59/365 - Being A Bit Of An Anorak .....

I have been to Stevenage today - on the train (if you want to know why you will  have to click over to my other Blog  here ...) 

I like travelling by train, particularly when I haven't been on a particular route before.  This morning was no exception - I set off on the first train out at 7.31am - yikes - and then changed at Three Bridges (just south of Gatwick) to catch the Brighton to Bedford train (how on earth has that route survived).  The route went through south London to the Elephant and Castle .... here's a photo out of the train window of the London Eye in the distance (if you click on the photo you can see the Eye better) ....

on to Blackfriars (this is on Blackfriars Bridge - see here to find out what it is ....

 though Faringdon Street and then into St Pancras International.

I had to laugh at the Network Rail web site which gives 31 minutes to walk from St Pancras to Kings Cross - it's just out of the station, cross the road, down an alley and there you are.

There was a bit of time before the non-stop train to Stevenage, so I went in search of this ......

 

I have to be truthful and say that my photo is appalling - so I've borrowed this one.  On my next touristy visit to Lodon, I will go again and take a better picture.

On the way back, I had a mooch around St Pancras - home of the Eurostar ....

And this has to be one of THE most beautiful statues .....

So as a member of the travelling public I had a good day - with one exception - at Finsbury Park and West Norwood Stations there were loads of beautiful hanging baskets full of summer flowers and vibrant greenery - all PLASTIC - shame on them - lol ....
Looking forward to my next train travel experience - when I will be travelling FIRST CLASS  .....

58/365 - A Funny Old Day ....

It's been one of those days where you think you know what you want to do but when you start doing it you don't; you know there are things that you should be doing but you can't get going; and generally just a bit of a peculiar day - no enthusiasm and no motivation - which was a bit unfortunate because I had set myself the task of clearing out the craft room/office and the other spare bedroom - again - lol .....

I sort of started in the spare room and came across an envelope of photographs that I had been using for my Family Tree. 

 

This is my Mum and Dad who got married in 1951.  They couldn't afford to have the wedding photos mounted in an album, all they could afford then was the proof photos.  A couple of years ago I  scanned  them all and then made my Mum a Wedding Album with the originals, which she loved.

This is one of my favourites .....

57/365 - Oopsy Daisy ....

This photo was taken yesterday of something that happened last Saturday night - lol ....

 

This is the village duck pond in a village near me.  The car appeared there last Sunday morning and has caused a great deal of attention - lol.  After all, it's not often you see something like this.  The strangest thing is the car went into the pond from the left of the photo and the road is at the front - how did it get to be facing the road?  Stranger still, all the ducks (and there were quite a few) have disappeared.

All over last weekend people were there taking piccies but yesterday was my first opportunity.  No-one seems to know the hows, whys and wherefors - but my daughter is on the case - lol ...... 

56/365 - A Little Bit Of What You Fancy .....

A large proportion of Monday and Thursday evenings are spent at evening meetings at work.  The time I get home varies from 9pm to after 11pm.  Tonight was midway between the two and I did what I usually do .....

I had a bowl of Cornflakes.  These are something I'm really partial to.  I am a naughty person because I don't do breakfast, except when I'm at home for the day but I do like a bowl of Cornflakes in the evening - supper I suppose you'd call it.

Anyways this is tonight's portion - before the milk and sugar because they would have gone all soggy - lol.  The bowl is on a dinner plate so that when I carry it upstairs the milk doesn't slop everywhere - so sensible aren't I - lol.

Have to let you into secret - I took the photo for today this morning (and quite a good one it is too- not technically but content - lol) but poured out my Cornflakes and posted this instead - so you 'll  have to come back tomorrow ......

55/365 - I've Been Out Today ....

And I went to Lewes in East Sussex ....

 

Three of us from work went there for some more HR 'training', which wasn't inspiring as the last HR training session I went to, I can tell you.  Lewes is a pretty town, so sorry about the photo which was taken from the car park - we were all so desperate to get back to the office ....

Here are some facts about Lewes - I didn't know this, but it is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, which runs through the northwest of the town.  The town is on the River Ouse in a gap in the South Downs and is equidistant between Newhaven and Brighton - and for any posh readers, it is only four miles from Glyndebourne.

Lewes has a Castle, Anne of Cleeves house (given to her following her divorce from Henry V111 although she never lived there) and a windmill which was owned by Virginia Woolf.

Lewes has had more than it's fair share of disaster - on 27th December 1836 tthere was the biggest avalanche recorded in English history caused the death of 8 people; in 1864 there was an earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale; and in October 2000, the town suffered major flooding.

Next trip out - Stevenage on Sunday ....

52-54/365 - Randomness ......

There have been complaints - lol - that I am not keeping this Blog up to date.  Apparently, there are people out there who actually visit and have a look see at the world, Sue style ... How cool is that?  So to my admirers (well, two of them anyway) my apologies and I will try and do better from now on.  They do say that February is the month of the lifeless ......

So here's an offering for 52/365  .... which saw me and My Favourite People aka my children, Matthew and Elizabeth and my grandson, The Gorgeous One, aka Finley William; and the lovely Rachel (Matt's girlfriend) all descend on their Dad for dinner .....

He lives on a Dutch barge on the Thames near Chertsey ....

This was because it is his birthday on Thursday and also because I got in first meeting the lovely Rachel and he wanted to meet her and that had to fit in with Matt's climbing schedule - are you following ....

The drama of the occasion was that Rachel is a vegetarian - when I met her it was easy - we went to a pub.  When I spent Friday evening over at my daughter's watching Eastenders there was a huge discussion  (after Eastenders of course) as to the menu - ex-husband was there as well.  He was all for cooking a side of beef  for us and raiding the Linda MacCartney cabinet at Asda's down the road from him, for her.  Elizabeth and I were horrified that he could think such a thing and we spent the rest of the evening poring over cook books.

The end result was scrumptious - I have to say he is a good cook.  For starters it was onion shells stuffed with goats cheese, tomatoes and pine nuts (he did those in a slow cooker).  Main course was mushroom and courgette lasagne with green vegetables.  Both courses were home made - he even made the tomato puree for the onion dish himself and was gutted when we told him he could have bought it in a tube - lol.  To finish was raspberry cheesecake - a bit of a comedown 'cos that came from Asda - lol.

Rachel was dead impressed that he had gone to so much trouble - especially as all Matt does is raid the Linda MacCartney cabinet - lol.

53/365 - was a nothing Monday.  I went to work really early for me (left home just after 7.15am) and came home just after 8.45pm.  It rained all day and I tried to get a load of work done but failed miserably due to the constant interruptions and seemingly never ending stream of visitors .....

54/365 - today - was a Day Off.  This was required so that I could watch that well-known shopping channel at midnight - without worrying that I wouldn't get up in the morning - and be able to watch said shopping channel all day.

 

So - today I have not got dressed ....note - this is one of my rather awful selection of winter nighties - got to keep warm haven't you - lol. I have munched my way through a good part of a chocolate caramel tray bake, and two bits of marmite on toast.  Watched quite a bit of TV.  Done two machine loads of washing.  Brought some crafting stuff downstairs to work on Matt's commission for the lovely Rachel's birthday surprise invitations; and generally relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Note to self - must do this more often ....

As a parting shot for today - well done Cheryl Cole - maybe I should invite her over for tea and the rest of the chocolate caramel tray bake - she isn't that far away from here .....  I wish her all the best ...

More tomorrow - promise .....

51/365 - My Favourite People .....

This weekend had been earmarked for Me Time - no visitors, no phone calls - but the best laid plans and all that .....

Last night I was invited to tea with my daughter and her partner, James, to watch Eastenders and see Who Did It - Stacey didn't figure in my reckoning at all - lol

Today - I thought was Mine.  I had got up, done the housework (well, as much as I do - lol), the washing machine was going and plans had been made.  Then - lo and behold two telephone calls and the house was full of my favourite people .....

Here's my two Number One men .......

Note the way Number One son has his coffee cup balanced on the edge of the TV cabinet - and that is after we had already had a mishap with Number One daughter's glass of squash being kicked all over the carpet.

After lunch and some general lounging about it was hair cut time.  First Number One son, who has loads of hair like mine - so the mess now included the kitchen - and then it was the turn of The Gorgeous One aka Finley William ....

Shame he only got the back and one side done - he got bored lol ....

Then all of a sudden they were gone, leaving their dear old Mum exhausted and having to do housework all over again .....

Still - I love them all dearly and I love having both of my kids here together ....

Oh yes - I know I have missed a whole week - life just simply got in the way ....

44/365 - Intolerable Cruelty .....

Some more commentating on what is going on (maybe I should get a soap box - lol).  Today, I feel compelled to talk about the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown ....

Over the past few days much has been said about his interview with Piers Morgan and how he  has talked about the death of his baby, Jennifer Jane.  Now I'm not a political animal by any means - I have too much going on in my own life and I don't understand half the shenanigans but I was totally gob-smacked by an item on the news today where they go through the newspapers and then showed a cartoon that is one of today's tabloids -

The cartoon pictured a red heart with a cupid and the slogan - Roses are red, Violets are blue, I am exploiting my family, Just for you .......

I think that is unbelievably cruel and totally disgusting.  I have never lost a child but I watched my mother suffer when my brother was killed.  The reasoning behind the Prime Minister's decision to talk about Jennifer Jane doesn't matter - the truth of the matter is that he and Sarah lost their child and everyone, including the gutter press should be compassionate and understanding ......

43/365 - The Blame Game ....

As I have said before, I don't consider myself a public commentator but the potential England football team intrigues, have captured my imaginiation today.  Not that I'm an expert - 22 grown man kicking an over-inflated pigs bladder around a large space and hugging and kissing each other every so often, could be considered a strange way to spend 90 minutes or so.

Anyways - the news that Ashley Cole is out of the England squad for three months because of his broken ankle and the fact that Wayne Bridge (sharing the cuckolded third side of the menage a trois) is the player that would replace him, that Chelsea lost last weekend and Fabio Cappello looks really cheesed off all the time at the moment about his knee - is bringing THAT story back .....

If England bomb at the World Cup there are now a number of 'suspects' as to why that happened, which will have nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that they might have been beaten by a better team.

I feel sorry for all of them - 'cept John Terry ....

42/365 - A Trip Down Memory Lane .....

In the news today was a lot about it being the 20th Anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela and how it was one of those Life Events that everyone remembered exactly what they were doing when he took that Walk of Freedom.  Sorry folks - I can't.  I can remember the event but not what I was doing ....

That said, I'm an admirer of the man and what he stood for, so today's photo is one taken in 2007 a couple of weeks after his statue was unveiled in Parliament Square (on one of my summer touristy visits to my home town) .......

Then the memory games stated - the Pause for Thought slot on the Chris Evans show was about Mr Mandela and South African apples; and the track played immediately after was by John Lennon.  Now I can remember exactly where I was when the news came out that he had been murdered - I was on the top deck of a bus going along Ealing Broadway - some bloke up the front had a radio (we did in those days - lol) and he just shouted it out - the bus was in chaos.

And it was just the same when JFK was shot.  Emergency Ward Ten  (remember that one) was on the TV and the lady along the road - Doris - was banging on our door in her curlers and dressing gown (we did that in those days too), crying loudly that he had been assassinated.

Today (partly because I have been thinking off and on about what I was doing when Nelson Mandela was freed), I have remembered all sorts of things - being allowed to stay up on a Sunday night and watch the Beatles for the first time at the London Palladium on the TV, my first day at 'big' school, the first time I saw the film Psycho (my parents realising that perhaps their parenting skills weren't the best, letting a 15 year old watch a late night horror film with them - lol), the first time I climbed the Monument in the City of London with my Dad, turning the page in the Ladybird Book of Nature that had the earthworm on it at the very, very edge of the corner becuase I didn't want to touch the worm because it might crawl up my arm - and the strangest one of all - loads of little details about my first date (which was a blind date - lol) with my ex-husband .....

The mind is a wonderful thing ......

And yes another one is missing - 41.  Got home too late last night

40/365 - Something For A Friend .....

Over the last week, me and my pal Sue (both of us crazy crafters) have been discussing buttons - whether to go to jumble sales and buy stuff with interersting buttons - just to cut them off (what is she like - lol) or whether to buy them.  In the end the Decision of the Week was made and I toddled off to a rather nice craft shop - The Glitter Pot - and got her these ......

All I have to do now is remember to take the blessed things to work to post them to her - lol ....
And yes - I know 38 and 39 are missing - I didn't want to - lol ....

37/365 - A Purely Personal View .....

I don't count myself as anything special - I try to live life cheerfully, compassionately, fairly, honestly and prosperously.  I get it wrong sometimes and act crazy as well sometimes - but I'm just like everyone else ....

 

I don't consider myself to be a public commentator either but two things in the last couple of days have captured my imagination -

The Man from Italy - he say No

The Man from Whitehall - he say Yes

I think both Fabia Cappello and Keir Starmer have done the right thing and, dare I say, been  exceptionally brave about it.

So what if other England Captains have had affairs, that was then, this is now.  John Terry is a role model to an already off track younger generation and if you can't help yourself and have to play  - you don't play in your own backyard.  What has struck me about this saga is his seemingly lack of caring for his family and his total selfishness - which appears to be totally driven by pounds, shillings and pence ..... Oh yes, and I don't believe for one minute that the other party won't kiss and tell - the whole mucky and sordid story will out - sooner or later, it always does - and probably all for money again .....

And as for the three MPs and one Lord - well.  Listening to two of them on the news last night - how dare they.  Well done Keir Starmer.  He might have done the wrong thing last week over the shockingly sad story of Kay Gilderdale but this week I think he's got it right ....

My Nan always used to say "What goes around, comes around" ......

And just one other thing (am on a roll here) that stupid 'Celebrity' marriage last week in Las Vegas - do we really care.  I definitely don't.  I think they should do to her what they did to Cheryl Cole  (quite like her) last week and show Katie what she might look like when she's 75.  Cheryl came out of that OK - Katie wouldn't stand a chance .....

Rant over - lol ....

36/365 - And For Those Who May Be Having A Friday Night Out ....

This large stone plaque is set in the wall of a house in a village near where I live .....

Click on the photo to read what it says.
It's one of those oddities of village life - no-one seems to know who put it there and why - but everyone talks about it .......

35/365 - Give Me A Sign ....

The last few weeks I have been taking a different route to work - to avoid numerous sets of roadworks - one of which involves three way traffic lights which is a total nightmare - can't be doing with sitting in the car doing nothing ....

This advertising sign on the edge of a field has been intriguing me for ages.  It means presumably something equestrian - so today I stopped (I was late anyway - lol) .......

If you're anything like me and know absolutely nothing about horses and all things equine, click on the photo to get their web address to find out what it means .....

34/365 - Breaking The One A Day Rule - Again ....

Another day off work today and we (me, my daughter and the Gorgeous One, aka Finley William) went shopping here ....

You'll never guess in a million why we went there .... you'll have to visit my other Blog to see why ....
Here's The Gorgeous One and his Mum ....

  

Oh yes - and they aren't posing - The Gorgeous One was most intrigued by the smashing glass noises coming from people recycling their bottles ....

33/365 - So Proud - and So In Love ....

I had the day off work today and had my grandson, the gorgeous Finley William, for the day.  I took 56 photos and no - I'm not going to post them all - not even the 12 that are really good - but here are just a couple ....
This is his way of saying Ooops - lol ....

Caught you Nanny ....

Utter gorgeousness ......

 

Thinking about it  ....

 

 Helping with the housework ...

 

And finally - having a nap ....

 

And - no - I'm not ashamed of breaking the Photo A Day rule ....

32/365 - Taking A Long Lunch .....

Today I did just that - and toddled off into town for some retail therapy on the bus - and here's the ticket ....

 

£2 for a journey that I could have walked in just over 25 minutes, or I could have driven and paid the exhorbitant car park fees - but today I thought I would do my bit for the planet.

So I got a new battery for my watch, a new chain for my favourite pendant, two tops and a long length sleeveless cardigan.

And just for Gail here is another piccie of Horsham ....

 

This is the town's 'centrepiece' - the Rising Universe or locally known as Shelley's Fountain.  It's supposed to go up and down by the power of water but it's broken, too expensive to fix and public opinion is divided as to whether it should be repaired or removed altogether.

Altogether quite sad, horrid posters attached to the Heras fencing, which was all wonky, not very many people about at all and a really quite grey day - but I enjoyed my shopping ....