~waiting for the ireland v england six nations match...~


Come the day And come the hour

Come the power and the glory

We have come to answer Our country's call.

From the four proud provinces of Ireland


Ireland, Ireland Together standing tall Shoulder to shoulder We'll answer Ireland's call





wearing my new york yankees shamrock t-shirt

part Irish and oh so proud!

~good grief!~


i have been catching up on comments you have been making regarding our allotment and my jaw hit the floor when i read chuggas comment...

that the waiting list for one where she lives is 35 years and the cost a staggering
£9,500 a year!
that is just unbelieveable!

when the parish councellor called to say we had a plot i asked how much it would be, expecting to pay something in the region of £10-20 a month...

here in our part of the new forest our plot is between £8-10 a year and we join the local allotment association for about £2 a year!

~thoughts~


as you know i have spent the last two years working on my BA (Honours) in history with the open university and this month started my third course~exploring history: medieval to modern 1400-1900~which is turning out to be fantastic, the reading is really interesting, if france, england and burgundy in the fifteenth century is your thing!


well, i have all my future courses planned out and it will take me another 2-3 years to complete my degree and for a few weeks now i have been pondering what to do after that.

i have always wanted to be an archaeologist~since i was really tiny in fact, but now i find my thoughts turning more to research, conservation...that kind of thing and have decided that~wherever my m.e finds me in three years time~ i would like to continue my studies and do my masters in history.

i have spent some time this morning reading up on the work needed and the subjects to be covered, i am one of those people who love reading, note taking, research and essay writing so to me the thought of continuing my studies is so exciting
*like being handed a pot of gold*

~of a grand announcement!~



many thanks for your comments about our fledgling garden~in answer to twiggy's question about a veggie patch i would like to announce our allotment!




today we popped out to check the plot we have been allocated, although once there we then had some disagreement over which part of the plot was ours!


we came home and telephoned the parish council to clarify which was ours and ended up doing a bit of negotiating. they are in such high demand these days that the original, monster, single plots are now divided into quarter plots, however that still leaves us with a plot that is 16 ft by 75ft (about 5m by 23m).

however after some thinking about the amount of clearing for this plot~because of my m.e the majority of the heavy work is down to poor swampy~we called back and it seems more plots are available and one lady wants to change plot so next week the parish councellor who deals with them is going to re-jig all the plots...so the plot above is no longer ours!

but here are some more photos of the whole site to give you an idea of how lovely it is up there!






our great friend~the artist Al Hayball!



~gardening weekend~

well now, the lovely weather over the weekend found swampy getting out the garden tools to tackle our seriously neglected front garden~not neglected by us i hasten to add, but by the previous owner~who was not only slovenly inside the house but outside as well.
i know that is quite harsh of me, but its true~it took over a month to get rid of the smell inside when we moved in and before we brought anything in, every single wall and floor and cupboard and work surface had to be scrubbed...twice...to make it habitable.

still that's by the by!

the front garden is open plan~we have two cattle grids that stop the ponies, donkeys, cows and pigs coming round and eating everything in sight~with a long border running all the way around the front and side.
over the last few weeks we have had daffodils poking their heads above the soil and very little else, apart from weeds, so it was easy to work out where to dig~and then plant up the gaps and put up trellis for the climbers i have listed in my 'garden book'.



starting the digging~carefully around the daffodils


making space for the lavender
these we rescued when we moved and the one just seen on the left is being planted the other side of the path


cody helping as he usually does




these have been half flowering all winter




lavender in


deciding where to plant


swmapy hard at work


that's it for today...




later this week we shall be working our way around the side and then filling in the gaps to turn it into a nice 'over grown' cottage garden.


i have been getting a bit...agitated i think is the word to use, over our front garden.
swampy was given the impression that our front garden, being open plan was a 'communal' area~which me being me, disputed~okay if it is i shall take my chair over and sit on someone elses grass!!!
we have also had a neighbour keep 'suggesting' what we could and couldn't do to the garden, using our neighbours round the corner as an example of what not to do~they have put in bushes and hedges and lovely window boxes etc~because the lads who mow all the lawns 'wont like it'.
well, i am afraid people telling me what to do with my own garden gets my back up~reading between the lines i think people want everything here in our little cul de sac to be nice and uniform and find the thought of us coming in and making changes~however nice they may be~as a bit threatening...i wonder what they will say when they see us painting our front door an alternative color to the present uniform brown?!
last week when we mentioned our idea of putting in a herb border each side of our path and i was told how they 'took the risk' of putting in two weeny bushes i had enough and told swampy i was going to phone up and find out exactly what we are allowed to do.


well we found out today, from the horses mouth so to speak that we can do anything we jolly well like in our garden, so i am feeling quite pleased that i took the time to phone and find out.

*i shall now be planning my herb borders*

~of teeth & lifted spirits~

the saga continues...


poor swampy~after a huge round trip yesterday to the hospital and then dentist he was sent off with antibiotics for an infection and told he will need surgery to remove the offending teeth~the infection is under a crown and obviously needs to be better before anything else is done.

the good news is our dentist has opened a new surgery in poole, which will cut our journey time considerably, so we have registered already and fingers crossed this will mean he can have his surgery at poole hospital.

spring has sprung here in my corner of the new forest and in the hanging baskets either side of my front door the hearts ease are flowering and along the flower bds that were there when we moved in, what looks like a carpet of assorted daffodils~which i think are called jonquils in america, a name i much prefer~are due to flower within the next week.

despite it being alittle chilly all of the windows are open and the birds are singing like mad~all kinds of bird song is drifting through the window where i am sat. i have had a week of not feeling too good at all and so the sunshine and blue sky today is really lifting me.

~of dreaming & smiling for the summer~

two posts in a day what is wrong with me?!



i had posted my earlier post, then i saw that boho mom had updated with 'what makes you smile?'



do you know what has been making me smile a lot lately?






we have our yearly h van rally and the 2cv national coming up which we both love attending. as our vans are a rarity, to have about 25 in one place together for any length of time is great fun~along with assorted 2cv's, 2cv vans and dyans~and it is always a great weekend, generally with a very french flavour to it and its so great to meet up with friends old and new who share the obsession that is the h~van!

this year is the first year for about three years we will be returning to our favourite 'campsite' at worth matravers~i say campsite, its only open for about 6 weeks a year and is a single hilly field, perched high above swanage bay looking across to the western edge of the isle of wight and the needles





we found the site by accident one hot summer when we wanted to escape from the heat and crowds of bournemouth, where we were living at the time. a drive through the sandbanks~famous for its concentration of millionaires houses and a short ride on the swanage chain ferry





would deliver us to the isle of purbeck and a short drive through shell bay, studland and swanage would bring us to worth matravers and a tiny farm with a tiny sign inviting us to camp.




we feel in love instantly~you drive down a narrow, rutted lane, manouver through a gate and find yourself in what could be the hilliest, bumpiest, most un-campsite looking campsite ever~with a small toilet and shower building tucked down by the farmhouse and a few water stands~find a fairly level place to park up, making sure that the best view on waking in the morning would be of the view down to swanage bay and across the sea. and so peaceful~far enough away from the little used minor road that led towards corfe and its famous castle a few miles away~the only noise is that of the sheep in the next field, probably wondering why they have been tufed out of their field~for that is what the site is for the rest of the year~a sheep field!




in the morning a small van comes round, honking its old fashioned car horn to announce its arrival, bringing supplies of bread, croissants, bacon and newspapers for those not wanting to leave the peace of the site, but who are running low on supplies.




we have spent many, many nights here and one time ventured to dancing ledge to swim~where many years ago a sea water pool was hewn from the rock



because getting there involves a walk of several miles and then some minor rock climbling to get down its quite deserted and swimming in the pool is an experience indeed.



so now you know why the thought of this years trip~or i should say trips~ are making me smile!

~of breakdowns & teeth~

pippin on the back on the AA van just before new year~swmapy had to take out the engine and gearbox out for major repairs~we thought we wouldnt need to call out the AA again...



well its easy to tell my studies are back underway~days go by again with no blogging.
i am taking today off today as i was at the local hospital at 9am for my yearly fasting blood test.
we had planned to then go to a nearby garden centre we have never visited to see if they had anything on my plant wish-list.

well we ended up sitting in the hospital car park waiting for the AA to come to the rescue! it seems our rather underpowered battery had finally given up the ghost~the AA chap gave us a jump start and we were lucky enough to be in lymington and only five minutes from an exhaust/battery supplier where we bought a bigger, more highly powered battery and i said goodbye to £86 from my account

*big sigh*

so my plant buying will have to wait a little while now, which is not too much of a problem as swampy has plenty of digging to do and we need to get some sleepers from my mums garden as we have decided the far end will be raised~its slopes up so we think it will be easier on swampy rather than trying to level the whole lot!


tomorrow we are returning to dorset~poor swampy has had dreadful toothache this past week~so he has to have his jaw x-rayed at dorchester hospital and then we go straight to our dentist about 20 miles away, taking the x-rays with us, where he will have two teeth out.




as it is going to take us a good chunk of the day cody will be coming with us and i shall be taking my books with us so i can do some reading while swampy is in the dentists chair~needless to say he will be living on soup for a few days!


well now, how many days since my last post? a good few and the above books the reason


i have started the next eight month block of my history degree and as i am keen to keep one step ahead been working a few hours everyday.


this morning i spent an hour or so catching up with all of your posts from across the globe~it was like sitting in a global cafe, catching up with all of your news and views.


today i plan on doing very little~finish block one of my studies, watch the ireland v italy rugby match this afternoon and finish reading this...




i have also been making a large scale plan of our back garden~it was...is...a dreadful mess, uncared for by the previous tennant who used it as an open air kennel for her dog~so uncared for even the soil smells really bad.

so last week, with swampys help, i made a scale plan of its footprint and i am now busy going through my gardening books and making plans.

bret was saying in his new post how he feels spring is at the doorstep~well yes i can feel it here in my corner of the new forest. the other day i stood on my doorstep and had a good sniff of the air, the freezing weather of the week before had passed, and i could almost smell the spring coming. the smell in the air was so different than i had been detecting, it really felt like the tide of the land had turned and spring really is at our heels.


so i thought it was high time to start making plans~looking out of the windows that face our back garden the view is awful and that is promting enough!








these photos were taken last august, the week we moved in~we have cut back the ivy and mown what grass there was and swampy has now decided he is going to dig the whole lot over as the bald patches are still bald.
so starting from scratch.

~an essay on my path~

* land, sea & sky*

*sometimes i find myself analysing my path*
and this is something i touched on in an earlier post

i cannot remember a time when i was not a pagan, or at least had those early formed ideas of believing something different from what was told to me at school, from what others believed.

over the years my path has changed and developed in subtle ways, i imagine many people have this change, and my thoughts have developed and i have read more, delved deeper.

i wonder...what should i call myself?
but
why do i need to give myself a name i wonder?

a label?
a sense of belonging?
but i am solitary and always have been so why?
*i think this comes in part form a forum i belong to where i have found how very different my path is to others*
i have no concept of the worship of 'the goddess',
that the goddesses and gods are part of a monotheistic entity
i do not follow the eight-fold wheel of the year~i focus on the four main festivals while being aware that the ancestors, for whatever reason, found significance in the solstice and equinox
i do not cast circles or use tools in ceremonial magic with the four elements
*following a pagan path is a funny old thing*
but from my involvement in the stonewylde forum its good to see the differing paths joining in harmony with respect






~old church at imbolc~























i am expecting some of my newer readers to wonder why on earth a pagan would choose to go to an old christian church at imbolc?

well, the church, high on a hill, is built within a big round earth work, and the yew has been dated to over 1,000 years old and i, and others believe, as is usual with many old churches, that the original site was either a small settlement or a sacred place for the ancestors of this area.

i have always been drawn to this place and since moving back here after ten years of roaming dorset i find the pull to go up there even stronger than before.

but i only ever go there when i am called and yesterday it was strong despite the freezing weather.

it is really peaceful there, and to me it has nothing to do with it being a graveyard and a sanctified area~that has no meaning for me in a religious sense.

the peace is deeper, taking me out of this time, further back, to a time before christianity claimed it as its own








~snow~

















well how exciting!
these photos were taken yesterday morning and as i type now i am sitting staring out at more snow falling. here in my corner of the new forest we are having snow showers, some quite hard.
our friend layton, who lives over the road, has not gone to work today. he started out and was sliding everywhere so decided not to chance it and limped back home. it seems the smll roads all around us are not clear.
our friend Al was due to visit us today with his new camper but decided not to risk it!
*i hope all of my readers here in the uk are staying safe and warm*



~Lá Fhéile Bríde~



*conceived at bealtaine and born at imbolc~lá fhéile bríde*

i celebrate my birthday this week


*a time of the hearth and home, spiritual dedication, inner journeys for inspiration, healing*

we welcome back longer days and the first of the spring flowers are flowering here in my corner of the new forest~snowdrops now flowering on a day when we have the first flurry of snow
~*blessings to you all*~