Its started!

I know I know, i'm sure you told me so.

Poor Linda (mother-in-law) and I have locked horns a couple of times already. I've got to stop being pig-headed I guess. I don't want her to feel miserable here, but I think at the moment she hasn't felt like its a barrel of laughs either. I can't say much more as it wouldn't be fare, but I do want to try harder to help her to settle. This was made more difficult when she twisted her ankle yesterday and spent over 6 hours in A&E (ER to some of you) in Hastings. So now there is an invalid hobbling around with crutches. (reminds me of Kermit the frogs reaction in the movie when he saw the poster for frogs legs) As far as the hospital is concerned, that place was diabolical! Some people were there for more than 8 hours, with broken limbs waiting to be seen. It felt like the middle ages, I never thought i'd wish we could use St Peters again. (must be bad)

Life

Oh dear......let time slip again between posts doh!

Never mind, let me tell you bit of whats going on. For a start I've started a diet. I've had enough of the fatman living my life for me. There is another slimmer guy inside whom the big man ate a long time ago, and he feels its his time to rise.

Watchmen, the movie experience of the year. It was a let down on the whole. Who wants to see that blue fella with his blue fella on show? Thats not entertainment. It's even worse when you see it on IMAX!

The real biggy at the moment is the moving in of my Mother-In-Law. We are initially looking at her staying for a year but we shall see. Now you and I know there are millions of Mo-In-Law jokes out there, but I have lost my right to say any of them, as it was me that suggested she move in. It has its plus sides I recon......such as going to IKEA for a shopping trip with her. You can never have enough storage! Also there's the baby sitting 'potential'. Meaning me and the Mrs can get out for some us time which doesnt happen often enough. Also think of the blogging possibilities of the extra madness that will now exist in my families life.

The Moon as Observed

This is the image of the moon that I promised on my previous post.

Taken using a smaller telescope by a friend when we were at the observatory on Friday. Not as good as the image I was looking at through the bigger telescope, with its clearly defined craters, but it gives a great idea of the image I was looking at. This is still so awesome. (i'm almost jumping about like a school child - ha ha)

may I make an observation?

Aha! Don't worry I'm not going to complain about Facebook and its mates again. My observation is linked to tonights trip to the Herstmonceux Observatory and Science Centre. It astounds me how many interesting places we discover in our area, and this is another case. We've been to the science centre as a family a couple of times in an effort to educate us all. It reminds me much of the Lookout Discovery Centre in Bracknell, with its hands on science experiments, although colder and with more concrete. It is fun enough I guess...well the kids enjoy it.

The place really comes into its own when once a month they open up the Observatory to the public, or at least 3 observatories out of the 5 they have within the grounds. If its a clear night and you have no issues with going out when there's a bright moon (you know who you are) then this is the place to go! I have tonight seen things i've only seen on film or photograph. For instance I saw the moon, and not just bigger than we can see normally, I mean see the moon, the craters and landscape, it nearly took my breath away. We viewed Saturn on one of the smaller telescopes and it looked just like it had been drawn onto the lense. Lastly and perhaps more impressively was a closeup on Orions Nebular. I'm not one of those guys who can pick out groups of stars in the sky, it all looks the same to me. After seeing it tonight and talking to the on hand expert (not sure of the qualification, but he was definately an egghead with a brain the size of a planet...ahem excuse the pun) I can pick it out. I now know Orion is a whole constellation of which 'the Belt' is only a part. It is marked out by 4 prominent stars with the 'Belt' and the 'Sword' within. We had a close up on Orions Sword and saw it was like a cloud, and within it 4 stars had been created over the millenia. This might sound a bit boring to read but it wasn't when you saw it! My kids where captivated.

We didn't hang on much longer, just had a drink at the cafe and went home as it was gone 10pm. We could have seen this time but didn't was Venus, which has been shining brightly lately as you may have noticed. We had arrived at 8pm and it was too low in the sky at that time for it to be picked up by the telescope. The other they were viewing/tracking was a comet, which would have been a great experience if we hadn't had to go.

Here's a photo taken with the kids and there grandmother next to the smaller observatory where we had seen Saturn and the Moon . A friend got a photo of the moon taken through a telescope lense there (unofficially) which as soon as I am sent it on email, I will post it up on blogger.


Before I go always remember to cherish and love your blog.....yes blog not dog ya numpty!!

Where have all the Bloggers gone?

A question I must ask! Whats happened to bloggers and blogging?

Is it a virus? (the flu type I mean) Or is it something more sinister? I know its a problem because I too have started to dry up on postings over the last 3-6 months. I thought it was just the year end wind down. That's not true, I've struggled to get the cogs running again since the new year and its March now! I think I know why. Facebook!

Let me explain what I mean. I started blogging as a social yet creative way of communicating to people. A chance to say things my way, and talk about my experiences good and bad. It also became a scrapbook and diary of my experiences. I admit i'm not the best writer, but I genuinely love the opportunity and find it stimulating. Like many, I have been contacted and pestered to have an account on Facebook Along with its vast array of applications, all of which keep you locked into their world, but don't really use the brain. Social networking sites are good but just don't offer creativity. It started with Friendsreunited, but Facebook seems to have taken over and made it much easier to reacquaint us with old friends and family. All this has just led to me (and maybe all of us) being distracted and caught up in the mundane. I can't help but feel I'm being sucked into something that is imbecilic and moronic, not stimulating at all. I spend time checking out people status and trawling through quizes about senseless things. Why would you or I be interested in what each other is doing every minute of the day? Whats so wrong with my life that I spend it looking at everyone else's life? If I carry on like this I'm concerned that I will become a texting teenager, who has the social skills of a skunk after eating a very hot curry.

I know I know, I sound like an old fart, and maybe thats true, although I hope not. My resolve is to gain back control of my on-line life. Facebook and its friends like Bebo, My Space and that new one called Twitter (surely the name gives us enough of a clue that this is for the brain dead?) have their place, and I am glad to have the opportunity to keep in touch with my nephews and nieces and others. There was an episode of the IT Crowd that parodied the subject with the pretendy site Friendface. My point is this sort of social networking, doesn't need to be a daily thing, and it certainly shouldn't stiffle things that are more interesting. My blog needs my attention again, and i'm going to give it. I realise that so few read it nowadays but that's no longer why I do it. I do it as it's an outlet that refreshes my being and allows me an opportunity or genuine expression. (all very heavy sounding)

Very ranty I know, but stuff it, it mine! Its how I feel, and I think other bloggers will catch my drift. I hope it strengthens your resolve too.

xxx Chux :)

Ain't snow pretty?

Even a man who suffers from an alergy to nasty winter weather has to admit this snowy snap we've had has been delightful.

My daughter and I had great fun creating our new friend here. The ideas for the eyes, nose and clothes all came from her, and I think she did a great job. Any suggestions for a name?

Surely it can't get colder!? Brrrrrrr.........

The English and talking about the weather, it seems to be our speciality. I'm no exception to this as the weather is definately my main subject of conversation at the moment. Ok Ok so it's not the Arctic here, but the cold seems relentness none the less. Apparently we are going through the milder spell right now. (I hadnt noticed it myself) According to this BBC report though we are due for an even colder snap with temperatures in the South East hitting as low as -6 C which is blooming cold!!!

I'm just desperately looking forward to the spring now, where it'll be warm enough to go out the house again!! I expect our friends in Sweden, will laugh and say this isn't cold like they get. Which is true enough I guess, but for some reason us English are just never prepared enough for the variety of weather we get. Maybe thats the problem. Our climate is such that we need too much equipment to cope with the weather differences in a year. I was in a DIY shop on Tuesday and they were selling sledges for the kids to ride in the snow. Do I buy one, or don't I? Will the snow last long enough for us to try it out? Problem is even if we get snow now, we probably wont see anymore for about 10 years. By that time we'll need a new sledge as the old one has crumbled.

Oddly last night in bed I was thinking about things I can do when the weather is milder. Something my daughter has pestered me about for a couple of years now is to camp out in the garden one night with her, something my son and I did a while back. It'll be great having a feast in our tent and reading the Beano. I bet She'll want me to tell her stories too. So I must do that, along with thinking about other positive things to look forward to when it warms up AND stays dry for long enough.