HER ROYAL GORGEOUSNESS

As I was walking along yesterday on my way to the bus stop,  I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.......and stare in disbelief at its GORGEOUSNESS.

 Crown of thorns -Euphorbia milii

Growing contently in a half-barrel planter  - look at the size of this monstrosity!!

This really made my day.

N.B. Hope you're not wondering why I used "monstrosity" above....... "He's just a poor boy from a poor family...Spare him his life from this monstrosity"...sound familiar????

It's just little old me

Yesterday, when I looked out, the harbour was looking quite empty and forlorn........

 

   and then......

this old cargo barge appeared.......

..........and settled itself quite comfortably in the port.
Now it's not so lonely anymore.

I have an earworm

Have you ever had an earworm?  It starts out innocently enough, but then takes over, and you find yourself being taken over by it.
According to my friends at Wikipedia: "An earworm is a piece of music that sticks in one's mind so that one seems to hear it, even when it is not being played."

Now you may be wondering where my earworm came from...
I blame CJ at Rambles from my Chair entirely for my latest earworm. Recently he posted about listening to music from the band Queen, although I did not think him to be a Queen lover.
I love Queen and their music, and my favourite song happens to be "Bohemian Rhapsody."
From then until now, "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been with me. 

While I'm having lunch........"Mama I just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead."

In the bath .........."Bismillah! No, we will not let you go.
(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go.
(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go.
(Let me go) Will not let you go.
(Let me go) Will not let you go."

Watching tv...."Beezlebub has a devil put aside for me...for me ...for me!!!"

While vacuuming and cleaning......."Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine,
Body's aching all the time.
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go,
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.
Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows),
I don't wanna die,
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all."
 
While driving..."I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me.
(Galileo) Galileo.
(Galileo) Galileo,
Galileo Figaro
Magnifico."

 In the garden....."So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye.
So you think you can love me and leave me to die.
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby,
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here." 

So here you go....Queen performing "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Wembley Stadium...enjoy.




One thing I know about earworms, they leave as quickly as they come. You wake up one morning and you go about your day, and then you realise that it's gone......until the next one comes along. 
For more info on earworms, you can go here.

Here is a related mystery story.

Sandy Lane Gold Cup Horse Race 2013

Horse racing in Barbados is a big event with many dedicated followers.
The Garrison Savannah is where horse racing has been held for over 150 years during the racing seasons (three) under the patronage of the Barbados Turf Club.
As a child growing up, my dad would take both me and my brother to watch the horses train around the savannah. Any given morning, one can see the die-hard punters watching the horses train. This way they will know how "their" horse will perform in the big race, and bet accordingly.

The Sandy Lane Gold Cup is the most prestigious horse race in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and is held on the first Saturday in March every year. The race is now in its 32nd year, and the last 18 of those have been sponsored by Sandy Lane Hotel.  Horses come from the Caribbean and North America to take part.

The Gold Cup race is a 12-horse race, and the first prize is an authentic Gold Cup produced in the United Kingdom, along with a handsome purse.
Each year the Gold Cup travels 4,195 miles to the island from the UK.
Years ago, the Gold Cup arrived by air on the Concorde from the United Kingdom, but since the Concorde has now been retired to the Concorde Museum, the Gold Cup is now specially flown to the island on a British Airways flight.  It arrives a few weeks before the actual race.

 

This year, the Gold Cup arrived on British Airways 2155 at 3.21pm on February 8, 2013.

 As is customary, officials from the Barbados Turf Club, the Ministry of Tourism, and Sandy Lane Hotel, were on hand for the Cup’s arrival.

 

The Sandy Lane Gold Cup, the pinnacle of equine supremacy in the region

On race day, the atmosphere at the Garrison Savannah is frenzied. Spectators arrive at the Savannah very early in the morning to erect tents on the grounds and to ensure they get the best seat in the house. People are known to park from the night before just to get a “good spot”, as there may not be much parking in the immediate surroundings of the Savannah on the big race day. The grounds are packed with stalls selling food and drinks, and there are plenty of activities for children to enjoy while their parents consume a few drinks and watch the races.

For the thousands of fans packing the stands and surrounding areas, the race is a spectacle to behold with much ceremony, parades, dancing, and lots of skilled performers.

Aristodemus, an American-bred  four-year-old chestnut colt, ridden by Anderson Trotman, galloped home to glory in Saturday's £63,000 Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup. His victory provided owner Sir David Seale with a second successive triumph in the Southern Caribbean's richest and most prestigious contest.

 

 

Aristodemus, this year's Sandy lane Gold Cup winner with triumphant jockey Anderson Trotman on board

Aristodemus won by 3/4 of a length ahead of Lord Michael Taylor’s Daga, while Meteorite was third.


I am not a lover of horse racing, but I love horses, and so this story still captured my attention.
Congratulations to Aristodemus!!!

N.B: All photos are images from google images and various online newspapers....they are not my own.

 ** Sandy Lane Hotel is a five star hotel resort on the island, and they are the proud sponsors of the race every year.

I'm thirsty

We were blessed with a slight drizzle this morning, not even enough to form a puddle.
It was then I saw this poor lizard on top of the water tank trying to quench his thirst in the tiny tiny rain splatters...poor thing.

As he licked and licked, I saw that his thirst could never be quenched from the almost dry splatters of rain.

You know what came next, don't you?  I sprinkled some larger puddles for him to drink.
I knew it was a hot day, but I somehow only thought about water for the birds, now I will also have the lizards in my thoughts as well.