I have not been able to update my blog because of PC problems - after a 'health check' from PCworld, my computer had to be returned to factory settings - so none of my favourite bookmarks have survived, I can't use my printer and can't upload any pics :-(

K, from our knitting group (BoveyTracey S&B) commented that I haven't had much KNITTING on here of late - (haven't had much of anything on here of late!?) - well, I have several FOs to report! I've finished DS's Alice Starmore fisherman's jumper - pics will be made available just as soon as I figure out how to get pics from the camera to my PC again. Despite blocking, the lower edge still curls up. Any tips, anyone?
I've also finished the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino scarf that my secret pal YVONNE sent me! Ta muchly Yvonne, it's just the right colour for me and soooo soft, its scrumdiddlyumptious.
I have a picture of my final secret package ready to upload when I can figure it out. I was so inspired by the scarf pattern I had to start RIGHT AWAY and finished it in the week. Yvonne also thought of DH and sent him two bounty bars and some silk sock yarn which he might get knitted up, or he might not. The Bounty bars went right quick.

I also met Yvonne and WyeSue (lovely, huggy, slightly mad, knitty knutty folk) at the Creative stitchery show at Westpoint this weekend just gone - it was a huge amount of fun learning how to fingerknit and nattering on the knit and knatter stall. The knitted garden was inspirational -and a gingerbread house is in the making, due to be completed next June... Knit and Knattering is so much fun - do it! I also learnt how to knit with wire and beads and was given a BEAUTIFUL bracelet by the multitalented, hugely generous Yvonne. Ta once again.

Must go and do some work. Real life gets in the way again.

HELLO! Blimey, it's nearly the end of August and REVEAL time for Secret Pal 8 (my first ever) and I've been sooooo lucky with my secret pal, even though I've not 'spoken' to her as often as I might, I hope she'll forgive me - I've not got a clue who she is.
Here's a bunch of flowers for her!

It's not my photo, I might add.

What have I been up to? Working. Also fantasising about the vegetable plot that WILL be at the bottom of the garden in place of the chickens that are no more. Am going to have raised beds and plant lots of salads and courgettes and strawberries and tommytoes. Did I tell you about the chicken's demise? The fox (or badger) got them. Nature red in tooth and claw. They were getting very old for chickens - I appear to be a heartless woman but I like badgers and foxes too. Will take some pics next week of the garden to be as I'm on holiday then and should have more time to update this blog. Might have some time to do some knitting too!

I called in our new local yarn store this afternoon - got some goodies for MY secret pal (shh!) - The yarns from New Zealand are really very special, soft and luscious. Am going to join in the 'knitting club' next Tuesday morning, meet some more local knit-wits.

A giggle from a fellow 'deafie':

"I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me two thousand pounds, but it's state of the art."

"Really? What kind is it?"

"Twelve thirty."

;-)

PREGNANT PAUSE!
I haven't posted for a while - I'm at work and shouldn't be posting NOW but while the anecdote is fresh in my mind:

A couple I am looking after are getting soooo excited as the due date looms nearer - Every braxton hix contraction, they think is labour... Well, t'other night, she wakes up and the bed is SOAKED! Both instantly wide awake, this must be it! Waters must have broken! NO! Our pregnant mother-to-be only fell asleep clutching a glass of water - and that's what soaked the bed. Partner not best pleased at having to change bedlinen in wee hours :-)

Same mother-to-be few days later is drying her hairin the bedroom, enjoying being in the nude as it's so HOT. (Admits was even contemplating a spot of perineal massage - ask me if you don't know!) -Glances up and sees the WINDOWCLEANER at the window - Hides behind wardrobe door, blushing furiously - window cleaner (neighbour's nephew) - quite blase and carries on until he's finished. HA - by the time this baby arrives, I think it'll be kittens!

All these pregnant ladies sitting around in the waiting room, waiting for their appointment with me and NOT ONE OF THEM KNITS! I'm doing my best to convert them.

Back to work, ho hum.

WALKS cont.

SWCP - Friday

Realised never finished the posts about our holiday walking from St Ives to St Ives!

We had been given a lift (backwards) to the Tower Campsite - so we could get some food. Food not worth talking about.

Next morning we left the campsite on the earliest start yet - 07.25hrs, to get the 7.38hrs bus back to Lamorna Turn. Started walking in the blazing sunshine - heat - granite rock - a runner passes us by. We made it to Mousehole for a full english Breakfast at Pam's Pantry - yum yum. Strolling through Mousehole window shopping - we saw calabrese pillow sculptures and fishy danglings with tins in their middles. The whole place is visual overload.

Walked on in blazing heat and stopped along the way to dry off tents and have a paddle in the sea on a very rocky shore. Eventually we reach Penzance, and stop for a fruit smoothie. Jane went to fetch money from the ATM in town and the machine wouldn't accept her PIN so she sulked.

Walked along the beach - miles of sand and St Michael's Mount approaching. We searched Marazion for a Tourist Information Place but it doesn't exist - so resorted to another cream tea in the Seacove Gallery Tearooms and resisted the Kurt Jackson books on sale.

Walked along more rocky shore past extremely eroded cliffs with houses falling into the sea, all the way to the Victoria Inn in Perranthunoe. NO FOOD as it's father's day and fully booked. Met a very interesting 85 yr old bloke called Joseph who we decided must be a rich, eccentric artist, who was in the same predicament. He gave us a lift (Syd and all) in his brand new yellow mini to Praa Sands. After a relaxing supper we decide to walk back to St Ives from Marazion instead of going on. So the entire expedition has a point - or not - being circular.

I sulk on the way back to the campsite as it's at the TOP of the hill.

Alison's 'Little Bit of Fun to Help Things Along'...
this being my second attempt to post this - I managed to upload three versions this morning then deleted all of them - DUH!

1) What is your favorite season of the year?
Got to be the season of mists and mellow fruitfullness: AUTUMN! I love the colours - yellows, reds, rusts, burnt umber etc. I love the smells: of bonfires and rotting leaves. I like the weather: walking the dogs in breezy autumnal sunshine kicking up piles of leaves, or tucked up in front of a fire with a book (and my knitting) while it rains outside. Mushrooms! Apples!
Harvest feasts!

2) Where is your favorite vacation spot?
OOoo, difficult. I guess I'll go for the generic: I like to be off the beaten track and don't mind roughing it. I like to meet different folk, and love meandering around markets. I love camping in the wilds, by a river or seaside, or in the mountains, forests. I love sitting around campfires playing games or telling ghost stories or singing silly songs.
I'm not a great lover of hot - unless I'm doing something like kayaking on a river or the sea and getting very wet. Favourite places I have been: Morocco, kayaking in the mid Atlas; China, walking Tiger Leaping Gorge; Turkey, rafting slowly down the Euphrates.

3) If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
I'm going to Thailand in October - that will be fab. But no better than strolling the South West Coast Path in Cornwall - just different. One day I'd like to visit Canada, Peru (or somewhere in South America) and Iceland.
I've done a lot of planning to go kayaking in Slovenia some time soon. As you can see, I wanna go lots of places, roll on retirement!
4) If you could pick any job, and be paid well, what would it be?
I'd probably stay a baby catcher as I'm too long in the tooth to change now, but I'd HALVE my caseload and then I'd have more time to get proficient as an artist and craftsperson.

5) If you were going on vacation for 1 week, and had to take ONLY one project with you, what would it be? Socks are portable and very practical - can pick em up and put em down.

6) If you won a shopping spree to your favorite Yarn shop, what would you get?? What? unlimited funds? The entire stock no doubt! We have a brand new LYS in Bovey Tracey - Have I mentioned it? I'm so excited! It's so new I haven't yet had time to really explore it. See 'Spin a Yarn' for a little info. - site yet to be developed. Disappointingly, Joyce hasn't really stocked any needles but the usual boring grey ones, but YARNS! oh boy!

Second SECRET PAL 8 parcel arrives: Best yet, says tutmut! NUM!

What can it be? I savoured the opening this time... And ate the chocolate smartish, so my son couldn't filch it. (Greedy, ay?) . What's in the gold tissue paper? And here we have it: Yarn Harlot's 'At Knit's End' which has lurked on my wish list for aaaages and has given me a few giggles already. Eg p.50 "A rolling ball of yarn will also roll as far away from you as possible, likely out of the car, down the aisle of the church (where you hoped noone would notice you were knitting), or into any available liquid." I have noticed this phenomenon myself. I give, as an example, a time when I used to knit at bus stops. Specifically one occasion when I was waiting to go to college many moons ago. I hopped on the bus and was moving down the aisle as the bus moved off, when a fellow passenger pointed out the trail of yarn behind me. Yep, I'd left the ball at the bus stop. So I'm standing in the doorway of the bus frantically rolling in my ball of yarn, which is bouncing in every puddle it can find behind the bus...

There is also a set of Addi needles - my first ever. I've heard so many people rave about them, I'll now get a chance to find out what they're going on about. They LOOK posh. Very flash - gold. Also three balls of Louisa Harding softly variagated yarn. SOFT! And probably hugely extravagant. Maybe I should knit a beard with them. Whaddya think? The transparent rectangle is clear glycerine soap. It smells of mandarin - isn't it a wonderful colour? and everything looks mandarin coloured when you look through it. I get so excited about things like this. OK, I'm a big kid. Thanks muchly, hugely, my secret Pal - reckon I'm the luckiest spoilee in the game. There was only one sour puss amidst all this spoildom: DH! He reckons he's going to be washed away in a tidal wave of yarn. Rubbish. Methinks he does exaggerate.

The SWCP - Thursday
We had every intention of capitalising on our extra couple of miles and getting an early start - but the sea had to be paddled in, the stream sloshed about in, and by the time we had breakfasted, photographed, and packed up, it was gone 10am.

Syd is looking fed up! wishes he could unzip his fur coat, let alone the indignity of having to carry a rucksack in this hot sun...


The next ten miles to Lamorna were designated 'strenuous' in our guide book - much up and down compounded by hot sun. We did come across a lovely cafe at St Loy: Cove Cottage for 'walkers only' and had cream tea (recommended), before clambering down to a boulder filled beach... By the time we got to Lamorna we just wanted food, shower, bed. Sadly the pub there didn't serve food - but the barman's wife kindly offered to give us a lift to a campsite at St Buryan's where there was a pub serving food too. So we went 2 1/2 miles backwards towards Porthcurno. Showers were worth it, and we noted we could catch a bus at 7.38am back to Lamorna turn. The bar food was the most average yet, but, when you're hungry!
Argh - blogger is NOT letting me upload AGAIN. More tomorrow (only three more days of trekking left!). Cornwall is beautiful, Rain, unless of course it rains! But I reckon the Lake District must be just as beautiful...

South West Coast Path, Wednesday

We woke up early and got back on the coastal path with the aim of getting to Pendeen in time for breakfast - When we got there, couldn't see any cafes so I went and knocked on the back door of the Radjel Inn because it promised 'bed and breakfast' on the sign outside (the name is from an old nickname for the pub which means a fox's lair, so called as an early landlord was known as Fox), and begged some breakfast from the landlady. She did us proud! We were given cereal, a fry up of eggs, crispy bacon, mushrooms, and bread, the offer of more toast, two mugs of coffee and water for Sydney - all for the princely sum of £5 each. Sitting in the sun, surrounded by petunias - life doesn't get much better.
We stopped off at the shop and bought flapjacks and other emergency foods for later and set off for Cornwall Park Watch, where there was a snack bar for lunch - food not anything like as good as we'd already had.


Picture below is of Cornwall Park...

Just over the hill from Cornwall Park, it had got so hot I had to stop and change into shorts and apply more suntan lotion - we met Mr Richards who chatted with us for over 3/4 hour before we managed to escape. On we trudged to Sennen Cove, where, sadly, dogs aren't allowed on the beach. We met a lady in the pub there who asked if we were camping 'wild' - (grrr). She told us about a magical camping spot above Nanjizal beach not far past Land's End.

The sun was setting as we passed Land's End (which was tacky) and we had just enough light to set up camp on a flat area by an old water mill on a stream which tumbles over a ledge onto the most beautiful little beach . We sat and dunked choccie biscuits and watched the sun disappear. Syd was WET and SMELLY and not coming in MY tent. Oh, alright then.

South West Coast Path Stroll part the second.

Just to remind you: we're on the second day, and that's me, sitting in the rain, supping a cuppa for breakfast...

The sun had come out by early afternoon by which time we were well on our way to Zennor.

Saw rock sedum and fox gloves amongst other things.




A Dragonfly duo...

My sister saw this snail and snapped him up. By the time we got to Zennor it was 15.30hrs and we'd had enough sun (sacrilege I know!), had sore feet/paws (delete as nec.), twinging ankle, not enough water. We hadn't brought any iodine tabs but decided to blame Jane for any lurgies when we opted to drink from the numerous streamlets running down to the sea. Dried out the soggy tents just past Zennor and then decided to walk on to the Gurnard's Head Hotel for supper. What a wise decision that was: Most wonderful pint that went down smooth, and the food was the best (and not to be surpassed for the rest of the week!). The owner had trained with Davina Allen (Ireland's Delia according to sis) and, for a reasonable cost, our meal was absolutely divine - I had a salad of beetroot, goats cheese and rosemaried lentils - the goats cheese was fresh and sharp. Jane had turbot. The meal was served with soda bread and butter, and we had a side dish of mixed leaves and chips which came crisp on the outside and melting in the middle. MMMmm. Fully refreshed, we decided to walk on to the 'Public convenience' marked on the map, near Morvah. It was closed - but a phone number was given for emergencies! What sort of emergency did they have in mind, we wondered? We camped by the wall in the field next door, all alone and quiet except for the sound of the surf crashing on the rocks in the distance. Another amazing sunset and fair weather forecast. Bliss.

Blogger STILL won't let me upload pics. rassa*!@?mplgrrrrrrrr.

I am a very bad blogger - I have lots of excuses, none of which you want to hear - but I've just found my notebook so I can now tell you about our wonderful holiday. Holiday snaps - yay!
The South West Coast Path: St. Ives to St. Ives
Day One, June 12th
Monday - disorganised as usual. Jane (sis) had had little sleep, travelling overnight on the ferry from Eire, and I had left packing till the last moment. Jane also wanted to buy a bivi tent like mine from Argos - cheap, good value and perfectly adequate for summer backpacking. (Nayy)

So, by the time I've chucked a few things in the rucksack, and Jane has done her shopping, it's 5pm before we get to the railway station - that's my sis, and Sydney the dog under the seat in the shadows. Tilly had to stay at home as she is too elderly to cope with the distance - she was very sad when I left her with friends :-(
Alas, there is serious delays and we have to change at Plymouth and so miss the connection at St Erth. As compensation we get to sit in First Class (that's why I have the cheesy grin) (Note the sock yarn on the table in front of me - my holiday knitting!) - this means that we get into St Ives MUCH later than expected - to witness a glorious sunset...
We wondered around in the dark, up and down cobbled lanes, looking for somewhere to pitch camp: and eventually stumbled on the Ayr Holiday Park - which was fully booked up but had space for two backpackers and one dog. Deluxe showers! Hot running water in gorgeous spumes by the gallon in a luxurious brand new shower block. I discover that my container of instant coffee wasn't closed properly and has distributed granules all over sleeping bag, towel, rucksack - it's amazing how far a few granules can travel. Have to wash out rucksack as best as can. Eau de cafe - verrry nice. By which time it's gone 11pm and everywhere in town is shut up and we haven't had anything to eat :-( We envisage a late start in the morning and a HUGE FRY UP!
Jane uses her brand new lightweight MSR stove and storm matches - which are a tad over the top in civilised St Ives but make us a reasonable cup of coffee with remaining granules and fluff.
The only drawback was very loud neighbours who insisted in staying up all night drinking beer and discussing football - only to disappear off site at around 5am without paying.

Day two: Tuesday June 13th
It's raining! We remain optimistic because the weather forecast promises brighter weather later. Jane wears red poncho - she thinks she looks like some S. American jungle fighter. NO comment. We have a lovely breakfast roll stuffed with bacon and egg for breakfast with some real coffee to wash it down from a kiosk run by a surfer type on the site. Spend morning wondering around St Ives buying maps from tourist info and map case, two pasties and clotted cream fudge for later. Syd starts to attract much attention with his 'Outward Hound' panniers - has his photograph taken by complete stranger. WE finally set off on the coast path at 11.30hrs.

Along the route we see: dogrose, rock sedum, mallow, daisies, fox gloves, sea campions, ragged robin, sea thistles, thrift, yellow flag, pennywort and fushcias.
And here I'm going to have to stop as blogger won't allow me to upload any more pics :-(

HOT off press:- Secret Pal 8 package arrives:

Never mind opening with infinite care and patience, tutmut rips open the envelope and scatters contents amongst daisies, whilst dogs look on in wonderment at the foibles of humans.

The cloth matches my kitchen and will hang around in there to grab pots with, methinks.The rest is colour coordinated - look! The book has a beautiful hand stitched cover over a hand made paper inside - Secret Pal has similar book tucked inside knitting hold-all to make notations on experiments. I'm not sure I could be so organised, but I'll give it a go. (She has not seen the chaos that is my knitting containers). The needles are from Peace Fleece - I've been hankering after some for ages, they're so cute.They are of a size to knit the Alpaca yarn from Devon Alpacas. Yes - local pushmepullyous giving up yarn to a local mill that I never knew existed - in Tiverton. It is incredibly soft and very cuddly. Altogether a fab presi.
Thank you muchly, Secret Pal!

A stroll from Budleigh Salterton to Otterton Mill and back.

Have been on third walk with half a dozen mates (mostly from bookclub)- this time to Budleigh Salterton and up alongside the River Otter to Otterton Mill, where we all sat in the sun and had very pleasant lunch and pleasant conversation. New territory for me - never explored this part before. On the way back along the cliff tops, we encountered a herd of young bullocks who were very curious about the herd of humans invading their territory - I had to rescue Tilly who is seen here looking rather worried.
There is a 'hide' along the river where you can Ispy all kinds of sea and estuary birds - today, there were ducks, gulls, egrets and herons...
When we returned to the seaside it was SOOO hot I braved the sea - agonising walking down over those pebbles, very glad friend brought shoes down to shore line to enable rapid escape. The sea was bitterly cold - despite young lad frolicking in the shallows assuring me it got warmer! Everyone else watched my foolhardiness bravery from the comfort of the cafe, and waved (sensible lot).
C & C are organising the next stroll - wonder where it'll be? This was my first walk of any distance on the 'sprained' ankle (which is still swollen) - t'was fine, and I think I'm fit for the South West Coast Path, which my sis and I set off on tomorrow. St Ives here we come!

NEW HAT finished!

I'm really pleased with this "Wellington Hat" from a pattern bought from 'Cabin Fever' - probably go to 'Scotsbookie' who is my 'Not so Secret Pal for the Unconvention - shhhhh! (I'm pretty sure she doesn't explore these remote regions of blogdom).

It's a great pattern for using up scraps of double knitting. Of course this is ALL (including blogging) great diversion from essay writing.

I've frogged the start I'd made to the sleeve of The Baltic sweater for Seth because the pattern hadn't quite worked out as I thought it should.

Favourite word being "Wha...?"

Helen Keller, a deaf and blind writer and lecturer, once said: “Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people”.

Am I ‘hard of hearing’, ‘hearing impaired’, ‘mutton jeff’ or just a little bit deaf with a small D? Certainly not deaf enough to be Deaf, as in Deaf Culture. which I’ve learnt a bit about since acquiring a pair of hearing aids. I've the utmost respect for Deaf people, having experienced just a little of what they have had to endure for all their lives.

It’s been said that a person experiencing hearing loss will not do anything about it for an average of 10 years, it happens so gradually. That loss will be noticed by friends and family much sooner! I've been losing hearing (how careless) since I was 30ish, but didn't really notice until I was mid 30's when I found I was struggling in lectures when I was training to be a midwife. I went to the University Occupational Health Nurse and had my ears syringed but she said they were remarkably clear of wax and of course it made no difference to my hearing problems. It took me a few more years to get around to getting a referral to the audiology department from my GP. Mostly because I couldn’t hear the telly no matter how loud I turned it up. I was REALLY shocked when they said I would benefit from wearing hearing aids. It was a blow to my self image – and everyone knows hearing aids are just so untrendy – ugly, pink, sluglike and yuk. Theyr’e supposed to be flesh tone, but I don’t know anyone who has flesh toned like that. Where are the purple, polkadot, jewel encrusted ones, ay? I’d decorate them with nail varnish but I think I’d be in BIG trouble from the NHS dept. should I need to exchange them.

OK, so why not get those neat 'in the ear' things that can't be seen - I did have one once (bought privately at huge expense) for vanity reasons. Several reasons: 1)It gets blocked up with wax and goes wrong much quicker,
2) the NHS don't do them and 3) it's actually a boon if people see your hearing aids and realise you DO have a hearing problem, not just attention deficit disorder.
Although it's amazing how people don't see such things. I had a tooth abcess couple of weeks back - and the left side of my face swelled to twice its normal size. Interestingly people's eyes would slide away from my very obvious deformity. When I went to the Casualty to try and get some antibiotics, the nurse asked me "What for?"!

I got given one hearing aid for my 40th birthday but not much information - it took a great deal of getting used to. Having a plug of something in your ear feels much like you would imagine – but large vents helped and gradually I adjusted and my brain adapted. Thank god for the internet, where I learnt most of what I wanted to know. I can remember a lot of turning this hearing aid on and off with incredulity – playing ‘now you hear it, now you don’t’ games with myself. I can’t hear crickets without my HAs. I also can’t hear bird songs or telephones from another room, or highpitched alarms. Speech is the worst – expecially children. Everyone sounds like they’re mumbling without my hearing aids in. Now I have 2, which is better for working out where sounds come from, and makes sense when hearing loss is same in each ear. I’ve had them for over 8 years, and wouldn’t be without them. I even forget they’re in. They are not a panacea of all ills, though – I can’t use them with digital phones as they whistle and feedback. And even though these new digital ones from the wonderful NHS have a directional microphone, I still find it difficult to hear what people are saying when there’s any kind of background noise. It would be great to be able to hear properly in the pub. And I'm not brilliant at lip reading, though I hear better in daylight, so I must do a bit. Communicating in noisy environments is tiring and I’m likely to float off into a daydream after missing the joke for the umpteenth time, which doesn’t endear me to people, who think I’m dreamy, aloof, stupid or just antisocial.
Hearing loss is invisible and not something which attracts much sympathy. I get impatient with myself when I have to ask folk to repeat themselves for the second or fifth time. Even DH gives up and says “It doesn’t matter, not important” which is guaranteed to make me furious.
And being mutton jeff does not equate with mental impairment. No.

I've been told my hearing loss is typical of yer average 80yr old - a ski slope line on the audiogram, with normal hearing in the low frequencies and moderate to severe loss of high frequencies. Noone has been able to tell me why I have hearing loss. I reckon it’s because of NOISE. I’ve been to some loud concerts in my time, and I’ve ridden around on motorbikes for a good 15 years (including a couple of weeks on a 400/4 with an exhaust needing replacing). Lots of rock and roll casualties out there… see the rollcall of honour here

Work was OK - though I notice they (the local hospital) don't have loop systems anywhere but in the audiology dept. They also have intercom systems to access buildings which rely completely on hearing! Having a hearing loss hasn't made that much difference apart from having to take my HA out every time I want to use a stethoscope (I've lost at least one HA because of this). I have got into a spot of bother when I've been on call and haven't heard my pager go off, OR the phone (which has a loudspeaker in the bedroom) at night. I rely on DH to be an alarm and wake me up - but he's a sound sleeper too!

I’ll be surprised if people actually bother to read through this self indulgent rambling to the end. But that’s the good thing about blogging, ay?

picture of geese, painted by me back in January.

General update...

Because I'm participating in Secret Pal numero 8, I have STRICT instructions from my hostess extraordinaire to keep up with ye old blogging. I'm supposed to be writing a 3000 word essay, and work has been hellish busy. Any ol' excuse to not do it . Washing up has never seemed so desirable.
I've done no painting of late - BUT I have been buying wool - having a secret pal to buy for gives me a GREAT excuse to buy stuff for myself - well, when one is hanging around in ones local yarn store, how can one resist? So now I'm knitting hats as well as trying to finish Seth's jumper - (I'm on the first sleeve of THAT).
I've also bought a bread machine. My waistline is expanding.

Was lovely to hear from knitnurse alias hazelnutcluster alias lots of things.

Back to the grindstone.

The ankle is much better - ta! which is just as well, as me and sis are planning a walk from St Ives to the Lizard along the South West Coast Path from June 11th for a week - bivvying out if its fine, retreating to local hostelries (YHA) if not. Well, retreating to local hostelries (PUB) anyway. We are planning to walk the path as seen on the map in a downwards fashion in the vain hope that gravity might help. My sis is doing half marathons and similar while I am 'resting' - she'll just have to give me a piggy back. Syd is coming too, but Tilly will have to stay with friends :-( as she's getting too old and stiff to manage 7 days walking. I think I'm going to get some very old fashioned looks from her, when we set off, of the kind only labradors can achieve (and seal pups).

I've had some FINE advice from Ruse1966 which I feel obliged to pass on to any others who might contemplate walking the coastal path, it's sooo good...
Always buy decent socks.
The compass never lies but if your feet are wet, you're too far to the
right.
If you leave a cow in a glass of coke, it won't be there in the morning.

Bookcrossing, or ‘How to turn the world into a library’.

Have you a shelf full of books gathering dust, that you are unlikely ever to read again? Or have you a book that you loved so much that you want to share it with everybody? Would you like to find a free book lying on a park bench one day, waiting for you to pick it up and take it home? If any of these apply, then ‘Bookcrossing’ could well be for you… So what’s it all about?

How It Started:
Bookcrossing.com is a labour of love, conceived and maintained by an American company called ‘Humankind Systems Inc.’ which develops software and exploits the internet. Seeking a break from the boredom of creating yet another e-commerce website, and yet another email server application, Humankind company director Ron Hornbaker wanted to create an internet community site that would be innovative, that would give back to the world at large and that would give him warm, fuzzy feelings whenever he worked on it. Bookcrossing.com was the result.

In March, 2001 Hornbaker and his wife Kaori were inspired by two websites: the Phototag.org website, which tracks disposable cameras loosed into the wild, and WheresGeorge.com, which tracks U.S. currency by serial number. They realised that the same premise could be applied to books. It was a great surprise to Ron when he discovered that BookCrossing had not been done on any significant scale before. By 3 A.M. the same night as the idea was born, they had decided on the name (zero hits for "bookcrossing" on Google), registered the domain, and Kaori had sketched the running book logo on a crossing sign. The rest is history.
The BookCrossing site went live in April 2001, and since then thousands have joined up (currently 466,677) and millions of books have been registered (currently 3,027,361). No doubt because of its American beginnings, BookCrossing is much more popular in English-speaking countries than elsewhere, but numbers worldwide are steadily growing, and there are bookcrossers in most areas of the globe. Articles have been written about the site in countless magazines, and it has appeared regularly on TV and radio. In 2004, the word 'bookcrossing' was even added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary! (n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.).


How Does It Work?
If you want to join up and start releasing and tracking your books obviously you need access to the Internet – but with free access available in libraries, and internet cafes springing up in many places, this isn’t too difficult even without a home PC. Visit www.bookcrossing.com and register by providing a username and password, along with a few other details, and you're set. All your details are kept completely private - it's up to you how much you reveal about yourself onsite.
Next you will need to decide which books you’d like to ‘release in the wild’ and track, and register them. You will do this by clicking on the 'register book' link and following the simple instructions. Remember to write the Book Crossing Identification Number (BCID) you are given somewhere inside the book - people generally write it inside the front cover, along with the BookCrossing web address and instructions ( the three ‘R’s: READ, REGISTER, RELEASE) - so that hopefully your finder will know it is a special book and will know how to ‘journal’ it themselves when they find it. To make this identification easier, you can download labels to print off and stick inside the book cover, or even buy beautifully illustrated bookplates with bookcrossing instructions ready made from the Bookcrossing website supply shop.
When you register your book on the website you will be requested to write a ‘journal entry’ which can be as brief or long as you like: for example you can say whether you liked it or not (there is an optional scale out of ten), and/or give a brief synopsis of the story.
The next step is to release it into ‘the wild’, otherwise known as leaving it somewhere for someone else to find, so the book can start its journey.

Releasing Books
You need to make it clear that the book is not left where you release it by mistake (sadly, there are many registered books languishing in ‘lost property’) so put a ‘Post it’ Note (or similar) on the front cover of the book to let everyone knows it's there for the taking. There are plenty of examples of what to write on the website, but something like 'This is a free book, it isn't lost, please pick it up and take it home!' will get the message across.
You then need to think about where to release the book. This is fun. Anywhere folk are likely to linger will do - books have been released in cafés, in university lecture theatres, in waiting rooms. Obviously one needs to be aware of sensitive locations such as airports and train stations where a left book could cause a security alert. More exotic release locations have included a book being lodged in a crack half way up Haytor Rock (s’true) to another being wedged in a wreck at the bottom of The Mull of Sound in Scotland (scuba diving skills essential). I have released books in the Reception area at Bovey Tracey Community Hospital (very successful – waves to ‘Viking Maiden’!) and the Pizza Place (not so successful).

If abandoning your book to its fate doesn’t appeal, you can visit the bookcrossing ‘forums’ where other bookcrossers from all over the world meet to chat. Within the forums there are places to trade books, or offer them up as a ‘ring’ or ‘ray’. There are no rules – you can still give your registered book to a charity shop if that is your wish, or even pass it on to friends (who may decide to join bookcrossing themselves!). Either way, once the book has left your hands, you sit back and wait for the email saying someone else has 'caught' (found) it and made a journal entry of their own. If they go on to release it, you can follow its travels all over the world.

A lot of BookCrossing books are sadly never heard from again once they've been released. But don't give up if this happens to your book, just remember that someone somewhere may be reading and enjoying it, even if they haven't come online to say so. And there are many stories of bookcrossers receiving journal entries from books that they thought lost years before, having travelled around the world in the meantime.

Release Challenges
To vary the theme, many bookcrossers enjoy setting release challenges for themselves and others. An example might be 'Books about Christmas' to be released every week in December, or releasing gardening books in Public Parks and Gardens. Some Bookcrossers have attempted to release 'one book for every letter of the alphabet'. The website has a forum to discuss such adventures.

Finding Books
Lucky you if you are fortunate enough to find a BookCrossing book lying around somewhere. Its former owner will be anxious to hear what has happened to it, so head on over to the BookCrossing website and enter the BCID on the home page. You can join up if you want, or remain an Anonymous Finder. Then you can read the book and release the book yourself, or keep it as part of your permanent collection on your bookshelf: it's entirely up to you!
You can increase your chances of finding a released book by signing up for release notifications. Look for the ‘Go Hunting’ section of the bookcrossing website, where you can follow simple instructions to allow you to receive emails every time someone releases a book in your area. When you receive your release alert, finding the book is like participating in a treasure hunt!
Other Ways to BookCross
Releasing a book in the wild isn't the only way of letting your book travel. There are various methods of sharing your book with other bookcrossers, all of which can be organised through the BookCrossing forum:
- Bookrays: a bookray is a single book posted from one bookcrosser to another, following an order usually set in advance but often added to along the way. The final member of the bookray is usually at liberty to do whatever they want with the book once they receive it.
- Bookrings: a bookring is similar to a bookray, except that the final member of a bookring should send the book back to the first person in the list once they have read it. This person can then either release the book or keep it.
- RABCK: a 'Random Act Of BookCrossing Kindness' - is where a bookcrosser will send a fellow bookcrosser a book without being part of a ray or ring, and without expecting anything in return. The recipient is then free do what they like with the book. Many bookcrossers’ bookshelves on the site have a ‘wishlist’ which makes the sending of RABCK much simpler. I have received books full of glitter, and books with CHOCOLATE tucked inside. Mmm. Bookcrossers are such a generous lot.
- Trades: a trade is where two bookcrossers agree to exchange books, which they can then either keep or release.
- Bookboxes: a bookbox is exactly what it sounds like - a box of books. These work in a similar way to bookrings, except that each recipient should remove the books from the box that they wish to read, and replace them with other books before posting it on to the next person on the list. Many bookboxes are devoted to a particular genre such as science fiction, or chick lit, in which case books put into the box should fit the theme.
- OBCZ: an OBCZ, or ‘Official BookCrossing Zone’, is usually a bookshelf or box in the corner of a café, pub, library, internet café, or a multitude of other places, where BookCrossing books can be released and caught. If there is an OBCZ near you, feel free to take a book or two (remember to journal them), and maybe leave a couple in their place. I manage an OBCZ at South Devon College in Courtenay Street in Newton Abbot. There is another OBCZ in Hudson’s Coffee House in Plymouth managed by Mytilus.
- Geocaching: some bookcrossers have combined BookCrossing with Geocaching.
Social Bookcrossing
BookCrossing doesn't have to be a solitary activity and many towns and cities in the UK and around the world have regular BookCrossing meetups. Devon Bookcrossers meet up monthly approximately, in Hudson’s coffee house in Plymouth and the Boston Tea Party in Exeter. There has also been a bookreleasing walk at Drogo Castle to which over a dozen bookcrossers turned up. I have been pleased to meet ‘Pyxis’, ‘Europea’, ‘Anglersrest’, ‘Mytilus’ and ‘Sufiboy’ amongst others. (WAVES - Hiya!) Some meetups also include a mass release, where everyone will bring a few books and will release them around the local area. In addition to these meetups, there are also various Conventions around the world. The UK has its own ‘Unconvention’, held annually in Birmingham - which let bookcrossers get together en masse and enjoy themselves. The next one will be in July 2006 and is already sold out and I'm going!
Information about all these meet-ups can be found on the BookCrossing Forum or on Yahoo mailing lists devoted to Bookcrossing such as BCUK.

There has been some controversy in the past over whether BookCrossing is a bad idea from the point of view of authors and publishers (another ‘Napster’?) - surely if people are sharing books in this way then there will be fewer books being purchased? Much the same argument was used against libraries at one time. The general consensus from Bookcrossers is that they actually buy more books than they did prior to BookCrossing - if they really like a book they'll buy a copy for themselves and another to release! My own experience is that I’ve been introduced to many new authors and genres as a result of Bookcrossing and have bought more books as a result. As with libraries and second-hand bookshops, BookCrossing is just another way for many people to read the same book, perhaps a book that they wouldn't have thought of reading otherwise.
Many authors are themselves bookcrossers and have released some of their own books.

Bookcrossing is the internet at its best – it is fun, it is free and also a fascinating excercise in fate, karma, or whatever you want to call the chain of events that can occur between two or more lives and one piece of literature. If you’d like to see what books are available on my bookshelf then please do visit
http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/tutleymutley
http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/s-devon-college


I’ve cribbed much of this – from the Bookcrossing website and from an article by a bookcrosser (Cyzaki I think) which was a H2G2 entry on the BBC website.
I’ve changed it in most places but it’s still heavily plagiarized!!!

Me? Obsessed? Nah!

WIPS

I took this picture of my jumper in progress, last month, in amongst the primroses - the bluebells are out now!

It's a jumper from the Alice Starmore fishing sweaters book I bought from Ebay. It's for my son - I let him choose the pattern, yarn colour etc. I'm knitting it in Sirdar Denim Sport Aran, which is 60% Acrylic, 25% Cotton and 15% wool - very soft and machine washable. Think I'm going to have quite a bit over though - obviously greater yardage than the recommended (Rowan) yarn in the original pattern - a lot cheaper too!

I'm close to finishing the back to match the front - Only the sleeves and neck to do. Think I'm going to have to block the bottom hem carefully as it has a tendency to curl up already.

I've ordered the felt slippers kit from Cabin Fever - couldn't resist! I've been hankering after them for a while - they're so cool - and i've not done any felting since the bag I knitted Seth's (now ex) girlfriend.

IN the Wars...
I started April with a tooth abcess. I'm limping into May with a sprained ankle! Saturday 6th of May saw the annual May Day celebrations in Lustleigh: there's an annual procession around the village of little girls and young women all dressed in (virginal) white and little boys and young men carrying sticks(!). They are escorted by a brass band and Spring songs are sung at various points along the route. When the procession arrived back at the Orchard, the girls and boys danced around the maypole making pretty patterns with the multicoloured ribbons. Following these frolics, the May Queen was crowned - she sits on a throne under a flowery canopy which sits on top of a huge rock in the middle of the Orchard. This great hunk of granite is distinguished by being adorned with all the names of previous May Queens carved on to its surface.
Yes I know I ought to have taken pics of this, but it was awful weather - the rain held off for the dancing and crowning of the queen, but p****d down thereafter. It was too dark and miserable for any good piccies. I was doing my duty on the lucky dip stall and my cash box (a plastic margarine tub) filled with two inches of water inside 10minutes I'll swear. I beat a hasty retreat to the village hall for a cream tea (obligatory in Devon) and watched the rain pour outside the door on to my two soggy doggies. Having done my duty as far as fundraising goes, I was on my way to the pub (where the morris dancers had also beaten a hasty retreat) - when I realised I'd forgotten the dog lead - t'was lying on the floor under the chair I'd recently vacated. I turned around to leap down the concrete steps back into the hall - these steps were awash in water. I aquaplaned off the bottom step and landed on my ankle in a way it wasn't designed to go. I heard it go pop!
I sat down in the rain and felt all queasy - several onlookers helped me to hobble back into the hall. I had not one but TWO GPs come to my rescue and both diagnosed a sprained (not broken) ankle. One of them kindly offered me (and the two wet smelly labradors) a lift home. I was torn between doing the sensible thing (going home and carrying out the RICE treatment) - and meeting my mates in the pub. It was a hard decision, but I went home :-(

This horrible picture is what it looked like after three days! It's still really swollen and purple and yellow from my calf down to my toes. You really wanted to see that, I know, sorry. I'm just walking on it now, after a week and a half. There go my plans to get really fit before my sis and I walk 80 miles of the coastal path in June - we're walking from St Ives to the Lizard. She'll just have to give me a piggy back!

Here's a prettier picture of Tilly and Sydney:

This is how they sleep, in the hallway - they have a bed each, but Syd gets lonely, so he climbs on top of his mum!