Lake Coniston & The Fourth Plinth

Victorian Luxury inside the boat

S.Y. Gondola

20th August 2009
This month three of my grandchildren have reached a significant time in their lives. My granddaughter is 21 years old on the 17th and two of my grandsons are 17 years old on the 20 & 21st of this month, yes they where born only hours apart, what a wonderful day that was. Both are now eager to have driving lessons. . Even though this is a two edged sword , there is danger out there but I accept that they have to learn as driving is an essential tool for life.
My new internet connection via talktalk is excellent, no problem setting up and I have all the same interface with AOL as before. It wasn’t as easy for my friend Muriel who had the same deal .It was a three day nightmare but I managed to get it up and running. We could not get a signal on her Router for days and the help guys insisted we had a faulty line connection which didn’t stack up. So we began tweaking! filters swapped and disconnecting extension phones. and then miraculously we had a signal. Simple solutions but it all takes time and is so stressful.
Many families in our road have lived as neighbours for over 45years, we are all reaching the zenith of our days. George, a quiet and gentle man passed on this month and we went to his funeral it was a sad occasion . The Chapel was full to capacity, I was pleased for his two sons who he raised from infancy after his wife died of cancer, early in their marriage.
Monday 17th Louise Coulson a friend and poet was on the Fourth Plinth on Trafalgar square for an hour as part of the Anthony Gormley a four month living statue project,she chose to read Poetry. A few of us are in the draw which finishes in October. it’s a 24/7 live feed on the internet. Louise and Tabitha, lucky girls, have now been on the Plinth and I am waiting with two other friends to see if we get chosen for the last month October.
It was a heart stopping moment when Louise started to read one of my poems “Chocolate” totally unexpected and a great privilege to be sharing a small moment of her hour on the Plinth. She read other poems written by members of our poetry community and promoted Bolton. She was relaxed and so at home on there, she was brilliant.

Louise on the plinth .http://www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/Louise_C
Click on the One & Only picture to the left and you will go to the current pinther.

Enjoyed a wonderful day in the Lake District, Muriel and I booked a 90 minute sail on the Steam Yacht Gondola on Lake Coniston.A beautifully restored Victorian boat, powered by steam it was so quiet, smooth and delightful and we enjoyed a commentary from the skipper on people who lived past and present on the Lake. John Ruskin and Arthur Ransome Malcolm Campbell & Bluebird being the most famous. Usually seating 45 persons there where only a few of us on board so we had plenty of space to explore. It was raining heavily as we drove up the Motorway but the sunshine came out as soon as the yacht appeared at the dock .Afterward we drove into Windermere for tea. After all the stress of the previous week and the Internet connection trouble we deserved this day.

Another Poetry Slam

July performing at Middleton Poetry Night

Another busy couple of weeks .My lawn mower was out of commission for a week had to have new electrics and boy was my grass high when it came back. I seem to have spent most of the summer rescuing my lawns from becoming meadows. The mix of rain and sunshine encourages the grass to grow very fast. There is a product on the market that will slow this growth down, so I am seriously looking into it.
Drove over to Harrogate to see my son`s new home. It’s a very spacious cottage situated in a village just outside of the town. Spent a lovely day with son and grandson and it didn’t rain. Attended a joint birthday party, two friends had open house on Saturday it was a good day I really enjoyed it. Was asked to be a Judge at the NorthWest Superhero`s Poetry Slam in Wigan Monday evening, I was somewhat apprehensive as this was my first time Judging but I found it surprisingly easy. I enjoyed the evening and the best man won, Pete was third but non the less his performance was good, but the winner was exceptional and goes forward to the final in October.
I am changing to another ISP / Phone package from AOL to Talk Talk on the 6th so I will be totally involved making the switch, just hope it isn’t too complicated. I will save £20 a month, with free phone calls evenings and weekends, I hope the service is as good as the say.
We have been promised sunshine this weekend,I wont hold my breath. Love you all,take care.