Christmas Day

Oh. My. God.

It is every girl's dream to have that one Christmas when everything is perfect. The Christmas tree lights, the food, the pressies, everything. It is even better when your boyfriend gets you a really cool pressie. Now, I know that men find it hard to buy for women. I admit we are strange creatures who are happy to talk to our girlfriends about every detail of our relationships but woe betide a bloke who does the same thing with his mates. I know.

But then you find that one guy who finds the perfect present. You know what I'm talking about? Oh, yes - the Chocolate Fondue Fountain. So you can imagine my absolute delight in finding out that's exactly what is sitting on the dining table amongst all the wrapping paper I've torn off the box.

Oh. My. God.

I have a Chocolate Fondue Fountain.

On my dining table.

For me.

Complete with two 500g bars of Galaxy and a super-large pack of mini marshmallows.

Holy fucking shit!

It's perfect!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas is here yet again. Every year I try to prolong the feeling of excitement which usually lasts until about five days before Christmas. This year was no exception. Before it is even here I'm already fed up with the songs, the food, the endless "What do you want for Christmas?" requests. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!

Anyhow this year will be different. I know, I say that every year. But this year I know it will. For starters, I'm not living at home, meaning that I won't be woken at some ungodly hour of the morning to open 'Father Christmas' presents. (I'm a bit old for it but you have to keep the secret going for the lil' 'uns). So, nice lie in Christmas Day! The second thing is I'm not spending the day with my family. I'm spending it with Reuben's family, which should be a cool gig. I know for one thing it'll be quieter...

We went to my Dad's this evening for a Christmas shingding. Pam told us it was dinner but when we arrived, my mum's sister was there with her family as well and there was a small buffet on the table, enough to feed 10. The house was bursting full of people: my dad, Pam, three sisters, one brother and his g/f, my mum's sister, her husband and their two kids, Pam's two kids, and me and Reuben. See? Too many people in a small space. It was invariably loud, food and drink was littered all over the place, and it was very warm.

We made our excuses about 9:45pm to go to 10pm mass (midnight mass apparently is in Italian and therefore a no-go) and then got home around 11.30pm. I begged Reuben to open one present. "Please, please, please, pretty-please...?" with the puppy-dog eyes. "No" came back the no-nonsense reply. I stuck my bottom lip out and stomped off to bed. I wanna open a pressie dammit! The car boot is full of 'em!! I guess Christmas hasn't changed much at all...

Pre-Xmas meetup

I can't believe its been a month since I last posted! Where does the time go?

Anyway, Reuben and I did our whole 'lets-have-a-party-and-invite-everyone' thing yesterday evening. I invited everyone just over a week in advance and got the usual lame excuses from people who couldn't be bothered to make a bit of effort (how dare I ask people to travel outside of London?!). However, some people did come and it was a very good evening to be had by all! Tara and Peter came, along with Anne, Suzy and Debbie, who unfortunately had to leave early so she could be at a family 'do' by 5pm. So it was a party of six, meaning everyone could sit on the sofas (just about) and the conversation flowed as freely as the food and drink! I got to light candles all over the place and do a nice table centrepiece; Reuben got to be 'nanny' in the kitchen. (Heheheh)

To be honest, we were secretly worried that no-one would turn up at all. It is a bit close to Christmas and all... But it was a great night I think and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We even managed to squeeze a bit of alcohol into the evening and got a bit merry (not much, but I think Reuben was just a teensy bit pissed, considering he went to bed humming some dreadful Christmas song that I won't embarass him over). Just wish I'd taken a photo or two...!

Tagboard

I'm taking Jenny's lead and have taken my tagboard off the page. I agree with her that there are too many spamming posts and not enough regular ones. I couldn't do much with it anyway. I'd sign in but couldn't sign out, so I'd have to close the browser each time. It wouldn't let me ban anyone from posting. Pile of crap really.

Christmas shopping - part 1

Today Reuben and I started a bit of Christmas shopping. The idea is that we spread out the cost over the next few weeks so our bank managers don't have heart attacks. I already have Mel's and Jenny's wrapped and ready to send so we head to the PO, which has decided to change their opening hours so they shut earlier on Saturdays, a stupid move which leaves us standing in the sleet and cold Arctic wind trying to work out when we can come during opening hours. They shut at 12.30pm now so I need an early Saturday morning next week. (Damnit!!)

We hide the pressies under the car seats so they don't get nicked while we're shopping, and browse around posh Fishpools and buy some items in not-so-posh WHSmiths, Argos, and Boots. I got quite a few pressies (okay, eight), and I found all the cards I need too. The best bit? I spent about £50, thanks to special offers and 3 for 2's. I'm dead pleased with myself.

I really wanted to buy a tree and decorations. The problem is I'd want to put it up immediately and it's way too early right now. I'm easily excitable around Christmas. I have this crazy idea about us inviting ALL our mates round at the same time for drinks and snacks. There's no way everyone would fit but I reckon it'd be a right laugh. :)

Near death experience

Reuben and I wanted to spend the morning browsing in Waltham Cross so we parked up in the car park by the post office and paid for a ticket at the P & D machine. I cross the zebra and... suddenly look up to my right and see a Chelsea Tractor inches away from me!!

I quickly back up, holding my hands out as if to stop the car (like thats ever gonna happen!). The woman starts blaring her horn and telling me to watch where I'm going. I'm like, ""Excuse me, ZEBRA CROSSING!" and walk towards the car, visibly upset. Shit, I nearly died!!

These things are lethal death traps. Why on earth does someone want a 4x4 with bull bars for a drive around town? They are very environmentally unfriendly with heavy fuel consumption, not to mention that the bumpers sit higher than all other cars, so if one hit your car, it'd be halfway through the back seat before it stopped.

Chelsea Tractor drivers are now the new Kings of the Road. I feel sorry for the Kensington & Chelsea schoolchildren...

Return of the Jedi - 2004 version

I need to add George Lucas to Mel's list of film-makers we want to kick in the nuts.

Let's get one thing straight: It is okay to digitally remaster old films. It gets rid of the grainy quality, makes it a better viewing experience, and the sound is quality.

However, it is NOT okay to change the actors playing characters. Seriously. At the end of the digitally re-mastered Return of the Jedi, the remastered version of the remastered version (i.e. the re-re-release in 2004) the ghosts of Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi appear. Cool. Only Anakin is being played by Hayden Christenson. Yeah, you heard me, an actor that wasn't (probably) even born when the film originally aired! And for some reason, this really incenses me to the point where I was fuming and did nothing but rant and rave for a good ten minutes about the absurdity of it all. How could they do that?! I can only add that the only film's saving grace was that they kept Alec Guiness and didn't change him for Ewan McGregor. That would really have gotten on my goat...

CyberBob in Catch 22

My laptop driver finally bit the dust and now won't even read the cleaning CD! It's like this - it won't read anything because the lens is probably dirty, so it can't read the cleaning CD which will only clean the lens if the driver reads it... (sigh)

I really don't wanna cart it to PC World and let those incumbent idiots take my beloved CyberBob apart... The other alternative is Andy who just spends a lot of time opening and closing windows... Its actually a long-running joke to the point where Anna said, "Here's an impression of Andy" and rolled the car window down and then up again. I laughed so much I nearly choked!

Anyway, now I have to deal with lots of jokes about 'laptop servicing'...

Isis19...?

Interesting...

Isis Indeed, you are 66% erudite, 70% sensual, 41% martial, and 37% saturnine.

This Egyptian supreme Goddess is certainly the most influential deity on subsequent cultures. She was the ideal figure of womanhood, usually compared with the Greek Goddess Demeter or her Roman version, Ceres. Isis was one element of a Holy Trinity, the remaining two figures being her brother and husband Osiris and their heroic son Horus. She was the Goddess of Magic for her brilliance, as well as the Goddess of Love because of her tenacious devotion. She is often shown with wings, curving to caress coffins and sarcophagi of many a king. In certain papyri she is shown with her falcon wing headdress, covering her ears. One of her sacred symbols is the sistrum, a musical instrument that was believed to ward off evil spirits. Isis' sistrum was carved bearing the image of a cat and was representative of the Moon. Isis was the High Priestess and an omnipotent magician as well as the only being ever to discover the secret name of Ra. She invariably carries the ankh, the symbol for eternal life. Her name is, by the rules of numerology, adding up to the number “2” and she just so happens to be depicted on the tarot card “Key 2 – The High Priestess”. The Fifteen Goddesses These are the 15 categories of this test. If you score above average in … …all or none of the four variables: Neit. … Erudite: Minerva. … Sensual: Aphrodite. … Martial: Artemis. … Saturnine: Persephone. … Erudite & Sensual: Isis. … Erudite & Martial: Sekhmet. … Erudite & Saturnine: Nemesis. … Sensual & Martial: Hera. … Sensual & Saturnine: Bast. … Martial & Saturnine: Ilamatecuhtli. … Erudite, Sensual & Martial: Maeve. … Erudite, Sensual & Saturnine: Freya. … Erudite, Martial & Saturnine: Sedna. … Sensual, Martial & Saturnine: Macha.

Wired for blogs!

I have a phone line... WAHEY!! It's nice to have Internet... :)

Just a random passing thought I had today: Why are the US so worried about Iran having nuclear weapons when they have such a large arsenal of their own...??

V Festival - Day 2

Andy arrives about an hour after us, after Rooster had just finished. He loved the birthday pressie I got him – White Elephants and Red Herrings. Apparently the only other gift he got was socks from his parents!

Bands seen: Rooster, Joss Stone, Tony Christie, Embrace, Athlete, Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters
Bands saw and should have missed: 0
Bands missed and wanted to see: The Hives
Best sing-a-long: Take Me Out followed v closely by Filthy Gorgeous and (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
Best line: You can all go see The Hives now! (Alex Kapranos after playing Take Me Out)
Items bought: 10th anniversary V Festival programme
Items lost: 0
Celebrities seen: Jade Goody, Natalie Cassidy
Time spent leaving: 3 mins finding the car, 5 mins leaving the site
Level of tiredness: 8/10

V Festival - Day 1

So I finally to the V Festival – hoo yeah! I bought tickets for Anna and myself back in February and have been so looking forward to it! I offered Andy to come with me, who then unceremoniously dumped me in favour of Mark instead. (Andy dislikes use of the phrase ‘dumped’ and thought I only wanted to go for one day. Yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever.) Anyway, 8.30am this morning he called me to say that Mark couldn’t make it as he was in Nottingham with his girlfriend and he had a spare ticket a-begging. So Reuben piped up that he’d love to go and we all went. As it turns out, Andrew and Anna clicked rather well… Er, yeah, weird!

Bands seen: The La’s, The Magic Numbers, The Proclaimers, KT Tunstall (briefly), Good Charlotte, Maroon 5, Kaiser Chiefs, The Streets, Oasis
Bands saw and should have missed: The La’s, The Streets
Bands missed and wanted to see: Jet, The Zutons
Best sing-a-long: (What’s The Story?) Morning Glory followed closely by This Love
Best line: Glad to see Pete Doherty could make it – the giant c**k (Liam Gallagher upon seeing an inflatable penis being waved in the crowd)
Items bought: 10th anniversary V Festival T-shirt (sub-woofer design)
Items lost: Right hearing aid (bugger!)
Celebrities seen: 0
Time spent leaving: 20mins searching for the car, 70mins trying to leave the site
Level of tiredness: 10/10 – I slept in the car!

Mr Mouse (deceased)

There was a dead mouse outside our office today, fleas all over the body... It was sooo damn gross! The office is right next door to Pest Control so I march over there, only to find the door locked and no one to be seen all day! It was nasty and I hated having to walk in and out of the office and seeing it there. It became the spectacle of the day. People came in and said, "Did you see that dead mouse outside?" Yeah... (sigh) So much for health and safety at work!

My manager is on long term sick leave so we have another one standing in for him. I went over to him and complained, and he said someone would deal with it by tomorrow morning... Here's hoping!

(sigh)

Stuart the locksmith turned up at our flat about 8.30pm this evening and fixed the lock for us. At last we can change our addresses! Now all we need to do is find the electricity meter so we're not paying for the last tenants' electricity bill, and get hooked up to the Internet. Its all systems go go go…

Free dinner

My aunt and uncle invited Reuben and I over for dinner tonight. This is the first of many visits that we'll be making to all our closest relatives and I have to admit that I'm glad we're starting off with mine! My aunt and uncle are pretty easy going and predictably asked lots of questions and showed off their knowledge of food and wine that have resulted from their travels to America and Europe. They also tried to show me off along the lines of me being obsessive about candles and a decent artist… but I think I was more embarrassed than proud! The highlight of the evening was my cousin sending a string of texts to my aunt, asking all about Reuben and being gutted she didn't get to meet him too!

Keys please!

The previous tenants of our flat handed in one set of keys to the agency instead of two, and one of the keys was a window key instead of the post-box key. The worst thing was that we were jamming the window key into the post-box for two weeks, not understanding why it didn't work, and then we flung the keys onto the window sill in frustration one day and it just happened to land right next to the identical window key sitting there…!

So in effect, there are two keys for our post-box and one for our flat still knocking about. So we're changing the locks. We call the agency and today they sent Stuart the locksmith to change them. The flat lock was changed no problem but he didn't have a small enough lock for the post-box, so we're sticking the flap up with blue tape for now. He should be coming back Tuesday but we hope that no post arrives until the lock has been fitted!!

Darth Vader breathes again

So Reuben was driving to work today and could hear this weird heavy breathing in his car. It only lasts a couple of seconds, he dismisses it… and then he hears it again! He can't understand what the hell it is and thinks he's hearing things when suddenly the Star Wars theme tune starts playing. He then realises that he's left his new Star Wars mug that Raj gave him under the seat of his car… it plays the theme tune, and Vader's breathing when the bottom of the mug is exposed to light. The mug is now safely in the flat but I'm so gonna kill Raj when I see him next. That mug is getting on my last nerves!

Amazing Travels

So there haven't been many updates. That'll be because I've been on holiday... and then I kinda got caught up in this whole 'renting a flat' business... Hopefully I will finish typing up my holiday journal soon and then you can laugh and cry along with the other UKC girls. Or you can just log on to our Amazing Travels blog, which should be updated sooner or later...

Homebound to London

We were up early enough and said a sad farewell to the chalet before handing the keys into Reception and heading back to London. We detoured into Tesco's to pick up the latest Harry Potter book (Jenny bought two copies) and fill up the car one last time. The drive back was relatively quiet, Jenny and Melissa engrossed in their books and me getting quietly happier every time I saw a sign that said we were getting nearer and nearer home.

At Heathrow, I parked accidentally at the wrong terminal so we all took the free tube service between terminals to get Mel to the right one! When we arrived, we discovered that despite the bombings in London, check-in time was still max. three hours before flight take-off and we had planned for four. So we hugged goodbye and Jenny and I rushed back to the previous terminal where Liz had been patiently waiting about ten minutes, and was beginning to think she was in the wrong place…!

I said goodbye to them too and drove home, delighted to actually get a parking spot outside my house. As I struggle to get my stuff from car to house, I realise that the house is empty. But they all know I'm coming home today… (It later transpired that they had all gone to Norfolk for the day as it was my Nan's birthday.) A little upset at not getting a welcome home, I get refreshed and changed, bung some washing in the machine, and have a quick lunch. I then mooch around, waiting for the machine load to finish, when I have the marvellous idea of giving Reuben back his car, and then I won't have to worry about returning it tomorrow…

Back in the car, I search for a jet wash as the car is pretty filthy and I know mine is going to be returned in pristine condition… I pass three and they are all coned off due to the water ban. I reluctantly return the dirty car and Reuben's mother politely offered a drink. I accept and then find myself staying for dinner as relatives are coming over and it'll be nice to meet them etc etc… "I'm tired!" I wanted to yell. "I'm dishevelled and not in the mood to be polite to strangers!" But I didn't and just smiled sweetly and prepared for the worst…

Everything actually turned out okay and I met some very nice people who, in turn, (apparently) think the sun shines where it shouldn't…!! (I heard later that Reuben got a lecture from his uncle along the lines of appreciating me…(!)) I somehow managed to get home and was sooo knackered I didn't wake up until noon the next day!

Bournemouth Part 2

Nice long sleep-in today! Woke up about 9am, had breakfast and we made our way to Bournemouth to search for an Internet café. After a few wrong turns (entirely my fault) we found a reasonably priced café. Jenny and Mel checked their email, Jenny having to write home to prove she was still alive after the bombings, as her mother had apparently stirred up a frenzy of worry! I am hot and very thirsty so I go for a walk while they type away. Afterwards we hit Bournemouth town centre and had lunch in a small café after managing to park in the car park no-one can get to (long story). Jenny then called Liz to double check her flight info and we pottered around the shops a little. One was a fabric shop as Jenny has orders from her mother to bring home 'English fabric'. After a bit of dithering, Jenny finally plumped for reddish-orange butterflies on one, and a Union Jack pattern on the other!

Back at the chalet we took a siesta, much needed for myself at least, having driven almost non-stop for the past two weeks! Jenny finished reading her Jasper Fforde novel and I did puzzles and slept mostly! In the evening we had dinner in the club. The food was freshly cooked but took almost an hour… Desert was very nice – peach cheesecake and brandy snaps! The remainder of the evening was spent packing a few items and watching Jack Dee Live at the Apollo, a re-run from the earlier series. Jo Brand was guest starring and was just as funny the second time around! Eventually we retired for one last night in our fabulous chalet!!

Poole & Corfe Castle

It's been a week since the London bombings and a two-minute silence was held across the country and the rest of the EU at 12pm BST.

We went to Poole Quay this morning to have a peek at the boats in the harbour and at both the Purbeck (limestone) and Poole (clay) pottery. Unfortunately the demonstrations were closed while we were there, so we headed off towards Swanage to go to Corfe Castle.

Corfe Castle was once a grand structure built on a high hill as the original entrance to Purbeck and it was used extensively by King John. Unfortunately it is now no more than ruins, but they are beautiful ruins and have an excellent view of the surrounding landscape. We all went separate ways to explore and Melissa and I find ourselves in a small 'room' that was so high that the air channelling through the 'room' was ice cold and very welcome on a hot day like today! We stood there, gazing through the window at Corfe Castle village, and chatted away until I suddenly stopped and said, "I wonder what happened to Jenny?" We reluctantly leave the cool 'room' and start calling out for Jenny. It transpires that she missed us and went trekking around the entire ruins looking for us! All together again, we climb the ruins, take lots of photos, and simulate sword fights with long grasses, much to the amusement of people passing by!

The sun is incredibly fierce now and with no clouds in the sky is also potentially dangerous. I've already reached my sun quota for today methinks! We head back to the car and arrive at the chalet all hot and tired. We shower feet and laze around until dinner before glamming up and heading towards the club with the intention of getting Jenny either drunk or very happy, and possibly finding her a nice guy to snog. Unfortunately, tonight's entertainment consisted of the four site staff singing a medley of songs from 60's to 90's – compelling (!). However it was possibly better than the unfunny professional comedian we saw earlier in the week…

We had a round of drinks each and, well, Mel and I said we were 'happy' and Jenny claimed she hadn't had enough… but was pretty pink and perky so…! I'm not in the mood for a drink-fest. I'm tired and the club atmosphere isn't all that – there's hardly anyone there and those that are, are young families and elderly couples. Mel and I vow to take Jenny to a pub tomorrow and give her flirting lessons. (She failed to notice the barman flirting with her earlier this evening and Melissa found herself responding instead!) We did have a quick-fire round consisting of me picking up Jenny and her attempting to respond, but she kept just giggling. Melissa then demonstrated what she was supposed to do… More giggles. I think 'tipsy' is the word I'm looking for…!

Chawton & Winchester

Jenny's birthday! I bought Jenny a copy of 'Eats Shoots and Leaves' by Lynne Truss. She's an English teacher and would appreciate the zero-tolerance obsession over grammar that some of us share… Melissa warms croissants for breakfast and we are soon headed for Chawton, just outside of Alton, to see Jane Austen's house. It was fairly easy to find and was a gorgeous cottage surrounded by a beautiful garden in an olde worlde village. Inside the building were replicas of the furniture and crockery used, and illustrations all over the walls of characters from Austen's books, including the ones drawn by Jane's sister, Cassandra. After telling all the staff it was her birthday, we dragged Jenny away and went back down the road to Winchester.

Up in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle is the Round Table high on a wall, inspired by the legend of King Arthur and crafted c.13thC. In the middle of the hall was an exhibition on the World Wars as it’s the 60th anniversary of the end of WW2 (1945 in England). We grabbed a drink and lunch in O'Neill's pub where Melissa takes the opportunity of buying a meal and getting Jenny's for free, it being her birthday and all (!).

After lunch and a trip to the creepy loos (no lights, no locks, or no paper – take your pick) we visited the cathedral, which is the longest medieval gothic cathedral in Europe. It also holds in its library the famous Winchester Bible, a 12thC illustrated manuscript in six volumes. The library and cathedral was overrun with Italian students and we hung about in the gallery until most of them had left.

Back at the chalet we had pizza and Red Square followed by toffee & chocolate curls cake. We didn't have any candles so we lit a match, stuck it in the cake, and sang 'Happy Birthday' at twice the normal speed before Jenny blew out the match! We then turned on the music channels and flipped through the radio, singing along and dancing giddily around the coffee table. Fun fun fun…!

Osborne House, IOW

Today we decided to attempt to go to the Isle of Wight and see the sites. We drove to Lymington and hopped onto the passenger & car ferry to Yarmouth. Once there, we took a bus to Newport and then another to Osborne House. It was nice not having to drive! On the bus ride between Newport and Osborne House, I sat next to a chatty lady who lived there but originated from London. She had a proper cockney accent, which had crossed into a thick 'coun-tree' brogue so Mel and Jenny didn't really understand her… She was bemoaning that she couldn't see Ventnor or Sandown because they didn't have a harbour for her to dock her yacht and, upon finding out I was from London, started a tirade against the bombers of 7/7 and hoped nobody I knew was a victim.

Once at Osborne House it was already 1pm so we headed into the restaurant. The menu is two pages and eight items on page one are the food items. All the others are drinks. The food items consisted of soup and bread, egg and watercress sandwiches, poached salmon sandwiches… Yep, just soup and sandwiches, none of which sounded particularly appealing or filling. In the end, Jenny and I plumped for tomato soup and Melissa had the seafood mix soup. The soup tasted like the juice out of tinned plum tomatoes – bitty, watery, and pretty gross. I'm so hungry I eat it all anyway. Apparently the seafood mix soup wasn't all that wonderful either… The peach and passionfruit cordial drink was nice though… but didn't compensate. This is very bad food karma!! I'm still hungry and have digested tinned tomato juice. Not happy bunnies, we rate the food quality and choice as 'poor' on the comments card, adding that they should get 'real food'.

We left hungry and annoyed, and slowly walked around Osborne House, taking in the glorious décor, the intricately designed ceilings, and the brilliant views of the gardens from all directions. One room contained the Royal Family tree, and it demonstrated how Victoria and Albert attempted to marry off their children throughout Europe to ensure peace between the countries… You could also clearly see how Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are first cousins as well as husband and wife…! No wonder the children of Elizabeth II and Philip are a little weird – they're a bunch of in-breds!

After wandering around the gardens and quickly making out way through the Walled Gardens, we headed back to the bus stop, grabbed our two buses, and hopped back on to the IOW ferry to the mainland. Back at the chalet, we are incredibly hungry and open the Thai Chilli crisps and shortcake biscuits, and cook potato croquettes to snack on before dinner! I cooked sweet 'n' sour rice with southern fried chicken fingers which was eagerly devoured, and we spent the evening doing crosswords and playing the Friends game. Well, not exactly playing but reading out the questions and laughing at them and our own answers!! It was fun.

Salisbury

We are up in good time and get in the car to head towards Salisbury. We stop at the Park 'n' Ride and take the bus into the city centre. The cathedral in Salisbury is absolutely gorgeous and is the only British gothic cathedral still intact in its entirety. The spire is the tallest in Britain and the cloisters are the largest in England. The cathedral is actually undergoing restoration, which started in 1986 and is expected to continue until at least 2015. We get a free tour around the cathedral with an elderly gentleman who was very well spoken and knew loads about everything we wanted to know! Interesting parts of the 90min tour were the oldest mechanical clock, the baby who died eleven days before it was born (a result of the change from Julian to Georgian dates) and the guy who was found dead with a perfectly preserved skeleton of a rat in his skull – nice! Of course, there's also the infamous Magna Carta on display, guarded by numerous staff and surrounded by carvings on the walls, depicting major events in the Old Testament of the Bible (Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's ark, etc)

After the tour, we trekked back into the city centre for lunch in a Tudor-style pub and had jacket potatoes and Ploughman's. The people moving around upstairs made the ceiling creak and I swear I saw one of the beams move… We then did a bit of shopping, mooched around Boots (the Yanks can't get enough of the Fresh! range) and then trudged all the way back towards the cathedral so we could go into the Salisbury museum. It contained the infamous preserved rat skeleton, a history and analysis of Stonehenge, costumes from the Victorian era, and a whole range of Wedgwood pottery. Completely tired out and way too hot (it is 28ºC today!) we relaxed on a shaded bench in front of the cathedral before finding ice cream and making our way back to the Park 'n' Ride.

Due to our aforementioned tiredness, we decide to drop by Stonehenge but when we get there, there are hardly any spaces to park in and we are hot and grumpy. I stop in a lay-by opposite the henge and we took some photos before driving slowly by the structure to grab a last shot. "It's smaller than I thought it'd be," Jenny commented. Hmm… Americans always say that about stuff in England…

So we drove back, stopping off at Tesco's to buy more provisions (read 'alcohol') and get petrol. Mel and Jen insist on arguing about everything when we go food shopping. Not only are they adults arguing in the middle of the shop, but also they are loud and have American accents – enough factors to get everyone looking at us! I try walking ahead to avoid the arguments but in doing so, I'm probably making it worse…

We have an orange dinner of chicken Kiev balls and potato croquettes followed by a yellow desert of lemon Madeira cake and pineapple chunks. Loyd Grossman would be appalled… Soz guys… Anyways, by 10.30pm the girls are shattered but I had just had coffee and was buzzing. I watched some music videos and a good episode of SATC before hitting the sack around 00.25am!

Bournemouth

This morning I woke up unfeasibly early considering I had a great night's sleep. I made Jenny and Melissa eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast and then we just lounged around in and outside the chalet until Reuben called me to say he'd arrived in Bournemouth. I drove to Bournemouth, found Reuben, and we all walked along the promenade, stopping in an arcade along the way. We had lunch in Hot Rocks, a surf-themed restaurant overlooking the square and with beach views. It was incredibly hot and all we could manage was two starters between the four of us. There was quite a bit of food though – chicken pieces, potato skins, southern-fried potato wedges, tortilla chips and spare ribs, served with salsa, sour cream and mustard dips. We took a short walk through Bournemouth gardens in the blazing heat, taking photos and trying to work off some of the food!

Back in the car and to the chalet, I noticed my upper right arm had turned slightly pink – sunburn! I should get more sunblock… Mel and Jen began to argue out their joint efforts on a new story for a while before Melissa finally left to call Andy. Jenny disappeared outside to enjoy the late afternoon sun on the patio, and Reuben and I decided to clock in some quality time… Well, a week is a long time when you're apart from the one you love!

Reuben left about 7.30pm and we had mince and pasta for dinner before heading out to the club for the evening cabaret. Comedian Paul Eastwood is not much of a comedian. His jokes were funny but they were recycled off the Internet so I'd heard most of them before. The ones I hadn't heard were in bad taste, a typical example being "The other day I met a blind prostitute… well, you've got to hand it to her." (sigh) Yeah…

Glastonbury

Thus begins our second week of holiday. We are up surprisingly early – 6.30am! We have breakfast, do some last-minute packing, and return all the hired items and chalet key into Reception. As we head out of the park at 8.40am(!) Melissa says, "See you in hell, John Fowler!" We laughed and prayed that the accommodation for the second week would be marginally better. Actually the week wasn't all that bad. We did do a lot of mileage, see a lot of places, and the park itself was good value for money. At £232 for the week, we had a reasonably sized chalet with water, electricity and heating on tap. Okay, there wasn't enough water pressure to have a decent shower, the chalet became extra tiny when the bed or table were fully extended, and we felt we were living in each other's pockets. It was literally a place to crash. We weren't exactly gonna live there!

Anyhow, we headed into Barnstaple for the last time to fuel up, and then headed towards Glastonbury via the M5. Glastonbury was beautiful. We walked around the ruins of the Abbey and watched some of a church ceremony being conducted outside, with a choir and large altar set up by where King Arthur and Guinevere's tombs were. On the way back to the car, a large procession had gathered in the street, blocking the route I was meaning to take out of Glastonbury. We stopped into a newsagent to pick up ice-lollies and water bottles, and asked the shopkeeper what was going on. Apparently, in early July, Christians of all denominations come to Glastonbury in pilgrimage, as legend says that Joseph of Arimathea came to England with Jesus and they built the old wattle and daub church, which unfortunately burnt when the entire Abbey was destroyed by fire in 1184. So we witnessed the C of E procession before we packed back into the car and took the alternative route suggested by the shopkeeper, heading towards Salisbury.

Deciding that Stonehenge would be a decent day out, we stayed on the main road to Salisbury instead of heading out to Stonehenge, and take the Ringwood road to Bournemouth. We find the train station easily and said our goodbyes to Debbie, who profusely apologised for not being better company. Like she could help it, she is sick!! We followed Anna's directions to Highcliffe and find the chalet easily. It's actually an owned chalet on Hoburne Naish Holiday Park and Oh…. My… God… This place is wonderful! We have SPACE, a proper kitchen, table and chairs, enough sofa seats to go around, gorgeous beds and bedrooms, and a powerful shower! I am SO happy! We all are!! We feel like crying. If we had come here the first week and then gone to John Fowler's, we would have been sooo gutted!!

Anyway, despite every luxury spared, true to Anna's word there is no bed linen. I agree to purchase bed linen and then keep them afterwards. So we go to Reception and look through the Yellow Pages for an Argos, as I know they do nice bed linen at decent prices. We find it closed so we head on towards Bournemouth again and detour as we spy a Roseby's from the road. As we arrive, the manager come to the door and announces that the shop is closed. I ask him if there is anywhere I can buy bed linen at 6pm. "Find a hotel," he answers unhelpfully. "We are in a hotel," we say in unison. I explain that we need bed linen desperately and he directs us to the nearest Tesco's, turning the key in the lock as he says his last words. We duly go back to the car, grumbling about how everything shuts at 6pm outside of London. We find the Tesco's without grief and I buy £50 of sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers.

Back at the chalet, we have our longed-for and well-deserved showers, eat lemon-iced cake, and drink Arbor Mist, a pink/rosé coloured fruity wine that was de-lish! Man, I love this chalet!!

Arlington Court & Benton

I got to sleep in this morning! Well, not much but enough to feel better. I think I'm burning my candle at both ends – early mornings, late nights, and a dry cough that won't leave me alone! We have a slow breakfast and head to Arlington Court, a National Trust house with a cool collection of horse-drawn carriages and some magnificent grounds, including a gated garden and large pond. The house was full of artefacts and had some really fine and exquisite pieces of art and furniture. Outside the house was a sign to a bat cave. "To the Bat Cave!" we yelled in the style of Batman, but it was merely a room with a small TV screen in the corner. A control panel enabled the camera in the loft to move and focus on the (sleeping) bats. It was rather disappointing… We did get to have a fun but short ride in a horse-drawn carriage and we lunched among coloured and white peacocks.

After Arlington Court I wanted to go to Benton, a nearby village I'd seen on the map. We drove down narrow roads, some only the width of the car, and past wheat that towered high above us… but no Benton. It was possibly the house in the middle of a field that we passed but we can't be certain.

We headed on into Ilfracombe, stopping for souvenirs and Devonshire ice cream. The evening involved takeaway and getting ready for tomorrow's journey to Bournemouth, Dorset. Anna called my mobile to give directions and to warn us that there would be no bed linen. "Crud!" Jenny exclaims while taking notes. After failing to get through to the guy who hired me the chalet, we have a short discussion and decide that if there's no linen hire once we get there, I'll buy some.

Exeter

We were all up early and headed out to Exeter. On the way, Reuben texted me to tell me the news that London had been hit by four terrorist bombs: three on the underground and one on a double-decker. The radio was hastily clicked into place and the news was on all the channels. I was shocked and as soon as I had parked up, I desperately texted all my family and friends to make sure they were okay. All but one texted back to say they were fine and were either going home or were avoiding Central London. I felt sad for all those involved in the attacks, but in a way I felt numb too. It is hard to explain fully.

Pushing home events aside, I moved forward to Exeter Cathedral, took some photos, and lit a candle for the London bomb victims. We then walked through the city centre in the blazing heat (such a contrast to Tuesday!) and poked our heads into various shops, notably Lush, where we sampled various creams and sniffed all kinds of soaps and bath bombs. Lunch was in a small café tucked behind the High Street shops, where Debbie's cough, which had slowly worsened through the week, was so bad that she couldn't eat. We left Exeter, completed the long drive back to Ilfracombe, and I took Debbie to the local doctor's surgery while Jenny stayed in the chalet and Melissa called Andy. I found the medical centre pretty easily and waited a short while for the doctor. It transpires that Deb's medication is a waste of time and that she should just cough when she needs to. However, he did give her a small vial to hack in to so he could analyse her phlegm… Charming, huh?

The Eden Project

Today, the Eden Project! The Eden Project is a former disused chalk pit that has been transformed into a diverse array of plants, flowers and trees from all over the world. The main attraction is the two large Biomes - temperature-regulated environments that recreate the climate conditions of Europe and the Americas, and Africa and the East. Outside of the Biomes were the remains of the recent Live8 concert and fields of tea and lavender. One very large sculpture was made out of the number of electrical goods discarded as waste from the average individual, such as refrigerators, computers, toasters and mobile phones. We also saw the enormous half-haired bee grazing on the landscape! The journey to the Eden Project was long and painful. Remember we are in Ilfracombe, North Devon – the Eden Project is located near St Austell, South Cornwall. Yeah, a round trip of c.200 miles and nothing but 'A' roads. Southwest England badly needs motorways!

After the Eden Project, we decide to drive into St Austell to have a Cornish cream tea and maybe ice cream before starting out 2½hour journey back. Easier said than done! After driving up precariously steep corners and circling the town a few times, we find nothing. My grandmother said St Austell was a delightful little town. What she failed to mention was that driving was a nuts idea and there aren't any cafés, just takeaways and pubs! The turning point was when I found myself faces with a narrow road able to fit one car across and the sign by the entrance was for the national speed limit… 60mph up a narrow winding path with a strong chance of on-coming traffic? Uh-uh… Wrong-o!! I quickly about turned and drove home, stopping at Okehampton Little Chef at 6pm because I was too hungry to continue! We also made a quick pit stop at the Tesco's in Barnstaple for some provisions, namely cough mixture and petrol… again! The Rover 200 isn't the most economical car in the world…

Clovelly, Dartington Crystal & Bideford

I know I'm missing some days... Bear with me here!!!

We get up and leave at 8.55am – wahey! We're practising for when we have a long haul journey (like tomorrow!). We head into Clovelly (cloh-vellee) first, a tiny fishing village situated on a very steep slope of cobbles. (I found out later that it was actually the setting for the old Hovis ad, where a young boy drags a trolley of bread up the slope with an old man's narration over it.) The cobbles were a nightmare to walk on, especially since it was drizzling quite a bit and threatening to get heavier, so all the (uneven) cobbles were very slippery! We all inched (well, Jenny bravely marched) down into the village, heard about their way of life, and admired the fantastic views of the Bristol Channel and Barnstaple Bay. Debbie and I trekked along the part-stone-part-sand beach while Jenny walked along the harbour and Melissa… disappeared for a good ten minutes or so!! It later transpired that she took a pathway back past Crazy Kate's Cottage and stopped to talk to a local! Looking at the steep hill, walking back up was not an option and we paid to be driven back by Land Rover. We lunched in the café overlooking Clovelly and watched the donkeys feed on the grass slope outside.

We then braved the rain again and drove to the Dartington Crystal factory. The factory was very cool and had some great pieces of crystal glassware on display. There were boards and audio-visuals about how the crystal is made and we were able to watch some glassmaking first hand. One guy was preserving a couple's handprints in glass and we watched people round the back rolling and blowing glass into shapes. The gift shop, of course, had a marvellous display of ornaments, glassware and figurines, all of which were either too expensive for me to purchase, or too delicate to take back with me. I'm guessing I can order stuff off the Internet…

The rain still pelting, we head to the Atlantic Shopping Mall in Bideford, purchasing chocolate and banana chips to munch on. Later that evening we ate spaghetti and played Gloom. Gloom is a card game whereby each player has a set of cards representing a family. The player then has to kill off each of their family members with the highest number of points displayed as possible. Apart from the not-too-solid game rules, I found the hardest part was concocting a story to accompany the various ailments, deaths and tragedies bestowed on my characters! Melissa thinks that’s the best part…

Sick

I'm soooo sick. It's a sore throat/tickly cough/semi-blocked sinuses combination. And I have to pick Melissa and Jenny up from LHR tomorrow morning. I hope that its not viral and that we'll be ill all holiday... I just want to curl up and sleep... but I have washing and packing and food shopping to do before that. Argh...!! Where are servants when you need 'em?!

Apprehensive excitement

I'm kinda excited. For some reason, and I'm not one for spontaneousness, I have just signed a lease to rent a flat. With R. This is totally weird! I mean, it feels okay and almost natural, but at the same time, I have a nagging feeling that things are going too fast. I'm not alone in this, however, as R confides that he too feels the same. So we're moving to this really nice 2-bed flat on the new estate in Turnford. We've got a good price and can't wait to do the coupley Ikea thing! The keys get handed over end of July so hopefully we'll be settled in by mid-August.

I'm so excited... but apprehensive... but the excitement thing is definitely stronger!!

Amsterdam v Nottingham

R buggered off to Amsterdam for the weekend on an all-guys holiday mini-break thingy. Kind of like an Only Fools and Horses Jolly Boys Outing. Only in Holland. So I joked about the red light district, told him an amusing story about Omouse's trip there, and went on my own mini-break... to Nottingham. Yeah yeah, not as exciting or cool as Amsterdam, but Nottingham has clubs, pubs, and Andy.

Andy likes my new shorter hairstyle. And the fact that I'm eating properly again (see here). So a good start! He's a little despondent since his working contract ended so my objective is to cheer him up, mainly by doing a pub crawl and then clubbing until the early hours. He was a bit surprised to hear about R (doesn't anyone read my emails or blog?!) but said that it probably explained why I seemed happier and healthier!

The pub crawl went swimmingly! We went to four pubs and graded the sofas out of ten in each. The second pub had the worst sofa but the best ceiling. It was a see-through walkway on the upper floor, and we only noticed it when we left! Andy was a little disappointed at not noticing it earlier, especially since there was some kind of hen night going on and quite a few girls with short skirts on were walking up and down...!! We eventually decided to go in search of a club and passed Flares, which Andy desperately wanted me to go into, as it has a revolving dancefloor and a pole... Yep, the guy wants to have a pole-dance!! I am adamant that we are not going in, though I flirtingly suggest that I'd probably be very good at it... We ended up at Faces, a club with cool music but a few posers. I pulled this guy who said in so many words that I was sexy and could he take me home? I was a little shocked but politely declined. Andy was watching from the side of the dancefloor and thought it was hysterical, though I refused to tell him what the guy had said to me. I sweetly said that it might shock his little cotton socks off(!)

We finally crash at the flat around 3am. After poking him so he wouldn't sleep on the sofa, and Andy badly defending himself with a feather duster (best not to ask!), we retire, only for me to wake later that morning at... 6.30am. Damn east-facing window!!

Parents (Part 2)

R finally got to meet my father today. Dad was polite - shook his hand, offered a drink, didn't ask too many Q's - which I was pleasantly surprised at! I was worried it'd be a '20 questions' situation whereby Daddy's Little Girl needs some Fatherly Protection (patent pending).

Result? Dad's not totally mad and R is still alive. Points all round!

Asi Training

After a surveyor dropped out, my supervisor's manager put me on an asbestos management training course in Basildon. I actually got quite excited about it. I have constantly asked (read 'nagged') for training of some description to help with my job and have always been refused, so this is a big step forwards! The course was spread over two days, the first covering the basics of what asbestos is, how its dangerous to health, and the regulations and laws. The second day dealt with the regs in detail and also covered step-by-step procedures for safe removal and air clearance.

The trainer was brilliant - I couldn't commend him highly enough. He was professional, clear and concise, while at the same time being a bit of a jack-the-lad and joshing with a couple of attendees he'd obviously met before. The industry, it would appear, it pretty small and tight-knit; everyone knows everyone!! One memorable moment was when he paused the DVD as the words 'The Analyst' appeared letter by letter, and it paused on 'The Anal'...

It was all pretty interesting stuff and generated good conversations! It was also a great opportunity to network and gain insight into how other people work and how they are a part of the industry. I was surprised at all the managers there who had no idea what asbestos was and were only on the course because of the new law out last year that says all dutyholders are responsible for any suspected asbestos within the framework of their buildings. The law was out April 2004... and they are attending a course in June 2005. I was shocked! My workplace started carrying out extensive property research back in January 2003 so we were ready when the law came into force. It was nice to broadcast how far ahead we were from other local authorities. It gives us a good name, expecially important since we've had some bad press recently.

Heatwave

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4105484.stm

Just in case anyone was in any doubt that English weather can actually be pretty darn hot and isn't all rain...

Oops...?

I told my dad about R. I didn't even mean to! I stumbled downstairs this morning to make coffee and Dad asked me if I was going to JH's for the annual birthday BBQ. I declined, saying it was too hot this year and Bedfordshire is a long haul in hot weather. He then asked if I was doing anything tonight and I said that no, I wasn't.
"But you usually go out on a Saturday night, don't you?" he asked.
"Well, yeah," I reply, "but R's in Manchester today."
"R? Who's R?"
I suddenly realise what I've said and gulp. "Boyfriend?" I offered.
"Boyfriend?" my dad repeated.
"Yeah."
"I didn't know," he said, a little crestfallen, and then just walked out of the room and back upstairs.

I'm not quite sure what happened. Was he upset he didn't know, or upset I had a boyfriend? Was he even upset at all and just...? I dunno. He hasn't spoken to me again the rest of today... Maybe he needs to think about it...

Parents

For reasons I can't remember, I agreed to meet R's parents. I cannot tell you how nervous I am. Normally when I meet the parents of friends, everything is fine and they think I'm adorable/ look like my mother/ very tall/ etc. But this is a guy's parents we're talking about, specifically his mother. It is a well-known fact that most mothers believe that no woman is good enough for their son. I am therefore understandably nervous.

I arrive incredibly promptly - bang on the dot perfect timing. I politely take my shoes off upon entering and shake the hands of his parents, who are grinning ear to ear. I'm praying its a good sign! I'm offered a drink and I decline, visions of various spillage-related accidents going through my head. I'm pressed further and decide to just go with the flow and, yes, tea would be lovely. Two minutes later, I'm being offered bone china on a tray. My stomach flips. Various swear words fail to pass my lips. I take the cup and saucer, visibly shaking. But no spillages occured and the china stayed intact throughout the sitting.

And apparently it went well. His parents like me. Well, his mother does anyway. My father doesn't even know about us yet...

Receptionist No 7

S starts with us today as the new receptionist. My supervision meeting was cancelled because my line manager had to dedicate another day to training up the new staff, showing her around the depot, talking through all the procedures... Its such a waste of time, really! Instead of paying for new staff and extortionate agency fees, why can't they give a little extra money to us, the admin staff, and we'll cover the reception, just like we've been doing for years before this new-fangled role emerged.

I give her a week.

Yahoo!

Jenny and I had a long chat over Yahoo Messenger today We spoke mainly about the up-and-coming holiday and how I should presuade my b/f to let me borrow his car so all the luggage will fit. It's not so much me borrowing his car, but more him borrowing my car. I love my car very much and have had made a lot of fuss about me being the only one who drives it. But then I figured, the guy who had it before me drove it (as well as goodness knows how many other people) and everytime I take my car in for servicing, a number of people drive it. So why not at least someone I trust and not just another mechanic?

I might have to clean it first though. It's pretty dirty on the outside because I have to park under trees when I go to work. The inside isn't so good either, because our vacuum cleaner doesn't quite reach the entire car, even with the extension cable. But it's the least I could do. R's car is spotless...

Canterbury

R has never been to Canterbury so I offered to take him there sometime. Within days he has a room at the Holiday Inn booked up and we're off for the weekend. I decide that my father would probably hit the roof if he found out that, not only did I have a boyfriend, but I was planning to spend the weekend away with him. So I told a little fib... It wasn't a bad one, and I didn't exactly lie, I just omitted some facts that were the truth! I said I was staying in Canterbury - truth. He just presumed it was with Debbie. At no point did I say that I was or was not staying with Debbie. So I'm in the clear!!

Being my controlling self, I drove us to Canterbury and talked the entire way! I can talk for England, I swear!! I did a little guided tour, driving around the old fortress wall to Northgate, then going straight up St Stephens towards the university. Drove around the university campus, pointing out where we stayed, ate, had lectures, our hangout (bus shelters outside Keynes) and drove back down the 'front entrance' so we could see the magnificent view of Canterbury city centre. After that, I drove down the hill and through the town to the Westgate, finally parking up at Canterbury West station.

We did the usual stuff: watched a double decker bus pass through the Westgate; ambled around the Cathedral; admired the eclectic mix of Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian and modern buildings all built next to eachother in the high street; walked through the Westgate gardens and hung out under the arch; stared at the Beaney Institute; saw the wonky doorway to the art shop round the back streets; browsed through hippy-junk shop Siesta... everything!! And in the evening, we ate at my favourite restaurant, Marlowe's. I was surprised we even managed to get a table at such short notice! It must be because all the students have gone home...

R liked Canterbury a lot and we decided to go back sometime for a long weekend. Just not enough time in one day to do it all!

Name's Bond, Mrs Bond...

We went to see Mr & Mrs Smith at the cinema. It was quite funny and had elements of a Bond film, but it was pretty much a rom-com with a spy-thriller streak in it. A nice way to spend a couple of hours in the cinema!

The cinema itself was packed - nearly every seat was taken. The guy next to me kept repeating all the funny lines in the film and telling his girlfriend how all the stunts were done... and someone further on down the line of seats was playing with his mobile and the blue light was distracting... But otherwise it as plain sailing and everyone was laughing out loud at the funny parts, which added to the atmosphere. I like it when that happens during a film.

Sin City

Oops, didn't realise how long I'd stayed away from my blog!! The problem with these is that sometimes not a great deal happens in your life - you have the odd monotonous week where you just get up, go to work, come home, eat, and go to bed. Nothing abnormally weird happens and its not worth the bother of going on line and writing about nothing.

Anyways, R and I went to the cinema this evening. The intention was to see Mr and Mrs Smith but its not out until tomorrow... So we were faced with Star Wars III (my 2nd time, his 3rd), a plethora of predictable mush (Monster-in-Law, The Wedding Date, etc), or we could see something we've heard nothing about and just go out on a limb.

This is how we ended up seeing Sin City. It was like watching a comic book come to life! The film was shot in black-and-white with the odd brightly coloured object - a woman's hair and lips, a person's eyes - or with a luminous white sillouetted figure against a black background. It was arty and visually stunning!

However, it was also unnecessarily violent and didn't seem to hold much coherency as scenes were slashed together and didn't seem to make a lot of sense. The dialogue was pretentious and generally appalling. Women walked around semi-naked (as in true adult comic-book fashion); people were pumped with bullets left right and centre; Mickey Rourke couldn't kick Elijah Wood's arse (Come on, man! Its freaking Elijah!!); and I still have no idea what Josh Harnett was doing in that film...!

Return of the Receptionist

A came back. After bailing out on Wednesday, we were receptionist-less on Thursday, trained up K on Friday... and Tuesday, A is back on reception.

I give up...!

Again...?!

A new day, a new receptionist. Yep, we got ourselves another one! They just simply do not turn up for work and we have to draft in another temp. from the agency. I was covering until the new temp. arrived, as per usual. A guy came down, looked at me, and said, "Again?! What are you doing with all the receptionists?!"
"Maybe they're being hung on a rack out back?" I suggested, shrugging.
He didn't get the joke. Mind you, it was 9am. Maybe he hadn't had his coffee yet.

K seems quite nice. The bets are down: Reuben gives it a week before she bails. I'm giving her until Wednesday. At least its May Bank Holiday this weekend. Makes next week that little bit shorter!

Jedi Master Athene

:: how jedi are you? ::

At least mine was honest... Omouse rigged hers so she'd get Han...

Daa-daa, da-da-da-daa-daa!

It all started off innocently enough. R and I decided to spend our evening shooting pool up at Bruce Grove since I had been rather unsuccessful in obtaining cinema tickets for Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. Why I have agreed to go play pool is a mystery as I am truly pathetic... I can't even hold or aim the damn cue properly so I don't stand a chance of even coming near winning! So we're circling the pool table, talking about how we don't care where we see the film, just so long as we get to see it, when we (okay, he) had a thought: Why don't we go to the run-down cinema in Picketts Lock and take our chances there? As the cinema is generally falling apart and there are nicer places to go, we stand more of a chance there than anywhere else.

So we abandon our game and drive to Picketts Lock. The car park is pretty full, which is a rarity in itself, but we manage to pretty much walk straight in to the film. The cinema was showing Star Wars on four screens at an hour apart... at the cinema I was trying to get tickets at, it was showing on a multitude of screens at 20mins apart!! So we got to see the film, which was pretty awesome in itself. It was way better than 1 and 2, and maybe just as good as 4 and 6. I don't like 5. Don't get me wrong - it has its moments - but I feel that its just a bridge between 4 and 6, and doesn't hold any real substance.

Anyways... the film!! Okay, obviously, some people may not have seen it yet and I don't want to give anything away, but when Vader gets suited up for the first time in his suit, I worked so hard not to squeal in delight! It was a fantastic moment!! The lightsabre fights were fast and furious (and I love the fact that Samuel L Jackson has a purple one!!). Most of the CGI was excellent and very realistic, although I still felt Yoda needed more texture. There was no delightfully comedic banter between C-3PO and R2-D2 although I guess it may have been a little out of place with the mood of the film as a whole. Anakin's slow descent to the Dark Side was good, although it could have done with going a little slower. He seemed to be okay and then suddenly, he was bowing to Sideous. He could have put up a bit more of a fight...

But I did enjoy it as a whole. The Wookie battle was fun and it was nice to see (finally!) how Sideous killed off the Jedis and took over the Republic to create one Galactic Empire that he controlled. He perfectly manipulated everything considered to be part of the Dark Side (greed, weakness, deception, etc) and used it to great effect. And of course, it was great seeing how everything else was put into place in line with how Star Wars IV began - remaining Jedis going into exile, the splitting up of Luke and Leia to keep them safe from the Sith... Loved it!! Might even go see it again before the week is out!!

The time has come

The long-awaited final episode of the prequel trilogy of Star Wars opens today in 100 different countries across the globe. Unfortunately, tickets in London are gold dust and seemed to be booked up until the end of time!! R was gonna try to get tickets for the premiere but it wasn't happening. And the way things are going at the moment, we might not even be able to see it on Saturday. It's crazy!

I have been watching it all on the news though. Fans queuing up since March to see the film, a snapshot of Vader reading a newspaper in Leicester Square, several Stormtroopers walking through the shopping malls... Its been rather surreal to see and probably even more so to actually be there!

I'm very excited about the film. I have to stifle my squeals every time I watch the trailer. Seeing the Vader costume all new 'n' shiny...? Hoo yeah! I just hope and pray it's everything I wanted out of the final episode. The build-up has been so great I just don't want to be disappointed.

Walk out: 2

A new receptionist came in Tuesday and we started up an office kinda-pool, which is a pool but without money involved. We placed bets on how long our new girl would last. I said two weeks. She seemed nice enough upon introduction and seems to be very quick on her feet. Our boring reception will make her 'break' quicker than usual.

She lasted two days.

She left this afternoon, claiming that our office has 'an atmosphere'. Well, I guess that's one way of putting it! The person probably to blame for this performance took the claim the totally wrong way. "It's an office atmosphere, what did she expect? It's like every other office!" Hmm... I don't think she was referring to the actual office...!

So the kinda-pool opens again tomorrow. I wonder what the morning will bring...?

Walk out

The receptionist finally walked out today. A. said that she doesn't normally hate people but she has a particular grievance with a certain person in the office and can't stand being there any more. I felt so sorry for her. Then again, I didn't think she'd last as long as she did. We have a very high turnover of reception staff. Since January we've had five different people on there, including A. I wonder what the temping agency must think of our office...?

Statues, Italians, and Perfumes

So my best friend and I went to the British Museum as a sort of belated birthday outing. We usually go out together on my birthday but schedules clashed and this was the earliest date we could do. Anyways, we went there because I love it there and because she'd never been before... Yes, I know! Completely unacceptable!! So we spent a good deal of the morning and some of the afternoon just peering into the Egyptian sarcophaguses, taking in the Greek statues, marvelling at the Parthenon frieze, and bitching about home life!

It was about 2pm before we decided to find lunch somewhere, and we headed to the ultra-crowded Covent Garden to have some Italian on the piazza. Ponti's has crap service but some very good-looking Italian waiters! They have names like Georgio and Paulo and speak in stilted English that makes me go all weak... Let's just say the bad service was quickly forgotten!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent in Debenhams sampling the perfume ranges. I've been experimenting a while and decided that CK's Contradiction is too sweet for me and I need something a bit zestier; something which a bit more punch. I was torn between DKNY's Delicious (think apples) and Britney's Curious (smelling suspiciously like So...? Inspired) before plumping for a Davidoff limited edition, Sea Scents and Sun, which is lighter than Cool Water and definitely more wearable for the summer. I should go before I sound like someone off the QVC...

Flower selling power

Our house looks like a redundant florist's. Seriously. Dad's latest bright idea is to decorate the house with flowers in a desperate attempt to get some sort of bid on it. Someone must have told him somewhere along the line that fresh flowers brightened a home and was a positive selling point. We are now drowning in flowers. They're on every window sill and shelf, in the bathroom, and in the hallway on top of the laundry basket. He wanted to put a vase on the mantelpiece but my birthday cards are still on display, so he grudgingly put them in the fireplace.

Oh well, at least the house smells nice...

Anon loves Samantha

Someone posted onto my NaNo 2004 blog that I should get my work published. They posted anonymously though...

Who is this nameless person? Is it a publisher? Is it a reader who sees my subject matter as close to their lives? Or maybe it's just my sister...?

It was kinda cool and weird at the same time to read a comment like this. Does it mean that I'm actually good at this sort of thing? Or maybe they're just taking the piss? Man, this is annoying!!

Well now brown towel

You'll never believe this... but Anna found her brown towel. It was behind the radiator and is now in the wash cycle. We are trying desperately to make more room as both Anna and I are going to be studying again in September and need space for books. Anna stands her suitcase upright instead of having it lie down flat, and the towel just appeared from underneath the radiator. Better late than never...

Forty two

I went to see the film version of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I watched the TV series when I was younger. My dad had taped it and I just watched one episode after another. I remember being confused by Zaphod Beetlebrox and couldn't understand why nobody could tell the actor had an obvious fake head attached to his neck. I also remember being equally confused as to why Arthur Dent couldn't find a decent clothing manufacturer and change his outfit!

So watching the film brought back some (hazy) memories and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Martin Freeman was excellent as the continuosly confused Arthur Dent, stumbling around the realms of space in his PJ's and dressing gown. Stephen Fry was equally as brilliant as the narrator of the titular book and Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin was spot on! No-one could have done it better!! And I so loved Sam Rockwell as Zaphod! I can just imagine my brother doing something like that!! And Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast? Class!!

Electoral history is made

Well the election results are in and two parties have made history. First Labour, winning with a historic third term. Labour have never won three general elections in a row, although this win was with a decreased share of backing votes, one of the lowest recordings for a winning party since 1951... Or something like that. I was incredibly tired when they started bringing out all the statistical data.

The other piece of history was made by the Greenpeace-style party, Respect. The radio kept playing Aretha Franklin before announcing that Respect had actually won its first constituency - in Bethnal Green. Its pretty amazing.

Election 05-05-05

I've voted... have you...?! The power is in YOUR hands. Makes a change, eh? Results should start to come in about 11pm, an hour after the polling stations close. Sunderland South usually get their ballot count in first though, in about 30mins. Maybe they're counting them as they go along...? Or maybe not many people vote there?

James Marsters

Anna was so upset at not seeing James Marsters yesterday that she got up at 5am this morning and went back to Milton Keynes, queued until 9am to purchase a Virtual Queuing ticket, and then finally go to actually meet him around 10.45am. Anna did nothing but squeal down the phone for the entire conversation! She basically got to the front of the queue and handed her photo and two albums for him to sign.

Basic transcript (because words change after the story is told a billion times over):
James: Hi, nice to meet you (shakes her hand).
Anna: Hi, how are you?
James: A bit tired but I'm okay. (Starts signing her album sleeves) Thanks for buying the music, man.
Anna: I listen to them all the time.
James: Well I'm glad you like them!
Anna: I heard you hurt your hand so you aren't personalising stuff.
James: Yeah I broke it while directing my play. (Starts signing her photo) The landlord was walking around while I'm trying to work and was just pissing me off, so instead of hitting him I ended up hitting the floor (does a punching motion towards the table). Thanks for asking!
Anna: Well I hope it gets better soon. Anyway, it was nice to meet you (holds her hand out for him to shake it again)
James: Yeah, thanks for coming! (Shakes her hand again)
Anna: See ya, bye!

Anna has been on an unnatural high all day. She refuses to wash her right hand. She keeps gazing into nothing with a stupid grin on her face. But I am so pleased for her! She was so upset yesterday and I'm glad that she finally got to meet him and that he was courteous enough to acknowledge that some people had been there for ages waiting to see him. He comes across as very friendly, chatty, and taking time for fans is the best thing any celebrity can do. I look forward to the next time he's in the UK... so I can get the chance to meet him too!!

Collectormania7

Anna and I decided some time ago that we simply had to go to Collectormania7 at Milton Keynes over the 4-day set up on 30th April to 2nd May. We decide after some perusing that we’ll go on 1st May as the very lovely James Marsters (Spike in Buffy & Angel) will be there.

We leave quite early as the event starts at 10am and we know it is bound to be popular. We go to the park and ride, bus to the shopping centre, and find that it is in fact, extremely popular and heaving with people! We enter through one side of the shopping centre and see billboards posted high above the stands so people can identify who is there. We see signs for Star Wars actors Dave Prowse (Darth Vader), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and start to get very excited. We push our way through the crowds and see more stands of celebrities, mainly from Andromeda and Stargate SG-1.

We finally see the James Marsters stand, only to find he is on a break and all the Virtual Queuing tickets have gone. Later, we found out that the tickets had been given out up to an hour before the event had even started, which we thought was rather unfair, but it was apparently for health and safety reasons as there were so many people queuing from ridiculous times in the morning (one group of people claimed to be there from 3am).

As we pushed through the throng of fans waiting for James, we saw Alexis Denisof (Wesley in Buffy & Angel) sitting quietly at a table next to James’, pre-signing some photos and basically keeping a low profile. Anna and I looked at each other and made a dash for the table while there was no queue. £20 later we are standing in front of him and I have to say now he is way more gorgeous in the flesh! His wife, Alyson Hannigan, is one helluva lucky woman!

Actual transcript:
Alexis: Hello, what’s your name?
Anna: (grinning like crazy) Anna
Alexis: Anna… (starts signing the photo) Are you enjoying today?
Anna: Yeah its very cool
Alexis: Oh good. (Hands her the photo) Well, see ya!
Us: Bye!

We were very jazzed at meeting him. We held the photo by our fingertips at the edge and bought an envelope to keep it in so it wouldn’t get crumpled. Sure he didn’t say much but at least he looked at us and made the effort. One girl walked out behind us and told us how she had queued for David Boreanaz (Angel in Buffy & Angel) for hours. She finally got to the front and his manager took the poster from her, David signed it, and then it was handed back. He didn’t say a word and didn’t even look up at her!

So we were standing there admiring the newly-signed photo and about three metres away, James just walked past! It was incredibly exciting but Anna was very disappointed at not being able to get the chance to meet him. It really did break my heart as she had been going on about it for ages and was really looking forward to it.

We wandered around the stalls of merchandise, buying a few items as we took it all in, and doing some more celebrity spotting. We saw Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules (Lister and Cat in Red Dwarf), Christian Coulson (Tom Riddle in Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets), Ray Park (Darth Maul in Star Wars 1), and Kali Rocha (Cecily/Halfrek in Buffy). While Anna was taking photos of Kali Rocha, Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler in X-Men 2) walked right past me and I mean, right past me! He was a foot away from me! I was very excited!! He was with a minder but was shaking hands with fans as he walked along and was generally very friendly.

We followed him to his seat and saw him sit near Anthony Stewart Head (Giles in Buffy), Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davis (Sam and Gimli in Lord of the Rings). They were very popular and had crowds of people vying for their photos and craning to catch a glimpse of them.

On the last ‘leg’ of the exhibition was the Doctor Who cast. Two of the Doctors were there, Slyvester McCoy and Colin Baker, both of whom had a small crowd of fans around their table and were talking to all of them together quite animatedly. A couple of female assistants were there (I think one was Peri) and they slotted in Nichelle Nichols (Lt Uhura in Star Trek) in there too. There was also Noel Clarke, who plays Rose’s boyfriend in the new series, but I can’t remember his character’s name for the moment. There also had a replica TARDIS police box, a Dalek (see here) and a cabinet of memorabilia. There was also someone inside a Dalek going around the shopping centre saying “Exterminate!” and “Move out of the way!” Never have I seen so many worried-looking grown men! Some of them look genuinely unnerved at the sight of an actual Dalek going past them!! It was funny when the Dalek went up to a woman in a wheelchair and said “Mummy!” It was all pretty cool.

I think the main problem was that you couldn’t just meet people. You couldn’t walk up to the desk, shake their hand, and tell them that you admire them/ love their work/ enjoy the show, etc. You had to pay between £10-20 to pass the tables in the middle of the queue gangway and this fee was for the star’s autograph. For someone big like Sean Astin or John Rhys-Davis, okay, but for a minor Doctor Who assistant or the stand-in for the hobbits? Erm, I don’t think so!!

But we had fun. I mean, my feet are hurting so much they are ready to fall off, but it was well worth it! Just disappointed I didn’t get to meet James…

Rainbow Brite anyone...?

Heather came home today for the long weekend. She gave me the URL for this really cool website dedicated to 80's children's programmes. Anna and I have just spent the last two hours downloading theme tunes and intro video clips, singing and bopping along like crazy to Muppet Babies, The Family Ness, The Racoons, Thundercats...

Join in the fun at 80's Cartoons and don't forget to sign the petition to allow the Mysterious Cities of Gold to be released on DVD! "Children of the sun, your time has just begun..." (singing into the distance)

Surprise DVD

Anna went to see Rooster play at the Astoria tonight so Rosemary and I decide to have a sort of 'girls night in'. We have dinner, lots of ice cream, and decide to watch a DVD. Rosemary says she wants to put on a 'surprise DVD' which means that I have to close my eyes while she picks a film and puts it in the player. I willingly shut my eyes and think about what we'll probably have to watch. Immediate thoughts went to Mean Girls, the newest version of Freaky Friday, Big Fat Liar... the usual favourites. She tells me to open my eyes and she couldn't possibly have been beaming any wider. The film she picked? The 1976 musical, The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella starring Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven.

Rosemary can't get enough of this film. It's astonishing to say the least. I used to watch this film as a child nearly every Sunday afternoon at my grandparents... and that was a long time ago...!!

Election stance

The country's election campaign has come halfway and is all anyone can talk about. Being a local authority, we have strict rules and regulations about talking politics and projecting views that may be contrary to how we are supposed to be represented. The idea is to take a completely neutral stance and work arms-length from political thought.

This is pretty difficult when all people are talking about is the forthcoming election and whether Labour will actually secure a third term, comfortable or otherwise. I think its a tough one myself. People are generally disillusioned with the Labour govt., especially after the whole Iraq experience. And Labour used to be very left-wing, almost Socialist before they became 'New Labour' in 1997. Now they are slowly but surely edging to the right. I think they might actually be more Conservative than the Conservatives are...

On the other hand, we have an unrealistic manifesto produced by the Conservatives, which seems to be putting more money into public spending but gaining less money in taxes. Tax less, more public spending. Great... but where is all the money being spent on public services coming from...? The figures don't add up well. I'm guessing they hope to bring money in from property ownership, since their roots are essentially from the middle and upper class landowners.

The Liberal Democrats are a different story. They seem to be perfectly balanced on the fence between the Conservatives and Labour, but are perhaps a little more right-wing than they want to appear. Most of their campaigning is going into social services and help for the elderly and students, the two areas where they gain the most votes. It's certainly a nice comeback for the Lib Dems in any case, having gained a good following to almost the heights that they had before the downfall of Gladstone's Home Rule policy*.

I honestly have no idea who I'm going to be voting for. I think I need to read the BBC Election Guide a bit more...

* An afterthought for those dusty on their British politics! This policy designed for Northern Ireland split the party in 1886 and created the Liberal Unionists. Later, they joined the Conservatives to boost Parliamentary pulling power, thus making the Tories what they are today - the Conservative and Unionist Party. And to think I thought History A level was a waste of time!!

Left standing

One of the managers came in today and announced that our section's desks were being moved into another office on 5th May. "You don't have to move yourself or your filing though," he said. "It's just desks and chairs, and the PCs so I.T. can hook them up."

I tried to look as if I understood, but I didn't. How on earth am I supposed to be able to work unless I move with my desk? Stand in the gap where my desk used to be?

Anna for MP

Anna delighted me this evening with her plans for benefit claims. In light of all the election fuss going on, Anna has decided that she wants her voice to be heard... Well, by me in any case!

She decided that people who claimed for housing benefits should no longer get it. "Why can single women just get pregnant and then be given a house by the Council, rent free?" she moaned. "And then they claim for child benefit support to pay for babysitters, but they don't use them, just pocket the money. And then they get money to send their child to playgroup, and they get money to pay for food..." She trailed off exasperated by her own opinion before launching into much more of the same, including people who claim for housing benefit and can't be bothered to find work... Or people who are given money to help themselves but just spend it on designer gear and cigarettes.

While she was drawing breath, I pointed out that abusing the system would bar people from being able to claim. I got 'The Look' and decided to keep quiet. Obviously abusing the system isn't being accounted for. This could go on all night... This is why I usually don't talk about specific political issues in the public arena!

Anna was only half-serious though. I think she just enjoyed at being able to pick on an issue and then just running with it. I really haven't a clue about the in's and out's of benefit claim... and, to be honest, I don't think she does either!!

Football hooliganism

I haven't written for ages... So this is just to show I'm still alive but not doing much! Work is incredibly hectic at the moment and leaving very little time to do anything other than eat, sleep and then go to work again.

I did want to point out though that football hooliganism is not restricted to just the English. The AC Milan v. Inter Milan match yesterday proved that it is very much alive in other countries too... For those of you who don't know what happened, flares were thrown on to the pitch and one caught the shoulder of a goalkeeper, subsequently hospitalising him. The TV cameras saw the flare begin to spark and spun as it bounced off the goalkeeper's shoulder, possibly throwing sparks into his face. It was an appalling scene of hooliganism.

I would like to point out that I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush. I just wanted to highlight that while the FA is barring English football fans from travelling left, right and centre, they should be using the same power to acknowledge that other countries have just as many 'bad eggs'.

Maybe I should be directing this at the FA...?