Re-visiting Eartham

Well, today was far too nice to stay indoors so dad and I took a drive up to Eartham woods for a little exploring.

The last time I remember going to these woods was way back in the day. As a child we would walk the tracks in the autumn with the eye spy (possible ladybird) books looking for different kinds of bugs, plants and birds. I would patrol the tracks armed with a stick larger than I was, looking for the perfect place to build a hide-a-way and jumping in puddles and banks of leaves in my red wellington boots, perfectly snugglesome inside my retro, red body warmer (circa 1986)Dad would suggest that for my sister and I to see any wildlife, such as deer, we should be as quiet as a mouse...in retrospect I can see that it was possibly a cunning plan by the adults to keep the sprogs from making too much noise.

On one occasion, still a puzzle to me, we returned to the car park to find a row of smarties laid out on a nearby tree stump. Dad assured us children that the 'fairies' of the woods had left us a treat...I wasn't aware of him disappearing to plant the sweeties himself and am still a tad flummoxed as to how he carried out the gesture (theories? make a comment).

But Anyway I digress....we haven't been back to the woods since after the 'Great Storm' of 1987. Much to our disappointment, at the time, many of the well trodden paths had been completely demolished and the area was virtually unrecognizable. Twenty years later and the area is still unrecognizable for the most part, but the trees have had a chance to grow back to a respectable wood and we couldn't have picked a better day. I'm a bit schmaltzy as to what I find interesting on a walk in the country and like nothing more than seeing wildlife in its natural habitat.

In order (ish) we came across a lizard, had lunch with a Robin (who wasn't quite brave enough to take our offering of sausage roll in our presence) a hare (rather the back end of a hare), a couple of mice and, the result of the day, a young male deer. The deer was obliviously to my dad and I since we were downwind of him and he was concentrating on a couple of walkers on a different path who, in turn were, completely oblivious of the deer. I guess dad's tactic of keeping quiet works after all....Quite amazing!

I'm guessing most people had gone down the beach...itself having a unique form of wildlife. Namely white, middle aged men sporting a lily white....soon to be bright red....complexion (the odd fella sporting the half tanned/half 'never seen daylight' look so favoured by the British)...oh and of course there's the protruding...ever-so-slightly hairy (not in a good way) and ever-so-slightly sweating (completely in a 'just lost my lunch' way)....belly wobbling over top the ill fitting swimming trunks or in worse case scenario........speedos.

Roll on the summer.....I'll be in the countryside.

My Travels

http://www.travbuddy.com/widget_map_display.php?id=322181

6% huh.....boy have I got some catching up to do.

The Wanderer Returns

So, I was minding my own business yesterday when during a seminar my phone starts buzzing in my pocket...lucky for me no-one noticed...I thought 'who'd be silly enough to ring me when everybody knows that Tuesday is my lecture day' (in fact the only day I have to attend uni classes...who'd be a student eh?). I received a text from the same, unknown number later and then it dawned on me....the great Natty had returned from her travels and was about to venture back to our own humble Mercury Point.

Her timing however was a little off, as Josh, Ally and Elin have jetted off the NYC for a few days (as you do, apparently it's essential for their studies....chinny rack on I say). Nat still happened to think that me on my lonesome was worth a visit so I allowed an audience with.

If at all possible the girl has gotton taller, her hair has a few more blond streaks and her hamster grin timelessly adorable. We had a brief chat about jumping out of planes, white water rafting and Maori life in New Zealand and the utter gorgeousness which is the Whitsunday's area of Australia via a tall ship.

She was, oh so, successful at her knee boarding escapades in the US of A, so much so that the girl has some random people offering her sponsorship in competitions from now on!!! (Be rubbing noses with the hoity-toity of the surfing world from now on then...now there's an image for consideration).

Alas it was but a fleeting visit....I, obviously, can grant but a few moments with passing visitors in the midst of my cramming of Internet useage before returning to the house of unconnectivity......It had nothing to do with Natty having to catch up with virtually every person in Southampton in one evening.

(A brief note to Ally, Elin and Josh upon your return...Natty was immensely annoyed at your lack of being during her visit and will now only tolerate my presence...because I'm her favourite, nah, nah, nanah, nah....she may be back to snarl at you for a bit however)

Life on Southampdiff

Apologies for the massive gaps in entries recently (to be fair the only people which read my blog are family and friends who I see virtually everyday and our internet connection at home has been cut off, so I say meh to my tardiness)

Well then, what have I been up to since my last post....making some important decisions about life, essays and the universe (the answers to which currently stand at huh, meh and doh)

Took a visit to Welsh Wales with the rents over the Easter....by some universal conspiracy and an untimely freak weather paradox, we managed to pick the only sun-less day over the entire holiday. In true Brit style we sat munching ice cream under an overcast sky, ignoring the cold sea breeze over the bay and finally retiring indoors when the spits and spots of rain in the air threatened to increase to light rain.

Anyhoo, Cardiff is a lovely place, seems like much development is going on and it could be a great place to settle down....still, plenty of time to worry about relocating, getting a job, responsibility, bills etc

Ooh, did you see the finale of Life on Mars? now there's a show I'm going to miss, truly awesome television. Excellent writing, excellent acting, excellent 'keep you guessing' narrative, Gene Hunt's one liners particularly: "He's got fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course", "As opposed to one of those "I really really like you" kind of murders?", "I'm Gene Hunt your DCI and it's 1973. Nearly dinner time ... I'm 'avin hoops", " You're surrounded by armed bastards" and, my all time favourite "You great soft, sissy, girly, nancy, French bender, Man Utd supporting POOF!"....complete and utter genius!....seriously 1973 has never looked so good. Roll on Ashes to Ashes!

As an after thought I'd better say a happy 30th birthday to my sister, so Happy Birthday and where's my cream cake! (by the by Sarah you're priviledged in sharing your birthday with David Hewlett, that's THE David Hewlett!)

Save Carson Event

How funny is this!!

For those unfamiliar check an earlier post.

Martin Gero is the guy interviewing attendees and he is also the bloke responsible for the death of Carson Beckett on Stargate Atlantis. (Booo! Hiss!) Though Gero has also been responsible for some of the best Atlantis scripts also, so...meh.

There were a few familiar faces in the crowd who I met at Peg 2 in Feb....one is carrying a large blue brolly...;-)

19th April....10,000 words....la,la,la I'm Not Listening

April already! whoa the year's flying by....more importantly the weeks until my major dissertation is due is flying by....which is a little over two weeks. *Bites nails nervously*

So, at present I'm ignoring all the work which I have to do, maybe if I shut my eyes tightly enough the essay writing fairies will visit and produce an award winning piece of work overnight...hmmm, perhaps not.

Anyway, enjoyed the glorious weather yesterday with a walk around Binstead Woods (unfortunately no pics again as I have a feeling I left my camera back at the flat in S'ton....rats). We wandered across open fields, seeing a deer pottering around, and ate sausage rolls on the trunk of a fallen tree while listening to the dozens of birds flitting around the trees.

It was all perfectly pleasant and in keeping with my Enid Blyton tinted view on good old fashion fun. The forecast for the Easter weekend seems to be good, at the moment, so here's to more walks in the sunshine.

In other news it's the penultimate part of Life on Mars this evening. If you haven't been glued to the new series....why the hell not? Gene puts in an appearance dressed as Tufty! (if you have no idea who Tufty is then watch the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY8MR0ssk7c )

It has been another corker of an example of what the BBC can produce if they put their minds to it....unfortunately it seems that they have burnt out for the time being, since this will be the last season of the series...16 episodes of pure greatness IMO. There is however some hope with the possible spin off Ashes to Ashes (rumour has it that this will have an 80's flavour, my childhood era is officially 'nostalgic'...I think that means I'm getting old...neh)