Olympic Torch Comes To Town

Our Town was packed out with crowds by 9am this morning as the Olympic Torch relay was on it's way through the centre.  Henry was not 'ready for the weekend' as his T shirt says, he was rather Grumpy when I woke him at 7.30am on this fine Sunday morning for 'a Once in a Lifetime' event.  If it was not for Euan's enthusiasm I don't think any of us would have been out of bed.

 I did have to get up to three noisy chickens 'trumpeting' at 6.15am though.  They had an early release and cake for breakfast.  My parents collected us at 8.30 and we went for breakfast and a cup of tea in town, then on to squeeze in a space in the crowds.

First came a Coca Cola bus, and a man with his little dog!  Then plenty of security, flag sellers, hat sellers, medal sellers, things to bang and wave sellers and a few more flag and hat sellers.  We waited, we waited and we waited.  Then the crowds all started to cheer and the flags were flying as the torch bearer jogged into view.

This little fella had made his own torch and lapped up the crowd's attention as he tried to steal the limelight the crowd cheered and clapped.

Finally here is the real torch, the torch bearers through the town were two young men that had overcome serious disability and illness.  They were very warmly welcomed by the crowds.

Blink and you would have missed it!  I was rather anxious I would let my 'Blog Audience' down and not even get a shot of the 'Olympic Torch'.  I managed these two shots!  Once the flame passed through there were 'Street Entertainers', a drum/calypso band, some flame juggling and a man on a funny bike!

Not the most comfortable of rides I should imagine as one of those wheels was between his legs.  Just above the traffic lights you can see a row of buildings, they are all commercial buildings now, my Grandmother lived in one of those as a girl, above her fathers 'Pork Butchers' shop.  She used to have to be home by the strike of the church clock and if she was late she was in danger of having her backside literally kicked!

The church bells were ringing this morning and here are my Parents taking a leisurely stroll back to the car!  Quite enough excitement for one day!

June 2012 in Photo Collage

June 2012 in collage!  Not very impressive I will grant ya.  It has been a busy month with not much crafting going on.  July promises to be different.  We have three birthdays in our family and schools break up on the 20th July for 6 weeks, I cannot wait.  We are going on holiday on the 21st of July for a week in Somerset.    Of course I have the 'Tour De Fleece' and crochet to keep me busy too.  We have surely used up the rain quota in June so let's hope we see some Summer weather for July.  :)   I am hoping July 1st kicks off with some Olympic Excitement as we are getting up early tomorrow to go in search of the Olympic Flame that is travelling through our town!  

And We Are Off...Day 1 Tour De Fleece 2012

My little 'Kiwi' wheel and I are off to a flying start as the 'Tour De Fleece 2012' kicks off today.  It is great to be back behind the wheel.  I am full of trepidation but I will attempt to spin for each day of the 'Tour De France'.  This fibre is a complete mystery to me, I have no idea where it came from or what it is, it is in my stash and I have a plan for it.  I am hoping it will crochet into 'Earth', 'The Blue Planet'.  Get ready, (with a bit of luck) my posts should be very spinny and fibre filled for July.  I just hope my poor old knees hold out!

I Must Be Getting Old...

Where has my little boy gone?  It only seems like yesterday when I held my first Baby Boy!  Now just look at him!  Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana!  Henry is right now at his 'School leaving Prom'  I am home waiting rather anxiously for his return!  He chose his own costume clothes!

I would have liked to have found a white suit like 'John Lennon's.  I love Henry's long hair, he is planning on shaving it all off in the Autumn.  He wants to do it for charity and school have said they would like to get the local press in.  We are hoping he will raise some cash for Birmingham Children's hospital.  When Euan had his 'foot' operations there was a shortage of wheel chairs.  We were not guaranteed one, which stressed me out a great deal.  As Euan could not walk for six weeks plus.   We did get one in the end on loan, but it was too large for Euan, but better than no chair.  We are hoping Henry will raise enough for a wheelchair to donate.  Maybe Mom will get to keep the ponytail.

In his own words he thought he looked 'Well Dapper!'.   Hmmm ok.

He had a good pose in the back garden for the camera!

His 'Prom date' bought his flower and I he bought her flowers for her wrist.  I don't have a photo of his prom date which is a shame...the last I heard late this afternoon she had a 'Fake Tan Disaster'!  I hope the lights were dim!
I did get a photograph of him with his buddy Max.

They look a pair of Cheeky Chappies!  They were being rude about my clothes as I took this photograph!  I have only just noticed Euan getting in shot hanging out of the car window!  He looks like one of those Muppets on the balcony!

Statler and Waldorf

   I can't believe Henry has left school.  He is 16 in three weeks.  He is hoping to go back to school in September to take 'A' levels.  Fingers crossed.  Its tough out there kid!  

Par Ra Par Rappa Par Pahhhhh!

Finally I have some crochet to show.  My Mojo mysteriously dwindled. . . it may be due to calorific deprivation!  I had some weaving projects that did not go to plan and they landed in the bin!  I get sore about such matters. . . but reading blogs I realise it happens to the best of us.  I am in great company in 'Blogland'.  I chose to make some 'dishcloths', 'washcloths'. . . whatever you want to call them I chose a no brainer. . . for what can go wrong with a simple square?   I am so delighted to have finished four of the beauties I felt they were worthy of the 'Collage' treatment!  Look at them!  Fabuloso!  I do not know where the cotton all came from but the lovely purple is from my bestest 'Blog' buddy Teresa, when we had our most exciting swaperoonie earlier in the year.  The Purple 'washcloths' and the 'Granny Square' Washcloth are for me.  I do love them for all their wonky imperfections.  I am putting them in my Vanity case to take on my holibobs (in four weeks).  I will use them with some luxurious hand made soap.  Won't I feel posh?  The bottom right washcloth is for my Aunt who has a Birthday tomorrow.  I have got her some 'Goats Milk and Lavender' Handmade soap and a loofah pad.  She has a nice new bathroom, I think that is worthy of a handmade 'washcloth'.  I really don't believe I am so pleased and proud of em!  I worked on them in the car, on the train, at my parents and in waiting rooms.  I love a nice portable bit of crochet.  I get dafter as I get older.  As soon as I have published this post I am picking up my hook again!  Busy busy busy!

We Found Real Treasure!

I started my day with a 'Run' hobble, stagger. . .whatever you want to call it. . . at 6.45am.  I was still having new running shoe issues so chose to run on meadows.  The dog thought this was a most excellent idea.  Off she trotted with her tail wagging in the air.  I managed to follow the Podcast for WK2 run 1 'Couch 2 5k' and did all of the run.  My breathing is much better but I was still hobbling like an unshod horse!  That was it!  Mind made up!  The running shop can have these shoes back. . . once I had hosed the meadow off them.  Euan and I caught the train into Birmingham.  Quite a jaunt for us home bodies.  The Running shop were actually brill and I have some new, new trainers to try on Monday.  Fingers crossed they will be good.  To make our trip worthwhile we decided to go into the beautiful building above 'Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery'.  This is my kinda trip, nice and thrifty, free entry.
               Euan is always quite difficult to focus in these places he flits around like a butterfly with the attention span of a goldfish!  I look forward to the day he slows down a bit and I can take more in, but I am used to trotting around behind him by now.  We looked at artifacts from Ancient Egypt, a mummy, a mummified cat, a mummified bird and a mummified crocodile.  Very cool.  We tried on masks of Egyptian Gods and admires ourselves in mirrors.  We looked at samples of ancient Greek Pots and Pottery.  We saw a fantastic African Textiles Exhibition 'Style Africa'.  Beautiful bright cloths and woven fabrics.  I was smitten by two really bold fabrics with 'Chicken' designs on.  We looked at art of all shapes and sizes.  This was my favourite painting, you can read more about it by clicking this link.  The colour is just beautiful, absolutely stunning.  The landscape with the backdrop of a double rainbow, in contrast to the girl's blindness, really strikes a chord.

                      The Blind Girl by John Everett Millais

It is amazing to see these works in real life.  I am not an art boff, but I would have loved to spend more time soaking in some of the beautiful works of art.  Euan had other ideas and was positively disgusted by the 'Modern Art'.  Loudly declaring 'What!  I don't get it!  Somebody in Nursery could do better than that!'  This was in response to this piece by Patrick Heron.  It is one of Patrick Heron's 'Wobbly Hard Edge' paintings.  ???!!!??? I don't get it either. . . 'Wobbly Hard Edge' beats me, what they teach in art schools.

Now no offence to Mr Patrick Heron, but I gotta admit I agree with Euan a bit here, and feel confident even I could do that surely!  Splodge, splodge, splodge. . . Bob's yer Uncle!  A work of art!

               

I also liked this piece of 'Linear Construction' by Noam Gabo 1957.  It is clear perspex and fine white thread.  It reminds me of 'Parabolic Curve Stitching' we do at school, making curves from straight lines.  Fascinating.  The Galleries are packed with many many fine works of art.  I must go again and again and get educated.  Now for the 'Treasure' part. . . are you sitting comfortably?. . . then I will begin. . . 

                In 2009 55 year old Terry Herbert was searching a field in Staffordshire with his £2 . 50 metal detector.

The field had been searched many times by others, but on this particular day Terry uncovered what is now known as 'The Staffordshire Hoard'.  The largest haul of Anglo Saxon treasure ever to be discovered.  It is worth Millions of pounds.  Anyone finding treasure has to report it within 14 days and the money is split equally between the land owner and the finder. (We have got an old metal detector in the shed)!  The treasure dates from 675 AD to 725 AD around the same time as the the Great Anglo Saxon Poem 'Beowulf'.  There were over 3,500 pieces unearthed with over 5kg of gold, 1.5kg of silver and over  3, 500 garnets.  Some of the pieces are the finest examples of gold filigree that have been seen, intricate gold work with fine thread made of gold.  It is amazing that such pieces were created to such beauty and precision without modern technology.  A small sample of the Hoard is on display in Birmingham.  It will take thousands of man hours to clean each piece.  We may never know who the hoard belonged to or how it got there, historians can only speculate, they think it may have been treasure taken from defeated Christian Warriors by a Pagan King, as the Christian pieces, crosses and pieces that have been inscribed with scriptures have been deliberately damaged.  None of the pieces relate to women.  There are amulets, weapons and decorative pieces.  Things that would have been worn by warriors and leaders to show their status.

This is a small selection that is typical of the 3, 500 piece find.  The clean artifacts on display are unbelievable and so beautiful.  What a story!  

I love this sea horse.  It is gold and patterned all over with gold filigree circles that have tiny dots circled inside them. . . it is sooo pretty.  To give you an idea of scale and how fine and intricate the gold work is, if you had a grain of rice it would be bigger than three of the circles on the patterns.  Now that is some seriously ancient and skilled workmanship.  The whole concept and reality of the Hoard just leaves you with a sense of awe and wonder.  These ancient dudes were by no means primitive.  They had immense skills, knowledge and wisdom.

             All this awe and wonder = 2 hungry bods!  We headed for our favourite Chinese Restaurant.  So did hundreds of other people.  It is a huge 'all you can eat' chinese buffet restaurant 'The Big Wok'.  It is not to everyone's cup of tea but it sure is to ours!  We queued for over half an hour to get seated.  Please don't tell the Weight Watchers lady!  I went with good intention to get running shoes didn't I?  I chose chicken, and Tofu and vegetables to sit alongside my prawn toast and noodles!  I ended my meal with a delicious desert of cold Tapioca, Coconut and melon soup.  Corrr it was lovely.  We were somewhat subdued on the train journey home.  

              I will definitely have to go more often to the Museum and Art Gallery.  The Birmingham Guild of Knitting and Crochet hold their monthly meetings in the Museum Coffee shop.  What a building to meet in.  Rather grandiose I think you will agree.  All that culture and history, mixed with yarn, needles and hooks can't be bad!  

Hope you are having a great weekend too.  :) xxx