The Joy of ...

... radio.

You know me by now, I can't resist a catchy title.

Radio.  LOVE it!!  We have, 4 radios downstairs, 1 in the study, 1 in the living room, 1 in the dining room and 1 in the kitchen.  We have, 5 radios upstairs, 1 in the bathroom, 2 (!) in our room, 1 in Phoebe's room and now, 1 in Tom's room.  We don't have a radio in the spare/guest (currently lodger's room), nor the garage, nor downstairs toilet.  OMG.  We have 9 radios in this house.

I only just realised we have 2 radios in our room.  The digital radio has clock/radio feature and wakes us up.  Great so long as we remember to turn volume to acceptable level before going to bed...  otherwise argh!  I'm now listening to the 2nd radio which is incorporated into a rather funky light/iPod dock/clock, but doesn't feature alarm.

I don't do iPod/MP3 as have never been of that persuasion... Back in the 1980s I had a walkman (or cheap equivalent) and didn't use it.  Or rather when I did the battery had drained away so was consequently of no use.  Even then I found the headphone thing a nuisance, and didn't like not having the sounds of life going on around me when I was out and about.  It's like taking a sense away and exposing yourself to danger.  I'm constantly surprised that so many people wander around with things stuck in their ears today, or worse, cycle/skateboard/inline or roller-skate with them on/in as well.  It's like they've no sense of self-preservation and are wilfully putting themselves in harms way.

I feel the same about mobile phones - they seem to be used in a very selfish/isolating way and people seem incapable of ignoring them when they ring and have to answer them at inappropriate moments (life used to be much quieter before them, and much simpler as well).  More of the 'me me me', 'now now now' generation.  I find this especially irritating when seen in the hands of a car driver, whilst driving the car.  And how ever are you going to get a chance to report it?

Here's what happened last spring, (for those who've heard the story before, please scroll down to the picture at the bottom!) when I was taking the children on the school run one morning....  The bridge over the railway was being repaired and had had 1-way traffic control for about 3 of a 6 week repair period.  Tedious.  Anyhoo, we approached the temporary traffic light and were 3rd in the queue, immediately behind a 'learner' scooter driver.  The lights had just turned to red as we approached, so I put on my handbrake to wait, and observed the scooter.  Nice.  New.  Lady/girl driver.  Why girl? - her helmet graphics were white and pink squiggles, and her long blond hair trailed out of the back of it.  She had a large leather jacket (good), jeans, and the ubiquetous (how do you spell that??) 'Ugg' boots. (impractical for bike riding to my mind...bad).  And then I noticed that she'd something in her left hand, and appeared to be wiggling her thumb over it repeatedly, and nodding her head up and down.  She was t-e-x-t-i-n-g!

OK.  Not ideal.  The traffic light went green.  The traffic pulled off.  She pulled out and rode one-handedly for a good 350-400m negotiating the traffic cones, the bends in the road, and the up and down of the bridge, all the whilst nodding her head up and down and continuing to send the bleeping text message!!!!  I was livid!  I instructed my daughter to get pen and paper and we got her licence plate number.  When we got to school I wrote down everything I had observed, the time of the incident, the place and direction of travel, the description of the driver - who was driving on 'L' plates - and then on my return home I popped into the police station and reported it.  They were happy with my report as I'd furnished them with a lot of detail (I'd had time to observe whilst sitting at the lights...).

Interestingly, they take reports of incidents like this and use them to build up a profile of the vehicle/driver.  If they spot a pattern of behaviour, and then have more independent witnesses report it, or if a police officer observes it, then they can take action.  They said they would send a report that morning to local officers in patrol cars, and if they spotted her they would give her a 'severe talking to'.  Job done.

A little later that week I observed the same scooter/driver sending a text.  This time however, she'd pulled over to the side of the road, in a safe place, and had her indicator flashing.  Methinks a 'severe talking to' had been administered....

Hard frost at Lockinge fishing lakes (Private Members Only!) Jan 2012.

Oops!  After all that ranting, I didn't even tell you why I love radio so much...  More on that next time then.

Have a good week!  Keep it sweet.  Kat  :)

Lack of sleep makes me

t..i..r..e..d.....

I can't really remember when the insomnia started, I'm too tired!!!

Seriously.. The downside of being an older mum (ie, having first baby at 35, and second baby at 40) is that you're always tired.  Somewhere in all the madness I got lost in the mayhem, and my sleeping pattern, I now realise, hasn't really returned since then.  Or it's early menopause.

Essentially, no matter what time I go to bed, and I usually go early (between 9.30-10pm, before my 11yr old sometimes!), I wake up at 2am, or 3am or 4am or 5am and mostly with a dry mouth.  (I stopped drinking alcohol for last 6 weeks and still dry mouth, so it's not that!).  Sometimes I get up and go for a pee.  Sometimes I don't.  Most times I can't get back to sleep for a couple of hours, and that's really annoying, especially with  my darling husband lying next to me, breathing....  If darling daughter's bottom bunk bed is tidy I sometimes go there, to see if a different sleep environment helps, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

I find that I must drop off at some point, because the alarm catches me out at 6.45am, but then I feel robbed, which is a rotten way to start the day.  No wonder women turn to HRT.

What I want to know about HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) is this:  is alleviating the symptoms just putting them off until later?  I'll do some more research and get back to you on this one.  Perhaps it would help for the time-being whilst the children are this age - will it get easier/less tiring as they get older?  Who knows..

Anyhoo.  Day off today.  Actually most days are 'days off'.  My part-time contract at the library is Tuesdays, Friday pm, and alternate Saturday am.  However,  from March-Sept I'm getting more hours, so that's to look forward to.

So what to do on day off?  Well, after walking the dog, putting the washing on, and finishing my Women's Institute Record of the January meeting, I made a victoria sponge, made a chickpea casserole, and also made a huge pan of leek and potato soup.  I also had a nap!! whilst listening to BBC Radio 4's afternoon play - the latest instalment of 'Pilgrim' which is extremely good dark drama, and a welcome return for next 4 Thursdays.  I recommend it to you - check it out on the iPlayer...

Flagging now, so off to bed, and next chapter of 'The Eye in the Door' the second book in Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' trilogy.  Gripping WW1 psychological stuff - really makes you think and be thankful.  I recommend it also.

Sweet dreams y'all.  Thanks for reading.  Kat

Missing, presumed Mum...

Sorry for the absence of blogs recently.

Simon took my netbook to the good old US of A for his visitation to Vegas for CES and Charlotte (place, not person!) for final interview.  It's good to have both (hubbie, netbook in that order) back safely, and I can upload my photos (to netbook, not hubbie!) easily again.

I've been busy, ya know?  Started my job at the small library in Grove.  Part-time, 1 year contract, and they've already offered me more hours, which is a good sign.  Also a good sign is the last time they recruited was 10 years ago - which means that people stay in the job, because, well, working in a library, you would, wouldn't you  :)

However, somewhere along the way I seem to have mis-placed my opinions.   What??  I know, "how can that be?" I hear you ask....!  Well, in the twilight time of my redundancy I (unwisely?) signed up to a few online survey sites - fill in this survey for 50p, or 100 points towards... whatever.  You get points for signing up, but not enough to turn into prizes - 1000 or more needed for that.  Well, so I had time on my hands, and I thought, well, give it a go....  Complete the survey to get the points or pence.

Or, as in my case, not.  It seems that they sieve out the opinions they don't want in the first few questions.  If you pass the first few screening questions you get to complete, but to date, I've been screened about 40 times, but not completed anything.  It seems that once they know that I'm 46, unemployed (I've not done one since starting my new job), no TV, likes reading (but not magazines from the list they provide), doesn't drink, listens to Radio 4, only shops at Lidl and Sainsburys, hasn't bought any white goods in the last 2 years, hasn't got a smart-phone, tablet or other 'modern' mobile device, doesn't wear make-up, drives a 10yr old Honda, has a child aged 10-15 (but I'm not letting them mess up her head!), hasn't been abroad on holiday for last 2 yrs, doesn't smoke, doesn't have any long-term ailment, and they've worked out how anti-consumerism my views are, then, guess what?  They don't want to know!

No wonder I feel invisible.  Not just the menopausal madness of a middle-aged woman then.

Mossy fence-post on the Letcombe footpath - reminds me of the 'holy grail' for some reason...

Anyhoo, hope you have a good day, keep it sweet!  Kat  :)

The joy of ....

Women's Institute.

That title had you going for a minute, admit it!

I enjoyed a lovely meeting with my WI this morning, it was nice to see all our friendly ladies again and we're still growing!  When we started in November 2009 we had 12 founding members.  Subscriptions are renewed in January, and if all existing members renew, added together with the 5 new members this morning, then our register will stand at 64!!!  In the words of Julia Donaldson (author of The Gruffalo, and others), it's 'A Squash and A Squeeze'.

Two things make us unusual in the world of Women's Institutes:  We don't sing Jerusalem.  We meet in the morning.

When we started with 12 we'd only just met, and were too embarassed to sing Jerusalem, and that's the way it stayed.  There's no hard or fast rule about singing, and if our members really want to, there's opportunity to sing at twice yearly group meetings, or by attending the annual meeting of the National Federation.  I've heard reported that 4000+ women singing Jerusalem is something to behold and stirs the blood!  Whether it's blood stirring in a good way or like bagpipes I don't know...

We meet in the morning.  Oxfordshire Federation may have been being experimental by trying a morning group, but for our ladies it makes sense.  It makes sense for me also as when I joined my husband's hours of work meant he was unreliable in his evening availability to be at home.  I'd previously joined the badminton club but could't initially get there on time, and then latterly needed to be home sooner than the badminton finished, so it didn't really work.  The daytime aspect worked for me even when I was working part-time as I'd work my hours around WI.


In my new job (start date postponed as references stuck in the xmas backlog) the library is closed on Wednesdays, so I'm still OK for WI.

Wednesday morning suits our ladies as it's market day, and most of our ladies are of an age where they don't want to be out late in the evening.  Win-win.  They get to meet up, make friends, have interesting speakers, social time and a bit of fun.  We also organise outings - the Houses of Parliament and Cabinet War Rooms is coming up in April, and Bletchley Park in March, run raffles, and have dabbled in a cake and jam stall at the Royal Wedding festivities last year.

On the subject of raffles, we're trying something different this year.  After a lively debate this morning we're cutting down the number of raffles and not bringing in 'prizes' (something rubbishy we were given that we don't want).  Instead when the seasonal raffle comes round everyone will bring 1 item of fruit or veg, and we'll make up 3 or 4 hampers to be raffled.  We'll have a variation in the Winter/December raffle and will aim to bring a nice item to make up a food hamper or 2 - something we'd like to win!

Enough.  On my way into town this morning I popped by the police station to report a break in at the Bowling  Club.  Roly the dalmation gets short-changed on WI day as I whizz him round the park opposite us, instead of letting him have a leisurely romp around Faringdon Folly.  Anyway, on the return leg of the park circuit we pass by the Bowling Club, and the cheek of it, they've cut through the chain-link fence (5ft high) about half-way down, and then VERY neatly cut a 18"-2ft square hole in the back wall of the green shed adjacent to the club house.  So I'm mulling over whether this was a recent incident, and it seems to me that it is, because if the Bowling Club were aware of it they would surely have made some attempt to repair the damage...  So I took photos (on my phone) and popped into the police station to report it on my way to the WI meeting.  It hadn't been reported to the rozzers, so I felt I earned my civic duty brownie points this morning.  Ker-ching!

That's it for now, keep it sweet!  Kat

Quandry

I've just been admiring my photo of the Snowy Owl (2 or 3 blogs ago) taken at Beale Park in October 2011.

Beautiful, even if I say so myself.

But caged.

But how else will I see something so rare so close, how else to show the children?

I saw a buzzard (not a kite, didn't have a forked tail and the colouring wasn't kite) being buzzed by a couple of crows out on the dog-walk today, and by the time I'd retrieved my camera and set the zoom they were well out of shot, and it would have been good.  But the trophy of getting a shot of the birds in the wild, as opposed to the caged owl.  Not enough time to capture the wild, but the dilemma we face when faced with caged animals.

Conservation - back to sustainability again - needs to exist, I understand this rationally, but the emotional/'wild' side of me yearns to break open the cages and set them free.  Or is this just a metaphor, and I am the caged animal yearning to be free?

Answers on the back of a postage stamp to....... Kat (me-ow!) keeping it short!

... and another thing!

Happy new year by the way. Right enough of the niceties, let's get on with it.

Sustainability.

Can we drill this word/concept/idea/revolution into all school children/teachers, work places, hospitals, churches, cinemas, radio shows, TV, internet, newspapers, facebook, you tube, twitter, android, x-box, ps2, wii players and whatever other media you care to think of before we're all sunk....

It's a grey area, and of course, the newspapers aren't interested in sustaining anything other than their own growth and sales figures...

We're currently objecting to a proposed development of 18 houses on the 0.8hectare neglected field behind our property.  NIMBYism I hear you cry, and yes, we'd prefer that these dwellings were built somewhere else.  The reasons are many, but most strongly in our favour is that the piece of land in question lies in the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and is thus protected from this type of development.  There are practical issues on this field (it is low lying and any development would need a pumping station), and access is also an issue as a new road would be created bringing an extra junction within 150m of a primary school.  So safety issues accrue.

The developer states that the field is situated in a 'highly sustainable position' - which in planning terms means you can walk into town and access the amenities (bus links).  In our objection we pointed out that the proposed 18 families with 'x' many children needing schooling have already lost the places in the school 150m down the road, as the 200 new families in the 2009 Berkeley Homes development on the other side of the school, have already taken all the places, and many families have 2 or more primary school aged children at separate schools because the local school is full...

So building 18 more houses is sustainable, according to the planners/developer, and the Government in its wisdom is changing the planning rules to favour 'sustainable' development.  On the back of this the District Council have brought in a new interim housing plan - to deal with their ongoing shortfall (there is an approved plan to build 2000 or so new houses on a disused airfield, but the developers on that site are already 5 years behind, haven't started, and are unlikely to start anything in the current financial climate).  So they waive the rules and allow the small development behind us to go ahead.  Or do they?

Well, not for the moment, the latest application closes 18th January, and we'll keep fighting the good fight.  It is nimbyism, but also the principal of the matter.  If we let 'them' build on AONB there won't be anything outstandingly naturally beautiful of this country of ours to hand down to our children and our grandchildren.  I for one couldn't look myself in the eye and say 'I did my best'.

There are 1,000,000 empty properties out there (so I read) and surely brownfield (airfield) should be developed first before green fields are lost forever.  If you build on the green fields where do we grow the food to feed the occupants of the greenfield houses?  Chicken or egg?  For those who know me, this is where I start to (mis)quote Joni Mitchell's 'Big Yellow Taxi' - ... 'they paved paradise, put in a parking lot... don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you got 'til it's gone... they cut down the trees and put them in a tree museum, and they charged all the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em''.  That protest song was written in 1972 or thereabouts, and it's still valid today, more so, in my opinion.

Growth.  The other side of the sustainability equation.  And I'll tackle that next time...

Keep it sweet!  Kat