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The House Where I Was Born V |
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Written by derek smith
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Wednesday, 14 October 2009 23:36 |
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The house had an outside toilet this was at the end of an extension that also housed the laundry (complete with boiler and mangle) and the coalhole. The coalhole was a small room where the coalman would dump sacks of coal having carried them from his lorry all the way up the long entryway. There was a small garden that during WWII was dug up to fit the Anderson bomb shelter. Nothing grew well in the garden when I knew it. My grandmother claimed the Germans ruined her garden/vegie plot. The Widow Mrs Jones’ house next door was a mirror image except for the parrot. His large cage was hooked to the wall outside their toilet. He was an African parrot, grey with a red chest. His provenance was unknown to me perhaps the mysterious Mr Jones had been a merchant seaman. He was also very vicious and squawked at me each time I passed fortunately on the other side of the wall. At night he hung inside the loo providing companionship of sorts while you were in there provided, of course, you didn’t poke your fingers through the cage bars. |
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The House Where I Was Born IV |
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Written by derek smith
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Friday, 09 October 2009 00:50 |
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One of my very earliest memories is of Spinney Hill Park in Highfields, Leicester. I was 5 years old and attending Sunday School for the first time. Resplendent in new shiny shoes I was collected by two older cousins for the walk to church. The walk from Clipstone street passed by the top of the park. On the way home from church my cousins detoured to play in the park. There is a brook that runs through the park and I decided to wade through it. I cannot remember if this was my decision or my cousins persuaded me that it was a good idea. Arriving home in soaked socks and ruined shoes my mother was not pleased to say the least. I was stripped of shoes and socks then sent to my room, my cousins were sent packing. Later, my father administered my first spanking. He always did this though I was spanked rarely my mother being judge and jury but punishment always waited ‘until your father gets home’. This memory returned recently when I listened to the Highfields Recollections of Mrs Sandy Coleman. Her sister had a remarkably similar ‘accident’ though I think hers was a little more deliberate. You can listen to her story about life in the 50s here (the park story is towards the end of the first audio recording): http://highfields.dmu.ac.uk/audio/audio.html |
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Written by derek smith
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Tuesday, 13 October 2009 00:52 |
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A Little Good News, Today. 
French Doctors made the claim that red wine was good for you in the 90s. The claim is based on the 'French Paradox' eating fatty foods balanced by the daily consumption of wine to remain helathy. Early in the 3rd millenium several lucky scientists began testing this theory. They found that red wine is rich in anti-oxidants, and the most important of these is resveratrol. It keeps your arteries clear of plaque therefore reducing the risk of heart disease. Tests have also confirmed the affect even on dementia; people who drank wine weekly or monthly were more than two times less likely to develop dementia. Of course red wine is not the only source of anti-oxidants: hot cocoa, the popular winter beverage contains more antioxidants per cup than a similar serving of red wine or tea and may be a healthier choice. All the researchers warn against excessive drinking and they come from all over the world: Sydney, London, Harvard, Cornell and Copenhagen. Now, in the interests of vested interest I enjoy the occasional tipple of red and never drink cocoa. I was overjoyed when the research results began to emerge. My point is though how do find a job in red wine research, do they take volunteers, give you the vino for free, do they pay you (surely not!)? I would like to find a job like that, wouldn’t you? |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 10:34 |
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Vooks, No Not Books - Vooks |
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Written by derek smith
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Tuesday, 06 October 2009 00:35 |
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It would be a very brave act to predict the demise of the printed book although its electronic successor has hardly set the world on fire. For most Gen X & Y’s the book they were forced to read in school was their last. The visual and interactive media have so much more appeal. So, here comes a new form of book. The ‘Vook’ inserts videos into electronic text and can be viewed on iphones and ipods. The vook opens up new avenues of information flow. One on fitness has videos showing how to do the exercises, others have clips that make the story line look like a newscast. Romance writers are already showing interest in the vooks (for obvious reasons). The next move would be to add music just as they do for TV and movies. Some authors are sceptical of the vook saying that reading pure text grows the mind and is not just entertainment. There is of course the long held view that TV makes us dumber and we make TV dumb down. This comes back to how you use your media: to relax and therefore you don’t want to have make notes to understand the book (or the vook) or to learn and inform. In the later you want as much information as you can absorb. Multi-media presentation will always be more interesting provided, as always, the subject matter itself is entertaining and/or informative. But boring will always put the audience to sleep. |
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