tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75605677783927023742011-11-27T23:28:12.846Zstazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-77297348132146625712009-01-20T15:39:00.004Z2009-05-18T10:27:17.879+01:00

This blog is moving off blogger.com to my own server space. You can now find it onhttp://www.stazjia.com/stazjiaspotpourri/I hope you will visit it there.

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-70471056301220734672009-01-09T11:22:00.002Z2009-01-09T11:50:53.949Z

This is appeared as a small item on the BBC news yesterday and in many of the daily newspapers here in the UK because it is so unusual. Here in Britain, families tend to be spread around the country. It is becoming ever rarer to find large numbers of a single family living very close together.The Hall family live in one small street in Gateshead, in the north-east of England. Out of 35 houses in

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-89994800846115385602009-01-07T13:11:00.004Z2009-01-07T13:39:13.662Z

To hear the news that a company as prestigious and historic as Wedgwood has gone into administration is a terrible shock. It's one of those names that most of us have been aware of at some level in all our lives. Its name has been virtually synonymous with high quality pottery and porcelain, particularly the world famous Jasperware - see the picture of the Portland Vase.It seems impossible that a

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-84835708776230645192008-12-29T11:15:00.004Z2008-12-29T11:23:49.199Z

I think I'm suffering from post Christmas lethargy. In the run-up to the holidays, there always seems to be so much to do. Now it's all over and, although I still have plenty of things I should do, nothing is so urgent that I can't leave it. I have no real incentive to get on with much. It seems my get up and go got up and went. The carpet in the hall needs shampooing, the net curtains could do

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-22646300842630581512008-12-24T12:35:00.011Z2008-12-24T13:11:25.345Z

The Café Royal in Central London's Regent Street, is closing after 143 years and its contents are all being auctioned by Bonhams on January 20. Its closure is caused not by the recession but by the redevelopment of that part of Regent Street.For most of its life, it's been at the heart of London's high society. Celebrities numbered among it clientele are as diverse as Oscar Wilde, Princess Diana,

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-26859527920550050812008-12-21T13:04:00.004Z2008-12-21T13:14:08.955Z

I've just heard that a relation by marriage died during the night. He was in his 80s and had been ill for some time so it wasn't unexpected. His death is probably a merciful release. He had cancer which had spread and there was no hope of treatment, just alleviation of the pain. This was so bad that he was prescribed morphine.My thoughts are with his wife. They had been married for about 65 years

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-83044917160019502752008-12-10T14:17:00.007Z2008-12-10T15:00:10.306Z

What will happen to the UK antiques trade in these straitened times? It has been struggling since 9/11 when many Americans stopped travelling abroad. This situation continued with the fall of the dollar against the British Pound which made buying here in Britain too expensive for most Americans.What must be understood is that American dealers, coming here and filling containers to sell in the USA

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-81541253496222069072008-12-03T14:41:00.006Z2008-12-03T15:44:19.363Z

Over the years, the Tate Gallery's Turner Prize entrants and winners have attracted public derision and disbelief. Each year, people assured each other they could have done better art than that on show at the Tate for the competition.Trevor Prideaux, organiser of the Turnip Prize, started the annual competition when Tracey Emin's Unmade Bed won the Turner Prize in 1999. You can see his point -

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-56062162319909638792008-11-27T13:25:00.003Z2008-11-27T13:37:42.171Z

When I came here to write about my birthday, I was shocked to find it was almost 3 weeks since I'd last written anything. The reason was that I decided to move my other blog from Wordpress to my server under it's own domain name. It's called Stazjia's Commentary and is mostly more serious than this blog. That's why I started this one so I could write about more light hearted topics which didn't

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-31737449887445549782008-11-27T12:55:00.003Z2008-11-27T13:22:33.413Z

On Tuesday this week, I had my 60th birthday. It's very strange because I don't feel any older than I did when I was in my late 20s. It is a milestone birthday, though, and it does make you look back.I've always been a risk taker so I don't have many regrets for chances not taken. Like most people, there are things I wish I hadn't done especially when it's hurt somebody else. I've never done it

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-39432333369693615952008-11-07T17:07:00.005Z2008-11-07T17:25:29.321Z

Royal Worcester Coffee Service withgilded mounts, coffee spoons and sugar nips in its own case.The prestigious Royal Worcester and Spode company has gone into administration. Makers of fine quality ceramics for over 250 years, the company numbered the Queen of England among its customers.It filed for administration late yesterday (Nov 6), apparently another victim of the worldwide recession. It

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-57035650621287032522008-11-05T14:12:00.005Z2008-11-05T14:45:41.633Z

Remember remember the fifth of NovemberGunpowder, treason and plot.I see no reason why gunpowder, treasonShould ever be forgot...Almost all children in the UK know this rhyme. It commemorates the plot by Guy Fawkes and other plotters to blow up the Houses of Parliament.In 1605 Fawkes and the others planted barrels of gunpowder in the cellars beneath Parliament. The aim was to assassinate the king

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-19987052511946476042008-10-31T13:13:00.004Z2008-10-31T13:44:08.428Z

I'm going through a period of reading classic novels and the one I've just finished is Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. This was first published in 1862 and was a 'sensation' novel. Although the language is definitely 19th century, it isn't as wordy as other classic authors like Dickens or Trollope and reads pretty much like a modern detective story.Right from the start you know

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-73232784236980897152008-10-28T17:44:00.009Z2008-10-28T18:39:04.794Z

I was just browsing the blogs here and stumbled across Maison Douce written by Isabel Feist, a collector turned dealer and antique shows and malls in the USA. Scroll down if the big picture at the top takes too long to load because the rest of the blog loads quickly.The first thing that caught my eye was the fabulous pictures from the Portland Antiques Expo last weekend. They really capture the

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-47465154940676918482008-10-25T15:37:00.005+01:002008-10-26T09:27:55.217Z

This is the banner that Janusz designed for my Squidoo Art & Design Group - a collection of lenses on these topics. I love it. It's so understated and subtle. Janusz is such a good designer.I've spent over an hour today working through lenses that had been submitted for membership of the group. There were some fabulous ones with great information and beautifully illustrated. Many of them are

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-86553545154011970962008-10-24T11:58:00.010+01:002008-10-24T12:53:32.710+01:00

So there you are - you've got the brand new, shiny website, pages on a network or lenses on Squidoo and you sit back and wait for visitors. Maybe you check your stats regularly and they reveal a dismal picture. No visitors! Or maybe you have one or two but you've got a feeling that they were your mother and your bestfriend. As an easy, get rich quick scheme, you're off to a bad start - without an

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-14645968425352263382008-10-23T18:33:00.000+01:002008-10-23T18:38:43.805+01:00

I've done a companion lens to the Funny Poems one I did a few days ago. As it's now my most popular lens, and that's in just 3 days since it was published, I'm glad I started the new one, Classic Poems for Kids straightaway.It's got some of the poems I loved as a child like Sea Fever, the Smuggler's Song and The Donkey. Although they were all written many years ago, I think they have really stood

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-35037456636356502332008-10-20T13:33:00.000+01:002008-10-20T14:58:17.966+01:00

I think I was about 6 or 7 years old when I learned to read and it was momentous. We were encouraged to read for pleasure at school and I took to it like a duck to water.I can vividly remember saving up for five weeks to get a particular paperback book, The Children Who Lived in a Barn. Finally, I received my pocket money on Saturday as usual and I thought I had enough money but, when I counted

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-15258750537942135372008-10-19T11:14:00.000+01:002008-10-19T12:08:25.476+01:00

A friend and I used to run a network of sites called All Info About which we started officially in September 2001 although, of course, we had spent about 5 months setting it up. Individuals wrote sub-sites on specific subjects, much like about.com. It was reasonably successful, in as much as it covered it costs after the first couple of years, until we made some changes. We forgot the big thing

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-77255086279828809702008-10-17T14:22:00.000+01:002008-10-17T14:40:33.234+01:00

I've already written several Squidoo lens (pages) about books and authors. The last one was about The Dark is Rising Sequence, a five volume fantasy series for children by Susan Cooper. I didn't read it till I was 35 and it's one of my favourites now. I'm considering doing more lenses about books but can't decide which ones to do at the moment.I'd also like to do some 'How to' articles, again I'm

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-19953545435734013072008-10-16T17:02:00.000+01:002008-10-16T17:21:14.860+01:00

I'm going through a period of re-reading some of my favourite books at the moment. Currently I'm reading the Complete Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton. They are short stories and gentle mysteries. There are no real clues for the reader to follow, we just have to admire Father Brown's deduction, mostly based on a knowledge of human nature and psychology.Next I'm going to read Kim by Rudyard

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560567778392702374.post-22126917969416175502008-10-15T11:12:00.000+01:002008-10-15T11:29:48.393+01:00

According to the Webster Dictionary, a potpourri is a miscellaneous collection and that is appropriate for my plans for this blog.I'll write about what I'm doing, my thoughts on current events and quirky happenings, my dogs, and anything else that interests me. Of course, I hope that it will interest other people as well.I live in Wiltshire, a county in the South of England, my health is not

stazjiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207662322821781232noreply@blogger.com0