MUSINGS FROM THE BOWER  49

 

 

I have been busy the last couple of weeks having a Grand Reorganisation. A few years ago I had a desk in our hall, built into a kind of cubby hole, but after a while I decided that I felt a bit cut off working down there when everyone else was having a good old gossip in the living room or dining room, so I moved my computer onto the dining room table – ‘Just for a few days.’ Those days became months, and then years, and it was only on very special occasions – such as Christmas – that I moved the computer and printer off the table. We eat our meals in the kitchen, which actually is more practical and also more cosy.

 

Dining room clutter



My desk, the cubby hole and surround became a dumping ground for ‘things’ – magazines, files, books, craft materials and boxes of all kinds of stuff, until it threatened to topple if anyone dared tiptoe past. Eventually I thought ‘enough is enough’, decided I wanted my desk back and consequently have been sorting through the chaos. In a way, it’s quite exciting – I have found notes and letters that I thought I had lost, and only yesterday unearthed a Furby and a small doll. The doll promptly shed its head, arms and legs in all directions, so that’s another job that needs doing – finding a new elastic band to hook her together again! But the heap is at last going down, and I have found heaps of paper for recycling. Tomorrow my daughter has volunteered to help me shift three plastic filing cabinets lurking in the far corner of the cubby hole – it will be interesting to see what is inside. Then, once more, I will be able to work at the comfort of my desk with its comfy swivel chair. And we will be able to use the dining room for its proper purpose!

 

I found a furby!

 


 

On the winners' podium at Silverstone!

 Just like an express train, Christmas is rushing towards us, creating a whirlwind of ‘Things To Do’. Get the turkey, bake the cake, decorate the house, put up the Christmas tree and buy the presents.  Present buying is always difficult, and sometimes I must admit I take the easy route and get tins of biscuits, or bath products, or novelties. Recently I have been buying ‘Experience’ days and have received some too. They are wonderful, and provide plenty of memories. Just a couple of weeks ago my husband and I were hurtling round the race track at Silverstone. Okay, it was in a mini bus, but even so……! We saw the racing car workshops, stood in the pits, visited the media hub where banks of television screens showed every bend and straight of the circuit, and even posed on the winners’ podium for a photo!

 

A workshop at Silverstone

 

 

 



With a Harris Hawk at the Raptor Centre, St Ives

Some of the Experience sites sell really exciting gifts. You can travel in a speedboat up the Thames, take a helicopter flight across London, ride in a hot air balloon, have a flying lesson, drive a tank or, um, even have a cream tea!  You can do other exciting things like driving a train or being a zoo keeper for the day, or just have a leisure experience involving being pampered in a spa.

 

In September, as I’ve mentioned in a revious blog, we were at a raptor centre where rescued hawks and owls are taken. There we helped with the weighing of the birds and ended up, with thick leather gauntlets for protection, flying owls and enormous hawks. The feeling as a barn owl glides on whisper-quite wings towards you and lands on your hand is amazing. It's exciting flying the big hawks. There are centres in many places of Britain where you can experience these special days.

 



Tiger milk feeding at the Isle of Wight Zoo

A couple of years ago I did a tiger milk feed at the Isle of Wight Zoo, at Sandown. This entailed me standing next to a wire mesh fence, with no other protection, squirting milk from a pump into a tiger’s mouth. Well, actually, five tigers in all. It was the most incredible experience to be so close to these magnificent, stunning creatures, to feel their hot breath and look into those beautiful, liquid eyes. Of course, before I did the feed I had to sign a form to say that I wouldn’t sue the zoo, should the tiger decided to take a bite of me through the mesh….  The two tigers shown here are Ayesha and Diamond. Diamond has a lovely sandy coloured coat as he carries a white gene.

 

Feeding the handsome Rajiv at the Isle of Wight Zoo



Feeding lemurs at Paradise Park Zoo Broxbourne

In the summer, my husband and I took part in a ‘Meet the Lemurs’ day at a different zoo, Paradise Park at Broxbourne. We entered the cage carrying bowls of fruit and were soon surrounded by elegant grey lemurs with ultra-long black and white striped tails. They sat on our shoulders, arms and heads as they reached for the fruit with their long fingers, and bickered with each other if they suspected one was taking more food than it should.  We have also done a monkey tour there, which covered other creatures too, and I was able to stroke an armadillo.  Yu can buy gift experiences from many attractions, or alternatively visit a site, such as ‘Buy a Gift’ on line.

 

Next year my husband will ride on the footplate on a steam engine in Devon, and then return in the observation Pullman coach. He is really looking forward to that experience; it was the gift I gave him for his birthday a couple of weeks ago. Much better than a pair of socks!