Music | 1000 Fields of Roses

Temporary/Perfect

You know when you’re strolling effortlessly along a straight, grassy, flower-strewn verge and then suddenly – huge pothole. Quicksand. Mire.
Today’s been one of those days. No reason, really – just feeling down and flat. I spent ages this afternoon mending something I really want to wear again – it was fiddly, with difficult edges and sometimes nearly impenetrable fabric. I finally finished, tried it on, and found the zipper was too flimsy (and old – it had been repurposed) and it broke.
I may have thrown a minor tantrum.
An adult, dignified, fairly restrained tantrum, but I was Not Best Pleased.
Nevertheless, I know that this mood is temporary. It may change tomorrow, it may take a few days, but I know that underneath my life is Good. Just look at this blue sky!

That’s what I saw on my walk yesterday – playful, dancing clouds and a sky that stays bright regardless of my concerns. There’s always beauty. I just have to remember to look.

Nothing is ever completely perfect in this world, but some things strive to attain it. In the depths of my grumpiness this afternoon I heard this again…

Life is a mixture of highs and lows. Sometimes the zipper breaks. Sometimes there’s opera. The clouds still dance, and the birds still sing. It just might take till tomorrow to see it…

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on November 9, 2018 at 8:45 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Ed Sheeran Andrea Bocelli

Elementary, My Sweet Bean

This term’s workshop was focused on history – the task was to choose a person (or event/invention etc) of interest and present a 1-2 minute talk. As you can imagine, 2 minutes doesn’t leave much time to say a lot… it concentrates the mind on what’s important!
We had a host of famous characters visiting today (costumes were encouraged), including Queen Elizabeth II, Fanny Crosby, Mother Teresa, Samuel Morse, Lewis & Clarke & Sacagawea, as well as a history of the Cherokee nation, of the British East India Company, and a look at the history of dolls.
Sweet Bean went as Sherlock Holmes, to talk about his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Rather than focusing on literature he talked about Conan Doyle’s contribution to forensic science and the way a criminal investigation is run. Here’s his talk –

He was a bit flustered about the microphone – he’d worked out an opening sequence with the pipe and magnifying glass, but he couldn’t work out how to add in the microphone… My blurry filming style probably doesn’t help!

Here’s a couple of shots of the great detective himself 🙂

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The cloak was an old skirt split at the back seam and hemmed and tucked in places, the deerstalker was two baseball caps sewn together and covered with dark fabric, and the pipe was cardboard and papier mache, with paint and a foil embellishment to finish.
A tiring day, but satisfying.
Now, time for bed…

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on October 31, 2018 at 9:09 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: History Workshop, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Rising Up

Just been watching the third episode of the new series of Doctor Who, where they interact with Rosa Parks, and ultimately ensure that history is made in spite of alien shenanigans…
I was intitially a little skeptical that it would turn out well – there are so many ways it could have been handled badly. Thoroughly enjoyed it 🙂

My post title comes from the end credits, and a song that fits well with Rosa’s story. It wasn’t written for the show – it’s a few years old, and has become an unofficial anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement.

I’ve really been enjoying this new series. It’s different in a lot of ways (and also the same in many). I can’t quite put my finger on just how it’s different… obviously different writer, and that shows. The companions seem to be more prominent in the storylines than we’ve seen before, and I think that’s working well. Mostly, with this episode, we got a bit of a history lesson (a concept that I believe was part of the very early origins of the show), and perhaps a bit of a reminder for the future…
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
Perhaps it’s time to look around and take stock of where we stand right now?

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on October 22, 2018 at 9:02 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Andra Day, dOCTOR Who, George Santayana

Potato, Thriller, Queen.

The first week of the final term went well. We did a simple (but satisfying) experiment – microwaving a potato to destruction, in order to find the percentage of water in it. It was around 84%…
Here’s the potato afterwards. I put it on the patio after we finished because there was steam/smoke pouring from it for a longer period of time than I was happy with, and I didn’t want it to burst into flame in the house…

This was the first experiment from a free course on basic science, which covers the importance of keeping a journal, and looks at the applications of experimental data in real life situations. It’s from a site called FutureLearn, which has a range of topics to choose from (good for homeschoolers!) I decided to do a bit of basic science with Sweet Bean as we haven’t done much in the way of hands on science this year. Hopefully we’ll finish this course by extracting DNA from a kiwi fruit.

Yesterday we also finished the day by watching a variety of YouTube clips, starting with Queen and moving through Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis and a little bit of Elvis. There’s many more to watch, but we ran out of time…
I’ve been enjoying watching reaction videos – a young bloke watching classic rock clips (and some opera etc.) for the first time and sharing his reactions – go here to have a look! I found his channel while watching a variety of reaction videos from people seeing Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time, and just kept watching…
I realised that Sweet Bean knows Queen’s songs but hasn’t seen them live. Apart from being enjoyable I thought it was an opportunity to see what a band can aspire to 🙂 Learning a bit of rock history seemed like the obvious next step…
Here’s the first clip we watched – Queen’s performance at Live Aid in 1985.

Today I watched a few more reaction videos and decided to share vintage Michael Jackson with Sweet Bean…

The unveiling of the moonwalk…

…and the birth of a classic thriller.

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on October 13, 2018 at 8:28 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: JBLethalTV, Michael Jackson, Queen, science

Singing In The Spring

The days are getting warmer and the evenings longer. The birds are singing, flowers fling sweet scent into the air, and the skies are bright with blue surrounded banked clouds.

Spring is sweeping out the winter, ready for new ventures…

We were privileged today to watch four baptisms – each with different stories, each signifying a new beginning. One of the words spoken was about animals hibernating, but waking in the spring – every year a new spring…
It’s a time for awakening.
For the possibilities of new directions, fresh understandings. Anything is possible!

Songs for tonight –

The final reading for the service tonight, a promise for whatever is to come.

Isaiah 59:21 – 60:5
²¹“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

60    Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
²For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
³And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
⁵Then you shall see and be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

Published in:

on September 23, 2018 at 10:09 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Bethel, Hillsong, Isaiah 59-60, spring

Rising!

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Published in:

on September 13, 2018 at 10:17 am Leave a Comment

Snippets

…of life and thoughts lately. It’s the first day of Spring, apparently – just the time to contemplate the bits and pieces.

I went to a conference last Saturday, where I got a little wooden stand with various cards to put in it.

This one is one of my favourite verses, against a background of the arena to practise it in. Well, maybe not the moon. At least not yet…

This is my view when I swing at the park, especially if I really get going 😀

Such blue skies at the moment! Lots of birdsong, too.

Here’s some flowers I got the other week, surrounded by feathers I’ve picked up over the years, and an abandoned nest.

A close up, because they’re beautiful ❤

…and here is my song for the evening.

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on September 1, 2018 at 9:33 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Hillsong

All Present (And Correct)

Sweet Bean did his science presentation today, after much anxiety and practice. He tends to stress about public speaking, but when it comes to the time, he’s always very good. This term’s question was “Does the presence of music in film affect emotions?”
Here is his display, complete with multi-coloured pie charts and a laptop that had been playing a clip using acting with different music for the same scene.

All the other displays were amazing – it’s interesting to see other people’s thought processes, and hear how they investigated the things that they were curious about.

…what’s that you say? Does music in film affect emotions?
Listen to this to find out!
🙂

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on August 29, 2018 at 12:04 am Leave a Comment
Tags: Science Fair 2018

Wild Eyed Wonder

Remember the cafe/live music blog post from last week? 🙂 We went back tonight… same musician, so we sat and enjoyed while sipping hot chocolate/tea. It was a beautiful night with beautiful music – we even scored a table right up close – like having a concert just for us! Here’s a YouTube clip (the first song we heard tonight) – have a look at the official channel as well.