17 November 2015

BRAS .......


BRAS! If you're having a clear out please note that most charity shops don't take bras but as they often cost us a lot of money they are too nice to throw in the bin. I have found a UK based charity that send unwanted bras to African villages to improve hygiene and prevent the rape of young girls as wearing a bra in some villages is a sign of wealth, status and power. If the bra is too tatty they recycle the material and metal to raise money to buy these young girls new knickers as some of the girls only have one pair and others have non whatsoever. Not nice when you're a young girl just starting her periods. So if you're throwing out your old bras, please send them here instead:http://www.smallsforall.org/donate/ also add the facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Smalls-for-All/126999917379012

13 November 2015

SAD.........

Quilt at York Quilt Museum

York Quilt Museum has closed due to lack of funds.  I didn't even know it existed!  And now it's too late ........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-34687930
Cindy_Joseph_Short_Hair-3---Version-3-(1)

FOR THE OVER 50s

From make-up artist and model Cindy Joseph, who happens to be the same age as me - but looks far better.  (well, it's her job (and perhaps her genes?)! - or perhaps her make-up ............)

Make up for the over 50s

The whole idea of less is more, that women shouldn’t be slaves to dozens of makeup products, is what I really believe in,” said Cindy Joseph, a makeup artist and model who’s pared down her own cosmetics kit to just a few items.  

Cindy goes for pro-ageing, rather than the usual anti-ageing, which sounds good to me, ageing gracefully and not over-doing the makeup.

see: http://www.boombycindyjoseph.com/pages/5-makeup-tips-for-baby-boomers-by-cindy-joseph?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=ads&utm_campaign=new-image&pp=1

and for her hair-do see: http://www.refinery29.com/2014/08/72253/cindy-joseph-short-hair

12 November 2015

Soothing and Calming Shower Melts for Cold and Flu

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Combine baking soda, salt/epsom salt and mix well until combined.
  2. Spray or drop small amounts water into the mix and stir until you get the consistency of slightly wet sand.
  3. Mixture should hold together when squeezed without crumbling but should not appear wet at all. You may need to add slightly more water if it hasn’t achieved this consistency yet.
  4. Once you get this texture, add the menthol crystals and the essential oils and stir to combine.
  5. Quickly push mixture into silicon molds, greased muffin tins or any other greased container. Press in firmly and leave at least 24 hours (48 is better) or until hardened.
  6. When dry, remove and store in air tight container.

Notes: Please use caution with products like menthol and strong essential oils like peppermint or eucalyptus on small children. As a general rule, I personally use these only on children 2+ and I dilute them but check with a qualified health practitioner or aromatherapist before using anything on small children!


FROM: http://wellnessmama.com/24777/soothing-shower-melts/

5 November 2015

Sopranos losing it on stage – here are the 7 best 'mad scenes' in opera


The 'mad scene' is a staple of 19th century operas by the likes of Donizetti and Bellini.  Essentially, it's an excuse for the prima donna to show off her vocal acrobatics.  Here are seven of the most over-the-top 'mad scenes' of all time.
Mad scenes opera
Read more at http://www.classicfm.com/discover/opera/mad-scenes-bel-canto-opera/#XAedly2qHjtik7vV.99Sopranos losing it on stage – here are the 7 best 'mad scenes' in opera - Discover - Classic FM


21 October 2015

Today we went on a coach trip to Cannon Hall, near Barnsley (amazingly it's freehttp://www.cannon-hall.co.uk/).  

As you can see from these photos, there was a very good display of Moorcroft Pottery, both older and modern. Also several paintings on loan and it's a place which is well worth visiting, both for the exhibits inside the building and the extensive grounds.
(http://www.moorcroft.com/).













John Singer Sargeant

Edward Alexander Wadsworth (1889 - 1949)

Edward Alexander Wadsworth (1889 - 1949)



View over some of the parkland

autumn leaves


one of the splendid trees




autumn fungi














a surprise rhino coming out of the glass house

... then this afternoon we visited Nostell Priory near Wakefield (NThttp://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nostell-priory/).  
This place is especially interesting to those who know our local Kedleston Hall, just outside Derby (NThttp://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall/) as James Paine was the architect of Nostell and then went on to design Kedleston Hall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Paine_(architect)).  

I didn't take many photos at Nostell Priory as there were stewards in every room and I didn't think they'd take kindly to someone wielding a camera.  
One of the best rooms, to my mind, was the state bedroom with fabulous bed hangings, so to look at this it's best to go to the Nostell website, see above.














3 October 2015

The top 10 most beautiful villages in the UK are given in the link given below.

No 1 is Tyneham in Dorset, a village which we visited way back in the 1970s and even then it had a charm all of its own:
Tyneham
"It’s still 1943 in Tyneham, where time stood still when the army told everyone to leave because they needed the surrounding hills for training. Most weekends and throughout the summer school holidays the village is open to the public and you can stroll along the main street, between the abandoned stone cottages and poke your head into the old schoolhouse and church. Look out for wild flowers, abundant here thanks to the army keeping the public out and unable to trample them."

The site then goes on to list the rest of the top 10, including: Port Isaac in Cornwall, Staithes in Yorkshire, Crail in Fife - do you get the drift?   These are all coastal villages ..... except for Bedgellert in Wales and Avebury in Wiltshire.   
I've visited nearly all of this top ten and would agree that they are fabulous places, but would love to add a few more beautiful places to live, especially ones which don't rely on water for their beauty.

Here's BT Lifestyle (?!, I though BT was a telecoms company!) 50 most beautiful rural places to live: http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/house-home/revealed-the-50-best-rural-places-to-live-in-britain-11363967843956.   If BT's recommending them then let's hope that they also have good broadband connections.


Top 10:
http://www.skyscanner.net/news/features/the-top-10-most-beautiful-villages-in-the-uk/?utm_medium=social+paid&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=uk-article&utm_content=UK-dm10-uk-sa-most%2Bbeautiful%2Bvillages-+sepw3-55%2B65-desktopfeed-Link+Post-Villages_Plockton_Sept15-9213701292_10153477238776293-N%2FA&utm_id=55f8579b58e7ab5a208b459c&AssociateID=SOC_FCB_00640_00012

18 September 2015

Western Art History
500 years of women ignoring men?
suitor
http://the-toast.net/2014/06/10/women-ignoring-men-as-art/

7 September 2015

Image result for Stop the Calls companyAnti-cold call firm fined for cold calling


According to the papers recently, a company that specialises in stopping nuisance phone calls has been fined £50,000 for making them.
Point One marketing, which trades as Stop These Calls*, was condemned for operating in a 'bullying' manner.
The Bournemouth[-based firm was selling a call blocking device and a service that removes people from a cold-call database. But the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) foound it promoted its services through aggressive cold-calling.
The ICO received hundreds of complaints about Stop These Calls including that staff shouted at people who asked not to be contacted again, and made threatening calls.  The official way to prevent cold calling is through the free Telephone Preference Service.



*http://www.stopthesecalls.co.uk/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/11822394/On-a-suckers-list-The-simple-mistake-that-guarantees-your-place-on-cold-calling-marketing-databases.html

23 August 2015

Image result for black beauty the book
Wednesday is Grandma day and most weeks we toddle off to the library to have a look and see what we'd like to borrow.

Unfortunately both our local libraries are closed that day (Allestree and Derby Central), so we visit one over at Mackworth, where they're very welcoming. 

We sit on beanbags (rather a challenge getting up again afterwards!) where we read a couple of books.  Then we check out a few to take home.  We can borrow up to ten books at a time, which is quite enough for us to keep track of.

(There is one down side to this in that when we visit a book shop then Alba thinks we can sit on the floor and read and book, and then borrow it for nothing)

Here is a list compiled by the TES (Times Educational Supplement) and the National Association for the Teaching of English.  They ran a survey to find teachers' top 100 fiction books all children should read before leaving primary school and these are the results.
1          Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
2          Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
3          Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
4          Matilda by Roald Dahl
5          The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
6          The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis
7          The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
8          We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
9          Dogger by Shirley Hughes
10        Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Image result for alfie and rose
Alfie and Rose
11        Stig of the Dump by Clive King
12=      Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
12=      The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
14        Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
15        Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne
16        Funnybones by Allan and Janet Ahlberg
17=      Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
17=      The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien
19        Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss
20        War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
21=      Grimm’s Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm
21=      The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
23        Peace at Last by Jill Murphy
24        Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
25        Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
26        Not Now Bernard by David Mckee
Image result for i am david by anne holm
Add caption
27        Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
28        The Twits by Roald Dahl
29        I am David by Anne Holm
30        The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
31        The Paddington series by Michael Bond
32        Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch
33        Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
34        Five Children and It by E Nesbit
35        Clockwork by Phillip Pullman
36        The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Image result for the worst witch mildred hubble
the Worst Witch
37        The Magic Far Away Tree by Enid Blyton
38        Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury
39        Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
40        The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier
41        The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy
42        The Alfie and Annie Rose series by Shirley Hughes
43        Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield
44        Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
45        Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
46        Sad Book by Michael Rosen
47        The Borrowers by Mary Norton
48=      A Dark, Dark Tale by Ruth Brown
48=      The Jolly Postman by Allan Ahlberg
Image result for the jolly postman
The Jolly Postman
50        Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
51        Coraline by Neil Gaiman
52        Zoo by Anthony Browne
53        Treasure Island by R L Stevenson
54        Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
55        Cinderella by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
56        Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman
57        The Railway Children by E Nesbit
58        Cloud Busting by Malorie Blackman
59=      Kidnapped by R L Stevenson
59=      The Sheep Pig by Dick King-Smith
61=      Beegu by Alexis Deacon
61=      The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
63=      Eragon by Christopher Paolini
63=      The Mr Men and Little Miss series by Roger Hargreaves
65=      Gentle Giant by Michael Morpurgo
65=      Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
67        The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
68        Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
69        Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
70        Theseus and the Minotaur by David Orme and Wendy Body
71=      The Just William series by Richmal Crompton
71=      On the Way Home by Jill Murphy
71=      Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
71=      Street Child by Berlie Doherty
71=      The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
76=      Angelo by Quentin Blake
Image result for angelo quentin blake
Angelo
76=      The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Draywalt and Oliver Jeffers
76=      The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
79        My Mum by Anthony Browne
80=      The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
80=      The Tunnel by Anthony Browne
82=      Face by Benjamin Zephaniah
82=      The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler by Gene Kemp
84        The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
85=      Click Clack Moo: cows that type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
85=      The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
85=      The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
88=      I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
88=      The Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy
88=      The Early Years at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
88=      Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
92=      Birds Beasts and Relatives by Gerald Durrell
92=      The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
Image result for milly molly mandy
Milly Molly Mandy
94        The Mrs Pepperpot series by Alf Proysen
95=      The Asterix Series by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
95=      The Fib and Other Stories by George Layton
97        The Giant's Necklace by Michael Morpurgo
98        The Kipper series by Mick Inkpen
99=      The Milly-Molly-Mandy series by Joyce Lankester Brisley
99=      The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson

  • For more on the survey, get the 24 July edition of TES on your tablet or phone or b by downloading the TES Reader app for Android or iOS. Or pick it up at all good newsagents 

From: https://www.tes.co.uk/news/school-news/breaking-news/100-fiction-books-all-children-should-read-leaving-primary-school-%E2%80%93