Bloggers Building Bridges

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Twilight has awarded me the International Reach Out Award (Bloggers Building Bridges)

This award was created by Tessa of An Aerial Armadillo. She writes:

The International Reach Out Award is for these special people who have all, in their own unique way, done exactly that – they’ve built bridges:

It is to acknowledge the depth and breadth of the warm open-heartedness from bloggers all over the world who reach out and touch their readers with their words.

“It has been my experience that whenever one human being reaches out to another in compassion, a bridge is built. A bridge which leads out of despair, into the light of hope and the possibility that tomorrow will hold a few less tears than yesterday”

Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke - the Good Shepherd Hospital and Baylor Clinic in Swaziland.

I feel twice honoured, to receive an award like this from Twilight, an intelligent perceptive bridge-building blogger herself, and to receive an award that links me back to Africa.On the funny-quirky side I've been dealing with the topic of touching people with words recently and, to add to the irony (which Twilight, as an astrologer will enjoy), my Mayan birth day name is... White World Bridger!

Thank you Twilight, for a lovely award. It has always been my wish to be a world-bridger, long before I knew it was my Mayan destiny. *grin* I even wrote about bridging world's in my introduction post when I first started blogging.

Now to decide who to pass this award on to. Bloggers who build bridges, who reach out and touch others. My choices are:

1. Tint of Tint's Meanderings, for building a friendship bridge between Brazil and the world.
2. Andy of The Black Bus Company, for bridging the worlds of those who settle and those who wander.
3. Kerry of Jade Gryphon's Tavern, whose photos bridge continents and remind me what a marvel this planet is.

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Blog Changes

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This is to let everyone know I'm closing down my (First Light) book blog. I've saved all the lovely replies I had from there, but the rest will come down at the end of the week. Most of the posts there were duplicated here anyway. From now on any book news will be posted here.

I'm needing to streamline things as my health is playing up. I have been feeling really weird since last week and the doctor found my blood pressure was up too high. He's given me tablets for the moment, I'll be going back for a check up in a week's time. He thinks it's stress/anxiety so I'm trying to simplify and "downsize" my internet stuff.

Noblesse Oblige Award

Bogey has made my week brighter by choosing me for the...

Noblesse Oblige Award

The write up for this award is as follows...

The recipient of this award is recognized for the following:

1. The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.
2. Their Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage, and offers solutions.
3. There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures, Sciences and Beliefs.
4. The Blog is refreshing and creative.
5. The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.
   

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following:

1. Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2. The Award conditions must be displayed at the Post.
3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved - preferably citing one or more older posts as support.
4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at their Blog.

That list of criteria is impressive and rather intimidating. I have always strived to be 2, 4 and 5 and if I pull off those three I am happy enough. Bogey's blog, View from the Fairway, definitely ticks the boxes listed for this award and I'm not at all surprised to see his name on the award list ahead of my own.

It's an honour to share this one with you, Bogey. Thank you for passing it on to me. :-)

Now the task of picking my own choice for this award. I know so many fantastic bloggers and blogs, but only two names came to mind instantly as managing to pull off the entire list of five:

Cliff of Wixy's Gone Bananas
and
Amel of Amel's Realm
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To all my Girl-Friends

With thanks to a friend for introducing me to Indie.Arie's lovely talent.

BEAUTIFUL FLOWER by Indie.Arie

This is a song for
Every girl who's
Ever been through something
She thought she couldn't make it through, yeah
I sing these words because
I was that girl, too
Wanting something better than this
But who do I turn to?

Now we're moving from the darkness into the light
This is the defining moment of our lives

Cause you're beautiful
Like a flower
More valuable
Than a diamond
You are powerful
Like a fire
You can heal the world
With your mind and
There is nothing in the world that you cannot do
When you believe in you
Who are beautiful (yeah you)
Who are brilliant (yeah you)
Who are powerful (yeah you)
Who are resilient

This is a song for
Every girl who
Feels that she is not special
Cause she don't look like a supermodel Coke bottle
The next time the radio tells you
To shake your money-maker
Shake your head and tell them
Tell them you're a leader

Now we're moving from the darkness into the light
This is the defining moment of our lives

Cause you're beautiful
Like a flower
More valuable
Than a diamond
You are powerful
Like a fire
You can heal the world
With your mind and
There is nothing in the world that you cannot do
When you believe in you
Who are beautiful (yeah you)
Who are brilliant (yeah you)
Who are powerful (yeah you)
Who are resilient (yeah you)
Who are beautiful (yeah you)
Who are brilliant (yeah you)
Who are powerful (yeah you)
Who are resilient (yeah you)

This song is for you
Yeah you

Going back to my Childhood...

...sitting out in the garden and hearing music on radios of people walking by...

Thaba Bosiu played by Johannes "Spokes" Mashiyane, one of the greatest pennywhistle artists of South African kwela music (1950s to 1970s)

Gorse... of course

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Daisy asked about the yellow flowers and I realised I've become so used to gorse I'm not thinking back to when I was a visitor here in the UK and was going, "WOW, What is that yellow plant?"

Actually... spring/summer here is yellow time. Not only is the gorse yellow, but also daffodils, broom and rapeseed. Even if the summer days here are cloudy, the ground is always sunny. :-)

Gorse bushes grow everywhere up here in Scotland. They are incredibly thorny, have very dull dark leaves, but look gorgeous when in flower (which is anywhere from early spring to summer)
The flower heads are sweetpea-shaped and smell... unique. I've tried to decide what gorse smells like and the closest I can get is vanilla and new plastic. (you know how some plastic products have that slightly perfumey smell?) It's an odd scent that can be a bit much on a hot day. I can't ever decide if I like it or not, but the colour I just love. That yellow glows. :-)

The first photo here was taken on the day we photographed the planes at Findhorn bay.
These second two photos were taken a few weekends back. It's an area near the Inverness airport. I wish I could capture the way the yellow GLOWS, but no photo really captures that.

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Scary Movie

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Yesterday hubby went out and tried to get some better photos of the planes flying out of RAF Lossiemouth. He also managed to get some rather scary film footage of a Tornado landing. The thing you need to understand about Lossie air base is that on one side the planes land/take off over the golf course and on the other over a farm, so it's fairly easy to get really REALLY close to planes.

Hubby says, although he knew logically that it was flying over him... he still ducked. (not that it would have done much good, he added. LOL )