George Mansions

Much Marcle Steam Rally

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:46:11 GMT

Today we went to the Much Marcle Steam Rally. Much Marcle means three things to me. It’s where Weston’s Cider is made, it’s adjacent to where my father in law was born and lived his young life and it’s where Fred West lived and buried his first wife and child. (in the Finger Post field)

It’s sort of in the back of beyond but near to the M50 and if ever a place was rural, then this is it.

We arrived for Mike to open the Rally and he was invited to enter the ring on Lord Lascelles, considered the finest Traction Engine in the world.

Here are some of the other exhibits

Good to see that it's not just old men that have a love for these machines.

Not everything is exclusively steam, there is room for petrol,

diesel

and even paraffin,

oh, and not forgetting pedal power.

But my favourites were the farm machinery.

I loved the way two Traction Engines pulled this plough up the field, with two extra people for ballast.

I remember a combine harvester like this on the farm where I used to spend my school holidays, this one is from 1963!! It makes me feel a bit of an antique!

It was one of the best days out we have had in a long time.

It continues tomorrow, 20th July, if you are near enough to visit.

And next weekend is the Welland Steam Rally (next to the Malvern 3 Counties Showground) which is even bigger. 25th, 26th & 27th

http://www.wellandsteamrally.co.uk/index.htm

I am still here!

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:53:30 GMT

It’s been more than a month since The Race for Life and I have been told off for not getting an entry in about it. Where has that time gone? For those who were wondering, no, I wasn’t hospitalised after the event, just madly busy. A big thank you to all those who sponsored me, I raised a total of just over £200, an amount matched by the other members of The Black Country Gob team.

It was a beautiful day

and everything went well for us. We didn’t do a wonderful time, due to the vast number of us cramming into paths, that were only wide enough for two at times.

The Black Country Gob team did it in an hour. My sister and niece went off with the runners at the front (very ambitious) and they got round in 35 minutes. Not bad but I don’t see the 2012 Olympics beckoning.

I would definitely like to do it again next year.

The Race coincided with the arrival of Catherine’s In Laws, Vera and Biff, so the next few days were taken up in entertaining them. We did Cream Tea in the Cotswolds (Chipping Camden),

a real Indian food night out and then I had them all round for dinner here at George Mansions. So it was a busy few days and then at the end of the week, we had Isabella’s second birthday party.

The following week there was the annual Year trip to The Butterfly Farm at Stratford upon Avon. We also went on a boat trip on the River Avon, this is how the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is looking at the moment.

It rained almost all the time we were outside but it didn’t spoil the day. It was just a little annoying though to find ,when we returned to Worcester, only about 20 miles away, that it had been dry there all day! So I still had to go and water the allotment!

Then I went on a Year 2 trip, all day to Worcester Cathedral. I must say that I think a morning would have been enough, we were all flagging by half past two.

Two Friday’s ago it was the School Summer Fayre.

One of the teachers I work with got the chance to put into practice the 'Positive Handling' Course we went on recently, whilst restraining a truculent, oversized bear.

What hard work that day was was. Humping tables and putting up Gazebos and later dismantling them.

We had the annual Family Picnic on the last Sunday in June. It rained but were we deterred, no, of course not, we’re British!

I would show you some pictures but AOL has decided to not let me. I'll try to put those in later.

Catherine and I have bought tickets for a sort of festival weekend in September, We shall be camping. The first time I have ever been to a camping event. I did have a tent on a farm in Mid Wales when I was eighteen but to be honest, the only thing I remember from that was the sex!! LOL!!! And being woken at 6 am by a sheep that had climbed onto the roof and was licking the canvas. I was with S H who was the first love of my life and we were together for nearly three years.

Anyway, Catherine and I are going to a sort of mystical, healing weekend, which also celebrates the Old Gods and therefore the seasons. I was talking about this in the Staff Room at school. We have a couple of ‘Happy Clappy’ Christians. They like to go on Christian camping weekends, yet you would have thought I had said I was going on a boil a baby weekend. I am totally tolerant of other people’s beliefs and religions but it strikes me that the more zealous you are of your own beliefs, the less tolerant you are of other people’s. This opinion was reinforced by watching Louis Theroux (sp?) recently who spent some months with a truly horrid religious group in America. They were billed as the most hated family in America. I can understand, after seeing the programme, why people would think that.

So when I return from the weekend, I shall take pleasure in showing off my photos of the Wicker Man ceremony because I believe I have as much right to my beliefs as anyone else and as we won‘t actually be hurting, or killing anyone, (unlike the film) and only trying to heal people and this ravaged land of ours, why would anyone have a problem with it? Who is to say who is right?

Black Country Gob

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:24:41 GMT

This isn’t my normal entry. I’ve been so busy lately I’ve not had time to write about what’s been happening at George Mansions.

Apart from the allotment and a dozen other things, I have also been working on a website I am a Moderator of. It’s called Black Country Gob, it’s new and expanding, covering all aspects of life in The Black Country now and historically.

My particular interests are The Gallery, Local History, Recipes and Genealogy. My project this weekend was to trace the River Stour from its source to the point where it joins the River Severn at Stourport.

The photos of the Stour can be found here

http://blackcountrygob.com/Photogallery/thumbnails.php?album=80

I also want to help people searching the Internet for family, or historic photos by putting the links in here, as I believe the names should then come up in the Search Engines, at present the photos in the Gallery don’t. So for my regular readers, please excuse this post, I shall be back with a proper entry soon.

Linda x.

Race for life Day!!

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:12:00 GMT

I’m up really early, as today is Race for life day. As Mum used to say, what’s the matter? Wet the bed?

I need to leave here before 8.30 and when the dawn chorus of Bird Scarers, on neighbouring farmland, woke me at 4.40, I just couldn’t get back to sleep.

If anyone wants to sponsor me, it’s not too late, or just follow the link and see my sponsorship page. Race for Life Thank you for those who have already sponsored me.

I did think a couple of weeks ago that I might not be able to take part today. That was because we went to Bath to see Chloe, Mike’s grandaughter was in a play in the theatre there. Blackbird and whilst there I did something very silly.

The play was very, powerful and the acting excellent. The two characters are exhausted and sweating by the end of it, as it involves fighting and sex. But it’s not without moments of humour. Chloe had a short role at the end of the play and comes on to gasps from the audience because her appearance is so unexpected. I won’t say any more in case it spoils it for anyone who may be going to see it.

We were very proud of Chloe. I know Mike was a bit uncomfortable about the content of the play, his baby is only 13 after all. I asked her if she had heard the whole play and she said yes. I said, well I expect there was nothing that you haven’t heard before. She said, No, I hear it all the time at school. As she goes to a private all girls school in Bath, I found that rather amusing. Kids! They’re the same everywhere, regardless of wealth, background and social position.

We went for an early dinner afterwards, on the way back to the car, Chloe and her sister Abigail were in front and doing that thing where you bring your foot up behind you, while you’re walking, to kick the person you are walking alongside, on the bottom. I used to do that to Mike years ago, when we were first married and I was still young and supple. I thought I’d have a go again. So I did. Now the fact I was wearing high heels should have deterredme. But it didn’t. Mike, who should have known better said, that wasn’t very good, you used to be better. So of course I did it again, harder. As I put my foot back down, Mike side stepped, so I stepped on his foot and fell over! I really thought I’d broken my ankle but thankfully it seems I only sprained it! Dear me, will I ever grow up.? Hopefully not. LOL!

I’ve had a lovely day out during half term, with a ‘girl’ I used to work with, we met again through my Black Country Gob website. We spent the day walking round Halesowen photographing places of interest for The Gallery on the website.

Simon was put on standby to be transferred to another submarine and could have gone to sea last weekend, so they gave him a few days off. He asked me to go down and stay with them for a couple of days. The weather was atrocious but it was good to see them and we had some lovely fish meals out while I was there. Platters in The Barbican is excellent. In the end he wasn’t transferred but he will be going to sea soon. I hate that. My step son-in law is away on his boat at present (That’s what they call submarines) and we don’t expect to see him until late summer. It’s hard having family in the forces.

Must go and get showered now and have some breakfast. I know we won’t be making a fast time but at least we are going to do our best and hopefully will be home before dark!!

The Last Cuckoo (as opposed to the first)

Sat, 24 May 2008 10:05:57 GMT

I don’t know why the gaps between entries are so long, I keep meaning to write an entry but there is always so much to do.

Since last entry, I have had another practice walk with my friends for The Race For Life, we picked a hot Sunday afternoon and climbed up, over and around Wychbury Hill . For someone that would struggle to walk more than a mile, I did very well and some of it was very steep, so steep it even managed to shut the four of us up for a while! LOL.

If you want to hear talk, just put three middle aged Black Country women together for a while. It must be genetic.

The Bluebell Woods were beautiful

and the views

The old Obelisk is looking perilous these days and the graffiti refers to the remains of a woman found in a tree in the woods. Rumours abound as to who she was but she is known as Bella and may have been a German Spy in the war, or, more sinister, a victim of witchcraft, which was very widespread in the Clent Hills, of which Wychbury is one. "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm has been scrawled on walls for decades."

When I got home we had a barbeque and my sort of adopted daughter, Lucy came round. Mike is as bad as the children at school for rocking on his chair and it serves him right that I took this photo before I helped him up!

The allotment is coming on well, although slower than I would like. It was just a mass of weeds and clearing it has been hard work. There is Mare’s Tail everywhere, which is the devil itself to get rid of.

I will get some photos this week and of the garden too, which is starting to look good again after it’s drowning last summer.

Catherine, Flo and Isabella have been to seeFlo’s family in Germany for a week, which left me looking after their cats. That wouldn’t have been such a problem but Milly (the one that went missing for a month) got bitten by a neighbourhood Tom and developed an abscess on her hind quarters. So , twice a day I had to drive over there, give her anti-biotics and bathe her wound, remove the ‘lightshade ‘ she had round her head to let her eat and clean herself up a bit and generally clear up the mess that two, bored, housebound cats can make.

I mentioned in the last entry I went on a trip with year One at school. I said how I enjoyed being with the younger children. Guess what, in September I’m being moved to Year Two! I’m a bit disappointed, as I was looking forward to next year in Year 4 but no doubt I shall enjoy myself with the little uns. The teacher I will be with, I have worked with before and we got on very well, so it will be a challenge learning a new curriculum but I think also that it will be a little less exhausting.

Last week we finally heard a Cuckoo, here at George Mansions. This is the latest we have ever heard one and we kept saying how we wish one would arrive. Last year we didn’t have one at all and in previous years, we normally only hear them fleetingly. By careful what you wish for!!! This one has moved in and hardly stops, it’s going from 5am until dusk and yesterday for good measure it flew right past the open office window and cuckooed right in my ear!

From what I know of their habits, they are not a very nice bird, using other, poor unsuspecting birds to raise their offspring, at the expense of their own little ones. I imagine the call is basically, to attract any passing Cuckoos, in effect it’s shouting, here I am, come and get me. Which makes you wonder why we so look forward to hearing the blessed things.

We went to dinner at the new house of some very old friends last night. The bought the land and had the house built, it's beautiful with the most lovely view across Ledbury. Wehad a lovely evening, old friends are always so comfortable.

Catherine returned last night, they had a good time but Isabella was spoiled rotten. She isn't normally allowed too much sugar but she was fed ice cream and cake all the time. Catherine and Flo went out on their own and left Isabella with her german Grandma Vera (Oma) under strict instructions, NO CAKE!!

When they returned and got Isabella into the car, she straightaway volunteered the information

"I did it, cake"

Catherine asked what she meant. She said "Idid it, cake, at Oma's house"

What sort of cake did you have Isabella?

" Stwawbewy Cake" LOL!

I think you got caught out there Vera!!

Were off to see Mike’s eldest grandaughter in a play in the Theatre in Bath this afternoon, so I’d better get myself ready now. I’ll tell you about it next time.

Tags: blogplugs, aoljournals

The Aftermath

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 09:43:45 GMT

The above pictures are of the brook at the bottom of my garden, last weekend.

Apart from some aches and pains and a few bruises, from the chicken rescue, I’m OK today. I’m grateful that my home is safe but the devastation that I am hearing about today is almost unbelievable.

This is how the gardens were looking by the time I'd finished rescuing the chickens, I have to realise now I had been putting my own life at risk. That is next door's large Wendy House. Those posts you can see are holding six feet tall fence panels.

I’ve just heard Mike on his Radio programme talking to a lady who is stuck on a Narrowboat on the River Avon, they are tied to a post in floodwaters and are in fear for their lives.

I could cry for all the weddings that aren’t going to happen today.

Last night the flood waters made it up onto the patio, this meant the chickens had to be moved into the garage.

Thankfully I never followed up the bee keeping idea, that's my beehive floating by.

Our road was flooded at the lower end and the end house was in danger of being flooded, people were trying to organise sandbags.
I've heard this morning she had about a foot of water in but Malcolm, our neighbourhood Super Hero, got her carpets up last night and has been helping mop up this morning.
By the time I started cooking dinner it was very late. Mike popped next door again to see if Becky was OK, as she has three children, one only a few months old. Her husband is stuck at his place of work in Gloucestershire.

Mike walked back in and called “Stand by for the Mayor and the Leader of the local Council.” Sure enough they then passed through my kitchen to have a look at our flood. I was at this time on my second glass of wine, tired, emotional and in need of food. My hair was still dripping wet. I think it was a surreal moment for all of us.

We missed a party in Cheltenham last night. Tonight we are supposed to be having a special meal in Worcester City. That won’t happen. We can’t get into Worcester, in fact we are almost cut off from the rest of the world.

Our personal flooding is abating now but the rest will get much worse. It’ takes days for the flood waters to pass down the River Severn from Wales. I don’t like to think how much worse it can get.

Simon is safe at his Dad’s but I’m not sure he will get here tomorrow.

What a happy start to the holidays!

Other photos :-

This is the road at the other side of the playing field, just yards from our garden.

The Wendy House is now gone!

Nearly on the patio!

Tags: Worcester Floods, Fooding

Grumpy Old Woman!

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:44:25 GMT

It looks as if Summer is finally on it’s way!! We’ve had two barbeques this week and at last we are getting the garden sorted. It’s been almost 10 months since we did any real work out there. We both lost heart after the terrible flood last July and for much of that time it has been too muddy to spend much time down there anyway.

We did some heavy pruning a couple of weeks ago and then the weather went off again but today we managed to have a bonfire to get rid of all the prunings (so much for our Carbon Footprint!),

Mike mowed what is left of the lawn

and I set about the flowerbeds.

There was still rubbish left from the floods last July.

Lots more to do but the improvement is considerable.

******

I still haven’t quite made it to a loss of a stone at Fat Fighters but mine and Mike’s birthdays have scuppered that. I’m hoping that this week I will get there and with that in mind we’re eating fish. That’s what I cooked on the BBQ tonight. Basa, which is a lovely white fish and is apparently a Vietnamese Catfish. (oops, buggered up the Carbon Footprint again!!!). Salmon steaks and Cod Loin wrapped in Parma Ham. All of these are classed as ‘Free Food’ in Slimmer’s World, so, bring it on! I’ll eat as much as I like.

There’s a tale behind the Cod Loins. Wednesday evening, I had literally just parked my bum on the toilet seat, in the hope of wringing out the very last drops of anything, before going to be weighed at Fat Fighters, when there was a knock at the door.

It was Gustov. This is a man, who says he is South African but has the weirdest accent I’ve ever come across and he sells frozen food from a van. I have bought from him in the past but for thelast eighteen months I have made excuses. Now whether it was the urgent need to return to the loo, or what, I don’t know but somehow I ended up trotting, barefoot, up the drive to have a look at his frozen delights. I ended up parting with £38 for a large bag of HUGE Cod Loins. Having seen the price in Sainsbury’s lately, they seemed a pretty good buy and tonight, wrapped in Parma Ham and cooked in one of those vented, foil dishes on the BBQ, well, Mike and I had to keep telling ourselves, it was one of the best meals we have ever eaten.

I just love Sainsbury’s the salad was fresh cut from lettuce they now sell growing in a little pack and as I can’t have oil based dressing, salads could have been a bit dull but not now. I forked out £11 for a bottle of their finest Balsamic Vinegar. What!! you exclaim!! But it isn’t as mad as it sounds. A little splash onto salad, or new potatoes and there is no need for an oil based dressing and it lasts for ages. I bought this bottle last summer in a fit of indulgence, not knowing then it would turn into such a valuable resource now I am dieting.

The allotment is coming along well, I earthed up the potatoes on Tuesday and Sue planted her Broad Beans yesterday, I hope to go and plant mine tomorrow. My only concern now is, with the good weather, I am going to have to try and sort out watering things, not a consideration until this week.

******

A couple of nights ago I turned into 'angry Worcester Woman'. I think this was something from a Tony Blair campaign. They felt they had to target, middle class, middle England voters and hit on the idea of Worcester Woman. Well I am one very pissed off Worcester Woman, thanks to Gordon and his cronies. My job, which gets more arduous by the day, has just been awarded a derisory pay award, which doesn’t anywhere near touch inflation. Then, at the same time I lost the 10p tax band, which means (Thanks Gordon!) now, after my annual increase, I am £1.06 a month better off.

Gordon, realising he has made one almighty cock-up, has tried to pour oil on troubled waters by saying he will make amends by doing some jiggery pokery with the Family Credits and the Pension Credits. Well, whoopee doo!! I don’t qualify for either. So Gordon, mate, @@@@ off!

I wrote to David Cameron, telling him of my thoughts and situation and had a very nice e-mail back from some flunky.

Dear Linda,

I am replying on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your e-mail, regarding the Government’s abolition of the 10p tax band.

We are grateful to you for your comments, and for taking the trouble to get in touch. The Conservative Party has been campaigning very hard against this tax rise which has been targeted at some of the least well-off in our country. Despite Gordon Brown’s claim that no-one would lose out, the Treasury has now confirmed that 5.3 million families are paying more tax and will be worse off.

Only when faced with political defeat in the House of Commons vote, did Gordon Brown perform a humiliating U-turn and agreed to re-open the Budget, despite previously saying that this was not possible.

Of course, we welcome the Government’s climb down. However, even since this announcement, questions remain over exactly how many of the 5.3 million families will be compensated. As ever with this Prime Minister, it is important to look at the small print.

As you may know, the Finance Bill was passed by 304 votes to 262. A Conservative amendment to the legislation, which would have forced the Government to submit any compensation package to a vote in Parliament, was defeated. However, I assure you that the Conservatives will keep the pressure on Gordon Brown to be straight about who will lose out. We will also continue to fight against this tax hike, which George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, has described as "immoral" because it is targeted at those on the lowest incomes. The lesson from this whole episode is clear – sadly, the only time Gordon Brown listens is when he faces personal defeat.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write about this issue.

Yours sincerely,

Edward Young
Office of the Leader of the Opposition
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

All very nice but basically, Blah, Blah Blah!!

******

Went on a day trip out with Year One, that was a surprise, I was told I was going with Year 2. It was a lovely day out and we went to an Environmental Centre which was a touch odd as it was in the grounds of an electricity sub station. Having a picnic area under an electricity pylon seemed bizarre to say the least.

But, the bluebell woods were lovely and the ankle biters don’t back chat in the way their older siblings do, so it was a very pleasant day out.

Won a tenner on the Lottery. Didn’t win the Premium Bonds, so I guess I’ll keep on working but I’ve been to school the last two mornings with the roof down on my car, which has been wonderful, I can smell new mown grass and flowers as I crawl along in the traffic choked roads that are Worcester in the rush hour! So it’s not all bad.

Cake and other, less important, matters.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:45:27 GMT

I’ve been a bad, bad, Blogger!! I just don’t get around to writing as often as I should.

The weekend before last was my birthday and every moment was accounted for.

On the Saturday I went up to Rowley Regis, home of my fore-fathers and checked into a small hotel. There I met a lady I had never met before. We have been ’online friends’ for a couple of years now, maybe longer. We have both been researching our family from Rowley Regis and as she had come down from Scotland on a business trip, we decided to meet up and to extend the invitation to other members of the website that we use.

As soon as we met, face to face, we knew we would get on. We spent Saturday afternoon at the Black Country Museum and had a whale of a time, going down the mine, eating chips fried in dripping and as she said “ Helping out the ladies in the cake shop” by eating up their stock.

In the evening we rolled down the hill from the hotel to an old, traditional Black Country, real ale pub, where we met up with other Members of the website. One of them was a girl I worked with when we were 17 and 18 years old . We hadn’t seen each other for 37 years, yet I knew her as soon as she walked in the door. I’ve no idea when I ever spent from 6.30 until, being thrown out, after midnight, in a pub but we had the best time. Everyone got on so well, it was as if all our online banter had just developed into 3D.

I don’t know if it could ever be as good again but we certainly hope to try.

Sunday was my birthday and I went out for tea and cake with Catherine, Flo and Isabella.

Then Monday was our wedding anniversary, our 24th. We had dinner at the Glasshouse, run by Shaun Hill, who used to own The Merchant House at Ludlow, which was considered to be the best restaurant in England. The food was fabulous and the best thing is, it’s not terribly expensive. We’re going there for Brunch this coming Sunday, which will be Mike’s birthday. May the fourth, as in Stars Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you!!

This last weekend was the open garden at Little Larford, Astley Burf . I went two years ago and posted a photo of Catherine, looking largely pregnant. This time I went with her and Isabella. Flo stayed home to watch the Grand Prix.

Mike had done a feature on the opening in his gardening programme. This year there were 20,000 tulips and 3,000 Narcisii.

These were a variety being trialed for a bulb producer. They were my favourite, I think. There are over 140 varieties there, so it's hard to be sure!

And here's my little Isabella Rose, amongst the tulips.

Just a few of the many varities of tulips there.

He’d better not feature it next year! It was far too popular, we couldn’t manage to get any of their wonderful Raspberry fresh cream cake, which was very disappointing.

Isabella is so funny. We went to the farm shop after the garden and as soon as I pulled up outside, she said “Cake!!” She remembered we’d been there the week before for cake.

They had been to Stoke for a fancy dress party the day before. Isabella was dressed as Stephanie from Lazy Town. She looked so cute, I will get some photos of that soon. When the other people turned up in costume, she was a bit scared and started saying. “Mummy’s car, home” She may not say a lot but she knows how to get her point across.

She can count to fourteen in English and six in German. Not bad for twenty two months old. She loves to talk on the phone and will have pretend conversations with her toy phone. This little clip was made for her Grandma in Germany. In German that is Omah, only I don’t know if that is how you spell it.

On my birthday we also went to open a Dog Show at Eastnor Castle. It was for the charity that we got Rowley from.. We managed to get through that without a major incident but he really doesn’t like other dogs. We met up with his ’brother’ Ginger from the family he used to live with. That really freaked him out. They used to get on together but Rowley got very aggressive and then turned his back on Ginger and started backing himself up my leg. I’m convinced he thought that he was going to have to go back to that awful place. Poor boy.

School is a nightmare, never have I known such a badly behaved year group. I have my thoughts on the reasons, they are just not being shown enough discipline and the next year group teachers will be having a very tough time with them in September.

One boy, today, called me a big fat cow! This was upsetting for two reasons. One, I wasn’t having anything to do with him at the time. Two, I’ve lost nine and a half pounds since I joined Slimming World six weeks ago, so I feel that if I’m a big fat cow now, I don’t want to know what I was before.

NO!! This was upsetting for three reasons. The boy that called me that is nine years old and he weighs over fourteen stone! That’s heavier than me. He was obviously using words that have been used against him, which is sad. Then again…. Pot, kettle?????

My football team are going up!! Well, it’s almost certain, so we will be back in the Premier. That’s exciting. I shall have to try and get to a few more matches next season.

The rain is coming down in a way that makes one think of building an Ark, whatever is wrong with our weather? Fingers crossed I don’t have to go and do a chicken rescue in the middle of the night. I pray you all have dry feet.

Linda x.

Saturday Morning.

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:28:03 GMT

Well, Mike’s still talking to me after his surprise photo appeared in here. He seemed to find it quite funny and he’s had comments at work by people who have also seen it. He found it hard to believe that happened while he was asleep.

Last Sunday we woke to a blanket of snow, the first we’ve had this Winter, only now it’s Spring!!

I let Rowley out into the garden and didn’t say anything, I just wanted to see what his reaction was. You can see on this clip. (Turn your speakers on there is music too)

My beloved West Bromwich Albion got knocked out of the FA Cup, at the semi final stage, at Wembley last Saturday, which was a bit depressing. More so for Mum and Wilf, they’d got up at 5 in the morning to go.

Then in the week we slaughtered Blackpool 3-1, to go top of the League!!!!!!!

All the males of the family support Watford (Huh!!) and they are just two points below us. West Brom are playing Watford today, it’s a home match for us, emotions will be running high. The winner today will get 3 points, so you can see what a vital match this is. Especially as Watford were abysmal in their mid week match and missed a chance of gaining three points against lowly Barnsley. They were so bad David, my stepson said he’d burnt the tickets to today’s match. The top two teams will go up to the Premier League. I hope it’s both of us, as this is the first year we’ve been in the same League for about 5 years, we keep swapping places.

So Mike, David and I are going together but I shall go and sit with Wilf, the men can go and join the Watford lot. Mum can’t come, she’s been called into hospital for tests on her painful back. She’s in for a week! I can’t understand it, they don’t keep you in that long after major surgery these days. Still, if they can get rid of some of her pain it will be worth it.

I had a blip with the diet this week, gained half a pound, not sure why because up until the day of Slimmer’s World, my scales had been showing a 2 pound loss. My friend lost four and a half pounds, was Slimmer of the Week and won the Raffle If you ask me, that’s just showing off!!!

She’s almost lost a stone now and I haven’t managed to do a half yet, (Message to self) I must make more effort!!! Would Liposuction be cheating?

Isabella’s coming on really quickly with her talking. We were counting marbles and sorting them into colours when she said, “I get one more” her longest sentence so far and the thing is, she did get one more and put it to make a group of five. I want to make numbers fun for her, so that she isn’t like the children I work with at school, who, at the age of nine, can’t add 10 to a small number without doing it on their fingers. They really worry me.

A big thank you to Wendy for sponsoring me this week in The Race for Life It’s less than two months away now.

I’ve lost loved ones to cancer but this last week we heard such a sad tale. Mike went to do an interview with a couple, who have young children. The wife had breast cancer a few years ago, she was one of the lucky ones that had Herceptin prescribed and it worked but apparently it can’t prevent cancer in the brain and that is where she has it now. The prospects are poor and I can’t help but be reminded of J-Lands much missed Kim. Only this lady has a youngest child of five years old, who has been told by a school friend “Your Mummy’s cancer is back and now she’s going to die.” You have to ask yourself what on earth some adults can have been thinking of, to let that information be passed onto a child.

The couple did the interview for Mike’s Sunday Morning Religious programme, they had wanted to discuss where their faith, or lack of it came into this sort of situation.

I’m sitting here on a lovely April morning, the sun is shining and birdsong is drifting in through the open window beside me. My adoring dog is curled up on the floor at my feet, the cats are dozing on sunny windowsills. I feel relaxed and at peace. Oh! What a contrast from the sweating, screaming, hordes, of which I shall be one at 5.20 this evening! LOL.

AOL Community Challenge-POSTCARDS•Anything goes! FUN

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:00:35 GMT

This isn't a regular entry but I thought I would have a go at the AOL Community Challenge. You have to chose one of your photos as a postcard and then put a link to your entry on http://journals.aol.com/mariebm56/aol-community-photo-challenge/entries/2008/04/11/aol-community-challenge-postcardsanything-goes-fun/665

So this is mine.

It wasn't until I took the photo and put it onto the computer that I realised what it was doing!!!!