Waxen speckled petals curve like the painted nape of a neck. And succulent, sticky sex – unashamed, beckoning.
Was there ever a more decadent and seductive bloom than the oriental lily?
Graham Gnu v Senga Leo
Scene I: Background to the case
Graham Gnu’s real name was Wullie – Wullie Wildebeest – but he hated it. Wullie sounded so old-fashioned, so uncool. When he was a calf, the others would ask if he sat on a bucket and wore tackity boots. So when he was old enough, he picked the name Graham to fit his identity as a gnu – not as a wildebeest. His younger brother, who hero worshipped Wullie Graham, followed his lead and took the name George.
Graham and George were close, very close. They watched each others’ backs. Graham was fast on the gallop, but George’s sense of smell was so superior even for a gnu that he could raise the alarm when the South Side pride was half a mile away. Only George, it was said, could identify each lion by its individual smell.
The South Side pride was led by Big Jimmy. Sporting a magnificent black mane, he had a reputation to maintain. They all knew that roaring ‘Heh Jimmy’ at him even in jest wasn’t a good move unless they wanted a limp that would last a fortnight.
The girls were Phemie, Tracy and Senga. Phemie was (more…)
The founder of Guerilla Gardening, Richard Reynolds, tweeted about this article today.
It eloquently puts into words what I, in a small way, am trying to achieve by proposing a Community Garden for Patriothall. While we can’t completely create the ideal space described by George Monbiot (we can’t do anything about cars moving in and out the courtyard, for example) we can go a long way towards it. And while I’m in no doubt that our landlord’s business interests are strictly commercial, I believe that their corporate policy is also demonstrably interested in the concept of community.
While about half of Patriothall tenants didn’t bother to respond to my proposal, the fact that the other half did – and with such enthusiasm – tells me that there are many who aspire to living in a place that’s not all concrete and gravel, where neighbours don’t always retreat behind blindfolded windows. Perhaps some of those who didn’t respond would, after all, love to sit on a garden bench in the warm evening sun after a hard day’s work. Just listening to the bees buzz and the world quietly unwind.
I’ve been busy on the Family History section of this site.
Some material (Family Stories) has been shamelessly filched from my old site Folk Are The Thing (yes, it wasn’t exactly the catchiest title in the world, was it?) but the stories are still relevant. So far there’s one about my strong-minded great-grandmother who wasn’t too clever in her choice of men. Another featuring four generations with one name. And one tracing my ancestors back to the world of Linlithgow tanners and burgesses in the 18th and 19th centuries.
New are the family trees featuring my direct ancestors – get your scrolling mojo on! These are split into the four main family names: Cowan, Higgins, Somerville & Benson.
I knew I wanted to present the BMDs of as many people from the family trees as possible, so, after a struggle with my genealogical software, I came up with the Relatives Of series. It takes one individual (a grandparent) and lists all their relatives, including how they are related. The series is: Relatives of John Cowan, Martha Robertson Higgins, John Somerville & Rachel Benson. It excludes living people for reasons of privacy and also those with multiple marriages.
I’ve also made a page for my Anglo-Indian Connection. This is a big and complicated topic, so I’m drawing breath before I tackle it.
All of the above are sub-pages (and even sub-sub-pages!) on a dropdown list under Family History. But in case you’re feeling lazy, just follow the links I’ve put in this post, you’ll get to the same place.
I found a post on my old curlsdiva blog about food and music and thought the idea worth reviving. I think that Shostakovich tastes of intensely dark, bitter chocolate with orange zest. Mozart is a lemon & poppyseed muffin – clean, light and refreshing. And staying in the bakery, Faure must be a boulangerie-fresh brioche spread with blueberry preserve.
I imagine Bach’s music as a flavourful river trout with a side dish of fresh green vegetables – unsullied by romanticism, crisp and precise. In Brahms, by contrast, I taste a rich veal stew. And Beethoven is similarly meaty – a brace of well-hung partridge perhaps.
The music of (more…)
Being not enamored of my Reunion software’s styles and layouts, I decided to make their pedigree charts into jpegs and put them as pages. Here’s the one to start with. Although there’s a lot of scrolling involved, I think they look not bad. I went for direct ancestors only at this stage and chickened out of including my parents’ generation, even though they are both deceased. So it’s the Grandparents who begin the tree. Some branches are more complete than others.
The Red Herring is a common fish scooped up in its thousands in nets of genealogists worldwide. It’s almost as common in the Mare Genealogica as familia fabula (the family myth). Being red, it stands out on a page of closely packed type with the scintillating header of COR-CRO: 15 of 385 pages. Being friendly (and equipped with special fins) it catches your eye, waves at you as you try to place (or even plaice, but no we musn’t resort to childish silliness here, we’re a serious blog you know) where you know it from…
It’s a familiar face, it’s got your grandmother’s nose and it says it was born only 10 miles from the birthplace you have on your record – can it be – yes it must be – it’s that long-lost relative you thought you’d never find. Hallelujah.
But (more…)
❏ Scots weather: bilin; roastin; awfy hoat; hoat; warm; kindae warm; bit neepy; cauld; awfy cauld; freezin; bluidy freezin; baltic!
❏ From 2 oriental lily bulbs come 9 spectacular flowerheads - maybe £8.99 for 5 bulbs wasn't so expensive after all!
❏ Proposal for Patriothall Community Garden sent to landlords - offers of more plants continue to come in.
❏ Family surname list generated from index - who ARE some of these people?
❏ The new kitten was asleep on a cushion when the mouse attacked.
❏ His obsession with measurements had cost him his marriage, but it proved to be quite helpful in prison.
❏ The house had burnt down, but Ethel knew it would be all right. She still had her Carmen rollers and her water wings.
❏ Danny had been assaulted by a shopping trolley once, but that didn't explain what happened next.
❏ "I can't swim, sir". "Can't swim? You're a bloody Marine, Bridges. Get in there and save that duck."
❏ Because of a silk dress, Freya would stop playing the violin and Maude would stop curling her hair.
❏ He lay on the dirt floor, disturbed only by blood seeking insects, while the indigo cloth dried in the sun.
❏ I found this photograph of us on the fridge. It smells of cheap whisky.
❏ I didn't kill him. How could I? We didn't have a moquette sofa.
❏ At Home Bill Bryson
❏ The Post-Birthday World Lionel Shriver
❏ Cheating at Canasta William Trevor
❏ The Killer of Pilgrims Susanna Gregory
❏ Fearless Fourteen Janet Evanovich
❏ My Name is Daphne Fairfax Arthur Smith
❏ Ah couldnae breathe, bit Micky said that wisnae such a bad thing, at least mah bletherin mooth wiz quiet.
❏ Wance there wiz mah daddy, Billy Higgins n the doos. Billy shot the doos n mah daddy shot Billy. Ah goat the doo loft.
❏ Up a close till ah wiz ten. Maw aye blootered. Jigged wi a wheen o laddies. Mah weans taken awa. Christ, ah could go a fag noo.
❏ Saundy tarry toes frae the beach, Uncle Tam wi a wee snifter behind the dunes n Mither in her best cardie n American Tan nylons.
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All significant errors, bad grammar and lapses of judgement are, however, entirely my own.
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