Social Engineering with Castles & Chocolate

Standing on Ehtelfleda's Mound at Warwick Castle. Staterooms to the right - Dungeon entrance by the white tent - portcullis behind Willow - Canon tower to the left. Horrible Histories are visiting Easter 2014 - it will be crowded then!

The River Avon from the highest Tower

On the River Avon, just north of Shakespeare's home town, is a mound that rises steeply from the river bank and falls away towards wide river plains of fertile land. Here Alfred the Great's daughter, Ehtelfleda had a burh (earthen fortification) built as defences against the Danes. The whole idea of 'It's who you know not what you know' seems to be easily traced through earliest recorded histories. However when the who and the what are combined in one person or family, power and influence are a guaranteed outcome. Alfred was 'great' because not only had he united England, fought off the Vikings on land and on sea but he had also encouraged the arts and literacy and provided the first period of extended peace England had known in many years. In times of peace - land grows food instead of graves, people eat and sleep with dreams of a future; ideas of progress have time to flourish.

This mound eventually became the Castle of Warwick lived in and defended by the Earl's of Warwick and the Lords of Brooke. The property changed families every three or so generations because of childless marriages, treachery and misty battle fields. The de Beauchamp family ruled the roost for nearly 150yrs and completed most of the stone defenses and buildings. The last survivor of this family was Anne. When she was 8 yrs old she was betrothed to Richard Neville, who was 6. Marriages that would be frowned upon today, combined families into dynasties. This union resulted in an Earldom that controlled 5 major Castles around England and Wales and a clutch of minor ones.

The Kingmaker stirring his men to battle as they prepare to leave Warwick Castle for the Battle of Barnet.

This boy is 8yrs old, his job was to go and collect the spent arrows off the battle field after the fighting for repair and reuse. He was expected to pull them from bodies, dead or dying, without losing the tips as well as from the ground.
Imagine the interactions with the opposing side's arrow collectors - an unpleasant and dangerous job. It certainly would have hardened him up for when he was old enough to enter the fray himself.

A Fletcher making arrows

A Castle guard with his friend Mr Spikey

Spectacles of the era - perhaps these coloured
ones where used to decipher secret codes

Metal was very pricey so canon balls were
often cut from stone

The Earl's Treasurer - may be lining his own
silky pockets!

In the days where Castles meant contracts to procure wealth rather than hopes of happily-ever-after, Neville lived a sly life of playing off the Lancaster and Yorkist contenders for the throne. He was named Kingmaker because of the resources he controlled. Whoever he backed would have a better chance of annihilating the other, ensuring that their bid to hold the throne was successful. Neville had no claims to the throne but wanted to control someone who did. He won the first battle at St Albans for the Yorks and was rewarded with control over England's standing army and it's navy. He swapped allegiance as suited his ambitions to see one of his daughters on the throne but eventually became a victim of the rumours of treachery that he had traded in. He left Warwick Castle for the last time with his army and headed for Barnet where, on Easter Sunday 1471, after a bloody morning and 3000 dead, he was stripped naked, killed and his 43yr old body displayed for two days in London to stop the cycle of intrigue. His castles were claimed by the Crown and he was buried in his maternal mausoleum at Bisham Abbey.

Knowing that the dungeon was full of tortuous instruments for tearing, cutting, scraping, piercing, stretching, gouging, hooking, severing, wrenching and plucking I'm not sure that I really wanted to be part of an interactive dungeon reenactment to be honest. (We missed seeing it because I had misunderstood the booking process - we had to go book a time once there not just pay.) This level of fear in any autocratic society will produce dishonesty and disloyalty. I don't understand the logic of men who claimed to be appointed by God to rule then don't respect or protect the freedom of choice gifted to each individual.

A suit of armour cost over a million dollars in today's money - this knight is displayed in the great Hall
His wife has been left in the Still room.

Some of the Women's roles in a Medieval Castle. That poor washer woman would have aching hands.
A sign said that the mean age in these times was 25y rs; battles, childbirth and malnutrition the main killers.

Left - the largest trebuchet in the world today - it wasn't firing the day we were there.

Windows in Cardiff Castle -
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/reflection-what-allure-richard-iii

Neville's youngest daughter, Anne, did become Queen, when her husband Richard of Gloucester became Richard III. Shakespeare has recently been accused of forever creating a vision of a beastly, ugly, bitter Richard III in his 'historical' play to help his King, James I, portray his right to the throne as indisputable. Now that Rick III's remains have been identified in a car park that was being dug up, no doubt a forensic artist will be able to let us make up our own minds. As long as humans have told stories through image or word they have tried to influence the thinking and behaviour of others. Propaganda was not a 20th C invention.

http://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com/

A small team of actors from The Globe theatre are taking Hamlet to every country of the Globe over the next two years: even North Korea. Given Hamlet's desire to rid his country of intrigue and dishonesty, where uncle killing is an unexceptional means and the neighbouring country is a constant political threat, I wonder if this small team of thespians will make it out alive. Surely they won't uncover repressed homosexuality, suicide and incest as well? Murder and violence to achieve your social ambitions is generally frowned upon in today's society as the woman who threw acid over the face of her bestie in a camouflaged, premeditated jealousy attack found out when her sentence of 12yrs was handed down last week. Her efforts to be alpha female were not as foolproof as her hired burqua made her feel they were. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25868753

Willow stands as far away as she can still hear to cope with her APA(Audience participation anxiety)  You all know the 2 finger salute comes from the famed English bowmen - the two fingers used to pull back the bowstring.  

Petal was convinced to have a go because it was quiet and nobody would bother stopping to watch! As soon as she paid the £3 for her 6 arrows a big crowd arrived.  She got all on the target and one in the red zone to much applause!

All very brave going up to the top of the highest battlement. This is probably where M and G got their colds from.
The stairs are so tight and narrow that any armour must have been put on at the top.  I survived the attempt on my life!
Bottom right- Hot oil, rocks and human excrement was hurled down if the first gate was broken through. Barrels were used as toilets in the tower, lidded when full and stored ready for attack. Bottom centre. Two very brave nervous of heights people standing on a grill that covers the oil trap down into the moat.

A bird show introduced us to a young
Russian.  Bruce the sea eagle has relatives
who will knock goats off cliffs to change his
fishy diet.

Francis Grenville was a statesman who advised James I, he was also a poet and when it came time to retire from Court the King granted him Warwick Castle and it's land. The Rich family owned the title but when it's last heir died childless, James I granted the title to his friend in the Castle. The land and the title were now together for the first time in over 100 yrs. Poor Lord Warwick left his will lying around and a life long retainer discovered that all he could expect upon the Earl's death was £20. It a fit of rage he stabbed his master, who with the expenses of a broken down, 1/2 ruined castle had probably been very generous. Luckily for the Earl he survived the attack.  Unluckily for the Earl this was before the understanding of micro biology and his physicians smeared the wounds with rancid pig fat thus killing him by poisoning his blood.  He died in agony several weeks later. Luckily for the Earl he already had family and they continue to hold the title today - although not the property.

Left -The 'Naughty corner' HenryVIII (not sure why he's there, he rebuilt and complete the stone walls), Ric III and Willow!
Right - Petal joins in a game of cards with Daisy's hubby the Earl and his cronies.

A young Daisy 

The last period of influence Warwick Castle had before the family were forced to sell it to the Tussaud's Group in 1978, was in the early Edwardian era. Prince Edward was a 'very' close friend and confidant of Frances (Daisy) Maynard, who after losing her father and grandfather at 3 years of age and inheriting huge wealth, married the Earl and his straightened estates to become the Countess of Warwick. She lead the Marlborough House set - a group of the Princes entourage - including a young Winston Churchill. In these days, when the only war was in far off India, the wealthy aristocracy played hard and fast. One Ball given at the Castle was fancy dress in the style of Marie Antoinette's France. It was so decadent that the townsfolk of Warwick who were facing high levels of unemployment were disgusted, a left wing paper shamed the Countess into rethinking her attitudes and values. She became involved in welfare projects, especially women's education. She became a vegetarian and joined the Labour party. Her charity works used up her money faster than the partying, she used love letters from her affairs with famous men as blackmail to restore her funds.  In 1938 she died in debt and isolated from her former chums because of her socialist views and indescretions.
http://www.eastonlodge.co.uk/content/%E2%80%98daisy%E2%80%99-years-1865-1938

G eavesdropping on a 23yr old Winston showing off about his publishing achievements and dashing deeds in India.

I do wonder what the use of a title is if it does not signify wealth and resources. In bygone days when these titles represented 'honour' the strongest wrestled them from the unsuccessful and weak. Most titles and properties in England seemed to have been separated by death duties and taxes - social engineering designed to spread the wealth.  Perhaps in these right wing days the titles should be redistributed to the .com billionaires and new property barons? Surely within the 'Square Mile' a rouge as dashing as Richard Neville could be found.  The Sir and Dame titles of today are awarded to recognise significant contributions to our society in our battle against boredom, inequality and mortality. Have a look at the right wing Australian Government's claw back into the system here- http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/tony-abbotts-bunyip-aristocracy-arise-lord-clive-and-lady-gina-20140325-35g7i.html I agree that Sir Cosgrove and Dame Blake have served Australia extraordinarily well and deserve Castles a plenty but it's another spoke in the Republican movement at the same time that NZ is announcing a referendum for a new flag!

It is easy to see how the ideals of communism lead academics across the world down the red path. Poverty on the front step of decadence really isn't decent. Many people with strong beliefs in 'we are all created equal' have done what they can to redress the balance between the haves and the have nots. Charities line the streets of Cambridge and possibly the biggest social influences of group endeavour are now the big charities. Football colours on Saturdays and on Sunday those of your charity of choice - pink for breast, white for prostate, green for the environment etc.  Of course Churches and charities are not mutually exclusive.

Top left - Elizabeth & George Cadbury with 7 of their 10 children. Right - Anthony Yates' painting of the Cricket green on May day. Bottom left - postcard of utopia? Right - town green beside Cadbury World's entry gates

A family of Quakers, Mr Cadbury and Sons, decided that with their hard earned wealth from their growing Cocoa health food business, they would make a big chocolaty happy world for their factory family. When new technology from Europe crowded out their Birmingham factory and their cocoa bean warehouse bursting at the seams, the Cadbury family bought a large block of land 4 miles out of Birmingham for expansion.

This industrial town had more than it's fair share of poverty among the working classes and the Cadbury sons had a vision of a worker's utopia. They built homes for their workers on the factory land, forming the village Bourneville.  They built cricket grounds, football fields and an indoor swimming pool to keep their 'family' fit and strong. Most children left school and started work between 12 - 14 so 'adult' education was introduced to increase the literacy and numeracy levels of their work force. They introduced the time card system to ensure fair payment for hours worked could be tracked.  They gave their workforce 1/2 of Saturday free as well as all day Sunday. George's wife Elizabeth had worked with the poor in the East end of London and was one of the first to voice the idea that it was the squalor and cramped , unhealthy living conditions that bought about the loose morals of a great proportion of the country's population. This was in contrast to the long held idea that the poor were that way because they had low morals and low intelligence.

Dame Cadbury would call on all new residents personally and hand out a health guide sheet. Three pieces of advice were to always leave the table with an appetite, never eat between the three meals a day and don't eat flesh more than once a day. As excellent as this advice is it seems a strange dictate considering 1. These people had probably always been forced to leave the table with an appetite because there wasn't enough food and 2. her descendants go on to be part of the super sugar snack dollar chasing that has resulted in a 1st world obesity epidemic(not sure how you 'catch' obesity for it to be an epidemic). Currently under discussion in the English parliament is the motion for sugar products attract a tax to force the prices up of sugar intense foods. This bit of social engineering doesn't seem to have worked here for smoking, people reportedly sacrifice groceries for the ciggies. Would a price increase of 10p stop you buying that bottle of Coke or a block of chocolate? Still if the revenue helps pay for the health costs obesity is weighing the country down with, it could be worth the bureaucratic labyrinth that will no doubt be created.

Life sized models to walk through. The girl Malinche was given as one of twenty slaves after the Spanish beat the natives of Tabasco. She was a talented linguist, she soon learnt Spanish and thinking Cortex was a god told him all the Mayan secrets about chocolate and their fatalistic beliefs that helped him destroy the culture.  She became his mistress and bore his first son, Martin.

We discovered this amazing level of 'helping out in your own back yard' at Cadbury World. This is a factory tour that manages to incorporate the history of chocolate, the history of Cadbury - excluding the 2011 hostile takeover by Kraft - a tasting tour of the packaging plant (buy the £2 cloth bag offered at the entry - you'll need it), green screen photos with your favourite chocie characters, history of the advertising campaigns (only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate) and a purple car ride around beanie world. Then if you haven't eaten or smelt enough chocolate exit through the shop which sells Cadbury World only chocolate sculptures, factory seconds, cups, toys, stationery and all it's products and partner confectioner's products.  You can even buy a soft toy Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts man. Walk quickly and don't turn your head - think Mrs Lot!

" There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility of changing them."  Denis Waitley

To empower our kids to make the second Mr Waitley makes this suggestion.

"The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence."

G sneaking back to get more samples
for the goody bag!

Handouts along the factory tour.

Chocolate beanies ready to be 'born'. The rest of the little ride took us past Beanie villages and holiday resorts.

Charlie was so excited to get the complimentary teddy
we got for spending over £20 in the shop - just not enough
self control!  Book - Cadbury mini to match the plane we
bought from the Dunedin tour when the girls were little,
an Oreo block, Diam Easter eggs and Turkish delight.

This author - perhaps a long lost relative
has written other riveting titles like
Poverty amidst Prosperity
Better betting with a decent Feller
Worked all their lives: poor urban women
100yrs of Council Housing in Birmingham

To give Charlie a run around we left the Castle after receiving a special stamp on our hands, to have lunch in Warwick village. The Zetland Arms let us sit with Charlie inside the Conservatory because the weather was closing in fast. M was sorry that the Pea and Spring Onion soup had run out and Charlie enjoyed half my burger. As G and the girls waited for their sticky puddings the storm clouds rushed across the sky and the hail came down. By the time we were ready to leave it had cleared to a watery sunshine for the rest of our visit. Perfect timing!  

Reading Now:
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson (MBE 2011), Black Swan books 2013 Costa Novel Award winner 2013

WWI is a big chunk of the setting of the novel, in time for its 100yr anniversary. The basic concept is about how you would redo your life if you had the opportunity to go back and remake choices to avoid consequences unseen earlier. Who of us haven't imagined going back to our adolescence knowing what we know now to take bigger risks, more opportunities and to right errors of judgement made through ignorance or insecurity.
"Life After Life is a novel about family life in Britain in the first half of the 20th century. The novel could be just that and would still be what is so banally termed “a good read.” But the book transcends its subject matter to become a treatise on how to be human. Ursula’s goal in repeating key events in her life is not personal happiness but the protection of those she loves. Is this repetition conscious or unconscious? It’s never entirely clear, as scenes from her life repeat and repeat. What is clear is her motivation. Toward the end of the novel, Ursula thinks to herself: “This is love. And the practice of it makes it perfect.”  critique by Sarah O'Leary   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews 

Heritage English Pudding  -  Pear Parkin

Ingredients:

·  200g porridge oats (instant sachets)

·  200g self-raising flour

·  ½  tsp ground ginger

·  2 tsp cinnamon

·  ½ tsp allspice

·  ¼ tsp salt

·  175g treacle or golden syrup

·  140g butter

·  140g light muscovado sugar, plus a bit more

·  4cm fresh ginger root – peeled & finely chopped.

·  2 large eggs

·  150ml milk

·  4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and halved (Conference)

·  2T lemon juice

·  25g butter extra

·  2T castor sugar

Method

1.    Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter a 30 x 20cm baking dish.

2.    Melt 25g butter in small bowl(microwave) add 1cm of the chopped ginger, lemon juice and castor sugar.  Mix and leave to soak. (If inclined add 4T brandy or sherry to this)

3.    Mix the dry ingredients together. (sift in flour)

4.    Melt the treacle, butter and sugar together.

5.    Stir wet into the dry ingredients with half of the chopped ginger, the egg and enough milk to give a smooth batter.

6. Spoon into the baking dish, then sit the pear halves in the batter.
7. Dot more soaking mix over each pear half.
8. Bake for 1 hr until risen all over and a skewer inserted into the middle of the pudding comes out clean.
9. Serve in rectangles with custard or icecream.

Moments of Brilliance

Three days in a row at 7am.  The silver birch behind our yard's macracarpa hedge is as good a barometer as any!
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. The lighter the bark - the warmer the day.

R.M.W. Turner would have captured this post flood sky brilliantly. The Cam, muddy from recent floods. The rowing boat sheds and playing fields on the opposite bank took the over flow.

Drudgery is a word that summons grey, repetitive thoughts. Its season would be winter and its cure is hope.
After a mild (the ice scraper still seems an exotic tool) but clammy winter with long dark days, hope presented itself.

On Sunday the clouds were chased away and the Cambridgian landscape glowed with the promise of summer. The marathon runners complained of the heat and dehydration was the subject of concern when the mercury hit a balmy 20 degrees C.

Around every corner were little bursts of brilliance that brought forth a surge of hope. The pantomime at the front door as coat, hat, scarf, gloves and boots are hauled on and tugged off may soon be in the past. Sydneysiders suddenly understand why spring is so celebrated, the lifting of the clouds carries the spirit.

We ventured out to The Orchard Tea Gardens for a cream tea, it was so crowded with sun addled crowds, clumped in deckchairs, much like the bulbs they came to celebrate, that a walk through and a promise of a return visit was all we managed. Driving through winding Grantchester roads we passed a sign to 'Byron's pool' and stopped at The Lord Byron - a pub with a sunny garden in which to enjoy the bubbles of our lemonade.

Banks covered in daffodils and empty everyday corners are filled with cheer.
'And then my heart with pleasure fills And dances with  the daffodils' - Wordsworth's poem about storing beauty in the mind for when in a 'vacant or pensive mood'.  http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/daffodils/ for the whole.

Quite a few citizens of Cambridge have had moments of Brilliance, here are four.

"Lord Byron was admitted to Trinity in October 1805 as a Nobleman, which gave him privileges beyond those of the ordinary undergraduate. In his first year he was most unimpressed by the College: "This place is wretched enough - a villainous chaos of din and drunkenness, nothing but hazard and burgundy, hunting, mathematics and Newmarket, riot and racing." He resolved not to return after the long vacation but discovered that after the publication of his first poems he had become something of a celebrity and stayed on for a further year, when he was able to develop the tastes that he so abhorred in his first. It is from this period that the story of his keeping a bear in Cambridge emanates." (Image and quote from the Trinity College website)  His statue - commissioned by friends, was banned from the Poet's corner in Westminster Abbey and the Chapel at Trinity because of his licentious reputation but has found a home in the Christopher Wren Library at Trinity.

A moment of Byron's brilliance - "Glory, like the phoenix 'midst her fires, Exhales her odours, blazes and expires."

WB Yeats described Brooke as 'the
handsomest man in England'.
An Edwardian pin up - no wonder he
enjoyed his escapes to the Orchard.

The Orchard Tea Gardens was also the haunt of Rupert Brooke and his friends (including Virginia Woolf) after he graduated from Kings. They became known as the Grantchester Group. Brooke died at 27, of blood poisoning on the way to Gallipoli after fighting in Europe in WW1.  He penned these words not long before which became a spark to light the depths of grief, for a generation of people battling the insanity of wasted lives.

"If I should die, think only this of me;

That there's some corner of a foreign field

The Hospital behind 
image from the Cambridge News

That is forever England."

He was buried on a Greek Island where a monument marks his little bit of England. Seeing his 'home' makes his poem poignant. Find it - www.poemhunter.com/poem/1914-v-the-soldier/

The house Brooke was rented rooms in beside the Orchard, is now owned and lived in by Dame Mary Archer(scientist, awarded honours for her services to the NHS) and her husband, novelist Jeffery Archer. After a road to Cambridge's Addenbrooks hospital was named after her, complete with new title, her brilliant quip was 'Just waiting for a graffiti artist to change the e to an n.'

http://www.thetimes.co.uk

Comedy is built on flashes of brilliant insight. Michael McIntyre has become my 2nd favourite English comedian, mainly because of his contagious smile and springy hair I think. But he does have a way of observing the ridiculous in our everyday lives and manages to find humour without belittling or offending - quite an achievement. On the first airing of his new chat show he pointed out that 'c' is just an accidental kiss. Considering this is how I finish most of my txts, as it is my initial, I am glad that only those near and dear ever receive them! He has not studied or lived anywhere Cambridge but it starts with c! (very tenuous link)

Moments of brilliance are usually experienced after extensive exploration or create hours of investigation. The concept of gravity began with an everyday observation, Newton saw an apple drop and developed the theory. From 1979-2009 Stephen Hawking held the same chair(Lucasian Professor) as Newton at Cambridge university. He developed mathematical evidence that demonstrates the part gravity played in the birth of the Universe and to predict what may happen in the future.

Stephen Hawking
www.hawking.org.uk/index.html

Since learning of Galileo and the reception his revision of Copernicus'  long held theory that Earth as the center of the Universe, there seems to be four groups of mindsets in our species.
The first is like Galileo - discover the truth and you will find God.
The second is like the Pope in Galileo's time - God is in what we have always believed, science is the enemy of the literal translation of the Bible. The third are those that go along with whoever makes their life most comfortable.
The fourth are those who use new findings to prove their own point of view. Of course those who prefer 'proof' to 'truth' would argue that the first is merely a subset of the last. If we believe anything it will be what we choose to believe.

Image taken from Russell Duncan's Sydney backyard and copied - with permission - from his FBk post.
The Beautiful Rosette Nebulae

In Hawking's film - 'Stephen Hawking's Universe'(Discovery Channel) great visuals help to explain how light didn't exist before the explosion of a point smaller than an atom that was so dense it's expansion spilled out all the stuff of our universe. He goes on to say that if there hadn't been a bit more matter than anti matter then nothing would have existed. He also asserts that gravity pulled matter together and when the elements mixed, stars and other bits formed.
Prof H. points out that the chances of life forming on our rock at exactly the right distance from the right sized sun that slowly burns at the right pace for long enough and the fact that we have no idea where the point of the universe originated might point to a designer.  He keeps his options open though and also says that life would only form in precise circumstances so is it a wonder, considering the hydrogen based materials of our universe, that it did happen on our lucky planet. I have no way of proving or disproving his theories because my math competency stutters well before Uni level! God seeded nothing and here we are, shining, small and unique. Mr Hawking also thinks that it is reasonable that somewhere else, maybe in our Universe, maybe in another, there is life other than us. The physics community seem to be in agreement that Hawking is it's greatest member since Einstein - brilliant.

Buds of March

Spring brings with it many physical moments of brilliance - the bird song is jubilant, the water of the Cam is flowing slowly with barely a ripple and reflects all the light to the underside of the willow making the fresh green leaf buds glow. The air smells clear and sweet and suddenly pedestrian's faces are visible again. This is not because of dense wood smoke or fog in the winter but because people are holding their heads up and looking around instead of trudging home following their feet. Hoods and scarves have been dropped as folk lean back on park benches to soak up the light.

Mini Kayak water polo played around enthusiastic self punters. The wedding cake(St John's student accommodation) glows.

While punting on the Cam with the visiting Browns from Newbold the river was alive again.  Good to share the sun with friends.

Crowds line the bank at Magdalene bridge waiting for their 45 mins on the Cam.

So much to try in only 2 yrs. Moving too fast to grab the lollies - a blur of selection!

Hubbabubba pops scared the ducks!

Even the big girls like a sweetie now and then

A visit to the famous sweetie store to fill the pockets before the punt - our Cambridge tradition!

Looking for those pesky ducks!

Just because they are beautiful

When hope becomes impractical:
a discarded glove is needed the next day. 11:50am!

A willow that didn't make it through the winter storms
and the new growth of its neighbour

It would be wonderful to share news of a birth with this talk of spring but instead, on Tuesday my eldest uncle was buried and memories of his life celebrated. It is only the passing of the seasons yet those who loved will have grey days even though their hope allows the warmth of the Son to seep through. These memories will be kept alive by his many children, grand children and great grandchildren. It made me think of our role changes through life and how hard those of childhood are hit when a parent dies. The dilemma of Middle age - if we are fortunate.

Kaleidoscope

Plunging, rolling, a riot of colour, rarely still

In the middle twirl down the barrel of our will

The young peering in with bright focus and innovation

The old leaving bright jewels of discovery and dedication

Both we humour, liberate and condemn,

Struggling to compress our own dust to gems

Stretched we spin

Twisting we curl

Floating and falling

To the turning of the wheel

Bruised and battered

Mesmerised, ecstatic

When the brilliant patterns fade, do we step up

With hearts ready for the gold beyond or

Grovel at the base of our ever moving world

Reading Now:

http://www.amazon.com

Stephen Hawking  My Brief History: a Memoir  Bantam Press 2013 (I have stolen M's Christmas Pressie)

"I was sure that nearly everyone is interested in how the universe operates, but most people cannot follow the mathematical equations.  I don't care much for equations myself.  This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down, but mainly because I don't have an intuitive feeling for equations.  In stead. I think in pictorial terms, and my aim in the book (A Brief History of Time) was to describe those mental images in words, with the help of familiar analogies and a few diagrams." p95

"I believe that disabled people should concentrate on things that their handicap doesn't prevent them from doing and not regret those they can't do.  In my case I have traveled widely.  I visited the Soviet Union seven times. The first time I went with a student party in which one member, a Baptist, wished to distribute Russian-language Bibles and asked us to smuggle them in.  We managed this undetected, but by the time we were on our way out the authorities had discovered what we had done and detained us for a while." p123

"My early work showed that classical general relativity broke down at singularities in the Big Bang and black holes. My later work has shown how quantum theory can predict what happens at eh beginning and end of time.  It has been a glorious time to be alive and doing research in theoretical physics.  I am happy if I have added something to our understanding of the universe.' p124-125

Would like to get:

A bigger time/space conundrum was solved this weekend when M was able to realise my vision of laundry organisation within the dictates of no wall fastenings as per the tenancy contract.  Now that is a stroke of mundane brilliance.  Thanks M!!!