Cheeky heron

Feeding the ducks & wedding port

look who's here!

Westlife + Newbury races = great day out!

The races were great - for once I actually had a placing even though 3 out of my 7 race predictions were non runners. Fab day though we did have some 'weather'.. it crept up on us and I was so glad we had decided to stand at the back of the stand. We were sheltered by all the brollies and the people who pushed to the front :) Westlife were fantastic! Davd & Becca were lovely company and we had a good day x

Fantastic day.. !

Wheel clamping has been abolished - thank goodness for that! Though the money-grabbing sharks will no doubt move onto something else so they can charge us extortionate money for doing nothing! Having experienced this first hand and from memory, it wasn't wheel clamping it was actual towing away within the blink of an eye.. then I'm very pleased to hear this ludicrous rule has been overturned.

And I have a confession :) I'm going back to salad cream! Not being able to tuck into a sandwich at lunchtime does often mean that my salad starts to taste a tad dull. Lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber today whereas I had tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce yesterday. See what I mean.. ! I do have ham with it today but I've now bought a bottle of yummy salad cream from M&S. And it has an amazing squeezable top that sucks in when you stop squeezing so it won't dribble everywhere and make the top all messy.

TWO HURRAHS!

Night Glow

What an awesome sight! The arena was crammed with balloons though it was difficult to see exactly how many whilst they were just laid out on the ground. As soon as they were given the green light, the music started, the fans were switched on to blow cold air into the balloons to being to inflate them. Then the true scale of what was to happen before my eyes started to unfold. I was just surprised by how quickly they inflated. Once they had taken shape, the real performance began as the burners took over in time to the music. It was a brilliant sight and I thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. Me & Lisa know how to have fun! We had a plastic glass of Pimms, a hot pork roll (mine without the bread) and chips! What a top night! And, there was more to come :)

Part 2... the fireworks..

To finish off the festival, we were treated to a fantastic firework display. It was very short, the longer version is saved for the Saturday night crowd, but it was still pretty good. Then me & Lisa had to trek back up that blooming hill up to where I'd parked my car. Along with everyone else of course, who like me, huffed and puffed their way up the path, straight up the dirt track up the bank then a steep climb across the field to get to the car - PHEW! It was a relief to get into the car and once we'd got moving, it did only take an hour to get back to mine, which was pretty good from the other side of Brissol.

And the most spectacular show on earth!

Was the spectacular Perseids meteor shower. The skies were brilliantly clear so me & Lisa put the to down on the car and sat gazing up at the sky. Every minute or two a meteor, or shooting star, swept across the sky. They were very fast and if you were looking in the right place, you could see them very clearly. This phenomenon happens each summer as the Earth's orbit takes it through debris scattered by the taill of Comet Swift-Tuttle. As the particles, each no bigger than a grain of sand, hit the atmosphere at 135,000mph, they burn up, producing trails of light that shoot across the sky. After seeing a brilliant balloon display and some pop, bang fireworks the meteor shower was the highlight of our evening. And of course the dad & child who lit and let go a paper lantern up and across the lake as we sat in the car. It floated serenely up into the air across the lake, across the line of trees and high, high up into the clear night sky until it was just visible as a speck in the dark sky. Then it disappeared and I presume the candle light would burn out and it would fall back to earth in someone's garden and they'll never know where it came from. What an interesting world we live in..

Balloon biking... what a whoppa!

Me & Lisa graced the Balloon Festival in Bristol with our elegant company last night. It's very difficult not to be impressed by this incredible biking balloon - it's perfection as far as balloons are concerned and pretty enormous to boot! From inflation to being in the air took just a matter of minutes and the sheer scale of the challenge to make it, hits you. It's all based around a traditional shaped balloon, which you can actually see once you know it's there. But the skill and time taken to create a masterpiece like this, is commendable. I was very impressed! Don't ask me to go up in it though.. I much prefer to be watching it from on the ground.

Lovely time at the Spyglass

Always a smile.. it was lovely to meet Tash after work this evening. Work has been manic again today so I definitely needed a break from work and Tash is always great entertainment. Can't wait to see her and Naomi again :)

Great minds.. !

Hoo blooming rah.. common sense is returning to our lives at last with the decision to save money and carbon emissions by turning off some street lights at night. Sheer brilliance!

Swans on the Pond!

It's wonderful to see the family of swans every day here by the side of the lake. The three cygnets are growing but still beige and stick very close to mom & dad at all times. It makes me appreciate every minute I spend here.. at home :)

Do I need new glasses or is everything around me shrinking?

I'm having a nostalgic confectionary moment. Is it just me or are our favourite biscuits getting smaller? If I can park my car in a space without hitting a wall I can certainly tell that my favourite treats have shrunk. I can't believe I'm the only one that has noticed that chocolate bars are so much smaller than they used to be. I bought some flakes the other day and they were small enough for me to put into my pocket. "That would never have happened when I was a lad!" And don't even get me started on curly wurlys! So answer me this question.. how come my stomach hasn't shrunk too :0 giggle giggle :)

I WAS RIGHT.. !

I knew someone else would have felt it too.. ! I've just found this on good old tinterweb...

"SEISMIC ALERT: STROUD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 23:39 UTC 30 JULY 2010 2.7 ML"

BGS have detected an earthquake at 23:39 UTC on 30 July 2010 located approximately 16 km southwest of Stroud, Gloucestershire. One resident from Stroud has reported having felt this event, describing the “rumbling approaching through the bedrock before experiencing the trembling” and “the trembling only lasted a few seconds, then heard the rumbling receding” indicating anintensity of at least 3 EMS.

This is the largest event detected in the region since the magnitude 2.1 ML Lydney earthquake on 20 April 1989

It comes in a pot but it's not a plant!

Have a guess what it might be? Tea? Cream? Yoghurt? Nah... it was a shaker salad silly! Problem was that I got so excited about my new style salad that I'd tipped it out onto the plate before I had realised I needed to shake it. No worries. I ate the salad, ate the dressing then jumped up and down. That did the trick! I do have a photo but I'm in a can't be bothered kinda mood - as you'll find out. (updated now of course!)

Life is a blooming BIG H for hectic right now. My work/life balance has gone right out of the window. My life is filled with long days starting before 7am and not ending much before midnight. Big fat work fills 12 hours of that time, sleep just under 7, which doesn't leave much time for party girl. Every night I get into bed and start to read my new book. I read two pages before I am too tired to read any more. And this includes the page from last night that I have to read again to remind me of the plot. With over 200 pages, it's going to take me months to get to the last chapter at this rate. I need a BIG H for holiday, then I'll have plenty of time for reading.

August is a funny old month. Lots of people are away, the roads are quieter, not many meetings and life seems more about money than love right now. The more pressure people are under the harder they try and the more miserable they become. Tempers get shorter, egos get bigger and I have to find a broader smile, a tougher shell or a larger bat! Don't you think that the world is so much nicer when people smile? I smiled at the security guard today, always do and he always smiles back. I chatted to the sales assistant when I was buying my shaker salad and she was happy to chat back. A new girl came into the office today and she made everyone around her happier. I'm sure she had no idea of the effect she had on everyone but I had noticed. I hope she comes in again.

I used to enjoy mail but I haven't found much in my inbox to smile about this week - with the exception of a few lovely emails from my family and friends - thank you! My postbox is pretty much the same - dull, infuriating, attention-seeking mail. It feels like once the balance starts shifting, it effects more than just my work and home life. "Me-time" slips down the list, eating becomes like a fast, drive-by experience and other stuff that I don't like starts dropping on my head like bird poo! At least the earth isn't moving like it did last week - yes, the sofa did move and yes, it was an earthquake. I swear it was even though Jack said it couldn't have been much stronger than a 4.something because he didn't get a "tweet" about it!

The best bit of my week so far has been a walk to the Weighbridge Inn on Monday after work. I needed to feel the fresh air on my face and put one foot in front of the other in the great outdoors. It was fab! I sat in the garden with my pie and a glass of Prosecco and read the Times. My life is about contrasts right now and it's the little things that fill me with joy.

Tonight I drove home with the top of my car open listening to Alicia Keyes very loud. I'm not sure whether other cars on the M32 could hear me but I'm sure they couldn't. I needed to feel alive and blow the cobwebs away after sitting at my desk for most of the day. First in, last out is never a good place to be. It just feels wrong. Scrambled egg with smoked salmon was my speedy dinner of choice this evening followed by 3 digestive biscuits - mmm, I ask myself, do I feel alive? Yes, I know how to live!

Anyway, the two pages of my new book are calling me and hey, I may even have time for 3 tonight.. woo hoo!

Oh what a wedding party!

It's not often that you see the bride at the top of a bouncy castle, is it? Lisa had been at a wedding party all afternoon (her parents had been there for two days!) so instead of me going over to her place this evening, I went to the party instead. I say party in the loosest sense of the word. Everyone else had been at the hall for two days so it was a very casual affair. I popped in for a drink, a bit of barbie food and a lovely chat with Lisa and her mom and dad. And Claire, the bride, decided to pop her dress back on so she could slide down the bouncy castle before the weekend came to an end.

The White Hart at Fyfield

Yet another one of Sawday's wonders! His books are truely amazing. No matter where I am, I look up the location, find a pub nearby, call them to book a table and hey presto -they're always the best places to go! Having been in Oxford all day long, we didn't leave there until almost 8pm so I was on a pretty tight deadline to find somewhere to eat. I'd called the White Hart before we even left the carpark. We were there within 10 minutes and what a brilliant place. Their parmesan coated courgette chips were delicious, the cheeseboard extremely tasty and what can I say about the sticky toffee pud.. mmm!

Jack’s walking tour

Last week I visited Cambridge, this weekend it was Oxford's turn to WOW me. With over 30 plus colleges in each location, it's impossible to get more than a tiny taste in a day. The college buildings and grounds are beautiful, particularly on a summer's day and with only time to peep round the door of some, this really was a whistle stop tour of Oxbridge.

Once you get over the zillions of tourists and the shopping areas, which boringly look much the same in every city in the UK, there are some real treasures to enjoy in both cities. If you keep well clear of the shops then you can find deserted streets and it does help to have a wonderful nephew at Oxford. Three years of local knowledge enabled us, that's Nick, myself, Liz and Jeremy, to thoroughly enjoy Jack's walking tour of this great city. We ate at The Old Bank then wandered from college to college, through little lanes and along quiet streets getting to know a little more about each college on the way.Here is the first stop on Jack's tour.. Jack's college, St John's.



Is there some strange sign language going on here..? Or is it one of those rub your stomach and touch your nose moments..?
Funny little faces
Woo hoo, an embroiderer in Oxford!
Look what I found propping up a wall in Oxford! And the sign they were covering up said..


There has been a long history of rivalry between these two world famous cities. They are the two oldest Universities in Britain and have educated some notable figures. As Jack pointed out, Oxford came first. I didn't know but Cambridge was founded after Oxford scholars following a dispute, back in 1209. I learnt a lot yesterday!

Oxford has educated some of the best know Prime Ministers including David Cameron, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Harold Wilson and more. Think of a world famous author, artist, scientist, sportsman, politician and it's highly likely that they were an Oxbridge student. The list is huge with names like Sir Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys, Lewis Carroll, John Wesley, Albert Einstein, William Wordsworth, Lord Mountbatton, Tolkien, Roger Bannister, Richard Burton, John Betjeman, Oscar Wilde, TS Elliot, Sir Walter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell, David Sheppard, Jethro Tull (at St John's no less.. that's one for Greg!), Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, Lord Sainsbury and Rupert Murdoch... the list goes on and on.