Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Words, tagged Books, science, Words on June 4, 2017| 4 Comments »
Three books I read recently…
In January I signed up to the Reading Challenge on Jera’s Jamboree (details here). Shaz was encouraging us to step outside our comfort zone and read books we might not have considered before.
I decided to read something from EVERY category listed and you can see how I am getting on by looking at my blog page here.
Occasionally I will do a review and this time I am making notes on a non-fiction book, a book of poetry and a book chosen for me. (more…)
Posted in Languages, Uncategorized, Words, tagged colours, Words on March 19, 2017| 10 Comments »
Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria, now renamed Ficaria verna) in the woodland part of my garden this week
What a strange word “yellow” seems to be. While most of our words for basic colours are very similar to the German words, such as blue, green and red for blau, grün and rot, at first glance yellow and gelb don’t seem to be related. But they are – about which I’ll say more later. (more…)
Posted in Books, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Words, tagged Books, Sci-fi, Words on March 6, 2017| 5 Comments »
Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden trilogy – the UK book covers – Dark Eden (pub 2012), Mother of Eden (2015) and Daughter of Eden (October 2016)
Sometimes I encounter SUCH a good book that I feel I must tell everyone to read it! This does not happen very often these days but I have just finished reading Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden trilogy on my Kindle, while riding on the bus to and from work. I couldn’t get enough of the world Beckett has created and polished off all three books in just over a month. (more…)
Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Words, tagged Books, Words on January 29, 2017| 8 Comments »
The books I read in 2016 – click on the image to see a bigger version
I’m not a great believer in making resolutions on New Year’s Day – any day will do. So I have decided to “sign up” for the Reading Challenge on Shaz’s Jera’s Jamboree blog. It’s a way of getting out of your comfort zone of always reading the same sorts of books. (more…)
Posted in Nature, Uncategorized, tagged Nature, Words on August 4, 2016| 17 Comments »
Pink grass beside the bridge on the River Taff
Grasses, Ferns, Mosses and Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland
In June and early July I noticed grass. I suppose it’s there all the time, but it was particularly lush and noticeable around then. So I decided to make a feeble attempt to identify a handful of those I saw. I expect some of you know far more about grasses than I do, so feel free to chip in with the correct identification if I am way out.
I have TRIED to identify all these grasses, mainly using a book I have called Grasses, Ferns, Mosses and Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland by Roger Phillips. It narrows the identification down, but I do have trouble even recognising the same grass in different states of maturity.
In between the sections on the various grasses, I have inserted some “musings” about words related to grass and books with “grass” in the title… (more…)
Posted in Uncategorized, Words, tagged Words on May 26, 2016| 17 Comments »
Girl with a basket of pamphlets in a French 18th century painting
Although trees seem to have taken over my blogging life lately, I also sometimes ponder the meaning and origins of words. Bear with me as I invite you to consider the differences between a leaflet, a booklet, a pamphlet and a brochure. (more…)
Posted in Words, tagged design, Nostalgia, textiles, Words on July 21, 2015| 9 Comments »
Black gingham shoes with rosebud trim by Betsey Johnson
I suppose gingham is a fabric we all remember from our childhood and teenage years – mine were in the 1960s and 1970s – and with a revival of fashion from that era it now seems as popular as ever. Or was that LAST year? But this post is about words as much as fashion – did you know the word gingham came from Malaya?
My mother made me some (more…)
Posted in Nature, Science, Uncategorized, Words, tagged Nature, science, Words on April 26, 2015| 6 Comments »
Yellow moth on Mahonia berries, April 21, 2015
I made a rare observation (for me) of a yellow moth the other day and one thought led to another, as it usually does…
But first the moth. I was arriving home when I saw (more…)
Posted in Nature, Words, tagged dorset, Nature, Poole, Words on February 1, 2015| 21 Comments »
Succulent cockles – this image is from the Jose Andres Foods website
Although this post is about where the saying “warming the cockles of my heart” comes from, it is also all about cockles – and my most memorable food moment of last year. It’s hard to believe, but that highlight was a small bowl of the most wonderful cockles I have ever seen.
It was late July and we were at the Guildhall Tavern in Poole, Dorset, one of our favourite French restaurants. The cockles on offer as a starter were so fresh, said our host Severine, that they were not even on the menu yet. (more…)
Posted in Glamorgan, Uncategorized, Wales, Words, tagged Wales, Words on October 27, 2014| 7 Comments »
The Royal Mint at Llantrisant, here in Wales, has struck a special Alderney £5 coin to commemorate the centenary of Dylan Thomas’s birth – click on the image to find out more
This year sees the centenary of the birth of wonderful Welsh writer Dylan Thomas and celebrations have been going on throughout 2014. But today, October 27, is his birthday. He was born in Swansea just after the outbreak of World War I.
Much has been written (more…)
The Squirrelbasket 