weightlifting

 

Hello there Gentle Readers. Well the Rio Olympics is underway and the 6 hour time difference means I have not been able to watch as much as I would really like.

One sport that Lena have been watching though is the weightlifting and  we have been really enjoying it.

The female weightlifters are fascinating however because some come across as being really feminine, while others look very much like men, especially in the lighter weight categories.

Hsu Shu-ching wins 53Kg Gold at Rio2016

We are aware that the use of steroids can sometimes make women more masculine looking but Lena asked the question
"Will small young women who develop their muscles become more mannish naturally?"

Sukanya Srisurat wins 58Kg gold at Rio 2016

I don't know the answer to that question. Maybe someone reading the blog out there will.

#rio2016 #weightlifting #sukanyasrisurat  #HsuShu-ching

Today in History 5th August

Well hello again Gentle readers, especially those of you in Russia who have been looking at my blog lately.
There have been nearly 2000 views from Russia in the last month alone.

I have not been blogging much lately. Its the summer holidays after all so please forgive me.

But its time again to heat up the samovar of history and drink deeply from the teacup of time.

1305: William Wallace is finally captured by English troops and taken to London for trial.

1620: The Mayflower departs England on its journey to the New World.

1940: The USSR annexes Latvia.

Latvian flag under Soviet control

1962: Marilyn Monroe dies of a suspected overdose.

1976: Marians Pahars, Latvian footballer and national team coach is born.

1985: My niece Janine Gibson is born in London.

#russia #williamwallace #mayflower #USSR #latvia #marilynmonroe #marianspahars #janinegibson

Today in History 15th July

Hello there Gentle Readers. Its been a while so lets brace ourselves against the winds of time while the gusts of history pull us up into the air.

1099. The church of the Holy Sepulchre is captured by Christian armies during the 1st Crusade.

1799. The Rosetta stone is found in Egypt.

1904. Anton Checkhov, Russian playwrite dies.

1956. Ian Curtis, lead singer of The Joy Division is born.

2006. Twitter is launched.

#1stcrusade #rosettastone #twitter #iancurtis #checkhov #july15

Back in Cyprus

Hello there Gentle Reader.
Sorry I have not been on for a while.
The last weeks of school have been hectic.
But fear not my proud, loyal readeship. I am back and blogging from our holiday destination of Pafos in Cyprus.
You may remember we came here last year for our honeymoon. This year Robert is with us and its all about fun fun fun in the sun sun sun.

#pafos #cyprus

Wednesday Thought: Pudding and Dessert.

Hey Gentle Reader, We still have the bad taste in our mouths from earlier.

See this post for more details

 http://ascotsmaninriga.blogspot.com/2016/05/yucky-boo-boo-nucky-noo-noo-rimi-cakes.html

It got me thinking about desserts and puddings so, because I have not done a Wednesday thought for a while, here it is what the great and good say about pud.

Sticky Toffee Pudding.....my favourite dessert

Lena prefers Ice Cream

"Sometimes, its just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly its just exhausting saying "No!""

Michelle Obama

I don't think it's a good advert for any restaurant, a fat chef, and secondly, who wants to eat a dessert when the chef's a fat pig.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=dessert

 

"I don’t think its a good advert for any restaurant, a fat chef. Who wants to eat dessert if the chef's a fat pig?"

Gordon Ramsay

"Comedy just pokes at problems, rarely confronts them squarely. Drama is like a plate of meat and potatoes, comedy is the dessert."

Woody Allen

 

"Absolutely eat dessert first. Do what you want to do."

Joss Whedon

 

"I love dessert"

Martha Stewart

 

#marthastewart #josswhedon #woodyallen #gordonramsay #michelleobama

Sometimes, it's just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly, it is exhausting to keep saying no. It's exhausting to plead with our kids to eat just one more bite of vegetables.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=dessert

Sometimes, it's just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly, it is exhausting to keep saying no. It's exhausting to plead with our kids to eat just one more bite of vegetables.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=dessert

Yucky boo boo nucky noo noo Rimi cakes bad

Yuck Gentle Readers, just had the worst pudding ever from Rimi.

Rimi's "KUKA EKLERS AR VARITO KREMU" or Eclairs with Boiled Cream.

Not only did it taste absolutely awful, Lena thinks they had been frozen, defrosted the frozen again. When we bit into the very nice looking eclair dipped in chocolate, water came out of the yellow filling. Yes you guessed it gentle reader, boiled cream is Custard.

Here is my public service message to all of you.

Don't Buy these cakes!!!

#rimi #boiledcreameclairs #yuck #mansrimi

Top 10 fun facts.....Eurovision

Hello there Gentle Readers, tonight in Sweden, Europe goes to war....song war that is....never mind the dodgy costumes, big hair and cheesy pop. But neighbours will vote for friends and enemies will give nul points. No one will vote for the UK and whoever wins there will be tears and  cries of unfairness.

In the end though....does anyone really care? Here are my top 10 facts.

  

1. The Eurovision Song Contest began in 1956 with the sole purpose of uniting nations through song. Ironically it has been dividing them ever since. The first competition was in Switzerland and featured seven countries. 

 

2. Despite its fame, the phrase "nul points" is never actually used. Instead they tend to say "pas de points" or "zero point". The country who has scored the most zeros is Norway but the longest running losers are the Portuguese, having never made the top five.

3. In 1981 the UK act Bucks Fizz stunned viewers with their Velcro rip-away skirts and within 48 hours, Velcro had sold out across the country. Singer Cheryl Baker said: "A strip of Velcro changed my life."

4. The UK have finished last three times and won five times.

5. The youngest ever entrant was 13-year-old Sandra Kim from Belgium who won in 1986. The oldest was 95-year-old Emil Ramsauer from Switzerland.

6. The previous year’s winner hosts Eurovision but it’s so expensive that nations have pleaded poverty to get out of it. The countries who have opted out include the Netherlands, France, Monaco, and Luxembourg and the job went to the UK four times.

7. When Ukrainian singer Rusiana won Eurovision in 2004, she was rewarded with a seat in Parliament.

8. The UK’s first victory was in 1967 with Sandie Shaw’s Puppet On A String. She later said:"‘I hated the song from the first oompah to the final bang on the big bass drum. I was repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune."

9. In 1978 Jordan showed some flowers instead of the Israeli entry on their screening of the show. When Israel went on to win they pretended it was Belgium.

10. After a run of bad luck the UK started hiring acts who weren’t even European, let alone British. We were 8th in 1996 with Ooh Ah Just A Little Bit by Australia’s Gina G and won in 1997 with Love Shine A Light by American Katrina Leskenich of Katrina & the Waves.

#eurovision #votelatvia #top10funfacts