Category: Memories

Mithered

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I asked people on Threads if they had heard the word Mithered and was surprised at the large response I got.

To me Mithered means worried or bothered, pestering someone, being mithered. I found out there are other meanings….

“Mithered” (or “mithering”) is a Northern English dialect word meaning to be bothered, pestered, or to make an unnecessary fuss/moan, often used to describe someone being nagged or someone complaining persistently, as in “Stop mithering me!” or “I can’t be mithered” (meaning “I can’t be bothered”). It conveys a sense of gentle irritation or exasperation. ” (from Google).

I had found out it’s mainly used in Northern England, but it’s even used in the West Midlands where I moved away from in my teens.

I originally heard it from my husband “Stop mithering about things”, who was from Lancashire. He used words like “nesh” feeling the cold, “owt/nowt” anything/nothing, “mardy” moody.

I love the way English is still full of dialects and different accents.

Cat window

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I don’t notice this everyday, but this is a ginger cat window that I designed soon after we moved into our house. My friend, who was actually a carpenter, made this leaded glass window for us. It’s a really unique piece of art and I love it on a sunny day when it really sparkles. It’s about 30 years old now.

If I could I would design another window to sit in the window at the top of the stairs. I like the idea of a really gothic idea with vine leaves and a black and white cat stari6out of the window. Perhaps I will draw or paint the idea.

Snow joke

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The snow stuck. The apple tree looks like it’s been in a winter storm. It’s bent over because the neighbours pushed it over to put a fence in. It’s actually fruiting more because the branches are horizontal now, I might clip out some of the more central branches to give it a bit of air.

The weather forecast is more snow later. The cats are going out in it although it’s been about 4 to 10 degrees Celcius lower than normal.

Moving moon

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The Moon is able to eclipse the Sun because it’s distance from the Earth is 400 times closer than the Sun and is about 400 times smaller. So they look similar in size.

But there is a twist..

The Moon can sometimes cause an annular eclipse where the Sun can be seen behind it. That’s because the Moons orbit is elliptical and has two focuses. So in the furthest position, it’s apogee, means that it appears slightly smaller. Hence an annular eclipse. The Moon is gradually receding from the Earth. The mirrors left on the Moon by apollo astronauts are used to check it’s distance. By using lasers reflected from them they have found it is moving away by about 3.8cm a year. Eventually it will be far enough away that no full eclipses will happen anymore.

Snow!

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Snow is falling. The road is covered by it and since we live on a steep hill cars are coming up but doing three point turns because of it. I’ve seen at least 5 reversing lights through the front door window so far tonight. I think it was gritted during the initial snow fall, but they haven’t come back and it’s 11.45pm now.

It’s worrying because this is the main route ambulances take up to the hospital. We don’t get a lot of snow in the winter so I thought it was worth taking a photo. I hope it clears up soon. Another car just turned up the street then turned round and one crept down the hill very slowly. We just aren’t used to snow in this country.

Cut glass

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I like cut glass, it’s pretty and must be done with  a steady hand. I tried to do it once in a glass workshop up in a wood near the village of Alderly Edge. There is or was a pub there called the Wizard, named about a character in a book called the Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner, published in 1957 I think. The glass workshop is nearby and it’s linked to the jewel in Susan’s (one of the characters) bracelet. The children’s story revolves around it’s magical properties and the adventures of two children.

You could try your hand at cutting patterns on small pieces of glass that were meant to represent the weirdstone.

It’s strange how one thing can lead to another in your mind.

Also up on Alderly Edge are Copper mines which we once visited. They were up in the woods near the pub. They were extensively worked and date back 4000 years. We took a tour round them about 30 years ago.

If you are ever in the area in Cheshire it might be worth a visit.

Witch doodle

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One of my doodles of characters for the play.

Last summer I was helping produce a play called the Six Towns. It was for the  Penkhull Mystery Play on a Saturday in July.

Not that many people saw it because it was outside on the church green. As it was on a windy day the voices of the performers were lost to the audience. Our retelling of the story will be slightly longer and will also be inside with microphones. It was successful in July so I hope it does equally well in February and helps raise funding for the Mystery Play coming up in July.

Hubbys cat painting

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He didn’t paint much, but this painting was one of our first cats, he also did a tornado shaped painting in many colours, and a sunflower painting (all acrylics on board). These were his efforts at creating some exuberant pieces of art.

He also made drawings which he did in an A4 sized hardback blue book. It’s crammed with notes and thoughts. Often quite disjointed, he was by training a chemist/physicist. That didn’t stop him enjoying the artistic side of life. I will always miss his thoughtfulness and quirky creativity.