On West and East London foxes

One day I was cycling along the road past the Fox Hill Sports Ground and guess who jumped out of the hedge in front of me, stopped for a second looking puzzled and then sped up and dashed across the street into the green grass area?
Yes, it was a fantastic Mr Fox himself, all in his ginger richness and glory! (Needless to say, there was no chance for me to get the camera ready in time for a picture of the encountered creature and my phone was dead as a parrot* anyway.)
Believe it or not, the foxes in West London are much better looking than their cousins east of The City!

* parrot - referrence to a famous sketch by Monty Python

Language tips

Sometimes my students (former, present or future ones) of English happen to visit this blog. Therefore I've decided to add some materials and links that may be of use for them.
Here is an example: by clicking here, you can find many expressions related to the word: understand Should you not do the clicking, read below:

 In this new series of  language tips we will be looking at how metaphor is used to express some common concepts in English. This week’s tip looks at metaphors used to talk about understanding something:

Understanding something is like seeing it. If it is easy to understand, it is easy to see:
I see what you mean.
I saw through him at once: I knew he was lying.
They recognized the fact that they needed to improve.
She has great insight and will know what to do.
I could not foresee what would happen.
He’s very clear-sighted.
There was a change in the public perception of education.
The answer is very obvious.
I’m unclear about what they did next.
She had a clear understanding of what was involved.
Their motives are transparent.
How did you know? You must have read my mind.
I can read him like a book.
They turned a blind eye to what was happening there.
Understanding something is also like holding or touching it:
She has a good grasp of Japanese.
I need to get to grips with the subject.
I’m still grappling with the basics.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was definitely something wrong.
You’ve certainly got your finger on the pulse.
Such abstract concepts can be very slippery.
It’s quite a difficult idea to get hold of.

Hope you find this useful! :-)

Byron and his Newfoundland

Having seen the pictures of Newstead Abbey I thought I'd share a poem by Lord Byron. The place was his ancestral home until he had to sell it due to financial difficulties. It never was an abbey but an Augustian priory converted  to a family dwelling after the Dissolution of Monasteries.

'
Byron had a beloved Newfoundland dog named Boatswain, who died of rabies in 1808. Boatswain was buried at Newstead Abbey and has a monument larger than his master's. The inscription, from Byron's poem Epitaph to a Dog, has become one of his best-known works:

The poem Epitaph to a Dog as inscribed on Boatswain's monument

Near this Spot Are deposited the Remains of one Who possessed Beauty Without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferosity, And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery If inscribed over Human Ashes, Is but a just tribute to the Memory of "Boatswain," a Dog Who was born at Newfoundland, May, 1803, And died at Newstead Abbey Nov. 18, 1808.

Byron had wanted to be buried with Boatswain, although he would ultimately be buried in the family vault at the nearby church in Hucknall. '

Crystal grotto

There is an opportunity to visit an unusual grotto in mid-October and enjoy the autumnal colours at Painshill Park in Surrey. Great day out!

First moved, then impressed.

I've just read something I simply must share with you here, Dear Reader. I'll say no more...

Having read this text I wanted to know who wrote it and here is what I found out:

'I’m Geoff Mead. Born into the post-war baby-boomer generation, I was the first member of my family to go to university (and the first to drop out). I quickly returned to complete my studies in mediaeval history after a salutary period washing cars for a living.  With not much idea of what I really wanted to do, I cut off my shoulder-length hair and joined the police service which I left three decades later as a chief superintendent.
During those years I did pretty much everything from walking the beat to directing national police leadership programmes and from commanding a police district to training with the F.B.I. in Virginia, U.S.A.  En route I also found time to complete an MBA, a postgraduate diploma in Gestalt psychology and a PhD in action research.  Since then I have served on the faculty of the Prime Minister’s Top Management Programme at the National School of Government and been a visiting research fellow at the University of Bath where, for 10 years, I supervised mature PhD students
In my fifties, life took a different turn when I discovered the magic of stories and storytelling and began to explore their power to liberate the human spirit.   Now, I perform traditional stories, run story-based workshops and teach storytelling at venues in UK and as far afield as Spain, Canada and Japan. I also write for academic and professional publications as well as writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction books. I earn my living by working as a narrative consultant, specializing in board development, authentic communication, and leadership development.'

What an interesting life!

Geof's website will navigate you to the other one, related to Crete, one of my favourite places on Earth.

One of these days...

Heavy rain now and again today in London.Whenever I think of going out, the next spell of rain comes.

Behind the closed doors this weekend

This year's Open House Weekend is fast approaching. Lots and lots of buildings open their doors to visitors. Are you going to take part in it?

If you live in Ealing or nearby, you have a rare opportunity to see the early 1800s manor house redeveloped by one of the greatest British architects, Sir John Soane. This bricklayer's son showed so much talent that those who recognised it paid for his education including extensive travels in Italy so he could learn from the best examples. Sir John bought the house from his teacher, an eminent  architect called George Dance and introduced the changes to suit his taste and needs. Almost a centrury later the building became property of the local borough and underwent more changes carried out by Charles Johnes. Ealing owes a lot to this man, he was behind many development projects and designs in the area. Now the current works, as I understand it, involve stripping the ediffice of Charles Johnes' extension to bring it back to the way Sir John Soane left it. Why? Well, why to demolish something that is good, functional and an important part of the local history? Why not go further and bring back the look of George Dance's dwelling, or maybe a shepherds' hut from  Queen Bodicea's times or even earlier?

Anyway, you can go to see this building for free this Saturday, 19 September, between 12noon an 3pm, but remember to  book by emailing pitzhanger@ealing.gov.uk or phone 020 8825 9808.

Too late for a blackberry hunt

Not far from where I live there is a meadow surrounded by many different trees and shrubs. They look very colourful at this time of the year.

This year I failed to be there in time to picksome blackberries when they were at their best. I found very few and they were small and not as sweet as in the previous years. However, I still enjoyed the thrill of looking for them among the prickly brambles on that sunny and warm September afternoon!

Dead Horse Theory

Going through my old files of various teaching materials I came across this text:

Dead horse theory

Dakota Native American tribal wisdom, passed on from generation to generation, says:
"When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount and get a different horse."
However, in educative, corporate and governmental organisations , more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.
5. Lowering the standards so that the dead horse can be included.
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as 'living impaired'.
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
9. Providing additional funding and / or training to increase dead horses' performance.
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overheads and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.
And of course ...
13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position!

House painted

Sunny day this Friday. The house exterior is being painted by two energetic English lads. Lucky them! The Poles haven't taken all their jobs!;-)

Walpole Park bench

There is a bench in Walpole Park different from all the others. Why is it there? Who made it and when? I don't know. Do you? Here are a few details of the bench in question:

Trogir discovered

Just learnt that my family have reached a very old town of Trogir in Chroatia on their cross-Europe trip! Finding a hotel was a bit of a problem in the narrow medieval streets, but they finally got there!

 'The ancient town of Tragurion ("island of goats") was founded as a trading settlement by Greek colonists from the island of Vis (Zssa) in the 3rd century BC on an islet at the western end of the bay of Manios, in a strait between the mainland and one of the Adriatic islands, where there was already a small settlement. The Hellenistic town was enclosed by megalithic walls and its streets were laid out on a "Hippodamian" grid plan: the line of the ancient cardo maximus is that of the modem main street.'(from UNESCO site)

Film and play!

Somebody has recommended this film to me, but I haven't yet checked it out. Busy!!!

Going past The Quacker Meeting House in Ealing Broadway I noticed that there would be a play on about the life of a remarkable woman: Ada Salter !

Gog and Magog

Do you know that the mythical giants, Gog and Magog, are the traditional guardians of the City of London?
You can read about them here. This may inspire you to take part in the Lord Mayor's show in October!

Charles Newington Auction Sale !

At the end of last year I had a pleasure to meet a fascinating artist: Charles Newington. Of course, I wrote about the encounter in one of my posts. It was at a gallery in Folkestone. He showed me many of his works and told me many stories from his eventful life.  This evening I have been looking at many of his works and items from his collection that will be on sale on Monday, September 14th at Folkestone Auction House. I enjoyed it a lot and thought you may like to  read about Charles as an artist and see the online auction catalogue as well.

Charles Newington - Visionary Artist

Description:
Charles Newington - Visionary Artist. b 1950, British, AR. Grand Auctions is delighted to present the studio sale of Charles Newington., one of Britain's most original artists. Charles is best known in the Folkestone area for his White Horse on the Hill, a much loved local landmark and now the logo for Shepway District Council. From student days to the present, Charles has always felt himself the outsider following his own path and ignoring popular trends. He spent a number of years dedicated to working with leading artists, such as Patrick Procktor, as their master printer / etching technician. These were the years he acquired all the skills to develop his career in printing, painting and creating monumental monsters. Like his hero William Blake, he feels that he has developed an original inventiveness in creating new techniques. Charles' world has changed dramatically in the last few years. He was chosen by the Coast TV programmers to be the reincarnation of William Daniell painting today one of the coastal scenes so wonderfully depicted by Danniell in the early 19th century. He has been taken into the fold of one of London's most prestigious galleries, Whitford Fine Art, in Duke Street, St James's. Plymouth Council has asked him to create a monumental sculpture of GogMagog taken from the legends of Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century. He is working with the Royal Geographical Society in its celebration of the epic poem Poly-Olbion, which starts with the story of Gog Magog on Plymouth Hoe. He has also designed two massive colossal sculptures of Gog and Magog for the London Gateway on either side of the Thames estuary in their later role as guardians of London. The visionary artists William Blake, Richard Dadd and Samuel Palmer are the inspiration for Charles. Imagination, original ideas and superb draftsmanship are the key to his work. His paintings are complex and deep, but most rewarding to study. It is so rare to come across the work of an artist with original and visionary ideas.'

Sun, please stay!

It's become very cold in London. I miss the sun and its warmth...

To Chiswick at twighlight

Making dreams come true

Do you have dreams?
Do you make the effort to make them come true? Do you succeed?

A different picture of the Notting Hill Carnival

If you heard about the famous Notting Hill Carnival that took place last weekend from a policeman who was working there, you would get a very different picture of the event to the one painted by the media. There was a lot of crime: cases of mugging, pickpocketting, fight, stabbing, rape and so on. The offenders were mostly young people from the gang culture... What brings about such uncivilised behaviour? Is it mainly the result of stress-free upbringing, media and pop-culture influenced?