The Zeppelin Museum and the truth about swivel chairs revealed!

The truth just occurred to me.

The truth about swivel chairs.

You know all those severe, haughty looking business men in their intimidating black swivel chairs, steepling their fingers. The ones who can barely deign to look down upon mere mortals who weren't born into a position of entitlement and privilege. You know the ones, the media barons, the mining magnates, the arms manufacturers ...

The truth is that when there's no one in the room they act up just like the rest of us when we think no one's watching! Unlike the teacher mentioned below, they just haven't been caught ... yet!

Their black leather covered, official looking, high backed, swivel chairs are really the corporate excuse for a trip down fantasy lane and into the realms of childhood!! But they probably won't admit it ;-)

... and maybe, just maybe if they could allow themselves to make a habit of enjoying the fun and fantasy and Mindfulness, (read on!) the world would be a happier, healthier place.

While on the subject of fantasy, aren't these playgrounds superb! (yes, I can see they're not covered in umpteen centimetres of soft material for the children to fall on, perhaps German children don't whinge if they fall and their parents expect them to hang on tight.) They're in Friedrichshafen Germany, the city which is home to the arty, interesting, wonder inducing Zeppelin Museum.

A kiddy sized zeppelin complete with lookout, steampunkish wheeled swan/boat, and slide; and while I was tempted to shoo the kids away and have a play, I put on my grown up face and took photos instead, secretly imagining I was in the lookout, flying over the town.

Speaking of flying, sometimes you can be really lucky. I could hear a low droning, humming sound coming from over the lake, and overhead, pushing through the clouds was ...

 ... not a fabulous building with interesting reflections, but a dinky di blimp!

It was funny to watch people diving for their pockets and dragging out their phones all with the one purpose - to take photos. I don't know if the blimp we saw was as big as this, but the models give a real sense of scale of the Hindenburg - it was HUGE.

This is just one tiny section which has been reconstructed so you can climb up, 

 walk through and get a sense of the living and sleeping quarters and the immense scale of the structure

 functional art

intricate criss crossed beams (?)

 ... and the beauty of the workmanship.

This is a different kind of fantasy and shows the result of a productive, creative imagination (and impressive engineering).

But back to playgrounds as a powerful device to promote a rich and full inner life for the young and not so young! Cogs, shells, sea creatures and propellers ...

 which could lead the imagination to who knows where ...

Clearly much loved and buffed to a lovely copper colour where countless children have sat and imagined who knows what ...

This magnificent playground is a superb example of a rich imagination, a city prepared to celebrate art and sculptures, excellent craftsmanship, and shows how playgrounds don't have to be garish plastic sanitised clones of each other.

 Weird and wonderful humanoid rabbit/seal/Idon'tknowwhat creatures

So, in the spirit of nurturing your inner child, take a moment to slow down.

Without comment or criticism, notice what your thoughts are doing. Notice what you can hear, see, touch, taste and smell.

Feel the weight of your bottom on your wheely chair.

Put aside the serious you for a moment.

Give your hips an experimental wiggle.

Feel your muscles stretch and tauten as you twist back and forth.

Feel the fabric of your clothing as it pulls against your body and the way your lungs expand with the anticipation of action.

Place your feet against the floor and feel the pressure of your feet as they push against the floor.
twist right
twist left
twist right
spin!!!!!!!

Notice how your face forms a goofy kind of smile, a little embarrassed (was anyone watching?) but oh, so satisfied!

Note the physical sensation of slight, but pleasant dizziness. There was possibly also a sense of exhilaration, of daring to do something different and perhaps a bit naughty? What would people say!?

Make room for your thoughts and feelings; allow them to flow through you. If your inner critic is wagging it's derogatory finger, observe it without buying into the "shoulds" and "oughts" for a moment.

Breathe, have a little shake and relax.

Reconnect with your values and choose a course of action.

And notice ... the desire to do it again ;-)

Immature?

You bet. But it's also ...

Mindfulness in action!

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Seals and rubber boats

Oh, ok so their proper name is an Inflatable Rubber Boat, or IRB. Really it doesn't matter! What's way more interesting is the fun you can have with them :D

One of the local rescue boats

Years ago, way BC (before kids) we succumbed to the allure of one of these magical, hysterically fun little craft, and had an absolute ball fanging around in it. On occasion we were pulled over by the Water Police, not so much for acting irresponsibly (good grief, of course not!), but because it seems to be expected that the owners of such craft are likely to flout regulations like carrying PFD's (personal floatation device - aka life jacket), flares and things like that which the police happen to consider are extremely important. Being little Goody Two Shoes, we always had the requisite bits and bobs, I suspect much to the chagrin of the coppers!

However, there was one occasion when we kind of bit off more than we could chew ... well, only one occasion for the purposes of this post ;)

Seal Rocks are to the right of the mound (The Nobbies) on the horizon

We decided to head off to Seal Rocks, in Westernport Bay. It was a long time ago, before it was a no-no to swim with the seals. We pulled up in a little rocky nook out of the swell and waves, all the better to get up close and personal with the fur seals. The smell was overpowering - putrid stench is a better term. It oozes off the rocks and out of the murky pooey water. They stink. The whole area stinks. You gag with the pong. I guess it's the rotting fish, lack of oral hygiene, and the burping and farting of the big boys and girls out there!

My cousin, lovely boy that he was, decided that it would be interesting to get out of the boat and see what a seal looked like from closer quarters. Hmmm. Is this a good idea? They're big. They have harems. They can get rather grumpy and chase off interlopers in an aggressive kind of way. Did I mention they're BIG? Really big!

"No worries" says Cuz, "She'll be right"- and off he goes scrambling awkwardly over the unfriendly black rocks.

He lasted for oh, I'd guess about 30 seconds...

It's fair to say I've never seen anyone move so fast and for all intents and purposes enact the classic cartoon manoeuvre of running through the air. The massive bull seal was outraged and determined to see off the interloper who was clearly after his harem! The noise!!! OMG He was furious and letting every being with kilometres know that he meant business!

Slender cousin extracted himself from the sharp, rocky and ultimately unwelcoming outcrop, faster than any of those highly trained lycra clad elite Olympic athletes strutting their stuff on slick surfaces!

Needless to say, my husband and I were doubled up with laughter, tears streaming down faces, yet well aware of the potential danger dear Cuz was facing. Frantically, hubby tried to start the strangely recalcitrant engine and manoeuvre the suddenly slothful boat ready for an inelegant landing and a James Bond style get-away.

Eyes round, and clearly extremely concerned, and making some very odd squawky noises, Cuz flailed and flew, scrabbling at the slick red rubber of the boat, with petite me dragging at any patch of wetsuit and clawing to drag him to safety. Satisfied, the bull seal harrumphed and snorted his way back to his precious harem as we skittered off to a safe distance to reflect on what could possibly have gone wrong.

Which is all a long way of saying we went for a stroll along the safe sands near Seal Rocks this morning and reminisced.

Now I wonder if Cuz has told his children of this particular adventure or will I share the link to this post on FB?

Seaweed. Safer than seals!

Seaweed and shadow.

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Shiny New Year!

Random thoughts about Hot Rods.

Wandering down Main Street on New Year's Day, looking to see which cafes were open for breakfast, feeling, then hearing the distinctive sound of V8's or possibly V12's, finely tuned: k'thump, k'thump, k'thump.

Not much ground clearance.

The rumbling demands attention. Sucking down fuel that smells like avgas, creating a deep, low grumble, a rhythmic backdrop of sound - not too intrusive over the hiss and whine  of cappuccino machines.

Like people entranced by the lilting tune played by the Pied Piper, men, women, children turn and gawk - are compelled to follow the glittering Hot Rods down to the once peaceful park overlooking the sparkling bay.

Only mildly distracted, (breakfast is far too important to be rushed!) we eventually wander down to join the happy throng.

Bear-sized blokes delve under bonnets and dashboards, lean over to admire perfect leatherwork. In ones and twos or groups, deep voices share their love of their machines.  Women too, polishing cloths at the ready to further shine the mirrored chrome, carry chairs and picnic baskets, rub sunscreen into each others backs - keeping safe those hard to reach spots.

I'm delighted with the Mini, it reminds me of my first one. I splurged on having it painted purple and used to pack it with camping gear and head off for weekends at a national park. Looking at one now, I can't imagine how I fitted in my camping gear comfortably.  Later, I had an Austin A30 and I really regret selling it - tarted up, it would look a treat.

I have fond memories of the cars my uncles owned; some with running boards. I remember one had to be crank started, I can't imagine this one would be so antiquated! Does anyone remember chokes? How you used it regulate the mix of fuel, then left the car running to warm up.   I wish that one of us had had the forethought to keep one of those old cars. These are beautiful, absolute labours of love and bring back great memories!

Where do they get fuel for Hot Rods? They're unlikely to use unleaded, and what will they do when petrol becomes scarce, will they safeguard some fuel for an annual outing to get together and share stories of days of glory and chrome?

                           

I love the way the bonnet folds back on itself, it oozes charm and elicits thoughts of chiffon and champagne and hedonistic days gone by. Some of the cars had dickey seats beautifully re-leathered, now there's another job for a craftsman.

We played the game "If you could afford any of these cars, and insurance and fuel were no problem, which would you have?" This is the one I chose - chrome, gold and those wonderful old tyres. Gorgeous!

Which one would you choose?

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A-Z of Alliterative Drabbles - A-Z Blogging Challenge April 2011

I posted 31 *Drabbles during April, some days I got carried away and posted two drabbles.  I'd planned to write them all on climate related themes, but got distracted and included ones on learning difficulties as well. I managed between 15 and 40 alliterations on most drabbles, on quite a few posts I included sound alike words too, it was a fabulous, fun month of blogging. (A *Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.)

• A  Art about artists and art exhibitions included 40 A words. 
• B  Bereft of bananas about the devastation from Cyclone Yasi included 27 B words.
• C  Climate & children 2 x drabbles. The first about climate challenges included 27 C words, the second about children with learning difficulties included 24 C words.
• D  Distinguished Scientists and the difficulties they have in being misrepresented by Shock Jocks included 32 D words.
• E  Environment & Ethics. About the ethical use of our environment included 23 E words.
• F  Fretful is about my concerns for our environment. It included 27 F words. None rude!
• G  Geographers celebrates these salt of the earth people ... Hi A! I managed 36 wonderful G words.
• H  Horrible Feelings & Hearing. 2 x drabbles. the first again about the environment had 28 H words, the second about children with hearing difficulties ... Hi L! ... also included 28 H words. 
• I   Inspiring 2 x drabbles The first is about Sir David Attenborough with 30 I words the second about children with learning difficulties with 32 I words.
• J   Justice & Jam 2 x drabbles. The First about a university lecturer fired when it was discovered he was dyselxic (with 22 J words)  the second about my attempt to make marmalade contained 21 J words. With thanks to my brother for the cumquats.
• K  Knowledge contained 16 K words and is about a friend wanting to return to work.
• L  Lighten up It was getting a bit depressing focusing on so much negativity.  It was fun posting photos of fun places I've travelled to. The words I'd chosen for L happened to coincide with my 1st blogiversary. A few of us had a virtual party! Oh, there are 39 L words.
• M  Marvellous Ideas relates to the need to find alternative fuels to coal, and the derision when alternatives are suggested. I included 30 M words.
• N  Nincompoop and Napalm is about Vietnam Vets and PTSD. It contains 30 N words.
• O  Outrageous. A true story that still disgusts me; about a bullying teacher. A restrained 20 O words.
• P  Penguins. Well you can be lucky! I wrote the post then my husband came home with photos of a penguin taken locally. There are 36 P words and the post relates to climate change.
• Q  Quinces. Thankyou lovely neighbour for the lush fruit! I managed 18 Q words.
• R  Reliable & Roberto's Report. 2 x drabbles. The first about climate and water challenges (30 R words) the second a salute to a fellow blogger who helps out when bloggy things go awry. (27 W words 4 WR words).
• S  Shilly-shally is about climate issues again. There are 36 S words related to oil and water depletion.
• T  Tense is about workplace bullying. There are 33 T words (My eyes are fuzzing up, so don't get miffed if I'm counting inexactly)
• U  Unwanted attention related to childhood bullying, and the long term damage that can result. I only managed 21 U words.
• V  Valiant volunteers is a tribute to all the amazing people who give their time to help others, often working in inhospitable conditions without any recompense for pay lost. For Tim and his mates! 21 V words.
• W  Weirdo is a repost - I was tired. It's about a relative with Aspergers. It's not an alliterative post. 
• X  Dr Xing. My brain had gone to mush, I snuck in sound alike words and pretend I got to15!
• Y  Yollanda and her yellow yacht. A good opportunity to include some lovely photos! There could be 24 Y words.
• Z  Zero is about a child with a learning difficulty and his heartache. This is for you L and all the crap you survived at school. There could be 20 Z words.

Luna Park St Kilda - near Melbourne
April was a bit of a roller coaster ride!

Gosh, seeing it all together is pretty neat. That was worth the effort, though I'm looking forward to a change of pace!

How to make a Hyperlink (clicky) signature here

An extensive Reflection post is over at traverselife here

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L. Lighten up! & A CELEBRATION!!!!

Lighten up lady! Let’s laugh a little and spend a few moments looking for some lovely locations on the laptop.

It’s possible to overload on the litany of lies from the long list of lunatic lumps leering at my concerns for our lives and longevity. It’s time to be light-hearted; grab some lunch of lasagne, a longneck of lager and luxuriate in a lungful of fresh air.

Luckily I’ve loaded my files with shots from lots of latitudes.

Some local

Mornington, Victoria, Australia

Landless

Tweed Heads. New South Wales

 Laird

Lunga, Scotland

Not Latex!

Some largish

Zermatt, The Matterhorn

Or Landward

Near Bright, Northern Victoria

Lamb

Luminous

Isle of Skye

Ah, this is the life. I like it!

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I've been blogging for one year today. 

Happy Birthday!

My gorgeous children, many years ago

It feels almost like a surprise to still be here after my "main" blog's (traverselife) inauspicious beginnings. To all the amazing people who have had the confidence that you'll return, thankyou so much for clicking "Follow" ... WOW! ... I'm honoured. It's heart-warming, welcoming, accepting, supportive and humbling.

I'm in a state of wonder. I often feel like a grumpy lady up on my soapbox railing against the world. For that reason, it didn't matter if no one ever followed me, I'm writing for me, to get it out of my system, but by golly, it feels great that others connect in some way...there's others who care out there!  WELCOME!  Please comment and share when you can, I firmly believe connecting is important.

I just reread my first post - it's not so good. There are assumptions about my audience that haven't come to fruition. Few people who initially expressed an interest in bouncing off my ideas and contributing have done so, or to be more accurate none of them have. Because of that I stumbled around wondering what to say, if anything; how to write, whether to be formal or relaxed (I think it's called the voice). I frequently asked "Who am I in this blogging world?" "Do I belong?" I still feel like a babe amongst giants, but I'm improving! I've learnt how to add pictures and a hyperlink signature too! But what's this networked blogs? And when do you click on "Links to this post?"  What happens? and how does the Facebook thing work, do I make a Page so it doesn't go directly to my personal FB or what? ... so much to learn :)

Should I go back and edit to make sense for anyone who sniffs around? Maybe, but I'm having too much fun here and now to bother. What I thought would happen, hasn't.  But this is SO much better than I could ever have imagined. I'm deeply grateful that I've bumped into this generous, welcoming community of diverse bloggers from around the globe. It's opened my eyes to our common challenges as well as unique issues as people living in a difficult world.

In January, I began Jumping Aground (the title Jumping Around had already been taken) to make it easier to contribute a small stone (a short piece of writing that captures a fully engaged moment) to the River of Stones.  It's been fun to rediscover writing for pleasure, to tinker with words, maybe to find my voice as a writer, although that sounds presumptuous. I still don't consider myself to be a writer, but maybe I'm getting there - wherever there happens to be.

at home! (No worries about driving)

I'm unsure what will happen next after I've finished the A-Z Bullying over at traverselife. It's been a labour of love, grueling but rewarding. I'll need a break from it I know. Here at JumpingAground, we'll see, something will turn up. I remain deeply concerned about the environment, those with learning difficulties, education and injustice and will keep writing about that, but I also need to regain my balance and do some fun stuff too.

I'll end with my favourite verse from Sydney Carter's "Interview":

Where are you going next?
     Like you, I ask that question.
     I can only
     travel with the music.
     I am full
     of curiosity.


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A Drabble is a story told in 100 words No more, no less.

Here tomorrow: Marvellous ideas.

Over at traverselife, I'm spending the month looking at different aspects of bullying.

How to make a hyperlink signature here
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I...Ink...ABC Wednesday

My first ABC Wednesday challenge, (thankyou Mrs Nesbitt and team for hosting) and I've come in on the letter I.

I'm an Insomniac, and last night I was thinking about being Indoors at school when I was an Infant. I was the Ink monitor and filled the Inkwells each day and went home with Inky fingers; it was Impossibly Ingrained. My preferred colour was Indigo blue from India.

The only bottle of Ink I could find in the house.

My Impertinent friend Ivan Insisted on Inserting the nib from his pen In-between the desks and splattering blue droplets Inventively over his Incredibly beautiful Illustrated books  -  Ill-tempered Individual!  This would Incur the wrath of our Informative teacher who was Irritated by Inventive Ivan's Insane outburst.

Our Inspired teacher tried to Instill a sense of wonder in learning. I think he was under the Illusion that everyone was Interested in not being Illiterate. He thought this was very Important! He Insisted the letter I was vital for us to learn, but it's not very Interesting, just being a simple stick.  I hope the Italians would Include some Illuminated manuscripts in their museums to keep me Intrigued in this Insubstantial letter.

We also learnt about Inches and Inchworms before the Introduction of Metrics. These lessons were very Informative.

I think I'm getting a bit Intense and It's possibly unwise to let my Imagination run on any further because you might become Impatient with my Insistence that I Is a vital Ingredient in our alphabet.   I would then be Irrationally and Impossibly Inconsolable.

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"f" words

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Fickle files flummox frantic female

"fabulous feature" foto found!

...

finally

(I know I cheated with photo, but couldn't resist)

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