tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154725292009-12-05T21:53:16.637ZThe diary of an oldie who refuses to go quietlyJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.comBlogger381125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-38063099141243085862009-12-04T09:04:00.011Z2009-12-04T17:50:31.288Z

.Martha Lane Fox, Government Champion for Digital Inclusion, is quoted today as saying that the government should make its services such as Council Tax payments, TV licensing and so on, only available on line, to force people to use the internet. The argument is that it would save millions of pounds if these transactions could all be conducted on line.I read this in the Digital Unite blog as I

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-7478400691746549302009-12-02T13:25:00.004Z2009-12-02T13:42:02.737Z

.When I agreed to lead a group to set up a new website, I set up a special mailbox in which I keep all email correspondence about the website. At this very moment I have noticed that, since the first mail in January asking me if I would take it on, there have been 1000 emails passing into and out of my computer on this topic. Did I say busy?!

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-37010100065197992252009-12-02T09:01:00.008Z2009-12-02T10:24:05.262Z

.Somebody else must be writing my blog. I have absolutely no recollection of actually writing the last three. I remember thinking about them - thinking that I must get on and write them before they get out of date....... Oh well, at least that makes it easier for me to pick up now, since I don't have to start at the beginning again.First, an up-date on scones. By about the fourth attempt I had

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-67282994544193391412009-10-15T08:32:00.008+01:002009-10-16T08:53:47.867+01:00

. Today is Blog Action Day. Apparently this happens every year on October 15th, when bloggers are encouraged to blog in unison on some important issue which we feel is not getting the creative attention it needs. I have not done this before, but now that I know about it I think it is worth doing. This year it is about CLIMATE CHANGE.I have no special angle on climate change. Like most people, I

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-4803272619653742372009-10-15T07:47:00.007+01:002009-10-15T08:31:12.124+01:00

.From The Aga Recipe Book for 2 oven Aga Cookers [no publication date but purchased in 1960]SCONESRecipe8 ozs. plain flour1/2-1 oz. butter1/4 pt. milk (sour if possible)1 teaspoon cream of tartar(1/2 teaspoon if sour milk used)1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda1/2 teaspoon salt.METHODSift together the dry ingredients. Rub in the butter and mix quickly with the liquid. Turn on to a floured board.

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-77768011263659706612009-10-14T18:05:00.006+01:002009-10-14T20:02:03.182+01:00

~I baked some scones on Sunday. Now that might not seem like anything special to you, Gentle Readers, but those who know me well will be in wonderment at such an event. I do not bake - indeed, these days, I scarcely even cook. I did succeed in feeding my family reasonably well when they were at home, but I never did any baking. I was enabled to take this stance, on arrival in our first home, by

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-22277672941425118892009-10-02T21:19:00.006+01:002009-10-02T21:35:43.670+01:00

.Strange what bits of information will strike you in the course of listening to the news. A few days ago in one bulletin, I learned that I am six years older than the London Lost Property Office, and eight years older than Pinewood Studios.I only managed to get 354 days start on Mickey Mouse, however, who was created by Walt Disney in 1928, and whose birthday is celebrated on the 18th November,

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-64996924682502134622009-10-02T20:42:00.009+01:002009-12-04T10:01:02.368Z

I have just discovered this draft in my edits, dating from the beginning of October, so I have finished it off and published.I was so absorbed in what I was doing on the computer today, that I nearly made a cup of 'tea' out of a sachet of laxative powder, instead of a teabag! Oh my! what on earth could I have been doing that would distract me to that pitch? Well, I have been playing with

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-60101802247601941322009-09-12T20:02:00.005+01:002009-09-13T17:42:51.163+01:00

~I promised to write here about what had been keeping me away from blogging for a good while before I went away. I write often about Growing Old Disgracefully, the network for older women to which I belong, and it is working on a job for them that has kept me busy.We used to have a website for a number of years, a simple brochure on line set up by one of our members, but we ran into problems and

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-88868498903357270802009-09-12T19:54:00.006+01:002009-09-12T20:02:33.621+01:00

~Ah yes, "talking of beautiful young men...."In Betty's one of the waiters was an exquisite child of no more than 14 or 15 I would say; straight and supple and blond and perfect of feature, he seemed to carry himself like a ballet dancer -calm, poised, never ruffled. I could not stop watching him.Indeed, I could almost have wished to be Oscar Wilde.

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-22919677607097743282009-09-09T14:14:00.006+01:002009-09-12T19:54:27.503+01:00

~Talking of beautiful young men ..... but I'd better begin at the beginning.The reason I have not jumped into print here immediately on my return from Harrogate, is that I managed to do something so perversely idiotic that I was pretty much prostrate for nearly a week after getting home.Our Growing Old Disgracefully annual get-togethers are so arranged as to give us at least one free afternoon

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-9440381497910497162009-09-06T09:14:00.003+01:002009-09-06T11:53:09.088+01:00

I watched 'The Beatles: on Record' last night (BBC2). Oh my god! how they turned my heart over. I think they were the first pop group I took any real notice of. I had three sons under 5 when they made their first album in 1963, so I didn't have much attention to spare for such things, except when washing or ironing in the kitchen with the wireless on (or was it already called 'the radio' in those

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-67601950277072687992009-08-23T19:51:00.004+01:002009-08-23T20:09:32.892+01:00

..... and now I'm just about to go away. Leaving tomorrow, Monday 24th August, for four days in Harrogate. It is the annual get-together of the disgraceful dames of the Growing Old Disgracefully Network. When I get back I will write about what's been keeping me away from blogging for a while. Who amongst my readers is old enough to remember polyphotos? They were taken by a live photographer

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-38814880006063728622009-07-24T16:26:00.013+01:002009-07-28T20:57:22.752+01:00

Are you one of those people who always seems to miss the really funny moment, or the moment when someone gets egg on their face, and you wish you had been there? I always reckon that I am one of those, but today I caught the moment on my PC screen.Last November I wrote about Christmas catalogue shopping, and posted this picture of actor Sacha Baron Cohen, not so much in admiration as in

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-82109509239525494972009-07-21T15:18:00.001+01:002009-07-21T15:18:07.415+01:00

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-32358305198308944942009-07-21T15:08:00.007+01:002009-07-21T16:20:34.117+01:00

I'm in the doldrums again. The winds of inspiration are not filling the sails of my mind, and I am creatively becalmed. I was looking through MyPictures for a shot worth sharing to get me started again, but I could find nothing worthwhile that I've not used before. Then a friend sent me the link to the One & Other live cam transmission of this crazy English expression of 'live art' on the empty

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-71979368258410639872009-07-04T17:41:00.008+01:002009-07-06T08:46:53.570+01:00

~... they sap my energy, fuddle my wits and make my feet hurt. My policy is to stay indoors, close curtains and shutters, open windows and doors, put on all of my three fans, and drink lots and lots of water. And it goes without saying ..... DO NOTHING!The media don't help with their constant warnings to those who are most at risk: the elderly - ME; those with chronic health problems - ME; those

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-57234889390095998672009-06-18T06:49:00.010+01:002009-06-18T07:16:45.851+01:00

I am trying out three different translators at the moment.No 1, Yahoo's Babelfish, has a drop-down list and seems efficient, but only has 12 languages. This one is available with flags as an alternative.No 2, by Google Translate, has flags and 24 languages, and also seems efficient. And it has the advantage of offering a floater (or whatever they are called) with the original text, to read

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-10149273057176455542009-06-05T08:44:00.008+01:002009-06-05T11:40:26.344+01:00

A year or two ago my lovely son who keeps me and my computer living happily together, did some additional sorting out for me, and transferred my energy and telephone accounts to companies who would charge me less. At the same time I opted for on-line billing, because it seemed a good idea to save some paper, and for paying by direct debit.I don't think this has been altogether a good thing. The

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-39367432589995543902009-06-03T18:11:00.004+01:002009-06-03T19:20:04.011+01:00

~Governor representatives in my Education Authority had a very long-running lobby for improving the clerking arrangements for governing bodies, beginning in 1988 as part of an Education Committee review of the clerking service. They campaigned not only for individual clerks for individual governing bodies, but also for their proper training and support. As so often happens when those fighting

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-71244060406043738912009-06-03T10:00:00.009+01:002009-06-03T18:08:27.905+01:00

~Back in 1991, the secondary school of which I was a governor gave a concert, called 'Music Galore', performed by staff, parents and ex-students. Some talented person adorned the programme with this lively cartoon - it was not, however, captioned in the original.When I got it home the temptation proved too much for me, and I set about identifying each of the characters performing before the

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-81665273019130504462009-05-20T18:55:00.011+01:002009-05-21T08:25:00.215+01:00

~It happens more and more as I get older. I don't know whether it is increasing age or living alone that brings it on, or a combination of both, but I do it all the time at home. It's nice to have the sound of a voice, and sometimes I need to encourage, or possibly discourage myself in what I am doing, or even ask myself what the hell it is I think I am doing!On the whole I try not to do it when

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-20780634202712040062009-05-17T11:46:00.004+01:002009-05-17T12:14:09.307+01:00

~Ten years ago, at one of our Growing Old Disgracefully gatherings, we did a writing workshop. We were asked - or rather challenged - to write a poem to someone we know well, and to liken that person to:a coloura kind of weathera time of day or yeara sounda form of transporta kitchen implementsomething eatablean animala speed We were given about 15 minutes to complete the task. In such

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-50839993958740640292009-05-16T09:11:00.002+01:002009-06-04T12:17:46.792+01:00

.So what other delights came my way during my northerly tour?Firstly ~ daffodils :: drifts and swathes and gusts of daffodils everywhere - hardly a stretch of road without them it seemed, in gardens, in fields and on roadsides. My Australian family were particularly delighted with these. Secondly ~ lambs :: I had not seen any before we left, but they seemed to be in almost every field as we drove

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15472529.post-874953193073971172009-05-10T08:33:00.019+01:002009-05-19T11:54:01.332+01:00

.We visited two castles in the ten days I was on Deeside, and I almost made it to a third.Balmoral CastleHere you can only go in to the old ballroom, where there is an exhibition, but there are extensive grounds to be visited, including The Queen's kitchen gardens in season, and more exhibitions in the stabling behind the gatehouse, not to mention a substantial cafe and gift shop. The Queen also

Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07056868850692279739judithtaylo@gmail.com1