A Message from Coniston Mountain Rescue

The Government rules for travel in a Tier 4 area.

Walking the Old Ways

And this also applies now to many areas of the UK…

Due to the government announcement this afternoon, the whole of Cumbria has now been placed into Tier 4.

The rules for travel in a Tier 4 area are below.

Please take particular notice of the rule about exercise, you can travel a short distance within your tier 4 area. It does not mean you can travel from the other end of the country from one tier 4 area to another.

Please stay at home as much as possible.

We will continue to rescue people in trouble on the fells, we always will when we can, but be aware that the more people we have to recover from the fells then the greater the chances that our numbers will be reduced because members have to self-isolate due to contact with casualties who have Coronavirus. This may mean a delay in…

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the bridge of old Cismigiu

A lovely scene in Romania

There is Nothing More Difficult than Understanding Evil: Dealing with the Evils Unleashed By President Trump

We cannot forget the evils of the past and present.

The Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, “Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.”

Back in 2010 I had a creditable and very specific death threat from a Neo-Nazi in East Tennessee. The man had a formidable internet presence, many publications online, including articles on how best to assassinate people. So I did my research, figured out who he was and reported him to the FBI. A week later his internet presence disappeared. I don’t know what happened to him, but I watch my back.

Over the past few days I have been helping a Jewish friend who is dealing with many Neo-Nazi threats and harassment for supporting an effort to have headstones replaced at the San Antonio Military Cemetery. The headstones were of German POWs but each had a Swastika and the words “he died for his Fuhrer and…

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Shrike the Impaler~

Pictures of the California Loggerhead Shrike from Cindy Knoke. He’s a pretty but tough little bird.

The Salton Sea in Southern California is home, at various times of the year, to 424 species of birds.

The Loggerhead Shrike is a song bird who is a tough ten inches of feathered lethality!

Listen to his song repertoire by clicking on the link (be patient, it takes him a bit to warm up!)

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Loggerhead_Shrike/sounds

Loggerhead shrikes sing beautifully, and kill quite effectively, resulting in a couple of common nicknames for them including, ‘the butcher bird’ or ‘the littlest bad ass.’

They kill prey like lizards by impaling them on thorns or barbwire fences. They are tough little birdies.

Despite their toughness, loggerhead shrike populations in California have declined 72% since 1967. They are designated a ‘California Species of Special Concern.’ Efforts by California’s Audubon Society are achieving some success in bringing California shrike population numbers back up. I was thrilled to see this very curious little guy who…

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49000 Miles of Missing Paths

Finding missing paths in the U.K.

Walking the Old Ways

News from The Ramblers:

We’ve searched all of England and Wales and found over 49,000 miles of paths that could be lost for ever, unless we come together to save them.

You can now look online and see where the missing paths are where you live or in places where you walk. The link also tells how you can help to claim the missing paths.

EVERY walker is needed to help to make sure the missing paths are claimed.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK AND HELP…

https://dontloseyourway.ramblers.org.uk

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on the hills

In the hills of Romania.

My favourite Christmas poem and a review of Pass the Turkey by Sue Vincent

A Christmas poem by Sue Vincent and other books by Robbie Cheadle and Sue Vincent.

Writing to be Read

Treasuring Poetry

This is my final Treasuring Poetry post for 2020 and I am sharing my favourite Christmas poem, an extract from How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss. I love this piece of his lovely Christmas story because it really illustrates what Christmas is all about. I love how the Grinch was unable to stop Christmas from coming because Christmas is in our hearts and souls and its not about the gifts, the food, the Christmas tree or even our families. It is about us, as individuals, and our own personal relationships, beliefs, and aspirations.

From Dr Seuss Christmas Quotes: The Grinch quotes

…So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow.
But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!…

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Quiet into the night

A Tallis Steelyard tale of the rescue of a princess. Also, a book of various tales on sale by Jim Webster.

Tallis Steelyard

Quiet into the night

The winter solstice is a major festival, a coming together for festivity, gift giving, over-eating, and in some cases, drinking more than is entirely wise. So children give presents to their parents. Normally husband and wife give each other presents as working out who is the head of the household can cause mutual embarrassment. Then employees give presents to their employer, families gather to give presents to the family patriarch or matriarch (the latter being the more common), the criminal classes give presents to crime lords, and mercenary soldiers give presents to their officers. In return the recipient of the presents will feast his or her subordinates.

As you can imagine this can involve a lot of running round the city trying to fit everybody in, especially if you’re a poet or a dunnykin diver. We get round this by not doing too much work on…

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Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas!

Good People Doing Good Things — Just In Time For Christmas

More good people doing good things.

Filosofa's Word

I was going to take a pass on today’s ‘good people’ post, for I find myself with more to do than there are hours in a day.  But, I just couldn’t let you guys down, for I know how much we all rely on the reminders that there are good people out there, quietly going about the business of helping others.

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Anthony Gaskins is a UPS driver in Chesterfield County, Virginia.  Now, you can imagine that in this year of pandemic, UPS and FedEx and other delivery service drivers have been overwhelmed.  My friend Herb drives for FedEx and has been working 11-12 hour shifts, 6 days a week, in order to get all those Christmas packages delivered.  Mr. Gaskin has been delivering nearly 200 packages a day!

I am told he is always cheerful, waves and smiles as he passes people on the street, and last Tuesday literally hundreds…

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