gellybaby's blog

The fifteen British Sailors and marines who were being held prisoner in Iran for alegedly trespassing into Iranian waters are on home soil tonight. They were flown into London Heathrow airport about 2pm British Summer time today. Their arrival was broadcast on BBC TV.

The fourten men and one woman walked accross the tarmac to two waiting helicopters which were waiting to transport them to a miliatary base for medical examinations and debriefing. Their families must have been so relieved to see that they were safe on British soil again.

My thoughts and prayers this weekend are for the families of the fifteen British sailors and marines held prisoner in Iran. Whatever the political rights and wrongs of the situation they were only in those waters because they were ordered there. Their families must be gravely worried for their welfare. It is for all of us who are of British origin to spare a thought or a prayer for them and their

A group of us at my French Class were discussing the number of words, especially adjectives that English has compared to French. In French the weather is either cold or hot, either raining or not. In English we have cold, freezing, chilly, warm, hot, middling, to name but a few, to describe temperature. It is raining, drizzling, spitting, and many others describe rain.

We thought at first that the difference was because the English talk about about the weather more than the French but our French classmates assured us that the French discuss the weather as much as English people do.

The BBC was broadcasting a news item today which I thought might be a joke for Comic Relief.I was wrong, it was a serious item. It announced that Conservative party spokesmen were moving to deny rumours that David Cameron's changing the side on which he parts his hair had political significance.

Has everyone become so trivial and stupid that anyone thought there was a political reason for something that is merely a personal choice or a whim.

Spring is here! Yesterday we found the first few of the tiny wild violets which flower willy nilly in the grass here, they are a beautiful shade mid-way between blue and violet, hard to describe in words. The Birds have been singing all day long really loudly. The birds of prey, eagles, buzzards, and kite have been calling, soon we shall see them making their mating flights. So beautiful like an aerial ballet as,in pairs, they swoop, soar and dive in the sky.

Today the valley smelled of Spring, yes, Spring has a very distictive smell. Winter has a very earthy, dank, dark smell whereas Spring has a gentle sweetness in its aroma. It was a beautiful day 15c and sunny and bright.

We walked up to the two agricultural lakes at the back of our land. They are both full up, which is great considering that this time last year they were very, very much lower. The birds have been singing all day long the past few days. I think that Spring is definitely on the way!! Hurrah!!!

I think that companies who make laundry products and detergents must think everyone's daft. They manufacture all sorts of things that nobody needs. What does one need six different detergents to do laundry for? One for coloureds, one for whites, one for delicates, one for black clothes and now I see in my local supermarket one for velveteens!!! The average household needs one everyday detergent for normal laundry and you might want one of the special liquid products for pure woolens, or if you have any real silk. If there is a baby in the house you might want one of the pure soap type products. It's all a big ruse to get us to buy more.

The UK Cabinet met today to discuss plans for reform of the House of Lords. The current plan is thought to be for a half elected and half government appointed chamber. This means that government will have control over half the seats in the Lords. In view of the Cash for Honours scandal at the moment in which parties promised honours in exchange for loans and donations to party funds, one wonders whether any of the parties can be trusted to have the integrity to appoint members of the upper chamber on merit.

When I was sixteen and working for my leaving school exams, I had to do a project for History. I chose to do one about the Home Front in London during World War 2. I read a lot of books for it but also asked my Grandmother to tell about her life during the war. I also asked my Mum, who was a child at the time,and other relatives also told me about their memories.

Many people think that History is all about Kings, Queens, battles, bridges and machines. These are the ideas that school taught history would have you believe but there are far more fascinating branches of history than the kind of history one learns at school.

Family History, or geneology, has become very popular in recent years, probably due to the fact that the internet makes this so much easier than formerly. There are many internet sites which can help you with research into your family history if you wish to embark on your personal voyage of discovery. The 1851 census of England and Wales can now be accessed online. The Public Records Offices of England also have a website.

It is cold here, only minus 0.7c now in late afternoon. We had snow twice earlier in the week but the afternoon sunshine each day just melted it away. My Husband is busy making a bird table. We had put some fatballs out for the birds on a string hanging from a hook (outside) in the window recess of our lounge window but our neighbour's 10 month old alsation put his two front paws on the window sill and calmly ate both the fatballs earlier this week.

I was born in 1955 and toy factories were still stuttering back into normal production after the war when they'd been requisitioned to make things for the war effort. My Nanna searched London for a teddy bear when I was born and was so upset because she could not get a golden furry teddy only a dark brown bear with some sort of plush covering, I loved him dearly.

When I was a toddler Nanna found a beautiful panda bear and gave him to me in place of old brown teddy but I refused to look at the panda and held on tight to old brown teddy. He was a long-suffering bear and never minded being carried around by an ear, or being left out in the rain. He was my first friend and he was not very good looking but he was very good for hugging.

Today is a grey day in our valley, not cold just grey. The huge cherry tree outside my window looks spikey and spiteful, its leafless twigs poke angrily into the grey sky. The wind is ruffling the few dead brown leaves which cling defiantly to its branches. Looking at the cherry tree today it seems incredible that in Spring it will be a mass of blossom and that soon its green dress will be so sumptuous that I won't be able to see the other side of the valley from this window.

It is, at long last, all over! All the hullabaloo of Christmas and the New Year. Wonderful, we can all get back to normal. The TV channels can start showing programmes again instead of the dire rubbish that they showed during the festive season. The shops will start stocking everyday things again instead of festive articles. We can even eat normal food again - how I long for egg and chips! The car park at the local Doctor's surgery was full to over-flowing with cars this morning, obviously lots of patients who have over-indulged during the festive season.

It has been very cold here, on Christmas Day the temperature struggled up to -3c about 22f. The hoar frost was thick on the trees and looked as if it had been snowing. We went out to lunch on Christmas Day to a restaurant some 20 miles away. The trip out accross the frosty countryside was lovely, if somewhat chilly. Let me explain, we have a citroen 2cv which has a heater but the heater is not as efficient as those in square, modern cars. Nevertheless, we got to the restaurant and had a pleasant lunch with some friends.