Sunny's Place

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope everyone enjoys this poem as much as I did. Again, thanks to Cliff Blake for his wonderful work.

SCHOOL KIT FOR HOGWARTS

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
— Chapter 5

Harry Potter's future
was looking rather bad,
ten years he'd been an orphan,
since losing Mum and Dad.

But then there came a letter,
at moment opportune,
inviting him to Hogwarts school,
where he'd be starting soon.

Hagrid came to fetch him,
acting like a teacher,
and though not fully qualified,
he knew each magic creature.

"I'll tek yeh fer yer uniform,
 and books, with other gear,
 that yeh'll be needing ter start off,
 during yer first year."

They travelled up to London,
aboard a muggles' train,
while Hagrid talked to Harry,
trying to explain.

Arrived in quite a busy street,
with book and record shops,
Hagrid says "Ah here's the pub,
where every wizard stops."

In between two modern stores,
there sprang a grubby door,
"The Leaky Cauldron" said the sign,
that wasn't there before

In the dark and shabby gloom,
old women sipped their sherry,
while little man in tall top hat,
with barman made quite merry.

Their idle chatter stopped at once.
The tension grew much hotter.
"Hello Hagrid" came the cry,
"Can this be Harry Potter?"

Harry was surprised of course,
but bravely stood his ground,
while everybody shook his hand,
and then had drinks all round.

He met Professor Quirrel,
Defence Against Dark Arts,
then Hagrid said "We must be off,
 ter shop around these parts."

They went into the courtyard,
where Hagrid tapped the wall,
there appeared an archway,
where none had been at all.

It led out onto cobbles,
in a narrow winding street,
"Behold Diagon Alley,
 where wizards come ter meet."

They headed straight for Gringott's,
a bank that goblins kept,
accounting for the money,
and keeping floors clean swept.

Hagrid next produced a key
to Harry's safe account,
and they were taken far below,
to get the right amount.

Then to Madam Malkin's Robes,
to buy his Hogwarts dress,
with winter cloak, protective gloves,
and pointed hat, no less.

Flourish and Blotts provided books
on magic draughts and potions,
while parchment, quills, and rainbow ink,
gave Harry several notions.

A pewter cauldron, small of course,
and weighing balance scales,
would help to brew a magic spell,
combining toads and snails.

"Now we need ter buy yer wand,
 an essential piece of kit,
 but please don't wave it all around,
 unless ye're usin' it."

"Ollivanders is the place
 as you will come ter see.
 They've been making lots of wands,
 since three-eight-two BC."

"Good afternoon to you, Sir!"
said Mr. Ollivander,
showing overdone respect,
with ingratiating candour.

"Your mother's wand was willow.
 Excellent for charming.
 Just like herself, I dare to say."
His manner was alarming.

"Your father had mahogany,
 which gave him greater power,
 but sad to say 'twas not enough,
 at the final hour."

"Now young Sir, hold out your arm,
 while I locate your wrist,
 your shoulder, thumb, and elbow,
 with which your wand will twist."

"Try this Beech with Dragon heart,
 it's just nine inches long."
Harry waved it in the air,
but Ollivander said "It's wrong."

Seven-inch-long Maple wood
with Phoenix feather core,
proved just as ineffectual,
and was snatched back as before.

Eight-to-nine-inch Ebony,
with hair of Unicorn,
seemed to be too springy,
and quickly would be worn.

Reject wands made quite a pile
upon a spindly chair,
till Ollivander chose again,
and held one in the air.

"This wand, made of Holly,
 is cored with Phoenix feather,
 it's length, eleven inches long,
 should suit you altogether."

Harry brought it swishing down,
mid sparks of red and gold;
he felt it warming to his hand,
so comfortable to hold.

"Bravo! Bravo! Oh very good!,
 The wand has chosen you.
 Be careful how you treat it,
 and it will see you through."

"Curious! Very curious!"
Mr. Ollivander said,
"This same phoenix gave the plume
 that struck your parents dead."

"That wand was used by You-Know-Who,
 his name I cannot speak.
 I can only sympathise,"
the apology was weak

Harry started shivering,
after what he'd heard,
so paid with golden Galleons,
and left without a word.

"Why do they all know me?"
he asked Hagrid to explain,
but Hagrid dodged the question
by saying "'ere's yer train."

"Don't worry now about it.
 Yeh'll learn as yeh move on."
Then Hagrid waved and said "Goodbye!"
and instantly was gone.

Cliff Blake

 

I read an article this morning that I thought was very interesting. In Norway a cave is being prepared that will store millions of the world's seeds at freezing temperatures. I am surprised it hasn't been done before given GM crops, nuclear bombs and the new terrorist threats.  It means that for the future if there is a catastrophe man will have the means of repairing the damage done to the food chain.  From time to time the seeds will be changed if it is necessary. Although the article states that in the deep frozen conditions some seeds will last up to 16,500 years. I don't think many of the original members of the team will be around to change that batch!!!! 

Further to my blog about the finding of the Jesus Family Tomb.  If anyone is interested in knowing more, the following link was sent to me by Cliff.  It is an excellent site. Very informative and easy to use. It probably raises more questions than it answers at the moment but I am sure with the use  of the many new technologies those questions will eventually be answered.

 

 

Hope you enjoy the site as much as I did.

My son sent this letter to me and I can't resist passing it on. I think it is funny and quite probably most Brits will, not so sure about my American friends though.

 

JOHN CLEESE'S LETTER TO AMERICA


To the citizens of the United States of America:

In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new prime minister, (Gordon Brown), will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you have noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium," and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise."


You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra'; you may elect to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you find you simply can't cope with correct pronunciation.

Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up "vocabulary"). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.

2. There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize."


3. You will relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out Task #1 (see above).

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but to be celebrated only in England. It will be called "Come-Uppance Day."

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric immediately and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling "gasoline") - roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.

9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call french fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps". Real chips are thick cut, fried in beef dripping, and dressed not with mayonnaise but with vinegar.

10. Waiters and waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

11. The cold tasteless concoction you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only authentic traditional (look it up) British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." American brands will be referred to as "Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine," so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

12. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.


13. You will cease playing American "football." There is only one kind of proper football; which you mysteriously call "soccer." Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the "World Series" for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.

14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due backdated to 1776.

Thank you for your co-operation.

---

 

I am sure everyone is going to be delighted to know I have spent the morning cleaning out my wardrobes.  This is no small task. It is an all day job. I am just having a computer break to refresh myself and give my back a break (not literally).  The wardrobes in question are about ten feet tall and ten feet wide and are  made of oak. They hold an enormous amount of stuff. The reason for this display of mad domesticity is an even madder (such a word) spend yesterday. Everyone keeps telling me winter is coming to Malta. The weather is supposed to be getting colder. I personally have not noticed much change in the scorching heat myself. Anyway I over indulged in one of the lovely local clothes shops. I bought arm loads of winter clothes. I sincerely hope it gets cold now!!! As a result of all this shopping I needed to clear space to hang up yet more clothes. So I am spending today sorting everything out. Some to keep and some to give away. My main central cupboard is now full of lovely new winter clothes and the other two side cupboards hold my hopefully soon to be redundant summer clothes. I have polished shoes and handbags and am now raring to go into winter.  With my luck I have probably now affected the weather for the next six months and we will have the most glorious extended summer. So if you have planned a winter break in Malta and you arrive to find unseasonably warm weather you can thank me!!!

 I have  had an interest in archaeology since I was nine years old and read a book about the Egyptians.   So the recent news items about discoveries in Jerusalem are very exciting to me.  It is said that the tombs of Jesus and his family have been found by construction workers who were digging the foundations of a new building.  According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, six of those coffins were marked with the names Mary; Matthew; Jesua son of Joseph; Mary; Jofa (Joseph) and Judah son of Jesua. A documentary has been filmed and I am really looking forward to seeing it. The other great discovery is of King Herod's tomb. After a search of more than 30 years, Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University says he has located the tomb at Herodium, a site south of Jerusalem.At the site, archaeologists found a smashed limestone sarcophagus that, when whole, would have been around 2.5m (8ft) long.  No bones were found at the site. Prof Netzer said that they had likely been removed by Jewish rebels who fought against Rome between 66 and 72 AD. To actually find the final resting place of people only read about in the Bible is I think very interesting.  As a child you so often think these people are just characters from stories told at Sunday School, but they did exist and it is wonderful to have that  proven. Of course Christians believe that Jesus existed but perhaps not that he went on to marry and have at least one child. Or that his Mother, Mary, had other children apart from him. How truly amazing if all of this could finally be proven and end debate and conjecture.

This blog is for anyone from North Collegiate.  I recently put my details on their reunion site and also this web page address.  So I am hoping that old friends from the 60's will look in and perhaps say hi or leave a message.  I am in contact with two of my best friends from this time, Eileen Hopton and Sandra Sutherland, but it would be nice to hear from more of you. You can see from the pictures on my page what my life has been like and of course read my dire blogs.  I would love to know about old friends and what they have done with their lives and about their families. Barrie was a wonderful place to grow up in and I really enjoyed my years at North. I have some great memories.  I have been back to visit several times and hope to get over there again sometime.  I shall miss the reunion as I am here in Malta but I would love to hear about it.  I hope you all have a great time and that it is a great success. 

Yesterday we took visiting relatives to St. Julian's for lunch.  We found a nice restaurant by the Bay and settled ourselves at a nice large table under a huge sun shade.  The waiter appeared and left menus and took orders for bottles of water.  We had thirty years news to catch up on, so we chatted away and the waiter seeing we were happy just relaxing left us to chat. Some time later we ordered lunch. It was duly served and very good it was too. Again we just sat there chatting and relaxing.  The point I am coming to was, there was no hovering waitress rushing us or looking fed up that we weren't ordering quickly or eating up and leaving a large family table for another sitting at lunch time.  Life just carried on around us and we were oblivious to it. Other people came and went and we were so comfortable there we didn't feel the need to rush or "eat up"  to make way for more customers.  To me this is the perfect way for a restaurant to be run.  We are more likely to go there again and to take future visitors there.  We have had the same good treatment in so many of the restaurants here. The service is friendly, the food good and you feel as if they really want you to take your time and enjoy the food that has been prepared for you and take in and enjoy your surroundings.