Happy Frog and I

INXS

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000Z

Years ago I attended an ultra formal party in London for an industry awards ceremony. It was the type of profession where we were more used to wearing jeans to work on a daily basis. The hotel ballroom was packed with people who in the majority of cases did not appear used to dressing up in black tie and cocktail dresses on a regular basis. I had borrowed a dress and high heels for the night and looking round our table and the other clusters of people from rival companies I fancied I wasn’t the only one.

There were men who looked as if their shirt collars were trying to squeeze and garrotte their necks and women who unconsciously pulled at their dresses every five minutes, concerned that they were showing too much flesh.

We had all scrubbed up pretty well though and the hired in casino tables that were dotted around the periphery of the room gave a James Bond feel to the proceedings.

All commenced well at first. The silver service waiters and waitresses worked as a highly trained army executing their orders with optimum efficiency and making sure that the food was delivered piping hot to hundreds of people. I was sat next to a couple of people I got on well with and the Master of Ceremonies was unexpectedly amusing.

It was only when the last award was ready to be announced that I realised I had consumed far too much alcohol via stealthy topping up of my glass. To compound the problem the delicious piping hot food portions were fashionably miniscule.

Several hours later I stumbled off a train and attempted to walk home. The journey took twice as long as normal due to me careering across the pavement like a demented snake despite trying to imagine myself 43% more sober then I actually was.

Remembrance of this odd and specific statistic in the cold harsh light of morning would guarantee that I realised how truly drunk I was the previous night. That and the fact I woke up in my borrowed clothes including the pesky and noticeably scuffed high heels of doom.

The vow to never drink again didn’t last very long but these days when I occasionally need to go to work event I do take enough money for additional food and taxi fare just in case.

Sesame Street Letter N and Number 99

2012-01-13T07:00:00.001Z

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'N' and the number '99'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter N are:

Nacarat - a shade of orange-red
Narcohypnia - general numbness sometimes experienced upon awakening
Naricorn - horny termination of a bird's nostril
Natalitial - pertaining to a birthday
Neap - a less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon
Nebulaphobia - fear of fog
Nematode - unsegmented worms with elongated rounded body pointed at both ends; mostly free-living but some are parasitic
Nemophilist - one who loves the woods
Nephelognosy - observation of clouds
Nibbler - a biter who takes dainty repeated bites
Nitid - bright; shining; merry

As for the number 99 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

99 Flake Ice cream is an ice cream cone made with soft ice cream with a stick of flaky chocolate inserted into it (Yum!)
Einsteinium has the atomic number of 99
In the fictional film Major League, Charlie Sheen's character wore the Cleveland Indians #99 uniform
The 99 is a comic series based on Islamic culture
Ninety-Nine Nights, a game for the Xbox 360
99 is shorthand for "night night", in SMS language or instant messaging slang
Agent 99, a character played by Barbara Feldon on the 1965 television show Get Smart
There are currently 2 films entitled 99 - one is a 1918 film directed by Michael Curtiz, the other is a Hindi film directed by Krishna DK and Raf Nidimoru

If you have any words beginning with N which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 99.

The Party's Nearly Over

2012-01-03T14:00:00.000Z

The following post was inspired by The Kid In The Front Row's competition which I would encourage you to enter. The closing date is Saturday 14th January.

'So, there's only two minutes before disaster happens and everyone's going to die. What would you do?'
'Only two minutes?'
'Yes.'
'Can I choose where I want to be?'
'Sure.'
'So, what kind of disaster is it exactly?'
'It's a poisonous gas, end of the world type of disaster.'
'Right, I want to be at my mate's house.'
'They must mean a lot to you if you want to spend your last couple of minutes with them.'
'They have a gas mask and I'd need that to survive.'
'Won't your mate be using it?'
'Not if I'm going to survive they won't. Then I'll loot various items and find somewhere safe and underground to hide out till it's safe to come out again.'
'You have a - some might say - brutal survival instinct.'
'You say that like it's a bad thing.'
'Hmm, I know who I'll be following if there's ever an imminent disaster; you seem well prepared.'
'Fine, just don't get in my way.'

'Anyone else?'

'If I could I'd want to spend those last moments with my family and some very strong drink.'
'Are they that bad?'
'No, they're your typical mixed up abnormal family, but if I'm going to die I want to be pissed, don't I?'

'If I was at home, I'd want to be with my wife and play something on my guitar that held a great deal of meaning to both of us. I can't imagine a better way to go out, can you?'

'Well, I'd go up to someone I was attracted to and kiss them.'
'That's beautiful.'

'Wank!'
'What?'
'I'd have a wank.'
'You've only got two minutes.'
'It's not ideal, but that's what I'd do.'
'I was going to say there's nothing like aiming high, my friend, but that seems all kinds of wrong now.'

'I'd be worried it was a hoax. What if you do something really crazy and the two minutes are over and nothing's happened? You're going to look like a right idiot running down Broad Street naked with a half drunk bottle of Champagne in your hand.'
'You'd be alive though.'
'Alive but an idiot and everyone would know. I'd be mortified.'
'So just remember not to strip. Besides I've seen much worse than that on Broad Street..'
'Yep.'
'Me too.'

'This has been informative, anyone else for another drink?'

Blog Anniversary & 200th Post

2011-12-27T07:27:00.000Z

I find myself this week at the two year anniversary point for this blog, publishing my 200th post and can’t quite believe it. I had always thought that if the fun and enjoyment I got when I first started blogging ended I would stop and there were countless times towards the end of this year when I nearly hit the delete button and knocked it all on the head once and for all. For now I will continue to keep it running, though not with posts three times a week as I once managed to do. This year I landed a job that I am enjoying but takes up so much more of my time. Something has had to give and it is the blog, as I’m sure my regular readers have realised.

High points of the year have included meeting so many bloggers in real life, completing three scripts (three more than I have ever been able to do in the past), having my first full year since 2009 without the need for anti-depressants and last, but not least, being re-united with a long lost friend via the blog.

Low points have included my mother’s fall and time spent in hospital at the start of the year, the many blogs I followed that have closed this year and not being able to write as much as I’d like.

When I first started out on this very public and occasionally painful journey, I really wanted to get over a particularly stressful and bad situation that had happened locally and find my happiness again, which is why I chose the blog name. This year, now I have my insomnia back, I remember the good and bad parts of anti-depressants. They took away my short term memory, meaning I couldn't linger on people or situations that would normally niggle at me and get under my skin and I managed to get a great deal of sleep and work through several issues as a result. However they also take away my brain’s ability to process the good with the bad and to ultimately feel everything that was happening to me. Personally, I’d rather have the latter.

There are so many superb blogs out there and yet some of you have kept coming back and offering your comments and support to my rather chaotic and random posts which really means a lot to me.

The children’s television posts have always been popular with readers and continue to gain plenty of views, but the Sesame Street, positive/weekly and non-fiction posts seemed to garner plenty of comments. Ultimately, I am still finding my own voice and if something interests me I will write about it, but I would really like to know what you want to read from me in 2012. On that note, I hope you all have an excellent 2012.

Cover Up

2011-12-18T22:24:00.000Z

For many years I protected your secret, guarding it carefully with my life. The teachers and classmates at my school were completely oblivious of the truth.

It all began when I was four. I was asleep, safe in my bed, surrounded by acid yellow patterned wallpaper, the type that could only have been thought fashionable in the 1970s, along with avocado coloured bathroom suites and deeley bopper headbands covered in gold glitter. I don’t remember what woke me; you must have made a noise as you entered my room.

I quickly closed my eyes as you looked over. There was a not insignificant pause until, satisfied I was asleep, you finished what you were doing and left.

I fell asleep smiling, knowing my dream had come true and that my dad was in actual fact Father Christmas.

Holiday Snapshots 3

2011-11-13T22:56:00.001Z

The deeply tanned lithe Spanish lifeguard walked past for the twentieth time that morning. The grey regulation shorts were teamed up with a white t-shirt with SOS emblazoned in large capital red letters across the front. He seemed to be searching in vane for a purpose as he slowly patrolled the empty swimming pool. Earlier in the week the pool had been teeming with guests by noon but the numbers had been noticeably decreasing. By this time tomorrow a mere forty guests would remain as the hotel closed for the remainder of the year.

His flip flops dragged forlornly on the large misshaped terracotta tiles making a hard slapping noise closely followed by a long scrapping sound. Every heavy dragging relentless step disconcerted my companion at an ever increasing rate. 'Why doesn't he pick up his feet?'

The delicate silver chain on the lifeguard's left ankle was reminiscent to me of the femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson's glamorous entrance in the classic film noir Double Indemnity. Unlike Phyllis he walked without purpose or design, circling the poolside in an anticlockwise sweep. Guarding an empty kingdom whose subjects were abandoning it in their droves. Perhaps allowing himself finally to ponder what would await him when he returned to his home several months after leaving.

Holiday Snapshots 2

2011-10-21T21:05:00.000+01:00

As I take a sip of my scalding hot coffee from the see through plastic beaker I realise there is nowhere I would rather be right now. My friend is stretched out on the sun lounger she commandeered well before breakfast. There are notices scattered liberally around the pool area stipulating this should not be done but no one pays attention or seems to mind in the slightest that the rules are being flouted by the majority of guests. While she basks contentedly in the midday sun listening to her iPod and reading a book on her Kindle that I will ask her about later I have retreated to the safety of her shadow.

I have moved my sun lounger behind her plunging it deep into the shade formed by a large beige canvas canopy held up by ten foot high sturdy wooden posts. Each of the posts is bolted into the ground and through the rustic terracotta tiles with steel fixings. I once used to be able to lie in the sun for hours on end baking but not burning. Now I need to be out of direct sunlight or covered in factor fifty suntan lotion. It’s usually the type that’s designed for kids to use and sprays out sickly green blobs onto the skin.

The torrential rain and thunderstorms that greeted our arrival to Menorca blew themselves out within the first twenty four hours. As we walked along the costal path with the grey clouds rolling fast towards shore and the dusk revealing the flashing light of a black and white stripped lighthouse set on a desolate rocky island, it had felt like we were standing on the beach near Belgrave Road in Torquay staring out to Brixham. The only thing missing had been the prolific curved strings holding neatly spaced multi coloured light bulbs. Since then the English Riviera in winter vista has been replaced with the temperate climate present in all of the glossy photos in the brochures that we thumbed through in our office so many months before.

From the well positioned sun loungers you can see the main pool which has a sturdy wooden bridge to cross it. Palm trees, olive trees and rafeta parasols at jaunty non-uniform angles are dotted liberally around the outskirts of the pool. Beyond them can be glimpsed the calm sea which is as light a shade of turquoise blue as the chlorine infused pool. The sunlight reflects blindingly off the rippling water. Further still could be spied the liquorice tower standing proud and aloof.

Families throw brightly coloured balls to each other in the noon heat. Flies are constantly being swatted away from sun cream covered limbs. When it’s my turn to get the drinks the only part of the process I dread are the wasps hovering menacingly around the fizzy soft drink dispenser at the poolside bar. I’ve never been stung by a wasp and I don’t think there will ever be a good time to discover what it feels like and if I’m allergic to their venomous sting.

The woman serving the drinks seems completely uninterested in their proximity to her hands and face as she pours drink after drink adding vodka or rum as required. After a fizzy soft drink has been poured the wasps descend onto the drip tray greedily licking up every spare drop they can find. The only time her expression registers surprise is when someone does not want anything added to their soft drink apart from ice. Perhaps the surprise is actually disappointment that people aren’t choosing to embrace the all inclusive nature of the resort and holiday, who knows. Each time I make a successful getaway with our drinks I feel an enormous wave of relief wash over me at avoiding the wasp’s wrath, at least until the next time.

While the food selection has proved to be impressive so far I still am unable to fathom the concept of eating large doughnuts oozing with synthetic jam and splattered with copious amounts of sugar before eight in the morning at breakfast.

Without actually discussing it my friend and I slipped into our holiday routine very quickly. She goes to bed an hour before me and I get up an hour after her. We go for breakfast at 8:30AM and by 09:20AM we are ready to head out for a 3 mile walk along the coastal path. When we return she will sunbathe and I will write for a few hours. At 2PM we will eat lunch and then we will both sit out in the sun usually reading or chatting. Around 4PM we will swim and at 6PM we will return to the room to get ready for dinner where we will raid the excellent cheeseboard and drink red wine. For the remainder of the night we will sit outside at one of the bars talking about all the topics you’re not supposed to discuss at dinner parties and quite a few more things besides.

The general feeling around the resort is off calm and peacefulness. There aren’t any groups of lads here in fact they are the only missing group of people. They obviously received the message loud and clear that Menorca is a quiet island in comparison to Majorca. I can only imagine the look of horror that would cross the faces of any stag parties that unwittingly ended up here with its zero nightlife.

Various cabaret nights are put on by the resort but we have only heard vague hints at what is going on inside the large hall with its vast stage where we had ventured on our second day for the welcome meeting. Occasionally muffled noises carry through the warm night air as we sit chatting and watching the bats fly and the stars twinkle.

It’s a very relaxing way to spend a week of your life even though it always seems to pass too quickly.

We have plans to catch a bus to Mahon tomorrow with our respective 1.60 Euros each in order to while away a few hours. We want to walk around its historic streets, take far too many photographs, hunt out cafes away from the main part of town to people watch in, go on a boat excursion around the harbour and investigate the churches there. All the most enjoyable parts of being a tourist that I always promise myself I should do when I return to my own country, though I rarely find the time to comply. Some lessons are never learned.

But tomorrow there will be a trip to a place I have only read about and seen photos off and where I’ll have the time to enjoy being a tourist. I’m certain it won’t be just another tick in the box of places I have visited. I have a feeling it will be a place I’ll be thinking about returning to before I even leave.

Holiday Snapshots

2011-10-02T01:44:00.000+01:00

Little Harry is sitting facing us in his jet black pushchair in the hot Menorca sun. He is wearing a blue and green dinosaur robe with the hood up. The jade green stegosaurus's uniformly Dorito-shaped cotton plates match his large inquisitive eyes. His mum is attempting to feed him, but Harry doesn't look convinced.

'It tastes awful; I don't know how he eats it', says his mum.

Harry is not remotely interested in me, but is very taken with my friend who is in the middle of completing a crossword puzzle. He is fascinated by what she is doing and whenever she looks up and smiles at him he gives a big toothless grin in return. Each time this happens the dastardly food substance is shoved unceremoniously into his mouth. Eventually, a big green dummy replaces the plastic spoon filled with mush. Harry smiles contentedly.

A group of eighteen guests, all English, sign up for darts by the pool. Following their confirmed interest, but just before the competition begins in earnest, they are told by the cheeky Spanish hotel rep (who sounds remarkably to my ears like Jim Broadbent's translator character in the original Blackadder series) they will be thrown in the pool if they don't score in the first round. Various rumbles of discontent mixed with bravado can be heard from the assembled guests. Some of the contenders look nervous, but despite one woman missing the dart board completely, no one goes in the pool as she pleads her case successfully.

Lucy has to be coaxed and applauded to move reluctantly from her sunbed to join in the game she had previously signed up for. Mark really wants to do well. You can see he has played before from the way he triple checks the old and badly weighted darts before sending them as expertly as he can into the board.

John looks quite cocky but less so when his girlfriend gets thirty one more points than him. No one seems more surprised than her at the outcome. Young Dan looks embarrassed but earnest as he steps up to the flip flop, which is the stand in ocky, to play.

In the second round they have to hold and throw all three darts at the same time while shouting out 'love generation'. No one knows why this needs to be shouted out, least of all the chap who is organising the event. If the contenders don't shout it out they get zero as Jenny will find out to her cost. She seems in a bit of a strop but rallies a bit as the game continues, applauding dutifully for a score of seven or sixty when ordered to. 'Applause, applause' is the cry from the organiser.

Ben, a young lad of no more then ten, grabs all three darts with a distinct zeal and flings them with all his might at the dartboard. One of them misses its target by a wide margin; by a much narrower margin it also misses the man intently strimming the lawn. Ben raises his arms in triumph and shakes them as if miming a strongman at work. His score of thirteen appears superfluous to him compared to his joy at throwing tiny metal spears at numbered and coloured segments.

Lucy ultimately places second and accepts her pink frothy unidentified drink with a yellow and green straw in it from the bar with humility and good grace. 'You did so much better than your lover' announces the compere. Looks are exchanged between the couple. The rest of the contenders avert their eyes, trying in vain to pretend the comment has never been uttered even though it has. The couple will spend the remainder of the afternoon together but barely communicating, legs dangling in the pool, faces turned to examine opposing parts of the resort. Only the all inclusive Sangria provided in the bar later will thaw the ice floe that divides them.

Mark wins by a landslide and he hands his drink over to his proud girlfriend who has been perched delicately on a sunbed throughout the contest on the periphery of the game. The competitors head back to the bar first and then their sunbeds. All, that is, apart from one. The lady who had nearly been thrown into the incredibly cold outdoor swimming pool, but who had successfully managed to wrangle her release from this predicament, slides slowly but determinedly into the water, giggling to herself as the cool water covers her pink swimsuit and red and white skin.

Weekly Round Up Featuring Dolly

2011-09-18T18:29:00.003+01:00

Summary: 1) Ciao Dolly, 2) Camouflage Training, 3) Abstinence, 4) Travel, 5) London and Life.

1) Dolly - One of my favourite bloggers is calling time on her blog for the best of reasons. As she explains in her latest post she needs to concentrate her efforts on the illustration course she has recently started and I understand the first week of the course has gone very well indeed. When the course is over she may start blogging again and if I'm still here I will certainly let you all know.

In the meantime I have created a mini post mentioning London (a place we both love) and added a clip to a Johnny Cash song. I did try and get a photo of a beautiful grey cat that regularly visits our garden but it wasn't playing ball, well it was with an imaginary one, so I had to settle for some flowers. Best of luck Dolly.

2) Camouflage Training - Some of my readers may not realise that I began developing vitiligo in 2005 out of the blue though it began to spread more rapidly in 2009. It's not something that runs in my family so it took a while to realise what it was. It was and continues to be a strange experience watching my skin lose its pigmentation in patches. It doesn't bother me when I amongst my friends but it can be difficult when I meet new people. Not on every such occasion but a significant number to knock my confidence.

At the start of September I found out that the British Red Cross offer skin camouflage make-up training if your have a doctor's referral. I had my training during my lunch hour last week and was really impressed with the knowledge of the volunteer trainers as well as their skill. It must be very tricky to get a colour match and show someone how to apply the products in less than an hour but they managed it. I was very pleased with the result and I am hopeful that I will be able to recreate it when I get the products I have ordered. Ultimately It just feels good to be taking some control.

3) Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder - I haven't been drinking alcohol since 24th August just to give myself a bit of a break and I always find it more tricky to stick to at the weekends. Something I've really noticed this year is how tired I get when I stop and this may have something to do with all the sugars in the alcohol. Less than a week and a glass of Rioja will have most definitely have my name on it.

4) Travel - Next Saturday if all goes to plan I will will be on holiday with one of my friends in Spain. I am hoping to use the time wisely to read plenty of books and write up some ideas I have had. There will also be plenty of time to eat well and sample the local wines. I can't wait.

5) London and Life (about an experience that happened in late 2004) -

One born every minute

I couldn’t imagine leaving London. For all its many faults it was the place I had grown up, the place I had lived. I felt at home there.

So I secured the services of a life coach. I listed pros and cons, completed the tasks and goals he set me and soon our time was at an end.

‘I’m going to move to Reading. I think it’s the right decision but it’s so hard to know for sure.’

‘That’s life’ he said. I wondered if he used that line a lot.

I wondered if I could get my money back.

The Kid In The Front Row Film Questionnaire

2011-09-10T23:00:00.000+01:00

Kid in the Front Row put up up a post on Thursday at the start of which he said: 'If you have a blog, answer these there (doesn't matter whether you blog about movies, your stamp collection, or dragon sightings.... answer the questions!)' If you would like to do your own answers on your blog or if you haven't got a blog in the comments section below please do go ahead. So here are my answers:

1. What film has been sitting on your shelf for six months waiting to be watched?
I bought Sixteen Candles at the start of the year as it is the only John Hughes film I haven’t seen yet. I’ll probably get round to it.

2. What is the one film you know word for word?

I wouldn’t like to be tested but I would choose The Big Sleep starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. I watched it over and over again for a dissertation I was writing and the dialogue lodged in my head. It’s a testament to the film that despite seeing it more than any other film I own I can still enjoy watching it to this day.

3. What screen character breaks your heart?

This is such a difficult question as there are so many. I think I’ll opt for the wasted potential of Withnail so beautifully portrayed in the final scene of Withnail and I. The way that scene is set up and acted breaks my heart every time I see it.

4. If you could bring an actor back from the dead, and had to pair them on screen with a current actor (who is no older than 40), what would your combo be?
I’m intrigued why they have to be no older than 40 (rules out so many actors and actresses I would have chosen). This is definitely the question I have struggled most with. Possibly Bette Davis in her prime and Colin Farrell would be an interesting paring though I think she would probably eat him alive.

5. How often do you check your phone in the cinema?
Once the adverts have finished I switch my phone off. I like to give my full attention to the film and hopefully get lost in it. One of my pet peeves is other people answering their phones in the cinema as it drives me to distraction and is really rude.

6. What film do you love which no-one else quite seems to 'get'?

I’d find this question easier if it was asking me what films I don’t get that everybody else seems to.

When it first came out in 1992 White Sands didn’t seem to make much of an impression in the UK but I really loved it. The story was complicated in places which was part of its appeal to me. There was some good casting and acting and it really worked on the big screen. It had many of the elements of film noir which is a genre I really enjoy, but it also had its own style and direction. For me the relationships between the characters and their different motivations worked well.

7. What is your favourite Al Pacino film?

Again it’s very difficult to narrow down to one but I would say the Godfather trilogy and if I have to pick one of the trilogy then Godfather II. His acting is superb and the transformation of the character he plays from the first film to the second is extraordinary.

8. Why do they always manage to make us go one size bigger with the popcorn?I don’t eat popcorn at the cinema these days so I’ve no idea.

9. Share one memory from a cinema visit long ago.
The first film I ever saw in the cinema was Watership Down in the 70s and my mum took me. The cinema was located in South Woodford in a big white detached building and I am happy to report that despite numerous attempts to close it, it remains a cinema to this day. I remember being taken to our seats by an usher who was dressed in a smart uniform and had a torch. We sat in the faded red seats on the left hand side of the cinema because the right hand side was reserved for smokers. I remember being fascinated by the smoke swirling up to the roof as the lights cut through it. I was also intrigued by the audience as I had never sat with so many people in one place before.

Once the main film had actually started I was completely drawn into the story and for a while nothing else existed. The whole experience was magical until I saw cartoon animals fighting, being injured and in some cases dying. It was all too much for a five year old and it took a lot of time, explaining and ice cream to stop me crying. A couple of months later when I went to see Superman with my dad the experience was a lot less traumatic for all involved.

10. Have you ever used a line from a movie, in your life, without anyone knowing you stole it? Give details.

I’ve used quotes on several occasions throughout the years but people have always guessed the film. Favourite films to plunder quotes from include The Lost Boys, Airplane, Wild at Heart and Grosse Point Blank.

Dad

2011-09-04T08:00:00.001+01:00

It will be 23 years this week since my dad died without warning. I never got to say sorry for the stupid argument we had in the car the day before. I didn’t get the chance to tell him I loved him. Just as his actions both good and bad shaped the person I was to become so did his death. It changed the way I live my life, the person I became, my interactions with people. It changed everything.

Personally, I feel lucky to remember Dad as a person with all his good and bad points rather than thinking back to our time together in a haze of nostalgia. I don’t want to remember him as a saint or anything else he was not. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want that either.

He was strict but fair, incredibly concerned for my well-being but quick to reprimand me if I did something wrong. I would never have dared bring a boyfriend home. I met my first boyfriend a few months before his death and used to call him from the shed in our garden so that my dad didn’t find out.

I remember Dad teaching me about money from an early age. He would give me my pocket money every week and once it was gone there would be no more to follow until the next week rolled around. Like me though he could be quite contrary and would often spoil me rotten with presents on my birthday, at Christmas or when he returned from trips abroad. He was much happier going down the pub instead of coming to church with my mum and me. However, if I was playing triangle in the choir or third shepherd twice removed in the school play he would always attend.

The one time I remember him not turning up when I needed him was when I had an emergency operation to have my appendix out. The operation was delayed from early afternoon till late at night but he was held up at work and couldn’t make it.

He must have felt bad about it and wanted to make amends because the next day he travelled all the way to the fruit and veg market that used to be in Stratford, East London. There he bought a selection of all my favourite fruits, put them in a large clear plastic Tupperware box and brought them to my hospital bed side. I managed one large strawberry before the effects of the anaesthetic took hold and I was spectacularly sick into the Tupperware box, completely covering all the remaining fresh fruit. It was definitely not a Kodak moment, though the colours were certainly vibrant as I recall.

He was also there with me when I had the stitches out.

‘How are you feeling?’ He said as we sat on dark blue plastic chairs in the hospital out-patients by reception.

‘Fine’.

‘I believe you. Thousands wouldn’t’.

‘Okay, I’m nervous’.

‘Just grit your teeth and think of England’.

‘Why?’

‘It’s just a phrase; it’s supposed to take your mind off things’.

‘What about England?’

‘I don’t know, how about ice cream?’

‘That’s Italian, Dad’.

‘Not the Cornish ice cream we are going to have next month. Well you choose then, what do you want to think about?’

‘Ice cream’s fine. Will it hurt?’

‘No, it’s just uncomfortable. Come on’, he said as we were called through.

I would have been far more stressed about the entire process if he hadn’t been there keeping me calm and telling me what to expect.

He taught me about the ozone layer and CFCs back in ’87, let me drink a glass of sherry or port at Christmas with the adults, told me not to swear, smoke or ride motorbikes even though he had taken great pleasure in smoking and riding motorbikes when he was in his teens and continued to swear like a trooper till his dying day. He became noticeably irate at being in the wrong lane of traffic or the longest queue at the shops. It was from dad that I was to gain my irrational fear of pineapples. That’s another story for another time.

Dad used to come out with strange sayings such as ‘skin keeps your insides in’. I never figured out where he picked that one up from. He was often coming up with schemes he would like to do such as put air from the Scottish Highlands into cans and sell it in supermarkets. I had to smile when I saw they were selling shots of oxygen to shoppers in Selfridges a few years back.

Dad loved to hoard stuff and had an enormous collection of books, vinyl records and newspapers in the basement. His favourite jacket was an ornate smoking jacket he had inherited from his grandfather. One of his favourite hobbies was making things, particularly from wood. He felt most at peace on Sunday afternoons after a big chicken roast dinner with apple crumble and custard for afters. He would sit back and quietly listen to his music collection particularly music from The Beatles, Otis Redding and various French artists. He would often encourage the family to have a get together at our terraced house in Leytonstone. Gran would play piano, he would strum on his guitar and the rest of us would sing along as best we could. It probably sounds very twee to non-family members but it created some of the best memories of my childhood. His silly dancing alone was enough to make such evenings a success.

The photo at the top of this post was taken in Torquay where my family used to go on holiday most summers. He had a very stressful job so I remember how noticeably relaxed he always was in Devon. With this in mind I managed to get a plaque dedicated to his memory on a bench overlooking the sea where we often used to sit. I’m making plans to visit it in April 2012.

Perhaps knowing how fragile life is I shouldn’t make plans but I can’t help it and neither could he. He had a plan to sail a yacht around the world stopping off at deserted islands to cook the fish he had caught. Perhaps it’s for the best he never did that as he almost drowned us both in Devon when our dinghy sprung a leak far away from shore. It’s not the best way to find out you can swim further then you thought.

In three years’ time I will be the same age he was when he died. It used to really bother me; in fact I was terrified of reaching and moving past that particular milestone. As it draws nearer I’m trying not to dread it and just accept it.

I don’t know what’s waiting round the corner. What I do believe though is that if my dad was still alive he wouldn’t be dreading the future but making plans to enjoy it. He would be all over smart phones, iPods, the internet and all the gadgets and technology that have been developed since the late ’80s. He’d be in his element telling really bad jokes that elicit groans from the assembled listeners and he’d be strumming on his guitar whenever the opportunity arose. He’d also be thinking about the yacht he would want to buy and plotting all the places he would like to sail it.

If my Dad was still alive I’d be able to tell him how sorry I am that we argued, that I was in the wrong and, most importantly, how I feel about him. The fact that I can’t is one of the three regrets of my life so far that I carry with me.

You know you’ve been involved with pub quizzes too long when...

2011-08-28T12:00:00.001+01:00

You find yourself watching soap operas you can’t stand because you know there will be a question on them at the pub quiz. What makes it worse is that you know there will only be one question asked. But you still watch for several hours.

You get excited when a boat sinks because you know your local quiz master often asks for the names of boats in the news during the recent events round.

When you go to the cinema you try and imagine the posters without heads in them so that you can guess the films correctly in the picture round.

You spend an inordinate amount of time trying to work out which sources the quiz master uses to pull recent events from. You take the BBC 7 day quiz on a Friday knowing at least two answers will be there.

You spend far too long thinking about different team names you can use.

You find yourself getting to the pub at least 2 hours before the quiz starts in order to get a good table. You bring lots of extra clothing so that you can hold the seats and the table if you need to go to the bar.

You make your love of reading magazines such as Heat or Closer sound important by pretending that you are the celebrity expert and you need them for research.

You know the answers to the music intros round will be in alphabetical order so the team can often guess the correct answer.

You start putting the answers to pub quiz questions you got wrong into your Outlook task reminder and set it to a year’s time – just in case.

You start to rely on coming in the top 3 for your chocolate fix that week.

Sesame Street Letter M and Number 40

2011-08-21T12:00:00.001+01:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'M' and the number '40'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter M are:

Macropus - a genus of marsupials including the common kangaroo
Maelstorm - a powerful circular current of water
Magenta - a dark purple-red; the dye was discovered in 1859, the year of the battle of Magenta
Magnanimous - generous and understanding and tolerant
Mahjong - Chinese game played by 4 people with 144 tiles
Maiolica - highly decorated earthenware with a glaze of tin oxide
Malarky - Bunkum, balderdash, nonsense
Myriorama - A picture made up of several smaller pictures, drawn upon separate pieces in such a manner as to admit of combination in many different ways, thus producing a great variety of scenes or landscapes
Mystified - totally perplexed and mixed up

As for the number 40 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

40 is the atomic number of zirconium
Negative forty is the temperature at which the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales correspond; that is, −40°F = −40°C
The planet Venus forms a pentagram in the night sky every eight years with it returning to its original point every 40 years with a 40 day regression
Forty winks refers to a short sleep
There is a popular saying that life begins at forty
40 is the code for direct dial international phones calls to Romania
Forty years of marriage is celebrated as the ruby anniversary
Both U2 and Franz Ferdinand have created songs called 40
Ronald Regan was the 40th President of the United States.
40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order

If you have any lovely words beginning with M which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 40.

Weekly Round Up

2011-08-14T08:00:00.013+01:00

Summary: Riots, Tribute Night, Gig, Family, Comedy, Blogger meet and Anniversary.

1) I imagine that the majority of people reading this post will have heard that there were riots in London that spread across England last week. At the time of writing this they appear to have ceased though the debates regarding root causes and the time needed to rebuild people’s homes and communities will continue for quite some time to come. I was lucky, I was not in an area that was affected but many of my friends and family were. One of the many aspects I was struck by was the way social media was vilified for apparently aiding ringleaders to spread the violence but also applauded for helping communities to spread the word to get help where it was needed through cleanup programmes, fund raising and rebuilding. My cousin and I found that Twitter gave us the best and most accurate information on Sunday night in order to make a decision for her not to go back to where she lived in London but to come back to Reading instead. It also gave a lot of false information fuelled by rumours a few days later about Reading that some people believed. I don’t personally believe social media should be blamed for the unrest we have been seeing. I think there are a lot of other factors that need to be addressed instead of treating social media as an easy target and scapegoat.

2) Last Friday was the 5^th Anniversary of the Tribute Nights that are held quarterly at the Rising Sun Arts Centre. Thank you to everyone who asked how it went. It was an extremely busy and successful night with all funds raised going back into the venue where the night is held. It is hard to sum up the One Hit Wonders night, but if I had to try I’d say it was incredibly hot and shambolic with moments of brilliance. I was going to write a full review but have been beaten to it so please do read about it here. Our Facebook page is here. Following the event many of us went on to the After Dark night club which had several 90s one hit wonders playing and gave those who had attended our event a bit of money off the entrance fee which was very good of them.

The following day I got to see a band for the second time that I have recently got into thanks to the recommendation of several friends. Johnny Arrow and the Cheap Day Returns played at the Blagrave and didn’t disappoint. Their stage presence and music makes them a joy to watch. A review can be found here. I understand they are playing again in Reading in the next couple of weeks with Gonzo and the Razz so I will be there.

3) The following day involved a visit to London for a family celebration followed by seeing the always entertaining Iszi Lawrence perform her one hour show at the Camden Fringe. At the family gathering there were people there I hadn’t seen in some cases for 20 years. In many cases the last time I had seen some of the family members was at different funerals so it was really good to be able to catch up under happier circumstances. My cousin, husband and I then went out to Camden where we met up with another friend to see Iszi’s show. Reviews have been posted elsewhere and if you’d like to know more I suggest you have a look at this one to get a flavour of the evening.

4) One of the bloggers whom I have been regularly following and enjoying since he chanced upon my blog in November is David who writes the Brits in the USA blog. I hadn’t thought there would be much chance of meeting up as he resides with his family in America but a family visit to England meant we got to have a meet up this week. When he heard about my plans to meet another blogger one of my friends wrote the following on my Facebook page: ‘I imagine blogger meets to occur in dark dank alleys. They should involve trench coats and trilbys and dodgy 1930s gangster accents. One of the bloggers should be played by Richard Attenborough... all these things are a must.’ As much as I like the idea, to date all but one of my blog meets have occurred in pubs. You may draw your own conclusions.

5) As a former Brit and knowing David hadn’t visited England for 4 years I thought he might enjoy some ale at the Carpenter Arms in Windsor. What I didn’t expect was that I would end up having some ale myself and enjoying it. I need to consider changing part of my ‘Who Am I’ page. There was so much to talk about that the time slipped by far too rapidly.

6) What I’ve really noticed this year having met fellow bloggers Diane, Dolly and David (apart from the fact that all their names begin with the same letter) is that you really feel you know each other before you meet through the shared comments and various blog posts. I suppose it’s the equivalent of meeting a pen pal for the first time. You may live in different countries, have different life experiences and quite understandably not agree on the same things all the time but it feels really comfortable to have a leisurely chat and talk about everything from politics to religion, from musical tastes to nostalgic reminiscences. It was a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon and I hope David and his family enjoy the rest of their time in England.

7) Last but by no means least; I will be celebrating my 1095 day wedding anniversary, more commonly referred to as 3 years on Monday. I have to say that the time has really flown. It only seems like yesterday I was putting on my red wedding dress* and heading out over to Wantage Hall. Unfortunately for us from a vegetarian point of view the 3^rd anniversary is all about leather so we have both had to ignore the traditional theme this time.

*Due to popular demand, okay at least 4 people asking, I bow to my readers and here is a photo of me on the day:

I don’t know how he puts up with me and my funny little ways sometimes but I’m very glad he does.

Boys. What are they good for?

2011-08-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

When I was a teenager I found myself unsure how to behave around boys. Having been schooled at a convent till I was eleven I had very little idea of what boys were actually for. What was their purpose?

During my formative years I occasionally spent time with a couple of male cousins. When I played second triangle in the choir, waiting nervously for the point where I would play out a single note at the end of Suffer Little Children, I saw but did not speak to the alter boys seated demurely at church on a Sunday. As I have mentioned previously within this blog I was and still am on only child. My parents were quite strict and operated a firm but fair approach to parenting. Neither of my parent originated from London and were concerned by the news stories they had heard prior to moving there. So living in the East End I was not allowed to go outside and play in the street.

I remember some kids, a mixed group of boys and girls, knocking on the door of our Victorian terrace house asking if I could come out to play. After a few politely thwarted attempts they ceased coming round. I often wonder if I had been allowed out to play would I have been less awkward in later years. Or was that merely an inherited trait lying dormant deep within my DNA. At the time I do remember being disappointed that I did not get the opportunity to play in the street with the other children. I also remember understanding that it was for my own good and to keep me safe.

I did get a great amount of joy from reading, playing with my red dalek and also my Simon Says game. Over time I felt I had nurtured a fair understanding of boys from the books I read. They liked dolls as long as they were male, aggressive and preferably with an inclination veering towards action and the army. Tree climbing and stealing apples or sailing down the Amazon on a boat were favourable pastimes. As were drinking lashings of ginger beer mixed in with a soupcon of detective work. Boys were not afraid of spiders and they did not care much for grooming and/or looking smart. So far the only useful purpose they seemed to have was capturing spiders safely and letting them go outside with minimal fuss and a noticeable lack of shrieking.

Having seen some of the toys my cousin Simon favoured, I realised that boys also liked Lego so I decided to give it a go in case I ever met a boy I did not know. I figured that as I didn’t climb trees, steal apples, play with action men, drink ginger beer, sail boats down the mysterious faraway rivers or know very much about spiders, Lego might give us something to talk about.

I threw myself into the task and ended up spending days creating houses and cars using Lego. I liked the texture of the bricks, the different colours and the way they locked together. Once I had the perfect creation I would sit it on my wooden toy box for a couple of weeks so I could admire it. Then I would dismantle it and start work on an even better one. Many a happy summer holiday flew by filled with sunshine, Fab ice lollies from ice cream vans that constantly played tinny versions of Greensleeves; and Lego construction.

Another girly diversion that took up an awful lot of my time was crazes. One of the biggest crazes in my childhood that relegated collecting and playing with marbles to the smaller kids was collecting erasers. There were some that looked like miniature horses complete with tails and manes, others looked like sweets. There were even some erasers shaped like Coca Cola bottles which even smelt like coke. I remember at one point in my local area there was a whole shop dedicated to every conceivable type of eraser. There were never any boys in these shops. I wondered in vain what crazes they followed. Instead of boys they shops were filled with school girls of a certain age counting out their pocket money and walking out with bags of erasers they could not wait to show their friends at school. It seems like a form of madness to me now but back then it seemed completely sensible.

By the time I turned 11 and it was time to think about changing schools I still had experienced very little interaction with boys. So it was with much trepidation that I went to a local mixed comprehensive school to see if it suited me and if I suited them. The interviews with the teachers and the various tests went very well. I enjoyed the guided tour of the school. It was much bigger then the convent and had larger grounds. As the morning came to a close I felt very happy in the school.

After lunch we were scheduled to attend an English class with the current students and then have a final interview with the headmaster which our parents would be present at. About five minutes into the class I saw a small blurry mass ping past on my right hand side. Moments later it smacked into a girl a few desks in front of me and bounced of her. Another one soon followed then yet another. All met there intended targets, namely the newbies sitting in their class.

Various boys at the back of the classroom were flicking rubber bands at the girls. Most used rulers bent back to get the right angle and velocity. The teacher did nothing to bring a timely halt to proceedings. I had never experienced anything like this in my life before. If we were naughty at the convent we would be severely disciplined. Punishments ranged from writing 300 lines for the crime of jumping over puddles in the school playground to being hit on the wrist really hard several times with a metre ruler for questioning why dinosaurs were not in the bible. This was not the case here. It was distracting, disorderly and cheeky. It was positively unruly. I was not sure what to make of it.

When the class was over all potential applicants were taken to sit in a room with their parents while they waited to speak to the headmaster. I did not get a chance to discuss my day with my parents because we were sent in first. The headmaster was a lovely man with a very caring face and demeanour. He spent a lot of time telling my parents how well I had done at the tests I had been set and how he would be happy to offer a place to me. Eventually he turned to me and asked me how I would feel about taking up a place at the school. I responded that I did not think I would like it at all. Six pairs of eyes looked at me quizzically. The headmaster asked me why I would not want to study at his school, what didn’t I like. I looked at my parents before looking back at him and saying one word; ‘boys’.

It turned out that there wasn’t much to say after that and so not long after my utterance my parents and I left the headmaster’s office. The headmaster told my dad I was very welcome to reapply if I ever changed my mind and decided I liked boys after all.

Boys; what are they good for? My experience of boys when growing up involved elastic band flicking, distraction, cheekiness, disruption, misbehaving and adventuring. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant but I am not sure I ever really found out anymore then that. So in this day and age lets ditch the postcard and instead, if you want to, provide answers in a comment.

Update and 100 Words - Lessons Learnt

2011-07-31T07:00:00.002+01:00

Update

Today (Sunday) my other half and I will be guests on a local radio station talking about the 5 year anniversary of the Tribute Nights that have been organised at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading. It will be on between 6PM to 8PM BST. The next one is on Friday 5th August and will be One Hit Wonders. If you see this in time, the link is here: http://www.reading4u.co.uk/ and a link to what was played on the show is here: Strawberry Sundae Blog. It takes a bit of time to organise them, let alone special anniversary ones, so I do apologise for not being around blogland very much. Things should improve in a couple of weeks time. But it is all for a good cause. All the money we raise goes straight to the venue where we hold the events which is run by volunteers.

Recently I keep bumping into people out of the blue, out of context and many years after I last saw them. It has been the sort of whirlwind coincidental occurrence that I would have thought incredibly contrived if I had read about it in a book or seen it in a film. As it has been happening in such a quick succession I feel as if I've been catapulted back into my past. It's proved a disconcerting but not unpleasant feeling. I would probably not have lost touch with them if social media sites existed 15 years ago. Then again I had a lot of growing up to do back then. It was easier to let people slip out of my life then open up to them. I was afraid they would not want to know the real me with all my flaws. Now the people who do want to know stick around and those that don't go away. It's a much simpler life. However, if things had been different I also wouldn't have experienced the jolt of recognition, the rush of memories, the moment in time when you realise how pleased you are to have bumped into them and how much you are looking forward to filling in the pieces of the puzzle you have missed out on.

I had the great pleasure to meet author Nicola May at a book signing in Reading this weekend. The premise of the book is excellent, she was very engaging to talk to and she is also raising money for charity. You can learn more about what her work here: http://www.nicolamay.com/.

100 Words - Lessons Learnt

I was never a model student. I loved to learn but was never a slave to knowledge. There was always something else I wanted to do.

At University in my second year I picked all my classes so that they fell on a Thursday. One day from 9 till 6 and I was free to follow other pursuits.

My two favourite courses related to American History and Russian History. The former because of an outstandingly gifted and inspirational tutor. The latter because the tutor circulated authentic Russian vodka during discussion groups.

Unsurprisingly Russian classes were always well attended and stimulating.

Children's TV - Mr Men and Little Misses - Little Miss Sunshine #3

2011-07-24T12:00:00.000+01:00

Little Miss Sunshine

There was a King who lived in a castle in Miseryland. Little Miss Sunshine is on holiday. She saw a sign saying “This way to Miseryland.” So she was on her way to Miseryland. She saw a Guard at the Bridge Door. Little Miss Sunshine gave the Guard a Big Smile. Then the Guard took her to see the King of Miseryland and she had an idea. So Little Miss Sunshine and the king went back to her car. Finally she made a new picket sign saying “Laughter Land” and she boomed an enormous laugh then the king laughed too.

Little Miss Sunshine is one of the happiest people in the world, besides Mr. Happy and Mr. Cheerful. Little Miss Sunshine is a regular in the 2008 version of The Mr. Men Show. She keeps her looks and personality, and runs a morning show called “Good Morning Dillydale” with her partner, Mr. Happy. Her voice is very perky, almost to the point of ditzyness. Her house is pink, with a flowerbed, and flowers on the house as well.

Sesame Street Letter L and Number 12

2011-07-17T12:00:00.000+01:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'L' and the number '12'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter L are:

Labyrinth - complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
Lachrymable - lamentable; mourning; sorrowful; expressing grief
Lallygag - be about; to loiter
Lalapalooza - Informal, early 20th-century expression for something or someone wonderful
Languid - lacking spirit or liveliness
Leviathon - gargantuan sea creature; the largest or most massive thing of its kind
Liberality - the trait of being generous in behavior and temperament; an inclination to favor progress and individual freedom
Limnology - the scientific study of bodies of fresh water for their biological and physical and geological properties
Limpet - mollusk with a low conical shell
Lingeringly - in a slow, leisurely or prolonged way
Lippitude - soreness of eyes; the state of being blear-eyed
Loquacious - given to continual talking; talkative; garrulous

As for the number 12 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

12 is the atomic number of magnesium
Force 12 on the Beaufort wind force scale corresponds to the maximum wind speed of a hurricane.
There are also 12 starsigns and 12 Chinese zodiac signs.
In ten-pin bowling, 12 is the number of strikes needed for a perfect game.
There are 12 ounces in a troy pound
According to UFO conspiracy theory, Majestic 12 is a secret committee, allegedly set up by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to investigate the Roswell UFO incident and cover up future extraterrestrial contact.
There are 12 inches in a foot
There are 12 face cards in a card deck.
In the former British currency system, there were twelve pence in a shilling
The 12" single is a vinyl record format
Twelfth Night is a comedy by William Shakespeare
There are several films with 12 in their title including 12 Angry Men, Oceans 12 and Twelve Monkeys
The number twelve plays a significant role in the television franchise Battlestar Galactica. The characters come from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and worship the twelve lords of Kobol. In the re-imagined series, there are also twelve models of the humanoid version of Cylons.

If you have any lovely words beginning with L which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 12.

3 Positive Things & 100 Words - A Different View

2011-07-10T12:00:00.004+01:00

3 Positive Things

1) A fellow blogger Dolly was over from Ireland this week and Happy Frog and I went to meet her in London. I'd like to say it isn't every day that I walk through an elegant pub holding a cuddly frog in the hope that someone will recognise it, but it is becoming an increasingly popular pass time of mine recently. It was a superb, welcoming and convivial evening where I got to meet lots of her friends as well as the lady herself. Just as when I met Diane for the first time we clicked, the same can most certainly be said for Dolly. I can't wait to see her again. She has promised that she will be putting some of the photos that were taken up on her blog so do keep a look out.

2) At the same time that I have been meeting more people from the virtual world in the real world, someone from my past has come back into my present over the last few weeks. It's good to have them back in my life.

3) However difficult life gets I still make sure I spend half an hour each day whatever the weather to walk outside. By the time I am ready to turn round again I can feel the stress of the day fall away and my perspective change.

So onto the 100 Words - A Different View

‘Excited about turning 40’?

‘Yes, but I’ve been in my 40^th year for a while now. I’ll be in my 41^st’ year in 7 days.

‘But you’re 39 right up until the day you’re 40, until the exact time your Mum gave birth to you. When you’re 40, you’re 40, that’s what I believe. I don’t think in terms of a 41^st year. They don’t at the passport office or the driving licence place do they?’

‘Where do you get your silly notions from?’

‘They are not silly notions, they are deeply held family traditions and they are true.’

‘Hmmm’.

Practising Normality

2011-07-03T12:00:00.003+01:00

I have had a fear of examinations all my life. Not the type of apprehension that manifests itself into the dream world and makes me imagine myself naked in front of my fellow class mates. In my opinion it is much worse than that. It is the fear that I will get everything wrong despite working incredibly hard. That I will misread a question and answer it incorrectly or that I will run out of time despite meticulous planning. It is the gut wrenching, clammy, horrendous feeling deep inside my being that I will fail.

I loved going to school until the final year. Everyone in class knew that when we reached 11 years old not all of us would continue to attend the same school. Primary school only catered to us from the ages of 4 to 11. Then we all had to move on.

Following a shaky start in my first year at primary school I had gone from strength to strength and had worked hard to do well. Early in September of our final year we were given a test to do which was called the 11 plus. There was no preparation or advance warning beforehand. I concentrated and applied myself. I felt I had done my very best and after all wasn’t that what mattered most? The next day the results were called out by our teacher one by one. I was used to being in the top five of my class by then but that day I was bottom of the class. I had scored only 38%. I found the whole experience devastating.

When I got home that evening I told my parents what had happened and said I didn’t want to take the test. After much crying on my part and some tough negotiation mixed with cajoling from my dad, he looked me in the eyes and said that he did not want me to give up so easily. He would buy some practice books and work with me every evening for an hour. If I had not improved by Christmas I could quit.

I really did not want to fail so dramatically again in front of my classmates. Equally I did not want to disappoint my parents. So I decided to give it a go. I had never really been good at doing things off the cuff. I had always worked hard at school and planned and practised meticulously for tests I knew were coming. I had to concentrate noticeably more than the others in my class in order to be half decent at anything. It turned out the 11 plus was no exception.

After three months of practising at school and at home every day I really felt I had started to get the hang of it. In fact I was starting to look forward to my extra home tutoring. I particularly enjoyed finding words in sentences. For example you might have to find the word ‘sins’ in a paragraph of text. Can you see it? …’words in sentences.’

When the next test happened I scored 65%. I continued to practice. The one after that I scored 73%. I kept on practising. Finally it was the day of the big test. I was really scared and nervous but I sat down and turned over the paper. I do not remember anything about the test at all. I do remember going home and have Findus crispy pancakes with baked beans for dinner with chocolate ice cream to follow as a special treat. As the days passed I began to really miss the extra study for the test. It had been fun to do. I had to make do with Channel 4’s Countdown programme instead to keep my brain cells active and occupied.

At some point weeks later an envelope dropped through the door and my world changed. I had managed to get a personal best for the exam and I could go to any of the schools my parents wanted me to attend. At the time I thought that was what I wanted to.

I have learned that I can do stressful things well if I work 4 or 5 times harder than most people around me. If I am prepared to put in the work I can make presentations and exams seem effortless. If I do an average amount of work I fail myself miserably. This is a proven fact.

One of the worst occasions was during a Medieval History paper at University during my first year. I had spent far too much time in the pub and not enough time in the library during the previous months. Having finished answering all my questions I found I had 5 minutes left to check through my paper. I was feeling pretty good about what I had managed to remember and record.

Shortly after I began to review my work I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach as I read through the questions I had answered. I realised that I had answered part of question 4 and part of question 5. Both were about papal schisms but concerned completely different centuries. The answer I had given was a horrible hybrid, a complete nonsense and a sham. I also had no time to make amends. Once again I was facing abject failure square in the face and it had not aged well. In utter desperation I did the only thing that flashed into my brain with merely a couple of minutes left on the clock. At the top of my answer to that particular question I wrote the following.

‘Dear Examiner, I seem to have made a terrible mistake. I have created a hybrid of question 4 and question 5 and do not have time to rewrite it. I feel pretty stupid right now and am sorry you have to read an answer that I thought was coherent and logical but is in fact laughable and a mess. Very sorry, will try harder in the re-sits.’ A hot salty tear smudged my name just after I had written it. I was mortified as I left the exam hall.

By some miracle they gave me the lowest pass mark for the exam. I like to think it was my politeness and sincerity that won through on that occasion. Yet I should have done better and would have if I had spent more time studying and less time having fun. Just because most of my fellow students could cram for exams at the last minute and do well, it did not mean I could. It was a truth I had discovered at age eleven but had temporarily decided to forget. It was a sobering lesson but an important one.

These days I try to suppress my deep seated worries of letting other people down coupled with an overriding fear of failure. I attempt to choose my battles wisely. I try to remember to breathe deeply in times of stress.

Most important of all I endeavour to practice, practice, practice.

Children's TV - Hanna-Barbera - Touché Turtle #8

2011-06-26T12:00:00.000+01:00

Touché Turtle

“Touché away!” went the inspiring battle cry, in a less then inspiring voice from the same person who gave us the voice of Droopy. Despite this vocal disadvantage and a somewhat less than formidable appearance, Touché Turtle was a swashbuckling hero who always managed to save any fair damsels who happened to be in the vicinity before his five-minute cartoons came to a close.

Touché was always assisted by his loyal comrade, Dum Dum, who was a big, friendly dog.

During the run of the show, Touché Turtle used a standard fencing foil as a weapon. In the opening title sequence, however, Touché is seen using a firehose against a firebreathing dragon and a fencing foil made of a nonconductive material against a sentient lightning bolt!

Sesame Street Letter K and Number 11

2011-06-19T12:00:00.002+01:00

Little bit of housekeeping before this post kicks off. I just wanted to say how incredibly touched I was by the response from so many of my readers to my last post. Your comments and support have meant a great deal to me. Thank you. Now, let the post commence.

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'K' and the number '11'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter K are:

Kaolin - a fine usually white clay formed by the weathering of aluminous minerals
Karabiner - an oblong metal ring with a spring clip; used in mountaineering to attach a rope to a piton or to connect two ropes
Karma - the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation
Katharsis - purging oneself of emotional tensions
Katydid (no she didn't) - large green long-horned grasshopper of North America
Kickshaw - something considered good to eat
Koala - sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupial with gray furry ears and coat; feeds on eucalyptus leaves and bark
Kylix - a shallow drinking cup with two handles; used in ancient Greece

As for the number 11 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

If a number is divisible by 11, so is its reverse
11 is the atomic number of sodium
The 11th moon of Jupiter is called Himalia
In the film Spinal Tap, the band's amplifiers go up to 11
World War I ended with an Armistice on November 11, 1918, which went into effect at 11:00 am-the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. Armistice Day is still observed on November 11 of each year, although it is now called Veteran's Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations and parts of Europe.
Currently the number of incarnations of The Doctor in BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who is eleven.
Ocean's Eleven is the name of two American films.
The maximum number of Oscar awards for any movie is eleven. This figure was achieved by Titanic and Ben-Hur.
The length of a rugby ball is 11 inches long

If you have any lovely words beginning with K which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 11.

Mission Accomplished

2011-06-12T12:00:00.004+01:00

Abbey Frog

I want to start this post by thanking all my regular readers and anyone who has commented or emailed me for being so patient with me. I have not been able to visit other blogs or update this one as much as I would like to. I haven't been giving regular updates on what I'm doing. Yet still you have continued to visit and keep in contact with me. You have no idea how much that has meant to me.

I have decided to tone down the anonymity from now on. Hence the picture and the name. It feels good to be out of the shadows. Would be even better if I was still on that boat though.

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I was working on a 'project' which was taking up a great deal of my time. The more eagle eyed amongst you read between the lines and realised I had gone part time from my day job. I really enjoyed some of the guesses I was sent from people who were wondering what I was striving to complete. They included writing greeting cards to starting up my own business. Good guesses but no one got it right.

In actual fact I set out to write a sitcom script. I had the basic idea in my mind around the mid 90s but never had the guts to see it through. It was much easier to find reasons not to try and to generally procrastinate then actually get on and try.

I started back in September 2010 and by January 2011 I knew the truth. I could not do it alone. I really believed in what I was doing but I needed someone on my wave length to bounce ideas off and to crucially give me a different point of view and some new characters. I'd also had a bit of a major family crisis that had turned my world upside down for several weeks.

On February 14th 2011 a couple of mates and my other half went to see the film Paul. Afterwards we went to the Great Expectations pub in Reading to discuss the film and life in general. I discovered that night that someone I knew as a musician was also a writer and happy to give collaborating a go. Neither of us had collaborated before but we clicked pretty quickly. Thank you Damien Passmore for all your help, support, skilled writing, ideas and for reigning me in when I needed it. (He's on Twitter by the way as @damien_a_p if you would like to say hi. I'm sure he'd appreciate it).

Another friend put us in touch with someone in the business who gave us some outstanding notes and suggestions which we fully took on board. It meant some significant changes and re-writes but gave us a much better script. Looking back on it now the changes seem so obvious, but I really don't think we would have seen them. This weekend it was sent off and we will now wait and see.

It's taken me many years to get over my own crippling self doubt and decide to try to accomplish something and be rejected then to always wonder what might have been. I knew that my father was three quarters into his first novel when he died which was another consideration. At least he was trying, what was I doing?

I have had such an incredible few months learning how to format a script, how to edit it, how to brainstorm ideas and how to work with a writing partner. I don't know what will happen now. What I do know is that I was part of a team who wrote a script and I fulfilled my ambition to do that. No one can take that away from me and if nothing else I can cross it off my things to do before you're 40 list.

There have been many bloggers who have unwittingly helped me as the work progressed. They include Dolly who has recently enrolled on an art course, Amelia who is currently studying for an MA, Jayne who got a lot of writing sorted out recently and the truly inspirational Kid in the Front Row who always seems to know what I need to read before I do.

I didn't know what type of writing I wanted to do till I started on this. I'm not a novelist and I'm sure plenty of you can attest to the fact I'm not a poet. What I do know is that script writing makes me feel great, inspired and happy. What more could anyone ask for?

So that's what I've been up to. Thanks for sticking with me, its been quite a ride. I'll leave you with a video from Mr Fogg called Moving Parts which seemed very appropriate to me. I hope you enjoy it.

Children's TV - Hanna-Barbera - Penelope Pitstop #7

2011-06-05T12:00:00.000+01:00

Penelope Pitstop - Wacky Races

First appearing in Wacky Races (1968), Penelope was one of several oddball race car drivers driving oddball race cars. She was a girly girl with a cute Southern accent in which she would often cry for “Hay-elp!”

In her pink leather driving outfit, pink rimmed goggles and pink helmet, she was called “the Glamor Gal of the Gas Pedal” by the race announcer. Her car, the Compact Pussycat, was equipped with devices James Bond would be proud to use.

Wacky Races was inspired by the Blake Edwards film The Great Race (1965) and Penelope was based on the Maggie DuBois character from the film, played by Natalie Wood.

In her spin-off show, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969), Penelope was an heiress and her legal guardian, Sylvester Sneekly, was constantly plotting to kill her and steal her fortune under the guise of the Hooded Claw. The Hooded Claw was based on the sneering, gloating villains of the silent films and 19th century music hall.

Conversations on a theme - Shopping Dynamics

2011-05-29T12:00:00.000+01:00

[Context - very busy shopping day in Reading town centre. First overheard conversation occurred in a large chemist shop. Confident teenager selects some false eyelashes and turns to address a group of teenagers surrounding her.]

'What about these? Whaddya think?'

Silence continues to reign within the group.

'OK, would you wanna be my friend if you saw me out wearing these?'

Confused looks are exchanged quickly between the other girls before one pipes up;

'Yes?' [Stated more as a question than as a statement of fact].

'Good. Lets use that for everything we do for the rest of the day. Now, would you wanna be my friend if you saw me wearing this?...'

********************************

[Context - second overheard conversation, this time in a large bustling department store. A man who appears to be in his mid forties is looking methodically at suitcases. He keeps returning to a Samsonite one. It is tall and compact, has clean lines, is metallic coloured and exceptionally shiny. The man picks it up making a show of feeling the weight of the suitcase]

'This is the one for me, just what I want.'

As if by magic a woman appears at his side. From the expression on her face and her body language I assume she is his wife.

'You don't want that one' she says to the man. 'Its got no outside pockets. Where are you going to keep your tickets and boarding pass and money?'

The man looks like he is trying to weigh up the pros of arguing that the items she has referred to could fit quite nicely into his hand luggage. While this strategy could perhaps win the argument and his beloved suitcase he also looks as if he is considering the many cons that could result in his losing the battle in the long run. He looks torn with the struggle of an inner turmoil weighing heavily on him. Then his face relaxes. A decision has been made.

With a short and gentle sigh emitting from his lips the man carefully returned the suitcase to its previous place. While still looking lovingly at the suitcase he said 'You're probably right.'

Sesame Street Letter J and Number 10

2011-05-23T07:00:00.004+01:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'J' and the number '10'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter J are:

Jabbering - rapid and indistinct speech; talking idly or incoherently
Jactitate - move or stir about violently
Jangling - like the discordant ringing of nonmusical metallic objects striking together
Jaunty - having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
Jolted - disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock
Juju - a charm superstitiously believed to embody magical powers
Juvenescence - the process of growing into a youth
Juxtapose - place side by side

As for the number 10 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

The Roman Numeral for 10 is X
10 is the atomic number of neon
Counting from one to ten before speaking is often done in order to cool one's temper.
10 is a 1979 romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bo Derek, Dudley Moore, and Julie Andrews.
In blackjack, the Ten, Jack, Queen and King are all worth 10 points.
In ten-pin bowling 10 pins are arranged in a triangular pattern and there are 10 frames per game.
The interval of a major or minor tenth is an octave plus a major or minor third.
Albums called Ten or 10 were recorded by several artists including LL Cool J and Pearl Jam
A10 paper measures 26 x 37mm

If you have any lovely words beginning with J which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 10.

100 Words - Protection

2011-05-16T07:00:00.004+01:00

Once I worked in a team of four female receptionists. We would meet, greet and badge up over one thousand visitors daily. Working twelve hour shifts in cheap navy blue suits with cream blouses. We could choose our own shoes.

I felt vulnerable in the goldfish bowl foyer where we were seated. I wore smiles and make-up like a mask. We had a tiny dirt ridden room full of security screens to take individual breaks. Relaxing our facial muscles for the briefest of moments while slavishly reapplying our armour.

When I left it took me four months to stop smiling.

*I tried 100 Posts because of the ones I saw at Mr London Street's blog. There is also a blog dating back to 2007/08 which was devoted to 100 word posts which can be found here.

Sesame Street Letter I and Number 33

2011-05-09T07:00:00.004+01:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'I' and the number '33'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter I are:

Icky - soft and sticky; nasty
Idempotent - unchanged in value following multiplication by itself
Illation - the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation
Imagination - the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses
Imbrangle - To entangle as in a cobweb; to mix confusedly
Impassiveness - apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions
Imponderable - a factor whose effects cannot be accurately assessed
Inexorable - not capable of being swayed or diverted from a course; insusceptible to persuasion
Insouciance - the cheerful feeling you have when nothing is troubling you

As for the number 33 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

33 is the atomic number of arsenic
The Newton scale says that 33 is the temperature at which water boils
33s are known as long playing records
The title of the first episode of the new Battlestar Galactica television series
33 is the coming of age of a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
The code for international direct-dial phone calls to France
Beethoven's Opus120 consists of 33 variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli
Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in 3 canticas - each consisting of 33 cantos.
The number 33 was discovered to lead to the essential meaning of life (the Bible) in Dan Brown's 2009 novel "The Lost Symbol".
Jackson Pollock created a work called Number 33 in 1949

If you have any lovely words beginning with I which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 33.

Fortnightly Round Up

2011-05-02T07:00:00.024+01:00

A very beautiful Alpaca family.

Finally captured this shot of a raccoon after many thwarted attempts

Goose and goslings

Lovely Capybaras

Happy frog water features

10 Positive Things – Fortnightly Round Up

Summary: Less Is More, Alien Exhibition, Family Galore, Geeks What Launch, Cute Animal Alert, Something Blue, No Pain No Gain, Game For A Laugh, Prolific Parties, Brighton Bliss, Verging on the Sublime.

1) Blogging – A blogger I have only found recently through Twitter has announced his imminent retirement from blogging. Anthony Hodgson is pursuing his dream of getting a novel completed and published which is very exciting. He therefore needs the extra time to pursue his goal. While I shall miss his Blog I am glad that he is living his dream and that he still plans to be around on Twitter.

May Housekeeping - As for my blog I will be posting once a week on Monday mornings only throughout May. There is so much happening in May it is the only way I can see to get everything done but still keep the blog ticking over. I will still do my best to visit your blogs during May but do bear with me. If there is a particular post you wish me to read do let me know. Normal service will return in June.

2) No spoilers, I promise. I mentioned last time I put up a weekly post that I was going to a Dr Who Exhibition at the Olympia 2 and that is exactly what I did on the 17^th April. Three of us met up in Reading for breakfast before heading into London to meet up with the other five who had already consumed a pint each before we got there.

I’m ashamed to say that when my other half did his usual trick of disappearing without telling anyone where he was going I did go into the Dr Who Experience with 3 of the others and left him to it. I’d waited so long I wasn’t going to wait a minute longer! It was a magical way to spend half an hour although quite a couple of children were scared out of there wits and wanted to go home.

I loved the Experience and the Exhibition as well. My only criticism would be that I would have liked it if the staff had dressed up and looked a bit happier to be there. I will be trying to find time to go back before it ends despite spending four hours there.

I also enjoyed the group meal we had at a well known pizza chain followed by an unexpected pub quiz session at the Oakford Social Club in Reading where four of us by some miracle managed to come second. I thought that one of our party was robbed during the arts and crafts section though during the interval. I wish I’d taken a photo, it was amazing!

3) I managed to see quite a lot of TB’s family and my own on separate occasions which was great. It’s nice to see people face to face and catch up. It can be so easy to let the weeks slip by.

4) After a very successful all day meeting I met up with TB to practice our tribute night song. It is amazing how practising in the venue with a real piano can make a song really come alive. Can’t believe it is so close, only a few days to go. Friday 6^th May to be precise. Eek.

5) I was chuffed to bits when TB and myself were invited to a Doctor Who Launch Party in London on 23^rdApril. Hadn’t realised we would be getting the final two tickets though so will make sure that next time I get enough for any of my other friends who want to come too. *Sorry*. It was a very emotional meeting because Lis Sladen the actress who played Sarah Jane Smith one of Dr Who’s most famous assistants had died earlier that week. Jeremy Bentham who had organised the launch party new Lis Sladen well and during his speech gave us some words that she had told him to say to us on the night. It was upsetting but also very comforting. When someone who has played such a large part in your childhood and also in your present enjoyment of television passes it is understandable that people will feel upset whether they knew the person or not. The speech was the perfect start to proceedings. Shortly afterwards the first episode of Doctor Who series six was aired. What I particularly enjoyed not having been to one of these events before was how exciting it was to be surrounded by so many people who also loved the television series as much as me. We laughed, we were perplexed together, and most importantly we all felt part of something amazing. It is probably the nearest I will get to understanding people watching football on the television in a pub with other fellow supporters.

Afterwards we chatted about the show with other people there, joined in with a podcast and generally had a great evening. I am so glad we went and I would happily go to another similar event.

6) It was a real treat to be able to head over to Beale Park again which is one of my favourite places to go and visit. There were so many animals to see and we also had the most gorgeous cream tea there too with plenty of jam and clotted cream. The scones were hot just as they should be and it was great to be able to eat it outside.

7) My favourite email subject heading I received this week simply stated the following. ‘Found light blue mobile phone sock.’

8) On Easter Monday I was joined for an afternoon walk by a good friend who is also training for the charity event I am entering. I had not realised how brisk a walker she was though and was shattered by the time we finished our 11 miles! Luckily we had exceptionally lovely weather and at the end of the walk was a Mexican restaurant where I consumed veggie Chimichangas for my main and for dessert brownies with bananas and ice cream. This was all washed down with plenty of water and a large cocktail.

I am also keeping up the swimming which I am really pleased about. I am quite worried that when the charity event I am training for is over I may stop all of the exercise and balloon to the size of a house. Hopefully this will not be the case. I have got very used to being able to eat whatever I want over the last few months so it could get quite gnarly!

9) There have been a lot of parties including one triple birthday party and one games night. It has been brilliant to catch up with so many people Games and catching up night -

10) I thought it prudent to mention something positive I am looking forward to. I am going to a very special wedding in Brighton. It’s happening on the Tuesday but TB and I are going up on the Monday and travelling back on the Wednesday and I can’t wait! I had all sorts of problems finding a dress to wear until I found one I bought seven years ago and which I’d stored in our shed. It has miraculously come back into fashion at just the right time and it fits. Also I have most of the accessories that go with it. What a stroke of luck!

I had popped into town on the morning of the Royal wedding to purchase a fascinator for the wedding I am attending on Tuesday. The place was deserted with people watching the Royal Wedding or at the Beer Festival. The lady serving me said 'is this for the wedding?' I said it was. She said 'aren't you a bit late?

My favourite piece of footage from the Royal Wedding was the cartwheeling verger which still makes me giggle when I watch it. Apparently the chap in question has been told off, but I loved the fact that he was really working the Neo from Matrix look and moves. If you haven’t seen it yet here is a link. http://youtu.be/oUWiU9V2DzE

If anyone would like to comment on my positive things list or share any positive things that have happened to them in the comments over the last week that would be lovely.

Also if you would like to start your own positive list on your own blog that would be great too. Do let me know if you do so I can pop over.

Conversations – involving Pavlov’s Dog Syndrome

2011-04-29T07:00:00.001+01:00

“The vending lady is here” (very quiet whisper).

“What?”

“The vending lady is here”

(Queue gasps of wonder and happiness from several people)

“Are you sure?”

“That’s so weird I just found £1, do you think I sensed her presence?”

“Do you think her van is locked, will you help me cause a distraction?”

“You are a distraction and not in a good way.”

“Where do you think she’s been, she hasn’t been for ages.”

“Maybe she’s been on holiday.”

“Maybe she’s gone off us.”

“Nah, she’s here isn’t she?”

“There had better be chocolate. Chocolate and flapjacks. Chocolate and flapjacks and crisps!”

(Door buzzer sounds)

“The vending lady is here” (Shouts out the person who opened the door).

“That’s old news!” (Quickly followed by fits of giggles from surrounding parties).

“How did you know?” (Queried the person who opened the door).

“I know the sound of her van.”

You Cannot Be Serious?!

2011-04-26T07:00:00.001+01:00

Some people get there kicks from looking at houses for sale on a regular basis whether they are interested in buying or not. Others enjoy looking at local papers and enjoying finding unusual snippets of local information. For me I have always enjoyed looking at different job adverts in order to analyse them. It would be unfair to say I don't get out much but appropriate to wonder why I like doing this. Speculative answers in the comments or on an email please.

When I was engaging in this regular hobby of mine I found that one role in particular for an Office Manager was advertised by two different agencies. Both intrigued me. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, to do so you might need to locate some brownies and crack open a bottle of gin, beer, wine or alcopops and settle back in your seat. Here are just some of the highlights of each advert, the bits I found particularly interesting are highlighted in red.

Advert 1

The position will involve:

The client is seeking an enthusiastic, smart, experienced office manager.
Your day could include: ordering fruit for the office, paying invoices and running monthly payroll, arranging birthday cards for colleagues, dealing with unexpected IT issues, answering the telephone, working on spreadsheets, helping the events team and liaising with suppliers from the landlord to our outsourced IT company and couriers. (Ordering fruit? Arranging birthday cards daily - golly I better sign up for this, the hours will fly by!).

Act as part-time PA to the demanding CEO, working with his long term, part-time PA. (I'm not that good at acting, especially when it's part-time. Demanding? I shall pop off and check me definition of what that really means in my handy pocket size office politics dictionary...).

Take pride in the office, encouraging your colleagues to do so too and motivating them with social events, as appropriate. (Why am I getting the impression that this office has a few morale problems?).

Able to own and solve problems and manage large and small projects; prepared to muck in to get things
done, with calm, can do attitude. (I'll be mucking in shortly, but I just need to get some fruit and birthday cards and act like a PA for half my day...)

Strong organisational skills with meticulous attention to detail, prepared to check and double check;
practical approach, and ability to prioritise and work under pressure. (I like the way they clarify what meticulous attention involves. If you need that sort of clarification would you really be right for this role anyway? Oh wait, are you connected to a well known supermarket chain?)

Advert 2

This is a busy role and will involve:

• Providing full admin support for the office (No half full or cup runneth over here...)
• PA responsibilities to the CEO (Could you be a bit more specific? No? Right oh...)
• Paying invoices and running monthly payroll
• Arranging birthday cards (Oops, there it is. Really high up on the list as well. Hang on a minute, is this Hallmark?).
• Organising all IT issues (If they have become issues isn't it a bit to late/pointless/utterly redundant to organise them?)
• Answering the phone to enquiries (How do you know if it isn't an enquiry but a personal call?)
• Working on spreadsheets (How about actually achieving something rather than working on?)
• Assisting the team at events
• Liaising with suppliers
• Organising and taking responsibility for all facilities issues (I'm quite surprised how low down on the list this is. As in last.)

You will have:

• A minimum of 5 years experience in a fast paced ‘office management’ position (Um, why is this in quotation marks? This is the role. Isn't it?)
• Able to solve problems and manage large and small projects
• Experience of using QuickBooks/Microsoft Office including Access
• Strong organisational skills with meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to communication with people at all levels (Brilliant, brilliant. Meticulous attention to detail followed by 'Ability to communication with people' Ability to communication? Stop it, I can't take it anymore.)

Dreaming is Free

2011-04-22T07:00:00.006+01:00

I can remember my first colour dream vividly. I must have been around four years old and at the time and I was lucky enough to have a swing in the garden. I remember feeling that I was on the swing in the garden with the sunlight pouring down all around me. I was wearing my favourite red hooded coat and my favourite red shoes. Each time as I swung to the highest point I could go, I could see over into our neighbour’s gardens. As I swung lower I would see the rust showing through parts of the frame where the midnight blue paint had flaked off. When I looked down I could see the pale brown scuffed bare earth from where my feet took little running steps to move the swing backwards and forwards. Around the bare earth were vibrant green blades of grass.

I didn’t realise how absorbed in the dream I had been until I woke up suddenly to find myself in bed. Disorientated I got out of bed and went to the window but it was dark instead of sunny. I stayed awake for quite awhile willing it to be daylight so I could go out and play. Then I ended up going to sleep hoping that I could have the same dream again. It didn’t happen though. The next day I realised that this was the first dream I could remember where colour had been part of the dream and that had led to it feeling so real to me.

I have heard that if you hit the ground in a dream you are supposed to die in real life. How anyone could possibly prove this theory I could not say as if you did prove it you would die and then you wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about it. I will say that I do remember waking up from dreams where I had fallen off a skateboard or fallen into a deep pit that had been concealed by some leaves. At the time I felt in danger but I was perfectly safe if a little shaken.

I used to fall out of my bed a lot when I was younger, but I don’t seem to move around so much these days. Either that or I just needed a bigger bed. I would often wake up believing certain dreams had happened, especially ones where I had found money and had stashed it around my bedroom in the dream. I would wake up looking for it, certain it was there every time as it all felt so real. Other times I would have such a lovely dream that I had woken up halfway through I would try really hard for days and days to get back into the dream and finish it. On only one occasion was that possible. It was an adventure dream where I had been in the middle of helping to save some people when I was rudely woken up instead. Months later I did get back into the dream and did manage to both finish it satisfactorily and remember that I had.

My favourite dreams of all time I can sadly no longer have. They stopped once I reached my teenage years. I used to dream that I was flying over an ocean at night, my way lit by either the sun or when that had set a full moon. I could feel the wind blowing hard against my face and I could smell the ocean. I felt so free and happy when I woke up from these dreams and I never forgot them. I am sure there is some psychological reason behind it all but I have never really got to grips with the meanings behind dreams.

One of my favourite bloggers Amelia at 101 Bird Tales got me thinking a few months back about my ideal place if I could choose anywhere and it has now become my favourite day dream. At the time the question was asked I had a lot of dreams. One of them involved a work place I would love to be in one day. I would want to run a small tea room which would have lots of European and Asian style cakes and teas which would be made daily on the premises. Every day as I unlocked the door and walked through it I imagine it would smell of baking, marzipan, coffee and tea. I dream of being able to create the sort of desserts I enjoy making at home for a wider audience. Of choosing every little piece of bohemian furniture and crockery, of designing the menus and training up to learn new ways of making my dream cakes into a reality.

I would have a Georgian style window at the front and I would put different objects there each week that I had found and repaired in the hope that someone would come and reclaim them. Just like in Bagpuss! I constantly change my mind regarding the music, but that keeps the dream fresh! Perhaps the shop would be in Reading or Oxford or maybe by the coast. I wouldn't mind where it was located as long as it was filled with happy customers and a very happy manager.

But this is a pipe dream for years in the future. Right now I am focussing on another dream. The one that has haunted me for years. The one I thought I could not do. The one I had given myself a thousand reasons not to do but which would never let me completely walk away from it.

It's wonderful to dream and to allow those dreams to change and develop. However trying to turn my dreams into a reality is the most cathartic release of my creativity I have ever experienced. I hope anyone reading this also gets to experience that feeling too.

Sesame Street Letter H and Number 8

2011-04-20T07:00:00.036+01:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'H' and the number '8'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter H are:

Hamartia - flaw or error in a character leading to their downfall
Hapaxanthous - a plant that flowers only once
Happiness - emotions experienced when in a state of well-being
Haptic - of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch
Hariolate - to foretell
Herpetophobia - fear of reptiles
Heterophemy - accidental use of a word or phrase different from what was meant
Humbuggery - Something intended to deceive; a hoax or fraud

As for the number 8 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

The figure eight manoeuvre is often appears in ice skating
The number 8 is considered to be lucky in some cultures particularly Asian
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing began on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8 pm (local time).
The number 8 is the atomic number of oxygen
There are 8 bits in a byte

If you have any lovely words beginning with H which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 8.

Weekly Round Up

2011-04-17T18:00:00.002+01:00

10 Positive Things

Summary: Saving Mr Bumble, Perfect Day, Losing Track, Good Timing, Film, Inconsistency, Decisions, Taking Advice, Dr. Who, Music.

1) Towards the beginning of the week it was very hot and sunny in Reading. To this end I had all the doors and windows open to let in a bit of fresh air. Unfortunately a very plump bumblebee had flown in to the main bedroom and got a bit lost and disorientated. By the time I discovered him I thought he was dead until I saw one of his legs move very weakly and slightly. Quickly I managed to pop him into a glass and placed him carefully on a large leaf in the garden. I then got him some water to drink. After five minutes he seemed a lot better and started to clean himself. Another 3 minutes later he was able to walk about and then fly a short space to some dandelions. It made me very happy to see the bee make a full recovery.

When I told my other half what had happened his immediate response was ‘good thing it wasn’t a spider’. While he loves spiders I hate them so he has a point. It’s strange how some creatures such as bees, ladybirds/bugs, beetles and frogs bring out the caring side of me where as spiders and woodlice freak me out.

2) Monday was spent doing a lot of thinking, debating, chuckling, testing, writing and editing with my friend. It is so easy to get carried away and forget to do basic things such as drinking enough tea/water and getting things to eat when you are doing something you really love. Well, that’s how it is for me anyway. Sometimes it is easier to sit in the pub and drink tea and diet coke and order a big meal while overhearing conversations and seeing new character enter who you can write about. That was certainly how the majority of Monday was spent.

3) On Tuesday I lost track of time far too easily while carrying on what had been started on Monday. However, I loved the feeling of realising that I’d been working hard for 16 hours and yet felt better then when I normally do a standard 8 hour day.

4) When it was time to return to work on the Wednesday the sun had gone in and it was much colder. It is very rare that I manage to pick the best weather to be away from work and the best time to return.

5) I had an extraordinary reminder of a film that I loved while watching a quiz programme on TV. The category concerned itself with obscure winners of film awards. I apologise as I cannot tell you the answers that were delivered. Just hearing the category was a bolt from the blue. I was suddenly transported back to London in 1994 and a cinema off the beaten track in Central London. I don't remember the weather, the time of year, what I was wearing or why I entered the cinema that day. But enter it I did without a clue of what I would see. I spent a couple of hours completely blown away by one of the most amazing cinema spectacles I have ever seen. It was sumptuous it was beautiful and it was profound. I have ordered the film in question and I am very excited about seeing it again. Hurry up and deliver my copy of La Reine Margot please, I cannot wait!

6) It has been really difficult to stick to my training programme this week but I did manage a 5 mile walk the previous Sunday and a 10 mile walk in the glorious sunshine on Saturday. Our team has reached 94% of our target amount to raise for our charity which is a relief. Not long now!

7) I decided to look for a new outfit for a wedding I am attending in May. I think I have some suitable contenders now so shall be going for it and making a decision. Knowing my luck I won’t be the only person to have chosen it and attended the wedding though!

8) Following my better half’s advice I did take a bit of time to do very little when he was away on Saturday night. This predominantly involved watching DVDs, drinking a lovely glass of wine and warming up a quick and simple meal in the new oven (the last oven went bang when the fan died). I haven’t quite mastered it yet, but then I am not that great at cooking anyway.

9) Sunday 17th April is a very big day. Firstly because the London Marathon is being run and I wish all the people who are entering the very best of luck. I really hope all of your training and dedication pays off. Secondly it is the day that some of my friends and myself had chosen to go to see the Dr Who Exhibition and Olympia 2 in London. It was the only day we could all make. I shall write in more detail about this next week to coincide with the new series starting. You have been warned.

10) Music – Thanks so much to everyone who commented on the last piece of music I feature last week. I have been practicing 2 songs this week for the tribute night being held in May. One of them is a bouncing along, lot of fun, very humorous song. If I can get through it without laughing or making everyone else laugh I'll be doing well. The other song I am performing is the one I have chosen this week. It is a beautiful song with really haunting lyrics that I can personally relate to. I am enjoying practising it more now, but it is difficult to get the emotion in to the song while trying to get the vocal technically correct too. I hope you like it the way it is meant to be performed. Please allow me to present ‘This House is Empty Now’ preformed by Burt Bacharach on piano and Elvis Costello on vocals.

If anyone would like to comment on my positive things list or share any positive things that have happened to them in the comments over the last week that would be lovely.

100 Words - Machiavellian

2011-04-15T07:00:00.005+01:00

Your writing was born from the fierce power struggles of eminent Italian families. Your fifteenth century discourses on princes and the power they should command influenced a king.

A king whose preference was to command respect through fear. Who created a religion to suit his own needs. A man who married his brother’s widow and who shirked his fatherly responsibilities till a male heir was born. Whose cold detachment must have influenced the later actions of his daughters.

Your name became synonymous with manipulation and scheming.

When you first began writing could you have foreseen the power in your words?

*I tried 100 Posts because of the ones I saw at Mr London Street's blog. There is also a blog dating back to 2007/08 which was devoted to 100 word posts which can be found here.

Children's TV - Hanna-Barbera - Scooby Doo #5

2011-04-13T07:00:00.000+01:00

Scooby Doo

Scooby Doo was a large dog who travelled around in a van with his chums Shaggy, Daphne, Freddy and Velma, solving mysteries wherever they went; mysteries that always involved seemingly supernatural goings-on that transpired to have comparatively mundane (but nefarious) explanations!

The name comes from Frank Sinatra’s scat singing in the song Strangers in the Night, apparently.

It has been speculated throughout the web that Scooby and Shaggy are stoners: Shaggy’s goatee and pale skin? Scooby’s hyperactivity and the ability to see ghosts long before anyone else? You don’t need to be a rehab counsellor to see how toasty Scoob and Shag are! The Ten Reasons Why Scooby Doo Was a Drug-Influenced Cartoon internet page notes these two “always had the munchies” and “were always giddy and laughing.” Let's not even get started on the Scooby Snacks!!!

Weekly Round Up

2011-04-10T18:00:00.009+01:00

Sunset in South Reading

7 Positive Things

Summary: Leap of faith, training, hen day, chuckling, Amy's Ghost, music.

1) I am taking a lot of time off work during April and May to pursue a bit of a pipe dream. I am attempting to do something I have dreamed of doing since the 1990s but I convinced myself I could not do it and that I was not good enough. Now I have taken the decision to just go for it and find out for sure one way or the other. In large part this is thanks to one of my friends who is helping me to really go for it and is now my fellow collaborator in crime. We would rather look back in a few years and know we tried our best then carry on wondering what might have been. Sorry to be so cryptic but I do not want to jinx it though I do want my readers to understand why I might not be as active in the blogging sphere as I would like over the next couple of months. It is very positive but also very scary stuff.

2) I have been paid the most incredible compliment by a fellow blogger whom I have found very inspirational. They have reminded me of my love of film. They write very inspirational and intelligent blog posts. This week they have recommended my blog and said some incredibly kind comments. It has pretty much made my week. Thank you so much Kid In The Front Row for this post.

3) The training for the charity event I am taking part in is going well (if you include walking between taverns during pub crawls which of course I do). The swimming in particular is really helping me to get fitter. I think I am going to be very tired towards the end of May though!

4) I joined one of my friends for her hen day on Saturday. After several travel problems to begin with I arrived late to the Sanctuary Spa in Covent Garden. Luckily the first thing we were offered was a meditation session. We lay on beds in the dark while music and instructions were fed to us through earphones. It was an odd experience as I usually find it very hard to switch off and this was no exception. We had to imagine ourselves getting into a hammock but I kept imagining myself falling out. There were lots of bird and animal noises on the soundtrack which reminded me of an episode of Midsomer Murders but without the ubiquitous sound of a fox or any murders. At the end of it I did feel surprisingly relaxed though so I guess it must have worked. Later I got to swing over a swimming pool which was brilliant fun and I also got to go in the steam room for half an hour which was heavenly.

Afterwards we went to a small and friendly Italian restaurant called Da Mario for a beautiful meal. Everything was very fresh and when I ordered a truffle dish they gave very generous portions which was an unexpected delight. For dessert I ordered the crème brûlée and for the first time in my life I experienced it being set on fire at the table. It was a fantastic experience.

I had a great time and it was really good to get the opportunity to meet new people before the wedding. I am very much looking forward to the big day in May.

5) After getting back to Reading on Saturday night I joined my other half to see some bands perform at The Rising Sun Arts Centre. I have heard fantastic things about Amy's Ghost but kept missing them for various reasons. I have finally seen them play and they are every bit as good as I have been told. The theatricality of their performance as well as the songs themselves were outstanding. I am really looking forward to seeing them again soon.

6) I was briefly interviewed during the Dr Who twitter pub crawl last weekend and it went live on Tuesday. This was the first ever podcast I have done. It was an absolute blast and the most important thing I discovered is that sometimes I can have a dirty laugh that would not be out of place in a Carry On film! If anyone would like the link please email me direct at froggyfrogfrogton@hotmail.co.uk (I can't always get your email address from the comments). Be warned though there is some fruity language on the link and I'm not talking oranges and apples neither!

7) Music – I am so pleased that so many of my readers have enjoyed the music I have been featuring particularly over the last couple of weekly posts. I was starting to feel the pressure a bit till I remembered that was just plain silly! I was toying with the idea of featuring some Reading bands that I love and I imagine I will do this in the future. However, this week I have listened to the song I am featuring quite a bit and as far as I am aware they have no connection whatsoever to Reading.

I first saw this band live at the Windsor Royal Theatre last year and I fell in love with their self deprecating humour, well thought out lyrics and gentle musicality. If I could write songs I should be very happy if I could write in their particular style. I have mentioned their version of Gary Numan's 'Cars' previously in this blog. I also adore the lyrics to 'Are We Happy' which also makes me think of the film Midnight Cowboy which is another point in its favour. Particular favourite lyrics from that song are:

She said let your whiskers grow
Bearing the lines, broken promises
You made to yourself and her
How does it feel
Sitting silently
In this room with me

Are you happy
To be here?

Without further ado may I present The Leisure Society with Last of the Melting Snow.

If anyone would like to comment on my positive things list or share any positive things that have happened to them in the comments over the last week that would be lovely.

Conversations and exclamations - Children say and do the funniest things

2011-04-08T07:00:00.000+01:00

1) Context - I find myself in a store in central Reading that specialises in cheap clothing. I walk past a woman standing next to a small boy. I assume she is his mother. He has a mop of golden hair. I am in a rush to leave the store as I have been stuck in a queue for 25 minutes. As I walk past them I hear a little but loud voice shout out 'HELLO!' Something about the tone of his exclamation made me turn round. I looked at him and said 'hello' back followed by a smile. He looked up at me with a faceful of happiness before looking up at his Mum and beaming at her. I looked at the mother who had a happy but resigned look on her face. It was going to be a long afternoon for her.

2) Context - I am sitting in a shop on a low value faux wooden chair waiting for my number to be called. When it is I know I will still have to wait several minutes for my goods to arrive. But I will still launch myself at the appropriate cashier point in the unfounded hope that they will be there immediately. It is the way some things have to be. It is inevitable.

A young girl runs past me at full pelt and launches herself at a free standing display. Pulling something from the display to the floor she hugs the plastic covered display item to her as if her very life depended on it. I am intrigued but her sister who walks up to her shortly afterwards does not appear to share my interest.

The little girl looks up at her (I assume) older sister and says 'It's Timmy!'

'Yes' responds the sister.

'From Timmytime!'

'Yes' responds the sister.

It's Timmy from Timmytime!'

'Yes' responds the sister.

The little girl looks like she is not getting the response she was hoping for. She unceremoniously dumps the poor cuddly sheep from children's TV programme Timmytime back onto the display. Then she runs deep into the shop. I sit and wait.

3) The buses in Reading seem to be influenced by the story of Noah today. They are travelling in twos throughout the afternoon. I manage to get a seat on one of them after a lengthy wait and queue. A little boy is shouting rather than talking to his friends. It would normally annoy me but he is quite endearing so today it does not.

'I don't know you.' He shouts down the length of the top deck of the bus to another young boy.
'I don't know you either.' The boy retorts.
'Do you know Darren?'
'No'
'Do you know Raj?'
'No'
'Do you know Jimmy?'
'Yeah'
'So do I'.

A few minute later the shouty boy shouts down to one of his mates on the bottom deck.

'There's a really ugly woman I need to tell you about.' Several women's eyes including mine look enquiringly at him.
'She's not here though. She's somewhere else. The ugly woman.' Several women look at each other and smirk while shaking their heads. Poor chap.

Sesame Street Letter G and Number 50

2011-04-06T07:00:00.038+01:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'G' and the number '50'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter G are:

Gabfest - light informal conversation for social occasions
Galactagogue - agent that induces milk secretion
Galumph - move around heavily and clumsily
Gallifrey - home planet of Dr Who and the other Time Lords
Gallimaufry - a mixture or motley assortment of different things
Gamophobia - an irrational fear of marriage
Gardyloo - warning cry (particularly of waste material that is about to be thrown out of a window onto the street).
Gaucherie - awkward or socially unacceptable remark; Lack of social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; crudeness; tactlessness.
Graphomania - also known as scribomania, refers to an obsessive impulse to write
Gregarious - seeking and enjoying the company of others
Guffaw - a burst of deep loud hearty laughter

As for the number 50 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

50 is the atomic number of tin
A jubilee consists of 50 years as does a golden wedding anniversary
The TV show Hawaii Five-O was named because Hawaii is the USAs 50th state.
There are 50 chapters in the book of Genesis
50 ways to leave your lover is a song by Paul Simon
There is a rapper called 50 Cent
The Roman Numeral for 50 is L

If you have any lovely words beginning with G which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 50.

Weekly Round Up

2011-04-03T17:00:00.017+01:00

12 Positive Things

Summary: Film, Spring, Critical Disdain, 100 Words, Dental Fool, Celebrate, Student Days, Forbidden Planet, Dr Who Pub Crawl, What Happens After Dark Stays After Dark, A Question Answered and Musical Musings.

1) Film – This week I have been experiencing a nostalgic craving for several films from the 80s including The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and the Lost Boys. I used to have these films on VHS but I vaguely remember giving them to our local charity shop when we moved house a couple of years ago. So as it was pay day on Friday I bit the bullet and ordered them all from Play.com (other retailers are available).

2) Spring has well and truly sprung. The trip to and from work has been made far more pleasant this week by the abundance of lambs and calves dotted around the many green and lush fields. The extra light in the evenings since the clocks went forward in the UK at the weekend has also lifted my mood.

3) I learned a very valuable and useful lesson this week which was how not to react to a review this week. If you have not seen the feud between a self published author and a critic do check it out in order to see what not to do. It is quite astonishing. Please click here.

4) First the finalists and then the runners up and winners of the 100 Word competition were revealed this week and they are all excellent. Although I love attempting to write 100 word posts I just could not create one as a letter that I was happy with before the deadline passed. If you would like to see how it is done please click here.

5) Dentist appointment – I used to dread going to the dentist. In fact it was such a stressful experience that for a specific 15 year period I only kept 5 appointments. Now that I have found a lovely friendly dentist in Reading I don’t mind going at all. I would not go so far as to say it is a pleasure, but I don’t dread attending anymore. When I set the appointment 6 months ago it had slipped my mind that I was booking on April fool’s day. Luckily no practical jokes were played and everything went smoothly. Though it turns out my gums over react to plaque which is an odd thing to find out.

6) So my month of abstinence terminated on Friday. I can confirm that I really enjoyed my first alcoholic drink which was a glass of red wine consumed with vegetarian friendly hot dogs and burgers.

7) Saturday was a very busy day and was once again mostly spent in London. Nos 7-10 are all about it. First off I visited my old Student Union in London. So much has changed around the Union building but the Union itself still felt familiar and full of nostalgia. The last time I visited was 9 years ago. Unfortunately we could not go inside as it was closed but I am hoping to pop in during the week at some point soon.

8) After visiting the Student Union it was a hop skip and a jump to the wonderful Forbidden Planet. There were specific sonic screwdrivers to buy and lots of sci-fi goodies to look at. It’s been too long since I visited and online just is not the same.

9) I have been quite excited about attending the first Twitter Dr Who pub crawl since I first heard about it 2 weeks ago. It kicked of on Knightrider Street though sadly KITT the car was nowhere to be seen. Some people appeared in costume others like me played it safe with Doctor Who t-shirts and sonic screwdrivers. One of my mates got asked to be filmed by a Canadian television crew which he did and myself and my mates were interviewed for a podcast. Everyone had a good time and it was a brilliant day. Already looking forward to the next time if another one is organised. I believe the next get together is likely to be a picnic in June.

10) On the way back to Reading we decided to go to the After Dark night club. It is the first time I have been this year and was great fun. At one point they played Doctor Doctor by the Thompson Twins which seemed a fitting way to sum up the whole day.

11) Music Part 1 – last week’s choice of Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay was very popular with many of you which was a lovely additional bonus for something that is essentially quite self indulgent on my part. This week I have been feeling particularly nostalgic in terms of music and film but have also been listening to a lot of covers.

It has been very difficult indeed to pick up a song that really sums up the week for me. As a mahoosive Cure fan I find it impossible to favour any of their tracks over another for show and tell here. I first became a fan of The Cure when a really lovely guy I went to school with took pity on my lack of music knowledge and put every Cure album he owned onto several tape cassettes for me. I didn’t know the names of any of the tracks for quite a while (no internet back then) but I adored listening to them. I first got to see The Cure play live in 1993 when I was selling programs at the festival held in Finsbury Park, London. Then I got to perform 4 of their songs at one of the Tribute Nights I attend. (It was only meant to be 2 but another vocalist had to drop out last minute).

One of the songs that I covered was Let’s Go To Bed, however the cover version by Pastel Vespa is much better then my attempt. I think that often if you are going to do a cover you should try to bring something different to it and this band certainly does that with virtual tinkly bells sprinkled with fairy dust to boot. It is the most feel good, instantly makes me want to dance about like a loon, fun loving cover version of a Cure song I have ever heard. Unfortunately I am unable to find any links to it that I can share. So I end part one on a plea really. If anyone comes across it online can you let me know please?

12) Music part 2 - I keep getting drawn back to one particular artist at the moment. The sound of her incredible and beautiful voice helps to make any day just that bit better. I remember the first time I heard her voice on the radio in the 1990s I was still living in London and happened to be making a cake. The minute I heard her voice I knew I would have to buy her album as soon as I could. I have seen her live and she did not disappoint. She is the lovely and very talented Emiliana Torrini and this song is called Summerbreeze. Every time I hear it I get goosebumps.

Do feel free to share your positive thoughts and anything of note that has happened to you this week in the comments box below. Thanks for taking the time to read this and cheers!

NB - I do intend to write some more fiction and the 7 question posts as well. Life has suddenly got very busy though so please bear with me. It is likely to take a while.

100 Words - Meditation

2011-04-01T07:00:00.002+01:00

One of your favourite pastimes was meditation. Sitting lost in the moment with your legs crossed and eyes shut, emitting rhythmic 'oms'. Occasionally I'd find you in the living room upside down against the wall that proudly sported beige flock wallpaper. Your head full of blood, resting on a plump cushion. Bare feet thrust into the air.

The shirt of the fat striped pyjamas that were your favourites would fall away from you slightly. The ones that made you look like the R Whites lemonade drinker.

'It's all in the breathing, you should try it.'

'Not now dad, maybe tomorrow.'

[100 Word Posts concept first started by Mr. London Street].

Children's TV - Hanna Barbera - Josie and the Pussycats #3

2011-03-30T08:10:00.001+01:00

Josie and the Pussycats

Josie and the Pussycats toured the world with their entourage, getting mixed up in strange adventures, spy capers and mysteries.

The show is famous for its music and the girls’ leopard print leotards, replete with “long tails and ears for hats,” as the theme song states. Josie was the lead singer and she played guitar. She is usually portrayed as the stable centre in the middle of the chaos surrounding her band and friends.

A full LP and two 45rpm singles were released by Capitol Records in connection with the show. Neither of the Pussycats singles – Every Beat of My Heart and Stop, Look, and Listen – became chart hits like the songs from another Archie Comics series, The Archie Show (1968). Four further Pussycats singles were relegated to the status of mail-in prizes on the back of Kellogg’s cereal packets!

Fortnightly Round Up

2011-03-27T17:00:00.004+01:00

Part of a home made magnificent quilt - see No. 4 below for details.

11 Positive Things – Fortnightly Round Up

Summary: Q and A, Film, Dr Who, New Arrival, Food and Friends Part 1, Food and Friend Part 2, Clear Headed, Music, Music, Music.

1) I have decided to do a mix of posts and a general Q and A for the many questions I have now been asked. Thanks very much indeed to everyone who got involved. I will be starting as soon as I have written them!

2) I have well and truly got the film bug again. I finally got to see The Kings Speech at Reading University. I was surprised how completely packed the cinema was. I really enjoyed the film from the stellar cast and acting to the set pieces and camera shots. I shall definitely be watching it again in the future.

I got called out the other day for not being a proper Bond Fan because I had not seen Quantum of Solace. Well I had been putting it off in order to avoid disappointment but I gave in and saw it this week. I think I probably need to see it again. There were bits I liked but the editing was not ideal in places. I like Bond films and I like Bourne Identity films but I like them to be different. Anyone else seen it and agree/disagree?

3) On a beautiful sunny morning on 19th March I went on a Doctor Who tour in Central London with DW Tours. I had organised a Doctor Who tour through them to take a group of friends to Cardiff for a tour last year so was very much looking forward to it. It was so much fun and did not disappoint. Our tour guide Helen was dressed up as one of The Doctor’s assistants from the 80s. She even had an excellent replica of Ace’s jacket and the same hair style. Her knowledge was extremely good and she made us Doctor Who themed cup cakes. Who could ask for more #thispunwasintended.

4) In the afternoon of 19th March I saw several members of my family including a rather beautiful new arrival with a fantastic temperament. The present that I mentioned in my last weekly round up and which was made by my very talented mother-in-law was a massive hit. From the photo I am sure you can see why.

5) Upon returning to Reading on the evening of 19th March we met up with several people including one new member of our group from Mexico to have an Indian meal. The conversation was loud and engaging dealing with various topics including language, religion, politics and beards. It was a fantastic end to a very busy day.

6) On Tuesday I managed to meet up with a friend I haven’t seen for a while. It was fun to introduce her to the delights of Wagamamas in Reading. My first ever visit to Wagamamas was in July 1994 at their Bloomsbury store in London. It was two years after they had opened it and I remember leaving hungry because I had ordered a Ramen and had no idea how to eat it but didn’t want to embarrass myself by asking anyone I was with. Seventeen years on I just about the hang of it.

7) As I write this I am on day 27 of my no alcohol health kick. Not long to go now. It has actually been a lot easier then previous ones I have done although I did struggle a bit this Friday evening gone. Having a lot to do ensures that the benefits of not having a hangover outweigh the enjoyment of red wine at the weekend. I think I have become even more addicted to tea and chocolate though which is a bit of a worry.

8) As my regular readers will know I take part four times a year in a musical tribute night. It has been going for nearly 5 years and so far we have the tribute artists chosen have included Prince, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, The Kinks, Kate Bush, David Bowie and Madness. In May the chosen artist is Elvis Costello. I realised a few weeks ago that I have agreed to sing the trickiest song I have ever attempted since the Frank Zappa tribute night. I am always up for a challenge but equally I do not want to look like a complete idiot on stage in my free time. I have managed to catch a bit of a break this week though and seem to have cracked 5 verses. Now if I can just figure out how to sing the middle eighth I’ll be sorted. Wish me luck.

9) Got to enjoy some fantastic live music on Saturday night in Reading. Always good to see people I know as well as people I don't performing music live. Great to catch up with friends who could make it as well.

10) Sunday was meant to be a quiet one but I ended up going for Sunday lunch at the Oakford followed by cup cakes that were being sold there. Then my TB and I headed over to The Purple Turtle where several of our friends were either performing at or attending the Vintage Clothing Fair which is held on the last Sunday of every month. This was followed by a meal in the Oracle and finally I completed the Census Survey online at home. Good times.

11) I mentioned my love of Otis Redding’s music in the last weekly update. I have struggled to know which song to feature as there are so many I love. From Cigarettes and Alcohol to Hard to Handle. However I think I will settle for an absolute classic which reminds me of my dad, the film Top Gun and sitting looking out at the sea on several occasions wondering what my life was all about and where I was headed.

I give you (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay.

Sesame Street Letter F and Number 6

2011-03-24T17:00:00.000Z

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'F' and the number '6'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter F are:

Fabricate - make up something artificial or untrue
Facetious - treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant
Fianchetto - In chess, to place the bishop on the long diagonal.
Filibeg - kilt
Formication - the medical term for a sensation that resembles that of insects crawling on human skin
Frangible - easily broken; tending to break into fragments
Fustian - pompous or pretentious writing or speech
Froggy - abounding in frogs
Frowst - to enjoy hot stuffiness particularly in a warm room
Fusspot - thinks about unfortunate things that might happen
Fuzziness - the quality of being indistinct (I have honed this quality over the years).

As for the number 6 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

6 is the atomic number of carbon
One of my favourite children's books by A.A. Milne is called Now we are six
There are several bands with the number 6 in their title including You Me At Six and Electric Six
The main character in the television series The Prisoner was called Number Six
Hexa is the Greek word for six
There are 6 dots in a braille cell

If you have any lovely words beginning with F which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 6.

Inspiration

2011-03-21T17:00:00.001Z

I have been lucky enough to be asked to write a post on inspiration for Starlight's Crazy Thoughts blog. I hope you like it and that if you have any comments you leave them on her blog. To this end I have disabled comments here. If you are not aware of Starlight's blog and her posts please do take the time to have a look in her archive while you are there.

My post is called Voices and I hope you enjoy it. Please click here.

Children’s TV - Postgate and Firmin #7 Madeline and Emily from Bagpuss

2011-03-18T07:00:00.002Z

Madeline the doll

[House Keeping - There will not be a weekly update on Sunday afternoon as I have a special guest post going up on Monday at 5PM. Further details to appear then.]

Madeleine

In the Bagpuss stories, Madeleine Remnant is a rag doll who sits in a wicker chair in Emily’s shop, one shelf down from Gabriel the toad. She is a mother figure to the mice and gets quite distraught if they do anything that might harm themselves. She has a beautiful singing voice and, in collaboration with Gabriel, a finely honed skill for impromptu storytelling.

Like the other characters in Bagpuss, Madeleine wakes up and goes to sleep whenever Bagpuss does. When she awakes, her characteristic is to ‘stretch soundlessly!’ accompanied by a rising scale on a violin. When Emily brings in an object for Bagpuss, Madeleine encourages Bagpuss to think one of his visible thought bubbles about the mystery object to give her and Gabriel a starting point for their story. She then prompts the mice to find and load an appropriate roll of music into their Mouse Organ (“Heave! Heave!”) and so their story begins…

Emily

Emily - from Bagpuss

“Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a little girl and her name was Emily. And she had a shop. It was a rather unusual shop because it didn’t sell anything. You see, everything in that shop was a thing that somebody had once lost, and Emily had found, and brought home to Bagpuss.”

Emily only appears in Bagpuss in the sepia stills that introduce each episode but the thing she finds and lays before Bagpuss is the catalyst for the whole of the episode. It is Emily who implores Bagpuss to “Wake up and look at this thing that I bring. Wake up, be bright, be golden and light. Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing!” And of course, when Bagpuss wakes up, all his friends wake up too…

The Emily we see in the photographs is actually Emily Firmin, daughter of Peter.

Ladybirds

2011-03-16T07:00:00.007Z

The sun had risen and stretched its rays like tiny golden fingers. Delicately the beams had brushed my hair and warmed my eyelids till eventually my eyes opened and I awoke disoriented, unsure of my surroundings. Curled round a cushion on a lumpy sofa plain white walls glared at me daring me not to rise to face back aching consequences. Sorely tempted as I was to remain I resisted the urge to stay.

Attempting to rub the sleep from my eyes I considered searching for a shower and at that moment I remembered with piercing clarity the events of the previous day. The memory felt schizophrenic. It was twisted and tainted, stunning yet bitter sweet.

My thoughts returned to a speeding train in a foreign country rushing me on relentlessly to Hamlet's castle. Life is full of moments they say and for me this was one of those defining moments. Squadrons of uniform miniature pilots guarded their domain in the blazing August sunshine.

Later, on the battlements, as the sea performed before me, sending out its childish waves to dance for anyone who cared to watch, I observed nature’s natural selection.

As I viewed the senseless devastation, taking in the sheer scale of the sight before me, I felt an intense aching loss and emptiness within.

I saw the cannon fodder that now lined the cobbles below. Thousands of ladybirds lay fallen and still. A torrent of teardrops before a faceless army.

Weekly Round Up

2011-03-13T18:30:00.005Z

Japan

Appeal - British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal at http://www.redcross.org.uk/Donate-Now/Make-a-single-donation/Japan-Tsunami-Appeal

Foreign Office Information - http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/japan Includes UK and International numbers to call, skype information and regularly updated information.

9 Positive Things

Summary: QA Interrupted; Film; Water Wings; Corruption; Family; Super Tat; Throw Grammar From The Train; It's a Bubble Wrap; Deja Vu.

1) Thank you to the 5 readers who responded to my call on last week's round up and came up with some questions for me that they would like answered. If anyone else wants to ask me anything do let me know either in the comments here or by emailing me at froggyfrogfrogton@hotmail.co.uk. I am debating at the moment whether to create separate posts to answer them or try to answer all in one go. I shall keep you posted #thispunwasintended.

2) Last Sunday TB and I finally got round to viewing ‘Batman Begins’ so we were only 6 years late to the party. TB set up the large music speakers he had to the TV so it was almost like being in the cinema. Why was I not previously told how great this film is? Or to put it another way why was I not paying attention in 2005? On Friday evening we found some time to download the sequel ‘Dark Knight’ which I knew was supposed to be amazing but had no idea it was going to be that good. We followed that by watching Before Sunrise which is one of my favourite films of all time. Two days later we watched the sequel Before Sunset for the first time. I was so happy to find that it was a fantastic sequel. I want to find time to watch them both again soon as they are phenomenal films that capture have captured my heart.

3) For those who were wondering I am still very much enjoying swimming and have been able to keep going twice a week. The music that is piped in can be a bit hit and miss but I do still find the whole experience very relaxing. My friend is helping me to get a better swimming technique so hopefully I will start to get a bit faster soon. Though I supposed 44 lengths in 45 minutes of a 25M pool is not too bad.

4) It looked like I had lost nearly 6 years of archived emails this week due to a corruption but after several valiant attempts by other people to save it the emails were finally resurrected. I cannot even begin to tell you the relief I felt, phew!

5) TB and I spent Tuesday evening with his parents. We had a lovely dinner followed by pancakes. As I was not drinking I offered to drive back. My hardest test so far this month was watching everyone else enjoying my one of my favourite wines (a cheeky Pinot Noir) while I drank orange juice from a wine glass. I was so full from the dinner and pancakes I could not finish the tea I had before I left and I could not eat again till 4PM on Wednesday! Plans are in place to see the latest arrival within my family next Saturday. I really cannot wait as I have a very special gift to present to them. More will be revealed next week.

6) I managed to purloin another fantastic piece of ‘tat’ this week. Sorry to get technical but needs must. It’s my most favourite inanimate object I have managed to get my hands on to date. I would go so far as to say it is even better then the football sized Kenny character from South Park I got hold of a couple of years ago. I am pretty certain that even Emily from Bagpuss would have been impressed. Then again though there is nothing wrong with it and it does not need fixing so she might have turned her nose up. It is an incredibly heavy glass box with lasered writing on the inside and an intricately cut model of a submarine inside. If you hold it up to the sun you get a really cool prism/rainbow effect. It has given me a hankering to go to Paignton in Devon to liberate more tat from the shops there. The best thing about going there is you get cream teas and candy floss as well.

7) The week has been so prolific and more importantly enjoyable in terms of writing that I feel a teensy bit giddy. I even managed to write a piece of fiction that I am happy with which is a first. (Friday's post). I did need help from TB to double check all the grammar. It’s just so enjoyable to be in the groove again. I'm not ready to put everything up on the blog yet but it is good to have some things ready. I have decided to take off Monday as annual leave just to give me more time to think and write instead of trying to cram everything into my lunch hour and evenings. Thank you to all those supportive readers out there who have been so helpful. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

8) Someone found my blog by typing in to google search: 'happiness is bubble wrap'. As soon as I read this it made me smile.

9) Music – my i-pod had been hiding this song amongst my collection for months before unleashing it on me no matter how many times I changed the shuffle function. The other half had put it on with several other songs I didn't know about. I had been going to feature Otis Redding but I will do that next week. Here instead is one of Duran Duran’s lesser know records that was feature on the sound track of ‘The Saint’. It is called ‘Out of my Mind’. Click here to access it.

If anyone would like to comment on my positive things list or share any positive things that have happened to them in the comments over the last week that would be lovely.

Slipping

2011-03-11T07:00:00.017Z

Martin sits quietly in his favourite chair. With its strong wide arms and firm tall back it offers him the option to get up virtually unaided. It may take a while to get the right amount of leverage but it is always worth it for the feeling of achievement and independence.

The television in the room is set to an annoyingly high volume but he decides against turning it down. He has learnt to blank out the rise and fall of different noises around him in order to concentrate on his own thoughts. It is a skill he feels proud of and does not want to lose. From his vantage point in the living room he can see through the rain smeared windows to the recently tended garden outside.

He remembers when he used to vigorously dig up the vegetable patch at his previous place. How he loved the feeling such manual labours awarded him. It was so different from the career in which he had immersed himself for forty four years. At his workplace he had found that the more responsibility he was given the less meaningful work he ended up doing. In the garden there had always been a sense of purpose and design as each season slipped into the next.

He enjoyed the sense of delayed gratification waiting for the bulbs to take and slowly grow, for the flowers to delicately unfurl. It pleased Martin to know that when their prime was passed there would be other plants waiting in the wings to continue the show. Depending on its mood the weather could prove to be very fickle, alternating on a whim between friend and foe, sometimes offering the chance of renewal, other times stripping the garden of its fragile, tightly packed community.

He used to love the feeling of soil running through his fingers, but more recently the thought of it made him feel uncomfortable. Surely it was too late for him to become sentimental?

Suddenly his thought pattern is broken as he realises he is being watched. Turning his head slowly away from the window he focused on Jane who is sitting on the other side of the room. Jane had been staring at another programme about house hunting on the television but now she is looking at him. Her mouth is half open but no words are forthcoming. He realises the programme had stopped and that she must have been trying to tell him something. She looks so fragile huddled up in her dressing gown and engulfed by her chair and the tartan blankets heaped over her legs. Her face is a complex combination of determination and confusion. Sometimes precious fragments of remembered words poured out of her mouth and repeated as soon as her brain could capture them. On other occasions she remained silent and pensive.

Martin wants to reach out to her. He wants her to know she is safe and that he will never let any harm come to her. He wishes he could help her to remember how vibrant she had been. She was once so full of wild ideas and plans for the future.

He looks away and considers the time shown by the thin black metal hands of the large clock on the wall by the door. She must have been trying to tell him the tea trolley would be brought round shortly. He smiles inwardly at her thoughtfulness. There is still hope, there is always hope.

Tea is a highlight of the morning and one of the few commodities in which they can all still partake these days. He just wishes he could still drink from a proper china cup. How he used to take that simple pleasure for granted. Now his hands shake so much he is given a plastic beaker. He understands it is the right tool for the job but he finds the sight of beakers makes him angry and frustrated. Just thinking about it makes him feel less of a person. Absentmindedly his gaze returns to the outside world.

Martin remembers being moved here two years ago. It is not as bad as he had feared. The routine is comforting and the people who ran the place are alright. They even make an effort to understand him sometimes. He had not thought that one day his body might deteriorate. He knew that this happened to other people but there was nothing in his family history to alert him in advance that it might affect him. That was never on the agenda. Not until the day it started to happen. One small illness followed by another. The doctors called it the domino effect; Martin called it an insufferable and infuriating series of inconveniences.

As the years roll by he loses a little more of himself to the point where he finds it almost impossible to communicate. Only his mind remains as sharp as ever. Sometimes he wonders if the reverse would have been better. If he did not have to remember so much yet be able to do so little. Is it better to live in Jane’s world, not remembering all that had been? Never able to linger on the beautiful memories that had led to a lifetime of love and companionship? Unable to appreciate the pain she is causing to Martin as each day passes?

He is startled into the realisation that streams of hot tears are running down his face and onto his pyjamas. This happens more frequently as the days ebb and flow. Martin sniffs and shrugs his shoulders simultaneously. It will be alright; the tea will be here in a minute.

[With thanks to Philip Dodd and Eternal Worrier for many of their posts that gave me the urge to try writing fiction again. Special thanks to Sally-Sal for inspiring and reminding me to put my deepest feelings into words.]

Sesame Street Letter E and Number 88

2011-03-09T07:00:00.062Z

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'E' and the number '88'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter E are:

Ebrious - inclined to drink to excess; intoxicated; tipsy
Echinate - Bearing or covered with spines or bristles; prickly (reminds me of one of my favourite creatures the hedgehog)
Ectasis - to lengthen a syllable from short to long
Eelpout - elongate freshwater cod of northern Europe and Asia and North America having barbels around its mouth
Effluvium - A usually invisible emanation or exhalation, as of vapor or gas (he/she who dealt it, smelt it)
Effusion - flow under pressure; an unrestrained expression of emotion
Eidolism - belief in ghosts
Emendation - The act of altering for the better, or correcting what is erroneous or faulty; correction; improvement.
Epizeuxis - immediate repetition of a word for emphasis
Eudaemon - A good or benevolent spirit
Exuberance - overflowing with enthusiasm

As for the number 88 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

88 is often used to mean 'bye 'bye in texts and MSN.
88 is used as short hand for 'hugs and kisses' in amateur radio circles.
The standard length of playing cards is 88mm
88 is the atomic number of radium
There are 88 keys on a standard piano
88 was a song by Level 42
In the film Kill Bill there was a gang called the Crazy 88s
88 MPH is the speed the DeLorean car in the Back to the Future films must reach in order to travel in time.
Al Pacino starred in a 2008 film called 88 Minutes.

If you have any lovely words beginning with E which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 88.

A Reader Request & Weekly Round Up

2011-03-06T17:00:00.003Z

Reader Request

A very kind blogger caterpillar has bestowed an award on me. However in order to be worthy of it I have to answer 7 questions and pass the torch onto several other bloggers. I have been asked to do this by several bloggers since June last year and have had a few attempts the most noteworthy being a list of 30 things I like because I couldn’t stop at 7. I also recently did an interview where I answered 8 questions during a blog swap with Fickle Cattle.

So I am left with a quandary as I would like to take part but I also like going against the grain and having an element of interactivity. Besides, you might not want to know the answers to any questions I come up with myself. I think I will leave it up to my readers to decide if I go forward with this.

If any of you have any questions you would like me to answer (anything at all apart from my real name) then let me know either by popping it into the comments or by sending me an email to froggyfrogfrogton@hotmail.co.uk and once/if I have 7 questions I will answer them in a blog post. Then I will leave it up to any readers who would like to take up the award to go for it as they see fit.

11 Positive Things

Summary: Film; a little more conversation; chic to be geek; sightings of note; all the world’s a stage; nil by mouth; dog tired; beautiful people, celebration, what have I missed? Ash Sunday.

1) Was planning to see The Kings Speech at the Vue cinema in Reading but found out in the nick of time that it is being shown at Reading Uni in a couple of weeks. I really like seeing films there so I am looking forward to it very much.

I did not get to see the Oscars this year but blogger Kid in the Front Row did a live commentary on his blog so I got to go back and relive it on Monday evening which was great.

2) Was all set for pub quiz but had to forgo it due to the excessive amount of people who were already in the venue. It seems a big money killer round was anticipated for this week/next week. We ended up having a really good evening in a different pub with the other two people who had made it. Two courses of Thai Food for £6.50 at The Warwick and all the conversation and laughs you could ask for made for a really enjoyable evening.

3) Had a fun idea one of my friends really likes and is looking into. So far it is looking viable for the business they run which is great. I knew my geekiness would come in handy one of these days. Must remind them they owe me some chocolate if it works out.

4) Saw a man wearing black clothing from head to foot but no kilt in the middle of a field playing bagpipes on St. David’s day. I wonder what he does on St. Andrew’s day. He wasn’t playing to anyone in particular and it was all a bit unusual. I didn’t know the names of all the tunes he was playing but I did recognise The Skye Boat Song.

I’m glad someone else was with me for verification purposes. Though knowing them they will deny it if questioned just to see me squirm.

5) Headed over to Southampton to see a friend of mine and TB’s perform in a play. I haven’t seen him act for ages so it was great to get another chance. The performance was amazing as was the set. Also it was brilliant to be able to catch up with other friends who were there some of whom I had not seen since last May.

6) My first week without alcohol has been mercifully uneventful and has saved me quite a bit of money. Thank goodness for tea and cranberry juice (though not together). Only another three weeks to go.

7) I had a really vivid dream during the week which was set in an old mansion house in the dead of night. The rain was coming down hard outside and a howling wind was banging tree branches against a window pane I was passing. Inside the wooden floorboards were bare and creaked every time one of my feet made contact with them. I didn’t recognise the music that was playing but it sounded pretty haunting and creepy. I felt compelled to keeping walking through the hall towards a heavy looking arched wooden door that was shut. On reaching it I tried to open it but it was locked. Suddenly I could hear heavy paw prints coming up behind me. In a panic I whirled round to find Scooby Doo. He ran his tongue all over his nose and back into his mouth. Then he mumbled something about looking for a snack and headed off. Shortly after that I woke up.

8) I started raising money with a small team of people this week for a charity event. We reached half of our goal in under 4 days. I am completely blown away by the generosity of people especially given the hard times we are currently living in.

9) Over the weekend some really positive things happened for me. A friend offered to help me with my writing. It was a very successful and rewarding collaboration and the hours flew by. I am already looking forward to the next meeting. I went to the 1st anniversary of the re-opening of the Jolly Anglers pub in Reading. The local community had got together to get it successfully re-opened so it was brilliant to be there one year on. Even better was seeing Dolly and the Clothes Pegs perform followed by an invite to a party being held for the birthday of two cats called Charles and Diana. Unfortunately I could not make the later event in the end but I am reliably informed by my better half who went as the front man of Curiosity Killed the Cat that a good time was had by all.

10) This week has once again been full of things to do in the evenings. I have tried to find time where I can to sit down with my netbook and a cup of tea in readiness to read blog posts. I have been blown away by many of them. The standard of the quality of writing and/or topics chosen to write about was really high.

I try to comment as I am going along (though sometimes all I would want to say has already been said by previous bloggers in the comments). However, if you think I have missed out a post I should read or if you have not seen me around your part of blogland for a while please do drop me a line at froggyfrogfrogton@hotmail.co.uk or let me know in the comments below this post. I will try to free up a bit more time this coming week.

11) I have been listening to a lot of great tracks this week which my i-pod selected at random. I thought I might try a tune of the week for the weekly round up. This week's choice is Arcadia by Ash. ‘Love and courage can take us anywhere we dare to go.’

Did not realise till this week that the reason there are 3 Ash tracks in the film Shaun of the Dead is because the director of the film Edgar Wright was going out at the time with one of the members of Ash - Charlotte Hatherley. Little bit of 2004 trivia for you there.

If anyone would like to comment on my positive things list or share any positive things that have happened to them in the comments over the last week that would be lovely.

You know you’ve been involved with the live music scene too long when…

2011-03-04T07:00:00.000Z

You’ve spent more time with bands than their families have.
You recognise the touts outside each venue and they recognise you despite no transactions ever taking place.
You have more wristbands, ticket stubs, band related t-shirts and programmes on lanyards than shoes.
You can manage not to go to the toilet more than twice in a day and you can hold you breathe for over a minute and a half. You take great pride in this fact.
You have over 10,000 songs on your i-pod but this is just a tiny scratch in the surface of your vast record collection.
You are prepared to pay £4 for a small glass of wine.
Your number one criteria for choosing your mobile phone provider is by how well they can give you priority bookings to music venues rather than their coverage or cost.
You are the best at finding bright new things on the scene so your credit card is always full.
The soundtrack to your life is too long to play in one lifetime.
You can’t fall asleep without music playing.

Pet Cemetery

2011-03-02T07:00:00.001Z

When I was younger I had a recurring dream. In the dream I would wake up in bed, get up and look out of my bedroom window. In the early morning light I would see a big bunny hopping about happily, stopping occasionally to chew on a blade of grass or one of Mum’s plants in the borders. I didn’t know where it had come from but I was incredibly glad to see it there. Invariably this would be around the time I would wake up. I would go to my bedroom window and peer out into the garden which would be bathed in early morning light. Not a creature could be seen apart from the odd bird looking for something tasty to eat for its breakfast or to swallow and regurgitate later for its young if it was spring.

My parents were never very keen on having pets. We did win some goldfish at a local fair once, but all three of us fed them thinking the others would forget. We didn’t challenge each other as we didn’t want anyone to get upset. There were warning signs when one of the fish couldn’t squeeze through the archway to the castle on the tank bed. When the fish died they sank to the bottom of their spacious tank rather than floating to the top as I’m led to believe is customary.

I did try having pet ladybirds, snails and toads but it never really worked out, particularly in the case of the toad. One rainy spring I had befriended an absolutely massive toad that lived in the first ever garden I can remember playing in. The grass was incredibly long at the time so I never knew exactly where he was going to pop out next, but he would always surface eventually and either hopped about a bit or just sat about looking very pleased with himself. I named him Big Toady. It suited him.

After about 6 weeks the rain had stopped sufficiently for Dad to be able to mow the lawn. Ever the multi-tasker, I was sitting in the conservatory drinking some milk, nibbling on a biscuit and colouring in as he embarked on his labours. The grass was so long by this point he would probably have been better off with a scythe. By the time he had gotten half way an hour had passed despite the surface area of the lawn being quite small. I was completely engrossed in the fourth picture I was colouring in.

Suddenly the most unearthly sounds imaginable to a little girl were emitted. The first sound was from the lawnmower, the second was from my dad. My first thought was that something bad had happened to dad so I raced over to where he was as fast as my legs could carry me. Dad was looking down but he suddenly realised I was coming up fast behind him and whirled round in a vain attempt to stop me. It was too late. There on the newly cut lawn was Big Toady. A lot flatter then I remembered him, much more tattered and mercifully for him no longer in the land of the living.

It wasn’t the best way to learn about death but we did give Big Flat Toady a good send off. After he was buried in the border at the back of the garden which was his favourite place (after the lawn), I drank a toast to him with my glass of rose hip. His life had been prematurely ended in a very nasty way but I wanted him to know he had been loved.

Over the years I would bring back any stray injured birds that I found. Any that couldn’t be saved ended up near Big Flat Toady. I’m not sure what the people who bought the house after my family would have made of it all, but I hope they left them all to rest in peace.

Although in Big Flat Toady’s case it would be more accurate to say in pieces.

Weekly Round Up

2011-02-27T17:00:00.002Z

12 Positive Things

Summary – Interview with a blogger, top cats, swimming, film, beam me up, Dr. Who, new arrival, talented friends, traveling and bizarre, demanding and writing.

1. I really enjoyed the blog swap interview with Fickle Cattle and I hope you all did to. I have been approached this week to write a one off piece for another blog that should becoming out in a month. You wait a year and the two happen at once. It feels a bit like the buses but nicer.

2. At the end of our garden is a shed and behind the shed are 3 large dustbins. I have noticed that the path leading to the bins has now become a regular haunt for two neighbourhood cats first thing in the morning. Perhaps they can’t resist the exotic smell of Mr. Fox who is also back visiting us at night. Maybe it is the contents of the bins that attracts them. Whatever the reason they just sit there, very close but not touching, looking coyly at each other.

3. Swimming is something I used to enjoy but got out of the habit of doing for the last couple of years. Thanks to the support of a friend and my other half I have started to go again. This week when I go I find someone has left a £1 in the locker. I feel bad about taking it so don’t and use a different locker. As I am changing I am pleased to hear someone return for it, find it and exclaim how happy and surprised they are that it is still there.

I am useless at most sporting activities so it is a fantastic feeling to be doing something that is good for me and that I also enjoy. I also found that a lot of ideas had popped into my head by the time I was on my last lap.

4. On Tuesday I finally get to see the film Black Swan at my local cinema in Reading. For someone who loves film my attendance at the cinema over the last few years has been woefully sporadic. It feels great to be going once a week at the moment. I hope I can keep this momentum going as this will be as near to an New Year’s resolution as I am going to get. For me a large part of the experience is getting an early evening viewing with a late dinner to follow to discuss the film in detail.

5. Have you ever told a tried and tested joke or anecdote on a group of people made up of friends and acquaintances with and no one laughed/smiled/moved. Nothing? Not even to make you feel better or spare your feelings? Then after a bit they just started talking about something else? I had that happen this week. It was brutal.

The positive was that I really thought there was a distinct possibility I would disappear up my own bum hole in horror but I just managed to stop myself in time. Also what saved my sanity was thinking I must use this painful experience to good effect, chalk it up to experience and pop it on my blog. You’re welcome.

6. A friend gets in touch with me and several others about seeing the Doctor Who Exhibition in London at the exact same moment I see someone has gone to the previews and loved it. It seems like I should go. The only problem will be finding a weekend when everyone is free. Oh and smuggling in my K-9 remote controlled dog without having him accidentally confiscated as a suspected missing part of the exhibit.

7. One of my cousins has had their first child. I wish mum, dad and baby all the best wishes in the world.

8. On Friday night I saw a couple of my friends perform at Deja Vu in Reading. The penultimate act wasn't supposed to be playing that night but stepped in last minute and was really good. As for the headliner, well he most certainly did not disappoint. Providing tales of hillbilly weddings, the history of Star Wars and a most entertaining and interactive a-ha cover. It was a really great night despite the inevitable hangover I experienced the next day.

9. On Saturday while traveling to London and back I enjoy the luxury of taking time to go retro and listen to mini-discs. The only thing that would have got me more intrigued looks in my tube carriage from all the very yourng i-pod wearers would have been bringing out a portable record player.

One of my cousins had recently mentioned that having an i-pod on shuffle can be quite jarring so I listened to a couple of albums in their entirety which made a nice change. I also listened to a couple of mini-discs my other half had created for me in 2003 prior to my first visit to Reading Festival. The track that really surprised me in terms of how much I still enjoyed it was called Beat City by the Ravonettes. I understand they have a much softer sound now. But Beat City makes me feel it is in a sound track somewhere - if you know that it has been do let me know which one. Here is a link to hopefully brighten your day. Click here.

10. At the end of my train journey from Reading to Paddington the driver made an announcement of note. He wished a passenger a happy 50th birthday, hoped they would have a good time at the theatre and thanked her for spreading fairy dust around the carriage. I bet this doesn't happen during the working week.

11. I over hear someone asking if their hotel confirmation has come through yet. On receiving an affirmative response they ask the other person if they can print it. They then ask if they can bring the printout over to them. Then they ask if they can email the confirmation to them. Another voice suddenly chips in with a breezy sarcastic tone ‘could you gift wrap it too please?’ which makes me snigger out loud.

12. Towards the end of this week I found myself writing and then deleting paragraphs and pages of newly created work rather then saving them as drafts I could go back to. I stopped trusting my instincts. I keep focusing on what is wrong and negative with what I am doing and not what might be right. You would not believe how many drafts there have been of this post and how many more there are likely to be before it goes up. It is not my normal style. It makes me feel uncomfortable and disconcerted.

Here is the positive part; I hope you are still with me. It is all part of life these feelings of insecurity and doubt in my own abilities and how people see both me and the creative elements I try to produce. I know from past experience the feelings will pass eventually and if I am really lucky I may gain some new insights into my writing when the end is in sight. In the meantime I will not let it defeat me. I will carry on trying to work through it. What has really helped this time is being part of a blogging community.

Even when I am at my worst I know there are other bloggers out there who will lift me up and inspire me. I just wanted you to know that.

If anyone would like to comment on my positive things list or share any positive things that have happened to them in the comments over the last week that would be lovely.

Sesame Street Letter D and Number 5

2011-02-25T07:00:00.007Z

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'D' and the number '5'.

Some of the words Froggy and I love that begin with the letter D are:

Dactyliogly - The art or process of gem engraving
Daddle - To toddle; to walk unsteadily, like a child or an old man (or most people out and about in Reading around 2AM on a Saturday night).
Daedal - skilful; ingenious
Daedalist - aviator
Dalek - enemy of Dr. Who
Damine - having antlers like a fallow deer
Damnably - In a manner to incur severe censure, condemnation, or punishment
Dandy - a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance (See Adam and the Ants video of Prince Charming for further visual information).
Darbies - slang term for handcuffs
Deconstruction - a philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning
Demography - the branch of sociology that studies the characteristics of human populations
Disingenuos - not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
Drollingly - In a jesting manner

As for the number 5 here are some things Happy Frog and I find interesting about this number:

5 is the atomic number of boran
The most destructive known hurricanes rate as Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
The most destructive known tornadoes rate an F-5 on the Fujita scale.
Five Minutes Alone is a song by heavy metal group Pantera.
A Perfect fifth is the most consonant harmony, and is the basis for most western tuning systems.
Babylon 5 is a science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski
Towards the end of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the character of King Arthur repeatedly confuses the number five for the number three.
The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's books by British writer Enid Blyton.
In radio communication, the term "Five by five" is used to indicate perfect signal strength and clarity.
The Committee of Five was delegated to draft the United States Declaration of Independence.
The 5th U.S. President was James Monroe.

If you have any lovely words beginning with D which you would like to share with Froggy and I please do let us know. The same goes for anything you would like to share about the number 5.

Interview with a blogger

2011-02-22T20:00:00.067Z

I was very pleased last week to be approached by the blogger who runs Fickle Cattle and asked if I would consider a blog-swap. I replied that I would be delighted.

The Fickle Cattle blog commenced 7 months ago and in that time has received a Best Philippine Blog Award in 2010 for this post and also has over 800 followers. I have been reading Fickle Cattle's blog posts for several months now. They have a really compelling way of sharing stories and a style of writing that I really admire. They are never afraid to express their personal opinions on a range of issues and always find interesting things to blog about. When I see a new post has gone up on their blog I genuinely feel excited and I think that is a testament of how good a blogger they are.

There are so many posts of theirs that have moved me and made me think that picking out a few to suggest to you here seems like it would be doing them a disservice. I would encourage you to look at their site, see some of the posts that they recommend and take some time to look through their archives. You won't be disappointed. However, as I am a contrary so and so here are some links to parts of Fickle Cattle's site and posts which I really love.

A quiz to determine whether you are in fact Fickle Cattle
Fond memories
Making merry
Love evolution
Not alone
Darkness

After a brief flurry of emails we hit upon the idea of coming up with and answering the same set of questions. Fickle Cattle's answers are below. At the end of their interview you will find a link to his blog and my answers. I hope that you enjoy both of our responses. Here we go.

1. Why did you start up a blog initially? Do you find your current motivations and reasons for blogging have changed at all since then?

I started blogging because I was bored studying for the Bar examinations. I felt like my brain was slowly turning into a puddle of ooze from the numerous laws and cases I had to read that I felt like venting, or at least trying to write something else besides case digests or papers. So my blog was really an outlet.

My motivations haven’t really changed that much actually, but I’ve realized in the few months I’ve been blogging that I really love it, and that I enjoy producing something creative and hopefully meaningful.

2. What is the story behind your blog name?

I get this question a lot. When I first started thinking of a blog name, I wanted something catchy and quirky. “I am Fickle Cattle” just sort of popped into my head after a few minutes of random thinking. For me, it means this: “Fickle”, because I write about anything I want and because I don’t exactly cater to a specific niche, and “Cattle” because the word, for me, is synonymous with ordinary or average. So combined, it means an ordinary blogger who writes about anything he wants.

3. Why did you decide to be an anonymous blogger?

Mostly because I was insecure about my work, and in case people hate it, I can just as easily delete the blog and pretend it never existed. No harm, no foul. Now, well, since I started blogging anonymously, I’m still keeping at it, but I plan on “coming out” soon enough.

4. If you could have any career you wanted what would it be and why?

I’d love to be videogame reviewer, or ice cream flavour taster. Or something that requires people giving me a ton of money with me not doing a lot, or basically anything I want. I think the last one requires a sugar daddy.

5. Name one person, one place and one object that inspire you and explain in each case why.

Person: My younger brother. This post says it all.

Place: I can’t really think of one. I love nice, quiet places though.

Object: This notebook given to me as a gift where I jot down all of my thoughts. Although, the notebook doesn’t inspire so much as it is the repository of my ideas.

6. What is your greatest passion in life and why?

I can’t say I have one. I try to be passionate about a lot of things though. Writing, family, friends, and my boyfriend are subjects I tend to be passionate about in general.

7. Is there anything about your life and/or about yourself that you would change if you could?

Not really. My life is pretty good enough as it is. I wouldn’t mind having more money though.

8. What do you wish I had asked you about? Is there anything you are glad I did not ask you about?

Hmm, regarding the first question, I really cannot think of any question I would like to be asked about. Besides, my blog (“I am Fickle Cattle”) pretty much covers everything I would want to talk about in public.

Regarding the second question, I’m glad you didn’t ask me any questions related to sex, or ugly deformities in my body, or why my fingernails seem like they are better suited for mutant aliens. Because that would just be mean.

Thank you so much to Fickle Cattle for taking part in this blog-swap and especially for the final answer which keeps making me chuckle. It would be lovely if you could leave a comment below and also if you would like to see my answers please click HERE.

Weekly Round Up

2011-02-20T17:00:00.003Z

9 Positive Things

Summary – Film, friends, Fleetwood Mac, blogger meeting, blog-swap, less stress, ideal job, don’t go changing, compiling 'that list' and viral.

1. A group of us went to see the new Nick Frost/Simon Pegg movie Paul on Valentine’s day. It was a suitably fun and silly way to spend an evening with friends. I will have to watch it again in an attempt to get all of the film references which were coming thick and fast. Sitting in the pub afterwards chatting and discussing the film, writing and other subjects of greater and lesser note was also a delight. The next film I see is likely to be Black Swan as I have heard a lot of good feedback about it. I would love to see the Social Network but it seems to have long disappeared from Reading. I may need to venture out of town and over to the city.

2. I had overdosed on listening to music by Fleetwood Mac prior to the tribute night that was held six months ago. This week I found I could immerse myself again which has been wonderful. Such great songs from Landslide to Gold Dust Woman, The Chain, Little Lies, What Makes You Think You’re The One? If I need to shake my brain up a bit I just listen to Tusk which is absolutely stark raving bonkers! If I had to pick a favourite right now it would be Smile at You. No I don't know what flaming walls are and I am quite happy never to find out. However the lyrics, harmonies and inspired bass part and overall intensity of the song are gorgeous. I wanted to put a link here but can only find demos on line which do not do the song justice. Darn. The Mac provide wonderful lyrics and tunes which I find very inspirational as I get a lot of my post and general writing ideas from listening to music.

3. I got to meet fellow blogger Diane this week as she happened to be in my neck of the woods. I am happy to be able to confirm that she was as delightful in person as she is on her blog. In fact it was like meeting up with someone I had known for years. Diane even brought us over jars of goodies that she had made herself using the produce from her garden in France. Over a slice of battenburg each and cups of tea we found out we had a lot in common. Diane runs a very informative blog where she uploads photos and writes about places that interest her. She spends much of her time in France and I can certainly see the appeal. Thank you so much for meeting up with me and Happy Frog Diane. We hope we will see you soon.

4. This week I have been approached to ‘blog-swap’. I was a little concerned at first that this might involve virtual keys in bowls or the appearance of Noel Edmonds. You can imagine my relief but was rather glad to learn neither was the case.

The blogger is question is not someone I have met but I have been following and reading their award winning blog for several months. While they do not specifically go out to court controversy they are never afraid to express their personal opinions on a range of issues and always find interesting things to blog about.

The plan is for the switch to occur in the next couple of days. I am looking forward to it so watch this space!

5. Apart from a particularly rainy and difficult Tuesday morning, half-term week has once again seen the traffic on the roads lessen in peak times and subsequently the stress of the daily commute decrease. If only more weeks could be like this.

6. Someone I know has managed to land their ‘what I would like to do in an ideal world’ job. Every time I see them they look like they are about to explode with happiness. I am very pleased for them and I wish them all the best with following their dream.

7. So many people seem to have fixed ideas on what I should or should not like, do, think or say. I am pleased that I can finally not worry too much about what other people think. Nor do I attempt to change just to fit the idea of me that they have created for themselves. It's a far less stressful experience on the whole.

8. I have started to compile a rather large 'things to do before I'm 40' list. I'm not saying it's round the corner. OK, it's next year. Anyway, the list is growing and obviously I am not getting any younger. That would be impossible. Imagine my happiness then when I saw that something from my wish list appeared to be in my reach. Yes, zombie extras are required for filming in February and March. They even get paid! Unfortunately this is all happening in Scotland and I just can't get away for two weeks right now to Scotland. Keep your fingers crossed for me that another film featuring zombies happens before in the next couple of years. You have to have a dream, right?

9. I got ill this week which doesn't sound like a positive. Yet it is because it made me realise how many months I have gone without being ill till now. Also it was the one week this year where I could take it easy as I did not have any traveling to do.

100 Words - Past Tense

2011-02-18T07:00:00.010Z

Remember me? I decided to like everything you liked, apart from regular paintball skirmishes in Billericay. I accepted your invitation to that creepy graveyard hoping it might turn into a first date. I walked your 3 legged Alsatian despite being terrified of dogs.

You were normal and grown up, I was troubled and immature beyond my years. You had a Volkswagen Scirocco. The name sounded exotic to me. I wished you would transport me to that dark wooded place all the other teenagers went to.

My past is littered with beautiful people who saw me as a friend, nothing more.

Children’s TV - Postgate and Firmin #6 Pingwings

2011-02-16T07:00:00.002Z

“Once upon a time, not so long ago, there were two overgrown boys called Oliver and Peter. And Peter lived on a farm. It was a rather unusual farm because it didn’t grow any crops and there were no sheep or cows, but it was the home of Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, the Clangers and, of course, Bagpuss. And there they made the most beautiful, the most brilliant, funny old Small Films in the whole wide world or so we like to think.”

The brilliant and resourceful Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin devised some of the most magical and fondly remembered children’s animated TV creations from their humble cowshed studio. Generally, Oliver wrote the stories, provided the voices and animation. Peter made the models and created the artwork. They called their partnership Smallfilms: a small company making small films for small people.

Pingwings

The Pingwings of Berrydown Farm were a family of small penguin-like creatures who lived under the junk, under the bunks and trunks, swings and things at the back of a barn. This was Smallfilms’ first model series. Unusually, the models were animated against real-life backdrops, bringing them into close contact with real farm animals and humans!

The music for the series was composed by Vernon Elliot and performed by him with Sidney Sutcliffe and Oliver Postgate was joined by Olwen Griffiths in providing the voices. First broadcast in August 1961 the very first episode was entitled 'The Happy Event'.

For further information and links to episodes including the very first one please click here.

Weekly Round Up

2011-02-14T07:00:00.021Z

8 Positive Things– w/c 14/02/11

Summary – Phones and social media, Rioja and conversations on film, overdue haircuts and massage chairs, sarkie i-pod wonderful restaurant, housewarming, writing, great film, interaction and music.

1) I succumbed this week and moved over to a pay monthly contract so that I could get a BlackBerry phone. Now that I can access all of my different personal email Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as my blog all from one place I am not sure how I managed before I got it. At work most people have eschewed i-phones in favour of BlackBerry models for their personal phones. One colleague said ‘ah, so you have finally joined us’ which made me feel a bit ‘Children of the Corn.’ Or perhaps in my case that should be ‘Children of the Quorn?’ No? I’ll get my coat.

2) Tuesday night was an unexpected treat as TB and I decided to head into town for a bit of dinner and a chat after he had dropped off CDs and picked up some new ones at the central library. We don’t tend to drink on a school night so it felt like a real treat to have a cheeky glass of Rioja. We mainly talked a lot about the films we would like to see as my love of all things film has been well and truly reignited after an unscheduled break by this blogger – Kid in the Front Row.

3) I finally make time to have my hair cut and blow dried after 14 weeks. It’s at my usual place but with a different hairdresser. I love going there because they listen to what I want rather than what they think I should want. They have massage chairs for customers to sit in while their hair is being washed. I have always hated having my hair washed, specifically the pain in the back of my neck that niggles and grows as I look up at the ceiling. The chair relaxes me just enough that I can bear the pain in my neck and also the subsequent dent in my bank account.

4) ‘Hold on to your IQ’ by Placebo closely followed by Depeche Mode’s ‘Wrong’ are chosen at random by my i-pod as I try to compose a report. I’m not sure I like the implication within the chosen song titles so I decide to re-shuffle. First song up ‘Crushed by the wheels of industry’ by Heaven 17. Sometimes I find writing works best in silence with a cup of English Breakfast tea and a jaffa cake.

5) This week I was very happy to be dining with my other half at one of our favourite restaurants in Reading. A restaurant much loved by other Reading bloggers, several of my friends and also my Mum who still has the menu from her last meal there. The anticipation leading up to the evening was lovely but the actual evening in its entirety was superb. It is wonderful to be able to book a table at a restaurant knowing that you will have warm friendly service and delicious food and wine in a beautiful intimate setting.

6) Saturday is busy but a good day despite having to miss the first foray into the Reading Ale Trail. It starts of with me travelling to London to spend time with my Mum. After that I travel back for a fantastic housewarming party given by a good friend of mine. We all have a brilliant time which includes copious amounts of pink Champagne and fantastic food, tattoos, crazy and very compelling stories, finding out that one of the people there loves my blog without knowing it was mine and goodie bags to take away. I hope our gracious hostess will be very happy in her new home.

7) On Friday and again on Sunday I found some quiet time to sit down and write up some ideas I had formulated for a short story competition with the theme of ‘compulsion’. It is true I could probably have used the recent blog post coincidentally called ‘strange compulsion’ but where is the fun in that? As the closing date is the day this post goes up I decided what I had written was not good enough to send in. I really enjoyed writing the story though and may try to enter it for another competition once I have something I am really happy with.

8) During Sunday I also watched the film Don't Look Now with my other half who had never seen it before. We also made time to catch up on our very different experiences during the previous day. It was a really lovely day despite the copious amounts of rain that fell as the hours passed.

Conversations – on trains

2011-02-11T07:00:00.013Z

Young girl in low theatrical whisper to boy next to her who is concentrating intently on his smart phone;

“So do you still fancy me?”

“Oh yeah, start with something easy.”

"Well do you?"

He does his best to ignore her while looking suitably riled.

"OK. Do you fancy Britney?"

Teenage girl, desperately trying to get attention from her female companions as they quietly chat to each other:

“Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, really listen to me. Oh come on, listen to me. LISTEN TO ME!!!”

Whole carriage falls silent. Not another voice is heard till the group of girls say as one:

“WHAT?!”

“I can’t remember now!”

“Steam trains are much more fun than real trains.”

“He’s broke now you know, lost it all. Not a bean to his name, not even a bean. All that money invested in property and now it’s all gone. Self made man one minute, self destruct man the next. Can you believe it?”

“What’s he going to do now?”

“Oh, I didn’t ask. Should I have?”