Today's walk - Chipping

Short walk in and around Chipping. This is a village I have always wanted to live in. The book said it was a 5 mile walk but it was much nearer to 4. I had lost the book we normally use so after the walk we went back to Ribchester, the place we visited 2 weeks ago, to see if I had left it in the pub. There it was sitting on the mantlepiece. I was pleased about that because it is a good little book and we were beginning to rely on it. We had to have another drink whilst we were there.







This is where the people of Chipping used to wash their clothes.

Peel a Potato

My brain is in a fog but at the same time it is hyperlinking all over the place. I thought I'd be lucky if I could manage to peel a potato but I don't seem to be managing too badly.

Peel a Potato Online

Kirkham Baths

Bluefluff's post on Kirkham Baths has reminded me to post this:

Kirkham Baths will reopen to the public on Friday 17th February.
The reopening follows the completion of essential maintenance work. The building is now fully Health and Safety compliant.
In recognition of the inconvenience caused by the temporary closure and to encourage the public to use the facilities, the Council are offering free swimming to all members of the public at both Kirkham and St Annes pools between Monday 20th and Friday 24th.
Councillor Simon Renwick, Executive Cabinet member for Culture and Tourism, said: We have seen the strength of feeling on the subject of swimming in the borough and have prioritised work on the baths to get the building back open for half term.
We are now offering free swimming at both pools to encourage those people who have never used our pools to come down and enjoy a free swim. We are keen to promote the health benefits of swimming and would encourage all people, young and old, to use your pools.

Anyone want to come for a swim?

I think they will think twice before they let the maintenance slip and shut our baths down again. The people of Kirkham didn't like it one little bit!

Philip Woodward, deputy chief executive of Fylde Council, said his department should shoulder the blame over the closure of Kirkham baths which has led to public outrage.He was speaking as more than 300 campaigners vented their anger at the council during a public meeting in the town.

Freedom of Speech.

Does freedom of speech mean that it is okay to tell lies or to deliberately distort the facts? Would you want to do this and if not do you defend the rights of others to do exactly that?

I'm a bit confused over this 'Freedom of Speech' thing. I am all for 'Freedom of Speech' but only when it has good intentions and only when there is some truth in it.

If your freedom of speech damages me or the community or threatens our future safety in some way then surely I / we must have the legal option to do something about it. How would any of us feel if we woke up tomorrow and found a load of lies printed in the press about us - Lies which damaged our employment,our relationships, our home life, our future safety etc. The right to take legal action isn’t there purely as a means of putting the records straight. It is designed to prevent people / the press from telling damaging lies in the first place but it only works if people or the authorities exercise that right every now and again. How far does freedom of speech go? What if I started a rumour saying that I believed you had murdered or sexually assaulted someone and produced some photoshopped evidence? What if I wrote to your employers for no good reason and told them that I believed you were stealing from them or told them about your outside activities? Would you be prepared to say that I had a right to freedom of speech and expression and would you defend that right? Surely our freedom of speech must be balanced against another's right to prevent it in the first place or to set the records straight.

Freedom of speech is okay if you are expressing a truth and you can prove it. If it is a lie or a misrepresentation, which is likely to cause damage, should it be allowed to go on under the banner of 'Free Speech'? Should people be allowed to incite racial hatred or attempt to change the history books or put doubt in people's minds without any proof? Is it a good idea?


Hope this makes sense, and I am sorry if it is waffling on a bit but I'm struggling with an illness. Typical! I get a week off work and I immediately become ill.

NB This post has been prompted by the recent Irving Case. Freedom of speech seems to be popping its head up everywhere.

Yeah! Me shoes fit!

I've got horrid flat wide feet and when I stand barefoot on the floor they seem to splay out all over the place. I look like a duck. It is difficult to buy shoes which fit and consequently I live for the most part in sandals. Yes, even in the winter. I buy socks to match the sandals and wear a long skirt hoping that no-one will notice. I have walking boots but couldn't possibly go to work in them. :-) I have snazzy sandals for the evening but as I don't go out much I don't get a lot of wear out of them. How sad is that?

The problem with wearing sandals ( and I am not bothered about the cold, the snow or the rain ) is that your feet never get used to shoes and the problem gets worse. My day sandals are shot at, so last night I took a look at all the shoes in my wardrobe and found a pair I bought some months ago. I remembered that they were torture. These shoes are a wide fitting and cost me nearly £70 but boy did my feet bleed. I thought and thought and thought. Finally, I filled up the sink with piping hot water and plunged the 70 quid shoes into it. I left them there all night. This morning I took them out and put them straight on my feet. I walked up and down the kitchen a few times. Splish, splash, splosh, bubble, bubble, squelch. After mopping up the floor I went to work in the wet shoes. Magic! They now fit. In fact, they fit so well they feel like a pair of comfy flippers.

Rock and Roll Dreams

ROCK AND ROLL DREAMS (Meat Loaf)

Didn't get the birdie.

"Mr Cheney had turned round to shoot at a bird but sprayed Mr Whittington with shotgun pellets instead." BBC report.

What kind of skill is involved in using a gun which sprays pellets at a tiny bird? Where is the skill and the accuracy? Anyone could shoot anything with a spray gun. Whoops that's exactly right - If you're not careful you could shoot one of your mates. I hope the guy is okay but since seeing how game birds are reared in this country I am losing sympathy for these sports people. Why don't they shoot clay pigeons or something? Says she who practically grew up with it, but we ( meaning my family ) never shot anything that didn't have a sporting chance and wasn't going to end up on our own dinner table. I've never actually shot anything myself. I can't see the point of rearing animals or birds ( in what can be terrible conditions ) for people to go round killing for pure fun. It's the deliberate rearing of them for this purpose which gets to me. I don't know about the US but in this country game birds are not afforded the same protection as other birds, such as hens, which are reared for food. There are laws which cover the conditions for battery hens etc. but these laws do not apply to the rearing of game birds.

If the pleasure isn't in the actual killing why not shoot at an inanimate moving target. I can't believe that the the main purpose is to get their own food. These people have loads of money and don't need to go out hunting themselves. Man seems to enjoy killing things so let's up the skills level - Give 'em a spear and take their guns off 'em. On second thoughts perhaps not. We don't want them to revert to all their old ways and go round clubbing women over the head. Yes, I know some women go out hunting but I don't think we make up the majority. Man should listen up - When we say go out and get the food we mean get yourself round to Tesco or the Asda. The new skill is in controlling a shopping trolley and knowing where everything is in the aisles. Make a sport out of that!

I'm not having a go at all men of course. You don' t all go out killing little birdies or shooting your hunting partners. I'm not even having a serious go at those of you who do go out shooting but before you go out again please take a look at this report.

Ribchester

Walk - 6 miles in and around Ribchester.

We called in at the Roman Museum. My son tried on the Roman helmet but I don't think he would want me to post his picture here.

Would you believe that a local man bought these Roman vases from a car boot sale in Preston? You have got to wonder how on earth they got in a car boot sale in the first place.




Roman Nit Combs




I believe this place was originally built for nuns but it appears to have been turned into flats.



I don't know anything about the history of this building but as it is new it probably hasn't got much of a history ???



We visited the Roman bath house. Someone has posted pictures at Pendle.net. ( No sense in filling up my blog with too many photos. )


awwwwwwwwww. What a softie this thing was.

Sigh

687 words down and 2000 and some to go. Sigh. I know where I am going with it but I can't be bothered to go there. I think I'll toss it in the undone pile until tomorrow evening. It's none OU (Open University) stuff and the only motivation to do it is to get it out of the way and out of my life. That should be enough but it isn't.

I think I'll take a short break and then plan out our route for tomorrow. We are thinking of walking near the Lancashire village of Ribchester and calling in at the Roman museum. I don't normally tell people exactly where I plan to go in case I get lost and end up somewhere else - We'll see.

I have a can of Guinness in the fridge but it won't be there for much longer.

Tagged

Tagged by Jessie


Instructions:Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so

1) Kiss My Mike
2) Ultimate Writer
3) MikeChau
4) Jessie Griffith
5) Kat


Next select five people to tag:

I'm not going to tag anyone but if you want to do this please add your name to the list.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Battling with a 2 year old.


Five snacks you enjoy:
Chocolate in 5 different varieties.


Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:

These are the lyrics which have got in my head and stayed there.

No introduction necessary

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine theres no countries,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say i'm a dreamer,
but i'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.


Ronan Keating.

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you could light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd
Try as they may, they could never define
What's being said between your heart and mine

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me where ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all


Buddy Holly

Well the little things you say and do
Make me want to be with you
Rave on it's a crazy feelin and
I know its got me reelin
When you say, I love you
Rave on

The way you dance and hold me tight
The way you kiss and say goodnight
Rave on it's a crazy feelin and
I know its got me reelin
When you say, I love you
Rave on

Well rave on
Its a crazy feelin
and I know
Its got me reelin
i'm so glad
That you're revealin your love for me



I probably know many of Meatloaf's lyrics and of course American Pie, Vincent and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Did anyone ever consciously try to learn the words to American Pie or did they sneak up on you too?


Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

I don't do the lottery and have very little idea of what I would do with a million pound.

Five bad habits:

Only five?

Five things you like doing:
Spending time with my child.
Walking
Learning
Blogging
Working


Five things you would never wear again:
Tights
Shoes which cripple me
Bikini
Mini skirt
Shiny emerald green hotpants.


Five favorite toys:
Computer
PDA
Camera
PC Tablet
eTrek

Bad Day

My mum's just phoned to say she has cancer. I think she will be okay though because they are going to operate almost immediately. At least they think they are. They need to do some further tests tomorrow.

My friend has cancer too but that is an entirely different story. She was left for 4 months before they bothered to send back the results and it was all more or less too late.

A Walk down Memory Lane without a Parachute.

Who would have thought that a little walk around the Lancashire village of Pilling would have prompted some of the deepest and most meaningful questions in life? For example:


Why was this chicken crossing the road?



In the world of big business and giant supermarkets, can the little shop still exist?



Do Unicorns exist?



Ah! There's the pub.



Is this Fluke Hall? No, Kat can't be lost. She has a map, a book and a GPS. Why do they move these big buildings and replace them with worn out shacks? We eventually found the hall but it was some way down the road.



Being lost wasn't entirely mine or my sister's fault. The local farmers seem to have been a bit naughty and re-routed or partially hidden some of the public paths. We were, I think, supposed to cross a field full of horses, but as you know I don't go in fields containing large wild animals. Eight stallions were far too much for me.

We ended up in field we were definitely not supposed to be in. My sister spotted the farmer walking towards us and immediately panicked. She hid in the bushes whilst I went to speak to him. I don't think he was used to seeing hikers in his field with backpacks cos he shouted "Ave yer cum down on a parachute". He was very nice and let us nip through his yard. My sister's fight with the bushes hadn't done her much good. On crouching down she had been attacked and stabbed in the chest by her own bra wire. I had previously warned her about bra wires.

There were a lot of geese around and we had accidentally startled a couple of pheasants but neither of us expected to be shocked by the sight or sound of any other birds. Whilst walking down the road, camera in hand, a guy in a truck pulled up and asked if he could help in any way. I explained that we were heading towards the seafront but as he was not for clearing off, I eventually asked why he wanted to help us. It turned out that he was concerned about me carrying a camera. I asked if he had something to hide but he said not and shot off down the road. He was waiting for us round the corner. What we saw is something neither of us want to see, ever again. I can only assume that they were battery hens but this guy hadn't even got the decency to keep them in a shed and out of sight. A huge field contained what looked like metal tubes on a frame, running round and crisscrossing the field. No daylight seemed to be entering these tubes but light bulbs were hung over what appeared to be single compartments within the narrow tubes. The noise was awful. I have tried to imagine living in a metal coffin with no room to turn around, no window to look through and no natural daylight but you have to see these things for yourself before they make such a huge impact. All this was behind a high security fence The type of fence you would expect to see running round a prison. I didn't take a photograph because I thought it was so disgusting. Why the hell did he go to the trouble and the expense of buying all that bloody metal when the birds could have been running round the field? There were a lot of open pens in the area but the birds were not in them. They were in this large metal structure.

Later addition: I am beginning to wonder if it was pheasant or some other game birds in that structure rather than hens.

Why Memory Lane?

My dad used to take all four of us line fishing on Pilling sands. We had to get up in the middle of the night, depending on the tide, and walk for miles across the sands to put out a line with hooks and bait. We returned to shore to wait for the tide to come in and then rush out with the shrimp nets. When the tide receded, we would walk all the way back out to collect the cod, plaice and flounder from the lines - Collecting cockles on the way. This was how we spent our summer holidays. :-) We also collected samphire ( a herb which grows on the seashore). These sands are treacherous and you don't go on them useless you know the area well and you know what you are doing. Being stuck in the quicksand is more than a little scary and if the mist comes down it is extremely difficult to know which way you are heading. Also the tide comes in very quick and unevenly. If you are not careful, it can leave you stranded on a sand bank. Dad has excellent navigation skills and a good sense of direction. Unfortunately, he did not pass these skills on to his daughters. We were never allowed on to these sands without him and so today (which is yesterday now), we didn't even hop over the wall. :-)

World View?

I got this from Colleen. I don't mind being an Existentialist but the score seems a bit too high for comfort.

What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

Existentialism emphasizes human capability. There is no greater power interfering with life and thus it is up to us to make things happen. Sometimes considered a negative and depressing world view, your optimism towards human accomplishment is immense. Mankind is condemned to be free and must accept the responsibility.

• Existentialist 94%


• Cultural Creative 88%


• Postmodernist 75%


• Modernist 69%


• Materialist 63%


• Idealist 63%


• Romanticist 31%


• Fundamentalist 6%

What is this person doing in this picture?

Re the cartoons

This is an interesting piece.

Muhammad Cartoons: Is It Racist-Orientalist to Publish Them?

Little !!!

My sister woke in the middle of the night just in time to hear a text message come through on her mobile. The message was from a friend. It read "I've given birth to a little baby girl. 11 lb 8 ozs ". We've checked and the figures were not accidentally reversed.