Category: General

JM – I have been struggling here this morning but will settle for this.

As bells ring out into the world
And fires are lit and flags unfurl
So God in heaven leans back and rolls the dice
To see who wins and who will lose,
As heroes spark the Olympic fuse;
Each man, each woman taking part,
Linked by sporting rings and crying
“Faster, higher, stronger” – it is their noble art.
They stride the track and golden turf
Not for money or kingly prize
But in selfless sacrifice,
Each discovering their own true worth.

(Soutie and Boadicea, I will try for a linky thing but please help me if I fail.)

(Done ;))

The first week of August has come to its conclusion. The flight has been booked for some time. A flat has been secured, courses secured, a small job secured, books ordered. In short,
Everything seemed to be fitting together nicely. The entire process of moving to Minnesota has gone so pleasantly, in fact, that I was able to worry about tea cups, coffee makers, and even arrange for such minor necessities of life such as tooth paste, razors, and a drying rack for dishes to be delivered in advance of my arrival in order to avoid any difficulties or stresses.

Things went so well, in fact, that I did not make sure to review all my paperwork. Oh, paperwork I’ve reviewed
in large quantities. Forms I’ve filled out aplenty. Long, dull, soul-sapping heaps of legal documents have been filled in and completed, turned in well before the due date. Then something came to my attention today…
My financial documents for the next year, while turned in early, missed one minor detail… Namely, I seem to have failed to tick a button. Now this does not seem to be a matter of grave concern. It’s several weeks yet before the term starts, the university has noted that I completed the forms and has not yet cancelled my course registration. But the deadline was last Friday and only this evening did I notice that something was amiss. I ticked the button and filled out a minor form, something which I will either fax or send via express mail in the morrow.

I just found this comment on the BBC Olympics website.

“I think we should start a new campaign called ‘Hug an Aussie’. After their dire performance to date – finishing second to the Poms – they don’t even have cricket to fall back on. Go on, find your nearest Antipodean cousin, give them a big hug and tell them not to worry as it’s the taking part that matters. They will thank you for it.”

Consider yourselves hugged.

What you need is a business where your customers prepay for your services by buying tokens. Print a load of tokens with all the right pictures on so that people will never use them. In Harry Enfields words…. “loadsa money”

Good one, innit?   🙂

The damn BBC commentators at the Olympics, (are we allowed to write that word?) are murdering the lass’s name each time they try to say it. Is it to much to ask that people who work for our flagship broadcaster pronounce people’s names properly? It’s Jessica. Ennis. You illiterate oafs.

On the other hand, I have just finished watching the BBC Shakespeare series, ‘The Hollow Crown, and, you know what? That was worth the licence fee for this year. The series covers the four plays from Richard II to Henry V and it is superb – I cannot recommend it highly enough. The production, locations and cast make Shakespeare highly ‘accessible’ without any need to dumb down the language or make any other alterations to allow people to ‘relate’ to it.

I do urge you to get hold of it – all four parts can be downloaded if you don’t have access to BBC iPlayer 🙂

I realise that this book has been around for some time now, but I’ve only just discovered it.  It’s Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory and it should appeal to historians who enjoy gardening and gardeners who like a bit of history.  So I thought quite a few Charioteers might enjoy it, if they don’t already know it.

The book is based on the life of John Tradescant the Younger and is set during the English Civil War. [ There is an earlier volume based on the life of John Tradescant the Elder, entitled Earthly Joys.]  Part of the action is set in Virginia round the new colony of Jamestown, detailing the initial friendship and subsequent animosity between the English settlers and the native Powhatan Indians, the tribe to which Pocahontas belonged.  The Indians cannot believe how much territory the settlers are claiming, driving them ever farther inland.  But tobacco is a lucrative crop and more and more land is granted to new settlers.

In England Charles I is making more and more of a mess of trying to rule his subjects.  He gives his word and then immediately reneges on it. He has a shrewish French wife, which doesn’t help.  Tradescant, as royal gardener has the opportunity to see the king and queen at close quarters.  Of course Oliver Cromwell doesn’t emerge with flying colours either and neither does the turncoat General Monk.

There is no S&M, not much sex at all really, so no comparison with “Fifty Shades of Grey”, but I enjoyed reading it and the idea that so many of our plants, now taken for granted, came across the Atlantic packed in barrels and sprayed with sea water is quite amazing.

Chairs have been much on my mind the last few days. With more living space we’ve had to buy extra furniture – and I’ve been looking for new seating. I found just the thing – a huge round almost two seater. I’m not sure that Bearsy likes it – but I do!

I wanted to set a competition with a subject that anyone could find in their own home – and I remembered this painting. It’s always amazed me that a picture of an uncomfortable chair can be ‘worth’ a fortune.

So the competition this time is a photo of a chair – as artistically arranged as you can make it!

The deadline is  12.00 midnight UK time Saturday 18th of August.

As much as feel Bradley Wiggins has done exceedingly well with the Tour de France and winning a gold I cannot agree with him regarding cycle helmets.

He states all safety experts agree with him, they do not. The Institute for advanced Motorists cycle division state that there is no proven benefit to wearing a helmet when cycling, and that they could even be a hindrance.

I cycle now and do not wear a helmet as I feel they make the head extra heavy and if I am going through the country make me 3 inches taller so I bang my head.

When I was a kid I came off my bike numerous times, including being hit by a lorry. The damage was always knees, elbows and wrists/hands. the only bang on the head occurred when I got home with torn trousers and my mum clouted me. “so what you’ve broken your leg, you’ve torn your trousers”

One of our stops on the way to Bratislava was at Karlovy Vary, aka Carlsbad. This has been a spa resort town since the 18th century. The legend is that the hot springs were originally discovered by a hunting hound who had the misfortune to fall into one. His owner, the Emperor Charles IV, was so pleased to have found these springs that he quickly recovered from the loss of his dog.

Continue reading “Karlovy Vary”