Stowe landscape gardens

Today I went to Stowe with my family- I went to my parents on Friday for John's birthday (we went to Aroma grill and it was yummy! we had wine and filled all john's pockets with "happy birthday" glitter when he wasn't looking).
On saturday I finished ALL my xmas shopping for my friends (just family to do now!) and today we drove to Stowe- its perfect because its half way between both our hometowns.
:D

Ray had to buy my shopping in the gift shop because I left my debit card in my car.
Fail.

Autumn days are perfect national trust days-
1) its always just that little bit too cold for people with very small children and the elderly- so its quite quiet.
2) Auntum makes everything pretty- all the colours and the leaves- even when they sky is steely grey.
3) cold days when the evenings draw in make you feel like a naughty teenager who should be home by now!

Anyways, to the photographs:

I took this picture whilst we were waiting for mum- she has a new phone and wanted to use it to take pictures which was taking AGES (turns out she was pressing the wring button).. then Dad wanted to have a go at taking photos so...

He took this one.

The folly.. that hill is steeper than it looks.

Look at the leaves turning! it must be nearly halloween!

crispy leaves!

We sat down for a little on the steps to the Queens temple. I persuaded ray to jump down the steps and took her photo.- and she nicked my scarf (AND she sat on my coat because the dress is new..)

Then Dad wanted another go at photography- so he took this one

look at us both landing so gracefully... :S jarred knees all round.

We told him to press the shutter on 3- and jumped! I'm in the air. Ray isn't quite but she has such lovely ballerina arms.

The grotto

My parents.

Ray doing her best "drama Tree"

Magnetic nail polis

Its a nail polish and a magnet!
:)
we got some for open evening and I've painted my thumb nails in my break- although, the effect on my nails was not as awesome as the advert images.
see:

now THAT is a box of cake... none of your packet nonsense

A present from traff.

:)

he knows what a woman needs on a thursday.

Craft evening at 229

I went to a craft evening on tuesday night in kempston.
I was really worried it would be all 80 year olds- especially when the email said we'd be making paper flowers.
but thankfully, it was a good mix of people- all friendly and nice.

it didn't really get off to a good start- I got lost on my way to kempston and ended up in a methodist church and had to be escorted to the community centre by a group of teenagers.
oops.

However, I think you'll agree that I did very well- and I didn't glue myself to anything with the glue gun either.
I win!

Flowers :)

Great Barford

Today we cycled to Great Barford which is a 14 mile round trip- so not that bad- mostly flat and on route 51 cycle path too so we avoided the A6 (which is scary).

We managed to pick the greyest and coldest day so far this autumn for our adventure. it also rained- but it was still worth getting soaked for!

me, looking very fetching in my cycling clothes

the bridge over the ouse in Great Barford. we saw kingfishers looking for food in the river too! I've never seen one before- they're actually quite graceful.

We also saw a tractor pulling a massive trailer of potatoes! like on the walkers advert! one fell off and I rescued it. I might use it as a seed potato and grow myself some great Barford potatoes.

pretty :) maybe its a "secret garden"?

we had out picnic lunch on the village green- all sandwiches and cookies..and just as we were about to go off on an explore we felt the raindrops...

so we hopped back on our bikes and off we went- then, I lost traff- he just "pulled off" the road and ran off.. to climb the bales.

see, in such a rush he didn't even stand his bike up!

Chivalry is not dead, eh? abandoned on the towpath- cyclists are supposed to dismount mr Trafford!

we were soaked when we got home- we had to put everything in the washing machine and the heating on! like being a kid when your mum makes you take al your wet clothes off in the hall so you don't mark the wallpaper!

FIRE!

Today at work during one lesson I had to put out TWO fires.
BIG fires.
I extinguished them with a bucket of water.

This is what happened:

We were heating water in boiling tubes suspended over  propanenol fuel burners to see how good it was as a fuel. we compared the results to ethanol and methanol.
see, on paper, it sounds good.

The error: we suspended the boiling tubes over the fuel burners using clamp stands and the clamps had rubber coated ends. (NB: this would have been fine if the students had angled the boiling tube.. most did..two didn't... some you win, some you lose)

The rubber caught fire.

Today we established the most efficient fuel out of enthanol, mentanol and propanenol was rubber.
it was also the worst smelling.
That was not the desired learning outcome.

The worst part of all this is that the first thing students do when faced with a massive fire is FILM IT on their mobile phone.
I will be a youtube sensation any time now.

ah, and after I'd extinguished the burning clamps and left them in a bucket of water one of the kids was like "well, they had a viking burial"

Killer question

 A coconut falls out of a tree 12.0 m above the ground and hits a bystander 3.00 m tall on the top of the head.  It bounces back up 1.50 m before falling to the ground.  If the mass of the coconut is 2.00 kg, calculate the potential energy of the coconut relative to the ground at each of the following sites:

            (a) while it is still in the tree,

            (b) when it hits the bystander on the head,

            (c) when it bounces up to its maximum height,

            (d) when it lands on the ground,

            (e) when it rolls into a groundhog hole, and falls 2.50 m to the bottom of the hole.

*sigh*

I was teaching a lesson on quarrying and the environmental impact of industry Vs the economic benefits to the town. trying to get the students to sum up all of their ideas by giving a balanced argument having spent ages discussing ideas, I asked the pupils how they would react if they were told that a company planned to make a quarry near the town.

One pupil put his hand up:

Kid "Miss, if the developer came to ask my opinion, do you know what I'd do?"

Me "...."

Kid (continuing anyway) "I'd invite them in for coffee or something.... and then I'd say I was going to put the kettle on or something and then I'd get my husband to fetch the shotgun...."

Me: (jumping in before this gets any more ridiculous)"you're not a fan of the idea then?"

Kid" no".

True story.
..and you wonder why I'm going grey...

Patti Smith in Cambridge (On a school night)

A massive advantage of my new job is that I finish at 2:30. so I can be home by 3 EVEN if I cycle. winner (yeah, I also start at 7:30, but it's not all bad...) so traff and I went to Cambridge for 5pm and had time to have a lovely dinner out in cambridge and a drink before the concert!
:)

We went to the Gig early- normally we mooch about until the main act is about on,( if I have to stand up all day at work, I can't do it all evening too. I'm old now) but its just as well we did- Patti smith didn't have any support, so her act started at 8:30.

We had a moochy hour before she was on where we had some drinks and sat on the floor and listened to old reggae. I had coffeeeee.. I've never had coffee before at a gig... I was sober and still managed to pour it all over myself.

Very much enjoyed patti smith- I would go again! she was brilliant!

Coffeeeeeee

this is traff wearing my ballet pumps that got runover.

Patti smith and her band :)

the bicycle prison.

selected other oxford arty things