Not a Happy Day

Today I am feeling very sad. A telephone message on my answer-phone to say that a person I've known since 1951 is in hospital in Croydon. Patricia Teare, as she was then, has broken her hip and is in pain and distress - and now she is all alone.

Her husband died of cancer in December,just before their 41st wedding anniversary.

Patricia was my first and only ballroom dancing tutor. She was around 20 years old when I first met her at Jimmy Quinn's Dance School in Purley, Surrey. She was a superb dancer and marvellous teacher of the art. I've always held her in my heart and memory and her distressed phone call to me earlier today was devastating.

Even at her advanced age she continued to teach ballroom, and to have an accident such as a broken hip will almost certainly be the end of ballroom dancing for her.

I've just arranged for some flowers by post to be delivered to her and I've called on some others who know me to pay Patricia a visit, in my behalf. I cannot get down to Croydon now as my wife, Pat, needs me at home to look after her now.

Below is a photo of Patricia with her senior dance partner, Jimmy Quinn, whom I also knew well. Poor Jimmy died a year or so after the photo was taken; brain tumour.

I'm going to write to Patricia every day whilst she is in hospital. It's the least I can do. Bye for now...

Lara Fabian - Emotion Personified

I discovered this beautiful singer, Lara Fabian, some months ago. She is now living in Canada (lucky country). I think she has also had a baby some while back.

But what a voice. What an artist. Huge vocal range and her whole being is thrust into her song - especially in this one: Je suis malade. Such a sad yet powerfully emotive song. I hope you can bear to listen to her; I find it heart-rending.

GOSH for Children

Today I've seen one of the most heart-rending documentaries ever.

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is renowned for its work in saving the lives of young children. This programme tonight, the first in series of three, is called 'Pushing the Boundaries' - and it is extremely difficult to watch. But having started to watch it is impossible NOT to watch.

The surgeons in this dedicated hospital are super-human. I cannot believe how they can carry on working under such pressure, from the parents and from the job itself.

Every age group in children is included. From a 2-day old baby upwards. Some marvellous successes. Some terrible heartbreaking failures too.

One very young girl had a serious vascular problem which would certainly be fatal unless operated on had eight hours on the operating table. The operation to fix her vascular problem was successful. However, her parents were devastated to learn that one of her kidneys had to be removed. Also that she was now brain damaged. And that she was blind as a result of the surgery! But she would live. Later, some weeks later, her sight returned, so it was not all doom and gloom.

A really harrowing case of a 9 year old lad who'd had a heart valve operation a few years ago was again seriously ill. The surgeons decided that a further valve repair was no longer an option. The heart specialists discussed the option of a heart transplant. With the parents and the little boy present.

They explained to the boy that they knew he did not want to have another operation but that he would be very ill if nothing was done. So would he like to have a new heart and be completely better.

"Will it hurt me when you cut my body open?" he asked. "No, it will be painless; you will not feel a thing."

"Where will you get my new heart from?" he asked. Very gently the surgeon explained that it would be given by somebody who had no more need of the heart because they had died from something else. "Well, what will happen to my heart when you take it out?" he continued to ask. Again the specialists explained that parts of his old heart could be used to help somebody else.

Eventually everything was agreed and the transplant went ahead. Two weeks later the young boy died.

The way these doctors deal with these harrowing cases astounds me. They are clearly deeply concerned for the children and parents concerned but they have to make such demanding decisions. I have great respect and admiration for them all, but I could never be strong enough to attempt a tenth of what they do.

Amazing and highly emotional stuff.

Al Martino's Tribute to Luciano Pavarotti - 2007

When I was a young, and very foolish, young chap I favoured many singers, crooners and pop stars and in my top 5 was Al Martino. His great recording of "Here in My Heart" was his most successful song and one of my favourites.

Born in 1927 he carried on working into his eighties and his voice was still as strong as ever.

At age of 80 he sang Nessum Dorma, a tribute to the late great Luciano Pavarotti, in a concert in Germany, 2007.

I could not believe that this 'pop singer' could sing this operatic aria as well as he did - and at his age.

Hope you like it.

Much Ado at Mellerstain

It is now late March, 2010, time for a bit of FlipVideoing at Mellerstain House before the Easter opening here. There's been some west wing roof repairs going on since about October, 2009, and a gigantic marquee covered the whole of this part of the house. Tons and tons of scaffolding had first to be erected and then covered in by canvas to make this huge tent-like structure.

Health and safety regulations are, no doubt, a pre-requisite for this type of work on the roof of the wing.

The Haddington family had to endure the noise and a virtual black-out of natural light during the months of building work. It is now drawing to a rapid close and should be completely done and dusted before the Easter weekend opening to the public.

The adverse weather conditions during this winter period did not help! However, the builders and workmen managed to get it all finished in time; jolly good work chaps!

The Many Strands of a Web Blog

You never know who might be reading your blog. People all over the world might be just stumbling across your writings. Others, like the young lady below, will be "doing a Google" for something or other. Here's how this particular encounter evolved:

By means of a Google search, I found a comment you had posted on the blog "A Majority of Two" last December on hunting tapestries. I see that you mention Mellerstain - I am in the U.S. conducting archaeological research on early 17th C. hunting dogs, and currently trying to find an image of a hunting tapestry that is (or used to be) on display at Mellerstain Castle. It is a 16th C. Flemish tapestry including a large greyhound wearing quilted body armor for hunting large game like bear or boars. Having found no other leads, this a tapestry you are familiar with? Do you have any ideas as to where I might acquire an image of it for study? (Books, websites, etc.)

Thanks in advance,
Kelsey Noack

I went on to send Miss Noack a scan of part of the guide book on Mellerstain which has a VERY small black and white picture of the tapestry:


and this is her reply:
Hi Phil,

How exciting! I was able to crop the image that you sent me and enlarge it without too much distortion. (I then printed it out and showed it to several of the other staff since I've been talking about it for weeks and thought they might want to see it too.)

If you are not able to get permission for a photo, or if you are never able to reach Lord Haddington at all I understand. This scanned image you've sent is useful in and of itself. I would still like to have a more detailed image, but I can get by with this one if it's not possible.

Thanks so much, and I will look forward to any news you come up with.

Kelsey

Next, I asked Lord Haddington (who is an excellent photographer) if he would oblige with a full size photograph of the tapestry and he did so, as shown here:



This proved to be much more useful to Kelsey, but then she sent this:

Phil,

Thank you! I am slightly overwhelmed at all the detail I can see in the photo. This is wonderful. Very helpful, indeed. However, now that I can see more I am interested in higher resolution photos, or perhaps having the camera focused on particular portions of the tapestry. I have been able to zoom in fairly close on the dogs in the foreground, which is originally what I was interested in. In the upper left half I can see that there are also depictions of dogs actively in the pursuit of several boars. Would it be possible to have closer images of those portions?

Thanks to you, again, and to Lord Haddington.

Sincerely,
Kelsey

I forwarded Kelsey's message to Lord H, prefacing it with saying that I doubted it would be possible to get close-ups of the areas requested because of the poor light in the area of the tapestry (and said much the same to Kelsey).

There then followed four more photos from Lord H, which I emailed to Kelsey.








The end result was a final email from Kelsey:

Hello Phil,


Thank you so very much for your help in acquiring these, and please pass on my thanks again to Lord Haddington. Very exciting to have these photos! I think they are now going to be a much larger focus of the work I am doing. I will send a copy of my paper when it is finished. It's looking like the dogs that would have been brought here to Jamestown would definitely have been hunting dogs only, and we know that a few of them at least were greyhounds according to the documentary record. In effect, the dogs pictured in the tapestry are likely the same type brought here to Jamestown, right down to the coloring! Now all that remains is to confirm which continent the dogs were from through chemical testing with isotopic analysis.


Sorry I did not get back to you right away. It was a very busy weekend and I was away from the computer. What a great thing to have waiting for me in the inbox.


Thank you again,
Kelsey

Kelsey Noack, M.A.

Curatorial Assistant
APVA Jamestown Rediscovery
knoack@preservationvirginia.org
(757) 229-4997 ext. 109

So, from a blog by Jo, (A Majority of Two), with TAPESTRIES as the theme, and a small comment from yours truly on Jo's blog it was possible to help a young lady on the other side of the world in her research work.

The old cliché "It's a small world" is truer now than it's ever been!

The Dimbledy Lecture: Assisted Death

Yesterday evening I watched one of the most thought-provoking and emotional BBC television programmes ever.

The late Richard Dimbledy, who died of cancer many years ago, was a much respected television personality. Two of his sons carry on where he left off, and last night the BBC broadcast "The Dimbledy Lecture" - and what a great lecture it was.

The author Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame has a form of Alzheimers. He has made public announcements to this effect. He has donated $1million to an Alzheimer charity. He does not want to succumb to this disease but has - at the moment - no choice.

He wrote this lecture. Brilliantly. However, because the disease prevents him from reading for more than a short time his friend, the actor Tony Robinson, delivered the lecture. Again, brilliantly.

The hour long lecture centred on "the right to die when one chooses". Terry P does not like the term 'assisted suicide' and uses 'assisted death' instead. He puts his case clearly and strongly.

I agree with everything I heard.

When life becomes intolerable, when the prognosis is a lingering decline and death, when an incurable disease makes life a living hell, then the sufferer should be helped by the medical profession to slip away. To die peacefully with dignity.

I see nothing but good coming from this lecture. We would not allow a sick cat or a dog to shrivel away over weeks, months and sometimes years. We consider that cruel, yet we inflict such trauma on our fellow humans.

What do YOU think?

Bare Bosom Calamity - or BBC

In the early days of broadcasting, BTV (before television), the BBC newsreaders were made to dress formally: i.e. dinner suits for men and evening gowns for women newscasters.

Not that anybody, other than BBC staff, could actually see them reading the news. It was just the stuffy old rules that were applied by the BBC management then.

Now the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Smart casual, to coin a phrase, has been approved in many areas of broadcasting. Presenters can wear old jeans and trainers, no neckties required and various other dress modes are OK today.

Some presenters just look scruffy; I can't say I am in favour of some of these 'informal' styles but it does not bother me too much. I don't watch too much tv anyway.

However, what's this to do with 'Bare Bosom' I hear you scream. Tell us, show us, come clean!

The Booby Link

Very well then, just go to the link above. Prepare to be shocked beyond recall.

A Short Fishy Tale

I've got a couple of goldfish. I keep them in a goldfish bowl.

They've been called "One" and "Two" - though I cannot tell them apart.

I called them this because (wait for it): if one dies I've still got two.

OK, groan as much as you like.

Do You Keep a Diary?

Hello again. Been feeling a tad lethargic lately. Must be the weather; the grey skies. the S.A.D. effect perhaps, (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I've heard that mid-January is when we have a surge in suicides. Don't know how true this is; not something I've ever investigated - just heard it mentioned a couple of times on radio.

I shall be 75 on Tuesday 19th January and have outlived my father, mother and two of my younger brothers. I'm the eldest of five boys, all born twixt 19 Jan 1935 and 6 June 1945, so I guess I've been lucky thus far. Had some close calls over the years, what with Herr Hitler's Luftwaffe bombing Croydon for five scary years and various other events. Falling off a roof at age 12 and breaking my right wrist instead of my neck is an example.

We remember so many happenings in our lives but also forget much. Would a diary be worth reading had we kept one from an early age?

The answer is probably a resounding yes!

Blogging is a 'sort of' diary. Many millions now write a blog which, almost by definition (web log) is a diary. But it's a newish thing. Neither is a blog a personal diary (usually, that is). I am now reading a superbly engrossing book entitled 'Our Hidden Lives', which is a collection of personal diaries kept by 'ordinary' people during the post-war period in Great Britain. I find it fascinating and quite engrossing.

The award winning writer Simon Garfield has woven the diaries of five ordinary people, confronting the uncertain years following WW2 into a wonderful and evocative patchwork. (That sentence is an extract from the 'blurb' of this book).

The 5 diarists are Maggie Joy Blunt, a modern young woman who is bored out of her mind in a metal company in Slough.

George Taylor, a curmudgeonly accountant from Sheffield who gets annoyed when woken by fireworks celebrating the end of the war.

Edie Rutherford, Sheffield housewife and Socialist, who is always arging with her hairdresser.

B. Charles, a gay antiques dealer in Edinburgh and a horrific snob.

And finally Herbert Brush, London pensioner, active for his age, forever creosoting his garden fence and author of ambitious but appalling poetry.

None of these people knew each other and their diary entries are beautifully brought together to make a great book.

I kept a couple of notebook diaries for about 5 years. Not that I religiously made an entry every day, but never more that a gap of a week between entries. I have not kept a diary since 1983, but wonder if I should have done.

Perhaps I stopped because I sometimes wrote entries when I was in a dark mood, the 'black dog' mood that afflicted Winston Churchill to name but one such sufferer. Reading some entries now is quite a reminder of how 'low' I felt at times.

I recall that a well-known actress (whose name escapes me right now) once said: "Keep a diary, and one day it might keep you". That is a truism for many diarists - Pepys being the most well known, along with many politicians of course!

I love reading diaries of all sorts of people. I think they are fascinating. One of my favourites was the late Kenneth Williams, a comic actor and raconteur. His diaries were honest and so very sad as well. He took his own life a few years ago, pills and a bottle of spirits. His final entry: "What's the bloody point?" - meaning the point of his life. And what about the wonderful writings of Ann Frank? Such a lovely young girl, recording her days in hiding in Holland before being dragged off to a concentration camp where she died so cruelly young.

I wonder if YOU keep a diary?

Digging an Escape Tunnel

We had some respite last night; the forecast 20cm of snow missed us out! I don't know if we shall be so lucky again today/tonight but it's looking fairly good right now.

Just a short glimpse of yours truly digging into the snow that has blocked my garage doors. Camera operator: my OH.

Yesterday evening one of the farm lads drove a tractor through our small roads, ploughing a path wide enough for a car to slide through. This is a great help to the eleven cottage dwellers here in Mellerstain Village. With luck we shall venture into town tomorrow.

EssEnOhDubya Spells ? What ? Guess!!

Wednesday 6th January 2010 - and it does not get any better weatherwise.

14 inches deep now, and the forecast is that this wintry spell could last for over a week. Shades of 1947 are turning into firm reality. This will be a terrible time for many isolated, old and infirm people in the UK.

Apparently, according to a met., expert, there is a large area of high pressure centered over the UK. This is somehow blocking the normal and mild Gulf stream and allowing the Siberian freezing weather to take over. I thought the Russians would be at the bottom of this! Gas supplies are said to be running low, only seven days left! How accurate is this I wonder? Not that we have gas central heating but millions have.

I am going to send a strongly worded email of complaint to whomsoever is concerned with this freeze up. It's simply not GOOD ENOUGH!

January 3rd Weather Report from Scotland

I'll keep it short! SNOW.
End of report.

First Day of Twenty-Ten - Still Snowing!

Just a short picture show of New Year's Day, 2010, in the Scottish Borders.
Wishing you all the Best New Year EVER!

Deep and Crisp and Even

Good morning to all in the Land of Blog, the Land of Shimp, the Land of the Walking Man, Shadow's Land, the BeeKeepers Land (aka BeekersLand) and everyone who inhabits the Blogosphere.

You can see how wintry it is in these parts; beautiful vistas and just wonderful for all the youngsters building snowmen, playing snowballs or just skidding along on their toboggans and sleds. Been there, done all that and the tee-shirt needs renewing - but heigh-ho - it's snow great problem!

Haven't used my mini-camcorder for a while so hope it comes through on here today. All our best wishes to everybody. Take good care of yourselves - and that's an order!

Brief Encounter

My apologies for lack of postings and for not visiting my favourite bloggers.

Health problems in the Croydon Boy cottage have been the cause. My wife and I have both had some time in hospital. Pat was in Edinburgh Royal and I was in Borders General. My problem was heart damage of a few years ago which gave me some reminders recently! Pat has a vascular problem and this is worrying but is being treated well enough.

I don't want to dwell on the health side of things as life's too short for all that. We shall be more concerned with the weather at present. Plenty of snow and a radio warning today said that Lothian and Borders (my area of course) can expect heavy and prolonged snow - lasting until after Christmas Day.

So, a white Christmas this year. Lovely for the youngsters; not too sure about those in isolated areas who are easily cut off in snow storms. This happened to us about five or six years ago when we lost power for five days and all roads were totally impassable for three days. Memories of cooking eggs and bacon on a fry pan over the coal fire. Slowly boiling water for coffee and tea on a gaz camping stove. Romantic? Not very. ;-}

We wish everybody a very Merry Xmas and a Happier and Healthier New Year. If winter comes can Spring be far away...

A Beautiful Woman - How to be one

A friend in Australia sent me this recently. I think it's worth more than just a look.
Audrey Hepburn wrote the following when asked to share her 'beauty tips .'

It was read at her funeral years later.


For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

If you share this with another person you will boost her self esteem, and she will know that you care about her.

A quiz for you...

There's something odd about the following extract from a 50,000-plus word novel. Can you say what it is?

If youth, throughout all history, had had a champion to stand up for it; to show a doubting world that a child can think; and, possibly, do it practically; you wouldn’t constantly run across folks today who claim that “a child don’t know anything.”A child’s brain starts functioning at birth; and has, amongst its many infant convolutions, thousands of dormant atoms, into which God has put a mystic possibility for noticing an adult’s act, and figuring out its purport.

Up to about its primary school days a child thinks, naturally, only of play. But many a form of play contains disciplinary factors. “You can’t do this,” or “that puts you out,” shows a child that it must think, practically or fail. Now, if, throughout childhood, a brain has no opposition, it is plain that it will attain a position of “status quo,” as with our ordinary animals. Man knows not why a cow, dog or lion was not born with a brain on a par with ours; why such animals cannot add, subtract, or obtain from books and schooling, that paramount position which Man holds today.

But a human brain is not in that class. Constantly throbbing and pulsating, it rapidly forms opinions; attaining an ability of its own; a fact which is startlingly shown by an occasional child “prodigy” in music or school work. And as, with our dumb animals, a child’s inability convincingly to impart its thoughts to us, should not class it as ignorant.

The complete novel has the same unique 'peculiarity' - and is thus quite a remarkable achievement by Mr. Gadsby, the author, who died at age 66 just as his amazing book was published. He never even saw it as a publised book!

The Search for Madeleine Continues

The heartache of the parents goes on, and on ... they will never give up their search for the daughter who was snatched from their lives over two years ago.

I can think of nothing worse than not knowing where one's child is. What has happened to her. Is she well, or being abused. Or has she been murdered.

You might say otherwise. You may say that the death of a child is far worse. But at least you know what has happened.

Not knowing must be a constant nightmare. A terrible thing to have to live with. So I hope more blogs will include this video - it is available on youtube and the more widespread it becomes the more chance there is that SOMEBODY will give the parents the lead they pray for.

I hope so. I sincerely hope so.

Floors Castle (Kelso)

Floors Castle in Kelso is the home of the 10th Duke of Roxburghe and family.

This is a large estate with extensive grounds, cottages, stables and other properties including the Roxburgh Hotel and a new golf course.

The Duke and Duchess are fond of horses and have bred some very good race horses. Currently they have Elation, a two-year-old bay filly in training at the Mark Johnston racing stables; one of the most successful trainers in the UK.

I like strolling around the pasture areas of Floors Castle and sometimes see quite a number of beautiful horses grazing. However, today I could find only a couple in the area I was walking in. One of the two looked as though she might be in foal. I'm no expert but I thought she looked a tad 'plumpish'.

I've not been around the blog scene for a few days as my wife, Pat, has been spending a couple of days in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where she had a minor operation called an angioplasty. It went very well; Pat was able to see this procedure on the monitor as the surgeon went about her job! She is now safely back home I'm pleased to say.

Short video: