tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64015287992183730952024-03-18T08:28:23.534+00:00Positive Letters ... inspirational stories ...Interesting prompts ...
to start a conversation going ...
as and when you might need one ...
a diversion to talk aboutHilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comBlogger1205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-16058284036169487932024-03-13T09:19:00.001+00:002024-03-13T12:23:17.363+00:00Indeterminate life ... <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I came across this quote via the recent blog entry 'The Strange Science of Zombie Fungi' – courtesy of Maria Popova's 'The Marginalian':</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">'A mind not be chang'd by Place or Time' – John Milton from Paradise Lost (Book I, line 234 … if I've counted right!).</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b><i>"The mind is its own place”</i></b></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></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/AVvXsEgU6v4oQZwGvnHQ8f8rzI6Uvdh4Ha0-dkG-rKRiiQ15ppZ9DdPDm1VVEqG7WMezUzO-s_NOV9hvsp6krsPAY5nN2xa5XGOJitu8pt7j-w3NR-QyOqQ0DcUlT7SeWeEUnt2Rg2LImc3MDnCDOr-cgr0siCtERFWX0OpS58259mtsjpG-kjoDhHeed3ZkFWZ9/s610/13%20Roast%20Lamb.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="610" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6v4oQZwGvnHQ8f8rzI6Uvdh4Ha0-dkG-rKRiiQ15ppZ9DdPDm1VVEqG7WMezUzO-s_NOV9hvsp6krsPAY5nN2xa5XGOJitu8pt7j-w3NR-QyOqQ0DcUlT7SeWeEUnt2Rg2LImc3MDnCDOr-cgr0siCtERFWX0OpS58259mtsjpG-kjoDhHeed3ZkFWZ9/s320/13%20Roast%20Lamb.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother's Day lunch - we'd have had roast<br />potatoes ... and now my mind is on lunch!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">This has been my head space … while I've pottered around chattering away to myself! - happy in my own little way - as I pretend to gear my own self up to being sensible and progressing with things needing to be done. Also sorting a few things out that took forever … patience, at times, is not my virtue ...</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">No excuse – I've been lazy – which of course now means I'm dithering around trying to catch one of those tails to put some salt on it … perhaps I can actually come back into this world and put muddling through behind me … there's mental hope – but that headspace is another thing!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></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/AVvXsEjQ5zweysklLivH-9hVlfVEo2TtphFlYLUYUXNsdikzmSNhyFtqlP6ZSnm0BmuzqAhZxhpvwReZkpfLIeXO1QUt2jM9b6qd_r9Vzy0k0RMO3d8q53ijesnUqhNP7McymzjksJcaz8LbIKvCrUd0z3u73qH-d5J01ZKYUKV7zX1zKuB9PVAOt7wZEaefQDla/s762/13%20Blue%20Tit.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="762" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5zweysklLivH-9hVlfVEo2TtphFlYLUYUXNsdikzmSNhyFtqlP6ZSnm0BmuzqAhZxhpvwReZkpfLIeXO1QUt2jM9b6qd_r9Vzy0k0RMO3d8q53ijesnUqhNP7McymzjksJcaz8LbIKvCrUd0z3u73qH-d5J01ZKYUKV7zX1zKuB9PVAOt7wZEaefQDla/s320/13%20Blue%20Tit.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Tit - enjoying Spring</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Anyway after a gloomy International Women's Day and Mothering Sunday (our Mother's Day here in the UK – tied into the Church's calendar – dating back to the 8</span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> century) … we are still enjoying mists or rain – no doubt the plants are appreciative … certainly the blue tits are filling out, as they chunter around in the lime tree outside.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I remember back twenty five years ago … we had Mother's Day with my my mother, and my brother's MIL, over in Alfriston (where the floods have recently been) … when the Canadian family were over …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK5wBMhvbt47AiyfWTBWcwr9cJjN0WlQjkrw-JovyKaT-Wv9Kh1LYS8_VdAnbKkXOjx72sq5yJQVsIhhGSCZqlNcBg3PzNKkg8HjAZEmJyQmFnqGDmg0d8b9TDma-87f8b0fKU_gPHxhCB6G0x9JG_XvWcPGiiTFQJLBq6OpU2f1ANIVkKsG6XgEuBVKk/s570/13%20John%20Tenniel's%201890%20illustration%20for%20Alice's%20Adventures%20in%20Wonderland%20'Down%20the%20Rabbit%20Hole'.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK5wBMhvbt47AiyfWTBWcwr9cJjN0WlQjkrw-JovyKaT-Wv9Kh1LYS8_VdAnbKkXOjx72sq5yJQVsIhhGSCZqlNcBg3PzNKkg8HjAZEmJyQmFnqGDmg0d8b9TDma-87f8b0fKU_gPHxhCB6G0x9JG_XvWcPGiiTFQJLBq6OpU2f1ANIVkKsG6XgEuBVKk/s320/13%20John%20Tenniel's%201890%20illustration%20for%20Alice's%20Adventures%20in%20Wonderland%20'Down%20the%20Rabbit%20Hole'.png" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Tenniel's 1890 illustration<br />for Alice's Adventures<br />in Wonderland</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">there were lots of us … 15 or so … it was so warm we moved outside and had our Mothering Sunday roast lunch in the garden …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I did find some interesting women I wanted to mention and thus rabbit holes I fell into … but I think I'll leave them for another day …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidycgwGYMNVCKdQLU3Puv5fJlxD0IH9sqvu6BYgsDWOCLgmCJO3v6Qv0rtfwMj69blyEDRUY631Emvj4KTHxc9e7zsuAN7plCcG4idkTr5u2gWZgEsIjsaJYSP9hRG3a6icpbS9QqyFSvbQ_PKrVAtUfFZj0YXHrF5WkzI4OZDcenxHgaQJYjeLD3tp6Gy/s331/13%20Algernon%20Charles%20Swinburne,%201862,%20by%20Dante%20Gabriel%20Rossetti.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="287" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidycgwGYMNVCKdQLU3Puv5fJlxD0IH9sqvu6BYgsDWOCLgmCJO3v6Qv0rtfwMj69blyEDRUY631Emvj4KTHxc9e7zsuAN7plCcG4idkTr5u2gWZgEsIjsaJYSP9hRG3a6icpbS9QqyFSvbQ_PKrVAtUfFZj0YXHrF5WkzI4OZDcenxHgaQJYjeLD3tp6Gy/s320/13%20Algernon%20Charles%20Swinburne,%201862,%20by%20Dante%20Gabriel%20Rossetti.png" width="277" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dante Gabriel Rossetti's portrait<br />of Swinburne (1862)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I did come across an article on Algernon Charles Swinburne's early work (1857 – 1871): 'The Female Archetypes' … which might make interesting reading for one or two of you …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">It's drier and brighter today … thanks for your kind thoughts … and care – I'm just about up and running – by next week definitely …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEhnCG9DHNW0zXkg1I98gVkD8wxNRSMywF-IdU-APBp4heuRXZPCBxdNedTXR3KT-C7VB5ZyzCpBNjQupMRtWEHc7jK11UMs2kngmT0iS9-LguBKECXqrRGO6asEDi1kwI3XoMQNOR1XsRmstsGVFIOh34UBV_JZlkOMO12VbXiI__lRcEjNVieYHripdaz0/s576/13%20Spring%20is%20really%20coming.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="424" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCG9DHNW0zXkg1I98gVkD8wxNRSMywF-IdU-APBp4heuRXZPCBxdNedTXR3KT-C7VB5ZyzCpBNjQupMRtWEHc7jK11UMs2kngmT0iS9-LguBKECXqrRGO6asEDi1kwI3XoMQNOR1XsRmstsGVFIOh34UBV_JZlkOMO12VbXiI__lRcEjNVieYHripdaz0/s320/13%20Spring%20is%20really%20coming.png" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From a friend's garden - the<br />hyacinths I gave her a few years ago</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Marginalian - <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2024/03/09/cordyceps-ant/" target="_blank">The Strange Science of Zombie Fungi</a> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2024/03/09/cordyceps-ant/" target="_blank">Paradise Lost - c/o Poets.org</a> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://repository.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4677&context=gradschool_disstheses" target="_blank">Disstheses on Swinburne's 'The Female Archetypes'</a> c/o Louisiana State University (NB a pdf)</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-1837994074825126332024-03-01T16:04:00.000+00:002024-03-01T16:04:39.685+00:00WEP Get Togethers # 2 … winter blues …<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">February was not the most brilliant – not helped with lots of that wet stuff, excess wind … too many things that could have been done quickly took forever … which frustrates me to say the least, apart from being so time wasting …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEgQMVfo_3u_H9byD3E037NyUilAptSmBt1NNtuNzShtURRNI_7Xd28SiinB2HR4BKbMNJ9cbM9mA2gXLz47-PxeDTBMif9TOulIkEfMKti3lgPG34epxsdSHX0ABZMLmPQ7EPJTxiasYNyYP3qD32Ed5-49IQGiGqolstsd-gvmid4D-uGJjiaPpuou85tt/s900/1%20Get%20Together%20header.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="900" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMVfo_3u_H9byD3E037NyUilAptSmBt1NNtuNzShtURRNI_7Xd28SiinB2HR4BKbMNJ9cbM9mA2gXLz47-PxeDTBMif9TOulIkEfMKti3lgPG34epxsdSHX0ABZMLmPQ7EPJTxiasYNyYP3qD32Ed5-49IQGiGqolstsd-gvmid4D-uGJjiaPpuou85tt/s320/1%20Get%20Together%20header.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It says it all .... </td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">March has come in favouring its name … after the Roman god of War … but that was this morning – this afternoon we have blue skies, big whitish cumulus clouds and some sun – bliss … till more tears drop forth from those towering clouds …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu4ySg5IfG-H4uVCAj6Zsl41Qa0XaVuOUubB7XEHm9eF4OpM3SCjZ8LjenYmuWxIPJDcUpnD1p37zsDPDql-Kfvmv3nSz45A-UbSKdCLq4OMo3_MP8pcsab8lRvXttheyw1W7yVMdocMiRg_LQfAqHWJaq5eRzxTnPOUMVwMHsESOd1QkHYBOrN6GfsHv/s381/1%20Statue%20of%20Mars%20from%20the%20Forum%20of%20Nerva,%202nd%20C.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="211" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu4ySg5IfG-H4uVCAj6Zsl41Qa0XaVuOUubB7XEHm9eF4OpM3SCjZ8LjenYmuWxIPJDcUpnD1p37zsDPDql-Kfvmv3nSz45A-UbSKdCLq4OMo3_MP8pcsab8lRvXttheyw1W7yVMdocMiRg_LQfAqHWJaq5eRzxTnPOUMVwMHsESOd1QkHYBOrN6GfsHv/s320/1%20Statue%20of%20Mars%20from%20the%20Forum%20of%20Nerva,%202nd%20C.png" width="177" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of Mars from the<br />Forum of Nerva, 2nd C </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">There's a <span style="background-color: #cccccc;"><i>wormy moon</i> </span>around the 25th March … a way off yet – and who knows what the weather holds or life for that matter … if only … if only … kindness and peace could prevail …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">but the days are getting longer and then the northern hemisphere will have its 2024 heyday for that wonderful period of longer days than nights.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvISTpUSeBdvowF3CFdRXqdSkQwLZDUUsexcCbuVtffepKMcBPp7mHeebFqBZRJegNw1q1Fg9nvnh422N16S7nqAniEhuKdKUc5tEeMa2qefxicgsdwo6TAVaVkYuUORRxFqZ-8feQmP1MGROP_lB_6K61F2myJhRyqWYbu8l1CZhb_VR1zcIMTKO2DKK/s416/1%20Wormy%20Moon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="416" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvISTpUSeBdvowF3CFdRXqdSkQwLZDUUsexcCbuVtffepKMcBPp7mHeebFqBZRJegNw1q1Fg9nvnh422N16S7nqAniEhuKdKUc5tEeMa2qefxicgsdwo6TAVaVkYuUORRxFqZ-8feQmP1MGROP_lB_6K61F2myJhRyqWYbu8l1CZhb_VR1zcIMTKO2DKK/s320/1%20Wormy%20Moon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I let the worm rest in its blue-cheese delight</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I'm feeling the blues … but also feel the shackles are coming off – and easier days loom ahead … I do intend to sort and clear out the flat – last year with the high blood pressure I felt maggoty and didn't feel inspired to do much – also to get posts ready for the blog …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRMKNL06R8XO3XZd17cISWs5Bq8mVDeft3msr2tkZEB1jr1L1YpTnS5ixwuUoVZbDSoMBAuEm2jyftJz3WUcCMulU8Zjtw748akUKJs3mktVnsZzUGXHGCt3cpXF6-EAgCpBywuG8FqirvUPGMxdB4D3x6s2xavCbgeabKnehYT0GaWdZkjJXxQTGLzQL/s598/1%20Marchs%20flower%20Daffodil.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRMKNL06R8XO3XZd17cISWs5Bq8mVDeft3msr2tkZEB1jr1L1YpTnS5ixwuUoVZbDSoMBAuEm2jyftJz3WUcCMulU8Zjtw748akUKJs3mktVnsZzUGXHGCt3cpXF6-EAgCpBywuG8FqirvUPGMxdB4D3x6s2xavCbgeabKnehYT0GaWdZkjJXxQTGLzQL/s320/1%20Marchs%20flower%20Daffodil.png" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daffodil - the flower for March</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Denise says let us know what's burning in your heart … my desire to leave the </span><i style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">claggish congelation</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> behind … and to enjoy March and the year ahead in an easier more settled state of mind …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This is where my brother lives – it's often flooded around there … and they've been without water, not for long thankfully …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvvc6X2jTycpGCbdzEyOHQDmA8D3Vnzrsq-uj87SbYhzI-3WOYM4aV2PbwyO0hz8ebb5QVUyyIyjRSfdqlgzjthYlVPImuVS9cSC775yZzoyYRsUDjggkeKARX4CwGzVWmaIm7ifnDh37nnDsIvszzDn4YaRuHwqgoQoaQ0GA79KC0veuacRHBWoUnBpy/s649/1%20Alfriston%20flooding.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="649" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvvc6X2jTycpGCbdzEyOHQDmA8D3Vnzrsq-uj87SbYhzI-3WOYM4aV2PbwyO0hz8ebb5QVUyyIyjRSfdqlgzjthYlVPImuVS9cSC775yZzoyYRsUDjggkeKARX4CwGzVWmaIm7ifnDh37nnDsIvszzDn4YaRuHwqgoQoaQ0GA79KC0veuacRHBWoUnBpy/s320/1%20Alfriston%20flooding.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alfriston - where my brother lives,<br />and where he gave his niece away, when<br />she married in the summer</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">That's it for now – I have lots of other posts to write up – more sparkly than this one … but I'm here and posting # 2 for the WEP Get Togethers … happy days to you all …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">PS Could someone let me know what 'the C box' is ... Denise asks that we put the link into the C box ... I'm out of it!!! .... thanks!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-18194446416051340862024-02-23T12:34:00.003+00:002024-02-23T12:34:51.307+00:00Five hundred years of blogging …<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Sadly when Write Edit Publish came to its end … understandable in many ways – the administrators have done a wonderful job over the years and I was only around for about half the time – Denise, Renee, Nila, Laura, Olga, Jemi suggested that we write something at the end of each month … as <i>WEP: Get Togethers</i> … which I will do next week. So to continue my thoughts on the start of blogging … posted 1<sup>st</sup> February.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEjvk2oWW0QRONSzjlXSeUyNyzyDQYNBHena3K0k4bqpI6zXHa59M-nFyuz9sNAndQh1ww_zFmHjYI4f8sFyCAn_O37N3_0bRYk2JlWJ2bkRFdClhgOJuY231y3oZzsHe1TnrXnV2m705kyJG-5R34y3a2mAwQ5HToBDXB8aPCaK6y76vWgydgqKaSfm91qt/s900/23%20Get%20Together%20header.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="900" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvk2oWW0QRONSzjlXSeUyNyzyDQYNBHena3K0k4bqpI6zXHa59M-nFyuz9sNAndQh1ww_zFmHjYI4f8sFyCAn_O37N3_0bRYk2JlWJ2bkRFdClhgOJuY231y3oZzsHe1TnrXnV2m705kyJG-5R34y3a2mAwQ5HToBDXB8aPCaK6y76vWgydgqKaSfm91qt/s320/23%20Get%20Together%20header.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/p/about-team.html" target="_blank">Get Together team </a></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">In the 1500s a Frenchman popularised the essay as a literary genre – otherwise known today as blogging in a short form …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9Em0CmqMOPI1ywJFXJ5l02siFMVrKrZ4vo2J4EbnLHDW0xk_149YKIBFtS-AAIC3AEr9ApN5-3ow2hDGSB-KAx5OHiSKp9CZM1Y6a3M7K_jOjgevs1NSEDqSwgyZBtRyAKbgdqGTArw3q_d_6dOhVeDK7Kgg9W6rLh4gQAeVoQ_zET7JATQIGrpEGD2R/s540/23%20John%20Barger.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="439" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9Em0CmqMOPI1ywJFXJ5l02siFMVrKrZ4vo2J4EbnLHDW0xk_149YKIBFtS-AAIC3AEr9ApN5-3ow2hDGSB-KAx5OHiSKp9CZM1Y6a3M7K_jOjgevs1NSEDqSwgyZBtRyAKbgdqGTArw3q_d_6dOhVeDK7Kgg9W6rLh4gQAeVoQ_zET7JATQIGrpEGD2R/s320/23%20John%20Barger.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jorn Barger</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">But a question arose from Karen – where did the term 'blog' come from? I'd always heard it came from the web and a ship's logbook (hence blog) … which made 'common sense' to me …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">So see </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorn_Barger" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;" target="_blank">the article on Jorn Barger</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> – perhaps the first proper blogger as a blogger – he coined the term weblog ...</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSspgAo7I5bSxxeLPqmg2XYJat8tPYYwSe7G1T3U3LXrmH2HCqUlLtLfbo_zh48VWPw7RmfR6m3cWEB0adRAIwU1YNMgB-McgpCp0yHM-abqlxhdgROt80M0lcmEuKkiY_rM6g7sWEP0BMjLIeokCBVS2rfilMMOTrGeF2Rcq6mfRSmHzu-r9AmtfQGR9/s4032/23%20Sarah%20Bakewell%20book%20on%20Montaigne.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSspgAo7I5bSxxeLPqmg2XYJat8tPYYwSe7G1T3U3LXrmH2HCqUlLtLfbo_zh48VWPw7RmfR6m3cWEB0adRAIwU1YNMgB-McgpCp0yHM-abqlxhdgROt80M0lcmEuKkiY_rM6g7sWEP0BMjLIeokCBVS2rfilMMOTrGeF2Rcq6mfRSmHzu-r9AmtfQGR9/s320/23%20Sarah%20Bakewell%20book%20on%20Montaigne.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I found a book on Michel Montaigne (1533 - 1592) that will make interesting reading, who appears today to have popularised the essay as a literary genre.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hLkz4sbI5Fg-SxUm8Ru2iOtStqKMJUsLQzuggF12RcaPCTivU6h1NJ1sEzLBHtZ240Av-PTiQxi8W0QRxPBTjJMMkoTn0udDsDtlt1n9YeOSIzgI_ximEY9JVQSs4uGFxAHCGq2TBFkC8BT3cf8yJTLziGz2CUcnSlgTcw2akl8DosZXUS0ICYMzUX-l/s601/23%20Optical%20Fibres.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="565" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hLkz4sbI5Fg-SxUm8Ru2iOtStqKMJUsLQzuggF12RcaPCTivU6h1NJ1sEzLBHtZ240Av-PTiQxi8W0QRxPBTjJMMkoTn0udDsDtlt1n9YeOSIzgI_ximEY9JVQSs4uGFxAHCGq2TBFkC8BT3cf8yJTLziGz2CUcnSlgTcw2akl8DosZXUS0ICYMzUX-l/s320/23%20Optical%20Fibres.png" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Optical Fibres</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I've been absent from the net for most of this week – the angst of not being on line was somewhat sad – I was lost - I thought I was only going to be off for a few minutes – the telecoms company informed me … well a few days later I'm back … so I was very unprepared …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I needed a weblog to record 'the doings' but I will not waste your time … I'm now on fibre broadband – which gives me comfort (I think!) ...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1cmycghmlgsYhvn4VIOUpL2N7SkhHKMFEIPA3DyP9Mf9Z2Pq1tkCs1ugtvaiKR_Y7Gr3-40ecIQJmMFkpd8ecF8gFeGssp3h1ROZeSWxYyqoeTnA367ZYTL12ZSW5G8cjLtd2Qqx_jNLrXxgFSxh6wDaPzkK0X0N7PqsFNzRvF4lc2JkSfn08nxlgUCy/s396/23%20Hurricane%20seas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="396" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1cmycghmlgsYhvn4VIOUpL2N7SkhHKMFEIPA3DyP9Mf9Z2Pq1tkCs1ugtvaiKR_Y7Gr3-40ecIQJmMFkpd8ecF8gFeGssp3h1ROZeSWxYyqoeTnA367ZYTL12ZSW5G8cjLtd2Qqx_jNLrXxgFSxh6wDaPzkK0X0N7PqsFNzRvF4lc2JkSfn08nxlgUCy/s320/23%20Hurricane%20seas.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hurricane seas</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">but the Beaufort Scale kicked in down here … yesterday it was bucketing and wind buffeting … <i>I will not go down to the seas, it will be very lonely down there … <a href="https://johncooperclarke.com/poems/i-mustn%E2%80%99t-go-down-to-the-sea-again" target="_blank">Poem by John Cooper Clarke</a></i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Well it's now Friday … and things are still being sorted out – I seem to have done something silly re my desktop … life for the '</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">brainless</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">' goes on … just had a long phone call from a friend who's not been that well … so now I'm rushed even more!!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4Dms7tpLgS53XBpte2tbIOKHWhg1tmOnH4Tk1lUHwTPfdMhjMtGh_2O9woACVRuyUkr7K1bu9HFDBhAflUFUBeAncAjKtOLty-UvlsTxVPRwP7ifB_nq3KOtahaUi3NNVbppjbY75JM7RXGvzf9T6N16rAcLUQq-liS5m_qGh1dMh5J2nac52CmiJbqd/s855/23%20Tim%20Berners-Lee%20book.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4Dms7tpLgS53XBpte2tbIOKHWhg1tmOnH4Tk1lUHwTPfdMhjMtGh_2O9woACVRuyUkr7K1bu9HFDBhAflUFUBeAncAjKtOLty-UvlsTxVPRwP7ifB_nq3KOtahaUi3NNVbppjbY75JM7RXGvzf9T6N16rAcLUQq-liS5m_qGh1dMh5J2nac52CmiJbqd/s320/23%20Tim%20Berners-Lee%20book.png" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The story of how the web<br />really got started ... </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">At least I'll have got a post up – even more muddled than usual … I hope to sort things out and attempt to catch up in the coming week … life is flexing me a little!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I bought this book back at the turn of the century ... ie 2000AD ...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Happy weekend from a chilly, blustery, heavy showery day …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Postive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-79571509910915484002024-02-13T07:00:00.002+00:002024-02-13T07:00:00.356+00:00Pancakes ... <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Today is pancake day … originally called Shrove Tuesday … I was thinking back to my childhood when our mother would cook us pancakes … guzzling children were happy kids!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0wSVtwCTzvdVFmLJHa4Sn0gBH4KsBZBy1MjyQiWEFh_NQDSYRu3OofDKUjK-Z-WjlGhILqZVzrCM8Z5UKQGp30kapCMJd-LmA0vm0MypnX75BpcRJJrBf-QSCh3ycWEzw-i-ZelgNuSxIADBYyY0QsLKR3M2MTXiwPBF8UjFy-c-14P7OVsK4XMytmvk/s305/13%20Pancake%20Day.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="305" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0wSVtwCTzvdVFmLJHa4Sn0gBH4KsBZBy1MjyQiWEFh_NQDSYRu3OofDKUjK-Z-WjlGhILqZVzrCM8Z5UKQGp30kapCMJd-LmA0vm0MypnX75BpcRJJrBf-QSCh3ycWEzw-i-ZelgNuSxIADBYyY0QsLKR3M2MTXiwPBF8UjFy-c-14P7OVsK4XMytmvk/s1600/13%20Pancake%20Day.png" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pancakes with sugar and lemon</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">those were the days when for us … it was sprinkling sugar over the pancake, then a few drops of lemon juice … simple, but plain …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I've learnt that I enjoy simple food … as we used to have it when I was growing up – yet I'm t<i>he one with cookbooks for Africa</i> and who always used to enjoy experimenting with new recipes … from said books – along with some of my mother's …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I still enjoy reading foodie books … and have a few here that I will post about …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1gloU-NrNrvx6v1R_UkIrfRQcQ0nBUvJL6aaQYX6GzTN2Ot2K_tCicuh6c2rtIPrvclSrEWLUGJJaR4cdb5nmEM91ZBDJrIn7Lquh8AQWGpsN5pHE8z7ML2BZ8ieafKnjLXCT92VPjGhUqJ6w-bmEKdG_FsKP7y0bbqCxiemeMZvph6guSv3eNveClER/s597/13%20Aga%20-%20early%20version.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="597" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1gloU-NrNrvx6v1R_UkIrfRQcQ0nBUvJL6aaQYX6GzTN2Ot2K_tCicuh6c2rtIPrvclSrEWLUGJJaR4cdb5nmEM91ZBDJrIn7Lquh8AQWGpsN5pHE8z7ML2BZ8ieafKnjLXCT92VPjGhUqJ6w-bmEKdG_FsKP7y0bbqCxiemeMZvph6guSv3eNveClER/s320/13%20Aga%20-%20early%20version.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The heart of our childhood home was the Aga – the cast iron, two door, creamy primrose coloured Aga … we cooked with it, we hugged around it, we warmed our hands on it, we dried our clothes around it, we kept the winter chills away …</span></p></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRmC60OgztVgEdV10K-MHWAGExZYjMLMPxbrD3IsA6NsE9ktEjPDOzeqN05dTXvnuypptJi49fsZUajh9_XXaVK8HVMqmjUFf_-J3r1Hk-wZqzYXQfbNCmkC0F3J_nvzUDSda_5exm6U6glN6SyrqkhTdlukOSq2ksQ9WNPCgxey84XIP6UNP8jo92KHV/s644/13%20Olney%20Town%20Sign.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRmC60OgztVgEdV10K-MHWAGExZYjMLMPxbrD3IsA6NsE9ktEjPDOzeqN05dTXvnuypptJi49fsZUajh9_XXaVK8HVMqmjUFf_-J3r1Hk-wZqzYXQfbNCmkC0F3J_nvzUDSda_5exm6U6glN6SyrqkhTdlukOSq2ksQ9WNPCgxey84XIP6UNP8jo92KHV/s320/13%20Olney%20Town%20Sign.png" width="105" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olney town sign</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I have never tossed, nor raced, with a frying pan in hand to the local church, pancake still frying … dressed in a kitchen apron and headscarf (particularly that bit!) - but the Pancake Race is an annual happening – since 1445 – in Olney, Buckinghamshire. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">(nearly 600 years)</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Bet it makes a wonderful day in Olney for the kids … especially this year – as it's half-term …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cojTaUjWfUnzCeXOKgi0fF6c8U9L7LpzWBCTqLOsuZLs1jbWmWIawQjW39QMO1CI0ucUHq3en_wGy6aAoqerM4AVAgIHalA_d4M7-8ox2XzZ4tdkW9D1aIngECm2HTdZcdHng-xMFvzzWbuwjAROipZjTlQdZx1IX7aKuKEBKtX0j9EoK4fq8NcmjLcc/s754/13%20Pancake%20Race%20advert%20in%20Olney.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="754" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cojTaUjWfUnzCeXOKgi0fF6c8U9L7LpzWBCTqLOsuZLs1jbWmWIawQjW39QMO1CI0ucUHq3en_wGy6aAoqerM4AVAgIHalA_d4M7-8ox2XzZ4tdkW9D1aIngECm2HTdZcdHng-xMFvzzWbuwjAROipZjTlQdZx1IX7aKuKEBKtX0j9EoK4fq8NcmjLcc/s320/13%20Pancake%20Race%20advert%20in%20Olney.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign for the 2009 race in Olney</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">... perhaps not so wonderful for the grown-ups ...<i><b>'shrove'</b></i> comes from <i>'shrive'</i>: meaning to confess your sins and being absolved by a priest … thankfully today we can, I hope, just sort out our own misdemeanours?!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Happy pancake day wherever you might be …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-74133528213382883402024-02-01T13:09:00.000+00:002024-02-01T13:09:20.417+00:00WEP Get Togethers … Reunions …<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I'm just very happy to be joining WEPpers with many reunions and to hear everyone's stories … as you all develop your story-telling …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEi1Cqf-yUGXEOo8uTgDCLqgg9elmEW8N2qnThG_4YiZu7KvU974EChmFS7eKFpreaVs_cNtui07wqvqX0urXRlM_DHv7QvkgxkKnRs8vMIOFJ6ytdFg2ZlZdCDpuQ5O2FXP17ZaEX3UtFDs_hvXtZIlxXA838ihVkPynStyOtkXuEWiPm9PdtmyX3w0hZOS/s900/Header_Geralt_Earth2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="900" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Cqf-yUGXEOo8uTgDCLqgg9elmEW8N2qnThG_4YiZu7KvU974EChmFS7eKFpreaVs_cNtui07wqvqX0urXRlM_DHv7QvkgxkKnRs8vMIOFJ6ytdFg2ZlZdCDpuQ5O2FXP17ZaEX3UtFDs_hvXtZIlxXA838ihVkPynStyOtkXuEWiPm9PdtmyX3w0hZOS/s320/Header_Geralt_Earth2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You are welcome to join us ... I hope you will!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">As I'm not writing for a reason per se – I thought I'd add snippets that come to mind … either from life itself, or reminders of aspects I might have missed out in earlier blog posts … all 1,200 of them I note …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOcPCSH3Pzaequ_rSzYo_EeFF5u5VQPVkWKl0IiVRQ2pU4flKASjgjwAjNjwt-F1rBP08UZPzwIb4Vsz56a-VScR6YTvW3YdejhzohZbEk9p8OR-Xxcydz04VV0XUSq_8zwq515EGEFDtsbd9rKJsJHSCT2g1l7DcHp7h283dp3iR3TlLU22o9-vCg_b3/s648/1%20The%20Thinker%20by%20Rodin.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="484" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOcPCSH3Pzaequ_rSzYo_EeFF5u5VQPVkWKl0IiVRQ2pU4flKASjgjwAjNjwt-F1rBP08UZPzwIb4Vsz56a-VScR6YTvW3YdejhzohZbEk9p8OR-Xxcydz04VV0XUSq_8zwq515EGEFDtsbd9rKJsJHSCT2g1l7DcHp7h283dp3iR3TlLU22o9-vCg_b3/s320/1%20The%20Thinker%20by%20Rodin.png" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Thinker - by Auguste Rodin<br />outside the British Library</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Wikipedia's main page today features <b>'The Thinker'</b> by Auguste Rodin … appropriate for this post and probably me – though I most definitely cannot admit to being in that category … however hard you or I think I might be!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I certainly have learnt from the blog and WEPpers - so much that has changed my thought processes … I do now question in my mind … because others tend not to see the world as I do …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 29.3333px;">… b</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">ut my mind as always is open to new ideas … or topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language … about which I have smidgeons of knowledge …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I may include #WATWB type posts too … we shall see … won't we!!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dp6Dvqb9saUXFg77AG0WQ34s5K1n9Pjxkbnn6OtqeW6WB936yvUgzNu9bbVvF8pqSentsWkJ1Lg3pRSxOVLWqqA2JtFDcEwpx6xyKSk9Pe3-WmnCvQJ1R2aiS1Znz1D4Rvoe_P5FcpMpe0Xhtcp7CI-J0LbqBM6IBujqzHBWmVz0u6FEX21wOm75DYNp/s645/1%20Michel%20de%20Montaigne%201570s.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="482" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dp6Dvqb9saUXFg77AG0WQ34s5K1n9Pjxkbnn6OtqeW6WB936yvUgzNu9bbVvF8pqSentsWkJ1Lg3pRSxOVLWqqA2JtFDcEwpx6xyKSk9Pe3-WmnCvQJ1R2aiS1Znz1D4Rvoe_P5FcpMpe0Xhtcp7CI-J0LbqBM6IBujqzHBWmVz0u6FEX21wOm75DYNp/s320/1%20Michel%20de%20Montaigne%201570s.png" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michel de Montaigne (1570s)</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">When did blogging start … well it has been suggested in the 1500s … I bet you didn't expect that era … when Michel de Montaigne (1533 – 1592) became known for popularising the essay as a literary genre.</span></p><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">As per the (School of Oriental and African Studies) </span><a href="https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/librariannews/2013/08/14/michel-de-montaigne-b-1533-the-first-blogger/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;" target="_blank">SOAS article by David Pearson in 2013</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> … see link … containing lots of interesting thoughts.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1djiSxiE6_BDAJAMtXcKEF4zElnA9brYJyJMB800EevwVPC2QoSHORbQshPn0AGp960utpCHJ1E7BflGTCewSiI75cUyZNlH68Ko0mpw6-yRYq0oS8fwjdAR7vQ4vk1AaNg3s_mzljmHeXZnFAJt2ClRX3rLNS4bzJJK_OVfuV8BRefmvKiL8YVW2IJcn/s623/1%20Montaignes%20Tower%20-%20where%20his%20library%20was%20locate.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="471" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1djiSxiE6_BDAJAMtXcKEF4zElnA9brYJyJMB800EevwVPC2QoSHORbQshPn0AGp960utpCHJ1E7BflGTCewSiI75cUyZNlH68Ko0mpw6-yRYq0oS8fwjdAR7vQ4vk1AaNg3s_mzljmHeXZnFAJt2ClRX3rLNS4bzJJK_OVfuV8BRefmvKiL8YVW2IJcn/s320/1%20Montaignes%20Tower%20-%20where%20his%20library%20was%20locate.png" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montaigne's Tower - the only <br />original part of the Montaigne<br />estate that still stands - it is <br />where Michel de Montaigne's<br />library was located.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I particularly like the thought (last paragraph) that technology has turbo-charged things that have been done for millennia. Like <b><i style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Writing</i></b> and <b><i style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Thinking</i></b>. And <i><b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Conversation</b></i>.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I'll enjoy reading everyone's posts over at this the first <a href="https://dencovey.blogspot.com/2024/02/wep-get-together-and-iwsg-february-2024.html" target="_blank">WEP: Get Together post </a>…</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">PS - as I have Cornish origins where herrings had been a vital source of food for millennia ... so I was interested to read that the de Montaigne's fortune had been found on herring fishing in the Bay of Biscay ... </span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-8461853183042481132024-01-28T14:10:00.000+00:002024-01-28T14:10:27.988+00:00Crumbs Crumbling Chalk Cliffs<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The tiny hamlet at Birling Gap has had many ups and downs in its short existence … eight cottages were built for the Coastguard in 1878 before passing into private ownership after WW2 …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYtk333vUNObSk_LSTxUd5ZsQNwZkNfbQk3Yq790CW7CGYe2C1ZInDLBmlk05CsKSV58XTM8mNpoHWUd4xoaGFAfm5bWD0CXRJoc_Iwms9N-2H-lYjmoh3L9oTJYCFXwjCP1d5XWucBTHMxx4Qu_V4l6g1N5Hx6AMqUeuhYtEZoOpkprLvx7Gd-GtcQ7A/s796/28%20Aerial%20view%20post%20WW2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="796" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYtk333vUNObSk_LSTxUd5ZsQNwZkNfbQk3Yq790CW7CGYe2C1ZInDLBmlk05CsKSV58XTM8mNpoHWUd4xoaGFAfm5bWD0CXRJoc_Iwms9N-2H-lYjmoh3L9oTJYCFXwjCP1d5XWucBTHMxx4Qu_V4l6g1N5Hx6AMqUeuhYtEZoOpkprLvx7Gd-GtcQ7A/s320/28%20Aerial%20view%20post%20WW2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birling Gap hamlet pos 1930s</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Birling Gap is iconically situated atop those crumbling chalk cliffs between Eastbourne and Brighton ...from where historically it has been possible to realise how much the chalk is a-crumbling into the English Channel below …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsKlhS4rdbCiko3sx8RNTiq-QbEdORYd6Dzgusjyqvwgn5yIB6YosucuECwMrOYbT3wNr-6_X_qnn6lOh1LXzz2Bi07uncxgr-xsjKDIjN2C-0jEfQODHqjCr4oH6_hkR_kcsVa32VdzgqS1Aw4MWyCxv0Okrg6MY4qHqFaEzL0-jT3VfFFVYo6KzNqVr/s634/28%20Using%20step%20ladder%20in%202001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="414" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsKlhS4rdbCiko3sx8RNTiq-QbEdORYd6Dzgusjyqvwgn5yIB6YosucuECwMrOYbT3wNr-6_X_qnn6lOh1LXzz2Bi07uncxgr-xsjKDIjN2C-0jEfQODHqjCr4oH6_hkR_kcsVa32VdzgqS1Aw4MWyCxv0Okrg6MY4qHqFaEzL0-jT3VfFFVYo6KzNqVr/s320/28%20Using%20step%20ladder%20in%202001.png" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using step ladder pos 1980s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I hadn't been out there for twelve years or so … and though it perhaps wasn't the most inspiring day for the driving friend … but suited the muffled overloaded new birthday girl, who had the winter blues and was wanting to recover her wits …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV3EjfhR9MSllup936BKYkrK8yc9XleMW3uaoTKXn9tcxbZ3TfT9zvZn8HXdpQkzixjrvD0qJqw3TrHDYcljRg3Q-oW54vJlWrzziFUt3gerJqs91l16Z_wUO4PR9feaFQ45klkoD-LN0td_fl8tlZWt9F2wyM2QAq3O9pZIj2qalO6b7zyPoIJEhCsTB/s4032/28%20Demolition%20in%20process%20NT%20cafe%20entrance%202024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV3EjfhR9MSllup936BKYkrK8yc9XleMW3uaoTKXn9tcxbZ3TfT9zvZn8HXdpQkzixjrvD0qJqw3TrHDYcljRg3Q-oW54vJlWrzziFUt3gerJqs91l16Z_wUO4PR9feaFQ45klkoD-LN0td_fl8tlZWt9F2wyM2QAq3O9pZIj2qalO6b7zyPoIJEhCsTB/s320/28%20Demolition%20in%20process%20NT%20cafe%20entrance%202024.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demolishing cafe ... 2024<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">We pottered around – it was a grey day … but we checked out the National Trust shop, cafe, bookshop and 'museum' … last time I was there – the 'museum' was much more informative – showing chalked timelines along the walls and on the floor … that sadly had disappeared – showing how much erosion had been going on.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs3Xvw9auuu9zRj45dfv5ts2aBsoFRmjrkWJdpGpdeeyPPAomm3VGrmAgdpw09FpseBzT82TcR5BIosdv363Kglq0sk7PlB50A2aMHp0kO7NJD9sS-brjUvZisPVT6346YKIp1cbrU67NAE6p-3Wiw2yqGJmX0YYHS_-ihYZY3fdwnkQS_IRkgnjJd5sd/s4032/28%20Demolition%20in%20process%202024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs3Xvw9auuu9zRj45dfv5ts2aBsoFRmjrkWJdpGpdeeyPPAomm3VGrmAgdpw09FpseBzT82TcR5BIosdv363Kglq0sk7PlB50A2aMHp0kO7NJD9sS-brjUvZisPVT6346YKIp1cbrU67NAE6p-3Wiw2yqGJmX0YYHS_-ihYZY3fdwnkQS_IRkgnjJd5sd/s320/28%20Demolition%20in%20process%202024.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coastal side of demolition in process (2024)</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Sue is another African – English born, but brought up in Zimbabwe – so we're on the same wave-length – and had come with me to my brother's for Christmas … gave her a break – she was free to join us.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXknBOnFvACpb5CbJkokhyphenhyphenzeSnVxgsLn8_aMm3HPxzRqzU8ARqGrFrw3IhPsMtVICfM8Eq_ZoWO-47drh6nPabb-BfEvQKEqFMAntU6wcakXnHuDc-29Id3TCdNbGhqTj8RP_Nb8wLVytfOihaDlLINRirZe8tjajuzCwSyMsnPgiSkVDfRn2ZXFysUMh/s4032/28%20Looking%20west%202024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXknBOnFvACpb5CbJkokhyphenhyphenzeSnVxgsLn8_aMm3HPxzRqzU8ARqGrFrw3IhPsMtVICfM8Eq_ZoWO-47drh6nPabb-BfEvQKEqFMAntU6wcakXnHuDc-29Id3TCdNbGhqTj8RP_Nb8wLVytfOihaDlLINRirZe8tjajuzCwSyMsnPgiSkVDfRn2ZXFysUMh/s320/28%20Looking%20west%202024.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking west ... 2024</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">She remarked this is </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">living history</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> – as we peered from the scaffolding over the edge … we didn't go down the 'staircase' to the beach – though as you can see some have.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwrtrIXfuGywJDD1HBfOe6s76tOTyHZx1Zl3V_tiV-HcHOMYa9CGy_DkOh-5xFWeKUvXOeWCYjH6-ulKzEdhuVqv3QGTAqGFu6keguRmWcQSGpNGi54kwxqUa2PP6I23iGEZvHkV53ljfjdPeoRfDdSdFo6_5eBI8agG6p2lVFu5EJtipaZeWGXSBcWwA/s561/28%20Showing%20the%20scaffolding%201980s.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="561" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwrtrIXfuGywJDD1HBfOe6s76tOTyHZx1Zl3V_tiV-HcHOMYa9CGy_DkOh-5xFWeKUvXOeWCYjH6-ulKzEdhuVqv3QGTAqGFu6keguRmWcQSGpNGi54kwxqUa2PP6I23iGEZvHkV53ljfjdPeoRfDdSdFo6_5eBI8agG6p2lVFu5EJtipaZeWGXSBcWwA/s320/28%20Showing%20the%20scaffolding%201980s.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing the scaffolding stepway <br />(uncertain as to date)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">We went off to a pub – only to find it closed for maintenance – fortunately nearby the Hiker's Rest was open … so to save energy driving around wondering where to go – not something I felt inspired to do: I was still not feeling up to much …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvM8oh9ZEb4h5pYdNyF4B8Ce2eSSILzmnJiS2yrC60jBW-rk_3gtn4ZHFqnnXEDJA0rob2et3T9Lxibo1nGPtvnwlHxh9Gw7bRjD1jK7lcLCZz7GCvhJ8u_6TwZCNXXcd_8xtVyKPIng2zJhUB579jAPUhsXQqV2Miy46KFjinbivzyiuHuB35PWDgkLv/s557/28%20Hiker's%20Rest.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="557" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvM8oh9ZEb4h5pYdNyF4B8Ce2eSSILzmnJiS2yrC60jBW-rk_3gtn4ZHFqnnXEDJA0rob2et3T9Lxibo1nGPtvnwlHxh9Gw7bRjD1jK7lcLCZz7GCvhJ8u_6TwZCNXXcd_8xtVyKPIng2zJhUB579jAPUhsXQqV2Miy46KFjinbivzyiuHuB35PWDgkLv/s320/28%20Hiker's%20Rest.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In recent years the buildings around<br />The Tiger Inn, inland a couple of miles, have<br />been done up and are now in use - as here: a cafe<br />for wilting elders! or as B&Bs etc</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I know I had a spiced parsnip soup – which was warming and cheering, Sue had a baguette – the other half she ate for supper later on.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">It was an ideal day out for a wilted elder! I do feel slightly better now – but still not out of the woods – I hope to be by mid February … another interesting dinner is in the offing – all grist to this girl's organising mill!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01LBdksHAEE6rrjqMU-hItBd6bCxSA9sHF5xWYJff9icvoetNO1vZxbWG0j9UUNusOUNY8mtxGGTuXYJ6a2ZVE5Bu6-M39ldOWsoTDS2Hox68a7Ut6AZeYpvrK13mK5Oy-mQZKl5ARrM5oBqWfsWtgAVBfwoY3AbBQhwpT-qtA-zegTiCMvAxmgjdc-qt/s1151/28%20Looking%20out%20and%20across%20in%20earlier%20days.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1151" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01LBdksHAEE6rrjqMU-hItBd6bCxSA9sHF5xWYJff9icvoetNO1vZxbWG0j9UUNusOUNY8mtxGGTuXYJ6a2ZVE5Bu6-M39ldOWsoTDS2Hox68a7Ut6AZeYpvrK13mK5Oy-mQZKl5ARrM5oBqWfsWtgAVBfwoY3AbBQhwpT-qtA-zegTiCMvAxmgjdc-qt/s320/28%20Looking%20out%20and%20across%20in%20earlier%20days.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This shows the area with the scaffolding<br />steps, the cafe with its picnic seating,<br />a view from Beachy Head on the way <br />down towards Birling Gap with its<br />few cottages still in use ... </td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">So this post tells the tale of Birling Gap and its eroding cliffs … via the odd images I've posted …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Thanks for visiting – while I've just been reminded about another post-WEP type post that's due on Thursday – the first of the month … so another coming up then …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-28697672069443814782024-01-13T00:30:00.019+00:002024-01-13T00:30:00.125+00:0016th year and counting … <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This yearly count strikes me as extraordinary - not something I thought would last 15 full years and now about to go beyond …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQGN58qqDdmABnk4n8DlZgEk6u99YVGSa9QbBJCq4Tqq9RFUNoyfZfSVf9xxpXVTV7sgkR5nncfIq3ejdVMfTcFQ63R9_eZT4rPDbh3EfvGlBWTodqb5UTGx26O6owgJ-4V7MzQPxclxLmsiUY403abclt3bHIIVMtLmqgdyNPmQ3XDoun6ipJjOh3U1B/s627/13%20Bubbly%20bubbles.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQGN58qqDdmABnk4n8DlZgEk6u99YVGSa9QbBJCq4Tqq9RFUNoyfZfSVf9xxpXVTV7sgkR5nncfIq3ejdVMfTcFQ63R9_eZT4rPDbh3EfvGlBWTodqb5UTGx26O6owgJ-4V7MzQPxclxLmsiUY403abclt3bHIIVMtLmqgdyNPmQ3XDoun6ipJjOh3U1B/s320/13%20Bubbly%20bubbles.png" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Birthday to me!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I was really lucky at Christmas a great friend, from South African days who now lives north of London, brought her daughter - my goddaughter - down for a couple of days ... which really enlivened my life, as I was nursing a cold, and things go quietish at that time of year. </span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I'm afraid we had too much champagne with lots of chats - and picnicked here ... ie a real mix of sort of antipasto goodies - gave us a chance to be just us. Nothing like a great friend to appear with a backpack full (perhaps not quite full!) of champers ...</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IyLmmTN_YXHfTlZSVrzhR59YpYKn9WQEr_7qE99OaoGuDL4_7F6u7Bk1nGdH_BZC8qk2qrHHe11ibf-R68wMPnlFYoHYq8CPvORhYxnrIVDQ926IAgob-_n5V4OBYkhV-BSAf7FdBUYraPwfpCcr7-pNS6OloIDlYCC4_bihAKoeRgC9i2x-ODVlWhCJ/s279/13%201915%20English%20mag%20ad.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="206" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IyLmmTN_YXHfTlZSVrzhR59YpYKn9WQEr_7qE99OaoGuDL4_7F6u7Bk1nGdH_BZC8qk2qrHHe11ibf-R68wMPnlFYoHYq8CPvORhYxnrIVDQ926IAgob-_n5V4OBYkhV-BSAf7FdBUYraPwfpCcr7-pNS6OloIDlYCC4_bihAKoeRgC9i2x-ODVlWhCJ/s1600/13%201915%20English%20mag%20ad.png" width="206" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1915 ad ... definitely<br />not me!!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I've had a funny year … and can't say I feel brilliant now – so hope to find out what's going on – I don't feel ill – just 'off' …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Not much change – still organising the European Movement dinners – just had one this past week … and another important one we're already planning for February ...</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMbj0Y06bI40TwRhLjybTaGWngvwkulHGEW8_jwHK6ZPYz-mRkB1ak7xSKxpk0907jI5eI8oWYkelGmp87vG-W1sjT8_RA08JhTK7015nkO-RqIhd6HBGnzGBUyTwU9_PdgVRNaJ7PKz34Ziae9rDWPLGmGW3UhIA8HVaeI-_Yb1yIX66GhbS5SFqs01r/s430/13%20Blue%20Stockings%20new%20play%2021st%20C.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="287" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMbj0Y06bI40TwRhLjybTaGWngvwkulHGEW8_jwHK6ZPYz-mRkB1ak7xSKxpk0907jI5eI8oWYkelGmp87vG-W1sjT8_RA08JhTK7015nkO-RqIhd6HBGnzGBUyTwU9_PdgVRNaJ7PKz34Ziae9rDWPLGmGW3UhIA8HVaeI-_Yb1yIX66GhbS5SFqs01r/s320/13%20Blue%20Stockings%20new%20play%2021st%20C.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New play about the Blue<br />Stockings society </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">and I've a history talk to give on the Blue Stockings Society (1750s – 1790s) … </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">but my energy is sapped – and I'm just posting this to at least start blogging in 2024 – it/I might be slow for a few weeks yet …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg323n5qi_cbG5tOYSJ_cRZjgkZovDAHhn6CvoRAg2x4cxAJDvGmQCG_HqyTsqi7_CEaEuacmqG8LzwA70Ii7vwxHbXy82j180yjQFAhStk4SjAU8sHtcsLKzOtEc_Dc7Lu4-JQ85xZ870xyT6k0oOoYnygvpc2p8RIAfbU1bog116vJuEjEyUvePASOM-W/s4032/13%20Vic%20Falls%20Map%20of%20Rainforest.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg323n5qi_cbG5tOYSJ_cRZjgkZovDAHhn6CvoRAg2x4cxAJDvGmQCG_HqyTsqi7_CEaEuacmqG8LzwA70Ii7vwxHbXy82j180yjQFAhStk4SjAU8sHtcsLKzOtEc_Dc7Lu4-JQ85xZ870xyT6k0oOoYnygvpc2p8RIAfbU1bog116vJuEjEyUvePASOM-W/s320/13%20Vic%20Falls%20Map%20of%20Rainforest.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Rainforest at Victoria Falls -<br />'my Africa' ... </td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Thank you for visiting and cheering me on … another year, another year … without much change – I'd love the world's life to be more positive … so here's to us all being kind to one another, and thoughtful about others …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPyw33xxKtPdnpQzovOxq02C0H0kb7BK3DYo5h1DlvDL_UI6BAQGT_qlPE15nZvjU4OAXEHYQXAqfc2vu3TD7oDf5c6rRMtkfPDicAY6JOm0G1hJxui8ted3H95Ah4r9KDGXJMSboFN8f4kjOQiOtr7Xv7buslX1bgd8yyqzJCzBOvpnBLTgN7GAMzLuYl/s419/13%20Antipasto%20platter.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPyw33xxKtPdnpQzovOxq02C0H0kb7BK3DYo5h1DlvDL_UI6BAQGT_qlPE15nZvjU4OAXEHYQXAqfc2vu3TD7oDf5c6rRMtkfPDicAY6JOm0G1hJxui8ted3H95Ah4r9KDGXJMSboFN8f4kjOQiOtr7Xv7buslX1bgd8yyqzJCzBOvpnBLTgN7GAMzLuYl/s320/13%20Antipasto%20platter.png" width="210" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antipasto platter - we had lots<br />of goodies (various!)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">PS - I will get around to your blogs soon as I can ... but ... </span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Blogging friends I give up … lots going on!! Cheers …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blue Stockings - <a href="https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/raynes-park/the-lantern-arts-centre/blue-stockings/e-myeyeb" target="_blank">play by Jessica Swale - details can be found here ... </a></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-52561381526520174002023-12-15T11:58:00.002+00:002023-12-15T12:08:03.030+00:00Write … Edit ... Publish ... Bloghop: Out of Africa … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>Out of Africa </b></span>– never – so true that phrase – anyone having spent time or lived in Africa - it is not possible to take Africa out of one's system ...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXELz8iGAA1hSvKNpO-0eJDMC1yxeFSV7UGceMwlIBSqGI9iJkaK-1_-uPNUI7U-mBKt3p8L33BgLtcstT4N8iDqO5DtaNgwu9jssNxGtIB7TSZTQT2qMrBf6sL2UqwO9qJfyZTp-Swt-gtdqeWN0An6X8jO_REinTo3LkvfGf28923JOo5XRsLaOwtkR/s386/15%20Out%20of%20Africa%20film%20poster.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="248" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXELz8iGAA1hSvKNpO-0eJDMC1yxeFSV7UGceMwlIBSqGI9iJkaK-1_-uPNUI7U-mBKt3p8L33BgLtcstT4N8iDqO5DtaNgwu9jssNxGtIB7TSZTQT2qMrBf6sL2UqwO9qJfyZTp-Swt-gtdqeWN0An6X8jO_REinTo3LkvfGf28923JOo5XRsLaOwtkR/w129-h200/15%20Out%20of%20Africa%20film%20poster.png" width="129" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Film poster</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">embedded for ever – perhaps tied to the roots of the human race, or perhaps just imprinted into this blogger's life … BC blogging …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhvlgyouwlNKXZnUpEVpY6I3TgjSthBRSVrzVP7BpgCBQiJ06L1pRhFCUbwaJppb5UCT9Nr9Aah5gH1oW-YgZ8fGNIvtlPDM36Q72SfpXzlh_E_eErumsLIoxCLllcp6XdVcfHR2advuoH6uZ-hKceKOtOtDDu02Ko3mqDszemfg7Vc_JWrx8vy_gHmTO/s343/%2015%20Out%20of%20Africa%20by%20Karen%20Blixen.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="293" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhvlgyouwlNKXZnUpEVpY6I3TgjSthBRSVrzVP7BpgCBQiJ06L1pRhFCUbwaJppb5UCT9Nr9Aah5gH1oW-YgZ8fGNIvtlPDM36Q72SfpXzlh_E_eErumsLIoxCLllcp6XdVcfHR2advuoH6uZ-hKceKOtOtDDu02Ko3mqDszemfg7Vc_JWrx8vy_gHmTO/w171-h200/%2015%20Out%20of%20Africa%20by%20Karen%20Blixen.png" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out of Africa - first<br />edition cover of the book</td></tr></tbody></table>… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">then along comes the <b><span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Write</span><span style="background-color: #d9d2e9;"> Edit</span><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"> Publish</span></b> group with prompts for the blogger of positive intent to join in with … at first with trepidation, then later with random abandon, as the poor <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><b>Phantom of the Opera</b></span> found out, regarding her input …</span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;"><b>Freedom Morning</b></span> has arrived … <span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><b>Freedom of Speech</b></span> was accomplished … the <b style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Caged Bird</b> escaped into the WEP world …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQm5zKXCdbz_jcLLWjJLC3XpSF2EcYgahvTvbLNzh6zJe_QDtmfX6e0r8judLkPCLjBoroqen3LBo4QOC5sx-sgg37nk3Wth_p9dXc-obc8JBC8AV8o1ohUAfgQvot5yFMUA1Y0cByUvGDMZgEdmMdbs3lLpLKBxengSZlieoDds2dHw4apuZS5M-TeNCE/s213/15%20WEP%20Membership%20badge.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="213" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQm5zKXCdbz_jcLLWjJLC3XpSF2EcYgahvTvbLNzh6zJe_QDtmfX6e0r8judLkPCLjBoroqen3LBo4QOC5sx-sgg37nk3Wth_p9dXc-obc8JBC8AV8o1ohUAfgQvot5yFMUA1Y0cByUvGDMZgEdmMdbs3lLpLKBxengSZlieoDds2dHw4apuZS5M-TeNCE/w200-h197/15%20WEP%20Membership%20badge.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit late for this to<br />appear ... ne'er mind!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #cccccc;">A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall </b>… which created an <b style="background-color: #ffe599;">Urban Nightmare</b> from <b style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">The Great Wave </b>… but <b style="background-color: #ea9999;">The Kiss</b> had a fun story to tell …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">There was <b style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Grave Mistake</b>, a smelly <b style="background-color: #ffe599;">Antique Vase</b>, a pretty <b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Jewel Box</b>, <b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">Long Shadows</b> spread over a delicious meal, <b><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Horrible Harvests</span><span style="color: #f6b26b;"> </span></b>did not prevail at that time, <b style="background-color: #999999;">Dark Places</b> were brightened with memories of the <b style="background-color: #e06666;">Red Wheelbarrow</b> days …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOBfaYCumpEwYh_NA6HK6MIvvNIWQRdgbVRCUGpkwEMcwQscDTK6ZYP4R7fPPRRb3eHSmMxmiHxOU6A1BuKZwGuOGjC8T8J4lAAzRGAEM87wD6YqYP-GisVQOhLo3e5UHpSpjukm1nsTGdcRGDZQfYDqERtOrS8F43bSYOsIZBFL2HuFpE0zfVzdbunpM/s671/15%20Change%20of%20Heart%20-%20murderous%20one%20Aug%202028.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="663" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOBfaYCumpEwYh_NA6HK6MIvvNIWQRdgbVRCUGpkwEMcwQscDTK6ZYP4R7fPPRRb3eHSmMxmiHxOU6A1BuKZwGuOGjC8T8J4lAAzRGAEM87wD6YqYP-GisVQOhLo3e5UHpSpjukm1nsTGdcRGDZQfYDqERtOrS8F43bSYOsIZBFL2HuFpE0zfVzdbunpM/w198-h200/15%20Change%20of%20Heart%20-%20murderous%20one%20Aug%202028.png" width="198" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not to be read before a meal!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">There was a <b style="background-color: #b4a7d6;">Thriller</b> in the authorship of <b style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">A Change of Heart</b> <b style="background-color: #6aa84f;"><i>(ugh!)</i></b> … <b style="background-color: #a2c4c9;">Gone with the Wind</b> hastened the <b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Unravelling of the Yarn</b> …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">A <b style="background-color: #cccccc;">Grave Mistake</b> could have been made when the <b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Back of the Drawer</b> was opened to find the <b style="background-color: #b4a7d6;">Letter that was begging Please to be Read</b>, while the <b style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Moonlight Sonata </b>resonated in the background …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXIUSYlnzlm1Pd9ZsvfTyHQQxxIm95qjJrgRamLvIzc54ivG0TYxPWu5Jb89muqC0DGYVgi-KApBl0l655E4fJi7cthK_xieBFG40oSp3ouzYdo1DqdUI9mvful28RiQIl9oE8_5tqFOEKB_3aEkyHr_aNT061qb8ZdRl6wo2URHPq45zyp3_QhKDBnnC/s684/15%20Chocolate%20%20Aug%202023.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="457" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXIUSYlnzlm1Pd9ZsvfTyHQQxxIm95qjJrgRamLvIzc54ivG0TYxPWu5Jb89muqC0DGYVgi-KApBl0l655E4fJi7cthK_xieBFG40oSp3ouzYdo1DqdUI9mvful28RiQIl9oE8_5tqFOEKB_3aEkyHr_aNT061qb8ZdRl6wo2URHPq45zyp3_QhKDBnnC/w134-h200/15%20Chocolate%20%20Aug%202023.png" width="134" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably my <br />favourite entry</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #ea9999;">Bridges</b> were mended, a <b style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Reunion</b> would take place in the <b style="background-color: #76a5af;">Cafe Terrace,</b> besides the river where <b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Like Water for Chocolate</b> was enjoyed by all the WEP group remembering <b style="background-color: #d5a6bd;">All You Need is Love</b> …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The <b style="background-color: #ffe599;">Last Remembrance</b> we will have is of <b style="background-color: #a2c4c9;">Footprints </b>for our memory bank … while we as a group will all reflect <b style="background-color: #93c47d;">Peace and Love</b> for the world.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJFgzPGyZhyphenhyphenLX8zUlo_fj1JtGnrlP_Tj3_4kiUI_BIdz4xtOfatl2o9gi4F_S7HS5zeHQ_B5mwDZWB3j_6qvAGQCU2ExAMJOnJ3Dg1HeYRbuVjucJ6SNtyvgN8Q17UUhrAUkUWsCSQSgmkCZYb9m5qphv75LsDxMR4kLrJvY2YlCAa69zw1GLjIMxtSir/s304/15%20Voodoo%20October%202018.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="304" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJFgzPGyZhyphenhyphenLX8zUlo_fj1JtGnrlP_Tj3_4kiUI_BIdz4xtOfatl2o9gi4F_S7HS5zeHQ_B5mwDZWB3j_6qvAGQCU2ExAMJOnJ3Dg1HeYRbuVjucJ6SNtyvgN8Q17UUhrAUkUWsCSQSgmkCZYb9m5qphv75LsDxMR4kLrJvY2YlCAa69zw1GLjIMxtSir/w200-h140/15%20Voodoo%20October%202018.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Write one's memories<br />to be held for the future</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The little <b style="background-color: #d5a6bd;">Voodoo</b> is doing its thing weaving, diving, spinning and in true childish passion will be remembered in our penned compositions …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcELfHzxSMM2LC6rAxxClLHODHVIVXc-7cuVfsLHhJ8ttiLf1EaE847MQ4SfAKLWKvrVnLn5y2jzpMeB0h6LQrhtsgAuVnZ7ChT7KUNrS6x8qGOQe4lipNpHgAye2dhcPBHjEyigaa8SS9orTGzsYJhstqh4psj1gnouW5Wmtv9hBCrcWRcY7AFkOqZkU/s398/15%20The%20End%20is%20the%20Beginning%20Dec%202017.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="398" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcELfHzxSMM2LC6rAxxClLHODHVIVXc-7cuVfsLHhJ8ttiLf1EaE847MQ4SfAKLWKvrVnLn5y2jzpMeB0h6LQrhtsgAuVnZ7ChT7KUNrS6x8qGOQe4lipNpHgAye2dhcPBHjEyigaa8SS9orTGzsYJhstqh4psj1gnouW5Wmtv9hBCrcWRcY7AFkOqZkU/w200-h187/15%20The%20End%20is%20the%20Beginning%20Dec%202017.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prompt for Dec 2017</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">From this Blogger to all WEPpers, particularly the administrators, I acknowledge you … and even though I for <b style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">The First Time I Ever Saw Your Faces</b> was and is on the screen … where you were <b style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Unmasked</b> … this <b style="background-color: #ffe599;">End is now the Beginning</b> for you to enjoy your <b style="background-color: #e06666;">Freedom Mornings</b> …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOC_-cnsjx-GnaE0zXpe3ZUkU64AOKB2pN3W7DDjesq4ztvAbxaS19hNNhWH6HQsAC2vTa548mXR6ZQ_ZTfCgLhUITbpkWTXznPb4OC2IdEVUDBRu2pZBdoGIHJyfMNsncjtxKiwHMT3UisxVi2KIciDUyNFWJ3IlNQ9-UQrVXMyPbZglmpW1Hr20n9zy/s406/15%20Reunion%20Aug%202017.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="406" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOC_-cnsjx-GnaE0zXpe3ZUkU64AOKB2pN3W7DDjesq4ztvAbxaS19hNNhWH6HQsAC2vTa548mXR6ZQ_ZTfCgLhUITbpkWTXznPb4OC2IdEVUDBRu2pZBdoGIHJyfMNsncjtxKiwHMT3UisxVi2KIciDUyNFWJ3IlNQ9-UQrVXMyPbZglmpW1Hr20n9zy/w200-h150/15%20Reunion%20Aug%202017.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This another personal prompt</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">before I get <b style="background-color: #fce5cd;">In Too Deep</b> and mushy in thought … I will say <b><i><span style="color: #e06666;">Farewell to WEP </span></i></b>and thank you all profusely for organising, initiating the fabulous thought provoking prompts, for all generous commenters, and supporters …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">A fond goodbye to Write Edit Publish … and I've just scraped into the time frame … though <b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Out of Africa</b> was going to be my last WEP – it changed its spots! …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9SpI2UrMqLBeis1YiYpOpccNax-zwmqVW6kTGDu1XdzAbqiTiYw3aO78kHwwM-PLvdqi7XZIjw-zUw6fFCfwEGwsnrkkJRdq-KaSTubsd1LdxIW6LlHL0Xlm4xgS_UPD7sDRhcpJBwNHo8HumBDY1zAGEjsIr5e_oFO9UipADa6aNWZ28cubw1CQTcXP/s2250/15%20MOCK%20UP%20GONE%20WEP%20FLASH%20Book%20Cover.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9SpI2UrMqLBeis1YiYpOpccNax-zwmqVW6kTGDu1XdzAbqiTiYw3aO78kHwwM-PLvdqi7XZIjw-zUw6fFCfwEGwsnrkkJRdq-KaSTubsd1LdxIW6LlHL0Xlm4xgS_UPD7sDRhcpJBwNHo8HumBDY1zAGEjsIr5e_oFO9UipADa6aNWZ28cubw1CQTcXP/s320/15%20MOCK%20UP%20GONE%20WEP%20FLASH%20Book%20Cover.jpeg" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proposed mock up for the<br />2024 WEP Anthology</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">however if a piece for the Anthology is required, please administrators let me know</span></b> … and I'll craft an entry before the year end.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Cheers from the Positive Blogger …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note all highlighted phrases or titles were prompts ...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-35833960770199298342023-12-07T16:35:00.000+00:002023-12-07T16:35:34.794+00:00Loveable Independent Slinky Literary Cats ... <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Literary Cats, the loveable, independent creatures, that so many people in the world love, and who give comfort to their owners.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzMmG4xOuY2YEyq17FTzftDuHbI-iolmiAKgzK7CaE9kh6LFAsKmdlGqp_Nb93r6JYfbNKfle66HnBpv4-Wjz1D3kqv694km6OATFDzoJlSdXwsHgVkqGCOaZLJgBbxeht5B5HdhqODwfwQY36gDnIRizlqEzr2iiFkLWFk4_Ib_8SbaGJFF7ief6oSnC/s845/7%20Cats.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzMmG4xOuY2YEyq17FTzftDuHbI-iolmiAKgzK7CaE9kh6LFAsKmdlGqp_Nb93r6JYfbNKfle66HnBpv4-Wjz1D3kqv694km6OATFDzoJlSdXwsHgVkqGCOaZLJgBbxeht5B5HdhqODwfwQY36gDnIRizlqEzr2iiFkLWFk4_Ib_8SbaGJFF7ief6oSnC/s320/7%20Cats.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Literary Cats tea towel<br /><a href="https://radicalteatowel.co.uk/" target="_blank">Radical Tea Towel company</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Here are some quotes found by the British Radical Tea Towel company, offering political and social statements, for the kitchen and home, inspired by history.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b>"If man could be crossed with the cat,</b></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #ea9999;">it would improve man, but it would deteriorate</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #ea9999;">the cat.”</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b>Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910) known by the pen name Mark Twain</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOYcPuOib-lhyphenhyphenz2lZ9iMDQkzBA8t7ncI_s3bu1JKJI6Pb5whKYsHZl3XPdWjRmsD9XEzRWiVFuJHuVa6C_sra7xboVGkcdjaNG8ThQX-tsJ9rJlXo_tWCgNiUFrHcKA078JCF-SUFrQB9NGQ_mOe1LuB2U2V4SQRUU8u9XuOQnlpH0igRRRGyWD_itM-h/s469/7%20Christopher%20Smart.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="377" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOYcPuOib-lhyphenhyphenz2lZ9iMDQkzBA8t7ncI_s3bu1JKJI6Pb5whKYsHZl3XPdWjRmsD9XEzRWiVFuJHuVa6C_sra7xboVGkcdjaNG8ThQX-tsJ9rJlXo_tWCgNiUFrHcKA078JCF-SUFrQB9NGQ_mOe1LuB2U2V4SQRUU8u9XuOQnlpH0igRRRGyWD_itM-h/s320/7%20Christopher%20Smart.png" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christopher Smart pre 1750</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span><b style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">"For I will consider my cat Jeoffry f</b><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: 22pt;"><b>or he is an instrument for the </b></span></span></span><b style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">children to learn benevolence upon.”</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Christopher Smart (1722 – 1771) was an English poet. </span></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">He was a major contributor to two popular magazines, <b><i>The Midwife</i></b> and <b><i>The Student,</i></b> and a friend to cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Interestingly he was infamous as the pseudonymous midwife “Mrs Mary Midnight” … </b>see link below by GrubStLodger …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #d0e0e3; font-size: 22pt;"><b>And see his poem on Jeoffry, his cat, – from <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45173/jubilate-agno" target="_blank">his Jubilate Agno poem</a> (written 1759 – 1763).</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLO2EtapdHMZjewjHlPJbze7VaPFsMG2rz4VMdGhd9nq62X9hHY9nAMyxAX3xHbLuCWWQfIFR1N2cZmDi_QXS0Qp_3TS7J4fM2UU2qjFNqRoUA46Xkq3SDGmd5ExX-Fk4LVT96czBgPTB78tPhECqRmMkNWxmhucEiUqSSlswJfzAz0OIdxAO2eWmr2qn/s675/7%20A%20cat%20eating%20a%20fish%20under%20a%20chair%20-%2015thC%20BC%20Egypt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="637" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLO2EtapdHMZjewjHlPJbze7VaPFsMG2rz4VMdGhd9nq62X9hHY9nAMyxAX3xHbLuCWWQfIFR1N2cZmDi_QXS0Qp_3TS7J4fM2UU2qjFNqRoUA46Xkq3SDGmd5ExX-Fk4LVT96czBgPTB78tPhECqRmMkNWxmhucEiUqSSlswJfzAz0OIdxAO2eWmr2qn/s320/7%20A%20cat%20eating%20a%20fish%20under%20a%20chair%20-%2015thC%20BC%20Egypt.png" width="302" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cat eating a fish under a chair - <br />a mural found in an Egyptian tomb,<br />dating to the 15th century BC</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #d5a6bd; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b>"A cat is an animal who has more human feelings </b></span><span style="background-color: #d5a6bd; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b>than almost any other being.”</b></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>Emily Bronte (1818 – 1848)</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 22pt;"><b>"You may think at first I was</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 22pt;"><b>mad as a hatter</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 22pt;"><b>When I tell you, a cat must have</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 22pt;"><b>THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.”</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">"The cat is the best anarchist.”</span></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961)</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-size: 22pt;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-size: 22pt;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyPMozSeWPxQSXTVq-Ly8beDv96qV6El60ZrgfU9REUKYYA-ekBTNa3Y61UEhIRFVi_g-Dw9_6IbghC-I2St8a2N64zJ1uEWyObDChVBEfapRVuOQFIJVIwP2EHSZ6jgg9skOf7gCuAegBBSXkHm9HmLMUei2SUOJYGf4jOXcvLI2kOHTk_dAy6x7u29x/s874/7%20Tiger.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="874" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyPMozSeWPxQSXTVq-Ly8beDv96qV6El60ZrgfU9REUKYYA-ekBTNa3Y61UEhIRFVi_g-Dw9_6IbghC-I2St8a2N64zJ1uEWyObDChVBEfapRVuOQFIJVIwP2EHSZ6jgg9skOf7gCuAegBBSXkHm9HmLMUei2SUOJYGf4jOXcvLI2kOHTk_dAy6x7u29x/s320/7%20Tiger.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><b style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">"God invented the cat so that mankind</b><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">could have a tiger to stroke at home.”</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #d9ead3;"><i><b>(ha ha - love it!)</b></i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #b4a7d6; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b>"Cats are mysterious folk. There is</b></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b4a7d6; font-size: 22pt;"><b>more passing in their minds</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b4a7d6; font-size: 22pt;"><b>than we are aware of.”</b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832)</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKU0GGgdVLHYBjxinZqjx5acYdEAOaR8XgRKMgwhetde1bg069wWrCq0l_TR2GpVgfjYY7D2XW58k5k9weYIvJwymnPTvTUdtSx1VpPJQL8yAMEx7h8ruiiNni3mR9d9YK6bo7XR6pM0ijOO9W72ijmuSxbaJxS7eNYn49ZTD09B2E_6rb0eKxyFw4NOnU/s320/7%20Boot%20nearly.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="320" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKU0GGgdVLHYBjxinZqjx5acYdEAOaR8XgRKMgwhetde1bg069wWrCq0l_TR2GpVgfjYY7D2XW58k5k9weYIvJwymnPTvTUdtSx1VpPJQL8yAMEx7h8ruiiNni3mR9d9YK6bo7XR6pM0ijOO9W72ijmuSxbaJxS7eNYn49ZTD09B2E_6rb0eKxyFw4NOnU/s1600/7%20Boot%20nearly.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite Boot - but so near ... he was a dear!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b><i>From a 20<sup>th</sup>/21<sup>st</sup> lover of cats … especially one called 'Boot' – why I've no idea!</i></b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The Grub Street Lodger blog - on '<a href="https://www.grubstlodger.uk/2023/04/christopher-smart-drag-and-old-ladys.html" target="_blank">Christopher Smart, drag and Mrs Midnight's oratory'</a></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-35624885282251722982023-11-30T19:00:00.000+00:002023-11-30T19:00:50.647+00:00Lamassu – the Iraqi date syrup can sculpture …<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This magnificent sculpture stands outside our Towner Gallery … it was originally (in 2018) on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZpICffss5PG4e2CfAwUPLSSvggIY1LCkviOuxoYjrFrpgn0FNIOfIEKKCAtOi0nKWdO2yA2DTDM13m_YMKV1Ck4Y2fJDdXvZljp_bkfxI6h9UuTeMCDTJfsRckc-SaOebMLWFV-R2i_XTotV7cdooO3_s1ViPDyMpGIyP9cWquA1qCJp8vpk4mz1jrM0/s4032/30%20Sculpture%20as%20it%20stands%20and%20showing%20the%20carved%20cuneform%20inscription.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZpICffss5PG4e2CfAwUPLSSvggIY1LCkviOuxoYjrFrpgn0FNIOfIEKKCAtOi0nKWdO2yA2DTDM13m_YMKV1Ck4Y2fJDdXvZljp_bkfxI6h9UuTeMCDTJfsRckc-SaOebMLWFV-R2i_XTotV7cdooO3_s1ViPDyMpGIyP9cWquA1qCJp8vpk4mz1jrM0/s320/30%20Sculpture%20as%20it%20stands%20and%20showing%20the%20carved%20cuneform%20inscription.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy Rob Harris<br />(link below)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Michael Rakowitz, the sculptor, is an Iraqi-American artist living and working in Chicago – he is known for his conceptual art shown in non-gallery contexts.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlHGYEjkXVjP89u4ASeprXelXXvxM16Y95jC33X8N5RQtFtvFfpxOAV07kDstYor6qyioOPQNVESHFaSh7C1eFfvhovkOHFwug219KYF6l1kYsOehpbmeMaioetkL1Egk_G89Lx3kcJ4LhVeKeZ9qplU5QcgfOd-5Vvt2UsrXvm2In3ZpzmfwbY1lCGuu/s4032/30%20Leg%20of%20Lamassu%20.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlHGYEjkXVjP89u4ASeprXelXXvxM16Y95jC33X8N5RQtFtvFfpxOAV07kDstYor6qyioOPQNVESHFaSh7C1eFfvhovkOHFwug219KYF6l1kYsOehpbmeMaioetkL1Egk_G89Lx3kcJ4LhVeKeZ9qplU5QcgfOd-5Vvt2UsrXvm2In3ZpzmfwbY1lCGuu/s320/30%20Leg%20of%20Lamassu%20.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back Leg of Lamassu sculpture</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Rakowitz is known for his recycled projects … be they salvaged date syrup cans as here, or reconstructed artifacts looted from the Iraq Museum and excavation sites from diasporic ephemera, such as newspapers and grocery stores.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRrfgNiAhCkgUTGhySaw2cMAd5gRmqYl6ufkHyi5dZmRqQlz1xojzQ_THshmq-oBX314tNiLr0f0Q5Q6GvknCYmjE-JFb3JXAwpoEEpPf2QJhoQLnY-Fzaf5kXhXqvsDdB3U4fGwXUZkckYmIGc13r4shXSzBwU7WrQwDvEReznQmDak3QTVUxTUgjQET/s485/30%20Close%20up%20of%20leg%20and%20hoof%20-%20showing%20date%20syrup%20cans.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="485" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRrfgNiAhCkgUTGhySaw2cMAd5gRmqYl6ufkHyi5dZmRqQlz1xojzQ_THshmq-oBX314tNiLr0f0Q5Q6GvknCYmjE-JFb3JXAwpoEEpPf2QJhoQLnY-Fzaf5kXhXqvsDdB3U4fGwXUZkckYmIGc13r4shXSzBwU7WrQwDvEReznQmDak3QTVUxTUgjQET/s320/30%20Close%20up%20of%20leg%20and%20hoof%20-%20showing%20date%20syrup%20cans.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of hoof and lower limb - showing<br />empty date syrup cans ... </td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">'Our statue' is made from 10,500 Iraqi date syrup cans sculpted around a metal frame – it is 4.3 metres (14 feet) in length.</span></p><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Lamassu, a winged bull protective Assyrian deity, that stood at the entrance to the Nergal Gate of Nineveh from ca. 700 BC until February 2015, when ISIS destroyed it along with artefacts in the nearby Mosul Museum.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy1ZKRhQrSi3dAc98rNBX1rr5BcpTgZHOwaKnCavSzIy4fniAn1XCcUtQrCkbCk1rxxwBubVFDBkRadUchdiQPVIwMy1SUUw_FsCQGp5exDUBhXRDrOIiMjyJocy-ALaX2vikJ9ITCclSaZ74d_M_yJ64iYXHWZdTnP1O1vVS9KX4UORbwobi4Vgw8t-X/s582/30%20Lamassu,%20Neo-Assyrian%20Empire,%20(c%20721%20-%20705%20BC).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="569" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy1ZKRhQrSi3dAc98rNBX1rr5BcpTgZHOwaKnCavSzIy4fniAn1XCcUtQrCkbCk1rxxwBubVFDBkRadUchdiQPVIwMy1SUUw_FsCQGp5exDUBhXRDrOIiMjyJocy-ALaX2vikJ9ITCclSaZ74d_M_yJ64iYXHWZdTnP1O1vVS9KX4UORbwobi4Vgw8t-X/s320/30%20Lamassu,%20Neo-Assyrian%20Empire,%20(c%20721%20-%20705%20BC).png" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamassu, Neo-Assyrian Empire <br />(c 721 - 705 BC)</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Here we find Rakowitz reminding us about the disasters we are inflicting on the world through human, economic and ecological disasters caused by the Iraqi Wars (in this instance) and their aftermath …</span></p><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">today we need to add at least two other wars in Ukraine and in Israeli/Gaza … let alone all other natural and unnatural disasters we are exposing the world and its occupants to …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">As a reminder Iraqi dates were once considered the best in the world and formed the country's second largest export after oil.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpNm8HH7p0Y5J7cVXeqpJ-I14Zjw9mfKjvMiN7gqiMOoxOMH7KMOUm4Zz3l1GdAHOQNbuRV6oGLIlmxvscOKV5G2n13brwAPcy_zyKdM8jjXOkCbxUQI6ei2xO0BgR8VmqeFekC0ZGbnion8meVb9W0k6F2FpH6utj84aK_jwKS44Jj9V73ZjZGpEPC0n/s571/30%20Nineveh%20-%20showing%20city%20wall%20and%20gateways.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="397" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpNm8HH7p0Y5J7cVXeqpJ-I14Zjw9mfKjvMiN7gqiMOoxOMH7KMOUm4Zz3l1GdAHOQNbuRV6oGLIlmxvscOKV5G2n13brwAPcy_zyKdM8jjXOkCbxUQI6ei2xO0BgR8VmqeFekC0ZGbnion8meVb9W0k6F2FpH6utj84aK_jwKS44Jj9V73ZjZGpEPC0n/s320/30%20Nineveh%20-%20showing%20city%20wall%20and%20gateways.png" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nineveh - city wall and gates<br />(NB Nergal Gate - top left)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The sculpture is entitled <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><b><i>'The Invisible Enemy should not exist (Lamassu of Nineveh)' </i></b></span>– the carved cuneiform inscription was invisible to travellers as it was embedded into the wall of the Nergal Gate …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">here Rakowitz has it exposed … <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">while it translates</span> as <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b><i>“Sennercherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, had the wall of Nineveh built anew and raised as high as mountains”.</i></b></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmI0RV1UNLFeuXYhmXoKq0LnjjhVnoGNrUVkwUXKIM0JT9Etcwm-omp510TS06mM0MuvujyAInQEaIDnZ-JHVAjNe26LCWe2RkYp1xOgralQ3lfcl9OMz4RDaNTp30JH9_MCC4MLQ2vSKU7JhJKr_w5KxhJt-HdjaCLgObADypiMU1833OeU2ulQ5skwr/s600/30%20Lamma,%20protective%20winged%20deity.%20%20(Sumerian%20Isin-Larsa%20period%20%7B2000-1800%20BC)%7D%20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="483" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmI0RV1UNLFeuXYhmXoKq0LnjjhVnoGNrUVkwUXKIM0JT9Etcwm-omp510TS06mM0MuvujyAInQEaIDnZ-JHVAjNe26LCWe2RkYp1xOgralQ3lfcl9OMz4RDaNTp30JH9_MCC4MLQ2vSKU7JhJKr_w5KxhJt-HdjaCLgObADypiMU1833OeU2ulQ5skwr/s320/30%20Lamma,%20protective%20winged%20deity.%20%20(Sumerian%20Isin-Larsa%20period%20%7B2000-1800%20BC)%7D%20.png" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamma - protective winged deity,<br />Sumerian Isin-Larsa period<br />(2000 - 1800 BC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">There's rather more to Lamassu and its (her) history – to be found per the links below; also more about Michael Rakowitz.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Then of course one remembers the past twenty years of wars (War in Iraq from 2003 - 2011) and the further destruction that has been inflicted on world societies … be they human, economic and ecological – so much history to remember, to learn about …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eKMB1X3spGm-Exul_b9Z0NdCs-IiWGNcrTE0YIkdGVdRAbhdBD0GmbueHs0tvh5nSrO2CEUaiiHH4hHBM87c8fY0xgMQAHAttTFFR_48osbEqfc3V-r1cJE-EjbniHFINedeex4UQYVV_lErwERV0syptWDsDIGH5JYV6TQJWLIEzhZrQW-j7O_GWDEH/s293/30%20Close%20up%20of%20Cuneiform.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="243" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eKMB1X3spGm-Exul_b9Z0NdCs-IiWGNcrTE0YIkdGVdRAbhdBD0GmbueHs0tvh5nSrO2CEUaiiHH4hHBM87c8fY0xgMQAHAttTFFR_48osbEqfc3V-r1cJE-EjbniHFINedeex4UQYVV_lErwERV0syptWDsDIGH5JYV6TQJWLIEzhZrQW-j7O_GWDEH/s1600/30%20Close%20up%20of%20Cuneiform.png" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the carved Cuneiform<br />inscription - sorry not easy to see</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I know exceedingly little about life in the Middle East centuries ago to today … so these links can send you off down rabbit holes … and have and will send me down them again …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">As our town welcomes the Turner Prize 2023 to the Towner Art Gallery – in celebration Eastbourne has come ALIVE with art, music, and performance events … these are spread across the town waiting to be explored and enjoyed.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyvgHrAZsYhrAC5sLm6sUnhxzF6-HKNRbdAybgNSSkmMTjPcTmBImjWgbzlo3n8YOY9QEWEbIE_GS_MIGe27q4uxKLgZHBNE-nc2Vk5ctTiqNnpKecKnqcaBXvDvDUI6ipqJJIzkS8m7_q57yWoXjt0g5VQKSfx7T9JhPR_qAmxoJc7h_4HxKQT4tT0-B/s545/30%20Eastbourne%20Alive%20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="545" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyvgHrAZsYhrAC5sLm6sUnhxzF6-HKNRbdAybgNSSkmMTjPcTmBImjWgbzlo3n8YOY9QEWEbIE_GS_MIGe27q4uxKLgZHBNE-nc2Vk5ctTiqNnpKecKnqcaBXvDvDUI6ipqJJIzkS8m7_q57yWoXjt0g5VQKSfx7T9JhPR_qAmxoJc7h_4HxKQT4tT0-B/s320/30%20Eastbourne%20Alive%20.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Lamassu makes a huge statement – as well as a glorious gateway for all the Turner Prize entries hosted by the Towner Art Gallery – available until middle of April 2024.</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The winner of the Prize is due to be announced next week on 5<sup>th</sup> December … I guess I will revert – but I have to get my head round the entries – contemporary art is different: a learning curve!</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Towner Eastbourne link - <a href="https://townereastbourne.org.uk/whats-on/eastbourne-alive/michael-rakowitz#:~:text=Lamassu%20is%20a%20winged%20bull,in%20the%20nearby%20Mosul%20Museum" target="_blank">including photo by Rob Harris - showing the cuneiform inscription ... </a></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.gagallery.com/exhibitions-worldwide/michael-rakowitz5" target="_blank">Green Art Gallery </a>- showing details re the Trafalgar Square plinth ... </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Chicago Museum exhibits - <a href="https://isac.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibits/special-exhibits/michael-rakowitz-invisible-enemy-should-not-exist" target="_blank">"Lost Treasures of Iraq" ... lovely photos here ... </a></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamassu" target="_blank">Wikipedia - Lamassu</a> ... </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Wikipedia - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh" target="_blank">Nineveh ... </a></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-70679350330133816252023-11-23T11:11:00.001+00:002023-11-23T11:11:28.521+00:00Diaghilev – pared down … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Poor chap – his story here on my blog keeps getting shorter – too much going … while Diaghilev (1872 - 1929), the impresario, deserves serious treatment – bearing in mind the influence he had on Russian and ultimately Western culture …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyw6sJmHpMc-Lvst3CE4OKgMsrabBIuSw4k-4iMsUzA4s0YzHMVflefRbS94NDMSdB2MMJ3pAmGgF3yM0XoHxiq7GOxPiIEdYgu_Zxpf98VpzbADo1vfeXnHRD7jD-SYawW4JquLARn0_cmqAcslcbMr_zPo_7hOla3IJ2zpxD3ZgwYX53OPmOf67WosYZ/s329/23%20Diaghilev%20by%20Sjeng%20Scheijen%20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="233" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyw6sJmHpMc-Lvst3CE4OKgMsrabBIuSw4k-4iMsUzA4s0YzHMVflefRbS94NDMSdB2MMJ3pAmGgF3yM0XoHxiq7GOxPiIEdYgu_Zxpf98VpzbADo1vfeXnHRD7jD-SYawW4JquLARn0_cmqAcslcbMr_zPo_7hOla3IJ2zpxD3ZgwYX53OPmOf67WosYZ/s320/23%20Diaghilev%20by%20Sjeng%20Scheijen%20.png" width="227" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">His mother died in childbirth, but he was lucky and had a very rewarding relationship with his step-mother … he confided in her and wrote to her throughout her life … in the biography by Sjeng Scheijen we are privy to a great many snippets of these eye-opening communications.</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">His early life was surrounded by a large family and friends in Perm, near the Ural mountains … where they'd created a local cultural centre – and where he sang, composed and read voraciously. Also he was always surrounded by dictionaries and maps – constantly curious and wanting more knowledge.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Perm was near Yekaterinburg, where the family of Tsar Nicholas was executed in 1918.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><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/AVvXsEjw80YwakOVuYTRwNl5Xu5xYNo57jpQYuKqH_qjbsD1im4vT0B99Fqqt8I9yKWgJU24nPPSSELsQHRZthMUtJWW21OkGvw-7JaSyxDkkNVnIdoTmCyNFK_3qPp8Lzkxn6kahhQ1-2Sov6KlTaxo0owj1Orf_9K1RigbNuqS7uSH1VO9Q752CBQDYIT74Gxb/s980/23%20Across%20Russia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="980" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw80YwakOVuYTRwNl5Xu5xYNo57jpQYuKqH_qjbsD1im4vT0B99Fqqt8I9yKWgJU24nPPSSELsQHRZthMUtJWW21OkGvw-7JaSyxDkkNVnIdoTmCyNFK_3qPp8Lzkxn6kahhQ1-2Sov6KlTaxo0owj1Orf_9K1RigbNuqS7uSH1VO9Q752CBQDYIT74Gxb/s320/23%20Across%20Russia.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siberian route across Russia into China<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The town was founded in 1723 by Peter the Great (1672 - 1725), and is named after his wife. The city has two important connections … it served as the mining capital of the Russian Empire (1721 - 1917), as well as a strategic connection between Europe and Asia.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">In 1781, Catherine the Great (1729 - 1796), continued the important Siberian Route through Perm. (The route ran from Moscow, via Mongolia, into China, west of Beijing).</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UrE3kWGxSuGGmigS27Hw5BpPWnaC75_nfeV8dq2TByr93Zs7a8VYOSgxlPoGBr6mrDHxQZ0mBLaBUpKIChOqq5HzrScT44X6tPuKowmMmx-Ht1cclbiMs_sv0aleipeTDHR76WWhoFbCC0TCHr7BBHQjQYMd-LS0QyidOC0IYcWbRJVAPfmG7GsFk45z/s702/23%20Diaghilev%20by%20Dobuzhinsky.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="595" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UrE3kWGxSuGGmigS27Hw5BpPWnaC75_nfeV8dq2TByr93Zs7a8VYOSgxlPoGBr6mrDHxQZ0mBLaBUpKIChOqq5HzrScT44X6tPuKowmMmx-Ht1cclbiMs_sv0aleipeTDHR76WWhoFbCC0TCHr7BBHQjQYMd-LS0QyidOC0IYcWbRJVAPfmG7GsFk45z/s320/23%20Diaghilev%20by%20Dobuzhinsky.png" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diaghilev by Rostislav Doboujinsky<br />(1903 - 2000) - showing his shock<br />of white hair</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">So this mercurial man with his overflowing confidence, many mood swings, was ready for a life of distinction … taking creativity to new horizons at the start of the 20</span><sup style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> century … particularly his inherent ability to perceive the genius of others.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">It was during his University years in St Petersburg that he was able to look around to find his true interests in life - particularly Russian and Western art, as well as his literary knowledge … he came to be respected as one of the most learned men in the group.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">He promoted talented youngsters … one of these was the Ballets Russes' star dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky (1889 – 1950) … who became one of his lovers.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWz-GwFe2BiiU31-ixME2k2_sHH73hdABVM_j64gmd78t8iM99ZG2oe13QHnGHbjZcH9xh2CCK_Q_Ig3IeVddLukIq8b1VUnvL1hYnv-fq60vr-j2mvu9s3D8oHzGQE7qJWx5q8noyXQVee5vtBTzrMEGqVvCnWNALLIp5X8x0dI5lgxOLx7OTjYjXzhC/s840/23%20Nijinksky%20by%20Serov.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="497" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWz-GwFe2BiiU31-ixME2k2_sHH73hdABVM_j64gmd78t8iM99ZG2oe13QHnGHbjZcH9xh2CCK_Q_Ig3IeVddLukIq8b1VUnvL1hYnv-fq60vr-j2mvu9s3D8oHzGQE7qJWx5q8noyXQVee5vtBTzrMEGqVvCnWNALLIp5X8x0dI5lgxOLx7OTjYjXzhC/s320/23%20Nijinksky%20by%20Serov.png" width="189" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nijinsky by Valentin Serov<br />(1865 - 1911)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Sadly Nijinsky was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a very young age and for nearly 30 years was in and out of psychiatric hospitals and asylums …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Diaghilev, who lived the high life, lived from pay-check to pay-check, but always ensuring the needs of his dancers and company were met. In his latter years his passion turned to collecting rare books - of which there were many significant ones.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">He had developed diabetes … refusing to change his life-style … however one thing he feared was dying in water, and as far as possible avoided travelling by boat.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEiBrhmGdodf9MUcKkbXnp8g1ySOscr5o9SfoEkAC7JqxWourfCX0Iay2kDv4CUB2e-DQ6rt-fw0BK5cfUhwHfrDBqd5ctxKCE_aEZi6UR1zZnXfO0iAvdebANHvJdo2iZ2tjOu5fkHrl2F_ZfAW1vFVFJrxNSPZshroWAVj6GukMChs393gDu8ZJq0lMhGy/s924/23%20Isola%20San%20Michele,%20Venice.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="924" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrhmGdodf9MUcKkbXnp8g1ySOscr5o9SfoEkAC7JqxWourfCX0Iay2kDv4CUB2e-DQ6rt-fw0BK5cfUhwHfrDBqd5ctxKCE_aEZi6UR1zZnXfO0iAvdebANHvJdo2iZ2tjOu5fkHrl2F_ZfAW1vFVFJrxNSPZshroWAVj6GukMChs393gDu8ZJq0lMhGy/s320/23%20Isola%20San%20Michele,%20Venice.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isola San Michele, Venice</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">He loved Venice managing to reach there just before his death in 1929. At the end he was broke, broke … but his debts were settled by friends … including Coco Chanel … however he had reached his beloved Venice.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWkIyoHlSbeV8YhDYgIIGNEsNLXlyUw6iiYfhVtQjiK5lN-cZVkIhlvsi8guUJJWnUwS5__CvhYr3H58SwpH7YOEcZWhWP2QIfcFFkxb42u3r38K7HlGb8ZiHQ-JBEO3wip23JgdDJHQIOVOXRM7LwL6XbujxOCOg9KeqESbYcNhr6SJ9XIfTfK_-hrFg/s4032/23%20my%20notes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWkIyoHlSbeV8YhDYgIIGNEsNLXlyUw6iiYfhVtQjiK5lN-cZVkIhlvsi8guUJJWnUwS5__CvhYr3H58SwpH7YOEcZWhWP2QIfcFFkxb42u3r38K7HlGb8ZiHQ-JBEO3wip23JgdDJHQIOVOXRM7LwL6XbujxOCOg9KeqESbYcNhr6SJ9XIfTfK_-hrFg/s320/23%20my%20notes.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see my notes - ran to <br />14 pages of scruffiness!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">His tomb is on the nearby island of San Michele – the island has served as the principal cemetery of Venice since 1807.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Diaghilev continues to influence and be remembered both here in the west and in Russia – one hopes that will continue.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends ...</span><span style="font-size: 22pt;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-64603045132306985432023-11-12T14:26:00.000+00:002023-11-12T14:26:48.678+00:00Remembrance … Nothing Changes … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">We need Peace for all humans who live on this earth, and then hope that all those humans respect each other … while considering, appreciating and giving due regard to our world as our lives unfold …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj400kSYysgvGc7OYWb_7lokCB-6S40tprFn6xk_JHmvVXc42afE7detcOJVHCA6ZkPYJq0baqS9vs-kbR1vY3vFAHNohM5gv_JFnRhdU-CweXPq4OIC1GcHiaLeXKSkMGOUbZ3iGCcVoigDhSzbQyijFYPSQn_98yXtt9a0GzomEj5BUwLjdJMkuSIfy8W/s747/12%20Peace%20Poppy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="747" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj400kSYysgvGc7OYWb_7lokCB-6S40tprFn6xk_JHmvVXc42afE7detcOJVHCA6ZkPYJq0baqS9vs-kbR1vY3vFAHNohM5gv_JFnRhdU-CweXPq4OIC1GcHiaLeXKSkMGOUbZ3iGCcVoigDhSzbQyijFYPSQn_98yXtt9a0GzomEj5BUwLjdJMkuSIfy8W/s320/12%20Peace%20Poppy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Peace Poppy</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The 'Tower Hill Madonna' sculpture by Jacquie Binns – artist, embroiderer and sculptor - expresses opposites, inspiring the themes of peace and pain.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPGvLkL3C-Ilc_S4y5sGsHpwyB7cRer9ePqqQKSX-oyt5PtdVrGvz1F5D3Ga9oH2A1iN4aADfksODbCvvKbYVE2vbmKxAjqrUyngi2pGPFc4oVyxWLP8pZEaQxMbW9CWNKksfolPeJy5O7_LZ9qDqPqn6vRNsXyySfJYOF4NO8ZYLV7PtKKf-oohmZzXH/s578/12%20Madonna%20sculpture%20by%20Jacquie%20Binns.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="472" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPGvLkL3C-Ilc_S4y5sGsHpwyB7cRer9ePqqQKSX-oyt5PtdVrGvz1F5D3Ga9oH2A1iN4aADfksODbCvvKbYVE2vbmKxAjqrUyngi2pGPFc4oVyxWLP8pZEaQxMbW9CWNKksfolPeJy5O7_LZ9qDqPqn6vRNsXyySfJYOF4NO8ZYLV7PtKKf-oohmZzXH/s320/12%20Madonna%20sculpture%20by%20Jacquie%20Binns.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tower Hill Madonna</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Jacquie used these for her reflective sculpture which the commemorative plaque at All Hallows-by-the-Tower, London explains.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBvTgC4tEbnugETJP_F1DzqzXlkCGCZV5rNIFKiPkMrKtbMRKFORhTZbSzkjbSZsnnGIIEDXeKZb19hSB1W31QKbWj6rPpS6rQkfUsMH1bVnreVBe0nEh_vU4z6B1WADliQBTde2oSgimbmjwRZGjHRnjVLeB4FtT14_gJsCQu8aJ9B6LDGIw-QEvTooV/s597/12%20Anabels%20post%2023%20Oct%20re%20Pepys%20in%20London%20%2011%20Nov%20Remembrance.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="308" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBvTgC4tEbnugETJP_F1DzqzXlkCGCZV5rNIFKiPkMrKtbMRKFORhTZbSzkjbSZsnnGIIEDXeKZb19hSB1W31QKbWj6rPpS6rQkfUsMH1bVnreVBe0nEh_vU4z6B1WADliQBTde2oSgimbmjwRZGjHRnjVLeB4FtT14_gJsCQu8aJ9B6LDGIw-QEvTooV/w206-h400/12%20Anabels%20post%2023%20Oct%20re%20Pepys%20in%20London%20%2011%20Nov%20Remembrance.png" width="206" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: Anabel of<br />The Glasgow Gallivanter</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">c/o <a href="https://www.jacquiebinns.com/sculpture-2/sculpturethe-tower-hill-madonna/" target="_blank">Jacquie Binns' Church Textiles site </a>… 'The Tower Hill Madonna' …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://glasgowgallivanter.com/2023/10/23/in-the-footsteps-of-pepys/" target="_blank">c/o Anabel as the Glasgow Gallivanter</a> blogger</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> – posted about the church on the Footsteps of Pepys …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b>With thoughts on this Remembrance Sunday</b></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b><br /></b></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/AVvXsEgDelF39aR6Sqv4zq-8sVfZyTo0kiHuyhCC96ebk0rfzoK3rpVpn-m3eKAu6gnHUSchKFFJItRmdCRRw5V0w0IWBdH20sKMZlzaRXzcAGqqju8bDVorPAFQ0av1dhf0tKYWvQlsWKEdI6jvTgpNtpMuWEwc-OH2rRf7nrKRlX8SUmie4V-ESM4lCjrzST3L/s330/12%20Peace%20Lily%20.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDelF39aR6Sqv4zq-8sVfZyTo0kiHuyhCC96ebk0rfzoK3rpVpn-m3eKAu6gnHUSchKFFJItRmdCRRw5V0w0IWBdH20sKMZlzaRXzcAGqqju8bDVorPAFQ0av1dhf0tKYWvQlsWKEdI6jvTgpNtpMuWEwc-OH2rRf7nrKRlX8SUmie4V-ESM4lCjrzST3L/s320/12%20Peace%20Lily%20.jpeg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace Lily</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-84162473236684426292023-11-06T14:08:00.002+00:002023-11-06T14:08:17.928+00:00Brief Update … Diaghilev and Eastbourne's contemporary art … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Life's been a bit more obtuse than it need have been recently … so I'm way behind and have been happily procrastinating … not helped with the Middle East developments.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0ngfQoMtD7hSPsLLxTU2OE8iPohZuDG51RTqALvpeRjLepdVIV8YiP1g0mxdTZ61UM9pPJzCPgfkkOm0xjKooyytwC5W4V29-H5mCXkPHpexwDxAUv4SLXdTj3aK3w58AaUtxfTG7bf_El0nOFcvdtcI4bC5z6zj_OATcYkXF4pdx4qxM_zA05dih4Ng/s611/6%20Diaghilev%20with%20his%20nanny,%201905%20by%20Leon%20Bakst.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="412" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0ngfQoMtD7hSPsLLxTU2OE8iPohZuDG51RTqALvpeRjLepdVIV8YiP1g0mxdTZ61UM9pPJzCPgfkkOm0xjKooyytwC5W4V29-H5mCXkPHpexwDxAUv4SLXdTj3aK3w58AaUtxfTG7bf_El0nOFcvdtcI4bC5z6zj_OATcYkXF4pdx4qxM_zA05dih4Ng/w135-h200/6%20Diaghilev%20with%20his%20nanny,%201905%20by%20Leon%20Bakst.png" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diaghilev with his<br />beloved nanny 1905<br />by Leon Bakst<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I've been reading about Sergei Diaghilev (1872 - 1929) (Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and more)– which I found far more fascinating than I thought I would – and again those rabbit holes appeared!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Life's always interesting … the Turner Prize Exhibition is up and running at our amazing local Towner Art Gallery …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiFXJirVVpBViHQVADaDksJIHz4cm0ANjOpW27tYUwPQaULH5DyzZcPKEO-AL2Z-9VWo1MsT5oCHZljvKztbH9UImrd1q9ZAE0i-0A1VLCmXkbgClU7O0_CXsRV8wNKswwuAOFBV3Hv1U5JU75JAuEEW5IWF7rIJZUMOrAeoxsqp24LGjnqLzkvFk5h2w/s388/6%20Towner%20GIve%20it%20some%20oomph.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="254" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiFXJirVVpBViHQVADaDksJIHz4cm0ANjOpW27tYUwPQaULH5DyzZcPKEO-AL2Z-9VWo1MsT5oCHZljvKztbH9UImrd1q9ZAE0i-0A1VLCmXkbgClU7O0_CXsRV8wNKswwuAOFBV3Hv1U5JU75JAuEEW5IWF7rIJZUMOrAeoxsqp24LGjnqLzkvFk5h2w/s320/6%20Towner%20GIve%20it%20some%20oomph.png" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a guide for young<br />people engaging with<br />galleries and contemporary<br />art (produced earlier in 2023)</td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">contemporary art – which was mostly unfathomable - ?!, so I need to go back and quietly spend time working out what's what … yet oddly the first exhibitions Diaghilev put on in St Petersburg in the late 1890s were intended to introduce contemporary artists to the local public, and later, to the Europeans.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNWDQ9W5sKqcGa9hECsQ0iwibKKA4PBBgHTPvgWKkJYZqJH6ekUNpOBCeGmSoyEXNI9sEkLHgr7bR3EmS_DSHKcu6uNia9Yb8FphPcIPbfCsY1iGL5TUc0gDo_HRXQbZRSNgl0MlLkCVGXuuUmKqftQ6r-z0fXaGOF6MqdsmRkUP9I52Sxi_H8eqUXE3P/s545/6%20Eastbourne%20Alive.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="545" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNWDQ9W5sKqcGa9hECsQ0iwibKKA4PBBgHTPvgWKkJYZqJH6ekUNpOBCeGmSoyEXNI9sEkLHgr7bR3EmS_DSHKcu6uNia9Yb8FphPcIPbfCsY1iGL5TUc0gDo_HRXQbZRSNgl0MlLkCVGXuuUmKqftQ6r-z0fXaGOF6MqdsmRkUP9I52Sxi_H8eqUXE3P/s320/6%20Eastbourne%20Alive.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the advertising banners around town</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">while within the town <i>Eastbourne ALIVE</i> – is a separate ambitious project working with young cultural partners in and around the resort's landscape orbit … </span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsHhxlfhcvVIwvzPU-s61txGnKJaETpcWJ8v-H64TLZBL9DAxBCC0oq2oshBv-mcjTuqSi59pyPjaGM5XS7zJa_Buj1HfBDK021cKR4MH4tniAtG2yYFFiWqW2lHtbWg1eTXe9m5DkW7Px-V7s54HYvj2SoTZd14LuOUIqZsMQZqY6jCQRnsHXxSW8_4M/s4032/6%20Eastbourne%20Society%20Autumn%20publication.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsHhxlfhcvVIwvzPU-s61txGnKJaETpcWJ8v-H64TLZBL9DAxBCC0oq2oshBv-mcjTuqSi59pyPjaGM5XS7zJa_Buj1HfBDK021cKR4MH4tniAtG2yYFFiWqW2lHtbWg1eTXe9m5DkW7Px-V7s54HYvj2SoTZd14LuOUIqZsMQZqY6jCQRnsHXxSW8_4M/s320/6%20Eastbourne%20Society%20Autumn%20publication.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is an excellent society<br />in our town - very professional</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">... I need to explore. Obviously linked to the Turner Prize … we're awash with art around here … fortunately not washed away in the storms.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBEVKSnuyOxOEichAAo2mc7ys4X7Uz1JPDBf80Vi9D2DCZJ-F1RV29qASloxGg6QpbClQiVvl_Cu84n4L7NOcRKnJzahWHWNfw0I6gefTL146VZlUYQS65UCpCtZg-lgkddtMJ5vtH0SCMZJ5_PnbgVO4RqXxno5pBFozcmb-lJbOIXuK03bv74MCqFXQ/s4032/6%20Beachy%20Head%20-%20Running%20Free.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBEVKSnuyOxOEichAAo2mc7ys4X7Uz1JPDBf80Vi9D2DCZJ-F1RV29qASloxGg6QpbClQiVvl_Cu84n4L7NOcRKnJzahWHWNfw0I6gefTL146VZlUYQS65UCpCtZg-lgkddtMJ5vtH0SCMZJ5_PnbgVO4RqXxno5pBFozcmb-lJbOIXuK03bv74MCqFXQ/s320/6%20Beachy%20Head%20-%20Running%20Free.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beachy Head, Sussex - tree '<i>well mangled</i>' <br />by many storms over the years</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This was meant to be very short … but I obviously don't do that … rabbit holes abound …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdN4QPBJ53gnw973QYz4ux_ZFoxxGfcohJN4yEDWqNpC6zPmQZrg5_DlFzApFqOd9wI5t7Q-6vkit5Rd-TgAQIBM5AQt6oN2G62Iiptm0JOUz2n-jAupfyTh6S25y1ACSYHNSLyCy2iopKBncHl_RV_Qz05cNte9y9OyPykcM3-Z4bxLArjIObnOVH-d3/s4032/6%20Storm%20over%20Newlyn%20Pier.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdN4QPBJ53gnw973QYz4ux_ZFoxxGfcohJN4yEDWqNpC6zPmQZrg5_DlFzApFqOd9wI5t7Q-6vkit5Rd-TgAQIBM5AQt6oN2G62Iiptm0JOUz2n-jAupfyTh6S25y1ACSYHNSLyCy2iopKBncHl_RV_Qz05cNte9y9OyPykcM3-Z4bxLArjIObnOVH-d3/s320/6%20Storm%20over%20Newlyn%20Pier.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boiler didn't much like the stormy gales -<br />this is Newlyn pier in Cornwall - where<br />my mother lived for 40+ years</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I will catch up … boiler withstanding – that's been bad again – it'd be nice if things would behave!!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-18367856641351784952023-10-26T06:00:00.062+01:002023-10-26T10:12:14.154+01:00Lenny Lee's turned 24 …<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I expect and hope many of you remember Lenny from days of yore … he and I keep in touch …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mY234c3AwbXL8n2Tl9DWRTk5ssXVMew4MheNgI1mk6v9XYRG6di-jLCO3hZOY3S1RAcvAcFKnJ7thfObdLI_sR_1DLNfCuOLHhdE86HnRygI0qFJDJ8l_Jf7fBymZZdAVKGKb5irKj2A5Kg7gHQ-Gu1XKAuHS_qvfriNOu1puq6IxstJdOh3D5GZ_yWG/s237/26%20Lenny%20Lee's%20World.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="237" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mY234c3AwbXL8n2Tl9DWRTk5ssXVMew4MheNgI1mk6v9XYRG6di-jLCO3hZOY3S1RAcvAcFKnJ7thfObdLI_sR_1DLNfCuOLHhdE86HnRygI0qFJDJ8l_Jf7fBymZZdAVKGKb5irKj2A5Kg7gHQ-Gu1XKAuHS_qvfriNOu1puq6IxstJdOh3D5GZ_yWG/s1600/26%20Lenny%20Lee's%20World.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lenny Lee's world</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">He was always brilliant for my mother – she loved all the prezzies he sent her … and enjoyed the repartee he gave us …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">It was back in 2011 that many of us wrote a cheering post for him … as he was at the start of a loooong journey – still continuing today …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8WqPAiJEBZyW2IIlmiih4lAvnzVStPjA4SFdvuyz2ISR4iTtYGCC71ugFw6fFxYVE8_vTBl5KH0tcJYth-YAdoOq0UWMRAs3PQTEwlCwZZ_ny7_q-TleDMn0DFg7F_Bu5mZ6_lhM4Jk6CxNbkb_qlo14jtlqIOKX5bwMZcLc8hGFO2EUlfp1ehNIPfdv/s925/26%20Hardwick,%20Hippo%20and%20Zdena.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="925" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8WqPAiJEBZyW2IIlmiih4lAvnzVStPjA4SFdvuyz2ISR4iTtYGCC71ugFw6fFxYVE8_vTBl5KH0tcJYth-YAdoOq0UWMRAs3PQTEwlCwZZ_ny7_q-TleDMn0DFg7F_Bu5mZ6_lhM4Jk6CxNbkb_qlo14jtlqIOKX5bwMZcLc8hGFO2EUlfp1ehNIPfdv/s320/26%20Hardwick,%20Hippo%20and%20Zdena.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hardwick, Muddy Hippo, Zdena</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">and from me came, in 2012, another earworm </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(after my Phantom earworm)</i></span><span style="font-size: 22pt;"> … Mud, Mud Glorious Mud by Flanders and Swann ...</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">he then sent us Muddy Hippo, while later in 2012, after my mother had died, Hardwick joined in for Lenny's 13<sup>th</sup> birthday …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HYKjeNfUQVX9t23IQUzewNMi9baOLBkDN-SEFAO46E6vxhOqjjIgPIyI8UxOE0jdZKIbUqrPBGqds0qdMadnzPaWXddmrgEgxEPHZ0nEo7bA7C5s4b2Hh0SXE9qpgok7oQTlwbmaNb0Ks4o9qMX0STpkiv0drN1wljRfV8H79DCKcM3OqZH6rBfluJPO/s240/26%20Birthday%20snack%20.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="240" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HYKjeNfUQVX9t23IQUzewNMi9baOLBkDN-SEFAO46E6vxhOqjjIgPIyI8UxOE0jdZKIbUqrPBGqds0qdMadnzPaWXddmrgEgxEPHZ0nEo7bA7C5s4b2Hh0SXE9qpgok7oQTlwbmaNb0Ks4o9qMX0STpkiv0drN1wljRfV8H79DCKcM3OqZH6rBfluJPO/s1600/26%20Birthday%20snack%20.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of choice</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">then Zdena joined the party at the end of my Aspects of British Cookery …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvI3JMg46sJ78z9CGevf9NPoJgc7DCfjM6ttGQx3EAeqkoJ0LfKqeNeSxNVK_J2qhgWi6YNRO_ADpSn8jYITu5RbFAwciOTc45VNYr34pD8wl1svvYoBKncYDOLhyzixLbTjJn_6mknwPCbFJdZKI6MHZZ5qhLoOQ7pz0BEll2hbzzB1Ll-WdP-adnvepv/s290/26%20Cheese%20and%20Wine.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="290" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvI3JMg46sJ78z9CGevf9NPoJgc7DCfjM6ttGQx3EAeqkoJ0LfKqeNeSxNVK_J2qhgWi6YNRO_ADpSn8jYITu5RbFAwciOTc45VNYr34pD8wl1svvYoBKncYDOLhyzixLbTjJn_6mknwPCbFJdZKI6MHZZ5qhLoOQ7pz0BEll2hbzzB1Ll-WdP-adnvepv/s1600/26%20Cheese%20and%20Wine.png" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheese and Wine</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">So please from all around the world wish Lenny an easier time ahead … apparently a friend came round for (what I call supper!) dinner, with some Chinese dishes, together with some vino … I'm sure they enjoyed themselves ... </span></p><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGmdAH_x1gnYoHCf7YpuApPoFQ_Qhy5rwMBmBFNHu9Wggn0QgyveVUjMMlwzq8wXnQY4AkfH9eLAjqmlLTgs4ff3ne5nN2UrjMljCW_00G4CFIAHM7xbs64m3GxT1OCNR2msYtb1665bgk7c-uQsjgxEpHyvmtLkwxo13a5iSFk5k95ikCHFKRHAnJQye/s4032/26%20Damyanti's%20book%20arrived.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGmdAH_x1gnYoHCf7YpuApPoFQ_Qhy5rwMBmBFNHu9Wggn0QgyveVUjMMlwzq8wXnQY4AkfH9eLAjqmlLTgs4ff3ne5nN2UrjMljCW_00G4CFIAHM7xbs64m3GxT1OCNR2msYtb1665bgk7c-uQsjgxEpHyvmtLkwxo13a5iSFk5k95ikCHFKRHAnJQye/s320/26%20Damyanti's%20book%20arrived.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damyanti's book arrived a day early ... <br />Diaghilev's post still being worked on ... there's<br />a Finnish connection<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">My next post <b><i>will not</i></b> contain an earworm … </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">and will be on Diaghilev</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> … all things being considered …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2013/04/z-is-for-zdena.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" target="_blank">Z is for Zdena </a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">… the follower of Bacchus, the wine god …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2011/06/lenny-lee-fest.html" target="_blank">Lenny Lee – Fest …</a> Spreading sunshine for him …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2012/10/hardwicks-nose-smells-party-birthday.html" target="_blank">Hardwick's Nose … he smelt a Birthday Party</a> – Hardwick doesn't miss much! …</span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgro371_ZA8ZsBhwKuNZfzQa1NGrm8aOMF0iK7wErN8qtIZ3X8_GGx7kwXBZr2-eVSKqVnmxD3EnpwylUfmVJM6CanRvE6hkQjKn3esMmFmRO30xK0EzHw23ctsB4JJNoMAkGEEkDfldBIFqnpKBcXq46WZXulp1HLdeUkDMm8xF54rztnddv4ODxeaWKFe/s4032/26.Hardwick,%20Muddy%20Hippo%20and%20Zdena.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgro371_ZA8ZsBhwKuNZfzQa1NGrm8aOMF0iK7wErN8qtIZ3X8_GGx7kwXBZr2-eVSKqVnmxD3EnpwylUfmVJM6CanRvE6hkQjKn3esMmFmRO30xK0EzHw23ctsB4JJNoMAkGEEkDfldBIFqnpKBcXq46WZXulp1HLdeUkDMm8xF54rztnddv4ODxeaWKFe/s320/26.Hardwick,%20Muddy%20Hippo%20and%20Zdena.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zdena - very cheerful, Hardwick ... really<br />wanting to sleep - he's a very old boy now -<br />getting on for 100 I think ... while<br />Muddy Hippo just makes a mess!!<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><div><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I just remembered - Lenny won a WEP prompt back in June 2022 - which explains his situation a little ... <i><b><a href="https://lennys-world.blogspot.com/2022/06/wep-june-2022-challenge-please-read.html" target="_blank">a boy who grieves for the sudden loss of his mother </a></b></i>... a poignant letter ... </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></div></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-6116625992685141722023-10-20T11:01:00.000+01:002023-10-20T11:01:50.972+01:00Write … Edit … Publish … Bloghop /IWSG hop: Phantom of the Opera … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The poor Phantom has been forced to reappear in the 21<sup>st</sup> century with the most irreverent production he could possibly be in …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMrSXBauIY7_xlACTr16WQY_MUNTVl4HWxTnnKoYWsMsh73MQXjWCAIcKbuAVhKqadxBK9w4JDRHDeX4O4IUac9Fc-n9t2E4ORQlwASblHH-H2dYUHmDDSZ9hPeWjCAfnF2dTQWq5BWYPvjjFbhd4Nbu82ItiTMQ2Pa8e60Gr_Vt4E-1zJfc-1HBGYoXN/s628/20%20Lon%20Chaney%20as%20Erik,%20The%20Phantom,%20in%20Universal's%201925%20silent%20film%20version.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMrSXBauIY7_xlACTr16WQY_MUNTVl4HWxTnnKoYWsMsh73MQXjWCAIcKbuAVhKqadxBK9w4JDRHDeX4O4IUac9Fc-n9t2E4ORQlwASblHH-H2dYUHmDDSZ9hPeWjCAfnF2dTQWq5BWYPvjjFbhd4Nbu82ItiTMQ2Pa8e60Gr_Vt4E-1zJfc-1HBGYoXN/s320/20%20Lon%20Chaney%20as%20Erik,%20The%20Phantom,%20in%20Universal's%201925%20silent%20film%20version.png" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lon Chaney as Erik, The Phantom,<br />in Universal's 1925 silent film version<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">an advert for Bile Beans … now where did she get that idea from? Bile Beans …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Bile Beans … c/o Edward Lear … no, no, poor dear would not go near Edward Lear with her Bile Beans ad, even if he did craft this first limerick, <i>but not the second ...</i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-size: 22pt;"><b>There was an Old Man of the Nile,</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Who sharpened his nails with a file,</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Till he cut out his thumbs,</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-size: 22pt;"><b>And said calmly, 'This comes</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Of sharpening one's nails with a file!</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><i>Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><i>Beans, beans, the musical fruit</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><i>The more you eat, the more you toot</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><i>The more you toot, the better you feel.</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><i>So let's have beans with every meal!</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Now the poor Phantom was totally bemused, also worried about this query …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><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/AVvXsEg877LWxhSmtLURmCx2sMGIviZgSBajWsy2KcIvZEX5CNL-0eZHwT-o1ulmaj8VTzkTT_pGYUozT-7dWOHifiR_QxhsR0srDV1a7QsXoBHR8wJWxrO1nYKMdZ8aj2yWYW-x3DgT50vkD39PKgcm-FK4ullzOoKePCMURui6pMXWaz-g0X_o373A0tRozGsx/s485/20%20Can%20I%20come%20in%3F.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="485" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg877LWxhSmtLURmCx2sMGIviZgSBajWsy2KcIvZEX5CNL-0eZHwT-o1ulmaj8VTzkTT_pGYUozT-7dWOHifiR_QxhsR0srDV1a7QsXoBHR8wJWxrO1nYKMdZ8aj2yWYW-x3DgT50vkD39PKgcm-FK4ullzOoKePCMURui6pMXWaz-g0X_o373A0tRozGsx/s320/20%20Can%20I%20come%20in%3F.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #cccccc;">Phantom – can I come in?</i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #cccccc;">I don't know, can you?</i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #cccccc;">Cursing quietly, the vampire backed away, foiled yet again by the English teacher's pedantry.</i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;">Another … 'scathingly brilliant idea' …</i></div><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-size: 20pt;"><b>Bile on the Nile … File on Dial …</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-size: 20pt;"><b>Beans Need … Jean Cleats …</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-size: 20pt;"><b>She now Weeps, the Phantom Sleeps</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-size: 20pt;"><b>Is she a vampile, or a phantomile ...?</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><br /><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWHaRDPKX25W5ENmk4-I1iUzD5fieetRt1pt9aaEPv7pmnRtIlFHiHl5Rmu_lryWHCRtLBu4brL5fsMTYQ8l6lvprE-jzprflf46Y0HzHqGSdslbxNvYfsuTw5orO_ML8tGSWZDtapP0BKo96W6hbBZnhR07H2dmNFEASQ7mmuh17QccniSea56jjEvzN/s618/20%20Frontispiece%20to%20the%20sheet%20music%20for%20the%20%22Bile%20Bean%20March%22%20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWHaRDPKX25W5ENmk4-I1iUzD5fieetRt1pt9aaEPv7pmnRtIlFHiHl5Rmu_lryWHCRtLBu4brL5fsMTYQ8l6lvprE-jzprflf46Y0HzHqGSdslbxNvYfsuTw5orO_ML8tGSWZDtapP0BKo96W6hbBZnhR07H2dmNFEASQ7mmuh17QccniSea56jjEvzN/s320/20%20Frontispiece%20to%20the%20sheet%20music%20for%20the%20%22Bile%20Bean%20March%22%20.png" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bile_Beans" target="_blank">Frontispiece</a> to the sheet music<br />for the 'Bile Bean March'</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Phantom you'd better enrol this strange dribbling living being into an English class … so she can put those grey cells to work on something sensible, rather than how to <i><b>toot musical fruit</b></i> …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><br /><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqV6wjpthSC2SNKiUZ_iuJ7TaxnpZQDpR4j2jrDC6m-ZJNrLuwry-pth_1cGRRrKzDM6_oyLMUECEgRhoPgux0sheQPzzqz95hL3YA1LzVFJagyo_Da9xi7vf6ZgawK24mGyBgOelhbdB8uIrTCtvLBQEQ_UYp9u4HZJG1p5o5xAQ1JGbN07ljJiRJDEHS/s596/20%20Bile%20Beans%20model.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="398" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqV6wjpthSC2SNKiUZ_iuJ7TaxnpZQDpR4j2jrDC6m-ZJNrLuwry-pth_1cGRRrKzDM6_oyLMUECEgRhoPgux0sheQPzzqz95hL3YA1LzVFJagyo_Da9xi7vf6ZgawK24mGyBgOelhbdB8uIrTCtvLBQEQ_UYp9u4HZJG1p5o5xAQ1JGbN07ljJiRJDEHS/s320/20%20Bile%20Beans%20model.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's a little older now - but<br />back then the Phantom was<br />interested .....</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Surely Phantom in all your one hundred and twenty four years of being published you'd have something sensible to help this poor lady write about you … please come out of the woodwork, or slither down the ghostly advert for Bile Beans … Vile Beans …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><br /><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><br /><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqAOriXzBycfEN4sN-ExBAwDkO6AeDNc119m0-m-Q44iQCFDHhTFeu5jL9sSBPqNOoyEDTPoQqkk1o7Osw7wMto3T_yzP5ZJB1jScVhHE-xs6VP02R8Nv1xy2iX868gwB1dICWz4kP0QZiluqJWSskvHBXGmHVs0Ux-mfc-6FzX3dln6kca5sgYn0f073/s749/20%20Ghostly%20Bile%20Beans%20ad.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="749" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqAOriXzBycfEN4sN-ExBAwDkO6AeDNc119m0-m-Q44iQCFDHhTFeu5jL9sSBPqNOoyEDTPoQqkk1o7Osw7wMto3T_yzP5ZJB1jScVhHE-xs6VP02R8Nv1xy2iX868gwB1dICWz4kP0QZiluqJWSskvHBXGmHVs0Ux-mfc-6FzX3dln6kca5sgYn0f073/s320/20%20Ghostly%20Bile%20Beans%20ad.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found in York, England</td></tr></tbody></table></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><b><i>Tag line:</i></b> Who But Me Could Come Up with This Post for the poor Phantom (of the Opera) prompt – I feel for him … I wonder if they had Bile Beans on the Nile …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bile_Beans" target="_blank">Bile Beans information!</a> - a crossing continents fraudulent concoction ... </span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><a href="https://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/BoN/bon070.html" target="_blank">Edward Lear Nile limerick ... Nonsense.org </a>- there are some other limericks following on - which all make interesting reads ... no Phantoms though ... </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Apologies to all who read this … especially to Gordon Leroux, who penned the novel </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Le Fantome de l'Opera</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"> in 1909</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Leroux" target="_blank">Gordon Leroux c/ Wiki</a><br /><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-11699575942911751532023-10-17T12:18:00.001+01:002023-10-17T12:18:51.670+01:00Brief Update ... Diaghilev and WEP Phantom of the Opera<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Life's been a bit more obtuse than it need have been recently … so I'm way behind and have been happily procrastinating … not helped with the Middle East developments.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsRTgej8IaEDIgU-QueeQGdoPWioT30RBbYhgTPT75uadmnQNflTzhYPOTuBLJFKLNVv7g5UX8AJ2-PEEvMdzxxWh2w3eeQdZpyh-JiuzA9_Qgdyt08sLcsfveqz5kNxL-64AujGWSGpNm06I1Tuh4VAfmfMMooe10qtg2Cf8_5YlS1Ik7_GC9R4Hw7hn/s611/17%20Diaghilev%20with%20his%20nanny,%201905%20by%20Leon%20Bakst.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="412" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsRTgej8IaEDIgU-QueeQGdoPWioT30RBbYhgTPT75uadmnQNflTzhYPOTuBLJFKLNVv7g5UX8AJ2-PEEvMdzxxWh2w3eeQdZpyh-JiuzA9_Qgdyt08sLcsfveqz5kNxL-64AujGWSGpNm06I1Tuh4VAfmfMMooe10qtg2Cf8_5YlS1Ik7_GC9R4Hw7hn/s320/17%20Diaghilev%20with%20his%20nanny,%201905%20by%20Leon%20Bakst.png" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diaghilev with his nanny in<br />1905 by Leon Bakst</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I've been reading about Sergei Diaghilev (1872 - 1929) (Russian art critic, patron, ballet impressario and more) – which I found far more fascinating than I thought I would – and again those rabbit holes appeared! So an interesting, I hope, post will appear after WEP … WEP will be 'odd' too …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Life's always interesting … the Turner Prize Exhibition is up and running at our amazing local Towner Art Gallery …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyAAfp1lma4xRbTyDy4ATiOQzAmCIJcoPNcF1bPZDWzK1MEBCBFw1k1pjxEQi2nB39xP56PH-R8__auXW2WnVqdrgM9lwnBDzc2ORBP0z9YcaLjvwYr_ScZBUCAiR-hUohAzcU77KY5xduOPNtqnnYe4lFP-_82uTHJSpEpV9Lir0JNpfe-H0-8pIaZsf/s545/17%20Eastbourne%20Alive.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="545" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyAAfp1lma4xRbTyDy4ATiOQzAmCIJcoPNcF1bPZDWzK1MEBCBFw1k1pjxEQi2nB39xP56PH-R8__auXW2WnVqdrgM9lwnBDzc2ORBP0z9YcaLjvwYr_ScZBUCAiR-hUohAzcU77KY5xduOPNtqnnYe4lFP-_82uTHJSpEpV9Lir0JNpfe-H0-8pIaZsf/s320/17%20Eastbourne%20Alive.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is part of the adjunct exhibitions<br />happening in conjunction with the<br />Turner Prize at the Towner Art Gallery<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">while within the town is Eastbourne ALIVE – an ambitious project (an adjunct to the Turner Prize) working with cultural partners in and around the resort's landscape orbit … I need to explore.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This was meant to be very short … but I obviously don't do that … rabbit holes abound …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMQzqnk4v1VuvV6inNVMsOQMhyphenhyphenDny7C79ihq0SllSF-lDAby5vn0k0RN9FTe8VZrypY-vF4u24zOigVCXoCJ5r9AL5Erk7m1IzKOMgwdXlIwk4vxtbzRXnouSfBUVS4QAg5LrpHRYXgh6PyCq9wO_BJOO0a9BCWExLIElc7IwCn1PEOQjBr7eWVvhBdls/s618/17%20Opera%20Garnier,%20Paris,%201977%20%20Louis%20Beroud%20artist.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="478" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMQzqnk4v1VuvV6inNVMsOQMhyphenhyphenDny7C79ihq0SllSF-lDAby5vn0k0RN9FTe8VZrypY-vF4u24zOigVCXoCJ5r9AL5Erk7m1IzKOMgwdXlIwk4vxtbzRXnouSfBUVS4QAg5LrpHRYXgh6PyCq9wO_BJOO0a9BCWExLIElc7IwCn1PEOQjBr7eWVvhBdls/s320/17%20Opera%20Garnier,%20Paris,%201977%20%20Louis%20Beroud%20artist.png" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palais Garnier Opera House - by<br />Louis Beroud (1877)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">So next (this week) comes Write Edit Publish – Phantom of the Opera … another quirky tale from me …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I will catch up … boiler withstanding – that's been bad again – it'd be nice if things would behave!!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Postive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-20428633252933973032023-09-27T18:06:00.000+01:002023-09-27T18:06:54.086+01:00Poly-Olbion ... colouring-in books ...<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Poly-Olbion is a topographic poem depicting the counties in England and Wales, written by Michael Drayton (1563 – 1631) and published in 1612, with a reprint in 1622.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6KmZsVb6XcH0CkClD7r7VzNTEiFIRy-Z46IoblqogVbUDdDlmgzXUzxFEkGQ3Q4oZqN0Qh2G5jZDS-Zu7rJxKl_TkHU404NlSyw8lB7TlYigarxWa1eGqOHu21qlstCcD4a7fX1ZLtNTi4_OKAVq3lLMO8-jyO03c74W2aFaVpIqcnlXiuF-EYyM1s7_/s1064/27%20Cornwall%20-%20St%20Michael's%20Mount.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1064" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6KmZsVb6XcH0CkClD7r7VzNTEiFIRy-Z46IoblqogVbUDdDlmgzXUzxFEkGQ3Q4oZqN0Qh2G5jZDS-Zu7rJxKl_TkHU404NlSyw8lB7TlYigarxWa1eGqOHu21qlstCcD4a7fX1ZLtNTi4_OKAVq3lLMO8-jyO03c74W2aFaVpIqcnlXiuF-EYyM1s7_/s320/27%20Cornwall%20-%20St%20Michael's%20Mount.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of Cornwall - showing <br />St Michael's Mount and the Scilly Isles</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Drayton was an English poet, specialising in historical poetry, who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. Every poem was </span><b style="font-size: 22pt;">anthropomorphised</b><span style="font-size: 22pt;"> … then brought to artistic life by William Hole, a skilled engraver, who died in 1624 (his d.o.b.) is uncertain.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Poly-Olbion came to my notice (somehow) as colouring books– so guess who had to investigate...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Drayton had adopted the concept of celebrating all the points of topographical or antiquarian interest in his homeland …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOYM1bcBaxIv8z_72Y9anwKgAalAHTKQqkUCBFx0SGyNAa8Ejx0-521HUQO8UD-qj9rq3nWlb74cPrsSt5R5QikjQOQX0xHe45NHnSvwd0dao_tBS5ClhdyOIgVQG0LCtRvXAOfmJp3iRZETOkZDUZEorKQlOiJL3nqozaY8yf3Rthvz5oFgWFSAanYCo/s626/27%20Title%20Page%20of%20%22Poly-Olbion%22%20copper%20plate.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="391" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOYM1bcBaxIv8z_72Y9anwKgAalAHTKQqkUCBFx0SGyNAa8Ejx0-521HUQO8UD-qj9rq3nWlb74cPrsSt5R5QikjQOQX0xHe45NHnSvwd0dao_tBS5ClhdyOIgVQG0LCtRvXAOfmJp3iRZETOkZDUZEorKQlOiJL3nqozaY8yf3Rthvz5oFgWFSAanYCo/s320/27%20Title%20Page%20of%20%22Poly-Olbion%22%20copper%20plate.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title page of Poly-Olbion -<br />as engraved on copper<br />plate by William Hole<br />in 1624</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: 22pt;">Albion's Glorious Ile –<b><i> 'Of Albion's glorious Ile – I write.' </i></b>- Drayton's used the rhetorical device of <b>prosopopoeia</b> throughout his song-poems.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I didn't understand it – for elucidation: to remind me and let you know … <b>prosopopoeia</b> is when (in this case) <i>an abstract thing is personified</i> …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TjC6X9ko18hY4peNQuN9WXCwCFX2V9ZILiW32CECnyLY2FLqVMj1Xe-hbDO5ZWQcseCnOwJou53A_2tOVOI_wrd2ypMzumicwzRja8CI6vpyobi7S8ttPxzpUyOjsD31jJeJrBAdSAuz_ApW9r_cHzQ3yeWTQSQxrdlu-h9CinS7quyyH8SpC48T_zY6/s613/27%20South%20Wales,%20Severn%20estuary,%20England%20across%20the%20water.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="613" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TjC6X9ko18hY4peNQuN9WXCwCFX2V9ZILiW32CECnyLY2FLqVMj1Xe-hbDO5ZWQcseCnOwJou53A_2tOVOI_wrd2ypMzumicwzRja8CI6vpyobi7S8ttPxzpUyOjsD31jJeJrBAdSAuz_ApW9r_cHzQ3yeWTQSQxrdlu-h9CinS7quyyH8SpC48T_zY6/s320/27%20South%20Wales,%20Severn%20estuary,%20England%20across%20the%20water.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Severn - showing south Wales, with<br />the English of St George on the pennant,<br />on the opposite shore</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 22pt;">England in the 1500s had very few roads, when the rivers were an important and mythologised natural feature – which the poem eulogises …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Part of the blurb 'as we move from place to place: an extraordinary textual repository of <span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">English and Welsh history,</span><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"> topography,</span><span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;"> legends</span><span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">, wildlife </span>and <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">traditions</span> is amassed'.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvrU7Dbun0lVQy0BUuhHjYi6JZXCyye85YaKWXgV8Q2dY2ZWeVpbgkktaV6QN8BChk6ZSKUSmJ56A1mvwIvKIyAGKUwN-GQB-Uo7XAZ_NB9tpO1VhsEbD5DjtC88jeM4j7Vrxs3n0op1bcEPCnr-W0lohFdXjPkk-NJLHIkl1UI0CwGFuB8KyOUhLL29m/s296/27%20Possibly%20Boudica,%20Queen%20of%20the%20Iceni%20tribe%20-%20Norwich,%20Norfolk.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="292" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvrU7Dbun0lVQy0BUuhHjYi6JZXCyye85YaKWXgV8Q2dY2ZWeVpbgkktaV6QN8BChk6ZSKUSmJ56A1mvwIvKIyAGKUwN-GQB-Uo7XAZ_NB9tpO1VhsEbD5DjtC88jeM4j7Vrxs3n0op1bcEPCnr-W0lohFdXjPkk-NJLHIkl1UI0CwGFuB8KyOUhLL29m/s1600/27%20Possibly%20Boudica,%20Queen%20of%20the%20Iceni%20tribe%20-%20Norwich,%20Norfolk.png" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possibly depicting Boudica - Queen of<br />the Iceni tribe - which resided in<br />Norfolk, by the city of Norwich</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Every subject imaginable is considered: <span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Roman builders</span>, <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">English saints</span>, <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">the birds of Arden Forest</span>, <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Dutch settlers</span>, <span style="background-color: #f4cccc;">the great sheep of the Cotswolds</span>, <span style="background-color: #d9d2e9;">falconry,</span> <span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Robin Hood</span>, <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">sea monsters</span>, <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">Druidry</span>,<span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;"> civil wars</span>, <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">herbal cures.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Quite honestly – that's even more than my brain carries! - it has been boggling at these songs/ poems …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Well I think perhaps I'd better just get to why I'm writing this post … when I was out in Canada I came across adults' colouring art pages … but quite honestly they didn't do anything for me …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkr3jA_F2GZu6VfMaFV7FpJmnZKh3o-EbEGstu-JXjuz04xiRcSngxrrF4cfH8XiOQjLS6II_CFmhNFMXeoap1ACq_o3HF4HOORvyBMmN2fLCBwNrIsTcPga1j1J1_zmBYSYiXhv-ZoWXCspGHuKDhSxnT986BCiSfS2Yiy5kGCzukV4SkSvCrUuegEigp/s518/27%20Cover%20of%20one%20of%20the%20volumes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="355" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkr3jA_F2GZu6VfMaFV7FpJmnZKh3o-EbEGstu-JXjuz04xiRcSngxrrF4cfH8XiOQjLS6II_CFmhNFMXeoap1ACq_o3HF4HOORvyBMmN2fLCBwNrIsTcPga1j1J1_zmBYSYiXhv-ZoWXCspGHuKDhSxnT986BCiSfS2Yiy5kGCzukV4SkSvCrUuegEigp/s320/27%20Cover%20of%20one%20of%20the%20volumes.png" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover for one of the volumes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Then these colouring books appeared and I was entranced – whether I actually sit and colour them in is another matter – being somewhat incompetent in that area …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Who'd have thought the art of colouring was popular during the 17<sup>th</sup> century and beyond – when many of the original monochrome copies of these maps would be hand-coloured by both amateur and professional colourists.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWO7SSETpY_okxA-VVeLP2moYqhkeGJD1LFBeoSoZ2rxanc0cL_iDkmFC_82zFaxH2HDK-peNmYT6MqbQX6mVZVUfoYOfZ_WA-XjxXGeboNsm-aWGlWi7tOl2Yh2PuJI7_6d55Wh44z-ZsBjJxx_Vzewt9iF7k4eAsl60mOiCwIIphpu71HW1oKxqgFcbT/s451/27%20Showing%20coloured%20map%20of%20part%20of%20Worcester.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWO7SSETpY_okxA-VVeLP2moYqhkeGJD1LFBeoSoZ2rxanc0cL_iDkmFC_82zFaxH2HDK-peNmYT6MqbQX6mVZVUfoYOfZ_WA-XjxXGeboNsm-aWGlWi7tOl2Yh2PuJI7_6d55Wh44z-ZsBjJxx_Vzewt9iF7k4eAsl60mOiCwIIphpu71HW1oKxqgFcbT/s320/27%20Showing%20coloured%20map%20of%20part%20of%20Worcester.png" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing a coloured version<br />from earlier times - this is<br />part of Worcestershire</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">If you feel another post could enhance this one to add a bit more information – then I'll give it a go next time …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">A few links: The University of Exeter's takes you to the others, with some explanatory details set out … <b><i>particularly relevant are that the workshops were delivered for children, with Special Education Needs, mainly in the South-West region</i></b> of England … the Royal Geographical Society was also involved.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEit3NtKJZ7H7CNoNtxnBrSjbnABA-rWxNT13FeIEf_Mk4D3km8YuIMS2BIYJzpsdgK9rsLm7HFJUpYoMaWGKGQTleR5KDMAubwbo_9vgDWtuZTlbs0C6m0EpdsWxhwTPhl5H3di9EkIGy8Ijk2UCmGrbznoFMmrN-Lw8cX4GqGu-CfLxxBakqHyPcmvHRYR/s416/27%20Flash%20of%20Splendour%20logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="416" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3NtKJZ7H7CNoNtxnBrSjbnABA-rWxNT13FeIEf_Mk4D3km8YuIMS2BIYJzpsdgK9rsLm7HFJUpYoMaWGKGQTleR5KDMAubwbo_9vgDWtuZTlbs0C6m0EpdsWxhwTPhl5H3di9EkIGy8Ijk2UCmGrbznoFMmrN-Lw8cX4GqGu-CfLxxBakqHyPcmvHRYR/s320/27%20Flash%20of%20Splendour%20logo.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flash of Splendour's logo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The <a href="https://poly-olbion.exeter.ac.uk/flash-of-splendour-arts/the-childrens-poly-olbion/" target="_blank">University of Exeter's involvement</a> …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://www.flashofsplendourarts.com/" target="_blank">Flash of Splendour Arts </a>…</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The <a href="https://poly-olbion.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Poly-Olbion Project/s </a>… the children's project ran concurrently with the scholarly version …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Michael Drayton <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Drayton" target="_blank">c/o Wikipedia</a></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>PS - the books are now out of print ... so I was lucky to have found some ... publication was in 2015 ... so time has passed.</i></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Society</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-20622768261401376392023-09-21T09:48:00.000+01:002023-09-21T09:48:25.867+01:00The Cornish are a Nation … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This was not the intended post … that's coming … but this intrigued me … being a committed Cornishlady …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCK68VzwbpphZw3C9Gnauvt9a8w0P9s9BI2rvRVYoak6ZSK-ajcPbKXd78Z36RBKrHhu9UqMpHPJMDtiNEHZFYQ-Z0aQBcjF2hsnhfr8xKmVBtGSKwKoeywTNuNetpPY4AjL9c972Uk3m3TYGulHbN2R2fRahVXudlS2mrPejPscUisl6Mdvdht6CIYQTG/s500/20%20University%20of%20Plymouth's%20image.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCK68VzwbpphZw3C9Gnauvt9a8w0P9s9BI2rvRVYoak6ZSK-ajcPbKXd78Z36RBKrHhu9UqMpHPJMDtiNEHZFYQ-Z0aQBcjF2hsnhfr8xKmVBtGSKwKoeywTNuNetpPY4AjL9c972Uk3m3TYGulHbN2R2fRahVXudlS2mrPejPscUisl6Mdvdht6CIYQTG/s320/20%20University%20of%20Plymouth's%20image.png" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three ancient <br />continental land masses</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I must have been looking for something </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(understatement)</i></span><span style="font-size: 22pt;"> but came across this Facebook post from the University of Plymouth … at the boundary of Cornwall and Devon …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">it was subtitled: <i>Cornwall – a different people, a different land</i>! - though I wasn't born there (my mother's family is from St Ives) … this could so easily apply to me.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I've plagiarised/ summarised /messed with their 2019 FB post – but linked back so you can see the whole …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6FNbSMeLjj6wcW7LEhdw8lzj-2iMBdMqAf0ckG9eRc04ic8c-poF1W2PlsqgoEXsRJHxziLI728pTqTYS_qrxvGeDcGU2tmjdDBcEB2ox5w7sIRd58BW4u9AbzAyYPTijX1PSwNx7BRTo6uw8MWSkfX_VhQLB3GBdYYXuYLnzZR4bqi7w6Fitxc6k0VK/s645/20%20Mine%20trail%20west%20Cornwall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="645" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6FNbSMeLjj6wcW7LEhdw8lzj-2iMBdMqAf0ckG9eRc04ic8c-poF1W2PlsqgoEXsRJHxziLI728pTqTYS_qrxvGeDcGU2tmjdDBcEB2ox5w7sIRd58BW4u9AbzAyYPTijX1PSwNx7BRTo6uw8MWSkfX_VhQLB3GBdYYXuYLnzZR4bqi7w6Fitxc6k0VK/s320/20%20Mine%20trail%20west%20Cornwall.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World Heritage Mining Walk<br />(Botallack is marked - <br />part of 'The Crown Mine' estate)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Geology has always fascinated me … and coming from the land of the tin mines, it makes sense – in fact my disastrous marriage was celebrated in a tin mine counting house at Botallack … the culinary celebration was very good – the rest: not so …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I wrote about Bewitching Breeches at Botallack for my <a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2015/04/b-is-for-bewitching-breeches-at.html" target="_blank">'B' post in the 2015 A-Z challenge</a> 'Aspects of British Cornish.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNhQOvr25xE36Q3HkBmFDlCcamxH-39rInS56h46V5_EEJmlvG8fxOVzC-I1knZOUeQ6-ulawZtIpkBxShJPf4cIesOuSil6t1k_RKN5nB1l1GN9LL84f1E8Zzj8-cJVzf5U4FUdDOKdaVzagJ6DeK7fW8-VUUt93B7dOFl_C3tREs1dZye0PPkMCjIAC/s1167/20%20Avalonia.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1167" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNhQOvr25xE36Q3HkBmFDlCcamxH-39rInS56h46V5_EEJmlvG8fxOVzC-I1knZOUeQ6-ulawZtIpkBxShJPf4cIesOuSil6t1k_RKN5nB1l1GN9LL84f1E8Zzj8-cJVzf5U4FUdDOKdaVzagJ6DeK7fW8-VUUt93B7dOFl_C3tREs1dZye0PPkMCjIAC/s320/20%20Avalonia.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avalonia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The University of Plymouth believe that a third ancient continental land mass melded this Albion isle … as shown in the image posted above …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">It's been known that Avalonia formed most of England, which then formed an attachment to Laurasia … part of the Laurentian land mass, which at one stage formed part of the ancient continent of Euramerica/Laurussia …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">It always amazes me that these continental plates 'moved around' so much, and at one stage </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><i>(long, long ago)</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> we could have walked to north America …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWChfLcwL_JeryFNqRD2wTnC3ld2XzChdt-siCG11DFo8lG5Ox-cQ-HO7hirA99QQzcHiUMCqmv_lw1GXtJWro43Plr2QxasFORJqLNNKeCTB0JqlrYdomAuX38qrhTOZR7uW4cFPL7wUVBfDo_GXdH73-knM5HYVaZmkfG5QZMNaSY4mrg5QnOmDaKO85/s630/20%20Old%20Red%20Sandstone.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="630" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWChfLcwL_JeryFNqRD2wTnC3ld2XzChdt-siCG11DFo8lG5Ox-cQ-HO7hirA99QQzcHiUMCqmv_lw1GXtJWro43Plr2QxasFORJqLNNKeCTB0JqlrYdomAuX38qrhTOZR7uW4cFPL7wUVBfDo_GXdH73-knM5HYVaZmkfG5QZMNaSY4mrg5QnOmDaKO85/s320/20%20Old%20Red%20Sandstone.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folded old red sandstone rock formation<br />at St Anne's, Wales</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">...the Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region – which extends from Great Britain, Ireland and Norway across to Greenland and northern eastern Canada and the USA …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Another A – Z post on Aspects of British Coasts – the <a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2014/04/g-is-for-geology-gneiss-groynes-grippers.html" target="_blank">'G' post: G is for Geology, Gneiss, Groynes, 'Grippers' </a>… gives another view …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLowNFPZUFelGr-W77gN2q2MwDvvJEh4mmmriMrB0LIHtJYOYG103LlG69uIbLd9TCvbCbHrRTu0CJbLVeubpF_nyLhdOFcH_lgvrPNK9ssfz6RZby1ijO-FdpJ6VbR1iBOsOLWIviYFyyY_KHlqvh8f--0ztEhcekZghMSlHY7yaJnzZkIbFa_BZtA8Wl/s634/20%20Geology%20of%20Great%20Britain%20-%20see%20Wiki.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="589" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLowNFPZUFelGr-W77gN2q2MwDvvJEh4mmmriMrB0LIHtJYOYG103LlG69uIbLd9TCvbCbHrRTu0CJbLVeubpF_nyLhdOFcH_lgvrPNK9ssfz6RZby1ijO-FdpJ6VbR1iBOsOLWIviYFyyY_KHlqvh8f--0ztEhcekZghMSlHY7yaJnzZkIbFa_BZtA8Wl/s320/20%20Geology%20of%20Great%20Britain%20-%20see%20Wiki.png" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geology of Great Britain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Great_Britain" target="_blank">(see Wiki)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I think I've probably almost ruined the idea about the world and its tectonic plates … but there is a link – to my next incredible story … colouring books from the 1600s – who'd have thought?!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Patience is a virtue … thanks for reading though …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><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/AVvXsEgvvHJn_T5JDKHokaJyQMATYfcoVmMHlC-o8Kz-vyovKURG3lDsrFCRvOydYg4hM0JjaA1LyYq8YD83y1AAe2v7NDhNBJVNncnVI5Yh7Bdn15_1xDF4CX3tv6nuK0fvEkjpKDazdmrDYJ1Nrrw-whUzfbHGtq2mfC-5Rblk7a-cCnntwH3yvn74EFf1rpUs/s1132/20%20Celtic%20tribes%20of%20southern%20England.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1132" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvHJn_T5JDKHokaJyQMATYfcoVmMHlC-o8Kz-vyovKURG3lDsrFCRvOydYg4hM0JjaA1LyYq8YD83y1AAe2v7NDhNBJVNncnVI5Yh7Bdn15_1xDF4CX3tv6nuK0fvEkjpKDazdmrDYJ1Nrrw-whUzfbHGtq2mfC-5Rblk7a-cCnntwH3yvn74EFf1rpUs/s320/20%20Celtic%20tribes%20of%20southern%20England.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ancient Celtic tribes of southern <br />England (Dumnonii - Cornwall and Devon)</td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecornishareanation" target="_blank">University of Plymouth Facebook post</a> September 2019;</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Avalonia – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalonia" target="_blank">c/o Wikipedia</a></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurasia" target="_blank">Laurasia – c/o</a> Wikipedia</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-12451855014914067372023-09-07T12:13:00.000+01:002023-09-07T12:13:20.044+01:00Pigeon Post ... <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">We had to use up our stamps by July 31<sup>st</sup> … the deadline was looming … I had a few – not enough to worry about swapping out for the new ones, but definitely not waste.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cM1NLbTnSHi25StQxlsJTWk6lsIPtjgZGlf9Y-MZzNNU9g-yyi5p0plhtAevWmsECwDNraDdk1OMkOTYTYHl9rZlVlE2NOyYkHfHYp5PIrfNO280J0N4JwzVs5FivKkFB_Dk135eNY_WCPFNi7GVUNe5YX4MtWRtiCTVRSAwnh_WaTJcNaLFfSEdQSG0/s197/7.%20%20%201st%20class%20stamp%20showing%20our%20Eastbourne%20band%20stand..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="197" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cM1NLbTnSHi25StQxlsJTWk6lsIPtjgZGlf9Y-MZzNNU9g-yyi5p0plhtAevWmsECwDNraDdk1OMkOTYTYHl9rZlVlE2NOyYkHfHYp5PIrfNO280J0N4JwzVs5FivKkFB_Dk135eNY_WCPFNi7GVUNe5YX4MtWRtiCTVRSAwnh_WaTJcNaLFfSEdQSG0/s1600/7.%20%20%201st%20class%20stamp%20showing%20our%20Eastbourne%20band%20stand..png" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the old stamps -<br />featuring our Eastbourne<br />band stand.</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I thought of whom I could drop notes to (not proper letters) … mostly, believe it or not, bloggers – so the cache were scattered out onto the table … as I had 1p (one penny stamps), 10p, 5p ones- dating back to who knows when … well I guess the 1990s, when I came back to live here.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I also had to ascertain the cost of stamps in July … we had moved on to … I had some 'World stamps' and some 'Europe' ones … a right mix – but the priority became more urgent as the July days ticked by.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_ODrFcakqQ9AARrYu3G2b878cCRAgKkWXi4mmrkgYo9ZCoIc4gx_HWmjtIqHB_avyIHe7cXlQQAo9ncwQUEznkXX-UdMvegYgGYlCY_bCG87NkGhL-ccxrgE1KvsTYqAcJ2cKyFMvqu-zuSgDfXCkie1airGB0jp0MLTFGW2x1KZ3kjHKAk5OZkq-vKC/s450/7%20Pigeon%20Post%20-%20sent%20to%20Damyanti%20in%20Singapore.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="450" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_ODrFcakqQ9AARrYu3G2b878cCRAgKkWXi4mmrkgYo9ZCoIc4gx_HWmjtIqHB_avyIHe7cXlQQAo9ncwQUEznkXX-UdMvegYgGYlCY_bCG87NkGhL-ccxrgE1KvsTYqAcJ2cKyFMvqu-zuSgDfXCkie1airGB0jp0MLTFGW2x1KZ3kjHKAk5OZkq-vKC/s320/7%20Pigeon%20Post%20-%20sent%20to%20Damyanti%20in%20Singapore.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The particular version - I sent to Damyanti</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Competition kicked in – business ideas changed etc etc … so I guess the change up in July was to be expected … now that we had a new monarch: King Charles III (first time I've written that).</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Amazingly the British postal service was founded 507 years ago – when Henry VIII was on the throne. Name changes have occurred – and it is now the Royal Mail as a brand – the government's remaining share was sold off in 2015, ending 499 years of state ownership.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5OZxvi0kCyLC5K7DLOdwE-W9LYmzbudtV9AQW-_WCxj8JqzG95-A8ipgstfmeYCaAcViFTltRjduipS4sTX4PHrFmIZnYwhytWWWVum3Ay2mIX8knvY44hQwo85tLRKi9WvNLIaqARM7DaPiCbJlVFjR5Ps93KwpKPAVju4hGVCkJjAE1iyLjoEuHL_l/s977/7%20Louth-London%20Royal%20Mail%201820%20by%20Charles%20Cooper%20Henderson.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="977" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5OZxvi0kCyLC5K7DLOdwE-W9LYmzbudtV9AQW-_WCxj8JqzG95-A8ipgstfmeYCaAcViFTltRjduipS4sTX4PHrFmIZnYwhytWWWVum3Ay2mIX8knvY44hQwo85tLRKi9WvNLIaqARM7DaPiCbJlVFjR5Ps93KwpKPAVju4hGVCkJjAE1iyLjoEuHL_l/s320/7%20Louth-London%20Royal%20Mail%201820%20by%20Charles%20Cooper%20Henderson.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louth (Lincolnshire) to London Royal Mail<br />(1820) by Charles Cooper Henderson</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">These Origami inspired crafted letter-envelope combinations appeared at our Towner art gallery and I always rather admired them – so decided they'd make a few journeys across the seas or up and down the country: using up said expiring stamps.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KnUzp9X7Vn2CIKtzPVQirc3G6GlTCHjtd3H3ywVMcVN_h9Q3rhxdvQM8yWCE7jBIkiGAIsdUIiB2kZGXMM6fvTl0vc1na55JYSfebaxeVEFArVoPBwiC1m-6MZKWlviYCgG3Go7YoLelAKVfrWOEJBzNnPMX35d46k7Nqbmzn9JyAMeNtJS3IHqys8Zt/s4032/7%20Apothecary%20cards.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KnUzp9X7Vn2CIKtzPVQirc3G6GlTCHjtd3H3ywVMcVN_h9Q3rhxdvQM8yWCE7jBIkiGAIsdUIiB2kZGXMM6fvTl0vc1na55JYSfebaxeVEFArVoPBwiC1m-6MZKWlviYCgG3Go7YoLelAKVfrWOEJBzNnPMX35d46k7Nqbmzn9JyAMeNtJS3IHqys8Zt/s320/7%20Apothecary%20cards.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apothecary Pigeon ones</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Pigeon post – suggest you send a pigeon. </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Here we have Apothecary Pigeon letter-cards ... <b>Fern, honesty, witch hazel ... these medicinal marvels</b> were picked from the artist's (Jake Lever) garden.</i></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><i><b style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Simple instructions for the letter Reinvented:</b></i></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><span> </span><span> <span> <span> </span><span> </span> </span></span><span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><b><i>Write.</i></b></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> <span> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><b><i>Fold.</i></b></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><b><i>Send.</i></b></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 22pt;"><b><i>Feel more connected – send a Pigeon.</i></b></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I dutifully followed instructions: I may have sent them in plain envelopes … so I (or the various mail systems) didn't mess up the actual design.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZRnJlSNWIpbqdusApPQ4S7x5a9citATdpmybeh6b9xJgX7C91gYrfpg5WHQyB7yFyP9tlkvCpDZnGFChzrmH4Is3-4N_lQV3rRTDIQ26iHHYm8gAXHJZLyvZtziR06SfeRIDjS_t4U2Z50-uDJD2O9cuy5Mz2vH9Z3a_qGf-idZFLFWXoIirStFEalQJ/s4032/7%20Wildflower%20Pigeons.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZRnJlSNWIpbqdusApPQ4S7x5a9citATdpmybeh6b9xJgX7C91gYrfpg5WHQyB7yFyP9tlkvCpDZnGFChzrmH4Is3-4N_lQV3rRTDIQ26iHHYm8gAXHJZLyvZtziR06SfeRIDjS_t4U2Z50-uDJD2O9cuy5Mz2vH9Z3a_qGf-idZFLFWXoIirStFEalQJ/s320/7%20Wildflower%20Pigeons.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildflower ones</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Their motto – <b>'A more satisfying way to communicate'</b> – I couldn't agree more … I've heard back from most – perhaps they haven't arrived, or sickness reigns, or it's summer holiday time still …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5H2zr0qROWIwDC9BWq4KPblkzCXzqDqkVsJRLy0shHGgYqIRJpftg9KSma7XwP04ev6YUfldx1V5VR96lwDstjIHCEyloaRRayH64mT_4RPevIh5tOJmDgMsurDYIc6FZXJdvuDNFEFg6eqfmLiY8LwbHQcSE34Xcye92kXJn3yXqEsgdJJRoBeozScAm/s770/7%20Damyanti's%20pigeon%20post%20note.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="770" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5H2zr0qROWIwDC9BWq4KPblkzCXzqDqkVsJRLy0shHGgYqIRJpftg9KSma7XwP04ev6YUfldx1V5VR96lwDstjIHCEyloaRRayH64mT_4RPevIh5tOJmDgMsurDYIc6FZXJdvuDNFEFg6eqfmLiY8LwbHQcSE34Xcye92kXJn3yXqEsgdJJRoBeozScAm/s320/7%20Damyanti's%20pigeon%20post%20note.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">and one post from Singapore appeared – jogging my posting mind that this could be my first autumnal one, getting into the way of normality again (I don't do normality – but there we go!). </span><span style="font-size: large;">Damyanti has/had nesting birds on her balcony - so this choice of pigeon post was appropriate.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">So another reminder for us all – do write hand-written letters … they can inspire and uplift friends or family.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVPHtWfoZ1sSFZoRrbnXMpJEXHKx2wIYToTeA0-lWRgvWiMIizV01zA5n0NF5AxugEQYS3KSzMgsc6vZwHM-mOl5YRhPlLRmH5Zb36nX8aiuGxQaPG39M3FEpZqkZTpfznAWM3RQ0wGyOVznj8A8Ek-LkIM7U6rzQglZupVve5FypPN1g13U9BTvi-3-V/s631/7%20Musophilus%20-%20title%20page%20from%20Poetiocall%20Essayes%201599.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="419" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVPHtWfoZ1sSFZoRrbnXMpJEXHKx2wIYToTeA0-lWRgvWiMIizV01zA5n0NF5AxugEQYS3KSzMgsc6vZwHM-mOl5YRhPlLRmH5Zb36nX8aiuGxQaPG39M3FEpZqkZTpfznAWM3RQ0wGyOVznj8A8Ek-LkIM7U6rzQglZupVve5FypPN1g13U9BTvi-3-V/s320/7%20Musophilus%20-%20title%20page%20from%20Poetiocall%20Essayes%201599.png" width="212" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">To round this off – here's a quote from the long poem <i>Musophilus </i>by Samuel Daniel, first published in 1599 in his <i>Poeticall Essayes</i>:</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 22pt;"><b>O blessed letters that combine in one</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 22pt;"><b>All ages past, and make one live with all,</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 22pt;"><b>By you we do confer with you who are gone,</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 22pt;"><b>And the dead living unto counsel call:</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 22pt;"><b>By you th'unborn shall have communion</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 22pt;"><b>Of what we feel, and what doth us befall.</b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Thanks for visiting – and congratulations to the IWSG group, Alex in particular, which/who celebrated 12 years yesterday … my first A-Z, which led me to IWSG, was in 2011 … and I know many of you have been around for as long as I have.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT6QyLaFEsXJ-GR-HqzU4nvpFo8sqqdcNO-RKWnXWR1y13pX9c-A8R4BW8tVPUBANAiAoECUojq-0jWon4s9wOaSoP6DmLFjNf0GJshHdisOf-Yi6rJ92xv89tan3axFVcZqAInJwKPKu5PDvBMJco0e6epuRVtBWMLXn8x1zyGmnbIDmSxD2iiDMUFzQA/s4032/7%20Midnight%20Garden%20cards.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT6QyLaFEsXJ-GR-HqzU4nvpFo8sqqdcNO-RKWnXWR1y13pX9c-A8R4BW8tVPUBANAiAoECUojq-0jWon4s9wOaSoP6DmLFjNf0GJshHdisOf-Yi6rJ92xv89tan3axFVcZqAInJwKPKu5PDvBMJco0e6epuRVtBWMLXn8x1zyGmnbIDmSxD2iiDMUFzQA/s320/7%20Midnight%20Garden%20cards.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midnight Garden Pigeon ones</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I certainly wouldn't still be blogging if it wasn't for this incredibly supportive group of blogging friends ('you' in other words) … and learning from each and everyone of you.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Damyanti's post: <a href="https://www.damyantiwrites.com/letter/" target="_blank">When was the last time you wrote a letter by hand? </a> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://pigeonposted.com/" target="_blank">Pigeon Post website </a>... well worth a visit ... </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2022/06/write-edit-publish-bloghop-iwsg-hop.html" target="_blank">Please Read the Letter prompt for the WEP</a> entry in June 2022 - here's my entry ... </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Musophilus - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musophilus" target="_blank">see Wiki entry </a>... </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-4769849363326227582023-08-31T17:07:00.000+01:002023-08-31T17:07:25.683+01:00Dinner and Food Wrap-up … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Well that's that … one major week in the life of a daughter (now blogger) … cow invasion, cocktails for 80, dinner for 30 …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2I2mlx2nUL56x-EtQrcZookqjZtBcorcpp07QukMr3NAv7Vv3pijgGajFoj1tOuELmiqVXxd5rGP7bqEu7dOppLeNxyDnaKJi-jfNmNUaX6fIE7KyjwBCR9ASuaA1i3j-NHipyFTpnbSVu8IgPr2rA3P07ZCBgt9drpY_kFKFPvHYqsfKgePlDk2Bxp2D/s342/31%20Cheeses.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="342" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2I2mlx2nUL56x-EtQrcZookqjZtBcorcpp07QukMr3NAv7Vv3pijgGajFoj1tOuELmiqVXxd5rGP7bqEu7dOppLeNxyDnaKJi-jfNmNUaX6fIE7KyjwBCR9ASuaA1i3j-NHipyFTpnbSVu8IgPr2rA3P07ZCBgt9drpY_kFKFPvHYqsfKgePlDk2Bxp2D/s320/31%20Cheeses.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Platter of cheeses to finish off a meal</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: times;">… <span style="font-size: 22pt;">definitely some guests – my father's younger sister: her husband was the uncle I spent time with, she'd asked me to look after him … all happening in the first 12 years of this millennium … when my mother was also in her last months – easing their ways onwards …</span></i></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I'm sure we'd have finished with port or brandy … a platter of 1960s cheeses – cheddar, Stilton, camembert … about the only French cheese readily available …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVBCuf43yD0POp2hjKZc5dBq-HtebSXzOg8AnWJTy66qsqYrFXlT7AjlSRQBhTLGHUaWe-dC9xS95sORJaH_A4BE7NZ2peakcnlAVun3IJeSti_CIDRJP5LSMMciVgxV3LDhGzEReG0JYcEtNH77LzUBxgh3PIuQHC9TVbbp8DYrHBsO8HYSrLkah2PzS/s426/31%20After%20dinner%20port.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="426" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVBCuf43yD0POp2hjKZc5dBq-HtebSXzOg8AnWJTy66qsqYrFXlT7AjlSRQBhTLGHUaWe-dC9xS95sORJaH_A4BE7NZ2peakcnlAVun3IJeSti_CIDRJP5LSMMciVgxV3LDhGzEReG0JYcEtNH77LzUBxgh3PIuQHC9TVbbp8DYrHBsO8HYSrLkah2PzS/s320/31%20After%20dinner%20port.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My father had given up smoking (never cigars),<br />but some friends still did ... </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I'm sure everyone rallied round to help us clear up – I cannot remember that part … and no doubt left overs were Sunday lunch.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The denouement happened early the next week … I'd applied to become a chalet girl – ie work at a ski lodge …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayCHbybW9jhmUOQm3IBJnrIDbqWGBfeH8GkXSB1bLqCv9m0HOqiVObVbUk1i7cREbkz1fhmuefjDpG93IUih3EEdsLdHJmmPNuWd3hATQQTe-DYHzfZnoZXZ7Xz8TY-u3B2zg46AjIWrHN9LKrLuRKamXEe-K_7rnUHSmsbgUP3knlRTt13CRJpvwpnwC/s196/31%20see%20You%20Tube!.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="196" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayCHbybW9jhmUOQm3IBJnrIDbqWGBfeH8GkXSB1bLqCv9m0HOqiVObVbUk1i7cREbkz1fhmuefjDpG93IUih3EEdsLdHJmmPNuWd3hATQQTe-DYHzfZnoZXZ7Xz8TY-u3B2zg46AjIWrHN9LKrLuRKamXEe-K_7rnUHSmsbgUP3knlRTt13CRJpvwpnwC/s1600/31%20see%20You%20Tube!.png" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look to You tube to learn<br />'how to Make Hospital <br />Corners' ( no link here)</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I think I could cook, organise, plan, clean – but not do hospital corners on beds (but easy to learn n'est pas?) etc …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">so the interview comes around – I'd gone to London – no zoom in the 1960s … I can't remember much except the one question – which I answered truthfully … how would I make pastry … well I said I'd buy it …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 29.3333px;"><br /></span></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRL4Yybdet--8Rl-j7ORFsjgVAZ9gqUjIzzldTqBva559OCqZz1DP1IAi5xs7-2mWVPl9_emgFO8teO5-CEVL0DvaBpzeNkU9ELTSf22SYeBswvSLErZMvPIhInmZscx-wFB5AdaKL4_XCow2ivD0C9Nux8KDO7fHH6piwRdU90iFT33bgmtNSp4PF3-q/s641/31%20Mayerhofen,%20Austria.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="641" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRL4Yybdet--8Rl-j7ORFsjgVAZ9gqUjIzzldTqBva559OCqZz1DP1IAi5xs7-2mWVPl9_emgFO8teO5-CEVL0DvaBpzeNkU9ELTSf22SYeBswvSLErZMvPIhInmZscx-wFB5AdaKL4_XCow2ivD0C9Nux8KDO7fHH6piwRdU90iFT33bgmtNSp4PF3-q/s320/31%20Mayerhofen,%20Austria.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mayerhofen, Austria</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Pastry wasn't something we'd had much of at home … as we were away at school – no suppers/evening meals needed – so I'd no idea about it …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">well that solved that - the interview: failed – I was not accepted as a chalet girl … on t'other hand looking forward – I wouldn't be here now … so a fork in life's road led me here …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUejOPwb-bJjg920NvX-Fz3KPV1uQ1XMHUHLO2Du4dCB5wb3X1vVyx_N-mXl9WNfnYI3Q-CKW2MD5TWTgsLfWZZEwXbBga_avqj6uxKozw69jOveGly0KsdmlC7Wx86eJJqpPjjJuRnswT6unF1l2-hHSBjlmOR2PJ9u1GN6suhO9O48r9nXcFT7WSFMeb/s617/31%20Autumn%20-%20in%20Tennessee%20-%20it%20is%20bucketing%20with%20rain%20here%20in%20the%20UK.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="455" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUejOPwb-bJjg920NvX-Fz3KPV1uQ1XMHUHLO2Du4dCB5wb3X1vVyx_N-mXl9WNfnYI3Q-CKW2MD5TWTgsLfWZZEwXbBga_avqj6uxKozw69jOveGly0KsdmlC7Wx86eJJqpPjjJuRnswT6unF1l2-hHSBjlmOR2PJ9u1GN6suhO9O48r9nXcFT7WSFMeb/s320/31%20Autumn%20-%20in%20Tennessee%20-%20it%20is%20bucketing%20with%20rain%20here%20in%20the%20UK.png" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn in Tennessee -<br />here it is bucketing with rain<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Back to normal: eclectic posts … as per my whim … take care and here's to a happy Autumn or Fall …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To finish off background to my ability to cook … my mother was a very good cook – I'd learnt at home … after school I had a short stint with a French lady, I guess a post WW2 refugee, who gave classes for 8 – teaching us how to cook all the basics – I still have her recipes … we rotated cooking, preparing, cleaning, washing up, time watching etc … it was an invaluable start to life in the kitchen – not to say I became a housewife as such …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-25356033063689172322023-08-25T15:32:00.000+01:002023-08-25T15:32:22.996+01:00New Home celebration … 'mains' … 3/4<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Now we've had desserts c/o WEP (my last post) we backtrack to the mains …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZLTEi3iimkT13O4v5pJDgaAv4ST068vPWMVTHOFsE-5NMOO6bCFp-fQNywTFy_nCfxajcRZyMnfwnhMRN4zDzlQ2s9i8gS5BaoORDknfgNEwpraqH_9T3zXl9Y3AbcuN2RzIllIsd6mAMoNeP_F5RpK3sJItAH-CPnbRSsux9OLNvXAWk3aYZbWxnJPN/s577/25%20Fillet%20of%20Beef.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="577" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZLTEi3iimkT13O4v5pJDgaAv4ST068vPWMVTHOFsE-5NMOO6bCFp-fQNywTFy_nCfxajcRZyMnfwnhMRN4zDzlQ2s9i8gS5BaoORDknfgNEwpraqH_9T3zXl9Y3AbcuN2RzIllIsd6mAMoNeP_F5RpK3sJItAH-CPnbRSsux9OLNvXAWk3aYZbWxnJPN/s320/25%20Fillet%20of%20Beef.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fillet of Beef waiting to be cooked</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I'd decided to offer fillet of beef, with new potatoes, a medley of vegetables, green beans </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">and anchovy bread … but frankly to my surprise I can't remember …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I was, now looking back, very confident that I could prepare all the dishes … <i>brash</i> = today's description.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZADWhTE6EkvS8G_EOD8GfO256Ewm-rQDH3DGckLWWdlM-vyxxvXkALXtP2puSpZHBF7JBoGbcVXPFRNSnB_4OdzsiOIsvgOPPMD72MC87FVsOL6OdAg-zOuzw-MIe-xxdLMWHLTxJXUaBqw0B-2h1f8cntptvvWfsOxA1nLi78OwWDP6x6gxaEoNed0zf/s585/25%20Aga.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZADWhTE6EkvS8G_EOD8GfO256Ewm-rQDH3DGckLWWdlM-vyxxvXkALXtP2puSpZHBF7JBoGbcVXPFRNSnB_4OdzsiOIsvgOPPMD72MC87FVsOL6OdAg-zOuzw-MIe-xxdLMWHLTxJXUaBqw0B-2h1f8cntptvvWfsOxA1nLi78OwWDP6x6gxaEoNed0zf/s320/25%20Aga.png" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a similar cream Aga</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I know I cooked the beef fillets – because they caused me a minor blip … but the rest – I'm really not sure about … and back in those days we didn't have global vegetables and fruits available …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I'd grown up using an Aga … and though I'd moved onto a refurbished gas oven in my London flat – bought from a friend, who had had it converted to North Sea Gas – when I left for South Africa … it was again sold on to some friends for their flat … recycling at its best.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">In the house my father had bought, there was no gas, we had an electric oven … another adjustment required by the 'cook' (me!).</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbZqrPb1WCSlOXLfxJdHLcB3fY926L8qSPBNq5SKp1P6bQSBHzLCtw-WOGSdtz_Q0RJYjbGAWG2cRmSKwqBw1BZ8IMSyMJEisE0EpFKV_HQbVclwWWV0DqrwfOB_yCNncBXezWBpMC50Y7FyuVoM_nE_jf06_8ffdqieClK0yMg13L3Ujg268kvX99nMx/s508/25%20Anchovy%20Bread.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="508" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbZqrPb1WCSlOXLfxJdHLcB3fY926L8qSPBNq5SKp1P6bQSBHzLCtw-WOGSdtz_Q0RJYjbGAWG2cRmSKwqBw1BZ8IMSyMJEisE0EpFKV_HQbVclwWWV0DqrwfOB_yCNncBXezWBpMC50Y7FyuVoM_nE_jf06_8ffdqieClK0yMg13L3Ujg268kvX99nMx/s320/25%20Anchovy%20Bread.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchovy or herby bread ... I still can't fathom why <br />each slice isn't cut through ... I always do mine<br />wrapped in foil, opened up for the last few minutes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The beef fillet would be served at room temperature – being sensible I'd realised I wouldn't need to have hot food on the go … as serving 30 would be hard enough …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The instructions said roast the fillet at 400 degF, or gas Mark 7 for about 35 minutes and then leave to cool. Absolutely fine – </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">simple</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"> … wouldn't take long and all would be well …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpV7_eYU4rRAQYEx7m8w_eUvMa-Glz-MQdfN-R6PvOFR6A9i3-OlpLWEhxOTi-CAqmy9sgxGmZi-uOGKJExPRvVacb7DhJKPUGAfpVAoxgcyknXozVbYU_Q3YTzDAxJDij7LaeF2h1yiQUvFt_pCDhOfA1Mi_bIM7gcySxfTF9_dI1k06Mv5n7c4m-BBPo/s322/25%20Green%20Bean%20salad.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="322" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpV7_eYU4rRAQYEx7m8w_eUvMa-Glz-MQdfN-R6PvOFR6A9i3-OlpLWEhxOTi-CAqmy9sgxGmZi-uOGKJExPRvVacb7DhJKPUGAfpVAoxgcyknXozVbYU_Q3YTzDAxJDij7LaeF2h1yiQUvFt_pCDhOfA1Mi_bIM7gcySxfTF9_dI1k06Mv5n7c4m-BBPo/s320/25%20Green%20Bean%20salad.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green bean salad</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">When I opened the oven on the three fillets I was cooking to serve the guests … it dawned on me – that they were not remotely ready. So being the <i>brash confident me</i> of 20 or so … I shut the door and let them continue cooking …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">After over an hour – I determined they 'had to be cooked' … and so on I went …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zvv0HBKQQTAjgZGs8gVV9rNZOeKmpXqKvlGgDTY91FA0TK9n8pL0WsJZidIpAd0TBXgiVh-utQvQCQJ07Phi0LCH_3qaHhoxiyTyNQHnOaEHzVsbnnwydCuxioMYoT8AYgFOpqYPCl76bBCZBCDpZGXN6knFFWv2MTDwIOhySqwZgvVBXcHLbwSvycty/s844/25%20Fillet%20of%20Beef%20being%20aspic(k)ed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="844" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zvv0HBKQQTAjgZGs8gVV9rNZOeKmpXqKvlGgDTY91FA0TK9n8pL0WsJZidIpAd0TBXgiVh-utQvQCQJ07Phi0LCH_3qaHhoxiyTyNQHnOaEHzVsbnnwydCuxioMYoT8AYgFOpqYPCl76bBCZBCDpZGXN6knFFWv2MTDwIOhySqwZgvVBXcHLbwSvycty/s320/25%20Fillet%20of%20Beef%20being%20aspic(k)ed.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One sliced fillet of beef being 'aspic(k)ed</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The fillets were sliced, laid out 'prettily' on serving dishes before being coated with three layers of aspic jelly and left to set.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The back door to the house – it was probably the local Victorian rector's home, as it was next to the church – had an entry passage – off which were a few small store rooms …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBs2DFbPEZQz47V8RSWLFJwSZpixb7phTxfHeIXsuh0g__tdz0ywrgh3NNBTZFIhJ-1SJxud2Ms1wVMXF6eT6xpw_ysbVKRJO5rI3mWIpbOqb5mjV1fjGG8HOXyQsDKBNKQxtaKqBK8SxH80XXrAHCZtFCAgzrN-az_DrSo8fmMLSHb3Uh-MPC5nTZ8Tc/s292/25%20Potato%20Salad.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="292" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBs2DFbPEZQz47V8RSWLFJwSZpixb7phTxfHeIXsuh0g__tdz0ywrgh3NNBTZFIhJ-1SJxud2Ms1wVMXF6eT6xpw_ysbVKRJO5rI3mWIpbOqb5mjV1fjGG8HOXyQsDKBNKQxtaKqBK8SxH80XXrAHCZtFCAgzrN-az_DrSo8fmMLSHb3Uh-MPC5nTZ8Tc/s1600/25%20Potato%20Salad.png" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New potato salad</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Useful for Victorian pickles, jams, storing fruit and vegetables … which we didn't need to use – but they were brilliant for storing the goodies/clutter for the dinner … including leaving the aspic(k)ed beef to set …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Made my life easier certainly … eventually we were ready to back track to the dessert as posted for the recent WEP prompt …</span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickbJQL_MexPV5II0O2K1UzCDC7IQ4_hyGmzfhZIKiy1ShqF6bfHnEy5ZPm8lX3kpps_oMZeBBUVpElOE0phJWpMDkndFOraOvzIH5DeDaTaS-a3iwm1HHS4mF2OWvfG7zB85Nesd00vbm632pdRwLOYWVEaFVDvln1uIsOLPWxycNYLJcuumHWXWMyZNF/s344/25%20Courgette%20Salad.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="344" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickbJQL_MexPV5II0O2K1UzCDC7IQ4_hyGmzfhZIKiy1ShqF6bfHnEy5ZPm8lX3kpps_oMZeBBUVpElOE0phJWpMDkndFOraOvzIH5DeDaTaS-a3iwm1HHS4mF2OWvfG7zB85Nesd00vbm632pdRwLOYWVEaFVDvln1uIsOLPWxycNYLJcuumHWXWMyZNF/s320/25%20Courgette%20Salad.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courgette salad</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">One last wrap up post to follow next week …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-77257366981884271212023-08-16T12:35:00.001+01:002023-08-25T15:02:11.300+01:00Write … Edit … Publish … Bloghop /IWSG hop: Like Water for Chocolate … 2/4<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Finger licking as kids … she remembered back – they'd lick each others' chocolatey fingers … then together entwined off to the sink for a wash … those were the days, occasionally repeated – sticky fingers …</span></span></p><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9boOgP3TlncwCK-GNoqUdXDhwAnmHdJ0DGqAjkd3Im7Owq7am8bljbIFxDkccaqrwbo3lheeruFxlXnb_f5qoqh0XJsYMsofeFsReDeq4KLVpjgZ8fQ4Z-EZTH7Q2qOtM6G1RSr2WSmHskd4ssJp3NWjWP7hX5YA_9GmTEmcnjUQ0vCqSgCdpCshyIcfi/s818/20%20Book%20Like%20Water%20for%20Chocolate.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="560" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9boOgP3TlncwCK-GNoqUdXDhwAnmHdJ0DGqAjkd3Im7Owq7am8bljbIFxDkccaqrwbo3lheeruFxlXnb_f5qoqh0XJsYMsofeFsReDeq4KLVpjgZ8fQ4Z-EZTH7Q2qOtM6G1RSr2WSmHskd4ssJp3NWjWP7hX5YA_9GmTEmcnjUQ0vCqSgCdpCshyIcfi/s320/20%20Book%20Like%20Water%20for%20Chocolate.png" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This magical mythical, moving<br />story of love, sacrifice and<br />simmering sensuality ...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">She was always in the kitchen – he often watched her … her favourites were a Gateau Diane, decorated with chocolate caraque; also chocolate truffles … the mixture rolled out, leaving the little globules to set, before sensually rolling in dark chocolate powder.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Life moves along … yet here they were again – so near, yet so far … not yet touching – but that yearning was there … she could see his – and felt sure he felt hers as his fingers often gently touched her.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45GKu1CYHQ55DG3nSDGze2hyp1GB6USTW0FNTe0Ba8Q9dtGy6eoNU29TZ4-uDoRPt0NdYY8RpKQI3mX3fB9GfX1q50sKbop9TxMf1cZLIlSiqmJmW2ctN1RMPOv9fPVGgf30zFY98jNZKkHwXH7L1QIIbbKL5HUfi_4s5ggGVeJ5LPQLxJ61D1P8lBNaQ/s652/20%20Caraque%20-%20making%20of.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="642" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45GKu1CYHQ55DG3nSDGze2hyp1GB6USTW0FNTe0Ba8Q9dtGy6eoNU29TZ4-uDoRPt0NdYY8RpKQI3mX3fB9GfX1q50sKbop9TxMf1cZLIlSiqmJmW2ctN1RMPOv9fPVGgf30zFY98jNZKkHwXH7L1QIIbbKL5HUfi_4s5ggGVeJ5LPQLxJ61D1P8lBNaQ/s320/20%20Caraque%20-%20making%20of.png" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Caraque being made - always<br />chocolatey fingers ... </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Her memories came flooding back – she never forgot, could never forget … that pitter-patter of her heart, she couldn't control her emotions – now those erotic times and fantasies were once again at the forefront of her senses …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSx_msIl8gvUU6GURDPpL8p9jYTAcdDEZkK2XMCKp1PmbmdWLvmcrg6A2D-_B4r4FqobLfUNyYcuicQ0gRUqz2sbDsr61oSLqlKOyO-GbqybAlyjjrbY5NfbDZKEk0zf-moCRcuRBZadsib9IzCRQIDgD1xCpLSNUVB59YIPDHtL6CjR5YRFLDDeOgHNy/s532/Igniting%20Match.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="532" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSx_msIl8gvUU6GURDPpL8p9jYTAcdDEZkK2XMCKp1PmbmdWLvmcrg6A2D-_B4r4FqobLfUNyYcuicQ0gRUqz2sbDsr61oSLqlKOyO-GbqybAlyjjrbY5NfbDZKEk0zf-moCRcuRBZadsib9IzCRQIDgD1xCpLSNUVB59YIPDHtL6CjR5YRFLDDeOgHNy/w200-h183/Igniting%20Match.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ignition for their hearts<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">... matches on the chocolate cake set off the sparkling little bursts of intensity – so challenging to keep hidden – yet she thought he too felt similarly … another brush of the fingers across her palm … oh! that magic awaiting its future …</span></span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 29.3333px;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">For now they couldn't talk … but silent times brought all the other senses to the fore … she was always aware he was there, while his eyes saw her …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS58nJctj8DT8GobRIrpWpgqHdcn6gNHunr-Md1QKx66mV2p-DN-rBjqa1Lt1hQduRMvoYCXKVaTuqXc855_Bq1VRGUmh6GB5UUF7k4eNQ3kqFAUdlW0svPt0IN_0xrQQJIflOpW53aEpQn9m0SWzL37dFEB4l79Jvad04L4lHZi8oJNy9OF4tAOvdvYy6/s1168/Gateau%20Diane%20with%20caraque.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1168" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS58nJctj8DT8GobRIrpWpgqHdcn6gNHunr-Md1QKx66mV2p-DN-rBjqa1Lt1hQduRMvoYCXKVaTuqXc855_Bq1VRGUmh6GB5UUF7k4eNQ3kqFAUdlW0svPt0IN_0xrQQJIflOpW53aEpQn9m0SWzL37dFEB4l79Jvad04L4lHZi8oJNy9OF4tAOvdvYy6/s320/Gateau%20Diane%20with%20caraque.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gateau Diane - chocolate caraque on a <br />dessert of meringue and chocolate ganache</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">some chocolate concoction was needed – it would keep her hands busy … <i>her mind not so much</i> … the kitchen and her grandchild opened that door … what to make …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Child and 'la Dona' had gathered the ingredients … dark chocolate for the caraque, cocoa powder for the truffles … the meringue dessert had been made, it was awaiting its decoration … the truffles also were ready for their final roll …</span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpukR2bbjQJZp1hC7Yf4_YpKeZVo6Kmx3xhmR0V24jLuNjuQp_72kqtyjfXjtmOUzrYjScb4ICqZK2iDMb_rvnH07bl5g4j8cyzb0SV0JGVHnKPfsBKpXGESDV1IZzgjlotQ2yu5qoVA6eOegjFCBdOX1cLZzkehpPWxrTKyJFJ81DLYZ9c280wGw0aNUS/s266/20%20Cocoa%20Powder%20ready%20for%20truffles.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="252" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpukR2bbjQJZp1hC7Yf4_YpKeZVo6Kmx3xhmR0V24jLuNjuQp_72kqtyjfXjtmOUzrYjScb4ICqZK2iDMb_rvnH07bl5g4j8cyzb0SV0JGVHnKPfsBKpXGESDV1IZzgjlotQ2yu5qoVA6eOegjFCBdOX1cLZzkehpPWxrTKyJFJ81DLYZ9c280wGw0aNUS/s1600/20%20Cocoa%20Powder%20ready%20for%20truffles.png" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocoa powder ... </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">oh! oh! … pitter-patter in her chest … her heart was pumping, thumping, trembling …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaMDk_EJiFR_HUlCQWLPq1qVzdnWEGOuGNoSFlNILpRP8m9FMZyykJWbV1JRQBnjZuggphh3VmMl85vLRHafyTaQVH2YyTsOk4aSdE_wr24C1k7MXs912LD4n8LP79XglkZPaDFbspID5ksr6_jNm_xyo_GgAaYirBnA_S44CTSKxssf2kYw30BRo1IrC/s652/20%20Chocolate%20caraque%20close%20up.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="652" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaMDk_EJiFR_HUlCQWLPq1qVzdnWEGOuGNoSFlNILpRP8m9FMZyykJWbV1JRQBnjZuggphh3VmMl85vLRHafyTaQVH2YyTsOk4aSdE_wr24C1k7MXs912LD4n8LP79XglkZPaDFbspID5ksr6_jNm_xyo_GgAaYirBnA_S44CTSKxssf2kYw30BRo1IrC/s320/20%20Chocolate%20caraque%20close%20up.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of Caraque ... tasty, flaky shavings </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Memories – the caraque reminding her of how often his fingers touched her palm, now a little rougher … but then: more to taste, to touch, to feel … just more …</span><span> </span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nfVCwP8QsPVnGhhq-EHPpd3tauqRxELT6gdRr5r26ODxt6F9Ai_gLaspgo6lBUMXwSL2HeaaaVeohcrYSnGn812JSc8e282w5G5vBvIyo_ATs4Jwm0p8QAEVjYiyglizXEZFcDhgGhTiYXLWdSLCDIvfot7W8mlwzehdOvuiFpcrbtNHqLIvf_I1oKIo/s1077/20%20Chocolate%20Truffles.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1077" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nfVCwP8QsPVnGhhq-EHPpd3tauqRxELT6gdRr5r26ODxt6F9Ai_gLaspgo6lBUMXwSL2HeaaaVeohcrYSnGn812JSc8e282w5G5vBvIyo_ATs4Jwm0p8QAEVjYiyglizXEZFcDhgGhTiYXLWdSLCDIvfot7W8mlwzehdOvuiFpcrbtNHqLIvf_I1oKIo/s320/20%20Chocolate%20Truffles.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">... her nervous activity needed to hide her emotions – she just knew they had to be together … too much water under the bridge from those early days – the sensual chocolate would come to the fore ...</span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzjuz2RlxwWt34WqOXhg7-4-ueGeruKhX4DAu507qLed_BiqxO9Lc_Fegg_Xa8dDMDfhLH85R40k2-Qme5ReBsNJtVzdJQ_DehztSL-c_X3Kf8-ZE_je70xMyUaKXZCjHsQcAgIE004XqEAnNRDWf0pv-ulcyb3AFTjyu0e9b8-m1VSXhK1mS4x29TpkD/s610/20%20Molten%20chocolate.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="610" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzjuz2RlxwWt34WqOXhg7-4-ueGeruKhX4DAu507qLed_BiqxO9Lc_Fegg_Xa8dDMDfhLH85R40k2-Qme5ReBsNJtVzdJQ_DehztSL-c_X3Kf8-ZE_je70xMyUaKXZCjHsQcAgIE004XqEAnNRDWf0pv-ulcyb3AFTjyu0e9b8-m1VSXhK1mS4x29TpkD/w200-h182/20%20Molten%20chocolate.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">She'd find it nigh impossible waiting for another deep lingering kiss – or truffled hands rolled in cocoa powder – all to be slowly, deliciously, silently enjoyed – as they sank into each other, as she remembered from days gone by …</span><p></p><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Tag line:</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b><i>Like Water, Like Chocolate … both life long intimate companions …</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">PS - If you haven't read 'Like Water for Chocolate' by Laura Esquivel - I highly recommend it!</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p></div>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-50199007610156141042023-08-10T14:17:00.003+01:002023-08-25T15:01:52.529+01:00New Home celebration Dinner Party … 1/4<p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Frankly I cannot remember what I served as the first course for my father's party … but I do remember a few other facts …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5capzNUzzXGypMIF95snC6ErlEWmftbMypVQ6RHDC3RlXePI9SZN9jshuyAVN2U9S-NKSu89iUQhQKeUfpuYUh1mGEhz4XZjs9yPgxB0EFYV65q1KOFUL869rQB7CxXMv_RQGFel9ZQkyxJIAk94AhcyY1aDB2gAbEm7ytAOaOoDMdGbMRGtVuCaRmOT/s364/10%20Champagne%20Cocktail.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="253" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5capzNUzzXGypMIF95snC6ErlEWmftbMypVQ6RHDC3RlXePI9SZN9jshuyAVN2U9S-NKSu89iUQhQKeUfpuYUh1mGEhz4XZjs9yPgxB0EFYV65q1KOFUL869rQB7CxXMv_RQGFel9ZQkyxJIAk94AhcyY1aDB2gAbEm7ytAOaOoDMdGbMRGtVuCaRmOT/s320/10%20Champagne%20Cocktail.png" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champagne Cocktail</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">I'm not sure how long he'd been in the Northamptonshire house – but it was as he wanted it … and we were expecting 80 for drinks beforehand, then 30 were staying on for dinner … my mother by then was in Cornwall, I was in London as well as betwixt and between ...</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">We were living in the 1960s era … so it was going to be pretty posh – not the relaxed way we (some) live today …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMNk8kg3IuvAEwI8j1XoTw4vQiuegvGVjGq2joWJY7AdANWfVoP1YkZtja2pMMvnMo3VULtVkLAbi1VdlsmDDitb5Jj7a8b0tj-ArBAdZ1DKuo0Q4-Y7_EDE3mNArAHKMxwNlfw2OO7YHH9t3Tu9NWOqmNm3rv6VD4-QrBGUleNK8Ghbjy_aYaKUmBdLC/s285/10%20Tin%20Bath.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="241" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMNk8kg3IuvAEwI8j1XoTw4vQiuegvGVjGq2joWJY7AdANWfVoP1YkZtja2pMMvnMo3VULtVkLAbi1VdlsmDDitb5Jj7a8b0tj-ArBAdZ1DKuo0Q4-Y7_EDE3mNArAHKMxwNlfw2OO7YHH9t3Tu9NWOqmNm3rv6VD4-QrBGUleNK8Ghbjy_aYaKUmBdLC/w169-h200/10%20Tin%20Bath.png" width="169" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">All expected drinks would have been available – but as the main on offer was a Champagne Cocktail … I remember a baby bath full of ice and champagne bottles … with brandy awaiting in the glasses …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">also sugar cube on the side … apparently it keeps the devil away, or slightly sweetens the champers – as in the early/mid 20<sup>th</sup> century – it'd have been much drier than many champagnes tend to be today …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-r3WrcXk6w8vW95vosz2YrMxoPonyrEM82XqQ2np0A6jprZ_LFRxAAzNzQJr2XkobMH_UJEsrkLYTnk5uTrKQ0U9Rt1p_N6XX98xJFGBK5E5hcFwgmnudDD5evzUk-9pv8nbaO4PfxKQ-E1c-eSItQr7Zb08GFGiUMccMX26mn9UPTG84fsESgzLz5UB9/s525/10%20Angostura%20Bitters.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="221" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-r3WrcXk6w8vW95vosz2YrMxoPonyrEM82XqQ2np0A6jprZ_LFRxAAzNzQJr2XkobMH_UJEsrkLYTnk5uTrKQ0U9Rt1p_N6XX98xJFGBK5E5hcFwgmnudDD5evzUk-9pv8nbaO4PfxKQ-E1c-eSItQr7Zb08GFGiUMccMX26mn9UPTG84fsESgzLz5UB9/s320/10%20Angostura%20Bitters.png" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angostura bottle</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Angostura Bitters was also added … to aid appetite and digestion … and to balance out the drink … I enjoy a few drops of Bitters in a tonic water – it is very refreshing …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRcx66GdAhuurZOXg59AP4hRqD_dldhCbhsC3YpEwKqkpBR1Gv9RmB0qinm0-nqORS0Si4GW9yDB2aiZwoDja_Tx0ynOVLcAOPA_1a3ZRdoulrR-HqYsj3xP-8PZYx3G_NFT45S_j-s8k6WN_sQGunktR8mC1rbHJil7NumvZ05FpeOGEjyvDSj-yVTU0/s870/10%20Cow%20Cooper%20Cattle%20in%20the%20pasture%201881.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="870" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRcx66GdAhuurZOXg59AP4hRqD_dldhCbhsC3YpEwKqkpBR1Gv9RmB0qinm0-nqORS0Si4GW9yDB2aiZwoDja_Tx0ynOVLcAOPA_1a3ZRdoulrR-HqYsj3xP-8PZYx3G_NFT45S_j-s8k6WN_sQGunktR8mC1rbHJil7NumvZ05FpeOGEjyvDSj-yVTU0/s320/10%20Cow%20Cooper%20Cattle%20in%20the%20pasture%201881.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cattle in the pasture by <br />Thomas Sidney Cooper (1881)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">My father had been putting in a lot of work in the garden – and it was looking tidy and well kept – until Tuesday morning … when, while he was in London, I was about to start preparing the food elements …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNsUXT4f348s3vwWyiQ1lbTtxzjQG_aUE3ScEcU3IVx9dnT-4j7CLfP0L_af1GbKTAn3znqrEIMk7sIdPNsoS9rJhKIagAWJ8nMvF3M9S3QnWTzrcnn0YjHgc-SVKfmPsPVs_4TVDCmluwhFpCQnbjwMe5cbcmiQb4cwsJGja8_GjXwTVaA7VfzZHzT4o/s189/10%20Muddy%20field.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="189" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNsUXT4f348s3vwWyiQ1lbTtxzjQG_aUE3ScEcU3IVx9dnT-4j7CLfP0L_af1GbKTAn3znqrEIMk7sIdPNsoS9rJhKIagAWJ8nMvF3M9S3QnWTzrcnn0YjHgc-SVKfmPsPVs_4TVDCmluwhFpCQnbjwMe5cbcmiQb4cwsJGja8_GjXwTVaA7VfzZHzT4o/s1600/10%20Muddy%20field.png" width="189" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muddy damaged bank</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">'<i>about to start</i>' being the operative part of this saga … I heard rather a lot of noise going down the drive towards the tidy garden – which had three tiers of grassy banks … towards the lawn …</span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihq3dlKidVicQX1rKrwmADYoBE9tDhYb2afeZPz_7vZnf0kcqUBY3FoIlEpWQV7eKsJHCRCF2SFnvGDj-zf591Xbo5k4KO0dbeosd9yZj-FRZL8uz74EvSGdU19de_dVRMjZPDqvj1uFc-kmwDcVku_2nKtDISAeOfR6VM2agTTbiTEpSBVcB0JKbiGeD5/s602/10%20Separated,%20but%20not%20Divorced%20(1874).%20Another%20of%20Cow%20Cooper's%20painings%20.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="447" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihq3dlKidVicQX1rKrwmADYoBE9tDhYb2afeZPz_7vZnf0kcqUBY3FoIlEpWQV7eKsJHCRCF2SFnvGDj-zf591Xbo5k4KO0dbeosd9yZj-FRZL8uz74EvSGdU19de_dVRMjZPDqvj1uFc-kmwDcVku_2nKtDISAeOfR6VM2agTTbiTEpSBVcB0JKbiGeD5/s320/10%20Separated,%20but%20not%20Divorced%20(1874).%20Another%20of%20Cow%20Cooper's%20painings%20.png" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Separated, not divorced!' - the<br />title by 'Cow Cooper' (1874)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">horror upon horror – I looked out of the kitchen window to see a herd of cows walking through! They are large animals and that tidy garden was no more – I dashed round to the drawing room (as we called it) to look out to see a very muddy garden full of cows!</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">there wasn't much I could do – though the after-effects, once the cows had been herded out along to their normal pasture, were pretty soul-destroying … ah well! … a distant memory now … but a good excuse to put up the paintings by '<b><i>Cow Cooper</i></b>' …</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9TMSflH8t_8deQPoUlt-IrdF8kocUe8QpAowLpJTy-dv8HWGVgatpY71ndhvqX4-WaJfZSULMEbk5pmTt0ochJpQCo2taRMS8i3Pp8QlbiaG0neT8NCZ8JTosSYwQaaYaui6Be3dI48IvcKHB7tLIsKveucEXQVeVIWuEkvvyrCKJ1Az0hGqu90DP1ai/s894/10%20Red%20and%20Green%20Grapes.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="894" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9TMSflH8t_8deQPoUlt-IrdF8kocUe8QpAowLpJTy-dv8HWGVgatpY71ndhvqX4-WaJfZSULMEbk5pmTt0ochJpQCo2taRMS8i3Pp8QlbiaG0neT8NCZ8JTosSYwQaaYaui6Be3dI48IvcKHB7tLIsKveucEXQVeVIWuEkvvyrCKJ1Az0hGqu90DP1ai/s320/10%20Red%20and%20Green%20Grapes.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">... we carried on – my father's sister and hubby arrived to help – by now it was probably the day … as I was into making fruit salad … my aunt somewhat floored me by asking if she should de-pip the grapes … that was the era …</span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegTjaNv5waofY1M8SMRMLI-W4IxE0feTAvJJ8LsUl4mtBk3LxZDX6rZHAxPaxvVtzdEDYCR62qEtRBojKG0CFPMmq_Q9u1GwcOhRZtp-AApCX1PM45NzDqJMBSYecQeCWzHZkhcgkkxRx8tAc6ubdVwKUA_GcUbWYnQYNYFhKyb2A6tDKyExfKCmdFcWo/s692/10%20Grape%20cross-section%20c:o%20Wiki.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="692" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegTjaNv5waofY1M8SMRMLI-W4IxE0feTAvJJ8LsUl4mtBk3LxZDX6rZHAxPaxvVtzdEDYCR62qEtRBojKG0CFPMmq_Q9u1GwcOhRZtp-AApCX1PM45NzDqJMBSYecQeCWzHZkhcgkkxRx8tAc6ubdVwKUA_GcUbWYnQYNYFhKyb2A6tDKyExfKCmdFcWo/s320/10%20Grape%20cross-section%20c:o%20Wiki.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grape - cross section c/o Wiki</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">We survived and everyone had drinks and mixed, no doubt admiring the house – and then dinner came around … as I mentioned – starters … I can't remember … next comes the dessert, which forms part of WEP … the mains I do remember!</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbEtBunQJooX_VzeH4bRoiTi_F2O_iSy6UN74XQ3SR_MubIAeumjELoqX0XdtZlQ-_o-7WjCPRpBZi3wtl2y7PwAqY-OR7s-katRSL8N8TNwphJHT1Yqda2D4dKMhOmdrOjl54Vv1JQ4pmCD2whnyEvQFOs1ddV12iGNfnmSpPneJzmLcwBQ-eB4DwoneZ/s801/10%20Northamptonshire%20c%201611%20John%20Speed%20map.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="801" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbEtBunQJooX_VzeH4bRoiTi_F2O_iSy6UN74XQ3SR_MubIAeumjELoqX0XdtZlQ-_o-7WjCPRpBZi3wtl2y7PwAqY-OR7s-katRSL8N8TNwphJHT1Yqda2D4dKMhOmdrOjl54Vv1JQ4pmCD2whnyEvQFOs1ddV12iGNfnmSpPneJzmLcwBQ-eB4DwoneZ/s320/10%20Northamptonshire%20c%201611%20John%20Speed%20map.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northamptonshire - a map by<br />John Speed (1611)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Intimidating cows in the garden – good memories, de-pipping grapes – I'm sure I paid a bit more attention as the years ticked by!</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2017/04/c-is-for-cattle-and-cow-cooper.html" target="_blank">C is for Cattle … and Cow Cooper …</a> 4 April 2017</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/07/wep-august-challenge-chocolat-post.html" target="_blank">WEP 'Chocolat' Flash Fiction Challenge</a> runs from 16 – 18 August … Desserts shall appear! Do join us ... it's fun ... </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-12555459533285037532023-08-03T12:00:00.002+01:002023-08-03T12:00:00.172+01:00Edward Dando – the Oyster guzzler … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I had a prompt 'Foes' to find and read about … there was a poem by William Blake 'A Poison Tree' – but I came across the Oyster guzzler – which amused me … <i>Dando punished and savag'd the oysters ... as a foe might do ... </i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJ1H4iInpb8cLqQJ0RffKJNkJOcfdqGGs0nHjku0EURMQbylfDnWPjHfmk_hEf-t_Ot1dd8V3_T7GzaurAhgwsXkXe9hJL4ask6cGOlJjGqoTwK5QTAYV-O9mqnhAe3pV84NLYflvqiAsFzYa8wYHMs2zvisHMeDW23G2dbsLFZMCOMVVvQMU-XwcdHF5/s731/3%20Dando%20as%20perceived%20by%20Thackeray.%20%20Dando%20declaring%20his%20name%20and%20quality.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="731" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJ1H4iInpb8cLqQJ0RffKJNkJOcfdqGGs0nHjku0EURMQbylfDnWPjHfmk_hEf-t_Ot1dd8V3_T7GzaurAhgwsXkXe9hJL4ask6cGOlJjGqoTwK5QTAYV-O9mqnhAe3pV84NLYflvqiAsFzYa8wYHMs2zvisHMeDW23G2dbsLFZMCOMVVvQMU-XwcdHF5/s320/3%20Dando%20as%20perceived%20by%20Thackeray.%20%20Dando%20declaring%20his%20name%20and%20quality.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dando as perceived by Thackeray in his<br />short story 'The Professor' ... here is Dando<br />declaring his name and quality ... </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">especially as I'd never heard of Dando (1802 - 1832), nor the publisher and printer James Catnach (1792 - 1841), who had published this ballad …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">live and learn I say – and if there's a chance in this day and age – enjoy a few oysters, so be it … also I had found a fun poem for you and the blog.</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CxVvGMZu9X85wa0kYPJEniC_fZNMaRAPm-vJuSqAl1IKGN08y8F1viA2RNIht4eKGj8iN6UB5r0jp2gKviA0AQrRRaP-gwmui5XeT_9-WPftq0tVRJgd6709Bh2qP9VUU8UIHlr9nq5i1GP_1cKWzxcjGlVi0tAAK10B6h00_rPBMA5B3sis4ut8H-9K/s895/3%20Speciality%20Oyster%20Bars%20for%20the%20Rich%20(1800s).png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="895" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CxVvGMZu9X85wa0kYPJEniC_fZNMaRAPm-vJuSqAl1IKGN08y8F1viA2RNIht4eKGj8iN6UB5r0jp2gKviA0AQrRRaP-gwmui5XeT_9-WPftq0tVRJgd6709Bh2qP9VUU8UIHlr9nq5i1GP_1cKWzxcjGlVi0tAAK10B6h00_rPBMA5B3sis4ut8H-9K/s320/3%20Speciality%20Oyster%20Bars%20for%20the%20Rich%20(1800s).png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speciality Oyster Bar for the rich</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-size: 22pt;">The Ballad:</span></span></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b><i>"The Life and Death of Dando, the Celebrated Oyster Glutton”</i></b></span></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 22pt;"><b><i>One day he walk'd up to an oyster stall.<br />To punish the natives, large and small;<br />Just thirty dozen he managed to bite,<br />With ten penny loaves—what an appetite!<br />But when he had done, without saying good day,<br />He bolted off, scot free, away;<br />He savag'd the oysters, and left the shell—<br />Dando, the bouncing, seedy swell.</i></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91MrdEp29W2kz9jiN-qfejHlZqQI3LW6pk3v110jCRPKKssLAnLTtePAmbenuXF9bqCDX_3G-HB5_AsDp9-c6t1sw3nYDFjXYMmzyHe4BcanT1DoMzud8OH4eyE73pZhNTuQcKljLERp5aJkD7tZOWc-Iw_Do7EcWq9b2FDMmUBGkoORx8IpNoXoT5F8E/s648/3%20Street%20Food%20for%20the%20poor%201800s%20(not%20any%20more!).png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="449" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91MrdEp29W2kz9jiN-qfejHlZqQI3LW6pk3v110jCRPKKssLAnLTtePAmbenuXF9bqCDX_3G-HB5_AsDp9-c6t1sw3nYDFjXYMmzyHe4BcanT1DoMzud8OH4eyE73pZhNTuQcKljLERp5aJkD7tZOWc-Iw_Do7EcWq9b2FDMmUBGkoORx8IpNoXoT5F8E/s320/3%20Street%20Food%20for%20the%20poor%201800s%20(not%20any%20more!).png" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street food for the poor man</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The prompt Write Edit Publish 'Chocolat' is coming up on the 17<sup>th</sup> – so in the run up … I thought I'd write about recipes I'd made back in the day – 50+ years ago … but we start with this ballad – which amused me …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR49Ayo8WLPw_aArkKNZNZTiFlOsm76VnO3ap7xZQJ_vWfu8HF_TcxKRlTQdr1cRlFLldPgjc5_dkstQTZSx0648aUFBeRkAiFHh9VtNUYs4Gf4iBvnVpQ5c3DldKgCsfcIqbgtoIWFeh8qSsYzij9vE12OZfXpvKoNdcpnaouRxv27KT_RbL0CC51-U5-/s956/3%20Dishes%20with%20Oysters,%20Fruit,%20and%20Wine%20-%201620s%20painting%20by%20Osias%20Beert%20(1580%20-%201623).png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="956" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR49Ayo8WLPw_aArkKNZNZTiFlOsm76VnO3ap7xZQJ_vWfu8HF_TcxKRlTQdr1cRlFLldPgjc5_dkstQTZSx0648aUFBeRkAiFHh9VtNUYs4Gf4iBvnVpQ5c3DldKgCsfcIqbgtoIWFeh8qSsYzij9vE12OZfXpvKoNdcpnaouRxv27KT_RbL0CC51-U5-/s320/3%20Dishes%20with%20Oysters,%20Fruit,%20and%20Wine%20-%201620s%20painting%20by%20Osias%20Beert%20(1580%20-%201623).png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dishes with Oysters, Fruit and Wine -<br />1620s painting by Osias Beert (1580 - 1623)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">... my father used to love oysters when six were exorbitant – I tried one in the early 1960s … the next time I had them was years later in South Africa – <i>when I had many</i>.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hXkodbqrHL0prYroIgiNtMa4tTT8yhZNin0tJMqyv_TO21KZl5cXmeDuf15gt2HQ8hPvLh0cq0eSsfzWS5rUdxpWNBNfcHkeaF371xL2Nc_1GZYRXvcBdUDSMRDRfr4j2L-O58b1JC3ipgJqqDj2DYeNPaKo0QqitRVjnhEcG8fqgwOGvledIXfQeFAa/s692/3%20Food%20from%20plant%20sources.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hXkodbqrHL0prYroIgiNtMa4tTT8yhZNin0tJMqyv_TO21KZl5cXmeDuf15gt2HQ8hPvLh0cq0eSsfzWS5rUdxpWNBNfcHkeaF371xL2Nc_1GZYRXvcBdUDSMRDRfr4j2L-O58b1JC3ipgJqqDj2DYeNPaKo0QqitRVjnhEcG8fqgwOGvledIXfQeFAa/s320/3%20Food%20from%20plant%20sources.png" width="307" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foods from plant sources</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">… <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">the next posts during August were dishes I served, after my parents separated, at a party my father put on to celebrate his new home. I was in my very early twenties … as I need some easy posts: August is food month …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">My post from 2013 on Oysters:</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2013/04/o-is-for-oyster.html" target="_blank">O is for Oysters …</a></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Dando" target="_blank">Edward Dando </a>– c/o Wikipedia ...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Catnach" target="_blank">James Catnach – also from Wiki …</a></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">There are other links in the James Catnach entry – which might be of interest …</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Poison_Tree" target="_blank">William Blake – A Poison Tree</a> ...</span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-84015508924462927602023-07-30T16:00:00.153+01:002023-07-30T22:06:48.484+01:00Three Natural Resources or mix: Roman Cement; Polyhalite; and Lithium … <p> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">This post is to satisfy my inner need to write about these rocks, or mixes thereof … equally I don't want to bore you – I'm generous that way, aren't I? – tempt/inform you … but let you do the wandering …</span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6wBOplHF3D5J0m9gZgxnXtZDk_qE2Lze8W90D6PqKPS5g4PBq7qgHQQ1b-dIJVKf1Ya_VFnMCh2Qlm-RsedI150SrfcyEizB1YB_MyeuHJRTGsrjzjsNSRxumlu1Tv80dMlVp7m5EfPEIue67wD1hMY4jfZCREdSllXhG6m6EY5TskW5VgFxJoTO6GHI/s790/30%20various%20crystals%20from%20Mon%20Saint-Hilaire,%20Quebec,%20Canada.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="790" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6wBOplHF3D5J0m9gZgxnXtZDk_qE2Lze8W90D6PqKPS5g4PBq7qgHQQ1b-dIJVKf1Ya_VFnMCh2Qlm-RsedI150SrfcyEizB1YB_MyeuHJRTGsrjzjsNSRxumlu1Tv80dMlVp7m5EfPEIue67wD1hMY4jfZCREdSllXhG6m6EY5TskW5VgFxJoTO6GHI/s320/30%20various%20crystals%20from%20Mon%20Saint-Hilaire,%20Quebec,%20Canada.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Various crystals - found in Canada</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Many scientists had wondered why so many of the Roman buildings are still intact after 2,000 years, while recent ones fall down or 'think about' collapsing …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I'd visited Canterbury Cathedral (in 2015) where repairs were being carried out after part of the stone tracery from the Great South Window had collapsed … details in links.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDzrQ0adcxpmwv_yEHf8ARlUGdv9aIGwyPpuViL_tGrh2suvRyH4QoES7_dX0xW0Yyni8QZ_jakt3dyiFn5H-RDqV3g7bBAe0h3WkVhZArWb6dggqBxgWw6Jh-U8LO4d-AGlApW5OcNWu1dniH7s3c3UIYfmdbGMgHec14saqvgSfEWFDZbf0DzLwPpt3/s626/30%20Scaffold%20outside%20Canterbury%20Cathedral%20-%20my%20photo.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="623" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDzrQ0adcxpmwv_yEHf8ARlUGdv9aIGwyPpuViL_tGrh2suvRyH4QoES7_dX0xW0Yyni8QZ_jakt3dyiFn5H-RDqV3g7bBAe0h3WkVhZArWb6dggqBxgWw6Jh-U8LO4d-AGlApW5OcNWu1dniH7s3c3UIYfmdbGMgHec14saqvgSfEWFDZbf0DzLwPpt3/s320/30%20Scaffold%20outside%20Canterbury%20Cathedral%20-%20my%20photo.png" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scaffolding seen when I visited<br />Canterbury Cathedral</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Recently scientists appear to have found the magic ingredient behind <b>ancient Rome's self-healing concrete</b> … </span></p><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1N9bL-OHGBapQdCu5T2UKtOLt30Nef5PUqaRIXNgMS7CTqZAwchSBLJm5YHlWAQqC1AGwt49rfkdzH9W21xYqNvOrZ7mMg7S0M0S7_rhdT6YsRGISVjOmiCoqixYx7y1HYwC2QKeUTnYUDHVQVVJjxQ8D9jepX7rFRh-jjcF2HrVdEcdMzt2ia6znrrp5/s667/30%20Tephra%20at%20Brown%20Bluff,%20Antartica%20see%20Wiki%20Tephra.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="667" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1N9bL-OHGBapQdCu5T2UKtOLt30Nef5PUqaRIXNgMS7CTqZAwchSBLJm5YHlWAQqC1AGwt49rfkdzH9W21xYqNvOrZ7mMg7S0M0S7_rhdT6YsRGISVjOmiCoqixYx7y1HYwC2QKeUTnYUDHVQVVJjxQ8D9jepX7rFRh-jjcF2HrVdEcdMzt2ia6znrrp5/s320/30%20Tephra%20at%20Brown%20Bluff,%20Antartica%20see%20Wiki%20Tephra.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A large volcanic Tephra at Brown Bluff,<br />Antartica - a particularly large tephra</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><span style="color: #333333;">It is believed that </span><b style="color: #333333;"><i>Tephra</i></b><span style="color: #333333;"> ... a fragmental material produced by volcanic eruption … is the magic ingredient the Romans added into their building mix … allowing damaged areas to </span><i><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666;">self-heal</span></b></i><span style="color: #333333;"> before further building disaster occurred.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Next – <b><i>Polyhalite </i></b>– a natural multi-nutrient fertiliser – a by-product from the potash mined under the North York Moors/North Sea.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6PGyrM6YWR9sRm19SAyukANbIH10liqs3HLhAio5JxdwGYUdXAkEtmZ1fI-nBtssZgNjGJdsu4rFRVF__oFwcRICf-rWKwnwmlUCr39b_30aQBuEJMJJn5wHa4pRgOufICvlrLKdOzN5PYG4Odw0kGwxz-UIUCm5z3QCuQEA833Ee0WqY2LqwDZUvnzb/s791/30%20North%20Yorkshire.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="791" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6PGyrM6YWR9sRm19SAyukANbIH10liqs3HLhAio5JxdwGYUdXAkEtmZ1fI-nBtssZgNjGJdsu4rFRVF__oFwcRICf-rWKwnwmlUCr39b_30aQBuEJMJJn5wHa4pRgOufICvlrLKdOzN5PYG4Odw0kGwxz-UIUCm5z3QCuQEA833Ee0WqY2LqwDZUvnzb/s320/30%20North%20Yorkshire.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North York Moors</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">It's only recently been realised how environmentally valuable Polyhalite is – they use it on the hallowed turf at Wimbledon - four nutrients are found in one product - </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">the Anglo-American site is informative.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The Polyalite layer of rock happens to be of <i>motherlode</i> proportions … the only known deposit being mined anywhere in the world, n</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">ow shipped where needed as an organic agricultural fertiliser – so this country suddenly can add mining back onto its export list …</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayXYcn5O3FsqYZyBbVb7WI1W5wAyPb5o8DqBXIfXzkv-na2jvzh05hLz_bXozh4bPf6550yKBMwwrSORQ0C1TvJrEmdwA3Wf93vqlwYSw_MK4ekV7v0ft1-mx30eIE5Ls_G_MBfjceD33c8a9RNt7t6SMHAbwi95-XpMQ3obaI2qZGuYgHwqawHPkrQbJ/s827/30%20Poldice%20Mine,%20east%20of%20Redruth.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="827" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayXYcn5O3FsqYZyBbVb7WI1W5wAyPb5o8DqBXIfXzkv-na2jvzh05hLz_bXozh4bPf6550yKBMwwrSORQ0C1TvJrEmdwA3Wf93vqlwYSw_MK4ekV7v0ft1-mx30eIE5Ls_G_MBfjceD33c8a9RNt7t6SMHAbwi95-XpMQ3obaI2qZGuYgHwqawHPkrQbJ/s320/30%20Poldice%20Mine,%20east%20of%20Redruth.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poldice Mine, east of Redruth</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Cornwall – which I call my homeland – has, since time recorded, had mines – the Phoenicians from the Levant 3,000 years ago were drawn to the availability of Cornish locally mined silver and tin, the Romans 2,000 years ago also accessed the resources.</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58IDktI2rwgkD3jOhiRrjR4bWXSwP87hfIUS3I4MzdLeZe3WPG7IBB6aLjE4ibDw9cAD8w5CFU9LdNdLIxMSQfCDiV6X31x6NtZ7KREs8-cFn0ImFKqE_K7wJGD4CC2AxXsjyS7Jxy-Z3182XZuVyndX5KnGqkllUmkZjCGxG03z6BGvFUOra5Cbqhhk9/s914/30%20Crown%20Mines,%20Botallack.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="914" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58IDktI2rwgkD3jOhiRrjR4bWXSwP87hfIUS3I4MzdLeZe3WPG7IBB6aLjE4ibDw9cAD8w5CFU9LdNdLIxMSQfCDiV6X31x6NtZ7KREs8-cFn0ImFKqE_K7wJGD4CC2AxXsjyS7Jxy-Z3182XZuVyndX5KnGqkllUmkZjCGxG03z6BGvFUOra5Cbqhhk9/s320/30%20Crown%20Mines,%20Botallack.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crown Mines Botallack</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">The Cornish landscape honeycombed with mine shafts is once again being opened up to exploration for essential minerals – copper, tungsten and importantly <i><b>lithium</b></i> …</span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayNJNooyVffvhtz784W3RwQpsLhYBChLwPlEeemtPsTaZUXgLvb3JntO0wXBEgeK8Ouenuj9_V6uzjkkLh4585vuVY1iyha02ynZzlEJVXAg2yOzc6vRSkDIuBplukznfAp73RY439yjZV-49xVwNbtL8dtCM3yfHtgQNVHlF3iZaJL_8I5a-u0gXWvym/s620/30%20Artisinal%20miners,%20Kalio,%20Rep%20of%20Congo%20.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayNJNooyVffvhtz784W3RwQpsLhYBChLwPlEeemtPsTaZUXgLvb3JntO0wXBEgeK8Ouenuj9_V6uzjkkLh4585vuVY1iyha02ynZzlEJVXAg2yOzc6vRSkDIuBplukznfAp73RY439yjZV-49xVwNbtL8dtCM3yfHtgQNVHlF3iZaJL_8I5a-u0gXWvym/s320/30%20Artisinal%20miners,%20Kalio,%20Rep%20of%20Congo%20.png" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artisinal miners, Kalio,<br />Republic of Congo</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Maybe we don't like mining our own lands – but surely we <i>'do it</i>' more ethically, carefully and frugally as far as the environment is concerned – which has to be <i>'way better' </i>than ripping the earth apart with little care in the world – as happens in for instance the Democratic Republic of Congo … or because of greed insist the populace work in inhuman conditions with little care for their health or lives.</span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">As Ed Conway mentions in his book <b>'Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future'</b> … dirty and grimy though mining may be – it is part of the human story.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchtx158gvrVSINynrb5289SvHUXSAjQQ1xue364aNlRT3vnPP0faRQRIe5kaF-_BKUn3Z37tbZlFmFc5BakqK6nyQLMFyysFTOtgMzioWkaCeLDRSzQUQLSKkikbgwE48CwIFQ0B0gYSneiyUjVKsK2Yf7CtM-lpb--D34H67H0IzH64qKnZ1fufySN-I/s345/30%20Book%20-%20Material%20World%20by%20Ed%20Conway.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchtx158gvrVSINynrb5289SvHUXSAjQQ1xue364aNlRT3vnPP0faRQRIe5kaF-_BKUn3Z37tbZlFmFc5BakqK6nyQLMFyysFTOtgMzioWkaCeLDRSzQUQLSKkikbgwE48CwIFQ0B0gYSneiyUjVKsK2Yf7CtM-lpb--D34H67H0IzH64qKnZ1fufySN-I/s320/30%20Book%20-%20Material%20World%20by%20Ed%20Conway.png" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed Conway's book -<br />that inspired some<br />of this post</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">The blurb notes 'Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future.'</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">I have to say I really want to read this book – but am immersed in rather a large number of others – so it'll have to wait – but I will get there … it sounds extremely informative.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Our ancestors were, really, quite wise - I hope we take more note of their ways and knowledge ... </span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;">Anglo-American -</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://uk.angloamerican.com/about-us/our-stories/polyhalite-potash" target="_blank">Polyhalite and Potash - what's the difference?</a> </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://uk.angloamerican.com/the-woodsmith-project" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">The Woodsmith Project - about the new polyhalite fertiliser mine</a></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2015/09/canterbury-cathedral-scaffold-tour.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Canterbury Cathedral Scaffolding tour </a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">in 2015 (my blog post)</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.juliahansrausingtrust.org/canterbury-cathedral/" target="_blank">Julia and Hans Rausing Trust</a> - informative article on the Cathedral and their donation towards saving the window.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tephra" target="_blank">Tephra - more info</a> c/o Wiki</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;">Massachusetts Institute of Technology article on Why Roman Concrete was so durable ...</span><a href="https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"> 'Riddle Solved' </a></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Hilary Melton-Butcher</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Positive Letters Inspirational Stories</span></span></span></p>Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.com29