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- glitches
- global interest
- global warming
- Gloucestershire
- go-karting
- goddesses
- going shopping
- gold
- goldfinch
- goldfinches
- goldfish
- golf
- good advice
- good dogs
- Good Fences Make Good Neighbours
- Good Friday
- Google Chrome
- Goons
- Gordon Brown
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- Gordon Pasha
- gossamer
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- government
- GPS
- GR4 Tornado
- graduation
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- Grand National
- grandchildren
- grandmama
- Grant Us Peace
- grape hyacinth
- grave
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- gravity
- Great Britain
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- Great Ormond Street
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- great tit
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- Great War
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- greater spotted woodpecker
- Greek
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- greenbottle
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- gremlin
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- grey heron
- Grey Herons
- Grim Reaper
- groceries
- grouse
- growing up
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- Guildford Cathedral
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- guitar
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- Gus
- guttering
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- H4H
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- haemorrhoids
- Haiku Friday
- haiku my heart friday
- hail
- hair
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- Hairy shield bug
- haka
- Hakuro Nishki
- Hallelujah chorus
- halloumi
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- Hampshire
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- hamster
- handbrake turns
- Handel
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- hangers
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- happiness
- hard-boiled
- Hardanger
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- harness
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- harvest
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- healthy heart
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- Heaven
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- Hewlett-Packard
- hexagonal cells
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- hide and seek
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- hierarchy
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- hippopotamus
- historical fiction
- Hitler
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- HMS Victory
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- HO scale
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- holidays
- Holly
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- Holly blue
- holly tree
- home
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- homeopathy
- homesick
- homing pigeon
- hominids
- honesty
- honey bee
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- honeycomb
- honeysuckle
- honeysuckle vine
- honky-tonk
- Hook
- hope
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- hornet
- horse
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- horses
- hospital
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- hot water bottle
- hotmail
- houmous
- house
- house martin
- House of Commons
- House of Lords
- House of York
- house-training
- houttuynia 'Chameleon'
- hover-flies
- hoverflies
- hoverfly
- howlers
- HP
- Hubble
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- human fat
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- humans
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- humour
- Hundred Years' War
- hunger
- Hunter's Moon
- hunting
- Hupeh province
- Hurricane
- husband
- hyacinth
- hyacinths
- Hyde Park memorial
- hydrangea
- hypericum
- hypothalamus
- I protest
- I Saw Sunday
- ice
- ice cream
- ice-cream
- ichneumon wasp
- Ichthus
- icicles
- identity theft
- idiocy
- idioms
- idiopathic epilepsy
- idle hands
- Ilex
- Ilex 'Golden King'
- illogicality
- illusion of non-movement
- illusions
- imaginary corner with real toads
- imaginary garden with real toads
- Imperial German Navy High Seas Fleet
- Imperial War Museum
- implosion
- In memoriam
- In Tandem
- in the forest in December 2009
- in this moment
- inboard engine
- incompetence
- inconvenience
- India
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- Indian Mutiny
- Indian National Railway System
- individuality
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- Indore
- Indra Sinha
- Industrial Revolution
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- inefficiency
- infants
- information
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- Ingrid
- initiation
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- injured service personnel
- injustice
- ink
- ink blot
- inner ear
- innumeracy
- insects
- insight
- Inspector Gadget
- Inspiring Words Week
- insulating
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- intelligence
- Internet Explorer
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- interview
- Intimacy
- Into the Void
- invasion
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- Iran
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- iron gall ink
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- Isambard
- Isambard. Solomon
- Isla
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- Italian Spinone
- Italy
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- izzard
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- Jains
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- jalopy
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- jamboree
- James
- Jane Hartley May
- Jane Seymour
- Janice
- Janie
- jankers
- January 2010
- January 2010 full moon
- January 2010-
- Japan
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- Japanese Windflower
- jasmine
- Jason deCaires Taylor
- jaws
- Jay
- jays
- Jellicoe
- jelly
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- Jenna
- Jenna. Frodo
- Jenny Joseph
- Jerusalem
- Jesus
- Jezreel's Folly
- Jezreel's Tower
- jigsaws
- jihad
- Jim Al-Kahlili
- Jimmy Carter
- jingoist
- Jinksy
- jive
- Joanna Southcott
- Joe Simpson
- joggers
- John
- John 'Babbacombe' Lee
- John Blashford-Snell
- John Masefield
- John Rowley
- John Smith's
- jokes
- Jolene Anderson
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- jonquil
- Joseph Samuel
- journal
- journalism
- journals
- judo
- Julie Felix
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- July
- July 15th
- July 2009
- July 2010
- June
- June 2009
- June morning
- juniper berries
- junk mail
- justice
- Jutland
- K glass
- kaffir lily
- Kafka
- Kahlil Gibran
- kaleidoscope
- Kalkhoff Tasman
- Kandinsky
- karma
- Kat
- Kat. Bethan
- Kate
- Kate-the-Vet
- Katherine Jenkins
- Kay's questions
- kedgeree
- Keirin
- Kelloggs
- Kenneth Grahame. Toad Hall
- Kent
- Kentish cobs
- Kepler
- Kerria japonica
- Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora'
- Kerry Morgan
- key rings
- key words
- keyboard
- keys
- khaki
- Khan
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- Khedive of Egypt
- Khoisan
- Kim
- Kindle
- King Edgar of Kent
- King George II
- King George III
- King George VI
- King Harold
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- King Kong
- King Solomon's Temple
- King's College Choir
- Kiri
- Kiri. Barry
- Kit Kat
- kitchen
- kitchen cupboard
- Kitchener
- Kitchener stitch
- kitten
- kitten milk
- kittens
- knickers
- knock knock
- knowledge
- known unto God
- Kodak Brownie
- kong
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- Kraft
- kryptonite
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- Kublai Khan
- Kulula Airlines
- Kynoch vets
- La Manche
- Labour
- Labour Party
- Labrador
- Labrador puppy
- Labrador retriever
- Labradors
- lace-cap hydrangea
- Lady Jane Grey
- ladybird
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- lake
- lambs
- Lancashire
- language
- Lantern Moon
- laptop
- larder
- Large Hadron Collider
- Large Red Damselfly
- Large white butterfly
- lark
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- Last Post
- late
- late afternoon
- late afternoon sky
- late blooms
- laughter
- laundry
- Laura Marling
- Laurel and Hardy
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- law
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- Lazarus
- Le Creuset
- Leap Day
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- learning by heart
- Leatherman
- leaves
- LED
- lederhosen
- leek
- left-hand hinge
- legend
- Leisure
- Lend-Lease
- Lenny
- Lent
- Lenten Moon
- Leo
- Leo Marks
- Leonard
- leopard
- Leslie Caron
- lethargy
- Lewis Carroll
- Liam Lynch
- Libellula depressa
- Liberal
- library
- lies
- life
- Life is like a bicycle
- Life of Pee
- Life of Pi
- life's little trials
- light
- light pollution
- lightning
- Lilac
- lilies
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- lily of the valley
- lime
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- limping
- Lincolnshire
- liniment May 2009
- links
- lion
- liquid nitrogen
- lisianthus
- Lissotriton vulgaris
- list of posts
- literal
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- Litha
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- litter tray
- Little Ships
- live dogs
- live dogs as shark bait
- Live Writer
- liver
- liver enzymes
- Living Rainforest
- Lloyds TSB
- Lobelia
- local council
- lock
- Lock and Lock
- lockdown
- locum
- Lodewijk Toeput
- log burner
- logs
- LogSaver
- Loki
- Lolly
- London
- London Aquarium
- London Fashion Week
- London Marathon
- loneliness
- long-tailed tit
- long-tailed tits
- longbow
- Longiflorum Lilies
- Look Around You
- loosestrife
- Lord Byron
- Lord Chelmsford
- Lord Howe
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- Lord's
- losing things
- loss
- Lottie
- Lotus
- Louis
- Louis XIV
- Louisiana
- love
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- lovers
- low carbon emission
- Loyal Toast
- Lucy
- Lulworth Cove
- lunacy
- lungs
- Lurcher
- lute
- lutenist
- lying in state
- Lyle's Golden Syrup
- Lyme disease
- lyre
- Lysimachia punctata
- Ma
- mackerel
- MacLeod
- macro
- Macro Monday
- macro tulips
- Maffick Monday
- Magda Goebbels
- maggots
- magic
- Magic Porridge Pot
- magnolia
- Magpie
- Magpie Tales
- magpies
- Mahdi
- Mahdists
- Malaysia
- mallard
- Mallard drake
- Mallard duck
- mallards
- Malplaquet
- malus
- malware
- mammals
- man
- Man Booker Prize
- Manchester Airport
- Manhattan
- manners
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- mantra
- marathon
- marble scissors
- marbles
- marbling
- Marc Chagall
- March 17th
- March 1st
- March 2010
- March 3rd
- Marco Polo
- Marcus Aurelius
- Margaret
- Margaret Atwood
- Margret Geraghty
- Maria Theresa
- Marie Curie
- marigold
- marigolds
- Marion Hutton
- Mark Fast
- Mark Hurd
- Mark Knopfler
- Mark-the-Vet
- marksmanship
- Marlborough
- marmalade
- Marmite
- Marnie
- marriage
- marriage certificates
- Mars
- Martin Jarvis
- Martin Read
- Martini-Henry rifle
- masks
- Masonic regalia
- massacre of St Bartholomew
- mate
- maternal grandfather
- maternal grandmother
- mathematics
- maths
- mating
- mating dance
- Matthew Maury
- Matthew Wilson
- Max Wall
- May
- May 2009
- May 2010
- May 2016
- May 8th
- May full moon
- May in England
- McLaren
- measles
- medical research
- Medusa
- megaoesphagus
- Mellow Yellow Monday
- Meloxidyl
- Melvyn Bragg
- memory loss
- meningitis
- Merlin
- mermaids
- Meshach
- mesmerising
- mess games
- mess mountaineering
- Met Office
- Metacam
- metamorphosis
- meter
- methane
- mexican orange blossom
- Mexico
- Micawber
- mice
- Michael Jackson
- Michael Morpurgo
- Michael Phelps
- Mick
- microfiction
- Microfiction Monday
- Microfiction Monday #15
- Microfiction Monday #16
- Microfiction Monday #17
- Microfiction Monday #19
- Microfiction Monday #20
- Microfiction Monday #24
- Microfiction Monday #30
- Microfiction Monday #31
- Microfiction Monday #32
- Microfiction Monday #33
- Microfiction Monday #51
- microphone
- mid-June UK 2009
- Middle East
- Midsummer's Night
- Midweek Blues
- migrants
- migration
- Mike the Headless Chicken
- military
- Military Covenant
- milk moon
- milking
- Milvus milvus
- mining
- Ministry of Defence
- Mint moth
- mirror
- mistake
- mistakes
- mists of time
- mites
- Mitt Romney
- mobile phone
- mobile phone cameras
- mobile phones
- mock orange blossom
- MoD
- Mohammed
- Mole
- Moleskine
- mollusc
- Monday Photo Prompt
- Monday's Child
- Money spider
- Mongols
- monkey
- Monkey Man
- monks
- Monochrome Weekly Theme
- monologue
- monologues
- Mons
- Montcalm
- Monty
- moon
- Moon After Yule
- mooning
- Moonrise
- moors
- moped
- more bad poetry
- More Than Just A Kiss blogfest
- morning
- morning rituals
- morning sky
- Morpheus
- Morse code
- Moses
- MOT
- moth
- Moth orchid
- mother
- Mother Goddess
- mothers
- moths
- motorbike
- Mount Everest
- Mount Fuji
- mourners
- Mouse
- Mozart
- MPs
- Mrs Gadget
- mud
- mug
- Mumbai
- Mumbles
- Mumblings
- Muppets
- murder
- muscari
- muscle soreness
- Muses
- museum
- Mushrooms
- music
- Music Hall
- Muslim
- My love is like a red
- My World Tuesday
- Myosotis
- myrrh
- mysteries
- mystery
- myth
- mythology
- N is for Noses
- Nadal
- Nadia
- Nadia-the-Vet
- nail clippers
- NaNoWriMo
- Napoleon
- nappies
- napple notes
- narcissus
- NASA
- nasturtiums
- Natal
- National Trust
- Nativity
- natural world
- navigation
- NCOs
- nectarine
- negative buoyancy
- neglect
- negligence
- Nelson
- Nelson Mandela
- nemesia
- Neolithic long barrow
- nepeta
- nepotism
- Netherlands
- nets
- nevermore
- Neville Chamberlain
- new day
- New England
- New Scotland Yard
- New Year
- New Year's Day
- New Year's Eve
- New Year's Eve 2009
- New York
- New Zealand
- Newfoundland
- news
- newts
- NHS
- Nicholas Soames
- Nick
- Nicolas Tournier
- niece
- Nietzsche
- Nigella damascena
- Nigella damascena 'Moody Blues'
- Night
- night-scented stock
- nightingale
- nightjar
- nightmare
- nightmares
- Nike
- Nina
- nip
- nippy
- Noah
- nonsense
- nonsense.
- Noodler's ink
- Norfolk
- Norfolk terriers
- Norman
- Norman Rockwell
- North America
- North Sea
- North Wind
- Northern Hemisphere
- Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland. gardening
- Northern Ireland. warranties
- Northern Lights
- Northumberland
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- noses
- notebooks
- nouveau riche
- novel
- November 2009
- November 2011
- November fog
- November sky
- nursery
- nursery rhyme
- nursery rhymes
- nuthatch
- nuts
- NYC Midnight Challenge
- oak
- oak tree
- oaks
- OCD
- Ocicat
- Ocicats
- October
- October 17th
- October 2009
- October 2011
- October 31st
- October 31st 2009
- octopus
- Ode to the West Wind
- Odile
- Odin
- officer cadets
- offing
- old age
- Old Moon
- Old Royal Naval College
- old wives' tale
- older men
- Olive
- olive oil
- Oliver Twist
- olives
- Olympics
- omelettes
- one
- onion
- onions
- Open Championship
- operation
- Ophion luteus
- Oracle
- orange
- orb-weaver
- orders
- Orders Pour le Merite
- ordure
- oregano
- Orient
- origami
- Orion
- orrery
- Orson Welles
- Orygia antiqua
- Oryx and Crake
- Osborne Bay
- Oscar Wilde
- osteochondrosis
- osteomyelitis
- osteoporosis
- otters
- Oudenaarde
- outboard engine
- outdated laws
- ova
- ovipositor
- owl
- Oxford
- ozone layer
- Pacer poles
- Pacerpoles
- Packaging
- paddling
- paddling pool
- paediatric nurse
- pain
- pain relief patch
- paint
- paint effects
- Painted Hall
- painting
- pairs
- Pakistan
- Pamela
- pansies
- Pansy
- pantalon
- papaya
- parachute jump
- Parachute Regiment
- parachutes
- parade
- parallel universes
- paraskavedekatriaphobia
- parasol
- parents
- Paris
- Parliament
- Parliamentary Commons Business Select Committee
- Parma violets
- parrot
- Parsee
- Parsi
- parthogenesis
- Passchendaele
- passion
- pastry chef
- Patience
- Patio Sophia
- Pats
- Paul
- Paula Stone Williams
- pavement
- Pavement Picasso
- Pavlov's dogs
- paws
- peace
- Peace Envoy
- peanut butter
- Pearl Harbour
- Peas and Queues
- pebbles
- pedicure
- Pegasus
- pegs
- pelargonium
- pelargonium x hortorum
- peloton
- pencils
- penguin
- penguins
- Penny Black
- pension funds
- pensions
- pepper
- peppercorns
- perennial geranium
- perigee
- permafrost
- Persian
- Pet Pride
- Peter Gershon
- Peter Harrison Planetarium
- Peter Mandelson
- Peter Serafinowicz
- Peterborough
- petrol
- pets
- Pets Forever
- pettifogger
- petunias
- pewter
- Phalaenopsis
- Phaseolus vulgaris
- Phil-the-Vet
- philately
- Philip V
- Philip VI
- Phillippines
- philosophy
- Phlogophora meticulosa
- Pholcus phalangioides
- phone hacking
- photo manipulation
- photography
- physics
- piano
- Piatnik
- piccalilli
- pick up
- pickled onions
- pickling
- picnics
- Pieris brassicae
- pig
- pigs
- pike
- Pimpla hypochondriaca
- pin
- Pin the Tail on the Donkey
- pincushion
- ping pong balls
- pinks
- Pinus sylvestris
- pipefish
- pissers
- Pixie frog
- pizza
- PLA of China
- placemats
- plaits
- plane
- plank
- planking
- Plantaganet
- planting
- planting moon
- plantlets
- plasters
- plastic
- plastic bottles
- Plato
- play
- Play time! Gilbert
- playground games
- pleasure
- plus size models
- pneumonia
- poached
- poetry
- Poetry Jam
- Poetry Monday
- poinsettia
- point-to-point
- pointe
- poison
- police
- police helicopter
- policeman
- polio
- political journalists
- politically incorrect
- politician
- politicians
- politics
- pollen
- pollination
- poltergeist
- polyandry
- polycarbonate
- polygamy
- polygynandry
- pond
- pond skaters
- ponds
- Pool Room
- Poor Man's Capers
- poplars
- Poppy Appeal
- population
- portrait
- Portsmouth
- Portsmouth Cathedral
- Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
- Posidonius
- positional vertigo
- post box
- post boxes
- post-apocalypse
- post-war
- postboxes
- Postman Pat
- pottle
- poverty
- power
- Powys
- pre-school
- prehistoric
- preposition
- prescription
- preserves
- President Roosevelt
- priests
- Prime Minister
- Primrose League
- primroses
- Prince Edward
- Prince Eugene of Savoy
- Prince Harry
- Prince of Wales
- Prince William
- printer
- prisoner
- Privy Council
- probate
- procurement
- proliferate
- Prom
- Proms
- proposal
- proselytise
- prostitution
- Protestantism
- Proust
- pruning
- PSV
- pterosaurs
- public sector
- public signs
- Puck of Pook's Hill
- Puglia
- Punch
- puppies
- puppy
- puppy food
- pure alocohol
- Purr...fect Cat Fence
- purse
- pyracantha
- pyracantha berries
- Pyrenean Mountain dog
- Pyrex
- Pyronia tithonus
- Pyxicephalus
- Q-ships
- qu'est-ce-que c'est que ca
- Quaker
- Quakers
- quartermaster
- Queen Anne
- Queen Victoria
- Quercus
- Question Time
- quiescent
- quietude
- Quince
- quinquereme
- quirk
- quotations
- quotidian
- Rabbie Burns
- rabbit
- rabbits
- RAC
- Rachmaninov
- racing
- racing pigeon
- radar
- radiation
- radio
- radiographer
- RAF
- RAF Bentley Priory
- RAF Ensign
- Raging Grannies
- ragwort
- rain
- ram
- rambling rose
- ramblings
- Ramsgate
- Rana temporaria
- random facts
- rant
- ranunculaceae
- ranunculus
- raptors
- rat
- rationing
- rats
- Ratty
- raven
- ravens
- Rawhide
- RBS
- re-post
- Reading
- reading in bed
- reading list
- reason
- Rebecca
- Recall
- recipe
- recycling
- red
- Red Admiral
- red cabbage
- Red Duster
- Red Ensign
- red kite
- red kites
- Red Nose Day
- red onion
- red onions
- red rose
- red sky at night
- red wine
- Redwing
- referees
- reference books
- Referendum
- referred pain
- reflection
- reflections
- refrigerants
- refuge
- refuse collection
- regeneration
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- regulations
- reincarnation
- relaxation
- religious education
- Remembrance Day
- remote control
- remote control car
- renal failure
- reorganisation
- repetition
- replanting
- repost
- reproductive urges
- rescue dogs
- rescue stories
- research
- resettling
- resolution
- respect
- restoration
- retail therapy
- retiree
- retirement
- retirement homes
- Rev. W. Awdry
- revenant
- revolving doors
- rewards
- Rhodia
- rhododendron
- rhododendrons
- RHS
- rhythm
- Richmal Crompton
- rickets
- rickshaw man
- ridgenose
- Ridgeway
- rigs
- Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- risky activities
- rituals
- Riverdance
- RMA
- RMAS
- RNLI
- Rob
- Robbie Williams
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- Robert the Cat Whisperer
- Robey
- robin
- Robin Cooper
- robins
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- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Rodgers and Hart
- roe deer
- rolls
- romance
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- Romantic Friday Writers
- Rome
- Romeo and Juliet
- Rorke's Drift
- Rosa 'Mermaid'
- rose
- rosemary
- roses
- roses Lady Hillingdon and Warm Welcome
- rotary dryer
- Rough Collie
- Round R
- rowing boat
- Roxy
- Royal
- Royal Army Dental Corps
- Royal British legion
- Royal Command Perormance
- Royal Engineers
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- Royal wedding
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- rubbish
- rudd
- rudeness
- Rudyard Kipling
- rugby
- Rugby World Cup
- runner beans
- running shoes
- Rupert Murdoch
- Russia
- Russian Empire
- Russian Flying Fortresses
- Rusty Tussock
- Ruth
- RVC
- sacroiliac joint
- safety clothing
- safety helmet
- Sagittarius
- sailing
- Sainsbury's
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- Sebastian
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- shadows
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- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 45
- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 7
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- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 9
- Skywatch Friday #47
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- Skywatch Friday 39
- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 29
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- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 37
- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 42
- SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 43
- sledge
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- sleep
- sleeping
- sleeping puppy
- sleeplessness
- Slimbridge
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- slow cooker
- slow lori
- slumber
- small green tomatoes
- small hours
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- Smile
- smiles
- smoking
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- snail shells
- snap beans
- snapdragon
- sneezing
- Snopes
- snoring
- snow
- snow shovel
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- snowdrop
- soaking
- soap
- social intercourse
- socks
- Socrates
- SOE
- soft-boiled
- soft-grip pegs
- solar year
- soldier beetle
- Solomon
- Solomon. Leonard
- Somali kittens
- Somalis
- sombre mood
- Somerset
- Something's gotta give
- Somme
- son
- song
- song thrush
- Sony VAIO
- Sonya
- SOOC
- Sophie Hitchon
- soporific
- souffles
- soup
- soused herrings
- Soused mackerel
- South Africa
- South Bank
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- space
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- Spain
- spam
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- sparrow
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- spat
- spearmint
- Specsavers
- speech impediment
- speed camera
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- spelling
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- spider
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- Spring Bank Holiday
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- sprite
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- squirrels
- SSAFA
- SSSI
- St Andrews
- St Bartholomew massacre 1572
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- Stafford Hospital
- stag
- Stag beetle
- stag party
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- staircase
- stairs
- stalkers
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- stamens
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- stand and stare
- Stanford in the Vale
- Stanley Holloway
- star tracker
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- status epilepticus
- steel toe-caps
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- storm
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- story
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- strike wood
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- Succinctly Yours
- Sudan
- Sudanese Jihadist Arabs
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- summer salad
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- superstitions
- supper
- survival of the fittest
- Susannah
- suspense
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- Sussex. Vanessa Bell
- Swan Lake
- swans
- Swansea
- sweating
- sweet chestnuts
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- swimming
- swimming pool
- swimpr player
- swine
- swine flu
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- Swing Boats
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- Sydney
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- syringe
- tadpoles
- tagetes
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- tagging
- talented
- tales
- talking
- talking dog
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- tankard
- tapestry
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- targe
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- tax form
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- TB
- Tea
- Tea Cups
- tea party
- teacher
- teachers
- teaching
- team building
- teapot
- technology
- Ted
- Teddy Bears
- teenagers
- teeth
- teething
- telepathy
- telephone
- telephone customer advisors
- television
- Temperley
- temptation
- tennis
- TENS
- terminal skin cancer
- terrapins
- terrier
- Tertiary period
- TES
- Tesco
- tessellation
- tester pots
- tethera
- textile mills
- texting
- texts
- Thabo Mbeki
- Thames Basin Special Protection Area
- Thasos
- That's My World
- the apple
- The Bride
- The Dog Days of My Life
- the dole
- The Doors
- The Great War
- The Language of the Roses
- The Mudlarks
- The Mum Test
- The Pearl Bush
- The Railway Series
- The Simple Woman's Daybook
- The Singing Postman
- The Soldiers' Battle
- The Sweets and the Bitters of Love
- the Thief of Time
- the Twist
- The Water Babies
- Theakston
- There was a crooked man . . .
- Thibie
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- thieving
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- third anniversary
- thistle
- Thomas Joseph
- Thomas Morley
- Thomas Seymour
- Thomas the Tank Engine
- Thornton's
- Threat levels
- threatening skies
- Three Kings
- Threevalleys
- Threevalleys Gundogs
- Threevalleys Prince Rupert
- thriller
- throwing the hammer
- thrum
- thrush
- Thumbelina carrots
- thumbs
- thunder
- Thursday Tales
- Tia
- ticks
- tidying
- tiling
- Time
- time flies
- time out
- time-out
- tin
- Tinker Bell
- titmice
- Toad
- toadstools
- toasting fork
- Today's Flowers
- Today's Flowers #49
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- Today's Flowers #70
- Today's Flowers #71 December 2009
- Today's Flowers #72
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- Today's Flowers #93
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- Todays Flowers
- Todays Flowers #76
- Todays Flowers #86
- toddler
- toes
- Togetherness
- Tolstoy
- Tom Tom
- tomato
- tomato flowers
- tomato soup
- Tommy Cooper
- Tommy Handley
- Tonga
- Tony Blair
- too early
- Top Gun
- Top Secret
- Topknot
- torment
- tormentil
- Tornado
- Tornadoes
- Toronto
- torsion
- Tory leadership
- Toshiba
- total knee replacement
- toucans
- touch typing
- touch-typing
- Tour de France
- Tower of London
- toy
- tracking
- tradehttp://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/
- Trafalgar
- traffic police
- trail bikes
- train
- train sets
- Trametes versicolor
- trapping and neutering programme
- treason
- treats
- trees
- Treo
- Trevor
- tribulations of life
- triskaidekaphobia
- trivia
- Trooping the Colour
- trousers
- trout
- Tschiffely
- Tschiffely's Ride
- tuberculosis
- Tudor rose
- Tuley tubes
- tulip
- tulips
- tumble dryer
- turbo seal
- Turdus iliacus
- Turner Prize
- Turtle mats
- Tuscany
- tush it
- tweet
- Twelfth Night
- Twelve days of Christmas
- Twickenham
- Twinkle
- Two in Tandem
- two minute silence
- Two Shoes Tuesday
- two years
- Tylney Hall
- type-casting
- typewriter
- Uffington
- UGLE
- UK
- UK hospitals
- ultra-violet
- ultraviolet
- Ulundi
- umbels
- umbilical hernia
- umbilicus
- umbrella
- Underneath the spreading chestnut tree
- underpants
- unfortunate quotations
- unicorn
- uniform
- uniforms
- Union Carbide
- Union Flag
- United Kingdom
- Unites Dates
- universities
- University of Plymouth
- untidiness
- unusual visitor
- Up
- update
- Urdu
- urine
- US
- USA
- USA hospitals
- USS New York
- UTI
- uveitis
- uvula
- V
- vaccinations
- Vale of White Horse
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- vapour trail
- Vapourer Moth
- Vaseline
- VE Day
- VE Day 65th anniversary
- vectors
- vegetarian
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- velcro dog
- verb
- verbena
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- vertebrates
- vervain
- vet
- vet Patrycja
- vets
- Victoria Cross
- video camera
- video upload
- Viet Cong
- Vietnam
- village
- village hops
- Villars
- Vimy Ridge
- vinaigrette
- Vine Weevil
- viola
- violet
- violets
- Violette Szabo
- Virgin Mary
- virus
- visiting cat
- visitors
- Visual Fields
- Vitamin D
- vitreous gel
- vixen
- vocabulary
- volleyball
- vomeronasal organ
- voters
- vultures
- W C Minor
- W homing pigeon
- W. H. Auden
- W. H. Davies
- wake
- Walbury Hill
- Wales
- Walking
- walks
- Walkstool
- Wall Brown
- Walter
- Walter de la Mare
- Waltz Wave Form
- Warm Welcome
- warning
- warnings
- warrant officer
- warranty
- warranty failure
- Wars of the Roses
- Washakie
- Washakie Lord of the Rings
- washing
- washing machine
- washing machines
- washing the floor
- washing up
- water
- Waterloo Station
- waxing moon
- waxwings
- Wayland's Smithy
- Wayside and Woodland Fungi
- Weald
- weasels
- weather
- weathering
- web
- wedding
- Wedding Anniversary
- wedding day
- wedding processional
- wedding ring cushion
- Wednesday's Words on a Friday
- Weekend
- Weekend Mailbox #2
- Weekend Mailbox #3
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- Weekend Mailbox #5
- Weekend Mailbox #7
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- Weekend Reflections
- Weekend Reflections #37
- Weekend Reflections #38
- Weekend Wordsmith
- Wellington
- Wellington College
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- whales
- What is it?
- whirligig
- whiskers
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- white
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- white starling
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- Whitehall 1212
- whittling
- whooping cough
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- Wicca
- Widgery Tribunal. Northern Ireland
- wife
- Wikipedia
- wild animals
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- Wildmoor Heath
- Will
- William Duke of Cumberland
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- Windsor Forest
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- winter
- Winter Moon
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- wisdom
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- Wolf Moon
- wolf whistle
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- wood pigeon
- wood pigeons
- wood-burning stove
- woodlark
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- word for today
- word play
- word verification
- Wordless Wednesday
- Words for Wednesday
- work
- workbench
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- working Cocker spaniel
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- World War 11
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- worry
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- wrinkles. vanity
- writing
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- wrong connections
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- WW2
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- X
- x-ray
- x-rays
- Xanthe
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- Xmas tree
- yachting
- yachts
- Yaffle
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- Yan
- Yardley
- ye. Robert Herrick
- yellow
- yellow archangel
- yellow Guzmania
- yellow-necked mouse
- yew
- Ying Tong Song
- Yiota
- yobs
- Yolanda Adams
- Yorkshire
- Yorkshire Ripper
- young birds
- YouTube
- Ypres
- Yuan dynasty
- Z Batteries
- Zarathustra
- zayin
- zed
- Zephirine Drouhin
- zephyr
- zeta
- zonal pelargonium
- Zong Massacre
- zoo
- Zoot Suit Riots
- Zoot Suits
- Zoroaster
- Zula
- Zulu War
- Zulus
Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Talking, again
Talking to myself, again .
. .
I
have spent large chunks of time with small and larger children, my own and my
own’s own and my own’s owns’ own. A constant barrage of ‘Why?’ and ‘No’ from
earliest toddlerdom is followed by years of ‘How do you spell . . . ?’ and
‘What does . . . mean?’ and Where’s . . . ?’ interspersed with my homilies on
subjects ranging from the inadvisability of wearing four-inch heels and bare
legs in the middle of a cold snap to the wisdom or otherwise of sailing in a
Force 9 gale.
There
have always been animals around as well, mingling with children of various ages
and sizes so of course they must be included in conversations. I reassure the
birds as I set out their food and ask the fish if all is well in their watery
world. There used to be frogs but they have disappeared, possibly having fallen
prey to the rats, which in turn fell prey to Barry’s air rifle and, latterly,
the cats. However, we still have newts, though we don’t often see them. The
plants and trees are given encouragement and I marvel at the bees and
congratulate them on their pollen-collecting skills. I even talk to spiders to
ask them to please keep their distance. The dogs and cats are always with us
and both of us talk to them all the time, probably more than we talk to each
other.
There
is little wonder then that I talk all the time.
Our
children are grown and flown and when they visit everyone talks at once and
no-one listens. The dogs and cats listen intently until they have been fed,
watered or exercised, then they sleep. I know Barry hears me but often doesn’t
listen (or register) for he inhabits another planet entirely so usually my
words fall on deaf ears, or at least ears that are selectively deaf.
I
can never understand people who say, ‘I didn’t know I’d lost my voice because I
hadn’t seen anyone to talk to.’ I would know instantly and then ask myself why
I was whispering.
Sadly,
I don’t talk now, so much as mutter, as I complain about whatever or whoever has
upset me. I am becoming – am already – a GOW. When did the muttering take over
from the talking? I can’t put a precise date on it though it may have coincided
with Barry retiring from work and spending more time at home. He always has at
least three projects on the go at any one time and each activity requires a
different set of tools/instruments which must be left out, ‘So I know where
they are for the next time I need them.’ The ‘next time’ may be some days, or
even weeks, away and meantime the stuff remains in place to gather dust and
join the animals in the obstacle course that is ever-present, ever-shifting in
my home.
Monday, 30 March 2020
Talking to myself
Talking to myself
In
a bid to exercise what’s left of my grey cells I am revising some old posts.
Here is a reworked version of something I wrote 11 years ago, ‘Talking to
myself’.
Until
I retired, I spent a good deal of my life talking to myself. Occasionally I disguised
it as teaching. Usually, I taught older children, who had already learnt to conform
to the conventions of school life (translation:
‘do as they were told’) but sometimes I was called on to work with younger
children.
The
most testing times were when I was with the youngest children, then called ‘Nursery’,
now known as ‘Pre-school’. It could seem that the little children sitting at my
feet were drinking in every word when what they were really doing was wondering
who made the cracks in the ceiling, or why my hair looked young when the lines
on my face clearly indicated that I was extremely old, just like their mums or,
worse yet, their grandmothers. Sometimes
a small child would touch the polished surface of my shoe to see if it really was
shiny or just wet. Once in a while an infant would whisper shyly, ‘I like your
blouse’ or even, touchingly, ‘I like you’.
Children
can be devastatingly honest when young and unhampered by conformity. One day a
little girl of about 4 put up her hand to indicate that she wished to speak and
when acknowledged, said politely, ‘Excuse me, I don’t like you.’ I cannot
remember my response - I may have said something like, ‘Oh, that’s a shame,
because I like you.’ Cringe-worthy, I know.
Often actions spoke more piercingly than
words. Couching instructions in the form of requests – ‘Would you like to . . .
?’ could be answered by the child looking straight through me or shaking his
head vigorously or turning his back and walking away. If the instruction/request
involved three-dimensional items to be sorted, built, placed, the answer could
be an eloquent gesture sweeping the items to the floor, or, if already on the
floor, far and wide across the room. Nothing could be plainer – the child did
not want to cooperate. If the instruction/request was repeated a little more
firmly there were several possible outcomes:-
1:
the child acquiesced and did as he was told asked. Result!
2:
the child burst into noisy sobs and demanded her mummy.
3:
the child repeated ‘NO’ with increasing vehemence until my ear drums were
ringing, he had turned purple with rage and ended up having a full-blown
tantrum, maybe even succeeding in making himself sick.
3:
the child threw the items at the nearest adult (me) and possibly aimed a kick
at my shins.
4:
the child wet herself, indicating at the same time, by the volume of the flow,
that she had not emptied her bladder
since the night before.
5:
the child soiled himself, indicating at the same time that he had consumed far
too much fruit the previous day.
Any
of these outcomes could happen very quickly but fortunately not often, though sometimes
coinciding with a prospective parent/visitor being shown round ‘our
family-friendly school.’
None
of them was quite what was intended at the beginning of the ‘lesson’. As every
parent knows, young children can be exhausting. Twenty or thirty of the same
age can be a small but intimidating army.
I
believed then, and still maintain, that the hardworking teachers of very young
children deserve more generous pay than their colleagues at the other end of
the age range, when students attend lessons (now
known as lectures) voluntarily, can concentrate for more than 5 minutes, (all right, that’s debateable) are
usually articulate and toilet-trained, can dress themselves and use a
handkerchief and know that writing on walls is unacceptable. Pause here, while
I consider this last statement – okay, they know it’s unacceptable but do it
anyway, arguing the right to free expression.
Labels:
children,
nursery,
pre-school,
school,
teaching
Saturday, 28 March 2020
Cling film
Cling
– to hold tightly, be emotionally over-dependent, refuse to let go
The following
piece is based on something I wrote 11 years ago.
I
don’t use cling film, that
thin clear self-adhering plastic material – I gather it’s one of those things that is
frowned upon these days. I
have tried to use it in the past, but generally without success, for when I did,
I could never rid myself of the thought that cling film had got it in for me,
recognising an enemy it could easily defeat.
Perhaps it
recognised in me a person who secretly longed to be enfolded in strong arms and
held close till, breathless with passion, I begged for release? Well, I think
not.
Maybe it was the
kitchen equivalent of the playground bully, teasing and taunting me as I
wrestled with it. Possibly it was a
lonely thing, the wretched wrapping clinging to itself and to me as if scared
to let go.
Whatever the motivation
of this inanimate matter, I muttered and cursed as the film tightened and
thickened, eventually managing to reduce it to a sulky pellet which I wanted to
hurl into the rubbish bin but could not as it still seemed loath to leave me.
Thus, the contents
of my fridge were left unwrapped, tainted with onion and curry, the chicken
carcasses dried out to firewood consistency, the lemon halves shrunk to husks,
the cabbages wilted, and everything that was once fresh and crisp drooping into
unappetising decrepitude.
Did I hear
malicious laughter from the drawer the cling film lived in, or did it plead to
be allowed just one more chance? Too late, cling film was no longer welcome in
my home.
Friday, 27 March 2020
Gus's blog
The 25th
blog of Augustus Lazarus Cooke, (Gus) aged 10½.
Hello everybody. It’s been such a long time since I blogged
that I hardly know where to begin so I’ll just dive in and hope for the best.
Susannah and Frankie and the cats – Lenny, Solomon and Zula –
moved into their new house last summer. Roxy goes for sleep-overs now and again
but she can’t go at the moment because of ‘the virus’.
We animals are quite curious about ‘the virus’. Lots of things
have changed because of it. Frankie doesn’t go to school or to tennis, or
swimming, or gymnastics and he can’t have any piano lessons and no-one goes out
to work unless they are Qui workers. I think the ‘Qui’ means ‘Who’ and that’s
the question a lot of people are asking, along with ‘Why’. For instance, no-one
is supposed to go near anyone else but the Qui workers are still crowding onto
the Toob trains and children whose parents live in different houses can travel
between them, but friends can’t go and see friends or even meet them outside.
Lots of people who can’t go to work are worried about money
and everyone is worrying about shopping. Mr and Mrs H don’t go out shopping
anyway and always do everything ‘online’. What does ‘online’ mean? Is it like
walking a tightrope? Anyway, the talk now is about getting ‘a slot’.
Apparently, ‘slots’ are almost impossible to find though we see them sometimes in
the woods. (Deer slots are easy to see in the mud after it’s been raining.)
Susannah and Frankie come to see Mr and Mrs H every day to see
if they need anything but they don’t come into the house and we can’t say hello
to them. Instead, they stand outside and shout at Mr and Mrs H and they shout
back but it’s all quite friendly. Frankie doesn’t do much shouting – he’s
finding it all a bit strange.
When people come to deliver shopping to the house they do a
little dance. First of all, the person delivering rings the bell or knocks on
the door, then speeds away so when the Humans open the door, the person is
miles away and does a bit of shouting. Then the Humans shout back and everyone smiles
and says ‘thank you’ and ‘take care’ and then the Humans come back in and wash their
hands. They wash their hands a LOT. It’s very interesting to watch.
Everyone is talking about ‘the virus’ but it hasn’t affected
us much, apart from Roxy not being able to visit Susannah and Frankie and the
cats. She loves going there but Lenny and Solomon shoo her off the bed so she’s
always pleased to come home and take up her rightful position on Mr and Mrs H’s
bed, along with Herschel and Jellicoe.
We were sorry to have to say goodbye to Isambard before
Christmas. He had spent a long time looking after Mr H when he had newmoania
and then he got very ill and died. The vets were really upset and sent the
Humans a lovely card to say how sorry they were. Jellicoe had been really ill,
too, and we all thought he was going to die, but he didn’t, so Isambard’s passing
was a great shock to everyone. Jellicoe and Herschel seem to have taken over
the responsibility for looking after the Humans. That was always Isambard’s job
before.
Today, the sun is shining and the birds are busy and all is
well with the world, apart from ‘the virus’, that is.
Be good.
Hwyl fawr am nawr! (That’s
Welsh for ‘Goodbye for now!’)
Thursday, 26 March 2020
Covid-19
Life in
the time of Covid-19 and other things
Being part of the ‘vulnerable’ cohort, we have had to give in
and ‘self-isolate’, much to our children’s relief. Delivery drivers are being punctilious in their
manner of conveying items to us.
At present, all is bonhomie and I really cannot complain. We go
out in the early evening to walk our four dogs. It’s quieter then and because
we drive to the woods we do not risk breathing on others or being breathed
upon. Susannah lives close to us and calls by every day to see if we need
anything. She keeps her distance and we are becoming accustomed to shouted
conversations that the whole neighbourhood can enjoy, though, to be sure, they
are fairly banal. Frankie stands by, looking a little bemused. His routine has
been severely affected, as school has closed for him and all his activities
have been suspended. Susannah says the local shop is empty of many things but
full of people ignoring the oft-repeated mantra to maintain a 2-metre distance
from others. Why? Some people appear to be treating the current lockdown as an
impromptu holiday. In some instances, police have dispersed gatherings of more
than two people.
Gillian, our eldest daughter, told us of an incident in sleepy
Blandford, when police were called to a supermarket to arrest a man who had
punched another man because he wanted his block of cheese! Dear me, whatever
happened to self-control?
I am enjoying the peace and quiet. It’s never horrendously
noisy here but currently we are free of over-flying helicopters and other
aircraft, apart from a very occasional airliner. Is it my imagination or are
the birds singing more joyously than usual? They are certainly very busy,
meeting and mating, nesting and brooding and keeping Herschel and Jellicoe
entertained. Their brother, Isambard, died very suddenly last October. Barry
had been confined to bed with pneumonia and Isambard had been keeping him
company and developed a respiratory disease that killed him in 24 hours,
despite the best endeavours of our lovely vets. Very sad. However, he left a
little of his soul behind in his brothers, who have both become much more
attentive and demonstrative. Jellicoe had also been very ill with pancreatitis
and we have found that nursing sick animals seems to make them more affectionate.
The last few days have been glorious, sunny and bright. As spring
matures, Nature continues to awaken and dress herself in fresh green and flowers.
I saw my first butterfly yesterday. It was yellow, perhaps a Clouded yellow. I’ve
just discovered that a yellow butterfly symbolises hope and guidance, and was
the symbol of the soul in early Christianity. We certainly need plenty of hope
and forbearance at present.
To occupy the hours, I am practising the piano, attempting to
improve my playing – long way to go there! – doing jigsaws and tapestry, reading,
writing, and trying to remember how to crochet. Crochet is not like riding a
bicycle – once you fall off the hook it’s not so easy to get back on!
We are only in the first week of lockdown – I think some folks
are going to get mighty tired of it long before the initial three weeks are
over. I do feel sorry for teenagers and also glad I haven’t any to contend
with. Someone suggested that the divorce rate would increase and/or there would
be a ‘baby boom’, the resulting infants possibly becoming known as ‘Coronalists’.
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