"At the end of our lives' she said, 'we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by 'I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in."

 -Mother Teresa.

It’s nice to earn a qualification. It feels like you’ve achieved something. It’s a plan set by someone else to show that they believe you understand a certain skillset. Whether that knowledge remains with you is another thing. But a more important question is whether that knowledge will help someone else as well. Is it there just to benefit and enrich your life, or are you able to reap the rewards and share it with someone else freely rather than for personal gain? Will it create a reputation for you? How will others tell? Is it because you’ve done a great deed for them? Have you sacrificed something to assist and enrich their lives? Will they be grateful for the time that you’ve spent with them? Will they remember and appreciate your actions? Will others? How have you cared for your environment? How have others cared for you? Are you thankful?

Too Much Choice?

There’s a difference between creating quality dishes and something that’s to suit everyone’s tastes. But amazingly, there aren’t too many hot dishes (unless of course you request them), but to need to state that this is so, especially when you’re an Indian restaurant. And it’s so easy to get an order wrong when you get a lot of the popular dishes. You might just cook for convenience and add the other ingredients at the end. But it always results in an interesting and colourful array of sauces, even if presented a little too thickly. Just hope that you don’t spill any on any fabrics or surfaces and pray that the stain comes out if it does. I usually have one of the traditional dishes when I’m having a takeaway, but if I’m eating inhouse then I’ll go for one of the specials or the chef’s recommendations as they’re best consumed when it’s all just come out of the oven.

Top Ten

So how is a chart decided for the year? It’s not even finished yet. Has everyone had the opportunity to cast a vote? Is everyone aware of how the voting process works? Why was it hidden from you and was there an attempt to keep this secret? Why wasn’t your entry considered and who are the people that voted? What are the nominations that didn’t make it and close were they to making the cut? Is there a criterion? How can they improve upon their ranking? It doesn’t necessarily seem right. Many will try out the nominations and compare it to their own findings. It’s all a bit biased, especially when you look at who’s declared the winner. You have to ask yourself how high you rank that person or organisation. It might even be based on sales rather than opinions. Still, if you’re not sure of a favourite or want something to try then it’s good to look around.

Done and Gone

This Dunlop satchel was quite smart and fashionable when I had it. I’d like to think that it was made of tyres but it was a nice mixture of brown leather with a smart strap and golden lettering on the front. It was very comfortable to wear. It had a zip able inside for keeping documents in and it looked very business-like. The whole thing was fastened by a push-in button. However, I would have liked for it to have lasted a little longer. Over time it did begin to develop some holes. Objects would get lost in the lining and occasionally I’d hunt for a pen only to find it on the floor. The easiest way to get round that was to put a bag inside the bag, but that would defeat the object. I don’t know if I was using it too much or was overfilling it, but eventually it had to go.

Sunset for a White Van Man

It’s not what you expect to see when you’re out delivering at night. It’s nice that you can take the time to enjoy these moments. I found this while driving a route out of Banbury towards some villages. Sometimes it’s nice to take the scenic route back, especially when you’re ahead of your schedule. I spotted it as I turned a corner and there was a small dirt layby, so I parked up and rolled down the window. Just below me through the wire fence was a drop onto a hill. It was nice to see just fields and hills, even though there was a motorway down there somewhere and a farm building in the immediate vicinity. It was like watching an evil eye move down behind the horizon. I did send the picture to a few people but I didn’t hear back, either because it was late or that they were jealous that I was allowed out.

Sitting in a Lawn Chair with your eyes closed

It’d be nice to hear birds chirping, maybe a sheep communication with its companions in the distance followed by a hearty moo. Sadly, I’m more likely to hear engines overrevving as they tear down the distant road, echoing some drum and bass if they’re nearby. I do get to hear some wildlife though. There’s overstuffed pigeons cooing as they approach the garden to consider venturing in to scavenge for food. There’s angry dogs defending their territory and cats mewing loudly trying to attract the attention of someone to let them into the house. Occasionally you’ll hear an owl howling at the confusion of all this noise going on as they’re trying to get some kip. There’s the sound of neighbours closing their car doors where they’re sealed off from the outside world in an environment better protected than in a house, and you might catch a snippet of conversation first. Sometimes you can hear a train echoing through the valley as it approaches the station. Welcome to the sounds of suburbia.

Upon Reflection #clent 8

This is quite a mysterious thing to find on the top of a hill, though it’s not that uncommon. There’s quite a few stone circles set up on crests of hills, and I’ve even seen druids undergo rituals at some of them, and we might even have interrupted the process. But here there’s just picnickers and a drone in the background. I wonder if they’ve come to film my own ritual amongst the sandstone? I could just be doing my daily exercises. It’s certainly an inspiring spot. I wonder if the stones were originally bigger or greater in number and that they’ve been weathered away by the wind over time. Will they still be the same height and width in a hundred years? There’s more likely to be nicked. It looks like my left pocket is being targeted. Maybe the droid is coming down for a snatch of the contents. Still, at least there’s a dog nearby to try and chase it for me.

E.T Phone Home

I’m not asking for a command, I just want a reaction to a comment. Instead I’m told what can’t be done or when I can expect for it to be done, but it could be a feature for the future. We just need to find some life in other galaxies first. But it could least have asked where home is rather than make an assumption that it’s on another planet. I could just be lost and abbreviating my name to Edward Terence. So we can’t make intergalactic calls yet, but we can make calls to people that we know. But at least they can’t ring us back unless they have our number. It’d be nice if there was a random chatroom that you could call and have interesting conversations with people from other countries on a variety of topics. But you can only call the people in your contact list and the emergency services.

Mapping it Out #clent 7

I love maps. They’re not just a plan of where everything is, they help you to discover interesting places; especially if you see a footpath or sign as you’re passing as it helps you to decide if these areas are worth your time exploring and where the best parts are. They generally try to be to scale but you often have to orientate yourself and find landmarks to ensure that you’re heading in the right direction. Ordnance Survey may cover everything but often in too much detail and it’s hard to see everything on the same spot so a compass or GPS device is ideal when you have a choice of different paths. Sometimes it’s hard to determine if a trail has a right of way so you’ve got to know how to use this equipment. Handing a map to someone who hasn’t got a clue of where they started isn’t going to be much help.

Drawing the Line #dreamdiary 166

I’m on a coach to a wedding party. We’re all dressed up in grey waistcoats and shiny shoes. The church is in the middle of the countryside. I’m the first on the coach and I can beg myself a backseat where I can stretch out. Because of this, I’m the last one off the coach. As we file in, I hear a scream coming from an adjacent field. I head out to investigate and see a woman standing in a cornfield dressed in funeral attire. Some of her face is in the form of a skull and flashes from grey to colour. A fine line is being drawn as she tells me that she’s trying to decide whether her alliance is to good or to evil. As she steps closer to me, the world around me seems to grow brighter, but it also seems more unreal as if everything is being drawn around me.

Garden Girl #clent6

There’s something about this shade of pink that makes people want to pose. These were foxgloves that we spotted near the ridge of the hill as we descended back to the car. From a distance, they look like pink grapes, but as you get closer you can see a bell shape. It’s interesting how there’s none at the front of the bush and they’re all lined up in the back. They’re all pointed up as if they’re erect and trying to stretch to the light as they’re behind the hedge or it’s a hidden silo and they’re ready to launch to spread their seed. Is it a line of defence that they’ve made to push the greenery in front of them to stop them from being picked, or has someone already raided the front row? I wonder if the maker is getting ready to jump out of the greenery behind her.

Earthshakers #vampress 17

One night, as the moon was rising rapidly into the sky, loud rumbles could be heard from beneath the ground as it started to shake. Cracks started to appear in the paved roads and the ground in the surrounding fields. Shutters began to shake themselves loose and tiles began to tumble. Something began to rise through the ground, a strange white silky-smooth substance like a balloon. As soon as the source was spotted, the town raced to cover it up. Blankets were brought over until large gazebos were erected to cover them. These weren’t just bare wooden pillars, each plank had ornate carvings etched onto them, and some were made of iron. As the rumbling continued, the gazebos toppled over so more blankets had to be sought out. As each spot was identified, the townsfolk worked hard to ensure that every spot was covered. As the sun began to rise, the rumbling stopped but a faint gasping could be heard.

Trees are Life #clent 5

Every tree represents an ecosystem. The more of them there are, the more wildlife you’re going to find and in greater sizes too. In winter there’s less cover so the interesting animals are more likely to hide in evergreen areas. They might even have two homes. But animals tend to live in areas where they’re less likely to be disturbed and they can hear danger coming. In urban areas they’ll gradually learn the distance of the level of noise and they’ll grow accustomed between danger and things that are just passing by. They may have to venture out to gather food where they become bold in desperation. But if you find them in the countryside they’d be startled. They’ll either flee at the smell of you or become curious and stare at you while they work out what to do next and decide whether you’re a threat to them or food.

The Simpsons

While times have changed slightly since the airing of the first episode, this family hasn’t (apart from the unrealistic strangling). A huge variety of topics have been covered alongside an unrealistic approach which conveniently all seems to reset for the following week. It’s a show that’s not afraid to address the issues, even its own ownership and origin stories to keep its characters contemporary. There’s even been some odd predictions which have come true. Some themes have been repeated, albeit with different characters. Often there have been too many flashback clip episodes, though this format has been used less in recent years. It’s a shame that the show didn’t address the worldwide lockdown, though it did go through one lockdown of its own. But there have been some startling character developments, some of which are permanent and some we’re not so sure about since it ruins the demeanour of the original character. But it’s always good for a short situational laugh where nothing changes.

Garden Throne #clent 4

Imagine living with a garden like this. It’s a thing of beauty in this season. With its ornaments, it could be a miniature Aztec temple to an ancient deity. You could even picture someone bathing in it in the shelter of the tree if it wasn’t for the fact that it was so close to a public footpath. At least they’d be sheltered from the neighbours. It must take a lot of work to maintain it. I wonder if they do it themselves or whether they hire someone and how long it takes. I also wonder how long it’ll stay that way with the changing seasons. If it was me , I wouldn’t have the timer to commit to it so I’d have to hire someone. And would I have much of a say in the final outcome or would be the gardener’s vision or a designer with a kit?

Have you ever applauded an act of vigilante justice?

Yes. While it might not be the right way to solve things, our authorities aren’t always there especially when we want them to, but it’s good to see that’s someone’s standing up for justice. There’s often very little that the authorities can do to ensure that justice is served anyway nowadays. There’s too many laws that protect people when they commit offences. And if you do get involved, there’s a good chance that you could also be prosecuted despite doing the right thing. The key is not to take it too far. You need to make a point that someone has been wronged and that the offender needs to be corrected in return. But you might have to take it to a level where the offender becomes offended, and this could be taking things too far. You need to have the courage to end the situation safely or not let things escalate until the authorities arrive.

A Sense of Achievement #clent 3

 It’s nice to have a change of scenery. And when you’re at the top of something, it feels like you’re at your best as everything is underneath you, even though you’ve still got a challenge to get yourself back down again. But take the time in your achievement and enjoy it while you’re there. You might get a reality check that there’s a higher place in sight, and it may put how much work you have to do into perspective. But the achievement feels greater if there’s fewer people around you. They’re waiting to congratulate you as you come back down as they can’t get there themselves. Or maybe they’re awaiting your safe return. But if you’re looking at a road with a bus stop the achievement is somehow ruined, especially if people can see how easy it is to get there. They want to see the journey to put things into perspective.

A Marginal Appearance

He’s someone to be seen but never heard. Tall, silent and handsome, he just likes being in the right places so that he’s seen with the right people as if he has influence and knows the people he mixes with. He also alters his looks depending on who’s he’s accommodating. His neat and tidy approach is spiked hair with a bit of stubble, but if he’s feeling hippy enough he’ll allow a full beard to grow with uncombed curly hair. Half-moon glasses are balanced on a large nose with a few freckles to one side. He’ll usually wear a flannel shirt with trainers and jeans. He never has the capacity to adapt his attire to his style. He’ll try and drink designer if he can, but does what he must to keep in with his crowd. He just likes to have the connections, but doesn’t want to open himself up to everybody.

Personal Priorities

Sometimes you have to put yourself first. There’s things that you should be doing but if the pressure’s felt, you’ll do anything to stop yourself from achieving it. It might be something you do need to sort out but could probably do later, or it could be something that you shouldn’t be doing at all. Eventually, you’ll have to get round to doing it. Others are probably waiting for you. But your journey is important too, especially if you have to take the time to prepare for the task. If you do it straight away, they’ll expect that every time. But it’s equally important not to leave it too late so that they don’t feel forgotten as it might put them off acquiring your services again. But if you don’t want to do the task, it’s important to let them know, even if there’s no way that you can’t get out of it.

The Ascent #clent 2

We continued climbing the hill. On the right of us was a field of cows who seemed to follow us until an unknown event caused them to stampede back down again. Maybe it was feeding time. We continued north until the woods reached up into a valley, then turned west to follow the trail into a car park. We followed the road left until it met a junction, then turned left and entered the next car park. Here, we travelled east, and after a steep ascent climbing through more woodland, we arrived at the summit of the four stones. This is an excellent lookout point of Birmingham and Worcestershire, and it’s worth bringing your binoculars to spot the landmarks. On a clear day, you might catch a glimpse of the Malverns. Once we’d finished admiring the view, we continued west on the ridge until we sighted the pub on the left. All we had to do was climb down the hill past the pub to arrive back at our starting point. 

Poster Boys

You can now celebrate the arrival of a new film by looking at posters. And there’s eight, yes, eight different designs! There’s no links to an online shop and there’s just one picture supplied. It’s not even that exciting. It’s two actors and I’ve no idea who they are or the characters that they represent. There’s not even  a hint of the plot. They could just be fashion models in spandex costumes. Presumably you have to do the hard work and go out there to find the others posters yourself. They could be in different countries. Once you’ve found them, you might just learn something about the film. Personally, I’d rather just go and see the movie. If it was decent, I might buy a poster to advertise it to my friends. But what would I do with eight of them? I’d only seek the posters out beforehand if I owned a cinema and wanted to sell seats.

Climbing Through Clent #clent 1

We were determined not to climb the giant hill that took us directly to the Trig Pillar and we wanted to see a side of the hills that we hadn’t visited before, so we decided to take the less direct route. We headed south-east down a very narrow lane which went past a very large white building which was big enough to be a hotel but looked like a block of flats. This brought us out onto a very narrow and covered country road with a very slim pavement. Upon arrival to the village, we walked upstream alongside a small freshwater stepped waterfall with some lovely plants growing over the neighbouring fences. At the crossroads we proceeded directly over and followed the church wall on the left until the road reached around a house to cross a style at the end. After crossing a narrow footpath, we proceeded east across two fields to enter the woods.

Giving her Butterflies

Mum had a new phone so it was time to find a case to match. It took a while to come as the seller had despatched the wrong one so we had to send it back for an exchange, but at least they arranged for the postage. When it was fitted, she loved it. It had a printed design with a magnetic folding lid and a silicone frame that required you to push the phone into place. It was purple with a blue butterfly background that ad a spark of silver glitter to give it a bit of a shine and add a touch of magic to it since it’s a night scene. She’s also got herself a tablet case to match. I wonder if someone’s tried to make an animated case or would that cost too much with a power source. You might also need a protective case for your case.

Pull the Other One

It’s a dark road. It’s not easy to get to. There’s a line of cars parked either side, with room for just one vehicle to squeeze through the middle. Everyone’s at home and there’s no driveways to park on. Amazingly, this street isn’t a one-way one. It wasn’t a big item that was being delivered so it was easier to park up and walk down with it rather than run the risk. But was it really needed in the first place? Who knows. All I know is that they’ve paid for a man in a van to deliver it. I’m not sure what was in the package, and there was a chance that no-one in the household knew what it was either. You’d expect a light to be on and someone looking out for you. But then again, the technology was down at our end. They might not have had an idea that I was coming, or that today was the day.

 

Book Brothers #dreamdiary 165

My brother wants to get into the Harry Potter books. The only problem is that he can’t find the time to do it. I suggest a weekend away where we can just plough through them in a variety of backgrounds. We book up a hotel and we discover that the block that we’re staying in has an upstairs communal kitchen with a balcony that looks onto the grounds. We decide to grab some food to microwave. My brother has bought toad-in-the-hole but he’s eaten most of the yorkshire pudding. I’ve bought a family-sized one along with extra sausages and a tin of baked beans. We head to the kitchen. I just hope that there’s more than one microwave. The following day, we’re back at school and everyone’s amazed that there’s been a festival on school grounds. Everyone’s fascinated by the different beer cans that are lying around. We lie back in deckchairs and examine each can before passing it on. 

Farming Essentials

The last thing you want to be without in a rural household is a kettle. If the heat fails, then at least you’ve got a quick source of warmth for comfort, soups, teas and hot chocolate. You’re also going to need a boost for those early starts, especially in the winter months. Ironically, the address isn’t as rural as I thought. There’s plenty of neighbouring houses if you need a hand, though in these times it’s not such a good idea to share. But there’s still a community atmosphere and people have set up small stations on their driveways to share baked goods and to observe a big clap for the National Health Service. I pull the van over to join in, though I’m not seen in greater esteem here even though I’m an essential worker. Still, I recognise the fact that I’m still allowed to be in full-time employment while others are struggling and are forced to shelter.

What was it like to be a young calvary soldier chasing Chief Joseph?

It’s the thrill of the chase. You’re all buttoned up in a shiny new uniform being big and tough as you’ve been allocated the task of perusing the enemy. You may feel grown up on your horse while you’re serving your country. You’re full of energy and you’re eager to prove yourself to create a reputation and establish your future. There’s high-speed chases and ambushes to thwart as well as the duty of keeping civilians safe. You may object to the reasons for the chase but you must also fulfil your duty. You might be away for months before you complete the task and the desert may exhaust you first. You’ll be dealing with situations that you haven’t faced before. There’ll be endless landscapes of mountains and cacti without any sign of civilisation. You’ll have to learn to adapt with your group and have to respect your elders to learn some experience. You’ll have to do away with luxuries that you once took for granted, and you’ll ned to conserve your resources.

Ornament Shopping

 Mum loves collecting ornaments for her garden. It’s close to having gnomes, but she will only accept animals and not dressed-up ones, no matter what they’re wearing. We have a squirrel with a hole in its tail, an owl with reflective eyes that no longer work, possible because of the lack of sunlight that they’re getting. There’s a stone tortoise,  hedgehog, a mole, and a hare. A snail sits atop what was once our barbecue, and there’s a duck there too. While I was at a garden superstore, I though I’d add to the collection but couldn’t remember which animals we’d already got. The only way to resolve this was to take a picture so that she could see what was for sale. She did have her eye on the painted snail, but unfortunately it was only the damaged ones that were reduced, and she felt the others were much too dear. At least I have an idea of what to get her for Christmas now.