This is the Barker-family.info web site, the personal pages and projects of Nigel, Jan, Emily, Lucy and Georgina Barker.
Nigel Barker, Jan Barker, Emily Barker, Lucy Barker, Georgina Barker
Prestonpans, Prestonpandemonium, Monkey Loft Comics, Three Harbours Art Festival, Nulsh, Malcy Duff
Prestonpans, John Rattray, Book Crossing, Comics, Comics Quiz, EC War Comics Index, I Love You Toast, Toast in the Post
Prestonpans Nursery School Recipe Book
If you can see this text then your browser doesn't support or isn't configured for Cascading Style Sheets, or, erm, our template is broken again, so this page isn't appearing as we intended ...
It was lovely to be able to wave to Emily and her schoolmates as the five buses taking the whole school to panto rolled passed our house. They were so excited!
---ooO00---
Kathleen showed me photos of her new twin grandsons. They are so tiny and beautiful.
I think she was quite taken aback to discover I'm not a Christian. It's a common assumption. Other incorrect assumptions are:
Because I care about the environment I must be anti-nuclear energy - I'm not! If well managed, nuclear energy is clean, and does not pollute the atmosphere or contribute to the greenhouse effect.
Because I'm pro-peace, I must be anti-war - I'm not! In the struggle between the powerful and powerless, to do nothing is to side with the powerful.
I could go on and on, and on. (Another assumption is that I have loads to time on my hands)
---ooO00---
Prestonpans is very smelly today with slurry from the fields wafting throughout the town.
PEEEEE YEWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
Georgie had a restless night which left both her and I exhausted this morning. Nigel is off work today so it seemed sensible to leave her with him while I took Lucy to nursery.
Emily was great in the nativity today. She doesn't like being referred to as "the Innkeeper's wife". She pointed out that she was just paired up with the person who played the Innkeeper because he has a big voice and she has a small voice. She's definately not his wife. And doesn't want to be. Just to make that absolutely clear.
Website of the day: Matterbox - a box of products sent to you for nowt, to have, enjoy, giveaway...
My Rupali order has arrived. My outfits have such pretty names: Hardika, Amil, Shaily, Himani and Zulema.
Today is International Anti-Corruption Day, Eid al-adha and Plain English day.
I'm (obviously) against corruption (and admire Dr John Sentamu's anti-Mugabe stance); today I send Eid greetings to Muslims everywhere (As-Salamu`Alaykum) but...I simply cannot enter into the spirit of a campaign for 'crystal-clear communication'.
I like gobbledygook. Admittedly I'm not so keen on jargon but any campaign against 'misleading public information' is essentially patronising or linguistic snobbery. Some information is complex and can't be xplnd 2 u in 4 words, innit? And of course, some people are just plain thick (I include myself - I used to think that 'misled' was pronounced my zeld).
Most of our in-family jokes are based on misunderstandings or mispronunciations. Noserude (and the subsequent noserudery and noserudia) came about as a result of Emily singing "Rudolph the Nose Rude Reindeer".
Today Emily came home and explained, in a tone implying I am in incredibly dim, that the teacher wanted coat hangers to hang clothes on - not to make halos out of. Ah, now I feel a bit silly handing in a wire hanger sans hook.
---ooOoo---
Dinner was a feast of onion and mushroom bharji, chicken bahar korma, vegetable dansak, chana dhal, tarkha dhal, pilau rice, poppadum, peshwari naan from Natural Spice.
Website of the day: Oliver Postgate - I was sorry to hear that the Bagpuss creator died yesterday.
I went to Musselburgh this morning in the hope of picking up a toaster in the Woolies sale. Unfortunately there wasn't a 4-slice toaster to be had and the advertised (up to) 50% off sale was a 100% disappointing.
I joined a very long Post Office queue and was glad I had We Need to Talk About Kevin with me as I am terrible at waiting. By the time I got served the queue had doubled so I was glad I got there as early as I did.
The Hearing Dogs for the Deaf shop is still running a 'fill a bag of children's clothes for £1' offer. There's hardly anything left but I did get a few tops, play trousers and a raincoat. One of the tops is awfully precocious, all sparkle and glitz, and Lucy loves it.
Among the conversations it was impossible not to overhear in a cafe were:
"If anyone asks, say you're here on work experience".
"...and my front door was open at 3 in the morning and I said 'have you stolen from me?' and he said 'no, but before you go in you should prepare yourself'".
---ooOoo---
Lucy and Georgie were thrilled to have Sarah to play with this afternoon and all three had a whale of a time tearing round the garden.
This evening, the girls could hardly contain their excitement when a fire appliance turned up and two officers from Musselburgh White Watch arrived to install new smoke detectors. There was a questionnaire to make us more 'fire aware' which included the question: "Are you aware that your grill pan / oven should be free from grease?". Yes, I am aware of that fact. Thank goodness they weren't actually doing an inspection.
It was a really useful exercise. We hadn't hitherto been in the habit of switch everything off and close all the doors at night but now we will.
As the firefighters were leaving they crossed paths with Sandra and Louise who were delivering Christmas cards. I must start on my cards soon.
To get a home safety check and free smoke detector fitted with 10 year batteries call 0800 169 0320 (Lothian and Borders).
We had a nice walk to Cockenzie this afternoon where we had a lovely lunch at Carmel and Andrew's house. All five kids really enjoyed the new park. It was great to see it so busy (although already a fair amount of litter has built up).
We caught the bus home and watched Little Dorrit. A pleasant end to the weekend.
We went to the infant school Christmas Bazaar today where bargains included a toy washing machine and cooker, lots of children's books and a copy of We Need to Talk About Kevin. The find of the day was a plastic birdcage containing a very unrealistic bird. It was spectacularly kitsch so I bought it for 10p and hung it in the loo. We soon discovered this delightful creature also tweets and chirps when you least expect it.
---ooOoo---
For ages now I have been preserving someone's modesty by covering up "J... R... is a ****" in the bus shelter with an "I Love Prestonpans" sign, replacing them as necessary. To my delight, not only has the offending graffitti been removed, but the "I Love Prestonpans" sign has been installed behind the perspex, alongside the bus timetable.
I was at a school workshop this morning and Lucy and Georgie began working their way through a tub of Toblerone. Georgie turned one three-triangle segment upside down and said to me "That's your letter". Julie didn't understand and asked if she would prefer white chocolate. I explained that she was making 'M' for mummy.
---ooOoo---
Our toaster has died. The choice of models is overwhelming. I just want a 4-slice toaster (well, I'd prefer a 5-slice but such a thing doesn't seem to exist and, as for a 6-slice toaster - let's just say I have had cheaper holidays). Our kitchen doesn't have a 'theme (unless you count messy) so I don't care what colour it is or whether it is retro-style or whatever. Basic requirements are:
1. Must be able to toast bread.
2. Erm...that's it really.
I decided to go for the cheapest model on a Google shopping search, only to find that it was out of stock, or the postage was exorbitant or it wasn't a toaster at all.
I decided to have a gin and tonic this evening only Juniper Green's organic gin, despite having Soil Association approval, was completely unpalatable. It is distilled in Clapham, perhaps it was the Thames I could taste.
---ooOoo---
I'm already sick of that bloody awful 'Caledonia' song featuring Lulu, Sean Connery et al. Cringe.
The computer has been running so slowly today that at one point I briefly considered doing housework instead.
---ooOoo---
Emily came home with a slip of paper requesting angel wings, silver tinsel and coat hanger, presumably to make a halo. Who has metal coat hangers nowadays? She also came home with a certificate for completing level C reading - well done Emily.
Mornings are becoming a little fraught to say the least. It was Georgie's turn to open the advent calendar so I let Lucy post a letter as a consolation prize. This really upset George who wailed all the way to nursery. When I collected her three hours later, she was still tearful and said her friend wasn't her friend anymore.
Meanwhile, Lucy's new friend A has been introducing her to other girl: "Lucy, this is L. L, this is Lucy. We can all be friends now". Wow! This Curriculum for Excellence is really churning out "confident individuals, successful learners, effective contributors & responsible citizens".
Back home, Lucy declared that she knew "where people come from". "Do you? Tell me then" I prompted. "Well, a long time ago there was dinosaurs and an old lady. Then the dinosaurs ate the lady and the lady grew a baby... And that's where all the people came from!!" she asserted proudly.
---ooOoo--
A bit of bureaucracy today reminded me of Lady D. She was 84 when she died but as shrewd as they come. Some people mistook her for a doddery eccentric and she played on their ignorance expertly. Prior to a meeting that 'doddery eccentric' would say sweetly "Is there anything you would like me to ask in complete innocence?".
There was an electricity outage this morning which resulted in the Primary School having to close. When Emily and I reached home, we discovered that we didn't have power either. This didn't affect me other than having to boil a pan of water on the gas hob. Emily whined a little about having no TV but I reminded her of all the things she could do that didn't require electricity, e.g. homework, tidying her bedroom or washing dishes she suddenly had an urge to write her Christmas cards.
The power came back after about 40 minutes, at which point Christine arrived with a big box of Terry's All Gold, marzipan, stollen and a bunch of gerberas. I'm lucky to have such nice friends.
There are lots of birds in the garden at the moment. I must put out more food for them. I saw what looked like a song thrush in the front garden. It's speckled yellow front reminded me of an overripe banana. Are song thrushes still around or have they begun to migrate to warmer climes?
In a change of plan we stayed at home and tidied up the back garden. We picked up an unfeasible amount of of leaves and apples and then had a St Andrew's day lunch of haggis, neeps and tatties.
I think we all benefit from a bit of outdoors time.
---ooOoo---
In the garden room I have lined up lots of Christmas gift bags. I glanced into one bag containing a 'de-stressing kit' only to discover an enormous spider. Not exactly the effect I was aiming for.
Website of the day: Mathsnet -yeah it's maths, but like the Curate's Egg (or ovoid-shaped breakfast), parts of it - like this Lathe aplication - are excellent.
My birthday began with bagels and scrambled egg in bed. Nigel
and the girls gave me my wonderful gifts of a Guerilla
Gardening Lavender Pillow; Thornton's
Continental chocolates; Stripey
socks; The
Ting Tings-We Started Nothing
I received so many lovely presents, I hope I can remember them
all: red roses, rose bath petals, soap, slipper socks, Elle Macpherson 'Bare'
toiletries, Book
of Crap Jobs
After reading all the cards - real and virtual - we went out. Christmas Bazaar season has begun in earnest and we fitted in two this morning. Our first call was to St Gabriel's where a very well organised and well attended fair was in full swing. We spent a small fortune on meeting Santa, buying raffle and tombola tickets, homebaking, books and plants.
Next stop was the Town Hall where Prestongrange Church were holding their Christmas bazaar. We were too late for the homebaking but still managed to buy some toys, videos and bric-a-brac. It was nice to see Mark and Lesley from whom we bought a set of Bolivian recycled wine glasses on the Traidcraft stall.
Saw Betty again who gave me some of John's Christmas cards which I'm going to hand in to the Infant School for their Christmas Bazaar next week. The cards depict Prestongrange Church, the Mercat Cross and, my favourite, Northfield House and Doocot. More of John's paintings can be seen here (of which my favourite is the Train Number 2).
After the raffle tickets were drawn (we didn't win anything) we went to Aroma for lunch and then home again to review our purchases, listened to my new music, watched a rubbish film and then had birthday tea.
It has been a very nice day and, best of all, I chatted at length to all three sisters - a rare treat.
Website of the day: BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir - London's traditional Hindu Mandir
I bumped into Betty in the hairdressers this afternoon where the girls were getting their fringes cut by Sharon. It was nice to catch up in person and have a blether about Coronation Street, Little Dorrit, the situation in Mumbai, and her recent trip to London.
---ooOoo---
I surprised myself with how good my mackerel and ricotta pâté was at teatime. Even Emily tried it without making a big fuss - undoubtedly because she didn't want to jeopardise her chances of going to this evening's disco in the community centre.
Later this evening, Nigel and I watched the IT Crowd which just gets funnier.
In Edinburgh, people ask "Which school do your children go to?" as a way of really asking "how much do you earn?". Today, a person who would ordinarily have ignored me, nodded in the direction of Lucy's kilt and asked in an unusually friendly voice "Do they go to Heriots?". I explained that the nursery was taking part in Kilts for Kids - a fundraiser for Children 1st - and, no, the girls did not go to the fee-paying Edinburgh school. The fauning was replaced by frostiness when she realised we were just riff raff in fancy dress. (Actually, the girls' Royal Stewart outfits had more in common with that of Mary Erskine than the bottle green McKenzie kilt of George Heriot's).
When I collected the girls from nursery, all the kids in tartan were getting their photos taken and they all got a saltire to wave up the road. St Andrew's Day celebrations are looming large this year, possibly as a run up to the Homecoming thingamajig.
While at nursery I dropped off the final draft of the joke book. Originally, there weren't many entries so I used large fonts and spread them out through the book with illustrations. Then there was a last minute flurry which had to be squeezed in. Had I got them all together, I might have chosen a different layout or, say, grouped the animal and Doctor Doctor jokes together. As it is, it looks fine and will be ready for the Christmas Fair on 6th December (and hopefully will raise some money for the nursery).
Nursery aren't allowed to issue a list of the children's names. If they were, they could sell address labels with all 60 children's names on - I'd happily pay for that service and I'm sure others would. In the meantime, I copy the names from the 'peg list' which is allowed, in order to send Christmas cards or party invitations.
In The Small World, I had a quick chat with Sandra and Bernice before dropping off the laptop and arranging to get some mural bags to Sandra. The bags - which Annemarie, Jim and I salvaged from a skip 10 months ago - are proving very popular!
Website of the day: Edinburgh's Christmas - reindeers, German market, ice-skating, Santa stroll, carousel etc etc - the lights get switched on tonight
Reading over the past few blog entries, I do sound quite a misery don't I?
But today has been miserable, with more low blood sugar wobbliness and nausea and I had to cancel a play day with Lucy and Georgie's wee pal which was disappointing.
On a much cheerier note, I took delivery of a box containing lots of little packages all wrapped up in eco-friendly newspaper (thanks Mum). And they are alll mine, mine, mine!
Also in the box was a Landranger map for Thurso, Wick and the Surrounding Area (thanks Alan). I'm currently reading Journey Through Britain about John Hillaby's off-the-beaten-track walk from Lands End to John O'Groats so it was interesting timing.
Website of the day: Maps International - I like their huge wall maps. I'm attempting to wallpaper my loo in maps but it just looks odd.
Not the best of days. I had to collect Emily from school as she had been sick. She perked up remarkably quickly and was sufficiently well to torment her sisters.
I developed a migraine. I've never successfully managed to describe a migraine to non-sufferers but it's not simply a headache with nausea. It's like sensory overload. My clothes feel too heavy on my skin. Sounds hammer at my head. Feet are made of lead. Fingers disappear. Words become confused. And all the time that bobbing on the ocean feeling.
---ooOoo---
Our cluster map is about to be archived and reset so all the red dots that represent the 5,722 visitors to the site since 26 November 2007 will shortly disappear.
Georgie cried all the way to Nursery because Emily forgot to kiss her goodbye. She settled in nursery quite quickly though and when I collected her she was all smiles. However, on the return journey she realised she had forgotten a drawing and bawled all the way home. The lollipop man was quite amused, asking if she had been crying non-stop since he saw her first thing.
I felt like crying. I have a blister on my heel which is quite excruciating and hobbled all the way home.
---ooOoo---
This evening we had pasta and chicken in a mustard and orange sauce. We watched Coronation Street, worked out our finances then did some work on the website. I'm finding Nvu very easy to use.
Website of the day: Wikileaks - the truth is out there. Drip. Drip. Drip.
The steps were covered in frost and it was bitterly cold outside today. I don't know how the fencers could bear to work today, but work they did and the fence is fixed.
Laura and Kev came round and the girls were very excited to see them - not least because they had brought the world's largest art set. After a roast chicken lunch we played Headbanz - a daft game where the players ask questions to guess what is pictured on their headband. Silly but fun.
---ooOoo---
Across the road on the building site, the excavators have churned up more piles of earth revealing some absolutely enormous boulders. I find them strangely exciting. Perhaps we could have a Panshenge?
Website of the day: Two Little Boys - they don't have a huge product range, but what they do have is original, unusual and extremely reasonable. The IOUs, described on the site as versative vouchers for very lovely children are adorable - and a bargainous £6.
I love getting 'real' post so it was nice to receive a long chatty letter from Jane and a postcard from Betty following her visit to the Foundling Museum. It sounds a fascinating place and is definately on my list of places to visit on the next London trip (despite the desperately sad subject matter it appears to be extremely child-friendly).
The painting is The Pinch of Poverty by Sir Thomas Kennington who was reknowned for his expressive and poignant style.
---ooOoo---
I was hoping the girls could attend the 'Make a Bird Feeder' workshop at the library this morning but we were running late and, when they got there, the tutor had left as nobody had turned up. It's a shame that these events aren't better attended as the girls have always really enjoyed them. They were too wee to join in the woodcarving workshops (which resulted in the fabulous totem poles outside the library) but had great fun making collages and glittery bookmarks. Perhaps the fact the sessions are free is part of the problem. Maybe, if a small fee was paid in advance, people would be more likely to turn up. I don't know what the answer is but it must be quite disheartening for the organisers.
---ooOoo---
The new speech therapy exercises have been concentrating on 'S' sounds and she has been doing really well. As a result, she is now full of confidence, chat and song. When I offered the fencing contractors a cuppa, Lucy added "You can come inside if you like!!!".
---ooOoo---
I used soap nuts for the first time today. The jury's still out...
Website of the day: Gullane Art Gallery - East Lothian's newest art space.
It is World Hello Day today. Apparently you participate simply by greeting* ten people. Despite not having left the house all day, I have managed to say quite a few hellos.
I said hello to Rachel, Peter, Lauren and Martha this morning. It's always lovely to see them and we were sad to say goodbye as they headed back home.
I said hello to the postie and lots of delivery men as the first of several parcels began arriving. They (the parcels, not the delivery men) are now locked in the garage out of sight of small eyes. Ho Ho Ho.
I said hello to Heather who came to take Emily swimming with Alex.
I said telephonic hellos to Nigel, Fiona, the school receptionist and Emily's teacher.
Hello!
* in Scotland 'greeting' also means crying. Probably best not to confuse the two.
Website of the day: Rock n Rose - fun accessories, beautifully photographed. Cheap as chips postage. Check out the Your New Boyfriend stickers!!!!
No, I haven't lost my connection to t'Internet; nor have I had a spell in The Priory (chance=fine thing). I haven't even been particularly busy. But, I have been spending a lot of time in my own head, which can be a dark place.
And now I'm back.
Website of the week: Living Life to the Full - helping you to help yourself
The builders have begun digging the foundations for the houses that will be directly opposite us. They are going to be very near us.
Lucy climbed into bed beside me this morning and asked "Why do people have to die?" I did my best to explain that all living things have to die at some point. I thought she understood the gist of it until she asked "Do some people die because they are gerbils?". Huh?
---ooOoo---
As part of an Enterprise Challenge, Lucy and Georgie have to make a Christmas Tree decoration. The brief is: it has to sparkle and be able to hang on a tree. Parents can support their child in the model making process but the decoration must be based and created only on the child's ideas. I will find it very difficult not to intervene so have delegated this task to Nigel.
Website of the day: Good - great journalism, kick-ass activism, awe-inspiring collaboration - you choose your subscription rate ($1 to £1,000) - 100% of which goes to a charity of your choice.
I'm still pondering what the man in front of me in Lidl yesterday planned to do with 45 cartons of salt. He mumbled something about a caravan to the checkout guy (not Peter Parker, the other bespectacled one). What can it all mean?
Website of the day: Book of Numbers - very peculiar...
I popped into the day centre today. Julie told me their charity shop has been a great success with over £100 having been taken since it opened last Monday.
Lucy and Georgie were very badly behaved in Lidl where I had gone to buy cabbage and beetroot for tonight's Polish tea. Their antics culminated in a broken egg and to my great shame, they didn't even seem contrite as I 'fessed up to the guy on the checkout.
My Pedlars catalogue arrived today. It is sooo pretty and has a wonderful mixture of vintage and metropolitan. I was really pleased to see the quirky designs of Reiko Kaneko.
Emily's school is having a book and toy sale on Friday for Children in Need so we had a bit of a clear out this afternoon. There are so many toys that never see the light of day and a pre-Christmas clear out was just what was required. I haven't done any Barkerette Christmas shopping yet but when I do, I may well buy something from Duncan's Toy Chest who have old fashioned scrap books and bang-up-to date High School Musical tat.
I'm really enjoying The Kite Runner but noticed that Kulvinder Ghir is currently reading it on BBC Radio 7. I shall have to be careful to avoid spoilers.
Website of the day: The First World War - extensive, accessible site on the Great War.
A frustrating day of one step forward and two steps backward.
Lucy and Georgie were both quite sniffly and sneezy first thing so I kept them off nursery. They were well enough to be naughty and argue so they will definately be attending nursery tomorrow.
Emily arrived home saying her maths jotter was among several taken from outside the classroom and flushed down the toilet. Hmmm.
I finished putting together the nursery joke book. It really needed some more illustrations so Lucy ended up taking commissions. She really rose to the challenge of producing 'a sad-looking biscuit', a ghost and an igloo. Georgie doesn't understand that "KnockKnockWho'sThereMrsNicolson" isn't terribly amusing.
Website of the day: The Big Word Project - Clever viral marketing thingy. Buy a word which is then linked to your website. I own...no, I'm not telling you.
I had planned to do some gardening but it was just too cold. The ivy is forcing its way through the kitchen window like something out of Day of the Triffids/Little Shop of Horrors.
We got an Asda delivery and it immediately became apparent that there was a problem. A bottle of fabric conditioner had opened and drenched lots of the shopping. The driver was very apologetic and refunded the soggy items. The house smells of moonflower and ylang.
Website of the day: Environmental Graffiti - a greenish blog for non tree-huggers.
Yesterday morning I went to a workshop at the Primary School on 'Art across the school'. Fridays are always a bit tricky because I have both Lucy and Georgie at home and they aren't renowned for sitting quietly and listening. However, I know from experience at the Infant School that these sort of things are usually very poorly attended and, as it is the first time the Primary School has tried this sort of parental involvement thing, I thought I would go along. I'm pleased I did. Mrs Parkin the Principal Teacher, explained the curriculum, how lessons are planned and how art is taught alongside other subjects (e.g. mosaics in the context of a project on Romans). A representative from each year group showed us examples of their artwork and explained how they made them.
We were just arriving home when my brother-in-law Peter drove up. He was called out from his and my sister's home in 'Arrogate to a job in St Andrews. Miserable for them, but at least he got a cup of coffee when he dropped in on us yesterday. He was also able to drop off the beautiful panels of stained glass that I bought on ebay. Finding them was serendipitous because I was actually shopping for a fairly mundane item when I decided to see what else the seller had. When I realised the seller was practically on my sister's doorstop I bid for, and won the glass. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but they are so pretty - I just like holding them up against the window!
Unfortunately not all ebay transactions are so successful. I recently bought three items from the same seller with individual postage charges of £1.99, £1.75 and £1.75. The invoice I received showed total postage and packing of £14.50. When I queried this, it was lowered to £12! Paypal affords buyers a certain degree of post-sale protection but, before payment, the rules seems to favour the seller, presumably to protect from non-paying bidders. The resolution center has yet to live up to its name.
Today, the girls and I were at Andrew's 5th birthday party. I was really lovely. When the iPod stopped blasting out music for musical statues, Alison burst into a chorus of 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. Spot the nursery teacher!
Ideas to pinch: give each child a fairy cake; let them ice their own cake from a choice of three bowls of icing and then let them decorate with liberal helpings of sprinkles, chocolate drops, smarties etc. There were some fabulous creations.
All the kids loved the bouncy castle and they were able to do art and craft stuff in between bouncing sessions. The football pitch cake was a triumph too. There was even some left even after 35 (!!!) kids collected their party bags. My girls were very impressed with their activity notebooks.
Back home I baked some bread, which went well with Nigel's fabby tomato, leek and butterbean soup.
Website of the day: Choiceful - blogging Choiceful is a little like extolling the virtues of Google or Wikipedia. But, perhaps there are people who don't know about the 40,000 house and garden items at low prices. Currently in my basket: platehanger, lightbulbs, bin liners, cabin hooks, double-sided tape, curtain hooks, step stool, plug, fairylights, wind-up torch, Christmas crackers...
Across the road on the building site, 'Preston Loch' shows no signs of subsiding or even being downgraded to swamp status. I half expect to see a heron appearing. The scaffolding has come down from what I presume will become the showhomes and fencing is going up.
Meanwhile, the shared fence is not yet repaired but hopefully consensus will soon be reached as to which tradesperson to use.
There was an opportunity to build bridges not fences today. All it would have taken was an apology from the person caught telling porkies. I live in a gossipy town, I'm used to hearing exaggerations, half truths and downright boring tales about such-and-such getting a new teapot cosy. However, in this case it was fabricated maliciousness borne of poor self-esteem and a desire to attract attention - with the potential to hurt to many people. The apology wasn't forthcoming but a squealing denial was.
---ooOoo---
Emily went off to school delighted to be having a packed lunch - it's not going to be a regular occurrence, especially during the cold weather, but is a reward for being sensible at dinner.
---ooOoo---
I was pleased to read in the Courier that Harlaw Hill Day Centre has opened a charity shop. I have lots of clothes, books and bric-a-brac I could hand in. Of course, the danger in doing so is that I end up buying more stuff!
---ooOoo---
I was worried that I would miss the DHL courier again but I managed to get back from nursery in time to receive a parcel from the Commotion Group arrived today containing Christmas presents for my four nieces. Unfortunately, I missed the postie with a recorded delivery parcel. Frustratingly, I could see his van, but had to go to nursery.
Nigel has begun dropping me hints for suitable Christmas presents
via his blog.
I would never do such a thing in
the run up to my birthday. No,
I would not
Website of the day: Delivr - send e-cards using flickr images.
Change can happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We used to watch Mary Queen of Shops, a lightweight programme where retail expert Mary Portas advised indepentent clothes shop owners how to attract more customers. Like House Doctor and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, a lot of it is common sense and it is really the underlying problems and personality traits that make it so watchable.
The BBC have offered up a new 'you're doing it wrong' programme: All Over the Shop. In the space of only 30 minutes, we are treated to business guru, Geoff Burch, telling not one, but three hapless shopkeepers where they are going wrong. It all feels so rushed and, with only a minimal input from the shop owners and staff, I end up not giving a hoot about the ailing businesses.
Of course, it is is easy to point out the problems, a little trickier to come up with a solution that's right for a particular business. I wonder what Mary Portas would have to say about the Small World Shop - that we have to take a chainsaw to the hedge, take down the blinds and have a new sign that looks a little less ecclesiastical? The Geoff Burch approach would probably be "get a website" - with scant regard for the practicalities of this or the more pressing needs or restrictions.
It was quite an eye-opener to be on the Small World Shop stall at Patchwork's Christmas Shopping event this morning. So many people hadn't heard of the shop at all, or had passed it but hadn't been in. I didn't sell a lot - only £15.50 worth (set of wooden jigsaws, raisins, brazil nut cookies and two children's purses) but it was a great opportunity to tell people about the Small World shop. Also at the Pennypit were The Chocolate Tree, Jems Direct and C&PS In Bloom. My neighbour was Christine whose cranberry-scented range wafted throughout the building. I gave her a LED flickering candle for display in her oil burner. It seemed an indequate swapsy for the lipgloss, tea, sausage rolls and doughnuts she gave me. Oh, hang on, I gave her this beautiful thing...
---ooOoo---
This evening we listened to the delightfully thrashy "You're Speaking My Language" by the delightfully trashy Juliette and the Licks. Nigel cannot say 'Juliette Lewis' without a stupid big grin appearing on his big goofy face.
Website of the day: Tipnut - a nice collection of handy hints (thanks Rachel)
The forecast was for fog but what we actually got was a wonderfully bright morning. Orangey-yellow light filled the sitting room and showed up how very dirty the windows were. I suppose I could have cleaned them but, ever since Lucy and Georgie started nursery I have spent my 'free time' doing things like cleaning windows. I have not gone swimming, learned a new language or found part-time work. Today, after the nursery drop-off I jumped on a bus to Musselburgh.
After shopping in Holland and Barrett, the greengrocers and several charity shops I stopped for a coffee and reviewed my purchases. In Hearing Dogs for the Deaf I had bought a big pink palace which I thought might be one of the Polly Pocket things so beloved by Emily, Lucy and Georgie. As PP fans will know, there are always lots of hidden compartments and secret staircases, so I twiddled a little knob and the thing burst into life. What sounded like a very naff ringtone resonated throughout the Burgh cafe. I nearly choked on my haggis roll.
I couldn't find an off switch so the thing kept going off on the bus back. With 10 minutes to spare before collecting Lucy and Georgie I sought refuge in the library where Annemarie took it off my hands so the girls wouldn't see it.
---ooOoo---
Georgie knows just how to wind up Lucy:
Lucy: "Mum, you know the pink pony I got for Christmas?"
Me: "Yes, what about it?"
Lucy: "Georgie is saying that's a boy one".
It was a lovely bright, crisp morning so we set about clearing the leaves and generally tidying up the back garden while we had the chance.
As Nigel cleaned two bathrooms yesterday, I cleaned out the guinea pigs today. I think I got the better deal.
Website of the day: Keli Clark Designs - beautiful cityscapes from Edinburgh and beyond.
I got it in my head that there was a jumble sale in Longniddry today so set off to the train station with Lucy. When we got to Longiddry Community Centre, it was actually the annual Christian Aid Art Exhibition and Christmas craft fair.
The art exhibition was impressive and, had I gone out with a bit more than jumble-sale money, I would probably have bought one of the more reasonably-priced pieces. As it was, I bought some homebaking, lavender bags for the girls and some of Gwen McGraw's wonderful tomato & chilli sauce. I liked Michael Didcock's woodturned bowls and Christine McVey's greetings cards. Despite being in unfamiliar territory, we saw lots of familiar faces - it was strange being served coffee by my GP.
Website of the day: 01010 - it might come in handy for something, maybe...
I've finished Down
and Out in Paris and London
---ooOoo---
At the end of the month there are always lots of competitions listed on Loquax. I can't enter all 727 that are closing today, so I've just entered the ones to win family holidays, electrical appliances and hampers and skipped the DVDs, signed footballs and concert tickets.
Emily's missing schoolwork, still hasn't materialised. This is unfortunate as not only does it mean she will get detention, but it contains her plans for next week's task: making a Roman gladiator. From memory, the instruction was to use 'everyday objects, readily found around the home'. Hmmmm. There are plenty objects readily found in our home but I doubt an old server will be of much use.
The stormy weather deterred the guisers but the girls enjoyed the Halloween decorations and the goodie bags Grandma sent them. Our flickering candles - a bargain from Flitvale Garden Centre - got another outing in Emily's award-winning pumpkin (she was runner-up in her class pumpkin-carving competition).
Website of the day: Look What We Found - gourmet ready meals - perfect for camping trips.
The other day, on the way home from nursery, Lucy dramatically pointed to the broken fence as if she hadn't noticed it before and said "Bloody Hell!". Georgie couldn't wait to tell Nigel. She was practically bursting at the dinner table so I said "Right, after 3, all say 'Bloody Hell', 1-2-3". After the swearing amnesty, normal service was resumed.
Today, when my umpteenth telephone caller of the day, showed no signs of getting off the phone - and then proceeded to recite their Christmas card list - I had an urge to yell "Bloody Hell! What makes you think your time is more important than mine, you boring twat". But I didn't. I listened politely as I silently fumed. They wouldn't be too pleased if the nursery staff chatted on the phone instead of looking after their little darling so why is it okay to let my children go unfed and unsupervised for 20 minutes? I initially assumed it was something to do with my work being unpaid and therefore unimportant, but actually, this person thinks nothing of phoning up nursery to witter on either.
Emily needed a lot of attention today. Her day started off badly when she couldn't find her homework and, as a result, will lose 'Golden Time'. She was upset about this but more so that her 'friend' has invited three other girls to her house for Halloween and left her out. We spent some time gathering the materials required to make a Roman gladiator (carboard, foil, old tights, newspaper, duct tape) and then we all drew faces on oranges with black marker pens (much quicker than carving pumpkins!).
The Small World Shop is mentioned in the East Lothian News article about Fair Trade Halloween so I thought I'd better pop into the shop and stock up on Fair Break wafers and drop off some flyers. It gave me a chance to try out Bonzo's joke on Sandra and Aileen:
Why did the biscuit cry?
Because his mum had been a wafer so long.
Website of the day: Middlesbrough Institue of Modern Art - MIMA friends launches today
Happy Diwali!
Today's top priority was getting quotes for the broken fencing. I've submitted details of the job to Rated People and will see if this yields any results. The upkeep of fence is the shared responsibility of all twelve of the houses in the close which is obviously better financially but a bit of a bother logistically speaking. With a couple of exceptions, this isn't a particularly neighbourly area - that is to say, we say hello, post Christmas cards through the door but don't socialise and we ain't never gonna have a community composter or vegetable garden.
Kathleen, our friendliest neighbour is going to ask her contacts for some quotes and while she was round, our Northfield neighbour dropped round to give us advance warning of his fireworks display, which was neighbourly of him (Warn us mind, not invite us).
---ooOoo---
It's not often that I receive emails that make me LOL and certainly never any that make my ROFL but today a couple made me chortle, giggle and, even let out a small snort. That's because the great and good of the publishing and entertainment world have been kindly donating jokes to the forthcoming nursery school joke book. I'll let you know know when you can buy a copy - or maybe you'll get one for your Christmas - global credit crunch and all that.
In the meantime, huge thanks to Annemarie Allan, James Campbell, Gladys Chucklebutty, Debi Gliori, Janey Jones and Linda Strachan.
Website of the day: Shoon - blow the budget and get shod here (thanks Debi)
I love how you keep getting the extra hour back throughout the day each time you look at an unchanged timepiece.
We had a nice walk to Lidl and spent the unusually high sum of £63 on next week's groceries.
Our little radish seeds have germinated to perfection. They are wonderfully peppery and went well with our pease pudding.
Website of the day: Booklet Creator - a free online tool that reorders your PDF so that after printing and folding the pages you get a small book
It's been a fraught couple of days.
Let me start by saying I love being a stay at home mum and I love my children and husband to bits - But I don't much care for being a full time housewife. It drives me insane when Nigel says "I've put the bin out for you". Sometimes my return to the workplace seems light years away.
On Thursday, I managed to get an afternoon doctor's appointment for Lucy. Realising that if the surgery overran I would miss school finishing, I telephoned the school. They agreed to tell Emily to go across the road to the doctor's surgery.
When Emily didn't show up, I frantically tried to contact the school and friends. My neighbour Barbara saved the day and looked after her until we were reunited an hour later.
Just as with my paid employment, I take my present job seriously and try my utmost to do it to the very best of my abilities. So, my failure to be there for my child at hometime- a fundamental SAHM task - really hit hard.
I've also been worrying about Lucy (who is on the mend now) and the stress was beginning to pile up. It would fair to say that emotions were a little high on Thursday evening. We are revamping the website - a great chance for Nigel and I to work creatively together and bounce a few ideas off each other. Instead we worked individually in silence.
The following day I received a phone call from a very apologetic staff member who had forgotten to relay the message to Emily. If someone offers a heartfelt apology, I believe it is only right to accept it graciously and draw a line under the matter.
Friday morning was fun as Lucy and Georgie's nursery friend was round to play. Sarah is such a cheerful wee thing and all three happily did gluings before going out for a walk.
At Friday bedtime, Emily somehow hurt Lucy's face on the bathroom door. She was unrepentent which made Nigel really mad.
This morning, Emily had said sorry to Lucy and, after giving them all breakfast I left for my stint at The Small World thinking we were starting the day with a clean slate. When I returned a couple of hours later, the wind has blown down part of the fence. Unfortunately, it hadn't cleared the air at home and the mood was quite ugly.
Nigel was sullen and uncommunicative at a time when I needed him to be supportive and attentive. I made lunch and got the girls making some Diwali lanterns. Why do I always have to be the peacemaker (as well as the piecemaker)?
Website of the day: Lewy Body Society - Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most frequent cause of age-related neurodegenerative dementia.
Over at Visor Thoughts, Chas raises some very interesting points about being a Christian today and perhaps mischievously offers up the athiest (arguably agnostic) line of "There's probably no God. Now, stop worrying, and enjoy your life".
I'm sure if faith was a light switch and people could just switch off, many would be considerably happier. For most people though, it isn't a light switch, it is more of a flickering candle. Some people's devotion to God brings them tremendous joy and support. For others, it brings angst and confusion. I am not a Christian - and it is so liberating to say that, feel it, mean it.
---ooOoo---
I was the recipient of an anonymous act of kindness today - thank you to the sender of the Leeds-postmarked envelope containing Sanctuary Salt Scrub and Aussie 3 Minute Miracle (I'm fairly certain I know who you are).
---ooOoo---
Despite my best intentions to only buy what was on my shopping list at Lidl, I relented when I saw a jar of goose fat.
This morning we returned the stick insect to the nursery. I counted its legs (there was still 5 - no replacement has sprouted nor have any more detached, thank goodness). Despite being poorly (get well soon), Christine is still running around doing favours. She ran me up to the Primary School for a meeting and then collected me and the two goldfish who were also going back to nursery.
---ooOoo---
WHINE ALERT!
It started with a Clifford the Big Red Dog sized turd on the pavement. I was distracted by Georgie tugging at my arm insisting that someone was calling my name, and walked right through it. That someone was probably shouting "Beware the Clifford the Big Red Dog sized turd on the pavement". Nasty.
I had to send a package from the Post Office and didn't fancy trailing back along the other direction with Lucy and Georgie just to buy a cucumber for the guinea pigs so resentfully bought half a cucumber in Scotmid for 39p - ten pence dearer than a whole one costs at Lidl. The queue was long because some crazy woman wearing a sequinned Jesus t-shirt was attempting to use a £2 off voucher for an item which only cost £1.89 (oh, hang on - that was me). It was just too stressful.
This afternoon I filled in a questionnaire from Royal Mail - I don't normally bother but they make a donation to my favourite charity. For the question "What item would you like to be able to purchase?" I was sorely tempted to type 'cucumbers'.
We walked back via Pennypit playpark. The two swings were wrapped round the top bar. Just as I was jumping up and down to unwind them (great exercise) a woman with kids arrived. "I've complained to the Council" she said in a Home Counties accent. "It's the broken glass I don't like" I reply popping shards in the bin. "East Lothian Council is the worst council I've ever lived under." said the woman scornfully. I was quite perplexed. Is there a local authority somewhere that you can telephone and demand someone unwinds a swing? What must their council tax bill be like?
---ooOoo---
I watched Blue Peter for the first time in many, many years. My, I feel old (as I do everytime I realise there are people in employment who were born in the 90s). Today they were beatboxing with a flute.
Website of the day: Apoplectic Press - come ahead if you think you're left enough. Great collection of links
In the early hours of this morning I was racing towards the end of "Ragged Robyn" having been promised a 'shocking' ending when it stopped.
Just like that.
At page 164 of an alleged 220 pages with the words "and the plantation".
It's wet and very windy. All I really wanted to do was catch up on the papers so when the kids chorused "What can we do?" my heart sank.
Two sheets of newspaper, twenty carrier bags and a ball of string later, the girls had constructed a very serviceable 'Ugandan style' football. Yes, I read it in the Guardian's Comic as if you didn't know.
I spent the majority of this afternoon finalising my Christmas shopping - that is to say, the gifts for the people I didn't marry or give birth to. I'm really, really pleased with my frugal finds.
---ooOoo---
Fascinating fact #534: I loathe the SNP as much as I love fruitcake.
---ooOoo---
Get well soon Nana and Granda.
I was back in the shop today. It was a solo shift so I was glad of the few customers there were. Amid the information leaflets was a recipe book I hadn't noticed before. One of the suggestions was to leave half a pack of dried fruits in a carton of natural yoghurt overnight and blend with milk and honey to make a smoothie. I'm always looking at ways to eat more fruit so I may try this.
Back home we all mucked in with chores and I'm pleased to say Emily's bedroom is now the tidiest it has been in a very long time.
This evening I enjoyed a vodka and coke while watching Jonathon Ross. It is always a treat to see Ricky Gervais and Gordon Ramsay but the charms and humour (humor?) of Sarah Silverman are lost on me.
Comedy is a funny thing (geddit?). The same joke told in a different way, to a different audience by a different person is a different joke.
I remember a joke about a woman naming her child after the first thing she saw in the labour ward - a "No Smoking" sign. The baby was named "Nosmo King".
I read a similar 'joke', purporting to be a real tale about a child whose name was Le-a. The name was not pronouced Lea but "Ledasha". The mother explained "The dash don't be silent.".
Now, why does the first joke mildly amuse me but the second makes me very uncomfortable?
Website of the day: The Worm that Turned - I may have already mentioned this gorgeous garden gift store
It would be fair to say the girls are driving me insane today.
I gave up trying to get anything meaningful done and instead, sat down amid the chaos with a cup of tea and my 2009 calendar. I entered various birthdays and observances plus a few wacky ones gleaned from Brownielocks (don't be put off by the garish layout or horrendous clipart - it really is quite a comprehensive listing). It is aimed at American readers which can be confusing - I thought International Year of Natural Fibers was something to do with telling lies...
---ooOoo---
Those lovely people at Oxfam have six new delicious recipes to download here. They have yummy sounding names: Kenyan green bean salad, sopa fabulosa, packed peppers, quick fire quinoa, top banana and divine brownies.
Website of the day: Five Actions One World - want to change the world but don't know where to start? Here's your springboard. I love the idea of Reverse Treat or Treating.
The girls and I spent a lovely morning with Betty. The girls were in their element running around her pretty garden, devouring biscuits and playing with toys. Betty and I had a good old blether about Coronation Street, poetry, Prestonpans, books, family life, loads of things really. Emily was delighted to come away with an armful of books and Lucy enjoyed herself so much she didn't want to leave!
After leaving Betty, I spotted Sandra who introduced me to Aileen, a new Small World volunteer. Sandra kindly gave me some cucumbers from her garden for Moby and Speedy. The girls were very taken with Bruce the retriever and all the way home I had to reiterate that we were not going to get a dog.
Back home, my Oxfam orders were waiting for me: a pair of green
Long Tall Sally trousers; skinny leg jeans; baggy purple cords; a chess set;
Essays
and Down
and Out in Paris and London. I'm looking forward to re-reading DaOiPaL
(I last/first read it a quarter of a century ago) but I've just started The
story of Ragged Robyn
---ooOoo---
Today is World Food Day. When UK news is full of rising food costs, it's important to remember that a billion people don't actually have enough to eat.
Website of the day: Sourcingmap - wholesale store with no minimum quantities.
When a snotty-nosed Georgie came downstairs wearing a sleeveless summer top I instructed her to put on something warmer. She appeared wearing a pair of furry flashing devil horns.
I too was feeling a bit sniffly this morning so resolved to have an outdoors day. Nothing beats a garden clear up to blow away the cobwebs. I planted the clematis that Rachel brought me yesterday and the girls set about planting some of the 100 daffs and narcissus.
This evening Nigel and I watched Three and Out - a black comedy about a train driver on a quest to find someone prepared to be his third fatality in order to be paid off from London Underground and change his life. It featured suicidal Tommy Cassidy played by Colm Meaney. Meaney is one of those actors who has been in loads of films but whose name always escapes me.
Note to self: don't eat half a box of after dinner mints in one sitting, unless you want heart attack indigestion.
Website of the day: Global Handwashing Day - silly sounding, serious stuff. UK activities include an Early Day Motion for the Government to support hygiene promotion (I do hope they remember to wash their hands after passing the motion).
A day of visitors. It was great to see Rachel and Peter briefly this afternoon. No sooner had they left than Lucy and Georgie's nursery friends Eilidh and Molly came to visit with their mum Anne. After some initial shyness, the girls all played well together.
---ooOoo---
Because of the late running of his train, Nigel missed his Prestonpans connection and didn't get home until 8. I hate it when we don't have dinner together.
This evening I put 'Fire' Crazy Colour in my hair. For some inexplicable reason, I forgot to wear gloves. My hands and my fingernails are bright, bright red. The dye hasn't made quite the same impact on my head.
Website of the day: Mike Tyson's abandoned mansion - an excellent urbex from IllicitOhio.
I've finished reading Five
Past Midnight in Bhopal
I've registered the book on bookcrossing to keep spreading the word. If you would like the book next, please let me know.
Website of the day: The Bhopal Medical Appeal and Sambhavana Trust - More than 120,000 people still suffer from ailments caused by the accident and the subsequent pollution at the plant site.
We had lunch in the Aroma Bistro - Emily's chosen treat for getting a good report. I had the last moussaka. The owner said the most popular item on the menu is panini and that the mezze doesn't sell very well. It would be a shame if he stopped making the traditional Turkish fare but I can appreciate that throwing out unsold food is intolerable.
Back home we played for a bit with the X-box and the dance mat but I can't say it was really my cup of mead.
Website of the day: Little Kenadie - affected by primordial dwarfism, Kenadie weighed just 2 lbs, 8oz when she was born. She is now a fairylike 5 year old and likely to remain at her current weight/height of 8lbs/30 inches.
AI really wanted a bit of time to myself today so Nigel took the girls down the street on a few errands. In the afternoon he took them to Prestongrange where they made 'Diversity Doves' as part of Black History Month and The Big Draw.
We were having our own Big Draw with the arrival of Emily and Nigel's prizes from the Pentel design competition. We now have lots of art and craft items including beautiful pens, pastels and watercolours.
From my back window I can see an engineering train.
Website of the day: The Bubble Project - guerrilla personalisation of corporate ads.
World Mental Health Day didn't start well. Emily was horrid. Emily was rude. Emily was angry. So why do I feel bad?
---ooOoo---
Three not altogether unrelated thoughts: Why do businesses bemoan the lack of customers...then be rude to their customers? Why do organisations ask for volunteers...then be unfriendly when they get some? Why offer to help...if you then make a song and dance about it?
---ooOoo---
We are looking after the nursery stick insect and goldfish during the October holidays. Already I can say our foster pets are having a positive effect on my mental health. They are certainly the most well behaved of all the 10 creatures currently residing chez Barker. And they quite possibly have a higher IQ than one person I spoke to today.
Website of the day:GG 2008 Lavender Pillows - Only 160 will be made.
My bank card has been redesigned and now it is identical to the one for the business account. This morning's trip to Lidl was nearly very embarrassing when my PIN number wouldn't work on the card I handed over. Fortunately, I also had the personal account card with me.
On the way back we stopped off at Cemetery Park. Lucy was at the top of a climbing frame when she said "Mummy, I'm sorry I wet my pants". "When did you wet your pants?" I asked. Big pause. "Just now".
On our way back from Lidl,
Lucy stopped to do a piddle,
Happy National Poetry Day!
I've always wanted to own a bank - and, together with the rest of the population, now I do. If I had a pound for every time I have heard the expression 'Global Credit Crunch' I could bail out the four banks myself.
This morning's post brought lots of Christmas gift catalogues.
The array of ugly, pointless items that can be personalised is staggering.
I had to check to see if one catalogue was a spoof, such was the amount of
tat on display. One advert did catch my eye. it was a retro style book
called Make
Do and Mend: Keeping Family and Home Afloat on War Rations
What would happen if rationing came back? Would people accept it? Do we have sufficient skills to live frugally? Or would we carry on buying monogrammed, musical plate warmers?
Tonight's dinner was a bit WWII - corned beef stovies with savoy cabbage. Costing under £3 for a huge pot, it was as delicious was it was cheap.
---ooOoo---
In tonight's Coronation Street, 'The Drugs Don't Work' reminded Liam he married the wrong woman. The last time The Verve were playing, he and Carla were admitting how they felt about one another. I thought the May 12th episode was very, very good and I wish they weren't killing off Liam (I know it's only a story - as Betty says on this very subject in her blog - but it is a good one).
---ooOoo---
I wish I knew a bit about photography. I would love to be able to photograph the full moon, birds in flight, fireworks or, in the case of today, a spider's web. In the centre of a large web in the garden was a crab spider and what looked like a mummified wasp (it was hard to tell as it would cocooned in the spider's silk).
Website of the day: International Day for Disaster Reduction - A day to encourage everyone to build more resilient communities and nations. 2009 will focus on making hospitals and health facilities safe from disaster through tools such as the Hospital Safety Index.
This morning, myself and another mum, Claire, were on storysack duty at nursery. Oh, the responsibility of it all...having to put together six-piece jigsaws to make sure nothing is missing.
Across at the Infant school, Miss Stirling shared her plans for attaining Green Flag eco-status, and the upgrading of the playground. It will be fun to be 'eco-defending' again.
Next port of call was the Small World to drop off bunting for Saturday's Open Day. I do hope it gets a mention in the local papers.
It was hardly worth going home as it was so close to nursery collection time so I popped into the Library and blethered to Annemarie. Actually, I just ate most of her liquorice while she tweaked parts of her latest novel.
On entering the playground I was surprised to see Christine there with both her boys - and Emily. A burst pipe had forced the Primary School to close and, not being able to contact me, they called my emergency contact.
Parents Night still went ahead though and Emily got a very good report.
I watched Steve Coogan play a gambling addict in Sunshine. Craig Cash's writing and Steve Coogan's acting is a powerful combination. However, I didn't think it was sufficiently dark to portray an accurate picture of addiction. There were plenty of faces from Open Doors and the Royle Family which only served to soften it down more. Even the presence of Bernard 'Yosser Hughes' Hill didn't add the required grit.
Website of the day: Easy Mac - they've experimented with a microwave, so you don't have to.
I'M HEARING...a bird chirping away at the front of the house. It is a big ratchetty sound not dissimilar to a magpie so I'm was surprised to see a tiny wren. It must be upset by the cat's attentions.
I'M ENJOYING...catching up on Jane's blog.
I'M WONDERING...if I really need to 'retain this information for future reference' - it's only a pencil case.
I'M EATING...delicious mango Risotto - made by Emily.
I'M ADMIRING...the 'new' 5p coin - I know it was launched months ago but this is the first one I've seen.
Website of the day: Despair - the original and best demotivating website
It was a gloriously sunshiney day today. Our first stop of the day was at Sam Burns. A pile of vintage instruction manuals and assorted papers caught my eye and, on further inspection, I saw it included someone's nursing certificate, personal papers and 'With Sympathy' cards. I really like printed ephemera but this collection seemed too personal to buy so I made do with a few plant pots, some sheet music and a sweet little plate bearing the price list of The Essex Rose Tearoom. The Tearoom appears to be still in existence in Dedham, near Colchester, but I suspect nowadays a pot of tea, scones and cake cost more than 4' 3.
We caught a bus to Musselburgh and handed in a pair of old spectacles to Specsavers as part of VAO Sunday - an event to fund a school of optometry in Lusaka, Zambia. There was a raffle and a fab display of masks made by the children of Burgh Primary and the Rainbows. Emily, Lucy and Georgie had their faces painted and each received a goodie bag. Despite Emily's best efforts to convince the optometerist that she needed specs, her eyesight tested fine.
We had hoped to have lunch at the Musselburgh Dolls Museum but it was closed so we went to the cafe in Tesco. My chicken & sage pie was nice but could have been a bit hotter. The girls were very happy with their kids lunchbox (jam sandwich, juice, crisps, cheese and jelly/mousse/fruit for £1.99).
After picking up some incredible 'Back to School' bargains (10 ballpoint pens for 5p, kids lunchbag for 15p and my favourite...a folding ruler for 5p) we walked across to the Esk and fed the birds.
Website of the day: Jelly and Ice Cream - inspirational interior accessories and gorgeous vintage finds at this small Borders shop. I love the letters.
We got lots of chores out of the way this morning. Emily and I walked to Lidl which seems to be having an end of season clear oot. I had a quick glance in case there were any suitable Christmas presents (there wasn't) and saw the gazebo/parasol I bought last week - reduced to half price.
Enjoyed a gin and tonic and an early night.
Website of the day: NewcastleGateshead - visitor information for Newcastle and its across the bridge neighbour.
The sun has been smiling upon us today although I didn't have much chance to sit outside. I was too busy filling bin bags with things from Emily's bedroom floor. It is only two weeks ago that I completely blitzed the room and did the 'a place for everything, and everything its is place' lecture. I cannot face sorting through the three(!) bags of clothes, books, jewellery, games, stationery but at least the carpet is visible.
---ooOoo---
Some smilies:
:-) Smile
;-) Smile with a wink
:-|| Mad
:-D Big grin
:-}Embarassed smile
8:] Normal smiling face of a gorilla
0:-) Angel
[:-|] Robot
(:V) Duck
3:-o Cow
(_8-(|) Homer Simpson
(-_-) Secret smile
Website of the day: Procrastination Research Group - I was going to link to this before but I kept putting it off...
Happy Eid al-fitr.
We feasted this evening, not to mark the end of Ramadan, but to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti - Gandhi's birthday/International Day of Non-Violence.
Quotes from the Father of India seem to be ubiquitous on motivational websites and [shudder] team building days ("Be the change you want to see") but my favourite is his response to be asked if he was a Hindu - "Yes, but I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew".
---ooOoo---
I planted a couple of cyclamen in the garden which really adds a splash of colour. Lucy and Georgie helped me for a bit and then both fell asleep!
I sat with Emily while she re-did her homework in neater handwriting - she really struggles with presentation and just gets it out of the way as quickly as possible. Just as she was getting quite sulky I received an email from Pentel to say she had won first place in a design a puppet competition and £100-worth of Pentel goodies is winging its way to her. Proof that she has great penmanship when she tries!
Website of the day: Fancy That Fancy Dress - this is really just a reminder to myself that they have the cheapest fake flies I could find (6 for 25p) - and no, I'm not telling you why I need them.
The leaves are turning a gorgeous russet colour but the the weather is far from autumnal. October began with sunshine and, despite some showers, it has been fairly mild today.
As is traditional, I celebrated the start of vegetarian month with a bacon roll. To mark Nigerian independence day we had a truly scrumptious Peanut Soup and a not so traditional caterpillar birthday cake reduced to a bargainous £1.49 in Scotmid.
Website of the day: Campaign for Learning - The Family Learning Festival runs throughout October
The last day of horrid month has been quite pleasant.
Fruit and vegetables are half price at Lidl so I bought three shopping bags worth. Luckily I got a lift back up the hill from one of the mum mafia. When I arrived home I discovered my XBox 360 has been delivered - yeah!
It was nice to have a blether with with Annemarie at the Pennypit where a Macmillan coffee morning was taking place.
---ooOoo---
Last Friday morning, a bouquet was left at my door. It was a thoughtful "get well soon" gift from my mum. Unfortunately, the flowers were more poorly than I was. It seemed a little ungracious to tell my mum that the flowers she had so thoughtfully chosen were dead so I emailed the company instead. By this morning I still hadn't received a reply so I telephoned them.
They told me they could only deal with the person who had placed the order - not the recipient. That creates a bit of a conundrum as often, the sender won't be aware that there is a problem unless the recipient says "Thanks for the dead flowers". I had, by this time, told my mum the position so theoretically could have asked her to phone them - but why should I? According to the Flowers & Plants Association, £2.2bn (yes, that's billion) is spent annually on flowers in the UK and this fact alone gave me the confidence to challenge the company's stance. Hopefully the matter will be resolved shortly.
Why can't things be straightforward? I recently received a school newsletter with a tear-off slip about Parents' Night. The dates on the reply-slip were different to those given in the newsletter and in my diary. I presumed, correctly as it turned out, that an old reply slip had been used and simply amended the date and ticked my preference.
The following day, another note came home explaining the date on the reply slip had been wrong and a correct one was attached. As I'd already requested my appointment on the previous slip, I put the new, improved version in the bin and thought no more about it.
Today, Emily passed on the message from her teacher that I had filled in the 'wrong' slip and I had to fill in the correct one. Arrrggghhhhh.
Nigel was off work because of some crazy Glasvegas Bank Holiday so after the nursery drop-off we boarded a bus to Portobello. We meandered around the charity shops and amusement arcade like a pair of kids twagging school. After a Wimpy brunch we headed back to collect the little two from nursery.
---ooOoo---
I often hear about post office queues getting longer due to the closure of rural branches but today's queue owed more to the complicated nature of the transactions taking place.
In addition to the traditional counter service you can now buy gift vouchers, sign up for broadband, top up your mobile phone etc. I was only there to post a parcel but the woman in front of me was buying a unicorn licence, or possibly renewing the tax disc on her spaceship. Whatever, the case, there was a queue building up and the people behind me were getting grumpy. One man complained that he had a taxi waiting (why?).
---ooOoo---
Emily brought her friend round to see Moby and Speedy.
Michaelmas was marked with a fantastic blackberry and semolina cake made by Nigel.
Coronation Street is about to get very exciting.
Website of the day: French Revolution Calendar - I can't imagine why this didn't catch on. See the current date and time in calendrier republicain here.
It was lovely and warm again today and the girls played cricket with Nigel while I sorted out the filing in my understairs 'office'. Because the telephone box is in front of the entrance (you'd have to know us to understand the telephone thing), it's been a case of 'out of sight, out of mind' and it's been ages since I went in there. As I opened the door, Lucy said excitedly "I didn't know you had a little house Mummy".
I rediscovered a box of treasures which I let the girls look through while I did the Sunday evening 'nit inspection'. They were rapt with their old drawings, locks of hair and baby photographs.
---ooOoo---
We decided against watching Pan's Labyrinth this evening. As I said to Nigel, I got lost in the 'Pans Labyrinth once and ended up in Wilson Avenue.
Website of the day: Brown Sharpie - "Mathematical Cartoons inspired by Sharpie Fumes" - for Nigel x.
I'm glad I arrived early at The Small World Shop today as it took me almost half an hour to unlock all the doors, put on lights, open blinds etc etc.
Despite there only being one customer, I was kept occupied packing a sale or return order. Nigel and the girls called on me at closing time and we went to the Aroma Bistro for lunch. I had the most delicous moussaka, Nigel chose the mezze and the girls all had chicken nuggets and chips.
We walked back home via the Tower where we held our own version of the Olympics in the gardens. I demonstrated how to do a cartwheel which, in hindsight, probably wasn't a wise move (or an elegant as I'm more cart horse than wheel).
The girls couldn't wait to get home and show me the new guinea pigs, Moby and Speedy. Our neighbour's daughter has moved to a place where pets aren't allowed so we were delighted to take them. I don't know anything about guinea pigs but fortunately Lisa had left notes about them which was really helpful. It looks like I'll have to stock up on cucumber. They are very cute and cuddly. At the moment they are living in a large hutch in our sitting room, but I think I may move them to the garden room. They have ousted our mannequin who now glares across the room at the furry usurpers.
Website of the day: Kitty's Emporium - charming vintage homewares, fashion and, greetings cards.
Seeing Rachel, Peter, Lauren and Martha was a real tonic.
I usually see my brother-in-law on his monthly trip to Scotland but he doesn't always bring the Fortettes with him and, even though we saw them all in York last month, it seems ages since I saw my sister and nieces.
Rachel drove me to Lidl where I bought lots of stuff in their Autumn Garden Specials including a dual-function gazebo/parasol (gazasol? parebo? Where is a portmanteau generator when you need one?) for £19.99; 5k of mixed daffodils for £3.99; a pretty pink heather (Erica gracilis) for £1.29 and two climbing roses (one pink, one yellow) for £1.29 each.
While their mum and dad had a trip to Burns Yard, Lauren and Martha foraged for blackberries in the garden with their cousins. Emily suggested we make a smoothie with them. Having presumably overheard this conversation, Lauren appeared in the kitchen a few seconds later saying "Auntie Jan, I'm very thirsty. Please can I have a softy?".
Website of the day: Morsbags - make a cloth bag, hand it to an unsuspecting carrier-bag carrying member of the public, save a Minke etc (thanks Rachel).
Lucy was very excited about going round to play with her nursery friend Gregor but when we arrived she was overcome with shyness (or collywobbleums in the pandenoodles as it is technically known) and wouldn't stay.
---ooOoo---
Erica suggested using the library's mushroom display cases to exhibit the Small World's jewellery and crafts. Sounds good.
The primary school was closed due to industrial action today but the Nursery was open as usual. The bin hasn't been emptied but the recycling crates have - what kind of strike is this?
After lunch, I gave the girls strict instructions to behave, not fight and not disturb me. Probably a tall order but I was feeling dreadful. I was so appalled by the mess they had made in the short time I napped, I could have cried. As it was I managed to smash several plates as I cleared them away. I can't even shout at them without hurting my throat. Bloody frustrating day.
Website of the day: Secco - Finnish recycled treasures. I love the keyboard rings. I feel a trip to Sam Burns coming on - but which to keys to choose: Escape, Insert, Home, Delete, Ctrl???
I've been a bit chilly today and have lost my voice - something that seems to happen every year at around this time.
A friend was telling me about a planned night out and her anxiety about being the oldest/largest/dullest there. There wasn't much I could say/croak to make her feel better because I know exactly how she feels.
Website of the day: Green Metropolis - Buy any book for £3.75, Sell any book for £3.00. 5p goes to the Woodland Trust.
The Autumnal Equinox starts here. Only it hasn't. The sun has been out and it was very warm this afternoon.
Work on the extension to the Infant School has begun which means the East entrance is closed. The extra couple of minutes the detour added to my journey to Lidl, coupled with the fact I couldn't find a pound coin for the trolley (not to mention the fact I'm bone idle) meant I went to Somerfield instead. Big mistake. Why do I always forget how rude the checkout operatives are in that shop?
Website of the day: Milkcrate Digest - for lovers of Milk Crates everywhere (yes, I mean YOU)
We went to Calton Hill today. I'm the only one who has been before and I had forgotten its wow factor. Nigel was very impressed, the kids even more so. I was just glad they weren't squabbling (much).
With Holyrood Park, The Meadows, Inverleith Park, The Botanics, Leith Links, Edinburgh has to be one of the greenest cities on earth. I could see Royal Terrace residents playing tennis in their private gardens and didn't begrudge them a bit. They weren't getting our view.
With sandwiches, party sausages and flapjack (not just any picnic - an M&S picnic) we surveyed the views before us, went for a wander, clambered on 'Edinburgh's Disgrace' and generally had a nice time before getting back on the train.
Back in the other green and pleasant land of the 'Pans, I salvaged a bag of damp paperbacks which have been sitting in a carrier bag on Preston Road for a few days now. I am going to register them on Bookcrossing and leave them somewhere dry.
Officially, today is the last day of Summer (and the Battle of Prestonpans/International Day of Peace). It's been nice.
Website of the day: Streets of Edinburgh - a nice collection of photographs, handily dated.
Georgie went to her first birthday party without her siblings today. She was a little out of her depth in the soft play as bigger kids flew through the air on top of one another. She was happier on the bouncy castle and enjoyed the party food. However, the big hit of the day was the Mini Zoo.
The party guests got to stroke, hold and pose with several creatures including a huge Madagascan cockroach, mouse, rat, lizard, millipede, Amazonian land snail, rooster, rabbit, guinea pig and snake. Brilliant!
We walked back from Meadowmill along Gardiner Terrace. There are some lovely gardens there.
Website of the day: Austin Kleon - a writer who draws.
Hmmm, the key to our drinks cabinet has snapped off - probably from overuse. I noticed this when I was putting some wine glasses away, not, I hasten to add, while reaching for a post-breakfast tipple. It is not yet 9.30 a.m.
Emily is unwell and off school so all three are now squabbling. There is digging, drilling and sawing going on beyond my fence and the noise is really quite oppressive. The noise stopped abruptly when the unseen workman stopped to take a phone call. For ten minutes I heard all about his plans for the weekend as clearly as if he was standing in my kitchen. In my attempts to drown him out I turned on the radio.
The first words I heard where "I came to this world with nothing" (Everything is Borrowed - The Streets) and kept tuning. The very next sound I heard was "Well, you started off with nothing" (Stuck in the Middle - Stealers Wheel). Synchronicity? I think in future I'll keep it tuned to Radio 4 (Now there's something I never thought I would say #1).
Actually, I should have tuned into a pirate radio station, today being Speak Like A Pirate Day.
We had salmon and leek fishcakes made by Lucy and Georgie and a couple of verses of "What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor" - there are some brilliant sea shanties on YouTube (Now there's something I never thought I would say #2).
Our efforts were nothing compared to that of the Rev Robin Hill of Longniddry Parish Church who annually organises a pirate-themed event on the 19th September. The church also have a film club and, if I recall correctly, the Rev also holds a pets-welcome service. I may have to convert (Now there's something I never thought I would say #3).
Emily asked why we "have to celebrate everything".
"Avast ye lily-livered landlubber before I be makin ye walk the plank" (Now there's something I never thought I would say #4).
Website of the day: Elastoplast Stories - every but as weird as it sounds
The posh iron has been a great success - you can read more here.
In today's mail : a postcard of Highland cattle in front of Glamis castle (why do Heilan' Coos always look so comically belligerent?); and a card of a Nicola Gregory print.
I was surprised to see some familiar faces in my RSE e-news. Shona, Julie and their families took part in a genetic study of thousands of families in Scotland, the aim of which was to shed some light on the causes of heart disease, diabetes and depression. Professor Porteous will deliver his lecture "Our Genetic Inheritance - For Better or Worse, in Sickness and in Health" on Monday 1st December at 6.00 p.m. at the RSE.
Website of the day: Mini Cushion ring - how did I live without one?
Lucy appears to have touched a monolith and is talking non-stop in great long sentences and volunteering endless amounts of information. For example: "That's a nice gluing, Lucy. What is this bit?" will result in "That bit is straw. The teacher asked the farmer if she could have some. He has lots of straw because that's what the horses eat but there is still enough left for the horses so he gave the teacher this for the nursery". Phew.
Everyone ate their lamb kebabs and couscous tonight - will definately add to list 'approved' meals.
Website of the day: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway looks amazing (I don't think I'm brave enough though!)
As we left for school and nursery I asked Emily whether she had her swimming kit. "Yes" she replied impatiently. "Where?" I asked. "Here" she said in a tone meant to convey her deepest sympathy on my sad loss of brain cells. She was waving a handbag that was no more than 8" wide. "And the towel?" I mused. "IT'S IN THERE!". Unable to muster the enthusiasm to continue the conversation I let this pass.
---ooOoo---
It's been an uneventful day. After dropping off the little two at nursery, I paid the newspapers; posted a parcel; put a flyer in the Council offices for the Small World Open Day (Sat 11th October, 10-12); bought some groceries; handed more flyers into the Pennypit; bumped in to Anna.
And then, before I knew it, it was time to go back to nursery, stopping first at the library where I bumped into Annemarie.
This afternoon Lucy and Georgie were making works of art with tin foil while Emily helped me prepare nachos to mark Mexican Independence Day. As I write this, news is coming in of an explosion in Morelia, Mexico amid the celebrations. A tragedy in a country plagued with organised crime and drugs-related violence.
I'm thankful for my uneventful day.
Website of the day: Rupali - inexpensive contemporary Asian wear - and where I'll be buying this year's Diwali outfit.
It's grey, cold and drizzly, therefore, it must be......a bank holiday!
We have cleared out a few kitchen cupboards of some outdated food. Half of a bag of pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds were added to the bird feeder with the rest being planted by the girls.
My Philips GC7220 Pressurised Steam Generator (a posh iron) arrived. I'm testing it for Bzzagent - the word of mouth marketing people. More on the posh iron later.
I received a phone call to say I'd won an Xbox 360 in an Absolute Radio competition. Hooray!
I've been trying to plan our weekends around the major engineering works. It's very disruptive as there will be no local train service at the weekend from 27th September until the beginning of November.
Website of the day: Lost and Found - the Internet's answer to lost pet posters.
We strolled a circular route to Sam Burns via Prestongrange Museum.
I picked up some pretty saucers and plates to put under my houseplants. I also bought a garden spade and we all chose some books - my selection being Five past Midnight in Bhopal. The whole lot came to £4. I love that place, you never know what you are going to stumble upon. They had an enormous Balinese reclining Buddha. It was gold coloured and bedecked in jewels. Their motto is "from a needle to an anchor" and today I actually saw an anchor.
Website of the day: Font River - a great selection of (mostly free) fonts
As I stood at the kitchen sink a whole flock of blue tits flew to the bird feeder and spent several minutes flitting between the trees. I have never seen so many birds in the garden at one time.
I spent some time making envelopes from bits and bobs lying around. Mine weren't as nice as Emily and Melanie's creations at Manifesta, but they are still quite groovy.
Website of the day: Roald Dahl Day - in celebration of the great storyteller's birthday.
I took Lucy and Georgie to the park in a bid to finish reading
Transgressions
I remembered we were running low on milk so popped into Lidl where I bought more than I planned. Lucy really wanted me get a water melon but I couldn't face carrying it back up the hill. As it was we trudged up the road with two full bags.
We bumped into Barbara who was walking the dog. She told me about the film they had watched the other night. It sounds too chic-fic for Nigel. Having said that, I would like to watch something light and fluffy. I didn't enjoy The Lady from Shanghai. If I let Nigel choose the films we'd only ever watch Orson Welles or things with subtitles or silent films. OK, I exaggerate slightly.
It was really quite warm this afternoon, nice enough in fact, to sit outside with Jill and Donna who popped round. Donna returned a mannequin which I vaguely recall her borrowing but I can't for the life of me remember when it was or what it was for. In another bout of absentmindedness I sent the contents of the cafetiere all over the kitchen and scalded myself on the boiling coffee. I then realised I hadn't bought milk from Lidl. I really am going potty.
Website of the day: Darfur is Dying - a game that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. Players can also learn more about the genocide in Darfur that has taken the lives of 400,000 people, and find ways to get involved to help stop this human rights and humanitarian crisis.
I had a pleasant (but calorific) visit to Alison's lovely new house. The conversation ranged from wet nursing to Catholic guilt.
I popped into the Small World hoping to catch Sandra but was promptly distracted by Lucy and Georgie running amok. When I left the shop I realised I hadn't passed on the info to Sandra which was the purpose of my visit. It's worrying just how forgetful I'm getting.
In a bid to keep Lucy and Georgie occupied (but away from the TV) while I did some dishes, I gave them a pile of newspapers and told them to circle 'their letters'. Lucy sat for ages drawing rings round 'L' and 'Y' and Georgie ringed everything that vaguely resembled a 'G'. Success! I'll definately try that one again.
Website of the day: Waterstone's Prints - choose from over 4,600 Ladybird, Janet & John or Flower Fairy images to buy or send free as an e-card.
I've found a decorator that, not only works 3 hours in exchange for a cup of tea, but actually dusts the cobwebs off the ceiling before hanging the wallpaper. I'm sorry I can't give you their contact details as I promised I wouldn't. (But thank you decorator - you know who you are).
And my wallpaper is looking lovely.
Website of the day: Alaska Seafood - a good selection of recipes using wild, natural and sustainable fish including the one I used this evening, Wild Alaska Salmon with Japanese Noodles.
In the library I bumped into Annemarie who was working on her latest novel. I was really pleased to hear that her second book is going to be published in the spring and that Hox is doing so well. We had a blether about the Prestonlinks Woodland Group and the forthcoming Apple Day at the Botanics.
Nursery had to close early today because of building works.
A side effect of both Lucy and Georgie going to nursery in the morning is that, by the time they have come home and had lunch, they have forgotten all about CBeebies. I haven't had to suffer the dreadful squawking of Tikkabilla's Sarah Jane for ages but today the girls were dancing away to Ms Honeywell's screeching and having a great time.
Actually, children's tv presenters shouldn't have to sing well - after all, most parents can't sing well. I can't sing, draw or dance, although I do all these things with the girls so as not to inhibit them. It is a truism that if you give a pencil and paper to a child they will immediately doodle, whereas most adults declare they "can't draw". (Of course the result of all this parental encouragement is a generation of people whose self-belief is out of all proportion to their talents - but that's a whole other blog)
---ooOoo---
There's lots of birds in the garden again today including a blue tit and a robin who dined together quite amicably at the bird table. One of my feathered friends has pooped on the window and Lucy and Georgie think this is terribly amusing. But then they are so very easily entertained. Georgie was absolutely delighted to see the little muddy footprints of our neighbour's cat on the kitchen floor and Lucy was over the moon at seeing baby snails on the back step.
---ooOoo---
Emily's maths homework included the question: A tram in Melbourne has 37 passengers. Eight passengers get on, five get off. How many are left on the bus? Straightforward enough you might think - until a schoolfriend phoned pointing out that it was a tram, not a bus and to ask whether it was a trick question. I do hope not. "And the award for being eagle-eyed goes to..."
Website of the day: The BBC Box - charting the adventures of a humble shipping container. Ooh, I love shipping containers.
An improved day on all fronts: weather, behaviour, demeanour, productivity....
Georgie received her first party invitation from a nursery friend.
Christine drove me to Lidl where I did the week's shopping. Lucy and Georgie are always delighted when Sarah comes to play. They spent most of the time climbing the apple tree (which hardly has any apples left after the strong winds at the weekend).
This evening, ,to mark Andorra's national day we had their national dish, Trinxat (bubble and squeak by any other name) with herring.
Website of the day: Tree2mydoor - they suggest using Sunshine in a Bag (yellow wildflower seeds) as a wedding favour - what a lovely idea.
Yes, I
am the mother of three referred to in today's Scotland on Sunday. And
my B1361 lampost sunflower is on the verge of opening (update: the head
has been snapped off the B1361 lampost sunflower - 8.9.08).
I was irked that the Courier still hadn't arrived this morning so battled the elements to call into the newsagents only to find they had sold out.Grrrr.
Actually, I had to go out anyway as I was at the Small World shop. Bernice and I were quite busy pricing up new stock and we had quite a few customers and folk collecting their sale or return orders.
I bought a pad of 50 envelope re-use labels, a scarf ring (which I plan to wear as a ring) and two carafe sets. I could quite possibly buy all my Christmas presents from the shop (especially as they can order anything in the Traidcraft catalogue).
Website of the day: The Large Hadron Collider - no, I don't understand it either.
On the way home from school the other day a woman in a van called out "come in" or possibly or "come on" or maybe "come here" (or perhaps something entirely different). She wasn't necessarily even speaking to Emily. Whatever the case, having been bombarded with Stranger Danger warnings, Emily got a fright fearing the woman and the unseen driver were 'baddies' and ran the few yards home.
We had a long chat about it and I was sufficiently satisfied that there was an innocent explanation for this and praised Emily for doing the right thing. I didn't feel the need to take any further action.
I'm sure that, in the same position, some people would dial 999 and think me neglectful for not contacting the police, however, it was my judgement call.
The next day I got a call from the depute head teacher who had been told about The Lady in the Van (the 'incident' - not the Alan Bennett story) by a classroom assistant who had, in turn heard about it from a pupil,who had heard it from a friend of, oh…you get the idea.
The depute head urged me to contact the police - especially given the "detailed" description of the pair. Detailed?? What details?
It turns out that Emily had described a male driver with a mohican hairstyle and the woman's yellow top and the few words the woman said were now padded out with a regional accent.
I totally understand that the school needs to protect children but I felt exasperated by their failure to grasp the situation developing before them.
I explained my concern that in each retelling, the story acquired a new embellishment and there was a danger that Emily would be put in a position from which she couldn't back down.
On the way home yesterday, I heard Emily's friend relating the The Lady in The Van story to her gran: "and the lady was wearing a black cloak…" she said. No doubt in a day or so she will also have acquired wings and a tail.
I felt sufficiently pressured to call the police but actually felt relieved when they came round this afternoon. They were very patient with Emily and put her at her ease but at no point was the word 'truth' mentioned. They said to me they would rather 'over-investigate' than not.
On the subject of telling the truth, the Scottish government publication 'GUIDANCE ON INTERVIEWING CHILD WITNESSES IN SCOTLAND' has the following to say:
The child does not have to take the oath for an investigative interview but it is advisable to make them aware at the outset of the importance of giving their own, true account. By "true account", that is saying what they believe has happened. Interviewers should not ask for definitions of what is a truth or a lie as this is a difficult task, even for adults. Instead, the interviewer should emphasise that they want to know what the child actually saw with their own eyes, heard with their own ears, smelled with their own nose and tasted with their own mouth.
"I want you to tell me what really happened, even if you said something different to somebody else at some other time."
* Don't tell
me anything pretend
* Don't guess about things
* Don't tell me what someone else told you to say happened
As I've said before (21st June), creating a balance between safety and independence is a toughie. As is bringing up a creative and imaginative child in a climate of fear.
---ooOoo--
Some people turn to drink, others do drugs. When I'm a little stressed I enter competitions. Lots of them. This sometimes requires me to register on a website. Usually, I fall into the age 35-70 category but occasionally I get to tick a 20-45 box. Simple pleasures.
The Cartoon Gallery's registration form was different, opting for teens, twenties, thirties, up to nineties. I approve wholeheartedly- at least for the next 14 months. I don't like those forms that only allow you to choose from employed, unemployed or self-employed but The Cartoon Gallery form asked 'what puts food on the table?'. Erm, Cath Kidson oven mitts?
---ooOoo--
Happy birthday mum x
Website of the day: Breathing Space Scotland - a service for any individual, who is experiencing low mood or depression. Helpline - 0800 83 85 87
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
We celebrated with a feast which the girls helped me prepare. We decorated the table with statues of Lord Ganesh that we made from playdough a few days ago and listened to 'Mangalam Ganesham'.
Website of the day: VisitLondon - I'm going to use this site to plan my next visit.
Happy Birthday Lauren!
---ooOoo---
I'd no sooner attached a cabin hook to hold my back door open and let some sunshine in than drilling commenced. The builders are creating a new pavement on the southern side of Mid Road and it is very noisy.
---ooOoo---
You know it's my turn to cook when...
...Nigel phones to say he will be late home
...the smoke detector goes off
...Georgie asks for help cooking her sausages...and we are having scampi
Website of the day: Parcel2go - the best parcel tracking/pricing tool
As is traditional, we tighten our belts on the first of September.
I'm now wondering which appliance will break down - as is traditional during frugal month.
The day started off frugally enough with a trip to Lidl but then I spotted their range of houseplants so bought three to feed my current obsession. I hadn't been home long when the heavens opened so I put all the houseplants outside for a good long drink.
Georgie is now on regular time at nursery and I was really pleased
to see her playing quite happily with a farm set while Lucy was in another
room with her friend. Today Georgie received her Bookstart
treasure chest containing Some
Dogs Do
---ooOoo---
August photos are here.
Website of the day: Home truth - chances are, if you like the ramblings of j-bar, you will love the eminently more coherent Helen Redfern's blog about a family trying to live fairly and frugally.
We had planned to go to the Mela but the weather was a little overcast. I'm glad we stayed at home because the rain got really quite heavy at one point and we've had really quite a pleasant day of not doing a lot. We ate popcorn while watching the Simpsons, did a little tidying, vegged out.
I've updated my books page.
Website of the day: National Risk Register (pdf) - assesses the likelihood and consequences of major disasters, alien invasion etc.
I really enjoyed my shift in the Small World Shop today. The new winter range has arrived including some beautiful Christmas cards and gifts. I have decided to buy two of these glass and carafe sets which I think will be perfect on our bedside tables. The shop is having an open day on 11th October when visitors can enjoy free fair trade refreshments while they browse the new stock.
I called in at Scotmid on the way home and bought two house plants - an umbrella plant and and unidentified plant with long-stemmed crinkly leaves with purple undersides.
This evening we watched a couple of episodes of American Gothic on dvd.
Website of the day: Unclutterer - I like the idea of uncluttering - just not as much as I like hoarding stuff.
Nigel had to get up in the middle of the night (or thereabouts) to commence his very long journey to Dumfries. I got up three hours later and threw myself into hausverk.
I really want to get some houseplants. Before I had kids I always had loads of plants but, as any parent knows, soil and a child's curiosity is a messy combination. Hopefully, my three are past that stage and I can introduce some leafy friends into our lives.
Overnight the sales office area of the building site has been transformed with turf, plants and shrubs and, the latest development, flagpoles.
Handy Info of the day: You can send your old spectacles to: Charity, 2020 Vision Eyecare, PO BOX 13210, Birmingham, B9 9DJ. Action #42 recycle your specs - tick!
It appears there has been some fire-raising overnight. The charred remains of what looked like wheely bins were to be seen at four separate points on West Loan this morning.
Preston Village is looking a bit messy with litter again. I keep meaning to go out with my litter pickers but am a bit self conscious when I'm on my own. Clearly I have been using the kids to hide behind!
---ooOoo---
If it wasn't for the constant traffic and the building site between my house and the field, I could imagine I'm living in a rural idyll. The farmer in the top field has a combine harvester out; two lorries laden with hay bales passed my window, followed by a pick up loaded with crates of potatoes; and this evening I saw two foxes ambling across the middle field.
Website of the day: My Supermarket - helps you shop, compare and get the best possible price for your trolley - choose from Asda, Sainsburys, Waitrose or Asda.
Lucy continues to tell us 'jokes'. They are becoming increasingly off the wall e.g. "Why did the horse want to go upside down when he was galloping? Because he wanted to kill the computer in his house - is that a joke?"
---ooOoo--
I was sitting at my desk when Nigel began hitting my shoulder with a comic. And hitting me. And hitting me. "What are you DOING?!" I demanded. "There was a beetle on you" he explained "I hate beetles". "Well it wasn't on you, it was on me" I reply. He looks crestfallen. "It's okay" I say. He still doesn't look reassured so I say "Really, don't worry about it, you just took me by surprise".
"Oh it's not that! I've just realised the comic I was hitting you with cost £3" he says.
Website of the day: Saving Faces - The Facial Surgery Research Foundation is dedicated to the reduction of facial injuries and diseases
Georgie's first day at nursery got off to a rocky start when she came racing out of the toilets crying, closely following by a crying boy, a calm Lucy and two guilty-looking boys. Lucy said "The boys didn't do anything, they just said 'GET THEM!'" (which was obviously enough to alarm Georgie and the other new start).
After this initial setback, Georgie had a great time although I suspect the teachers will have their work cut out keeping Lucy from doing everything for her and answering on her behalf (Lucy loves her new role as mentor).
Now she is a 'nursery girl', Georgie is brimming over with confidence. As we crossed the road with the lollipop man she called out "Thank you Jimmy!".
---ooOoo---
Guerilla Gardening is in the news again and I got an email from a journalist wanting to meet. I can't really add much to what he already has. On the GG front, my sunflower is really sprouting. I must take a photo of it.
Website of the day: Julian Beever - an extraordinary trompe l'oeil artist.
A poisonous day.
It should have been a day of celebration and feasting. Instead, there has been squabbling and laziness. Why do I bother?
Three years and three months ago I began this blog trying to put up a gazebo. Today a broken gazebo was taken down.
Website of the day: Big Barn - a virtual farmer's market
It was my first stint at the Small World shop since the summer break. The shop has new stock from the lastest catalogue and I bought a mirror bangle - a bargain for only £2. I priced some stock, marked some stock down and wrote up the appropriate entries so I felt like I had been of some use today.
I met up with Nigel and the girls in the library then ate a Ford's picnic at the seafront before walking along to Sam Burns where I bought a hoe and a wide shovel (I mistook it for a garden spade!) and several books - £4 well spent!
Items I didn't buy: a scary looking stuffed lion's head (Lucy said "Mummy, please can we not get that?"); someone's diary (the most exciting entry was "Car a bit slow to start this morning" - Pepys it wasn't); a pew (It has been outside for quite a long time).
We then continued westwards to Prestongrange where there was a 'Family Activity Day'. The girls made masks while we sat outside enjoying the sunshine with Nathalie, Anna and Grant. We walked back via the campsite and took a detour via Blink o' Forth out of noisiness. On the last stretch of road before home, we noticed we were getting a few strange looks from people in passing cars. I suppose it must have looked a bit suspicious walking down the road with a giant spade and hoe!
Some of the leaves I pruned yesterday came in useful this evening when we made a toran for tomorrow's Janamashtami celebrations.
Website of the day: Pipecleaner Dance - you choose the music and the moves
Laura and Kev were round yesterday and Emily made dinner in their honour - sausage and bean casserole (with a tiny bit of help from me). The girls love seeing them, although Georgie insists that Kev is 'Auntie Kev'.
Today I broke the garden spade attempting to dig up some old roots in the garden. It's a bit of a pain because there is still so much gardening to be done.
Website of the day: The Scam Baiter - a forum documenting the ways in which 419 Advanced Fee Fraudsters are played at their own game.
Sheep made from old telephones (thanks Rachel).
Despite wearing a multitude of layers, we still got soaked to the skin on the nursery run. The rain has been torrential today but fortunately it is not particularly cold or windy.
Lucy made a very pretty glueing at nursery with lots of yellow rose petals. It looks and smells wonderful.
Another gorgeously scented thing is the play dough my brother-in-law Peter brought with him today. My clever sister Rachel made one batch of vanilla and another of raspberry.
Also included in our package of goodies was Squid Soap which I'd seen online but not yet tracked down in the shops.
---ooOoo---
When I was in the kitchen today I could have sworn I heard one of the girls yell 'Mum' from the garden. My immediate thought was how "did they get past me without me noticing?" when I realised it was actually a seagull squawking "Mwahm....Mwahm".
I wonder if the seagull is copying my girls - you hear about birds copying mobile phone ring tones and car alarms.
Website of the day: Break the Chain - Help stop the spread of junk e-mail and misinformation
Wasps! They are everywhere. As fast I get rid of one, it sends out a distress call to all his relatives.
There are more wasps in my garden than there are plums. There are more wasps than snails (and that's really saying something).
The striped menaces are however outnumbered by the sheets of paper I've received from school. I've diarised, digested, noted, actioned, responded and, this afternoon, settled down to complete the three page personal information form.
I asked Emily whether she preferred 'Scottish' or 'British'. After some deliberation she chose Team GB.
"Howabout religion?" I asked her.
"What does that mean?" She asked. I could see this could take some time.
Eventually, Emily decided she wanted "to pick Jesus" so I duly ticked the box marked Christian.
Yet another wasp came into the house so I chased it with a piece of thick cardboard and after a very satisfying 'thwack!' it transcended to wasp heaven.
Emily asked "Mum are you a Buddhist?". "No" I reply "I'm definately not a Buddhist".
If Emily was a little nervous about starting a new school she didn't let on. She didn't want me to wait in the playground, even though I offered to stand at the edge of the playground where no-one could see me and [gasp] think I was her mum or something. I reluctantly left her in the playground taking an abnormally long time to fasten my shoe laces, check buttons etc.
Lucy was glad to be back in nursery (although Georgie was a little upset at not being able to stay with her just yet). I was glad to have Christine and Alison to blether to this afternoon otherwise I think I would have been clockwatching all day. I can't remember being this nervous when Emily started Infants! Baby Eva is getting big and was 'singing' with the rest of the kids.
It was such a relief to see Emily with a big grin at picking up time. This evening I sat covering her jotter (I knew that Grauniad Greek Gods poster giveaway would come in handy) while she told me about her day. Apparently the best thing was the fishcakes...
Last night we watched The Darjeeling Limited - what a brilliant film!
It has all my favourite things: rail travel, India, Hinduism...Peter Sarstedt's music. I can think of no better way to spend Raksha Bandhan.
---ooOoo---
On this the last day of the holidays, I think we are looking forward to school re-opening. That's not to say I haven't enjoyed the holidays, I really have.
I haven't done lots of the things that I'd planned but we have done a lot and we've all had fun. As long as the girls are getting my full-on attention, they are fine. The moment I attempt to do something, anything else, then the squabbling and bids for my attention start.
Of course, I have enjoyed not having to endure the playground politics every morning or having the day broken up by endless nursery and school runs.
Website of the Day: Council of Monsters - not to be confused with Council of East Lothian
In the Ritchie household, Madonna was probably opening 'Happy 50th Birthday' cards with the Immaculate Collection playing in the background; but in the Barker household the day started with a credit card bills and a delivery from the Natural Collection.
I had bought a few items all priced at £1 in their sale including a pair of XXL shorts. I laughed when I saw them - they were enormous. I stopped laughing when they fitted perfectly.
"I think I've got the opposite of body dysmorphic disorder" I said to Nigel. "I look in the mirror and see an alright shaped person but in photos I look huge"
"Perhaps the camera isn't working" suggests Nigel.
Later, we returned library books, paid the papers, posted Nigel's expenses and did a Lidl shop. We had lunch at the Aroma Bistro on the way back. I really like their mezze. Which probably explains the XXL shorts.
Nigel did some upgrading work in the computer while I attempted to get the girls to help me tidy their bedrooms. Fat chance. Them doing their share of chores is about as likely as me finding employment as Madonna's body double.
It was really nice to see Rosie today as the kids were driving me a little Harpic. I told her about my plans to take the plants from the middle raised bed and grow vegetables there instead. She agreed that I should dig up the rue which is quite unruly and I suspect was the cause of Lucy's rash on her hand. What a weird plant - it appears to be multi-purposeful, rendering a werewolf powerless and deterring snakes (to name but two of its alleged homeopathic 'powers').
Rosie had brought with her a bag of beautiful clothes that were eagerly investigated by Lucy. I'm rarely in a position to pass on clothes as, by the time all three of my girls have worn items there is not much wear left in them!
We are keen to have a raised covered area in the garden (see 22 June) but digging up lots of plants and committing to anything permanent (and possibly expensive) is a little scary. In order to test drive our idea we have bought an inexpensive gazebo to map out the area and help us visualise the possibilities. I say 'inexpensive' but it was still twice as much as our first small plastic cheap and nasty one which we loved. The rain would pelt off it and the noise was outrageous.
Nigel is quite taken with the new gazebo and I have a sneaking suspicion this arrangement might not be as temporary as I would like.
Website of the day: PosterMenace - my favourite: "Sign here to have this poster removed"
Lucy is much perkier today. She was entertaining Georgie by pretending she had no control over her legs (you had to be there, it was very funny). The bruising is beginning to fade. She was delighted to receive a parcel addressed to "Lucy and her sisters" containing goodies from Sweet Arcade (thank you mum).
You can tell how well a person knows us as a family by whether or not they 'get' Lucy. Often, people will refer to her as being 'the shy one' when actually she is a born performer and terrific mimic. Georgie, in particular, loves the daft voices and skits she puts on. They are not always such good mates though...
Georgie hit Lucy
Lucy: "You HURT me! You're a poopoo pie and Dora Explorer is silly"
Georgie: "Lucy said Dora is silly"
Me: "Well she's cross with you because you hit her. Hitting is silly.
You need to say sorry and you can be friends again."
G: "Lucy, will you be friends with me again?"
[Silence]
G: "Mum! Lucy said she won't be friends with me again"
L: "I didn't! I didn't say anything!"
Me:"Lucy, when someone says sorry, it's best to be friends again rather
than be cross with them."
G: "Say sorry to me Lucy."
L: "NO! You have to hit someone to say sorry to them. I haven't hit
you."
[Sensing the situation is about to deteriorate, I intervene "Georgie,
say sorry to Lucy and then you can be friends"]
G: "Sorry Lucy"
L: "No, like this....'I.. a-p-o-l-o-g-i-se'"
G: 'I.. a-p-o-l-o-g-i-se"
L: "No, in a voice like this:(croaks like a zombie, waving her arms
about) 'Eeeee ap oll oooooooooo gize'".
G: (croaks like a zombie, waving her arms about) "Eeeee ap oll oooooooooo
gize".
Me: "That's ENOUGH!"
---ooOoo---
I'd no sooner send an email to Betty lamenting the lack of butterflies this year when I spotted one. Not a peacock unfortunately but a red admiral (and lots of bumble bees). As I went out in the hope of taking a photo I noticed just how many hornets there were.
From my bedroom window I could see nature and industry, both of which hold equal appeal. While I'm dismayed that the only bit of land designated for business use on the local plan has been given over to residential use, I find the building processing really interesting. They are working on the roof at the moment and a crane has been lowering the rafters to the waiting builders.
I saw a coal tit and a wren both taking nuts from my bird feeder. They nibbled away (with the wren putting its head right inside the bag of nuts and seeds) undisturbed by the clankings and tooting from the building site but flee at the sound of a camera lens.
While I've been gazing out of the window, the house remains in a mess. I just hope I don't get any unexpected visitors today.
Website of the day: 99 Rooms - Looks like a game but is actually an interactive work of (morbid) art. Not for the fainthearted (hint: press the spacebar).
Happy Birthday Nigel.
The mood is still a little subdued. We celebrated Nigel's 41st/The Glorious Twelfth with vegetable bhoona, saag aloo, chana masala,naan and pilau rice from Natural Spice.
To cut a long, and not terribly interesting story short, I had intended to bake a Guinness and chocolate cake but didn't want to venture out in the pouring rain so yesterday decided to do an online shop as we are running out of everything. The earliest available slot wouldn't have left enough time to make the cake so I chose a 'shop-bought' instead. However, just as I was about to checkout, the phone rang and, when I returned to the pc, the 5.00 p.m. deadline had passed which meant I coudn't get next-day delivery (i.e. today) which meant of course, no birthday cake for Nigel. Fortunately he had been to M&S on the way home and bought a pack of teacakes into one we placed a candle.
Website of the day: Swedish Furniture Name Generatore - IKEA-ise yourself, as recommended by NIGELL, SVAN, EMMYLI, SLYKKI and, GEÖRGINN BÅRKKERD.
Original plan:
Trip to Chester
Meet in-laws for lunch
Celebrate Georgie's 3rd birthday
Home again, Home again jiggety jig.
What actually happened:
After 4 hour train journey to Chester, went by bus with my travel sick children
across the border to dragon country. Followed by a car journey.
Had pre-birthday birthday tea
Lucy was bitten by dog
Georgie vomitted pre-birthday birthday tea all over Nigel.
08-08-08 is a grey day. The rail service is still affected by the flood and Nigel coudn't get into work today. I guess the mail is disrupted too.
I've finished Swallows
of Kabul
We watched the last in Series 6 of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. What am I going to do for belly laughs now its over?
Website of the day: International Youth Hostel Association - I'm already planning our next adventure
Despite the pelting rain, the garden looks quite pretty. While we were away, the crocosmia has come out and the buddleia is in full bloom.
I was glad when Annemarie called to see if the girls wanted to go round to play with Esme. When the weather is this awful they get a little crazy. They had a nice time while we grown ups had a catch up over a cup of tea. On the way back home the girls were delighted to see Percy the Gnome still sitting on top of the bus shelter.
The heavy rain had caused flooding at Haymarket and I felt sorry for Nigel having to battle the elements to get home.
Website of the day: Structurae - a database of mighty erections (of the structural engineering, architecture or construction variety)
We are back after only a few days away yet it feels like we've been away for ages.
We had our first family break of more than one night's stay. Staying in a hotel has been almost impossible ever since Georgie had outgrown a cot as family rooms tend to be for 2 adults and 2 children. Obviously we aren't going to book two rooms and apartment rental is really only cost effective for longer stays. The answer presented itself to us when we renewed our Family Railcard and were given free Youth Hostel Association membership. I needed no further excuse: 3 children, 2 suitcases, 1 spouse and 3 backpacks - we were booked, packed and ready to go to London.
On Saturday, the 8.35 from Edinburgh to London was cancelled so the next train was very busy and of course our seat reservations weren't valid but a kind man on his way to the Doncaster races gave us his seat so we could all sit at a table. All three girls were very well behaved. Emily was happy playing her Gameboy - in silent mode as we were in the Quiet Carriage. At least it was the Quiet Carriage until some post-holidaying blokes got on at Newcastle and were particularly rowdy. Perhaps there should be a Party Carriage or a Families Carriage - just a thought...
The thing I love most about rail travel is the opportunity it affords you just to soak in the views. I love the landmarks of Durham and York. I knew Doncaster was approaching as the grafitti read "Hyde Park Crew". Before we knew it, we had zipped through Grantham and Peterborough and were in Kings Cross.
Our first visit was to the new St Pancras to see the enormous Meeting
Place statue and then a lightning trip to the British
Library. I would have liked to have seen the The
Ramayana: Love and Valour in India's Great Epic exhibition but there wasn't
time. We did however see Paolozzi's
Newton statue in all its glory but failed to spot the promised geocache.
Lucy was especially excited to be travelling 'underground' (to her surprise there were no worms or soil). Georgie loves escalators (or 'alligators') and Emily just loves travelling. I think they would have been happy if we had spent our entire break travelling by tube.
We found our hostel quickly and easily thanks to the helpful London Underground staff. St Paul's YHA used to be the school for the choir boys of St Pauls Cathedral and is quite an imposing building. We left our luggage in our 5-bedded dorm and began our journey to Greenwich where we had tickets to see Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs. When booking the tickets I thought three hours to get across London would leave us plenty of time but between cancelled trains and queuing on the underground we only just made our slot.
In addition to objects taken from the boy king's tomb (including his gold crown and canopic jars), we saw artefacts belonging to pharaohs Amenhotep ll and Thutmose lV. While looking at vividly coloured and ornately detailed items, it is hard to believe these date back to 1555 b.c. It was a stunning exhibition which I will always remember.
The O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome) and the Greenwich peninsula is a lovely place but we couldn't hang around as we needed to be on the 17:30 Thames Clipper. Sailing eastwards along the Thames we passed familiar sights like the Tower of London, HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge before disembarking at Embankment and crossing the Hungerford Bridge (why are bridges that carry both foot passengers and rail so exciting?!) just in time for our London Eye 'flight'.
Now, I'm a little nervous of heights. It would be fair to say that I get a panicky if I have to change a lightbulb and I really don't like being able to see any great distance between my feet and the earth. So, I was a little anxious about my trip on the millennium wheel. I really didn't like to see Georgie hanging from the handrail of the capsule and, even though I knew she was perfectly safe, some instinct in me was unhappy and, sensing this, the little monkey kept doing it. Not content with scaring the wits out of me she kept pushing against the capsule doors (which alarmingly had a sign reading "Do not push against these doors"). Yes, the views were incredible and I'm very glad we all went, but I was glad to get back on the solid ground.
We had ice cream in Jubilee Gardens and watched some of the mimes and performers along South Bank. The girls really loved running through Jeppe Hein's aquatic sculpture Appearing Rooms and, despite wearing a huge raincoat, Lucy was soaked to the skin.
We sat in the Terrace Bar of the National Theatre while trapeze artists performed. We continued along Jubilee Walk through Gabriel's Wharf, past the OXO Tower and stopped outside the Tate Modern where six huge pieces of artwork flank the exterior as part of the Street Art exhibition. The girls added grafitti to a purpose-built room before going across the not so wobbly Millennium Bridge and back to St. Paul's.
The last thing I remember was the cathedral bell chiming 11 o'clock.
Sunday
We breakfasted in the hostel and left London, already planning our return visit.
It was almost six years ago to the day that Nigel and I first visited York together. This time, we are back: 3 children, 2 suitcases, 1 spouse and, erm, 2 backpacks, Georgie having left hers with King Tut.
We lunched at the Judge's Lodgings then we wandered round the museum gardens where we saw the first of many priceless paintings 'set free' around the streets of York as part of The Grand Tour in York.
We took a taxi to the York Racecourse Centre where we were staying (when it is not being used to accommodate jockeys it is part of the Youth Hostel network). We were shown to our 12-bedded(!) dormitory before having tea and juice in the beautiful grounds. Although American schoolchildren were also staying in the Centre, we were the only guests in our block so it was wonderfully quiet and private. Shirley and the centre staff couldn't have been more welcoming and friendly.
I mention their wonderful hospitality because I have noticed that, in keeping with other tourist destinations (e.g. Edinburgh), Yorkies often seem resentful of the very people on whom its economy depends. That aside, I love York. I love the winding streets and market. I love its architecture and its quirkiness. Most of all, I love the variety of independent shops. So often, we go to a town and our heart sinks when we see yet another Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topshop & Wallis (they should rename these towns Arcadiaville).
We walked back into town via the bar of the Elmbank Hotel. It was nice to meet up with Rachel, Peter, Lauren and Martha to go on a Ghost Trail. It was mildly entertaining but, in hindsight, it might have been nicer just to find somewhere to let the kids run around which is what they enjoy best.
Monday
As I tucked into my delicious breakfast, I tried not to dwell on the unfairness of a world where bronzed young women, clad in shorts can tuck into a plate of maple syrup covered waffles and remain slim.
We were sad to leave the lovely Racecourse Centre but hopefully will return. After checkout, we took the train to Doncaster, then an 82 bus from the revamped bus station to Armthorpe to briefly visit my nana and granda. Unfortunately, a combination of a full English, fruit juice and sitting backwards at the back of the bus resulted in Georgie being sick. Still, she revived quickly enough and no major damage was done.
Back in Donny, we paid my Auntie Jan a visit which completely bewildered Georgie and Lucy who thought their great aunt was their Grandma Edith (they are twins). We had a quick look round the shops and what we still call the Arndale Centre. There has been lots of 'development' in Doncaster: a stadium, an airport, college campus, yet there is no vibrancy in the town centre which seems to be in a downward spiral.
Back in York, we had a trip on the Yorkshire Wheel. Georgie had been getting tired and wanted to be carried so was clinging to Nigel's legs and wailing. All the passers-by must have thought she was scared to go on the wheel. I really liked the Yorkshire Wheel; the capsules were smaller than the Eye (so we got a capsule to ourselves), passengers have to sit and we got to go round four times. Perhaps the operating company could be persuaded to install a Prestonpans Wheel? After the wheel adventure, we spent some time in the National Railway Museum which we all really enjoyed.
We had a McDonald's picnic before making our way to the York International Hostel, a moderate stroll along the Ouse. The hostel is a large Victorian building set in extensive grounds. As well as a large kitchen for those wishing to self-cater, there is a restaurant and bar. It is very child friendly and has a TV lounge with small library. It has a different vibe to the Racecourse and is bustling with international travellers.
We unwound in the gardens of the hostel then watched some television while the children made new friends.
Tuesday
The restaurant was busy at breakfast time and we didn't want to linger on our last morning.
We looked around the shops and when it started to rain we had a coffee break in the Spurriergate Centre, a fair trade social enterprise in an old church with beautiful stained glass.
As part of PlayDay, the annual celebration of children's right to play, Global provided free activities for children. Emily joined other children in playing giant Jenga and got her face and nails painted. Georgie did colouring in and played with toys and had a butterfly painted on her face. Lucy declared that she wanted her nails to be pink and joined the queue. When it was her turn she actually picked black varnish and looked like a miniature goth.
All three took part in a first aid demonstration with Georgie shouting 'help, help!' on cue. They were given goodie bags from the Red Cross but of course were more pleased with the free sticking plasters than the activity packs.
We got the train to Edinburgh and arrived back home just after six o'clock:
3 children, 2 suitcases, 1 spouse, 2 backpacks (but the 02 are going to send
the lost one to us - hooray!).
Stuff that worked/Stuff I'd do different next time:
I had taken several steps to ensure a motion-sickness/stress-free trip, namely, toast for breakfast, Joyrides, stem ginger cookies and water for on the train and Aroma Dough (it releases nausea preventing peppermint, grapefruit and geranium as you squidge). I was also armed with Qeezees just in case.
I took cardboard blanks which the girls made into fairy doors one one side and a face on the other. I also packed a variety of different shaped lids which Georgie uses to draw around to make faces. These activities kept the kids occupied for an unfeasibly long time.
If I was planning our trip again I would have bought a zone 2 travelcard in advance as the queues to buy underground tickets were quite long. (It was strange to be consulting tube maps and travelling as tourists in a place we used to live. We weren't sure if kids had to pay or not - the don't, until they're 11.)
I gave each child a backpack, complete with water bottle, raincoat, tissues etc. I told them it was "to give them independence" but was in reality to prevent me from becoming a pit pony. And on the subject of independence...I think it benefitted the girls to have to make up and strip their own beds.
We invented a game for the train: players take turns to say what they can see out of the window nearest to them (e.g. horse, tree, roundabout etc). There must be no repetition or proper nouns. The game gets progressively more difficult. It encourages players to use the specific names for things (e.g. oak tree, rowan tree) or to find alternative descriptions (e.g. lake, pond).
August already.
Today, Lucy had her last session of phonological awareness and auditory bombardment (or speech therapy if you are old skool). She still needs to work on S, Ch and Sh and blending sounds together.
Although she has benefitted hugely from these group sessions I'm not going to miss sitting in the waiting room. There may be a more sweltering building on, say, the Sun or Venus, but the Speech Therapy Block at Edenhall is surely the hottest office block on Earth. According to the staff it is always boiling, perhaps it sits atop a nuclear reactor or volcano or something.
It was relief to escape to the dining room for fission chips.
Website of the day: Zineapolis - an archive of zines and comics at the University of Portsmouth
It must be a slow week in Prestonpans. A journo actually phoned to ask if I had any news. It would have been a great pranking opportunity but I didn't think quick enough.
Regardless of how little news there is, I didn't get my copies of the local newspaper again this week. When I phone to say it hasn't been delivered I'm always left feeling I'm being a nuisance.
Website of the day: Iain Gray for Scotland - the best equipped candidate for getting Labour back on its feet in Scotland. Add your support here.
Nigel was sent information about a job at GCHQ. As he isn't going to apply for it, I think Gary McKinnon should go for it. Gary is the hacker who gained access to American military and Nasa computers from his London home. He now face a life sentence if found guilty.
Yes, he broke the law but he is not a terrorist (and anyone who thinks he might have been able to launch nuclear warheads watches too many films) and a one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay seems a tad over-enthusiastic.
Given the opportunity I would happily explore ruined old buildings, derelict factories and mineshafts undeterred by 'Keep Out' signs. Even though I abide by the Urbex code of "Take nothing but photographs. Leave nothing but footprints", I would still be breaking the law.
As the sun was setting over the field last night, we could see three youths forcing a window on one of the newly-built houses. We watched the police follow as the boys ran across the railway tracks and hid in the farmer's field.
So, which of us criminals should be dealt with most seriously? Who poses most risk to society? Who will go on to re-offend? Gary McK? J-Bar? or the Chavtastic 3? And who might actually have a part to play in the war against terror?
Website of the day: Dwanda - Handcrafted items including clothing, home decor, gifts and food items (although whether they would survive international shipping is another matter).
I'm a little down today. Due, partly I think to the arrival of the scaffolding opposite. I'm aware how pathetically self-centred that must sound on a day when the news is full of heart-rending tragedies.
When the black dog is following me I stress about everything. From the sale of human hair extensions (where do they come from? why would you want to?), to wondering how midges always navigate to my caesarian scar (where I am numb to all sensation bar a midge's bite); to "What is the point of June Sarpong?".
Georgie has pulled several keys off the laptop. I've found and reattached all but one - the letter 'V'. I'm scared to vacuum in case I lose the ability to type visceral, voluptuous, virulent, vortex, vivisection, vagrant, verisimilitude, verbose...
Website of the day: TUK - If I was a shoe...I would be an A6858 Mid Sole scallop cherry.
As a result of hearing "Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie" ever since she was born, Georgie thinks calling someone a 'pudding pie' is great fun. Over recent months, friends, delivery men, shop assistants have been subjected to cries of "bye pudding pie!" and occasionally, "bye poo poo pie".
To Georgie's delight, as we went our separate ways today, her wee pal Robbie shouted "Bye Poop Poop!". A match made in heaven.
Website of the day: Pot-a-Doodle Do Wigwam Village - this looks fun!
Things I was looking for today: a phone charger, the neighbour's cat and Georgie's shoes.
I was looking for a phone charger so I could keep in contact with Nigel who was off to sell at the Edinburgh Zine and Small Press Fair.
I was actually looking at the cat rather than for it. It appeared to have got its collar attached to the base of a tree and was getting panicky. The neighbours rescued it without the need for any intervention on my part.
I was looking for Georgie's shoes because, well because she always takes the bloody things off and wanders around barefoot like some feral creature (a bit like the neighbour's cat). I found a pair of gym shoes that may or may not be hers. They fitted, so she we left for the train to meet up with Nigel at The Forest.
I hadn't been in the upstairs part of The Forest before. It has a beautiful altar and gallery (the building used to be a Seventh Day Adventist church). There were some familar faces at the zinefest (e.g.Malcy and Magda) and it was nice to meet some new people: Stuart Murray (who signed a copy of his excellent book 'In Pubs'; Olly Paterson (from whom we purchased a set of fiilmographies) & Sandy Christie (a mate of Malcy's who sold us handmade badges and a copy of "Sandy Meets"). Other purchases included "I Like Birds" and "The Mallard anthology of comics and literature" from Mallard Small Press and "if destroyed still true #3" (which almost reduced me to tears) and the political thriller "Two Days" by Iain Withers & Gordon Johnstone.
We had a fab veggie wrap (tofu, carrot & apple), chocolate brownie and coffee in the cafe before popping in to the gallery to see Robin Kydd's "Ochone" exhibition.
In the newly opened shop we purchased some coffee (you can also get a snip+sip:
haircut+vodka for £10). In the free shop I picked up a copy of Organic
Gardening Basics: 5 Easy Steps to Growing Organically
Sadly (!), we couldn't stay for the screening of "The Cockettes" or the post-fest party which promised "deformed chorus girls/elevator boys in bondage/tinsel tarts in a hot coma/buckets of smut".
Happy Sys Admin Day.
Despite having loads of new clothes, Emily emerges this morning wearing a top that long ceased to fit her and which for the past year has been worn by Lucy. I tell her to change and she re-appears, this time in a t-shirt I received free with some ink cartridge. It is of course unironed and the transfer bearing the company's name is peeling off. I'm sure she does it to drive me nuts. I am not going to say anything. Of course anyone witnessing this spectactle will be convinced she doesn't possess any nice clothes. No, I am not going to say anything.
Lucy was awake before her sisters and early this morning we sat together quietly watching a pair of small birds in the plum tree. It was a nice start to the day but of course it didn't last. As long as I'm giving the girls my undivided attention, everything is hunkydory. The moment I divert my eyes for a second, the squabbling commences.
I was attempting to wash dishes when Georgie came through crying "Lucy hit me".
I summoned Lucy through. "Lucy, did you hit Georgie?".
"Yes, but I spilled my water and Georgie got a towel to wipe it up
and I wanted to get the towel. I didn't want her to get the towel"
she tells me through sobs.
"So you hit your sister because she was being helpful?!"
I say incredulously. "Hitting is naughty. Now be friends again while
I wash these dishes". They totter off only for Georgie to return
asking me to help her fasten a belt, which I do. From the sitting room I hear
Georgie taunt "Lucy, Lucy, I'm wearing your belt Lucy".
---ooOoo---
Questions in my head:
Why can't I cook? Nigel was late home this evening so I popped a frozen pizza in the oven - it was a far cry from yesterday's puttanesca (penne, garlic, anchovies, tomatoes, olives).
Why am I getting multiple versions of the same email?
Will we have another power cut this evening? - it went off again last night.
A scorcher of a day.
We had an email problem so anything sent between approx 10:00 and 23:00hrs today won't have reached us - sorry.
Emily, Lucy & Georgie got their hair cut this morning. Sharon was incredibly patient when Emily got into a bit of a strop and all three now sport lovely new hairdos.
It was good to see my brother-in-law Peter this afternoon who was in Scotland on a job. He stayed long enough for a cup of tea in the sunshine and was duly despatched with several old copies of Fortean Times to take back to Rachel. Peter's father had a fleeting appearance on this evening's 'F Word' programme. When the programme finished, Nigel turned off the television...and all the lights went out. We fiddled about with the fuse box before realising that the whole street was without power. There were no lights to be seen, so perhaps the whole town was down.
I couldn't light the gas as the ignition is electric-powered so we tracked down some matches from the garage with the help of a solar light from the garden. We lit some candles and made a cup of tea.
As it was lighter outside than it was in our sitting room, we took our cuppa outside. We were just about to light the chiminea when the power returned.
With the electricity restored I took the opportunity to put batteries in my torch so I'm a bit more prepared the next time.
We took the bus to Edenhall where Lucy was going for speech therapy. Edenhall is such a peculiar collection of long, thin buildings set a beautiful woodland where squirrels run around.
We had lunch in the canteen afterwards followed by a roll down the steep bank and a play in the nearby swingpark and an icecream each from the Farm Shop (which is a farm shop in name only!).
I intended catching a 124 home but, as so often happens, our plans changed....nestled near Levenhall roundabout was a clearly abandoned bike. We decided to walk to Wallyford train station with Emily riding the bike and caught a train from there to Prestonpans. We dropped the bike off with Annemarie for Esme and made our way home.
The first week of last year's school holidays were spent getting soaked to the skin ferrying Emily back and forward to the summer playscheme in the torrential rain. This year, the weather has been much kinder and the showers, though heavy at times, have been short-lived. But...to hear some people moan you would think we hadn't seen a bit of sunshine! I'm weird though - I'm looking forward to running through Jeppe Hein's ornamental fountains at the Southbank Centre next month.
Good ticks:
Emily - for thinking of her friend
Lucy - for being great at speech therapy
Georgie - for wearing pants and not being sick on the bus
Me - Action 17 - Try watching Less TV - I'm listening to Bob Dylan on the
radio.
We took the train to North Berwick this morning, had a look
in some shops. Purchases included: David
Livingstone
Walking down to the harbour my eye caught sight of a lovely carved wooded duck in a window bearing a 'dcuk' label. I'm guessing this is a parody of French Connection's 'fcuk' (why would anyone want to wear an anagram of fuck on their t-shirt??).
The Slow Food Fair was buzzing and I found it ironic that people were getting impatient waiting for their food to be cooked. It's s..l...o...w.. food for dcuk's sake - if you want something quick, take your precious Arabella/Tarquin and dcuk off to McDonalds (but the queues were quite long - one horse-faced woman sprouted a moustache while waiting).
The girls had roast pork and stuffing rolls, while Nigel and I had paella - which was well worth waiting for. We all had fantastic fruit ices from Belhaven Fruit Farm and the UK's first fairly-traded cola - Ubuntu Cola. I bought some handmade truffles from The Chocolate Tree. The kids were at their happiest leaping about on the trampolines and going on the carousel but I just enjoyed sitting out in the sun and being able to see the newly installed jawbone on the Law.
The only thing missing was coffee. However, on the way back to the station we noticed Abbey Church was having a coffee morning. We were given a warm welcome and delicous homebaking and coffee. It was nice to see Mary Graham again, whose husband David is the Minister there.
Arriving back in the 'Pans we saw Anna and her family and it occured to me that if it wasn't for today's trip being spontaneous, we could have invited some friends with kids along.
We walked back from the station past our guerrilla sunflower which I'm pleased is getting quite big.
We weren't quite up and organised early enough for me to spend much time in Musselburgh with the rest of the Barkers. So, after buying a very bonny vintage pinny in Cancer Research I left the rest of them there while hopping on a bus back to the 'Pans in time for my haircut at 202.
Sharon was pleased to have a 'real' hair cut to do (rather than 'just a trim, please') and declared her scissors to be very happy. I had a load chopped off and now have red bits although next time I'd prefer a whole block of colour.
Tea tonight was simple yet delicious. Breaded haddock from David Gay's in Musselburgh, peas and potato (salad) from the vegetable garden and homemade bread (made using the 'French' setting).
Website of the day: Trakkies - for kids who like trains
The builders appear to have ceased working in the field opposite. What can be going on?
I love the open view over the fields. I love being out of doors. However, I am a city girl, of that I have no doubt. While I can appreciate hills and lochs, I'm afraid they hold no attraction for me in terms of being a holiday destination. Is that terrible of me?
---ooOoo---
I enjoyed chilling out with Nigel this evening and watching Duran Duran in concert on tv.
Website of the day: Map of Strange - odd images that appear on Google maps (The UK's claim to fame is the word 'poo' in a field - a crap circle?)
We saw Rosie again this morning when she dropped off a wild strawberry plant on the way to her work in the Infant School vegetable garden. She took Emily with her returning later with carrots, potatoes, celery and peas.
This afternoon we went to the library where I enjoyed looking
round Musselburgh Camera Club's stunning exhibition. I read Rapunzel
Cuts Loose (Happy Ever After)
After carrying out a few errands I returned to the library, had a coffee and a blether with Erica while Lucy and Georgie joined Emily in bookmark making. We returned via the school to look in on the wildflower meadow and vegetable garden which are really flourishing.
---ooOoo---
For some reason my East Lothian News hadn't been delivered but the Courier had. For absolutely ages the News has carried a small ad for "For Sale: Ladies Turquoise Leather Jacket". I've become so used to seeing the ad I was shocked when it stopped appearing. Maybe I should place an ad for "Wanted: Ladies Turquoise Leather Jacket".
There now follows A shameless plug for our entry in the Instructables Contest - please vote for our Wall Art.
Rosie, Esmé and Max came round this afternoon. Because the weather was so nice the kids all played in the garden. At any given point one child would be on the roof of the playhouse, another hanging upside down on the swing, another climbing a tree, while another was foraging for fruit - it was like a scene from the monkey house of the zoo. They all ended up covered in scratches, stings and raspberry juice but were very happy.
---ooOoo---
Nigel had his behind-the-scenes visit to Natural Spice today and brought home a wonderful dinner of vegetable pakora, chicken madras and Bombay aloo.
Website of the day: Wall Glamour - beautiful wall stickers
Emily enjoyed her birthday. She received lots of Dr Who/High School Musical/Harry Potter-themed gifts and had lunch at The Longniddry Inn.
I enjoy the Longniddry Inn but made a mistake in choosing the Thai Green Curry which was a rather confusing mix of Thai and Indian. Served alongside the Thai curry were poppadums and chips! In future I will stick to the tried and tested traditional fayre. We strolled along to the beach and whiled away some time on the sand before heading home for birthday cake.
Website of the day: Keaggy - a collection of visual indiscretions from a fellow compulsive
Happy
Birthday Emily!!!!!!!!
Happy
Birthday Emily!!!!!!!!Happy Birthday
Emily!!!!!!!!Happy Birthday Emily!!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday Emily!!!!!!!!Happy
Birthday Emily!!!!!!!!Happy Birthday
Emily!!!!!!!!Happy Birthday Emily!!!!!!!!
I'm a bit manic at the moment.
I've finished three books this week: The
Fred Dibnah Story
Land of the Living is a thriller by Nicci French. She's not an author I'm familiar with and it's not exactly high brow stuff but I enjoyed it and found it quite thought-provoking.
Briefly, Abbie Devereux doesn't know where she is or who is holding her captive. She is restrained, gagged and hooded. She manages to flee her abductor but cannot assist investigators as she can't remember being snatched or events leading up to her abduction. The very fact Abbie is alive (rather than more conveniently been found strangled) leads various professionals to conclude she is either delusional or a liar. The friends she had assumed would support her come to view her as an embarrassment.
Eventually, through her own resources, she manages to confront the captor (and save another girl) and then receives the support she had rather assumed would be offered unconditionally the first time.
---ooOoo---
On Saturday we went to The Drill Hall Arts Café for Hip Kipper’s Bruncheon featuring The Sound of Muesli. Our kippers and scrambled egg were accompanied by mellow breakfast beats from DJ Mungbean and a folk trio.
Today we painted the kitchen in Summer Pudding and Pea Pod.
Nigel made tuna and rice fishcakes which we had with chips and pease pudding followed by Tesco's version of Angel Delight and guava halves. I've never had guava before. It was like eating a rhubarb flavoured mango - yum.
---ooOoo---
I have seriously contemplated stopping this blog because I cannot trust myself not to publicly lambast some imbeciles. Perhaps I will start another blog elsewhere and let off steam there.
Proverb of the Day: An opened(!!!) packet of mixed nuts with a use by date of April 08 does not a gift in July make.
I managed to escape the madhouse by going to B&Q with Christine. I used to live near a B&Q and on one memorable visit I marvelled at how many women were there, fully made up and in their glad rags hanging around the Customer Pick Up Point. I remarked on this to a colleague who said "Don't you know Thursdays are single nights?". I was gobsmacked. Today I related this tale to Christine who was equally surprised and then pointed out that today was Thursday.
The only thing I picked up was paint, rollers, brushes and a plant.
---ooOoo---
Someone was remarking on how much Emily has grown. "She's going to be tall and slim, just like her mum... used to be". A backhanded compliment if ever there was one.
It didn't stop there though. I have warned Emily that if she continues to scuff her shoes I will buy her big robust boys shoes next term. This has obviously been playing on her mind, resulting in the following conversation:
Emily: "Are you really going to buy me big ugly shoes?".
Me: "Yes, I'm going to buy them from biguglyshoes.com".
Emily: "Are they going to have pictures of your face on them?"
Touché!
Website of the day: Sandow Birk - site of the Southern Californian artist who work deals with social issues such as the war in Iraq.
We had quite a lazy day today. I have no energy and the squabbling is getting to me.
---ooOoo---
On the same day as the BBC reported that a teenager found a bat in her bra, I read a former colleague's anonymous blog in which she alludes to being particularly endowed in that department. I very much doubt a bat would have much room in her sports bra, unless it was a pipistrelle. She's not the only person I've discovered to give themselves a virtual makeover though...chunky friends become 'althletic'; the vertically challenged become 5'11 etc etc.
Website of the day: Pig Latin Generator - Feeden o reeden teeden heeden o seeden e u needen feeden o reeden teeden u needen a teeden e seeden weeden heeden o deeden i deeden needen o teeden heeden a veeden e teeden heeden e beeden e needen e feeden i teeden o feeden a ceeden leeden a seeden seeden i ceeden a leeden e deeden u ceeden a teeden i o needen (For those unfortunates who did not have the benefit of a classical education)
Yesterday all three Barkerettes had a go on the sewing machine. They also made books using my binding machine. If yesterday was a 'machinery day' then today is an outside day.
It is very warm and sunny so we took the opportunity to spend some time in the garden picking redcurrants, playing and weeding (or in the case of Georgie, weeing - 3 pairs of pants by lunchtime).
I'm pleased that my lavender is thriving. I've never had any success previously. My wildflower patch now has yellow and orange flowers.
---ooOoo---
I've updated the Kids Stuff pages with some activity sheets. The website still needs an overhaul though.
Website of the day: (The Customer is) Not Always Right - to balance yesterday's anti retail rant, here's the other viewpoint.
I awoke with a headache, possibly the result of oversleeping, low blood sugar and certainly not helped by the kids' squabbling. I thought the best course of action would be to take some painkillers and get out of the house so we all trooped down to Somerfield.
We'd planned to get a home delivery and shopped accordingly only to discover at the checkout that they didn't do deliveries on a Sunday. The checkout assistant pointedly pointed out that they had never offered a Sunday delivery service (but stopped short of saying "Are you idiots or something?").
(At this point I am reminded of Lily Savages' joke about being given a row for smoking in Heathrow Airport. "Can you not read?" the cleaner says. "Yes, I can read...which is why I'm not sweeping ******* floors in Heathrow". OMG, I'm not turning into Paul O'Grady am I??).
Fortunately we had lots of bags with us as we had originally intended to go to Lidl but were deterred by the rain. To lift the mood we went for lunch at the Aroma Bistro. One of these days I will order moussaka because it looks so nice but today I had the lentil soup which was divine. Bobby popped his head around the door to say hello/goodbye.
We trudged up the hill Nigel carrying 3 bags, Me with 2, Emily with one and Lucy and Georgie carrying a handle each of one bag.
My headache developed into a full blown migraine - wobbly hands, nausea - the works.
Migraine scale: 8. Sympathy: 0.
I've finished The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. Wow.
The story begins with a group of painters and decorators blaming their economic misfortunes on immigrants. Today we were in Carlisle where the BNP is perpetuating the same myth 100 years after Tressel's characters.
We were in the city for the Festival of Nations. We picked up some Show Racism the Red Card posters (West Ham of course), stickers and bought a Stop the Nazi BNP pamphlet from the friendly folks at the Carlisle Against Racism stall.
There was a troupe of dancers performing an amusing square dance. Judging by their traditional dress, they may have been Ukrainian but I couldn't be certain. The dance involved the men wagging their finger scoldingly at the woman and then moving on the kiss the hand of the next woman.
We had fantastic fish, chips and mushy peas at the Fryery in Scotch Street. Looked round the abundant charity shops, bought yet more hats to keep the rain off, bought wee toys in Hawkin. There are so many little lanes leading off the main drag and wonderful old buildings.
We even had time to indulge in our respective hobbies - Nigel: a record fair at the County Hotel on arriving; me: a quick geocache near the beautiful Victorian station before leaving.
The people of Carlisle are so friendly! From generally stopping to chat to helping the kids with their coat, everyone was so nice. And the accent is nice too.
I had been looking forward to the journey because I haven't been on that route before. We left Waverley and stopped at Haymarket before passing through Slateford and Kingsknowe. Almost immediately after Kirknewton, we branched off to the south and made our way to the Carstairs East junction, taking the south fork down past Lockerbie (I can't help it I'm a geek).
The train journey itself was a nightmare. We were on a Virgin Pendolino - those things really tilt. Even I felt sick. Next time we will make sure we travel First Transpennine. And there definately will be a next time.
We got home almost in time for Doctor Who - what was that all about?!
Over in the field a digger is eating away one side of the mountain and loading up the earth into a waiting truck. When it is full, the truck sounds its horn twice and moves off, after which a waiting truck takes its place.
On this side of Mid Road huge piles of soil are also being moved. By Georgie. From my rubber plant. She was covered in soil. Even the turnups on her trousers had soil. I pulled out the sofa and switched on the vacuum which unfortunately was configured in the 'blow' setting. A quick fix later it sucked up the earth (and the other rubbish which has accumulated in the less than 24hrs since it was last done). Tears ran down Georgie's dirt-streaked face. "Do you have something you want to say to me?" I asked. She nods and hangs her head. "Well, come on then" I say impatiently "What do you want to say to mummy?". "Television on" she says.
It's been a trying day involving papier mache, poop and a peacock feather. You don't want to know...
---ooOoo---
The June photos are up.
Website of the day: Talking Tables - stylish and co-ordinated partyware to get your guests giggling and mingling.
I was determined not to be a clichéd mum who is driven crazy during the school holidays...so instead became the clichéd mum who made pasta necklaces and collages. I also made a bracelet from laminated postage stamps. My efforts were not nearly as well crafted as others I've seen but Nigel reckons mine is cool (philately gets you everywhere).
We also went to the park which was good because the kids thought
I was giving them my undivided attention when I was actually reading The
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
In the very early hours of this morning I was settling Georgie back to sleep. "Go to sleep and I'll put nail varnish on you in this morning" I said. There was an almost imperceptible nod as she drifted back off to sleep. From across the other side of the room a sleepy little voice said "Me too".
So, on the first day of the holidays, the big treat was nail varnish. Scarlet red for Emily, glittery green for Lucy and a russet for Georgie. It kept them quiet for all of 5 minutes and they have spent the rest of the day squabbling and generally being unpleasant. Ho hum.
Thankfully, I was booked in for a massage with MG Therapies which was a birthday present from my sister Rachel. I floated back up the road feeling more relaxed than I have been in ages.
Website of the day: Urban Prankster - why do I love this stuff so much?
With the help of Robert and Heather I collected a beautiful bookcase from a freecycling Panner (thank you Sandra). I now need to carry out at least four random acts of kindness in karmic payment.
This afternoon we went to Annemarie and Jim's house for a cuppa, a blether and some Scottish wine while the kids ran amok with Esme. Which, in addition to being very pleasant helped me tick off Action #14 - spend time with someone from a different generation.
Action #15 - Register online as an organ donor - TICK! I want any of my organs and tissue to be used for transplantation after my death.
Website of the day: Domestic - I predict decals, murals and wall art in general are going to be huge.
Happy Birthday Martha!
---ooOoo---
Marching season has begun. I was awakened from my slumber by the sound of flute playing.
Our plan was to go to Canongate Community Forum's Street Party in East Market Street but when we got there there was nothing to see. It turned out it had been cancelled at the 11th hour because of an Orange Lodge march.
We found ourselves at the Scottish Storytelling Centre - a fabulous place which I hadn't visited before. We had a nice lunch in the cafe. The kids 'picnic bag' was especially good value: cheese/ham roll, apple/banana, teddy crisps, freddo bar and a fruit smoothie £3.50. We were just in time to catch the last few minutes of Ewan McVicar performance of "You cannae shove your granny aff the bus". I enjoyed The Royal Mile: a hidden history photography exhibition and the girls really liked the permanent exhibition 'Scotland's Stories'.
We then took a trip across the Greenside Place Link Bridge (what are those deep excavations on the car park side?) and wandered down to the Omni Vue where we saw Kung Fu Panda. It was the first time all five of us had been to the cinema together. I needn't have worried about the kids' behaviour - they were miles better behaved than the teenage girls behind us who left the place strewn with popcorn.
Back in the 'Pans we went to Barbara and Andy's bbq, admired their new decking, ate fab chilli and sang along to The Proclaimers. Well, we had to drown out the sound of those damned flutes and the strains of God Save the Queen (not the Sex Pistols version) wafting over from Rigley Terrace.
Action of the day: Recycle your old mobile phone - if I upgraded my phoned every five minutes I would certainly recycle it...but as I don't it will probably be a long time before I manage to ....TICK!
Website of the day: Graham and Green - nice things I can't afford...
Lucy and Georgie were very excited at the prospect of seeing their cousins Hollie and Hannah at breakfast so were more than a little agitated when they hadn't arrived by lunchtime. It took a lot of persuasion to get them to leave the house to go and collect their sister from school. Emily was of course disappointed that her auntie wasn't there to meet her on her last day at Infant School but her joy at being awarded 'Best Girl' more than made up for it.
It was lovely to see how much my nieces have grown. They are very cute and curious and when it was time for them to go, Lucy was heartbroken. She is quite sensitive and when we only see people once a year it makes for a particularly emotionally-charged visit. It isn't about physically seeing someone, it is about the simple matter of keeping in touch and I'm afraid we aren't very good at that.
---ooOoo---
A group of women coming home from a conference were asked by the airline if they would 'volunteer' to come off an overbooked flight in exchange for £170. They took the money and waited for the next flight. They used the next four hours getting to know one another better, looking at ways to improve their business, improve themselves as individuals and generally make the world a better place. And they came up with an idea of pooling their £170 that would achieve their shared objectives. A true story.
Website of the day: Ind.ecisions - roll the dice to make the choice
It was Emily's leaving concert today. The rainforest-themed performance was lovely and I especially enjoyed 'Never Smile at a Crocodile'. After being presented with their Leaving Certificates the P3s left the hall singing "Moving On" and I had quite a lump in my throat.
---ooOoo--
Two shards of tooth appeared in the gap site where my tooth was extracted 28 days ago - no wonder I was in pain.
Website of the day: Martin-Munoz
- the creators of the world's eeriest snowglobes. Very dark, very disturbing.
Why would you?
A happy day.
I went to Lucy's indoor garden party this morning. The homebaking was wonderful and it was nice to see them all so happy. Across the road I can see the children from St Gabriel's Primary School queuing up to go on a bouncy castle.
I saved £9 on my Tesco shop by using code XXM4G6 which I found at Tesco Voucher Codes. I think of it as getting the gin free ;-)
The postie brought a Kids Go Free leaflet but we are having difficulty take advantage of FirstScotrail's offer. Nigel has a season ticket so doesn't need a ticket on the train yet the accompanying adult requires a ticket in order to generate the free child's ticket. To date, FirstScotrail haven't replied to explain how my Kid can Go Free.
Also in the post were some colour swatches from Dulux. We've already bought some bold foxglove wallpaper. - Planning and choosing the decor together is a first for us and we are having great fun (even if we don't actually get round to lifting a paintbrush for another two years!).
Today's mail also included some yellow poppy seeds from a fellow Freecycler (thank you Jen) which will help tick off Action #43 (Grow Something With a Child).
Today's action is #12 Turn off Applicances at the Mains. As usual, my children are already one step ahead of me.
This morning there was no power in the Monkey Loft. Then I remembered yesterday's Hide and Seek game when Georgie hid in the cloakroom and, sure enough, the main switch for the 'west wing' was switched to 'off'. Little monkey.
Website of the day: Web Urbanist - Eye candy for armchair urbanist
The above video is the work of French prankster Rémi Gaillard. Haha, C'est très d'une manière amusante. Je souhaite que j'aie utilisé le Tenalady™ pantalon.
I haven't laughed that much since Dom Joly's Trigger Happy series. I love (harmless) pranks. I love the idea of groups of people doing something utterly pointless.
I got a 35% discount from my La Redoute order today by using code 0864. Ooo la la!
Website du jour: Nimportequi - More candid camera style pranking from M. Gaillard
The last week of the school term begins.
I'm still working my way through my list of actions to change the world: Learn basic first aid. Tick! It was probably about 10 years ago I went on a baby rescusitation course so I have been reading up on it. You can even dowload advice from the St John's Ambulance to your MP3 player and learn on the move.
Action #5 Smile and Smile Back is a bit tougher because I'm reluctant to show my tombstone teeth but I have been smiling, so, Tick!
Action # 6 Take Public Transport When You Can is a Tick! As is, #7 Plant a Tree. I have planted a kiwi tree (do kiwis grow on trees?) and a sort of stick-shaped tree. Perhaps it is just a stick. Er, (s)Tick!
Action #8 Have A Bath with Someone You Love. None of your business.
Action #9 If it Says 30mph do 30mph. N/A
Action #10 Turn your thermostat down by 1 degree. I'm going to have to wear a cardi, but, Tick!
Action #11 Get fitter, feel better. Erm, does walking to the thermostat count? I'm beginning to feel quite tired. I'd better go for a lie down.
Website of the day: Secret Scotland - If it's in Scotland, and it's a secret, then its here.
We had lunch at Poonthais yesterday and the garden dining area had been substantially changed since our last visit with the addition of a raised walkway and pergola. It was really very lovely and today we were trying to envisage how we could incorporate something similar in our garden.
I'm afraid our DIY skills won't stretch to a garden structure - they didn't even stretch to building a small arbour - so the cost may be prohibitive but we're enjoying thinking about the possibilities.
One of the many, many things I think about more often than I do is travel. I can sit for an unnatural length of time reading an Amtrak timetable or browsing boutique hotels in Iceland. So, today, it was with some excitement that I renewed our Family Railcard (half price if you quote 'DAILYM12') and discovered that we automagically get free Youth Hostel Association membership. Ooh, I'm going to have such fun planning imaginary visits.
---ooOoo---
Lunch was brown rice, courgette, mushroom, bacon & cashews followed by pineapple upside down cake and ice cream - do I have the best husband or what??
---ooOoo---
The smell of peonies fills the house.
Website of the day: Mark Pawson - ungeneral disinfotainment from the mail art dude
Because Lucy and Georgie were at a birthday party on Friday, I arranged for Emily to walk the 300 yards from school to the party venue with a friend. This involved crossing one road with the lollipop man and one quieter road on their own. When they got to the Pennypit they were both on a high with Emily declaring she "felt brilliant!!!".
For me, keeping my children healthy and happy while helping them become responsible, fulfilled citizens is one of the most challenging aspects of parenthood - especially as it seems I'm out of step with the rest of the world a lot of the time.
I loathe this constant pressure to make kids grow up before their time. I detest excess. I hate sentences that begin "Other people are allowed...".
I have thus far resisted TVs in bedrooms but now Emily has been promised a mobile phone for her birthday. Quite apart from my several concerns about giving children mobile phones, are the practical considerations of looking after it.
Emily simply does not look after her possessions which frequently get broken because they are left lying around. This makes me very cross, but...she is just seven years old, and I don't think she will learn about the value of 'stuff' by being given yet more 'stuff' just because "other people are allowed...".
Website of the day: Neave Television - prepare to be bamboozled, bewildered, bemused...
A sight you don't see every day: A bus being towed away. It had broken down at the corner of Preston Road and West Loan and was there for over 3 hours.
A sight I'd like to see in more shops: Those wheeled shopping baskets with an extending handle in Somerfield (I never even knew it did that until Elaine showed me).
A sorry sight: Lucy sitting on the First Aid chair at nursery (another child had forgotten the 'be kind to people' rule).
An unpleasant sight: A dead bird by Robert de Quincy place (the crow had been there for 3 days and I didn't fancy using my litter pickers on it).
A sight for sore eyes: A street-cleaning unit which picked up the aforementioned bird (but not before it annoyed the driver and passengers of a 124 by going so ..s..l..o..w..l..y..
Website of theday: Goosh - an unofficial google shell.
YEEEEEESSSSSSS!
That's the sound of a happy girl. Georgie is better, the sun is shining and I've got a new breadmaker.
I was very impressed by Morphy Richards customer service. My replacement model is sleeker and faster than the original version (which is out of stock till October) and arrived very quickly.
I'm working my way through Change
the World for a Fiver: We Are What We Do
That's the first 3 challenges sorted, only 47 to go. I'm going to struggle with 36 - Take time to listen. I'm going to try really, really hard to listen more and talk less. So do try to be interesting.
Website of the day: Text 2 Mindmap - a web app that creates a mind map from your inputted list of words
Nothing got done today except for cuddling Georgie who is running a temperature and has a poorly tummy. We are all feeling quite wiped out after a rough night.
Website of the day: The Lancastria Association Scotland - an estimated 4000+ souls were lost aboard the troopship on this day 68 years ago.
I had two breakfasts today, the second of which took place approximately two hours after the first and was considerably nicer than my toast. Breakfast chez Knox consisted of an unfeasible amount of fruit scones with strawberry jam and cream. Yum.
Have you noticed how many Lidl brands sound like something out of Dr Who? The Granarom are engaged in a battle with the Vitakrone in the W5 district of the Bella rom galaxy...
Website of the day: Bob
by Post - quirky goodies you'll want to keep yourself - I love the whimsical
wonderballs
A British Gas engineer was round early this morning to see why we had no hot water or heating. He was around so early that Nigel was still in bed finishing the rest of his Father's Day breakfast in bed. While the engineer was replacing our faulty pump, Nigel had to have a longer than anticipated lie-in to preserve his modesty.
The girls got him a new watch, an MP3 player/camcorder thingy, and a tie (if using Ties Planet be sure to check out their offer of the day - at the time I placed my order the offer was for a free £10 voucher and now they are offering free delivery).
After a short walk, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden which really needed a tidy up. Every year I get 'buddleia anxiety' when I think I have cut back too hard but so far it has always bounced back. I suspect I should have pruned the wisteria this spring and it is not going to flower this year. I feel terrible for not keeping on top of it, especially as the only reason I have such a beautiful garden is because the previous owner put years of hard work into it.
But...as I sat weeding, I saw a bee in the patch of wildflowers I sowed in April. If I have nothing else horticulturally speaking, I've at least made one bee happy. And everyone knows how important bees are, don't they?!
Website of the day: Caffeine Crazy - A fun game for the Systems Administrator in your life
Gala Day in Prestonpans is one of the few times nowadays I feel like an 'incomer' but it is nice to see the decorated houses and feel the excitement in the air. On the way to the Small World shop I saw Julie and her little one Hannah who looked absolutely beautiful with her hair pinned up ready to be a flower girl.
The Small World Shop was very quiet with only one visitor but it isn't actually the lack of trade that is the most pressing problem. There is a serious need for volunteers and I'm going to see what I can do to drum up some helpers.
Meantime, I have been trying to plan a train trip in the school holidays. It sounds simple. But it is not.
There are 4 places we want to visit: Middlesbrough Reference Library; The National Media Museum in Bradford; relatives in Doncaster & the Magna Centre in Rotherham. And, when we are in t'area we might as well go to 'Arrogate and see Rachel and the Forteans.
Now, do we take the train to Doncaster and work our way back up the East Coast Main Line, trunking off as necessary, or, do we take the train to the more central York which would act as our base?
Do we book a series of singles or a more limiting return? Or do we buy Rover or Explorer tickets for the individual train lines (of which there are at least 3)?
And that's before we get into the vexatious issue of when we will go/where we will stay.
Website of the day: Museum of Conceptual Art - all sorts of weirdness here including Things Other People Accomplished at Your Age - depressing or inspirational?
It's been a lovely day.
Nigel was off today and we collected Emily from the Primary School where she was having a look around. She had a really nice morning but I was surprised how bare the playground was, not to mention the amount of litter.
Yesterday, I served something called 'Seaside Shapes' for lunch, prompting Lucy to ask what the anchor shapes were. The guilt of not being able to sum up in a word or two what was on their plate made me determined to cook 'real' food today. I made the world's greatest cauliflower cheese with bacon, enjoyed by everyone except Emily (who would probably have wolfed down the anchors, starfish and fish-shaped vegetable thingies).
It was actually a really foodie day with caviar on barley crackers for snack and lobster for tea in celebration of National Lobster Day. We had the lobster with chips - a lobster supper, you might say.
We spent some time tidying up the front garden which is looking much improved. Everything got a trim apart from the rowan. I don't consider myself to be particularly superstitious but cutting a rowan tree on Friday 13th is just asking for trouble...
Webpage of the day: Lucy the Photographer - the undedited results of a 4-year old let loose with a digital camera.
I'm pleased that our blue box scheme has been extended to include envelopes (but not padded ones) and cardboard boxes (but not food and drink cartons). You can also recycle Yellow Pages but I suspect our old copies found their way to the Yellow Woods Challenge that the school was taking part in.
Over in Barker-Family MiniCity, the population has reached 500 and now has statistics for Pollution, as well as Unemployment (23%), Transport (100%) and Criminality (5%). You can improve the environment of Barker-Family by clicking here.
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Emily went to look round the 'big' (e.g. middle) school today. Exciting times.
Website of the day: The Happy Puzzle Company - Great multisave offers and the puzzle parties look interesting.
It was Emily's sports day today - rescheduled after being rained off last week. It was pleasant and Emily did very well but today's sports days are quite subdued affairs with no three-legged race, rallying calls from house-mates or braying parents. Apparently old-skool style sports days are now all the rage for corporate hospitality and team building events.
The race for the Apprentice is now over with Lee McQueen being Sir Alan Sugar's latest recruit.
Website of the day: Claire Young - Holding her head high and going forth.
I'm desperately trying to clear my desk and turn my attentions to the house but it just isn't happening.
Today I popped into the Pennypit where Patchwork were holding a fundraiser on behalf of St Columba's. I was delighted to win a pair of tickets for the Royal Yacht Britannia and some Eat Natural bars and Heather and the committee raised £110 for the hospice.
My busy friends are always supportive and happy to lend a hand, so I'm happy to return a favour whenever I can. Helping each other is what it is all about. Unfortunately there aren't enough people willing to put their egos aside for the greater good. One person springs to mind who would feel no compunction in asking for dogsbodying despite the fact their numerous pledges of support never materialise.
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I am going to have to get in the habit of switching off the washing machine. Georgie has again started a newly-finished cycle by pressing a button. Almost as annoying as discovering a full cafetiere of cold coffee.
Website of the day: Pedlars - an old fashioned looking webshop with bang up to date products like flower wall stickers.
Reasons to be cheerful:
I found a voucher that knocked £5 off our Love & Rockets order - on the day before it expires.
The sun is shining.
The madness is over...
Website of the day: Playdale - in an ideal world, every playground would have at least basic modular play equipment which each PTA/Parent Council could add to.
Retrospective blogging is becoming a habit.
What have I been up to?
Lucy had a favourable nursery report, Lucinda got fired from the Apprentice (why is Helene still in it?), I had a tummy bug, Nigel had a couple of days off, I spent too much time on school fayre stuff.
Oh and, I had a night out involving body shop products, swingball and an escaped dog (it was a J-Bo fundraiser). The three of us ended up sitting in Ammree's garden and I smoked my first (and last) cigarette in five years.
---ooOoo---
We had great weather for yesterday's Summer Fayre and it looks like we raised over £1,500. I had a ride on the infamous Cosybike which will be the talk of the town for weeks to come.
When Lucy waves to me from the nursery window, crammed in beside other children clamouring for a view of their departing parent, I am reminded of zombie films.
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I have been laminating "I [heart] Prestonpans" signs. Over and over again. I'm sure it's not just that the message (or the fumes from the laminating pouches) has been seeping into my brain - I really do heart Prestonpans.
---ooOoo---
It's been nice having Nigel home today.
Website of the day: Paul Villinski - Butterflies from beer cans and other wonderfulness
I thought the garden looked very pretty today, albeit in a soggy, overgrown sort of way. The foxgloves are out (as are the dandelions).
I went to the exhibition at Library today. There was jewellery, ceramics and textiles - all extremely reasonably priced. I really liked Ros Parkyn's ceramics.
I've got lots of non-toothache today. The space where my tooth used to be is incredibly painful.
We braved the weather to go the photography exhibition at The Pennypit. My favourite was that of David Gough whose photographs of urban & industrial North America were really beautiful.
Website of the day: Lanka Kade - fairly traded children's toys and gifts (thanks Heather)
Everyone who came to Prestonpandemonium seemed to have a good time and it was nice for us to catch up with old friends. I had hoped the silent auction would attract loads of competing bids because people had been so generous in donating auction lots. However, we won the majority of items, despite only bidding a nominal amount but we still raised £176 for Oxfam to help the victims of the Burmese cyclone.
The weather was fantastic, Drumatik were playing across the road and there was generally a good buzz about the place.
We stocked up on Oliver East's Trains are Mint and sold the first one in minutes. I bought a copy of the Forest's Golden Hour book and CD and Magda's Toasty Cats.
It is difficult to convey just how tired Nigel and I right now. Not just from carrying boxes of comics or being up early, we are mentally exhausted after spending every spare moment for weeks organising the comic mart.
Website of the day: Reusable Stationery - cards and envelopes you can write on again and again (thank you Rachel)
I had a third tooth extracted on Monday. It was a lot fiddlier that the previous two and broke mid-procedure. My jaw is still quite painful and I'm not convinced the crater is healing up properly.
I can't remember what happened on Tuesday but I suspect it involved comics.
Wednesday was pleasant. I had fab stovies at Christine's house. She kept Lucy occupied while I took Georgie on her nursery visit. She really enjoyed it and played happily in the sandpit while I talked to Mrs Nicolson. When I went to get her another little girl was beside her at the sandpit and asked her what her name was. Normally she would look to me for reassurance but she said "Georgie" and I was very happy. I'm relieved she has a morning place with Lucy. Having them in separate sessions would have been problematic to say the least.
I'm going to pinch some of Christine's ideas for fundraising. She has been busy with her laminator making "Best Teacher" and "Happy Father's Day" bookmarks. I reckon a luggage tag or phone charm would be good too (possibly using Moo sticker books or Vista labels).
The funniest thing that happened on Wednesday was going to the 3 Harbours Arts Festival Box Office to pick up Malcy's comics and being given instead copies of Hamish McHaggis.
Malcy is just one of several people who have donated items to the Burma Cyclone Silent Auction. Actually, we've been overwhelmed at the support PPIII has received in general. The DFC have sent us a box of teaser issues and The Beano have given lots of goodies for the kids.
And the second funniest thing was at the Parent Council meeting when we heard that there will be no 'funding cuts' - just 'efficiency savings'. Oh, that's all right then.
Today has been busy.
From:Lady Martha Stirling,
4 Old Church Street, Chelsea, SW3, England.
Here writes Lady Martha Stirling, suffering from cancerous ailment. I
am married to Engineer Dennis Stirling an Englishman who is dead. My
husband was into private practice all his life before his death. Our life
together as man and wife lasted for three decades without child. My
husband died after aprotracted illness. My husband and I made a vow to
uplift the down-trodden andthe less-privileged individuals as he had
passion for persons who can not help themselves due to physical disability
or financial predicament. I can adduce this to the fact that he needed a
Child from this relationship,which never came.
When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of 10 Million (10
Million Great Britain Pounds Sterling which were derived from his vast
estates and investment in capital market with his bank here in UK.
Presently, this money is still with the Bank. Recently, my Doctor told me
that I have limited days to live due to the cancerous problems I am
suffering from.
Though what bothers me most is the stroke that I have in addition to
the cancer. With this hard reality that has befallen my family, and me I
have decided to donate this fund to you and want you to use this gift
which comes from my husbands effortto fund the upkeep of widows,
widowers, orphans, destitute, the down-trodden,physically challenged
children,barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped
financially.
It is often said that blessed is the hand that giveth. I took this
decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and
my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do not
want my husbands hard earned money to be misused or invested into ill
per ceived ventures. I do not want a situation where this money will be
used in an ungodly manner,hence the reason for taking this bold
decision.
As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the
bank in UK. I will also issue you a Letter of Authority that will empower
you as the original beneficiary of this fund via my Lawyer. My
happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation. Please always be
prayerful all through your life. Please assure me that you will act just
as I have stated herein. Hope to hear from you soon and God bless you and
members of your family.you can contact me through my private email
address:I_am_a_crook@hotmail.com
Lady Martha Stirling.
Emily is miles better today - hooray!
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Today I saw two Wombles, Wonderwoman, Spiderman, a rhino, someone dressed as a banana - and that was just in North Bank Road. I jest, it was the Edinburgh Marathon.
Mo and I saw lots of unusual sights from our vantage point of Water Station 4 including a pair of false teeth plummet to the ground and be reinstated by the runner without so much as missing a beat.
When our volunteering stint was over, we walked to Musselburgh racecourse for our long-awaited pamperng session. I missed out on last year as we had visitors and, this year, we were determined to make it along. There was a carnival like atmosphere from Levenhall onwards with people lining the streets cheering and playing instruments.
Inside the racecourse it was a bit of a melee. Morag and I were wearing our (lovely purple) 'Volunteer' t-shirts and, despite our protestations that our roles extended only to giving out Lucozade and water, several people wanted us to assist them in one way or another. One runner became very cross when I wouldn't accept her 'chip' (it wasn't made of potato otherwise it might have been a different story).
We discovered that the pamper sessions and barbecue were a couple of hours away so made our way back to Prestonpans without our treats but having had a really nice day.
---ooOoo---
In the red glow of the setting sun, the 'mountain' in the field resembles Ayres Rock.
Website of the day: Found Magazine - I could start my own version based on stuff littering Preston Road.
"I warn you, I'm obsessional" said Bernice in the Small World shop referring to her love of paper-based record keeping. As well as being obsessive, she is also very witty. She claims her appalling handwriting runs in the family. At a Parents' Evening, a teacher mentioned her daughter's poor penmanship. When she replied "Ah, that's because she suffers from familial graphia" the teacher was extremely sympathetic.
According to Bernice, people often mistake the fair trade shop for a charity shop and turn up with bags full of clothes. That didn't happen today though and I made up my first Sale or Return order and felt I had been reasonably useful.
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Jane came round in the afternoon to pick up traybake. She is going to sell refreshments from her garden to marathon spectators on behalf of Oxfam.
Website of the day: Maths is Fun - is it flippin heckers like, but as my ability to help Emily with her homework has come to an end approximately 4 years earlier than anticipated, this site might come in handy.
Yesterday took an unexpected turn when school phoned at lunchtime to say Emily was feeling sick.
When I got to school, Emily was ashen-faced and complaining of a sore head and neck. The pharmacist recommended a visit to the doctors. By this time, Emily was also complaining that her fingers felt like they had disappeared (and her hands were cold to the touch). The GP ruled out anything serious but suggested a trip to the Sick Kids if she got any worse.
After a couple of hours deep sleep, she perked up enough to meet Nigel off the train. With the exception of the sore neck, the symptoms reminded me of my own migraines.
However, this morning, Emily's first words on waking were "I can't go to school today my neck really hurts". I hastily arranged to have Lucy and Georgie looked after while Emily and I took the train and then a taxi to the Sick Kids.
The staff were very thorough and eventually diagnosed nothing more serious than a sore throat and inflamed tonsils - probably the result of a viral infection which should clear up in a couple of days.
I attempted to expedite the recovery process by buying two ice creams from Brazilian Sensation before catching a train home. Heather dropped off Lucy and Georgie who had throroughly enjoyed their time at Jo Jingles with Kimberley and Ryan.
Emily is a little happier now but sad to be missing Rebecca's birthday party.
Now, this has got me thinking....it was the mention of a sore neck which triggered alarm bells (being a symptom of Meningitis). What if she simply meant a sore throat?
Website of the day: ZeFrank - I like.
Quick recap: my mum and Alan came to visit. My breadmaker stopped working. Julie had a birthday. I had two teeth extracted. I had a day without email connection.
And tonight I attended a Parent Council Cheese and W(h)ine evening which made the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill look straightforward and calmly debated.
You have to be careful what you wish for. I always hoped that the Parent Council would be a bit more like Soroptimist International or at the very least more Rotary than Rural. The Soroptimists have consultative status on the UN and our members were involved in all sorts of subjects from education to prison reform. In other words - we didn't make jam.
It was the largest turnout in PTA/Parent Council history but the majority of people weren't interested in the plans for the new extension (it has a sedum roof!) or in meeting the new Headteacher (a very effective communicator) - they wanted to discuss composite classes. I was pleasantly surprised at how militant the crowd were. I do hope this increase in parental involvement will extend to other areas.
I am far more concerned about class size than composition. Essentially, this is a political issue and pressure must be brought to bear on the SNP. Councillor Peter Mackenzie (and Education Convenor), can be reached on Tuesdays at Prestonpans Community Centre (5.30-6.30pm) and contacted on 01620 827018 or pmackenzie@eastlothian.gov.uk.
I'm in the final stretch of Prestonpandemonium publicity and I'll be glad when I've got shot of the last of my flyers.
Last year I put flyers into the backpacker hostels. I remember a sign at one of the less salubrious ones that read 'Chunder Charge: £30'.
I doubt this 'vomit tax' decreases of mopping up after inebriates,
and suspect that some people take out an extra thirty quid on a night out
to cover the cost of spewing up in a taxi or hostel. In Freakonomics
All too often people think that putting their hand in their pocket is enough. It isn't. Sometimes we all have to put in a little effort, employ a little elbow grease, exercise some patience or self-control. In other words, do what is right, rather than what is easy.
It would be easy to buy children endless toys but a little more difficult to sit through their monstrous recorder playing. It would be easy to buy lots of raffle tickets but a little more difficult to sit and fold several hundred. It would be easy to buy a new baby a gift but avoid the post-natally depressed mum until she is better company.
Website of the day: Norway - Happy National Norway day.
It was the final Tatty Bumpkins today and I was a little too stressy to fully get into 'being a tiny seed'.
I made a real effort to switch off from Prestonpandemonium, fundraising and the other stuff that has been occupying my time and mind of late.
Emily made bunting from pennants cut out from pink refuse sacks stapled to thick ribbon. It looks quite pretty and is an improvement on my version using recycled flyers and catalogues from my recycling crate.
Lucy and Georgie made a good job of making bubble wands from two plastic straws (now being featured on Instructables). Bubble blowing is extremely therapeutic.
The rest of the day was spent making fairy doors from cardboard (kids) and drinking Pinot Grigio (me) when I should have been doing housework or something, probably.
---ooOoo---
Finally - a tribute to my very good friend Christine - a fantastic mum, businesswoman, and friend. Also, she's very clever because she is one of the few people who recognise my genius (although why she thinks falling of a cliff during a trust exercise is funny is beyond me).
Website of the day: MapTube - a free resource for viewing, sharing, mixing and mashing maps.
Yes, I "panicked bought" some carrots today. I shall have to dig out my Cranks recipe book and make a carrot layered slice.
Nigel and I are both extremely tired.
Key achievements today:
Completing Show Gnomercy Mission by depositing gnomes in and around the 'Pans.
Convincing Emily that the two dogs walking side by side was actually one two-headed dog.
And some other stuff.
Website of the day: 118 118 'Ask Us Anything' - I did. "When did Wolverine first appear?'" The answer came by text: "Wolverine had a cameo appearance on the last page of Incredible Hulk #180 (Oct 1974) & his 1st full appearance in Incredible Hulk #181 (Nov 1974). Thanks"
Recently, I was at a meeting where we discussed the distribution
of a school newsletter. Previously, parents had been given the choice of receiving
either an email version or a printed copy. A councillor in attendance
cautioned against this either/or approach suggesting everyone be given
a hard copy with a version also being emailed on request.
His logic was simple: don't single out kids who don't have a computer. I agree
wholeheartedly.
There was a time, when I was about 14, that I received free school dinners. Heaven knows who dreamt up this system but, 'free dinner kids' had to sit at a separate table.
The first time, a girl growled at me "What are you sitting here for?".
"I'm a Free Dinner" I replied miserably.
"You don't look like a Free Dinner" she sneered
I knew I was supposed to say something at this point
"Neither do you" I said brightly
"Yes I do" she muttered.
I hope school dinners will be free for all kids some day soon.
Website of the day: Be Nice to Nettles
Week - why you should be nice to your stinging friends.
It was so lovely to see my beautiful nieces Lauren and Martha today (and my sister and brother-in-law of course!). They have grown so much and Emily, Lucy and Georgie loved playing with them.
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Poor Nigel has toothache and, despite a course of metronidazole and loads of ibuprofen he is in a lot of pain. Fortunately for him, it is International Nurses Day as well as World Fair Trade day.
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Lucy is full of questions at the moment. I tried to explain to her what had happened to the people in Burma and she said "Let's ask them to come to our house for dinner then". I wish life were that simple.
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Good news: Ikea have started online shopping with home delivery
Bad news: It's only in England and Wales so far.
Website of the day: Portable Pub - an inflatable pub -what a great idea (just don't hold any darts tournaments)
My rubber plant is looking much happier for being repotted into a much larger pot.
I need to a little 're-potting' myself. Today I had to say goodbye to yet another pair of too-tight trousers.
I tend to wear my favourite clothes to the point of disintegration and today I also, reluctantly, threw out a pair of well loved but threadbare trousers.
Website of the day: Home Decor for Absolute Geeks - This is way too nice for geeks.
Well, I've done it. I've finally gone to the Parents Like Us Festival. And it was fun. Organised by parents, entrance was free and there was plenty of free activities to keep the girls occupied. Even the fairground rides were only 50p.
The "Like Us" tag really put me off. As Groucho put it, "I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member". I'm not sure what I was expecting: a make your own sandals from tyres workshop and a talk about the benefits of using a mooncup, but it was just a regular festival, albeit very well organised and uber child-friendly. A few good ideas I saw were: a (regular, family-sized) tent kitted out with changing table and nappies for baby changing; Bubble solution and lots of bubble wands; lots of bins.
All tastes of food were catered for and there was a bring your picnic area although we had already had delicious seafood gumbo at the Drill Hall were we popped in for "The Sound of Muesli" (jazz and brunch).
As I've said in J-BarBlog passim, I absolutely love going back to Leith. I love to see what has changed/remains unchanged in the (gulp) 22 years since I first made it my home.
We had a lovely day and although we heard/saw thunder/lightning, we managed to avoid getting soaked. The sound of rain on Waverley's glass roof is one of my favourite sounds.
Website of the day: Trams for Edinburgh - It strikes me as tremendously ironic that 100 years after they first started in Leith, and 50 years after they ceased running, trams are now back (and giving shopkeepers a lot of grief).
Lucy is the latest Barkerette to take up amateur hairdressing. I've had to give her a makeshift bob in the garden after she lopped several inches off her beautiful long hair.
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I don't seem to be getting anywhere fast today. My desk is a photo opportunity waiting to happening. There is: a broken necklace, a tub of loose change, flyers, travel tickets, Yet another non-working clock, spare keys and spex. There is a cotton shopping bag which I'm scared to look in because it has sat there for two days. There are checklists, action lists, shopping lists, wishlists and whooshlists (that's a to-do list which remain uncompleted after the deadline has 'whooshed' by).
There may well be A1 poster detailing all the SNP broken promises
(alongside a postage stamp on the reverse of which is written the SNP's kept
promises). There is a copy of Derren Brown's Tricks
of the Mind. 
---ooOoo---
Nigel and I can't agree. He thinks we should remove the moss on the bricks at either side of the garden path. I think it's not doing any harm, it's not the path itself and the so what, if the moss eats into the bricks in the garden. I think the garden could stand a little shabby chic.
It's not the first time we have disagreed (Quantum Physics: interesting or boring; Ikea: great or rubbish; Moon Landings: real or hoax). Feel free to join in the great debate. Answers on a postcard to the usual address. Please mark your entries either "Jan is Correct" or "Nigel is Wrong".
Website of the day: The Design Museum Shop - an oldie but a goodie. My current favourite is the Instant Labelling Tape.
It was good to meet with David Gilmour this morning to discuss the Parent Council's input to the school website. It's going to be a useful communication tool, particularly when it comes to advertising events like the Summer Fayre.
I'm surprised Google hasn't come up with a events function. The event listings services I mainly use are Ents24, zvents, upcoming, eventful, whatsonbritain, eventsites, eventsetter, britevents, urgoing.to and scotlisting.
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For obvious reasons I was thinking about a Burmese friend MS today.
I worked near a centre for doctors visiting from overseas. Our respective offices had the same door number but I was in the Square and the Centre was in the Street. Unsurprisingly I often answered the doorbell to find a jetlagged doctor looking to check-in to his room. I simply pointed the weary travellers in the right direction but it used to drive my boss crazy.
One day, my harassed boss opened the door and, on seeing my dark-skinned lunch date, spoke very s-l-o-w-l-y "No...Wrong Door...You need to go round the corner. This... is... Square...Not Street." She was rather taken aback when MS, unperturbed asked "Is Jan in?"
Website of the day: Graffiti Research Lab - Dedicated to supplying street-artists with open source technologies for urban communication.
There is a mountain of earth in the field opposite. Needless to say the girls find this very exciting. "Volcano!" shouted Lucy when she saw it.
I managed to escape the din made by the diggers this morning when I went to Musselburgh. In Oxfam they had a crate full of vintage knitting patterns and a box of maps. I didn't buy any as I already have plenty knitting patterns from the 60s and the maps were the type tourist info gives out rather than the British ones I prefer (how nerdy do I sound?).
---ooOoo--
The April photos have been published.
Website of the day: Panic Buyers - at 2.00 p.m. on May 15th 2008, everybody needs to go out and panic buy CARROTS.
I'm not often up very early but when I am, the sound of the skylarks in the field opposite is wonderful. I hear them throughout the day too but then they are competing with cars and lorries. I keep meaning to somehow record it. I hope I'm not too late. The diggers have begun churning up the field and there is what looks like the start of a site office.
I'm a great believer in redressing the cosmic balance. I can't stop the housing development but I can guerrilla garden. This afternoon the girls and I planted some sunflower seeds (Thank you Richard) on a neglected verge. A little old lady came over and started talking to us. She was quite taken with Georgie whom she described as a "lovely wee boy". Emily could barely contain her giggles.
Lucy has been on the naughty step today for running miles ahead when we were out on a buggy walk at Morrison's Haven this morning. She can run so fast. When I asked her what she thought her punishment should be she suggested she not be allowed to go on the scooter (that she shows no interest in).
Hurummph. My kids can outrun me and outsmart me.
Website of the day: Urban Exploration Poland - this is beyond exciting (for me anyway!)
Andrew and Lynne were delivering 3 Harbours Arts Festival brochures and everywhere we visited today, we were greeted by the front cover photo of paper boats.
We had a recce at the Goth to check the room layout for Prestonpandemonium. We are now chokka, or, to quote our removal man, "Ye widnae get a fag paper in there".
After a Fords picnic by the sea and headed for Sam
Burns yard. Our total purchases (lampshade, books, cassettes & nail
varnish) came to £4. A bargain if ever there was. Georgie had picked
Quaker
Faith and Practice
The girls enjoyed an afternoon of creating modern art in the sun at Prestongrange Museum, after which we headed home via the Drum Mohr caravan park shop for ice cream.
Back home we had rainbow trout, chips and mushy peas. A great end to the Bank Holiday.
---ooOoo---
I'm trying to work out how to quickly raise money for the victims of the Burmese cyclone - coffee morning? book sale? It's not the easiest of countries to get aid to, although the International Rescue Committee seems to have years of experience of working in the region.
Website of the day: Free Hugs - I'm not sure I can hug a stranger, but I like the ethos
It was a day of fun, expense, productivity, missed photo opportunities and high emotion.
Our first expense of the day was a lesson in how to spend £313 in 3 minutes - in other words, we bought Nigel's monthly season ticket. Ouch.
We dropped off Prestonpandemonium flyers with our pals in Avalanche, Forbidden Planet, Word Power, Forest and Deadhead.
I wished I'd taken a photo of the masked protesters opposite the Ron Hubbard Academy of Scientology Brainwashing. I did, however, take photos of Lucy and Georgie at the Potterrow graffiti and inadvertently appeared in a few tourists' photos of Greyfriar Bobby.
It was lovely to bump into Jane, Christopher and Robyn at the Mosque Kitchen where we enjoyed dhal and rice al fresco. It's one of several brilliant and inexpensive eateries in that part of town.
After we had collected Emily at the bus station we planned to go for an ice cream and made the mistake of going to Costa's. They didn't have ice cream and our coffee, juice and wafers cost almost as lunch as our fabulous lunch had. We will not be making that mistake again.
I'm not sure whether the reunion with Emily made us all a bit emotionally needy, but it's fair to say, the mood has been quite ugly this evening.
Website of the day: Nick Jr - being a mean and horrid parent, I don't allow my kids to watch Nick Jr (because of the adverts for unnecessary and precocious tat) but I must admit the games, crafts and activities featured on the website aren't half bad.
After saying goodbye to Emily, who was off to a sleepover, we went to Forbidden Planet where Lucy and Georgie both got free comics.
We walked to the Cathedral Precinct and visited the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. I love its zen garden and it serves the best coffee and caramel shortbread in Glasgow.
We didn't take part in the tai chi or other 'Mind, Body & Spirit' activities but I really enjoyed my visit. My favourite sections were the beautiful stained glass windows and the huge statue of Shiva. Lucy and Georgie both liked the Day of the Dead skeletons. The view of the Necropolis was so spectacular we promptly abandoned our plans to go to Falkirk and decided to visit the City of the Dead instead.
Wow! The Victorian burial ground is amazing. There was an ornate building, which I now know to be the Major Archibald Douglas Monteath Mausoleum, that had grotesque faces carved all around. It was of course locked but there was just enough space for me to slide the camera under the door and take a blind snap. The urbexer in me was thrilled but the cowardy custard in me was half-expecting a hand to come from within and grab me.
After enjoying the views of the cathedral and the sprawling
Infirmary we made our way back to the Queen Street via the Glasgow
Cathedral Not Quite New Shop (purchases: 50
Bedtime Stories,
I was suprised to to see four wild deer on the Morrison Bowmore site alongside the railway but apparently they are quite a regular sight.
Website of the day: Cacophony UK - Meaningless madness - I just hope they maintain the website and actually pull off some stunts.
On
Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening Without Boundaries
Website of the day: Truck Spills - Is there anything more exciting than 2,184 cases of Grolsch beer being dispersed over the motorway? Erm, 2,184 cases of Cadbury's chocolate?
Today's local paper reports that Claire Sheppard, Commercial Manager of Musselburgh Racecourse, is leaving the burgh to take up post as Chief Executive at Plumpton racecourse. Musselburgh Racecourse has flourished under her management with increased attendance, the award of 5* from Visit Scotland. Not forgetting the sell-out Ladies Day incorporating 'Fashion in the Field' which offers "a fantastic line up of prizes for our best-dressed racegoers".
Hmmm....permatanned fillies in frocks and fascinators trotting around for the chance to win a car...clarssy!
Sport of Kings? Which King? Stephen or Kong?
---ooOoo---
I saw a bullfinch this morning. Despite the bright skies, the first of May is chilly - ne'er cast a cloot 'til May is oot!
Website of the day: Pink Cat Shop - It is impossible to browse this site and not yearn for at least ten completely unnecessary but beautiful fripperies.
Poor leadership, complete ineptitude, self-serving braggarts (I am of course talking about The Apprentice).
The departure of Kevin Shaw, weakens my case that he is really an actor, planted there for entertainment value. He may look like Llanddewi Brefi's Dafydd but his management style owes more to David Brent.
Website of the day: Pilkipedia - a wiki based upon Karl Pilkington, Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais
Going down:
Oil prices (after Grangemouth refinery workers ended their strike)
Length of the grass (the shared space got its first mow of the year today)
Going up:
Statue of Fred Dibnah (unveiled today in Bolton)
Fencing in the field opposite
---ooOoo---
A long time ago, I read a very strange book called Ex
Utero
I was delighted to receive a note from that woman who is now mum to 6-week old Sam. Don't you just love happy endings/weird stories?!
Website of the day: Cardboard Cutout - a real-life sized telephone box - what's not to love?
There were feathers everywhere. As I walked across the bedroom, vacuum in hand, they swirled around my legs. I sat down after a prolonged sneezing/wheezing fit and asked Lucy where they had come from. "Here" she said, pointing at a hole in her duvet. "I just put my finger in like this..." and proceeds to demonstrate how she sabotaged her bedding. More clouds of small dark feathers appear.
I found some thread but no needle. I'm not sure sewing a quilt is a good idea, even if I was up to the job. Anyway, as I am more at home with a toolkit than a sewing box, I used some gaffer tape as a temporary measure. Who am I kidding?? I'm never going to get round to repairing it.
---ooOooo---
Flicking through my diary, I've just noticed it's a holiday weekend - and there's lots of stuff happening.
Not only is it Big in Falkirk and Show Scotland weekend but Saturday is also Free Comic Book Day and World Naked Gardening Day (before you ask...yes, of course I will be and yes, that is me 3rd from the right).
And of course Preston Lodge RFC play Dalziel in the final of the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup Final at Murrayfield. (This info comes from Johnston the only person to appear in the East Lothian Courier more often than me - not counting that guy with the strange surname who is always on the Court pages).
On Sunday, it is International Dawn Chorus Day. I strongly suspect the PL boys will not be getting up at 4.30 to witness nature's daily miracle.
Website of the day: Fun Forever - a blog of bizzare (sic), cool, funny and sexy stuff - no it's not about me.
You never can tell how a weekend will work out. Yesterday after my shift in the Small World shop, I had planned to meet the rest of the gang at the train station to go to Longniddry. For reasons too boring to go into we stayed at home and had an unremarkable day.
Today's forecast was for heavy rain yet was actually wonderfully warm. We took the train to North Berwick where the Slow Food Fair was taking place outside the Seabird Centre. The girls really enjoyed the carousel and the trampolines. Nigel and I had paella for lunch, the girls had burgers washed down with Fairtrade coffee (me) and freshly squeezed lemonade (them).
We bought Ballencrief honey & mustard sausages, Findlay's black pudding, Chocolate Tree truffles, Brie de Meaux & Morbier from the inprobably-named Cheesee Peasee.
Campaign of the day: The palm oil used in Unilever's Dove
soap threatens forests (and orang-utans).
What is it with these types who always want to pass on 'inside' information which they have received "on very good authority"???
Invariably the 'intelligence' is of the type likely to spread panic, hurt feelings, or be divisive.
Excuse me a second, my phone is ringing. Back in a moment....
...back again. That was my cousin who works at MI5. I'm not really supposed to tell you this but I happen to know that top secret chemical warfare is being tested in the bottom 'Pans. If you get exposed to it your brain will turn to mush. Anyone in their right mind should head for the top 'Pans.
Sheesh!
Website of the day: 3 Harbours Arts Festival - the 2008 site is now live and looking brilliant!
Great Understatements:
#1 Lucy was exaggerating her poorlyness - she recovered very quickly at the sight of Christine's tin of chocolate biscuits.
#2 Christine is quite busy - whoever said "If you want something done, ask a busy person" was probably talking about her.
#3 I have talented friends - congratulations Annemarie whose book, Hox, has been shortlisted for The Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books (8-11 years category).
#4 Photos from litter picks are never flattering - today's East Lothian News has a photo of Annemarie, Malcolm and myself with our MSP, Iain Gray.
#5 I see strange sights from my bedroom window - in the field, three boys were transforming a fourth youth into a mummy with the aid of long strips of white material. It was hilarious to watch.
#6 My husband & I have different interests - Nigel has changed the StumbleUpon preferences and now, instead of getting pretty frocks, eco-tips and pictures of cool apartments, whenever I hit 'Stumble', I see pages with titles like How to Bypass Internet Censorship, The Most Incredible Ways to Improve Thyself, and video-instructions about ethical hacking.
Website of the day: The Open Road Blog - utterly fascinating article about Linux desktop market share rising by 61% (sorry folks, normal service will be resumed shortly).
The plan was: Celebrate St Gorgeous Day with traditional English fare of bangers n' mash before going out to Labour Club.
Owing to a combination of migraine and Nigel's late homecoming only the bangers sans mash happened.
Well done Heather for raising £720 for the school. I reckon that makes one sandpit, umpteen library books and, now about five digital cameras and printers that will have been provided as a result of her efforts over the last three years.
Christine, Heather and I had a productive morning putting together raffle prizes for tomorrow's school fundraiser.
In the course of requesting product donations, I inevitably receive a few "unable to help due to the overwhelming number of requests for assistance" replies. I'm know just what they mean - with the work I'm doing on behalf of other organisations, I'm falling behind with Barker-Family Inc. and am feeling a little overwhelmed myself.
I managed to burn dinner while answering the 87th phone call of the day and was grumpy with the kids when it wasn't really them I was with cross with. Their routine has been upset with Nigel getting home two hours later and it's going to take some time to adjust.
---ooOoo---
I'm extremely annoyed that my 70s flip clock, doesn't (flip, that is). Why is it proving so difficult to source an accurate timepiece for the sitting room?
Tomorrow I think I may stick a Do Not Disturb sign on the front door and take the phone off the hook - except I won't.
Website of the day: Seabreeze - hand crafted items from vintage fabrics. Too sweet.
I ordered Georgie into the bathroom to wipe her dripping nose rather than licking it. Two seconds later I raced to the bathroom to see why she was screaming. I caught Lucy in the middle of some experimental type of piddling involving both feet standing on the loo seat. Georgie is standing in a puddle.
This day can only get better, I think. Mistake #1.
Mistake #55 was telling Emily her recorder was arriving between 12 and 6. At noon exactly she began pacing the floor. Shortly after 3 the much longed-for instrument arrived. Emily informs me that the cacophony wailing through the downstairs is called "The Chatter of Angels". A soundtrack to today if ever there was one.
Website of the day: TV Turnoff Week - "Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go and Do Something Less Boring Instead?"
There are some things you never think you will say (e.g. "I'm sorry about my kids - they've just been to yoga").
And some things you never think you will hear..."John Prescott's Bulimia Battle".
I like to think of myself as a sympathetic, compassionate person so I am bewildered at my own response to this news, i.e. supreme irritation.
Website of the day: Rhymestars - vote for your favourite nursery rhyme - 50,000 votes needed to raise money for I-Can. Free to enter.
Menu:
Italian Tart/Broccoli, Tomato and Roast Pepper Soup
Chicken in a Cream Mushroom Sauce/Chilli and Rice
Apple Pie and Cream/Raspberry and Marshmallow Mousee.
Today's lunch with five other families was the culinary culmination (culination?) of six evenings of cookery class. Nigel looked resplendent in his chef's whites. His chicken was delicious and we were very proud of him.
And for the purposes of balance...
Annoying things Nigel does: Not opening the curtains wide enough; putting the alarm on snooze; and putting a cricket ball in front of Buddha.
Website of the day: Natural Death Centre - The London Green Funeral Exhibition takes place today
Reasons to be cheerful:
Blossom on the trees
Fill a bag for £2 at the library
National Rail's Pocket Timetable feature
Linda McCartney quarter pounders on BOGOF
Coco chocolates (thank you mum)
Clouds fleeing across a nearly full moon
It's Friday!
Few Zimbabweans have reason to be cheerful. Today, the country's national day, there is still no resolution to the disputed Presidential elections; poverty is endemic and life expectancy is 44.
Website of the day: Quinish Garden Nursery - situated on the north-west coast of the Isle of Mull, it benefits from Gulf stream warm air currents. Mail order service.
I learned today of a wanton act of fiscal vandalism. No I'm not talking about the Bank of England's handling of the global credit crunch but an appalling decision which will undoubtedly cost an already badly off organisation thousands. 'Nuff said.
The reverse of my Labour Party membership card reads "...by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone,...". I believe that absolutely, but all too often egos get in the way of the bigger picture.
But back to global economics...Apparently in this time of financial crisis we will all cut back on luxuries like holidays. I'm no economist, in fact I failed Higher Economics (although sitting the exam might have helped) but I predict that when people start feeling the pinch the first thing they will do is book a (heavily discounted) holiday and head for the sun. You heard it here first.
Website of the day: StyleWillSaveUs is an e-zine of stylish, organic, ethical, fairtrade, eco-friendly, vintage, recycled and sustainable.
Our gerbil Reggie died today.
He looked in a very bad way so I carefully explained to Lucy and Georgie that I thought Reggie was poorly and that he might die. Lucy was absolutely distraught. I suggested we talk to him and the next few minutes were heartbreaking. Lucy wanted to draw a picture for him which we taped to his cage. Unfortunately, she got it in her head that the picture would aid his recovery.
When Emily got home I prepared her for the worst and we went to see Reggie but he was already dead.
We said goodbye to our little pal in the garden and buried him in a pretty spot beside some bluebells. When I began replacing the earth, Lucy got very upset and asking when he would be better. All three girls have reacted in different ways. Emily's response was very ordered and methodical. She wanted a laminated photograph of Reggie and wrote him a message on a stone and elected to break the news to Nigel. Lucy has asked lots of questions about death and Georgie is (I think) copying her sisters' behaviour declaring "I miss Reggie soooooooooo much" and then immediately turning her attention back to CBeebies.
I miss him too.
I won a box of fresh, hand crafted truffles from The Chocolate Tree in a raffle at Patchwork today. Oh my giddy aunt! They are toe-curlingly good. And much too good for children. Well, my naughty children at any rate.
Lucy continues to be wilful. Last night she managed to get both feet lodged in between the bathroom wall and a handrail. Lord knows what she was attempting to do but I managed to rescue her without dialling 999. She keeps running too far ahead on the journey home from nursery and today made a big fuss about sitting in the booster seat of Heather's car.
Website of the day: BoingBoing - just in case there is anyone in the world who hasn't heard of 'The Directory of Wonderful Things'...
What started as a grey day brightened into a lovely sunny afternoon.
In the absence of braying wifies, I could actually hear myself think and sat
in the playground reading Shame
I was introduced to the acting Depute Head. Seems nice although I suspect I own tights that are older (probably the ecru ones).
At teatime tonight both Vaisakhi and Rama Navami were marked by dishes of potato & spinach and lentils.
Website of the day: Classic Modern - I'm looking for vintage curtains and this site has some amazing Panton Eames textiles.
Happy birthday Rachel.
I spent a lot of time in the garden today. Why do horrible jaggy, thorny things or nettles or dandelions have enormous roots while pretty flowers are uprooted with the slightest of movement? I know we have to Be Nice to Nettles so I left the ones in the central bed alongside the mint, roses and peonies and just removed the ones where the kids play/get stung.
Website of the day: Blipfoto - a daily photo journal - I'm not worthy.
Yesterday I took Lucy and Georgie to Tatty Bumpkins, a yoga- based class movement class at the Pennypit. They spent more time running around than lying down. I hope they settle down.
The rest of Friday was spent waiting for British Gas to carry our their annual service of the boiler. And waiting. At six o'clock, I phoned BG who informed me that the engineer couldn't find the address (what in the six hour window?) and couldn't reach me my phone (because they had a totally different telephone number). I was livid, especially as I had to switch off the hot water and heating all day. To add insult to injury, they offered me a two hour time slot for a future appointment - why couldn't they just have done that in the first instance?
Emily picked the wrong time to cut her fringe. She came downstairs with an extremly short, uneven fringe, looking like some heroine of a manga novel. Every time I looked at her I felt angry.
The kids were packed off to bed, Nigel and I listened to Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour (theme: Youth and Age) with a bottle of rioja.
Today, I met up with fellow litterpickers, Annemarie and Malcolm. It was really nice to meet Pat Gordon and Iain Gray who came along to help for a bit. The woods behind Meadowmill sports centre are horrendous, with bottles and cans strewn everywhere. I think we filled about seven bags in total and Malcolm recruited a new litter picker. On my return walk along the railway path The Northern Belle passed me on its way to Edinburgh (from Liverpool). A good two hours work by any standards.
And I was really pleased with Georgie. Without Lucy's wayward influence, she was patient, sensible and generally good company.
Nigel had taken Lucy with him to the Glasgow Comic Fair. It was a good weekend to be in Glasgow as the first Subway Festival was in full swing. Lucy apparently played up for her dad and ran amok on the train on the homeward journey. Nigel was not best pleased with her telling her sternly that she next time she had to stay at home with me. Now there's a punishment...
Website of the day: Museum of Linoleum - also incorporating vinyl....
The Dean of Southwark Cathedral, recently banned Jerusalem from a private memorial service. The Very Rev. Colin Slee (anagram Silence Lo!) reckons it is not "to the glory of God" and is too 'nationalistic'.
Of course, Jerusalem is not a hymn and was never intended to be such - Blake dissented from the established church and the verse is considered by some to be satirical reference to Britain's Druid origins - but this ban at a private service speaks volumes (excuse the pun) and sums up my own relationship (or lack thereof) with the church.
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?
Bring me my bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire.
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.
Website of the day: Waitress Pie Maker - comfort-food recipes based on Fox's film
It's been a day of small steps, big bums and sore arms.
I took myself out of my comfort zone today by phoning people I hadn't managed to reach by email. Three people. All positive phone calls and I don't think I came across as a blithering idiot. A small step for most, a giant leap for my confidence.
My fat body burst out of my combats revealing substantially more flesh than is considered acceptable (thankfully I was indoors at the time).
Lucy had to get two boosters jabs today - MMR and DipTet. She was not happy.
Website of the day: Stoats Porridge Bars - Mmm. Raspberry & honey porridge...too good for Goldilocks.
Just as I reach a point in my life where I will shortly no longer require a buggy, I finally find the perfect one.
A couple of years ago, Nigel told me about a colleague's new bunk-bed style double buggy. The newborn was put in the lower level with the big brother in the upper seat. I was convinced the new father must have put the baby in the grocery bag (he did work in I.T. after all). But no, it was of course a Phil and Ted. Today's uber-cool perambulator was being modelled by the sleeping fortnight-old Thomas. And very beautiful he is too.
Life is all about timing. Perfect timing, bad timing, about-bloody-time timing...
I'm not a patient person. After waiting months for people to work out what is required of them, they step up to the plate way too late to be of much use.
Website of the day: Reiko Kaneko - I love the Burrow Cushion - a cushion you can tunnel your feet into.
I thought Patsy Palmer (or 'Pasty' as Emily calls her) did a brilliant job of portraying down on her luck Bianca Jackson (née Branning; previously Butcher) in last night's Eastenders.
Bianca returns to Albert Square with four kids (Whitney Dean, Liam Butcher, Morgan Jackson-King & Tiffany Dean) in tow …just as her mother Carole did 15 years previously (with Bianca, Robbie, Sonia & Billy). She berates Pat Evans (née Harris; previously Beale, Wicks and Butcher) for not having kept in touch but where was she when cousin Bradley got wed to Stacey?
Perhaps she simply forgot they were related. It could easily happen in Eastenders where people move to the far off land of 'Sarf Landon' never to be seen again. Rarely do they return to attend the hatches, matches or dispatches of their relatives. This is probably a good thing, bearing in mind a) the rate at which people get bumped off (usually those related to Ian Beale) and b) the sheer amount of weddings (usually to do with Ian Beale) and c) the fact that everyone is related (usually to Ian Beale).
Two hundred miles up t'north, Coronation Street's Gail Platt (née Potter; previously Tilsley and Hillman) is, as always, having problems with son David. She has decided that it is all the fault of her mother Audrey, from whom she has inherited her parenting skills.
---ooOoo---
Nigel's Monday cookery classes have come to an end. The Easter holidays are over. Postal prices have gone up. In Barker-Family Mini City, 6 people are looking for a job, 2 are criminals and with a population of 304, we now have our own police force. Things change, things stay the same. The world keeps turning.
Website of the day - The Japan Centre - a wide range of hand picked Japanese food items, drinks, books, magazines, accessores, gifts and cookware.
I did my first stint at the Small World Shop today. I'm always amazed that more people don't know of the Fair Trade gem that is right on their doorstep.
As well as the coffee, tea and biscuits which I have been buying for a couple of years, it now stocks pasta, rice, herbs, spices, dried fruit, cereals and conserves.
The gift range has also expanded and includes jewellery starting from just £4 for a bracelet and wooden toys for just £2.50.
My favourite is the range of stationery - you would be hard pushed to find a more beautiful array of handcrafted cards and notebooks - all at prices you would expect to pay for something mass-produced and not nearly as memorable.
It's going to take me a long time to get my head around the paperwork and sale or return side of things but the other volunteers are very patient and kind.
Website of the day: Traidcraftshop - transforming lives through justice, not charity.
I've spoken with Lynne Schroder more in the last two days than I have in the past two years. She is finalising the diary pages for the 3 Harbours Arts Festival so needed some information about Prestonpandemonium. The National Library of Scotland are very kindly supplying a bus at the end of PPIII to take punters for a guided tour of their exhibition, 'Local Heroes: The Art of the Graphic Novel'. You heard it here first.
---ooOoo---
Lucy has stepped on something sharp that is now lodged in her foot. When I tried to clean the red mark she vomited everywhere. She wouldn't let anyone at the health centre look at it and clung to me saying "I don't want to be dead". She finally let Cindy put on a rubbery plaster thing which may sook the splinter (or whatever it is) out. If not, it will be another Barker Family day out to the sick kids.
---ooOoo---
Nigel has been offered a fabby new contract which involves a longer commute but will be a good use of his skills.
---ooOoo---
Exhausting day. Interesting times ahead.
Website of the day: Give or Take - a shopping portal where you can choose to receive cashback or donate it to charity (thanks Jane for the info).
I sprinkled some seed mix in the garden today. I've never tried this before but if I get a tenth of what is promised on the container I will be very happy indeed.
It contains a mix of exotic-sounding wild meadow flowers: Yarrow, Corn Cockle, Bishop's Weed, Snapdragon, Granny's Bonnet, Pot Marigold, Safflower, Cornflower, Siberian Wallflower, Painted Daisy, Chicory, Clarkia, Chinese Houses, Tick Seed, Cosmos, Hound's Tongue, Wild Carrot, Larkspur, Sweet William, African Daisy, Coneflower, California Poppy, Indian Blanket, Bird's Eye, Summer Azalea, Gypsophila, Sweet Rocket, Candytuft, Flax, Germany Catchfly, Mallow, Alpine Forget-Me-Not, Five Spot, Love-In-A-Mist, Evening Primrose, Flanders Poppy, Californian Bluebell, Scorpian Weed, Blackeyed Susan, Sage, Soapwort, Campion, Sweet Alyssum, Prince's Feather, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Golden Marguerite, China Aster, Knapweed, Painted Daisy, Chrysanthemum, Ox-eye Daisy, Corn Marigold, Viper's Bugloss, Summer Azalea, Sunflower, Morning Glory, Marvel of Peru, Pincushion Flower, Campion and Zinnia.
Website of the day: Goodz4kidz - a one-stop shop for children's toys and equipment - and they take Paypal
Lucy and Georgie have been testing the boundaries...literally. Today they escaped under the fence and under the neighbour's leylandii emerging with twigs in their hair.
This is not what I meant about wanting to 'bring the garden in to the kitchen'. I have been searching for just the right shade of green to do exactly that. So far the tester pots I've bought have been too zesty and trendy looking. I'm looking for something more retro - somewhere in between mushy pea and olive.
---ooOoo---
Seven of us were meeting in the train station with John Yellowlees from FirstScotrail to discuss 'adopting' the station. This basically means FirstScotrail provides big planters and reimburses the group for money spent on flowers.
Website of the day: Bounce - award-winning protein balls - Wheat/Gluten/Dairy/GM/Cholesterol-Free, Low Carb, Naturally Sweet, 100% Natural
I have a saying: "Accidents only ever happen when someone doesn't do as they are told".
There were three accidents today all because Georgie wasn't doing as I told her.
"Georgie, don't lean out of the window" - Accident #1
"Georgie, you can't carry a box of 12 eggs" - Accident #2
"Yes you can play in the garden but don't go in the Monkey Loft" - Accident #3
Which is that country where you still allowed to smack your children? Ah, yes, England. I might accidently catch a train there soon.
Website of the day: Throx - three socks for the price of two.
Migraine!
I don't know why I get so stressed taking the kids out but I do. I needn't have worried though, Lucy and Georgie behaved much better than many of the adults I encountered today.
While waiting for the train to Edinburgh, a grown man and an older child made a 'game' of shoving each other near to the platform edge.
Once onboard, the usual station announcements were made and a child asked their accompanying adult what 'mind the gap' meant. The adult chose to demonstrate exactly what this meant at Musselburgh train station - much to the confusion of the several people attempting to board the train.
I was taking Lucy and Georgie to meet up with Nigel and Emily who were selling comics at the Out of the Blue Arts Market in Dalmeny Street so left Waverley by the Calton Road exit and made our way down Leith Walk.
I always loved living in Leith and it was really nice to be back strolling down the Walk. People talk about its gentrification but it was always changing, always vibrant. The former bus depot Shrubhill is no more. Old-style cafe's have been replaced by trendy coffee bars and the smallest slivers of retail space have become Internet booths. I noticed several Polish delis. Some things never change: shops that can't quite decide what they are selling (the famous one being Borland's Darts & televisions but I noticed others: CDs & shoes); windows of beautiful saris, bangles and jewellery; roadworks...
I popped in to Elvis Shakespeare which epitomises everything that is great about Leith.
The former Drill Hall in Dalmeny Street is now a fantastic venue. The Arts Market was very well organised with a refreshment station selling bacon rolls, home-baking, soup and drinks. In addition there was self-service tea and coffee available on an honour system. A very clever idea which I might borrow.
There were lots of interesting stalls. Textile jewellery still seems to be the in-thing. Our stallholder neighbour Amy was selling unusual pieces of jewellery crafted from slices of 35mm film canisters and across from us was Dirk Robertson who sat knitting carrier bags...out of carrier bags. Lucy took a shine to Lynsey Walters felt rings and then helped herself to a pack of notelets, possibly because I was helping myself to the various business cards on each stall. When I realised I took it back and Lucy was heartbroken. I would have bought it for her but it was £6 (and we were there to sell small press comics, not buy more stuff). Lucy wailed "I want a flower picture' all the way back up to station, pausing only to ask "What's that?" when we passed a grocer's shop. It was a coconut - for a mere 67p.
The sunshine on Leith had turned to drizzle. Lunchtime drinkers were now drunk and weaving in out of my path. Lucy continued to wail. Georgie was asleep in her buggy so I carried the buggy up the steps at Waverley. Despite the chivalrous efforts of fellow passengers we missed the train by one minute which gave a whole 29 minutes for Lucy and Georgie to fight over the coconut.
Animals spotted: Giraffes (outside Omni), Cow (inside Drill Hall), Rabbits (real ones, at Wallyford station)
After an unsettled night, Georgie seems much happier today.
My friends in waste management (the Council ones, not Tony Soprano et al) dropped off more refuse sacks.
The girls and I made fairy doors.
I helped Nigel price comics.
And that was my day, more or less.
I'm having the literary equivalent of 'I haven't got a thing
to wear...". Despite having as many unread books as I do unworn frocks,
no book seems to fit my current frame of mind. I couldn't get into Kathy Reich's
Grave
Secrets
Fortunately, Annemarie emailed me the next three chapters of her new book so I now have something I'm actually looking forward to reading.
---ooOoo---
There was a yummy surprise in today's mail in the form of a pack of Cranberry, hazelnut & orange Eat Natural bars (thank you Marcella!).
---ooOoo---
I had earmarked this evening to work on Prestonpandemonium but it's just not happening. My equilibrium has been upset over the past couple of days. Amongst other things, Georgie has been unwell and I've been worried about her. Then there are the army of halfwitted, pious and irritating who add to my stress levels.
Website of the day: Wilkinson
Plus - I'm not familiar with this chain as they don't have shops in Scotland
but their online shop is very handy for household essentials.
I'm not sure which is taller: the Easter egg mountain or the washing mountain. I have so much washing I can actually do a yellow wash. Pink (or grey), I can understand, but yellow?
We all went to Edenhall for Lucy's speech therapy review. We trundled back through Pinkie, stopping to buy fish from a van and then some essentials (mushy peas and beer) from the Farm Shop. Our neighbour gave us a bag of Easter eggs.
Peter arrived in time for tea (fish, chips, mushy peas, ice cream and broken up Easter egg).
We had a whale of a time watching the Apprentices flounder in their attempts to sell £600 worth of fish. Rather than selling fish to, say, a restaurant, Nicholas instead sold his remaining shellfish and crustacians to a firm of lawyers (caviar emptor?). Will I be watching the rest of the series? You'd batter believe it.
Website of the day: Toys from Trash - simple to make, science-based activities. I like the Newspaper bin.
I'm not sure what is greater: my calorific intake today or the washing mountain.
Patchwork EH32 were having a strawberry tea in aid of Marie Curie this morning so, I took a break from domestic drudgery to partake in scone, jam and cream at the Pennypit.
When Heather dropped Emily off this afternoon, she brought with her the world's largest muffin and a copy of Asco's catalogue of educational resources. Interesting stuff.
Website of the day: Aref Adib - satirical musings from London-based Iranian Mehrdad
A quiet day. We had a spring clean of the garage this morning. It gets in a mess quite easily and I really wanted to have all the gardening things within reach. Uncovered a quite ridiculous number of cordless screwdrivers and masking tape.
Carmel and Andrew popped in to say hello.
It is very reassuring to hear yet more positive things about the incoming head teacher.
Emily's blog has been updated.
Event of the day: Out
of the Blue Arts & Crafts Fair, Saturday 29th March 12 - 7, Drill
Hall, Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh.
Erica delivered chocolate
eggs
Ate hot cross buns
Sunday lunch
Trailed through Newhailes
Early night for sleepy heads
Relax & recuperation...
Website of the day: The Apprentice - the latest series of my only guilty TV pleasure starts on Wednesday
It was a brilliant party which spilled out into the beautiful garden. Wine flowed. People smoked. The Rolling Stones sang.
As birthday parties go, Esme's sixth rocked!
Website of the day: Rosa
Rose - community garden in Berlin Friedrichshain which suffered extensive
destruction earlier this month
Hooray, Hooray, it's a Holi Holi Day!
The actual date of the Hindu Festival of Colours is tomorrow but you know how it is....you want to throw something at your husband and can't find the mallet...
It's proving quite difficult to remove the paint. Thank goodness for the sleet.
Happy Good Friday, Purim; Naw-Rúz, Benito Juárez Day, Namibia National Day, World Poetry Day, Bach's birthday or whatever else you are celebrating today.
Website of the day: Dad Can Do - an inspirational site, particularly aimed at single dads but of interest to all parents and carers.
I thought Georgie was a little too quiet in the Parents Room today. While I was busy stocktaking (alright, I was chatting), she was covering her face and arms in red ink. Perhaps she thought today is Holi.
The schoolchildren looked excited as they made their way to church carrying daffodils. I skipped the Easter service on the grounds I don't 'do' Church, or Chapel, or Synagogue, or Mosque (but show me a Temple and I'm removing my shoes quicker than you can say Govinda Jai Jai).
Website of the day: Saltire Driver Training - the website of the Lothian's newest driver training school launched today. Congratulations Kevin. Well done Heather.
Things that amused, entertained and generally pleased the Barkerettes today:
An enormous green crane
A streetlamp bulb being changed by a man in a cherry picker
Choosing Easter eggs
Lunch al fresco
Making a luggage tag
Wearing a pig dressing up outfit
Website of the day: Tings wot i have found on teh intarweb - an amusing blog of quirky websites
Friend X, doesn't get on with Friend Y. I understand, really I do. People can get on your nerves, friends can be shallow, others can be inconsiderate. I had put it down to either my uber-tolerance or casual door policy. To put it another way, I hadn't considered the feelings of X (Y is blissfully ignorant of X's animosity). Until now.
When it emerged that X, a person whose opinion I value, was good friends with Z, I was utterly gobsmacked. Z is a gossipy self-serving troublemaker without a single redeeming feature. X is an intelligent person, how could they be friends with such a person? I was confused - which I guess is how X had been feeling.
---ooOoo---
Morag, Dean, Lucy, Georgie and I had a fun time at the Pennypit today. The kids made Easter bonnets and cards and received a Cadbury's Button Easter egg from the Easter Bunny (a.k.a. Patchwork Committee wearing floppy ears). Morag won a Green & Black's hamper in the raffle. I won an assortment of Snackylicious crisps. Nice, but dried fruit is no match for chocolate.
Event of the day: An Evening of Clairvoyance with Roberta Gordon, Prestonpans
Labour Club, 23rd April, 7.30 p.m. Tickets, priced £5, available here
As Morrissey would have said if he ever had to do the school run: The playground is full of crashing bores.
I find myself zoning out from the inane chatter and my eyes begin to glaze over. Occasionally I'll say "Really? Fascinating..." or "Uh huh, yeah, hmmmm" to give the illusion I'm paying attention but really my mind is far, far away.
One of these days someone is going to say "...and then my entire family fell into the ravine" and I'll be going "Uh huh, brilliant, yeah...". Or maybe not.
Website of the day: Made in Design - contemporary design at very reasonable prices - when I looked there were 264 items under £15.
We met up with the Allans and the Bonnars for a walk around the Gosford Estate. What a great place. Within 30 minutes we had encountered cows, wild boar, horses, deer and hens. We hadn't seen either family in ages so it was nice to catch up over a Guinness at the Longniddry Inn.
Website of the day: Shit Tip Island - a reminder that the Prestonpans Spring Clean will take place on Saturday 12th April. Meet at the Train Station at 10.00 a.m.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! No, I haven't gone wrong, today, really is St Paddy's Day brought forward from the usual 17th as to avoid a Holy Week clash. The last time this happened was in 1940 (when it coincided with Palm Sunday) and it won't happen again until 2160.
I got a card through the door to say delivery of a parcel had been attempted. Grrrr. We were in, we were just having an impromptu disco in the Monkey Loft.
It is just me and Georgie today, the others having gone to Glas Vegas. Georgie is such a happy wee thing. She tackles the gardening with as much relish as I do the Creative & Media section of WorkGuardian.
Website of the day: Favourite Website Awards - a gallery of cleverly designed sites
The skylarks are back! At least I thought I could hear an exaltation.
I made porridge oats bread today which was a big hit.
It has been a lovely sunny day and the girls have been playing well together, finding leaves and petals for their treasure hunt.
Things returned to abnormal five minutes later when Emily ran into the kitchen shouting "Mum, Georgie's doing a poo in the garden room and it's EVERYWHERE".
Website of the day: Nothing To See Here - this site is a bit special, being a celebration of the overlooked, ignored and everyday.
We raised a modest £70 at this afternoon's coffee & homebaking thingy. Although this is probably enough to buy a photosmart printer or digital camera I can't shrug off the feeling that as much effort was put into it as events which raise ten times as much.
When you take into account that the committee bought raffle tickets for prizes they donated, and then paid for the priviledge of eating cakes they baked, the tiredness I feel is out of all proportion to the amount raised from non-committee members.
This might sound very negative but it was actually a pleasant afternoon - it just reinforced my belief that fundraising via events is a long slow haul.
Someone who is having great success at raising funds is Ross Cargill who is running the Edinburgh Marathon on behalf of Christian Aid.
Website of the day: Edinburgh Marathon - volunteers required for Sunday 25th May. It only takes a few hours and your chosen charity gets £25.
In looking for a child's birthday present I found myself browsing BrightMinds website. They have some interesting things but I'm not sure I want to meet any child who wants a CD-Rom of 'An Introduction to Stocks and Shares'.
Nursery has issued the children with a treasure hunt sheet containing 20 squares in which are written the 'treasure' to be found. Given the current state of the garden I could mock up a similar sheet substituting white petal, a feather, blade of grass etc for Walkers Crisp Packet, Polystyrene, carrier bag etc etc. Lucy can't wait to get hunting but it was a bit too windy today.
I can't wait to spend some time in the garden but there just isn't enough time at the moment. Ideally I would like to reinstate the filled-in pond and waterfall to encourage frogs like this couple did in their similarly-sized pond, but I suspect it is too large to make safe with a grid.
Website of the day: The Common Place -Leeds-based autonomous anti-capitalist non-hierarchical volunteer-run DIY venue, cinema, cafe and community space.
Storms may be battering the south of England but it was a wonderfully crisp morning here with beautifully clear views across to Fife. I could see a cruise ship making its way through the Forth and felt happy with the world.
I'm a bit too laid back today to put together something 'short and snappy' so took time off from events and PR and had a thoroughly lovely morning of dressing up, baking and, erm, litter picking.
We had Nigel's homemade burgers for tea which went down very well with the girls. I adore Nigel's cooking and yesterday's yellow pea soup with bacon and dumplings was out of this world.
Joke of the day (thanks Annemarie): While attending a Marriage Awareness Weekend, Robert and Mary listened to the instructor declare. "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other."
He addressed the men. "Can you each name your wife's favourite flower?"
Robert leaned over, touched Mary's arm gently and whispered, "Self raising, isn't it?"
Thus began Robert's life of celibacy.
Today, is Commonwealth Day, which I'm celebrating with a Common Cold. Nigel reckons I sound like Mariella Frostrop. I reckon I sound more like Marge Simpson.
One of my favourite Simpson's episodes is "Homer's Enemy" featuring Frank Grimes "the man who had to struggle for everything he got in life". Beleaguered Frank finally snaps and acts outs Homer's moronic behaviour, which includes stuffing doughnuts into his mouth before finally being electrocuted. (You probably have to see the entire episode to appreciate the comic genius/darkness.)
I sometimes quite often fear I am going to have a Grimey-style meltdown
and run amok in Greggs (or Alan
Patridge style breakdown and run down Ayres Wynd with a huge piece of
cheese).
---ooOoo---
In today's mail was quite the prettiest piece of direct mail I've ever received. It contained a free sample of Comfort Tropical Freshness fabric softener.
Pretty in a very different way is Fran Crowe's collection of 46,000 pieces of plastic rubbish she picked up in a year from the Suffolk coast. Fran's exhibition will be at Landguard Fort in Felixstowe from Good Friday 21st March until 5th May Bank Holiday (open daily 10-5).
Thanks Christine for the Lidl shop. It was all going swimmingly until the bargain 5 litres of bleach for 69p started to leak...
Lucy was very pleased to receive Paddington
Rules the Waves
Website of the day: Bus
Tracker - Track your (Edinburgh) bus here.
We've had quite a creative day.
Nigel and I created a polystyrene 'island' from old maps.
The kids created havoc.
Website of the day: Geek-ware - blog of a woman who creates beautiful things from old electronics.
According to my mum, when I was a baby I was asleep outside in my pram when the pit band marched past. I never so much as fluttered an eyelid.
38 years and 215 miles northward later, I again live in a former mining town but don't sleep as soundly. Pipe bands tend to be more popular than brass here and today I was at a coffee morning to raise funds for the Prestonpans & District Pipes & Drums. It was quiet, probably because of the rotten weather, but we were made very welcome and had a pleasant time.
We also stopped in at The Small World shop where complimentary fair trade coffees and biscuits were being served. The shop doesn't get nearly as much trade as it would if it had a High Street location and the ladies told me they do as much trade at events further afield as they do on the premises. Their real challenge though is finding volunteers (Tues, Thur, Fri 10-12 & 2-4 and Sat 10-12).
Our real challenge at the moment is getting the kids to sit still. We sat down to watch Monsieur Hulot's Holiday and the moment it started Emily groaned "Why is there no colour?". Then Lucy joined in with "where has the colour gone?", closely followed by Georgie whining "why the colour gone?". I told them all to be quiet as they would miss the multicoloured unicorn (I know, I'm cruel and unusual). The littlest two fell asleep and Emily got bored and played her gameboy until bedtime. Hourra for Jacques Tati!
Website of the day: International Women's Day - remembering the 15,000 women who, one hundred years ago today, marched through New York City demanding better working conditions and equal voting rights.
Logic dictates that when the house is a tip, my most houseproud friends will drop by and when I look grotesque my most glamourous mates call in. I shouldn't have been suprised that when both the house and myself were in less than glorious condition uber-mum Donna popped in.
She stopped by to see if she could help with a litter pick.
This statement is completely untrue and if she's reading this she's probably spilled her v&t all down her latest Boden outfit.
At the moment the only news in Prestonpans is the appointment of a new head teacher at the school. There will be a chance to get to know her after the Easter break. In my more surreal moments I imagine making her complete those annoying questionnaires I get sent on a daily basis ("forward this to 12 people and your dreams will come true"). Obviously I'd substitute "What are you listening to right now?" and "have you ever loved someone so much you cried?" (bleurggghh) with something much more revealing like:
Punchline to your favourite joke? - "I
dunno but it hurt like buggery"
Facebook or Myspace? - Myspace
Have you Ever Kissed an Idiot (or wished that you could)? - Reader,
I married him
Granny Murray or Mama Mirabelle? - Mama
Mirabelle in small doses but I dislike most children's TV
Would you rather...wear a shell suit or pick up dog poop? - oops
that last question was for Donna
Website of the day: Wallpaper
from the 70s - it's like wallpaper, from the 70s, man.
Happy Maha Shivarathri! I'm still full of cold and just want to slob about in cosy jumpers rather than salwar kameez. But I have decorated my hands and I plan to make Bhang Thandai (without the bhang).
Another cause for celebration is of course World Book Day. I think some people might have thought I was marking the occasion by looking like Jeanette Winterston. Don't get me wrong, I admire her as a writer but she's not exactly my idea of a style icon. I really must get my hair cut.
Curiously, on WBD, I am in the unusual position of not having a book on the go. I have given up on Londonistan - Melanie Phillips's rant about Western liberalism being the cause of (Islamist) terrorism. I'm sure Daily Mail readers love this stuff but I found it hysterical (not in a good way).
I might read a Christopher Brookmyre's Boiling a Frog next. I have an unfeasibly large collection of unread books next door in the Monkey Loft but nothing that I've been particularly looking forward to. I think I might have a clear out soon and sell some on Green Metropolis.
---ooOoo---
The Barker Family World Domination Plan is picking up the pace - there are now 100 residents of the mini city (thanks Christine) but we could do with some transport links.
And, on a very exciting note, my polystyrene wall art is being featured on the the Instructables home page (which means I am officially awesome). My ego is suitably massaged.
Website of the day: - Dwanda - Unique creations by talented folk - prices shown in Euros so you might want to convert with xe.com
After weeks of resisting any sounds practise, Lucy and Georgie are now very keen to ' hay hounds'. Unfortunately, I've lost my voice. Fortunately, Jolly Phonics uses actions:
t - Turn head from side to side as if watching tennis and say
t, t, t.
p - Pretend to puff out candles and say p, p, p.
m - Rub tummy as if seeing tasty food and say mmmmmm.
d - Beat hands up and down as if playing a drum and say d, d, d.
g - Spiral hand down, as if water going down the drain, and say g, g, g.
l - Pretend to lick a lollipop and say l l l l l l.
f - Let hands gently come together as if toy fish deflating, and say f f f
f f f.
b - Pretend to hit a ball with a bat and say b, b, b.
and the one they have most trouble with...
s - Weave hand in an s shape, like a snake, and say ssssss
I can imagine how frustrating it must be for them not to make themselves understood. I had a hard enough time this morning conveying my wish to register for Home Delivery with the Somerfield staff (rather than completing a form each time). The problem was exacerbated by the fact they couldn't find the relevant forms (and don't give a stuff about customer service).
The last time we got a delivery from Somerfield the delivery guy still hadn't been an hour after the delivery slot had passed. We phoned. They knew nothing. He turned up several hours later explaining that he thought the order was for a similar-sounding street and "the woman there doesn't get in from her work until after 4".
Website of the day: The Ecologist - Tells it how it is in a non-preachy way. If anyone still needs convincing about the dangers of plastics to marine wildlife, take a look here.
There was only one reason we were late this morning and it begins with E.
Emily finally appeared downstairs 5 minutes before we were due out the door. It was only after she had wolfed down cornflakes that I saw she was wearing a school skirt, winter boots and...bare legs. "Other children have bare legs" she yelled. I resisted screeching back "yeah, the one's whose parents are junkies" and instead frogmarched her upstairs to change.
---ooOoo---
A wee while ago when Rosie and I were chatting about returning to work she mentioned talking to a careers adviser who had identified her various skills which she herself hadn't previously considered particularly marketable. This afternoon, I had a similar blether with Christopher who listed the qualities and experience I have which would be useful to a prospective employer. This bolstered my confidence enormously and I couldn't help thinking that he would be fantastic at advising others wishing to return to the workplace.
---ooOoo---
One of my neighbours, Kathleen, said that the previous owner of our house used to organise a clear up of the shared area of greenery. I'm not sure I want to take over this organising role but today I removed loads of debris that has become lodged in the branches and was pleased to see that more guerrilla crocuses popped up.
Website of the day: Shari Elf - bonkers website from thrift artist extrordinaire plus strange songs.
Today is House Day - the anniversary of our moving day. Two years ago it was snowing heavily. Today the skies are blue.
I had wanted to have a day of house cleaning and maintenance but am absolutely full of the cold and spent the majority of the day curled up shivering on the sofa, unable to stay warm.
---ooOoo---
Emily came home from school declaring that "everyone else has a more interesting weekend than us". I asked for evidence. Apparently B "had chicken nuggets" and P "went to Disneyland". I pointed out that she too had chicken nuggets in Burger King the previous weekend and that the Disneyland trip was most probably a figment of P's lively imagination. She looked unconvinced.
"Aah, but did anyone else win a colouring-in competition?" I ask, presenting her with a Cadbury's Crunchie Easter Egg. I do believe she smiled and it only took 10 minutes cajoling and bribery.
---ooOoo---
My Mother's Day present arrived today. A breadmaker with a jam-making function. I'm really looking forward to using it. Thank you girls.
Website of the day: Earthship Fife Visitor Centre - low impact living.
All I really wanted was a Mother's Day minus moaning; a Sunday dinner sans squabbling; a walk without whingeing. It wasn't to be.
On the plus side...Nigel's sausage and bean casserole was wonderful. In Burns Yard I picked up a bundle of old maps (which I plan to use as wallpaper); two mugs and some books - all for £2.50.
We are all a bit sniffly which has contributed to the above average grumpiness levels
---ooOoo---
A few website updates:
The Prestonpandemonium site has been updated to include Nigel's Radio Scotland interview.
As Alanis Morissette might say, 'Thank You India' for visiting the J-BarBlog. I was delighted to see a red dot appear there on my cluster map.
Website of the day: Dirty Pig - as part of an anti-litter campaign you can add a snout and ears to your photograph.
There is a saying that March 'comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb'.
It was quite windy this morning as we raced down to the Town Hall (It is advisable to be prompt at church fundraisers - Rosemary's teabread is legendary).
Emily and Georgie drew pictures of Easter Eggs while Nigel, Lucy and I had a browse. Bargains included an Allegra Hicks washbag and a Gameboy Advance, complete with Mario Kart Supercircuit game.
With a bit of acting out that would have made Marcel Marceau proud, Elaine indicated that Georgie was far from happy. Order was restored after some juice and biscuits. There was no teabread at the homebaking stall but we did buy an apple tart and some fairy cakes (which I felt obligated to buy after Georgie touched them all).
Emily was not happy that the tombola had ended before she got a chance to have a go. I was secretly relieved. I'd just seen Betty win a bottle of washing up liquid. If Emily had won that I think tears may have been shed.
---ooOoo---
Sarcasm is utterly wasted on my husband.
Picture this scene of domestic drudgery. I have rolled up my sleeves and am about to tackle the dishes. Everywhere I look is a scene of chaos. Nigel strolls into the kitchen and announces he is going to watch football.
"Would you like me to bring you a cup of tea and massage your feet" I quip.
"Ooh, that would be lovely" He replies.
I switch the kettle on.
Website of the day: St David's Day - Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!
Christine was running a fundraising pamper session at the Infant School so came by first thing to exchange Emily (7) for Andrew (4) + Sarah (3). Lucy and Georgie were beside themselves with excitement to have their respective best friends to play and we spent the morning playing zombies, hide and seek, I-spy, drawing, reading, singing and watching CBeebies.
Sarah makes me laugh. She said "Jan, Jan, I'm hungry" and as it was only 8.40 I asked if she had had breakfast. "No, I haven't" she replied. "Would you like some toast or cereal?" I ask. "I've already had toast and cereal" she answered glancing towards the biscuits her mum had given me.
When Christine got back she told me £160 had been raised for the school's digital camera fund. Excellent! I got my own pamper session when school finished. Emily massaged my hands, feet and head. Lucy and Georgie attempted to help but it all got a bit messy. Emily even made lunch (peanut butter sandwich, grapes, orange kitkat and traybake). Later I had a bubble bath and all three girls poured water down my back. Bliss.
Leap Day is an extra day, a freebie, a bonus track in the calendar of life. I'm really glad that mine was so nice.
Website of the day: Children on the Edge - the Body Shop at Home's Fundraising page.
The thing about having a large extended family is that there is a birthday every week (or it feels that way). Ever since I discovered kitsch-tique it's been the first place I look for inexpensive gifts for little girls. The latest purchase was a cute little ring made from a button - a bargain at £2 and the lovely Emma even popped it in a gift bag and sent it with a message direct to the birthday girl.
Another thing about extended families is that some of them are
bonkers eccentric (I'm including myself of course). Proof,
as it were needed can be seen here. I like eccentricity. Who in their
right mind would want to be concentric?
Unfortunately, I encounter all too few Arthurs and too many dullards. If your main hobby is yourself - you have an exceedingly dully hobby.
Website of the day: QDOS - I'm already suffering from socal networking overload and don't really understand the point of it all. However, if you are feeling terribly self-important you can see how you rate in cyberspace.
Lucy has been a little monster today.
Ever since she turned four she has been suffering from the Terrible Twos.
---ooOoo---
The night sky is full of stars this evening.
From the sofa I get a really good view of aircraft and thought it was more than a little odd that, despite it's flashing lights, one plane didn't appear to be moving. A few minutes outside with the binoculars ruled out extra-terrestrial craft and we decided it was either a very twinkly star or planet. But what a joy to look heavenward and see so many stars.
Website of the day: Playpump Water System - is it a merry-go-round or is it a life-saving water pump?
While waiting for the train to Edinburgh we could see Adele painting her mural on the other side of the platform.
First stop in Edinburgh was Avalanche Records to give Ali a Prestonpandemonium flyer. You would never think that only a week previously he and Malcy were performing in a skip at Instal.
We had lunch at the Forest Cafe followed by look round Total Kunst Gallery where Andre Stefan White's 'Nostalgia' exhibition runs until 1st March. We then dropped in on Deadhead Comics (Candlemaker Row, 10-6 Sun 12-6). I made an emergency dash to Shelter where I bought a jumper cos I was flipping freezing. I also picked up a copy of the Edinburgh Charity Shop Map.
The gang were reunited shortly after 3 and I was so glad to see Emily.
When we arrived back at Prestonpans Station, Adele had gone but we took the time to admire her work which includes hardboard figures of a guard, and a small child sitting reading a book. Very nice. I don't like all the murals in Prestonpans (or rather, I don't like the siting of some of the murals) but this one enhances the former ticket office no end.
Website of the day:Su Blackwell - librarians, look away now...
I knew we would miss Emily when she went on a sleepover. We
watched Keeping
Mum
Website of the day: Design
Milk - One woman's blog of beautiful things. I will never tire of looking
at beautiful things. Fortunately I own lots of mirrors have a beautiful
family.
I was very impressed that my Oxfam deliveries arrived today - one day after placing the order. Last mother's day I bought ethical gifts from Oxfam Unwrapped and, as both my mum and Brenda really liked them, I decided to do the same this year. As previously blogged, Oxfam now sell a selection of donated goods online. Best of all, postage is a flat £2.85 which was a real bargain as my order was being sent to three separate addresses.
I bought a 60s mantlepiece clock and a couple of graphic novels for resale at PPIII once Nigel's read them. It's definately worth a look if you have a particular thing in mind. My clock arrived carefully wrapped in pages from Worthing Property Guide - a reminder that I've a lot more scrimping to do before I can buy a house on the south coast.
---ooOoo---
I broke my tooth today. The remaining bit looks like the Old Man of Hoy. After being temporarily patched up by the dentist we braved gales, rain and hailstones on the way home. The moment we got changed out of our wet things the sun came out.
Website of the day: Improv Everywhere - causing mayhem globally, which reminds me....flashmob Sunday Waverley Bridge/Princes Street 15:30hrs. Shhhhh....it's a secret.
I can see a beautiful full moon tonight with clouds scuttling past. It seems like a good point to reflect on my day.
I am still a tap short of a bathroom but I had the looooongest soak in a bath thanks to the skills of Lynton Services.
Prestonpandemonium III continues to gain momentum and there have been some very exciting developments. Emails are arriving faster than I can reply at the moment (including one from someone who think our comics are of the stand-up variety. Now there's an idea....).
Things may be a hive of activity in Barker Towers but in Barker-Family minicity, residents are leaving because unemployment has reached 17%. Who's running it, Margaret Thatcher? You can help bring industry by clicking here.
Our local paper reports that neo-tories aka the SNP/Libdem administration plan to axe 1500 jobs from local government. What next, increase class sizes? Hang on, they've already done that...
Website of the day: Books from Scotland - "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde" (Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy) is launched today.
I'm having a manic episode. Symptoms of mania include:
* Increased activity, and restlessness
* Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
* Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity (Nowt new there then)
* Extreme irritability
* Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
I hardly slept last night but I suspect that was something to do with each child waking up at different times with different complaints (Earache/Grumpiness/Georgieness).
To bring me down to earth I've been looking at these images. Like the rogue spy satellite, I haven't come down yet, but when I do I hope it's a soft landing.
Website of the day: Colour Lovers - to say you can play with colours and patterns doesn't do this site justice (but that's what most visitors will do)
It occured to me while making lentil soup that lentils are a lot like rawlplugs. I used to be scared of both until I realised how embarrasingly easy they are to use. Profound thought over...I now bring you a bulletin from the bureau of boring observations:
Somerfield has changed. The old tobacco kiosk has turned 180 degrees and is also an express checkout. (Which explains the recent price slashing. I'm glad I stocked up heavily discounted filter coffee when I did.)
---ooOoo---
When she's not telling us how horrible we are and how she would rather live somewhere else, Emily can actually be really good company. She was telling us about a supply teacher who told the class her name was easy to remember "just think of your favourite chocolate". Despite this tip, Emily forgot the teacher's name, prompting a flurry of increasingly bonkers suggestions (Mrs Coco Bean? Miss Curly Wurly? Ms Fruit N Nut?). It transpired the lady in question in called Mrs Thornton.
Website of the day (for Emily): Bembo's Zoo - a menagerie of animals made from letters
After a loud pop, followed by a burning smell, the kettle joined the 'to be replaced/repaired' list.
The weather has been lovely this weekend so we spent some time al fresco. I really ought to do a little tidying in the garden every day. In addition to the carpet of snowdrops, I now have crocuses. It won't be long before the daffodils start appearing.
Unfortunately, Emily's disposition has not been so sunny. She's been sullen and rude and generally unpleasant to be around. Very trying. That's not to say the other two have been perfect - Lucy has been testing the boundaries and is full of new expressions and attitudes. And, as for Georgie, well...she gets away with a lot because she is cute. e.g.:
At dinner, Nigel stood up and exclaimed that his chair was wet. Emily said that Georgie had "swapped chairs". "Georgie, why did you swap chairs with me?" Nigel asks. "Nothing!" replies Georgie, her sodden pants revealing the real reason.
Website of the day: Groups Near You - a brand new website from those clever people at MySociety.org
Today is Parinirvana day which marks the death of Buddha and his attainment of complete nirvana.
I've had quite a blissful day. There's been nothing particularly remarkable about today, rather it has been an unremarkable day of simple pleasures with my girls.
I was pleased to be able to turn a negative into a positive by transforming a huge piece of polystyrene that blew into my garden, into a work of art prompting Emily to remark "Mum, you're a genius!". Now there's something you don't hear every day.
---ooOoo---
Before Google became a verb, my search engine of choice was Magellan. It had a 'Search within results' feature which I found useful. Today I noticed this same function at the foot of my Google results page. How long has that been there?
Website of the day: Topfoto - gallery after gallery of wonderful photographs. I especially like Alternative Housing
I'll be the ticket if you're my collector
I've got the fare if you're my inspector
I'll be the luggage, if you'll be the porter
I'll be the parcel if you'll be my sorter
(chorus)
Just for you here's a love song
Just for you here's a love song
And it makes me glad to say
It's been a lovely day
And it's okay
I'll be the mail, you'll be the guard
I'll be the ink on your season ticket card
I'll be the rubbish, you'll be the bin
I'll be the paint on the sign if you'll be the tin
(chorus)
(chorus)
Its okay
Its okay
The television is broken (of course it is, it is frugal month). To be strictly accurate, the television is fine but the lead bringing in the signal isn't.
It gave us a good excuse to do some painting. Lucy announced she was going to get dressed while Georgie removed all her clothes. Emily had only just covered the table with old newspapers when Lucy returned wearing an absolutely gorgeous Monsoon silk skirt with fine pleats and sequins. It was the very same skirt she refused to wear to her party but now thinks is suitable painting garb.
While I was persuading her to change, Georgie had painted her entire body.
Arrggghhhh.......Mid-term madness!
Website of the day: Project Wonderful - bid for advertising space or sell space on your own site. Easy to set up.
While I'm well aware that there are far worse fates to befall a person, running out of filter coffee really, really hacks me off. It's like running out of loo roll - it just shouldn't ever happen. I was forced to drink [shudder] instant.
I got my first proper caffeine fix of the day when I dropped in to the Pennypit Centre where Patchwork EH32 where having a Healthy Heart Day (which is ironic considering the stuff makes your heart faster).
On the way back we stopped at the playground where an overly-confident Georgie ended up dangling from the monkey bars and had to be rescued.
I spent much of this afternoon working on blurb and taglines for Prestonpandemonium "The World's Greatest Comic Book Event Ever Held… in a microbrewery…probably…". Let Me Convert proved useful in creating the flyers.
Website of the day: Ocean Spray - visitors to this year's 3 Harbours Arts Festival will get the chance to sample the wonderberry.
The only recipe that consistently works for me is this traybake - and it doesn't require the oven to be switched on. What does that tell me?
This makes about 20 pieces of Tiffin - a quick, no-cook recipe that is very forgiving and easily scales up. Alter the proportion of digestive/ginger biscuits depending on how spicy you like your treats.
125g (4oz) butter or margarine
50g ( 1½oz) soft brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp milk
100g (3 ½ oz) milk chocolate
200g (8oz) digestive biscuits finely crushed
50g (1½oz) ginger biscuits broken
50g (1½oz) mixed fruit
50g (1½oz) raisins
Melt butter, sugar, syrup and milk together in a pan.
Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
Add biscuits, mixed fruit and raisins and mix well.
Resultant mixture should resemble thick cake mixture and not be too runny.
Transfer into suitable container, lined with greaseproof paper and chill for 6 hours. Cut into pieces.
---ooOoo---
Foolish Game #1
Despite the fact that everytime she saw a dog yesterday she shrieked "Don't Eat Me Dog!", Georgie is today pretending to be a puppy. Lucy is throwing a cookie cutter across the room shouting "Get it boy!" and Georgie is fetching it.
Foolish Game #2
Lucy prods Georgie with a pencil and asks "Is that better?". Georgie prods Lucy with a pencil and asks "Is that better?".
Determined to make the most of the day, we were up and out fairly early. The plan was to take the metal detector to Morison's Haven but it was nowhere to be seen (I need a metal detector detector). We went anyway, walking past the new houses at Blink O' Forth, down Drummhor and back up Redburn Road.
I'm glad we left early as later in the day as heavy fog descended. It was really very eery. I could almost imagine ghostly pirates emerging just like in the film. ("The Fog" is my sister Rachel's favourite film...or perhaps it's "Play Misty for Me"...)
Website of the day: Omodern - a record of the decade that taste forgot (although I actually really like garish 70s interiors and geometric prints)
I couldn't believe how bright and sunshiny it was today.
Emily and I took a trip to Musselburgh. While there we called in at their branch of Lidl which is laid out exactly the same as 'our' one - it was quite mindbending.
The Honest Toun's North High Street is looking very shabby. Junglee Fun has gone, the Hayweights is awaiting conversion to a Wetherspoons and the former Pelican Nursery is now a charity shop. Across the road the DEBRA charity shop has more notices and instructions than I've ever seen ("This is a busy shop - leave things as you find them", "Don't allow children to scatter thing across the floor" to list just a few).
One minute I was walking over the Esk in brilliant sunshine, next I had a full blown migraine.
It took a couple of hours, but I recovered sufficiently to watch
Zodiac
the true story of unsolved murders. Armistead Maupin gets a mention because
he received two letters, signed 'Zodiac' which he went on record as saying
he believed were hoaxes, written by the investigating officer. I'm currently
reading Maupin's Maybe
the Moon
Still on the San Fran theme...welcome back to Scotland Lainey.
Website of the day: Cosy Bike - 7 people + 1 bike = loads of fun. I'd love to hire one of these for the school's summer fayre.
This morning I received an absolutely beautiful set of Cath Kidston soaps. The scent is exquisite - rose & carnation, lemon & geranium, and lilac & lavender. I haven't blown the family's grocery budget - it was a present from me mother (thank you mum).
Spirits were high on the last day of school before the mid term break. The kids ran amok with Esme while Rosie and I had a chat.
Website of the day: Glenfarg - A wonderful, vibrant portal for the communities of Glenfarg, Arngask, Drunzie and Duncrievie. The sense of pride and community shines through.
Kong Hei Fat Choi!
In common with 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984 and 1996, 2008 is Chinese Year of the Rat.
---ooOoo---
A horrid boy told Emily: "I'm going to get my dad to batter your lungs out". Charming. But that's kids for you. Adults are far, far worse.
Emily is upset after yet more clumsy attempts to wheedle information out of her. It surely must be a provincial thing. Any cosmopolitan person would a) not be interested in the minutae of someone else's life or b) have worked it out by now.
Rant over... but rice isn't the only thing that is boiling today.
Happy Birthday Lucy!
It was a normal nursery and school day so we had to be up early to allow Lucy to open her cards and presents. All was going well until we sang "Happy Birthday" when she got a little overwhelmed and ran off and hid. Fortunately, Yano The interactive storyteller, won her over.
As two other children were celebrating birthdays in the nursery she wasn't as shy as she might otherwise have been. Back home, the excitement mounted in the run up to her tea party. Five minutes before the guests were due to arrive, Lucy sat under the table and refused to come out.
It all worked out well though and hopefully all 25 kids enjoyed themselves. Christine's drinks fountain was a big hit (as were the make up tattoos) and it was nice to meet the parents that I don't usually see at nursery.
As Lucy began to get tired, she delivered a flat, pre-prepared "Thank you" to departing guests. Georgie was more enthusiastic, waving goodbye to everyone and shouting "Thank you for coming to my tea party".
#If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands...#. Georgie was one of several happy clappers joining in a sponsored singalong to raise money for I CAN the children's communication charity. The event was organised by Patchwork EH32 and was led by the Singing Kettle's Gary Coupland.
---ooOoo---
Happy Birthday
---ooOoo---
Three thank yous:
David - for the lift to nursery. Plenty folk would drive past us in the rain but not Mr Christine.
Rachel - for the return of travelling camera Bat. It's about 28 months since I set 36 cameras loose upon the world. Most haven't returned to base (yet).
Heather - for the trip to Costkea Way. It was my first trip to Costco - this must be how Gulliver felt when he landed in Brobdingnag. We went for a coffee and quick look around Ikea where with amazing willpower I didn't buy anything bar edibles.
Website of the day: Design Supremo
In the spirit of frugality I spent half an hour sending off for freebies:
Comfort
Tropical
Horlicks Extra Light
Muesli
Lacoste
Elegance
Deseo
fragrance
Exclamation
fragrance
Simple Derma cream
Giant double-sided Mr Men poster
Valentine's
Card (with free postage - use code LOVEIT-VD2008-CGYY84 at checkout)
BBC Good Homes magazine (0844 848 0095 quote GHF0308)
I got the details from Loquax,
the competitions site (although I'm too busy today to enter any comps).
---ooOoo---
I'd no sooner got home after collecting Lucy from Nursery when I had to return to school collect Emily who was feeling unwell. She's a bit better now but what with being at the dentist first thing and then having a sore tummy, she's feeling a little sorry for herself.
Website of the day: Modern Ruins - Oh, I love these photos of disused factories and the ones taken on Roosevelt Island remind me of our New York adventure.
I would love to be able to report that I celebrated Bean Throwing Day by tossing a handful of black-eyed, alubia, haricot and lima beans into each room of the house, with a shout of "Devils out, Fortune in!"...but the Shinto festival of Setsunbun-sai just passed me by.
We did of course celebrate Yorkshire Pudding Day (with puds made by Nigel, not Auntie Bessie) with an absolutely delicious celeriac mash and onion gravy.
Website of the day: We Heart Stuff - online coolhunting site.
Nigel is on a day trip to Inverness to the Hi-Ex Comic Convention. Without his lovely yet distracting presence, I have been a powerhouse of activity today. I've washed, scrubbed, vacuumed (and that was just on the kids). I've updated my books page and removed some dead links from the Other Stuff pages.
As is traditional during frugal month, we have an urgent repair - the bath tap is broken. OK, so it is probably not urgent, as we can still use the shower, but the girls aren't so keen and hosing 'em down makes such a mess. We bought the cheapest (pair of) tap(s) we could find. Instead of having the traditional "hot", "cold", "red", "blue" thing going on they have Chinese writing.
The silver lining to this rather dull tale is that, in my search for the main stopcock, I turned a wheel which has restored hot water to the extension. Hooray! Book your stay at Hotel MonkeyLoft, Prestonpans- rooms now include hot running water.
Whether we will be able to plumb in the bath tap ourselves remains to be seen, but I still think Sam Burns would have been a better bet for the replacement faucet.
---ooOooo
Ahhhh, Two and a half hours till hubby returns and all three kids asleep (nothing like shouting them to sleep for a bit of peace and quiet).
Website of the day: Meetup Alliance - bringing special interest groups together
White Rabbit! (Do people still say that on the first of the month? or was it just my family?).
Today is the start of double frugal month. We are not being twice as thrifty, but thrifty for twice as long. No caviar or other frivolities chez Barker until at least 1st April.
Oh, and bloody NPower took £180 they are not entitled to from my bank account.
Fortunately, the best things in life are free. Emily, Lucy & Georgie's current favourite game is "zombies" which involves little more than staggering about with your head lolling from side to side wailing. Great fun, but a little embarrassing in Hastie's garage.
Anyway, I'm good at being skint...I've had loads of practice.
Website of the day: The
English Cheesecake Company - oh my word. Roll on April.
I've been dismayed to see the negative reporting about the increased
demand on maternity services by "foreign-born" mothers - a blatant
case of xenophobia.
One thing I've learned from tracing family trees is to take any claim that
a family has 'always lived here' with a very large pinch of salt. In fact,
two good bits of genealogical advice could be: 'expect the unexpected', and
'make no assumptions'.
Official records can never reveal the whole picture. A person can be born and die in John O'Groats but spend the intervening years in Lands End (or Kuala Lumpur or Wormwood Scrubs). There will always be secrets and lies (not to mention Anglicising of names, and all sorts of 'poshifying' and re-invention).
Reinvention is not a new invention! I was reading someone's anonymous blog and such were their efforts at injecting a bit of edginess into their entries that they were unrecognisable as the person I know!
Would it be fun to have a fictionalised blog or would it simply become a chore? What is the point in pretending to be someone you are not?
I had to laugh when I heard that people buying the new houses opposite the power station are referring to the area as "Western Cockenzie" rather than Prestonpans. It is reminiscent of the 80s Clarm/Clapham Bah-TER-see-ah/Battersea nonsense.
(Not strictly necessary but fun away) product of the day: Another Firebox
first - USB
Panic Button.
When the morning begins with being given a jar of chutney you just know it's going to be a good day...
It's a crisp, bright morning so we took the scenic route home from nursery and managed to do a bit of litter picking along the way.
Today's mail contained two lovely surprises in the form of beautiful velvet scarves from Calver Wilson (thank you Judith). They will be wonderful raffle prizes for the school which continues to raise funds to upgrade the school grounds and also to purchase some digital cameras and photosmart printers.
---ooOoo---
Our Dreamweaver template is broken. I've been trying unsuccessfully to apply a different template to these pages. The results have been been distastrous (hardly surprising given my complete lack of knowlege about Dreamweaver and/or webdesign). You may experience some turbulence...
Website of the day: Lynne's Challenge - She celebrated turning 50 by pledging to raise £50,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. One year later this extraordinary woman has beaten her target. Truly inspirational.
I took the girls to visit Fay and Allan and they had a whale of time eating pizza, cake, biscuits and lots of 'apple juice'.
By seven o'clock they were running about daft. I soon discovered the cause: Barr's Simply Fruity Still Apple Juice. Georgie had taken her unfinished juice with her. The list of ingredients is quite shocking: Water, Apple Juice from concentrate (5%), Malic Acid, Flavourings. Preservatives (Potassium dorbate, sodium benzoate, dimethyl dicarbonate). Sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Aspartame), Stabiliser (Carboxymethyl cellulose). In smaller writing is the message "Contains a source of phenylalanine" which presumably is a reference to aspartame.
Website of the day: Garden Tribe - funky gardening clothing and accessories.
Recently, things have been in the wrong place - at the very least they have not been in the expected place. Take Sunday's Birdwatch for example. . I could hear several magpies but only saw one solitary robin in my garden the whole hour I sat and watched. Across the road in the field there was of course loads of birds. They were there again today. So were two schoolboys who of course might have had a perfectly legitimate reason to be climbing on piles of scaffolding during school hours.
The field is still strewn with bits of polystyrene blown across from the building site in the high winds. A very large piece found its way into my garden. It is a testament to how well Nigel knows me that he asked what plans I have for it.
Over the fence, where I dumped prickly cuttings and branches to cut off access to the underage drinkers, a nest has appeared.
WHAT THE ?????? I've just noticed I appear to be carrying advertising for CARRIER BAGS?!!!
WHAT THE ?????? #2 - One of the two roles of clear tape that has been missing for two days has reappeared in the recycling crate - on the day I purchase a replacement obviously.
Website of the day: Embroidered Felt Nintendo - Wow! Has to be seen to be believed.
The library have very nice jute bags which you can fill with
withdrawn library books for £2, which I did with: Case
Histories - A Novel
Website of the day: Molewatch - I spotted five molehills in the garden, and no, I won't be making a mountain out of them.
The wind howled throughout the night. This morning there were wine and beer bottles strewn about. The kitchen, that is, not the garden. Laura and Kev were round last night and we had shared pizza (from Lidl), wine (thank you Christine) and truffles (thank you Heather).
This evening we of course had haggis, neeps and tatties. Emily recited "The Sair Finger" and "The Wee Rid Motor" (not from the Bard of course but at least in the spirit of the evening).
When the kids were asleep Nigel and I watched the final episode of the Sopranos. Powerful stuff but that can't be it? Can it?!
Website of the day: Livingstones - oversized pebble cushions.
I don't think I'ver ever seen a sky so dramatic as this mornings. Towards the south-east it was bright blue and the clouds were tinged with yellow. Northwards, a dark grey veil hung over Fife. When purple clouds began to race from the west, the atmosphere changed. I was glad that nursery let us in sharply. Less than five minutes later the wind was howling, hailstones were pelting and late schoolchildren were crying.
As I battled to hold Georgie's hand, her buggy rolled away heading straight for another stroller and child. I let out a warning shout and several people dived on the empty buggy thinking a baby was inside it. Chaos.
---ooO00---
Should an organisation accept a donation knowing it was raised at a bullfighting evening? Would the answer depend on whether the recipient charity was an 'animal' charity or, say, a hospice?
Should they accept a donation from a matador? Erm, I guess...wait, erm, no,...I don't know. The matador's wife? Stop already! What if the donation came from an anonymous source [nudge, nudge]? Hmmm, well. Maybe. Would any of the above questions have a different answer if the amount in question was a five-figure sum? six? seven? Just what are you trying to imply?!
I ask these questions not because I am in a deeply philosophical mood or because I am planning a bullfight at Meadowmill but because the subject of event fundraising and the ethics thereof was being discussed over coffee this morning. Actually, what was really being discussed was tolerating different viewpoints which is a big part of small town life.
Later in the day I was snubbed by one of the Artshole supporters. Presumably not obeying the Lidl boycott is like a red rag to a bull.
Website of the day: Oxfam/M&S Clothes Exchange - hand in M&S clothing to Oxfam and receive a £5 voucher.
Lucy is always keen to show what a good girl she is so whenever Georgie gets told not to draw on the walls/play with knives/cut her hair etc, Lucy always informs us "I'm not [drawing on the walls/playing with knives/cutting my hair], I'm being a good girl". This only works when Georgie is being naughty so, in a desperate bid to get attention at lunchtime she declared that "Georgie thinks bananas are orange" to which Georgie retorts "No, I didn't!". Undeterred, Lucy holds up a banana, "Georgie, what colour if this?" she demands. Georgie remains silent and stoneyfaced.
Lucy says to me "She thinks it is orange".
Website of the day: Interactive Games - who says maths can't be fun? (me actually, but Nigel likes it).
I watch Eastenders and Coronation out of habit more than anything else but occasionally they do offer up a real gem. Unfortunately, tonight's Eastenders was not such an occasion.
There are so many non-stories at the moment centred around rather dull characters. The line dancing wedding storyline; whether Jack Branning is bad or misunderstood; Ian & Jane's relationship etc etc but the biggest non-story of 'em all was the E20 gang. Admittedly my knowledge of gang culture is limited to owning a hoody and my use of knives is solely confined to vegetable preparation but.... the dialogue from hackneyed (geddit?) characters like 'Tegs' seemed so ridiculous. It was cringemaking. After the programme came the serious announcement "If you have been affected by any of the issues in tonight's programme then a helpline has been set up". Well I once went to a linedance evening.
The show's saving grace is the Masood family, Zainab in particular is revealing her witty side.
Website of the day: Free Flour - answer geography questions to donate flour.
Today is the most depressing day of the year apparently. Science has proved it with the formula: 1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA (where W = Weather, D = Debt, d = Money due in January pay, T = Time since Christmas, Q = Time since failed quit attempt, M = General motivational levels, NA = The need to take action).
I'm pleased to report that I am not depressed but my knee hurts like ?+!(£-V) (where ?=where the hell did that come from, !=that hurt, £=can I sue and V=number of ibruprofen required). Kids, tidy your bedroom before I start demanding danger money.
Website of the day: Miso
Funky - A great line in emo-broidery ("Make Tea, Not War") and
some lovely vintage homewares.
My friend tipped me off about loads of historical booklets, cards, leaflets and carrier bags which had been dumped in a skip at Whin Park Industrial Estate. Incensed at the sheer wastefulness, we set off on a rescue mission.
We salvaged a good load of stuff including copies of the Historical Survey of Prestonpans, Battle of Prestonpans booklets, and boxes of carrier bags. We also found some copies the now out-of-print Safe Haven, one of which I gave to Carmel when she popped in for a cup of tea.
There were still boxes and boxes of booklets when we left so I posted the details on Freecycle East Lothian, eFreeko, Recycle, Free2Collect, 2Recycle, and Edinburgh Gumtree in a bid to find new homes before the forecasted rain ruins the remainder.
The story as to how they ended up there is probably being concocted as I type, but such disregard for the heritage of the town and the environment, has not gone unnoticed.
---ooOoo---
I saw what I thought was a pair of male bullfinches in the garden today - would two males hang out together? Answers on an email...
Website of the day: The Indie Quarter - blogging about independent designers, crafters and creators.
My new year's resolution of drinking more is going very well.
I'm not sure that my tolerance to alcohol is going up but my dreams are getting
much more interesting. Last night's dream involved zombies and members of
the PTA. We were all trapped in the projectioner's booth of an old cinema
without any electricity. Fortunately the zombies couldn't move very fast (and
most were just slumped in the cinema seats moaning). Unfortunately, they could
see in the dark. Fortunately, the treasurer killed them with a letter opener.
All very strange, possibly as a result of watching The Sopranos (which was
superb). Strangely, I didn't have any zombie dreams after watching 28
Weeks Later/28 Days Later
After spending a big chunk of yesterday on the thankless task
of tidying Emily's bedroom ("I don't notice any difference"),
I was determined today would be fun. After a pleasant morning of swimming
and shopping we settled down to watch The
Day the Earth Stood Still
Website of the day: Kitsch-tique - sale ends Sunday.
I've managed to tick off a few items that have been languishing for too long on my 'to do' list including subscribing to East Lothian Life.
We have started subscribing to The List again and our first issue arrived today. I thought it was a bit indulgent to buy a listings guide when we hardly go into Edinburgh for cultcha these days, but we both missed living vicariously so signed up again.
Also in today's mail was John Selby's Over
the Sea to Skye
Thanks Nigel for a very nice tea - sausages and celeriac mash followed by dragonfruit and ice cream. It's the first time I'd tried dragonfruit - it's very exotic looking with kiwi-like flesh. Since Lidl arrived in the town, I have tried more exotic fruit then ever before.
Website of the day: EllyShop - From bump to teen and everything in between.
Georgie was unusually shy when Ryan came to play today. They settled down though and were soon drawing pictures while Heather and I chatted. I'm glad to hear that Patchwork EH32 is doing so well.
It's very different from the early days of the group when nothing would get done unless it had been formally agreed at a monthly meeting with the blessing of a health visitor. Fair enough for policy matters but when the agenda item under discussion is the number of paper plates required for the kids party, I begin to lose the will to live. Committees do strange things to folk. Seemingly intelligent people, revert to childhood, opting out of all responsibility and deferring to the nearest 'authority figure'.
---ooOoo---
Getting Lucy to tell me who she would like to invite for birthday tea is proving quite difficult. She declares that everyone (from Rapunzel to Rumpelstiltzken) is her "best friend, really really". If we end up with a house full of kids it won't be the worse thing. Emily observed that "parties are best fun at Lucy's age". I asked her why she thought that and she replied that "little kids get to invite all their friends but big kids [having a 'theme' party at a trendy venue] can only invite 10 or 12." Sack the event organiser and let them run wild and eat cake.
Website of the day: Slot Furniture - assemble yourself furniture to fit in the tiniest of spaces.
My Internet connection has been a bit ropey for a couple of days and for the best part of today I couldn't send or receive emails. Things that have kept me amused over the past three days:
Lucy and Georgie's new game - Lucy puts her face up to the mirror and says "I'm Lucy" and passes the mirror to Georgie who says "I'm Georgie" before returning it to Lucy who says "I'm Lucy" [continues for 10 minutes before hysteria sets in].
Written in the dirt of a van parked in West Loan is "Not a Bottom Panner". (Probably only amusing if you are a Panner...maybe).
Thinking about how to Barkerify our bathroom. Regular Joes probably buy wallpaper or paint. I was thinking of covering one wall completely with plugs. Or animal masks. Nigel worried that people might be scared of animal masks (which people? and why are they in my bathroom?).
I was surprised that I enjoyed Little
Otik
I watched Being
There
Nigel and the girls set off for the High Street five minutes before me. I followed the tracks made in the frost by Georgie's buggy before jumping on a bus to Musselburgh Library to "fill a bag for £1".
The books I got were: Eurotrashed:
The Rise and Rise of Europe's Football Hooligans
When it's too cold to be outside, swimming is a really good
option. We braved the icy pavements twinkling with frost for the last 30 minutes
of swimming. Back home we had hot chocolate before watching The
Simpsons Movie
Website of the day: Marzipan - beautiful jewellery - and no, you can't eat it.
I made Turnip Bread today - a serendipitous recipe which is absolutely scrumptious served warm with butter.
I noticed a bottle of red wine sitting open on the kitchen worktop which had been left there overnight. If there had been just a little bit left I might have put it in an ice cube tray to use in a casserole. However, as it was nearly full I decided to sample some with a view to re-corking it if it was still passable. This explains why I answered my door with a glass of wine in hand when it was barely lunchtime. Fortunately it wasn't Social Services paying me a visit but Laura and Kev.
I'm sure the leftover wine ice cube thingy must have been a tip from Rachel, the most domesticated of my sisters. It couldn't have been either of the other two.
I once passed on the leftover wine tip to Laura who replied "What's leftover wine?".
I once passed on the leftover wine tip to Julie who replied "What's a casserole?".
I finished off the rest of the wine with Nigel while watching Jonathon Ross. Very pleasant.
Only one of the above three statements is true.
Website of the day: Solid Edge Game - Emily and I had fun with this engineering puzzle.
I have a dream theory...
According to Practically Edible's food calendar, tomorrow is Milk Day. They assert that the date has historical significance (something to do with milk bottles being invented). I don't buy it.
Here's my theory…someone, somewhere wrote down Martin Luther King Day in their diary. It got abbreviated to MLK Day, there was some mix up over dates...
Similarly, I think when HRH Phil the Greek famously remarked that a fuse box looked "like it was put in by an Indian" I suspect he actually meant to say "cowboy".
Website of the day: Spoon Sisters
- rarely have I seen such wonderful and quirky objects in one place. Unfortunately,
they don't deliver outside USA. :-(
If only I'd paid attention to the Met Office guidelines and "secured loose objects...". Our garden bench had blown into next door's garden and our back garden is strewn with the contents of the recycling crate. Strangely, the mince pies are still sitting on the table where I left them, untouched by birds, gales or Georgie.
Looking around Prestonpans, the effects of the gales can be seen everywhere in the form of varying sizes of polystyrene. Emily has lost a filling but I suspect this is not related to adverse weather conditions. Lucy was very pleased to be out in 60 mph winds and started singing The Hokey Cokey very loudly.
Because of the wind, I didn't venture to Lidl, my preferred shop for fruit and vegetables. Instead I went to Scotmid where they had a truly dismal display of 'fresh produce' which included a promotion for courgettes. Scotmid offer this fascinating fact: Courgettes do not require peeling. Whatever next? Potatoes require to be cooked?! At this point I'm tempted to swear but I've remembered I have a young reader (Hi Alex - go to www.games.co.uk rather than reading this boring vegetable stuff!). Actually, I've got fascinating vegetable fact of my own: yesterday's leftover vegetable soup was so thick I put it in a sandwich today. Fascinating (and true).
Today is Apricot Day (needless to say, Scotmid didn't have any) so we had Indian snacks and apricot pilau with (not just any apricots but M&S apricots). We put the plates down in front of the girls saying "Happy Apricot Day!" prompting Emily to ask "Do you make this stuff up?". Hmmm. Wouldn't you like to know...
Oh, and the December photos are published here.
Website of the day: Wasted Comic - the cutting-edge comic for Today's Youth Gone Wild!
Over the last of the Christmas cake, Christine and I were musing over SMART working and productivity in general. She was tired because she was up till 2 a.m. We agreed we are both night people. I know I am certainly at my most productive in the evenings when the kids have gone to bed. At any rate, my brain just doesn't wake up properly until late afternoon. Hence, at 11:00 hrs I struggle to open my diary; at 15:00 hrs ideas begin to formulate during a phone call with Heather; and at 23:00 hrs Nigel and I are churning out ideas for Prestonpandemonium faster than we can speak/write/type.
Prestonpandemonium III is going to take place on Saturday 31st May 12 - 3 in the Prestoungrange Gothenburg as part of the 3 Harbours Arts Festival. Nulsh will be there promoting his new work and Malcy Duff will be exhibiting at a venue nearby.
Malcy's work can be seen on Thursday 24th January, 7.00 p.m. at the Edinburgh Print Makers Workshop when Ben Ewart Dean's documentary 'Malcy's Horses' will be premiered.
The first day back at nursery was a bit too much for Lucy who
fell asleep in the afternoon. I plan to have a birthday tea for her and her
little friends so have been looking for party bag fillers. I'm determined
not to add to the plastic mountain but finding alternatives is not easy. Christine
was horrified that I plan to use newspaper
bags as party bags. Wait till she sees the doll I've made from potato
peelings, the nettle & rhubarb birthday cake, and necklaces made from
bits of old string and driftwood...
Website of the day: Elvis - the official site of the King of the Rock n' Roll
If you believe the newspapers, lawyers are expected to be inundated today with calls from people wanting a divorce after the festive break. I've been having my own D-Day. I've Danced, Drank, Designed, Daydreamed, Delivered, Dried, Drafted, Deliberated, Dialled, Dusted, Doodled, and, Devoured maple syrup truffle.
The truffle was a lovely surprise in today's mail kindly sent to me by Gareth from Hipo Hyfryd "in case you never got any for your birthday". Awwww. Thanks Gareth, it was divine, delectable, delicious...
The Barker Family Mini City is looking a little empty - get populating.
Despite staying up until the wee small hours, we were up reasonably early for a stroll up Birsley Brae. We packed a flask of hot chocolate, rolls, mince pies and Christmas cake. We saw a robin and a pair of blue tits. It was a brilliantly bright morning so the views down the hill and across to Fife were spectacular.
On the return journey I investigated the old mine workings and then went to see the horses at Bankton House.
Nigel made a superb sausage and lentil casserole - perfect winter warming food. Emily wouldn't try it and the mood went downhill thereafter.
I'm really keen to get all three girls going little jobs to help (set the table, put their clothes away etc) but getting Emily to do anything is an uphill struggle. I've re-jigged my daily schedule to try and make bedtimes a little less stressful and to give us more time in the evening. Whether it will work depends on each member doing 'their bit'.
Thank goodness Debbie phoned this evening - I thought nursery was due back tomorrow.
Website of the day: Wellie Art - I could have done with these today - my shoes were caked in mud.
I used my 2007 mousemat calendar every day so was disappointed that Muji no longer do these. I've made my own by laminating a 2008 calendar I printed off from Free Printable Calendar.
Listening to Emily singing misheard lyrics on her mp3 player is just the funniest thing.
Georgie continues not to understand pants and looks disbelievingly at the puddle at her feet saying "I spilt".
Lucy was playing sensibly until she burst into the playhouse shouting "GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!!!!!". She was playing 'Bank Robbers'. Ah, the age of innocence.
Website of the day: Low Impact Living Initiative - a great selection of links.
Nigel went back to work today and, as soft as it sounds, I missed
him. Still, the girls were good company today and were so excited by the arrival
of snow. Emily was desperate to build a snowman but it just wasn't heavy enough.
We ventured out just far enough to return Nigel's library borrowings (Nigel,
how much will you pay me not to tell my adoring public that you borrowed Monsters of Rock
This evening I watched 300 with Nigel. It's not the type of film I'd usually watch but I quite enjoyed it. It was originally a graphic novel and there was definately a comic feel to it with the muted colours and slow motion shots.
Website of the day: My Mini City - Start your own city or join some one elses. Barker Family City - Population 1 - feel free to join me.
It was pleasantly productive day of completing outstanding jobs, having a clearout and finishing the last of the thank you letters.
Our monthly payment to our gas supplier has recently increased quite considerably. I decided to check the reading and found it was way lower than two readings ago, despite the earlier reading being given as 'actual' rather than estimate. Hmmm. I hope this gets sorted out soon and that we are in for a whopping great refund.
We spent quite a bit of time next door in the Monkey Loft trying to make it a bit more like a grown-up space and less like a daycare centre. Removing the playhouse helped considerably but then gave us the problem of where to rehome it. It is currently in the sitting room and the girls have been playing in it. I think the padlock that was in the last of Christmas crackers might come in handy...
Website of the day: Holiday Gift Guide - shoes made out of birdseed?! I could look at these items all day long.
Happy New Year!
I'm very tired this morning. Not as a result of a wild night out but because the central heating system was really noisy last night and Nigel and I were both up at 3 trying to fix it.
We had a really good time at Donna's this afternoon where the wine was flowing freely. There were loads of kids and they all got on well. A very pleasant start to the year.
Today is the last day of Kwanzaa which is based on seven principles
to live by. Umoja/Unity; Kujichagulia/Self-Determination; Ujima/Collective
Work and Responsibility;Ujamaa/Cooperative economics;Nia/Purpose;Kuumba/Creativity
& Imani/Faith. You can read more about this African
holiday here.
