Take That Back (And Gone) For Good

On this day last week, signs were erected around the Ricoh Arena to warn motorists that the circus is coming to town. For 3 days, Take That came, sang and conquered more than 100k fans. As usual, our life was dictated by what’s happening at the Ricoh.

I took a short lunch break and left work at 5pm. Traffic was already building up. From our casa, we could hear and feel the pulsing atmosphere from the stadium. Their supporting acts, The Saturdays, James Morrison and The Script kept the fans entertained.

At 8.30pm, all I could hear were thunderous screams. Take That rocked the Ricoh for the next 2 hours. I joined the fans singing along while pottering in the garden. They’d a good time and so did I. At 10.30pm, fireworks displays lit the sky to end a memorable night.

It’s very quiet now.  Things have gone back to normal. It was kinda surreal when I looked out and saw these 4 gorgeous starlings on the bird feeder. Lets call them Mark, Gary, Jason and Howard :-).

Today, summer made a fleeting reappearance with blue skies and everything nice. We went to our favourite playground to see what’s going on. We were driving into the reserve when we spotted a jay.

After parking Benzy, we walked up to where we spotted him. We saw him flirting among the trees and we tried to get closer. But he flew away. We decided to walk this part of the reserve which is near the reed beds. Babe was busy chasing a beautiful Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) while I was busy picking (and eating) cherries!!! Don’t worry. I did leave some for the natives…

The reed beds is a haven full of life. We were serenaded by their chatterings and chitterings along the way. I spotted these beautiful Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) dotted along the path. They were soo gorgeous.

At the end of the reed beds, we followed a path under the woods. We kept on walking and came across this partly-completed roundhouse. It’s a British Romano roundhouse. We knew that one was being built in the reserve but didn’t expect it here. You half-expected a member of the Brigantes tribe to come out and say hello.

The campsite is due to open its gates to schoolchildren and families in September. The project has been designed to show young people how their Roman ancestors were dependent on the land and its wildlife for survival. I hoped they do a sleep-over :-).

Yesterday, CC and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary being sent to Coventry at our favourite Noodle  Bar. Instead of udon, I’d fried ho fun with seafood special and Chinese vegetables. CC had her usual fried rice with tofu. We washed it down with tall  glasses of cold  chrysanthemum tea.

It was a busy Saturday. It was the 15th Annual Positive Images Multicultural Festival held outside the Central Public Library. We joined the crowd and watched a didgeridoo demonstration and a folk music group. We left as the crowd gets larger and the afternoon gets warmer.

There was also a Dolce Mia Italian  market going on. I just loved the bright red and green striped canopies shielding the goodies from the blazing sun. There were herb loaves, delicious pastries, delicate handmade dolce, rustic Italian cheeses, gelato, jams, soppressata, preserves, wine, olives, antipasto etc. Yummy. I helped myself to a mixture of pure sin, Italian dolce for Babe. Buon Appetito

I’m so pleased at England’s relentless march towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has gathered unstoppable momentum. They strolled to victory against Andorra at Wembley 6:0. Congratulations to an Italian, Capello for a truly magnificent seven results.

Hata la vista Ronaldo. He’s off to Real Madrid for a record breaking £80m. JG, a Man U season ticket holder, was inconsolable. But I’m sure someone else will fill up the vacuum.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had declared a global flu pandemic. This  meant the swine flu virus had spread in at least two regions of the world with rising cases being seen in the UK, Australia, Japan and Chile. The level of the swine flu alert is Phase 6 – its highest alert level.

The swine flu (H1N1) virus first emerged in Mexico in April and has since spread to 74 countries.

Today, the swine flu virus has claimed its first victim in the UK, after a patient died in a Scottish hospital. So far, a total of 1,261 people have now caught the virus in the UK.

There's a simple way to remember this: CATCH IT. BIN IT. KILL IT.

Be safe.