July challenges - things are mounting up!

Suggest ticking off the quick and easy ones for May, June and July.  Some may need careful planning now for 2016!

53. Eat an insect

54. Swim in the sea  (at least its warm so far for Jul!)

55. Have a pillow fight with Ninny

56. Do the big butterfly count for butterfly conservation, need to log entries by August - count for 15 mins http://www.bigbutterflycount.org

57. Climb a munro (Ben suggested a mountain)

58.Go to a music festival

Yes thanks I am only too well aw are that things are mounting up but remember I still have a life to lead and I get even more books to plow thru,

sapiens has got boring where it talks about religion but I'll get through that. Have gone back to reading the Mr B,s set of books as a relaxation.

June challenges

These are very late but then you are busy with the Whales!!


 48 Eat with your hands for a whole day – no snack food (Isaac is particularly keen to observe this)
 49 Make a junk model
 50 Make a pork pie (this does not count to be eaten with hands)
 51 Go to a climate change meeting (reading Al Gore an inconvenient truth would count or other TED talk on climate change)
 52 Walk up Kinder Scout with Ben in a quicker time

Picture for Isaac and Esther

New England

This is typical of the houses in this neighbourhood, and some even have Wales. We went on a three hour whale watch seeing humpbacks yesterday.

The Charge of the Light Brigade - A.L.T

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns!' he said:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'

Was there a man dismay'd?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Someone had blunder'd:

Theirs not to make reply, 

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death, 

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,

Flash'd as they turn'd in air, 

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wonder'd:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right thro' the line they broke;

Cossack and Russian

Reel'd from the sabre stroke

Shatter'd and sunder'd.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them

Cannon behind them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell, 

They that had fought so well

Came thro' the jaws of Death

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honor the charge they made, 

Honor the Light Brigade, 

Noble six hundred.

Published 6 weeks after the event where a British Light Cavalry led by Lord Cardigan was sent through miscommunication into a frontal assault against Russian troops at the Battle of Balaclava, 25th Oct 1854. (Crimean War)

May Challenges - running late (sorry)

Following the theme that some challenges need planning, not all will be complete this month:

42. Take mum to a play at the Globe
43. Learn the ‘charge of the light brigade’
44. Make sour dough bread twice and keep the starter dough alive
45. Visit the EU in Strasbourg preferably for a plenary session
46. Teach John to recognize 5 birds
47. Switch places with Ninny for a whole day and do all her jobs

In the dying days of April

Hi all yesterday just in time for the end of the month mum and I went on an unknown journey to Exeter. It was the best weather this week and the trains were on time.

Exeter is the closest I have seen to a typical French town pavement cafe,s nice old buildings retained on the streets a lovely central cathedral and within five min walk of the very centre a quayside the has turned itself into a mini handicraft centre using the old dockside buildings will try to add a couple of photos.

Basket Case

Hi all well I got so far as a basket that will hold bread or. Fruit 

Here is a picture it's not the prettiest but we're I to do more I did find it quite therapeutic and it did take me nearly all day plus soaking the wands overnight.

Oops I forgot to take my April picture of the garden will try to remember tomorrow.

Daunted

Yes i know you are all enjoying putting me through what you like to think is getting your own back for the last umpteen years but i also have a life .........one for example that needs to conduct plant surveys , travel all round the world, sing the words to huge songs ( i might not even be able to remember the lords prayer now), spend some of your potential inheritance read the books you have been kind enough to gift me as well as have an ordinary life.........phhhhhh.

I will do my best......

We did go to the flicks to see the Enigma mans life story

I did the crane

i have purchased the willow

we are going to a Baltic stae i have learned, then forgotten hello in Italian Russian Japanese and Icelandic


Who lives on 237 pence aday even i spend about half that just on internet and mobile and TV licence not to speak of rates transport etc.will look at on the internet then cease to uise it for three days have no heating on and eat bread and jam!!!!!!!!!

Will update as we go

Who is the biggest fool?

36Learn the whole national anthem.

37 Learn to ask for your favourites at a Chinese in mandarin e.g. sea bass, rice etc and then take us out to prove it.

38Take Isaac & Ben to Stonehenge

39Make gnocchi or ravioli from scratch

40Take the breadline challenge and live on £2.57 a day for 3 days (heating / water etc!)

41Roam with your free bus pass for a week

April fool

Hi well April first 2015 and technically I think half way through my challenge year. What a journey it's been so far.

Today I will complete one challenge and "cash in" the book consultation in Bath. The challenge is the meal in a Michelin Star restaurant being the Bath Priory Hotel at 1230 today.

The book shop follows and thence to Charmouth.

And

Look I did this today

Am I getting credit?

Recap of a recap

So having updated where we are so far I believe these are still outstanding -

Balance a book on your head and walk for 20m
Teach John to tweet
Make something from weaving willow
Learn and sing let it go - Esther will help
Attend a life drawing class

All others are in progress or complete

No rest for the wicked ….

March

30 Watch a classic film without falling asleep
31 Build a clay bread oven as per the River Cottage bread book and use it to bake a loaf 
(I think this should be built somewhere close to those who suggested it - somewhere South East of Bristol!)
32 Learn to create an origami crane (the bird).
33 Get something published  - this can be in any magazine / journal / blog etc
34 Go to a Baltic state for a mini break
35 Learn to say “Hello, my name is Mike.” in Japanese, French, German, Portuguese Icelandic and Italian.  (Given the forthcoming holiday one of these could be substituted with Russian


HALFWAY………..

End of Feb update

Well here I am five months in and how busy have they been.

What have I achieved in February.

Finished the mooc on forensics which was both educational and entertaining the husband who stopped a car telling that a man had shot his wife when he leaned through the window with a gun was found to have been lying and was found guilty of murder.

I got that right.

I have begun the juggling now able to do a reasonable sequence of ten with two balls.

I cooked mum a meal on our wedding anniversary consisting of Tomato Salsa with ciabatta and black olives, followed by English matured fillet steak with potato wedges parboiled and fried to crisp up with watercress, and for afters a variation on Cranachan, double cream whipped to soft peak with added toasted oats and generous helping of fresh raspberries. Oh and a great bottle of Rioja.

I visited the site of my 1km botanical survey site South of the main road between Lyme Regis and Seaton on the under cliff rich in untouched woodland. am still waiting for the survey pack itself.

I made a solid oak bird box now installed on Rachel's fence. A 25mm hole perfectly executed and thanks to Isaac and Esther for their help.

Have looked at life drawing but don't fancy joining the hen party that are invited to join a course in Leicester.

I've booked for Mum and to have aMichelin star lunch at Bath Priory thence to the bookshop in bath for my "spa" treatment thanks to John and Rcahel's Xmas present.

We have booked a train journey from Moscow to St Petersburg but it's taken us 4 hours each to fill in the request for a visa form, that has to be hand delivered to some god forsaken place in Barbican EC1 so the two visas will have cost us at least £250 quid, assuming we get them at the first attempt.

If that does not count we are planning an Axminster to Exeter train as we have not been to Exeter for at least 40 years.

Oh and I have got this far with building a house of cards. See below.

And finally today we have Ben coming to attempt the loom bracelet.

To re cap …..

                        OCT

1.    Set up a blog to record these challenges 

2.    Create a memory box of your 70th year

3.    Buy a guitar (ebay sell cheap ones) and learn to play (they also do teach yourself books and discs or you can find lessons on youtube). ONGOING

4.    Take one photo or do a painting at one location every month to track the changing seasons. ONGOING

5.    Write the Kosinowskis a letter in German. (UNABLE TO CONTACT)

            NOV

6.    Sign up to and do the plant life survey SIGNED UP http://www.plantlife.org.uk/things_to_do/wildflowers_count/wildflowers_

7.    Make the Christmas Cake 

8.    Make the Christmas Pudding 23/11/14 is stir up sunday

9.    Learn the Ben and Holly introduction

10. Balance a book on your head and walk 20 metres

11. Do a mini cross stitch (buy them from Hobbycraft).

            DEC

12. Read The Guardian for a week

13. Make a loom band bracelet with Ben

14. Make some candles.

15. Adopt an animal or an overseas child  GORILLA BRISTOL ZOO

16. Teach John to tweet

17. Enroll in a degree or other course working for a qualification ONGOING - Forensics

JAN

18. Do the big garden birdwatch 24 – 25 JANUARY

19. Make something by weaving willow

20. Make and install a new bird box.

21. Learn to juggle

22. Read Life of Pi

23. Do a self portrait in a new medium (e.g. oil, acrylic etc).

            FEB

24. Have a meal in a Michelin star restaurant - BOOKED

25. Cook mum a 3 course dinner, to include planning, buying, preparing, cooking, and tidying up.

26. Learn and sing ‘let it go’ from Frozen

27. Make a house of cards from the whole pack - IN PROGRESS

28. Attend a life class drawing class

29. Go to the station and catch a train anywhere and explore - BOOKED / 2 ALTERNATIVES

Next challenges - February 2015

Hope you are ready …..


24 Have a meal in a Michelin star restaurant (it is your wedding anniversary month of course!)

25 Cook mum a 3 course dinner, to include planning, buying, preparing, cooking, and tidying up

26 Learn and sing ‘let it go’ from Frozen

27 Make a house of cards from the whole pack

28 Attend a life class drawing class

29 Go to the station and catch a train anywhere and explore

Fast and furious Life of Pi and Bird Boxes

Hi all well two achievements today I finally finished the Life of Pi and cout out the bird box ready to a finish off and assemble with Isaac next weekend.

Now to the life of Pi and just like this mixed up book I too am mixed up about it.

I could not understand as I began it why we needed a " present day" nor why we needed a dialogue from the Author pomposity or what. The first 90 odd pages were drivel mainly although I did love the way his name Piscine became Pi that was a magic bit. In this section I could not grasp why some chapters were in italics and some in normal print. that is until page 91 when he talked in italics about "my daughter" only then did I realise the italics were in the present. 

I found the guts of the story about the emigration, the ship sinking, and the subsequent dialogue about the boat Richard Parker, the tiger really good in fact enchanting in the way of Cinderella to a child. The plot at this point ways very clever although I think the bit about the meerkats on trees made out of gelatinous glue gave me the impression he was hallucinating.

The book was spoiled for me therefore by the questioning of the salvors and the revelation that Pi could but another view of the occurrences not nearly so beguiling.

Was it about God no but I loved the thought that one could be a follower of all the religions that brings me to the Indian Pakistani folk I have met in my career that shrug their shoulders with a "maybe".

This is reinforced as we prepare for friends tonight who are about to visit Japan so I have been re-reading my notes on that lovely place where 90% of the population are Shinto's and 90% are Bhuddists in other words cover my back with both. Neither of these are about a GOD but a belief in a trait and oneself.

Finally though the questions for book clubs ended the pomposity of the beginning " how does the voyage compare with Noah and the Ark" not at all Noah loaded the ark to save TWO of each creature to maintain their existence"

What is the effect of giving such a precise structure of exactly 100 chapters. How does that contrast with Pi's name an irrational and infinite number? Why should an author not play with numbers and have 100 chapters. The divisions of the chapter did not follow logically anyway, and what is irrational about the mathematical formula pi, it is what it is an infinite number that when used can give the area, ciricumference, of circles cones etc.  Similarly why is the speed of light what it is .......well it is isn't it. 

Back to the 100 chapters. Had the printers wished by increasing font size minutely they COULD have made the book have 400 pages exactly or shortened it to 314 like a Pi number starts instead of the actual 319 pages of the book itself.

 

Progress in Forensics and juggling

I am well into the forensics having doe DNA which was highly complex and in week four 100% marks on footmarks and guns their uses in solving crimes for the forensics expert.

I have also now been contacted by the plant survey people who gave me a km square entered in the sea off the Dorset Coast. Near to Lyme Regis but this is confirmed as correct I am to survey the land bit of the square ..........phew!

I can now juggle ham fistedly two tennis balls.

An earlier version of the start of the self portrait and the garde

Here are some pics of garden through the door

Final version

Self portrait two

Then commence layering in the colour as here e

Self portrait

Hi all here are the first two images of the self portrait in a medium I have not used before namely coloured pencil.

First I had to draw the subject.

Running total...

So nearly a third of the way through and we have proof that lots of challenges have been completed.
From Oct to Dec we have yet to see any of the photos through the front door but we look forward to seeing all 12 in October.
We have yet to see you 'balancing the books' and you have to make a loom band bracelet with Ben. We are looking forward to burning our new candles though.  If I can work the pictures - I may post one!
For Jan a reminder that the great British bird watch is this weekend - if you can also forward results to me Isaac is collating them at school.
Only other outstanding task is teaching John to tweet and as an ilerate in modern ways I wish you every success!

Progress with the forensics course

Just completed week two which has been almost entirely on fingerprints and finger marks. Fingerprints being on the record finger marks being those found at a scene.

Things are developing with the case as there are now doubts about where the couple drove after their lunch and the caller to the police who said his name was Dougan does not live at the address he gave the police.

Examination of the car in which the wife's body was found has discovered a second bullet casting under the passenger seat.

I have just got 12/12 marks in the multi choice questions to week two.

So far as I can see about 80 are on the course the oldest I found so far 75.

They are from all over the world.

Yet to catch up on several challenges not yet completed but finding difficulty in doing all.

Forensic science -future learn

This course is really fantastic have just finished the first week of the free course and would you believe it got 12 out of 12 for the four questions posed at the end.

Got to try to keep up with Granson you know.

For those who might be interested part of one sector of the first week was to read a Guardian article.it was fascinating real life investigation into five bags of body parts found in a London water. Great to aid the dictat over detail and processes used.

Key elements are what? Where? When? Who? Why?how?

Suggest you read here www.the guardian.com/science/2012/apr/craig-taylor-real-csi     

January's challenges

18 Do the big garden bird watch 24 - 25th Jan

19 Make something by weaving willow

20 Make and install a new bird box

21 Learn to juggle

22 Read the Life of Pi

23 Do a self portrait in a new medium (eg oil, acrylic etc)

Have fun!