Walking in the Shadows

Random musings from Warwickshire on life in general... Things that make me laugh, make me cry, things that wind me up beyond all endurance - and everything in between.

Appearances can be deceiving…

I’ve only managed to get about 2 hrs sleep last night – for several reasons. The main one being the fact that I was on the ‘phone to my friend last night…

It turned out that he’d been having problems for a while, and they managed to get things sorted out for a couple of days, then things would start to slide back to where they were before they tried to sort thing out.

In the end, he said that it was a relief when she sent him a text message to say that she wanted to call it quits, and didn’t want him to contact her. I will admit, I was more than a little surprised that he was so rational, as I though that he’d been really keen on her…

He’s also made plans to go out on the pull on Saturday night, and has said that he plans on getting himself back into the field of play sooner rather than later.

So, we sat up talking until the extremely small hours – and finally called it quits at about 03:20…

Hmmm - my phone's ringing... Guess I should think about answering it...

Back when I get chance.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread.

So much for a happy ending...

And no – it’s not me that’s gone splat in a relationship. It’s my best mate. He sent me a text message earlier today, to say that his girlfriend had just dumped him by text.

To say I was surprised was an understatement, as I was under the impression that things were going really well…

He seems to be coping ok, but I’ll reserve judgment until I speak to him tonight, as he said that he’ll call me later and let me know what’s happened, and fill me in on other bits and pieces…

Suppose I should think about doing some w*rk, but my heart’s not really in it, as my partner is going away for a couple of days on business…

Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread.

Back from my travels – Part IV - The road home

The final day of our stay, Mum and I went to the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton - where one of the Concorde prototypes was located.


Most of the museum was poorly lit, and I admit that the date on the camera was set wrong - I'd neglected to check this when I selected this feature!!

Some of the display were quite good - I loved the display in the second hall, where the WWII aircraft were - the photograph below being one of my favorites:


However, I admit that my real favorite display was Concorde.



I have to admit, seeing the aircraft up close was a real treat, and I didn't realise just how narrow the aisle was!

As this aircraft was the prototype, there was still the test equipment on-board...


But the real surprise was the size of the cockpit!


The outside of the aircraft was just as beautiful as I'd always remembered:


Hmmm - time to call this entry quits - don't want to blot my copy book by getting caught blogging instead of working!

Back when I get chance.

Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread

Back from my travels - Part III - The road to Taunton

On Thursday, after Mum and I had been to the Eden project, we decided that we would stay in Taunton so that I could go to the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton - where Concorde had been taken to...

Normally, the route would have been the A30, straight to Taunton - all dual carrigeway. Ok - there's nothing wrong with that, apart from the fact that it's as boring as hell for both the driver (Mum) and the passenger (me).

So, we decided to go across Dartmoor - right past Dartmoor jail!
Them, once we were off Dartmoor, we did use part of the A30... And alongside, were several windfarms. To be honest, I can see why the locals object - the turbines aren't the prettiest of things to look at...

I also managed to get another photograph - not bad from a car doing 70mph...

However, any joy that I felt on my holiday was cut off at the pass, when I turned on the news, and saw that London had been attacked. How these people can claim to be doing this in the name of Islam is beyond me, as Islam preaches peace - not violence!

Hmm... Suppose I should call this entry quits - I'm supposed to be working.

Karen

I walk where others fear to tread

Back from my travels – Part II – the Eden project…

On Tuesday, Mum and I travelled from our overnight stopping point at Barnstaple, to Bodmin, where we’d planned to visit the Eden Project at St Austell.

This is the first thing that you see as you enter the Eden Project - the Eden Horse. It's a driftwood sculpture, and it's one of those things that sticks in the mind...

As Mum and I had gotten what they call fast track tickets, it meant that we didn't have to queue up to get our admission sticker. Once we’d gotten our admission sticker, the Biomes came into view…

The Live 8 stage was still in place - it was located in an outside exhibition area, and behind it, the Tropical Biome on the left, and the Temperate Biome on the right…

As the Eden project was built in the remains of a quarry, the walk down would have tired Mum out, so we got the Land train down to the biomes. This land train was a series of carriages (of a fashion) pulled by a tractor! (They're in the top left hand corner of the picture below)

Once we got to bottom, we saw the second of the things that will always stick in my mind – the bumble bee statue!
As we got into the main entrance, we had the option of going right to the Temperate biome, and left to the Tropical Biome – we opted for the Tropical Biome.

The humidity was an awful lot higher than either Mum or myself could remember it being and this was confirmed by one of the guides who said that the humidity hadn’t been as high as this for a couple of years!

But, I managed to achieve one of my ambitions: - and that was get to the top of the stairs of the biome, and gets a view of things from the top!

At the top, there was the most welcome thing of all – a waterfall!


I will admit to standing in front of the waterfall as I took the picture and enjoying the spray that came off it – wonderfully cooling!

But that wasn’t the reason that I’d gone up there. I’d wanted to take some ‘photos of the Biome from a viewpoint that I’d not been able to manage in the past…

This shows the side of the quarry that the biomes are situated in - as well as showing the mist that was swirling in the top of the Biome...

 This shot shows just how lush the foliage really was - the view was something to behold!

This shot shows Pete the Panther - and I thought his expression was really sweet!


These are the famous Amazon waterlillys - the full sized leaf can hold a small child!

Then, it was into the Temperate Biome - which tends to be far more seasonal than the Tropical Biome.. Not to mention cooler and more comfortable to explore!


The Temperate Biome had a real mix of planting schemes, with plants from various regions of the world...
It also had an exhibit of vines -with statues in it, called The Rites of Diyonisus


There was also a waterfall in the Temperate Biome, but as the heat wasn't as great, I was able to appreciate the beauty a little more...


Unlike the Tropical Biome, the Temperate Biome had quite a few statues - this one made me smile - they're pigs.....


Then, it was out of the Biomes, and head for the outdoors...


But the one thing (apart from the Bumble Bee statue) that took my breath away was this:


It's amazing to see just what was used to make this statue - I was able to identify about 6 different items.

When we got back to the main entrance area, there was an announcment over the tannoy to say that London had won the 2012 Olympics... There were some French tourists in the same area as Mum and myself, and they looked really sick - as Paris had been expected to win!

Hmm... Suppose I should think about doing some w*rk....

Back later, if I get the chance...

Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread

Back from my travels... Part I - The road to Cornwall

Well, I'm back from the West country, and to be honest, I feel like my batteries have been recharged. The weather was quite good - apart from Monday, when it rained on the way down, as well as raining whilst Mum and I were at RHS Rosemoor.

As I took my new toy with me, there'll be loads of piccys - and I'll split the details of the holiday into three parts - this first part will cover the trip down south, as well as the trip to RHS Rosemoor.

The trip down was unexceptional - Mum and I stopped off at Street in Somerset - where the Clarkes Shopping Village is. (See http://www.clarksvillage.co.uk/ for details.)

There were a variety of shops - my favorite being the Cadbury's factory shop - but only because I was able to get my two favorite sweets - Cadbury's Finger of Fudge and Milk bottle gums - sweets shaped like milk bottles, and are made with - milk.

We then headed to Rosemoor. As Mum wasn't feeling too good, we had a coffee, and plotted the route 'round the gardens, taking in the bits that were of interest to us both...

This was the first part that we looked at - the so-called Modern Rose garden. Not really a very good description in my opinion, as there were the so-called Old Roses - things like Rosa versicolour:
The beds themselves were well planned, and the majority of the roses were ones that Mum and I had seen at David Austin Roses, in Albrighton (See http://www.davidaustinroses.com/).
Despite the name, the rose garden contained other plants - one of my favorites being the hardy Geranium:
We then walked through one of the paths framed by one of the so-called Long Borders...

This long border had a mixture of perennial and annual plants - my favorite being the yellow Hemerocalis - I've got no idea which variety it is, as there was no lable in front of it...
This then lead to the herb garden, where I saw the most magnificent display of poppies. Not just any poppies - these particular poppies were Papavier somniforum - more commonly known as Opium poppies:

But these plants were not being used for illegal drug production - they were being used to provide a stunning backdrop to other plants that were in the herb garden...
Suppose I should call this entry quits - I'm supposed to be sorting out my damned e-mails, not blogging!
Back with more info on my holiday later, if I get the chance!
Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread

Something that made me cry, and made me smile...

Well, I'm getting packed ready to go away tomorrow, and I've been playing with my new toy - a digital camera.

I'd been considering one for quite a while, and I've finally taken the plunge and bought one as part of a package with the matching printer. It's a Kodak, with 3.1 megapixels, and does as much as my big Olympus analogue camera, for a fraction of the size!

As I prepared this blog entry, I was listening to my normal radio station, when I heard a dedication to me, from this fella that I've started to see... It was a bit of an unusual choice, I will admit, but as soon as I heard the opening bars, I knew the song - it was Metallica - Nothing Else Matters.

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trust in who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trust in who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trust in who we are
No, nothing else matters


The message just said that he would miss me whilst I was away, and that I was to take care, and come back safe and well.

I will admit, the tears started escaping when I heard that, and as soon as the song was finished, I called him... He said that he'd been expecting me to call him, as he'd remembered that I have a habit of listening to the radio on a Sunday morning, and knew that my preferred station was Kerrang!


But he soon had me laughing, by telling me a joke... I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'd already had the joke e-mailed to me at work, so I've just copied the joke and posted it on my blog...

One day God calls down to Noah and says, "Noah me old china, I want you to make me a new Ark".

Noah replies, "No probs God, me old Supreme Being. Anything you want,after all you're the guv'"


But God interrupts, "Ah, but there's a catch. This time Noah, I don't want just a couple of decks, I want 20 decks one on top of the other".


"20 DECKS!" screams Noah "Well, OK Big Man, whatever you say. Should I fill it up with all the animals just like last time?"


"Yep, that's right, well. Sort of right. This time I want you to fill it up with fish", God answers.


"Fish?" queries Noah.


"Yep, fish. Well, to make it more specific Noah, I want carp - wall to wall, floor to ceiling - Carp!"


Noah looks to the skies. "OK God my old mucker, let me get this right, you want a New Ark?"


"Check."


"With 20 decks, one on top of the other?"


"Check."


"And you want it full of Carp?"


"Check."


"Why?" Asks the perplexed Noah, who was slowly but surely getting to the end of his tether.


"Dunno," says God, "I just fancied a Multi-Storey Carp Ark."


Guess I should call this entry quits - still got stuff to do around the house before the Grand Prix...

Back after my holiday.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

You want me to do what??

Miss a Grand Prix to go shopping? No chance.

That's what the 'phone call was about. The fella that's been making life bearable since I split up with my ex, wanted to take me shopping tomorrow.

I know this may sound surprising - a woman turning down a shopping trip, but unfortunately (or fortunately) for the fella concerned, there's the small matter of the French Grand Prix at Mangy-Cours to be dealt with.

Thankfully, he was really sweet about it, and said that he'd forgotten that the race was on, and if he'd realised, he would have asked me to go out with him today.

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trust in who we are
No, nothing else matters


That made me smile, and I told him that I appreciated the offer, but it would have to wait for a while, as the weekend I get back from Cornwall, I'm off to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, and the following weekend? I'm hoping to be able to meet up with my daft friend, so I'll have to see what happens.

Not that I'm trying to avoid going shopping with him - far from it. It's just that life's a bit on the hectic side at the moment, and I'm finding it a bit tough to fit in all of my commitments to friends and family!


Time to call this entry quits, I've got bits and pieces to sort out on the computer...

Back tomorrow, if I get chance - otherwise it'll be round about the 11th of July, to allow for me to escape to Silverstone.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

So I dub thee unforgiven...

That's the way that I'm dealing with my ex. Ok - I know that it sounds like I'm being incredibly vindictive and nasty, but given the way I'm feeling, I feel entirely justified to react like this.

If I'd had my way, I would have spoken to him face to face, instead of showing the distinct lack of courage and splitting up with him in a 'phone call.

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub thee unforgiven


As for my holiday next week, I'm still going to Devon and Cornwall - but I'm traveling with Mum instead. After I'd split up with my ex, Mum made the suggestion that I still went, but that she came with me, as she said that it would be the best thing I could do - get away from the area for a few days, and try and get myself back to some semblance of normality.

Ok - I appreciate the thought - and the best bit (for me, anyway!) is the fact that we're going to go to the RHS garden at Rosemoor in Devon. (See http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/gardens/rosemoor/index.asp)

That's something that I couldn't have done with my ex, as he wasn't that interested in gardening, despite agreeing to go to the Eden project with me (see http://www.edenproject.com/)

So, whatever else may have happened recently, I've got the better end of the deal - I'll be able to go and see things that I want to see - with the added bonus that Mum's a member of the RHS, so the admission will be free, and she can tell me about the plants that I don't recognise!

Suppose I should answer my 'phone before the damned thing drives me mad!

Back later.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread