I Read Therefore I Am discussion

Speaking of quintessential Englishness, did anyone see the cheese-rolling on the news on Monday?

Yes , loved the bit where the cheese went into the crowd and the participants carried on bouncing down the hill, eventually followed by the rescued cheese :0)

However if you're not into tea you can have a cuppa coffee. But I agree, Ellie, for the British tea can solve almost all of life's problems!

I believe I'll stay on the Continent and make it Irish coffee. Gotta love the Irish.

Cheese rolling??

Yes, Antipodes, Cheese-rolling! Every year on our Whitsun bank holiday Monday, people run/throw themselves down a near vertical hill chasing, traditionally, a Double Gloucester cheese!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm 1/4 Dutch (my maternal grandfather emigrated from the Netherlands as a young man) and I do love my cheeses. I have never chased any, though.

Hoping this link will work .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOyQBS...

Ellie that is so funny, it's amazing that no one kills themselves ...... Has anyone killed themselves? And who, if anyone, gets to keep the cheese? Do you go to watch this? I'm assuming you're way too sensible to ever compete!

Goodness me, no, I most definitely not compete!! There are 2 men's and 2 women's downhill races, and an uphill race; the winner of each keeps the cheeses. It's totally mad!! The police tried to stop it because so many people were coming to watch; it's been going ahead as an 'unofficial' event for the last 3 or 4 years.

Lol gotta love the cheese rolling - we have some very strange customs....

How nice has it been today? I've just finished work but am off now to find a nice beer garden to sit in and have a few pints cos am off for the next 2 days (until my boss cancels them... again). Have a good one guys ;)

Sounds lovely and well deserved.
Tandeming for us tomorrow - and possibly a beer garden too :0)

That sounds lush Lee - are you the front tandemer or the back one?
I couldn't find a beer garden so we just danced all night and I didn't come home till it was getting light! Ha ha not done that for a while - too much working going on! Had about 3 hours sleep and now going for sunday lunch with my bro's - I think I'm trying to pack everything into a very short space of time cos of my hols getting cancelled ;)

You party animal Laurel! You sound happy though :-) so jealous of that lovely English weather!

Sounds groovy - sorry your hols have been cancelled though.
I am at the rear of the tandem (the stoker rather than the captain) - it means I don't have to worry about brakes, gears and steering but can just pedal and enjoy the views. :0)

That sounds like the nice option, Lee, though being a bit of a control freak is probably be a back-seat driver! Lol

My bike is being serviced at the moment, had it 6 months now and a few things need tightening up.

We had to do that a few weeks ago as the chain kept falling off

Shameful admission - I can only ride a bike in fairly straight lines without taking my hands off the handlebars! Makes it a bit difficult to actually travel anywhere on one!

Get a tandem and a chauffeur :0)

Now that's a much more difficult job, I think I'd be better just practising bike riding - that's if I had one!

I am hopeless on a bike, Hilary; that's why O got myself an adult tricycle :-)

Wow Ellie that's great. About 25 years ago I had neighbours who had one each but I've never seen any except for theirs. I've often thought that would be a good option for me - was it difficult to find one?

I did a search on Google and it came up with a site called tricyclesales.co.uk :-) So, no difficulty finding one, but quite a limited choice as that was the only place of any note I could find. I will say, though that getting one is one of the best ideas I've ever had. I have discovered a love of cycling I never knew I had; and my bum and legs are getting quite toned!!

It's interesting seeing the reaction from other people - a few 'serious' cyclists look at it with an expression of disdain, but most people think it's fabulous :-)

Thanks for that Ellie. I'll give it some serious thought.

It sounds awesome Ellie - I hope they have something like that in Aus as it would suit me perfectly! :)

So I'm in Cheltenham, at the Science Festival, which is basically like the Literature Festival but with more formulae and geeks. I had to collect my tickets from the Box Office. They've put the Box Office in the Waterstone's tent. So I was basically, doomed....

So it's just like the literature festival then...
Have fun ;)

I'm off tomorrow (yay!) but am going to be very busy - am doing a lot of researching and planning - thinking about starting my own business maybe with a market stall selling my jams and cakes etc seeing as I haven't the capital to open up my own coffee shop.

@ Laurel Wow! How exciting. I shall be keeping my fingers crossed for you.
If you open an online branch I shall certainly be a devoted customer. :0)

@Ellie - have fun :0)

Exciting times, Laurel!! Good luck with the research & planning. It's the most important bit

Best of luck Laurel, Alnwick has a great monthly farmers market that sells just that sort of thing and it's always busy.

@Laurel - Good Luck with your business venture. :) It's really brave. Doing a business plan first is the right thing to do. Mind you, being your own boss might not leave you with a lot of time for reading...

@Ellie - Hope you're enjoying the Science Festival. Are you seeing anyone famous, like Brian Cox (swoon)?
I'm going to a talk by Nicholas Crane (of Coast fame) in July. I'm sure he'll be very interesting.

@Laurel - well wishes for you! What a great adventure that will be :) P.S. can you deliver to Australia??
@Ellie - That sounds so geeky and SO much fun! What are you looking forward to the most?
@Lee - how is your shoulder doing?

I am starting my yoga teacher training this weekend - terrifying and exciting :)

@ Angie - I've been taking such good care of it that it's better than it's been for years!
Much luck with the yoga course - I reckon they'll take one look at your Sideways Facing Koala Pose and give you the certificate there and then :0)

@ Anna - I like him - unlike the showoff that replaced him ( Neil someone?) - That Man With The Hair - I call him.

@Lee - I'm so pleased for your shoulder, it must be a great relief! I must say I've not tried that yoga pose, you'll have to describe it for me :P

@Angela - all the debates are so interesting, it's difficult to pick one event that I'm looking forward to more than any other. It's just the whole atmosphere I love. And the numerous bars, which, as it's my birthday tomorrow, I may have to frequent!

Have a fab birthday Ellie :0)

Happy Birthday, Ellie! Hoist a couple for me while you're at it. Enjoy.

Oohh have a great day Ellie - cut loose and find yourself a sexy geek to speak Klingon with ;)

@ Ellie - how was your birthday?
@ Laurel - how is the market store research going?
@ Angela - how did the yoga course go?
@ Everyone else - what have you all been up to this weekend?
We've been tandeming and generally enjoying the sunshine :0)

Happy Birthday Ellie! Hope you had a fab time ;)

Good luck with the yoga course Angela - sounds great!

Thanks for the well wishes for my business guys - it's still just an idea at the moment so am just researching stuff and trying out/refining loads of recipes - my family and friends are long-suffering guinea pigs lol! Wish I could send you all some cake but I don't know how to post it without it getting damaged or eaten by the postie ;) It's funds I'm struggling with - no money and really bad credit record so am going to have to get saving.

Everything starts with a dream Laurel and I reckon you could absolutely stick with it! I can't wait to see what excitement this venture brings you :)

I hope you had an absolutely fab day Ellie.

The course is going okay Lee but there is a lot to learn, the teacher is a bit erratic, and I am even more sick than before from being in that room with the heaters blowing for two whole days. Next weekend's going to be a killer. Sorry to be a negative vibe merchant everyone, I hope your weekends were totally lovely :)

Lots of luck Laurel.
Angie - I feel your too- much -heating discomfort - I'm the annoying one at work who's always asking for the heating to be turned down.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I had a great day.

Currently 3am here in England, and I've woken myself up again because I can't breathe :-( I seem to have a double whammy of a summer cold and the worst hayfever I have ever had.... Maybe working for a horticulturalist wasn't such a good idea!

Ellie, loratadine (brand name Claratin) works good for me for runny nose and congestion due to colds or allergy. Over the counter here in the states. Hope your feeling better.

Your poor thing Ellie - I would recommend "woody nose" nasal filters - you hardly know you're wearing them and they really seem to work
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=a9_asc_...

Hot toddy for you Ellie! I hope you feel better soon. Big hug from Aus x

That sounds rotten Ellie - hope you're feeling better soon!

How's it going with Friday the 13th guys??? Ha ha I'm a sceptic but.... the shutters for the shop broke this morning so half of them have been closed all day cos we couldn't get them up and then the coffee machine decided to break just before the lunchtime rush! Fun times.
On the other hand - I bought a pair of skinny jeans today that are a size down from what I have been wearing which means I've dropped a dress size and a half since Christmas!!!! Yay go me! Very chuffed ;)

Have a good weekend all :)

You go girl - well done you - particularly impressive as you're always making such delicious sounding cakes.
No bad luck for me so far (touch wood)- your coffee shop seems to have suffered more than it's share of unfortunate events recently - do you think there might be a resident piskie or hobgoblin?