Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990), is a folk-pop, singer-songwriter from Eversley in Hampshire, England. Initially prominent within the London folk scene, she has also toured with a number of well-known indie artists in the UK. Her sound is characterised by striking melodies and poetic lyricism.
More here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Marling
I noticed my rhubarb has another new leaf unfurling,
And my lovely little patch of dandelions have returned,
And I have a new arrival, not sure what it is though.
(photos taken yesterday when it wasn't raining)
May I, on my own behalf, since my Foreign Office do not represent my views, issue a statement of my own.
I find this young man (who ever he is) rather amusing and I applaud his bravery. AND; I am appalled at the disrespect the Pope has shown toward abused children within his church. I am also appalled at the millions of lost lives that could have been saved if the Pope had sanctioned the use of condoms in the fight against AIDs.
AND..........homophobia under any guise is appalling and disrespectful
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7107466.ece
Contemporary Scottish artist Ken Bushe; information and images are from his website here
http://www.kenbushe.co.uk/index.html
What a find this is.
He says
‘’ I went to Edinburgh College of Art in 1971 for a four year course in Drawing and Painting. During this time my interest in landscape painting was ignited by a trip to the island of Iona off the West Coast of Scotland, and further encouraged by a short stay at Hospitalfield (a large house at Arbroath, Tayside, then jointly owned by the four Scottish art colleges)’’
AND he goes on to say;
‘’ I worked as a musician in the eighties, playing fiddle and metal vest in, what was at the time, Scotland’s only heavy metal cajun band - Deaf Heights, and appeared with Bo Diddley, Mud, The Pogues, King Kurt, The Proclaimers, KD Laing, Charlie Musselwhite and Runrig’’.
Please take the time to visit his web site, its well worth a vist.
I’ve been trying to figure out who this lady reminds me of, now I remember, she reminds me of a young Nancy Sinatra. saw her last night on ''later with Jools Holland'', she was pretty damn good. Nice write up here
http://www.melodygardot.co.uk/gb/biography/
Today was the day I decided to tackle the pond. The pond that I worked so hard on last year and was so proud of had turned into a black muddy mess over the winter. Caused by freezing, thawing, freezing, thawing and freezing some more. The aquatic plants had frozen and welded themselves to the sides and bottom of the pond during the coldest part of the winter. When I tried to remove the ice the plants came away too and the pots split and spilt aquatic compost into the water. As if that wasn’t bad enough this all mixed with the ton of leaves and general debris brought in by the blizzards. I’ve already said I lost all the new fish I put in last year. As the ice thawed they were floating on the top just waiting for me to scoop them out.
Today was the day set aside for restoring the pond. I scooped gallons of dirty black water out and freed the sides of a generous coating of green slime. The more water I scooped the blacker it became and the less I could see. And then I saw something move, a sole survivor, the plainest, most ordinary and by far the cheapest little fish to go into the pond has survived the winter.
I thought the pond had frozen solid, obviously not. I did initially think this one had survived because I didn’t find his body with the others. I’ve seen no sign of him for a couple of months and the water was so black I’d convinced myself he had died too. Even more incredibly, he is about three times the size he was last year and I have no idea what he found to eat in that muddy pond.
He is now sitting in a small tank full of his dirty greenish water on my kitchen table and not looking very happy about the move, I think he is keen to get back to his pond. After hours of scooping and cleaning and rearranging, the slow task of refilling began. One bucket at a time the pond began to take shape. I’ve not finished, the job is exhausting and I couldn’t muster the energy to haul another bucket of water outside which is why the little fish will be spending the night on the kitchen table.
In an attempt to keep the pond in better condition I’ve ordered a solar powered pump and fountain, it’s supposed to increase the amounts of oxygen in the water and reduce the amounts of algae. Moving water is less likely to freeze so as long as we have a little sunlight, the water should not freeze next winter. I hope it works, this is what the product info says
• Allows you to create your own solar powered water feature
• Operates in direct sunlight only
• Powered by a separate solar panel (supplied)
• 2.5 m cable to solar panel provides location flexibility
• Maximum fountain height up to 12 inches, 30cm (jet fountain head)
Gardening No 8
It’s so very nice to be out in the garden.
Most of the daffodils are in bloom with lots of buds still waiting to flower.
The containers of pink bedding plants I bought a couple of weeks ago are all looking good
and the primula is popping up every where.
This pot of chocolate mint looked like a pot of frozen dead earth a month or so ago
and now it’s bursting into life again, spreading its gorgeous scent all over the garden.
The rhubarb which I was sure I would never see again has shot up and already has two new deeply veined leaves both bigger than my hand.
My privet hedge has not fared so well. I don’t know why but I had to spend a couple of hours pulling out lots of dead wood. I lost about 4 privet bushes, they were dead down to their roots and the whole bush lifted out of the ground.
I am left with a hedge full of holes which offers virtually no privacy and a huge pile of dead wood and rubbish left by passers by which will take me a while to dispose of.
I guess I’ll have to live with the holes for most of this growing season but in place of the dead privet I’ve planted a variety of native hedgerow bushes. I think I’ve planted Holly, Dog Rose, Dog Wood, Rowan, Silver Birch and even Hawthorn. I’m hoping that in a couple of years the native hedgerow takes over from the privet which will maybe even attract nesting birds.
Information from;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faberg%C3%A9_egg
A Fabergé egg is any one of the thousands of jeweled eggs made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 through 1917.
The majority of these were miniature ones that were popular gifts at Eastertide. They would be worn on a neck chain either singly or in groups.
The most famous eggs produced by the House were the larger ones made for Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia. Of the 50 made, 42 have survived. A further two eggs were planned but not delivered, the Constellation and Karelian Birch eggs for 1918.
The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term "Fabergé egg" has become a synonym of luxury and the eggs are regarded as masterpieces of the jeweller's art.
The story began when Tsar Alexander III decided to give his wife the Empress Maria Fedorovna an Easter Egg in 1885, possibly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their betrothal.
It is believed that the Tsar’s inspiration for the piece was an egg owned by the Empress’s aunt, Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Denmark, which had captivated Maria’s imagination in her childhood. Known as the Hen Egg, it is crafted from gold.
Its opaque white enamelled ‘shell’ opens to reveal its first surprise, a matte yellow gold yolk. This in turn opens to reveal a multi-coloured gold hen, that also opens.
It contains a minute diamond replica of the Imperial Crown from which a small ruby pendant was suspended.
Unfortunately, these last two surprises have been lost.
Empress Maria was so delighted by this gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a ‘goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’.
He commissioned another egg the following year. However, after that, Peter Carl Fabergé, who headed the House, was apparently given complete freedom for future Imperial Easter Eggs, as from this date their designs become more elaborate.
According to the Fabergé family tradition, not even the Czar knew what form they would take: the only stipulation was that each one should contain a surprise. 
Following the death of Alexander III on November 1st 1894, his son presented a Fabergé egg to both his wife, the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, and to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna.
The first video is the Faberge Egg and Beethoven and the second is some of the history of the egg
