Half-term ramblings

Can it really be nearly the end of the week? Half term over? It was a breeze going to work last week cos the morning rush literally disappeared. We even left the casa half eight and still managed to arrive with 5 mins to kill. Must remember to leave the usual time (8am sharp) tomorrow.

I'd a few plans lined up today but the weather wasn't on our side. Babe then decided a drive into the city-centre. We browsed at Hobbycraft and then at my favourite haunt, TK Maxx. Big, big mistake :-). There were soo many gorgeous black leather handbags at very reasonable prices and I'm definitely going to treat myself as soon as I get paid. I couldn't wait.

We ended with a few bits and bops (soap and a very cute soap holder in the shape of a frog's mouth, which made me smile). Babe treated himself to a huge bottle of gourmet jelly beans :-). And you deserve it darling...

Yesterday we made our way to Brandon Marsh on a very spring-like day. Babe wanted me to get acquainted with my latest toy. I was not able to get good shots with my old Pentax and I do not want to be seen with the SLR's round my neck. I'm still getting used to it.

As usual, the robins came to say hello.   And the best thing was that this dunnock (Prunella modularis) tagged along. I bet it noticed that the robin was been fed and wants a piece of the action. My next wish will be trying to hand feed a dunnock. Babe says it won't but who knows...

Along the path, we saw these long-tailed tits  (Aegithalos caudatus) tree. It's good to see them surviving the severe weather. The reserve was full of (hiding) birds, twittering and chattering joyfully to each other, flitting from here to there. The birdsongs has been wonderful and I guess springtime courting is on its way.

The reserve was also quite busy as it brightened into a gorgeous early spring afternoon. We decided to walk through the woods when we saw a flash of colour in the distance. Slowly, we followed it and spotted this handsome green woodpecker (Picus viridis). It was unaware of us cos we were well camouflaged. We just stood there watching it feeding. It was exhilarating to get this close to nature.

We left about 3pm for the traffic to clear. There was another local derby. I could hear the thunderous singing, cheering and clapping from the Ricoh.

It was a thoroughly deserved win for the Sky Blues against Birmingham City, who are now unbeaten in four matches in all competitions. It looked to be on track to achieve Coleman's target of a top-half finish in the league this season. Well done boys.

On Wednesday, I checked out this exhibition held at the uber-cool Digital Laboratory. Fabrics shown were studied in two separate applications: as a medium for artist's paintings and as a material for sculpturing architectural enclosures (roofing forms). What a pity there was no one to guide me. I was quite lost in the world of aesthetics and engineering science.

I find it quite strange that students applications for post graduate courses at the University were expected to double this year as the number of job vacancies shrink.

The downturn in the economy has seen more people applying either to improve their qualifications ready for when the job market picks up, retrain because they’re lost their jobs or escape the recession. What a positive attitude. All the best to them.

The campus was covered with graffiti last week. It was the Student Union's election campaign and they were quite serious with it. I bet the authority weren't happy with all the bits of paper glued everywhere. And look what they'd done to the library entrance!!! 

We loved waffles and when we go shopping they always land in the shopping trolley. They are handy to have around. Imagine to my delight when I found this in Lidl. No more buying waffles. You are most welcome to taste my freshly-baked waffles with maple syrup oozing from it....slurp!!!