really???!!! why weren't we told???!!!
just as well george bush has alerted the world to this oversight ...
"I heard somebody say, Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas," Bush, who has a reputation for verbal faux pas, said in a press conference in Washington, Thurs 21st Sep 2007.
the full article, for the incredulous amongst you is at
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN144024.html
Wednesday, September 26
Thursday, September 20
in an attempt to lift my spirits at the impending change in seasons ...
things i like about autumn / winter
soaking in a lavender and tea tree scented hot bath,
the myriad of colours and shades in the changing leaves,
snuggling up under a cosy blanket on the couch with m to watch a film,
long, candlelit evenings,
climbing into a bed warmed by the electric blanket,
delicious soups, stews and casseroles made with squashes and root vegetables,
getting all wrapped up to go out walking in the forest,
the smell of woodsmoke carried on the crisp air,
the silence created by a fresh snow fall,
running through a pile of fallen leaves,
the anticipation of the first flurries of snow,
snowdrops breaking through the barren ground,
looking up to watch the snowflakes fall from the sky,
a big soup bowl of hot chocolate and a cinnamon bun in a stockholm coffee shop,
time off at christmas and new year spent with loved ones :)
soaking in a lavender and tea tree scented hot bath,
the myriad of colours and shades in the changing leaves,
snuggling up under a cosy blanket on the couch with m to watch a film,
long, candlelit evenings,
climbing into a bed warmed by the electric blanket,
delicious soups, stews and casseroles made with squashes and root vegetables,
getting all wrapped up to go out walking in the forest,
the smell of woodsmoke carried on the crisp air,
the silence created by a fresh snow fall,
running through a pile of fallen leaves,
the anticipation of the first flurries of snow,
snowdrops breaking through the barren ground,
looking up to watch the snowflakes fall from the sky,
a big soup bowl of hot chocolate and a cinnamon bun in a stockholm coffee shop,
time off at christmas and new year spent with loved ones :)
Wednesday, September 19
bowling with the dude
so, friday 24th sees us head into edinburgh for lebowski fest!
http://lebowskifest.com/lfuk.asp?
we then head to portobello for the biggest and best take-away pizza with extra chilli sauce as a topping! we sit and watch the kite surfers on musselburgh beach which inspires m, i glance over but i'm too interested in my tea to pay too much attention!
then onto a club in the heart of edinburgh town for a screening of the movie. what a nightmare!!! traffic ... parking ... the horrible, grotty reality of a club when sober (neither of us drinking much right now) means we head for home!
we had looked at public transport options from perth to edinburgh so that we wouldn't need to worry about parking/traffic/taking the van. now, given it is summer and tourist season; that the edinburgh festival is on; that this is our capital city you would imagine that public transport on a friday wouldn't be so difficult? then you imagine wrong! i searched for buses and trains and the latest we could leave edinburgh by public transport was about 10pm!!! unless we wanted to leave edinburgh about 11pm.go via glasgow and arrive in perth around 5am!
saturday is an altogether more calming day :) we drive to dalwhinnie to picnic in the sun. m sets of on his cycle while i read a while and collect grasses to dry. we meet up again in bruar for m to swap bikes and then to pitlochry where we miss each other - signage!!! from there we head to dunkeld and birnam where we have a lovely walk, collect leaves then drive home together.
we have a bbq dinner and my thoughts turn to the garden, quite keen to get things started for next year.
if you haven't already seen 'the break up' ... don't bother!
sunday sees us heading to st. andrews for m to have a kiting lesson, with landboard too! unfortunately i'm not inspired due to pmt and hayfever so read in the van for a while, only venturing out to collect urchin shells and meet tom kat (the cool surfer cat who belongs to the folk running the kite surfing lessons, he comes along to the beach with them - how cool is that?!)
http://lebowskifest.com/lfuk.asp?
we then head to portobello for the biggest and best take-away pizza with extra chilli sauce as a topping! we sit and watch the kite surfers on musselburgh beach which inspires m, i glance over but i'm too interested in my tea to pay too much attention!
then onto a club in the heart of edinburgh town for a screening of the movie. what a nightmare!!! traffic ... parking ... the horrible, grotty reality of a club when sober (neither of us drinking much right now) means we head for home!
we had looked at public transport options from perth to edinburgh so that we wouldn't need to worry about parking/traffic/taking the van. now, given it is summer and tourist season; that the edinburgh festival is on; that this is our capital city you would imagine that public transport on a friday wouldn't be so difficult? then you imagine wrong! i searched for buses and trains and the latest we could leave edinburgh by public transport was about 10pm!!! unless we wanted to leave edinburgh about 11pm.go via glasgow and arrive in perth around 5am!
saturday is an altogether more calming day :) we drive to dalwhinnie to picnic in the sun. m sets of on his cycle while i read a while and collect grasses to dry. we meet up again in bruar for m to swap bikes and then to pitlochry where we miss each other - signage!!! from there we head to dunkeld and birnam where we have a lovely walk, collect leaves then drive home together.
we have a bbq dinner and my thoughts turn to the garden, quite keen to get things started for next year.
if you haven't already seen 'the break up' ... don't bother!
sunday sees us heading to st. andrews for m to have a kiting lesson, with landboard too! unfortunately i'm not inspired due to pmt and hayfever so read in the van for a while, only venturing out to collect urchin shells and meet tom kat (the cool surfer cat who belongs to the folk running the kite surfing lessons, he comes along to the beach with them - how cool is that?!)
it's nearly time ...
... to go blackberrying! we went for a recce to a local hill the other night to check out the blackberry situation - still a little early, some green and some red berries but the black juicy looking one that i tried definitely failed the taste test for sourness!
here's a recipe courtesy of janet brinkworth and good food live ...
blackberry chutney
makes approximately 500g chutney
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3cm ginger, finely chopped
2 large red chillies, finely chopped
500g blackberries
45g caster sugar
30ml red wine vinegar
feeling a little wistful at the more noticeable change in seasons just now. i certainly can't complain given that we've had a great summer and certainly made the most of the daylight hours but i couldn't help feeling a little sad at the thought of the departure of the martins. i watched a few last night from the garden but haven't seen any today, and they're normally quite active around the roof of the office building where i work. doesn't seem that long ago since we saw those first joyous harbingers of spring at applecross. and now their departure heralds the arrival of autumn.
here's a recipe courtesy of janet brinkworth and good food live ...
blackberry chutney
makes approximately 500g chutney
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3cm ginger, finely chopped
2 large red chillies, finely chopped
500g blackberries
45g caster sugar
30ml red wine vinegar
- heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan. add the red onion, ginger and chilli.
- fry gently for 4 to 5 minues until softened.
- add blackberries and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring now and then.
- add in the sugar and vinegar, mixing well.
- bring to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until thickened.
- allow to cool.
- if being stored, this chutney should be spooned into hot, sterilised jars, when still hot. cover with waxed paper discs and cool. once cooled, seal and store until using.
feeling a little wistful at the more noticeable change in seasons just now. i certainly can't complain given that we've had a great summer and certainly made the most of the daylight hours but i couldn't help feeling a little sad at the thought of the departure of the martins. i watched a few last night from the garden but haven't seen any today, and they're normally quite active around the roof of the office building where i work. doesn't seem that long ago since we saw those first joyous harbingers of spring at applecross. and now their departure heralds the arrival of autumn.
i despair ...
i was hoping that the original rumour of developers starting forest fires was inspired by conspiracy theories but perhaps not!
From The Indepdendent
Outrage in Greece over secret plan to develop land in region ravaged by fires
By Elinda Labropoulou in Athens, Published: 19 September 2007
The Greek government is facing a major embarrassment within days of its re-election after it gave property developers the green light to build on an environmentally sensitive area next to forests ravaged by this summer's deadly fires.
Documents leaked to the Greek press show the finance ministry pushed through an agreement allowing building activity to begin in a protected area in the Southern Peloponnese, the region hardest hit by last month's blazes that killed 67 people and destroyed nearly half a million acres of forest and farmland.
Under heavy criticism for their handling of the inferno, the ruling conservatives blamed the inferno on unscrupulous property developers looking to exploit protected areas. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis vowed to avoid past mistakes where building permits were handed out in fire-affected areas and land was rezoned for construction.
The agreement, revealed this week, covers a valuable coastal zone in Zaharo, the area that accounted for nearly half of the deaths during last month's "national emergency".
The zone includes a rare pine forest, thermal springs, and a nesting area for the endangered loggerhead turtle Caretta-Caretta. Environmental groups say the agreement could come at a huge cost for the area's sensitive ecosystem. The district is protected by the European Union's Natura 2000 scheme, designed to safeguard the most seriously threatened habitats and species.
Greek MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis said the plans could also endanger ¿600m (£410m) in EU funding for fire-stricken areas. "What happened is a crime against nature, committed in order to buy last minute votes prior to the elections," he said.
Mr Papadimoulis has already raised the issue with Athens and Brussels.
"I put a question forward to see whether it violates EU legislation but also whether it could threaten the receipt of EU funding for the fire-stricken areas."
The Greek government has yet to respond.
Dimitris Karavellas, director of WWF Greece, said the continued absence of a proper land registry was at the root of the present crisis. "We are the only country in the EU that doesn't have a land registry," he said. "We get situations where there are forest fires one year and nothing but houses a couple of years later."
The Zaharo deal, if confirmed, would take place in two stages. Firstly, it would legalise nearly 800 buildings that have been illegally constructed in the area over the past 50 years. In the second stage it would permit the construction of hotels, restaurants and recreational facilities. Developers would be allowed to use the land for up to 69 years.
Zaharo's mayor, Pandazis Chronopoulos, who signed the agreement with the finance ministry's Public Real Estate Corporation, says that, if it became law, the agreement would generate much needed money for the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged area. " It would help the redevelopment of the area. We need to recreate a tourism infrastructure. We will fully respect the environment. We are thinking of small-scale tourism development. Maybe a children's camp to start with. And all the money the municipality would get will be reinvested in rebuilding Zaharo".
According to the agreement 75 per cent of the income generated would go to the municipality, the remaining 25 to the finance ministry.
Local engineer Kostas Tzamaloukas, said the people are still numb from the catastrophe "At the polling station on Sunday, one third of the people who were in the queue were wearing black, a sign they had lost a loved one in the fires. This is a small community, people are devastated. They would listen to anyone promising them a way out of the financial disaster."
The ruling New Democracy party held on to power this weekend with a reduced majority.
From The Indepdendent
Outrage in Greece over secret plan to develop land in region ravaged by fires
By Elinda Labropoulou in Athens, Published: 19 September 2007
The Greek government is facing a major embarrassment within days of its re-election after it gave property developers the green light to build on an environmentally sensitive area next to forests ravaged by this summer's deadly fires.
Documents leaked to the Greek press show the finance ministry pushed through an agreement allowing building activity to begin in a protected area in the Southern Peloponnese, the region hardest hit by last month's blazes that killed 67 people and destroyed nearly half a million acres of forest and farmland.
Under heavy criticism for their handling of the inferno, the ruling conservatives blamed the inferno on unscrupulous property developers looking to exploit protected areas. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis vowed to avoid past mistakes where building permits were handed out in fire-affected areas and land was rezoned for construction.
The agreement, revealed this week, covers a valuable coastal zone in Zaharo, the area that accounted for nearly half of the deaths during last month's "national emergency".
The zone includes a rare pine forest, thermal springs, and a nesting area for the endangered loggerhead turtle Caretta-Caretta. Environmental groups say the agreement could come at a huge cost for the area's sensitive ecosystem. The district is protected by the European Union's Natura 2000 scheme, designed to safeguard the most seriously threatened habitats and species.
Greek MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis said the plans could also endanger ¿600m (£410m) in EU funding for fire-stricken areas. "What happened is a crime against nature, committed in order to buy last minute votes prior to the elections," he said.
Mr Papadimoulis has already raised the issue with Athens and Brussels.
"I put a question forward to see whether it violates EU legislation but also whether it could threaten the receipt of EU funding for the fire-stricken areas."
The Greek government has yet to respond.
Dimitris Karavellas, director of WWF Greece, said the continued absence of a proper land registry was at the root of the present crisis. "We are the only country in the EU that doesn't have a land registry," he said. "We get situations where there are forest fires one year and nothing but houses a couple of years later."
The Zaharo deal, if confirmed, would take place in two stages. Firstly, it would legalise nearly 800 buildings that have been illegally constructed in the area over the past 50 years. In the second stage it would permit the construction of hotels, restaurants and recreational facilities. Developers would be allowed to use the land for up to 69 years.
Zaharo's mayor, Pandazis Chronopoulos, who signed the agreement with the finance ministry's Public Real Estate Corporation, says that, if it became law, the agreement would generate much needed money for the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged area. " It would help the redevelopment of the area. We need to recreate a tourism infrastructure. We will fully respect the environment. We are thinking of small-scale tourism development. Maybe a children's camp to start with. And all the money the municipality would get will be reinvested in rebuilding Zaharo".
According to the agreement 75 per cent of the income generated would go to the municipality, the remaining 25 to the finance ministry.
Local engineer Kostas Tzamaloukas, said the people are still numb from the catastrophe "At the polling station on Sunday, one third of the people who were in the queue were wearing black, a sign they had lost a loved one in the fires. This is a small community, people are devastated. They would listen to anyone promising them a way out of the financial disaster."
The ruling New Democracy party held on to power this weekend with a reduced majority.
Monday, September 10
farewell my stripy furry friend
so, the day we are due to leave for stockholm i learn that our friendly little kitten from along the road has been hit and killed by an idiot in a red car. i know of, nor ask for, any other details, although i think i may have heard the car when upstairs packing but didn’t realise what had happened, however i know some of the neighbours came out into the street so hopefully you weren’t alone.
apparently the little cat had been a stray and some neighbours had been making sure it was fed and cared for and, of course, like a number of the neighbourhood cats came to us for cuddles.
i will remember your delight at being given a fuss, your eager little face, the sound of your purring, your beautiful markings – tabby and ginger stripes with a white and peach tummy and paws.
you will be missed my happy little furry friend.
apparently the little cat had been a stray and some neighbours had been making sure it was fed and cared for and, of course, like a number of the neighbourhood cats came to us for cuddles.
i will remember your delight at being given a fuss, your eager little face, the sound of your purring, your beautiful markings – tabby and ginger stripes with a white and peach tummy and paws.
you will be missed my happy little furry friend.
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