Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Icy Steeple with Tulips


We are in the deep freeze here, with temperatures in the high 20's F and ice and snow on the ground. My walk to work yesterday morning was so slippery that I almost turned around -- I slipped and slid three times on our street alone. But practice makes perfect, and once I figured out how to navigate the icy patches I was fine. I never fell, thank goodness.

The view above is from my walk -- that's the imposing stone steeple of St. Mary's church on the corner of Priory and Abbey roads.

I had a pretty busy morning in the library arranging for book pickups. There are still hardy souls ready to come out, even in this weather, to collect new reading material! In fact I'm going in again today -- now that we're offering checkouts, working from home a few days a week may no longer be possible. Depends on the demand, I guess.

Not until last night did I think to check who won the Super Bowl, and as most of you probably already know, it was my own hometown team, the Bucs! My dad would have been thrilled. But he would not have been among the insane crowds tearing apart Tampa's streets afterwards -- in the middle of a pandemic, no less. What is wrong with people?!

Meanwhile, a contentious local government Zoom meeting in England has gone viral, resulting in hero-worship status for government clerk Jackie Weaver -- who apparently DID "have the authority." (Click the link to see what that means.) One of my co-workers alluded to it in an e-mail yesterday, and I hadn't seen it, so I watched it last night (that's the 18-minute version, but there's also a 30-second condensed version and the full 1 hour and 20 minute version). I found it both funny and annoying. It's a good example of bullying and mansplaining, not to mention Zoom dysfunction, but to be honest, I'm not sure it's worse than a lot of local government meetings I sat through back when I was a reporter. Give some people a little power and they go crazy.


To counteract the wintry gloom, here's a picture of the tulips I bought at Tesco on Saturday. That vase was another street find several months ago. I bought two bunches because it's such a wide vase, but I expected the flowers to flop more -- maybe one bunch would have been enough!

52 comments:

  1. The view of old streets covered in snow have been very pleasant (from here). The tulips and vase are beautiful and I'm sure the tulips will flop eventually.

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    1. It's a pretty view, but a bit treacherous to walk through!

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    2. And that's precisely the part I hate.

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  2. Did you know that tulips continue to lengthen when in a vase? I had some a week or so ago, and noticed this and had to look it up!
    You could keep a goldfish in that vase when the tulips are finished!

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    1. I did not know that! So maybe they really WILL flop in time. I was thinking the same thing about a goldfish!

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  3. Steve, get yourself some crampons! Just rubber with spikes that go on your shoes, so no big deal...but better than a slip!
    Those tulips are lovely, just the ones for that case..a fortunate find

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    1. I joked not too long ago about needing crampons, but ice like this is so rare here. (Not to mention I'd normally be taking the tube, if not for Covid-19.)

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  4. Funny, tulips were on special sale here today at our local green grocer.
    It is good to know there is still demand for proper books, even if that is not me who prefers the electronic versions.
    Don't you have special shoes for walking on iced footpaths?
    Our media tries year after year to get Australians interested and excited about Super Bowl, but it is yet to succeed. No one takes any notice unless there is costume slippage.

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    1. Funny, because I always think of Australia as a very "sporty" country. But I guess you have your own popular sports and don't need to import American ones. (And good for you!)

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  5. I think the tulips look splendid all crowded together like that - no social distancing there! As for the video of the Handforth Parish Counicl meeting hosted by our new national heroine - Jackie Weaver - I think it is appalling that this private "Zoom" meeting video was released into the public sphere. I am sure that the participants - unpaid local councillors - did not sign up to be ridiculed in this way. Who ever put it out there should be asked some serious questions - possibly of a legal nature too.

    By the way, I watched the Superbowl live on Channel 4. The Chiefs were a pale shadow of the team that won the thing last year. On the other hand, The Buccaneers led by Tom Brady were well up for it and thoroughly deserved their victory.

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    1. I'm not sure it really was a private meeting, though. I don't know what the laws are here, but in the states, government meetings are public by law (except under certain special circumstances, like union negotiations). Perhaps releasing it publicly was simply adhering to legal requirements for access.

      I didn't realize you were an NFL man!

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    2. My father was the chair of my village's parish council. Members of the public were often allowed to observe but photography and film making were not allowed.

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    3. I would argue that making the Zoom meeting public was just like having the public in attendance at the meeting. Of course, the internet amplifies everything, but the alternative would be holding meetings essentially in secret. The public has a right to know how its local government representatives behave.

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  6. Beautiful tulips! The Jackie Weaver meeting made me laugh and I had a lot of admiration for her managing to stay calm.
    I avoided falling over until I was almost on my second bus yesterday morning, then slipped on ice as I got on and kind of fell half on and half off. Most embarrassing but it didn't hurt! Today I have got my slightly too small new hiking boots out and found they are not too bad. I am going to wear them to work tomorrow and take other shoes for the day as I really don't want to fall over!

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    1. YIKES, girl! Good that you did not fall under the bus! Would have made a great story but NO, Just NO.

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    2. Be careful out there, Sarah! I don't like to hear about anybody falling!

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  7. We seem to be getting a lot of snow lately. I think your new bean bag chair is very interesting and I'm sure it's quite comfortable to lounge in while you read of just rest. Be careful on the slippery walk to school, hugs, Edna B.

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    1. February is always the coldest time of year, I think. I'm not surprised you're having a lot of snow.

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  8. The Church photo is gorgeous, and then you slipped in the tulips which are beautiful.
    And lastly, I am #TeamJackie!

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  9. I do love the tulips. I have seen the meeting on another blog. Can you imagine being married to someone like "The Handforth PC Clerk"?

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    1. That guy reminds me of some people I know in real life!

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  10. Loving those tulips and loving the container even more knowing it was a find.
    Briony
    x

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    1. It was a good find, wasn't it? I originally picked it up for the school, because our catering manager is always trying to find good vases, but I decided to keep it for ourselves, at least for a while. :)

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  11. The council meeting was ugly but the tulips were beautiful.

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    1. I couldn't believe that younger guy, the one who kept saying, "You fool!"

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  12. I love the tulips! I hope you were able to navigate the ice safely again this morning. Just last night I was reading about a local town council meeting that went off the rails. Seems civility is slipping everywhere.

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    1. Yeah, I once again survived my slow walk to work with no falls!

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  13. The tulips look beautiful in that vase. You find the coolest stuff, Steve.
    Love the church photo. Be careful out there on that ice.

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    1. I don't know why London is so great for finding stuff. I lived in New York City for 10 years and I never found such interesting things there!

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  14. There is nothing more cheering and beautiful than flowers. Those tulips are just gorgeous! And the vase- what a find!
    Ah- local politics. Nothing like them.

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    1. I remember sitting in the audience at council meetings and thinking, "Good God -- I could do so much better than this!" But of course I'd be up there struggling with a bunch of argumentative colleagues, just like the people on that Zoom call.

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  15. pretty tulips. it's well into spring here but we're supposed to get a plunge into the 20s this weekend. I'm not a football fan, or really sports in general. it was on but no one was watching and during halftime the cable went out and didn't come back on til the game was over. I'm glad I wasn't the one taking the angry phone calls.

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    1. Interesting how you're also getting a cold blast. We're supposed to get down to 19ยบ F tonight! Oh man, I bet whoever was at the cable company wasn't having a good day.

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  16. "We are in the deep freeze here" How many deep freezes are there. I'm in one and it was minus 41 C a few mornings ago. It's all relative!

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    1. Your deep freeze is definitely much deeper than mine, but as you said, it's all relative!

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  17. As others have commented, the tulips will continue to grow - you should post a picture a day (or maybe just one in a few more days) so we can see the difference :)

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    1. I will keep an eye on them and post another picture if there's dramatic change!

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  18. Noooo to the goldfish idea! No one likes to swim in their own poop and filter it through their gills. I saw part of the Jackie Weaver video - it was interesting how much bullying was attempted. Your streets look dangerous, glad you did not fall.

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    1. Well, you have to change the water in a fish bowl, right? I think as long as it's kept clean it's probably OK. But I don't know if I really want to take that on.

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  19. I may need to buy some fresh flowers on my next trip to the grocery store. Those tulips would certainly brighten up one's day and I could use that! I just don't risk walking on snow/ice - too afraid of broken bones! Glad you are careful!

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    1. It makes such a difference to have some flowers around, particularly at this time of year.

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  20. Those tulips are beautiful! They don't last long for me though. The council meeting was, as the one guy said, an example of bullying. I'm glad there were some reasonable people there.

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    1. I don't think tulips ever last THAT long. We'll see how it goes!

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    1. It's called the "rainbow assortment," or something like that.

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  22. I watched the entire meeting with Jackie Weaver (champion) It did make me laugh, that was a couple of days ago , I may watch it again thanks for the link, because-hilarious. Way to bring in the light!! The large square vase and tulips certainly do the job! Holy cow, You and Sarah be very carful, travel with rock salt or kitty litter or something! The pavement is not very forgiving!

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    1. You watched the whole meeting?! Wow, that's dedication. I watched the 18-minute version, and that was good enough for me!

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  23. The steeple stretching to the gray sky makes for a stark, but beautiful, photo. I checked on the outcome of the super bowl yesterday afternoon. I guess it was played here in Florida? Fans behaving badly seems to be the usual thing, COVID or not. Too many people think "it really isn't that bad." If that's the case, then they can offer to be the next ones afflicted while I stay at home. Long ago, I covered school board meetings in tiny Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. The members of the board frequently shouted and cursed at each other, and threatened lawsuits. They needed a Jackie Weaver.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. LOL -- that sounds like a lot of meetings I covered, too. As I said in my post, people seem to go bananas when they get a little bit of power.

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