tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85738559468052008082024-03-23T10:13:37.637+00:00Mad Englishwoman and DogIN AND AROUND RURAL DEVONMad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.comBlogger345125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-70287644776496172752024-01-28T07:56:00.002+00:002024-01-28T14:08:58.551+00:00A winter's walk by the sea<p></p><p>I’ve been getting in a terrible tizz about my future – to
move or not to move, whether it’s OK to sell some of Frog’s stuff (do I want to
keep it as a memento or is it better to move on?), how long will it be before
I’m too old to manage on my own and what will I do then, ?</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So yesterday, the dog and I took off for a walk by the sea.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb3y3OOd7wko8hGpsSLTp2QU0CrKyslKiaD3cd3sr2JTlH-2iNn4Wd_FcL3vE15UiiCmDZXKGkwt2lmZCG0MT5lTCEDRD8OaxHzJjjxoktS5X-VYiFWM8VwsX2izLkVuBe-krWNUGfV7UnBIPw4y4UAdQSkzsaOujUVVN5wr2FznuPMx4K5ChjXp7VBc/s4000/IMG20240127110145.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb3y3OOd7wko8hGpsSLTp2QU0CrKyslKiaD3cd3sr2JTlH-2iNn4Wd_FcL3vE15UiiCmDZXKGkwt2lmZCG0MT5lTCEDRD8OaxHzJjjxoktS5X-VYiFWM8VwsX2izLkVuBe-krWNUGfV7UnBIPw4y4UAdQSkzsaOujUVVN5wr2FznuPMx4K5ChjXp7VBc/w300-h400/IMG20240127110145.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">During the walk I met a lovely woman and we had a long talk that started with our dogs - what else? - and went on to range from reincarnation to quantum mechanics, stopping off on the way at Tolkien and Philip Pullman. As Bilbo Baggins used to say, you never know what's going to happen when you step outside your front door.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMd9vrpL-JTjHTpRtLMuzhHKHxfT1S9ngyuLFIiqawZ1hsDaTpwDR3Cpdx4Ry1mSWTlETZeM8Yi9GwwAMsw5FKcfzhLudW62CjJBRtt-b-AvD07auBI87IdvwVxmvDpT6BReTj8Ln9qrSAnC154hClBfIV7bz18IQID1UyBJtFqEnnnBofftnD9iVlJI/s4000/IMG20240127110755.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMd9vrpL-JTjHTpRtLMuzhHKHxfT1S9ngyuLFIiqawZ1hsDaTpwDR3Cpdx4Ry1mSWTlETZeM8Yi9GwwAMsw5FKcfzhLudW62CjJBRtt-b-AvD07auBI87IdvwVxmvDpT6BReTj8Ln9qrSAnC154hClBfIV7bz18IQID1UyBJtFqEnnnBofftnD9iVlJI/w300-h400/IMG20240127110755.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The weather was perfect – bright but not too sunny, a light wind, moderate temperatures – and there weren’t many other people about. All my worries blew away and I wanted to keep going all day but I realised that I’d come out without any money and no map and had left my water bottle in the car. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMfUvR1M6OzdBE5T1gyDw4nlUXlLwT_dDsw66nPe8AIw6SXXl7XeKpaXvSqdN0U0mTLSEP6_cg3VWDWQQVIr0FCdhOafOXcyE40SUjYLvZuON2fflfApBMQc5jcds7z52NhtL576HhNFbe_5HZ5u30rnY0dfTTEni9YTdTtfnZHVPayaOI93sae1cYHQ/s4000/IMG20240127111203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMfUvR1M6OzdBE5T1gyDw4nlUXlLwT_dDsw66nPe8AIw6SXXl7XeKpaXvSqdN0U0mTLSEP6_cg3VWDWQQVIr0FCdhOafOXcyE40SUjYLvZuON2fflfApBMQc5jcds7z52NhtL576HhNFbe_5HZ5u30rnY0dfTTEni9YTdTtfnZHVPayaOI93sae1cYHQ/w300-h400/IMG20240127111203.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">So after a couple of hours I took the sensible option and walked back to the car along a filthy farm track, my feet squelching in a mixture of animal excrement and mud. I was glad of my hefty boots and knee-high waterproof socks.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquzIJGuKN8_doRCJV3eI8nuKk4OTMCBF11w-KNUaBzVLfeqbzdKNOegb42MKiEP61VKfzC5-cVtYHrTixbEaBuBC5u5FVjrRwDLpU3Ctra0JLCxlvnjTOsTNBP0YKuJdSfFxyzXZBzk1eefHjcSc4p5zDIDiBuPrJBbSZLAi6T_d9esD_a4N-N3Xh-gE/s4000/IMG20240127112247.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquzIJGuKN8_doRCJV3eI8nuKk4OTMCBF11w-KNUaBzVLfeqbzdKNOegb42MKiEP61VKfzC5-cVtYHrTixbEaBuBC5u5FVjrRwDLpU3Ctra0JLCxlvnjTOsTNBP0YKuJdSfFxyzXZBzk1eefHjcSc4p5zDIDiBuPrJBbSZLAi6T_d9esD_a4N-N3Xh-gE/w300-h400/IMG20240127112247.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Next time, I'll go better prepared.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Probably.</p><p class="MsoNormal">It's hard when the way ahead is so unclear.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jMZh5x9KPYmxnsKQnZ3ISvk4HAtSkHl0EBe6cfYd-4s__MAvwTXCDFrOmGmAfTlrgSG-BMbOmM0R6h6MH0zEPP-9R0PulkRJiZRBHfhKVs2G0yvl05owNii638_zFQq78wcF-KvHANLFP5iKFhEKsa5v598i85HYXAYowpTTW0j_lvnKbBzwJxMvvMI/s4000/IMG20240127111832.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jMZh5x9KPYmxnsKQnZ3ISvk4HAtSkHl0EBe6cfYd-4s__MAvwTXCDFrOmGmAfTlrgSG-BMbOmM0R6h6MH0zEPP-9R0PulkRJiZRBHfhKVs2G0yvl05owNii638_zFQq78wcF-KvHANLFP5iKFhEKsa5v598i85HYXAYowpTTW0j_lvnKbBzwJxMvvMI/w300-h400/IMG20240127111832.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-32036530022473639222024-01-12T07:10:00.004+00:002024-01-16T13:01:27.308+00:00June to January - a round-up<p>I haven’t been blogging much recently, mostly because Frog’s
death (2 years ago) has made me less confident and more negative (What’s the use?
Etc etc.). Also, I have twice as much to do as before and I don’t know how to
do half of it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recently however, as I feel stronger and more capable of
dealing with my new life, I’ve been looking for something extra. Or, rather,
I’ve been scratching around frantically, trying to fill the emptiness left by
Frog’s departure.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two days ago, two things happened. First, a cousin heaped praise on
my pictures and my writing (I think she was talking about my blog). Thank you,
A. Then, a friend sent me a <a href="https://64millionartists.com/think-of-your-earliest-memory/" target="_blank">link to a scheme</a> in which each day different writers and artists suggest creative things people can do. That day’s piece was by Michael Rosen, former Children’s
Laureate, and I found it inspiring. Thank you, C.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I took that conjunction as a nudge from the universe. I had
been thinking about writing. Like being out in nature, it takes me to another
world, it gives me faith, and I’m a dead loss at 'good works' - things voluntary and for
the community which are the usual solution for people in my situation. I have been keeping a sort of diary for the last 2 years but that's definitely not for public consumption and I wanted readers. The
first line of a novel did come into my head and I already had a vague plan for
one but I became overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. Blogging seemed to be
the answer.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So here goes - a round-up in pictures of the last 7 months.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXFYyvGb-BjKgAr0EjEXwgdUDssNNNa3wdr927SO6VXICTw0U34waI_N_v5nJxfW5k7dTu7fYfxGwxzTkLD8e0V2svamvnwjjxxotruoZRxmcCs9tMEBU3RpkDjjf1vkSSYNib-0asu6snwgPh_xOzctAIsHQW3VVcjs06sUqcPoY1LdQfhXGu7HFZwQ/s4000/june%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXFYyvGb-BjKgAr0EjEXwgdUDssNNNa3wdr927SO6VXICTw0U34waI_N_v5nJxfW5k7dTu7fYfxGwxzTkLD8e0V2svamvnwjjxxotruoZRxmcCs9tMEBU3RpkDjjf1vkSSYNib-0asu6snwgPh_xOzctAIsHQW3VVcjs06sUqcPoY1LdQfhXGu7HFZwQ/w300-h400/june%2023.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>June</b> and a heatwave. Ellie takes advantage of the garden's shade-sail.<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p><div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI76U2W2opTug_fipXX8R_RohOehZoLsFA1Rqe60uGR8EEgOER4k2wuugjcUCt_kQfOnLYrOFs9e69GZtZ64ksQfLU7GutO3mFsSuDLRwVokLCt_h2-x30z8X2eXZClzcaaLHu9OGRoUN6JGhPmP9MriBceqS_Y5NVebVp-POKEo2xRBIJQI39UIlHSE/s4000/oct%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI76U2W2opTug_fipXX8R_RohOehZoLsFA1Rqe60uGR8EEgOER4k2wuugjcUCt_kQfOnLYrOFs9e69GZtZ64ksQfLU7GutO3mFsSuDLRwVokLCt_h2-x30z8X2eXZClzcaaLHu9OGRoUN6JGhPmP9MriBceqS_Y5NVebVp-POKEo2xRBIJQI39UIlHSE/w300-h400/oct%2023.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"> October</b><span style="text-align: center;"> and a muddy, misty dawn. I’m up early these days and it has its advantages.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAba6xJMKCoO5e_vtFNjakvDoYA_BD0Ipi9Ehi55e0Z5UWhh5Mpn21bGPvNY79VNiJDlvU5_yjfadfkzE_DD61IiGsdbMGOhM9k_J3B-xtpT8ojDV2qxcvQxpfwcty8ZRH9zGLMSf_yAej7BojYJ1fjEvVZc7dG5qCscbDbyNuTKyTm3U04i-ML6FoWo0/s4000/nov%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAba6xJMKCoO5e_vtFNjakvDoYA_BD0Ipi9Ehi55e0Z5UWhh5Mpn21bGPvNY79VNiJDlvU5_yjfadfkzE_DD61IiGsdbMGOhM9k_J3B-xtpT8ojDV2qxcvQxpfwcty8ZRH9zGLMSf_yAej7BojYJ1fjEvVZc7dG5qCscbDbyNuTKyTm3U04i-ML6FoWo0/w300-h400/nov%2023.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">November</b> and
autumn colours. (Spot the dog.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceEiBDKZvMSXv6CuiTvKFozss5lnSAfqCEYjqCjIxR2BcLSud9YbbuLx9scIkcmT7Q7opX-3kmboBzNSZU1tMuR3wpifPitaDefQf6yMzFClXpyKlGRXRuJMzK4Uua_J5vPVH2HrOoH8Gms6P2P5UVpssk-pdWDIDscK7VLd2Y4Smqf6mTitFx7ViKDI/s4000/dec%2023%20C.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceEiBDKZvMSXv6CuiTvKFozss5lnSAfqCEYjqCjIxR2BcLSud9YbbuLx9scIkcmT7Q7opX-3kmboBzNSZU1tMuR3wpifPitaDefQf6yMzFClXpyKlGRXRuJMzK4Uua_J5vPVH2HrOoH8Gms6P2P5UVpssk-pdWDIDscK7VLd2Y4Smqf6mTitFx7ViKDI/w300-h400/dec%2023%20C.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The ever-photogenic canal in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">early</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">December</b>,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>where I bumped<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>into a friend who made me coffee beside the water with his wind-up machine that
ground the beans and frothed the milk. Frog would have loved it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5BARmJavgouFY-JENnLcWGlUgTeCGEw-A93a0B63AJROpIkzP0M621ojW_tKDsU-txdcKAcKe4mIvDE4UXtPx4HSqfe9BGvDpTIRuFc8DJA-DS9-voWuLlV-tbe3vZ7n0nI1ZpZf9a3AfdoRfk2tP9yoPnEEcHi0GgnSpFTABfs2-h3Fl_5usHSRedA/s4000/dec%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5BARmJavgouFY-JENnLcWGlUgTeCGEw-A93a0B63AJROpIkzP0M621ojW_tKDsU-txdcKAcKe4mIvDE4UXtPx4HSqfe9BGvDpTIRuFc8DJA-DS9-voWuLlV-tbe3vZ7n0nI1ZpZf9a3AfdoRfk2tP9yoPnEEcHi0GgnSpFTABfs2-h3Fl_5usHSRedA/w300-h400/dec%2023.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mid-December</b>. Sunset, with crows in my wild cherry tree. I once freed three crows that I found trapped in a crate for some nefarious purpose, and I believe that crows now look out for me because it has become imprinted in their lore that I'm a friend of their species.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_C84JlNaVZqKlB3d4Rd2QlKpXwC62vGGrwmrIkFWpH9jPe5qfrLQkAtTdc6Uh2PZcOVdNbFG8NcmijyJTgThTQCb9mt5irSEAmAw4UCLQYW8J53aEr6WYP0NdEym7YF39RfYccm0AkUyetjy2LbNEyoJkYubter7iy9A5gpEY3BvBlHyMQ6H-RnzpubY/s4000/xmas%20eve%2023%20kent.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_C84JlNaVZqKlB3d4Rd2QlKpXwC62vGGrwmrIkFWpH9jPe5qfrLQkAtTdc6Uh2PZcOVdNbFG8NcmijyJTgThTQCb9mt5irSEAmAw4UCLQYW8J53aEr6WYP0NdEym7YF39RfYccm0AkUyetjy2LbNEyoJkYubter7iy9A5gpEY3BvBlHyMQ6H-RnzpubY/w300-h400/xmas%20eve%2023%20kent.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Dusk on <b>Christmas Eve</b> and a walk
with my family in Kent’s beautiful North Downs.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8TQeCxIysYAvYlNkpdRpbdP3RbWJIa15RlflSBv2Sb7zwqJlWrtC-CGWJSb4WgiqAcwlKAHVfOOu-L5j92m-VOqSX_8Huul6jYHQ_JQ43iqI__kY9GYlRZ7jaUKn32VqjnWAWAIde8pE2U2II_hcRhq59rytQBLuP6FfE2tHdfFdZRpWvMm_hsapK3dc/s4000/jan%2024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8TQeCxIysYAvYlNkpdRpbdP3RbWJIa15RlflSBv2Sb7zwqJlWrtC-CGWJSb4WgiqAcwlKAHVfOOu-L5j92m-VOqSX_8Huul6jYHQ_JQ43iqI__kY9GYlRZ7jaUKn32VqjnWAWAIde8pE2U2II_hcRhq59rytQBLuP6FfE2tHdfFdZRpWvMm_hsapK3dc/w300-h400/jan%2024.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">New Year</b>. I have
a cold and C brings me a jar of her home-made onion pickles, which she
says are good for infection. I put some on my wintry salad of red cabbage,
toasted pumpkin seeds and raisins. It is a new taste sensation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVXEOMR1Tnp8VfczqMPObC1XPang4wMlOj36XbikTq1juudaZixXVs1UcdIPrUuhgxOFg9wANInSfKUAEe9tOYv9HFRHjtq8XBRZug_nbqdIbBHN6_1jS9OCtPh_TuPZD9Y4WO6Rnzcd4kcYv25_FlyabtG3u3m-ERmScjukv-wzOAZzvRqPh5-O73i8/s4000/jan%2024%20B.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVXEOMR1Tnp8VfczqMPObC1XPang4wMlOj36XbikTq1juudaZixXVs1UcdIPrUuhgxOFg9wANInSfKUAEe9tOYv9HFRHjtq8XBRZug_nbqdIbBHN6_1jS9OCtPh_TuPZD9Y4WO6Rnzcd4kcYv25_FlyabtG3u3m-ERmScjukv-wzOAZzvRqPh5-O73i8/w300-h400/jan%2024%20B.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By the sea <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">last week</b>.
People are swimming, some in wet-suits and some in nothing but bathing costumes.
Brr. But I’m sort of envious.<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-69158712310061479162023-07-22T09:00:00.007+01:002023-07-23T14:13:30.895+01:00Wild Norway<p>I made it to Norway eventually and swept into a round of
parties, meeting cousins of all shapes and sizes (my maternal grandmother
having been Norwegian). The weather was atrocious – even worse than in the UK –
but here are some pictures of the beautiful landscape.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the first day I walked with my brother and sister-in-law
and two English friends of my aunt to this lake, which Frog and I had found
near the hotel five years earlier. In spite of non-stop rain, I thought the
lake was prettier this time. Perhaps the heatwave on my previous visit had withered the greenery.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOO7tiU5w659TEdR6uiZmC1d1M29-OH9YFHpoZHFn7OTKKZ9gW9VbS9CxWXEbtbDJsf6KEE9tagZ3ok5rDt6I5-tvYmg_jxefUftB3GABYTVipfC40bMSI3G5zatZWDg_xmKxWkBZm3R8Sh1OoUYHRr6XJhAkJGSL7TVpNk3aXP8vkaZT6e0GOi6oda4/s4000/IMG20230715114926.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOO7tiU5w659TEdR6uiZmC1d1M29-OH9YFHpoZHFn7OTKKZ9gW9VbS9CxWXEbtbDJsf6KEE9tagZ3ok5rDt6I5-tvYmg_jxefUftB3GABYTVipfC40bMSI3G5zatZWDg_xmKxWkBZm3R8Sh1OoUYHRr6XJhAkJGSL7TVpNk3aXP8vkaZT6e0GOi6oda4/w300-h400/IMG20230715114926.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i> Lake, jetty and granite</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The jetty is for swimming. The Norwegians are very hearty
and, even though the temperature was about 14, as we walked back two boys were leaping in and out of the water.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The rock in the foreground is not broken concrete but
granite, which comes to the surface everywhere.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Here is the hotel garden on my last day, when of course the
sun came out, and here is another lump of granite. How the trees manage to grow on it, I have no idea.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_NYOsu6IOQuZEjhcQ8Tm0TNJy71Yc07mSUuBIHk2kfv2QM0kJMZFTAvcceIndmwzfaKPl0jHzrRFFBuDM3SGwHzd7rRfwCJmvi2YcRxyYI1Cc5yoBqRncy4ENWcJFz2btwRNR8aRYI-GVgkyAJbOUkrSrTjPpFyyBYPsW2a0SrenS16PG3GwebDtxNU/s4000/IMG20230717110348.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_NYOsu6IOQuZEjhcQ8Tm0TNJy71Yc07mSUuBIHk2kfv2QM0kJMZFTAvcceIndmwzfaKPl0jHzrRFFBuDM3SGwHzd7rRfwCJmvi2YcRxyYI1Cc5yoBqRncy4ENWcJFz2btwRNR8aRYI-GVgkyAJbOUkrSrTjPpFyyBYPsW2a0SrenS16PG3GwebDtxNU/w300-h400/IMG20230717110348.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Hotel garden</i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">As children, we spent our summer holidays by the sea in
Norway and clambered over the rocks in bare feet, as this was the best way we
found to grip them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also on my last day, I found this enticing path signed ‘<span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kyststien’ which I guessed meant coast path. I wished I’d found
it earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs235dQxQLbW-5z9_xhn9ZN8IwWYdWrs_6WbzEKzbCodreKa-fLwrWTojvfbr8AIgC8oPLBLnc4clT9_1Wg5tsJMCGTvbPUxFCl1Kt7x5GiRjrRO7Cq-q8Orbuu85fIZN_7ks13aO8tuwHW1sxgYayNA_38hZOyr1mWm1skTsiCYaZnkRcpoezY-Q7WpA/s4000/IMG20230717111229.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs235dQxQLbW-5z9_xhn9ZN8IwWYdWrs_6WbzEKzbCodreKa-fLwrWTojvfbr8AIgC8oPLBLnc4clT9_1Wg5tsJMCGTvbPUxFCl1Kt7x5GiRjrRO7Cq-q8Orbuu85fIZN_7ks13aO8tuwHW1sxgYayNA_38hZOyr1mWm1skTsiCYaZnkRcpoezY-Q7WpA/w300-h400/IMG20230717111229.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Coast path</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;">Most of the interior of the
country (below the treeline) is forested with pines but here, by the coast,
were some broadleaved trees – oak, silver birch, rowan. Also scrumptious wild
raspberries, another feature of my childhood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #040c28;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is the beach in front of
the hotel, but I didn’t brave the sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMdQEDN7cNORjXiIozsiwrh1NokVUehoI08EJciG5w6pOXYkI8AVPRcEquCCnrBUF7sXIglNCHeEWKwDMIDxUVEwdvnrEcF5H_a5i_37kKtu44YEynDCUfH_QKRX38mPv-khsBz11Y8XriWzv3_EVD8G9SDT-w_XqK7MGrRfnEOy-Q2rZiqT7Ivlo0H4/s4000/IMG20230717111918.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMdQEDN7cNORjXiIozsiwrh1NokVUehoI08EJciG5w6pOXYkI8AVPRcEquCCnrBUF7sXIglNCHeEWKwDMIDxUVEwdvnrEcF5H_a5i_37kKtu44YEynDCUfH_QKRX38mPv-khsBz11Y8XriWzv3_EVD8G9SDT-w_XqK7MGrRfnEOy-Q2rZiqT7Ivlo0H4/w300-h400/IMG20230717111918.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><i>Hotel beach</i></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;">On my penultimate day, I went
for lunch with one of my aunt’s daughters. She lives on the outskirts of
Kristiansand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;">Here is her view.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnJPIrgh_uiuFoAnusyJqI4_XBgzuWkLFMkJWpAJ7xMbacP9eJxuJw-OYh7pKVYago29cDLLiQCjb1JoFnAmXz0hNvklw3h7dGWbb0LSJLSd7MRh8ePwk7hHqms686p7bNF3aIpf2iE_Jebx1ZgJ0BQCKT0BWM30ALVEmAJBEuVGp_sngHaZDFp0cVec/s4000/your%20view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnJPIrgh_uiuFoAnusyJqI4_XBgzuWkLFMkJWpAJ7xMbacP9eJxuJw-OYh7pKVYago29cDLLiQCjb1JoFnAmXz0hNvklw3h7dGWbb0LSJLSd7MRh8ePwk7hHqms686p7bNF3aIpf2iE_Jebx1ZgJ0BQCKT0BWM30ALVEmAJBEuVGp_sngHaZDFp0cVec/w300-h400/your%20view.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><i>The view from my cousin's house</i></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;">And here is the path from her
garden to forest and mountain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwp4N7Mmd_ISPjzzB5067UOgxUJJ5LBmL6jhAZtuel_YdJwqX5fRyo9XQC1zkf-YwGnrwMOC_vZ0WQTc6udxsw8zfop8I7ds9_sMWI2s2tPG0Lwp912YjShaLRfwrlzzGlwS-tfILffpy9FGAtn5xII_U3OSrtC94kMG71WLXAiGEq6_LjyAlNXgjhnhs/s4000/the%20path%20from%20your%20garden%20into%20the%20woods.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwp4N7Mmd_ISPjzzB5067UOgxUJJ5LBmL6jhAZtuel_YdJwqX5fRyo9XQC1zkf-YwGnrwMOC_vZ0WQTc6udxsw8zfop8I7ds9_sMWI2s2tPG0Lwp912YjShaLRfwrlzzGlwS-tfILffpy9FGAtn5xII_U3OSrtC94kMG71WLXAiGEq6_LjyAlNXgjhnhs/w300-h400/the%20path%20from%20your%20garden%20into%20the%20woods.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><i>The path from my cousin's garden</i></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;">On my last morning, I walked round Kristiansand with my brother and sister-in-law. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here is the harbour, not what you’d expect next to a city.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzB53RqUczBPmxt8dCitkXm4zkn1GT3Bm49dRbtL3r9_BpMEwyv_jhKXDtawhyptIJM7tN5A4UQ4HWzKb1TKk0TZ7MVFANbq5vpLnamtIImE9CzmpYLpybqhB4UKOssinHrUGCyNwEDzDUbtI1_F_Xuw50CE_B7pFKFStZO-tESRZfYJTq1VLNp7c9Tg/s4000/IMG20230718111537.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzB53RqUczBPmxt8dCitkXm4zkn1GT3Bm49dRbtL3r9_BpMEwyv_jhKXDtawhyptIJM7tN5A4UQ4HWzKb1TKk0TZ7MVFANbq5vpLnamtIImE9CzmpYLpybqhB4UKOssinHrUGCyNwEDzDUbtI1_F_Xuw50CE_B7pFKFStZO-tESRZfYJTq1VLNp7c9Tg/w300-h400/IMG20230718111537.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Kristiansand harbour</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28;">People</span><span style="color: #040c28;"> were picnicking and swimming.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As you can see, nowhere in Norway is far from
nature, although according to a cousin that is changing as the population expands.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #040c28; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That breaks my heart, as (in my experience) Norway is one of the
last wild places left in this part of the world. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-89993316929834247492023-07-21T08:18:00.006+01:002023-07-21T16:05:17.484+01:00Return to Norway<p>Five years ago Frog and I went to Norway for the 75<sup>th</sup>
birthday party of my aunt who lives there. (I wrote about it in this blog - see 'Seven Days in Norway' in the column on the right.) Last week I
went on my own for her 80<sup>th</sup> birthday party. It was the first time
I’d travelled abroad alone since my early twenties. I was petrified.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We took off from England in rain and
wind, the sort of weather we seemed to have been having for weeks, and the
plane juddered through the clouds.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For once I had a whole window to myself, not half a window,
or a bit of wall, or a window over someone’s shoulder. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So when we came out of the clouds, I saw this and my brain
took off. I left the normal world behind and felt as if I was in outer space. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <br /></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbtTLxfZAL7zj6U38-0qIaBckIQMbJEwBKr4tTI44n-SzyR737rz7cHWM3Ru4s8OgzTAHUti_q-rM6Tr2ByeZa27M85OIYBnPJMl3Xql1ovpwpJgHyOIG4IOKmwk0cNsA2G2ptXvwHA1K6_pAtG0V03ogQrtd-FtZrfBennU_rFdd-fgzM69INNm9xMo/s3918/IMG20230714094115%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3918" data-original-width="2974" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbtTLxfZAL7zj6U38-0qIaBckIQMbJEwBKr4tTI44n-SzyR737rz7cHWM3Ru4s8OgzTAHUti_q-rM6Tr2ByeZa27M85OIYBnPJMl3Xql1ovpwpJgHyOIG4IOKmwk0cNsA2G2ptXvwHA1K6_pAtG0V03ogQrtd-FtZrfBennU_rFdd-fgzM69INNm9xMo/w304-h400/IMG20230714094115%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In outer space</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We landed at Amsterdam in more rain and taxied around
the vast concourse.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As usual, in spite of the announcement asking people to
remain seated until the plane had stopped and the fasten seatbelt signs had been
switched off, people clicked open their seatbelts, stood up and began getting
their luggage out of the overhead lockers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I stayed sitting -- I was in no hurry as I had a four-hour
wait for my plane to Kristiansand in Norway – and managed to snap this man in
his cartographical jacket (and trousers to match).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Frog would have been proud of him. He didn’t approve of
drabness for men.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeDqT6BYNsul-b9hldEMJ6vvGySU6VsTzg7hRG8oMuonZmn2t4XAQxI53dl-xwrrp_wtvud-ZKCkR4iCCPPqwFIXjUy8uLdUc_zk_ZaDas5nzTqk00539wNOGWCIRGZi_QRuo9fURnuErFsAgfcJJ3h832BttB1RtPsy5G6npcrfDxtN4XAnMvYJOK5Y/s4000/IMG20230714103209.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeDqT6BYNsul-b9hldEMJ6vvGySU6VsTzg7hRG8oMuonZmn2t4XAQxI53dl-xwrrp_wtvud-ZKCkR4iCCPPqwFIXjUy8uLdUc_zk_ZaDas5nzTqk00539wNOGWCIRGZi_QRuo9fURnuErFsAgfcJJ3h832BttB1RtPsy5G6npcrfDxtN4XAnMvYJOK5Y/w300-h400/IMG20230714103209.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Cartographical man</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">And this twin of our plane. I love the name ‘Cityhopper’.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48xJzRA0vY8cvzwieyYcwxKoMQTYP-5fSOIjWD8oRSNm9DVZRmeIbuqSZ8LFijwTRXshUMfm1rrCGbaXpE24HM2PcIa_8AqxUVzNBtZp75qRVHxSx3AznPQEN5n-uBL40y3JpXhIQz4jVOUKKc4chSde351QC-q2EZkzVNJV1vUJxKr9AfPPwpsRtVdk/s4000/IMG20230714103022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48xJzRA0vY8cvzwieyYcwxKoMQTYP-5fSOIjWD8oRSNm9DVZRmeIbuqSZ8LFijwTRXshUMfm1rrCGbaXpE24HM2PcIa_8AqxUVzNBtZp75qRVHxSx3AznPQEN5n-uBL40y3JpXhIQz4jVOUKKc4chSde351QC-q2EZkzVNJV1vUJxKr9AfPPwpsRtVdk/w300-h400/IMG20230714103022.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Cityhopper</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">And (from the terminal) this sign on a bus. All the buses were powered by either wind
or sun, which I suppose meant they were electric. I applauded the airport’s
environmental efforts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ISYu-vX_MNpKWlHOnrH26gH6RSJqE104DwrEr0IoAcZf_DiP4UxhbBUm_dvdYhrOV6u4QB_IG_bkcCLXgvP9cI8-9c6TwnlfC53-9_k6AJMB__HP1pGCJlfyr7aCFQIcyd4z8iiFw_Dp5szjhLVFW77X05Q6RkQChhI06Rpqhwm0j1VuFJz2XA3i3_w/s4000/IMG20230714140045.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ISYu-vX_MNpKWlHOnrH26gH6RSJqE104DwrEr0IoAcZf_DiP4UxhbBUm_dvdYhrOV6u4QB_IG_bkcCLXgvP9cI8-9c6TwnlfC53-9_k6AJMB__HP1pGCJlfyr7aCFQIcyd4z8iiFw_Dp5szjhLVFW77X05Q6RkQChhI06Rpqhwm0j1VuFJz2XA3i3_w/w300-h400/IMG20230714140045.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Powered by Dutch windmills</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">In spite of that, however, hardly any of the many water
fountains around the terminal that I remembered from my first visit, were still
working.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Never mind. I had a long walk to my gate (24 minutes according to the board, which stretched in several volumes across a wall), so perhaps I’d
find one en route from which I could refill my bottle.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5xt4nISdSLSMM_8FHlgy_ICfVcOoBLWkvVBrcpHptmkpehGBgWYl9utpRJbVoVdbbbg_AwsdrBgow3rWXMTsA5y-uZk12frgSN-E-xV4bRFY5BjQk5HFLaxBY-vZdzZczWqVKklXgrmayvVc2k88gg6r1lZ0KeK6xFIJHAOGP3tSVUoAFu9rteviZcg/s4000/IMG20230714110658.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5xt4nISdSLSMM_8FHlgy_ICfVcOoBLWkvVBrcpHptmkpehGBgWYl9utpRJbVoVdbbbg_AwsdrBgow3rWXMTsA5y-uZk12frgSN-E-xV4bRFY5BjQk5HFLaxBY-vZdzZczWqVKklXgrmayvVc2k88gg6r1lZ0KeK6xFIJHAOGP3tSVUoAFu9rteviZcg/w400-h300/IMG20230714110658.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A fragment of the board</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Schipol airport was the same incomprehensible chaos that I
remembered from before. Then I’d had Frog to find the way. Now I was on my own.
I started walking.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-32405986869015821982023-04-11T08:23:00.008+01:002023-04-11T08:43:20.213+01:00All will be well<p style="text-align: left;">I’ve mentioned before my guru Louise Hay and her book <i>You Can Heal Your Life</i>.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBc1S_mcpebesLdoxStS3_8qpOMdbary4InD1q12jKb0_iW1JnddHrmuKpgi6HoHl1MHGoGynppoQQfQCRNeCccbvj0qJmUMYac84jNOXzRKyUfsHy5OukfglvVugwzla7syFZu6bClr8EAnn251xyD3zlGjU2X4Es-u1zvdqJ_RYUim8Kg3QCBBJ8/s3375/book%20120201003_09345032.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3375" data-original-width="2163" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBc1S_mcpebesLdoxStS3_8qpOMdbary4InD1q12jKb0_iW1JnddHrmuKpgi6HoHl1MHGoGynppoQQfQCRNeCccbvj0qJmUMYac84jNOXzRKyUfsHy5OukfglvVugwzla7syFZu6bClr8EAnn251xyD3zlGjU2X4Es-u1zvdqJ_RYUim8Kg3QCBBJ8/w128-h200/book%20120201003_09345032.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I’ve also mentioned my disinclination at the moment to get
out of bed in the morning and face the world, and the bad back and leg that
have crippled me since November.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Last night when I couldn’t sleep yet again because of the
pain in my right calf, which paracetamol hadn’t touched, I decided to explore
with the help of my beloved Notebook what was going on.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">According to Louise, pain in the lower leg is caused by fear
of the future and not wanting to move on. The affirmation (to counteract that)
is:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>I move forward with confidence
and joy, knowing that all will be well in my future.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I said this to myself over and over and found myself sobbing
so I knew she was right.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I’ve been through this process again and again recently and
I keep forgetting, and falling into old ways, and believing what everyone else says instead of what I say deep inside me. For instance, out of fear I’ve been to see a physiotherapist,
which is what my doctor recommended for my back and leg, even though I don't normally do conventional medicine, and all it’s done is make me feel worse. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">One day, I might manage to hold on to me.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">And, of course, as I might also have said before, that is
what this time since Frog’s death is all about. I have the idea that moving on will
take me away from him, but actually it will take me towards him. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Even though Frog and I had the deepest of connections, I couldn’t be
myself when he was here because I was too preoccupied with being a good wife, with
being what I thought he wanted. He removed himself in order to help me and now, in order to rejoin him, I have to face the
world without him and learn to be me. It’s bloody terrifying.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Wish me luck.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">And in case none of that makes sense, which is more than likely, here are some pictures
from the last week or two. Isn’t the world beautiful? Why on earth should I
fear it?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3Pyv9IgsJXEhwTVfTEl9Bdb9JOTZ6WhKq7j65GayCS1u0DEmcaC7XLckskErVdL4Wgr506NmbobqEU55jTEvlTSmkb3j3my05O-TYNc5Bfr7kRZOrqCuaNqviBuSsolKnIp4fkp5LCIlYUOPDRBD5wut345SxPaUjOHj-owvD3PMt_ZdzoCXZ9mA/s4000/IMG20230330141047.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3Pyv9IgsJXEhwTVfTEl9Bdb9JOTZ6WhKq7j65GayCS1u0DEmcaC7XLckskErVdL4Wgr506NmbobqEU55jTEvlTSmkb3j3my05O-TYNc5Bfr7kRZOrqCuaNqviBuSsolKnIp4fkp5LCIlYUOPDRBD5wut345SxPaUjOHj-owvD3PMt_ZdzoCXZ9mA/w400-h300/IMG20230330141047.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Floods</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjO-97erf71ds1SgXJ2kLbopnq6v_xzB8zo5VX2Kcab7AVojiTo19EZ8utTv5QmqguXAylAdPl4Q42fTOKRCToPeS_CoQj1W9hh-rspjZ-RklW7AKmBTeKwt9lQTLcwnPmsDbzK4J2iVbOhY9B17OA7JLVKeNUteXHJeawm_TkqBzBJQVrkIXU9rd/s4000/IMG20230402141249.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjO-97erf71ds1SgXJ2kLbopnq6v_xzB8zo5VX2Kcab7AVojiTo19EZ8utTv5QmqguXAylAdPl4Q42fTOKRCToPeS_CoQj1W9hh-rspjZ-RklW7AKmBTeKwt9lQTLcwnPmsDbzK4J2iVbOhY9B17OA7JLVKeNUteXHJeawm_TkqBzBJQVrkIXU9rd/w300-h400/IMG20230402141249.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Shining Cranesbill, a tiny flower named for its shiny leaves (the small roundish ones)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7T7DubC_ExbIRT2PukZspSz-2k_gtQIIXt3VmzHkuGO20F5ZhhaAUE5PFqHIzkKXjtm5iGT9cuJIaS_pv3RCYcGaBvV4OTxjqi3iawRKdUWsQCo8txy1tcu7ythjUw8an_N5h4Z6pfFfPDnpq3zNrGuajxOZPGdM5ZWSc95pe2TCXFjQ0W9oupJO/s4000/IMG20230403115634_BURST000_COVER.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7T7DubC_ExbIRT2PukZspSz-2k_gtQIIXt3VmzHkuGO20F5ZhhaAUE5PFqHIzkKXjtm5iGT9cuJIaS_pv3RCYcGaBvV4OTxjqi3iawRKdUWsQCo8txy1tcu7ythjUw8an_N5h4Z6pfFfPDnpq3zNrGuajxOZPGdM5ZWSc95pe2TCXFjQ0W9oupJO/w300-h400/IMG20230403115634_BURST000_COVER.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>The nearby Weeping Willow, waving its
hair-like tresses</i><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikonZE2KOv8Nu7LDcKGgsPh0CswLoYyJ9mjOf6yAyOOhDqUPf4GDCCcgXP0IA2EZD5Y6o4gmAPksqcVdL7NlzxvfdaqjIYYjPWeSTy9slJASZKg20ifSAO3Foq_8ekpbP9ILaNDqt3o6C9rc9Qtm8AeWY1BQ-0s4Led4Mp94EZFmwlvmmubVZESoS0/s3856/IMG20230403125853%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="2826" data-original-width="3856" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikonZE2KOv8Nu7LDcKGgsPh0CswLoYyJ9mjOf6yAyOOhDqUPf4GDCCcgXP0IA2EZD5Y6o4gmAPksqcVdL7NlzxvfdaqjIYYjPWeSTy9slJASZKg20ifSAO3Foq_8ekpbP9ILaNDqt3o6C9rc9Qtm8AeWY1BQ-0s4Led4Mp94EZFmwlvmmubVZESoS0/w400-h294/IMG20230403125853%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My Secret Wood, a fluff of greeny-brown about to burst into life</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwTj6kUem9YV0MYlj9ljeS4WHl73P6QRPDON3TXf089qsWmc9_jRuU2pm9_ntxyI3y-k_yBih8NuSjN7rqKwaS_z0cZTts7abNWyJuqIjHZZcHlkiKBv7X7v6ynNwTWXBGEq7V2S5imRGzaoEmGJzxpgR-k7mkAae8HJMZPo6FhqbNMyXuIUvVWAa/s4000/IMG20230403131945.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwTj6kUem9YV0MYlj9ljeS4WHl73P6QRPDON3TXf089qsWmc9_jRuU2pm9_ntxyI3y-k_yBih8NuSjN7rqKwaS_z0cZTts7abNWyJuqIjHZZcHlkiKBv7X7v6ynNwTWXBGEq7V2S5imRGzaoEmGJzxpgR-k7mkAae8HJMZPo6FhqbNMyXuIUvVWAa/w300-h400/IMG20230403131945.jpg" width="300" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The buds of Holly flowers, another secret</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn59G4YVYVagvAK3K8Hh0dlQsXKKEuBpm-Y-6M5n4qLw2ZjJNtWGZZOs9FH8Sf0s9zyK16fYJ6jYH_PcUCGU7hKZc1qNwC5ix1uU-SrrIyU1E6ejK_XGlJzSfC8mO-CveCvNUdjmW3C6IsEvxS5JGqTQELj50vmWBkyOcfqQEOZjKta833468sftcB/s4000/IMG20230407102243.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn59G4YVYVagvAK3K8Hh0dlQsXKKEuBpm-Y-6M5n4qLw2ZjJNtWGZZOs9FH8Sf0s9zyK16fYJ6jYH_PcUCGU7hKZc1qNwC5ix1uU-SrrIyU1E6ejK_XGlJzSfC8mO-CveCvNUdjmW3C6IsEvxS5JGqTQELj50vmWBkyOcfqQEOZjKta833468sftcB/w400-h300/IMG20230407102243.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEKZHTFXHpwn87TNupZw4XYK5Rk5Dc29FJSyyK3RPMsj70o51NIMrEK9aBs7NhO8Mpv3itYAUeDgY3JUocgd7wWV8fkkUYomZFzEET53boyaR2iAK92TTgADzPuA4mdiaft2KTTOJqEX2v__0Ds2OZdrsg5p1LWZakTvtcy7LC6E_M1gneu5uBHk3/s4000/IMG20230407102439.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEKZHTFXHpwn87TNupZw4XYK5Rk5Dc29FJSyyK3RPMsj70o51NIMrEK9aBs7NhO8Mpv3itYAUeDgY3JUocgd7wWV8fkkUYomZFzEET53boyaR2iAK92TTgADzPuA4mdiaft2KTTOJqEX2v__0Ds2OZdrsg5p1LWZakTvtcy7LC6E_M1gneu5uBHk3/w300-h400/IMG20230407102439.jpg" width="300" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dandelions like suns and Dandelions with Speedwell, the colour of the sky. (Spot the dog.)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-15183924521287110962023-03-26T09:10:00.019+01:002023-04-05T06:11:35.984+01:00A benevolent tonal Buddha*<p style="text-align: left;">From 1977 to 2019 Frog (my late husband) was connected with
Exeter University’s student radio station. He looked after the equipment and gave continuity and advice to the ever-changing student members. He also presented his own programme, The Frog Prog, on which he played his unique
choice of music, both popular and classical, from all eras, and passed on his
encyclopaedic knowledge of all things musical.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Last June, past members of the radio station put
together a tribute programme for Frog</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.mixcloud.com/XpressionShowcase/john-frog-whitworth-memorial-show/">https://www.mixcloud.com/XpressionShowcase/john-frog-whitworth-memorial-show/</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">and I’ve been crying my way through it. Sometimes they
really catch his character and talents and it’s given me a whole new
appreciation of him.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I’ve been doing a lot of crying lately. Since November in
fact when I acquired a bad back. The pain then went to my legs where it has
stuck ever since. It’s terrified me because, now I’m on my own, I have to
manage. I can’t be ill or incapacitated. I have a dog to mind.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPBOEopH0dBwpi6kqi1ZwMq-g5OIG4iZbSw49SzA8HqP0mtRsIm6UH2r53DaO5DMlq3Z2DBkn-fM4zal0_B3ME7ANc74Wt5Cg0XfitqI0mmqSzWhOtALiuUwiraWv8ZQ_KxjBTPBa-mrwREkPXDnc0R0LTwyM859HtVHdKMG8SuaU8QiZ_OZmdi9r/s1756/ellie%20july%202011.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1756" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPBOEopH0dBwpi6kqi1ZwMq-g5OIG4iZbSw49SzA8HqP0mtRsIm6UH2r53DaO5DMlq3Z2DBkn-fM4zal0_B3ME7ANc74Wt5Cg0XfitqI0mmqSzWhOtALiuUwiraWv8ZQ_KxjBTPBa-mrwREkPXDnc0R0LTwyM859HtVHdKMG8SuaU8QiZ_OZmdi9r/w400-h289/ellie%20july%202011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ellie at one year old. She's now twelve and a half.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">But what I realised this morning is that the pain has made me get in touch with my feelings. It’s lowered my defences and let the grief come to the surface. It’s given me time. I haven’t been able to rush
around clearing Frog’s stuff, forging a ‘new life’ and being brave. I’ve spent
a lot of time alone, in my dressing-gown, writing in my Notebooks (a sort of diary), using up tissues.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p>I</o:p>n a funny sort of way, I think that realisation may help me to throw off the pain. It may be a sort of turning point. I hope so, anyway.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">And at the risk of sounding crass, I thought I might link
all that to the slow emergence of spring, another turning point, as evidenced
by the following pictures.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8K3DszKvV-Gl6a0ha9SXFKXQSbWx7WbAuXkEP7pnX-eReMFGjcdcqRzrf-EVpFs-l99MunpIquvdVbEQ10MTg_yQwuGuLm2mrBFYC-e_eDtWy__pxNbTKSlKa8kLXQ6rb9ni7eKiqm1ajtvYnA5pdrhMDZU9A06ECdhQhTmLW82cq71LNNLjatnXO/s4000/IMG20230317143803.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8K3DszKvV-Gl6a0ha9SXFKXQSbWx7WbAuXkEP7pnX-eReMFGjcdcqRzrf-EVpFs-l99MunpIquvdVbEQ10MTg_yQwuGuLm2mrBFYC-e_eDtWy__pxNbTKSlKa8kLXQ6rb9ni7eKiqm1ajtvYnA5pdrhMDZU9A06ECdhQhTmLW82cq71LNNLjatnXO/w300-h400/IMG20230317143803.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rooks' nests by the canal</i><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEszCAhEcJK__c7h4ILiHXx15sZ8luEKfSuEl30-BXlPEQDerqQViuuLLACE77ikCWncC3XWrwZ7barooXlsslOgqnVBXxXAW9Zox_e5796jDy0QaBL9fya3Fkog6AStweDwHdHxHbEeE0tdd_U_4mX1xlrBV9th7PpsfPJI5mbNfc9F4e0bEYT7k/s4000/IMG20230318094402.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEszCAhEcJK__c7h4ILiHXx15sZ8luEKfSuEl30-BXlPEQDerqQViuuLLACE77ikCWncC3XWrwZ7barooXlsslOgqnVBXxXAW9Zox_e5796jDy0QaBL9fya3Fkog6AStweDwHdHxHbEeE0tdd_U_4mX1xlrBV9th7PpsfPJI5mbNfc9F4e0bEYT7k/w300-h400/IMG20230318094402.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The weeping willow over the lane below the house, always the first tree to burst into leaf<br /></i><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiXgwVhSq7g7TjnflLaYrKNz__pFDbrHy7B9JQ1LZadVyaBfZ8x2g0ZZfvqbLP8tx2HFeMA3b2Mkc_bfsGoFCIOIPP2DO5kN0yKo4Tdxwz4GokVZsck5H5KhrBk-JJSSUPRUkBFyGMfe-BKQgkqKNwZALnVim_sfCCUEXZhd9_ci9I9O-VYLc5c-q/s4000/IMG20230325133409.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiXgwVhSq7g7TjnflLaYrKNz__pFDbrHy7B9JQ1LZadVyaBfZ8x2g0ZZfvqbLP8tx2HFeMA3b2Mkc_bfsGoFCIOIPP2DO5kN0yKo4Tdxwz4GokVZsck5H5KhrBk-JJSSUPRUkBFyGMfe-BKQgkqKNwZALnVim_sfCCUEXZhd9_ci9I9O-VYLc5c-q/w300-h400/IMG20230325133409.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ivy berries, like bunches of grapes, important food for birds at this time of year<br /><br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZHEMzxoGUY8tqbDJeT5rdUhO604BMpAz9lrA5XTwjZyROk1OqiPC43plzsmlWO5kjrGtHQ8pgqovFKRI1bXovarKPyU-u_HDkn7iBchG4eFfKFFf4LoE2PQHGsJMHXLypzEc4LLow5vQVxqzUe6NN_OINAwXsnXm-gOpGNC9-4v4iDq94WRNnxdm/s4000/IMG20230324103238.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZHEMzxoGUY8tqbDJeT5rdUhO604BMpAz9lrA5XTwjZyROk1OqiPC43plzsmlWO5kjrGtHQ8pgqovFKRI1bXovarKPyU-u_HDkn7iBchG4eFfKFFf4LoE2PQHGsJMHXLypzEc4LLow5vQVxqzUe6NN_OINAwXsnXm-gOpGNC9-4v4iDq94WRNnxdm/w300-h400/IMG20230324103238.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Beech flowers<br /></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I've never noticed beech flowers before (in all my 70 years), which shocks me. How much else is there that I just don't see? Putting that in a more positive way (and I do try to be positive in everything), it shows that nature is always there to surprise and delight us - if we keep open to the possibility.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>*<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is how one ex-student described Frog in the tribute programme (at least, I think that's what he said)</span></div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-28021908726676709202023-03-19T07:14:00.006+00:002023-03-23T07:10:40.186+00:00Wild daffodils<div style="text-align: left;">Since Frog died a year and a bit ago, I’ve not watched or
listened to The News. (I only followed it when he was alive because he did.)
It’s too depressing and I think it’s designed to keep us scared and grateful.
Those in charge (at the moment) don’t want us to be happy because then we might start thinking
for ourselves and discover that we don’t need them after all.</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="text-align: left;">Recently I’ve found myself less and less inclined to venture
out and meet The World. I want to stay in my nice safe house and garden or,
even better, cocooned in my duvet. A couple of days ago I realised that this is
because I’m frightened. I have this idea of the world and I don’t
like it. I’ve lost Frog, my buffer between me and the world. I’m ‘alone and
naked in the dark’ as Frodo said on his way to Mordor.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So then I thought, well, this idea I have of the world is only an idea. Somehow that horrible mainstream view has seeped into
to me in spite of my best efforts. So why don’t I
change it? Why don’t I start imagining the world as I <i>want</i> it to be? As I <i>really</i> see it?<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I began to put together a different picture of the world. <i>My</i> picture. And it went something like
this.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p><o:p> <br /></o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My world<br /></b><o:p> </o:p>-A place of kindness<br />-A place of meaning<br />-Somewhere I have a future (even female and at the age
of nearly 70)<br />-Nature (not humans)<br />-Eternity<br />-Somewhere I belong and matter and have a place.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>I might elaborate on those points in the future, but I hope
each of them makes enough sense for the moment.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>None of them accords with the mainstream view or that put across by the media, and you might think I’m deluded or flaky or worse. But
what the hell? If I can’t stick my neck out at nearly 70, when can I? If it
helps, why not believe?<br /><o:p> </o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><o:p><br /></o:p>A couple of days ago I was driving to fetch my sister off
the train from London. She was coming to stay with me for a few days. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I thought I’d left plenty of time but
after a long diversion around a new housing estate in the process of being
built and the discovery that my shortcut across country was closed (no reason
given), I began to feel slightly panicky.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
had no proper map, I didn’t want to go miles round to get to the station and I
haven’t yet got the hang of the sat nav (which was Frog’s baby). That panic is becoming
rather too familiar. It happens every time I have to do something that Frog
used to do.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyway,
I headed across country by a different route, with no clear idea of where I was
going except a couple of village names, my not unreasonable sense of direction
and a compass.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to my new world view, I thought, there would be no need for panic. I would be
going this way for a reason. And if I kept my eyes and ears open, I would
discover what it was.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
then I saw it. A bank of wild daffodils stretching as far as I could see
alongside the road.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
haven’t seen wild daffodils in Devon since the 1970s, when there used to be
meadows of them. They’re different from the cultivated ones you see growing
wild - smaller and paler and much more subtle. They’re what Wordsworth saw. And
when you see them, you just know they’re special.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
stopped in the middle of the lane, hoping some monstrous farm vehicle wouldn’t
charge round the corner (as they do) and slam into the back of me, put my
hazard flashers on, and took some pictures out of the car window.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
here they are. My proof.<br /></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF07tdI_NDRi822WFWbxFAansPWj_0u33Sz3G2wxzdlOB02EAIOo36VMzcXfbRIYRiAesJrMKjCA-JwgXmlvWM7iImWX0S9gCyXTRBxZYAXLJOSdFS4a9WxfAp50er3BS8kp8tHO-LwF8X3d1GzkSAQJ5wZXqFqHLhPUMaFl3UJzqv0wQoNxOgWl8/s4000/IMG20230317132051.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF07tdI_NDRi822WFWbxFAansPWj_0u33Sz3G2wxzdlOB02EAIOo36VMzcXfbRIYRiAesJrMKjCA-JwgXmlvWM7iImWX0S9gCyXTRBxZYAXLJOSdFS4a9WxfAp50er3BS8kp8tHO-LwF8X3d1GzkSAQJ5wZXqFqHLhPUMaFl3UJzqv0wQoNxOgWl8/w300-h400/IMG20230317132051.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAlsBmqsf3PclUE20pZkbS0kTZsBUfubsW9OSXqnPdc3wGnQ6HEt4sF1AwVuqwV68QUcT0kypUCfBsDfLj0M-3nQVnEif7cMrU2TA3vWMypyLK_NlQ9e1yYZJAS4iB8pWIFc7Nmyn_PejYXHdnLJJgN8Rugs7GyiCI20dhH9vaVOezvVGpvpwFjPG/s4000/IMG20230317132123.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAlsBmqsf3PclUE20pZkbS0kTZsBUfubsW9OSXqnPdc3wGnQ6HEt4sF1AwVuqwV68QUcT0kypUCfBsDfLj0M-3nQVnEif7cMrU2TA3vWMypyLK_NlQ9e1yYZJAS4iB8pWIFc7Nmyn_PejYXHdnLJJgN8Rugs7GyiCI20dhH9vaVOezvVGpvpwFjPG/w300-h400/IMG20230317132123.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><o:p><br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And,
yes, I did make it to the station in time. The shortcut proved every bit as
good as my usual one. I might take it again.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-6184906173818734142023-03-06T07:26:00.010+00:002023-03-07T06:08:05.977+00:00The lonely duck <p>Since Frog died just over a year ago, my life has been
non-stop. A few days ago, however, I decided that I just had to step off the
treadmill. I was exhausted. I’d had back and leg pain since November which
stopped me sleeping. I couldn’t go on any longer. I would take March
off.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">On Saturday, I awoke after a good night’s sleep and decided
that the dog and I would go out for the day, even though I had no one to go out
with. Like rest, being on my own was part of the process, part of my
experiment.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We arrived early. It was cloudy and still. There was hardly
anyone else about.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Our first encounter was this cat, who taunted Ellie from the
other side of the canal. She knew Ellie couldn’t get at her, and Ellie knew
that too, but it didn’t stop barking at it for a good five minutes – as if that
would encourage the cat to cross the canal and let Ellie attack it. (She does that with squirrels
too, standing at the bottom of trees, and with rabbits, sticking her nose down
the entrances to their warrens.)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIyU9gNMQ9xTxRZkxSlTqfyMxDe4L-w4iVxtl0-OJGf0MijwHsbCQFZOBRxnhthnMJ6B5g02T9orb2VhCMWgzRHuyhaUKl43v_Wx63-7_ex3vHpjFHTT1IQPgEwarAEr6SJWwVfh8L3XD7A8u2JLtVoPjo1s-D4_pvoykk7uX7rXwDvQKJ_CAIO9i/s4000/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIyU9gNMQ9xTxRZkxSlTqfyMxDe4L-w4iVxtl0-OJGf0MijwHsbCQFZOBRxnhthnMJ6B5g02T9orb2VhCMWgzRHuyhaUKl43v_Wx63-7_ex3vHpjFHTT1IQPgEwarAEr6SJWwVfh8L3XD7A8u2JLtVoPjo1s-D4_pvoykk7uX7rXwDvQKJ_CAIO9i/w400-h300/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Then we saw this duck. I think it’s a Muscovy, perhaps a
young one as the pictures on Google showed black and white feathers not the grey
and white ones here. The red cheek is very distinctive however, as are the flat
flappy feet, the colour and texture of autumn leaves.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaa9Vit6y9eWGwiO0A1dfjnOADdCef6wXHQEogaD-q6-nEPeklsmwz9pVTrs_rYwK5ljCPskbqkDsRg9AZrZbA6zbcK9FApDejGy_mnWMcwZ5RIuJwYPgZQgjR9RkHacnJ0qDjTPRDmx1JP5nA4zucKPBxMNHXMrdZXa-rRZQ6tPOCgMxfqIOwTyo/s4000/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaa9Vit6y9eWGwiO0A1dfjnOADdCef6wXHQEogaD-q6-nEPeklsmwz9pVTrs_rYwK5ljCPskbqkDsRg9AZrZbA6zbcK9FApDejGy_mnWMcwZ5RIuJwYPgZQgjR9RkHacnJ0qDjTPRDmx1JP5nA4zucKPBxMNHXMrdZXa-rRZQ6tPOCgMxfqIOwTyo/w300-h400/1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I felt sorry for it. It wasn’t frightened of me when I took
a photograph and it seemed to be looking for company.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We passed this sign and I wondered if I should have one in
my garden. It’s such a good excuse.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIBwfGa8mLIItSI6vVrw-N4Qs6z0FfzeYMO8decGIqMSLyPhL6ZNhRsFFmfrNvkAUC9x9kaHUUSbp26anbmYBz2NFh00U_5Dk6-2sCgNIdRJYatT8yurcoTOJNcGwPSgcNIx5GAizekd4jxR6QEsHY7VKbq1ABG7PBs3pWgLcpbogXyqdUQYxOEuy/s4000/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIBwfGa8mLIItSI6vVrw-N4Qs6z0FfzeYMO8decGIqMSLyPhL6ZNhRsFFmfrNvkAUC9x9kaHUUSbp26anbmYBz2NFh00U_5Dk6-2sCgNIdRJYatT8yurcoTOJNcGwPSgcNIx5GAizekd4jxR6QEsHY7VKbq1ABG7PBs3pWgLcpbogXyqdUQYxOEuy/w400-h300/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I walked on and because my mind was empty, because I’d
‘taken March off’, because this was a day out, not only did I notice things but ideas – mainly about
writing – flooded in.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">That’s the lovely thing about a canal. It’s hypnotic and
soothing. You don’t have to
negotiate ups and downs. You don’t have to worry about where you’re going. The
path stretches out in front of you, unmistakable, as does the water.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">After an hour so, we turned back and, with sun and wind now behind us, everything was
different. A lovely view confronted me, a medley of soft greens, blues and
pinks. For a moment, I thought I was in the Mediterranean.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ucA4BayJub-s3bw18KCSLJQ-S6HBETUHM4LDgzgPdKcdrzEWD7Sd_i-QkVHxO9ODBExBbHFkfxv-Rr7DxY8RMCwovvLh4PO8_dgTfrr6VPPkW_DreCdfKkEdQ0DzMtteMFj7mdXrr3y-uwSm2nZy3E2yKOf9aj8fn2KNrouZRSEJ51HJm5fae5kV/s3916/4%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2969" data-original-width="3916" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ucA4BayJub-s3bw18KCSLJQ-S6HBETUHM4LDgzgPdKcdrzEWD7Sd_i-QkVHxO9ODBExBbHFkfxv-Rr7DxY8RMCwovvLh4PO8_dgTfrr6VPPkW_DreCdfKkEdQ0DzMtteMFj7mdXrr3y-uwSm2nZy3E2yKOf9aj8fn2KNrouZRSEJ51HJm5fae5kV/w400-h304/4%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Spot the dog</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">This mallard pair, almost invisible on the opposite bank, stood
motionless above their reflections as Ellie and I walked by. I’ve seen them
there before, on their log.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dRj2R1X2nSppsD1odI_6sApefqBcPX51DQTCctbcSPskkqpkKmuLntGXVLvMogTwcsjCMJolLxY7n1tyQ6TLtqfqDoV4KXUvib_nguWZUMjwmnFeP4YIBSU3mVz83vuMPOPjHMTJOmhQ7q50d1wIp1LWI-KUw6UT3RVEt7eV9AsARRXRf3_yGUvW/s4000/5%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dRj2R1X2nSppsD1odI_6sApefqBcPX51DQTCctbcSPskkqpkKmuLntGXVLvMogTwcsjCMJolLxY7n1tyQ6TLtqfqDoV4KXUvib_nguWZUMjwmnFeP4YIBSU3mVz83vuMPOPjHMTJOmhQ7q50d1wIp1LWI-KUw6UT3RVEt7eV9AsARRXRf3_yGUvW/w400-h300/5%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We came across the duck again, further up the canal, trying
to make friends with another mallard pair. It looked so sad. I really hoped for the
best for it. Maybe next time I visited the canal it would have found others of
its kind.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNY_AIZVoVtGiM7LFO0-JS7JKROeukzcaEil5uO09_0-ZTTIm_IjeIJXws8hTCkPswzb3o05peFNqvkNykXMKtAA891T2DLc_jo86un6FvsZdX2qLDRb6NwBHz5NsyuptezlMbLs4GS7HVpRtGPR6LQ8kGpTiQ3UbC51TyPMAn0IEb14E5wkHvGwT/s4000/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNY_AIZVoVtGiM7LFO0-JS7JKROeukzcaEil5uO09_0-ZTTIm_IjeIJXws8hTCkPswzb3o05peFNqvkNykXMKtAA891T2DLc_jo86un6FvsZdX2qLDRb6NwBHz5NsyuptezlMbLs4GS7HVpRtGPR6LQ8kGpTiQ3UbC51TyPMAn0IEb14E5wkHvGwT/w300-h400/6.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-26495106580479048492023-02-28T13:24:00.003+00:002023-03-01T06:39:07.135+00:00Talking of Time<p>Unsurprisingly,* I’ve been thinking a lot recently about Life
and Death.</p><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday, as I sat on the hill, trying to work out what Life and Death were
and how to explain the connection between them, I suddenly had the idea that
this life – the one made up of physical matter and Time – is like travel,
whereas Eternity is our home.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As I’ve said before, I do believe from both direct
experience and because it makes so much sense, that we live more than one life.
Through our lives we learn and develop our spirit. In between lives we return
to where we came from – Eternity. Life therefore is a sort of gap year and Death
is simply the journey home.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I liked that.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And talking of Time, on Sunday I went for a walk with my
friend C, her dog Darcy (aka Bert) and my dog Ellie. We climbed a path new to
me, called Armour Lane because of its connections with the Civil War.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWor65jU9ZGR_kJAyx4MFirBbDmn5rtBp1OMdyFJgXbNqDBvmpcgbJcYOORrhQiVxv3tcm1jYKxrnTVcJwlc9OZMAAmc_-20CCV7BwprDpoTIsxjtqI2f87KbDTxg36epRtU_n45MQGv3wAs3wS3PFm7OTg7xXiGsGlswpjKWpGYovydo7Re0ptS-/s3264/armour%20lane%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWor65jU9ZGR_kJAyx4MFirBbDmn5rtBp1OMdyFJgXbNqDBvmpcgbJcYOORrhQiVxv3tcm1jYKxrnTVcJwlc9OZMAAmc_-20CCV7BwprDpoTIsxjtqI2f87KbDTxg36epRtU_n45MQGv3wAs3wS3PFm7OTg7xXiGsGlswpjKWpGYovydo7Re0ptS-/w300-h400/armour%20lane%20(2).jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Armour Lane, with C,
Darcy/Bert (the small black dog in the distance) and Ellie (the fluffy
black-and-white dog<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">(The distortion on the left of the picture is I think caused
by me putting my finger over part of the lens by mistake. Oh dear.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the way up we passed Armour Wood, also named after its connection with the Civil War.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ecrxL46lLnwy78eC1N0qnL_OJlvo5R-lPNBeYxzeRBg3iFB03z78VaCYgtGB6Jk3OqV8m2yHg6gyEH8SBN_MP53rcptGlA7as6Z4IgfcmsVuUZqMLZh6vVsvTNitdZ_EYUQCUmdf6408TDsWaQs_F3b_goSwLdmL4iyDf9KRpieIFwApGqbsD-ct/s4000/armour%20wood.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ecrxL46lLnwy78eC1N0qnL_OJlvo5R-lPNBeYxzeRBg3iFB03z78VaCYgtGB6Jk3OqV8m2yHg6gyEH8SBN_MP53rcptGlA7as6Z4IgfcmsVuUZqMLZh6vVsvTNitdZ_EYUQCUmdf6408TDsWaQs_F3b_goSwLdmL4iyDf9KRpieIFwApGqbsD-ct/w400-h300/armour%20wood.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Armour Wood</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately the wood is privately owned and not open to
the public so this is all we saw of it</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Near the top we paused to look at Parliament Cottage, so
named because the Parliamentarians used it as a base - but for how long or how many times, C didn't know.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6C192Ozd0dY6SEnxkl5rLGX_65kTG2tN-eqJTU8mupmZ9yWyoQCkN1sq_Tjjh59_zyvT0zqWkAa1pu9c5tdlBkb6Z2VCnPE8DHHREfxKRrg9ulioMqkleHL9jecXRRxYRV3lDrMby64zHYpd7OGtt8azrAZZJrRviiIOMPxI8KfJ0Rpws9DS89mrc/s4000/Parliament%20cottage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6C192Ozd0dY6SEnxkl5rLGX_65kTG2tN-eqJTU8mupmZ9yWyoQCkN1sq_Tjjh59_zyvT0zqWkAa1pu9c5tdlBkb6Z2VCnPE8DHHREfxKRrg9ulioMqkleHL9jecXRRxYRV3lDrMby64zHYpd7OGtt8azrAZZJrRviiIOMPxI8KfJ0Rpws9DS89mrc/w300-h400/Parliament%20cottage.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parliament Cottage</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">At the top, there were views all the way to the coast.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP72FQb1Tnzoft9PG69U9U4Xit5uSOphoI6BG-To9c6lHK6hvg8XCKKdEEJD861W9dkIEPJZ2CIfg49kcYb7evvLp2OQ_1fUd8UxhSb31wqDMS7Z5ZWa_3UHOjjnCeoC903r8oI4JZ9HZsNbK3MyEjspsq16zGQhD7i8y6SveQYmTr3EdmTZD1Keew/s4000/view%20from%20top%20of%20armour%20lane.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP72FQb1Tnzoft9PG69U9U4Xit5uSOphoI6BG-To9c6lHK6hvg8XCKKdEEJD861W9dkIEPJZ2CIfg49kcYb7evvLp2OQ_1fUd8UxhSb31wqDMS7Z5ZWa_3UHOjjnCeoC903r8oI4JZ9HZsNbK3MyEjspsq16zGQhD7i8y6SveQYmTr3EdmTZD1Keew/w400-h300/view%20from%20top%20of%20armour%20lane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The views from the top of Armour Lane</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">C showed me this sign designating the track a County Road
(And, yes, my picture <i>is</i> the right way up. The sign is pointing back <i>down</i> the path.)<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9xLP87BbuAitquJNLjdS00Q2duRkH1OQtqqxWQQO2yx1ruSQcTtBkY3Gw6-dNkn-HChohdfx8beKDvuDocF3EXixKqg37FvVL1LbunFhCf4jtGypsvt2ZrI6e6i5lsBIEOuPGDYT7cmtW8bMUY8qjTO6vTegjVO3i7mMmrougilnqYDx5SN65RlI/s4000/County%20Road%20sign.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9xLP87BbuAitquJNLjdS00Q2duRkH1OQtqqxWQQO2yx1ruSQcTtBkY3Gw6-dNkn-HChohdfx8beKDvuDocF3EXixKqg37FvVL1LbunFhCf4jtGypsvt2ZrI6e6i5lsBIEOuPGDYT7cmtW8bMUY8qjTO6vTegjVO3i7mMmrougilnqYDx5SN65RlI/w300-h400/County%20Road%20sign.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>County Road sign</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">What a County Road is, I have yet to find out (Google not
being any help) but C says Armour Lane was once a major route, and W G Hoskins
(in his classic book <i>The Making of the
English Landscape</i>) says that many long-distance paths date back to
prehistoric times.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Nor did Google help me with any of my other questions about the area and its past.</p><p class="MsoNormal">It
always amazes – and pleases me – that there is still so much to discover
about our history and countryside.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">*<span style="font-size: x-small;">given that Frog, my husband of 44 years, died suddenly
of a heart attack last year, aged only 69</span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-35775932159839138712023-02-17T06:54:00.007+00:002023-02-22T06:25:18.615+00:00February is the cruellest month<div style="text-align: left;">T S Eliot in <i>The Waste
Land</i> says that April is the cruellest month and I’ve always agreed with
him, finding the mixture of winter’s torpor and spring’s stirrings almost
unbearable at times, particularly when I was in my early twenties and so lost
and confused.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Then I met Frog and for forty-four years he propped me up.
Now I’m on my own again and returning to that difficult time, learning all the
lessons that I didn’t learn then.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Yesterday I took refuge in My Secret Wood. I haven’t been
there for a while because it’s dark and damp over the winter. I had one of my
migraines and couldn’t manage any of my usual prayers and affirmations and
spiritual musings. So I just sat there, on the ground, and Ellie sat with me,
twitching her nose. Luckily, now she’s twelve and a half, she doesn’t need to
rush around all the time.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>The first bluebell leaves were pushing through and I
realised that it’s now February that’s cruel. With climate change, spring starts two months earlier. And, with the start of spring, comes the conflict between old and new.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I know from experience that I feel closest to Frog when I accept - even welcome - my current circumstances and the fact that he's gone to another place, wherever and whatever it is. But it's hard to let go of my grief. It's almost like an illness that has to run its course.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">People say that the grief never goes. Instead, you build a new life around it; you get better at dealing with it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Spring comes in fits and starts, and so does recovery, I suppose.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bbAffWP0jkiGhA020KUHM_4uPZEgHl5FuIunWyDQBmQr4ycKJejUvU1pOx6b5ZgAZxrbyNrpGjLuYLW2cwGsV_HloBcFGapQS77LZPf5hMgKlztUvtYnKsD_UbkEmQcqAzi26llnlIvhMcdMBe-aoHuB2A6StuAqucAHEoPid0pJrmcLh__Dbd6F/s4000/IMG20230216142506.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bbAffWP0jkiGhA020KUHM_4uPZEgHl5FuIunWyDQBmQr4ycKJejUvU1pOx6b5ZgAZxrbyNrpGjLuYLW2cwGsV_HloBcFGapQS77LZPf5hMgKlztUvtYnKsD_UbkEmQcqAzi26llnlIvhMcdMBe-aoHuB2A6StuAqucAHEoPid0pJrmcLh__Dbd6F/w300-h400/IMG20230216142506.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My Secret Wood</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbbaV8uX9ELRGBSn35y78Q9QKrOcFqN9hFN8IcsmzntXfvSwRUTJrELQZsNLFT-tLNy3aaVii8CF4kVMfwf8HtcGu4fab-32FHQMNGWX-chShzPBramfZDNiNGOgcDwgFRcje7caxUOIYzpqdmiA40UBGTAQC8jFmcEhewEoqA9_X99p5OKjjV-Kl/s4000/IMG20230216142349.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbbaV8uX9ELRGBSn35y78Q9QKrOcFqN9hFN8IcsmzntXfvSwRUTJrELQZsNLFT-tLNy3aaVii8CF4kVMfwf8HtcGu4fab-32FHQMNGWX-chShzPBramfZDNiNGOgcDwgFRcje7caxUOIYzpqdmiA40UBGTAQC8jFmcEhewEoqA9_X99p5OKjjV-Kl/w300-h400/IMG20230216142349.jpg" width="300" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The first bluebell leaves on the floor of My Secret Wood</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-72921175620526661172023-02-12T16:20:00.001+00:002023-02-12T16:20:13.256+00:00What I noticed<p> Here is what I noticed on my walk this afternoon.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_AZuOqIUc1zA1wpkNhqiBsqTRYS6Yb_9ei_PoSmdWXBiUm2M-fdikm_1IL-mLOopRHzfQ5x21q7ETrPmeH12crw7UX2Row_uuc1AMha1wCYYGBO87mw-l58eAPzJP2B_LMymn6S5QYw-zvUsNhB0XNrg-_fU_UaT21X5MqxncPfmw00Et7jMWTrG/s4000/IMG20230212141331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_AZuOqIUc1zA1wpkNhqiBsqTRYS6Yb_9ei_PoSmdWXBiUm2M-fdikm_1IL-mLOopRHzfQ5x21q7ETrPmeH12crw7UX2Row_uuc1AMha1wCYYGBO87mw-l58eAPzJP2B_LMymn6S5QYw-zvUsNhB0XNrg-_fU_UaT21X5MqxncPfmw00Et7jMWTrG/w300-h400/IMG20230212141331.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The entrance to a gnome house?</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjOXappcBFKcndIj0ThC3YSHeRJWnhzZdCOygvNdjovLP6N_CsUlJelM9eqzdmz3W6pIFyJwB8_oHYWp7Gs0GdwVPia2NQfn9-4_tR6XrJs5uI42hC2Ym3CMZ8FaiQGHMcPGnhHlwgPkwfOVvOqNtE2qKlAwRtaShTRGL8b1HC6vfxDd6wpmutLB0/s4000/IMG20230212142728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjOXappcBFKcndIj0ThC3YSHeRJWnhzZdCOygvNdjovLP6N_CsUlJelM9eqzdmz3W6pIFyJwB8_oHYWp7Gs0GdwVPia2NQfn9-4_tR6XrJs5uI42hC2Ym3CMZ8FaiQGHMcPGnhHlwgPkwfOVvOqNtE2qKlAwRtaShTRGL8b1HC6vfxDd6wpmutLB0/w300-h400/IMG20230212142728.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another little house, which lives in . . .</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhxqHDRcGUs413p9u_bdyPCsepmYAYg07LonpsIhb1oueZp1fnBCLrgmRXWhCaao24ArhgIzhvXkEdyfG-827F9rvp7MT18TSNIWy_5-xZj0yTRGmp0TRB17llM-ixtdvpWEch4pSZm1e5XWtPGgtI8_qxaB-zgn1JT-wIXsS1URzucu8D_iDfmMb/s4000/IMG20230212143423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhxqHDRcGUs413p9u_bdyPCsepmYAYg07LonpsIhb1oueZp1fnBCLrgmRXWhCaao24ArhgIzhvXkEdyfG-827F9rvp7MT18TSNIWy_5-xZj0yTRGmp0TRB17llM-ixtdvpWEch4pSZm1e5XWtPGgtI8_qxaB-zgn1JT-wIXsS1URzucu8D_iDfmMb/w300-h400/IMG20230212143423.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">. . . this self-sufficiency village </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0bqHGKf-gGRo3WO7tlOdwbjS6gWlQMKKVOTZ6jyuKISBsersVzyfPpkEA-UFKT_x8zXuUX6VlD0jrA1-xpcwipaFIYYT8pzH2qCvnU_AQAc9RfBXYyVfBtdaZteDdQwkSS769w-w2gZDJtW-aEBQloK6cd0DPyBkgqWw2UxhDdGDufSENqIDRo0o/s4000/IMG20230212144137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0bqHGKf-gGRo3WO7tlOdwbjS6gWlQMKKVOTZ6jyuKISBsersVzyfPpkEA-UFKT_x8zXuUX6VlD0jrA1-xpcwipaFIYYT8pzH2qCvnU_AQAc9RfBXYyVfBtdaZteDdQwkSS769w-w2gZDJtW-aEBQloK6cd0DPyBkgqWw2UxhDdGDufSENqIDRo0o/w400-h300/IMG20230212144137.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What a <a href="http://roselle-angwin.blogspot.com/ ">poet friend</a> once called a 'selvedge' of light on the horizon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxB-lkoW8g56BN_ieiOC99vLBYRSYh5ClYv7XnLiY_mhgCP5fBndIr8cfJdJ1ZdnjxboKI-hp3pQWyov9xCS5M0UpCNKWGzV78j9Zy_1AGUGFFVUF2kUA69MDEQj2WsJBflWgFK7nKtHKqQMu04ByBuD5BOfkZvgSAw3N9_m0Sc9WEHJfRo8F_Bqf/s4000/IMG20230212151613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxB-lkoW8g56BN_ieiOC99vLBYRSYh5ClYv7XnLiY_mhgCP5fBndIr8cfJdJ1ZdnjxboKI-hp3pQWyov9xCS5M0UpCNKWGzV78j9Zy_1AGUGFFVUF2kUA69MDEQj2WsJBflWgFK7nKtHKqQMu04ByBuD5BOfkZvgSAw3N9_m0Sc9WEHJfRo8F_Bqf/w300-h400/IMG20230212151613.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>One of the many celandines that have started popping up in
the last week. Welcome to you all, oh harbingers of spring!<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I also noticed a hawthorn tree covered in leaf shoots and my favourite acid yellow lichen, but it was right at the beginning of the walk and I didn't think it was important to photograph them because I didn't yet have the idea for this post. It turned out that I should have. Let that be a lesson to me to listen to my instincts.</p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-70044562625910344852023-02-04T06:30:00.004+00:002023-02-04T08:15:51.166+00:00So much beauty<div style="text-align: left;">Even though this is a tough time of year, there’s still so
much beauty to be found – and especially so with the recent fine weather.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><o:p> </o:p><o:p> <br /></o:p>Here (below) is a magnificent oak. I love tree skeletons just as
much as trees in full leaf, if not more so. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(As so often, my world is tilted. Usually I correct the pictures, but I didn't notice this one until I'd uploaded it and now I can't be bothered to change it.)<o:p><br /></o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBgS5ur5wWHYUDSEBjx4f23HWJz1Fu20_9CWRfYD6vSSe-s2ZS-DLeaF6bytGzkgLHV2Kg3mJmT-NGUcc3UKLeqNMyquXqvozznVke28Ah5gK1YzRg_vrDTkb6tdYZWhGghZPFPisRcO0ALSm7ZKvUM_WPrh1HyDN6R7y7noj2ygCHKr7RXxzARYd/s4000/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBgS5ur5wWHYUDSEBjx4f23HWJz1Fu20_9CWRfYD6vSSe-s2ZS-DLeaF6bytGzkgLHV2Kg3mJmT-NGUcc3UKLeqNMyquXqvozznVke28Ah5gK1YzRg_vrDTkb6tdYZWhGghZPFPisRcO0ALSm7ZKvUM_WPrh1HyDN6R7y7noj2ygCHKr7RXxzARYd/w300-h400/3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I adore the bluey greys of this view. They make me want to
be a watercolourist – but I had fun nonetheless with my new smartphone camera
trying to capture the exact shade of light and dark as I saw it (as advised by
Carol of <a href="http://www.lifeofpottering.co.uk/">Life of Pottering</a>).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoa4qRKp8zlHDw3fJ4MjfFKdaSqcjfYGGAWBvRm5aNDazAS7jmj19fVjbZwg2Ihqpk-7NGwC_xIeUU9Ph55SODBKL8Fv2TIRFSOqX2RyeLnhZeKtR4VO5Cg42Xhs41Qjhcu1SWqIfeECroPjlyIh8lIJN1yV2OnNLM2QeMvsWNToaXXdIeudNqhhNq/s4000/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoa4qRKp8zlHDw3fJ4MjfFKdaSqcjfYGGAWBvRm5aNDazAS7jmj19fVjbZwg2Ihqpk-7NGwC_xIeUU9Ph55SODBKL8Fv2TIRFSOqX2RyeLnhZeKtR4VO5Cg42Xhs41Qjhcu1SWqIfeECroPjlyIh8lIJN1yV2OnNLM2QeMvsWNToaXXdIeudNqhhNq/w400-h300/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For some reason these distant hills remind me of <i>Lord of
the Rings</i>, and the little hobbits trudging through vast swathes of wild
countryside. I think it’s because Frog had a Tolkien map or perhaps some
pictures that looked like this – I must try and find it/them.|</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is My Secret Wood from the outside – a glorious
multi-hued tangle, soon to burst with new life.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-POVnc9X8Jr32dzvwI1pmcjhBzRhpTXPDtRb-4iOEgDJowvHJHaoeYC9gaA8QNrkmmKvHLw3-MHel6yzzfb1s2Szo71V5VmFxAaufj6oBNPdt_ghABzrYmO6igQhcneuX7gGKIBcO6KY1aLkSXXvNVtf8ap-mQnRBg5X645iOFEfAlHyLF8vC4h7e/s3945/1%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2941" data-original-width="3945" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-POVnc9X8Jr32dzvwI1pmcjhBzRhpTXPDtRb-4iOEgDJowvHJHaoeYC9gaA8QNrkmmKvHLw3-MHel6yzzfb1s2Szo71V5VmFxAaufj6oBNPdt_ghABzrYmO6igQhcneuX7gGKIBcO6KY1aLkSXXvNVtf8ap-mQnRBg5X645iOFEfAlHyLF8vC4h7e/w400-h299/1%20copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the road that meanders along the ridge of the hill
behind the house. Round every corner is a fabulous view. Here are the three
beech trees in a line that I’ve mentioned before.</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEsjFXMrrK3WmbanvSvX-7zzEEPQJvAm9rjPr7eFaRZNuKXcEkIrX3ngUlhl6WfHGnjiYXRiKRIppKUkiOSY6B3fePZmzk1-xsfI5RcpDaNpBBVINg4Hu_281OYYbmyuij4hQCAJ-zDGRZRSGbV7S4rxQtamSX-QuNQJ4vLyQdWf1n4CPUWv5A3hR/s3821/2%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3821" data-original-width="2812" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEsjFXMrrK3WmbanvSvX-7zzEEPQJvAm9rjPr7eFaRZNuKXcEkIrX3ngUlhl6WfHGnjiYXRiKRIppKUkiOSY6B3fePZmzk1-xsfI5RcpDaNpBBVINg4Hu_281OYYbmyuij4hQCAJ-zDGRZRSGbV7S4rxQtamSX-QuNQJ4vLyQdWf1n4CPUWv5A3hR/w294-h400/2%20copy.jpg" width="294" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And, just in case you think that winter is a drab time, here is some lichen that leapt out of the hedge at me in a psychedelic way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglAUogtt9Z970_CdJ-fTZTsXWNN7EfuBHvs_CohMahD2SFFxbIaggxTMRe0snmA98Efckat5M_c7eaLEAWV1vnr8JmfKyLUV2x6fEGfX987wN0FAjvMSYkf_LddGGnwhez7cQFxxj3xdqEpMOlejeQBHttTaZ3S5gOVWtuv7d0c6SM2QbNcD95uNgL/s4000/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglAUogtt9Z970_CdJ-fTZTsXWNN7EfuBHvs_CohMahD2SFFxbIaggxTMRe0snmA98Efckat5M_c7eaLEAWV1vnr8JmfKyLUV2x6fEGfX987wN0FAjvMSYkf_LddGGnwhez7cQFxxj3xdqEpMOlejeQBHttTaZ3S5gOVWtuv7d0c6SM2QbNcD95uNgL/w300-h400/1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-9592811136485234122023-01-26T06:42:00.005+00:002023-01-26T08:46:50.322+00:00A halo of light?<div style="text-align: left;">In the previous post, I said that even grey days have their
charm. Here is some proof from yesterday which was both frosty and foggy.<o:p> <br /></o:p><o:p> <br /></o:p><b>In the vineyard</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the field behind the house, used in part as a
vineyard farmed organically – hence the lovely long grass.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOfnk-Tk3iLWG6yI1zInygV2MuFOK9j91_EU6ngZCG1KVoOMNG2moIYUu6x2Jq278R2gpZb5qMG9XSjH966aCAiHivdxiCvZk33M81azEgtpN8T2ZFhCA7n1ZrCQ2VQXD70oKu_BsvXUM98s1dhrsjXO6gRQ_s__UtqE70Q5fXWRB7rZkm1gS5OdL/s4000/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOfnk-Tk3iLWG6yI1zInygV2MuFOK9j91_EU6ngZCG1KVoOMNG2moIYUu6x2Jq278R2gpZb5qMG9XSjH966aCAiHivdxiCvZk33M81azEgtpN8T2ZFhCA7n1ZrCQ2VQXD70oKu_BsvXUM98s1dhrsjXO6gRQ_s__UtqE70Q5fXWRB7rZkm1gS5OdL/w300-h400/1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><o:p> <br /></o:p>To my eye this scene was much whiter and more wintry than it
appears in the picture, but that may just be my eyes. After all, the camera is
much younger than I am.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p><br /><o:p> <b><br /></b></o:p><b>On top of the hill</b></div>Here I am on top of the hill behind the house where three beech trees stand
in a line, perhaps the remains of a hedge. This is two of them. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18a1uKRZLz_Z33xbd0_WLPsLgS_mNEfqwzTTo35Ko32IMnf7q3DHP234U_YVSVoiUmhgG91TQvR-ZufvPsFybgiuOegiIBuTMcL1onvAWm1JmSzKwnDhph-ntoLJkZsjXlLQcPZbz34XfvgTWgjtUbsqB2MgWwX1P8JPtUFO9LQgZfV35O6PLhDcY/s4000/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18a1uKRZLz_Z33xbd0_WLPsLgS_mNEfqwzTTo35Ko32IMnf7q3DHP234U_YVSVoiUmhgG91TQvR-ZufvPsFybgiuOegiIBuTMcL1onvAWm1JmSzKwnDhph-ntoLJkZsjXlLQcPZbz34XfvgTWgjtUbsqB2MgWwX1P8JPtUFO9LQgZfV35O6PLhDcY/w300-h400/4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmOvNuGcJLAwX5M9R3vMPe90dPlRgHyYAcXJ_s1scfHQbkrpBorXJMNffGE35POPkExvenpW_bw9WobaX9ifPBU3Rjw7GyTQIuFU0279l7HBNvzuXEgXXdvUpU2shEawHEWCdxXuDiAz0527_nOqbPoi3JnfKxgV0dDoUn_gJ994BNFRkdBVbTegK/s4000/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmOvNuGcJLAwX5M9R3vMPe90dPlRgHyYAcXJ_s1scfHQbkrpBorXJMNffGE35POPkExvenpW_bw9WobaX9ifPBU3Rjw7GyTQIuFU0279l7HBNvzuXEgXXdvUpU2shEawHEWCdxXuDiAz0527_nOqbPoi3JnfKxgV0dDoUn_gJ994BNFRkdBVbTegK/w400-h300/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> </o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><o:p><br /></o:p>Am I dreaming or is there a halo of light around both trees?<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's interesting that the pictures have come out in different colours. In the first one I'm facing west and in the second north. In this case the camera is more sensitive than I am, because I hadn't noticed any difference.</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div></div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-52374990250322499032023-01-24T07:21:00.003+00:002023-01-25T06:22:48.779+00:00Wild and free<div style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The sky<br /></b><o:p> <br /></o:p>One place that’s still (mostly) wild and free is the sky.
It’s never the same twice and always beautiful and inspiring. (Even grey days
have their charm!)<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Here are some pictures I took yesterday.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFkzA4hr_OIWqfoLeEvQD5KMvR4woD5GAlq9m80nHrJiPC4P_uj-TqUaZBgixDrw3u-2KmSi2DBvlk9f-wd3R5AmCiIyvkX_eaI8RFBDu1m8U1KYvdaCQsJZPuLJnArrOZeiUOLxlNlvipGR-VKAyZMi2b2RSz3WtCXHxVFZunNLn_hutcI4RgG3d/s4000/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFkzA4hr_OIWqfoLeEvQD5KMvR4woD5GAlq9m80nHrJiPC4P_uj-TqUaZBgixDrw3u-2KmSi2DBvlk9f-wd3R5AmCiIyvkX_eaI8RFBDu1m8U1KYvdaCQsJZPuLJnArrOZeiUOLxlNlvipGR-VKAyZMi2b2RSz3WtCXHxVFZunNLn_hutcI4RgG3d/w300-h400/2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF53UqzYHDdSitaQm4w7F0KW7F3xyk3byF4QC0Qzb_VRIQLcdcZw3JqKjjoX5IoUm6A2wdGD6iAOp0TbKF3EoU0j55eHjlblF8p8BMYEc-xnxUyhvu2r_ABNHfPBnzcR1Jn2ktkrWGiHKbAew4B0vLJvCDrQhFYfaPMM_bTTqvi8ubcmaWs8yCTkA6/s4000/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF53UqzYHDdSitaQm4w7F0KW7F3xyk3byF4QC0Qzb_VRIQLcdcZw3JqKjjoX5IoUm6A2wdGD6iAOp0TbKF3EoU0j55eHjlblF8p8BMYEc-xnxUyhvu2r_ABNHfPBnzcR1Jn2ktkrWGiHKbAew4B0vLJvCDrQhFYfaPMM_bTTqvi8ubcmaWs8yCTkA6/w300-h400/1.jpg" width="300" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>I’ve always known these long thin strands of cloud as ‘angel
hair’. I thought that was their official name but a quick Google reveals that
Joni Mitchell used the phrase in the song ‘Both sides now’ (1967). Whether she
was the first, I don’t know. It’s a lovely description, anyway.<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s7Xi5Zu06HiJy3f8fj07gnaf3uHEjK2dK9S2R8hsyVIF9ayiqQ0SaTQwaMrCst1W2LmJXYmFaBS1zlems3hpmJfxjRfOr-FWC1bf2V42UzVR3iTBXXdEZEkWBAQjYb8XJBBKbLNkdUsOtUejuLt2UOwWzv6sQJ6qWnM7x0c8k_S507qd97v1kPfP/s4000/4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s7Xi5Zu06HiJy3f8fj07gnaf3uHEjK2dK9S2R8hsyVIF9ayiqQ0SaTQwaMrCst1W2LmJXYmFaBS1zlems3hpmJfxjRfOr-FWC1bf2V42UzVR3iTBXXdEZEkWBAQjYb8XJBBKbLNkdUsOtUejuLt2UOwWzv6sQJ6qWnM7x0c8k_S507qd97v1kPfP/w300-h400/4.jpg" width="300" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Last night’s sunset with a just-past-new moon (new last Saturday) and Venus.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><o:p> <br /></o:p><o:p> <br /></o:p><b>Right to roam<br /></b><o:p> <br /></o:p>Talking of wild and free, I’ve recently signed up for the campaign <a href="http://www.righttoroam.org.uk">Right to Roam</a> started by Nick Hayes (author of <i>The Book of Trespass</i>) and Guy Shrubsole (author of <i>Who Owns England?</i>). I’ve read the first book but not the second (yet).</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLsnS5QBpOHlA4hInsvpdBysSzDoM9lHaS_zEffbkQcm1CnNgaMkqHj4ifAhq1jtKTTFfESAZKii80_hSLIBYPlY4ZuyTUs7oDH8K05vvp1heAv3V2trMN29McJ3B1JXly-bCw0W7qfzF5gqlaGbtpqRwM4yw-7kFC95m4_sFusr8LF-KmSuVruoi4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="212" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLsnS5QBpOHlA4hInsvpdBysSzDoM9lHaS_zEffbkQcm1CnNgaMkqHj4ifAhq1jtKTTFfESAZKii80_hSLIBYPlY4ZuyTUs7oDH8K05vvp1heAv3V2trMN29McJ3B1JXly-bCw0W7qfzF5gqlaGbtpqRwM4yw-7kFC95m4_sFusr8LF-KmSuVruoi4=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQjAHZvr6afbew7uxNu7gyAoh1O_65e9kaHG74q9WQCVre5YSAtyUo4gj2XO8GPIxRn7toT8fY92zXjnyYFjx2ZMM4OYREoTp9_USBdqjMYRlF6OEFLArreo5yJlIpSg4lJFYjOX0K2hvetffghKoejAJ-9xoCTLge0ebgMnVOQeVHwFL-Y2cESX-b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="193" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQjAHZvr6afbew7uxNu7gyAoh1O_65e9kaHG74q9WQCVre5YSAtyUo4gj2XO8GPIxRn7toT8fY92zXjnyYFjx2ZMM4OYREoTp9_USBdqjMYRlF6OEFLArreo5yJlIpSg4lJFYjOX0K2hvetffghKoejAJ-9xoCTLge0ebgMnVOQeVHwFL-Y2cESX-b=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><o:p> <br /></o:p>They present the shocking fact that we are banned from 92% of England’s countryside and 97% of its rivers, which is wrong on so many counts that I won’t even get started (for the moment).<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Although since Frog died just over a year ago I haven’t watched or listened to The News (as it’s called – although to my mind most of it is slanted scaremongering Olds), I believe there’s been a recent protest on Dartmoor when a new landowner banned wild camping (or ‘camping’ as we used to call it before there was such a thing as non-wild camping).<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Thank goodness for people like Nick and Guy.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ellie</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>And here, just for fun, is my angel. She's <i>very</i> wild and free (even though she pretends otherwise).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbhN9oxtZqfeFOcsgaCEpjR8wV6kf9g15klyPzKxgn2KuiypU3Pf0EDp744lrVWwXEIG825vIxX80UrVRWeAhWT2QEcGzuDcJaT3L2Bt0NmuQdKD-wFMJ-IRTS6YXnG_Gt4Ohg9ixhE3Px1B_0V1-cdiV8Vqyl1vGdhR-6GO7EbkBXDLwaZLBMOsQ/s4000/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbhN9oxtZqfeFOcsgaCEpjR8wV6kf9g15klyPzKxgn2KuiypU3Pf0EDp744lrVWwXEIG825vIxX80UrVRWeAhWT2QEcGzuDcJaT3L2Bt0NmuQdKD-wFMJ-IRTS6YXnG_Gt4Ohg9ixhE3Px1B_0V1-cdiV8Vqyl1vGdhR-6GO7EbkBXDLwaZLBMOsQ/w300-h400/3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-19079921251799177532023-01-19T06:56:00.003+00:002023-01-19T09:18:15.749+00:00Winter walks and smartphones<p>I’ve long held out against smartphones as the last thing I
want is to be contactable at any time. I like going for long walks and getting
away from it all. I like doing one thing at a time. I like feeling in charge of
my own life. I prefer emailing to texting because I can do it on my full-size
keyboard at home and take time to think before answering. Why would I want to
pay £20 a month when at the moment I pay about £20 a year? Why use up more of the earth's resources by replacing something that still works?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recently however I’ve begun to worry that I’m getting so far
behind with technology that I’ll never catch up. Everybody else communicates by
text and my fingertips are cracked from pounding the numbers on my ancient
phone as I answer them. A friend has suggested listening to audio books at
night when I can’t sleep and that I could do this on a smartphone.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, last week I took the plunge and got one. Most of it I
hate and find far more difficult than my old phone. For example, it’s ten
stages to dial 999 whereas it was two before. Friends assure me that I’ll soon
sail through, but my list of questions gets longer and longer. To my surprise, however,
I’ve taken to the camera.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve been using it over the last three days on my walks and here are the
results – to begin with, in my opinion, a bit iffy but getting better by the
third day! </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I should probably be doing this on Instagram . . . I'll let you know if and when.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Monday</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSCqjbbrSM4YGH2CmMMtiWIrJLE-nGaxAW8wnOJWydKKXdLfMUFzOajNyVhEbgGUvKPzfWZA0EwVUrY0NDuVmCf5B-4_FGN5YDlYCYDizBdOL-8cxZxB-AFTmlDtAPRuZeVSYDyHesh97tg__g6toBYvDMcf1Vf-d-JnghRk9Blqqj1axZ_itr35b/s4000/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSCqjbbrSM4YGH2CmMMtiWIrJLE-nGaxAW8wnOJWydKKXdLfMUFzOajNyVhEbgGUvKPzfWZA0EwVUrY0NDuVmCf5B-4_FGN5YDlYCYDizBdOL-8cxZxB-AFTmlDtAPRuZeVSYDyHesh97tg__g6toBYvDMcf1Vf-d-JnghRk9Blqqj1axZ_itr35b/w300-h400/1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0je1vYLkdPcZvtaeDeObAFaNNIlpE6P4_ddGyXW2lKM_RfaaLhlByBgn8R_6HUOBHVNN3RAR2uVkvOnMECUghTG2HUawJ1QCKUUVbH3eJne02mqr3Tbht8E_rPW6LEYs_ue91GeTTNfa713lLr_emXxMc1yIeyVXSBFGLKcqhOS8sCMT733LzZx0T/s4000/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0je1vYLkdPcZvtaeDeObAFaNNIlpE6P4_ddGyXW2lKM_RfaaLhlByBgn8R_6HUOBHVNN3RAR2uVkvOnMECUghTG2HUawJ1QCKUUVbH3eJne02mqr3Tbht8E_rPW6LEYs_ue91GeTTNfa713lLr_emXxMc1yIeyVXSBFGLKcqhOS8sCMT733LzZx0T/w300-h400/3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Tuesday</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nV93ZcHPCgLonbhJWS0wceyiZmF6C7VkpPA-zldWV542qzAmwAtkj2fMi0_ZuzGqbR9AqsxE2wQj4dquT4GnvtnzUVxFoEckHH5x6s5H2VXZl_xL4H2aT9c3kutEB9uaJGMqejYUDnVRJ22zZT5z1yQOlTgQsOQStMzDG8ZnIqAMQQNyVPSc_ix4/s4000/IMG20230117095651.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nV93ZcHPCgLonbhJWS0wceyiZmF6C7VkpPA-zldWV542qzAmwAtkj2fMi0_ZuzGqbR9AqsxE2wQj4dquT4GnvtnzUVxFoEckHH5x6s5H2VXZl_xL4H2aT9c3kutEB9uaJGMqejYUDnVRJ22zZT5z1yQOlTgQsOQStMzDG8ZnIqAMQQNyVPSc_ix4/w300-h400/IMG20230117095651.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4toLU-FmnOfDRfNEyYnUQNpiewwn1avUJ47zniHpW8ihaDxh7_n96ibzMbC7OZ_WmZsDmiSjriSNZu3urpFNsaa_yRXii2vDhZW_ecEM-ITk68cS6cZCJ3lxNQ_JcEQv4JEoqKTtqC-KMFvFi9jr1kdc07K_8im3TZEhpylBnYM16bQp-lQl1U5iz/s4000/IMG20230117095713.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4toLU-FmnOfDRfNEyYnUQNpiewwn1avUJ47zniHpW8ihaDxh7_n96ibzMbC7OZ_WmZsDmiSjriSNZu3urpFNsaa_yRXii2vDhZW_ecEM-ITk68cS6cZCJ3lxNQ_JcEQv4JEoqKTtqC-KMFvFi9jr1kdc07K_8im3TZEhpylBnYM16bQp-lQl1U5iz/w400-h300/IMG20230117095713.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQXT54CGzapaQ3_EwWRhaXcAAiT2YsXwNYnoJURoiOVT_CeTRBiAKqoMkIFcLYXTGbGB6k8CQD8DeBIgnFJDDVnpP2XSRqz6iljRemgWS10LbXOfh6_g1buk2ZTSFltjryrnWd12BhHxqT9E7PBfADpTkC-KCK9ikxhIfvnI4CTl9XydYhRoT8mIA/s4000/IMG20230117100452.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQXT54CGzapaQ3_EwWRhaXcAAiT2YsXwNYnoJURoiOVT_CeTRBiAKqoMkIFcLYXTGbGB6k8CQD8DeBIgnFJDDVnpP2XSRqz6iljRemgWS10LbXOfh6_g1buk2ZTSFltjryrnWd12BhHxqT9E7PBfADpTkC-KCK9ikxhIfvnI4CTl9XydYhRoT8mIA/w300-h400/IMG20230117100452.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Wednesday</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZPz9wStwvmV-C-cx6IALJvoCUmi0XQtSO6FVw6bVMkYOso89xPIo5Vp4bTMQ6zud0TiMO-ttt-3P-nWWNP3wCsYgVAv2W-pIBjA8pR1g2yexgl7lI4oOBXGuZJTPsLXoz__uuMQHlXXO9QK3FSfnVgP7bTKSoMsx_Wl2NsCVlmzKjKOjjsSL2u_F/s4000/IMG20230118092431.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZPz9wStwvmV-C-cx6IALJvoCUmi0XQtSO6FVw6bVMkYOso89xPIo5Vp4bTMQ6zud0TiMO-ttt-3P-nWWNP3wCsYgVAv2W-pIBjA8pR1g2yexgl7lI4oOBXGuZJTPsLXoz__uuMQHlXXO9QK3FSfnVgP7bTKSoMsx_Wl2NsCVlmzKjKOjjsSL2u_F/w300-h400/IMG20230118092431.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0J407lzrSJHUK__I34-Wb05Vxd1M3sfzkDagSrtirgKT7s3TLWNZuZo5Lz5C4eQjP-r4e2wokbncx5cYTmXFv_qGd21c43TI0CzzpKyqtUTurdImSQ_W1WsprlYXz1TvL-Kk_37u-Dn1S2tRlSDxwGOMqR2k2Hm7AeegouFu4LlFjShleO43lOK7/s4000/IMG20230118092448_BURST000_COVER.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0J407lzrSJHUK__I34-Wb05Vxd1M3sfzkDagSrtirgKT7s3TLWNZuZo5Lz5C4eQjP-r4e2wokbncx5cYTmXFv_qGd21c43TI0CzzpKyqtUTurdImSQ_W1WsprlYXz1TvL-Kk_37u-Dn1S2tRlSDxwGOMqR2k2Hm7AeegouFu4LlFjShleO43lOK7/w300-h400/IMG20230118092448_BURST000_COVER.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1SwnRsbIxwmQZfMUnIpHMnZWfw4ShkfHygpPkqx3RKyzPJPaEkOX2R-Hq-DIBcMy66KTKCBBesVFqQPECG3fuclH9XFUW_fPoQJGTGprm3TMpc0xnCR735uE1PPKxiudMdEu3EZ8duTFXwp3BJ_shT-3b4OPeexfmYFGqNYoDMYwOVACBfZ1-86s/s4000/IMG20230118103636.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1SwnRsbIxwmQZfMUnIpHMnZWfw4ShkfHygpPkqx3RKyzPJPaEkOX2R-Hq-DIBcMy66KTKCBBesVFqQPECG3fuclH9XFUW_fPoQJGTGprm3TMpc0xnCR735uE1PPKxiudMdEu3EZ8duTFXwp3BJ_shT-3b4OPeexfmYFGqNYoDMYwOVACBfZ1-86s/w300-h400/IMG20230118103636.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-47435792727910610192022-10-28T06:58:00.006+01:002022-10-29T17:27:04.516+01:00How wonderful life is<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"> Since the beginning of April, at the suggestion of the
counsellor I’m seeing, I’ve been keeping a Notebook in which I try and write
down all my thoughts and feelings. I’m now on Volume 4.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>It’s become my best friend and helps me acknowledge the
upheaval that’s going on inside (since Frog died, in early January), instead of dashing around being busy and
pushing everything to the dark dusty corners of my mind, for attention When I Have
Time – which is of course (in my case) never.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>This morning, after two good nights’ sleep (a rarity), I
wrote the following.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Perhaps I can be glad
that I met and lived with Frog and that he is still alive somewhere.<br /></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘How wonderful life is, now he’s in the world.’<br /></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And, god willing, we
will be together again.<br /></i><o:p> <br /></o:p>Those are probably the first truly hopeful words I’ve
written in the Notebook, which is why I’m sharing them with you.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>(As you may – or may not – have noticed, I’ve been silent here
for a couple of months. That’s been for several reasons:<br /><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->There was too much going on my head to begin to
be able to write something coherent<br /><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I had the Notebook and that was enough<br /><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I was too miserable.)<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Here too, now I’m on a roll, are some pictures from the last
few months.</div><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVkQPQeqeiIf6jj-Dkm-WuF6J8xc3h1z5y5mkRxL35JYTwhvEXgjjgyrz1JIc-WR7wixMXn6e4RjvUwifoxIbXodcJvehWVxQuCZn1BIQmWimHVdpjQByhOiezMom1bzS970IhN836abjaXxf_NISpwPjcu9Fxrf_4DcLmJ4-Dyu3HXV6mV9BGTKO/s1576/004%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="1576" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVkQPQeqeiIf6jj-Dkm-WuF6J8xc3h1z5y5mkRxL35JYTwhvEXgjjgyrz1JIc-WR7wixMXn6e4RjvUwifoxIbXodcJvehWVxQuCZn1BIQmWimHVdpjQByhOiezMom1bzS970IhN836abjaXxf_NISpwPjcu9Fxrf_4DcLmJ4-Dyu3HXV6mV9BGTKO/w400-h294/004%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Scots pine that answers to mine. (<a href="https://belinda-whitworth.blogspot.com/2022/06/scots-pines-and-leys.html" target="_blank">See earlier post</a>.) </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4X5wo_iCh1B-hRR1eW04sN68kTJ6AjZpQV4nPGR7jOLxHCihiYxO3vjMijCUMmPn6JzL9-tll1q-4G_e2SQZEmvY86qKjNq5_cR5ip1qEDanf_lg4D_dqm5HjpAgBDL57VgUu7bS9cYN8Slrr2M64gqXcFdslXqpVkW8eFm1CJmEhMUrh9xJLkla_/s1600/005.JPG" 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/AVvXsEg4X5wo_iCh1B-hRR1eW04sN68kTJ6AjZpQV4nPGR7jOLxHCihiYxO3vjMijCUMmPn6JzL9-tll1q-4G_e2SQZEmvY86qKjNq5_cR5ip1qEDanf_lg4D_dqm5HjpAgBDL57VgUu7bS9cYN8Slrr2M64gqXcFdslXqpVkW8eFm1CJmEhMUrh9xJLkla_/w400-h300/005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal">Looking through the mudra of my Scots pine to the hill where
the other one lives. (It’s hidden behind that stand of trees, which is new
Scots pines.) Thanks to my friend C for the idea for the picture.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98sYwut4xrESETHtW-7o4w4yWLUQmvQEpBT3mWoTaHBa8X-LZV1080TsAWTIKkyw9CngQc-mW5L80-nou8czTm450ENjSO3fMXzwFx3oIzrA8MECru8N3BNGui9EH3jIsl1aAroj_CVdCovq2Lvs2XhOH7RBbriI556SmMKWqhYBdDXNSK-4rK3w2/s1600/002.JPG" 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/AVvXsEh98sYwut4xrESETHtW-7o4w4yWLUQmvQEpBT3mWoTaHBa8X-LZV1080TsAWTIKkyw9CngQc-mW5L80-nou8czTm450ENjSO3fMXzwFx3oIzrA8MECru8N3BNGui9EH3jIsl1aAroj_CVdCovq2Lvs2XhOH7RBbriI556SmMKWqhYBdDXNSK-4rK3w2/w400-h300/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good crop of fat acorns</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImZeq46EZOHi1GnPcZITzHA6k8q3jJyrPPZ0izx5NPtIwQxnMMZj1LIDZaJSAhi_f68Dvt9OEKYy1_dv6JXOncNgNFjKkDySciAcwFPHkMtHxVrQH1eHj3H1QfL6bLAwL_EwapvOxpIPJPrJVIlFBIuGDpnyaCWawDHo5LvfuLgthm3CvxxbgAHJg/s1600/002.JPG" 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/AVvXsEjImZeq46EZOHi1GnPcZITzHA6k8q3jJyrPPZ0izx5NPtIwQxnMMZj1LIDZaJSAhi_f68Dvt9OEKYy1_dv6JXOncNgNFjKkDySciAcwFPHkMtHxVrQH1eHj3H1QfL6bLAwL_EwapvOxpIPJPrJVIlFBIuGDpnyaCWawDHo5LvfuLgthm3CvxxbgAHJg/w400-h300/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A puffball nearly as big as Ellie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBN5RTi_5eIzwsg9MEvKcvJXPMGw5aUfLfLMLgB1qw0PgLMbu78YgKM6m6yxrUUKbW5yqPNuGJrU3CiE70hQ8mb1_L7YIMVEcyKsMkpVqnZpo-mqyouS5bfMz-lDSO6-4whu8dJtd2-gbQ6rXWyfMCYfcKNFFe3gOydPcsl0CHeNKkf177XcrfQSGm/s1600/002.JPG" 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/AVvXsEhBN5RTi_5eIzwsg9MEvKcvJXPMGw5aUfLfLMLgB1qw0PgLMbu78YgKM6m6yxrUUKbW5yqPNuGJrU3CiE70hQ8mb1_L7YIMVEcyKsMkpVqnZpo-mqyouS5bfMz-lDSO6-4whu8dJtd2-gbQ6rXWyfMCYfcKNFFe3gOydPcsl0CHeNKkf177XcrfQSGm/w400-h300/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the distant Scots pine (and my friend C and her dog)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-34858523402067805232022-08-15T09:38:00.005+01:002022-08-15T12:21:10.501+01:00August (so far) in pictures<div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Scots pine and friend</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzitVg3H65ZahxK8C9AYIxjQKZB656bQdett4l438pceS51E7Bby9A7AtglwiTvEGPsC5TWcjUZCTiWyYSFsDEBEuhAWUvkUpVB8SDptevWW-bwdflYhcxcNb0sBg-tOGjTtI_9FZDyYLt3oinlyw1JeiPIZl72vLE_7U1yDPFHTtp_YKLgSHXKq5R/s1600/004.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzitVg3H65ZahxK8C9AYIxjQKZB656bQdett4l438pceS51E7Bby9A7AtglwiTvEGPsC5TWcjUZCTiWyYSFsDEBEuhAWUvkUpVB8SDptevWW-bwdflYhcxcNb0sBg-tOGjTtI_9FZDyYLt3oinlyw1JeiPIZl72vLE_7U1yDPFHTtp_YKLgSHXKq5R/w400-h300/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>A view of my Scots pine friend (the tree slightly left of
centre at the bottom of the picture, with its thumb and forefinger together)
and the hill (right) whose crown is the home of the Scots pine it connects to. (See <a href="https://belinda-whitworth.blogspot.com/2022/06/scots-pines-and-leys.html">previous post</a> for more about this connection.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The hills on the far horizon are probably Dartmoor. Usually
I can tell what’s Dartmoor because it’s yellowy-brown, whereas the rest of
Devon is green. Now everything is yellowy-brown except the trees, and they’re
starting to lose their leaves - through drought I think, not through cold and
the waning of the light.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gleaming gold</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96bKafrwM1_sJDYwn7vbhreYRGlkNtnUBX0G1qFptIrYHnjdxWsiP0gTc-uGJSfSAeMGsQdsSl-ujtJTgBcHDlD31wlJQalW9E2oXKK-t_xWsZQbqqPmLlZWdKwy7CrYkXP8wLKZOqAQkb1zQFzkdzF1z_ZOS8bKo5lI9Yg43o01W8hjddRsctAbN/s1600/001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96bKafrwM1_sJDYwn7vbhreYRGlkNtnUBX0G1qFptIrYHnjdxWsiP0gTc-uGJSfSAeMGsQdsSl-ujtJTgBcHDlD31wlJQalW9E2oXKK-t_xWsZQbqqPmLlZWdKwy7CrYkXP8wLKZOqAQkb1zQFzkdzF1z_ZOS8bKo5lI9Yg43o01W8hjddRsctAbN/w400-h300/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuf1BdinHX_tw65utOskWk4Lu5npt1SDlTcVFhnv5F2yUqk1V-2hQZ_576nEc6FdfdN9WAeavlfvrliWFf7vXtc8fu6KQVLgGbdft2NrimykCzNGvnppQgDHB6zxw3MNDUXnkVeyR5BOIfRdIPGgkv2FOnPh2i52pq0GIxiMp5D3FcehEdX9Zmi_b/s1600/003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuf1BdinHX_tw65utOskWk4Lu5npt1SDlTcVFhnv5F2yUqk1V-2hQZ_576nEc6FdfdN9WAeavlfvrliWFf7vXtc8fu6KQVLgGbdft2NrimykCzNGvnppQgDHB6zxw3MNDUXnkVeyR5BOIfRdIPGgkv2FOnPh2i52pq0GIxiMp5D3FcehEdX9Zmi_b/w400-h300/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was out early on the morning of this picture and the cut
corn (?) was gleaming gold in the low sun.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Ellie and Aeryn<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNZqhYXO5_TwGFiPfAN_KzlzzTgAT9Xh_dS0GdND233WZukMB9A1kEbEW6hkCsboNq7-7GocYGiRqcoIdkLLRHezuvMcfBrhQ9YWzs_9lcPg11qFl57bGNF1CKv2lVbMJt5xQzY2dHtjkmCAW7kvYB3483rShrtKs-k0uA2khLbrngxMRz7QkXbjX/s1511/008%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1511" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNZqhYXO5_TwGFiPfAN_KzlzzTgAT9Xh_dS0GdND233WZukMB9A1kEbEW6hkCsboNq7-7GocYGiRqcoIdkLLRHezuvMcfBrhQ9YWzs_9lcPg11qFl57bGNF1CKv2lVbMJt5xQzY2dHtjkmCAW7kvYB3483rShrtKs-k0uA2khLbrngxMRz7QkXbjX/w400-h281/008%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WfmWGXn8xsC8jkyi8mIJzbiQCanJ8n_ssxjDSEBtWLfFZqYDoN3iIQIBT7ut84JCOY77q8kS-i9aatiHSYfXD2k234pnaBTvdRLALP-LGl7AbfzPsDthIUyuqsFUYNa42xRFU_DyBhxQuzoQZJEYCz3hStY4X-PzTiYKMm3_rIMac_kOw6ENlnzv/s1483/009%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1483" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WfmWGXn8xsC8jkyi8mIJzbiQCanJ8n_ssxjDSEBtWLfFZqYDoN3iIQIBT7ut84JCOY77q8kS-i9aatiHSYfXD2k234pnaBTvdRLALP-LGl7AbfzPsDthIUyuqsFUYNa42xRFU_DyBhxQuzoQZJEYCz3hStY4X-PzTiYKMm3_rIMac_kOw6ENlnzv/w400-h274/009%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2jjm4ZKvmGCOOKb53w8K3l-ItcwT-ZhwqrLFeeOJghR-tec1rWhHS6XMnA76APrD56Dg3RfDQB-ei3-GloXaShyjHBSPPqiLkArXepQRRf4NY_0ARBVpBukj2H6GfoHcWzL4PDU5u6QRx7gPKzm6g0pXZ4pAaRRnMGErEhjUpkwiSVNnqnI3LLfI/s1600/014.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2jjm4ZKvmGCOOKb53w8K3l-ItcwT-ZhwqrLFeeOJghR-tec1rWhHS6XMnA76APrD56Dg3RfDQB-ei3-GloXaShyjHBSPPqiLkArXepQRRf4NY_0ARBVpBukj2H6GfoHcWzL4PDU5u6QRx7gPKzm6g0pXZ4pAaRRnMGErEhjUpkwiSVNnqnI3LLfI/w400-h300/014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Last week a lovely niece of Frog’s came to stay with her
8-month-old Akita, Aeryn. Aeryn is a delightful dog, affectionate, good-natured
and well behaved. Unfortunately Ellie, an old lady of twelve years, took
exception to her and snarled whenever she came near. Aeryn couldn’t understand
why Ellie didn’t love her as everybody else did and followed Ellie around. Only
on walks did Ellie tolerate her, and here they are exploring the gravel banks
on a local river. Aeryn (left in the first two pictures and right in the third)
is still following Ellie around however.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Moon</b></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Rai1tgVMu9N3OSgcLWkWsSQWY82Ni0BFN1Qxd2aMHq39T1i7kTw9HQe1w2MfmALz9RKLUgWY7WoX1fI-mg8VIq8yIDOBc0vVbCbJT4V4IAOTtgqSUx6HznFOpNg82TUwQVcqfW6nCSePBdRUe3dZAKExOoTUzudSteGoqG1LgR7A_mJtTZ7iT9Xa/s1600/001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Rai1tgVMu9N3OSgcLWkWsSQWY82Ni0BFN1Qxd2aMHq39T1i7kTw9HQe1w2MfmALz9RKLUgWY7WoX1fI-mg8VIq8yIDOBc0vVbCbJT4V4IAOTtgqSUx6HznFOpNg82TUwQVcqfW6nCSePBdRUe3dZAKExOoTUzudSteGoqG1LgR7A_mJtTZ7iT9Xa/w400-h300/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The moon a few hours short of being full. To my eye it
looked orange-ier than this, but this is what my camera saw.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Roots<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LnN5Rz2J4ptjvxNEUzsX53swGV3-PCPHIuwUmtAfqFkxveb1tzn_RqmUefU9D-damN3Ja2Ep-3xA5N3W4NkNVgy0P8XkgAG9_v4wA9LBuBzPYvcLGb4m5kHzgScAq_joL2rPJFR8HLVQLZA_tJLvlXVq--9c-_GPLdKGARIFcsrNpaFtuF083WNc/s1600/004%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LnN5Rz2J4ptjvxNEUzsX53swGV3-PCPHIuwUmtAfqFkxveb1tzn_RqmUefU9D-damN3Ja2Ep-3xA5N3W4NkNVgy0P8XkgAG9_v4wA9LBuBzPYvcLGb4m5kHzgScAq_joL2rPJFR8HLVQLZA_tJLvlXVq--9c-_GPLdKGARIFcsrNpaFtuF083WNc/w400-h300/004%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I took this picture last Friday, on the hottest day of the
year so far. I had taken refuge in the shade of this beech tree, having climbed a
steep hill to get there. As I got up to leave, after a good half an hour
cooling off, admiring the view, doing my affirmations, crying and talking to
Frog and God, I became transfixed by the tree’s roots.<o:p></o:p></p><div>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are three beech trees in a row on this hill and you can just see
one of the others in the hot white background. Judging by the roots, the ground
was once higher and I often wonder whether the three trees were part of a
hedgerow.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As usual in my pictures, something is wonky, but as the
trees appear to be leaning at different angles I can’t tell what the vertical
line is and I’ve left things as they are. </p></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><b></b></div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-17333680156777159992022-08-05T10:36:00.001+01:002022-08-05T10:38:52.357+01:00Shooting star<div style="text-align: left;"> <i>I first published this
post earlier in the week but then I took it down because I thought it was so
awful. I’ve now decided to publish it anyway, good or bad. It was what I wrote
at the time.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>I would also like to
thank my very old friend B (old in the sense that I’ve known her a long long time),
with whom I spoke on the telephone last night for the first time in decades,
for expressing an interest in my mad metaphysical ideas and saying that she
read and liked the blog. Perhaps I’ll inflict my novel on her next . . .<o:p></o:p></i></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1o2KuHuBr3BAiZnoN9RgbNO3jUhyRokf2GbHsR8U_jGB64D60cBb1-KgoEM6rL7K1fQ5VR6RKHQVzTXDJlRfEoSLIw8fVrjgiZjo-WuSpsSKp8py9mDgRXHjf4MmFFAwM3MqMAW0oEn7NbRd4aQnZGT4ksHznVnloDvd1rICYnK15AQSn2i3Qb0PQ/s301/download.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="167" data-original-width="301" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1o2KuHuBr3BAiZnoN9RgbNO3jUhyRokf2GbHsR8U_jGB64D60cBb1-KgoEM6rL7K1fQ5VR6RKHQVzTXDJlRfEoSLIw8fVrjgiZjo-WuSpsSKp8py9mDgRXHjf4MmFFAwM3MqMAW0oEn7NbRd4aQnZGT4ksHznVnloDvd1rICYnK15AQSn2i3Qb0PQ/w400-h222/download.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As you might have gathered by now, if you’ve read this blog
before*, it’s my metaphysical beliefs and experiences that are getting me
through the months since Frog’s death in January and giving me hope for the
future. Among these are:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-We live more than one life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-We meet again those souls that are important to us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-There is relevance to everything that happens and we can
learn from it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-On a higher plane that we’re not necessarily aware of, we
choose everything that happens to us. We’re not victims.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-We create our own future through our imaginations. If we
visualise what we want and ask providence for it with total conviction –
whatever its downsides – we will get it. As they say, beware of what you ask
for!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-The world is made up of matter, energy and meaning. Meaning
– sometimes called spirituality - is therefore part of what we are too. We deny
it at our peril.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Having said all that, I’m not perfect (sadly) and sometimes
the whole edifice crumbles and I’m back in the workaday world, tired, cross and
miserable. I’m disconnected. I’m overwhelmed by my hard sceptical self. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Over the weekend I was in that sort of state. None of my
prayers was answered. I was lost and alone. In the middle of Sunday night when
I couldn’t sleep, I went and sat outside and had a bit of a rant, asking God
why s/he had been so quiet lately.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkuybG-vGYCUPcZHa46ndVlpMwDdNpd2Kzb_PWOV3qyenFwhZFew3Mho9PtSskBLSgbCmhSZRwH6tLNXL6X4JA-ptLbwrQ6FrsqnuXPahA2DEkiH2jdV2HiyN8WgPabJd_NPJACvPxlmB-VQBg_PaHQ-ib2G1NUYhyiJHa_7UNyP8RhEHXaNX0f0G/s1783/2%20of%20swords.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1783" data-original-width="1026" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkuybG-vGYCUPcZHa46ndVlpMwDdNpd2Kzb_PWOV3qyenFwhZFew3Mho9PtSskBLSgbCmhSZRwH6tLNXL6X4JA-ptLbwrQ6FrsqnuXPahA2DEkiH2jdV2HiyN8WgPabJd_NPJACvPxlmB-VQBg_PaHQ-ib2G1NUYhyiJHa_7UNyP8RhEHXaNX0f0G/w230-h400/2%20of%20swords.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> ‘And I’ve not seen
a shooting star for months,’ I complained, shooting stars being something I’ve
always seen as messages from God. ‘If only you could send me some sort of <i>proof</i>.’</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know of course
that you can’t ask for proof or chase meaning. They come when they want to,
usually when you’re concentrating on something else. So I knew what I was doing
was useless. So then I started to cry. I’ve been doing a lot of that over the
last few months. In fact, crying is what I do most when I’m alone. I like
crying. I know where I am when I cry. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheryl, my tarot
teacher, had always said that emotions were the gateway to the soul. They certainly
are for me, and unblocking my emotions is part of what I’m learning at the
moment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly, to my
left, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the streak of a shooting star and in
an instant, without me doing anything, and before I’d even thought about what
had just happened, I was back. I was me. I was whole. The world was once again
alive and beautiful.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoR5xvz6AdbxL1YH1rq9eBdrJZExOeuaKl-YFiN1rJU6ATFHWqVMndnRL488LPjcvkmh3RwPjOETpNdWhd_KTkRFGZwsZruxXYaTJY5LBRtjW1nQHhShcd8gHjRlWLlQb3p3E9f3Hxv1HW5PT12UR5eqo0MMyRPqGboj-Ka9rHYnOZYeFKQ-vuxW0j/s1805/HERMIT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1805" data-original-width="1050" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoR5xvz6AdbxL1YH1rq9eBdrJZExOeuaKl-YFiN1rJU6ATFHWqVMndnRL488LPjcvkmh3RwPjOETpNdWhd_KTkRFGZwsZruxXYaTJY5LBRtjW1nQHhShcd8gHjRlWLlQb3p3E9f3Hxv1HW5PT12UR5eqo0MMyRPqGboj-Ka9rHYnOZYeFKQ-vuxW0j/w233-h400/HERMIT.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">As I made my way to bed, full of thanks and relief, I
realised not only that God had a sense of humour but that the hard sceptical me
was only <i>part</i> of me. She might take
over sometimes but that didn’t mean she was right. Surely, I could find a way
to deal with her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>To be continued . . .</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Hello to my two new followers, soleil and Gail. You are
very welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p> </o:p><i>Notes on the pictures</i></span></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The cards pictured above come from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cosmic Tarot</i> by Norbert L<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ösche. This was the pack with which Cheryl taught me how to read tarot cards over twenty years ago. I still use it. Neither of
the people on the cards looks like me and there wasn’t a full moon on Sunday
night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I’ve taken the shooting star picture from
Google. Thanks to the unnamed copyright owner.</span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-72783005355052517212022-07-12T07:27:00.004+01:002022-10-29T17:34:14.102+01:00I believe<p style="text-align: left;">I’ve mentioned before how I knew when I met Frog (back in
1977) that we’d been together in previous lives. I’ve also said how I heard
Frog say to me a month or two ago (after his death) that he was with me all the time and guiding
me. I haven’t mentioned before how every time I pray to God for help (and
really mean it), help comes.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">These and other spiritual experiences are now forming the
basis of a whole new way of being for me and a whole new way of understanding
the world. I’m building up a framework of beliefs and practices that hold me
together and give me a reason for carrying on.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Because these beliefs – or perhaps ‘knowings’ – are peculiar
to me, it’s hard to talk to most people
about them. Either people don’t understand or they think I’m a crackpot. Nor
are they something people do talk about. Sometimes, therefore, the whole new
framework collapses, leaving me bereft and confused and alone in a meaningless
world.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">One of the few people – if not the only person – who does
know about my new spiritual world, is my counsellor, EH. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> ‘It’s like a house
of cards,’ I said to her when I saw her last week.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘I don’t see it as
that,’ she said. ‘I see it as a ‘new house’. It has strong foundations and some
rows of brick at the bottom. Higher up, it’s wooden, but you are slowly
cladding the wood with brick.’<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was
enormously reassuring, and we talked about how just changing words can help.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> On Sunday, I released myself from my to-do list and wandered
with the dog to my secret wood. As I walked and as I sat in the wood and soaked
in its beauty, I started to form a creed, and here it is.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> <i>I believe, <b>because</b> it’s mine</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> I believe what makes
me happy<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> It makes me happy
because it’s right (for me)<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> I believe in myself<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> I believe</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I hope you understand.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE9c0_E5bLoeDkXx-NuOQ-WU27GNpunuw6KEtWwdI_p7RVtgna2_hf61ux4tfplPAVf3WFMr2car-x64YSyeB2d_P6ikMzQRcw27b9Z-qWxzPfdjkjSdJXzWV4IyI8QSTLxw0vbv-NyaXP8PbqvTd_HwLG2hkdCzt-nWGc5a4to1X2zK7qA0b45GN/s1600/002.JPG" 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/AVvXsEjGE9c0_E5bLoeDkXx-NuOQ-WU27GNpunuw6KEtWwdI_p7RVtgna2_hf61ux4tfplPAVf3WFMr2car-x64YSyeB2d_P6ikMzQRcw27b9Z-qWxzPfdjkjSdJXzWV4IyI8QSTLxw0vbv-NyaXP8PbqvTd_HwLG2hkdCzt-nWGc5a4to1X2zK7qA0b45GN/w400-h300/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A perfect English summer's day</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpDsAy6aW64EKjBpGQLOBQYCruV2Eoy6kgSjkWSy-HDI4JtwUivSYjzX2hni9h1ymKTBUhJzyUlaKW63gok7xbg1KjcJgQdRYENiXTj0IBgM1xS0y__NtdGZdHWwQQP491ubmNCuUr_lUSvoLxdjjbaDUarA5tr3lkv76S9LCiaQj_g7ndoE1dDLD/s1600/003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpDsAy6aW64EKjBpGQLOBQYCruV2Eoy6kgSjkWSy-HDI4JtwUivSYjzX2hni9h1ymKTBUhJzyUlaKW63gok7xbg1KjcJgQdRYENiXTj0IBgM1xS0y__NtdGZdHWwQQP491ubmNCuUr_lUSvoLxdjjbaDUarA5tr3lkv76S9LCiaQj_g7ndoE1dDLD/w400-h300/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmQjsRvkdL7OuRhx7cv0HmxNEjLZxDPZxdmVSrFAMZr5MgOaa3vUqcadU0ArBb9AhTpmhkggQub7dYgOB8n1ZlRrg_s4xk1Pm2lHKKF7uI1qYgYmEnvhbm8wxG20OzSJ-55tA0Kz3kL1_xqNO4UEm_zunsdnvycf7jDkq40xox4OIUPU_7XtGFFmq/s1600/004.JPG" 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/AVvXsEhPmQjsRvkdL7OuRhx7cv0HmxNEjLZxDPZxdmVSrFAMZr5MgOaa3vUqcadU0ArBb9AhTpmhkggQub7dYgOB8n1ZlRrg_s4xk1Pm2lHKKF7uI1qYgYmEnvhbm8wxG20OzSJ-55tA0Kz3kL1_xqNO4UEm_zunsdnvycf7jDkq40xox4OIUPU_7XtGFFmq/w400-h300/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In my secret wood: a glorious interplay of sun and shade</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIuOQQoqnS4EjgcfDmXRtvMY5nBsaeGEDXEcAfWPtjdyC9twxVYp1nX6Qty3lR4JQ18Qb-doLa8C-0JVyHaCJPcfac4tueE1V0Ffe0OmYYdTzJeGRN__hCK_Z-YQpe7bBvVRcr2wn3HqQflAe-k5vmU4_waGYfwjEdXOGXKnJMS39ASvkK4htP8ncd/s1600/006.JPG" 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/AVvXsEhIuOQQoqnS4EjgcfDmXRtvMY5nBsaeGEDXEcAfWPtjdyC9twxVYp1nX6Qty3lR4JQ18Qb-doLa8C-0JVyHaCJPcfac4tueE1V0Ffe0OmYYdTzJeGRN__hCK_Z-YQpe7bBvVRcr2wn3HqQflAe-k5vmU4_waGYfwjEdXOGXKnJMS39ASvkK4htP8ncd/w400-h300/006.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A spider's web at the base of a moss-covered beech tree.<br />It's swaying like a curtain of mist in the gentle currents of air on the floor of the wood.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-24451693342817592362022-06-26T11:06:00.009+01:002022-06-26T16:03:18.232+01:00A spell in the Garden of England<div style="text-align: left;">When I’m with my brothers and sisters, my grief for Frog is
not so bad. They seem to fill in the hole that his death has left in my life.
Sadly, they all live in the South East, four hours’ journey (at least) from me
here in the South West.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Ten days ago however, I was lucky enough to spend a week
with my brother J and sister-in-law K in K’s family house which happens to be
in the same Kentish village as the houses of my two sisters.<br /> <o:p> <br /></o:p>Actually, it’s not happenstance at all. We were all brought
up in that village. K’s house is separated from the house my family grew up in
by only a couple of fields and a river, and K attended the same local school as
me and my sisters. My brother therefore married the girl next door (and I hope
J and K won’t mind me saying that).<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Whereas Devon is wide open and rolling, cosy in parts and
dramatic in others, Kent is unbelievably pretty, more like a garden than
working countryside.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGb32LlPTBErkMZuxoLgh20mUJML0agxGxak_8J0638a-1FK2zIrxZM2F_AueEMsrYAHK037iVnJS2WfTSGVXjNBn8mUg7c7Iz2QYEfB_k9GdFKX8wRx3iA5SMhMTTYO9IvlldpOge-USUKx140aqUX6hPMwgiKg6w6Mmpc10z6QdwPIICYLaTV3l/s1600/028.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/AVvXsEhLGb32LlPTBErkMZuxoLgh20mUJML0agxGxak_8J0638a-1FK2zIrxZM2F_AueEMsrYAHK037iVnJS2WfTSGVXjNBn8mUg7c7Iz2QYEfB_k9GdFKX8wRx3iA5SMhMTTYO9IvlldpOge-USUKx140aqUX6hPMwgiKg6w6Mmpc10z6QdwPIICYLaTV3l/w400-h300/028.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><i>Not for nothing is
Kent known as the Garden of England.<br /></i><i>You can hardly see the village here for
its thick cover of trees</i></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">K’s house is a mill house dating from the sixteenth century,
with uneven wooden floors and a warren of rooms, easy to get lost in. It lives
on an island enclosed by three arms of a river. Greenery abounds – both exotic and
native, nature rules, and the whole place is full of magic.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7_I-gVNC5JuRmnT0HbwddZSnd4eKPyEAPGG2c8XMsi4AdHqjE902vZUB_4sErhnMEcZvtHYLQREYTCpvpNpHBkrwmE27IUF5zGkFaX5FD8vjVyUGx_L7sH3HKe_hnr7LU-IRbYRAPeQ6Kc5XZtK3PnirvKTWKM_9QX4sqrw9YC8ZqvSB2fryeL4K/s1600/061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7_I-gVNC5JuRmnT0HbwddZSnd4eKPyEAPGG2c8XMsi4AdHqjE902vZUB_4sErhnMEcZvtHYLQREYTCpvpNpHBkrwmE27IUF5zGkFaX5FD8vjVyUGx_L7sH3HKe_hnr7LU-IRbYRAPeQ6Kc5XZtK3PnirvKTWKM_9QX4sqrw9YC8ZqvSB2fryeL4K/w400-h300/061.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRkD2dj_VO_0ZWUm00-_cZdT8wKGCAl8dnmnLJBzIKXwsl7T8WY4Z491XYzDvWoBim7Q2ZpDxF23jMA8C73i35enLeQPRGfL7dyHc5XsC0O26hAMVjlRIMUl5COw7D3cpEZdk80lOH_JiB7l9xxZ9DUUz_qNqdE94em6Rvcg-aCjlbtJQNT89IAuf/s1600/069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRkD2dj_VO_0ZWUm00-_cZdT8wKGCAl8dnmnLJBzIKXwsl7T8WY4Z491XYzDvWoBim7Q2ZpDxF23jMA8C73i35enLeQPRGfL7dyHc5XsC0O26hAMVjlRIMUl5COw7D3cpEZdk80lOH_JiB7l9xxZ9DUUz_qNqdE94em6Rvcg-aCjlbtJQNT89IAuf/w400-h300/069.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjef-lL9eqnAx00SwE435WQr4qow6YAmvv6iS-e2gttIhmvY8NOMMO-cbPagdlfe50_-DbQrqkOJcWICbZChGqmyfQ2VmhVTBiErr35ShAcXqU_BZoVN9tckH91tcs6FfiOfkGqkaCxCURx1sWgsxQjIexWjnWqWWIB3dwHyiGfATXRcg7fPQRIi1_F/s1600/074.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/AVvXsEjef-lL9eqnAx00SwE435WQr4qow6YAmvv6iS-e2gttIhmvY8NOMMO-cbPagdlfe50_-DbQrqkOJcWICbZChGqmyfQ2VmhVTBiErr35ShAcXqU_BZoVN9tckH91tcs6FfiOfkGqkaCxCURx1sWgsxQjIexWjnWqWWIB3dwHyiGfATXRcg7fPQRIi1_F/w400-h300/074.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Mill House</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-EaaUfbSU5CKwkNiIorXJwGgiau56JPHo4oBMP-B2pn_UW0wsRywRj3KtTJ2DGiTpeW8ShMIPu_G5XbHFtV5Qavj0bRlgw1FbK63nAVzFsDBqNnluAc3akPDzpLenH_5xiC1_x51wBosTPjKHT05oXLq7vduVTaflewoXLo5IIthuWS283GIyQ49/s1600/060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-EaaUfbSU5CKwkNiIorXJwGgiau56JPHo4oBMP-B2pn_UW0wsRywRj3KtTJ2DGiTpeW8ShMIPu_G5XbHFtV5Qavj0bRlgw1FbK63nAVzFsDBqNnluAc3akPDzpLenH_5xiC1_x51wBosTPjKHT05oXLq7vduVTaflewoXLo5IIthuWS283GIyQ49/w400-h300/060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJElxv0a0rZqxxOOmZlK2faSvq9R2xbyrMlHz0vFszG-_UCe-GSJmhwbPVnIqN5ThMUMQBntwzjy4_5hg3svS8is6QFGJw5toQ3ChrTj5MpHF9T3qQeDIOqtPDqckX66ZIJwz8edOr9ywp2h_8cre9syHxOfkf87uOzQBV9tr3PUwUN_7jxG4_v9ac/s1541/066%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="1541" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJElxv0a0rZqxxOOmZlK2faSvq9R2xbyrMlHz0vFszG-_UCe-GSJmhwbPVnIqN5ThMUMQBntwzjy4_5hg3svS8is6QFGJw5toQ3ChrTj5MpHF9T3qQeDIOqtPDqckX66ZIJwz8edOr9ywp2h_8cre9syHxOfkf87uOzQBV9tr3PUwUN_7jxG4_v9ac/w400-h299/066%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOT0bIRO7QZl4NBHkBvv_uNlKrEMt2tH6bOl5q5_k_j-2p6vsjbnzcw6Po_9dK0UXA8rsA2wysDBzva4URQICDalYwMntQX2pUBSDCfOPSEuHr8ohpz9Kw0Bh8XN2t0sfrvsOf3JBSP6VushLZ4LQym5X9DXkYnFRqreTKAPsuNxLWMelVLsWuwe9/s1600/073.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/AVvXsEiXOT0bIRO7QZl4NBHkBvv_uNlKrEMt2tH6bOl5q5_k_j-2p6vsjbnzcw6Po_9dK0UXA8rsA2wysDBzva4URQICDalYwMntQX2pUBSDCfOPSEuHr8ohpz9Kw0Bh8XN2t0sfrvsOf3JBSP6VushLZ4LQym5X9DXkYnFRqreTKAPsuNxLWMelVLsWuwe9/w400-h300/073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The river and the Mill House garden</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The village nestles in the chalky North Downs, where we
walked most days. We spent nearly four hours in this nearby valley and didn’t
see another person, even though from the hilltop the towers of London’s Canary
Wharf are visible on the horizon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl5PV4Dg_rHUfnRDlXi9j-7hqpj0Pn87o4vcpla-eAaIWV-c7SnVWoiBnkIY7jSZ_kQZXCIa4eezvvlN8gQZOUaB72q6U6170Ipj1H1OWH8T1Qx3Ijv7fRR-hDqs4ueTd3cBACtFktV7os00l2zCId_0FatpWtmMqsvQCrlFT9eAI2grsyPlhoXa_/s1600/039.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/AVvXsEgVl5PV4Dg_rHUfnRDlXi9j-7hqpj0Pn87o4vcpla-eAaIWV-c7SnVWoiBnkIY7jSZ_kQZXCIa4eezvvlN8gQZOUaB72q6U6170Ipj1H1OWH8T1Qx3Ijv7fRR-hDqs4ueTd3cBACtFktV7os00l2zCId_0FatpWtmMqsvQCrlFT9eAI2grsyPlhoXa_/w400-h300/039.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A walk in a nearby valley</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">Parts of the valley are being rewilded.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXf-7OcZfbbwlyCbyfcLbdDp6l_TJMK6wFGb1qatxeLsJI0gOPvhJImamsJLGHHaRJhcDh7vaSD31G4ZZbnGHDCsTkN_ay5PInFsvumLX1E0yn6X-jkyrViMaqmzD0TrcHpfOOSBfRxOLpUOhKaAw-XClW9nKPpcG3pRENJSGJm6oiLyUH3Sbkb82/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXf-7OcZfbbwlyCbyfcLbdDp6l_TJMK6wFGb1qatxeLsJI0gOPvhJImamsJLGHHaRJhcDh7vaSD31G4ZZbnGHDCsTkN_ay5PInFsvumLX1E0yn6X-jkyrViMaqmzD0TrcHpfOOSBfRxOLpUOhKaAw-XClW9nKPpcG3pRENJSGJm6oiLyUH3Sbkb82/w400-h300/050.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGssyKm8zK4CjQXXR1jB3Vqq3GO5NGyzbajiaC2hPJHcfV_LKJ39_8uoCti8Q1ST7M_SAYwj55i6PveTlrMGDuIGliJqwdE8ruiSA0ipw7gFKQJliR90OEF9SCF8dDCKjVi36APmbPVnEYE35ir1TLB8i2ydtvucwJyWQvFz3elRSydPVf7nCKglqJ/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGssyKm8zK4CjQXXR1jB3Vqq3GO5NGyzbajiaC2hPJHcfV_LKJ39_8uoCti8Q1ST7M_SAYwj55i6PveTlrMGDuIGliJqwdE8ruiSA0ipw7gFKQJliR90OEF9SCF8dDCKjVi36APmbPVnEYE35ir1TLB8i2ydtvucwJyWQvFz3elRSydPVf7nCKglqJ/w400-h300/051.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYdpmm3gJqldZ1PD4GciUQdRoLdDFPfy42alNMNQDJXSa-aWJBXPZTvTBgh9tqlN2saUhJoiweVym-UyJAxiq8EkYpcz2VaDTh2uPW-GEys0rrXs0a9gdub0rkaYYiXyXpKjSn596Um3mPfWgAYdReaE10W4eUhjxSpgCmmPtcw2XEJLQnFeKspCF/s1600/052.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/AVvXsEjjYdpmm3gJqldZ1PD4GciUQdRoLdDFPfy42alNMNQDJXSa-aWJBXPZTvTBgh9tqlN2saUhJoiweVym-UyJAxiq8EkYpcz2VaDTh2uPW-GEys0rrXs0a9gdub0rkaYYiXyXpKjSn596Um3mPfWgAYdReaE10W4eUhjxSpgCmmPtcw2XEJLQnFeKspCF/w400-h300/052.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Shrubs and trees are racing to re-cover what was once agricultural land and then a golf course</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The swards were full of orchids and other wildflowers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiEHISxAJ2n88kXjTC4fQtD81tc6S_e3dbAPG7gmYlll173vWoBIMkC8en9u4VF1tMiCh280X4heH8lZL0Z9eAb6yOGdi1OS06PiWePE8QKjh85U7Hpx7MlCHmiyAuvPndlwbbKMmrgZoXM0V3p89ibneSaAa1MWoNaI3GS9jQjCLkSjZa3h1LY40/s1600/055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiEHISxAJ2n88kXjTC4fQtD81tc6S_e3dbAPG7gmYlll173vWoBIMkC8en9u4VF1tMiCh280X4heH8lZL0Z9eAb6yOGdi1OS06PiWePE8QKjh85U7Hpx7MlCHmiyAuvPndlwbbKMmrgZoXM0V3p89ibneSaAa1MWoNaI3GS9jQjCLkSjZa3h1LY40/w400-h300/055.JPG" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pyramid orchid and Bacon and eggs (Birdsfoot-trefoil),<br />one of nature's stunning colour combinations</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BKZTnEKk3KtIaTKBHnPdoRjONkoDZtPwkLO45N6ZacOK4nyZ4C_Bw0RSA7-UOZp4olpk6Bwz7Pz5__BSQeqHZkfVw1kql0dlMOpc2NkHiT2gWFvGGww7ycNzxKILY7i7WsrzvUwBMIr5w2FuX2ivgtCVnoakaNl13RW7uXNRNeDWW2fmM-jGYfyx/s1600/047.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/AVvXsEi1BKZTnEKk3KtIaTKBHnPdoRjONkoDZtPwkLO45N6ZacOK4nyZ4C_Bw0RSA7-UOZp4olpk6Bwz7Pz5__BSQeqHZkfVw1kql0dlMOpc2NkHiT2gWFvGGww7ycNzxKILY7i7WsrzvUwBMIr5w2FuX2ivgtCVnoakaNl13RW7uXNRNeDWW2fmM-jGYfyx/w400-h300/047.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another sort of orchid. (My sister A would know its name.)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">On Friday, the hottest day of the year so far, we took
refuge in the Mill House’s shady garden.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXyEPEdzREVbzhAcbhPMCE8BakrL8xWE5gmbmLVBxpNF_bC8lmIOmwJO8XrHX_5zJcEwsDhZrbo2a1RHxic2sYaPYynfN3ETp1NL7gJBt7roB46xLrIwZZgAp-kGYA8e3Lys_O1jW06CGlqGgz7GDr7nSxbJRAQICaqt8V6koNrSpws0zqhKw6WU9/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXyEPEdzREVbzhAcbhPMCE8BakrL8xWE5gmbmLVBxpNF_bC8lmIOmwJO8XrHX_5zJcEwsDhZrbo2a1RHxic2sYaPYynfN3ETp1NL7gJBt7roB46xLrIwZZgAp-kGYA8e3Lys_O1jW06CGlqGgz7GDr7nSxbJRAQICaqt8V6koNrSpws0zqhKw6WU9/w400-h300/018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle5nv9AIRvfnDYQf5gr3s6Sfbz-UqVKxBVSGhLXWi6QDWY4OT-HG9sTsoebs4OWGRhyJPsCxyChtl7vs58ipmhc9GGwyNb6bYPIjs2x7yPk7R1cZaMLRP8EYmti2T6DDZKWjhBjuRTjaEfBANMFDX0cDR5Cb3mcwiNcN_Tv5R9vcjLtweXN-K8bqb/s1600/025.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/AVvXsEhle5nv9AIRvfnDYQf5gr3s6Sfbz-UqVKxBVSGhLXWi6QDWY4OT-HG9sTsoebs4OWGRhyJPsCxyChtl7vs58ipmhc9GGwyNb6bYPIjs2x7yPk7R1cZaMLRP8EYmti2T6DDZKWjhBjuRTjaEfBANMFDX0cDR5Cb3mcwiNcN_Tv5R9vcjLtweXN-K8bqb/w400-h300/025.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Drinks and lunch in the Mill House garden</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">Another day we walked along the river, past these hop
fields, for which Kent is famous,</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEu_RJTwVMv3FCnbShQNAuMWEbD302iDcRdSva4zVENfMPn36xfD3SvETBZkdkNpHX24EsTF-_nju0FUJpLmNm3xWX6b0f6EMKgUbQpD0iXFgFelZAsu9lRqo1y8cq4qog7ptW3Dg0fmRrCW6wLcMRNQmgaH31MPxDYnQvS2FNPZsu6pEuC0gqByiA/s1600/003.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/AVvXsEjEu_RJTwVMv3FCnbShQNAuMWEbD302iDcRdSva4zVENfMPn36xfD3SvETBZkdkNpHX24EsTF-_nju0FUJpLmNm3xWX6b0f6EMKgUbQpD0iXFgFelZAsu9lRqo1y8cq4qog7ptW3Dg0fmRrCW6wLcMRNQmgaH31MPxDYnQvS2FNPZsu6pEuC0gqByiA/w400-h300/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hop field</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">and these lavender fields, which take advantage of Kent’s
hot, dry summers as well as the rise in overall temperatures.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDFaehCZwte8hF_t9ho0dBBZ2baJb8Gg6bVVr3KaD9rkZYfEqnv1G-W2ZA5zPWgWDcDrbCMLThWcXdiAJ2iCAtd2Qz_bBUKme7X-OcW8px6qvwpK-4dl-J0LqniwgVtaCbu49FAErQkyLzHm42fegUCmszkLqr-8eQQqVYoIcOKBGzWnlu9K_-dkQ/s1600/011.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/AVvXsEhPDFaehCZwte8hF_t9ho0dBBZ2baJb8Gg6bVVr3KaD9rkZYfEqnv1G-W2ZA5zPWgWDcDrbCMLThWcXdiAJ2iCAtd2Qz_bBUKme7X-OcW8px6qvwpK-4dl-J0LqniwgVtaCbu49FAErQkyLzHm42fegUCmszkLqr-8eQQqVYoIcOKBGzWnlu9K_-dkQ/w400-h300/011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lavender field, planted to flower in succession</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">The scent as we walked past was delicious.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nearby the council has created a country park with a glorious
wildflower meadow . . .</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuDQkSB4uSXuK1DsFzRwAUBzjtO0JK8Bdfy1QnAWCU5a4gt-WuhGWTw77GUUvSrnG0ugo8J9FcDHcxKy0_ZVe_XQbkX6fAGgB9gxXkbAd2sKPoav5c2wcSjOANhygp1q0Z8dJ6CU0uogVVht47wV8EUHPW-N9gqs1YNHWWE7QqgP6A_u_wJtRECrq/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuDQkSB4uSXuK1DsFzRwAUBzjtO0JK8Bdfy1QnAWCU5a4gt-WuhGWTw77GUUvSrnG0ugo8J9FcDHcxKy0_ZVe_XQbkX6fAGgB9gxXkbAd2sKPoav5c2wcSjOANhygp1q0Z8dJ6CU0uogVVht47wV8EUHPW-N9gqs1YNHWWE7QqgP6A_u_wJtRECrq/w400-h300/037.JPG" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The wildflower meadow with neat paths and signboards (and my brother)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNoRNZJTIuOFCkmWyi0tNZ8vGz6j45V4r1Eq79yZuzqLVhrpFCJxFCwYjidZAhjSCLaE7cVijlE5ywgQ7jnYQn51JRJabk_GU9mtyZFXITDzRBRAs9HG_ce_E4gY7zxgYEWs4LqxwJCs-njPNYekV0YP5Q40CqsfFIsUwS0c7u_zRffX8E9ZFUr9v/s1600/036.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/AVvXsEjrNoRNZJTIuOFCkmWyi0tNZ8vGz6j45V4r1Eq79yZuzqLVhrpFCJxFCwYjidZAhjSCLaE7cVijlE5ywgQ7jnYQn51JRJabk_GU9mtyZFXITDzRBRAs9HG_ce_E4gY7zxgYEWs4LqxwJCs-njPNYekV0YP5Q40CqsfFIsUwS0c7u_zRffX8E9ZFUr9v/w400-h300/036.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The wildflower meadow with rows of lavender just visible behind trees in the distance</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiscRseBglBSf4LbJD_0ukXPLJf4AllwKjrQTgkjFVxv-DnrgMdNxNwV3BQMeAmYCNHqHVGsBw6HnkXvZDwhfQG6rGhWsNzFBi6WGYIug-ker2DYJL0MILykIzn_qe9OS0vQh_YRtccLvHT0wf7cpwVqYfcWo_J1xue9nxDg09o4BuSZG1Ineq5XT/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiscRseBglBSf4LbJD_0ukXPLJf4AllwKjrQTgkjFVxv-DnrgMdNxNwV3BQMeAmYCNHqHVGsBw6HnkXvZDwhfQG6rGhWsNzFBi6WGYIug-ker2DYJL0MILykIzn_qe9OS0vQh_YRtccLvHT0wf7cpwVqYfcWo_J1xue9nxDg09o4BuSZG1Ineq5XT/w400-h300/029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO93-j45_B8g7rmr37xs6vdszpcVQY0HWm0Gx6rVRYakAQGl-G-fa0c8rSk8JaDP1PLMiDPYK7vzKMyOUjRXPoHbS2kajGl5tn97DixDHkq8KbDvazoG5Aj9LF8YoknWwYkHCg03a0A5isRRTxqSyqDuott3-t8Sqlc4fOPs_-MSO3FBg_NWSxYGZC/s1600/032.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/AVvXsEhO93-j45_B8g7rmr37xs6vdszpcVQY0HWm0Gx6rVRYakAQGl-G-fa0c8rSk8JaDP1PLMiDPYK7vzKMyOUjRXPoHbS2kajGl5tn97DixDHkq8KbDvazoG5Aj9LF8YoknWwYkHCg03a0A5isRRTxqSyqDuott3-t8Sqlc4fOPs_-MSO3FBg_NWSxYGZC/w400-h300/032.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The meadow's wildflowers, including more orchids</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Imaginative seats (from handmadeplaces.co.uk*) are placed appropriately: a
dragonfly by the river, a grasshopper here by the meadow.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfj_BimffhXMjmU12nfQLEK7ZRVCjq-QYc_yhK5QRGoKV2jDR3whHFy9mCdjsBeZGp8tBpksuSZ3ktTdNA7ghS4qWTCJP8IjPj7thURo5do8wSu_9vKZAJ8gVSEI5AS6NgqYnLVw7JaoUAg5wOUVe1JIUngBrmu-oJBJkrS42M_UEeGbB7zI1N0bT/s1600/078.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/AVvXsEhdfj_BimffhXMjmU12nfQLEK7ZRVCjq-QYc_yhK5QRGoKV2jDR3whHFy9mCdjsBeZGp8tBpksuSZ3ktTdNA7ghS4qWTCJP8IjPj7thURo5do8wSu_9vKZAJ8gVSEI5AS6NgqYnLVw7JaoUAg5wOUVe1JIUngBrmu-oJBJkrS42M_UEeGbB7zI1N0bT/w400-h300/078.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The wooden seat in the shape of a grasshopper<br />(which has, inconveniently for the photo, placed itself half in and half out of shade)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">It was a good place to sit and rest.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzgl1skUj_MgiV5WkjIUC8b70VN3equDPDHTGneBs60JiKnrgeiitTIMD32usZyC3CW8Mat6FY-bXexSxPmFu1yPJl0fLImZmuFJ0AwpxABMElUP7Lvb5IsbX1h9xGesMTLoNrQwiWCxwk2P20390KKRlLxfPt6aNDCBIgvtKaa4NI9vv_qZaP7Bj/s1600/080.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/AVvXsEiuzgl1skUj_MgiV5WkjIUC8b70VN3equDPDHTGneBs60JiKnrgeiitTIMD32usZyC3CW8Mat6FY-bXexSxPmFu1yPJl0fLImZmuFJ0AwpxABMElUP7Lvb5IsbX1h9xGesMTLoNrQwiWCxwk2P20390KKRlLxfPt6aNDCBIgvtKaa4NI9vv_qZaP7Bj/w400-h300/080.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brother J on the grasshopper</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Heartfelt thanks to my family for giving me such a wonderful
time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
*Blogger not creating links at the moment. Will try and rectify in due courseMad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-1110288300735728422022-06-12T12:36:00.001+01:002022-06-13T07:24:16.227+01:00Scots pines and leys<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrL2kvcLlNbGJRv0SAwflREc8si1xCr9khpXnt_kGKDYCI0VylPa6Ylpe_G2BGVpb6ckWYFV5sSBwht5YnxObhVlWgm46evNPiG6rvy4xoLhtJtdLRzZ9NZrg4HZkEXn-q8WiWr0orsqAcGUzS6GaGZmG2jNmv0uuLm3NR2oaUMKH0zk_0lUKEzSh/s1600/003.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrL2kvcLlNbGJRv0SAwflREc8si1xCr9khpXnt_kGKDYCI0VylPa6Ylpe_G2BGVpb6ckWYFV5sSBwht5YnxObhVlWgm46evNPiG6rvy4xoLhtJtdLRzZ9NZrg4HZkEXn-q8WiWr0orsqAcGUzS6GaGZmG2jNmv0uuLm3NR2oaUMKH0zk_0lUKEzSh/s400/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scots pine and Dog (if you can see her), a couple of days ago</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>
The Scots pine is not native to England and some say that the trees that exist are descended from trees planted by prehistoric people. They did this to mark leys, so the story goes. Leys are straight lines that appear to run between prehistoric structures, like standing stones, as well as natural features like ponds and the tops of hills.
There are many theories as to what leys are. Some say they helped prehistoric people find their way around; others that they mark ‘energy’ currents.<div><br /></div><div>Several times a week I walk past the wind-blasted Scots pine in the picture above. It nods to another one on top of a nearby hill and I always take time to stand in line with the two trees. There, I imagine the earth’s energy flowing through me and pray for whatever it is I need that day, such as strength, courage, wisdom or trust. I do feel better afterwards. In any case the wind through its needles is beautiful and sounds like the sea.</div><div><br /></div><div>Friends’ sixteenth/seventeenth-century house stands on the same line, and it has been suggested that older buildings, especially sacred ones like churches, were sometimes built on prehistoric sites. Perhaps my friends live on a ley. Aren't they lucky.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a view of the tree from the ley. I love the shape of its branches. It’s like a heart or a yoga ‘mudra’ (thumb and finger together). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Rct2NFs_WvTaPTPW0QnwEGa1S9PomzJevvTRfDHa5EZhQIaWpJqxQ9NxJfpNJUGW816Yz3s_srBUejPNwCnRLIWl0gQ0BoK_nzK58BM49BkWGlNdXw6_suxwxTxdIbLHKX19ZzYEaUNCC_lJWN2tkt70G4mUXPn5GEkoDTy9yp8m8_AVrTa6P6LK/s1461/003%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="1040" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Rct2NFs_WvTaPTPW0QnwEGa1S9PomzJevvTRfDHa5EZhQIaWpJqxQ9NxJfpNJUGW816Yz3s_srBUejPNwCnRLIWl0gQ0BoK_nzK58BM49BkWGlNdXw6_suxwxTxdIbLHKX19ZzYEaUNCC_lJWN2tkt70G4mUXPn5GEkoDTy9yp8m8_AVrTa6P6LK/w285-h400/003%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />The Scots pine in March</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>My friends' house is behind me, hidden in trees, and the tree's twin is in the distance, blocked from view by the tree itself. It always takes me a while to get into the right position, but I think I usually know when I do. Something clicks.</div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-52898274045862777862022-06-04T08:00:00.008+01:002022-06-04T13:17:41.460+01:00Guests<div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="MsoNormal">I met Frog when I was 24, and we were together for 44 years
(until his sudden death in January this year). In other words, nearly
two-thirds of my life. Is it any wonder, I keep telling myself, that I’m now
struggling? Frog was my life and now I have to make a new one from scratch
without him. At the same time, dealing with grief and a host of other emotions
brought up by the turmoil.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A friend passed on to me this poem, by the
thirteenth-century Persian poet Rumi. I carry it with me.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Guest House</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"></span></b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">This being human is a guest house.<br /></span></i></span><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">Every morning a new arrival.</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">A joy, a depression, a meanness,<br /></span></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
some momentary awareness comes</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">as an unexpected visitor.</span></i></div></div>
<div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Welcome and entertain them all!<br /></span></i><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,<br /></span></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
who violently sweep your house<br /></span></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
empty of its furniture,<br /></span></i></span><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
still, treat each guest honorably.</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">He may be clearing you out<br /></span></i><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
for some new delight.</span></i></span></div></div></div></div></div>
<div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">The dark thought, the shame, the malice,</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">meet them at the door laughing,<br /></span></i><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">
and invite them in.</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"></span></i><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Be grateful for whoever comes,<br /></span></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
because each has been sent</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; letter-spacing: .6pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">as a guide from beyond.</span></span></i></div></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.6pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.6pt;">It’s helpful to me to remember that emotions – even if terrifying and often almost too much to
bear ‒ are only guests, that they have a purpose and that each will leave in
their own time. Thank you Trish.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.6pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">Talking of guests,
I shall mention again my wonderful brothers and sisters who have been taking it
in turns to stay with me. Since Frog’s death, they’ve never left me alone for
more than two weeks and each visit is a respite, a chance to catch up with
eating and sleeping and – occasionally – to feel almost normal.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.6pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">Last week it was the
turn of my sister A, and we walked together to a nearby Iron Age hill-fort
which Frog and I had visited for the first time during lockdown in January last year. I
wrote about it in my blog <a href=" https://belinda-whitworth.blogspot.com/2021/01/http://here.">here.</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.6pt;">Then it was dusted with snow.</span></p><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvz8bIXomviNeD5gHuUgsNCuH5h7MhpvjB0y06_gOBa_U1m58lWCQWo7E78Yor1skYd8_EPH-1VoDb22VIe6nfspH6J6gfCKJ6GHD-n287r9JXtZsW-FOxIeCmkbcW8V8A4EXqLQO2vwTiU1v2kg6qB_pIpgpniVnwvf86y7l3YJ3NZY07PNhwZZ-/s1522/021%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1522" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvz8bIXomviNeD5gHuUgsNCuH5h7MhpvjB0y06_gOBa_U1m58lWCQWo7E78Yor1skYd8_EPH-1VoDb22VIe6nfspH6J6gfCKJ6GHD-n287r9JXtZsW-FOxIeCmkbcW8V8A4EXqLQO2vwTiU1v2kg6qB_pIpgpniVnwvf86y7l3YJ3NZY07PNhwZZ-/w400-h289/021%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The hill-fort, a circle of banks that once contained an Iron Age village</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVTrWSvSPyLix0_Ida2SxbgjAgd5gXUCyatsa1Xn-gzLblpLDNvjUEKoCmZ9pnST2YZrLIxFglREasGjFORDL-5bE77h1BB7qKwofe6BAAUND4vcd7FvU-gUhZkoum5KpkHVntHmytqlxrv4myf-bDdUkNgK3gEhguBDxmLhimReE1o91JTheXqil/s1519/031%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1519" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVTrWSvSPyLix0_Ida2SxbgjAgd5gXUCyatsa1Xn-gzLblpLDNvjUEKoCmZ9pnST2YZrLIxFglREasGjFORDL-5bE77h1BB7qKwofe6BAAUND4vcd7FvU-gUhZkoum5KpkHVntHmytqlxrv4myf-bDdUkNgK3gEhguBDxmLhimReE1o91JTheXqil/w400-h283/031%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Frog and Ellie walk to an edge to admire part of the 360-degree view</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitv7HZX41rNrHShLEBaLdqHNRh0R-Vj79TgfPT8RqvQbstZQ4mNBhvsLdviKy_l21TWY-8xuNXmq71zwIuhRy77D_UXWpg-6QG-k50h6RnuTCfms1EUY5JWSHiglwFQc38hBnh3s1uFWS-aLrvf5U0q1ltH8kVup_k7NyPMOFZJl3UtMd_OvERrz_-/s1538/019%20-%20Copy%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="1538" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitv7HZX41rNrHShLEBaLdqHNRh0R-Vj79TgfPT8RqvQbstZQ4mNBhvsLdviKy_l21TWY-8xuNXmq71zwIuhRy77D_UXWpg-6QG-k50h6RnuTCfms1EUY5JWSHiglwFQc38hBnh3s1uFWS-aLrvf5U0q1ltH8kVup_k7NyPMOFZJl3UtMd_OvERrz_-/w400-h284/019%20-%20Copy%20(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Frog explores the ditch all the way round the outside</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">This time, A and I had bright
spring sunshine.</span></div></div><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YnAtUfS7wWAoEqOOSrjTJcl7bRU-Ya4u4YSdqM7czAKUwoVkcvb15U1BnJgbCNl_fUCvbooxG_5GU67MBKXZkMBGbfgFLfH6upgapQ-bK1f7oxfXrnrss6mTgaer8hw5W7G3I-aIm21XEUIKTjrKY0rwftDgmB0b3WEJ-xtpHMA2-kyImUmuDPL8/s1600/002.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/AVvXsEi7YnAtUfS7wWAoEqOOSrjTJcl7bRU-Ya4u4YSdqM7czAKUwoVkcvb15U1BnJgbCNl_fUCvbooxG_5GU67MBKXZkMBGbfgFLfH6upgapQ-bK1f7oxfXrnrss6mTgaer8hw5W7G3I-aIm21XEUIKTjrKY0rwftDgmB0b3WEJ-xtpHMA2-kyImUmuDPL8/w400-h300/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ellie and me at the hill-fort last week</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">Both times, we had the place to ourselves.</span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">And here, just for fun, is a picture of Ellie waiting for her supper at the end of a hard day's walking.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSV2tdML3Is0e3aG2g0xKYy-v8kBqkIEsER5V-HuKLcf5Q21qenm0NW-lvYIgRfeSVm8Mcc1Sq2e4IjACUTa9dXYB9dPFX3FRDYHgOfE8fzB4v7kB1Y0H2Pbbf-Igux6G4o7CIpbyD-9RC2qfwtyvq1viprqDao6pejx1eeSst2ALhap9r8fbnyD0/s4160/waiting%20for%20her%20food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSV2tdML3Is0e3aG2g0xKYy-v8kBqkIEsER5V-HuKLcf5Q21qenm0NW-lvYIgRfeSVm8Mcc1Sq2e4IjACUTa9dXYB9dPFX3FRDYHgOfE8fzB4v7kB1Y0H2Pbbf-Igux6G4o7CIpbyD-9RC2qfwtyvq1viprqDao6pejx1eeSst2ALhap9r8fbnyD0/w300-h400/waiting%20for%20her%20food.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ellie, never more intent than when food is in the offing</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Thanks to A for the last two pictures and for enabling me at last to update my Welcome picture (top right)</i></span><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-38078959746449564542022-05-17T15:29:00.005+01:002022-05-18T07:08:42.936+01:00Norwegian Independence Day<p class="MsoNormal">Today is Norwegian Independence Day, when Norwegians
celebrate the 1814 constitution which gave them freedom from Denmark and Sweden.
It’s their biggest national holiday and marked with parades and flags.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">On the day after Frog died (four and a half months ago) a Norwegian flag arrived in the
post. My grandmother was Norwegian and I have many relatives living there, so I
knew that Frog had ordered the flag as a surprise present for me.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I haven’t flown a flag since Frog died and the Norwegian flag has been sitting on a shelf, still in its plastic wrapper. Today I hoisted it – not because of my new independence but because I know that seeing it will make Frog proud and happy (wherever he is).</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: left;">It took some doing and the flag fell down after my first
attempt, but here it is now. It’s made me proud and happy too - for lots of reasons. </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb_QRv5FYQYtu_3tW4qrpZ65dAAb3VJsPepqS-VklPYySOrq2lJxHthTcQlbxArD7Ne8DlazCGlJNJenL18ar8jVATlBkaxm6beagnPgIfbQjJVfvSF4orY-ZyRWJh4sjh1rU4eQltNv95frXL9JHPIoltFEEaa_-MTV2_tn2960ejOhrYO8ZE_mS/s1600/008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb_QRv5FYQYtu_3tW4qrpZ65dAAb3VJsPepqS-VklPYySOrq2lJxHthTcQlbxArD7Ne8DlazCGlJNJenL18ar8jVATlBkaxm6beagnPgIfbQjJVfvSF4orY-ZyRWJh4sjh1rU4eQltNv95frXL9JHPIoltFEEaa_-MTV2_tn2960ejOhrYO8ZE_mS/w400-h300/008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here is my aunt's flag, flying in Norway this morning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1aO5PjkuNtAc2OfuTu1la0aLQk1mOMxJQRCG16XBp5uOB8uuqgccLIxXToCCKQ94F0pu-6SqTZWAgtSXHg_ErPTNHJMLaoyB9lpgBDz8eAd2sOagbBFTdNF-GYnQp-JkVjZgGveVSTx8cxULdfyn3LivKrq83NBejLbXj_fGSNjDN_f-hAO9CWU6_/s3264/a'belle's%20flag%2017.5.22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1aO5PjkuNtAc2OfuTu1la0aLQk1mOMxJQRCG16XBp5uOB8uuqgccLIxXToCCKQ94F0pu-6SqTZWAgtSXHg_ErPTNHJMLaoyB9lpgBDz8eAd2sOagbBFTdNF-GYnQp-JkVjZgGveVSTx8cxULdfyn3LivKrq83NBejLbXj_fGSNjDN_f-hAO9CWU6_/w300-h400/a'belle's%20flag%2017.5.22.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-39608231599107512982022-05-11T08:37:00.010+01:002022-05-12T07:26:37.148+01:00Lifelines<p>At times, the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months
since Frog’s death have felt like one long nightmare, a black tunnel without an
exit. Three things have kept me from going under.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first, and perhaps the most important, is my connection
– however shaky ‒ to a spiritual world. In particular, my affirmations. I
won’t tell you what these are as that might reduce their power, but I can say
that I first learnt about them from Louise Hay’s wonderful book <i>You Can Heal Your Life</i>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSWElslSSCu156L9vwX4p0Ag5DikDet3SWiZuyGwsVEM3Sion66dPBfCGnwL4cnve4sj9rugMWWS7dIOr0h-j-Nt8feGlPwXOVJLQa8gZpIIlh_TIgp1CAPzYBd266Vo_KS6sick4xveBPnSS4H0gAJqY7-Snqh6JwaW62nyiq1QWAStjsfru-y8M/s3375/book%20120201003_09345032.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3375" data-original-width="2163" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSWElslSSCu156L9vwX4p0Ag5DikDet3SWiZuyGwsVEM3Sion66dPBfCGnwL4cnve4sj9rugMWWS7dIOr0h-j-Nt8feGlPwXOVJLQa8gZpIIlh_TIgp1CAPzYBd266Vo_KS6sick4xveBPnSS4H0gAJqY7-Snqh6JwaW62nyiq1QWAStjsfru-y8M/s320/book%20120201003_09345032.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My edition of the book</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-oO1KJj9e-aZLcR3PTW0CJoO4yBjmXZQTlT8riNmH0T0HSMzXZe92bmk9CLL80Vh71mx_0bYA-KB4UEKLaz3u6mhhcciH8NWCa7pJJ4l4fjo-h93HMZozKc_Y7fzumBi5g8P3UmpueqCTeT_-hg7BAQrdAUu_wK-duph829V_FeCq6OC24t267_o/s499/You%20Can%20Heal%20Your%20Life%201984.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-oO1KJj9e-aZLcR3PTW0CJoO4yBjmXZQTlT8riNmH0T0HSMzXZe92bmk9CLL80Vh71mx_0bYA-KB4UEKLaz3u6mhhcciH8NWCa7pJJ4l4fjo-h93HMZozKc_Y7fzumBi5g8P3UmpueqCTeT_-hg7BAQrdAUu_wK-duph829V_FeCq6OC24t267_o/s320/You%20Can%20Heal%20Your%20Life%201984.jpg" width="206" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The edition on Amazon at the moment</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I bought the book, which came out in 1984, many years ago,
but only started using it seriously about 4 years ago in an effort to cure my
migraines. Well, the migraines have virtually gone, and I wonder now whether I
was also working through the book in unconscious preparation for the times
I’m going through now. It’s a mad thought, but the world is stranger than we
can ever imagine. I know that now because I never expected Frog to drop down
dead in front of me at the age of 69. Perversely, that unexpectedness is
another comfort: who knows what my future holds?</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My gateway to the spiritual world is nature, to which I'm led every day by my beloved Ellie, and
in particular my secret wood, which I’ve mentioned many times before in this
blog.</p></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZjwkMFA5mLA079Cp7W3dpet7uvpu7oTuSZmXOkEUQdiDrPaD0W6I-ibReC4zUi196twvC6Wtaq1tQX-kyc996xwmWeNf62A2xabol1QdeAOA8MqDBZTju0Frsu4d-h6ufO7JdVBqC3tsGpApuNz1SM25fxIy8N_r7Ms5Kt2EfQeT3ka4zqYl0togv" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZjwkMFA5mLA079Cp7W3dpet7uvpu7oTuSZmXOkEUQdiDrPaD0W6I-ibReC4zUi196twvC6Wtaq1tQX-kyc996xwmWeNf62A2xabol1QdeAOA8MqDBZTju0Frsu4d-h6ufO7JdVBqC3tsGpApuNz1SM25fxIy8N_r7Ms5Kt2EfQeT3ka4zqYl0togv=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My secret wood, in a steep valley carved by two small streams</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKG0oUG0CyF3rv27sugddIJ2h2i-7TwcvVlVCW7WMBDONH4P-87kv3UU5TsSkvp9FHYr2ciz6oKsMjpWVfHX7TNYOT_RgmQItRW_5RUJI80bfjGl0T7tWaoEK1xuJ3cfjZtMRRSRaT0c9dmdwdCu1ZadfTJ_X9kO3c2oYKWE89gohwyuawxYV5hew9" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKG0oUG0CyF3rv27sugddIJ2h2i-7TwcvVlVCW7WMBDONH4P-87kv3UU5TsSkvp9FHYr2ciz6oKsMjpWVfHX7TNYOT_RgmQItRW_5RUJI80bfjGl0T7tWaoEK1xuJ3cfjZtMRRSRaT0c9dmdwdCu1ZadfTJ_X9kO3c2oYKWE89gohwyuawxYV5hew9=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My secret wood, with Ellie and bluebells</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Thankfully, it’s spring at the moment and, even though spring
doesn’t seem quite as glorious as usual and half the time I’m stuck in my own desperate inner world, it has its moments.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw5Q_DlfaQTB0tRGgvUEJB4qfMArXQQKmCbGoL216oUXP7zsUveNkP9wc6aMCK-6Bwx17ByqqyonGaWBekVc05E72tJVEl-1Z0_5FV53uy_ka5sgdkaGf5RXDSY60ntNTBD812Z1seqZA9iUl3i9-P6qv-Y2tiW45olKeNatlQPOokoEBqerDhYnQu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw5Q_DlfaQTB0tRGgvUEJB4qfMArXQQKmCbGoL216oUXP7zsUveNkP9wc6aMCK-6Bwx17ByqqyonGaWBekVc05E72tJVEl-1Z0_5FV53uy_ka5sgdkaGf5RXDSY60ntNTBD812Z1seqZA9iUl3i9-P6qv-Y2tiW45olKeNatlQPOokoEBqerDhYnQu" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAJfTPYjx8xyFHJHL_A9-78F9c-PDacoRdD_6cOz8FOgvvhmFXt61RXgPAS-fGY1LmzBBx4m7p5XXlvvE5Nu5JFMVDbRA_3KiqP23GpT9sHiGaa1Rrqa4b9Tu78leHMjPkQu1d2mkgEcS-y6Bgc8p6qDaMByPgJadJCaLScBUkiAk3Jd4mHCkYnmzd" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAJfTPYjx8xyFHJHL_A9-78F9c-PDacoRdD_6cOz8FOgvvhmFXt61RXgPAS-fGY1LmzBBx4m7p5XXlvvE5Nu5JFMVDbRA_3KiqP23GpT9sHiGaa1Rrqa4b9Tu78leHMjPkQu1d2mkgEcS-y6Bgc8p6qDaMByPgJadJCaLScBUkiAk3Jd4mHCkYnmzd" width="320" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />The wild cherry tree in my garden a few weeks ago</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />My third lifeline is people: family, neighbours, friends,
counsellor. I never realised before how much I needed people. Because of what
happened 44 years ago when Frog and I wanted to marry, we retreated. We kept
ourselves to ourselves and I dreamt of the two of us living somewhere <i>really</i> remote like an uninhabited island
in the Pacific, instead of the Devon countryside, however beautiful. Now,
people seem to have forgiven me my unsociability and flocked to my aid.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div>I’ve mentioned my lovely sisters and brother and how much they've been helping me, but I've not mentioned my <a href="https://www.emmahogancounselling.co.uk/ " target="_blank">counsellor</a> before. I see her once a
week in the village and she’s amazing. I can say anything to her and cry all
I like. I leave each session feeling like a new person. At the moment we’re
working on emotions, using a wheel.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBxFeyXexDD5MHyWXVlUiR5vEnZKJnfR5bgQQajnDTJ7-yCghCoBoUjwBVYrs3T9m4AcVpa_FcvbsNd-IAqZKtPEoNU9ic8DZDDAeZpVP2MkwB5H90KHL1NBwMnL3sc_f0NklaItPqx36rrKqxrbnUgVUWzmWShBhe9N1xf_pY3WKdrHS-47pN3UDH" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2217" data-original-width="2170" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBxFeyXexDD5MHyWXVlUiR5vEnZKJnfR5bgQQajnDTJ7-yCghCoBoUjwBVYrs3T9m4AcVpa_FcvbsNd-IAqZKtPEoNU9ic8DZDDAeZpVP2MkwB5H90KHL1NBwMnL3sc_f0NklaItPqx36rrKqxrbnUgVUWzmWShBhe9N1xf_pY3WKdrHS-47pN3UDH=w392-h400" width="392" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The version of the Wheel of Emotions that I'm using at the moment.<br />There are many others, some with better words. </i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />It’s as if my emotions have been frozen for decades (which
of course didn’t help Frog and me. I’ll do better next time – if I get a
chance. Please, God) and now my heart has burst open. I have no experience of
dealing with such a tumult and my counsellor is helping me to learn.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two days ago a former sister-in-law (she used to be married
to an in-law of mine) dropped in with her now-husband on their way to Cornwall.
They left me these flowers . . .</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRpbKBhOp70q9NQ7NcB7gRVqHE0EZAdAuzy3_1_vnXYPnPB-XOtZpdC1kCOv3cBsq3bBVDHAE2ykRQg0PKR792sTOxVcIBenyl6oSHELFtY2G1ktATA4_Zf5fX0VYc_67NqfE1AIrR7WyRjIrCWaqXmTAqCOrpVVtLhAvmwLsJEwQyOhiCaYsoDv-/s1600/003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRpbKBhOp70q9NQ7NcB7gRVqHE0EZAdAuzy3_1_vnXYPnPB-XOtZpdC1kCOv3cBsq3bBVDHAE2ykRQg0PKR792sTOxVcIBenyl6oSHELFtY2G1ktATA4_Zf5fX0VYc_67NqfE1AIrR7WyRjIrCWaqXmTAqCOrpVVtLhAvmwLsJEwQyOhiCaYsoDv-/w400-h300/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">. . . and sent me this stunning picture from their holiday.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5i6vV-MZH7wsIzomaOg09rMRAWhz5hxWXqlbbBB7DbfstiPFI04jGoaAHfjXjlKviRlAkwJ-xcrDs78yKzZQzf_BTl_nDEAOKT3ZLraCBEh4uD53lCDupHFQqUApCtrfS-mu9faZmyKwsfKIRtPuRRYJZgwC6iWkJ8iBARZTkNaB6zGXHuSJeB6d/s1448/cornwall%20from%20surinder%20-%20Copy%20(2).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1448" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5i6vV-MZH7wsIzomaOg09rMRAWhz5hxWXqlbbBB7DbfstiPFI04jGoaAHfjXjlKviRlAkwJ-xcrDs78yKzZQzf_BTl_nDEAOKT3ZLraCBEh4uD53lCDupHFQqUApCtrfS-mu9faZmyKwsfKIRtPuRRYJZgwC6iWkJ8iBARZTkNaB6zGXHuSJeB6d/w400-h283/cornwall%20from%20surinder%20-%20Copy%20(2).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cornwall, yesterday</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Every kindness, like that, does something to fill the hole left by Frog’s death.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Writing this blog helps too.</p></div></div></div>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8573855946805200808.post-45134893206845295132022-04-24T10:45:00.003+01:002022-04-28T07:34:37.440+01:00Something new from something old<p style="text-align: left;">One of my favourite pastimes is what I call ‘customising
clothes’. This involves making my clothes fit better, or altering their style,
or dyeing them, or all of those.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I find this much more satisfying than making new clothes
from bought patterns because it’s more creative and means that I have what feel like
new clothes, but are also familiar comfortable ones perfectly adjusted for me.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Here are some recent projects.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">These orange trousers had become flimsy with washing and no
longer worked as straights. I turned them into flares with some stiff pale-blue
denim, and now I love them even more than before. They suit my flamboyant
streak and I know Frog would love them too because they hark back to the hippie era of
our teens.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeezJIFbcf5T4i-btnO2WS21xqCoL3Rv3d4U4uBr5z86KKjRtNZKq_eGJ1mAG2kkUjSnQXBPqI8ldNYtWYCfQ8mdixO-qcck-a9QbcOTF89p77AcCpJJ1XJ3sq49EH1Q6T-12xMnsiQplfoLj_h1eKWkC_SJQC4-dEnugc4X_TbGuJ__t3QYcEuDs/s1600/001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeezJIFbcf5T4i-btnO2WS21xqCoL3Rv3d4U4uBr5z86KKjRtNZKq_eGJ1mAG2kkUjSnQXBPqI8ldNYtWYCfQ8mdixO-qcck-a9QbcOTF89p77AcCpJJ1XJ3sq49EH1Q6T-12xMnsiQplfoLj_h1eKWkC_SJQC4-dEnugc4X_TbGuJ__t3QYcEuDs/w300-h400/001.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSO-hWEq9poFubn1xVS7i15oWqPrTxD_3zE4STIxflK3Ti0K2_Uu1jovXgYXIZy7XIWnA31s4YFmREBpDFbHMCyzNw6SAwDWuQKBr69kXaITAwljFu3zfMc8aQ3G4YiyMCj_1XnZXFhtxZZAzXVblgmm3qHspfW04n5otcFh2s3iJ7FyrD0aLdnkH/s1600/002.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSO-hWEq9poFubn1xVS7i15oWqPrTxD_3zE4STIxflK3Ti0K2_Uu1jovXgYXIZy7XIWnA31s4YFmREBpDFbHMCyzNw6SAwDWuQKBr69kXaITAwljFu3zfMc8aQ3G4YiyMCj_1XnZXFhtxZZAzXVblgmm3qHspfW04n5otcFh2s3iJ7FyrD0aLdnkH/w300-h400/002.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I gave this t-shirt to Frog for Christmas but he only
managed to wear it once. I’ve taken it in at the top and the sleeves, and now I
wear it all the time. It assuages my grief.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcCqxjidA4IXfyqtqpsXuWtfyb8s3os1lNJLSwb2bkimm3uTuhJJE8E69vEa7lXuEsdmuZotC_8fBj8doGQMADqwDlAqIQooe4sNCo6TmSZVYJgiDmD02Q-0mso-ic_osep1ygopvHQduKhBBisVkX3A7O_UPVhgU3F0bW6fJDTvxwnhOQ68fAFWK/s1600/007.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcCqxjidA4IXfyqtqpsXuWtfyb8s3os1lNJLSwb2bkimm3uTuhJJE8E69vEa7lXuEsdmuZotC_8fBj8doGQMADqwDlAqIQooe4sNCo6TmSZVYJgiDmD02Q-0mso-ic_osep1ygopvHQduKhBBisVkX3A7O_UPVhgU3F0bW6fJDTvxwnhOQ68fAFWK/w400-h300/007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I bought these two pairs of trousers shortly after Frog
died, when browsing the internet for clothes was a way of staving off panic. One was in shades of pale blue and one was white and cream, none of the colours practical for dog-walking through mud. I therefore dyed the pale-blue pair ‘denim blue’ and the other bright pink. Subsequently I lost lots of weight and they hung off me. I took the waistbands off, made darts in the top and
attached a new waistband.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fx0dmsO7OdNAdPNI7cMJxhzBVMS1-7xsKcwAjmm_pmMc1sIpIbq8ty7_0h-mdu9jOnr-HtbuFsqHatzioj_rSrYrZpsTWc9AwSlXPG6LDJ8b5XiLiiVKcAg_xt4R0rPTaw2v_G4fZd6_as9FGNN68YKN9pXY3zF7tI77Yjl5C9BxY-EGTplAOKrC/s1600/001.JPG" 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/AVvXsEh3Fx0dmsO7OdNAdPNI7cMJxhzBVMS1-7xsKcwAjmm_pmMc1sIpIbq8ty7_0h-mdu9jOnr-HtbuFsqHatzioj_rSrYrZpsTWc9AwSlXPG6LDJ8b5XiLiiVKcAg_xt4R0rPTaw2v_G4fZd6_as9FGNN68YKN9pXY3zF7tI77Yjl5C9BxY-EGTplAOKrC/w300-h400/001.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Note the bi-colour waistband here, which is
partly a homage to the trousers’ original design and partly because I
couldn’t decide between stretchy and non-stretchy denim so used a bit of both.<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcDNH-aGJpjc36FGykKQB0HHUbmqn3IshCQWyQeUCDcYF0heUnxOAbOX0tTVjSnamiSGC7AwIoiahh-lc74M-vq8cQBoJmTKP8VTRQ7SMoQWrToty6aesOpZXJX5yfR6V0WTvQdIMehT-VYcjoXWu8QhEIEvBOgYkG1o5O1o8oT60PWPIJISoXcat/s1600/002.JPG" 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/AVvXsEgRcDNH-aGJpjc36FGykKQB0HHUbmqn3IshCQWyQeUCDcYF0heUnxOAbOX0tTVjSnamiSGC7AwIoiahh-lc74M-vq8cQBoJmTKP8VTRQ7SMoQWrToty6aesOpZXJX5yfR6V0WTvQdIMehT-VYcjoXWu8QhEIEvBOgYkG1o5O1o8oT60PWPIJISoXcat/w400-h300/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The (wonky) darts in the back</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGWY5NYrkXh8JHT6rAJq1IhiXXjkQpuJNrYBra0RiPYQYAYiNJyWfdrbGHR-dIAXM_9SjRMlWHKC3GUpwZu75lZ_kRuT6dN5VqLWMfBb9c2Wckm4OpUCTloxjPYLqkew9SejVfMH01K2uJOQ_o-n6bMBr94locz-RQsb8pY1ztzGERuoQLgI3B5hD/s1600/005.JPG" 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/AVvXsEhBGWY5NYrkXh8JHT6rAJq1IhiXXjkQpuJNrYBra0RiPYQYAYiNJyWfdrbGHR-dIAXM_9SjRMlWHKC3GUpwZu75lZ_kRuT6dN5VqLWMfBb9c2Wckm4OpUCTloxjPYLqkew9SejVfMH01K2uJOQ_o-n6bMBr94locz-RQsb8pY1ztzGERuoQLgI3B5hD/w400-h300/005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The bi-colour theme is still visible after dyeing, especially in the blue pair</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">They both still hang off me but at least they stay up, and
the wide waistbands come all the way up to my waist unlike the old ones which
cut me off mid-stomach. I find that much more comfortable and do that to most
of my trousers (including the orange ones above, as you might have noticed).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I’m now wondering what to tinker with next, and also how to
conclude this post. Perhaps there’s a metaphysical connection. Perhaps I’m
making something new from the old life Frog and I had together. (And that's as far as I can go for the moment.)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>Mad Englishwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007656187981921211noreply@blogger.com2