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Awful Monday, fell out with girl friend Sunday evening over text from ex wife. The text was not inoxerous, just asking how I go on at the Doctor's. I forgot to tell said girlfriend that I spoke to ex and told her everything is okay. Now I am getting the treatment, the stropes, the threats, the hurt and the accusations of deceit.
I just hope tomorrow is another day.
Im worried about my mum. She is being given palliative chemotherapy and my step father rang me last night to say that her last blood results were not good. They are to stop treatment for 6 weeks.
A lot can happen in 6 weeks. I love my mum.
Today has really been a just a day of remembering, a day to get through, as it's the first anniversary of the death of my mother. Oddly I can remember more about today a year ago than I can about what I did this morning. The panic in my father's voice when he rang me. The insane drive at stupid speeds down the roads. Arriving at my parents house to be met by one of the paramedics who just looked at my wife and I and quietly said 'I'm sorry, but the lady has died'. The sound of my father, grief stricken and my wife going to try and comfort him, while coming to grips with her own pain.
Standing outside in the cold, much colder than today, smoking a cigarette, trying to decide quite what to say to my brother. Realising that in many ways that ironically this is best it could possibly have been - she didn't suffer any pain, and didn't know she was ill. It really was the 'falling asleep' death. Also feeling fortunate that I'd left nothing unsaid, nor said anything that I regretted saying.
I sat today, thinking of the last year. Trying to adjust to a new 'normal', because within the space of a few seconds the life that I'd known for 46 years was snatched from me. The overwhelming feeling of cold - a natural thing apparently, to feel cold. I felt cold for months - bone chilling cold that even sitting almost on top of a fire couldn't help. Everything else during that year going wrong, which apparently is also quite common. A rotten holiday, my car breaking down once too often, the replacement car I bought not being very cold. The constant exhaustion of being reminded of my mother - seeing something that I'd think to tell her about, or to buy for her, or a joke that I'd be half way to picking up the phone to ring her and share.
Above all, everything just being *hard*. Yes, full of grief, but just hard. Nothing easy, every single day being a grind to get through. Having to consider my father, and to understand and be supportive when he says that he just wants to be dead.
Getting past each anniversary, each obstacle, marking them off. The first day, week, month. The funeral, Mother's Day, my birthday, her birthday, Christmas - each of those days being totally different, and just to be endured and got through and out the other side.
Listening to my father sobbing his heart out and knowing that there is absolutely nothing at all that I can do which will make more than the slighest difference.
I'm sure that there have been good days in the last year, but for the life of me, I really can't recall any of them. And so slowly, eventually, back to today. I ticked off the hours, and the minutes in my head this morning, working out exactly where I was, and what I was doing. And feeling so very, very cold today.
spent most of the day with follow up from my heart attack. staff friendly not rushed willing to sit and listen. NHS gets ample negative press so feel must praise these warm caring individuals. Cant complain about my recovery except to say I do sometimes feel that some of these tablets give me a feeling of carrying an extra heavy weight with me.
Sitting at work preparing a training sesion for 25 staff tomorrow on care planning. Wife just rang to say that our very old fridge/freezer has completely packed in, and can we go to the superstore this pm to buy a new one. Oh whoopee! Need to keep up the day job then.
I'ts been non stop today. Delivering parcels around a bank in the City of London. As soon as I've come back from trip, more have arrived. I'm sure that some of these couriers hide round the corner, wait for them to leave before dropping whatever they are delivering. Tuesday's are usually quiter
This is my first blog and I wanted to do it earlier but thanks to Andy Murray my whole day went to pot!! I teach English to foreign students so I hope that they understand why they have a less than well prepared lesson tonight.
I can't believe how well Andy played today, hopefully this is a good sign for Wimbledon.
I booked our Hotel room in Disneyland finally after spending about twenty hours on various web sites reading review after review.
This is from somebody who until about two years ago was dead set against the inter net and thought it was a very dangerous weapon.
Compared to some blogs today I know this is very dull but then most people's lives are dull and monotonous.
Thanks for reading(if you did!)
Today is our 35th Wedding Anniversary. I made my husband an anniversary card, but true to form he forgot to get me one. My daughter send an email card and photo of my grandson, aged one. My mother in law sent us a bouquet of flowers.
This afternoon I've been to our Church to meet someone who is going to clean it. Next I'm cooking roast chicken for supper.
A good day - I'm very proud of my family and love my husband dearly, even after 35!
My first foray into blogging so here goes.
My wife has been acting like a giggly school girl for the past few days.
She is 32.
It is very irritating.
Well it is to me atleast but as I am the only one experiencing her emotions I feel I have a legitimate right to be slightly unhappy.
The reason for her behaviour; she has been waiting to do a pregnancy test. She then decided to do it this morning just as I was on my way out to work. Either result, it is not the start of the working week I really want.
She was upset with me yesterday when I told her she was acting like a she was and the reasons behind my discontent. I remember the birth of our 2 year old; 5 months of morning sickness, then the backache and tiredness, a labour lasting 60 hrs (but not according to the midwife(s)!), a week longer in hospital due to jaundice, then a very hungry little boy who kept her awake for most of the next six months.
We love our little boy and we would love another little one but I would like her to take it a little more seriously as it is not something to act so, it appears, flippantly over. I find it difficult to understand her excitement with the prospect of this all over again. Obviously I don’t experience all the physical changes but being powerless to help with most of these things isn’t something that I enjoy.
We have also only recently moved into a new house and have tonnes to do with it. Oh well.
Suffice it to say it was positive. I had to go to work as soon as she told me and now have all day to think about it.
Have spent the last 15 minutes trying to get an Excel spreadsheet to print on a single sheet so that I can read it without having to take a magnifying glass to it. It shouldn't be impossible forchissake, but it is refusing to come out of the top left corner of the page. I give up. It's worse than when I started to alter it. I guess I won't know what I'm supposed to be doing for the project until I can talk to the person who put this speadsheet together. I'm off home now. Then to go visit my wife.
Felt that a light had gone out first thing when my inbox annuonced that L'Abbe Pierre had died this morning. His death put the rest of the day into perspective - the radio was on while I was seeing clients in the local health centre, and while I was dealing with claims for emphysema, housing benefit and disablity benefits for clients with mental health issues, I had an ear cocked to see if he would get a mention. Not a squeak. News today was sport (tennis) and wannabe Whisky Galore-ites. Strange how we get loads of information from the other side of the world, and from the middle east, but very little about what is/has happened in our neighbouring countries. I came home and plugged into France Info - as well as covering L'Abbe Pierre, they also managed to cover the tennis, the shipwreck off the devon coast and the "looters", northern ireland "police" and the UVF, so I got "all" the news. Oh yes, we also had the elections in the Balkans, labour party finances, sarkozy and royale's latest news, hilary clinton ... news in other words. And all in the space of a rolling 8 minute bulletin. Did I miss not hearing people's opinions? No, not a lot. And I forgot about the report on the anti-globalisation meeting in Kenya. Last night I watched Desomnd Morris on Parkinson from 1979 explaining how the same gestures meant different things in the UK and on the continent. On my way home today, I was wondering whether this had something to do with the parochial content of UK news providers - when I worked in France I was always amused at the expressions on the faces of UK people who had bought properties to rent out, when they discovered that they couldn't evict people during the winter, even though they had gone to court and obtained a warrant. They hadn't a clue who L'Abbe Pierre was - and that since 1955 following his hijacking of RTL in 1954 when he made an impassioned plea on behalf of the freezing and homeless, the government made eviction in winter, illegal. I wonder what I'm going to see on the French news tonight which will catch my eye (and which, although interesting, and relevant) won't appear on any mainstream UK based bulletin. And Five Live is leading with the "looters" - we love a story about getting something for nothing. I sit here wondering why we don't love a story where someone with nothing gets something.
Sitting here on our farm high in the beautiful North Pennines. Snowing outside and the temperature is dropping below freezing. I might have to go and bring the sheep etc in soon if it does not stop snowing.
I am trying to enjoy the last day of a week's respite care as I care full-time for a profoundly disabled partner. As I work from home I am about to start work on a project for the NHS where we hope to set up rehabilitation facilities for disabled people in our area, especially those who have suffered a stroke.
What a horrible weekend...partner has not spoken to me in 3 days. The only glimpse of sunshine was when Thiery headed in the winner and won me £10 (ye of little faith!) Double bonus...my partner's a Man U supporter......."get it up ye" as Jack Jarvis esq would say.
Watched the first set of Andy Murray's game before leaving for work. Followed the match on the BBC website at work...not the pictures mind you, just the point by point type. Disappointing result but it makes you proud to be Scottish when one of us is doing so well.What a talent!
Oh well, back to work before I get collared for mis-use of government computers.
Cheerio!
Today is marathon training day! As is 4 other days of the week. I'm running the Stockholm Marathon in June and need to get the miles into my legs and the confidence into my brain. I will run maybe a short 5 mile 'sprint' as I did a half marathon yesterday. If you want to follow my daily chunterrings (and maybe pick up a few tips) then go to www.marathontrainingandnutrition.blogspot.com
Typical Monday teaching special needs in a primary school. Highlights were Oliver having a good day, Joshua and Macauley behaving more sensibly and some nice comments on pupils' bullying surveys. The odd spelling mistake can lighten the load a bit as well - Daddy Bear said, 'Who has shat in my chair?' This child obviously needs more phonics practice.
Pretty good day all told. I am a stay at home dad and look after my 4 yr old son and 10 mth old daughter. My wife is an Architect and leaves around 8 30am while my and the kids finish breakfast.
I had to go to the car garage to get a part fixed to our car and our son goes to nursery. so did that then came home and had lunch.
On Monday PM I go to my wifes post natal group so it is me and 4 women. they are very pleasant and do find it strange to have me in the group.
Last part of the day was spent driving around our small city making arrangements for glazing companies to come to our house for a quote for french windows....also waiting for a vintage toy to be sold for a large price on an auction website (currently £90).
So there we are lovely sunny day spent with my children. How idilic!
Having written a song about the survival expert ray mears a few days ago i was very pleased to hear that the BBC had put a link to it on the BBC 2 website(myspace.com/tomrosenthal). I am on a quest to get Ray to hear it and im getting there, it proves you can do alot of things in this life. What i should have been doing is some research into whether people are born gay for my Anthropology degree but i didnt do anything. I went to a empty chapel and i tried to invent something lovely but im not sure i did. I also watched some of the Andy Murray match, he has the winning spirit that Henman lacks.
I dont really believe in this blogging thing. This will probably be my first and my last one.
Pleasure dissapoints , possibility never
Woke up in Grenoble with a hangover which I didn't deserve, I had two pints and a glass of wine the night before. I arrived at work just on time and was the first person there. So I spent all day working on a paper about dopant profiling in semiconductors. Got chased out of the office after the fire alarm went off so sat down in the bike sheds tapping away on my laptop. So I am safe at home now and it is going to snow tonight. Its about time, I have a cupboard full of skis but there is no snow.
I'm not supposed to be here ... today was the day I was due to go and visit a friend - a long standing arrangement to see her new house - but I have the after effects of a bad cold/virus and didn't think I'd be up the journey. Instead, I stayed home, but rather than get involved in the normal day of the family household, I gave myself a day off sick and spent the day watching the tennis - Murray vs Nadal in the Australian Open. Great game, but I'd rather be somewhere else ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_the_skins/
Just shaking off a "cold" of some sort ..my guts felt okay today..put my warmest gear on for my bike ride, including my lovely new Yellow "Assos" "airbloc" bibtights ..did about twenty miles,will go better tommorrow wether it's colder or not...
chris morrell
Interestingly, I was updating my own blog today. It's at the address above and i've been doing it for years. Four in fact. It's up to ten thousand posts in it's earliest incarnation, about forty of which can be actually attributed to actual life writing.
However, I wonder upon the merits of writing about writing a blog online, in another blog that i'm writing about blogging in. You decide. Today, I went to work and, it was as mawkishly dull as it always is. I then went home to groan at the prospect of another night at college in Canterbury, having to schlep all the way there on the most unreliable train service in the country. As that country is England, I know it's got to be bad.
In between work and college, i've been playing Super Mario 64. I think it's the best incarnation, being built purely for fun.
My second week at a new school as Head of Geography - I loved my old school but the travelling was too much so I moved on. Going down with some sort of virus again, so have spent the whole day sitting down in lessons shaking with the chills and feeling like I am being stabbed all over. I'll be off tomorrow, I hate phoning in sick, the feeling of guilt is as bad as the illness - also I am 40 and my mum still gives me a hard time about taking sick leave. I'm not looking forward to telling her in the morning. Mind you there is the joy of Benolyn to look forward to later.
year 10 twice today, lots of chat and little work being done....me wondering why we teach citizienship, good neighbours, tolerance etc and then the parents let them watch Celebrity Big Brother..."But miss she isn't bright, bet she's got no GCSE's". Year 13 have an a level exam on wednesday, I stayed behind after school to give them an extra revision session and 4 out of 20 kids turned up. "But You don't need qualifications miss, look at Jade Goody"--- Cheers Channel 4!I am judged by these results!!!
I am a German who lives in Scotland, in the Highlands, where it is most beautiful and very, very lonely. This morning a friend called and asked me if I could help her to retrieve her car which was in a garage for repairs since before Christmas. Without a car one is absoltutely lost here and I have tried to help her as much as I could during the last weeks. So I was happy to give her a lift to the garage (about 30 miles/one way). While on the road sunshine and snow flurry followed each other in quick succession. When the sun was out it was breathtaking beautiful - the first real winter day. In the bits of blizzard I would rather like to be at home and warm and cosy. In two days I will go down to London to meet my husband who comes over from Germany for the weekend. I am so looking forward to it as I miss him very much. There is no employment where we live so he always has to return to Germany to earn some money.
Never blogged before!
Today I started a new job at Mid Beds District Council, as a Local Development Framework Administrator, having left my previous employer after nearly 10 years. Lots of new names and faces to remember, but I feel relieved that I've got the first day out of the way and looking forward to seeing how the job pans out from tomorrow onwards. Now working over 4 days, so I have one day to myself each week!
Today being when the shock of my friends losing their baby really hits home. To have an unborn snatched away before the tiny human even had the chance to breathe the sweet fresh joy of living rips my heart with pain for them... pain that the baby never even knew of.
Over half-way of carrying their precious bundle and someone, or something, or fate, decided that now is just not the right time for them - it just seems so unfair - harsh.
For all of us, we take for granted the love of others - but what of those who never really have the chance to give that love a name.
To of had the beam of sun - brighten their lives - only to not notice the raincloud gathering above their heads.
I can't stop thinking of their agony, I can't stop wanting to rush to them, to hide them, and to shelter them. But for all the feelings I have - none can be so unbearable than theirs. Nothing I can do would be anything but a reminder that I only feel this pain because they do - and a reminder of why they feel that way. What is love and support if it is just a post-it of what they have lost.
Cold is the right word, a cold that freezes the words in your mouth, that takes away the right things to say, that steals your breath with loss.
People out there may understand this grief, people could perhaps say the right things, be the right thing, do the right thing - for now I am lost. I can do nothing.
Not many things in this world render you helpless... but some are so gut wrenching and perhaps a taster to tell us how precious our life really is.
Jess
My day started early. We were snowed in in the Peak District last night (the Glossopdale area was the snowiest place in the UK!), and I had to get both myself and my five year old daughter back down to Bedfordshire for 9.00am. So got up at 1.30am to find the road, the A628 clear, but still lots of snow on the pavements and driveways, and surrounding hills. Packed the bags, went out with steaming mug of tea in gloved hand, and cleared the snow from the car, making sure it was warm for sleeping beauty. And then failed abysmally to get said warm car out of the upward sloping drive due the six inches of snow and ice. There was nothing for it but to turf my happily snoozing husband out of bed (I'm a great believer in chivalry), and much spinning of wheels and shovelling of grit later, the car was free. At 2.30am, daughter and I set off across the Pennines, following two snow plows (a good omen), and drove through a silent, mystical Narnia-like world, past an abandoned car, hazards flashing eerily and the driver long gone, over the Woodhead Pass to find no snow on the Sheffield side.
An uneventful journey - although I'm sure that the cashier at the service station thought I was doing a matrimonial runner, filling up at 3.30am with lots of bags and a sleeping child in the car - and we arrived home at 5.00am, to be greeted by the local badger.
Funnily enough, I'm a bit tired now.
Jan 22nd
A Monday morning for a truely fed up GP trying hard to care form my patients, whilst politicians and managers are trying thier hardest to destroy this nhs, which we so need to cherish. I can no longer refer patients to hospital unless I use "choose and book" so that patients can choose from a good local hospital 6miles away or others 20 miles away,(only 1 person has chosen to go to adifferent hospital from the local 1 in the year I have had to use this system) Cost of choose and book £6 billion1 but still GPs are told they are ruining the health service by getting paid what the government negaotiated, alot of which is performance related to good results and good practice. Now we are told we can no longer refer acutely ill patients to hospital without the Primary Care Trust checking it through a nurse led unit in case we are doing it wrong! More time and money wasted and GPs feeling less respected and valued. We had a brilliant system staffed by great nurses, doctors, physios,OTs, etc. now it is falling apart as huge sums are being wastted on poilital dogma and patient care and clinical need comes a distant second to management tasks and targets. I have never known so many fantastic people with good clinical skills wanting out of your nhs! Sorry to sound so depressed about our service but "best year"? more like one of the last years!
Oh, what a morning of not travelling... I thought I'd do the right thing and go into the office this morning and get a couple of hours of work done before going to the hospital for an appointment about my broken thumb - very noble, I thought. I'd given myself so much travel time, that I thought there would be no way I'd be late for my appointment... how wrong could I be. Not long after leaving Birmingham New Street we ground to a halt just outside Aston station. The train in front had broken down at Aston station. Where is Thomas the Tank engine and friends when you need them? We sat there for over an hour before trying to shunt the train in front out of the way. Not much luck with that so all change at Aston and get onto a new train - hurray, there's a chance I might only be 20 mins late, there's a chance the consultant might be running late... Oh how my glee quickly turned to disappointment when we drew into Sutton Coldfield, and then pulled out again without the doors opening...so, a trip up to the next station up the line and back and this time safely off the train (no penalty fare for going past my destination!!). At least when I got to the hospital 40 mins late the consultant was running really late and I got seen and discharged......that's the end of noble efforts for my employer, I'm taking the whole day sick next time!!!
Monday 22/01/2007
7am Arrived home after night shift to find one of my sons hamsters had escaped. Apparently the hamsters were fighting during the night and my wife decided to separate them by putting one inside a cardboard box! Guess what? The hamster chewed through it.
I woke my wife up and the kids joined us at 7:15.
After a few tears we found the escapee under a cupboard and enticed it out with carrots and strawberries.
After I slept I picked up my children from school and proceeded to the pet shop where I purchased another cage so that the hamsters can have their own space. They have connecting tunnels and appear to be getting along OK. Only time will tell,however my wife will not use a cardboard box to separate them again.
I also had to buy another goldfish for my oldest as two died at the weekend.
Just another day in the life of a Father of two boys
Sir Edmund Hilary watch out ...
first blog and first attempt at hill climbing.My wife Caroline and I decided to climb Dumgoyne-a relatively small hill north of Glasgow.It was steep and icey and we sort of failed to get to the top-the descent was worse.
well worth going to half way-views of Ben Lomond with snow amazing.........Should we climb again or blog again That is the question. ?????
A mixed day today. Was unwell all of last week, but still not feeling good today so went back to the doctors. More tablets and another couple of days away from work.
To add insult to injury my son had seizures and so as his carer, had to look after him as well as myself.
In a way it was good that I was at home as I was able to watch Andy Murray play Raffial Nadal. What a geat match and no excuses not to sit and watch it all.watched the tv and listened to radio 5 for the commentary (best of both worlds)
Have also had time to go online, catch up on e-mails and competitions (one of my hobbies). Also decided to see if |could get tickets for RBS 6 nations match, England V Italy. Had to buy the £65 tickets, but obtained 2 and just hope son doesn't have seizures on the day of match.
Have e-mailed my backpacking son bring him uptodate with family news. He's in New Zealand at the moment and visiting Matamata(does anyone know what that means?) Thank goodness for the internet. Can't imagine saying that a few years ago when I was computer illiterate!!
Sir Edmund Hilary watch out ...
first blog and first attempt at hill climbing.My wife Caroline and I decided to climb Dumgoyne-a relatively small hill north of Glasgow.It was steep and icey and we sort of failed to get to the top-the descent was worse.
well worth going to half way-views of Ben Lomond with snow amazing.........Should we climb again or blog again That is the question. ?????
My 22nd January started at 2:30am when a pressure imbalance in my boiler sent an incredibly loud rattling sound throughout the house, followed closely by the screams of my seven year old daughter. Despite turning off the appliance it continue to reverberate at intervals coinciding with us just dropping off to sleep.
Had to take the morning off to await the service engineer. Whilst finally leaving the house following repair looked back to find 2 huge slates loose & dangling precariously over the front door.
Roll on Tuesday!!
Got up usual on a Monday, at 6:30. Breakfast, washed up, made lunch and ready to leave at 7:10. I always walk to work as it is only 10 minutes away. So I started at work at 7:20. Copied some work I needed for today, did some tidying and spoke to colleagues. 8:40 and I let the chlidren in, I work in a primary school. Helped them with Maths and RE before playtime, it is great how many can talk about a baptism service. Playtime is a little cold outside but they all seem to be enjoying themselves. Now some English before lunch. Had to make sure the work was ready for the afternoon before marking the Maths work, most have got it, while eating lunch. Then back for Science. To finish the day we all talked about their water use survey. Some thought that having 10 cups of tea in a day in the family was a lot, I am sure I drink more than that on a normal day. After the chlidren left I attended a meeting with colleagues which finished at 5:00. I carried home the Science and English work to mark tonight. I am now cooking tea for my family and will get the marking started at about 7:30. This should be finished by 9:30ish so that I can cuddle up with my book in bed by about 10:00 ready for the day tomorrow.
Working from home which I do 2 days a week, everyone should try if they can. We moved in November to the Forest of Dean and hope it's going to stop raining soon so we can make the most of it. Still work in Reading which is 100 miles away but I am lucky as I am being made redundant at the end of June and can retire early so can start doing all the things I want to do. On holiday over Christmas/new year so missed the family and turky but having everyone to visit in Feburay for our festivities
I have mever blogged before in fact I dont think i am sure what it is.
So good to have to wrap up to take the dog for a walk I have missed winter.Have decided to move House after 27yrs so have been touching up the paintwork.I have been a widow for 5yrs and feel tha that I can now move on to a new phase , staying in the same place is too comfortable to facilitate change.
I am going to look at a Bungalow tomorrow which seems promising. My son is coming as well just for a different perpective.But the decision will be mine & mine alone still a bit scary even though I thik of myself as very independent.
Bit of a strange day, took the wife to work at the nut-house at 6.30am before getting the three munchkins fed, watered and dropped at the child care. Went to work spending more time on the last 1/2 mile than the previos 5.
Couldn't really focus on work, can't seem to get past my scan for Cancer tomorow. Ho hum, never mind booked the time off to go to a friends funeral, can't beleive it'll be a month to the day from when Hunty was swept off the cliffs in Cornwall.
Left work early and dropped my eldest to Beavers, looks like they are in for fun - first thing on the Scouting centenary celebrations tonight.
I'm supposed to be washing up now whilst the other two sprogs are having a bath, maybe in a second.
Soon be time to pick up Gregor and put the three of them to bed, just in time to cook for Kirsty before she arrives home at 9.30pm (long shifts these nurses do) then off to bed and prepare to face the world again.
Wellies and anorak for lovely muddy day as Monday morning volunteer gardener in local English Heritage park in west london. Today 12 of us toiled away slithering about in rain and cold,sawing up trees felled by last week's gales, stacking them for clearance from paths later, and some of us litter picking (4 black bags full in one morning - why can't people take away their picnic food wrappers and plastic cutlery?). Good coffee break in our break room - chocolate cake and candles for someone's 70th birthday!! Lunch in the freezing camellia conservatory. All great fun and we all look forward to Monday mornings.
Lots of work left to do - 64 acres!
Home for a hot shower and Italian class homework in front of the fire.
This evening going to architects' consultation meeting on local development. This is life in retirement and it's fun!
What a lovely day.It's my birthday and I'm 41 and I'm feeling it after a day teaching 5 and 6 year olds!
Thankfully they all spelt my name right on the cards I recieved...so I must be doing something right! The spelling of birthday however....
A cosy night in with a curry and glass of red wine will be the perfect end to a fun,chaotic and exhausting day teaching. Bring on tomorrow!
What a lovely day.It's my birthday and I'm 41 and I'm feeling it after a day teaching 5 and 6 year olds!
Thankfully they all spelt my name right on the cards I received...so I must be doing something right! The spelling of birthday however....
A cosy night in with a curry and glass of red wine will be the perfect end to a fun,chaotic and exhausting day teaching. Bring on tomorrow!
I have tried to blog before but unsuccessfully. Was never very good at writing a diary. well here it goes.
Woke by 3yrs old saying pyjamas wet,he's full of cold. Got up made breakfast for 3, and 5 year olds managed to get a cuppa while doing pack lunch. Tried to ring doctors to rearrange sons injections, spent 10 valuable minutes trying to get through - no luck. Had to set off on walk to school. Got back eventually got through to Doctors. Took little one to playgroup then set off on days work. Attended launch of Respect action zone, lots of people, networking. Got into office sorted though emails, grabbed quick bite of lunch off on a case. I am a Mediator, community and family. Got home in time to do nursery pick up, daughter picked up by hubby from school. Sorted washing, made tea and got bed times to come!Need to check how my dad is lost my mum two years ago to cancer and Grandma now diagnosed!
Actually not a bad day quite relaxing compared to some.
Woke up this morning on the final morning of a weekend away at Butlins in Skegness. After being up for half an hour I had a phone call from my husband telling me he had had a car accident on the way to work (someone drove into the the back of him) but was ok. My husband hadn't come away with me as it was a brass band festival over the weekend and he's not a brass band fanatic.
So, I left Skegness about 10am this morning to drive back home to Thetford in Norfolk via Stansted Airport. This is because my mum had come over for the weekend at Butlins, and she lives in Spain.
I eventually arrived home about 3 in the afternoon, and after unpacking the car, I had to take my husband to the doctors as he was by now feeling pretty rough.
After finding out he had whiplash, we returned home to sort out the insurance company, and we are now waiting to find out what is going to happen.
Unbelievably I have just returned from the doctor's surgery in Bromyard where I found out that Herefordshire PCT has banned the surgery dispensary from dispensing to patients who live within one mile of the surgery!
The woman behind the desk informed me that the town's independent chemist, as well as having restricted opening hours, currently has no pharmacist so that they are having to refer people to "neighbouring towns."
If reliant on the bus service the most convenient neighbouring towns are Hereford and Worcester - 10 to 15 miles away!
Insanity.
It was a sad and difficult day.
It was my baby sons funeral. Logan Riley born too soon died peacefully in my arms 10/01/07. Unforgettable image of my husband carrying Logan's tiny white coffin.
I will never stop loving Logan, he will be in my heart always.
Being one of those irritating colleagues who tra-la-la’s to the office coffee machine at 8 o clock, it is unusual for me to snug bug in bed in the mornings. But today I did for an extra ten minutes. Lovely. I went to a client meeting with a colleague. My journey went: train, bus, tube, train, cab, car. Two and a half hours later I arrived less than 40 miles from home.
It was a really good meeting. My colleague drove me back to station and I shut my thumb in his car door. I smiled and hee-hee’ed and trotted on to the platform so he couldn’t see me inspecting the injury.
My thumb was a large cartoon throbbing thing, with a purple nail and a big swollen bruise on the fleshy part. As always, I started the working day trying to be Lauren Bacall and finished it like Norman Wisdom.
Just got in from work entertaining a particularly noisy group of 5 and six year olds. Waiting for eta from husband so I can start cooking dinner. Boy life is exciting!
I am 37 years old and have finally met my soul mate. He makes my heart happy and has given my life meaning. The problem is that I am married with 2 young children and he has a partner. For the past year we have fought our emotions, eventually giving in to them. Today, however is our first day of 'just being friends'. After weeks of soul searching we have decided that our relationship is not going anywhere good. We work at the same place and so I have spent the day wishing for and at the same time dreading glimpses of him. The mearest sign of him and my resolve crumbles. Perhaps we should not see each other any more, but the thought of life without him is more than I can bear. I love my family, but this thing has knocked me for six. How will we ever get over it?
When the sun has been shining so brightly and I can sit quietly at home watching Andy Murray square up to Nadal, being ill with a long-term condition like M.E. doesn't seem so bad. I enjoy what I can and I'm thankful for days like this. Getting into watching sport on t.v. (and listening on the radio) has been a good move. It's a constructive way to pass the time and it keeps me sitting still. That's essential just now as I'm trying to climb out of a relapse. Every day I aim to do a bit of basic housework and perhaps manage a walk. Today I was successful and I'm delighted with that. Had to go and post an application for an extra benefit to top-up the rent payments. Being on Incapacity Benefit, I'm not automatically eligible for full housing benefit. I have to keep applying for a discretionary payment. Not everyone gets this, and each time I worry that I won't be given it.
Otherwise, it was good. Had a healthy salad for lunch to help lose the couple of pounds I seem to have put on over Christmas and New Year. I'm counting the calories - the best way as far as I'm concerned.
Read more of the excellent book on Clouds "The Cloudspotter's Guide" by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Not a bad day at all.
I have had a usual kind of Monday at work, but I've never 'blogged' before, so as an addicted fivelive listener, I had to make this 'day 1'.
Two weeks today, I am flying out to see my son in New Zealand (he went on a round-the-world adventure in August 05, met an Irish girl in Queenstown, and neither of them have moved far since)I am full of excitement and emotion at the thought of the trip, and of seeing my son, but my fear of flying is hampering the build-up - but a trip to the GP on Thursday for some flying pills should sort that!
I might do this blogging malarky again.
Usual hoorendous journey on the M62 to work, two flakes of snow and everybody forgets how to drive. Busy day working in an overcrowded, underfunded prison. Journey home on the M62 no better than usual. Made worse by Peter and Jane, in fact all BBC reporters, making light of a bunch of middle class Thieves stealing from containers in Devon. I am sure if BMW motorbikes were being stolen from the showrooms of the leafy suburbs in which the BBC reporters live there would be outcry, expecially if it were by poor drug addicts. The BBC has a duty to report crime as being just that - crime is not acceptable just because it mirrors Whiskey Galore.
Still we've no room to jail these thieves - so perhaps they could be housed with the BBC reporters who find their crimes so amusing.
Well, first time blog for me and, having made my husband write his first blog I thought I'd better follow suit.
Booked our tickets via the internet for the Arsenal vs Tottenham Carling Cup game today. FULL PRICE - for a Carling Cup Game - what a surprise!! This necessitated a moaning email to my son, who rang to tell me to ignore his email about asking me to order his tickets too as he's sorted his booking problem now. I do love technology!
It was good to talk to him as we've recently moved to Gloucestershire and he's in London so we don't get to see him very often - just for the Arsenal games. Sad to say though that we didn't get there for the Man U game - did watch it on the TV though - wonderful.
Spent an hour and a half working through a new fitness programme set by Craig today. Its really nice having 'retired' and being able to go to the gym when its quiet. It was hard work though. I think Craig has it in for middle-aged women!
We're having Christmas on 3rd February as we were away in December. So, I have been cooking mince pies and planning Christmas lunch for 12. We're going to have to find a Christmas tree somewhere, though hopefully living in the Forst of Dean will mean it won't be too difficult.
Also made cakes for the birds. There are so many here its a joy to stand at the kitchen window and watch them. Perhaps that's where the time goes...... Ah well - who cares!
Today was an exciting day as I picked up marketing materials for an art exhibition im involved with. This type of exhibition is still rare in my local area and I hope people will turn out to have a look at it.
Im quite scared and excited about showing my work.
After 28 years in the forces I decided last year it was time for a change and have entered teaching as a second career. Today was the first day of my second placement and it went very well. I have definately made the right choice, I now have a job where I know where I will be next month and for the next year and I can now book a holiday more than a week ahead knowing I will be in the country to take it. Yes there are different challenges to my last job, however, the rewards are there when a child finally understands a problem.
Well here goes my first ever Blogg!! i am a 31 year old farmer from Gwynedd in North Wales i have thought alot about doing this so here goes.
Waking up this mornning i thought God its Monday again anther week in an ever elapsing month, still no g/f and about 180 hungry cattle looking hopfully at me!!! So with the help of Nicky Campbell and (the gorgeous Shelagh Fogarty!!)to keep me company in my tractor they are soon happy!!!
Well after a mixed afternoon of sheep vaccinating and fireplace demolishing Monday draws to a close and with the days gradually getting longer i think where has the winter dissappeared to? 6 weeks from now it will be March and the beginning of Spring. Then roll on the summer to be out on my friends boat as a tour guide on boat trips around the coast!
My weekend was a bit of a washout because I was ill in bed with a cold. I'm sure my husband will catch it and call it flu! I went back to work today and was greeted by lots of smiling teenagers. I teach so I don't get too many questions about how I feel, just why I stink of Vicks. After a long discussion about gaseous diffusion I forget that I'm ill and get on with the day. This is my first blog so my husband has just brought me up a glass of bubbly to celebrate my use of new technology - cheers!
This is the first time I have 'blogged'but I felt compelled to put my 'ordinary' day in writing after both my wife and I have read some very moving accounts of other people's days.
Working for a bank and the NHS seems to be fairly depressing and stressful these days, especially when trying to bring up 2 children. However our spirits have been cheered when we read of the resourcefulness of other people but in a lot of cases think 'there but for the grace of god go us'
today is meant to be the most depressing day of the year and i can see what they mean. even so i cant figure out why a scientist found out it was parents evening tonight! not that i'm failing at any of my gsces for which i'm lucky but there is always room for improvment. anyway, my day. I have a paper round in which i crashed and broke my bike on the abundant ice (adults should imagine a crash on the way to work) but i fell ill giving me enogh time to spend the day marvelling at andy murray's outstanding performance, even if he lost. oh well, things could be worse, after all i'm a southend united fan living near leeds...
Monday began with toilet lid being slammed down (x3) followed by my 10 year old son yelling up the stairs.
Explanation re. climate change as we walked to his school met with 'It will all be your fault if my generation dies because the planet's become uninhabitable'
In to my supervisory job in NHS, we were told we would finally get news of our regradings this weekend and did not. The Trust in its wisdom posted the letters 2nd class. Worse, some colleagues are 'unpersons' in George Orwell's memorable phrase as they have been missed off the list of gradings my boss has received. This exercise was meant to have been finished in April 2006 at the latest.
Firefighting into the evening as I found to my horror that a whole days worth of patient data from 3 weeks back had not been archived and must all be reconstructed form raw data on DVD. Bring back Unix! All kinds of possibilities there for checking/deleting in automated ways.
Quelled more fighting between my sons as my wife had to go out for the evening in connection with her schoolteacher post.
Not the start to the week I'd hoped for, but not dull by any means.
Not a special day, work in office at home, try not to feel too smug listening to phone-in from all the commuters and their horrible journeys.
Take dog for a walk in brilliant winter sunshine, biting cold wind though !
Watch neighbour start to put up new fence as have strict instructions from father how much of our tree he is supposed to cut down, parents away on holiday.
Arrange to collect something from a fellow Guide Leader for a meeting I am running tomorrow night.
Also arrange to see best friend next weekend, she offers to cook me tea.
This is my first blog. I usually swim at least twice a week. However now the local swmimming pool is closed due to the wind damaging the roof last Thursday (18th January 2007). How long will it take for the local council to organise this repair. Is there an incentive for this work to be completed as quickly as possible while of course still keeping within all of the health and safety laws. I am now fearful that this issue will become like the many roadworks and building projects that routinely exceed budget and disrupt lives. This is because usually everybody is thinking of how to take advantage of and maximise a situation for their own benefit.
This is also seen today in the looting taking place on the coast of Devon.
22nd January; not day of particular significance in the office. Four meetings spanning five hours meant that I inherited more actions than I closed!
Since getting home I have just spent an enjoyable hour playing with my son and reading him his bedtime story (his 2nd birthday was 8 days ago). He's gone down easily tonight so my wife and I will have a bit more time to ourselves than we usually get!
Later I will open my laptop and continue writing my novel, a political comedy about a retired rugby player. My main character reinvents politics and then government in Britain. He also attracts more than a fair share of adverse attention from the press largely around his indiscrete private life. He’ll fit right into the rabble at Westminster!
I've been writing it on and off for two years and for the last couple of months have been writing well. 1,000 words tonight will represent a good evening's work!
Hopefully 2007 will be the year I finish the draft. I then hope to get it published. I cling to the fact that every published author was once unpublished! If you see a book called ‘Wildebeest’ in the bargain bucket of a supermarket in the next couple of years you'll know I succeeded!
Just another day, still depressed about Wednesday losing again on Saturday, its been bugging me all weekend. Thought the bloke from the board meeting at Channel 4 was really profound, they spent all afternoon & the best they could come up with was to announce an enquiry. How much do these people get paid? Still interested to see how they bring CBB to a conclusion, I think they have to manipulate the show to get Danielle,Jo & Jack out before the final night.
Given that the weather was completely miserable I thought that I’d spent a little bit of time today sitting by a nice warm fire and watching television. It was a bad idea because I ended up watching adverts instead, and there are few things on television that annoy me as much as adverts. Settle yourself down and let me guide you through a few of the more irritating ones.
Firstly we have the ones from companies offering to sell you money. Note that I say ‘sell’ rather than ‘lend’ because that’s what actually happens. You end up buying money from them at hugely inflated amounts. Oh yes, all the adverts look good – they’re supposed to. But if you look at the small print that £25,000 that you theoretically ‘borrow’ costs you almost double that. And you get the hearty actor saying cheerfully ‘they’re really nice people to talk to.’ Of *course* they’re nice people to talk to – you’re about to sell them your soul, but I bet they’re going to be less than nice to talk to the first month you’re slow on your vastly inflated repayment.
Then there are the adverts with children on or in the loo. I’m not a great fan of children; far too noisy and pointless for my liking, and I fail to see why I should be subjected to watching them on the loo complaining about the smell. Or discussions about ‘gappy nappies’. Look – I just don’t care, the babies concerned certainly don’t care and I doubt that the parents are doing the happy happy joy joy dance thinking about nappies either. What’s even worse though is when you get the combination of loos, children and cute dogs; they have to take the biscuit for sickening adverts surely. I don’t care if my loo paper has little puppy dogs imprinted on it, or if it’s a yard longer than the nearest competitor – just leave me alone!
Oh, another annoyance, and that’s voice overs. They’re ok if they’re well done, but unfortunately they never are. Even though it’s a British voice it’s an American face, talking with an American accent. Do the producers of these things assume that we’re really so dense that we can’t tell that they’ve badly dubbed their boring adverts in the first place? Are they so strapped for cash in the first place that they can’t afford to make a new, British advert? If they can’t be bothered to do either, why should I be bothered to buy their lousy product in the first place?
‘Quote me happy’ adverts. In fact, insurance adverts in general. Are they really expecting me to leap around the room like a thing demented just because they can offer me ten pounds off my insurance? Do they really assume that an irritating nodding dog, telephone on wheels or an elephant is seriously going to affect my insurance purchase? Well clearly they do, else they wouldn’t resort to such insane banalities, but let me tell you Mr and Mrs Insurance Selling Person, it’s Not Going To Work. The only thing that’s going to happen is that I’m not going to buy your product.
Adverts with celebrities in them. I’m sorry, but just because you’re good at maths and you’ve been on Countdown since the year nineteen hundred and frosty weather I’m not going to buy whatever it is you’re trying to sell. And yes, you may have been a moderately competent director with violent films from the 1970s but that doesn’t mean that you know anything about anything else. Let alone car adverts, so please see above, Mr. W. All that it means to have a celebrity trying to flog something is that they need the cash, nothing more, nothing less.
And those magazines! Selling part work collections. If you added up how much the complete collection was it would be cheaper to just go out and spend two hundred quid on the ‘collection’ yourself. Not only would it be more fun, but you’d get it at half the price.
Really, I could go on at great length about the horrors of television commercials, but hopefully that gives you a flavour. They’re a waste of time, space and energy. All they do is convince me to buy another product from a competitor, any competitor!
IONA (age 7)
At school we are practising for our Burns supper.
sing..."wee Anne had a yo-yo to school she did go though,she shouldnae be takin' it at aw,
it rolled fae har hand and it went on the ground and it fell through a hole in the wa'............
chorus -Did ye find a red yo-yo,red yo-yo ,red yo-yo ,did ye find a red yo-yo wae a wee yella string......"
Today was all about the funeral of a colleague. I couldn't write about it this morning but now it's happened I feel such an enormous sense of relief and release. We have waited a month for this. Christmas and the investigation into the death have meant family, friends and colleagues have had to wait and wait. Today was closure, the opportunity to finally say a personal goodbye. The anger at the waste of a young life has dissipated somewhat. I now just hope he knew how much he was loved and how much he is missed.
Today was a significant day for me as I am cycling from Lands end to John o Groats for breast cancer in the summer, and I made a firm committment to this by booking three bed and breakfasts today.
I am a music teacher in Birmingham, and am cycling the route (about 1000 miles) with a friend who teaches maths in Scotland.
Wish me luck, and if anyone would like to sponsor me....
Perhaps Five Live would like to follow our progress up the country??
Well it's taken me nearly 3 hrs to read all these first time blogs! They were so touching/thought-provoking/down-to-earth/emotional, I decided I needed to do my first blog too...
Been to work, as learning support assistant working with 'alternative curriculum' kids. Had interesting discussion with 13 yr old girl about why she's not really ready to become a mother yet!! How to explain why a child is for life, not just a 'baby' to play with/look after????
Back on diet so have had chicken+ salad this evening. Can hear the wine calling to me, but trying to resist...
Need to get on exercise bike for 15 mins before I can go to bed!!
Love + peace to all
Everyday is pretty much the same for an anorexic and Monday the 22nd hasn't been that much different. Which is a shame because in so many ways today should have been a good one; I saw my wonderful sister, my boyfriend's album was (finally!)released today and I saw all my favourite people at the "album launch" (cups of tea in a local cafe- not really rock and roll!). But unfortunately, as a long-suffering but only recently diagnosed anorexic, today has been consumed by my constant food anxiety- worrying, planning, weighing up or trying to avoid each and every morsel. And recently this constant anxiety has only been increased by going into treatment (paradox, I know). I have had to stop work and most other activity which means I am not only been driven mad from boredom but also from anxiety about my inability to burn off the increased amount I have to eat. I am caught in a constant state of worry- am I eating too much or not enough, doing too much or not enough, wanting to get better but afraid of what the future may hold. I am desperately trying to avoid been taken into hospital but, to be honest, don't know whether I can manage this on my own. But, as I am constantly being told, I've got to take each day at a time and have got to look at even the tiniest step as a small victory against this vicious illness- today I have not done too badly and hopefully tomorrow I will do a bit better. I am determined that I will eventually be free of this and able to enjoy each Monday (and every other day) as I would like to.
Must have posted my message in the wrong place this AM - anyway we did not get an offer for the house this morning but we will still be moving to Scotland in April after living 33 years in the south east.
good morning...
For my sins Im a conductor on the railway in the northwest, I know you guys (passengers) get angry and dissallusioned with the rail network but spare a thought for us! When your train gets delayed ours gets delayed (we still like to get home!)when your venting your frustration its us on the front line who has to put up with it! When your showing us what youve just eaten and drunk its us who have to clean it up! When you decide to abuse us, kick us, trow slabs of concrete through train windows at us, "shoot us", stab us...then its our wives, partners and children who have to put up with it!!
So...spare a thought for us!
Took the day off work as a holiday, to help the travelling community on the day the bus service in Daventry Northants was re-organised.
Daventry Darts is the name now given to the bus service in and around the town and connecting it with the County town of Northampton.
Congratulations to Stagecoach East.
Once the passengers get used to the new network, it will work really well.
Ordered new vertical blinds.
Always tired on a Monday, its because Sunday is my busiest day of the week. Being a Clergyman it would be wouldn't it?
This morning I took the Assemblies at a local school, 500 children in two lots. Then I spent time in the Parish office with two volunteers planning weddings for the year ahead. Always strange to contact a couple only to discover they've changed their minds. Why didn't they let us know?
Finally got round to taking down the Notice Board with Christmas Services detailed on.
Then I mooched about, thinking of music for next Sunday, talking on the phone, sending emails and generally doing what I do. I think Clergy can mooch better than anyone I know. By the time you've been a minister for a good while - you can graduate from mooching to faffing about. I can faff, but I'm better at mooching.
I love my job and I love the people I get to spend time with. When you usually hear about the church on the radio, it's either a story about someone not liking the bells being rung, or someone being told they can't have a strange headstone on a grave, But you don't often hear of the fantastic work done.
Often (on the radio) the church is carefully choosing it's words when asked to comment on the activities of another faith, or parts of the church that seem to be adopting a more liberal approach. But 99% of the time we are a worshipping, caring, faithful and joyful people, not arguing, falling out or stirring up controversy. Well, we are here anyway.
I've mooched enough today. I wonder if Peter Allan can mooch? He sounds like the sort of chap who can.
It is now 2107 or thereabouts and this is my first attempt at a blog,today I drove to Swansea from Bristol delivering a set(to you none theatrical types this is everything connected to a particular play)as a resting actor I will do anything for money and if it is remotely linked to the theatre then all the better.So my day started at 0700 looking for the vehicle which had been parked about twenty minutes away from my house,I found it and off I trundled and yes I did listen to R5 for about an hour then turned over to R3 and arrived at the theatre in Swansea at about 0930 and then spent the morning helping "put up the set"(more theatrical jargon I'm afraid)and having a good old chat with the bloke who gave me the job and who is also a friend,as they say in this business it is not what you know but who you know even down in the bowels of this murky profession.So when all was done in Swansea I made my back to Bristol returned the vehicle to the hire company and walked home to my partner and cat who is always pleased to see me,but then I think that is something to do with providing food for the little feline,and so here I am with a glass of single malt at my side completing my first blog.That's it Ta Ta,oh yes,I return to Swansea on Saturday to collect the set which will then be destroyed,oh the magic of theatre.
My day, like everyone elses, started at midnight last night, as I made my way home from the rescheduled Kylie concert. The weather in Manchester was predictably raining and cold and Kylie was predictably fantastic.
This morning when I woke up, I'd had a nosebleed in my sleep.
I sold my FA Cup ticket for United v Portsmouth next weekend, as I'm away in Amsterdam and can't make it.
I went for coffee and sat next to a pensioner who has an addiction for latte. She said she spends over £25 a week at the same coffee shop.
I took some cat food to a rescue centre.
I laid eyes on someone who I have spoken to online for months but didn't actually speak to her in person.
My purchases today were all from Salford Precinct:
A DAB radio, a camera case, a pair of headphones, two packs of cat food pouches, some vegetable gravy granules, a medical thermometer, some light bulbs, some cd cases, three blank canvases for my cousins kids to make me some artwork, and a coffee.
My food diary...
Oatibix, orange juice, ham sandwich, Tatties and Mince and three mandarins.
Had a bath and just on my way to bed at 9:30pm.
Pretty normal day really....
So, what is the point of 'Garden Leave'? Of course I understand the need for confidentiality when changing jobs, protecting clients, confidentiality and all that, but when you have a personal professionalism it is a bit of an affront!
Today was the start of my second week of 'Garden Leave', and I'm already starting to climb the walls... Daytime tele is the same as evening tele 20 years ago, and the garden is too wet to do anything. Then a phone call from the firm - 'can you just come in to finish off...'.
Thank God for 5Live!!!
And there's me thinking that 'Garden Leave' was to separare me from the client... Still, one week down, three to go...
It is an ordinary Monday, except that for our family it is not ordinary Monday. Because no day is ordinary for us at the moment. I took my daughter to school. She walked home later. My partner has been "laid low" since the beginning of September, she used to run regularly, now can barely climb our stairs. The NHS has no answer, because they cannot connect all of her symptoms (that ain't my bit mate, therefore I cannot investigate). I am not knocking the NHS, passionately belive in it.
Just please, someone take us seriously.
We Civily Partnered last year (having been together before that for almost 18 years), we will make our first "anniversary".
I am sure out there are thousands of people worried like I, and we, are.
Best wishes to all of you
Jaqui
Never been near a blog before, so I thought it might be best to read up on them.
Blog No. 3 was by Phil. I read his words and felt the pain. What I was going to write is now insignificant. We lost a loved one over Christmas, Janet’s Dad; he walked into the ambulance from home and four days later he passed away.
The shock, the grief, is very hard to bear. Only tonight we went to see some friends, they weren’t in so we said we’d call at Dads, we looked at each other and the tears came.
When will we be happy again?
God I hate commuters! I got on the early train, where all the important business men go to work, and they're all such wangs. I was quite clearly injured (if the crutches weren't enough, I thought holding my knee would make it obvious), but no, they all raced to the empty seats to leave me standing. Luckily the district line had at least one nice guy, who offered me a seat as soon as I got on the train.
School was distinctly average, I'm really missing football at break, it got me through the day but now there's nothing to do. I can hear you asking what happened, so I guess I'll tell you: I was playing football at lunch break (which, before my injury, I had done every single lunch break for the last 2 years) and right at the start our team went on the attack. At this point I must point out we were playing on a slippery tennis court. So anyway I passed the ball to Joe on the left and made a dash to the middle, he returned the pass and I shaped up to shoot. Unfortunately Jamie came out to cut out the pass and we collided, I twisted and POP went the kneecap.
So since then I've been in crutches and in a splint (so I walk like a zombie)
Journey home was dull, though I listened to 'Jet Plane' a lot on my iPod, the song from the B.A ad (sucker for advertising eh?), which kinda brightened it up.
At home I just did homework, shame today was so boring, kinda hoping my first blog would be filled with adventures of dragons and/or models, oh well...
Busy Monday, teaching Year 4 in an outer London primary school. Wet play this morning, oh joy. A girl in my class with "behaviour issues" got into trouble at lunchtime for abusing the dinner ladies, but happily as it happened at lunchtime it was the headteacher's problem, not mine. Listened to a bit of the Andy Murray match on 5Live while doing marking at lunchtime. Interesting afternoon watching bits of DVD about Rajasthan and doing some work for our topic on India. Boring staff meeting after school about ways to identify Gifted and Talented children - boring because all the suggestions were completely bleedin' obvious. Got home to find that our Christmas presents from my brother-in-law in Montana had finally arrived on 22nd Jan. This is quite good for him, usually they turn up around March. No school work to do this evening for a change, so enjoyed vegetating watching Deal or No Deal with cat on lap until husband got home from work. Getting cold tonight - my class are desperate for some snow this week!
Today was the first day at pre-school for my son (who is 3 in a couple of weeks time). He was so excited this morning and looked so grown up in his uniform and smart new school shoes. My husband and I both took him but when we got there he didn't want us to leave. My husband left to go to work and I said I'd stay for a few minutes. However, he quickly got engrossed in some toys and I left without any complaints.
I then ran a few errands, and headed over to the hospital for a phsyio appointment. I'm 22 weeks pregnant and had been referred by my midwife because of pains I've been having walking and moving. Physio diagnosed SPD and gave me some exercises to do.
Went back to pick my son up and he was really happy to see me, and so proud of the fact that I had gone away and left him on his own. :) The staff say he had a wonderful time, and is a very sociable little boy. He did a lovely painting of 'My House' and can't wait to go back tomorrow.
This afternoon was spent at a friend's house whose daughter is one of our son's friends. At 3.30 we headed off, as they both go to ballet classes together.
So a good day, and an important one for my little boy who is growing up so quickly.
Is this the place for bloggin off?
Listened to Nicky and Shelagh this morning as usual. Nicky probably interviewing himself as per norm instead of the person he's supposed to be talking to! Got to work to teach the drums. 8 0'clock. Bang bang bang, Good stuff. Did a samba session at another school.Bang, bang, bang. Finally finished 7.30. Another 11 and half hour day like normal. Bang,bang bang. I'm not complaining, I'm deaf already. Go to my webspace and listen to the music I make with my associates.www.boomba-bomba.co.uk Read my diary. Theres a right blog.
JH
Bought 2 suitcases on way home. Looks like a holidays coming up soon. Woo hoo.
Monday is my favourite day of the week. My 20 year old daughter Jenny is chronically ill since falling ill at University over two years ago. Her condition has worsened since October 2006 and she is in a lot of pain and is in bed most of the time. On Mondays she tries to rest up because we watch University Challenge! We have a competition between us and try to answer before the contestants. It has become 'our time' and very special as even watching television is beyond her normally. She is as competitive as ever though and beats me - her record was 24 questions correct before the contestants. It is good to see her lauugh and just to do something with her. It is a very precious time and no matter what work throws at me I feel a sense of excitement that carries me through Mondays. Jenny has recently published a book of her poems to raise money to pay for her medical treatment. She has not moaned ir complained throughout her illness.
I thought today I was going to sort out the rest of my life. I planned to meet my lover of nearly 4 years tomorrow to force him to decide... His friend is very depressed and he has spent the last few days looking after him, preventing him from self harm and persuading him to go into hospital for a while. My needs fade into perspective. I still live in hope.
well, another day, another dollar. another day at work in british justice. the judge had to go home this morning before he started work, the rest of us had plenty of time on our hands as he put his list back to late morning. Ah well with all that power there must be no fun if you can't use it and abuse it.
the cold wind has started to blow off the river, i don't think the ladies and gentleman of the weather have got it wrong this time, i think we will have snow by the weekend. another excuse for the transport system to collapse.
under 7's football training was fun, parents huddled in one corner, kids running round kicking the ball without, with not a care how cold it was.
home for tea and something to warm my bones, nearly time to settle for the night, so i've got the energy to start all over again with the five live drive to work. night
My wife and I drag ourselves out of bed at 6.45am, arguing with Radio 5 live as we do every morning. Our little daughter is full of beans, polishing off her weetabix and singing songs as we get onto the tube for our journey to work.
I drop her off at her nursery, where I have the nerve to remove her beloved wellies, prompting tears and outrage as only a two year old can.
On the way to work in Islington with Mozart on my iPod. London is always grim in January, and times like these I miss the Pennine village where I grew up. Then I have to face all the smug Arsenal fans at work after a depressing late defeat yesterday. I have to be all northern and stoical about this. Please United, hold on until the end of the season.
Back home for spaghetti bolognese and mummy-daddy-daughter races down the 5 yards of corridor in our little flat. Go online and remember the 5 live blog day. Some wonderfully funny posts, some desperately sad. All shared with each other – I like this blogging stuff. Its ten o clock now, getting ready for bed and for it all to start again tomorrow. Good luck to everyone who posted, have a good Tuesday.
Mondays have never been my favourite day of the week, and Monday the 22ND January was no different.
In fact, if I were to place this particular Monday into a league of Mondays, it would probably appear in the relegation zone somewhere.
So what happened? Well, events were set in motion at lunch time. I decided to drag myself to the gym in an attempt to sweat out of my system the remaining gallons of my weekend alcohol intake.
It was a good work out. The endorphins kicked in and I suddenly began to view the rest of the week with a renewed sense of optimism and energy – but that’s when it all went wrong!
After showering, as I sat semi-dressed in front of my changing room locker, a man emerged from the shower room, wrapped in a towel and heading in my direction.
He wanted access to the locker above my head, the one positioned directly above mine. But rather than say “excuse me” as most normal people would so I could move out of his way, he reached up to his locker whilst I was still sat there. He couldn’t have been stood more than a foot in front of me, his upper body reaching over and above my head.
My eye level was exactly in line with his towel covered waist and nether regions. I began to panic and hyperventilate when I noticed his towel was slowly coming loose. He didn’t realise. Both his hands and his attention were focused solely on attempting to open his locker. If the towel was to slip all the way, his arms and hands would not be able to react in time to rescue the situation.
I should have said something, but my terrified anticipation of what was about to unfold had rendered me speechless. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. When it did, I found myself staring face-to-face with one of the most terrifying sights of my life.
I refuse to exactly describe it. I’m worried it may provoke flashbacks. I’ll leave it down to your own imagination to determine the exact physical shapes and contours of the one eyed entity that was staring me in the face – Christmas turkey will definitely be off the menu next December!
I have been traumatized by this event. I may never make it back to the gym again. I tried to go again today (Tuesday) but I began to shake uncontrollably and dribble incessantly as I approached the changing room door. I had to turn back. I think I may need counselling to help me get over this.
Hi, my name’s Brian, a 43 year old house-husband from Ash in Hampshire. Here’s my Monday.
06:55 Woken up by dear wife (Michaela) getting up for a wash.
07:00 The kids’ alarm clocks go off, shortly followed by Andrew (5) and Charlotte (7) piling into the en-suite accompanied by usual ‘You’re in my way’, ‘Mum, he kicked me’ and ‘She pushed me first’.
07:10 Kids despatched to get dressed. I drag myself out of bed for a wash and get dressed while trying to remember the dream I had last night (see below if you’re really that interested – it won’t make any sense, I promise).
07:25 I’m downstairs. Charlotte has put bread in the toaster for me and Michaela has made me a cup of tea. Life is good.
08:00 Michaela has gone to work, the kids are playing on their gameboys and the dishes are done. Time to check The Rota. The Rota a necessity born of my wife’s conviction that I do nothing but watch daytime TV and my childhood love of revision timetables. Ages spent on the timetable and very little spent on revision. Very Red Dwarf.
Anyway, The Rota tells me that today is ‘Bathrooms’. I can handle that. There’s only two for heaven’s sake, it’s not like we live in a mansion.
09:00 Kids have been prised away from their gameboys, have made their beds with minimal fuss, been walked to school (only 5 mins.) and, of course, refused to give me a kiss at the gates.
I’m back at home with a cup of tea, putting off the weeks internet shop by writing up the first part of my day. Yes, life is good.
11:30 Internet shop and bathroom cleaning done. Just the storm damaged fences to cannibalise/mend and it’s raining so I can put that off. Life is still good.
I’ve been trying to think of something deep and philosophical to write but all I can come up with at the moment is that Black Sabbath’s Fairies Wear Boots is a much better tune to clean toilets to than Lush’s 500 (Shake Baby Shake).
13:30 That’s lunch out of the way. Corned beef sandwiches and a bowl of soup in front of the TV.
American sit-coms have a justifiably poor reputation over here but I have to say 8 Simple Rules (especially the ones with John Ritter) is must-watch TV. Unfortunately I normally miss the beginning as it is preceded on ABC1 by the worst example of sit-com trash ever created. Hope and Faith makes My Family look like Shakespeare and how more than one episode, let alone series, was made I’ll never know.
The sun is now out and I’m off to introduce a fence to my friend the hammer.
17:20 Picked up the kids from school at 15:10. Fed, watered and homeworked them and they’ve just gone swimming with Michaela.
The fence took a serious beating and only one panel is standing now. It’s the panel I want to use to patch the less damaged fence so I’d better use a more subtle demolition style tomorrow.
This storm has had me speaking to my neighbours more in the last few days than I have over the last 10 years. I even know one of their names now.
21:45 The kids are in bed asleep and the evening meal has been eaten. Reheated Chinese take-away. Move over Gordon Ramsey.
I’m currently following the Plymouth Coventry match via the text commentary on the BBC sport website and it’s 3-2 to the mighty Pilgrims with 10 mins to go. Life could still be good but I’m biting my fingernails.
22:00 Plymouth held on. Life is marvellous. Goodnight.
What I can remember of the dream:
I’m back in the office (in my pre-house-husband life I was a computer programmer for a bank) and my boss tells me he’ll have a piece of work for me needs a guarantee it’ll be done in two days time but he can’t tell me what it is. This stresses me out so I go for a cup of tea. However the maintenance staff want to clean the machine so I go to another floor.
The scene now cuts to the inside of a lift and I can’t push the right button. Eventually the door opens and I’m among a group of people riding through a London park on the top of a train. We race past an enclosure containing what could be abominable snowmen or albino ape-men who throw sticks and tomahawks above our heads.
The train turns into a chair lift and we’re dropped off in central London from where I have to get back to the office.
I walk over a suspension bridge into a largely Italian quarter and meet a pair of conmen. The larger of the two is knitting a pink jumper which he drapes over his victims’ belongings so they can’t see his partner stealing them.
Back in the office I discover one of my friends has dropped a vending machine on his foot (his good one, not the false one I never knew he had) and my boss has given me piece of work he wants me to do.
I can’t focus on it and I’m sure I would concentrate better if the girl who works next to me wouldn’t insist on sitting on my lap. It’s all going wrong and I know it’s all my fault.
I awake convinced that the snowmen/ape-men are promoting a musical about Jack Frost called, unsurprisingly, Jack.
Started the day as usual, breastfeeding my baby, then giving him porridge, sending my older boy off to school...quick chance to grab some crunchy nut cornflakes before stepping on the scales at Weight Watchers (I put on 1lb - probably all the chocolate I ate last week)
Back home to feed the baby some home made fish pie, and more breastmilk, but he won't go down for his nap because his favourite bunny is in the washing machine, having been dropped in a puddle outside Weight Watchers. Am up and down the stairs until Bunny is clean and tumbledried, then he gives in and goes to sleep.
Have left over homemade plate pasty for lunch (yum) and then loads more chocolate. Argue with my mum on the phone about arguing with my boyfriend...go to school to pick up seven year old, then a quick trip to Boots for some moisturiser. Home to put more food in the baby (more porridge) and marmite toastie soldiers. The seven year old has left over Spaggy Bol and three homemade jam tarts.
Bath both boys together, then more breastmilk for the baby. Get baby sick all down my leg, then put him to bed. Seven year old watches The HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy on DVD. Then Boyfriend comes home.
Head off to my dancing lesson where I nearly fall over trying to do a one and a quarter rotation spin. Come home to find boyfriend and baby watching american football on Sky. Give the baby more breastmilk, then I post my first blog.
Boring, maybe, dull, perhaps - to me, pretty average and I love it (especially the chocolate)
Today, Monday January 22nd has been a one of high emotion for our family. Our darling grandson, Kieran, aged 2 weeks today had an operation at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
He had a pyloric Stenosis operation to open the muscle at the bottom of his stomach into the small intestine. How we all love that little boy after just 2 weeks in our lives. The age of total dependancy on the world around him; the frailty of human life.
I thank God for all those wonderful staff in the hospitals in Britain and especially those at Addenbrooke's today. All our friends and family who prayed for Kieran. How lucky we are with the NHS when we need it. The skill and dedication which in the long term probably has saved Kieran's life.
I am into family tree research and just to see the many children that died in infancy makes me eternally grateful that this is not the 1800s when infant mortality was so high. Our darling may have been another statistic had he lived in those days and not the current time.
I give thanks with a grateful heart.
Me too please - a first stab at the blogeratti and a chance to escape from Eddie Shoestring.
I seem to have spent a lot of this day walking in the wind and sun of a brilliantly clear cold Worcestershire day.
Sue's car needed the doll's hospital for new brake pads and I needed the exercise, hence two four mile walks from and to Woodhouse Bros - a wonderfully grubby old fashioned garage where blue clad men: Kev, Daz, Chris and his Dad Doug lean over cars and make them better.
They're so good at this that I really didn't mind when the discs are also pronounced 'knackered' and also need replacing.
So, despite the bill being double the original estimate I still feel good today. If I'd taken said car to a dealer the bill would have been £70 more, and as I said it's been my first chance to walk in fresh air since new year - just edit suites & sound dubs in between.
And, during the walk I managed to think up a replacement scene for a tricky area in the screen play wot I 'ave wrote; a work that now like a slippery monster seems to resist every attempt I make to edit it to length.
This also makes me smile, I've spent years telling stories via Promos marketing tapes & commercials, all cut to the bone - free of flab, focused on audience, pulling in punters; but this, my feature length baby...
Anyway in the scheme of things I'm sure a solution lies just around the next car bill.
End of Blog, time to join Sue & Dunk who are missing somewhere in County General (clue - ER)and put another log on the fire.
As I suspected the day I attempt my first blog is a mundane affair. My work life - which on occasion leads me to beleive I am inhabiting a Dilbert cartoon strip - is as dull as a Gordon Brown acceptance speech.
Oh for the glory days when a senior representative of HMG told me without any sense of irony that he wished me to design a system that would enable him to remotely take over & repair any PC even if it wasn't connected to the network at the time.
Why did I not have a blog then? Somewhere where I could fantasise the possibilities of remote takeover via the use of electric cables?
What's that Sooty? This is a one way process with no feedback. Answer your own questions fathead. Fair enough.
On the non work front I am reading Richard Dawkins' the God delusion at the moment. An interesting thought that occurs is if God can read the thoughts of billions of people simultaneously does he still have time to read the radio 5 blogs too?
If so hey big guy, sorry, but I can't beleive in sky fairies anymore.
Perhaps he (insert name of supernatural being here)delegates this task? Maybe he/she - or even they if you're a polytheist - has delegated some other stuff of late too? I wonder who's in charge of interfaith understanding?
On a slightly lighter note tonight's Wife Swap offered some very thoughtful insights into the human condition, and how we might improve ourselves when our lives are viewed from the standpoint of a stranger who shines a torchlight into the darkness of our ritualised behaviour.
OK you rumbled me I just watched it for the slanging match at the end!
Random enough?
Well, here goes, my first ever blog, and how good is it to be able to celebrate representing my nation, something I never thought I would do!!...
It had been a tiring weekend, in Edinburgh and the Borders, going over my old mum's problems with my two incredible sisters. Mum's 89 this year and really doing ok, but she always looks at everything so negatively, and makes me feel a failure on a regular basis 'cos I went to a good school and didn't make the most of my education... I am 48 and she still has to remind me regularly...
Then we stayed up late blethering to my partner's parents, and we drove home to Inverness feeling dead beat, and I endured a sleepless night with a burling heid and "Blue Monday" to look forward to...
But it was ok...! there was a mere skiff of snow on the road to work, which was today tiling a kitchen, and Andy Murray's match to look forward to on Five Live.
There was not too much Big Brother coverage, although even a mention is more than I need to hear...
The beachcombing story is fascinating, but lead story? Mmmm, not sure...
Promising start to the game, how long can he keep it up before fatigue and injury begin to take their toll? (Empathy from me here)
Now here's what made my day; the lovely Sam, commentating on the tennis, tells us how she feels that kids all over ENGLAND would be inspired by Andy's performance against the hunky Rafael...!! Blimey, I thought, I have to say something... Act, do something, I thought... So, although not normally driven to such bold gestures when it comes to semantic issues, I reached out by text to Simon Mayo, who after a short deliberation, decided to read out my indignant, oppressed minority, centuries of underdog mentality, chip on shoulder communication as one which represented the flood of texts which had been sent by like-minded Scots, saying how it was just possible that the odd SCOTTISH child (and there are certainly some odd ones) may have been stimulated by Murray's great fighting display down under...
I had a text read out about Dr Who before, but this was infinitely more satisfying...
So my blog is near done, except to say that sometimes there can be too much gratuitous alliteration in the media... Please stop it now..
And the sports reporters are sometimes far too sensationalist and seem to make huge stories up out of some player or manager's throwaway remark...
And celebrity culture is way out of hand now...
And what a good programme Drive is..
And Simon Mayo is a superb broadcaster...
And Nicky Campbell is from Edinburgh too, like me, and my lovely Jo...
And Tony Blair...
And why do people blame Tony for absolutely everything...?
And I feel so knackered now, and rambling...
But not Blue...
Quite good therapy, this blogging...
Night...
I am truanting work today, "throwing a sickie" if you will, to take my driving test. I don't want to truant, but I feel that I have no choice. Despite their proclomations, work would not allow me time off for this. My first child is due in March and I don't want to be in the position where myself or my partner have to cart little Samuel around on buses, bumping past other commuters with umpteen shopping bags hanging off the buggy, like I see so many Chavs doing. I want to be able to take him places like the supermarket or the park in the safety and comfort of his car seat.
Today my wife & I learnt the gender of our unborn child.
Whilst previously dismissing the importance of this information we'd found ourselves back in hospital due to a worrying blood test, looking for signs of 'normality' six months before the due date.
As we watched our impending child happily floating on a flickering monitor the consultant asked if we'd like to know what the sex was? We shrugged our shoulders - dying to know - she'd been there before and let slip...
It's a boy!
I've never been more thrilled...
I have a certain feeling of having come full circle.This is because I had set up my first blog two years ago to the day but I lost interest in blogging about six or so months ago.Having listened to Five Live and heard about this I may well start again very soon.
As for today , it went reasonably well -despite me having a lot to take in as we have just started our second AS modules at sixth form.Took a lot of notes on standardised enthalpy changes for the first part of Chemistry , then learned of a practical we are to do in order to estimate standard enthalpy change of combustion of ethanol.Had lunch , not many people were around so I just checked my emails and looked around for a few things.Physics was interesting - studying the diffraction of waves then on to Computing where I finally got my head around an Access database which had been causing me a few issues.I manage d to finish a switchboard and the necessary macros which means I've essentially got the project done.
Got home , done a few questions of Mechanics (applied Maths)but not with too much success.I was quite tired by then and decided I'd watch some documentaries on Five on tanks.I'm bored right now but I'm not that keen to go to bed just yet...
Lamar Francois
So how will Jan 22 go down in the memory bank. It won't for me. Nowt happened.
Ah, had a letter to say the mortgage has gone up another £20 a month. Another £20 quid to add to the mounting monthly debt.
Bloody tough when ya lose ya marriage, give up everything so ya ex-wife and kids can live in comfort.Bought her a holiday abroad last summer, mainly for the kids. She comes back with some Geordie sponger who pretty much moves in the following week living the life of riley off my 20 odd years work up to when it all went wrong. And I'm still comfortable that the ex is gonna find happiness while I try and make a new life with a new partner with absolutely nowt. What does it say on my forehead ! That ain't the worst. Kids suddenly see this sponger as more fun than me, their dad, cos he can dole out the dough, and I can't.Love 'em to bits though. And sponger has 3 he never sees !!! So Jan 22 goes down as another day in debt. Then, whats a bit of debt when yav got ya health. Some other bloggers haven't. Happy 23rd Jan everyone. Sorry bout the diatribe.
A first ever blog in anger and right at the end of the day. As it turns out it was rather tiring (the day, not the blogging).
After waking up late (09:30) I trundled off to town to buy my girlfriend's thirtieth birthday present. Having been reassured by multiple female colleagues that anything with the label 'Radley' would please, I parted with a sum of money that I thought had the decimal point in the wrong place.
This was traumatic enought but then came the card, not only birthday but also Valentine's day and an upcoming grandparent's diamond wedding anniversary too. Not easy to find suitable mantlepiece adornments.
Back home for lunch and listening to the Andy Murray match. This provoked many trips to the bathroom and he seemed to be doing better without me watching on the television so that got switched off and I listened to Pat Cash describe his eventual demise. Damn.
This left enough time to clean the hallway and gather together my work stuff. I left the house to arrive at work and start a 14 hour shift administering anaesthetics to labouring women. Hopefully not too tired out by the events of the day.
Got back a few minutes late to my metered parking space this afternoon. Fortunately, no parking fine, so drove home in a cheery mood. This lasted until I reached my door. For the second time in a few months I found that I had left my house keys in the house.
This time I attempted to be a house-breaker, using plastic cards to gain entry. It might work in the movies, but not on my front door. Called out the locksmith who opened the door in minutes. I opened my wallet and gave him the 47 quid minimum charge.
Thinking of a career change. Perhaps an Austin Maestro van with a papier mache key stuck on the roof. Three lock-outs a day should keep me going. Now, I just need a name...
After she visited the midwife today for the unpleasantly named 'stretch and sweep', in just a few days my lovely wife will go through the most heroic of experiences for the third time. Once 'baby pedro' (as he's been called since we found out 20 weeks ago that 'it' was a 'he') is born I've decided to give my wife and he a 'week off.' With two busy, energetic and enthusiastic children already in our home I wanted her and the little baby to have several days to get to know each other, get into feeding, 'bond' and have a proper rest.
Which means I've spent most of today thinking about the fact that for the first time in a very, very long while I'll have 7 consecutive days of getting our almost 4 year old and almost 2 year up out of bed, dressed, fed, and then entertained for the entire day. I'm approaching it with a little trepidation - I don't want it to be a week of battles and power plays (makes it sound like a military face off, not a week with my children). I'm also really excited to actually have so much time with them... and most of all being able to increase my appreciation of what it's like to be a stay at home parent. Being a 'work at home dad' means I overhear the conversations and frustrations of guiding, responding to and disciplining two little ones.
I'm not the absent parent I was before I left the busy work of marketing analysis agency work and answering to clients at any time of day. Now that I work from an office at home managing and co-ordinating Wilkinet baby carrier it also means I can pop downstairs for half an hour at lunch, always be home on time, never get caught in the evening commute, do their bedtime routine and on occasions let my wife get out on her own while I mind the kids.
But... it's very different to having the patience needed for a full day of it. I usually have my children 'in small doses' - whereas now I'll get about 12 hours a day. It's going to be a learning experience - and I'm looking forward to it. I hope the little ones are too.
So what's with me today?
Mainly good things. First my brother and his wife told me they were expecting their first child which is absolutely fantastic news.
Second as I was unable to see my father over the christmas break we did christmas yesterday, he has handbuilt me a fantastic tv stand, with fancy swing out platform for my xbox, room for my dvd and video, and an inlay on the front of the Leicester Tigers logo. That was impressive as he knows sod all about sport my old man, especially since he enjoys that inane, tedious, monotonous two hour procession called formula 1 and considers that a sport. Me I would sooner swing an old boot at my privates from increased heights until I could takes no more, then wait a while and do it again to see if the boot was higher second time around. Oh yes, and he will keep referring to Arsenal Wenger, and how apt his name is considering the club he's at.
But he's clever, as he also built my brother a grandfather clock which contains a wine rack for my sister-in-law's favourite hobby, shame she won't be able to touch it for nine months now.
Certainly more interesting than the presents I bought him, books. Don't get me wrong, I love reading and books are fab, but that's always safe ground present-wise isn't it? I always think for a while and then get everybody books, cds or dvds. (Should cd and dvd be followed by an apostrophe when it is only a plural? I say this as misuse of punctuation and grammar are real bugbears with me, I don't pretend to be perfect as somebody more pedantic than I may well find fault with this missive, but I know that it will not be nearly as bad as the pub near my workplace which is advertising 'Lady's Nite' this thursday. I nearly vomited on the sign.) Anyway, I have digressed, the above mentioned items still seem like cop out presents to me, especially as I also get them from Borders as they will gift wrap for you for free.
So pleased that christmas is finally out of the way, last year again due to scheduling with my father we did christmas in June. We really did, and the gipper even went to the trouble of sorting out a greasy spoon cafe that would do us the full christmas dinner with crackers, party hats et al. They did draw the line at playing a christmas cd he brought in though, joyless gits.
Anyway today. On my way out of the door to work, on my doorstep, on January the 22nd, I saw a bee. Yes, a bee.
Perhaps these folk who yabber on about global warming aren't just a bunch of crackpots after all.
Tomorrow, I will not leave the house all day with lights, tv and iron on as usual, and in doing so will probably decreease my carbon footprint by over 50% in one fell swoop. How many of you can say you've achieved that in one day, not many I bet so get off my back green boys.
I will also find out where my local bottle banks are so I can avoid them and not have the conscience pricked whenever I drive by for not recycling. (I do really, I'm not the most fastidious recycler but I manage that much.)
I went to work to see what other self made catastrophes would befall us to find out that we have ran out of a vital component to the product we manufacture and I am supposed to sell, so tomorrow I will be phoning customers to lick their behinds and apologise because somebody forgot to buy something important and their order will be late and please don't leave us, pleeaassee.
Enjoyed the company of Nicky and Sheila on my way in, and Peter and Jane on my way home. Haven't listened to Anita tonight as I applied to be a panellist this friday and as I haven't heard I have assumed I wasn't successful so I am in a sulk.
Off to bed now, goodnight and sweet dreams. Fingers crossed tonight's the dream in which I'm Brad and Angelina and Jennifer are mudwrestling over me again, and I hope your's are as good for you.
Monday morning was as good as January days get in West Cork. The sky was clear, the sun was up, and there were not too many tractors on the road back to the airport and work in London. The last couple of days veered from sudden downpours to high wind, so it was fine to see the hills through the rain-clear air. Until, that is, the clouds thickened and a little spot of rain became a heavy splash and in a mile or two more there were suspicions of ice crystals running down the tracks made by the windscreen wipers and our first snow of the winter was falling fast.
My mother died in November and since then each day has been a challenge in itself. This morning started well;I didn't cry as soon as I woke up. This is progress indeed. Until a couple of weeks ago I spent the first hour or so of every day in tears. A feeling of desolation would hit me the moment I opened my eyes. I found the only way to deal with this was to keep busy. I am now an expert at being on the go from the minute I wake up. This morning was not too bad. Jobs around the house. I feel like grief is always just around the corner, waiting to spring out on me. Anything can trigger it. An image on the television, an article in the paper, a phone call. This morning it was the sight of an ambulance through the window. All of a sudden an overwhelming sadness hit me- memories of hospitals, doctors, tubes, drugs, medical machinery but above all my lovely mother came flooding back. I allowed myself to cry for a litte while and then went back to the cleaning. Felt guilty that the central heating was on full blast, not good for the environment or our finances, but since my mum died I cannot stand being cold. This afternoon I met a friend for coffee. Some days all I want to talk about is my mum but today I am happy to think about other things. Still it is nice to be asked how I am doing. Some people seem afraid of what I might say or do so never say a word about my mum. I find this quite distressing.It makes me feel like her death and my grief are guilty secrets. Popped into work at the end of the afternoon. Good news about a project I have been working on. All in all a positive day. I long to phone my mum and tell her all about it. I long to hear her voice. Before she died I spoke to her everday.I am thirty seven years old but grief makes you feel like a small child. The truth is I miss my mum more than I say but at least I have got through today.
I have the best husband in the world.
Today he was told that the cancer he didn't even know he had two weeks ago is life threatening.
Today is our Black Monday.
But I still have the best Husband in the world.
Another day at home getting poorer and fiddling around with the amendments the examiners told me to make to my thesis - final version due in next week. This has become the research project that Will Not Die, and a right little fun-spoiler.
Phoned the letting company to tell them we need a new back door handle - I broke the old one yesterday, trying to heave the stuck and damp-swollen door open. Finished working out how much my housemates owe me for latest gas and electricity bill. Ate more of the very fine but fatsome biscuits I got on Saturday and gave the rest to Chinese guy in the next room. He liked.
Sent friend-from-way-back a birthday card. On the front it had photos of sea shells tweaked into mad colours. I really liked it - hope she doesn't throw it away.
Life in the freaking fast lane - historians ahoy. Am too old to be living like this - I can remember decimalisation. On a good day I can remember the Corn Laws.
It's ok, I can get on with the rest of my life now, as I have discovered that my blog on Monday WAS posted after all!!
Sadness personified.....
I awoke to the shrill of my nine year old screaming his teacher's name. As I ran to him, he was sobbing, "I can't take any more of him Mummy, I will stab myself." I knew he was serious and the counsellors who he had needed from almost the time this teacher started, confirmed he was at risk of self harm. I hid knives, tablets and safe-proofed our home. My son was telling me the teacher had been threatening to make his life a misery daily and evidently he had now thoroughly succeeded. I hugged my child, told him that I couldn't go on without him, trying to make him know just how loved he is. He just said "We can go to heaven together."
On the counsellors advice but against mother's instinct I returned him to school. I just wanted to hug him. I told the head of my concerns and she threatened to come down hard on my suicidal child for talking about one of her teachers like that. She was firmly put in her place and redirected to get professional advice from his counsellors and instructed to get back to me before she did anything.
The teacher's reaction was equally as abhorrent. His response was "I can get better paid work elsewhere for less hassle" and chuntered about seeing his union!
Thankfully that was not 7.30 this morning but 7.30 twelve months ago to the day.
My son was seen immediately by the Childrens' and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). They're fantastic, literally life savers. I removed my son from this Catholic school who according to SATS are a top 10 city school and moved him to one who really care for his needs.
He has now been diagnosed as having Aspergers and OCD but thanks to CAMHS and his new school, he is back to his cheeky, cheerful, wonderful little self.
I have exhausted the LEA's complaints procedure including a meeting where I was allowed one friend and 9 members of the LEA attended, who unsurprisingly have found no fault at the school. So just how do we protect mentally ill children from incompetent teachers?
It was a topsy turvy day really.
I've been worrying about a friend, S, with bowel cancer. Now, usually when I've home worries, work is a solace. This may be surprising since I work as a doctor but I have some wonderful patients who, over the years have given me as much... Oh this is going to sound very patronising so I'll leave it at that. Anyway, yesterday's diabetic clinic was quite miserable really. I started a bit low - because of S, because my son at Uni is unhappy with his studies and because getting to work had involved the usual School Bus-chase. Then several of the people I saw were truly fed up with the trials of living with diabetes and I felt largely impotent to help them.
So this was not a promising mood in which to visit S and try to cheer her up following recent surgery and test results.
I needn't have worried. S was at home with husband and friends and all made me very welcome. We had tea, biscuits, holiday snaps, children-chat and, yes, a couple of quiet moments contemplating what the next few months may bring. But this was without doubt the happiest hour of the day.
Why do we need to be taken to the cliff's edge to get life in perspective?
never blogged before-but here goes....
Boss told me today we have to visit London (wimbledon) on 5th Feb. Will be travelling by train and tube. here the problem starts.. I am a muslim with a (lets say large!) beard. The thought of travelling on train and tube scares me becuase of recent events. Have never travelled on tube before and have only been to London on a couple of occasions (but not in recent times). What will all those people be thinking when I walk into a tube? This is really worrying me...but how do I explain this to my boss... all he's interested in is the fact we have to see an important customer! The stares can be bad around Nottingham... but in a tube in London.....i really am terrified...........
Blog – is that one G or two, and does it have a capital letter at the start? Does it matter? I only mention it to emphasise the point that this is my first every blog. Since I can’t find a definitive description of blog in any dictionary I’m assuming a blog can cover any subject, and in any way the author chooses. I want to talk about the BBC but don’t want it to be confused with letters to Points of View. I have no complaints regarding BBC programming and work on the principle that if I’m not enjoying a programme I have the option to switch it off. So having established that I have no axe to grind with the BBC, what is my beef? I listened the other day to the Director General of the BBC bemoaning the fact that the Government had not sanctioned the full increase in the annual licence fee that the BBC had requested and that the Corporation would as a result have a budget shortfall. Consequently, planned investment in some future programming would probably suffer. Fine, no difference there to the situation facing many businesses nowadays. However, I believe the BBC should be more inward looking when it comes to balancing their budget better. A few days ago I wanted to know what the meteorologist’s best guess was at the weather in a particular part of the country and visited the BBC web site, duly logging on to the weather section and finding the information I wanted. My attention was caught by a section on this particular part of the web site promising profiles of current weather presenters. Why, oh why, oh why? – oops, wrong programme! I was amazed to see that the BBC employs no less than 26 NATIONAL weather presenters, and a further 26 REGIONAL weather presenters. A total of 52, one for each week of the year! Now I know we are a nation obsessed with talking about the weather, and most of us will try to have a look at the forecast each day. But just how long are these presenters on screen each day? I haven’t researched this in any great detail but my recollection of the weather on TV and radio is a minute or two at the end of the news bulletin. Does this really justify 52 (presumably well paid) presenters? Can’t we have some joined up broadcasting here – perhaps a central weather section, a small core of presenters, who can present on all the various BBC TV and radio channels? With today’s technology this should not be beyond our capabilities. I have nothing against weather presenters incidentally, but it does seem to be a seriously overmanned section of the Corporation and does make one wonder whether this situation is repeated in other areas – sports broadcasting – news, etc.
I would like to see some internal housekeeping economies with what is after all, my dosh that the BBC is spending.
Perhaps as a first measure the BBC should look at its website and perhaps consider not being quite so blatant in advertising its overmanning!