Laura's Rebel Journey

  3. Me with another Rebel.  Hello, Emma! 5. A Rude or Funny Street Sign 29. A Ladybird 3. Emma is the only other Rebel I know in real life, so here she is.😄 5. Butt Lane in Cambridgeshire. I knew it existed and when we drove by it I totally forgot to get my camera out. I remembered on the way home, but my phone can't cope with the distance across a dual carriageway and it was too fuzzy.  So here is Google Maps in all its glory! 29. I have already ticked "ladybird" off the list, but they were a bunch of garden decorations, this is a real ladybird at Wicken Fen.

Complete all 5 Clauses. Clause 1 - Over a period of three months read at least six books. I read more than six books a month . DONE . Clause 2 - Include at least one fiction, one biography and one non-fiction book in your list. I decided not to backdate this.  I read a lot of fiction so there are any number of books that I could count towards this.  I am officially using my last book club read Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead .  My chosen autobiography is Wil Wheaton's Still Just a Geek .  I listened to this on Audible and it was wonderful.  The non-fiction was Ragged Robin Began It by Mabel Esther Allen where she discusses the books she read as a child and what she thought of them then and thinks of them now.  Although her "now" is 1993. DONE . Clause 3 - Write a Review of one of the books I write lots of book reviews on Goodreads, so I'm counting this as DONE . Clause 4 - Read a review of one of the other books, and critique it. Oh, I do this a lot....

No timescale.  Complete 5 of the 10 Clauses. Clause 1 - Take full responsibility caring for a pet for at least three months. We have owned chickens for over 18 months. DONE . Clause 3 - Learn about three animals which are close to extinction.  What can we do to help protect them? I chose three obscure animals because everyone knows about the larger and more impressive animals.  These little ones are still part of the ecosystem and need to be protected.  Visiting the Wild Place Project and spending money there helps them to support the causes that are looking after these critically endangered creatures.  Look away now if the eight-legged freaks you out! (This Clause overlaps with the Environmetalist Badge). DONE . PARTULA SNAILS - French Polynesia.  They were wiped out in Tahiti by the introduction of Florida rosy wolf snails into their habitat.  The wolf snails were supposed to control the infestation of giant African land snails, but they...

  A Midsummer Night's Dream - Scholar's Garden, St. John's College, Cambridge Cast Oberon / Theseus - Edmund Fargher Demetrius / Starveling - George Barnden Lysander / Flute - Aneurin Pritchard Bottom / Egeus - Rob Goll Quince / Philostrate - Meg MacMillan Helena / Snug - Nadia Dawber Hermia / Snout - Tessa Brockis Titania / Hippolyta - [understudy] Puck - Amy Blanchard Booking and attending this play has been counted towards the Carpe Diem Badge.  I've looked at posters for this Festival every year and wanted to go.  Attending online would still be a carpe diem too far, but luckily this time they were performing A Midsummer Night's Dream and my son is going to be studying it next year at School. I am so glad we went.  I love The Dream anyway and it's such a good entry point to Shakespeare.  Adam had a wonderful time and is already talking about making it a group trip next year with a better picnic.  He would like to see The Tempest . All the actors were...

27. The Nearest Defibrillator to my Home  I had originally thought all the nearest defibrillators were in Offices and not really near enough to use.  Turns out this one is on the wall of a local pub.  Of course, now I'm looking for them, and know what they are, I'm seeing them all over the place.  Hopefully I'll never need to use one, but it's good to have that knowledge.

7. A Scene, Picture or Landscape.  I think this qualifies.  I will be backdating this badge rather than buying all new things to build.  I had already bought the Starry Night and saved it for the summer holidays.  Just luck that this badge and this clause matched up so very well!

 On July 19th I blogged about my progress with the Environmentalist Badge. Clause 1 "For a month, track how much rubbish you generate personally" ended on the 10th August, so here is a complete list of my own personal rubbish. Chupa wrapper 5 Daily cotton bud (Daily) cotton wool pad (not daily in the end) String ties from new (2nd hand) clothes 4 Love Corn packet 4 Sweet chickpea packet 3 Popcorn packet 2 Ice lolly wrapper 3 Film from bread bag (paper part recycled) Starburst wrapper 8 Film lids from fruit/veg/coleslaw pots 10 Bread roll packaging 2 Yoghurt lids 9 Washi tape packaging 2 Schär rolls bag Oatcake wrapper  Lego bags 5 Lego sticker sheet Lego Dots bag Watch wrapper Crumpet packet Hook thing off a box  Not too bad in the end, but it probably helped that I chose the Money Saver Badge as part of the Carpe Diem Challenge.  Therefore I am already actively reducing my spending at the moment.  This also ties in to the second compulsory Clause "For a second...

   ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION 2022 CLIMATE CHANGE by Phil Shaw We went to see the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Acdemy in London on Sunday 7th August 2022.  It's something we usually do annually, but haven't been since COVID. The theme this year is 'Climate Change', so lots of thought-provoking pieces, and (much to my sons delight) many swear words!  This year was particularly special as a friend had finally managed to get two artworks accepted for hanging. My favourite galleries were those curated by Grayson Perry R.A. who had painted the walls in a vibrant yellow.  Sir Michael Criag-Martin R.A. had three that I liked.  Untitled (Banana Yellow), Untitled (Prawn Green) and Untitled (With 2 Carrots).  He has work at the Summer Exhibition each year as he's a Royal Academician. Sadly, I didn't get the name or title of a pair of gorgeous landscapes of the Colorado River.  The artist had included rock samples in vials. My daughter loved a pair of...

 I've been on holiday for a week, but now I'm back with a few more items for the Rebel Scavenger Hunt. 9. The Word Rebel on a Sign 14. A Traffic Sign Featuring an Animal 16. Me Using a Piece of Tech from the 1980s 19. The Most Multicoloured Item I Can Find 23. Something Stolen 14. The sign to Bristol Zoo. 16. I still have my Yamaha keyboard and it works. 19. My beautifully sorted box of Lego Dots. 33 different sections, but the browns and greys are mixed, so more than 33 colours. 23. Airline teaspoons from British Airways (1994) and Japanese Airlines. No regrets.

  4. A painting of one of the Patrol Rebels - Notorious RBG. RIP. 6. A Creepy Toy 9. The word REBEL on a sign - this is dubious 25. Something Fake  The Creepy Toy is an artwork on display at this years Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, as is the Something Fake.  Fake Flowers on Fake People. The word "REBEL" is actually on a jigsaw in the RA gift shop and I'll use this until I can find something better.

30. A Chicken crossing a road 18. A piece of tech from the 2000s 24. Something naughty 7. The strangest item you can find in a charity shop 30. I wasn't going to take my chickens into the road, so my daughter and I drew roads onto the patio, complete with roundabout and bushes.  Apparently chickens don't really like crossing roads, so this was the best photo I took.  Thanks to Lavender for attempting to cooperate!  BokBok. 18. You are supposed to be using the piece of tech, but I don't think it even works. 24. We are looking after a fellow Rebels assorted creatures at the moment. This is the aptly-named Nibbles who took a bite of my daughter's finger. Naughty naughty. 7.  This is a large fluffy bouncy ball.  One of a pair in Wood Green Animal Sanctuary charity shop.

1. Nicest view from a bench within walking distance of my home 29. A ladybird  

 I will probably end up with a load of posts about the Scavenger Hunt this month, as long as I actually manage to find lots of the items.  This first post is just the items that I have immediately to hand. 20. This postcard was less than 99p 2. Oldest Expiry Date on some brown rice flour 21. Oldest Possession 26. Something Home Grown  21. I have lots of rocks and fossils that I could've used for the oldest possession.  Although I do love my trilobites, I love these books more.  The school story is older than the Book of Common Prayer, it has a handwritten date inside of 1923, but my great-Grandmother's book is more important to me.  So 1924 it is, and I'll put those trilobites back on the shelf. 26. The apples aren't quite ripe for picking yet, but they're growing really well this year.