Brush, tap, brush, tap

Over the years quite a few programmes on Radio 4 have done 'sound sculptures' : showcasing sounds that mean certain things to certain people. Noises are like smells and can provoke memories and evoke moods.

Brush forward, tap, brush forward, tap, brush forward, tap.......

I realised while clearing some debris from the front of the house the other day that this is one of my 'sound sculptures'. Brush forward and a tap and then a repeat. I was sweeping with a hard bristled brush. My technique being to clear the debris into a pile and then tap the brush on the ground to release any dirt that has got caught up in the bristles and then brush another pile and tap.

It took me back to mucking out time on my parent's farm. After the cows had been milked, the yard where they had congregated, waiting to be led into the parlour, had to be cleaned of cow muck. An orange bristled brush came out and brush forward, tap, brush forward, tap would ensue.

A sound made up of thousands of hard bristles rushing against the concrete to reveal a glistening floor and then a full stop to finish the sweep. A rhythmic sentence which was repeated and repeated. Part of this appealing picture was the wooden handled brush with a head of thousands of bright orange tensile hairs. To a little girl I guess it was slightly odd to see such a vibrant colour in an otherwise boring dull place.

It was a job well done. I might add it was a job I never did nor wanted to do but found it sort of fascinating. You started with a dirty yard and finished with a pristine glistening place, ready for the next milking time.

Brush, tap, brush, tap, brush, tap..............

India

I am stripping my daughter's room of its old, manky wallpaper. I am doing it very slowly: a little bit each day. Goodness knows how the decorator stripped our sitting room in one day the other week. I would lose the will to live.

Anyway it's interesting but when you are stripping wallpaper it invariably comes off in long tapered wrips, leaving India behind it.

IT is a coming

We are not a particularly proficient IT household. Our children don't have any gadgets on which to play computer games. We have a laptop and the children play a few games on that. That's how it's developed. The children haven't asked for gadgets (I can't even name you any devices!!) and we haven't encouraged them. Thus far we have got away with it. We did think that last Christmas might be the one where we had to buy something computer -related but we still got away with lego and the like.

They play lots of make-believe, watch TV, play outside, indulge in family games and seem fine about it. It's not to say that if they got their own computer game thingamajigs that we wouldn't do all of the above too but it's saved on our pockets at least.

It's my little girl's 7th birthday soon and she would like a camera. My little boy will be 9 in June and he says he wants a camera too. I asked him if he really wanted a camera or was he just copying his sister.

" I have no technology!" he pleaded with face aghast. Perhaps the time is a-coming.

Plants or children?

Yesterday we visited a nursery. I told the children we were just popping to a new nursery down the road. They looked at me a bit funny but clearly thought they would indulge their old mum.

We arrived and they looked very puzzled. There were greenhouses, flowers, plants, compost but no little kiddiwinks. They are used to garden centres but not plant nurseries. Indeed we are so used to big garden centres selling plants plus gifts plus the kitchen sink and the ubiquitous café that plant nurseries where they grow their own from seed are quite rare. Just think a garden centre that just concentrates on plants and only plants.

Well I am happy to say we have one down the road from us now. The gardener at my mum's old people's home has just bought this nursery that although on my doorstep I knew nothing about. It must have been there quite some time for it sits on Nursery Road.

The gardens at my Mum's are absolutely stunning in the summer so I have high hopes for the nursery and that somehow if I visit it often enough our garden may take on the same hues as at the home.

Owls ahoot

Believe it or not we nearly missed these

Just got back from a lovely weekend in Leeds. Mr B and I ten years married so we returned to the scene of the crime. And one of the amusements we undertook was the Leeds owl trail.

The symbol for the city is an owl and thus a lot of the buildings especially the old ones have an owl incorporated somewhere on or in the building. There are 25 to spot. You get a map from Tourist Info and off you go. It's a hoot - had to get that in.

What a great way of looking up and at buildings. We so often just have our eyes at shop window level and never really look at our architecture. It really did appeal to my collector's spirit. All sorts of owls - stone, gold, wood, stained glass, iron. Owls everywhere once you started looking.

I commend Leeds tourist bods for coming up with this free, family fun idea. I got so enthusiastic I was a little disappointed that I didn't actually see a real owl flying around.

Gold!

Have come home now with a bee in my bonnet and want to find the bees of Manchester (one of the symbols on its coat of arms). It would seem the play on words for symbols on coats of arms is never-ending!

To toss

To toss: take a deep breath, get a good action going in the wrist, have the confidence and flip.....and then catch. Good luck tomorrow with the pancakes. To toss successfully or to get into a mess with a pancake, broken on the floor that is the question.

Mine will be eaten with golden syrup, spread generously. Wonderful....and tossed.

Charity Update March

I have had a good month in the charity shops. My collection of cardigans in every possible colour and style is growing. I feel I should try to curtail the purchase of these items but they do come in so useful in the British climate. In the winter they add a cosy extra layer and in the spring and summer they are so versatile in keeping that evening chill at bay and finishing off an outfit. They aren't as bulky as a jacket which can get too warm and then is annoying when you have to carry it. A cardie is a versatile extra light layer which can be added or shed really easily. And by the way I ain't talking old men's cardies here.

You can see ironing isn't top of my list of priorities

But above all they are very very essential and wonderful in summer at concealing those upper arms which how can I put it when you reach a certain age ......can be a bit flappy!

Long live the cardie.

Charity items since last time:

Ghost silk dress (Oxfam) : £12.99
Mint Velvet silk dress (Oxfam) : £9.99 ( a sundress which definitely needs one of those cardies)
Next girl's dress (Oxfam) : £3.99
Green long sleeved t-shirt (Oxfam):£3.99
Girl's blouse (Oxfam) : £2.99
Huge book on nature (Oxfam): £4.99
Linea yellow cardigan (Barnardo's) : £3
red herring green cardigan (Britsh Red Cross) : £4