...for simple sheep; and such are daffodils...

So, we're driving to the supermarket through a small village when I noticed some interesting looking sheep among daffodils in a small enclosure and, thinking that this made a very pretty scene, declared that I would stop on the way back and take a photograph.

A short while later, I duly stopped the car on the side of the main road, much to the disapproval of the teenagers.



'Really?!...you've stopped the car to take a photo of some sheep?!! I didn't think you were serious!!'

Me: 'Of course, look how handsome they are..there's some more round the corner, we'll stop there too...and some cows a bit further on.'

'OMG...you can NOT stop the car to photograph every single farm animal you see...we live in the country...we'll never get anywhere!!! Why are you so WEIRD??!!'

Of course, when the animals do something vaguely interesting, like the pheasant who then strutted out in front of the car, did some wild war dance, then sauntered back into the hedge, I'm fiddling with the camera, trying to stop the car rolling back down the hill and missed the shot!! Amid much laughter, I might add!

If anybody knows what breed of sheep they are, do please tell me.  I think they are Suffolks but I could be very wrong!!



For those of you wondering about the title of this post and why it doesn't make much sense, its a line from the following poem by Keats.

A Thing of Beauty

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

Its lovliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils

With the green world they live in; and clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make

'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

John Keats

Easter - the Truth...

In order to make the Annual Easter Egg Hunt more entertaining (in particular for me)! and to make The Teenagers do a bit of work for their chocolate, I devised a challenge which I hoped they would find vaguely interesting and they might even remotely enjoy doing!

The task was simple - to create for me a picture of Easter - their own interpretation, anything they wanted, religious, pagan or whatever - all done in Fuzzy Felt.

So, after explaining how fuzzy felt worked (yes, really!!) and once they'd got over the indignation of being presented with some weird frivolity aimed at 3 - 6 year olds, they all accepted the challenge and upon the deadline date, produced two very ingenious and thought provoking creations.

And here they are, with explanations!

Team Georgiastair

This is what the captions say, clockwise starting top left.

In the UK, each child receives an average of 8.8 Easter eggs. That's a lot of chocolate!!! 97,042.1848 eggs given to children a year.

In 2007, an Easter egg covered in diamonds was made and sold for £9 million.  People use Easter to gain money for their own benefit.

43% of children eat their Easter eggs before Easter Sunday, so the true meaning of Easter is lost.

80 million chocolate eggs are sold every year in the UK.  Also, nearly 900,000,000 trees are cut down every year.  Lots of this will go towards packaging for Easter eggs and other Easter products. Cutting down trees means habitats are destroyed and species become extinct.  Easter egg packaging generates 4,000 tons of extra waste.

Almost 1 in 5 (19%) children have eaten so much chocolate they have made themselves ill.

Team Chiri

This comes with a story.

The Origin of the Easter Egg Hunt and other Traditions

Once upon a time, Mrs Hen laid some eggs.  Farmer Jones wanted to take them to market but Mrs Hen didn't want this, so whilst she was trying to get the eggs back to the barn, she accidentally knocked them down the hill (pace egg rolling) where they gathered moss and flowers and other pretty foliage (egg decoration).  Then she asked all the other farm animals to help her get the eggs back and so they all began looking for them.  Hamilton the Pig found them in the back of Farmer Jones' truck, so he then took them to Mrs Hen's house.  And all the eggs were saved!  The animals enjoyed looking for the eggs so much that they decided to do it all again the year after and the year after and the year after.....and so, the Easter Egg Hunt was invented!!   AKA Egster!

Fabulous effort by both teams.  I was pleasantly surprised at the inventiveness and amount of thought that went into this. Well done, kids!!

I think the Fuzzy Felt Challenge may well become an annual event - in fact, will probably be got out at every available opportunity and quite possibly be used as an A level revision aid.  Who needs revision guides when you've got fuzzy felt - the ultimate teaching resource!!

Without a shadow of a doubt...

...biscuits are barred!!

This is Shadow.

Shadow is not my dog; she belongs to my daughter's friend and her family. During dog walking duty, Shadow frequently finds herself sitting on my doorstep waiting (and waiting...and waiting...) for my teenage daughter to change into suitable dog walking/boy attracting clothing.  It was during one of these interludes, after the usual flurry of excitement and vast amount of fussing over Shadow, that I saw fit to feed the dog a biscuit or two (or three) ...and Shadow would perform some minor trick she'd been taught...and everybody was happy!

Some weeks later, Shadow's owner remarked that Shadow seemed to be incredibly fond of me and wondered why this could be.  After admitting that this was possibly largely due to the fact that I gave Shadow biscuits (of the sweet variety), I was suitably (and quite right too)! reprimanded for destroying Shadow's finely balanced diet and biscuits are now well and truly off the menu!

But Shadow still loves me...

...and lives in perpetual hope of a custard cream and a tummy tickle!!