Thursday, 24 February 2011
Top Gear & Viva Mexico !!
Thank you, thank you guys for nearly wrecking our holiday in Mexico. The first time I heard about this fiasco was, when the Mexican taxi driver asked Peter and I, 'From where are you visiting us? we said Britain, our driver frowned and said if we had heard about the three idiots who insulted Mexico, from a British motor-show called Top Gear? We hadn't. When we got to our hotel, the British flag was being pulled down from the pole and that same night Mexican T.V. repeated the undiplomatic and ignorant remarks. I must say, it was Richard Hammond who started it all and the other two hyenas just continued the banter. So this picture is for you guys. Here we are.. In Mexico with our Viva Mexico sombreros accompanied by..Richard Hammond our donkey! After that, it was embarrasing to own up where we came from, so for the rest of the Mexican holiday we said we came from Canada. I have heard that Top Gear has since that apologized, although it wasn't quick enough for us over in Mexico. In future, think about your fellow country-men, as you are now infamous in Mexico. The Mexican spirit is a happy one and they will forgive you and they might even invite you to visit their country so that you can sample their hospitality. I recommend Cancun, San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato, Oaxaca and if you like Tequila, you can visit the blue hills where the agave plant grows. After we 'changed' our nationality, things were a lot better for us. Although at the second hotel we stayed at, in Merida, the hotel didn't have the British flag flying either. They had the U.S. flag, the Canadian, French, German and Italian flags but no British flag. Thanks guys!
Sunday, 16 January 2011
The ' new ' house
As usual in the Birchwood family household every minute counts and Sunday is no exception. Today we have gone to meet the bedroom furniture designer. It is amazing
the range of things on offer, I got a hydraulic clothes rail so that I no longer have to stretch on tip-toes to get at my clothes. The shoe-rack is designed so that you can pull it out like a drawer so no more blind searching underneath the clothes. Every inch is useful. The inside of the closet doors have hinged mirrors so that I can move the mirrors around. In general, things are looking up. At the moment it has only bare walls as you can see but tomorrow Monday it will be the time when the kitchen furniture will be fitted in, and also the bathroom furniture and shower too. It really is very exciting to see it at this stage, where its no longer plans and dreams but the real thing.
After so much bureaucracy with the council of what nail was allowed and which one wasn't and after intensive renovation from top to bottom of this historical and listed home, the project is finally coming to be completed! in what I estimate would be another two months. Considering it was two years ago when we first started its really wonderful to come to see it at this final stage.
the range of things on offer, I got a hydraulic clothes rail so that I no longer have to stretch on tip-toes to get at my clothes. The shoe-rack is designed so that you can pull it out like a drawer so no more blind searching underneath the clothes. Every inch is useful. The inside of the closet doors have hinged mirrors so that I can move the mirrors around. In general, things are looking up. At the moment it has only bare walls as you can see but tomorrow Monday it will be the time when the kitchen furniture will be fitted in, and also the bathroom furniture and shower too. It really is very exciting to see it at this stage, where its no longer plans and dreams but the real thing.
After so much bureaucracy with the council of what nail was allowed and which one wasn't and after intensive renovation from top to bottom of this historical and listed home, the project is finally coming to be completed! in what I estimate would be another two months. Considering it was two years ago when we first started its really wonderful to come to see it at this final stage.
Monday, 10 January 2011
A message for my sweet sister
Patty querida cuenta conmigo con mi amor y carino especial para siempre estas en mi
corazon y mis pensamientos de tu hermana Maria
corazon y mis pensamientos de tu hermana Maria
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Heir Hunters, Christmas in Oxford
Today, the series will be shown in the History Channel, Hector will appear tonight at 7 p.m. on an aparthaid case from South Africa. Whilst the new series of Heir Hunters will start on BBC this month or at the beginning of February don't know yet.
Anyway, Christmas in Oxford was absolutely wonderful! we stayed at the Randolph Hotel where they used to film the Inspector Morse T.V. series. The attention was really superb. It is an old fashion hotel where you have to dress up for certain formal evenings and there was live entertainment every night with someone playing the accordeon one night or someone else singing romantic songs the next evening where we could dance and on this particular night, as I was dancing with Peter an 80 year old stopped us at mid dance because she wanted to dance with Peter. Peter and I were stunned! Peter told her that his feet had an ache and that we were just about to sit down. Diplomacy at its best because we had just began to dance. No sooner had we sat down at our table, when a real bold 70 year old woman tried to pull Peter to dance with her, she was tugging his shirt saying that life was too short and he should come and dance with her. I don't know what these ladies had in mind... a toy boy ? I was looking at this scene with real amusement. Again, he made his excuses. Peter was looking quite fetching that night with the clothes I chosen for him which by the way, he didn't particularly wanted to wear, as he is not really fond of dressing up with a tie and suit but it was a formal night and so we both had to make an effort but I think with the pulling power Peter had wearing these clothes he is looking at these clothes with other eyes now and I have to watch out for predatory older women! He was looking at me saying: "can't they see that my wife is ten years younger than me? why would I want to go and dance with a woman that is two decades older than myself? they could be my mother's age, it really was astonishing! I can only speak for myself but I wouldn't dream of asking a man to dance with me, specially if he was with his wife. Oh wow! what a night.
The next day, on boxing day we went to the theater to see a panthomime: 'Cinderella' oh what fun!! I had never been to a panto before and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The best thing is that it had amusing things for children and adults alike it was just wonderful and really well made too. The clothes, the theater backgrounds, the storyline, the singing everything was really great and it was only two minutes walk from the Raldolph too. Our hotel manager had bought two rows of seats for the guests of the hotel and he made quite sure we were having snacks at the interval as an enormous box with assorted chocolates was passed around. When we left the theater, someone from the hotel was sent over and as he opened the door to let us out of the theater he told us that refreshments were awaiting for us at the tea-room in the hotel. I have to say I have never eaten so much in my life! I had to skip some meals because it was breakfast, lunch, tea-time and then dinner everyday. I don't think anyone could eat all that every day. I have never felt this pampered anywhere I have been to. For instance, one of the staff must have heard that I have trouble sleeping at nights and on that night, I had a spray mist that helps you sleep on my side of the bed, plus a stress-relieving hydrosoak from Molton Brown a really wonderful treat to relax.
We met some really nice couples too, who go there every year and I can see why, the atmosphere is really happy one and traditional too and its sad when its time to leave, a really worthwhile treat.
Anyway, Christmas in Oxford was absolutely wonderful! we stayed at the Randolph Hotel where they used to film the Inspector Morse T.V. series. The attention was really superb. It is an old fashion hotel where you have to dress up for certain formal evenings and there was live entertainment every night with someone playing the accordeon one night or someone else singing romantic songs the next evening where we could dance and on this particular night, as I was dancing with Peter an 80 year old stopped us at mid dance because she wanted to dance with Peter. Peter and I were stunned! Peter told her that his feet had an ache and that we were just about to sit down. Diplomacy at its best because we had just began to dance. No sooner had we sat down at our table, when a real bold 70 year old woman tried to pull Peter to dance with her, she was tugging his shirt saying that life was too short and he should come and dance with her. I don't know what these ladies had in mind... a toy boy ? I was looking at this scene with real amusement. Again, he made his excuses. Peter was looking quite fetching that night with the clothes I chosen for him which by the way, he didn't particularly wanted to wear, as he is not really fond of dressing up with a tie and suit but it was a formal night and so we both had to make an effort but I think with the pulling power Peter had wearing these clothes he is looking at these clothes with other eyes now and I have to watch out for predatory older women! He was looking at me saying: "can't they see that my wife is ten years younger than me? why would I want to go and dance with a woman that is two decades older than myself? they could be my mother's age, it really was astonishing! I can only speak for myself but I wouldn't dream of asking a man to dance with me, specially if he was with his wife. Oh wow! what a night.
The next day, on boxing day we went to the theater to see a panthomime: 'Cinderella' oh what fun!! I had never been to a panto before and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The best thing is that it had amusing things for children and adults alike it was just wonderful and really well made too. The clothes, the theater backgrounds, the storyline, the singing everything was really great and it was only two minutes walk from the Raldolph too. Our hotel manager had bought two rows of seats for the guests of the hotel and he made quite sure we were having snacks at the interval as an enormous box with assorted chocolates was passed around. When we left the theater, someone from the hotel was sent over and as he opened the door to let us out of the theater he told us that refreshments were awaiting for us at the tea-room in the hotel. I have to say I have never eaten so much in my life! I had to skip some meals because it was breakfast, lunch, tea-time and then dinner everyday. I don't think anyone could eat all that every day. I have never felt this pampered anywhere I have been to. For instance, one of the staff must have heard that I have trouble sleeping at nights and on that night, I had a spray mist that helps you sleep on my side of the bed, plus a stress-relieving hydrosoak from Molton Brown a really wonderful treat to relax.
We met some really nice couples too, who go there every year and I can see why, the atmosphere is really happy one and traditional too and its sad when its time to leave, a really worthwhile treat.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Operation Mincemeat BBC 2
They forgot to mention the father of forensic science, Sir Bernard Spilsbury who after
viewing many possible cadavers for this mission to be able to deceive the Germans he picked the right body.
Apart from that, the programme was a treat and curiously enough, it demonstrates how
the human mind concentrates in details rather than the overall picture about what was really happening when it comes to deceit. The Germans knew how crucially important it was to control Sicily if they wanted to avoid an allied invasion yet at the last minute and after viewing some purported papers contained in a corpse that appeared from nowhere, as the speculation was that the body may have come out of an airplane crash (but no airplane wreckage nor other corpses were seen nearby) others said it came from a sunken ship but again, there were no signs of a ship being sank there either, nor other bodies to make this tale more believable. I mean.. this is only ONE body that comes from nowhere which has purported 'classified' 'Secret' information which is, by all reasoning too good to be true. ie (plans for an invasion) According to the papers found in the corpse, the allies were going to invade from Greece (a highly improbable proposition to do) as this meant the allies would have had to bypass Sicily first in the narrow stretch of the Mediterranean Sea, where they would have been spotted right away by the Germans from Sicily on their way to Greece and cornered right there. Common sense tells you, there is no way the allies could have made it much further into Greece before being ravaged in Sicily first, yet the Germans moved their troops from their safe strategic position in Sicily to Greece only because they believed the papers that came from a corpse that came from nowhere. Common sense and reasoning should have told them: In whose interest was it to move German troops from Sicily? It wasn't in Germany's interest since this would be leaving the door wide open for an allied invasion from Sicily, which is exactly what happened.
viewing many possible cadavers for this mission to be able to deceive the Germans he picked the right body.
Apart from that, the programme was a treat and curiously enough, it demonstrates how
the human mind concentrates in details rather than the overall picture about what was really happening when it comes to deceit. The Germans knew how crucially important it was to control Sicily if they wanted to avoid an allied invasion yet at the last minute and after viewing some purported papers contained in a corpse that appeared from nowhere, as the speculation was that the body may have come out of an airplane crash (but no airplane wreckage nor other corpses were seen nearby) others said it came from a sunken ship but again, there were no signs of a ship being sank there either, nor other bodies to make this tale more believable. I mean.. this is only ONE body that comes from nowhere which has purported 'classified' 'Secret' information which is, by all reasoning too good to be true. ie (plans for an invasion) According to the papers found in the corpse, the allies were going to invade from Greece (a highly improbable proposition to do) as this meant the allies would have had to bypass Sicily first in the narrow stretch of the Mediterranean Sea, where they would have been spotted right away by the Germans from Sicily on their way to Greece and cornered right there. Common sense tells you, there is no way the allies could have made it much further into Greece before being ravaged in Sicily first, yet the Germans moved their troops from their safe strategic position in Sicily to Greece only because they believed the papers that came from a corpse that came from nowhere. Common sense and reasoning should have told them: In whose interest was it to move German troops from Sicily? It wasn't in Germany's interest since this would be leaving the door wide open for an allied invasion from Sicily, which is exactly what happened.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Egyptian Art
Went to the British Museum on Monday to see one of the most advanced and sophisticated early societies that flourished over 3,000 years ago. The average Egyptian life-span was short, usually less than 35 years old so naturally, all their thoughts and time was spent in the after-life as for most ancient Egyptians, death was not an end, it was merely the entering of a new phase of being. However, the way to eternal paradise was littered with obstacles, dangers and challenges which could only be overcome by means of magical spells. The bodies were buried with a collection of these magical spells written in what is called: the Book Of The Dead, to empower, protect and sustain him in the after-life. These books written in papyrus rolls are often beautifully illustrated, they provide a fascinating and graphic insight into the ancient Egyptian beliefs about the life after death. The Egyptians believed that through these spells the soul ( ba ) could re-enter their dead body at will. Among the known spells are those for obtaining air, food and water; for transforming the body into another form, for warding off hostile snakes and crocodiles; for preventing the heart from disclosing all your sins in a final judgement.
The Egyptians used images which were believed to serve as receptacles for supernatural power as well as magical words of a spell were chanted that would cause whatever was desired to happen. The same magical potential was also contained in the written word. When these images and words, were inscribed in the walls of a tomb or on an object placed inside it, the words perpetuated the magical effect of a spell, or gave the dead the means to use the magic for themselves. These latter texts made the dead the masters of their own destiny, freeing them from total dependency on the living to keep their spirits alive. The purpose of the spells was to ensure that the dead were fully equipped with the powers and sacred knowledge which they would need to obtain eternal life.
Spells, gave them control of every part of their being - not only the physical body but also the spirit aspects, particularly the ba, which was the Egyptians' nearest equivalent to the modern notion of the 'soul'. The ba or soul had the freedom to leave the body in the tomb and to visit other parts of the cosmos - the world of the living, the sky, before reuniting itself with he mummy each night. The texts provided details of places which the dead would come to and divine beings whom they would meet. All these encounters were rites of passage - quite literally, for the dead had to display their knowledge of sacred matters to prove to the gods that they were worthy to pass on to paradise. The ultimate test of this kind occurred in the hall of judgement where the gods examined the deceased's conduct during his life.
The Egyptians used images which were believed to serve as receptacles for supernatural power as well as magical words of a spell were chanted that would cause whatever was desired to happen. The same magical potential was also contained in the written word. When these images and words, were inscribed in the walls of a tomb or on an object placed inside it, the words perpetuated the magical effect of a spell, or gave the dead the means to use the magic for themselves. These latter texts made the dead the masters of their own destiny, freeing them from total dependency on the living to keep their spirits alive. The purpose of the spells was to ensure that the dead were fully equipped with the powers and sacred knowledge which they would need to obtain eternal life.
Spells, gave them control of every part of their being - not only the physical body but also the spirit aspects, particularly the ba, which was the Egyptians' nearest equivalent to the modern notion of the 'soul'. The ba or soul had the freedom to leave the body in the tomb and to visit other parts of the cosmos - the world of the living, the sky, before reuniting itself with he mummy each night. The texts provided details of places which the dead would come to and divine beings whom they would meet. All these encounters were rites of passage - quite literally, for the dead had to display their knowledge of sacred matters to prove to the gods that they were worthy to pass on to paradise. The ultimate test of this kind occurred in the hall of judgement where the gods examined the deceased's conduct during his life.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Advice on a lasting marriage or relationship
During the 30 years now that I have the inmense privilege of knowing Peter Birchwood and be his wife, we have known couples who get married or are in a relationship only to end it all within the seven year itch.
In schools and universities they instruct you in all kinds of subjects but not in the most important of all: How to find the right partner for a long and loving relationship or marriage. It always surprises me that seemingly intelligent people cannot work out what makes a relationship or a marriage tick. It takes more than just a shared interest to glue down a relationship and that is love above all. If that doesn't exist there is nothing to be done. It doesn't matter how many interests you share. The success of a good marriage depends on a mutual life-long project, and see it through to fruition. Having -differences- in interests helps in what the other one lacks, and this way, the couple complement each other. I work on the Spanish and Latin American cases in our company because I speak Spanish and my husband doesn't but he has the necessary expertice and knowledge to solve a case if he understands the problems, so not knowing how to speak Spanish is not an obstacle for him to solve a foreign case. This is our lifetime project now joined by our son who has now come to work with us and our dear co-workers in this project. On the personal side, we do not have very many shared interests, whilst Peter likes golf, I don't, he likes Harry Potter I don't, I like Woody Allen's films, he doesn't. Peter loves car races and I don't but we have found Top Gear and suddenly I now enjoy expensive cars and Jeremy Clarkson is solely responsible for my new developed taste in cars and that when it came to choosing a car I bought a black BMW! before the Top Gear programme, TV motoring was very boring with programmes that would show you how to change some spark plugs and a guy with a bonnet open, really uninteresting stuff, enough to make you yawn. Jeremy Clarkson, the cool James May and the chirpy Richard Hammon have suddenly made motoring exciting, fun and interesting not only for myself but lots of other women too. Thank you guys! I hope to see you in person in your show soon.
Anyway, a basic advice when choosing a partner or husband is to see if your interests or life-style doesn't clash with your own personality. For instance, for a woman, if you HATE parties and late night evenings and entertaing people and would prefer to stay quietly at home every night watching TV. Do not date nor marry a diplomat where there will be endless important social events and late-night evenings. Equally, if you adore dancing the night away till dawn and coming home always late, do not marry a professional foot-baller who has to be early in bed for morning trainings the next day. It is not about shared interests or the lack of them that makes a relationship flounder. Its how your life-style complements each other's personality and tastes. I'm always surprised how seemingly intelligent, university educated people miss on this simple principle. But there you go..
In schools and universities they instruct you in all kinds of subjects but not in the most important of all: How to find the right partner for a long and loving relationship or marriage. It always surprises me that seemingly intelligent people cannot work out what makes a relationship or a marriage tick. It takes more than just a shared interest to glue down a relationship and that is love above all. If that doesn't exist there is nothing to be done. It doesn't matter how many interests you share. The success of a good marriage depends on a mutual life-long project, and see it through to fruition. Having -differences- in interests helps in what the other one lacks, and this way, the couple complement each other. I work on the Spanish and Latin American cases in our company because I speak Spanish and my husband doesn't but he has the necessary expertice and knowledge to solve a case if he understands the problems, so not knowing how to speak Spanish is not an obstacle for him to solve a foreign case. This is our lifetime project now joined by our son who has now come to work with us and our dear co-workers in this project. On the personal side, we do not have very many shared interests, whilst Peter likes golf, I don't, he likes Harry Potter I don't, I like Woody Allen's films, he doesn't. Peter loves car races and I don't but we have found Top Gear and suddenly I now enjoy expensive cars and Jeremy Clarkson is solely responsible for my new developed taste in cars and that when it came to choosing a car I bought a black BMW! before the Top Gear programme, TV motoring was very boring with programmes that would show you how to change some spark plugs and a guy with a bonnet open, really uninteresting stuff, enough to make you yawn. Jeremy Clarkson, the cool James May and the chirpy Richard Hammon have suddenly made motoring exciting, fun and interesting not only for myself but lots of other women too. Thank you guys! I hope to see you in person in your show soon.
Anyway, a basic advice when choosing a partner or husband is to see if your interests or life-style doesn't clash with your own personality. For instance, for a woman, if you HATE parties and late night evenings and entertaing people and would prefer to stay quietly at home every night watching TV. Do not date nor marry a diplomat where there will be endless important social events and late-night evenings. Equally, if you adore dancing the night away till dawn and coming home always late, do not marry a professional foot-baller who has to be early in bed for morning trainings the next day. It is not about shared interests or the lack of them that makes a relationship flounder. Its how your life-style complements each other's personality and tastes. I'm always surprised how seemingly intelligent, university educated people miss on this simple principle. But there you go..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
.jpg)
