We're going to the zoo zoo zoo....

How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

See the elephant with the long trunk swingin'
Great big ears and a long trunk swingin'
Snuffin' up peanuts with a long trunk swingin'
And we can stay all day!

Well we stayed all day and I'm gettin' sleepy
Sittin' in the car gettin' sleep sleep sleepy
Home already gettin' sleep sleep sleepy
'Cause we have stayed all day.

We been to the zoo zoo zoo
So have you you you
You came too too too
We been to the zoo zoo zoo

(from'Going to the Zoo' by Peter, Paul and Mary

Isn't my husband handsome? :)

And I think I'm just the belle of the ball. :)

We had a fun day. This was Squidge's choice for her birthday treat. The Saturday before her 7th birthday we went to Build a Bear and she made a lovely rabbit, we met Hello Kitty, had some balloon animals made and went to McDonalds for tea (NOT my choice, we tried to persuade Squidge that another eating establishment would be preferable, but she was adamant). The weekend after her birthday she wanted to either go to the beach or Chester Zoo. The weather made the beach an unattractive prospect so the zoo it was.

I'm in two minds about zoos. Chester Zoo has a great conservation scheme, but I still dislike seeing animals in captivity, especially the big cats. Although the lions just spend all day snoozing, the jaguars seemed distressed to me walking round and round and round. There are a multiplicity of arguments for and against zoos. The aim of conservation schemes in zoos is to maintain population of endangered animals and then reintroduce them to the wild at some point, but as Born Free point out this doesn't always work. Tigers, apparently, have never been successfully reintroduced to the wild.

But, for me, I think zoos like Chester Zoo are a useful and important (but imperfect) way to protect certain species. Hopefully, though, a better method of animal conservation will be found and promoted. I do love to see the animals, but always, always, feel a bit uncomfortable.

POINT OF INTEREST: I really don't like monkeys/apes/chimps. I try to like them, but they creep me out. Lock 'em up I say, they're plotting the downfall of mankind!

I jest, I jest.

Pip, pip!

Edit: my husband has just made the point that one of the birds on display at the zoo is extinct in the wild, which is an example of a zoo maintaining the existence of a species. Though, whether the bird happy to be alive in the zoo is perhaps another story.

Brief history of mine

I've been ill this last week. Hence the plethora of blog posts recently. Too ill to clean but not ill enough to blog.

I had an awful headache for three days. After trying a variety of pills and potions I gave up and went to my GP. I have a sinus infection. The anti-biotics he gave me are very jolly. I MUST eat them sitting down or standing up, or else! This is because they disturb the delicate balance of one's belly and if you lie down too soon it'll all come back up. Additionally, I am warned NOT TO GO OUT IN SUNLIGHT when taking the pills. Not sure why I'm not allowed out in sunlight, maybe like Dracula I will turn into a small pile of dust. If I stop seeing my reflection in mirrors then I think I'll pop back to my doctor and ask for the antidote. :P

Just noticed the time, I must away to work. I'll tell you all about Chester Zoo another time.

Pip, pip.

Saturday's post about our recent trip to Newby Hall is at my Wordpress blog: Meow

Book Reviews

A couple of my book reviews from Good Reads...the question is, will Blogger let me post this?

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

My rating: 3 stars


It was OK. I haven't read The Bard for quite a few years, so getting used to the style of writing took a bit of time. I'm not the hugest Shakespeare fan to be honest, I find the characters' long speeches a little wearing sometimes.


Apparently, many think that it was Shakespeare's last play and I can see how Prospero's 'retirement' from magic is Shakespeare alluding to his retirement from playwriting. Because it is such a short play the characters aren't very rounded and I didn't really care about them much. There are a few amusing parts involving Caliban and his drunken mates.

Would I read it again? Possibly.

Balderdash and Piffle by Alex James

My rating: 4 stars


A very interesting book. I am fascinated by the English language, so much so that I wish I had enough money to do a course. But then if I had enough money to do a course perhaps I would do Theology. I digress.

Anyway, this isn't a scholarly tome but a fun look at the evolution of the English language. Some parts seem a little rushed, but it does provide a broad scope rather than an in depth analysis.

I'd certainly recommend the book, though it does cover profanity and swear words so if you're sensitive to that kind of thing be warned - there's a whole chapter on it.

I don't know if this will post, but I'm blogging at Meow until Blogger sorts out whatever it is that is causing me endless problems here.

I really don't have the hours available to upload photos, write a post, blah blah blah, for it to disappear into the wilderness.

Hopefully see you over there!

Denomination Derby

Derby /ˈdɜːrbɪ/ n. (pl. Derbies) ^2. (derby or local derby) Brit. a sports match between two rival teams from the same area. (Oxford English Dictionary)

In aimless internet wandering last night I fell upon a Christian forum 'CARM'. It is naive I know, but it never ceases to amaze me - the attitude of superiority amongst so many contributors, who really are all essentially batting for the same team but end up committing verbal hooliganism with the hatred and venom of Manchester United and Liverpool fans. To quote yet another clichéd idiom - we should all be singing from the same hymn sheet, even if we disagree when the hymn was written and the speed at which it should be sung!

Perhaps it is a case of a superiority complex - one must appear to be superior and have all the answers in case you are rumbled and discovered to actually be just as in the dark as everyone else.

But what, dear reader, what, at the end of the day*, is a Christian?

(*at the end of the day, it's a game of two halves - my British readers will rejoice in my excessive use of football commentator stock phrases)

Christian ˈkrɪstɪən, tʃ(ə) adj. ¹ . relating to or professing Christianity or its teachings. ² informal having qualities associated with Christians, e.g. kindness. n. a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Christianity. (Oxford English Dictionary)

"[H]aving qualities associated with Christians, e.g. kindness", the editor of the OED obviously hasn't visited CARM recently :P

How are Christians called? We are called to serve, to humble ourselves. To teach - yes (if we truly believe that in God's sight we have the answer), to beat down no. To reason - perhaps, to bully - NO! To exhort - yes, to destroy - no.

"Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:26-28

Oh I love a good discussion, I agree that we all don't agree on the finer points of doctrine and probably never will until that great and glorious day when it will all be revealed. But we all know Jesus died for us, He set us free and we have redemption and resurrection because of Him. Surely that should count for something...everything!

Wouldn't it be beautiful it we enjoyed talking about Jesus, if we enjoyed discussing what He really meant, if we prayed before we shared, if we prayed for the people we discussed with, if we kept humble servant hearts and were more ready to listen than to speak, if we displayed the fruits of the Spirit and not the fruits of darkness.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32

I could write all this on the forum, but I would be eaten alive, alive I tell you! And would come across as being full of myself...which would defeat the object. And then I would get all offended and commit some verbal hooliganism of my own - yes, I am aware of my own weakness. I have written some pretty ham-fisted posts and comments in my time. I have started arguments, I have offended and I have fired off the odd stinging email - so I ain't writin' this from my pedestal in the clouds!

Going back to the OED definition of Christian, the main issue is that we cannot agree what 'Christian' actually means - what is 'Christianity'?. Does it simply mean someone who, to the best of their ability, follows Jesus? Or, are there criteria? We cannot agree on that either. We cannot agree what 'born-again' means. We cannot agree on what communion/breaking bread/Eucharist really means. We cannot agree on baptism. We cannot agree what 'church' means. We cannot agree on the work of the Holy Spirit. We circle one another like hyenas or coyotes, making little cutting remarks and personal insults, "You belong to a cult, your voice is not worthy to be heard", "You believe XYZ, you must be insulted because your viewpoint is quite frankly stupid". No. The only One Who is not stupid is God. We are all truly fools in our own minds - only God has the full truth and NONE of us have reached the goal yet. We press on, indeed! We seek the will of God. We read His Holy Word and pray for understanding. Because if we speak the truth we speak from His understanding and not our own. Man can never in his own mind understand, it is with the mind of Christ that we understand so that no man may boast. This, I believe, is the work of the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth to us as He wills.

Oh I agree there are Christian cults out there, who believe some weird things and try to get their followers to live in caves and drink poison! But even they don't need a circle of coyotes ripping them apart and treating them as monsters. We need the truth, but we need the truth in love. Not wishy-washy nicey-nicey bleugh, the truth hurts sometimes. But between brothers - and even if you don't agree you are brothers you are at least humans! - there should be mutual respect, prayer and love.

I love a good debate. I don't like the nastiness, which I why I shy away from actually commenting on forums - in case the full moon comes out and I start to howl.

I am the fairest daughter of the year.

Mine is the Month of Roses; yes, and mine
The Month of Marriages! All pleasant sights
And scents, the fragrance of the blossoming vine,
The foliage of the valleys and the heights.
Mine are the longest days, the loveliest nights;
The mower's scythe makes music to my ear;
I am the mother of all dear delights;
I am the fairest daughter of the year.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

June is a lovely month, not quite summer, not quite the end of Spring. That joyous moment between, before we all start to think about Christmas...Ahem.

It is also the month of Squidge's birthday...the fairest daughter of the year. Well, along with Chatterbox, who - bien sûr - is also a fair daughter! :)

Squidge is 7 years old. I'm so proud of my little girl, she's a little treasure.

Boots is in every birthday photo of course, she's quite the kitty Prima Donna.

Have a super-dooper week.

Pip, pip!