Saturday Snapshot

Published on June 23, 2012 by Margaret18 Comments

We’ve had mixed weather this week, with days of torrential rain and a few sunny, although not hot, days. One sunny evening we were eating dinner and looking out onto the back garden and to our surprise saw this hedgehog marching purposely across the grass.

It was making for the bridge over the little stream in our garden. I wish I’d videoed it to capture the way it walked.
When it got to the bridge I could see its legs more clearly – such long legs, I thought. I found this fact on the Hedgehog Preservation Society fact sheet: ‘They have relatively long legs – about 10cms (4″) – and these enable them to run as fast as we can walk.’

Hedgehogs do carry fleas, but I read on The Mammal Society website that they have only one specific type and they don’t carry the type that bite cats and humans, which is good because we’ve just got rid of Heidi’s fleas – that also liked to bite me!

For more Saturday Snapshots see Alyce’s blog At Home With Books.

Saturday Snapshot

Published on June 16, 2012 by Margaret34 Comments

We’ve had lots of rain recently, which Heidi doesn’t like. Yesterday she looked out of the cat flap and then settled down on the mat to wait for the rain to stop.

Is she going out? It looks like it, but no – she sticks her paw out and its still raining!

Back to the mat!

Just in case you think she was banished to the mat – it was her own choice. Later in the day, whilst it was still raining she made herself comfy on the sofa, with a handy cushion for her head.

She’s not as sweet as she looks because first thing in the morning I was greeted by feathers in the kitchen! But all was well as the baby bird had managed to escape by hiding on the windowsill and flew away when D rescued it.

For more Saturday Snapshots see Alyce’s blog At Home With Books.

Saturday Snapshots – Jubilee Celebrations

Published on June 9, 2012 by Margaret17 Comments

Last Saturday I posted photos of the coronation procession I took part in in 1953. Irene asked if I would post photos of what was happening in my area for the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Well, it was relatively quiet where we live, nearly 350 miles from London. We watched some of the River Pageant on television:

I liked the aerial views and the close-up shots of the Queen and Royal Family, but it was different from actually being there:

The next day our son and his family came to stay and we had a barbecue on the decking, decorated with our daughter-in-law’s hand knitted bunting:

Food was eaten, drinks were drunk and games were played:

Then in the evening we went to one of the 4,200 Diamond Jubilee Beacons that were lit all over the UK and the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Commonwealth and Overseas UK Territories. Ours was at Watchlaw Farm in Northumberland, where there are magnificent views of the Cheviots and the Tweed Valley:

The beacon was lit just after 10pm:

and soon it was blazing away:

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

D took a video which is on YouTube – watch out for the rocket towards the end of the video!

For more Saturday Snapshots see Alyce’s blog At Home With Books.

Saturday Snapshot

Published on June 2, 2012 by Margaret19 Comments

This year it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. She acceded to the throne in February 1952 and was crowned on 2 June 1953. There are many celebrations around the UK this weekend celebrating her 60 year reign, which got me thinking about celebrations in the past.

I remember the Coronation. We didn’t have a television but my parents had friends who did and we all gathered in front of their tiny TV and watched the ceremony in grainy black and white. I was at primary school and we were all given a Coronation Mug (I have no idea what happened to it!) and drew pictures of the Queen and the Coronation Carriage. I made a scapbook cutting out newspaper and magazine photos.

My photos today are of a procession around the village where I lived to celebrate the Coronation, waving Union Flags.

In the photo above I’m in the middle at the front, the one with dark hair and a white floppy bow in my hair, behind the girl with short brown hair and next to my friends who lived in the same road as me.In this photo I’m near the back on the right of the procession just behind a bigger girl. The man on the extreme right of the photo in the mac, with a cigarette in his mouth (!) is my dad, just stepping into the road.

For more Saturday Snapshots see Alyce’s blog At Home With Books.

Saturday Snapshot

Published on May 26, 2012 by Margaret18 Comments

About four weeks ago I posted a photo of our new arrival. Since then she’s settled in well, after a period of hiding on top of wardrobes and anywhere out of sight. We’ve renamed her Heidi, because of that. She knows her name and comes running when we call her.

She’s not really allowed on the furniture, but she’s tired out after a session in the garden hunting for mice and there plenty out there for her. She brought a dead one in this morning. I wish she wouldn’t bring them in, but she’s proud of her catch.

See more Saturday Snapshots on Alyce’s blog At Home With Books.

Saturday Snapshot

Published on May 19, 2012November 29, 2024 by Margaret17 Comments

This scene has become very familiar to me over the last four weeks:

Edinburgh Cancer Centre view of Edinburgh skyline2

It’s the Edinburgh skyline I can see from the Edinburgh Western General Hospital. The tall spire towards the left of the photo is the Scott Monument in Princes Street Gardens. Moving to the right of that is the fortress that is Edinburgh Castle and below that the green dome is the copper-clad dome of West Register House, one of the buildings of the National Archive of Scotland, in Charlotte Square.

And this is why – it’s the view from the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, where I’ve been going for the last four weeks. (Last week I wrote about being diagnosed with a breast cancer – see this post.)

Edinburgh Cancer Centre entrance It’s not as grim inside as it looks outside – it’s quite nice actually. I’ve got two more sessions of radiotherapy next week and then that is the end of my treatment, apart from follow-up appointments and a bone density scan. I’ll be glad to get back to ‘normal’. Maybe then I’ll get back to writing about books – I’ve got quite a pile lined up to review.