The pond

 

The pond

This is the year of clearing the pond.

So was last year, and the year before, and the year before that, though other things took over and required more attention. This year, however, really is the year of the pond, and to prove it, waders have been purchased, to go alongside the long waterproof gloves, appropriately called ‘Pond gloves.’

                                        Note the integral boots!

                    Close-up of integral boots in their pristine state.

The sludge at the bottom of the pond, in which all sorts of beasties live and reproduce, will be removed and added to the garden to enrich the soil. Naturally, it will be left to drain beforehand so that they can make their escape before being sentenced to life on dry land. Rocks which have fallen into the water over the years will be retrieved and replaced around the edges of the pond. The water will be replaced, and the waterfalls will be reinstated to flow once more.

We have done all this before, but this time we promise ourselves that we will ‘keep on top of it.’ Mmm! We shall see. One of our daughters suggested filling in the pond, or at least part of it. This was met with horror and cries of, ‘Oh, no!’ (What’s that saying about the child being father to the man?)

                                            Lizard tail roots

                                    Lizard tail (Saururus cernuus)

The waders were given their inaugural dipping, and much of the tangle of lizard tail roots was pulled up. Many newts were displaced and replaced. So far, no frogs have been discovered, but we live in hopes.

A start has been made. It remains to be seen if our good intentions – and we have many of those in several areas of life – will be fulfilled.

There may, or may not, be periodic updates . . . 

Folly

 

Folly

The best plan is to profit by the folly of others.

Pliny the Elder (23/4 AD-79 AD)

 

The Pantheon at Stourhead was built in 1753-1754. It was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Folly, from the French folie, is a synonym for foolishness, often involving poor judgement, or recklessness.

Was it folly that led to the fashion for constructing decorative but apparently purposeless buildings?

 Follies were frequently built in the grand gardens of English and French estates.

Some ancient estates had genuine ruins in their grounds, but others designed their own, as a romantic expression.

The fashion for follies began in the 16^th century, and by the 18^th century they were extremely popular. They took many forms, including exotic temples, ruined castles, and other unexpected manifestations. Some, in France for example, were romantic cottages and mills. Others found their inspiration in landscape paintings.

Follies are found across the world, but they are particularly numerous in the United Kingdom, which has thousands. However, England is known as the country in which more were built than anywhere else.

Famine Follies refers to the works built during the 1845-1849 Great Famine of Ireland. In an effort to provide relief for desperately impoverished people, projects were devised that would not take work away from existing workers. Famine follies included deliberately pointless structures like roads which went nowhere, piers built in bogs, and arches leading to nothing.

 

 

Why?

 

Why?

                                Roger Federer, Wimbledon 2009

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Until I wrote my recent ‘Grunt and Sigh’ post, I’d never thought about why people do it, particularly the former. Boud came nearest the explanation when she commented, ‘Grunting helps strengthen your core.’ It certainly does have something to do with the core.

Rising from sitting requires abdominal and hip muscles to work, and a degree of core engagement. With age, muscles weaken, the body strains more, and the effort is expressed in a grunt or groan. Sometimes, people involuntarily hold their breath when making a physical effort, like standing up, and the air released at the end of the action comes out as a grunt.

The grunt is an involuntary reflex, a minor form of Valsalva manoeuvre. The Valsalva manoeuvre is a breathing technique used to slow down heart rate, or clear blocked ears. Basically, it is performed by holding the nose and breathing out while keeping the mouth closed. Air is forced into the eustachian tubes and the ears ‘pop,’ equalising the pressure in them.

Grunting becomes habit.

Tennis players, champion grunters, have several reasons for making such a racket. (Note the pun on words!)

Sports scientists have shown that players who grunt serve faster, and complete their groundstrokes faster. Grunts also release tension and improve the timing of strokes. The noise ‘synchronises breathing precisely with hitting the ball.’

Other reasons for grunting probably come under the heading of gamesmanship. Grunts can be distracting to an opponent, and can affect how quickly they react to a shot. If they cannot hear the ball on the racquet, they cannot judge its speed and direction as effectively.

Grunting has spoilt my pleasure in watching tennis on television. If only there were a way to screen out the noise, just leaving the commentary, the crowd reaction, and the umpire’s calls . . .

A perfect gentleman

 

A perfect gentleman

Gilbert, wet from a swim, modelling his tracker. He and Roxy wear trackers every time they go for a walk.

In our house there is a lobby between the sitting room and the kitchen. It has four doorways, but only three doors. One door leads from the sitting room. One doorway leads into the kitchen. One door leads to the integral garage, which houses everything but a car, and where things disappear never to be seen again. One door conceals the downstairs loo.

It is a reasonably-sized area, and houses one of the cat litter trays, and a gallon bucket of water. All the animals, including visitors, avail themselves of it, and small children are discouraged from plunging their hands and heads into it.

One wise dog, long gone, our gentle Dalmatian, Dominie, always used to have a good drink before she went out for a walk. None of the others has ever done that, but they go immediately to drink on returning home.

Gilbert is very sensitive, ever willing to please, and mortified if he thinks he has done something inappropriate. He also keeps an eye on Roxy when they are out, and if she hangs back, or remains too long in one spot, he draws attention to the fact.

At home, he frequently curls up by my feet, as he did when he was a puppy, while Roxy spreads herself out in everyone’s way. That way she cannot be ignored.

Today, after their walk, Gilbert was having a long drink. I was in the kitchen, needing to go past him into the sitting room. Without a word or gesture from me, he shifted his body so that I had room to pass.

He is a perfect gentleman.

 

Grunt and Sigh

 

         

Grunt and Sigh

 Jaques in Shakespeare’s play, ‘As You Like It,’ details the seven ages of man. Since the play was written five hundred years ago, women play only a peripheral part in his monologue, appearing as the nurse to the (boy) child.

The stages he mentions are Infant, Schoolboy, Lover, Soldier, Justice, Pantaloon (old man) and Second childishness.

Nowhere does he mention the ‘Grunt and Sigh’ age of mankind, the time of life when rising from a seated position, or lifting a heavy burden, or pulling weeds, can only be accomplished successfully and readily when accompanied by a ‘grunt.’ Neither does he give time and space to the ‘sigh’ that so often follows the ‘grunt,’ when tired limbs are dropped onto a comfortable surface for rest and possibly a cup of tea.

Grunting and sighing creep up on slippered feet until they become a natural part of mankind’s existence. Too late does the executor realise that the soundtrack to life is now a series of grunts and sighs, varying in volume and expression according to the effort expended.

Do tennis players realise how much their grunts irritate onlookers? Are their grunts followed by sighs of satisfaction, or disappointment, or are the sighs simply an expulsion of breath on the wings of a curse or a prayer?

Grunt and sigh – what would Shakespeare have made of it?

Slasher film

 

Slasher film

I came across the term ‘slasher film’ only recently, so had to investigate a little. I found this:

‘’Slasher films are a subgenre of horror centred on a killer who stalks and murders a group of victims, typically using bladed or close‑range weapons. They emphasize suspense, escalating body counts, and the fear of being hunted.”

Blood and gore, suspense, physical and psychological horror, endless unrealistic ‘fights,’ at least two riveting chases across unlikely terrain, like rooftops (why do perpetrators always attempt to escape upwards?)

Many people enjoy watching horror films, for the thrill of almost being involved and having the associated adrenaline rush in the safety of a cinema or their home. The desire to watch participants fighting and enduring terrible injuries dates back at least to Ancient Rome.

Gladiatorial performances were conducted from 264 BC for almost one thousand years. They were not always ‘fights to the death,’ as films have suggested, but were refereed. Gladiators might fight two or three times a year, and have a career of several years.

Slasher films might be portrayed as modern fairy stories, showing the victory of good over evil. Some films have seemed to glory in the deeds of their villains, with sequential films showing the evil-doer as the main focus, an anti-hero as hero, maybe.

The most affecting and effective horror is that which is suggested rather than shown.

I do not like horror films at all. There are enough terrible things happening in the world without seeking them as entertainment.

 How about you?

 

 

Improving

 

Improving

He has a faintly piratical look now, but with a white patch, rather than a black.

It’s been two and half months since Jellicoe’s operation. His eye is improving all the time. He’ll never look the same again, but his personality remains unchanged.

In every other respect, he’s back to normal, doing everything he’s accustomed to. It’s good to see.

As he was, with symmetrical facial markings