This was our first munro, taken from the descent of the second.

*exhausted*

That’s me done my online checkin now… is this it really happening, or is it just a dream?

It has seemed that way up ’til now.

A pleasant dream, a surprising dream, an unexpected dream.

Hmm, we’ll see…

Spur-of-the-moment a friend and I went out for tea recently, and it fair put a smile on my face! It has certainly got to go down in the annuls as the strangest meal I’ve ever eaten:

Starter: 2 haddock and a chip mountain

We drove out to Burnt Island and once we had caught a glimpse of the sea, the cravings for fish+chips followed suit.

The portions were definitely double-sized… the girl gave me a funny look when I tried explaining to her we actually we wanted our portions in separate packages. So I shut up and enjoyed both fish and (honest!)most of the chips .

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Light entertainment of sea-gull feeding in the intermission.

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Main: strawberry haribo – kids in a happy world!

Our cream soda came in an old-fashioned glass bottle with the message on the side “30p if you return me”. I dared my friend to ask for her money. She did, and was refused but more-than-compensated with sweets instead!

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Wandered down the high street in the rain, getting our window shopping done.

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Pudding: Orange sorbet in an exclusive Romany dining area.

One of our tasks for the evening was to decide on a suitable venue for a return-visit with an esteemed mutual friend. There was a cute-and-tidy little restaurant at the far end that looked like the poshest place in town… that would do, we decided.

Then my side of the dare came out… I was to go in and ask if it was ok for us to just have pudding there-and-then. We were on a budget, but the orange sorbet was just too tempting…

So that’s what we did! The chap was very obliging and kind, and it was pretty delicious.

A highly recommendable excursion! I give it: 5 stars and a cupful of sand.

Ok, so I know it is hideously geeky to celebrate your blogs birthday.

But I have never claimed to be ungeeky… And 5 years is not entirely insignificant…

So… Happy Birthday, Glass Beaker!

We rescued a cute little baby lamb today. It had a black face with white spots. Personally I only did the back left leg, but I felt useful all the same.

There is something heart-warming seeing the attachment of lambs to their mother. Happy to be dependent; happy to scamper around under her watchful eye.

There is a gap in the fence where the side of the field has eroded away. This little dear had decided to poke two legs and a nose out to freedom. The rest of him was then curved up behind with the wire fence cutting into him… Some vigorous efforts later and he was out.

He had already realised he did not want freedom. His mother called him and without a moments regret or questioning he ran to her, showing clearly his longing for his mother after only a few seconds absense.

Then back and forward along the fence, again and again. Increasing levels of consternation ensued as that fence previously a protector – became the domineering actor of seperation.

His mother was calling to him. At first she was also marching along the fence, then as if maturity recognising the dire straits, she retreated in desperation.

This confused the fellow. He slowed down enough to be caught and quickly hopped over the fence.

Then what happiness! Plenty enough to keep me smiling for quite a while.

Sorry: Please note the link is temporarily unavailable… Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly, all being well

It was a great priveledge to hear the following sermon recently: Talking about five gardens

Thanks to hats2 for taking the time to painstakingly type out my notes in full! A bit of a joint effort It is good to share the priveledge of spiritual benefit as widely as it can be appreciated.

I’m intriuged to think more about the fifth garden briefly mentioned towards the end… but you’ll have to read it all if you want to know the context!

Night, Rach

I was asked recently how I would address this topic, and I was caught off guard…

Well, why would you enjoy any kind of torture… you’d have to be mad!? Ok, I admit in some of my geekier moments, I have indeed enjoyed studying. But to actually set out with the express purpose of enjoyment… well, hey, I prefer chocolate.

But, being up for a challenge – especially one involving a word-count – I thought I’d divulge my 3pence worth…

So… You will need a healthy base of curiosity

When you stand back and look, Curiosity stands out squealing “Me, me, look at me!!” I’d say it is pretty much the fundamental pre-requisite to the most productive learning.

Yet it is so easy to loose sight of this. So much studying is originally motivated by less inspiring concerns: “Got to pass the exam”; “Need to know it for my new work-assignment”; “Want a flashier-looking CV”.

The traditional analogy here seems insufficient for me: if you think of learning like a sponge, then all you got to do is sit there being cork dry, and you’re ready.

I prefer to think of learning as tucking into a delicious meal. Yes, you may not have to prepare the ingredients or concoction of the meal yourself, but you’re not going to enjoy it fully if you don’t come with a good appetite.

Curiosity is what makes you ready to learn: an inquisitive mind is armed with questions, ready to accept, interpret, correlate and judge the values and worth of what is presented. Looking not just for answers, but answers that make sense, are complete and are internally consistent.

Gaining answers to such pressing questions becomes immensely satisfying… fun, even

Then… a wave or two of Humililty

Much of learning involves realising exactly how much we don’t know, as opposed to what we do.

This can be at times a painful and frustrating process if we’re not prepared to tie up our pride to a stake outside. However, if we start off being humble right from the beginning, we are more open and receptive to the wide scope of what we could potentially learn. The whole process begins to flow smoother and more musically when we do.¹

While I can’t fully measure or define or explain it, nevertheless I consider humility to be fundamental to effective learning… and surely we enjoy learning more when it is effective? As Einstein once said:

“Not everything that counts can be measured. Not everything that can be measured counts.”

And finally… a fizzy splash of creativity

Learning by its very nature is not just a transient short activity. There are things that seem to “click” almost instantly, yet even in this case, it is the result of thorough groundwork that is only now paying off.

Normally, there is a large time-commitment. Intense concentration is required, along with the motivation to be engaged with the subject area at the appropriate opportunities. But there is the rest of life going on to one side too: learning will of necessity be interrupted, or be deliberately put to one side as occasion arises.

All this sounds like a bit of a slog. But to refresh our minds about where we started, it is possible to enjoy studying, despite the many times when we do not. So what accounts for the difference of experience?

(Yes, I’ll get to Creativity in a minute… I haven’t forgotten!)

Since studying can be enjoyed without any deliberate decision to do so, there is another factor at work here: being “in the flow” – the same type of intense experience athletes or musicians would describe. So, why don’t we just go with this as a solution: just get in the flow and get on with it? Well, I’ve happily bought that line until today, but now I see two reasons to improve on it.

1. It is not always easy to get in the flow about anything at any time (in fact, I would say it was a clear exception rather than the rule).
2. Being in the flow has serious clashes with interruptions: it only lasts as long as one occasion of study; coming back later and you have to start from scratch, yet maintaining long study periods is not always practical or appropriate.

So, yes, Creativity…
Creativity is invaluable to keep the flame burning. Creativity tells you to sit in your other favourite chair next time. Creativity gives you flexibility of scheduling and environment, that while you have to start making tea in 5mins time, it is possible to file away your most juicy question for later calm reflection. Creativity reminds you to buy fresh fruit juice to enhance your physical alertness while studying.

And creativity can be as fun as you like Suggestions welcome, of course!

¹I will admit an explanation of “how” or “why” eludes me, though I’ll give it some attempt: It is difficult in teaching to have the orderliness to teach first the concrete, then the abstract (in all its various levels), yet it appears that humility is what enables the learner to more easily intuatively grasp the higher rungs on this ladder of understanding.

Just to make the clip somewhat meaningful beyond amusement, I here put a serious spin on it… please ignore my few words for your most carefree enjoyment.

So, the puzzle of the day: is there really such a thing as “having the knack”?  I was rather surprised when in a discussion regarding programming skills the majority of those present – mostly (software) engineers – deliberately voted for the notion of coding being a skill learnable by anyone, rather than something which required certain pre-requisites of logical thinking or analytical reasoning mindset/abilities.

Up until then, I’d been quite happy to swallow hook, line and sinker the whole philosophy regarding ‘a certain type of individual’.  The membership  of which clan I embraced with mixed emotion: either a blessed talent or a discomfiting bane taking turns at lodging in my life.

But now I’ve been led to ask whether it is all just an urban myth, after all?

I couldn’t quite believe this ornamental delicacy was still attached to the world above… but it must have been!

Amazing