Saturday, March 20, 2021

Blessings to everyone on this nominal first day of Spring

And to the woodpecker whose tapping on the trees greets me every morning, I can also taste the excitement of the coming season.

Let us start with writings that are positive, this from the Paul Waugh Zone

"In his 1947 essay, The English People, George Orwell tried to conceive of a tourist visiting the country for the first time. “Our imaginary foreign observer would certainly be struck by our gentleness: by the orderly behaviour of English crowds, the lack of pushing and quarrelling, the willingness to form queues,” he wrote.

Well, this is what I have seen either when I had my jab, or television programmes, we do things with good grace and chatter those inanities we are so good at.  I expect it can be different in some parts of the country, but we have mostly gone out and sat and stood obediently whilst good people in yellow jackets tell us what to do. And it seems to be paying results. Also I did not know that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine was a non-profit endeavour either. Rock on science!

One of my resolutions or actions for the future has to be to listen to British Classical books read out to me, the reason I joined Audible books, though I notice you only get one credit a month, but slowly stack your library.  Thomas Hardy (The Return of the Native) is on the wish list as is The Woodlanders, also George Elliott's Mill on the Floss.  George Orwell will be there as well.

On a more mundane level, my cardboard boxes arrived yesterday, and once I had mastered the art of making a square box, secure at the bottom, I started to fill two.  My books are plastic bagged, one of the no-no of getting one's shopping delivered from Morrison's is an excess of plastic bags but for the moment I am not grumbling.  The books are easier to throw away, shock and horror I can see on many faces but I do not read much fiction, all my books have followed my interests through life.  I bet I can even reduce my cookery books to two.

Watching television last night,  the programme Pilgrimage to Istanbul was fascinating, a hodge podge of people, such as Edwina Curry, Adrian Chiles and Fatima Whitbread, plus others whose names I cannot spell.  Mim is a beautiful person. 


Such a disparate group of people and beliefs but exploring their ideas on the road.  The scenery was magnificent and I am sure they take a car sometimes but a courageous long journey and some stunning architecture and friendly people.  As far as pilgrimage in this country goes, we seem only to have Walsingham and Canterbury routes.

And a taste of camping to keep you amused.

14 comments:

  1. I cringe with embarrassment at the behaviour of some drunken Brits in places like Southern Turkey and Spain though, and wonder if the locals think that we are all like that.

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  2. Laughs. What did we do too deserve the uncouth youth? Think I would bring back the stocks and pelt them with rotten food and drink!

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  3. Wouldn't they have practiced putting up a tent before they went on the program? Pretty funny, tho!

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    1. I expect it added to the programme Ellen. I remember taking my two adult children camping and grandson. And as we unravelled the new tent, four year old Tom said, Granny it's broken, and he was right, tents can be terrible to put up (and take down in rain)

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  4. I can't stand intentional rudeness. I have a mouth on me, to be sure, but I'd like to believe that I don't act ugly when it is unwarranted.

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    1. Well the boorishness of the young is well documented after they have had too much to drink. But as Tom says it is embarrassing to watch. They need locking up for the night and then made to clean the cell aafterwards.

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  5. Hooray for spring........ it was a day early here with the first sunshine yesterday after gloom, today is back to grey again.

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    1. Typical weather Sue, but we do have more light now which is good.

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  6. I watched The Pilgrimage when it was on before and enjoyed it greatly - but just as much again last night. I think it is seeing all the different religions together that makes it interesting. I also think the whole is helped by the man who is blind, who seems to have such a good attitude to life.

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    1. Yes he coped so well with his blindness and walking along, I did feel really scared when he went up all those steps to the tower and then hung over the parapet.

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  7. Never tried Audible. I have used the free Librivox site from time to time, though. With real books and audio books one can get twice as much read!

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    1. I have enjoyed listening so far and will keep it up with Audible. BBC did make a series on Gormenghast I think, but I was totally disappointed, the imagination can do so much better.

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  8. George Eliot is among my top favorite authors. You will like hearing Mill on the Floss. I assume you've read it already, but no matter if you have not.

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  9. Yes Joanne I read it years ago, the book is so thick when you pick it up and the ability to listen rather than use my eyes seems appealing.

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Love having comments!