Sunday, October 16, 2016
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT
I've heard of many things that can be recycled but this is a new one to me and I thought what a wonderful idea it is.
Friday, October 14, 2016
FRIDAY FAVOURITES
This is one of my favourite songs and I may have posted it on here before but today I found Perry Como sang it and when I listened to his rendition I decided to share it with you. Here now is Perry Como with The Way We Were.
That picture doesn't look quite right so hopefully the right song will appear here when you click on it. It did for me!!
That picture doesn't look quite right so hopefully the right song will appear here when you click on it. It did for me!!
Thursday, October 13, 2016
DID YOU KNOW?
With William the Conquerer well established as King of England we now have his son and heir in that position. More history from "Kings and Queens of England and Scotland".
WILLIAM II 1087-1100 Known as William Rufus
Born : ?1056
Succeeded as King of England 6 September, 1087, aged about 31.
Second surviving son of his predecesesor William,
Marriage: None recorded.
Children: None recorded.
Died: 2 August, 1100 from an arrow wound received in mysterious circumstances in the New Forest. aged about 44, having reigned 13 years.
Buried: Winchester Cathedral.
Profile: Penetrating eyes, medium height, thick build, red face, a lively man, wilfully unconventional in his deliberate blasphemy and colourful oaths, with which he often began a remark to cover an incipient stammer; extravagant with a particularly flamboyant taste in clothes.
William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert, had rebelled against his father and had tried to seize Normandy. There was a reconciliation, though the disloyalty grieved William even on his deathbed. The Conqueror barred Robert from succession to the English throne, but bequeathed Normandy to him. The next son, Richard, had died seven years earlier - ominously, in a hunting accident in the New Forest - and the Conqueror designated his next son, William, to sovereignty over England.
There was a fourth son, Henry, born after a succession of five daughters, and born after the Conqueror was crowned as King of England - "born in the purple" as the phrase was used. Henry was convinced that this fact gave him a stronger claim to immediate accession than any of his elder brothers, and this conviction of his has been used to shed a sinister light on the events of his actual succession.
William Rufus has been generally described as avaricious, an oppressor of the Church, and in his private life totally immoral. His avarice, which governed his attitude to the Church, may in part be explained by his realisation that his father, the Conqueror, had been too generous in his gifts of English land and had not reserved sufficient revenue for the extensive military operations which were still necessary to define and hold the borders of England. Admittedly, he had a passion for personal pleasure and adornment, but he had to spend much more on a series of camaigns against the Scots and the Welsh - as a result of which he built Carlisle Castle and a chain of forts along the Welsh marches - as well as accepting the necessity of facing up to fairly continuous threats from his brother Robert of Normandy. One of the means by which he raised his money was by not filling vacancies in abbeys and bishoprics, and letting the revenues accrue to his treasury.
In such circumstances, since it was the monks who were at that time the historians of England, it is understandable that he did not get favourable notices. The gossip extended to his private life. The fact that he did not marry is nowadays somewhat facilely interpreted as showing that he was homosexual. This is not impossible, but what evidence there is m thought it is vague, is to the contrary. His obscure death from an arrow-wound received in the New Forest has caused much later speculation, including a modern theory that it was the culmination of a ritual of ancient, pre-Christian, magic using the old formula of 'The King must die' Walter Tyrell, the man said to have shot him by accident, always denied that he was there at all. A recent theory that the act was murder at the instigation of Henry, who believed he had been lawful king since 1087, has the circumstantial backing that Henry was a member of the fatal hunting party and, as soon as he heard of his brother's death, he rode post-haste to Winchester to commandeer the royal treasury. He took it immediately to London, while bearers more slowly brought Rufus's body to the cathedral. It was buried with little ceremony, beneath the flagstones under the tower, and in the following year the tower fell down. But even the propagandist monk who recorded this could not ascribe the fact to William's godlessness 'It would have fallen down in any case'. he conceded, 'because it was so badly built'.
WILLIAM II 1087-1100 Known as William Rufus
Born : ?1056
Succeeded as King of England 6 September, 1087, aged about 31.
Second surviving son of his predecesesor William,
Marriage: None recorded.
Children: None recorded.
Died: 2 August, 1100 from an arrow wound received in mysterious circumstances in the New Forest. aged about 44, having reigned 13 years.
Buried: Winchester Cathedral.
Profile: Penetrating eyes, medium height, thick build, red face, a lively man, wilfully unconventional in his deliberate blasphemy and colourful oaths, with which he often began a remark to cover an incipient stammer; extravagant with a particularly flamboyant taste in clothes.
William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert, had rebelled against his father and had tried to seize Normandy. There was a reconciliation, though the disloyalty grieved William even on his deathbed. The Conqueror barred Robert from succession to the English throne, but bequeathed Normandy to him. The next son, Richard, had died seven years earlier - ominously, in a hunting accident in the New Forest - and the Conqueror designated his next son, William, to sovereignty over England.
There was a fourth son, Henry, born after a succession of five daughters, and born after the Conqueror was crowned as King of England - "born in the purple" as the phrase was used. Henry was convinced that this fact gave him a stronger claim to immediate accession than any of his elder brothers, and this conviction of his has been used to shed a sinister light on the events of his actual succession.
William Rufus has been generally described as avaricious, an oppressor of the Church, and in his private life totally immoral. His avarice, which governed his attitude to the Church, may in part be explained by his realisation that his father, the Conqueror, had been too generous in his gifts of English land and had not reserved sufficient revenue for the extensive military operations which were still necessary to define and hold the borders of England. Admittedly, he had a passion for personal pleasure and adornment, but he had to spend much more on a series of camaigns against the Scots and the Welsh - as a result of which he built Carlisle Castle and a chain of forts along the Welsh marches - as well as accepting the necessity of facing up to fairly continuous threats from his brother Robert of Normandy. One of the means by which he raised his money was by not filling vacancies in abbeys and bishoprics, and letting the revenues accrue to his treasury.
In such circumstances, since it was the monks who were at that time the historians of England, it is understandable that he did not get favourable notices. The gossip extended to his private life. The fact that he did not marry is nowadays somewhat facilely interpreted as showing that he was homosexual. This is not impossible, but what evidence there is m thought it is vague, is to the contrary. His obscure death from an arrow-wound received in the New Forest has caused much later speculation, including a modern theory that it was the culmination of a ritual of ancient, pre-Christian, magic using the old formula of 'The King must die' Walter Tyrell, the man said to have shot him by accident, always denied that he was there at all. A recent theory that the act was murder at the instigation of Henry, who believed he had been lawful king since 1087, has the circumstantial backing that Henry was a member of the fatal hunting party and, as soon as he heard of his brother's death, he rode post-haste to Winchester to commandeer the royal treasury. He took it immediately to London, while bearers more slowly brought Rufus's body to the cathedral. It was buried with little ceremony, beneath the flagstones under the tower, and in the following year the tower fell down. But even the propagandist monk who recorded this could not ascribe the fact to William's godlessness 'It would have fallen down in any case'. he conceded, 'because it was so badly built'.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
TUESDAY CHAT
How many of you feel as I do that it will be wonderful when the presidential election in the US is well and truly over although I am sure there will be repercussions following on from it. My daughter as you know has just returned from two and a half weeks in New Jersey and she said she couldn't believe the hate talk that goes on over there when politics rears its ugly head.
I know feelings run high in Australia, particularly when we have a Federal election, and some nasty words are thrown back and forth (particularly on some Facebook pages) but I don't think I've ever seen it tear friends or families apart as it seems to do in America. I know what my thoughts are on how our country should be run and others differ but it is their right to do so. I wouldn't fall out with anyone over their choice of candidate or party even when I think they are wrong. (*:*)
Talking of our daughter .... she and her hubby arrived home safely but both of them are feeling the effects of the long flight and are suffering exceptionally bad jet lag which I don't think affected them so much on their outward journey. K decided to take a few extra days off before returning to work on Thursday but B was back at work today only to find he has to fly to *Adelaide on Tuesday (back here Wednesday) and then fly to *Sydney on Sunday (back here on Tuesday). For someone already rather out of whack with all the other flying, K is concerned for his welfare, as am I. He does have a very good job but sometimes it is not always good for one's health. We can only hope he comes out the other side OK and may be has a chance of a rest in a week or so.
Not a lot has happened to either of us. We both got out in the garden a couple of times to check out the weeds!! I began to pull up a few (I have great difficulty bending down now) and lo and behold Phil began to look or the Dutch hoe. Nowhere to be found until we both realised it was hidden in plain sight, leaning up against a small table down the yard. I think I will employ similar tactics in future and maybe a few more weeds will go the way all weeds should go. Won't be doing much on Wednesday as they are promising it will be 32C (89F) on Wednesday
We have had such cold weather in Perth that my frangipani are barely showing signs of leaves although there are a few very tiny shoots appearing on most of the plants. The nasturtiums on the other hand are taking over a lot of the back garden and their beautiful yellow and orange blooms bring the yard to life, and for a few moment you forget those damned weeds. Pink and white daisies and red bottlebrush are bringing a springtime look to our front garden.
I just realised that is the wrong bottlebrush....that is C. citrinus (not yet in flower) whereas the one covered with blooms is Kings Park Special and already the black cockatoes have been and bitten several of the blossoms off. These cockies are an endangered species but there's still enough of them to do pop in and be cheeky with the garden plants. Used to be large flocks of them arrive but now sadly we only see a few of them at a time which I guess if good for the bottlebrushes in Perth but not good for the black cockies. I did however read somewhere they may be making a comeback so hopefully, and seriously, there will be more of them to be seen in future.
I know feelings run high in Australia, particularly when we have a Federal election, and some nasty words are thrown back and forth (particularly on some Facebook pages) but I don't think I've ever seen it tear friends or families apart as it seems to do in America. I know what my thoughts are on how our country should be run and others differ but it is their right to do so. I wouldn't fall out with anyone over their choice of candidate or party even when I think they are wrong. (*:*)
Talking of our daughter .... she and her hubby arrived home safely but both of them are feeling the effects of the long flight and are suffering exceptionally bad jet lag which I don't think affected them so much on their outward journey. K decided to take a few extra days off before returning to work on Thursday but B was back at work today only to find he has to fly to *Adelaide on Tuesday (back here Wednesday) and then fly to *Sydney on Sunday (back here on Tuesday). For someone already rather out of whack with all the other flying, K is concerned for his welfare, as am I. He does have a very good job but sometimes it is not always good for one's health. We can only hope he comes out the other side OK and may be has a chance of a rest in a week or so.
Not a lot has happened to either of us. We both got out in the garden a couple of times to check out the weeds!! I began to pull up a few (I have great difficulty bending down now) and lo and behold Phil began to look or the Dutch hoe. Nowhere to be found until we both realised it was hidden in plain sight, leaning up against a small table down the yard. I think I will employ similar tactics in future and maybe a few more weeds will go the way all weeds should go. Won't be doing much on Wednesday as they are promising it will be 32C (89F) on Wednesday
We have had such cold weather in Perth that my frangipani are barely showing signs of leaves although there are a few very tiny shoots appearing on most of the plants. The nasturtiums on the other hand are taking over a lot of the back garden and their beautiful yellow and orange blooms bring the yard to life, and for a few moment you forget those damned weeds. Pink and white daisies and red bottlebrush are bringing a springtime look to our front garden.
I just realised that is the wrong bottlebrush....that is C. citrinus (not yet in flower) whereas the one covered with blooms is Kings Park Special and already the black cockatoes have been and bitten several of the blossoms off. These cockies are an endangered species but there's still enough of them to do pop in and be cheeky with the garden plants. Used to be large flocks of them arrive but now sadly we only see a few of them at a time which I guess if good for the bottlebrushes in Perth but not good for the black cockies. I did however read somewhere they may be making a comeback so hopefully, and seriously, there will be more of them to be seen in future.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Sunday, October 9, 2016
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