Hazel Ceej

Sometime ago I answered this question : If you had to choose to live within a novel, which would it be? My answer was - Without much ado Harry Potter's Hogwarts ! What a place to explore! I'd like to transfigure arrogant Malfoy into a cross-eyed cockroach. *kidding* And when I feel like cutting Snape's class I'll hang out at Hagrid's hut. Then during summers head to The Burrow. As Ron Weasley says, "it's not much, but it's home." Let's travel to England. Can you name these places in Harry Potter? My favorite places in Harry Potter (go left to right for names and photo source links) 1   Hogwarts the moving staircases and all the magical learning! 2   Shell Cottage a newly-weds' home must be sweet and lovely 3   Flourish and Blotts books books and books! 4   Hogsmeade appeals to the country girl in me 5   Honeydukes for your sweet tooth 6   The Leaky Cauldron when one day in Diagon Alley is not enough 7   The Bur...

"So that's how it looks like," I thought as I stared at a blurred image on Cambridge U's 800th anniversary portrait. The page shows a document stamped S E C R E T . I leafed through and tinkered with the text mode of my camera. But the real fun was just setting eyes on things for the first time. It makes up for not having been to any museum in awhile. Besides, I'm not sure how easy or difficult some of these things are to view from anywhere other than the book. This is what I meant on my T13 last week when I said, "into my lap a treasure fell..." 1. Extract from the annotated first edition of Principia Mathematica, 1686 2. Undergraduate record card of Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine 3. A 3D silicon nanostructure fabricated using chemical vapour deposition 4. In the pages of the Blue Boy Magazine, err... the Varsity 5. John Milton's manuscript of Lycidas 6. Ernest Rutherford's notes on the structure of the atom 7. The Chancellor's...

... observes the Duke of Edinburgh. Someone from Cambridge University Press came to speak to us. He gave away Cambridge: 800th Anniversary Portrait to a Thai teacher, who handed the book to me as if she was glad to get rid of it. (It's ok. She doesn't read, nor speak English) Into my lap a treasure fell. Some days must be bright and cheery :-) 1. "As an undergraduate I was persuaded that the Dons were a wholly unnecessary part of the university. I derived no benefits from lectures, and I made a vow to myself that when in due course I became a lecturer I would not suppose that lecturing did any good. I have kept this vow." Bertrand Russell , The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell , 1967 (p.53) 2. "Cambridge, wet, cold, abstract, formal as it is, is an excellent place to write, read and work." Sylvia Plath , writing to her mother, 1956, from Letters Home , 1975 (p. 17) 3. "Dear Sir, I will be obliged to you to order me down 4 Dozen of Wine, Port, Sherry- ...

In York I was inwardly moaning that I could not join a ghost walk because I could not stand the cold. I missed viewing 13th century manuscripts because the tour ran out of time. So these 13 things I love about what I did not miss in that lovely city had better make up: 1. Guy Fawkes hotel . Although having a large portrait of England's catholic restorationist in my room was eerie, the four poster was cozy 2. Historic breakfast . It's served adjacent to the cottage where Guy Fawkes was born 3. Room with a view . The window is like a picture frame into which part of northern Europe's largest cathedral fits 4. York Minster : massive, magnificent, enough said. 5. Staring awed at the Five Sisters , reputed to be among the finest and rarest in the world. 6. Evensong . Beckoned in by the vesper chime, I quietly joined other worshippers for a bit of spiritual exercise 7. Minster choir . As voices rose to the spires, so swarmed gooseflesh from my gloved fingers to my shivering...

Our Weekend Memoirs: Dieting on Eggs Please scroll down for Sunday Stealing The chinese guy selling noodles in front of 7 Eleven also sells eggs. I wanted to buy some but he was busy with his customers and I couldn't wait. Back in front of the pc, a recent report that Margaret Thatcher's pre-election victory diet included 28 eggs a week had me reading more than I normally would big news. She is said to have told an interviewer that she had "no special dieting regime." Her pocket diary, which was released by the Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust seems to have revealed otherwise. But don't we all sometimes like to keep others wondering? The Iron Lady's husband though gives it to us straight and cool. When asked "who wears the pants in this house?" He replied, "I do. And I also iron them." This anecdote is exactly what I thought of while my southeast asian ass err... blood was quivering in the London cold as I stood on this famous street. Then M...

Whilst strolling the grounds of St Mary' s church in Scarborough, I was humming "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme..." All I saw though was Anne Bronte's grave in the shadow of Scarborough Castle. Of course Scarborough Fair ended in 1788. Showing up in 2006 was rather late. I didn't get the T-shirt but I got the mug from which I sipped coffee yesterday in the faculty lounge. With Sherri Buck Baldwin's lovely painting on it, moccona has never tasted better. Sarah J Home Decor Either you are like me - curious at what's on a painting or fond of herbs for whatever purpose, 'tis sweet of the manufacturer to have contents of the Herb Wagon written in gothic-like font around the mug: (I collect mugs) 1. Lavender, Angelica 2. Lemon Verbena, Ginger Mint 3. Tarragon, Bee Balm 4. Fennel, Lovage 5. Meadowsweet, Chervil 6. Star Anise, Artemisa 7. Marjoram, Chicory 8. Oregano, Sage, Thyme 9. Dill, Saffron, Bay Leaf 10. Sweet Basil, Coriander, Cilantro 11. Parsley...