If ...

Panic buying

Books

Ok, so it looks like a perfectly ordinary bookshelf, albeit with a fairly eclectic range of reading material ... but look at the titles carefully ...

Meow ...

I just love the pained expression ...

The wisdom of Linus

Water bed ...

Could do with the tap at the other end, though, so you don't have to get out of bed ...

The challenges of being a Hindu God at times like this..

Wisdom ...

It's amazing the amount of piano practice I'm getting done at the moment ...

Salad for dinner ...

Seems like a good idea to me ...

Shopping ...

Vivaldi with a difference ...

Thanks to my cousin Cal in France for this one ... very clever!

Click on the white triangle in the middle of the screen to start the video, and the square outline at bottom right to expand to full screen (so you can really see what's going on!)

Things that go bump in the night ...

Loss of local businesses ...

It is with great sadness that we have to mention the loss of a few local businesses.  

The bra manufacturer has gone bust, the specialist in submersibles has gone under and the manufacturer of food blenders has gone into liquidation. A dog kennel has had to call in the retrievers and the suppliers of paper for origami enthusiasts has folded. The Heinz factory has been canned as they could not ketchup with orders, while the tarmac laying company has reached the end of the road and the bread company has run out of dough. The clock manufacturer has had to wind down, the Chinese has been taken away, the shoe shop has had to put his foot down and give his staff the boot and, finally, the launderette has been taken to the cleaners!

Hand sanitizing ...

Another contribution from Mary Steele ... thanks, Mary!

Paddy's last wishes ...

Thanks to John Harris for this one!

Thanks to Marion Beaumont for this one. Marion read this for last year's on-line Advent Calendar, and suggested it might be nice to see it again now.

Quietude Patience Strong

If you stand very still in the heart of a wood

You will hear many wonderful things:

The snap of a twig, the breeze in the trees,

And the whir of invisible wings.

If you stand very still in the turmoil of life

And you wait for the voice from within,

You’ll be led down quiet ways of wisdom and peace,

In a mad world of chaos and din.

If you stand very still and hold to your faith,

You will get all the help that you ask,

You will draw from the silence the things that you need:

Hope, courage, and strength for your task.

Alright for some ...

Unless you happen to like bagpipes ...

Shopping during the crisis ...

Beethoven's 5th

Clever piece of animation .... thanks to Carole Poolman for this one!

Click HERE to see the video. It's on FaceBook, so you may find the sound is turned off - click on the little speaker icon at bottom right to turn it on.

Easter eggs ..

Do it the Brahms way ...

Thanks to Alice Wakefield for this one ... brilliant! Thanks, Alice!!

Click on the white triangle in the middle of the screen to start the video.

Lucy and Snoopy

to all you loo-roll stockpilers ...

... imagine coming home to THIS!!!

A phone call for the President

Cat racing ...

The Vivaldi Guys

Can't find names for these two anywhere - they're just "The Vivaldi Guys" - but I hope we see more of them, because they are outstanding musicians. Here they are playing Vivaldi's Concerto in B minor for Four Violins ... what I want to know is:

1. How do you adapt a work for four violins so that it's playable by two oboes?
2. How on earth did they manage all that moving around without knocking their teeth out?!!!

Click HERE to play the video.

Enjoy!

Things are different abroad ...

Feed the dog ...