Welcome to my wonderful world. Look around, take the links to some interesting sites and leave a comment. Before you go, please feed the fish by clicking on the tank at the bottom of the page:)
A cat has been summoned to do jury service, even after his owners told the court he was "unable to speak and understand English".
Anna Esposito, wrote to Suffolk Superior Crown Court in Boston, US, to explain that a mistake had been made, but a jury commissioner replied saying the cat, named Tabby Sal, "must attend" on March 23.
Mrs Esposito had included a letter from her vet confirming that the cat was "a domestic short-haired neutered feline".
Tabby Sal had been entered by Mrs Esposito under the 'pets' section of the last census. "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - miaow?" She said.
"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last Census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix-up."
A website for the US judicial system states that jurors are "not expected to speak perfect English".
Breakfast this morning at Flint in the Vines, which is the restaurant at Shaw Vineyards. Followed by a leisurely morning spent exploring some of our excellent local wineries. Thoroughly enjoyable tasting sessions and my cellar is growing nicely:)
The frog on the back of the snake. (Armin Gerlach) Of all the startling images to have come out from the Queensland floods, this has to be the most unusual — a green frog hitching a ride on the back of a brown snake.
It appears animals often help each other out during disasters. According to an article on the ninemsn website, "it's quite common when you have animals in floods or fires or disasters, they actually get together and don't do anything [to harm each other]" .
Prime Minister's XI. Is there a better way to spend the day than with a few good friends, doing nothing other than enjoying yourself? After a lovely breakfast together we went and watched the P.M.'s XI v England. Despite numerous rain periods, which shortened the game to 35 over innings, a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all and there was even enough sun to get slightly burnt:)
Victorious England Team (now that the P.M.'s XI has been soundly defeated, can we please do the same to the P.M.?)
Prayer. It may be an old fashioned idea but we all have a need for spiritual nourishment; for communion with the Divine. There are many ways to achieve this - from solitary, peaceful activity such as meditation to intense, frenzied activity like drumming or chanting. I try to attend some form of worshipful service about once a month. Today, I felt the need for ritual and pageantry and so attended a High Mass in the Church of England. The beautiful window on the left is called the Sheffield Window as it used to reside at St. Clement's Church in Sheffield, England. Having managed to survive two German bombing raids during the Second World War, it now adorns All Saint's Church in Ainslie, Canberra, Australia.
The joy of gardening. There is something in the smell of freshly turned earth that really lifts the spirits. The is also great satisfaction in pulling weeds out by their horrid little roots. The real thrill today, however, has been tackling the 'Amazon Jungle' and taking it back to bare earth in preparation for creating my own Eden:)
I love technology. I decided this would be the year I overcame my fear of it and dipped my toe in the waters of the 21st century. I have been having great fun on Facebook and Twitter and, of course, this blog.
My smile for today, however, is Stephen Fry. Yes, I know he makes us smile every day, but I recently joined "Club Fry" and spend hours talking, playing and mentally fencing with other Fryophiles.His website is a universe in its own right. Check it out.The New Adventures of Mr. Stephen Fry
O.K. I know I've been slack. When I started this project, the idea was to record something nice every day. Unfortunately, life has a nasty habit of getting in the way. Despite that, there have been some really nice things over the last few days. First I had an early (5:30 a.m.) morning walk and watched the sun rise while inhaling the scent of freshly mown grass. Doesn't that just make you think of childhood?
Yesterday I spent most of the day doing housework. "Not that great", I hear you say. Well, true, but imagine how enjoyable it was to sit down at the end of the day with a glass (or two) of wine and look around my nice clean house and know I won't have to do that again for a while:).
Today I had lunch with a couple of girlfriends. There was supposed to be a really nice photo of us to go with this story but every time I try to download it, the system crashes. I am not the most technical person on earth, so once some kind techno-nerd has fixed the problem for me, I'll add the photo.
The Ashes. Being a serious Cricket tragic, this is always the highlight of my sporting year! Even though today (5th test; day 1) was rained out, what was played was enjoyable and the new boy, Khawaja, seems to know his stuff. Maybe Australia will stand a chance next time.
This is my beautiful grand-daughter, Clea Marie. She is 6 1/2 years old and is really intelligent and affectionate. She always has a big smile and a hug for her grandmother who thinks she is absolutely perfect. (No, I'm not in the least bit biased!)
I had lunch today with this part of my wonderful family who have put up with me through all the bizarre twists and turns of my tumultuous life. Without them, I doubt I would have survived to become the person I am today. They have always been there. Even when I would have abandoned me, they never lost faith.
Like most people, I spend far too much time whingeing and complaining about all the things I don't like in my life. I'm sure millions of people would love to have my "problems". This year I'm going to find something to be grateful for every single day. If someone in a Western country who has a home, a job, food, etc. can't find something to smile about every day, then there is something seriously wrong. So, here goes...
However much he tries to put it off, Gordon Brown has to call a General Election before 3rd June 2010 - this widget counts down the days until the British have a chance to sack him.
In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor.
After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had, after all, had a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact (always an unlucky number!), decided that violent action was the answer.
A small group took shape, under the leadership of Robert Catesby. Catesby felt that violent action was warranted. Indeed, the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics. (I guess terrorism is nothing new).
To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar, just under the House of Lords.
But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack, including some people who even fought for more rights for Catholics. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th.
The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators.
Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured and executed. Serves him right - the traitor.
It's unclear if the conspirators would ever have been able to pull off their plan to blow up the Parliament even if they had not been betrayed. Some have suggested that the gunpowder was so old as to be useless. Since Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators were caught before trying to ignite the powder, we'll never know for certain.
Even for the period which was notoriously unstable, the Gunpowder Plot struck a very profound chord for the people of England. In fact, even today, the reigning monarch only enters the Parliament once a year, on what is called "the State Opening of Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of thePalace of Westminster. Nowadays, the Queen and Parliament still observe this tradition.
On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.
Fleur lives in Canberra with a very affectionate cat and many, many wonderful friends. She is a writer, adventurer and dreamer who loves experiencing exotic people, places and food. Favourite quote: "I have stood beneath the cannons and witnessed the birth of history".
