The Hokey Cokey

The Hokey Cokey is a great party song and dance and a favourite at school parties. Younger children enjoy it and may perhaps learn their left from their right, though that is debateable . . .

Older children, from eight or nine years old, particularly boys, regard it as an opportunity to demonstrate their strength and speed and the whole thing can get dangerously out of handJ

Bethan sent me this version of the Hokey Cokey – it’s not very easy to sing!!

The Hokey Pokey (or Hokey Cokey) Shakespearean style

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within

Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.

Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:

Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.

Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke.

A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.

To spin! A wilde release from heaven’s yoke.

Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.

The Hoke, the poke – banish now thy doubt.

Verily, I say, ‘tis what it’s all about.

The young people in the clip seem to be learning the dance – I hope they assimilated the moves by the end of the song which goes thus:

You put your whole self in,

Your whole self out,

In, out, in, out,

Shake it all about.

You do the hokey cokey and you turn around,

That’s what it’s all about.

Oh, hokey cokey cokey,

Oh, hokey cokey cokey,

Oh, hokey cokey cokey,

Knees bend, arms stretch,

Rah, rah, rah!

Now I have a feeling I shall be singing this for the rest of the day. How about you?

Underwater sculpture park in Grenada

This sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor was conceived to honourAfrican slaves who were thrown overboard from the slave ship 'Zong.'

More of his fascinating, beautiful work can be seen in the following clip. Over time these sculptures in the clear, shallow waters of Grenada will develop into artificial coral reefs.

This made me smile

This made me smile. 

I suppose Great Grandma would be a candlestick phone and Great Great Grandma would be a Morse code key or semaphore flags!

Bill and Beatrice Crow

Bill and Beatrice Crow

Waiting . . .

Our suspicions that Bill and Beatrice Crow were expecting the patter of tiny claws were confirmed last week when we spotted two young.

 Demanding . . .

The parents are very assertive around us now, demanding food as soon as we appear in their territory. Bill approaches very close, followed at a safer distance by his mate. He has always been bold, Beatrice less so, but I suppose the demands of their offspring have made them both more confident. The two youngsters can fly but still depend on their parents to provide sustenance.

Beatrice flies off. Bill has pale blotches on his wings.

We cannot tell whether they recognise us, or the dogs, or a combination of the two. They were a little wary when Elliot, Eve and Louis were staying with us and accompanied us on an evening walk a couple of weeks ago. They soon seemed to realise that the children were part of our pack and meant them no harm. That’s probably anthropomorphic but it’s difficult not to apply human reactions and reasoning to them. They know the route we normally take and fly ahead of us and wait for us to catch up. 

How much can I fit in my beak?

Bill is greedier and more observant than Beatrice and tries to collect as much as he can fit in his beak. He picks up the food immediately and flies off with it. Beatrice is more cautious and picks it up, then drops it and picks it up again.

Approaching . . .

Touchdown!

Water-skiing?

They are so used to the dogs that they fly down to gather biscuits from the water while the dogs are swimming in it.  Invariably they pass over the pond to spot exactly where the food is then swoop down and grab it. Legs and tail feathers are momentarily dipped in the water – a heart-stopping moment for us as we wonder what would happen if they miscalculated and found themselves submerged.

However, strong wings carry them safely away from an environment that is not their natural element.

This is Bill, with the blotchy wings

Gotcha!

Water-softened food . . .

We have not yet managed to take photos of the young ones - they're very wary. We wonder if the youngsters will learn from their parents that we are a source of food or whether, when they are independent, Bill and Beatrice will chase them away like other crows.

Wedding processionals

Wedding processionals

My youngest daughter is getting married next month and most days there is wedding talk of one sort or another with one or more of the family members. Yesterday Bethan sent me some video clips of wedding processionals, asking which I thought would be most appropriate.

Naturally, having watched the ones she sent I browsed a few more. I thought I’d share one or two with you.

The first one is remarkable for its length. The groom must have wondered if his bride would ever appear.

Dancing down the aisle seems to be popular and great fun but the man in this clip is not convinced of the wisdom of it. In fact he appears to be cringing at the whole spectacle.

Now I have to persuade Barry it would not be a good idea for him to emulate these performers . . .

I was tagged again

I was tagged again by mybabyjohn/Deloresfrom ‘The feathered nest.’ The format was similar so I think this game has been going on in the blogosphere for some time. Again, my apologies for the delay in responding – I have been busy.

However, the questions are differentJ and relate to the summer activity of going on a picnic.

1.     Will you make the food yourself or get take out? We’ll take our own food.

2.    Will you use paper plates or pack real plates? Plates???

3.    Country or city park? Definitely the country.

4.    Invite some friends to come along or not? We might go with family or else on our own.

5.    Use a bug spray or a screened dining tent? Those who need it will use spray.

6.    Bring a ball and bat? We shall take the Kong for the dogs.

7.    Pack the kids bikes? If the grandchildren are coming we might take bikes.

8.    Laze around the picnic site for the day or have an activity planned? You can’t laze around with dogs and grandchildren . . . There will be walking and playing with dogs and spotting birds and insects and identifying wild flowers and taking photographs.

9.    Hope to find a picnic table or bring your own folding table? The ground is the best table there is.

10.  Decide at the last minute to just go to a restaurant? Never. Not many restaurants will accommodate four dogs.

11.  Throw up your hands in defeat and stay home for a picnic on the deck? That          is entirely possible but not nearly as much fun.

Again, I throw this open to anyone who  wishes to participate. Lazy, me??

I was tagged . . .

I was tagged by Sherry fromthe Mama Diaries. I’m sorry it’s taken me a long time to get round to answering, Sherry.

1. Favourite Book? This changes according to what I’ve recently read. 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood was fascinating. 'Tschiffely's Ride' by A' by.F. Tschiffely was a book I read in my early teens and made a great impression on me. 'Touching the Void' by Joe Simpson is the story of his unbelievable survival in the mountains after a fall that broke his leg.

2. Favourite color? Blue in all shades.

3. Sweet/salty food? I used to have a very sweet tooth but now I prefer salty foods.

4. Gift someone gave me that I'll always remember? The flowers my husband brought home for me late one night. He bought them from a flower seller who was tired and wanted to go home. When I unwrapped them all the heads fell off but I didn’t mind because it was his kindness to the flower seller that touched me.

5. What is my favourite blog post? I am not analytical enough in my writing and so all my posts please me – well, most of them, anyway;-)

6. What annoys me? Public speakers who ‘umm’ and ‘er’, people who use ‘of’ as a verb as in ‘I should of gone to bed early’ and too many other things – I’m a crabby old bat.

7. Truth or dare. I’m not brave so I’ll go for truth – but maybe an adjusted truth . . .

8. Did I collect anything as a kid? I collected glass animals and displayed them on glass shelves in my bedroom.

9. Bath or shower? Shower – quicker, easier, more refreshing.

 10. Would you ever use gel pens? I used to use them a lot when I was teaching – a different colour for every day. Now I use fountain pens.

11. What makes you happy? My family, my animals, birds, dragonflies, flowers, sunrise, sunset, the scent of newly mown grass – too many to list.

I'm not good at tagging people so will just leave this open - if you care to play, please do so:-)

50 jumps a day keeps osteoporosis at bay.

50 jumps a day keeps osteoporosis at bay.

Even the birds do it.

Feed me!

Feed me!

May brings an explosion in the garden. Everything burgeons and each day offers fresh delights. The month becomes increasingly noisy as young birds demand that their parents feed them. The parents are on the go from just before break of day until the last vestiges of light have left the sky - they are being worn ragged by their demanding offspring. Feeding several bottomless pits is exhausting and some of the adults are beginning to look rather unkempt, their usually pin neat plumage dishevelled. There is little time to preen when there are so many mouths to feed.

It was flirting my tail like this that got me into trouble in the first place.

Me too!

I'm exhausted - no time some days even to  run a comb through my feathers . . .

. . . but at least my babies say 'Please' and 'Thank you', unlike those rude starling youngsters.

Feed me!

FEED me!!

FEED ME!!!

Say Please . . .

Feed me PLEASE - I'm starving. I'm a starving starling . . .

That's better, dear - now don't gobble.

We have seen blackbirds, goldfinches, nuthatches, coal tits, magpies, blue tits, great tits, greater spotted woodpeckers, wood pigeons, robins and a chaffinch at the feeders.  It’s very unusual to see a chaffinch – they prefer to feed on the ground. The long-tailed tits are noticeable by their absence – no doubt they’ll be along later for they must have young too. The jackdaws have been back to take food from the bird table and the local crows are vigilant and noisy when a red kite soars above their nests, looking for an easy meal.

My youngsters are hungry, too . . .

 . . . and mine  . . .

. . . mine, too . . .

Look right.

Look left.

All clear? Tuck in.

I wait till it's quiet.

Our most conspicuous visitors are the starlings. A few days ago we saw only three or four young birds but in the last couple of days the numbers have proliferated. Yesterday Barry counted forty starlings perched on the arches. They chatter and shriek from early morning until dusk. They enjoy communal feeding on the pergolas and communal bathing in the pond. Watching the harassed adults it’s difficult to ascertain whether the parents feeds their own young or whether they respond to all gaping beaks – I suspect the latter. 

Wood pigeons need food, too. Some chance with all those starlings.

I watched the plump, cheeky starling babies as they alternately preened vigorously and called vociferously. One of them was paying more attention to his plumage than his safety. Good grooming is essential for a bird but he wasn’t looking about as frequently as he should, as, indeed, the adults do. I feared for his welfare. I knew a sparrowhawk would appear on the scene sooner or later and today was the day. He swooped down from the roof and carried off a screaming youngster. Barry was startled when he walked along the garden path a few minutes later to see the sparrowhawk on the ground preparing his feast. We may deplore the depredations of the sparrowhawks but they have young to feed, too.

                         A few soft feathers are all that's left to commemorate a brief existence.

Another inspired bit of lunacy . . .

Another inspired bit of lunacy . . .

Following Chelsea’s win against Bayern Munich on Saturday came this claim from Robin Cooper, creator of ‘The Timewaster Letters’ and ‘The Timewaster Diaries.’ 


Robin Cooper is the alter ego of Robert Popper, creator and writer of ‘Friday Night Dinner’ and co-creator and writer with Peter Serafinowicz of ‘Look Around You.’  

The animated Bayeux Tapestry or 1066 and all that . . .

The animated Bayeux Tapestry or 1066 and all that . . .

This was a student project created by David Newton at Goldsmiths College with music and sound effects created by Marc Sylvan.

It certainly brings the tapestry to life! 

Where have I been?

Where have I been? Nowhere – just the usual round of dog walks, spotting kestrels and kites and deer and Bill and Beatrice Crow, of which more anon.

What have I been doing? My youngest daughter is getting married in July and I decided to make a wedding ring cushion. My preferred format was cross stitch but I couldn’t find a design I really liked. Then I saw a Hardanger project which really appealed. The only problem was that I had never attempted Hardanger before though I had made some drawn thread napkins many years ago. Could it be so very different?

I bought a ‘Teach Yourself Hardanger Embroidery’ book and plunged in. Therein lies the problem – I am too hasty. Anxious to start and worried that I might not finish the task in time I began. I have always had a problem with tension - oh, the headaches, the worry!! – no, not that sort of tension. My knitting is too tight to move on the needles, my crochet stitches are impossibly taut, my cross-stitch buckles the fabric, hand-sewn seams are wrinkled. I was determined not to make that mistake and went rather to the other extreme. Kloster blocks are meant to retain the fabric when the material they surround is cut away and I was concerned that they might not.

I was working on Zweigart 28 Count Quaker cloth – that’s 28 hpi (holes per inch) – and the design was to be worked over two holes. I was pleasantly surprised at the speed with which the work progressed, then found I was one thread out and had to unstitch. It wouldn’t have mattered if it had not been a symmetrical pattern, but it was and it did – matter, that is. Eventually I finished the four hearts. By now the pearl thread had lost some of its lustre and was looking rather woolly in places where it had been worked and unworked and worked again. Undeterred I carried on.

From time to time I referred to my ‘Teach Yourself’ book to reassure myself that I was doing the right thing. ‘Remember the number four’ was burnt into my brain – that is, work over four fabric threads and leave four fabric threads between blocks. It wasn’t until I was anticipating the next stage of the work that I read that Kloster blocks usually comprise five satin stitches worked over four threads. Heart sinking, I looked more closely at the chart – yes, there were five lines indicating five stitches in each block. I considered rejigging the whole thing, adjusting everything to accommodate my mistake - too difficult! I then thought about unstitching the whole piece – the pearl cotton would look decidedly more like angora wool. Finally, I concluded that I must treat the piece I had been working on as my practice piece and started again. This time I read carefully to ensure that nothing else would go amiss and that I was doing the right thing in the right place.

Before the cutting . . . I was tempted to leave it like this.

A practice heart, cut out and miraculously not falling to pieces.

Eventually, I finished the cushion. I hope I’m the only one who will recognise the many faults in it, though I expect I shall point them out, just as my mother always drew attention to her (very minor) mistakes,  but I enjoyed doing it. It doesn’t matter if Bethan and Robert decide they don’t want to use it and even if they do the little boy who holds it, (Robert’s nephew) will no doubt drop it or stand on it or wipe his nose on it – once I’ve given it to them it’s theirs to do with as they please.

The finished article 

Like a dog with two tails?

Like a dog with two tails?

Bertie was very excited to receive two new toys this morning.

He picked up both of them, hoping Gus would chase him. 

Gus was only too happy to oblige and soon they were playing with just one.