Congratulations Corrie

Well how can you have not noticed that Coronation Street unless you don't have a TV and haven't read a newspaper of a magazine for the last 50 years. Today marks the 50th birthday of the longest running soap on British TV, in fact on the 17th September this year it became the world's longest running TV soap opera currently in production. Quite some feat for a program that The Daily Mirror claimed would only last 3 weeks and even some people inside Granada Television, that  commissioned programme, doubted the show would last as long as the planned 13 episodes. Last it did and it has become part of British culture.

I have never the show watched like many do everyday, week after week, but then I have some issues about about soaps and how they affect the life by creating a make believe community in which we can live, when in days gone by those communities would have been the ones we live in with the people around us. Another thing is I think they make people seek drama in their own lives. I know people that live their lives like a soap with the same degree of emotion and drama. It's unreal, but I can understand the attraction, but that aside it still has affected my life, like it has of everyone that has heard the theme tune. There is something warm and comforting about it that has to do with home and feelings of safety which I think comes from my childhood. I wish the show well and I hope it carries on going for another 50 years. It is well written and well acted and it deserves it success. It is gives many people want in life, an escape from their real lives and it only becomes a problem when people base their lives on what they see.

More Free Downloads

If you remember back a few weeks ago I featured Peter Bradley Adams as one of my "Artists of the Week" Well this is your chance to download a special christmas song for free.

Download "Snow will fall Tonight" From Here

If you didn't get a chance back then to look him up on youtube or buy one of his albums following the link above will will let you own one of his songs for free. I hope you enjoy it and while you are there why not join the mailing list.

Late Tuesday

With temperatures as low as minus twelve overnight it was a very chilly and icy start to the day in Rutland but at least the sun was shining and countryside is still looking stunning covered with a thin blanket of snow. What was more impressive were the trees which were covered in frost as if they had a new growth of white foliage. The approach to Langham Junction was amazing, just like a winter wonderland. I just wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of it's beauty. 

The early part of the morning was like any other. Breakfast for Emily and Catherine, pack lunches made and ready and the hurrying process of getting Emily to school underway. This was all followed by the icy drive into Oakham and then the trip to the CoOp to get some milk before returning home. They was, however one difference today I had longer to wait before going out agin to get our little Lucy. For some unknown reason I was informed to pick her up at 11 and when asked if I could pick her up early I got  short sharp reply.

Just before eleven I set off to get Lucy from Oakham and soon we were walking carefully in the ice back to the car. What seemed odd today was she was strangely quiet when we drove home. Normally she chats away telling me all that is going on but today it was different. I couldn't put my finger on it but if I asked a question she sort of hid her face and eyes, not something I have seen her do before. I just left her to it and eventually she opened up a bit as we walked down the walk to the house. 

Once she got in the house she got a big warm welcome from George and she headed off to the family room and he was closely behind waging his tail as he went. He hardly leaves her side when she first arrives and if she sits down anywhere he is always by her side. They are inseparable for the first hour she back home with me. I guess he misses her they are such close friends.

What was left of the morning for Lucy was spent playing. First we played with the train set before playing Kerplunk together and finally she decided to go on the old games console I had brought for the girls to play on when we went on Holiday to Durham years ago. I had forgot all about it but she found it in one of the storage boxes and I had some spare batteries to get it working. It didn't take her long to get the hang of one of the games and soon she was happily playing it on her own without any direction from me with George at her side.

With the roads being icy in places, especially the country ones so I decided that there would be a change in plan for the afternoon. We had planned a surprise for Lucy but we thought it could wait for another day given the weather reports were promising warmer days to come at the end of the week. So off we went in search of food and a trip out to look at the lovely snow along the way. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, even if it was rather cold and everything look so lovely.

I love the way Lucy makes use of her time in the car. She always asks for music to be put on if we are going far and I love the way she now asks where we are going and if we are there yet. Emily and Catherine have grown out of it and it is lovely to hear those words again. I just love the way she chats as we go along as she notices things and points them out along the way. Thankfully her quiet period all but gone but her subjects of conversation were just a little different from normal.

When we got back from our travels the mist and fog was rolling in and the sky took on a rather dramatic appearance. The colours were beautiful and the sun could be seen as a yellow burning ball of fire. It was absolutely stunning sight that changed by the minute. The way light was catching the countryside and reflected off the snow was amazing. We stop here and there for a few minutes to take a few snaps before moving on.

Lucy was keen to see Emily and soon we were waiting near her school to pick her up and take her home. Along the way we stopped off to buy some sweets for everyone for later. When we got home Catherine was home and Lucy rushed into see her and give her a cuddle before settling down in the family room to play with everyone until dinner was ready.

Dinner was simple child orientated affair that included one of Lucy's favourite vegetables and it wasn't long before she was trying to eat everyones sweetcorn at the dinner table. After dinner it was back to playing, with one if the games ending up with them all laughing and giggling on the naughty step. However, it wasn't long before Lucy had to returned back to Oakham and with kisses and cuddles for everyone she was on her way back in the car with me. Then she was gone for another few days. 

For Catherine the excitement of the day wasn't over she had the school Christmas disco to go to with her friends and as soon I got back home I was out again taking her to school. She had a lovely time and it was great to see how grown up she is starting to feel now she is in year six. I tried to hold her hand to help her in the ice on the way home after the disco and she was quick to say not in front of my friends. With the disco out of the way for Catherine and homework done for Emily they both headed off to bed to await the coming of another day and I was left to get on with my work.

I'm concerned about Lucy not speaking and hiding her face. I don't know what is making her feel uncomfortable and unwilling to talk. I wish I did know so I could tackle the problem head on. I hope she never feels she has to hide anything from me. It is all rather odd but it probably just a phase she is going through, although I can't remember it with Emily of Catherine. I guess time will tell and like they say "Everything comes out in the wash".

Artist of the Week - Alanis Morissette

Sometimes it feels just right to revisit music of the past and bring it back into the present and that is what this weeks Artist of the Week does for me. It someone that I haven't listened to for a long time and I really looking forward to hearing their music again. The artist in question is Alanis Morissette. What really lovely when you do that is not only do you have their old music to listen to but if they are still recording you have new tracks to look forward to as well. In his case the album "Flavors Of Entanglement" which was released in 2008.

I was introduced to Alanis around 2006 when my life was going through a state of transition. I'm glad that I didn't miss her music because over the following few years I have listened to her music but never wearing it to death like I do to many artists, so it always seems fresh when I hear it. She is one of those artists that sounds as good live as she does on a disc which rather refreshing in these days of "autotune" software being used in both recordings and with live music. What I love about her is that her voice is so raw and deep throated and the songs she sings are powerful and the lyrics of the softer songs are so touching. Her recordings are simply stunning and beautiful.

So who is she, well, Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in Canada on 1st June 1974 and at the age 6 started playing the piano and by ten had written her first song. She sent that first song to a local folk singer who recruited Morissette as her protégé and helped her release the song as a single. By the time she was 17 she had a recording contract and she had released her first album "Alanis" in Canada and a year later her second album hit the Canadian music market. It wasn't until she moved to Toronto and recorded her third album that she finally started to get the attention she deserved and at last had her music released on to the international market. From that point her career just blossomed and in 1996 she embarked on a eighteen-month world tour. She has gone on to release a further four albums and won sixteen Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards.

If like me you haven't listened to her for a while I hope this inspires you do the same as me and pick up were you left off and listen to her music again. If it your first time then enjoy. Next week I going to pick someone new I have come across to listen too.

Rutland in the Snow

Over the 18 months I have started to take photographs of the places I visit and of course of the children for the blog. Some of my favourites are featured in the photography page to be found on the righthand side of the blog. Below are some of the pictures I have taken recently over the last few days while the county has been covered in snow.

The fishing lake just outside Langham which was once part of the Oakham Canal.

Burley just outside Oakham

Burley just outside Oakham

Snowy sunset in Langam

The road into Teigh covered in snow

The sunset over the fields

A misty view of Oakham from Burley

The sunset over the snowy fields

As the cold weather continues I'm sure to take more pictures of the beautiful countryside I'm blessed to live in and the surrounding area. I hope you like the pictures and if you want any of them for yourself just drop me a line and I will email the originals off to you.