Not Only In Thailand

And January Winner is.....

2012-02-10T13:38:00.001-08:00

Here are all the entries

and here they are in the hat
(erm, just ignore the wine glass in the background)

and the winner is....Juniper :-D. Congratulations lovely lady.

Commiserations to everyone else but hey...there is always next month!

Caught!

2012-02-07T06:56:00.001-08:00

I thought I had got away with it...but today it caught up with me!

We did a seven mile Nordic Walk on Sunday.

In. The. Snow!! (I hope your impressed cause I was bloody amazed that Chris and I managed to drag ourselves out our pit at 8am on a snowy Sunday morning to go walking!). It was actually rather lovely (I know! Who would ever have imaged?!). The last time we did that walk we went up one huge curving steep hill that damn near killed me. I must have stopped at least five times! This time I made it up TWO rather huge curving steep hills and didn't stop once...mainly cause I had Steve walking beside me telling me that I could do it! It wasn't fast and it probably wasnt pretty (unless red and wheezing does it for you!) but I did it and you know what....yesterday the old legs were not feeling too bad!

Today? Well, all I can say is that it appears to have caught up with me.

Ouch!

*wobbles off like an old woman*

Win one of my drawings

2012-02-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

In order to celebrate making it to the end of each month in my 'drawing a day for 365 days' attempt I have decided to give away one of the drawings featured in that month. All you need to do is click on this link 'Art Is Autobiographical', then either add yourself as a follower or input your e-mail address in the 'follow by e-mail' box. I will put all the names into a hat, select one at random and that person can then choose which drawing they would like from the previous month. You only have to enter once and you will have a chance to win each month.

I'm doing this as a way of making sure that I keep it up...your e-mail address will not be shared with anyone else or used for anything else.

Feel free to share this on your blog/Facebook Page/Twitter.

I will pick the first winner on Friday the 10th of Feb...good luck folks

Burns Night

2012-01-30T00:37:00.000-08:00

When Chris turned 40 I bought him a book of Burns poetry dating from 1878. Its in amazing condition considering its age and it claims to contain everything he ever wrote...letters, poems, songs, epistles, epigrams and epitaphs. We were invited to our friends house to celebrate Burns Night, we took it with us and he read the address to a haggis before we had our meal. It reminded me just how much I love Robert Burns poetry! The language used and the imagery conjured up really is something to behold so yesterday I sat down and re-read one of my favourite poems and I've decided to share it with you...it is quite long but well worth a read! (Don't worry, I've included translations).

Tam O'Shanter:

When chapman billies (Fellows) leave the street,
And drouthy (thirsty) neibors neibors meet,
As market days are wearin' late,
And folk begin to tak the gate (road);
While we sit bousing at the nappy (Ale),
And gettin' fou and unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mosses, waters, slaps and stiles (Breaches in hedges or walls),
That lie between us and our hame,
Where sits our sulky sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.

This truth fand honest Tam o'Shanter,
As he frae Ayr ae night did canter,
(Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a town surpasses
For honest men and bonny lasses.)

O Tam! hadst thon but been sae wise
As ta'en thy ain wife Kate's advice!
She tauld thee weel thou wast a skellum (A worthless fellow),
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum (A talker of nonsense, a drunken fool);
That frae November till October,
Ae market dat thou wasne sober;
That ilka melder (any quantity of corn sent to the mill is called a melder), wi' the miller
Thou sat as land as thou hadst siller (money);
That every naig (Horse) was ca'd a shoe on,
The smith and thee gat roaring fou on,
That at the Lord's house, even on Sunday,
Thou drank wi' Kirkton (the village in which a parish church is situated is known as a kirk-town) Jean till Monday (Jean Kennedy ran a reputable pub in the villiage of kirkoswald).
She prophesised that, late or soon,
Thou wouldst be found deep drown'd in Doon!
Or catch'd wi warlocks i' the mirk (Dark),
By Alloway's auld haunted kirk.

Ah, gentle dames! it gars (makes) me greet
To think how mony counsels sweet,
How mony lengthen'd sage advices,
The husband frae the wife despises!

But to our tale: - Ae market night,
Tam had got planted unco (Unusually) right,
Fast by an ingle (fire), bleezing finely,
Wi' reaming swats (foaming ale), that drank divinely;
And at his elbow, Souter Johnny,
His ancient, trusty, drouthy (thirsty) crony;
Tam lo'ed him live a vera brither-
They had been fou for weeks thegither!
The night drave on wi' sangs and clatter.
And aye the ale was growing better:
The landlady and Tam grew gracious,
Wi' favours secret, sweet, and precious;
The Souter tauld his queerest stories,
The landlord's laugh was ready chorus:
The storm without might rair (roar) and rustle-
Tam didna mind the storm a whistle.

Care, mad to see a man sae happy,
E'en drown'd himsel amang the nappy!
As bees flee hame wi' lades (loads) o'treasure,
The minutes wing'd their way wi' pleasure:
Kings may be blest, but Tam was glorious,
O'er a' the ills of life victorious!

But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed!
Or like the snowfall in the river,
A moment white - then melts for ever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flit ere you can point thier place;
Or like the rainbow's lovely form,
Evanishing amid the storm.
Nae man can tether (tie up) time or tide;
The hour approaches Tam maun ride;
That hour, o'night's back arch the keystane,
That dreary hour he mounts his beast in;
And sic (such) a night he take the road in
As ne'er poor sinner was abroad in.

The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last;
The rattling showers rose on the blast;
The speedy gleams the darkness swallow'd:
Loud, deep, and lang, the thunder bellow'd:
That night, a child might understand
The deil (devil) had business on his hand.

Well mounted on his grey mare, Meg,
A better never lifted leg,
Tam skelpit (rode with careless speed) on through dub and mire,
Despising wind, and rain, and fire;
Whiles holding fast his guid blue bonnet,
Whiles crooning (humming) o'er some auld Scots sonnet;
Whiles glowering (Staring) round wi' prudent cares,
Lest bogles (Spirits) catch him unawares:
Kirk - Alloway was drawing nigh,
Whare ghaists and houlets (Ghosts and owls) nightly cry.

By this time he was 'cross the foord,
Whare in the snaw the chapman smoor'd (Pedlar was smothered),
And past the birks that meikle stane
Whare drunken Charlie brak's neck-bane:
And through the whins, and by the cairn (Stone heap)
Whare hunters fand the murder'd bairn (child);
And near the thorn, aboon the well,
Whare Mungo's mither hand's hersel.
Before him Doon pours a' his floods;
The doubling storm roars through the woods
The lightening flash frae pole to pole;
Near and more near the thuders roll;
When, glimmering through the groaning trees,
Kirk-Alloway seem'd in a bleeze (lit up);
Through ilka bore (Crevice) the beams were glancing,
And loud resounded mirth and dancing.

Inspiring bold John Barleycorn!
What dangers thou canst mak us scorn!
Wi' tippenny (Two penny), we fear nae evil;
Wi usquebae (Whisky), we'll face the devil! -
The swats sae ream's in Tammie's noodle (the ale so wrought in Tam's head),
Fair play, he cared na deils a boddle (A small coin).
But Maggie stood right saie astonish'd,
Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd,
She ventured forward on the light;
And, wow! Tam saw an unco sight!
Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillon brent-new (Brand new) frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs, strethspeys, and reels,
Put life and mettle i' their heals:
At winnock-bunker (window seat), i' the east,
There sat auld Nick, in shape o' beast;
A towzie tyke (A rough dog), black, grim, and large,
To gie them music was his charge;
He screw'd the pipes, and gart (made) them skirl (scream),
Till roof and rafters a' did dirl (vibrate).
Coffins stood round, like open presses,
That shaw'd the dead in their last dresses;
And by some devilish cantrip (spell) slight
each in its cauld hand held a light,-
B which heroic Tam was able
To note upon the haly table,
A murderer's banes in gibbet airns (Irons);
Twa span-lang, wee (small), unchristen'd bairns;
A thief, new-cutted fre a rape,
Wi his last gasp his gab (mouth) did gape;
Five tomahawks, wi' bluid red-rusted;
Five scimitars, wi' murder crusted;
A garter, which a babe had strangled;
A knife, a father's throat had mangled,
Whom his ain son o'life bereft,
The gray hairs yet stack to the heft (handle):
Wi' mair o'horrible and awfu',
Which even to name wad be unlawfu'.

As Tammie glower'd (Stared), amazed and curious,
The mirth and fun grew fast and furious:
The piper loud and louder blew,
The dancers quick and quicker flew;
They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit,
Till ilka carlin swat and reekit (till each old bedlam smoked with sweat),
And coost (stript) her duddies (clothes) to the wark,
And linket (tripped0 at it in her sark (shirt).

Now Tam! O Tam! had thae been queans (young girls),
A' plump and strappin' in their teens,
Thier sarks, instead o' creeshie flannen (Greasy flannel),
Been snaw-white seventeen-hunder linen (the manufacturers' term for fine linen)!
Thir breeks (these breeches) o'mine, my only pair,
That ance were plush, o'guid blue hair,
I wad hae gien them aff my hurdies (Hams),
For ae blink (look) o' the bonny burdies (Lasses)!

But wither'd beldams, auld and droll,
Rigwoodie (Gallows-worthy) hags, wad spean (Wean) a foal,
Lowpin' and flingin' on a cummock (jumping and capering on a staff),
I wonder didna turn thy stomach.

But Tam kenn'd (knew) what was what fu' brawlie (full well)
"There was ae winsome wench and walie (A hearty girl and jolly),"
That night enlised in the core,
(Land after kenn'd on Carrick shore;
For mony a beast to dead she shot,
And perish'd mony a bonny boat,
And shook baith meikle corn and bear,
And kept the country-side in fear.)
Her cutty sark (short shirt), o' Paisley harn,
That, while a lassie (girl), she had worn,
In longitude though sorely scanty,
It was her best, and she was vauntie (Proud of it).

Ah! little kenn'd they reverent grannie,
That sark she coft (bought) for her wee Nannie,
Wi twa pund Scots, ('twas a' her riches,)
Wad ever graced a dance o' witches!

But here my Muse her wing maun cour (Lower),
Sic flights are far beyond her power;
To sing how Nannie lap and flang (Jumped and kicked),
(A souple jade (girl) she was, and strang (strong),
And how Tam stood, like ane bewitch's,
And thought his very een (eyes) enrich'd;
Even Satan glower'd, and fidged fu' fain,
And hotch's (hitched) and blew wi' might and main:
Till first ae caper, syne (then) anither,
Tam tint (lost) his reason a' thegither,
And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!"
And in an instant a' was dark:
And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion sallied.
As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke (Fuss),
When plundering heards assail their byke (Hive),
As open pussie's mortal foes,
When, pop! she started before their nose;
As eager runs the market-crowd,
When "Catch the thief!" resounds aloud;
So Maggies runs, the witches follow,
Wi' mony an eldritch (unearthly) screech and hollow.

Ah, Tam! ah, Tam! thou'lt get thy fairin' (deserts)!
In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin'!
In vian thy Kate awaits thy comin'!
Kate soon will be a woefu' woman!
Now, do they speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the keystane (Witches, or any evil spirit, have no power to follow a person any further than the middle of the next running stream) of the brig (bridge);
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they darena cross;
But ere the keystane she could make,
The fient (ne'er) a tal she had to shake!
For Nannie, far before the rest,
Hard unon noble Maggie prest,
And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle (design);
But little wist (knew) she Maggies mettle-
Ae spring brough of her master hale,
Bit left behind her ain gray tail:
The carlin claught her by the rump,
And left poor maggie scarce a stump.

Now, what this tale o'truth shall read,
Ilk (each) man and mother's son, take head:
Whane'er to drink you are inclined,
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,
Think! ye may buy the joys owre dear-
Remember Tam o'Shanters mare.

(The bridge is still there and you can cross it!)

So my caged drawings got me thinking...

2012-01-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

...about my inner demons and what a big part they have played in my life over the years. For those not following my Art is Autobiographical site, I have done a couple of drawings (as you can see) based on the idea that we form our own cages and bend their bars to fit our view of what we can and can't achieve...that we can be our own worst enemies and that sometimes we capture ourselves! They are based on my battles...

When I was younger those inner 'you can't do this' voices really dominated...to the point where I think I subconsiously sabotaged what I was doing so that I could say 'Well, I knew I was never going to be able to do that anyway'...kind of a self-fufilling prophecy! Its improved as I got older...in my mid twenties I took a stand (ha, took a stand against my inner demons...how daft does that sound!) and decided to go for what I actually wanted to do...hence my move into the Charity Sector. I was out of my comfort zone but as I learned and pushed myself forward they got quieter and quieter...then I would do something stupid like say 'Of course I can be Chief Exec and run this company' and they would come back with a vengeance! Still, I did it and again they went quiet. Its funny though...how and when they rear their ugly head...I had no problems about moving to Thailand, none about the work I did there and none about how I was going to cope moving back. They were pretty big things so why were my demons not there telling me that I couldnt do it? *shrugs*

When I got accepted to Uni...well, those of you that have followed my progress know how much of a panic I was in after my induction! It got better but each and every piece of work had me freaking out that it wasn't going to be good enough...I wasn't going to be good enough. I have literally spent the two and a half years that it took me to get my Masters degree in a permanent state of 'I can't do this'. I think it was my fear of failure that pushed me to work as hard as I did which, whilst the outcome was good, the process wasn't the nicest one to go through. I actually wrote a paper about it for my 'managing self and others' module at Uni which led to my dissertation tutor writing 'I am glad you didn’t fall flat on your face at graduation – a more realistic fear than your similar fears about intellectual pursuits' in reply to my e-mail telling him that I had managed to go up the stairs, across the stage, down the stairs and back to my seat without falling over! (Hey, I was in heels...it was totally possible!!).

When I was a kid I thought I could do anything...so when do these demons arrive? Where do they come from? When do they piss off and leave you alone? I know that its not just me that has them...I think everyone has them to a greater or lesser extent...I guess the main thing is how we deal with them. Mine? Well, mine are still there but I am happy to report that, having got my Masters with distinction, they are now a hell of a lot quieter than they have ever been and when they get shouty I am much better at telling them to shut the hell up! (and just in case they are listening...I can and I bloody well will!)

(Oooh, a serious post...that doesn't happen very often!)

Nordic Walking

2012-01-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

For the last two years/eighteen months I have done no exercise at all...and I mean none!! Most of my time has been spent sat on my backside either doing the reading I needed to do for Uni or writing essays...and when I took a break from that I was working on my art which is another activity that doesn't really require much physical exertion! Last year was particularly bad as I struggled to get my dissertation done...basically I got up, went into the study and stayed there till it was bed time. Exercise, even just getting out the house, was the last thing on my mind...I really did become a lesser spotted house dweller!

This year I have decided that I want to be a bit more active...I want to lose some weight and get fit. Not the gym...I've tried that before and I'm just not a gym going kinda gal...its not my thing and I go for a bit and then end up giving up. I had heard good things about Nordic Walking...that it helps with weight loss, improves fitness, helps with posture, is 80% more effective than going to the gym AND it has the added benefit of being something that is done outside and that Chris and I can do together. Soooo...this weekend Chris and I signed up to go on an introductory Nordic walking course. Our guide and trainer was the lovely Steve who runs Gemini Outdoor Adventure ltd and you know what? I can't recommend him or the course highly enough (Seriously, if you live locally then click on the link and sign up...you won't be sorry you did!).

Nordic walking is done in groups (which is a really nice way of exercising cause we all kind of cheered each other on) so there were seven of us that had signed up for the course. We met up on Saturday morning at 10.30am, were all given walking poles that met our specific height requirements and then the day started by learning the basics. It is funny...you look at it and think that it is something that should be really easy to do, and it is, but you do need tuition to make sure that you get it right. The weekend course was brilliant! If we had been only doing an hours class then the next time we picked up the poles I think we would have spent a lot of time going back over the basics again...by the end of the morning I think we had all pretty much got it. We had lunch and then went for a fabulous walk that took us across fields, brooks and through a very pretty little village. Oh, and we stopped for coffee and cake!!

Just before the end of the first day Steve made us do an exercise which was really interesting...and I don't think I would have believed it if I hadn't experienced it for myself...he had us plant our poles in the ground, walk up a small hill and back down again without them and then he had us repeat the exercise using the poles...my god what a difference they make!! Not only did I get up the hill quicker but I felt less exausted the second time! (did you hear that...less exausted the SECOND time!). I was tired at the end of the day (we finished at 4.30pm) but exhilarated.

Day two was amazing! We met up at the same time, got in a couple of cars and drove to a parking area next to part of the Cotswold way. What a way to exercise! The sky was blue, the sun was shining and we were walking along woodland paths with views that took your breath away! Steve was brilliant...he managed to spend some one-on-one time with everyone as we walked, gave tips on technique and was really encouraging which, I have to admit I needed from time to time!. (There was really only one climb that I stuggled with but with support from Steve, Chris and the rest of the group I made it to the top...and that was a great feeling!).

Today my body feels tired and a bit achy but not in a 'OMG I'm never going to be able to move again' way it feels achy in a good way. Put it this way...I have done no exercise at all in about two years, I have just spent a weekend walking (12 miles...that's how far we walked!) and yet I am not long off the phone asking Steve to order two sets of poles for us...yup, we loved it so much that we are buying our own AND we are meeting up with Steve and the group again on Tuesday evening to go for an hour and a quarter walk. I tell you...if I can do it then anyone can!

(If you are interested Steve does cover quite a big geographical area and regularly goes walking all over the country. I'm sure he would probably be more than happy to come to you if you could get a group of people together...there is no harm in asking!)

This year I will be mostly drawing...

2012-01-06T02:33:00.000-08:00

So I have been thinking for a while now that I should really do something that would ensure that I don't let my art fall by the wayside. I did so little last year due to all things Uni and I really missed it! I spoke (Ok, so it was more of a moan) to Chris about it and for my Christmas he bought me a fabulous present...he signed me up to take part in 'The Sketchbook' project which is being run by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn. The idea is to bring as many artists from across the world together to take part in creating an Art Library. There are a number of categories to choose from, you select one, they send you a small sketchbook which you then have to fill and send back. The sketchbook is then professionally scanned and becomes part of an online digital library, is exhibited in New York and the best bits from all the different sketchbooks become part of a series of limited edition art books. Pretty cool eh! I had a look at the categories and the one that stood out for me was 'Create and Capture' so that's the one I picked and I got to unwrap my blank sketchbook on Christmas day. There really is something quite daunting about all those blank pieces of paper looking at you but I bought a second book and starting making notes and playing about with ideas so I can now start filling the actual book.

THEN

I started pondering what I was going to do with myself once the book was done (which it needs to be by the end of March). I find that, although it makes me very happy, my art always seems to take a backseat to everything else...its the first thing to go when things get manic and actually, given the calming influence it has, it should probably be the last thing to go! I wondered whether trying to discipline myself to do a drawing a day would be a good idea. It could be done anywhere...on a train, waiting for a bus, whilst watching the TV etc and the image doesn't even have to be any good I just have to make sure that I keep practicing (good way to improve my skills). I thought about it and then didn't do anything...the idea was just there...lurking at the back of my mind...until...I went over to the lovely Jennifer's blog (Realia) and discovered that she was taking the bull by the horns and had committed to taking a photograph a day for a year (Her photography is fab and you can find her photography site here). She put me to shame so I decided to join her!

I have now set up Art Is Autobiograhical, which I have backdated to New Year Eve, and I will be posting a drawing a day there. If you are interested please pop over and cheer me on

(You can get there by clicking on the tree pic at the top of this blog and there is a 'follow by e-mail' option on the site for those that want to follow my progress but don't want to have to visit the site every day).

Eyes opened

2012-01-03T05:20:00.000-08:00

Politics. Its a funny old thing isn't it...

University opened my eyes and now they have been opened they can't be closed again. Paulo Freire (one of the founding fathers of community development) called this process conscientisation. Its about becoming aware of what is going on around you and, instead of thinking well this is just how it is, realising that you can do something about it and then getting off your butt and doing it! (yeah, he puts it waaay better than that but you get the idea!). It has been a bit of a revelation and now I'm not just interested in the things that effect me and the people I love but also the things that go on within this country that are, when you get right down to it, just plain wrong. I question things a hell of a lot more than I used to and when a statistic is quoted I go and see where it came from and look at what the person quoting it stands to gain from it's use (Oh my Social Structres and Policy tutor would be so proud!). Let me tell you that doing that is an extremely eye opening process (and one which led to me shouting at the TV during PM Question time a few weeks ago...much to the amusement of Tom).

Now, those of you that are also Facebook friends will know that I read a lot of political articles and I have been rather vocal about what is going on within the NHS at the moment. Someone said something to me recently which got me thinking that perhaps I shouldn't be so vocal and I actually spent a couple of days feeling a bit bad about it but you know what? I work in this area, I've studied the current policy in depth, I'm already seeing the negative effects that it is having and I know that there is worse to come. Community Development is a part of who I am and if conscientisation is about raising awareness and pointing people to where they can make a difference how can I not share that knowledge and ask people to add their name? I think equality and fairness are worth fighting for...we need a better place for all not just for some. I am well aware that not everyone shares my views...if you don't like the articles I share and don't agree with my politics (for the record there is no party at the moment which I feel represents my views!) then don't read them and don't add your name to the petitions...and if you do agree then...well, do. As much as I don't like upsetting or offending people I'm not going to stop sharing them.

Merry Christmas to you and yours

2011-12-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

See you in the New Year!

I want one!!

2011-12-18T02:14:00.000-08:00

Janine Partington is a very very talented enamel artist! (You can visit her website here). I bought a medium sized one of these for Tom as a thank you for letting me stay with him when I was studying. It's arrived and it's absolutely gorgeous and I really really want one!!

My future career?

2011-12-07T10:08:00.001-08:00

I have about a zillion things I need to do so what am I doing? I am sitting here contemplating my navel....soooo.....I've decided to do something useful and compile a list of things I could do for my future career...

So far I have

A Lipstick Namer
Can you imagine how cool that would be!! I think I would be fantastic.........you could have things like Purink (which is a combination of purple and pink obviously) or Zombie Blue or Road Kill Red!! (See, told you I'd be great!!)

I could be a Fashion Detective!! (or maybe constable??)
I could arrest people for having incredibly stupid hair (there seems to be a lot of that about at the moment - I saw a girl today that was obviously trying out two different styles on either side of her head), I could insist that teenage boys go wild and actually buy trousers that fit and I could ban shell suits for life!! (I think the world would be a better place without shell suits!!)

A Hairdresser Torturer
Not all hairdressers just the ones that wash your hair. They always seems to manage to spray the water down both your front and back before then going on to try and give you a frontal lobotomy whilst pretending to give you a scalp massage!! (and I'm not even going to get into the scalding hot vs freezing cold water thing)

A Singer
I'll follow people, whom I find mildly irritating, around all day singing annoying little ditties that they can't then get out of their head for weeks and weeks (Like Wigfield's Saturday Night or The Chicken song)

or maybe I could just be a Fairy Princess......what do you think?

(Can you tell it's been a LONG day!!!)

We made it out alive...but only just!

2011-12-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Bloody New Year! This year I am completely stumped for ideas on what to do. Every year (well, apart from the ones in Thailand) Tom, Chris and I get together and do something...

The first year we decided to go to Wales. None of us had ever been and, since we are all fans of the (original) TV show 'The Prisoner' we settled on Portmeirion. We booked a cottage in a neighbouring village and lunch on New Years day at the Portmeirion Hotel. The holiday itself was wonderful - walks on the beach, good food, stunning countryside and Portmeirion was amazing (even in the pissing rain!). The journey to get there however was...erm...eventful! I shall explain....

We left Manchester quite early and without breakfast figuring that we would stop somewhere that looked interesting on the way. We crossed through Snowdonia National Park and, I can't remember who started it, but someone starting singing the banjo duel tune from the film Deliverance and we all got the giggles (Now, before anyone gets upset and thinks I'm making nasty comments about the Welsh...I'm not. We have sung that tune in Scotland, England, France, Thailand and Cambodia...we always sing it when we are miles from anywhere!). Anyway, a little while later we drove through this tiny villiage and, as we came out the other side, we spotted a hotel perched on the top of a hill in the distance. We all agreed that it looked like a good place to stop! Oh if only we had known...

We turned off the main road, went across a bridge and followed a very steep single track road up to the hotel. Chris pulled up, parked the car and we all got out...the two boys stretched their legs and talked about how nice it was to be out the car...I was looking at the hotel. To say it was run down would be an understatement...the courtyard was covered in weeds, the windows filty and the curtains surrounding them were thin and ragged. It was at that point I spotted a creepy wee man staring/peering at us out one of the downstairs windows. He was thin, pale to the point that he was more blue than white (and I thought Chris was bad!) and had a shock of bright orange hair on the top of his head...he was also not blinking! All I could see was this pale, unfriendly, floating face staring at us through the window (It was dark behind him so I couldn't see the rest of him). Now, I don't know about you but I have watched many a horror movie in my time and this would be the point when I would be shouting at the TV 'Don't be so bloody stupid...get back into the car and drive!' so I was about to suggest that we do just that when a huge bearded bloke opened the front door. He looked at us and we looked at him...then he grunted (seriously, no hi or smile or anything...just a grunt!) and went back in the hotel. We, and I am ashamed to admit this, then did a very British thing...he had acknowledged that we were there so it would have been rude (!!) of us to just leave. We walked up to the front door, pausing only to note that the welcome mat was a piece of astroturf (I am not making this up!), and entered the darkest, dingiest, dampest corridor that I have ever been in in my life! It also absolutely stunk of wet dog...which, when it appeared, was huge, matted and the friendliest thing we encountered! As we entered the corridor we saw the bearded man go through a door at the end of it so we followed him (Sheep? Us? I don't know what your talking about!). Chris was leading, I was in the middle and Tom was bringing up the rear. The wee creepy man had now appeared to the left of us and was just standing in the doorway...still staring...still not blinking and I was thinking 'This is it! We are going to be chopped up into little pieces and our car will be dumped with 'the others' in a ditch somewhere'. As we walked down the corridor we could hear faint music playing from somewhere and it got louder the further down we went.

Now, those of you that know Tom will know that he is not subtle at the best of times...you will also know that he can't whisper. What he does is holler what he wants to say out the side of his mouth in the mistaken belief that if he does it out the corner of his mouth he is being quiet...let me categorically state that he is NOT being quiet!...Chris was now in the room that beardy bloke went into, I had just turned the corner when Tom hollered 'I can hear banjos' and then preceded to piss himself laughing...to be fair it was banjo music that was playing and in any other circumstances I would have seen the funny side but...what he hadn't seen yet and I, to my horror had, was the life size skeleton that was standing just inside the doorway! The life size skeleton that was dressed as a bride...veil and everything! Now if you are a local I am sure there is a completely harmless hilarious story attached to the bride skeleton but let me tell you...at that moment it wasn't remotely funny and I did not want to do anything to piss these people off!! Tom got an elbow in the ribs to which he responded 'What' loudly out of the corner of his mouth (he stopped laughing quite abruptly when he saw the skeleton!). Beardy bloke had now opened some of the curtains in the room we had followed him into and the weak afternoon sunlight that managed to make it through the grubby windows revealed a small, shabby bar. Beardy bloke then went behind the bar, turned and said 'What can I do for you?' in a manner that implied that he didn't want to do anything for us. Chris replied 'Erm, we were looking for somewhere that did food'. I don't mind saying that I was on the verge of turning vegan at that point...there was no way I was going to eat anything that had been prepared in that place and I was pretty certain that they wouldn't have anything suitable for a vegan! It was to our delight that the guy then replied 'We're not doing food today'. Let me tell you that, had you been watching, you would never have seen three people bolt out of somewhere so fast in your life!! We were down the corridor, out the door and in the car faster that you could say winkie! Once we were in the car Tom started roaring with laughter...to which Chris responded 'We're not clear yet. We still have to get down that slippy road and across the bridge...we can laugh about it then because if we don't make it we will have to go back in there'. I have never been so relieved to be back on a main road in my life!! We then all relaxed and started laughing (slightly hysterically!). Told you the journey had been eventful!

Anyway, what to do for New Year...which was actually the point of this post...two years ago we went to Cornwall (it was mostly shut!) and last year, because of the weather, we got together here...we picked a course each (with wines chosen to completment of course) and cooked a huge, utterly fab, meal. This year I have no idea what to do...any suggestions would be gratefully recieved...

It's about bloody time...

2011-11-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

that I put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and wrote something on my poor wee neglected blog! Truth is I've kind of lost my way blog wise...I've looked at it a few times recently and just didn't know what to write...it kind of feels like I don't know what it's for anymore. When I started it was to keep people back home up-to-date on life in Thailand (Yep, too lazy to write individual e-mails!) but now we're back I don't really know what it's supposed to be anymore...but I miss blogging and I miss my blog friends so decided what the hell...it's my blog and it will be about whatever weird notion that happens to pop into my head! (Ha, you have been warned!)

Anyhoo, I was telling a friend of mine about 'THE DAY' (insert scary music here) that I handed in my dissertation and she suggested that I share it here. Oh, for those of you that are not on Facebook (*hangs head in shame* I'm afraid that I do spent waaay too much time on there!) I have now finished my Masters and not only did I pass...I have passed with distinction *does happy dance*. I graduate on the 10th of Dec. Blimey, it has been a while since I blogged hasn't it! Right...where was I?...Oh yes...THE DAY!

To really put this into perspective I need to do some scene setting. My dissertation was about long-term health conditions. I wanted to know where the designation 'Long-term condition' left the person that had been assigned it and what barriers, if any, adults faced when trying to 'manage' their condition. To be able to do that my dissertation was split into two sections...the first was a STEEPLE analysis of the subject and the second was a qualitative study which involved going out into the community and talking to patients. Now, because I work with THINk, who have a statutory duty to speak to patients, it was agreed that I wouldn't need to go through an NHS Ethics Committee. This was agreed in January by one of the PCT (Primary Care Trust) directors. I needed a signed letter from the PCT stating that I didn't need NHS Ethics Committee approval and I could fail my whole dissertation if I didn't have it...I had asked for this a month before my due date, and two weeks before my due date, and a week before my due date....

The other thing that you need to know is that there was some confusion as to whether direct quotes counted towards my final word count...my dissertation tutor said no but another student, who had also done a qualitative study, said yes. A week before my due date my dissertation tutor went on holiday and it wasn't till after this that we had the 'do they count or not' debate. So, a week before my dissertation is due I'm almost finished....all I have to do is go through the suggestions my dissertation tutor made and write my final summery, I go upstairs at 9pm on a Saturday night to find an e-mail there stating that quotes do count! I had less than a week to re-write my findings, then go through the entire thing making my tutors suggesed alterations and write my summery..I finished it at midnight the night before it was due in. The letter from the PCT had still not arrived! I asked for it three days before my due date, two days before and the day before...na da! (Yeah, you can imagine that the old stress levels were...erm...orbital!). It was not a good week!!

THE DAY dawned and despite this being the technical age London Met (in it's infinite wisdom) don't accept any accademic work via e-mail. So on Friday the 3rd of September (a date that will forever be ingrained in my mind!), unable to sleep, I was up at the ungodly hour of 4am. The dissertation was written but I still had to pull together the appendices, my bibliography, my references and sort out the last formatting details, I then had to get two copies printed, bound and to London before 5pm. At 9am I phoned my boss about the letter, at 9.30am I got a call from the PCT Director to say that she would get the person who was responsible for writing the letter to call me, at 10.30am he finally called and told me I would have it in five minutes. By 11am I had done everything except my page numbering which I couldn't do because I didn't have the guy's full job title and it had to go into the body of the text. If it was short then it wouldn't matter but if it was long then the page numbers would be out. At 11.30am the letter was e-mailed to me...he hadn't signed it!! I had to phone him back...ask him to print it, sign it, scan it and then e-mail it back to me. It arrived at 12pm. I frantically did my page numbering then phoned the local print shop to find out what format they needed the document in...only to be told that they couldn't print it...they could only photocopy it! AAARRRGGG!!! So I started printing...then the printer ran out of ink (at this point I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown) so I left Chris to deal with the printing and got dressed (I had been working in my housecoat up to that point). Chris then dropped me off on Malmesbury highstreet and I ran down the road, half dressed (seriously... I hadn't done up my boots, my cardigan was trailing on the ground and I looked like a mad woman!!)...clutching my dissertation. I got to the stationary shop, walloped it onto the counter and asked the slightly startled woman to make a copy...it took ages...and I mean ages!! Meanwhile we picked a cover and chose a snazzy black plastic binder for it...which...wait for it...didn't fit!! The dissertation was too thick. After rummaging around for five minutes the woman produced two white ones...the largest they had in the shop and...they were too big for the binding machine!! I was about to have kittens!! Chris (have I told you how wonderful he is?) decided that he might be able to fiddle with the machine to get it to catch the edges of the binder and ten minutes later he suceeded! It was now 2pm...we still had one copy to bind and I still had to get them both to London by five...it's a 45 minute drive from Malmesbury to Swindon, the train takes just over an hour to get to Paddington and then it's 45 minutes to get from Paddington to the Uni at Highbury and Islington. Chris drove like a mad man, the train was painfully slow...the tube even more so and then I had to wait for the bus to take me up to the Uni...

I got there at 4.55pm! I never ever want to go though something like that again!!

20,000 words were written, over 300 books and documents were read, 129 people were interviewed and a Masters with Distinction was achieved. I am never studying anything ever again and if I ever even hint that I'm even thinking about it you have my permission to take me outside and give me a good slap!!

I am still alive...stressed...but alive

2011-07-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

Blimey it's been a while eh! I shall return properly but you will have to wait till September (seriously, I have an ever expanding list of things I am going to do in September...sleep is right at the top, closely followed by drawing and blogging....oh, and reading a book that is non-academic..so can't wait to do that!!).

Right now I'm just trying to beat my dissertation into some kind of shape!

I've 14,000 words to write (so far I have 5,000 ish) which needs to be completed and handed in on the 3rd of September. It sounds like loads of time till you factor in the fact that I'm writing about topics I've not studied before so I'm having to learn the topic as I'm writing, my academic supervisor is on holiday in August (how dare he!!) so the majority of it has to be done before he goes away so that I can get his input, 120 patients and carers got involved in my research so I have oodles of raw data that needs coded (which has to be done by the end of this month) and I have a separate report to write for work which needs to be completed by the 14th of August (Bloody GP consortium have decided to bring forward their discussion on the redesign of services for those with long-term conditions and since this work is to represent the patients view on the topic there is no way I can miss that deadline!!). I do kinda feel like I'm drowing!! But I only have a month and a half to go and then......freedom

Whispers *and then I am never ever ever studying anything ever again*

Some random things

2011-03-20T02:27:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit lacking in the old blogging inspiration department today. I have a cold and am feeling pretty miserable so I'm going to share some random facts with you which made me giggle:

1. The average Facebook user spends more than 55 minutes a day on the site. They use the Like button nine times a month and write 25 comments each month. (Blimey!)

2. The Licensing Act of 1872 (UK) states that it is illegal to operate a cow whilst drunk.

3. London Hackney Cabs must carry a bale of hay and a sack of oats (For the horses of course!). What's hillarious is that these laws have not changed for over 100 years and aparently some taxi firms have tiny bales of hay manufactured so that drivers can stay within the law!

4. Pregnant woman can relieve themselves anywhere without fear of breaking any laws! (Seriously, even in a policemans helmet if she so desired!)

5. It is illegal to ride an ugly horse in Washington.

6. According to Florida law, anyone who takes a bath must wear clothes.

7. If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

8. An iceberg contains more heat than a lit match.

9. In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles.

10. Laughter is a proven way to lose weight! (Bring on the comedy!)

I've got two lots of exciting news to share....

2011-03-13T03:06:00.000-07:00

OMG have I got something exciting (well, for me anyway) to share with you today!!

I got my Uni results this week.

and

I am officially on cloud nine!!

because

I got my distinction!! *grins*

I now officially have a post grad diploma with distinction in organisation and community development. *does happy dance*

(I still have my dissertation to do which will, hopefully, convert my diploma to a masters)

--------------------------------------

My other exciting news is that my lovely, and very talented, friend Leonie has launched a website to showcase her utterly fabulous photographs. Planet Aspie - Looking at life from a different perspective features pics that are quirky and unusual....please pop over for a look ....you wont be dissapointed! (and prepare to get your wallets out cause I know you'll want to buy one or two!)

I will stand up and be counted...or, erm, something

2011-03-06T01:26:00.000-08:00

When I was a wee lassie I was never particularly interested in politics and the political process. I always voted in local and general elections, I did check out the proposals prior to voting, but you could never have described me as interested!

When Chris and I met he introduced me to people like Michael Moore and Charlie Brooker and it was through their musings on our political systems that I began to take an interest. When we moved to Thailand I really started to see how important politics is and what impact policies can have on the population. I started to find politics fasinating and Chris and I went to a number of lectures given on the topic (we even met Thailand's current Prime Minister!). When we got back to the UK that interest stayed with me but I still didn't really understand our system.

Going back to Uni was a big turning point in my interest....I guess it kind of had to be since I've been studying things like 'Social Structures and Policy', 'Issues in contemporary Health Policy' and 'Community Development' (which covered the impact policy has had on our population over the years). I have discovered that I am becoming quite a political animal....I still don't know all the in's and out's of it all, and I am not about to pretend I do, but I am now a hell of a lot more 'aware' than I ever have been before.

I am going on my first ever protest on Wednedsay. Yes folks, I feel so strongly about what our current Governmnent are proposing to do to our NHS that I am going to march through London with a whole load of others in protest. Blimey!

I've read the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' that lays out the plans and I did a ton of research on the topic for my last Uni assignment. This is an extract from my assignment (Feel free to skip it if your not interested)

-----------------------

The World Trade Organisations (WTO) main aim is to see free market trade in the provision of public services. With the decline in revenue generated from manufacturing, caused by increased international competition, US and European corporations are now looking to capture a share of the GDP spent on public sector services. ‘Many governments are deregulating and privatising public-service funding and delivery’ (Price, Pollock and Shaoul, 1999: 1889) and the UK Government is one of them. They have done this by contracting out services, introducing public-private partnerships and by introducing compulsory competitive tendering. Many changes, of which the public may be generally unaware, have occurred within the health sector; there have been changes to resource allocation with money now following the individual rather than resources being allocated on area needs. Additionally corporations within the health care system have been set up along commercial lines, with Acute Trusts and PCT’s being required to break even ‘after having made a profit for their owners (the Government) equivalent to a 6% return on capital’ (Price, Pollock and Shaoul, 1999: 1891) - which means finance (and not health-care) may be the top priority; and by getting rid of new public funding for capital projects the privatisation of public funds has been achieved.

The effect of these initiatives has been devastating and has had a major impact on both funding and services; ‘the introduction of the private finance initiative to the acute hospital sector in the National Health Service has resulted in a reduction of 30% in capacity at the hospitals concerned and of 20% in clinical budgets and workforce’ (Price, Pollock and Shaoul, 1999: 1892). It is clear that the involvement of these private organisations will have an impact on the delivery of health policy locally.

-----------------------

It's only going to get worse under the proposed plans so on Wednesday the 9th of March I will be pulling on my comfy shoes and joining others at 5pm at the Royal London Hospital (Opposite Whitechapel Tube Station) to march along Whitechapel road, through the city (Home of the Banks) to Barts and The London Hospital. I am going to stand up and be counted!

The Blackhouse by Peter May

2011-02-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

I think most of you know by now that my Dad is the award winning writer Peter May so it will come as no surprise to you that this post is a shameless plug for his new book. (At least this is exciting....waaay better than listening to me going on about the hell that is working with macro's in an excel spreadsheet!)

I am his biggest fan but I am also his harshest critic. This book? Well, I honestly think that this is the best thing he's ever written. I couldn't put it down and, in my humble opinion, it's a must buy for anyone that loves a good book! Don't just take my word for it.....it's already reached number 15 in the UK's top 40 bestselling hardback books (it's only been out a couple of weeks!), it's won the prestigious 'Prix des Lecteurs' (readers' prize) at the French Le Havre festival of crime writing (it's been out for a while in France) and it's currently Waterstones book of the month.

This is what it says on the book jacket:

A brutal killing takes place on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland: a land of harsh beauty and inhabitants of deep-rooted faith.

A Murder

Detective Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born Macleod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past.

A Secret

Something lurks within the close-knit island community. Something sinister.

A Trap

As Fin investigates, old skeletons begin to surface, and soon he, the hunter, becomes the hunted.

It's described on Amazon as 'a crime novel of rare power and vision'.

You can buy it on Amaxon here or you can download it on Kindle here.....go on....you won't regret it!

(Told you this was a shameless plug but a daughter has to do her bit!)

I have a plan.....

2011-02-16T02:10:00.000-08:00

So much for all my good blogging intentions eh! Urgh, my last two modules were pretty bloody horrific which is why my poor wee blog (and let's face it....my poor wee life!) has been so neglected!

Honestly, it's one thing to be told that you have to write a 3,500 word essay but it's another thing completely when you discover that the 3,500 word essay is to be written on a topic that was covered in an hour on the very first lecture and none of the recommended reading associated with the module related to what you needed to write about! Seriously, fourteen weeks of teaching and I felt like I knew absolutely nothing about the subject!

The other module, ha, well it lulled you into a false sense of security! Four 1,000 word essays....yep, I can do that! Ahhhh, but it's not just 1,000 words....you need to design and trial a questionnaire....then write 1,000 words on the process (by the time I got to draft 19 of the bloody thing I could have happily set fire to it!), that was followed by a 1,000 word critical analysis of statistical data (OMG that involved a lot of research), a 1,000 word research proposal which will form the basis of my dissertation (so no pressure there then!) and a learning log which involved writing 1,000 words explaining how you went about keeping the log and the actual log itself! The document I handed in was the size of a brick!!! Still, *breathes sigh of relief* that was the last essay of my modules....all six are now done! If I pass (which I will find out in a months time) I will officially have a Postgrad Diploma *crosses fingers*

For my dissertation I am doing a big piece of research around Adults with one or more long-term health conditions who live in Tower Hamlets. NHS Tower Hamlets are doing a strategic review of services and my research will feed the patient perspective into the redesign. The data collection goes live today and I have a plan folks (be afriad...be very afraid!)....I'm going to do the actual data collection for my dissertation three days a week (give or take), spend one day researching and writing it (it's not due till September) and one day is going to be dedicated to blogging and my art stuff. We'll see how it all goes!

I shall pop over and visit you lovely lot over the next few days :-)

Blimey!

2010-11-10T01:20:00.002-08:00

I just got hit on the head and realised that I have not updated this blog since Hammertime was in the charts!! You'll never guess what happened.....*thinks furiously* erm, my hands were chopped off and I couldn't blog because I was waiting for my bionic ones to arrive? Nope, your not going to be believing that are you? Ok, I shall just throw myself to the floor *thump* and beg thy forgiveness.....

Truth is that I have been flat out, like a lizard drinking, with all things Uni. I am spending so much time at the computer reading stuff, researching stuff and writing stuff (yep, stuff is the technical term) that by the end of the day I just don't want to spend another minute in front of the computer. Seriously, at the moment I am working on a presentation which will provide an analysis of Thailands HIV/AIDS Policy (which needs to be related back to policy theories...yawn), researching Britian's Policy on Patient and Public Engagement, trying to write a research plan which, in theory, will form the basis for my dissertation next year, coming up with some form of a Questionnaire that needs to be trialled, writing a learning log (yes, another one *sigh*) and outlining how I plan to research a community/topic using secondary data only. Oh, and I am also having to get my dissertation topic agreed (which is proving harder than i had anticipated) and have been advised that my current plan might not be the best way forward but have not been given any guidance on what research methods may be better. Aaaaaarrrrrggggggg!!!

In saying all that...I really must try and make some time to come here so *places hand on heart* I solemnly swear that I will make more of an effort to blog, and visit you lovely lot, more often (that is until I lose the plot completely and the nice men in the white coats come to take me away!)

Thailand (the 1st bit)

2010-09-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

When the lovely Georgina Dollface had a blog break a few weeks ago she decided to keep a list of daily thoughts and observations and then blog about them when she got back. I loved reading them....they gave a great glimpse into her day so I thought I would do the same for our Thai holiday (I won't do it all in one go cause I think both thee and me would lose the will to live!). Soooo, here goes....

Sunday 5th -
We were flying out of Manchester (cause it was easier and cheaper than doing it from London) so after dropping the splats off at the cattery we decided just to make our way up there. We arrived at lunchtime.....the sky was blue, the sun was shining and West Didsbury (the area we used to live) was having a mini festival to celebrate it's independent shops....the entire place was buzzing. We had lunch in our old local, walked past our old house, caught up with a friend who we'd not seen in five years, bought wine from our favourite wine shop (the owner, Kate, organised a champagne tasting for us to help us choose what we were going to have on our wedding day...OMG we had so many different champagnes! I had my first ever proper hangover the next day!) and it reminded me just how much I love the city. We sat outside with a beer reminiscing about our time there....it was a great start to our holiday!

Monday 6th am - (Somewhere between Manchester and Dubai).
I had been dozing in my seat and stretched to get a bit more comfortable. Cool air was blowing on my face but I was nice and warm having wrapped myself up in the blanket that was provided. I opened my eyes and saw the wee lights they have on the roof of the plane twinking away like stars so decided to open the blind and have a peer out the window. The sky was split in two by a band of deep orange....the bottom half was a smokey blue/purple colour.....exactly like the colour of black grapes, above it was the band of deep orange and above that was a cloudless dark blue.....and the best bit.....I could still see a tiny sliver of crescent moon. (I found a pic that looked similar)

Monday 6th pm -
Knocking on the door of Marisa's apartment and seeing it nearly flung off it's hinges as Moon opened it to greet us.

Tuesday 7th -
Meeting my fab friend Jen to go and get our nails done. It was like I had never been away!! (although I really should have remembered that the place we went to put's three coats of nail varnish on...the first was lovely, a kind of caramel brown, the second was not so lovely, they now looked a bit greeny brown, and the last one...well, I ended up with nails that were the colour of manure.....lovely!!).

Wednesday 8th -
Sitting in The Bulls Head playing Mah Jong with the girls. Aircon is whirring in the background and I'm listening to the chatter of the girls and the click of the Mah Jong tiles on the wooden table. I love the feel of the tiles....they are so well worn that they almost feel soft to the touch. My jet lag had well and truely kicked in and I was struggling to work out what hand to play....much to the amusement of Louise!

Thursday 9th -
We got the river boat to Wat Po. I loved the feel of the wind in my hair, the slight spray of water on my face and the thud of the boat as it struggled against the current. I could hear the boatman's whistles as we approached the piers and the answering call of the guard on land. The boat was packed and I was squashed between Chris and Moon as we watched the mixture of sky scrapers and shanty towns go by. We spent three hours meandering round Wat Po. I had forgotten just how magical the place is....and how very large the Buddah is...it has to be one of my favourite places in Bangkok. (You can read more about Wat Po here)

Iron Fairy. Small, dark and very quirky restaurant which does THE best burgers in Bangkok. We went there with our good friends Tim and Elyssa and the evening past in a blur of laughter. (Remind me to tell you about the catfood story.....you gotta hear about the catfood story!)

Friday 10th -
We spent the entire morning at the Grand Palace. It was great to recapture my love of the place which I had kind of lost having been there so many times when we had visitors.

That evening we went to the Robin Hood where we met up with all of Chris's old work colleagues. We started drinking at 4.30 and, not surprisingly, it got a bit messy....culminating in Chris and Marisa having a foot fight (don't ask) back at her apartment.

Ok, I think that is more than enough for now! I'll try and do the next instalment at some point in the next few days.

Thailand musings - observations and things forgotten

2010-09-23T01:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back...I have a head that feels like it's full of cotton wool and I've picked up the dreaded lurgy somewhere along the way so have a blocked nose, sore throat and am feeling a bit crappy.....I can however, do THE most wonderful impression of 'Balcomb' from the Tunes advert! (Eeek, now I'm showing my age!). Anyhoo, this is not going to be a long post....just a few wee things that struck me about the place I called home for two and a half years....observations and things forgotten

I had forgotten about the weird and wonderful (ha, I say wonderful....) things that the humidity does to my hair! Seriously, I stepped off the plane and almost imediately I felt my hair go 'poof'...instant frizzyness...not a good look!

I had forgotten how Bangkok smells...it's very distinctive and I'm really not sure how to describe it! It's a mixture of heat (a kind of steamy wet smell...the one that you get when the kettle boils or you are making soup) combined with exhaust fumes, the aroma of cooking (think barbecued meat and stir fried chilli), dry fish (you have never smelled anything till you come across dry squid man...well, except durian but they are not in season at the moment!) and drain. It sounds awful but actually, and I don't know why this is, it's kinda wonderful!

The sheer joy of stepping outside at night and feeling the heat on your skin. Some of the restaurants and pubs really crank up the aircon and you can actually feel really quite cold......there is nothing nicer than opening the door and feeling the warm night air hitting your body...particulary your freezing feet!

Oh, talking about feet....Foot massages....simply divine!! We had one after spending two days walking around temples..my tired feet were revived and I could have danced out the shop (I didn't cause that would just have been weird but you know....I could have...if I'd wanted to!)

There were also a few things that made me really sad....

Seeing what was left of Central World after the troubles (For those of you that don't know Cental World is...was...a huge shopping centre in heart of the city that was completely destroyed when the red shirt protesters set fire to it). It has messages of hope written along the side of it but that only made me feel worse cause it's going to take a lot more than that to put the country right!

Another casualty of the troubles was the loss of yellow Mondays. Let me explain, the Thai's have colours for each day of the week and yellow is Monday's colour (it is also the colour of the King cause that was the day he was born). So on a Monday nearly everyone wore yellow shirts.....walking down the street used to be like moving in a sea of yellow but that doesn't happen anymore....I guess it's because it is now associated with which side of the political divide you are on (Red shirt or Yellow). (If your curious about what colour the other days are you can find out here)

The range of goods and the quality of what is available (on the streets that is) has dropped...not surpising really considering the number of tourists has also dropped significantly. The stalls used to pack up about midnight but some were packing up as early as ten on a Saturday night....unheard of when we were still living there!

Still, it was really interesting to see what had changed and what had not changed at all! The Thai hospitality and warmth was still there in abundance, the streets were still bustling (yes, I did still have to jump out the way to avoid getting a motorbike up the jacksie and yes, I was on the pavement at the time) and, I think it is safe to say, it will always hold a very special place in my heart!

I will blog more about our trip when I am feeling a bit more human!

We're off on our hols (+ Finished Painting)

2010-09-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

So won't be around for the next couple of weeks!

I shall leave you with a pic of my finished painting...it was supposed to be Winter in my four seasons series but I think it's going to be too similar to Autumn. Still, I've since had another idea which I think will work better so it's not all doom and gloom (and I quite like how this turned out!)

'See' you when we get back :-)

(Oh, and you can double click on the pic to see it in all it's glory!)

A list of reasons to run for the hills

2010-08-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

a list of reasons to run for the hills:

because you've got new boots,
because that last big heist didn't quite go to plan,
because you accidentally unleashed the hordes of darkness,
because you want to know exactly how loud you can sing,
because you can see for miles up there,
because the hound of the Baskervilles is on your tail,
because your middle name is trouble,
because you'll be damned if they catch you again,
because you're convinced you could fight a bear and win but you have to find one first,
because you've forgotten why you ever came down in the first place,

In my last post I mentioned the embroidered picture I had entitled 'A list of reasons to run for the hills' and the lovely Mel said she was curious as to what was on the list so there you have it.

Six Senses

2010-08-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

The lovely Fire Byrd did this last week and I loved the idea! I figured since I've been painting away like a wee fiend and not really doing much else I would do a version of my own so here goes...

I can see:
my current work in progress,
my fingers which I have managed to cover in paint,
the photograph we have of Carcassonne where Chris proposed,
an embroidered picture entitled 'a list of reasons to run for the hills',
the sculpture that my Mum bought me for my birthday,
a metal owl,
Lugs who is sitting on my knee,
the sun making patterns on the wooden floor,
and the trees blowing in the wind outside the window.

I can hear:
Gai snoring from the hallway,
rustling leaves,
the wind,
children playing in the garden next door,
someone clattering dishes,
our washing machine spinning faintly in the kitchen,
my computer drive whirring.

I can feel:
the weight of Lugs warm body on my lap,
paint drying on my hand,
the smoothness of the wooden floor,
the sun warming my toes,
a slight breeze coming in the window,
contentment.

I can touch:
Lugs's soft fur brushing across my arm,
the plastic springyness that is my netbooks keyboard keys,
the warmth of my netbook,
the cool of the glass on my drawing table.

I can smell:
the fresh air coming in the window,
acrylic paint,
a hint of glue,
jasmine green tea,
the Issay Miyaki perfume that I put on this morning.

I can taste:
the chicken soup I had for lunch,
the first mouthful I had of my tea.

It's important sometimes to just stop and really appreciate what is going on around us. Feel free to have a go at this if you fancy it....and don't forget to let me know if you do :-)

Why???

2010-08-17T04:56:00.001-07:00

Apparently these are THE thing in Japan at the moment. Nope, the skirts are not see-through... the image is printed onto the fabric to look like they are!

Why?....why would you want to walk around pretending your bum is on display? (God, I hope they don't catch on over here!! *shudders*)

So you know what I think but what about you? Will you be rushing out to buy one?

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (I kid you not!) and Mama's Gun

2010-08-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

If you had ever told me that I would use the words 'Ukulele' and 'like' in the same sentence I would have had you carted off to the funny farm before you could say....well, Ukulele...but I find that I am about to do just that! The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain were brilliant...and funny....and yes, I liked them (there I said it....but if you tell anyone I will deny everything!). I have heard the Ukulele played before and it was....how shall I put this....less than pleasant but these guys were amazing. The eight-strong ensemble took songs such as Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, Shaft and Smells Like Teen Spirit and truly made them their own!! Have a wee listen....this is them doing the theme from the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly....I challenge you not to smile

Mama's Gun's music has been described as retro soul and I think it's a rather splendid and very apt description. They fuse 70s soul with funk and a bloomin great job they do of it too :-). Uncut magazine described last year's debut album, Routes To Riches, as "a masterclass in blue-eyed bubblegum soul, as heart-warmingly catchy as anything from Stevie Wonder's '70s purple patch". I absolutely love them!

I won't bore you with any more music posts but I do have to share this (those with a nervous disposition look away now!). Jo, my lovely sister-in-law, was standing in the queue for the port-a-loo when one of the doors opened a little then closed. Intrigued she watched as the the same thing happened again....then about two seconds later the door burst open and a woman emerged backwards, arms wrapped tightly around a wriggling little boy. As she struggled out of the loo she uttered 'I don't care if you can still see it....your not getting it back'. Yes we laughed....we laughed lots.....

Soil & "Pimp" Sessions and Imelda May

2010-08-05T03:34:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of the term 'death Jazz'? Nope, me neither....well, until I heard the Japanese band Soil & "Pimp" Sessions. I've always liked jazz and I've always liked heavy metal (or the great unwashed as my Mum calls it) but was highly suspcious as to what on earth a merging of these two styles would sound like....I shouldn't have worried....the music that Soil & Pimp produced was out of this world!! Beats that are impossible not to move your body to, trumpets and saxaphones being blown as if the next breath will be their last and a stageshow guaranteed to get the audience going.....don't think you like Jazz? Give these guys a whirl and prepare to have your preconceptions blown all over the place!!

Now if that wasn't your thing how about giving Irish rockabilly singer Imelda May a try. She is totally obsessed with the fifties and rock and roll....her voice is sublime and she uses a bodhran to give her songs an Irish twist. I thought she totally rocked (and I read an interview in which David Bowie agreed....recomendations don't come much higher!)

(PS. We have my Mum visiting at the moment which is why blogging and commenting has been sporadic...normal service will resume next week!)

WOMAD and some music recommendations

2010-07-28T03:57:00.000-07:00

Well what can I say....it was utterly utterly wonderful!! The weekend started on Thursday night with a Moroccan meal (thought since we were going to be spending the weekend listening to world music we should have something suitably appropriate!) which consisted of an orange, date and almond salad (sounds odd but was really yummy) followed by a lamb and olive tagine, hot chickpeas, mediterranean couscous and salad followed by stem ginger chocolates (I ran out of steam by the time we got to pudding). Chris was working from home on Friday (I think it was just so he could weasle out of putting up the tent...sometimes he really is not as daft as he looks!!) so he dropped Tom, Jo and I at the camp site. Oh dear!! An hour and a half later the tent was still flat as a pancake (honestly, I couldn't believe we had spent so much time fighting with the bloody thing and were still no nearer to having anything that looked even vaguely tent shaped!!) Tom had been hit in the knackers with a tent pole, Jo had been in tears from laughing so much and I had fallen and landed in sheep shit....it was safe to say that we lacked the necessary tent putting up skills!! After Tom had had a jump up and down hissy fit at the tent our lovely tent neighbours came to our rescue....Isabelle (age 11) came over and basically put our tent up for us. We spent an hour and a half and trying to put up a tent that an 11 year old put up in under 30 minutes (oh the shame!!)

Right, moving swifly on.....tent errected we then went a meander round the site....it was amazing!! There were five main stages spread out across the site (and countless smaller ones in the beer tents!), a fairground, a wellbeing area (with a spa and everything!!), a children's activity bit and loads and loads of eateries and stalls (My favourite stall was called Prat in a Hat...and yes, we did see a fair few of those!!). The three day programme was absolutely packed and I loved the fact that you not only had the bands playing but there were dance and music workshops running as well as an area where the bands played more acoustic sets whilst introducing the audience to authentic dishes from their part of the world....it was just phenominal!!

I'm not going to bore you with a blow by blow account (to be honest, I'm so knackered that I don't think I would be able to even if I wanted to!) but I will introduce you to some of my festival highlights!! (I'll do a few posts featuring the different bands otherwise I'm going to be here all day and your going to lose the will to live!!)

The first one has to be Nouvelle Vague!! Utterly brilliant....they take cherished punk and new wave songs and offer their own unique twist on them....think bossa nova and easy listening then apply that style to New Order's Blue Monday, Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen In Love and even The Dead Kennedys' Too Drunk To Fuck. It really shouldn't work but it sooooo does!! Here's one of their songs...what do you think?

Sunshine Award (Come and get it!)

2010-07-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

You Are My Sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away

This award is being passed to all of my followers and to those I follow. There are no rules and regulations so pass it on, keep it on a shelf (just remember to dust it every so often) or pop it in a drawer....I just wanted to let you know that each and every one of you bring a little sunshine into my life :-)

(Thank you Jennifer for passing this lovely award on to me and for those of you that have not yet visited her blog I suggest you do....it's a rather lovely place!)

New Painting (For sale)

2010-07-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

I know that a number of you have been following my (erm, rather slow) progress on Facebook and have been cheering me on from the sidelines so here is the finished article....

(It's been done using gold leaf and acrylic paint and you can click on the photographs to enlarge it)

Front View

Side View

Bottom View

(It's going into an exhibition tomorrow but I guess if anyone's interested in buying it before then I can put a sold sticker on it)

Me through the ages (Don't laugh!)

2010-07-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

Ages ago I was tagged to do a post featuring photographs of me through the ages (Gawd, it was so long ago that I can't even remember who it was that tagged me!!). I've been feeling slightly guilty about not doing it so here it is....better late than never!!

OMG would you look at that hat!! What was my Mum thinking!!Now I'm wearing my Dad's hat...and I appear to be pretty pleased about it too!!
I was a strange child!!Ha, I look fairly normal in this one!
Me when I was a grumpy teenager! Would you look at the mug on that!!
I must have been about 16 in this photo....not sure why I'm attempting to strangle the cat!! He has that 'OMG get me out of here' look on his wee face. Poor wee soul!Erm, me in my late teens after a few glasses of wine! (I would love to say that I'm all sensible now and don't pull those kind of faces after a few drinks but unfortunately I still do!)It's a wonder I don't have super long arms...would you look at how many rings I'm wearing!! (I've no idea where most of the pictures of me in my 20's are so your going to have to put up with these poncy ones that I had done)Another poncy one when I was in my 20's. Actually I quite like this one...doesn't look anything like me...that's probably why I like it!!I was 30 when Chris and I got married. Awww, doesn't he look handsome in his kilt!

Ok, so it's not totally up-to-date since Chris and I have now been married for five years but when I find some recent (and decent) photos I'll post them (Ha, you may be waiting a while!!).

I'm not going to tag anyone but if you do a similar post please let me know so that I can pop over and laugh....erm, I mean come and see your baby photos :-)

Mae Hong Song - Huay Gung School (an update)

2010-07-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

Those of you that have been reading this blog for a while will probably remember the effect visiting Huay Gung School had on me when I visited the Thai region of Mae Hong Song in 2008 (You can read about it and see 'before' photos here). After the trip the BWG agreed, at my request, to support the school for an initial period of three years in order to get it up to an accepable standard and you may remember that one of my friends here, Anita, very generously donated a substantial sum of money to help with the building of a canteen that was so so despirately needed. Well, the canteen has been completed and it looks absolutley wonderful. I am really proud to have been a part of it

Here is what they had to say (and some photo's of the celebrations):

On Friday, June 11th, the opening of the canteen at Baan Huay Kung School was celebrated. The canteen was a self help project built by the villagers, teachers and students in the Karen hilltribe village of Baan Huay Kung. Funds for equipment were provided by Anita, a friend of former BWG Welfare member, Carol Burns and the British Women's Group.

The opening ceremony was a wonderful occasion with many of the villagers in attendance, although it was a working day for them. The Deputy Director from the Education Department in Mae Hong Son, performed the ribbon cutting and presentation. The students treated the audience to traditional dancing and songs.

The final result is a great credit to the headmistress, Khruu Or, and her team. Special mention should be made of the THEP team who supervised the construction, Khun Sunthorn and Khun Apichart. Construction took approximately 5 months which is an excellent effort, considering the villagers work in the fields most days and the teachers have to teach!

The canteen has a large kitchen and washing area. Although allowance was not made for tiling the floor, the extra money to do this was collected by the teachers. As yet, the canteen has no furniture; the chairs you see in the photo were borrowed from the District Office for the occasion.

The THEP team thank you sincerely on behalf of Khruu Or and the school for this wonderful project which means so much to the welfare of the students. Previously the children were eating, cooking and washing up in the outdoors and on verandahs and in classrooms when it rained. Thanks to you, they now have a beautiful multi purpose building which is basically their canteen but can also be used for meetings, shows and classes.

THEP (Thailand Hilltribe Education Projects)

This is turning into a rather wonderful weekend

2010-07-03T05:03:00.000-07:00

I've just sold another two drawings :-)

OMG OMG OMG.....have I got news for you!

2010-07-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

I did it!! I've passed the first year of my Masters course!!

WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

It hasn't sunk in yet!! I really struggled with the last semester.....the work load, the travel and, if I'm honest, I really wasn't sure I would pass. I thought that I might just scrape through (skin of teeth type stuff) but you know what.....not only did I pass but I got another two A's!!

I can't bloody believe it!!!

*goes off to do a happy dance*

Burbling Pygmies

2010-07-01T03:40:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there is an actual word (in the dictionary and everything) that is used to describe the noise your stomach makes when your hungry? Nope, neither did I...but there is and it's an onomatopoeia (a word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes) which in this case is Borborygmi. (If you say it out loud it does kind of sound like your stomach rumbling).

I thought it was a rather wonderful word, but it just refused to stick in my head so I ended up coming up with my own way of remembering it (The idea was that if I remembered my version it would help me come up with the actual word). So what is my version I hear you ask......it's Burbling Pygmies! I know I know....genius isn't it!! My problem now is that I can remember the Burbling Pygmies bit...it pops right into my head easy peasy....but can I rememeber the bloody word it's supposed to represent? Erm, that would be a big fat NO!

Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? (Please tell me it's not just me!!)

Beautiful World

2010-06-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

A group of bloggers have got together in order to show just how wonderful and beautiful the world we live in really is. Posting photographs from around the world, contributors really do show the beauty that surrounds each and every one of us if only we would (or could) take the time to stop and look about.

I am thrilled to be able to say that I am now one of those contributors (Trousers, thank you for pointing me in their direction) so please pop over for a visit....you wont be disappointed!!

All you have to do it click here

Amsterdam part 4 - our last couple of days

2010-06-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

I spent the following day meandering round the Rijksmuseum which is just along from the Van Gogh Museum. It's in the process of being renovated so only had one wing open but it has chosen to display what it called the crème de la crème of its permanent collection in the newly furnished Philips Wing. The exhibition was called 'The Masterpieces' and it offered the unique opportunity to view all the highlights of Amsterdam's Golden Age in one place. I'll be honest and say that the paintings were not really my kind of thing but I could still appreciate the work and skill that had gone into creating them. One of the things that really stood out was the painters use of light...I guess that's not surprising when the musuem was featuring work by Rembrandt and his pupils (Rembrandt was famous for his use of light)...but the atmosphere they managed to create in their paintings was incredible!

That evening Chris and I found the most amazing little resaurant where we had warm bread with olive tapanade, followed by steak with hand cut chips (the waitress was very funny in her disaproval of Chris wanting his well done) and mushrooms marinated in honey and tomato ketchup (which sounds horrible but was absolutely gorgeous!) and then I had chocolate mousse and Chris had a lemon sorbet. OMG it was good!!

The next day was our last one so we got up early, checked out of the hotel, dumped our bags at the train station and then made our way to Anne Frank's House. For those of you that don't know the story (I'll be surprised if you don't!), Anne Frank was a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam that had to go into hiding to escape the Nazis during the second world war. Otto Frank, Anne's Father, was a fairly wealthy man and ran his own Jam making business in Amsterdam where they had fled after Hitler became the head of the German goverment. When the Germans invaded Amsterdam his daughter, Margot, was called up to go to a German labour camp so the family had a secret annex built in his office which was hidden by a bookcase. They went into hiding with another family where they stayed, unable to go outside and in constant fear of discovery, for over two years. They were eventually betrayed (it was never discovered by whom, and in 1944 were arrested, split up and taken to the concentration camps. Anne died Auschwitz in 1944. Otto was the only family member to survive and when he returned to Amsterdam in 1945 hoping to find his family he discovered that all that remained was the diary that had been written by his daughter which was saved by one of his employees that had helped them during their time in hiding. Her dearest wish was to be a writer and to publish a book called 'The secret Annex' based on her diaries when the war was over. He fulfilled her wish.

To be honest I don't really know what to say about the house. I spent the entire time trying not to cry....it was the every day things that really got to me....the pictures that she had pasted onto her walls to make them a bit more homely, the marks on the wall that charted her growth and the view of the blue sky that they could see from the attic. It's an amazing place and stepping through the opening behind the bookcase was indiscribable...

Amsterdam part 3

2010-06-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

(We had internet problems whilst away so in true Blue Peter style......here's one I prepared earlier...)

Yesterday was absolutely wonderful! The area we are staying in is beautiful and I had a lovely long walk down wide, tree lined avenues that led to the stunning purpose built building that houses the Van Gogh Museum.....and OMG what a museum!!

It really is a moving experience to trace Vincent van Gogh's tragic life and extraordinary achievement through such a varied display of his art. The museum houses the world largest collection....it has 200 paintings and over 500 drawings not to mention 850 letters that he wrote to friends and family. The thing I really loved about the museum was that it put his work into context....it started with paintings done by his contemporaries such as Gauguin, Monet and Pissarro, showed his very early work (which really was pretty awful!), highlighted the influence the Impressionism movement had on his work and then documented his growth as an artist. The lovely thing was that it didn't stop there...it then went on to show how his work influenced the next generation of artists....it was extremely interesting and moving.

I got to see his 'vase with sunflowers', 'Bedroom at Arles', 'Irises' and 'Wheatfield with Crows' to name but a few. I adore his Sunflowers (one of my favourite flowers too) and his painting of the Irises was absolutely captivating (the blue against the yellow was so vibrant it just jumped off the canvas) and his Japanese style paintings were just as stunning...my favourite was 'Almond Branches in Bloom' which he painted in 1890 after the birth of his nephew (he painted it as a symbol of new life). The guide thingumy (I have no idea what you call them but you have headphones and a keypad) was worth every penny (actually that should really be Euro shouldnt it) as it was very moving standing looking at a painting listening to the actual words he had used to describe it (we know this from the letters).

It's actually thanks to his sister-in-law that we have what we see today....after his death, and the death of his brother six months later, she decided that she would dedicate her life to showing the world what an amazing talent he had and she put together a number of exhibitions showing his work. It was these exhibitions that brought his paintings into the public eye and influenced the next generation....can you imagine what would have happened if she'd thought they were crap...*shudders*

Amsterdam part 2

2010-06-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Here's the next update....

Day 2 (why do I feel like adding the words 'in the big brother house'? I don't even watch the bloody programme!!) - Anyway, I spent some time in the morning blogging (I know....shocker eh!) then headed back into central Amsterdam. After doing some research on the double decker train (Yes, I'm still rather excited about them) I discovered that the museum I wanted to go to I had actually walked past the day before so I knew exactly where I was going...didn't need to get the map out or anything!! (which for me is practically unheard of!!)

The Hermitage Amsterdam features works of art on loan from the bountiful collection of well over three million objects in the 'parent museum' Hermitage St. Petersburg. The exhibition that was on (they change frequently) was based on the pioneers of modern art and was called Matisse to Malevich and featured works by Matisse, Picasso, Van Dongen, De Vlaminck, Derain and many others that were painting around that time. It was absolutely fantastic!!

Now I have to be honest and say that I've just never really 'got' Picasso....I've always looked at paintings and gone 'Meh' usually followed by a shrug followed by a 'I just don't get what all the fuss is about'....well I tell you what....I do now!! I think it was the first time I've ever seen one of his paintings in the flesh and it took my breath away....it was the painting 'woman with a fan' that did it. I just couldn't take my eyes off it!! I spent about three hours meandering around the exhibition and I loved every second of it!!

After that I headed to the Joods Historisch Museum which is based in what used to be the heart of the Jewish quarter. It is made up of four former synagogs and is said to be the largest Jewish museum outside Israel....I thought it would be interesting and would help put Anne Frank's house into a bigger context when we visit later this week. I wasn't wrong!! I learned a lot about the lives of the Jewish people....did you know that it was the Jewish community that established the very first stock exchange in Europe? I also learned a lot about how they were treated during the war....it was very moving....of the 80,000 Jews living in Amsterdam only 10,000 survived. Words fail me...

I met up with Chris, we picked a direction and then went off exploring. We actually ended up meandering through the red light district which we both agreed was a bit tame by Thai standards. It was a bit odd seeing women wiggling about in shop windows but the ones we saw? Well, I think Chris's comment 'Not even with someone elses' kinda summed it up!! Anyway, we ended up in this fabulous little restaurant where we had the most sublime fondu....It was made with Gruyère, Emmental and blue cheese and had an olive and tomato tapenade mixed through it....OMG it was good!!

The Weekend - We didn't have any real plan in mind except that we wanted to see a bit more of the city so we headed west to the Jordaan district. It is known as the bohemian quarter and is a labyrinth of picturesque canals, narrow streets, cafes and restaurants....oh and there are houseboats gallore!! We saw the Homomonument which was designed by Dutch artist Karin Daan. It consists of three pink granite triangles, the sign homosexuals were forced to wear during the Nazi occupation, and it commemorates all those who have been persecuted because of their sexuality. Just round the corner from the monument is Amsterdam's smallest art gallery and I have to confess...I couldn't resist....I bought a picture (which I cant wait to get framed and put up). We then found a real bussling little square so parked our bums and had a couple of beers....actually we both ended up staring at peoples bikes as they went past. Chris read in the guidebook that only some bikes in Amsterdam have proper brakes and the others? Well, if you want to stop then you have to pedal backwards!!

We went on a canal tour in the evening....I have to say that sunset over Amsterdam is a sight to behold!! I was, if I'm honest, a little disappointed by the tour.....I think perhaps we should have done that on our first night but because we had walked around the city so much we had pretty much seen everything that we passed. Still, I guess it was nice to see it from a different angle and it gave my aching feet a nice break! We got back just in time to catch the end of the England USA game (oh the joy!!) and ended up joining a truly international group....English, Scottish, Dutch, Canadian and American. It was very good natured and we rolled out of there in the wee small hours.

Yesterday we had quite a chilled day.....Chris's conference started in the evening so we had to check out of the hotel we were in and get over to the new one! (That didn't stop us dumping our bags at the train station and heading over to the Sunday Flea market before we left!). We're now in the heart of the Museum district (just along from Van Gogh Museum where I am headed today.....Chris wanted to go but since time is short he's opted for Anne Frank's houses instead) and just next to Vondelpark which is Amsterdam's largest and oldest municipal park. The weather yesterday was beautiful so we went for a walk round the park and stumbled upon a free open air concert. The atmosphere was great and we both really enjoyed sitting in the sunshine listening to the music and just watching the world go by. Too soon it was time to head back to the hotel....Chris headed off to the conference reception and I had a long soak in the tub and then ordered room service. I do love hotels!!

Amsterdam

2010-06-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I have only been here one day and already I love the place!!

This city is the first one that I have really explored on my own (Chris was working yesterday and is again today) so I headed out with map in hand slightly apprehensive that I would get totally lost (It is something I am rather notorious for!!). I made it from the hotel to the train station (good start!!) and then got the train into Cenraal Station (Did you know that they have double decker trains in Amsterdam? I had never seen a double decker train before and was most impressed!!). I was sat there studying my guidebook when a lovely Chinese woman walked up to me and handed me an origami crane (for those of you that don't know....cranes are a sign of good luck and are all over the place in Thailand). I thought that was a lovely thing for her to do and I was rather chuffed!!

I got off the train and decided that I would just have a wee meander about as it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. As I got out my map another woman about my age approached me....she had just flown in to Amsterdam and was leaving again that evening....we got chatting and ended up going for a coffee (Yes, I mean a coffee not 'coffee'). She was from New Jersey but had been living in Israel for a couple of years and we had a very interesting chat about life there. After our coffee she headed off to the Van Gogh museum (Chris and I are planning to visit there later this week so I didn't join her) and I went off in search of the art gallery area.

Ooohhh I had a lovely time...there are just so many wee nooks and crannies to explore!! I walked the length of the Central district, had lunch overlooking the Bloemmarkt (which is the flower market to you and I) and then followed the canals round till I got to Leidsestraat in the West District. Leidsestraat is one long street, with god only knows how many side streets off it, jam packed with antique shops, art galleries and funky places. I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours going in and out of galleries and window shopping. Then I followed the canals again across to the East District and found Rembrandts house just as the rain was starting.

What a place!! The house itself is spread over about six different floors and is absolutely stunning. I got to see the studio where he spent most of his time, his collection of items that he used in his paintings (he had an entire room dedicated to coral, shells, Italian marble busts, butterflies, coins...you name it he had it!!), learned how the paint he used was made and even got to see a demonstration of how he made his etchings (and I got to touch one made by the man himself how cool is that!!). Did you know that he was the first artist to make his own prints? He used the excess ink on the metal plates to add texture and depth to his work. Each print required a new coat of ink which meant that every single print he made was different...I found it absolutely fasinating.

After that I made my back to Centraal Station where I met up with Chris. We then walked along to a restaurant that had been recommended in the guide book called Sarang Mas. I wanted to try it because it is famous for it's traditional Rijsttafel which translated means 'rice table'. It originated in early colonial days among hungry Dutch who, not satisfied by the basic Indonesian meal of rice and vegetables accompanied by meat or fish, always added other dishes. We had a mini-rijsttafel which comprised of pork satay, chicken coconut curry, pork in soi sauce with star anise, spicy beef curry, vegetables with lemon grass, prawn crackers, toasted coconut and fried banana. The idea is that you have a taste of each with a mouthful of rice....and it was absolutely stunning!!

After dinner we sat overlooking one of the main squares sipping chilled beer and people watching before we stumbled upon Amsterdam's oldest pub (I know....typical us eh!). It dates back to the 1600's and is known as a Tasting Inn. The entire pub just looked like some kind of weird physics lab...there were hundreds of old and unusual bottles full of different types, colours and flavours of gins and lots of different liquors....I kept waiting to see someone come in who looked like a mad professor!! We only stayed for one cause it was late and we were both knackered but I have a sneaky suspicion that we may end up back there tonight!!

So there you have it....day one of our trip. I can't promise that I'll be able to blog every day but I will do my best to keep you all up-to-date.

Freedom

2010-06-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

Well, my poor neglected little blog and blog friends, I feel a bit like I should don a kilt, paint my face blue (ala Mr Gibson) and run across a field shouting 'Freedom' in a crap Scottish accent! (aherm, perhaps not).

I have now caught up on all the boring house things that I had been neglecting...the house is now all sparkly (that won't last long...Gai is molting...honestly, I don't understand why that cat is not bald given the amount of fur he leaves around the place!!), furniture has been bought and built (yes, that meant a trip to Ikea..Chris has still not recovered), grass has been cut and the last boxes from Thailand have been unpacked (It's only taken us over a year but hey, we get there in the end!!).

Gosh, all this time....what on earth am I going to do with it? Oh I think I might just be able to find a few things...

Finally I will be able to read something that is non-academic!! Over the last year I have been reading loads of book reviews on various blogs and, if i'm honest, I've been getting a bit stampy footed about the fact that I couldn't read any of them!! Now I can (wooo hoooo) and I fully intend to make the most of it (In fact I've already read two...Without Alice by the very talented DJ Kirkby (I'm afraid that was a sneaky peak so the rest of you will have to wait...but keep a look out for it in October? (DJ is it October?) cause it's fab!!) and Like Bees to Honey by the fabulous Caroline Smailes which was brilliant too!! (See previous post to buy a copy)).

I have an art exhibition at the end of next month so I shall be drawing and painting like a wee fiend. I can't wait to put pen to paper...I did manage to squeeze three drawings into my learning log for Uni but that's not quite the same thing. I can't remember who suggested it but I am going to do some work on the four seasons idea (based on this painting I did for DJ) using both gold and silver leaf. (I am going to have to get a magnifying glass for the flower work cause it's not easy to get the detail otherwise). I've also sold another two pictures and a friend is talking about commissioning something. Oh, and I found out that two of my weird head drawings have been bought by a psychiatrist *gulp* and he has them on the wall of his office. (Do you think that means I officially need help?)

Oh, and we're off to Amsterdam on Wednesday. Chris has a conference but I'm going to go along and do some exploring....it's quite handy because it means that I can check out all the art galleries and do some shopping (not his favourite pastimes) whilst he's working and then we can do stuff that we're both interested in over the weekend...best of both worlds me thinks!!

Right, now I have blogged I'm off to catch up with you all....

Like Bees to Honey - Chapter 19

2010-05-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

The lovely (and very talented) author Caroline Smailes is launching her fabulous 3rd novel 'Like Bees to Honey' today and I am absolutely delighted and honoured to be hosting Chapter 19 as part of her blog tour. (Seriously, how cool is that!!).

If you have arrived here from Chapter 18 welcome *waves Hi* and if you have not then I suggest you visit Caroline's Blog to read Chapter One and then follow the links back here and beyond (I know you won't be disappointed!).

You can buy a copy of the book here and there is a link at the end of this post to take you to Chapter 20. Happy reading

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Open publication - Free publishing - More smailes

To read Chapter 20 please click here

Hey, did you know.....

2010-04-29T03:19:00.000-07:00

That there is an old Hotel/Pub in Marble Arch which use to have gallows adjacent. Prisoners were taken to the gallows (after a fair trial of course) to be hung. The horse drawn dray carting the prisoner was accompanied by an armed guard who would stop it outside the pub and ask the prisoner if he would like one last drink. If he said yes it was referred to as 'one for the road' and if he declined the prisoner was 'on the wagon'.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were 'piss poor' but worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot they 'didn't have a pot to piss in' and were considered the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500's:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women, children and finally the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying 'don't throw the baby out with the bath water'.

Floors were dirt. Only the wealthy had something other then dirt. Hence the saying 'dirt poor'. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery when wet so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to keep their footing. As winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way hence a threshold.

In those old days, they mainly ate vegetables but sometimes they could get pork. When visitors came over they would hang up thier bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could 'bring home the bacon'. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and 'chew the fat'.

Lead cupsw were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

Who said history is boring?

(Thanks to Ann who sent me this via e-mail)

It's bread....but would you be able to eat it?

2010-04-23T06:10:00.001-07:00

A friend of ours in Bangkok sent this over via e-mail and I just had to share it with you!! (sorry if it's grossed you out)

A bakery in the Thai province of Ratchaburi (which is about 100km east of Bangkok) wanted to highlight the Buddhist principle that you shouldn't always believe what you see and they came up with this little delight ....

So the question is.....Would you, or indeed could you, eat it?
(I'm really not sure...I know it's bread but....)

I do have the feeling that this guy's talents are waisted in a Bakery....he should be doing Hollywood Make-up!!

Just a quick one...

2010-04-19T03:19:00.001-07:00

How on earth is it the run up to assignment time already?....it seems like only two minutes ago that I was trying to get the last lot done!! *Sigh*

I have had two assignments to do every week since I started this semester....the learning log (which I've blogged a couple of entries for...you can read them here and here) and a weekly question based on social policy and structures....the learning log is due on the 5th of May, the weekly questions on the 12th and I have a 3,000 word essay on the history of Patient and Public Involvement in Health due on the 19th. The other module is based on Organisational Management and is based on the work I've been doing setting up the Community Partnership (Which I've also blogged about)....I've a ten minute verbal presentation to give on the 18th and a 3,000 word essay to hand in on the 25th. Roll on the end of May.....at the moment it feels like it's never ending!!

Anyway, three of my lovely blog friends have given me this award....isn't it gorgeous! Thank you Lily at When life gives you lemons..., DJ at Chez Aspie and Sue at Writing Life. You guys are great :-D

You all know what I'm like for not sticking to the rules of these awards so it will come as no surprise to you all that instead of selecting 10 bloggers (which is what I'm supposed to do) I'm selecting all of you that are in my 'and I read these' section on the right side of my blog. I love blogging that think your all fab!!

I'm feeling rather proud of myself....

2010-04-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Now, those of you that know me will know that I am not the most technically minded of people!! Christ, I can't even cope with the amount of wires that are behind our TV never mind deal with complicated computer technical stuff! However......I have astonished myself (and Chris) by actually managing to remove a virus from my netbook!! (and I did it all by myself!!)

I don't know how I got it (I do have anti-virus and am not a total moron when it comes to not opening suspicious e-mails) but on Sunday morning my netbook started going a bit bonkers. First it did a scan and told me I had 11 viruses, then it kept pinging pop ups at me saying things like 'You are being hacked right now' or 'Your identity is at risk' (Yeah, you can imagine how calm and controlled I was!!)...anyway, it kept taking me to this website and telling me that the only way to get rid of the virus was to buy this software but there was something odd about it so I restrained myself!! When Chris got up (Poor soul, he had only been awake for about three minutes and had a hysterical wife on his hands and a netbook thrust under his nose) he had a look at it and then looked online...turned out I had a nasty virus that mimics Microsoft's security settings and it was blocking access to everything we tried to do to remove it.

Yesterday I called war on the virus (I didn't actually say it out loud...that would just have been weird) and, after an afternoon spent swearing at the bloody thing, I fixed it!! I used the other laptop to download a malware programme (oooh get me with the techy jargon!!), started up my netbook in safe mode and tried to install the programme....the virus shut it down....bugger!! Then I had a brain wave....what if it only blocked .exe files? I could access other things on it sooooo if I changed the file name would I be able to access it? I changed the file from .exe to .com...and it worked!! It identified and then got rid of the virus so my lovely wee netbook is lovely again!! (and not a blue infected monster)

Go me!! I think I should don a cape and wear my pants on the outside of a pair of leggings (I'm sure I've got an old pair at the back of the wardrobe somewhere)....I could be called.... *said in dramatic voice over voice*... 'Virus Woman'.....hold on, that makes me sound like I have a virus...what about 'Virus Fighting Woman'?.....No?? Oh!

Indentity

2010-03-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so in my attempt to blog more I'm sharing more of my Uni stuff (which is probably making most of you lose the will to live and for that I do apologise)...the trouble is that, at the moment, I have no life so if I don't blog about Uni then I don't blog!!

I've been working on a new drawing for my learning log around the concept of Identity. I took part in a social policy simulation called Vibe City (140 students from four different Universities) which I found extremely challenging. As part of the exercise I was representing the Business Sector so had to drastically alter how I would normally have approached the issues that needed addressed and that had an impact on how people dealt with me during the exercise. It got me thinking about issues of Identity...the social groups and catergories that form part of our self worth, the personal values and convictions that form our personal identity and also how what we do for a living are all tied up in what makes us....well, us (does that make any sense what-so-ever?). After the Vibe City experience I persuaded Tom to come with me to see the exhibition 'Identity: Eight rooms, nine lives' which is currently on at the Wellcome Trust which was absolutely fasinating...did you know, for example, that we now have cases of identical twins born five years apart? (That boggled my mind till I thought about it...same egg + same sperm + frozen = identical twin)

Erm, that was rather a long introduction to my latest scribbling....sorry about that...here it is (Click on it if you want to see a bigger version)

The Stupid Test

2010-03-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we've not been up to much recently so I thought I would share this wee test I came across the other day.

Go on, have a go and let me know how you get on....

Take this quiz: The stupid test

My Results: Obviously I'm not as stupid as I look!!

The stupid test

My Quiz Result: You have failed the stupid test. You aren't as stupid as you think you are. Try living on with your smartness.

Take this quiz: The stupid test

Take more quizzes, myspace quizzes and fun quizzes on personality, love and other topics.

A worthwhile project?

2010-03-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

I blogged about the big project I was doing for Uni and THINk last semester, The Community Profile on Housebound People, so I thought I would share what I'm currently working on....

First a bit of scene setting...

The NHS and Local Authorities have a responsibility to inform, involve, engage and consult the local population and current users of specific services including those on issues regarding healthy lifestyles and access to and improvement of health and social care services. As part of this obligation commissioners need to collect local information and ensure user and public engagement influences their commitment to driving up the quality of service's provided.

What currently happens is that they employ external consultants who paracute into the community and then seek input from overworked and under resourced community organisations who feel compelled to help them for little or no remuneration in the hope that it might lead to better services for their users. When the lucrative contracts end these external companies bugger off leaving little in the way of social captial or understanding.

(Social Capital is defined as the 'wealth (or benefit) that exists because of an individual's relationships. It's the value created by fostering connections between individuals)

My Project:

I am trying to set up a partnership of Voluntary and Community Organisations (VCO's) that have expertise in community consultation and engagement. I believe that a group of local VCO's could provide an effective alternative to what's currently happening by:

* Offering better value for money
* Obtaining more meaningful results
* Obtaining a higher number of respondents
* Reaching marginalised groups

The benefits of using this approach would be

* Capacity building takes place within the community organisations
* Local people gain new skills and feel empowered by the experience
* Money is recycled within the community
* Results are fed back to the community
* Ties are formed that can be utilised in the future

I believe, and it's been proven (I was involved in a similar project in Salford), that by joining forces the 3rd sector can bid for, and secure, larger pieces of consultation work which we would be discounted from if we acted individually.

And you want to know the best bit? THINk are actually willing to give me some of their consultation budget so that I can prove that the model works!! I am so excited....

Whispers *and they may be able to secure some funding to pay me to implement the project*

It's just the best....

2010-03-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

The gorgoeus DJ over at Chez Aspie has tagged me to do a 'Best' meme. So here goes....

1. Best food? Curry...you just can't beat a good curry!! (which is why we had one on our wedding day!)

2. Best day of the year? I can't think of a best day of the year....any one that involves friends, laughter and food is pretty good in my book!!

3. Best day of the week? I love Sundays! Chris and I usually spend the day chilling or sometimes we'll go do some exploring and then we'll come back and cook something yummy.

4. Best de-stresser? Drawing and cooking (obviously not at the same time...that would just get messy!!)

5. Best toy as a child? I had a dressing up box full of my Mum's old clothes, shoes and make up and I loved it!! I would spend hours in my room getting all dressed up...the rainbow skirt was my favourite (Oh how I shudder to think of it now!!)

6. Best season? It's got to be autumn...crisp cold afternoons with blue skys and trees that look like they are on fire! I didn't realise how much I loved it till we lived in Thailand...they don't have an autumn!

7. Best living arrangements? Erm, anywhere Chris is! (Feel free to barf in the nearest bucket!)

8. Best flower? Orchids...love love love em!! I used to buy huge bundles of them for next to nothing when I lived in Thailand...the house would be covered in them after a trip to the flower market.

9. Best book ever? I'm with DJ on this one...Impossible to choose one!!

10. Best exercise? There's a best exercise?? Really??

I enjoyed doing this...thanks DJ :-)

Emic and Etic Perspectives

2010-03-18T01:40:00.000-07:00

I have 20 minutes before my train leaves for Malmesbury so I thought I would attempt to keep my promise to blog a bit more!

A while ago the lovely Molly over at Just pleasantly floundering around (a fab blog go check it out if you've not already) wrote a post based on Emic and Etic perspectives. In a strange coincedence I had just been introduced to the topic in my Social Structures and Policies Module and had produced a drawing for my learning log based on the concepts. I have to write 150 words each week on my learning so it's brief but I promised Molly that I would blog about it so here is Week 1 of my learning log.

WEEK ONE - AN INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH SOCIETY (Lecture took plane on the 10th Feb 2010)

The session covered:

- The importance of exploring a topic/policy from Emic and Etic perspectives.
- An introduction to the demography of the British population with particular emphasis on critical analys of statistical data.
- Participatory exercise regarding the policies relevant to settling a refugee family into Britain.

Reflection:

It is essential to understand, and learn to question, what perspective an issue is being viewed from.Jargon automatically alienates but it never occurred to me that my perspective, whether from an Institutional perspective (Emic) or from a community-minded one (Etic), could also alientate.

I need to make the time to reflect on my own personal experience as well as look at the environment in which I live from outside that experience.

Conscientisation is a process through which people become critically aware of their surroundings (Freire, 1972) and, with regard to statistical data, it is one I have gone through. In future I will question!

Application of Ideas:

During a discussion regarding the trial of a 999 emergency text messaging service, changing my perspective from Emic to Etic automatically produced a different set of questions to ask.

Have I got news for you....

2010-03-11T02:50:00.000-08:00

This last week has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster!!

Last wednesday we were told at Uni that our results would be out on Monday. The guy that told us then went on to say that not everyone had passed everything and as he said it his glance landed on me....so what did I do?....managed to convince myself that I had messed up and had failed a section of one of my modules. It didn't help that when I was working on my last assignment for the course I had been working from three different computers on four different drafts and had got myself in a bit of a fankle when i discovered that I wasn't actually working on my latest draft!!

I felt a bit sick on Sunday night and then on Monday when I checked the website....nothing!! I called the postgrad centre and they told me that the results didn't come out till today!! Great...two more days of stressing!!

This morning I sat down, logged in and...there were only results of one module!! The one that I wasn't worried about!! So, another phone call to the postgrad centre and they told me.....

I passed both modules!!

and I didn't just pass....

I got two A's!!

I can't tell you how relieved I am and pleased and relieved....

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On a slightly different note, for those of your interested in all writerly things the blog Type M for Murder now has five different writers, each blogging one day a week, writing about well, erm....writing!!

On Moday's it's Vicki Delany who writes everything from standalone novels of suspense (Burden of Memory) to traditional village/police procedural series set in B.C. (Valley of the Lost). She has also written a light-hearted historical series (Gold Digger) set during the Klondike Gold Rush.

On Tuesday's it's Rick Blechta who writes about his two passions in life: mysteries and music.

On Wednesday's it's Debby Atkinson who's mysteries portray an insider's view of Hawai'i, a perspective the tour books never show.

On Thursday's it's John R Corrigan who is a teacher of English and Mystery Literature and writes the Jack Austin mysteries, set amid day-to-day life on the PGA Tour.

On Friday's it's Peter May (yes, another shameless plug for my Dad) who has written six thrillers set in modern China, several stand-alones including a thriller set in the virtual world, Second Life, and is currently writing the Enzo Files cold-case series set in France, where he lives.

and on Saturday's it's Donis Casey who writes the Alafair Tucker series set in Oklahoma circa 1900.

Worth checking out if you've not already!

I have discovered a new love...

2010-03-01T01:21:00.000-08:00

but before I tell you that...can someone please tell me where the hell february went? I was full of good blogging intentions but they seem to have gone to pot!! (Must try harder)

Anyway, yes, new love...

My new love is....wait for it....The Fondue (now you didn't expect that did you and before you ask....No, not a cuddly toy in sight :-D)

We had our first one ever the other night and I absolutely loved it!! (I made one about five years ago, in a crappy fondue set, which was lovely for about two minutes till the cheese burnt at the bottom and then it just tasted...well....burnt....so I'm not counting that one!) We have been talking about trying to have a get together with our neighbours for.....oooohh nearly a year now and on Saturday we finally managed it!!

Rhiannon provided the fondue set, bread, mushrooms and a few other bits and pieces for the recipe, Steve and Michelle brought the wine (and numerous bottles of whisky...) and Chris and I provided the venue and bought the cheese. The recipe was stunning...we had Crumbly and Creamy blue cheese mixed together with port and walnuts and it was absolutely dreamy!! (I was so inspired that yesterday I bought a fondue set (Cast Iron and a bargain at £19.99), gel and a cookbook from Amazon....I can't wait till it arrives!). We had an absolute hoot and drank waaaay too much!! We got through two bottles of champers, six bottles of wine and then we went onto the whisky (who's silly idea was that then?).

Rhiannon is only little and can therefore only drink a little....she ended up with her head on the table saying 'I'm fine. I'm still listening but I can't move my head'. She wasn't the only one struggling....I have to admit that I did suffer slightly the following day!!

If any of you are interested...here's the recipe:

Blue Cheese, Port and Walnut Fondue

Ingredients:

· 1 cup tawny port wine

· 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

· 2 tablespoons cornstarch

· 3 cups blue cheese, crumbled (we used three quarters crumbly and 1 quarter creamy)

· 1 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

· 2 tablespoons sour cream

· Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

In a medium size, heavy bottom sauce pan, bring 2/3 cup of port wine and lemon juice to a simmer. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining port with the cornstarch until smooth and add to the pot. Cook for 1 minute. Once the mixture is quite dense, gradually stir in the cheese. One the cheese is melted, remove from the heart. Add the walnuts and sour cream and incorporate well into the mixture. Season with the sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Transfer to a fondue pot. Service with walnut bread, mushrooms and broccoli.

(It would probably be lovely with sausage or chicken too but Rhi is a vegetarian so we went with the bread, mushrooms and broccoli)

What do you get when a Scotsman, an Irishman and a Russian visit California?

2010-02-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

You get....are you ready for this.....MAN FUN!! (A term coined by Egor the Russian which horrified the other two and prompted Chris to state 'Will you please stop calling it that!')

Yes, Chris and his two colleagues shared the cost of hiring a Mustang for the day and then drove into San Francisco! (Yep, the San Francisco well known for it's large Gay Community hence the reaction to the term 'Man Fun'). Although I shook my head in despair when told about it, I do think it's very cool to be able to say that you have driven a Mustang down the very roads that inspired one of the most famous car chases in a movie ever!!

For those of you that don't know, Bullitt is a very famous film set in San Francisco which starred Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Vaughn. It was the first movie to have a car chase in it which lasted 11 minutes........Steve McQueen, playing Lt. Frank Bullitt, driving a Ford Mustang through the streets of San Francisco trying to avoid hit men.....still one of the best car chases I've ever seen!!

Unfortunately Chris has the photo's on his computer but I will upload one of him standing next to the Mustang grinning like a haddy when he gets home tonight! So, he spent two weeks in California....there are about three photo's of the golden bridge, none of where he was staying, none of Carmel (where Clint Eastwood lives), none of the pub they drank in that is owned by Clint Eastwood and about a zillion of the car!! (including one of the engine....I think I am perfectly entitled to despair!!)

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Ps. Sorry for the lack of blogging and visiting!! My new semester has started and the work load is hideous....two assessments a week for one class and don't even get me started on the amount of reading I have to do!! I will try and get round you all but I'm not promising anything!!
(Actually, I am really missing catching up with you all....no...it's not just cause I'm nosey.....Ok, maybe a wee bit!!)

Ooohhh an award!!

2010-02-02T02:08:00.000-08:00

There is nothing quite like getting up on a dreary Monday morning, switching on your computer and discovering that one of your lovely blog friends has decided to give you an award!!

The gorgeous DJ over at Chez Aspie has given me this Circle of Friends Award. As always, there are rules attached so I have to write five things that I like to do and then pass this award on to ten friends....well, I've never been very good at rules so I'm going to pass this to all the lovely bloggers that feature on my side bar....you guys are great!!

Right, my five things

1. Spending time with Chris (I know....I know...where's the nearest bucket till you barf in it!! I can't help it......He's my husband and I do kinda like him!!)

2. Giving and getting cuddles - There is not much that a cuddle can't make a bit better! (even if it's only a teeny weeny bit)

3. Drawing and painting - I love the fact that hours can pass and I don't even notice!! (I also quite like making a mess so enjoy painting too!)

4. Laughing - There is nothing better than getting together with a group of friends and having a right old laugh! Tonic for the soul!

5. Reading - You sometimes have to read a few duff ones but when you find that one which captures your imagination and you can't put down....well, there is nothing quite like it!!

I could have added cooking, blogging, eating, drinking and a whole host of other things but I'm only allowed five....and since I've already broken the rules I feel I should at least stick to one bit!

A fish called....Colin??

2010-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

Last year the department of fisheries announced that the demand for cod was starting to have a detrimental effect on their numbers (Gosh, who would have thought it eh!!). They suggested that Pollock would make a great alternative because it has a very similar taste and texture...but they said that there was a problem!! The great British buying public would never buy Pollock because they would be too embarrassed to ask for it.....

why? I hear you ask?

Well, because Pollock rhymes with Bollock of course!! (God give me strength) So, you know what they did?....they re-named Pollock....and what did they call it?....they called it Colin!!

I was watching this story unfold the other night on TV and absolutely roared with laughter when an American who was being interviewed about it said 'You guys have a food called Faggot and your worried about people not wanting to buy Pollock?'

He has a point folks...he has a point!!

(The really sad thing about this story is that the re-brand worked....sales of, erm, Colin went up by 80%!!)

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On a completely different note, what do you think of my blogs new look? (I decided a makeover was waaaaaay overdue!!). Do you like it or do you think it looks a bit fishy? *snigger* (Sorry!)

Do you think he's feeling the cold?

2010-01-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

'Twas the month after Christmas

2010-01-19T02:31:00.000-08:00

Gai (the cat) and I are going on a diet so I felt that this poem my Mum sent me kinda sums up how I'm feeling about January!!

Twas the month after Christmas

Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me,
Not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled,
the chocolate I'd taste
at the holiday parties
had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales
there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvellous meals I'd prepared;
the gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
the wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
and the way I'd never said, 'No thank you, please.'

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
and prepared once again to do battle with dirt...
I said to myself, as I only can,
'You can't spend a Summer, disguised as a man!'

So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie, not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie.
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore....
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet.

Our New Year - Loads of photo's

2010-01-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

The Hoose (and Tomato)

The Landscape

The Tin Mine (one of many)

Erm, us in some pubs

Minack Theatre

Ok, it is some rust but I liked it...

St Michael's Mount (you can walk to it when the tide is out)

What do you do when there is no TV?
Train youself in the art of using the Force of course!!

If your not too distracted that is....

So that was our New Year....I have discovered that one of the joys of getting a new camera for your Christmas is that you spend all your time taking pics which means that there are none of me....which is just as well really....the sea air was not kind to my hair!!!

It's 2010 and I'm back....Well kinda

2010-01-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

Darling (said in a flouncy and rather dramatic way) I just climbed out from under my rock and realised I have not updated this blog since Hammertime was in the charts!! I couldn't help it....my hands were chopped off and I was waiting for bionic ones....you don't believe me? Well, I'm sorry you'll just have to take my word for it :-)

I have been swilling chardonnay and curling my hair, being distracted by shiny things and just generally being a hindrance to anyone unfortunate enough to cross my path!! My day sprawls from the dawns chorus to 11pm at which point I fall asleep on the couch. I am plotting and planning....I'm tired......maybe my world domination plans can wait till tomorrow.....

I swear on the bones of my ancestors I will make an effort to blog more often....at least until the nice men in the white coats come back. The voices are telling me I have to! *Wibble*

Aherm, as you can probably tell this past few weeks I have mostly been writing my Community Profile (and slowly but surely going a bit bonkers in the process!!!).

I hope you all had a totally fabulous Christmas and New Year and wish every single one of you a great 2010. I shall endeavour to catch up with all your blogs over the next few days but be warned....although I have finished the Community Profile I have still two assignments to do before the end of January so please bare with me.....

In the meantime I shall try and update you with what we've been upto....

We had a wonderful Christmas..really chilled out!! We decided, because of the weather, we would stay home. We just pleased ourselves.....started eating Christmas Dinner at about 1pm and finally gave up at 11pm (obviously we were not eating that entire time....I'm not sure that would be physically possible!!). It was a lovely day!! Hehehe, we did have a slight disater with the home made pea and ham soup (Well, when I say we...I really mean me!!)....Chris made it completely from scratch and it was stunning.....We were looking forward to having it again on Boxing Day......until......wait for it.......I poured it down the sink!! In my defense Chris does have to accept some responsibility for putting the pot next to the sink along with all the other dirty dishes (He cooked so I washed).....I thought he had transfered the soup into a tupperwear dish and had filled the pot with water....he hadn't!! I felt awful!! He was lovely about it.....

We were then visited by the lovely Tomato. We took him out to celebrate his 40th birthday and then the three of us went to Penzance for New year. We stayed in THE most wonderful Landmark Trust building.....The Egyptian House....isn't it gorgeous!! I had planned to blog over the break but there was no TV (Ann, I've still not seen the 2nd part of Dr Who!) and no internet access so alas....twas not to be. I shall tell the story of our New Year in photographs so watch this space.....

(I know it's a bit of a cop out but i'm working over the next couple of days and will be starting my other assignments)