I wrote a post back in February regarding a weird observation, in that i had an Orchid that was imitating the look of a model i have on the shelf of one of the Voyager space probes. See here: Weird observation
Well things have moved on. We only placed the Orchid on the shelf temporarily as we had no space in the kitchen where it used to reside, as the wife had a whole load of vases out with a selection of cut flowers on display. She loves flowers in the house however she does not have a green finger on her hands, thats me, i look after the potted flowers and the garden. We have had this Orchid about 4 years now and it gets trimmed, cleaned and looked after, and now it has claimed its permanent place on the living room shelf, as it is thriving with its friend the Voyager probe.
Back in FebruaryNow with 8 buds and doing fantastic
It likes where it is at the moment, and thats where it will stay much to the wife s displeasure, she’ll get over it.
First of the blooms looking glorious
I also have a moon lamp that revolves magnetically on a pedestal. The light coming through the blinds looks as if there is a crescent moon being superimposed on it.
My moon lamp
On another subject i was out in the van yesterday and i parked up near a signal box to grab a quick snack and a drink. I had the window down, it was a mild spring day with plenty of sunlight and i began to eat my sandwich. I was thinking to myself, “Dave you are making a lot of noise, eating” and then i looked to the side of me and saw this glorious beast staring at me eating some hay.
Highland cattle
How the hell I didn’t see this massive fellah is a mystery, he was well camouflaged and busy doing the same as me. Anyway I didn’t hang around too long as i was busy and he was also giving me some strange looks.
I like to think we are quite a laid back household, easy going and fairly stress free. We have our routines and the best one of the day is the two cups of tea in the morning before considering doing anything.
But today at around 6am, a big dark cloud began to form above the house. The mood went dark and not a word was spoken, silence hung in the air.
I’d been down to make cuppa number one, i opened the caddy and a horror washed over my face and through my entire soul. How shall I break the news to my wife who is currently in a slumber, should I even wake her at all?
Only one teabag! Oh the shame and horror!
There is only one teabag 😧
We’ve both been quite ill lately and I guess the normally large supply we have in the house has dwindled as a result of not participating in much shopping.
I had a dilemma. Should I make myself one? Should I share a tea bag (Oh the horror) or should I just take her one and then break the routine and go and source more?
I went with the latter. I grabbed some breakfast and a glass of water, and then decided to go for a fairly protracted walk to get some tea. Yes I have the car and could have been a lot more expedient, however I will walk wherever I can, so i decided to skip routine and go for the walk. After first giving the last tea bag to the wife, because that’s the kind of guy I am 😉
We have tea… we can all rest nowA little 3.3 mile walk logged
Anyway, a pleasant 3.3 mile walk later and the cloud has dispersed from the house, the sun is shining and the birds are singing (you get the picture) and normality has resumed and routine has now been restored.
It’s funny how something such as tea can structure your day and how dependent you become on routine. Only when it’s broken do you realise how reliant you are on it.
Now for my two morning cuppas, nothing more is being done until this has been accomplished.
A great conversation starter, just like talking about the weather in the UK.
Music is one of those things that finely entwines itself into all our lives. We have happy sounds, sad sounds and everything in between, there are inspirational records, as well as others that take you to a distant place where you can just be a mad, wild, untamed, crazy, dancing freak of nature. Yes it’s fair to say music plays a massive role in our lives and emotions.
However if you are put on the spot and asked to choose two favourites, could you?
I have often mulled over this question through the years and i do really think that i can. As a child of the sixties i have gone through an awful lot of fads and musical genres, all the way through Swing, soul, New Romanticism, Punk, Heavy metal, classical and everything in between. My most influential years were probably the late 70s early 80s when i was starting to form my own choices as i was entering into my teenage years.
These choices by no means reflect my favourite group. That choice was made in the mid to late 80s when American rock group R.E.M came into my life and they remain firmly rooted there to this day. However their music obviously rates highly in my opinion, but neither of my favourite all time records were theirs. For some obscure reason my choices are both extremely middle of the road.
I honestly have heard so much music in my life, as i suspect has anyone else who browses this post, and i always come back to these two choices. So my mind is made up, no swaying, it is and will always be these two:
Doobie Brothers – Listen to the music
Doobie Brothers
What do i like about this record. Just spend some time listening to it, early American rock at its very best, probably 4 Guitars in perfect harmony with an absolutely fantastic rhythm, and a banjo picking around in the background adding to the atmosphere, Just a wonderful happy and upbeat song in my view, it lifts me to play it and reminds me of the hazy days of my childhood. This was 1972 when it was released, i was very young but it was a happy tune, and as a child i think that is one of the things you look for in music, good melody, easy chorus who could ask for more. And it’s stuck with me ever since.
Here’s what the songwriter Tom Johnston said at the time:
“The chord structure of it made me think of something positive, so the lyrics that came out of that were based on this utopian idea that if the leaders of the world got together on some grassy hill somewhere and either smoked enough dope or just sat down and just listened to the music and forgot about all this other bullshit, the world would be a much better place. It was very utopian and very unrealistic (laughs). It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Wikipedia
Though I didn’t even know what dope was at this age I can’t really comment. Though looking back now it seemed like a good idea.
Bellamy brothers – Let your love flow
Bellamy brothers
Another “Brother” named group. This was a crossover record from Country to mainstream and boy was it a successful crossover. 1976 was a fantastic year for me packed with great memories of being with my friends, the heatwave of that year and wonderful times wandering around with my pals just doing stuff. Again it was a record that came along at a good period in my life and has registered itself in that role ever since. Just a really good rhythm, some cracking easy to learn lyrics and a dead easy chorus, packed with loads of rhythmic guitar and passion, what a record.
So, thats it for me, two easy choices that i know will never ever change. I always have these tunes within easy reach on my phone or music player as in times of stress, worry or just when reminiscing, they are chosen and played loud. The world then for a few solitary moments is a whole better place.
Been looking through some old photos and this one instantly hit me as beautiful.
A very young Alf staring out into a big old world
This was our little Alf back in 2013 at Camber sands in Sussex. We had a family day out there on a beautiful sunny, but wind swept day where we were all suitably sandblasted. It was Alfs first ever visit to a beach as he was only about five months old here. To me I see a young creature just starting his life looking out into a big old world of adventure and learning. To me it’s beautiful as it has a wonderful story connected to it.
We are all mortal and one day our time will be done. All we have in the end are cherished memories and they can never be taken away.
This is a poem I heard read just a few days ago at a work colleagues funeral. It could just as well refer to our wonderful dog who we lost in August of last year.
It’s a beautiful poem with wonderful sentiment. I believe it is quite popular at funerals, however it’s the first reading of it I have ever heard.
Anger. We experience it every day, we even contribute to it but do we really understand it?
Anger – calm down
In my job I experience it every day, yesterday was a particularly bad day when a simple question, “How did you get in that door?” Brought a protracted rant and so much anger that I felt in danger of being assaulted at one point. I just had to walk away as the person in question had done a full nought to crazy in about 2 seconds. And for the last 24hrs all I’ve been asking myself is why? A simple question did not warrant such a reply and I was shocked.
Apart from that there is anger everywhere. On the roads, in public areas and retail environments just to mention a few. But why?
The gene or whatever that controls fight or flight seems to have become stuck in fight mode just like a switch that has malfunctioned. Everyone believes their understanding is the right one and they will not move from that stance. The ability to reason has disappeared and no one wants to lose face. That’s an issue, as you are a better person if you attempt to understand, absorb, consider and then give a constructive opinion on what is occurring.
But this ability has been leapfrogged and just does not appear to be used anymore. It is as if you are a winner if you can be the most abusive, loudest and the least unreasonable person within the issue.
You are not.
I don’t class myself as weak for walking away and not escalating issues, I try to calm an issue down, but sometimes it is as if the individual has so much angst and venom that has built up over time, that you are the one who unfortunately gets both barrels. Trying to reason with people like this is like giving them a cannon, it’s aimed right at you and the anger increases. You start to feel angry yourself, mainly through the frustration of not being listened to.
That’s it, the art of reasoning has gone. Oh how I wish for the days of constructive disagreement where every party had a say and could agree to disagree without violence and threats to life.
Why I feel this way after 24 hrs is just me. I pick over things too intently, I question myself on how I could have handled things better and then come to the conclusion that I did everything right. I now ask the question of “Why was there such an anger directed at me” for a simple question, and despite a lot of deep thought I just can’t give an honest answer. And I don’t want to get into the head of a person who obviously has deeper issues. I’m just pleased I walked away from this as I dread to think what the outcome could have been.
I haven’t answered my own question of, “why are people so angry” but I’ve offered some opinions. Reasoning or the ability to, or even the lack of ability is at the crux of the issue in my sincere opinion, and it’s getting worse as time moves on.
Is reasoning taught, or is it something we learn socially as we move on in our lives?
Maybe anger management courses need to become a staple of modern social behaviours and understanding.
For anyone who has moments when they just can’t fathom out what is going on, I’d recommend latching on to this site and just taking in some of the superb advice and guidance available.
Why not? We all have times of stress and anxiety and a few minutes spent reading some good honest advice is no inconvenience to anyone.
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
There are a number of movies and tv series that I have watched multiple times over the years, however one from each category really stands out for me.
I have grown up with the James Bond franchise, as have many in my age group, and these films are still watched and enjoyed to this day.
But these are not my favourites. These are my favourites below.
Film wise I absolutely love the old James Stewart classic “The Glenn Miller story” this remains my favourite movie of all time and when it is on, that is my time, sit down, shut out all the noise and enjoy the wonderful story on how he created a unique sound that is still practiced to this day. And just like any good story it abruptly ends with his sad demise. A wonderful film in my eyes.
Glenn Miller
Secondly a tv series. That goes to the amazing Carl Sagan and his years ahead of its time “Cosmos” series. For a youngster brought up through the space race years there was a hunger for knowledge of our universe, that this series more than catered for. I have this entire series on DVD and it has even been updated from its original issue date in 1980. In 1986 more animations and commentary were added. Sagan passed away in 1996. He was the science teacher we all wished we had at school.
Carl Sagan
So that’s it for me, two of the finest televisual treats that I am aware of and still watch to this very day.
Have a wonderful day. Don’t let anyone take you down.
I’m parked in a local park. I’m waiting for my wife who has a hair appointment, and I’m now looking for Dolly.
That last day. Me and Alf in this very carpark
Who’s Dolly?
Dolly is a puppy, she would be 18 months old now and when I last saw her it was on the 16th August 2024. The day our Alf lost his battle with his illness and went to sleep. Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔
We took a little walk into the park that day and he just sat at the entrance, nothing left in the tank, when an 11 month old bundle of fluff bounced up to him and wanted to play. He let her sniff around but he didn’t stir from his staring out into the fields where he once used to bound around just like Dolly.
Nothing in the tank, just so tired
I spoke with Dollys owners and told them what was happening that day, Dolly did not want to leave him, she knew something.
It was a sad and at the same time wonderful thing to see, as one life was ending and an exciting new one was just beginning.
I often pop back here in the hope that I will see Dolly again, even my wife encourages me to do so. I just want to say thank you to her and her owners, it was a beautiful moment when they both met but so tragically cut short. They would have been great friends as Alf loved everyone and didn’t have a bad bone in his body.
And if her owners allow, I want to give her a big cuddle. Another beautiful little soul.
Foxes Den 
You must be logged in to post a comment.