Whitethroats

The first warblers to arrive after their Winter spent in sunny Africa are the Chiffchaff and Blackcaps but its always the Whitethroat which invade our hedgerows with their scratchy cheeerful call at the end of April which reminds me that Spring has really sprung and Summer must be just a round the corner

Get off my turf

When I got back from work yesterday evening there was a pile of turf sitting on our drive. I have no idea where it came from but when I find out I'm going to grass them up!

Thinking of others

The NUT rally at the Forum today was not fantastically well attended but they did mention a celebration of a strike which happened in 1914 at Burston. A celebration of this strike is taking place at Burston in Septemeber 2008. I decided to find out a little more about this action and found that this is the longest strike in history and ended in 1939. It highlights the actions of Tom and Kitty Higden and their desire to better the lives of the children in their community - just the reason many of us were on strike today - its not about the money its about upholding the professionalism and integrity of the teachers in this country and their desire to do a good job.

Burston School Strike
..............................
When pupils in a Norfolk village decided to go on strike in support of their sacked teachers in 1914, they could not have realised that they were starting what would become the longest strike in history.

Teachers Tom and Kitty Higdon had been thrown out after repeatedly coming into conflict with the land-owning authorities who valued a child’s labour more than a child’s education.

The Higdons wanted to improve the squalid buildings that passed for a school at Burston, and to educate the pupils so that they had higher expectations, clearer judgement and broader horizons – and much as the authorities hated them for it, the children loved them.

So when the Higdons were ousted, the Burston children marched through their village in a rally that ended up on the green. And it was here, under a makeshift marquee, that the Higdons began to teach 66 of their former pupils, while the remaining six children continued at the Council School. The school on the green was a hit with pupils and their families, but it infuriated the authorities who took it out on the parents.

Eighteen were fined for failing to send their children to school, local labourers were sacked and families evicted from their homes. But a year on, with the strike still standing firm, the school had won the support of trade unions and a national appeal raised £1,250 to pay for a new school building. That building still stands today, as a museum of the strike which continued until Tom’s death in 1939.

Speed revision for parents

We hosted a revision evening for parents. They chose which workshops to attend - brain gym, relaxation, mind mapping and so on. Then every 10 minutes I rang the bell and it was all change. It was like speed dating. The atmosphere was fabulous and the evening went well. The staff involved were enthusiastic and professional and reminded me of why I am taking industrial action tomorrow - to protect that professionalism.

bush fires

A friend was having a eucalyptus tree chopped down in his garden and offered me some of the wood for our stove. I readily accepted and drove over to collect the wood in a trailer last Summer. The wood was incredibly dense and I soon realised that I could only take a small amount on each journey otherwise the suspension on the trailer would collapse. In practice the tyres were flattened and I had to unload the trailer to pump them back up. On getting the wood home and stacking it neatly I decided to chop some up and see how well it burnt. I have a massive splitting axe with a substantial head which even when used with maximum force just bounced off the wood!!

Somewhat perplexed I left the wood until now.

It is still difficult to split and I have to use a saw but it burns incredibly well. A large log was left smouldering for 36 hours. The bark is an amazing mixture of colours and falls off easily. In the Australian bush it forms large piles of dry wood around the base of the trees and is the main reason why bush fires spread so quickly. The trees use this as part of their life cycle as the heat of the fire destroys unwanted herb layer from around the base of the tree. Many species of plant rely on the effects of smoke and heat to aid germination and the biodiversity of areas with regular bush fires appears to be higher than in other areas. The ferocious nature of bush fires is due to the natural oils in the bark.

Once lit it makes a great wood to use for heating the house.

Chicken run

We waited in line on a cold Saturday morning outside a detached house in a nice part of central Norwich. We had decided to re-home 8 of them. Emaciated and in various stages of feathering the eight chickens were experiencing the first few hours of freedom having been cooped up just 4 hours earlier in a battery farm. We loaded them into cardboard boxes and took them home. Once home they are timid and confused. They do not eat and spend most of their time huddled together. I wonder how long those supressed instincts to scratch and perch will remain hidden. On a brighter note I see that M&S is only selling products made with free range eggs..

Well done M&S!

Pipers grip

Jack has been ill for the last two days and inbetween administering regular does of calpol and paracetemol ( ran out of one and moved on to the other) I was able to unpack and investigate my christmas and birthday present which was a low whistle. The odd thing is the position of the holes. There are six holes but they are hardly in a sensible place to play. If you try and cover the holes with the finger pads as normal you end up with a dislocated finger and persistent numbness. I spent some time on the internet and discovered the pipers grip which is the recommended way to play the instrument. Its a bit contorted to start with but with persistence I can see its going to work. I suspect this is going to take a very long time to master. But when I get a half decent note out of it - well, its going to be worth the effort.

making the effort

I went sailing after work today
The weather was unpromising
I had a lot of stuff to finish
The temptation was to cancel
but we didn't
and it was fun
so there is a moral to this story
Its always worth making the effort

war films

A find of ours was throwing away some old videos and one of them was Saving Private Ryan. I hadn't watched this before but Jack had as part of English project in year 8 at school ( when he was 12 and its a 15 certificate but that's another story!).

I was knocked out by the film. It starts at a cemetary we visited whilst in Normandy two years ago and soon cuts to very graphic scenes from the landing beaches. Jack and Ben don't relate to the futility and utter waste of life involved in the film but they do get quite caught up with the character who is anti-killing and who they see as weak because he can't save his friend.

I managed to fit my new pick-up to the violin this evening which involved cutting clices off a wine cork to make the chin rest high enough. I had to drink the wine of course. After the film finished this was just about all I could do.

A busy bee

I enrolled on a beekeeping course at Easton College which was due to start on May 8th. Due to the cold weather the start date has been postponed to May 6th. I did however go to see The Hives a Swedish garage rock/ punk band at the UEA. They were a fabulous live act in matching black and white suits. The music was thrash and the mosh pit was pulsating. I drank a pint of something masquerading as bitter and cycled home. My ears are ringing but I feel envigorated. I didn't really want to go out but at £17.50 for the ticket I made the effort and was content. Now I will sleep - if the ringing allows me to.

http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/

Indestructible

I was trawling the pond earlier today and found a model of captain scarlet which must have fallen in years ago. He still looks fresh and ready for action. Not so my own family - my dad has been laid up with a bad back, my mum is in need of a hip replacement and my brother has a twisted ankle. We think we are indestructible whilst everything is going well but it takes the smallest thing to competely change our perspective of life. Believing in a wholesome, life-giving and active God does make the vagueries of life less daunting.

Monster Trucks

Jack was given a Monster Truck ride as part of his birthday present last year. That is great except the truck is in Bedfordshire and its not leaving

Monster TRucks

Jack was given a Monster Truck ride as part of his birthday present last year. That is great except the truck is in Bedfordshire and its not leaving. This means a weekend trip away and a visit to see the folks.

chill out

A glass of water looks so calm and peaceful. Our inner lives are more like a glass of water and soil which has been shaken violently and not allowed to settle. We are constantly on the move - new ideas, making more money, adding to our social lives and commitments. When we stop the silt and sand falls to the bottom and we see the same calm quality as the glass of pure water. Why not set time aside today and make an appointment with yourself. Let the water settle and discover more about your inner self. You may find that God has something to say to you in these moments.

Resolving conflict

I came across two examples of conflict resolution today.

As the NUT representative at school I held a meeting today to discuss with members the strike action we are proposing to take on April 24th in protest at the governments derisory pay offer. There were obviously concerns expressed by members as we have not taken action of this sort for 21 years. The action has come about as the result of a democratic voting procedure overseen by the electoral reform services a part of the electoral reform society.

We took the dog for a walk up to the park this evening where a large number of teenagers were hanging about. Evidently there had been a fight between a pupil from Costessey High and a pupil from Earlham which resulted in the police arrival and both boys needing medical attention from an ambulance.

Time to earth up

I was given a book called 'growing under plastic' some years ago but never really read it properly - those of you that know me well with find this unsurprising. This year I have felt a real desire to get the most out of the earth which we have been given stewardship over and that starts with the garden. The book tells me that I can expect a crop of potatoes from the greenhouse in late April if I get them in early enough so I planted some early's in the polytunnel and waited - and waited - and waited. A couple of weeks ago they started to sprout through and I began the process of earthing up to protect the tender shoots from the odd patch or frost and hail we've had as well as providing somewhere for the potatoes to form for an easy harvest. Today I repeated the process.

I thought the black and white diagram I found resembled a cross section through a breast so I've also found a picture of a breast to compare it with. I had to rotate the image of course!

scaly legs

We have asked to be included in the next batch of Norwich based battery rescue hen adoptions. This means we will receive for a nominal sum a bunch of featherless, psychotic and claustrophobic chickens on the 19th of April. I had noticed one of our own was looking a little crusty around the legs and on closer inspection the scales were showing all the signs of scaly leg - a common complaint in poultry caused by mites which burrow under the scales leading to infections. The treatment is to use vaseline regularly on the legs until the scales drop off and new ones grow. I'll also need to disinfect the chicken house. This was an interesting 30 minute activity this evening! It would seem a little inept to introduce our new arrivals into an infected run.

whistling down the line

I have been wanting a low whistle for some years now having bought my sister in law one for her 40th and being amazed by its flute-like qualities. A number of renowned fiddle players also play the low whistle so I thought - lets give it a go. After doing a lot of research it turns out the best low whistles are made by Bernard Overton and Colin Goldie and are both called Overton whistles. Colin lives in Germany and I was strongly pointed in his direction. I ordered my whistle nearly two months ago and had to wait whilst poor Cloin went through one bout of flu after another before he had completed the next batch of low D whistles. Yesterday I spent a pleasant 30 minutes chatting to Colin on the phone ( all the way from Germany!) as he played different instruments down the phone for me to listen to - well they all sounded the same to me down a crackly phone line!! This is very much a long-term project and I ended up trusting his judgement over a suitable instrument. I then had a four hour wrangle with Paypal trying to sort out renumeration.

It should arrive sometime next week.

everythings going to be alright!

I have been seeing sparrowhawks on a daily basis for some years now. Its almost become part of my daily routine as I cycle to work, out bird watching or walking the dog to see a sparrowhawk soaring the skies in search of a likely place to ambush small passerines or even more exciting as it bursts through the garden in hot pursuit of a finch or sparrow. These handsome birds have become almost common. I often wonder why this is the case. Is it because of habitat creation - DER NO!, is it because of larger numbers of prey items available - WRONG AGAIN! perhaps its because of a decline in the use of certain pesticides. I decided to investigate further and found the following references

The RSPB
The Breeding Bird Survey for 2006 showed that the UK sparrowhawk population declined by 1% between 1994-2006, whereas common prey actually increased in numbers: blackbirds by 18%, robins by 18%, great tits by 54%, collared doves by 39% and song thrush by 17%.

The Journal of Zoology
The long-term increase reflected the national population recovery over this period and followed the reduction in the use of organochlorine pesticides.

So I'm sort of right and wrong!!

Anyway I have always seen the presence of a sparrowhawk as a reminder of God's wonderful creation and was not disappointed again today. I have a suspicion I have blogged on this topic before but SOD IT - here goes again!!

Back home

Its always nice to return home after a few days away to find the chickens asleep and content, the rabbit doesn't appear to have moved and the cat didn't leave home in disgust. We are tired after our time at Spring Harvest but we left Skegness with warm feelings and a renewed sense of expectency. Old friendships were revisited and deepened and new ones forged. Sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings.