Wrights Wanderings

There are many lovely blogs on the internet, but there aren't many in Rutland as beautiful as Wrights Wanderings. A nature photographer and artist who records what he sees on his travels.

It is full of amazing pictures and drawing so some of the wonderful wildlife in Rutland as well as other parts of the world that he has visited on his travels. It is a testament to rural Rutland and why we must fight to preserve it for the wildlife that lives here and for future generations to enjoy. Just looking at it makes me realise we have so much to lose if we over develop the countryside in the sort of way Rutland County Council are planning to do. 

It is well wroth a look and you don't have to be an expert to appreciate the wildlife and birds that he photographs and draws. There is a link at the top of the post and another in the side bar to help you find this wonderful blog.

Warm Sunday

Another day that was warn and dry,and the when sun shone was lovely, but there was an edge to the wind that kept the temperatures from ever amounting to much. It was good enough to go out in a light coat and that was all that mattered.

When Lucy woke up the sun was shining and the skies were blue as I opened her blinds. Lucy gathered her things and passed to me all she couldn't carry and we headed down the stairs and settled ourselves in the chair with a drink as we woke up. Soon Lucy declared she was hungry and with no sign of Catherine, who was tired from the night before, I made her some breakfast which she sat down at the table while listening to a story on the computer.

With breakfast out of the way I got on with playing with Lucy until Catherine finally appeared just in time to see Lucy and myself getting ready to head out of the door. We were both off to the village park to enjoy the sun while we could, just in case those clouds came our way and robbed us of our fun. Catherine didn't want to come with us, so with Lucy's scooter we headed out of the house, down the path and along the road to the park.

As we arrived at the park we there was a chorus of bells coming from the church. It was rather a lovely moment. I love the sound of the bells on a Sunday morning. Soon Lucy entered play mode and off she went on the trim trial getting me to help her on the bits she can't do, most of which are the bits they have recently added to challenge older children than Lucy. With that out of the way it was off to make use of the bike ramp with her scooter. She is getting good now at directing it up the ramp and doing a gentle turn to whizz down the ramp. She loves it and I sit on the sidelines encouraging her and watching her every move. Finally came the imaginative play in the little shelter, then the swings and the slide before we headed home.

When we got back home Lucy went to seek out her sisters to entertain her and I got on with making everyone some lunch. After lunch I finished Lucy's washing and got her things together in one place. She has this way of spreading herself around the house and her things end up everywhere. Once done I joined in the fun until it was time for the rush as we got her ready to return back to the City. 

Soon we were heading out through the sun bathed countryside, down the country roads, passed the fields and villages until we arrived in the built up metropolis. Once there we said our goodbyes and I gave her a massive cuddle and she was gone again for another couple of weeks. On the way home I reflected on the difference between city and the villages, stopping take a picture of one of the most beautiful village cricket grounds I have ever seen in Ashby Folville. It is quiet a contrast to the city streets. 

Once home again I started preparing dinner as the girls did their school work for the coming week and chatted to friends on the computers and listened to music. I'm so glad I have the other two children with me most of the time more by fate than anything. Lucy might be the live wire when she is here but they keep the place alive from day to day. I love children and I love seeing them grow. There is nothing more rewarding in life.

Britain's Got Talent - Voting Results

It is all over for another year and what a show it was this year. All the acts did themselves proud and many of them deserved to win, but in the end there could only be one winner.

For those of you that want to know the margins in the voting this year here are the full results from this years final:

 Ashleigh & Pudsey – 39.0% 

Jonathan & Charlotte – 25.8% 

Only Boys Aloud – 15.8% 

Loveable Rogues – 5.7% 

Ryan O’Shaughnessy – 4.8% 

Molly Rainford – 2.8% 

The Mend – 2.6% 

Nu Sxool – 1.2% 

Sam Kelly – 1.0% 

Aquabatique – 0.9% 

Kai & Natalia – 0.4%

If you want a full break down of the voting that includes the semi final votes you can find it here. And so that's all folks for this years Britain's Got Talent, well done to everyone that made it such a great show this year.

Sunny Saturday

Although not a blistering hot day it was sunny and fair, ideal for getting out and about and having some fun with Lucy. Something I just love doing. I feel by giving her some quality time that maybe I can make up not being their for her as I would like to be. I feel at the moment I'm missing out on so much of her little life.

It was lovely to see Lucy smiling face with the sun peeking between the gaps in the blinds. Opening them to see a blue sky was just the start to the day I wanted. Soon we had her things gathered and downstairs we went to snuggle up in the chair while we had a drink and woke up watching children's television together. Once awake we played together until Catherine appeared who then had breakfast with Lucy.

After breakfast I set out to the shops with Lucy to get some food for the weekend, but their was some where else go first. We head for one of the many small parks in Oakham so we could enjoy the morning sunshine and have some fun. It was nice to see her smiling in the sunshine. She has such a lovely smile and we played and played. All kinds of games, especially her food shop game she loves so much. In the end we had to head off to the supermarket and with a wave we left and got our shopping done, meeting the Tesco's cat along the way.

For lunch we had fresh crispy bread rolls with breaded ham. Some people had them plain, others with pickle but I had mine with some rather lovely french mustard. They were yummy and the gils had yogurt for pudding that Lucy loves and insisted we buy when we were shopping. After lunch Emily and Catherine played with Lucy until it was time for us all to head out again and into the sunshine for the afternoon. Both Emily and Catherine were going out with their friends so they got dropped off in Oakham as we went further a field to have some fun.

Our destination was the Country Park in Melton Mowbray. It lovely there, as I'm sure I have said many times before. There is things for the children to do, a coffee shop and if you feel like it you can have a lovely walk trough the park. It is a great place to walk a dog. Today it was play that was on the agenda. Lucy started off playing in the play ground but after a while she had other idea's and moved on to the bigger girls part of the park.

Soon she was climbing up the rope net like she had been doing it all her life. She got really high before she needed any help to get back down. She didn't give up and up again she went this time needing no help in getting down. Next came the aerial slide, until today she had only ever been down it with one of her sisters holding her. Today she did it on her own for the first time and not the last. It was really hard to get her to leave, she just wanted to stay and play on the aerial slide. I lost count of how many times she went down the slide, queuing to wait her turn.   

Eventually we left the park and headed home and I got on with making dinner. As i did Emily and Catherine came home to big smiles from Lucy. After dinner the girls played and I relaxed until it was time for Lucy to go to bed. After her stories, kisses and cuddles she feel into the land of nod. As she slept we all settled down to the final of Britain's got Talent after which two tired older girls followed Lucy off to their beds.

It has been a super day and being able to get out was wonderful. It so nice to see Lucy having fun and enjoying the company of her sisters when she is with them. All I hope is tomorrow turns out to be nice to and we get some time out of the house together like today.

Britain's Got Talent - The Final

Tonight sees the final of Britain's Got Talent and I thought I would write down my thoughts about each act this year as well as comment on the final result of the show. A sort of live blog entry, written as the show progresses.

Hopefully if the Judges and the public got it right we should be in for a good show, and there is the mystery of the wild card, who has turned out deservedly to be the The Mend. So here goes with my real time thoughts of each act:

The Mend (Group) 

A good choice for the wild card, they seemed popular on Twitter when they were on the first time. Love the remix sound of music they produce. What is good about them is they sound like an established band, rather than a finalist of Britains Got Talent. It was an amazing start to the show.

Sam Kelly (Solo Artist)

Mr nice guy himself, he is so humble. He has an amazing original voice that is rather lovely to listen too. I'm glad he chose something that showed he had power in his voice as well as control. Amanda in the semi-finals wanted something with a bit more power in it and he sure delivered tonight. Lovely song choice tonight.

Nu Skool (Dance Group) 

A change from the singers, a dance act. Love the way they have the school look and I get this vision of what Waterloo Road the Musical would look like.They are very slick and visually stunning to watch. They are great dancers and little girl with the freckles is just cute. They have masses of energy.

Molly Rainford (Solo Singer) 

Back to the singers with the little person with a massive voice. She sounded just amazing tonight. So confident for someone so young in the final of a major show with an audience of millions. She did everything that was asked of her and more. What ever happens tonight this girl has a career in music waiting for her. 

Loveable Rouges (Group) 

The cheeky singers that met and started singing as a group at university. I loved their sound it is just amazing, They sort of remind me of Lily Allen in a way, but in the form of a male group. I there is a sense humour in their sings that just makes you feel good. Great song tonight and a great performance. They deserved all the cheers of the audience at the end. They are amazing. 

Kai & Nataila (Ballroom dancers) 

Something completely different, a pair of young ballroom dancers. What I love about this pair is that they do ballroom dancing without making it look like they are doing ballroom dancing. They even pick music you wouldn't expect to hear in any ballroom. Not perfect tonight but one of them was carrying an injury. You can see a lot of people young taking up ballroom dancing after seeing them on the show.

Aquabatique (synchronised swimmers) 

These seem a bit odd for a variety act, in that I don't know how they would get the tank on the stage in a theatre. That aside, it is amazing what they do especially given so much of it is underwater. Loved their choice music tonight, and I thought they upped their game. I still don't know how they manage to hold their breath for so long when they are doing things that physically must require a lot of oxygen. 

Rayn Shaughnessy (solo singer) 

What I love about this chap is he is not only a good singer he is also a good songwriter and he has a big heart. I love his voice and I loved his song tonight, it was just so so beautiful. It was the sort song that just brings a tear to your eyes. I can't praise his song writing ability high enough. He is one of the first acts of they night I think should win the show for his performance. It was so emotional. 

Only Boys Aloud (Male Voice Choir) 

Now for a change of music style and language and what ever happens tonight Wales will be proud of them. I love the way they start with the two solo artists before bring the whole choir in. It just builds the sound so magically.. The songs are so beautifully arranged as well as sung. What is more impressive is it doesn't matter they are singing in Welsh. I'm not a fan of this sort of music but what they do is very impressive.

Ashely and Pudsey (Dog Act)

Now for something a bit different, a dog act that Simon Cowell loves so much. Pudsey is an amazing dog and so well trained by his owner Ashely. Loved the music and the mission impossible theme of the act. What I think is really impressive is they have done a different routine for every show and tonights was the best yet. If ever a dog act had a chance of winning this one has everything going for it.

Charlotte and Jonathan (Opera Duet)

Now for a type of singing I'm not a fan of, but this pair are simply amazing. They both have incredible voices and the power in Jonathan's voice is incredible. I love they way they picked a song that sound a bit more contemporary and not too operatic from the start. It was so beautifully sung and they are so young and talented. The power they both have just blows you away. Great performance tonight.

To be honest, after getting to this point in the competition I haven't got a clue who is going to win. There are so many so incredible acts tonight and so many winners. Anyone could win with just a few exceptions. It has been the best Britain's Got Talent final I can actually remember. So coming to the result, the final placing, in reverse order is:

Only Boys Aloud.- Third Place

Charlotte and Jonathan - The Runner Up

Ashely and Pudsey - The Winner

If a dog had to win the show, then the most amazing one I have ever seen managed to do it, and Pudsey is such a cute and cool dog. Not sure what the dog will do with half a million pounds, but after the Royal Variety Performance he can retire and eat steak and gravy for the rest of his days. 

One thing is for sure I can see a lot of people doing well out of this years show, there were so many good singers and three of them singable and ready to make albums that would do well in the charts. That fact alone shows how amazing the show has been this year. I could watch tonights show all over again, it was simply the best year ever.

Finally my prediction, well I got it wrong, but I just know that the Loveable Rouges are going to get a record deal out of this and they are going to do well. I love all they have done over the course of the show and I can't wait for their first album.