Arte y Pico Award

Nunyaa has paid my a great honor by awarding me with the Art y Pico award. Now I have to choose five other bloggers to pass this onto. Always a difficult choice because everyone in my sidebar deserves one that is why they are there ;-)

Anyway I shall avoid the same people that Nunyaa chose so that the award gets spread further! I based my choices on sites with art and photography. In no particular order:

Denise from Mrs Nesbitt's Place for photographs, poetry,crafts and wonderful scenery from Yorkshire. What more could you want?

Liz from Finding Life Hard providing us with daily tidbits, local scenery and most especially George and his escapades.

Sally from Sally in Norfolk with her lovely countryside walks, food and fun Meme's.

Richard from Havering On shares such wonderful scenery and Owls.

Helena from Creating a Likeness shares lovely photographs and artwork. Guess what? I found some owls here too.

RULES
1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the ward itself.
4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) To show these rules.

B is for Biddulph Grange Garden

I would like to share Biddulph Grange gardens with you. These are a unique series of gardens designed by James Bateman around 150 years ago. They feature a Chinese Garden enclosed within its very own Great Wall of China, Italian Terraces, Egyptian Court and so many other curious features.

I am struggling to choose which photographs to show you, I haven't even included that beautiful Maple tree...

A gallery of my other faves can be viewed here ;-)

Cross posted @ ABC Wednesday

Zimbabwe & Freedom of Speech

Thank You JHL for reminding me that the postponed trial for Lovemore and Wellington is due to be heard tomorrow. They were arrested on the 8th May and accused of "spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the State".

My earlier post gives more details on the issues involved. This post is in solidarity and support of my fellow trade union members plight!

Defence Training in the Balance

In a recent post I noted what the book "Squandered" had to say about Public Finance Initiatives (PFI). The latest edition of Private Eye, in its own satirical way, reports on the changes to fiscal rules and how the rules were used to hide PFI deals valued at around £200bn of future spending in order to balance the books.

"As the old rules retire, expect plenty of guff about how they have served the economy well but now's time for a change. Their real legacy will be to have forced around £200bn of future spending into private finance initiatives just so commitments could be kept off the books. Enormous waste and hare-brained ideas such as privatising defence training are the result."

The full article can be viewed here.

This leads nicely to another Private Eye article that reports on how the Ministry of Defence is getting cold feet over their plans to privatise military training. The PFI deal worth £11bn is with the Metrix consortium whose members include Qinetiq, EDS and Raytheon.

A statement regarding the Metrix negotiation was expected before the parliamentary recess but, due to there being a question mark over the affordability of the project, the Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth decided a written parliamentary statement would not be appropriate at this time. This follows the recent admission by him that the credit crunch may make the project unaffordable.

""Cost growth and the implications of the credit crunch on borrowing have been a significant factor," admitted Bob Ainsworth. "The department has been working jointly with Metrix to drive the price down to seek to eliminate the affordability gap without materially affecting the scope of the project."

The figures always were marginal but with Metrix's borrowing costs likely to rise and the deal dependent on selling land in a depressed property market, the hare-brained privatisation plan could soon be pulled or drastically reined-in."

The full article can be viewed here.

The Baronial Staircase

D asked me to share my newly painted staircase. It still needs some pictures on the walls. James suggested this one and it has the seal of approval by my design adviser and will be present over the bookcase on the landing!

You know how much I love board games, so I really need to share part of my board game collection with you ;-)

PhotoHunt - Hanging

It might be stretching the point but it looks like the Pampas Grass is hanging to me!

Bed in Summer
"In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?"
Robert Louis Stevenson

For more PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

Hoping for a Quiet Night

I seem to be having problems with things breaking at the moment. Yesterday the wind caught the curtains and knocked one of my ornaments over causing it to break in two. Then today a load of books flew off one of my bookcases narrowly missing me. It seems that the bookend had split in two as well. I am almost frightened to move...

At least the decorating is finished and the carpet down, I just need to get the furniture back in place. Then I can take the photographs that I promised to do for Mrs Nesbitt.

Now I am off out hopefully for a much quieter night than last week!

Before I go I would like to suggest this excellent post over at the The World is Boldly Going Nowhere. It is about one of my favourite subjects, the Government's mismanagement of money in the Public Sector. Best not read it just before bed time though, it will keep you awake!

Brilliant Blog Friends

Firstly thank you Liz :-) She has presented me with the following award:

I think I can follow the rules ;-)

1.Put the logo on your blog;
2.Add a link to the person who awarded it to you;
3.Nominate at least seven other blogs;
4.Add links to them on your blog;
5.Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

I am not going to name names because everyone in my sidebar deserves an award. so consider yourself nominated!

Talking of names... Sally dared me to post the true meaning of my name as quoted in the urban dictionary...

C*****

"A person of true beauty. A girl with such a kind personality that anyone will simply fall in love with. A C***** will help anyone out without hesitation. They have trusting blue eyes and large bussoms."

Ermm!?!?!?!?!

What do you think?

A is for Alnwick Garden

Mrs Nesbitt has started a new round of ABC Wednesday and I have decided to give it a go. For the third round a new dedicated blog has been set up to make it easier to view other peoples work.

I have decided to theme my entries. I was torn between Architecture and Gardens, in the end Garden theme won out. Even though I have blogged about it recently, I have chosen on Alnwick Garden for my first entry.

Cross posted @ ABC Wednesday

Special Request

For Luisa she knows why ;-)

The Chrisy Moore musical version of the words of Pastor Niemöller:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

It is quite appropriate in light of todays discoveries...

Catching Up

& catching my breath after so much activity regarding the Cosford Campaign. Also trying to catch up with my 52 week self portrait challenge, only 7 more to go now...

The decorating is almost complete and the carpet will arrive Wednesday. Then I can get my house straight again and hopefully relax properly!

A Quiet Night

What was supposed to be a quiet night visiting my Mum and Dad turned into out to be rather noisier than expected. We were sitting and chatting along quite nicely when suddenly there was a lot of shouting and dogs barking outside. This was followed by a loud metallic sound which made me think of the cars parked up outside. On investigation 4 hoodies were arrogantly sauntering down the street past a man walking his dog. It was 10.30 at night and they were going into town, they weren't on their way home! Apparently they had just run over the top of the cars parked on the side of the road and when we checked them out one of the cars had been dented! Another lady also walking her dog witnessed the whole thing too.

The man had wanted to take action but was frightened what his dog might do, both of the dogs were going nuts until well after the hoodies had disappeared. There was no point calling the police, by the time they arrived all there would have been to see was a dent in a car!

Maybe this assessment by James sums it up after all?

I am off over there again now because my brother is visiting, hopefully it will be peaceful today...

PhotoHunt - What IS that?

A clue:
I visited this on my journey from Northumberland to that beautiful place I shared with you yesterday. For the answer, scroll to the bottom and highlight the text.

For more PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

The answer is:
Chesters Fort which is the best preserved example of a Roman cavalry fort in Britain. It is one of many troop bases along Hadrian's Wall and was added soon after the wall was built (AD122-23).

This is a photograph of the bathhouse taken with my back to the river, just behind me on the other side of the river a small portion of Hadrian's Wall can be seen. There were various bits of stone in the river itself which must have formed part of the bridge over the river.

A Bed with a View

I think I need to clarify that the bed in my last post isn't mine although I wish it was! It is a B&B in the lake district where I stayed last year. If you thought the bed looked good, it is nothing compared to the wonderful garden view from the bed. Of course you have to get up to open the curtains first ;-) You can see the room from the outside in the bottom right of the mosaic.

Now after my busy week I think I deserve to put my feet up, I hope you all have a great weekend :-)

PS: Just when I thought it was safe to put my feet I got more work from my friend who has been keeping me busy all week!

Thoughts...

Sweet thoughts
Sweet dreams
Sleep deep
Sleep tight

Squandered

Or... "How Gordon Brown is wasting over one trillion pounds of our money".

I am currently reading this book, which is written by David Craig. It explains how the government has squandered our money to a tune of £50,000 per family. The book is quite fascinating, but not a recommended bedtime read or for anyone with high blood pressure!

It has the following to say about Public Finance Initiatives (PFI):

“However the greatest benefit of PFI is that it enables ministers to announce magnificent ‘investments’ without immediately having to land us taxpayers with a huge and possibly indigestible bill for the corresponding massive costs. Moreover, the Byzantine complexity of PFI means that it remains largely incomprehensible to most taxpayers, to journalists looking for more interesting,, ‘easier’ stories and to the majority of Members of Parliament. It thus escapes scrutiny, except by a few rabid PFI-phobics whom nobody listens to anyway."

Afternote: Today in the last Prime Ministers Question Time before the parliamentary recess local MP Mark Pritchard challenged Gordon Brown to admit the Government made a mistake in awarding the Defence Training Review (DTR) contract, a PFI deal, to Metrix rather than to RAF Cosford.

Bear With Me...

I am helping my colleagues and friends in their campaign regarding the Defence Training Review which is taking up a lot of my time at the moment because the campaign has reached a crucial point.

The latest developments can be viewed here.

PS: I will be around making comments on your posts in a bit ;-)

Photographers and the BFP Card

Recently a lot of bloggers have been posting about instances of photographers being harassed or approached by the police whilst taking photographs in public places.

The Bureau of Freelance Photographers (BFP) have come up with a scheme to counteract the problem. It has provided each of it's members with a Blue card which has been legally validated. This can then be shown to police officers, security guards and any other officials that approach the photographer. The card is meant to identify that the photographer is taking pictures for legitimate reasons and not posing a threat to security. The card was given to members in June and the BFP are awaiting feedback from their members about their experiences using the card. BFP chief executive John Tracy stated:

"We feel that the card, if used with tact and discretion, may have the desired effect of emphasising to an officer the fact that photography in public places is a legitiamate and, in 99 cases out of 100, legal activity."

Whilst I agree this is a good idea it shouldn't be necessary in the first place!

Do You Have Healthy Relationships?

I found this over at Sally's blog. It seems we are the same ;-)

You Have Very Healthy Relationships

You are an amazing friend, partner, and family member.

You always take other people's feelings into account, and you're never selfish.

Your relationships are based on mutual respect.

You respect the people you love, and you only love people who respect you in return.

Do You Have Healthy Relationships?

PhotoHunt - Support

This is in an outbuilding in the grounds at Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. It is a fascinating property to visit because the National Trust have only restored the outside of the property. The inside has been left with all it's eclectic clutter just as it was when the took over the property.

I should turn this into a quiz and say count how many types of support you can find in the photo!

For more PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

What a Week

The decorating is still not finished and the house it still upside down. As a payment for decorating I have to play board games. I think I know who gets the best deal there, although I do keep winning so I am not so popular. I got a clean bill of health at the opticians and my hearing is almost sorted... & there is another update on the Defence Training Review although I won't bore you with that.

Much more importantly, the Bloghounds Group is up and running why not check it out.

Do We Need More Bank Holiday's?

Recently the magazine PCS View carried out a survey amongst it readers, to find out if they thought we needed more Bank Holidays and if so, when?

Me I am all for more Bank Holdays ;-) What do you think?

Bring us into line with Europe

We need at least three extra bank holidays to bring us into line with the European average. How about 23 April (Saint George’s Day) and another two in October to break up the 17 weeks between the August bank holiday and Christmas?

Fairness for all
I would like to see fairness, nothing more and nothing less. Civil servants in England get one bank holiday less than those in the rest of Britain. This should not continue to happen.

More time with the family
Why do all civil servants not get the same number of holidays? Yes, of course we should vote for more bank holidays. We work too many hours and do not spend enough time with our families.

One long holiday…
When the Bank Holidays Act became law in 1871 people were not entitled to paid annual leave. Yet, today, we continue to observe these ancient rites.
And some people still moan that we need yet another holiday, despite the fact we are allowed 4.8 weeks’ leave. No wonder nothing ever gets done in this country – we’re never at work!
I certainly don’t have cause to use my full allowance. We ought to lean towards the examples of Canada and Japan where workers are only guaranteed ten days annual leave.

Plan A

I commented to Welshcakes last night about my evening meal problem.

Plan A was delayed due to decorating and and unauthorised men on the track at Birmingham station which stopped all in and outbound trains!

Plan B had to be thrown in the bin so I ended up with...

Plan C was beans on toast. It seems Mutley and I had the same idea, we weren't together honest ;-)

Tonight back to plan A (Italian Chicken) it was delicious ;-)

The Morning After the Office Party

This joke over at Nunyaa's made me laugh and reminded me of this one:

Jack wakes up with a killer hangover after attending his firm's Christmas Party. He doesn't even remember how he got home. It's 8.30. What day is it? Thursday. His wife must have gone to work. As he struggles into consciousness through the fog of a pounding headache, his stomach plummets as he wonders what the hell he did last night. He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a little vase of sweet peas, freshly picked from the garden.

He sits up. The bedroom is clean and tidy, - there is no trail of drunkenly abandoned clothes, fresh air is coming in through the window and all is serene. He stumbles to the bathroom, also pristine, and, squinting gingerly into the mirror, sees that he has a black eye. This is not a good sign, but no memories are returning. As he concentrates hard on getting the world into focus, he sees a post-it note stuck on the corner of the mirror. It is written in red, with little hearts on it and a kiss from his wife. 'I'll ring your office and tell them you won't be in today. Breakfast is in the oven. Try to eat something and go back to bed for the morning. There's snooker on TV this afternoon. Take it easy today, hope your eye doesn't hurt too much. See you tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian. x '

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the newspaper. His teenage son is sitting at the table, eating. Jack, bracing himself, asks his son what happened the previous night.

'Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door. ' Confused, he asks his son, 'So, why is everything in such perfect order, aspirins by the bed, a nice note from Mum and breakfast waiting for me?'

His son replies, 'Oh THAT!... Mum dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your trousers off, you screamed, 'Leave me alone you sl * pper, I'm happily married!!'

Broken Coffee Table £250
Hot Breakfast £3.50
Two Aspirins 20pence
Saying the right thing, at the right time......PRICELESS

Love and Peace of the Night

In Need of Some Sunshine

Not much chance to get photos like this at the moment. It always seems to be raining at the weekends. So that means time for decorating and dust!

I think the poem just about sums it up ;-)

One July Summer

"What has happened to summer,
That's what I want to know.
Is she on a vacation -
Who knows where did she go?
Tell, what was she wearing;
A zephyr breeze and rosebud
Or grass and wild berry?
Could she be honeymooning
With spring or early fall
Or has she gone so far away
She'll not return at all?"

Dorothy Ardelle Merriam

Cross posted @ Nourishing Obscurity.

PhotoHunt - Pointed

I saw this tower on a walking tour of Bruges. I thought it looked so pretty with all those autumn leaves. It reminds me of a fairytale castle.

For more PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

More on Defence

Following Private Eye's recent article on the Defence Training Review (DTR) and its associated risks to the front line our local MP Mark Pritchard has written to the National Audit Office.

The Shropshire Star reports:

"Mr Pritchard said: "These high level secret discussions have confirmed what I have been saying for the last three years: that a move from RAF Cosford would put frontline operations at risk; would be at huge extra cost to UK tax payers with little extra tangible return; and the contract figures do not add up.

The best thing for the country, for our armed forces personnel, and for the welfare of my constituents would be for the Government to come clean and scrap this flawed project all together."

In further defence news the Shropshire Star also reported on the 18 month delay to the £7.1 billion programme to equip the armed forces with a new computer system. The project is already £182 million over budget according to the Whitehall spending watchdog.

The full article can be viewed here.

Who Said That?

For the last week I have been having problems with my ears, well one of them! Every morning I woke up deaf in one ear, then it would fizz and pop and come back to life! A few of those drops should do the trick I thought. The packet did warn that things might get worse before they got better, they did. Things didn't get better so time to get it checked out...

Yesterday I phoned my local medical centre and was told to phone back this morning so I could be fast tracked through. I did and was told I don't know why they told you that next Monday is the earliest date we can fit you in unless you have pain... I was not happy with that and after a bit of passing from person to person they decided that I really needed to be seen urgently today!

Verdict keep taking the drops in BOTH ears and come back next week for syringing! Yuk :-/ Lets hope the other ear doesn't go deaf as well...

On the plus side I don't need my ears for blogging ;-)

A Readers Choice

Kate was curious as to my Peculiar Aristocratic title, so open to the challenge I checked it out.

It came up with this...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Excellency Cherie the Coherent of Menzies on the Minges Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I wasn't so sure about that one so I tried again...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Cherie the Tenuous of Leg over Wallop Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Ermm! not sure about that one either!!! What do you think?

Maybe you can come up with a more appropriate title for me?

Busy Busy Busy...

...I seem to be rushing from one thing to another and not quite getting anything done. And now there is a glass of Sherry and a visitor (in no particular order ;-) ) I think there will be board gaming later, then after that maybe a chance to catch up with some commenting :-)

But in the meanwhile why don't you check out this fine idea that James has come up with.

The Bloggers' Blogger Awards 2008 - check it out and spread the word.