Be calm and still long enough
the people whom you love will come
as the deep stream clears when
surface ripples are all done.
Nothing will be said, but you
will recognise the true expression
on each face just as you remember
them. Nothing will be said, but
they will come, not conjured by
your dreams, or grief, but just
wishing to call by. Nothing will
be said, but the people whom you
love will walk at ease and smile
and take no notice of your tears.
by Owen Marshall
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
The ritual of sherry
Its funny little random comments sometimes...
Went out for a pint with Owen after work (VERY unusual for a Monday I hasten to add, but he was away last week so we were catching up...), and on the way back to the station we started to talk about the drink you have (but shouldn't have) at the end of the evening (mine being whisky in case anyone's interested).
Having just been to Spain he mentioned how they had been drinking sherry while they were there - pale sherry, chilled. Before dinner. So of course I mentioned the Shield's family ritual to him - and that started me wondering where did Mum get it from? Most pubs don't serve sherry chilled - but Mum did. I have no idea, but perhaps someone in the whanau knows when it started.
Anyhow - I went home with a smile in my heart remembering the sherry ritual.
Its the random comments...
Went out for a pint with Owen after work (VERY unusual for a Monday I hasten to add, but he was away last week so we were catching up...), and on the way back to the station we started to talk about the drink you have (but shouldn't have) at the end of the evening (mine being whisky in case anyone's interested).
Having just been to Spain he mentioned how they had been drinking sherry while they were there - pale sherry, chilled. Before dinner. So of course I mentioned the Shield's family ritual to him - and that started me wondering where did Mum get it from? Most pubs don't serve sherry chilled - but Mum did. I have no idea, but perhaps someone in the whanau knows when it started.
Anyhow - I went home with a smile in my heart remembering the sherry ritual.
Its the random comments...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Lovely dogs and a Hell hound
Today was the second of our London Loop walks - this time from Bexley to Jubilee Country Park.
This was a much nicer section than the first one - most of it meandered through some really quite lovely woods - and despite still being very close to civilisation, at times felt like we were really quite rural. We saw many lovely dogs having a great time splashing around in the River Cray - Bacchus would have had a ball.
On our first walk we spotted the killer doberman guard dogs - this time, in the middle of the woods having all been studying a sign we turned around to see the most ENORMOUS dog which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was truly the size of the hell hound and given that it just appeared, it was somewhat disconcerting. More disconcerting was the fact that it came towards us, barking every now and then (despite being muzzled that wasn't stopping it barking, so presumably would not have stopped it biting either...). I was somewhat reassured by the fact that its owner wasn't perturbed or hurrying towards us, but was also worried that it was still woofing at us when it was quite close. However once the owner got to us it relaxed and we all patted it - aside from Jackie who preferred to stay behind Nicola. Given that it was almost the same height as her though we thought that was allowed! We're now a bit nervous what we'll spot on the next walk... Watch this space!
In between the lovely dogs we said hello to several quite friendly people - and got a bit concerned about one man who seemed to be a bit keen on following us at the start. Initially helpful, he was telling us about the raw sewage we were about to encounter (fortunately it was only over a very short stint), and then just seemed to be 'lingering' a bit - no doubt he was harmless, but its a suspicious world at times...
We were hoping to get to see the memorial of William Willett - the inventor of Daylight Saving Time which would have been very apt given that our clocks go back in the UK tonight, but we missed the turnoff. Nicola (organiser extraordinaire - usually...) had left the London Loop book at home and we had to rely on the instructions from the website which were a bit more vague. We also missed a moated manor (again for the same reason) which was a shame...
Despite those minor disappointments it was a lovely 7.1 mile walk!
This was a much nicer section than the first one - most of it meandered through some really quite lovely woods - and despite still being very close to civilisation, at times felt like we were really quite rural. We saw many lovely dogs having a great time splashing around in the River Cray - Bacchus would have had a ball.
On our first walk we spotted the killer doberman guard dogs - this time, in the middle of the woods having all been studying a sign we turned around to see the most ENORMOUS dog which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was truly the size of the hell hound and given that it just appeared, it was somewhat disconcerting. More disconcerting was the fact that it came towards us, barking every now and then (despite being muzzled that wasn't stopping it barking, so presumably would not have stopped it biting either...). I was somewhat reassured by the fact that its owner wasn't perturbed or hurrying towards us, but was also worried that it was still woofing at us when it was quite close. However once the owner got to us it relaxed and we all patted it - aside from Jackie who preferred to stay behind Nicola. Given that it was almost the same height as her though we thought that was allowed! We're now a bit nervous what we'll spot on the next walk... Watch this space!
In between the lovely dogs we said hello to several quite friendly people - and got a bit concerned about one man who seemed to be a bit keen on following us at the start. Initially helpful, he was telling us about the raw sewage we were about to encounter (fortunately it was only over a very short stint), and then just seemed to be 'lingering' a bit - no doubt he was harmless, but its a suspicious world at times...
We were hoping to get to see the memorial of William Willett - the inventor of Daylight Saving Time which would have been very apt given that our clocks go back in the UK tonight, but we missed the turnoff. Nicola (organiser extraordinaire - usually...) had left the London Loop book at home and we had to rely on the instructions from the website which were a bit more vague. We also missed a moated manor (again for the same reason) which was a shame...
Despite those minor disappointments it was a lovely 7.1 mile walk!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Hadrian - Empire and Conflict
I went to this exhibition tonight after work with a friend from work - "the other Megan" - although technically that should be "the other Meagen" as we have different spellings...
We'd been talking about going to this for a few weeks, both of us thinking it was on until the New Year, until we realised it finished on Sunday... so it was a Friday night outing for us. It did feel strange going to an exhibition on a Friday night and I have to admit at 5pm on Friday it was the last thing I felt like doing.
But it was great! Really interesting, and fascinating to see some of the statues etc they had. An enormous head of Hadrian at the start in particular - only unearthed in January 2007 - quite something to see photos of them finding it in the ground, and then to see it in front of you. Made me realise the appeal of archaeology!
He was an interesting character, and the exhibition was done very well - although it was mainly comprised of a lot of statues of him, it actually told the story of his life very well, and didn't feel dry or dull at all. But it was BUSY - even on a Friday night we were often 3 or 4 people deep trying to read about the exhibits. Still - it was worth it. So now I understand a bit more about Hadrian's Wall (which I went to many years ago with my friend Kathryn), and also the Pantheon. He got about did Hadrian!
And as according to Wikipedia Adrian comes from Hadrian there was even a family connection as well!
We'd been talking about going to this for a few weeks, both of us thinking it was on until the New Year, until we realised it finished on Sunday... so it was a Friday night outing for us. It did feel strange going to an exhibition on a Friday night and I have to admit at 5pm on Friday it was the last thing I felt like doing.
But it was great! Really interesting, and fascinating to see some of the statues etc they had. An enormous head of Hadrian at the start in particular - only unearthed in January 2007 - quite something to see photos of them finding it in the ground, and then to see it in front of you. Made me realise the appeal of archaeology!
He was an interesting character, and the exhibition was done very well - although it was mainly comprised of a lot of statues of him, it actually told the story of his life very well, and didn't feel dry or dull at all. But it was BUSY - even on a Friday night we were often 3 or 4 people deep trying to read about the exhibits. Still - it was worth it. So now I understand a bit more about Hadrian's Wall (which I went to many years ago with my friend Kathryn), and also the Pantheon. He got about did Hadrian!
And as according to Wikipedia Adrian comes from Hadrian there was even a family connection as well!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Stunning Kew
On Saturday we (being Mhairi, Jackie and Nicola) went to Kew to admire the pretty autumnal colours from the tree top walkway.
And the colours were fantastic - it was also great to go back to the walkway and see it in a different season. Can't wait to go back in Jan/Feb and see how it looks in winter.
A couple of photos below - but more on Flickr so check them out.
And the colours were fantastic - it was also great to go back to the walkway and see it in a different season. Can't wait to go back in Jan/Feb and see how it looks in winter.
A couple of photos below - but more on Flickr so check them out.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Ahh... the politics of youth
I was listening to a podcast interview with Michael Parkinson and one of the questions a listener asked him was how he reconciled the fact that when he was younger he had said he would never accept an award from the Queen, but he now has a CBE and is in fact Sir Michael. He responded that isn't everyone much angrier when they are young - and in fact you should be a bit stauncher when you are young, but inevitably as you age you calm down.
Made me think of some of my past 'beliefs' which included:
I'm definitely getting old!!
Made me think of some of my past 'beliefs' which included:
- I would never get married (in fact I'm pretty sure I told Kevin that one when we started going out...). Now I'd just like someone who wanted to ask me!
- Refusing to shave my legs to make them look nicer for the boys (and boy, do I cringe about that one now!)
- Getting VERY cross if people called us girls - at the time our response tended to be something along the lines of 'I'm not a girl, I'm a fully 'functioning' woman'. The word wasn't functioning of course, but referred to our 'monthly courses' (as they put it in olden day novels). That one still makes my friends fall about laughing...
- Ringing in to a talkback show on BFM to argue against the fact that males should hold doors open for females... I really can't believe I felt that passionate about it :-). Now I hold open the door for whomever is coming in behind me regardless of gender and expect them to do the same for me...
I'm definitely getting old!!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Family on my mind...
This month is shaping up to be a difficult one, and the next couple of weeks are going to be particularly hard. However, me, the Wellington crew and the Piha crew have all discovered the joys of Skype over the last week (in the past I'd only managed one voice call with Eryn). I've had a video call each with Piha and Wellington which was just fab. I got to show Adrian and Eryn my flat (courtesy of walking around with my MacBook and pointing the camera at different bits!), and then we also managed a 3 way conference call with all of us (but no video sadly).
'My family are the biz' as Adrian might say - I miss you guys loads, and I'm thinking of you loads at the moment. I'm also crying again at the drop of a hat - thought I had that under control but it seems to have made a return. Sigh.
This posting by Leigh also really resonated with me - I'm doing lots of 'remembering' and looking back at the moment - so the ability to have a 3 way call with family was great. Almost as good as physically being there with you all when I can't be... Here's to having lots more of them.
'My family are the biz' as Adrian might say - I miss you guys loads, and I'm thinking of you loads at the moment. I'm also crying again at the drop of a hat - thought I had that under control but it seems to have made a return. Sigh.
This posting by Leigh also really resonated with me - I'm doing lots of 'remembering' and looking back at the moment - so the ability to have a 3 way call with family was great. Almost as good as physically being there with you all when I can't be... Here's to having lots more of them.
Bad blogger...
Yes thats me I'm talking about...
Anyhow, below is a catch up of what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks. Better late than never as they say!
Anyhow, below is a catch up of what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks. Better late than never as they say!
I love Elbow!
Went to see Elbow play at The Roundhouse last night - absolutely fantastic! Although incredibly hot inside... which made it quite uncomfortable for quite a while. But the singer is just such a lovely guy, and a real talker to the crowd which always makes it more entertaining. When they played 'One Day Like This' balloons and streamers came falling down from the roof as well - it was just great. A wonderful song, and it just seemed so happy and uplifting - I loved it. A couple of their mums were in the crowd as well and he dedicated it to them - bless!
I really recommend the album - they won the Mercury prize off the back of it this year which was well deserved - it is great.
Mhairi and I are hoping to go and see Fat Freddy's Drop at the Roundhouse in December as well - if tickets are still available once we get paid again :-).
I really recommend the album - they won the Mercury prize off the back of it this year which was well deserved - it is great.
Mhairi and I are hoping to go and see Fat Freddy's Drop at the Roundhouse in December as well - if tickets are still available once we get paid again :-).
Friday, October 10, 2008
Winston's birthplace...
It turned out that Nicola also had this week off so we decided to a day trip out of London somewhere. First choice was Hatfield House - which I've been wanting to go to for years... And almost made it with Leigh and Maurie this year, except that I realised at the last minute that the house wasn't open on the day we were going. And this time Nicola checked to find out that the house isn't open over winter! I am fated to not go I feel...
Anyhow, second choice fell to Blenheim Palace - which had been a possible for Tracey's visit, but we'd run out of time when she was here.
However this was a successful choice and we duly headed off. It is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough (the current one is 82 years old, but he has a heir, and the heir also has an heir so the line looks pretty safe for a while yet...) and also where Winston Churchill was born. As the was the 'spare' he was never the Duke - just went on to lead a small country for a few years... The Palace is lovely - and the family still live there in private apartments. Lots of lovely tapestries to look at (which I have to admit did start to all look the same) - most of which depict the victorious Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Blenheim. The grounds are gorgeous - created originally by Capability Brown - who didn't do the formal look as I thought, but created man made grounds that looked natural (ah - the things I learn from Nicola!).
We went for a nice stroll around some of the grounds (and saw many pheasants), and then made the mistake of doing the new visitor experience 'Blenheim Palace - the Untold Story' which was rubbish. It wasn't the untold story - we'd heard most of it in the tour, and once you got into it you couldn't escape until each room was complete. Very tedious. And sadly that meant we didn't get time to complete the maze (the 2nd largest hedge one in Europe apparently). We did go into it, and got far enough to get to the top of one of the footbridges, but then the Palace man (not the Duke sadly) came and told us we only had 10 mins to complete it and we didn't think we could solve it in 10 mins so Nicola retraced our steps and we went back out where we had come in. I say 'we' - really it was Nicola - I was just following her!
We also checked out the Butterfly House which was very cool - lots of live butterflys flying around, although I did take pictures of some of the dead ones... And Nicola fooled me into thinking one of them was alive by blowing on its wings... I got quite excited for a while until I realised how hard she was laughing at me...
Then we went and had a very nice pint of ale while we waited for the bus back to Oxford - lovely day out! A couple of pics below, but more on Flickr so make sure you check them out!
Anyhow, second choice fell to Blenheim Palace - which had been a possible for Tracey's visit, but we'd run out of time when she was here.
However this was a successful choice and we duly headed off. It is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough (the current one is 82 years old, but he has a heir, and the heir also has an heir so the line looks pretty safe for a while yet...) and also where Winston Churchill was born. As the was the 'spare' he was never the Duke - just went on to lead a small country for a few years... The Palace is lovely - and the family still live there in private apartments. Lots of lovely tapestries to look at (which I have to admit did start to all look the same) - most of which depict the victorious Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Blenheim. The grounds are gorgeous - created originally by Capability Brown - who didn't do the formal look as I thought, but created man made grounds that looked natural (ah - the things I learn from Nicola!).
We went for a nice stroll around some of the grounds (and saw many pheasants), and then made the mistake of doing the new visitor experience 'Blenheim Palace - the Untold Story' which was rubbish. It wasn't the untold story - we'd heard most of it in the tour, and once you got into it you couldn't escape until each room was complete. Very tedious. And sadly that meant we didn't get time to complete the maze (the 2nd largest hedge one in Europe apparently). We did go into it, and got far enough to get to the top of one of the footbridges, but then the Palace man (not the Duke sadly) came and told us we only had 10 mins to complete it and we didn't think we could solve it in 10 mins so Nicola retraced our steps and we went back out where we had come in. I say 'we' - really it was Nicola - I was just following her!
We also checked out the Butterfly House which was very cool - lots of live butterflys flying around, although I did take pictures of some of the dead ones... And Nicola fooled me into thinking one of them was alive by blowing on its wings... I got quite excited for a while until I realised how hard she was laughing at me...
Then we went and had a very nice pint of ale while we waited for the bus back to Oxford - lovely day out! A couple of pics below, but more on Flickr so make sure you check them out!
Me in the oak tree
Me in the oak tree
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
I was a bit worried a big greebly was going to drop on me so wasn't going any further in than this!
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Catchin up on films...
I've had this week off work which has been lovely. Didn't go away, but had many chores and things to get done. I've crossed off most of them so I didn't do too badly...
I also managed to catch up on some films as well. First up was The Duchess, which I thought was very good. First time I've watched a film with Keira Knightley in it when I thought she could act... And lots of lovely pretty frocks to admire as well of course!
I also went to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army which I thought was very good. Missed one of the characters from the first movie, but that would be my only criticism. I just love the character of Hellboy - whats not to like when he likes kittens so much!
Lastly, I finally went to see the new Batman movie - which has been out for ages - I've just been really crap recently. I thought it was fantastic - Heath Ledger was phenomenal as the Joker - very very disturbing. Made me realise again what a waste his death was.
I also managed to catch up on some films as well. First up was The Duchess, which I thought was very good. First time I've watched a film with Keira Knightley in it when I thought she could act... And lots of lovely pretty frocks to admire as well of course!
I also went to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army which I thought was very good. Missed one of the characters from the first movie, but that would be my only criticism. I just love the character of Hellboy - whats not to like when he likes kittens so much!
Lastly, I finally went to see the new Batman movie - which has been out for ages - I've just been really crap recently. I thought it was fantastic - Heath Ledger was phenomenal as the Joker - very very disturbing. Made me realise again what a waste his death was.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Wendover Circular - a lot of walking and a bit of getting lost...
Branching out from our usual destinations of the South Downs and Kent, Julia and I headed off to north of London to do the Wendover Circular - apparently 11.6 miles, but by the time we finished we had probably done closer to 13!
The description said this walk was particularly pretty in autumn and they were right - it was lovely. The weather was ok (started raining just as we finished) and the colours of the trees were gorgeous. The description of the route could have been a bit better though it has to be said - it is normally pretty hard to get lost doing a Time Out walk, but this one just didn't make sense. We worked out where we went wrong, went back, but just couldn't see the path as they described it. So we took another try, walked to a pub which was mentioned in the instructions and tried retracing our steps. That still didn't work :-(. So we ended up walking up the road for a while until we could pick the path back up.
So at that point we thought it was all fine and dandy... But no! Then we were wandering around a forest (with a howling gale, and dark clouds scudding over so it seemed very menacing and all very 'horror movie-ish') looking for a tree with a white cross painted on it. Quarter of an hour later we managed to stumble across it and picked up the path again... We did eventually finish without further incidents, but it just added to our general 'We don't like North London' view point! A couple of photos below and more on Flickr...
The description said this walk was particularly pretty in autumn and they were right - it was lovely. The weather was ok (started raining just as we finished) and the colours of the trees were gorgeous. The description of the route could have been a bit better though it has to be said - it is normally pretty hard to get lost doing a Time Out walk, but this one just didn't make sense. We worked out where we went wrong, went back, but just couldn't see the path as they described it. So we took another try, walked to a pub which was mentioned in the instructions and tried retracing our steps. That still didn't work :-(. So we ended up walking up the road for a while until we could pick the path back up.
So at that point we thought it was all fine and dandy... But no! Then we were wandering around a forest (with a howling gale, and dark clouds scudding over so it seemed very menacing and all very 'horror movie-ish') looking for a tree with a white cross painted on it. Quarter of an hour later we managed to stumble across it and picked up the path again... We did eventually finish without further incidents, but it just added to our general 'We don't like North London' view point! A couple of photos below and more on Flickr...
Really? Do dogs on lead please sheep? - Wendover Circular, Oct 2008
Really? Do dogs on lead please sheep? - Wendover Circular, Oct 2008
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
I loved this sign!
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