Frank Field spoke softly and precisely. Yesterday, amid the frantic explanations, he provided a reality check. He said that MPs, as a whole, were not held in the highest esteem. “It is difficult to think how much lower our collective reputation might sink.” Times
Regular readers will doubtless recall the excitement here when our kettle died on December 30th 2006. Aren’t blogs wonderful, they provide such a great record of these kind of milestones in our lives, don’t they.
Anyway, another year, another ****ing kettle. Now the obsolescence timer on its replacement has just gone off, so I have been kettle hunting again (by the way, my advice, don’t buy a Morphy Richards kettle).
I really am fed up with buying things just to add them to landfill a few months down the line. I believe I mentioned this when our toaster exploded (again) and we remortgaged and bought a Dualit.
Anyway, I think the best answer is to get a Russell Hobbs K5. Aside from anything else, you can get spares for them and they are, somewhat to my surprise, relatively cheap. Mind you, I still think £25 is a lot for a kettle.
I struggled to find one, I tried John Lewis, who only do expensive, stylish kettles, which presumably also have 1 year 1 day obsolescence timers installed like our deceased jug did. I tried Tesco Direct, but it was 3p under the free delivery price. I looked at Amazon, but again, would have got stung for delivery. Then I remembered, Argos, Argos have everything. I am just too much of a snob to shop there, I mentioned this when I bought the rodent repellers from them. So I keep trying to avoid them, but I seem to keep being drawn back, like a moth to a flame (or competitively priced camping lantern). Anyway, I did a stock check and have reserved a K5 for collection tomorrow. Sorted.
EDIT: the Russell Hobbs has a removable locking lid. What happens if you lose the key? And I bet you can’t guess where they make them.
This morning on the motorway in a traffic jam, the man in the car next to me wound down his window and shouted at me.
This was really rather kind of him, as what he was shouting was that Small’s door wasn’t shut properly. It took him a moment to let me know, but it really set me up for the day, knowing that ppl will take that moment, for a complete stranger.
Good start to the day. Bad traffic, but that’s nothing new. Standard day, although I did go out for lunch, to mark the leaving do of another developer. Asked at the pub what was quick and vegetarian, and was told tapas - it still took them 35 minutes to deliver it to my table though!
Small’s been caught out at school correcting A when she was reading to him, I suspect that he’s not going to admit he can read but may just be discovered with a book one day. Funny boy. Big has now read two Dear Max
Now I know why you might want one! Driving to work this morning was an experience I didn’t relish - the gears were hard work, my arm was aching by the time I got there, and I’d dreaded parking it throughout. But there were three spaces next to each other so it wasn’t a problem, and tonight the gears appeared to have remembered what they are supposed to do, so I got to cruise steadily home, in a car that other drivers appear to respect (or at least not feel the need to sit on the bumper of) and it was very nice 
The kids are very excited about riding in it tomorrow - maybe we’ll have a good journey up to school because of that?
Managed to be ever so good last night and prepare three days of lunches that include vegetables - this is quite an achievement for me. I must be the vegetarian with the worst possible diet, I’m never quite sure what I eat as fruit and vegetables don’t seem to feature very highly. Today though I’ve managed apple & blackcurrant juice (very much reduced at the coop yesterday), pasta salad with sweet potato and butternut squash, two plums, and a jacket potato with broccoli for tea. Count the dried fruit and nuts in my (small) bowl of breakfast cereal, and that’s got to be approaching a balanced diet, right? (There was cheese dotted around for protein too 
)
Sorry for the boring breakdown of menus, but I’ve become aware that I’m unfit and approaching fat, and it doesn’t please me at all. First the menus, then I’m going to change my exercise habits and perhaps I’ll regain some energy and joie de vivre along the way?
First day back at work as ever involved reading far too many emails - but I’d cleared the decks by 10.30 so that wasn’t too bad. Some of the project managers rang just to check in, nice to be missed! My boss missed me too, apparently it was a horrendous week, and we slipped back on our goals rather drastically, so at least I wasn’t bored today.
And that’s quite enough about work. Tim managed to find a whole bunch of our favourite tv last night, so I’m going to treat myself to a whole show, then do a bit of paperwork and get an early night.
[Dunno what the children did today, you’d have to ask Tim.]
in no particular order. Starts with view from the villa, easily the closest we’ve ever been to the centre, and yet still utterly peaceful.
You’ve also got children eating - very much a feature of the week. In fact, I think the thing that Small said most often was “I’m a little bit hungry”. The face painting was as done by Big - very successful right up until the point SB tried to remove the design and then we discovered that Big had possibly overdone the amount of black, especially around the eyes. There’s Helen crafting, and of course, the scrabble evening.
While at centerparcs, I had plenty of time to think and pplwatch, sitting in 6 inches of water as Small plodged about. One of the paddling pool areas has a built in sandpit, and I got to watch a number of children interacting with their parents in this area. For some reason, one of the thing most of the children did (although not Small oddly enough) was start throwing sand about. I think all but one set of parents reacted to this.
“No Thomas/ Cassie/ Charlotte/ James, don’t throw sand.”
Good, as far as it went. But all of the children continued to throw sand. And all but one set of parents seemed to feel that their parental duty had been exercised by the recitation of the phrase. I only saw one set of parents follow up their admonition - a small boy had the sand removed from his hands after he’d been told ‘no’ by both mother and father, and was given a ball instead, thus allowing him to continue throwing things if that was what he wanted to do.
I thought about this quite a lot, not least as I had to keep dodging the thrown sand. Why were all these highly committed parents so completely incompetent in this area, and did they realise what they were actually teaching their offspring? It seemed to me that not only were they allowing the sand to be flung about with gay abandon (it may be that they didn’t think that this was really a problem, and that’s certainly up for discussion too), but they were also teaching the kids that no doesn’t mean no, or only sometimes, and the best thing to do is just continue with whatever you’re up to, as you’ll probably get away with it anyway. And it seems to me that that is a far more significant lesson.
plutocracy: a controlling class of the wealthy
Well, nearly a week. We’ve had a lovely break in Centerparcs with the beans. I’ve yet to find my camera to share shots, but I have pics of crafts, meals and chatting, though none of the swimming that we did.
Swimming was the main feature of the week, though we did a couple less sessions than our companions. Small started the week by demanding to be taken to the pirate lagoon (that he remembered from our previous visit in Nov 2005, and according to him, from when we were there with Kirsty’s M too) where he sat down in the shallowest pool and laughed for 5 minutes solid. He was very happy By the end of the week he was bobbing around happily out of his depth and swimming with just the aid of his new CP ring. Big’s improvement was nowhere near as drastic, but she was still a lot more proficient at the end than at the beginning.
We also did crafts - scoobie-ing, sticking, painting, colouring and I got my crochet out, the jacket I started for Small last summer. It looks like it will still fit 
I didn’t read any of the books I took with me, but I did manage a couple of real life games of scrabble. (Would never have played that if I hadn’t been playing scrabulous, certain companies should take note.)
We travelled on on Friday to Tim’s dad’s funeral which was as pleasant as these things can be really. The children both attended and were extremely well behaved; Small was handed a couple of bags of toys by the vicar as we went in, and told by her on the way out that he deserved a star (montessori child that he is he looked at her completely blankly when she said this, probably wondering how I was going to achieve fetching him the sun 
) We then met many members of the extended families, and received many more compliments on beautiful well behaved offspring. So any or all fears of possible disasters allayed, that was pretty much that.
‘Nother day with family today, and then finally home tonight, with terribly over tired children who appear to be determined not to sleep. Well, Big isn’t sleeping and I think she’s trying to inflict it on Small too. And as I have much to do tomorrow, I will save finding the camera til then and clear off to bed myself.
nature in the form of little boys round here anyway. I tidied up the table, cleaned the floor under it, hoovered the rug (with Big’s help) and hoovered the ceiling (can you tell my tax return is due?). Then I went upstairs to empty bins and things, and came back to find that the nice clear table is now full of little orange balls of luminous floam stuff.
Managed a couple of rows of knitting to reward myself for all that tidying activity, and then Big started with the questions “why did Grandfather die?”. We discussed that, and then funerals some more (both children have decided to attend, which I think I’m pleased about) and then she started worrying about what will happen to his things. So that leads on to tax, wills, inheritance and all sorts of other things, via a few tissues to clear up the sniffles.
Tim has just rung, he will be back around tea time, assuming that the roads are kinder than they were last time. Still time to do lots more tidying and sorting, if I can keep myself motivated then.
and shedloads to do, so consequently, a nice motivational list
Washing (one load drying, one load to put away, one load in, another to go throughnow one load through and hung up to dry, two loads to put away and one load in last load through and hung up now - blast have just realised have put dark load in without my fleece that I wanted to wash 
)
Tidying:
living room now sorted out the area under the table, cleared the table and hoovered, including the ceiling!,
kitchen [dry stuff put away, washing up done, sides wiped down],
kids room,
dining room.
paperwork
car
other car
tax
miscellaneous stuff that needs dealing with.
finances
cheques (will have to wait til Tim’s back - post has arrived without car tax, so not going to get that til Monday now )
credit cards?
anything else
shed
sort it out enough for the cat to get in through the cat flap while we’re away shed now sorted enough so that the catflap opens and closes and there’s room for him to get up onto the old beanbag in there (which is really warm. Only have to teach him to use the catflap now!).
(I’m really worried about leaving the cat, he’s still quite young and we haven’t left him before. Mother is going to come down and feed him - I’m hoping that she might occasionally spend a bit of time with him, but I want him at least to be able to come and go from the shed so he’s got somewhere warm and safe.)
holiday
pack!
shop for wellies, swimsuits. Again this will have to be tomorrow now. Bother.
that’s how I ended the day, with Johnny Cash and June Carter. Walk the Line
Rest of the day was taken up by work - I went to bed relatively early last night, and still slept in - woken by a figure in pink by the bed “Mummy, your alarm is going off, we’re going downstairs.” It had been going off for two minutes and I hadn’t stirred. Then while I was still considering being upright, the phone rang, and the working day had started.
I don’t recommend working in support for the faint of heart - it’s not a good combination. So today was the second day this week I was up against it, and the second day it all came together beautifully. That kind of problem I can cope with
Children were good - Big brought me cups of tea! Small came to find me as and when he needed assistance (not often these days - can’t believe he’s almost 5!) and was thrilled when our Bobby the Boiler book arrived, especially as I’d had it send addressed to him. He’s cottoning on to this sort of thing now “Did you order this for me Mummy?”
“Yes.”
Pause. Big smile. “Fanks.”
He’s ever so worth it
Big did her piano practice and considered recorder and then decided she’d lost it. :wall: Mind, I can’t speak. Today, I really needed my mooncup, and could I find it? Could I *rude words*. Then after I’d given up and gone for another solution, there it was, in the middle of the office floor. No, I’ve no idea how it got there either. Sigh.
So, we’ve made it through a couple of days without Tim again. He should be back sometime tomorrow hopefully, although I haven’t heard an eta yet. (Could be on my mobile, but that’s upstairs and I’m not).
And for a moment, I thought this post, had been eaten, but it was only the last paragraph that’s gone. So you’ll have to cope without that I’m afraid. Goodnight.
One more day and then I’m off for a week. I’m technically on emergency support cover Sat and Sun for a colleague currently setting up a new installation in Abu Dhabi, but I’m hopeful that that will be a very minimal level of support needed.
Today I’ve really struggled with focus. Tim set off this morning about 9.30 and the smalls have pretty much entertained themselves all day with occasional assistance with food, or setting up digital comics, or finding piano books, you know the kind of thing. I’ve just had to practically wrestle them out of the bath, I think they were hoping on staying in there until they’d turned into frozen prunes, and now they are in bed, listening to Pippi Longstocking. I’m hoping for another day of cooperation tomorrow, and then maybe the car tax will arrive on Saturday, and even if it doesn’t Tim will be back with the other car.
Had a difficult conversation with Big this morning. Tim’s father died at the weekend, and the funeral will be next week while we are on holiday in the vicinity. So I asked her whether she knew if she wanted to go - she didn’t really know what a funeral is, not surprisingly. So we talked about that for a little bit, then tears welled up and she asked if she could go and listen to a tape for a while by herself. My children appear to be very much Tim’s children in this regard, they internalise deep feelings far more than I’ve ever expected. And then they work through it in their own good time, and then we deal with it together.
My sister rang in and amongst this, and sounded disapproving when I said we were thinking of taking Big to the funeral. I can’t see why not if she knows what it is and what will happen and she wants to go (and for that matter, the same applies to Small). Am I mad? Surely it’s better not to hide all this behind grown up doors, like the book
So it’s not surprising that we’re all a little tired and frayed at the moment. Even with the funeral, I’m still looking forward to the holiday. There’s lots I should be getting out of the way before then, but instead I’m making myself some jacket potatoes, and then I’m going to bed. I’m ever so tired.
Big had a good birthday. She liked her box of bits this morning, and dressed in her new skirt and some new tights. Her present from E at school was very well received, unsurprisingly as she adores him (and it was a very nice present, an Emily Windsnap 2 book gift box
) and at school she got to bake a cake and do her birthday walk (outside in the rain, so that Henry the rabbit who shares her birthday could join in!)
Home again, and Grandma was persuaded to visit, and lots of ppl rang her to wish her happy birthday. There were more presents: clothes and a Russian Doll Painting Kit
Hohum. Back to the birthday. Big had a fabulous day, and her only disappointment is that a proffered shopping trip for tomorrow after school can’t be taken up as I’ve no car tax to drive the car to work with (Tim is away down to Suffolk again tomorrow). So me and them will be stranded at home with a perfectly serviceable mercedes sitting on the drive, waiting for the tax disc to wend its weary way here. Still, means that I don’t have to tangle with the M1 for a bit, which is cause for some celebration from my point of view. Plus the children were up ludicrously late, and I suspect will not be ready to rise and shine at 7 in the morning (and if I don’t get off to bed now I won’t feel much like it by 8 either!)
to my darling 8 year old girl
Have spent the evening putting together pictures for her birthday walk, and gathering the bits of her present from hiding places around the house.
(And have just realised have broken with tradition and have nothing to give Small. yeek - will have to improvise.)
Have mailed ClassicFm hoping for a dedication on the school run, and she’s having a special day with Ailsa, baking her own cake.
Or some such. Today the children have watched Muzzy in Mandarin, although Small was convinced it was French. (I wonder if French, in his mind, just means anything that doesn’t sound like English?) Anyway, Big has figured out that Nee-ha means hello, and has also finally cracked what I’m talking about when I tell her to talk English rather than American - she realised that you can pronounce the same word different ways. (Which she has been doing since spending a whole evening with two girls with American accents - I really don’t believe it’s that catching).
I got to work, eventually (only 90 minutes for 44 miles, sigh) to find a somewhat depleted office - my co deputy was on holiday and the person I deputise for was off sick. (She’s got the bug, and if she comes back in the office this week, I’m leaving, I’m not risking catching it by being anywhere near her!) That would usually be the recipe for an absolutely chaotic day, but someone hadn’t read the script, and actually, it was rather quiet. Which was good, as it meant I could get on with all the stuff that is important but never urgent, and thus ends up being utterly critical but never at the top of the list.
Ran out and shopped at lunchtime (with only one car at the moment Tim can’t do his usual little trips out) and was very tempted to buy myself a workout dvd. I’ve never bought one before (unless you count pilates for pregnancy, and I never did that either!) but this one
So what do you reckon, should I go for it? I do actually have most of the price in Valued Opinions rewards atm, so I could buy it without feeling the slightest bit guilty
Hm, we’ve just had a not so small visitor. She’s hot. And she did indeed have bright red cheeks. Please don’t let her be coming down with something for her birthday! That really wouldn’t be fair on her. (though it would be better for her to get anything out of the way this week. I really need the holiday next week, please can I have the holiday next week?)
Anyways, I didn’t sleep all that well last night, and it’s boring being thrashed so comprehensively at scrabulous, so I think it might be time for bed.
We went out to a pub this afternoon to celebrate my mother’s birthday. (We also sang for Big, b’day due this week.) Small took along Muzzy (the green cuddly monster toy, rather than the cds/dvds) and Donkey (an irritating small McToy that says “are we there yet?” “shre-e-ek” and “peekaboo” in rotation), while Big took along Starring Sally J.Freedman as Herself
“She’s reading Judy Blume???”
Um yes? Can’t see the problem with that. Turns out that sister was unaware that Judy Blume had written anything for children - I think of her primarily as a children’s/ teen author, and was quite surprised (as well as pleased) to lay hands on an adult novel when at camp last year. So the misconception was quickly cleared up (I read out loud part of the introduction) and no one commented adversely on a 7-nearly-8 year old sitting reading at the table while waiting for her food to arrive. Just as well really - the other two children at the table were playing with a mobile phone and a ds (or some similar, couldn’t actually see what brand it was from where I was sitting) and I can’t see that that is particularly more sociable!
Guess times change. A year ago Big was still on fairy books, and wouldn’t have dreamed of reading outside of 10 minutes before lights out. I think she was still at the couple of pages a day, or possibly just about ready to go onto something more challenging. [eta, nope, she was on the book a night stage, found the relevant blogpost! And when I was a child, reading in company was the type of thing I was roundly chastised for as being antisocial (which was why I went today bristling and ready to do battle ). So having my now avid reader praised for her reading at the dinner table seemed like a pretty good state of affairs today.
Tim got back a lot later than planned Friday evening (something to do with traffic jams at Grantham) so I’d already taken Big over to Barbara’s for E’s birthday. Small was very pleased to have daddy to himself, and even more pleased when my friend Alison turned up too. I took him out and got him a Happy Meal, and then we had a chinese later on after he’d finally gone to bed. This of course was after resolving the work related crisis that confused the life out of me when my work phone rang - I didn’t recognise the noise as I’ve never heard it before!
So that was nice.
Yesterday morning involved convoluted arrangements to return hire cars and retrieve offspring, but all was achieved and we returned to base in time for lunch. Lazy afternoon with the children playing with Alison, and then lazy night with Tim cooking (a three course meal no less), a good bottle of wine, and we shmuzzled
Didn’t really want to get up this morning - but we needed shopping so have dragged myself out of bed to write a list, and Tim’s wandered off to find a shop. Not sure where he’s gone, we’ve decided to try to be more Cooperative this year but he may well have just gone to the nearest opoly this morning.
Had a week in Suffolk after delivering Lily to university - my father is very ill, and slipping.
I love Suffolk, and I was very well taken care of by my brother and sister-in-law while I was there, lots of very good food and drink.
Found this in a book of my father’s. It has always amused me and the mindset of the ‘local’ is very much what Suffolk people are like - they are very helpful and kind, but they won’t intrude or impose. Also, I remember someone I worked with me a long time ago telling me that life is all about asking the right questions.
The driver of this traction engine, Thomas Newell, was killed at Fornham Bridge on 16 June 1890. He was travelling with his steerer (Mr A. Hunt, who escaped injury) when they came to the bridge. Being a stranger to the district the driver asked a local if he had ever seen an engine cross the bridge. The local replied that he had and with that they drove the traction engine onto the bridge and it gave way. At the inquest their informant said they never asked him if the bridge was safe (which he knew it was not) but if he had seen an engine cross it (which he had!).
listening to Season’s End: Remastered
It hasn’t been a good start to the year so far, what with all that is going on. Sympathies to anyone else having a tough time too. Tim is still down in Felixstowe, and I don’t feel it’s my place to blog about his family, but right at the moment I’m not getting long cheery phone calls for him and I really don’t know what to say. I feel like maybe I ought to be there, but I wouldn’t know what to say if I was there. His family have always been very welcoming and accepting of me (can you be one without the other? Not sure) but given my own contorted family background, I’m just not overly good at family. So while I care very deeply about them all, I don’t know precisely how I’m supposed to be reacting right now. (Forget which of you know what, sorry for the obtuseness and all that. Tim and I are fine, before any of you leap to the conclusion that one of my work colleagues did that he’s left me!)
So there’s that, and there’s the exhaustion of really not sleeping well - Small had a major coughing fit last night and kept both of us awake for ages, there’s the stress of the whole car thing (trying to sort out insurance just now for a car that I don’t (yet) own, which was imported, and I have no idea how much it’s valued, while I have an insurance claim ongoing and can’t remember the details of the last one where the guy drove into me (which actually runs out this year, phew, it’s nearly 5 years ago (shriek, which means Small is nearly 5!))) (loads of nested brackets, can you tell I’m a programmer? ), and there’s the day to day stress level of working in a support environment, and I could do with a holiday.
Just as well I’ve a couple booked
Not sure I can be bothered to waffle on in such a bizarre way, and I think I ought to go get some food. ‘Night all.
as I really ought to be in bed. Very tired after another bad night last night - could have been the wind, but whatever it was, didn’t sleep well.
Anyways, usual journey to work, by which you can assume that the kids fought in the back of the car, I tried not to sob as I pleaded with them to stop it, and somehow we all survived anyway. (So thankful they weren’t in the car with me last week, doubt I’d have managed to persuade them back into one yet.)
Dropped them off with Small pretending to be a dog - said to his (new) teacher (directress is such a formal word!) “he’s a big quiet today”
“subdued?” she said, looking surprised/ worried.
“Oh no” I said as he bounced past “he’s just decided not to talk for a bit!”
(Apparently that wore off quite soon )
Usual day at work, so we won’t talk about that. Minor frustration when I tried to arrange car insurance for the offered loan car - the aa won’t touch it as it’s not in my name, and the owner isn’t related to me. Grr.
Usual journey to school, apart from the newly sprouted roadworks, which caused me to break my sole resolution (to not be late to pick the kids up from school). Bleargh. And then we were very late leaving school as Ailsa and I were chatting and Small was reading a book with a K. (That’s a person called K rather than a book about the letter )
[Think I forgot to blog yesterday that Small is really building up to reading now, in a hugely roundabout fashion. He’s been writing words in his book, and he brought it to me, and then read them to me. Except it wasn’t that it was reading you see, he was just telling me what they said :wall: 
]
Ailsa tells me that Small spent most of the day in the elementary classroom today, following a small incident reasonably early on this morning. This was a good thing in his book - he got to do arithmetic and adding and stuff with Ailsa. Not sure how Big felt about it, and I then went on to compound the problem by mentioning that I might train as a montessori teacher. This is not a good thing - she doesn’t want me at school in her place. Not too surprising, but slightly painful to be told anyway.
Brought to mind my relationship with my own mother - I do begin to wonder if it was that she tried and I just never recognised her trying, rather than possible alternatives. Food for thought anyway.
Oh, and there was a message on the answerphone confirming that my car is a total loss, and asking whether I need to go and clear out any personal belongings. Sob.
rounds: 4 / 95 (4%)
sections: 5 / 10 (50%)
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