England News/Georgia Weather

   

 

Hey! Do you all remember me writing about the discovery of King Richard III's bones being discovered in a car park in Leicester, England? Phillipa Langley wrote a book about her experiences in bringing this discovery about and it was made into a film, "The Lost King".   I have written about it on my blog; you may find one post just here.  (If you look at that one, there is a link to the post where I mentioned it before that one.)

Now, I have been reading all week about Richard Taylor, an employee of Leicester University.  who sued Steve Coogan, who was the writer and producer of the film "The Lost King".  The court ruled in Richard Taylor's favor, and Steve Coogan and his company must pay "substantial damages".  Mr.  Taylor objected to his portrayal in the film. Phillipa Langley was unable to attend any court proceedings due to ill health.  To me, this does not seem fair.  You may read the court ruling just here.

Even though Richard Taylor won in court, he was still not satisfied and felt that Steve Coogan owed him an apology. If you don't click on any other link here, I hope you will read the piece that Steve Coogan wrote in The Guardian. He will not apologize! I hope you can read the article just here.  It is so well written that I wanted to share that with you!

Oh, and in other news from England...as I was getting my thoughts together about this post, I see that Prince Andrew has been stripped of his titles and must move out of the royal residence and will henceforth be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.  

--------------------------------------------

Really do wish I could think properly to write this post today, but I am a bit under the weather.  Normally, it is warm and sunny in October, but it has rained all week and the temps so cool, it has felt like wintertime.  Gray skies all week with pouring rain, off and on. Why, I had to wear my gold sweatshirt to create my own sunshine! The sun peeped out for a few moments today and I could see the lovely yellow of the hickory tree in my yard! Never mind, we are promised sun tomorrow.

Look, the last of our summer veggies. If those green tomatoes don't ripen on the windowsill, they will become fried green tomatoes. You know I can make them.

These rain lilies bloom at the Monastery; these were just photographed last week or so. They come out after a rain. How I love flowers.

Take care, everyone.  Hope this post makes some sort of sense!

Peace, Love and Understanding

 

 

I wish we lived in a world where a person would find a butterfly with a broken wing and take it to an animal rescue center for help.  Oh wait, we do!  Hope you can see the video above!

I wish I could find a hidden treasure.  Guess what, I did!  I was going through some old CD's and saw one that I had never seen before.  Richard had gotten it years ago.  He either forgot to tell me about it or else, he did, and it was at Christmas time, and I was very busy. Whatever the reason, it was brand new to me. What a wonderful surprise it was to hear "Quality Street". a Christmas album from Nick Lowe. He is an English songwriter/musician/singer and even though the name sounded familiar, I had to look up some more of his music. (And yes, I do know Quality Street chocolates, you know I do!)

    "What's So Funny about Peace, Love and Understanding" 

This song was written by Nick Lowe, but Elvis Costello had a big hit with it in 1978/1979.  Now, I found a video of Nick Lowe singing it himself and it is just lovely.  (It seems like a totally different song when you hear it slowed down like this.)  I hope you can listen to this video also.

Thanks to all who left comments on my last post about the passing of John Lodge.  I mentioned in a reply to someone that so many left messages of how he personally connected with members of his audience, either from the stage or elsewhere.  Richard just met a friend today who said she saw him in concert in Atlanta a few years ago and John Lodge had spoken to her son. Unforgettable, of course! Upsetting when our heroes die, I didn't mention Robert Redford or Jane Goodall, but I was sad to hear of their passing also.  They were both nature and animal lovers and really, those two go hand in hand.  Great kindness links them all together, in my mind.

Pumpkins everywhere just now, ready for Halloween.  Richard took this photo last year in a local neighborhood. I don't think I shared it. Those jack o' lanterns would have terrified me as a kid. Not to mention Frankenstein and the skull at the door! Nowadays, I bet children just laugh at them. 

Take care and let me know if you can see those videos.

"Isn't Life Strange"- Keep the Faith (John Lodge)

 It is difficult to type this since my eyes are filled with tears. John Lodge passed away today unexpectedly.  He was an English songwriter and musician and if you don't know that he was the bass player with The Moody Blues, then I hope you will search out their music! We are huge Moody Blues fans. I have made the joke that if I had seen the Moody Blues in concert before Christopher was born, he would have been "Justin John", and I would have called him JJ.  (That is really not a joke, that would have happened!)

Richard and I saw them in concert several times when they were in Atlanta. (And each time, Christopher was with us!)  Richard saw Justin Hayward and John Lodge in England in 1975 when they performed as "The Blue Jays".) In 1981 when I first met Richard, he invited me to his home, and he proudly showed me the new Moody Blues album that he had just purchased. Now, let us pause here and remember great album covers, shall we?  This album was "Long Distance Voyager".  Isn't it lovely?  Wonderful songs too!

Fast forward to 2023...and Christopher gave Richard a John Lodge CD signed by John himself! ("The Moody Blues John Lodge- Days of Future Passed-My Sojourn".) A very special gift.

Richard got a poster when he went to the Blue Jays concert.... let's see if I can show it to you here....

When Christopher was five years old, we drove over to Birmingham, Alabama to see the Moody Blues perform.  (And John Lodge was also from Birmingham except he was from the one in England!) This concert was most memorable for me as John Lodge waved to ME! Here is my story:  We were on the second row in the balcony. There were two women in front of us, and they were waving and screaming at the band as soon as they got on stage.  Now, they were waving not just their hands but their arms in a very wild fashion. Knowing what English folks are like, I reasoned that if I waved my hand in a very small way that I might be noticed. Sure enough, John Lodge looked right at me and mimicked the exact wave back at me!  We had made friends with the couple sitting beside us and I said, "Look, he waved at us!". They said, "No, he waved to YOU".  There, that is a wonderful memory and reading just a few things on Facebook, that story is not unusual for John Lodge. 

John Lodge always ended concerts with these words, "Keep the faith"! He was a great bass player and singer, and his love of life and positive energy were always in evidence. Even though he is no longer with us, his music lives on forever. John had a stroke in 2023 but had recovered and was touring. I had just seen where he had scheduled new shows in California for December of this year.  After his stroke he had written a song "Love Will Conquer All".  I have it for you here.

 Peace, love and music!

Fear Nothing (Dreadnought)

 

September is slipping on by!

 Fear not, you now have a new blog post from me...

You will never guess what I just learned recently...you know I will tell you! Richard likes to look at guitars (after all he is an excellent guitarist, don't you know) and he was explaining the different kinds of guitars to me. One that he mentioned was a "dreadnought" guitar, which is an acoustic guitar that has a larger body and a squared shoulder shape with a strong bass. I looked it up!  It was first developed by C.F. Martin & Company in 1916. Now, here is the thing that really startled me - it is named after a British battleship.  It was the HMS Dreadnought, launched in 1906 that only used big guns and therefore, had a much larger shape. Looking further the word "dreadnought" had been around since the 17th century and it means "fear nothing".

 Just as a side note here, whenever we played Monopoly, I always wanted to be "the ship"! It was easy to hold onto, and I liked the idea of sailing around the board! My sister was always the dog, and my brother liked the car. Which one did you prefer? I think I read that they did away with the thimble. Shame, that is the one I got if someone else got the ship.

 I have a video (again) for you! Since I wrote my last post with the Turtles video, YouTube popped up with a video of the lead singer saying that they wrote "Eleanore" as a parody of "So Happy Together" just because the publishing company pressured them into making another hit.  I had no idea! Funny thing, even though it was written tongue in cheek, they are all so good, it DID become a huge hit for them. (Looking back, using the word "etcetera" is a bit cheeky but hey, I was just a kid in 1968, I thought it was just a really good song. We had the single and we played it over and over, along with "Hey Jude", which was also a big hit at the time.) I LOVE this video. The bandmember with the wild, wooly hair is Mark Volman, the one who just passed away recently. I love the wild abandon that he displays on the stage. It is fun to see! The lead singer, Howard Kaylen has such a great voice, and the drumming by John Barbata is spot-on, don't you think? (Sadly, only Howard Kaylen is still with us, the drummer died in 2024.) Remember when you watch the video, that this was performed LIVE and that just really shows you how great they were!

I found a short clip of "Who Do You Think You Are" with Richard Osman.  I urge you to look at YouTube and see the whole episode which is about an hour long. It is so good! You will thank me after you have watched it. (I wish I could meet his mother!)  Richard Osman is very successful as an author (you remember he has written "The Thursday Murder Club" books) but has been known in the UK for a long time as a popular TV Game show creator and host.  If you get the chance, search out the one called "Richard Osman's House of Games".  It is very well done, very funny and most entertaining. He is just so doggone nice! Watch him and see if you don't agree with me.  

Also, he has a new book that will be released this month, Sept. 30th in the USA.   It is "The Impossible Fortune". Note: The book was released on Sept. 25th in the UK. New book releases are on Tuesdays in the United States while they are released on Thursdays in the UK. See the things you learn from me?

September and that means, beautyberry! Those bright purple berries don't even look real, but they are. It is a native and even the leaves are gorgeous. It is also time for the "hearts a busting" to show the bright seeds for us... also a native!

                             Statue in middle of a roundabout in Old Town Conyers, Georgia.

I just looked at my blog title: "Fear Nothing (Dreadnought)". That is actually pretty good advice. Now, if only I can follow it myself...

Hope you are all doing well, my friends.  Take care. 

 

Happy Together/Penny Lane

 

It seems we are losing so many of our well-known songwriters/singers these days. Some are more well known than others. Mark Volman just died yesterday in Nashville at the age of 78.  May in rest in peace and love. You might not know the name, but he was one of the founding members of the Turtles.  One of their biggest hits was " Happy Together" from 1967.  I found a very good video of this song, and I hope you can see it above.  (It begins with the band in silhouette at the beginning and ends the same way.) Mark Volman is the one with the glasses and frizzy hair and to me, seems to be "the funny one". He plays around a bit when he is at the microphone with the lead singer, Howard Kaylen).  Reading about him, it seems that I am correct, he had a lot of joy in his work and life. (Also, look up the song "Eleanore". We had that single as kids in 1968 and almost wore it out!)

The Turtles were unusual at the time as they could not only write their own songs and play their own instruments, but they also covered other songs and made them into hit records. "Happy Together" had been rejected by so many that the demo was worn out and very scratchy.  The Turtles could hear the potential and decided to take a chance. Aren't we glad they did! It went to number one and knocked "Penny Lane" by the Beatles off the top of the charts. ("Penny Lane" only reached number two on the charts in the UK.  this is a fact that some Beatles fans still can't get over!)

"If I should call you up, invest a dime" refers to putting a thin dime into a pay phone in the 1960's.  I guess we will have to explain this to several generations now, but no one has to explain it to me, I remember this very well! 

Thinking of "Penny Lane", I must tell you that every time I see a fire truck on the road, I almost always sing, "He likes to keep his fire engine clean, it's a clean machine!" which of course, is from the song "Penny Lane"!   Americans say "fire trucks" but if you look on the side of the vehicle it will inform you that it is in fact ENGINE # 347 (or whatever number it is). So, now you know that we say fire trucks here but in the UK they call them fire engines.

Oh, I found the best video for you! It is Elvis Costello, and he is performing the song at the White House.  (Sir Paul McCartney is seated beside President Obama). You can feel the love and respect in this performance, I promise.

Now. "Happy Together".... listen to it.  You will either be singing along or tapping your foot, same thing for "Penny Lane".  They are both wonderful songs.

September is here!  I always have a spring in my step in September! I mustn't be too sprightly though; I might step on a butterfly! Watch out for butterflies and all living creatures.  Take care everyone.

August-All the World A Garden

 

Recently, just over 6 1/2 inches of rain fell in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It happened very quickly and took everyone by surprise.  There was a video of a woman being rescued from her car on I-24. (It was a young man who worked for a power company, and he was able to break the window and pull her to safety.) I hope you can see the video that I have for you above. This brought tears to my eyes. What a hero! (One of his co-workers handed him that heavy tool from their truck, he said afterward he will always carry a hammer in his vehicle now just for this purpose!)

If anyone remembers, our son and daughter-in-law live in Chattanooga and they are fine, but you know I always watch the news very carefully for that area!

The news of the floods and wildfires and now, an impending hurricane...there is always so much to watch out for! 

It has been so incredibly hot that it has been hard to think.  We try to get out as early as we can before the sun heats everything to the boiling point. (My brain included.) Still, it's good for the butterflies!

The first photo is on my zinnias which are in pots at my house and the second photo are of two butterflies on a butterfly bush at the Monastery. You know Richard took the Monastery one!

The Monastery gets so many visitors they are building a new block of restrooms. The thought and design behind this building is much appreciated. When we saw they were clearing trees, we asked what was coming, so that is how we know. If you don't know, ask! 

This isn't finished yet, but I just know it will be lovely and will look as if it has always been there. I love the arched doorways and the copper gutters and downspouts.  Can you tell that I am interested in architecture? It's true, I am! I am not that knowledgeable about it; I am never sure what things are called but I just know what I like. 

We just took care of a zebra finch for a dear friend. We just decided to bring the caged bird to our house to make it easier since we had her for almost two weeks. I called her "Beepy". If you have ever heard a zebra finch, you will know why! We love birds and we have put out fresh water for our wild birds so much, we told this caged bird that she was welcome at our "bird spa"! We have a bird clock that has bird calls on the hour and this little finch liked the 7 o'clock hour, that is the Carolina wren song. Maybe it was the loudest? Not sure, only that she responded the most to that one.

I think I have told you before that if you see a lot of blue at the bottom of the wing of the tiger swallowtail butterfly, it is a female. So- looking good, girl! 

We go for years without seeing any blooms on our night blooming cereus cactus, but this summer, we had a total of four flowers! As the name tells you, they only bloom at night, opening in full at about midnight and they begin to close as soon as the sun rises.  My Aunt Leona gave us this plant in 1994. Richard lugs it into the garage every single winter. (St. Richard!) 

As you can see, we haven't been away very much.  Still, I enjoy the adventures of others through my blog!  In my dreams, I have been to Yorkshire with Meike...From My Mental Library: Ripon 2025 - Day 8

And thanks to Bob, I am thinking and learning more of Scotland!  Alex and Bob`s Blue Sky Scotland: Levengrove Park and The Havoc Grasslands Walk.

And can you believe it, BOTH of these bloggers made a reference to "The Secret Garden", one of my favorite books.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  If you have not read it, do so, right away. You're welcome. 

"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden".

There Will Be Butterflies (And Beatles and Bee Gees!)

 

Happy August to all my friends! 

I hope you are able to see the video that I have above for you! It is a clip of The Bee Gees from a TV show called "The Midnight Special" that used to come on very late at night (or early hours of the morning, technically.) This was from 1973.  The Bee Gees had had a bit of a slump in their career, so they decided to perform these songs by the Beatles. Of course, they are wonderful!  Enjoy.

Red Admiral Butterfly!   (Vanessa Atalanta)

 It is a medium sized butterfly with black wings, red bands and white spots. The first time that we saw this butterfly, Richard identified it immediately. It is also in England! Why is it called "Admiral"?  The word just became that over the years; it was really called the Red "Admirable"! Language is interesting that way. Now, whenever you meet up with this butterfly, you should look at it and think, you certainly are deserving of admiration.  (Hard to get a photo of it, it was a very fast flier.)

Viceroy Butterfly (Limenitis Archippus). 

It is a North American butterfly, and it is a mimic of the Monarch butterfly.  Many say that it is hard to tell them apart, but I will tell you how to do so.  The Viceroy is about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches in size and the Monarch is 3 1/2 to 5 inches.  So, the Monarch is much bigger! Now, if the butterfly opens its wings, look for that black line across the bottom of the wings. See it in the photo above? That is certainly a Viceroy! (The Monarch does not have this.)

The above small brown butterfly might not seem very colorful or exciting, but we were so pleased to see it! We had never seen it before, and it took a while to identify it. (Richard did so from our book, "Butterflies of North America".  We do a lot of searches on our computer but sometimes, it is just good to thumb through a book.) It is a Northern Pearly Eye butterfly! (Lethe Anthedon) Pearly eyes are grouped under "Pearly-eyes and Browns".  All pearly eyes and browns are brown, medium sized butterflies.  Pearly eyes have the hindwing spots surrounded as a group with white. Browns have a white circle around EACH eye-spot.  Okay, got that now?  Tee hee, you do not want to know how long I studied Richard's photo and the photos in my book and online.  Really, you don't! The pearly eye caterpillar feeds on canes and other grasses and I was pleased to recognize the river cane under the bridge on the trail, very close to this butterfly! (Thank you, Phil who told us about river cane on a hike at Panola Mountain State Park one time.  I ♥ park rangers!)

We also saw a Red Spotted Purple butterfly on this trail. 

(Limenitis Arthemis)

Just to confuse us, it has beautiful blue wings with orange spots!  

All of these butterflies are unlikely to be in your garden. All pictured here were in a wetlands area, near a little stream on the trail at Johnson Park, here in Rockdale County, Georgia.   This particular part of the trail is next to a big stand of trees.  They do not feed on nectar from flowers but rather from tree sap, rotting fruit and even animal dung. 

I was going to end my post just there but how can I end it on "animal dung"?  No, I will tell you about the butterflies that visit us that do eat the nectar from flowers but that will have to wait until another post.  All the flower loving butterflies like the Gulf Fritillary above have really enjoyed the zinnias in our garden. I am so very happy to tell you that I planted them from seed! I want to tell the world, "plant zinnia seeds!".  There, let me say again, "plant zinnia seeds" and the butterflies will come, I promise. 

Butterflies  = happiness!