Happy Birthday JR.

I've just returned from Cambs, visiting cousin JR, who was 88 today.
No mean achievement, or fortunate in his choice of parents, however you look at it.
The local, elderly farmers all seem to agree that he certainly wasn't lucky in his choice of father, who was regarded as notable mainly for his argumentative nature.
His treatment of JR, his only child, has obviously affected his entire life, right down to his bachelor state.
Strangely, Uncle J  was always most charming to us as little girls, although we were aware that Granny  avoided contact with him.
Anyway, we had a good day - out to lunch at The Rose in Stapleford - recommended - then home for a birthday tea with eight locals in attendance to help out with the cake.

That has accounted for the last two days.
The new kitchen recycling bin arrived from Amazon yesterday & G installed it in the kitchen cupboard.
It's pretty good & robust, with two bins - 20 litre for waste & 30 litre for paper & plastic.
This may revolutionise my life!
Tennis tomorrow - I hope that you all watched Horizon tonight. If not, watch it on i player.
Apparently, 3 minutes intense exercise a week & not sitting down, is the answer to fitness & health.
This is a very abridged version!

Blimey!

many years ago g & I went to see a film called "La Passionata", starring Ted from Hi de hi as the Italian grandfather of an ice-cream making family, who made a fortune on a new flavour ice cream & collected Ferraris.
Yes, it was absolutely awful, right down to Ted's Italian accent.
I was reminded of this tonight as we have been to see"Woman in Black", with Daniel Radcliffe - a nineteenth century spook movie, with every spooky trick in the book from automatons to rocking chairs, that work unaided.
The best line in the film came as the woman in black (scary ghost) ran towards him, howling.
A chap at the back shouted "Get your wand out, Harry".
The audience laughed at all of the scary bits - perhaps they were meant to.
Daniel R is, well, short.
He is comparatively normal, when playing a child, but definitely short, as an adult.
It's a very poor film, but do go & see it if you want a laugh.

Otherwise, we did paperwork this morning, I wrote Sunday's sermon, had a bowl of soup & then went to solihull, bought food for tomorrow night (6 for dinner) then picked up J & Th from school, fed & entertained them until P came home, then off for a night on the tiles.
Home by 9.00pm.  

27999 hits!

So will you be 28000?
It would be nice if you felt moved to comment, if you were, or even if you weren't, to be honest.
Perhaps it's just me reading my own blogs, living in this enclosed little world.
That would be sad as I'd much rather be in bed.

The decorator has finished the spare bedroom & it looks really great - the paper is perfect & the workmanship first class - let me know if you need a decorator as he is brilliant.
Tennis was rained off, so I went to the gym & then toured Solihull looking for green velvet curtains & checking out the recycling bins that we had viewed on Internet.
This was time consuming!
The bin(s) was just the job,so ready to order.
The green velvet curtains could be made by J Lewis for £364, a little otp for the spare room, so, back to the drawing board.
I berated Beatties, having wandered around the curtain dept for a good 10 minutes, seeing no other life form, then being told that they had gone home , so no help was available, at 5.19pm!!!
I told them that I would take my custom elsewhere.
Am I becoming a grumpy Old Woman?

I've just booked with Travelzoo to go to the ballet in B'ham - best seats for £16 each & v good reviews.

A refuelling record achieved today - my most expensive fuel ever - £1.45.9 per litre!!!!

Wing Yip.

A chilly six degrees today, but a heat wave promised or later in the week.
G took me to the new Queen Elizabeth hospital this morning, at the invitation of the Chaplain, to see the new facilities enjoyed by the multi-faith chaplaincy & gain an insight into how it all works.
The hospital is very impressive, but as with all hospitals, you're thankful of your own good health & pleased to be leaving.
We went to Dunelm Mill to look for velvet curtains for the spare room - we can order some.
The shop used to sell good quality mill remnants twenty years ago, when I last bought curtains there - we don't believe in redecorating too often - you now have to look hard for the good stuff amongst the tat.
We then had a buffet lunch at Wing Yip & spent an interesting hour pottering around the supermarket.
Garlic, rice & spices are very cheap, but bulk orders needed.
Home in time for a nice cup of tea & a green tea cake.

We've just watched a good programme about Braveheart, whilst struggling to do a fourth clue in the DT crossword.
Tennis tomorrow - may need a sun shade!  

Livigno.

A lovely week away with W, MK, J & DK, T & B (MK's parents)
All of my travel arrangements had been made  by W with T & B - I flew to Frankfurt early on Saturday am & was met by T & B at arrivals.
We then drove through Germany, Austria & Switzerland, to N Italy - snow all the way.
Lots of tunnels to go through in the Alps, with deep snow up to the car roof in between.
The last bit is through a one way tunnel into Livigno, a very pretty town  in the valley.

This was my first skiing holiday.
I've never been good on slippery surfaces & have pretty big feet without elongating them further, so I'm sure that skiing isn't for me - now that I'm the wrong side of 40, I suspect that my bones may not be as flexible as they once were.
Right, no skiing then.

The temperature dropped to - 18 on day one then gradually warmed up during the week.
I'd bought M&S thermal vests, like long sleeve t shirts,which I wore over a vest & under a cashmere sweater  (so no-one would mistake me for a skier!) & a vintage down jacket.
I then wore long woolly tights under padded trousers, thick socks & my wonderful ECCO/gortex boots, bought to cope with Denmark six or seven years ago.
On the very cold days only my toes & fingers got cold.

All of the family are great skiers - even little DK can manage the nursery slope, hands on knees, with great aplomb.
J went to Ski school every day for two hours, winning the "slalom ski-off" on Friday  by over 10 seconds.
We had lovely lunches everyday as a break from the slopes, & local bread, ham & cheese in the evenings, washed down with excellent Italian wine..
Scrummy!

Home late on Saturday, lazy Sunday, tennis this morning, then lazy again as G had lit a fire.
The decorator is doing the spare room, doing a grand job 

Cold, cold, cold.

It seems to have been freezing for weeks now, necessitating wearing lots of clothes, even in the house.
We had a meeting last night & had the kitchen radiator on full power & anothet heater on as well so that those coming from over-heated homes would not suffer.
All four churches were meant to have been represented, to discuss joint activities, including celebrating the Queen's Jubilee.
OW couldn't make it & LM didn't turn up.
Oh well, you can only try.

It has been quiet today.
G went shopping this morning whilst I did noisy housework.
G bought soup for lunch, then I went to Tom Wilson's to a Christian Aid meeting with a guy from the B'ham office - two hours in a laid back rocking chair, trying to sit up & look intelligent/interested/awake.

Apparently there is 3in of snow in York; it's not got here yet.
I have a flight to catch early on Sat morning so I am hoping that the snow misses us so there won't be any hold ups.
I have clothes piled on the spare bed, awaiting a re-count.
I bought a grey cashmere polo neck sweater this week, having found that a silky base layer under a cashmere is amazingly warm & cosy.
No doubt I should be wearing fleece layers.

Lady Godiva is going from Coventry to London for the Olympics, being transported there  by a team of cyclists, attached to a massive framework.
Raleigh, I  surmise.

Home again.

Wednesday already, or "Travelzoo day" as it is known - check it out - Kuoni have 13 days FI in Sri Lanka for £799.
Monday was a cold wet day; we stayed in & emptied the Noble chest in the lounge.
We are now of a mind that much of what I/we value is of little interest to the family & may as well be disposed of, hence somethings went back in, some went on the fire & the remainder is going to Bonhams on Friday.
If this is a success, we may end up with a "minimalist" look!

Yesterday, I went to the gym, shopped, briefly, in Solihull, then went on to pick up T & KP from school.
After a snack & drink, we went into Bicester, an unsuccessful attempt  to find a specific pen for T.
It was excellent in that we bought a pile of Wedgwood leaf plates that were in the window of  a charity shop, for a very good price - open to offers!
I did a sleepover & did the school walk this morning, before returning to finish the stories that we had not had time to finish  before school.
This took until 11.00am!!!
Quick shop in town, bag to M's, coffee & a nice chat with G, then home.
The diesel was 42.9p/l at Tesco!!!

G has cleaned the ovens - what a star!
A group of us from the churches  had a meeting this evening to discuss forthcoming events.
Great fun, actually - well directed functionality.
We shall have another scrum in a few weeks.
   

OK, it snowed.

Yesterday was very cold.
I went to the hairdressers in Coleshill at 2.00pm, it was sprinkling snow when I arrived & about 1cm of snow when I came home at 4.00pm.
The car made a horrible noise all the way home, which G tells me was something to do with the traction control coping with the snow.
By the time I got home radio 4 had the weather news from around the country, starting with Lichfield - "2cm of snow, shops had closed early & the cathedral looked wonderful".
What do the Danes think of us?
The thaw had set in by this morning but the ungritted lanes near home were snowy & it is freezing, so tomorrow may be difficult.

P, A, J & Th have been to lunch - a leg of lamb & roast vegetables which cooked whilst I took Morning Prayer at NW. We've had a cosy afternoon, ending with tea & scones & chocolate cake.
We have watched the recording of antiques Road Show - a repeat of a recent programme - why? - & Top Gear is now on!!!
A quiet week pending - tennis looks doubtful - balls don't bounce on snow - gym, family visit, holiday shopping.....

The Telegraph is starting a campaign to improve maths in school - watch this space 

Gone to pot.

Another cold day, but sunny & clear.
I had hoped to go for a walk but we spent too long getting up, including checking the answers to yesterday's crossword.
G had planned a day out to :
Ventura Park (thermal underwear for me - no luck, food, - M&S)
Lichfield (Arthur Price outlet - kiddy cutlery),
Stone (straight past) &
Stoke (Wedgewood works - egg cups - disappointing but a cup of tea at last)
Some lovely countryside & G checking out old haunts.
We were home by 6.30pm, dinner, jam buns & a good fire.
We bought G a thin down coat in M&S sale - sadly, none my size.
Must look on-line for my thermals!

Will there be snow by tomorrow?
Must go to the hairdressers.

Home again.

Busy, busy week, though not as busy as W.
More "time-consuming" really.
I went to see JR in Cambs on Monday, as it was far too frosty to play tennis, arriving before mid-day.
We took his carer home, then went out to lunch in Linton - the poorest Caesar salad ever!
I stayed overnight/did a sleepover, took JR to the doctors & caught up on his social life before driving home in the early evening (record time!)

Wed morning disappeared somewhere.
I was intending to go to the gym before collecting & Th from school, but made the mistake of catching up on my e-mails before going out.
This included booking a holiday in Marrakesh......almost.
All done & dusted until the payment was refused - Broadway Travel's security system will not accept payment unless you have a house number.
Beat that.
Apologies, but no holiday, only phone calls to credit card companies to cancel payments that couldn't be taken?????
I got my exercise walking to school - speed walking due to the cold.
We watched the antiques programmes after tea, J & Th were gripped!
Home to cook dinner & snuggle by the fire.

Today we went to MG (which took most of the morning - I had to wash my hair & g wanted to buy hedging en route + a quick lunch in Stratton Audley)We had a fun afternoon with the twins, collected O from school, then on to the playground before tea.
Home to cook dinner & TV by the fire.

Day off tomorrow.
A walk would be good, somewhere.

Is there anyone out there?