Everything Else

St Mary’s Church of the lost Medieval Village of Houghton-on-the-Hill, Norfolk

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I had to share this. What a wonderful achievement, to save this church.

blosslyn's avatarEchoes of the Past

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St Mary’s Church took some finding, in the middle of nowhere and I mean nowhere, you drive down the side of a field, through some woods and suddenly you see the church tower.  Its down to a remarkable man, Bob Davey who is 83, and has been restoring St Mary’s in the abandoned medieval village of Houghton-on-the-Hill, near Swaffham, Norfolk, since his wife discovered it while leading a Women’s Institute ramble 20 years ago.

Back in 1992, the church was covered in ivy and had no roof or floor, Mr Davey said it was damaged by a German Zeppelin in the first world war and then followed decades of vandalism.  The nave dates from about 1,000AD and when restoring the building, it was only as layers of whitewash were removed, that the building’s true glory became clear – the oldest wall paintings in the country came to light.  Romanesque wall paintings…

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The Liebster Award Nomination.

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I woke up this morning to read the wonderful news that I had been nominated for this award. I’ve just enjoyed completing blogging101 at WordPress university, which was educational, inspirational and fun. This is the icing on the cake.

Thank you to https://paypackandfollow.wordpress.com/ for the kind nomination.

This award is intended to spread the love, and encourage growth, and is supported by the following rules:

  1. Display the Liebster award on your blog.
  2. Thank and link back to your nominator.
  3. Answer the nominator’s 11 questions.
  4. Nominate 11 other bloggers with about 200 or fewer followers and link to them.
  5. Draft 11 new questions for your nominees.
  6. Notify your nominees via their blogs or social media.

Right down to business. I have been asked the following questions:

1.How do you fit blogging into your life?

With a shoe horn! Working full time and other interests (like eating and sleeping) limit the time available, but I’m trying to build it into a regular routine. I have to be honest, there’s still some blogging101 homework I need to complete….

2.Do you spend more time posting on your own blog or looking at other blogger’s material?

It depends upon how inspired I’m feeling or if I’m looking for that inspiration. At it’s probably 50:50.

3.Vegemite, Promite, or Marmite? (Careful, – this could be a trick question!) :).

Marmite.

4.How have your friends and family reacted to your interest in blogging?

Hmm. It’s a bit of a secret. My husband knows and is a great proof reader, although he probably wishes that I didn’t disappear into my den so much….

5.If you had to spend a whole day inside a building, which one would it be?

Lincoln Cathedral. Our first visit reduced my husband and myself tears. It is so magnificent. I can only begin to imagine how it would have inspired wonder and awe when it was first built. We hope to return this year.

6.What gives you the most pleasure, – the journey or the destination?

The journey. I haven’t reached the destination yet, just stopping off here and there.

7.Where are you right now?

In my den (box room) at home, sitting on a rescued piano stool.

8.Who are your heroes?

My Mum, in her late eighties and still energetic and mischievous. So many musicians, and composers, so I’ll pick Michael Stipe. Where did he get those words from?

9.Why do you blog?

To get things out of my system, to share what I find funny, beautiful and/or inspiring, and to connect to the rest of the blogging network.

10.If you had to lose one of your senses, which would it be?

Oooh. Tough one, but probably touch. Might make geocaching difficult. And blogging. Hmm, not sure I know the answer to this.

11.Would you rather be a whale or a shark? (Definitely a trick question!).

A whale. Or maybe a whale shark?

Here are my nominees, in no particular order. I am aware that this award is moving around a bit at this time, so I make no apologies if you have already been awarded, I second that nomination!!

I know that the award is for new blogs and some of these are far from new, but they are new to me…

I also encourage anyone who reads this post to take a look at all of the following.

https://jointhejoyfuljourney.wordpress.com/  “Surround yourself with people that reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel”. Which is what I am doing ….

https://snapshotssnippetsandscribbles.wordpress.com/  Some great photos and very honest blogging. I’ll be revisiting and revisiting for photography tips.

http://temasekgarden.com/  Thank you for inviting me into your world. It’s fascinating.

https://beyondboredom.wordpress.com/  Thoughtful posts on a variety of subjects. Kind enough to comment upon my posts with suggestions.

https://quiltmusings.wordpress.com/  Vibrant quilts and insight into techniques. I will learn to quilt one day, in the meantime I am enjoying this visual oasis.

http://alphawhiskeyfoxtrot.com/  This blog is so beautiful. Please take time to look at the Secret Messages Project. My daily visit gave me a real lift on those dark January mornings.

https://thatchickpiggy.wordpress.com/  Great sense of humour. A varied and interesting read. A book lover too.

http://9colours.wordpress.com/  I’m selfishly awarding to try to encourage him to post more photos!

https://solwhovian.wordpress.com/  A creative blog to make you feel good – thank you!

https://johanbrouwer.wordpress.com/  I love a good photo blog and this is one of my current favourites, I keep returning and finding more incredible shots.

https://vadare1.wordpress.com/  Selfish award again, I would like to encourage more from vadare1. I really like her style of writing. More please!

Ok, here are my 11 questions:

  1. What made you start blogging?
  2. What is the most important thing that have you learnt since you started blogging?
  3. Three words that describe you.
  4. Three words that don’t!
  5. Bus or Train?
  6. How would you change the world outside your window?
  7. What was the last thing to make you laugh out loud? I mean really out loud.
  8. If you were a musical instrument what would it be?
  9. What is your favourite song lyric or hymn phrase.
  10. Ironing or Vacuuming?
  11. What will you be having for dinner tonight?

Thank you for reading and here’s hoping we continue to enjoy this journey together.

MinG

The spirit counts!

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Following today’s blogging101 assignment, I found myself here.

Pavs Kumar Author's avatarBeyondthepuddle

What makes people unique is their individual experience -all that the world has exposed them to and how they have perceived it. It is the only thing that sets us apart from any other human being.

One such thing that we all perceive differently is our community. For a person that has lived in the same town for their entire lives and gone to school with the same bunch of people, community has a completely different meaning to a person who has been on the move forever.

I’ve lived the life of a nomad and loved it! My dad is an officer in the Indian army and we moved so often that I can’t even remember half the places we’ve been to! I do know that I’ve been to nine school in twelve years! Being an only child, I found the moves exciting; a chance to make new friends, start…

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Now go to the back of the class

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Well it’s been a large week so far at work. Getting to my wordpress assignments without damaging my eyesight and health (screen use and lack of sleep) was always going to be a challenge.

So I gave myself permission to be a little late with my homework. After all, whoever is out there is not sat just behind me, unlike my boss. Let me get one thing straight though, he’s a decent man and very supportive.

Updating the “about me” page was quite daunting (to use my mother-in-law’s favourite word). Surely I am my own Mastermind specialist subject? But how to describe me? Hmmm.

The page did need updating and I make no apologies for using some of the words already posted when introducing myself. I haven’t changed that much since last Monday! One things I have spotted that changes is the way I sign off. Sometimes MinG, sometimes min6, or Min6.

I reserve the right to sign off whichever way. Oh yes, I also changed my tag-line, again.

I remain consistently inconsistent.

Anyway, tis done. For now. Please take a look and enjoy (I hope)

MinG
-x-

Un-Themely Behaviour

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Ok, so I’m a little late posting about Friday’s assignment (“Love Your Theme”), but this smug student tried out several themes last Sunday.

I had reduced a long list of eleven down to two, and opted for the Hemingway Rewritten theme. Clean, tidy and with my preferred size of font (although I know that there ways of changing this).

I didn’t want to get over concerned about colours. A suggested palette which can take minor tweaks will do. The exception being my  “About Me” page, which I have opted to change colours of key words. I found the following link useful for coding colours:

http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_colorpicker.asp

I so very nearly moved to Twenty Eleven this morning. Purely because I could move the side bar to the left, Crikey! I could lose days of my life playing here, so enough. Hemingway Rewritten it is.

More later

Min6

Dear Sweet Impossible You

/ minor6th / 6 Comments

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Dear Dream Reader, my sweet impossible you.

 

You cannot exist. Or can you?

 

You are the person in the office who knows that this blog is mine, but you don’t mention that to me because you know that I would prefer that it remains anonymous. You never change your manner towards me if I write about a contentious matter or if I launch an blog-attack on a workmate.

 

You are the person in the café that I do not have time to visit on my way to work. You blog too, and we pass each other knowing smiles as we huddle over our notebooks and cappuccino.

 

You have walked along the same beach as the one in “day 6 on the island” https://minor6th.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/on-the-island-day-6-toll-to-toll/. You already knew that the arrangement of pebbles was called a berm.

 

You have the same sense of humour as me and you laugh at my references to cows and broccoli.

 

You sometimes reply to my posts, and frequently like them.

 

I read your blog and I am in awe of your inner strength.

 

You don’t mind that I am not given to writing long posts. You too appreciate that sometimes there isn’t much so say. Sometimes a picture will do. And if I haven’t written for several weeks, you are still out there, waiting.

 

You are my father. Long gone but never forgotten. Stolen from this world before the technology that you loved so much really became interesting. How you would have loved the gadgets available to us now. How much fun we could have had together.

 

Stay with me …

 

… until the next time we meet.

MinG

xx

On The Island, Day 6. Toll to Toll

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After a slow start, we head out to the far tip of the island. To another magical place. Where the waves lap or crash and a bell tolls every sixty seconds.

On the way there is an old priory. We step inside, relish the cool dark space, and talk about the banners, candles and our previous visit.

Outside, we attempt to find our way to a geocache, but cannot get near to its location due to a locked gate. There probably is another route, but himself is nervous about walking too far. So we head back to the car, and, having paid the toll, head along the lane which leads to what I think of as the end of the island.

Penmon

It’s busier here than on our previous visit. Admittedly that was on a frosty February in 2008, but the sky looks the same. Although there are several cars and holidaymakers about, it is still relatively quiet. Perhaps in reverence to the tolling bell from the lighthouse, disconcerting at first, then comforting. Perhaps also because apart from the pebble beach (featuring a berm), the lighthouse and a small café, there is nothing obvious to do here. It seems to draw what we would call like-minded people. You can sit and watch the boats and yachts go by, and just listen.

Toll, sea, gull, toll.

The Berm

The Berm

I found out later that many of the visitors were at the café, with its tables at the rear. A pleasant little establishment, serving the biggest cream teas I had ever seen. I settled for an ice-cream.

Later on I leave himself to bag a quick cache on the nearby coastal walk. Success, and I didn’t mind the nettle sting. Pesky little thing, hiding in the bracken. It is odd caching alone though.

We headed back to base via Bull Bay. Which is, as expected, still lovely. I burn my ears whilst sat with my back to the sun (the disadvantage of the recent haircut). Left for love mainly, but plenty of witch-hazel will be administered later.

Back at the cottage, I am warming to the lights. But it does mean that I have to keep moving.

I like a good dance around the kitchen, don’t you?

Min6

On The Island, Day 5. We Were Giants

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Today we were giants as we returned to something that we have both enjoyed as young children, a model village. Not villiage as I wrote on a postcard.

Said village is also on the island, and offers a minature view of many of its landmarks.

Beaumaris Castle was impressive.

A Giants View Of The Castle

A Giants View Of The Castle

Llynnon Windmill lovely (of course).

There was even a charming depiction of St Mary’s Chapel (Menai Bridge).

Two trains ran around the grounds and there was singing from the churches.

So much craft giving such simple pleasures. Later we discussed who we knew that would enjoy a visit, and struggled to choose likely candidates. Actually, there are a couple. Our mothers. They would see past the lack of technology or interactive experiences and just enjoy it for what it is. Perhaps because they of an age where they have not been blighted by technology, and have not chosen to take a leap into the silver surf. But more likely because they just see the good. As mothers do.

Lunch was a picnic in the car close to the straits, where the temperature reached a heady 23c. Too hot for both of us, especially given the lack of breeze.

As we were taking it easy, we behaved like an old couple on holiday and visited a garden centre. Actually we had already planned to do this (to buy a citronella candle), but I still felt a little old, restricted by bad weather and cirumstances. We spent quite a bit on not very much, including a journal decorated with a hot-air balloon design which I think I bought mainly because it was half price.

After the usual mid-week food top up (this time at Waitrose – very nice!), we made our way back via Bull Bay.

Bull Bay is one of those places which is always lovely. Today a strong breeze took away the heat and we were happy to rest a while, mildly amused by a well meaning couple badgering a cyclist for facts about the island and its beaches. We were not chosen as suspects for interrogation. Shame, they might have learned something.

Great excitement as we neared the cottage! The windmill sails were turning, which I captured on the 1020. Marvellous. Went to the shop. Had a lovely chat with the assistant and spent more money. This time on more permanent momentoes. Watched the sails being stopped and stripped of their sail-cloths.

Still Shot of Lynnon

Still Shot of Lynnon

Again, simple pleasures, but I did note the holiday budget took a hit.

Hope himself gets his walking legs back soon – this is proving expensive!

Min6

On The Island, Day 4. Change of Plan.

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Day four started well with a promise of a walk to a vantage point near LLygwy Bay.

No navigational errors, only a minor amount of PLRs (P*ssy Little Roads), plenty of parking and a pleasant breeze.

All was well until we reached the bridge, then after I had taken a photo (not another one). I turned to ask Si what he could see. No response, just a slow slump which I am sure I will replay in mind for a long time to come.

He landed sat upright, and asked in a slightly strangled voice what was happening to him. I just told him he was alright, got him sat down and thank God that we had remembered the water this time. He was lucid, had no apparent tingling, no shortness of breath or chest pains. His speech (when he had come to) was clear and he was able to move.

We returned to our cottage and took it easy for the rest of the day. Later on a trip to RAF Valley to watch the Hawks – which thankfully put on a better show than on Monday afternoon – provided a well timed distraction. We enjoyed a bit of people and tie watching – I’m sure that a late 80s Next design was on show in the adjacent car.

It was only a brief faint, hopefully, which we have put down to dehydration. For now at least.

But it has temporarily changed the dynamics. I am chief driver, and Si gets the opportunity to take in the view (when he is not worrying about what happened, or my driving). The planned coastal path walks are on hold and what we do on return to home will still have to be discussed.

And in my mind, I argue with myself about giving in to fear, ignoring it, or facing it and taking control of your future.

Min6