Curly's Capers

One week on and once again "frost on noodles " prevents further excursions down the Way The above picture was taken today (23/2) near Stow on the Wold. It shows a wintry scene ; having just had a covering of snow. The temperature showed a reading of minus one centigrade ; whereas , back in Cheltenham , in the valley floor , the reading had crept up to plus one centigrade . When will this weather relent ? Let's hope for a break next month with warm climes marching ahead . Some thoughts : 1 Bafta's. ( British Academy of Film and Television Arts . ) Many of you will have viewed the awards last Sunday . I have not seen the winning film " The Hurt Locker " , but was interested to see it was directed by Kathryn Bigelow , ex - wife of James Cameron ; whose 3D epic " Avatar " was expected to sweep up all the award s . This , as you know was not the case , but as money is so venerated in America , expect James to pick up the " Oscars ...

Well dingle my dangle weed ; as you might say ; today ( 16/2 ) saw me back on the Way. Parked the car in Alderley and retraced my steps towards the marker above Wotton , an abandoned cart. The trail went down for a while and then relentlessly uphill until one attained Tor Hill ; but of course this ensured it would be relentlessly downhill on the return journey - Result ! It was a boots and stick walk , being uniformly muddy on the well marked track . The weather was never worse than a damp drizzle and after an hour of steady walking I reached my destination and refueled for the return. It was as I reached the green expanse of Tor Hill , that I had my Tuesday Blessing , the sky went blue and Mr. Sun came out for a wave. This had the effect of opening up the panorama , and what a view it was ! One could see across the valley from the Severn Bridge on the right to Tyndale's Monument on the left ; a remarkable vista indeed. Picture 1 gives a sense of this. Returning on the track , ...

White Hopes White Hopes Raw was the wind on the cheek . Limp and lifeless the sepia trees lunged , left and right. I was rattled by the silence. There is a falling away of purpose inspiration crashes and sinks a pause , twixt dream and scheme. Life in recovery mo de. Emerging on the road , to take a starboard inclination , following the curve ; addressing a mischievous brook , which exuded white spray in a weird fall. Wildfowl watched and waited for manna from above , whilst in solitary clumps , by graveyard wall , a vision in white danced before my eyes , drops of Spring in re- birth growing : A gift from the dead. Ck. 10/02/'10 Photos taken during walk around the Sherborne National Trust Estate on February 9th 2010 A.D. Ciao4now Ck. .

February calling . It's that time of year when I often go into hibernation mode and await warmer climes ; so in an attempt to kick start myself into prose ; I intend to venture off-piste and discuss some recent media happenings , commencing with the launch of the iPad. As , we all know , the annual January announcement by Apple of new or improved products , marks the official start of the new year. This year was a ' biggie ' namely the aforementioned iPad . This is a device that sits hybrid fashion between the laptop and the smart 'phone . It boasts a 10 inch screen with a near HD display , running under a fast , newly created Apple chip , the A4 ; this means a very quick internet immersion . This is aided by the same touch screen technology found in the iPhone and iPod touch ; amazingly the 'Pad ' has 1000 sensors , making any touch , anywhere on the pad's surface react with the software. What I like : 1 User friendly touch technology , making it e...