Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Monday, 19 August 2019
Hoping
One of the great things about having a blog that has been running for over ten years, and with over 1,300 posts in it (even if they can be seriously sporadic at times), is that I can dip in, select a date at random, and see what I was writing about way back when.
The best ones are about family.
Some of the best stuff is about J, partly because I may have included a little detail about what he was up to on a particular day, and his life has changed rather a lot since 2007.
Today (and tomorrow for a different reason) is another one of those days for J.
So, he missed one of his exams back in May. Well, actually he had to come out of it after only 30 mins or so due to a bad headache. I so desperately hope he doesn't turn into a migraine sufferer. Of all the characteristics to pass on to your son, that's not the one to hope for. Anyway, today's the day to have another go at it, and as I type this, he'll be on his way to London for the 3-hour challenge. I know he's been working hard over the last few weeks, and I know that he has the ability and the knowledge to do well in this exam (yesterday evening he took great pleasure in explaining to me a particular question and his elegant solution). I only hope that the exam its conditions provide him with an opportunity to give the best of himself.
I hope he comes out happy, I hope he gets all the things that he deserves, and I hope that he thrives in his continuing studies when the new term comes around.
I hope so many things for my wonderful boy.
The best ones are about family.
Some of the best stuff is about J, partly because I may have included a little detail about what he was up to on a particular day, and his life has changed rather a lot since 2007.
Today (and tomorrow for a different reason) is another one of those days for J.
So, he missed one of his exams back in May. Well, actually he had to come out of it after only 30 mins or so due to a bad headache. I so desperately hope he doesn't turn into a migraine sufferer. Of all the characteristics to pass on to your son, that's not the one to hope for. Anyway, today's the day to have another go at it, and as I type this, he'll be on his way to London for the 3-hour challenge. I know he's been working hard over the last few weeks, and I know that he has the ability and the knowledge to do well in this exam (yesterday evening he took great pleasure in explaining to me a particular question and his elegant solution). I only hope that the exam its conditions provide him with an opportunity to give the best of himself.
I hope he comes out happy, I hope he gets all the things that he deserves, and I hope that he thrives in his continuing studies when the new term comes around.
I hope so many things for my wonderful boy.
Sunday, 18 August 2019
Gifts
What punishments of God are not gifts?
Remarkable, to be able to see life in this way. What a thought-provoking interview, and I'm glad I found this conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper.
Remarkable, to be able to see life in this way. What a thought-provoking interview, and I'm glad I found this conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper.
Saturday, 17 August 2019
Friday, 16 August 2019
Witchwood
Having done a quick check on Goodreads, I see that I read 'The Last King of Osten Ard' in May 2017, designed to be a warm up to a return to the world of Osten Ard, and to get us all in the mood for another trilogy along Dragonbone Chair lines.
Well, after a meandering and very long read, I have recently finished 'The Witchwood Crown'. And how was it? Well, I'm not really sure. I think I am pretty out of practice at the whole epic fantasy fiction genre. Certainly it was long, and there was a very large cast of characters to get to grips with. For fairly large chunks of the book, not a whole lot happened - people trudged about, talked to each other, had the occasional skirmish, and so on. I suspect that the same may well have been true for the Dragonbone Chair as well - I think that Simon may well have been stuck in a forest for a few hundred pages towards the beginning. I have no intention of re-reading it right now to check. It's been about 25 years since I read it, and I have plenty of unread books on the shelves right now.
However, Tad Williams does draw you in, I do enjoy his writing style, and if I remember anything from his first Osten Ard trilogy, I seem to recall that he lays a pretty solid foundation, and things start to warm up nicely as the tale unfolds. I suppose as the ultimate seal of approval, I've bought book 2 (Empire of Grass), and I understand that he's busy writing book 3 (The Navigator's Children).
Well, after a meandering and very long read, I have recently finished 'The Witchwood Crown'. And how was it? Well, I'm not really sure. I think I am pretty out of practice at the whole epic fantasy fiction genre. Certainly it was long, and there was a very large cast of characters to get to grips with. For fairly large chunks of the book, not a whole lot happened - people trudged about, talked to each other, had the occasional skirmish, and so on. I suspect that the same may well have been true for the Dragonbone Chair as well - I think that Simon may well have been stuck in a forest for a few hundred pages towards the beginning. I have no intention of re-reading it right now to check. It's been about 25 years since I read it, and I have plenty of unread books on the shelves right now.
However, Tad Williams does draw you in, I do enjoy his writing style, and if I remember anything from his first Osten Ard trilogy, I seem to recall that he lays a pretty solid foundation, and things start to warm up nicely as the tale unfolds. I suppose as the ultimate seal of approval, I've bought book 2 (Empire of Grass), and I understand that he's busy writing book 3 (The Navigator's Children).
Thursday, 15 August 2019
What3
Read this very interesting article on the BBC website today.
What3words looks like a brilliant idea.
What3words looks like a brilliant idea.
Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Hazards
The hazards of life without parents can be daunting at times. I seem to live in a state of heightened emotion, at risk of going over the edge at the slighted provocation.
Four examples, all from the last few days, mostly from TV programmes!
1. Watching 'Who do you think you are' the other evening with Kate Winslet. Seeing her trying to explain in a matter-of-fact way at the start of the programme that it had been nearly two years since losing her Mum to cancer, and not quite managing to get through the sentence.
2. 24 hours in A&E on Channel 4 last night. One of the stories was about a girl who'd broken her thumb. However, that wasn't really the story, it was the interview with her Dad. He was sharing the story of how much he loved his own Dad, how special he had been, how much he'd influenced the way he wanted to be as a parent, and how he was obviously trying so hard to celebrate a wonderful man through the pain of losing him.
3. Walking into the lounge and finding Nicky watching a programme about a maternity unit, and finding myself watching a new birth. Realising that we're both holding our breath as the midwife unwraps the cord from around the baby's neck, and then that my eyes seem to be watering, again, when baby starts to cry.
4. Listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and hearing 'Castle on the hill' and for some bizarre unknown reason being reminded of stories about the house in the clouds.
Four examples, all from the last few days, mostly from TV programmes!
1. Watching 'Who do you think you are' the other evening with Kate Winslet. Seeing her trying to explain in a matter-of-fact way at the start of the programme that it had been nearly two years since losing her Mum to cancer, and not quite managing to get through the sentence.
2. 24 hours in A&E on Channel 4 last night. One of the stories was about a girl who'd broken her thumb. However, that wasn't really the story, it was the interview with her Dad. He was sharing the story of how much he loved his own Dad, how special he had been, how much he'd influenced the way he wanted to be as a parent, and how he was obviously trying so hard to celebrate a wonderful man through the pain of losing him.
3. Walking into the lounge and finding Nicky watching a programme about a maternity unit, and finding myself watching a new birth. Realising that we're both holding our breath as the midwife unwraps the cord from around the baby's neck, and then that my eyes seem to be watering, again, when baby starts to cry.
4. Listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and hearing 'Castle on the hill' and for some bizarre unknown reason being reminded of stories about the house in the clouds.
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