tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61059248219250835112024-02-19T02:51:20.093+00:00 Getting Busy Living Brit Boy's View From A Yellow HouseBrit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-72739871128522063122012-05-04T21:26:00.000+01:002012-05-04T21:26:40.056+01:00Finals Ain't What They Used To Be<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, tomorrow will see Liverpool and Chelsea facing off
against each other in the 131<sup>st</sup> FA Cup Final – the premier showpiece
occasion at the end of the English football season. Or rather, not. You see,
The FA Cup Final ain’t what it used to be. Let me take you back....</div>
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The time was when the FA Cup Final was the only club match
that you could be guaranteed of seeing live on TV. You might also get to see
the finals of the European Cup or UEFA Cup if a British team were involved, but
that was about it. Even England international games weren’t shown live as a
matter of course, as was gloriously illustrated in the famous episode of “Whatever
Happened to The Likely Lads”, where they spent the whole day trying to avoid an
England result before they watch the highlights in the evening. So the fact
that a game was being shown live was an occasion of itself.</div>
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Cup Final day was one of the most exciting days of the year
in a young boy’s life. It was just about the only Saturday of the year when you
would willingly get out of bed early. The TV would go on at about 9:00 a.m., and
there you would sit for the next 9 hours. First off would be such treats as “Cup
Final It’s A Knockout”, “Cup Final A Question of Sport”, “Cup Final Mastermind”
or ...well, you get the idea. There would be regular reports from the two
hotels where the teams were staying, and about<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>late morning Frank Bough or Dickie Davies (depending on whether you were
watching BBC or ITV) would interview a couple of the players and the managers. This
was mind-blowing stuff back then. Further interviews at Wembley with the likes
of Tarby or Brucie or some other 70’s comedian would follow. </div>
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Early afternoon and we would have the joy of watching live
as the two team coaches left their respective hotels on their way to Wembley.
More discussion with the likes of Saint & Greavsie, Bob Wilson, Jack
Charlton, etc would precede the arrival of the teams at the stadium amidst much
talk of “going down Wembley Way” or “remember the White Horse Final” or “the
Matthews Final”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Tony Gubba or Tony
Francis would buttonhole the players as they took a look at the Cup Final
playing surface. Excitement on the sofa was pretty much at fever pitch by this
point. The living room would be steadily increasing its population as kick-off
time now approached. And then the moment would arrive – the Cup Final itself.
What a way to end the season, and to bid farewell to all things football for another
three months. Those matches are seared onto my mind, as they are to every
football fan who lived through that time. True spectacle, and a real feel of
occasion permeated the whole day. The FA Cup truly was the greatest cup competition
in the world, and the final was the biggest day in the football calendar.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But now? Well, now the Cup Final isn’t even the last match
of the season. The Premier League carries on for another week afterwards and
there are even league matches being played on the same day as the final. The
match has now been elbowed to a tea-time kick-off with the TV coverage starting
a mere two hours before kick-off. The teams competing during the season have
often fielded weakened teams for their FA cup matches as the priority now is
very much the Premiership or the Champions League. There is even a possibility
that Chelsea won’t be putting out their very strongest team tomorrow as they
rest players ahead of their Champions League Final appearance in a couple of
weeks time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Final is now just one of dozens (if not hundreds) of
matches shown live each season and fans are wearily familiar with every team
and every player. The competition no longer holds the place in the football
season that it used to – both literally and figuratively. The world has moved
on I guess, but progress doesn’t always mean improvement.</div>
<br />Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-36319874230812992522011-11-27T19:15:00.000+00:002011-11-27T19:15:17.204+00:00Keeping It Smooth<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I was recently given the opportunity by the good people at <a href="http://www.theclubhaus.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Clubhaus</a> to review their <a href="http://www.theclubhaus.co.uk/shave/emj-shave-cream-signature-mint.htm?brand=1" target="_blank">EMJ Shave Cream Signature Mint</a>. I am not a regular “wet shaver” but I do like to go down the traditional shaving route now and then. Sometimes an electric shaver just isn’t enough :)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Clubhaus concept is simple; you Clean, Shave, Treat and then Style yourself. They will provide you with any info you need and a great selection of products; you then decide to what extent each stage suits your lifestyle with products to match. If you are looking for a Christmas gift for the man in your life this may be the place to go!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjna6OC2OWrjQD3M97ELaOPoP4BmuQo4x8BsoMmKzbO3zm9-PNHQWXY3ZkyfR2oE7nLmq1CPm2JHARfF2vcF62owgjffnMbgen40GPjWRzTdnT7fQUgLyqYLEiBjxbJ8Rc6eVsGZMD8-eU/s1600/DSCF7000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjna6OC2OWrjQD3M97ELaOPoP4BmuQo4x8BsoMmKzbO3zm9-PNHQWXY3ZkyfR2oE7nLmq1CPm2JHARfF2vcF62owgjffnMbgen40GPjWRzTdnT7fQUgLyqYLEiBjxbJ8Rc6eVsGZMD8-eU/s320/DSCF7000.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, as I said, The Clubhaus have given me the opportunity to review the EMJ Shave Cream, and I have been using it for the last 10 days or so. Although it is their “Signature Mint”, neither Dori nor I could discern much of a fragrance from the cream, but that ain’t necessarily a bad thing! The product claims that the “rich, low-foam formula softens and preps your skin and beard for a more comfortable shave,” and that it “won’t dry out skin or clog pores”. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now one issue I do have is that my skin is very dry, so I was eager to test out these claims, as I know from past experience that some shaving creams can leave my skin feeling a little raw and dry. That was certainly not the case with this product though as the shave was indeed very comfortable and my skin felt refreshed and not at all dry afterwards. As they say, it is not a very foamy cream, but it certainly seemed to do the trick in keeping my skin as soft as is possible when you are running a razor over it. I have no complaints at all about the EMJ Shave Cream, and I will certainly be using the remainder of the 200 mL (6.7 fl oz) tube that The Clubhaus generously sent me. I may even go back for more afterwards!</div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-33064571954230587102011-10-30T16:47:00.000+00:002011-10-30T16:47:49.912+00:00Sharpening My Pencils...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">The days are zipping by and it hardly seems possible that tomorrow will be Halloween. Where has this year gone to? Heck, it’s only 8 weeks to go til Christmas! You got all your shopping done yet? No, me either :)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyhoo, if it is Halloween tomorrow then it must be November 1<sup>st</sup> on Tuesday. Obvious I know, but I mention it because this year that is an important date for me. You see, for the first time ever I will be taking part in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it is more commonly referred to. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aim of the project is to encourage people to get writing, and in particular to write a complete 50,000 word novel within a month.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDf29ADjZ275vmYh4FnC30CVHztvMSJFGp5OFoIL_pMgpBDsDu8IyYLOWySkpFJvgnKC3VopRUxVrkbhA9t60IcwprIO-oPy8ziRC4-WKGKl5kwjcbH_UXZbCXjcHhazfQShyhgpd5bo/s1600/nanowrimo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDf29ADjZ275vmYh4FnC30CVHztvMSJFGp5OFoIL_pMgpBDsDu8IyYLOWySkpFJvgnKC3VopRUxVrkbhA9t60IcwprIO-oPy8ziRC4-WKGKl5kwjcbH_UXZbCXjcHhazfQShyhgpd5bo/s1600/nanowrimo.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, I haven’t written any piece of fiction, long or short, for many decades, not since I was at school in fact, and so to jump right in with attempting a full-blown novel is probably foolhardy and reckless. As you will have seen, I haven’t exactly been consistent with my postings here over the last good number of months, and so I have my own severe doubts as to whether I will be disciplined enough to get anywhere near the 50,000 word target for NaNoWriMo. For those of you who haven’t worked it out yet, that is 1,667 words each and every day for the 30 days of November. That is a lot of writing, especially when you are doing it part-time, alongside a full-time job and life in general. But then, if you don’t try you will never achieve anything! I fully expect to fall well below the 50,000 word target, but I am going to give it a shot and even if the end product isn’t exactly Shakespeare, or even Dan Brown, then it might still be the basis of something useful. And if not even that, then I will have a chunk of fiction that I have created myself and may be able to mould into something half-readable for my own personal pleasure and satisfaction. If nothing else it will be an adventure!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">PS Happy Halloween everyone! </div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-16071066222421457152011-09-18T17:06:00.001+01:002011-09-18T17:07:42.014+01:00Sunday Snaps #13 - Our SummerTime flies and I can’t quite believe that it’s been almost 5 months since I last posted on this site. Time has been short and for this, and a bunch of other reasons that I won’t bore you with, this blog has been just a little neglected over the summer. So, in order to get back into the swing of this blogging lark, I figured that it would be a good idea to resurrect my Sunday Snaps thread and share a few pictures that either Dori or I took during the summer. I hope you enjoy them :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_T4yfTxySrFeR8Hec4md3zFfuzkII3iduAqrzUS-_25vDnY8f4GSNkdK-ee45GEJpE2TXrhIITwGW8T7dhuS9Yfkt4x8faVrTywAP3wJXs06bcG516x_QmJihxg1wix9-OF1gRDPTzc/s1600/stjamesspark1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_T4yfTxySrFeR8Hec4md3zFfuzkII3iduAqrzUS-_25vDnY8f4GSNkdK-ee45GEJpE2TXrhIITwGW8T7dhuS9Yfkt4x8faVrTywAP3wJXs06bcG516x_QmJihxg1wix9-OF1gRDPTzc/s320/stjamesspark1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtu4HXn-eyNgddfd2NRs3jwt8lQeUkxCCEuR7Ovwy82wuxjXLP50jDFL0HBcBhr9wX2bjp6rRqE1aiOYlFgQtcTDyPVOaZj9NcmeDbavRFTaHM2hvvFr3iPrdeeat9afcLIrme5knbtII/s1600/DSC0000048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtu4HXn-eyNgddfd2NRs3jwt8lQeUkxCCEuR7Ovwy82wuxjXLP50jDFL0HBcBhr9wX2bjp6rRqE1aiOYlFgQtcTDyPVOaZj9NcmeDbavRFTaHM2hvvFr3iPrdeeat9afcLIrme5knbtII/s320/DSC0000048.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
These first two photos were taken in St James’s Park, just across the way from Buckingham Palace in London. They were taken on the beautifully sunny day that followed the Royal Wedding way back in April. It was a lot calmer strolling through the park that day than it had been 24 hours earlier amongst the joyous chaos of the wedding celebrations!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjKQ9-cCtjkSiLeF1__GYzMhcU0PVkmtYhhainG6w-qdQjqvza9B_m44LAJrhgt0Myr7JPQjP28J9A50Jf8lv6qZA9QajaRLUdlABHta6Bg_fG2WWgLF2wDk_Ap3qQ4UGGZI7Jn9qfek/s1600/wimbledon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjKQ9-cCtjkSiLeF1__GYzMhcU0PVkmtYhhainG6w-qdQjqvza9B_m44LAJrhgt0Myr7JPQjP28J9A50Jf8lv6qZA9QajaRLUdlABHta6Bg_fG2WWgLF2wDk_Ap3qQ4UGGZI7Jn9qfek/s320/wimbledon1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjez79RSVFaMRfkR5CAwpSGHJ_KgSOOi4Xy0t_-euPp3uiOPrdWqTwQSjUkP7tNpVGQBll8grAMpBhZOjZiiJlOVSz3OfzdUUpIy1T5Tjj4ccCfFtFAI3fvsyzDiy14KNxtm_ZRSezvY6M/s1600/wimbledon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjez79RSVFaMRfkR5CAwpSGHJ_KgSOOi4Xy0t_-euPp3uiOPrdWqTwQSjUkP7tNpVGQBll8grAMpBhZOjZiiJlOVSz3OfzdUUpIy1T5Tjj4ccCfFtFAI3fvsyzDiy14KNxtm_ZRSezvY6M/s320/wimbledon2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMNwchAu8YL0Z69GPzku7AHrvXt3-XK0dZYqt08xmjivLRUIs9urXQCBn1JK__8cbdhqixXVMHUhbuiGDGPHEhSdI7935pIy9UN515M_-6DGvjkrGSKGanFrBuMEtSj_aHIxseVoCl6w/s1600/wimbledon3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMNwchAu8YL0Z69GPzku7AHrvXt3-XK0dZYqt08xmjivLRUIs9urXQCBn1JK__8cbdhqixXVMHUhbuiGDGPHEhSdI7935pIy9UN515M_-6DGvjkrGSKGanFrBuMEtSj_aHIxseVoCl6w/s320/wimbledon3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
These nest three snaps were, fairly obviously, taken during our trip up to this year’s Wimbledon championships. The day we were there was one of the hottest days of the year, though as the rest of the summer was fairly non-existent, that isn’t saying too much! Anyway, we had a great time and saw some really great matches, as I talked about over on my <a href="http://thesportsground.blogspot.com/2011/07/wonderful-wimbledon.html">sports blog</a> at the time.<br />
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The last couple of pictures are from our day-trip down to the south coast town of Bournemouth. We had a really great day out, and thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to the coast for 3 or 4 years.<br />
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Well, that was the summer that was. Halloween is just round the corner, and Christmas is only three months away. I swear that time is speeding up! Anyhoo, I will be trying to blog a little more regularly again from now on, so please drop by when you can and pay a visit. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!! Til next time.Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-26712100453857325182011-05-02T14:27:00.001+01:002011-05-02T14:28:59.951+01:00Our Anniversary...Oh, And The Royal WeddingWell, what a weekend that was! As I mentioned in my last post, Dori and I were heading up to London for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and since William and Kate decided to choose our special day as their own wedding day it became a double celebration for us.<br />
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We left home on Thursday morning, travelling first by bus and then by train as we made our way into the capital. Once in London we headed towards our hotel where we dropped off our luggage and then went back out to see what we could of the last minute preparations for the Royals’ big day. We went first to Westminster Abbey where the crowds were already thronging outside. People had been camped out both there and on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace for a couple of days by then, in order to secure a good view of the events on Friday. The world’s media was out in force, as you would expect, and we saw a number of recognisable faces reporting back to the four corners of the globe. <br />
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We were kind of looking for a feasible spot to pick to stand at the next day, and it was immediately obvious that outside the Abbey was not going to be it! So we made our way over towards Buckingham Palace to see what was happening over there, and how many rows of tents there were already! It was busy there too, but a little less frenetic than at the Abbey and we decided that we would look to stand somewhere along The Mall on the following day. We hung around outside the palace for a while, enjoying the atmosphere and watching another large section of the world’s media doing their thing :) Everybody was in a good mood and the atmosphere was already building. After a couple of hours there we realized that we hadn’t eaten properly all day, and so headed off to get a bite to eat, before then going back to the hotel to get an early-ish night before getting up extremely early the next day!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJ2WfLChcj61wOraNsnNfgcC193vtv4YaI0WuUL1fipav7y73gwy0y1xqaNl0rZ04BCa432tvN_KwPnfzp3o_42pM4AgGwRbTRB4_aj82o-UdxfVNT9R5R4VXDqvYh6ALCF-a_5mjUm0/s1600/P270411_18.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJ2WfLChcj61wOraNsnNfgcC193vtv4YaI0WuUL1fipav7y73gwy0y1xqaNl0rZ04BCa432tvN_KwPnfzp3o_42pM4AgGwRbTRB4_aj82o-UdxfVNT9R5R4VXDqvYh6ALCF-a_5mjUm0/s320/P270411_18.36.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The temporary media centre opposite Buckingham Palace</span></div><br />
So, the big day arrived and we got up and washed before heading out a little before 6:00 a.m. We took the tube to Charing Cross and then walked down through Trafalgar Square and on towards The Mall. A lot of people were already there and we quickly chose a spot to stand about ¾ of the way along The Mall. There were some people who had camped out at the front and then a couple stood behind them, but we were right behind them with a good view of the processional route. It was cold, and we had a long wait ahead of us. Luckily, the people we were around were all very friendly and the atmosphere was one of excitement and anticipation. The crowds quickly grew, and before we knew it we were absolutely surrounded by people, and were unable to move much more than just shuffling on the spot. I think we managed to bag our position just in time!!<br />
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The procession to the Abbey started at 10:10 a.m. with William and Harry being driven past us, dressed very smartly in their military dress uniforms. We did try to get some pictures of them, and of the subsequent cars carrying the rest of the royal family, and the Middletons, but they were all going just a little bit too fast for us to be able to get any clear shots of them. That was especially so given that whenever a car went past the crowd would get very excited and everyone would be jostled about.<br />
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The ceremony itself was broadcast via loudspeakers to those of us waiting along the processional route, with many a cheer going up at various stages of the proceedings. Before too long they were all on their way back towards the palace, only this time in horse-drawn carriages. Here are a couple of snaps of William and Kate, and the Queen and Prince Phillip. Apologies for the quality, but as I said before we were all being buffeted and we were trying to catch a moving target!!<br />
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Once the procession had finished we very slowly made our way up The Mall towards the palace. My knees wouldn’t have allowed me to go fast having been stood on one spot for nearly 7 hours, but the huge numbers of people there made that impossible anyway. By taking a circuitous route via St James’s Park, we were able to get ahead of a lot of the crowd and back onto the now-open Mall and walk towards the palace ready for the traditional appearance on the balcony. The crush of people was amazing, but very good-natured. We were able to get reasonably close to the front of the crowd, though not as close as when we went to Trooping the Colour a couple of years back :) Here are another couple of snaps to give you an idea of what it was like.<br />
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And then, once the royals had disappeared to enjoy their celebrations, we VERY slowly made our way away from Buckingham Palace and towards our own anniversary celebratory meal in Covent Garden. It was a really great day and, no doubt, one that we will always remember. It was very colourful and the atmosphere was wonderful. Occasions like this come along about once every 25-30 years, so we felt very lucky to be able to join in this time around.<br />
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The following day we had some time to waste before heading home, and so we revisited the scene of all the festivities as things were being dismantled and taken away. Here are a couple more pictures that we took that day.<br />
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Which just leaves it for me to say that I hope that William and Kate have a very long and successful marriage, and to wish Dori a very happy anniversary!!!<br />
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PS Dori has also blogged about our adventures over the weekend, with some other interesting photos. Check her out over at <a href="http://fromayellowhouse.blogspot.com/">The Yellow House</a>!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-63244037939882476892011-04-24T11:11:00.005+01:002011-04-24T11:11:00.034+01:00Sunday Snaps #12 - A Royal OccasionHappy Easter everyone! Yes, it's been over a year but Sunday Snaps is back by popular demand!!<br />
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The holidays are coming thick and fast right now here in England. It’s a four day weekend for a lot of people this week, with Good Friday and Easter Monday being public holidays and then next weekend will also be a four day break with the Monday being the May Day bank holiday. Friday is, of course, also a public holiday here because of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. So, for the sake of 3 days leave you can actually have an 11 day break from work! Lovely Jubbly!<br />
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As Dori <a href="http://fromayellowhouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/anniversaries-and-royal-weddings.html">mentioned</a> on her blog a little while ago, the day of the Royal Wedding is also our 5th wedding anniversary and, by happy coincidence, we had arranged to be in London next weekend anyway. So we will spend a great deal of our special day on the streets of the capital enjoying the ambience of the royal occasion. Whether we will actually get to see much remains to be seen, but it is really the atmosphere of the day that we are looking forward to.<br />
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We have already seen pretty much all of the royals, including William and Kate – though they were on a break at the time! The first time that we saw William and Harry (and Kate) was at the Concert for Diana back in 2007 on what would have been Diana’s 46th birthday. Here are a couple of snaps we took that day, including one of Harry taken on a mobile phone through a pair of binoculars – hence the very poor quality!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-u2cfakuYDo2JhQBG025hCVzfp2_QOHAx-qqYKyL3D38-8DTWlQ0JoEdYIr6b9Qyp9WRBI8RZ-PIlZSUl2hBkSVTIqj0PIblXBNlChgqtJx5v8vdaK1pAZOi5uPpmQmGvN2OLE3oSa4I/s1600/Diana+Concert+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-u2cfakuYDo2JhQBG025hCVzfp2_QOHAx-qqYKyL3D38-8DTWlQ0JoEdYIr6b9Qyp9WRBI8RZ-PIlZSUl2hBkSVTIqj0PIblXBNlChgqtJx5v8vdaK1pAZOi5uPpmQmGvN2OLE3oSa4I/s320/Diana+Concert+020.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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We caught most of the rest of the family at Trooping the Colour in 2009, which I <a href="http://getting-busy-living.blogspot.com/2009/06/pomp-and-pageantry-plus.html">blogged</a> about at the time. It was a little surreal to see them all lined up on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, just as I have seen dozens of times before on TV. Here are a couple of snaps from that day too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvD46jEcNEQJUQj3uVVb0LeLVmh_YTXXnmC0uLap7Z1nCThqqIYwrbQOFSwiKP5tHrYBKeUMm4aNdx7D4ZxtLVc1FFOQ23fa-C66c56vt3OOxhsvf5g_w8IUWBccukBgfP18gL3Bs5Nc/s1600/queen+parade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvD46jEcNEQJUQj3uVVb0LeLVmh_YTXXnmC0uLap7Z1nCThqqIYwrbQOFSwiKP5tHrYBKeUMm4aNdx7D4ZxtLVc1FFOQ23fa-C66c56vt3OOxhsvf5g_w8IUWBccukBgfP18gL3Bs5Nc/s320/queen+parade.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbboTru9-_swiJGvp9U3ndhmLQemkt1iLyvCZtaQS3xbU4p_I0OfUhnYQLLKq4ecY17699UqYRPQNVns4fH_kpULaXyl2-wyd7cDRSZfuAsAJsismDj2DJifxcUzAVAUn6WUcE3gTpYA/s1600/balcony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="197" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbboTru9-_swiJGvp9U3ndhmLQemkt1iLyvCZtaQS3xbU4p_I0OfUhnYQLLKq4ecY17699UqYRPQNVns4fH_kpULaXyl2-wyd7cDRSZfuAsAJsismDj2DJifxcUzAVAUn6WUcE3gTpYA/s320/balcony.jpg" /></a></div><br />
If we do get to see anything of interest on Friday then we will no doubt share that with you here on our blogs. If we don’t then we will just enjoy our wedding anniversary together just as the nation goes wedding crazy!<br />
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It promises to be an interesting week.Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-76271323669564483962011-03-27T16:21:00.000+01:002011-03-27T16:21:41.842+01:00One Day in a DecadeToday is not only the start of British Summer Time here in England, when the clocks spring forward by an hour, but it is also Census Day. Which, come to think of it, makes it an odd day to choose – give every household in the country an extra job to do and then take an hour out of the day on which they are supposed to do it! But then “Government planning” has always been an oxymoron. :-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEljuZIAZCWUtSNvBHC3hftiAaRxZK9F_9UW8-rshF1lj4EeC6XXCUYcs5LPz342DUIHe0B2lGZBv2im7LnR03FVQ_Ucr_b56d2kxyKGaEAA9bcaMl8tZKRfpcFi-EN2sbmC3BPt63Hcw/s1600/census.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEljuZIAZCWUtSNvBHC3hftiAaRxZK9F_9UW8-rshF1lj4EeC6XXCUYcs5LPz342DUIHe0B2lGZBv2im7LnR03FVQ_Ucr_b56d2kxyKGaEAA9bcaMl8tZKRfpcFi-EN2sbmC3BPt63Hcw/s320/census.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
So, this morning we sat down and filled out the form giving information such as the number of rooms in our house, employment status, educational qualifications, etc. For the first time ever it was possible to complete the questionnaire online this year, but we opted instead for the traditional paper form. It somehow felt as though it had more import that way. Of course, not being a traditional couple, the form did present us with a couple of difficulties – such as trying to write a US address into boxes that were structured for a British one. But, overall, the process was relatively painless and was completed surprisingly quickly, given how thick the form was! At least that job is now done for another 10 years.<br />
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The rest of the weekend’s highlights have been sport-related, and I did promise not to bore you all here with my sporty witterings now that I have a separate sports blog. So, head on over to <a href="http://thesportsground.blogspot.com/">The Sports Ground</a> tomorrow if you want to know how else I have been filling my time this weekend.<br />
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Hopefully it won’t be another five and a half weeks until my next post, like it has been since my last one! Well, I know it won’t be because Dori and I are going on a little expedition within that time which I think a number of you may be interested in. Stay tuned for more info!!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-74905217673619077972011-02-17T18:52:00.001+00:002011-02-17T19:57:56.595+00:00Gone Fishin'There has recently been an updated version of an old TV commercial running here in the UK. The old advert was one of those standout ads that stick in your mind and provide a cultural reference point for everyone who was around at the time. It has been parodied and lampooned by many comedians down the years, but they wouldn't have done that if the commercial hadn't already entered the public conciousness. Here is the original ad:<br />
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<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="450" height="365" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/abt6wGtWVX8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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I must admit that I got goosebumps seeing this again after all these years - it was first aired back in 1983. Following the huge success of this ad, there were a number of sequels and even a real book published under the title "Fly Fishing by J.R.Hartley"! Life imitating art :)<br />
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The new version has been updated to reflect modern times - after all almost all the bookshops on the High Street have disappeared now. Have a look and then contrast and compare.<br />
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<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="450" height="283" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/k8YDZKTvWMw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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To me, it doesn't have the charm of the original ad, but then I'm just an old fuddy-duddy! lol What do you think?Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-58097915752071721002011-02-07T17:34:00.001+00:002011-02-07T17:36:08.672+00:00Opening of a New FrontierAs I mentioned in my <a href="http://getting-busy-living.blogspot.com/2011/02/back-to-future.html">last post</a>, I have been working on a couple of projects that have kept me from posting here as often as I would like.<br />
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One of those projects is actually a second blog that I have been busy creating. Entitled "<a href="http://thesportsground.blogspot.com/">The Sports Ground</a>", it will come as no surprise to you to find that this is a sports based blog! As most of you will know, I am a bit of a “<a href="http://fromayellowhouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/collective-experiences-super-bowls.html">sporty spice</a>” as Dori would say. :-) So, it seemed a natural thing to create a separate sports blog where I can ramble away to my heart’s content on all things sports related. It will also mean that those of you who aren’t sports lovers won’t have to put up with <i>quite </i>so much talk on the subject here on this blog! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thesportsground.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QxZf0mgc0mva3-bB4XB9dmUyK6b__qbh3HqdckNhVRSj7sboHaUrKbk_uBD81VvR9rFRxjtGIGmbyIspXYF0zZ21_0HUM6yeR4nWF1Ak0kM3Bzkpq7nwOex7CzAlbOtUdtkqtTHS8sc/s400/bloghead.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I have actually been posting there for a little over a week now, but haven’t publicized the fact as I wanted to get the tone and appearance of the blog closer to how I would like it, before I let the world in. But I have to bite the bullet sometime, and today seems as good a day as any. So, if you are at all interested, then please visit me at “<a href="http://thesportsground.blogspot.com/">The Sports Ground</a>” – where the turnstiles are always open!<br />
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My post over at the other blog today is partly about my views on yesterday’s Super Bowl. We both stayed up to watch the game, expecting that we would probably call it a day at half-time after watching the Black Eyed Peas. But the contest got us both so intrigued that we actually stayed awake right until the end, and the trophy presentation at some time around 3:30 a.m. It was an exciting game to watch, with the outcome liable to go either way right up until the dying seconds. Sadly we couldn’t get to see the famed Super Bowl commercials so I’ll have to leave it to those of you who could to let us know if they were any good!<br />
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I hope that all of you – football lovers and others – had a great Super Bowl weekend, and that the coming week is good to you. ‘Til next time!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-66607073409369545742011-02-01T21:05:00.000+00:002011-02-01T21:05:42.405+00:00Back to the Future<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Well, I am glad that doing more blogging wasn’t one of my New Year’s resolutions! Apologies for the lack of updates here, but sometimes life has a habit of getting in the way of your plans. I have been working on a couple of projects this month and time has been in fairly short supply for anything else :-)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_vG_m_Cb2SMmG4WOuJg8E3ubF5TP1VyvAXLKY091lv-ZuATdEAgH4WKIVusSRVNzqmPN4Xwg6xdehHmIp7IqIXBcdyF7eUyDd9kvm01crlONINB3ZHchWpbskG8cwS3p-FN3X5vVRWk/s1600/sphinx+and+pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_vG_m_Cb2SMmG4WOuJg8E3ubF5TP1VyvAXLKY091lv-ZuATdEAgH4WKIVusSRVNzqmPN4Xwg6xdehHmIp7IqIXBcdyF7eUyDd9kvm01crlONINB3ZHchWpbskG8cwS3p-FN3X5vVRWk/s320/sphinx+and+pyramid.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">I spoke in my last post of living in interesting times. Well, those times just keep on rolling. Firstly in Tunisia, and now in Egypt, the people are making their voices heard and it looks like there may be major changes ahead in the region. It reminds me a lot of the wind of change that blew through Europe in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and which saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the melting of the Iron Curtain. Back then millions of people were released from oppressive regimes and the world celebrated along with them. Only time will tell what will happen this time around, but I suspect that the international reaction may be a little more muted on this occasion. Instability in that part of the world would not be appreciated, and yet freedom from oppression – in whatever form it takes – is always welcome. I guess we will all just have to wait and see what happens.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">An interesting aspect of this story is the prominent role that social media has had in helping the protesters to organize themselves. We really do live in a different world now. Back in 1989 when the Wall was coming down we didn’t even have an internet. Now, many millions of people manage their lives via social media platforms. It has never been easier for the people of the world to communicate with each other, and to have access to information previously hidden from them. Information technology has become a very useful tool in the fight for true freedom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvtPeVjgs23R5z-sakmRSEnxEhAJqZacqWVAU23eSmjKP3C7eTy-ACCsZhjsFzN6BLOnrBk5kg9i03e3hSLi_2UbcT8Bm9yKo1D1VLLWFnwhTLEiBQSAZZx9EGaNtQ-iTJX2Gp4EL13A/s1600/pda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvtPeVjgs23R5z-sakmRSEnxEhAJqZacqWVAU23eSmjKP3C7eTy-ACCsZhjsFzN6BLOnrBk5kg9i03e3hSLi_2UbcT8Bm9yKo1D1VLLWFnwhTLEiBQSAZZx9EGaNtQ-iTJX2Gp4EL13A/s320/pda.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Back in the day, when I was a young boy watching the first runs of Star Trek, having a door that slid open as you approached it seemed like the height of advanced technology. Now you can get that at your local Wal-Mart! Portable communication devices, hand held tablet computers and video calls were all science fiction at its most imaginative back then, but all are now very much part of our everyday lives. It is truly amazing the advances that have come our way in the last 40 years or so, and especially in the last 20 years.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> I was reminded of this just the other day when I noticed Dori watching a music video over the internet via her iPod. And all I could think was “wow, we really do live in the future!” Try explaining that picture to that small boy back in the late 60’s/early 70’s who was so amazed that you could hear music from putting a piece of plastic on a rotating plate and dropping a needle onto it! The times they are a-changing, and a-changing at an ever increasing speed it seems. Hold on tight because if the next 20 years are anything like the last 20 then we may not recognize the world that will be 2031. The journey could be fun though.</span></span></div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-19768557803410611002011-01-11T22:22:00.004+00:002011-01-11T22:22:01.271+00:00Interesting TimesWe are barely a third of the way through the first month of the year, and yet 2011 has already left an indelible mark on the consciousness of most of us. From freak weather to sporting triumphs to mindless acts of violence, this new year has certainly gotten busy very early on. <br />
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Although restricted to TV highlights and radio commentary, I have been greatly enjoying following the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes">Ashes</a> series in Australia. For those of you not in the know, I am talking about cricket – and the oldest rivalry in the game. Last week saw the culmination of the series, which resulted in England beating Australia to win the Ashes “Down Under” for the first time in 24 years. A wonderful achievement from a team who were hitting rock-bottom not so very long ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglflvwmu_iTt_HJBFc6hyphenhyphenl3zlkBjxSwZwMlzJuiW4dju-XbiXfYZglU9hcP42RKHR8xdrr_JDIyw8DNiS7nYG8BCPkUM8MLY898uXGY2TEQgSwMioks5ANP898ZcnpF5wnxt-9-tzhJyc/s1600/cricket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglflvwmu_iTt_HJBFc6hyphenhyphenl3zlkBjxSwZwMlzJuiW4dju-XbiXfYZglU9hcP42RKHR8xdrr_JDIyw8DNiS7nYG8BCPkUM8MLY898uXGY2TEQgSwMioks5ANP898ZcnpF5wnxt-9-tzhJyc/s320/cricket.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Of course, elsewhere in Australia, they have been battling against a natural disaster with the terrible floods they are encountering there. The world’s weather seems to have gone haywire recently, with the dreadful floods in Pakistan and Australia, the unusual amounts of snow in Europe that crippled the entire transport system (in the UK at least), and a similar story in the US where large snow storms have been battering the country for some weeks now – including the southern states. It seems to me that our weather patterns are changing, and in quite a dramatic fashion. If we carry on like this we will be having hot summers in England soon – and that would never do!! :-) <br />
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On another note, today is January 11th - or 11/1/11 ...or 1/11/11 depending on your own point of origin. I have been seeing a lot of repeating numbers lately. I glanced at the clock a couple of nights ago and it said 22:22, then the next day when I was watching the news the onscreen clock showed 3:33, and then later I noticed that I was following 1111 people on Twitter. It must all mean something. I am sure that a numerologist would be able to give some guidance. I am just taking it as a sign that the universe is aligning in some way and that, hopefully, good things are just around the corner. <br />
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“May you live in interesting times” is reputed to be an ancient Chinese curse. Well I don’t think many of us would argue the fact that we do indeed live in such times, but should we be seeing that as a curse, or a blessing? And, was there ever a period of time that wasn’t “interesting”? Whatever the truth is, I think that 2011 is already shaping up to be both interesting and memorable.Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-19242647645667561832011-01-04T17:32:00.002+00:002011-01-07T15:45:02.398+00:00Hair We Go Again!Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all enjoyed the holiday season, and that it brought everything that you hoped for.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU09W0ePWlcIwlADEWoLhKjjGmP44qo6pg-i3PuF-Jh9JCGFV8s0TRfumF4VMNCnMFgYmr3rmpUi-rlpoVwJ2HRhmpl-SAtUczCZ3H9Ss45bkagzwnCN_ryV5dQCSSZ5XBZEkA-5SPuHM/s1600/new+year.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU09W0ePWlcIwlADEWoLhKjjGmP44qo6pg-i3PuF-Jh9JCGFV8s0TRfumF4VMNCnMFgYmr3rmpUi-rlpoVwJ2HRhmpl-SAtUczCZ3H9Ss45bkagzwnCN_ryV5dQCSSZ5XBZEkA-5SPuHM/s320/new+year.png" width="247" /></a></div><br />
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So here we are at the start of yet another year – don’t they come round quick?! It is, of course, the traditional time to make resolutions to improve your life in some way. I have already completed one of my resolutions – to shave off the beard that I have grown over the last few months. Well, I say beard – it was more like a mass of hair that had sprouted out of my face in various directions! It wasn’t done purposefully either, just an inevitable result of the fact that I failed to shave for a number of weeks :-) <br />
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Anyway, the “beard” took a dive on New Year’s Day and is now no more. It was a strange experience all round. It is the first time that I have let my facial hair grow to that extent, and so when I looked in the mirror it seemed as though it was somebody else peering back at me. And yet, once I had shaved the whole thing off and was back to being clean shaven, that also seemed odd as I had now grown used to seeing this bearded geezer in the mirror every morning. A very strange feeling indeed. But now, three days later, I am starting to recognize my own face again, so the world is righting itself :-)<br />
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None of us can know what 2011 will bring, but I hope that every one of you has a happy and prosperous year and that we will all be better off – both financially and spiritually – by this time next year. If you are making resolutions, may you have the will-power to stick to them. I wish you all the best of luck as we each embark on yet another adventure in life!! Bring on 2011.Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-71234495646652210852010-12-24T15:51:00.000+00:002010-12-24T15:51:57.971+00:00Merry Christmas Everyone!<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/__kQ1PCP6B0?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/__kQ1PCP6B0?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="text-align: center;">"The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I hope that everybody has a happy and safe Christmas, and that Santa brings you everything you asked for!!</div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-43759046978248887472010-12-22T13:23:00.000+00:002010-12-22T13:23:31.410+00:00Silent Night<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5ebGGCfI95c?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5ebGGCfI95c?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Silent Night" - Sinead O'Connor </div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-54657885991175972542010-12-18T10:30:00.002+00:002010-12-18T10:33:55.079+00:00One Week to Go<div style="text-align: center;">"I remember one christmas morning</div><div style="text-align: center;">A winters light and a distant choir</div><div style="text-align: center;">And the peal of a bell and that christmas tree smell</div><div style="text-align: center;">And their eyes full of tinsel and fire"</div><br />
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"I Believe in Father Christmas" - Greg Lake<br />
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</div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-90488023126483275192010-12-16T16:42:00.000+00:002010-12-16T16:42:00.094+00:00Getting Ready for the Big DayIt is now less than 10 days to go before Christmas Day is upon us. Doesn’t it creep up on you fast?! Luckily, Dori and I finished our gift buying a little while ago before it got too manic in the shopping centres. We have, believe it or not, also already wrapped those gifts and they are currently snuggled safely under the Christmas tree. Well, I say we wrapped them, but it would be slightly more accurate to say that I wrapped my present for Dori and she did all the others!<br />
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Before I was married, I would just about be thinking of starting to buy presents at this point in the year, and yes I have even done the stereotypical male thing of rushing round the shops on Christmas Eve trying to get those last few gifts :-) But age, marriage and the sheer dread of battling with thousands of other sharp-elbowed shoppers has led to me being much more organised nowadays. So, the gifts have been bought, wrapped and installed under the tree, and the decorations are up around the Yellow House. Talking of the decorations, for those of you that didn’t see them over at Dori’s blog, here are a few pics to give you an idea of what some of our festive characters look like.<br />
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The forecast is for the snow to return tonight and over the weekend, so there is the very real possibility of a White Christmas at the Yellow House this year. I can’t remember the last time we had snow on the ground at Christmas. Santa may need a sleigh for real next week!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-32301363845144552672010-11-29T17:57:00.001+00:002010-11-29T17:57:00.386+00:00Catching UpIt’s been a little while since my last posting. Apologies for my absence, but sometimes real-life takes precedence over the blogosphere :) So, what’s been happening in the interim?<br />
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Well, I guess the big news was the announcement of the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton and the subsequent fixing of the date for the Royal Wedding. It’s been a while since there has been an occasion of this size in this country, certainly not since the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and probably not since Charles and Diana’s wedding back in 1981. Back then there were street parties across the country and a real mood of national celebration. I suspect that it won’t be quite like that this time round. Questions have already been asked about how much the taxpayer should be paying out for the wedding at a time when drastic cuts are being made to public spending, taxes are on the rise and people are fearful for their jobs. But the reality is that hundreds of thousands of people are going to want to be in London to see some of the wedding and it will obviously be a huge security operation for the police that is going to cost millions of pounds. At a time of such austerity in can sometimes be a positive thing to have an event such as this to celebrate and get people’s minds away from the daily drudgery. Whatever the rights and wrongs, I can only wish the couple every happiness in their life together.<br />
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We have also been doing some celebrating of our own over the last week. Of course, last Thursday was Thanksgiving. This year we had a quiet, though very delicious, celebration here in the Yellow House. Last year, you may remember, we flew over to Georgia to enjoy the holiday with Dori’s family. Well, plane tickets sadly aren’t getting any cheaper and so we stayed on this side of the Atlantic this time round – although thanks to Skype we were able to experience a little of the festivities over in America :)<br />
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The celebratory mood continued yesterday as we attended the christening of my nephew’s baby girl. The weather here for the last week has gotten progressively colder and icier with many areas experiencing heavy snow, so the thought of spending an afternoon in a cold and draughty church – even for such a happy occasion – was a little daunting. However, as it turned out, the church was quite small, not at all draughty and even had some very welcome heating! The service was lovely and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Ironically, after the fears of getting too cold in the church, when we all decamped to the venue for the celebration meal afterwards, we found that the heating there was not turned on and it was frrrrrrreezing!!! Everybody was sat there, still in their coats and scarves for the entire time. It is always good though to have a story to relate to an event like that though – makes it even more memorable. :-)<br />
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The forecast looks like some of that snow I mentioned may be heading our way tonight. Hopefully it won’t be too heavy, although if it is we may be able to get some even better photos than we managed at the start of the year when the country was paralyzed for a couple of weeks! Here are a couple that we took at the time as we walked around on the first day of heavy snow.<br />
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Finally, can I wish the team bidding to bring the World Cup to England in 2018 every success over the next few days. FIFA will be announcing on Thursday the host countries of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and England have thrown their hat into the ring for the 2018 competition. Football politics may scupper their chances apparently, but you never know. Everyone assumed that the 2012 Olympics would be in Paris and look what happened there! Good luck to everyone involved!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-39647731417944899542010-11-08T17:26:00.003+00:002010-11-08T17:26:00.390+00:00Remember, RememberAs I <a href="http://getting-busy-living.blogspot.com/2010/10/birthdays-and-so-much-more.html">mentioned</a> a couple of weeks or so back, we are now in holiday season and they are starting to come thick and fast. After Halloween at the end of October, we celebrated Bonfire Night aka Guy Fawkes Night on Friday. Although not strictly a holiday anymore, it is a day of celebration and one of the landmark days in the calendar. <br />
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The day commemorates the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in which a group of men attempted to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on November 5th. The man tasked with setting the explosives was Guy Fawkes, and it was during the night before the State Opening that he was discovered in a cellar beneath the parliament building with over 30 barrels of gunpowder. He was arrested and later executed (in horrific fashion) along with the majority of his fellow conspirators.<br />
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Since that time, November 5th has been marked as a day of national celebration. At one time it was, apparently, a public holiday but that has long since been abandoned. Nowadays, it is marked by the lighting of bonfires on top of which are placed “Guys” (effigies) and by firework displays. As kids we were also all taught the following little rhyme...<br />
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<strong><em>Remember, remember the fifth of November</em></strong><br />
<strong><em>Gunpowder, treason and plot.</em></strong><br />
<strong><em>I see no reason why gunpowder, treason</em></strong><br />
<strong><em>Should ever be forgot</em></strong><br />
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There were many firework displays around here over the weekend, both official and unofficial. Whilst they always used to take place on the day itself, most modern public displays tend to be held on the nearest weekend to November 5th. Dori and I were out visiting on Saturday night and saw and heard many fireworks as we travelled to and from our destination. It is one of those nights of the year that I very much look forward to.<br />
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Whilst talking of remembering, I would also like to mention that Norman Pritchard passed away recently. Whilst none of you are likely to have heard of him, and indeed few in his home town knew of him either, his legacy has garnered world-wide attention, for he was partially responsible for the design and implementation of Swindon’s notorious “Magic Roundabout”. This junction at the intersection of 5 roads was very revolutionary when first built and still strikes fear into the heart of many a driver today. It consists of a central roundabout with 5 mini-roundabouts around the outside. The beauty of it (if you are experienced at negotiating it) is that you may take several different routes through the road junction to reach your desired exit. Dori has previously posted a <a href="http://fromayellowhouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/magic-roundabout.html">video</a> over at her Yellow House blog to show what it is like, and here is another one to give you an idea of this wonderful creation!<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Sud6iEh28ZM?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Sud6iEh28ZM?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-11262404374901374272010-11-02T17:41:00.002+00:002010-11-02T17:41:00.777+00:00The Times They Are A-Changin'Sunday, as well as being Halloween, also marked the end of British Summer Time (BST) for this year as the clocks were turned back an hour in the wee hours of the morning. We are now back on good ol’ Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for the duration of the winter.<br />
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This, of course, means lighter mornings (for a few weeks at least) but darker evenings. With the days getting ever shorter as we near the winter solstice, the hours of sunlight that we have are getting less and less. It is already darker at 5:00 pm now than it was at 10:00 pm at the height of summer! It is for this reason that a “Lighter, Later” campaign has been gaining some following over recent years. Their idea is for Britain to adopt Central European Time (CET), meaning that our clocks would be advanced to an hour ahead of GMT during the winter, and an hour ahead of BST during the summer. Their argument is that this will move an hour of sunlight from the mornings to the evenings, when more people are up and about to enjoy it.<br />
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Is this a good idea? It will certainly alleviate some of the darkness in the evenings, which can make the winter days seem so short and miserable, and it is said that it will also save on electricity as the lights won’t be turned on until an hour later. That is all good. But, the mornings will be terribly dark when a lot of people are getting up and going out in the mornings, or when children are walking to school. Whatever we do with the clocks, we will still only have the same amount of daylight as before. And it is not as though the mornings are light at a ridiculously early time of the day anyway. I, for one, am still dragging myself out of bed whilst it is dark outside now – that would only be exacerbated if this new system is adopted. But then, I like the lighter evenings too.<br />
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So, I am a little undecided on this one. There is going to be a parliamentary debate on the subject next month but it is unlikely that anything will be changed very quickly. No doubt the campaign will continue, and new times may well lie ahead at some point. If only they could make the daylight last longer, then that would definitely get my vote!!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-33093302682463395572010-10-30T11:17:00.002+01:002010-10-30T12:12:44.735+01:00Happy Halloween!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uH3z0Q4TqrwDA4pi4xqjr7tlJ37GM9CpiG0hS0BDu6wvKnzHj0uzVYjU1OFhzVEV5b7tNPdPYsoo2XIEmIdYCv_I6EsFmPQQVHXeaaB6FjgUa5DWB3BIHchG23Jqp-K1_8fWwuxI3_Y/s1600/not+scary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uH3z0Q4TqrwDA4pi4xqjr7tlJ37GM9CpiG0hS0BDu6wvKnzHj0uzVYjU1OFhzVEV5b7tNPdPYsoo2XIEmIdYCv_I6EsFmPQQVHXeaaB6FjgUa5DWB3BIHchG23Jqp-K1_8fWwuxI3_Y/s400/not+scary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-89755382033120492882010-10-22T17:26:00.000+01:002010-10-22T17:26:41.151+01:00It's a Jungle Out There!We have a new pet, of sorts, here at the Yellow House. As you will see below, a new friend has decided that he or she wishes to hang out with Dori and Brit Boy! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-p9_9g5et51Fw_cKplNycFarudrvLdJDejA060_LD6UvxkZiFhBjiGFKugW75nqfo2G2mzp0qqSP3yiEwIVwUf5yPynJJk3bdAPzXAj5hiP8w61uCAiiMajK9JRdLzRvGIubOLYW2L8Y/s1600/spider1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-p9_9g5et51Fw_cKplNycFarudrvLdJDejA060_LD6UvxkZiFhBjiGFKugW75nqfo2G2mzp0qqSP3yiEwIVwUf5yPynJJk3bdAPzXAj5hiP8w61uCAiiMajK9JRdLzRvGIubOLYW2L8Y/s320/spider1a.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeEkAbmX9PGnN_JmxV1IddJA0TicqISAudTumRJjvINE1BWVoy-bb1AFV3rDE7PCscwxmdLRDSRRB02GrbH_Bilb0MAdOx8arNbXNex20mgd2tRhjJWqlXE2PHIubauQtB5-w0_NIMTE/s1600/spider3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeEkAbmX9PGnN_JmxV1IddJA0TicqISAudTumRJjvINE1BWVoy-bb1AFV3rDE7PCscwxmdLRDSRRB02GrbH_Bilb0MAdOx8arNbXNex20mgd2tRhjJWqlXE2PHIubauQtB5-w0_NIMTE/s320/spider3a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pTU-EFbGM7CgdQod2aBnYXC8Xxs69FCG_4HqB7nIuomyodsR6JbHWnvT5VpgNchNZjsXvRG7wgOj65DWansfWNU95OctalztOB-vPQJceJKXD3OMw6UPk5wkY_M89BIyCxvcNazT0jA/s1600/spider2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pTU-EFbGM7CgdQod2aBnYXC8Xxs69FCG_4HqB7nIuomyodsR6JbHWnvT5VpgNchNZjsXvRG7wgOj65DWansfWNU95OctalztOB-vPQJceJKXD3OMw6UPk5wkY_M89BIyCxvcNazT0jA/s320/spider2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I took these pics the other day through our back window. Spidey has taken to sitting there on his/her web during the day and soaking up what little bit of sunshine that we get. In fact, Spidey even decided to eat with us a few days back as I looked out on my way to the kitchen and saw that an unfortunate fly had been captured and was in the process of being bound up before becoming our friend’s teatime treat :-) Having done a little bit of research – ie I googled it – I believe that our new lodger is a Cross Spider, by which I mean that is the type of spider, not that he/she is particularly peeved! Apparently, despite appearances to the contrary, they are harmless creatures – unless you happen to be a fly I guess.<br />
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Spidey isn’t the only visitor we get in our back garden. During the all too brief summer, we had an army of butterflies who graced us with their presence, as well as a battalion of wasps (yellowjackets) who were somewhat less welcome! We also have a pair of blackbirds who like to visit us, again quite often at meal times, and pick at the grubs and worms outside as we feast on something a little more tasty inside. Dori was also “lucky” enough to see a snake slithering its way around our garden shed a couple of years back. Snakes aren’t exactly common here, so that was quite an unexpected find!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPKWif-Fm5x6oUgoTjxtcO6j5YI2ccMAx59ZkpM5M3vvyHpFWs7fOHVmmAYGdWR2QmZ_bQTtNYh3Hx073vOnZXwRvE9v5h1laGMYYRp-GVL7cW-Mac5pnacefiOp59cOJKUGgo3wLuc4k/s1600/butterflies2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPKWif-Fm5x6oUgoTjxtcO6j5YI2ccMAx59ZkpM5M3vvyHpFWs7fOHVmmAYGdWR2QmZ_bQTtNYh3Hx073vOnZXwRvE9v5h1laGMYYRp-GVL7cW-Mac5pnacefiOp59cOJKUGgo3wLuc4k/s320/butterflies2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So, the Yellow House garden has quite a little menagerie building up, and apparently that now includes a neighbour’s cat who we have just seen in our garden for the very first time. It is starting to sound a lot like a song I remember....<br />
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<object width="448" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC_xO2aN_IA?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC_xO2aN_IA?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-27354554857772948322010-10-14T14:51:00.001+01:002010-10-14T14:52:59.159+01:00A Tale of Two CathedralsAs I mentioned in my previous post, it was my birthday last week. It was also my mum’s birthday on the same day - strange how that happens every year! :-) For her gift from us this year, we decided instead of giving her something that would probably be put away in a cupboard somewhere never to be seen again, or that would be used up in 5 minutes and forgotten about, we would take her out for a day sometime. And so, as the weather was so good at the start of this week, we went for a little day-trip.<br />
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When my mother was a young child, during World War II, she would often spend some of her holidays in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry">Coventry</a>, staying with some distant relatives. She loved these vacations, I guess because the city was so different to the rural life she was used to. It was on one of these visits that her “aunt” took her to see what remained of the recently bombed <a href="http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/">Coventry Cathedral</a>. During the night of November 14, 1940 the whole city of Coventry had been decimated by a Luftwaffe bombing raid, and the cathedral did not escape from the punishment. Several bombs hit the cathedral and it burned along with a lot of the surrounding city.<br />
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My mum has very vivid memories of the sights she saw when she was taken down there sometime afterwards, and of the overpowering smell that still lingered in the air. But, she had never been back since to see either the remains of the bombed cathedral again, or the newly erected cathedral that was built alongside it. So, Coventry was our destination this week!<br />
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The new cathedral was designed by Sir Basil Spence and completed in 1962. Although there was some opposition at the time to its modern design, the cathedral is now very well loved, and was voted as Britain’s favourite 20th century building in a national poll. It certainly is an amazing place, and Dori has taken some wonderful pictures which I believe she will be sharing with you sometime soon when she returns to the bloggy world :-) In the meantime, here are a few snaps that I took with my mobile phone that will give you a little idea of what this house of worship is like.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The old....</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntMhIf53HG0cntBLJEVxW-a6O-94Vqqrm8NvH9vB0xXL3wJzptM_oqsmDgOQ9jpT_fCf5A8zog6WcpT_A5XWf2ysNX8kRgUSkN7aAw8_c9-ISEGUoBr_bR5wSL0SNmgROR-GXEp4wwLE/s1600/DSC0000020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntMhIf53HG0cntBLJEVxW-a6O-94Vqqrm8NvH9vB0xXL3wJzptM_oqsmDgOQ9jpT_fCf5A8zog6WcpT_A5XWf2ysNX8kRgUSkN7aAw8_c9-ISEGUoBr_bR5wSL0SNmgROR-GXEp4wwLE/s320/DSC0000020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hlW__TCXhRGbMVvx-NSnyynP4Pa0gu5aoJXhrCm7Oa9hNpg0R9cjGQR7wNShXhRI53QDNPRtBdecRHAJ4lRH7saDvd6wThIZdQsmqHGUPYpRnn3Binjo1fHg_FKyE9EQnzjFv8QVX-Y/s1600/DSC0000017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hlW__TCXhRGbMVvx-NSnyynP4Pa0gu5aoJXhrCm7Oa9hNpg0R9cjGQR7wNShXhRI53QDNPRtBdecRHAJ4lRH7saDvd6wThIZdQsmqHGUPYpRnn3Binjo1fHg_FKyE9EQnzjFv8QVX-Y/s320/DSC0000017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">..and the new...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTjCObjs3tGdMQsdKP9r3-PVzAwX27zUzxevfAV-mHZ0nvjGSgh0M8u6gwjiSalPchvrHIwsSXX4tpWXYvADkcho4QQLO_19j1uJwjKWT8zpliVnv0qpoigosfexSGlOTaInjd4lpTGc/s1600/DSC0000021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTjCObjs3tGdMQsdKP9r3-PVzAwX27zUzxevfAV-mHZ0nvjGSgh0M8u6gwjiSalPchvrHIwsSXX4tpWXYvADkcho4QQLO_19j1uJwjKWT8zpliVnv0qpoigosfexSGlOTaInjd4lpTGc/s320/DSC0000021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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The tapestry that you can see behind the altar is apparently the largest in the world, measuring 74'8" by 38' and was made in just one piece by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Sutherland">Graham Sutherland</a>. The stained glass windows are stunning, and my pictures don't even vaguely do them justice. As we had set off early, we were lucky enough to have the new cathedral almost to ourselves for a few minutes before a group of schoolchildren arrived, and it was an amazing experience to be so peaceful in that huge space.<br />
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It was a great day out, and a long-held ambition fulfilled for my mum.Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-33738925437273628842010-10-06T17:43:00.001+01:002010-10-06T17:43:00.493+01:00Birthdays and So Much MoreFor Dori and me, this last weekend marks the start of a holiday season that goes all the way through to next spring.<br />
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It began with my birthday, which I celebrated by watching Team Europe squeak a victory in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales. As I foretold in my last post, the weather left a lot to be desired for much of the competition, only to end with a gloriously sunny day on Monday as the contest entered an extra day for the first time in its history. To say this year’s event was close would be a massive understatement, with every single match counting towards the final outcome. If just one individual match had gone from a Europe win to being halved, or from being halved to a US win then the American team would have been flying home with the Ryder Cup yesterday. <br />
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The tie ebbed and flowed considerably over the course of the 4 days, with Europe starting well only for the US to gain the upper hand, and then Europe fighting back with a stunning third session of games to take a commanding lead into the singles matches. But all was not done and dusted, and the Americans made a tremendous effort to claw their way back into the contest and level the scores with just one match left on the course. The pressure on those two final players must have been immense and it was US Open champion Graeme McDowell who managed to hold his nerve better and secure the win for Team Europe. Yet again the Ryder Cup produced sporting excellence and drama in equal measures and I am already looking forward to the next staging of the event, which will be at Medinah Country Club, Illinois in 2012.<br />
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Aside from the golf, we also went out for a meal together with my Mum, who celebrates her birthday on the same day as me. The food was delicious and we all had a very pleasant time. It was a good weekend.<br />
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But, as I was saying, this is the start of our holiday season. Being from two different places, as I have mentioned here before, means that we get to celebrate even more holidays than most people. Starting with my birthday, we then have Halloween, Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Dori’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day, Mothers Day, St George’s Day, Easter and our wedding anniversary – and no doubt I’ve forgotten one or two in there :-) And by the time we have gone through all of it will be time to start looking ahead to next summer! Time to get buying cards methinks!!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-81515766887239555222010-09-29T17:36:00.003+01:002010-09-29T17:42:37.653+01:00Let Battle CommenceIt may not seem like it, but it was 6 months ago that I posted <a href="http://getting-busy-living.blogspot.com/2010/03/summer-of-sport.html">an entry</a> on this blog looking forward to the sporting summer ahead. Well, now obviously that summer has been and gone and we have seen some tremendous performances over the months. It has been a very good year for the Spanish, with the football team finally realizing their potential and winning the World Cup after many years of thwarted dreams – and, of course, Rafa Nadal completing his collection of Grand Slam tennis titles at Flushing Meadows earlier this month.<br />
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There is, however, still one huge sporting event of the season still to take place, and that will be happening this coming weekend. I am referring, of course, to the Ryder Cup which will begin early on Friday morning and reach its climax on Sunday evening. This year the golfing battle is being hosted at Celtic Manor in South Wales. That is not too far distant from us and both Dori and I would have loved to attend the event and cheer on our respective teams. Sadly the cost of the tickets is exorbitant and we just could not justify the expense at this time. So, instead, I will be heading over to my Mum’s house to watch part of it there, as she has the sports package on her TV. Attending the Ryder Cup one year is, however, definitely on my bucket list! <br />
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Ever since the Great Britain and Ireland team was expanded to include the rest of Europe in 1979, this contest has never failed to provide drama and exciting competition. Having won 5 out of the previous 6 matches the European team suffered a heavy defeat last time out, losing by 5 points at Valhalla in Kentucky two years ago. So, this year they will be out to avenge that defeat in what looks like being some fairly wet and windy weather.<br />
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As always on these occasions, Trevor’s loyalties will be divided and he will no doubt be cheering for the American team when Dori is in the room, and the Europeans when I am there – or, failing that, maybe he will just be rooting for whoever may be leading at the time. He is a bit of a glory hunter after all :-) Whoever wins, expect a lot of ups and downs and some very heated competition. May the best team win!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105924821925083511.post-5939148517851123912010-09-24T12:30:00.004+01:002010-09-24T12:37:39.533+01:00A Happy FridayHappy Friday everyone! And today is an even happier Friday for two reasons. One is that we are finally getting a new shower installed after nearly a month of wrangling with our property agents (of which you can read more over at <a href="http://fromayellowhouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/escape-from-plumbing-hell.html">Dori’s blog</a>), and the second is that I have received the <strong>Happy 101 Award</strong> from <b>Lis</b> of <a href="http://americangirlinbristol.blogspot.com/">An American Girl in Bristol</a>. Thank you very much Lis, I am very honoured to receive this award, especially as it is the first blogging award I have received from someone who I’m not married to!!<br />
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The Rules of the Award are that you should say who passed on the award ( thanks again Lis), and to name 10 things that you like and then pass on the award to 10 other people and notify them with a comment. Well, I’m going to bail on the last of those conditions and just say that if you have ever commented on my blog, or if I have commented on yours, then you are free to take this award away with you and do with it as you please. :-)<br />
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The 10 things that I like are:<br />
1. <b>Cheese</b> – the food of the Gods<br />
2. <b>Football</b> – the beautiful game (aka soccer in some places!)<br />
3. <b>Sunny days</b> when you don’t have anywhere in particular to go<br />
4. <b>Snow days</b> when you don’t have to drive out anywhere<br />
5. <b>Bath</b> – that’s the city in England not something you may find in your bathroom, although now I mention it....<br />
6. <b>A long soak in the bath</b> when you can just relax and let the stresses melt away<br />
7. <b>The West Wing</b> – see <a href="http://fromayellowhouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/escape-from-plumbing-hell.html">Friday Favourites #1</a><br />
8. <b>Music</b> – I couldn’t live without it<br />
9. <b>Sophie’s Steakhouse, Covent Garden</b> – our new favourite, affordable London eatery<br />
10. <b>Travelling with Dori</b> and seeing the wonderful world around us.<br />
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As I say, feel free to take this award home with you if you are a commenter/commentee.<br />
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Have a great - and happy - weekend everyone!Brit Boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298805880524907100noreply@blogger.com4