Eccentric Amblings and Ramblings From Gnat Bottomed Towers

I recently made a massive investment of thirty [yes thirty no less] pennies towards a stripy jumper that caught my eye at the recent jumble sale I was helping out at. Once I'd got it home I noticed that it had two small holes in the back- easy enough to do a spot of make do and mend but alas and alack no apple green thread to be found in my sewing box.....until I remembered that I have bags of inherited embroidery threads from my Aunt as well as leftover ones from finished projects [yes they do occasionally reach completion- I never cease to be as startled as you!] all carefully coloured coordinated [yes I am tragically anal like that] and huzzah therein lay the perfect thread. So before you part with your wonga for a new spool and no doubts lots of other temptations in the sewing shop whilst you're there that you hadn't planned on getting it pays to do a bit of rummaging through that craft stash you've got secreted all over the house! I've now had this bonke

I read about this yesterday and was curious to discover what the author was referring to. Now I know.... This is the gatehouse at Pevensey Castle [photo taken by Mark Robinson]. I should now like to see it for myself so it's been added to the list! Arilx

Small word - four consonants, one vowel and two syllables. Simple yet the implications and consequences of that word either used as a verb or a noun has destroyed many." Cyber bullying"- an insidious new phenomen where the perpetrators can spew their bile anonymously never having to face up to the fallout of their actions. I am no saint- the halo occasionally gets an outing but generally it's a bit tarnished and is flung in the back of a cupboard. It's human nature to evaluate others unless you are more highly evolved. I judge people positively and negatively and often wrongly but I try not to use it to hurt people. I have learnt over the years to keep my big trap shut more often than not and the hardest lesson of all that generally it's none of my flamin' business anyway. Sadly sometimes I still get it wrong. When I first became self employed in my pre house sparkling fairy days I worked briefly for two bullies. One was easier to read being a text book bull

Another nearly new fangled one- gosh I am getting so with it I shall hardly know myself soon! Arilx

I find when you mention the word corvid or any of the individual birds within the group it meets with a strong reaction. People have a definite opinion about them- I am a huge fan [I know that some of their behaviour is unsavoury but humans can hardly take the moral high ground]. I could write reams, use poems, quotes but others in the blogging world [see Leanne's lovely entries on her Tales of Simple Days] have already done so. Instead a few of Mr GBT's pictures I hope will capture their spirit. Arilx

Just a few loosely related history thingummy jigs from the last few days. Firstly this- a mystery object [ooh I do so love a mystery object] that I encountered this week when I was nosing around our town museum. This I discovered is a grape storage jar. A piece of vine with the grapes attached was inserted into the neck of the jar then it was filled with water and charcoal to purify it. This allowed the grapes to stay fresh for longer. Then this from my trip to the Cat House in Henfied in the autumnn http://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/a-damp-jolly.html At last I have found what this was used for- the zulu hole The eccentric Robert Ward who lived here and took great umbridge at Canon Woodard's cat who killed his canary used to blow a horn out of it. The reference to zulu maybe because he fought in the Zulu Wars. That little conundrum has been bugging me for months- I knew there had to be an answer out there somewhere! For anyone interested in the

Can't you see I'm hibernating! Arilx

A thrifty tasty winter bake recipe. 1 red onion thinly sliced 2 large potatoes thinly sliced 1 large parsnip thinly sliced 2  Bramley apples cored, peeled & thinly sliced 1/2 pint veg stock 2oz grated cheddar s&p Preheat oven 200C. Fry onion. Arrange 1/3 potato over base of oven proof dish then 1/2 parsnip and 1/2 apple. Repeat finishing with potato. Pour over stock and scatter onions on top. Cover with foil and cook for an hour. Remove foil and scatter over cheese. Bake for 15 mins. My chaps are confirmed carnivores and usually bemoan the lack of bacon when I do a veggie dish [I roll my eyes and ignore them- it's a standing joke] but I don't hear a peep out of them when I serve this one up! Arilx

In a past life before the redundancy axe struck I was an adult literacy tutor.  It was a job I loved [not the dullard government paper pushing side to it which too up far too much time] but the one to one interaction with a huge range of people and above all, seeing many achieve their first qualification. School for a multitude of reasons doesn't work out for some and it is amazing to see how competent adults still carry the belief that somehow they are stupid from from all that time ago. Watching someone begin to prove themselves wrong is a privilege. Part of my job was to encourage people to revisit the war wounds of the past by asking them to reconsider improving their English and Maths skills and once trust was established many did. I think me admitting my own problems with Maths and the demons I'd had to face in the process of gaining my qualification put us on a far more equal footing. One way students would often express their difficulties with literacy was summed

Mud, mud, glorious mud.....January in the Sussex Weald can be a very muddy affair. We're on clay here and the wetter it gets the claggier it gets. Rather optimistically it was called Sussex butter and it was believed by some to be lucky to walk it into the house. As the probable cleaner up of such muddy footprints I beg to differ on that point! However, as the old adage goes there none so happy "as a pig in mud!" Arilx PS Many thanks to "The Sussex Garland" by Tony Wales for furnishing me with this snippet.

I've been lucky enough to have been wassailing or, to use its Sussex name howling or charming or even whostling come to that, these last two weekends. Wassailing is one of those traditions that fell out of favour in many parts of the country, but has thankfully enjoyed a resurgence over the last few decades with many different regional variations emerging. Originally it could be from door to door or, as is more often the case these days, in orchards and all sorts can be wassailed from apples to pubs [the Barley Mow at Selmeston was indeed wassailed earlier this month] and even bees. This is the rhyme from "A Sussex Garland" by Tony Wales for just such an occasion: "Bees, O Bees of Paradise, does the work of Jesus Christ, Does the work of which no man can. God made bees, and bees made honey. God made great men to plough and to sow. God made little boys to tend the rooks and crows. God made women to brew and to bake And God made little girls to eat up all the c

George Harrison with "My Sweet Lord" Arilx

This was actually taken on Christmas Eve across the road from us but, once again, the river burst its banks yesterday- thankfully it didn't reach quite the same height this time. Arilx

For many years after I completed my degree I swore I would never study again- this was the case until my last job required me to gain new skills and qualifications so that I could teach. After failing my Maths O Level three times [my Dad has a Maths degree but it bypassed me totally!] at the grand old age of 37 I learnt how to do fractions and passed my level 2 Maths. For me it was a proud moment and I rediscovered a love of learning. I have no desire to do exams which I find very stressful but have recently just completed a fascinating six week course about England in the time of Richard III and it was gratis! The course is being rerun this year and the company offer a wide range of other courses on a plethora of subjects. Mr GBT has signed up for one about Moons!  Link below along with one for free taster courses with the OU. ttps://www.futurelearn.com/courses http://www.open.edu/openlearn/about-openlearn/try That's what I like free, frugal and fun! Arilx

I've had this gorgeous picture frame sitting on my window sill without a picture to go in it for the last two years since it was given to me for my birthday. I've had the postcard for...well to be honest I have no idea but I think that it may be since I was a sixth former in 1600 or thereabouts because it turned up in the loft amongst all my teenage angst ridden diaries [you know middle class teenager full of woe when actually living rather happy, settled life with nothing whatsoever to whinge about type tomes] which were being decluttered- I don't want anyone else reading that drivel thank ye. The two items just seemed to be perfect bed fellows. Arilx

Breathe.....it's not a post about emotional baggage. Instead acquiring a new to me bag for the princely sum of thirty pennies from the jumble sale I was helping out at on Saturday....how could I not bring it home with me. Anyone who knows me in real life will know that this little number is right up my street! Whilst on the topic of lovelies and glancing through the photos I have also forgotten to put this piece of treasure up that came my way via a very generous freecycler just before Chrimble. I have a beautiful wooden corner cupboard half way up my stairs that Mr GBT made for me some years ago that holds some of my dearest things. One day when I am feeling organised I shall put up some photos so anyone who is kind enough to drop by can have a nose if they so wish. I do so love a hearty splash of colour! Arilx

Golden brown by The Stranglers- loved it the first time I heard it. Was one of the early tracks I taped off the Top 40 on Sunday evening on Radio 1. That little statement dates me! Arilx

Finding beauty in the small details of everyday life. Arilx

On matters of window dressing and saving some wonga for more exciting non essentials. These are a few of the things I have done over the years- before I get started I should point out that I am not a talented needlewoman I have a very patient Mummy who holds my hand. I also work at the speed of a striking slug [if I were to race a sloth I am not all that sure I would win!] so projects can take months if not even a couple of years sometimes! I have made most of my curtains [with help] so that I can afford better quality fabric- the idea being that they will last longer. I have chosen fabrics that won't date and washed them first to ensure that there is no shrinkage later down the line. When the small person was a babything I made him blue tab top curtains with coloured buttons along the top- now he's 15 and they're still going strong. I have simply removed the primary coloured buttons. Charity shops are a good source of decent quality curtains- I have a pair of patchwo

This was in the kitchen of the house I sparkled today- made me chuckle! Arilx

"I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house." Zsa Zsa Gabor Arilx

Huzzah the weather broke and the sun shone as we made it across the Surrey Sussex border safely to our intended destination of Cranleigh.... As one might expect when us ladies get together there was a great deal of gossipping, perusing of retail outlets [some goodly charity shop bargains for us both] along with tea and buns. Now my chums are very tolerant of my slightly idiosyncratic ways and thankfully, some seem to share my slightly strange love of exploring churches and churchyards.... St Nicholas is a 12th century church with several later additions. It underwent an extensive restoration programme after it suffered severe damage from a flying bomb in August 1944 which took out many of its stained glass windows. As a direct result of this the interior of the church is much lighter than you would expect for a church of its age. The churchyard boasts a marvellous selection of different styles of gravestones including some interesting shaped iron ones and a wooden bed head marker

A lot of my joblets are on the outskirts of the town where I live which means I am forced to drive through the beautiful Sussex countryside. My mind ambles about whilst I am behind the wheel [I am concentrating on the road at the same time I hasten to add!] and yesterday, seeing all the water in the fields from the recent heavy rains, I wondered what you might see if you went for a walk in the countryside in January. The answer came quick enough as I passed by the hedgerows. This Old Man's Beard or to give it its proper name Clematis Vitalba. Long stretches of its fluffy seedheads putting on a pretty feathery show but largely unnoticed by moi. However, as one of my aims is to celebrate the ordinary, the overlooked, the everyday I've been off for an internet trundle to find out more..... It's one that has rather mixed associations- on the one hand it is said to do the work of the Devil by the way it trails into other plants and strangles them yet it is also called the

First Monday of the new year so time for a cheesy track methinks. I guess many are going back to work after the festive break- in my old life I would have been one of those but now as a self employed bod I went back on 27th December. It was rather nice not to have that Sunday night of dread this time. I had a bit of a scare first thing this morning though as I thought someone had mistakenly released a baby elephant upstairs so was mightily relieved to discover that it was actually the small person trying to coordinate his limbs after his early start. Bit of a shock to the system when you've not emerged from your pit until 11.30 these last two weeks! Anyway here's Scissor Sisters with "I don't feel like dancin'" Arilx

As the weather is to be,quite frank, a little on the naff side today I thought perhaps a little silliness for those ladies of a certain age like myself who no longer have need of specific ladies items. If I had an unused stash of such glories remaining I might perhaps choose to while a wet afternoon crafting...... Perhaps a toupee for Mr GBT who is folically challenged Or a bouquet for Valentine's day Or even slippers I have got a new pair of slippers today- but erm bought in the sales from a retailer on this occasion! More marvellous ideas to while away the hours from here http://www.tamponcrafts.com/ Never let it be said that I don't spoil you! Arilx

This week upon matters of selfies and puffs or maybe in this particular instance puffed up selfies....it's ok you're safe no selfies from me....no camera on my phone [can you tell my phone went out with the square wheel!] and besides, my face immediately contorts itself into one of my many gargoyle expressions the minute I am aware of having my photo taken....nope this is to what I refer! This is the Gert, The Gnat Bottomed Purse, who has been on my case ever since I started the frugal bit as she feels she should be the star of the show as keeper of the money. She's the one on the left with the red hair- not natural I hasten to add, a while back it was a rather startling shocking pink. She is erm quite a force let's just say- she sounds like a sarf London used car dealer and is rather trappy to say the least although she has a heart of gold. She guards her money like a dragon with its hoard and wails like a banshee every time I attempt to extract some- you may have

Or to call it by its familiar name the Blue Tit. It is the only tit with blue colouring and I think this recent photo taken by Mr GBT at our local nature reserve shows it well. I was recently lucky enough to be given some back copies of the RSPB magazine which has furnished me with some interesting snippets. Although every blue tit might look identical to the human eye, the birds themselves are able to recognise each other as individuals.Their blue cap gives off a strong UV signal which tends to be stronger in the males. The brighter the cap the healthier the bird is so is more likely to attract a mate. Interestingly though scientists have discovered that the birds tend to pick a partner with a similar intensity of colour to its own. The other factor a female needs to take into account is how bright a yellow is the male's bib as this shows how good a provider he is- the pigment comes mainly from the caterpillars he eats thus the more consumed the more eye catching his bib

First and foremost may I wish you a most splendid New Year and on the matter of resolutions mine is very simple....I have resolved not to make any for I find them personally a negative, guilt inducing process at what already can be a difficult time of year. I shall be making some small tweaks and setting some achievable, modest goals but you can take your hair shirt and place it permanently in an orifice where the sun don't shine thanks all the same. Nothing racy planned here just the decision to hopefully have learnt 6 new veggie main meals and 6 new puddings by the end of the year along with reading some of Ronald Hutton's books, a changing set up on my seasonal shelf when and as the mood takes me and finally to manage my anxiety/depression and to build upon the foundations I laid during 2013. Simples! What I shall not be doing is giving up anything that I enjoy doing so crisps will remain a firm favourite- in moderation but ooh the delight they give me!! The making and b