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discovering London

Posted in Fun Stuff, Historical, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, things to do in London, tagged All Souls Church, Barclays Bicycle hire, Beau Brummel, Burlington Arcade, Burlington House, Charing Cross station, Fortnum and Mason, Regent Street, sheep in Savile Row, St James's Church, The Haunch of Venison, Waterloo Place on October 13, 2010| 2 Comments »

As you will have noticed from yesterday’s post I went #walkabout through London again on Monday afternoon! 🙂 boring of me to say this again, but……London is my all time favourite place to be and I enjoy discovering new things each time I go walkabout! 🙂

The reason for this particular excursion was of course to see the sheep in Savile Row… that was fun, albeit not as exciting as the elephants back in 2006 and many of the other fab events that London hosts on a regular basis. So going by the indicator on the map on the Timeout website I headed towards Oxford Circus, which if the hustle and bustle is anything to go by…..is a real circus! Some time back the Mayor very sensibly approved a scheme to make the area more easily traversed (The redesigned Oxford Circus, which opened November 2nd 2009, after a two-year, £5m makeover, contains two big innovations. As well as crossing the intersection laterally, pedestrians now have a 30-second window when all traffic stops and they can go at a diagonal along a giant X marked into the junction with metal studs. Known to road engineers, slightly alarmingly, as a “pedestrian scramble”, it is modelled on the famously frantic junction adjoining Shibuya station in central Tokyo.)

Oxford Circus London

Following the general direction on the website map I passed John Lewis where I noticed a fab wall sculpture ‘Winged Figure’

Winged Figure - John Lewis on Oxford Street

After a fair amount of walking and realising that evidently Savile Row was not where they said it was I headed back towards Oxford Circus and decided to start at the top end of Regent Street and make my way down till I found what I was looking for 🙂

I absolutely love these new direction finder maps dotted around London

In so doing, I finally got to visit a church that had been on my list of ‘places to visit’ for ages – All Souls Church, Langham Place. All Souls Church is unique as the last surviving church built by John Nash, who also developed nearby Regent’s Park and Regent Street, and was completed in December 1823 at a final cost of £18,323-10s-5d, and opened in November 1824.

All Souls Church, Langham Place, London

Eventually I found my objective and thoroughly enjoyed the brief encounter.

sheep in Savile Row 🙂

Finding at myself at the end of Savile Street it was an easy decision as to where my next stop would be; just to the right I had spied what appeared to be a fascinating building that I had not seen before! Cool!

The Haunch of Venison....I know!!! what a name and what a fab building

After exploring the perimeter and being curious I ventured inside….OhMyWord!!! It is lovely! In contrast to the exterior which is old and quite grubby with the buildup of debris over the years, the interior is just fabulous!

a sweeping staircase leading up from the foyer

I will write more about this fabulous gallery in another post on my 3 Days In London.info blog. Suffice to say it is going to be added to my list of great places to visit. After a most satisfying visit looking at artwork that leaves your mouth agape, I then made my way back to Regent Street and decided to continue on to Piccadilly Circus. Enroute I passed Burlington Arcade; Burlington Arcade was Britain’s very first shopping Arcade, opened in 1819 to great acclaim and now recognised as an historic and architectural masterpiece

Burlington Arcade - Piccadilly, London

I strolled through the arcade enjoying the goods on display. Burlington Arcade is locked up at night and boasts it’s own Police Force, independent of the London Metropolitan Force. Exiting into Piccadilly I noticed that across the road was Fortnum and Mason, due a visit! But before that I was totally intrigued by a buidling on my left that certainly deserved further exploration!

Burlington House, Piccadilly, London

Burlington House was originally a private Palladian mansion expanded in the mid 19th century after being purchased by the British government. The main building is at the northern end of the courtyard and houses the Royal Academy. Again this bears further exploration! From there I then crossed over for a visit to Fortnum and Mason

Fortnum and Mason, Piccadilly, London

Whoa!! Beautiful, beautiful. The window dressings are gorgeous and the shelves inside groan with delicious goods, from the four corners of the planet as well goodies for the more macarbe occassions we celebrate.

halloween comes to Fortnum and Mason

From there I visted the Piccadilly Arcade: The Piccadilly Arcade has always offered traditional quality, luxury and style. The same is true today as it was in 1910, with a unique blend of specialist shops.

Piccadilly Arcade, between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street

As I wandered through the arcade I was whisked back into my childhood by a window display –

Toy Soldiers!!!!

My Grandfather had a fabulous collection of toy soldiers and such like when I was a kid and I remember being entranced by the little characters, and this was a trip down memory lane for me!!! I stepped into the store to take my fill of the display. The proprietor of ‘The Armory of St James’, was happy for me to take photos. 🙂 I had noticed at the end of the arcade, resplendent in the sunlight, the statue of a ‘dandy’….I am simply unable to bypass a statue without stopping to find out who and when! I then made the acquaintance of ‘Beau Brummel’ 1778-1840 and the quote: “to be truly elegant, one should not be noticed”.

Beau Brummel 1778 - 1840. to be found in Jermyn Street, St James's, London

Turning left I walked passed Princes Arcade (for which I have been unable to find much historical info)

Princes Arcade - east of Piccadilly Arcade

Princes Arcade is adjacent to St James’s Church on Piccadilly so that was my next stop! St James’s Church is one of Wren’s Churches; The foundation stone was laid on 3 April 1676 by the Earl of St. Albans and the Bishop of London and in Robert Hooke’s Diary for this date is an entry — ‘St. Albans Cornerstone layd’— which presumably refers to the event.

St James's Church - Piccadilly; a Wren church

the church is really lovely inside and imbues a sense of peace and calm. I found a beautiful marble font

beautiful marble carved font

The church boasts a magnificent organ that towers over the interior

the organ in St James's church

By now I was famished and parched……like being in the ruddy desert!!! So without further ado I set off to find somewhere to have a cuppa! I spied with my little eye…..

Costa Coffee!!! cuppachino and an almond croissant...yummy 🙂

Fully satiated and raring to go, I set off to walk the end bit of Regent Street and explore Waterloo Place where I made the acquaintance of Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale

she stands in front of a magnificent memorial to the Crimean War

memorial to the Crimean War

as well as many other fascinating memorials and statues….well worth a visit for a look into history.

memorial to Field Marshall Lord Clyde

There is a very pretty little park nearby and some gorgeous buildings with interesting facades. For cycling enthusiasts there is one of the Barclays Cycle hire stands

Barclays cycle hire

From there I skipped down the stairs past the column that supports a statue of Frederick Duke of York, 2nd son of George III that presides high on his loft with a fab view of St James’s Park and surrounding area.

Frederick, Duke of York. 2nd son of George III

There is a doorway at the base and I am curious to know if the top of the column is accessible….the view must be phenomenal. Must find out some time! A short walk took me to St James’s park which is looking so gorgeous…the weather was fabulous and it almost feels like spring rather than autumn where the citizens of our fair city and tourists alike were making the most of the sunshine

St Jame's Park just off The Mall

There is a really lovely memorial on the corner of St James’s park

memorial on the corner of St James's Park

as you walk towards Admiralty Arch. A short walk then took me past the Police Memorial,

Police Memorial adjacent to the Citadel near Horse-Guards parade

past Capt. James Cook’s statue, through Admiralty Arch and past Trafalgar Square which is really just gorgeous in the sunshine

Trafalgar Square

by now my time was running short so it was time to head home. Enroute to Charing Cross station I walked past Craven Street (where I discovered Benjamin Franklin’s house a few weeks earlier), so nipped down the steps for a quick photo. And another of the Barclays bicycle stands are right there! There are also some really lovely modern buildings in the area and I was particularly entranced by this one

beautiful day reflected in a beautiful building

then a short walk later and I was at Charing Cross station

Charing Cross Station

and so to home……………

directional signboards inside the station

what a marvellous day. I am particularly impressed with the directional signboards that now dot the city, they prove to be very helpful when you are just not quite sure where a particular road is, and also give you an approximate distance in time.

direction finder map giving you an idea of where you are in relation to where you want to go

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London has to be top of the list for ‘crazy out-of-this-world things to see in the City’, city!

Posted in Fun Stuff, Interesting articles, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged bespoke tailoring, crazy things that happen in London, Prince Charles, Savile Row, sheep in Savile Row on October 12, 2010| 6 Comments »

What do an elite quarter of Mayfair, ancient buildings, bespoke tailors, a world-famous street, grass, sheep-dogs, shepherds, wool and sheep have in common? Why!…… London of course!!! 🙂

sheep ahead......not sure if they meant of the two or four legged kind!!

Where is the world would you find a field of sheep, grazing along an ‘upper’ class street in the middle of a bustling major city? London has to be top of the list for ‘crazy out-of-this-world things to see in the City’, city! Yesterday was no exception and what fun it was to see a herd of sheep, not quite dotted about the landscape but rather huddled together in the corner, in the middle of one of the most upmarket streets in Mayfair: Savile Row in London.
I am not entirely sure what I expected to find on arrival. In my mind’s eye I had a vision of rolling green, grassy hills dotted with sheep… in reality I found two seperate fenced-in areas with a huddle of very perplexed looking sheep, none too impressed with the day’s going-on!

sheep in Savile Row!!! whatever next?

Hundreds of people milling about, camera flashes going off, children shouting; a noisy stream of ebb and flow as more and more folk dropped by to witness the spectacle.

Farmerman in spiffy 'bespoke' outfit with sheep-dogs and bemused looking sheep

Savile Row, termed the “golden mile of tailoring”, has a history that stretches back hundreds of years, a row of bespoke tailors that cater to the rich, mega-rich and famous and I am sure a few hard-working folk too! It is also home to some of the most famous British tailors in the country. Synonymous worldwide with the artisty of craftmanship of Great British tailoring, Savile Row has been home to bespoke tailoring for over two centuries.
Bespoke tailoring is the Haute Couture of men’s style and Savile Row has dressed every icon of male elegance from Lord Nelson, Napoleon III, Winston Churchill, Valentino and Astaire to Sinatra, Jagger and Jude Law not to mention crowned heads, statesmen and captains of industry….names the ‘Row’ is too discreet to mention!
Yesterday’s event, part of a 5 year campaign designed to demonstrate wool’s natural, sustainable qualities and supreme versatility, the Campaign for Wool is supported by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, who understands the need for natural solutions and recognises wool as the first choice for sustainability, durability and quality.

combed Australian sheeps woll in the Wool shed..where else!

At the event, two British herds were on display in support of the campaign, namely: Exmoor Horns (courtesy of Harry and Jane Parker – Wiltshire),

Exmoor Horns

and Bowmonts, (courtesy of Lesley and Roger Prior – Devon).

Bowmonts

Exmoor Horns are typically a hill breed, found on the high ground of Exmoor National Park – hardy and well adapted to many landscapes whether harsh or pastoral and the Bowmont sheep, a cross between Saxon Merino (75%) and Shetland (25%), they are the closest derivative the country has to Australian Merinos.
After ‘milling’ about a bit, I left to explore the further reaches of our fair city and the sheep did what sheep do….they lay down for a rest….

oooooh! me feet are killing me.... all this milling about....'aving a rest we are

very sensible!
Amongst the illustrious names of the Tailors; Anderson & Sheppard; Gieves & Hawkes and Richard Anderson to name but a few, can be found two of the suppliers of high quality wools; Fox Brothers & Co Ltd – producers of luxurious woollen and worsted cloth at it’s mill in Somerset since 1772 & Dormeuil – established 1842 by Jules Dormeuil, purveyors of the world’s finest fabrics – now spanning 5 continents.
Savile Row (pronounced /ˈsævɪl/, both vowels short with accent on the first syllable) is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men’s bespoke tailoring. The term “bespoke” is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to “be spoken for” by individual customers.
Savile Row runs parallel to Regent Street between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. Linking roads include Burlington Place, Clifford Street and Burlington Gardens.

Savile Row London as you have never seen it before.....

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celebrating 9 years of freedom, and finding my passion

Posted in It's my life, Travel, tagged freedom, London, passion, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious on October 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

There is a lot of talk in the Personal Development world about ‘finding your passion’ – (and they’re not referring to sex 🙂 )! In the past I wouldn’t have put much store in that kind of talk – there were lots of things I enjoyed and I had loads of interests…..but ‘passionate’ about them…no, not really!

So what does that have to do with today? Well today I celebrate 9 years of ‘freedom’ and in so doing I have also found my ‘passion’!! I arrived in London on 9th October 2001 enroute to Ireland, to help my sister celebrate her 30th birthday and for what at the time I thought would be a nice long holiday.

Cut a long story short…. I adored Ireland – I discovered what freedom meant and in the first 2 months I travelled the length and breadth of that tiny island with my delightful sister and brother-in-law, subsequently cancelled my ticket home (South Africa), and lingering for another 4 months till I was forced by law to go back to SA….which I did, but only long enough to get my Ancestral Visa and return to London. And therein lies the passion.

London had me at……no not at ‘hello’, it had me when I saw the chimney pots 🙂 Right through the years I had always maintained that I was never interested in visiting London, that if I ever visited the UK, I would merely pass through London on my way to the countryside….well fate/life/the universe had other plans for me and as we exited the underground enroute to Heathrow I fell in love. I found my passion.

Now, no rude comments please, but…..I am a fan of ‘Mary Poppins’ (don’t laugh; I have seen it 20 times already…probably more) I can even say ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ backwards (ha! kidding). But seriously, London has stolen my heart. Since living here I have travelled to so many wonderful places, not only in the UK, but in USA and Europe as well and yet whenever I return to London my heart races and I get all excited.

The difference between here and there is so vast that I can’t even begin to describe it. When I look back on my life in SA it looks squished and restricted in comparison to here. I marvel at the sense of freedom in being able to walk through a city filled with history and stories, of discovering quirky and sometimes plainly absurd features and places, of visiting some of the most exquisite buildings you could not even imagine (although obviously someone did). I could talk for hours about this city and never become bored. No matter where I go there is always something new to discover. It has truly become my passion.

And in finding my passion I enjoy unending freedom. So today I celebrate 9 years of freedom and the opportunity to live in, what is to me anyway, the most beautiful, fun, interesting, amazing, wonderful, incredible…… city in the world.

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the dawn chorus

Posted in It's my life, tagged dawn chorus, early morning symphony on October 8, 2010| 2 Comments »

Today was one of those days where I woke real early…urghhh!! 🙂 I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep to no avail. So with great reluctance (I am not a morning person) I stumbled out of bed, bleary eyed and peeved!!

As I traipsed down the stairs I noted that the sky was beginning to lighten (it was that early) and mused that it was probably about 6.30am…. hahaha! it was in fact 06:32 to be precise. I did not feel at all sleepy although my brain was screaming Noooo!!! it’s too early and my mouth was stretched wide in a yawn….

I decided to make myself a cup of tea and head on back to bed, and hopefully catch another hour or so of shut-eye. Then through the mists of my half-dead brain I noticed the sounds of the dawn-chorus 🙂 and that was the end of my bed-time. I am never up this early in the morning so without further ado I decided to treat myself and sit out on the verandah whilst enjoying my first cuppa of the day. I quickly spread out crumbs of bread and handfuls of seed in the hope the wee birdies might just visit while I was there.

And am I glad I did. Still darkish out, the day is surprisingly warm, albeit shrouded in mist. The trees at the end of the garden barely discernable, dripping with morning dew were ghostly in their shroud of grey.

early morning misty day in London

In the distance and nearby, birds waking up with a delightful chorus of chirps and cheeps and whirry sounds, flitted here and there, already busy in their search for sustenance. With the hot mug keeping my hands warm I wriggled comfortably into the chair, eyes shut and cosy in my cocoon I snuggled into the blanket tightly wrapped around my body and enjoyed the symphony.

What a delightful treat. And if I wasn’t such a lazy bones….I could probably enjoy that every day. Sadly the birds didn’t come down to partake in the feast, but I have no doubt that once I was gone they would be there in a flash. 🙂 and despite the overwhelming urge to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head…..now it’s really time to start the day…….

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icky sticky cubes

Posted in Fun Stuff, It's my life, tagged jelly cubes on October 7, 2010| 6 Comments »

As an immigrant ( 🙂 ) from South Africa, albeit of British descent, there were lots of new things to learn when I arrived in the UK….one of which was shopping! Now you may think that is would be easy knowing which store was more upmarket, which sold the cheapest ‘made in china using slave-labour’ products; therefore to be avoided, which dishwashing liquid is the best, which soap powder to use and whether or not a product was good or bad. But no….. it is only through trial and error you finally find the ones you like and eliminate the not so good or rubbish products. One of the most intruiging products was jelly! Back in SA our jelly came in powder form… crystallised flavoured sugar really, but nevertheless it contained the by-product of cows hooves and therefore once heated and dissolved, then refridgerated for a few hours it made the wobbly stuff. You also had to use the whole packet at once or else it coagulated into lumpy blobs. Despite that, the powder was also fun to poke your tongue into for a sugary treat but if you dropped the packet it made an awful sticky mess on the floor, if you tried to sneak some out the packet and breathed in too soon…you could also choke to death. 🙂

Here in the UK I discovered that jelly came in icky sticky cubes

a square of jelly

and

jelly cubes

Makes perfect sense really…..if you want just a bit of jelly you cut off a cube or two and save the rest for later. And although the packet boasts ‘natural colours’ there is nothing natural about the colours at all.

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death by kindness……..

Posted in around the UK, Health, It's my life, tagged bird-feeders, british birds, pigeons, plague, trichomonosis on October 6, 2010| 2 Comments »

One of the things I have enjoyed most about living in the UK (and there are many), are the wee birds that frequent our gardens. It is a treat coz I don’t really remember the gardens back in South Africa hosting such cute little birds. Over the last few months I have been based in London (as per my Jan 1st request…hey the Universe does listen occassionally). The garden of the house stretches way back and is filled with a variety of trees (which I also love).

view of the garden from my window & altho you can't see them there are two foxes right at the end

It has been my good fortune to experience the end of winter, spring, summer and now autumn in this garden and it has been a joy to watch the birds. My desk is situated right in front of the double glass sliding doors with a fine view of the verandah and garden – which provides ongoing treats……

fox in the garden

One of my daily activities is to feed the birds, and I have had the pleasure of watching these cuties come in to feed; robins, blue-tit, coal-tit, house-sparrows, chaffinch and the very occassional wren (they are just darling).

a blue-tit and chaffinch on the verandah....view from my desk

Of course the food also attracts the larger varieties….jay, magpies (gorgeous colourings) and the blasted pigeons – which I take great pleasure in scaring off. Spring especially was a treat when the mama’s and the papa’s helped their broods to fledge. I recall the first morning of this delightful spectacle when my concentration was disturbed by a great flurry of wings and tweets ( 🙂 ) and a busy brood of not so very able chicks flew here, there and everywhere.

blue tits teaching their brood how to feed - June 2010

They dashed here and there causing a riot of noise and confusion, with the occassional thwack as they flew into the glass doors (I hastily attached pieces of paper to the door to warn them)…. this got quite a few jokes from visitors…. “erm ah, and can the birds read this?” eejits. Anyway, the point of my story (yes I do get there eventually) is that the birds in the garden are a national treasure, and we do what we can to help them out and build them up to be nice fat, healthy wee birdies. Fat balls stuffed with seed, peanut and suet treats – equally stuffed with seeds, bird-feeders strung about filled to the brim with a variety of seed – and the bird-bath….filled with fresh water.

So you can imagine my absolute dismay when I read in the Metro (local paper provided free by TFL-TransportForLondon), on August 19th about a bird plague that was being spread ‘by kindness’!! Horrified would best describe my reaction. Apparently what they have discovered is that wood-pigeons that use the gardens as a source of food leave a parasite ‘trichomonosis’ in the bird-baths and on the feeders. This is then transmitted to the other wee birds via the seed and water!! This parasite lives in the upper digestive tract of birds and is spread when they feed each other, this causes the bird’s throats to swell, leading to starvation.

The statistics are frightening: 500,000 of Britain’s best loved birds have been killed by this disease; the greenfinch population has dropped by a 3rd, and chaffinches by a 5th since it emerged in 2005. The article goes on to say that hygiene is the key and that bird-feeders and baths should be cleaned regularly. Fortunately this is something I do anyway since the pigeons and squirrels poop and pee all over the place, but since reading the article I have now become quite fanatical and scrub the verandah every 2nd day as well as the bird-bath….I have also increased my ‘scare off the pigeons’ activity and have a great time playing at being a scare-crow…mind you that’s not too hard. 🙂

And talking of squirrels; they are a constant source of amusement, albeit a constant source of pesky!! They are very enterprising and it has become a game between them and me now with regards to the bird-feeders! I find ways of hanging them so that the squirrels can’t get access, and the squirrels find ways of getting to them…..

mister squirrel and his industrious efforts to get at the bird food

🙂 this little chap was literally hanging on by the toes!

our intrepid little squirrel

…sometimes with hilarious results e.g. falling into the bird-bath 🙂

And so in conclusion….if you live in the UK and you have bird-feeders or a bird-bath….scrub them regularly and keep them topped up with fresh water, and according to Mike Toms of the British Trust for Ornithology, if you notice signs of infection amongst your birds, stop feeding temporarily and hopefully stop the spread of the disease. And finally….does anyone know of a good way to get rid of pigeons? Nothing that involves shooting them please.

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Cannons and things

Posted in Historical, It's my life, things to in London, Travel, tagged cannon, Capt James Cook, Edmund Halley, Horse Guards parade, London, Turkish gun on October 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Last week Saturday I went walkabout through London…well more specifically, through the City of Westminster, which is a city in it’s own right, albeit within the Greater London area. This city is chock-a-block with fabulous ‘things to see’. I have walked this route numerous times before and yet I always discover something new…..this was no exception.

to be found in the Horse Guards Parade

and this marvellous item, which I simply cannot believe I never saw before….

the wheel of a Turkish gun

these two fabulous guns/cannons are to be found in the Horse Guards Parade. The following memorial is situated near St James’s Palace…..

gems of London

I also had the greatest of luck and managed to visit the Cloisters of Westminster Abbey. There was some sort of ceremony going on so I just kinda walked in….. as I do. 🙂 There are some fabulous memorials scattered about, one of which is dedicated to Edmond Halley…….

memorial to Edmond Halley

and this for Capt James Cook, which I thought was expecially lovely….

memorial to Capt James Cook at Westminster Abbey

No matter how much time you spend, or how often to walk about this fabulous city, there is always something new to discover.

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5 steps to explode an egg….

Posted in Fun Stuff, idiot category, It's my life, tagged how to explode an egg, micro-waved poached edds on October 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

How To Explode an Egg

follow steps 1 - 4 and ignore #5

1. Crack eggs in the Poacher and pierce both yolk and white several times from directly above with a cocktail stick (preferably), sharp knife or fork. This is important as it helps prevent the eggs from ‘exploding’.

2. Add a teasoon of water per egg.

3. Close the lid and position Poacher at the edge of the turntable.

4. On medium power setting cook 1 egg for approximately 30 seconds, 2 eggs for 40 seconds.

5. Check eggs and cook for 10 second increments until you achieve the desired results. Remember eggs carry on cooking a little after removal from the microwave.

Follow instructions 1 – 4 and ignore 5 and you will have a lovely jubbly exploded egg smeared right around the microwave!

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what do social media and addiction have in common?

Posted in Fun Stuff, It's my life, tagged addiction. social media, Twitter on September 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Me! 🙂

As a child of the dark ages, the current ‘fad’; Social Media, as some folks call it, is a whole new ball-game to me, and boy am I having fun! Bearing in mind it took me till 2002 before I caved in and got a mobile phone and about 6 months to figure out how to send an email… (tut tut, no need to be rude 🙂 )

Over the years I have slowly tested the waters and joined facebook, watched youtube videos (even started my own channel!!), uploaded photos to kodak, turned into an email then blogging junkie, ventured onto flickr and finally after a kick in the butt (metaphorically) from my brother-in-law I learned to use google effectively. Now I am also a google addict 🙂

In 2008….mmm November I think it was, I volunteered to help a friend get her business off the ground. One of the suggestions from her accountant was that she get onto twitter. Since she was more of a novice than me about the mysteries of the internet, I volunteered to do it for her. She introduced me to a person who was the current ‘expert’ on twitter who would give me a few lessons!

After a few lessons on the ‘how to’…I got into the ‘what to’…..and as they say in the classics…I have never looked back. Sadly the relationship did not last (long story not to be repeated), but I was hooked and without further ado I set up my own twitter account and got tweeting….. @notjustagranny

I was born to ‘tweet’ 🙂

Twitter has been one of the most amazing learning curves in my life (and I have had plenty and have plenty of curves)…. it is also the best way to meet, greet and chat to people from around the world. I have met, had ‘tweet-ups’ and communicate with lovely people from Australia, America, in the UK, Canada, Alaska, New Zealand, India and Europe and Cape Town….even Russia! I have had the pleasure of reading fabulous blogs by very talented people, especially travel blogs…..my favourites! There are some truly fabulous places in this world of ours.

I know that facebook is meant to be ‘the’ place to be….I prefer twitter. The timeline moves fast, you can engage in conversations that have an immediate response, your mailbox doesn’t get cluttered, there are hundreds of interesting links to follow (my downfall), and you can connect with new folks on recommendation of those you are already following…. I have gotten to know some terrific people this way. You also get immediate news and sometimes not so immediate news and there is a never ending supply of interesting articles and snippets of information to read.

Falling into the category ‘social media’, twitter has evolved from sending an update to friends to a full-on business tool. An opportunity to share and learn information. What has been interesting too are the debates about whether it is a good thing or not, to be taken seriously or just a fad. As the ‘twitter angel’ for @newmediaangels it is my job to read links (to make sure they don’t lead to porn sites !!!) before I retweet them …..have I learned a lot.

I have read articles from the likes of @jeffbullas and @mashable and @chrisbrogan and @problogger. I have also read the debates from the CEO’s of large corporations who do not yet get it – Social Media. And they are not alone. There are a huge number of small businesses that want to get ‘onto’ twitter and expect to suddenly have 1million followers!! The buzz and hype has given folks the wrong perception and their expectations are way out of line. Many people think that you open a twitter account, post a few tweets and voila suddenly you have hundreds and thousands of followers!!! A misconception if ever there was one. Like going to a party and expecting to suddenly have hundreds of friends!

As for me….I can’t live without twitter. I get antsy in the mornings till I log on and get my ‘fix’. I find it incredibly diffficult to watch a link go by and not open it. I could quite literally spend the whole day just chatting to folks and reading links. I have ‘favourited’ hundreds of webpages (madness I know) with the faint hope that I will actually go back to them someday….hahaha.

I love nothing more than to open ‘hootsuite’ and see mentions from people who have thought of me and sent a message. It’s fun, it’s funky and it’s the best invention yet…besides the internet! It is very educational….how else would I have known about #earthday or any of the other causes that whizz through my timeline.

Long live twitter…… certainly my blue bird of happiness; long may it live to feed my addiction!

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bird feeders

Posted in Fun Stuff, It's my life, tagged cleaning poop on September 28, 2010| 7 Comments »

As I said before my sister sends me some brilliant emails…..this was no exception. I was going to write about the birds in our garden but decided to send this instead, coz it is so what I have to do with the verandah every day after pigeons have been!!

Maxine on bird feeders.....

“I bought a bird feeder. I hung It on my back porch and filled
It with seed. What a beauty of A bird feeder it was, as I filled it
Lovingly with seed. Within a Week we had hundreds of birds
Taking advantage of the Continuous flow of free and Easily accessible food.

But then the birds started Building nests in the boards
Of the patio, above the table, And next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was Everywhere: on the patio tile,
The chairs, the table ..Everywhere!

Then some of the birds Turned mean. They would Dive bomb me and try to Peck me even though I had
Fed them out of my own Pocket.

And others birds were Boisterous and loud. They Sat on the feeder and Squawked and screamed at
All hours of the day and night And demanded that I fill it When it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn’t even Sit on my own back porch Anymore.
So I took down the Bird feeder and in three days
The birds were gone. I cleaned Up their mess and took down
The many nests they had built All over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like It used to be . Quiet, serene….
And no one demanding their Rights to a free meal.
Now let’s see…..
Our government gives out Free food, subsidized housing,
Free medical care and free Education, and allows anyone Born here to be an automatic Citizen.

Then the illegals came by the Tens of thousands.
Suddenly Our taxes went up to pay for Free services; small apartments Are housing 5 families;
you Have to wait 6 hours to be seen By an emergency room doctor;
Your child’s second grade class is Behind other schools because Over half the class doesn’t speak English.

Corn Flakes now come in a Bilingual box; I have to ‘press one ‘ to hear my bank
Talk to me in English, and People waving flags other Than our flag are
Squawking and screaming In the streets, demanding More rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it’s time for the government To take down the bird feeder.

If you agree, pass it on; if not, Continue cleaning up the poop.” end of….

Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out how to get rid of the blessed pigeons (any ideas?)… and then there are the squirrels! As cute as they are, they pee all over the verandah which drives me nuts!! excuse the pun 🙂

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