Could this be a sitcom – or a break out sitcom? Ever had a one word - at a time - conversation ? Fish and Chips – how do you spell it?

We had one of our old days on Friday, even though my mother cannot hear, she felt like talking and having a conversation .... but how do you do this with someone who cannot read nor hear?

How will the interpretation work ... with waving of hands, pointing of fingers, a small whiteboard with one word on it and a duster to wipe it off .. and no ability to actually put a sentence together that is ‘translateable’ for my mother?

Hardwick .. my mother's favourite travelling companion and comforter

It was excellent and we were both laughing away – but it was completely incongruous and I was laughing at the absurdity of it ... while my mother was happily laughing along - wonderful to see and share these now too brief moments.

In the days when she could hear ... these were the types of conversation we used to have .. and perhaps you can now see why my posts are so eclectic, but also include short and sharp cross links – that will lead out .... where?? We find out as we go .....

Arnold Lakhovsky painted The Conversation

My mother’s words in italics .. for some ease of differentiation .. My resources for this ‘conversation’: one whiteboard, cloth to wipe off each word and two personae: me and ‘her’!

Waving arms, pointing fingers, shaking and nodding heads, and ‘herself’ wanting to converse, which she did .. but how to reply, how to explain, how to inform ... well that’s another matter.

My mother wanted to know why she couldn’t hear – reasonable .. but with the next question ... "I’m paying enough they should be able to fix it!" (Actually the National Health Service is paying .. but that’s an explanation too far) – not so easy to answer.

So what now? I’m tired (I know, before I start!) .. so I yawn – without putting my hand in front of my mouth – immediately my mother says “I don’t want to see your tonsils” .... then “do you know what tonsils do?” I thought I’d say ‘no’ .. shaking my head to indicate that!

“Well go over there to that table and look in that big book – Chambers- and it will tell you – they are your first line of defence" ... this is my mother! What I thought was interesting – was that she could not and did not recognise the word ‘Google’ ... now last year she would have done. Nor did the word ‘internet’ ring any bells for her. So she has regressed a little.

Then – "did you put the posters up? – they’re wonderful .. thank you darling .. and look at those above the curtains .. with the little dogs on! Thank you." I had put these up about three months ago – but I was not going that route!

So now we’re into "Why can’t I hear?" Remember I cannot converse, nor can I write a sentence ... so I put the words “cold, sore throat, bad chest” .. on three separate lines ... the word my mother picks up is cold – "I’m not cold". But obviously cannot relate that word to the question she asked – it would be fine if I could explain ... she’s always been grateful for my explanations .. but I can’t.

There’s more .... but enough is enough .. I’d bought soft toilet paper instead of tissues, as the staff are quite profligate with them, and I thought loo paper (as we call it here in the UK) would be fine for mopping up her mouth and nose etc. .. but my mother "I don’t want loo paper – that’s not for blowing my nose" ... you know there are no flies on her: even now.

You get the idea ... when we could chatter together it was quite enlightening and we’d have lots of laughs ... belly laughs .. as we did on Friday – and I’d be sent home to Google or Wiki for more information and bring it in for my next visit.

I hold Hardwick up for her to see .. and she immediately says "Hallo Boy ... you’ve been a good companion for me ... and you do have such an intelligent face and look": thank goodness for Hardwick is all I can say – he’s been inseparable from her .. we even had him in hospital – but I was terrified he’d be swept up into the laundry .. so I took him down for visits!

When we were London in the Acute Brain Injury Unit right at the beginning, three years ago now .. a Cameroonian lady had been brought in .. and had a radio with her tuned in to Gospel Music .. and I thought oh oh .. this is not going to please my Ma and asked them if they could keep the sound low .. misery me!

Well, I was truly put in my place on my next visit .. Jasmine said to me (yes Jannie a Jasmine here too!) – do you know what your mother said after you’d gone to get the train ... please turn the music back on!! My reaction to this ... was .. would the patients lift their sheets and bop around the ward in various states of hobble .. and have huge guffaws of laughter as they went ... I just thought what a wonderful scene could be built from this concept. What do you think?

Language and our understanding of it .. my mother thinking I was asking if she was cold .. because the fans were on (usually we have them on – my mother had said earlier she’d rather be cold than hot) .. but my one word on the whiteboard .. ‘cold’ was to imply she had a cold and it had affected her ears ... ears, nose and throat. Well that was a thought too far too.

Harry Bingham's Website – The Writer’s Workshop .. the Word Cloud where writers meet ..

I’ve started reading Harry Bingham’s “This Little Britain – How One Small Country built the Modern World” .. and he starts his little book off with “Shaw’s Potato” .. George Bernard Shaw, the playwright, and ‘would-be spelling reformer’ pointed out that by using only common English spellings, we could write the word fish as ghoti:

F gh as in rough
I o as in women
SH ti as in nation

However Bingham goes on to say .. that if we eat fish, we eat chips too and potato could be ...
ready for it? ghoughbteighpteau ...... as in:

P gh as in hiccough
O ough as in though
T bt as in debt
A eigh as in neighbour
T pt as in pterodactyl
O eau as in bureau

Now .. firstly do you pronounce the words as we do .. because if not obviously this would floor you ... or flaw you? ... but secondly wouldn’t you want to continue reading? Binhgam goes on to say ... “Other languages have their eccentric spellings, of course, but English is in a league of its own. French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian all spell more or less as they sound .... do they? – I’d be lost I think: however English of course is supernumerary?!

So going back to my mother and ‘cold’ ... in this case it’s her understanding of the word ... rather than the written ... is it ewe or you? course or coarse? .. which do we mean: gosh am I glad I’m English! It makes for fascinating reading this little book and these occur on only pages 1 and 2?!

Potato: Antoine Parmentier holding New World plants, artist: Francois Dumont 1812

And I haven’t really finished with Jasmine ... we have Jannie’s Blue Bunny, who has a Jasmine squirrel, we had our Cameroonian Jasmine, we have the flowers Jasmine – yellow or white, we have the granddaughter, Jasmine, of a friend of my mother’s and for some extraordinary reason .. we have Jasmine, a squirrel, here ...

.... Jasmine, our squirrel, made an uninvited guest appearance the other weekend .. wandering into the Home and visiting every room, hopping onto their beds, saying ‘hello’ to every patient .. and then wondering where next .. with a little help outside please! She kept us amused and occupied for the afternoon ...

When these funnies happen .. and with the extraordinary escapades and stories that have occurred in these last three + years .. I keep thinking there must be sitcom here .. with all these fantastic interweaving story lines .. well I think so – but my imagination does wander somewhat.

Diana Trent and Tom Ballard, two elderly residents of the Bayview Retirement Home are determined not to grow old gracefully. The pair of geriatric delinquents spend their time finding new ways to make life difficult for Bayview manager Harvey Baines.

Waiting for God .. number 37 http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/top/ Graham Crowden and Stephanie Cole play Tom and Diana

Time for tea ... Ghoti and ghoughbteighpteau .....anyone? Then we could sit and watch that tv sitcom ....

Thanks for being here Mr Postman .. and you’re right we did have another quick visit to the hospital on Saturday (when my mother remembered the loo paper – so her short term memory is there! .. amazing isn’t it?) .. and all is well now – we’re safe and back at the Care Centre.

Fish riders in a 1920s poster of the Republic of China

Four years ago .. a cancer sufferer, Maxine, wrote a song in conjunction with Billy Bragg, when he was conducting workshops at the Hospice, for her daughter Jessica .. called ..and "We laughed" .. and it always brings tears to my eyes, but is so appropriate for Mum and I .. - we've always laughed and it's so good to remember all those times: if you would like to hear more and see more .. please visit here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VyTuNcu1bY&feature=related This is the first performance ever after Maxine had died .. with a little bit of commentary by Billy on how the song came about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVJBxlklpyM This is with Maxine and Jess talking about the future and how the song came about ....

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

A Century of Aces; Afghanistan to Zimbabwe ...

King Queen Czech Mate – this was a headline from 37 years ago .. that I always remember – summarising the results of Wimbledon 1973: can you work out who were the winners? Billie Jean King triumphed, in what was Martina Navratilova’s first year on the circuit, and the Czech Jan Kodes captured the men’s title in 1973.

A Century of Aces – does that sum up this year’s Wimbledon – to a point yes .. except it was a brace of centuries! What an amazing fortnight with some wonderful tennis, as well as a visit from the Royal Queen, her first visit for 33 years, who met with the King Queen, a few other legends and which produced a list of statistics as long as your arm.

The buzz was palpable for all to feel, the making of history was in the air, everyone was chattering and laughing away at their luck to be present on such a memorable day, Thursday 24th June 2010 – a day which was to offer a different dimension to the sport.

Centre Court with the new roof, used as a sunshade this year!

McEnroe, this ‘enfant terribile’ of the sport, saying that he thought it was a great advertisement for tennis .. this mix of royalty, beloved by so many, and two unknowns who were already gracing the echelons of greatness ... which member of a team sport could last as long as these guys, or behave with such impeccable politeness – a huge credit to the sport of tennis.

I haven’t even mentioned their names I see – but most of us will know who I’m talking about, even if perhaps their names escape you – the French man, Nicolas Mahut, and the American John Isner. Mahut had played through the qualifying .. his last set at Roehampton had been 26-24 – before he even started this first round match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships.

I guess they walked on court on Tuesday the 22nd never expecting to run further than four marathons, ‘bowl’ over one hundred aces each, smash many records ... just a few balls ... become celebrities over night and perhaps become truly the only people who fit Kipling’s quote, from the poem “If”, which sits above the players’ entrance to Centre Court:

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same ..”

Neither being losers – don’t you agree?

Both men, understandably, looked fit to drop at the end ... but were persuaded that a few extra minutes for the record books, the crowds, the media would be appreciated ... that picture of their final set score splashed around the world on tv sets, transport concourses, newsprint, blogs, and the internet .... that is now recorded for posterity: a final set covering three days ending 70:68, with the whole match lasting over 11 hours.

Isner and Mahut and the Swedish umpire, Mohamed Lahyani in front of the final scoreboard c/o The First Post

Another person who shows exceptional good health is the Queen, as after her memorable visit to Wimbledon, when she walked through the grounds, past the infamous Court 18, met up with legends (Billie Jean being able to tick off another of her life’s wishes) in the game and the four top seeds in both draws .... well those, who weren’t preparing for matches: Murray and Nadal.

Everything was timed so that Wimbledon’s schedule remained – play starting at 1.00 pm – the Queen duly arrived, the players bowed (after some discussion!) Andy Murray beat the Finn, Jarko Niemann in three sets – everything as it should be.

Queen meets Federer and other seeded players pre lunch

c/o Wimbledon website: 24June 2010

A few days after her visit she was off on a State visit to Canada for Canada Day, going on to New York to open the Garden of Remembrance to honour the British citizens, who lost their lives at Ground Zero; while also making a speech to the United Nations appealing for world unity and peace.

Nelson Mandela has often said that he thought sport could transcend the trials and tribulations of the world, introducing different cultures to other nations, which the Queen’s message reciprocated that we should all, wherever we are in the world, respect this earth of ours and its citizens.

Here, at Wimbledon, we had the Frenchman and the American, the Scotsman and the Finn, an Iranian and some Chinese, a Zimbabwean from that estranged Commonwealth nation, South Africans, Indians, Pakistanis, Uzbekistans, the Philippines, the European nations ... over 500 individual players taking part...

... with just 32 countries participating in the football World Cup ... the Championships encourage all nations ... and on top of that you are unlikely to see any tennis spectators fighting in the stands – well ... perhaps two female spectators, who had been waiting patiently for the third day’s continuation when they were turfed out by an official to let McEnroe and Tracy Austin sit and watch. I hope these two ladies receive guest Centre Court Wimbledon tickets from those legends next year?!

A few more of snippets of information that might have passed you by ... the stats say it all, but over and above those .. the Queen was presented with a wonderful posy.. for those flower lovers amongst ... this sounds fragrantly gorgeous ... hydrangeas, agapanthus, peonies and roses.

The lunch menu included salmon millefeuille with asparagus; orange and honey-marinated chicken on a fruity couscous with roasted vegetables; strawberries and blackberries with clotted cream and mint syrup; an English cheese plate with orange chutney, followed by coffee and chocolates ,all served with white or red wine, and I am sure water, as it was a very hot day.

I know! .. it's pretty .. it shows raw salmon sashimi

As a by-line Prince William is a very good player, taking after his grandfather, King George VI, who played in the doubles at Wimbledon, losing in the first round, in 1926 – the year of the Queen’s birth, plays quite often at The Queen’s Club .. and one day browsing in the shop saw a bag marked “Queen’s Bag” – he bought it for his grandmother. The royal family have a great sense of humour, which we do not see, as it is hidden behind the protocol.

Just to tidy up where else would you find sport transcending politics of this world ... but in Afghanistan ... cricket, another of those games exported to outposts of the British Empire in the 19th century .. not a century of aces but a 21st century of hope with a bowled ball or six, a run or fifty ...

Afghanistan cricketers playing in Sussex

c/o topnews.in

... and even here the Netherlands feature, as they will tonight in the final of the football, Afghanistan secured a comfortable five-wicket victory to secure third place in the World Cricket League’s Division One. If you would like to see how cricket is played via a cryptic summary .. please see last year’s post: Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun ...


To conclude my tidy approach .. the Wimbledon waste bins are continually emptied, they are sprayed with disinfectant, fresh liners inserted .... and one correspondent noted that on leaving the grounds at 10.00pm the site was impeccably clean ... not the sort of expectation at Glastonbury Music Festival, or a football ground and surrounding streets ... where litter would abound in ugly droppings.

What a few weeks ... trophies won, strawberries galore, scoreboards failing, centuries of aces thumping down, Queens, Kings, Macs ... a geographical tour of the world ... Afghanistan to Korea to South Africa, flowers and food to tempt our senses at any hour of the day ... tales for the future ... and the positive stories of cricket and tennis to spread the advantages of a free fair and kind world.

Trophies – The Silver Gilt Cup inscribed: “All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World” .. what would they say now – double-handed/ either or ... and for the ladies the Sterling Silver Salver commonly known as the “Venus Rosewater Dish”, which is decorated with figures from mythology.

Dear Mr Postman ... my mother would have loved to been a little more with it to have enjoyed Wimbledon 2010 .. and when her hearing comes back then I have stories to tell .. and one you will hear about in my next post .. till then continue enjoying the sunny summer days that we are lucky enough to be experiencing here.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Hotspur, the Duchess and The Poison Garden ...

A Poison Garden here in England? Is the present Hotspur’s Duchess replicating the medieval Medici dynasty with her desire for a poison garden, as they had done in the middle ages – I do not think so ... but she has incorporated such a protected space within the Alnwick Castle Gardens development.

The unexpected death of her brother-in-law in 1995 propelled the Duchess and her husband, the Duke, to the Dukedom; they moved into Alnwick Castle, the ancestral home, and set about restoring the magnificent Italianate Renaissance interior, before the Duchess turned her attention to the gardens, that had undergone several transformations over the centuries and were in a state of decay.

Alnwick Castle by Canaletto, circa 1750

This dynamic lady did not just want any old garden for the Castle grounds but a rebirth of the estates to better serve the public, the community as well as ensuring that the Percy ancestral name would continue on with this great refurbishment of the Castle and what has become a garden of breathtaking scope.

Where will you find one of the largest tree houses in the world (see below), a rose garden with more David Austen roses than David Austen (the rose man himself), gravity defying water sculptures and - through the Duchess’s personal vision – a cherry orchard with 300 “Prunus ‘taihaku’: the single biggest planting in the world, under-planted with thousands upon thousands of pink tulips called ‘The Mistress’”?

The Garden has allowed local businesses to flourish, while the cultural and educational roles have not been ignored in this socially deprived part of England, through growing schemes, nursery garden involvement, a gardeners’ forum, while using the Poison Garden to help educate about drug abuse and addiction problems.

As the Duchess says: “With children you have to engage them, I was difficult to educate but when something grabbed my attention, I was on to it”. The poison garden is the perfect paradigm: “If you come at them from the killing angle, then you have their full attention and you can work on the dangers of cannabis, for example”.*

The Cascade Garden

This lady with a thousand ideas before breakfast, this noblewoman gardener knew that a few centuries ago men like Gerard (1545 – 1612), Parkinson (1567 – 1650) and Culpeper (1616 – 1654) having grown distrustful of magic, learnt from experience and carefully controlled dosage - that even the most poisonous of plants could be used as cures.

Some plants poisonous in root and berry, others harmless in themselves, but with rank scent, sad colour or strange form and texture to excite the imagination ... captured the Duchess’s fancy ... and the creative juices flowed .. why not have a Poison Garden?

Did you know that Henbane (Stinking Nightshade) with its clammy haired leaves transfers its nauseous smell when touched – and that it belongs to the Nightshade family .. containing the potato, tomato, tobacco – and belladonna? There is kill and cure in that small list.

Black Henbane from Kohlers' Images

She did her research going to Italy to find out more about the medieval schools of poisoning, that the Medicis and the Borgias embraced so avidly in the Middle Ages .. visiting the poison garden in Padua, originally established by the Medicis.

The Orto Botanico in Padua still has a special collection of Medicinal and Poisonous plants: plants representing the original purpose of the Botanical Garden some five hundred years ago. Alnwick’s Poison Garden also has the didactic aim of providing scientific, medicinal, educative and social knowledge on the benefits, while explaining the dangers of dependency and effects of poisoning on the body and its organs, of numerous different plants.

The Botanical Garden of Padova (or Garden of the Simples) in a 16th century print; in the background, the Basilica of Sant'Antonio.

The Duchess in her introduction to The Alnwick Garden writes “I could feel its magic and appreciate its bones”: the Castle has been in existence for over 900 years, so there are some bones, no doubt. She envisaged a “public garden for the 21st century” ... the Duke donated £5million and 42 acres to the Alnwick Garden Trust.

The Trust brings in young offenders and excluded children encouraging them to gain confidence in engaging with the public through ticket checking and just making eye contact ... something so many find so difficult.

The Rose Garden full of over 3,000 David Austen roses ... all containing a fragrance of some sort ...

Thus once all the legal and regulatory hoops had been jumped through, the Poison Garden was added to the list of features contained within the estate; protected by high security fences, its wrought iron gates appropriately embellished with a skull and crossbones, is here to teach about the myths and legends, along with facts from science and history.

The Poison Garden is home to The Alnwick Garden’s drugs awareness activities programme held in consultation with the Drug Action Team. Specialist tours give school children the chance to learn more about the effects of drugs, and families can learn more together in an informal environment.

The garden also offers learning programmes, volunteering and many community activities ... there is a ‘Roots and Shoots’ programme where youngsters can learn about produce from the growing, picking and eating scheme .. and how many of us know that the taste of a strawberry fresh from the garden is completely different to that found in supermarkets: what a way to learn ... muddy hands, earthy smells and a taste or two at the end ..

My father and his brothers had been at school with the Percy family – those of Hotspur fame – and many years ago decided a trip up north would be interesting to see their ancestral pile: unfortunately the public were not allowed into the Castle ... so we could only view the ramparts from various angles .. and the weather was so hot, which made our break an absolute pleasure – as there is so much to see in the vicinity:

Castles galore, ‘The Cradle of Christianity: Lindisfarne (or Holy) Island with its Lindisfarne Gospels, a wonderful coastline guarded by the Cheviot Hills and northern Pennines containing a wealth of history and culture shaped by a past that was not always peaceful. The landscape is it is today has been formed over centuries from Iron Age hill forts to the legacy of the Romans, through the Middle Ages to the Victorian industrial age – and the evidence is everywhere to be seen and toured.

Bamburgh Castle

With the publicity surrounding this new garden and the recent publication of The Poison Diaries, with rights reserved for a film by the producer of Shrek – it seems that the scene is set for us to learn a great deal more about the Duchess and her vision. If you would like to turn a page or two in the Poison Diaries, go to explore and "My Poison Diary" and see the book’s plant characters that are morphing from their seeds ....

It would appear that the Duchess’s vision has ensured a renaissance that will secure the longevity of the Percy name for many years to come, much as Shakespeare has done with the dashing Hotspur when he made him the real hero of his Henry 1v, Part 1.

Title page of the first quarto (1598)

Since my earlier visit with my father, Northumberland is a place I have always wanted to return to ... and now seeing and reading more about this magnificent set of gardens, while knowing that there is so much more to be explored .. I believe I will be visiting the Castle to wander over ancient bones – see the ghost of Hotspur, perhaps bumping into the Duchess as she presides over her beloved 21st century project – will you join me?

Dear Mr Postman .. my mother watched a little Wimbledon, but as she still cannot hear I could not explain about all the excitement of a century of aces .. she is peaceful and is pleased to see me .. but returns to her sleep quite soon.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

* PS: I would have liked to have acknowledged Jane Wheatley's article from The Times, whereby I took this description, and from which the post emerged .. but as Rupert Murdoch has decided to charge - I cannot access the link: I have a newspaper version.

Lazy, Hazy, Mazey Days of Summer – two approaches to revitalising town life in the 21st century ...

A Celtic revival and a transition community .. both rekindling their towns – Penzance at the far end of Cornwall, while Totnes is to be found in the beautiful rolling countryside of Devon by the River Dart on its way to Dartmouth and the Naval Dockyard, which can be used as an alternative tourist route west into Cornwall.

Penzance, the railway terminus to the west arrived in 1852, has long been the jumping off point for the colony of artists who fled the towns to paint “En Plein Air” as the movement, also in Paris and California, became known. Artists longing for their freedom – to be expressive, while at the same time revelling in the light fantastic of the changing coastal landscapes of Newlyn and St Ives.



Sir Humphry Davy statue (of miner’s lamp fame) overlooking the Golowan festivities


The artists brought their families and friends – more creative peoples adding to the local talent already in situ – providing arts and crafts that were so desperately needed in a place that was so far away from the immediacy of modern life.

Totnes, residing as it does in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is a thriving centre for music, art, theatre and natural health .. and is known as a place where one can live a bohemian lifestyle.



So two towns .. but do they have different approaches to their futures? .. Totnes already well established with its twice-weekly market offering antiques, musical instruments, second-hand books, handmade clothing from around the world and local organically produced products – was declared the capital of new age chic by Time magazine in 2007.




Fishing Cottages, Lamorna Valley, Penwith Peninsula, by John Noble Barlow (1861 – 1917)

Let’s start with the westerly town, Penzance, in the area known as Penwith (Penwyth is Cornish for extremity) where my mother used to live and where we went on holiday when we were children .. so well known and loved by us.

A revival of the Gol Jowan Festival (Cornish for ‘Feast of John’) in mid June is revitalising an old tradition and is one of the biggest annual celebrations of local identity held in the UK. The Golowan Festival, as it is known, brings together artists, musicians, storytellers and poets as it is also home to a large number of creative Cornish people, who have been attracted by the beautiful seascapes and rugged coastline.

Gol Jowan Festival looking back up the hill in Market Jew (Cornish for Thursday Market) Street, Penzance towards the Sir Humphry Davy statue

Feasts and celebrations of festivals were an accustomed part of life through the centuries, which had been recorded in journals on Penwith over five hundred years ago .. the feast at the Quay being no exception .. a few of the chief attractions in the early 1800s were the large quantities of strawberries for sale, the going out for a short sailing cruise in the fishing boats, and the children having gathered and garlanded flowers, threading their way through the streets bringing light and cheer everywhere they went .. in a mazey fashion.

The public-houses at the quay remained open all night – and you can guess what happened .. in the closing years of the 19th century the authorities shut it down, describing it as ‘a rowdy outdated superstition’. Mazey Day, part of the midsummer celebrations involving the working communities in the town, took its name from the “mazey dance” .. in Cornish dialect mazed or mazey means confusion, topsy turvy, everything upside down.

Golowan has been revived since the early 1990s – continuing the tradition, where if people feel isolated and away from ‘up country’ they make their own entertainment, which now brings in a mix of 130,000 people ranging from the creative artists, locals and interested visitors.

Totnes on the other hand has looked forward – its artistic and creative community is set to stay and the town has adopted an idea brought over from Ireland by Rob Hopkins, originally a teacher overseeing a permaculture project at Kinsale College. Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies.

Totnes: The Eastgate over the High Street in 1983


The term “transition town” is now applied and is a community project equipping communities for the dual challenges of climate change and peak oil. Two students took the concept presenting it to Kinsale Town Council, resulting in the historic decision by Councillors to adopt the plan and work towards energy independence.

The initiative has spread quickly, as there are now over 300 communities around the world – in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Italy and Chile .. while the term ‘Transition Town’ has morphed into Transition Initiatives to reflect the range and type of communities involved .. e.g. villages (Kinsale), suburbs (Portobello, Edinburgh), through council districts (Penwith – whose main town is Penzance), to towns (Nelson in NZ), cities (Los Angeles) and city boroughs (Brixton, London).

The main aim of the project generally is to raise awareness of sustainable living and build local ecological resilience in the near future. Communities are encouraged to seek out methods for reducing energy usage as well as reducing their reliance on long supply chains that are totally dependent on fossil fuels for essential items. Food is a key area, and instead of food miles the talk is of “food feet”!

Community Gardens to grow food, business waste exchange, a repair shop .. rather than throw items away. While the focus and aims remain the same, the methods used to achieve these vary.

Totnes has introduced its own local currency, the Totnes Pound, which is redeemable in local shops and businesses, keeping the ‘dollar’ in the town, while supporting those local firms; there’s a garden share scheme promoting local and season produce.

To get around tourists and locals can make use of the two Rickshaws imported from India, to be taken up the hill before leisurely strolling down past the shops and restaurants, which will provide the sustainable recycled fuel oil .. the running cost of each rickshaw is £2.80 ($4.2) per week .. so if you visit Totnes – please eat more chips!!

Totnes Rickshaws

With the number of participative communities growing at such a fast rate there has been the inclusion of the global financial crisis as a third aspect beside peak oil and climate change – but a more long term perspective is developing through the Transition Network websites and interchange of ideas.


So Penzance with its ancient Feast of Gol Jowan revival is in keeping with its District Council’s adoption of the transition initiative so fully embraced by Totnes, some 85 miles to the east.

The River Dart, Devon


With the United Nations’ Year of Biodiversity as the subject of my previous post .. this post has distinctly captured that essence, as well as adding a few ideas .. a local town pound, the tuk tuk or rickshaw to get around, community gardens ... bohemian lifestyles meet 21st century needs.


Dear Mr Postman .. my mother’s hearing has still not returned .. which makes life very tricky – but she is watching a little of the tennis. Apparently she talked constantly on Saturday night .. her brain is still fully working .. everyone’s told me! She talks to Hardwick her comforter dog, who is a special pal to her.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Nature in Balance ... and the Dark-Bellied Dew Lover!

This year seems to have been the year of the natural world, particularly here in Britain, where we have great institutions, good newspapers and the BBC who combine to bring us up-to-date stories of how our local worlds are being affected.

We have had various surveys starting with the Great British Garden Bird Watch in January, then recently the Natural History Museum had a moth, bat and bee survey, and then there’s Natural England’s Wild Day Out at Your Local Wildlife Site .. where the public, especially the children, can see displays, meet the birds, small mammals, insects and reptiles and understand more of the world they inhabit – so many children believe meat, fish, fruit and vegetables come straight from the supermarket .. a pretty sad thought isn’t it?


Constable's "Dedham Vale" of 1828

The United Nations announced 2010 as the Year of Biodiversity – so around the world too we’re all being encouraged to learn more about our natural environment, urging us to protect as much as we can.

We can do so much in our gardens, our locality, when we are away on holiday .. and we need to remember that everything we do affects everything else in this life. The dust under our feet is swept to other localities or lands, across rivers and oceans; the pollution we spread will drift high into the air, or drip slowly through the earth into the waterways and seas.

We are being encouraged to provide links for wildlife, not just preserve pockets of a reserve here or there, odd meadows, splodges of woodlands, tiny copses, but to provide green corridors from one habitat to another. Rivers and canals, those trade highways of the past, can now be a ‘motorway’ wildlife haven .. river banks abounding with wild flowers, damp and boggy patches, feeder rivulets or bournes from the local catchment areas .. attracting birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates.

Tributaries (light blue) and major settlements on and near the River Severn (bold blue). (The country boundary in black, with the estuary and coastline marked out in bolder black)


Invertebrates - did you know this group includes 95% of all animal species – the other 5% include us, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and other mammals? This surprised me. We all know of this particular invertebrate that has been the subject of much research - the Drosophila Melanogaster – the common fruit fly.

This fly has an amazing name apart from being a model organism used in many scientific evolutionary studies because they are easy to take care of, breed quickly and lay many eggs ... in Greek its Linnaean name means .. “Dark-Bellied Dew Lover” – well I had to let you know?! I’m sure you, like me, will look upon the common fruit fly somewhat differently now?!


The Dark-Bellied Dew Lover .. the common fruit fly

Back to nature in balance .. we need to save not just nature reserves, but vast areas of the world in which a wild future is still possible ... conservation works – but only if we want it to. We humans are the dominant force – we can kill or we can cure.

Dedham Vale painted by John Constable in 1828 is a good example .. the landscape looks much as it did then .. the river is the key focus for the valley, its course defined by bank side trees and wet meadows. It supports a variety of riparian (river) habitats.

The valley and Stour River provide a functioning floodplain, good water quality with its water meadows and recreational use, whilst retaining an unspoilt character and healthy ecosystem for the native flora and fauna.




A common toad - bufo bufo - in its boggy habitat

The United Nation’s International Year of Biodiversity asks that through a global alliance, which has to be ratified by all countries, binding their citizens to join together, to protect life on earth – as biodiversity is life ... it is our life.

The global benefits are enormous .. we save species, that saves or creates jobs, people are protected and local economies are boosted alleviating poverty. Scientific studies are understanding the ways nature has adapted – bringing benefits to bear for us .. better insulation, better water repelling properties, medical advances; we are being reminded of the spiritual and cultural value of biodiversity at the heart of so many human societies.

We know so little of this wonderful world, this earth of ours .. only about 10% of life is known – it is estimated that another 90% remains to be discovered: however more species are disappearing every day, up to 130, which in terms of the natural extinction rate is 1,000 times higher – a frightening thought.

Cup Nest of a Common Blackbird

What can we do to protect and preserve, to help and conserve this natural biodiversity within our localities and at other times of our life when we are away or travelling? Remember everything interlinks .. we are one enormous system, sustained by many ecosystems, the welfare of humankind is dependent on the welfare of every known species, two million of them.

This web of life supports us – it nurtures us spiritually .. giving us peace in its tranquillity, its greatness, its power; earth feeds us with an enormous variety of fish, meat, game and crop life; the forests provide fuel and with mountains regulate our water supplies; while the oceans provide fish and help regulate the climate; while the air allows us to breathe and remain alive.

By working together locally – in our cities, towns and countryside we can make small differences and as we know, small ripples can lead to larger influences. Battle lines between conservationists and people have been going on for centuries .. but now we have one huge advantage we can communicate more easily – we can get our word across, through our actions, through our encouragement to preserve and protect.


The hedgehog, who hates being fenced in

Some ideas for conservation and bringing biodiversity back into our lives:

· Open up your garden, don’t wall it in ... so hedgehogs (above), who love snails, and small mammals can move around

· Plant hedging plants – native to your soils & let the leaves lie

· Leave some wild areas .. let the grass grow, plant wildflowers

· Make a pond, or create a damp spot – for dragon flies (left), damsel flies, frogs, toads and grass snakes

Dragon fly to the right

Honeysuckle - that nectar filled, scented plant


· Have a mixed and seasonal garden – different plants – bees like open heads allowing access to the nectar .. honeysuckle, clover, buddleia and lavender

· Specific plants attract specific insects – encouraging pollination; moths are vital prey for many bird and mammal species, including bats – they love buddleia, heather, sallow and
ivy.

· Put up nesting boxes, bug homes, feeders and rain water ‘baths’ for birds, bats, insects,

butterflies, moths; a woodpile to attract beetles, centipedes, and snails ..


Watch the video to get the bigger picture: United Nations International Year of Biodiversity: video link; then play your part in as many ways as you can .... if we’re here to stay – we all need to play our part.

UN video: International Year of Biodiversity (it's 8 mins long - but well worth it)

Three of my posts that may be of interest:

Plants as Metal Gatherers
The Great Garden Stink and what the Victorians did about it
The Green Corridors of the Iron Curtain

Sara of A Sharing Connection – may have a better grasp on my posts – as she paid me a wonderful compliment.... by writing a post about me – how wonderful is that?! About A Blogger: History is my Story – thank you so much Sara .. it really is appreciated!

Sara’s blog shares photos, stories, ideas and then often poses a question asking us to connect with the world around us .. it’s a fun blog with some serious points - appropriate for this post on biodiversity.

Hi Everyone .. Janice Hunter's blog - Sharing The Journey - and her latest post included a TED video (18 mins) - but it is so worth while watching .. this post is about natural diversity - the TED talk is about human resources/diversity .. using our passions: "human communities depend on a diversity of talent, not a singular conception of our ability ...". We need to feed our spirit, our energy or our passion .. not endure this life and its work. Please pop over (after you've left a comment!) and have a listen .. enjoy - it is thought provoking ...

Dear Mr Postman .. at last the weather seems to be warming up .. the south coast quite often has a cooling wind – sometimes it’s a blessing – in the hot years! My mother has been sleeping a great deal, but when she’s awake she can at least hear .. but now she has a sore throat & I hope that is a not a precursor. I hope she’ll enjoy some of Wimbledon with me.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Ever Thought of a Map as an Encyclopedia?

Early world maps on clay tablets were known to exist drawn to reflect the depiction of the age, as shown in the Babylonian world maps .. even then they showed seven islands arranged around so as to form a seven-pointed star, with several cities, but the whole surrounded by a “bitter river” (Oceanus).

The ancient civilisations all produced pictures that today we would describe as maps, especially once they have been reconstructed, .. sometimes very complicated affairs reflecting the world as they knew it, and life as they predicted, their philosophy and mythology, but all the while incorporating the new ideas of their era.

Imago Mundi Babylonian map, the oldest known world map, 6th century BCE Babylonia

The Romans left us a plan of Rome and the first road map of the world (Itinerarium Scriptum) (literally written itinerary), which would make sense as their maps seem to have met the practical requirements of political administration and of military undertakings. The 13th C copy (an almost true reproduction of the original) is today known as the Tabula Peutingeriana is an itinerarium showing the cursus publicus – the public roads from Iberia in the West to India in the East - and is conserved in Vienna.

Part of Tabula Peutingeriana (Southern Italy centered) – an example of an Itinerarium Scriptum

Mappa Mundi is a general term used to describe medieval European maps of the world. Approximately 1,100 mappae mundi have survived. Ranging in size and complexity, of which some 900 are to be found illustrating manuscripts, with the remainder existing as stand-alone documents. The term ‘mappa mundi’ derives from the Medieval Latin words for ‘cloth or chart’ and of the world’.

A book in folio, in one sheet, is a book, the sheets of which have been folded once only, so that each sheet makes two leaves; hence a book of large size could be produced: several such folded conjugate pair of leaves were inserted inside another to produce the sections or gatherings, which were then sewn together to form the final book, a famous folio of that era is the Gutenberg Bible (1455). The Latin for leaf is ‘folio’

Developing a brand can be about your passion, which is then expressed in the title you choose and that definitely occurred in this publishing niche – The Folio Society. It was conceived after the war to produce ‘a poor man’s fine edition’ – a well-designed, printed and bound book to which the common man could aspire.

Since then it has produced a number of ‘Folio Fine Editions’, subsequently introducing a series of deluxe, limited edition publications at substantially higher prices, often facsimiles published in conjunction with The British Library. Their latest idea is a new letterpress limited-edition of Shakespeare’s plays .. and this where the Hereford Mappa Mundi comes in.

This map is an example of a Mappa Mundi in "La Fleur des Histoires". 1459-1463

I quote from an article “Bound for Posterity” in The Telegraph in 2007, when the Folio Society was celebrating its 60th year: “Each book – the carefully selected typeface, acid-free paper, the stitching of signatures, the stunning design of the case and then the printing itself – is produced to a standard and not to a price.

And yet the value remains quite extraordinary. No other commercial publisher could ever dream of producing books approaching such a level of quality unless the selling price were to be in hundreds of pounds. ‘I always say that if there is money, it is to be put into even better production,’ says Lord Gavron (the present owner of the organisation), ‘and not set aside as profit.’”

This is where the Folio Society and the Hereford Mappa Mundi, “that early map of the world” come together – the year 1,300 meeting today’s 2010 – where digital technology has been used to peel away the years' of wear and tear and discolouration to create a restored reproduction, as near to the most authentic version possible.

The trustees of Hereford Cathedral, where the original Mappa Mundi resides, collaborated with the British Library and the Folio Society in producing only 1,000 facsimile copies of this wonderful masterpiece.

The Folio Society's numbered copy will be displayed in all its glory beside the original in Hereford Cathedral for future generations to see – what an amazing exhibition to visit: to be able to see on the one hand the original that is seven hundred years old and the reproducion reflecting its original gilding, the blue pigment for the rivers, the green of the oceans, the red for the Red Sea!, as well as the clarity of the map as originally seen by pilgrims, nobles, philosophers and clergymen all those years ago.

The original Hereford Mappa Mundi - to be found in Hereford Cathedral: ca 1300.

So, at last, I come to the Mappa Mundi itself – one of the largest and most elaborate maps in Europe. The map, worked on vellum, embodies all The Middle Ages’ fundamental beliefs about the shape and nature of the world, which is drawn centred on Jerusalem; according to the old convention east is to the top. It is a bestiary, a psalter, a Bible, a history of the world and collection of travellers’ tales rolled into one – displayed for all to see on a carved oak triptych.

It is a way of looking into the mind of the medieval age as it brings together so much – a compendium, an encyclopaedia of its day – all the glories, known and unknown, painstakingly put down on a single sheet of calf skin (five feet x four feet) – a cornucopia of mixed unfathomable messages. The Victorians could not get to grips with it – it did not fit their delineated world!

However with a great deal of dedication and translation of the ancient texts, language and symbols have been unfurled for us to better understand this incredibly comprehensive saga of life to that point in time. A way of understanding the world from the centre out – the pin prick in Jerusalem used to mark out circles, sectors of the world, that the gifted craftsmen and artists could fill:

..... an artist to outline, another to define in ink and add colour, other artists to draw rivers, mountain ranges and the decorative foliage border. Finally, a professional limner added display lettering in gold in a beautiful Lombardic script. (Limner – Middle English .. Limnen – to illuminate a manuscript, with its roots in Latin – luminare – to illuminate, adorn).

Mappa Mundi reproduction praised on the BBC

Isn't the difference quite extraoardinary .. even on these small pictures?

This will be on my list of places to visit – to be able to see both Mappae Mundi in situ – to be able to look at the hundreds of inscriptions, the towns, the painted scenes and symbolic decorations .. to wonder at the rhinoceros, the unicorn, the skill of the Medieval peoples in devising this wonderful work of art.

How I would love to own one ... as the Folio Society offer comes with two Commentary Volumes, bound in buckram, blocked in gold foil with Merida endpapers and ribbon markers and illustrated throughout – what a wonderful present – anyone? Only £745 – it counts as four volumes .. well worth it for this very curious map of the world - don't you think!?

PS: They did mark Europe as Africa, and Africa as Europe .. but I guess that's 'easy to do' if you're just a scribe copying: and have no knowledge of the world.

Here's a link to the video podcast showing some more of the detail - it's only 4 minutes & really does give you a better flavour than perhaps I've expressed here .. if you're interested have a quick break?!

Dear Mr Postman – Things are definitely easier now that my mother can hear again and is taking a bit more interest and is cheerful. We’ve watched the tennis final at Queen’s Club at the weekend and today we saw the Queen driven down the Ascot Mile at the start of the Royal Ascot Horse Races being held this week. I have to say though .. I wish it would warm up!

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Flora and fauna of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – a simple sample ..

A gift to the nation of South Africa from Cecil Rhodes in 1895 – a completely unspoilt area of flowering plants, shrubs and trees on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. What a treat – on this the damper side of the mountain - the property covering the eastern slopes from the bottom up to its highest point, Maclear’s Beacon.

These amazing slopes provide a range of habitat suited to a wide variety of plants. Kirstenbosch in 1913 was planned as a garden where the indigenous flora of Southern Africa would be collected, preserved, propagated and studied.

View roughly to the north from Kirstenbosch. The eastern faces of Table Mountain dominate the skyline. The rainfall on this side is much higher than on the other faces, hence the dense vegetation - see first picture

I can attest to this wonderful Garden, as when in Cape Town I have always visited and spent time enjoying the plants and herbal scents, the scenery of Table Mountain behind, with the views of Cape Town and its surrounds stretching out below – a magnificent setting.

Castle Rock, Cape Town from Kirstenbosch Gardens (with proteas in the foreground.

The wonderful collection made for the nation and as you can see the gardens are as beautiful today as they were 100 years ago. About 4,000 of the 18,000 species of plants of Southern Africa are cultivated in the garden, which covers 560 hectares. It is a garden for all seasons, but spring (September – November) is especially beautiful with its array of early flowers before the beating summer sun burns down.

Just a little more history – this wooded area (hence the bosch in the name) in 1660 was hedged off with wild almond and brambles to protect the perimeter of the Dutch colony, and was harvested for timber during the early days of Cape settlement. The ‘Kirsten’ part of the name is believed to be the surname of the manager of the land, JF Kirsten in the 1700s.

The fact it became a botanical garden was due to Henry Harold Pearson, a botanist from Cambridge University, who had been appointed in 1903 to the newly-created Chair of Botany at today’s University of Cape Town; he took a cart out from the sea-shore settlement to assess the area for its suitability – and thus it became the Kirstenbosch we know today.

LandsatImage over SRTM Elevation, showing the Cape Peninsula in the foreground.

Pearson in fact took on developing the gardens himself and lived there in difficult and reduced circumstances: the task confronting him was formidable .. the area was overgrown, populated by wild pigs, overrun with weeds and planted with orchards, left over from the early settlement. Money was tight and the budget was supplemented by the sale of firewood and acorns .. sounds like today?

He commenced work in the area of Kirstenbosch known as “The Dell”, planting cycads which are still there today. He died in 1916 from pneumonia and was buried in his beloved garden, and his epitaph is still there today and says: “If ye seek his monument, look around”.

Inflorescence of Protea Cynaroides (King Protea)

A befitting remembrance to a wonderful botanical garden, that has enthralled many visitors from around the world .. and no doubt might be garnering a few more enthusiastic supporters from the football tourists – do you think?

Or can I tempt you to enjoy a hike along one of the trails up and around Table Mountain - some of these lead of f the gardens, including Smuts’ Track, after the Prime Minister Jan Smuts who used this route regularly. On the slopes above the cultivated parts of the garden a contour path leads through forests to the south, or to the north taking the hiker past Rhodes Memorial and on to the slopes of Devil’s Peak and beyond. (see right)

Grevillea, rosmarinifolia

Fynbos, “fine bush” in Afrikaans, is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in the small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in the winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate, which includes Table Mountain, and forms part of the enormously valuable Cape Floral Kingdom.

It is an incredibly rich area, of which over two thirds of the 9,000 fynbos species are endemic – this level of variety is comparable with tropical rainforests. Many different microclimates occur so the flora changes from west to east and varies with altitude up the hillsides away from the coast and according to the compass direction.

The wildlife includes a number of endemic bees, beetles, horseflies and ants, as well birds such as the Cape Sugarbird and Orange-breasted Sunbird. Many of these birds and insects are important and specific pollinators for the fynbos.

Male Cape Sugarbird

Traditional herbal remedies abound from the fynbos terrains, while our delving into our historical roots establish that the Greeks and Romans also followed similar traditions – which we continue today .. the aloe they used much as we do .. extensively as a herbal medicine, for both internal and external treatments; and now in our tea drinking of the rooibos or red bush tea, which contains high levels of antioxidants with low tannin levels, and is popular throughout the world.

Rooibos flowers

There are larger animals too, including the Cape antelopes of which the Klipspringer (right) is one – they are herbivores, eating rock plants – but the interesting thing is they never need to drink, since the succulents they subsist on provide them with enough water to survive. It is also known for its remarkable jumping ability and is able to leap to staggering heights of 25 feet, which is about 15 times its own height.

Just to round off with another jumper – the endemic Arum Frog. They have bright orange feet and can change their colour to camouflage themselves. Their natural watery habitat in this Mediterranean shrubby vegetation is under serious threat .. and a reminder to us all that we need to protect our flora and fauna.

Hyperolius horstockii – Arum frog

As you can see they tend to hide at the bottom of Arum lilies waiting to catch pollinating insects and are threatened as the lily flowers are picked to be sold. Arum lilies, native to South Africa, are now naturalised in Australia (and classified as a toxic weed and pest!), while in the States and the UK we have a number of cultivars used as ornamentals.

A wonderful rich and diverse part of the world – which can so easily be totally destroyed or parts lost forever – if we do not protect it, but which Kirstenbosch stands guardian over, and I hope the many visitors to South Africa at this time, take some time out to enjoy the scenery and take in and absorb the wonders of this Cape Floral Kingdom.

Dear Mr Postman – we seem to be in quiet times .. my mother enjoys the tennis if it is on and she is awake .. but as she still can’t and I have a feeling this will not come back & there is nothing more we can do to help, I will have to use my creative abilities to find new ways to at least give her something different to see and thus think about – as I cannot read or talk to her, nor can she read.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories