Local fire engulfs entire forest

On Saturday afternoon on April 31st a forest fire was started in Swinely forest in south Ascot near Bracknell and Crowthorne. Arson is suspect of the fire that quickly spread to an area of about 20 acres, burning through the undergrowth and up pine trees as well as spreading through the peat under the ground. Crews from Bracknell and Wokingham Fire Stations as well as four stations in Reading have been fighting all week, with specialists support from Hampshire and Maidenhead.

The blaze continues

more than 40 crews have been working around the clock this week

Families along Woodlands Ride at the edge of the forest were given only 10 minutes to evacuate their homes and have not returned yet, schools closed and the local area is in a general upheaval. The local community has pulled together to support the rescue workers, of which include 350 fire-fighters from more than 40 crews working around the clock. By Friday - 6 days after it started - the hard working crews are still damping down pockets of flame but the fire seems to be under control and nearing its end.

underground peat fires

smoke can be seen for 40 miles around

Traffic in the area has ground to halt, with several major roads closed and the smoke is affecting homes and towns in a 40mile radius. The environmental effect of this catastrophic fire is currently immeasurable, the forest will take decades to recover. Please follow my links to full reports on this fire - I will be keeping a close eye on local news of the drama unfolding in our home town.

Grand day out

My husband David worked all over Easter and the numerous bank holidays over may day and the royal wedding, so he now has 10days leave to make up for it. This week we've been working at home, doing big spring chores and generally taking long lunches and walks with the dog.

We live in the beautiful countryside and since being married generally we eat al fresco in the garden or have a BBQ instead of my old favourite; the picnic, so as treat David planned one for us this Friday. We bought some treats and packed a lunch but Dave wouldn't let on where we were going so I didn't know what to wear - shorts for the beach or sturdy shoes for hiking? The only clue was we couldn't take the dog, even on the morning as we got ready to leave I still couldn't guess where we might go . . . . in till he said "I can't tell you cause you will get over excited" he was right and I knew at once we were going to the Zoo!

We spent all day walking around Colchester Zoo, we saw lions who were so much bigger than expected, tigers who were prowling much like our own panther Bagheera, and I got to fed my all time favourite: giraffes ^_^ We saw wild looking wolves (not unlike our GSD, one was wagging his tail hehe) big African elephants, endangered our Amur leopards, apes as big as orang-utans and monkeys as tiny as baby tamerins - I thought they were all great! By far the cutest were the red pandas, such sweet faces and their behaviour reminded of cats, I just wanted to cuddle them ^_^ It was a beautifully sunny, its been grey all week and will be raining this weekend and I caught the sun on my face.

By the end of the day I was pooped, my feet ached and fell asleep in the car on the way home. The brilliant day had a perfect ending, I had a bath while DH cooked dinner, watch a movie in my PJs and then an early night for me and bump. Hardly a rock star lifestyle but I wouldn't change it for the world :)

Our right to vote part 2: The Referendium

Many of you who are interested in politics may have heard about some changes in our voting for out government, just recently its been all over our news. On May 5th the public will be asked whether they want to replace the existing first-past-the-post system for electing MPs to Westminster with a method known as the alternative vote. Basically this means instead of a cross for your favourite party, ranking all parties no offer. If your first choice gets the least vote they are knocked out and your 2nd choice is taken
instead.

This new way of voting has confused many voters and frightened others. The old school guys say that AV will be too expensive, that it will let more "extremist" parties into or government or that its complexity will scare away voters who don't understand. The pro AV folks say it will mean an end to tactical voting (wanting to vote for the small guy but forced to vote for the your least disliked big man.) and will give those small guys more of a fair chance at the MP seats. If you still unclear about the changes a great website for the pros and cons for both FPP and AV can be found here.

I think its important for everyone to use their right to vote in a country with fair democracy but its also important that your vote is not a blind one, educate yourself before heading down to the polling station :)

The important things in life?

Anyone who knows me will know I am a positive upbeat person who enjoys the simple things in life even when the complex ones aren’t going to plan. I think this is a healthy attitude to have and I try to maintain this sunshine outlook on life.

Unfortunately the music industry seems to be filled with singers and songwriters who are either drunk /on abooty call or depressed, most seem to lack genuine depth. British singer Adele is a sexy lady with a very soulful voice, her music is loved by millions across the globe and her latest melancholy song “Someone like you” has had extensive airplay on both radio and TV. . . . . I hate it! I disliked it on first hearing and with it’s repeated over playing I find I am more and more annoyed by the song and the coverage it gets.



Sure it’s a touching song full of sorrow for a lost love, we can all relate to that and its beautifully sung but if you listen to the story its just pathetic. The character turns up at the house of a man she lost, and since that time he has married and had a kid. Someone who not only holds a torch for that long but also acts on her heartache and despair so long after their parting is not in a healthy place. Love is important but dwelling on the past is depressingly sad and not in a good way.

Here instead listen to some Palo Nuttini, the cheerful chap who brightens up my day with his bouncy tunes and appealing lyrics about enjoying the simple important things in life :)



Remember that if you have shoes on your feet, a roof over your head and food in your belly you are better off that 2/3rds of the worlds population, stop winging and enjoy good health and the warm sunshine on your face :)

A Zombie in your home?

Each night people go through several cycles of non-REM and REM sleep. Sleepwalking (somnambulism) most often occurs during deep, non-REM sleep (stage 3 or stage 4 sleep) early in the night. Sleepwalking can occur at any age, but it happens most often in children aged 4 - 8 and appears to run in families. It can be effected by hormonal changes, stress, anxiety, diet and medication. I have always had parasomnia (unwanted actions during sleep) and vivid REM sleep dreams and realistic night mares but the sleep walking has been an on and off issue during my lifetime. I started as a child but that was only for a few years, from around 8-15 was not affected at all and during puberty it came back briefly. As an adult (from 19 to present) it generally only occurred at stages in my life when I was stressed about money or work. My mum has very strange vivid dreams and my dad has history of sleep walking too - the most famous was him trying to climb on-top of a wardrobe to escape aliens during a very stressful time in his life, I was very young and my brother was a very sick baby.

When people sleepwalk, they may sit up and look as though they are awake when they are actually asleep. They may get up and walk around, or do complex activities such as moving furniture, going to the bathroom, and dressing or undressing. Some people even drive a car while they are asleep - or in rare cases become violent. I can get very physically active during sleep but this due to vivid dreams, night terrors or nightmares and not related to sleep walking. Generally a sleep walker will use muscle memory to calmly do every day tasks, tasks they could literally do with their eyes closed or without thinking.

The episode can be very brief (a few seconds or minutes) or it can last for 30 minutes or longer. If they are not disturbed, sleepwalkers will eventually go back to sleep. Sleep walkers are vulnerable and suggestive, its easy to guide me back to bed. Its thought that sleep walking inspired the first voodoo stories of Zombi's - the walking dead. It actually your subconscious that does all the work whilst sleep walking, that is why you dont remember any of it, the part of you that makes you "you" is not actually present, a body without a soul if you like. Voodoo zombies were slaves to their mistresses and were very suggestive, slow and methodical in their tasks much like real sleep walkers.

Since I've been pregnant I was very worried about sleep walking, I was worried if I tripped or strained myself I would harm the baby. I've not hurt myself before but have gone out side and often move furniture or go about every day tasks. My husband sleeps like a log and doesn't wake up most of the time, I have tried shutting myself in with towels under the door - the idea is that my zombie brain can't work out why it wont open and I just got back to bed. We have bells on the bedroom door handle now, its not enough to wake Dave but for some reason it seems to work. Given time my mind will get used to the noise and it will stop working and we will have to think of something else. Its not enough to wake me up, it can be very traumatic for the dreamer and is much like coming up for air whilst drowning and seems to take a very long time - not a pleasant experience in the least.

I think the dog gets a bit confused by me walking about, if I spend too long roaming around Monty (our German Shepard dog) goes up stairs -which he is not allowed to do normally- and wakes up Dave my DH who then wonders where I am and comes to find me. Last week I woke myself up (doesn't usually happen) and the dog was laying on the stairs. I assume he'd gone to get DH and after finding him missing given up, Dave had been away with work. Around me were dozens of folded / screwed up bits of blank paper and some sticking out of the letter box, on inspection there was plenty of paper on the door stop too >_> I do worry myself sometimes.

Since being pregnant I often woke up craving burgers / junk food and meat quite a bit in the first trimester but now that has chilled out and I wake up in the night thinking about food. I cant go back to sleep before I've had a piece of toast or cup of tea and biscuit, so the dog must get thoroughly confused by my midnight snacks and sleepwalking. I do wonder if I give him commands in myself, I certainly tell him to be quite enough times in my waking hours!

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is a TV adaptation of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, with 5 published and more in the pipeline, the series has been critically acclaimed and has a huge fan following spanning the 15 years since the first book was realised in 1996. Anticipation for the series adaptation has reached fever pitch, and I for one will be glued to the screen!

Sky Atlantic will begin broadcasting Game of Thrones, the fantasy drama based on George RR Martin's novels, on 18 April – the day after its US premier. It has been adapted for TV by David Benioff and DB Weiss. Benioff said no one had ever done fantasy "the HBO way, where the focus is on character and psychology rather than spectacle".

A great deal of attention is being paid to fine detail. A shot of Grand Maester Pycelle's desk reveals scrolls bearing the names of previous Targaryen kings, whilst King Robert's crown has a stag motif to reflect the Baratheon heraldic symbol. Eddard's small council seat has the symbol of a hand imprinted on it, whilst Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish wears a small clasp in the shape of a mockingbird.

The drama focuses on the struggle for power between competing factions in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of the mythical continent of Westeros – a time and place "reminiscent of medieval Europe" – with a cast including Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Mark Addy, Aidan Gillen, Charles Dance and Iain Glen.