After The Rain

Day 40

30th June 2009

Yesterday we had a bright blue sky, sunshine, heat; and it was muggy. Late last night there was a huge downpour, and then there were showers throughout today, until the sun made its appearance in the late afternoon.

I noticed the jewelled effects of numerous raindrops suspended on leaves, twigs, flower petals and spiders' webs, and the earthy, woody smell of fresh rainfall, as we walked our daughter home from playgroup. For her it meant puddle-jumps in wellies all the way home; for our son it was an assault on the senses, at which he looked about him in amazement and wonder. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it all!

One thing I have noticed, though, is that this blog has featured water for the last 5 entries...

Cool Cloud

Day 39

29th June 2009

A really busy day today, so not much time to take photos, although this cloud hovering over Old Harry caught my eye; it reminds me of soap suds in the bath! Perhaps the cliffs are having a clean up!

Water Droplets

Day 38

28th June 2009

A few years ago, I had started to get the hang of taking photos like these. Since then, I have lost the knack. They are a frustrating way of spending an afternoon, but also a real challenge, which is what I like. Today was challenging on two levels: trying to push the camera's shutterspeed up to its maximum (and it wasn't having any of it, no matter what); and my priority number one:being a mummy, taking number one priority.

So here is as good as it got, today, not bad I suppose, but I know I can do better, it's just a question of having lots of time to mess about with the camera settings, materials, liquids, lighting, etc etc. One day!

It did remind me of the
Dr Masaru Emoto experiments, which have come under fire and are regarded as a fake. The experiment "proves" that water is affected by words and music. Dr Emoto claims to have photographed water as it crystallizes, whilst playing certain types of music. One such experiment shows a perfect snowflake when played the Four Seasons by Vivaldi; and a spikey mess when played heavy metal music. In another experiment, the word "love" taped to the glass made a snowflake shape, whereas the word "hate" didn't.

Whether it is a valid, credible experiment or not, is not necessarily the point. Perhaps the point is that if we love our surroundings and our planet, then it will stay beautiful, and if we show a lack of care and respect and love, then it will become an ugly world to live in. I see Dr Emoto's work as more an artistic statement on the way our world is, and he has a good point!

The Pirates Are Coming!

Day 37

27th June 2009Our friend, Elaine, invited us to her 40th birthday party, at the Ocean Bay restaurant. It was all very exciting for my daughter, not just getting to stay up later, but because when we got to the venue, she saw that there was a "pirate" ship close to the shore! The children spent ages digging out hiding places, fighting the pirates and generally winding eachother into an over-excited state for a couple of hours. It must have been great fun! My son decided that he was hungry and tired for at least the first hour, but after that I was able to mingle a bit and take some photos, too. It was lovely to celebrate with Elaine in such a beautiful scene, she couldn't have picked a better evening!

Later on, though, as the sun was setting, the mist came in over the hills, and cast a muggy blanket over the town. It looked quite impressive.

Happy Birthday, Elaine!

School Fete

Day 36

26th June 2009

Today was the school fete, and despite the weather being really dull and rainy in the morning, it turned out to be beautiful, warm and sunny in the afternoon.

The children were running various stalls including the ever-popular hook-a-duck. There was a really good turn-out of parents and the children all had a great time with the various other activities on offer.

This included an aquarium touchy-feely session, giving children the chance to hold starfish, and touch a "shark" (see Dogfish, below).

Econo-Waste not; Want not

Day 35

25th June 2009

As I was walking home today, I saw these plants being carefully utilized by the ever-busy bees. As I watched them, I marvelled at their big saddle-bags of pollen on their legs, their gracefullness, and the almost tender way in which they crept in to the flower, so as not to damage it whilst they did their work. Beautiful.

I'm fascinated by bees. As a child I was frightened by them, especially having been stung by them on more than one occasion. These days I appreciate how the bee is one of the many creatures on the earth that are maintaining the fragility of the environment and the life of all inhabitants. Now that we know that bees in the UK are under threat, to me it brings home the reality of how fragile the earth really is.

But they are an example of how brilliantly resourceful nature is. Nature only takes what it needs in order to survive, it doesn't take to excess. Nature, as intended, will provide what is required of it so that the earth is maintained. Quite where us humans went wrong in this is a bit of a mystery, but one thing is clear:humanity needs to start dieting. Now. Could the reason that our bees are dying out be the result of human excessiveness working them all to death? Perhaps I'm being a bit extreme here.

The western world needs to stop eating so much, just for the sake of it. We need to go back to our roots and use what's in our environment, instead of shipping or flying food out of season, that can be grown seasonally in our own countries. Why do we need strawberries all year round? When I was a child, strawberries were a rare summer treat. Now I could buy some in that silly econowaste plastic box that supermarkets package them into, and eat some that were grown in Egypt, in the middle of winter. The fuel that is used to transport that fruit to me is ridiculous. We're running out of oil, and the time will come when the oil will be gone. The film, Wall-E actually makes a very good point about the future of humankind. Will people still be greedy, or will we learn to be as nature intended?

The Thin End of the Wedge

Day 34

24th June 2009

There is a very hot potato being tossed about in Purbeck: the Purbeck Review, which is supposedly a fair way of looking at the existing three-tier (first, middle and upper schools) education system, and changing it by closing the middle schools in Purbeck and having a new, two-tier system.

Dorset County Council announced this proposal in January of this year, and after over two months of overwhelming puplic opposition opinion against the changes, the council went off with their white boards, pieces of paper, and statistics to consider the public opinion and decide what to do next.

What they decided to do, it seems, is to go back to their offices with said white boards, pieces of paper and statistics, and put their feet on their desks and rest up for a while, waiting for the local elections to take place. Once this was over, they casually announced this week that whilst there was overwhelming public disagreement to the two-tier system, actually there was a significant "balanced" opinion that agreed with changing from a three to a two-tier system.

Yeah, right, of course there was.

Pardon me for being ever-so-slightly acerbic, but I think we have a case of significantly aromatic Dorset manure, here.

There are numerous families who have moved into Purbeck, and specifically, Swanage, to be able to utilize the fantastic first and middle schools in the area. A large proportion of these parents are able to work from home, and so it isn't an issue as far as commuting out of Purbeck to more industrialised areas to work. I know a vast majority of these parents who, if they couldn't work from home, would not have moved to Swanage at all. I know a significant number of parents who wanted to live in Swanage because of the unique schools in the area.

If the Council were to take their heads out of the Purbeck sand and sample the other side of living - you know, the part where you have to spend an extra 20-30K on a house to get into a decent school nearby because it got a good Ofsted report; or the bit where parents get their 2nd or 3rd choices of schools because of an excess number of applications for a reception class size of 30; or the bit where parents "lie" about where they live in order to get into the school they want to, then they may wish to step back again and take a closer look at the well-performing schools within Purbeck.

Not to mention the "second homes" debate, where wealthy people are buying up second homes in tourist areas, and driving up the house prices, meaning that ordinary families are unable to move into these rural areas, and that community life is dying as a result. The council say that the population is dwindling and that the education system can not survive in its current situation, based on the number of pupils required to keep the Purbeck (upper) school in Wareham open and able to offer a full range of subjects at GCSE and A level.

But there is a growing population in the Purbeck area, not just from families moving in and working from home, but also from the baby boom, where Swanage saw a significant increase in the number of births, late last year and this year. I am a part of that statistic, and the reason we moved back to Swanage is because of the brilliant schooling system, and the quality of life.

The proposal to a two-tier system is so evocative because it would mean sending our 11 year olds 10 miles to Wareham on the bus, closing the middle school and rebuilding it (at a cost of an estimated £70million - that doesn't include improving the roads and safety to the school), closing some of the existing first schools and removing the only non-faith school in the area, and all of this is to keep the upper school open.

Why can't a secondary school/upper school be opened in Swanage? There was a grammar school in Swanage until the 1970's, and the building has since remained empty and unused. Why should our children have to go, at the age of 11, to a school 10 miles away, because of a perception from the council that it would be a good idea? And why did they bother having a consultation period if they knew they were going to go ahead with the proposal, anyway?

So my ranting and carrying on about the whole subject hasn't given any explanation to the photo. A piece of Dorset Blue Vinny cheese (not my thing but apparently it's very delicious), bought by my husband from the Purbeck Deli represents the thin end of the wedge, which is what our Purbeck children are being offered in terms of education, if the council press ahead with the two-tier proposal. There are lots of reasons why this is a bad idea, if only the council would be able to understand this from the heart, not the head and the pocket. I would recommend the likes of John Nash to come and stay with a family in each of the Purbeck areas and see how things are now, and how things could be if the whole system was changed. Being emotional and misninformed is one thing, but being rational, logical and reasoned is another. Perhaps if the council could take the opinions from the latter, things could be different.

Pier review

Day 33

23 June 2009

I went for a walk along the pier today, which is something I haven't done for a long time. Months, maybe a year. I usually decide against it when it's raining or cold, as walking along it at those times is too much of an effort, although I suppose it's good for blowing the cobwebs away.

It's been a good few years since I took some photos here, too, so today, in the morning sunshine (and it's so warm and lovely today), I took my camera, baby and myself to the end of the pier.
On my way I saw a group of divers getting ready to head "down there". It all looks very exciting but I'm not sure I'd like the getting changed bit afterwards. Brrrrgh.

This may sound strange, but to me this propeller almost looks like it's hiding there, safe from whatever it is lurking around the corner.

Perhaps I should have gone to bed earlier last night.

This is a view of the pierhead cafe end of town. A beautiful scene.

Shadows of the ornate and eye-catching railings along the pier.

A veiw of the old pier, which (I think) was burned in a fire. In the distance is the bell tower, bought here from London. Swanage is sometimes nicknamed "little London" as John Mowlem took a lot of bits from London to build Swanage. An example is the frontage of the town hall.

There is work underway to replace some of the pier one "leg" at a time. The hammer apparently weighs 3 1/2 tonnes! As it hit the wood, an awesome echoing rhythm rang around the bay, accompanied by a high-pitched squeak. The whole noise reminded me of the "Psycho" shower scene music set to a jungle beat!

Meat-free Monday

Day 32

22nd June 2009

These days, I don't eat as much meat as I used to. Since being pregnant with my son, where I went into carb overdrive, I just haven't enjoyed it as much. The turning point came, however, when we were having some work done on the house, and the remains of an animal skull was found. My husband left it on our desk along with a random thimble which was dug up close by to where the skull was found. I sat down to do some work whilst eating my lamb stew, and suddenly I didn't fancy eating it anymore.
I don't know if I want to become a full-on vegetarian. I have always enjoyed a wide variety of veg, and more recently we're hooking on to the idea of eating less meat for environmental reasons, such as the meat-free Monday campaign. Even my carnivorous husband can handle a veggie dish a few days a week, now. It's just that every now and then, I enjoy meat (you wouldn't believe how many times I have had to re-phrase this last sentence without making it sound like a line out of a carry-on film).
Anyway, moving on...

The peas are from my daughter's school, where the kids where helping themselves to a few for the journey home. They were delicious peas, too - really sweet and tasty.
The beetroot came from Haycrafts lane garden, who I've mentioned before. Beetroot are a real favourite with me at the moment, I can't get enough of them!
Roasted veg with a large flat-cap mushroom with buffalo mozzarella and beef tomato topping, with oregano and olive oil. Yum. Thanks to my husband for cooking dinner tonight!

Deepest, darkest Dorset

Day 31

21 June 2009

We visited a group of friends and children who were camping out in Burnbake for the weekend. Another fabulous site, nestled inbetween Corfe and Studland. We really need to get a family size tent! I loved camping, pre-children, but we haven't yet attempted it with our four year old and 5 month old. It could be interesting.

Tucked away on the site was this fantastic rope-swing, which all the children, and some of the adults (including me) took a turn on. I loved it, but my 5 month old didn't like seeing his mummy suspended in mid air over a muddy patch of ground about 9ft or so below me. I can't understand why.

Observing

Day 30

20 June 2009

Here is an example of one of my poor landscape photos (OK, starting on a negative isn't a good thing, but it is a rubbish photo!). We had a lovely time with our friends who were camping out at Weymouth for the weekend, at a place called Rosewall campsite, which overlooked the sea, and was surrounded with beautiful green fields, where horses grazed and observed the world around them.

This photo was taken with my zoom lens (I think it's a 70 - 300mm lens) which always frustrates me as it's a canon image stabilising lens and should know better than produce a poor image, but it does, and it shouldn't because it cost a lot of money! Even worse, then, is the user!

However, our daughter had a wonderful afternoon playing with her friend, in the pool, out of the pool, eating from the BBQ and observing all around us.

Hot Chococo

Day 29

19 June 2009

At lunchtime I popped into town for a hot chocolate with my friend, Nikki. We treated ourselves to a hot chocolate in
Chococo, but the great thing for me is that they do a really delicious soya version. As much as I love milk chocolate (read "love" as "obsessed by") , I can't eat it at the moment, just as I can't eat anything with cow's milk protein in it. I'm breastfeeding my 5 month old son who has taken a dislike to cow's milk products. Or maybe he just wants to see me shed the pregnancy pounds, who knows, but for the forseeable future, dairy products are out of bounds. Sob.

So as a chocolate lover, sitting in a cafe surrounded by some truly scrumptious (sorry) examples of what can be done with cocoa beans, and not being able to eat it, is unfair. Luckily, Chococo does do some dairy-free dark chocolates for children and adults, and the soya hot chocolate really is the best I've ever had. It left that earthy rich aftertaste of cocoa, not sugar. On offer with each drink is a choice of one of a selection of chocolates, of which I chose a dark chocolate filled with Marzipan. Hmmm. The only downside for me is the price, which is a bit expensive, but on the other hand, one treat like this occasionally is not going to break the bank.

The thing I like about Chococo is that they are testament to the ideas of keeping things simple, the use of local ingredients as much as possible, and keeping things as ethical as possible. They have started a thriving industry in the heart of Swanage which is having a positive effect.
So my friend and I chatted whilst our babes in arms (both boys) tolerated us sitting there for a while but soon got bored of chit-chat and chocolate (typical male behaviour), so off we went.
I would have put a photo of the said hot chocolate up here but unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me at the time.

These are not great photos I've put up today, I can do better than this but I was rushed for time this evening when I went back to take the photos.

Thanks to Claire and Andy for allowing me to take some photos, and for selling a tasty dairy-free version of my favourite hot drink!

A waste of Time

Day 28

18th June 2009

Take a look at that view: As I've mentioned before, landscape isn't really my strong point, so if you were standing where I was, you would be able to see a beautiful blue sky, a shimmering peacock sea, Old Harry Rocks, and in the far distance, Bournemouth.

If you were standing where I was when I took this photo, you would be able to hear the seagulls squawking as they zoomed past you; the sound of the water's edge lapping gently against the rocks; smell the salty seaweed aroma combined with vinegar and chips, and feel a gentle breeze whispering around you. To the right of you, you would be able to see the pier, inviting you to take a walk there and read all the named dedication plaques people have paid for to help restore it.

You might think of finding a lovely little cafe where you could sit and continue to admire the view, take everything in, and enjoy yourself for a while.

Instead, if you were to turn 180 degrees and cross the road, you would see these images. The Pierhead Cafe closed in the 1990's amid controversy surrounding the future of the building. It has since been left as it is. The controversy continues, as the district council have refused planning applications, and although there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, it will still be sometime later on in the year before anyone knows the fate of this application. There is a kiosk with a patio area to the right of this building, but it's only a fraction of what could be better utilized, given the love and attention it deserves.

These stunning murals were painted by Nina Camplin and Antonia Phillips, as part of Purbeck Art Week 2007. You can go to their Shocked Custard website to read more about the history of these buildings, and view more of their murals and other projects.

I love to look at these murals, as they really do portray the sense of past, present and future. I feel a mixture of emotions when I look at them, ranging from nostalgia, and sadness; to hope. It's such a shame that the building is lying empty, unused, and unloved. The building has so much potential, and as Time goes by the amount of work which will be needed to restore the buildings will increase, making them less attractive for the future. I hope that the buildings don't fall victim to the dreaded demolition.


I particularly like these steps. They need some love and attention, but I can imagine how they would have led the feet of American and Canadian troops into the cafe, and wonder how many tired little footsteps other than my own walked on them; how often these steps were swept and cleaned over the years. I wonder how many dogs have weed on them on their way to and from the Downs. Maybe I think too hard!



Swanage is such a beautiful town. It has so much to offer the locals and tourists alike, and yet here, at the pier end of the town, lies a confused mess of promise, combined with apathetic vision and a disregard for potential. This kind of apathy and narrow-mindedness is a repetitive feature of Swanage. In these difficult times, saving the town by maintaining it and increasing it's potential (not to ruin the town, but to keep it alive) is the only way forward, or else there is the risk of destroying the very thing the council want to protect. Let's not waste Time.
Thanks to Nina camplin and Antonia Phillips for allowing me to use their mural images here.

Ready for a close up

Day 27

17th June 2009

I am pretty chuffed with this photo. I snatched a bit of "me" time to do this, and it involved setting up extension tubes, the tripod, and the remote shutter release.

So after I'd dusted off aforementioned items (it has to be around 3 years since I last played with my "macro" kit), I got playing. I really enjoyed myself, too! All told, it's taken me half an hour from setting up; to upload. Everyone is due home in a minute, and then it will be time for tea, bath, PJ's and stories tucked up in bed (that's just me, not sure what everyone else is doing...)

Some strawberry facts from a British summer fruits website include that strawberries were regarded as an aphrodisiac. Doesn't it seem that any food that doesn't cause cancer is thought to have aphrodisiac properties? This makes me think that scientists are preoccupied either with death or sex, which ultimately controls the world population. Proof, surely, then, that science dominates our lives in rather a thought-police sort of way? Just a thought...random I know.

Barriers

Day 26

16th June 2009

This is a wonderful creation which my daughter made in playgroup today. She came running out to me with it at home-time, proudly shouting, "look what I made today, Mummy, it's a wall!". Her pride in her work made me smile, and the way she ran to me to show me made me feel proud that she wanted to share her excitement with me.

I was excited for her, because, like most children, she was living in that very moment, in that space, with no barriers in front of her to stop her from just "being". Most children in the UK don't worry about money, relationships, jobs, home, responsibilities, what to wear, where the next meal is coming from; they have their whole future ahead of them, but all they can see is what is straight there at the end of their cute little button noses: tea time, homework time, bed time, going out to play time, sweeties time, tv time, etc etc - and that is what life should be like for a child.

As an adult, to be living in the moment, with no other distractions to take you into another space, to actually live that moment in time, to feel what's around you, to experience the emotion of that time, to truly LIVE, is a difficult, if not impossible, concept for most grown-ups to grasp. OK, so going to the supermarket to buy a loaf of bread isn't exactly the high point in a lifetime, as it's a practical, seemingly mundane task of going to the shop to buy food so as to eat, in order that you don't feel hungry anymore. It's a means to an end.

But if, for example, you consider that we are lucky enough to be living in a country where food is plentiful, a large amount of the population have enough money lining their pockets to be able to buy a loaf of bread and a whole lot more besides; and compare it to another country, for example, Zimbabwe, where to buy a loaf of bread involves standing in a long queue with a bag full of notes just for the bread alone. These people must be truly living in that moment, where they don't know if there will even be any bread on the shelf when they finally walk through the doors into the supermarket, let alone part with the huge pile of cash and leave with a small chunk of dough to take to their family. To be living in the moment, is to survive, for them.

What I am clumsily trying to convey in this post, is that we have barriers around us which impede or prevent us from experiencing the moment in its fullest sense. We have too many thoughts tracking through our minds to clearly see what's around us, so we don't feel the true nature of the experience at the time.

Next time you are doing a chore, try to see something seemingly mundane through the eyes of a child, to see if you can truly be living in that moment.

Rooster

Day 25

15th June 2009

This rooster is a very handsome thing. He's made out of some kind of metal (no idea what, sorry), and he will watch over the kitchen. He's a present from my husband, who took my repeated "ooh I really like the rooster" hints each time we passed him in the shop window. His home will be on our mantle, when we eventually get our kitchen finished.

I love playing about with shadows and reflections. I took the opportunity to stand the Rooster in the sunlight, and take a photo of the shadow he cast across the concrete floor. I could have photoshopped out the line from the window, the sticker on the window pane, and the woodshavings from the piece of wood that's being prepared, but I decided to leave it, I actually quite like it. It looks like there's more than meets the eye.

Pirate posse

Day 24

14 June 2009

Today we went along with some friends to the Castle Inn, in Corfe. The pub had a wine cheese and ice cream tasting session as part of Corfest, which finishes today. The weather was lovely, the live music was perfect, and the company was fun, too! The kids enjoyed themselves, as seen here taking a break from the E numbers consumed as a result of a careless pirate who kept dropping his coins in the gardens, for the kids to pick up and claim a sugary prize.

Thank you for a lovely afternoon guys!

Fete-full day

Day 23

13th June 2009

It was the Langton fete, today. An all day-event featuring stalls, pillow-fighting, sumo-wrestling, plate smashing, magic show and bouncy castle; and an evening of live music from local talent.

This lady, Colette, is part of the Purbeck Environment Action Team. The Yurt featured information about transition towns, which are a really good idea, and are all about improving the local environment by supporting local trade, rather than the, ahem, larger stores; thinking green, and living more simple lives. That's not to say we should all be spinning our own yarn and living in yurts, but PEAT is about trying to motivate and empower people to live a simpler lifestyle, and about talking to the councils about how they can help their tax-paying public.

One easy example: what sort of carrot would you prefer? One that had a little bit of mud on it, was a bit knobbly and bent, and not only tasted of carrot but tasted lovely, and was grown around the corner by someone who you know, and was cheaper to buy; or a carrot that had been pulled out of the ground too early, left in a cool place for several days/weeks, cleaned and left to bobb about in a large vat of water, stored for a bit longer, flown across the sea, and packaged into plastic, put on the shelves in big supermarkets, tasted like a plastic carrot, and undersold the grower?

Drummers

Day 22

June 12 2009

The middle school fayre took place today. We went along to see what was on offer. It's worrying how what seems like a few 50P's for coconut shy stalls and tombolas can stack up to a lot of money! But it was all for a good cause. These boys, above, were excellent. A Dorset Samba drum band called Magic drum orchestra. I bet they go down well at festivals and parties, too.

As I was walking around, two things dawned on me. The first thing was that we had to drive to get to the school as it was a long way for little legs and tired parents to walk at that time of the day. A lot of people drove, and the high street was clogged up with traffic. Pretty dangerous conditions for children to be walking to a school in.

The second thing that occurred to me was that this could be the penultimate middle school fayre, depending on what decision Dorset county council make about the future of our first and middle schools. If they decide to change the current three tier system to a two tier system, then there will be closures to the first schools, and the middle school will be rebuilt to accomodate children aged 4 - 11. There will be no middle school, and there will be an increased volume of traffic on the high street twice a day to get the children there and home again. The proposals have included nothing about the money that would be required for road restructuring, and I wonder how many accidents will arise.

At the end of this month, the decision on the proposal will be announced. If it goes against what the majority of locals want, I bet there will be an outcry, to put it mildly. The saddest thing of all, is that all through the proposed review process earlier this year, it became clear that the council's tampering with a well-functioning system threatened the fabric of the community. If two-tier is Purbeck's future, then the community will be devastated.

The soap-box is now empty!

Post Part 2

Day 21

11 June 2009

I realise this might not look too exciting, BUT it is a little bit interesting. Or at least, that's my opinion. It's an old post box, not a new pillar box style one. There are a few post boxes like this dotted around the place. Above is one from the George Vi reign which started in 1937 as a result of something ever-so-slightly scandulous his brother (the King) did...This is a rubbish example of a long depth of field. But the texture is there.
Ah yes: The days before the post office was carved up and when postmen were all called Pat and black and white cats were part of the uniform.
Below is a wall box from the Victorian era. Interesting, eh?!

Reflect

Day 20

10 June 2009

I am completely rubbish at landscape. If I were any good, then there would be an image of the whole of the millpond, featuring ducks in focus; the sky would be blue instead of washed out; and you would feel as though you were actually there rather than viewing it from where you read this now.

Instead, there is a collection of images that I hope will trigger some sort of "ooh, that's nice" response.

For me it really was a moment of reflection as I stood by the edge of the water, listening to the bellringers practice, an excitable bunch of teenage girls chatting whilst waiting to go in to their dance class, and the occasional quack from the ducks patrolling the wall. I've had a busy day, and so to be taking in everything, into my own silent world; unwinding; a warm calm descending...blissful.

It reminded me of the William Henry Davies poem, below, and then I realised that a couple of years ago, to be able to sit and contemplate and not have a feeling of having to rush off somewhere to get something done was virtually impossible. Now I can live in the moment, and notice all the little things around me, feel grateful and thankful for what I have; and for what I do not.

This is the second poem featured this week...not sure why though!

"What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
*Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
William Henry Davies

*This line always makes me giggle...I know, childish!

School veg

Day 19

09 June 2009

The school sold off some of the veg planted by the children and staff in the gardening club. They made over £11.00 today, and all of the money will be going back into the garden. Well done to the children, staff and parents for creating the veg, and to the weather for making it sow (geddit? OK this might not read so well without a glass of wine inside me tomorrow morning...hmmm).

I think it's remarkable how children are keen on doing stuff like gardening. Why aren't they more interested in sitting in front of the TV, or playing on the Wii or something? These kids have the benefit of an adult or two to light their imagination, create some sparks, and motivate them. Well done to all!

If other kids are anything like my daughter, they'll want to know how stuff works, how stuff grows, why, why and why. Today I've been asked how bees get made, and how kittens get made. It seemed funny to start by saying, "well a mummy cat and a daddy cat who love eachother...", but then explaining about worker bees and the queen bee...

...now: where's that wine bottle...

A pretty set-up by Lisa using home grown herbs.


A solitary drop of water. Creative license via photoshop. It didn't look like this in the camera!