2009

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As many other people have been doing recently, I've been mentally reviewing the past year. The early part of it wasn't very good for me as I was unwell and it took me sometime to get back on my feet again. After that things looked up. We managed to bring a long-running project to a successful conclusion in that my Significant Other and I sold the house that we'd been renting out for a number of years with the help of a very efficient estate agent. Learned about twitter this year and started to do my own blog, initially once a day and then less frequently about every alternate day. My son managed to get through his first year of university whilst also working in a part-time job and having to move flats earlier in the year. Was disappointed that I didn't do more creative writing which was a goal I had set myself earlier in the year but did manage to do most of the concerts at the end of the year. I wonder what opportunities 2010 will bring.

Caulrophobia

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What, I can hear you ask is caulrophobia. Apparently it is the fear of clowns that is more common than I thought and is often sparked off by a traumatic event in childhood, possibly at a circus. For myself, I have just never found clowns particularly funny. Their slapstick humour is too often predictable and even unkind to one of their number. Also I wonder what is behind the carefully constructed mask, which is just too cheerful to be true and sometimes can even seem slightly sinister. Although I wouldn't actually go and shoot a clown like Seeley Booth did in an episode of Bones, neither do I feel comfortable around them.

Christmas

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So another Christmas is over. For our family, I think that it was the best one we've had for some time. Our son visited us and we had fun, played games and ate and drank too much. We were also lucky with the weather and managed an informal game of football on Christmas Eve. Today is also beautifully mild and sunny. I hope that it lasts.

Blog Images

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For a week now I've had problems loading images from a program onto my blog and in the meantime, I've had to rely on my own photographic abilities for images. I contacted the people concerned about the problem and now today, the images are loading again. I should like to thank all those concerned with sorting out the problem. Thank you Zemanta for your time and trouble.

Last Christmas Concert for 2009

Last night I sang in the last Christmas Concert for 2009. The concert was fairly well attended by a small but appreciative audience and was followed by refreshments and hot drinks. We were lucky in the weather too, that it was dry if a bit cold.

December Snow

Throughout much of the UK there has been a lot of snow in the past 48 hours. Down here in Cornwall it's been fairly clear. We did have a flurry of snow last night which settled for a while but has now been cleared away by the rain. My son in Plymouth had much more snow and it was quite icy there.

Deer

OK, so reindeer they're not but they look happy and inquisitive and are probably much happier at the prospect of not having to pull a heavy sleigh full of presents. This was a photo I took when I was in Ireland where the deer are semi-wild.

Chess

My father tried to teach me chess when I was a child but I had neither the patience nor stamina to become any good at it. I have seen many chess sets of various designs before, but the first time I saw a giant chess set was when I went to Millstreet Country Park in Ireland, last year. There was beautiful countryside there as well. It was part of a concert tour we were doing in Ireland in the spring.

Birds of Prey

I love birds of prey. There is something magnificent about watching them soar high in the air searching for food and calling to their mates. In Cornwall our most common bird of prey is the Buzzard and we often have them nesting nearby to where we live. You can hear them calling during the winter months and see them flying with their newly fledged young in the early summer.

Sunny Days

Sometimes, in winter, when the weather seems gloomy, cold and when the days are drawing in, I have a yearning for sushine and warmth. So here I've included a picture of sea and sunshine to keep us all going!

Isles of Scilly

A few years ago I visited the Abbey Gardens on Tresco on the Isles of Scilly (off the coast of Cornwall, UK). We were blessed with the weather which was warm and sunny. The gardens were quite beautiful and the birds there very tame and would come right over to receive food. The whole day was a lovely experience and I hope that in the future I can return to the Scillies and visit Tresco again.

Christmas Concert

Last night I sang my first Christmas Concert of the season. This time of year tends to get a bit frantic as every choir has at least one concert. Down here in Cornwall there are a lot of choirs, mainly male voice, but also quite a lot of mixed choirs. I sing with three choirs so as you can imagine the next couple of weeks are going to be quite busy. We were lucky with the weather which was dry and bright and we had an appreciative audience. Along with the Christmas lights, I do enjoy singing carols, some of which are really quite beautiful.

Mind Reading

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Have just read an extract from a report that claims that, with the aid of brain scanning and software equipment, it is now possible for scientists to obtain images of peoples' thoughts with a good degree of accuracy. Although this is fascinating, I have to admit to some concerns as to what use this technology might be put if privacy and legal safeguards are not employed

Pets

There has been recent research of how therapeutic pets are in families. They are now thought to benefit both young and old by their interaction. For some of us this is no surprise. There is something very special about the human-animal relationship which, I think, benefits both sides of the partnership. I'm sure my cat would agree!

Retail Therapy

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Today, for the first time for months I indulged in a spot of retail therapy. For once I was pleasantly surprised as I managed to purchase all the items I wanted with a minimum amount of fuss. I feel it's necessary to do something to cheer yourself up when the weather is this depressing. As you can guess we have the usual wind and rain back after a slightly drier morning.

Internet Use and Brain Function

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A number of neurological studies on the brain have apparently shown that one hour per day on the Internet improves brain function. This is because the brain is far more adaptable than was previously believed, even in older people, and surfing the web allows us to learn how to sift through large amounts of information and make quick decisions, thereby improving brain function. The studies do suggest, however, that it is important to balance a large amount of Internet use and social media with more interpersonal interactions, in order to obtain the best results in both areas of experience.

Cheetahs

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I think cheetahs are such beautiful animals and well worth saving which is why I have bought a cheetah calendar from Cheetah Conservation as well as sending them a donation. This charity not only works to save endangered cheetahs in Africa but funds educational programmes about them. I feel that this is a very worthwhile charity and if you should be interested in supporting this work the site is http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=international

Singing Again

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For a while I have been unwell and not able to sing because of it. Yesterday evening I returned to one of the choirs I sang with. I didn't realise until I was participating how much I'd missed the singing, harmonies and members. It was good to be back.

Floods

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In the UK there have been terrible floods, with loss of life especially in Cumbria. I think that it must be one of the most awful things to happen to have your house completely flooded and your possessions ruined, not to mention the shock and trauma of losing a family member in such a situation. My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with these people who have suffered so greatly through such dramatic weather.

Completion

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I am at a happy stage in my life when one project has been completed. Now I feel ready to move on to the next stage if only I knew what it was. Presumably, time will tell . . .

The Function of Dreams

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I have just read a new theory about the function of dreams in our life; that it is purely physiological and merely a preparation for our waking life. Personally, I feel that there is more to the phenomenon of dreaming than that, as I have experienced very useful insights from my dreams. Quite often they provide the prompting of when I should start something new or complete an existing project. This is not to say that this is true of every dream, but I often get repetitive dreams which can act as prompting for the next step in my life.

Autumn Sunshine

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There is something wonderful about autumn (or winter) sunshine, especially after a period of grey clouds and heavy wind and rain. For the past couple of days, we've been blessed with some sunshine in the south west and it really makes everything that little bit more cheerful, especially in this period of shortening days. Long may it last!

Beavers

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I read in Positive News today that wild beavers have built a lodge in Scotland for the first time in 400 years. That is really something, isn't it?

A Good Night' Sleep

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I was reading an extract of a report that confirmed findings that it is important for us all to get a good nights sleep. Having recently experienced the cough from hell that has woken me up every night for at least the last week, there is nothing I would like more than a good nights sleep. Erratic sleep patterns can lead to intellectual, emotional and health issues. No wonder I've been so irritable recently!

Anxiety over CCTV Cameras

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Have just read a brief report about a study that was published in the BPS which indicates that people are generally as happy to walk past a skinhead as an ordinary business woman but when the situation also contains a CCTV camera, people become more anxious than when one is not present. It would appear, contrary to government justification, that CCTV cameras are not reassuring and are likely to cause anxiety to ordinary members of the public. Whether this is because they don't like the idea of being watched or whether the presence of the CCTV camera indicates that the area in question is a trouble-spot and therefore it is necessary to be on one's guard, I don't know, but it certainly makes you think

Paying online

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Have just had to pay for my tax disc and decided to do it online. The process was comprehensible, fairly simple and completed with a minimium amount of fuss. The beauty of doing it this way is that you don't have to find your insurance information and produce it in the manner that you need to if you pay at the Post Office. The program checks all of this out for you as you go along. As someone who is apt to get confused when paying for items online (which I don't do that often) this was a pleasant surprise.

Fireworks Night

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As everyone in the UK knows, November 5 is Fireworks Night. This celebrates the period in the early seventeenth century when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the English parliament as part of a religious conspiracy. When I was a child Fireworks Night was very much a family affair and we used to have indoor fireworks. Now the move is much more to public displays which are much safer. Where we live we have a fireworks display across the road on the Saturday after 5 November, which, this year, is tonight. They are usually very good displays with wonderful fireworks and much better than any individual family could probably afford. I hope that the weather, which is blustery with occasional heavy rain, doesn't cause a postponement.

November Weather

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Finally, after about 2 days of unrelenting winds snarling around the house, there is some respite. I would wake in the night and hear the wind howling and this made me want to hide even more snugly under my duvet to keep warm. There is something about a howling wind at this time of year which makes me very aware of the cold. So it was warm boots and a fleece for most of yesterday. At least we have some sunshine after the showers we've been having over the past few days.

Flying

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Have you ever had one of those dreams where you were flying? Wasn't it marvellous? Probably the closest experience in the waking state is something like hang-gliding where you can soar through the air without the sound of engines. One of my deepest wishes is to go hang-gliding although I imagine it must be quite scary when you take that initial jump off land into the wild blue yonder. You never know I might do it yet.