Ice wall?

For some reason I’ve joined a Facebook page where people debate whether the Earth is flat or a sphere. In the last couple of weeks I’ve read some very odd speculations about how the Sun must be close to the earth and the ocean is held on the earth by an ice wall that is attached to it’s circumference.

I was interested because the author Terry Pratchett set his comic fantasy Discworld series on a similar structure. It sits atop four elephants which ride on the shell of the world turtle, the great a’tuin. To be honest his ideas are more sensible than the flat earthers!

It’s a funny and confusing page, although people do get into arguments. The scientific facts about the globe are repeated over and over again, but they are disputed and often completely contradicted by videos that are nonsensical, with descriptions that are very odd indeed.

Why do I read it? Because it makes more sense than what’s happening in the USA at the moment!

Esther Chiltons weekly prompt: Funny moments

Esther requested a piece of writing about a funny moment this week and my memory went back to my early childhood…

Thinking of children and what they say and do. I was a young child, probably about 5. I was developing a wart on my thumb and asked my mum what I should do? She told me to rub some bacon on it and bury it in the garden. Some time later she found me outside calling for her, asking if I could come back inside? I’d rubbed the bacon on my thumb then shoved my thumb into the soil! I always have taken things too literally!

Working in a care home

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

Understanding how people cope as they grow older is important to me. I worked as a carer after I finished college for a few years. When you work with people doing the job you learn about aging, mental health issues, loneliness, coping with disability, loss and other issues. You also find that some carers are more caring than others. Some people should not be allowed in to work with clients.

I worked in two different places and the clients were more disabled at the second home, but everyone worked hard to support them. My favourite memories were shows we put on for the residents. One Christmas we did a talent show. I wore a fur coat, tinsel, a home made tutu and blue wellies. I then tried to dance the swan lake ballet, at the end I had someone come on and shoot me with a pretend gun! I came second to two carers miming “sisters” from White Christmas. They were dressed up and were very good, but one of their wigs fell off and I think that’s what won it for them..

When you are on a low wage, part time contract, you really understand how hard life can be and caring for older people teaches you how complex life is.

Alone

I look at the bedroom window and see my hubbys cask of ashes there. I tell him it’s a sunny day and I wish he was here. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this low, and I’ve spent most of the day in silence. I spoke to a neighbour and had a brief chat, but that was like a tiny sticking plaster trying to cover over a deep gash in my flesh. It was never going to hold for long.

I’m sitting quietly, the TV is on. I just watched a show where a nurse recently lost her husband in an accident and the tears started filling me up. Like an ocean overtopping flood defences. Now I feel tired out and just overwhelmed with sadness. I need to get out, but I won’t ask anyone. I need to talk but I’m struck dumb, I need to feel better but I feel so low. I’m saying these things here to get them off my shoulders and mind. Things have got to improve, they must.

Happy eighth blogging anniversary to me!

This came up in my  WordPress a few weeks ago together with a blog saying something along the lines of “wow, it’s amazing I’ve been with WordPress so long and here’s to another eight years.” I don’t mind but I do prefer to write my own blogs rather than some bot writing them for me!

I hope my blog is interesting, sometimes humorous, hopefully informative. I don’t think I am as varied as I used to be. Maybe I’m running out of steam. Anyway hope to be around for a few more years. Cheers x

Looking forward

Hopefully our Mystery day this July will get lots of 1 page plays to read out at Harpers Titchy Theatre!

The idea is that the plays are put on like a radio play, the meaning is in the intonation of the words, subtle drama, facial expressions.

What to write about?

Yourself

Family

Gossip

Sci fi

Green men

Television shows

Games

Sport

Anything you want…..

Will be getting round to asking people soon….

Impeller problems

I have an impeller pump in my water system because my header tank is in the bathroom extension and doesn’t create any water pressure when I have a shower etc. Last night it didn’t pump, it just hummed. Only a trickle of water came through. The pump pushes water through the cold and hot systems. It’s probably full of limescale because I live in a hard water area.

I’ve got a heating engineer coming out tomorrow. He’s been round and found out what pump he needs. So I’m basically waiting for it to be changed over, but I want a shower. Now instead I’m trying to work out if I can boil water then add cold into saucepans so I can at least wash my hair. That would be after I clear out the airing cupboard that’s full of a lot of junk. Plus the house is in a mess. Argh, I’m going to be preoccupied for a while.

Sleep

Somehow I’ve learnt to relax, I’m getting better at letting my muscles loosen and feeling so tense.

I was talking to someone and they suggested thinking of a word of at least 7 letters. Maybe omnibus? the idea then is to take each individual letter, one at a time, and think of several words starting with that letter. For instance:

Oval

Occipital

Organic

Oscillating

Overall

Then the next letter…

Mobile

Manic

Masters

Malleable

And so on. Because you are thinking of different words it takes your mind off anything else, mostly be the time I get to the third letter I’ve got to sleep. Think of a new word each time, it seems to work.

Esther Chiltons weekly prompt

Beauty

Esther asked us to write about beauty this week. I struggled to explain what I think of the word. I wrote :

Beauty can be on the inside, you don’t have to look amazing to be alive and well thought of. If people could read your thoughts? How would they interpret them. Odd or plain, ugly or old? It’s your brain and thought processes are important. Consider the world around you and how people are perceived. Media makes things worse.

But then I thought am I talking about personal, intellectual beauty? In the case of the word should I just look at beauty as form? Like a lovely rose? As how I feel about a wonderful day or a landscape? There are so many connotations to the word.

Christine

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

From ancestry.com

Variations ChristinaKhristine

Christie

From ancestry.com

“The name Christine has its origins in the English language and carries the meaning Follower of Christ. It is a feminine name derived from the masculine name Christian, which itself originates from the Greek word christianos. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages and has since remained widely used in various cultures around the world.”

And yet when I looked up WordPress free image library to find something to illustrate this only four pictures appear. This was the prettiest one, but really not relevant!

I suppose the name has always had some influence on me, even though I don’t really call myself Christian I follow a lot of Christianity’s rules. I believe in compassion, care, equality, freedom, respect, charity. I think the world needs to try and work towards all these things.

Maybe being called Christine is like nominative determinism, the name pushes you into certain paths? I don’t know but I think it influenced me.