Tag: pardon

Undoing what’s done

Posted on by Olaf

There’s little more frustrating than trying to undo a knot but not being able to see where it starts and ends. Sailors and Scouts learn how to use up to 25 knots for practical purposes. How many do you know?
According to The Ashley Book of Knots there are over 3,850 knot types!

Tying a knot is a life skill that most of us learn before going to school – the simple shoe lace. Even with this there are different ways of doing it and you will probably still be doing it the way you were first taught.

Revealing all

Posted on by Olaf

What do you see in this picture?  How might you associate it with the title?  Which way are you already thinking? Your answers to those three questions could be revealing your inner thoughts, perceptions and prejudices! Some things lurk in the alleyways of our minds that we wish did not so we keep them locked up as we do not want others to know they live in our ‘zoo’!  We tend to make assessments based on limited information and on inner biases rather too quickly.  If you look again, you will be able to see five water fowl that resemble adolescent ducklings but are in fact cygnets preening themselves, not fully aware that they are in process of becoming beautiful swans.  Hans Christian Andersen wrote ‘The Ugly Duckling’ in 1843 – what do you remember about it? 

  • ‘I realized that bullying never has to do with you. It's the bully who's insecure’ – Shay Mitchell

BITTERNESS

Posted on by Olaf

It is a curious thing that plants can heal but they can also kill!  Basil can cure itches, Sage is good to gargle for sort throats and Mint can be helpful for upset tummies.  No wonder then that you will find these in many gardens.  Other plants such as Mistletoe, Poinsettia and Aconitum (known as Monksfoot or Wolf’s Bane) can be fatal.  They can look so pretty but are less welcome guests in gardens.  A weed is defined as a plant in the wrong place – does your garden have any?!  Why is it that plants which grow so easily are often unwanted – Bind Weed, Knotweed and Ground Elder?  It just takes a tiny root from these plants to spread into a thick mattress that strangles – a bit like bitterness!  It’s a root that is very hard to get out and is also very destructive.

  •  ‘Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host’ – Maya Angelou