Nest Building & Other Antics

A scrupulously tidy garden is not always a good thing. It's much better to leave dead leaves and twigs for the birds. In the last few days they've been busy collecting useful material from my garden. I often see a female blackbird searching & gathering. When she flies off she's holding a huge amount in her beak. She particularly favours dead grass so I've been giving her a helping hand by leaving it on the patio area. The cheeky sparrows have been having a lovely time dust bathing in an unplanted area and popping in and out of the privet hedge.

The Pope's Toilet

This film is a nutty Spanish-language farce is set Set in Melo, a godforsaken village near the Uruguay-Brazil border. It tracks the misfortunes of a dirt-poor petty smuggler named Beto. The film unfolds in 1988, during Pope John Paul II's visit. Dozens of economically struggling locals devise plans to turn a buck from the arrival of the papal father -- such as baking cakes and grilling chorizo sausages -- only one concocts a scheme to earn a fortune from offering the only public toilet in town. Our hero Beto, reasons that all of those cakes and sausages will be digested rather quickly and that the 50,000 expected visitors will soon be clamoring to use the porcelain bowl. Of course, toilets abound in South America, but Beto sets his public toilet apart by crowning it with an aura of prestige -- his will be the only Pope's Toilet in all of Uruguay, and the crowds, he is certain, will soon be clamouring to use it. Unfortunately, before he can set his scheme in motion, Beto must first locate the most appropriate toilet and make several risky trips, on his bike, across the Brazilian border and back to that end. Then, just as Beto is within arm's reach of success, someone thoughtlessly steals his beloved bicycle. Regardless of the complications at hand, however, Beto's determination persists. Parts of the film are truly touching and laugh-out-loud funny. The film shows how poverty in community happens in a humane, if saddening, way. It also highlights the eternal possibility of hope which gets expressed as a get-rich-quick scheme and how it enlivens and challenges community life.

Blogger Templates

I have a whole new look. The template I'd been using was called Agenda 03, designed by A. Zambrana, I found it here. I was very pleased with the result because for me it ticked all the right boxes. I even managed to replace the Spanish words with English ones. Then blow me down it suddenly stopped working properly. On investigation I discovered that some of the images weren't showing due to broken links etc. This is how it used to look before the header image broke. The designer did warn that users should host the images themselves but I never got round to doing it. He has made a new and improved template on the same theme but I don't like it so much. In the last few years I have taught myself a lot but getting my head round html etc is much too time consuming. I uploaded the original images to PhotoBucket and had a go at editing the html image links on the template but the result wasn't as good as the original. Boo!!! www.blogsmadeinspain.blogspot.com

Womans Hour

Usually one of my favourite programmes but just lately it's been a real turn off. Why? The producers have jumped on the 'as it's Christmas lets put everyone under pressure' band wagon. Yesterday, 23rd December, they had a phone-in with Agony Aunt, Deidre Sanders, on how to survive Christmas with the extended family. On 3rd December they had Delia answering cooking queries. Participants frequently used the phrase 'I want it to be perfect'. Why can't people accept that life happens? Save me from idiots!

On Reacting to Negative People - What Does It Achieve?

People who are easily angered generally have what some psychologists call a low tolerance for frustration, they can't take things in stride, they feel that they should not have to be subjected to frustration, inconvenience, or annoyance. Dealing with these people can be quite a challenge. Negative people drain one's energy, deeply unhappy people will want to bring others down so that they are not suffering alone. Reacting is a waste of time because when people initiate negativity it is a reflection of their inner state. It’s not personal but it is easy to take it personally. Our ego likes problems and conflict, people are often so bored and unhappy with their own lives that they want to take others down with them. It is very easy to respond impulsively but it is not the smart thing to do. It does however feed our ego’s need for conflict. When we fight back, it feels really satisfying in our heads but it doesn’t feel very good in our soul. When we respond irrationally it turns the conversation from a one-sided negative expression into a battle of two egos. It becomes an unnecessary and unproductive battle for 'Who is Right'? When we’re emotionally charged, we are so much in our heads that we argue out of an impulse to be right, to defend ourselves, for the sake of our egos. Rationality and resolution can rarely arise out of an argument.

Apple Fantastic

Due to the weather the others cried off so I went to the Blackmoor Estate 'Apple Fair' on my own. Just as well because I came home with two apple trees and other goodies. As the car was filled up with my stuff there'd have been no room for passengers. Thank you Guardian Angel, you had my best interests at heart. As I hate crowds I set off early. There were lots of exhibitors, wild life, food producers, Blacksmith, Chair Bodger, Morris Dancers etc.... I left around lunchtime, far too many people and much too crowded for me A real treat was going up the Church spire for just £1.50. Narrow spiral stairs led to the bell ringers room where we saw the Victorian clock mechanism spring into action on the quarter hour. Nice to catch one's breath before the next stop which was the actual bell room. We saw one of the bells swing on it's axis while being rung by a volunteer in the room below. The final stop was the gallery which run round the base of the steeple. Lovely views but why did my legs feel like jelly? Journey down phased me a bit, parts of the spiral stairs were so dark I couldn't see where to put my feet. My apple trees were a real bargain at only £10 each, I just hope they thrive. James Grieve, the top one, is a very popular old Scottish apple variety. It was introduced in Edinburgh in 1893. These apples are a red flush stripe over a pale green. A juicy, crisp apple, they have an excellent flavour, hence their popularity. Red Windsor has a Cox type flavour and is a heavy cropper. It is a frost hardy apple tree, especially at blossom time. It has very compact and easy to grow with good disease resistance. This apple is the product of the cross between the apple varieties British Cox's Orange Pippin x German Sport of Alkmene and was first introduced in 1985. They will pollinate each other.

Crash Dummy

This 21 year old has written off three cars in three years and worries her parents to death. They're concerned, and quite rightly, that she'll do it again but won't walk away. Her confidence isn't dented, and she has the cheek to criticise her Mother for driving too cautiously. She commutes 60 miles every day and insists that she’s the more experienced driver. A feisty child will never take heed. As parents they'll always be in the wrong, but she'll expect them to pick up the pieces. You can't put an old head on young shoulders, it is a child's duty to push boundaries. It was ever thus, I seem to remember her Mother not taking much notice of me or anything I advised. All youngsters have to find their own way. I've advised the parents to give her advanced driving lessons for Christmas but will they take heed of me? If it was WWII and women had equal rights she'd be flying Spitfires. For five years I shared my home with a lodger. This young man wanted to learn to drive so lessons were booked. So he could gain experience I went out with him and I was usually terrified. He passed his test 1st time & it went to his head. For a token amount I sold him my J reg Micra and bought myself a W reg Clio. He crashed the Micra shortly afterwards. He drove like the 'Red Baron, I refused to let him drive me and as a passenger he constantly criticized my driving. That really rankled, I'm an experienced and competent driver, at one stage - during paid employment - I clocked up about 1000 miles every week. In the end a friend's husband, a former Police Officer, taught him defensive driving techniques. PS. The driving school car was also a Micra but the controls were on opposite sides. To overcome this obstacle he took it upon himself, and without seeking my permission, to alter the controls on my car. Apparently it was a job easily done. He's now married and lives in London.