Summer time...

Today is my last day at work for 2 weeks - YAY!  It has been a long year and I really need some down time.

Next week is a general messing around week, including some prep for camping the following week, making sure we have all of our kit in good order and getting in stocks of supplies that we can't replenish while we are away.  Mrs RC has a list, so we will be fine  :-)

Except when camping, I will try to check in while I am away - have a great summer, and keep on blogging!

Frou Frou's View

I thought it would be fun to see the wheatfield from Frou Frou's level.

For her, this field is like one of those maize fields in horror movies!  No wonder she finds it so exciting.

Given her temperament, I wonder if she sees herself as the hunter or the hunted?  :-)

Summer is finally settling down, by the look of it and we are now thinking "camping".  We love our little camping trips and are looking forward to being able to go for longer walks with the new Custardmobile...

Finally, I think that I must appologise for the deepseated stupidity of the British.  How is it possible for someone who is in charge of displaying the appropriate national flags at the Olympics to get things SO WRONG?

"Oh, there are 2 Korean flags, which one shall I use?  Does it really matter?"

What next?

The Palastinian flag when the Israelis turn up?

Switching China and Japan?

Or Canada and the USA?

Afterall, who can really tell the difference?  :-)

Where's Custard?

Days off

Funny how days off work, isn't it?

I am the only person who can do a lot of the stuff I do.

This has its good points - like I feel as safe in my job as anyone can feel.

It also has its downsides.

Like today.

I am taking tomorrow off - result?  I have to work twice as hard today!

I know others have the same experience...

Not complaining, though.  I have a great job.



Tomorrow, we are having a family meal out to celebrate:

• Number One Son finishing school and being ready for Uni;
• Our daughter finishing school and being ready for college;
• Number Two Son completimg another year at school at the top of his class without really having to try;
• Me finishing my degree;
• Mrs RC surviving all this!

We are going to a great little place nearby that does an all you can eat buffet of Indian, Chinese and Thai food (with the now compulsory pizza and fries thrown in, of course).  I have been there before and it was great, so we should be in for a nice time.

Have a great week - I will play catch up on my blog list very soon...

Tornado?

Took this while dog walking in the rain.  OK, it ain't Tornado Alley but this is the first time I have seen anything like this!  If you look carefully you can see it going right down behind the house.

Yes, I did keep my eyes open for more for the rest of the walk...

Oliver Cromwell

This is the main gate that leads into the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral.

I think it is a splendid structure, and a fitting entrance to such a wonderful place.

Most of it is very old, but the statue of Jesus is only a few years old.  The original was removed by Oliver Cromwell.  What a guy, eh?  A military genius who enabled Parliament to win the Civil War, he then set about some brutal repression.  He is still hated by many Irish Catholics - one who I know refers to him as The Devil, and regales us with tales of rivers running red with Irish Catholic blood.

Having indulged in a bit if ethnic cleansing, he then imported a load of English Protestants to fill up the space he had created.  The unhappy situation in Northern Ireland is a direct result of this.

I guess you have to say one thing for Ollie - he knew how to make a mark on the world!

Olympic Torch

The Olympic Torch will be passing within a few hundred yards of where I work later today.  I think I might pop out and see if I can get a few photos.  It would probably be a crime not to, really.

I have lost interest in most things to do with the Olympics in recent years - the increased commercialisation, involvement of professional sports men and women in what is still called an amateur competition, etc, have eroded my interest.

As a child I remember getting up at ridiculous times in the morning so I could watch the 1968 Mexico Olympic events live on our black and white TV.  All of the competitors were truly amateur - accountants, postmen, lumberjacks, you name it they were there doing their stuff for the love of the sport, not for lucrative sponsorship deals.  I remember wanting to be a marathon runner by the end of it!  I was truly inspired. 

For the rest of the summer I would run around "The Square" (a playing field at the end of my road), training for when I would be an Olympic runner.  OK, I was 5 years old and eventually lost heart when I realised that of all the kids who played on "The Square", I was (due to my undiagnosed dyspraxia) by far the slowest over any distance you could imagine.  Rather ironic, really.  All these years later I am probably one of the fittest!  Maybe a bit of that inspiration stuck after all?

These days my main interest is in the paralympics.  Have you seen the wheelchair basketball?  Outstanding stuff.  Can't wait.

So, watch out for a post later on today, where I will share my Olympic Torch photos.


OK, I braved the crowd and, after an eternity of waiting and trying not to get pushed backwards through a shop window, the torch arrived:

(I filmed in HD, but it seems to have been downgraded in the upload process.)

I must admit that I was quite astonished by how excited everyone got and I am glad that I took the time to go.  And the weather played along too - it was hammering down a couple of hours earlier!