Eccentric Amblings and Ramblings From Gnat Bottomed Towers

After three months of voluntary work in Bangladesh The Young Man [or TYM as he will be known as henceforth] is flying home this evening . I know he's had an incredible time and leaves with a somewhat heavy heart, but his Mother is greatly looking forward to his return and hearing about his experience! We will all most probably need a period of adjustment and that will include evicting the furry one who has taken up squatting rights in his bedroom in his absence. It looks like we might have competition for the Pringles from the same quarter too😸 Arilx

This is another one of those things which just amused me. Have a good weekend one and all. Arilx

Nothing pleases me more than to discover that either Mr GBT has offered to cook or that a previous meal has yielded sufficient leftovers for another meal.  As far as I am concerned it is a triumph and a cause for celebration. I could tell you many horror stories of my time spent doing my Home Economics 'O' Level, but we would be here all night😁 There are many dishes I won't even attempt...anything involving a roux sauce of any description and you won't see me for dust. It's therefore, come as quite a surprise to me that at the grand old age of 50 I made my first ever lasagne. Love eating it, but to my mind too much faff and washing up. I don't generally inflict pictures of my culinary attempts upon people, but this turned out, not only passably well, but tasty and simples. Always a fan of any type of thrifty TV programme I like to watch "Eat Well For Less" when I remember. The last episode featured how to make veggie lasagne and not a white sa

I guess having worked alongside other like minded people through the Sussex Green Living initiative these past few months it's reminded me of some of the projects I'd like to see locally....a scrap store, a facility to buy the stuff thrown away at the tip and some sort of lending library/swap shop would be on my list. Actually I'd really rather like to replicate Totnes, but it's a very different demographic here with a tendency to be far more conservative. However, we keep plugging away and gradually more of us are coming on board. Positive change takes time, but the good news is that following on from successful upcycling workshops and a monthly Ecover refill station run by the Quaker church we are launching a monthly Repair Cafe [not my baby I hasten to add..the work of some of the others, I'm still the recycling sorter and now a moderator on the FB page] in October to give people the chance to learn new skills. Gradually as we attend more events we are drawing m

This young man is a shining example of the power of love. Sometimes I need a reminder that, despite what the media would have us believe, there are still decent humans aplenty. This film comes from an inspiring BBC3 playlist on Youtube called "Amazing Humans" if you want to see more of this ilk. Arilx

Over on the far side of our local park there's a bit of a scrubby patch of meadow amongst all the mowed grass. It's been seeded up and left to the buzzings of the bees and other insects. Actually although due to be helping our local green group's stand on the other side during one of the free concerts which have been happening over the last couple of weekends I tarried a few moments to enjoy the spectacle. Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Arilx

This week sees the 800 year old custom of Swan Upping taking place. Originally swans were seen as a great delicacy and ownership of them was fiercely protected. Nowadays the emphasis has changed to one of conservation and education rather than culinary! During the third week of July the swan uppers take to the river Thames in traditional skiffs to catch any adult birds with cygnets. No harm is done, but it is a valuable opportunity to check the weight and health as well as recording any new ones on the database. The Queen can lay claim to any unmarked mute swans [her uppers wear a scarlet uniform] and ring them. Since medieval times the swans can also be claimed by the Dyers' and Vintners' Livery Companies [the chap in the photo is a Vintner] and ownership can be distinguished by additional rings on the other legs. It may seem a rather quaint thing to do in this day and age, but it provides important data on the numbers and how the swans are faring. Arilx

Mr William Morris might have designed the famous "Strawberry Thief" wallpaper, but here at GBT we have The Raspberry Thief and wallpaper, but not together! Picking the raspberries [and eating a few ripe ones in the process] is one of those daily little rituals I really enjoy this time of year. Most are frozen and will be made into jam at the end of the season, but as they're the Autumn Bliss variety we've got a few weeks left yet. This year though it seems I am not the only fan of these little red delights. Somebody has been dining out in my absence and leaving tell tale bits behind. I wasn't quite sure who the culprit was, but Mr GBT caught a hen blackbird red feathered in the middle of the canes. Nonchalantly she flew out and sat on the fence looking the other way as if it was nowt to do with her....I think, had she been able, she'd have given a little whistle just to complete the scene! Unless she strips them then I've no plans to net them as there a

.....him/her any further than I could spit". I am more likely to use the more familiar version of "...than I could throw him/her" myself [except I have thrown people, but only legitimately during my Judo years!]. This version derives from the hollowed out rods called spits used by the 19th century customs men. They prodded cargo to find out if there was smuggled goods concealed within. There we go....always ready and willing with another recently gleaned fact to impart. I am a marvellous mine of useless information! Arilx

I love this. It came up via my green group's FB page. Too good to keep to myself. Arilx

Reading through a copy of the newsletter from our town's Society yesterday I learnt that they had approached the local council with the suggestion of earmarking some of the small non brown field sites as Local Green Space. Any undeveloped land is going to come under pressure for housing if it's not safeguarded. These are just little pockets which are easily overlooked and taken for granted, but they support wildlife and it's vital they are left alone. I am pleased to say that five have now received this status. Fired up by the article I suggested to Mr GBT that we have a nose around our local pond last night on our evening perambulation. No photos as I just wanted to look and see what was about. Our half hour stroll paid dividends....a couple of whacking great dragonflies [no idea what type] and a pond full of mallard ducklings, goslings and another type of duck with her four teeny black bundles of fluff. We didn't tarry as she was getting very stressed by our presen

It's good to see the Timehouse Muzeum in Totnes has found a novel way to reuse dolls...these are now the signs on the toilet doors which greatly amused me! We met my blogging chum Lovely Grey there a few weeks back for a catchup in this brilliantly eccentric museum....us gossiping in the Marrakech art installation. I was trying to show her some pictures of my son in Bangladesh, but my "smart" [smart? my phone would be bottom of any smart class I can tell ye] was not cooperating. Since then he's sent a few more shots through. Now Ramadan has ended he's had the privilege of attending an Eid celebration in one of the Bengali leaders homes [not the fellow shown here] so he visited the local tailor and had an appropriate outfit specially made. I know as his Mother I'm bound to be biased, but I really do like this photo of him. Usually he's pulling all the special selfie expressions or poses all the young people seem to favour these days...not long

Hello....to be honest I've had a funny old couple of days. You know when nothing is really wrong, but nothing is quite right either and frankly you don't know what you want to be doing with yourself and whatever it is you are doing is still not the right thing! Not unreasonably several of my clients are away on holiday this week, which has left me with some gaps in my schedule. I did some extra deep cleaning for a client's friend yesterday which swelled the coffers, but once home I kept picking up things, starting and then stopping midway through. I have a List of Doom...gruntwork needing my attention of which a few items got done and a whole host of other things which weren't even down there! My solution in the end was just to accept the situation for what it was instead of trying to fight it. I decided to abandon any notion of planning and instead settled down to do a comical jigsaw of Sussex which Mr GBT had started several months ago. Once I'd got past the

There is currently a programme on the I-Player called "A Brief History of Graffiti" which I sat down to watch yesterday while it was so warm [my halo was shining brightly because I had just finished stripping the wallpaper in the bedroom!]. From this I learnt that the word "graffiti" come from the Italian "graffiato" meaning scratched. At one point an example where the picture has been partly incised to create the effect was shown. Afterwards I realised that I had seen something rather similar in Exeter on a recent visit. The detail has been chiselled out by the artist Alexandro Farto and is very effective in my humble opinion. Arilx

Arilx

For a long time I've hankered after a "Mythago Man" pendant....it's the insignia of the side and features on all of our "merch" as my son would call it. I am here modelling our anniversary t shirt last weekend. Despite asking those members who already own the pendant frankly he's been a hard little devil to track down. All the suggested searches have come up with nothing over the past couple of years, but a dancing friend with more gumption than me has managed to find a beautiful one on Ebay under "Celtic Man". Hers is in silver and I, fickle creature that I am, wanted one in bronze. This is always a challenge as there is far less bronze stuff about, but persistence pays. A faint nudge to my much addled brain brought about a vague recollection of this fellow being something to do with The Book of Kells....a couple of clicks on the Ecosia search engine and Bob's Your Uncle success.... This little fellow is now all mine. Not the b

There are more of these taking off in my garden at the moment that there are planes leaving the ground at all of the London airports combined. Not sure if I would have noticed had Mr GBT not pointed out this little seasonal spectacle yesterday through the living room window mind you😊 Just one of those moments which are so easy to miss. Arilx

As the end of term approaches [not quickly enough for some I would imagine] the traditional Sports Day looms for many. I've done my time standing on the side of the race track cheering my little darling on. He was always incredibly active, but never what you might call sporty [just like his Mother then]. On one occasion he was about to cross the line in first place in a skipping race....shouting madly for him he turned round and headed back the other way to get a drink. Ah the sometimes magical world of Planet Asperger... head bangingly infuriating at times, but not without its charms at others! In under a month the wanderer returns...he's still leaping about all over the place and is having the most amazing experience. The thoughts he's had of wanting to work in International Development as a career have been confirmed by this trip I think. When asked what's he's missing his reply was....Dominos Pizzas. That's my boy! Arilx PS I should thank John

During my travels and time spent poking around churches I have seen carved scallop shells upon tombs from time to time. This one was from Exeter Cathedral and was indicative that the interred had been on a pilgrimage. In the modern world there are those who still undertake such journeys for religious reasons....others for deeply personal reasons. One gentleman I know went last year to recover from the breakdown of his 30 year relationship. The time away gave him the space to think, grieve and make major decisions about how he wished to move forwards with his life. He returned in a much better place mentally. This strange sculpture is called "The Universal Pilgrim" and again is in Exeter. I don't like the piece frankly, but what I do like is the sentiment of the message below it. Arilx

I have just enjoyed one of the most amazing weekends ever at Mythago's birthday bash...still on a high today even if I am creeping around a bit like Mrs Overall! From Friday afternoon through to 4pm yesterday invited Morris sides have travelled up from Devon, crossed the sea from the Isle of Wight, Kent, East Sussex and Surrey aswell as local sides to help us celebrate. Many stayed over the whole weekend, some joined us for a day on the Saturday at Amberley Chalks Pits Museum whilst others for our stands in Horsham. All traditions and ages from very young to erm slightly more senior joined in. People mixed freely...you'd look up and a stray member from another side would know a dance and help others out. New friendships have been made and dances taught so that spontaneous mass dances were possible. This is one I joined in from Blood Stone Morris....I nearly spat my teeth out when I joined in the words....I kind of guessed what kind of direction the song words might be goin

Quick one from me today. We are mid 20th anniversary celebrations for Mythago this weekend and there's a lot of partying and dancing to do! Anyways I like this....I'm rather partial to a bit of sharing...except for oversharing and crisps. I like to be able to eat crisps without having to share them if the truth be told, but good manners prevent me from doing otherwise! Arilx