To Sleep, Perchance To Dream....

Hello fans

I hope you all had a good weekend. There was a bank holiday here in sunny Scotland so I had a nice looooong weekend. Huzzah! And what did I do with my weekend? For the most part I slept and slept and slept and then slept some more. I haven't been feeling particularly sleep deprived but I guess I must have needed it. I do love my bed though. Mmmm! There's nowhere finer than my cosy beddy-byes. Love it! I love pulling the duvet back up over my ear and muttering "Just another 5 minutes, honest..."

In a salute to the wonder of snuggly beds here are some bed/sleep facts for you. Enjoy :o)

The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.

Certain types of eye movements during REM sleep correspond to specific movements in dreams, suggesting at least part of the dreaming process is analagous to watching a film

Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock

Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.

From http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm

When the Pilgrims arrived in the Western hemisphere, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That's where the phrase, "goodnight, sleep tight" came from. This was also the origin of the "daybed" which didn't have ropes that needed tightening. Rather than having to retighten a bed after a nap, people slept on "daybeds" if they needed to doze.

The Great Bed of Ware is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It originally measured 18 feet six inches wide by 12 feet long and was elaborately carved and canopied. And could accommodate 68 people.

Louis XIV was fond of remaining in bed. He often held court in the royal bedroom. He owned 413 beds and displayed a special liking for the ultra spacious and ostentatious variety.

Baps, Bloomers and Bahrain

It's been absolutely chucking it down today so, despite working only 5 minutes away from my flat, I decided not to go home for lunch today. I got a big roll from the DHT shop and read the Metro in the office. After I'd finished the Metro I decided to have a bit of a scrint on the tinterweb and decided to see what Wikpedia had to say about Bahrain.

Mostly it was things about the history and the geography and the economy, all the usual stuff. The Politics section was quite interesting as well, and the partucular passage that caught my eye was this one:

"The opening up of politics has seen big gains for both Shīˤa and Sunnī Islamists in elections, which has given them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies. This has meant that what are termed "morality issues" have moved further up the political agenda with parties launching campaigns to impose bans on female mannequins displaying lingerie in shop windows, sorcery and the hanging of underwear on washing lines."

I know politicians usually don't like to air their dirty laundry in public but surely putting a ban on clean laundry as well is taking it a bit too far???

"Seeya Idiots!" - Lady Nat Nat is Offski

Last night was Lady Natale of Glegcairn's (I think that's her official title, her mum bought her it) last evening in Edinburgh so we had a few wee drinkie-poos to wish her well.

Natnat's off to Saudi to work for Aramco and earn ooodles and oooodles of cash, tax free. Lucky minx! Saudi isn't everyone's ideal destination but Nat's very lucky to have her mum living not far away in Bahrain so if she gets a craving for a bacon sandwich or a beer or a bikini she can nip over and see dear old mama. Don't let her mother hear me calling her that though - she's not old in any way, shape or form and I'd love to go and visit so I'll say she's a fine looking woman who must regularly be mistaken for Nat's sister ;o)

I'm going to miss dear Nat but she's only going to be on the end of a telephone or an email and we used to have such a giggle IM-ing each other at BT I'm sure we'll pick up with that again once she's settled in. Then I'll go and visit, I hear the shopping in Bahrain is great. Mmm, shoooooes! And I'm definitely insisting on being taken to Fuddruckers, or at least Fudds to Go. Heh heh heh.

See a picture of the beauteous Nat here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggermadbabe/183232260/in/set-72157594180411971/

The above statement will make sense then!