and while i'm on the subject . . .

. . . of not hearing things correctly . . .

someone whom i know (who will remain nameless to protect the innocent) was explaining Judaism - and specifically Hasidic Judaism - to his son

i expect he explained at some length and at the end his son asked 'is it their skins?'

'is what their skins?'

'is it their skins that are acidic?'

a poisoner's licence!

i sometimes think i might be going a little deaf - but there is a funny side to it:

yesterday stella and i were talking about car insurance and i thought she said that rich has:

'a poisoner's licence'!!

but what she actually said was that he has:

'points on his licence'!!!!

a week in the life . . .

this has been my week:

sunday: i) a little much-needed gardening: cutting the grass

ii) reading art history stuff

iii) went to cat and david's for dinner (which was delish!!) frankie, alex and lucia came too. here are lucia, freddie and james:

and imy and freddie:

monday:
frankie and lucia nipped round in the evening for a cup of tea. nicola knitted this lovely little teddy bear suit for lucia - doesn't she look cute?

tuesday: governors' meeting in the evening

wednesday: day off and more reading

i did a little knitting too: finally sewed the ends in my grey scarf and did some more on 'mr pink'

here is 'big mr grand-dad teddy' modelling my grey scarf:

thursday: ??? it is getting pretty bad when one can't remember what one did 2 days ago!!!

friday: i) stella rich and the pies have come for the week and are staying at jackie's. met stella and the pies and had lunch at barracuda. i was very disappointed!! stella and i often had lunch there when she was working at the town hall during her uni hols and it was a great little cafe: good variety of tasty snacks, efficient service and very clean and bright. i was sorry i had suggested it - it is sadly changed!

ii) called in on frankie in the evening for a cup of tea and we looked at some of her wedding magazines for ideas. lucia was still up and i got to hold her for ages. she is lovely - and very alert!!

today: this was a nice day!! did a little ou work in the morning and then collected stella at 1.30 to go up to crowland. stella had bought 4 dining chairs on e-bay and needed to collect them so i went for the ride. crowland is only about 10 miles from where we used to live and is a lovely little town with an interesting old church (croyland abbey) and an unusual triangular bridge in the centre of the town. after we had collected the chairs we went to look round the abbey. we were really lucky because there was a 'wedding dress' exhibition inside. about a couple of dozen women had lent their dresses which were beautifully displayed on mannequins down the nave. the oldest dress was dated 1927 and there were photos and dresses through most decades up to 2006. many of them had veils, jewellery etc set up too and with the beautiful flowers throughout the church made a wonderful display. some of the ladies had also lent their wedding albums and it was fascinating to realise that many of the families were related. one lady turned up as bride in 1963 and as m.o.b. in 1987 and 1991!! we then had a quick stroll up to the bridge and then drove home. the only annoying thing was that i forgot to take my camera so sadly i don't have any pics of the day

the parish centre

i have just returned from mass with edna

after mass we went into the newly refurbished parish centre to 'inspect' and have some refreshments

it has taken over a year to do but well worth the time because it looks great!!

frankie and alex have booked their wedding reception there and it was a bit of a concern that it wouldn't look that good - it used to be really grotty!! - but i needn't have worried - it looks fabulous!!

i haven't done too much else today - bit of ou work and i cut the hedge - grrr!!! i hate that job!!! i keep cutting it back a bit more each time and hope to get it completely taken out and ask alex to build a nice wall for me

struggling . . .

i am struggling to think what i have been doing the past week or so . . .

• finished tma8 and handed it in - only one more tma and that's the end of this course
• signed up for another course - but only a 10-pointer this time - wasn't going to plunge straight in again but i have enjoyed myself so much i don't want to stop!!
• frankie, lucia and jess came over for lunch last saturday - which was very pleasant!
• met pauline for a drink in the essex
• ??
• well there must be other things i have done but i can't remember them right now

back later!

4 things about me!

FOUR JOBS I HAVE DONE IN MY LIFE:
1. Saturday girl in John Lewis
2. Census Enumerator
3. Waitress
4. Market Researcher

FOUR MOVIES I HAVE WATCHED OVER AND OVER AGAIN:
1. The Great Escape (who hasn't?)
2. Doctor Zhivago
3. Ben Hur
4. Father of the Bride

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Liverpool
2. Buckinghamshire
3. Lincolnshire
4. Hertfordshire

FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH
1. Midsommer Murders
2. New Year's Day Concert from Vienna
3. Period Dramas
4. I only really watch TV about twice a month

A FEW PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. Cornwall
2. Sailing in the Caribbean
3. Austria
4. Switzerland

FOUR OF MY FAVOURITE FOODS
1. Butterscotch Angel Delight
2. Crispy Tuna Bake - Boogy's recipe
3. Tiramisu
4. Fat Baguettes

FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Hillsborough, Sheffield
2. Gillan Creek, Cornwall
3. Rose Cottage, Lincolnshire
4. Thetford Forest, Norfolk

i've been 'up lunnon'

two trips to london in 3 days - good going for me!!

thursday evening: went with a group from work to see 'mary poppins'. i must be about the only person in the whole world never to have seen this film! i probably have seen it all in bits but never all the way through - though i did have a pretty good idea of the plot!! this stage version was SUPERB!!! the set and the props were incredible - the singing and dancing were a treat - and the actress who played mary poppins was amazing!! we could hardly see her feet for the speed at which she danced!! the chimney sweep didn't have that AWFUL fake cockney accent that poor old dick van dyke has in the film - and the children were lovely - and very talented - altogether a very enjoyable evening

saturday: met a group from my tutorial class at the tate modern and went to see rothko's seagram murals - took at while to really aclimatise myself but well worth it! then we went to look at some warhol - a bit easier!! i really like the other members of my group so it was a good morning - i had a great time socially and certainly found the trip useful - i am sad now that this course is coming to an end!

we had finished by 1.30 so i wandered about by myself for a bit and looked at some more paintings and then strolled along by the river until i reached the globe and picked up a couple of brochures in the hopes of going up to see something this summer

i crossed the millenium bridge and decided to go into st paul's for half and hour or so - and came out pretty smartish when i discovered it costs £9.50 to get in!! - will have to go back some time when i have a LOT more time!!

came home and decided to get 'pan's labyrinth' video from blockbusters - this was a film which diane (who is on the course) had recommended - watched it after going to mass with edna

a busy day all told!!