Hidden and forgotten Wales/England

 Blue bridge

The Jubilee Bridge (also known as the Blue Bridge) is a double leaf rolling bascule bridge which spans the River Dee at Queensferry, Wales, United Kingdom.

The bridge was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. between 1925 and 1927. It takes its name from an earlier bridge on the same site which was completed in Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee year of 1897. The abutments of the old bridge are still visible at both sides to the left (facing north) of the current bridge.

By the 1960s shipping had ceased on the River Dee. The bridge's lifting mechanism was removed and the roadway fixed permanently in place. In 2005 the Jubilee Bridge was awarded Grade II Listed building status by Cadw.

Poem written by Athey Thompson

 I shall

Gather up

All the lost souls

That wander this earth

All the ones that are alone

All the ones that are broken

All the ones that never really fitted in

I shall gather them all up

And together we shall find our home

Poem written by Athey Thompson

Taken from A Little Book Of Poetry

Tales of the old forest faeries

Photograph from “Through the back door” by J Pickford and A Green

Apple and white chocolate rocky road By Nadiya Hussain

 

Ingredients

• 200g/7oz white chocolate, roughly chopped (or use chocolate chips)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 130g/4½oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 200g/7oz cinnamon biscuits (or digestives)
• 100g/3½oz white mini marshmallows (if you can only find big marshmallows, use scissors to chop them into small pieces)
• 100g/3½oz dried apples, chopped into small pieces
• 50g/1¾oz raisins
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting

Recipe tips

Method

1. Lightly grease the inside of a 23cm/9in square baking tin. Line the base and sides of the tin with baking paper.

2. Put about 2.5cm/1in of water into a medium saucepan. Find a heatproof bowl that will fit the top of the pan snugly. Make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

3. Put the pan on the stove and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and put the chocolate, golden syrup and butter into the bowl. Stir occasionally, making sure to agitate the chocolate, as this will encourage the mixture to come together. As soon as the mixture is smooth and liquid and runny, take off the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

4. Add the salt and cinnamon and mix through.

5. Crush the biscuits very roughly by putting them into a freezer bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. Empty the contents of the bag into the chocolate mixture. Give it a stir. Add the marshmallows, apples and raisins and stir until everything is well coated.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and use the back of a spoon to flatten it and press it into the corners.

7. Put the tin into the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until set.

8. Take out of the tin and unwrap. Dust with the icing sugar and slice into 18 bars.

THERE’S A WOMAN IN MY MIRROR

 

There’s a woman in my mirror

And she looks a lot like me,

Though there’s lines around her eyes,

And her hair is wild and free.

She is plumper than myself,

And she is definitely grey.

Did I miss the day this happened

Has she always been this way?

And this woman in the mirror

Has an air of something calm,

Like a tide that’s going out,

And a beach that’s soft and warm.

She has seen the world in colour,

She has learned to know the truth.

There’s a wisdom in her wrinkles,

There’s a knowledge brought from youth.

And she seems to move more freely,

As though released from earthly binds.

Is she made of something lighter?

Perhaps the weight she left behind.

Like the press of expectation,

And the need to yield and bend.

I like this woman in the mirror,

She’s fast becoming my best friend.

Donna Ashworth

Poetry books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1...

Hilda by Duane Bryers

#poetryforwomen #bodypositivepoem

#womenselfcare #selflove #poemforbodybeautiful

#bodyissues #bodyconfidence #femaleempowerment #hilda #duanebryers #hildapinup

George Bernard Shaw

 

SHE LET HERSELF GO

She let herself go, they say.

How wrong they are, how little they know.

She simply stopped fighting time,

stopped fighting nature

and ceased being a slave,

to the unreachable dictations of society,

just briefly.

She focused instead on the real things,

pressing for her attention.

She let herself in.

She let herself rest.

She let herself be.

She let herself out.

At no point did she let herself go, my friend.

Quite the opposite.

If only they could see it.

If only they could do it too.

From ‘the right words’ by Donna Ashworth: https://www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp...

Art by Dawn of the shed #dawnoftheshedart #themaidthemotherandthecrone

#letgo #ageing #weightgain #woman #womentribe #womensupportingwomen #poetryforwomen #wordstoinspire #tuesdayvibes

A Special Person

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000xsk0?at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom3=%40BBCRadio4&at_campaign=64&at_custom4=0B290904-E0C8-11EB-982B-661416F31EAE

“And when wind and winter harden All the loveless land, It will whisper of the garden, You will understand.”

— Oscar Wilde

Man Documents His Incredible Outdoor Adventures with His Gorgeous Wolfdog

 

Meet Loki, a wolf-dog hybrid who proves that dogs aren't man's only best friend. Loki, a low-content wolfdog who's a husky/Arctic wolf/malamute mix, goes on amazing hiking adventures with his human, Kelly Lund, in the great outdoors of Colorado and beyond. From backcountry skiing, to sleeping in hammocks under the stars, to roaming miles of forest, to climbing to the tops of snow-capped mountains, Loki has done it all.

Lund, an outdoor adventure professional, is right by his wolfdog's side to document their wanderlust-inducing exploits–something he's done since he first started exploring the west coast with Loki less than three years ago. “I believe dogs aren't meant to live out their lives in a backyard or inside a house. I hate to see that,” Lund explained on Bored Panda. “I hope we are inspiring people to get out, explore our world, and make memories with their pups.”

Loki the Wolfdog: Instagram | Facebook
via [Bored Panda]

Furry unimpressed! Hilarious snaps show a grumpy gorilla, peeved puppy and a hare with the hump refusing to play ball for photographers

 

• Wildlife photographers from around the world captured unimpressed animals 
• A disgruntled gorilla living at the Bristol Zoo gave a photographer the finger 
• Meanwhile, hippo in Zambia is harassed by a flock of oxpeckers stuck to his back
• A grumpy-looking  cat ruined his owner's pregnancy announcement picture 

Wildlife photographers and pet owners have captured animals at their grumpiest for this hilarious gallery. 

From all over the world. these cats, hares, gorillas, hippos and birds were not ready for their close-ups. 

One snap showed an angry, angry hippo walking in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia as a flock of oxpeckers firmly holding on to his back.

Meanwhile, a gorilla at Bristol Zoo brazenly gave a photographer the middle finger to show he was not in the mood for snaps. 

Private pet owners also shared pictures of their pouting pets, including a miserable-looking moggy cat who ruined his owner's pregnancy agreement by being a real sour puss in the pictures. 

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This hilarious gallery captured annoyed-looking wild animals and pets, who have better things to do than pose for snaps: Pictured: Gladys Klip, 54, from Homer, Alaska, photographed this otter and her baby

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Small, but mighty miffed! Janet Danks, 72, from Middlesborough snatched the portrait of his angry robin in the snow

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Sometimes, you just want to be left alone. Radi the gorilla, who is one of the Kansas City Zoo's tenant, looks unimpressed in this snap

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Toby the moggy, from Gloucester, was born with a rare genetic condition meaning he looks permanently sad

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Barking mad! This little pup looks so perpetually annoyed, it's earned him the nickname of Grumpy Earl

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A grumpy-looking hare photographed in the Cairngorms in Scotland stuck his tongue to the camera 

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This angry gorilla at the Bristol Zoo was fed up of photographers snapping his picture and gave them the finger

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Why me-ow? This Chinchilla Persian cat named Wilfred has a distinctive underbite that makes him look angry 

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The baddest basset. Basset hound Buster looks very unimpressed in this picture taken by his owner

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Plotting world domination? This pair of owlets always look like they're up to no good, ready to start making trouble in the neighborhood

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Angry, angry hippo. A flock of cheeky birds took a ride on the back on this unsuspecting hippopotamus at the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia

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Hawk-scuze me? A bald Eagle looked ready to ruffle some feather when he was photographed by Gladys Klip

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Frowning glory. This unimpressed gorilla was photographed frowning by UK phorographer Sarah Vaughton, 38, from Swansea at the Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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This little Pekingese pup from the UK, named Oliver, looks as fluffy as he looks unimpressed in this snap

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This determined-looking owl looks like he is plotting a coup in this picture by Pete Walkden, 47, taken at a Worcestershire farm

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Matilda, an exotic shorthair cat, looked very offended when her owner Tina Buell, 44, tried to take a picture with her 

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This wild hare  from Scotland looked as though he got a lump of coal in his stocking - as the poor creature was snapped 'miserable and scowling' at the first drops of snow falling on his head

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Louis, a six-year-old Persian cat from Austin, Texas, did not seem to enjoy taking selfies with his owner Michelle Alexis