It has been a busy old week, so I'm very glad that its the weekend and we can do a bit of chilling out!
The snow lasted into this week - despite what promised to be a rapid thaw on Friday, but didn't turn out that way. We went to the Anupam for Indian food on Friday and the walk from the car park to the restaurant was interesting. And by interesting I mean that I was being Jayne Torville, but with a little more success in staying upright than on previous days! Well, they say practise makes perfect...! The snow also make our visit to Richard and Justine's on Saturday night quite fun as they live on one of the steeper streets in Malvern, but with Richard and Stephen holding me up I made it from the car to the house without hurtling down the hill at top speed.
Our Chairman retired this week and Stephen and I were invited to his retirement bash on Thursday. This meant a day at Head Office in Hampshire. I arrived just in time for the coffee run which was quite excellent timing on my part I have to say! I parked myself next to my mate - the Chairman's EA - which meant, when the new Chairman (American, charming) popped along to see her, I got introduced to him. This turned out to be mildly amusing as one of my office companions from Malvern was sitting a few feet away and wasn't introduced...and I swear that you could have parked a coffee cup on the bottom lip (except he didn't get a coffee from the coffee run, so didn't have a cup to park!). He cares about such things.... It did mean that he actually spent time talking to me on Friday (something of a novelty!), so he's obviously decided that I may be a useful person to know as I know people...!
The evening reception was a really lovely event and a fitting send off. There were quite a few old faces who had been invited back, so it was lovely to be able to catch up, and to meet many of the people to whom I've only every phoned or emailed. At one point, when I was standing next to our outgoing Chairman who was speaking to Stephen, a lady standing nearby looked up, looked at me and mouthed "Are you Kerry?"...Yes I mouthed back... "I'm Sandie - I just recognised Stephen!". We were eventually able to speak - rather than lipread!
Friday was a flat out day with work, but we did have to sneak away from the desk for a little while to say goodbye to Rachel who was leaving and heading off to a new, rather exciting, job with plenty of opportunity for foreign travel. I have offered to carry her suitcase to Fiji, but wasn't so keen on being bag carrier on the trips that require flak jackets!
I had a mildly amusing moment when someone across the office called me...not knowing I was across the office! I am obviously a big presence!!! "I'm going to come and see you" I said. "Why?" "Because I'm sitting 15 ft away and I can hear you in stereo!". He looked a little discomfited when he he asked how long I had been there and I told him since June!! He wanted to know something about the proxy and about halfway through he looked at me and said "Are you part-American?".... Now, I'm blaming Tim for that one as we'd just spoken on the phone and it must have triggered my "wadder, budder, y'all" conditioning!!
Saturday 27 February 2010
Friday 19 February 2010
Snow Away
What a palarver yesterday! It snowed. And I, for one, wasn't expecting it to...I was too trusting of the headline which said "There won't be snow, but there will be heavy rain". LIARS!! I was sitting on a H&S course (fun times) when I looked out of the window at a complete white out. By the time we were released at lunchtime there was a few centimetres of snow...and guess what...I was in heels!!! Cue hilarious scenes of me trying to walk across site in the syle of Bambi.
I sent Stephen to go move the car from the car park we were in which has a steepish slope out and as soon as he came back he was adamant that we had to leave NOW if we were to stand a chance of getting home. At just before 3pm when we left there was closer to 4 inches of snow on the ground...and yet we were told it wasn't snowing in Worcester!
In addition to the snow, there was a major fire on one of the main roads through Malvern, so it was blocked off, and there had been a bump at Barnards Green so traffic had ground to a halt there. We were struggling to get up even the most minor of slopes in our car, so after sitting for 15 minutes we decided to head away from the hills and try an alternate route home.
It turned out to be a wise choice as I don't think Malvern traffic improved for many hours and at least the lengthy detour kept us moving. Worcester was getting snow by the time we got there, but nothing like Malvern. It was altogether more passable! We did fine until we tried to turn down the main road towards our street...and didn't! We glided straight on past!
This is our usual route home (approx 5 miles/20 minutes)
This is the route we ended up taking - via Worcester (approx 12 miles and nearly 2 hours)
This toboggan run was the second winter Olympics event I had competed in this week. I did my best impression of Jayne Torville's climactic finish to Bolero on Tuesday. We were walking into the canteen and I slipped on what, on inspection, appeared to be nothing and landed (not very gracefully) siting down on one knee with the other leg out to the side. I told you it was all very Jayne Torville!! Dean was not a great deal of help though!! There was no rushing to my side to help me up, until I insisted upon it! I think I scored maybe 4.2 for technical merit, but 6.0 for artistic impression...I'm sure the operators of any security cameras in the area will have a view and a chance to win cash on You've Been Framed!!
Tuesday 16 February 2010
The Sparks are going to Washington....
YAY! One year and 8 days after we left, we are booked to go back to DC!!! YAY! Only for a short 9 day stay though...but YAY!
We're so looking forward to seeing everyone again. I only hope that the 4ft of snow they're having has gone by then!!!!!
Old Town - here we come!!!!!
We're so looking forward to seeing everyone again. I only hope that the 4ft of snow they're having has gone by then!!!!!
Old Town - here we come!!!!!
Great detective work
I was just about to dash out the door for my appointment with Zena for another zit-busting session when I decided to quickly check my email. It was just as well I did, for there was a message from Zena's hubby telling me that Zena had left the salon where she was based and had set up her own salon with a friend.
She suspects that the previous place had perhaps appropriated some of her client cards as there were a few missing - mine included - so there was no easy way of getting hold of me. Her hubby had taken up the challenge...and did some great detective work! He found me on Facebook! As a back up plan, she had sent her friend up to stand outside the previous salon as a lookout! Obviously she was determined that my zits were not going to go without treatment!! The good news is they are getting much better!! YAY!!!
I also had a quick shoulder massage to ease the stiffness that had been developing since Thursday - probably from carrying the laptop bag and enormous handbag, but maybe also from the stressful afternoon on Wednesday! I must remember that round my ears is not a natural place for my shoulders to sit!!
Needless to say, after a little less sleep than I would normally like and a nice relaxing massage too, I came home and crashed out on the sofa when Stephen was watching the rugby. And I mean I totally crashed out! I'm pretty sure I woke myself up snoring a couple of times and I also must have been dribbling (how attractive!) as when the phone rang and woke me up I had a damp patch on my chin. Apologies to the Ogre...if I wasn't sounding very coherent...its coz I wasn't very coherent!!! Its just as well he called or I may not have actually woken up at all that evening!!
She suspects that the previous place had perhaps appropriated some of her client cards as there were a few missing - mine included - so there was no easy way of getting hold of me. Her hubby had taken up the challenge...and did some great detective work! He found me on Facebook! As a back up plan, she had sent her friend up to stand outside the previous salon as a lookout! Obviously she was determined that my zits were not going to go without treatment!! The good news is they are getting much better!! YAY!!!
I also had a quick shoulder massage to ease the stiffness that had been developing since Thursday - probably from carrying the laptop bag and enormous handbag, but maybe also from the stressful afternoon on Wednesday! I must remember that round my ears is not a natural place for my shoulders to sit!!
Needless to say, after a little less sleep than I would normally like and a nice relaxing massage too, I came home and crashed out on the sofa when Stephen was watching the rugby. And I mean I totally crashed out! I'm pretty sure I woke myself up snoring a couple of times and I also must have been dribbling (how attractive!) as when the phone rang and woke me up I had a damp patch on my chin. Apologies to the Ogre...if I wasn't sounding very coherent...its coz I wasn't very coherent!!! Its just as well he called or I may not have actually woken up at all that evening!!
Awwww look at the cute little puppy!!
We had dinner with Steve and Graham on Friday (and didn't get lost getting there!) and got to meet the newest addition to the household...little Bourneville, a 9 week old chocolate Labrador puppy who is utterly adorable!
Here's Bourneville, looking ever so cute and adorable!
He was a little bit worn out in the evening and mostly slept, interspersed with a couple of periods of activity (but nothing too strenuous!). It was different in the morning when he was full of beans and having a mad half hour! The older cat (kitten really) wants nothing to do with him and will run a mile when he sees him, but the young kitten (also very adorable!) is his playmate and they roughhouse with each other...although I think Bourneville is going to get too big pretty quickly! We met the family (Steve, Graham and little cutie) again at the local farmers market on Sunday and saw another Labrador puppy there. He was 18 weeks and he was huge in comparison!
Aside from the fun and frolics with the puppy, we had a jolly time having dinner and vino! I managed to put Steve on the spot when I said his soup was so delicious that I wanted the recipe and he had to admit it was a Waitrose ready made, with extra bits added to it!! Oooops! How to not to get invited back!!
I want a Wii! We played hula-hooping (I was really bad), archery (I was really bad - my arms seemed to be too short and when I pulled back my hand was about 8 inches behind my head!) and bowling...where I was moderately good! I have a new nickname now...Britney...as I kept bowling spares or "spears" if you say it with an NZ accent!!
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Dragged up?
I was SO very tempted to reply to an email demand (there was no way it could be deemed a request!) with the phrase "What's the magic word?". What happened to using please and thank you when asking for something??
Its not the first time this person has been rude to me in recent weeks. He is on my list....
Its not the first time this person has been rude to me in recent weeks. He is on my list....
Monday 8 February 2010
Manners
I want to bust a myth. The myth that British people have good manners. We don't!
Shop assistants are surly. If you didn't make an effort to speak to them it would be possible to have a silent transaction except for the muttered price. I had a coupon from The Times for money off a book in Smith's and the assistant actually TUTTED when I gave it to him. Like scanning it was SUCH hard work! It totally freaks shop assistants out when you get to the counter and ask "How are you?". The surly 20 year olds don't know what to do! I suspect its not in the manual...! One of my friends was saying she was fed up with the assistants in one of the grocery stores asking "Do you have anything planned for later", "Are you having a good day" as it was so obviously something they've been told to ask. I actually like that as you can usually get them chatting a bit (and go off-script) and its better than scanning in silence.
Blokes do not open doors. I was spoiled in the US when men used to practically sprint across the lobby to get to the door first so they could hold it open, but I knew that was something that was pretty much long gone in the UK. What gets me know is that no-one says thank you when you hold the door open for them. Its particularly noticeable in work with the guys under 30, but I kinda put that down to them having their minds on other, more technical things. Or perhaps its an age thing...perhaps all blokes under 30 are so used to having doors swing shut on them that they are rendered speechless when someone holds a door open! Blokes under 30 are not the only offenders though! I was going into a shop on Saturday and there was a lady of middle years coming down the stairs on her way out the store. I smiled and held the door open for her as anyone surely would, right? Instead of a thank you I got silence...and a humdinger of a filthy look! Yes, you read that right - she gave me a dirty look!! For what? Being courteous? Not letting the door go in her face? There was definitely 'tude going on!!
Shop assistants are surly. If you didn't make an effort to speak to them it would be possible to have a silent transaction except for the muttered price. I had a coupon from The Times for money off a book in Smith's and the assistant actually TUTTED when I gave it to him. Like scanning it was SUCH hard work! It totally freaks shop assistants out when you get to the counter and ask "How are you?". The surly 20 year olds don't know what to do! I suspect its not in the manual...! One of my friends was saying she was fed up with the assistants in one of the grocery stores asking "Do you have anything planned for later", "Are you having a good day" as it was so obviously something they've been told to ask. I actually like that as you can usually get them chatting a bit (and go off-script) and its better than scanning in silence.
Blokes do not open doors. I was spoiled in the US when men used to practically sprint across the lobby to get to the door first so they could hold it open, but I knew that was something that was pretty much long gone in the UK. What gets me know is that no-one says thank you when you hold the door open for them. Its particularly noticeable in work with the guys under 30, but I kinda put that down to them having their minds on other, more technical things. Or perhaps its an age thing...perhaps all blokes under 30 are so used to having doors swing shut on them that they are rendered speechless when someone holds a door open! Blokes under 30 are not the only offenders though! I was going into a shop on Saturday and there was a lady of middle years coming down the stairs on her way out the store. I smiled and held the door open for her as anyone surely would, right? Instead of a thank you I got silence...and a humdinger of a filthy look! Yes, you read that right - she gave me a dirty look!! For what? Being courteous? Not letting the door go in her face? There was definitely 'tude going on!!
Sunday 7 February 2010
Sunday, Sunday
Why, oh why, is it that you meet everyone when you have popped into Worcester on a Sunday wearing only enough make-up to stop you cracking every mirror you pass and with what my hairdresser calls Hangover Hair...scraped back into a ponytail, coz you can't be bothered with the full-on styling routine. I never see anyone when I'm looking my glamorous self!! Thanks to Mark and Jane, and Phil and Emma for not running away screaming "My eyes, my eyes..."
After spending many hours last night trying to juggle music between my two tiny ipods, Stephen suggested I get an iPod Touch (mostly coz he wants an iPhone and he sees this as a way of softening me up!). I had a 1 GB 1st generation nano and a 4 GB 3rd generation one (which I got in the US due to compatibility issues with my UK one), so the fact I now have a whole 32GB to play with is amazing. Plus I can get my Gmail and surf the net and... This could be THE BEST toy ever!! If he thinks he's getting to play with it he's sadly mistaken!!
We're back home now...watching Scotland getting beat by France at rugby. COME ON Scotland!!
After spending many hours last night trying to juggle music between my two tiny ipods, Stephen suggested I get an iPod Touch (mostly coz he wants an iPhone and he sees this as a way of softening me up!). I had a 1 GB 1st generation nano and a 4 GB 3rd generation one (which I got in the US due to compatibility issues with my UK one), so the fact I now have a whole 32GB to play with is amazing. Plus I can get my Gmail and surf the net and... This could be THE BEST toy ever!! If he thinks he's getting to play with it he's sadly mistaken!!
We're back home now...watching Scotland getting beat by France at rugby. COME ON Scotland!!
Saturday 6 February 2010
Call me Shrek
I seem to have something in common with Shrek, aside from being Scottish and less than svelte... I have definite Ogre-ish tendencies forming! Perhaps its because I'm tired after last weekend, perhaps I'm just getting to that age...but I've had overwhelming urges to stand up and yell at my office mates to "Shut the F Up" as some are displaying traits that I'm finding it difficult to love. I just don't see why I should put up with it! Life is too damn short to deal with peoples crappy attitude...
I think its this thinking that pitches me into the beginning of ogredom as opposed to just being slightly grumpy... Perhaps its time to reapply my "pink and fluffy" veneer. Its obviously wearing thin!
I think its this thinking that pitches me into the beginning of ogredom as opposed to just being slightly grumpy... Perhaps its time to reapply my "pink and fluffy" veneer. Its obviously wearing thin!
Malta photos
Justine, Richard and me in the rain outside the gates of Valletta
Climbing the streets in Valletta
Inside St John's Co-Cathedral
In the Grand Masters Palace
The Carmelite Church in Mdina
The Gate into Mdina
The Mdina skyline
The empty streets of Mdina
The mystery woman shooting the video. The locals in the bar had no idea who she was either!
Boats in the harbour
Boats in the harbour
How am I going to get those stains out??
Malta
As I alluded earlier, we were in Malta last weekend! It was a surprise weekend for Justine who was joining the 40 and Fabulous club, which Richard and I had booked a few weeks ago. Due to our complicated work life, we were down at Heathrow on Wednesday night, so we met up with Richard & Justine at the airport after they drove down from Malvern on Thursday morning. Check in was exceedingly smooth and professional. Security took a little more time! Not that there was a queue...well not in front of us at any rate! Stephen and I both triggered the detector so had to have a pat down, and there was something in his bag that they didn't like, so it had to be emptied, checked over and then re-scanned. What a palaver!
Richard & Justine were in the over-wing exit row, just behind us on the plane. We were all having a good giggle when one of the stewards came over to tell Richard that the door made a noise during take off, until we got to about 22,000 ft when it stopped. He said it would be very useful if Richard could make a note of the exact time it began and stopped. Cue further hilarity... "bring me a spanner and I'll see if you can fix it if you like". Both rows were in stitches! This talk of a dodgy door seal brought back something that Mr Blackford had said the day before... During his flying days he had been based in Malta and he and his cronies would sit on their chairs at the side of the runway, when they were waiting about, and score the airplane landings. Apparently Air Malta scored pretty badly! I think the guy next to us had heard this story as well as he said a little prayer as we were coming into land...and thanks to the whistling door seal, he wasn't alone!!
It was a slightly uncomfortable car journey to the hotel. We had a Corsa and with 4 adults and quite a few cases and bags there wasn't a lot of space. I had 2 camera bags and 3 other bags stuffed in the back around me. I had to be unpacked before I could get out again!
There were plenty of restaurants and bars around the hotel, so we walked about a bit to get our bearings, had a drink along the way, and decided on a busy Chinese restaurant for dinner. We had just got our hot & sour soup when the guy on the table behind us really kicked off. He was really drunk. Drinking out the bottle of wine, rather than using a glass. Until that point he was a bit loud, but then he got obnoxious. He began swearing, so the Scottish lady at a table near us went over and asked him to tone down the language. Oh dear. He did not appreciate that! I had my back to him, but I gather he was a squaddie as we had a tirade about fighting for our freedom etc etc. The owner tried unsuccessfully to throw him out, but he wasn't moving. He then threatened to call the police, which got warm support from the other diners. The diner was still mouthing off at full volume and demanding the return of his wine which had been removed. We decided at this point that it was time to go. Stephen manfully took charge and explained to the manager that we couldn't stay if he was prepared to have people like that in his restaurant. So, after a mouthful of soup, dinner became a safari... time to find another restaurant for mains! The second place was nice, but where the first restaurant had too much atmosphere, the second had very little. We were the only people in there at first!
We spent Friday walking around Valletta which was gorgeous - despite the rain! Stephen and I had, of course, forgotten to pack umbrellas so we ended up buying a couple. This is why we have about 3,000 umbrellas in the house! Some people collect souvenirs...we collect umbrellas! I can tell you exactly where it was we bought each one...
St Johns Co-Cathedral was absolutely stunning inside. It is very austere and fort-like from the outside, but inside is Baroque and incredibly ornate. There is not a single surface that has not been carved, gilded or painted. It was just amazing to behold. There was a stunning Caravaggio in the Oratory, of the execution of John the Baptist.
On Saturday we headed off to Mdina and Rabat. We were lucky to get to Mdina early (and out of season) as we pretty much had the place to ourselves. After a coffee and a sandwich we went off to explore. Its another stunning location and every corner provided tantalising glimpses of little winding streets and squares. Stephen and I walked around the Carmelite priory and St Paul's Cathedral - where St Paul is supposed to have converted Publius (the Roman Governor) to Christianity. Both were very beautiful. After a slightly chilly lunch in Rabat (it probably wasn't really warm enough to sit outside, but inside was full!) we headed off on an adventure! Richard was doing an excellent job of navigating, and en-route to the coast and Dingli cliffs the roads just petered out and we were bouncing along at 10mph on roads which were more pot-hole than tarmac!! We did get to see some of the landmarks though - including the ancient cart ruts through the rock known informally as "Clapham Junction". We made our way to Golden Bay to watch the sunset...from the warmth of the beach cafe! It was really blowy! There were people kite-surfing and some poor frozen woman was filming a music video. If you see a Maltese pop star with long dark hair and a white dress walking along a beach in a howling gale - we were there!!!!
On Sunday we headed off to Marsaxlokk, a fishing village on the south coast. The boats in the harbour were beautiful. Brightly painted in blue and yellow and bobbing on the bluest of blue water. It was in search of the perfect photo of these that Stephen sustained his injury.... I was blissfully unaware as I had walked on ahead through the market. After waiting a good 5 minutes for him to catch up I headed back the way I had come to find him. He was a sorry sight! He had gone down a slipway in order to get a photo and it was rather slippy... As he was carrying his camera he wasn't able to save himself so ended up on his butt. His jumper, jeans and camera bag were covered in algae and he scraped his elbow. I could have cried. My baby got a booboo....and his new cashmere jumper was covered in green stuff! What the hell takes out algae? Its not something that's covered in my stain removal bible! (I can report that it came out fine with a handwash in delicates soap powder.)
We headed off to the Blue Grotto for lunch before heading back to the hotel to collect the bags and head back to the airport. I was quite grateful that the boats to the Grotto were not running as the sea was very choppy...and these looked quite little boats that were tied up!
I was so tired by the time we got on the plane that I did my usual and pretty much became unconscious as soon as the wheels lifted off the tarmac, and stayed that way for a good part of the flight. We were quite late back to Malvern. I think it was about 10:40pm we got home...we were pretty quickly to bed as we had to be up for work in the morning.
Richard & Justine were in the over-wing exit row, just behind us on the plane. We were all having a good giggle when one of the stewards came over to tell Richard that the door made a noise during take off, until we got to about 22,000 ft when it stopped. He said it would be very useful if Richard could make a note of the exact time it began and stopped. Cue further hilarity... "bring me a spanner and I'll see if you can fix it if you like". Both rows were in stitches! This talk of a dodgy door seal brought back something that Mr Blackford had said the day before... During his flying days he had been based in Malta and he and his cronies would sit on their chairs at the side of the runway, when they were waiting about, and score the airplane landings. Apparently Air Malta scored pretty badly! I think the guy next to us had heard this story as well as he said a little prayer as we were coming into land...and thanks to the whistling door seal, he wasn't alone!!
It was a slightly uncomfortable car journey to the hotel. We had a Corsa and with 4 adults and quite a few cases and bags there wasn't a lot of space. I had 2 camera bags and 3 other bags stuffed in the back around me. I had to be unpacked before I could get out again!
There were plenty of restaurants and bars around the hotel, so we walked about a bit to get our bearings, had a drink along the way, and decided on a busy Chinese restaurant for dinner. We had just got our hot & sour soup when the guy on the table behind us really kicked off. He was really drunk. Drinking out the bottle of wine, rather than using a glass. Until that point he was a bit loud, but then he got obnoxious. He began swearing, so the Scottish lady at a table near us went over and asked him to tone down the language. Oh dear. He did not appreciate that! I had my back to him, but I gather he was a squaddie as we had a tirade about fighting for our freedom etc etc. The owner tried unsuccessfully to throw him out, but he wasn't moving. He then threatened to call the police, which got warm support from the other diners. The diner was still mouthing off at full volume and demanding the return of his wine which had been removed. We decided at this point that it was time to go. Stephen manfully took charge and explained to the manager that we couldn't stay if he was prepared to have people like that in his restaurant. So, after a mouthful of soup, dinner became a safari... time to find another restaurant for mains! The second place was nice, but where the first restaurant had too much atmosphere, the second had very little. We were the only people in there at first!
We spent Friday walking around Valletta which was gorgeous - despite the rain! Stephen and I had, of course, forgotten to pack umbrellas so we ended up buying a couple. This is why we have about 3,000 umbrellas in the house! Some people collect souvenirs...we collect umbrellas! I can tell you exactly where it was we bought each one...
St Johns Co-Cathedral was absolutely stunning inside. It is very austere and fort-like from the outside, but inside is Baroque and incredibly ornate. There is not a single surface that has not been carved, gilded or painted. It was just amazing to behold. There was a stunning Caravaggio in the Oratory, of the execution of John the Baptist.
On Saturday we headed off to Mdina and Rabat. We were lucky to get to Mdina early (and out of season) as we pretty much had the place to ourselves. After a coffee and a sandwich we went off to explore. Its another stunning location and every corner provided tantalising glimpses of little winding streets and squares. Stephen and I walked around the Carmelite priory and St Paul's Cathedral - where St Paul is supposed to have converted Publius (the Roman Governor) to Christianity. Both were very beautiful. After a slightly chilly lunch in Rabat (it probably wasn't really warm enough to sit outside, but inside was full!) we headed off on an adventure! Richard was doing an excellent job of navigating, and en-route to the coast and Dingli cliffs the roads just petered out and we were bouncing along at 10mph on roads which were more pot-hole than tarmac!! We did get to see some of the landmarks though - including the ancient cart ruts through the rock known informally as "Clapham Junction". We made our way to Golden Bay to watch the sunset...from the warmth of the beach cafe! It was really blowy! There were people kite-surfing and some poor frozen woman was filming a music video. If you see a Maltese pop star with long dark hair and a white dress walking along a beach in a howling gale - we were there!!!!
On Sunday we headed off to Marsaxlokk, a fishing village on the south coast. The boats in the harbour were beautiful. Brightly painted in blue and yellow and bobbing on the bluest of blue water. It was in search of the perfect photo of these that Stephen sustained his injury.... I was blissfully unaware as I had walked on ahead through the market. After waiting a good 5 minutes for him to catch up I headed back the way I had come to find him. He was a sorry sight! He had gone down a slipway in order to get a photo and it was rather slippy... As he was carrying his camera he wasn't able to save himself so ended up on his butt. His jumper, jeans and camera bag were covered in algae and he scraped his elbow. I could have cried. My baby got a booboo....and his new cashmere jumper was covered in green stuff! What the hell takes out algae? Its not something that's covered in my stain removal bible! (I can report that it came out fine with a handwash in delicates soap powder.)
We headed off to the Blue Grotto for lunch before heading back to the hotel to collect the bags and head back to the airport. I was quite grateful that the boats to the Grotto were not running as the sea was very choppy...and these looked quite little boats that were tied up!
I was so tired by the time we got on the plane that I did my usual and pretty much became unconscious as soon as the wheels lifted off the tarmac, and stayed that way for a good part of the flight. We were quite late back to Malvern. I think it was about 10:40pm we got home...we were pretty quickly to bed as we had to be up for work in the morning.
Panda Rant Pt 2
Tai Shan, and another panda born in Atlanta, are being sent back to China. This is causing a few issues....
"Hell-o! Why is nobody listening to me? Did no-one call Rob for me? The Obama girls love me...surely their daddy could have done something....? No? Nothing? No-one is gonna help me out here? I'm being shoved on a plane to China and I'm not even getting to fly Business? Are you kidding me? The very least you could have done was call the airline and get me an upgrade...
This new guy is here talking to my BFF Nicole who tucks me into bed at night and brings me my snacks. He keeps trying to speak to me, but its, like, he's totally like speaking a whole different language or something. I mean, what does "fan hui dao nin de qin shi" mean exactly? I hope someone is working on getting me a translator, because that didn't sound like something I want to eat! And what IS this stuff they keep bringing me to eat? Its like totally weird. Maybe steamed bread is a delicacy here or something. Whatever! I'm not going to eat it. I want my delicate, grown specially in the gardens of DC by my adoring public, bamboo shoots...and I want them NOW!
"Hell-o! Why is nobody listening to me? Did no-one call Rob for me? The Obama girls love me...surely their daddy could have done something....? No? Nothing? No-one is gonna help me out here? I'm being shoved on a plane to China and I'm not even getting to fly Business? Are you kidding me? The very least you could have done was call the airline and get me an upgrade...
This new guy is here talking to my BFF Nicole who tucks me into bed at night and brings me my snacks. He keeps trying to speak to me, but its, like, he's totally like speaking a whole different language or something. I mean, what does "fan hui dao nin de qin shi" mean exactly? I hope someone is working on getting me a translator, because that didn't sound like something I want to eat! And what IS this stuff they keep bringing me to eat? Its like totally weird. Maybe steamed bread is a delicacy here or something. Whatever! I'm not going to eat it. I want my delicate, grown specially in the gardens of DC by my adoring public, bamboo shoots...and I want them NOW!
Picky, Planning & Pure Amazement
Kate and I went out for dinner and a movie this week. We decided that Up in the Air with the gorgeous George Clooney was an acceptable girlie choice as both our other halves had declared that they'd be unwilling to see it. Something about chick flick and lack of body count. Its a good movie, but not a chick flick and definitely not your usual Hollywood ending!!
We had dinner in ASK - our local pizza/pasta restaurant. Service was attentive - the guy who sold us our Audi was there and scarily remembers my name whenever I go in - and we enjoyed some bubbles and a good gossip over dinner. I ordered a Limoncello as a digestivo. I looked at the shot glass on the tray...the 'cello wasn't chilled and there was no ice in it. Hmmmm... warm limoncello is not the same. So I asked nicely for a couple of ice cubes I could pop in and that sparked a whole debate with the waitress who insisted on taking it away and putting in a different glass as she "wouldn't have served it like that, but the barman...". It was at this point that I looked at Kate who fixed me with a look, and a smile, and said "You can tell you've spent 2 years in America. Anyone else would just have drunk that and here's you telling them exactly how you want it served down to the number of ice cubes!".
On Wednesday Julie and I went off to the Town Council planning committee meeting. There have been 3 planning applications on the land between our little village and the outskirts of Malvern and the village has been fighting them in order to stop us coalescing and becoming another suburb of Malvern. We are all now pretty knowledgeable on the subject of local development plans and regulations! So after a very dry couple of hours of listening to arguments for and against a couple of applications, we were very happy that the second of the three applications was rejected. Two down, one to go...
On Thursday evening we had arranged to get British Gas round to quote us for replacing our aging boiler. Its making hideous banging noises and we figure that its not long for this world. And as the government is offering a 400 GBP rebate in their scrappage scheme, it seems a good time to get it changed. The chap measured and questioned and punched figures into his laptop. The laptop whirred and a figure popped up onto the screen. I could see it, but Stephen couldn't. I was expecting the guy to punch a few more buttons and take off some discounts....but no! It was then just a case of sitting back and watch Stephen's face when the astronomical figure was mentioned! It was quite funny to watch. After arguing about the astronomical installation cost (by far the largest portion of the quote) he then struggled to keep a straight face as the chap left us details of how to get in touch to place the order and made his exit. I had been joking with my boss that, depending on the cost I might need a bottle of wine rather than a glass. When I got the quote I pinged him to say forget the bottle of wine, I need a bottle of gin!!! We've now got a local company coming on Tuesday, so we'll see what they say!
We had dinner in ASK - our local pizza/pasta restaurant. Service was attentive - the guy who sold us our Audi was there and scarily remembers my name whenever I go in - and we enjoyed some bubbles and a good gossip over dinner. I ordered a Limoncello as a digestivo. I looked at the shot glass on the tray...the 'cello wasn't chilled and there was no ice in it. Hmmmm... warm limoncello is not the same. So I asked nicely for a couple of ice cubes I could pop in and that sparked a whole debate with the waitress who insisted on taking it away and putting in a different glass as she "wouldn't have served it like that, but the barman...". It was at this point that I looked at Kate who fixed me with a look, and a smile, and said "You can tell you've spent 2 years in America. Anyone else would just have drunk that and here's you telling them exactly how you want it served down to the number of ice cubes!".
On Wednesday Julie and I went off to the Town Council planning committee meeting. There have been 3 planning applications on the land between our little village and the outskirts of Malvern and the village has been fighting them in order to stop us coalescing and becoming another suburb of Malvern. We are all now pretty knowledgeable on the subject of local development plans and regulations! So after a very dry couple of hours of listening to arguments for and against a couple of applications, we were very happy that the second of the three applications was rejected. Two down, one to go...
On Thursday evening we had arranged to get British Gas round to quote us for replacing our aging boiler. Its making hideous banging noises and we figure that its not long for this world. And as the government is offering a 400 GBP rebate in their scrappage scheme, it seems a good time to get it changed. The chap measured and questioned and punched figures into his laptop. The laptop whirred and a figure popped up onto the screen. I could see it, but Stephen couldn't. I was expecting the guy to punch a few more buttons and take off some discounts....but no! It was then just a case of sitting back and watch Stephen's face when the astronomical figure was mentioned! It was quite funny to watch. After arguing about the astronomical installation cost (by far the largest portion of the quote) he then struggled to keep a straight face as the chap left us details of how to get in touch to place the order and made his exit. I had been joking with my boss that, depending on the cost I might need a bottle of wine rather than a glass. When I got the quote I pinged him to say forget the bottle of wine, I need a bottle of gin!!! We've now got a local company coming on Tuesday, so we'll see what they say!
Slideshow
God! I've become a terrible correspondent, haven't I? I'm blaming the weather and work! I get my hibernation hat on in winter and once I finish work (which can be late given the hopelessness of some of the UK folks and the fact I deal with North America) I just want to eat, sit on the sofa for a bit, watch some TV and then sleep...a lot! It was quite funny last night. We had been for a lovely dinner in the Fig Tree and had come back home and begun to sort through our photos of Malta (more of that later!). I think it was about 10pm that I woke up and discovered that Stephen had moved on from Malta and was sorting New York!! He did say he thought I had gone very quiet, as I'm normally quite opinionated on the photo selection!
He bought Apple TV the other week which is turning out to be a good thing. As well as being able to download TV series like Lie to Me (LOVE it!), you can also synch it with your ipod, watch YouTube and download photos and watch a slide show. This has proved to be invaluable! Who needs a digital photo frame...we have one which is 42 inches and 1080i !
We sat down a few weeks ago and began sorting through our "American Years" photos with the intention of putting together a couple of albums. I had even bought a couple of albums in preparation - enough to hold 240 photos. After several nights of sorting I did a quick count...we were at 746 photos and still had our South West tour and several trips to NYC to go through! Instead, Stephen put them onto Apple TV and set the music playing and we sat down with a glass of wine to watch them. There was a lot of "where was that" and "look, do you remember..." an then the music kicked over to Walking in Memphis and I could feel the welling up begin! Making a note to listen to only upbeat, meaningless music when watching "our lovely life" click over on the screen! I am deleting Barber's Adagio for Strings from the ipod in case of accidental playing!!
He bought Apple TV the other week which is turning out to be a good thing. As well as being able to download TV series like Lie to Me (LOVE it!), you can also synch it with your ipod, watch YouTube and download photos and watch a slide show. This has proved to be invaluable! Who needs a digital photo frame...we have one which is 42 inches and 1080i !
We sat down a few weeks ago and began sorting through our "American Years" photos with the intention of putting together a couple of albums. I had even bought a couple of albums in preparation - enough to hold 240 photos. After several nights of sorting I did a quick count...we were at 746 photos and still had our South West tour and several trips to NYC to go through! Instead, Stephen put them onto Apple TV and set the music playing and we sat down with a glass of wine to watch them. There was a lot of "where was that" and "look, do you remember..." an then the music kicked over to Walking in Memphis and I could feel the welling up begin! Making a note to listen to only upbeat, meaningless music when watching "our lovely life" click over on the screen! I am deleting Barber's Adagio for Strings from the ipod in case of accidental playing!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)