Last night it rained and rained and rained.
Which makes the failure of the electronic cat flap system all the more unfortunate for the fluffy cat.
When we came down in the morning, there she was, sadly bumping and bumping and bumping her head against the implacably locked cat flap. The other cat was warm and snug and completely unconcerned in her nice warm cat bed.
Several years ago we installed an electronic cat flap to defeat an intruder that was coming in and upsetting our own cats with unpleasant consequences.
It works brilliantly - sort of - most of the time. If we'd had the extra money, we would have bought the one that uses the microchips in the cats, but it was much more expensive, and we hadn't had the cats microchipped which would have added another £100.
So we economised. The cats wear a collar with a special thingy on them which releases the lock on the door. Initially they were terrified by the sound of the locking mechanism disengaging. We had a period of
cat approaches door, mechanism operates, cat recoils in terror, mechanism locks again causing cat to retreat further, cat approaches door, mechanism unlocks, cat starts to bolt, mechanism locks, cat jumps again....
We solved that problem easily enough. One of us went outside, and the other seized the cat, forced it up to the door, held it still as the mechanism unlocked and then shoved it through the flap - whereupon we caught it, and repeated the process to shove it back inside again. A few goes of this with each cat and they got the idea.
Now the only problems are caused when the batteries run out, or when the cat loses its collar.
Which is what happened last night.
The cat has dried out now - it would be rather cruel to recreate the appearance of the cat when it came in this morning, so I will leave it to your imagination. And we have fitted it with a new collar and tag. (we keep spares - plenty of spares... batteries, collars and tags)
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Wednesday 29th May - Pages and pages
I've just added a couple of pages, and changed the layout to put them on the sidebar, as they didn't all appear when I had them running across the top of the blog.
It's just so that I can keep track of a few bits and pieces.
The Knitting Project has been there for ages. It's taking a back seat at the moment, as The Tunisian Crochet Project is the front runner. I like it, because the short length of the crochet hook means that it takes up less room for carrying around, and for actually doing the crochet. This is an important factor when sharing the settee, or travelling on a crowded train.
I've been in the habit of writing details, or more recently taking a quick picture using the camera on the mobile phone, of any books that catch my eye with a view to adding them to "wish lists" or using book tokens. But then I lose the pictures or the notes. So now I'm putting them up on a page in the hope of keeping track.
I also make notes of interesting websites, especially ones which might come in useful at Christmas time. And then I can't find the bit of paper. Or the note-book I was using at the time. So, again, here they are. Until I accidentally delete the page. Or whatever!
It's just so that I can keep track of a few bits and pieces.
The Knitting Project has been there for ages. It's taking a back seat at the moment, as The Tunisian Crochet Project is the front runner. I like it, because the short length of the crochet hook means that it takes up less room for carrying around, and for actually doing the crochet. This is an important factor when sharing the settee, or travelling on a crowded train.
I've been in the habit of writing details, or more recently taking a quick picture using the camera on the mobile phone, of any books that catch my eye with a view to adding them to "wish lists" or using book tokens. But then I lose the pictures or the notes. So now I'm putting them up on a page in the hope of keeping track.
I also make notes of interesting websites, especially ones which might come in useful at Christmas time. And then I can't find the bit of paper. Or the note-book I was using at the time. So, again, here they are. Until I accidentally delete the page. Or whatever!
Monday 27th May - Arundel Day Out - The Gardens
The Collector Earl's Gardens
We had time to fill after a very early lunch and before the Second Battle between the Rebels and Duke Some-one-or-other (for the King). We had already missed the First Battle - the dead were just being cheered back to life as we walked past.
It was properly sunny, and warmer now, and we meandered along to this part of the grounds, which were new since we had last come.
What a lovely, lovely place this is. Witty, and charming, with "stone" buildings and urns and fountains which all turned out to be made of green oak. The overall colour scheme throughout the gardens was this purple colour. Apart from this beautiful cloud of sky blue ceanothus.
It was when I took a closer look at this folly that I realised that everything was made of oak, not stone.
This is the interior.
The decorations are all made of mosses, and dried flower heads, and pine cones.
It would be the perfect place for a Summer party, with canapés and cocktails and champagne and Pimms, with hog roasts and entertainment and outdoor opera, with Punch and Judy and croquet and fancy dress, with music and dancing and ... a perfect place.
There was room for everyone; the atmosphere was light-hearted and informal, the flowers so pretty, the fountains entrancing, the gazebos amusing. Just delightful.
There was a maze mown into the lawn. Several families were walking the maze, or else picnicking in the centre.
That's the Catholic Cathedral. To the left is a grotto with a fountain inside.....
.... decorated with sea shells, and a golden crown is perched on top of the water jet, turning and turning and turning...
Beyond the maze lawn is an extraodinary collection of uprooted trees, like some bizarre South American landscape...
Another purple border, with aliums this time, not tulips, leading to
leads to the organic kitchen gardens.
I would have been happy to have just seen the gardens.
Oh, and we missed the Second Battle, but luckily there was a Third Battle so that was alright.
Monday 27th May - Arundel Day Out - Castle Keep
We tried to go to some kind of hysterical historical re-enactment-kill-everyone-day at Arundel Castle at Easter, but it was soooo cold that we just went somewhere else. Where it was soooo cold that we went somewhere else again - for lunch. Where it was still pretty chilly and the lunch wasn't that great anyway. So that was just a typical British-Make-the-Best-of-things-and-Enjoy-Yourself-In-Spite-of-Things-Day-Out.
Today was DIFFERENT! Although it was still pretty cold (I was warm enough - vest and long-sleeve T-shirt and fleece and wind-proof jacket - I was even nearly warm enough having lent jacket to daughter. No-one else was as warm as they would have liked to be.) anyway, I'm still in the middle of a sentence, still pretty cold due to a fresh and bracing breeze, the sun was out and the skies were blue and cloudless.
We arrived early, started off with a second breakfast at what is becoming a favourite spot;
which is right next to a favourite shop;
and then set off for the castle. It has improved since the days when I decided it was too commercial and too expensive (to be fair, the last time we went into the castle was nearly 20 years ago). It is so much better that it will take several posts to share our day.
We set off for the castle keep - a steady walk up to the entrance, and then 131 steps of varying sizes, lengths of flight, twisty-ness and turny-ness. Well worth the effort.
The keep is just an open shell, with pictures and descriptions of how it might have looked in the olden days.
The final few flights were narrow spiral staircases leading through the guard room into the chapel, where a figure of a monk sat reading a manuscript (printed cloth, so people could touch it) and a lavishly bound manuscript lay open on the altar (thick paper, with prayers in Latin and illuminated initials, so we could turn the pages.)
At the top you could face into the sharp wind, and look across the flat land towards the sea, or across the river valley to the downs, for miles.
It made me realise how seldom I get the opportunity to just stand and look into a far distant horizon. There are brief glimpse across the river valleys as I drive round and round West Sussex; a sudden opening in the trees at the top of the first hill travelling home from Petworth, a gap in the hedge along the twisty back lane from Ardingly, across the reservoir, to Balcombe, the views over the fields from the A272 between Petworth and Midhurst...
I always look out for these moments, but fleeting moments is all they can safely be. A glance, and then a tricky blind corner, or sudden narrowing of the lane, or dastardly behaviour from fellow motorists will bring by attention right back to the here and now, to the close and imminent demands of the next few minutes.
Just "gazing" isn't something that happens often enough. Hurly burly, hurry, hurry, do this, do that, mind the gap, watch your step, consult the list, what's next....
Stop. Stand. Stare. Be still.
Look. Listen. Observe.
Breathe.
Get a sense of perspective. Step back. Look at the big picture.
There. That's a lot better.
Today was DIFFERENT! Although it was still pretty cold (I was warm enough - vest and long-sleeve T-shirt and fleece and wind-proof jacket - I was even nearly warm enough having lent jacket to daughter. No-one else was as warm as they would have liked to be.) anyway, I'm still in the middle of a sentence, still pretty cold due to a fresh and bracing breeze, the sun was out and the skies were blue and cloudless.
We arrived early, started off with a second breakfast at what is becoming a favourite spot;
which is right next to a favourite shop;
and then set off for the castle. It has improved since the days when I decided it was too commercial and too expensive (to be fair, the last time we went into the castle was nearly 20 years ago). It is so much better that it will take several posts to share our day.
We set off for the castle keep - a steady walk up to the entrance, and then 131 steps of varying sizes, lengths of flight, twisty-ness and turny-ness. Well worth the effort.
The keep is just an open shell, with pictures and descriptions of how it might have looked in the olden days.
The final few flights were narrow spiral staircases leading through the guard room into the chapel, where a figure of a monk sat reading a manuscript (printed cloth, so people could touch it) and a lavishly bound manuscript lay open on the altar (thick paper, with prayers in Latin and illuminated initials, so we could turn the pages.)
At the top you could face into the sharp wind, and look across the flat land towards the sea, or across the river valley to the downs, for miles.
 |
| Add caption |
It made me realise how seldom I get the opportunity to just stand and look into a far distant horizon. There are brief glimpse across the river valleys as I drive round and round West Sussex; a sudden opening in the trees at the top of the first hill travelling home from Petworth, a gap in the hedge along the twisty back lane from Ardingly, across the reservoir, to Balcombe, the views over the fields from the A272 between Petworth and Midhurst...
I always look out for these moments, but fleeting moments is all they can safely be. A glance, and then a tricky blind corner, or sudden narrowing of the lane, or dastardly behaviour from fellow motorists will bring by attention right back to the here and now, to the close and imminent demands of the next few minutes.
Just "gazing" isn't something that happens often enough. Hurly burly, hurry, hurry, do this, do that, mind the gap, watch your step, consult the list, what's next....
Stop. Stand. Stare. Be still.
Look. Listen. Observe.
Breathe.
Get a sense of perspective. Step back. Look at the big picture.
There. That's a lot better.
Monday 27th May - Arundel Day Out - Castle Keep
We tried to go to some kind of hysterical historical re-enactment-kill-everyone-day at Arundel Castle at Easter, but it was soooo cold that we just went somewhere else. Where it was soooo cold that we went somewhere else again - for lunch. Where it was still pretty chilly and the lunch wasn't that great anyway. So that was just a typical British-Make-the-Best-of-things-and-Enjoy-Yourself-In-Spite-of-Things-Day-Out.
Today was DIFFERENT! Although it was still pretty cold (I was warm enough - vest and long-sleeve T-shirt and fleece and wind-proof jacket - I was even nearly warm enough having lent jacket to daughter. No-one else was as warm as they would have liked to be.) anyway, I'm still in the middle of a sentence, still pretty cold due to a fresh and bracing breeze, the sun was out and the skies were blue and cloudless.
We arrived early, started off with a second breakfast at what is becoming a favourite spot;
which is right next to a favourite shop;
and then set off for the castle. It has improved since the days when I decided it was too commercial and too expensive (to be fair, the last time we went into the castle was nearly 20 years ago). It is so much better that it will take several posts to share our day.
We set off for the castle keep - a steady walk up to the entrance, and then 131 steps of varying sizes, lengths of flight, twisty-ness and turny-ness. Well worth the effort.
The keep is just an open shell, with pictures and descriptions of how it might have looked in the olden days.
The final few flights were narrow spiral staircases leading through the guard room into the chapel, where a figure of a monk sat reading a manuscript (printed cloth, so people could touch it) and a lavishly bound manuscript lay open on the altar (thick paper, with prayers in Latin and illuminated initials, so we could turn the pages.)
At the top you could face into the sharp wind, and look across the flat land towards the sea, or across the river valley to the downs, for miles.
It made me realise how seldom I get the opportunity to just stand and look into a far distant horizon. There are brief glimpse across the river valleys as I drive round and round West Sussex; a sudden opening in the trees at the top of the first hill travelling home from Petworth, a gap in the hedge along the twisty back lane from Ardingly, across the reservoir, to Balcombe, the views over the fields from the A272 between Petworth and Midhurst...
I always look out for these moments, but fleeting moments is all they can safely be. A glance, and then a tricky blind corner, or sudden narrowing of the lane, or dastardly behaviour from fellow motorists will bring by attention right back to the here and now, to the close and imminent demands of the next few minutes.
Just "gazing" isn't something that happens often enough. Hurly burly, hurry, hurry, do this, do that, mind the gap, watch your step, consult the list, what's next....
Stop. Stand. Stare. Be still.
Look. Listen. Observe.
Breathe.
Get a sense of perspective. Step back. Look at the big picture.
There. That's a lot better.
which is right next to a favourite shop;
and then set off for the castle. It has improved since the days when I decided it was too commercial and too expensive (to be fair, the last time we went into the castle was nearly 20 years ago). It is so much better that it will take several posts to share our day.
We set off for the castle keep - a steady walk up to the entrance, and then 131 steps of varying sizes, lengths of flight, twisty-ness and turny-ness. Well worth the effort.
The keep is just an open shell, with pictures of how it might have looked in the olden days.
The final few flights were narrow spiral staircases leading through the guard room into the chapel, where a figure of a monk sat reading a manuscript (printed cloth, so people could touch it) and a lavishly bound manuscript lay open on the altar (thick paper, with prayers in Latin and illuminated initials, so we could turn the pages.)
At the top you could face into the sharp wind, and look across the flat land towards the sea, or across the river valley to the downs, for miles.
Today was DIFFERENT! Although it was still pretty cold (I was warm enough - vest and long-sleeve T-shirt and fleece and wind-proof jacket - I was even nearly warm enough having lent jacket to daughter. No-one else was as warm as they would have liked to be.) anyway, I'm still in the middle of a sentence, still pretty cold due to a fresh and bracing breeze, the sun was out and the skies were blue and cloudless.
We arrived early, started off with a second breakfast at what is becoming a favourite spot;
which is right next to a favourite shop;
and then set off for the castle. It has improved since the days when I decided it was too commercial and too expensive (to be fair, the last time we went into the castle was nearly 20 years ago). It is so much better that it will take several posts to share our day.
We set off for the castle keep - a steady walk up to the entrance, and then 131 steps of varying sizes, lengths of flight, twisty-ness and turny-ness. Well worth the effort.
The keep is just an open shell, with pictures and descriptions of how it might have looked in the olden days.
The final few flights were narrow spiral staircases leading through the guard room into the chapel, where a figure of a monk sat reading a manuscript (printed cloth, so people could touch it) and a lavishly bound manuscript lay open on the altar (thick paper, with prayers in Latin and illuminated initials, so we could turn the pages.)
At the top you could face into the sharp wind, and look across the flat land towards the sea, or across the river valley to the downs, for miles.
|
| Add caption |
It made me realise how seldom I get the opportunity to just stand and look into a far distant horizon. There are brief glimpse across the river valleys as I drive round and round West Sussex; a sudden opening in the trees at the top of the first hill travelling home from Petworth, a gap in the hedge along the twisty back lane from Ardingly, across the reservoir, to Balcombe, the views over the fields from the A272 between Petworth and Midhurst...
I always look out for these moments, but fleeting moments is all they can safely be. A glance, and then a tricky blind corner, or sudden narrowing of the lane, or dastardly behaviour from fellow motorists will bring by attention right back to the here and now, to the close and imminent demands of the next few minutes.
Just "gazing" isn't something that happens often enough. Hurly burly, hurry, hurry, do this, do that, mind the gap, watch your step, consult the list, what's next....
Stop. Stand. Stare. Be still.
Look. Listen. Observe.
Breathe.
Get a sense of perspective. Step back. Look at the big picture.
There. That's a lot better.
which is right next to a favourite shop;
and then set off for the castle. It has improved since the days when I decided it was too commercial and too expensive (to be fair, the last time we went into the castle was nearly 20 years ago). It is so much better that it will take several posts to share our day.
We set off for the castle keep - a steady walk up to the entrance, and then 131 steps of varying sizes, lengths of flight, twisty-ness and turny-ness. Well worth the effort.
The keep is just an open shell, with pictures of how it might have looked in the olden days.
The final few flights were narrow spiral staircases leading through the guard room into the chapel, where a figure of a monk sat reading a manuscript (printed cloth, so people could touch it) and a lavishly bound manuscript lay open on the altar (thick paper, with prayers in Latin and illuminated initials, so we could turn the pages.)
At the top you could face into the sharp wind, and look across the flat land towards the sea, or across the river valley to the downs, for miles.
Monday, 27 May 2013
Sunday 28th May - Secret Wilderness
Who would have thought that this little haven is sandwiched between housing estates, blocks of flats, and a main road?
We paused to watch the ducks (drakes, actually, no ducks in sight) and the moorhens (red bits on the beaks, coots have white bits). We had the place to ourselves.
This little secret spot is just yards from my parent's flat. Not only that, but you can get there on reasonably level ground. It's a little circuit; past the garages, along the path between the two ponds, then along past a row of carefully tended gardens which are mostly planted with interesting shrubs.
After that we can either return to the flat, or go through the back streets to the local corner shop first.
We paused to watch the ducks (drakes, actually, no ducks in sight) and the moorhens (red bits on the beaks, coots have white bits). We had the place to ourselves.
This little secret spot is just yards from my parent's flat. Not only that, but you can get there on reasonably level ground. It's a little circuit; past the garages, along the path between the two ponds, then along past a row of carefully tended gardens which are mostly planted with interesting shrubs.
After that we can either return to the flat, or go through the back streets to the local corner shop first.