Friday 19 October 2012

the birth day of this blog

Was it really a year ago I tentatively dipped a toe in the blogging waters?

Yes! And what a year it's been ...with thousands of hits on the blog, hundreds of comments, virtual friendships  made with other bloggers from all over the world,  and quite frankly my dears, I've had a blast!

Here's the very first post
http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/thinking-of-days.html

I had no plan of what I would write....just documenting the world around me...things, people and places that interested me whether at home or at work.

One thing I did know was that I had to have music in every post...because , if this blog is a reflection of my world and thoughts...then you would have to listen to the soundtrack of my world too!

Working in radio, I write every day as part of my job and concentrate on sound, the interviews , the background noises, the atmosphere through listening.

But through writing this blog, I've learnt how to think visually too....and from being a complete ignoramus when it comes to taking photographs, I've become confident and enjoy snapping away on my i phone.

My most arty shot was unintentional though - i fell over!

http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/day-of-snow-and-birds.html

Writing this blog has given me wonderful reminders of very special days at home and further away...


The most popular blog posts have been about the Chelsea Flower Show, one of my favourite bookshops, the University of Leicester Botanic Garden, and posts from Australia .Mind you with posts of  pictures like this...








no wonder everyone liked vignettes from the land of sunshine back in a windswept , rain sodden English March.

Looking back at posts over the last year , I realise just how much I value the simple things in life...like lying in the garden with my dog Boo on a sunshiny day



So what's new for the blog  over the next year? Well more of the same, and many of you have told  me you like the tracks on every post....it's always good to share favourite tracks  don't you think?
I'll be doing some more travel posts too........but what would YOU like to see more of ?


Anyway, it's Friday ...I'm off to the pub for the weekly ritual of having a few glasses of wine with my favourite people , but in the meantime , I'll leave you with one of the best artists ever...one who I've loved since I was twelve years old....the one and only, the wonderful..... Jimmi Hendrix and "Happy Birthday"  



Friday 12 October 2012

Blue sky days

I've still been looking upwards.....skywards over the last week...I can't stop looking at the sky.

Last weekend Mr Thinking of the days and I went to see our darling daughter who now lives on the South Coast. Boo came too..


Leaden skies , the rain all the way





It was still grey as the eight of us (well, six humans plus Boo and her new spaniel friend called Ozzie) began our walk along the front at Southsea on Saturday morning...







But within what seemed like moments, the world changed....blue skies were overhead and I could smell the sea.






Instantly I was in happy place...sailboats, blue water and blue skies took me back to family holidays on the island across the water...and to teenager years when I lived by the Indian ocean.





We all walked and talked...upto the Castle...where we sat outside in the sunshine enjoying coffee and for some, huge bacon butties....

But my eyes were still skywards....I've never seen clouds like this in such a deep blue setting



Or perhaps I have, but not appreciated them before. One thing is for sure - there's so much more I need to know about this wonderful world above us. There's a wonderful man called Tristan Gooley who's written books on natural navigation and exploration http://www.naturalnavigator.com/the-natural-explorer/ ...I must get hold of a copy.


Aren't these skies just magnificient? By the way, none of my photos are surgically enhanced....these colours are exactly what my iphone and I see.

The following day, another walk with just family...and my daughter finally persuaded Boo to go near the water....



A lovely weekend ...appreciating simple pleasures, mindful that it will be a while until we feel the sun on our backs, and such beautiful summery blue skies , which immediately make me feel happy..

Today's track is by Jamirquai....Blue Skies

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Days of autumn skies

Boo is six months old and she's still learning something  new every day. So am I...by looking at my world through her eyes. Also, after nearly five years being without a dog, she's making me get out, come rain come shine.....and I realise how much I've been missing.

One of my favourite walks around the village starts by turning left down the lane, right at the back of our mediaeval church, and then up a track to a huge field....after harvest, there's stubble in the field. Nothing unusual, but Boo had never seen stubble before...


 She snuck into the stubble very carefully , looking up at me as if to say "What on earth is this?" But within seconds she was romping through it without a care in the world.

So was I...because I could see this.....the sun coming out from behind the early evening skies...




This is one of the biggest fields near us..and because we live in hunting country, there's wide spaces of green beside the hedges for horses....

Boo loved it  - so much so, I took her back there the following day. We had company...my eldest son who is getting over his latest knee operation




What an invigorating walk, the breeze in our hair...a fresh but quite chilly day





We took it slowly around the field, my son still has to be very careful, but slowing down meant more time to just stand and stare at the beautiful landscape and skies....


and watch how the rolling clouds transform the panorama in a matter of minutes.....



It was time to head back....Boo had walked at least twice as far as us...darting ahead, then coming back to us, hither and thither...so much energy...





Boo collapsed in a tired but happy heap as soon as we arrived home, I sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee  and realised how much I adore looking at wide skies around me. Their beauty, their drama , simply fill me with wonder and happiness..
Today's track is "Clouds" by Newton Faulkner....I know I've chosen another track by him before...on the blog...but he's such a clever songwriter.....and I love this song......





Thursday 4 October 2012

Wine tasting days


I'm writing this on a Thursday, but I do love Saturday afternoons. A free couple of hours to mooch  about in Market Harborough...pay a visit to my favourite shops, buy something special for supper, and change my library books.


Even if friends are over for the weeekend, they like a whizz around my favourite haunts....and more about those in future blogposts...but this is always a popular port of call with anyone.





Duncan Murray Wines..a small wine shop, with big ideas and a warm welcome for everyone .Opened by Duncan and his wife Megan about five years ago, I've been a loyal customer ever since. Why? Well the choice of wines for one thing.....




I can get my favourite gluggable reds...something special to take to a friend, there's something for everyone's budget. But I know I could get those in many other places.

No, what's great about this little place is the brilliant banter every Saturday between 12noon and 3pm, when there's wine tastings from different countries and areas.


It's almost like a club...most people like to taste new wines they haven't tried before....usually between three and five different bottles...it's nice to talk to others about wine in a casual friendly atmosphere ....

...and there's the jokes.....from Duncan mainly...accompanied by raised eyebrows and a wry smile from Megan. Don't worry though, his wines are much better than the jokes.....




Sometimes different wine growers come to do their own tastings...occasionally there's a few nibbles to accompany the wines ...for example, from Spain we had some manchego cheese and chorizo, but with last Saturdays' tasting, there was something you couldn't possibly eat....



Yes, it's a rock. A kimmeridgeon about 150 years old from the Chablis area....the rock explains the flinty character of the wine from the region. And that's the attention to detail in this wine shop.....
When did you last see one of those in the supermarket wine section?

So on a Saturday afternoon if you see me in Market Harborough, I haven't been drowning my sorrrows in the pub all lunchtime, I've merely been learning more about wine in a very sociable way. Mind you I now go to the library before the wine tasting....I was getting some funny looks from the librarians...

.
Today's track is slightly different....I could have played UB40's Red Red Wine...but this sketch still makes me laugh every time I see it....It's the incomparable, and very young (!) Fry and Laurie.....on wine tasting.....