trip back to the Centre took
in a visit to a water spring and a chance to take some photographs as the sun
went down. We were told we didn't get the most spectacular sunset due to clouds
– but I was impressed anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The camera sadly just didn't capture the colours....</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Back at camp we got to settle down
for a Folkloric Show with a pretty poor bellydancer, some whirling dervishes
and an impressive men’s stick dance. There was a good buffet and BBQ and some
traditional tea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">To finish the evening we had the
chance to use some massive telescopes to star gaze in the night sky over the desert.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It was a full on day and we left
the Centre tired but very happy. We snuggled on the balcony back at the hotel
to chat about the experiences and how the beauty of the desert would be with us
forever. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;">How true this turned out to be
when we took our shoes off and prepared for bed that night!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556968408837227175noreply@blogger.com1