Had a bizarro moment in Caffe Nero on Sunday. Joan and I had gone in for a coffee and a little cakey something and they had no skimmed milk for my skinny latte. Can you believe that?
How can they run out of skimmed milk?
How can they run out of skimmed milk when they are RIGHT NEXT DOOR to a grocery store? In fact, right next door to TWO grocery stores!!
Surely someone should have shown some gumption and gone and got some... I need to balance out the cakey calories somehow!!!
Wednesday 30 September 2009
Sexy new car
We have a new car! YAY! Its very cool and a little bit sexy!
We bought it from Ollie...we'd seen it when we went to Paul and Hils for supper the other week, and after a week of "buy the bl**dy car" nagging Stephen agreed that we should! Of course, he then didn't have time to actually speak to Ollie so I took matters into my own hands...
It was as I was trying to phone the insurance company on Saturday morning (whilst cleaning the bathroom in preparation for the imminent arrival of Dad and Joan, and getting ready to go for a follow-up back massage) that I said to Stephen "Why do we manage to always make life so difficult for ourselves? We never seem to have enough time to fit it all in". I think its because we're so busy at work that we have to compress everything into 2 short days at the weekend. This was no different... the insurance was the least of our problems to sort! Ollie lives on the South coast, we live in the Midlands, his parents live somewhere in the middle about an hour from us...and did I mention that we had Dad and Joan staying? And abandoning your guests for a couple of hours isn't really on, is it?
Eventually we came up with the cunning plan that Ollie would deliver the car to us, then Stephen would run him back to his parents house (so our guests weren't altogether abandoned!). Great! The only minor complication was that there was a round of golf booked for 2pm, but hey, that shouldn't be a problem...
Ollie showed up with the car. The boys did the stuff with the forms and the BACS transfer and jumped back into the car and zoomed off. I went to search for something on the internet and saw a bank card sitting there beside the computer...and not one of ours! CRAP! It belonged to Ollie. Quick. Grab the phone and call Stephen's mobile...which began ringing from the table beside me. CRAP! Grab his mobile and see if I could find Ollies number. SUCCESS!! YAY! They turned around and a few minutes later screeched to a halt outside and Ollie was running in to get it.
By this time though I was praying that there was no traffic, and especially no traffic policemen, as it was getting a little squeezy for time in terms of golfing! Thankfully the coast was clear on both counts, good time was made and a fun afternoon of golf was had. (We ladies had an even better time watching the Strictly Come Dancing that we'd DVR'd!).
The trauma didn't end there though. Poor Ollie! The poor bloke had his card blocked as the payment we'd made to him was deemed to be a dodgy transaction by our bank!! I left Stephen on the phone to the bank sorting it out as I dashed into Waitrose...and just as well he did sort it then, as it turned out that they had blocked our cards as well!!!!! That could have been both Ollie AND me stranded in grocery stores with a trolley full of shopping and no way of paying for it!!!
The car is lovely! Worth all the trauma! Someone asked me what engine was in it...."Erm, its blue...and the roof disappears like magic". Who needs more technical detail than that???
We bought it from Ollie...we'd seen it when we went to Paul and Hils for supper the other week, and after a week of "buy the bl**dy car" nagging Stephen agreed that we should! Of course, he then didn't have time to actually speak to Ollie so I took matters into my own hands...
It was as I was trying to phone the insurance company on Saturday morning (whilst cleaning the bathroom in preparation for the imminent arrival of Dad and Joan, and getting ready to go for a follow-up back massage) that I said to Stephen "Why do we manage to always make life so difficult for ourselves? We never seem to have enough time to fit it all in". I think its because we're so busy at work that we have to compress everything into 2 short days at the weekend. This was no different... the insurance was the least of our problems to sort! Ollie lives on the South coast, we live in the Midlands, his parents live somewhere in the middle about an hour from us...and did I mention that we had Dad and Joan staying? And abandoning your guests for a couple of hours isn't really on, is it?
Eventually we came up with the cunning plan that Ollie would deliver the car to us, then Stephen would run him back to his parents house (so our guests weren't altogether abandoned!). Great! The only minor complication was that there was a round of golf booked for 2pm, but hey, that shouldn't be a problem...
Ollie showed up with the car. The boys did the stuff with the forms and the BACS transfer and jumped back into the car and zoomed off. I went to search for something on the internet and saw a bank card sitting there beside the computer...and not one of ours! CRAP! It belonged to Ollie. Quick. Grab the phone and call Stephen's mobile...which began ringing from the table beside me. CRAP! Grab his mobile and see if I could find Ollies number. SUCCESS!! YAY! They turned around and a few minutes later screeched to a halt outside and Ollie was running in to get it.
By this time though I was praying that there was no traffic, and especially no traffic policemen, as it was getting a little squeezy for time in terms of golfing! Thankfully the coast was clear on both counts, good time was made and a fun afternoon of golf was had. (We ladies had an even better time watching the Strictly Come Dancing that we'd DVR'd!).
The trauma didn't end there though. Poor Ollie! The poor bloke had his card blocked as the payment we'd made to him was deemed to be a dodgy transaction by our bank!! I left Stephen on the phone to the bank sorting it out as I dashed into Waitrose...and just as well he did sort it then, as it turned out that they had blocked our cards as well!!!!! That could have been both Ollie AND me stranded in grocery stores with a trolley full of shopping and no way of paying for it!!!
The car is lovely! Worth all the trauma! Someone asked me what engine was in it...."Erm, its blue...and the roof disappears like magic". Who needs more technical detail than that???
Scary lady!!
I had a bad start to the day the other day..
After washing and towel drying my hair I sat down at my dressing table and began putting on my face. I dealt as best I could with the enormous spots and the redness and the peeling....then I carefully applied mascara and sneezed. Great! Mascara splatter on my cheeks requiring careful wiping with cotton buds dipped in lotions and potions. Time to apply the lipstick (the 16 hour superstay lipstick)...which I managed to miss my lips with and apply instead to my upper lip. At this point I sat back, looked in the mirror and began to wonder (in horror) at my resemblance to Robert Smith from The Cure...The wonky lipstick, the over-mascara'd eyes, the hair in an uncombed tangle atop my head... no wonder I'm having a crisis!
After washing and towel drying my hair I sat down at my dressing table and began putting on my face. I dealt as best I could with the enormous spots and the redness and the peeling....then I carefully applied mascara and sneezed. Great! Mascara splatter on my cheeks requiring careful wiping with cotton buds dipped in lotions and potions. Time to apply the lipstick (the 16 hour superstay lipstick)...which I managed to miss my lips with and apply instead to my upper lip. At this point I sat back, looked in the mirror and began to wonder (in horror) at my resemblance to Robert Smith from The Cure...The wonky lipstick, the over-mascara'd eyes, the hair in an uncombed tangle atop my head... no wonder I'm having a crisis!
Thursday 24 September 2009
Skin disaster update
Good news! The swelling has subsided, the redness has gone down a lot and the spots....well they're still there, damn them! Despite my best efforts with aqueous cream and sudocream (101 uses for nappy-rash cream!), my skin on my throat has dried out and is beginning to flake.
On the plus side I've effectively had a chemical peel for free...my skin is going to be like a newborn babes when this is over!!
On the plus side I've effectively had a chemical peel for free...my skin is going to be like a newborn babes when this is over!!
Monday 21 September 2009
I'm gonna need an ocean...of calomine lotion....
Bloody, bloody hell. It goes from bad to worse.....
I very carefully did a patch test (per instructions) for the spot cream and applied it behind my ear on Saturday night then waited 12 hours. No reaction. Good-o! Time to apply it to the problem area around the jaw.... I woke this morning and found that the area I had applied it to was fine, but the area immediately below was red and very itchy. AND if that wasn't enough...as the day wore on it swelled up a bit too....leaving my wrinkles as deep furrows along the skin on my throat and me looking like I have turkey neck!!!! I'd rather have the spots! God knows how stressed I'll be by the time it goes down!!!!!!!!
I very carefully did a patch test (per instructions) for the spot cream and applied it behind my ear on Saturday night then waited 12 hours. No reaction. Good-o! Time to apply it to the problem area around the jaw.... I woke this morning and found that the area I had applied it to was fine, but the area immediately below was red and very itchy. AND if that wasn't enough...as the day wore on it swelled up a bit too....leaving my wrinkles as deep furrows along the skin on my throat and me looking like I have turkey neck!!!! I'd rather have the spots! God knows how stressed I'll be by the time it goes down!!!!!!!!
Sunday 20 September 2009
Take H'Art
I had a day off work on Friday and went on an outing with Julie. We went to the Herefordshire Arts Festival, well we went to the bits in Hereford. It was a grand day out - a bit of light shopping, a spot of lunch, a bit of culture...superb! The H'Art Festival was so much better than the Worcester one of a few weeks ago! There were some extremely talented people showing their work.
I bought a "holiday shirt" for Stephen in one of the galleries. It was hand-dyed in a rather attractive indigo and white pattern. When I was paying, the lady warned me to wash it cold a few times before wearing and suggested that Stephen shouldn't wear a white vest underneath in case the dye transferred. To be honest, it might be better if he DID wear a vest as I imagine that its easier to chuck the vest out, than to get blue dye off the skin!!!
I bought a "holiday shirt" for Stephen in one of the galleries. It was hand-dyed in a rather attractive indigo and white pattern. When I was paying, the lady warned me to wash it cold a few times before wearing and suggested that Stephen shouldn't wear a white vest underneath in case the dye transferred. To be honest, it might be better if he DID wear a vest as I imagine that its easier to chuck the vest out, than to get blue dye off the skin!!!
Spot on!
What is happening to me? I am now 2 weeks away from being 40 and I have the skin of a 14 year old. Not the beautiful, glowing, dewy skin of a 14 year old. NO! I have the acne-ridden skin of a 14 year old in the first flush of teenage hormones!! I have a rash of enormous plooks just under my jaw. I had a facial on Tuesday and she said spots there are caused by stress....so I need to stop freaking out about the 40 thing and stop stressing about work. The facial helped (not the spots - they're just as bad!) but it did help the stress levels! I was pretty relaxed when she'd finished the facial as it was primarily a neck, shoulder and scalp massage. So relaxed, in fact, that I dozed off when she left me for 10 minutes and woke with a snork....!!
I had to go to Boots yesterday and speak to the pharmacist to get some suitably strong spot cream. I was tempted to pretend that it was for my imaginary teenage daughter, but I came clean. "I have spots and need help!". She was very understanding! Thank goodness I didn't get the beautifully complexioned 18 year old....
I had to go to Boots yesterday and speak to the pharmacist to get some suitably strong spot cream. I was tempted to pretend that it was for my imaginary teenage daughter, but I came clean. "I have spots and need help!". She was very understanding! Thank goodness I didn't get the beautifully complexioned 18 year old....
Monday 14 September 2009
Wistful memories
I've just been looking through photos of our last few days in Washington....the packing, the removals, the last run around Old Town and DC taking photos of the Cherry Blossom and the sights, the last drinks in O'Connells, the leaving parties....I just wanted to say I MISS ALL YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Big Hugs to everyone.... xx
Sunday 13 September 2009
Switch off the bl**dy machine, its doing my head in...
When we were out with Richard & Justine I mentioned that I was driven insane by the beeping of my washing machine whenever it finished its cycle. It beeps for simply freakin ages and its really, really annoying when you are doing something else and not quite ready to go to the machine and empty it. Justine said that hers used to beep, but there is a button press that you can do that silences it. Forlornly I admitted that we had lost the manual long ago. Richard pointed out that in this age of modern technology that it was probably possible to find the manual on the interweb... D'oh! Why didn't we think of that??
I looked it up this morning, and by holding down two buttons I've switched off the incessant beeping. Hal-le-lu-jah! 4 or 5 years of swearing and grumpiness overcome in a few minutes...
I looked it up this morning, and by holding down two buttons I've switched off the incessant beeping. Hal-le-lu-jah! 4 or 5 years of swearing and grumpiness overcome in a few minutes...
Dinner and Decor
We had dinner with Richard & Justine last night which is always a hoot, then walked back to their place to watch X-Factor (coming soon to US TV apparently) and admire their new extension. The place is looking fabulous and they're busy decorating with their usual style and aplomb...some stunning wallpaper has gone up and some gorgeous artwork is being planned. Its stunning at the moment, its going to be utterly stunning when all the finishing touches are applied. (Yes, you do detect a hint of jealousy here! Definitely time to decorate the homestead!)
Mid-life crisis
In exactly 3 weeks time I'm going to be 40. "Hello. My name is Kerry and I'm going to be 40". Is this the first step to acceptance? Hmmmm..not sure!
I'm not normally worried by birthdays. I'm mentally 25 years old so the actual number never normally bothers me...until now! This one seems pretty momentous somehow. I'm feeling a little discombobulated at the moment I think! We were so busy when we got back from the US that I didn't really have a lot of time to dwell on things, but now I seem to be able to find time for a little "dwelling"...and its not good!!
I think I need to throw myself into getting the house the way we want it. Maybe a lick of paint and a change of curtains might help. We were looking back on photos of our lovely house in Old Town and commented on how much more "homey" it looked than our home here does at the moment! So...re-decorate (and stamp my mark on the place again), get over the 40th birthday wibble....sounds like a plan of action!
I'm not normally worried by birthdays. I'm mentally 25 years old so the actual number never normally bothers me...until now! This one seems pretty momentous somehow. I'm feeling a little discombobulated at the moment I think! We were so busy when we got back from the US that I didn't really have a lot of time to dwell on things, but now I seem to be able to find time for a little "dwelling"...and its not good!!
I think I need to throw myself into getting the house the way we want it. Maybe a lick of paint and a change of curtains might help. We were looking back on photos of our lovely house in Old Town and commented on how much more "homey" it looked than our home here does at the moment! So...re-decorate (and stamp my mark on the place again), get over the 40th birthday wibble....sounds like a plan of action!
Pamper Day
I had a lovely pamper day yesterday. I got my hair dyed (SO overdue!) and trimmed, then I had a back and neck massage with the fantastic Zena. I have been having trouble with my neck being stiff and when Stephen had tried to give me a massage the week before he commented that I didn't have muscles, I had rocks....time to put myself in the hands of a professional!
After 20 minutes of massage Zena said she'd have to ease up as she was getting a strong reaction - my back was hot, red and inflamed. Any more and I'd really feel it the next day. She did say that she'd managed to get the boulders down to pebbles, but I'd need another session to finish the job as the tension was all along my shoulders and down my arms and she could tell that I was still holding a lot of tension....and to be fair although I had superficially relaxed during the session it wasn't a deep relaxation, even when I tried to relax through breathing techniques it didn't work as well as it should.
When I slithered off the bed after the massage, Zena looked at me and immediately handed me a tissue as I "might want to wipe my eyes". I looked in the mirror...ARGH! My eye makeup had melted all over my face. Just as well I'd had my white hair dealt with or I would have been doing a good impression of a badger! It took quite a lot of scrubbing to get it off - why would it not hold firm to my eyes when it stuck like glue to my cheeks? I was dispatched with instructions not to lift anything heavier than a champagne glass for the rest of the day...Hmmm, I could probably manage that!
After 20 minutes of massage Zena said she'd have to ease up as she was getting a strong reaction - my back was hot, red and inflamed. Any more and I'd really feel it the next day. She did say that she'd managed to get the boulders down to pebbles, but I'd need another session to finish the job as the tension was all along my shoulders and down my arms and she could tell that I was still holding a lot of tension....and to be fair although I had superficially relaxed during the session it wasn't a deep relaxation, even when I tried to relax through breathing techniques it didn't work as well as it should.
When I slithered off the bed after the massage, Zena looked at me and immediately handed me a tissue as I "might want to wipe my eyes". I looked in the mirror...ARGH! My eye makeup had melted all over my face. Just as well I'd had my white hair dealt with or I would have been doing a good impression of a badger! It took quite a lot of scrubbing to get it off - why would it not hold firm to my eyes when it stuck like glue to my cheeks? I was dispatched with instructions not to lift anything heavier than a champagne glass for the rest of the day...Hmmm, I could probably manage that!
The non-domestic goddess
I was at Julie's Pampered Chef party on Thursday - where I discovered that I'm not really much of a domestic goddess after all! Everyone seemed to be full of creative ideas to do with food, and I'm much more of a open a packet type of girl I think! I'm blaming my lack of free time. Work has been the usual "busy, busy" and can take me through into the evenings as the US kicks into top gear around the time I'm leaving the office. There were a few times last week where I was sorting out approvals at 9:30pm for rush meetings the next day. Ho hum.
Anyway, I had a little moment of hilarity...about half way through the party the demonstrator brought out a piece of equipment which she pulled into two pieces. One part was a plastic tube the other had a pump handle.... Have you seen the first Austin Powers movie? The part where he has been thawed and they're handing him back his personal effects which include the Swedish Maid Pump for enlarging... well you know what I mean!?! It looked like that...I was having to bite my lip in order to try and keep a straight face as I'm not sure that anyone else had a mind so obviously in the gutter as me! Perhaps there is a market opening for Pampered Chef meets Anne Summers....
Today's undomestic goddess disaster! My crumble sank and erupted!
NEVER try and cook after drinking champagne!!
Starstruck at the Cathedral
The was a really great exhibition at Worcester Cathedral which ran over the past month and featured a couple of hundred costumes from stage and screen. It was really fascinating....the detail that went into these costumes was incredible. And it was interesting too see the sizes of some of the costumes! Nicole Kidman is indeed very tall, and had an absolutely tiny waist in Portrait of a Lady. Demi Moore's dress from Flawless would basically have fit a pipe cleaner with curves and Tom Cruise's shoes are definitely a little high of heel!!
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A few of the costumes on show. At the front is Demi's dress, with Madonna's costume from Evita just behind.
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It was a stunning setting!
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Costumes from the Royal Shakespeare Company
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Natalie Portman's costume from Goya's Ghosts
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Anjelica Huston's costume from Ever After
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The rather fabulous backdrop
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A few of the costumes on show. At the front is Demi's dress, with Madonna's costume from Evita just behind..jpg)
It was a stunning setting!.jpg)
Costumes from the Royal Shakespeare Company.jpg)
Natalie Portman's costume from Goya's Ghosts.jpg)
Anjelica Huston's costume from Ever After.jpg)
The rather fabulous backdropPhotos from the past few weeks
Okay, so I've been really lax on the photos posting front, so here are a few to make up.
In no particular order...
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Outside a cigar shop on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh
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John Knox's house
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A piper at the top of the Royal Mile
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Outside Harvey Nichols (window-shopping heaven)
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This is the now empty building in which I used to work. I liked the fact that they'd filled the windows with quotations about Edinburgh.
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The bands marching down from the Castle at the end of the final Tattoo performance.
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Eve and Chad watching the bands marching down from the Castle (well Eve watching the bands and Chad being distracted!)
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The Castle in all its glory
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A boy genius playing violin (he was exceptional!) surveying the crowds of craziness on the Royal Mile.
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The Scott Monument and Princes St Gardens
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Ledbury (a lovely market town near us)
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A B&W house in Ledbury
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Bzzzzz, bzzzzzz
In no particular order...
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Outside a cigar shop on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh.jpg)
Apparently there was a building collapse at Paisley Close way back when, one of the survivors heard rescuers moving rubble and called out "Heave away chaps, I'm no deid yet" which is the less Anglicised version of the inscription.
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John Knox's house.jpg)
A piper at the top of the Royal Mile.jpg)
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Outside Harvey Nichols (window-shopping heaven).jpg)
This is the now empty building in which I used to work. I liked the fact that they'd filled the windows with quotations about Edinburgh..jpg)
The bands marching down from the Castle at the end of the final Tattoo performance..jpg)
Eve and Chad watching the bands marching down from the Castle (well Eve watching the bands and Chad being distracted!).jpg)
The Castle in all its glory.jpg)
A boy genius playing violin (he was exceptional!) surveying the crowds of craziness on the Royal Mile..jpg)
The Scott Monument and Princes St Gardens.jpg)
Ledbury (a lovely market town near us).jpg)
A B&W house in Ledbury.jpg)
Bzzzzz, bzzzzzzBack to Edinburgh!!
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The Guardians of the Gents - in the pub, beside the gents loo - phewee smells like wee...
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The boys enjoying a pint
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In the Antiquary - in matching jumpers. It wasn't intentional!
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Me with Joan, Matthew and Yvonne
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Eve, Chad and Dad
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The Guardians of the Gents - in the pub, beside the gents loo - phewee smells like wee....jpg)
The boys enjoying a pint.jpg)
In the Antiquary - in matching jumpers. It wasn't intentional!.jpg)
Me with Joan, Matthew and Yvonne.jpg)
Eve, Chad and DadBack home!
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At the close BBQ - Louise gets a soaking!
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But it was in retaliation for the first shot - under the table, which made it look like Stephen had had an "accident"!!
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At the close BBQ - Louise gets a soaking!.jpg)
But it was in retaliation for the first shot - under the table, which made it look like Stephen had had an "accident"!!Words of Wisdom
I was talking to Mum the other night and as I was speaking I thought "oh, I didn't mention that in the blog"...
When we were in Edinburgh the other week, we'd just come out of a coffee shop and were standing outside a jewelers on Princes St. Stephen turned to me and said "Where do you want to go now?". There was a dear little of lady who was approaching who began to laugh and as she drew alongside us she stopped and said "She wants to go in there and get some diamonds". Then she turned to me and said "Dear, you need to tell him you want diamonds. Remember that when he asks you where you want to go next time" and with those sage words of wisdom she laughed again and walked off into the crowds of tourists.
When we were in Edinburgh the other week, we'd just come out of a coffee shop and were standing outside a jewelers on Princes St. Stephen turned to me and said "Where do you want to go now?". There was a dear little of lady who was approaching who began to laugh and as she drew alongside us she stopped and said "She wants to go in there and get some diamonds". Then she turned to me and said "Dear, you need to tell him you want diamonds. Remember that when he asks you where you want to go next time" and with those sage words of wisdom she laughed again and walked off into the crowds of tourists.
Hit counter happenings
Hmmmm.....interesting.....4000-odd hits in a couple of days. Either one of my friends is desperately trying to catch up on what I've been doing for a couple of years, or the mention of Tom Wrigglesworth is bringing this up in Google and his many fans are clicking on the link!!
Thursday 3 September 2009
Sew what
I have sewed! Julie came round tonight and showed me how to set up the machine and I sewed!! Admittedly it was a few straight lines, but still....the important word was straight! Fan-bloomin-tastic!! Straight lines on scrap fabric today, curtains tomorrow... Gosh, I might be getting a bit ahead of myself!!
Wednesday 2 September 2009
Festival Frolics
We made a quick dash up to Edinburgh on Friday for the holiday weekend. Of course, as it was the Friday of the Bank Holiday we were fully expecting to hit truly horrible traffic and airport delays - everyone we spoke to sucked their teeth, rolled their eyes and said something about the M42/M5/New Bridge and multi-hour delays! We left the office at 3pm in order to be sure of catching the flight...and sailed through everything!!! The motorways were clear and even security at the airport was entirely without a wait! By 4:30 we were in the departure lounge and ready to go! We had a truly disgusting meal to save time later (who would have thought you could screw up fish and chips - but they managed it!), grabbed a coffee to take the taste away and then wandered down to the gate.
The flight was short and we were soon in a taxi into Edinburgh. We collected the keys from my sister and arranged to meet everyone for a drink once we had dumped the cases and got changed. We decided to take a short detour into the West End for a quick drink in an uber trendy bar. I felt something digging into my right boob as we were walking along, looked down and discovered that my underwiring had broken free of the confines of its bra and was making a bid for freedom. Great! Not only was I being viciously attacked by my own clothing, but I now had Non-Identical Twins!!! I spent the next few minutes walking along trying to force it back where it should be - no mean feat I can tell you!!
After a drink there we headed down to The Antiquary to meet up with Eve, Chad, Dad, Joan, Matt and Yvonne for a drink...or maybe it was a few more than one! Everyone was on great form and we had a superb evening, topped off by a bag of chips with saltnsauce on the way home. What a great end to a great evening! I don't know why saltnsauce hasn't caught on outside of Edinburgh - its much more delicious than salt 'n' vinegar! All that saucy loveliness. MmmmmmMmmmmm!
Saturday was spent in true Tourist in Edinburgh During Festival mode, on the Royal Mile with many thousands of others watching the performance artists and generally being crushed, jostled, stepped on and having brilliant fun! We met up with Eve, Chad and Mum in time for a drink before the comedy show we were booked to see. We found a table in a bar on George Street which was just across the road from the venue. Perfect! We were enjoying our wine when Eve checked the tickets and gasped in shock. The venue was not across the road - it was across town! Time for a sharp exit! Miraculously there was a taxi right outside the door and we made it to the Pleasance in fine time.
We saw Tom Wrigglesworth, a most excellent comedian. His show was laughing out loud until your eyes water funny and quite poignant. It was the story of how he was nearly arrested after having a whipround on a train. The train manager had insisted the dear sweet old lady sitting across from Tom had to buy a full price ticket as she had boarded the train stated on her itinerary, rather than the one stated on her ticket. It was the money she had saved in order to buy gifts for her grandchildren whom she was on the way to see. Stephen also had a role in the show! Tom was talking about his method of curing a hangover (in his case tea), when he turned to Stephen and asked his cure. "Irn Bru" was Stephen's reply (of course!). Tom said "Of course! I could ask 10,000 questions to a Scotsman and the answer to all of them would be Irn Bru!"
After dinner we walked up to the Royal Mile and went to a pub near the castle entrance. It was here that I became the 'Keeper of the Gents Toilets'.... We were sitting near the loos (not the best place from a whiff perspective!) which had a keypad access. Someone tried to get in and the chap at a nearby table told him the code, which he punched in to no avail. Perhaps they should have given the code a little more thought when they set it as 1990 sounds a lot like 1919 when it comes from the mouth of a heavily accented Scots bloke! Anyway it seeped into my brain and as the tables around us emptied and filled and those other people with The Knowledge disappeared. gents began to look to me to provide the precious code... I should have charged! Or perhaps I should have offered hand lotion and aftershave when they came out.... No. In fact I should absolutely have offered hand lotion (of the antibacterial kind) when they came out! Stephen popped in, and as he emerged I heard a noise which I hadn't heard all evening...the sound of the hot air hand dryer. EEUUUGGGHHH!! That meant that all the blokes who had gone in there before Stephen hadn't washed their hands!!!! Eeeeeeuuuuggggghhhh! And by the smell coming out the door, they hadn't made a huge effort to aim at the weewee receptacle either.....!!
Stephen and Chad had been speaking to the doorman and had managed to confirm the rumour that at the end of the Tattoo on the final night the bands march down to the Royal Mile from Castle. As the first fireworks exploded into the night sky we rushed out to watch and were part of a small crowd which had gathered to cheer on the pipers as they marched past playing Scotland the Brave. It was a really rather lovely evening all-told. Very much an Edinburgh Festival touristy evening!
The flight was short and we were soon in a taxi into Edinburgh. We collected the keys from my sister and arranged to meet everyone for a drink once we had dumped the cases and got changed. We decided to take a short detour into the West End for a quick drink in an uber trendy bar. I felt something digging into my right boob as we were walking along, looked down and discovered that my underwiring had broken free of the confines of its bra and was making a bid for freedom. Great! Not only was I being viciously attacked by my own clothing, but I now had Non-Identical Twins!!! I spent the next few minutes walking along trying to force it back where it should be - no mean feat I can tell you!!
After a drink there we headed down to The Antiquary to meet up with Eve, Chad, Dad, Joan, Matt and Yvonne for a drink...or maybe it was a few more than one! Everyone was on great form and we had a superb evening, topped off by a bag of chips with saltnsauce on the way home. What a great end to a great evening! I don't know why saltnsauce hasn't caught on outside of Edinburgh - its much more delicious than salt 'n' vinegar! All that saucy loveliness. MmmmmmMmmmmm!
Saturday was spent in true Tourist in Edinburgh During Festival mode, on the Royal Mile with many thousands of others watching the performance artists and generally being crushed, jostled, stepped on and having brilliant fun! We met up with Eve, Chad and Mum in time for a drink before the comedy show we were booked to see. We found a table in a bar on George Street which was just across the road from the venue. Perfect! We were enjoying our wine when Eve checked the tickets and gasped in shock. The venue was not across the road - it was across town! Time for a sharp exit! Miraculously there was a taxi right outside the door and we made it to the Pleasance in fine time.
We saw Tom Wrigglesworth, a most excellent comedian. His show was laughing out loud until your eyes water funny and quite poignant. It was the story of how he was nearly arrested after having a whipround on a train. The train manager had insisted the dear sweet old lady sitting across from Tom had to buy a full price ticket as she had boarded the train stated on her itinerary, rather than the one stated on her ticket. It was the money she had saved in order to buy gifts for her grandchildren whom she was on the way to see. Stephen also had a role in the show! Tom was talking about his method of curing a hangover (in his case tea), when he turned to Stephen and asked his cure. "Irn Bru" was Stephen's reply (of course!). Tom said "Of course! I could ask 10,000 questions to a Scotsman and the answer to all of them would be Irn Bru!"
After dinner we walked up to the Royal Mile and went to a pub near the castle entrance. It was here that I became the 'Keeper of the Gents Toilets'.... We were sitting near the loos (not the best place from a whiff perspective!) which had a keypad access. Someone tried to get in and the chap at a nearby table told him the code, which he punched in to no avail. Perhaps they should have given the code a little more thought when they set it as 1990 sounds a lot like 1919 when it comes from the mouth of a heavily accented Scots bloke! Anyway it seeped into my brain and as the tables around us emptied and filled and those other people with The Knowledge disappeared. gents began to look to me to provide the precious code... I should have charged! Or perhaps I should have offered hand lotion and aftershave when they came out.... No. In fact I should absolutely have offered hand lotion (of the antibacterial kind) when they came out! Stephen popped in, and as he emerged I heard a noise which I hadn't heard all evening...the sound of the hot air hand dryer. EEUUUGGGHHH!! That meant that all the blokes who had gone in there before Stephen hadn't washed their hands!!!! Eeeeeeuuuuggggghhhh! And by the smell coming out the door, they hadn't made a huge effort to aim at the weewee receptacle either.....!!
Stephen and Chad had been speaking to the doorman and had managed to confirm the rumour that at the end of the Tattoo on the final night the bands march down to the Royal Mile from Castle. As the first fireworks exploded into the night sky we rushed out to watch and were part of a small crowd which had gathered to cheer on the pipers as they marched past playing Scotland the Brave. It was a really rather lovely evening all-told. Very much an Edinburgh Festival touristy evening!
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