Elaine Massung

Elaine Massung January 20, 2021

About the time hackers activated two-factor authentication on my Facebook account …

UPDATE: If you are experiencing this issue—and it seems that a lot of people are—I’m afraid I have no quick or easy fix to recover your Facebook account. Click here for the update that shares what worked for me and others. Do you have a solution that’s not listed here? Let me know and I’ll add it to the post. … View Post

Elaine Massung January 4, 2021

New Year, New Project?

My friend Cathy introduced me to two things that helped brighten 2020: Caron Cooper‘s delightful Fosse Farmhouse and the works of Mary Crawford Fraser. The first is a charming B&B near the quaint village of Castle Combe that serves as a shrine to the anime programme Kin-iro Mosaic and is the perfect place to have a cream tea on a… View Post

Elaine Massung December 30, 2020

Looking Back at 2020

I think it goes without saying that 2020 was a challenging year … and each of us had our own unique set of challenges to contend with. Some got a crash course in home-schooling. Others had to discover how to pivot their business to something more pandemic proof or figure out how to balance work and life when the dining… View Post

Elaine Massung October 21, 2020

Autumn and Art

While my internal calendar is inching towards the end of June or perhaps the beginning of July, the world outside has clearly moved into autumn. Shorter days, colder temperatures, and brightly coloured leaves are making their presence known, encouraging MrElaineous and me to embark on one of our favourite annual traditions: a trip to Westonbirt Arboretum. I can’t really say… View Post

Elaine Massung October 11, 2020 Cotswold Sculpture Park

MissElaineous and the Very Proper Adventure

The M4 is a British motorway that snakes its way across the south of the country, starting in London and passing near a number of major towns and cities before petering out just past Swansea. Chippenham is one of those towns in the middle, located just a few miles south of this main artery that ferries people east and west… View Post

Elaine Massung October 5, 2020 Swindon, Wiltshire

Touch Wood: An Interview with Simon Webb

George Bernard Shaw is said to have written that England and America are two countries separated by a common language, and there is perhaps more than a kernel of truth in this statement. Some are obvious: in August I wrote about how American buttermilk biscuits are nothing like British biscuits. The latter tend to be more hard cookies, perfect for… View Post

Elaine Massung September 9, 2020

A Walk on the Wild Side (Plus Sheep)

There are a few things you might expect to see when you go for a walk in the British countryside: Sheep? Most likely. Cows? Probable, especially in the area around Barbury Castle. Horses? Always a possibility. Intriguing architecture? Chances are good. Stunning landscapes? Guaranteed. But an elephant? Or a herd of zebra? These slightly more exotic creatures do not instantly… View Post

Elaine Massung August 19, 2020

MissElaineous’ Adventures in Anime

I have a confession to make: I am an almost 40-year-old adult who loves animated films. Not all animated films mind you (Frozen, I’m looking at you), but the ones with a cracking plot, great characters, and a positive message are some of the best cinematic storytelling experiences available today. Pixar’s Toy Story series and fantastic Inside Out immediately spring to mind, as do… View Post

Elaine Massung July 12, 2020

Wildlife at the Tower

MrElaineous and I arrived back from a trip to Florida in mid March, and we had just about managed to unpack when we found ourselves in lockdown. We were used to working from home, but we suddenly found that rather than taking breaks with day trips, walking adventures, and weekends away, our world had shrunk to no more than the… View Post

Elaine Massung June 16, 2020

Musings on History

Like many people, over the past few weeks I have watched the events that have unfolded across the globe with a mix of emotions and questions swirling through my mind. There’s sadness. From Emmett Till to George Floyd—and the thousands of black men, women, and children killed simply because of the colour of their skin—how many lives have to be… View Post

Elaine Massung April 16, 2020

CSI Garden Edition: Who newt this was a cold-blooded killer …

A few weeks ago I was saddened to step into the garden to find a puddle of black feathers near the base of one of the bird feeders. It didn’t take a forensic team to determine what had likely happened: a sparrowhawk had snatched a blackbird in mid-air. These speedy raptors are masters at navigating hedges and trees and, just… View Post

Elaine Massung March 19, 2020

Down the Rabbit Hole

I found my first decorated rock in Beer, Devon a few years ago. Since then, I’ve enjoyed following the community of people who paint and hide stones for others to find, marvelling at the creativity and skill of many of the artists who give away their work. Other pieces are made by children, a way to keep them occupied on a… View Post

Elaine Massung March 19, 2020

Sneak Peek …

The world has changed a lot since I last posted on the MissElaineous Blog. MrElaineous and I flew out of the UK on 1st March for a trip to visit my family in Florida, the first time I had been back to my hometown in nearly four years. Our timing couldn’t have been better … or worse. We had a lovely trip. The… View Post

Elaine Massung February 12, 2020

Marlborough Magic

Travelling is often synonymous with getting away from it all or venturing to the other side of the planet to see the new, the unfamiliar, or the exotic. However, I would also argue that some of the most eye-opening travel experiences can happen practically in our own backyards when we are willing to look at the familiar in a new… View Post

Elaine Massung January 29, 2020

A Series of Fortunate Events

Serendipity. It’s a lovely word that just seems to roll off the tongue. I was first introduced to it as a child through a series of delightful books: Serendipity was the name of a pink dragon who went on to star as both the logo and the name of the publishing company. More people probably think of the 2001 rom-com… View Post

Elaine Massung January 21, 2020

The Colours of January

Blue Monday is the name given to the third Monday in January, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. The idea is that the relaxation of the Christmas and New Year holidays has worn off, the credit card bills are due, and the Easter holidays (and warmer weather) are still a long way in the distance. While I tend… View Post

Elaine Massung January 1, 2020

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

Many, many years ago when I was a budding archaeology student, I also took courses in anthropology. Some were practical, such as bioanthropology. This explored hominid evolution from Homo habilis to Homo sapiens through their skeletal remains. Other classes were more theoretical, examining the invisible behavioural frameworks that compose different cultures. I have to admit that I am not a big fan… View Post

Elaine Massung December 18, 2019 Longleat, Wiltshire

MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND LONGLEAT

St. Ignatius of Loyola said, “Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man.” Career coaches use the question “What were your three favourite activities as a child?” to help people focus on finding a job that sparks the same joy as a child at play. The impact of these formative years before… View Post

Elaine Massung December 11, 2019

A WINTER RETREAT

“We are addicted to busy-ness,” Olivia said as I focused on contorting my body to match the yoga pose she demonstrated. She wasn’t wrong. Indeed, it was the very reason that MrElaineous and I found ourselves at a yoga and meditation retreat in the Welsh countryside. When I was in the grips of burnout several years ago, we made the… View Post