The road to Errogie

I played at the usual Sunday evening session in the Nelson this evening and played two tunes, the second of which is a reel called 'The road to Errogie'. Its a fab tune on the latest Flook album. Here is a picture of Flook.

I wondered where Errogie was and discovered it is Scotland and not Ireland as I had thought. The Errogie website says...

'Errogie is situated in the centre of the Scottish Highlands, midway between Inverness & Fort Augustus on the B862. Errogie nestles in the hills on the south side of Lochness. Only 30 minutes from Inverness the Highland capital, it is popular with bird watchers, anglers and hikers.'

I must visit it someday. Whoever was inspired to write such a brilliant tune must have connected with the place.

My friend kate discovered this afternoon that an excellent title for a tune would be 'the hair that got caught in the flute'. This would fit in with other such enlightened tunes such as 'dusty windowsills' and 'the cook in the kitchen'.

I'm off to write 'The cat that scratched the carpet' and 'The tuna mayonaise sandwich'

Tyred

It was a snowy morning and I looked out at the wintry scene and looked at my choice of bikes. One had these tyres which are thick and knobbly and fit for the purpose of rugged terrain and snow. And I looked at these tyres which are designed for dry fast, flat roads.



So I chose the thin ones and regretted it for every centimetre of the 7Km cycle to Sprowston.

Why am I so thick some times??

Time to reflect

The houses behind the wood were built on the site of an old orchard. We spent many a happy hour in here. The trees were too old to bear much fruit but the pear trees were a prime nesting site for starlings and stock dove. We collected conkers in the wood and played in the brook. Jack and Ben discovered an ideal tree to climb. I don't think this bough was as accessible in my childhood. Happy memories.

Shallow roots

The strong winds have wrecked havoc with fences and trees. The eucalyptus at the bottom of our garden - all - 70 feet of it came down. Do eucalyptus have particularly shallow roots because of the habitat they live in? When I was in Brazil a couple of years ago I was amazed to see whole swathes of the South Atlantic Rain Forest had been felled and replanted with eucalyptus for commercial purposes.

We need deep roots. They feed us and give a sense of security and purpose. How is your resolve in the face of lifes storms?

Shaken but not stirred

I introduced my year group to their latest rewards scheme The Bond Award. The pupils nominated for a 'Bond Award' are 'Licensed to thrill'. I'll use cinema vouchers for rewards. We went to the Riverside cinema complex on Saturday evening to see Deja Vu which was a brilliant film although a little far fetched. I was staggered to have to queue for nearly 15 minutes just to buy a ticket. Whoever was behind the revival of the cinema needs to get involved with the Anglican Church before its too late! I can see the banner headline outside Norwich Cathedral - Get into the spirit and be shaken but not stirred! Perhaps an introductory Martini at the door and a scantily clad Bond girl to take you to a pew.

Perhaps not!

And here's one I made earlier

After a busy parents evening I return home to enjoy a refreshing glass of homebrew. Amber in colour with a crisp bitter edge and full bodied flavour. This is one I made earlier and drank only a matter of minutes ago.

Sadly for me I have another 40 pints of the stuff brewing away at the moment. I use the term brewing but actually the stuff has STUCK FERMENTATION. All those millions of yeast cells have gone on strike and are refusing to continue turning all that yummy maltose into carbon dioxide and lovely ethanol. Selfish little swine - I have tried warming, cajoling and adding more sugar but to no avail. I am going to try apply artificial resuscitation next with a long plastic hose. Wish me luck..............

What's the story

I almost gave up trying to make a blog entry this evening as google have made it so complicated with different log in screen and user names. I need it nice and simple.

I found this dead mouse lying in the middle of the path in Waterloo Park this morning. Not very exciting you might think - but I wondered how did it get there, what had happened to it? Had it just come to the end of its alotted heartbeats....

Check out this quote

"The heart of a 1-ounce mouse beats roughly 600 times per minute. The mouse lives an average of three years. An elephant's heart beats just 30 times per minute, but a 5-ton elephant will likely live 60 years or more.

In both cases, if the animals' pulse rate is scaled inversely as the quarter-power of the animal's mass, this notable fact is produced: The total number of heartbeats in a mouse's and an elephant's average life span will be roughly the same, about 946 million times. Used this way, the quarter-power law can be used to estimate life span."

So what have you done with your heartbeats so far and how many more have you got to go?

What's more pressing - if I continue to cycle to work will it limit my expected lifespan significantly??

My Mate Marmite

Just finished my latest masterpiece. 'Self portrait with Marmite jar'

Yvetta came to art with me this evening. How do explain to someone from Prague what marmite is?

"well its thick like really thick treacle but it tastes like salty beefiness and you have it on toast'" - would you want to eat it after that description?

I have more recently become a fan of yeast extract as sold by Rainbow. This is a little less harsh and not as dark. Sort of 70% marmite solids in a chocolatey sort of way. What utter drivel. I'm off to get out the sliced bread and dig into some salty beefiness.

As white as snow

The weather at Horsey today was just the way I like my winters - cold and bright. A collection of ringed plover and sanderling were feeding amongst the breeding seals. My friend Andy commented on the way the new born seal is white and without stain or blemish but as its experience of life grows it loses the innocence of youth and darkens in colour. There's only one way I know of to return to that state of purity and it doesn't involve a pot of Dulux!

Quiet life

This is my wood pile. The wood arrived today. I think everyone should have a wood pile - especially men. My friend John would understand this. The task of unloading a tonne of logs and stacking them appeals to my aesthetic nature as well as giving me a sense of tiredness due to the sheer effort. Once complete I can stand back admire my handiwork. I then feel content as I know my family will be warm for the next couple of months. I just need to snare a woolly mammoth and fight a sabre toothed tiger before bedtime.

If you haven't got an open fire or stove just order a £50 load of logs and try stacking and restacking in different ways - hours of fun and you can always sell the wood on afterwards.

Heard the track "Quiet life" by Japan for the first time in decades. This reminds me of the title of their album ' Gentlemen wear polaroids'. I rarely wear polaroids. Perhaps I should start. Anything for a quiet life.

Gas the moles

I know its an insane time of the morning to be blogging - but there you go. Just read a report about moles being gassed at a Wells School because the molehills were affecting the playground. No doubt someone is worried about being sued when a child trips over a mound of earth.

THIS IS INSANE

I know moles can be destructive little buggers when they get in your garden but they are an important part of the biodiversity of our towns and gardens and we should learn to live with them not gas them. Rake over the mole hills, use the wonderful soft earth they produce to put back onto flower beds.

Next we'll be killing badgers because we're worried about TB - Oh, I forgot, we already do that.

What ever happened to Stewardship of God's creation.

I'm off to trash a few compost heaps in the hope of finding a hedgehog to drown - I'm concerned the spines might do something pointy.

The tug of life

Yet more rain and high winds and the Wensum here at Hellesdon is awash with water. Still waters run deep - so by inference , fast flowing waters run shallow - I think a geographer would agree with that.

The river itself just wants to get rid of the excess baggage - a bit like the Atkins diet for medium and large rivers.

Back at Great Yarmouth we were treated to a guided tour by the Port Authority thanks to Ross. Highlight of the visit was watching a grain vessel being towed in by a very active tug. I think we should all have a tug to guide us through those tricky corners of life.

Any one seen my elephant?

I fancy seeing a real one in the wild in Africa. How do you go about organising a safari?

Ironically the search engine for my Macintosh is Safari

Maybe I should just stay at home, log on to the internet and browse my way around Kenya - cheaper and better for the environment

Danger in deep waters

Two reminders that water is at the very escence of the physical world we inhabit. The cycle path near Mile Cross was badly flooded for the first time I can remember in ages making my cycle to work exciting - luckily I had mudguards on.



The almost finished island now has a shipwreck and a couple of sharks. The sailors have all been eaten. One minute we're sailing along all dandy and the next we're up to our necks in it, trying to persuade 'Jaws' that she isn't hungry. I can swim and my skin is so thick I'm shark proof - yeah right!!

Oil paints and PVA glue waits for no man

The sea is finished off with a mixture of titanium white oil paint, PVA glue, cling film and Poster paint. I was amazed the poster paint and oil paint mixed. I thought they would separate out like factions in a civil war - but no - they mixed beautifully.

Iraq had its worst month for civilian deaths - can the two sides ever mix and live harmoniously together?

The H on the landing pad is for Helicopter and not Hussain - just in case that's what you were thinking

A Poachers Tale

I read a blog
about a rabbit
that lost its skin
it made me think

About a book
I used to read
When I were a lad
About a poacher

I logged into ebay
I searched the web
I located said book
And ordered one

A 1961 reprint
all battered and worn
but soon on its way
sweet memories

Proverbs

The way of a fool seems right to him but a wise man listens to advice Prov 12:15

Okay so I spent the afternoon on the Albatros in Wells harbour rather than at church with my Christian brothers and sisters sharing food, fellowship and music.

To be fair I didn't know about it - but would I have done the same even if I had known?

Help!!

Come rain or shine

Well here I am with the pike I caught earlier today

Okay so I'm lying and the person in the picture is just a bit younger than me, oh and the fish is a little larger than the one I caught, oh and the weather was a little worse than in the photo. Apart from that - what have the Romans ever done for us!

3 hours in the freezing cold on Rockland Staithe for a few roach and perch of the minutest proportions - its enough to drive a man home to watch Norwich sloshing around in Midlands mud sealing a 4-1 victory over Tamworth on the box.

June cooked a broccoli quiche for tea which was fab and we settled down for an episode of Morse. What a great name that is - I shall now change my name to something more enigmatic like.........Pike

"Don't tell them your name Pike"

Too late

I'd like a nice cup of tea Pauline

Well I don't think she's called Pauline but this woman made us a fine cup of tea in a tiny shack of a cafe on Great Yarmouth docks as we did a ship survey. I was saddened by the lack of vessels in the docks which either reflects a downturn in trade or just a quiet tme of the year.

The small group of year 11 I took said it was their best trip out - no playstation, no slot machines and better still - no rude signs or comments towards the good citizens of Great yarmouth.

We came We tasted We left - and some time later We weed!

New beginings

Well here they are - all 313 of them - grinning, smiling, grimacing, scowling and pouting. What a whole hall full of potential just waiting for that spark of imagination and energy!

Where will this burst of creativity come from?

Walking before I can crawl

What they tell you in First Aid training is not to rush things

Here is the painted version

I used the 'Preview' button this time and checked it would turn out okay. Wouldn't it be great to have a 'Preview' button in real life - it might avoid some of the problems we get ourselves into.

The painted version

Perhaps , like my own life, things don't always appear as they ought to!

Here is the painted island.

First Aid for life

Today I actually received proper training on a Staff training day on First Aid - this is close to miraculous - I can now do DRS AB and RASMAS

Don't ask! - something to do with CPR and the recovery position

Ben and I painted his papier mache island today - here it is a before and after. I'd like to think this is a reflection of my own life with each day seeing improvements and enhancements - the grey flat bit is a helicopter landing platform by the way.

Nothing changes - much!

Pike fishing was sadly put off due to a flooded river. I made up for it by watching War of the Worlds with Ben and then buying my next homebrew kit - another Woodfordes Wherry!

Ben and then ransacked the lounge and made an island out of papier mache. It is drying as I type.

I just found out that a good friend of mine lost his mum to alzheimers last month. Seven years living with no outward sign of recognition. It must have been desperate. I must spend as much time with my family as possible and burn those memories so deep into my consciousness that they never fade - or just trust that God has a plan and whatever happens his glory will prevail

Heavy stuff

Bye!

Walking in the Dales

We love going back to Yorkshire and using the long journey North as an excuse to meet up with friends. Here we all are on December 30th enjoying a cup of tea in the Cavendish pavilion after walking up the Strid at Bolton Abbey. We had planned to climb Penygent but the gale force winds and torrential rain predicted put us off!

This shows Jack and Ben at the start of our walk -okay so the Blog has reversed the images - Hey I thought I'd done it right

New Years Resolutions

So I started a Blog and proceeded to ignore it for several months - not any more though and 2007 will be

'The year of the Blog'

We started the New Year in West Yorkshire in the company of family and Jools Holland - God Bless Jools Holland - where would we be on New years Eve without Jools to drag us round a collection of drunk celebrities giving their own personal take on the world and its woes!

We were treated to a selection of eclectic music- some I'd heard of.

We then drove home via The Junction 32 retail park of explore the delights of cut-price Le Creuseut kitchenware

Now that's got you excited!

Until the next time