2019 July – Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Angel’s Ladders, Certification, Arch

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

This is a picture of me helping out.

Mum is building flower beds but I’m the only flower here at the moment.

She has had to put extra fencing up because I can see through the old fencing and I go crazy barking at the neighbour’s dog.  I can’t see through any more, so I don’t really bother barking now.

I know it’s there though.   Still, out of sight etc, as they say.

Mum says I’m not normal.

Pretty rich coming from her is all I can say.

 

Angel’s Ladders

This is a picture of me out super early because it is so hot.

I am standing under some Angel’s Ladders and under the trees to stay cool. We didn’t see any angels today though.  The only angel in the photo is me.

The day before I didn’t go out at all because it was way too hot for someone who is wearing a permanent fur coat (me of course, not Mum). Turns out this is actually the hottest day on record in the UK so far, ever – boiling point centred on Cambridge, which is only down the road.

I am also wondering when Mum is going to start behaving like a responsible dog person and buy me some cool shades.  Everyone else has them.  UV and eye damage is a thing you know and I do have eyes after all.

The good news is that offspring #2 and boyfriend are here and I get to have water fights with them.

I usually win.

 

Certification

This is a picture of me giving Mum a long, hard stare.

She has just come back from somewhere called Birmingham.  It involves work with students apparently. Whatever it is they’ve done, they’ve passed and they get certificates to prove it.

I reckon I should get a certificate for being extremely tolerant and allowing Mum to go away in the first place.

 

Arch

This is a picture of lovely me having a snooze.

Mum’s brother and girlfriend are here too.  They’ve been helpful and built an arch in the back garden.  Mum is going to grow something up it.

They’re having a celebratory glass of vino, as the build worked first time.  I suspect this is because Mum’s brother actually seems to know what he’s doing.

I’m exhausted from all the activity and I don’t really like vino, so I’m taking the chance to grab 40 winks.

 

Saffron’s recommendations this month:

Music:  I’ve never really got into this band (no justifiable reason whatsoever) so here’s putting this omission right. Here are some tracks from Coldplay.  They are after all the top selling band in the 21st century, so far. Apparently, the thing to do is to see them live.   In the meantime, submerge yourself in these tracks:

Fix You

Paradise

Yellow

Viva La Vida

Clocks

The Scientist

 

Reading: Mum has gone all studenty herself and has re-read all of these.  I quite like Marcus and read him a while back although (apart from Book 1 which seems to be more a book of gratitude) the rest is more a dipping in and out of sort of thing.   Mum read Sun Tzu first because it was the thinnest book.  I’m not sure that’s how these things should work..??  The Prince is an interesting one, it might be more about fore-arming yourself about how people can behave, as opposed to how they should.  The analects is a collection of sayings attributed to Confucius but written and edited by his students and based on a philosophy of  ‘ren’ or state of virtue – so a similar approach to Marcus then, but from another part of the world entirely.  Mad. 

Meditations – Marcus Aurelius

The Art of War – Sun Tzu

The Prince – Niccolo Machiavelli

The Analects – Confucius

 

Film:  The Green Mile starring Tom Hanks from a novel written by Stephen King.   What to say about this film.  Alternatively compassionate and totally horrific.  It’s a long film but if it doesn’t make you cry then you properly need help.  You might need a drink and a friend with you to watch this. 

 

In the news:

The most-watched British television broadcast of the year so far, 11.7 million viewers watch the Women’s England football team’s 1–2 defeat to USA in the semi final in the Stade de Lyon  :(    

F1 and Silverstone agree a new five-year deal to keep the British Grand Prix on the calendar

It’s “Super Sunday” in sport: England win the Cricket World Cup beating NZ, Hamilton wins a record 6th F1 grand Prix at Silverstone, and Djokovic beats Federer in the longest ever Wimbledon final

PM Theresa May is officially succeeded by Boris Johnson

The UK experiences its hottest day on record, with a temperature of 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) at Cambridge.