Exam week and Поехали!

Michael Gove promises challenging exam changes. BBC Link

Poor Abigail and year 10 and 11 have been revising and studying for their GCSE exams. I feel for her when you consider that she is only 14 years old!

I myself have also had my final GCSE Italian exam and I really admire all students young  and old who are currently swotting, cramming and generally stressing out!

And yet again the government are saying that the exams are too easy!

Yuri Gagarin

Поехали!

A very beautiful quote by one of my childhood heroes came to my attention today in my U3a Russian class.

Облетев Землю в корабле-спутнике, я увидел, как прекрасна наша планета. Люди, будем хранить и приумножать эту красоту, а не разрушать её!

• Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!        

Thought provoking!      This then reminded me of the moon landing conspiracy theories and political rumours.'Allegedly' Gagarin was asked by the Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev  'Did you see God?Yuri Gagarin was reported to have said,' Yes I did'. he was then ordered no to tell anyone.

At a time when we are apparently all under surveillance,

[BBC News story regarding CIA surveillance programmes] 

Jason Bourne

 I have decided to watch the excellent 'Bourne Identity' and the trilogy of films, 'Bourne Supremacy and 'Bourne Ultimatum'.

Goodness knows, my childhood world of 'George Orwell's Big Brother' and Space travel is now reality.Or is it all a conspiracy?
And maybe Sir Richard Branson works for the CIA? 

Beam me up Scotty!

A fishing week with ducks everywhere!

Me at the middlesbrough 5k.

      MIDDLESBROUGH 5K RUN

Beaten by a duck!!

I was beaten by a Duck! But it is the taking part that is important, after all!! At least I achieved my PB!

It has been a week of Ducks and fishing.

If you compare the two photographs, I would suggest that the duck looks a lot healthier than I !

However, it is a long journey to full fitness at my age!!

But we are on the way.

Mallard duckling

The whole point of going fishing is to be outdoors and see all sorts of wildlife such as this gorgeous little Mallard Duckling!

The fishing season has started with a really good day ,my friend and colleague Mark and I had a great day catching lots of fish!

It helps when you are catching superb Carp, such as this specimen.

Happy as a lark! 

Prince Philip is in the news again this week, when asked how he was, the Queen simply answered, "I don't know yet he has just gone into hospital ". BBC Link
Another interesting Royal story this week is that our future King William has DNA links in India.

Prince Phillip the Duke of |Edinburgh

Possibly the most famous statesman of my lifetime is also in the news, Nelson Mandela is very ill at the moment and of course this is a major headline in the UK this week.
NEWS LINK

A cookery week.

A week off work!
It started great! A bit of fishing, tidying the garden, then the rain started!
It seemed like the rest of the country was dry and warm, but here! I should start to build an Ark!

The Ashes 

England beat New Zealand in good preparation for the Ashes and our football team managed a draw 1-1 against Ireland, this in preparation for the game Sunday against Brazil, a miracle is needed to beat Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

Jamie Oliver Website.

If anything or anyone would inspire me back into catering it is Jamie Oliver. We went for our lunch in York on Wednesday and it is simply perfect! Wonderful innovative dishes with excellent service and impeccable surroundings!

No golf tomorrow, unless a new sport Aqua Golf is invented!

So as it is still raining today, I have spent the day in the kitchen, creating a mess and some reasonable curries and a Chilli.

FOOD BANK RELIANCE IN THE UK TRIPLES!
On the subject of food and cookery, our government has released figures, suggesting that people in the UK are relying on Food parcels, as during the War, I reckon that a simpler action would be to teach people how to cook!