Redundant Monday...........for a bag lady ...

Well I survived a difficult day.........x

I have my wings see me fly away......

It's my last day at school on Monday so I have spent the weekend sorting out my room ........This was part of a costume made for Southampton carnival about 5 yrs ago .....we had an artist who makes costumes for Notting Hill Carnivale ......we had a week to make about 20 costumes we stayed late every night and my pupils and myself made the costumes it was such fun and in fact this week one of my pupils was talking about it and she said taking part in it was the most fun she had ........it was brilliant .........but I am now dismantling the wings as it's time for me to fly off for other adventures elswhere .........x

ATC Thursday.........

Success for Chris ...London Marathon.....

Latest from Mackie's about Chris's attempt ........ WORLD RECORD AS FASTEST DAIRY PRODUCT IN A MARATHON - SUCCESS! We are delighted to report that Chris Atkins completed the london marathon today in his Mackie's Traditional tub in the remarkably fast time of 3 hours and 37 minutes thus establishing a new world record! Great News -and he raised £2000 for his selected charity, Oxfam 22/04/2012 - Mackie's of Scotland

I smell a rat ...or two ...or three .....

Went to Stubbington Ark Rescue RSPCA on Sunday and came away having reserved 3 rats!!!..........we picked them up today and they are safely in their new home ...Meet Dotty, Ditsy and Chunky.....I have never had a rat as a pet before and I was a bit apprehensive but they are quite adorable ......Have you had a rat as a pet ?......x


Some new ATCs

Guardian Angels and Gerbils......

Made this for Lisa my Guardian Angel ..




And introducing Nibbles and Porcupine new members of our family .......

Birthday Boy at the Zoo

Brady was 31 today so his Mum took him to the Zoo .....we saw Tigers and Penguins and Rhinos and Giraffes and we had a picnic and saw a Meerkat eating a rat and we had a hailstone storm and thunder and lightning and touched an Elephant's tooth ........
We are so lucky to have Marwell Wildlife Park on our doorstep it used to be a regular place to visit when my children were small and now they are big they still love to visit ......
(Marwell Wildlife, formerly known as Marwell Zoological Park, is a 140-acre (57 ha) zoo situated at Owslebury in the English county of Hampshire, near Winchester. It is home to over 1,200 animals of 235 different species.
Beyond the park itself, Marwell Wildlife is also a registered charity that works for international conservation, with a particular focus in Africa in addition to work from its base in Hampshire. Its name was changed from Marwell Zoo in 2009 to reflect these wider activities.)

Compare the Meerkat .......

White Rhino ......magnificent creature.....now the facts...
The white rhinoceros is the largest of the five species of rhinoceros and the world's largest land mammal after the three species of elephant. Weight in this animal typically ranges from 1,360 to 3,630 kg (3,000 to 8,000 lb). On its snout it has two horn-like growths, one behind the other and made of solid keratin. The front horn is larger and averages 90 cm (35 in) in length, reaching as much as 150 cm (59 in). The white rhinoceros also has a noticeable hump on the back of its neck. Each of the four stumpy feet has three toes. The color of the body ranges from yellowish brown to slate grey. Its only hair is the ear fringes and tail bristles. White rhinos have a distinctive broad, straight mouth which is used for grazing. Its ears can move independently to pick up sounds but it depends most of all on smell. The white rhinoceros has the widest set nostrils of any land based animal.

Ruffled Lemur catching the rays ...how cool is he .....

And the hailstones were as big as peas and down they came .......

Think they must have forgotten to feed this Python........

Great British spirit ...picnic in the rain ......

Different Meerkats to compare......

The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild.
Hope you enjoyed a visit to Marwell Wildlife Park as much as we did ........

Titanic Centenary.........

Alfred Augustus Stanbrook was 30 years old when he died in the Titanic disaster. He was single and he is buried in Halifax, Canada.

Frederick Hartnell 20 survivor Lifeboat 11 ....Ist class Steward Titanic victualling crew.


William James Major,32, survivor, married, Lifeboat 13 disembarked from the Carpathia on April 18th in New York City


Albert William Hebb survived by clinging onto collapsible Lifeboat B. He was 20 yrs old.

Frederick Sheath aged 20 survivor rescue boat 1 taken by the Carpathia to New York City. He died in 1933

Henry Parkinson Hill aged 36, married, died on the sinking and his body was never recovered.

Charles Hendrickson, 29, survivor rescue boat 1

Granny Chorley making paper sailor hats.......




Yesterday marked 100 years since the Titanic set sail from Southampton. We took part in a march by schoolchildren, parents, teachers and friends to commemorate the sailing of the Titanic and remembering all those who lost their lives when it hit an iceberg and sank on April 15th 1912. Every person on the march carried a placard remembering everyone one who sailed that fateful day. It was a poignant reminder of a terrible tragedy that affected Southampton and it's male population a large proportion of whom worked on the Titanic and lost their lives that day. The march coincided with the opening of the Sea Scape museum which will house a permanent exhibition about the Titanic and the people who worked and died on her.

Happy Easter.......

Underneath the Horse Chestnut Tree ....

Jim's song of the Title was written about this tree when we went for a walk here by the river a couple of years ago.....

An eco snail ?......