Personal Blogs

I just wanted to be someone, more than somebody who wipes noses, mops up sick, supports someone to walk, talks to them,  cleans, cooks, does washing and takes someone to the loo. Not that there is anything wrong with this work. I still like it and respect this occupation of being a carer because it is a true vocation.  I have done this job for many years, but now  I wanted to do something else,  to add to my knowledge of what I 've already learned about life,  especially now in my later age of life and I feel the gentle hand of Jesus on my shoulder.

I thought that I am sure I could learn more about the world, and about other peoples, other cultures. I wanted to learn languages, politics, society. Literature, writing, Music, Arts and technology en route.
First, to learn about language to start with, to learn how to communicate better in my own language,  and in the French language. I just chose french language because I had holidays in France in the past, but it could quite easily have been Spanish, Italian or any other European language.

There is a world out there, not just my village, my town, or my country. I wanted to see the world and learn about it. I don't want to be a narrow minded, ignorant, proud or stupid person. Or those who think they know it all but actually they don't! Unfortunately I have met a few people like that in my time!
I had decided to study with the Open University as I had heard of its very good reputation, and how you can come from a humble background and still achieve a good Education.

I am willing to put in the time and effort it takes to study,  and  to (hopefully) eventually pass a degree. I think It is a lot about time management. Finding time to set aside for studying the chosen subject and to give my complete undivided attention to it,  for a set amount of time.

I am now on level 3 of my degree in languages, French and English.
I am enjoying my studies,  and learning lots of interesting things, and not just about language, for it encompasses other subjects too along the way, such as the environment, history, literature, art ,music and other subjects, these all seem to be connected.

 Interestingly some of these subjects all seem to link together in someways. It has become a great learning experience for me, and one that I would definitely recommend to others. The Open University has opened my eyes to see new perspectives on the world. Best wishes to all and good studying!

2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV. So we do not lose heart ❤️. Though our outer self is wasting away , our inner self is being renewed day by day.

We all have our daily struggles whether it be our own health or the health of our family.  A problem to solve at work or home. God can give us the courage and wisdom. 🙏 Peace.

🌻🌺🌼🌸🌾

Regarde les oiseaux du ciel..🕊
ils ne sèment ni ne moissonnent
ni entreposent dans des granges
et pourtant ton père céleste les nourrit.

Remember this: whoever sows  sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will 💰also reap generously.🎁

God loves a cheerful giver.🙂
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
🛍🥣🍞
2 Corrinthians 9: 6-8

This summer it was so very hot
I was out in the garden quite a lot
Battling with weeds and creeping moss
Keeping away stinging nettles and wasps!

Red roses grew around the door
The cherry tree blossomed like never before
The cottage garden burst with colours galore
The Bramble berries they grew more and more!

The trees too had a life of their own
With  little apples and pears they had grown
Elderberries hung like a jewelled crown
And  birds did partake
Of the berries blown down

The garden lawn was green as could be
We built a swing to hang from the tree
A 'hideaway' behind the house
And within this wood lived a little mouse!          🐁

Gill Burrell

🏠🌳🟩🌲🌳

🪔📚📖

I am reading a novel in french. It is called " Tout un univers" it is the story of a woman by Sylvie Brunet. It is in the French language and she writes about womans issues. I am getting through it but I still need the aid of a dictionary sometimes!

The weather is cooler now.  I went for  a walk in the park this morning then did some shopping.

I am catching up on some reading. I often have 2 books on the go I am also reading a  'Maigret' detective story also in french.

I hope everyone is having a good break.

Over the weekend I spent an hour or so in the garden, and  in my little garden wooded area,  behind my house, clearing away more weeds. The grass is growing long and I am leaving it to grow,  to encourage lots of insects and butterflies. 

I went "inside" my little mini- wood,  this definitely needs tidying up. If I am to still use it for sitting in, then I need to lop off some of the branches or they will poke me in the eye!

Then the trees in the little wood that need trimming, are some Elders, an Apple tree, a Pear tree, a Holly tree, and another I can't yet identify yet, then going the other way, there's a row of evergreens. A plum tree in front, on the small lawn and various butterfly bushes, and a golden privet to the side. These form the outer walls of the canopy.

The floor of my little garden wood has branches and stones, these need clearing out of the way. There are bits of wood scattered around and broken pots, slabs and rocks that are the remainder of what was once a pond, which has dried up with the heat.
Pity,  I had such high hopes for it!

For the hedgehogs, I have placed an old small box no longer in use, onto its side and filled it with straw, this is good for when the hedgehogs visit.
A few times a squirrel has visited the garden woodland area recently, so I have put some nuts out for it, on the branch and on top of fence, which is his usual entry path.

The bramble berries to the side of the wood are now ripening, some red, some black and will soon be ready to pick. The whole bush,  was alive with the activity of butterflies, bees, insects, and now they are gone, it's the birds that are flying down to eat the berries.

The bird boxes are still on the trees high up above me, where we recently placed them. I don't know if there are any birds in the bird boxes yet, maybe next year. On the other side of my mini wood is my old, rather rustic, cobbled together wooden bench, looking a wee bit rickety, but still ok.

In here I can escape under the trees and sit and listen to the birds, read my book and study in peace. I can see to read if it is sunny enough! There is a shaft of sunlight shining through the trees illuminating the wood at the side of the garden and partition fence, that leads out to the front garden beyond.

I can see everything going on from inside of the wood,  Yet I am completely out of view from others!
It's just like my own little hideaway!


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Infinite growth on a finite planet? That's a car crash!
Problem is, capitalism can't ditch infinite growth.
Why not?
A capitalist business needs to make a profit in a competitive market. This means investing in the latest tech and machinery if it doesn't keep up to date with business rivals, it will go bust.
So it needs to take that profit and turn it into more capital to reinvest in future production, future 'needs' and future markets.
More and more capital, more and more tech, more and more stuff. On and on.
Infinite growth is not just about bosses being greedy, it's the 'iron logic'  that capitalism is built on.
Grow or go under.
But as we are discovering, the price for this growth is environmental destruction.
Capitalism can't ditch infinite growth,  but we can ditch capitalism.
Think about it. The buying and selling system is old and obsolete. We don't need it. We have the global tech and know how to create a Co-operative  post- scarcity global system where there is no buying or selling because everything is free.
Don't destroy the planet, upgrade it and solve most social problems at a stroke.

Ref; ALJO

I used to see myself as a European at one time, especially when we had become part of the European Community, and for most of the years in which I had been growing up in (1970s)

I have had some wonderful  holidays in France in the past, and became interested in learning the French language,  travelling in Europe and learning about other cultures.

Later when Brexit came along and we left Europe, I felt more cut off, also with the Austerity, now I have found it more difficult to afford to travel abroad.

I am so happy that I am learning to speak French because it was something I had always wanted to learn, as it was on my bucket list of things to do!  I still have some links over there with my french friends with who I am still in contact.

However, in the process of studying language, I have become very interested in language generally , and in my own language in particular, especially in creative writing.

As a child I had a good imagination and used to write stories at school, which the teacher would then read out to the class.
Of course as time went on and my life changed so did my priorities. My mother was ill and so I became her carer. Later on I became a Health care worker.

Now I am a carer(my day job!) and studying. I feel a yearning to write, perhaps write short stories or blogs? Maybe become a writer?
I know that I still have a lot to learn perhaps in terms of grammar/ punctuation or in structuring sentences.
But It is never too late to learn!

Aujourd'hui Je lis mon livre par Georges Simenon. C'est un autre livre maintenant. Cette histoire est à propos d'un homme qui a été accusé de meurtre, mais il ne l'a pas fait. C'est très interessant.
il est victime de chantage. Mais Maigret peut-il prouver qu'il est innocent, quand les chances sont contre lui?
je vais bientôt découvrir...

Plus tôt le temps était chaud mais maintenant
Le temps est froid et il y a une fine pluie.
Je bois un chocolat chaud avec des biscuits aux amandes.

💺📖☕🥯

🏘      🏘      🏘
My friend and I decided to do the three villages walk. However,  I think you have to do it one village at a time, not sure about that? but anyway we did it all in one go which was quite ambitious !

When I arrived back home afterwards,  It felt like my legs were about to drop off! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

My friend and I Started off in the morning to the first village (about 2 miles away) This village was where there was that quaint little old church,  that we  had just visited recently. ⛪

There was a footbridge 🛤 and a lake but unfortunately there is no public right of way beside this lake,  and it was behind a fence! 🏞

We just had to follow the track. Pity we couldn't see it up close, it looked like it was really pretty,  and it had a boat on it, near to an island in the middle. perhaps it must be on private property? 🛶 pity they can't share it with us isn't it? 

We had lunch (a small picnic) just past the village green 🟩 and on top of the hill, ⛰where we could  view the lake from a distance. After our picnic we walked back  down the hill and took the track leading to village no 2. (Another 2 miles.)🛤

Continued on walking to another lake, 🏞usually this one is for fishing in and here we sat down with much relief on a bench used by the fishermen.  There were no fishermen there at the time,  but we did see plenty of moor hens and ducks! We also saw a heron bird! 🦩It was nice to just sit and rest there. I was just waiting for my heart beat to slow down again!  It was quite sunny, balmy and warm by this time. 🌝 we just rested there and admired the amazing views.

The water on the lake was rippling in the cool breeze, and sparkling in the bright sunlight. We even thought we saw a fish 🦈 plop up to the surface, and swim off again, there were waterlilies and dragon flies. Wildflowers were growing everywhere. It was quite beautiful! 🌾🌼🌻 we took some photographs and we sat there chatting for a while.

However, I wish there could have been more benches for sitting along the way! 🌳🛋🌲
There was one large tyre, lying out flat in the field which we could both sit upon, on the way up the hill. This was great to sit on and it was all bouncy, which was a lot of fun to sit on and bounce about upon, the trick was to bounce up and down without actually falling off!!

After that it was all walking, walking up hill all the way. The footpath seemed endless and I was beginning to feel very tired,  my legs were starting to turn to jelly! How much further is there to go?
🌄
On to village no 3, 🟩 much more flatter here (about 1 1/2miles plus walk back of 1 1/2 miles) Fields of sheep, 🐑 cows 🐄and some very beautiful horses.🦄 Long country lanes, but only one bench at the end of the village!  All those wheat fields to walk through! That was really hard going!
After when  I had sat down on the bench,  I could hardly get up again! my legs, my muscles and back really hurt.

My friend who is younger, taller, slimmer and fitter than I,  had to push me really hard to get me up!

"Come on, up you get!" she said
"I can't go on!" I wailed.
"Yes you can, no pain no gain! " She told me
" I reckon we must have walked about 7 miles today!" I said seriously.

"Yes, 7 miles imagine that, you have walked 7️⃣miles, and at your age!" 👩‍🦳she laughed "Ok you, you cheeky young woman !.." I joked with her playfully, and we laughed a lot about it!
😄😁
A little further on we came to a little village pub and a much needed drink and a sandwich!🥃🥪
"I think this is what saved the day!" I said gratefully " That was quite a punishing walk,  I think tomorrow I will just rest all day!"

"Well actually, Said my friend with a mischievous grin. I was just looking on the map and there is yet another great walk, not far from here!"  

" I hope you are joking?" I said looking rather alarmed at the idea.

"Yes, of course!" She said laughing and I gave a sigh of relief.

Needless to say I slept very well indeed that night!


🍁🌻⚘🌼🌺

A bit of a cool day today, with only a little sunshine. It felt quite cold and there was something of a sea mist lingering in the air.

After doing my morning chores, shopping, cleaning. etc. I walked  down to the park, then along the country lane at a slow pace! I walked passed the cemetery,  on the way down towards the little wood.

I then stopped at the little wood (aunty's wood we call it!) to sit down for a while, on one of the benches in the centre of the wood. No one was about  walking about in the wood today,  probably because the weather is much cooler, so everyone stayed near their home instead. It was very peaceful in the wood.

Everything was pristine and tidy in the little wood, all the litter was  gone,  different from the last time, when it looked like a bomb had hit it!  when I had to pick all the rubbish up.  In fact, it looked like someone else, had actually been back in there to tidy up again!

Branches that had once been strewn about,  had now been placed into a nice neat pile. Someone had even made some little houses  for the hedgehogs and placed a new bird box on one of the trees! 

Children had placed some pine cones on top of a shelf, all in a perfect row! There were also some pretty decorated pebbles and lovely wild flowers in a vase!

Birds were sweetly singing, there were only the crows cawing,  and the wood pidgeons,  who were just softly cooing, in the wood. Peace and order had once again been restored!

I think someone else who comes here,  must like this little wood as much as I do!

     🌳🌲🌻🌹🌼🌾

Come to ME 🐦
all you who labour 🐢
and are heavy laden🐌
and I will give you rest.
Said JESUS X 

                       🕊🌲