Gratulerer Med Dagen! )Which means congratulations for the day on any special day, including birthdays, in Norwegian.) for today is Norwegian Independence Day.
17th of May, (Syttende Mai) is actually the day Norway declared independence from Sweden in 1814 but independence didn’t really come until 1905 when the union was dissolved and Prince Carl of Denmark, became king of Norway with the Norwegian name of Haakon VII, following a referendum to restore the monarchy.
Why do I mention this? I’m half Norwegian! God Dag!
I heard an extraordinary news report last week. It was about heathland on fire in Scotland. The reporter said that the wind turbines in the area had to be turned off as they were fanning the flames.
I was half listening at the time. Something about the report didn’t sit easily with me. The penny has just dropped. Wind turbines can’t fan the flames! The wind makes the blades go round. It’s not the the blades going round that creates the wind.
The turbines, if anything, reduce the power of the wind and so help to stop the spread of flames. Maybe the reporter got it wrong (they very often do) and the turbines were switched off because they were taking in smoke into their engine systems and getting damaged or something like that, but they were not fanning the flames!
If you missed the royal kiss, here is a reconstruction for you!
You know you are creative, you want to make and create things, but where does your true heart lie? It can take a while to find out, but sitting on the fence won’t get you there. Just have a go at everything that interests you (plus things that don’t) and you will know when you get that “homecoming” feeling. That’s life telling you that this is your true path.
For those of you who have asked before, this also includes a bit of biography about me.
I had a great time at Hobletts Infant School this Monday. It was a bit chaotic, as they were having a new library installed, so books were piles up around the Staff Room, being sorted and thinned out. One of the thinning was a club book from the Tufty Club, which must have been lurking untouched on the old library shelves for years!
I was very impressed by a painting of penguins and puffins on the wall of the dining hall. The school is probably 1950′s, made in a cheap, throw’em up, pre-fab style. It still has it’s original metal, crittal windows, because the whole place would collapse if they were replaced! But there is this fabulous mural – I couldn’t see a signature, because part of it was hidden behind cupboards and things. ( I should be more nosey!) It must have been done very soon after the school was built. It has that wonderful Festival of Britain style about it. I hope it is logged somewhere . It should probably have a preservation order on it. It could do with a bit of restoration!
Any way, Thanks for a great day everyone. Fabulous drawing – all of you – teachers too!
It seems that people like my little advice videos, and I’ve been meaning to do one for teenagers for a while, so hear it is. Hope you like it.
More problems? Let me know and I’ll see if I can help. This is about Not worrying about failure – Not worrying about tomorrow – what people think about you and Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll!
I went to pick up some flowers from my favourite florists, Sunflowers of Coleford. Carol, the owner, took me into the shop next door, which they have taken over as a Mother’s Day workshop. I was amazed!
I imagine this scene of industry is duplicated in every town across the country, if not the world, in countries that celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend. Remember the florists!
It’s cute and I have Candy Gourlay’s excellent Notes From The Slush Pile to thank for finding this wonderfully romantic and slushy and sentimental video on youtube. I need say no more. Watch the video!
Again, the National Trust came up trumps. On Tuesday afternoon, as I was travelling towards Southampton, I stopped off to see what happens at Golden Cap.
A scarily rutted and potholed road brought me to the car park from where I started walking through the woods. It was a beautiful day – the first real warm day of spring.
Golden Cap is an enormous cliff on the jurassic coastline, east of Lyme Regis. I imagine it got its name because it is covered in Gorse bushes. Have a look at the video.
How wonderful is the National Trust? After a tiring day in Okehampton School, I was on my way back to my hotel, when I saw a sign to Lydford Gorge. On instinct, I changed direction and went in pursuit.
I arrived as they were closing, But the nice lady let me in! I so glad she did. The narrow gorge ends in the Devil’s Cauldron, a circular space around which the water rushes and crashes. It hadn’t rained fro a bit. I imagine, after the rain and in full flood, it must be really quite loud and spectacular. The gorge is lush and green and close to the quaint church and old castle of Lydford too. If you are in the area, don’t hesitate to have a look.
