A moment in time
| 12:41 UK time, Sunday, 18 March 2007
On Tuesday March 20 we asked you to tell us what was happening in your life at midday for World Storytelling Day
There was a special edition of the Midday News when we heard the stories you sent in. BBC reporters both within the UK and abroad also got involved. Click here to the special Midday News
You can continue to post your stories below. You can also send us picture messages and video clips. If you do, please include your name and a brief description. You can text us If you're overseas too, but you'll need to send your message to the following number:
+447709 404 444.
See some of the pictures sent by Five Live listeners here
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Dam porcupines have stolen my radish crop yet again! They pull them straight out of the ground in the most incredible fashion then its gulp gone!!!!! The only way to kill a porcupine, so I'm told, is to shoot it in the nose but I am not sitting out in the freezing Himalayan snow, rifle at the ready, to try & stop these nocturnal visitors. Someone also suggested that I bait a cage with an apple & a tomato, which porcupines also adore, & try to catch at least one of the critters. What I'm supposed to do with a furious ball of spines then is quite beyond me but....I really must do something to keep them out before I get round to sowing this years pumpkin crop as they hollow them out like halloween lanterns just when they are almost ready to harvest. I've fenced, planted thorny shrubs around the place.....the theory being that as porcupines can't reverse without getting their spines stuck in the bushes that they won't attempt to go forward through them either.......doesn't work though & not being able to train the dogs to shit at specified boundary spots, have shovelled the stuff off the lawn & heaped it at strategic places as the smell of this is also supposed to deter porcupines.....but this doesn't deter the bloody beasties one bit! Ideas anyone?
Sometimes the move from Scottish Highland Housewife to that of Himalayan Housewife takes on such a farcial overtone that its pretty hard to believe.
I don't know about blogging tommorow at mid-day, today was bad enough. A hard slog of a day that involved shopping,cleaning, caring and cooking for my husband and 3 young daughters.Testing spellings,giving baths, clearing the garden of dog poo. My 8 month old Cairn terrier running round the garden with a used tampon,(we don't put them down the toilet as we don't want to block the drains)and then swallowing it whole. Suddenly pet insurance looks very attractive!
This evening will involve a little light ironing in front of the t.v. whilst my brain slowly fries.
I am hoping that after today tommorow's events will fade into insignificance...
A Day In My Life in Miami Florida.
I am not sure if this will be published but I have nothing to lose. I was at the Veterans Hospital in Miami Florida working in the Administrative Realm of Psychiatry.
I had heard rumours that Fidel Castro's Daughter [Alina Fernandez-Revuelta] was working as a volunteer in the hospital. On the way to lunch, I saw her and snapped a photo of her with my mobile phone. She appeared surprised and I told her: "I'm just trying my mobile phone". She introduced herself as Alina Fernandez-Revuelta. Later on in the day, she would look at me and run away from me.
I sent a photo to Breakfast by E Mail so that this could be remembered as a historical curiosity. A Communist Dictator who stayed in power using the US Embargo yet maintained by the USA and USSR. The Dictator's daughter working in a hospital for wounded veterans as a volunteer chemists assistant, and the dictators nephews and nieces being powerful in Miami Florida as members of the Republican Party.
A Day In the Life of "All In The Family" in Miami Florida.
Doing this in advance as I know exactly what I'll be doing. Having lunch with my hairdresser who died my hair purple at Christmas, but I've forgiven her. Meanwhile struggling with a son who's extremely clever and dyspraxic, and the state inclusion system is failing him. About to go on holiday to South Africa. Have lost over a stone in weight and am pleased to be wearing size tens, although drive a gas guzzler. So sad for Bob Woolmer's family. Freddie and team need looking after, as do I! Swings and roundabouts!!!!
While I got to enjoy noon in New Zealand before most of the rest of the world I was doing nothing more exciting than sitting in front of my computer experimenting with my network settings.
I'm stuck as a house husband because the New Zealand Dental Council has yet to clear me (with my UK degree) to work as a dentist here. So I just live off my wife which is fine by me!
Today I shall be mostly thinking about politics as it's budget week.
I wake up to my usual radio diet of Nicky and co, familiar voices seemingly for years and learn of the Financial Times article about our "stallinist" chancellor. It's not surprising that Cameron is ahead in the polls.
Elsewhere, why on earth aren't we doing more about Zimbabwe. Although I'm not usually so cynical. the viewpoint that we marched into Iraq exactly four years ago, legality or otherwise not withstanding, to secure oil resources gains credence by the week.
But the concentration is on the domestic situation.Aside from possibly moving to an independent Scotland soon, we are seemingly stuck in the central mismanagement of New Labour for a few more years.
Who do you think you are kidding Gordon Brown?
If you think we'd let you run
Dave has the boys who will stop your taxing game
Ten years misrule will make us think again
Cos who do you think you are kidding Mr Brown?
If you think your stealth has won
Mr Ming begins to sing
About a pact with you
But folk want Charlie back again
To put you in a stew
So watch out Mr Brown
You've really taxed too much
If you think you'll tax us more
You've really missed the bus
So who do you think you are kidding Mr Brown
If you think the vote is won
Mark Datko
Cheshire, Near the equinox 2007
This from David Varela via email
Appropriately enough, at noon today, I'm going to be telling a story.
I'm one of 40 writers who have been paired up with illustration, design and typography students from the London College of Communications. In our pairs, we're all working on illustrated children's stories. (With my partner, Yamini, we're producing 'The Boy with Half a Bike' - the tale of a lad who wants a bike for his birthday and ends up getting a unicycle, and is then kidnapped by the
circus.)
The scheme has been organised by a writers' group called 26, Faber & Faber, and the LCC.
I arranged to meet Yamini at noon today to go through the story so far. It's pure coincidence, I promise!
I shall be making a large pan of Chicken Broth and thinking of my youngest daughter Rebecca and her four young children the youngest being severely disabled, and my arms will be round her giving her an imaginary hug filled with love.Her young husband has died suddenly and tragically. Dear God I wish I knew how best to help and take her pain away. She lives in Spain and having just returned I now feel bereft and oh so sad.
At midday I will be steaming round Swansea picking up presents for my 31 year old cousin, my friend's 4 year old son, my god daughter's 5th birthday and my other friends 3rd birthday. Present-wise, this is the most expensive day of the year!
Hi, I am listening from a sunny and warm Johannesburg. At midday my time I should be, at the age of 44, revising for an exam for a 1st year degree course. However normally boring domestic chores are becoming increasingly attractive and I may be distracted.
My story today - Stunningly gorgeous Spring day - bright blue sky, daffodils swaying in the breeze.
Radio isn't working so spent journey to work singing half rememberd songs to my unborn baby (I'm 7 months pregnant). It is our first baby and my husband and I are really looking forward to it all.
Received a text as I arrived at work from from husband (a mature student, graduates this year) who has found out he has got a job - means I don't have to return to work as soon as I stop pushing!
Unfortunately he is in Prague at the moment (field study trip - yeah, yeah) and I do believe that he'll think this news is an excuse for an all day drinking session with fellow students!
Hi we are mailing you from Thornfield S, speech and Language School in Jordanstown, Northern Ireland.
At 12 noon today we will be having an early lunch because the school is being renovated and we must go to walk to another school on our campus to use their canteen. Usually at 12 noon on a Tuesday we are doing reading activities and language work, so today is a bit different but not exciting.
Class 8 Thornfield House School
I'm sitting in front of my PC listening to radio 5 live while I write this email and type a letter to the HSBC bank asking them why after sending an instruction to transfer 500 pounds to one of their customers they only deposited 494. This kind of thing happens so often these days and not just with banks. For example booking hire cars over the internet has resulted in unauthorized extra charges being added on 3 occasions over the last couple of years. I get the impression such 'mistakes' are really profit boosting practices. I call it stealing.
My story.
2 years ago today I was a happily married man with a fantastic wife and 2 young sons (one aged 1 and the other 2 and half). Our life, however, was far from ideal as due to money both of us had to work, which we tolerated rather than enjoyed and our children had to attend day nursery. At the time I did not think that things were that great but we were having fun when ever we could and were planning our future together as a family.
Today I am struggling to pick up the pieces of what's left of my life.
My wife, died last May aged 33 after loosing her 10 month battle with breast cancer, which was the day after my 39th birthday.
My eldest son is now 4 and half is partially excluded from school due to his behaviour problems which have appeared since his mother’s death. Apparently, at 4 and half he is considered to be too young to truly feel grief by the NHS and as such there is no help available through normal channels, although he has now attended 3 counselling sessions at a charity.
My youngest son is fine, most of the time, but at night he often has nightmares where he cries out for his mother. I am sad to say that on most occasions, this just makes me cry and I lack the mental strength to get out of my own bed to go and console him.
I decided to continue working and so I used the services of a child minder who gave notice to quit after 4 days as the hours were too long. I switched tactics and I now employ a full time nanny, which costs me more money than I earn but the children have had 4 months of stability. I thought that things were beginning to look up until late last week where my nanny announced that she was 11 weeks pregnant and that, as her employer, I would have to pay her maternity leave.
I live a significant distance from all my and my late wife's family members and, although willing, they are not really in a position to help.
Frankly I am coming to the end of my tolerance, I have tried very hard to keep a firm hand on life's tiller but the wind of change just keeps blowing me onto the rocks. I am not sure what my next crisis will be but for now I have to take legal advice as to my employers’ liabilities and meanwhile find another nanny of child carer who will take on the care for my sons.
I know that elsewhere in the world millions of people are far worse off than I am but it does not console me one bit. I did not know it at the time but I was living in a utopian world and now I have moved to hell.
It is strange but it is the little things that I miss the most. My wife and I always made a point of cuddling on our sofa and watching ER together. I have recorded every episode of the new series yet I do not have the courage to watch them alone.
Why me?
at 12 noon today i will be puttting out chairs and drinks because i am a dinner lady at a primary school near manchester, so nothing to exciting
Midday at 1000 metres in the Pyrenees Orientales, France: Following three months of spring-like weather,we restarted the pump in our fishpond on Sunday, celebrating with a glass of wine in the garden. The snow and freezing temperatures arrived during last night and around midday (French time) we will be donning our warmest clothing and dismantling the pump and UV filter, an operation that is likely to take around 2 hours. I don't know about the fish(8 beautiful Koi carp) but we are feeling somewhat disgruntled.
Today is my day off work, my children aged 'nearly 7' and 9 are at school, I shall be cleaning my windows, kitchen blinds & the cooker - jobs I have been meaning to do since Christmas, but my busy life as a mum & part-time bookshop employee who also struggles to fit in time for my hobby as an artist, means that I always have a long list of things to do!
After my housework I shall be making banners & planning games for my son's 7th birthday 'pirate-themed' party.
It sounds pretty ordinary, but it's my life & I LOVE it & my family!
Hi Everyone. At ahout 12 noon today I shall be in my local Bank lodging my monthly cheque into amy new Christmas Savings account. After last Christmas disaster with Farepak christmas fund when I lost all my savings, I have decided to play it safe this time!
Love your show, You are all great!
Vera from Wigan.
At mid day today I'll be thinking of my friend. Her 10year old daughter is critically ill in hospital with Leukaemia. Having been happy and healthy for 9 1/2 years she was diagnosed with an acute condition to everyone's surprise. Her younger sister is a bone marrow match and has donated a literal "leg-full" but is now very depressed because she's unable to go to school as the entire family have to live on site, in Bristol, in sterile conditions.
My friend won't be in the hospital at noon today though. She has been given permission to leave for home for 24hours.
She'll be at her own mother's funeral.
It doesn't rain it pours on some people.
You have no idea how upsetting it is to see a family go through so much and remain so positive.
From an outsiders perspective it is both harrowing and humbling.
Sod Brown and Flintoff. This is the only deserving story of the day.
Huw Evans
I am half an hour away from being reduced to a trembling, drooling, incoherent mass of jelly. I have a dentists appointment.
This via email from Mike Cowie
I’m going to celebrate my 40th Birthday tomorrow and am also celebrating having the snip 3 years ago yesterday. (It was a wedding present to my wife – who is a little older than me!)
Hope everyone else has a memorable day and love the show.
Cheers
I am finishing off social work training so I am spending the day writing an essay whilst listening to 'FiveLive'.
This from John O'Sullivan via email
AT NOON TODAY I WILL BE RISING A GLASS IN MEMORY OF MY OPTICIAN ANGELA WHOSE FUNERAL TAKES PLACE THIS MORNING. SHE WAS A YOUNG, TALENTED, CARING PERSON WHOSE DEATH HAS AFFECTED HER FAMILY, COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE.
This from Maddy Doyle sent in via email.
I will be starting a 8 hour shift at a bank call centre at noon today.
Cheers
At noon today I will be thinking of the girl I parted from 25 years ago. After a happy teenage relationship that lasted into our early twenties, I left her to pursue my life’s dreams and ambitions.
We both settled and were married within two weeks of each other, both have three children, both are ostensibly happy and respectable. However, a few years ago, mid life crisis approaching, I tracked her down ‘just to say hello’.
We now text each other, see each other for coffee twice a term (our partners don't know), sigh a bit, have a hug and then go on our way. We don’t kiss or have an affair because we don’t want to mess up our families and spouses. Bittersweet is a good word to describe it all.
As so much of the news is depressing these days we wanted to provide a website - www.worldgoodnewsonline.com where people can report and read about good things that are happening in our world. So at noon today I will be writing an article about some of the many good things that are happening - we aren't ignoring the bad but there are already plenty of places to read/hear about that so we want to provide a positive alternative "that celebrates what's right with our world"
This from Helen Finlay sent in via email.
Today at One o'clock, I am going to a baby shower to welcome into the world the newest arrival to a rapidly growing batch of Babies.
I work in a Specialist Care home in Leamington Spa, looking after severely disabled and venerable adults. Over the last year, we have had a baby boom with a massive total of Fifteen babies being born to staff since January 2006. (And we still have two on the way !!) That's almost one baby a month since January 2006!
At times is has been difficult to staff the home with so many Moms on maternity leave, but it has all been worth it, to see the look of delight and affection on the faces of the residents when the babies come in for a visit.
The oldest baby is now 14 months old and the youngest is only a week old. Girls far outweigh the boys by eleven to four (but Hey! the boys aren't complaining).
Next week we are holding a joint first birthday party to celebrate this momentous year for us, and hope to gather all the little ones together of a photograph to record the amazing birth of so many new little faces into our work community.
We all feel blessed to have a wonderful new baby in our lives, and incredibly lucky to have such an understanding Manager, who has to put up with continual maternity leave.
Next year, she is putting us all on contraceptives!!!
This from Peter sent in via email.
i'm a taxi owner in Hinckley Leics, today at midday i will be picking up a dear elderly lady to do her shopping.
It's the only day she goes out.
Thanks from peter.
At Midday today, I''ll still be slogging away at my boring job, nothing unusual there.
It is slowly sucking the life out of me, and I can't seem to break out of it. I'm intelligent enough on paper to find something else, but I'm terrified of making another bad decision which has killed my confidence.
So at Midday, I'll be sitting at my desk, wondering how long I'm going to be able to carry on doing this, and where my courage has gone, and how I'll get it back.
Just another day...
At mid day I will be sat here at my PC composing yet another letter complaining of the poor standards of service in all parts of life.In last few days Ive had problems with BT /Orange /NatWest /Car Insce /NHS etc Its seems anytime I want something or try to get something done it never goes smoothly and whats worse no-one seems to care. Its the system/computer/Policy/ but most of all practically everything can be traced back to EU directives in one form or another.
This from Viktorija Z sent in via email
At midday today I will be meeting a potential buyer of my car. e placed the highest bet on ebay and is supposed to come and pick it up today. I hope he doesn't ask me lots of questions about this car because I hardly know anything about cars! My boyfriend was dealing with him before but he's at the University today, so I'm on my own.
Fingers crossed that everything goes well and I finally get rid of this car and get the money!
Midday for me has just just passed as I am in Paris one hour ahead. My 10th month old is having an extra long morning sleep - always an unexpected treat and so I am catching up on and few emails having just finished preparing tonight's dinner. Just had a hailstorm here in Paris so very glad to be inside.
This from Moira in Leeds via text message to 85058:
At midday today i will be sharing a messy meal with my 7 month old daughter.
This sent via text to 85058:
At midday I'll be sitting on a bench erected in memory of my late wife who died last year. Our favourite spot in the woods where we walked our german shepherd.
At Midday today I will be studying-I'm doing a Maths degree with the Open University.Whilst I'm doing this my 18 month old son should be asleep.My four year old son is home ill from school today but hopefully his Underground Ernie trainset will keep him amused for a while.A pretty average day then,except that it's my first full day back from The Bahamas where I was with my Husband on a business trip.It was the longest we'd been away from our children & although we had a lovely rest and the location was idyllic-my very average Tuesday lunchtime at home,with my boys is actaully pretty special.
This from Naomi sent in via email.
I will be sitting at my desk at home trying to wrestle the results of my laboratory work into some type of legible text for my PhD thesis while thinking desperately about a nap or a snack (I am nearly 8 months pregnant and a final year, full time post-graduate student who has dropped out of "real-life" for a return to academia - WONDERFUL!).
Yours
Naomi
Bonjour. At Midday today, I will be giving my services free to serve coffees and beers in the village bar of St Thomas de Conac - a French village half way up the north bank of the Gironde - in a serious attempt to improve my French. Salut! David Murphy (enjoying retirement)
This from Denis Stott sent in via email.
At midday 20th March 1976, I was stood outside church with my Best Man, Dave Williams, waiting to get married to my, now wife, Marian.
Just like today it was a lovely sunny day, but just as cold. So today we are celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary.
Best Wishes
Denis
At midday, I will be ploughing through my pile of complaints from people who use bus services across the country.
With something that is as huge and complex as the network of bus services across the UK things will inevitably go wrong from time to time, but it is important that the users of buses understand why their problem occurred.
The number one issue is always reliability. Quite often, this is not the bus operator's fault but the sheer number of other vehicles on the road causing congestion.
The Government is absolutely correct to look at ways to address this, such as road pricing. It will be inevitably unpopular, but the balance has to be redressed if we are all to get from A to B in a reasonable time.
In essence, we need to halt the "vicious circle" of unreliable buses, leading to more people using cars, and turn it into a "virtuous circle" of attractive, reliable, safe, cost-effective public transport that is a real alternative to the private car. But that will entail some "carrot and stick" measures which inevitably mean some constraints on the motorist.
Phil Tonks
Operations Officer
Bus Users UK
www.bususers.org
Today I will be starting work at 12:00.
Normally on a Tuesday I don't start until 1:30 as I normally do a couple of hours volunteer work at the MacMillan unit at my local hospital giving patients aromatherapy massage to help them relax. Unfortunately the person in charge of the aromatherapy department is off ill with stress so I am now unable to go in until she is feeling better.
Hopefully she will get better soon. Mind you the good thing is by going in for 12:00 I get to finish at 4:00 instead of 5:30
hi,my name is adrian marchant and i am 44 years old.at noon today i do not know what i will be doing today.this is because i have bipolar.my moods swing quite quickly from hypomania to a low mood.like swings and rounabouts.i probaly will be having a coffee with one of my neighbours.we all have mental health problems and we all support.planning a routine is hard,but i enjoy life to the full as much as i can.i hope that you will read this out at noon to highlight mental health,and that it is not all doom and gloom,abuse and violence and that we do have fun being blessed with intelligence.having a coffee with a close friend makes me glow.with our friendship offering the support that the wider society cannot.at times i feel blessed.
At 12 noon today I will be driving into Chester to meet 4 friends for lunch. Our daughters were all in the same class at junior school and we used to see each other in the playground most days. Now that the girls are at senior school, the opportunities to meet are less so we get together for lunch every couple of weeks, to catch on all the gossip!
This from Wendy sent in via email.
At midday today I shall be in bed able to do not much of what a wife and mother can normally do.
I have had surgery for colon cancer and am now in the middle of my chemotherapy treatment. This means that in the middle of any 3 week cycle - day 10 - I start the feeling of heading towards a "brick wall" (my nickname for what I feel at this time).
The brick wall means I am feeling incredibly nauseous, tired beyond your wildest dreams (I have never in my life encountered this amount of lethargy) and then some.
I have 3 wonderful children - 15 yr old Daniel and twin girls - Rachel and Laura. They have had to grow up very fast in the past few months and are an absolute credit to me. When I am unable to cook or wash dishes, they set to and do it without being asked. Daniel in particular is a real gem as he faces those ever important GCSE exams and plans for his future, he is also trying his best to make my life better.
Talking to me for hours on end when I can't get out of bed and feel like stopping the chemo. He makes me life, cry - with pride - and smile at his life and what is happening right now in our family. It affects us all husband, kids.
So at midday today I shall have the radio on in my bedroom where I usually end up staying for about 4 days. I manage to get to the loo and fill up my glass of water and then drift in and out of sleep. It almost feels like some sort of hibernation.
I have to have this for a year so my children have to resign themselves to losing mum for 2007 hoping she will be back to full health and strength in 2008. I feel it is a big ask of them but without hesitation all 3 decided it didn't matter that they would have no holiday this year or days out to exciting places.
My husband, bless him, works more hours to help bridge the gap due to my salary going down to half pay from now on (till August then it will stop altogether).
I work in a school so work at present is a no go area due to my white blood cells dropping during treatment and this making me susceptible to infections which can halt my chemo if bad. So the work I love doing and the home I love keeping and the family I enjoy so much have all had to be halted until such time as the side effects reduce considerably which could end up being into 2008.
The children wonder why someone who is not overweight, doesn't smoke or drink and lives a healthy life could be unlucky enough to have cancer. As it affects 1 in 3 people the odds are high but you never think it will be you. It was me and I am trying my damndest to climb over the brick wall and escape unscathed on the other side.
Wendy
I'm getting a wonderful Gothic style (but not vampire filmish) wooden bed for my 50th birthday (April 21) and the mattress is being delivered today at about 12, I am waiting for it now.
Once it's arrived I can iron my husband's horrible to iron work shirts! They are supplied by the company he works for (St Austell Brewery) and they are only ironable if they are still wet.
While waiting for the delivery men I am clutching a hot cup of coffee trying to keep my hands warm. It's absolutely freezing today. The weather's changing from sunny and windy to sleet/hail and wind, very quickly. The Radio 5 weather forecaster said the wet would be gone by now, he's wrong! Hopefully the washing that's on the line is drying.
I'll be dithering. I always dither on a Tuesday.
It's the one day that I don't go in to work and so I always think that I can get everything done on a Tuesday. I need to check my work email, prepare my private lessons (I teach Italian) and prepare my lessons for College, do marking, work on my distance-learning MA and update various websites that I maintain. I need to make up parcels of Ladybird Books - because I sell old copies to people trying to track down childhood books. But then there's the housework crying out to be done. And letters to write to my son's Headteacher ...
So I dither - flitting from one task to another, and then back again because perhaps something is more urgent and I feel too guilty to concentrate...
Going in to work is a whole lot simpler ...
I am in the office, fuming at insurance companies and computers, and people on the phone who tell you they will call back and don't! Having been the innocent victim in a road traffic accident on Saturday, I contacted the insurance company yesterday morning and lodged my claim. Last night they rang to say I don't have insurance, although I hold a current certificate and there is no problem with the payment. I was told they would look into it and call me back. Of course they didn't, so I took some time off work this morning to walk to the broker, to discover that the information he and I have on my policy, is totally different to the information the insurance company holds. The problem of course is the computer (although they can only respond to the information that a human puts in!). I am covered! I can drive my car and get it repaired. But after the trauma of the accident, this is the last thing I need.
At midday today, I will be plastering our nursery. Our 1st child is due in August, and will change our lives forever. We can't wait!
Steve Gribbon
Marple, Cheshire
0161 221 5250
At midday today, I will be putting the finishing touches to the first part of a book that was inspired by Simon Mayo's interview in 2005 with Antony Worrall Thompson about his GI recipe book. It was a life-changing interview!
At midday I shall be looking after my two daughters who are off school ill.
This from Helen in Liverpool via text message:
At midday today I have decided to tell my lover that I want to be a woman. I am now free of this stress.
I'm feeling a bit unwell, and would like to be at home in bed (listening to five live), but i'm at work instead
Thanks to your inspiring blog campaign - I was in tears listening to some of those you broadcast from the breakfast blog - I have decided right now is the time to jump feet first into my blog www.toldyouso.co.uk and I have just posted up the first two comments. One inspired by your phone in this morning and one inspired by what I was doing about midday yesterday -eating lunch at a lovely restaurant. The blog is all about news/reviews/word-of-mouth from a local perspective and your news from the lady and her experience of trying to give birth at Solihull hospital was a nice tie in.
My best friend and I going to do this together - me from Solihull/South Birmingham and she from Epsom in Surrey and we will encourage others to share info about local businesses, services, things to do, where to find a decent plumber - all based on word-of-mouth recommendations that they might not be able to get elsewhere. Also to discuss issues between local residents rather than each person being spoon-fed news through the local paper, radio and TV news. It's a chance to local people to get behind the ads in the Yellow Pages, to comment more than the letters page of the newspaper and maybe even to get together in like-minded groups or protests - it's like an online interactive local newspaper.
So thanks for providing that spur to get going and for your wonderful blogs.
This from Al in Norfolk via text message
I'll be thatching an old farmhouse on a recently retired dairy farm in Norfolk. Thatching on a day this cold and windy isn't great fun though!
I shall be getting ready to attend the swearing in of a friend who has been declared a British Citzen. She has to pledge her allegiance to the crown at this ceremony. She is a primary school teacher and has been teaching and making a difference in young children's lives for over 5 years here in England.
At Midday I will be printing off my latest photographic portfolio for galleries and retailers. While I do this I will be listeniong to Radio Five Live over the internet and thinking about the birth of my first child in seven weeks time.
Today at midday, I'll be working on yet another set of budgets for next year as part of my boring every day job in finance.
It's interesting that as each year goes by, one thing that is more and more evident is the cost of SECURITY.
This leads me to believe that the YOB / HOODY CULTURE and TERRORISM are winning the game of trying to disrupt business and the economy.
Another working day. 21 years since leaving university, 14 years to retirement, now working from home much of the time. Cycle ride and sauna in 10 minutes, great!
At Midday today, I shall be enjoying cup-a-soup. I will be making up 2 sachets of vegetable with croutons in a mug, then decanting it into a bowl to make it seem more like regular soup.
The last time I did this, my wife also had soup for lunch, only she made up a tin of Heinz tomato soup and had it in a mug.
No we are not Australian.
This from Simon in Nottingham via text message
Hello. I'll be in a nice warm greenhouse at noon creating Bonsai trees.
It's coming up to midday and I'm getting myself ready for work having been to yoga this morning.
I used to go pretty much every Tuesday morning, but these past six months the love of my life and I have been in counselling to try and save the wreckage of our 35yr+ marriage.
Our sessions have been mainly on a Tuesday morning so I've only been able to turn up occasionally - however, things are looking up now and we are no longer going every week, so it's welcome back yoga - I've missed you -nice to start getting back to doing something 'normal' again!!
At midday today I will be looking at the wall in my house. My house was badly damaged in the tornado that hit London in December 2006. I will look at the progress with the bricklaying today; they're moving past ground floor level and getting on a treat. 3 months on I will as usual wonder at how lucky I am to have escape unscathed and think, well it's just a wall....
12 noon, Tuesday 20th March 2007. I'm sitting at the untidy desk in my dining room,in Warwickshire, working. It's a cold, grey day, which matches my mood perfectly and my feet are freezing.
I'm listening to Five-Live, whilst putting together a document, of variable quality input from a number of my colleagues. It's dull. I hate my job and think that it's high time I got a working life that I might enjoy. I've been working in the IT industry, which I got into completely by accident, for twenty five years and now I'm trapped by the salary that I've come to rely on.
Next time I post one of these blogs, I shall be reporting that I am busy doing something I enjoy, challenged and glad to go to work every day - I hope !
This from Andy in Wapping via text message
I will be waiting in for the carpet fitters yet again - 5 months, 9 attempts, still wrong, is this a record??
I am writing a letter to the Solicitor to make bids for items from my late brother's estate. Some sensitive decisions which are bringing back lots of memories.
Sat here contemplating the chicken soup I have just made, have I removed all the bones?
I'll be working from home catching up on emails and work that I'm behind on. However, its great to hear what everyone else is up to!
I am currently looking up loads of info on the net to do with starting up a new business. I awarded myself early retirement just over a year ago but am now planning to work a few hours a week from home doing the admin for my partner who is being made redundant and is going to set up his own business. This is the second time round for me as I helped my ex husband set up his business about 16 years ago
I need a new used car (a cheap one), so I am surfing the internet trying to find a decent one. My 4 year old son has just found the cables linking my tv, video and sound system and has decided to pull them to see what happens - suffice it to say he pulled the speakers off the walls, and now I have a cleaning up job to do...
At midday today I am working at home on my computer. I work for an online poker community website and I update the results from poker tournaments all over the UK. I shall then be visiting my mother in hospital where she is receiving fantastic care recovering from her third stroke.
At midday I am working from home.
11.58 am
Having just received instructions from my client,I am due to finalise negotiations on his behalf to rent a small commercial building in Covent Garden.
It is now 12:03 am and a call to the landlord's agent is the next act.
I'm fifty years old today and I'm listening to BBC 5 Live.
As to the future, I might be made redundant soon, my company is taking my job 140 miles away. After 28 years at the same location, I'm not sure what I will do.
John
I'm at home, in Huddersfield. It's a lovely sunny day outside, however I am stuck indoors looking at spreadsheets, because I work from home. It's a bit dull, but I am sure I'm not the only one!
I would normally be selling books in the Windsor Bookshop in Penarth, the lovely independant bookshop where I work two days a week, but today I am at home with my 13 year old son who is running a high temperature. Such is a mother's lot, but it does mean I can listen to Five Live and catch the cricket later!
This submitted via text message
I will be tuning a piano in wetherby. John from wakefield.
It's 12 and I'm just about to fry up some eggs and bacon. Heaven.
At precisely twelve I should be in AS Physics class, but I’m sitting here in an empty house waiting for my mother to come home from wherever she’s disappeared off to - the dishes still in the sink, she left in a rush - to go and see the social worker together. Again.
She’s explained how she’ll have to look into the sexual exploitation I faced over the summer, that she’ll have to make sure it wouldn’t happen to anyone else. This is despite my protests that I’m simply not ready - I don’t have the stable family I need to provide support, the friends. I can’t go through an investigation. I have her social-worker phrases, vague promises about the future, the authority of the by-the-book school I attend, the procedures, an entire mountain of leaflets and counselling services - do they not understand that there is no substitute for the human touch?
Despite being sixteen, I find my future being decided for me yet again. The meeting will go the usual way - I’ll get angry, flash my eyes around at the doors and windows like some caged animal, wanting to die and simultaneously take her with me, wipe her memory, destroy her notes, go forward in time - never backwards - and just be.
I am shouting at various people on the phone who have let me down on a printing job that I have ordered.
There is nothing more frustrating than being let down by a company that you have paid in good faith for a job and then getting the old flannel, "Oh, we have had a few problems with our production and meant to ring you to tell you."
After my ranting, I intend to sit down with a coffee for ten minutes and listen to your show to find out what the rest of the world is doing.
ARGRGGGHHHHH
At midday. I am retired, playing cards on my computer. My wife is shopping, or rather taking back goods she bought yesterday before going to the local hospital for an MRI scan.
It's midday, the dog's barking, a friend is on the phone needing help with Photoshop, I need to create a leaflet by 3pm, and I'm playing with a new website design. I have letters to write asap (an ongoing problem) and I should really be working on an Open University course tutorial.
In which case it must be time for lunch!
At 12 i will be catching up on my families ironing as i have been for the last 2 hours listening to the radio and ill be here for a while yet.
I'm a placement student who has just had a review between my boss and my placement office.
I've just come out of a room where my manager said some amazingly nice things about me, praising my work and the efforts I put into what do. I couldn't have had a nicer set of comments made about me and I feel incredibly happy and valued.
it's making me wonder why we don't let people know these things on a more regular basis. More praise in work, more appreciation of a job well done would make most jobs just so much more bearable....
At noon today I have just finished
a treatment of ECT
( electro conductive therapy )
cheers ian
It's just gone 12pm. I am sitting at home waiting to hear news of our baby grandson, Kieran, 10 weeks. He has had 3 operations and so many tests to find out what is wrong with his digestion. We felt the first operation would be sucessful, but it wasn't so here we are still waiting. We have our other grandson, Scott, aged nearly 3 with us since the start of February. He is adorable and it is wonderful to have him with us, but I long for the day when my daughter, partner and two little boys can be home again as a family unit. It is tearing me [and all of us] apart inside. How we love that darling; how he can smile so much after all he has been through is amazing.
Lots of the time [including weekends] he is in Addenbrooke's, Cambridge but transferred last week and this to Great Ormond Street Children's hospital in London for their specialist care. Please God, get us through this worrying time with a positive conclusion.
It's now 12 noon and I am in the office packaging ready to wear reading glasses for various customers in the UK and abroad. My 12 o'clock customer lives in the beautiful city of Edinburgh and should receive their trendy new glasses tomorrow morning.
at 12 Noon I was working in my garden centre advising a customer on which type of Lawn weed and Feed to use.
12 noon Tues 20th March.
I am with my partner in Conil de la Frontera Spain. We are spending the winter here with other "old snowbirds" at 12, I was cutting a friends hair in my awnning. The sun is shining and it is another beautiful day.
maggie Davidson
I am trying to get started on an assingment for my history degree with the OU and am finding lots of things to distract me!
A farmer in devon drilling barley!
12 noon Tues 20th March.
I am with my partner in Conil de la Frontera Spain. We are spending the winter here with other "old snowbirds" at 12, I was cutting a friends hair in my awnning. The sun is shining and it is another beautiful day.
maggie Davidson
At 12 noon I'm waiting to hear if I'm going to have a second interview for a job. It's really exciting but also I'm nervous.
I'll also be hoping my niece will be getting over her chicken pox. I never had it as a kid but I hope at only nearly three she's not feeling too bad - mum and dad and I (i.e. nana, grandad and aunty) did a get well card with pictures and things and I hope it cheers her up!
Grounded. My beautiful Saab, damaged by someone with more BHP than IQ, has gone for repairs and its terrifying courtesy replacement is in the garage. I've never driven a birdcage with a tractor engine and more headroom than an olympic trampolinist would find ample and, even if I could persuade it that finding a gear is within its legitimate remit, I don't think I'll be starting now. Goodness only knows what it emits during its clanking, rattling quest for forward motion. Think I'll re-aquaint myself with the breadmaker.
Suzanne
I'm at home, working part-time for a travel trade newspaper and other publications as a freelance writer. I wanted to work from home so I could do the school + nursery run with my kids. We've lived here in Norwich for just over a year. My husband and I left London to be here in Norfolk for a better quality of life, and be close to the in-laws. We miss our friends but it has many advantages being away from London - such as being able to head to the beach whenever we feel like it, even if it's snowing. It's quite surreal being on a beach in the snow. Being around for our kids (aged two and five) is much more rewarding than spending two hours a day commuting into central London. I sometimes miss the buzz of an office but it's so much easier to walk to my desk (in our converted garage) than spend two hours a day travelling on overcrowded public transport. It's a bit tough on the social life moving to a new town but we now have more space to accommodate people so friends come to visit and stay - we had some coming up this weekend. I feel lucky that I can work from home and have such a quality of life with my husband and kids, thanks to the wonders of modern technology.
At noon I was checking to see if my builders - who were due to start my extension this morning - had arrived. Thankfully they had and are working fast.
Supervising a concrete pour to a large base of a new screen at the Marske Sewage Treatment Works, near Redcar.
Standing at about 45 degrees, as the wind and snow is being blown at what seams like 70mph, directly off the sea.
Andy Hornsby
Byzak Site Manager.
This from Dawn and Ray via text message
We have cut short our holiday in york as our daughter is very upset. Her boyfriend has finished with her. Stuck on A1 in traffic jam.
Having to come back to the office from site to do some invoicing as the secretary/accountant is on maternity leave.
But I am not complaining as the secretary/ accountant is my daughter and she has just doubled my Grandchildren with Libbie Grace born 10th January 2007 already have Ellie Marie aged 6 now.
Love them all
Jim Mullarkey
A very proud Grandad.
while waiting for the grandmothers, waiting for the bus, waiting for the green light
At 12 noon I shall be in Conil de la Frontera Spain. We are at La Rosaleda Camp site. My husband and I spend the winter here each year to hide from the cold at home. I was cutting a friends hair in our awning at noon. I feel very lucky to be here.
Maggie Davidson
At midday today I was filing beautiful pictures of our skiing holiday in glorious endless sunshine at Chamonix last week. Outside it's blowing a gale from the north east across Belfast Lough with big rolling seas crashing on the pier at Bangor. And it's very cold!
At 12 i was forking the lawn. . . .if you'll pardon my french !
At midday, i am filling in a request for a repeat prescription for drugs to treat my breast cancer, its not cheap being ill, i need six items at £6.60 per item, this rises to £6.85 on 1st April, I do not qualify for free prescriptions.
I've just had confirmation that the £900,000 I need to attempt to buy a farm tomorrow at an auction is available!!!! scary cos it's a lot of money and a lot to loose but an awesome opportunity. We want to develop it as an equestrian and holiday centre.. Lot's of prayer going up, but wish us luck as well please:)
Chas
This via text from Chris in Redbourn:
"I'm painting an office yellow thinking about my beautiful girlfriend who flew back to japan on sunday.see you in 9 months yosh.xxx"
I'm a consultant forensic scientist and at midday today I was in the middle of writing a report on the effects of drugs and alcohol on a defendant in a criminal matter. Although I love my job and find it really facinating there are times when you read case papers it makes you wonder about people and the things they do to each other and the waste of lives. I was just pondering this when I felt a kick in my stomach - I'm 26 weeks pregnant with my first child - and it reminded me that although life can be bleak and depressing it can also be wonderful. I'm lucky enough to be happily married and secure and this baby is such a source of joy to myself, my husband and both our familes.
So midday today for me was a reflection of both the worst and best of life.
At midday today, I have just finished writing my first ever lecture (I'm a PhD student) and I'm starting to make myself something hot - involving chillies - for lunch, because it's very cold here in Bedlington, Northumberland.
This via text:
Midday-Popping into the pub to get a coffee and a wed anniv card made for my daughter and son in law for tomorrow- John,Rotherham
At twelve noon today I was on the internet.I was petitioning the prime minister to bring back regulation to Manchester buses to stop the confusion and frustration suffered by the Manchester travelling public.I believe this problem needs to be addressed now.That is what I was doing precisely at midday.
This via text:
I'm about t deliver boquet of flowers t our special friend, Judy who is Headteacher in Howden, E.Yorks, she is 50 tday. From Ros & Cliff
At midday today I was wrestling with a hysterical 3 year old, he has just got home from playgroup and wants me to build his Thomas the Tank Engine train track with a windmill. Unfortunately Grandma has gone home with his favourite dummy and nothing else will do to placate him. He has a rotten cold. I have a head ache so I ring Grandma and ask her to please come back with the dummy then I can get back to the train set and all shall be well in Williams world.
Hello Five Live,At Midday I was placing bets on the Betfair website.(I listen to Five Live a lot.)Regards,Robert
I did pe in the rain it was horrible.
I spent lots of minutes around 12 noon trying to get some satisfaction on Friends Reunited. Found some neighbours but all are far too young to be there at the same time as me. Tant pis.
Barbara (aged 73)
At 12.00 I was at a Bank in Crawley, banking all the money we raised for Comic Relief at the school I work at with a Sponsored 'Been there - done that'. The Bank Cashier was not happy when he saw me walk in with a trolley and box full of coins! But we raised over £750 - it's a pity he didn't find it funny!
This from John via text message
Hello. I'm eating a sandwich in Sidmouth watching containers being taken off the wreck of the MSC Napoli. It's very pleasant. John, Devon
This via text:
Im sitting eating my lunch in a layby over looking the faslane naval base and the gare loch. Snow capped peaks to my right. Sandy
I'm a GP, sitting at my desk. I have just had a 3 hour surgery starting at 8am, I am doing paper work all over lunchtime and will do another 3 hour surgery this afternoon. Hopefully I will leave work at 7pm tonight, a solid 11 hour stint. The media portray us as workshy.
60 miles away in London, Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, with the blessing from the Prime Minister is vandalising the NHS. It is being fragmented and sold off to foreign corporations that only have profit as their motive. General Practice has been the one consistant success story of the NHS and the Labour government is willfully destroying it. Thousands of my highly trained junior doctor colleagues face redundancy, whilst at the same time NHS management posts have quadrupled and the goverment spends more on management consultants than it does on medical consultants. The same govermnent is planning to spend at least £30 billion (yes £30 billion) on a NHS computer system that has almost zero clinical benenfit, will probably function as well as all other government IT projects and one suspects is really there to form the basis of the Identity Card system and to facilitate the cut price sale of the NHS to their American buddies.
Tomorrow is the first day of spring, a time of hope, but I'm afraid with the current administration there isn't much hope in the air for the NHS
This by text:
I'm eating my breakfast, opening my mail and deciding which chores to do first this afternoon before going to work at the theatre. Clare, chatham
i have got 29 out of 32 on my math test and my d&t food teacher mrsdordouph and she give every one else a bicuit an not me how rude is that she most probaly ate it to her self she is a beast lol
At more or less exactly 12 noon I answer the phone. Turns out to be an important call for the Big Boss. So I am justified in interrupting a meeting before putting the call through. It’s a relief to do it successfully. As a rule the importance of the caller is directly proportional to my ability to cut them off mid-transfer.
hello my name is edward hawtin, im a 35 year old auxillery nurse at milton keynes hospital, i work on the resparitory ward there, at midday today i was ironing my tunic for my shift this afternoon and getting over the council tax demand that landed on me today.
Thanks for reading
EDWARD
i woke up at 5:00pm today because my sisters 18th yay get to the pub 2nite lol.i had a GCSE drama exsam. and i am from westlands school sittingbourne kent. its a rubish school. thats my day so far..........................................................................................................
This by text:
Drove over Poole Bridge at midday - too windy here 4 that man up the phone mast! Richard in Poole.
I had a really good lesson in maths and science because they are the two of my favourite lessons and it was really cold outside today in sittingbourne.
At midday, I was being told by a child in my class that an octopus will eat its own leg when it is hungry! I am now checking to see if this is true. Apparently the leg will grow back. We then carried on discussing amazing animals!
At midday, just a short time ago, I was crying a million tears, an all too frequent occurrence, in memory of my beloved daughter. Simple everyday things remind me constantly. Je t'adore.
I woke up at 6:45 and got ready for my school, westlands, at 7:30 i got a phone call from my ice hockey club saying that i have been picked to go to hull and play a tournement against northern teames, i cant wait now. At 8:00 i left my home in milton and went to school. In my first lesson i had english and we had a cover teacher and the teacher sent me out for throwing a paper airoplane. next i had science and we did an experiment with a buncen burner. At brake i went to get a tuna sandwhich but they did not have any so i got chicken mayo. thats all that has happen to me 2day....
errrmmmmm..........i listen to my mp3 evry day so i didnt really learn anything....i had science today and its probly the most borin class i got, it was freezin 2day so we spent most tha time in the canteen but came out for a bit.
toady i woke up and had to battle through traffic to get to school but then the weather turned bad and started to rain so i waited in the school building with my fiends until lessons start, my lessons so far i had is english, science and design and tech. and the lesson i will have after lunch will be english and maths.after that i will stroll up to my dads car then he will drive me home, when i get home i will mostly do some homework then play the xbox 360. Tommorow will be the best today in the week because my school has a construction skills centre and im part of it.
I am in year 10 in secondary school
and i am 14 year old, the name of the school is the westlands school in sittingbourne
i went and had a interview with the army about work experience at the westlands school it was quite interting because i like the fought off killing people.
i got up and my cat gave me a big kiss on the nose. The weather is horrible. i got ready and kim and i went to school together. i got at school and the pipes went straight and my hands were num. my 1st lesson was french it was so BORING, then i had geagraphy is was fun because we just messed about,break was horrible because this girl had a accident and it was really bad it is so bad i dont whant to tell you to gory lol then i had music but after about 5 mins the firebell went off luckerly there was not a fire. we got back in lesson and we could not do it because lots of people were coming in and out so we were talking to my mates next lesson was p.e we played benchball now in in tuter writing this up and my school is westlands and the schools headteacher is a dive
This middle-aged Five Live addict was at the orthodontist yesterday getting her brace tightened. Today at noon she was making some soup - the only sustenance possible when suffering with tender teeth! Dee, Ayrshire
At midday today, I was taking a break from working at home in sunny, but cold, Shropshire - to chat with my wife about how she got on with her latest piano lesson. (Coming on a treat, by the way).
This by text:
Drove over Poole Bridge at midday - too windy here 4 that man up the phone mast! Richard in Poole.
at 12 i was looking out of the window from my desk considering what my options are. I am having problems with management and after being told that i should not be looking at the bigger picture & i should not focus on trying to help our customers out i am having to consider my options of either staying with my company or if i should go and look for a job elsewhere. THe problem is i enjoy my job but it is just management that has changed and causing me problems. It is driving me nuts and i dont know what to do. Hopefully i will be able to sort something out and come to the right decision.
Hi Folks,
I work at home here in Germany: to relieve the monotony of translating car industry texts, I gaze out from my penthouse patio onto an ochre-coloured, Gothic cathedral perched high up on a massive rock; I can see the river Lahn flowing to my right, with its bird nature reserve, a few swans, 2x geese (we call them Gerold and Geroldstein) a few grey herons. ducks. Quintessence really! Sadly spoiled by the main train line to Frankfurt on the other side of my building which is noisy and sometimes alsmost drowns out Radio Five live! Oh well - back to work!
Bbc radio five would like to know what we are doing at midday today. I aM of course listening to the news on the radio wondering how long is now ? Are we talking about the long now or the right now? Right now seems to be the now the broadcaster is interested in. How long is right now? Right now is very short in the modern world but everything seems to be happening right now! Right now someone dies in iraq. Right now someone dies in a car accident. Right now a child is born. Right now it is sunny. Right now it is snowing. Right now five minutes have passed peacefully. Right now we are world at war. Right now ten minutes have passed. Right now is over. I aM more of a man for the long now these days * andy williams in Truro
I am a Accountancy Recruitment Consultant and my job is not looking so secure at the moment so have decided to try and find a new one. I had a very negative meeting with my manager this morning following 2/3 weeks without securing placement fees. In the grand scheme of things having to look for a new job is not a great problem but following a succesful period within the job, working 60 hour weeks and the occasional Saturday it is very disappointing my employer has taken this confrontational, negative stance. I am 35 and this is my 8th job since starting work at 16. So as soon as i stop writing this message I will contact the Recruitment Consultants to the Recruitment Industry and see if i can earn them a fee by securing my ninth job!
I had a really good lesson today in maths and science this morning because maths and science are two of my favourite lessons and the weather is cold
i did pe in the rain with my friend Joe
We're in Canada waiting for Spring to arrive... it's snowing again! I actually miss UK weather! Something that I never thought I'd say! Will take the dog for a walk and no doubt fall head over heals on the ice! That's about the most exciting thing that happens in New Brunswick! There really isn't a lot here!!!... oh apart from Wallmart!
at 12 noon, as the organist at a local crematorium, i was attending and in charge of the music, at the committal service for a dear friend from my local church in leigh, lancashire.
12 noon today and a typical Tuesday lunchtime in our house. My 18 month old has just fallen asleep and my 3 year old is "helping" prepare lunch. I'm on the phone to a fellow stay-at-home-mum discussing the changes in plan for the afternoon's activities - this one has a cold and that one's having a late nap and do you have any ideas on what to do when xyz happens... When I was a proffessional I was one of the many who thought these conversations the height of boredom and a sign of a wasted mind. But now I recognise them as a lifeline to dealing with the frustrations and anxieties of parenting. At least by sharing our stories we all stay sane, keep relatively calm and have a laugh about the mysteries and trials of child-rearing. And I know I'm not alone in finding it difficult at times!
Hi all at radio 5.Today at mdday,my midday(Ilive in France)was a very special midday.I had a phone call from a friend I have not spoken with for 30 years.We served together in the Army and went through good times and some terrible times.So if this is read out Ray in Peterborough,this year we will get together.Regards Pete Wilson (Fance).
At midday, I discovered that my 11 year old dyslexic son has not achieved the expected results required for him to attend a local independent school - A route we are forced to investigate as we were not awarded a single one of our state school choices and the remaining options are not equipped to help his specific dyslexia needs.
What more can a parent do when not only do we have no choice about the state schools our children go to, but the independent school system recruits children based on academia. Dyslexia specific schools are few and far between and so far away that full time boarding is required.
I find myself, at near-on 1pm, considering leaving the country to find a suitable education for my bright and intelligent child, who finds it difficult to process information in written format. So much for teaching being a vocation. It's a results driven business.
Chapter 1:
Every exit is an entrance somewhere else.
My wife told me at the weekend that she wants to leave me, not for any particular reason other than she's fed up. My world since then has been tinged red, with everything taking on a surreal and detatched aspect. This morning I found out that I will be made unemployed at the end of the month. My mouth is full of ulcers, I can barely talk. I'm wondering how much further down I can fall. There is, of course, a VERY long way to go. My mind is fixed on the idea of taking control over my situation... By making it worse!
I would normally switch on the Five Live news at midday, but today being the fourth anniversary of my worst ever birthday present I did not feel like hearing reflections on Tony and George's little war and the tens of thousands of deaths they have caused.
Instead I have treated myself to a little present and have been listening to the superb Valkyrie from the first ever recording of Wagner's Ring Cycle by Rudof Moralt.
At noon today , i was reading the top-quality contributions to the best message board in the world :-
Gavin's Station .
12 noon - I'm recently retired and enjoying more time for myself. I've just gone out to post some letters and have a lovely long walk in the country around Marshfield, South Gloucestershire where I live, and I fell over (tripped over a curb), grazed my face and knee, bent my new glasses (maybe beyond repair) and hurt my shoulder - so feel rather shaky. Not what I was planning for midday today!!
Janet Opie
I have been working on my fund raising page for Race for Life 2007.
http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/laraw.
At midday I was sat with my thesis supervisor discussing ideas for my research. I’m a post-graduate sport/exercise psychology student.
However I was finding it hard to concentrate as I knew my mum was appearing on the Five Live to talk about what she was doing - packing for New York, to go and see my little sis. And of course my meeting over ran so I missed it - thank goodness for 'listen again'.
My sister has been on a 'gap year' - which turned into 18months, when she decided she wanted to delay coming home (and the real-world? – I can talk – doing an MSc!). It’s going to be weird seeing her in a weeks time - will she have changed?
So as I sat with my supervisor all this is going through my head, along with another 101 things - including should I do a PhD? Can I find a better quote for my car insurance? Better check the closing date for that job application.
Is it any wonder I can't decide what to do for my thesis!
Hi everyone
I'm a music teacher and at midday today I was running a music workshop with my son's Year 2 class in school in Twickenham, making percussion instruments out of plastic bottles and pasta, and being noisy and messy. The kids, aged 6 and 7, were brilliant and I can't think of a nicer way to spend a Tuesday morning!
A month ago, my 6 year old daughter, Rebecca got a urine infection. It was cleared up by antibiotics but our GP referred her for a renal ultrasound at the local hospital.
At midday, Rebecca her father and I were anxiously awaiting the test.
After a short wait, we had the ultrasound and got the 'all clear'.
Her father has just now dropped her off at her Primary school for the afternoon session.
I was amazed at how lucky we are to live in a country where we a Consultant Radiologist can use such state of the art diagnostic equipment and none of it depends on how wealthy we are.
Hooray for Northampton General Hospital and our wonderful NHS!!!
At midday today I am sat waiting for a call or e-mail from my solicitor to tell me the funds will be available to buy my new flat after my divorce settlement comes through. For now my life is all in boxes. Literally ! This is the fifth time that we've tried to complete but the lawyers can't sort themselves out.
It's an amazingly sad and frustrating time. I cannot get on with my life and move on and neither can my wife. We've simply grown apart and it's time to go. Everyone agrees but the lawyers won't let us get on with it.
It's hardest of all on my daughter who is 13. I'm not moving far away and will actually be a lot closer to her school so she can see me whenever she wants. But it is very hard having to build up to a possible leaving date, watch her tense up and then have to move it all back to another date.
The lawyers just deal with this on the basis of a job. I keep getting hit by the human side and it is horrible!
Today I'm at work. I'm a lawyer, and I've spent the morning reading through a huge pile of mail and sifting documents that might or might not need to be disclosed to the other side in a litigation I'm handling. To be honest I'm having quite a good day today: concentrating on work is taking my mind off my personal life where things have recently gone all wrong. My long term partner left me a month ago, and so home at the moment is all about readjusting to being single and working out how to make 1 salary pay a mortgage on a house bought for 2. Sometimes work is a relief!
I'm an administrator, a facilitator and an organiser at a community project. At 12:00 I was showing my colleague how to use Excel to record the names of our elderly clients and the volunteers who befriend them. This spreadsheet contains the names of the elderly people with whom we work and the volunteers that befriend them. Each name tells a story. Ofen a story of isolation and loneliness, of depression and disability, of disappointment and frustration. Each volunteer gives up their time to come alongsides such an elderly person. We see lives transformed as friendships are formed and relationships made. People who have felt cast aside realise their value and worth and lost confidence returns. Our volunteers speak of how they have grown and developed through these befriending relationships. Excel Spreadsheets are rarely valued and are not really very interesting, but each name here is a person who we value very much and are honoured to help and support them.
BRIAN @ ROWLEY REGIS, WORKING AS SECURITY GUARD PONDERING BEING MADE REDUNDANT NEXT WEEK. THE 3RD TIME FROM THIS COMPANY! WHAT NOW AT 62 YEARS OF AGE?
12pm was parked up at felixstowe in truck due to strong winds. Decided to sort out my sock fluff problem due to the new soctks ive got. Ian suffolk
This via text message:
i'm watching the snow falling, and thinking how much i love my husband... from bex.
At 12 noon I was taking an item to the Post Office that had sold on ebay.
At 12 noon I went out to collect 3 freshly laid eggs from our 9 free range chickens. You can see them online at www.henhome.com
Regards
Simon
At noon taday I walked back from mums and tots play session in St Helens on the Isle of Wight. Made lunch for my 2 little girls Issie 4 and Jess 1. Popped Jess in her cot for a sleep, now waiting for husband to come home so we can have lunch
A snapshot of life at midday today in Birmingham UK.
I was sitting in my conservatory, bathing in the midday sunshine. At noon precisely I was using my WiFi enabelled laptop to make contact with a manufacturer of pure 100% cashmere blankets in Kashmir. Should I purchase in a champagne colour or something more practical ? (Remember these have to be dry cleaned and I own two cats ! ) This morning I determined that as soon as possible I would no longer fight with and swear at my duvet while changing its cover. How wonderful it is to have the opportunity to buy on impulse via the medium of my computer and access to the Ebay shops. At the click of a button the purchase was made and payment transferred. I was immediately able to look forward to receiving within 14 days or so, a large brown paper wrapped package which, if similar to my last purchase from this supplier (100% cashmere pashminas) will arrive half covered by 30 or so differing stamps, all depicting the wonderful wildlife of Kashmir. At 12 o'clock precisely I crossed the world, white water rafted in the crystal mountain rivers of Kashmir, slept under the softest imaginable wool from the underbelly of a Himalayan goat and made a purchase in US dollars. All this without getting out of my armchair.
Maggie Manders
I phoned my parents today at midday as I hadn't spoke to them for a while. My mum was out so I had a chat with my dad. He was excited as they are close to getting a new place in Plymouth and were looking forward to receiving the keys. They are going to sell their static home in a Looe caravan park so they can be back in Plymouth where they lived before. It was nice to hear things were well and hopefully once in their new place, my partner and I will be their first visitors.
At midday today I was painting the upstairs of my house. Hopefully it will pass inspection when my beady eyed boyfriend gets back from work today. I recently moved in to an old victorian property and have been probably driving the neighbours mad with noise of sanding and banging (mind you there's a pub next door so they don't mind, they can retaliate!). I have a whole week off work spending it on DIY so I don't mind if it is cold and snowy. It will stop me going out!
Ramona from Cambridge
Think I just missed the midday deadline. But hey..
It's just gone 7:30am. Blue skies, warm sunshine, and the sound of waves gently breaking against the sandy beach. In the distance the sun lights up the dome of the cathedral in the old town, filled with history, culture and colonial architecture. Here on the beach, a bunch of guys are wading out into the sea, throwing nets to catch fish to then sell to people in the blocks of flats nearby. The flats are new, expensive and most of them are simply holiday homes for the country's elite. They are furnished with imported goods, marble floors, rooftop jacuzzis and swimming pools. The guys who are fishing come mainly from the island across the bay, where there is no drinking water, no waste disposal, and the kids wander around naked or in rags, with swollen bellies due to lack of nutrition and parasites. This is Cartagena de Indias, a beautiful city on the caribbean coast of Colombia, South America. A city of stark contrasts....
My mid-day snapshot today? Like the majority of your listeners, my mid-day experience was mind-numbingly bland. I sat at my desk, wondering for the umpteenth time why the woman who works for me cannot discern between the words "bought" and "brought". I keep telling her...."think of 'bring' and 'buy'.....y'know...the way you get your clothes..."
Then again, this is the woman who thinks that the prices quoted on TV shopping channels are genuine...she truly believes that the Tanzanite ("Rarer than diamond, Tanzanite is..." - yes, well...so are virgins in Cardiff, but you don't see those on "Gems TV", do you?) items she buys for £40 when the "retail price" is closer to £2,000 means she has thousands of pounds' worth of jewellery.
Thick, thick, thickety-thick. Thick as a whale sandwich on extra-thick bread.
That was my "moment" at noon today, anyway....life on the hard-shoulder, my friends...you can't beat it.
At 11.00 this morning the weather here in Hackney was miserable, overcast and there was even a little sleet from time to time. I was sat here, working on my blog (I won't give the url if you don't mind).
Now at 13.00 I am back in Hackney, sat here blogging. The weather here is miserable, overcast and there is even a little sleet from time to time.
In-between, I went to sunny Crews Hill in Enfield. At 12.00 exactly I was sailing back down the A10 in my car with the 3-seat garden bench and blue slate chippings I had just bought. The weather was glorious. Spring was here!
I must stop blogging so much and get out more often.
Spending the day at home with my sick 8 year old daughter. Arrived at work 0800 back at home by 0835, message from home she had been sick.
Elder son dashed out of the door as soon as I arrived back, he had stayed with her until I returned, other 2 sons had already left. So instead of working with 30 children as a TA I'm just looking after one, my own, playing hangman, e-mailing her father and watching Valiant on DVD, happy days.
At midday i was kneeling on the kitchen floor giving myself a no. 2 haircut. Pete in Brighton
At 12 i was with friends studying the book of revelation in the bible and worshipping Jesus 4 loving and saving me! From andrena in northern ireland
At midday I was half way through swimming 50 lengths of the pool to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.This is the longest swim I have ever done and I feel good!
Barbra, silver surfer.
i was playing cards in the cafeteria at my sixth form!
At midday i was going to play Real Tennis but my opponent failed to turn up! Jane from Bray
At midday today i was at college going from my Physics lesson, where we were learning about resistors, to my Chemistry lesson with Matthew. It was an enjoyable experience.
Sat in a meeting across the table from my secret crush. I'm a married woman, he's a married man - and I'm terrified of how strongly attracted I am to him.
We are just colleagues (in his mind) - but I am so affected by his every glance, his words, the way he responds to my emails...I can't get him out of my mind.
So, today, as always, I simply sat across from him and was my usual, professional self.
Little does he know...
at midday i was at college(MFG) finishing my physics lesson about resistance then i walked to chemistry with adam after getting my EMA sheet signed.
at 12 today, i was in psycholgy, in college, just starting the coursework, and getting really hungry!!! plus wondering how i am going to sort out a system for doing all my coursework at home!!>??!!
At midday today, I was practice room 1 at the Mirfield Free Grammar and Sixth Form practicing for my grade eight exam on my tenor saxophone.
At midday today, i was voluntarily helping out in an English Literature GCSE lesson in The Mirfield Free Grammar. In order to gain a greater experience of teaching as this is the career i wish to pursue.
i like the eggs
At 12.00, I was running up my telephone bill, talking to the loveliest girl in the world. Her name is Juliette, and she lives in rural France, although she is not French.
We "met" through our mutual love of the concertina, our instrument of choice. We have corresponded for several months, and will meet, for the first time, in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Juliette is working hard to record two CDs of Classical music, which will mark her as the world's finest exponent of the concertina, a very under-rated instrument.
I had been anticipating something extraordinary to happen to me by 12 noon so that I would have a really interesting/ sad/ funny blog...just like in the trailers for a moment in time.
Instead it was life as usual: 23 years a PR consultant getting on with my everday job of oraganising events, writing reports, preparing press releases for my many clients whose products make up the fabric of much of British industry and life; from drains to boilers, welding machines to refrigeration systems - these are the products , and behind them the companies and people, that help to make life tick over for all of us. Extraordinary? You bet...
Eating a tuna sandwich and cadburys mini eggs.
Today at mid-day, my 4 year old son George was sitting on my lap, and I was reading him a 'Kipper' book just before taking him for his afternoon at pre-school. It was freezing cold with a biting wind blowing in from the north, which meant he missed out on his bike ride today; we stayed in and made banana milk shake instead. He didn't seem too upset!! I'm on a a late shift at Gatwick airport this afternoon, and will be wrapping up warm... My wife will be home from her early shift, (also at the airport) to look after him and his sister by then.
After a swim and a sauna, we went to the pub for a lovely beef roast and a crab salad. I'd spent the swim and sauna time thinking how to deal with my stupid crush which i've had for about 6 or 7 years about one of my friends and how i'm going to control it in future. My partner of 23 years and kids of 15 and 10 are none the wiser thank goodness. it's all in my head and just needs to be kept there. Hard with all the other things going on.
This from Mick via text message
Hi. At 12 noon I was sat on top of Gutter Tor on Dartmoor drinking tea from my flask and trying to figure out the meaning of life. Mick
Today at lunchtime, I was sorting out my children ready to bring them home from toddler group.
I was looking after my friend's little boy, while she took the other to an osteopathy appointment.
My son, Oscar has been a bit quiet (for him) today, so I kept an eye on him. However, not long enough for him to bite his sister... his first bite... argh!
My daughter Jasmine was sleeping, but I had to wake her to get her ready to go home. She coped well ;)
We all got home and had baked beans on toast for lunch. It went down very well.
i'm a driving instructor so at mid day today i was in the middle of a lesson helping one of my pupils master the parallel park manoeuvre on a quiet estate in grantham.
I was cuttin toe nails in walsall at 12 (i am an NHS chiropodist) - now on my way home 2 birmingham
At noon today I was just finishing teaching one class at Spelthorne College, Ashford, MIDDX. I'm an ICT teacher on contract until July 2007
At 12 noon, I was sitting cross-legged in a yoga class,hands in chin mudra, concentrating on breathing in and out, noticing the temperature of the air as it entered my nostrils and again as it left my nostrils. Any thoughts which came into my mind (why the electricity company hasn't taken the direct debit this month, what I need to get for tea) were pushed gently to one side, and all I thought about was breathing, in and out, in and out...
Hi,
At 12 midday today I was in Boots, buying spotcream for my 11 year old daughter.
As to what is happening in my life at the moment, where do I start? My sister died last year, aged 38, and I am trying unsuccessfully to come to terms with that. My mother lives in Holland,and I am trying to look after her from a distance, as my dad died in 2004, also from cancer. TodayI have booked a ticket on line to fly over for mother's birthday in April. I have spoken to the school, as the before mentioned daughter spend lunchtime in the toilets yesterday, as she feels very alone. Her twin brother is doing better at the moment, he has some behavioural issues at school. I am also a midwife, and work 3 days/week in a very, very busy unit. My friend told me about your phone in this morning, and I would just like to say that we really, really want to give fantastic, individual care, but with the NHS the way it is at the moment, it is impossible. We never have breaks, we don't stop to even have drinks most shifts, and when we finish, we feel so very , very frustrated about the lack of care we have given.But the lack of resources and the staffing levels let us down. Not forgetting the NHS management. We go home to collapse and start a caffeine infusion to cope with the kids after school, and start again
I am now waffling on, which I haven't got time to do , as I have a huge pile of ironing waiting .
Liesbeth
Today at noon I gained first hand experience of problems in the NHS. Earlier this morning my youngest son was run over by a car outside my house. Fortunately he wasn't seriously hurt and the staff at Alder Hey were fantastic. Matthew was checked out very quickly and effieciently by kind caring doctors and nurses. The only downside was the 90 minute wait to have a dressing put on his single graze. This was caused by a shortage of nurses.
Spent midday in Stirling's A&E. My son lost his nail by shutting finger in the door joint of our bathroom! He's 2! Gordon, Stirling.
At lunchtime today it was all very routine.
Tightened someone's denture (I am a dentist), had a staff meeting and then ran some errands in town. I needed to pay some money in at the bank - waiting in a long que for a cashier was still quicker than waiting behind one person using the automated quick deposit. Then I picked up some semi-skimmed milk for our coffee and tea at work and also some bread and salad for home.
Went back to work via the newsagent to pick up an Evening Standard and a bit of chocolate to have with my coffee before I start work again on the afternoon's patients.
I was in a swimming pool with 38 6-8 year olds as a parent helper, helping with a swimming lesson. The children had done really well and I was with 5 Yr 3 children who have been struggling with their swimming but have improved greatly in the past few weeks and it is really rewarding to see their sense of achievement at being able to swim (albeit short distances). Some other children can swim really well and some of the smaller children cannot swim at all.
I was at work at my desk, retraining myself on Excel, at the same time I was watching the snow fall here in Aberdeen, Scotland, a beautiful winter scene.
At midday I was setting off full of completely unjustified hope for a squash game against my colleague Roger in our office league. As usual he beat me and my plans for promotion from division 3 are set back another month.
12 oclock, at the gym, aquarobics class, all ladies mostly older than me, many in their 70's, they'll never win any fitness or beauty contests but GREAT to see them all splashing around and keeping fit!
I'm in Jerusalem listening to 5live on my internet radio, and feeling exhausted after a week of worrying about when our colleague alan Johnston will be released from captivity in Gaza.
Matthew Price
Spent the hour trying to fend off a salesman from 3 mobile phone as to whether I wanted to change to their network. Outide, the snow fell, althoughdid not settle.
At noon i was visiting my ninety year old dad in his nursing home. We sold his house last friday in order to pay for his two thousand six hundred pound a month fees. The socialist government does not seem so social to me. Terry from leek staffs.
At midday I was gardening (my job) in a freezing cold wind not far from the Glastonbury festival sight. I dont mind being out in all weathers when Radio 5 is 'my freind'
This from Rob & Jane Clarke via text message
At twelve today we had just completed the adoption of our two beautiful children, aged 2 and 3, after a process which took over four years. We are now enjoying a family celebration as 'official' parents for the first time.
At midday today I was cooking up swede,potatoe and chicken for my nine month old daughter.Not too amazing in the grand scheme of things but my daughter enjoyed it.
I'm making some phone calls to get more information on a Maoist-led general strike in several parts of eastern India in protest against a recent government policy to handover farmland to private investors to build industries.
I'm trying to find out if the strike was successful in which case I can file a despatch for World Service.
Sitting in freezing bbc beijing bureau covering latest round of north korea nuclear talks.
The Beijing Municipality has decided that it's now spring so it's just switched off the heating to office buildings. But no one told the weather - because it's still winter.
Midday on Tuesday 20th.Just another tedious day at work....? Except that today is my son's fourteenth birthday. The years came and went, from his beautiful smile as a baby to the first step that took so long to arrive, four before he fed himself,nearly six before he spoke and was toilet trained and in between the diagnosis of autism. And yet today, thanks to a wonderful primary school and an understanding secondary, combined with all the effort we have put in as a family, he is my proudest achievement and nothing else will ever even come close. A miday to treasure for sure.
Midday on Tuesday 20th.Just another tedious day at work....? Except that today is my son's fourteenth birthday. The years came and went, from his beautiful smile as a baby to the first step that took so long to arrive, four before he fed himself,nearly six before he spoke and was toilet trained and in between the diagnosis of autism. And yet today, thanks to a wonderful primary school and an understanding secondary, combined with all the effort we have put in as a family, he is my proudest achievement and nothing else will ever even come close. A miday to treasure for sure.
In Gaza working to secure the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC's Gaza correspondent who was abducted 8 days ago. Unfortunately no real progress yet.
I'm watching a chef in a small steamy kitchen tipping olive oil into a big pan of squid.
I'm with xav the camera man and peter the producer in rome. Its the eu's fiftieth birthday party at the weekend and we're collecting material for radio and tv pieces.
This afternoon we have an interview with the italian prime minister but for now we're talking to people about their take on the eu today.
Those we've met in the family run resaurant aren't keen on the euro but like the eu. Bit more interviewing to go before I sample the soup!
World Storytelling Day
Today at 12 noon I am recovering at home from a hip replacement. I am 46 years old and the reaction of most people when I tell them is 'You're very young' or 'Are you sure you need it?'. Well, I can tell you I wouldn't have gone in for major surgery without good reason. I probably have a genetic predisposition for rheumatoid arthritis, this combined with the fact that my son has global development delay and didn't walk until he was 4 years old and therefore was carried around as quite a large baby all conspired to severely restrict the mobility in my hips and pelvis. Three years ago when I first went to see my doctor he suggested that a less invasive resurfacing of the joint might be possible but in the intervening three years the joint has deteriorated to such an extent (the x-ray looked like bone on bone, ouch) that only a complete joint replacement would do the job. The consultant recommended I had it done ASAP and thinking of my 3 children I asked if it could be done after the holidays ie in term time to minimise any disruption to their routine. I was flabbergasted when he suggested a date at the end of February, only 4 weeks away. (That's private medicine for you). It was like planning military manoeuvres trying to make plans for every eventuality during my hospital stay and subsequent recovery period. I was devastated at having to rely on so many people having been used to being quite independent and self-reliant. Luckily friends and family rallied round and I ate the best casseroles and cakes I've ever tasted in those first few weeks (not that the hospital food was bad). I'm hoping this drastic operation will give me a new lease of life and enable me to keep up with my very active (now 8 year old) whirlwind of a boy.
The only thing is that the other hip is just as bad and I will probably be going in for the same again later in the year. At least now I know what to expect.
It's 12 o'clock and I have another patient waiting to see me. I am so tired and I've had enough. I have an overwhelming urge to walk out of work and just disappear - but I can't, I'm self-employed and the business will fail without me. I feel very trapped, but life keeps going, and doesn't wait for me. Chin up hey.
I spent today's lunch break sitting at my computer grappling with a job application form. I am lucky to have the time to work on it; usually I'd be at work but when I got to school this morning I found out that it was closed because of the snow. Our long awaited for "Snow Day" has finally arrived!
Life is, as it probably is for most people, a mixture of good and bad for me at the moment. We're buying a new house and over the last few months have had the pleasure of planning the kitchen and garden. As ever, our work-life balance is not good but at least our New Year's resolution of spending more time together as a family is working out. However, I am worried about my father. He has cancer and although he's not too ill now we don't know how long that is going to last. My parents have been thinking of moving house to be nearer me but they don't really want to leave their friends and home.
It's midday. It's Tuesday. Let us blog...
Where am I? I'm at work. Work to me, currently, is being technical support for a growing (ever growing) General Practitioners Surgery in Peterborough. Today I have a problem I do not want. A 400GB server hard drive is within inches of its life. I now have the entire surgery staff (admin, HR, reception, nurses and doctors) waiting for me to say if they are going to lose any of their work. It is backed up, of course, but only monthly. Will we lose 20 days of work? Should I have backed it up weekly? Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?.
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: FAILED!
Drive failure expected in less than 24 hours. SAVE ALL DATA.
Off we go then... rescue data before it dies... time to put on the metaphysical superhero costume and save the day.
What I did at Midday.
Glasgow Uni Open Day I cheaked the UCAS applicaiton website and found that I have got a place at medical school. So in 5 year I will become a Docter, not bad for a Dyslexia boy who had to atend a special extra school as I was so far behind in primary school.
I was in Costa Coffee having a monthly supervision meeting with one of my team members. We were there because the meeting room in the office was occupied by other people.
We were discussing the concept of the "disappearing builder" as we are part way through an office refurbishment project and our contractors seem to have vanished!!
At 12 noon, I went to visit my friend who has a one week old baby girl. She was gorgeous. We enjoyed a cup of tea and a catch up whilst my 7 month old slept and each of our boys(both 2 and half years old) played with Fireman Sam and Thomas The Tank Engine.
A moment is part of the whole of time. Today at mid-day I was printing the final copy of my doctoral thesis so I can submit it on Friday. Its been five years part-time study in the making and now its done!
It weighs a few kilos and feels like a weight off my mind. But its also exhilarating as no-one else has done what I have done - my study stands up in public space as original research which offers something new for the world. Not something huge, but a contribution and I am happy.
this is the fifth anniversary of the death our only child Stuart, he was just seventeen and died from an asthma attack ( maybe you remember me talking to Nicky on a phone in out astma only a few weeks later ) Geoff and I were putting memorial flowers on his memorial and then we went to serch out the memorial for my dad who had died in November , we did and we rang my mother to say that he was at peace....just another day every day is sad but at laest by doing this blog i can tell the world about our wonderful son and remeber his final parting gift of life he gave ....his organs were donated to other young people so that they could live ....we are so proud and love and miss him more as each day passes . Love you Stuart love mom and dad .
At midday I had gone out to buy milk ... but returned home having forgotten to get any!
Not a big mistake, but to me, up to a couple of months ago, I'd have used it as evidence to reinforce my belief in my own stupidity. Today I just laughed, and decided to try again later.
For someone suffering from/learning to live with, life-changing/ongoing depression, that's a big step. So although I'm having a bit of a bad day, pretty depressed, there's always some good to be found!
Katherine, Staffordshire
At midday I was in Betty's front room. She is a Midland Bank (HSBC) pensioner and I am a volunteer visitor. She and her son have had a lucky break and have changed the car and bought a better cooker and washing machine, and are looking forward to a break in the Isle of Wight. Betty is infirm and in poor health. I'm glad things are looking up.
fell in love at the weekend, trouble is that she is not only the mother of my god-daughter, but the wife of my best mate.
She's been texting me, and i have been replying, my morals are in shatters, day-dreaming of her, but know the dream can only be a dream, so what now.
I am a school secretary at the local primary school and today at 12 I was organising the teams for a netball tournament at the local secondary school. It is a very cold day with snow in the air which is a bit of a shock to the spring flowers which were fooled into opening early by last year's unseasonally warm weather.
I was re-drawing, yet again, designs for a loft conversion.
At midday today I was mulling over the implications of having been diagnosed with MS a few weeks ago, and then finding yesterday that the appointment I have been given to get the biopsy results from a colorectal exam is in the cancer unit. I'm 44.
I'm rather hoping these things don't come in threes. Not sure I could find the time for anything else.
Actually, I wasn't just mulling it over. I was thinking "life's a bitch".
As my girlfriend is away on a business trip to China and I have a week off work on holiday I was cleaning out and feeding my girlfriends 4 Guinea Pigs; Red, Boots, Doughnut & HobNob. Right now my no.1 aim in life is to ensure that they are all present and correct upon her return on Sun 25th March.
Today I was speaking to a local wildmill museum cahrity about getting some promotional items for sale in their shop, and getting a uniform done for their guides. An interesting interlude to a day usually filled with speaking to various customers and suppliers on the email and the phones.
At midday today I was delivering an Aboriginal Art workshop to a group of young people as part of a new Target 20 programme. Community arts are a really important way of getting people involved in the arts. Art is a uniquely accessible medium which can allow people to express themselves, to communicate what they are feeling and most importantly have fun. Can't wait for the next one.
Today at midday I was taking our 10 week old yellow labrador Guide dog puppy, Cramond, around the preparatory school that are sponsoring him. The children aged 3 to 13,(and staff) were capitvated by him and much to my relief, Cramond did not relieve himself in the school. Despite much cuddling and stroking he behaved impeccably only biting me once.
I'm lying in bed after a bout of foot poisoning on Sunday. Seafood. At least I've stopped vomitting now but I still have the runs. No appetite. I've only eaten an energy bar since Sunday tea time. I coun't even keep water down yesterday.
Today at midday. Left work to work from home; no computers available today because of maintainence work so couldn't do much. Decided to phone my little brother, he's 24, but he is for ever my little brother, which makes him sound about 7. Trying to pick a birthday present for our Dad - have agreed on a sports pakcage for the telly, I have to investigate and my brother will suss things out at his end. It is very cold walking down Princes street, a lot of people around...why isn't everyone at work? Maybe they can't use their computers either.
At midday I was eating a chicken salad sandwich and crisps during my 10 minute lunch break. I work as a volunteer at the local citizens advice bureau and ate lunch between advising a gentleman on how to appeal against unfair dismissal from his job, and phoning another client about help with their debts. Tuesday is a busy day in our office with six volunteers in, but even then we can never keep up with the demands for our service, so the phone never stops ringing !
12 o'clock today and I was sitting in a cold corridor waiting for a child to come from the music hut to me to read his book.
I feel cold and sick. Being aware that we have a supply teacher in the class (again), I have dragged myself into work so that the children in class have some consistency this week. I really should have stayed in bed and by now I am wishing I had. No sympathy is forthcoming though, we are incredibly short staffed, due to a variety of illnesses and I have just found out that I will be required to work extra hours to cover some missing staff. I am a Teaching Assistant, not an experienced Teacher, yet I am expected to go into a class and teach if a teacher is not there. This is the state of schools nowadays.
I look at my watch for the umpteenth time and can tell you I am counting down the days, no hours, until the Easter holidays. It has been a difficult term and it doesn't promise to get any easier.
At noon today I was busy counting the number of species of parasite I found in a frog that had died on the doorstep of my Institute. Why? Because I am a parasitologist, and I am interested in cataloguing the fauna of our native animal species. It's not a subject that finds sympathy with too many people, for reasons I never fully understand. Parasitism is so ubiquitous that we should all acknowledge it as simply a fact of life.
I showed the parasites to our new cleaner and she freaked out, running away crying 'get it away from me!' It took me half an hour and three tots of whisky to calm her down. What I didn't know was that she normally doesn't drink alcohol. It then took me another hour to stop her from telling me that she was in love with me from the moment I first interviewed her.
I have not told my wife about the incident. The frog, and its parasites have been put in the incinerator. The cleaner was sent home to sober up.
J McC
Today at midday I was taking our 10 week old yellow labrador Guide dog puppy, Cramond, around the preparatory school that are sponsoring him. The children aged 3 to 13,(and staff) were capitvated by him and much to my relief, Cramond did not relieve himself in the school. Despite much cuddling and stroking he behaved impeccably only biting me once.
12 noon - I'm in Basingstoke town centre. I have remembered, somewhat late that my daughter's school is holding a "Victorian Day" tomorrow and that they had suggested that the children could wear some appropriate Victorian clothing. You know the sort - dark skirt, high neck blouse and white apron. Mmm, me thinks - so her sparkly pink t shirt and denim skirt won't do? Oh dear, I rush from QS to H&M to TK Max in a frenzy of panic in my lunch hour looking for the ideal outfit. Chance? What chance! Aha - I have a cunning plan, there's a fabric shop, I'll buy some material and make her an outfit. Bingo, black cotton velvet and elastic bought. Smugly I walk out of the shop then I realise the one big mistake in this brilliant idea - I don't own a sewing machine. Looks like I'll be hand stitching till lunch time tomorrow.......
I am a school secretary at the local primary school and today at 12 I was organising the teams for a netball tournament at the local secondary school. It is a very cold day with snow in the air which is a bit of a shock to the spring flowers which were fooled into opening early by last week's unseasonally warm weather.
At midday today I was ploughing through a list of science lessons to set up for tomorrow. I have just gone back to part time work now that my youngest child has started school, and have moved from research scientist to stay at home mum, and now to school science technician. I'm still getting my head round all the science I've forgotten over the years out, but it's fun, it fits in with my family, and the students, even if they are all a foot taller than me, are mostly great. Once I've done that it's back to pick the kids from school and home to cook dinner, do the washing, ironing etc etc. A busy but rewarding day all in all.
At 12 today I was sat in a room at Manchester Metropolitan University being assessed in counselling skills for my foundation degree in Health and Social Care. I and 3 of my colleagues finally got it done after weeks of panicking, and we passed!
Happy Days!
Today I succeeded in managing my work/life balance and was "Green" in the process. How? I took a break from work to change the sheets and put some washing on. Where does the "Green" come in? I work from home, so walked upstairs, etc.
At 12 noon I was in the loo at a well-known fast-food joint next to the West railway station in Budapest. I had to pay 50 forints for the privilege, which is a little more than a penny!
At midday I was attempting to complete a job application form - all eighteen pages of it!
I doubt if I will ever hear from the perspective employer as I am 50+ years of age and to date despite filling in dozens of application forms I never even get offered an interview. This is a ridiculous situation as I need an income - heaven help people in the future who are supposed to remain in work until the age of 68. Employers and/or Government need to change their attitude to mature job seekers!
hi, today at mid-day i chatted to my husband as i do most days at around this time. i am home here in england and he is away working in cairo, so messenger is a godsend. but today it made me think back to all the different ways we have communicated over the years, we are so spoilt now with emails, texts, and messenger.
it use to be a 5 hour drive to a phone to call home, to making phonecalls that went through 3 or more different operators, to faxes.
and then satellite phonecalls from the edge of the sahara.
technology is wonderful isn't it
12 midday found me making an imaginary sea creature for the WI exhibition at the Cheshire Show. It will be a wonderous creation, glowing from the inside and covered with diaphanous fronds on the outside. How you ask ? thats the question - how indeed and that is why at 12 midday today I was grappling with the problem/creature.
Both me and the Beirut producer Maha Barada are listening to a televised press conference by the speaker of the house, Nabih Berri, explaining why there was no parliament session today although it's the first day of the ordinary parliamentary session.
Lebanon has been in political crisis for four months now, with a stand off between the western backed government and opposition which is led by the pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement. Nabih Berri apepars to have sided with the opposition.
Listening to him speak is a remind of how Byzantine Lebanon's politics. There is a lot of bickering, a lot of mistrust, wheeling and dealing and a lot of metaphores. Berri said that he doesn't have to schedule a session on the first day of the ordinary session, just like not all trees bloom on the first day of spring.
We've also just received our lunch- in Beirut you can order food deliveries from almost all restaurants, so we ordered from a typical Lebanese restaurant, which makes great home-style meals. I have a bulgur wheat, tomato and yogurt dish, and Maha got chicken in the oven with potatoes. We are bit a limited in our choice these days, because the area that the office is located in is fenced off by the opposition which has been holding an ongoing sit-in for three months, they've set up tents on the streets outside our office, near the Prime Minister's office, and the parliament.
Our Arabic service colleague, Nada Abdel Samad, who also works in the bureau, is at the site of the conference, the home of Mr Berri, he's been talking for an hour now. We're also recording it off the television.
At midday today I was enjoying my picnic lunch sitting on a fallen tree in glorious sunshine overlooking the river Wharfe near Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales. My two friends and I were joined on this occasion by an inquisitive pheasant who was particularly interested in our sandwiches. This was a short break in one of the regular walks that we enjoy and during which we put the world to rights! Today, despite the bitterly cold wind we were still able to appreciate the magnificent scenery, the birdlife as well as the recently erected sculptures in Strid Woods. you can't beat retirement!
I am watching the re-opening of the Kenyan Parliament after a long recerss. It is the final Parliamentary session before elections (Presidential and Parliamentary) scheduled to take place before December this year.
The Speaker is on his feet urging members of Parliament to put aside tribal and persoanl issues and conduct themselves 'in a manner befitting their respected status'.
Members of the Kenyan Parliament Government have been beset in the past 2 years by accusations of widespread corruption. Some ministers forced to resign for corruption are now back in Government - the next few months will be nothing if not interesting
Lunchtime 20th march 2007; My first blog!
Snow on Kinder and the hills behind, just below the snow line we sit and my ofice can see the hills of Derbyshire to the right, Cheshire in front of me and Stockport & N.East Manchester to the left of me.
Plan was; work from home Mond & Tues, not planned; 6 year old Sarah with Chicken pox from Friday and ill...Matthew 8, pitches up on sunday night with high temp and severe ear ache, diagnosed; viral infection of the Glands - rest and water. So yesterday was fun!
Then last night, the budding centre forward C' aged 12 limps home from training with either severe ankle ligament damage or a broken metarsal and 12 noon was an hour before he was due to go to A&E and they were all being good, PS2 & DVD inventors, thank you!
My work I juggled, a £3m bid into a major Telco, A Datacentre build of circa £1m and a few other larger deals which 'have to close' this half - 6 weeks to go and the plan is working, but there is always a lot of admin and shoe-horning to do!.
Any way, I woke the wife, did I not mention she worked last night (run's a Nursing home 2 nights a week) at 1.30 pm, then got to work feeding and watering them all. You know, tea and biscuits, orange juice, etc.
My point; Who says men can't multi task!!??
Perepetic of Disley!!!!
Midday and I'm sitting on a comfortable blanket by an ice blue lake with a chilled glass of white wine and a pinic hamper full of goodies that make the salivary glands go into melt down. My beautiful wife in a cool and light summer dress is lying next to me in a semi-dreamlike state. All's well with the world as she rises on one elbow and seductively whispers,
"Tommy's been smacked in the nose by an orange Sir and there's blood everywhere"
Dragged screaming back to reality in a busy Midland Secondary school trying to have a lunch break but again failing miserably. Off to the nurse with Tommy and his 'bloody' nose and goodbye to my daydream.
I'd like to think of today as being the beginning of a new start for me. You see, I handed in my notice yesterday. Big deal, you may say, but for me its a huge lifestyle change.
I've worked for the same employer for the last three and a half years and although the company and the job, for which I am leaving, is so much better in regards to prospects, money, career, work-life balance, etc, it is still an immensely daunting prospect.
Don't get me wrong - I am looking forward to it so much and I still can't quite believe its happening! I keep having to pinch myself to check I'm not dreaming, its that good for me! Its just that, like most people, I've always been afraid of big changes, even those which are good for me.
Its ironic actually, because it was big changes, that were out of my control, that actually inspired me to look for a new career in the first place. My current employer, in its infinite wisdom, decided it would be great idea to relocate a central department to a rural location, with little public transport infrastructure.
I, having yet to pass my driving test (not through want of trying - 4 failed pratical tests and about £3000 worth of lessons and 1 residential course testify to this fact!), have found it increasingly impratical, expensive and time consuming just to get to work. Ergo, the search for a new mode of employ.
I applied for my recent success online and was thrilled to be offered an interview, which, as luck would have it, coincided perfectly with my week off and trip to London (the role is based in the City). I attended the interview and in true Donna style, went into three different building's receptions before finding the correct venue for my interview.
The interview itself was, as far as interviews go, quite a pleasurable experience, in that I felt I answered all the questions fully and competently and didn't make a complete idiot of myself (receptions fiasco excluded). To cut a long story short(er), as I feel I've babbled on long enough, I'm extremely pleased with myself at the moment and I've finally realised that its true that changes, even though they may seem difficult and bad at first, may just turn out to be the best thing that's ever happened to you.
At midday today I killed a man with an axe for raping a woman; rescued a woman from a poker wielding butler whom he thought had witnessed him disposing of the man's body; and stole a vintage Rolls Royce Silver Ghost to help her escape.
I'm a writer and those were scenes in my novel which I was editing for submission to my university Creative Writing tutor. This is one of the final assignments for my 3 year degree course at Manchester Metropolitan University, Alsager Campus. Only 3 more assignments to submit and then on 26 April I'VE FINISHED!!
it's 5pm in Islamabad and it has been raining pretty much non stop all day, I'm the BBC's South Asia producer and I spend a great deal of my time working in Pakistan.
We were getting ready to cover the chief justice's third appearance before the Supreme Court but have just heard it has been postponed until April 3rd.
At Midday today i was putting my baby daughter down for a nap and preparing to continue my training for a half marathon by having a run on the treadmill.
At midday I was in an office near Heathrow revising some Powerpoint slides and answering a few emails - had 2 morning mneetings and was soon to head off for another in the afternoon in Terminal4.
At 12GMT I was talking to students in Dubai about the media and how it works -- locally and internationally.
A lively bunch with plenty of questions -- and lots of answers of their own!
At midday today I was helping in a year five class at my local Junior School. Normally I assist in a maths lesson, but today the children were working outside on the little class garden and I spent a very pleasant hour in the school greenhouse helping the children to pot seeds and cover them and then tidy up. Although the weather was very cold it was a pleasurable relaxed hour talking to and helping the children.
As a self-employed trainer, I spent the day having tutorial meetings with my candidates from my first 'open' course, Certificate in Coaching. Midday found me talking to someone who had not completed the first part of her assignment so we fell to discussing teenage children. Happily I was able to reassure her that she was not alone in despairing of a 15-year-old boy, and that mine (now nearly 18) has reverted to his lovely self. Touch wood, breeding will out, and the values of respecting and being polite to others is shining through without any prompting from me. Please don't anybody judge him when he wears his hoodie - it's just to stop his lovely long hair going curly in the rain.
At noon today I was sitting in my office, back to the window through which I have a direct view of the Chrysler Building here in Midtow Manhattan. Too busy most of the time to look at that beautiful building. But anyway, at noon I tuned into the broadcast (on my desk phone actually) from the Press Room on the second floor of the United Nations building where I have worked for 31 years to listen to the daily Noon Briefing by the Secretary-General's Spokesperson. Although I work in the office of the SG, I actually need to listen to the briefing to find out what he's been up to and what's going on. My other source for UN-related news and world events which affect us here is the BBC website, or BBC TV news broadcasts. By the way, it is a beautifully sunny day today, a bit chilly still (44F) and last week's snow is rapidly melting. Thanks for all the interesting missives, which make me miss my limey home all the more.
It's a glorious summer afternoon in Joburg, but I'm busy trying to keep track of events across the border in neighbouring Zimbabwe. It's not easy. As you may know, BBC News is barred from reporting inside Zim, so we collate all the information at the BBC Bureau in Joburg.
These are dangerous times in Zim if you're an opposition supporter. In the past week, dozens of opposition activists have been arrested and seriously beaten up by the police. The state is warning foreign diplomats that they will be expelled, if they give any support to the opposition.
I've spoken to a few people on the phone in Harare today, and I'be been able to file a couple of news reports on what I've managed to glean from our sources there. The South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aziz Pahad, had been due to brief the press in Pretoria this morning, but he cancelled the briefing at the last moment.
It would have been a chance to ask him about South Africa's stance towards the Zimbabwe crisis, but that'll have to waiti for another day.
As a professional storyteller, I was in a delightful Kent primary school. At 12.00 I was enjoying a break in the company of friendly staff at snowy Vigo Village. During the morning I had been busy telling stories from rather warmer climes - Australia and Spain. We also shared singing and music making. In the afternoon, I told a story from India with more singing and music. We all had a great World Storytelling Day sharing crick crack (storytelling). By the way - what you're supposed to do with crick crack - I call out "crick" at any time in the story or song, and you (the audience) call back "crack". It's all part of the joining in and fun of a story being told.
At noon today I was on my way back from attending a briefing at the science media centre.
The subject of the briefing was teenage vaccines
At 12 pm today I was on the tube.
I'm not surprised at that really: I seem to spend so much time on the damn thing it's no wonder I was a hundred feet underground.
I was with two colleagues from my course - we're working on a TV film project about drugs and were heading back from interviewing a government agency in Westminster.
Exciting stuff!
India time it's half past five in the afternoon. It's glorious and sunny in Delhi today where I'm based as South Asia Correspondent for the BBC.
But at the moment I'm in a windowless television editing suite looking through some footage with our South Asia Producer Vivek Raj. We've just been out this afternoon recording an interview for a special report due to air in the UK next week.
I can't say too much more about it at the moment other than it's a project we've been working on since late last year and it's timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the UK.
You can catch our report next week on tv, radio and online. We'll do versions for each. Sorry, but if you're interested, you'll just have to wait for it.
My husband and I spent Midday on Phi-phi island having a foot massage. It is amazing the transformation since the Tsunami-lots of new businesses and a palpable positive spirit.
This morning I thought about what I could post on the site but I was not planning anything that I thought would be of consequence; but at 1200 I was comforting my dear friend and next door neighbour Aline, her husband Michael had collapsed and died this morning. This day will stay with all of us he was greatly loved by all who knew him, and now the outlook for Aline is so different from the one she had yesterday.
At 12 noon I was just joining the M25 on my way to meet my parents for lunch to celebrate my mother's 74th birthday. Not much traffic for a change so I arrived early.
On a quiet news day I am sitting at lunch at my desk - dog beside me - and getting on with writing my book.
It's about the Dutch language.
But just now I am working in a new chapter ... about all you people .. and how we communicate through language - on World Story Telling Day
You can see pictures of my dog here
Been a truly beautiful up here in the Scottish Highlands. Today I walked up a glen close to where I live following the path alongside the river. I stopped for a while and sat alone watching the sun reflecting off the water.
At lunchtime I was taking some photos at Accrington Stanley FC. For a virtual tour of their ground see http://www.photopanorama.co.uk/accrington_stanley/accrington_stanley-qtcyl.html
1200GMT is 9pm in Japan. I shot these three pictures on the way to and in the supermarket on my way home from work.
The first shows a salaryman working hard on the wifi to get some project finished - sitting outside despite the fact it's freezing. He's sitting outside Starbucks in the posh Tokyo neighbourhood of Roppongi Hills.
The second photo shows a woman silhouetted against a wall that constantly changes showing different numbers. It's outside the TV Asahi building - again in Roppongi Hills.
The last picture shows the sushi I bought for my dinner - 30% off as it's the end of the day.
See my pictures here
Teaching Year 4 in a London primary school. At five to 12 we had to finish our PE lesson because the infants had to use the hall to eat their lunches. Walked back to our classroom where my class got changed and got out their handwriting books to do some peaceful handwriting for the last 20 minutes until our lunchtime. My class are performing a musical about Ancient Egypt for their parents on Thursday and the songs need a lot of practice. So at about 5 past 12 I turned on the tape with the song music on, and my peacefully handwriting class immediately brokeinto song in unison. Sounded quite good too! We multi-tasked for the next 20 minutes, singing and handwriting at the same time. School dinner was lukewarm meatballs and spaghetti or potato puffs and scorched courgettes - not very inspiring.
at midday today, I was preparing lunch for my 4 year old before I took him to nursery. I made Spaghetti hoops on toast, but by the time I had made them he had fallen asleep so I had to eat them myself !!!!
I'd just got back from delivering a couple of parcels, put the POD'S in the tray, then I had some more to deliver elsewhere.
At midday we were putting up the posts and pictures you've been sending in. Thank you all for your contributions!
The good people of Great Britain,
At exactly 12noon today i went to assist a family of six who in the last nine months have had over 149 incidents of so called anti-social behaviour and racial harassment incidents, all recorded at the local police station and with the local statutory service providers with no respite so far.
Leyla is a single mum of 29 who came to uk nearly 2 years ago. She has five lovely kids aged between 12 and 4yrs, extremely well behaved and doing well in school. Leyla has family and relatives in London, but because of goverment policy to bo tough on asylum seekers she was "dispersed" to the midlands and settled in a neighbourhood where she happens to be the only family of ethnic extraction. The "native residents" themselves are in dire straits with no adequate housing, schooling, healthcare, or security. And given the image of the scrounging foreigner it doesn't take much to figure out what Leyla's family fate would be in such an explosive mix of deprivation and despair.
Remember the story of how about a quarter of the food in our fridges is thrown out? For all those of you who are blessed with the option to throw away perfectly good food please remember that just round the corner there might be a little child just like your own little John or Jane going hungry or shivering in cold, lonely, with no friends, forget about toys, unable to go out of their home and living a miserable life.
I am sure this is an image of Britain not many would recognise. But believe you me it exists and i see it every day. So why don't we hear about this tragedies in our supposedly sumptous midst? Simple- this are vulnerable people who have no representation or say. The professional industries that purport to speak on their behalf talk the talk but never walk tha walk. Remember Trevor Philips, the top dog in this field, and his tirades against this people? i am sure his peerage is secure having given legitimacy to the marginalisation of the very people he is supposed to protect. May i dare say that even the BBC local media output has mirrored this shifting hardening attitudes to this desperate people.
Since this does not fit the image of Cool Britania i dont't expect it to be aired.
Thank you all
At lunchtime I was training a multi-disciplinary group of workers from health and social services. The subject was child protection assessments. They expressed a high level of knowledge and expertise and it was clear that they wanted to do their best in the highly deprived area where they live and work. They work positively with so many vulnerable children but nobody is interesrted in this.
The government agencies for whom they work want to put everything in a positive light and hope that by providing trainig they will stop child abuse tragedies but you know what? Something bad might still happen and the finger pointing that will follow will cripple alll those who try so hard.
Through the window, across the city and between the high rise, the snow covered the tops of the mountains can be seen glittering in the mid day sun. I dream of walking up them feeling the warmth of the sun on my back in the cusp of the winter and the spring.
I was at the Gym with my wife! We work mornings, afternoons and evenings so try to grab time together and exercise at midday. The couple that jogs together - collapse together!
At midday today I was sitting at my desk at home, thinking really hard about what else I could be doing instead of working on my dissertation. I've done the dishes, put some washing on, written to the bank about unnecessary bank charges, and completed the re-mortgage application forms. Right, there's nothing else for it, I'm going to have to do this bloody dissertation. "It'll all be worth it in the end", I keep telling myself!
At midday, I was waiting for a colleague to later go on lunch with. Work as a pharma researcher, and at 1-2pm attended a seminar on "how to work more effectively". And how can we reduce time from dicovery to drug development to NDA submission from 11 years to 8 years. One of the major focus was on better communication.
At midday I was writing a letter to the parents of three naughty little year 9 boys. They's been caught (1st mistake) behind the school bins (2nd mistake) with a mobile phone (3rd mistake) secretly videoing (4th mistake) a group of year 12 girls (final mistake). The irony is that the boys were filming the girls smoking. The boys got into big trouble. The girls did not. It's a funny old world...
Hi
At midday today I was in my office at home worrying about the 'real world' of making a living as a self employed person. I supply commercial vehicles and one always wonders where the next deal is coming from. I also have a small food shop which is under pressure from supermarkets.
The bank is ruthless, and the 'real world' often makes me wonder why I do what I do.
I am sure many hundreds of people feel the same way but we do it because we love the challenge.
regards
philip Strachan
East Yorkshire
At 12.00 as an International Civil Servant at the European Space Agency were just going through our team briefing discussing projects and engineering issues. The boss was handing down his instructions, I looked around the room to see, A Dane, A Spanish Colleague, a pair of fellow Brits, our German boss and two Canadian peers (yes there part of ESA too!) engaging in discussion. It still amazes me how well all the nationalities work together, yes its hard work to ensure that the cultural formalities are respected but we do get along even though they do support some strange football teams ( or hockey in the case of the Cannucks).
I was reading these amazing posts, feeling heartbroken and amazed all at the same time. I love hearing from people all around the world. I then tried to write about it on my own blog, http://somuchsugar.blogspot.com, but am not as talented as you all.
At midday today I was chasing my 20 month old son around the kitchen. He'd swiped my mobile phone off the table and was slowly taking it apart. Time to put things higher up again.
At 12 o'clock I was sitting in the kitchen at home, looking after my 3 year old son who has been sick for the last 5 days. I would normally be at work in London.
Stood outside the village pre-school, in the snow, with my youngest waiting to pick up my eldest.
At noon today I was sitting in the dentists chair, the 1st time for 20 years! He sorted my cracked tooth, cleaned my teeth and remarkably gave my teeth a clean bill of health.
Some more of my life fell apart - as the building society want to issue a possession order. I have given up will to live...
It was the bit just before a teaching course. We were asked to arrive at noon; last session I was horribly late and ended up in this big dining room eating alone surrounded by white table cloths and underactive waiters. Today, instead, I was the first and once again I sat alone! I'm trying not to feel alienated and friendless.
In the end the other attendees turned up and I soon forgot the dicomfort - at least I know what it's like to be the Queen in a grand dining room...
The course was so-so and I'm left wondering if teaching is for me anymore. I'm sick of feeling unappreciated and of being surrounded with so much negativity. Also, the realisation that a teacher's job is to crush the spirit out of year ones (the same thing which in early years they were dedicated to finding) and I'm questioning everything we're doing.
Ban school.
What could I possibly write about? What will I be doing at 12 noon today that people will find interesting? I've been thinking that since I heard about this blogging day. I'm not interesting; I'm normal, boring, everyday me so I decided to see where I would be at 12 O'clock today and write about the first things that came into my head.
I had a vague idea where I would be - somewhere between Cowbit and Spalding on the way from one meeting and to another. Life's been like that since I became self-employed in September; I support school support staff and I love it but have had to learn to do without my precision like timing plans that have ordered my life for many a long (and short) year. I work in both a proactive and reactive role so plans are subject to change. Hence, although I'd planned to be somewhere along the A16 between Cowbit and Stamford, I wouldn't know where I was or what I was doing at the specific time until the time arrived.
As luck would have it as the radio said (well if the radio could speak IT would have said) "It's 12 midday" I pulled into the car park of The Lady Anne Hotel in beautiful Stamford. I'd not been there before and I sat a minute or two, as I do, thinking abotu what I would be doing in the afternoon. My brain switched from internal thought to noticing what my eyes were seeing and I saw an almost Wordsworthian (I'm not sure that is actually a word) host of daffodils on the bank infront of me. They are my favourite flowers and, as they always do, brought a smile to my face.
They are a blessing, a promise of brighter days, a happy flower; laughing their way through the winds and storms of their brief lives.
Tomorrow it will be a week since I split from my partner of five years. We've split before so this time only a few people know. My 14 year old son's response "Yes Mum, how many times have we heard that before! Let's see how long it lasts this time" is only a foretaste of what others will say, and the less brave of them will merely think it.
I watched the daffodils dancing in the wind and blustery snow storms and a calmness really did settle over me.
This time it HAS to be for keeps - no going back into a relationship that has been many things but is ultimately emotionally and psychologically destructive. The calmness allowed me to see that it had become a habit, and not a good one, each separation (and more so each reunion) have gradually enabled me to see more clearly that this was never the relationship for me.
I thought about the daffodils and could empathise with their brave dancing; like them I have remained generally strong and smiling in the face of the strong winds that battered the relationship from its messy beginning to its unceremonious end. I smiled. I know that like the daffodils, after a period of regrowth and regeneration, I will be able to grow again.
Perhaps posting this is in reality merely an affirmation that today, 20th March 2007 at 12 midday I acknowledged that I can move forward alone. I will prove to my sons and all those who have doubted it from time to time(including me) that I am stronger than we all beleived. Like the daffodils I am strong enough to withstand the March winds and snow and keep smiling!
Virabadrasana II
I have been going to a beginners' yoga class for nearly two years. The intermediate class I should have progressed to clashes with the aerobics class I've been attending for 17 years. I am the assistant teacher at that class and take it when the regular teacher is away. So when the aerobics finished at 11 I dashed off and drove the ten miles to the yoga class. It was one of the better classes of the term. We did back bends which I like. I'm sure this is not the attitude I should take with yoga. Embrace it all or leave it I expect is the maxim but it's just so slow. My mind wanders and seems to need to be constantly engaged and I get BORED at yoga. How do I 'concentrate on the breath' when I wonder if the shop I own is still being ripped off (lost £12K last year to one thieving member of staff), my son is OK at uni, what flowers I can grow to fill my wonderful garden, will the sale of my parents' house go through so they can move near to me rather than a 4 hour drive away etc etc. My teacher is a lovely but fragile woman whose self estemm is rock bottom and I havent got the courage to tell her I've gone off it. So at 12 I was doing the Warrior II (Virabadrasana II)pose in her class. I dont think we've done that before and it felt good, lots of stretching about the hips, shoulders and feet. I'm going to have to tell her soon. The subscription runs out at Easter and I'm going to have to be brave and tell her or cough up and grin and bear it.
I am a 44 year old student teacher, I had a bit of a mid-life crisis and left full time employment to see if I could hack it at uni with a load of 19 year olds!! The answer- yes I can and they are all very nice. Today I am at my placement school which is Pebsham County Primary, Bexhill. I am in Merlins which is a year 4 class. What a great bunch of adults and children they are. We've been having a go at area and perimeter in maths and loads of other things including finishing off their shield making, the topic has been castles. In literacy the class had a go at personification. If you want to see some fabulous work going on come down here. When I finished there I then wenty to my daughters school to have a meeting regarding a trip she is going on shortly. I then came home, had a cuppa, went and picked up my eldest daughter from work, did the ironing, did some reading for uni and also finished off some English prep for tomorrow. Ithen wrote this and watched Life in Mars with a small glass of red wine. I'm knackered!!
I am a 16 year old girl and I have to say that this will be pretty mundane. I go to college in Basingstoke, and am approaching my AS exams, which means that the work load is ever increasing. Of course this has to coincide with a cold snap in the weather leaving me with a lovely cold, and a really nice cough. So at 12 O'Clock I was sitting in my Spanish lesson trying not to sniff too much which would annoy the people around me, while listening to my music - trying to block out the people around me who were discussing whether love exists, while trying to learn my presentation in a language I had never heard before September and counting the minutes until lunchtime (12.40) and hoping that my tummy won't rumble too loud - luckily it didn't. So while my brain was trying to concentrate on all these various things (and when I am terrible at multi-tasking that was virtually impossible) my mind was in fact probably on the 10 minute German presentation that is due in tomorrow and the History essay that I had in fact hoped to get done at the weekend. Never mind. Of course in a normal lesson we would be doing something a bit more constructive, however my teacher along with a high percentage (which reminds me, Maths homework!) of the class have jetted off to Spain on a college trip this week, which just makes it worse as I am waiting for the half an hour cycle home IN THE SNOW when I hadn't had time to pick up a proper coat!! Anyway that is enough rambling on, I should get back to the presentation and the History essay!
At noon I tucked into a cornish pasty I had bought moments earlier from the bakery. Despite the chill wind, I sat on a bench amid the daffodils and crocuses, enjoying the watery sun.
I found myself contemplating the continuing effects of the unexpected death of my father-in-law last October. My wife remains devastated with grief and shock, and struggles day-to-day with a blanket of depression. The world changed forever - and became a darker less fun-filled place - for both of my children that terrible day.
As IU sat there I vowed to continue to support them all each day, to take more exercise, and eat fewer pasties!
At noon today I took time out from my task to admire a busy cloudscape - I was standing beneath a clump of mistletoe which was high in the branches of a British Champion tree, Acer rubrum 'Columnare', in the Hillier Gardens. The clouds were largely cumulus racing across the sky, with patches of blue in some of which were visible more leisurely, higher, mares' tails. My task, as a Hillier volunteer, was to collect physical specimens of flowering maples for the Hiller arboretum.
At 12 noon I was with my mother. She is 85 and suffers from angina and very bad arthritis in her knees which means she cannot walk any distance. She was widowed over 30 years ago and she is also partially sighted which means she cannot read or watch tv easily. BUT is she miserable - no! Yes she has bad days and lonely days but a little outing to a meeting at her church and her spirits rise. The thing is - is this what my life will be like in 30 years time?
At noon today my girlfriend had my name tattooed on her arm in Chinese writing. It meant more to me than she will ever know, and I can't express how much it, and she means to me. I love her to bits and want to spend the rest of my life with her. Thank you Claire I love you.
At midday, I and my partner were sitting in the City Screen cinema in York waiting to see The Queen. It started at 1205, preceded by no ads for cars (or anything else) (hurray!) and no trailers (hurray!!). Well-done, if a little long.
What was I doing at twelve noon today? Probably, I was chopping carrots and preparing snacks for my first team meeting since starting a job as an Oxfam shop manager. Also, I was worrying about how many people were going to turn up and whether or not I would be able to think of anything to say! In the event, lots of people did turn up - average age: about 75 - and I also did think of lots of things to say; all in all it was a lovely affair, and the snacks and treats went down a storm. The main issues discussed seemed to be the bins and not selling things too cheaply. I'm a 31 year-old male and I used to live a pretty glamourous rock-and-roll lifestyle; now I price handbags and second-hand blouses, raise money for charity and make cheeky jokes with old ladies. Typing this makes me realise how much things have changed! But it's good - and better - and, you know what? I wouldn't change it for the world. Cheers!
At 12 noon I was in my interview for probate on my husband's estate at Leeds Probate Office. With a heartbreaking rench he died suddenly 7 weeks ago aged 46, I am 45. Today was not easy but I have dealt with so much over the past 7 weeks that I held myself together- again- including completing the probate form myself. Graeme would be proud of me, just as I have surprised myself. I have been lucky with lovely family and friends around me but I never want to be in this dark, dark place again.
At midday today I was just finishing my last set at the gym, before dashing off home & cooking some rice for my dinner this evening. Whilst that was cooking, I was hanging up the second lot of washing of the day, then having a shower, before eating lunch & dashing off to my afternoon shift as a police officer in Greater Manchester...phew, who says blokes can't multi-task!!!
I was sat in my solicitors office today, going over new details about my divorce settlement. After being separated for 2 years, I decided to divorce my husband even though we were still very good friends and love each other very much. (mad huh?) I thought recently there was a chance we could get back together but unfortunately he doesn't have enough hope in love to see it through. A sad day, yet a new beginning....
At midday, I and my partner were sitting in the City Screen cinema in York waiting to see The Queen. It started at 1205, preceded by no ads for cars (or anything else) (hurray!) and no trailers (hurray!!). Well-done, if a little long.
When I heard about this this mornining I thought to my self "no problem, I'll be up on the banc,checking the sheep & lambs with Cardigan bay in front of me & the snow capped Cambrian mountains behind me, not a bad way to earn a living!"
But the truth was at 12noon I found my self on my knees cleening the rear gate valve of our Slurry tanker.....some way to make a living!!!!!!!!!
At noon it was 11pm here in Sydney. I watched TV with my new Korean flatmate. We talked about translations because my partner was on the computer trying to find the best translation of our website so that our flatmates can follow our travels around Australia. The first attempts yielded a humourous non-sensical account of our ascent or "arise" (translation) up Mount Difficult. We know because we tried to translate it back into English. Find our translations here: http://www.24hourtrading.co.uk/blog/2007/03/20/wordpress-plugin-robs-translator-english-to-11-languages/
I was tired from my second day in a new temping job which requires me to commute a long way and do very mind-numbing work. I am beginning to miss my family in England who I haven't seen since December. However, I'm on an exciting adventure around the world with a wonderful man so I can't really complain.
At noon, I was moving a ewe and her two newborn lambs from one side of the shed to the other where they will be able to spend a day or two in a pen together. As I write this 15 hours later, mother and daughters are doing well.
I'm currently in Sydney, so effectively one day ahead! I'll recount the details of today...
I have been waiting for a phone call... all day... to see whether or not I have been accepted to do some work over here.
I have spent the waiting time eating sandwiches and writing drivel in my blog. And watching the clock.
I have also theorised a great deal about the relative merits of a life without Human Resources departments and have written an essay on why university is a cop out. So nothing too practical achieved here.
At 12 o'clock I had just finished a piano lesson. I am 60 years old and started learning to play the piano a year ago. If you want to play an instrument it's never too late to learn. It's one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.
At mid-day yesterday I was loading samples into a testing chamber for tests who's only use was to make money for the organisation, and would tell the paying customer nothing additional to what they already knew. So engrossed was I that I actually missed my official lunch break...and missed the deadline for posting this blog...better late than never
At around midday today I called my GP to see if they have finally got me a date for my brain scan. I had a fit at the beginning of January and my life and the life of my wife have never been the same since. The date is set any way, 4th April, that will be the day when the doctor will tell me all is normal and life can get back to normality..... thats what i hope happens.
Working in a factory in the North, watching several people sneaking out for a cigarette break, they must be desperate ,as it freezing outside and still they insist on standing outside and lighting up.
Yesterday at 12 noon I was doing what I have been doing everyday for 17 years Caring for my Husband who has many life threatening health problems but also sufffers with severe depression....whilst trying to cope with my own severe walking disabilities....plus since Christmas having treatment for Breast Cancer....including radiotherapy.
Thank god for my family and the Grandchildren who are like a ray of sunshine when they visit me.
At 12 o'clock I was working at home, as usual, trying to juggle the demands of my customers with the long list of household chores. I am really lucky that I am able to own a business doing something I really enjoy, but as I work from home I don't think my family take it that seriously and still all the housework falls to me. My husband works long hours and is never seems to be here when theres housework, ironing, etc. I do like my job though, with 5 Live for company all day of course!
As a busy working mum it's taken me till today (Wednesday) to post my blog (sorry). At Midday I was teaching Drama to a year 8 class in a girls' school in Birmingham. The lesson was going really well: the kids were lively, engaged and good humoured. Later in the lesson they showed me their work - improvisations using stock characters, which were brilliant. It's so easy as a teacher to be depressed by the bureaucracy, the endless target setting and the constant government initiatives which have very little meaning and which will be forgotten about in a few months when yet another new shiny initiative is launched. However, today reminded my about why I became a teacher in the first place.
At 12 noon yesterday I was dropping my mum off at her home in Bassaleg , Newport , S Wales .I had taken her shopping ,which I will do twice again this week .Then I set off on the journey to work in Bridgend where I lecture part time ( A level Geography ) in the FE College .
I live in Caerphilly and this trip is usual for me as many as 4 times a week .At weekends it is just the 10 miles from my home to mum's home .My sister lives 100 yeards away on the same road as mum,but she doesn't drive.And mum has transferred all dad's functions to me .My sister is not even asked to take her anywhere .Which Since dad's death last February , I take mum everywhere .In fact to all intents and purposes I am my dad .
Mum has no independence and nothing we do can change that ,She can't use buses and won't use a taxi .
I don't begrudge doing this for mum, but I am tired ,I have no life of my own , I drive 100s of miles a week , I am never anywhere to eat a meal at lunch time , either on the road or teaching ,so I have put on lots of weight .I am feeling very "depressed" and eating more as a result.And now I have my attempt to lose it all to worry about as well as everything else .I have less time for my 2 student offspring and no energy to do anything in the evenings .
I have finally come to the point where I have to help Mum move on and take control of my life again .The question is How?
On Tuesday 20th March at 12 noon myself and my colleagues at The Rainbow Project in Southampton were making decisions on which homeless young person had the most need of housing within our Project.
Another day for the unrequited.
Well, this isn’t getting any easier, sitting at work across from someone I practically adore, and who for a very brief time, shared some very good times. It seemed like after two years of not looking for someone, I’d actually been gifted by fate one of the loveliest women I’d ever met. Intelligent, beautiful, caring, generous, funny, motivated and spontaneous. And single! You can see how I thought I’d won the match-up lottery.
Needless to say that we got on really well, and after a few months, we shared a bottle of wine in the park and talked until the sun came up, at which point we kissed. Yeah, I know, either the biggest cliché ever or one of the most intense kisses ever. For me it was the latter.
The road was never smooth, (I mean, is it ever?), but as she was still finding her feet after moving here from her home country, I decided to just be there for her and not force any issues about relationships. They’re hard enough when you are settled sometimes; I didn’t want to make her life any more complicated by seeing how she actually felt.
A few months later, we spent another night talking and drinking, but this time I stayed over. We’d talked about how being friends for so long might not make it all a good idea, but we both wanted each other so much, we did.
We tried to stay friends after that night, but I knew that feelings were developing. I had to tell her how I felt, and eventually poured my soul out to her, hoping that this would be reciprocated from the way she was around me, and we’d start one of the happiest times of our lives.
Oops. That might have been a bit hasty, or simply everything I had thought had been lost in translation.
She told me that although she had thought about starting a relationship with me for months, which she couldn’t as she had too many uncertainties in her life at the moment: how long she’d be in the country, an ex situation that see-sawed from resolved to unresolved, her studies, then the fact I couldn’t speak her language, then that we worked together, then that she didn’t actually want a relationship, but did at the same time.
It seems that every excuse she could think of was being used, rather than just tell me no. Ouch. Far worse than the simple, blunt answer. Perhaps she did really want to, but was just afraid.
I asked her straight out, should I bother making a fool of myself trying to prove how much I liked her in the now ever-decreasing hope that we might actually just try, and face the issues as they came up, but together.
Then I got the no. Oof.
So, now you know the history, back to yesterday.
And today, and probably tomorrow.
I feel like I’ve made a complete moron of myself, and this cloud of humiliation now hangs over me, striking me with lightning every time I look at her.
Everyday at the moment is a day when I can’t look at the most beautiful girl in the world, as it reminds me of what I’ll never have.
Time to start saving for another lottery ticket, I guess….
Tuesday 19th March 2007 @ 12 noon I was on the phone to another distraught parent after finding out that our children will not be able to get into their catchment school in 2011 as Sheffield LEA, in their infinite wisdom, are increasing the catchment boundary, so that in 2011 there will be an over-subscription which the LEA have told us about. It is not that the catchment school is brilliant, rather it has a good reputation, but the fact that the school is our closest school living 3 miles from it. The next is 5 miles away and on the other side of the catchment school but in the case of over-subscription the children living closest to the school get in even if they have another school only 2 miles away from them.
The problem is that we live in the country - I run the local Post Office which the Government feel is in excess to requirements - and the school that is our catchment school is on the edge of the city so the city dwellers are by shere luck are all closer. In fact I am one of the closest to lose out. The farmers whom I service with the Post Office, live even further out, will have even further to travel. The LEA provide a very good transport system to the local school from the outlying areas and of course these will still be running in 2011 and beyond but our children will have to be provided with other forms of transport to take them past the catchment area school and on to an city school for their school life. Has anyone mentioned to them that there is global warming?
How can I persuade Sheffield LEA that they are making a mistake? HELP!
At 12 noon Tuesday 20th March I was purchasing an awning at a local caravan store. This will,I hope, when attached to my 4x4 allow me a little comfort when standing in the freezing cold by the side of the reservoir watching our 15 year old son windsurfing. He is part of the RYA zone squad who regularly train throughout the winter in strong winds and gales ( especially this weekend at Chase water) with the goal of making the 2012 Olympics. Our 16 year old daughter makes the very sensible decision to stay in bed and I am looking forward to the day when 'Mum's Taxi' is no longer required and I can go back to a life that doesn't involve awnings, motor homes and driving half way around the country either to events, getting repairs done or collecting new bits of kit.
On Tuesday 20th March at 12 noon I was in a Rotherham cafe having lunch after driving down from in Berwickshire that morning. I'd left my 20 yr old daughter, Laura, with her granny for a few weeks after picking her up from University on Mother's Day and driving up to Scotland. We spent Monday tending her mother's grave, she died when Laura was a baby. I spent the time in the cafe thinking of how proud her mum would have been that Laura had achieved so much in the last 20 yrs.
Midday 20/03/07. Just made lunch and about to start that "oasis" time of the day when i sit and relax and forget, if only for a short time, all else that is going on. Injury has forced me into retirement and i have to rest now as my leg is very painful. I will forget that it is not getting better and the latest treatment hasn't worked. I will forget what our teenagers are getting up to, or what we worry that they might be getting up to. I will forget about the bills that have arrived and the jobs that need to be done around the house. I will forget about the need to retrain for something else and the coursework needing to be done.
All these things can wait for a little while.
Midday is the start of a wonderful time of day. If only this break was taken during those years at work when there was "never any time".
At midday on 20 March 2007, I was in my local bookmakers trying to decide what was going to make me my fortune that afternoon. This is a fairly regular occurance. It helps lift what would otherwise be a dull day working as a tax consultant. Still, there is always tomorrow's budget to look forward to. We play our twice yearly game of spotting the new stealth taxes that creep in unannounced in the supporting press releases but which don't appear in his speech.
What was I thinking at midday? When is going to warm up!
At midday on Tuesday 20th January I was driving home feeling limp, and good for little. The psychologist speaks infrequently but when he does he hits what are to me invisible targets with precision. Each question is very challenging.
At midday forty minutes had elapsed since the end of another session of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with which I have been diagnosed as a result of being serially sexually abused as a 12 year old while at boarding school.
At the end of the previous session a week earlier the psychologist suggested I was angry at my abuser. I did not reply but considered his suggestion.
'How do you want to start today?' came the open ended question.
'I've thought about your suggestion that I am angry with my abuser,' I started, and on I went.
I’m angry, but not at my abuser. I was once, but he is a mentally sick man. One afternoon he boasted to me (aged 12) that he was having an affair with a mother of a former pupil. He told me the sexual acts he performed on her. But he did not tell me that at the same time he was having this long-term affair he also abused two of her sons. And why did he not tell me – well I was the ‘special one’ and had no knowledge other 'special ones' existed.
As we now know his sexual pattern was repeated with variations many times with many pupils. He's lived a lie most of his life. He married late and conveniently inherited a family. Some of these members cannot be unaware of his history. I suspect his wife knows, but the challenge for her in these circumstances is significant and few people possess the moral fortitude to stand up and speak.
So who is my anger directed towards if not my perpetrator :-
• The present school administration who have not been helpful in providing information to the police or the courts. They fail to cooperate with us. To them the institution comes first, it is about defence of their reputation. It is not a search for truth.
• The Crown Prosecution Service who do not have an appetite for historic abuse cases. Their performance could only be described as lacklustre.
• The judiciary whose who train judges to hear serious sexual offence cases, but offer no specialist training on historic paedophilia. These mostly male judges all come from a certain socio-economic background yet none of them have to declare that they themselves have not been abused becasue it would contravene their human rights. And what does this combination of circumstances do for an historic sexual abuse complainant? The man hearing your case is potentially sitting there with all his undeclared prejudices in tact. For example the former Crown Court Judge David Selwyn, who was licensed to hear Serious Sexual Offence trials retired early on full pension before pleading guilty at Bow Street Magistrates Court on the 13July 2004 to downloading indecent images of children. He received a 12 month community rehabilitation order.
Women Against Rape have campaigned against the appalling conviction rate for rape which presently stands at only 5%
Historic paedophilia achieves 2%.
I was abused by authority. Authority is still abusing me. Is it any wonder I have no respect for it?
My complaint, and that of four others to the police resulted in a pre trial ‘abuse of process’ hearing using the 'Selwyn Bell precedent.' This unique piece of legal minutae says that 'as a result of the passage of time the defendant is unable to receive a fair trial.' This is the lifeline used by most career paedophiles to have a case stayed.
My paedophile's claim succeeded. He is neither innocent or guilty. His case is parked. No stayed criminal case has ever reached court.
Do I want him to go to prison? No.
I'd just like him to make a full declaration of all the boys he has abused, and to name all the abusers he knew of and hired for the school. The police speculate he abused in excess of 100. He was operating in a sweetshop afterall.
In Britain's prep schools a paedophile is provided with the holy trinity of needs. Power, opportunity, and secrecy.
Parents place their children in these institutions having asked more questions about the new Volvo they've just bought, than they did about the school in which they've just placed their child.
I had a hurty head (or a migraine as it is more commonly known) and can't really remember anything.
At noon yesterday I was sitting in the snow with my husband eating mulligatawny soup and a roll before heading out of the shelter of the trees to face the 40 mph winds which would try and blow us off the Simonside hills in Northumberland.
I am sat at work in a cold office
I am thinking about the following things
- if I going to get the amazing job I applied for two weeks ago
- Why I fancy a guy who treats me like I am invisible.
- What I going to have for lunch
- how much I have in change in my purse...is it enough for a muffin?
- how much I love my parents and want to make them proud
- just how long I going to be a temp for this organization where my fellow co-workers are not the friendliest of people
- Media degrees are a waste of time
- I should hang out with my big brother this weekend.
- what I am going to wear to see Fall out Boy (jacket or no jacket?)
- Is it possible to get pnemonia despite wearing five (count 'em) layers?
At mid day today, I was supposted to be at Bristol Parkway station, waiting for a connecting train home.
However as the plane which was bring me and my hubby home from our honeymoon, in St Lucia watching the cricket, sat on the runway for a long time we missed the first train which then meant we missed all our trains.
Travelling from Gatwick to Tewkesbury by train isn't easy.
I am sat at home,and i am off work with a chest infection i cannot shake it off.But thats not important. I lost my dad [Toby]on Jan the eighth this year.I cannot beleive that he is no longer with us he was 73 when he died.I received the phone call from my wife Julie whilst at work he had been ill for sometime but its news i did not expect to hear on that day.I miss him.We had last spoke on the phone some days before,like most people when this happens you don't realise these are the last words you will ever say to each other.I wish i had said so much more.
I was reading and thinking and trying really hard to look like I was figuring out the sums in my head that I have been given to do on numerous spreadsheets. She sits so close to me she can hear me breathe yet she knows little else about me.She will never know either.Because you never truly know someone if you are trying to control them.
I pondered over those lives that have been documented in these stories and some touched me and others irritated me and also to know that I and you are so unique that the same stories would evoke different reactions in every person as we are all products of our experiences and our genes- unreplicable.
Most of us are sitting at our desks round 12 arent we? and 80% of us are disillusioned as to why we are here.Then I quote...
Winston Churchill -"When you love what you, you need never work again"....
Thats worth pondering on isnt it?
A moment in time.
A moment in insanity...
At around mid day I will be thinking what I think everyday, never again?.
More specifically the elongated "shadow" at the bottom of the photograph is not some abstract impression of an architectural feature, it is the figure of a human being - vaporized. Gone in a single instant, erased from the face of the planet.
http://online.sfsu.edu/~amkerner/ch/bridge.htm
On tuesday the 14th of march at 12:00pm i was at school in the middle of history. I don't normally like history but today it was good because we was learing about what happened at the collosium and gladiators so it was good!
story telling day
on Tuesday 20th March at 12 noon i was in period 4,history at school. i was learning about the romans killing peaple in the colossuem.they killed peaple with animals e.g lionjs, tigers, crocidles and other vicious animals.i would not like to be that person in the colossuem losing any of my body parts.also they kill the romans with swords, spears and any other kind of sharp tools.
by kirsty woodward
story telling day
on Tuesday 20th March at 12 noon i was in period 4,history at school. i was learning about the romans killing peaple in the colossuem.they killed peaple with animals e.g lionjs, tigers, crocidles and other vicious animals.i would not like to be that person in the colossuem losing any of my body parts.also they kill the romans with swords, spears and any other kind of sharp tools.
by kirsty woodward
On tuesday 13th march we did history and we learned about roman entertainment. We learned that their entertainment was murder in the Colloseum. When we had learned everything we did a roll play about it and used swords and fake blood. We had our groups and my group won.
When we started i thought it would be boring but it was really fun! I enjoyed it sooo much and we had lots of fun!
On Tuesday the 20th of March at 12:00pm i was in my history lesson as normal but tuesday the 20th in that period of time wasn't all it usually seems.
I find history quite boring lesson but on that day i acrually didn't, we were learning about the romans, all the bloody bits of course, when galidators used to gather in the colloseum and killed random people and some times animals such as loins and crocidles were thrown in too.
Then afer we learnt about all that gore we had to fill in a sheet about one of us actually being a brand new, popular,roman gladiator my name for the galsiator was Bianco Boxer my description was a very active, young girl that had had sooooo many injures and was still a fgreat gladiator.
It was great i flet likee iwas actually there in the moment until te bell went for dinner.
on tuesday 20th at 12:00 we were in history. we learnt about the romans and killing people there loads of blood and guts. people were getting eaten by animals. people were in a colloseum killing people and getting killed. it was a fun lesson and the best one of the day.