Nature At It's Best

This is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. Click on the link below, turn up the sound, watch in full screen mode, and enjoy.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rooyt3ptNco

Once in a while something very special comes into your life. This is one of those clips that restores your faith in the world.

Shrove Tuesday

Next Tuesday, 24February, is Shrove Tuesday, better known to most of us as 'pancake day'. The following day is Ash Wednesday, significant for being the first day of Lent, a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday. Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday. Lent is supposed to signal a period of fasting when food such as eggs, fat and butter are forbidden. It was traditional to use up these ingredients before the fasting period began, and pancakes were an obvious indulgence before the sacrifice. The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the old word 'shrive' which means to confess. In the Middle Ages people used to confess their sins, to cleanse themselves, as it were, before Lent began. Other traditions surrounding Shrove Tuesday include 'pancake races', with those taking part racing to the finishing line tossing their pancakes as they go. The most famous pancake race in England is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire, and has been going since 1445. Legend has it that it all started when a housewife from Olney was making pancakes and forgot the time, until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house still carrying her frying pan and pancake. Every Shrove Tuesday the pancake 'greaze' is held at Westminster School, London. A pancake, reinforced with horse hair, is tossed into the air and the boys try to get as much of it as they can. Many towns in England used to hold a traditional 'mob football match', a ritual that started in the 12th century. A number of towns still carry on the tradition today including Alnwick (Northumberland), Ashbourne (Derbyshire), Atherstone (Warwickshire), Sedgefield (Durham), and St Column Major (Cornwall).

Pancake Batter Recipe

1 large egg or 1 egg and one yolk
1/2 pint/280ml milk
4oz/110g plain flour (4 heaped dessertspoons)
1 tbsp melted butter

By Hand - sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break in the egg (and yolk, if using) and add a pinch of salt and a splash of the milk. Whisk the egg gradually incorporating the flour, to make a smooth cream. Whisk in the rest of the milk and the melted butter.

With A Blender - put all the ingredients in a blender jug with a pinch of salt. Whizz until smooth.

Today's Smile

A doctor, called to give evidence in court, was being questioned by a young lawyer. The conversation proceeded as follows:

Lawyer: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Doctor: No.
Lawyer: Did you check for blood pressure?
Doctor: No.
Lawyer: Did you check for breathing?
Doctor: No.
Lawyer: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Doctor: No.
Lawyer: How can you be sure, Doctor?
Doctor: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Lawyer: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?
Doctor: It is possible. He could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Who Am I?

In the 'Who Am I' series readers are asked to put their detective hats on to identify a well known personality from a set of 10 clues. Today's clues are listed below.

01 I was born in Oldham, Lancashire.
02 I played the character 'Lukewarm' in Porridge.
03 I have also appeared in 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
04 I have taken part in 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here'.
05 I was married to Beatrice Norbury from 1971 to 1974.
06 I love socialising, I once said "I would go to the opening of an envelope".
07 I am openly gay and am now in a civil partnership.
08 I read 'Billy Bunter' on an Audio Cassette (1990).
09 I am 60 years old.
10 I am an English actor and media personality.

Can you guess the name of this mystery personality?

What A Terrific Idea

I happened to be watching the news last evening when they took the television cameras to a school where young children about seven or eight years old were being taught the basics of money management. What a terrific idea! I have always held the view that the best time to teach children the basics, on any subject, is between the ages of seven and twelve. They are generally most receptive at this time of their lives, old enough to understand, but not preoccupied with teenage stuff like pop music, dating and the gang culture. The children in the programme were being taught three areas of money management, spending, borrowing and saving. On spending, they were learning the difference between spending on essentials and pleasure. On borrowing, they were being made to realise that money borrowed had to be paid back, usually at a higher rate. On saving, they were made to realise that using their own money to pay for what they wanted was the cheapest way to buy. From interviews with some of the children involved, it was obvious, that even at such a young age, they were beginning to grasp the basics and understand how important money will be to their future lives. I hope more and more schools will follow suit and teach this very important subject.