He's gone ...

... and I nearly didn't get a chance to say goodbye. I have to say that I've been spending much of my time unimpressed with the organisations who I've had to deal with over the Wedgie affair.

Insurance company: a serial non communication led to me finding out by accident - purely because I took it upon myself to call the garage he'd been taken to to be assessed - that he'd been declared a total loss and would be taken for salvage the next morning. I belted over to the garage to say my goodbyes (atmospherically in the pouring rain …) plus retrieve my tax disc, parking permit, map, stereo walkman and speakers - the latter 2 items I discovered to have been nicked ... Hey, it was cutting it fine and I was exceptionally cross with Direct Line for not keeping me up-to-date, but at least I did get to say goodbye.

The police: I still hadn't heard from anyone to tell me what had actually happened. Right at the beginning they’d said there had been a crash. OK - but I had questions: had there been another car involved, did anyone get hurt? I rang the number I had been given right at the beginning and asked to speak to my case officer. “Oh, looks like he's passed it to someone else in Croydon, I'll put you through”. 20 minutes on hold.

I finally managed to attract the attention of the operator who kept saying "sorry to keep you" approximately every 2 minutes and asked for the number that I was being put through to so I could try myself later. I tried on and off consistently from 0850 to 1530. I tried other Croydon station numbers who all pointed me back to that same number and said they were unable to give me any other method of contacting the officer working on my case. In the end I called the number I had rung first thing in the morning in the hope that they might be able to help. I was advised by an embarrssed sounding young officer that I had been given the wrong number (by 3 different people would you believe ...) by way of apology he offered to read me the report and promised to get my new case officer to ring with a full update.

The gist of it is: 3 men stole my car and were chased by a police vehicle. They tried to ram said police car and then ended up ploughing into a grassy bank. They then legged it and were chased on foot. 1 got away and 2 were caught; 1 of these was released with no charge and the other has been bailed to return on 3rd November. Apparently this was to allow time for more investigation and forensics work ... They'll have a job bearing in mind its already been taken for salvage! I pointed this out, at which point the officer said, well if he can’t keep track of his evidence then he’s going to lose his case isn’t he? My case I think you’ll find. As I say – I’m not impressed.

So, I await official settlement, grapple with the forms and leave you with a picture of Wedgie from the side where you'd almost think there was nothing wrong with him ...

The other side's not so good though and I can't bear to show you rest ...

Back on the trail

Nope, not the Inca Trail for which sadly training has been a bit haphazard of late - the falling over illness (which I'm still not quite over I don't think), not having a car to get out and do a proper walk etc; no, rather the trail for somewhere else to live.

As the house is still not sold, I needed to extend the tenancy on the flat. However, I don't want to live here anymore - I don't feel safe on my own, there's something dodgy going on at the pub across the street, someone was knifed in a gang related incident just opposite the gate to my flat and then there's the whole Wedgie thing ... My tenancy was set to run out at the end of October, so I figured that as I'm not here at the end of November and therefore won't be here to move out, I would just steel myself and extend to the end of December .

Well I found out last weekend (just before I got the letter telling me I had to pay to release my stolen car from police custody) that I can either extend to the end of November (which is no use to me) or next March ... I really don't want to still be here next March.

So I'm back on the flat trail. I've spent a couple of nights this week on viewings and spent most of yesterday doing the same thing. At least I'm getting a lot of walking in!

I've decided to look at various areas of Surrey. Not because I work in Epsom (heaven forbid!), but because I have some friends in that area, its easier to get to visit my sister, its closer to my mate in Windsor and I can quickly get to country side. I particularly like Kingston - close to Richmond Park, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, good shopping and only 30 mins into Waterloo for the City stuff. Not sure I can afford it though!

I had 1 complete wasted journey (Wednesday night) where I scrambled out of work to get to Norbiton for an appointment at 6.30, only to get a call at 6.25 to say that the flat had been let. Sigh. So I hung around on the streets to see the second flat at 7pm. General feel of this particular area wasn't good - I didn't really feel comfortable, the flat had no parking and was right on a bus stop. When I finally got to see the flat I was frankly shocked. It had been described as a large one bed flat. Curious use of the term large ... You could have fit the whole flat into the living room of my house and they wanted £750 pcm. Suffice it to say I didn't take it!

Saturday was a better day - looking in Kingston again. The first flat I saw was beautiful - immaculate, lovely kitchen, somewhere to park a car, quiet street and 15 mins walk to the station. However, whilst it was a large 1 bed conversion, because of the configuration of built in cupboards, chimney brests and radiators, I couldn't work out how I was going to fit my furniture in ... Plus it seemed to be a lot of money for just one bedroom.

The second flat unfortunately had been let which left me with 90mins to kill while waiting for my next appointment. So I used it as an opportunity to check out the shops! Of course I didn't spend anything, but I had a good old mooch and a bag of chips (what a treat).

I walked to the next appointment which turned into a comedy 60 mins. I met a completely nuts agent called Shelly who called me dahhling and lovey at every turn and couldn't manage to get the flat open that I was going to view. She pushed and shoved the key, but to no avail. I offered to have a look and once in front of the lock could see that there was something stuck in it so the key was never going to go in. There was however another flat in the same block, which whilst not as nice as the one I was supposed to be seeing would give me an idea of the layout and the size etc. So we viewed that flat and it was huge. Two big bedrooms, large living room and kitchen and only £15 pcm more than the one bed I'd seen earlier in the day.

Anyway, we agreed that I would go back on Monday night to see the correct flat once she'd sorted out the lock and by way of apology she offered to give me a lift back to the station. She regaled me with tales of walking in on copulating couples, people who said they wouldn't be in but were snoring under the duvet during the viewing and the time she chased after a prospective tenant in her car who was supposed to be following her to a viewing on his bike but they had got separated. When she finally flagged him down she realised she had been following the wrong cyclist who accused her of stalking him - "Well they all look the same in those hats dahling ..."

We were just coming the end of a road where a friend of mine lives when she lurched to a halt and said - "I've just remembered I've got a 2 bed in that road there - would you like to see it? It would be a shame for you to have come all this way and not see anything ..."

So we raced off to the office (literally - 50 year old woman racer ...) and she picked up the keys and we viewed the flat. Its lovely, but I really don't know if I can afford it. There is a garage for a car, the kitchen is great, there's plenty of room for all my furniture, its in a nice quite road which is 10 minutes walk to Kingston Gate of Richmond Park one way, Kingston Station and the cinema in another and the river in another.

The agent thinks that the landlord might take an offer as "he's very fussy" and "he'd rather do an offer for the right tenant", apparently he thinks anyone that works in IT is great, so I've got brownie points there - I'm also a woman, so I'll be tidy ... Anyway, I've made an offer which is less than he was asking including the garage (which he wanted more for ...). I have no idea if he'll take it, but I'd love to live there. We'll see ...

Wedgie ...

I still don't know the details but I was told by my case officer that Wedgie was taken by 3 youths who were known car theives. He was currently with forensics and I should have him back very soon. However, he had no detail on whether he was a wreck, although he could tell me that he had been in a police chase which resulted in a crash, so not very hopeful; however, someone would let me know soon when he would be released. The next morning I received a letter to say that the forensics had finished with it and that it was at Charlton Pound awaiting collection. The charge to have my car released was to be £105 and if I didn't collect it by midday 2 days following the date of the letter (Sunday), the cost of storage that I would incur would be £12 per day ... It was all a bit stark, unfeeling and upsetting - like it was my own fault that he'd been stolen ...

The insurance company undertook to arrange collection of the car - "is it driveable?" they asked. "I don't know - I keep asking and no-one can tell me". "Well that particular Pound don't take burnt out cars, so at least you know that much ..."

A week later, I finally got details of the garage who have the car and managed to speak to someone who had seen him. I still haven't had an official insurance engineer's assessment, but the lady I spoke to could tell me that he had been towed in and was therefore undrivable and that there was lots of damage to the front and the side plus they'd drilled bits out to get in and get it started. So, taking into account the age of the vehicle it was likley that the insurers would decide that it wasn't worth spending the money to put it right.

Whilst I was expecting this, I was really very sad. I've had Wedgie since 1993 (Wedgie because he's wedgewood blue), I've taxed, insured, serviced him and loved him. We've done lots of miles together (94,000 ...) and have been to lovely places - Jersey, France, Scotland, Durham, the Lake District (where he accomplished the Hard Knot pass with aplomb), Land's End, Lincolnshire, the Peaks - I could go on ... We hadn't been to Wales though - that was my next plan.

He is 17 years old and I was just planning on keeping him until he died a natural death, it seems terrible that his end should be being written off because he's too old to be worth investing the money in to put right. All because 3 lads wanted a bit of fun at mine and Wedgie's expense ...

So, now to work out what to do about another car ...

A list ...

• I'm paying a mortgage and rent on a flat. However I'm resourceful, I don't go anywhere unless its free (which unfortunately means I'm a bit of a hermit at the moment), I drive to work which is vastly cheaper than the train, I drive out to nice country spots and walk for my entertainment, I live frugally, I can ride it out until the house is sold ...
  
• The house has been on the market for 4 months and we've had only one viewing. Hmmmm. I've gotta keep pushing the agents and get some ideas myself of how to sell it - reduce the price get some plans drawn up to demonstrate the 2 bedrooms and a bathroom which could be developed in the loft. I'm still being positive and active.
  
• I'm going to Peru at the end of November and the money to pay for it is wrapped up in the deposit on the leaky, creaky flat I'm renting while the house is being sold. What the hell, I've broken my credit card rule and I'll do a credit card transfer thing to tide me over until the house is sold and I have some money.
  
• Its gone into meltdown at work and I'm being asked to "go the extra mile" for the sake of the company in the present difficult climate - I think you'll find that I already do was my response ... I guess I'll just cram trying to find a job into the schedule once I've had 5 minutes to consider my CV. What the hell, I can go back to IT helpdesk or do some typing or be runner on someone's event (if I can find anyone willing to take me on of course) - I'm not proud. It just has to be enough o pay a mortgage and rent on a flat and keep me in the manner to which I am accustomed ...
  
• I'm still trying to get over this flippin' vertigo thing. Whilst I'm still shattered at least I don't fall over anymore.

That should be it of stuff to cope with for the time being.

Oh no, sorry I forgot to mention that my car was stolen yesterday, used in a crime, involved in an accident and impounded.

Now I'm starting to lose the will ...

Blast from the past - no really!

I was 'strolling' along the aisles of Tesco a couple of weeks ago (well as much as you can in a hideously busy supermarket on a Saturday morning) when I came across an "offer" at the end of an row. There was a display with 2 shelves with something called Golden Weetabix on it and at the bottom a single shelf of some stuff called Oatibix.

I looked at the picture and yes, they looked like Weetabix, I checked the ingredients and yes, they were devoid of wheat ... Could it really be possible that after all these years I could re-create my previous addictive breakfast of weetabix, smidge of muscavado sugar and ice cold milk? (NB. I use a my special creamy mix rather than milk with starch foods - don't ask ...) I've dreamed of having something similar over the years, but consoled myself with the fact that while it would never happen and just think how well I feel now I don't eat wheat. (Well apart from the odd touch of vertigo and which certainly isn't a side effect of eating wheat!)

I really didn't think it could be possible, but what the hell, I gave them a go.

Heaven ...

Now I know its been ages since I had real Weetabix so I couldn't say that they're just the same, but I don't care! They're actually just the job and 2 weeks later (24 biscuits later to be precise) I can't wait to buy another box. They're crispy, tasty, quick (which is a rare occurence with the way I eat nowadays, having to make pretty much everything from scratch) and what' more I feel full afterwards.

Breakfast heaven re-created indeed. Just have to hope I can find them on the shelves in Tesco again! :)

New toys normally raise a smile ...

But nope ... I'm really rubbish at being ill. I've lost pretty much a whole week with this labyrinthine thing - now happily shortened to 'vertigo' by a different doctor who sent me home with a flea in my ear for having tried to work from my bed rather than simply taking it easy as I was told to in the first place ... Thoroughly chastised I finally turned off the laptop on Thursday!

I'm feeling much better now, but boy have I been fed up. I haven't even been up to enjoying new toys - until today that is! I got 2 new toys this week (phone and camera) and am only just getting stuck into the first one now.

My new phone is lovely, and I'm typing this post on it using its lovely qwerty keyboard whilst sitting in a pub, sipping a rather nice NZ sauvignon blanc, waiting for my date. Its lovely - the phone I mean (pub's ok too). I'm all synced up on both the home laptop and the work one, I've got Magical Trevor installed as my ring tone and I'm about to install the lovely Pocket Breeze for WM5. Hopefully my mini SD card will arrive on Monday; 1 gig, complete with usb card reader for #30 - can you believe that price? Memory has really come down since I last bought normal SD storage! Anyway, once I get that I can get my MP3s on it and I'll be ready to rumble!

BTW, I think I'm sat in people's usual seats ... Getting daggers looks at the moment. Tough, I was here first and I'm entitled to space as much as the next person - just because I'm on my own just at the moment.

Anyway, I digress ... The phone is lovely, and I'm sure the camera will be too. I have no idea what I'm talking about with cameras, but I hope I've got a reasonable buy... It’s a 6MP camera with zoom of some description - 3 x optical and 2 x digital though at the moment I'm not entirely sure what that means... I got is because it promised to be a good "point and shoot" option, but there still seem to be a lot of settings to work through and understand even for someone supposedly non-technophobe like me.

Ah well, once I've set up the phone exactly the way I want it I'll turn my attention to the camera beyond setting the clock which I did manage to achieve fairly simply! Stuff like flash levels, saturation, contrast, focussing, exposure etc will have to wait until they have my full attention ... Took a couple of pictures of my feet whilst lying in bed (been in bed all week and its sooooo boring ...) which looked sharp, colourful and generally OK without doing anything complicated, so hopefully it won't be too difficult to pick up and it will really be my Peru point and shoot!

Ugh ...

I’m really not very good at being ill … But ill I am … But, that’s the thing, I don’t feel ill. As long as I stay lying down. I feel great (if not VERY tired) lying down, it’s the sitting up, moving around thing that makes me not well. It started on Sunday morning and the most irritating thing is that I didn’t get to go walking, I had great plans this weekend – lets hope I’m back on form next weekend instead … I woke up with a headache (which had been there the day before too), so made to get up and grab some painkillers again (all I had was some Feminax but in spite of their ineffectiveness I still figured I’d give them a go). Well, I sat up and everything went “whoosh”. So I lay down again. Much better down there … I kept trying, but nope – “whoosh” and falling over was the result everytime. BBW brought me loads of food and water, helped me shuffle to the loo and set up the TV in my bedroom so I didn’t have to move anywhere. I watched so much rubbish on the TV its unreal – I was almost enjoying it by the end of the day which was when I knew I had to turn it off …

Today was a bit better, I’ve shuffled about pathetically and worked from home lying on the bed with the laptop propped up on my tummy and knees. I finally had a visit from a Doctor (the surgery had suggested I walk to an appointment, but I explained that it was all I could manage to make it to the flippin’ loo), he confirmed my self diagnosis of a Labyrintine Viral infection which explained my desperate tiredness and the falling over thing.

The prescription was Stemetil which, having looked it up,blocks a variety of receptors in the brain, particularly dopamine receptors to stop them becoming over-stimulated, thereby helping to control psychotic illness. (!!!) They are also used to control symptoms such as nausea and dizziness which are caused by inner ear disorders. (Phew!)

So, I’m going to take it easy (in between doing some work from bed – I’m too damn busy to be ill!), drink lots of fluids and wait it out. Apparently it could be gone tomorrow, or it may still be here in a week or two weeks … If its still here in a week, I have to get the doctor back. Fingers crossed not eh …?

Bite the bullet

OK, so I said I wasn't intimidated by the Prince 2 mob, and I'm not; but I've realised that its time I at least studied the methodology so a) I can really recognise a client that is using it, and in some instances I suspect simply implementing it badly; b) maybe I can use some elements of it by way kicking arse at work - I know what the problems are in my parlance, but maybe if I use a few bits of Prince 2 terminology on them they might actually sit up and listen and c) it'll stand me in better stead to get another bloomin' job ...

So, I've been doing a bit of research on line and have found some free stuff I can use and some books which I'm hoping to pursuade work to buy - whilst they are "investors in people", I know it doesn't stretch to letting me do a course and get the qualification ... I guess the book will have to do for the time being.

I did it in time, I just never posted it!

I have been blogging the past few weeks, but just didn’t get round to posting them ... A bit like the birthday cards I always remember to buy, write, address and stamp and then carry around in my handbag for weeks after they should have been posted. I apologise now to all of you who have, over the years, received dogeared looking birthday cards several days after the event … Anyway, the posts below are decidely un-dogeared, but carried around in my handbag for too long nonetheless!

Spend, spend, spend …

I’ve now got most of my walking clothes. I've got 1 final pair of trousers on order (there was only one pair of extra small trousers in the shop, and whilst I’m doing very well at planning my “packing light” I really can’t go away with only one pair of trousers! I’ve also got my “base layer” on order – again, they needed to order in some small ones.

It’s all lovely feeling stuff – a far cry from the tweed plus fours my Mum made me for my Duke of Edinburgh’s award 25 years ago and a long way from my old Damart thermals …

But, thank goodness for The North Face sale! Its an expensive old business and I haven’t bought any new shoes this summer, so I’m tring to get my kick from the trekking stuff! Vapour wick, UPV 40 protection, quick drying etc. Its all so much more exciting than 3 ½ “ heeled black supple leather ankle boots … If I keep saying it, it’ll be true!

First the boots, then the bags …

Well, I’ve bought my rucksacks. I’m very pleased, though it was a tough old decision which required external input – the casting vote delivered by my Mum. After all as Dad said when I phoned and said I didn’t mind who I spoke to (he always assumes I’ve rung to speak to Mum ... well – best speak to Mum, she’s good at making people’s minds up for them.

What to do? I wanted 2 bags. One was my “day sack”, this is the one I’ll be carrying myself on the trip so I want something comfy, hardwearing, unobtrusive, with an integrated rain cover and preferably something that wasn’t going to make my back saturated in the way that my £10 from Halford’s effort has been doing all summer …

The other one is the big rucksack which needs to have all my gear in that I need for the trail. This one I won’t be carrying in Peru, but will be carried by the Porters (I hadn’t realised this to begin with and have been busy doing stuff at the gym to try and make myself better equipped to carry a big rucksack. Doh!) This also needed to be comfy, unobtrusive, have a rain cover and be none sweat inducing in the back department!

So, I had an interesting session in a hiking shop where I tried on lots of rucksacks – had a wee lesson in how to get it on and off without falling over etc and ended up trying to decide whether to go for the “girlie option” or the “real hiker” option. This was according to the very helpful man in the shop … Girlie option = good bag, very comfortable now, but won’t last well. Real Hiker option = good bag, comfortable now but will get more comfortable with more wearing and very very durable …

Obviously there’s a cost implication, so Mum being the final arbiter advised to just spend the flippin’ money on the good quality durable option and just to make sure I get out there travelling! So, that’s what I did.

5 days

I just had 5 consecutive days off work. Trouble is, it took me so long to wind down, that by the time I had it was a real struggle to wind myself back up … Note to self – 7 days would have been better!

What better way to wind down that go and be looked after by Mum – only I’m not very good at being looked after! We had a nice time looking after each other though.

Mum and I went out of a scoping mission to Millets to look at rucksacks – shopping with Mum is shopping with Mum! We also stopped off at the new “gallery” in Mum and Dad’s town. It was quite good actually. Nice little “Designs for life” exhibition downstairs, showcasing local furniture designers and a Photographic exhibition upstairs with a great picture which was curious to begin with and which I loved once I read the title – "Dave, Party, Lincolnshire". We laughed! Mum ended up joining the mailing list and has resolved to go back – even dragging Dad in if possible, but knowing that its fine for her to go in on her own.

I cooked on Saturday night – lots of food, lots of wine …

Sunday we headed out for another walk. A lovely walk along the Norfolk coast with a picnic on the beach with just a hint of the sea miles away! BBW will get to walk next to the sea yet …

I also ordered my new phone … I was actually going to terminate my contract, having discovered that I could get a better deal elsewhere, plus get my new phone for only £49.99. Now I didn’t really have £49.99 but my current phone is really starting to sag – it goes slow at the drop of a hat, has been dropped and scratched etc and I figured that even though I couldn’t really afford £50 at the moment, better to get it now at that price than miss it and then not be able to get something I wanted when my current phone went belly up. Well, having explained why I wanted to terminate I managed to change my tarrif so that I get 220 minutes and 200 text per month more that I do currently for £10 less, PLUS, PLUS!!! MY NEW PHONE as a free upgrade. Was I excited or what? Still haven’t received it yet. Its on back order. But it’ll be great when it gets here! New toy – hurray!!

Its all a matter of stile ...

Why are all stiles not the same? Why are some perfect (in my humble opinion!) Example A below:

And some chunky and sturdy looking but frankly ill designed. Example B below:

Now if it comes to it I'm happy to scramble over a fence or a gate; though the absence of a stile or kissing gate (isn't kissing gate a lovely description?) would indicate that I wasn't necessarily walking a public footpath and was possibly temporarily in the wrong place (lost) and probably trespassing ... However, I think if you're going to provide a stile, then at least provide one that works logically. ie. you get over it using one foot after another - like walking in fact! Example A allows you to do just that, whereas example B makes you either change feet half way over, or do a one footed turn (complete with potentially heavy rucksack) at the top and then come down backwards.

Hey ho, no pleasing some people is there?

PS - this is my favourite stile ...

I don't want to be 'the slowest person" ...

Whilst I'm doing quite a bit of walking in preparation for this trip (13 miles this weekend - 5 miles Saturday & 8 miles Sunday), I'm still really scared that I'm going to holding people back. I know that the group can only go as fast as the slowest person, but I would be mortified if that person was me ...

There are no easily accessible proper hills near me - well there's Box Hill but that's only 172 m above sea level and I'm going to be going up to 4,200 m (1,400m in one day in fact …) So I'm just hoping that my gym work will mean that I'm not the weezy runt who struggles with the climbing ...

In the mean time to at least get the mileage up and get me walking on lots of days my training is now up to walking both Saturday and Sunday, plus walking a couple of times during the week too.

The only way I've managed to schedule the mid week walking in without either setting out to walk after work (the time at which I'm more in mind of a glass of wine, food and doing home type chores) or getting up at 5.30 and walking before I leave for work, is actually to simply walk to work. Well, not the whole 12 miles, but 3.7 of them.

I did it for the first time today and it worked quite well. Up at 6.30, train to Cheam at 0710. Arrive Cheam 0730 and set off to walk to Epsom. The first person I bumped into was JC, someone I used to work with in a previous life (seems a lifetime ago now) – what are the chances of that happening? It was certainly weird to see someone in a completely unexpected place and chances are we’ll bump into each other again bearing in mind I’m going to be doing this twice a week. Anyway, 60 minutes later I arrived in Epsom, had a shower at the gym and was at my desk by 0900. Not a bad morning all told!

Lessons Learned #2

1. Waterproof leggings protect you from the external elements; they do, however simply make you wet from the inside out ...
   
   
2. Map and compass walking is good and Sunday was the first proper go at it. I re-walked a previous route but only using the written instructions as back up for map reading cockups! I had my home made waterproof map holder (a bit 'Blue Peter', but did the job!), my new bargain of a Berghaus waterproof courtesy of my credit card … and my waterproof leggins …. I'm not saying I knew precisely where I was all the time (I need to do more practice on the compass reading stuff to be able to do it exactly), but I always knew which direction I was heading in and approximately where on the map I was ...
   

Lessons Learned #1

1. Sitting around in the sun all day (Fruitstock 2006) is exceptionally tiring ... Why is that?
   
   
2. I really should try & find myself a job where the Jimmy Choo people phone me up and ask for my shoe and dress size .... Just check out the "Classic Boots" and "Classic Shoes pages ... Sigh. (Note to Catster here) The best I manage is a free bottle of ropey red wine when I do the work Friday lunch order at the local Indian restaurant...
   
   
3. I'm never going out walking without a proper map and my compass again. The internet is great, but you can't trust the walk instructions some people post on some sites. For example
   
   

   "At the path junction go straight ahead and then take the left fork through a gate and along a wooded path"

   This should really have read
   
   

   "at the junction between the National trust Trail and the Greensand Way, take the National Trust path going right and then immediately left downhill along the sandy path of the Greensand Way. Keep heading straight ahead (first going downhill and then up and back down again) over four more path junctions until (after approx 1.5km) you come to a fork in the path. Take the left fork through a large gate and continue uphill along a wooded path ..."

   Little hints like "uphill" "downhill", "left" & "right" (left and right are no good of course if people don’t know which is which…) seem alien to some walk contributors ... Some seem more intent on describing a configuration of trees, plants/public signage as landmarks, whose noted configuration could quite possibly change, in the way that a slope upwards, or whole forest off to the right is unlikely to ... Why can’t they keep it simple rather than doing instructions that sound like they have more place in a dungeons and dragons game?
   
   Suffice it to say that that walk was not the most successful because I realised too late that it fell off the edge of my OS map ... Never go out without a map and compass! Consequently getting frustrated with bad instructions and having to keep retracing steps was my own fault for not having had the relevant map to refer to...
   
   As I say, lessons learned...

Without Prejudice ...

Dear Bloominjools

Without Prejudice

Feminax

Thank you for  your enquiry regarding the above.  I am sorry to hear about your disappointment  with your purchase of our new Feminax Period Pain Capsules.

At the direction of the UK medicines licence authority (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)), the active ingredient, Hyoscine Hydrobromide has been removed from Feminax.

The MHRA reviewed all Hyoscine Hydrobromide-containing products and decided that it was unclear whether the quantity present in Feminax performed a relevant function. [well they should have asked me – I could have told them!] Bayer therefore took this opportunity to review the current formulation and decided that an optimal formulation was 500mg Paracetamol and 8mg Codeine Phosphate. [Pah!] Bayer also took this opportunity to change the pharmaceutical form from hard tablets to a more favourable soft capsule.

I hope this information is helpful to you and apologise for any inconvenience you have been caused.

Yours sincerely

Feminax Lady
Medical Affairs Administrator

Grumpy old woman

Straight down the middle
Why is it that people feel it necessary to drive down the middle lane of a 3 lane motorway regardless of the fact that the inside lane is free? It really pisses me off. There I am in the inside lane – doing the limit. There is Mr(s) limpet, clinging tenaciously to the middle lane and I’m catching them up on the inside. Therefore, in order to avoid overtaking on the inside I have to cross right over the motorway in order to get past. If less people drove down the middle unnecessarily, ie. not for the purposes of overtaking, then there would be less people trying to insert themselves in the outside lane, ie. putting themselves in the way of people tanking it. Surely that would be safer all round?

Only a fool …
... breaks the 2 second rule. Well there are lots of them about. Why do people (a female Honda driver for the sake of argument) feel it is acceptable to tailgate me – I’m doing the limit in the outside lane of a 2 lane carriage way so I can get past a queue of lorries doing 55mph and I also have a queue of traffic in front of me meaning that even if I did want to go over 70, I can’t. Add into the mix a sudden gap on the inside lane and said Honda driver continues her mobile phone conversation, interspersed with shouting and gesticulating at me (she was obviously an octopus, as I reckon that waving hands, holding a phone and holding on to the steering wheel surely lead to a hand over allocation), overtakes on the inside, still shouting and gesticulating, and plonks herself into the safe distance previously left between me and the car in front. But hey, she managed to get a good 400 feet further down the road – made all the difference I’m sure …

When I’m awake …
I wish I could do it, but I can’t. Once I’m awake, I’m awake and my body doesn’t give a monkeys whether its 5am or not. I’ve tried (for years) to be the sort of person who can luxuriate in lying in bed, drifting in and out of sleep and generally chilling. But I can’t do it. I tried again this morning. I woke at 4.50am and lay in bed for an hour before I finally got up, but it wasn’t enjoyable. The longer I lay there the more my back started to ache and I knew that if I stayed there much longer I would get a headache – and I can’t be doing with that. So, I’ve done some well needed house keeping on the old laptop, a bit of filing and a bit of a blog. No backache or headache forthcoming, so I think it was a good move.

There’s something missing …

Feminax Capsules …

They used to work like a dream but they don’t anymore!

That was weird ... (revised)

Well the first viewing has happened - they didn't want it, too small upstairs apparently ... But hey, its feedback. It was however a really weird and upsetting experience; for TEH too I think. Sitting waiting to show a bunch of strangers around your home is weird enough, but once they'd been and gone it really brought home the fact that everything has changed and is soon to change even more. That's not to say that the change isn't going to be good and isn't right, its what I crave after all, but Saturday's experience just reasserted the fact to us both together at the same time in the same room, and that was weird. Suffice it to say that about 6 months worth of bottled up tears (I'm good at bottling up!) were shed that evening to the accompaniment of gin and tonic … [NB This is where the revised version ends - there was an original which was withrawn owing to oversharing and inappropriate material for posting here - it was however extremely cathartic to compose].

Anyway, the next day dawned somewhat gloomily, though it was a blessed relief to the stifling temperatures and humidity we've had of late. I ignored the forecast of morning rain and focused on the clear skies that were promised later. So Iheaded off with rucksack and waterproofs to Eynsford for what proved to be a lovely walk through corn fields (complete with my favourite poppies and cornflowers), a magnificent Victorian viaduct, pleasantly cool woods and pretty sections of river. It was wet to begin with, but still warm and there was loads of wildlife in evidence (the absence of lots of other noisy walkers because of the Wimbledon tennis final and the world cup final probably had something to do with that!) plus 2 enormous and surprising fields of lavender, not really the colour I was expecting in the Kent countryside.

I did my 8 miles and there were plenty of inclines to keep us on our toes along with herd of cows right between where we were and where we needed to be. Cows, calves and a bull to be precise, a potentially unpredictable combination. They kept a beedy eye on the calves, but all passed without the need to pick up pace and vault the stile (or indeed demolish and rebuild a drysone wall which is another story, dating back to my D of E in the Peak district many moons ago).

So all in all a mixed weekend really which definitely ended better that it began.

Is there anybody there?

I know – it’s been such a long time … there’s probably no-one out there reading this any more! It’s been a funny old month. I’ve been kind of busy

• Complaining to the council about their non-refuse-collection service. Oh yes, it has gone on and on … I’ve now got a lovely glossy complaints pack to fill in when I’ve got a spare moment.


• Arguing a parking fine – sigh. This was as a result of parking too close to a line in a bay which I pay an annual fee to park in on the Saturday of the first England game in the world cup. There were only 3 cars parked in the street and there are quotas to be met … I’m awaiting photographic evidence, though research has shown that the PCN isn’t legal anyway – there are supposed to be 2 reference numbers on them and there is only one, so we’ll see what happens.


• Working and


• Walking.

In the absence of funds and in the face of many bills everything has had to be cheap so gigs, pubs and cinema have been out …

I’ve been on lots more walks - I enjoyed the last one in particular, lots of scrambling up and down in a wood (which was the perfect place to be when out in the open it was 32 degrees!) and what is more I now have my boots! Sadara take note, I’ve been wearing them in around the flat and last Sunday was the first day I got them dirty! They were pretty comfortable, didn’t rub much, but I still have a bit of adjustment to play with in terms of adding another insole and doing creative lacing – I had a little lesson in tying my laces in the shop when I was buying them would you believe. But anyway, I’m very pleased with them so far.

I'm finding some excellent walking partners and so hopefully I’ll have enough who are up for 10 mile hikes every weekend to see me through.

But the rest of the time I’ve kind of been feeling strangely static. I think it’s all to do with not having managed to get any interest in the house; and until the house is sold, or at least shows signs of being sold, I’m not really able to make any plans, so I kind of feel as I said ‘static’, even trapped?

I’ve been working away as ever (I just had my 1 year anniversary) and, dare I say it, have been feeling somewhat positive about the job in recent weeks. I now know what works and I’m really pleased with that. I’m at last feeling that actually I’m good at what I do. There I said it … It doesn’t come naturally to me! I know how it needs to be done, I’ve got processes in place and I’m confident about dealing with customers because of that; no more feeling around trying to work out the best way of implementing stuff while trying to mop up previous failed implementations at the same time (i.e. ones that were a mess when I arrived in the job!). I know what works and its worked several times now which is gratifying. I’ve also stopped being intimidated by the Prince2 local government / enterprise customer ‘project managers’.

I think I’m a decent project manager, which as far as I’m concerned involves simply being organised, having good communication skills and being able to break stuff down i.e. seeing where to start, what will consitute the end and what stages are required to get there. I like to call it the common sense approach and it seems terribly logical to me. Lets face it I have a work breakdown structure in place for getting up and going to work in the morning: risks identified, critical path analysed and everything – no point eating my breakfast or putting my lippy on before I’ve brushed my teeth example – there is an order to everything. I’ve never done any formal training, and I’m certainly not Prince2 certified (certifiable maybe …) but that doesn’t bother me any more really. I know I can’t ‘talk the talk’, but I know I can ‘walk the walk’ and that is what gets things done at the end of the day.

So I’m getting lots done, but I still feel like I’m not moving forward. Because of the house ...

I’ve been thinking about my Peru trip and all the plans I had / have for after that, but without the sale of the house I can’t afford to do any of the post Peru stuff and won’t be able to do it because I’ll still be here in a job which doesn’t allow me to have a mid life crisis sabbatical for 3 months! Also, what is additionally irritating is that I’ve got precious little annual leave in this job (how I miss the annual leave at the RFH – for goodness sake, I had so much there I never managed to take it all!), and I’ve been trying to work out how much I’ve got so I can take some holiday this summer – I haven’t had a break since Easter and that was only 4 days out of the office (ie. including the bank holiday weekend!). I’d just like to get out of London for a bit, do some proper walking and camping maybe. If I’m going to jack it all and in head off on travels after Peru, then I won’t need to take the 12 days leave for Peru out of my annual leave allocation which means I’ve got 13 days to play with between now and the end of November. However, if I’m not jacking it all in (which I can’t unless I sell the house) then that only leaves me 8 days leave up until April next year – not much to play with at all really …

The other thing is that if I don’t sell the house, it means I need to stay living where I am, which in turn means I’m going to have to get a flippin’ loan out to pay for the Peru trip. That was going to be funded by the money that my gran left me when she died last year, however, that had to be pressed into temporary service as the deposit on the flat I’m living in … If I’m still in the flat that means no deposit coming my way!

Result. I’m stuck, stationary, static … As you know, I like to be organised and I feel like I should be (want to be) doing a lot of research, making plans, working out costs, checking in with people I would like to be visiting etc now in order to be prepared to head off in December. But I’ve decided that I shouldn’t let myself even look at what I could do post Peru because I don’t want to be disappointed. And I hate it; that feeling that I’m not moving forward.

Well, maybe things are looking up. TEH and I have ditched the previous rubbish estate agent, who managed not to bring a single person through the door (no-one to see my CNL style re-representation of the back bedroom) and who when we asked why that might be, i.e. what was putting people off, look of the place, the area, the price etc etc said that he would do a ‘bit of research into how much similar properties were going for in the area’ … I ask you! You can imagine my response to that. Anyway, more research was done further valuations sought etc, and we now have a new agent who immediately seemed to have a handle on what sort of buyer he would be targeting and having signed off the description and done the proof of ID thing on Tuesday evening, the house went onto the website on Wednesday morning and we have one viewing tonight and another on Saturday.

Now, don’t worry, I’m not getting my hopes up, but I am very happy that we’re getting someone through the door who can give us some feedback at last! And who knows, they might end up being as smitten with my view as I am … Fingers crossed that I’m moving forward again.

It's a bit like making pancakes ...

Maybe because it was my first fake tan of the summer and I haven't quite rediscovered the application technique - a bit like the first pancake you make is always a bit dodgy until you get the combination of oil, heat and the swirl of the pan as you add the pancake mix sussed - either way, it seems to have gone a bit blotchy on my lower legs. Not quite sure what I did wrong. It looked OK on Sunday, but now seems to have gone a bit patchy.

Hey ho, I've got all summer to remaster the tecnique and I was feeling decidedly chilly this morning anyway so I've resorted to jeans (and pink suede boots) so no-one can see the blotching. Happily my tummy is un-blotchy, but unhappily I'm into the 7 day 'circle' countdown, so the little bloater is being sucked and in decorously hidden under a long T shirt ...

It's good to be back ...

I really wish I'd carried on walking after I left home. You can't beat a good old yomp through fields and over stiles and now I'm doing it again I realise how much I've missed it. I've not managed anything serious yet of course, just a couple of rambles really.

The first was the Mole Gap Trail 6 / 7 miles with only slight undulation and the second was the Norbury Park Circular Walk 5 miles with a couple of short steepish sections. The weather was perfect on both occasions, dry and sunny (though lots of clarts underfoot in places on the first one) but not too hot. Lots of dragon flies, butterflies, fish, ancient looking trees and lovely views to be enjoyed while eating a picnic.



I really must get a proper digital camera (definitely before I go to Peru etc, but ideally before then so I can practice - I'm not a natural photographer or photographic subject for that matter!) However easy as the walks might have been, they've been a good foray back into walking through fields of cows, stepping in clarts and the inevitable peeing in the woods ...

However, before I can 'step up' the difficulty of the walks I've got to get some proper boots - trouble is I'm even more strapped for cash this month than normal - why do bills car tax, insurance and phone bills always end up coming at the same time?, so that’ll have to wait until next month; but, as important, I need to find a walking group, or at least a couple of other people who'd like to get out and walk at the weekend.

I've been looking on the ramblers website and am aiming to go along on a couple of their 'group walks' to see what they're like. I was going to for try the 20 - 40 group which I felt sure they would have, but it’s a 20 – 30 group … How to make you feel old in one deft movement eh … Anyway, I’ll just join a local group for a couple of walks and if they seem like they're going to be the sort of walks I want to do, then I guess I'll join up. I also need to remind Mr West that we were going to embark on an expedition of some sort over the summer. Admittedly we did have the conversation on the long coach journey to and from Birmingham way back in January so he may well have forgotten, but once I've got a more walking fit, carrying kit fit and my boots worn in I will be definitely be up for it!

It was all going to be so 'romantic' …

I was going to turn 'a big birthday' on the 11th October, have a bit of a 'do' and then head off on my travels on the 14th.

Unfortunately the company I'm doing my Inca Trail trip with have had a 'bit of bother' with flights and have moved the trip dates to November, which means the romance of turning 'a big birthday' (who am I kidding, you know how old I am!) and buggering off for a couple of months has kind of been changed.  I suppose it doesn't really matter, but it does mean that I'm now going to be in Oz and NZ in December rather than November which isn't ideal.

Good news: I've discovered that Cragghoppers make ladies travelling clothing in size 8s. They also make stuff in short lengths (for short arses like me).

Bad news: they don't make short length clothing in size 8 ... Seems a bit daft to me as it would seem reasonable that you would have a fair number of the population who are just 'petite' - ie short and size 8(ish) ....

Good news: I have a contingency plan - buy the grown up length convertible trousers in size 8, but always wear them in the converted to 'Capri length', mode - which is about full length on me!  

Bad news - they're out of stock in all the colours I like...

Ah well I've got a few months left to get kitted out! Though the sooner I get my boots the better ...

Is it strange that I'm getting quite misty eyed about finding my perfect pair of boots? Back in my hiking days - yes I have done it before! However, somehow marriage, work and a different set of personal priorities meant that I didn't pursue something that I now recognise to be something that I wish I hadn't sidelined ... You live and learn!  Well … back in my hiking days, I had a lovely pair of boots which I had walked extensively in, which had a bit cut out to cater for my peculiarly connected Achilles tendon, and which NEVER gave me blisters.

They wore out, in spite of the Bloominjools attentive dubbins'ing ... However, I'm hoping that 20 years on (my God, did I say 20 years??) that technology has moved on and that I will find enlightenment with a new pair of boots. What's the betting they're hideously expensive....? Much more expensive than my usual style of boot I would guess.

I will let you know!

Its just not me. Is it?

So, you know I'm doing this Inca Trail thing? Why is it I'm more worried about what to wear than anything else?

So far all the horror stories about altitude sickness haven't really bothered me - I'll follow all the acclimatisation guidelines, make sure I've trained properly and if it happens it happens.

I'm not worried about blisters - I'll make sure I really walk my boots in and have proper socks and all that.

I'm not worried about not being fit enough - I have a good diet and a PPT. I've already programmed my walking schedule into the diary and am really looking forward to all the lovely walking I'm going to be doing over the next 4 months.

I'm not really worried about the eating situation - I'll manage one way or another.

I'm slightly concerned about the circle with no end, as I'm not sure at which point in the circle the trips kicks off ... But hey, there's nowt I can do about that, I'll just have to hope my new regime of Soya isoflavones are helping by then ...

No, what I'm worrying about is the clothes. I'm looking on websites for trekking kit and I can't find any decent trouser type bits (ie. that are quick drying, breathable, repel bugs and all that malarkey) that are under a size 10! Maybe I haven't looked hard enough ... The last thing I need to be worrying about is whether my trousers are going to fall down half way along the Warmiwanusca Pass or that they are so voluminous that they act as some kind of sail mechanism and I get blown off the ridge at Phuyupatamarca.


Warmiwanusca Pass and Phuyupatamarca

Also, I just don't look like a trekker. I don't have ruddy healthy cheeks, I don't have a sturdy looking frame (though I'm stronger than I look!) and I realise today that I don't have trekking type jewellery which seems to be required. I was admiring a girl's rucksack on the train earlier on and realised as I noted her ethnic bracelets that I've just never had that travelling look. I'm the girl in boot cut pink cords, high heeled boots and a full length leather (Trinity) coat. Am I just going to look really stupid on this trip? Probably ... And especially likely if my trousers fall down.

Styling help has never been needed as much as it is now, and if at the very least someone could point me in the direction of some decent walking trousers in a size 6/8 then that would be a start!

The circle without an end

You'd think I'd have cottoned on by now ...

Yes, I did drink too much before eating, but it was actually my Thursday headache, masquerading as a hangover headache. I didn't spot it because it started on a Wednesday - doh! Anyway, two happy days later it was all gone - slurring of words, blurry vision and general screaming head banished until next month. Phew!

Now I just have to look forward to the next round; 7 days of excessive irritability mixed with tears and basic lack of brain function, followed by 2 days looking like a question mark (?), 2 days just feeling wiped out, followed by the 2 day Thursday headache ...

Hey ho, 14 days of 'freedom' left ...

I just can't hack it any more ...

I really must remember that when I'm going out on a school night I should introduce food into the proceedings much sooner than happened last night. To be fair, the lovely Jane and I did actually manage to eat this time - in a restaurant chosen by virtue of it having two items on the menu that I could eat and that we were both busting for a pee so needed to get in somewhere and use the facilities! The last time we met for food we never actually made it out of the pub...

However, for me, in my aging state, (Catster's worries about finding a single grey hair are nothing compared to the plethora of pesky white crinkly buggers I find on a daily basis indeed I fear that a Mallen streak is not far off), the food came in round about 2 glasses too late!  Consequence of that is that in spite of drinking what is with food normally a perfectly acceptable quantity for me, I felt pretty damn hammered and am a wee bit fragile this morning.  Not good on a work day…

So next time, I either have to insist that we meet at the restaurant, or make sure I drink mainly soft drinks until such time as we get there.  Yeah right...

Hmmmmm update …

So, I’ve had confirmation from a chap at the company who are contracted by the Council to do the recycling collection; and I am definitely not entitled to a recycling collection. This is because (me living in a flat and all) it involves leaving a box on the street, and someone might fall over it. If I were to leave the box in the street and someone fell over it, apparently I would be responsible for any damages claimed by anyone that might be injured. I am however required (for the time being) to put my bin out in the street.

BloominJools: “Is that because it is big enough for someone to see and wouldn’t be considered by the council to be a trip hazard?”
Council contractor: “I guess so.”
BloominJools: “Would I however be responsible for someone being mown down by a passing motorist because a person with a double buggy has had to go onto the road to get past the bin?”
Council contractor: “………” he didn’t know the answer to that.

Council Contractor: “However, they’re going to be changing things so that you don’t have to put your bin on the street, because not all flats have a bin. They‘re going to have bag collections instead.”
BloominJools: “Hmmm … but wouldn’t a pile of rubbish bags on the street be a trip hazard?
Council contractor: “I don’t’ think so”
BloominJools: “Well then why is a green box a trip hazard and a bag of rubbish not?”
Council contractor: “…………” he didn’t know the answer to that.

I haven’t done my letter yet, but it will be done.

Hmmmmmmm

Because I live in a flat in my particular road it appears that I am not 'entitled' to a recycling collection. I'm also not entitled to a council bin. In fact if it wasn't for the fact that I already have one, I would now have to go out and source my own.

It has also taken me three different phone conversations over the last month with my local council to finally establish what day my ordinary refuse collection is. In fact at one point I thought they were going to say that I wasn't even entitled to one of those.

I have now established after said phone conversations (no point looking at the comprehensive and informative website because that is correct for everyone in the Borough except people who live in flats in my road ...) that my collection is on a Monday and furthermore, the reason that I haven't had a collection since 10th April is because I'm now required to put my privately sourced bin out on the main street.

1. Let’s hope no-one steals said bin and


2. It would have been nice to have told that that was what I was supposed to do, and


3. I pity the next person who tries to negotiate that part of the pavement in a large wheelchair or with a double buggy ...

This is all in spite of the fact that I'm paying the same council tax as everyone else in my council tax band and, you'll be as pleased as me to hear, that the main reason for the increase this year was in order to fund the new recycling collection initiative - to which I am not entitled …

I can feel a strongly worded letter coming on.

A Synopsis

Because a full update would be tedious in the extreme ...

Work has really taken over since I moved into my new place and unfortunately just at the same time that we needed to get those big decorating jobs done on the house so we could get it on the market. Add to that my need to feather my new nest and to do nice stuff for me, its all been a bit manic really.

The "stuff I'd rather not have been doing" side of the coin saw me working long hours - well not as long as in a previous event managing life but still more than I should be. Its the age old thing of too much work and not enough people to do it plus my fundamental inability to let things slip ... I always end up with a really irritating sense of commitment / loyalty to my work colleagues and the people to whom we are providing the service. I would say that I wished I wasn't like it, but I don't, it’s what makes me, me. What I should be better at doing is not allowing myself to be used in this way time and time again.
Add to this the situation that when I wasn't working late I was up at the house in the evening (and Saturdays) scraping ceilings, rubbing down walls, painting, tidying garden etc. It didn't really leave much time for doing chores, nest feathering, doing nice stuff, sleeping or blogging.

Those who know me will know that I'm incapable of ignoring chores and with so many visits to the old house (nest), the need to feather my new flat (nest) (not to mention unpack!) was very strong. Basically that left me to choose between doing nice stuff, sleeping and blogging - I'm afraid doing nice stuff and sleep won in the end!

The "things I wanted to do" side of the coin lead to going to see Sinatra and then Salsa Celtica (both very spur of the moment and both very enjoyable); having lovely walks ; having various house guests - I love having people over and am currently busy considering flat warming options ... I also enjoyed a couple screenings of favourite Hollywood musicals at a work mate’s place who has a fantastic home cinema and the joy of seeing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in cinemascope on a big screen was something else! An almost life-size Howard Keel in the room! Lovely.

I also indulged in a lot of nest feathering and I know this is potentially boring, but there are some pics on the way …

I finally got a break for Easter and went to stay with the parentals and did absolutely nothing for 3 days. It was quite easily done actually, not like the normal me at all (there are those that reckon there should be a verb 'to Jools’ pretty much along the lines of the traditional verb 'to do') but I was shattered, so didn't Jools anything at all.

I then blew all that rest on a trip ‘Up North’ to revisit a few places from our youth. I had a lovely coastal walk from Cullercoats (lovely) to Whitley Bay (hideous! - especially on Easter Monday when it was rammed with scantily clad teens/early 20s girls and lads getting rapidly & loudly hammered). Ialso went to Beamish a fantastic museum which I haven't been to since it was very new in the 70's and which I've been meaning to re-visit for years. Thoroughly relaxing stuff.

And then back to work … Good news is that the house is on the market (still no buyer, but there’s no more work to be done on it for the time being) and now I’m fully feathered on the flat front I’m feeling decidedly less hectic; so hey, maybe I’ll manage to promote the blog back up the list!

I haven’t got an idea in my head for a story

I admit it’s been ages since I blogged – 4 weeks in fact and I will let you know what I’ve been up to in instalments otherwise its going to be a bloomin’ long blog! However, headline information is that I’ve been ‘doing’ lots. Some stuff I’ve wanted to do and some of it I didn’t and I’ve just not been able to get my head into a position where things started forming words that I could put down on paper / blog space.  

In fact, in spite of several comments over the weeks about my lack of blogging it wasn’t until I was driving home from work tonight that I started feeling like things were slotting into place and that I might stand a chance of writing it down.  This was mainly because I was thinking of the Shark’s comment yesterday on my last post and all of a sudden I heard Dinah Sheridan in my head saying “I haven’t got an idea in my head for a story, so I’m afraid there won’t be buns for tea for quite sometime.”  

This is a quote from the Lionel Jeffries 1970 film adaptation of E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children which I love, and from which I have the terrible habit of being able to find a quote for most situations ... Mum and I saw the film loads of time at the cinema because when it first came out we were moving around a lot – Dad in the forces etc – and every time we got to a new camp that was the film on in the camp cinema, we seemed to follow it around!  Curious that I’ve never got myself the video or DVD – note to self to add it to my amazon wish list!

Anyway, as soon as I heard Dinah, I suddenly seemed to be able to break the last 4 weeks down and by the time I had arrived home I had sketched out several blog instalments in my head which I will post over the next few days and hope don’t bore you all to death!

In the meantime, some of the Railway Children lines which seem to find their way into my head fairly regularly for some bizarre reason …

Perks: “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as a buttercup without it were a buttercup”

Perks:  “Perks must be about it”

Peter:  “Why’s it going so slow Mr Perks?”  (About a train coming through Oakworth Station)
Perks: “Well … its all up hill to Scotland int it”

Perks:  “Never mind the rain ladies, it’s only a shower” (it p**** is down …)

Phyllis:  “Is that blood, is that red blood, is he all killed?”

Cart Man:  “I dare say …”

Bobbie:  “It's Perks' birthday, he's 42, he says he got other things to keep than his birthday, not rabbits and secrets but the kids and the bloomin' missus.”
Mother:  “Wife and children Bobbie.”  
Bobbie:  “Same thing isn't it?”  
Phyllis:  “Bloomin' missus is a sort of a germ of endearment isn't it?”  

Bobbie: There's going to be a paperchase tomorrow. Phyllis:  Whippee! Bobbie:  The boys from the grammar school are doing it. Phyllis:  Zippee! Bobbie:  Perks says we can go by the ramp. Phyllis:  What's a paperchase?

And finally …

Bobbie:  “Daddy, my Daddy”  (cue lump in throat and general bubbling)

A new view

I'm still in boxes and what's not in boxes has been put away in no particular order there's also a suitcase somewhere with sheets and towels in, but goodness knows where. However, I'm getting there and enjoying getting everything the way I like it and am particularly looking forward to alphabeticising my cds and books – no surprises there I’m sure!

After a week of head scratching and chilly mornings I've now fathomed out the timer for the central heating; its not terrible sophisticated, on or off basically, but at least I know how it doesn't work now I've found the flippin' instruction book.

I know I should prioritise getting stuff done in doors - its bloomin' cold out at the moment after all - and I've really got to stop 'treating myself'; but as I sit here in my favourite chair (yes I got to bring it with me) looking at my new double aspect view - a lovely skylight from which I can see the clouds scudding hectically across the sky and my back garden (well back yard really!) which has a pile of empty pots in it left by the previous tenant - I'm really fancying planting a load of them up so I've got a progression of colours, scents and textures to look forward to over the next months. I'll hopefully be taking delivery of my pots from home sometime this week, so at least I'll have my summer stuff to look forward to, but I'm really going to have to resist the temptation to nip into the garden centre and buy a pre-planted pot of bulbs or two! I've treated myself enough already this month and it has to stop!

I got my desk from the house yesterday which I managed to dismantle, transport to the flat and then rebuild all by myself! I’m very chuffed about that because it’s a big old brute – the PPT would have been proud! So the plan for today (post blog) is to carry on emptying bags and boxes, have a spot of lunch, a soak in the bath and wash my hair - which can be straightened for the first time in weeks now that I’ve located the straightening irons(!) – and then head off for drinks, dinner and an old Deanna Durbin movie with a friend from work. What a lovely Sunday.

Motion away or motion towards?

I don't usually run away from things - well I don't think I do anyway. I kind of swing between a tendancy to stick with and battle with stuff longer than I should (my 14 years with the same employer would be a good example of that) or make myself tackle difficult stuff head on (my decision to take a job in a box office in my early 20s when I had a telephone phobia would be a good example of that). However, in retrospect I was beginning to wonder whether "run away" was what I did last weekend.

The ever pressing issue of TEH's living arrangements (or rather lack of them) hastened the need for me to find my own place and so, in a needs must kind of fashion, I decided to take a flat which is bigger than I was planning, but in all other areas fits my list of requirements splendidly. Not that I mind the extra space you understand, but lets just say that my 4 monthly haircut may need to stretch to 5 / 6 and hermit status may be finally be achieved just at the point when I want to be out and about ... Sigh.

While I say that this decision was hastened, it was actually very timely. I already knew that I had to get out of the house, that was clear, but from where I'm sitting now I can see how stretched thin and wound up I had become, which meant that when the day came to move it was almost like I ran away from my lovely home.

I was determined to get as much of my stuff out as possible all in the one weekend so I didn't have to keep going back, that just felt like it would be too painful, so this meant a manic 3 trips in the TEH's van and 4 trips in my car. The last car trip was the one with my clothes in it, all just taken from the rails on their hangers so they could be put straight on hanging rails at the other end thus removing the need to fold and pack, good plan huh? However, when feeling more like me, I would have done the job much more carefully, grouping stuff and clipping the hanger hooks together, covering with bin liners etc, however it was all just thrown in the back of the car - randomly ... I don't normally do random! It's not me at all.

The rest of the weekend was spent with the help of the parentals who arrived in the evening with some furniture, an amp and speakers and food - I hadn't had any all day so this was particularly welcome at this stage of the proceedings. They stayed with me all weekend and did general Mum and Dad stuff. Mum cleaned the kitchen and put my stuff away, and Dad put together flat packed furniture and hung curtains. They also supportively wandered round Ikea with me and witnessed my scary bill at the other end - remarkable how buying basics at a fiver each mounts up unexpectedly ... Anyway, I wouldn't have managed without them and I feel bad that at a time when I guess they could have expected their older daughter to be settled and that they'd be grandparents maybe (they'd be good at that), they're suddenly back to standing as guarantor on my flat, lending me furniture and helping me move etc.

So anyway, with a lot of help I'm in the new place, feeling calm and contented in a way I haven't for a VERY long time and looking back at the weekend I now think that it wasn't 'motion away', but more like 'motion towards' (nod to Eddie Izzard there). 'Motion towards' my new life - which has got to be a positive thing, whatever it holds.

What are you supposed to do with the photographs?

Being back in the house is a double edged sword really.  I love my home, but that’s exactly what makes it so painful.  The aim is to get it on the market by the end of the month, and in order to do that there is a certain amount of work that needs to be done – cracks to be filled, architrave to put up, walls to be painted, garden to be tidied up after the winter period and made to look appealing and presentable.  And that’s just it; I’m spending time in my home preparing it for someone else.  

I cut back my hydrangea the other week and generally pruned and weeded and as usual found it immensely satisfying and rewarding, right up until the point where I realised that I wouldn’t actually be there to see my garden come into flower, I wouldn’t be there to sit and take in the smells and look at my view from the comfort of a squishy lounger and a glass of Pinot.  That was when I realised that I had to get out as soon as I can.  Then to add even more urgency to this decision TEH’s living arrangements came to an abrupt end and consequently has been living out of a suitcase with various friends, who may cease to be friends if this goes on much longer …

I’ve been looking at flats, but it needs to be something I can be comfortable in for a good 8 months ie. up until the Inca Trail and whatever lies beyond; there’s no way of knowing how long it’s going to take to sell the house after all. It also needs to be something that TEH and I can afford between us, on top of what we already pay on the mortgage etc and without both of us turning into hermits …  Not an easy task as I discovered.  There really are some grim places out there.  My pre-requisites are proving somewhat elusive:

• Ground floor or maximum 1st floor (Unpacking shopping …)


• Studio or 1 bed (if a studio I want one big enough to have a separate bed rather than a sofa bed)


• Gas Central heating (heating!!!)


• Washer, fridge, freezer, oven & hob


• Somewhere to park the bloomin’ car

But which ever way I look at it, the process of moving out (properly this time) whether it be in 2 weeks or 2 months, is going to be a painful one.  I’ve made a start on packing up my stuff, but of course, in order to identify my stuff it means sorting through our stuff and I keep coming across memories all wrapped up in inanimate objects.  For example I have just packed up a box of children’s books.  The emotions packed away in that box are just phenomenal and an experience I don’t want to revisit for a wee while.

Strangely CD’s have been the easiest job – not sure why that is.  Maybe because modern technology has taken the angst out of decisions about whose is whose etc – just copy the damn things.  There are 5 piles:

• Mine


• TEH’s


• Mine that I think TEH would like a copy of


• TEH’s that I would like a copy of


• Pile that we can’t remember who’s they are – they were just ours.  Solution for this one – copy them all and then have a lucky dip for originals.

But I think the worst job, and the one which I keep skirting round, is what are you supposed to do with the photographs?  I think I’ll leave it there …

Well that’s the last of the Christmas cake then …

It’s amazing how long it lasted really – probably because I was away in Germany for a couple of weeks and forgot to take some with me – but either way I’ll miss my slice of cake for elevenses!

That was the week and a half that was.

Well, I’ve pretty much settled back into life in the house – I’ve really missed it and I hadn’t really admitted to myself how much, so I’m going to try and enjoy it while it lasts. Mind you, bearing in mind that the plan is to get the place on the market by the end of February that might not be as long as I would like.

The last Requiem was another good one – I’m sorry it must be boring me saying that every time! Sadly Elizabeth Jansson, the Alto soloist who toured with us couldn’t do the concert because she was ill (tour cold got everywhere it would seem), so Catherine Wynn-Rogers stepped in. She was really good, but it was really disappointing that Elizabeth couldn’t be there with the rest of the soloists that we’d toured with.

It was a long old day – up to Birmingham on the coach and then back to London after the concert – but it was good to get together with everyone again and make commitments to meet up for photo swapping, trekking (practice runs for my Peru trip) and general social stuff. Keeping it real, our time keeping challenged members came up trumps with an unscheduled loo stop on the way up the motorway; well, we had planned to stop to pick someone up from a service area, but we hadn’t planned on peanut bladdered members nipping off for a pee; it didn’t make us late or anything, but I guess it gave certain of us the opportunity to “exchange glances” etc in remembrance of the tour. (God I’m a grumpy bird sometimes!) The bus ride home was very quiet and all journey I was feeling sad about the fact that I’ll not be singing with the guys and won’t be seeing Craig and Jenny, all of whom felt like part of my family by the time I got back from Germany, for quite some time to come.

The rest of the week was pretty much as usual, too much to do etc. I feel like I’ve had a really productive week, but when I actually look at what I’ve done against what there is to do, I’m really only just scratching the surface … Ah well, I managed to get my registration form filled in and sent off for the Inca Trail nonetheless. Hurrah! Provisional dates are 14th to 23rd October. Now I just need to keep cracking with the fitness regime with the PPT, get the house sold and work out what else I want to do with the rest of my life. Easy …

Well the first step is to get the house sold, so after doing my washing, shopping and general weekend sorting out (I woke up at 6.30 am in spite of the fact that I could have had a flippin’ lie in …) I managed to sand, clean and paint the bathroom, scrub the bathroom window and blind – looks much brighter now. Tomorrow – as long as it’s not too cold – is earmarked for tidying the garden and maybe a bit of noodling on the old piano. What am I going to do with that???

A few hellos now I’m back …

Hello oven
Hello hob
Hello shower
Hello comfy bed
Hello piano
Hello speakers
Hello comfy sofa (tho’ I was quite attached to my pink chair in the flat!)
Hello tumble drier (tho’ it has already had one name-check)

And finally …

Hello wireless network and 2Mb internet connection. Heaven!

There’s no place like home

Well what a day yesterday was.  I feel like I spent the whole day flippin’ cleaning.  Whilst it wasn’t the whole day it was certainly the lion’s share of it!  I was up at 7am to do a few last bits of packing and then spent the rest of the time, until TH turned up at 10am, cleaning the flat.  You don’t grow up as a child in the forces without having the “moving out of married quarters inspection clean” instilled in you as a serious piece of work.  Now I knew that some officer clad in white gloves wasn’t going to come and undertake a full inspection which would include stroking said white gloves over every available surface, but I’m afraid the clean I did would have come up trumps even if they had!

TH’s van was packed up very quickly, so as we were running ahead of the pre-arranged key handover time he set off as an advance party.  I carried on cleaning fitfully (not much else to do really) until Lou arrived and then set off back to South East London.  TH had phoned to say that the route he had taken over Battersea Bridge had been really quick – he was back in 50 minutes, so I decided to follow suit.  Its all in the timing … By the time I was heading back – just over an hour later – whale fever had completely overtaken the Battersea Bridge area.  As soon as I hit the plethora of TV OB vans and heard the helicopters circling above I knew that I was in for a long wait.  Ah well … 2 hours later there I was back in my house, surveying the pile of unpacking that awaited and taking in, with a sinking feeling, the amount of cleaning I was going to have to do …  I shouldn’t have expected anything else really.

So, I did 4 loads of washing (oh joy unbound to be reunited with a tumble drier – what a little miracle to be able to wash dry and put stuff away all in one go – no damp washing hanging around the flat, hurrah!); unpacked all my possessions and put them away; dusted and disinfected all surfaces (no more rolling dust on the piano keys and the white sink is now white again rather than a dirty beige); hoovered all the floors; made the bed; cleaned the bathroom (a necessity if I was going to have a bath!)  

I had just about flaked out when  I received a call from BBW to see how I was doing and who, knowing my love of lists, provided me with one.  

1.  Pour a large glass of wine
2.  Run a bath
3.  Pour another glass of wine to drink in the bath
4.  Have a bath
5.  Maybe have another glass of wine – this item was optional …

Unfortunately having crossed item 1 off the list the rest of list went a bit haywire owing to a random nosebleed.  For goodness sake, I haven’t had one of those since I was in school!  Irritating as nosebleeds are in general, it would have been OK if it hadn’t lasted 45 minutes … That’s quite a long time and I was beginning to get a bit worried.  I had a call from George after 15 minutes of pinching the soft part of my nose, and who left me to it sounding a bit worried and with a request to text her when it was over.  I had a call from Lou after 20 minutes, who left me to it sounding a bit worried but then texted me the number for NHS Direct and asked me to let her know when I was over.  I had a call from BBW who didn’t sound worried at all  but who then proceeded to call me every 5 minutes to see how I was doing, to check that my brain hadn’t come out of my nose and to suggest stuffing Kleenex up my nostril.  Every bone in my body said that was a bad idea, but after 35 minutes I was ready to try anything (except having to get a cab to A&E and sit in chairs for several hours before they stuffed a tampon up my nose …), so after 10 minutes of Kleenex, the final BBW call was met with the reassuring news that it had stopped – phew …

So points 2 to 5 on the list were revised to:

2.  Drink lots of water
3.  Have a shower – felt a bit safer that having a bath …
4.  Go to bed
5.  Item 5 was always optional but was abandoned in favour of sleep

Either way, now I’m back I’ve realised that there’s no place like home (I own a pair of red shoes so feel entitled to use that expression), and whilst I feel really weird (I really can’t quantify how I feel, but its really weird), I expect I’ll get used to it – probably just in time for us to sell the house and to have to move again...!

What time's the coach?

Well, I’m back then … Back to real life with a resounding bump! (

The last concert in Stuttgart was another good one – just as well really to round off the tour!  It was followed by a wee party thrown by Neville which was a great chance to really get round and natter with lots of people, have a drink, take photos, have a drink etc etc.  I suddenly realised that this was probably the last time I would be singing Mozart Requiem with Neville (apart from the Birmingham concert) so decided to ask him to sign my score, which he did (thank you very much).  All I can say is at least I got him to sign a score which belongs to me, and not one which actually belongs to the Academy and that I believe I conducted myself with decorum and didn’t say anything daft to someone “so famous …” Those who were present will understand these veiled comments, but I won’t be any more specific here!

The wee party decamped to the hotel bar (surprise, surprise) and definitely included some dancing and another late night – but then what the hell – the coach wasn’t due to take us to the airport until 1500 so there would be a chance for a lie in.  Or maybe not … Who’s idea was it to get up early to say goodbye to the Belgian members of the chorus who had taxis booked for 0915?  We waved them off and thought about going back to bed, but the lure of breakfast was too much, so spent a good couple of hours stoking up for the day (just as well we did as we didn’t get anything apart from a paltry bag of crisps on the plane …).  The day passed quickly and before we knew it we were off to the airport; the mood incredibly subdued, as it always is when a tour comes to an end.

I got back to the flat opened my suitcase, closed my suitcase – I just didn’t have the strength to consider the implications of unpacking / re-packing to move back into my house this weekend and after defrosting a Bolognese from the freezer went to bed!

So, back to life means a return to the old melancholy it would seem: being back at work is much as I expected, but I really must stick to my resolution that I work my hours (how many years have I been saying that in different jobs); I’ve come down with the “Tour cold”, which I hope will have gone by the 28th …; and I’ve still got flippin’ swollen ankles!  Ah well, maybe once I’m back in the house and unpacked and have caught up on sleep I’ll start feeling better – either way the biggest smile I’ve had since I came back was when I got a text from Ali saying “What time’s the coach?”

Freiburg to Stuttgart

Well I've added another place to my list of places to come back to. Freiburg is beautiful, but we had so little time here, plus it was a Sunday so there was not much open. We went for a walk in the old town and managed to take in some lovely buildings, but it was desperately cold, so we didn't manage to last long and after about an hour headed back (via a cone of chips and mayo!) to the hotel to warm up before the rehearsal.

I enjoyed a luxurious soak in the bath with my book, and realised that it was my first bath since leaving London. Before you go 'oooooer, bit wiffy Jools', I've been having showers instead which has been great, as I've missed having a shower the last few months, Lou's flat only having the disturbingly pink bath etc. I have always viewed baths as something of an indulgence and find it very difficult to have a quick functional bath in the way you can have a quick functional shower in the morning before work. The temptation to wallow is tremendous, and I've been finding the whole 'body wash before work’ thing a bit stressful, so it’s been great to have some good old vigorous German showers before a concert - just the thing to pep me up. Today however, because I’d ended up with more time to play with, I decided on a spot of indulgence and hoped having a bath wouldn't make me feel too much like just going to bed after!

The concert hall was attached to the hotel we were staying in, so it meant we could get ready in our rooms again (very civilized!) and then fling on a coat and wizz round the corner to the artists entrance ready for our bit in the second half of the concert. I hate to say this again, but it was another really good concert, we just seem to keep getting better, which is saying something as it was pretty damn good when we started in Hannover. I really enjoyed the acoustic - I don't know what it sounded like out front, but it felt so easy to sing there, the notes and runs were pinging out remarkably well and it was a really enjoyable experience.

The concert was followed by an 'official' photo of the choir - a couple with Neville before he was whisked off for dinner somewhere - and the rest with Johan, and then another night cap in the bar - I have a feeling there was some dancing at one point ... Oh dear! Bed was a late one but happily we didn't have to be on the coach to our final port of call, and our final concert :-( until 1100 this morning (luxury!), so I still managed a reasonable amount of sleep which is just as well, as the route we're taking to Stuttgart is through the mountains, and is far to pretty to try and sleep through.

Munich to Freiburg

Well breakfast was a bit of a disappointment this morning ... Funny how quickly I get used to a breakfast that's nothing like my 'real life' one (toast and honey, banana and a pint of water). I was expecting the usual Maritim experience - fresh fruit and a dollop of Quark, egg and bacon, Greek yogurt with honey and a plate of cheese ham and grapes which gets transferred to my Tupperware and serves as lunch on the bus / train (I know that sounds like a terribly rude thing to do, but my excuse is there is never anything I can eat in the buffet car or service station). However, this morning, in spite of it being another Maritim, all I managed to find was 2 halves of tinned peaches, bacon and rubbery scramble and a very grainy looking yogurt (I gave that a miss actually). I did manage to get a picnic, but there were no grapes, so cherry toms and apple it had to be. Either way, it'll go down nicely with the Sekt we managed to procure for later ...

I've been to Munich before and really loved it, but unfortunately we didn't get much time there this time. It was a case of dashing in, hanging the frock up, putting on my sexy thermal vest (Munich was having a relative heat wave at -5 degrees, so I was glad of an extra layer!) and heading straight back out to have a meander down to St Michael's church and the Neue Rathaus. Unfortunately the clock only works at 1100 and 1700, and as we had to be on the coach then to go rehearsal, we didn't get to see it in action. Consequently Munich has been added to the list (blimey, it’s been a while since I wrote one of those) of places I want to come back to when I've got some leave and some money!

The concert was another cracker - the orchestra reckoned it was the best so far and along with the audience were very generous with their applause which was nice of them. We're singing really well actually, working with Johan has meant that we have rediscovered our sound; an orchestra member said it was back to the sound that it had back when it recorded the soundtrack for Amadeus, which is great. We're pretty damn tight now (always room for improvement there though), have pretty damn impressive fortes and, even more gratifyingly, increasingly controlled and soft pianissimos. Its like each section is singing as one voice, the mixture of different voices is really blending with no voices dominating the texture, which is exactly how it should be. The real shame is that we have no idea when we're going to be singing together again (apart from the final concert in this tour which happens to be in Birmingham Symphony Hall on the 28th). It would be great to get back to London and go straight into working on some challenging acapella repertoire with Johan, but that's not to be, so I'd better enjoy this while it lasts! :-(

Once back at the hotel it was luggage down to the bus again for overnight transport to Freiburg and a freezing cold stomp out to a beer Keller where Weiss beer is brewed on the premises. We resembled snowmen by the time we arrived - shoot the person who said it was 10 minute walk - it was seriously cosy in there and after my first half pint mug of Cabernet Sauvignon (I was a bit disappointed not to be able to join the others in their litre stein's of beer) I had regained the feeling in my fingers and was enjoying some silly banter ("When I'm calling you" Ali & Shaz) and serious conversation with our lovely waiter Matthias about the construction of his lederhosen ...

We were kicked out at closing time and the lovely Stephen treated us to a cab back to hotel which meant that we made it into bed with enough time to manage a luxurious 5 hours sleep and if I'm lucky I might manage to snatch another hour or so on the train. Funny how this touring lark is just a continuous cycle of eating, drinking, singing and sleeping ...

Mannheim to Munich

Oooh, I do feel better to have got that last rant off my chest! We're now 4 hours into the journey and have just had our comfort stop; my revolving, auto flush loo was somewhat arthritic in that it revolved the seat with a creaking noise and forgot to flush! I had to do that bit myself and found that I was a bit affronted that I'd had to do it - having got used to everything being so automated over here! It's going to take me ages to get used to turning a tap on to wash my hands, rather than waving them under the outlet ...

We've definitely made into Bavaria - we kind of touched the top edge of it on Wednesday on the train from Berlin to Mannheim, but this is definitely Chitty Chitty Bang Bang territory and to make it even prettier it is coated with a couple of feet of snow. It's not snowing at the moment, but the trees are covered in frost and look like swathes of brilliant white coral along the sides of the road. We've been told its - 10 degrees in Munich, so it looks like I might get the chance to wear another one of the 7 vests I brought with me ...!

The concert last night was an absolute belter (BJ nod to GVS there). The hotel was opposite the concert hall so we were able to go back to the hotel after the rehearsal and do dresses and faces in the comfort of our own rooms. Much more civilized than having to hang around at the hall and then try and get a face on along with 10 other people crowded round 1 badly lit mirror; you'd assume when designing backstage concert facilities that someone would twig that adequately lit mirrors were a pre-requisite wouldn't you ???

We then walked to the hall ready dressed and had a sneaky glass of fizz before the audience turned out for the interval. A lovely relaxed way to prepare for a show I feel. The hall is a tricky acoustic to work with - it's quite difficult to hear everything - the rest of my section in fact! It felt like I was singing solo at some points! However, it went very well and personally speaking it felt like one of my best voice nights so far. The response from the audience was great and when the lovely Johan (chorus master extraordinaire) brought the choir to its feet, we were treated to a Mannheim Stamp, which was really kind and very loud!

We were all on a bit of a high after this and because we were so close to the hotel, we made it back the bar by 2215, so there was plenty of time for several G & T's, chips and mayo (I do miss chunky HITW chips BBW) and a sing along with Ivan and Babushka the in-house "entertainment" - Volare and Rockin' all over the world (complete with air guitar) were particular favourites(!), before an "early" night - well its all relative!