Thursday, September 30, 2004
Full qualified hairdresser - ok, that's not exactly true....
You will remember me saying about my hairdressing course, well I've now had 2 lessons (hence the bit above not being entirely true, or infact anything remotely like the truth!!).... however, this past Tuesday Tony very kindly and bravely offered to be my first model, and was subjected to a hair cut - which, even if I do say so myself, went pretty well..... I am still looking for models, for class, and for practice, and if you're thinking about it but not 100% convinced, I'm sure Tony will give me a glowing reference!!
You will remember me saying about my hairdressing course, well I've now had 2 lessons (hence the bit above not being entirely true, or infact anything remotely like the truth!!).... however, this past Tuesday Tony very kindly and bravely offered to be my first model, and was subjected to a hair cut - which, even if I do say so myself, went pretty well..... I am still looking for models, for class, and for practice, and if you're thinking about it but not 100% convinced, I'm sure Tony will give me a glowing reference!!
Billy Connelly at the Hammersmith Apollo....
Well, me, G, Kate & Dunc went "up to town" last night and had the pleasure of seeing Billy Connelly live at the Hammersmith Apollo - he was, as you'd expect, very funny, and there were a couple of occasions when I, like most other people, were just crying with laughter! He did a good 2 1/2 hrs without a break, which was pretty impressive, and I just can't describe it to you, as he talked about so many things....but a fabulous evening!
Canal Boating...
Last weekend I joined mum & dad on their canal boat "swallowtail" and we went from Tewkesbury, down to Gloucester, and finally on to Sharpness... the boat is very nice - it was only built in January, so it is new and everything works well - like the heating: v important!! I was slightly disappointed on my arrival to find that I wouldn't be required to work any of the locks or bridges myself, but once we got underway, that didn't seem such a bad idea - partly because on Saturday it was cold and wet, but also because we were on the Severn at some points, so I'm not sure my weedy arm muscles would have managed to operate any of the locks! Also, there were lots of swing bridges, all manned, some with lots of high tech equipment, ie little old man sits in his office, cctv warns him of approaching boats, and then various buttons enable him to stop the road traffic and open the bridge, all without leaving his seat...... whilst some other poor sod, further down the river, had to walk across the bridge to manually lower each road barrier, and then hand wind round the bridge himself!! I hope he gets a turn in the nice warm office at some point!!
Well, me, G, Kate & Dunc went "up to town" last night and had the pleasure of seeing Billy Connelly live at the Hammersmith Apollo - he was, as you'd expect, very funny, and there were a couple of occasions when I, like most other people, were just crying with laughter! He did a good 2 1/2 hrs without a break, which was pretty impressive, and I just can't describe it to you, as he talked about so many things....but a fabulous evening!
Canal Boating...
Last weekend I joined mum & dad on their canal boat "swallowtail" and we went from Tewkesbury, down to Gloucester, and finally on to Sharpness... the boat is very nice - it was only built in January, so it is new and everything works well - like the heating: v important!! I was slightly disappointed on my arrival to find that I wouldn't be required to work any of the locks or bridges myself, but once we got underway, that didn't seem such a bad idea - partly because on Saturday it was cold and wet, but also because we were on the Severn at some points, so I'm not sure my weedy arm muscles would have managed to operate any of the locks! Also, there were lots of swing bridges, all manned, some with lots of high tech equipment, ie little old man sits in his office, cctv warns him of approaching boats, and then various buttons enable him to stop the road traffic and open the bridge, all without leaving his seat...... whilst some other poor sod, further down the river, had to walk across the bridge to manually lower each road barrier, and then hand wind round the bridge himself!! I hope he gets a turn in the nice warm office at some point!!
Monday, September 20, 2004
2 weeks later....
Well, it's already been 2 weeks since my last blog - how time flies! I'm really going to have to get better with this updating malarky!!
So what can I tell you? As usual, I've mostly been working.... I did get over to see G in lovely Swindon on the 11th, but then we went down to Hamble on the south coast near Southampton to see G's brother, sister-in-law and their little boy Henry.... considering he's not yet 3, he did very well and (with a bit of prior coaching from mum Tracey) had managed to say Caroline by the time we arrived on Saturday evening...it was always such a long name and I can remember numerous friends who used to call me Caro-lion or Calo-rion until about 6 ..... however Gerwyn is still far more difficult, and therefore he is known as uncle G!!
This weekend was quite quiet - mum and dad are off on the boat for 3 weeks, so I get to play housey all by myself....quite nice, if a little quiet at times! G came over on Saturday and was my guinea pig for a 3 course meal, as I've got Sal & Claire coming round on Thursday, and needed to practice! He was actually very complimentary and loved the pudding - even though he's "not a pudding person" - poached pears cooked in white wine, cinnamon & honey for those who are interested!!...... and then Kate & Dunc treated me to Sunday lunch at theirs, so it was nice not to have to cook again!!
Tomorrow night I'm starting a short hair dressing course - basic mens hair cuts, including clipper work, and then moving on to the girls - so if anyone needs a haircut and is prepared to risk their barnett, then you know where to find me!!!
Ciao for now!
Well, it's already been 2 weeks since my last blog - how time flies! I'm really going to have to get better with this updating malarky!!
So what can I tell you? As usual, I've mostly been working.... I did get over to see G in lovely Swindon on the 11th, but then we went down to Hamble on the south coast near Southampton to see G's brother, sister-in-law and their little boy Henry.... considering he's not yet 3, he did very well and (with a bit of prior coaching from mum Tracey) had managed to say Caroline by the time we arrived on Saturday evening...it was always such a long name and I can remember numerous friends who used to call me Caro-lion or Calo-rion until about 6 ..... however Gerwyn is still far more difficult, and therefore he is known as uncle G!!
This weekend was quite quiet - mum and dad are off on the boat for 3 weeks, so I get to play housey all by myself....quite nice, if a little quiet at times! G came over on Saturday and was my guinea pig for a 3 course meal, as I've got Sal & Claire coming round on Thursday, and needed to practice! He was actually very complimentary and loved the pudding - even though he's "not a pudding person" - poached pears cooked in white wine, cinnamon & honey for those who are interested!!...... and then Kate & Dunc treated me to Sunday lunch at theirs, so it was nice not to have to cook again!!
Tomorrow night I'm starting a short hair dressing course - basic mens hair cuts, including clipper work, and then moving on to the girls - so if anyone needs a haircut and is prepared to risk their barnett, then you know where to find me!!!
Ciao for now!
Monday, September 06, 2004
A Hectic Weekend!
Well, September is upon us, and it was a pretty hectic weekend - off to Swindon to Gerwyn's on Friday night, after rush hour traffic, then up to the NEC in Birmingham to an overseas property exhibition - so many things to think about, it's a bit difficult to know where to begin! It did give us some ideas about investing, but we definitely need to do more research!
Then out in Old Town in Swindon for a few drinks with some of G's friends... then Sunday morning driving back to Addlestone, before heading to The Pride of the Valley near Frensham for lunch, and then a walk round the pond - it was so warm, even at 4pm, and we did not have appropriate footwear, so trying to walk round the lake on sand in flip flops was challenging!! And there was a man trying to sunbathe, but lying on his front with a long sleeved top and a thong on - so all you could see was his hairy bum!! Disgusting!! And he was so close to the path you almost had to walk over his feet!! I tried to get Laura to arrest him for indecent exposure, but apparently there has to be intent to offend - it certainly offended me!!
And then after an early evening siesta, me, G, Kate & Dunc headed to the Peli for a few drinks, but they have spiders hanging in the conservatory, and one in particular kept dangling from the ceiling on his thread, climbing up and down, and I was getting a little paranoid that it was going to get caught in the revolving ceiling fan and come flying across the room at us!!!
This morning, cousin Martin & the new Mrs Paxton, Andrea, arrived back from their honeymoon in Kenya, so arrived in time for breakfast... sounds like they had a lovely time, spent a few days on safari and then a relaxing week at the beach.... both looking lovely and tanned, just not over joyed at the prospect of returning to work tomorrow......
Well, September is upon us, and it was a pretty hectic weekend - off to Swindon to Gerwyn's on Friday night, after rush hour traffic, then up to the NEC in Birmingham to an overseas property exhibition - so many things to think about, it's a bit difficult to know where to begin! It did give us some ideas about investing, but we definitely need to do more research!
Then out in Old Town in Swindon for a few drinks with some of G's friends... then Sunday morning driving back to Addlestone, before heading to The Pride of the Valley near Frensham for lunch, and then a walk round the pond - it was so warm, even at 4pm, and we did not have appropriate footwear, so trying to walk round the lake on sand in flip flops was challenging!! And there was a man trying to sunbathe, but lying on his front with a long sleeved top and a thong on - so all you could see was his hairy bum!! Disgusting!! And he was so close to the path you almost had to walk over his feet!! I tried to get Laura to arrest him for indecent exposure, but apparently there has to be intent to offend - it certainly offended me!!
And then after an early evening siesta, me, G, Kate & Dunc headed to the Peli for a few drinks, but they have spiders hanging in the conservatory, and one in particular kept dangling from the ceiling on his thread, climbing up and down, and I was getting a little paranoid that it was going to get caught in the revolving ceiling fan and come flying across the room at us!!!
This morning, cousin Martin & the new Mrs Paxton, Andrea, arrived back from their honeymoon in Kenya, so arrived in time for breakfast... sounds like they had a lovely time, spent a few days on safari and then a relaxing week at the beach.... both looking lovely and tanned, just not over joyed at the prospect of returning to work tomorrow......
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Ok - now I'm up to date!! The question is, can I keep it that way? Only time will tell! But right now I've got to get back to work...
August
Celine and Albert came over to stay and we had a very posh meal out at Foxhills, where many of the waiters were French, which made life easier for Albert, who really doesn’t speak much English…. Eric tried though!! You had to be there!!We did the tourist thing for the weekend – Windsor on Friday, Brighton on Saturday and Stone Henge/Avebury on Sunday, with Celine and Albert spending time in London on Thursday an Monday. Albert was definitely not a morning person, but as they both work nights in the police, I think their bodies are just used to a different time zone!
On the 7th, we took advantage of the good weather and Gerwyn had his microlight flight, which I’d bought him for his birthday - it was a glorious day and he really enjoyed it.
Our cousin Martin married Andrea in Northumberland on Saturday 21st and the celebrations were held in a marquee on Andrea’s family farm…. The weather as you will be aware was atrocious in August, but the sun came out that weekend, and we didn’t have to resort to wellies to get to the marquee! Kate had a bit too much white wine so our journey home involved a few more stops than anticipated!!
Claire Jones who I worked with at Avaya is heading off to New Zealand for a year with her husband, so she had a leaving party on the 26th, and on that occasion the white wine got to me...Friday was horrific, and I am never drinking that much wine again! No, honestly, I won't!!
Lisa, as you will no doubt know, has been back in the UK for a couple of weeks, doing the "Maggie" tour.... it was great to see them, and nice to see Maggie and Mia together briefly!
Celine and Albert came over to stay and we had a very posh meal out at Foxhills, where many of the waiters were French, which made life easier for Albert, who really doesn’t speak much English…. Eric tried though!! You had to be there!!We did the tourist thing for the weekend – Windsor on Friday, Brighton on Saturday and Stone Henge/Avebury on Sunday, with Celine and Albert spending time in London on Thursday an Monday. Albert was definitely not a morning person, but as they both work nights in the police, I think their bodies are just used to a different time zone!
On the 7th, we took advantage of the good weather and Gerwyn had his microlight flight, which I’d bought him for his birthday - it was a glorious day and he really enjoyed it.
Our cousin Martin married Andrea in Northumberland on Saturday 21st and the celebrations were held in a marquee on Andrea’s family farm…. The weather as you will be aware was atrocious in August, but the sun came out that weekend, and we didn’t have to resort to wellies to get to the marquee! Kate had a bit too much white wine so our journey home involved a few more stops than anticipated!!
Claire Jones who I worked with at Avaya is heading off to New Zealand for a year with her husband, so she had a leaving party on the 26th, and on that occasion the white wine got to me...Friday was horrific, and I am never drinking that much wine again! No, honestly, I won't!!
Lisa, as you will no doubt know, has been back in the UK for a couple of weeks, doing the "Maggie" tour.... it was great to see them, and nice to see Maggie and Mia together briefly!
July
July was mainly work, DIY… although Laura and I did have a weekend of car booting to try and get rid of our junk – didn’t do too badly either!!
I went to see Jools Holland live in Westernbirt Arboretum (open air, near Swindon) with G and some of his friends… it was really good, and we had a pic-nic and luckily the weather was good, so it was quite civilized really!
July was mainly work, DIY… although Laura and I did have a weekend of car booting to try and get rid of our junk – didn’t do too badly either!!
I went to see Jools Holland live in Westernbirt Arboretum (open air, near Swindon) with G and some of his friends… it was really good, and we had a pic-nic and luckily the weather was good, so it was quite civilized really!
June
Suzanne and Mia were down in Addlestone at the beginning of June, so I had a chance to catch up with them before heading off to France for the weekend to see Celine (my pen friend from a school exchange when I was 12!) getting married to Albert…. I got the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe on Friday afternoon, and then drove down to St Lo, arriving early evening. I had dinner with the family and met Albert, his sister, parents, and aunt & uncle, before heading off to a local hotel for the night – only to find that the room Celine and Albert had booked me was already occupied by some other wedding guests!! So Albert came back to find me and bring me back to Celine’s and I ended up sleeping in her bed, whilst she and Albert slept on cushions in the lounge!! I did try to convince Albert that they couldn’t sleep in the lounge on the night before their wedding, however as it was his mistake in double-booking the hotel, he would not budge – never argue with a policeman!! The wedding day was beautiful: the marriage at the Town Hall, then on to the church for the ceremony, and finally to the reception…. We had champagne and nibbles – French style this was cakes rather savoury snacks, which was a bit weird, but very nice!! We then all loitered and chatted and drank more champagne… there were a few photos taken and then we all went for a walk around the lake across the road – were were at a place called Torigni sur Vire, just south of where Celine lives – looking back it all looks very bourgeois and reminds me of stories by Guy de Maupassant….
Anyway, we finally sat down to dinner at 8pm!!! The food was lovely, and there were about 5 courses, but in between each course the dj – who was at our table – got up, put some music on and got us dancing – a very interesting way to get your food digesting. So dinner didn’t finish til 2am, and then the dancing really started!! The evening also include an impromptu “Mr and Mrs” style game show, which Celine and Albert did not know about, but managed to win! And Albert, being from Dunkerque, had organised a mini Dunkerque carnival, with him and his friends and family dressing up and singing and dancing for the rest of us……. At about 4am, having drunk quite a bit, but feeling surprisingly sober, I, and a load of others got in our cars and made the 10 minute drive to a gite/dorm that Celine had hired and we all passed out……I slept superbly, although some people said there was a lot of snoring – I’m sure it wasn’t me!!!! The next day, there was yet more celebrations – a buffet lunch, but I had to head back to Dieppe at 1, so I helped Celine’s mum set things up then headed off…. Had to do a detour round Caen, as this was the weekend of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches, so they’d closed the motorway! Got to see some nice countryside!!
Other than that it was more DIY weekends at Gerwyn’s – if you’re quick, you could go to Haart in Swindon’s web site and search for 2 bedroom flats and you’ll find his one…
Oh, and I think there was the European Football Cup or something like that, but if you’re really interested, ask someone else!!
Suzanne and Mia were down in Addlestone at the beginning of June, so I had a chance to catch up with them before heading off to France for the weekend to see Celine (my pen friend from a school exchange when I was 12!) getting married to Albert…. I got the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe on Friday afternoon, and then drove down to St Lo, arriving early evening. I had dinner with the family and met Albert, his sister, parents, and aunt & uncle, before heading off to a local hotel for the night – only to find that the room Celine and Albert had booked me was already occupied by some other wedding guests!! So Albert came back to find me and bring me back to Celine’s and I ended up sleeping in her bed, whilst she and Albert slept on cushions in the lounge!! I did try to convince Albert that they couldn’t sleep in the lounge on the night before their wedding, however as it was his mistake in double-booking the hotel, he would not budge – never argue with a policeman!! The wedding day was beautiful: the marriage at the Town Hall, then on to the church for the ceremony, and finally to the reception…. We had champagne and nibbles – French style this was cakes rather savoury snacks, which was a bit weird, but very nice!! We then all loitered and chatted and drank more champagne… there were a few photos taken and then we all went for a walk around the lake across the road – were were at a place called Torigni sur Vire, just south of where Celine lives – looking back it all looks very bourgeois and reminds me of stories by Guy de Maupassant….
Anyway, we finally sat down to dinner at 8pm!!! The food was lovely, and there were about 5 courses, but in between each course the dj – who was at our table – got up, put some music on and got us dancing – a very interesting way to get your food digesting. So dinner didn’t finish til 2am, and then the dancing really started!! The evening also include an impromptu “Mr and Mrs” style game show, which Celine and Albert did not know about, but managed to win! And Albert, being from Dunkerque, had organised a mini Dunkerque carnival, with him and his friends and family dressing up and singing and dancing for the rest of us……. At about 4am, having drunk quite a bit, but feeling surprisingly sober, I, and a load of others got in our cars and made the 10 minute drive to a gite/dorm that Celine had hired and we all passed out……I slept superbly, although some people said there was a lot of snoring – I’m sure it wasn’t me!!!! The next day, there was yet more celebrations – a buffet lunch, but I had to head back to Dieppe at 1, so I helped Celine’s mum set things up then headed off…. Had to do a detour round Caen, as this was the weekend of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches, so they’d closed the motorway! Got to see some nice countryside!!
Other than that it was more DIY weekends at Gerwyn’s – if you’re quick, you could go to Haart in Swindon’s web site and search for 2 bedroom flats and you’ll find his one…
Oh, and I think there was the European Football Cup or something like that, but if you’re really interested, ask someone else!!
May
May was spent working at Delta… It was also, as you will all well know, my birthday, and Gerwyn treated me to a night up in London and we went to see Jail House Rock, which was really good! Other than that, there were a lot of evenings out, catching up with people, and weekends spent at Swindon decorating Gerwyn’s flat… It was Gerwyn’s birthday on the 28th, so we went to see a guy called Brendan Burns at the Swindon art centre – it was actually a really good laugh, but a tiny venue, with what seemed like only 30 people in the audience! The guy, who was Australian, did 2 acts, the first being “Burnsy” – very foul mouthed, but once you’d got over the shock of that, he was actually hilarious – and then “Brendan Burns” – just himself, and much more timid!!
May was spent working at Delta… It was also, as you will all well know, my birthday, and Gerwyn treated me to a night up in London and we went to see Jail House Rock, which was really good! Other than that, there were a lot of evenings out, catching up with people, and weekends spent at Swindon decorating Gerwyn’s flat… It was Gerwyn’s birthday on the 28th, so we went to see a guy called Brendan Burns at the Swindon art centre – it was actually a really good laugh, but a tiny venue, with what seemed like only 30 people in the audience! The guy, who was Australian, did 2 acts, the first being “Burnsy” – very foul mouthed, but once you’d got over the shock of that, he was actually hilarious – and then “Brendan Burns” – just himself, and much more timid!!
