Category Archives: personal

current affairs, history, memes, personal, photography

4/52 Katyn Memorial

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4/52 Katyn Memorial, originally uploaded by kcm76.

Week 4 of the 52 week challenge of a photo a week.

This is the memorial in Gunnersbury Cemetery, west London to the thousands of Poles murdered by the Russians at Katyn in 1940. I’ve inset the inscriptions as otherwise they are unreadable. Click on the picture to get a larger version.

The cemetery itself is rather interesting, if not a little OTT with competing acreages of black, white and brown polished marble. It is owned by the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, although it is actually in the LB of Ealing. Consequently it is the final resting place of many from the Polish and Armenian emigré communities. Many of the Armenian graves are written in Armenian script; and not all have a simultaneous translation. You will also find members of the Chinese community, at least one member of the French nobility and the expected English including architect Aston Webb. There is also a grave commemoration a number of members of the 24th Polish Lancers and a small group of twenty WWII war graves.

It is immaculately maintained and well worth a visit, even on a cold January day; it’ll look really pretty in the Spring when all the cherry blossom is out.

memes, music, personal, photography, topographical

3/52 Horns


3/52 Horns, originally uploaded by kcm76.

Week 3 of the 52 weeks photographic challenge and I almost didn’t get a decent picture this week. But then I saw this window display in Selfridge’s Department Store in London’s Oxford Street. All these brass instruments looked absolutely stunning – but impossible to photograph well because of all the reflections.

memes, personal

Thing-a-Day Preparation

Ready … Steady … Wait for it!

Again this year the Thing-a-Day challenge is running for the whole of February, and I intend to take part.

Join artists and creators of all types and backgrounds in a collective creative sprint to beat the February blues. Thing-a-Day invites you to join in a daily creative endeavour where everyone who signs up commits to making one “thing” (project, sketch, exercise, photograph, recipe) per day and shares it online on Thing-a-Day @ Posterous.com.


Participation is simple … 

Starting on February 1st, spend about 30 minutes making one thing a day. Knit, sew, cook, draw, paint, tape, solder, write, destroy, invent, document – or whatever you decide!  (Last year I posted a mix of photographs, recipes and haiku.  Who knows what this year will bring!)

In whatever way works for you, document what you’ve done and make that available on the Thing-a-Day Blog. 

The usual rules apply: no old/recycled work and no stealing the work of others – just something you did, new every day.

You have to register (so you can post to the Thing-a-Day Blog).  Registration opens on Friday 21 January and closes at midnight on 1 February.  You will need a Posterous account, but having set everything up you can post your daily contribution via email to Thing-a-Day and to your blog, Flickr, Facebook, etc.  This is in fact a test post to make sure I have all this set up correctly.  Last year’s registration instructions are here, but of course this years may be different when we get there.

OK, so now let’s see if this works properly. If it does then this post, with the photograph of my new dodo friends, should appear on my Posterous, the TaD Posterous feed, my Zen Mischief weblog, my Flickr photostream and my Facebook stream.

people, personal, photography

A Dodo Anniversary

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As most of you will I’m sure realise I don’t generally do cute, even for kittens. And as most of you will also know it was my 60th birthday last week. So what what did Noreen buy me, but these two cute little 15cm high Dodos. We think they’re called Gilbert and George, but that has yet to be confirmed.

I can’t help feeling that there’s something irresistibly appropriate about being given Dodos on one’s 60th birthday. Indeed a Dodo Anniversary – maybe it’ll catch on?

[Oh and so no-one worries, they did come with a handsome dowry!]

people, personal

Just Another Day

Today, at least in the annals of history is just another day. Very little of great substance has happened over the years on 11 January; about the best being:

  • First recorded lottery in England was drawn at St Paul’s Cathedral, 1569
  • James Paget, surgeon, born 1814
  • HG Selfridge (yes, founder of Selfridges) born 1858
  • Charing Cross Station opened, 1864
  • Maurice Durufle, composer, born 1902
  • Ambrose Bierce, writer, died, 1914
  • First use of insulin to treat diabetes, 1922
  • Mick McMannus, wrestler, born 1928
  • Thomas Hardy, novelist, died 1928
  • Arthur Scargill, Miner’s leader and UK politician, born 1938
  • Ben Crenshaw, golfer, born 1952
  • John Sessions, Scottish actor, born 1953
  • Bryan Robson, English footballer, born 1957
  • Brian Moore, England rugby player, born 1962
  • Richmal Crompton, writer, died, 1969
  • Barbara Pym, novelist, died, 1980

For me today is a strange day as I have to come to terms with the fact that I am now officially a granny. For, yes, today we are 60! Eeekkkkk!

Many thanks to all those of you who have sent me birthday greetings. I am truly touched (yes, in the head!) by all your kind thoughts.

memes, personal

Ten Things – January

This is the first of a monthly series “Ten Things” which I plan will run all year. Each month I’m going to list one thing from each of ten categories which will remain the same each month. So at the end of the year you have ten lists of twelve things.

  1. Something I Like: Sex
  2. Something I Won’t Do: Play Golf
  3. Something I Want To Do: Visit Japan
  4. A Blog I Like: Katyboo
  5. A Book I Like: Anthony Powell; A Dance to the Music of Time (Well you knew I’d say that,didn’t you? And anyway it’s 12 books really!)
  6. Some Music I Like: Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
  7. A Food I Like: Curry
  8. A Food or Drink I Dislike: Egg Custard
  9. A Word I Like: Cunt
  10. A Quote I Like: If you don’t concern yourself with your wife’s cat, you will lose something irretrievable between you. [Haruki Murakami]
memes, personal, photography, science, topographical

1/52 Solar Eclipse, London Style


Solar Eclipse, London Style [2011 week 1], originally uploaded by kcm76.

This is the view of the solar eclipse just after sunrise yesterday (Tuesday 04/01/2011) from my study window. Like what eclipse? Typical of the UK to cock it up; can’t this country get anything right? Bah Humbug!

This is also my first photo for the “52 weeks” (ie. a photo a week) I’m doing this year. I hope I can keep up the standard of getting something off-beat each week. Watch this space.

personal, thoughts

My 2010

I decided to do this survey I found to summarise my engagement (or lack of it) with 2010. If it works I may do it again in a year’s time.

1. What did you do that you’d never done before?
Retire
Be hypnotised

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t make New Year resolutions (see here); but I did have some goals most of which I failed to achieve

3. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More sex
£1M

4. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory?
Sunday 14 February
Saturday 5 June
Friday 27 August

5. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No more than normal: the usual couple of vile colds etc.

6. What was the best thing you bought?
New digital SLR camera

7. Where did most of your money go?
Fuck knows, and he ain’t telling me

8. What did you get really, really excited about?
Nothing; I waste effort on excitement or panic

9. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a. happier or sadder? Definitely happier and less depressed, at least at the moment
b. thinner or fatter? Fatter
c. richer or poorer? Poorer

10. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Photography
Cooking
Swimming
Seeing friends

11. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating
Wasting time

12. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Moving my mother into a good care home
Retirement
Starting hypnotherapy

13. What was your biggest failure?
Putting weight back on when I’d been slowly losing it

14. How many one-night stands?
None

15. What was your favourite TV program?
I watch so little TV I really haven’t got a clue

16. What was the best book you read?
Brad Warner; Sex, Sin and Zen
Ben Goldacre; Bad Science

17. What did you want and get?
New digital SLR camera
Amazon Kindle

18. What did you want and not get?
New bathroom
£1M

19. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
£1M – it won’t solve all the problems but it won’t half help you cope with them

20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Nude when possible, clothed when necessary

21. What kept you sane?
Noreen
Hypnotherapy

22. Who did you miss?
Surprisingly some former colleagues

23. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
Life happens, deal with it

24. A quote or song lyric that sums up your year:

Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order, because it is better organised. [Terry Pratchett]

No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. [unknown]

Mr Spock … We’re trapped in an eerie, brain numbing madhouse! Any answers? [unknown]

25. Your hopes for 2011
– Successful Anthony Powell conference in September
– Catch up with the backlog of Anthony Powell Society work
– Achieve financial security for life (well I can dream!)
– More sex
– Less depression
– Lose weight
– Be a better husband
– Society normalises sex and nudity rather than being disgusted/frightened by it

beliefs, personal, thoughts

New Year Resolutions – NOT

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Like a number of other people I know, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. They are, by and large, setting ourselves up to fail. We pick as resolutions things we’re determined to do, but maybe don’t really want to do, like stopping smoking or exercising more. Consequently, although we try, we don’t stick the course. We fail and then beat ourselves up for failing. Only to go through the whole cycle again next year with the same resolutions! All New Year resolutions are is self-fulfilling fails just waiting to mug our psyche.

I’ve never liked being tied down by immoveable objectives (to me that ceases to be an objective and becomes an irrevocable order, something to be achieved “or else”). And I don’t intend to start now I’ve managed to slough of the spectre of work. I’m basically someone who drifts with the tide; I managed it through my working life and have escaped with (most of) my sanity intact and a life outside work. Yes I probably could have done better for myself, but at what cost to my sanity and work-life balance? That wasn’t what I wanted so drifting suited me just fine.

So in recent years I have tried to set myself some goals to achieve over the year. And no, a goal is not a resolution! Resolution = I am determined to do this come what may. Goal = a target to be aimed for; success is a bull’s eye; but you still get points for hitting an outer blue or black ring, for some small progress.

Last year I set myself a number of goals. And I scored really badly, though I did pick a few points. This was partly because my goals didn’t end up aligning with the things which turned out to happen during the year and which I couldn’t have foreseen. Yes, I’m disappointed, but no I’m not beating myself up about it (well not much anyway).

So for 2011 I’m setting myself a new set of goals. And no, not the ones I didn’t achieve in 2010; many of them are not now relevant to where I need to be going. And no, I’m not about to tell you what they are. I may or may not achieve these goals, but every one is attainable if somewhat challenging and I shall give them a good shot. As long as they remain relevant. And that’s the key. Goals = targets to be aimed at which are achievable, relevant and allow for progress short of 100% success. So many New Year’s resolutions become “must do”, are unreasonably hard to achieve, and too often become irrelevant to where life takes us.  Flexibility is more important than single-minded determination; partial success is more important than total failure.

Happy New Year, Everyone!