I have decided to move away from this blog and start anew. 2008 has been a hard year in many ways, I think the changes at work, Phil's health and Mum dying in 2006 finally caught up with me. I am not going to be maudlin here, but I spent most of the autumn in a fog and work finally became too much, so I took a long rest and tried to recuperate. I am not there yet but will get there. I am sure the road will be still be bumpy but there will be good views on the way.

Desiderata ~ OR "Things to be Desired"


Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.


Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.


Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.


Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.


You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.


With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.


Max Ehrmann

12 Rules to Live By - Robert Louis Stevenson


Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

Make the best of circumstances. No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Don’t let criticism worry you. You can’t please everybody.

Don’t let your neighbors set your standards; be yourself.

Do things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.

Don’t borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.

Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities and grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.

Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about places.

Don’t hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows and mistakes.

Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Guides - having someone come over and run the meeting was great. We did the challenge India badge to support the Midlands group going off on a wonderful trip in 2 weeks time. Had a lovely time - making Elephants, having mendi hands and arms and legs, and then poppadoms and homemade raitia so easy the girls did it, just not enough time to play Bulbul may be next week.

Lovely to see June, even with her broken arm.

Hot warm and sticky day, but so wonderful to hear about Forest school in their reviews, how children and staff have grown with confidence, it just so wonderful. Then thinking about development and trying to sort out crafts to do in the outdoors using natural materials and wide games and so much more. But also realising I have a real dilemma about work...

I have just read the lovely and as usual inspirational entry on
Britt's blog and thought about posting a reply on mine but can't work
out how to do the links - not that I tried very hard. This is it http://www.brittarnhildshouseinthewoods.typepad.com/

When I was at primary school we had a young Irish teacher (she seemed
very old to me at the time) and we learnt this poem which has stayed
with and makes me think of my paradise, it is so evocative - 'bee loud glade, peace comes dropping slow and I hear it in the deep hearts core'

The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats.



I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping
slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight 's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

I have not found my Innisfree, but paradise would be living within
reach of water preferably the sea that I could see from my wind with
the hills behind - somewhere in Yorkshire is what I have always
thought, Nofolk and Lincolshire are too flat

""There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find adventure and those who go secretly hoping they won't."
~ William Trogdon

I had the most perfect day, I went by train to Sheffield to meet up with my great friend Helen who I have known since 1976 when we started out at Doncaster College of Education training to be teachers. We only had a few hours to catch up, drink eat and shop. It was wonderful but all too short. But friendships like that go and on, are great sources of joy.
I then caught a tram to Infirmary Rd and met up with Carol and her family. We went the Peace in the Park festival, which was so lovely, lots of people, entertainment, music, food and drink oh and of course stalls with good to buy and therapies to try.
Then back home on the last train (but not to clarksville) I feel like I had a holiday!

Have contacted my spoilee what odd language and heard back from her which is good, but not heard from my pal.
Have discovered another new spinner, I am hoping to have a go on her wheel she bought some alpaca to spin then I can knit it up - funny what excites you. She is on the parenting course I have been doing, a really lovely person.

I came across a blog entry entitled Splendour in the Grass and it made me think about that film

The story of two Kansas high school sweethearts growing up in the late 1920s through the stock market crash of 1929. Bud and Deanie are very much in love, but the pressures of sex in society creates a rift in their relationship. Bud's father encourages him to leave Deanie to find "another kind of girl" which drives Deanie into madness. She is committed into an institution while Bud reluctantly obeys his father and enrolls in Yale. The crash of '29 hits and changes the lives of both their families. Together they learn the harsh lesson of love and life in the '20s and sadly go their separate ways
The title was taken from William Wordsworth - Ode: Intimations of Immortality
'The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.'


What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind

The question is would I enjoy the film now? But those two lines

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower

are so evocative and so true.

I had the details of my Pal yesterday, I have a quick at her blog and am now making plans

I procrastinated and then I decided

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
everything has its place, but my least favourite is plain acrylic, I like to try new and unusual yarns. Sometimes pure wool like shetland or if it is a bit fibery makes me sneeze and itch it is better if it is a smooth yarn

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
a fabric roll and a bottle box

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
a very long time ago, my great Aunt taught me so I do it in a pretty strange way knit using my left hand and purl using my right. I have tried most things and think I am still an intermediate

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
yes- its really unselective and a rambly long list of anything that has caught my eye on amazon.co.uk janice price

5. What's your favorite scent?
at this time of year roses, I generally like fresh smell and light florals - vanilla and exotic smell hurt my head

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
yes - its is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, also cherry or raspberry flavours and liquorice, there may be more!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I have had ago at spinning and would like my own wheel. I enjoy most crafts and am up to try anything new

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I have a a varied taste in music you can suprise me here

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
like most colours especially greens and blues, pinks and purples not so keen on orange or sludgy colours

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
one man one cat

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
yes,yes, yes, yes, no

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
usually what I am doing at the time, but have really got into socks thanks to my last secret pal

13. What are you knitting right now?
socks, and a shrug

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
yes its often much more fun and personal

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I like them all it depends what I am knitting with. I do have to say however my favourite needles are a set of rosewood dpns

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No trying persuade my OH on that one I am sure he could make me one

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
not sure but its very old

18. What is your favorite holiday?
this is a real american question - Christmas followed by Easter but also Egypt, Greece,Morocco and England!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I try not to any more books are my passion, old linen, cups and saucers and sheep

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
not really but some wooden needles would be welcome
don't have any knitting mag subscriptions but am always interested in what is other countries magazines

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
not knitting but would like to learn tatting

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
yes 7.5 inches

23. When is your birthday? March 6th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Serenamcfay and there is nothing there!

I have read many more books than this but here is a flavour to remind me



Aiding and Abetting is, quite simply, a delight from start to finish. Its pared down, elegant prose and fast-moving storyline makes it a deliciously quick read. But because it strays into areas of morality and crime there's enough substance to give real food for thought. It might appear to be a rather simple novel but don't let that trick you into thinking it doesn't deal with rather complex issues... We read this as my choice for book club, I enjoyed it.
It was accompanied by the Go away away bird - a short story which was marvelous


Alexander McCall Smith has delivered the goods yet again with another highly enjoyable addition to the No1 Ladies Detective Agency series.As always it's light on plot but takes a good natured,well intentioned and,at times,reflective look at life in Botswana.McCall Smith's background as a philosophy writer is always evident in the way that life's everyday dilemmas can be examined,considered and resolved with the minimum of fuss.Precious Ramtotswae the main character drinks more bush tea than she solves cases. Have enjoyed the whole series so far.


The 44 Scotland Street series is just perfection..somehow the books manage to be very funny and insightful, as well as quite calming. This latest installment does not disappointment, and quite rightly the focus is now on Bertie, who is still being smothered by his awful mother. Enjoyed this one, the last book I found rather tedious.

From smog-filled Paris to the Carmargue region. A courtesan in Paris, a young man drowned, a vengeful conman, a fragile beauty, a brother and sister battling the odds, a modern researcher. These are the main characters in Sepulchre. There is also a unique pack of tarot cards, and a beautiful house. The book is a `time-slip' book, the link being the tarot. Not as good as her last book.

Two by Margaret Dickinson - she is a local writer well local to my place of birth a change from my usual but I like to hear the place names and imagine. An enjoyable read.

Fleur Bosley didn't believe in love at first sight, at least not until she bumped into Robbie Rodwell on a railway station in the blackout of wartime Britain. Posted to a newly-built Lincolnshire airfield,their only escape is to the little cottage in the nearby village where Fleur is billeted with another WAAF, Ruth. The two girls become good friends, but Ruth, already hurt by the loss of one of the pilots, does not approve of wartime romances. And Ruth is not the only one to disapprove. When Fleur's mother hears Robbie's name she becomes hysterical and bans him from her home. The young couple are determined to grab their happiness where they can, but is it a kind fate or a cruel one that has brought them together when secrets from the past threaten their future? Away from their families, there is fun and laughter, the aircrews determined to make the most of every day, every minute, but whenever they fly off into the night on a bombing raid, Fleur must keep watch until the early hours praying that Robbie's plane comes back ...

Kathy Burton longs to escape the drudgery of her life as an unpaid labourer on her father's farm.Spurning Morry Robinson's proposal of marriage, Kathy goes to live in the city with his aunt, Jemima Robinson. In turn, she finds employment for Kathy in a department store, but is anxious when Kathy is captivated by the sophisticated and handsome floor manager, Tony Kendall.Kathy has fallen deeply and irrevocably in love and, even when the country is plunged into war, she can see no obstacle to their future. But she has reckoned without the devious mind of Tony's invalid mother, Beatrice Kendall. Determined that the possessive woman won't win, Kathy plans her wedding, but the day is ruined and Tony is called up before another date can be arranged. Feeling deserted, Kathy is forced to face yet further heartache and shame alone.
At last, she finds solace in joining a concert party entertaining service men and woman and war workers. But behind the songs and the smiles, her heart is breaking...

I was looking for a poem about the incessant rain we are having, I love the sound of the rain on a caravan roof or on the outside of my tent as I lie there snuggly in my sleeping bag but I am growing tired of the rain and wind at present.
I came across this, one of my favourite poems not about rain but it transported me to being 10 again and in Miss Jones class at the convent. She loved his work and we learnt this poem which has stuck with me all my life. To me it talks of heaven on earth. I would like to visit Innisfree.


The Lake Isle of Innisfree

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

William B Yeats (1865-1939)

Journeying
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge …
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.
Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

C.P. Cavafy was a Greek Alexandrian

Where is my Ithaca I think I have several, here in the cool lushness of England, Alexandria, Crete and now Morocco.

Visited here today
www.midlandrailwaycentre.co.uk




It was a wet and windy day, so I traveled north where the good (better) weather was supposed to be with my good friend Pam and a trusty picnic, 2 chairs and an umbrella. We ate the picnic - homemade cauliflower and stilton soup, homemade sun dried toamto and parmesan bread, a hard boiled egg and banana cake, in the car and the chairs and umbrella did not see the light of day but we had splendid outing.
I bought 2 books and some wool on my travels...

Trouble with catching up is you either put it in one entry, several or just forget all about it.
Exciting news here is I may be going to Kanderteg on a joint scout guide trip next feb half term with one or maybe two of my guides. Now my dilemmas are how am I going to raise the money, loose weight and get fit enough to go! umh
Inspiration



Kandersteg International Scout Centre is a world centre of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The Centre began in 1923 with Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who, after the first World Scout Jamboree, had a dream about a place where all Scouts from all over the world could meet. His dream came true and now YOU have the opportunity to visit Kandersteg International Scout Centre and live YOUR Dream!

I am spending mondays on the course which is nearly over and I have alot of work to do to get the file in some semblance of order - today's task do you think that I am procrastinating answer yes!
Then I have 1.5 days Forest school which is very exciting and challenging
Then the other 2.5 days are commissioning and that is manic I have more work than the time left, not sure how it has all been allocated or thought about but I guess once the contracts are in place it will quieten down a bit - next march at my reckoning!

The weekend before this last one I went to Beaudesert for a weekends first aid course which was magnificent and wonderful the best I have ever been on except for the impact on my knees terrible. Rescuing a middle age man pretending to be a small boy who has fallen out of a huge tree collecting nuts and has hurt his tummy and is lying in the most unusual position curled round the base of the tree was hilarious. But best of all I passed! Question now is do I want to do the trainers course in September or rather will my kness let me?