Goddess of Domesticity

Whew! What a busy busy weekend!

Friday night after work, I went to my spinning class with Lynn and then jumped straight in the car to head over to Lowestoft to stay with Tracy and the boys. Had a lovely evening - nice steak and potato wedge type things, followed by buttery popcorn.... yummmm. I made the mistake of sharing a bed with Tracy AND Henry (my little Nephew, before anyone thinks I am into threesomes...heh). Sorry Tracy, but the snoring was almost instantaneous the minute you got into bed (I know, we can blame the vino), Henry chattered incessantly for about half an hour, and then at about 2am he peed on me! :- This meant that I had to console him for quite some time, before giving up my dry patch of the bed and going to sleep in *his* little bed... only to be rudely awoken by Oscar calling "Mummy" at 6am... oh joy! ;-)

Saturday morning was an even bigger shock for me though. For the first time, I was left in charge of *both* boys for a few hours. All my 'babied up' friends will not be impressed, I know... but man, it was no mean feat for a complete beginner like me! Heh... walked them to Asda in the morning (in the hope of wearing them out), via a cute little play park that I used to play in myself when I was a kid (cue minor tantrums when I tried to coerce them to leave! Mental note: do not take children to places that they will enjoy, unless you are willing to stay there for several hours....). Henry and I had decided to buy "Nanny Maureen" (my Mum) a birthday cake and decorate it ourselves. I made my second mistake in Asda - I bought them both Lollipops. Oscar managed to produce SO much frothy, sticky, strawberry scented drool, that I thought I may need to attach a drip to him to replace lost fluids. Where does it all come from? How did it manage to coat his entire trolley, and everything in it? On return home, this prompted the first of three costume changes I had to do with him...

We played in the garden for a bit (errr... well, I applied sun cream on them, and then they literally rolled in the mud - cue second costume change). I anxiously awaited the "tetchy" mood that would precede Oscar's midday sleep, according to Tracy's instructions. It didn't come... so I got fed up waiting and asked him if he wanted his bed. At which point, he went indoors, took off his shoes and waited to be carried up to bed... easy! Phew! During his (short) sleep Henry and I managed to coat the top of a cake (and ourselves) with more icing and pink sparkly things than ever thought possible... it took Oscar half an hour to brew up the most disgusting nappy ever seen in England. Cue bath, and third costume change. :-) Anyway... just as I seemed to be getting into the swing of things (in true Nigella stylee, I even made little cheese sandwiches, whilst grappling with a giggling two year old, desperate to insert a toy truck up my bottom... what a Domestic Goddess). Then it was all over... Sam came to collect them, and their little whirlwind moved out of the front door... leaving a spattering of cheesy sandwiches and mud in their wake. I sank to my knees - fearing I had gone deaf.

Later in the afternoon though we were reunited. Tracy, the boys, Megan and I took Mum and Dad to a nice pizza restaurant in Beccles - in celebration of my Mum's birthday. Delicious, if not chaotic meal. Seriously - I am considering making some sort of device for strapping Oscar into chairs, to prevent him from running around restaurants and punching other diners. Cornwall in two weeks is going to be so much fun! ;-) We had a lovely meal, and I made my way home mid-evening. Mark and his Dad were waiting for me when I got home - we walked into the village, and had a pint in the pub.

Sunday morning, I got up early whilst those two buggers slept... Mark had invited his entire family for a BBQ, and seemed to forget that food rarely magically appears in cupboards for such things. Had a bit of a fright in Tescos though - some extremely drunk Eastern European looking guy seemed to be a little too desperate for the toilet... and decided to relieve himself in the middle of the canned food aisle. Lovely. Arrived home to find Mark and his Dad still in bed, so I banged lots of things on the counters to wake them up. Heh. I made trifle (see - I told you I was a Domestic Goddess), salads and "Seedy???!!" potatoes, and Mark's brother and Sister and their respective families turned up at midday. We had a really pleasant afternoon actually! Mark did all the cooking on the BBQ (as if I would be able to stop him), the kids seemed highly amused with a couple of water pistols and a hose, and we walked down the the "Histon Feast Parade" in the afternoon. As a Lowestoftian I am not as impressed by this "parade" as I maybe should be - our carnivals used to go on for hours and consisted of at least two hundred floats and several marching bands. This one is a little less 'spectacular' (around ten floats) - although brilliantly done all the same. It raises loads of money for all sorts of clubs and events around the village.

In the evening, John stuck around and we walked to the pub to watch the Euro 2008 final... and yes, you are right Marta - I did jump on your bandwagon last minute and support Spain (Campeones Campeones oe oe oe!!!!). Although given the choice, anyone opposing Germany is going to get my cheer everytime... God - I sound like my grandparents! ;-)

Anway...
HUGE happy birthday to my wonderful Mum
Speak soon
Hayls
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Swallows and Amazons Forever

Last weekend, prior to the terrible news re: Nanny, we had had a lovely - positively idyllic, long weekend camping in Norfolk. We stayed at Woodside Farm in Thurne; a lovely quiet and well-organised little campsite in a gorgeous location, with excellent owners (Andy was a real gem), and beautifully spotless facilities. We arrived Thursday night, set up camp, and re-heated the rather delicious lentil curry that I had made in advance... bliss.

Friday was just amazing. We got up fairly early to lovely weather (sunshine and a little wind), and went over to the boatyard in Ludham - and hired one of the Hunter's Fleet day boats out for the day (Woodcut II). Gorgeous. Nothing beats it in my books - the Norfolk broads are an amazing and entirely unique environment, and the sailing boats are just utterly beautiful objects - almost a work of art in themselves. Made entirely of wood in the 1930s, they are almost silent (aside from the soft wind in the sails), and you can almost reach out and touch the wildlife that seem totally comfortable with them around. I hate to say it, but you feel so superior to the tourists chugging up and down the broads in their shiny, plastic, 1970's tub-style motor boats. Perhaps that's just me... ;-) On Friday evening we had a lovely BBQ, and took the 10 minute walk to The Lion Inn in Thurne - a pub that should be so much nicer than it actually is, but it serves beer... so.

Saturday, we walked over to Potter Heigham and back (a good 3 miles each way) - fantasising as we went over owning one of the little river-side holiday homes along the way. In the afternoon we went to the Museum of the Broads in Stalham Staithe, which was pretty fascinating stuff, and in the evening we walked to Clippesby Hall to make the most of their bar and restaurant - another 6 or 7 mile round trip, which meant that I more then deserved the delicious ham, egg and chips I had there!

Sunday, my parents and Tracy and the boys came to meet us in Potter Heigham, and we took them to How Hill for a lovely picnic (kindly supplied by my Mum). The kids really enjoyed running around the big hill-side gardens there, and we had a lovely walk around the place and down to the river. We had a bit of a wild goose chase in the afternoon, looking for a lovely pub that turned out to have been turned into a house... but nevermind. We ended up at The Dog near Ludham Bridge, and Oscar enjoyed scaring us all with his acrobatics on the climbing frame they have there. The family headed off late afternoon, and Mark and I returned to the campsite - where I cooked a lummy veggie chilli and we supped much wine and beer and watched the fabulous sunset over the windmill in Thurne... sigh.

Monday, we finished all our shopping in Lathams in Potter Heigham (our fave discount store!). and then went to Wroxham to look round the chandlery and get lunch. On the way home we also dropped in the gorgeous "lifestyle" shops in Elveden. Remind me to take you there if you ever come over for lunch (provided I know you, of course... ;-)

Much love - have a great weekend.
Hayls
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She Did it Her Way...

Sadly, on Monday evening this week (the 23rd June), my Nanny Brown passed away (my paternal Grandmother). A not entirely unexpected event I guess, but a bit of a shock all the same. She had been suffering with the effects of many years smoking for quite some time (she had been permanently hooked up to a portable oxygen machine for the last couple of years, due to emphysema bought on my several years of smoking 40+ Benson and Hedges a day), in addition to quite bad arthritis which had affected her walking to the extent that she had an electric buggy, thyroid problems which caused her to pile on lots of weight, and some sort of blood problems which meant that she had to live on steroids and had no spleen to fight off infections etc... In fact, she did amazingly well to reach her 79th birthday - a real trooper. The thing that saw her off in the end was pneumonia, made worse by the emphysema... a neighbour and hairdresser found her unconscious and called paramedics, who stabilised her at first. However, by the time my Mum arrived and the paramedics had left (promising to return and deliver her to a hospice for some respite care), she had had a second relapse, which she didn't recover from. She died in hospital later in the evening, with my Dad, Mum, Sister and my cousin Robert at her side.

I feel really sad, of course... mostly for my Dad - who has lost all of his immediate family (both of his Parents and his Brother and Sister). I loved her, but perhaps we didn't have quite the standard Grandmother-Grandaughter relationship... in fact Nanny didn't really "do" standard relationships. She was an entirely unique, very 'colourful' character - not least in her use of language, which often came in many shades of blue ;-) I always associated that Les Dawson character with her - the housewife with the curlers and the large breasts, always ready with the snide comments and the sharp wit. She could be fantastically funny, in a 1970s stand-up comedienne kind of way... and could strike down even the most acerbic tongue with a few well placed quips which seemed to come from nowhere - leaving their victim in shocked silence, and her audience in fits. She could also be very loving, when in the mood. She always called me her bonny lass - and if you chose to believe her, you would imagine that all her children and grandchildren were at the top of the ladder in terms of their looks and career. Mark was an aircraft pilot of course, I was a best-selling author on some days, or a computer genius who could rival Bill Gates on others, Tracy owned department stores across all of East Anglia and Robert was a footballer on a par with David Beckham.

Her life reads like a tragic novel... I honestly couldn't describe it here (I wouldn't have the words), and anyway you wouldn't believe it if I did. Melodrama doesn't come close to describing it. From that point of view she did amazingly well to form any sort of relationships or friendships with anybody - which she did. Although of course, at any one point there were several people on her black list, and several people that were 'flavour of the month' or year. Thankfully, distance meant that I generally fell into the latter category. The closer you were to her, the more likely you were to feel her wrath.

Anyway... all of that aside. Its odd that I wont be seeing her again. I will miss her. There are so many stories about her... many of which make me smile. She had a totally unembarrassed approach to life - and would chance anything to get what she wanted. She often played the clown, but was also a bit of a sad figure... wracked with grief over the untimely deaths of two of her three children. I raise a glass to her (she actively encouraged me to drink pints to "save time at the bar"), and in the words of dear old Frank, I can honestly say "The record shows, she took the blows... and did it her way!".

Sleep well Nanny. Don't let the buggers get you down

xxxx

The Constant Gardener

I had a very lovely (although not entirely alcohol-free) weekend last weekend....

Friday night was the awards night at Histon FC. A positively glittering affair in a marquee just outside the main entrance to the ground - quite how they managed to make it look so beautiful, considering that we were situated on the car park, I have no idea. Unfortunately, poor Mark spent most of the evening being the official photographer and taking piccies of people collecting awards and flowers etc... (including me), which meant that he didn't get to drink any wine, and I got to drink his share... and half the people on my table's share too. Ho hum... Anyway. I got a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in recognition of my months standing in the cold on the turnstiles, and a commemorative mug... I know that you are all just so jealous! ;-)

Saturday, we didn't manage to scrape ourselves out of bed until Midday - very unusual for us, even after a late night! Perhaps wobbling home on a bright red pair of high heels and sapped me of all my energy. In the afternoon, Mark's Dad came over and we dragged him to the garden centre to get a few bits and bobs for the garden. Early evening saw the arrival of Tracy (sans the children), and Mum and Dad, who were all staying the night so that we could make an early start at the BBC Gardener's Live show on Sunday. We made a fun trip to the local pub in the evening, and finished off with a rather delicious curry (bang goes that diet AGAIN!).

Sunday, we got up uber early (Dad was straining at the leash to make a start on his Father's Day extravaganza), and Tracy drove us to the NEC - a relatively short trip for us from Cambridge. We had a great day - bought LOTS of plants (so many that we had to buy a trug on wheels to put them in), a rather cool outdoor clock and thermometer, and a fab 'cat-like-Mia' wall tile, which I am making Mark put on the wall by the back door. Unfortunately, I didn't get to swoop on Monty Don (as I had planned) - but it was probably for the best. For him, anyway ;-) Mark had spent the day with his Dad at Bletchley Park/Hall(?) - the place where they cracked the Enigma code during the Second World War, and they seemed to have had a good day. The day ended with a short trip to the local to watch some footie, and a leetle bit more wine than I had planned.... (spot the theme for the weekend).

Yesterday I felt extremely unmotivated. I got up early for work, so that I could go to the gym straight after work, but in the end could not be bothered to go. I couldn't even be bothered to walk home at lunchtime to get food, and instead nipped to the sandwich shop opposite the office - which must have saved me, ooooooh.... all of 20 seconds! ;-) Last night I made a huge roast, and had an early night... perhaps some days you just need to sit on yr fat ass and eat lots of spuds and meat... mind you - it seems to be becoming a little more often than I would like! I made up for it today with a manic lunchtime visit to the gym - 40 minutes of Cross-training hell. I shall endeavour to keep it up until our camping trip this weekend :-)

Lots of love
Hayls
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Helena's Blog: The comfiest spot on the couch

Gorgeous photo...

 

Helena's Blog: The comfiest spot on the couch

Brisbane livability lower than four Aust capital cities - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Heh...

 

Brisbane livability lower than four Aust capital cities - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Strawberry Fields For Never...

Lets make it the last time... somebody perleeeease remind me next year just how bad Strawberry Fair is, and don't be put of by my insistence that 'it will be fun' (unless of course you can airlift me to the Acoustic Tent, and airlift me out when the good bands have finished).

Every year, the great unwashed of East Anglia (or perhaps even, further afield it seems) congregate on Midsummer Common in Cambridge and exchange drugs and pairs of trousers made of hemp. This in itself wouldn't be a problem... even the grungiest crustiest hippy is generally good natured, and the biggest danger is that they might get too close when they manage to splutter out between pear cider scented breathes "oooo wants to buy a whistle... man". However, throw into the mix several thousand gurning, urchin faced, Stella swilling, Rottweiler dragging chavs... in gold trimmed tracksuits and glistening baseball caps, and what do you have... a bloody stinking mess. This was my third time attending such an event, and possibly (if I haven't forgotten again by next year) my last. Don't get me wrong, the company is good (we met with some of Mark's buddies - all deeply pleasant and comfortingly clean), the music is good (we saw The Winter Kings - my new fave band of the week), the food can even be nice (not that I had any).... but.... I hate to say it, I've outgrown it all. My 17 year-old self would have been in seventh heaven... patchouli oil scented combat boots, healing areas and crystals, a veritable cacophony of queasily coloured cotton clothing, made by doe eyed children in a sweat shop in Cambodia. But now, all I see is the people vomiting blood, the pee stains on the grass... and the all pervading 'threat'. that hangs in the air like an overweight and extremely tipsy blue bottle.

Anyway... I drank too much... I wore 'bohemian' clothing... and I made pee stains on the grass. ;-) In fact the whole weekend (too much wine and cheese on Friday night... and drinking my own bodyweight in beer on Saturday night) has inspired a 'new non-drinking me' - and although it has only been three days, I am already optimistic about the future health of my liver.

Sunday, despite the grumbling hangover, was a lovely lovely day. We went for a delicious lunch at the Royal Oak in Barrington... and then put the Canadian Canoe in the water at Haslingfield - our first trip out on it this year. I LOVE going out on the canoe... we paddled for two hours, and didn't see a single soul - save for a myriad of Kingfishers and amazing blue Dragon/Damsel flies. So peaceful... so utterly 'hippy'... in fact, don't let those nature loving folks hear about it, or in five years time there will be billions of them paddling up and down the river, being pursued by their 'towny' booze/drug-loving counterparts.

Euro 2008 has started - although has limited appeal, since we don't have a chance to support and then slag off England this year... but anyway, we have adopted a couple of teams (Czech and Poland for some reason), and its a nice way to pass an evening. Last night we also went to see Mongol at the cinema - can highly highly recommend it. It's the story of Ghengis Khan - amazing cinematography, and the characters were powerful and charming (and slightly sexy in a very weird way). It's filmed in Mongolian, with subtitles - we did have to chuckle at the guy on the door, who gravely warned us that it was filmed in "Hungarian"... I guess all "ians" sound the same to him... perhaps we looked too thick for the foreign movie genre... heh.

Anyway... must get on. I have to attend a fracture clinic this afternoon for the broken finger. I wonder what delights that three-hour wait will hold! ;-) Off to London tomorrow... sigh.... but then onwards to a pleasant weekend. We have a 'ball' at the football ground on Friday night (what to wear..?), and on Sunday I am taking my parents to the BBC Gardening Live show thingy at the NEC in Birmingham (a Father's day effort). Much more civilised...

Lots of love
Hayls
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PS. Happy 40th Birthday to Sophie for Friday, and also to Adele (not 40... more like 31) for the same day!

Sticks and Stones... and errr... Netballs

Well, my high-flying netball career is at an end. I went out on a high (we won last week - 28-6), but now it is over... sniff <small trembling pout>. I broke my finger on the ball on Tuesday... as it turns out, this is a repeat incident (the X-rays showed that I had also broken it last year in a couple (count 'em) of places), and unless I want to end up with an enormous Cumberland sausage for a finger (mine are merely Lincolnshire sausage shaped at the moment), I need to lay off netball for a few weeks - perhaps for good. :-\

It *might* be a God send - could give me the opportunity to take up pottery again, or even learn a language (please don't laugh Marta - Spanish would be my choice!). Anyway... we will see. At the moment, it just bloody hurts - its a lovely shade of greenish grey, and is strapped to its neighbouring finger. Classy!

As a side note, the trip to Addenbrookes Hospital yesterday afternoon was not alot of fun on so many levels. First-off (and foremost) this place brings bad bad memories of losing Mark's Mum just five months ago. Secondly, the A&E department is always a slightly disconcerting place... a man presenting himself as a Schizophrenic without medication, a fully decked out and rather large funeral party who appeared to be bringing in the victim of a fight (presumably at the funeral?)... the mind boggles. Thirdly... well, I just HATE hospitals. I hate what they stand for... I just hate them!

Anyway... rant over. Tonight am going to the cinema with Emma and Caroline to see Sex and The City... and cant wait! Mark has his mate round, and this is an ideal opportunity to indulge in a shallow-fem-fest, and perhaps go for a cocktail afterwards (being careful not to eat more than the olive floating in it, and perhaps a small pretzel).

Lots of love
Hayls
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