52/4

Recipes For Cherubs

by Babs Horton

Another was of two very smart young men wearing army uniforms. A third photograph was facing the wall.

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* Pick any book,
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Thanks for joining in the fun! I'm enjoying reading snapshots of your books!

Kids

Why are schoolchildren given so much power nowadays? Why is their word taken against that of adults?

My partner is a supply teacher. He is so well appreciated that some schools ask for him by name when they have a space to fill. Recently though, some ten year olds at a local school decided that he was being too strict. Why? Because he dared object to them throwing missiles around the classroom, laughing whenever instructions were given, or wandering and dancing around the room just generally ignoring everyone. Having been told to do their work, they decided to complain to their headteacher that he was being too strict.

They also invented stories that he threw things at them. Result? Their word was taken and the rest of his contract was cancelled. He wasn't allowed to put his side of the story forward. This school will no longer offer him work through his agency.

Don't parents realise that their children's education is being put at risk by the bad behaviour of noisy, rude, uncooperative kids in their classroom?
Do they think this is some big joke?
Would they like to lose work because of the lies of a ten year old?

It may seem like a harmless game to lie and get your tutor in trouble, but we have bills to pay. I hope after they've all stopped laughing at our expense, they find one day that they don't have money for some essential thing, and all because someone lied about them at work.



Evil. Little. Shits.

52/4

  The Historian

by Elizabeth Kostova

The policeman put a steadying hand on my shoulder. "Not a big enough loss of blood to be a cause of death in itself, he said.

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As before, if you'd like to join in here's how-


* Pick any book,
* go to page 52
* give us the sentence that contains line 4. -Can be more than one sentence, as mine was this time!


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52/4

Finn Family Moomintroll

by Tove Jansson

Wild and tempting it rose from the sea, wreathed in white breakers and crowned with green trees as if dressed for a gala.

(-The Moomintrolls' first sight of Lonely Island.)

Hahaha..... I loved these when I was little! I was very pleased to spot this book in a charity shop the other day- brand new, for 59p! But why brand new? I can't help thinking that someone has handed it in unread, and wow, what a missed opportunity!

If you're not familiar with the Mommintrolls, they are small hippo-like creatures who live in the forests of Finland with their friends, more odd little creatures. If you like the style of the original AA Milne's Winnie The Pooh stories, then you'll like the Moomintrolls, who read like Pooh on acid.

I recommend their gentle humour and idyllic, friendly world of adventure, where even the baddies have good manners.

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As before, if you'd like to join in here's how-


* Pick any book,
* go to page 52
* give us the sentence that contains line 4. -Can be more than one sentence, as mine was this time!


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The REAL "WAR HORSE"

I won't be going off to see the film 'War Horse'. Too upsetting! I've read too many WW1 books to get a gist of what I might see!

But I subscribe to emails from the Blue Cross, Britain's oldest animal charity. They did a lot of work for the horses that were used in the First World War and have released some videos/slide shows on their work.

Here are a couple they forwarded me today. I hope you find them interesting.....

This one is from Pip Dodd, curator at the National Army Museum. He explains the role of the horses in the war, with some photo's from the time:


In this one a woman tells a story about her grandfather, a 'driver' in the war, which meant he looked after the horses. The tale includes how he would risk his own life for the sake of a horse, and was awarded a medal for his bravery.



If you ARE interested in the film, I urge you to find out more from the National Army Museum's exhibition pages: WAR HORSE, Fact & Fiction, click on 'exhibition themes, about half way down the page.
There are also links to scenes behind the stageplay, and how the puppets in the play were made.

I recently read an interview with Michael Morpurgo about his book. He said that about 1 million horses were sent to war. The National War Museum puts it at nearer 6 million. He says that 67000 came home. This was nearer 165,000, but they didn't simply all return. The best horses were brought back to Britain and sold, to make money to cover some of the army's debts. The less healthy ones were left behind in France and Belgium, and sold to farmers there, to work out their lives on the farms.

If we humans need to blow each other up periodically, I wish we would find a way of doing it without hurting animals, completely innocent in our stupid wars. That we've put them to use in our slaughter feels nothing less than obscene.



I like this memorial in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa:

This description of it comes from The Government Gazette of South Africa:

This memorial, designed by Joseph Whitehead and cast in bronze by Thames Dillon Works in Surrey, was unveiled on 11 February 1905 by the Mayor of Port Elizabeth, Mr Alexander Fettes. The monument commemorates the horses that suffered and died during the Anglo-boer War (1899-1902). ...consisting of life-sized bronze figures of a horse about to quench its thirst from a bucket held by a kneeling soldier, together with the inscribed granite plinth on which it stands and the base of which incorporates a drinking trough.

I like the way the man is kneeling down, making himself lower than the horse.

Maybe we need a few more memorials like this, to remind us that it isn't just ourselves that get hurt when all the flag waving starts.

52/4

Nathaniel's Nutmeg

by Giles Milton

"It was the last they would ever see of the Edward Bonadventure: at around midnight the ship's carpenter cut the moorings and, with a skeleton crew and a good measure of self-confidence, sailed off into the night leaving Lancaster and his men stranded."

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As before, if you'd like to join in here's how-


* Pick any book,
* go to page 52
* give us the sentence that contains line 4. -Can be more than one sentence, as mine was this time!


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52/4

The Waiting Room
by FG Cottam

"The windows from this distance were black, sightless. Creed shivered. He did not know why."

  ( -Just finished reading this great ghost story!)



As before, if you'd like to join in here's how-

• Pick any book,
• go to page 52
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52/4

Ooops I'm a day late with this! Sorry! LOL!

52/4, week 3

Lost for Words
by John Humphreys

"The possibility that Alastair regards the media as disinterested - meaning dispassionate, without any axe to grind- is about as great as Tony Blair being the secret love child of John Prescott and Margaret Thatcher."

Hahaha!

As before, if you'd like to join in here's how-

• Pick any book,
• go to page 52
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A Christmas Dream

This is the dream Luvbug had the other night...

 Scooter and Fluffy, Summer 2010

He dreamed that I was giving Scooter his medicine. I had it in my hand and he was just licking it up, no trouble. Then, Fluffy walked towards us to have a look and I said,

"It's OK, Fluffy. You don't need these any more!"

And she faded away.

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It was her anniversary on the 13th. She has a little candle by her box of ashes, an angel, and a little box, decorated with cat pictures, containing her last collar and a clipping of her hair. This is all on the side near my chair, with Christmas cards around. She loved Christmas, the sparkle and twinkles fascinated her. She would lie belly-up under the tree looking up through it at all the glittering lights. I miss her, but I'm glad she isn't hurting any more. It wouldn't be Christmas if my friend were hurting.

Scooter now has 4 cardboard boxes scattered around the floor. Various deliveries have provided him with this choice. If I try to clear one up he wants that one :)

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Have a purrfectly happy Christmas, everyone!

Christmas preparations

Decided the oven needed cleaning. It keeps smoking, you see. Not meant to do that.

So I excavated the can of 'Mr Muscle' from the back of the cupboard, where I'd left it when I had first had the idea to clean it, oh, 4 months ago-?? and sprayed the stuff liberally all over the inside of the oven. Despite covering my nose and mouth, this sent me into an instant asthmary wheeze. Yuck! Some coughing and a few puffs on my inhaler later, I wondered, "Should I clean the roof of the oven , too?" I had a look and discovered that the whole of the roof slides out for cleaning. Oh. Never knew that. Gosh, that's a surprise after 7 years isn't it. So sprayed that too.

Then you have to leave the foam to eat all the bleagh gunk for up to 2 hours so I went and had a sit down and fell asleep.

Some time later......

I went to the kitchen for some tea and almost shrieked- in front of my oven, a large gloopy dark puddle was spreading into the room like a scene from CSI. Ohhhhhhh buggggggggggger.

Old cloths, newspaper, water and kitchen roll..... but hey this is worth it for a spotless oven for the Christmas roast, yes? Once the gloop and bubbles were removed I expected to see pristine metal but instead I've had to apply the rest of the can and have a second go. Not sure how I get to rinse all this off. We could be having salad for lunch on Sunday at this rate!

Regarding the Christmas food shopping, we thought we'd leave it till late, as a late night trip would avoid the crowds. SO we went to Tesco at 10.25 last night.

Going late was such a great idea that it had occurred to HALF OF COLCHESTER. We were back at midnight.

Just me, Luvbug, Mum and Scooter this year. But I hope to make it special with the trimmings and special touches..... how are your preparations going?