February 5th, 2012
This cuddly Creature has been characterized in many children’s books most notably Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit you can also find them on greetings cards, fridge magnets and T shirts, not to mention British Children’s T.V programing ! As a consequence, this prickly popularist, has become the unofficial symbolic British Pet! I’m referring to That cute little critter! The Hedgehog!
Whats there not to like about this endearing little creature with a short snout, tiny legs, and big eyes , that curls up in a prickly ball when threatened
A loveable little rodent that used to be quite common on British roads, appearing out of the Hedgerows only to get squished in the process! and now with homes having fences that the Hedgehog is unable to negotiate! his territory is being compromised! as are their numbers! Sad to say, it is quite possibly becoming an endangered species! with their numbers having been reduced by over 50%!! In recent years!
What can we do about it! Drive with a little more care on Country roads for a start! protect their habitat by leaving a hole at the base of your garden fence so they can move about, Just these simple few steps will allow them to meet up with each other along the way, and increase their numbers!
As in most cases It’s Mans intrusion into the habitat of our cuddly friends that usually brings about their demise!
So my theme for the day is Hug a Hedgehog
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January 14th, 2012
Much conjecture has been written about Charles Dodgson, or as we know him by his pseudonym name Lewis Carol. His association with the Liddell Family especially the 3 daughters Edith Lorina and in particular Alice!! is well documented
Alice Liddell was of course the 8 year old that inspired Lewis Carol to write Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass!
By all accounts Alice was a precocious child, inquiring full of imaginings, one might say even mischievous!
This was based on Carols own observations recalling how Alice and her two sisters would insist, that Carol Tell them Stories, during sunny afternoons on the river!
Carol’s fascination with Alice was beguiling and even hypnotic! Some into days climate might say a Little too unnerving for comfort! However in Mid Victorian Britain this type of association was considered harmless and acceptable!
Victorian Standards is one thing! the disturbing attentions of an older Man to three young Girls another! and Mrs Liddell was having none of it! Raising the question of What are you! and “Who are You” ?? After some time, His visits became less frequent!!!
What we do know is!! that Charles Dodgson was a Professor of Mathematics at Christ Church College Oxford!
What we don’t know is!!’ Did he engage in the use of mind altering drugs, such as Opium Mushrooms Peyote and the like!
Which of course would account for the “Wacky” but Creative Vision of this fictional adventure! Or was it nothing more than being Naturally Gifted and “Whacked to begin with, Aided perhaps by the Whimsical Imaginings of The Liddell Sisters! who may have simply encouraged him in his, and their own fanciful pursuits!!
More to come !!!
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January 3rd, 2012
This is a tell it like it is! shoot strait from the hip Blog! If you are looking for P.C. then this Blog is not for you!!!!
Britain is obviously gearing up for the London Olympics to be held this July/August!
For those traveling to The United Kingdom in 2012, In particular to The Games in London! Please look out for another kind of Olympian!! The kind that engage in a totally different type of gamesmanship!! I mean the usual assortment of Losers, Scoundrels, Degenerates, Thieves and Pick Pockets, that seem to spring up like mushrooms wherever Large Crowds Gather!
Also pay special attention to the Supply and Demand Thieves! Who pray on opportunism! These the authorities do not police!
I’m referring to Hotels, Restaurants, Institutions, Store Keepers and such, that rip you off in a more polite fashion!
And then there’s those Dubious Fly By Night Parking Lot Operators “You know The Kind”, That unsavory individual toting a Flashlight and Sign, directing you into some pot holed darkened space, for outrageous fees!! They all take what I consider to be a scandalous advantage of the situation!!
Ticket Gouging otherwise known as Scalping, will also be in full force !
You may also have to ‘Run the Gauntlet” of unlicensed vendors selling low quality souvenirs at overblown prices! Along with food sellers offering you the occasional Gastro Bellyache, from food Items often produced in less than acceptable sanitary conditions!!
My advice! By all means enjoy the Olympics! but please be aware of your surroundings at all times!
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January 2nd, 2012
Having lived in these United States for going on 40 years, One might say that I am fully committed to the American way of life, And in many ways that is true!! I certainly have much to be thankful for!! I have grown in so many ways, and experienced so many diverse things Since settling here all those years ago!!
I am proud to be a Naturalized Citizen, and to call this wonderful country my home for what has now been most of my adult life!!
I truly believe however, one can love two countries in equal but different ways!! Pretty much, In the same way a Mother can love her two children!! Be them Son or Daughter!!
England is the place of my birth, and like the bonding of a child to it’s mother’s womb, Their is a connection I hold for the land I grew up in. The impressionable years of childhood are always a vivid reminder of where I came from and what makes me who I am today!! The joining of both cultures, with their diversities and complexities, has no doubt enriched my life!!
So as the curtain begins to fall, and I approach the Golden Years, My needs for the simple uncomplicated pleasures in life, are still to be found in the England I knew as a child!! Not so much in the large overpopulated cities or commercial tourist venues, But in the green and pleasant land that is still England!!
“Yes,” the England I remember in my youth still exists!!
I relive those special memories every time I take people on tour!!
I sincerely hope we see “you” sometime soon!! be glad to have you along!!
“In this Blessed Plot” I love so much, Which will always be a part of me!!
“England” and the British Isles!!
Tags: Add new tag, Sentiments
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January 2nd, 2012
With the decline of religion in Britain and smaller congregations attending Services The Diocese and church leaders in resent years have had to make difficult decisions as what to do with village churches throughout England’s Countryside that no longer have congregations large enough to keep them operating. Sadly many just simply close their doors, lay empty,unused, and fall into disrepair! Until a developer or private buyer appears, to convert these once spiritual places into apartments, single family dwellings or sadly a Night Club! Some might argue that this is perhaps Sacrilegious, an affront to religion itself. (”Possibly)”
I however tend to think that maybe another kind of spiritual energy is being passed on to the new inhabitants!
Additionally if the structural integrity of these fine old buildings has not been compromised:
If one can still see and enjoy from a distance that it is the same old church, that has been a spiritual icon in the area for hundreds of years, which has now been given a new lease of life for hundreds more! Then I for one have little objection! A far better alternative to the Wrecking Ball, and ultimately another Walmart !!
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December 17th, 2011
As a young lad of 8 or 9 growing up in London! One of my greatest joys was to spend a Saturday or Sunday with a friend traveling into Central London by Tube (subway) We would buy what was then called a Child’s Twin Rover Ticket! (Oyster card today) It allowed us to travel on the London Underground as well as all London Transport Red Bus Routes!
One of the things we used to “Get Up To”, was to go up and down the Gigantic Escalators and Elevators! and walk through the many tunnels that led to different Subway levels, eventually riding the different routes to all parts of London! Seeing a great many of London’s major attractions The Tower of London: Buckingham Palace: Trafalgar Square: Piccadilly Circus, to name but a few!! Which at the time we took for granted!!
One of our most frequent stops, being The South Kensington Museums, Which offered Free Admission, To either the Natural History Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, or The National Science Museum, the later being our favorite as it had many exhibits in Glass Cases! (It’s important to understand the period was in the late Fifties) Where one could push a button or turn a handle, and the display in the case (Mostly Steam Locomotion) would move! you see they all had working/moving parts, making them fascinating for the young adventurous mind!
They had a Mock up Coal Mine with Trucks that carried fake coal along the tracks, with life size dummies displayed in action like positions, The manikins even had their Davey Lamps lit! with coal dust and grime on their faces to make them look even more life like and Scary!!!!
And here we would be, not a care in the world, walking through this mock up mine shaft, absorbing everything, totally engaged and fascinated!
For Hours we were immersed in a Surreal world! Most of the time it was a fantastic Romp around London! Totally carefree, getting high on life’s experiences! our imaginations running wild
Never realizing for a moment, that this adventure was setting the stage for our Adult lives! Unaware we were absorbing a venerable store house of knowledge, experiences and information! A young boys journey into manhood if you will! Part of a journey that would be invaluable in later years!!
It’s important to understand the period we are referring to in this blog is during the late 1950’s when an 8/9 year old could wander around London unsupervised, With their parents blessing! and would be considered Socially acceptable, and safe to do so! and I might Add the Norm!!
These British Boyhood Adventures! I’m sorry to say, have become a thing of the past, in today’s climate of Ugly Predators, Over Parenting!! and Government Controls!
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December 15th, 2011
While touring throughout Britain I tend to take for granted the many waterways that wind across the country!
Many are navigable originally built for commerce, while others naturally wind their way down to the coast providing simple pleasures like fishing and boating, along with the many fine footpaths one can walk for literally miles in the peaceful pastoral setting of the English/British countryside!
One such experience came my way through a friend I had not seen since my teenage years He captains a pontoon on The River Stour in Suffolk! A craft similar to those used in the Florida Everglades, In fact this particular craft was used on the Everglades and has since been restored and put into service on the Stour! Which is I am told, one of England’s oldest navigable rivers!
I usually see Britain via the British back-roads this allowed me to see a small fraction of Britain from a different perspective ! On the outward and inward journey we had to negotiate a Lock gate which was operated manually! Under his direction I assisted in raising and lowering the water levels ( an experience in and of itself) to continue on several miles downstream where we tied to a small boat dock, and lunched at a wonderful riverside Pub! After several hours, several glasses of wine, and a delightful lunch, we returned by way of the Lock gates and our start point
With my friend and his enchanting wife to share this pleasant moment with !one couldn’t ask for a more endearing time! I simply can’t express how relaxing and mentally satisfying this whole experience was for me!
And the wine wasn’t too bad either!!!!
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December 12th, 2011
With the Collapsing Euro!
I am sure the British Public are relieved that in hindsight they continued to have faith in their own currency and not join the European Monetary Union! I do believe it is only a matter of time before all of Europe returns to their Old Individual Monetary Systems!
In theory a collective Monetary System looked like a uniting of Europe, but with so many diverse cultures and political views, along with each countries financial instability it was inevitable someone would be propping up those countries unable to change for the group as a whole, and be forward thinking!
Britain and the British peoples have always been a separate entity when it comes to the mainland of Europe!
I kinda like the idea of Borders and different Currencies! has more of an International Flavor and meaning to me!!
But then I am a hopeless Romantic!!
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December 4th, 2011
I had some time between my Tours of the British Isles this year, and decided to visit some old neighborhoods where I grew up! Not too far from Stratford in England, where the 2012 London Olympics are being held,” What a Change”, I barely recognized the place!!
While delighted the Old Hood was being completely overhauled! New Buildings New Streets New Everything ! It saddened me at the same time! As I could hardly recognize, my Old Stomping Grounds!
The Corner Butchers Shop where I worked after school Gone!! The School Itself!! Gone!! The Old House Where I lived !! Gone! The Street Where We Used to Play Gone!! And this year We laid to rest my Mom, my last remaining parent! Gone!
The irony is, that as we age, Most of ones Physical Memories tend to Disappear from ones view! and ones life! We are left with only the Inner Memories!
The Physical reference points like, The Department Store where Mom used to take us shopping, to see Santa in his Arctic Grotto! The 5 and Dime! The Cafe on the corner! Even The Old movie Theater where Roy Rogers, would be as large as life! and Cartoons like Woody Wood Pecker that kept us in Hysterics! Are now Gone!! The Tangibles, that meant so much to us growing up, have all but disappeared!!!
Sadly but inevitably all these childhood things must make way make way for New Generations While this is understandable and is considered Progress!!! It doesn’t alter the fact that to me! they are all, “Disappearing Memories”!!
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November 25th, 2011
The United Kingdom has seldom received High Praise for being in the forefront of Fine Cuisine!
Dull, Bland,and Boring, are cliches that were often used to describe British Fare! Offering little more than Basic Meat and Potatoes!
Well now The Gastro Pub has emerged as the peoples choice for fine dinning! Shepherds Pie and Steak and Kidney Pud are of course still available!
Joining the European Community and The U.K’s Asian and Middle Eastern communities have had a positive influence on the once Tired British Menu! One may now want to Re Think Britain’s position when it comes to Gastro Choices!
Jamie Oliver and many other T.V. Celebs have brought British Cuisine to The World!
British Cooking Shows are now dominating the Air Waves! Food choices are now endless, and I might say worth taking another look at!
So for those Critics who thought that Bangers and Mash or Jellied Eels were the only culinary delights of the day! You may be pleasantly surprised!
Will Britain ever replace France or Italy as the Gastro Capitals of the world! I seriously doubt it! But it is playing catch up!
So here’s my tip! the next time your in The United Kingdom check out your closest Gastro Pub! and Take another look at the Menu!
Bon Appetite!!
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