Friday Five - in the news this week 14/8/15

Well it's Friday again and I'm getting used to not having my cat around the house.  Thank you to all who left me messages, much appreciated.

Here we go with another round up of news items that have caught my eye this week.

INTERNATIONAL:
The tragedy that occured in China's port of Tianjin is unlikely not to have been noticed around the world given that the extent of the explosions were picked up by space satellites.  The pictures of the devastation caused by the explosions at the port are horrific.  It seems a miracle that only 50 people died although I'm sure that number will increase as many of the 700 injured are listed as critical.  Some of those who lost their lives were firemen who had been called out to a fire on site and then got caught up in the following explosions.

Given that these events took place in China we may never know the full extent of just what chemicals were being stored in the warehouse at the centre of all this.  Or what safety provisions were in place to prevent such an occurrence.  My gut feeling is that their rules and regulations are probably not as stringent as ours.  Health and Safety can be a pain at times but if it prevents things like this happening it's a small price to pay.

Hopefully the might of the Chinese authorities will lead to a rapid clear up operation being put into effect for those who have lost their loved ones and homes but I'm sure many people will be living with the scars of this event for the rest of their lives.

Moving on to SPORTS:
What a parental dilemma?  Your two sons competing against one another in a major event, who do you support?

This is the story of Andy Murray, our #1 tennis player, facing his brother Jamie in a doubles competition.  Jamie is the less well known of the brothers but he is a force to be reckoned with in the doubles world.  Proving his point by beating his brother Andy yesterday at the Rogers Cup tournament in Montreal.  I don't know if their mother was there watching but I think I'd have to opt out.

Fortunately my own kids have tended to opt for team sports so I've not been in that situation.

In LOCAL news, shock horror!  The Greenwich Meridian line is in the wrong place!  We are only a few miles from Greenwich with it's lovely park and the observatory and it's famous meridian line which divides the world into East and West so this caught my eye.

Apparently, with advances in modern technology, namely GPS, it has been found to be about 100 metres out.  Maybe that's why when using a SAT NAV in your car and it tells you "You have arrived at your destination" sometimes you haven't! 

The ENTERTAINMENT item I picked out was coverage of the filming of the final episodes of Downton Abbey.  I have loved watching this series and have seen every episode.  I shall be sad to watch the final episode later this year and then the Christmas special but it will be interesting to see how it's brought to an end.

And finally MISCELLANEOUS: this is a lovely story about a group of Italian Grannies taking a coach trip to the sea.  Many of them had never seen the sea and it was a lifelong dream.  They were able to accomplish the trip to the Croatian island of Ugljan by using Crowd Funding.  

It's good to be reminded sometimes of how there are always people worse off than yourself.  I am about 90 minutes away from the nearest beach but many seaside resorts are within driving distance and we could just take a day trip/holiday whenever we wanted really.  

Some of these women had never really ventured far from their alpine village but they had a dream and they made it come true.  Well done them!

All links are courtesy of the BBC website. Opinions are my own.

Wednesday Hodgepodge 12/8/15

Wednesday's Hodgepodge is brought to us courtesy of Joyce at 

 From this side of the pond

Pop over there to see other posts and if you want to join in add your blog post to the Linky List at the end of Joyce's post.

Have fun!

1. When was the last time you relocated? Did you move yourself or leave it to the professionals? Are you happy staying put or is there a move in your future? Best thing about moving to a new city or town? Least favourite and/or hardest thing about moving house?

We have only moved once during our married life of 31 years.  That was in 1993 when we’d expanded to 3 children and wanted a bigger house.  We didn’t actually move far but we had a removal company move everything – well apart from the tumble dryer that was nearly forgotten in the conservatory.  That went in the back of the car.

Now we are empty nesters so I expect a downsize will happen at some point but we love where we are so it might be hard to find a suitable alternative.  I’ve never moved to a new town really but I’m sure it must be fun exploring.  I think the hardest thing about moving is sorting out all the “stuff” you accumulate into what really needs to move and what really needs to get dumped!

2. When were you last 'moved to tears'? Explain.   

Yesterday morning.  I was still reeling from the shock of having had to put the cat down the night before when my son rang to announce his engagement.  More tears but happy ones.

3. Do you have rules about eating in the car...any forbidden foods? What's the last thing you consumed in your car? Your go-to car snack when traveling long distance?

No rules really but we don’t often need to eat in the car.  Although I guess I’d probably prefer things that are less likely to create a mess.  Last thing I ate in the car?  Some fries from McDonald’s.  I couldn’t wait until I got them home.

4. Share a favourite song relating to cars and/or driving.   

I’m not a music expert.  I just stick some CDs into the player and play them until I get bored with them and then swap them for some other CDs or I listen to the radio.

5. What's your most frequently visited drive-thru...Starbucks? the bank? the pharmacy? some other window?  

Umm that would be McDonald’s.  Our banks and pharmacies don’t tend to be drive-thru.

6. "He who hesitates is lost"...would you agree? When it comes to making decisions do you generally act quickly or do you more often than not fall into the 'lost' category? 

I don’t agree because some decisions cannot be taken lightly and the pros and cons have to be weighed up.  I am pretty good at making quick decisions when it’s appropriate though.

7. When was the last time you got lost? Was it stressful or an unexpected happy adventure?

I can’t actually remember the last time I got lost.  And that’s not thanks to a super duper Sat Nav – I still rely on maps and printed directions researched before any unfamiliar journey.  I also turn maps upside down if necessary so the left and right turns make sense!  I have quite a good sense of direction and I’m quite observant which helps.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.  

Looking forward to seeing my son and future DIL next week to see her ring and hear about their plans.  She already has some Pinterest boards started.  My son did a good job of surprising her and making it romantic so I’m proud of him.

Bad news & Good news day

Starting with the bad news.  Unfortunately we had to have our cat Willow put down last night.  We're not sure what caused it but she suffered a spinal trauma which left her unable to stand on her back legs or use her tail.  It could have been a tumour or a blood clot but it happened very suddenly.  She was fine at lunchtime but she spent the afternoon just laying out in the garden.  When it got late I went to see where she was and discovered she couldn't get up.

We took her straight to the vets but it was clear that there was nothing to do be done, she had already lived longer than we expected given that this time last year she developed kidney problems and we thought we might lose her.  But she rallied and with medication had been ok.  But this was not something to be coped with so we made the only decision we could.  But it was very sad.  We'd had her for almost 15 years.  She was a rescued kitten.

I didn't sleep well last night as you can imagine but this morning I received some wonderful news that did cheer me up.

My eldest son rang to say that he is now engaged!  I'm so pleased about that.  He and his girlfried have been together the longest out of my children and their respective partners and I was aware that he needed to get his act together before her patience ran out.  I'd even dropped a few very unsubtle hints.  I shouldn't have doubted him.  He organised a romantic break for them in the Peak District and organised a ring and from the sounds of things did a bit of a treasure hunt.  His partner hadn't expected the proposal was coming because he'd kept his nerves under control but she was delighted so it's all good!

Hopefully if the wedding is next year sometime I will have three weddings in three years and be very happy to see all my children settled.

Successful shopping

Well I braved Westfield today and managed to get the paper cutter I wanted.  I also got gold and silver inked pens to use in the scrapbook - it has black pages so they should contrast nicely on those.  I've become quite a savvy shopper since we've come down to one income.  I noticed a coupon in our Saturday paper for £5 off if you spent £12 in W H Smiths so guess where I got the paper cutter from?

I expected the shopping centre to be more manic than it was as it's school holidays and I didn't get there very early.  Rain was forecast for this afternoon so I wanted to get the washing done before I set off which meant it was almost lunchtime when I got to the shops.  It wasn't actually that bad and it helped that I knew exactly what I wanted and where to get it.

Paper cutter and pens - tick

Birthday present for D-I-L - tick

Watering can  - tick

Milk, onions and marmalade - tick

I had tick symbols next to those when I typed this in word but they didn't translate when I posted here. :(

I took the bus there and back as parking is quite expensive so I did what felt like quite a bit of walking, especially as the watering can had to be bought from a shop in the old Stratford shopping centre.  I was pleased to see quite a lot of people there though as, when Westfield was built just across the way, I did worry that the old centre would decline.  But they are two quite different shopping centres and both seem to be thriving.  I was disappointed to find though, that despite trekking there and back by bus and walking between the centres I only managed to clock up about 2 miles of walking.  But that’s 2 more than I would have done had I stayed home.

I have been quite lazy this afternoon though, just getting the washing dry and looking at properties online.  My daughter is flat hunting at the moment and she sent me details of a flat she was going to view.  Well that flat led to another …..and another…..it’s scary how easy it is to fritter away time looking at things on the internet.  But being lazy means I don’t get so hungry which is good when you’re trying to diet.  I lost 3 pounds last week so that’s a good incentive to keep trying to be good!