Wales and Scotland

Posted on June 18, 2024June 18, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Boat, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1973, England, Flying, Life, Memory, Scotland, Time, Travel, Wales2 Comments

What countries do you want to visit?

I would like to visit Wales again one day. Particularly around Tenby. It’s a beautiful and interesting place. There is a lot of history and beautiful scenery, plus what’s better than an amazing dragon on your flag?

Scotland is my other choice, mountainous and mysterious, with a possible monster in Loch Ness! I have never been, I went to Carlisle once which is on the border. It’s always felt too far away.

I won’t fly, so unless I travel by boat or train I’m never going to go much further. I think my carbon footprint is quite small and I’d like to keep it that way! Plus I don’t really do heat, and when I hear of places already getting up to 40°C or more this year it worries me. I don’t think I could cope with it. I’ve always felt I can watch TV I’d I want to see a place. I can’t afford the reality. And there’s still plenty of England to explore too!

Thistles

Posted on June 17, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Green, Growth, Houses, Life, maintained, pavements, Plants, Streets, Thistle, vegetation, WeedsLeave a comment

Plants love growing, their seeds sneak in cracks, send down roots and push up paving, this thistle is an example of one. Looking round my area the streets are less littered with litter and more by plants. I’m not calling them weeds, they are wild vegetation. I don’t really mind them, except where they grow in front of and on doorsteps. I do think that the streets used to get maintained in a better way. I don’t think I’d like a lot of weed killer to be used, but I hope things can improve soon. Hopefully owners could do a little hand weeding.

My eyes

Posted on June 17, 2024 Posted in UncategorizedTagged dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1972, Eyes, Favourite, Hand eye coordination, Life, Poem, Poetry, Thought1 Comment

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

Not their colour

Not their shape

But the fact they work

That I can see,

So I can paint and draw.

My fear is losing my sight

Finding one day the light has gone

No more views

No more staring at stars

Seeing friends faces

Letting paint flow

Hand eye coordination

My favourite feature

Keep them safe X

Retirement?

Posted on June 16, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1971, Environment, hopes, OK, pension, Poem, Poetry, retirement, semi retirement, ThoughtsLeave a comment

How do you want to retire?

I need a crystal ball.

To see into my future

Life could be fun

Or a daily grind

Who can tell?

Will I get a pension?

Will I have enough?

Will the planet be OK?

What will happen to the environment?

Lots of questions.

I would like to keep as fit as I can.

I hope to feel enthusiastic again,

Maybe get involved in the community.

Semi retirement is OK

But I do feel a little lost

I do try and do things

When I’m feeling OK.

That’s the main thought

A wish to be OK

To keep going.

Not to lose my way.

Mystery Plays

Posted on June 16, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged 2025, 20th year, Anniversary, eight years ago, Head of the Trent, Memories, penkhull mystery plays, TimeLeave a comment

Eight years ago my friend Kate who was the main maker and creative director of Penkhull mystery plays, was in the process of painting this ‘ head of Trent’ for our Mystery Play about the river Trent. This just came up on my Facebook memories.

I’m really hoping the twentieth anniversary production happens next year. We did all sorts of mystery plays, one about Sampson and Delilah, about James Brindley who designed and built the Trent and Mersey canal, and this one about the river Trent from its source to where it runs into the North Sea at Hull, that was fun, we had a spirit of the river character, cricketers at Nottingham, Vikings invading, and I painted a large lighthouse for the final scene. I hope we get to do something again and that I can still paint without too much shaking.

Whiskers

Posted on June 16, 2024 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Learning, My cat, Tuxedo cat, vibrassae, Whiskers, WikipediaLeave a comment

Whiskers, white and pointed, scientific name Vibrassae they pick up on vibrations in the air, see Wikipedia :

This vibration gives whiskers their scientific name, vibrissae, from the Latin word vibrio, meaning “to vibrate.” Detecting subtle changes in air currents, cat whiskers transmit information about the size, shape, and speed of nearby objects, which helps cats navigate the world.

They are also used to express the cats emotions. When I try and stroke my cars cheek the whiskers pull backwards. When they are interested or annoyed the whiskers come forward, especially when sniffing something. And they are supposed to stick out sideways to measure the size of a gap they can get through (although cats are thinner than they look, you can see that when they get very wet!). And don’t forget the whiskers above their eyes too..

Added shade

Posted on June 16, 2024 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Bees, Double flowers, eco friendly, Finished, Gardening, Life, Plants, Rose, single flowers3 Comments

I added shading to a rose painting I started a couple of weeks ago to give it more depth. It is one of those blush roses, with pink and red on the edges of the petals and some yellow further down. Roses are beautiful flowers, but the simplest of them, like wild roses, Rosa rugosa, are better for insects to pollenate and collect nectar. That is because the petals are open and the central part of the flower is easily accessible.

Unfortunately a lot of flowers are now being bred to have twice the petals (doubles). They look beautiful and interesting, but they make it hard to pollenate by insects like bees and they are frequently infertile so they don’t produce viable seeds.

Look for bee friendly plants if you are looking for flowers for your garden.

An old mug

Posted on June 15, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged 20 years, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1930, Handle, Life, Memory, Mug, Pottery, Prompt, turn over club2 Comments

What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?

I still use an old mug that I’ve had for over twenty years. There’s a small crack in the top of the handle that flexes slightly when I pick it up if it’s full. One day I think it will either get broken in the washing up bowl or when I pick it up. Hopefully the first option as I don’t want a lap full of decaff!

I do use it virtually everyday but I can’t find it now so I’ve used a stock photo that looks like it. It’s like goldilocks, just the right size for a drink, not too much, not too little. The handle fits my hand just right.

I don’t know the manufacturer, but it’s likely to be local as I live in an area called “the potteries”. You can tell people are from here. They lift up pottery and look underneath for the manufacturer’s mark (backstamp). It’s so well known that its called the “turn over club”!

Tired!

Posted on June 15, 2024 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Boring, Cat Food, Cold, Heating, Life, Rain, Shopping, Sleep, snoozing, Tired, WetLeave a comment

What a day! Rain so heavy it must have weighed a ton! A few sunny spells. So cold I put the heating on, snuggled down and snoozed.

As I type I can hear the cars splashing through the rain outside and loud drips falling against the window round the back. At least my new plants and hanging baskets are getting well watered. I need to do some more gardening. Potting plants on, but it’s easier to shiver inside.

What else did I do? I watched a few YouTube videos and got out to get some cat food. Sheer excitement. Hence the pretty flowers, it’s less boring than today.

Standing on a beach

Posted on June 14, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Beach, Coast, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1969, heaven, Holiday, Life, Memory, Sea, Seaside, Sunshine2 Comments

Describe one of your favorite moments.

It doesn’t have to be a tropical beach. Just a warm, sunny day. Sandals off, toes sinking slowly into damp sand. Little ripples in the sand mirroring the way the sea has moved over it’s surface. A flat beach, not steeply tipped, but shallow enough that the sea goes out a reasonable distance. Not too much seaweed on the beach, but enough to indicate the sea is healthy. Interesting seashells to collect, starfish and barnacles on the rocks or in rock pools.

I stand there, breathing in the ozone of the clear air. Thinking of all the other times I’ve visited. Memories of childhood eating ice-cream and paddling in the shallow sea. Looking back at the houses behind the coast road. Stalls to buy candyfloss or sticks of rock, and fish and chips that seagulls clamour for. Remembering the view of the hills in the distance. Thinking of having to catch a train home and wanting to stay forever, come rain or shine. Bright days, sunshine, coastal views, holidays, Heaven.