Tent memory

I just watched a video of a cow walking up to a tent, the camper had left his trainers outside. As the cow walked past the trainers got stuck on a front then rear hoof. Very funny, but who decided to film the cow. Could it be a faked video?

It bought back memories though. We once went camping once on a farm near Ludlow on the English /Welsh border. A dog there was pregnant and while we were out for the day cycling down into Ludlow to explore the castle, it got in our tent and stole the cheese and other stuff we were going to have for tea! The farmer was very apologetic. I think he gave us some sausages and eggs to replace the lost provisions. We made sure the tent was zipped up and tied shut the next time we went out!

By the way our tent was just a tiny two man canvas tent that served us well for many years. I do remember waking up on one occasion with a cow snuffling round the guide ropes of it, but the cow did no harm.

On another occasion we were camping above St Ives in Cornwall. It was a stormy night. My hubby put his foot against the tent zip and broke it. I’d got a sewing kit with us? Why? I don’t know, but I remember roughly sewing up the tent opening to keep it shut in the gale while having to hold the torch in my teeth (hubby having fallen asleep).

Memory and singing

Five or six years ago our choir learnt ” I walk to Jo-berg” to sing at a choir festival. It’s a good song, full of different sounds, English and Afrikaans words. Someone in the choir requested that we learn it again.

Not all the old choir members are still with us, but within minutes we knew what bits to sing. WE WERE SINGING JAZZ TUNES we hadn’t sung in years. It was fascinating how we could recollect it. You scratch your head and think I’ll never remember that, and then it’s coming out of your mouth without you having to struggle! We were singing in four part harmony and building up sections. We had a great time and we really enjoyed it.

Recent studies have shown that learning a new musical instrument or learning to sing can improve mental acuity and memory. And it’s fun!

Great teachers..

What makes a teacher great?

Great teachers make you think. They are enthusiastic, they listen. Great teachers give you an idea you can work with and help you to understand concepts.

I had a great English teacher who once bought a pack of tarot cards into a lesson to explain there were other ideas about mythology than the normal or ordinary histories. I can’t remember much about the class but the artwork on the cards got my imagination working.

We had a great Geography teacher, who really explained clearly about all sorts of concepts, like isotherms, synclines and anticlines, geological fault lines. He made it really interesting.

And I’ve had several great Art teachers, in school and at college. The great ones gave me confidence with the work I was doing. One at school entered my art into a competition and I had a painting exhibited in our twin town in Germany. Another at college said my work had a bit of something about it.

The point is that Great teachers get us to go further and do more than we would otherwise do. Learning is dependent on you making an effort, and by having a great teacher you can be encouraged to try harder. I’m glad I had some.

Fun with words

I do a five word challenge every week with a blogger called Esther Chilton (she also does a weekly limerick challenge).

I enjoy it because I can have fun with words. Today’s word was biscuit for the five word challenge.

My first sentence was:

‘Seabiscuit was a winning racehorse.’

What sentences would you come up with? Would they be funny or sad? It could be ‘He choked on a biscuit?’ Do you take the biscuit?