Text Talk

On my projectzero page which lists over 101 goals I have, one of the goals I started on today is to watch 50 TED talks. The first talk I listened to was by the linguist John McWhorter, entitled, "Txtng is killing language. JK!!!" Here's the link if you wanted to listen to it.

I have to confess I’ve never really used text talk in a text message. My text messages have always contained complete grammar. Does that make me sad? Possibly! Or does it just mean I love a well constructed sentence, and actually find that grammar is very helpful.  My problem is, I’ve had so many messages in the past from people-usually girls whose messages have been so abbreviated, I’ve had to spend considerable time decrypting them, to actually work out what they were trying to say. How does that help anybody? In contrast, as a linguist John McWhorter finds real beauty in the dynamics that young people generate by creating their own ever evolving language through text messaging. He gives the example of the abbreviation LOL, which he argues no longer really means Laugh Out Loud, because often it’s used by some in nearly every sentence, so therefore the meaning has evolved into it being a marker of empathy or a marker of accommodation regarding whatever is being said. As I said, interesting....but I’m still not going to use text talk!

Lunar Eclipse

Taken from my back garden. If I woke up half my neighbours at 3am this morning-sorry!

The 2015 Chiltern 3 Peaks

More then 550 volunteers took part in this years Chiltern 3 Peaks Challenge to raise money for the very deserving charity, the Rennie Grove Hospice.

The challenge itself required a walk along the Eastern section of the Ridgeway-Britain's oldest road, through three different counties in a place that has been designated an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Last year I made the mistake of carrying way too much, so this year, I ditched the rucksack entirely, which made the 18 mile walk so much easier.  I figured food was available all along the course-which it was, including the chance to nip into the Co-op in Wendover, so that was one thing less to carry. And water bottles were generously provided at regular water stations along the route so again, I didn't need to carry them either. In fact, there wasn't even really a great need for that regular of hikers staple: the first aid kit, because members of the St John's ambulance were also supporting the days events and could be seen all along the course. This was a reflection on just how well organized the event was-everything was provided, even down to your transport back to your car, courtesy of Arriva buses and the drivers themselves who freely gave up their time.

As a local, it's a wonderful experience, because all of the Chiltern Hills I see every day on the horizon, now mean something. They are more then just hills. Places like White cross Hill, Pulpit Hill, and Coombe Hill are steep! And I have the aches in my feet and calf muscles to prove it!

Arriving at the top of the Beacon in Ivinghoe at about 4:30, to join many more walkers who were already at the top, we were presented with our medals.

It was such a good day, so cheers to Rennie Grove Hospice Care for all their hard work in organizing such wonderful event.

Finishing the Ridgeway

Yeeesssss! ( Arms aloft like a winning goalscorer with a particularly special overhead kick on FA cup final day) After a whole year-Yes, a whole year, finally finished the 87 mile Ridgeway! Drum roll please....thud, thud, thud, tshhh, BOOM! Feels good. smile emoticon Now, just the small matter of walking 10.5 miles back to the car. Hmm, that bit doesn't feel quite so good!

Hadrian's Wall

Something I've wanted to do for quite a while was to walk the whole country widthways. The place to do it, apparently, is along the Hadrian's Wall Path, which stretches a mere 84 miles across the country and which crucially, runs close to it being at its most narrow point.

Last week, taking a full 6 days, me and a friend walked from Wallsend on the East Coast, all the way to the West Coast of Bowness-On-Solway.  Apart from the monsoon in Newcastle on the Monday, my car breaking down repeatedly, and the severe leg cramps that followed, great fun!

Time Magazine's Top 100 Novels

This list is of course extremely subjective. Some novels, I literally cannot understand why they are even in the list ( For example, 'Death comes for the Archbishop'-How hard going is that? Perhaps, you have to be a Catholic to appreciate it?), but equally there have been some fantastic discoveries. Out of the 40 books I've read so far, the following now have a special place on my bookcase. More prominent even then my George Eliot books. Yes, even them.

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
Lucky Jim
Never Let Me Go
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Ubik

South West Coastal Path

I spent the past week walking along the beautiful South West Coastal Path, starting at Ilfracombe and making my way NW as far as the Great Hangman. At 1,043 feet (318 m) high with a cliff face of 800 feet (244 m) the Great Hangman is the highest sea cliff in England.

Views along the Icknield Way Path