OF ROMANTIC GENTS, LADIES and... FLOWERS

PLEASE VIEW THIS BEAUTY called DARK FLAMENCO, LARGE, by clicking on the image.


Paul came home and had bought me three beautiful Amaryllis stems, two red and one white. They were still closed, and that is the way you should buy them, so full of promise!
In fact they are Hippeastrum, which is a genus of about 70–75 species and 600+ hybrids and cultivars of bulbous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Argentina north to Mexico and the Caribbean. Some species are grown for their large showy flowers. These plants are popularly but erroneously known as Amaryllis

This is not so unusual for him, and NO, it is NOT because I'll have to 'forgive' him for something!!!
Where does this misconception come from, how did it start? I have always known men (agreed, on the Continent) who gave flowers to their loved one and vice versa.
It is a wonderful, meaningful and loving gesture and can sometimes say more than words!
It is not wrong or embarrassing to be 'romantic'... And yet when a man walks around with a bouquet, you see the look in the eyes of passers-by, it is such a sad cliché, and many ladies are the victim of it, their man would love to give them flowers, but they'll not be seen carrying them! LOL!


Most flowers sold in the UK are bought by women.
However, come Valentine's Day, the majority of flowers sold are overwhelmingly bought by men! Why is this? What is stopping men buying flowers the rest of the year? I know I'm a lucky woman! I don't want them on the 14th of February, that's commercial obligation, it doesn't make me feel 'special'. Out of the blue, that is what matters and does it for me!
Studies show that flowers actually have a positive effect on human beings!
Some surveys show that women have very positive feelings towards men carrying flowers, considering him a thoughtful, romantic and loving kind of guy, and are often jealous of the man's partner for receiving such a lovely gift - it could boost your rating in the popularity stakes to be seen with a bunch of flowers!

Flowers are a permanent attribute of any love story. Can you imagine courting without flowers?

Flowers are a compliment to a lady, the way of saying that a man finds her feminine?

I say... give them while I can enjoy them, no need for them when I'm dead, that's not for me anymore but for the 'outside' world?

So come on everybody, no need for expensive bouquets, it is the thought that counts, and one rose, one stem can say it all.....................
Photographed in a ‘sensual’ way, they made me think of fiery flames, the ruched skirts of the Flamenco dancers; my excuse is that I’m a ‘romantic creative’… what’s yours? Tee hee.
Have fun and thanx, M, (*_*)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

THE KNACK...


Yes, there is a knack on how to board a truck, the steps are straight, the first one high off the ground. So, you have two handlebars to pull yourself up, get your footing and climb up!
The first times it seems quite daunting, like most new skills, but, now I don’t even think about it, I just ‘swing’ in and out!
In the truck my son is finishing his paperwork, there’s lots of that, as everything is highly regulated.
I know that there are a number of ‘rogue’ elements, like in everything, who give the job a bad name, but most of them are quiet, normal guys, who like a joke, a smoke, a coffee, after work a beer… or two…or three…
They work hard for a living, but it’s a world within ours, almost a community.
Look around you, in your home, anywhere, think of your food…what, at some point in time was not on the road, being transported in a truck?

ON THE ROAD!

My youngest son, from when he was a little boy had a huge interest in trucks, when I came back from the States and Canada, I always knew what to bring him, magazines on those monster trucks, beautifully painted and maintained, the centrefolds all ended up on his bedroom walls.
He studied, had a very good job, when he called me to say he was taking all the exams that would fulfill his dream.
He quit the job and became a truck driver! For a number of years he drove International and mostly Arctic (temperature controlled).
One of his routes was the UK, he’d call me out of the blue, sometimes on his way back from Scotland, sometimes on his way to a ferry.
Since he'd have to 'rest' by law anyway, we'd often meet at one of the service stations along the motorway, I'd sit with him, we'd exchange all the latest news and enjoy each other's company.
Sometimes I’d pack and go with him!
Once we did 6 countries in one go, England/Belgium/Holland/Germany/Denmark / Sweden. Let’s not glamourise it, it’s not the scenic beauty of the countries that you take in, but motorway, not the most exciting, you fly past all the wonderful names, and if you’re lucky sometimes you’ll see a glimmer in the distance.
In the morning they are in the warmth of The South of France or Spain, next day in the cold of Scandinavia, through all weather conditions and traffic...
It’s tough, stressful, they are under constant time pressure.
The truck becomes their home for a week, many have TV, they have a fridge, music, radio for contact, heating and airco, curtains for 'privacy'.
To sleep, well, you have to get used to the incessant traffic noise, AND... the motor to cool or warm whatever product was being transported, every 15/20 minutes!
That is with the exception of the ferry crossings, on ferries they often have their own quarters, restaurants, relaxing areas and sleeping cabins with shower, you'd BETTER be QUIET in those passages!

We had some wonderful times and adventures, great memories, lots of stories, all written....
Now he is married, they have a little girl. He’s given up THE life…
He drives a huge Scania with a trailer=a deep loader to transport very heavy loads, like huge cranes and giant bulldozers.
This is the highest truck I was ever in, very comfortable, especially for the driver, a special hydraulic seat, great music and communication console.
All the mirrors are NOT luxury or bling! Pure necessity!

Here he is, in the days that you were still allowed to hold your cell phone.

They have to be in constant contact because things change often by the minute.
I'll always be grateful for our 'trips' together, they were great times, he is a very responsible driver and I am proud of him!.

I discovered a 'hidden' world, around service stations, ports, parkings, we fly past them, but they are there... waiting, eating, resting, sleeping, doing their paper-work, looking up routes and addresses, phoning home... Everything in our world at some point was hauled in one of those trucks by one of those people!



Have a great day and thanx for viewing, M, (*_*)

KIDS IN THE CITY

People are scared, parents worry, not without cause, the news is not good...
To see children play outside, in the city, is a rare sight now! The streets have gone silent.
Sometimes you get lucky, you'll hear the laughter or tears that come with the joys of having fun with your neighbours instead of just with your brothers and sisters.
Some are still not allowed out, so often they look out their window... so sad.
Sometimes you might as well help mum hang up the wash, if only that line was not so high, lol.


I've often observed these kids from the studio, they are well behaved, somehow they seem to have a preference for that ONE derelict backyard, I wonder what the attraction is?
It's not easy growing up these days, it's not easy growing up in the city these days...

And yet, it is so important for the social skills which people need to interact and communicate with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning these skills is called socialisation.
To better develop socially, emotionally and cognitively, children need plenty of free, unstructured play- in other words, lots of old- fashioned free playtime!

Professor Tina Bruce has said that ‘Play cannot be pinned down, and turned into a product of measurable learning. This is because play is a process [which] enables a holistic kind of learning, rather than fragmented learning’ (in Ward, 1998: 22, 24; see House, 1999).
It is often said that play is, paradoxically, a very serious business indeed. One reason why this might be so is strikingly described by David Elkind: ‘Play' is young children’s only defense against the many real or imagined attacks and slights they encounter…

There should be more 'child-safe' areas in the cities, it would benefit the parents too, we are ALL become too solitary.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR neighbours?

I think, that we should live with care, but NOT WITH AND IN FEAR?

I decided to start yet another series, I find it interesting, it will be ongoing for some time I suspect, lol.

Thanx for your visit and comments, always appreciated, M, (*_*)

THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?????????

I was in my kitchen, took out an egg and saw this tiny plume still attached to it... it begged the old enigma, what was first? The chicken or the egg? Because of the plume I smiled and thought, hhmmm, the chicken... did the research after I had photographed it.
I am pleased to present you the answer!

It is a question that has vexed philosophers since the Greeks.
But it seems we may now have the answer to the beguilingly simple question: "Which came first?" Well I’m happy to inform you: IT’S THE EGG!!!

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was puzzled by the idea that there could be a first bird or egg and concluded that both the bird and egg must have always existed:

"If there has been a first man he must have been born without father or mother – which is repugnant to nature. For there could not have been a first egg to give a beginning to birds, or there should have been a first bird which gave a beginning to eggs; for a bird comes from an egg."
The same he held good for all species, believing, with Plato, that everything before it appeared on earth had first its being in spirit.

"Whether chicken eggs preceded chickens hinges on the nature of chicken eggs," said panel member and philosopher of science David Papineau at King's College London.

"I would argue it's a chicken egg if it has a chicken in it. If a kangaroo laid an egg from which an ostrich hatched, that would surely be an ostrich egg, not a kangaroo egg. By this reasoning, the first chicken did indeed come from a chicken egg, even though that egg didn't come from chickens."

A panel think they may have solved that debate; they were unanimous on the correct chicken/egg pecking order. John Brookfield, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Nottingham said the solution involves piecing together the specification event in which chickens first evolved.

He imagines two non-chicken parents getting together and giving rise to the first individual of a new species because of a genetic mutation.
"The first chicken must have differed from its parents by some genetic change, the first chicken must have started out as an embryo in an egg, with a very subtle one, but one which caused this bird to be the first ever to fulfil our criteria for truly being a chicken," said Prof Brookfield.
"Thus the living organism inside the eggshell would have had the same DNA as the chicken that it would develop into, and thus would itself be a member of the species of chicken," he added.
The experts looked at the evidence in the long-standing debate over which came first - the chicken or the egg - and opted for the egg.
He explained that the reason was due to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life.
Professor Brookfield said: "The first living thing which we could say unequivocally was a member of the species would be this first egg, so I would conclude that the egg came first."

A joke that seems to support the argument that the chicken came before the egg follows thus,
"A chicken and an egg are in bed together when the chicken rolls over and starts to smoke. The egg then says, "Well that solves that argument then...”


LOL, hope you enjoy this? Thanx, M, (*_*)