Blogging and Facebook

In the past few weeks I have seen a number of comments about Facebook and blogging, with a couple of people abandoning Facebook rather than struggle to keep up with both. Being a slow blogger - in this instance due to real life rather than internet distractions - the links and comments I meant to post at the time have sailed off into the sunset, but even though I am behind the conversation I still want to add my tuppence worth.

When I first started using Facebook it had a definite impact on my blog. I started posting short snippets there rather than longer items here. My poor blog got neglected to the point where earlier this year I wondered what its future would be, if any. I started making more effort to post here, and as I did so, my feelings about Facebook and blogging crystallised, I saw the pros and cons each has for me more clearly, and found myself committed to both.

Facebook is my public face. My Facebook friends are a mix of my nearest and dearest, old friends, neighbours, online friends and real life acquaintances (often people I see quite frequently, but know only on a superficial level). I use real names, and although I do write about my family, I am more careful of their privacy. I don't say anything on Facebook that I wouldn't say to someone I only knew slightly. My updates are mostly day to day trivia mixed with humour. Facebook is quick and easy, and I love the opportunities it gives to keep up with people I might otherwise lose touch with, and to get to know casual acquaintances a little better.

My blog is a very different place. Although it is technically more public - I try to keep my Facebook privacy settings pretty tight - it is also more private thanks to my pseudonyms. Although someone actively searching might be able to link my real name to my blog, and many (most?) of my readers know who I am, I don't advertise it to the casual social circle that I share with on Facebook and people who know me only slightly are not likely to look for it. My blog is where I post more openly about my life and the things that interest me, expecting to be read by sympathetic eyes. Strangers may stumble onto my blog, but unless they like what they see I presume they are not going to come back. Those who visit, return, and comment I think of as friends. I visit their blogs, get to know them, and ... well ... I like my readers, and I feel comfortable sharing here in this public space, more so than in the "private" space of Facebook - and let's face it, there is no such thing as truly private social media! My blog also has a role as my personal diary, the place where I can look back on our family life in words and pictures. (Note to self: must back up blog.)

So I now find myself feeling very positive about both Facebook and blogging. Oh, and in case you are wondering, I have dabbled a bit with Twitter, but found that for me it overlapped too much with Facebook. It may be something I get more involved with in the future, but for now, no.

Star, by Angel

Angel needs to build a small portfolio of photos to demonstrate that she should be given a place on the photography course she wants to take next year. Here are some pictures she took of Star last weekend:

 

Bother. I uploaded these from my iPad, and have lost resolution. No time to sort it out tonight. You get the idea!

7 Quick Takes: December 3rd

1. What is happening to the weather? This is the third winter running with snow heavy enough to cause travel chaos, and this year it hit in November. Apart from a few cold spots, the southern half of England rarely gets more than an inch or so of snow, which usually melts within a day or two. I remember much colder, snowy winters during my childhood, but they have been rare for at least thirty years. As a consequence nobody is geared up to dealing with snow. Local councils grit the main roads, but snow ploughs are few and far between (too expensive if they are only going to be used very infrequently). So when we get weather like this - snow and a sustained cold period with no thaw - there is widespread disruption. I wonder if this is the beginning of another long, cold winter? (I have to admit that I personally love snow, and feel like a big kid when it arrives despite the chaos, but sympathise with those who have to try to struggle through it to work, or who simply can't get out at all.)

2. Angel and Star were hugely irritated that we didn't get enough snow for their schools to close. They were hoping for snow days. At this point in the term, I think they could use a couple. Star is tired, and Angel has GCSE mock (practice) exams coming up in a few days and no time to revise due to the upcoming dance show.

3. I am now busy listing the contents of boxes of what I can only describe as "random old stuff" at the archive. Old deeds, letters that could come straight out of Jane Austen ... all sorts of things turn up. One of the letters I read yesterday deserves an entire post of its own, which I am hoping to write before I forget the story it told.

4. Tevye and I are enjoying the TV series Garrow's Law, a historical drama about an 18th century London lawyer. I was surprised to discover that William Garrow was a real person, and the series is at least loosely based on fact, even down to a love affair that seems rather more 20th century than 18th. This is the second series. Shame we missed the first.

5. The brass band Christmas season starts tomorrow and builds up pace over the next couple of weeks. I will miss the first carol playing session as I have to help with a Nativity play for the First Communion class, but I'll be playing on Sunday, twice next weekend, and four times the following week. Eek. When it comes to Christmas music, it seems composers and arrangers like to use trombones to fill in every little gap. Rests are few and far between. After a two hour rehearsal on Wednesday my mouth hurt.

6. This evening we had our annual Hannukah party with our (non-Jewish) neighbours, a tradition that began the first winter after they moved here 8 years ago. Lots of latkes were fried and eaten, followed up with doughnuts - foods cooked in oil are traditional for Hannukah. Jewish food generally doesn't skimp on calories.

7. Cherub's description of a Christmas cracker..."You bang it up and get a toy out."

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Thursday 13: Christmas Music

Thirteen tracks from my Advent and Christmas playlist:

1. Christ is Born a Child on Earth (Patricia Spero, from Celtic Christmas Harp)

2. A Christmas Carol Symphony: Rondo Finale (Patric Standford)

3. Dies Natalis (Grimethorpe Colliery Band)

4. Ding, Dong Merrily on High (Maddy Prior, from An Evening of Carols and Capers - just love her voice, and especially her Christmas carols accompanied by Renaissance instruments)

5. Gaudete (Steeleye Span)

6. Improvisation on Christmas Carols: Allegro (Bryan Kelly)

7. Merry Xmas Everybody (Slade - a bit of 70s. It may be loud, but it's cheerful!)

8. O Wisdom Antiphon and Magnificat (London Fox Players, Advent Promise)

9. The Kingdom Triumphant (Sellers Engineering Band - playing this in our band Christmas concert. I end up half dead after playing all the trombone fanfares and full throttle ending, but it is worth it!)

10. Troika / O Little Town of Bethlehem (London Cello Orchestra, A Cello Christmas)

11. Veni, Veni Emmanuel (Hayley Westenra, Winter Promise - stunningly beautiful, ethereal voice)

12. Walking in the Air (Aled Jones - because The Snowman has been part of so many family Christmasses)

13. While Shepherds Watched (Maddy Prior, An Evening of Carols and Capers - I love the violin on this)

Just Five Minutes

Housework has been hit and miss - actually rather more miss than hit - for the last few weeks. Today I had a free morning and no excuses, so needed to get back on the housework wagon. Inspired by this five little minutes post I grabbed the timer and spent just five minutes in each room. This is what I achieved:

Our Bedroom
Cleared away a pile if clothes (hung up or into laundry basket).
Returned Cherub's pyjamas to her bed.
Cleared a pile of books of the chair.
Cleaned all the fingerprints off the mirrored wardrobe doors.
Put away some receiptes left on my bedside table.

Our Bathroom
Cleaned sink and toilet.
Swished shower tray and shined shampoo and soap dispenser.
Hung up towel left on floor.

Star's Room
Finished putting away accumulated clothes heap.
Threw out empty toiletries.
Put away a jumble of jewellery, hair stuff and make up.

Main Bathroom
Cleaned sink and toilet.
Put away jumble of foam letters and other toys abandoned in the bottom of the bath.

Angel's Bedroom
Changed bed linen.
(Pretended not to see mess!)

If I was in the middle of something when The timer went I carried on until I finished. Overall this all took me about 40 minutes. I also scooped up a load of laundry and threw in bath and shower mats.

Sixth Form

First a note for anyone outside the UK who isn't familiar with the English school system (I say English rather than British because I think the Scottish system is somewhat different). In September Angel starts Sixth Form, which covers Years 12 and 13, the equivalent of Grades 11 and 12 in the US (ages 16 to 18). Sixth forms can be part of a secondary or upper school which takes students from ages 11 and 13 respectively (our local school area has upper schools, but this is unusual), or they can be a separate Sixth Form College with just 16 to 18 year olds or part of a further education college which also teaches vocational courses and takes students of any age - similar to community college in the US I think. The name Sixth Form is a hangover from an old system in which school classes ran from First Form through to Sixth - Charlotte Mason structured her courses this way and it was still used when I was at school. Under this system Star, who is in Year 8, would currently be in Lower Fourth or 4b. Logical, huh?

At 16 English school students sit a set of GCSE (General Certificate of Education) exams, usually in around ten subjects. From then onwards education takes a different tack to the US, concentrating on depth rather than breadth. After GCSEs some teens go on to jobs, apprenticeships or vocational courses (J-next-door will be starting a hairdressing apprenticeship, for example), others stay on at school to take AS (Advanced Subsidiary) and A (Advanced) Level exams. These are known as Advancecd because they used to be taken after O (Ordinary) Levels, which have been superseded by GCSEs. Confused yet? (If you are a Harry Potter fan this explains OWLS - Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Get it?). Typically those who stay on for Sixth Form take 4 AS Levels in Year 11, then drop one subject and do a second A Level year in the other three. The subjects they choose can be focused in one area (sciences, arts, languages), or can be a mixture; they can also be traditionally academic, or more vocationally orientated.

Angel is most definitely a doer rather than a thinker and has ignored the traditional academic courses and picked four subjects to study at AS Level that are practical and business oriented. Good choices for her, I think, as they use her strengths - the GCSEs for which she is predicted an A are English language, English literature, graphic products (sort of graphic design-ish) and ICT (information and communication technology). Looking ahead to careers, possibilities are things like art editing, web design or something techie-media related, and she would prefer to go straight into work after A levels rather than go to university. The four courses she has picked are:

Business Studies - the AS level course covers planning, financing and managing a business.

Media Studies - a mix of analysing media content (TV, radio, web sites, magazines, newspapers) and production. In the first year there is a project which requires producing linked pieces in two media chosen from video, audio, print or website.

Product Design - covers everything from resistant materials (wood, metal, plastic) to fashion and graphic design. For the AS students put together a portfolio of four different practical projects - the three I can remember are a sales leaflet, an art deco style mirror, and a child's chair reflecting the style of a chosen designer (they had some of these on display in the product design studio, and they varied from a mock-Lego chair, to a Rennie Mackintosh inspired one. I suspect Cherub may benefit from this project!). For the second A level year the student has to design and make a project in consultation with a client. After speaking to the teacher and her enthusiastic students, Angel was sold on this course - I think she will love it.

Photography - covers both traditional and digital photography, ranging from developing black and white film in the darkroom, to Photoshopping digital images. The course explores many different areas of photography - portraiture, documentary, photojournalism, environmental photography, still life, and experimental imagery. They get taken on trips to galleries and museums, and are given a lot of freedom to experiment. Again, I think Angel will have a ball. She is already saving for her own camera, and has started taking pictures to make a mini-portfolio to get a place on the course - they want evidence that would-be students are serious about studying photography and have at least some creative ability.

Assuming that the timetable can accommodate this combination of courses, I think she is going to have a busy but interesting couple of years, and will come out with a set of useful skills that will help her get a job in anything involving media production - or if she changes her plans, to get a place on some sort of media-techie related university course.

Simple Woman's Daybook: 29th November

Outside My Window ... winter. Deep frost this morning, and the car was showing minus 5 (low 20s farenheit). There was a light dusting of snow on Saturday, but the real stuff is due tonight.

I am thinking ... about Christmas shopping. I had hoped to be finished with it by now, but this month conspired against me.

From the learning rooms ... Angel has settled on her sixth form choices (more about that in another post); Star's school has changed its homework policy, and is now issuing a single major task over a three week period rather than small, separate pieces of homework for each subject.

I am thankful ... Mum is out of hospital and recovering. She was discharged last Tuesday and will be staying with us for another week or so, by which time she should be ready to go home an manage independently.

From the kitchen ... 

Today: Chicken stir fry

Tomorrow: Fish and chips

Wednesday: Orange chicken and rice

Thursday: Salmon and mashed potatoes

Friday: Steak pie?

Saturday: Burgers

Sunday: Roast chicken

 

I am wearing ... dark grey trousers (this pair from Marks and Spencer - so comfortable and so wearable I went back and bought another pair in black), black sweater, black and white handknitted socks

I am creating ... super chunky wrist warmers (one done); blue socks for Mum; long chunky cardigan for myself (knitted the body last winter, just the sleeves to go; soft merino / mohair aran scarf for Angel for Christmas.

I am going ... to be starting a masters degree in Archives and Records Management in January. Both the interview and the train journey went well.

I am reading ... Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. Loved the TV series, loving the book.

I am hoping ... that Cherub is not going down with something. She seemed a bit warm this evening.

I am hearing ... Star having an attack of hiccups.

Around the house ... a makeshift button for flushing the toilet made out of an old screw and duck tape. Angel somehow managed to flush the proper button down the pan. It was loose and wobbly and apparently "jumped" as she pushed it.

One of my favorite things ... preparing for Christmas.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... a nice quiet week. Only extras on the calendar are Cherub's school Christmas fair on Saturday and carol playing with the brass band on Sunday.

A Picture Thought I Am Sharing ... our Playmobil nativity set

 

Find instructions and links to other daybooks at The Simple Woman

Advent Snippets

Cherub greeted the news that we would get the the Nativity set out today with bouncing and squeals of excitement. "The Nativity set! The Nativity Set! We can have it today! ... [pause] ... What is a Nativity set?"

We have the Playmobil Nativity. Since last year Joseph has gone missing. A shepherd is now wearing Joseph's clothes, and a friar is masquerading as a shepherd. Every time I see him the anachronism makes me wince.

Cherub is learning songs for the school Christmas concert. Talking about shepherds and kings jogged her memory: "That was in my song! A king bought gold for a present, and a shepherd bought something called myrhh". Close.

I was hugely impressed that I not only had four brand new purple candles for the Advent wreath stashed away in the Advent / Christmas box, but also two full boxes of Hannukah candles I had forgotten about.

Less impressively, I do not yet have Advent calendars.

Advent Books

I have had the idea of wrapping up a book for each day of Advent filed away in my head for a while now, and I have finally taken the plunge and decided that this year I would put it into action for Cherub. I now have a neat pile of books wrapped and waiting (apart from two still to come from the library). Some are religious, some secular and there are three Hannukah books thrown in for good measure. Whether Cherub will let me read them all to her, I don't know. She is more open to new books than she was last year - then she knew what she liked and liked what she knew - but she is still likely to take against things for reasons I can't fathom, so we will go with the flow. Some of the books are short and sweet toddler board books, getting what I guess will be their last run out before Cherub outgrows them.

This is what I have lined up for her:

• Nov 28th - The Christmas Story (Brian Wildsmith)
• Nov 29th - Merry Christmas, Blue Kangaroo
• Nov 30th - Jesus is Born (pop-up book)
• Dec 1st - My First Hannukah (DK board book)
• Dec 2nd - Light the Lights: Celebrating Hannukah and Christmas
• Dec 3rd- Hannukah (board book)
• Dec 4th - The First Christmas (Lois Rock)
• Dec 5th - The Innkeeper (board book)
• Dec 6th - Saint Nicholas (Mary Joslin)
• Dec 7th - Christmas Trolls (Jan Brett)
• Dec 8th - Mog's Christmas (Judith Kerr)
• Dec 9th - Angelina's Christmas (Katherine Holabird)
• Dec 10th - The Story of Old Befana (Tomie de Paola)
• Dec 11th - The Nutcracker (Usborne Books)
• Dec 12th - The Shepherds (board book)
• Dec 13th - Lucia, Saint of Light
• Dec 14th - The Twelve Days of Christmas (Jan Brett)
• Dec 15th - Country Angel Christmas (Tomie de Paola)
• Dec 16th - Little Grey Rabbit's Christmas (Alison Uttley)
• Dec 17th - The Nutcracker (pop-up book)
• Dec 18th - Jesus is Born (Little Fish book)
• Dec 19th - The Wise Men (board book)
• Dec 20th - Jesus is Born (Treasure Chest book)
• Dec 21st - The Wild Christmas Reindeer (Jan Brett)
• Dec 22nd - Jingle the Christmas Clown ( Tomie de Paola)
• Dec 23rd - The Legend of the Poinsettia (Tomie de Paola)
  
• Dec 24th - The Story of Christmas (Jane Ray)

Simple Woman's Daybook: 22nd November

Outside My Window ... a dull damp morning. Heading into a cold snap later this week, with snow forecast.

I am thinking ... whether there is anything I have forgotten to tell Tevye, who is in charge at home for the next couple of days.

From the learning rooms ... another sixth form open evening for Angel on Thursday.  

I am thankful ... Mum is doing very well. After recovering slowly but steadily last week she is now zooming ahead, doing lots more walking. She just has to master stairs and then she will be able to come home. She had been put on the waiting list for a rehab hospital, but looks as though she will not be needing it.

From the kitchen ... 

Today: Oven chips and chicken fingers

Tomorrow: Chicken pie and mash

Wednesday: Cottage pie (didn't get made last week as I had run out of potatoes)

Thursday: Baked potatoes and cauliflower cheese

Friday: International meal with neighbours (I have to make a starter); girls will probably have pizza or pasta

Saturday: ??

Sunday: Roast beef or lamb (can't remember what is in the freezer)

I am wearing ... dark grey cord trousers, pink sweater, pink socks

I am creating ... super chunky wrist warmers (one done); long chunky cardigan for myself (knitted the body last winter, just the sleeves to go; soft merino / mohair aran scarf for Angel for Christmas. Finished my brother's socks yesterday, which were driving me nuts as the yarn was too splitty and tangly. Planning to start a pair of bedsocks for Mum on the train today.

I am going ... to Scotland! I have an interview tomorrow morning for the distance learning archives course I am hoping to start in January. I know they are unsure I have enough prior experience and want to discuss that with me to see what gaps there are and how to fill them before starting the course. I'm hoping the gaps don't turn out to be huge gaping holes! The journey takes seven hours with three changes of trains. I love trains, though, so I'm happy. And I have loads of stuff set up on my iPad to play with (a film, two episodes of Lost, books on iBooks and Kindle, a free sample National Georgraphic magazine, music, games, and my knitting pattern). Have iPad, will travel.

I am reading ... ready and waiting on the iPad - The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (one of Susan Wittig Albert's Beatrix Potter mysteries), G. K. Chesterton autobiography, Cranford (Elizabeth Gaskell), Emma (Jane Austen). That should keep me going for a while.

I am hoping ... the interview goes well, and that Mum masters those stairs quickle.

I am hearing ... Come Outside on TV. Auntie Mabel and Pippin are investigating apples.

Around the house ... somewhere between order and disorder. Could be better, could be worse.

One of my favorite things ... train journeys. I am a train and boat person. So much more fun than cars and planes.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... another manic week, but I'm hoping that after this things will calm down. Today: travelling up to Scotland; Tomorrow: interview and travelling back again; Wednesday: visit Mum, meeting in the evening to organise First Communion classes' nativity play; Thursday: record office (or hospital?), sixth form open evening; Friday: meal with neighbours; Saturday: taking Star to Ipswich for gym competition (unless the weather turns nasty. I am not driving there in snow!). Hoping I haven't forgotten anything.

A Picture Thought I Am Sharing ... Star, aged 8, at the launch party for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (we saw the film last night - apparently it has broken a ton of box office records in the UK).

 

Find instructions and links to other daybooks at The Simple Woman

7 Quick Takes: 19th November

The quickest of quick takes today, for reasons that will be apparent.

Seven things added in to our usual busy routine between now and next Saturday:

1. A volunteers' training day at the archive, learning to read sixteenth and seventeenth century documents.

2. An orchestra concert with extra afternoon rehearsal.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

4. Visits to mum in hospital (one hour drive each way).

5. A trip to Dundee in Scotland for an interview for an archive course (seven hour train journey with three changes each way and an overnight stay).

6. Sixth form open evening with Angel.

7. Gymnastics competition for Star in Ipswich (two and a half hour drive each way to perform one minute floor routine. 

Breathe ...

Visit Conversion Diary for more quick takes 

 

Simple Woman's Daybook: 15th November

Outside My Window ...

Frosted November.
Monday morning dawns foggy
and unappealing.

(And I have an inexplicable urge to write haiku!)

I am thinking ... or perhaps it is the subliminal effect of watching a documentary about the poet Wilfrid Owen and ordering a set of Japanese knitting needles yesterday (poetry + Japan = haiku)

From the learning rooms ... "wedding day" for Cherub on Thursday, and "spotty day" to raise money for Children in Need on Friday; a sixth form open evening (at her current school) for Angel on Wednesday; safari animals in Cherub's story sack. 

I am thankful ... Mum's operation went to plan. She is recovering slowly (only to be expected at her age), but turned a corner yesterday when she was able to walk to the bathroom and back and was in much less pain.

From the kitchen ... Today: Cottage pie

Tuesday: Crockpot bbq chicken and rice

Wednesday: Turkey steaks and potato wedges?

Thursday: Toad in the hole

Friday: Fish and chips

Saturday: Baked potatoes and cauliflower cheese

Sunday: Roast chicken

I am wearing ... dark grey cord trousers, grey long sleeved t-shirt, stripey grey cardigan, thick hiking socks.

I am creating ... birthday socks for my brother (one sock done, the second started); super chunky wrist warmers (one done); long chunky cardigan for myself (knitted the body last winter, just the sleeves to go; soft merino / mohair aran scarf for Angel for Christmas. Finished Mr Greyjeans cardigan (it's sort of OK, but not great) and knit a soft chunky snood for Star over the weekend. Loads more projects in the pipeline.

I am going ... to have another crazy busy week.

I am reading ... between books again.

I am hoping ... Mum continues to improve and is out of hospital before the end of the week.

I am hearing ... Cherub rootling around in a box of play food.

Around the house ... an ironing mountain that I need to tackle NOW.

One of my favorite things ... the smell of homemade bread.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... Today: work (freelance for Michael's office), visit Mum; Tuesday: work, visit Mum, first aid course for Angel at gym; Wednesday: work, sixth form open evening for Angel, band practice; Thursday: hospital visit again, orchestra rehearsal; Friday: training day for volunteers at Aylesbury museum, learning to read 16th and 17th deeds (looking forward to this!); Saturday: Orchestra rehearsal and concert; Sunday: Harry Potter movie (looking forward to this too!). Not sure what will happen about hospital visits at the back end of the week as no idea yet how long Mum will be there.

A Picture Thought I Am Sharing ... Cherub, baby and iPad!

Find instructions and links to other daybooks at The Simple Woman

7 Quick Takes: 12th November

1. First, an update on my Mum ... she had her op - finally! - and seems to me to be doing pretty well. Despite post-operative pain and some nausea (painkiller induced?) she looks much better than she did following her hip replacement four years ago. She is well enough to grumble, which I take as a good sign! (In fairness I must add that she is not by nature a grumbler, but after all the messing about she has endured over the past few months she has reached a point of irritation with all things medical).

2. I think a commenter on my Bonfire Night takes last week hit the nail on the head - as she put it, "we just secretly like to burn stuff". The opportunity to burn stuff and to let off fireworks is what keeps Bonfire Night popular. Unfortunately fires and fireworks come with risks attached. There was a nasty accident at a local bonfire night event on Monday when a rogue firework flew into the watching crowd. Three girls from Star's year at school and their families were in the line of fire - from what I have heard the injuries were relatively minor burns, but it could have been an awful lot worse.

3. We are being doorstepped by a cat. We think he lives further up the road in a house that was sold recently, but he seems to think he should live with us. He is a beautiful and very affectionate cat, and it is getting harder and harder to leave him sitting mournfully on the step when he decides to pay us a visit, especially when it is cold and wet outside.

4. Interesting article of the week: Twinkie Diet Helps Nutrition Professor Lose 27 Pounds. Twinkies aren't within my cultural frame of reference, but I'm sure I can guess some British substitutes. What the professor really proved was that the essential for losing weight is number of calories consumed, whether on not those calories are empty, sugary ones. To his surprise, he not only lost weight, but various health markers improved - presumably because eating too much is far worse for health than eating badly but modestly.

5. Archive word of the week: Slipe. I have come across lots of fields named "The Slipe", but can't find a definition in the dictionary. My guess is that it is a narrow "slip" of land. Also the best statement of the obvious in the tithe apportionments I am transcribing ... Place name: Part of River Thames; State of Cultivation: Water.

6. Both Angel and Star are happy bunnies as they have acquired new phones in the last week. Angel had reached the end of her previous contract (which she pays for herself out of her allowance) and upgraded to an HTC Wildfire - touchscreen with Wifi and Android, so lots to play with. Star's old phone was rickety and kept losing signal so she spent some birthday money on a ZTE Touch from Argos. I have to say that at the price - almost half the price of buying the same phone direct from Three - this seems a bargain. Very cute, pink, does more than I would expect for the price, and - so far - does it well.

7. Why is it that my daughters are so very good at switching lights on, but apparently incapable of ever turning them off?

Thursday Thirteen: Martinmas

November 11th is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours (it is also Armistice Day, but that is another story), so here are thirteen bits of random information about Martinmas:

1. Read about the life of St. Martin of Tours here, or if you want more detail, head over to Wikipedia.

2. In England a number of the the old feast days were known by names ending in -mas, so St. Martin's Day = Martin's Mass = Martinmas. Others include Michaelmas (feast of St.Michael), Candlemas (feast of the Purification on February 2nd, when it is traditional to bless candles) and - of course - Christmas.

3. Some weather lore ... "Ice before Martinmas enough to bear a duck, the rest of the winter is sure to be muck" - in other words, and early cold snap means a wet and muddy winter. We have had a couple of frosts already this year, but not duck-bearing levels of ice. Another variation is "If ducks do slide at Martinmas, by Christmas they will swim."

4. A warm, sunny spell in autumn is known as St. Martin's summer, as it is supposed to end around November 11th. Unfortunately this year our St. Martin's summer is long gone!

5. Cattle were slaughtered and preserved for the winter around St. Martin's Day, so in England beef was eaten at Martinmas. Scroll down this article to find a recipe for Pot Roasted Martinmas Beef with Spiced Gravy.

6. Elsewhere in Europe, the traditional food for St. Martin's Day is goose.

7. Martinmas used to mark the beginning of Quadragesima Sancti Martini, or the Forty Days Fast of St.Martin, which ended at Christmas.

8. In northern England, Martinmas was the traditional date for hiring fairs where farm workers found jobs for the next year.

9. St. Martin gave the cloak from his back to a beggar. A good modern idea is to clear out old clothes on November 11th and give them to charity

10. In Germany children take part in processions carrying paper lanterns to celebrate St. Martin's Day.

11. You can find a temple for simple St. Martin's Day lanterns here,  a colouring page here, another lantern craft and lots of Martinmas ideas here.

12. Among other things, St. Martin is the patron of horse riders, soldiers, innkeepers, wine growers, tailors and geese.

13. Another tradition for St. Martin's Day is to drink some of the year's new wine ... so why not enjoy some wine tonight and raise your glass to St. Martin!

Cherub School Update

Two months in and I am still very happy with Cherub's school experience ... and more importantly, she is happy too. I love the set up in the early years unit, with special themed play areas that are kept for the whole half term, and other toys and activities rotating daily. Currently the themed sections are a Halloween party (table setting and play food), a creche (Cherub heaven! She loves dolls), and a workshop. The workshop amazes me, as it includes real tools. I can't imagine many schools allow four year olds access to saws and hammers, but there are pictures on the school website to prove it - and using them very carefully they are too, with fingers well out of the way! And of course they are closely supervised.

We are still loving the story sacks. This week's is an owl sack, with Owl Babies, a book about owls, three owl toys to act out the story, and a set of bird cards for playing various games. Last week was beans, with a bean and a flower pot to plant it in, a book about how baked beans get from plant to table, a CD with fairy tales including Jack and the Beanstalk, and a beanstalk shape matching game. I'm looking forward to seeing what new sack comes home tomorrow.

Cherub's teachers are pleased with the way she has settled in. From refusing to speak to the teachers when she went for her taster sessions, her confidence in them has grown to the point where she made one poor teacher jump out of her skin by sneaking up on her and shouting "Boo!" Fortunately the teacher saw the funny side! She is also beginning to get a bit more confident with the other children and is interacting and playing with them more, having started off very much in her own little self-contained world.

All in all, so far so good.

Simple Woman's Daybook: 8th November

Outside My Window ... disgusting weather. Six degrees (45 deg F), dark grey skies, wet and windy. Forecast to stay this way all day. Autumn at its worst.

I am thinking ... about my Mum, who is having her knee replacement op tomorrow. Praying all goes well.

From the learning rooms ... the theme for Cherub's class at school this half term is celebrations. Next week they are having a pretend wedding where they all dress up as brides, grooms, bridesmaids, pages, or guests. Cherub is looking forward to wearing a new party dress. 

I am thankful ... for a warm, comfortable house.

From the kitchen ... Today: baked potatoes and chili tonight

Tuesday: Pasta with tomato pesto and creme fraiche

Wednesday: Beef stew and dumplings

Thursday: Fish and chips

Friday: Lazy chicken

Saturday: Soup

Sunday: Roast beef

I am wearing ... black jeans, grey long sleeved t-shirt, black and white stripy socks (not hand knitted).

I am creating ... my cardigan (first sleeve almost done); my brother's socks (one sock done, the second started); super chunky wrist warmers (one done). Star's neon pink socks are done.

I am going ... to have a busy week, adding in a couple of trips to visit Mum in hospital (an hour away) in addition to the normal routine.

I am reading ... nearly finished Gunpowder Plots (various authors)

I am hoping ... that my Mum's operation goes to plan, and she recovers well. Usually she is slow to heal and ends up having to stay in hospital longer than expected.

I am hearing ... Cherub playing an I Can Cook game on the CBeebies website.

Around the house ... kitchen and bathrooms need a good clean. Tevye and I are going to tackle them this morning (he isn't working today as he is driving my Mum to hospital this afternoon), then the house will be more or less back in order. 

One of my favorite things ... hot chocolate on a cold day.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... Tuesday: record office; Wednesday: hospital visit, band practice; Thursday: record office, hospital visit, orchestra rehearsal (not sure this is logistically possible!); Friday: hoping to go to see the new Harry Potter movie with Angel; Sunday: band commitments for Remembrance Sunday (any maybe another hospital visit depending on Mum's progress).

A Picture Thought I Am Sharing ...

Find instructions and links to other daybooks at The Simple Woman

Fairytale Castle

Towards the end of our second day in Budapest we stumbled across this fairytale castle in the City Park:

Vajdahunyad Castle was originally built in wood and cardboard for an exhibition in 1896, but was so popular it was reconstructed in permanent form over the next few years. It is an amazing mishmash of  elements from different architectural periods. The chapel was Romanesque:

This Gothic section, a copy of a Transylvanian castle, still needs some restoration:

The Baroque wing houses the museum of agriculture (it had just started to rain, so I'm afraid the pictures are dark and gloomy like the weather):

 

In the grounds is this statue of Anonymus, a twelfth century royal notary and historian. Touching his pen is supposed to bring good luck (I didn't find this out until after we got back to England!):

Coming upon Vajdahunyad unexpectedly was like discovering a Disney castle for real!

7 Quick Takes: 5th November

Please to remember the Fifth of November,
Gunpowder Treason and Plot.
We know no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

As today is November 5th and I have been reading Gunpowder Plots: a Celebration of 400 Years of Bonfire Night (various authors) this week, I'm going to make this seven quick Bonfire Night takes:

1. Bonfire Night commemorates the failure in 1605 of a plot by Catholic conspirators to blow up the House of Lords during the opening of parliament, when the King and Queen, their oldest son, and the entire membership of parliament (lords and commons) would have been present.

2. The conspirators hid 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar underneath the House of Lords. Estimates of the amount of gunpowder range from 2,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds, but as Antonia Fraser puts it: "no one has ever disputed that this was more than enough to blow the House of Lords and its wretched denizens sky-high". This was would-be terrorism on a grand scale, which would have killed hundreds (or thousands if the fire spread) and would have wiped out the entire English government in one stroke.

3. Guy Fawkes (or Guido, as he was known after living in Spain for many years) was caught in the act of laying a slow fuse which would have allowed him to time to escape between lighting the fuse and the subsequent explosion. His capture earned him a fame (or infamy?) that has lasted to the present day, and made him one of the best known names in English history. The custom of burning an effigy of "the Guy" on bonfires appeared in the eighteenth century and still continues.

4. The plot was discovered after Lord Monteagle, who had Catholic connections, showed the king's chief minister Robert Cecil a letter he had been sent warning him not to attend the opening of parliament. Conspiracy theorists have suggested that Cecil was aware of the plot from early on, but there is no good historical evidence for this. It is considered likely, however, that Lord Monteagle had been told about the plot, and actually wrote the letter himself as a way of winning favour at court.

5. Perhaps the most unfortunate figure of the whole sorry episode was Henry Garnet, a Catholic priest and leader of the Jesuits in England. Father Garnet became aware of the plot when he was consulted by a priest who heard the confession of one of the conspirators. Horrified by what he heard, he tried to make clear his disapproval of the treason that was being planned, but bound by the seal of confession he could not disclose the plot to the authorities. In the aftermath he was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging, drawing and quartering.

6. Dramatic as the events were at the time, it is odd on the face of it that "Gunpowder Treason Day" has survived so long as a public celebration, when other equally dramatic events did not (why no Armada Day celebrations, for instance?). In the book David Cressy argues that it has survived because it has adapted to changing political and cultural needs. At various times it has been a celebration of the survival of the Stuart monarchy, a justification of the Church of England, an outlet for anti-Catholicism, a worthy communal celebration, an opportunity to vent political feeling, an excuse for a riot, and an opportunity for boys to play with fireworks.

7. The Yeoman of the Guard (the Queen's ceremonial bodyguard) still carry out a search of the cellars of the Palace of Westminster before the State Opening of Parliament, a duty dating back to the late seventeenth century when there were rumours of a second gunpowder plot.

Thursday Thirteen: Autumn

Thirteen favourite autumn things (ignoring the bits I don't like about the season. Dark evenings, I will not let you get me down!):

1. Autumn leaves

2. Conkers

3. Blustery days

4. Bonfire night

5. Misty mornings

6. Apples

7. Pumpkins

8. Busy squirrels

9. Warm scarves

10. Handwarmers

11. Cosy duvets

12. Christmas planning

13. My birthday

Communist Budapest

Twenty years after the fall of communism the old regime is still visible in parts of Budapest. Some areas are immaculate and very western looking, but there is still a lot of construction and restoration work going on. There is also a lot of graffiti, which Tevye says was also very noticeable when he visited Gdansk in Poland three years ago. Maybe that is an eastern bloc thing? (Not that there isn't graffiti here, but not on anything like the same scale, and it is more likely to be cleaned up).

We passed the headquarters of the communist secret police in Andrassy Avenue, now the Museum of Terror. No time to go inside - and in any case I'm not sure I could have faced it.

Along the walls were memorials to those who died after the failed revolution of 1956:

Outside was this Iron Curtain monument:

The text written on the end (in English) was:

"... Shall we live as slaves or free men?" (Sandor Petofi)

It isolated the East from the West.

It split Europe and the world in two.

It took away our freedom.

It held us in captivity and fear.

It tormented and humiliated us.

And finally we tore it down.

We spent some time exploring Margrit Island, in the middle of the Danube. The island is mostly a park, with some restaurants and this very soviet looking "Strand" (swimming pool complex). Note the muscular statue to the left, presumably put there to inspire citizens to build up their physical strength!

I would have liked to visit the Budapest Statue Park where the Hungarians have preserved giant statues and other mementos of the communist era. Tevye wasn't so keen, and in any case we wouldn't have had the time. Maybe on a future visit?

Finally, some typical Budapest graffiti, on part of the Buda embankment of the Danube which is still undergoing restoration.