I was watching The One Show on BBC1 a couple of nights ago and they featured a small snippet about the Painted Ladies; our favourite butterfly.
Their arrival in the UK is awaited each year with much anticipation and there is much competition between butterfly lovers as to who will see the first one and where!
a painted lady – borrowed from the butterfly conservation website credited to Iain H Leach
I remember some years ago, quite some years ago, I was working in Suffolk, right next to a farmers field surrounded by hedgerows and trees.
It was Painted Lady season and to my delight it was one of the best years for their numbers and one day, seemingly out of nowhere, suddenly there were thousands of these exquisitely ethereal creatures alighting on every branch, along every hedge and flowers everywhere. A plethora of fantasy as far as the eye could see.
The interesting thing about these butterflies is of course that they are a long-distance migrant, which causes the most spectacular butterfly migrations observed in Britain and Ireland. Each year, it spreads northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, recolonising mainland Europe and reaching Britain and Ireland.
Now, in my ignorance I assumed (mistakenly) that it was the same individual butterfly that started it’s migration, flying hundreds, if not thousands of miles across land and sea and then arrived here, to our delight.
But no. Apparently the butterfly that lands on our hedges and flowers and trees is in fact the 6th generation…..well, now that is to quote; ‘gob-smacking’. LOL I have learned much since arriving across thousands of miles across land and sea myself 😉 although I flew via SA Airways.
It seems that the first butterfly flies as far as it’s going to fly, it then lays it’s eggs and eventually dies, the next butterfly eventually emerges and sets off, the pattern is repeated and in due course (up to) the 6th generation is what we see here, and they are seen as far as northern Scotland, albeit the majority alight in England.
I was amazed. It’s one of those little snippets of information that is so incredible and previously so unknown that it sticks forever in your memory.
For more information about the Painted Lady (always reminds me of Geishas when I read that term) visit the Butterfly Conservation website
Since I logged off Twitter (3 months ago) and Facebook (last month) I’ve had time to do some proper reading (as opposed to scrolling) and have rediscovered the joys of WordPress. Whilst searching for interesting blogs to read, I followed the tag ‘Saxons’ and came across this blog, a blog that has turned out to be absolutely fascinating.
The writer transports you back in history to the time of the Saxons with just enough information to keep you interested, written in an easy to read format, you’re left intrigued and wanting to learn more.
After reading about the Mercian king; Penda, I’ve gone right back to the beginning of 2017 and am making my way through history.
The history of England and the UK is nothing if not varied and the allegiances are like the tides that surround our fair isle, they flow back and forth, with waves that violently crash or lap gently on the shore, with whirlpools and hidden depths to trap the unwary.
The problem with the history of this country is that learning one piece of history leaves you wanting more, and I am never satisfied. One of my favourite TV programmes is of course Time Team with Coast a very close second. I can watch them over and over.
http://lasmithwriter.com Reading this blog is like following a treasure hunt, with links to fascinating people, places and events. I’ve seen many references to places and people I already know, with titles waiting to draw me in. Cuthbert in particular since I’m planning to walk St Cuthbert’s Way in the near future. As well as which there’s a post about my favourite king; Alfred the Great and Winchester. Winchester was the 2nd city I visited after London in 2002 shortly after arriving in England proper. It’s still my 2nd favourite, after London LOL, and I’ve been back many times.
Meanwhile, I have a lot of reading to do 😊😊 but it is all so very interesting…..
If like me, you enjoy the history of the Dark Ages (seriously? Its probably one of the most fascinating periods) and in particular Saxon history, then do yourself a favour and click on the link above, I’m sure you will enjoy her posts.
The Dark Ages according to Britannica.com : Dark Ages or Early Middle Ages, the early medieval period of western European history—specifically, the time (476–800 CE) when there was no Roman (or Holy Roman) emperor in the West or, more generally, the period between about 500 and 1000, which was marked by frequent warfare and a virtual disappearance of urban life.
The Middle Ages, or medieval time, is generally believed to have started with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 and to have lasted about 1,000 years until about 1450. The beginning of the Middle Ages is called the Dark Ages because the great civilizations of Rome and Greece had been conquered. Ref https://westernreservepublicmedia.org/middleages/big_intro.htm
Personally I find this to be one of the most intriguing and fascinating periods of history and if the Sutton Hoo treasures and various similar treasure troves discovered over the years are anything to go by, then dark it was not…….
So the UK elections are in full swing and once again we are subjected to loads of promises about how the relevant party will spend our hard earned taxes…..
My question is this: does anyone actually believe anything they say?
Considering past history and how very quickly they change their tune and how often their memory fails after they get into power….is there any use believing one single campaign promise? Of any party?
And since this is being touted as the ‘Brexit’ election….Let’s remember, if you will, just how many lies Boris Johnson told in order to get himself into the position of Prime Minister (and still does). Does anyone in this country still believe any electioneering promises he makes?
Gosh, how time does fly. It’s been 4.5 months since I last wrote a blog (about toilet paper?? LOL) and so much has happened in the interim I hardly know where to start.
Blogging is one of those things that I need my computer for, and since said computer is, in today’s world, classified as ancient, it takes ages to boot up and by then I’ve lost time & interest. But I recently, with the help of my sister in Cape Town via whatsapp, had an online session and we managed to clear some space which has made it marginally quicker, and so I thought it’s about time I got back to blogging.
I’ve also in the interim logged out of both twitter and facebook….I’m so sick of the rubbish on twitter (I miss the days when you could have a decent ongoing conversation with someone without the bots interfering and sticking their noses in with their vile rhetoric). I logged off facebook recently after a very emotional situation because I needed to separate myself from the emotion and facebook is a thorn in my side anyway (for various reasons). I do miss comment/chatting to my friends though – do we ever talk in real life anymore?
So since I was off both twitter and facebook, both of which voraciously consume your time, I started reading through and clearing out my email inboxes, both of which had in excess of 3,000 unread and unfiled emails. It took a good few hours I can tell you, over a period of about a week, but oh the satisfaction once it was done. It’s amazing how we can even accumulate clutter online. While doing that I also unsubscribed from hundreds of charity emails, petitioning emails and sales advertising emails and now my inboxes are more manageable. I also file the emails I need to keep into their relevant folders immediately after reading them. Now I have about 10 emails pending attention and few starred emails that I need to keep open for various reasons.
So instead of wasting time scrolling through twitter and facebook, I started reading wordpress blogs again, followed a few bloggers whose posts I enjoyed and started proper reading again….and talking of reading, I’ve also started reading books again…..marvellous. The latest book I borrowed from the B&B hostess where I recently stayed… The Secret Dossier of a Knight Templar of the Sangreal. I’ve been interested in the history of the Knights Templar for ages and the book is absolutely fascinating; I’m learning so much. There are quite a few famous places linked to the Knights Templar along the French Camino Route through northern Spain and I hope to visit those when I do the walk. I’ve been lucky enough to visit a few places in the UK with links to the knights…..so interesting.
Of course the main event of the year, and the reason for my tardiness and lack of blogging, was the birth, in January, of my first grandchild One year ago; best news ever, a much desired and much wanted, precious little boy. Life as they say, changed forever. I read a blog today by debs-world that really struck a chord, and on that note I decided to get back to writing so that I can share more about this special little boy and his development. I have dozens of drafts written, but with one thing and another, I never got to actually post them ….. and he is a week away from 10 months old!! The absolute joy of my life. I never knew you could love another human so much.
Besides that I am once again homeless and that has been the cause of so much trauma I cannot tell you. Much as it was heart-rending to leave what has been my home since June this year and for a few years prior to that (just different houses in different towns), it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do and although it nearly broke me in two, it was an absolute necessity for my own sanity. But it’s tough not having a home. I’ve had to once again put all my belongings into storage and that in itself brings a multitude of complications. Every time I want to file documents or get a change of clothes or access my toiletries or whatever it might be that I need or don’t want to carry around, I have to traipse to the storage unit and keep their opening hours in mind. No easy access. It all requires careful planning….and frankly it’s just fucking boring. Cést la vie. However, you can really appreciate the difficulties that people who end up on the streets have. I’m still one of the lucky ones…I have a job (that provides me with a home for two weeks at a stretch) and can pay for storage and a B&B when needed inbetween jobs.
I haven’t done any walking this year either which has added 6 kgs to my weight (gahhhh). Unfortunately my love of food has not abated LOL. And anyway I opted to spend time with the bub rather than go walking. an easy choice really.
I wrote a blog a few months back about the X52 pledge I made and I’m pleased to say that I have stuck to it. Of course I have needed to buy new underwear and socks (I wear through mine a fast pace) and desperately needed a new pair of trainers, which are my daily wear anyway, but fortunately those items are considered necessities and not a luxury.
Besides travelling to various parts of the country for work, I haven’t done much travelling this year either. I was reluctant to stray too far from my delicious grandson, opting instead to spend as much time as possible with him. Sadly now that I no longer live with them, my time with him is going to be cut down to a visit maybe twice a month. It bloody sucks and I miss him so much it hurts. But there it is. I rail against this situation to no avail…..hopefully in time I will get my emotions under control and not feel like I want to scream and jump into the abyss. I am after all just his Granny and not his mother and he does have other grandparents. It is lovely though when I do visit…he gets so excited to see me and giggles uncontrollably. I fear that our bond will eventually wear thin though since he won’t see much of me …and yes I am feeling bereft and very very sad. It’s hard not to when I’ve been such an integral part of his life from before he was born. Having gone right through my daughter’s pregnancy and labour, witnessing him take his first breaths, and then being very closely tied in with his subsequent daily care, looking after him most nights for the first 6 months, leaving was such a wrench…..I confess I am still reeling from the loss. It’s been a horrible 12 days just thinking about it. Still I’m grateful that he’s not in another country and I will get to see him at least twice a month. And I have our Christmas Butlins break to look forward to when I’ll be spending 4 whole days with him….shared with the paternal grandparents of course.
I’m still very active on instagram and love looking through the many wonderful images that get shared, saving links to places I still want to visit and walks I want to do. Gosh there are so many I’ve lost count. Instagram has to be the best travel brochure ever. I’m saving up to buy a campervan so that when my gorgeous grandson is older, I can take him on a multitude of adventures. I hope to eventually buy a motor-home so that I have a permanent residence.
So that’s just a quick catch up and summary of the last few months….I shall now start finalising and posting the articles about the wonderful life of Jamie, my divine grandson…..
Just took delivery of our first order of recycled toilet paper from a socially conscious company. Sustainably-sourced 100% recycled toilet paper rolls Extra long rolls contain 400 sheets (20p per 100 sheets) 50% of profits donated to fund sanitation projects.
Each box contains 48 rolls No inks, dyes or scents.
Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of profits to help build toilets for the 2.3 billion people who don’t have one.
They’ve donated over £1 million to date! Unlike the majority of the world’s toilet paper, Who Gives A Crap 100% Recycled loo rolls are made without trees.
Who Gives A Crap Eco-Friendly 100% Recycled 3-Ply Toilet Paper 400 Sheets https://g.co/kgs/PjQWdY
On the 12 May 2018 at approx 2.30pm, I received what can only be the best news any mother of a grown up daughter could hope for!! I was to become a Granny 🙂 To say that I went ballistic would be a complete understatement…I did the whole Greek Mama shrieky thing LOL
Getting the news 🙂
I was quite simply over the moon. This was not something I was expecting (sorry for the pun), and had made my peace with the idea that I may not ever have grandchildren. I guess I should have known better! The planets had aligned; my daughter was in a really good place in her life, she had met a wonderful man, they were engaged to be married, she was settled in her home, her business was doing well and life was good. The universe knew that the time was right.
I’m going to be a Granny 🙂
The months both dragged and flew by with visits to a clinic for an ultrasound that showed the wee bub sitting comfortably in the position he was to pretty much maintain for the full 40 weeks right up until he was born.
isn’t that just extraordinary….so tiny and yet so very real
Ultrasound ❤
Each week was marked with images of his progress off the ovia app,
one the day I received the news, this is the size of the bub; a poppy seed
photographs of Mummy’s slowly expanding belly,
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Lots of clothes shopping (we ended up with wayyy too much), various excursions as nursery equipment was collated and frequent trips for treats LOL I’m surprised he doesn’t look like a treat…oh Wait!! He does!!
After a relatively problem-free pregnancy, he didn’t after all make it easy for Mama and stuck to his guns, resulting in a breech birth.
Finally the big day arrived and exactly 40 weeks to the day (according to their calculations, not the NHS’s) without any further ado, my tiny, beautiful, cute, gorgeous, exceptionally intelligent (of course), delightful little grandson arrived. Albeit very traumatic for Mummy, his birth went fairly smoothly and I had the privilege of being able to support her right through from beginning to end. We, Simon (her husband), Maisie (her Doula), myself and of course the beautiful Mama, were all in shell-shock and I’m still bemused by the fact that I actually managed to get through her labour without going to pieces.
Jamie, just 10 minutes old cuddled on Mummy’s chest, Maisie, me and Daddy
In fact she had, a few weeks before, asked me to knit her a birthing blanket. The idea was for me to knit this blanket whilst she was in labour, to focus my mind and keep me calm and occupied….it didn’t quite work out that way, and 4 months later the blanket is still under construction. Mostly because I’m forever holding the baby or taking photos of him rather than knitting….oh and working. I have 2 other cardigans 95% completed that I have never yet found the time to complete.
So Jamie, my precious little boy, here you are….just hours old
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and now you’re fast-growing, gorgeous, funny almost 4 month old with a mega-watt smile that lights up the room and my heart.
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I loved the idea of being a Granny, but I love actually being a Granny even more that I ever thought possible.
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He’s now 16 weeks old and I can hardly believe that the weeks have flown by so quickly.
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What a charming little boy he is, and we are so blessed to have him in our lives.
As part of my ongoing pledge to do better by this world and help save the planet, leaving it in as much a decent condition as is possible for future generations, I’ve taken the XR52 (extinction rebellion) pledge to not buy any new clothes for the next 52 weeks. The programme actually started on 30th April 2019, but since I’ve been working over this last 2 weeks, I’ve not bought anything anyway.
Not that I’m either a follower of ‘fast fashion’ or a prolific clothes buyer, my last purchase was a light top for summer on 8th March 2019 LOL- so no fear of me being a follower of fashion…..I usually have to be dragged off to the store kicking and screaming. I simply can’t be bothered. For me clothes are merely a way of covering my body, avoiding arrest for indecent exposure and keeping warm. Buying clothes is tedious in the extreme and I can’t be bothered with looking through a rack of items that for one reason or another do not excite me much, usually don’t fit for one reason or another, whilst looking at myself naked in front of a full length mirror is not for the faint-hearted LOL
Prior to March, the last time I bought anything was in December 2018 when I took a pair of harem pants and slippers off my daughter…she had bought them but they didn’t fit comfortably, so rather than her ditching or giving them away, I bought them from her. Besides these few items, the last major purchase I made was in March 2018 when I bought an outfit for their May wedding. I’m still wearing shoes (very seldom I might add since they have heels) I bought about 15 years ago. They’re almost brand new as I only wear them about once every 3 years.
My only major purchases are trainers and hiking pants. I go through a pair of trainers every 1500miles or so and my hiking pants were bought in 2016 when I started training for the Camino in 2017.
So, am I a follower of ‘fast fashion’? I think the answer to that is obvious 😉 When I do buy any leisure clothes they are invariably from a charity shop and when I’m done with them, I return it to a charity shop.
Nothing goes in the bin except my underwear and socks, and usually only when I have worn them through. However, going forward, I’m going to see how I can recycle those items as well.
If you’re not familiar with extinction rebellion, they are a protest movement that recently brought London to a standstill and upset a few commuters and of course the government (no bad thing that). Ironically, the Government had just declared a ‘climate emergency’ but nonetheless, they were seriously pissed at the protesters. Many of the people who were ‘inconvenienced’ by the protests are likely people from 1 of 2 camps: 1. people who are trying to make changes by reducing their plastic waste and being active in reducing their carbon footprint, and supported the protests, despite being inconvenienced. 2. people who don’t give a shit so long as they can continue to buy their pretentious takeaway Starbucks latte and their Evian pure spring water, and really couldn’t care less one way or the other about the state of the planet. Now before you breathe flames, I have no doubt that a lot of people were inconvenienced going to work or business meetings or whatever it is that people get up to daily, but consider this…..
We are in a dire situation. The latest UN report is the stuff of nightmares…..100 million species are on the brink of extinction!!! This is besides the thousands, if not millions of species already extinct due to mankind’s exploitation of the planet and her resources. The Amazon forest is reduced by 50 football pitches every SECOND!!! Not year, month, week or day…but SECONDS. Read that again… Seconds!!! The Amazon, along with other forests in places like Indonesia are the planet’s lungs, and we are destroying it by the second!! Billions of trees are razed to the ground for agriculture, for feed for beef, for palm oil plantations (and don’t even get me started on that).
Extract from the report : “PARIS, 6 May – Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was approved at the 7th session of the IPBES Plenary, meeting last week (29 April – 4 May) in Paris.” you can read the full report here. The last mass extinction was 66 million years ago. fck sakes. It’s insane. This folks, is happening on OUR watch.
It’s terrifying and if anyone is not afraid, then they have not been paying attention.
So back to ‘fast fashion’ and my XR52 pledge. For me it’s an easy one. I have a grandson now whose future is of vital importance to me. This pledge is just another cog in my determination to make a difference and reduce my impact on the planet and her ecosystems. I signed a pledge to never use plastic straws again in 2016. I’ve persuaded our chippy to change to a more sustainable container for take-aways. I persuaded a local restaurant to ditch plastic straws. I litter pick as often as possible when I’m home. It’s tiring, it’s hard and I incur a fair amount of abuse. But, and it’s a HUGE but, I have to try and make a difference for my grandson’s future.
If you’d like to learn more about extinction rebellion, you can read more here
Join me, come on board the XR52 campaign and reduce your impact on the planet.
Oh and if you were wondering about the impact that fast fashion has on the planet, then I can recommend that you watch the Stacey Dooley documentary. It’s is quite frankly just shocking and terrifying. “A sea half the size of England has dried up because of the horrific impact of fast fashion.”
If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it here.
The garment industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world, whilst the UK, Europe and the US are the largest consumers of ‘fast’ fashion. These days clothing chains bring out a new ‘range’ every week. I remember when I was young/er the fashion industry had ‘seasons’. You waited a full 3 months for the next season. The clothes were invariably well made, stood the test of time and didn’t choke landfill and end up in the ocean by way of plastic micro-fibres. Lots of people think that donating the items made today; threadbare, badly made, last a few weeks (if you’re lucky) to charity is a good idea…well it’s not. The charities are beginning to have to dump tons of old clothes because they are not fit for purpose and because they have too much. Africa is fed up with our cast-offs and some countries are beginning to reject the charitable donations made by the west in favour of encouraging home-grown, local businesses to produce cultural and traditional garments. Bravo to them.
I could go on and on about the terrible impact the ‘fashion’ industry is having on the planet, the animals that live on it, our water systems, and people’s lives, but……
I opened an online delivery account with @asda a couple of days ago to have my food delivered as I can’t get to a store from where I am currently working. I was disappointed at the lack of plasticwrap free vegetables available, but ordered the few items that were #freefromplastic namely bananas, carrots, onions and butternut. Imagine my utter dismay when the groceries were delivered and the bananas, carrots, onions and butternut were bagged in….. a PLASTIC bag. Ffs. Seriously.
These supermarkets really MUST up their game. I pointed this out to the driver who said they are ‘phasing the bagging out’. Wtaf does ‘phasing’ it out mean? Over what period of time?
We need DRASTIC action NOW!! have they been living in an alternative universe? Have they missed the Planet Earth programmes? Have they not seen the destruction that plastic pollution is causing our land-based animals, the devastation of our oceans and the creatures that die regularly.? Why do you have to bag potatoes (unless it’s to FORCE us to buy more than we need), or courgettes or mushrooms or tomatoes?
My message to the supermarkets : STOP WRAPPING THE VEGETABLES IN PLASTIC!! DON’T SEND MY VEGETABLES IN PLASTIC BAGS!! PLEASE JUST DON’T. I stopped using Tesco for this very reason. Urgh. @asda @sainsburys @tescofood @coopuk @morrisons @iceland all of you. Please reduce the plastic on vegetables NOW.
There’s been enough media information for you to all get the message. Step Up and STOP 🛑 using unnecessary plastic. If you simply HAVE to wrap your vegetables in plastic, change to the alternatives that are now available. #bansingleuseplastic #plasticpollution #endplasticwaste #endplasticpollution #doitfordavid #saveouroceans🌊 #saveourwildlife🐯🐯🐘🐨🐺🐋🐬🌝⛅🌻 #saveourplanet🌍🌳🌳🌞
In my head I can picture myself from those words, although it’s only a small synopsis of who I am and what my interests are/things I’ve done. I wonder what conclusions a stranger would make of the description?
I was saying to my (wonderful) daughter just a few days ago, whilst going out of my mind with boredom at work, that I need to sit down and draw up a new list of the things I’ve done and my achievements in life, as a reminder that I’ve had a rich, varied and full life (especially the last 18 years) for those days when I feel trapped by my need to earn money to pay the bills.
There’s this personal development mantra that gets bandied about the Internet that comes to mind…. “If you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life” – at first glance it seems quite benign and holds out hope, but what does it actually mean? I mostly love my job, on the whole I get enormous satisfaction from it, but hey ho….I ‘work’ every day I’m in each assignment. Does that mean I don’t ‘love’ the job enough. I also don’t earn very much which requires me to work more to pay the bills to have a marginally decent living standard….not extravagant by any means and I do without a lot in order to get by.
So, who am I? Do I love my job?
I know what I’d love to be doing (see, there’s that word again). Perhaps I should change it to ‘what I would prefer to be doing….
Spending more time with my grandson 🤗 👶🏻 ❣️ 👵🏻
my wonderful, heavenly, delightful, precious little grandson.
Travelling 🚶🗺️⏳
my trusty companions; Pepe (backpack) and Gemini (Nordic walking poles) – 10.166 km to Santiago
Taking photos
I’m absolutely loving my walks for the #walk1000miles 2017 challenge. It certainly gets me out of bed and out the house, making sure I don’t lag behind. I love walking anyway so it’s no hardship, and what fun it is to see different scenes while I’m out. It also gives me the opportunity to get fit for my Camino. The #mapmywalk app is perfect for my needs.#walking #walkbritain #exploreengland #englishcoast #VikingBay #StoneBay #Kingsgate #isleofthanet #traveldiaries #Camino2017 #cindystravels #viewsofengland
and campaigning against plastic, especially single use plastic.
After 3 trips across the “pond” my wife and I finally completed the South West Coast Path in October 2017. Originally we were just looking for something a little more civilised than our usual trips on our native Vancouver Island, where thick bush, ice and snow, heavy packs, rotten food and smelly tents are the norm. However, it didn’t take more than a few hours out of our original start point at Port Isaac in 2013 before we knew that we were in this for the duration. All those endless seascapes, impossibly lovely coves and fishing villages, comfy digs and good food are not a difficult sell, especially after the rigours of Island hiking.
Ann and Martin at the start of the Path in Minehead
Altogether it took us 55 days and 3 visits to get from Minehead to South Haven Point including some rest and short days. For those…
Ann and Martin at the start of the Path in Minehead 
Not Just a Granny 
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