MOTIVATION AND GOOD VIBRATIONS

 Well, I did not need much to motivate me to get rid of a pile of ironing. It is wet, really wet outside. What makes it bearable is, the Meteorological map showed that most of us in the U.K have got the same, though not as cold :

Excess Of Rainfall

but .......yesterday we had an unexpected break in weather scene, it was dry with bright skies. We thought we were in for a full week of rain in its various forms. I made the most of the sunshine and afternoon warmth. So much so, I forgot an appointment with our very good local podiatrist.  Two hours later, abjectly apologetic, I paid the amount required for the missed appointment. She made me feel better by thanking me for being so prompt.  A little bit of me feels guilty, but, if I am honest, enjoying the sunshine and warmth was worth it.

Yesterday's Garden Visitor

Sun and warmth are irregular events where I live, they have therefore, become  precious commodities. In my other life, I would never have viewed either as any kind of commodity because sun and warmth went together like a horse and carriage. There were stable seasons. I could turn off the heating for about four months.

 Blue Cockerel Trafalgar Square - London

There was warm spring weather; hot summers and pleasant autumns, also, Indian summers. I really liked that seasonal close. The air was balmy with pleasant temperatures, there was a slowing down of nature. Most people had a last gasp for the year wearing their bright lightweight clothes.  In all those months of the year, there was always the assurance of some enjoyable weather when  you had time off, to either potter in a garden, potter on a balcony, or, with pots on windowsills.  You could walk in open spaces, like parks. It was possible to flop into deckchairs, buy an ice-cream, be decadent with a candy floss. People stood or sat outside cafes and bars.  It is and was another world.

In my present life, the seasons merge; there is a long winter, which merges with a kind of spring. You dress warmly for it. Then maybe a summer/autumn arrives. It is difficult to know when to wear many layers, or, just a couple. Wind chill can catch you out.  Do I wear a cardigan or a lightweight jacket, or, a warm coat? Like the farmers, I study the weather forecasts and check them daily, sometimes, several times a day. 

It is late May now and the weather has not  significantly warmed up, (8 degrees Celsius if we're lucky today). Earlier this month I bought some pert and pretty coloured pansies and planted them in garden pots, just to introduce a bit of colour. I'm not sure they'll thrive, they have signs of wind burn.

Kelpie

With the unexpected warm weather day yesterday, I unpacked my new pink gardening hand tools, ( a gift). I did not want to waste time looking for rakes and spades. I got on with some gardening. It might be my only suitable gardening day for some time. I attacked the clumps of grass growing where they were not meant to be, pulled up all sorts of weeds while trying to avoid self-seeded seedlings;  that was a bit of a fiddle. I discovered some new plants growing, my Primulas are increasing in number. I think the groups of pointed, purple tinged leaves might be the Alliums that did not show last year.  Bluebells will flower soon, the Euphorbia planted last year has doubled its branches at the end of which, are fabulous fiery flowers.  My Lupins have prolifically reproduced and the Crocosomia leaves look strong. Yay!
  

Primula Candelabra Developing

SUPERMARIO AND THE KNOTTED BALLOONS.

If an astrologer had described January as being a time of personal bombshells, I would not have entertained the suggestion.  Well....it was.  It took the whole of  February for me to stabilize. Like all eventful times though, the repercussions go bubbling on.  They, (the repercussions) certainly kept me occupied and busy, the distractions were useful.  

Sculpt of a boy [having a power struggle] with a serpent and a lion- in the forecourt of The Canongate Church on The Royal Mile Edinburgh

All that said, I am still humbled by those who have been forced from their homes by wars  and the aftermath of storms and floods. I care about the people who are forced to the margins of our society by the uncontrolled actions of those we were meant to trust and those whom we are expected to trust.  There is much unrest in today's Global politics; these are dangerous times.

Smokey

I was alerted to some photos sitting in a biodegradable bag by my desk, because it was biodegrading.  The pictures have been sitting there a long, long time.  I originally found them just when, with a whoop of glee and self-satisfaction, I thought I had completed the long careful task of copying old originals and restoring them.  Glumly, I saw I had not. That is why, that batch of pictures sat and sat and..... well, you get the picture, they were waiting for a new burst of enthusiasm for working on, which never came. 

However, while tidying up my digital picture folders on  my computer - the first 'efficiency' stage - I allowed myself to be drawn in to recent memories. In Edinburgh during Hogmanay, what could Super Mario and his compadre have been up to with these policemen? Not selling them their knotted balloons, Surely?

Miscreants, do not end up here, at Edinburgh Castle, these days.  Tourists do and quite right too.

Here's a clock dressed up for the Christmas season in one of the Edinburgh stores. Another hour to go before closing time.

 Lambs have been appearing. One of the three Suffolk Ewes produced triplets.  A North Country Cheviot  ewe  was introduced to one of the lambs to help with the milk feeds. It was amusing to see the lamb scampering between its siblings and its two mums. Here's a very recent picture of one of the Suffolk ewes with her twins.

TIMES ARE CHANGING FOR THE ANNUAL GREETINGS

The majority of people, who are used to receiving my annual letter, were upset, they said, when one year I did not send one. It was a year when there was too much emotional turmoil to cope with, and the last thing I wanted to do was to think about writing letters.

   I used to make a point of writing a brief note in a card.  Sometimes I wrote an individual letter.  As the years moved on the  card list extended enormously, and demands at home had grown too.  I found myself either speed-writing something virtually unreadable, even by me, or signing with a quick flourish.  I know that the keeping in touch is a very important thing, yet it was becoming burdensome. I wanted to say that special word or two,  and explain a little of what had been happening with us. 

Admittedly, I did not enthuse over the majority of letters I received. Mostly, they broke down in to the gushing type, or, letters that detailed every nuance of the children's stages of development.  There was never that special snippet about the writer.  Another type of letter named their family members, uncle Tom Cobbly and all.  Who were these people?  There was no introduction to the   characters in the play. 

The letters I liked were chatty, they gave you some insight into the   difficulties and the good times. Those letters were in the minority.  One correspondent, a widow, loyal to her father-in-law, wrote how she championed his care needs and how tough it had been dealing with bureaucracy.  However, on balance, this annual letter writing thing, I decided, was not for me. 

So, what changed my mind about writing an annual letter?  I was being asked similar questions of friends, many of which, could be answered in one template letter, sent with individual variations.  I guess my first annual letters were probably unrelaxed and stilted.  I found it was a writing form you grew into, in which, a writing persona developed.   Writing two or three sides of A4 paper was just too much.  Who would want to read all that!   Aunty Pam might, but not everybody else in my address book would. Words on one side of A4 paper is good rule of thumb to work to, I decided.

Now, with economies in mind, you also need to think about the new postal arrangements, like keeping your envelope a thin and small letter size, up to 100gm; wadded slightly too much,  it won't go through the template, and you have to send it as the more expensive 'large letter'.  If you don't put the correct  price stamp on the envelope, the recipient ends up paying a penalty fee; not a good idea if you want to maintain happy relationships with your annual correspondents.  The costs of sending numerous greetings cards have got out of hand.

   Imaginative economy greetings are becoming popular. The electronic greetings cards are quite good fun.  Last year, decorated email letters became the new kid on the block; one writer even gave me permission in the first paragraph not to read hers!  Doubtless, festive e-correspondence will replace the seasonal cards and personally signed letters. From now on, I expect i-greetings, (mostly from my U.K friends) to increase annually.

PERSONAL HAPPINESS - AT A PRICE

The Russian newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times, of Friday 23rd April 2010,  reported  that the local Nevsky district court began hearing the case of Artyom Kopolev, 24, who is accused of impersonating the head of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast police force, Vladislav Piotrovsky, on the popular social networking site VKontakte.  The obvious  piece of evidence was Kopolev's photo 'avatar' which was....you've guessed it, a picture of the police chief in his uniform.

During the impersonation run, Kopolev made all sorts of offers to improve life and sort out problems, such as, preferential terms on loans, returning confiscated driving licences to drivers who were caught over the alcohol limit; opportunities with the police force;  supplying military service records, and  "the organisation of personal happiness" of course, at a price.

His modus operandi was to meet with people, ensuring he presented well in expensive clothes and jewellery in order to impress his clientèle. The promises made and paid for were not fulfilled.  When complaints started rolling in to the police with the VKontakte address and profile photo for evidence, a serious investigation got underway.

The fraudster was caught in a scam,  with a policewoman posing online as a jealous wife who wanted proof of her husband's dalliances and infidelities.  When Kopolev and the policewoman met to clinch the deal, he was arrested.

In the court hearing, on the 22nd April, Kopolev blamed his actions on his girlfriend, who he said, believed a man was not a man unless he earned in excess of $1000 per day!

Kopolev is currently held in one of Russia's prisons.

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?

Why is it, the phone usually rings at an awkward moment?

Either your hands are up to their wrists in water;

You are either in a bath or shower; or,

Just finishing your personal wash, and are dripping wet;

You're at a critical juncture in creating  something in the kitchen; or,

You are pottering with soils etc in the potting shed; or,  

You are using the toilet.

Then there is the urgent phone tone in the early morning, or just after you've gone to bed.  Personally, I think those two are the worst.  Receiving a call in our hotel room well after we'd started to doze off, around 11pm, did not create quite the same anxiety levels, just a bit of annoyance at our plans to get a bit more rest being thwarted. We did not have the expectation that we were likely to be contacted for any urgent purpose........yet, we could have been.