Some British English food names...

You know that I'm fascinated by language. The differences between American English and British English can be quite amusing. If I told you that I had a lovely drink of squash, would you know what I meant? Or would you think I was drinking marrow? :)

Hundreds and thousands

Swiss Roll

Crisps

Chips

Squash

Ice lollies

Sweets

Fairy cake

Scones

Muffins

Biscuit (being dunked in a brew)

I find it interesting anyway!

Floods

The floods last night in Cockermouth were atrocious, I can't imagine how frightening it must have been in the town centre with the floods raging through the streets and creeping up the stairways of their homes. 12.4 inches in rainfall fell in 24 hours, the waters in the town reached 8 ft. My prayers are with all the people who have lost homes and businesses.




But particularly my prayers are with the family of Police Constable Barker who lost his life trying to protect others when the bridge pictured above collapsed. Such a brave man.

For Prayer

Please pray for the residents of Cockermouth in the Lakes. It's about 125 miles from us so we aren't directly affected by the flood waters. However the waters are totally flooding some houses, climbing up the stairwells and residents are trapped. The waters are very rapid in some places and rescue from these old Georgian houses will be difficult.

See this video from Sky News: Cockermouth

A Mish Mash

I love this cartoon. In a facebook meme thing today the question was asked, 'Is the cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?'. For me it's either. Depends on what day it is. Perhaps I'm 'moody', lol.

Anyway, back to the weather. I think that perhaps I concede that the rain is getting a liiiitle too much. We have flooding in one of our local towns with the river overflowing onto the flood plains and even in our village, see here, here and here. The Lake District has had to shut a load of schools - it is now no longer known as The Lake District, but simply The Lake :)

My back garden is a quagmire and I think I need my TARDIS to escape THE FLOOD!!! You'll have to excuse me, I'm rather excited by the impending Dr Who episodes coming up at Christmas after watching The Waters of Mars the other day.

I've not been well with a tummy bug and then bad chest/head cold. So hopefully my posts will be a bit more organised and less 'bipolar' (lol) soon.

Shiver Me Timbers!

I am rarely surprised by the weather. And yet here I am talking about it. But I'm English. It's what I do...

Have you noticed the link to the Met Office Weather Warnings in my sidebar? And have you noticed that it keeps warning about extremely wet weather in the North West? Well durrr. Really it's a given. November + North West + Pennines = rain. Shocker.

However, we have had a few brisk storms recently. We've not been too bad, but apparently it's been pretty breezy down south: See here at Times Online (the comments are often amusing - I particularly like 'A storm? In November? What next?' Pretty much what I was thinking, but hey-ho if you have column inches to fill and one is British what else can one do but discuss the weather?). On one online newspaper article there was a photo of some chap at a beach flying supermanesque in the very strong wing blowing in off the briny waves.

An aside, here are some sea distress signals:

Distress signal = MAYDAY (from French venez m'aider 'come help me') denotes immediate danger of loss of life or vessel.

Urgency signal = PAN PAN (pronounced 'pon pon', from French panne, which generally refers to a mechanical breakdown or failure. As an aide mémoire manuals teach 'Possible Assistance Needed' as a way to remember the correct words to use). Denotes difficulties but not immediate danger to life or vessel.

Ahhahhaarr Jim-Lad, tha' durst not be wantin' to be droppin' down into Davy Jones' Locker now.

Yep, just finished watching a season of Deadliest Catch matey.

Have a grand day me hearties!

Jesus is Lord!

Jesus is Lord! Creation's voice proclaims it
For by His power each tree and flower
Was planned and made
Jesus is Lord! The universe declares it
Sun, moon and stars in heaven
Cry, 'Jesus is Lord!'

Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord!
Praise Him with hallelujahs
For Jesus is Lord!

Jesus is Lord! Yet from His throne eternal
In flesh He came to die in pain
On Calvary's tree
Jesus is Lord! From Him all life proceeding
Yet gave His life a ransom
Thus setting us free

Jesus is Lord! O'er sin the mighty conqueror
From death He rose, and all His foes
Shall own His name
Jesus is Lord! God sent His Holy Spirit
To show by works of power
That Jesus is Lord

by David Mansell

Dr Livingstone, I presume?

On this day in history...

Dr David Livingstone was a Scottish minister and missionary who wanted to end the slave trade. He discovered the Victoria Falls, which he named after the British monarch of the time.

On one of his trips to Africa he went missing. The concern grew so great that in 1871 an American publisher sent one of his reporters, the Welsh born Henry Morton Stanley, to find him.

After quite a few months on this day, 10th November 1871, Stanley and his entourage of almost 200 men found Livingstone in a small village called Ujiji. According to Stanley's biography, he was found because Stanley, whilst in that area, heard a voice say in English, 'Good morning sir!' Obviously surprised to hear an English voice Stanley said, and I quote, 'Who the mischief are you?' (LOL) The man told him that he was Livingstone's servant and that Livingstone was in the village of Ujiji.

When Stanley first laid his eyes on Livingstone he was shocked at how he had aged yet put on a 'stiff upper lip' so as not to offend the man, and greeted him with those well known words, 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?'



Quotes and extra details taken from here.

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hurrah and Huzzah! I can join in Homemaker Monday because as of today I have no longer got a job - which is sad in some ways but such a blessing in others!


The weather in my neck of the woods:

Damp! Edit: It is now 10:13 am and the skies are blue and there is a touch of frost, beautiful and crisp. My favourite sort of Autumn day!

One of my simple pleasures:

Sitting with a cup of coffee, cat on my knee, reading.

On my bedside table:

Bible, Greek-English Interlinear Bible and Herb of Grace by Elizabeth Goudge

On my TV:

Frasier

On the menu for tonight:

Turkey in tomato and garlic sauce from the freezer, served with pasta.

On My To-Do List:

Lots and lots of laundry. Hubs was an icky-sicky chap this weekend so I have lots of laundry (kill them bugs with hot washes)! So, God willing, I'll catch up today.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

New Recipe I tried last week:

No new recipes

In the craft basket:

Nothing right now.

Looking forward to:

Not having to go out to work!

Homemaking Tip for this week:

Don't spend too much time on the internet!!

Favourite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):

The Scrapbooking Industry and Postmodernism by my blog-friend Melissa. I don't scrap-book and neither does she condemn scrapbooking in the post, but discusses how we remember and document our memories, and how we reflect on them. For me it made me think, do I build little altars to my 'treasured' memories or do I build altars of remembrance to what God has done in my life. Melissa links this in with the current trends in scrapbooking and journalling, she points to the 'Creative Memories' website, which declares: “Your Life, Your Story, Your Way.”

"How does memory serve us and define us as individuals? Poorly if we don’t fit it into the metanarrative [the Gospel]. It becomes a self-centered activity that yields no meaning. Meaning is found only when we plug it into His story and understand our life in light of our growth in Him in relation to His purpose in history."

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Is it my life I 'liveth' or 'Christ that liveth in me'? (I feel a song coming on!) :)

Favourite photo from last week:

'Supergirl'! Taken at Grizedale Forest in the Lake District

Lesson learned the past few days:

That in God's kingdom there is no sickness, no crying, perfect peace, perfect love; Come Lord Jesus!

On my Prayer List:

My sick husband (tummy bug), my friend who has cancer and is in great pain right now (if you could pray, I won't use her name because I haven't asked her permission, but the Lord knows who you will be praying for), that everyone in my family would find Jesus Christ and His saving grace, that I grow closer to my Lord Jesus Christ more and more everyday. Also, whether to get a collie puppy - yikes!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Rev 21:4

Isn't that a beautiful picture? I found it here: Thy Word Forever, which has lots of lovely scripture related pictures and computer wallpapers.

Have a beautiful day and happy homemaking!

Pease pudding hot...

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot - nine days old.
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot - nine days old.

~Traditional English nursery rhyme, c. 1760

And some would like it fresh - thank you very much!

Pease pudding is traditionally a sort of thick soupy type dish made from various vegetables, but mainly yellow split-peas - it's served with ham or bacon. Most popular now though is green pea and ham soup. We Brits like to call savoury dishes 'pudding' just to keep you on your toes (think Yorkshire pudding, steak and kidney pudding, etc). Here's a pease pudding recipe.

The word 'pease' was the correct word for pea; 'peasen' was the correct plural of 'pease'. However, the word 'pease' was often mistaken for the plural of 'pea'; thus we now have 'pea' singular and 'peas' plural. This is known as back-formation in language. See also Online Etymology.

Words are great.

Remember, remember the 5th of November

...gunpowder treason and plot.

Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators.

The Gunpowder Conspiracy of 1605, as it was then known, (also known as The Powder Treason or The Gunpowder Plot) was a failed assassination attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics against King James I of England and VI of Scotland. The plot intended to kill the King and most of the Protestant aristocracy by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening on 5 November 1605. Taken from: Wikipedia

The gunpowder was placed beneath the Houses of Parliament.

Ever since the Gunpowder Plot, the reigning monarch enters the Parliament only once a year, on what is called "the State Opening of Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. Today, the Queen and Parliament still observe this tradition. Taken from: Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night.

Guy Fawkes is brought before his intended victim, King James I

Let's hope it's not raining on Saturday when we attend a local bonfire and fireworks night!