International Women's Day

Today it is International Women's Day and through my green group, I'm attending an event to mark it. Never having been to anything of this ilk before I'm really excited about the whole affair.

I'm off down to Brighton to hear a series of talks including one by the founder of this company http://rubymoon.org.uk/about-3/ followed by a three course zero waste veggie meal.

I shall report back.....as ever the only connection between this and the image I've chosen is that I saw this camper van parked in Brighton last time I went down a few weeks ago. The finish is not to my taste but I was equally fascinated by it. Having consulted those in the know, I now find this is called faux-tina i.e. false patina. And there was me thinking initially it was rust...it looks like my potential career as the next presenter on Top Gear has fallen by the wayside before it's even started.

Arilx

Poignant

Yesterday I heard some tragic news. One of my son's friends lost his Mum in a horse riding accident earlier this week. She was the same age as me and her only son just 18. The two teamed up at the age of three at playgroup and we had the dubious pleasure of being the only parents with offspring that had their very own behaviour charts. Often we commiserated at the end of the session when one or usually both of us received the news again that they had they had another black mark. They were loving little boys but could be little devils. I always maintain that my child grew horns on this 3rd birthday. Through this shared experience we formed an unlikely bond which built as we discovered that we lived near one another and both boys would be in the same class when they started at school.

During the years in infants and juniors our two continued to be friends. Still naughty and often disruptive, we often got together for endless cups of tea and chats whilst the boys played or created mayhem. Somehow it was always easier if we were there together to deal with them..we each understood what it was like and how challenging/wearing it could be. On the playground we both experienced a certain degree of shunning....we both drew the conclusion that people were pointing the finger at us and our "poor parenting skills" yet both the boys came from stable, loving backgrounds and we were both old school when it came to discipline, manners and appropriate praise/chastisement. Thankfully their school was a very enlightened one with a fantastic SENCO...we both worked with her and discovered that the boys came under the umbrella of SEN [different diagnoses] and suddenly a lot of things fell into place. Over the next few years we supported each other as we had to go through stressful rounds of meetings with specialists fighting for the funding that our boys needed. Both of us admitted we had dark times when we feared for their futures but on a practical level we often shared childcare when one or other of us was working because they always behaved for us impeccably on those occasions.

Over time the boys moved up to senior school. They formed new friendships and moved on and gradually A and I stopped meeting up. We would always stop for a long chinwag if we ran into one another. As for the boys....our fears were not realised. Both have turned out into decent young men with good values who have not gone off the rails. Mine is preparing for his A Levels and then a year of paid/voluntary work before he takes up his place at Uni. B is at college training for the career he's known that he wanted to do since he was a nipper.

A was tiny, a firebrand with a wicked sense of humour. She had issues with rejection following her adoption and found it hard to trust. It was therefore a very moving moment when she confided that I was the only person she felt comfortable leaving B with beyond her own family unit. Her son and partner were her world and riding was her escape from stress. She will be hugely missed.

Arilx

Fluffiness Free Post.

It has sometimes been said that the last man to enter the Houses of Parliament with honourable intentions was Guy Fawkes.....I don't often stray into the political arena but the last thing the world needs right now is for this person to be elected.

It's a take on a classic British children's programme called Trumpton which may not translate across to any American readers. However, the sentiment is easy enough to understand.

Shall pack my soapbox away again.

Arilx

Yarnbombing.

I am a massive fan of bright colours. The work of Kaffe Fassett is my taste down to a T. The yarnbombing movement of the last few years has absolutely thrilled me even though so far I have only personally encountered the two examples below.

This is the textile artist who started it all off http://www.ted.com/talks/magda_sayeg_how_yarn_bombing_grew_into_a_worldwide_movement?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=art-design

Arilx

A Sour Note

It's always good to end the working week with a spot of silliness I find!

Arilx

"The House"

Otherwise known as Christ Church College. Established in 1546 it is one of the largest of the Oxford colleges and has produce 13 British prime ministers. I love nothing better than a free entry to places, but sometimes it literally pays to stump up for an entrance fee and this was one of those occasions.

A few random shots to give you a flavour of our visit to the college and cathedral.

The stunning 17th century fan vaulted ceiling on the way up towards the Great Hall.

A studded protest against the Home Secretary Robert Peel [a Christ Church man] from 1829 after he proposed greater freedom for Catholics.

Rainbow flags flying in support of LGBTQ week.

Inside the cathedral the tombs which caught my eye. Firstly James Zouch who was a scribe [d1503] as shown by the inkhorns and pencases, followed by John de Nowers [d1386] who, at 6'6", would have been extraordinarily tall for the time and finally Lady Elizabeth Monacue. The figures depicted around her still colourful tomb are depictions of her ten children...sadly the Reformation bully boys misinterpreted them. Believing them to be angels and thus examples of Catholic idolatory, they carried out a pretty good hatchet job on them.

This is the oldest window in the church and shows a rare depiction of Archbishop Thomas Becket as he met his fate in Canterbury in 1170

This is known as the Jonah window and dates from 1630s. It was made by Abraham van Linge and is a combination of exquisitely painted glass for the depiction of the city of Niveveh and stained glass for the Biblical figure of Jonah

Two very nasty, malevolent looking bench ends. Frankly I don't think I'd want to come across either of these characters on a dark night!

To end and show that the cathedral is still evolving, this is a recent piece by Jim Partridge from 2000 called the Bell Altar. It's dedicated to Bishop George Bell who opposed the bombing of German cities in WWII. The cross near it was cut from the underside of the altar. It's in sharp contrast to the more richly detailed pieces around it but its clean lines and pared back appearance was part of its appeal for me.

Phew and that chaps is Oxford finished. On to other adventures and more nonsense!

Arilx

From The Goose Who Laid The Golden Egg To.....

The hen who laid the chocolate bars......yes really.  This is Harriet getting clucky.....

And here it comes.....

She was built by the Horsham museum volunteers and is there to promote Horsham Chocolate. I happened across her when I popped in earlier yesterday when I was on my day off. Here she is in action

https://www.facebook.com/Horsham.District.Council/videos/10153899521491904/

I love a good bit of automata. It's reminded me of this rather curious little book I picked up at the local hospital book sale a couple of years ago. I wasn't sure what to expect but it proved to be a cracking good read. It's the true story of the 18th century chess playing automaton and how it beat all its human opponents.

Well worth a second look should you happen to come across a copy.

Arilx