Mutton dressed as Lamb?

Last Friday in a moment of absolutely madness I bought myself a leather jacket (see above, although it looks much better "live" than in the picture!). I’ve wanted a leather jacket for quite a long time but never got one. I’m not very good at buying clothes for myself, mainly because I don’t have much time to shop around and therefore I end up with nice items but not matching together. I’m also very susceptible to my family’s opinions so to be sure I wear rather “normal” (not to say plain clothes). Also working from home does not encourage me to get “tarted up” (as my son says) unless I go out for an interpreting job or for an evening out. To cut a long story short, I’m here looking at my new leather jacket and I’m in a dilemma: Am I too old for it? Shall I return it to the shop? It’s lovely and soft and beautifully cut but all in all it looks like a biker’s jacket and maybe it’s a bit too “young” for me. As notSupermum would say, I’m on the wrong side of 40 and I wonder if I could run the risk of being the so called “mutton dressed as lamb”.

Do you think there is an age limit for wearing leather jackets?

Earth Hour

The lovely Kia of http://www.italiancozycorner.be/Blog.html has just reminded me of

Earth Hour.

Tonight March 28th 2009, at 8.30 pm (wherever you are), WWF is encouraging us all to turn our lights off for an Earth Hour (so 20:30 to 21:30), in protest against the inaction of governments on the issue of climate change. And to show how easy it is to do something about it.

Around 50 million people took part last year. In 2009, WWF want this to be 1 billion.

Just ONE small thing can make a BIG difference.

See http://www.earthhour.org/home

Let’s try it, shall we?

See what happens if you sleep around !!

It's ALWAYS the kids that suffer!!

Her Name is Debra!

Better than Zonkey, I suppose…

At the end of the rainbow

At the end of the rainbow there is said to be a pot of gold. I’ve just seen a beautiful rainbow but couldn’t find any gold! Just a bunch of loud girls playing football….Too bad!

The one on the right (wiht the red socks) is my daughter, who’s now officially my boss, as I’m officially her personal taxi driver….

Thank you!

Thank you to all of you, dear friends, for your lovely words and this overwhelming demonstration of sympathy and affection. I showed your comments to my daughter and she was moved to tears (well, she cries at every mention of Lilly nowadays). Now she is firmly convinced that only a little puppy can help her a bit to get over Lilly's loss! Crafty little girl! Thanks again.

Lilly RIP

This is the first day of spring but not a nice day for us. Our beloved hamster Lilly left us this morning. My daughter is desperate. She was the fifth member of our family and we loved her dearly. She was my daughter’s first pet and mine as well. I did not think I could feel so upset for the loss of such a little ball of fur. Lilly was the best hamster in the world.
She gave us so much joy and we will never forget her.

A Yellow Tribute

Clifford's Tower is one of the few remaining pieces of York Castle - it was originally the Castle's 'keep'.

To begin with the tower was known as the King's Tower. It was first erected in 1086 by William The Conqueror. This early castle was burnt down by locals who rebelled.

A second wooden castle was built, and in 1190 this was the location of one of the most horrifying episodes in York's history. Over 150 Jews were rounded up into the castle by an angry mob of locals, who had decided not to repay the loans which the Jews had leant them. Rather than be killed those inside the tower decided to commit suicide, some having to murder their own wives and children in the process. This terrible act also saw the tower burnt to the ground for the second time.

The daffodils all around Clifford's Tower were planted in memory of the 150 Jews of York who were murdered and this plaque commemorates this gruesome event. It reads:

"On the night of Friday 16 March 1190 some 150 Jews and Jewesses of York, having sought protection in the Royal Castle on this site from a mob incited by Richard Malebisse and others, chose to die at each other's hands rather than renounce their faith".

It has been said that the stone walls of Clifford's Tower have been seen bleeding blood, the blood of those Jews who lost their lives centuries ago and for this reason that some of the stones are permanently stained red.
[In more modern times, the bleeding walls have been written off to be no more then iron-oxide in the stone. But the legend is surely more fascinating and touching …]