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!
Saturday 31 July 2010
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
Goodwood Festival of Speed
I won tickets to the Goodwood Festival of Speed - the first time I think I have won anything! (Quick - buy a lottery ticket!). We travelled down to Southampton the night before as Southampton was the nearest hotel we could get to the FOS. This turned out to be a pain on two counts...it took us 1 1/2 hours to do a 45 minute journey thanks to the incredibly slow moving traffic and because we approached from that direction we ended up in a car park miles from the action. We had to walk round half the golf course to get to the show.
We had a brilliant day! We managed to spend from 9am until 6pm wandering around. My legs and feet were aching by the end of the day. And we still didn't actually get around everything! My mate Emma had tipped me the wink that our former Chairman was driving his car up the hill and it was rumoured that Sir Stirling Moss would also be driving it. It didn't happen the day we were there. Stephen was disappointed that Stirling Moss with two broken ankles was a better bet for driving it than he was!!! Sir John was driving Jim Clark's first Grand Prix car, so there were a collection of Saltires on the side: Jim Clark, Innes Ireland and Sir John. Stephen would really have liked to have been the fourth Scot in the driving seat!
The journey home was a bit of a nightmare. We crossed over the A27 on our way to the slip road and saw that it was at a complete standstill, so we turned around, found a layby and got the map out. KerryNav to the rescue again! We ended up driving cross-country on A roads from Chichester to Newbury. Then (finally) we got to Birdlip (1/2 hour from home) and found the road between there and the M5 was closed, so we had to divert through Cheltenham. It took us 4 hours to get home, sustained by the thought of opening a bottle of champers for Stephen's birthday...only to find there was none in the fridge!! Nor any food, as we'd planned to stop for dinner en-route but were so delayed that it seemed like a good idea to press on.
We had a brilliant day! We managed to spend from 9am until 6pm wandering around. My legs and feet were aching by the end of the day. And we still didn't actually get around everything! My mate Emma had tipped me the wink that our former Chairman was driving his car up the hill and it was rumoured that Sir Stirling Moss would also be driving it. It didn't happen the day we were there. Stephen was disappointed that Stirling Moss with two broken ankles was a better bet for driving it than he was!!! Sir John was driving Jim Clark's first Grand Prix car, so there were a collection of Saltires on the side: Jim Clark, Innes Ireland and Sir John. Stephen would really have liked to have been the fourth Scot in the driving seat!
The journey home was a bit of a nightmare. We crossed over the A27 on our way to the slip road and saw that it was at a complete standstill, so we turned around, found a layby and got the map out. KerryNav to the rescue again! We ended up driving cross-country on A roads from Chichester to Newbury. Then (finally) we got to Birdlip (1/2 hour from home) and found the road between there and the M5 was closed, so we had to divert through Cheltenham. It took us 4 hours to get home, sustained by the thought of opening a bottle of champers for Stephen's birthday...only to find there was none in the fridge!! Nor any food, as we'd planned to stop for dinner en-route but were so delayed that it seemed like a good idea to press on.
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Catch up
Geesh! It has been so long since I posted that I'm not sure where to begin...
Well, firstly the tooth/gum thing has gone. No more antibiotics for me for a while. Hopefully. And I finally got to sample the champagne - YAY! I don't drink a lot really, but towards the end of the weeks of medicines I REALLY wanted a glass of wine!! One major downside of the medication (aside from the constant nausea) was the effect it had on my skin and hair. Despite drinking gallons of water a day I seemed to be dehydrated. My normally oily skin is dry and my hair isn't its usual shiny self. I had a facial on Saturday and Zena glooped on a huge layer of intense hydrating cream that absorbs where you need it and sits on top of your skin where you don't. It went. Every single drop was sucked up by my thirsty skin.
The upside of the meds (and the constant nausea) was the weight loss. But even this had its downside.... I was walking back from the canteen last week, phone and purse in one hand and salad box in the other when I felt some slippage from one hip. Two steps later (and only halfway to the building) my knickers dropped and were half way to my knees. Thank God I was wearing trousers!!!!!!! People must have looked at my panic stricken face and rapid shuffling and wondered what the heck was up...little did they know that it was what was coming down that was bothering me!
We've also spent a lot of time watching sport. We had a BBQ for the England game and watched them crash out of the World Cup. Or rather the guys watched the game and the girls listened to the guys shouting abuse at the TV. We also watched the epic 3 DAY tennis match at Wimbledon. We actually only watched the final set...but due to the rule that it can't be decided by a tie-break, the final set went to something like 70 games to 68 games and took 2 days to play!!
We're still watching the World Cup....how many more days??? Please - I cannot take much more shouting at the TV. I really think that we should just have the psychic octopus predict the results and forget about actually playing the games. Its got them all right so far...
Well, firstly the tooth/gum thing has gone. No more antibiotics for me for a while. Hopefully. And I finally got to sample the champagne - YAY! I don't drink a lot really, but towards the end of the weeks of medicines I REALLY wanted a glass of wine!! One major downside of the medication (aside from the constant nausea) was the effect it had on my skin and hair. Despite drinking gallons of water a day I seemed to be dehydrated. My normally oily skin is dry and my hair isn't its usual shiny self. I had a facial on Saturday and Zena glooped on a huge layer of intense hydrating cream that absorbs where you need it and sits on top of your skin where you don't. It went. Every single drop was sucked up by my thirsty skin.
The upside of the meds (and the constant nausea) was the weight loss. But even this had its downside.... I was walking back from the canteen last week, phone and purse in one hand and salad box in the other when I felt some slippage from one hip. Two steps later (and only halfway to the building) my knickers dropped and were half way to my knees. Thank God I was wearing trousers!!!!!!! People must have looked at my panic stricken face and rapid shuffling and wondered what the heck was up...little did they know that it was what was coming down that was bothering me!
We've also spent a lot of time watching sport. We had a BBQ for the England game and watched them crash out of the World Cup. Or rather the guys watched the game and the girls listened to the guys shouting abuse at the TV. We also watched the epic 3 DAY tennis match at Wimbledon. We actually only watched the final set...but due to the rule that it can't be decided by a tie-break, the final set went to something like 70 games to 68 games and took 2 days to play!!
We're still watching the World Cup....how many more days??? Please - I cannot take much more shouting at the TV. I really think that we should just have the psychic octopus predict the results and forget about actually playing the games. Its got them all right so far...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)