Les Miserables

...was miserable. We saw the show with London cast years ago (in the distance) at the Point Depot in Dublin- we didn't like it then..... we have just seen the much accoladed film 'Les Miserables' and were not struck on it either. Call us Philistines but ......

We went to see Joe McElderry last week too; Joe was being awarded the Variety Silver Heart for his work for charity; I think he has a brilliant voice but oh! the backing was too loud so we could not hear him; the Hilton sat us at a table near the door so we were in a cold draught - next to the lovely Sadie- the bra lady. 2 of the Variety staff insisted on standing in front of our table so we could not see Joe or the screens- H1 asked them to move at least 4 times.

No family gathering for pancakes for Shrove Tuesday this year due to other events - we will have them another time. H1 and I went to friends and met up with lots of folk we hadn't seen in ages- and the pancakes (especially those in Cointreau ) were delicious; not like mine with traditional lemon and sugar!

Ash Wednesday's snow and wind have calmed and the sun is out in a blue, blue sky. In the southfacing border the sun is bathing a primrose which is encrusted with the palest of flowers. The tips of early flowering tulips are peeking out; the spears of daffodils and narcissi are well up- Spring is coming!!

... and this morning there was a Valentine lying on the doormat. I wonder who it is from?

Cinderella and confetti

Poor girl magics her way into a ball and a Prince fancies her; 'Cinderella's glass slipper found its way back onto her tootsies and wedding bells rang out. Our pantomime seemed to be a smash hit. The cast and crew have all been out to eat together since.
Now the backstage crew (including me) have the cold going around which turns your nose into a dripping tap.

The confetti has arrived- do other nationalities have confetti?

I am saving money for the hoy-out. Do other folk throw out money (from the car/carriage) as the bride & her father leave the house to head for the church- it demonstrates symbolically the dowry the wealthy father (parents!!) are giving to the bride & her husband. As kids we always went to see the bride leave home & hoped for a hoy out.

Do other nations also do the
'something old
something new
something borrowed
something blue
which the bride has to have around her person on the BIG DAY ?

'Les Miserables' is getting rave reviews- so when to go see it? Have you seen it? What did you think?

Going ,going, gone.

It is pouring down outside;
the piles of mucky snow have been washed away.
The hens have flown (except for a forgotten pashmina whose owner I have tracked down.)
Ticket sales are flying away for our pantomime production of 'Cinderella'. Oh yes they are!
Regretfully baby A. and her mum have departed after 2 weeks.

However our 'foster son' JP is coming to stay and the beds that were stripped after the hen party, were remade for J,M and B (his mother), have been stripped again and now are to be made for JP.
It is all go!
H1 has gone to play golf (in the rain?!)

I have no time to blog which I feel really bad about-every week I promise myself things will get less hectic but....
I confess I like being kept busy; however this baby will be a teenager before her grandma finishes the cardigan I am knitting for her-I thought I'd at least manage to knit one garment for each grandchild- I am a failure!!! Thank heavens for Mothercare!!

Now cameras and confetti......

Hen Parties

You really didn't expect me to blog, did you?

I have been up and down the A1 like a fiddler's elbow.Oh my goodness! Everyone of my friends who is in the 'grand' state of life told me how wonderful grandchildren are- some even said 'better than your own kids'- NEVER! but A is gorgeous- and the biggest thrill was when I sang to her (4weeks and counting) and she switched on a pensive facial expression and looked up at this idiot who was singing the same daft song to her and beamed at me!! Recognition! She is a delight who is tiny - you forget how small newborns are- and does something new every day....to gaze hard at pictures on the wall, to focus, to smile (not the wind sort) , to grip tight, to delight in the bath, to reach for a toy...... A shame she hasn't learned the difference between day and night yet- she is so awake she could go clubbing with us hens!

Meanwhile while I attempt to relieve the sleepless nights of the new parents by being a 'chief cook, and bottle washer', scrubber, ironer, and all things housewifely, H1 continues to play golf, bridge and all things too important to travel south. He reminds me so much of his parents/family who always found it just too much bother to travel north so didn't! They missed so many of the delights of their grandchildren.

Still in January but Christmas is way behind us now; the cake is finished ( gobbled before New Year!);  I recycle Christmas cards  by tearing the fronts off & using them throughout the next year for recording shopping lists; I keep some in my car so when I visit people in absentia I drop a note in their letterbox saying I called. The backs of the cards get deposited in M&S's recycling boxes to go to the Woodland Trust (to be made into mulch?) The decorations are back up in the loft for another year and we move into wedding mode!!

Well no! Before that we hit the hen party. I wonder do other cultures have stag and hen celebrations? I still remember my henparty-going out dancing with my female family and girl friends to celebrate my last day/s of unmarried freedom. First the staff at school decorated my coat (with the help of my gleeful students) and made me a hat then followed me all the way home to ensure I did not divest myself of the ridiculous garments which declared to the world  that I was about to be married. Then we danced the night away.

My husband does not have much recall of his stag night though I heard one of his group (was it him?) came home naked from Newcastle. It seems the male challenge is to get the stag drunk.

It is snowing so will we manage to stick to our arrangements? We shall have to play it by ear.

Talking of that reminds me- we have been to see 'Quartet' which we really enjoyed and would recommend especially if you are a musician.
I am prompted to tell you of our panto production coming up soon- OH yes it is! Cinderella is in dramatic need of a cast learning their lines- some of the younger members need to put down their mobs and get cracking! Can you hear the teacher frustration?

I went to Frankie and Benny's with my voluntary Year 5- we made healthy pizzas-I can hear you all saying'HEALTHY?'- well the sweetcorn, peppers and mushrooms were! Forget the pepperoni!

Where all my time has gone I do not know- I have just got back to my tome- Diana Gabaldon's 'Drums of Autumn' have just started beating again!
O.K. Friends to ring, folk to visit, lots of people calling in; there's the doorball- I need to get the kettle on
I promise to do better and get back to blogging soon.

An ordinary day

Back in routine ;the sky is blue; the sun is painting the garden with light at last; we seem to have been immersed in grey dullness for months - except when baby A. smiles.

I haven't had to prompt Buttons and Bows as much as I thought I would.....

An invitation for spag bol at L's and then a quick trip to see 'The Hobbit'- did I say quick? I got a wee bit bored by the Auks fighting a lot but it did bring back happy memories of reading Bilbo myself in early teens and then to my children.....my precioussss.....

Spot Benedict Cumberbatch....!?

A New Year

Sydney has already celebrated New Year there.
Oh dear another year looms with - I dare not type anything anti anyone but put it this way, H1 is not the most exciting, romantic complementary person in town- in fact entirely the opposite.
oh well I hope yours is happy (and healthy) when it comes

Where to start?

I have not slept a full night for months-could it be the tablets I am on? Thus I have lain in bed for some time gazing at the speckled, pixilated, creamy edge framing the curtains and trying to work out if it was a full moon lighting up the dark sky (when I went for a wee it was like sitting in daylight in the en suite!) and whether this was a blue moon- but the study calendar from Canadian N. tells me the full moon was on Friday night (28th) and 4 weeks before that would take us to the last day in November-tough......

December- in fact 2012- has sailed past so quickly and tomorrow is New Year's Eve and the man with as many noses as there are days in the year will be out and about. Let me know if you see him........
The Solstice means the sun is on its way back north to us- Hallelujah! May it dry up all the rain so Incy Wincy spider can climb the spout again.
A wet, windy month is coming to its end- like Janus I am looking both ways in this blog because I have not had time to think, let alone write, for weeks; I have planned a few things to blog but no time to type them up. So I shall look back then forward- actually though I am not a scatterbrain, I shall probably dot around all the many thoughts in my head and not put events in chronological order-bear with me.

Various health issues and the arrival of baby A. have absorbed the month till Christmas was upon us with a vengeance; the house hummed with visitors- a flurry of bedding, crackle of wrapping paper, broken baby nights -L and I tried to help out with late or early shifts-snap of crackers, flicker of candles, spices of mulled wine and lots of laughter. Smells are evocative aren't they? Nieces and their happy boys came- why didn't we get round to playing table football? Last night my nephew joined us watching Newcastle playing Arsenal then for a board games night. It took me back to all the many Christmases when we 'had' everyone in the extended family- my parents, my sisters, their husbands/partners, their children, my aunts and uncles, my parents' bestman, my parents-in-law, my sister & brother-in-law and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all!

I mentioned football! I shall not mention by name that wee Scotsman who is so full of himself as he plays mindgames with referees and linesmen then 'calls' Newcastle United- a wee Northern Club- us! has he seen or heard of our fan support? In 3 days we scored so many goals against his Man Utd and Arsenal and played such exciting football but.....

Now the holly which has decked the halls, is withered and crackly on the picture frames; the recycling bin is full of (non-metallic of course) wrapping paper and empty bottles; the chocolate boxes are discarded and the Christmas tree is devoid of chocolate ornaments.
We have eaten too much. We have walked from the Fish Quay to past the Grand Hotel while watching masses of  porpoise like surfers riding the waves. Unfortunately we had to call in for fish and chips- but it tastes better when I don't have to cook a meal myself.
The turkey carcase (or is it carcass?) is in 2 big pans downstairs ready to make broth; the jar of sauce is ready to make turkey curry; I am going to get on my bike today and splash through puddles to accompany D3 as she runs. Before the diet there is a hogroast at church and New Year buffet at the local rugby club then back to normal routine and thinner days!Then I will be able to get stuck into my books received at Christmas. I shall read everyone's letters again.

First we have friends calling in from Australia- just like that! The world gets smaller and families interconnect across the globe so easily now. A pantomime to stage. Ooh! 3 weddings coming up in 2013. The green spears of my bulbs are already pushing well up- Bring it on!
Really I need a new PC next year but money is a bit tight so this chuntering, achingly slow desktop will have to suffice.

I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year when it comes.