Gone Fishin'

While I was in Scotland, I got the chance to go out fishing with my landlady's husband.

Here is his little smack in the harbour - I have marked it with an arrow.

Two of us on that was 'snug' to say the least. But the little boat went like a rocket.

We headed up to the mouth of the firth, where the mackerel are, and settled down to a lazy afternoon's fishing.

The sky was blue, the sea was bluer. With perfect weather the sweaters and hats stayed in the cabin.

Mike ran two lines. One heavier for cod and bigger fish and one four hook lightweight for mackerel.

I'm always torn with things like fishing, being a raging vegetarian, but Mike was 'fishing to eat' and I was reassured by his responsible attitude.

[sigh] Idyllic or what??

We were joined for the afternoon by two petrels, keen for some discarded fish. They were so patient that Mike threw them a couple of mackerel, but they were beaten to the treats by a seagull! And then a Black-Backed Gull swooped over us to see what was going on - I had no idea how big they were!

Another visitor to the boat was a little female seal. She popped up, huffing and puffing but, despite Mike's efforts, she wouldn't approach the boat. Bad for me (no photo opportunity), good for Mike (seals indicate poor fishing - they eat all the fish!). Apparently, they respond to whistling, but she was firm in her resolve and disappeared.

One of the downsides of my daily walk along the beach was when there had been a seal-killing. With salmon nets in the firth, the fishermen have got into the habit of shooting seals looking for a free lunch. Instead of disposing of the corpse, they are left to wash up on the beach. I saw one this week. Most of the villagers abhor this tradition, but then again, they are 'in-comers'!

With this in mind, it was fabulous to see this little girl enjoying her life of freedom in the ocean!

With a good haul of fish (two cod, two coley and about a dozen mackerel), we headed back home.

and another walk down a gorgeous empty beach by the light of a setting sun, scudding clouds and delightful silence..........

More, there's more! But tomorrow, dear readers - tomorrow........

cq

Friday Thoughts

Here we are, Friday again - and what a lot has been going on!

Firstly (and I can't help preening about this) I have been approached by the Department of Social Studies, Wartburg College, Waverley IA about taking part in a study of women bloggers!

This summer, two undergraduate psychology majors, Nicole Erspamer and Lia Kampman, and I are conducting research on female weblog authors and their online and “real life” friendships. We hope that you will consider participating in the study.

The study consists of a survey that takes 30-40 minutes to complete. In addition, if you were to decide to participate in the study, we would examine entries from your weblog to analyze how frequently you post entries, how many comments you receive, and the topics you discuss in your weblog. All of your survey responses and the results of our content analysis of your weblog would be confidential. Even if you do not regularly post entries on your blog, we welcome you to participate; we are interested in the opinions of a variety of bloggers.

I'm gonna get in touch on Sunday. They also add:
If you know of other women weblog authors who are at least 22 years old and who might like to participate in this study, please feel free to forward this e-mail message to them.
If you are interested, send me an email (if we are not already email buddies!) and I'll forward on the whole email.

OK, that's the study part over........now for some fun.

Have you seen the Blogs of Summer Awards? Here on Bloggin' Outloud. It's a cool idea, and I have some nominations in mind.
Shame there isn't an 'Aimless Rambling' Blog category - I don't know where else the Palace fits!

And if you trundle over to see BooMama, she's created the inaugural 'Blog Tour of Homes'. Participating bloggers will display five pictures (or more, if you want) of their homes on Friday, July 28th.

On Monday the 24th my precious Pandora will be 18 (that's 78 in cat years) and tonight, courtesy of blogger, we are throwing her a big party at Pandora and Charlie's blog. These feline parties are HUGE - the last one pulled in about 570 comments and the imaginations ran riot. Shrimptinis, russianless white russians and trampolines figured massively. Wonder what our furry friends will get up to tonight........

Tomorrow we are all off to joust at the 'other palace'. Berkeley Castle (about 20 minutes up the road!) host Joust! every July and we religiously go. Now we have the added lure of Aginoth and the clan doing their re-enactment bit there too! You can read all about it on Mrs A's blog.

cq
(and if Blogger sorts itself out, there will be the usual illustrations later!)

Thursday Thirteen - My Trip

Thirteen things about my week away.......

1. I went here:

in the north east of Scotland to visit my parents.

2. Here is where they live:

in that little clutch of houses huddling under Nigg Hill.

3. This is the view from their kitchen window:

4. Behind their house, protected from the wind and rain, is the Shandwick Stone:

more on this later.

5. Also, on my walk to the Stone, I met some nice creatures:

I find cows very restful........

6. And there were BABY cows!

When I pause to talk to cows, which I like to do, it's a comfort to know I am not intending to eat them.....

7. There are three villages linked along the coast, and this is kinda cute:

The 'Seaboard Villages' - it's even on the buses!

8. Oh, did I not mention the sea??:

9. And then there's the harbour:

full of teeny little fishing smacks and a couple of small trawlers.

10. The original fishermans' cottages:

still lived in and so tiny!

11. There is a very modest stylish memorial to the men who have lost their lives to the sea:

two anchors in the small municipal park.

12. And while I was there, I got the chance to go fishing.........

Well, Mike did the *actual* fishing.....and I covered my ears for the necessary stunning of the poor little fishies.

13. And because I stayed in the next village, each night I walked back along the beach enjoying magnificent sunsets:

There will be more, this is just a taster..... :-)

cq

yoo hoo!!

I'm home!!

cq

Thank you

While I'm away, this is for my beloved Crazies and for all you wonderful people who come regularly to my blog and leave cheerful messages with smiley faces - thankyou.....but I think this song sums it up!




Lyrics:

Sometimes I wonder
How I'd ever make it through,
Through this world without having you
I just wouldn't have a clue

'Cause sometimes it seems
Like this world's closing in on me,
And there's no way of breaking free
And then I see you reach for me

Sometimes I wanna give up
I wanna give in,
I wanna quit the fight
And then I see you, baby
And everything's alright,
everything's alright

When I see you smile
I can face the world, oh oh,
you know I can do anything
When I see you smile
I see a ray of light, oh oh,
I see it shining right through the rain
When I see you smile
Oh yeah, baby when I see you smile at me

Baby there's nothing in this world
that could ever do
What a touch of your hand can do
It's like nothing that I ever knew

And when the rain is falling
I don't feel it,'cause you're here with me now
And one look at you baby
Is all I'll ever need,
you're all I'll ever need

Chorus:
Sometimes I wanna give up
I wanna give in,
I wanna quit the fight
And then I see you baby
And everything's alright,
everything's alright
So right... ...

Be back online Wednesday night 19 July!

Oh - you want the answer to my question??
So - what one thing singles out 'The Brave' from all the other Johnny Depp films over the last 22 years.......??
It was Johnny's directorial debut - and a damn fine job he made of it too!
(and Yellow Rose did get it right - I knew she would.......)

A Tasty Little Goodbye Treat

I'm away for a week now, internet-less.......even mobile phoneless (depending where I stand in the garden (BIG mountains!)) - so I have decided to leave you all with a treat.

For those who haven't seen Crybaby (and those who have [big grin]) here is a classic clip from the show.

Crybaby Wade Walker, leader of the Drapes, has been sent to the boys detention centre for playing Rock and Roll which started a riot. (Actually, the Squares started the riot, but its a long story!) Anyway, it is the first night, the guard (Willem Dafoe, no less) has said 'Nighty Night, Boys' and turned out the light.

Crybaby sits in the dark and sings 'Teardrops are Falling'........to the accompaniment of a handmade guitar.....and the rest of the dormitory.

I adore this song........I know it off by heart - not surprising considering I have this on DVD (2 copies), video AND the CD.......

Remember, this is not Johnny singing, it is singer/songwriter James Intveld.



And for those who haven't had a guess yet, see if you can answer the 'Bonus Question' on my post below :-)
Killired and Wystful1 have got it so far.......

Update: A couple of people have mentioned I have missed films off this list. Well, according to imdb Johnny has 41 films to his credit - it took me four hours just to load 14 pictures - and the post would have been HUGE!!
Anyway, putting Neverland on here would be TOO simple - although he did look cute as JM!
So I picked and chose my pictures, some easy, some difficult....not for a certain Yellow Rose Person, though!

cq

Answers

OK, so there are some serious Deppites out there........

Yellowrose got almost all of them right....in fact she only missed one...

1. Nightmare on Elm Street (yep, shortly before his character was eaten by a bed!)
2. Pirates of the Carribbean (PotC ONE, I believe :-) )
3. Cry Baby (a classic cult movie, highlighting the angst of teenhood with music. A fantastic film!)
4. Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, need we say more - beautiful, just beautiful)
5. Benny & Joon (Swoon - Sam. Rumour has it they paid Big Bucks to be able to use the Keaton trademarks)
6. What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Not high on my list, I prefer the book - but a nice film)
7. Nick of Time (Depp - looking ordinary?? Yep, Joe Schmo caught up in high intrigue and a race against time to rescue his daughter)
8. Ed Wood (unbelievable film. 'Pink angora sweater? Stilletos? I know, we'll get Johnny to do it!' - apparently, he loved the pink angora sweater!)
9. The Brave (A unique film in this list (see below). Strong, disturbing yet touching and endearing)
10. The Astronaut's Wife (Another of my favourites. Johnny plays an astronaut with a few pschyological problems)
11. From Hell (Inspector Abbeline calling. Using chunks of Ripper material, a fair hash at the topic)
12. Secret Window (OMIGOD - this film blew me away. Moody, dark and very, very strange - hmm, sounds like perfect Depp fodder to me!)
13. The Libertine ([wails] not seen this yet, but it's on my birthday list - especially as I bought it for Aginoth!)
14. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (Finally, the Wilder Wonka has been laid to rest with this excellent new characterisation by - Tim Burton!)

The last photo?
'Twas our Johnny and Jimmy Intvelt (WHO?? I hear you all cry) Well, James Invelt is the voice behind Johnny in Crybaby. I could never work out why they didn't use Johnny's voice, but apparently John Walters thought it 'not right' for the piece, so James dubbed in.

And an extra bonus question - because you Deppites are all TOO clever for your own good......

The Brave is one of my all-time favourite Depp films. It is harsh, yet romantic. It is brutal, yet gentle. It is reality in the raw. And it was a personal voyage of discovery for Johnny.
So - what one thing singles out 'The Brave' from all the other Johnny Depp films over the last 22 years.......??

cq

ps don't panic. Not only are you going to get a rest from Johnny over the next week, you're going to get a rest from me altogether. I'm going to visit my mum, and there is no internet.

Monday Memory - A Pictorial Game

From this (everyone say Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!)

to this....(everybody say PHWOARR!)

Some snapshots of Johnny's career - can you name the films?

And for an extra point - who are the two young men in the picture below and what is their relationship?

Enjoy!

A leetle clue - they are in date order....except for the first section and last section.......

cq

Thanks to blogger photo playing up, this took a total of about 4 hours to put together.....

Lazy Sunday

It'll be quiet on the blogs today as people around the world watch the Wimbledon Men's Final. No British player in this final of the British tennis tournament - no surprises there.....our tennis players play like our football teams!

So how am I doing? Apart from a couple of enjoyable hours on the high seas in the company of Capt Jack Sparrow,

I am still very down. I don't know why, although I have a good idea.

In respect of the title, today is NOT a lazy day at the Palace - yesterday was my lazy day. A day spent catching up on all that lovely TV I had stored on Sky+. A day when, despite the lure of lots of episodes of Blue Murder starring the delicious Joel Keller, I sank lower and lower.

Today is playing catch-up. Lots of laundry. MB is back from his kitcar racing weekend (probably bringing me more laundry!) and I have tidied and cleaned and changed kitty trays and my pile of ironing is growing.
My car needs to go back to the windscreen place as the sealant has worked loose, and our washing line is on it's last legs. Life, eh?

I may not be leaving comments on blogs, but I am visiting you all. I'm just not in a talkative mood.

As ever, I don't like talking about my condition - but sometimes, well, life just gets too much.....nothing drastic, just the effort of existing is a chore. Perhaps I'll be better tomorrow....or the day after.......or the day after that...

cq

But What about the Rum??

So, surprise, surprise - I went to see this on the opening night.....and dragged along most of my crazies; cyberkitten, sleepypete, bionicdwarf, rca and K.

What did I think?

Well, it may have slipped some of your notice, but I am a hardened Deppite. I love the guy and I love his characterisation of Jack. Which is good, cos this movie Jacked us all out. So much Jack we were almost stifled by it.
The jokes were mostly strong, and lots of them referred back to PotC 1.

The main characters were rehired; Depp, Knightley, Bloom (of course), and Jonathan Pryce, Mackenzie Crook, Kevin McNally, Lee Arenberg and the gorgeous Jack Davenport - and this time they were joined by Bill Nighy, Stellan Skarsgard and the delicious Naomie Harris.

Plot?
Jack Sparrow is hunting the key to Davy Jones' locker whilst trying to avoid repaying a life debt to the ruler of the ocean depths, Will is hunting Jack, Elizabeth is hunting Will and Commodore Norrington has fallen on hard times.
Jack and his friends must use all their wits and wiles to escape the clutches of Davy Jones and the infamous Kraken.

Thoughts?
Well, first of all, yet another original and entertaining entrance by Capt Sparrow. The characters are familiar and the film, although rather long, was *very* entertaining. There was so much going on! I am looking forward to seeing it again in a couple of days. I was entertained, I was amused and I was intrigued (that sounds like money's worth already!)

And the ending brought on spontaneous applause from the audience (no clues, if you know please don't put spoilers in the comments!)

Johnny IS Jack.....the part was made for him (actually, it *was* - literally built around his ideas and thoughts! Gold teeth, hair, costume, slurred speech, tics - all JD's ideas!).
Gore Verbinski is a master of direction when it comes to fun adventure. And this is what this was - an adventurous frolic. Stealing concepts from a million other films (and did I notice Depp's influence in a few moments of French Farce?) it neatly knitted them all into one fun movie.
Add on a nail-biting cliffhanger ending - and you have a continuing swahbuckling epic!

Oh, and kudos on the Kraken - cyberkitten and I agreed; it looked very like the old Norwegian 'engravings' (thank you, ck - d'uh! old photos!!) of the legendary creature!

Not the original, but a fun sequel which seems to lead directly into the third part!

cq

7th July 2005

52 Innocent Lives Snatched Away

52 Families Rent Apart

52 Prayers

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons I am Content to Admire JD from afar:

1. I am essentially a boring person, I mean what on EARTH would we talk about - the price of croissants today??

2. He is notorious for being disdainful if he dislikes someone.

3. He probably wouldn't like me.

4. He has a BEAUTIFUL woman already in his life. Trust me, with Vanessa on his arm - he wouldn't want me!

5. Said beautiful woman bore him two children that he adores.

6. Even if I was in that position, I couldn't break that up.

7. I would be so tongue-tied I would appear foolish. I don't like appearing foolish.

8. I'm two years younger than him, but feel a million years older.

9. We would have nothing in common.

10. He loves playing practical jokes - I hate them.

11. Stalking is illegal in the UK.

12. The words Number One Fan have such a dreadful connotation, thanks to Stephen King - anyway, I'm probably about his Number 2,623,478th Fan...

13. It's never gonna happen, so I'll just continue to admire him from afar - well from a cinema seat tomorrow (yeehaw! We're going to Pirates tomorrow!!)

cq
(I'm not obsessive - I'm suffering a bit with the depression this week, and Pirates is my focus. I mean; it was this or 'Thirteen Things about My Week' - I got to number three and felt suicidal (Suicide by Boredom!).... I couldn't submit you to that torture!)

Wordless Wednesday - One Thing on my Mind

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Fourth of July

To my American Blogbuddies.......

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope you are spending it with friends, loved ones or sweet, sweet memories!

cq

Walt and Clara

I'm thrilled to announce,

Clara and Walt are engaged!!

(virtual wedding date to be set) and

the baby is due January 2007

(is this to be the first virtual blogbaby, I wonder?)

And to put all their friends minds at rest - Walt is to continue as my butler/valet, and Clara will set up home ready for the baby and break in a new maid. I will be holding interviews shortly.......

OK, hands up all those who thought I was gonna be a grumpy boss?? [big grin]

cq