Friday Fricasee
Did you enjoy World Book Day yesterday, Dear Reader? Apparently one mother got a bit creative and sent her 11 year old son in to school dressed as Christian Grey. The school was not impressed. Didn't think an 11 year old should know about such a book, apart maybe from the title! The school also suggested that the lad should have dressed as 007, James Bond. His mother said that Bond is promiscuous and a killer, so how was that better? Good point!
Last night there was a 'mini' full moon. The moon's orbit is eliptical so that at times it is 50,000km farther from earth at apogee than at perigee - when there's a supermoon, diagram here. I got to see it too, no clahds in between last night. I thought it looked quite bright. Apparently the next supermoon will be in September. Of course it's difficult to compare the relative moon sizes as there are very few points of reference when the full moon is sailing high in the sky, so maybe you'll just have to take my word for it, Dear Reader!
This Sunday will be International Women's Day, a time to celebrate, commemorate and support women everywhere. Here are five remarkable women. Next Sunday (15th March) will be Mothering Sunday here in the UK and Europe. Mothering Sunday is not to be confused with Mother's Day in America and other places. Originally it was the day when daughter congregations went back to their 'mother' church, the church which had 'planted' the congregations. Later on it became the day those 'in service' had off to visit their mothers. Now it's more of the card/flower/take-your-Mum-out-for-dinner fest in celebration of mothers that Mother's Day is. Which reminds me, I really must extract one of my digits or my Mum will just be getting the usual Sunday afternoon phonecall, as in the past forty years! Mothering Sunday also marks the half-way point in Lent, another three weeks to Easter.
You remember the tennis shoes you used to have to wear at school? For tennis classes. Ok, so your school didn't do tennis, I rather wish my school hadn't done them either. I have very poor hand-eye co-ordination, it stops about an inch from my fingertips! Either that or at the critical moment the approaching ball was masked by my spectacle frames! I haven't played tennis in over forty years, and am all the happier for it! However to return to the tennis shoes. As you might imagine, mine went west some forty years ago. Should you, Dear Reader, have a pair and be wondering what to do with them - here's an idea, find a pattern you like, find some iron-on printer paper, find a pair of canvas shoes, preferably white, and away you go.
At the risk of sounding hopelessly American - 15 Tips for Being Positive. Cos we could all use a little more positivity in our lives. What d'you mean 'positivity' isn't a word? 'Negativity' certainly is!
And Finally - a famous composer, musical teachers and daycare teachers in Stockholm got together with fifteen pre-schoolers who have never played the piano before for five weeks. Results here. Not as impressive perhaps as some of the musically precocious moppets around YouTube, but pretty good all the same. Particularly if you know anything about multiple three and four year olds! What was that about herding cats? It also goes to show quite how much 'talent' we may well be missing in our children simply because they are not given opportunities. Yes, I know they also need to be given the opportunity to be children, but how much is wasted, particularly in front of TV and video games?
So whether you're stargazing, celebrating women, decorating shoes, being more positive or trainingm musical toddlers, y'all have a good day now!
Last night there was a 'mini' full moon. The moon's orbit is eliptical so that at times it is 50,000km farther from earth at apogee than at perigee - when there's a supermoon, diagram here. I got to see it too, no clahds in between last night. I thought it looked quite bright. Apparently the next supermoon will be in September. Of course it's difficult to compare the relative moon sizes as there are very few points of reference when the full moon is sailing high in the sky, so maybe you'll just have to take my word for it, Dear Reader!
This Sunday will be International Women's Day, a time to celebrate, commemorate and support women everywhere. Here are five remarkable women. Next Sunday (15th March) will be Mothering Sunday here in the UK and Europe. Mothering Sunday is not to be confused with Mother's Day in America and other places. Originally it was the day when daughter congregations went back to their 'mother' church, the church which had 'planted' the congregations. Later on it became the day those 'in service' had off to visit their mothers. Now it's more of the card/flower/take-your-Mum-out-for-dinner fest in celebration of mothers that Mother's Day is. Which reminds me, I really must extract one of my digits or my Mum will just be getting the usual Sunday afternoon phonecall, as in the past forty years! Mothering Sunday also marks the half-way point in Lent, another three weeks to Easter.
You remember the tennis shoes you used to have to wear at school? For tennis classes. Ok, so your school didn't do tennis, I rather wish my school hadn't done them either. I have very poor hand-eye co-ordination, it stops about an inch from my fingertips! Either that or at the critical moment the approaching ball was masked by my spectacle frames! I haven't played tennis in over forty years, and am all the happier for it! However to return to the tennis shoes. As you might imagine, mine went west some forty years ago. Should you, Dear Reader, have a pair and be wondering what to do with them - here's an idea, find a pattern you like, find some iron-on printer paper, find a pair of canvas shoes, preferably white, and away you go.
At the risk of sounding hopelessly American - 15 Tips for Being Positive. Cos we could all use a little more positivity in our lives. What d'you mean 'positivity' isn't a word? 'Negativity' certainly is!
And Finally - a famous composer, musical teachers and daycare teachers in Stockholm got together with fifteen pre-schoolers who have never played the piano before for five weeks. Results here. Not as impressive perhaps as some of the musically precocious moppets around YouTube, but pretty good all the same. Particularly if you know anything about multiple three and four year olds! What was that about herding cats? It also goes to show quite how much 'talent' we may well be missing in our children simply because they are not given opportunities. Yes, I know they also need to be given the opportunity to be children, but how much is wasted, particularly in front of TV and video games?
So whether you're stargazing, celebrating women, decorating shoes, being more positive or trainingm musical toddlers, y'all have a good day now!