Snow Business

Frozen Britain taken by Nasa's Terra satellite on 7 January 2010

Snow is not a usual feature of Britain's winters. Sure, it can be found in the Highlands of Scotland and on the peaks in Wales and Northern England, and we have the occasional flurry which may hang around for a day or two, but nothing like this. This is snow that means business. It's several inches thick and it's here to stay at least for the time being. The big kid in me loves the snow even if it made it a little more inconvenient to go to work at first. What I can't stand is the perpetual whining from the majority of my fellow countrymen. I continually hear the chorus of 'Someone should do something about this'. Indeed, the Government should legislate against winter and ban the snow, except in areas where it is pretty and can be used to make snowmen, no?

Tintern in the snow

The shelves in many supermarkets have been stripped bare from panic buyers. There is no salt or kitty litter to be had as people are using to grit their paths, something they say, the council should be responsible for. The call for more cat litter and salt is putting additional demands on an already strained supply chain trying to cope with the panic buying of food. Hello?! Your home is your own responsibility and if we all go out there are cleared our drives and the path in front of our homes then these would be clear! This is all symptomatic of how the welfare state has enfeebled the country. Meanwhile, the same people whining about not being able to go to work are outside playing in the snow and building snowmen rather than going to work. If you travel a few miles to a hill to slide down it on a tea tray then you sure as hell can get to work. Not exactly the blitz spirit that our grandparents would recognise.

Tintern Abbey

Having been in work all week, I took the weekend as an opportunity to go out and see the snow and get some fresh (and freezing) air. I ventured over to Tintern to photograph the Abbey in the snow. The clouds were threatening more snow, but the sun kept breaking through to reveal a blue sky and make the snow glisten.


After a while my hands were so cold that I needed to get warm. We decided to retire to a local hostelry to thaw out and for sustenance. The Anchor, was beautifully warm and cosy inside. I had the most delicious burger I have ever tasted and soon felt the feeling come back to my numb fingers and cold cheeks.


Tintern is among the earliest of Cistercian settlements in Wales and was founded in 1131 by monks sent directly from Normandy at the behest of Walter fitz Richard de Clare, the Earl of Chepstow, on the banks of the river Wye. Tintern, as with all monastic institutions, was suppressed by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, between 1536/9. The nearby Anchor Inn was probably the abbey's watergate and a 13th century arch links it with the slipway.


The Abbey is situated on the River Wye in Monmouthshire and the ruins have inspired the Wordsworth poem "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" and Tennysons's poem "Tears, Idle Tears" and more than one painting by Turner. It also featured in Prince of Thieves and in the video for Iron Maiden's "Can I Play With Madness".


Once we had warmed up,we ventured out again and walked along the river before heading back along the main road towards the Abbey again and the warmth of the car. It was cold, but beautiful and although we saw a few other stalwart souls, the place was quiet and still in the blanket of snow.

Hats off...to me

verb /gradyooayt/ 1 successfully complete a degree, course, or (N. Amer.) high school. 2. (graduate to) move up to (something more advanced). 3 arrange or mark out in gradations. 4 change gradually.

Friday 29th May 2009 was the date of my graduation ceremony for my Masters degree. It symbolically marked the end of a journey that took me 5 years to complete, but I did it, against what seemed like insurmountable odds at times. Sitting in the vast hall, shoulder to shoulder with fellow graduates of the Open University in my light blue robe and gold and blue hood I allowed myself to feel proud of my achievement. I had done it. I had gained my MBA and here I was having it bestowed on me.


I posted the definition of graduate at the top of this post and for me three of the definitions are pertinent. My MBA has precipitated great change in my working life with two promotions over the past five years so I have moved up to new challenges equipped with the skills of my course. I have also seen gradual change in myself. I am much less naive than I used to be, both professionally and personally and some of this is due to the opportunities that have opened up because of my studies and some of it is due to personal experiences over the same period that are intrinsically interwoven with my studies, such was the commitment to it over the years.

The ceremony took place at Cheltenham Town Hall, which has a wonderful marble pillared hall with balconies on three sides and a stage at one end. On arrival I collected my robe and had the obligatory photo session and then we set off into town, down the promenade to take my parents to lunch. On the way I spied many other robed students, most in dark blue robes denoting it was their first degree, while a few were also in the light blue which denoted a Masters degree. We found a nice little Italian restaurant and I enjoyed a nice pasta dish that fused Italian pasta with Chinese duck in plum sauce and it was very tasty. Afterwards we took a leisurely stroll back for the ceremony.

The ceremony itself consisted of the usual speeches and presentation of the graduates but the tone was set for an enjoyable afternoon with a band on the balcony that played hits from shows such as Oklahoma. It sounds cheesy, but the tunes were upbeat, the air in the hall was alive with the spirits of people who knew they had earned the right to be there, and with the pride of those that had come to support them. The combination of all these made for a very pleasant afternoon which was rounded off by a glass of sparkling wine. It was a fitting end to five years of blood, sweat and tears and I had a great time.

To market, to market...

Market Wares ~ All Photos Courtesy of the TORM Website

The weekend came at last after the longest week. It has been very subdued in the office since the death of 'C'. On Friday I signed the book of condolence which will be given to his parents. I hope it brings them some comfort in time to know how much his friends at work truly liked and appreciated him.

Nevertheless, I was glad when the weekend arrived and I could take some time away from the office. I was very much in need of some R&R and so we headed to a market. Not just any old market but The Original Re-enators Market or TORM.

TORM is a twice yearly event where traders from all over the UK and parts of Europe gather to sell their items to historical re-enactors and other interested people, like me. Myself, M and his brother went as there are usually armourers there and it's a handy place to see, handle and perhaps purchase new weapons and armour for our Historical European Martial Arts Club.

The market is quite a time travel experience. as you meander from stall to stall you pass Vikings, WWI memorabilia and all periods in between. All the items for sale are made traditionally. There is glassware, pottery, leather goods, jewellery, armour and weapons, woodwork, furs, musical instruments and even food! I treated myself to some very nice fudge.


We bought a couple of bucklers (small shields) for the club and I also bought a gorgeous pendant made from silver with a green and orange tear drop stone set in it. We also bumped into a few people we know from other clubs and from our own and whiled away a few hours before heading home. All in all, it was a good day. Just what the doctor ordered.

New Year Freeze

New Years Day was cold. Very cold. However, a hazy sun was making a valiant attempt to break though the cloud and through a little warmth our way so we decided to go for a walk. We settled on climbing up the Sugar Loaf Mountain near Abergavenny in Wales and so off we set. The Sugar Loaf isn't particularly big, being a mere 598 metrs high but is a popular destination for hill walkers.


As we neared Abergavenny the sun became fainter and we noticed that the frost was thicker on the ground and the freezing fog grew thicker. Unperturbed we carried on as we had stout hiking boots, thick warm sock, warm coats, hats and gloves and so we set off from the car.


The Sugarloaf is a gentle walk at first, starting out flat and rising in 2 stages. The first two being more gentle than the last rocky ascent to the summit. We thought we might see few other people but there were quite a few folks as mad as us, out for a climb and to wear away the excesses of Christmas. It wasn't long before our cheeks and noses started to go numb and I was glad of our warm gear. When we reached the top, the view was simply fog and the rocky hillside that sloped away from us into foggy nothingness. By now my hair had frozen and my jacket was also covered in frost. I didn't care though. I was thrilled to have reached the top but didn't linger long before starting to descend. It was too cold!


Everywhere around me was frozen and beautiful and as it wasn't snow, everything still kept it's form. I had my mobile phone with me and couldn't resist taking a few photos. As we descended it got colder as the sun (out there somewhere) started to finish it's own trek across the sky and the light became weaker. We got back to the car park in good time and never, have I been more in need of a hot drink. I literally needed to defrost! We went home pleased with our days exertions where I made hot chocolate and appreciated the comfy sofa more than ever.

Good Knight

Jousting Display ~ Templecombe Medieaval Fayre, June 2008

The Templecombe Medieaval Fayre was an eclectic event with sword combat, a re-enacted battle, stalls, falconry, belly dancing and jousting. I have previously posted about the belly dancing *here* and the battle *here*. The jousting was a very professional show, combining horsemanship, traditional jousting and combat skills with comedy. As ever there was a 'good' knight and there was a 'bad' knight who coveted the prize of the crown at any cost and received many a 'boo' from the crowd of spectators.

The knights completed many tests including jousting, spearing items on the ground from horseback, hitting targets and armed combat. Of course the 'bad' knight tried to cheat to secure the crown but in the end of course he didn't win it.

I am off for a few days to Edinburgh taking a well earned break so I won't be around in blogland this week to visit. I just finished my last job and it was a mad rush to get everything finished before I left so I need a rest! I am looking forward to Edinburgh very much as it looks like a beautiful city.

While I am away I am leaving the photo above for your consideration. It is one of those photo's that I have taken that is begging for a caption, so go ahead and use your imagination! The competition will run while I am away and I will pick a winner on my return next Saturday (which also happens to be my birthday). The winner will get a pretty postcard, handwritten from me and sent via snail mail (so note, if you win you'll need to send me an address to receive your prize). So get inventive and get captioning and good luck :) I'll see you all when I get back!

Divas of Dance

Desert Divas ~ Templecombe Mediaeval Fayre, June 2008

I have a confession to make. When it comes to dancing I'm no disco diva. I can move to the music and I can even keep off toes (mine and others) but I just can't make my body go where I want it to. I also went to an all girls school and when we did dancing I always got to lead which causes problems as an adult woman as I'm not so good at the following. All in all I am much happier watching and in the case of belly dancing, I feel something akin to relief that I don't have to participate. So it was a guilt free Bobkat that watched the Desert Divas put on a belly dancing display at Templecombe Mediaeval Fayre a couple of weekends ago.


Now, I haven't the first idea about what constitutes good belly dancing but the women seemed to enjoy themselves, the crowd were appreciative and as far as I was concerned they made great photographic subjects as they were colourful and provided interesting forms as they moved.


While belly dancing certainly wasn't practised in mediaeval Britain it dates back to ancient times in the East and was practised as a form of folk dance across areas in the Middle East. It was only at the end of the 19th century that Raqs Sharqi to give it it's proper name became known as 'belly dancing' and in fact the dance involves using the whole of the body to express the emotion the dancer is experiencing from the music.


I watched one of the dances and decided that rather than capture photos of the scene in front of me, I wanted to focus on the colourful costumes, the body forms and the impression of movement in some of the shots through the fluid movement of the fabrics. While belly dancing was unexpected at such an event which was other wise full of swords fighting, jousting, battles, the swirl of fabric and the rhythmic music did provide a colourful break from the clink and clang of metal armour and swords and kept me and my camera occupied.

I have posted some of my favourite photos of the dancers on my photoblog and it is likely that one or two more will be posted soon so do pop over and take a look :) Just follow the link on the picture in my side bar which shows the most recent photo to be posted or click *here*.

Battle at Templecombe

Medieaval Re-enactors ~ Templecombe Medieaval Fayre, June 2008

The first weekend in June I went to Templecombe Medieaval Fayre in Somerset. This is an annual event, organised by a couple of re-enactment groups in the South West of England a.k.a. bunch of otherwise seemingly normal folk who like to dress up at weekends and hit each other as per the days of yore. The day forecast rain and sunny intervals but we Brits are used to such meteorological turbulence and headed out anyway. When we got to the event the field was pretty muddy but other than being a bit overcast we were pretty lucky with the rain.


It was a fairly modest event but I have to say it was one of the better organised I have been to. There were a number of things to do and see including stalls selling, clothing, jewellery, archery kit, wooden items etc., there were places to eat and drink (and get real Somerset cider which is nothing like the stuff known as cider in the US!), there was falconry, jousting and belly dancing as well of course sword combat and a battle!


The battle was very entertaining and everyone who took part put on a good show for the audience. The organisers had built a wooden castle at one of the battle field which was defended valiantly by the Lord and his retainers. The Lord had rebelled against paying taxes and so the King had sent a loyal Lord of the Court to bring the rebellious Lord back into line.
A big battle ensued complete with canon where the defenders were driven back into the safety of their castle. Eventually a truce was called and Knights from both sides fought each other to try and determine the outcome. This ended in a draw and so the defenders pledged to give the women and children safe passage before a siege developed. However, the attackers started to slaughter them and this resulted in a big end battle where many a valiant Knight was slain.



Re-enactment events like this are not just fun however. This one was a small local effort raising money for charity, but they are also importnat in that they expose the public, and children in particular to history. Of course I had my camera with me and despite the crowd of people in front of me I managed to get a few decent shots you see here. I think the smoke from the canons and the moody weather just added to the atmosphere of the photos. I will post some more pics soon of the belly dancers but meanwhile I posted one recently on my photoblog which you can view *here*.

See! Turtles!

With a long bank holiday weekend ahead of me, it seemed the perfect opportunity for a day out somewhere. I have always loved animals and I love photography so I wanted to combine these in my day out. We decided on the Birmingham Sea Life Centre and so off we set. I have always found aquariums to be relaxing places, despite the throngs of people clamouring around the tanks. As I watch the fish effortlessly glide past I lose myself in their underwater world and everyone around me slides into the background. The only thing that can break this is the shrill screech of a young child who isn't getting their way or actually being jostled. I was prepared for all this and we got there early to beat the crowds. I had fun taking photos of the fish and managed to get a few nice photos, a couple of which I have posted on my photo blog.

There were fish from all all sorts of watery habitats but the thing that entranced me the most was the sea turtles. The two turtles were rescued as hatchlings and were called Molokai and Gulliver and were housed in a giant tank with one of those amazing tubes you can walk through. They seemed just as interested in checking out the curious visitors as we were about them and cruised by in lazy circuits surrounded by bejewelled fish of all sizes. Sea turtles have been on the earth since the dinosaurs were around but as ever, hunting them and adverse effects on the habitats and hatching grounds has meant that many species are endangered. I find that so sad so I'm putting my money where my mouth is and adopting a turtle through the Marine Conservation Society. It was a wonderful to see the turtles at the aquarium, who essentially act as ambassadors for their species. My friend took a couple of short videos on his mobile phone which I have posted here. Enjoy!

When in Rome

Ermine Street Guard - April 2008

It's not often you get to see so many bare legs since the demise of the British Seaside knobbly knees contests , but at the Gloucester Historical Fair they were on parade! The Ermine Street Guard, a Roman re-enactment company were taking part in the fair along with Vikings, Medieval, Civil War and World War re-enactment groups.


Gloucester is an old Roman town and when the Romans built their wall around the settlement (remains of which can still be seen today) they called it Glevum. When I first spied them, they were camped next to the cathedral, going about everyday tasks and due to the cold, chilly and grey April day, trying to keep warm! Later on, I was at the dockside where most of the World War re-enactors were situated and I turned to see the Romans marching towards me. It seemed like a second invasion as they marched with purpose to the sound of a large circular horn which was being blown by one of the soldiers and heralded their arrival. They then proceeded to the parade ground and put on a most convincing demonstration of Roman drill and fighting.


Last weekend I posted the image above. I had been taking a few photos of the Romans at their campsite and this shot made me laugh as I later reviewed the shots. It seemed perfect for a caption competition so that is what I did. It had a great response with many witty, amusing, imaginative and downright funny captions. A big thank you to everyone that took part. I was surprised to find there were no Monty Pythonesque jokes about 'Biggus Dickus' and the best I could come up with was 'Is that your spartha or are you just pleased to see me?".

It was difficult to choose a winner so I didn't just choose one. There are three winners who will all receive postcards from me:

Neptharia for: "I *told* you to go before we left Rome!" and
Panthergirl with: "Jimmy Choo sandals??? Drop and give me 20!" and
R. Sherman for: "Local 'Men In Skirts' Dancers Finalize Preparations For Musical Homage To Edward II's Alleged Poofiness Outside Gloucester Cathedral."

These ones just appealed to my sense of humour the most. Winners, if you would like to receive your postcard then please send your postal address to my email (link on my profile page). Honourable mention goes to everyone else who entered and their captions can be viewed *here*. Thank you again to everyone who had a go and for visiting me!

What's going on here?

The Ermine Street Guard ~ Gloucester Historical Fair April 2008

On a grey April day I went to the Gloucester Historical Fair. This was a huge event held over the whole weekend throughout the city and in the cathedral grounds and docks. Vikings rubbed shoulders with Romans who camped next to Medieval folk who went about their business as soldiers from both World Wars marched by. It was an incongruous sight.

I enjoy these historical events having an interest in history and traditional western martial arts. They are also wonderful places to take photographs and this event was no exception and provided rich pickings despite the inclement and chilly weather. I will post more about this soon but first a little competition. I noticed this shot when I got home and was reviewing the days photos on my computer. I had set up near a group of Romans and was taking quite a few shots as the soldiers went about their business and so didn't notice the exact poses I had captured until I downloaded the pics. When I saw this one it made me laugh.

A competition is a first for Bobkat's House and there is a prize, albeit a modest one. The winner for the most imaginative, witty, apt caption as judged by moi, will receive a colourful postcard, handwritten with greetings from yours truly (which will mean emailing me your address if you win). Please leave as many captions as you like. Meanwhile (in the interests of shameless self promotion), come and visit my new photo blog. The link is now in my side bar but you can also visit by clicking *here*. Encouragement from folk like you really gives me a boost so do stop by if you can. Thanks :)

If you are here for Wordless Wednesday you'll find it on my photo blog. Just follow the link in the side bar and thanks for dropping by!

Some well earned fresh air

There is a part of me that thought that once my MBA studies were over I would have more time to catch up on things like blogging. How naive! All that has happened this week is that work has taken up practically all my awake time instead. It appears that nature isn't the only thing that abhors a vacuum! It's just as well then, that last weekend I managed to find time to take a walk along the coastline in Llantwit Major, near Cardiff in South Wales.


The walk started in a small car park near a pebble beach where the cliffs climbed either side. I was keen to move on so we climbed the path up the cliffs and were met by a strong wind which clearly was trying to blow us back down again. Undeterred we soldiered on at a 45 degree angle until the wind dropped suddenly and nearly dropped us on our faces. Very funny. From the top of the cliff we could clearly see the striated rock which seems to be made up of thick sedimentary layers (though I'm no geologist).


We also frequently came across many small pill boxes - old look out posts left over from the wars that sometimes also housed machine guns. From the positioning of these though, it is likely that they were placed on the cliff tops overlooking the estuary to watch for enemy planes and boats.


The walk eventually bought us to a small natural cove where we dallied for a short while before turning back. When we got back to the car park we had a welcome drink at the small cafe there that sold various refreshments and the usual beach paraphernalia before heading home for dinner. It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and it was nice to stretch my legs after all that confinement behind a desk studying!

Old MacDonald had a Wildlife Park

Cotswold Wildlife Park has all sorts of animals that are alien to the British countryside. As I have posted about recently it is not often you will see a rhino and zebra in front of an old English mansion, or hear lions roaring while walking around a lake full of ducks, geese and swans, but this is all part of it's particular charm. However, there are some more familiar residents at the park which are not so 'wild'. In fact they are rather domesticated as the park has a corner full of farm animals.


In a barn full of animals in comfy straw lined pens I found a simply huge pig snoozing noisily. Piggy was far more interested in napping than saying hello so after taking her photo I moved on to the bunnies. We think of rabbits as being small and cuddly creatures but these seemed huge. I had to wonder what on earth they were feeding these animals but I recall the rabbit our family had when I was a child. It was called Harvey after the rabbit in the film as he was white. He was meant to be a dwarf rabbit but grew to the size of a donkey with a kick to match! (Okay, not really but he was bigger than quite a few dogs!). Turned out his name was apt as he also turned out to be a giant rabbit as well. The rabbits in the park regarded me with the suspicion that prey animals reserve for anything bigger than them with teeth but sat still for photos save the twitching of their noses.


Back outside I found the goats, together with their kids. One particular kid was obviously testing his boundaries and trying to discover if goats can climb. He was quite thorough in his testing, trying again and again to shimmy up the fence post, but despite actually getting three legs off the ground he had to admit that cloven hooves aren't the best for gripping vertical surfaces, though I recorded his endeavours for posterity.

Afterwards I made my way to a small paddock full of goats that you could walk in and pet. Despite all this free attention the goats seemed far more engrossed in eating the spring grass and acted like the people walking amongst them were invisible, apart for moments when a small errant child tried to mount one like a pony. The goat simply walked off leaving the child hopping on the spot with his leg cocked in the air and didn't break it's feeding momentum for a moment. It was quite comical to watch but I guess you had to be there.


The farm corner of the park was extremely sweet and obviously aimed at children as most of the animals were hand tame and could be petted. There were also sheep, chickens, a couple of ponies and some guinea pigs there. I loitered for awhile but then a sign for the reptile house caught my eye and I knew where I wanted to go next. So that is what I did.

More from Cotswold Wildlife Park

I had finished my MBA project a few weekends ago so I decided to actually get outside and taste the fresh air once more. The fresh air I headed for was in the Cotswolds, which are not too far away, and specifically my love of animals drew me to the Cotswold Wildlife Park which I have already posted about *here* and *here*. It is a fantastic open place set in parkland and the grounds of an old Victorian mansion which you can see in the first photo. It's not often you see a rhino grazing on the lawn in front of an old English house and it looks quite incongruous but the rhino and it's zebra friends seemed content enough


The rhino and zebra are two of the animals that you see when you first enter the park. They have a huge enclosure to roam in and nearby the camel have another paddock and on the other side the ostrich jealously guard their paddock from human interlopers. At the top end of the rhino and zebra enclosure though is where the big cats live. I am used to big cats being shy. They often spend their time in a quiet corner in the sun away from prying eyes or in the comfort of their pen on more chilly days. On this visit however I walked up to the large glass window in the wall of the pen and was rewarded with the sight in the photo below.


The leopard emerged from the bushes as if on cue and walked past on a few feet away from me. I was very happy that a large piece of glass separated us but at the same time I was in awe of being so close to such a beautiful and magnificent animal; it was all I could do to gather my camera, point and shoot so I was very pleased when I saw I had got the shot!


The leopard did a couple of circuits of his territory while the crowd that had gathered 'ooed' and 'ah-ed'. Content that all was well in his world he decided to make the most of the weak early spring sun and climbed a tree to take up station on a wooden platform to sunbathe. Next door was where the lions lived. I had heard the male roaring when I reached the park entrance, a deep guttural roar which pronounced his place as king of all he surveyed. When I got to the lion pen the male was nowhere to be seen but one of the females had visited the pool for a drink, a mere few yards from the glass viewing window. Once her thirst was slaked she simply sat and took in the view and I took the opportunity to snap her portrait.


After a while I left the throng that had gathered to watch her sitting and watching nothing in particular and braved the path past the ostriches and made my way towards the farm animals. I will post about these soon :)