Husband-Hunting

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

So said Jane Austen. And to prove it, the dating agencies abound

There’s this one

…which I originally mis-read as Parsnip

and then there’s…

[that’s the one with the ad where they tie their shoelaces together]

and…

I am so grateful that none of this online stuff was around in my youth. I did have friends who put small ads in the newspapers. They knew all the mysterious abbreviations WLTM, GSOH, SWF etc etc.

I am not aware that any of them found their soul-mate through this process.

But I was utterly intrigued this week when Liz and Jon told us about a lecture they had been to about the mating habits of birds.

Do you know how a lady blue tit finds her husband?

Apparently, according to the experts at the British Trust for Ornithology, the front of a blue tit's head glows under ultra violet light. As birds see in UV it's thought that this is how females choose a partner.Trials performed in the laboratory indicate that females prefer males with the brightest crests. I am utterly amazed by this information. Isn’t Creation wonderful?

[in case you were wondering, I met my other half in Church on a Sunday in 1978. I was not aware of his halo glowing at the time]

Some Like It Hot!

I am not a great one for very spicy food. When we moved to Leicester in the mid 90s, Bob was quite excited at the prospect of trying out all the curry houses along the “Golden Mile” in the Asian Quarter of Leicester.

Sadly, he is still waiting! If we do go out for a meal, he graciously thinks of my bland palate and opts for somewhere less fiery.

Of late I have been trying to incorporate a little more spiciness into my cooking [it’s all Jamie’s fault] If J’s recipe says two chillies I put in half a VERY mild one, sans seeds.

But now it appears that the hottest chilli in the world has its origins just up the road in Leicestershire! Nick “Woody” Woods was working as a security guard at RAF Cottesmore when he decided he wanted to do something more entrepreneurial. With his wife Zoe, he set up a food company in his home town of Grantham.Fire Foods

Nick says “We are a family business from Grantham, everything we sell is homemade using only the finest ingredients. Our passion for chillis has grown beyond all proportion, our life is just chilli chilli chilli, we have a poly tunnel in our garden and grow a few hundred plants every year, not enough to sustain us but we hope one day to have a small holding and grow everything we use.”

Nick and his wife look very happy here

That’s because one chilli that Nick has developed has just been declared the World’s Hottest, using the Scoville Scale of measurement. Here’s the Infinity Chilli

Tests have revealed the "Infinity Chilli" to have a Scoville Scale Rating of 1,176,182 - hotter than chilli reportedly used in hand grenades by the Indian military.

Why? Why? Why?

Personally I cannot understand the fascination with eating things that make my mouth tingle/sting/burn for ages [and worse!]

Nick himself says on the BBC Website

"I actually ate one yesterday. It was one I'd had frozen from last year - so I thought it wouldn't be as hot as if it was fresh - and I thought I'd try it. It was all a bit worrying. The burn on my tongue lasted half an hour and the effects went on and on. At one point I was doubled over in pain and thinking about ringing the hospital.The worst was over by 11 o'clock, but it wasn't funny."

I am, as Jamie declares ‘a wuss’ when it comes to chillies – but I think I shall stay that way, and leave the super-spiciness to other members of the family.

In case you are wondering – here is the Scoville Scale

I think my limit is around ‘25’ ! where is yours?

Some Like It Cool!

Last week, I promised a review of this book

Since then I have watched Michael Morpurgo delivering this year’s Dimbleby Lecture. My respect for this guy just grows and grows. Taking William Blakes lines

“A robin redbreast in a cage

puts all heaven in a rage”

MM delivered an impassioned piece on the Rights Of Children. Do try and find details of his lecture if you can. It is worth listening to.

ANYWAY back to Cool!

The plot is this - Robbie is an average 10 year old kid. Lives with Mum and younger sister and dog Lucky. Dad's moved out. Robbie is bright, keen on football, and popular at school. His hero is Gianfranco Zola.

Then one Saturday he is about to take Lucky for a walk in the park, and the dog runs out in the road, Robbie chases him...and they are both hit by cars.

The story is told from Robbie's point of view - as he lies in hospital in a coma. He can hear [and smell!] but he cannot open his eyes/speak/communicate in any way to let those around him know he is OK 'inside'. He is frustrated by his inability to respond to them - and the fact that he cannot ask any questions. Lucky is not mentioned, and he is convinced that his pet has died.

 

The tale is brilliantly told, and I have yet to read it with a child at school who has not been gripped by the plot, and anxious to find out what happens.

One caveat - MM does not avoid the harsh realities of life in his books, and saccharine Disney endings are not guaranteed. I know of one 7 year old, a very bright reader, who had to stop after the second chapter because she was scared of what might happen. For that reason I would recommend it for children aged 9+, and for adults too!

If you have boys who are not ‘into’ reading, try them with this one and see what happens!

A Christmas Present [Arriving In February]

By the time you read this post, the final 2010 family Christmas present should have been delivered! This is from Liz to Jon – but required some input from Bob. So we are spending two days of Half Term in London, visiting the girls, and playing Santa.

Jon wanted a DJ Deckstand, similar to these…

But they are rather expensive – although they appear relatively simple in construction. Liz investigated on the internet and came up with an IKEA Hacker project.

Bob took an Expedit Bookcase, and a Vika Amon tabletop and some wood [from that £2.50 trolley load we got in IKEA last month!]

And he spent his spare moments in the garage working

Here you see the bookcase assembled, lying on its side. Beside it is the ‘dogbox’ [this is apparently the correct title for the box that hides the cables and connectors]

 

Plus the essential mugs of tea!

Here is Bob doing more work on the dogbox

You can also see at the bottom of the picture that the side [now top] of the bookcase has been covered in black foam rubber.

This is a roll-up camping mat which had been retired to the loft after I had said “No more camping holidays!”

 

 

The dogbox was painted black. For ease of assembly, Bob got some large hinges from B&Q which have a removable pin, and some very long coach bolts.

Here are the finished pieces. All that drilling/sawing and sanding has left everything in the garage covered with a thin film of dust!

The table top has two small holes drilled in it. The other spots are raindrops – I had to stand outside the garage to take this photo!

The tabletop goes onto the bookcase and at each end, the pin slides in to join the two parts of the hinges. That layer of foam rubber helps ‘damp’ any rattling.

Two large coach bolts hold the dogbox onto the top [look at the fingerprints in the dust!]

And the top just sits snugly in place

Dusting…

Done and [almost] dusted!

It took 5 minutes to assemble, and I hope to post pictures later of the unit in situ at the flat, with Jon’s decks in place. Bob is justly pleased with his efforts and I know Jon will get lots of use out of this new bit of kit. Liz and I are obviously happy about the thriftiness of the whole thing, as compared to the overpriced ready-made stuff.

Happy Christmas, Jon!

Hymn Of Praise!

For the last few days I have inexplicably found myself singing this favourite old hymn to myself over and over. I love the imagery, and the way the words go so well with the tune Windermere.

So I share it with you –have a lovely, blessed Sunday!

Angels holy, high and lowly,
Sing the praises of the Lord!

Earth and sky, all living nature,
Man the stamp of thy Creator,
Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord!

Sun and moon bright, night and moonlight,
Starry temples azure-floored,
Cloud and rain, and wild winds’ madness,

Sons of God that shout for gladness,
Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord!

Ocean hoary, tell His glory,
Cliffs, where tumbling seas have roared,
Pulse of waters, blithely beating,

Wave advancing, wave retreating,
Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord!

Rock and highland, wood and island,
Crag where eagle’s pride hath soared;

Mighty mountains, purple breasted,
Peaks cloud-cleaving, snowy crested,
Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord!

Rolling river, praise Him ever,
From the mountain’s deep vein poured;
Silver fountain, clearly gushing,

Troubled torrent, madly rushing,
Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord!

Praise Him ever, bounteous Giver!
Praise Him, Father, Friend and Lord!
Each glad soul its free course winging,

Each glad voice its free song singing,
Praise the great and mighty Lord!

[according to Bob’s “Baptist Hymnbook Companion”, this hymn is based on the Benedicite –the hymn sung by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, taken from the book of Daniel in the Apocrypha. It takes real faith to sing a hymn like this when you are in a burning, fiery furnace!! It is traditional to sing it in Lent. I shall put in a request to have it at church then]

Rant! Mant? Spant?!

This has to be one of the craziest things they have thrown at the teaching profession since the Coalition came into office. according to the BBC today, the Reading Test for Six Year Olds is to include made-up words [like koob and zort]

“The government said non-words were being included to check pupils' ability to decode words using phonics.”

But

“The UK Literacy Association said the plan was "bonkers" as the purpose of reading was to understand meaning”

Well, I know whose opinion I value more highly!

President of the UK Literacy Association David Reedy said the inclusion of non-words would be counter productive since most six-year-olds expect to make sense of what they read."The test is trying to control all the different variables so that things like meaning don't get in the way…He added that the test itself was sending out the message that all words are decodable using phonics when they are not. "There are many words with which you have to use a 'look and say' approach. This is the case with many common words such as 'the' and 'once'," he said. This was because the English language is not phonically regular like German or Finnish, he said.

David Reedy went on to say that “it might be useful for the Department for Education to explain why the Secretary of State's surname, 'Gove', did not rhyme with 'love'.”

In my limited experience [a teacher for over thirty years] I would say that the majority of children try really hard to make sense of the letters and words in front of them – and try to make them into a genuine word that they already know. This is an utterly ridiculous approach.

Exactly how are you going to use synthetic phonics to decode made-up words? Is ‘zort’ going to rhyme with ‘fort’ [a castle] or ‘wort’ [a type of plant]

Actually, it is very hard to make up new words. Gove and co obviously are unaware that…

 zort is a catchphrase word used in the kid’s programme “Pinky and The Brain” [I think similar to Bart Simpson’s Cowabunga!]

and koob is Ancient Nordic/Viking wood based throwing game, allegedly popular in Peterborough, and sometimes spelled kubb. 

But I would not expect many 6 year olds to know either word- I have only just learned them myself.

Here’s Molesworth’s rendition of “The Charge Of The Light Brigade” – which just shows where all this phonemes and graphemes stuff can lead you if you aren’t careful…

"Har fleag har fleag har fleag onward
Into the er rode the 600."

 

It is Half Term. No teaching for a week or more. I cannot stand the thought of these idiotic reading tests. I am going to bed before my head explodes!!!

Centenary-Post Blog-Post

There is a little bit of dispute about the exact date, but it does seem that it is 100 years ago this month since the first airmails were ever sent, and by the end of 1911, they were quite a common occurrence round the world

Apparently on February 18th French pilot Henri Pequet carried 6,500 letters a distance of about 5 miles from Allahabad to Naini [both in India] The letters were marked "First Aerial Post, V.P. Exhibition Allahabad 1911." They were then put on a train for the remainder of their journey!

I very rarely send airmails any more. In my youth, I used to write on those flimsy blue sheets and send aerogrammes to friends serving as missionaries overseas. I had to plan carefully so that I could get all I wanted to say in the limited space.

But nowadays we blog and email and I honestly cannot remember the last time I sent a ‘proper’ airmail letter to anyone. The ‘aerogramme’ – one sheet which could be folded and then sealed by means of gummed strips round the edges – was popularised in wartime, as a way of sending lightweight post between members of the British Forces overseas and their families back home.

When the British Forces are deployed on operations they are entitled to free aerogrammers (colloquially known as "blueys" because of their colour) to and from their families and friends. This service has been in place for a considerable time. More recently BFPO, has pioneered an electronic form of the bluey known as ' e-bluey '.

The e-bluey is a Hybrid mail system that allows service personnel, relatives and friends to maintain a personal and private contact with each other while serving on operations or exercise for more than 60 days duration. Probably the most important factor is that the system is two way. This means those service personnel with access to the Internet can send e-blueys back home.You can find out more here.

Last weekend, I was preaching at another church, and mentioned Afghanistan in my prayers, and prayed for peace there, and also prayed for those serving in the forces and for their families. Afterwards, one of the members thanked me - and told me how much the ‘e-blueys’ she receives from her son mean to her [he is serving in the British Army in Afghanistan]

If people are abroad as soldiers serving the Queen, or as missionaries serving the King Of Kings, I am sure they appreciate every reminder that people at home are remembering them, whether that message comes via airmail or email.

“It doesn't cost much to keep in touch”

And The Winner Is…

1 Unique Number - Range: From 1 to 119

Job Status: finished       Result – 61

And Comment #61 came from Gracie in Mexico!

I checked out her blog – El Rey Gato [the King Cat] and discovered she visited all the OWOH blogs, but only entered the giveaways she really liked. That dedication certainly deserves to win something.

Once I have the details, a little parcel will be winging its way to Mexico.

Thank you again, Lisa, for organising this event

OWOH Over

That’s it for 2011. No more comments on this one now. The winner will be revealed this evening. Thanks to everyone who joined in.