If you’ve recently been visiting any WordPress.com website you may have noticed a banner appearing which has some small print that says something about Cookies and Privacy and asks you to accept to continue using the website. But many of us have recently experienced an annoying glitch with this banner. When click accept we seem to be going around in circles as the whole page we were just looking at refreshes. The refreshed page then re-appears only to display this banner again. And so some of us have been going around in circles as we click accept -> refresh -> accept -> refresh, etc. Well there’s a solution, at least a temporary one…
From 25th May 2018 a new EU regulation comes into law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Many of us have already heard of this new regulation, it was officially passed in 2016 but only becomes law from 25th May 2018. The new regulation is a good thing for anyone living in the EU as it gives you more control and transparency over how your personal data is kept and used by businesses and different companies who provide goods and services, but did you know that as a blogger you also need to comply with new GDPR rules, even if you’re not an EU citizen?
Alice bought me this gorgeous peacock bauble this year!
I wish you all a happy and healthy new year and apologise for not being around for the past few days. We developed a fault on our land phone line just before Christmas and were told it couldn’t be repaired until the 28th December. Our internet gradually got weaker and weaker until it virtually disappeared but, as you can see, all is well again and we can communicate with our friends and relatives and I can find out what everyone else has been up to! I had got behind-hand with my blog and post reading even before we discovered the fault on the line because my daughter’s lap-top had to be repaired and so she borrowed mine. I don’t own a smart-phone and I couldn’t keep up!
I will be visiting all your blogs in the next few days and will be acknowledging all your kind comments too.
Ok, so please don’t hear this as a Scrooge rant… and please please don’t hear this as anything like a ‘how can you celebrate this early?’ post… So just to make sure this is heard: CHRISTMAS IS AMAZING!! I AM ALREADY BEGINNING TO CELEBRATE!! IN FACT I CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!!
But at this time we do some more obvious things… Advent calendars are out- check, Advent candle is on the table- check, planning Christmas services has started- check (no, its not finished yet, at last count I am involved in 17 events…), yes yes yes, however…
I’m wondering at how far we’ve gone from the origins of Christmas- whether you go into the Christian origins (celebrating the birth of Jesus as the ultimate expression of God’s love for humanity and the restoration of relationship between God and humanity that it demonstrates and brought about) or the…
This, as promised in my previous post, is the first of my ‘highlight’ posts in which I will let you know some of the things we managed to do this year and will provide photos and links when and where necessary.
Just after Easter we went to the wedding of my dear friend Wendy and her husband John’s daughter Jennifer to her fiancé David. The wedding took place in the lovely church of St David in the village of Groes Faen in south Wales. We were delighted to be included in their family celebration, just as we had been when Jen’s older sister Vicky (my God-daughter) was married a few years ago. The reception was at the Pencoed House Estate, a beautiful manor house in lovely grounds. I was fortunate to be seated next to Wendy’s mother-in-law, Rene; she and her late husband Don had been so kind to me and Alice when my first marriage broke up. I was so sorry to hear that she died just a few weeks ago. I had been unable to take any photos at the wedding so was very pleased to receive a thank-you card from Jen and David which had photos from their wedding on it. I have scanned it and chosen one of the photos but it hasn’t come out very well.
ooOOoo
This next gallery of photos is just a reminder of what we have to look forward to in the spring!
Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood
I love bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) so I took a little detour on my way home from my mother’s house at the beginning of May so that I could see the flowers just outside the village of Withersdale Street.
ooOOoo
I have mentioned Pakenham Watermill before in my blog. It is where we go to buy the best wholemeal flour which I use to make bread.
Pakenham Watermill
The rear of the building. We visited on a perfect morning in May.
The mill with mill-pond
There are lots of House martin (Delichon urbica) nests under the eaves
Bird sculpture in the garden
The mill pond
ooOOoo
At about this time I visited Minsmere RSPB Reserve as I wanted to buy something from their shop. While I was there I thought I would quickly walk through the woods to see what I could see.
Bluebells again!
Bluebells
Blue bluebells and white bluebells!
Common vetch (Vicia sativa)
Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium)
I don’t remember ever having seen this flower before despite it being ‘common’. The seed-heads can be seen next to the flowers and their shape gives the plant it’s name.
Changing forget-me-not (Myosotis discolor)
The flowers are tiny and very difficult to photograph. When they first open they are yellow but soon change to blue. The plant especially likes to grow on sandy soil.
Shepherd’s-cress (Teesdalia nudicaulis)
This is another plant I don’t remember having noticed before, but that is not surprising because it is very low growing and not especially exciting to look at. You can see a wood-ant (10 mm long) towards the bottom right of the photo which gives you some idea of the size of the flowers which are about 2 mm across – two of the four petals of the flower are longer than the other two. The seeds are heart-shaped and a few can be seen at the top of the photo. The leaves in the basal rosette are lobed and can also be seen at the top-centre. Their shape reminds me of pasta servers.
Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) creating red patches on the rising ground. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) can be seen flowering in the bushes on the sky-line.
Wavy bitter-cress (Cardamine flexuosa) – so-called because it’s stem is wavy rather than straight!
Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum)
Rhododendron has naturalised and become invasive in many places. It is unwelcome as it reduces biodiversity and is very difficult to eradicate because it produces new shoots from its roots. This link speaks more about the plant.
Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis)
This plant is very hairy and has interesting wavy-edged leaves. The flowers are a lovely intense blue colour.
ooOOoo
Elinor wasn’t able to join her art and design group on their trip to London in April so a few weeks later Richard and I took her there ourselves. We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and Elinor chose to study the exhibits in the cast works gallery and the sculpture galleries.
Trajan’s column – lower
Trajan’s column – upper
Someone took a plaster-cast of the whole of Trajan’s column! The column is 30 m / 98 ft tall (with the pedestal it is 35 m / 115 ft tall). Its diameter is 37 m / 12.1 ft. This cast is now invaluable to scholars because the original column has become very weathered and the figures cannot easily be studied.
I love this medieval carving from Germany! The details of the knight’s journey are exquisitely worked. There are trees, people and small creatures, buildings, a dragon and a princess to be rescued! It was difficult to get a decent photo because of the reflections off the glass case. I also forgot to make a note of the artist and couldn’t find the piece when I went on the museum’s website.
‘A Bishop Saint’ by Sir Alfred Gilbert 1899. This bishop’s gentle expression appealed to me very much.
‘The Virgin with the Laughing Child’ probably by Antonio Rossellino ca. 1465. I could look at this statuette for ever! It is so intimate and loving! Look at the way the mother is holding her little boy on her knee with his leg between her forefinger and middle finger, her other hand on his tummy and his hand on hers.
After leaving the museum we decided to walk to Hyde Park and relax there for a short time before catching our train home.
The Royal Albert Hall – a beautiful building and an excellent concert hall
Opposite the Royal Albert Hall is the Albert Memorial
ooOOoo
That’s it for the time being! I will leave you with my music choice, ‘This Is How It Feels’ by Inspiral Carpets, remembering Craig Gill (drums) who died on Tuesday 22 November 2016
Amazing; moving; humbling; impressive: words you could choose to describe the annual National Service of Remembrance held in London on Remembrance Sunday, the second Sunday in November. Thousands attend every year; thousands watch it on TV; thousands more attend similar, albeit slightly more modest, services throughout the United Kingdom – and beyond. It is an…
Recently I read about the upcoming nationwide roll out of the Quality Metrics Framework. For those of you who don’t know, The Quality Metrics are a selection of statements presented to audiences to…
I’ve been lost for words at times since Friday morning, and those who know me well will know that is possibly the best thing that has come out of the referendum if you were a remain voter.
I am shocked by the result, deeply saddened that neither the remain or leave campaign seem to have had a plan for what they would do in the event of a narrow leave vote, upset by the finger pointing and accusations made towards individuals who voted as their heads and hearts led them, and utterly appalled by the racist attacks and abuse that have been reported.
I’m white, British, middle-class, middle-aged and I’m not a racist. Anyone who lives in this country is welcome to live near me, to work with me, to build community with me. I don’t care which football team, which religion or which political party you support. But discriminating…
Last Sunday we were thinking about the celebrations of the Queen’s 90th birthday, and also looking at 2 passages from the Bible- one in Luke chapter 7 verse 36- 8:3 and the other in Galatians 2:15-21. As well as this I wanted to respond to some questions I’d been asked about the referendum, but without telling people which box to tick… so this is what I ended up writing. If you prefer to listen, go here.
In the days since last Sunday I’ve been reading and thinking more, and have concluded that I’m going to write a post about which way I’m choosing to vote and how I’ve come to that conclusion… hopefully that will be up tomorrow.
So, last weekend:
Very often when we look at someone else’s position in life, we see their rights and privileges, but when we look to our own lives, we see…
Moments from a Norfolk Country Cottage. The furred & feathered & the worn and weathered. A Druid Herbalist with a Passion for Cats, Vintage, Dogs, Interiors, Nature, Hens, Organic Veggie Food, Plants & Trees & a Kinship with The Earth.
Last Sunday we were thinking about the celebrations of the Queen’s 90th birthday, and also looking at 2 passages from the Bible- one in 