The week away

This year we did actually get to have our Smol camp in The Lakes which was fitting as the last one we had was at the same location but weeks away from and the last time any of us saw the group tm together so things were different and obviously emotional.

That's why this entry is being done a little different apart from me being a bit jetlagged.

One of things we often do is assemble model kits of things such as Castles and this year we did Hogwart's, home of the best school ever and the setting for the Harry Potter novels and movies.

We also completed two jigsaws between us but I didn't get a picture of that as I was unwell for a day and bit which isn't untypical unfortunately.

There usually is a a themed competition and this years by Miss Green was the Fiftieth anniversary of Decimalization of the UK's currency from Pounds, Shillings and Pence (and a few other bits tossed in) to just Pounds and (new) Pence.

This was her display which took three weeks to put together with just above that samples of bank notes from the last century to today with our plastic coated five, ten, twenty and fifty pound notes with examples of aids and guidance for children, people in the service sector like shops and the then British Rail and adults and other promotional material.

There were examples of magazines such as the Radio Times, Practical Wireless and comics such as the Beano and Tiger from the week before and after decimalization showing the prices and how advertising in them had to use both for a period during the changeover.

Needless to say I and a friend didn't win after all I was brought up with units of ten with both decimal currency and metrication so never used it.

There was a Fairy Tea Party on Thursday for dollies and teddies to attend where we learned about Fairies and everyone was given a Fairy Neckless.

On the Tuesday people made fairy cakes and biscuits for it, decorating for good measure.

Wednesday was a Damp Squid tm. so we held a small outdoor games the day after it was planned where we did archery where we seemed to have more success in sending our arrows beyond the target one landing in a Fairy Card which wasn't very sporting.

There was an Egg and Spoon race as well as a water filling relay race with buckets to run with to see who got the most water in the container, not me as I got my socks a bit wet!

There was a target game and a beanbag relay event to see which team could run balancing a beanbag on their heads.

Here's some of the kit we used and the organizers clip board for recording the scores although to be honest it was all played for fun rather than deadly serious.

I did venture out for a stroll towards the shoreline although it soon turned rather wet and my camera needed drying out carefully, cleaning the built in zoom lens by hand when I got home which was fun itself between bad weather, road works and an incident that left three lanes closed for a period and half hour delays for us coming back

Thanks for everyone who helped whether or not you run an event, assisted with food, put stuff out and away and for just taking part.

Thanks to Suzy for organizing it in the most challenging of times we've ever had.

Away we go-go!

 Phew! That was a jam hot week wasn't it folks?

It probably was not the best of weeks for thinking about and starting on the task of sorting things out for LG Camp which is actually going to happen given it was cancelled twice with covid and it's associated restrictions preventing both the travelling and staying together under one roof during that time.

It won't be as previous ones have for a number of reasons such as concerns still about infections if we were likely to to any visitor attractions with high numbers as in England we have a good number of the under forties yet to have their second vaccination apart from those  that won't have any.  

No doubt there will be a chore chart or similar to help make light work of what it takes to get a self organized event happen in a fair way and we have a provisional schedule but their should be some things for people to do creatively apart from going on walks, quizzes' or sitting out and play.

See you next week!

BP round up

This week things may be a little slower  and less deep than usual in that I'm preparing to be away  at LG camp which should be fun checking everything all off on lists so I have what I need without taking the kitchen sink with me while melting as this is being typed in the sun, keeping well hydrated.

It also means a bit more time spent on one site where much of the discussion and planning for this in the bigger sense takes place which does take me a bit away from other things of necessity.

It is also worth my mentioning that it does effect stuff in the period I'm away not just Tumblr and the Music Site but blogging so I'll see if something can't be set up to run although I won't be around to post links and all that..

Most people know what my favourite all time tv show is - and it's run for over sixty years - and until 2011 there were year books (later annuals) of which this one shows then current presenters Matt Baker, Konnie Haq, Liz Barker and I think Simon Thomas.

Lindsey with Henry the dog.

On last Thursday one of the current presenters Lindsey Russell left after a eight year run starting in September 2013 with Barney Harwood after a audition followed by show audience vote.

May 2018 saw her undertake a challenge flying with the Red Arrows, taking control for herself and this is the one thing she says was her favourite, learning a lot about herself from it plus Piloting a hot-air balloon across the Arctic, Climbing mountains with the Swiss Army and Interviewing David Attenborough.

There wasn't just the usual wall of post from the shows young audience that included letters drawings, paintings and crafts connected to her but another great big wall too.

She had some challenges to do such as fastest getting changed into Cricket Whites in which she set a new record of just over 38 seconds adjudicated by Guinness the records people and identifying by touch three objects in boxes.

She was presented with a Blue Peter Gold Badge by Richie Driss who was the presenter who joined just after her and took under her wing for a period.

Tributes were paid by Radzi, Katy Hill and Konnie Huq amongst others including some children views from the Blue Peter Fan Club which is online and after a competition she went up as the credits rolled in a hot air balloon over the studio at Salford's Media City to a crowd of school children cheering and waving.

It was sad, these things just are but she was brilliant.

On posts elsewhere

There will be no doubt other stuff going on when this post is set to be published however that may turn out and that's why I tend to do things a bit in advance.

I'm not really much good at that on social media having never really got the hang of scheduling posts so whenever I'm doing something that may involve being away from a keyboard given my cellphone is not "smart", then you can expect no posts.

And that's before you take in the disinclination to with off colour messages and people with pretty disgusting everyday morals that try to interact with you with the time it takes to block people and sadly file reports too in extreme cases.

I'm working on a new style of posting that I might enjoy more as I find the constant discourse and tension tends to take me away from the very reason I made an account in the first place and that seems to be working out much better.

I should be able to log in and just feel like making posts rather than agonizing over how that might seem to one group or other so long as they're decent.

That's the thing going forward.

Bruch and classical music

It is something of a dull day as I write this with much rain so I'm listening to some music startingwith my 1994 disc of music from The Last Night of the Proms, that evergreen series of concerts of classical music for all, final night.

Like much else that too was impacted by Covid but touch wood we should be able to have a near normal season this year unlike last which full orchestras and soloists.

Recording new performances too has been impacted so new releases have drop off a little but recently I did get a brand new disc from Alpha Classics.

Max Bruch is a composer whose works outside of his famous Violin Concerto I had not explored.

This is packaged in a Digipak, a mixture of thick card with a glued in plastic well to hold the disc.

This disc covers string works which is an genre I do enjoy listening to and here we have two Quintets and an Octet on a generously filled disc performed by the chamber players of the German broadcaster WDR's symphony orchestra.

That picqued my interest and although this is a regular cd, it is very well recorded sounding like players playing live responding in real time to each others playing.

I really enjoyed it as sometimes when you've played say a lot of Mozart and Beethoven, hearing something very different is appreciated.

The eternal things

 To-day it is that still I'm sadly not to good here.

While I'm like this, I'm just thinking about what I feel is a part of all of this which isn't all how you might dress or what plushies and that you have but is really about something that soon goes missing.

It's really what I call authentic actions, acting on what it is that we are about such as the feelings and emotions we have for each other which might be to ask how someone is, being prepared to just listen and comfort them.

It is to share the fun you could have by doing things with others, co-operating such as playing games, to help less well off children through gifting things that you know they'd just love to have the opportunity to have.

It is to be of service to others in whatever way you can rather than waiting for others to do it, being prepared to make an offer first.

It's also holding on to a sense of innocence and being helpful not holding cynical and suspicious thoughts about others and their motives that you share space with. 

Weekend thoughts

Yesterday was Grump Day aka Father's Day which in the mixed up messy world of my family is awkward as most of these things just are . 

I just love vintage cards like that rather then the materially centred or smutty humoured sort you see in many card racks.

It was despite the many reports of expected thunderstorms and heavy rainful pleasant enough to walk out although the many mowed lawns around here do nothing for my hayfever unfortunately.

I like undisturbed meadowlands rather like this with dandelions and daisies growing in them being left alone rather than mowed into a boring super smooth grass patch that does little to sustain bio-diversity.

Why can't we leave these things alone until they truly need it?