Santa Claus is Coming to Town...

You had better watch out, you had better not cry, you had better not pout... I'm telling you why ;-)

   Well - in the words of Nanny Hutch, "Christmas is almost upon us, and then it will be as far away as it will ever be..." not sure what this means, but I know that it gave me a pain in my heart every time I heard it on Christmas tea time. It meant that I had to wait a whole year for pressies again! :-)

This year, in some ways, we are just seeking to get through Christmas. I have enjoyed buying gifts for people, but this year our hearts are heavy in the Benstead household. The first year without Suzy and Nanny Brown, and its going to be a strange one. On Xmas eve, Mark and I are planning to attend midnight mass in his village church - the last time I was there I was doing Suzy's eulogy. I cant decide whether this is going to be an uplifting experience, or an utterly depressing one... I am hoping for the former. Christmas Day itself is going to be nice a quiet - we are having breakfast with Mark's Dad, and Mark and I are having lunch alone at home with the cat (who has her own chicken dinner lined up), and hopefully in the evening we will see his Brother and family. Boxing day is the usual local derby between Histon FC and Cambridge United (it always adds a bit of festive rivalry to the proceedings - one branch of the family always feels a little deflated, and the others gleefully try not to rub it in *too* much ;-) ). This year my cousin Mark is joining us, and I am planning to cook a festive curry.

Anyway my lovelies. I truly do wish you all a very very happy Christmas - I hope you have all been good and that Santa brings you what you want. I have my fingers crossed for some good news in the New Year.
Love, Peace and "You scum bag, You maggot, You cheap lousy faggot...

And the bells were ringing out for Christmas day" as they say at midnight mass... (heh)

Much love
Hayls

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PS. Jen - I can't bloody listen to "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" without shedding a tear! ;-)

Congratulations!

First off a HUGE congratulations to Jez and Marta, who had little Sara

15th of December, weighing 2.84Kgs and measuring 48cms. She is a flame-haired beauty (much like her Daddy) - but seems to me a wonderful cross between the pair of them! I can see another tricky little Spaniard in the making ;-)

 

Also... belated congratulations to Jean and Damon on the birth of little Morgan last month... although on this picture little Ellie (three years old this month!) looks as though she is wondering what she has got on her hands! ;-)



I also cant resist adding a gorgeous picture of Aidan and Campbell learning to roll (this picture made me smile for a week), and also enjoying the company of their big cousin Larrissa...

And last but not least, the beautiful little Benjamin (Jane and Jamie's little bubba) - who will be a great big one next month!!!

The Wedding Singers

I meant to write about this a couple of weeks back (when I was still on the crest of a wave just after the event), but somehow other things got in the way and I didn't get the chance to do my big write up.

My really really good friend and long-term colleague John got "civilly partnershipped' (married) to his lovely boyfriend Rich in a beautiful wedding just two weeks ago. I have to confess that things were not looking good in the build up... Mark was pouting massively in the weeks beforehand as he had to miss his beloved Histon play that day in favour of going to a wedding for people he didn't know (my fault that one - and circumstances with timing schedules!). Anyway, as it turns out - his pouting was very short lived (sometimes I under estimate him - perhaps due to past experiences with ex's - mention no names), and we had a fabulous day from start to finish!

First off a coach picked us up from Bexley station to take us to the registry office (I was expecting a little minibus - but no, a full on coach arrived!), where all the guests were in very good form - and the boys had organised for hand-warmers to be distributed, and Sloe Gin to be dispersed amongst the guests... (this was to be the start of an entirely alcoholic day!). The ceremony was held in a beautiful Georgian Manor House in Sidcup - a very emotional affair, with two beautiful flower girls in tow, and John and Rich in lovely matching grey suits. I don't believe that there was a dry eye in the house when they said their vows. Very special. Not a single detail had been overlooked - we were even provided with white petals for confetti!

Back onto the coach (more Sloe Gin!) and on to the absolutely stunning Hall Place in Bexley for photographs. This was a beautiful Tudor hall, with a photograph studio setup in one of the amazing rooms - and all the usual formal wedding photographs were taken. The coach took us to our final destination of the afternoon; a lovely Italian restaurant called Ferrari's Modern Italian Brasserie... Rich and his work colleagues had decorated the place in the days leading up to the wedding - it was absolutely crammed full of stunning floral displays, fairy lights and swarovski crystals. Wedding favours included delicious white chocolate dipped strawberries for the men (delicious - I stole Mark's - heh), and beautiful crystal perfume bottles for the women. John and Rich had really pulled out the stops here... free-flowing wine, and a wonderful menu (so many choices!). John's speech was just perfect - and it was full of lots of happy smily people! We ended up sitting next to an old school friend of John's (called Rachel) and her boyfriend Steve. They were a real scream, and made the afternoon even more enjoyable than the delicious food already had (I had an absolutely beautiful fillet steak, and a banoffee pie that was to die for!!).
 


This is where things start getting a little hazy... ahem (and at only 5:30pm!). We went back to John and Rich's place, via a small park. This was our moment of complete awe... we had fireworks, and then (a highlight!) we lit some beautiful heart shaped sky lanterns en masse, and watched them fly off several hundred feet into the air. I decided at that point that I need sky lanterns at EVERY SINGLE OPPORTUNITY - in fact, I might need to let them off nightly in memory of that occasion! HEH... Mark's pout had already been wiped off his face several hours earlier, but this took the biscuit... he was in 'pyromaniac aeronautical engineering' heaven! Just look at his little face here!!! ;-)

On arrival at John and Rich's place, we were met with even more surprises. There was a snow machine to greet us at the front door (their lawn looked like something out of a movie), cocktail waiters (to be my downfall!), a marquee, resplendent with huge sparkling reindeer, an amazing ice sculpture, and a large and very beautiful white chocolate wedding cake. I have to say that the rest of the evening becomes a complete blur - in fact I can guiltily admit that I remember little after 9pm... ahem. I must have been upright still as there are pictures of me helping to set off yet more lanterns (white this time) in the garden at 11:30pm, and several of me trying to sing along with the London Gay Men's Chorus (who made up a large portion of the guest list, and did an amazing 'set' in the evening - which I only just about remember clapping enthusiastically). I can only blame the cocktail waiters, who should have known that it is not right and proper to allow a 'lady' to drink quite so many 'Cosmopolitans', 'White Russians', and Champagne glasses. Very irresponsible ;-) I honestly don't think I have been quite that drunk in quite some time... shameful! I am just hoping that I didn't embarrass myself tooo much (the jury has been quiet on this front), as I know I am prone to being a bit of a blithering idiot when *that* stoked! We met some really nice people - including John's friends Tim, and another called Stefan. Ach well... anyway. The journey back to the hotel that night is a little sketchy, and the fried breakfast in the cafe in Bexley the next day was more than welcome!!! I can well and truly say it is one of the best weddings we have been to in a very long time - even Mark agreed that it was far better than a Histon match - great praise indeed! ;-)

Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=74390&l=52621&id=586621578

Love, Peace and "Kiss the Bride!" as they say in Bexley
Hayls
xxxx

Because I Simply Could Not Resist...

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Happy Christmas From Hayley and Mark!

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Blogzilla!

I have been so bloody crap, haven't I???! The more time that has passed since my holiday, the more stuff has happened - and the list of things to cover in my Blog has become ridiculous! Heap my Christmas Crapness into the fray, and what you have is an official seasonal meltdown chez Haylois!

Bris-Vegas...

So where to start... where to start? Lets go back in time to early November now (sniff)... I had THE most amazing week with Jen and her family in Australia. Mark joined me there (having visited Andy and Srey Neath in Cambodia), and we got spoilt absolutely rotten by Jen, her family and her friends. Not only did I get to meet her two absolutely darling twin boys for the first time (I miss them SO much since I got back that I can barely bring myself to ready their blog entries), I also got to reacquaint myself with the gorgeous little Miss Lenabel (Jen's beautiful and characterful three-year old daughter) - an absolute little gem. I was also delighted to meet Jen's Sister Louise and her family of three little girls (all five and under!) on my first morning. Quite an introduction to the family! Six children all at once... but they were lovely, and we went for a delicious lunch in a park close to where Louise lives. The rest of the week was incredibly busy just looking after the babies really (I loved every single second - despite the nappy changing faces I pulled!), but we managed to squeeze in several outings, including a trip to my fave wildlife park (Lone Pine), where I managed to cuddle a rather reluctant Koala called Damien (not as nice as Oprah, who I cuddled on my preceding visit!). We also had a delicious lunch with Jen's parents (I think that Mark and Jen's Dad formed a mutual appreciation society); their new house is just amazing (I didn't think I would ever like another house as much as their old one, but this has surpassed it!). I got to see Jen's Grandmother at her place, which is always an absolute pleasure; I have yet to meet a more gracious and welcoming lady. Jen, John and Mark and I had a wonderful night out at a teppanyaki restaurant called 'Kabuki' in Brisbane. This was quite an experience! The chef was highly skilled and a bit of a performer! We had to catch eggs in bowls (I, of course, missed mine and ended up with rather alot of raw egg on my skirt! heh...), and we were literally showered with pieces of egg omelette, which he cut up at an amazing speed. It was great fun though! Good job they gave out bibs to wear!

At the end of the week, John offered to babysit, and Jen, Mark, Helena and I headed down to the coast to visit Nerida and Miles, and their two adorable children, Ollie and Tessa. Jen's old school friend Leith also joined us, which was really lovely. We spent the afternoon on the beach making sandcastles (and mermaids!), and in the evening Miles cooked up an amazing meal - delicious BBQ'd steaks and prawns, washed down with plenty of fizz and a thrilling game of Balderdash to follow... an excellent evening! The next morning, I left Mark sleeping off the wine, and Jen, Nerida and I took the children to the excellent 'Eumundi markets' (a Camden stylee affair - but a good deal hotter!), where I purchased myself a rather excellent early birthday present - a beautiful handmade silver pendant, made by a local artist. At lunch time that day we went to an amazing Thai restaurant with Nerida and Miles, which really really did feel like it was set in Thailand, complete with lizards and absolutely beautiful food and Thai beers.... bliss.

As ever, when I leave Jen - our parting is so full of sorrow. The realisation that we will have to part generally kicks in the first moment I see her face, which often leads to tearful moments throughout our time together. I must admit that missing out on her children makes it all the more difficult to cope with - but it was wonderful that we got to spend an entire week together this year. I am ever hopeful that at some point we might get to share the same continent (a move to Scotland?!). It would honestly feel like she was down the road! The children are so gorgeous. Helena was rather taken with Uncle Piggy (Mark), and his constant 'hat snatching' and impromptu songs about Jimmy Hill served to tickle her more on his first day in Australia than I managed the entire week ;-) We did start to wonder how this mysterious 'Jimmy Hill' figure presented himself in her mind, as by the end of the week we felt that he was contactable by phone, and lived somewhere close by in a house with a 'red front door'... The boys, well... I was well and truly smitten. Despite offering to perform some strange twin deprivation/separation experiment on them, it was a thinly disguised ploy to tempt Campbell into my suitcase - Aidan, I would have been back for in a few weeks time. Although Jen and John have truly got their work cut out (I cant say that I really got into the Australian time zone, proper - we were on some strange 5am to 9pm time zone), they are so so lucky to have three such beautiful children and live in such a beautiful area. They have a park to walk the dog (dear little Flossington) and the children literally a few steps away from their driveway - and their new house is just beautiful. I bet it looked a good deal tidier after we moved out too ;-)

Anyway... Jen - just to say thankyou again and again for letting us stay for the week! We really really enjoyed it. By the way, my sister says thankyou for the gorgeous shirts for the boys. I would get her to write to you, but since I haven't received a Christmas Card from her once in the last thirty-plus years, I would say your chances are remote! She was really surprised and pleased with them though... and the koala ears were a huge hit!!!! :-D

Las-Vegas

Having pouted my way across Australian airspace (along with the Australian royal family, no less - Steve Irwin's wife and children!), and then across New Zealand (she got on our next flight too!), we made our way to Las Vegas via Los Angeles - and landed in a heap in The Luxor hotel, right on the strip.... what an amazing looking hotel! We really couldn't believe that the place looked as cheesy as it does in the brochures!

The main purpose of the trip to Vegas was a side-trip to the Grand Canyon - which is what we did mid-week. Mark treated me to an overnight stay in a cabin on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, which was absolutely magical (and by far the highlight of our week in the US). We went with a company called Scenic Airlines, which picked us up the first morning at around 5am (my body clock had given up all hope of normality at this point), and flew us out on a tiny 16 seater plane to the canyon. Absolutely amazing. Anyone that spoke to me beforehand knows that I was adamant about taking a coach to the park, as I was terrified at the prospect of going up in a tiny plane - but it was wonderful wonderful! A really smooth trip, and the views were stunning. When I download the photos you will be sickened by the number of photos we took from this plane. The trip out of the canyon was not quite so smooth (we actually had a failed take-off, which scared the pants off me!)... but I can highly recommend it all the same! We stayed in the Maswik Lodge hotel, which was less than ten minutes walk from the rim. We had such a beautiful afternoon and evening there just wandering around - we watched the sunset, had a meal and had a few beers in the bar (saw some beautiful deer, some chipmunks and some crazy looking squirrels) - only to get up at 5am again the next morning to catch the sunrise. Stunning! It is something I will remember for the rest of my life...

My birthday evening was spent at The Plaza hotel (downtown Vegas), where we watched a Rat Pack tribute show (which was really rather good!), and then had a nice Chinese meal in a restaurant called Shanghai Lily's.

I must say that although Vegas was quite a spectacle - and something I have glad I have seen, I don't think that we will be rushing back anytime soon. Neither of us are particularly into gambling, although Mark did become a little bit hooked on the Black Jack machines - but only $20 hooked, not several thousand dollar hooked. I think I found the whole 'timeless' thing there a little frustrating. All of the hotels are linked by walkways and shopping malls (you have no need to step outside into the glorious sunshine, even once), and the casinos all look the same inside - sprawling spaces, with technicolor carpets, thousands of loud machines, no clocks, no daylight, and scantily clad female cocktail waitresses wandering around and offering you drinks and cigarettes to keep your firmly rooted to your particular machine of choice. The smoking thing was a big shock to me actually - I didn't realise how much I didn't miss going home smelling like a tramp's jock strap every night! The casinos, which lets face it make up most of the space in Vegas, look the same at 2am, 2pm, breakfast, lunch, midnight... day in, day out.. the same drink addled, smoke worn, tired looking faces - some celebrating, some commiserating, but always the same big melting pot... I had always thought that it would be rather fun and romantic to get married in Vegas - boy was I wrong! It would be rather like getting married in a shopping mall, or in your local Whetherspoons pub! It wasn't cheesy in the good cheesy way... it just looked a bit miserable! Anyway... maybe that's just me ;-). So not much to report about the rest of our time in Vegas... we did a bit of drinking, we watched the Bellagio Fountains rather alot (which WERE really beautiful and amazing), and spent much time gaping at various goings on (not least the literally dozens of men standing around giving out cards re: female escorts in the streets). I did experience my first breakfast in a Dennys (yumm!), and even managed to drag Mark on a bit of a shopping trip. We did remain true to form and paid a visit to the Atomic Testing museum; you know we are 'atrocity addicts'. The Venetian hotel, with its gondoliers was well worth a look... but some of the hotels looked like a rather bad installation in a theme park, especially The Excalibur. In fact really the whole place was like "Disneyland for adults!".

"Histon History Hysteria!!!"

This was the closing comment by the ITV commentator when Histon beat Leeds in the FA Cup a few days ago... an amazing feat, and something I thought deserved a mention!

As you can imagine (Jen, I am sure you can) - Mark has been in histon overdrive since we got back from holiday (gawd bless him), and he himself has made several appearances on TV, much to the delight of the younger members of our families (Henry and Katie were amazed to see Uncle Piggy on TV), the extreme amusment of my cousin Mark, and to the embarrassment of me! heh... In fact, the night before the match he was quite clearly to be seen lurking behind the manager when the BBC did a live link to our local pub, when he should have been home helping me to prepare for my parents to arrive the same evening! I was tempted to stick a couple of curlers in my fringe, and go down there with my rolling pin in my hand! ;-)

Anyway - well done Histon! We have well and truly been put on the football map - a real 'fairytale' story which you always hope for during the FA Cup. Its been a great money spinner for the club - and has really boosted the village! Roll on Swansea at home on the 3rd January!

Here We Go...

Well... I have packed (mentally, at least) - and am looking forward SO MUCH to our annual crazy trip around the world.

Jen, I have done a mock up of us two on a night out... what do you think? ;-) I don't think that the gold trousers would be too much for Brisvegas, do you?

Anyway... see you all when I get back. I will try to delay my birthday celebrations until I return - although I am planning to make Mark take me to see Barry Manilow in Las Vegas on my birthday, he just hasn't realised it yet. :-)

Martha - I hope you manage to squeeze a little harder when you pee on the 21st... I will be poised by my mobile phone all day, waiting for the arrival of little Sara. ;-)

Mark (cousin) and Andy Orgee - I hope that you both have fab birthdays while I am away...

Speak soon
Love, Peace and "wuff wuff" as they will be saying in Morooka...
Hayls
xxxxxxx

Contrary...

...to popular belief - I am still alive and well - and just a little lazy on the blogging front.

So what is new??? Ummmmmmmmmmmm..... not a great deal to be honest! I have had an incredibly lazy weekend (some 12 hours of solid loafing on the sofa on Saturday watching movies, with the occasional trip to the garden for more logs for the fire - absolutely unheard of for me!), and Sunday was not much more productive. I simply relocated the loafing to Robert and Emma's sofa, and got a much better deal by way of 'sofa service' - a delicious roast chicken dinner and more cups of tea than a human can possibly hold. Ahhhhh.....

The holiday is looming fast (yyyyeeehhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa) - although Mark and I have been supremely crap, even by our very poor standards, at getting anything sorted for it. I have only just managed to pull my finger out and book The Luxor for our first night in Las Vegas. The holiday currency situation is 'on the cards', and Mark hasn't even been to the docs to check that his jabs are all in order for the Cambodia leg of his particular journey. CRAP! I am sure the plans will all come together beautifully just in time for the off... heh. Jen - I may well be relying on clothes loans for my first week - pregnancy trousers will be just fine, as I will need an expanding 'tummy panel' (for want of a better phrase), since I intend to eat my way through Australia and Vegas, as I am still not drinking and am sadly mistaken in thinking that saving 600 calories a day in booze means that I can eat 600 calories a day extra in food. For some reason those 'food calories' are proving a little 'sticker' than the drink ones... how does that work?!

Anyway.... ummmm.... what else is going on? Errr.... nothing much! I am just extremely excited re: the holiday (especially seeing my Jen and her much-grown clan!), and am finding it difficult to sleep as a consequence!!! BRING IT ON!!! Viva Bris-Vegas....

.... oh yes - Histon are playing tonight in the FA Cup vs Durham City. Think of me in my thermal underclothes and ear muffs tonight. It is absolutely bloody freezing here - and even talk of 'wintery showers' this week. Brrrrr....... (I am in much need of sunshine!). If we manage to win tonight, we play Swindon in the next round. C'mon you mighty Stutes!

Love, Peace and all manner of wiping... as they say in East Dulwich (sorry guys - a private joke)
Hayls
xxxxxx

The Autumn Spell

I love autumn... its my favourite season. We normally get the log fire going at this time of the year, and the huge trees at the back of the house 'drop their load' on our garden - leaving lots of nice crunchy piles, which are just perfect for chasing the cat into ;-)

For some reason, at this time of year I go all 'homely'. Tomorrow I am planning to make a spelt flour loaf, inspired by a fellow blogger of mine (www.cottagesmallholder.com). I have included the recipe in its entirety at the bottom of this post, as I would like to similarly inspire my friends.... nothing beats the smell of fresh bread cooking in the house.
We have a lovely weekend planned. Tomorrow, Mark wants to go and see the Histon Reserves play (there is no way I am going down that particular route), so I may just laze around the house - very unusual for me, and possibly think up some different things to bake. To be honest, I will probably end up gazing at my pottery books - which seem to send my head into a flat spin at the moment - I am brimming over with ideas, and the lessons just go too darn fast!

Saturday evening, we are planning to visit my parents (my Dad is still recovering from his op), and on Sunday we are meeting Jane and Jamie for lunch in Norwich - in a beautiful pub just by the river (The Wood's End in Bramerton). It is Jane's birthday tomorrow (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!), and I am looking forward to giving her her present, and getting a cuddle with the gorgeous Benjamin, pictured above in his little bodywarmer.... bless. (I am still considering reporting them to Social Services for child abuse - making him grow those long curls, which block up his little ears... hehehe).

Anyway... hope you all get some time to bake bread this weekend ;-)
Love, Peace and 'pass the butter'... as they say in Dingly Dell.
Hayls
xxxx

Spelt flour recipe

I tried this spelt flour recipe and it was really easy. OK, so it did take me slightly longer than 3 minutes, but not by that much. I didn't have any linseeds and only about half the stated quantity of sesame seeds, but it was still yummy. I recommend it. Since I should acknowledge my sources, I have to confess it's from the Telegraph magazine, but it was given to me!

Three minute spelt bread

With spelt there is no need to leave the dough to rise. This really takes three minutes to prepare.

• 500g spelt flour
• 10g fast-acting dried yeast
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 50g sunflower seeds
• 50g sesame seeds
• 50g linseeds
• 500ml warm water

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark6. Combine all the ingredients, adding the water last. Mix well and turn the dough into a greased loaf tin. Put straight into the oven and bake for an hour. Remove the loaf, turn it out of the tin and then return it to the oven without the tin for a further 5-10 minutes.

24 Hour Party People...

PW had his mid-life crisis party on Saturday, and it all seemed to go very very well. We had a really nice turn out - around 25-30 for the football match in the afternoon (Histon FC vs Salisbury) - where we saw a rather nice 2-0 win for Histon. In the evening, around 80 people or so turned out for a disco and some food. Very nice! My Mum and Sister came over with the boys - Henry, although bored at first, got into the swing of the football match when he realised that you were allowed to shout as loudly as possible, provided you said the right thing. Really so sweet... as anytime anyone else in the crowd shouted something, he shouted it twice as loud afterwards. I sensed that some of the crowd started to censor their language a little when they realised this... although when he shouted "C'mon you red and black buggers" purely off his own back, I had to smile.

The evening bash went with a real swing. Despite the fact I was on coca cola for the night, *even* I managed a bit of a boogie, along with Lynn, Nikki and Carlos and my cousin Mark. The kids really made the first half of the evening though. Henry and Oscar laid on the floor for what seemed like ages, transfixed by the disco lights shining on the ceiling (ahhh... can anyone remember doing the same? I do... except that I was 17, and had drunk too many Malibu and pineapples.... heh), and Katie was dancing her little legs off. Several other children were also caught up in the mood of it - and Mark's previous insistence on 'cool' music at his party went right out of the window, as he was too drunk to resist the children requesting music from Mama Mia, and Bob The Builder tracks (I actually think he was rather enjoying them himself)... The highlight of the evening though has to be Mark's Dad being literally wrestled to the dance floor by one of Mark's more "enthusiastic" female friends from school - and then promptly thrown up in the air by her in time with the music, in manner of a Turkish Shot Putter doing the jive (at one point I turned to see her actually giving him a piggy back). Cue uncomfortable stares from the family, much snorty laughter from me ( had had WAAAAY too much coke), and Mark's Dad becoming a little, shall we say, "overexcited"... heh. Dear me... unfortunately, my Mum and Sister missed this spectacle, as they had to go back to mine early with the boys. Anyway... a great night. Poor old Nikki and Carlos and Mark had to stay in the garage on inflatable beds, as there was no room chez Moi (my family had first dibs on the bedroom). They said it was quite warm though... so perhaps I might have to start renting it out ;-)

Sunday was a quiet day - particularly for Mark, who had started drinking at about 1:30pm on Saturday. We popped over to Sophie's to help Toby do some bits and bobs on the house that needed doing, and in the afternoon I cooked a roast and we actually sat in front of the TV for once. I had a great time... I managed to watch "Invasion of The Body Snatchers", "Girls Girls Girls" (and Elvis Presley fave of mine), and the most recent Harry Potter movie. I even did some more knitting (a scarf which I have been knitting for the last three winters!), and we had a lovely open fire. Very toasty!

The last couple of days have been quite busy (in fact, I cant believe it's Wednesday already!). Monday night we went to watch a Histon FC match on the TV at the local pub - we won (and I had my first glass of wine for three weeks! yay!). Last night I went to the gym, and tried out the new spinning bikes - which no longer allow me to fake high resistance on my bike... darn! Tonight I have pottery to look forward to... I am making a 'utensil pot' for the kitchen, which may indeed need a JCB to lift into the house. It's awful, but I am hoping I can salvage it tonight... I had a bit of a major disappointment at the weekend - but as is the nature of a blog, I wont go into it (despite the fact it is probably on my mind most of all). Ach well... onwards and upwards.

Anyway.... am getting very excited about our pending trip to all the Vegases next month. Speak soon...
Love, Peace and 'mid life crises'... as they say in certain parts of Histon
Hayls
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cambridge Thatching Services

Give a 'big up' (??!) for my new web design...

(if you care for one yourself, get in touch... and errr.... I will get back to you. Sometime.)

www.cambridgethatching.co.uk

ps. Ignore the actual text - it isn't necessarily all mine... think design design design... heh.

Reflections

Thank you so much to everyone that has enquired re: my Dad... I will get back to you all, but all I can say is that he is fine. Doing pretty well - bit of swelling etc., but nothing too major. He is restored back to his grumpy old self - so all is well ;-)

We have been up to lots, but nothing of any real note! I spent several evenings last week creating a website for my friends Chris and Francesca. Mark can't always understand my motives for doing arduous things for other people, without any gain for myself (not that he really noticed this one). I did however really enjoy the challenge, and of course... I actually enjoy doing things for other people because I can. I haven't ever constructed a website from scratch without using FrontPage or the like, and while I still actually had some help (a friend gave me a starting point to build on) I like to think that perhaps I could rely on someone else to do the same sort of thing for me - help me out with something I simply don't have a clue how to start. Perhaps I am a little too optimistic at times! ;-) Anyway... it means that if I ever need anything thatched, Chris and Fran owe me one... perhaps a new wig for those post-gym moments?

Mark and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last week - and lets just say that we overdid it a little. A simple meal out at our fave local restaurant (The Phoenix in Histon). It turned into a couple of drinks in a pub, then the meal (washed down with wine), then a few drinks in another local hostelry, and home - to drink and put the world to rights (until silly-o-clock)... Its comforting to know that we can still do that after four years, since that is how we more or less started out some four years ago - when he took me to Benstead Marshes for our first date. My Mum still berates me for agreeing to meet a strange man on a marsh - little does she know that he actually picked me up at my house. Heh....

Other than that, not alot to report. Histon FC are doing pretty well, and have for the first time in their history topped Cambridge United in the league tables - something to celebrate!! ;-) Not bad for a village team! ;-)

I had some very sad news yesterday actually... a guy I went to school with, who I was in touch with a few years ago when I lived in Norwich, died at the weekend. Stuart Kiddle - he struck me as a complete hedonist, but an extremely caring soul and a hard worker. He died of a heart attack, bought on by an asthma attack apparently. I guess it puts all my other little worries in life into perspective... my condolences go to his friends and family... far too young. I know that I didn't know him *that* well, but for some reason it has shocked me to the core.

Anyway... on that sorrowful little note, I will sign off. Perhaps I will have something nicer to say later in the week!

Love and Peace
Hayley
xxxx

Stormy Weather

My Dad is normally a pillar of strength... more commonly known as "Stormin' Norman". However, he has been floored in the last couple of years by a fairly aggressive form of arthritis (a rampant strain which has ravaged several members of his Mother's family), and so has had a 'hip resurfacing' operation to rectify some of his problems. On Thursday night last week, on the day of his op, I went to visit him - and he looked positively perky... we had a pleasant evening, chatting about the operation, and while I *should* have known that worse was to come, I somehow managed to blot out the furtive pitying looks of the other men on the ward. I guess they all knew what was to come, but didn't have the heart to tell him. The thing is that on Thursday night he was still attached to his 'epidural' machine - and was subsequently pain free, and blissfully unaware of what was to visit him on Friday.

As it goes... I didn't have a good end to my day on Thursday. When I left Dad to drive home on my own, I found that my headlights were not working (only full beam and the side lights). When you have just hit the M11 in the pitch dark, its not a good moment to discover that you can't see a bloody thing! Foolishly, I decided to pull off the dark road onto a slip road going into Wymondham (pronounced "Windham" by all those Norfolk Wairdos ;-) which seemed brightly lit, and therefore a little safer. WRONG! I pulled onto a track just on a roundabout, and put my call into the AA - who said they would be with me in 40 minutes. Joy! However... I quickly found myself being circled by a rather persistent crowd of 'boi racers' (the Norfolk pronunciation), who whooped at me from their tinted car windows, while sardonic grins play on their be-bum fluffed lips. A few of the braver ones actually got out and approached the car... shit shit shit. I tried mouthing a few obscenities, and used BIG '9 9 9' dialling gestures to scare them off. If in doubt, pretending to be mad always works on young people keen to have a laugh at someone else's expense... ahem. Anyway... thankfully, the AA man arrived (before said kids had had me sectioned), and he soon fixed it and I was on my way. Apparently a fuse had blown... I'm not sure whether he was talking about me or the car!? ;-)

On Friday, Dad's chickens came home to roost. They removed the epidural, and left him to stew in his own juices (quite literally in fact... his 'bag' burst in his bed, and they left him to soak in it for three hours late in the evening). Poor Mum and Tracy turned up at the hospital to find sweat lashing off him, and him literally screaming in agony... not good. He vomited up the morphine they tried to give him, and following his first attempts to get out of bed (onto a trolley for an X-ray, and then to the toilet) he was left feeling tearful and frustrated - unable to get any relief from the pain in his hips. I think it was midnight when they managed to get his pain under control... a deep sigh of relief all round.

Saturday, I joined did a spot of shopping and cleaning in the morning, and joined Mum back at the hospital to visit Dad again. He was so much better than the man that refused to speak to me on the telephone the night before. He was up, and sitting in a chair beside his bed, wearing a pair of jazzy pyjamas, and joking with his fellow 'inmates'. I noticed Dad giving the rather perky guy in the bed opposite one of those furtive and pitying looks - he has just had his op, and was loudly proclaiming that everything was just fine - with his epidural attached of course. Poor guy. Dad was eating properly... in fact a little more than properly. One of the nurses quipped that Dad looked as though he was opening his own deli counter on his bedside table - and it certainly looked that way! Us Brown girls are a big bunch of 'feeders' (including my Mother) - and while several other inmates on the ward were sipping warm lemon squash and eating custard creams, Dad was quaffing Elderflower Cordial, and nibbling on Belgian Florentine biscuits, black spot pork pies, and chocolate covered pumpkin seeds. Mum and I stayed most of the afternoon and early evening and then made our way to Tracy's for dinner. Tracy made a veritable feast of Mussels in "Dill and Tarragon" pesto, served with doorsteps of warm sourdough bread to mop up the juices, lashings of butter, and plenty of vino to wash it down with. Very satisfactory... However, there is a risk attached to staying at my Sister's place. Henry joined us in bed at some point in the night and pee'd on me, and Oscar took it upon himself to bonk me on the head with a wooden hammer at 4:45am... literally shouting "Bonk! Bonk! Bonk!" as he did it... ah well, I guess you cant have it all!

Sunday, I headed home and did a spot of cleaning. Mark's Dad joined me for lunch (I finally caught up a little on his trip to Australia), and in the afternoon I hosted a bit of a birthday party for Mark's little niece Emily (poor Mark was at work, and missed out on it). I did save him a bit of the Peppa Pig birthday cake I bought, but Katie made sure she took all of the balloons home with her... supposedly for "Emmily to play with". I suspect though that Katie had her own agenda for those - she had put them all in another room on arrival, just in case any should get "broken". heh. The poor cat, who has been a little off colour of late, took one look at those garish globes wafting in the draught from the back door, and almost cleared the fence in her haste to escape, leaving a trail of bodily substances behind her. In the evening, after all the guests had gone (Paul and his family also popped in for cake), I cooked Mark a roast dinner, and we finally got around to saying hello to one another after several evenings doing different things (and his trip to Scotland). It will be our 4-year anniversary this Wednesday... I am looking forward to celebrating it (after I have been to my brand new pottery class, and Mark has been to a Reserves match for Histon FC and done the photographs). Who said that the age of romance was dead?

Anyway... good news today. Dad is going home. Mum was going to collect him this afternoon - bless her. It will literally be a white knuckle ride, as she hates driving - but she hates being parted from Dad more, so she has decided it is worth it. Mark has kindly volunteered to go over on one of his days off this week and cut his grass, and do some bits and bobs for them - no doubt he will be trying to make something resembling a Stenna Stair Lift out of two bits of string and a length of "2 b 4" (Wallace and Grommit stylee), with an attachment to winch Dad up the stairs, dress him and make him a jam sandwich on the way.

Love, Peace and pass the morphine... as they say in Norfolk and Norwich Hospital
Hayls
xxxxxx

Hurricane Hayley...

Hayley "Whirlwind" Brown - my self given name for the weekend. It was a fiendishly busy one, even by *my* standards.

Friday night, I went to the gym for my spinning class (just to pick up some much needed speed for the rest of the weekend), and spun home to cook a big pot of chilli for Sunday (explained later) and do some bits and bobs to help mark out with his "mid-life crisis" party.

Saturday... up at 5:30, and over to my house in Norwich for 7:30. This is where I really work up some steam. By 8am I have painted the fence outside the house (a second coating of "forget-me-not" blue - ironic, as it still seems to be staining my hands some five days later...). I cleared the front garden of weeds (and some plants), and then set to work on the inside of the house. I painted lounge, parts of the dining room, and the bedroom - all in a glorious shade of White (with a hint of spittle). I'm not sure whether I managed to get more paint on the wall, or on me ;-) I cut the grass in the back garden, cleared some weeds etc. there, hung new curtains and a shower curtain, and in general gave the place a bit of a clean through. Phew... Martin came and signed the contract, and all seems tickety boo chez Quebec Road for at least a little while longer.

After that marathon, I headed over to see Jane and Jamie and little Ben - to give Jane a big bag of clothes I am getting shot of, and (more importantly) to get a cup of tea before I drove back to Lowestoft for the evening. I had been supping water out of the tap all day in Norwich, having forgotten to take a kettle with me! Lovely to see Jane and Jamie, and I CANNOT believe how big Benjamin is now! Bless him! He is a gorgeous hunk of pure cheeky chunkster... absolutely gorgeous, happy and strong little fella.

Having waved them goodbye, I went home to see Mum and Dad (Mum made a delicious beef stew thing). They were going to see "Riverdance" at the Marina Theatre in the evening, which was just as well as I had planned to spend the evening with Ricki, celebrating her birthday. I think that "Riverdance" might have been a poor choice for Dad - a kind of "look what you won't be able to do for the next few weeks" slap in the face for him ;-) He is being operated on (today, actually)... a sort of double hip replacement, where they actually resurface the hip joint with steel. I am obviously deeply concerned for him... not looking forward to visiting him tonight in Hospital (I have developed an aversion to them since the start of this year), but can't wait to give him a hug at the same time. Anyway... lets not dwell.

Mum and Dad went out early, so I went to see my Nan and Grandad who were babysitting for my Aunt's three children. Bless them... I do love them so much. I picked up Ricki from her parent's house (I LOVE going there, and sitting in her old bedroom - it makes me feel like I am 17 again!). We had a really pleasant evening. Went into Oulton Broad for a few drinks, and bumped into some guys from school. Spent much of the evening reminiscing about our mis-spent youth - and how often I used to sit around watching the others snogging, while I was just waiting for the boys to leave so that we could go to the sweet shop ;-)

Sunday, I got up early, did some shopping for my gig in the afternoon, and spent a couple of hours with Mum and Dad, Tracy and the boys... mainly watching the boys argue over the presents I had bought Oscar for his birthday. Ahhh... happy days. I wish that more of my life was spent worrying about whether my Sister said I could play with her new lego or not ;-)

I n the afternoon, I raced home, scooped up the chilli I had cooked on Friday, and headed over to my friend Sophie's house. She has moved just up the road from me, and was 40 in the summertime. Due to certain circumstances, she was unable to go ahead with a 40th birthday party that she had spent a long time organising for herself. So, her Mum and some friends of hers decided to surprise her last weekend. And boy, was she surprised, bless her! We laid in wait in her house, and waited for her to come home... there was the cruel addition of party poppers - all set off as she came in the door. I think I honestly would have died on the spot! Anyway... the afternoon went off swimmingly. All of the invitees had bought along a couple of delicious dishes each - including an amazing cake in the shape of a male torso by Sophie's friend Tami. Utterly breathtaking package, clad in red glossy underpants. It might take me several days to recover from the shock of that! ;-) (and judging by the faces of a couple of the guests, it might take some of them a good deal longer! 

Judging by my face on this picture, I am still contemplating it several hours later... ;-)

By about nine, the party had wrapped up, and I headed home to say goodbye to PW and Noel. They have been camping on Scotland for the week, and I went home to make them a lentil curry to take with them. [This is going to be a difficult week for Mark actually, as tomorrow (Friday) would have been his Mum's birthday.] I finally fell into bed at some point close to midnight, praying for Monday morning to come so that I could chill out a little at work... It seems though that my work was not done. Sophie invited me to hers for dinner on Monday evening, to help eat up the leftovers (yummm), Tuesday I went into the London office, and in the evening met up with John and Steve Doogan at Wagamamas, and last night I had my friend Lynn and her bloke John over for dinner (followed by the pub quiz at the local pub). Tonight, of course I am off to the hospital... and so we go on to the next weekend. You know what they say... no rest for the wicked! ;-)

Love, Peace and "pass the valium"... as they say in Histon.
Much Love
Hayls
xxxxxx

Wicked Weekend!

My Danish friend Sofie kindly came to visit me last weekend. It was absolutely lovely to see her - and I don't think she will mind me saying, that she was on the best form that I have seen her for quite some time... happy in herself, and showing no signs of the anxiety that seemed to overtake her last year. She has been successfully treated for hyperthyroidism, which has really really helped her.

I picked her up late on Thursday night, and in true Sofie style she actually slept the next morning until lunch time. I admire her sleeping prowess - 9am is about my limit these days! She had had a stressful week though - she is putting up her distraught cousin, who had been dumped unceremoniously by her long term boyfriend (who had by all accounts seemed like the perfect guy until that point). A real shame, as I have met Marie Louise, and she is an absolute stunner, who (which is rare in such stunning looks stakes) is a lovely, humble, kind and gentle little soul, with a mean brain to boot (qualified doctor). Honestly, the girl looks like bloody Helena Christensen.... anyway. I guess there is no accounting for taste (I have told myself the same many times over the years... heh).

Friday night we stayed in with PW, and I cooked her my Tuna Meatballs... bloody delicious, and I don't mind saying so myself. We did consume rather more wine than I had planned, but hey - it's what friends do when they haven't seen each other for quite some time, and we were not ready to break the tradition just yet. To be honest though we made up for it by being pretty sober for the rest of the weekend... halo, check.

On Saturday I dragged the poor unsuspecting girl to Primark on Oxford Street. I think that she regretted asking to go there (she had heard it was good), as I don't think she expected quite so many people fist fighting over untidy heaps of illegally cheap clothing! True to form, she spent not a penny, and I came away with bulging bags - full of things that don't fit me, and are unlikely to unless I go back in time to Middle School... (I seem to have developed an unrealistic sense of myself - in my mind I have the figure and styling of Aygnes Deyn, in reality I loom more like Judith Chalmers on a bad day). The afternoon made up for it though. We went to see "Wicked" the musical at the Victoria Apollo. All of the rave reviews are spot on. This was by far the best theatre production that I had seen in a very long time, and the standing ovation at the end was well deserved! The story, the songs, the jokes... genius! I will say no more other than to go see it if you get a chance.

Saturday evening, we went to Wagamama on the way home (Sofie's first ever time there - and she loved it). Yummy! By registering on their website, I even managed to get one of the main courses for nothing. We were so pooped though that we went straight home... and only spent an hour or two gossiping and sipping Lilt (Sofie's beverage of choice!) before turning in.

Sunday, we took a little saunter around Cambridge, and all too quickly we had eaten lunch at Pizza Express and she was on her way home (via a little pit stop at Burwash Manor to look at all the lovely little shops there). Very sad... its nice to spend time with distant friends, although to be honest many of mine seem to be that way these days!

Anyway... things have been a little bit hectic Chez Brown and Benstead in the last couple of weeks (hence crapness of email contact and general lack of blogging). My house in Norwich requires much sorting, and on Monday night I had to get over there to give it a look over. I am going to decorate it this weekend on the exterior, but thankfully I have a new tenant in the form of a male friend of my Cousin Mark and my friend Nikki. I am glad it is someone I know... We have also been spending a considerable amount of time organising PW's party on the 4th October - a belated (very belated) 40th birthday party for him, or his "mid-life crisis" party as I prefer to call it... heh. I have also been involved with stuff for the football club, and have somehow been drawn into serving behind the bar at a beer festival tonight (all to do with netball, and some money we were donated for kit). I am however due to start a new pottery class in a couple of weeks, which will in fact put pay to my netballing for the forseeable future (not a bad thing considering the number of injuries I have had).

Anyway... enough excuses. A HUGE happy birthday to my darling little nephew Oscar, who is two today. I cannot believe that it was two years ago that I witnessed him spilling into the world! (if the use of that verb seems inappropriate, then tough... believe me when I say that that was the most polite term I could come up with... heh). Where has the time gone?!

Before I go... I also want to share some of my latest 'friend baby' photos... all gorgeous (get ready to say ahhhhhhh...):

Jane and Jamie's little Benjamin, with a slightly orange nose from 'enjoying' too much butternut squash...

Little Lucas in Cambodia... looking a little bit surprised...

And little Campbell and Aiden, snuggling up in Australia for Jen and John...

Love, Peace and "fluglezoo"... as they say in Denmark!
Hayls
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Buttery Goodness

"Lets spend a long weekend in the lakes...", PW said a few weeks ago. Music to my ears. Since the moment Mark took me on my first ever camping trip (some three years ago now), which happened to be in the Lake District, I fell in love with camping, I fell in love with the Lake District, and perhaps even a little more with him... On that particular occasion, we had arrived at Sykes Farm in Buttermere very late at night, and had set up camp by torchlight (actually... Mark set up camp, and I merely held the torch). I will never forget the next morning, when after a night's fitful sleep, I opened the tent flaps and stepped out into the most amazing valley. I can only describe is as the bit in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy opens her front door for the first time, and enters a technicolour paradise. I'm sorry if you have heard this story before, but I could wax lyrical about it forever...

Friday

We made use of the August Bank Holiday (taking an extra day each side of the weekend), and after a not particularly good start (traffic problems on the M6 meant that it took us over six hours to get there), we hauled ourselves out of the car and sighed deeply. Sykes Farm in Buttermere... a veritable haven from the grime and grind of everyday life. You cant get a phone signal, there are no shops as such, "WiFi" might be what you call your socks after a hard day's climbing, the ground is uneven and littered with sheep poo... but it is utterly utterly charming - the right side of rustic, and some distance to the left of sterile. "Are you the Darwin's?" said Farmer Sykes (not sure if this *is* his actual name, but it will do)... "errrr... no... we haven't booked" I said - all innocent and earnest, trying to clear up any misunderstandings. Farmer Sykes is a tiny gentleman in his seventies at the very least (I hope he isn't 40, and just suffering from a very hard life), who wouldn't look out of place in a French B&W photograph of a farmer - replete with wrinkles the colour of stained oak and a black beret. His eyes twinkled as he looked at the canoe... "aha... I thought you were The Darwins", he repeated, meaningfully. I have to say it took me a full ten minutes to realise that this was a slice of Buttermere humour at its best... not even a smile to give himself away. First night we set up camp, reheated the lentil curry I had cooked in advance, went for a half* in The Bridge Inn (just a short walk from the campsite), and slept soundly... with the sound of the brook lulling us to sleep under the dour watchful eye of our project for the morning.

* Yes - a half! Can you see my halo?


Red Pike:- "Red Pike is a fell in the High Stile range in the western English Lake District, which separates Ennerdale from the valley of Buttermere and Crummock Water. It is 755 m or 2,476 ft (755 m) high. The direct ascent of Red Pike from Buttermere is very popular and the ridge walk from Red Pike to Haystacks is regarded as one of the finest in the area, with excellent views of the Scafells, Great Gable and Pillar."


Saturday

We breakfasted on yummy cereals and fruits, and headed off early to scale our silent friend. The start of the ascent to Red Pike is within staggering distance from the Campsite - which meant that we didn't have to risk the slightly hazardous roads all day. It took us around three hours to get to the top - although we had had an hour long diversion around the lake taking photographs (and generally bickering about the map). It was a magnificent climb - and I felt grateful for my recent spate of gym visits, as it was pretty hard going in places (step after stony step). I had my usual little weep at the top (as the red shale slipped under my feet), and Mark took his usual photograph of me mouthing obscenities at his lens. The view from the top was breathtaking. We ate pies (not part of the diet), although I felt mine was well earned - I wore my Polar Heart Rate Monitor, which indicated that I had burnt off well over 1500 calories getting up there, and a further 1000 or so getting down! (I regretted not bringing along some fudge, or Kendall Mint Cake at the very least...!).

The descent was somehow more difficult than the climb. I always find this... muscles in my legs start to hurt that I didn't even know I had! I never forget when Sofie and I took the train up Snowdownia, and walked down (or tumbled down in Sofie's case) - we walked like old ladies for two days after. We thought we had taken the easy option! Back to Red Pike though...I was slightly perturbed by a young couple though that seemed to be almost skipping down the hill - he with a child of about 18 months in a rucksack type affair on his back, and both hands firmly in his pockets. Perhaps I am getting to an age where I see danger in everything... or just perhaps... I am turning into my Mother!

In the evening, I treated myself to a glass of wine and cooked a vegetarian chilli. The sun was actually quite warm in the evening, and we watched the camping world go about its business - engaging in the strange camping tradition of pretending not to hear our neighbours' conversations, and hoping that they will pretend not to hear Mark's rather loud bodily 'functions'. (Mental note: lentil curry and vegetable chilli do not make for good neighbourly relations).


Sunday

Another thankfully sunny day in the Lake District. We took the canoe, complete with Mark's "modifications" to Derwent water. Mark has spent countless days over the summer making "floats" for the canoe, which apparently in the event of capsize (shudder) will prevent the canoe from filling up with too much water. Somehow, guarding against such an eventuality, makes it all the more likely in my mind. So it was with some trepidation that we (well, only *I* was "trepidationised"?) set off across Derwent water. A stiff breeze made it quite hard going, but it is such a beautiful place - lots of little islands in the lake, which is surrounded almost entirely by mountains. We managed to moor up by a tea shop and get some hot drinks, while watching a group of school children (perhaps from a detention centre by the looks of them!) on a kind of canoe assault course. At lunch time, we returned to the car (more pies!), and then went into Keswick to look around the shops. Man... I love the shops in Keswick! I could spend money there like the proverbial man with no arms... (come to think of it, how does a man with no arms spend his money so fast?!). Anyway... we left a little poorer, but happy with our purchases. Several new pairs of walking trousers, and some flashy spotty walking socks for me - new Ron Hills for Mark.

The evening saw us eating the old camping fave, Pasta and Pesto, and battening down the hatches - for there was a storm-a-coming. We were praying for it to blow away our rather loud and young Yorkshire neighbours (I swear that one of the young lads had a megaphone for a mouth). As it turns out, there is a God after all... we heard their shouts in the night as the gale tugged their tent over, and I confess to smiling a little while cradled snugly in the arms of Morpheus.


Monday

Monday was not a particularly glorious day... in fact it absolutely peed down all day. Not to be beaten though, we turned out in the car, and visited Ravenglass and Eskedale Steam Railway - a day trip enjoyed by Mark several times in his childhood. We joined the mug-of-tea and cheese sandwich brigade, and took the little steam train from Ravenglass to Dalegarth and back. A thoroughly gorgeous 14 mile round trip, taking in lots of beautiful scenery and providing good shelter from the main extent of the rain. In the afternoon, we made another trip to Keswick (not least to get the Histon FC football scores - we won twice over the weekend), and I added yet more stuff to my already bulging wardrobe.

In the evening, we ate at The Bridge Inn just down the road from the campsite, and I treated myself to more than just the one beer. Utterly delicious! I had "jewel" of lamb - like a lamb shank, but even bigger and even more tender. I can highly recommend.


Tuesday

This was our last day, and sadly our day to go home. Mark seemed to hurt his back while having our last walk around Keswick, so it made the journey home a little more painful for him than he would have liked.

We had a fantastic break... If you want to see the photographs from the trip - check them out here!

Love, Peace and "do we have to climb up *that* bit to be at the top?"... as they say on Red Pike.
Hayls
xxx

The Lake District, August 2008 - The Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hayleysbrown/sets/72157607088711153/

Ecky Thump!

Eeee bah gum, we 'ad a busy weekend, this one.

Friday night, I did indeed go and see Mama Mia... and I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not because of the fine acting, and particularly not because of the fine singing (I thought that Meryl Streep looked and sounded like Mrs Doubtfire, and Piers Brosnan... how did you let them do it to you, Piers???), but because it was so funny it hurt. I laughed from the opening number, until the end. I cringed, I cried with laughter, I guffawed, it actually seemed to hit hysteria level at one point! I'm not sure why some of my friends have seen fit to see this several times (perhaps they were so drained after watched a matinee performance, that they couldn't leave the cinema?), but I can safely say that for the first time in a long time I knew what the term "feel  good movie" meant. I'm not 100% sure whether I was laughing *with* the actors, or at them... but who cares, it was worth the trip. Afterwards, Lynn, John and I had a couple of pints in Histon, and I skipped home with the lyrics to "Take a Chance on Me" ringing in my ears.

Saturday, we followed The Stutes up to York for the day to watch them play against York City in the Kit Kat Crescent (interesting name for a ground!). The three hours it took to get there was made all the more worth it for a walk around the city centre and a delicious bag of chips from a chippie near the ground. I must say that the little terraced houses and the smell of fish and chips reminded me of my childhood... ahhhhh... happy days! Living next to a fish and chip shop as a child never put me off them! ;-) The ground was a little more shabby than I would have expected (I thanked my lucky stars that it wasn't a wet wintry Tuesday when I used the toilets sited in a port-a-cabin in the dingiest corner of the stadium... it was scary enough on a relatively bright Saturday afternoon). We managed a 1-1 draw against York in the end, although to be honest we should have got more. I like the comradery of away matches - although the Histon away crowd always make me smile a little. About six young lads (who like to shout a bit of abuse at the 2000+ home crowd - a bit scary - I long for a reversible shirt at times), a few old ladies waving their scarves frantically, and several despondent looking men, shouting instructions from the sidelines. And of course, Mark and I... in matching shirts. Ahem.

Saturday evening turned into a bit of a beer and wine fest for us on arrival home. Mark's Dad popped in for a couple of hours, and despite the beers I managed to cobble together some sort of dinner made from various things in the freezer - scorched them a bit in the oven, and then professionally 'dumped' them on the plate. Presentation is key ;-)

Sunday, we went over to the garden centre in Fordham (my personal favourite) and bought loads of perennials for the back border. Mark planted them on return and I watched my first glimpse of the Olympics - I thought I had better fasten myself tightly onto the bandwagon now that it looks like we might win a few medals - and most importantly, beat Australia on the Gold medal front ;-) Of course, if things change, expect this paragraph to disappear mysteriously from the blog... heh. Late afternoon, we ran Mark's Dad to Heathrow, bless him. He is off Sydney to visit his brother for a couple of weeks or so. I have to say, I really really felt for him as he disappeared through the gates, looking close to tears. He has been dreading the journey - travelling alone is not a concept that sits comfortably with him at all. He hates being alone full stop, and travelling without Suzy by his side is bloody difficult for him (they had had such good times in Australia in the past, so it all stirs him up a bit). His brother is going to be delighted though - its his 77th birthday tomorrow, and he has no clue that John is going to be there. I wish I was there to see that particular reunion. Mark's uncle has been ill with lung cancer (but appears to be in remission for the time being), so it is likely to be an emotional reunion! One very good thing though - he remembered literally last minute that the friendly neighbourhood cat that visits him almost daily was asleep in the cupboard in his house! What a horrific welcome home that would have been!

On arrival home we went to see The Clone Wars cartoon film thingy... there were three of us in the entire cinema for this one! I can's say that it was one of my favourite films, but it wasn't too bad. It was mainly to appease PW, who seemed to enjoy it more so ;-)

Anyway... I am off out tonight with Emma - going for a run, and then making up for it with a trip to Wagamama (yummmm). Am going in my freshly recovered car - so wish me luck! For various reasons I have decided that a complete abstinence from alcohol is in order. We will see how long it lasts this time...

Love, Peace and "Do you want a bread bun with that?...", as they say in Kit Kat Crescent.

Hayley

xxxxx

A Friday Afternoon Thought...

I have just this minute been struck by a thought (hold on to your hats, it doesn't happen often!)...

Do you think that perhaps I have turned into a gay man? A perusal of my recent posts includes a reference to Rufus Winwright AND Judy Garland, and tonight I am going to see a film that surely causes even the least sensitive 'Gaydar' to violently twitch. I *do* rather fancy men, and perhaps found the "Hollyoaks Hunks" a little too attractive... hmmmmmmmmmm.........

Mama Mia, Kias and Onomatopoeia...

Mama Mia!... I thought as I awoke at 6:30 this morning, to take my car for its second visit to the Kia Garage in Royston. Poor little Pussy Galore. Her electrics keep cutting out mid-journey. Not such a bad thing when you are pootling down the road at barely twenty MPH (just a little inconvenient), but considerably more dangerous at speed. The trouble is though that nowadays*, if the computer cant find the fault (the diagnostics?), the mechanic hasn't got a chance of fixing it. Intermittent faults are impossible to detect it seems. I have less faith in these be-shirted technicians than I did in the grease monkey who would disappear under your car for half and hour, and emerge triumphantly gripping a small plastic and metal part - although they invariably had fewer teeth and appeared to wash less (the sign of a good mechanic, my Grandad informs me)! I do remember fondly though one particular mechanic in Lowestoft, who rang me to tell me that my car (Jarvis) was "all a bit whats-er-name" by way of explanation... heh. Fingers crossed though - lets hope they find out what's wrong.

* Have I really reached the age where I use the term "nowadays"? Shocker...

Mama Mia is my theme for the day then. Am going to watch it tonight at the cinema with Lynn and John - but shush, don't tell anyone. I have to admit, I was roundly unconvinced by the trailer - perhaps a form of 'anti-feminismo' on my part (is there such a word?). I pointed and scoffed at it, claiming that only 'bimbos' would bother to go see it (reminding myself to hide my edition of "Dirty Dancing" when I got home (in fact: to hide the DVD, Video, and CD Soundtrack of it when I got home). Thankfully, Mark saw through the charade, and seems mercifully unsurprised by my decision to go back on my word; or at least, he is saving the ribbing until afterwards. Perhaps it's because I own a car that I call "Glamour Puss", which has in fact got the word "Glamour" written on it in pink - a big selling point in my eyes (a hairdresser's car, according to my savage younger sibling). Perhaps Mark is simply temporarily disoriented by his friend John's decision to join us on this chick-flick-fest. I have made him promise not to wear his Agnetha wig, although Lynn is more concerned by the possibility that he might go as Bjorn. I will wear dark glasses and a headscarf, just in case...

"Definition: Onomatopoeia are words that sound like the objects they name or the sounds those objects make." How about, it is a word that sounds like "Kia" and "Mama Mia"? Did I miss the point? Perhaps... (I think its called a rhyme) but I liked the word anyway... gosh, I am a veritable word terrorist today. Think yourself lucky I didn't throw in random references to "Princess Leah", or "Lowestoft Pier".

Love Peace and... err.... "Tia Maria", as they say in Sweden.
Lots of love
Hayls
xxx

"buzz", "crash", "whirr", "clang", "hiss", "purr", "squeak", "mumble", "hush", "boom"... just in case you were trying to think of any! ;-)

Weetabix - The New Wonder Food

I have been following Slimming World for two or three weeks now - hoping to recreate the sucess I had with it a year or so ago now (I lost two stone that time, albeit very slowly - and have put back on about a stone - I put it down to stress since Xmas).

However... I had not really lost even a pound, until yesterday. Yesterday morning I tried to work out where I was going wrong, and realised that the only real difference between this time and last time was that last time I included two weetabix in my copious bowl of fruit and yoghurt that the diet allows me. The due diligence paid off - this morning I had lost that long awaited pound - taaah daaaaa!!!

Does this mean though that all I needed was more fibre in my diet? I have a feeling that this points to only one conclusion... I am full of the proverbial ;-) But you all knew that anyway!

This Ole House

"The selling and leasing markets are both saturated, and yours quite frankly doesn't come up to scratch.." he said, matter-of-factly. My friendly local Estate Agent says that I appear to have a turkey on my hands. A big one. One that even Nigella would be proud of serving up on a Christmas Day.

My beautiful little house in Norwich has been deemed superfluous to the housing world's requirements, and worse still it is 'un-lettable'. I know its a little quirky, and the kitchen *is* terribly eighties... but I always thought it was rather cute. Something made *me* fall in love with it - why not anyone else? Perhaps nobody else is that daft! ;-)

Anyway... so... what to do? The pedant in me wants to get over there, and paint it up (the external paintwork is a bit of a mess) - restore it to its former glory, and battle off the potential buyers with a big stick. Ahem...bump. I was instructed that "doing something purely for the sake of completeness" might be a costly affair - and worse still, a complete waste of time. I had in my head a picture of it beautifully painted (in a lovely shade of biscuit, offset with a white picket fence) with gingham curtains, and a small rainbow poking out from behind the lavender bushes. Apparently, (and it is very hard for me to believe), but other people might not share my vision?! Don't they know who I am? What I stand for? My sister owns a nice deli for Godssakes... of *course* I have good taste!

I guess I will have to think it through. God, I hate 'thinking things through'. I am impulsive... artistic... ummm... undecided! The 'credit crunch' has suddenly come up and pecked me on the bottom... it's real! Panic everyone!!!!!!

Love, Peace, and "Ain't got time to fix the shingles"... as they say in Quebec Road.
Hayls
xxxxx

Spot the Difference...

This might become a regular spot... so watch out my friends.

Cousin Mark - I couldn't resist... your resemblance to Boober Fraggle is unmistakable... heh. For some reason, this struck me on a Monday afternoon right out of the blue...

Putting on the Ritz

I might have found my ultimate album...

"Rufus Wainwright Does Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall...".



All I need now is Elvis Presley singing "Last Night I Dreamt Sombody Loved Me" by The Smiths, and my life will be complete... ;-)

Back To Black!

Back on the turnstiles today for Histon FC. For the first time ever in my life - I actually feel quite excited about the football season starting. How sad is that? Mark and I have become so embroiled in the club (photographs, turnstiles, doing posters and now even tweaking the website), that I've actually got that nice 'back to school' feeling I used to get in my youth - I was one of those strange kids that actually missed school during the summer holidays.

This year we are back to playing in red and black stripes - a welcome change in my view. The black goes better with the bags under my eyes ;-)

My cousin Mark is coming along for the first match in the season today. He likes to take the p*ss out of me... We always have a laugh over the following article taken from the Midfield Dynamo website: "20 Things You Always See or Hear at Non-league Football" (I think Mark has me down as a number 4 or 18... heh. Thankfully I wont be wearing my fingerless mittens just yet ;-)):

Contrary to popular opinion, it's not just one man and his whippet that attends non-league football, yet one thing's for sure, you'll most likely see the following...


1. A man with a bright red face and enormous flared trousers.
2. The local town nutter who declares that he loves his local team so much and never, ever, misses a game, before mysteriously disappearing somewhere during the second half.
3. The failed tactician. Usually stands behind managers dugouts in a mid-nineties Adidas training coat, Farah slacks and shiny shoes, bellowing out various disastrous instructions to all and sundry.
4. Some old dear selling Bovril for the 61st consecutive season.
5. The players wags - usually huddled together in the few half decent wooden seats that are available. And even at this level they're always stunning... why is that ?
6. The half-time raffle where the prizes are mostly things like 4 cans of Mackeson Stout, a box of out of date Terry's All Gold, or a half empty can of Lynx.
7. The condemned stand. In most non-league grounds you encounter a thin piece of red and white tape that's the only thing separating you from certain death on a relic that has stood empty and disused since 1987.
8. Dodgy advertisement hoardings. These usually include a local haulage firm, an Indian takeaway, something where half of the advertisement has dropped off, and a taxi firm that went out of business 3 year ago.
9. A dodgy section of the pitch. Used to great tactical effect by the home team, often resulting in long balls pumped to the sloping left-wing, daisy-cutter shots towards the molehills, and random bounces on the concrete-like goalmouth area.
10. The 40 year old club veteran. Usually a central defender with a nose like a hammer, but sometimes a journeyman ex-pro called Dave, Barry, Mick, or Alan.
11. The desperate Dad. Father of one of the younger players, he spends the entire match shouting and rawping at him in the full knowledge that his lad is never going to be quite good enough to 'make it'. That trial at Brentford will never come around again.
12. The bloke who positions himself near the dug out so he can berate the manager regardless of the team's form or performances. Likes a pint in the social club with the failed tactician.
13. Packets of crisps at the tea bar from manufacturers you've never heard of and that probably don't even exist. Brands like Bensons or His Nibs.
14. The annoying intermittent tannoy system that was given to the club back in 1974 by the local bus corporation. It hardly worked back then, now it just sounds like Norman Collier has taken over the pre-match announcements.
16. The pre-match announcements. Come on, does anybody listen to them ? He could be droning on about balsa wood for all anybody knows. In actual fact, he's usually thanking the local print firm for the match sponsorship or playing records such as "Eye of the Tiger" or anything by Phil Collins.
17. A couple of spectacularly bored six year olds brought along by an elderly relative desperate to institutionalise them into the ways of supporting the local team. Moments after kick off they'll start kicking a discarded Coke can about for the remainder of the match.
18. The fancy-dan wannabe. Easy to spot - he's the only wearing white, gold or red boots. And a hairband. Normally tries a couple of fancy flicks with his first few touches before being taken out by the 40 year old club veteran.
19. Some half-daft old dear on her own in the seats wrapped in a bizarre, home made club scarf and wearing an equally homespun woolly hat. Her mood will swing from quiet benevolence to incandescent rage at any innocuous refereeing decision. There's also a good chance she'll be knitting.
19. The drunk in the social club. He only goes because it was the only place he could get served before all day drinking was allowed. Hasn't yet realised the law was changed in 1989. Even the bloke who positions himself near the dug out and the failed tactician try to avoid him.
20. A massive, clapped out old telly in the social club. It was probably made by PYE.

It will be really nice to see Mark - he has been travelling for the last six months, and is back to Earth (with a bit of a bump - he also lost his paternal Grandmother this summer, and came straight home to her funeral).

Love, Peace and Up the Stutes... as they say at the Glass World Stadium!
Hayley
xxxx