tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20470969360840711732024-03-13T07:08:10.156+00:00Crafty manoeuvresRandom musings from a part time crafter.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.comBlogger478125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-33824916906869437512012-08-12T13:11:00.001+01:002012-08-12T13:13:18.340+01:00Oh I do like...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
...to be on holiday. Particularly when it's beside the seaside.<br />
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Hi, dear reader. It's me again, back - if only briefly - to tell you about my latest holiday. I realise I've been somewhat lax in my blogging of late. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bexybeads/sets/72157629670665798/">Life </a>has kind of got in the way, if I'm honest. And it will do again pretty soon, but more of that in another post. For now, however, it's holiday blog time...<br />
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I'm just back from a fun-filled (yes, really!) week in Yorkshire, which also doubled up as multiple trips down memory lane. Day trips to Whitby and Scarborough. Country drives around the North York Moors and Vale of York. A visit to York itself. Almost every day brought a wave of remembered moments. Even staying in the cottage was (a bit) like those family holidays we had as I was growing up.<br />
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But the biggest jolt was when we deliberately went out to find some specific places, and I found that I had very vivid recollections of the places themselves that were hidden in the dim dusty parts of my unconscious mind. Places like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ayton_Friends%27_School">Great Ayton</a>, where I spent a week every summer in my teenage years discovering that I wasn't quite as far from normal as I thought I was. Or like the suburbs of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodthorpe,_North_Yorkshire">York</a>, where my grandparents lived and where I spent time most school holidays. Or <a href="http://www.hemingbroughon-line.co.uk/">Hemingbrough</a>, where my Mum's grandparents lived. Finding that I recognised street names and bits of road almost instantly was very strange, and just proves how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory#Factors_that_influence_memory">powerful our brains </a>really are. <br />
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We also found time to do new stuff on our week away - a <a href="http://www.wearejames.com/">James </a>concert at the <a href="http://www.stocktonweekender.co.uk/">Stockton Weekender</a> Festival, a performance of the <a href="http://www.yorkmysteryplays-2012.com/">York Mystery Plays</a>, and a visit to <a href="http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/">Castle Howard </a>being just some of them.<br />
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Best of all, however, was the taster we got of what 'playing house' is going to be like. Soon, very soon. But that's a post for another day too. For now, I'll leave you with some of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bexybeads/sets/72157631030555842/">photos </a>from our break. There's more to be posted so check back a couple of times if you want to see the full set. <br />
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Thanks for reading, hope to see you again soon :)Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-23142600206191958842012-05-31T13:05:00.000+01:002012-05-31T13:06:29.286+01:00Sh*t Happens...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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...but so, luckily, does good stuff!<br />
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The observant among you will have noticed that I haven't blogged for a while. Ahem! To be more accurate I haven't blogged since March and I've only blogged 11 times this year altogether. After hitting my blogging pinnacle in 2011, with a blog post more or less every other day, 2012 has been a bit of a famine for <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bon+mots">bon mots</a>. <br />
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My excuse? Well, life just kind of got in the way. Not in the really tough and horrible way that it<a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/blue.html"> has done in the past</a>, but in an <a href="http://www.flickr.com//photos/bexybeads/sets/72157629670665798/show/">altogether happier </a>and much more fun way. I can safely say that I have never been happier. And I like that. I like that a lot!<br />
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I'm hoping that this little cloud of happiness will keep on floating around for quite some time to come. But I confess I'm aso hoping that I get myself back into some of my other life stuff too. For example, I definitely need to start running again. My <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/racing-ahead-of-myself.html">Race a Month Challenge </a>fell this month (although <a href="http://www,justfrances.com/">my awesome running partner in crime </a>is still plugging on, completing her May race last weekend) and if I'm honest I've actually only run 5 times this year, 4 races and 1 training run. There is no excuse except distraction and laziness.<br />
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Oh, and I also need to start blogging again.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-3182678061761330652012-03-25T22:38:00.002+01:002012-03-25T22:48:37.726+01:00Back on the road<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwkkuqNruTtn3IrgCudc-p_BjQpHKTHS68C3g-2-IfsDnU_cSrBSwnQnRtyY6ENRZRhyquovxWlx00dfcI0yztkqXjrEJQ_m4Uyt_CgGA8bnbi8iTgOXKeyPYb4xhD5jVsagopoBKqoKV/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwkkuqNruTtn3IrgCudc-p_BjQpHKTHS68C3g-2-IfsDnU_cSrBSwnQnRtyY6ENRZRhyquovxWlx00dfcI0yztkqXjrEJQ_m4Uyt_CgGA8bnbi8iTgOXKeyPYb4xhD5jVsagopoBKqoKV/" width="360" /></a></div><br />
So, today was race 3 in the great 2012 race-a-month challenge. The venue - <a href="http://www.falkirkvics.com/rth.html">Grangemouth</a>; the distance - 10k; the time - 1:04:09.<br />
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Am I happy with the time? Not entirely. I was hoping to get back within the hour but with no training, I guess this isn't too bad. And it does, at least, break my race time decline, being a good 30 seconds better than my <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/through-wind-and-rain.html">last 10k </a>(even though it's a good 8 minutes slower than <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/computer-says.html">my PB</a>).<br />
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It does, however, show just how much I need to get back into my training and regular running if I'm to improve my PB this year. Or be ready for my <a href="http://www.edinburgh-marathon.com/?half_marathon_eventinfo">second half marathon </a>in May.<br />
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Next up is the <a href="http://www.balfron10k.org.uk/">Balfron 10k </a>in April. Time to lace my shoes a bit more regularly, I think. <br />
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</div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-78296542498497396522012-03-04T14:29:00.001+00:002012-03-04T14:30:36.337+00:00Random thoughts 4: Words, words, words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtxgGqh0q042ZTaF7n5ZW9qD8wPWfSh6MAJ1aeCsinIRAKdk1YnEZAbKSiCWmrqDjcE-PUr3EI7wQTrQRALSaDIcGjpc5WGzFnHyaXtwwu-84Z6LfKHrU-NEjO4ONwy09hvJsFB9Sblg-/s1600/DSC01668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtxgGqh0q042ZTaF7n5ZW9qD8wPWfSh6MAJ1aeCsinIRAKdk1YnEZAbKSiCWmrqDjcE-PUr3EI7wQTrQRALSaDIcGjpc5WGzFnHyaXtwwu-84Z6LfKHrU-NEjO4ONwy09hvJsFB9Sblg-/s320/DSC01668.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
My <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2012/02/missing-in-inaction.html">Random Thoughts challenge </a>for this week is all about words. Which I'm really excited about because I love words. As an aside, I'm also really excited to have a couple of friends who seem to also love words about as much as I do. The awesome <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">Just Frances</a>, for whom I include within this blog her favourite word - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English">antidisestablishmentarianism</a>, and Graham, who has been very keen to point out my own particular turns of phrase over the past few months and I suspect would find the same humour as me from the lead photo for today's blog post!<br />
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But returning to the challenge, this week my instruction was to take 10 words at random out of the dictionary and decide for myself what they should mean. See what I mean? Great fun!<br />
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So here goes:-<br />
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<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drawl">Drawl </a>- either, a laid back artistic technique in the abstract genre, used to create baffling and occasionally childlike paintings. Not <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubism">cubist</a>, but more similar to the surreal style favoured by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD">Dali </a>and his like; or, a small compartment or hidey-hole for putting bizarre and seemingly pointless objects that may one day become useful - as in, "I'll just put this thingmie in the drawl in case we need it in future"<br />
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<a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/freight_1?q=freight">Freight </a>- a scary event experienced by a good <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/how_are_the_legendary_ladies_of_a_certain_well_to_do_edinburgh_suburb_faring_in_these_cash_strapped_times_1_828074">Morningside lady </a>and how she felt afterwards. "He jumped out in front of me, waved it around and shouted obscenities. I got quite a freight you know, Elsie!"<br />
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<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marcella">Marcella </a>- sounds like it should be a fruit, perhaps a type of sweet cherry, but is in fact a type of cotton material. I think I prefer my definition...<br />
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<a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pantaloons">Pantaloon </a>- the actor who plays the fool in the annual village pantomime. Often people think he's really talented but then quickly realise he's just typecast. Alternatively, it has been extended to refer to the co-worker you desperately try (and fail) to avoid in the corridor before he pins you down to ask the most idiotic questions about that project you're working on, showing all the while an unhealthy interest in the subject.<br />
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<a href="http://scrouge/">Scrouge </a>- I was surprised to find that this was a real word as well as the name for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Scrooge">famous miser </a>from Dickens' Christmas Carol. I was even more surprised to find that its meaning fitted perfectly with the word - a form of definitional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomatopoeia">onomatopoeia</a>! <br />
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<a href="http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/mitosisisg/telo.html">Telophase </a>- a great invention that allows you to instantly disintegrate that annoying cold caller who has just interrupted your favourite TV programme with their telephone call offering the very latest insurance/financial service/double glazing/solar panel. "Press 1 to hear your messages. Press 2 to delete messages. Press 3 to delete caller"<br />
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<a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/univocal">Univocal </a>- like a unicycle but louder<br />
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<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/legacy">Legacy </a>- the obscure language for legal documents used by lawyers to confuse and mystify their clients, and in the process, successfully pad their bills.<br />
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<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/comfort">Comfort </a>- a stronghold and defensive building designed to protect sheep. (It's my meaning, you don't like it, make up your own!!)<br />
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<a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Irreprehensible">Irreprehensible </a>- politicians, journalists and economists normally. Not because they're paeans of virtue, but because they really do try to convince us that they are beyond blame...<br />
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And before I go, just to share with you another few things this challenge put me in mind of ...<br />
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a) great dialect words - crabbit, glaikit, hattered, biddy<br />
b) words that can be said in any number of ways - leg-end, pig-eon to name but two<br />
c) words that are just funny in themselves, or at least to me - potato (but don't ask me why!), and<br />
d) made up languages - tnew ot serutcip, as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Molesworth">Molesworth </a>would say...<br />
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So, that's my 10 words - and more. It's been great fun and I really would encourage my reader(s) to try it for themselves - either with their own set of 10 words or with any of mine above. I'd love to know if I've got the meanings wrong...!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-18081523653548591582012-02-26T16:23:00.001+00:002012-02-26T16:26:39.591+00:00Random Thoughts 3: Memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPqAPK8HFvgxehctefXvNxO1sAmc7nrbhmfvBOl4jsj_17EwITuJD0_gRs7fMkx_X_wu_WEbmkH5tQvHJZPmiFjdT3Kt_4idaP5mIFu4qkuGOivJUFo3iDnWQesV86iSigy3gxg516hfC/s1600/DSC01606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPqAPK8HFvgxehctefXvNxO1sAmc7nrbhmfvBOl4jsj_17EwITuJD0_gRs7fMkx_X_wu_WEbmkH5tQvHJZPmiFjdT3Kt_4idaP5mIFu4qkuGOivJUFo3iDnWQesV86iSigy3gxg516hfC/s320/DSC01606.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
My <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2012/02/missing-in-inaction.html">blog challenge </a>for this week is to write about a holiday memory. When I got my email telling me what my topic was this week, I confess I thought - ya dancer, this will be a cracker. Which of my many amazing <strike>trips</strike>, sorry adventures would I write about? Would it be <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/search/label/spain">Spain</a>, or <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/search/label/italy">Sicily</a>? <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2010/07/coasting-along.html">Wales</a>, perhaps? Or <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/04/discovery-and-rediscovery.html">Shetland</a>? Or maybe my first solo foray to <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2009/09/this-is-life.html">Bristol</a>?<br />
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But then I thought I'd blogged enough about them already, and it woud be too easy. Or rather, too hard to pick out just one memory. So I thought I'd go a bit further back and think about my childhood holidays.<br />
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Again, it's not too easy to pick out just one memory. Rather it's a mix of all sorts of rememberings, sights, sounds, smells and just plain feelings.<br />
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Most of my childhood holidays were spent with my grandparents at their home in York, or in some part of the UK in a cosy (and sometimes, not so cosy!) self catering cottage in the off-season. We never really took holidays in the summer because either my dad would be working or the <a href="http://www.micklegarth.co.uk/">garden </a>would be in full bloom and needing a lot of attention. In any case, we were lucky enough to grow up in a <a href="http://www.aberdour.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=28">seaside village </a>and my sister and I were more than happy enough to spend our summer holidays running wild at home. We were never short of things to do and there were adventures aplenty from what I can remember.<br />
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When I was thinking about this blog post, one particular non-home, non-York holiday memory sprang to mind. I must have been very young, probably less than 4 years old. We were staying in a cottage next to a working farm. It was the summer and we were somewhere in the west of Scotland. It was a hot summer (for a change!) and the cottage was beautifully cool inside. I seem to remember us being cooled off after days at the beach with cool baths and the smell of calamine lotion springs to mind, so I'm guessing we probably got a touch of sunburn as well. I remember we played on the beach a lot. I think our grandparents were there, I seem to remember showing off my new pretty cotton nightdress to them and thinking I looked like a princess.<br />
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All of those are great memories but that's not the one that sprang to mind. This was.<br />
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One day we'd been out and got home later in the afternoon. The farmyard had piglets in it. We'd seen them a few times during our holiday. This particular day they were quite agitated and squealing a lot. And their bottoms looked sore. I can remember asking what was wrong, and my Dad (or my Mum) told me they were a bit sore because they'd just had their tails docked.<br />
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Now, to my little mind that was bad enough. Imagine having a bit of you cut off, that must really hurt. No wonder their bottoms were sore and red! Looking back on it now I realise, you don't dock piglets' tails. I think <a href="http://quiverfullfamily.com/2008/04/28/how-to-castrate-a-piglet/">what had probably happened </a>was a bit more painful and something that little boy piggies definitely wouldn't enjoy...<br />
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Oh, the innocence of youth!<br />
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(And I bet that's not the blog post you thought you'd get this week, <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">Frances</a>!)Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-70801724537490950672012-02-19T17:23:00.001+00:002012-02-19T17:25:49.008+00:00Random Thoughts 2: Of ships and shoes and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIZs8JqfR6iAJV3gem5vEYnJjQK1Dy1bQYEs2tekXyUvzUH2hTuVRfaIK57HpXYiRjZE6RXxT-KE0XqK-MUXuO6EtNcY2NC31FOb73d014Y75rCxqTNfptJLOECJmsSiaFfUGw9ZCViqT/s1600/DSC02227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIZs8JqfR6iAJV3gem5vEYnJjQK1Dy1bQYEs2tekXyUvzUH2hTuVRfaIK57HpXYiRjZE6RXxT-KE0XqK-MUXuO6EtNcY2NC31FOb73d014Y75rCxqTNfptJLOECJmsSiaFfUGw9ZCViqT/s320/DSC02227.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
This week's <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2012/02/missing-in-inaction.html">blog challenge</a>, set by my <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">partner in crime</a>, I confess has had me somewhat flummoxed. My prompt was to write about a man who teaches his cockroaches how to dance. I mean...??? To be fair, this kind of thing was always going to happen since we're taking our challenge prompts from a<a href="http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/"> creative writing ideas page</a>. But, since my blog is generally about me and my meanderings, and dancing insects with exoskeletons don't generally make an appearance in my daily life, this was a hard one.<br />
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To start with, I thought I'd find out a bit more about cockroaches. A quick Google search took me quickly to more <a href="http://cockroachfacts.net/">information than you'd ever want to know</a>. And just as quickly convinced me that I *really* don't want to know anything more about the little darlings - I mean, I knew (and was quite comfortable knowing) that they are hardy little creatures, most likely to survive a nuclear holocaust, but did I really want to know that the female can remain pregnant forever and can produce 150 offspring per year? Or that they can fly? Or that they can grow to be over 2 inches long? No, I didn't. And, sadly, now that I know them, I can't unknow them, no matter how hard I try. And believe me, I'm trying really really hard just now!<br />
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By now, you're probably as grossed out as I am by the subject so I'll change it - but first, another factoid I discovered is that they have 6 legs with 3 knees per leg. So dance classes were probably quite fun - if you like cockroaches that is...<br />
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Anyway, having convinced myself that I didn't need to know anything more about cockroaches, my mind next wandered on to that phrase about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin%3F">angels dancing on pins</a>. I realised that I didn't actually know what that meant, what the proper quote was or even where it comes from.<br />
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Seems it is a reference to pointless discussions about meaningless things, or at very least things so completely theoretical that it would be impossible to prove them one way or the other, and of little real value if you did. Hmm, sound like another <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/dec/13/higgs-boson-lhc-explained">item in the news </a>recently?<br />
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And after that, my wardrobe mind led me on to the quote in the title of this post -a prize to the first person to correctly identify its source (without checking Google first - no cheating now!). Details of the prize will be revealed once the winner is announced.<br />
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Which all just goes to prove, if you really try, you can write about anything...<br />
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<i>And in case you're wondering about the photo, as befits a post about random thoughts, it's a random picture too. Pretty, isn't it?!</i>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-29370075337714131632012-02-14T08:41:00.000+00:002012-02-14T08:41:16.224+00:00North by North West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Huaiu2-9Ju1lvfIi8zsuC66I0skzXMpfPTP6GMFrAhMKEJrB9xwgnDZVgQUvb_7SPwR5kBESjNXCgU3QmugFI_8P74PO_fS1pkdDXFuXnVWEa55w-30Rx9h4WOAmVl1gF6LHxhFbRBgW/s1600/IMAG0283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Huaiu2-9Ju1lvfIi8zsuC66I0skzXMpfPTP6GMFrAhMKEJrB9xwgnDZVgQUvb_7SPwR5kBESjNXCgU3QmugFI_8P74PO_fS1pkdDXFuXnVWEa55w-30Rx9h4WOAmVl1gF6LHxhFbRBgW/s320/IMAG0283.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm currently heading back to Scotland after a(nother) great weekend in and around Manchester. As the <a href="http://www.tpexpress.co.uk/?gclid=CJPwrPmFna4CFe4htAodF2sUKw">TransPennine Express </a>whisks me North, I thought I'd use the time productively to share my weekend. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Until I visited just after New Year, I really wasn't sure what I'd think of <a href="http://www.visitmanchester.com/">Manchester</a>. It's a big city after all, one of England's 10 'core cities', and that means big. Being a bit of a hick, I don't always feel comfortable in big cities. London, for example, usually intimidates me – the buildings are so tall and close together, the crowds so thick and purposeful, the expressions on faces so focused. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I was prepared to feel that way in Manchester too – but it didn't happen. Instead I actually felt quite at home. Now that might in part be because I was being shown round by someone who knows the city well, but I'm not sure that's the whole reason. The city has (to me at least) a good vibe – an undercurrent of humour and humanity, a city where people live not just work or visit. It also was far less busy and crowded than I expected – although to be fair, we did avoid the main shopping drag. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRLCdqDKwi5joPjQeyi1LoT8D1D-B_aQFVfiqWaGfxEFysflGxGOeB3RM6D4BvyEarZLbBsAsUV2AhZ6oyo3DxrxFY262arw7dOl2XypwA66_cSEMZpXsqAXCVL3YxydmmdcLpvacw3wV/s1600/IMAG0175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRLCdqDKwi5joPjQeyi1LoT8D1D-B_aQFVfiqWaGfxEFysflGxGOeB3RM6D4BvyEarZLbBsAsUV2AhZ6oyo3DxrxFY262arw7dOl2XypwA66_cSEMZpXsqAXCVL3YxydmmdcLpvacw3wV/s320/IMAG0175.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It has some big buildings and some very modern ones, that's true. But it also has some more human scale ones, and a great combination of old mixed in with the new. The red brick definitely helps too. Less severe than London, or Edinburgh even. And stylish, very stylish!</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WcCIjU6OF_U68eKry62SlNmB1xkqA2XKMuRXDjk_bHiv0-Lmaad6NHY5N3BN5JnvCnMAs-QgKD1N_KPiIjbOvWrtk91Ch70pnzU_VprB5Zl4BOEesHHMdLg4_t6l2Vdc3m2B6DAIxcBq/s1600/IMAG0177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WcCIjU6OF_U68eKry62SlNmB1xkqA2XKMuRXDjk_bHiv0-Lmaad6NHY5N3BN5JnvCnMAs-QgKD1N_KPiIjbOvWrtk91Ch70pnzU_VprB5Zl4BOEesHHMdLg4_t6l2Vdc3m2B6DAIxcBq/s320/IMAG0177.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In the city we visited many of the sites – the Town Hall with its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Madox_Brown">Ford Madox Brown </a>murals and opulent marble staircase, Old (or to be more accurate, not so old quite spanking new) Trafford, <a href="http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/deansgate/">Rylands Library</a>, <a href="http://www.mosi.org.uk/">Museum of Science andIndustry</a>, Salford Quays, the <a href="http://www.thelowry.com/">Lowry Theatre</a>, the <a href="http://www.phm.org.uk/">People's HistoryMuseum</a>. We even made a trip out to the mecca of Mammon that is the <a href="http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/">Trafford Centre</a>. Sadly, Coronation Street is no more so the Granada Studio Tour wasn't on the itinerary.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tjTSldSdpQnRkIwsaZrg02wLMnG5l_1R-uxwUeUnhJBb7LySZm0R60qFOE_Pn-tgl8ni2B33DTczDkFkKlxSxSvgxq9Vijekn1Ubi1x-FprLK1SyKr2a7q1kY4_bloe2EnxgX0KyM4_d/s1600/IMAG0185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tjTSldSdpQnRkIwsaZrg02wLMnG5l_1R-uxwUeUnhJBb7LySZm0R60qFOE_Pn-tgl8ni2B33DTczDkFkKlxSxSvgxq9Vijekn1Ubi1x-FprLK1SyKr2a7q1kY4_bloe2EnxgX0KyM4_d/s320/IMAG0185.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">But it wasn't all city life – and I confess I was amazed at what beautiful countryside there is within very easy reach of the city centre. Beautiful market towns and former mill towns with vibrant high streets and pretty cottages. Rolling moors and enticing country walks. <a href="http://www.willowpool.co.uk/tea.html">Saturday morning'stea stop</a>, for example, was a garden centre near Warrington boasting a tea room complete with outside booths, blankets and heaters, all with a great view of the fantastical ice sculptures created by the small fountain. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWxykl4IiS9Dc336m6Nnlhyr6qqfzz7_FvwyyqWWwO-6bsQluwD8Sb8-3g20q24HNfknlwhL1sXhwAaXNO7aBhSsj31sy4WqyBmi8_s707-eEu2s4AW_mN0OWNG3tppyq5XAe0N1HsDmO/s1600/IMAG0286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWxykl4IiS9Dc336m6Nnlhyr6qqfzz7_FvwyyqWWwO-6bsQluwD8Sb8-3g20q24HNfknlwhL1sXhwAaXNO7aBhSsj31sy4WqyBmi8_s707-eEu2s4AW_mN0OWNG3tppyq5XAe0N1HsDmO/s320/IMAG0286.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Admittedly the North West has its fair share of down at heel locations – mill towns that haven't survived the post industrial age that is modern Britain, areas of deprivation and poverty. A quick scan of the local council websites tell the story with regeneration schemes, anti poverty projects and youth employment initiatives commonplace. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">But for all that, you know what? I liked it – even the train journey through Dumfries & Galloway, the Lake District and Lancashire is a pleasure. Apart from the damn Virgin Pendolino trains that is, their travel sick inducing properties never cease to amaze me. This morning's alternative of the TransPennine Express is a joy by comparison, even if it is just a glorified Sprinter train!</div><br />
<i>PS Best of all was the company, but that's a whole different story for another day...</i><br />
<i> </i>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-78160045814823462752012-02-10T15:39:00.000+00:002012-02-10T15:39:14.677+00:00Random Thoughts: Wealth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtr7AdOy7c6Da0_l4Us7YUWGfmw3Lm5VyZHE3crs8oW5m3PkZtnZXh-fxZYPMioDJ6QKr0eaUrg5HpQR60pP3ltbhWZr0iRZ23x3ji7XIJ6r73M2OEN6ynQlM9fjFRmgG8r9P_Mt1ydLs/s1600/IMAG0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtr7AdOy7c6Da0_l4Us7YUWGfmw3Lm5VyZHE3crs8oW5m3PkZtnZXh-fxZYPMioDJ6QKr0eaUrg5HpQR60pP3ltbhWZr0iRZ23x3ji7XIJ6r73M2OEN6ynQlM9fjFRmgG8r9P_Mt1ydLs/s320/IMAG0184.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2012/02/missing-in-inaction.html">blogged earlier this week </a>that I've taken up a new blogging challenge - the Random Thoughts challenge set by my partner in crime, the awesome <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">Just Frances</a>. So here goes with my first one...<br />
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I am challenged to write for you about Cooking up my own 'Get Rich Quick' scheme. Now this is a bit of a hard one for me, in part because I've never yet managed to do it, and in part becauise I'm really not that interesting in getting rich. In fact the whole millionaire celebrity culture that we appear to have created in this country simply turns me off. Don't get me wrong, I like having cash. I like being able to afford to buy the pretty silly things I like, but if I'm honest, I'm really quite happy just being comfortable. I don't crave more, I'm content with what I've got - and I really don't know what I'd spend it on if I had more. Apart from shoes, that is - obviously. And travelling...<br />
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But back to the challenge. I've never really been an entrepreneur. As a child, I wasn't the one setting up car washing or gardening businesses. I did have an after school job doing ironing for one of the local shopowners, but that was the scale of my ambition.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0L-9ytvSlMCfVAD7oiHfPu0NKhsRyfVvxexRAsWHd5JDeCqKIHwPhLm0YFNzXF6YDEZ_5mnUoVqv1LOK0c8l0Oh0OLoiHF8d8nmM47EF_w0lTatQfxJmGHFXaZFVEf_avV74CkHd-slu/s1600/IM000039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0L-9ytvSlMCfVAD7oiHfPu0NKhsRyfVvxexRAsWHd5JDeCqKIHwPhLm0YFNzXF6YDEZ_5mnUoVqv1LOK0c8l0Oh0OLoiHF8d8nmM47EF_w0lTatQfxJmGHFXaZFVEf_avV74CkHd-slu/s320/IM000039.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
My only foray into self employed-dom has been a fairly unsuccessful (financially at least) dabbling in handmade jewellery making. For a couple of years I spent most of my evenings creating 'unique' (ie unsellable) items that I would then spend most of my weekends at craft fairs not selling.<br />
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Overall I made a financial loss on the 'business'. Ironically, however, I did make a profit courtesy of HMRC - to keep on the right side of everything I opted to declare myself self employed and as a result was obliged to complete a tax return each year. It seems I was overpaying tax on other aspects of my earnings and as a result for the last few years I've received a rebate.<br />
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Not quite get rich, and certainly not very quick, but bizarrely it did bring in additional income. Ho hum, who'd have thought it.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-65262022836605775852012-02-05T21:30:00.001+00:002012-02-05T21:36:49.058+00:00Missing in inaction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK_tCV0ETCsViuRENKPSpv0gBQqKwvVG-dKh9s-1uaJWcUzQ-GAimctb8MQUfqBH0uYdMNZhnYn-Lwog-7y-nFH6AzSB9W043_2SIcNxYzUxdTFPO8GDRTn7_zMYjVTJtqpRTEfsAkpmO/s1600/IMAG0169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK_tCV0ETCsViuRENKPSpv0gBQqKwvVG-dKh9s-1uaJWcUzQ-GAimctb8MQUfqBH0uYdMNZhnYn-Lwog-7y-nFH6AzSB9W043_2SIcNxYzUxdTFPO8GDRTn7_zMYjVTJtqpRTEfsAkpmO/s320/IMAG0169.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
As regular readers will realise, I've been a bit absent this year so far. At least from my blog that is. Truth i,s I've hit a bit of a block. Not a 'can't write', writer's block kind of block, but a 'not really sure what to write' one.<br />
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The thing is, as you know, this is a personal self indulgent little blog, where I get to write about what's happening to me, what I'm thinking and how life is faring for me. I'm generally pretty open in it, and at times I've shared some deeply personal stuff. It's what seems right to do. But at the moment, for a variety of reasons that I'll no doubt share in due course, my personal life isn't something I'm comfortable sharing with the world at the moment.<br />
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Now don't worry, there's nothing wrong. I'm perfectly ok, no bad things are happening - it's just that I'm not ready to write publicly about some stuff and that's been blocking me from writing about anything. So it was with great pleasure today that <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">Frances </a>(the queen of awesomeness herself) and I agreed to our <a href="http://justfrances.com/2012/02/05/random-thoughts-a-challenge/">latest blog challenge</a>. So for the next while, we're going to both post at least once a week on a random topic - and not just any random topic but one drawn completely at random from a <a href="http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/">creative writing prompt website </a>with numbers <a href="http://www.random.org/">generated digitally at random </a>for us. To make sure we don't cheat, we're both going to select each other's number and therefore topic and then we will have until the following weekend to compose our <strike>inane ramblings</strike>, sorry works of genius. <br />
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We'll be identifying our challenge posts with the title 'Random Thoughts' and I'll be tagging mine 'randomness' just in case you're ever daft enough to want to read them all.<br />
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Hopefully this will help me get back into my blogging groove. To be honest, I've missed it - you may not have done, but I definitely have. So here we go, let 2012 be the year of random!!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-24364472375051890512012-01-22T20:06:00.000+00:002012-01-22T20:06:47.779+00:00Through wind and rain...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdy0Ylt4a3zGRra5VsrxDzjjSLLsaOEfe_pk4lzfppOKf3cP7xKWM4or6aOYSM7Swq1kbdvmVfkH3WvXHTGIplrg3EQmCb9vOMs3B_U_Not3W7G6_iJz0x5P24_GYoMctclrvwzPZiXR2/s1600/IMAG0203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdy0Ylt4a3zGRra5VsrxDzjjSLLsaOEfe_pk4lzfppOKf3cP7xKWM4or6aOYSM7Swq1kbdvmVfkH3WvXHTGIplrg3EQmCb9vOMs3B_U_Not3W7G6_iJz0x5P24_GYoMctclrvwzPZiXR2/s400/IMAG0203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Well, yesterday saw me run <a href="http://www.buchlyvie10k.co.uk/">my first race of the year</a>, as predicted <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2012/01/racing-ahead-of-myself.html">last time I posted</a>. It was the first of my <a href="http://justfrances.com/2012/01/21/a-running-start/">race a month challenge </a>set by the awesome <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">Just Frances</a>. This will see us get through 2012 with a minimum of one organised race a month. We already have a few mapped out and a few gaps in the schedule, but yesterday was the day we got it all kicked off.<br />
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And, to be honest, weather-wise, we would have struggled to get a worse day - short of blizzard conditions, that is! As Frances tells me, she's run in colder conditions, but yesterday was the whole package of yukky conditions - rain, strong headwind, bitingly cold, with muddy and uneven conditions underfoot. Added to our combined lack of training, we were fearing the worst. To be honest, I was convinced I was likely to come last having looked at last year's results. And while I'm not running to win, if I'm entirely honest, I find coming last a real problem. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClH6O8v1vssMNUODRr3vINr0KTUEuOiWH2jXk5AwLx63EDnIBo_tS4k-K_C63u6FdvrKHD5nDZu84JtcrJl9n1WbV17BAZ5sN1xR1ll3vBuTnac0NaRKKtGsUMhyphenhyphen-d7WqqluaHGqFNsWl/s1600/IMAG0206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClH6O8v1vssMNUODRr3vINr0KTUEuOiWH2jXk5AwLx63EDnIBo_tS4k-K_C63u6FdvrKHD5nDZu84JtcrJl9n1WbV17BAZ5sN1xR1ll3vBuTnac0NaRKKtGsUMhyphenhyphen-d7WqqluaHGqFNsWl/s320/IMAG0206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
But as it turns out, I did ok. My time wasn't the best (1:04:51 - my slowest yet for a 10k), and my running certainly wasn't elegant. But I didn't disgrace myself - I wasn't last, I managed to run the whole race without stopping and I crossed the finish line with some (but not a lot) of puff left. And while I was shattered afterwards and in my bed by 9pm last night, today I'm not feeling too bad at all. A few twinges but no crippling muscle strains or aching joints.<br />
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And surprising amounts of energy - must be all those endolphins. Either that or my post race nutrition - it's all about eating and drinking the right things after all...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1x4db5yOrFPY_g90WkcfNSflRWgNA1IUv-S0wbSGFA3PQpoHEoFLNgqYs7iFgvJEdobYA_bexD8t0fyfojn5JfhZGWlIE9vXjmXSBGuWxTmu_W9LDxWFRStsIDyXtG-KNiFaaOjs34Uq1/s1600/IMAG0196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1x4db5yOrFPY_g90WkcfNSflRWgNA1IUv-S0wbSGFA3PQpoHEoFLNgqYs7iFgvJEdobYA_bexD8t0fyfojn5JfhZGWlIE9vXjmXSBGuWxTmu_W9LDxWFRStsIDyXtG-KNiFaaOjs34Uq1/s400/IMAG0196.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-43131582615761338792012-01-13T17:52:00.000+00:002012-01-13T17:52:11.953+00:00Racing ahead of myself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MkvP382Vt99d_ycIGvh1Fu8lPoKJTe_qYXuBOlNu-leKpM1bhEOp3uEZ1qvVwEAtDBoXIWiFQsaekq7-hPlxPbGBloy_sbLH9o5qlIKfH-ig5krezgc-BbjttCV8kh8xY7MA6gYRRKNr/s1600/20x30-LNAK0173.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MkvP382Vt99d_ycIGvh1Fu8lPoKJTe_qYXuBOlNu-leKpM1bhEOp3uEZ1qvVwEAtDBoXIWiFQsaekq7-hPlxPbGBloy_sbLH9o5qlIKfH-ig5krezgc-BbjttCV8kh8xY7MA6gYRRKNr/s320/20x30-LNAK0173.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
Regular readers of this blog will know that last year saw me taking on perhaps my biggest challenge yet - <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/10/262.html">running a marathon </a>with my <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">awesome partner in crime</a>. It was, I confess, a hard slog - not all of the time but as the distances got longer and the race got nearer, it became a real trial.<br />
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I can't say that I enjoyed it but I am exceptionally proud of myself that I completed it. Before, during and after the race I was firm in my conviction that I wouldn't do another one. The pain - physical and psychological - was just too much for me, and having done it once I didn't feel any great compulsion to do it again. I can safely say I really didn't understand how people could become addicted to such a god awful experience.<br />
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Just over 3 months on, has my view changed? Not really. I'm not quite so anti trying another marathon 'in due course' now, but it's still not something I feel compelled to rush out and do straight away. I haven't given up the running however.<br />
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Or to be more accurate, I won't be giving up the running. I have rather given it up over the winter but that's starting to change. I got out on my first run in 2 months at the weekend and while my time wasn't great and I felt pretty sore for a few days afterwards, it's also true to say that I felt good afterwards. It was great to get the air in my lungs again, to stretch my legs out and to stomp round my 4 mile running route.<br />
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Which is just as well really, since the aforementioned Frances has challenged me to a race a month for 2012 and we have our first one lined up for next weekend. Luckily it's <a href="http://www.buchlyvie10k.co.uk/">just (!?) a 10k </a>so I've got half a chance of surviving it with only minimal training.<br />
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However, for minimal read 'No' training. And if I'm not careful that might be the way it is this year. For a variety of reasons I'm expecting to find my personal time under pressure this year. I'm not unhappy about that but it does mean I'm going to have to be much more disciplined about my training schedule. Before work runs might need to start happening once the mornings get light enough. Weekend runs will need to be squeezed in as and when to get some longer distances under my belt. <br />
<br />
I'm looking forward to it. No, really I am. I'm particularly looking forward to enjoying my running again, without the fear of 26.2 miles hanging over me as it did for large parts of last year. But knowing me and my competitive streak, I'll just replace the challenge of endurance with one of speed and will spend my year obsessing about PBs.<br />
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Still, there are worse things to obsess about...Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-11483433954549811932012-01-08T14:42:00.001+00:002012-01-08T14:45:55.121+00:00Comfort for the soul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPNDMCNUY20Wc5xN5M03WLDjtDxM6HyQ36kkL5h8YWvSi8DNSgJG1LUg5DKsO6UoTCIzJVVlqAk3sL7CqItJuSVs4I-DmRnqNxKIZMXNyzEJSKFKrDhRr-r8sUjj29WHCfotXah7Lfyqx/s1600/IMAG0138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPNDMCNUY20Wc5xN5M03WLDjtDxM6HyQ36kkL5h8YWvSi8DNSgJG1LUg5DKsO6UoTCIzJVVlqAk3sL7CqItJuSVs4I-DmRnqNxKIZMXNyzEJSKFKrDhRr-r8sUjj29WHCfotXah7Lfyqx/s320/IMAG0138.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>...and for the body.<br />
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You know, there's nothing like home cooked food to make you feel good. And, for me at least, nothing like making home cooked food to make me feel good. Honestly, I love it. Cooking really relaxes me. Wait a minute, let me qualify that. Cooking, when there isn't a time pressure really relaxes me. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if I was having to churn out meal after meal to a schedule, particularly if the diners were fussy or unappreciative. I really do take my hat off to working mums (or dads, for that matter) who manage that particular miracle day in, day out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGmnBoQxotRdFZhqTSfnLYr8XjrR9h3lvpRDRwbZU4dSlYcXq-6PdGiN0G1L2UzH4sq8imnmXBFQeLrJvFwhzD0o9Kx1t0bVi1hlRVOya6SA-u39C2YZB1ErCQjjHAxtL0ve6Pmq0cKYF/s1600/IMAG0141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGmnBoQxotRdFZhqTSfnLYr8XjrR9h3lvpRDRwbZU4dSlYcXq-6PdGiN0G1L2UzH4sq8imnmXBFQeLrJvFwhzD0o9Kx1t0bVi1hlRVOya6SA-u39C2YZB1ErCQjjHAxtL0ve6Pmq0cKYF/s320/IMAG0141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
But for me, I'm lucky. Generally the only person I have to please is myself - and I'm always appreciative of my efforts! I can pick and choose when I cook, or when I just snack. I can opt to eat in the middle of the day from the canteen at work and just have toast or something similar when I get in at night. My only deadlines are the ones I set myself, and if I'm too tired to cook but am hungry, there's usually something in the freezer that can just be heated up from one of my earlier cooking sessions. (I always make way more than I need with the express intention of freezing the rest for a later date. I know my work/life [im]balance, after all!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPDNeYAFO53RrZHjtQpGeQTpClwLip4d0bc3d5TXh5e6ns0ZwA8pt9OdhOn8GRE2xjstH6MQMsRjd0uTayJjbhoxr2ZQwfPRKTLMAHfogto4MHtZF8Y9fPVyswfn-1-sGRs2fDKqFM2UA/s1600/IMAG0144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPDNeYAFO53RrZHjtQpGeQTpClwLip4d0bc3d5TXh5e6ns0ZwA8pt9OdhOn8GRE2xjstH6MQMsRjd0uTayJjbhoxr2ZQwfPRKTLMAHfogto4MHtZF8Y9fPVyswfn-1-sGRs2fDKqFM2UA/s320/IMAG0144.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So, last night, after a great day out in Edinburgh exploring what was left of the sales, my relaxation method of choice for a fun Saturday evening was to raid the fridge and get cooking. I confess that I'm not organised enough to plan menus out - unless for special occasions - and my dishes tend to be combinations of what's in the fridge/cupboard and needing to be used up. Years of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protect_and_Survive">Protect and Survive </a>from my Mum have left me with a 'nuclear store cupboard' mentality to food shopping, so it's not usually too hard to whip something up from what I can find around and about of an evening. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8ah1-3LmVAIaJ1McyqoyPHi0n2m8vJZeiaRqClordyZ7IiAFTVEmxbJvDKRVmRNLC5VzLIIj3-04pu2rKdkXIBFINgc8ZRfc6i9KGGbqIknQr8c3lqx0Wb_E-ybuFV3UjNtpy79fMeiW/s1600/IMAG0145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8ah1-3LmVAIaJ1McyqoyPHi0n2m8vJZeiaRqClordyZ7IiAFTVEmxbJvDKRVmRNLC5VzLIIj3-04pu2rKdkXIBFINgc8ZRfc6i9KGGbqIknQr8c3lqx0Wb_E-ybuFV3UjNtpy79fMeiW/s320/IMAG0145.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'll sometimes buy ingredients with the intention of making a particular dish, but more often I buy things because they look interesting, or I like the taste and know that I'll find something to do with them. As a result, I don't often follow recipes. Generally my dishes are made up, sometimes loosely based on a recipe from a book, but more often just guess work about what flavours and textures will work well together.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt36SemPMatuc5NpwyTqvEUvBkBV4UaYNLyiTeoAYsuXV2WMDu6zFERFX1PVZc639IgD1aVhbgnbQa0a5hb3yJ2hMi6Lsaacxw8c4VoDgh6h269TY-ai32pLyONgAHXD1TTZDmx_xPXYa/s1600/IMAG0147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt36SemPMatuc5NpwyTqvEUvBkBV4UaYNLyiTeoAYsuXV2WMDu6zFERFX1PVZc639IgD1aVhbgnbQa0a5hb3yJ2hMi6Lsaacxw8c4VoDgh6h269TY-ai32pLyONgAHXD1TTZDmx_xPXYa/s320/IMAG0147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Don't get me wrong, I own tons of cookery books, and I love reading them. They generally make my mouth water. I also have a subscription to the ever enticing <a href="http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/">Delicious </a>magazine. And I wouldn't be without any of them. But they're pretty much just for ideas. My true passion is creating!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYZ0xNAp9VwrzmTuaNANGWlCWnos3GT_ajqCNw4bTXzi4kC5BF6-SyoxiZ9u_SvoFlrH9FexojM2bjrkCmsLDh7UXGLN02srOywLoVOsywXprn41i3egHNwR6wT2KqAyztjeqs6AmK_6f/s1600/IMAG0149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYZ0xNAp9VwrzmTuaNANGWlCWnos3GT_ajqCNw4bTXzi4kC5BF6-SyoxiZ9u_SvoFlrH9FexojM2bjrkCmsLDh7UXGLN02srOywLoVOsywXprn41i3egHNwR6wT2KqAyztjeqs6AmK_6f/s320/IMAG0149.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And this little lot? Well, it was 2 (3 minus 1 because I had no kidney beans!) and mushroom chilli, and stuffed portobello mushrooms. I ate some of the chilli, which was very good if I say so myself, and the mushrooms have gone into the freezer for another day - probably to be eaten either on their on with a salad of some description, or as a side dish to another main meal. Can't wait!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWUTUix3TV2lGp4r21HtX9d2PA4tVq2H-YxzHqMO6xJULeIqteKgjqntKPgBD1WCVi6ulOrvPzn7NnapnRI5mXoxmO57LUUc9ptksfLm1YSjW-6OEw1eF-UPAnIqpqzPNIgjmUZ7-7UG2/s1600/IMAG0151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWUTUix3TV2lGp4r21HtX9d2PA4tVq2H-YxzHqMO6xJULeIqteKgjqntKPgBD1WCVi6ulOrvPzn7NnapnRI5mXoxmO57LUUc9ptksfLm1YSjW-6OEw1eF-UPAnIqpqzPNIgjmUZ7-7UG2/s320/IMAG0151.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<i>OK, I did promise the recipes to some friends so here they are - or as close as you get to recipes from me!</i><br />
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<i>Chilli - sweat off some onions and peppers, add chilli flakes and powder, cook off a bit and then add a tin or so of chopped tomatoes (plus any whole ones left in the fridge!). Throw in some quartered button mushrooms and tins of whatever beans you have handy. Cook for about 30 mins to let the juices out and flavours in. My secret additional ingredient for last night was a dash of Jerk Molasses Barbeque sauce, which added a fabulous hint of smokiness. </i><br />
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<i>A tip from a friend was to make corn bread to go with it. That's a definite for me when the remains come out of the freezer next time!</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>Stuffed mushrooms - take however many portobello or breakfast mushrooms you have, brush them with olive oil and put in the oven on a baking tray for 4 mins. Meanwhile chop up onions - or in this case, leeks - and sweat in butter. Add garlic if you like, I didn't but I'm sure it would taste good. I had some thyme - which is great with mushrooms - so that went in after the sweating. I also added the stalks from the mushrooms for some extra flavour and to avoid wasting them. Crumble up some cheese, add to the pan together with some breadcrumbs and an egg. Season and then pack on top of the part cooked mushrooms. Put the whole lot back in the oven and cook for another 6 mins or so. Remove, eat, enjoy!</i>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-64401173418114575692012-01-05T11:25:00.002+00:002012-01-05T11:33:56.573+00:00Storms<div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfH96FH6BX20HJn2x2-vN0g47PA0ePq4aLaU-zKvoj5KAuyoxiR4u1I3on1PFDetdCqNwUo9sQdByBySygKkkztW_DgtYtxkSmGrhU6v55p_5dYD7sayxFH2M0T_Z4AJMnwXpcC16tSVg/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfH96FH6BX20HJn2x2-vN0g47PA0ePq4aLaU-zKvoj5KAuyoxiR4u1I3on1PFDetdCqNwUo9sQdByBySygKkkztW_DgtYtxkSmGrhU6v55p_5dYD7sayxFH2M0T_Z4AJMnwXpcC16tSVg/" width="400px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We often talk about the still before the storm, but what about the peace that comes after it? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As with this week's weather, there's often damage and daily lives can be thrown out of kilter. Things that have been around for a long time can be uprooted and over-turned. It can be difficult to come to terms with sometimes, and the change can be hard. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But sometimes the new perspective can be liberating - not necessarily straight away, but in time you can come to appreciate the new view that you have, the space that wasn't there before, the fresh light in your surroundings. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And just sometimes, that new light and space can allow something really wonderful to grow. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Me? Well, I survived the storm. There was some damage and things have changed, but I found my way through - and found myself at the same time. Now it's time for my something wonderful...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2012 - here I come! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-30796599256699142612011-12-31T15:11:00.000+00:002011-12-31T15:11:06.592+00:00TWTYTW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JBa4-Qv675U/Tv8hjoO1GuI/AAAAAAAABj0/OJd515ORloE/s1600/2011+statuses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JBa4-Qv675U/Tv8hjoO1GuI/AAAAAAAABj0/OJd515ORloE/s320/2011+statuses.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>Well, it's that time of year again when I look back at the year that's been, and try to make sense of it all. And it really depends where you look what the year appears to have been.<br />
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Looking at my Facebook status updates randomly captured by the Facebook bot and collaged above, I appear to have the most banal of existences. I'm not sure what that tells me - I don't think I'm as shallow as this little selection implies, but who knows! There are a few highlights in there - my continuing search for a permanent residence, my awesome friends, the usual niggles from work, my weakness for the guilty pleasures of idoitic TV, and hints of my <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">new found partner-in-crime</a>. But the real highs (and lows) of the year aren't captured, other than obliquely.<br />
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There's nothing, for example, about my <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/10/262.html">running challenge </a>- which is strange because I'm pretty sure I bored my online friends senseless with it this year. Who knows, perhaps even the bot was bored! There's also precious little about <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/p/objectives-resolutions-targets-and.html">my life goals </a>for the year - which is interesting, since they don't really appear to have been central to my day to day musings. And there's also not much about <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/10/trains-boats-and-automobiles.html">my great adventure to Sicily</a>, surely one of the highlights of my year - not so much for the travelling, which was great, but for the sense of freedom, independence and confidence that it brought me, finally!<br />
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So, when I look back (personally*) on 2011 that's probably what stands out the most for me. 2011 as the year when I finally came to terms with who and what I am, and learned to love it. <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/search/label/wip-me">Work-in-progress me </a>has come a long way over the last 12 months, and you know what? I'm pretty proud of myself for it.<br />
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And what about 2012**? What's it going to be like? Well, I have a feeling it's going to be a good year, perhaps one of the best. I'm in a great place personally, good things are happening, and I feel ready to make the most of them. I have awesome family and friends, I'm healthy, happy, safe, secure. Life is good. What else is there?<br />
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<i>*As I say above, this is a personal reflection on the year. Self indulgent, I know, but that's what this blog is about! If you want a political or news review, try here for just one perspective on 2011 on a less insular scale. </i><br />
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** <i>And if you want to know the real stock take on my 2011 goals, tune in tomorrow (or so!) for a round up and preview of my resolutions and goals for 2012. </i>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-85257808193057420982011-12-25T12:39:00.000+00:002011-12-25T12:39:30.339+00:00Christmas traditions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4UXJlb8UGOo/TvcQLxhn6PI/AAAAAAAABjo/3y61My7WwBM/s1600/IMAG0083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4UXJlb8UGOo/TvcQLxhn6PI/AAAAAAAABjo/3y61My7WwBM/s320/IMAG0083.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
At a time when the rest of the country seems to have finished Christmas, here in <a href="http://www.micklegarth.co.uk/">chez Maxwell </a>it's hardly begun yet. And no, it's not that we've been lying about in bed all morning. We've been up since 8am (well some of us have, <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">others </a>managed a long lie) and there's been lots happening, but Christmas itself as others know it - well, it's not really started yet. <br />
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I'm not sure when it dawned on me that the way we did Christmas at home was different from the way most other people did. We did the whole Santa thing, with stockings hung up, filled overnight and then opened with great excitement in the morning. And we did the Christmas lunch thing - the bird, the vegetables and all the trimmings. But that's pretty much where the similarities ended.<br />
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For one thing, present opening didn't (and still doesn't) start until after lunch. Present opening itself is a very civilised affair, with no paper wrapping frenzy, pauses between gifts to explore and appreciate (and thank the donor) and organised lists of who gave what made. While it might sound boring and sedate, I confess I enjoy it. It is much more of a family event, with true appreciation for what's given and received. And it makes Christmas last waaaay longer!<br />
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When I spoke to friends, of course, I noticed that they did things differently but it wasn't really until I started spending Christmas with other people that I realised just how different it was from the norm. And I've been reminded again this Christmas with a guest in the house, to whom I'm having to explain our idiosyncrasies. Luckily she's a flexible sort and is quite happy to go with the flow. Just as well really.<br />
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And with that, I need to go finish making my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_sauce">bread sauce</a>... Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you're having a great day, whatever your traditions are.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-71826044304388968412011-12-23T09:02:00.000+00:002011-12-23T09:02:17.254+00:00Stripped bare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aNbFzcC7T5U/TvQ87s0N5aI/AAAAAAAABjc/HGoENVZ7Zc0/s1600/DSC00748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aNbFzcC7T5U/TvQ87s0N5aI/AAAAAAAABjc/HGoENVZ7Zc0/s320/DSC00748.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I was thinking the other day, it's been a while since I spent <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/search/label/naked">a day naked in public</a>. I mean, if I know I'm not leaving the flat, I'll do it. But outside? With nothing on? No, not for quite some time.<br />
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If you haven't clicked on the link above yet, by now you may well be wondering what on earth I'm on about - or just what kind of place Stirling is these days! If you have clicked (digitally or metaphorically), you'll know I'm talking about having a make-up free day. Perhaps not quite as daring as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Godiva">full Lady Godiva</a>, but in some ways no less scary. <br />
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The good news is that my skin is so much better these days, and the thought of braving the outside without make-up is therefore much less daunting. I put that down to a couple of things - wearing less, and <a href="http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/the-lowdown-on-mineral-makeup?page=2">better, make up </a>on a day to day basis, and a more consistent skin care regime. I only have to look at my friends who don't wear make up to realise that if I'm probably on the right track with that. <br />
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But I'm convinced it's also due to a more stable, content and positive me. Less stress and angst really does seem to benefit my skin. <br />
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The bad news? Well, I'm not sure there is any, to be honest. Other than me still feeling the need to disguise my flaws and imperfections on a daily basis. Is that a bad thing? Yes and no, I guess. The make up I tend to wear is so light that it doesn't do much more than just smooth things out. It certainly doesn't change my face to the degree that I see some women trying to. But the fact that I feel the need for cover-up probably says something about my (lack of) confidence.<br />
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I don't think I'm vain, but I am conscious of how I look. Right or wrong, I feel people will judge me by how I look as much as by what I do or say. Part of me is bound up in how I look, perhaps too much. Not all of me, but hiding my imperfections is still something I feel the need to do to bolster my courage. Maybe that's what I need to work on next...Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-31088515936686770132011-12-18T19:18:00.000+00:002011-12-18T19:18:38.930+00:00Obscenity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpWubB8rUhR8I7yeXNcCNMa9f7sVeOQgkq2aw79Dw0yZFz6nvXXnXxc-1QVgtu0eAdZx2R_DJySE7tOTuMTBtnQFqnNp0wNVfToT_vN_Qf6ZdXHb6GSg3svE6YqJpPBaLJL_ZZAZZxwbP/s1600/DSC02033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpWubB8rUhR8I7yeXNcCNMa9f7sVeOQgkq2aw79Dw0yZFz6nvXXnXxc-1QVgtu0eAdZx2R_DJySE7tOTuMTBtnQFqnNp0wNVfToT_vN_Qf6ZdXHb6GSg3svE6YqJpPBaLJL_ZZAZZxwbP/s320/DSC02033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
As some of my online friends already know, I settled down this afternoon for a lazy pre Christmas Sunday afternoon - all my present buying is pretty much done, I've had a couple of lovely Christmas nights out already and have at least one more feast to look forward to before the big day itself. Not to mention another trip out for festive cocktails at <a href="http://www.thejunkrooms.co.uk/">my favourite watering hole</a>. <br />
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Recovering from the pre-season festivities as I was, I thought I'd throw on a DVD as I lounged on the sofa in my (for a change) cosy living room with the heating on full blast. I was in the mood for some music, so I opted for the Live Aid DVD set I got a few Christmases back. Since I was in for the long haul, instead of flicking through and finding the artists I most wanted to see, I let it run from the beginning - including the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8315248.stm">original news report </a>from Michael Buerk that kick started the whole Band Aid/Live Aid thing. <br />
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It's a while since I've seen the footage - and believe me, it's still as heart rending now as it was then. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried as I watched it again. And while I watched the Band Aid video. And again, when <a href="http://youtu.be/fZG3ZLQ4MO8">*that* Cars track</a> came on. It is shocking and I defy anyone not to be moved. Disgusted. Appalled. <br />
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But do you know what makes me cry even more? The fact that it's still happening. All over the world. In this so called modern world of ours, even today, there are <a href="http://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats">millions who go hungry </a>- in fact, more than the combined populations of USA, Canada and the European Union put together. Hunger is a far bigger killer than AIDS, than malaria or than TB. 25% of children in the developing world are under-nourished.<br />
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At the same time, we <a href="http://www.stopthehunger.com/">throw away far more food EVERY DAY </a>than it would take to feed those starving people. There are more obese people on the planet than there are starving ones - about 50% more. And that's a big number when you consider there are nearly 1 billion starving people.<br />
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Now, to me - that's real obscenity!<br />
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So, at this time of year when we prepare to tuck into our Christmas dinners, containing upwards of 3,000 calories in one meal - about 3 or 4 times what we actually NEED, I'm spending a bit of time finding out what I can do to help.<br />
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There's the obvious one about donating to organisations trying to help - people like the <a href="https://www.wfp.org/donate/fillthecup?icn=homepage-donate-cup&ici=small-button-link">UN Food Programme</a>, the <a href="http://www.dec.org.uk/">Disasters Emergency Committee</a>, <a href="http://www.savethechildren.net/alliance/index.html">Save the Children </a>and many many more. And while it's nowhere near as extreme in the UK, <a href="http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/our_projects/child_poverty.htm">far too many children here grow up in poverty </a>too - approximately 4 million according to some sources. 4 million! In our 'civilised' society. Ok, they're probably not starving but they are still suffering. And their life chances are significantly worse as a result.<br />
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Giving money is the easy bit to be honest, my real challenge is to work out what else I can do to make a difference. I'm lucky that there are small things I can do through my job to try to change some of the conditions - but it feels like nowhere near enough. I need to do some serious thinking. <br />
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And as I look around at my life - my comfortable, luxurious, safe life - I'm embarrassed. Embarrassed at thinking that sometimes it's hard. Embarrassed at worrying about the silly things I worry about, getting annoyed at trivia. And embarrassed about the excesses that even my relatively low key life allows me.<br />
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Obscene - you bet it is! Funny, you never heard <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whitehouse">Mary Whitehouse </a>complaining about that...Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-19691879984993771022011-12-17T13:37:00.000+00:002011-12-17T13:37:18.487+00:00TMI?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEc5GUovMqu1geQzBgGSnzJGNDwQGHpwyRJVtS35zFDT6vrFOureH4CzkuznKz9LTow2AZP81EsOsVG5hBsQsv373NlTijWhetq0sVRiASfXFVWaK65yfO20eghsWLlLiYY7qIEaGIn3tZ/s1600/DSC01641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEc5GUovMqu1geQzBgGSnzJGNDwQGHpwyRJVtS35zFDT6vrFOureH4CzkuznKz9LTow2AZP81EsOsVG5hBsQsv373NlTijWhetq0sVRiASfXFVWaK65yfO20eghsWLlLiYY7qIEaGIn3tZ/s320/DSC01641.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Too much information? In these days of hyper digital connectivity, it's a question I often find myself asking. Finding and providing information, communicating and researching are just all so easy these days that I'm surprised we aren't all suffering from complete information overload.<br />
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It's a question, kind of, that <a href="http://justfrances.com/2011/12/08/a-modest-proposal/">my friend Frances </a>is going to be grappling with next semester as she starts researching her Masters dissertation. Just how do we work out where to get our news and information from? There is just so much of it...<br />
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Which brings me to the other side of it - just how easy it is to share (often personal) information with the world. It never ceases to amaze me just how much some people are willing to share. I know I share a fair amount on this blog and through my Facebook profile, but I do censor - honest.<br />
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There are some things I wouldn't share. No, really - there are! And I don't just mean stuff I write. I also try to keep certain information completely private. I've been joking with a friend about stalking, but sadly <a href="http://www.nss.org.uk/scotland/">it's not a joking matter </a>for some people and these days of online lives can make it all too easy I suspect.<br />
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So, do yourself a favour - check out how secure your privacy settings are. Take the time to do that little check on Facebook, LinkdIn, wherever to see what can be seen about you. Google yourself a few different ways to check that you're only sharing what you want to share. It's not just about fraud, although that is made much easier by social networking than it ever used to be, it's can also be about your own personal safety. Time worth taking, if you ask me!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-37334337389525640302011-12-11T12:25:00.000+00:002011-12-11T12:25:39.699+00:00It's Christmas time...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqb380kwysEbonES3wz8vjq97bzcmAuGYrPHjg0L__73mx12uoj7S7yC0JVhyphenhyphenwLRkizJKxF95xmF5cmlVGqseV5N1KmXXgXM0ySxDPva6pzE3jzIZlA7dcNIqOhOw5AV9mSvDhUInvQtM/s1600/DSC00937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqb380kwysEbonES3wz8vjq97bzcmAuGYrPHjg0L__73mx12uoj7S7yC0JVhyphenhyphenwLRkizJKxF95xmF5cmlVGqseV5N1KmXXgXM0ySxDPva6pzE3jzIZlA7dcNIqOhOw5AV9mSvDhUInvQtM/s320/DSC00937.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Yes, really, it is finally almost upon us. The shops may have been telling us since September, but with 2 weeks to go, I think it's reasonable to say now that it's very nearly Christmas.<br />
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As they say, Christmas comes but once a year, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that is thinking, thank heavens for that. For me, it's the fact that I haven't got my Christmas shopping under control yet that's panicking me. For others, I know it's the whole family/work/life juggling to get ready for the Christmas festivities that causes no end of stress. Sadly, for still others, it's the loneliness of loss or the fear of violence that can make this time of year hard to bear.<br />
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We all rush around at this time of year - visiting family, seeing friends, buying gifts, making and eating delicious food,going to church, giving thanks - just to make the holiday perfect. It does make me wonder why we have to save it all up - why don't we make more effort to keep in touch throughout the year, why do we need special occasions to tell people we love and care about them? Why can't we do that every day?<br />
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And with that, I'm off to brave Stirling shops again to see if I can break the back of my own personal Christmas stress factor. Yesterday's Farmers Market got me some of the way there, off to see if the independent traders are open today for round two!! I may not be managing to keep away from the big corporate fraud completely, but I'm doing my best to shop local, shop small, and when I can, shop handmade.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-64578601107909098292011-12-10T13:20:00.001+00:002011-12-10T13:23:19.744+00:00Whether the weather...<div style="text-align: center;"><pre>Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!</pre><pre><b> Traditional children's rhyme </b></pre><pre></pre></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0VjmVShMaxRuEspqt93LlCMCjwusR6l-XMr7PEXd962m5-yYcpWcWtdRaHqCPgsE86zBb-C_zF_P_PRP0iH6BSF7t1QYEzIvFDLv6M8Evy1APW7XknWlVyrEogcOCpm8sqJM8dFdaSP1/s1600/IMAG0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0VjmVShMaxRuEspqt93LlCMCjwusR6l-XMr7PEXd962m5-yYcpWcWtdRaHqCPgsE86zBb-C_zF_P_PRP0iH6BSF7t1QYEzIvFDLv6M8Evy1APW7XknWlVyrEogcOCpm8sqJM8dFdaSP1/s320/IMAG0033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Well, it's been a strange couple of weeks weather-wise round here. Last week we had <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/15937557">torrential rain and flooding</a>, on Monday the snow arrived briefly, then it got warmer again.<br />
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And then on Thursday, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Bawbag">Hurricane Bawbag </a>hit - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16094360">with a vengeance</a>! Not only did it cause a weather storm, it's also creating an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Hurricane_Bawbag#Requested_move">academic/geek storm </a>over on Wikipedia as they try to decide whether to use the commonly known name or the official one for the Wiki entry. Go on, I challenge you - without looking it up - what's the official name?<br />
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As a slight digression, the whole naming of storms thing is quite interesting. Until relatively recently, storms were <a href="http://www.hurricaneville.com/names.html">always given female names </a>but that changed in 1979 - to go along with the times, apparently?? - since when names have alternated between male and female. And yes, before you ask, there has been a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Pacific_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Rebecca">Hurricane Rebecca</a>!! It does beg the question of why on earth name storms in the first place though?<br />
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Anyway, to get back to the point - in amongst <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hurricane-Bawbag/256939584362918?ref=ts&sk=wall">all the humour</a>, there is a serious side to this weather. We got off pretty lightly really. It could have been so much worse. As far as I know there have been no serious incidents but there are still <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16122285">thousands of households without power </a>and struggling to cope in our now wintry temperatures.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgtSkYLRvt2OWyTmeZx4sdX8lqiXscCMq5aWtr9z_pxrk4ktgzBWAJyH7SAwnO2AbStchUN8csTsFUD9PQXHMHY5BOXfOZGcAQtmOJrJJ11-zjsaRtYOMuSlMbcCUMkzJfpswi86OrJyF/s1600/IMAG0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgtSkYLRvt2OWyTmeZx4sdX8lqiXscCMq5aWtr9z_pxrk4ktgzBWAJyH7SAwnO2AbStchUN8csTsFUD9PQXHMHY5BOXfOZGcAQtmOJrJJ11-zjsaRtYOMuSlMbcCUMkzJfpswi86OrJyF/s320/IMAG0034.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
But for all their current troubles, those families are still the lucky ones really. Spare a thought (<a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/12/home-is.html">again</a>) for those without homes this winter, and maybe make one of your Christmas presents a <a href="https://salvationarmyappeals.org.uk/form.asp?id=526">donation </a>to agencies that help at this happiest time of the year?Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-34760162496642448962011-12-06T20:46:00.000+00:002011-12-06T20:46:30.904+00:00Home is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9muFmgBdPRdZI2Lz4S7cAeK0rQvSxoV0akwcwb8J54tFXZCUlpqTaJciQkuBcx6b3DRuQLyrX2BgCvdyiJiTc0zq0gmimMODKfrMDjZLd33WiYpGUu4_FTUsdOxfpVwCQjjH9r1NTcRO/s1600/DSCF2956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9muFmgBdPRdZI2Lz4S7cAeK0rQvSxoV0akwcwb8J54tFXZCUlpqTaJciQkuBcx6b3DRuQLyrX2BgCvdyiJiTc0zq0gmimMODKfrMDjZLd33WiYpGUu4_FTUsdOxfpVwCQjjH9r1NTcRO/s320/DSCF2956.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Usually we say, home is where the heart is. But for the purposes of this post, it's something we take for granted - and probably shouldn't.<br />
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What's brought this on? A couple of things at work, that's what. I've spent most of the day preparing for a discussion on <a href="http://www.shelter.org.uk/">Homelessness </a>tomorrow. I've been reminding myself of the legal aspects and learning up on the challenges that face agencies in trying to respond and prevent homelessness. It's easy to see it as a technical debate about supply of houses, housing demand and budgets.<br />
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But when you stop to think about it, you realise it's all about people. And people not lucky enough to have the one thing most of us just take for granted, a safe, secure, watertight roof over our heads. In 2010/11, there were <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/RefTables">just over 55,000 of them in Scotland </a>alone - and that's a reduction of 5,000 since 2005/06. Actually, it's probably more people than that since those figures relate to applications, which can include families, as well as individuals.It's a scary statistic. In Scotland, if my maths is right, that means we have a 1 in 100 chance of becoming homeless.<br />
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Of course it's not that evenly spread. The majority of people who experience homelessness do so because of a variety of life circumstances - unemployment, relationship breakdown, violence and abuse, drug or alcohol problems, or offending behaviour. Many of them will have experienced tough lives already, and the homelessness is just one more kick in the guts from the life that they have. It's also true, however, that most of us are only ever a couple or three pay cheques from homelessness ourselves - just think how quickly rent arrears or mortgage payments can mount up, and if you don't have a good family support network in place, well those life changes are even less possible to weather.<br />
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So, what was the other thing? I had the great pleasure this morning of visiting a <a href="http://www.forthha.org.uk/index.php?id=66&devid=43#property">new social rented housing development</a> in the area. It was the official opening and after the speeches and glad-handing was done, we were lucky enough to be invited in to see one of the new homes. It was lovely, a real quality development - both the houses and the street, and what was best about it was the space. The rooms were all well sized, the garden was more than just a postage stamp and the houses had gaps between them that you'd have been hard pressed to span with three, let alone one set of outstretched arms. In short, they were houses and an estate built the way we used before we all got greedy and saw houses as investments to make a fat profit from- either personally or commercially - rather than first and foremost as homes and places to live.<br />
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That was the good bit, the fun bit. The sobering bit was when the tenant showing us round was heaping praise on the design and thermal efficiency of the building. Why was that sobering? Because she said it was just as well it was such a well designed and well insulated house because she could only afford to spend <a href="http://www.poverty.org.uk/80/index.shtml">£10 a week on heating and electricity </a>and otherwise she and her two young children would have had to go cold.<br />
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Now, I complain about how cold my flat is, and how I wish it were warmer - but that's because the heating isn't very effective, not because I can't afford to use it. Again, something that I'm lucky enough to be able to take for granted. As I said, sobering!<br />
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So tomorrow, when I'm debating what we need to do to meet the <a href="http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/what_you_can_do/campaigning/the_2012_target">2012 Homelessness target</a>, while I'll be talking for some of the time about supply of houses and numbers of applicants, I'll also be reminding everyone that it's about people and delivering positive outcomes. Tackling homelessness in a meaningful way is more than just putting people in houses. It's about understanding their needs, finding ways to support them, helping them with the stresses and strains of life that bring up the risk of homelessness in the first place, and by far, far the most effective and preferable response - doing all that we can to prevent homelessness happening in the first place.<br />
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And I'll be giving thanks that I don't have to worry about where I'm going to sleep that night.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-14624755029659417812011-12-04T13:59:00.002+00:002011-12-04T16:21:29.688+00:00Wonderland<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rUXxp1Ot4brev4eDX0Imon3yo61fTcCXa-uVZjJ3ScUATnGSJ1ITAniKDl3kBuGEO4HTYS2l0cJb0GdC8dN8NPMiryopzjYwWapgvpaDt2wbwEHN6oWXghJPmxtiDWILwiowoolWuZOA/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rUXxp1Ot4brev4eDX0Imon3yo61fTcCXa-uVZjJ3ScUATnGSJ1ITAniKDl3kBuGEO4HTYS2l0cJb0GdC8dN8NPMiryopzjYwWapgvpaDt2wbwEHN6oWXghJPmxtiDWILwiowoolWuZOA/" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Yesterday turned out to be a wonderland in so many ways - a trip to Edinburgh, pampering, shopping, fun, culture, coffee, wine, great company. What's not to like?<br />
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I was due in town for a haircut and as luck would have it I was able to persuade my <a href="http://www.justfrances.com/">partner in crime </a>to accompany me. We did some shopping - yes, I even managed to get my Christmas gift buying started - and then explored the <a href="http://www.edinburghschristmas.com/">Christmas markets </a>before heading on to the newly re-opened <a href="http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=52062">National Portrait Gallery</a> for a quick look. After that it was the <a href="http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1234545-Alex-Hair-Studio-Edinburgh">hairdresser's </a>for me and more shopping for Frances, followed by more coffee, a quick file and polish and some <a href="http://www.caferoyal.org.uk/">wine </a>before heading back home to Stirling. <br />
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I even managed to get closer to confirming arrangements to meet up with a friend at Christmas, so happy day all round really. The only fly in the ointment was that our other friend wasn't able to join us in our crimes. Maybe next time?<br />
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</div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-85750173339273793352011-12-02T23:23:00.001+00:002011-12-02T23:24:54.281+00:00Jack Frost nipping at your nose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVobqdYu5MX7zJGqSn6-VVNJh-0e26tNZ11Ke18JTR_bjufC_Kk4J8H7E0i8ZseRJaK5QGbiYnQ72f_ynvmhu4bnYBi5nsl9t01vQx-2fmhrQDk9LAkN7v7Y1Wy-3NVM0M-tV_BOic-9Ve/s1600/IMAG0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVobqdYu5MX7zJGqSn6-VVNJh-0e26tNZ11Ke18JTR_bjufC_Kk4J8H7E0i8ZseRJaK5QGbiYnQ72f_ynvmhu4bnYBi5nsl9t01vQx-2fmhrQDk9LAkN7v7Y1Wy-3NVM0M-tV_BOic-9Ve/s320/IMAG0012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So, it's finally decided to get cold. Not cold like <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2010/11/snow-inspired.html">this time last year</a>, but certainly colder than <a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/11/this-time-last-year.html">this time last week. </a>Last night when we finally got out of work after yet another evening meeting, the ground was shiny, the sky was clear and our breath hung in the air, frozen in time and space.<br />
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It was really beautiful, but it was also incredibly slippy. After all the heavy rain we've been having, and with the temperature plummeting so suddenly, everywhere there were patches of black ice, just waiting to catch the unsuspecting evening homeward stroller.<br />
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Luckily I got home without mishap but with one or two near misses. And then again this morning, it was the same. Wet ground was actually ice, frozen leaves recently blown late from the trees adding to nature's treachery.<br />
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During the day the skies closed in that way they only do in winter, when the light turns them a shade of yellow grey you don't see at any other time of the year. It wasn't quite cold enough yet for snow, but we had a smattering of sleet instead.<br />
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Tonight it's warming up slightly again, not enough to stop the rain/sleet but enough to thaw the ice. The walk home from <a href="http://www.thejunkrooms.co.uk/">cocktails </a>was wet but non slippery. To be honest I think I prefer the ice, but I'd really rather stay in one piece. My track record for health at this time of year is a bit delicate after all. <br />
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I wonder what tomorrow will bring?Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-68880776981214592132011-11-30T22:35:00.000+00:002011-11-30T22:35:29.879+00:00Identity crisis?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwMqaZI2cMjeex3iXX8gVd-eO1rD5Q8UPfvA_AvwoPL74Ou2BqkX_HoxainwjGo-gtkst6eu6QfYnllQX1GNqqA-ZjNDXw47W9NCwV_ZUKsqESjl_2XO5FBbJcA7epBlHoRYLgLCuf7wdK/s1600/DSC00663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwMqaZI2cMjeex3iXX8gVd-eO1rD5Q8UPfvA_AvwoPL74Ou2BqkX_HoxainwjGo-gtkst6eu6QfYnllQX1GNqqA-ZjNDXw47W9NCwV_ZUKsqESjl_2XO5FBbJcA7epBlHoRYLgLCuf7wdK/s320/DSC00663.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/11/infamy.html">Yesterday </a>I blogged about my many alter egos I could find in the virtual world. Tonight's post is more about the identity crises we can all face in our real lives. <br />
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It was the fact that today is <a href="http://www.scotland.org/culture/festivals/st-andrews-day/">St Andrew's Day </a>that got me thinking about it - you know, St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. Do I consider myself to be Scottish or British - or even European or a global citizen? My nationality is British - it's a British passport I hold, but my national identity is probably Scottish. I was born in Edinburgh but I consider myself a <a href="http://www.scottishslang.co.uk/blog/?p=10">Fifer</a>. But I currently live in Stirling and have a strong sense of pride in <a href="http://www.visitstirling.org/">this great little city</a>. <br />
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Am I my job? Or my marital status? Am I defined by my religion? Or which team I support? I'm a sister and daughter - is that who I am?<br />
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Or am I just me? Unique and special in every way, and like no-one else on this planet.<br />
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One things for sure, however, I am my cat's feeder - and just now he's hungry so I'd better go pay him some attention!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbW4vSIdbj_y9vKIGHE0REpXYbjgDGqBGInU5ENabqRqm9DocwKKR2g0VZjaCJZtpq7BcLRwVvWEh1YjBZybwp9Bm_ADIe0Q5IclLmsKIJcpZZaB96wcsPtemoK1ZkEUUfsRbTT4eXAjuc/s1600/DSC01636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbW4vSIdbj_y9vKIGHE0REpXYbjgDGqBGInU5ENabqRqm9DocwKKR2g0VZjaCJZtpq7BcLRwVvWEh1YjBZybwp9Bm_ADIe0Q5IclLmsKIJcpZZaB96wcsPtemoK1ZkEUUfsRbTT4eXAjuc/s320/DSC01636.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047096936084071173.post-43773378607241563422011-11-29T21:07:00.001+00:002011-11-29T21:08:06.174+00:00Infamy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9Vft7rQg2F__91A6eMvxP3hP0hV95KZpmVXaHPM_KeGLg2n-Xuzj6VYm06tRswOiRL95I12ixArPPcADOkPdfd0Ude7my-VKPGmxbl5XgLQhDKuAqlM5x3bA4D7bxjjoZleC03rGvUap/s1600/IMAG0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9Vft7rQg2F__91A6eMvxP3hP0hV95KZpmVXaHPM_KeGLg2n-Xuzj6VYm06tRswOiRL95I12ixArPPcADOkPdfd0Ude7my-VKPGmxbl5XgLQhDKuAqlM5x3bA4D7bxjjoZleC03rGvUap/s400/IMAG0009.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Now, be honest - have you ever googled yourself? And if so, what did you find?<br />
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According to Google, I am variously:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-rebecca-maxwell-ybkdw">an American psychiatrist </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.visionaustralia.org/info.aspx?page=823&news=1354">an Australian poet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/hi/sjtb/page3.html">a British kickboxer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nancyhoffmangallery.com/artist/display/51">a photographer</a>, and</li>
<li> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqh6cCiyS_8">a singer</a></li>
</ul>I would also appear to be at least <a href="http://www.geni.com/people/Rebecca-Maxwell/6000000003076746203">164 years old</a>. I reckon I'm wearing pretty well!!<br />
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Ok, so they're not all me - but it's fun finding your alter egos. But what happens when you do search for yourself, your real self, what do you find?<br />
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Me? I find that I talk a lot about <a href="http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.smulian/arts07/lgcpost.html">post offices</a>, about schools, occasionally about hospitals, about <a href="http://vimeo.com/7306007">carbon reduction</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC2R6klsSGc">green networks </a>and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEFS-LKXetM">superfast broadband</a>. Topically for this week, I've also spoken about <a href="http://www.engender.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Events_Training/Forced%20Marriages%20Conference.pdf">forced marrianges</a>. And I attend lots and lots and lots of meetings!<br />
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You'll also find this blog, my Facebook page and even my former <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Honeybeedz/sold">beaded jewellery </a>craft business. <br />
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But just this week I reached a new level of fame - or perhaps, infamy. I am now a character in a crime book. Sadly I'm not the villain of the piece, nor am I the heroine. I am instead a bit part player, a WPC CCTV operator who appears for a chapter in the <a href="http://www.bookgeeks.co.uk/2011/07/29/snapshot-by-craig-robertson/">latest novel </a>by local author, Craig Robertson. Am I sure it's me? Yes, absolutely - I bought my appearance by way of a donation at a <a href="http://www.myeloma.org.uk/">charity event</a>.<br />
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And I confess it's a giggle, well worth the donation if you ask me!! Still, I think I'd rather have been the one-legged lesbian coal miner from Lochgelly that Craig promised I'd be...Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488326111621207081noreply@blogger.com1