Mixing art with nature

Flowers are always a big part of Countryside Shows. The County Shows always have masses of artistic creations using what nature provides for us, plus a few other bits and bobs. I took a few photo's yesterday at the Lincolnshire Showground. 

I don't know how they would transport something this big to the show. Perhaps they come a day early and assemble it onsite. 

A small but simple stunning creation. 

Look closely at the bottom of this creation. It's almost as if it has been dug up out of the ground and placed on a board. 

Who would have thought that you could come up with an idea for just coloured pencils. Clever. 

This colour combination works really well here. 

It's amazing what can be achieved with just a few simple bits and pieces. 

There was a competition going on which intrigued me. One lady explained what it was all about. Each competitor gets a list of objects. They are all working with the same list. It is time sensitive so they have to think quickly, and finish their masterpiece in two hours. It was interesting to see the different ideas they played about with. One lady was struggling and was getting left behind. Others romped ahead as the ideas came quickly. 

In previous years the tables were set all in one long line. This year they are set singly so no peeping what your neighbours are doing. 

Plenty more photo's to come from my day out at Lincoln Showground.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

I suffered.

 The year is 1950. Your doctor lights a cigarette and tells you smoking is fine. He read it in a study. He is telling the truth about having read it. He does not know, or is not saying, that the study was funded by the tobacco industry.

The years I suffered as a child living with parents who both smoked. Aunts and uncles who smoked.

I remember Auntie visiting and she needed to use both hands for something. Mum told me to hold Aunties lit cigarette for her. I refused because I hated the smell so much. I was forced to and held it at arms length. I got into trouble for that. 

My brother and sister both smoked. My sister visited my house with her friend one day. I went into the kitchen to make drinks. When I went back into the living room they had both lit a cigarette. I muttered a complaint and opened a window. I asked, do you have to? My sister laid into me, she said I should allow them to smoke because they were my guests. 

I spent a lot of time outdoors. Had to leave a room, gasping for fresh air. The idea of dragging filthy muck into my lungs was, and still is, abhorrent to me. I feel the same revulsion for vaping. How ridiculous is that stupid habit. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Nice one xxxxxxxxxx

 

The race is on. 

Toodle pip.  ilona

😻🙋😜

The Countryside Show

We were blessed with good weather today. Crowds flocked to Lincolnshire Showground for the Countryside Show. I had a great day out.

There is plenty of free parking, the field was filling up fast when I got there. I was lucky. There were long queues to enter the Showground at the prepaid tickets gate. Everyone held their mobile phones in their hand waiting to be scanned. You can see them queuing the other side of the fence. I avoided the queues by walking straight in through the pay on the day gate. Handed over £15, senior citizens rates, and given a programme. 

There was a massive combine harvester. Much bigger than the one I had a go on almost two years ago.

As usual I took photos. I'll post some tomorrow. 

Now to bed. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Be proud.

Sunday and it's sunny. 

Thought for the day.

Comment on a faceboook page - - - - - - - 

An early one this morning off the A34 Stafford. I've been asking the Council to sort this for many years and it never happened so sorted myself at 6am on Sunday.

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Lesson learnt. Don't ask anyone to do it for you. Do it yourself. Be proud of your achievements.

Have a great day. Toodle pip. ilona

Don't give up.

When everyone is against you. When nothing is going right. You just keep on keeping on. 

Believe in yourself and everything will come right in the end. 

Too many people are giving up. 

Have a good weekend.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Another book cover finished.

At last, the new book cover is finished. It's been a long time coming. I keep getting distracted. Have been going out a lot more now we are getting some sunny days. 

The measurements are not perfect, I prefer a tighter fit. This is a bit wrinkly. Maybe I should have ironed it more while I was stitching. 

The inside is very plain. I had to add a piece of fabric at each end to make pockets for the book cover to fit into. 

These two pictures are from the first book cover I made. The book is called ILONA. Here is the blog post I wrote about it. 

New book cover video.

The weather has gone back to wind and rain, after a nice day yesterday. I went to the Arts Centre in town today, to have a catch up chat with Nikki. Then a quick one bag litter pick on the way home. Got caught in the rain again. 

Have a good weekend. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Just one more prick

 This article is pants. 😫😩😵

Quotes. . . . 

She found that lack of confidence in the vaccines was a global issue, driven by the spread of false information online and the vaccines' quick development.

Writing in her report, Hallet said: "The vaccination programme was an extraordinary feat. Effective vaccines were developed, produced and delivered to the majority of the population in record time.

She also addressed the small number of people who suffered harm as a result of having the vaccine, saying: "This was a small minority compared to the overall scale of the vaccination programme, but of no less importance to the individuals affected and their families." Although comparatively rare, there were cases of people suffering serious injury or death as a result of vaccination.

Baroness Hallet said: "We cannot know when, but there will be another pandemic. My recommendations, taken as a whole, should mean that the UK is better prepared for that pandemic.

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See, they are planning it.

I had a text message this morning inviting me for the Spring Covid Booster jabbbby. This is not about concerns for my health, it's about getting as much money in from Big Pharma. You can decide what you want to do, but I won't be joining in.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Unloved bins for sale.

 All over North Lincolnshire there are redundant bins waiting to be picked up. The Council have a new recycling system and issued us with larger red bins. They now need to come back and collect the old ones. It's been four weeks since we got the replacement new bins. Perhaps they are too busy collecting all the red litter bags that are appearing everywhere. 😁😎😆

The residents of this street in Scunthorpe are fed up of seeing them blown about by the wind, so they have laid them to rest in a communal green space. What a good idea. I don't know what the plan is for them once they have been collected, but most of them still have a lot of life in them. I hope they are selling them on to recover some of the cost of the new ones. 

I suggest put them in a container and ship them to a country that can make use of them. There must be hundreds of ways to recycle the whole bin. Convert them back to the raw materials, grind them up, and add it to tarmac when they fill pot holes. 👍👍👍

Have a nice day. Toodle pip.   ilona

Two days of tackling grot spots

I went to Aldi yesterday, needed to get some food in. On my way there I stopped off to do some picking. There is still a lot to do on the Industrial Estate. 

I filled one bag and got half way through the second when I had to take shelter in my car. The sky went black and the heavens opened. Oh dear, I got a drenching. 

It rained a second time but I managed to fill it. The two bags were deposited next to the two from the day before.

I was off to town again today, and look what I came across. Fast food takeaway wrappings. I wish they would ban these places. Had to stop and pick it up. 

I decided to have a go at a grot spot I found ages ago. There is a steep slope on the other side of the hedge, and a lot of brambles to get stuck in. I clambered around and chucked a lot of it over the fence and onto the footpath. Two red sacks filled and 54 glass bottles bagged up . There is still a lot left, but that's enough for now. 

There is a bench halfway up the slope. A nice place with a view, to have a rest. 

I was going to add my pickings today to the four bags I did over the last two days. But I found the Council truck had been and collected them. So I've started a new pile. 

I might have a day off tomorrow. I need a rest. 

Now I am tired. Toodle pip.   ilona

Left or right - does it matter

This video is part of the the 'This Is' series which explains the terms widely used in the political and cultural debate. I break down the true definition of the far right and explore a more controversial question: has the term “far right” been stretched or misused in modern discourse? From media narratives to political arguments, we examine how labels can shape public perception, shut down discussion, or oversimplify complex viewpoints.

This left and right nonsense baffles me. Far right is often used as a slur to shut down those you don't agree with. It is a bullying tactic. You don't hear people calling someone far left. 

Does there have to be this divide. Why can't people remove their blinkers and look to common sense for their answers. 

It might be a sunny day today. A video is uploading. It will be ready later. 

Toodle pip.   ilona.

Watch Marcelito.

I've been busy today. Coffee Morning first thing, 10.30am to 12noon. Chat with Angela 12.15pm to 1.30pm. Need to go to Aldi, running low on food, but first do a quick litter pick on the Industrial Estate on the way to town. Very windy and a big downpour, got very wet. Recorded a video inside the car while I was taking shelter. Managed two bags. Dropped them on my spot with the two I did yesterday. Next to Aldi. Then filled the car up with petrol. I'll post the video and photo's tomorrow.

I have watched this video several times, and it never fails to tug at my emotions. What an amazing voice. A stunning performance. 

Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Sticking plaster

 I am trying not to be negative about this event. North Lincolnshire Council are pushing this solution to make our streets safer at night. For those who are afraid to go out in the dark, this protest/demonstration is supposed to send a message that women are safe in our town. 

So now we are expected to move about in groups, safety in numbers. We are safer together. I see this as a sticking plaster to patch things up. It doesn't address the core problem, which is that the Government are welcoming people from all parts of the world to come here. British women and girls have to learn how to live our lives with certain restrictions, while others can do exactly as they please. 

So what will happen after this event? Nothing. Will men start behaving themselves? Nope. They are programmed to procreate, it's in their psyche. Not all, but a lot go through the phase of sowing their wild oats. I could write a whole book on the subject, but I am off to Coffee Morning now. 

Toodle pip.   ilona 

Frustrating

 It's been a lovely mild day today with a slight breeze. 

This afternoon I went back to the busy road to finish tidying up the litter pick I started yesterday. I was pleased to see that the Council had collected the pile of bags I left at the entrance to the big pond. They had also emptied their own litter bin and put a fresh bag in there. I started a new pile there with two fresh bags I picked today. The two flat screens and four tyres had gone as well. 

Two bags was enough for me to pick today. At 4pm I stopped. There was a lot of scrambling through bushes. It was hard work. On my way home it felt like I was bunking off early. 

I had a quick walk to the picnic area car park tonight to see if the Council had emptied the bin there. Pleased to find that it had all gone. Not pleased to see new litter on the grass verges on the way back. So frustrating when I have recently cleared it all away. 

This made me smile. The bench is on the front garden of a corner bungalow. The people living there keep it neat and tidy. They put a dog bowl out with a drink of water for any passing pooches. There has never been a table there before. I wonder where they got it from. I don't think it will get stolen, it is very heavy cast iron. I wonder if they are going to start serving tea and cakes. 😄😁😎

It's almost 10pm and I am yawning.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Courage

 Sunny Tuesday morning..   I like this  > > > > > > > > 

Have you got it?

Toodle pip.   ilona