The freezing weather continues. We have been okay-ish down here. We had snow last Wednesday, but no more than a few inches, unlike the rest of the country who could measure the snow in feet. It has been bitterly, bone chillingly cold all over the country and we've had freezing fog and very harsh frosts here in Malvern. We've been so lucky! We've got Christmas Card perfect scenes of trees covered in thick frost and Scotland has motorways closed and people forced to sleep in their cars as they've become stuck.
In the middle of all this horrible weather my sister and her hubby have welcomed their new baby. In the middle of a snow storm in Edinburgh and after 3 days in labour in hospital baby Leo arrived. He's a whopping 9lbs and 14oz as he was 2 weeks overdue - we figure he didn't fancy coming out when it was so cold! He looks utterly gorgeous in the photos. We're hoping to see him this weekend along with Stephen's family, but that rather does depend on it not snowing and the motorways being open. Fingers crossed!
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Sunday 28 November 2010
Gimme a shot of Sarsaparilla Pardner
I had a little "moment" when I walked into the pub last night. For a start the bar had been renamed the "Saloon" and when we walked in the first person I saw was Desperate Dan. Everyone was dressed up as cowboys and saloon girls and we were dressed up as two people who'd been out in the extreme cold!! It was Wild West night at the pub. Who would have thought the village would embrace fancy dress theme nights, but it was packed and we were practically the only people there not dressed up! We obviously missed the memo!!
It's f-f-f-f-freeeeezing
Britain is currently in the grip of a Siberian winter and this mini Ice Age is due to continue for another couple of weeks according to the forecasts. I may not have all my digits by then! It was minus 10C (14F) when we got up this morning, and its never got above minus 3C (27F) all day. My feet are frozen! I've now got 2 pairs of socks on and they're still cold - I've practically got them IN the fire and they're only just beginning to warm up.
We had some snow yesterday. We were lucky - it was only a light dusting, like icing sugar on top of a sponge cake. Not the inches of snow that some parts of the country are getting. It was gone by lunchtime which both surprised and pleased me. I feared that it would get walked on and slippy and be with us for weeks due to the extremely cold temperatures, but YAY! I am Bambi when walking on ice and snow so I'm very happy when it doesn't hang around to cause me to bruise my ample butt padding!!
We had some snow yesterday. We were lucky - it was only a light dusting, like icing sugar on top of a sponge cake. Not the inches of snow that some parts of the country are getting. It was gone by lunchtime which both surprised and pleased me. I feared that it would get walked on and slippy and be with us for weeks due to the extremely cold temperatures, but YAY! I am Bambi when walking on ice and snow so I'm very happy when it doesn't hang around to cause me to bruise my ample butt padding!!
Wednesday 24 November 2010
Decorating grinds to a halt
Stephen went shopping today for paint, brushes, rollers...everything you'd need to decorate a room. he was eager (well - ish!) to get stuck in. There was a bit of plaster that needed knocking out and replastering and, after phoning umpteen plasterers over the past week without a call back, he decided that it wasn't a big job and he'd just do it himself. After getting handy with a hammer things came to a grinding halt. The brick behind the plaster was soft, so its now time to get the damp-proofing specialists in as that's obviously a bit of a problem. This means that a pretty simple decorating job is now likely to be a major project which will no doubt take weeks....and the sofa is due to be delivered on Monday! Argh! The joys of living in a house which is 180 years old...
Actually, its as well Stephen isn't going to be doing the plastering. Last time he tried plastering it all crumbled and fell off when I began to paint it. It was, errr, rustic...!!!!!
Actually, its as well Stephen isn't going to be doing the plastering. Last time he tried plastering it all crumbled and fell off when I began to paint it. It was, errr, rustic...!!!!!
Can you hear the shouting?
Stephen is watching the Rangers v Manchester United match and, being a highly excitable Scotsman, is yelling his head off. I'm sure his comments could clearly be heard in Glasgow if you'd like to open the door and have a listen.
It seems Rangers are playing that classic 6-3-1 formation. A formation that Stephen particularly enjoys shouting about...! Its difficult to score with only one man up front. Challenging game! However, its 80 minutes in and its still 0-0 so the six man defence is working. They should probably be thanking Sir Alex as he seemingly forgot to make sure his best defenders were on the coach. And Wayne Rooney is looking like he'd rather be anywhere than Glasgow tonight... There is hope...
Uh-oh.... Penalty to Man U.... Rooney is taking it.....and he scores. Stunned silence from the sofa next to me.
Rangers are now playing their other classic 1-0-9 formation. It looks like a primary school match with everyone running after the ball... A classic performance!
It seems Rangers are playing that classic 6-3-1 formation. A formation that Stephen particularly enjoys shouting about...! Its difficult to score with only one man up front. Challenging game! However, its 80 minutes in and its still 0-0 so the six man defence is working. They should probably be thanking Sir Alex as he seemingly forgot to make sure his best defenders were on the coach. And Wayne Rooney is looking like he'd rather be anywhere than Glasgow tonight... There is hope...
Uh-oh.... Penalty to Man U.... Rooney is taking it.....and he scores. Stunned silence from the sofa next to me.
Rangers are now playing their other classic 1-0-9 formation. It looks like a primary school match with everyone running after the ball... A classic performance!
Saturday 20 November 2010
Home refurb is beginning - slowly
Having failed to find much time, or enthusiasm, for decorating the house in the 18 months since our return we are finally getting our act together. We have rather a lot of "stuff" in the house. We left a lot of "stuff" here when we went to the US, and we brought a whole house of "stuff" back with us. So we've essentially been climbing over piles of "stuff" for the longest time, having run out of clever places to put it all some time ago.
We took the bull by the horns a couple of weeks ago and gutted the Day Room which was just filled with junk. We also tackled the garage and threw out loads of "stuff". Result! We're still climbing over "stuff" but there is definitely less of it now...
Our first proper decorating project is the dining room, or the music room as it is soon to be. We have a massive dining table that we never actually use and we thought "what a waste of a room". So the table and chairs are going into the newly emptied garage, the open fire will be swept and properly re-instated and a sofa and chair have been purchased today. Working out the room dimensions has been funny. Whereas most people would just get a tape measure and work out what size of sofa would fit that approach is not for us. No. Perish the thought! We have to measure it very carefully and Stephen has to spend every free moment for a week creating a 3D CAD model of the room and proposed furniture...
The sofa comes in a couple of weeks and we still need to decorate and replaster a bit of the wall. I suspect that this will happen only when Stephen has created a team of android tradesmen and written a command programme...!!!!
We took the bull by the horns a couple of weeks ago and gutted the Day Room which was just filled with junk. We also tackled the garage and threw out loads of "stuff". Result! We're still climbing over "stuff" but there is definitely less of it now...
Our first proper decorating project is the dining room, or the music room as it is soon to be. We have a massive dining table that we never actually use and we thought "what a waste of a room". So the table and chairs are going into the newly emptied garage, the open fire will be swept and properly re-instated and a sofa and chair have been purchased today. Working out the room dimensions has been funny. Whereas most people would just get a tape measure and work out what size of sofa would fit that approach is not for us. No. Perish the thought! We have to measure it very carefully and Stephen has to spend every free moment for a week creating a 3D CAD model of the room and proposed furniture...
The sofa comes in a couple of weeks and we still need to decorate and replaster a bit of the wall. I suspect that this will happen only when Stephen has created a team of android tradesmen and written a command programme...!!!!
Crucible exhibition at Gloucester Cathedral
After a tip off from a colleague Stephen and I headed down to Gloucester Cathedral a couple of weeks ago to see the sculpture exhibition that was taking place there. Despite Gloucester being only about 30 minutes away we hadn't been there since a visit about 16 years ago when we first moved down and made the mistake of going there as opposed to its near neighbour Cheltenham. Unlike Cheltenham, its not a Regency delight and shopping mecca...
The Cathedral turned out to be worth a visit, and the sculpture exhibition was just amazing. Amongst the many, many pieces on show was an Antony Gormley (the artist who created the Angel of the North and "Stockie") and a Damien Hirst. The only other Hirst piece I've actually seen in the flesh, so to speak, was in New York and it featured a shark and a large tank of formaldehyde. I'm sure it is a masterpiece of creative genius, but it does leave you with the little nagging thought at the back of your brain that given access to a shark and a large tank of formaldehyde "I could do that". I was therefore blown away by the Hirst piece that was on show. It was a remarkable bronze sculpture of the Exquisite Pain of St Bartholomew, showing the saint brandishing a pair of scissors with his skin draped over his arm. It was disturbing, detailed and beautiful.
The Cathedral turned out to be worth a visit, and the sculpture exhibition was just amazing. Amongst the many, many pieces on show was an Antony Gormley (the artist who created the Angel of the North and "Stockie") and a Damien Hirst. The only other Hirst piece I've actually seen in the flesh, so to speak, was in New York and it featured a shark and a large tank of formaldehyde. I'm sure it is a masterpiece of creative genius, but it does leave you with the little nagging thought at the back of your brain that given access to a shark and a large tank of formaldehyde "I could do that". I was therefore blown away by the Hirst piece that was on show. It was a remarkable bronze sculpture of the Exquisite Pain of St Bartholomew, showing the saint brandishing a pair of scissors with his skin draped over his arm. It was disturbing, detailed and beautiful.
The Hirst drew much attention
A female figure haunts the Cloisters
I sat for 5 minutes on the cold, damp stone floor trying to get a good shot.
Low light, no tripod and camera shake due to the cold seeping into my bones made it challenging!
Low light, no tripod and camera shake due to the cold seeping into my bones made it challenging!
The was stunning when the sun came out and shone through the glass and lit up the figure.
A more complete view of the Antony Gormley sculpture
A very interesting fishy!
Sorry...
It amazing how time flies when your busy, mildly depressed due to the onset of winter dampness and gloomy dreich days, tired at night and very easily distracted. No posts for nearly a month...oops!
I'm sitting here on Saturday afternoon. Its about 3pm and its dark. Its not raining, but it is damp and very overcast. I really, really dislike this time of year in the UK. The dampness has begun...we've got about 6 months of this to look forward to. Urgh. Give me the frosty, blue-sky days any day!! We had a couple of those at the beginning of the week. It was -3C when I left the house on Monday morning and I had to scrape the car. A task that was made slightly more difficult by the fact that all the car doors had frozen shut and I only had a tiny amount of de-icer...in the trunk of the car which was, you got it, frozen shut. After using a bit of brute force I managed to get one door open so I could climb in and get the car started, blowers going full blast in an attempt to thaw it from the inside out. After 10 minutes of thawing I could finally get the boot open and get to the de-icer, but two doors were still not opening and the windows wouldn't wind down. This last fact gave me a few moments concern, as I did worry about how I was going to get onto site if I couldn't get the window down to swipe my pass...but thankfully after the drive to work everything was working and I didn't have to ram the gates to gain entry!
It was Cake Day in work on Friday, all proceeds going to Children in Need. People brought in cakes and these were sliced and wheeled round by volunteers whilst we formed reasonably orderly queues to buy the treats on offer. I had the most delicious piece of a biscuity, chocolate, peanut butter slice. It was delicious, but oh so rich...I had to drink a lot of water afterwards as I was feeling a teeny bit ick. I passed on later cake rounds and just donated money instead. Imagine my dismay when someone bought me a cupcake. I made a cuppa and squared my shoulders. This cake was not going to beat me. I had an honourable Scottish tradition of sugar consumption to uphold after all! Well, I did it, but I have obviously been living away long enough that my capacity for sugar has diminished! I was practically in a diabetic coma at the end of the afternoon!!! When Stephen phoned to ask what I wanted for dinner I answered "vegetables, fruit, water". That apparently translated into "curry" in Stephen's mind!! His curry was delicious, just not as detoxing as I perhaps needed!! Nor indeed was the wine, or the cider in the pub later... Oh, what the hell - it was Friday, it was needed and I can detox after Christmas.
I'm sitting here on Saturday afternoon. Its about 3pm and its dark. Its not raining, but it is damp and very overcast. I really, really dislike this time of year in the UK. The dampness has begun...we've got about 6 months of this to look forward to. Urgh. Give me the frosty, blue-sky days any day!! We had a couple of those at the beginning of the week. It was -3C when I left the house on Monday morning and I had to scrape the car. A task that was made slightly more difficult by the fact that all the car doors had frozen shut and I only had a tiny amount of de-icer...in the trunk of the car which was, you got it, frozen shut. After using a bit of brute force I managed to get one door open so I could climb in and get the car started, blowers going full blast in an attempt to thaw it from the inside out. After 10 minutes of thawing I could finally get the boot open and get to the de-icer, but two doors were still not opening and the windows wouldn't wind down. This last fact gave me a few moments concern, as I did worry about how I was going to get onto site if I couldn't get the window down to swipe my pass...but thankfully after the drive to work everything was working and I didn't have to ram the gates to gain entry!
It was Cake Day in work on Friday, all proceeds going to Children in Need. People brought in cakes and these were sliced and wheeled round by volunteers whilst we formed reasonably orderly queues to buy the treats on offer. I had the most delicious piece of a biscuity, chocolate, peanut butter slice. It was delicious, but oh so rich...I had to drink a lot of water afterwards as I was feeling a teeny bit ick. I passed on later cake rounds and just donated money instead. Imagine my dismay when someone bought me a cupcake. I made a cuppa and squared my shoulders. This cake was not going to beat me. I had an honourable Scottish tradition of sugar consumption to uphold after all! Well, I did it, but I have obviously been living away long enough that my capacity for sugar has diminished! I was practically in a diabetic coma at the end of the afternoon!!! When Stephen phoned to ask what I wanted for dinner I answered "vegetables, fruit, water". That apparently translated into "curry" in Stephen's mind!! His curry was delicious, just not as detoxing as I perhaps needed!! Nor indeed was the wine, or the cider in the pub later... Oh, what the hell - it was Friday, it was needed and I can detox after Christmas.
Saturday 23 October 2010
They've tunneled out...
It has been a very sad few weeks at work. A lot of my friends (and a whole lot more folks besides) have left the company during a redundancy round. There have been a load of leaving presentations to go to, and tears to stiffle. Upper Lips have been stiffened and shoulders straightened as we adjust to life without our friends and co-workers. (Its never going to be the same....)
I was very involved in putting together Mandy's presentation, and thought she was very brave to give such a long speech thanking everyone - most people manage "Thank you. You were all lovely to work with. Best of luck for the future." before the catch in the throat, or disinterest, kicks in! She did have a post it note with "DON'T CRY" writ large on it...a good reminder!!
Last night we were at one heck of a Leaving Party! Five of the Escapee's (including Mandy and Richard) had organised a giant leaving bash, with bands and buffet and a (free) bar. It was lovely to see so many old familiar faces...and a few folks I had no idea who they were!!
It was very strange to be going to something like that when I had had no involvement with organising it!! All week people have been asking me about organisation, dress code, who's going...and I had to hold my hands up and say "I don't know"!!! I was contemplating asking to be allowed to hold a clipboard on the night - purely for therapy!
I was very involved in putting together Mandy's presentation, and thought she was very brave to give such a long speech thanking everyone - most people manage "Thank you. You were all lovely to work with. Best of luck for the future." before the catch in the throat, or disinterest, kicks in! She did have a post it note with "DON'T CRY" writ large on it...a good reminder!!
Last night we were at one heck of a Leaving Party! Five of the Escapee's (including Mandy and Richard) had organised a giant leaving bash, with bands and buffet and a (free) bar. It was lovely to see so many old familiar faces...and a few folks I had no idea who they were!!
It was very strange to be going to something like that when I had had no involvement with organising it!! All week people have been asking me about organisation, dress code, who's going...and I had to hold my hands up and say "I don't know"!!! I was contemplating asking to be allowed to hold a clipboard on the night - purely for therapy!
Monetary cut backs affect Tooth Fairy budget
When I was getting ready for work I asked Stephen to check under my pillow to see if there was anything there...but no! Nothing!! I wonder if the Tooth Fairy left the money at the dentists, because that was where the tooth was?? It can surely be the only explanation....
Unless the Tooth Fairy has been hit by severe budget cuts under this weeks Spending Review....I suppose that might be the reason. Maybe the TF budget won't stretch to leaving a Pound for the grown up girlies who are now a bit more gummy than they were.
Unless the Tooth Fairy has been hit by severe budget cuts under this weeks Spending Review....I suppose that might be the reason. Maybe the TF budget won't stretch to leaving a Pound for the grown up girlies who are now a bit more gummy than they were.
Monday 18 October 2010
What's the going rate for the Tooth Fairy?
I had a weekend of pain and discomfort thanks to my pesky tooth problem. Every now and again since May it would flare up and I'd have to go back to the dentist for another course of antibiotics. Not fun! After lots of niggling pain over the weekend I had a night of unspeakable agony. I got about 3 hours of sleep last night as the pain was excruciating. In an attempt to let Stephen get some sleep (coz I was sobbing and woke him up) I came downstairs about 5:30 to try and work through the pain. It was not a great night!
I phoned the dentist when I got to work and got an appointment for this afternoon. Stephen ran me up there, and it was as well he did.
Adding to the pain of THE tooth was the inconvenient fact that my teeth on the top on the same side have gone a bit sensitive. In an attempt to give me some pain relief, but also make sure that it was THE tooth that was giving me pain my lovely dentist decided to giveme shots along the bottom gum. Now, I've not had to have a filling or anything that required a shot since I was 13 and I remember them being rather painful. I gave Chris my best short-sighted look and reminded him that I was a big chicken when it came to this sort of thing. The sweetie told me to take deep breaths, steady myself and he hid the syringe until I said I was good to go. OMG! The relief was instantaneous! The pain was gone. I cannot describe the relief.
Now came the difficult decision. More antibiotics which controls the symptoms, but doesn't seem to clear the problem or.....EXTRACTION. Foooooooook!! What a choice! But actually not a choice at all....long term pain, or short term pain. Take it out!!
Actually it was fine. I didn't feel a thing. Another set of injections saw to that! I was pretty much numb from the cheeks to the shoulders!! He had the tooth out really quickly, with nothing more than a tug. And considering it was a wisdom tooth and I'd heard horror stories I was very glad it was painless! I was feeling mounting hyseria beforehand. I had a serious fit of the giggles! I think it was at this point that Chris knew he had to get the tooth out really quickly before I went from giggles to meltdown!!
I was sent of with instructions on what to do if I suddenly started spurting blood (thankfully I'm not a bleeder!) and instructions to go have a large glass of wine because I deserve it! Now that's my kind of dentist!!
I phoned the dentist when I got to work and got an appointment for this afternoon. Stephen ran me up there, and it was as well he did.
Adding to the pain of THE tooth was the inconvenient fact that my teeth on the top on the same side have gone a bit sensitive. In an attempt to give me some pain relief, but also make sure that it was THE tooth that was giving me pain my lovely dentist decided to giveme shots along the bottom gum. Now, I've not had to have a filling or anything that required a shot since I was 13 and I remember them being rather painful. I gave Chris my best short-sighted look and reminded him that I was a big chicken when it came to this sort of thing. The sweetie told me to take deep breaths, steady myself and he hid the syringe until I said I was good to go. OMG! The relief was instantaneous! The pain was gone. I cannot describe the relief.
Now came the difficult decision. More antibiotics which controls the symptoms, but doesn't seem to clear the problem or.....EXTRACTION. Foooooooook!! What a choice! But actually not a choice at all....long term pain, or short term pain. Take it out!!
Actually it was fine. I didn't feel a thing. Another set of injections saw to that! I was pretty much numb from the cheeks to the shoulders!! He had the tooth out really quickly, with nothing more than a tug. And considering it was a wisdom tooth and I'd heard horror stories I was very glad it was painless! I was feeling mounting hyseria beforehand. I had a serious fit of the giggles! I think it was at this point that Chris knew he had to get the tooth out really quickly before I went from giggles to meltdown!!
I was sent of with instructions on what to do if I suddenly started spurting blood (thankfully I'm not a bleeder!) and instructions to go have a large glass of wine because I deserve it! Now that's my kind of dentist!!
That didn't go egg-actly to plan!
As a treat we decided to have a "full English" breakfast on Sunday. The bacon was crisping, the potato scones were absorbing all the fat in a 3 miles radius (that's a Scottish thing!), the baked beans were simmering. All we needed were the eggs. Stephen took control at this point as I "can't cook eggs" apparently. He certainly looked like he knew what he was doing. He poised, egg over the skillet, and cracked it on the side of the pan. It seemed to disintegrate in his hand and ended up with the egg all over the hob and the shell in the pan. Hmmm. Take 2. This time the egg went into the pan, but the yolk burst on impact and he ended up with bits of shell in it. By the time he dug the shell out and flipped it, it wasn't so much over easy as absolutely solid. This of course was my egg. His he managed to cook perfectly!! So, I ended up with a rubbery egg AND the joy of cleaning up the egg which had exploded all over the cooker. I'll stick to cornflakes from now on...!
Its a jungle out there
I took a couple of days off last week to take advantage of the rather lovely weather and hack back my jungle of a garden. OMG it really needed a hacking too! I filled 10 sacks with weeds and plants which had self-seeded all over the place. Then there was the pruning pile which was pretty big too...many shrub branches were hacked off...and many more need to be hacked off - but that is maybe a job for the Spring. I'm not sure I have any more energy for it at the moment! I was pretty much hanging off the loppers which were stuck halfway through a branch, squeezing together with all my might and thinking "People pay good money to go to the gym to do this exercise" and "I hope Stephen gets home soon, because I can't get these to cut through, or come out the branch again".
In a fit of extreme enthusiasm I also edged the lawn and stripped the turf back. This was proper Charlie Dimmock gardening!! I tell you I was a wreck by the end of Day 1 and barely able to move by the end of Day 2!! It is looking loads better now though - almost like a garden rather than a jungle.
In a fit of extreme enthusiasm I also edged the lawn and stripped the turf back. This was proper Charlie Dimmock gardening!! I tell you I was a wreck by the end of Day 1 and barely able to move by the end of Day 2!! It is looking loads better now though - almost like a garden rather than a jungle.
My little garden helper. Everytime I dug somewhere my little robin would appear.
Before... I haven't taken a photo of after yet - too tired!
Sunday 10 October 2010
Bloke
I had thought that Bloke would never ask to borrow the lawnmower ever again after mowing the cable and having to get it repaired...and I was right - and a little wrong!!
I was right in that he didn't ask! He had the keys to our garage on Wednesday as he was valeting the car. He popped round on Thursday to say that I'd need to check the height setting of the mower before I used it as he'd borrowed it, taken it to Worcester to cut his mother-in-laws lawn, and forgotten to change the settings before putting it back. I was gobsmacked! So...does the fact that he's paid to repair the damage he did to it give him the right to take it without asking when he's been entrusted with our garage key? Obviously, in his mind it does!!
I cut the grass with it just before we headed on holiday...and it tripped the fuse box! When we got it all set up again I discovered that the cable is now shorter than it used to be and is no longer long enough to get to the end of the garden. Grrrrrrr.....
I was right in that he didn't ask! He had the keys to our garage on Wednesday as he was valeting the car. He popped round on Thursday to say that I'd need to check the height setting of the mower before I used it as he'd borrowed it, taken it to Worcester to cut his mother-in-laws lawn, and forgotten to change the settings before putting it back. I was gobsmacked! So...does the fact that he's paid to repair the damage he did to it give him the right to take it without asking when he's been entrusted with our garage key? Obviously, in his mind it does!!
I cut the grass with it just before we headed on holiday...and it tripped the fuse box! When we got it all set up again I discovered that the cable is now shorter than it used to be and is no longer long enough to get to the end of the garden. Grrrrrrr.....
O, Christmas Tree...
I put a Christmas Tree up on Tuesday. In twenty minutes flat! Then 3 hours later I took it all down again. "But its October" I hear you cry...yes it is. Two of the ladies in our office are leaving the company this week and decided to do a Christmas theme for their leaving party as they would miss the Christmas parties held at the more traditional time of the year. Hence the tree... I was quite impressed with my speed assembly and decorating...but it looked nothing like my usual masterpieces!! I am the Queen of Christmas Tree in work!!
Woa, we're going to Barbados
Well, actually, we've been to Barbados! We had a wonderful week back at The House being looked after and very pampered. Every holiday should begin with a hug - indeed most of my holidays DO begin with a hug! We got a wonderful huggy welcome from Andrew when we walked out of the taxi and into the courtyard, and we certainly enjoyed our bottle of fizz in the room - its good to be a returning guest!
Our holiday was a week of pure and simple unadulterated relaxation. We needed it! We've both been a bit tired and stressed out recently and when we began to unwind it left us pretty much unable to move or make a decision any more taxing that what to have for dinner! We'd start the job of relaxing for the day by having a champagne breakfast, then toddling off to our sun lounger with a book, soaking up the sunshine and being brought water, cold towels, ice cream, fruit... Oh, relaxing can be a tough old job I can tell you!
We did have a little "liquid sunshine" for a day. We headed out for a little light shopping and lunch in Holetown which is just up the road. I did well on the shopping front! There are lots of little shops decked out like Chattel Houses and they house loads of little speciality shops...quite of a few of which sell jewellery. I got two beaded necklaces (nothing expensive, but very gorgeous) and the most exquisite silver and shell pendant drop which sits beautifully on a silver collar I got in Edinburgh last year.
Aside from a little liquid sunshine the only other evidence of it being hurricane season was the strange wave phenomenon that was going on on the West Coast. Normally they have flat calm turquoise seas with little teeny weeny lapping waves. Not the week we were there!! There were huge rolling breakers of the kind normally found on the East coast, or Waikiki beach! It pretty much washed the beach away. Then on one day we had waves that changed from huge to totally freakin' massive!! They suddenly got a whole lot bigger, swamped the poor folks on the beach and the wash continued up onto the pool deck where I was sitting - which is a good few feet above beach level! The staff sprang into action and quickly moved all the cabanas and loungers off the beach and onto the deck, then began trying to move the beach back off the deck and back onto the beach. That was a bit of a futile task that afternoon!! They managed it the next morning, whilst being supervised by 30 adults sipping champagne and tucking into breakfast....ah, its a hard job doing all this relaxing!!!
Our holiday was a week of pure and simple unadulterated relaxation. We needed it! We've both been a bit tired and stressed out recently and when we began to unwind it left us pretty much unable to move or make a decision any more taxing that what to have for dinner! We'd start the job of relaxing for the day by having a champagne breakfast, then toddling off to our sun lounger with a book, soaking up the sunshine and being brought water, cold towels, ice cream, fruit... Oh, relaxing can be a tough old job I can tell you!
We did have a little "liquid sunshine" for a day. We headed out for a little light shopping and lunch in Holetown which is just up the road. I did well on the shopping front! There are lots of little shops decked out like Chattel Houses and they house loads of little speciality shops...quite of a few of which sell jewellery. I got two beaded necklaces (nothing expensive, but very gorgeous) and the most exquisite silver and shell pendant drop which sits beautifully on a silver collar I got in Edinburgh last year.
Aside from a little liquid sunshine the only other evidence of it being hurricane season was the strange wave phenomenon that was going on on the West Coast. Normally they have flat calm turquoise seas with little teeny weeny lapping waves. Not the week we were there!! There were huge rolling breakers of the kind normally found on the East coast, or Waikiki beach! It pretty much washed the beach away. Then on one day we had waves that changed from huge to totally freakin' massive!! They suddenly got a whole lot bigger, swamped the poor folks on the beach and the wash continued up onto the pool deck where I was sitting - which is a good few feet above beach level! The staff sprang into action and quickly moved all the cabanas and loungers off the beach and onto the deck, then began trying to move the beach back off the deck and back onto the beach. That was a bit of a futile task that afternoon!! They managed it the next morning, whilst being supervised by 30 adults sipping champagne and tucking into breakfast....ah, its a hard job doing all this relaxing!!!
Monday 13 September 2010
Thar she blows
Stephen...be afraid. Be very afraid.... My stomach is making horrible noises. It sounds like it is speaking Whale, interspersed with intervals of bubbling lava noises. This cannot be good news!
Lawnmower Man
Bloke has a bit of a lawn mowing obsession. He used to frequently cut my front and back lawns whilst we were at work. I had never asked him to, but I think he thinks he was being neighbourly. (It is sometimes difficult to fathom the thought processes, if indeed there are any.) The problem with the well-intentioned mowing was that he would scalp the lawns and I ended up with bare patches and hack marks where the lawnmower dug in and gouged the soil. In an attempt to repair it I had a lawn treatment company come in, and used that as an excuse to get Stephen to explain to him why he couldn't cut the back lawn any more.
Unfortunately this didn't stop him cutting the front...and now I have turf wars between him and our other neighbour who also cuts it! I think this other neighbour is perhaps trying to stop Bloke marching up and down with the mower outside their sitting room windows 3 times a week, but it doesn't work. It simply means that the front grass gets cut 5 times a week now!! I have a hankering to gravel the front garden to aid my sanity. But I digress....
In a fairly recent development Bloke has taken to borrowing our lawnmower. I guess he knows that his mower chops the ground. However (and we've not really fathomed this out yet), he will often cut my front grass with his crappy mower (because we're at work and there is no access to our mower...maybe??), then borrow ours to cut his front lawn, back lawn and the grass which verges onto the road... This has been increasingly getting on my single remaining nerve - especially as I often can't cut my lawn as he has my mower. But there is an element of anything for a quiet life as it gets him out of our hair quicker when he pops round. However, yesterday may signal the end of the lawnmower borrowing....
We had just returned home from grocery shopping when Bloke appeared. He has the ability to appear from nowhere just as we're getting in or out of the car, so I do wonder if he hides in the bushes and waits for us in a slightly stalkerish way!! I think he has a bit of a man-crush on Stephen and finds me quite terrifying - I know my Mum used me as the "Bad Cop" when she was housesitting for us, so I think he now has a healthy fear of the devil-woman that I can become at the swish of a forked tail...!!!
He waited until I was carrying grocery bags into the house so he could speak to Stephen, and after a minute I could hear the lawnmower being wheeled round to his house, and shortly afterwards the sound of mowing. It went quiet pretty soon afterwards, but I figured that he'd been distracted by something...that would be unusual as he does love to mow, but you also have to balance that with having the attention span of Dory, the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo. Sometimes One Man forgets to mow his Meadow!!
A little while later there was a tap at the kitchen door. I could hear talking, and Stephen came back with a rather grim face. "Bloke has mowed over the lawnmower cable. He's agreed to get it repaired". You may ask how a sensible person manages to mow over the cable... and I would arch my eyebrow, purse my lips, roll my eyes and say "Exactly!". I am only glad that he had enough sense to plug it into an RCD (or at least I think he did!)...God knows what 240 volts would do to his brain cells! They would be clashing about in his skull like balls in a pinball machine. Ding ding ding ding.
The repair has been the cause of some teeth grinding from Stephen, as Bloke phoned to say that his friend was going to cut in new cable and mend it with those little white cable blocks that you use to connect wires together. Erm...NO BLOODY WAY! He didn't mow over some bit of out of the way cable. He mowed over the bit that drags along the ground through the (usually wet) grass!! I am very glad that Stephen obviously still loves me enough not to want me to be electrocuted during the first post-repair mow! He was quite firm on that one!!!! (Obviously he doesn't have enough life insurance on me yet!!) Bloke finally sent a text saying he was going to get the entire cable replaced and a very subdued Bloke dropped the repaired mower back off tonight. I wonder how long it will be before he asks to borrow it again?
Unfortunately this didn't stop him cutting the front...and now I have turf wars between him and our other neighbour who also cuts it! I think this other neighbour is perhaps trying to stop Bloke marching up and down with the mower outside their sitting room windows 3 times a week, but it doesn't work. It simply means that the front grass gets cut 5 times a week now!! I have a hankering to gravel the front garden to aid my sanity. But I digress....
In a fairly recent development Bloke has taken to borrowing our lawnmower. I guess he knows that his mower chops the ground. However (and we've not really fathomed this out yet), he will often cut my front grass with his crappy mower (because we're at work and there is no access to our mower...maybe??), then borrow ours to cut his front lawn, back lawn and the grass which verges onto the road... This has been increasingly getting on my single remaining nerve - especially as I often can't cut my lawn as he has my mower. But there is an element of anything for a quiet life as it gets him out of our hair quicker when he pops round. However, yesterday may signal the end of the lawnmower borrowing....
We had just returned home from grocery shopping when Bloke appeared. He has the ability to appear from nowhere just as we're getting in or out of the car, so I do wonder if he hides in the bushes and waits for us in a slightly stalkerish way!! I think he has a bit of a man-crush on Stephen and finds me quite terrifying - I know my Mum used me as the "Bad Cop" when she was housesitting for us, so I think he now has a healthy fear of the devil-woman that I can become at the swish of a forked tail...!!!
He waited until I was carrying grocery bags into the house so he could speak to Stephen, and after a minute I could hear the lawnmower being wheeled round to his house, and shortly afterwards the sound of mowing. It went quiet pretty soon afterwards, but I figured that he'd been distracted by something...that would be unusual as he does love to mow, but you also have to balance that with having the attention span of Dory, the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo. Sometimes One Man forgets to mow his Meadow!!
A little while later there was a tap at the kitchen door. I could hear talking, and Stephen came back with a rather grim face. "Bloke has mowed over the lawnmower cable. He's agreed to get it repaired". You may ask how a sensible person manages to mow over the cable... and I would arch my eyebrow, purse my lips, roll my eyes and say "Exactly!". I am only glad that he had enough sense to plug it into an RCD (or at least I think he did!)...God knows what 240 volts would do to his brain cells! They would be clashing about in his skull like balls in a pinball machine. Ding ding ding ding.
The repair has been the cause of some teeth grinding from Stephen, as Bloke phoned to say that his friend was going to cut in new cable and mend it with those little white cable blocks that you use to connect wires together. Erm...NO BLOODY WAY! He didn't mow over some bit of out of the way cable. He mowed over the bit that drags along the ground through the (usually wet) grass!! I am very glad that Stephen obviously still loves me enough not to want me to be electrocuted during the first post-repair mow! He was quite firm on that one!!!! (Obviously he doesn't have enough life insurance on me yet!!) Bloke finally sent a text saying he was going to get the entire cable replaced and a very subdued Bloke dropped the repaired mower back off tonight. I wonder how long it will be before he asks to borrow it again?
Thursday 9 September 2010
Big Game Hunting Pt 2
More gigantic spiders! I have a metal trash can in the sitting room. I happened to glance in it the other day and saw there was a big spider sitting in the bottom of it. I figured that as it was sheer sided and slippery, I could safely not worry unduly about it getting out.....but, of course, I had to check the next day as you can't be too careful...and found another spider in there! Great - a spider catching and containment device! How wonderful! I could relax and get Stephen to deal with it when he got back. I totally forgot about them for a few days (bad me!) then had a peek....to my horror there were NO spiders in there!! However, there was a spiders leg.... I can only imagine that they either helped each other over the top, but one lost a limb in the process...or they ate one another! Euugh!!!
Watch out for me on You've Been Framed
Let me set the scene for my embarrassment....we work on a site that has security gates and CCTV. To get in you need to swipe a little card through a little reader which is placed conveniently at car height right beside the gate. Do it right and the gates magically open and you can drive through. Do it wrong and you'll be featuring on the guards Christmas "You've been framed" tape...
Stephen and I normally drive to work together. We work in the same place, the same building in fact!, so it makes sound economic and ecological sense to do so. He normally drives and deals with the gate opening thing whilst I try and work myself into a more agreeable mood prior to speaking to my co-workers. The other day he was off gallivanting somewhere, so I was on my own on doing the gate thing. I lined up behind the car in front and got to the swipe, opened my window, stuck my arm out....and discovered the the man in front obviously had orangutan arms and my little short arms wouldn't reach! I was miles short - a good 4 inches at least. Not only that, but I couldn't open the car door as it was too close to the swipey device/brick plinth. So what do you do?
Firstly you pray that no-one is behind you! (They weren't)
Secondly you push back the seat and remove your seatbelt.
Thirdly you try and hang out the window and kneel on the seat in order to get a bit closer.
Fourthly, as you've successfully swiped and the gates are opening, you try to get your torso back in the car and get the seat to where you can reach the pedals to get through the gate before it shuts again!!
I'm sure I could hear the laughter as I drove past...!
Stephen and I normally drive to work together. We work in the same place, the same building in fact!, so it makes sound economic and ecological sense to do so. He normally drives and deals with the gate opening thing whilst I try and work myself into a more agreeable mood prior to speaking to my co-workers. The other day he was off gallivanting somewhere, so I was on my own on doing the gate thing. I lined up behind the car in front and got to the swipe, opened my window, stuck my arm out....and discovered the the man in front obviously had orangutan arms and my little short arms wouldn't reach! I was miles short - a good 4 inches at least. Not only that, but I couldn't open the car door as it was too close to the swipey device/brick plinth. So what do you do?
Firstly you pray that no-one is behind you! (They weren't)
Secondly you push back the seat and remove your seatbelt.
Thirdly you try and hang out the window and kneel on the seat in order to get a bit closer.
Fourthly, as you've successfully swiped and the gates are opening, you try to get your torso back in the car and get the seat to where you can reach the pedals to get through the gate before it shuts again!!
I'm sure I could hear the laughter as I drove past...!
The Great Escape begins...
Richard has made it out through the tunnel to the outside world. He left work on Friday and we miss him!! (Although we did see him on Saturday and tonight...!)
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| The gang gather together to say goodbye to Richard |
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| Its not a decent leaving do unless you're face down on the table.... |
Photees of Embra
A poster for the lovely and very talented Camille O'Sullivan
Waiting in line to see the aforementioned lovely and talented Camille O'Sullivan!
The bloke from Still Game was right in front of me...If I'd spotted who he was earlier I'd have tried for a sneaky photo!!
The bloke from Still Game was right in front of me...If I'd spotted who he was earlier I'd have tried for a sneaky photo!!
Starbucks!!!!!
L-R: Mama, Eve, Moi and Stephen
L-R: Mama, Eve, Moi and Stephen
"Stockie" in his very fetching minidress!
One of the Fringe acts performing on the Royal Mile
Mum, Chad and Eve hanging out at the Pleasance Courtyard.
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| Pretty whirlie things decorating the courtyard wall. |
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| The smallest venue on the Fringe! |
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| Mmmmmm.....pizzzzzzzza |
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| Edinburgh is built on hills y'know and we started at the bottom of one ...and were very glad to flag down a cab halfway up!! |
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Buuuuuurp
I've had a rather unpleasant time over the weekend. Something I ate didn't agree with me. Now, the immediate effects of that were unpleasant, but the after effects of the unpleasantness was just horrible! Imagine a half-full bottle of soda, add a little sulphur (yes, it was that yuk) and shake vigorously....and you have my stomach on Sunday/Monday. It was like a pressurised container...and every now and again one or other of the safely valves would blow....
Well, I say every now and again....actually it was every time I moved! I'd stand up...buuuurp. Sit down....buuurp. Roll over...buuuurp. I felt really sorry for Stephen. It can't have been nice to witness his wife turn into Jim Royle (minus most of the facial hair)....never mind having to listen to the Symphony for Wind..instruments I was composing in my hours in the loo. I'm sure the whole neighbourhood was also enjoying that one as it reverberated round the pipes.... My goodness I could have solved the UK's energy crisis if they'd erected a wind turbine outside.... I hope never to suffer like that again!!
Well, I say every now and again....actually it was every time I moved! I'd stand up...buuuurp. Sit down....buuurp. Roll over...buuuurp. I felt really sorry for Stephen. It can't have been nice to witness his wife turn into Jim Royle (minus most of the facial hair)....never mind having to listen to the Symphony for Wind..instruments I was composing in my hours in the loo. I'm sure the whole neighbourhood was also enjoying that one as it reverberated round the pipes.... My goodness I could have solved the UK's energy crisis if they'd erected a wind turbine outside.... I hope never to suffer like that again!!
Fun at the Festival
We scooted on up to Edinburgh for the Bank Holiday weekend. Well, we didn't scoot. We actually flew. Scooting is such hard work for long distances, and especially hard when you have luggage as there really isn't any storage space on a scooter! Although, I think ground-based transportation would have been easier as the flight wasn't without incident...well, not so much the flight itself, more the fact that Stephen managed to mislay his drivers license on the plane after he showed it to board the flight. He didn't realise it was missing until the next day. A phone call to the airline failed to locate it, but at least they confirmed that his other ID would be enough to get him on the flight home.
We had a brilliant time! After a quick catch-up with my family we headed up to the city centre for a pre-dinner cocktail in Gusto where I was made to feel exceedingly short by the gigantic willowy blondes gathered at the bar. When did women get so tall? I barely reached their elbows! It didn't help that I was wearing flats (soooo practical) and they were in towering platform heels (soooo not), but even so....! I was very relieved when I got a bar stool and got to feel more like normal height.
Dinner was fabulous. We got the corner table by the fireplace (as I'd been told to ask for last time we were in) and had a very delicious meal of smoked salmon starter and fillet steak which was to die for. We were seeing a show at 10:30 so after dinner we hit a nearby bar...where once again there were herds of women wandering about like giraffes across the Serengeti. Stephen got a bit macho at one point...yes...you read that right! He got all macho and protective, tapped some bloke on the shoulder, gestured at me and said "Watch your elbows!". I was quite taken aback! I had had to move sharply to avoid getting said elbow in my face, but when you're my height that's not an uncommon experience! I have good peripheral vision and quick reflexes...
Friday nights show was Camille O'Sullivan and what a show it was! She was brilliant! The band was brilliant! The illuminated rabbit was brilliant! The meowing was brilliant...odd..but brilliant! Of the shows I had booked, this one was the one that was a bit of a punt so I was delighted that I'd picked such a winner. We were entranced from the opening song. We had a bit of a celebrity spot on the way in too. As we were standing in line to go into the Assembly Rooms we were directly behind the actor who plays the barman in Still Game. (That will mean nothing to anyone outside Scotland!)
We did some mooching on Saturday morning, then met up with my sister who'd just packed off her summer school students. After hauling her pregnant butt up the hill to the Royal Mile we decided it was far too busy to move, so headed up to the Pleasance Courtyard for a further mooching opportunity and a chance to see the smallest venue on the fringe...a camper van! Making note to tell Audrey & John about possibilities of renting out the Motor Mansion as a luxurious Fringe venue for next year!
Dinner on Saturday en famile was in Pizza Express overlooking the Water of Leith, right on Stockbridge. We got the table in the little glass sticky-out bit so we had a wonderful view and it was like being in our own little restaurant. We couldn't see the Antony "Angel of the North" Gormley statue - a figure standing in the water - but we did see "Stockie" earlier, dressed in a very fetching patterned mini dress. It seems the good people of Stockbridge have been giving him regular makeovers!!
We went to see Jennifer Coolidge aka "Stifflers Mom" on Saturday night. She was very funny, telling very self-deprecating anecdotes about her Hollywood life and talking about her current ambition to "Get the F**k out of the USA". Sadly, her attempts to find a single man in the audience to help with that plan fell short...every man she singled out was gay...
Eve and Chad headed home after the show and we went for a drink in one of the trendy Stockbridge bars with Mum. Its very good that we have family who now live in one of the trendier areas of the city, with so many cool shops and bars to frequent! They also have an excellent chippy which we also made use of that night. I've previously explained my love of chips with saltnsauce - you can take the girl out of Edinburgh, but you can't take Edinburgh out of the girl ! - there is nothing finer after a skinful of wine!
Stephen: Two bags of chips please.
Franco's son: Saltnsauce?
Stephen: One salt and sauce, one salt and vinegar...
Franco's son: Ahhhh...I get it. One Glasgow. One Edinburgh....!
And there we have it. A nation divided...!!!
We had lunch with Dad and Joan on Sunday. Eve's little bundle was complaining about the fact that she was scoffing down an enormous roast dinner and there was no room in there for him!! I got to feel him give a good kick - which freaked me out a bit I have to admit! Although, I'm apparently the only person apart from Chad that he's kicked for, so we've bonded! I just hope he doesn't change his mind when he meets me in person!
I discovered Hendricks gin (Scottish, tastes of cucumber and roses - try it!) that afternoon in the Voodoo Lounge, which I think I may have frequented back in the day when it was just the upstairs bar of the Cafe Royal. I spent a goodly time trying to work out which bits may have looked familiar from 20 years ago...difficult given that I was probably in an alcoholic haze whenever I was in there!!! And in a seamless alcohol-themed segue...I had the most bogging glass of wine it has ever been my misfortune to have on Sunday night. I could try and describe the bouquet, the nose, the colour...but the best description I could hope to give would be MINGING!!! We were waiting for the doors to open for Jimmy Carr and had a quick drink in the venue bar. Very quick as it turned out. Three mouthfuls. Three screwed up faces when I swallowed. Actually four screwed up faces....Stephen wasn't happy that the wine was minging when he'd paid a fortune for it!!
Jimmy Carr was HILARIOUS! OMG, we laughed ourselves silly for nearly two hours! It was only supposed to be a 1h 15 minute show...but there were a lot of pretty drunk Scottish people there who thought they were funny, so "audience participation" took up more time than they had really allowed for!! He also had some woman thrown out for talking - she didn't take the hint the first time he'd had words with her about it so security were called. Please note: never try to outwit a comedian as sharp as he is...you're never going to get the last word!!! It was 2 hours of knicker-wetting hilarity and definitely not for the easily offended - nothing was off-limits!!!
We had a brilliant time! After a quick catch-up with my family we headed up to the city centre for a pre-dinner cocktail in Gusto where I was made to feel exceedingly short by the gigantic willowy blondes gathered at the bar. When did women get so tall? I barely reached their elbows! It didn't help that I was wearing flats (soooo practical) and they were in towering platform heels (soooo not), but even so....! I was very relieved when I got a bar stool and got to feel more like normal height.
Dinner was fabulous. We got the corner table by the fireplace (as I'd been told to ask for last time we were in) and had a very delicious meal of smoked salmon starter and fillet steak which was to die for. We were seeing a show at 10:30 so after dinner we hit a nearby bar...where once again there were herds of women wandering about like giraffes across the Serengeti. Stephen got a bit macho at one point...yes...you read that right! He got all macho and protective, tapped some bloke on the shoulder, gestured at me and said "Watch your elbows!". I was quite taken aback! I had had to move sharply to avoid getting said elbow in my face, but when you're my height that's not an uncommon experience! I have good peripheral vision and quick reflexes...
Friday nights show was Camille O'Sullivan and what a show it was! She was brilliant! The band was brilliant! The illuminated rabbit was brilliant! The meowing was brilliant...odd..but brilliant! Of the shows I had booked, this one was the one that was a bit of a punt so I was delighted that I'd picked such a winner. We were entranced from the opening song. We had a bit of a celebrity spot on the way in too. As we were standing in line to go into the Assembly Rooms we were directly behind the actor who plays the barman in Still Game. (That will mean nothing to anyone outside Scotland!)
We did some mooching on Saturday morning, then met up with my sister who'd just packed off her summer school students. After hauling her pregnant butt up the hill to the Royal Mile we decided it was far too busy to move, so headed up to the Pleasance Courtyard for a further mooching opportunity and a chance to see the smallest venue on the fringe...a camper van! Making note to tell Audrey & John about possibilities of renting out the Motor Mansion as a luxurious Fringe venue for next year!
Dinner on Saturday en famile was in Pizza Express overlooking the Water of Leith, right on Stockbridge. We got the table in the little glass sticky-out bit so we had a wonderful view and it was like being in our own little restaurant. We couldn't see the Antony "Angel of the North" Gormley statue - a figure standing in the water - but we did see "Stockie" earlier, dressed in a very fetching patterned mini dress. It seems the good people of Stockbridge have been giving him regular makeovers!!
We went to see Jennifer Coolidge aka "Stifflers Mom" on Saturday night. She was very funny, telling very self-deprecating anecdotes about her Hollywood life and talking about her current ambition to "Get the F**k out of the USA". Sadly, her attempts to find a single man in the audience to help with that plan fell short...every man she singled out was gay...
Eve and Chad headed home after the show and we went for a drink in one of the trendy Stockbridge bars with Mum. Its very good that we have family who now live in one of the trendier areas of the city, with so many cool shops and bars to frequent! They also have an excellent chippy which we also made use of that night. I've previously explained my love of chips with saltnsauce - you can take the girl out of Edinburgh, but you can't take Edinburgh out of the girl ! - there is nothing finer after a skinful of wine!
Stephen: Two bags of chips please.
Franco's son: Saltnsauce?
Stephen: One salt and sauce, one salt and vinegar...
Franco's son: Ahhhh...I get it. One Glasgow. One Edinburgh....!
And there we have it. A nation divided...!!!
We had lunch with Dad and Joan on Sunday. Eve's little bundle was complaining about the fact that she was scoffing down an enormous roast dinner and there was no room in there for him!! I got to feel him give a good kick - which freaked me out a bit I have to admit! Although, I'm apparently the only person apart from Chad that he's kicked for, so we've bonded! I just hope he doesn't change his mind when he meets me in person!
I discovered Hendricks gin (Scottish, tastes of cucumber and roses - try it!) that afternoon in the Voodoo Lounge, which I think I may have frequented back in the day when it was just the upstairs bar of the Cafe Royal. I spent a goodly time trying to work out which bits may have looked familiar from 20 years ago...difficult given that I was probably in an alcoholic haze whenever I was in there!!! And in a seamless alcohol-themed segue...I had the most bogging glass of wine it has ever been my misfortune to have on Sunday night. I could try and describe the bouquet, the nose, the colour...but the best description I could hope to give would be MINGING!!! We were waiting for the doors to open for Jimmy Carr and had a quick drink in the venue bar. Very quick as it turned out. Three mouthfuls. Three screwed up faces when I swallowed. Actually four screwed up faces....Stephen wasn't happy that the wine was minging when he'd paid a fortune for it!!
Jimmy Carr was HILARIOUS! OMG, we laughed ourselves silly for nearly two hours! It was only supposed to be a 1h 15 minute show...but there were a lot of pretty drunk Scottish people there who thought they were funny, so "audience participation" took up more time than they had really allowed for!! He also had some woman thrown out for talking - she didn't take the hint the first time he'd had words with her about it so security were called. Please note: never try to outwit a comedian as sharp as he is...you're never going to get the last word!!! It was 2 hours of knicker-wetting hilarity and definitely not for the easily offended - nothing was off-limits!!!
Wednesday 1 September 2010
Trout Pout
I can save myself going to the trouble of having collagen injections in my lips. I can say for sure I do not suit a trout pout! How do I know? Well I've been suffering from an occasional allergic reaction to something for the past few days and on Friday, and again today, I've woken up looking like someone has inserted a golf ball into one of my lips. So attractive....! I am fervently thankful that both lips haven't swollen at once!! It has (so far anyway) been one or the other. The problem is that it takes hours to subside, and I had to go to work today looking like Stephen had given me a thick lip. And what DO you do about lipstick when one of your lips is about 5 times bigger than the other? Stephen suggested just drawing on where my lips would be were they normal size, but in the end I felt I looked ridiculous enough and just went with a slick of nude lip gloss and a hand across my mouth when speaking to people.
It wasn't just my lips that were affected. I also woke up with a raised up rash/spots (it was difficult to tall from where I was looking!) across the back of my leg. I decided that a trip to the Doctors might be in order - just to rule out any nasty contagions. He looked, he said it was an allergy and said that I may never know what it was that was triggering it. How reassuring! I'm sure that in the US I'd have been booked in for blood work to find out! Ah well, shouldn't complain...it is free after all.
The other downside (or maybe not!) is the inability to eat when my lip is swollen. It hampers getting nosh into my mouth and if I do manage to shove some in, the chances of my chewing my enormous lip instead of the food are pretty damn high. I managed a yogurt at lunchtime - the only thing I could shove in that didn't require the added danger of chewing! Consequently, by 5pm I was feeling weak and trembly and had to hit Waitrose in that dangerous "hungry" state. Needless to say, my trolley was full of snacks! I bought a packet of spaghetti and about 10 large bags of chips, pretzels, crisps and peanuts!!!
It wasn't just my lips that were affected. I also woke up with a raised up rash/spots (it was difficult to tall from where I was looking!) across the back of my leg. I decided that a trip to the Doctors might be in order - just to rule out any nasty contagions. He looked, he said it was an allergy and said that I may never know what it was that was triggering it. How reassuring! I'm sure that in the US I'd have been booked in for blood work to find out! Ah well, shouldn't complain...it is free after all.
The other downside (or maybe not!) is the inability to eat when my lip is swollen. It hampers getting nosh into my mouth and if I do manage to shove some in, the chances of my chewing my enormous lip instead of the food are pretty damn high. I managed a yogurt at lunchtime - the only thing I could shove in that didn't require the added danger of chewing! Consequently, by 5pm I was feeling weak and trembly and had to hit Waitrose in that dangerous "hungry" state. Needless to say, my trolley was full of snacks! I bought a packet of spaghetti and about 10 large bags of chips, pretzels, crisps and peanuts!!!
Thursday 26 August 2010
Big Game Hunting
The time of the year I hate seems to have arrived - early! Its spider migration time...when they migrate from the cold wet outside into the warm dry inside. Normally its October before the peace is shattered by the patter of many hundreds of legs as they scamper in, but in the past few days there have been loads saying hello. Eugh!
Stephen mumbled something last night which I totally didn't catch. It sounded to me like "blah blah blah blah blah blah ...der". It was the "der" part that make me take notice and press his rewind button. "Oh my God, look at that enormous spider." It took me a second to locate the beastie because it was hiding round a fold in the curtain. This was not a teeny weeny spider. This was a shaved tarantula!!! It was the biggest spider I have seen in the house - ever! Stephen was dispatched to get a glass in order to capture it and release it back into the wild. He came back with a kilner jar as he didn't think a glass would fit over it. He was probably correct!!
The poor thing was probably just taking shelter from the persistent rain and low temperatures. Summer has gone and I'm not sure we can expect it back anytime soon. It has been so cold over the past couple of days we've had to put the heating on. Heating...in August!!!!
Stephen mumbled something last night which I totally didn't catch. It sounded to me like "blah blah blah blah blah blah ...der". It was the "der" part that make me take notice and press his rewind button. "Oh my God, look at that enormous spider." It took me a second to locate the beastie because it was hiding round a fold in the curtain. This was not a teeny weeny spider. This was a shaved tarantula!!! It was the biggest spider I have seen in the house - ever! Stephen was dispatched to get a glass in order to capture it and release it back into the wild. He came back with a kilner jar as he didn't think a glass would fit over it. He was probably correct!!
The poor thing was probably just taking shelter from the persistent rain and low temperatures. Summer has gone and I'm not sure we can expect it back anytime soon. It has been so cold over the past couple of days we've had to put the heating on. Heating...in August!!!!
Sunday 22 August 2010
Recreational Vehicle
Audrey and John dropped by yesterday afternoon with their new motor home. Getting it parked outside our house was quite a palaver! They called and said they were across on the main road. I looked out and there was a bus parked up...the bus turned out to be them!
My goodness this thing is HUGE! It is definitely the way to do it! It was very luxurious with a proper bedroom, bathroom and sitting area. It has lots of gadgets including a retractable satellite dish which self-seeks the satellite. I could see Stephen begin to drool at that point!
My goodness this thing is HUGE! It is definitely the way to do it! It was very luxurious with a proper bedroom, bathroom and sitting area. It has lots of gadgets including a retractable satellite dish which self-seeks the satellite. I could see Stephen begin to drool at that point!
I wasn't meant to do housework!
I have to admit something deeply shaming. I have owned my fabulous, wonderful, couldn't live without it, Dyson vacuum for about 6 years. The wand stuck today and I was searching the Internet to see if I could find any hints and tips for unsticking it. I found the manual. I read the manual. I discovered that my vacuum cleaner has a removable, washable filter...that should be cleaned every 6 months. Six months!!! I actually had to go check the vacuum to make sure I'd downloaded the correct manual and see if I could find the magic filter release button.
The button was cunningly disguised as a handle so no wonder I didn't spot it...for 6 years! Once I had found it I felt obliged to open it and wash the blue filter the manual described. Well it wasn't blue, but I took it out and washed it and watched it magically transform from grey to a bright blue colour. Imagine not realising that it had a washable filter. Imagine not washing the filter at the recommended intervals. Imagine leaving it SIX years before washing it!!!! I could have been living in blissful ignorance until the thing packed up altogether. No wonder it wasn't picking up as well as it once did!
I've been a bit of a Domestic Goddess today. It has mercifully been dry today so I was able to get my washing backlog dealt with. It has been raining a lot this weekend, so its been a nightmare to get things dry. A tumble dryer is being purchased ASAP! I've been washing and pegging out all morning. I've even been brave enough to tackle the ironing mountain which had built up in the dining room. It was getting seriously embarrassing. I was expecting Sherpa Tensing to appear from behind a pile, leading an expedition to the summit!
The button was cunningly disguised as a handle so no wonder I didn't spot it...for 6 years! Once I had found it I felt obliged to open it and wash the blue filter the manual described. Well it wasn't blue, but I took it out and washed it and watched it magically transform from grey to a bright blue colour. Imagine not realising that it had a washable filter. Imagine not washing the filter at the recommended intervals. Imagine leaving it SIX years before washing it!!!! I could have been living in blissful ignorance until the thing packed up altogether. No wonder it wasn't picking up as well as it once did!
I've been a bit of a Domestic Goddess today. It has mercifully been dry today so I was able to get my washing backlog dealt with. It has been raining a lot this weekend, so its been a nightmare to get things dry. A tumble dryer is being purchased ASAP! I've been washing and pegging out all morning. I've even been brave enough to tackle the ironing mountain which had built up in the dining room. It was getting seriously embarrassing. I was expecting Sherpa Tensing to appear from behind a pile, leading an expedition to the summit!
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Family...
Oh dear. Our brilliant idea of getting the family together for dinner on Saturday night didn't go according to plan. Remind me not to leave it to the brothers Spark to organise anything again! It is just as well that none of them work for a brewery....
Wedding photos
The parents of the happy couple
Him and me
Paul and Kristen
On the swings!
Family: Rab, Andy, Fiona, June and Linda
Jim with his sons - Paul and Jim
Paul and Gordon
June, Jim and Linda
Some CRM details and a harp!
The Bride and Groom
Paul and Kristen and their parents
Kristen and the kilties
Held aloft by her handsome husband and a few willing helpers!
What a Wonderful Wedding
Why is it, that despite allowing nights of preparation time, I was still packing at the last minute on Wednesday night and didn't find time to dye my hair? My wedding preparations were hampered, and I'm not sure why! I was joking with a friend that I'd be applying fake tan in the car driving to Glasgow as I simply didn't see how I'd manage to fit it in. As it was, Glasgow was as chilly as expected so the fake tan was not an issue. I had to go and buy tights on Friday morning as if I'd gone bare-legged I'd have been a lovely mottled blue colour after 5 minutes outside!
It monsooned with rain when I was getting ready. To say it was torrential was a bit of an understatement! At one point it looked like someone was throwing buckets of water at the windows! Thankfully, by the time we arrived at the venue at about 3:15 it was dry and the sun was even trying to force its way through the clouds and make an appearance.
I have to talk about the venue now. It was the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park and it was stunning. This was Charles Rennie Macintosh to the max! He and his wife had designed a house for a German magazine competition in 1901. It was disqualified for the minor detail that they were late with their submission (bloody Royal Mail...!), but it did win a special merit prize. During the late 80's Glasgow decided to build it. The architectural and design details are simply beautiful, so I'm exceedingly glad they did!
It was a lovely wedding. As Paul and Kristen are actually married already (they got hitched in Alexandria just before we left) the ceremony was conducted by one of their friends, and they read vows they each had written. I tell you, there was not a dry eye in the house! There was laughter too. They are renowned for being very laid back and doing everything at the last minute which Kristen played on, joking that she had written the vows that morning....actually, it may not have been a joke....but we laughed! It was so lovely to meet Paul and Kristen's friends as well as some members of the family whom I'd never met before, all of whom were funny and charming. We had a hoot!
Stephen wasn't on official photographer duty, but he did have his camera...and his tripod...and set himself up as the "formal shot" photographer. The girl doing the official photos was doing some quite funky stuff, so we figured that someone should take some of the family in their finery...posing for the camera and not with a glass to their lips or mid sentence (as usually happens to me when I'm taken unawares!). This led to a little "camera war" as whatever Stephen did, the girl would appear beside him to take it in a more funky way! Oh, how competitive these photographers can be!!
People's finery was definitely worthy of being captured on camera. The bride and groom looked wonderful, as did the parents (I LOVED Moira's dress) and the rest of us scrubbed up okay too. It was lovely too see so many men in kilts, and I wasn't the only woman with a fascinator perched on her noggin (for once!). I was having something of an outfit crisis though. The little cardigan that I'd bought to wear over the dress just wouldn't sit right, so at the last second I decided to wear the black jacket I'd worn to work the day before. Thank goodness I had a multiple choice of fascinators as the pink one may have looked odd - and someone else was wearing the exact same one!
It monsooned with rain when I was getting ready. To say it was torrential was a bit of an understatement! At one point it looked like someone was throwing buckets of water at the windows! Thankfully, by the time we arrived at the venue at about 3:15 it was dry and the sun was even trying to force its way through the clouds and make an appearance.
I have to talk about the venue now. It was the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park and it was stunning. This was Charles Rennie Macintosh to the max! He and his wife had designed a house for a German magazine competition in 1901. It was disqualified for the minor detail that they were late with their submission (bloody Royal Mail...!), but it did win a special merit prize. During the late 80's Glasgow decided to build it. The architectural and design details are simply beautiful, so I'm exceedingly glad they did!
It was a lovely wedding. As Paul and Kristen are actually married already (they got hitched in Alexandria just before we left) the ceremony was conducted by one of their friends, and they read vows they each had written. I tell you, there was not a dry eye in the house! There was laughter too. They are renowned for being very laid back and doing everything at the last minute which Kristen played on, joking that she had written the vows that morning....actually, it may not have been a joke....but we laughed! It was so lovely to meet Paul and Kristen's friends as well as some members of the family whom I'd never met before, all of whom were funny and charming. We had a hoot!
Stephen wasn't on official photographer duty, but he did have his camera...and his tripod...and set himself up as the "formal shot" photographer. The girl doing the official photos was doing some quite funky stuff, so we figured that someone should take some of the family in their finery...posing for the camera and not with a glass to their lips or mid sentence (as usually happens to me when I'm taken unawares!). This led to a little "camera war" as whatever Stephen did, the girl would appear beside him to take it in a more funky way! Oh, how competitive these photographers can be!!
People's finery was definitely worthy of being captured on camera. The bride and groom looked wonderful, as did the parents (I LOVED Moira's dress) and the rest of us scrubbed up okay too. It was lovely too see so many men in kilts, and I wasn't the only woman with a fascinator perched on her noggin (for once!). I was having something of an outfit crisis though. The little cardigan that I'd bought to wear over the dress just wouldn't sit right, so at the last second I decided to wear the black jacket I'd worn to work the day before. Thank goodness I had a multiple choice of fascinators as the pink one may have looked odd - and someone else was wearing the exact same one!
Sunday 1 August 2010
The Stones
We saw The Stones last night. Not "The" Stones of course...Malvern doesn't have a stadium venue so couldn't guarantee the lucrative multi-million pound earnings they usually generate. On the plus side, we do have a large number of nursing homes so they could have had a very comfortable stay!!
The Stones were actually rather good. "Mick" certainly had the look of Jagger and all the posing and pouting down to a tee. Squint your eyes and ignore the look of the others and you could have been watching the real thing 30 years ago. They played a really long set and didn't hold back despite there being only 80 people in the auditorium - most of them about the age of the real Stones and not many of them able to get up and boogie! In fact, the audience size was such that at the end of the show "Mick" jumped off the stage and legged it to the foyer to thank everyone personally for coming!
The Stones were actually rather good. "Mick" certainly had the look of Jagger and all the posing and pouting down to a tee. Squint your eyes and ignore the look of the others and you could have been watching the real thing 30 years ago. They played a really long set and didn't hold back despite there being only 80 people in the auditorium - most of them about the age of the real Stones and not many of them able to get up and boogie! In fact, the audience size was such that at the end of the show "Mick" jumped off the stage and legged it to the foyer to thank everyone personally for coming!
Saturday 31 July 2010
Tippy tappy, clappy, stompy
We're doing culture once again this weekend. As we didn't have any particular plans for Friday night I took a peek at the Malvern Theatres website and discovered that Strictly Tap Dance Fever was on, and there were loads of tickets available. It maybe wouldn't have been my very first choice for things to see, but as standby tickets are very affordable - why not? We got Row C seats for a tenner! Stephen was not overwhelmed by the thought of watching tap dancing, it had to be said, but he was placated by the offer of going to see The Stones on Saturday.
As it turned out, I think he maybe enjoyed it more than me!! The first half was more traditional Busby Berkeley type of tapping - musical numbers like 42nd Street (sung by a very leggy blonde and a Ben Stiller lookalike). I had to stifle hysterical laughter during "Putting on the Ritz". Damn you Gene Wilder and Young Frankenstein!!
The second half of the show was best. It was more like Stomp and you could tell the cast were enjoying it more. There was a real connection with the audience (all 20 of us). It was a really enjoyable show.
After a bit of running around this morning, we decided to go see Toy Story in 3D. It was good! All the things you expect! I loved Spanish mode!! And very poignant too...just as well I had the dark glasses on so no-one could see the welling up that was going on!!!
The Stones tonight - better get out my dancing shoes!
As it turned out, I think he maybe enjoyed it more than me!! The first half was more traditional Busby Berkeley type of tapping - musical numbers like 42nd Street (sung by a very leggy blonde and a Ben Stiller lookalike). I had to stifle hysterical laughter during "Putting on the Ritz". Damn you Gene Wilder and Young Frankenstein!!
The second half of the show was best. It was more like Stomp and you could tell the cast were enjoying it more. There was a real connection with the audience (all 20 of us). It was a really enjoyable show.
After a bit of running around this morning, we decided to go see Toy Story in 3D. It was good! All the things you expect! I loved Spanish mode!! And very poignant too...just as well I had the dark glasses on so no-one could see the welling up that was going on!!!
The Stones tonight - better get out my dancing shoes!
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Bio Hazard
Hilarious sight of the week....
Walking down the corridor of our office building yesterday I was forced to do a double take at the sight of the gents toilet door blocked off by black and yellow hazard tape. All I can guess is that someones Monday morning coffee had an extreme effect and there was an unfortunate plumber in there in a bio-suit with a plunger...
It made me very happy that my days of working in Operations are behind me. It used to be me they'd all flock to to report that the urinals were blocked (how...?) or that they were suffering "splash back" onto their trousers (yes, really....). I couldn't work out if that was boasting or not! Was it such that they had to stand very, very close, or was it such a hose that they couldn't control it under full flow? It kept us in hysterics for a good few days though. I even poured pints of water down a colleagues throat and asked him to try and recreate the problem... It would seem that splash back problem was mainly due to aim, so we did wonder if painting a target on the porcelain and footprints on the floor would help those unable to work it out for themselves!
Walking down the corridor of our office building yesterday I was forced to do a double take at the sight of the gents toilet door blocked off by black and yellow hazard tape. All I can guess is that someones Monday morning coffee had an extreme effect and there was an unfortunate plumber in there in a bio-suit with a plunger...
It made me very happy that my days of working in Operations are behind me. It used to be me they'd all flock to to report that the urinals were blocked (how...?) or that they were suffering "splash back" onto their trousers (yes, really....). I couldn't work out if that was boasting or not! Was it such that they had to stand very, very close, or was it such a hose that they couldn't control it under full flow? It kept us in hysterics for a good few days though. I even poured pints of water down a colleagues throat and asked him to try and recreate the problem... It would seem that splash back problem was mainly due to aim, so we did wonder if painting a target on the porcelain and footprints on the floor would help those unable to work it out for themselves!
Monday 26 July 2010
A dilemma
Oh, what to do? What to do?
We're thinking about re-modelling the bathroom, and we went bath shopping on Saturday. It was our first look round and certainly gave us food for thought and a major dilemma...
The bath we currently have is huge. Its not so much a bath as a small lake. I swim lengths in it each morning. Consequently, when I try and recline in it I shoot down the bath at high speed. Not the most relaxing thing in the world! I found out there was a term for the problem on Saturday - submarining. As a regular submariner I was really hoping that there would be a smaller, better bath out there for me. And there is!
I was encouraged to get my shoes off and climb into each tub for a dry-run. And I found it. The perfect bath! It was a slipper bath. I could lie back in it and my feet very nearly touched the end! No more submarining, LOTS more relaxing!! However, thinking ahead for potential re-sale problems if we ever want to move house..if it fits me perfectly (and I am 5ft nothing), then its not going to fit folks of a more regular height very well! They'd have their knees round their ears and that wouldn't be relaxing for them would it?
Oh, what to do? What to do?
We're thinking about re-modelling the bathroom, and we went bath shopping on Saturday. It was our first look round and certainly gave us food for thought and a major dilemma...
The bath we currently have is huge. Its not so much a bath as a small lake. I swim lengths in it each morning. Consequently, when I try and recline in it I shoot down the bath at high speed. Not the most relaxing thing in the world! I found out there was a term for the problem on Saturday - submarining. As a regular submariner I was really hoping that there would be a smaller, better bath out there for me. And there is!
I was encouraged to get my shoes off and climb into each tub for a dry-run. And I found it. The perfect bath! It was a slipper bath. I could lie back in it and my feet very nearly touched the end! No more submarining, LOTS more relaxing!! However, thinking ahead for potential re-sale problems if we ever want to move house..if it fits me perfectly (and I am 5ft nothing), then its not going to fit folks of a more regular height very well! They'd have their knees round their ears and that wouldn't be relaxing for them would it?
Oh, what to do? What to do?
The perfect Kerry-sized bath
Sunday 25 July 2010
Shakespeare in the Park
We had a very lovely evening on Friday - very civilised indeed! We were watching The Tempest whilst sipping champagne and scoffing a very delicious picnic with heavy emphasis on smoked salmon products...yuuum yum! It was performed by an all-male cast, so it was Shakespeare as he would have recognised it. The production tours the country in a van, playing a different stately home every night. It was quite funny to see the cast appear in civvies about 2 minutes after they took their bows and start dismantling the stage.
Thankfully, as it was a small and intimate performance we had no issues getting out of the car park at Eastnor Castle this time! We were on the Terrace beside the castle this time - a rather smaller space than the Deer Park where we saw Jools Holland! It was delightful to sit in the garden (even more delightful when you don't have to weed or mow it!) in prime spot right before the stage. For once we didn't have to fight our way there either! As we were amongst the first to arrive we were instructed to plonk ourselves there - prime spot...which made it slightly embarrassing when I was struggling to keep my eyes open during the first 10 minutes of the performance as they were sure to be able to see! I couldn't help it! I could just feel them begin to droop and it took massive willpower not to have 40 winks!!
Thankfully, as it was a small and intimate performance we had no issues getting out of the car park at Eastnor Castle this time! We were on the Terrace beside the castle this time - a rather smaller space than the Deer Park where we saw Jools Holland! It was delightful to sit in the garden (even more delightful when you don't have to weed or mow it!) in prime spot right before the stage. For once we didn't have to fight our way there either! As we were amongst the first to arrive we were instructed to plonk ourselves there - prime spot...which made it slightly embarrassing when I was struggling to keep my eyes open during the first 10 minutes of the performance as they were sure to be able to see! I couldn't help it! I could just feel them begin to droop and it took massive willpower not to have 40 winks!!
Saturday 17 July 2010
Take a letter Mrs Spark
Thursday was "meet your old boss day" for me. Aside from spending some time with all of the 3 who work at site and I see regularly, I also got to have lunch with Tofty, whom I hadn't seen in the best part of 2 years what with him leaving and me coming back. He hasn't changed a bit and it was wonderful to see him and catch up.
Then mid-afternoon I got a call from Steve suggesting dinner at the Anupam. It was a brilliant suggestion as Stephen and I had just been saying we hadn't been for ages. It was delicious! We had a good laugh and did our bit to cheer up Graham who'd got a speeding ticket that morning and was rather put out. We got outside and sent our partners off to fetch the cars in the pouring rain whilst Steve and I huddled together in the Anupam alley for warmth. I was very glad to have someone 6' 5" to hide behind as it was blowing a blooming gale and there was sideways rain. He literally put his body between me and the weather. What a star!
Then mid-afternoon I got a call from Steve suggesting dinner at the Anupam. It was a brilliant suggestion as Stephen and I had just been saying we hadn't been for ages. It was delicious! We had a good laugh and did our bit to cheer up Graham who'd got a speeding ticket that morning and was rather put out. We got outside and sent our partners off to fetch the cars in the pouring rain whilst Steve and I huddled together in the Anupam alley for warmth. I was very glad to have someone 6' 5" to hide behind as it was blowing a blooming gale and there was sideways rain. He literally put his body between me and the weather. What a star!
Family Fun Day
It was a sleepless night last night. I kept waking up with visions of one of the large framed pieces having fallen over and there being artistic carnage all over the floor.
We were in work for 9am and I was very relieved to see everything intact! I had another few entries to the over 16's photographic competition which was great. There was a really good display. Of course, people had trouble moving past Phil's fantastic poster sized shot of Antelope Canyon, so we had no chance really!! It was stunning, so it's no surprise it won. It's game on for next year!!
Kate won the arts section with her beautiful cross-stitch, but competition was fierce here too. People were blown away with everything that was contributed.
I had one very precious parent who complained there wasn't an under 5's section. After several interactions with him I was left wondering how he had managed to find a woman to procreate with; reminded that genius is close to madness and we have lots of geniuses on site; and wishing I could stick his poster tube where his pole usually goes...
We were in work for 9am and I was very relieved to see everything intact! I had another few entries to the over 16's photographic competition which was great. There was a really good display. Of course, people had trouble moving past Phil's fantastic poster sized shot of Antelope Canyon, so we had no chance really!! It was stunning, so it's no surprise it won. It's game on for next year!!
Kate won the arts section with her beautiful cross-stitch, but competition was fierce here too. People were blown away with everything that was contributed.
I had one very precious parent who complained there wasn't an under 5's section. After several interactions with him I was left wondering how he had managed to find a woman to procreate with; reminded that genius is close to madness and we have lots of geniuses on site; and wishing I could stick his poster tube where his pole usually goes...
Friday 16 July 2010
Busy little bee
What a freaking day!!
On top of having to nail jello to the wall and get all the right approvals and paperwork in place for the Farnborough Airshow which begins next week, and involved checking lists and schedules which are literally changing by the minute, I also had to get everything sorted out for the Family Day Arts & Photographic competition.
The combination of the jello nailing and the competition nearly drove me nuts. There was nearly Sudden Onset Tourettes going on!! I was trying to get a key for a room where I could lock peoples art work, but could I get the estates woman to actually get me it? No, I could not. I was having real problems getting her to understand that some of these pieces were the result of months of painstaking work and were valuable, both in monetary as well as sentimental value, had been entrusted to my care and couldn't be left lying about in case they get damaged. Getting nicked isn't so much of an issue, but damage is possible.
After (only) 4 phone calls, voicemails and messages (I was trying to be reasonable as they were busy too!) I finally got through...and it made me mad! There was a deep very audible sigh as the phone was answered and a weary "hello Kerry". For gods sake, I know you're having a bad day, but aren't we all and if you'd taken 2 minutes to get me the freaking key when I asked for it at 9.30 I wouldn't be phoning....as it was I spent a lot of the day fielding phone calls from people wanting to deliver large paintings, but I don't think I sighed.....
I never got the key for the store room. I eventually (as people wanted to leave for the weekend) had to pack up and go and sit in the room so people could drop off their stuff. Then when I finally got into the room for the exhibition at 5pm I had to begin set up. Thankfully Phil the superstar helped out with rearranging the furniture and even popped back later to make sure I was okay as I had seemed glum. I was glum - that was pretty perceptive for a bloke!!!
On top of having to nail jello to the wall and get all the right approvals and paperwork in place for the Farnborough Airshow which begins next week, and involved checking lists and schedules which are literally changing by the minute, I also had to get everything sorted out for the Family Day Arts & Photographic competition.
The combination of the jello nailing and the competition nearly drove me nuts. There was nearly Sudden Onset Tourettes going on!! I was trying to get a key for a room where I could lock peoples art work, but could I get the estates woman to actually get me it? No, I could not. I was having real problems getting her to understand that some of these pieces were the result of months of painstaking work and were valuable, both in monetary as well as sentimental value, had been entrusted to my care and couldn't be left lying about in case they get damaged. Getting nicked isn't so much of an issue, but damage is possible.
After (only) 4 phone calls, voicemails and messages (I was trying to be reasonable as they were busy too!) I finally got through...and it made me mad! There was a deep very audible sigh as the phone was answered and a weary "hello Kerry". For gods sake, I know you're having a bad day, but aren't we all and if you'd taken 2 minutes to get me the freaking key when I asked for it at 9.30 I wouldn't be phoning....as it was I spent a lot of the day fielding phone calls from people wanting to deliver large paintings, but I don't think I sighed.....
I never got the key for the store room. I eventually (as people wanted to leave for the weekend) had to pack up and go and sit in the room so people could drop off their stuff. Then when I finally got into the room for the exhibition at 5pm I had to begin set up. Thankfully Phil the superstar helped out with rearranging the furniture and even popped back later to make sure I was okay as I had seemed glum. I was glum - that was pretty perceptive for a bloke!!!
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Long live the Pob
We're calling it Lop it all Off Wednesday in the salon. I was the second person on the trot to ask Dave to lop it all off. My long layered hairdo has gone. The Pob is back. And thanks to half an hour last night with a bottle of Chocolate Truffle hair dye the grey is gone too. YAY! Its taken years off me. I can pass for 40 again!
Sunday 11 July 2010
Jools Holland
We've had a bit of a cultural weekend. We went to see Whistle Down the Wind at the theatre on Friday. It was a really good production and after a shaky first five minutes when I thought "Oh God, what have I done" we really enjoyed it. The only downside is that I'm now singing "No matter what" constantly....
And last night...well, last night was FANTASTIC! We went to see Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. It was a picnic concert at Eastnor Castle and we managed to get a pretty decent spot close to the front. Being England everyone was leaving loads of space in between, but having learned our lessons well at Wolftrap where every square inch of grass had a picnic blanket on it, we squeezed into one of the enormous gaps in a most un-British way.
The support acts were great. Our enjoyment of Kris Buckle was slightly marred by some folks rolling out of the hospitality tent to come chat with their friends behind. I say chat. I mean shriek, scream and yell. I had to actually physically restrain Stephen who was ready to leap up and have a word.
Jools and his Orchestra were awesome! So were his special guests Ruby Turner and Alison Moyet. What amazing voices! And Alison Moyet is looking amazing. She has lost loads of weight and is HOT! We had a great time and boogie-woogied the evening away.
We are destined to spend huge amounts of time in our car at the moment. It took a while to get into the Deer Park, and it took even longer to get out! We could see all the cars inching their way out along the road, like Apaches lining the hills, and decided to have a mini picnic in the car before even thinking about trying to join the queue. When it finally began to move we were funnelled off in a different direction and were able to join a shorter queue of traffic. Unfortunately it took us out a different way and there were a few moments of "where the hell are we and which way do we go". Fortunately Stephen suddenly recognised where we were, announcing "This road takes us to Welland" which I scoffed at as Welland is the other side of the hills from Eastnor...He was right..of course!! I'm glad it all worked out, coz otherwise we could still be sitting in the queue to get home!
And last night...well, last night was FANTASTIC! We went to see Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. It was a picnic concert at Eastnor Castle and we managed to get a pretty decent spot close to the front. Being England everyone was leaving loads of space in between, but having learned our lessons well at Wolftrap where every square inch of grass had a picnic blanket on it, we squeezed into one of the enormous gaps in a most un-British way.
The support acts were great. Our enjoyment of Kris Buckle was slightly marred by some folks rolling out of the hospitality tent to come chat with their friends behind. I say chat. I mean shriek, scream and yell. I had to actually physically restrain Stephen who was ready to leap up and have a word.
Jools and his Orchestra were awesome! So were his special guests Ruby Turner and Alison Moyet. What amazing voices! And Alison Moyet is looking amazing. She has lost loads of weight and is HOT! We had a great time and boogie-woogied the evening away.
We are destined to spend huge amounts of time in our car at the moment. It took a while to get into the Deer Park, and it took even longer to get out! We could see all the cars inching their way out along the road, like Apaches lining the hills, and decided to have a mini picnic in the car before even thinking about trying to join the queue. When it finally began to move we were funnelled off in a different direction and were able to join a shorter queue of traffic. Unfortunately it took us out a different way and there were a few moments of "where the hell are we and which way do we go". Fortunately Stephen suddenly recognised where we were, announcing "This road takes us to Welland" which I scoffed at as Welland is the other side of the hills from Eastnor...He was right..of course!! I'm glad it all worked out, coz otherwise we could still be sitting in the queue to get home!
The view from our picnic spot
Alison Moyet belting it out
Jools and Alison Moyet
A little Boogie-woogie from Jools
Me!
Stephen with the ass who was spoiling his enjoyment!
Goodwood photos
I wonder why he was so keen to photograph this car....
The McLaren F1 car on the hill
The very fast moving Mark Gene in the Ferrari.
He zipped by at such speed Stephen didn't think he had captured it at all!
He zipped by at such speed Stephen didn't think he had captured it at all!
Sir John on his way to the start line
A swarm of Lotus
Enjoying the spectacle
Sir John in his car waiting to go out
The illustrious Scots who have driven this car
Is there a collective noun for a group of cars
JC on the hill
Pushing it back to the pits
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