THE PRINCE & THE PAUPER!

'Benefits should be conferred gradually;

and in that way they will taste better.'

~Niccolo Machiavelli~

How apt that statement seems........the 'powers that be' have cocked up had a technical hitch and not paid out the student loans. I don't intend to go on to much about it as, otherwise, I really enjoyed my first day at Uni. Let's just say there were a lot of long faces in the first seminar....and when we can all afford to go shopping I'm sure the food will 'taste better' as we will have waited so long to buy it!

I'm sure our lecturer never expected that one of Machiavelli's quotes would be used to complain about Student Loans not arriving!

As I hinted in my last post....I really know so little about politics, past or present...but the seminar was fascinating. We looked at some parts of 'The Prince' and had some lively discussion about the rights and wrongs of some of Machiavelli's ideas. As soon as I got home I couldn't wait to get on the computer and start 'googling' around to read more. I found some great sites and so many differing points of view.....exciting stuff! If Hobbes, Locke etc etc stimulate me as much I think I'm going to enjoy this module much more than I expected.

Tomorrow we have our first 'Introduction to the study of drama' and 'From Cradle to Grave' lectures. 'Greek Tragedy' and 'mortality in the 16th century'.....what a cheery couple of topics....LOL

I'm sorry this is only a short post but I want another quick look at 'Antigone' before I go to bed. I can't leave wihout posting a photo though.......so here's a photo of a Cinnabar Moth...for no other reason than it's the first time I've ever photographed one!

THE BEST OF INTENTIONS!

SUNDAY...9A.M.

Right then...let's see... my History assignment is the first one due in. 'To what extent did the domestic ideology impact on the lives of Victorian men and women?' Ok I'll get all my books, handouts etc out and spend a few hours making a start on it. Then I must look through last week's Sociology handouts before our next tutorial tomorrow.

Think I'll make myself a coffee first......

The house seems quite warm today despite those grey skies outside...I'll have a walk down the garden while the kettle's boiling.......
Gosh that's mild for this time of year! It's really pleasant out here.......the pansies are looking cheery....
Oh and look......there are some patches of snowdrops dotted around the garden....

I love looking inside their nodding heads....look this one has wildlife in it...two bugs and a caterpillar.....can you see them?

I'm sure I heard a frog croaking...can't see one but can definitely hear it!

Ohhhhh it is nice out here.....maybe I'll sit on the bench and drink my coffee...THEN I'll get that assignment started......
Hmmmm..........I may just spend 5 minutes doing a bit of weeding........oh look this Grape Hyacinth (Muscari) is in flower....buds on the Daphne odorata too! I know it's a weed but the Celandine is so pretty.....and the perennial Candytuft is flowering too!

Well I never!......there are leaf buds starting to show on the hardy Fuchsia's..... and that cutting of Lady Boothby against the wall is in leaf!
Now is this a late Autumn Cyclamen or an early Spring one......
Would you believe it....a left over bedding Begonia in leaf and flower..........Like last year...Osteospernums and Narcissi in flower at the same time.... Still flowers on the Winter Jasmine..............Gosh there is quite a bit of weeding to do..... I may as well get my secateurs out and prune back some of the die-back on the roses.......I'll snip the old leaves off the Hellabores too as I see they are coming into bud.....I may cut back some of the ivy too.....it's kept growing all Winter..

Well I've completed filled the Brown Bin (garden waste)...good job they collect it this week! These garden bags are almost full too.....

3p.m.

I think I'd better call it a day now.......I'm feeling quite tired after all this fresh air.....feel a bit achy too.....think I'll have a nice long soak in the bath.... and I've not had lunch so may have an early dinner..........Plus I'm sure there was something I was meant to be doing today????

(take off outdoor shoes, wash hands, go into living room).........................

AGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!......I've not even started my assignment....everything's just as I left it!!!

and I've yet to read my Sociology handouts.........................oh dear......... well I must have that bath and cook some dinner....I'll get down to my studies after that.........

5.30p.m.

Ahhh...that feels better.......I've had a nice Radox bath, a nice dinner and even a glass of wine..........

I think I'd better read the Sociology handouts and make some notes on them before I start the History....................

6.30p.m.

Just glanced at the TV magazine....Antiques Roadshow starts at 7p.m., then the second episode of Lark Rise to Candleford and that's followed by the crime drama Messiah.....................I could really enjoy chilling out and watching some T.V........and it is a bit late in the day to start doing that assignment......my brain's never as alert in the evening......................I'll just do a quick blogpost about today and see how I feel then.................

7p.m.

Off to college soon...Sociology again today. Yesterday was beautiful weather..sadly the garden hardly has any sun this time of year but I did take a few photos while I worked in the shade. The Winter pansies are blooming beautifully now...I love their cheery faces...they don't seem to mind if they have sun or not!These darker pink cyclamen are in flower now...I love the colour though not sure where they came from...I don't remember having them last year...maybe seedlings that have now grown enough to their flowering stageI'm pleased to see that the bees are still buzzing around ..............and seem to be giving the "thumbs bums up" to the toad lilies............The spiders are finding plenty to eat and I had to "capture" this "capture".... Despite the rainy Summer lately we've not had much of the wet stuff lately at all......I think this wasp dropped by for a drink......
and this bee wasn't content with water on leaves and ended up in my glass!...I rescued him AFTER I'd taken the photo..........I saw this ladybird on one of the Dahlias...it's marking are quite unusual...I'm hoping it's not one of the Harlequin Ladybirds which are are causing problems for our indigineous ladybirds.......any help on this matter gratefully received.............
Well must dash now or I'll miss my lift....................

HISTORY AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE!

Had my first history tutorial today. OMG I thought I knew what History was, I learnt it at school didn't I? I remember SOME of it well.... all those Kings and Queens of England from Anglo-Saxon to Windsor. The battles and wars; important events all those dates 1066 Battle of Hastings, 1666 Great Fire of London. The Romans in Britain till 410AD, the Egyptians, the Greeks etc etc. I sent hours listening to the teachers, scribbling away in my notebook...spending endless hours of homework learning hundreds of dates and the names of Henry VIII's wives.

Well History now isn't like that......History is MADE by Historians in an attempt to understand about the past by studying and analysing historical sources...like artifacts and documents....and examining these sources for validity and bias and organizing in order to shed light on human experience. Of course the result is dependant on the interpretation of the Historian so half the time they probably won't agree anyway if the interpretation is based on differing resources. AGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This is probably old news to many of you but it was certainly a new approach to History for me. Re my Sociology homework..."What is Sociology"...I rewritten this at least 3 times now! and I've yet to THINK about the difference between Crime and Deviance.

And my History homework?

Wistful look out the window..................oh the pansies are flowering...

and I see a Dragonfly....

maybe I'll skive off for a while take a well earned break and take some photos.


BTW it's now thought that the Battle of Hastings may have taken place in 1067 and wasn't in Hastings at all!

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'VE BUTTERFLIES IN YOUR STOMACH?

GO AND CAPTURE SOME OTHER INSECTS (and birds)!!

ABC WEDNESDAY - D

D is for Dilemma................... .

I thought at first...YIPPEE the letter D; this gives me a chance to show some more Dragonfly photos...then I remembered that I resolved that my A to Z posts wouldn't contain any insects or flowers that grow in the garden.....DOH!!!!....which means I can't show you these........or this collage of my Dog's tooth violet, Daffodils, Delphinium and Dahlia!!!!Of course I could always show you a photo of Denise (the lady who started this meme) with her Duckie.......but I'd have to pinch the photo off of her blog and that would be a Dastardly Deed..I guess I could post a photo of Steve and Lynn's Dog, Max....that should be good for a few ahhhhhhhhhh's.......but that photo was taken a few years ago and I'd like to post something more up to Date......so I went for a wander to Deliberate on what I could photograph and found this........a broken canoe that had been left in the river.................... so today I've Decided.......................

D IS FOR DUMPED!!!!

If you'd like to join in with ABC Wednesday click on the logo at the top of the post and let MrsNesbitt know.

ABC WEDNESDAY BLOGROLL

BLOOMING BRILLIANT!

Having had some fun days out I've not caught up with last week's newly bloomed flowers....it still surprises me that there's something new to see each week!

It's also time to do another "changes" photo...these are photos taken from approximately the same position at different times of the year. The first of these two is a "NOW" photo, the other a photo from February.


and FINALLY!!!!!!...one of the Cannas in the front garden is starting to flower...this is the latest they've ever started flowering and I'd almost given up on seeing a bloom this year.....

Before I go (Manda, Nicole and I are off to Colchester to see Leanne & co)...a quick plug for Gledwoods new blog........ANIMAL CRACKERS lots of funny and cutesy animal videos...the EPISODE OF 24 ACTED BY A RABBIT is so funny!!!

and a another quickie under the label of "That's new to me".....I've eaten Okra but never grown it...not even sure if we could in England. When I dropped by Dot's blog STROLLING THROUGH GEORGIA this morning she has posted a photo of an Okra bloom......if you've never seen one please take a look...it's stunning.

DRAGONS!

After posting about the False Dragonhead flower in my post yesterday morning I found my mind turning to thoughts of Dragonflies. With a day that promised wall to wall sunshine I thought it ideal for a walk along the river and some Dragonfly chasing. I also wanted to check out a plant that I'd seen there last week but hadn't taken a photo of. On one of her posts the other day Katya...Life in the Bristolwood had posted a photo of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) which looked very similar so a closer look was called for.

I've almost convinced myself that it is Jewelweed.....just wish I could have got closer to it instead of relying on my camera's zoom.

I was pleased to see the cattle were still about; I wondered if they may have been taken off of their grazing land due to the Foot & Mouth scare.There didn't seem to be many Dragonflies around...at least none that settled....but in the distance I could hear the sound of drums...Oh I feel a Jim Reeves song coming on...LOL. I immediately realised what it was........DRAGONBOAT RACE DAY....this event happens every year on the river as a charity fund raising event but I must have missed the advertisement saying when it was to be held. How weird that I went for a walk looking for DragonFLIES and end up seeing dragonBOATS!!!!
The teams are all from local rowing clubs or organisations and had chosen some fabulous names for themselves. The British Sugar team had called themselves "Beet Head" and the Rugby Club U17 were the "The Little Flankers". Even our local Waitrose supermarket had a team "The Waitrose Warriors"; they were wearing Afro Style green wigs...they must have been boiling in them.I wish I'd realised that this event was on as Leanne & co could have come over and watched it; I bet DILLY would have loved it too!
There was a beer tent...........

and I had to have a laugh at this guy swilling his pint outside the portable loos!!As I'd only originally intended to go out for a short walk I hadn't taken any food with me so must admit that although the beer tent didn't tempt me the burger and hot dog stall did!I'm not sure what this nifty motor had to do with the event...possibly they were sponsoring one of the teams.
One of the highlights for me the children is the Punch and Judy Show......

even the Queen dropped in on the act......notice her extra big hand....very handy when you have to do a lot of waving!The chidren (and I) really enjoyed the whole show...this is just a snippet (hold on to your eardrums!)



I'm glad these ducks got out of the way in time before one of the races started!


It really was a fantastically hot day........some of the Rugby Club lads found a great way of cooling off!!!!!

I'm not sure which team won as I left before all the final...........I never did get to take any Dragonfly photos while I was on my walk.....but when I got home...there in the garden was this!and this!!!! and he even stayed around long enough for me to get a closeup of his body........
and his head!!!!


It certainly was a day full of Dragons.....guess you never know when one might fly by........