Please look after this blog

I must apologise to my reader (hi, Glenda) that I haven't posted anything to my blog for a while. All my word power, approx 70K worth, has been harnessed in writing assignments for a diploma course I've been meaning to finish since early 2008. The qualification has been superseded and I've been shamed into completing it or else risk the ignominy of losing the work I put in and of being a lousy role model to the many people I have recruited to the course in my professional role.

I've submitted 2 of 5 assignments that were outstanding (as in 'overdue' not as in 'exemplary'), that makes 3 more I have to do between now and 9 Feb. So there won't be much new content here for a couple of weeks unless I get heavily into diversion therapy! I will post a pic of me with my diploma (or at least an anecdote about the graduation ceremony) if I actually get all the work in.

Completion is not my strong point - I like the freshness of a new experience, the cut and thrust of classroom debate. Chronicling the steps I took to arrange catering and bums on seats for a project to educate lawyers about their potentially psychotic clients or identifying and listing hazards in my workplace doesn't do it for me!

I have had an interesting discussion (sadly, off blog) about marmalade. A friend makes blood orange marmalade which is apparently delicious. I have to try it! Thinking of marmalade makes me think of bears: Paddington Bear from darkest Peru (hence the image above) and Winnie the Pooh, whose immortaliser AA Milne also wrote The King's Breakfast:

The King asked
The Queen, and
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid:
"Could we have some butter for
The Royal slice of bread?"
The Queen asked the Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "Certainly,
I'll go and tell the cow
Now
Before she goes to bed."

The Dairymaid
She curtsied,
And went and told the Alderney:
"Don't forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread."

The Alderney said sleepily:
"You'd better tell
His Majesty
That many people nowadays
Like marmalade
Instead."

The Dairymaid
Said "Fancy!"
And went to
Her Majesty.
She curtsied to the Queen, and
She turned a little red:
"Excuse me,
Your Majesty,
For taking of
The liberty,
But marmalade is tasty, if
It's very
Thickly
Spread."

The Queen said
"Oh!"
And went to his Majesty:
"Talking of the butter for
The royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?"

The King said,
"Bother!"
And then he said,
"Oh, deary me!"
The King sobbed, "Oh, deary me!"
And went back to bed.
"Nobody,"
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!"

The Queen said,
"There, there!"
And went to
The Dairymaid.
The Dairymaid
Said, "There, there!"
And went to the shed.
The cow said,
"There, there!
I didn't really
Mean it;
Here's milk for his porringer
And butter for his bread."

The queen took the butter
And brought it to
His Majesty.
The King said
"Butter, eh?"
And bounced out of bed.
"Nobody," he said,
As he kissed her
Tenderly,
"Nobody," he said,
As he slid down
The banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me
A fussy man -
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!"

So (b)logging off for a while to write more assignments, sample marmalade and finish this month's selection for our book group 'Brick Lane'.

Isn't saying 'President Obama' a joy?