Beta Blogger

I have been to the Post Office today to send out parcels to Richmond VA and Hollywood......
Yup, a parcel is winging its way from my modest three bed semi in South Glos to a house in the Hollywood Hills....irrationally, I was so proud as I wrote 'Los Angeles CA' on the label. Silly, huh?

On another subject altogether, apparently I can now change to Beta. My dashboard now has an invitation on it.
Do I want to be a Beta?

As far as I can see, I can have more bells and whistles on my blog, but pay for it in that it is harder for some people to post comments.
The new blogs also have 'secure items' which cause problems in opening screens, for example at our workplace.

So, do I join the revolution and become a Beta Blogger? Or do I continue Old School until I *have* to change?
[ponders]

cq

Must be Christmas

Our workload has increased at work and we are getting calls to Christmas decoration crises daily......must be Christmas.

Two parties in one week......must be Christmas.

Managed to find my way home alone from both of them (well, after the first I actually went to the Mall and did some shopping!)......must be Christmas.

Just picked MB up from the rail station after his Christmas/Leaving Do. He's pretty sodden and has gone to bed......must be Christmas.

Thinking when I must get the tree down from the loft and see if it's salvageable.......must be Christmas.

Working out when to go grocery shopping to avoid the rush......must be Christmas.

Arranged my leave, now desperately trying to get things finished before I go off for the break......must be Christmas.

Arguments in all the papers - too Christian.....should we rename it Winterval? Wintermas?......must be Christmas.

Adverts for Summer Holidays......must be Christmas.

........and our little guy, now a tradition forged over years on British TV........
once this chap appears we all know.....must be Christmas!





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Blog Fodder #2

This week’s topic was submitted to Blog Fodder by Nikki-ann and it’s another good one.

Tell us about somebody who has changed your life, even if just a little bit.

Every one who has entered my life has changed it, from a momentary blip to a lifetime. In my childhood and teenhood it was people who made my life worse. That carried on into a disastrous violent relationship.

I had reached my lowest ebb, my life was meaningless and I could see no way out - that's when I met MB.

He was a manager in my new office and I didn't think much of him on first sight but working together brought us closer and we slowly made friends.
I decided to leave the destructive relationship, and the problems began in earnest. 'A' started stalking me, and I began sleepwalking and having screaming nightmares. MB was there for me, holding me and comforting me. He sat up at night and cradled me, he took me out to help me forget, most importantly he made me laugh.

He has always been demonstrative and loving, and in the back of my bedside drawer I have a wrinkled old piece of paper dating back over 20yrs, given to me at the height of my troubles, and written on it is:

Baby I see this world has made you sad
Some people can be bad
The things they do, the things they say
But baby I'll wipe away those bitter tears
I'll chase away those restless fears
That turn your blue skies into grey

Why worry, there should be laughter after the pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now

Baby when I get down I turn to you
And you make sense of what I do
I know it isn't hard to say
But baby just when this world seems mean and cold
Our love comes shining red and gold
And all the rest is by the way

Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now.

I don't need to see the paper and I don't need to read the words to know what they say.

They say; I love you and I always will. If you can't be strong I'll be strong for you.

cq

Sunday

It's 6.15am on a cold and dark winter Sunday morning, and a storm is going great guns outside - the wind has been banging around for hours, bringing slashing rain etc. Charlie Cat woke me up for cuddles at 5am.

So, it's December already - time to think about Christmas.

Real or fake? I love real trees, but we daren't waste all that money if Charlie is gonna destroy it....

New or Charlicised tree? I'm tempted to just break out the tree from last year and try and resuscitate it long enough to see if Charlie will be using it as a climbing frame again.

Is Charlie going to outdo his efforts last year? That darned cat pulled down our tree every night last year - it was extremely stressful waking up to a broken tree every morning.

If so, is it worth even trying to put the tree up? er - yes......

Is it Christmas without a tree? er - no.....

What can I get my mum and dad? They are pretty much housebound in the Wilds of Scotland combined with scary intelligence - so no knicknkacks for them!

What can I get MB? What does one get the man who has everything?

The felines have got their Secret Paw name (a catblogging thing!) - so what do I buy to put in the box? Toys, treats and catnip - the cats have had suggestions on their bloggie.........

Should I go to Midnight Mass this year? I am so disenchanted with the prospect of Christmas - I can't help feeling I am losing my spirit. Perhaps Mass might help.......or not.......

Should I do the ironing now - or blog a bit more? I confess; I ironed.....I dusted.....I cleaned the cat tray and swept the floor.....waiting for the world to wake up!

cq

This week in pictures.....

First and Foremost:

Today is World AIDS Day - Keep the Promise........

This week I received a parcel from far, far away.......all the way across The Pond in Los Angeles....


It's a calendar with the very stunning photos taken by our own OldOldLady :-) Complete with a beautiful Christmas card and loving message.

Naomi? - love you, honey.

Next - photos of me on the web? Let's see.......baby photo, me sewing my borrowed re-enactment dress, me wearing my dress, me carrying my great-nephew, me with ck, me with Mrs A......I think that's it.....six!

MB came back from a car show brandishing a carrier bag. 'I bought you a present!' he declared. I ooh and ahhed appropriately (given that last time he got me a fab photo of JD!).....and he fished out of the bag.........

Not JD, but thoughtful just the same.......I needed tie-downs for my mattress for re-enactment in order to keep it rolled tidily.......thoughtful - but not JD.....

Finally, the felines have just received their Secret Paw for Christmas.......so it's off to do the shopping......

cq

Blog Fodder #1

A new weekly meme from my new friend Moogie......she's cool!
And the new meme is a little different, in that we bloggers have all submitted the weekly topics. So there is an added appeal in that it's 'Our' meme.

So, dear readers of the Palace - welcome to Blog Fodder!! If you're interested or intrigued - follow the links in bold text.

This week's topic, as pulled out of the virtual hat (by me!), is from my old pal Jean-Luc over on the USS Enterprise :-)

“What are some of your memorable experiences at school?”

Blimey - what a one to pick! Of all the bleedin' questions!!

Well, I hated school.
I wasn't any good at the whole structured learning thing and nothing stuck in my head, no matter how hard I studied. So I only passed the minimum of O-level and failed my A-level mock exams. So, it's safe to say that education was not one of my memorable experiences.......

I was a solemn child from a violent household who felt awkward around other people and was a walking 'victim'. I was bullied from infant school (6yrs old) right through to the sixth form (17yrs old). Thanks to some of my tormentors having smaller siblings, I was in the unfortunate position of also being bullied by kids younger than me. So it's a good bet that friendship was not one of my memoriable experiences.

Extra-curricular activities were quite big in our school, but I didn't do very many. I was too terrified to be on stage, so acting was out and I didn't even feel brave enough to join the school orchestra. I loved swimming and horse-riding - neither of which I did at school. So extra-curricular activities have not enhanced my school memories.

My teachers didn't help. Whether by accident or design, they added fuel to the bullying fire. I was unfavourably likened to my elder sister who was just 'wonderful'. They made it clear they disliked me and my life went from bad to worse with no one to talk to. No touching memories of nice teachers then.

Funnily enough, me and a friend were talking recently about that famous cliche 'School days are the best days of your life'.........nah.

*These* are the best days of my life. I'm finally content (if not happy) and reasonably confident. I have friends, I have qualifications and I am (mostly) liked, even though I still carry the 'victim' stigma.

hehehe - can't wait to see next weeks 'Fodder'...... :-)

cq
(this was supposed to have illustrations, but blogger photo isn't working again.)

A to Z

Tagged by my Sweeeeeeet Georgia Rose for a meme......

A - Available/Single? Technically single, but not available - lived with MB for 20+yrs.
B - Best Friend? My crazies are my best friends, all supporting me in one way or another.
C- Cake or Pie? Cake, please.
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? My laptop - thanks MB!
F - Favorite Color? Like Rosie, purple is my ‘favourite colour‘ [big grin].
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Neither, I’m vegetarian so I don’t eat gelatine.
H - Hometown? I was born in a little village.
I - Indulgence? Sitting down to a good Johnny Depp movie.
J - January Or February? February, January is just all cold and debt and misery.
K - Kids & Their Names? I have no children, but my cats are Charlie and Pandora.
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? Someone to talk to.
M - Marriage Date? We’re not married, which has saved MB a fortune in anniversary gifts!
N- Number Of Siblings? Three, two brother and a sister. But two don’t talk to me.
O - Oranges Or Apples? Oranges - all that lovely juice……yummy!
P - Phobias/Fears? I am scared of clowns (coulrophobia), enclosed places and heights.
Q - Favorite Quote? "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO - What a Ride!”

R - Reason to Smile- an unexpected hug from a loved one.
S - Season? Spring - all that new growth and promise.
T - Tag Three People? I don't tag.....but help yourself...
U - Unknown Fact About Me? There is very little that is unknown about me.....anything you want to ask?
V - Vegetable you don’t like? Spinach - bleurgh!
W - Worst Habit? I’ve given up drinking, smoking and gambling, biting my nails and eating meat….is there anything left?
X - X-rays You’ve Had? Lost count, mostly of my spine over the years.
Y - Your Favorite Food? Where’s that cake??
Z - Zodiac Sign? Scorpio, although I have more faith in my Chinese sign; I’m a dragon.

cq

Pimped, Tagged, Photo'd and Passed.....

Wow - what a wondeful couple of days here at the Palace!!

First I get pimped.....blimey and I invented blogpimping!!.......by my little Pink Princess. What an angel she is and what lovely things she always says. Hugs to my Killired and best of luck for the last couple of days of her NaBloPoMo....

And I was tagged by my Rosie - another Princess amongst bloggers.....quite a challenge, the A-Z of Me.....although I did this a while ago, the options are different on this one, so I'll do it - I promise, Rosie darling..........ooh, and pop over and wish my Sweeeeeeeet Georgia Rose and her Big D a happy 23rd wedding anniversary for tomorrow.

dave at Bit of This Bit of That seems to think the photo of me at the mediaeval banquet below was my www photo debut - it isn't - can anyone remember how many photos of me have appeared on this blog?

My old heap passed her MOT second time around - yippee!! I'm legal!

Finally on this cold and rainy Saturday afternoon........

And in this world of 're-imaged' classics, I am so pleased to be able to play a true original......and the 'new' version on the 'Love' album is absolutely terrible compared with the simplicity of this:

Smile - it's Friday!

Smiling is infectious

you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too

I passed around the corner
and someone saw my grin
When he smiled I realized
I’d passed it on to him .

I thought about that smile
then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine,
could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin,
don’t leave it undetected
Let’s start an epidemic quick,
and get the world infected!

Aftermath

Well, you all asked for it........I have lifted another couple of photos, seeing as Aginoth hasn't posted them........ :-)

Entertaining our Lord Hungerford is so exhausting......

....and all fall down.....!! :-)

And in other news - my ancient car failed its MOT, but the good news is the old girl only failed on her handbrake. 'New shoes' will sort that.

And I have found a new 'blog'......you can visit it here. Let's just say we are in excellent company! But, what a shame! They seem to have turned off the comments option!!

cq
{links in bold, as ever}

Mediaeval Queen

Aginoth has uploaded his banquet pictures and I have stolen the one I asked him to take of me, Mrs A and our friend Vic.

from left: Vic, Mrs A, Me

Needless to say - this was taken *before* the revelry......

cq

More (and possibly cuter) Happy Feet

Persil washing powder have accurately spotted the potential of Happy Feet and have jumped on the bandwagon - before the film is even released......


cq

Day 35

Day 35 of my abstinence and I feel like crud....worse than crud.....

Last night was my first 'social event' without the evil weed, sitting by friends who were industriously rolling their own cigs and by the door to the car park where people were smoking.

It was the Mediaeval Banquet for the Company of Chivalry. I finally handed in my application last night - only to be told that a new form was being sent out in a couple of weeks!

The entire company were there, bar a couple, and what a lot of new faces - so I stuck with the people I knew already. So there was about 40 of us for a seven course meal, cooked by our own Vintner, and the various promotions within the company. My beloved Aginoths have been promoted to yeomen - while I am a villein as a newbie.

I'm waiting on Aginoth to send me some photos to use, 'cos I forgot to put batteries in my camera! He kindly took a photo of me, Mrs A and Vic in our dresses.

We had some knightings, some promotions and some punishments. Some drank too much too early, some drank late into the night (early morning!), some (like me) drank in moderation and flaked at about 1am.

It was fun, and interesting, and educational.

Huzzah Hungerford!!

cq

now I need some sleep..........

No sleep apart from a brief nap today. Sinuses are heating up nicely and a fine headache is brewing. I think a nice bubble bath and an early night is called for......so I will be well for work tomorrow.

Prestigious Evening

I went to see The_Prestige last night with cyberkitten and bionicdwarf.

I was really looking forward to seeing this film. The trailer and the presence of Christian Bale


and Michael Caine

piqued my interest.

Overall the film was good, the premise was interesting (and if you're a Jackman fan it's a treat!). Christian and Michael gave good strong performances and carried the film with some weak(ish) female characterisations.

The only real let-down was the story itself. I don't know if it was meant, but the plot was see-through from very early on and the 'big reveal' at the end (along the lines of The Prestige proper) wasn't so revealing. I knew what was going on all the way through.

But it was fun getting to the end with this group of experienced and entertaining actors, albeit a bit frustrating.

You're in good company with The Prestige, and it's entertaining - as long as you don't need to be cerebrally challenged.

And the final photo from Cornwall - another shot of me and my best friend and alter ego, Cyberkitten in our favourite place, St Ives.........

and finally - is there anyone out there who *isn't* looking forward to this? And if it's been released anywhere already.......[pokes out tongue]

Turn up the volume!!

cq

We all went to the Zoo....

Newquay Zoo is a little local parochial zoo hidden behind a housing estate in Newquay Cornwall.

Everything from pot-bellied pigs to Owston's Civets, a rare small carnivore from Vietnam. The latter born at the zoo, the first outside Vietnam. The zoo picture is at the bottom, I couldn't get a decent shot in their day box.

Is it too much to ask for some GRASS??

Has that nasty lawn-mower fingy gone yet??

woohoo!! Lunch!

I know I saw a left-over fish in there from lunch......

[YAWN] It's exhausting getting up here......

OK, so walk past - nothing to see here.....we're just goats....

Ain't we just AMAZING????? (link: about Owston's Civets)

Then there are the lions (a certain group of young people know not to tease Connie the lioness again!) the apes, the tropical house, the farm animals, meerkats (always on patrol), capybara (or as RCA calls them, giant gerbils), fossas (previously mentioned) and the wonderful small animals wandering free.

Funniest thing heard at the zoo. Two young boys with their mum watching the Macaques and their awe-filled voices.....

'Wow, mum' one of them breathed almost overcome with awe 'My first ever electric fence! I've never seen an electric fence before....'

I will quite happily spend hours at this zoo, watching the common and the rare.....the small and the large.....the ugly and the beautiful......the sleepy and the hyperactive.

cq

Wordless Wednesday - Eden

Eden - Paradise on Earth?

Wordless Wednesday

Photos courtesy of bionicdwarf and RCA

Crazies In Cornwall

Finally, sickness, depression and remembrance out of the way, it's Cornwall time!

Eleven of us, two couples, four 'singles', and three children under 7 filled our fab rented house - here is most of the gang relaxing in the lounge with the girls asking non-stop questions......

This was my bedroom - pink, ain't it? I'm kinda hoping they are going to re-decorate!

And, of course, we always take our pet Jawa with us on holiday......

We went to the beach (Towan) - the big rock has a bridge to the mainland and the house is for sale - a snip at £750,000! (Of course, the day I went to Towan Beach the tide was in - this was taken by the Jawa - Bionicdwarf)

And you know, there's nothing so nice on a sunny afternoon as a munching on a pasty in a picturesque harbour in your fave Cornish fishing town with a good friend :-)

cq

Tears of Bitter Irony

(follow the blue links)

I'm as patriotic as the next person but.......

While we were saying our prayers and laying our wreaths to remember our war dead....

Fallen Generation

This was happening in Basra....

Boat Blast

and so it goes on...........

cq

History of Remembrance Sunday

HM George V laying the first wreath in 1919

In the United Kingdom Remembrance Sunday is the Sunday nearest to 11 November - Remembrance Day, which is the anniversary of when hostilities in the First World War ended at 11 a.m in 1918.
Remembrance Sunday is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials in most towns and villages, attended by civic dignitaries, ex-servicemen and women (principally the Royal British Legion), youth organisations (e.g. Scouts and Guides), and military cadet forces. Wreaths of poppies are laid on the memorials and two-minutes' silence is held at 11am.

From 1919 until 1945, Remembrance ceremonies were held on Armistice Day; observance was then moved to Remembrance Sunday but since the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1995 it has become usual to hold ceremonies on both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.
On Remembrance Sunday in 1987, a bomb exploded by the Provisional IRA killed 11 people and injured 63 in Enniskillen (see Remembrance Day Bombing).
In 2006, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown proposed that in addition to Remembrance Sunday, a new national day to celebrate the achievements of veterans should be instituted. The "Veterans Day", to be held in the summer, would be similar to Veterans Day celebrations in the United States.

At 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918, the Armistice marked the moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front. The "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" thereafter became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the First World War.

1919: Introduction of the Silent Tribute
On the first anniversary of the Armistice, 11 November 1919, two minutes silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony in Whitehall, London. King George V had personally requested all the people of the British Empire to suspend normal activities for two minutes on the hour of the Armistice. Two minutes' silence was popularly adopted and it became a central feature of commemorations on Armistice Day.

1920: Tomb of the Unknown Warrior
On the second anniversary of the Armistice, 11 November 1920, the commemoration was given added significance with the return of the remains of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of the Western Front. Unknown soldiers were interred with full military honours in Westminster Abbey in London and at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey attracted over one million people within a week to pay their respects. Most other allied nations adopted the tradition of entombing unknown soldiers in their capitals over the following decade: Washington, Rome and Brussels in 1921, Prague and Belgrade in 1922, and later Warsaw and Athens.

1946: Introduction of Remembrance Day
After the Second World War, the British and her Dominions, including New Zealand, agreed to change the name and date of Armistice Day to Remembrance Day, now to be observed on the Sunday prior to 11 November (it was later transferred to the second Sunday in November). Armistice Day was no longer viewed as an appropriate title for a day which would commemorate the war dead of both World Wars. In short, Remembrance Day "Sundayised" the observance of Armistice Day. By the mid 1950s, however, the public gradually lost interest in commemorating Remembrance Day. It was believed that the decline of Remembrance Day was a result of its "Sundayisation" and the loss of the association with the eleventh hour of the 11 November.

Armistice Day again
Since the 1990s the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth have increasingly returned to commemorate Armistice Day 11 November because the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" has so much significance. In 1995, for example, the Royal British Legion embarked on a campaign for the reintroduction of two minutes' silence on 11 November at 11 a.m., which steadily gained momentum to the point where today it is estimated that three-quarters of the population of the United Kingdom participate in the observance.

Borrowed from various souces.

Remembrance Day

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
WE SHALL NOT SLEEP,
THOUGH POPPIES GROW
IN FLANDERS FIELDS

The day before he wrote "In Flanders Fields", one of John McCrae's closest friends was killed and buried in a grave decorated with only a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies were already blooming between the crosses that marked the graves of those who were killed in battle.

Unable to help his friend or other fallen soldiers, John McCrae gave them a voice through "In Flanders Field."

[cough]

It must be Saturday - I'm not well [cough]

Admittedly, I was sick in Cornwall - but then everyone was.

Now it's my turn [sneeze]

Aginoth was off work ill last week, K was coughing up a lung back in their house in London, Mrs A was ill yesterday and today it's me [sniff]

This...

seems a lifetime ago.....

[crawls out of bed]

[weak hurrah] Perfect Movie for a Sick Person!! [snuggles into chair with sewing]

cq