another year gone - really?

So this post was supposed to be posted last night but for some reason (probably finger trouble) it wasn't but since it's still officially New Years Day here in the UK I guess it's still ok.

Do my hands look big in this?

When I was a child, the time between birthdays and Christmases was endless, way longer than twelve months it seemed. Now the years fly past in a blur. A whole year seems to be the same length of time as the school summer holiday. I barely have time to pack away the decorations before they are being taken out the loft again. So before I find myself out shopping for Easter eggs I will wish you all a

Happy and Healthy New Year.

If you do nothing else next year, do something you've always wanted to do but haven't for whatever reason and laugh as much as possible.

Warning! - Keep Away.

T'was Christmas Eve and not a soul was stirring....

Apart from Mum, Dad, Big dude, two dogs, a hamster and a newt.

And a small frail boy with a very high temperature and a cough that a Woodbine smoking Scouse docker would be proud of.

Fortunately the temperature went but not a chance of the cough checking out of Hotel Little Dude.

A whole week of hacking and coughing has passed not to mention a few bottles of Buttercup Syrup.

Two days ago I got a sore throat - one of those 'I think I may have swallowed a broken glass' throats. Great! Yesterday the throat wasn't too bad (plenty of Tea Tree gargles saw that one off). Today this is what I have been doing..

Yep, I feel like my body is turning itself inside out every time I cough. Buttercup Syrup is a no hoper (although I love the taste of it - can you overdose on Buttercup Syrup by the way?).

We had guests around this afternoon. As I opened the door I said "I wont get too close as I have a nasty cough.." the response was "hack, hack, cough, sniff, splutter, hack". Great.

Of course this is all the fault of Big Dude who has had a nasty cough for several weeks now that antibiotics can't shift. Although saying that, I'm not sure how he could have passed it on to us as he rarely graces us with his presence these days.

Pity people don't follow the etiquette of coughing and sneezing as shown on this poster. Of course I have spent years telling my boys not to wipe their snotty noses on their sleeves. It is apparently more than acceptable to walk around with snot-a-dangling from your clothing when affected by a cold.

Hubby hasn't succumbed yet, but as he will never let me have an ailment alone, I'm expecting an imminent announcement of "I think I'm getting your cold" followed by a week of near fatal man flu. If it was "my cold" he would still be doing the chores and running around after everyone not laid up on the sofa with a Lemsip and fleecy throw.

I think I will just put a big red cross on the front door until we all recover and spring comes.

Heavy Snow

Far away on the other side of the globe my bloggy friend Merinz has just posted photographs of her Hydrangea in full bloom in the sunshine of New Zealand. I said I would take a photo of mine in comparison. Here it is. Pitiful isn't it?

For the last three weeks the poor thing has been struggling with the weight of several inches of snow. It has started to thaw a little now and this is what emerged. Er, was I supposed to dead head it a while ago? (Merinz?)

It wasn't just the hydrangea that has suffered. My fantastic bay tree - rescued from certain death by compost heap at a local garden centre about 1o years ago. No longer the round shapely lady - more lopsided and a bit flat up top.

However, my little chinese dog that sits patiently beside my bench ready to prop open the conservatory door when required looks rather dashing with his new hat don't you think?

A Cratchetty Christmas

So here I am sitting on the sofa feeling lethargic, bloated and in the words of my Grandad, not sure if I want a shit, shave or a haircut! A typical Christmas Day evening.

Last night I had plans for a fun filled Christmas Eve with the family. A trip to buy the pre ordered turkey followed by lunch at a local village pub with a big open fire and yummy grub and then a trip to the pictures to see one of the new films. All scuppered by an 8 year old with a temperature of 39.6. Poor Little Dude was well poorly and barely woke up only to have a sip of juice or to be dosed with Calpol.

He woke us at 4.50am this morning asking "has he been?"

Of course there is no way an 8 year old will be fobbed off by "its too early - go back to bed for a couple of hours" on Christmas morning, so we struggled out from under our cosy duvets and opened our presents. An hour later he was asleep under a blanket on the sofa while we were wide awake.

Fortunately he has improved as the day has passed, a few mouthfuls of lunch, a sleep, a couple of chocolates, a short nap, and a whole mini box of Lindor truffles! He is now almost back to normal - I can tell because he is now playing with his presents and annoying his brother.

I have only had to tidy up his pile three times today. You know the piles you make with everyone's presents? I can't bear them to be scattered over the floor. If I tidy up the piles once on Christmas Day I tidy them a million times (usually) today it was three - probably going to be four.

I have watched five different versions of A Christmas Carol in the last few days - the Dr Who version being the latest. I've also seen it in 3D, 2D, black and white touched up and with Muppets. I think I know it word for word now. I have yet to watch Polar Express (my favourite) and The Grinch (my second favourite).

Hubby has just asked me if I want a turkey sandwich. Do I? Not really but I will anyway and have another glass of Baileys and maybe even a couple of his chocolates ( I didn't get a single piece of chocolate this year!!!!!) When I say don't buy me chocolates, I don't really mean it!

It's been an odd one this year. Normally there are in laws over from Lancashire en masse but they didn't want to travel in the snow so leaving us with the task of last minute Christmas Lunch preparations for MIL/FIL. We had lunch at ours not at MIL/FIL's as we have every year since the dawn of time.

It will probably be the last time we have MIL home for Christmas as she isn't too good at the moment and can't see FIL being able to care for her at home much longer and that has been at the back of our minds too.

Anyway, all that's left is to wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

And please spare a moment to think of those serving their country and unable to be at home with loved ones today.

What's Missing This Christmas?

Last week I went along to Little Dudes Christmas 'Performance' at his school. As this is a school with a 'Christian ethos' I wondered why they didn't just do the old fashioned thing and call it a nativity play. I still don't understand why we have to be embarrassed to call it that. Every school 'performance' I've been to over the years have had the nativity as its focus embedded amongst other bits of light entertainment.

Anyway, this year Little Dude was a shepherd and had one line to deliver. "but how will we know it's Him?"

I had a nasty flashback to my own 'nativity' performance many moons ago as I prepared his outfit and practiced his line with him. My Mum was responsible for scarring me for life over this event. I was also a shepherd and if I remember rightly also had to say just one line, something like "look yonder, a bright shining star".

Mum wasn't always the best at dressing me up, and I suppose like me, often left things to the last minute and then grabbed whatever was at hand. Maybe the morning of my nativity play she had used up all the striped tea towels and had nothing else suitable to wrap around my head. Then rummaged in the airing cupboard and came out with an old grey nappy.

Probably a floorcloth in waiting!

I was sent off to school to experience the first performance of my life on stage in front of a load of people and I had to wear an old grey nappy on my head. Even at the tender age of six, I remember being mortified. Thanks Mum!

There was no way on earth that my son would have to live through that, so I managed to rustle together a suitable shepherd outfit complete with co-ordinating striped tea towel. This picture is the only one I took as they were on and off the stage in a flash. LD is in the middle of this bunch.

I really enjoyed the 'performance'. It was one of the best I've seen. It was a joint effort of a very talented music teacher and group of staff who spent hours making sure it all fitted together - bearing in mind a whole week of rehearsals had to be cancelled due to snow and school closure.

The title was 'Put Christ Back in to Christmas' and included local market scenes, a tardis, Professor Balthazar and the usual scattering of angels, wise men, shepherds and parents to be. The songs were foot tappingly good and were accompanied by various 'musicians' who tried very hard to stay in tune. Although I have to say, one of the trumpet players was either tone deaf or had stood in for someone off sick!

The final song was Away in A Manger - one of my favourite carols and brought a lump to my throat as all the children sang so beautifully.

I have to say, I did go away wishing that everything was less commercial and more traditional. How can we be more traditional though when we are forced to remove the 'nativity' from Christmas, call it 'the holidays' and spend a small fortune on plastic crap and glitter just to be seen to be good parents.

Oh well, the clock is ticking and I still have lots of presents to buy.

Sleeping

At half past six this morning we were woken by the sound of size 2 child feet padding to the bathroom, the door slamming shut, the toilet flushing and then a loud voice....

"Daaa-aaad! Can I have ice cream for my breakfast?"

"Darling, it's only six thirty and it's Sunday. Why don't you go back to bed and have a lie in?"

"Because Dad, I don't even know how to have a lie in. Now can I have some ice cream?"

Up Yours Miss Bingham

Back in 1980 I remember being told that I wouldn't be able to move up to sixth form at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School for Girls due to poor O level results and a lack of commitment to studying (she meant I spent too many hours looking out the window at the sports field I think) . To be honest I didn't really want to stay at school but asked the question anyway because it was what you did at this kind of school. So I resigned myself to being one of the 'failures' and went off into the big wide world and had a great time regardless.

Stupid I know, but the fact that I wasn't seen to be academic has stayed with me all my life. I now know that I'm one of these practical people who don't respond well to listening to lectures or reading a mountain of text. In fact my attention span in these situations is about five minutes at a push. I'm a 'do-er' not a thinker.

However, maybe I have sold myself short all these years. Over the last decade I have accumulated several qualifications in training and education in the course of my work, including a Certificate in Education and Level 4 Maths and English - but am probably now back at L2 with the maths due to the 'not relevant, not retained' rule of learning.

Yesterday when I walked on to the stage at The Stadium of Light to be given my BA in Education and Training, I so wanted to shout "Up yours Miss Bingham" and all the other teachers who thought I wasn't up to much.

I do wish hubby had noticed that my hood had slipped down before he took this photo. The bloody thing just wouldn't stay put and was the bane of my life all afternoon.

Maybe the official photograph will be better.

A Career Change?

I've learnt something this week. I've learnt that having chance to skid around a frozen runway as a young driver many years ago has made me a confident driver on icy roads. Back then I shrugged off the lecture and half heartedly agreed to be shown how to drive in snowy conditions. "You'll be glad of it one day" he said.

I've spent a large part of this week crawling along at a snails pace on frozen, snowy roads. I've watched crazy people hurtle out of junctions, speed round corners and end up in the ditch. I've seen cautious drivers pull in front of faster drivers and almost cause a pile up. I've watched people drive with a small circle of windscreen to peer through and then seen them have to pull over as the snow on the roof slid over the windscreen obscuring their view. I've watched idiots chat away on their phones in the fast lane of an icy dual carriageway and white van men with the impression that icy conditions don't apply to them.

And being the perfect driver like what I am, I have spent a lot of energy voicing my disgust at their lack of consideration for other people's lives.

I have also realised that I could be like Lisa.......
See? I even have the right kind of anorak!

Yes, I think I have the right credentials to become an IRT - to those of you unfamiliar with the TV programme, that's Ice Road Trucker! I think I am calm and confident enough to drive a truck across the millimetre thick ice of the Arctic Circle. Hell Yeah. If I can do it in a Citroen C3 I can do it with a truck! Watch this space.

You know it's coming when....

You know Christmas is just around the corner when...

Everywhere you go you hear this album playing. Shops, restaurants and workplaces dust off the old favourites such as Fairy Tale of New York (one of my personal favourites), Last Christmas, and Merry Xmas Everybody. We know all the words because we hear them every year. The first few times sends a festive tingle up your spine and then they just get boring again.
The Coca Cola advert appears on the TV. "Holidays are coming......." you know the one with the retro Santa and pretty truck. Is it just me or does Coke from a traditional coke bottle always taste much better than from anything else?
We dust off the Polar Express DVD that we play several times over Christmas. This year we have ordered a proper 3D version which will hopefully be here before Christmas. It really shows the true spirit of Christmas to me and the music is great too. Another of my favourites is The Grinch and will be watching that a few times too!
I've had a bottle of mulled wine in my cupboard all year but never thought of actually drinking it until the mince pies started appearing on the shelves. I do have to be careful with it as I tend to drink a little more than I should and 'hic' can get a little tipsy with the stuff. As for mince pies and Christmas cake, well I am partial to home made rather than shop bought but you'll never see me turn one down!
This has to be one of the funniest programmes on just before Christmas. There is nothing like being entertained by people scared out of their wits while scrabbling in dark holes full of creepy crawlies or gagging while chewing on a crocodile penis. Ant and Dec are as funny as the celebrities and the whole thing sets you up nicely for the long cold nights cosy and warm in your front room.

Then there are the xmas decorations plastered to the front of houses. Yes of course we did that ourselves for the first couple of years , but as the bulbs went out and the chore of making sure all three sets of lights draped across the eaves flashed in the same pattern wore thin, we went for the 'less is more' theme, ie can't be bothered any more.

But there are still those who spend the whole of November planning their lights - or as in the case of one home not far from us, just plug them all in because they never take them down. This picture is not unlike the house I just mentioned. I'm sure they could fit in a few more smaller decorations if they tried!

This year the snow has made it all seem more festive too. So last night I went to Mr Apples App store to get me a Christmassy ringtone and Christmas planner App. I was aghast to see that there are only 26 days left! REALLY??? I have only just ordered my first online present.

So today I got the cards down from the loft, added them to the new ones I bought because I forgot about the ones in the loft (as usual) and Im going to sit and write cards and add the obligatory newsletter.

At least thats a step in the right direction. yes?

Snow Joke

On Thursday morning we woke to find about three inches of snow. Not a surprise as the weather folk had been telling us to expect it for a few days. What was a surprise though was the dreadful state of the main roads. The council said they had been out gritting, but they must have used table salt as they were like glass under the slush. It took me three hours to travel the usual 30 minute journey.

Throughout the day we continued to have the odd heavy snow shower so by home time there was still a lot of snow lying.

Alexander refused to come indoors and get warmed up so by the time we dragged him in he was crying with pain. Since then he has come in to change wet socks and gloves I have to add! (lesson learnt).

Friday morning, after more snow overnight the roads were much better but there was still a good few inches lying on the ground. We live just a mile from the sea and normally get much less snow than those a little further inland so were quite surprised to see it hadn't melted away.

Again a few snow showers through the day and almost freezing temperatures meant it stayed where it was.

This morning we awoke to find even more snow. I measured 9 inches on the top of the shed roof!

This is the road leading to our estate. I walked to Asda to buy some essentials like milk and bread, having to use a basket so that I couldn't do my usual and buy a lot more than I actually wanted. Its only a 5 minute walk so no big deal and would take a lot less effort than scraping the ice off the car just so I could get more shopping in one go.

This is the conservatory. The snow keeps sliding off now and again so we also have a neat little snow drift on the ground. I love looking at the icicles. Hopefully neither of the dogs will get impaled by them! I've put lots of bird feed out so they wont go hungry on my account this winter.

I took the dogs out in the fields at lunchtime and this was the snow cloud making its way towards us. Luckily I had been round the fields and was back in the warm before it hit us. Another inch fell during this shower!

Tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day so far as the wind picks up and we get blizzards. Who knows what will happen on Monday morning regarding roads and travelling to work. I've brought work home with me so I don't have to risk it.

The kids are having a great time. Don't you just love having radiators and doors hung with wet hats, gloves, socks and coats. Wellies scattered willy nilly beside the front door and puddles of water all down the hallway.

Big Dude is out at a concert in Newcastle tonight. Im concerned about him getting home if the buses stop running or something. He isn't worried in the slightest and said he'll just ring if he gets stuck. I told him to ring when he gets out the concert, when he gets to the bus stop, when he gets on the bus and when he's almost home. I think I may be up late worrying unnecessarily tonight because of course he won't do any of that and will just turn up frozen on the doorstep after midnight.

Oh and by the way, my EMU 'Ugg' boots are fantastic! I love them. Its like going out in your slippers. My feet are usually so cold, but not this year! The Possum fur gloves are the warmest gloves ever. So thank you Merinz - even though you will probably be basking in your summer sun at the beach house.

Off to build an igloo!

A bit of a catch up

Its been a little while since I posted, mainly because I lost my 'round to-it'. Things are thankfully back to what I call 'normal' since starting full time work again, which makes me happy.

Never did I think I would be so miserable without a job to do. Yes I'm running around on an evening and weekend trying to fit in all the trials of parenting two ungrateful kids who think they live in a hotel, but it's the satisfaction of being able to go to work and get out of the house, achieve something useful and have the company of intelligent people. Life is good again!

And then there was Little Dude's birthday. The actual day was a Wednesday and therefore Scout night. It was also the night he moved up from Beavers into Cubs. So I made him a cake and he had a small party in the house for an hour before he went.

Here is the cake. I spent two evenings making this. I watch Cake Boss you know so I am now an expert cake maker! (I also think I have a bit of a crush on Buddy!)

The hardest part was trying to keep LD away from it while I was decorating it, but finally it was done and I hid it away in the dining room ready for the party the following day.

I also gave strict instructions to keep the door closed!

And then I heard " Er Gail?, Er come in here a minute"

Hubby had gone into the dining room to find that 'someone' (Big Dude) had been in and left the door open, one or both of the dogs had got in, climbed up on the chairs and probably ruptured their necks to have a taste of my delicious cake!

There was no way Jose I was going to bin the whole cake. Hell no, in this house we practically live on a diet of dog hair so once I rescued the bulk of the cake it looked like this..

OK so they got two wheels and a set of trucks, plus the Blind logo that I spent ages painting, but most of the cake was there and you got the jist of it! Luckily I had taken a photo of it complete so LD could see it whole.

The following weekend we took him to Native Skateboard Shop in Newcastle to spend his birthday money on a new deck and a few other bits and bobs. Later we took him and a friend to Redcar to the indoor skatepark where we stood and froze for a couple of hours.

I know its not so cold when you are skating around but they really should provide more comfort for us poor parents.

Last weekend was Remembrance Day. I always go to the local cenotaph and pay my respect. As you may know I served in the Royal Navy in the 1980's during the Falklands War and although was fortunate that no-one I knew was killed, I have very vivid memories of watching ships being hit and 'my' helicopters flying around rescuing sailors.

This year Alexander went to represent the Cubs and was part of the parade so I followed at the back with the other parents. At the ceremony I stood with my good friend Ann and her son who had just returned from several months on duty in Afghanistan. He found it hard, you could tell by his expression to stand in silence, no doubt the horrors of modern warfare flashing through his head. Normally I just about manage to control my emotions, this year, standing there with such a proud young man I shed a good few tears for those who had fallen and their families.

This weekend I also had a flashback from my Navy days when HMS Ark Royal sailed into Newcastle for the last time before being de-commissioned. Back in 1985 I travelled from Portsmouth to Wallsend with a Fairey Swordfish on the back of a lorry.

This is a photo of me on the Ark Royal sailing into Portsmouth. I am the black dot standing under the wing to the left of the plane at the back of the ship! The feeling of pride standing there as we sailed out of the Tyne and then into Portsmouth, crowds lining the bank waving and cheering at us was something special that will stay with me forever, especially as back in those days Wrens didn't go to sea and so to actually sail on a carrier was a one off.

We were there because the Swordfish was the first aircraft to fly off a ship and they thought it would be good to have that and a Sea Harrier onboard. We just happened to have a Swordfish in our hangar and I volunteered to go.

Here I am standing on the quay next to my 'old ship'. A little rustier than back then as she was still being painted and cleaned as we sailed down the coast.

Walking up the steep gangway I remembered the smell and feeling of excitement as I went aboard the ship for the first time.

We were only allowed up into the hangar deck and flight deck, pity because I would have liked to have seen more of the ship.

I was most impressed by the foul weather attire that the ratings were wearing, nothing at all like the shapeless things we had to wear. Todays sailors look more like North Face models!

Yesterday they also had a couple of Merlin helicopters and Sea Harriers on display but also a SeaKing which was one of the helicopters in use in my day. Hubby was actually an engineer on SeaKings but I worked on a different aircraft so Little Dude was keen to climb on and sit in the cockpit. Turns out that the pilot who was showing us the cockpit was also one of the young pilots who had flown onto the ship when it was approaching Portsmouth when I was on there. I would have logged his flight.

Again I looked around at the familiar pieces of equipment, the seat pins, the ringbolts in the floor and panels that had to be removed before you could work on the mechanics underneath. It seemed only moments since that was my life - in reality it is twenty years!

Little Dude loves all things Army, including guns! He has every UK Armed Forces figure, tank and snow mobile. He talks non stop about soldiers and what they do. We are trying to steer him to The Navy but not yet successfully. However, yesterdays trip to may have had some effect because he found out that sailors do also use guns. There were sailors at the gangways armed with rifles and a display on the quay where he could pick up a real life gun. He was impressed as you can see.

We all enjoyed the day although a bit damp.

Bigger Spooks?

Is it me or is there more of an 'adult' feel about halloween this year?

Normally the shops are full of kids outfits and a the usual bits of blood and gore plastic but today I went on the last minute search for a pumpkin (as I do!) and found the place full of grown up's looking for fancy dress outfits, not to mention the dressed up shop assistants.

In Newcastle, the fancy dress shop in The Haymarket had a queue right round the corner - people waiting to get in to buy/hire Halloween things and many of the pubs had some kind of spooky event going on. Of course there were the normal hen/stag groups staggering around in fancy dress but then they always look pretty scary even without being dressed up.

I dont really 'do' fancy dress. Although I have been seen out dressed as Daisy Duck and a Bumble Bee in the past on New Years Eve in Weymouth - where anyone not in fancy dress feels under-dressed. So this year I will be opening the door in my usual evening attire surrounded by screaming ghosts, bats and spiders and hopefully a fabulously carved pumpkin.

I'm a bit of a humbug and normally refuse to hand out 'treats' until the actual night but tonight a couple of really cute little witches knocked on my door and very politely asked if I wanted a trick or a treat. Not being in the mood for tricks having traipsed around the town all afternoon I scurried off to find the bags of sweets I'd hidden from the boys.

Unfortunately halloween is on a weekend and that means a whole day of it rather than just a couple of hours in the evening so in the morning I'll be sending hubby up into the loft for the bin bag filled with the scary bits of plastic and filling up the spooky bowl with bloodshot eyes and blackcurrant beetles etc. Carving a pumpkin and trying my best not to get irritated by the constant "can I go out now" from Alexander.

Luckily our estate is one of four small estates and the kids tend to stick to their own, however the bigger kids - you know the ones who think being a spotty teenager warrants a handful of spare change and who give you 'the look' when you offer them a tiny bag of Haribo? Of course Haribo isn't legal tender at the offy is it?

Around here there is usually a two hour window when all the kids in various scary costumes run around in little gangs, sometimes accompanied by a cluster of parents, filling their bags and buckets with sweets and chocolates. I'm sure sometimes parents must take the wrong child home with them as they all look the same in their little skeleton suits and witch outfits.

Then at around 8.00 to ensure the remainder of the evening is nice and quiet, the decs are taken down and the pumpkin blown out. If anyone comes to the door after that it's tough.

Of course we then have the challenge of getting a sugar crazed child into bath and bed after a long day.

And then in this house two days later its Birthday time and the excitement starts again! Oh how I love this time of year!!!

Bring on the Blizzards

This week we got the first taste of a bit of a nip in the air. This morning was more of a slap in the face than a nip as I scraped a thick layer of frost off my car.

I do rather enjoy some aspects of winter. I love being cosy and warm in the house at night with the curtains closed and the fire on (if I'm lucky). I even like not going out. In fact sometimes I think I ought to have been born a bear or a hedgehog as I could easily go into hibernation under the duvet.

This year I have two additions to my wardrobe that will make the cold and damp more 'bear'able (haha I made a pun!)

The first were something I deliberated over for a good few weeks. I actually slagged them off last year saying they were 'ugly' - and thats something from a woman who thinks Crocs are the height of fashion! I then tried on a pair or two in Florida where I could have saved a few quid had I actually bought them there. But it wasnt until the week before my birthday that I succumbed to ordering a pair of them from QVC.

Yep, they are a lovely snuggly pair of sheepskin boots - but not not those 'Ugly Uggs', that absolutely everyone is wearing, MINE are Emu's. Ha! Chocolate ones to be precise. Just like these ones below.

I have yet to wear them outside as I'm having a bit of a problem wearing them while the sun is shining or its raining - even though they are water resistant. I'm waiting for a day when I can really appreciate the snuggly-ness of them. I'm sure I wont have long to wait.

The second addition is a pair of Possum gloves. Now Im not exactly sure if its possum hair or fur or whiskers, and I think there may be bits of another creature in the mix too, but I know one thing, they are lovely and soft and warm.

I was given them by a dear bloggy friend Merinz from New Zealand on a very hot and sunny day in Alnwick marketplace. She and her husband had come to the UK to visit friends and family and decided to venture to beautiful Northumberland which was where we spent a good couple of hours chatting over coffee.

For almost three months they have been tucked away in my wardrobe waiting for a day like today to get them out and feel the benefits of possum and friends against my chilly fingers.

So now I'm all set for whatever this winter throws at us. Last year we had 8 inch long icicles hanging from the guttering, and the heaviest snowfall I've seen in many years. I may regret saying this but I wouldn't mind more of the same this winter - for a short time anyway!

A Scary Skatey Dilemma

It's THAT time once again. We are about to embark on one of the busiest weeks of the year, one that contains dressing up, treats, cakes, fireworks, smiles, strops and tantrums.

It starts with Halloween, the 'what shall I wear' problem and the buying of a bucket full of sweets and bits of plastic.

It's followed three days later with Little Dudes birthday - this year will be his eighth and a list as long as my arm for things like a JB Scooter, BMX bike, new skateboard, iPhone (not a hope in hell my son!) and other bits and bobs.

Two days after that its bonfire night. We don't do anything at home as one of the dogs has a panic attack and hides under a very small table. We try to go out somewhere to watch a proper display but we wait until the last minute and see what the weather is like. This year Alexanders Scout group is having a big fundraising bonfire party, but have had to move the date to the following week - adding another event to our already hectic schedule.

Depending on the days these events fall on, it has been a little easier at times and we have combined Halloween and a birthday party. This year however he has asked if we would take him and a couple of friends to the nearest indoor Skateboard Park, which happens to be in Redcar - an hour away. We now have to try and fit this in around all the other things.

Best I get out the multi vitamins, I think I may need a large bottle of wine too!

Sent from my..........

This morning while checking my email as one does, I realised that many of them came to me via various forms of gadgetry.

Of course it's all another manufacturers marketing plan to advertise that your gadget can actually do all these wonderful things but it also creates a one-upmanship culture don't you think?



"Hi Julie,
Just wondering how you got on with the Job interview the other day. Must meet up for coffee and a chat soon.
Helen x

Sent from my fabulous new shiny iPhone and I know that will hugely impress you because you have only got a crappy old Samsung and couldn't afford an iPhone because you haven't had a job lately."

See what I mean?


And if you were one of the fortunate ones to own an iPad when they first came out, how blessed would you feel sending emails to mere mortals announcing the fact.


Of course it's not just Apple gadgets, today I had mail from a Blackberry owner and a HTC owner! But you don't get any of this when you use your Toshiba laptop or desktop PC do you?

So if like me, you feel a little uncomfortable bragging about your gadget of choice when emailing or blogging, do you leave it there at the bottom because secretly you are proud of your ability to use such advanced technology or do you delete it as soon as possible?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad (oh yes baby, a real live and butt kicking iPad with 3G)

Beautiful Buildings and Lost Sheep

Today was my first proper day of work for over three months. My new job is assessor/trainer at Newcastle College in the Business and Enterprise department. That means all the courses that involves employers and training and distance learning. I have yet to discover exactly what it is I am assessing or training but I think it may be customer service and maybe the new government employment programme that will motivate all the long term unemployed so much that they will all fall over themselves to go out there and get work. Allegedly.

However, whatever the work, it will be softened by the fact that I am working in a beautiful building. Here is a picture of the main entrance. Built in 1936 as a school, it has belonged to the college since 1994. It still has the original features like old paneled doors and walls and lots of small paned windows. Although some areas have been modernised such as the toilets and a few classrooms, the majority is the same as it was all those years ago. It's lovely!


One of the most interesting parts is what was originally a small swimming pool that has been converted into the refectory. Despite all the chrome and metal features, it's actually very comfortable. This photo shows the counter to the left and behind the tables in the foreground is the sunken area that was the actual pool.



I spent much of the day admiring architecture to the extent that I got lost on a few occasions. Being symmetrical in design meant that I found myself on what I thought was the office corridor only to end up in the middle of the construction centre. Fortunately I wasn't the only one as there were four other new starters today so at times we were all wandering around like lost sheep.

Being in such a fabulous setting reminded me of the days I spent working at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. The birthplace of King Henry VIII.
It was a real experience walking over flagstones in courtyards where so many famous people in history may have tread over the years. People like Mel Gibson and Antony Hopkins no less, as they filmed part of Mutiny on the Bounty there!





Here is where Naval Officers would eat their meals...The Painted Hall!



I only went in there once when the junior ratings and civilian staff were treated to Christmas lunch served by the Officers. I had such a crick in my neck from gawping at the ceiling.

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Happy Dance

I'm sorry if It seemed like I disappeared for a while after telling you all that I was deep in a dark hole of despair - ok so maybe it wasn't THAT desperate but I hope none of you feared for my sanity....Remember Im Irritatingly Optimistic after all.

Anyway it was nothing to do with any of that, more because of the fact that I'd got accustomed to blogging on either my iphone or lately iPad and for some reason both had failed me. Had I spent a moment thinking it through I would have had it sorted out weeks ago, but wasn't until today that decided to do something about it and emailed Blogpress. Within minutes I was up and running again. OK so I knew I should have just uninstalled and re installed it again.

So here I am on a gorgeous sunny (although not hot) afternoon at the skatepark blogging away merrily.

Oh I suppose you want to know what happened with all the job stuff.

Firstly on Tuesday I went along to the temp job only to sit at a computer all day looking through practice maths n English tests to familiarize myself with what I would be supporting students with. It was tedious and had I not been getting a stupid hourly rate I may have left early.

Wednesday I spent the morning preparing for my interview, doing a presentation and running through questions and answers. After lunch I went off for the interview and came home feeling pretty confident although these days you never know if there are people already lined up for posts.

Thursday was pretty hectic finishing off the students on the Personal Best course I'd been delivering for the last 4 weeks. Just before lunch I took a phone call from one of the interviewers at the college. They would like to offer me .............yay!!!!!

Talk about chuffed to bits and over the moon. After ringing and texting nearest and dearests I skipped happily home. Only to discover that my child minder of 7 years was no longer able to have Alexander full time.

After a mini paddy I got onto the Ofsted website to search for a new child minder who could collect Alexander from his school and had a free full time place. Fortunately one of the four I found actually answered the phone at 7pm and a visit was arranged for the next day.

The outcome of the week was that it's pretty much 'all change' for Alexander and I. New job, new childcare, lots of new people and new rules.

Well they say change is as good as a rest don't they? Come Monday I will feel like I've slept a hundred years!






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Testing testing

Don't you just hate it when what seems like a really annoying technology problem is solved in a matter of seconds when you ask someone with common sense.
I've been moaning to myself about the fact that Blogpress wouldn't post but never did anything other than mess on with settings. Then I email the support dept, get a super fast response and voilà I'm up and running again, having done something I should have known to do myself. Der!

So stand by for more blogs.


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Last Day of the Holidays - hopefully!

So there we are.

Tomorrow is the start of a week of full time work, the first in 10 weeks.

Typically, just as I was feeling pretty down about being unemployed I get a phone call asking me if I would like to do some temporary teaching work, possibly full time and probably longer than the six weeks asked for by the company.

I toddle off for an interview, get the work and agree three dates for next week which along with the two days I'm already doing for my old employer takes it to full time.

And then along comes an email inviting me for an interview for one of the other local colleges. This is a permanent position and could lead to other opportunities. I had to jiggle around my days and unfortunately tell the temp employer that I could only do two days and not the three I'd agreed, but at the end of the day I have to do what's best for me and my future.

So this weekend was like an ordinary weekend, getting the house tidied and cleaned and all the jobs done that I wont be able to do next week.

Already I feel better, more energetic, happier. Of course I may not get the permanent position, but at least I know there is some interest out there and I have temporary work for a while.

Get a Grip Girl!

It has now been almost 8 weeks since I became redundant and unemployed. Three of those weeks were spent relaxing in the Floridian sunshine relishing the fact that I wasn't going to have that 'first day back at work' feeling.

Three weeks have passed. Three weeks of school runs, housework, applying for jobs and generally pottering about. Despite all of this I dont feel like I've achieved anything and I'm getting very bored.

Even the two days for four weeks teaching I was asked to do isn't helping much. It's a couple of days out where I feel useful to some extent but without the responsibility. I turn up, teach and then go home. The organisation and stress belongs to someone else now. I never realised how much I enjoyed the stress of work.

I have a genetic flaw which makes me eat when bored, stressed or unwell. I have developed boredom belly. Not ideal having just put on half a stone in Florida. I haven't a hope in hell chance of wearing my smart trouser suit should I be offered an interview, but the way things are going, that isn't going to be anytime soon. I can't afford new clothes, I'm scrounging off the state - or rather my husband as he keeps reminding me!

I have little or no structure in my life now. It's killing me. I'm a list maker, bottle straightener, everything in its place and squared off person. I dont do 'laid back' or 'when I get around to it'. I do things as soon as they need doing.

There are three boxes of plants to put into the garden I bought a week ago. There are still sticky fingerprints on the patio doors and my new Wii Fit Plus hasn't been out the box yet.

I need to get a grip. Kick myself up the backside. Start making lists again.

Tomorrow is day one. I have a plan. Im going to make myself a timetable.

With or without a job I'm going to be busy doing something useful.

Shoe Tossing

This is something I've been meaning to blog about for some time but since most of my memory seems to have gone on vacation these days I kept forgetting.

On my travels when I was one of those people with something to do all day, I often drove past this tree somewhere between Bellingham and Belsay. I think its near Cornhills Farm? Unfortunately its on a bit of a tricky bend so I never got close enough to count the pairs of footwear hanging from its branches.

I have tried online to discover the reason there is a tree with shoes and boots hanging from it at that particular place but can only find information on the more famous ones in places like Armstrong Park in Newcastle. Here and the reason for them is that students (many of whom live in that part of the city) would throw their shoes into the ree to celebrate passing exams.

Wiki has lots of suggestions of why shoes are hung in trees or on power lines, and also other parts of the world where this happens. Shoe Tossing they call it! If anyone can add to this information Id love to read your comments

I do remember seeing a pair of 'Clackers' hanging from the power lines over my primary school but I think that was purely the fact that someone got a little excited while playing and swung them into the heavens maybe to avoid severe bruising to the wrists rather than some celebration or fertility ritual.

Oh no - its the window cleaner!

In the past I have been out at work when the window cleaners come to do their five minutes and six pounds worth of squeegee-ing. I just come home to a tiny scrap of white paper with ' WINDOWS CLEANED TODAY' which I leave lying on top of the cabinet with all the dog leads and paraphernalia until the one who collects the money calls round.

Today I was sitting with my iPad, looking at employment agency websites and sneaking a few minutes on Virtual Families (because I'm obsessed with it at the moment) when I heard a clatter outside. The side gate being opened and ladders being placed up against the side of the house.

"oh no, the bedroom,". I leapt up, flung my precious gadget to one side and raced upstairs as fast as I could hoping to beat them to the top of the ladder.

Bugger, Big Dudes door was locked, pass code required (this is to prevent Little Dude stealing all his 16+ xbox games and starting WW3!). Then I clambered through the obstacle course of clothes, electrical leads, bits of er 'things' and dirty plates, mugs and glasses in order to reach the window.

Luckily they were doing the back first and I knew those rooms were reasonably tidy, well tidy enough for window cleaners, who I'm sure see some sights on the rounds. But I was not having strangers seeing what my son lives in.

I had to position the blinds just enough so that they hid the room but didn't looked like I'd closed them on purpose. ( could someone please explain this irrational thought process of mine), I have no idea why I needed to do that, but that's all I thought about.

I then played hide from the window cleaner while they went from room to room. I have this thing about watching workers do jobs in my house. I don't want them to think I'm checking on them so keep out of their way. I know, but it isn't as bad as insisting washing is hung up with matching pegs. Now that IS odd!

Of course, now I feel guilty because the inside windows are obviously hacky and I need to remember to clean them tomorrow. Or maybe I'll just buy some nice nets!

Bracing!

One of the downsides of only having an iPhone 3GS is that the photos are pretty rubbish by modern standards, but they will have to suffice.

This evening it was suggested by Little Dude that we take him to the skatepark at Whitley Bay rather than Cramlington which was where Big Dude happened to be with his mates. No idea why he wanted to go there but it served our purpose as we are considering buying a trailer in which to stow all our camping gear next year. Actually its so we can have the luxury of things like a real fridge and a walk in wardrobe! But thats a whole new post!

Anyway, there happens to be a trailer for sale on eBay at the moment in Whitley Bay for a very good price, so by going to the skatepark it meant we could detour and have a look at this trailer too. Which we did and hubby is on a mission to get it at the lowest possible bid tomorrow morning.

Now the skatepark at WB is right by the sea, like a stone skim distance, and thus tends to be prone to sea breezes. Added to which, there is very little shelter for poor parents forced to stand and Twitter for hours on end. Even on sunny days, its chilly.

This photo is of the sea this evening, one might call it a bit choppy!

as well as being choppy, there was also a bit of sea fret as you can see from this picture of Tynemouth, a little further along the coast.

Can anyone spot the lighthouse? If you can, that is St Mary's lighthouse and is great fun when the tide is out as you can walk across the causeway and see all the crabs and creatures in the rock pools along the way.

Ah, the skatepark and the sea. Little Dude is in amongst that lot somewhere. I tried to avoid shots of teenage backsides clad in jersey boxers overspilling from leg clinging jeans. But sorry if any snuck in. And yes I know its a skatepark and most of those in the photo are on BMX's but there were skateboarders there too!

This is the view of the skatepark from the esplanade. I like the artwork, I like graffiti at skateparks too. I like to think its the artistic side of me sneaking out and appreciating the colour and textures.

It looks a lot warmer than it actually was, even snuggled up in last winters duvet jacket! I was forced to send hubby along to the little cafe (with the chairs and tables that have been there since hubby went as a toddler in the 1960's with his Grandma for crumpets on a Saturday afternoon!) to get me a polystyrene cup of coffee that warmed me up a little.

Secretly I enjoy spending time watching them do their tricks, but prefer the sheltered circle of neat wooden benches at Cramlington park to the bracing sea breeze here.