No interesting title for this blog update...

It is now October? When did that happen? I am hating the darker mornings and am struggling to get out of bed. If I am like that now, what on earth will I be like when we change the clocks? I dread to think.

So, school has been busy... too busy! I am not liking the new strategy and planning from it is a big pain in the butt - feels like I'm reinventing the wheel...again!

Last week I was poorly sick with a bad cold. I phoned my mum Tuesday evening and she said her and dad had the lurgi...by 10pm I had it! I had no idea you could catch it over the phone! Must be a new strain!! ;o) So, there was no Body Attack on Thursday or Sunday for me. On Thursday it was an effort to move, let alone run around like a loony for an hour!

Carl's folks came to visit this weekend. I was still feeling rough so we ended up watching a lot of TV and eating out! We had a gorgeous meal out at The Sun In The Wood (after playing crazy golf - I came 3rd...2nd if you don't include the last hole, which takes as many shots as the other 8 holes put together!) and we had Sunday Roast at Toby Carvery on Sunday. Yum-tastic!

Apart from that, we had a lovely curry at the Flitter-Brookes household, along with some Viking mayhem in the form of Pathfinder....sadly we had to leave halfway through due to arrival of the in-laws.
Carl and I are catching up on TV stuff and how now seen Lost season 1 - a little behind I know!! Season 2 disk 1 has arrived and so far we have watched episode 1. Would like to have watched more but maths planning got in the way :o(
Lou and I had a lovely girlie catch up a couple of weeks ago, which was great. It felt like we hadn't seen each other properly in ages, and after a drive around Beedon and the surrounding villages, we ended up in Newbury town eating pasta!

Can't think of anything else I have done, but then again I seem to have a poor memory of late!

SPIDER ATTACK!

Last week I was under attack by GIANT SPIDERS!! No I have arachnaphobia in a major way, so obviously, this was not good. We did have a giant spider in the dining area a week or so ago, but now they seem to be getting bigger!
On Wednesday, Carl was in London on a course. I had been doing some work when Carl phoned and said he'd be home about 9 and to eat without him, so Iwent downstairs to do just that. I got to the bottom of the stairs and realised it was a bit chilly, so I turned round to go and get my fleece. And there it was. On the vertical part of the corner step...the largest spider EVER!! I legged it, feeling like I was going to be sick and then paniced. Carl wasn't going to be home for over an hour...it might move by then! And I was cold and there was NO WAY I could get past the Spider. So, I decided to phone Putin, but I don't have his number, so I called Nicky and got the answer phone...so I decided to go round there! I was desperate. Nicky, my hero, dispensed of the Biggest Spider In The World (she said it was the biggest she'd seen!) Hurrah! So THANKS NICKY...and sorry I disturbed your dinner!!
Then, yesterday, I went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and there it was, on the windowsill, another GIANT BL**DY SPIDER!!! How do they get in! I want to seal up the house somehow, so there would be no way of them getting in. All spiders should be extinct!! I hate them! Luckily Carl disposed of it...so brave!! I have no idea what we'd do if we were both arachnophobic - live in fear I expect!

So what else have I done this week? I went to the hygienist, which was fine, tried to go to Body Attack on Thursday, but it was FULL (I was a bit miffed about that! I'll have to make sure I get their earlier this week!) but managed to go on Sunday (3rd person there!!! A bit early!), carl sorted out the ballcock in the attic, so no more dripping on the conservatory roof! Great news for me! It was like Chinese water torture (just got to get the tap in my classroom fixed and I'm sorted!)

We went to see the Bourne Ultimatum with Nicky and Ross on Saturday evening. After driving to Reading and it being sold out (which came as a suprise as it has been out ages!) we went to Basingstoke! I really enjoyed the film. I was a bit worried as I couldn't really remember the 1st two films, but there were recappy bits and you didn't need to reacll too much detail. There were a couple of funny moments, but I wont divulge them in case you've not seen it yet. Great film!

Lets just hope, that having blogged about spiders, I don't dream about them now!!!

Stuff...

The magic corner unit arrived and is now fitted and working! Hurrah!! The extractor also arrived, and we will put that up soon too! It;s all coming together!

Ross and Nicky became our neighbours on Saturday...only for a few months mind! We were on hand to help unload the van, which didn't take too long...especially when you compare it to the one we had when we moved!! Welocm neighbourinos!! We celebrated with pizza and wine! Yum!

On Sunday I went to body attack again...I feel like it is doing more good going twice a week. Here's hoping! Then it was off to Twickenham with Putin and Nicky to see the Police in concert! They were FANTASTIC!!! Sting's son was in the first warm up band, then it was Maximo Park, the the main act! They played all the classics! We had a great time, and many laughs due to the bloke behind me and Carl who danced most of the way through the concert by thrusting is crotch back and forth, looking like he was humping our heads!! Everytime Nicky and Ross looked over they cracked up, and I couldn't look at Carl without seeing the thrusting crotch! Nicky and I wondered if he was actually just trying to swing his pants, Trev and Simon style! There were also a couple of girls who were dancing very strangely...they obviously thought they were gorgeous and were oblivious to everyone around them...more chuckles....we were just glad they weren't in front of us! We didn't get home till gone 12.30am...so I was rather tired at school today!! It was worth it though!

First week back (so far)...

...and I am shattered!!

Last Saturday we attempted to fit the magic corner unit...only to find that it was faulty...no magic...in fact it didn't even open properly! So we dismantled it and I called the B&Q helpline. They were apologetic (after all the first one we ordered was incorrect and now this one faulty) but their delivery system is stupid. Let me explain. Our extractor is being delivered on Wednesday, so I asked if it could be delivered on the same day, as we would have already taken 3 days off work (I know I was on school holidays, but I would have gone in if I could!) He went off and said that wasn't possible as the system decides the date, and it would be delivered on Friday....and the old one taken away on Monday! WHAT?!?! Where is the sense there? They can't take the onld one away while delivering the new one?!?!? ANd why can't they just add the new one onto the delivery for the extractor? CRAZY! And I said as much! I asked if it could be delivered to the store instead. He said it could, but the store would have to organise it. So it was off to B&Q. After a long discussion to try and get the assistant to understand what we were going on about, and even longer on hold, the new unit is now being delivered on Friday to the store and the store have the faulty one...better than nothing!

The good news is my car passed its MOT...after the nice Mr Welder man fixed it (it was REALLY rusty...holes and everything!)

I am quite worn out, even after 2 days back at school! I have been to body attack twice this week though...maybe that's something to do with it!!

Lat week of the holidays...

...and boy has it zoomed by so far!!

After being 'ladies that lunch' with Lou and Nicky on Friday, doing more kitcheny bits on Saturday we went back to Potton to visit my family on Sunday. Everyone is fine and well and Joshua is growing up fast...but still can't say 'Auntie Ray.' I may change my nickname...he seems to say car and lorry at every opportunity, so, I could be Auntie Lorry and Carl could be Uncle Car! Yes, we could be modes of transport!! Although, I don't really won't be a compared to a lorry!! We had a nice time catching up with everyone...and carl even watched the motor racing and rugby with my dad!!
On Monday we went to the Po household for a BBQ. We had lovely food (thanks Mr and Mrs Po) and great fun on the trampette...the best bit was watching the guys pose about on it! (Photos of Putin being Spiderman, and Chudders being Batman, trampette styleeeee!)

After the BBQ we settled down to watch the legendary Centre Parcs video. I must say I haven't laught that much, or been that embarrassed for years! I had no idea I did this strange pointy dancy thing in front of the camera - mortified. Joey did a fantastic Blair-witch moment! The cook-off was hilarious, Po doing a fabulous impression of Jamie Oliver, Joey taking the piss out of Po and Putin being an awesome camera-man. Soo many funny moments I can't possibly mention them all! We all laughed so much, Putin was scarlet and I was crying! Classic!!!

All this hilarity was followed this week by lots of waiting around for deliveries from B&Q. Tuesday everything except the correct magic corner unit (they ordered us one for the wrong side of the kitchen!) and the extractor unit arrived, and Friday the correct magic corner unit!

On Wednesday it was back to school for a day of planning. Why does it take so long? In a way it was nice to be back...it is sooo much better without the kids!!! ha ha!

Today my car failed its MOT...due to a rusty sill apparently! The welder is coming next week to fix it! I knew it was a bit rusty, but just wasn't sure if it was too rusty to pass the MOT...guess it was!

Am still going to Body Attack, and have decided to up it to twice a week...Thursday eve and Sunday morning...let's see how long it lasts!!

The kitchen

We have started to redo our skanky manky kitchen. Colin and Sonia kindly came up to help us as they are experts and we are, well, not! We had a busy 4 days, with countless trips to B&Q and various other places to get bits we didn't have and return bits we didn't need. After 4 days hard work our kitchen isn't finished (thanks to B&Q not having everything in stock!) but it is far superior to the old disgusting one. See Ray's Pics blog for photos!

The Ireland Blog!

Carl and I enjoyed visiting Ireland and would happily go again.

Thursday 9th August
We arrived at Bournemouth airport early! Too early to be checked in!! (not like Barcelona then!) After check in and baggage checks (which took no time at all) it was time for lunch and a few drinks!
After drugging up Barb so she could actually get on the plane it was a scramble for seats. Charlotte couldn’t sit with C and me as we in the emergency aisle and was not an adult (although she paid adult fare?!?) The fight was fine, although the landing was loud as they used airbrakes. Barb said it was all terrible, screamed in Charlotte’s ear and tried to break Bern’s hand!
On arrival we collected the baggage and picked up the hire car – a very nice 07 reg Ford Focus – with a huge boot!
It was now rush hour time as we drove from Shannon towards Limerick, our first stop. We were staying in a Travelodge, and although I had addresses for all the B&Bs we’d been staying in, I’d forgotten to get the address for the Travelodge. Not a problem, we thought, It’ll be signposted… After an hour of driving through Limerick and out the other side, we were told it was on Ennis Road…the road we’d come into Limerick on….so we’d managed to drive right past it! The Bern pipes up that he saw a sign for Travelodge earlier, but thought it was an advert when he couldn’t see it! Not that he mentioned any of this at the time.
We eventually found the Travelodge…with it’s neon sign covered by trees, yes we nearly missed at again!
After freshening up, we drove back into Limerick for dinner. We ate at the Texas Steakout, which had a warm friendly atmosphere and the food was pretty good.
After a busy, tiring day, feeling full and having had a nice cup of tea, we crawled into bed.

Friday 10th August
We were up at 8am, watching She-Ra and Transformers on TV while getting showered and dressed. Breakfast was at Eddie Rocket’s American Style Diner, a 60’s style place which was next to the Travelodge. I decided to have the Power Breakfast, knowing we wouldn’t be eating for ages as the wedding was at 1.30. After our fill, we got togged up in our wedding gear and headed off to Ennis. After driving to Ennis, and being unsure of where we were (again!), we spotted a couple of landmarks on JP and Caoimhe’s map and arrived at the church in Ruan more than an hour early! After about 45mins other people started arriving, so we stepped out into the drizzle and into the church. JP arrived at 1.15, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights! Caoimhe arrived half hour later and the service commenced.
After the wedding, it was still raining, so it was straight to Ennistymon for the reception at the Falls Hotel. After another ‘are you sure this is the right way?’ journey and finally finding a town that was on the map, we arrived, assuming we’d be late and that everyone else would already be there, but we were one of the first to arrive! After checking in, finding our rooms, marvelling at the vampire toilet (It doesn’t have a proper reflection!) and having a cuppa, we headed to the bar as it was about 2 hours till the wedding breakfast.
At about 6.30 we headed down for the wedding breakfast and we on the same table as Gillian and David (Gillian is a friend of JPs from school) who were lovely. After the starter and soup it was time for the speeches, on which bets were placed. We said 41.41 for 4 speeches. We were no where near, the time being about 25mins and the priest won!! He couldn’t accept the €100 win, so the money went to charity. Then we had the main meal (delicious!), pudding (yummy!) and tea/coffee after which we all felt quite spherical! By the time we’d finished eating it was almost 10.30! The tables were then pushed back and the evening continued with a live band, which played some ‘hits’ but mostly Irish music. I even managed to get Carl up to dance for 2 songs! We went up to bed at about 12.30, and we heard the reception going on until about 2am, as our room was above it!

Saturday 11th August
After breakfast and a walk around the hotel grounds to view the waterfalls by the hotel, it was off to our first destination…The Cliffs of Moher. This was to be one of the highlights of our trip to Ireland, seeing the cliffs, rising over 700ft out of the Atlantic, stretching for nearly 5 miles along the coast. Sadly, we didn’t get to see much of the cliffs…and we renamed it the Mists of Moher, as that was what we saw! After a quick wander round we decided to move onto our next destination, popping back if the weather improved. So, it was north to Doolin to see Doolin Cave. Doolin Cave is the home off ‘the great stalactite,’ discovered in 1952 and measuring 6.54 metres (20 feet) in length, it is recognised as being the longest stalactite in the Northern hemisphere. After a minibus ride to the site, we were issued with hard hats and descended over 80ft to the first tunnel. The most impressive part of the tour is the Stalactite itself which is immense. You enter the chamber with all lights turned off, so it is near on total darkness, as it would have been when it was discovered. Then the lights come on…there certainly is a WOW factor (lots of awe and wonder!)
After the tour, we had a pub lunch (we were starving by this time!) in Doolin before taking the coastal road back towards The Cliffs of Moher, were we chose not to stop as the mists had come in even more! We continued along the coastal roads, taking in the sights, through Liscannor, Rinneen, and Quilty before going inland towards Cooraclare and Kilrush and onto Killimer to catch the ferry across the River Shannon, from Co Clare and into Co Kerry. The 20minute ferry ride was fine and we arrived in Tarbert and headed to the neighbouring town of Glin in Co Limerick! We stayed in O’Driscoll B&B, which was very nice.
After settling in, and having a little siesta, we headed off to O’Shaughnessy, a local ‘typically Irish’ pub for a drink. The pub was, well, not somewhere I would usually frequent! Its wooden floors and old bar had a certain charm, and as we sat and drank our beverages the only thing I could think of was ‘they really need to wash their net curtains!’ I mean COME ON! There was on old drunken Irish man, propping up the bar, swearing a lot, as is the norm apparently! After one drink, we were ready to leave, stopping off for some takeaway before crawling into bed. Having said that, Carl and I watched a fascinating game show, whose rules seemed rather complicated and you won €1000 for getting picked out of the audience! Sounds good to me!

Sunday 12th August
After a delicious full Irish breakfast we set off towards Tralee to tour The Dingle Peninsula. The route we took around the Peninsula was lovely. Firstly we travelled to Castlemaine, taking a detour to a viewing point to see the views of Castlemaine harbour and the valley and mountains of Killarney. En route to the viewing point we did wonder how many people travelled that way as it was rather narrow. Arriving at the top, we took in the views, especially observing the litter - an empty box for a blow up doll and a vacuum cleaner…chuckling to ourselves, wondering if the same person left them both and what they were doing with them half way up a mountain!!
From Castlemaine we took another detour, this time criss-crossing across the peninsula to view the north coast. We drove through Glennagalt Valley (The Valley of the Mad – so called because the water from a well in the valley was said to cure insanity) and then drove to Inch and stopped off at Inch Strand. Inch Strand is a beautiful 4 mile long sandy beach backed by dunes. After walking along the beach, watching an insane man go into the sea (it was cold!) and running up and down the sand dunes like children, we had lunch at Sammy’s Restaurant.
Feeling full, we headed off towards Anascul and on towards Dingle. We stopped off in Dingle and took a walk along the high street, taking in the brightly coloured shops. It was then off on ‘Slea Head Drive’ to drive the coastal road of the peninsula. Charlotte and I stopped off to see the Fahan Beehive Huts (and use the little boys/girls portaloo – see piccy!) The Beehive Huts were originally farmsteads of the free farmers of the Early Christian Period and would have been inhabited from ancient times until 1200AD. We then continued on to Slea Head, passing a Crucifixion shrine known as ‘The Cross’ and taking in the views over Blasket Sound and its islands, which were very picturesque. It was then on to Dunmore Head (yes…great name isn’t it!!), Ballyferriter to the Gallarus Oratory. The Gallarus Oratory is a 1300 year old stone building built by early Christians as a church. It is amazing really, the way it was built and the fact it is waterproof!! We then headed back towards Dingle seeing the ruins of a Romanesque church at Kilmalkedar along the way.
We then decided it was time to head to our next bed and breakfast in Skibereen….which was quite a drive! It took longer than expected due to very windy roads (and a windy car!!) We decided that there was no way you could actually travel at the 100km speed limit and stay on the road!! After driving through Killarney, through parts of Kerry’s National Parks (the best bit was driving through tunnels that went through the mountains!! Cool!) and through Bantry we were starving, and being a Sunday, a little worried that we would remain that way, thinking all the restaurants would be closed!!
We arrived in Skibereen and were staying in a farmhouse, which was cheap and cheerful. We headed into town and the only non-take-away, chippy-type place still serving was a Chinese restaurant. Being allergic to Chinese food, I was worried about ending up with chicken and chips, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had a lovely black bean sauce with chicken and rice. It was then back to the farmhouse for a well earned sleep…
…until 4.30 am when the fire alarm woke us up! Boy was it LOUD!! Luckily it was a false alarm and we didn’t have to evacuate, but by that time I was awake and struggled to get back to sleep. Bah!

Monday 13th August
After a poor night sleep we were up early, had another full Irish breakfast before heading off along the south coast towards Cork. Our first stop was Ross Carbery to see the Drombeg Stone Circle, dating back to 2nd century BC. It was then back into the car towards Clonakilty, Courtmacsherry and Kinsale, where we stopped for a well deserved beverage. Kinsale is ‘one of Irelands most picturesque coastal towns’ and I did think it was pretty. We walked along the harbour and around a few shops and had a refreshing cuppa in a rather hot café! It was then up to Cork, stopping briefly at a retail park before heading to Blaney and its castle.
We arrived in Blaney and were rather hungry! We walked past a few cafés and restaurants and found them rather pricy, so opted to get a baguette from the supermarket! The baguettes were freshly made and rather yummy. We sat outside munching away when we were bothered by a wasp. Barb had a hissy fit, and so we had to move rather swiftly to the opposite end of the park, away from Mr Wasp. After about 10 minutes Bern realised he’d left his digital camera on the bench and hotfooted it back to our original location, which was next to a group of lads. Barb was certain the camera would be gone, and asked me every 10 seconds or so if I could see anything – which I couldn’t – she could probably see more than me, being long-sighted!! Carl followed Bern and we then saw them disappear into the supermarket. The boys had seen the camera and handed it in. Big phew all round!
After the traumatic lunch, we headed into Blaney castle, deciding to go straight to the stone to get that done so we could then wander around more leisurely. After a short queue we had all kissed the stone (except Barb!) and went for a wander. My favourite bits of the castle were the garden walks. They were very pretty and entertaining too! Lots of nooks and crannies to investigate…along with a bit of tree climbing!!
After thoroughly looking around the castle and its grounds, we headed off to our next B&B destination near Mallow. This didn’t take too long at all as we travelled along one of the best roads we’d come across in Ireland!
On arrival we had tea and scones and a chat with our hostess. We then freshened up before heading off into Doneraile for some food and returning for an early night.

Tuesday 14th August
Our last day in Ireland. Our flight was at 1.30, so to take full advantage of our remaining time we got up early, had yet another full Irish breakfast, and headed back up to Limerick and spent the morning seeing Bunratty castle and Folk Park. The castle itself involves going up and down lots of spiral staircases to get to various rooms. The castle was well maintained and interesting to walk around. I particularly enjoyed the folk park, walking around the tiny thatched cottages, the reconstructed ‘high street’ and seeing the donkeys! All too soon it was time to leave, so it was off to the airport to return the hire car, having lunch at the airport and flying home. On this flight Charlotte sat with me and Carl, which was nice, and Barb was drugged up even more!
Back in England it was raining…we left blazing sun and home to rain! No fair. And had bad traffic on the way home too!! Nothing like it!

Catch up blog

A lot has been happening here…and here are the highlights!

Newbury Comedy Festival....every night for a week!! We had festival passes (£60 each) which meant we could book up and see whatever we wanted, and get 10% of drinks at the bus bar! Excellent! We made full use of this and saw 1 or 2 acts every night! My highlights were - Ed Byrne (hillarious!!), Brendan Burns Bad Film Club (basically we watched Roadhouse (feat Patrick Swayze) which is a bad film and the 3 comedians had pointers and mikes and pointed out all the mistakes and funny bits! It was hilarious!! Swayzeeeeeeeeeee!), Arthur Smith (of Grumpy Old Man fame - again very funny), Mark Thomas (political humour about protesting – much funnier than it sounds!), One Big Improv with Phil Jupitus (Carl got one of his suggestions (Tomb stoning) mentioned -well it was his birthday! The comedians didn’t seem to know what it was though!) and Adam Hills (Ozzy guy who is up and coming and very funny!) We also saw Ardel O'Hanlon (from Father Ted - not as funny as we thought he would be), Susie Essman (from Curb Your Enthusiasm – which I’d never seen. She was OK. Her routine was very ‘down with men’ stuff that’s been done before), Trevor Lock (a bizarre, contradictory, kinda sleazy guy! I also managed to get picked on by him! I was sitting about halfway back in a small theatre when I blew my nose...and heckled him! Yes, I heckled him with my nose!! Apparently it sounded like a clown car horn, and he asked me if I was hiding a small clown and his car. At this point I was very red and crying with laughter, as was Lou sitting next to me. He harped on about it for a while (not that long really, but it felt like ages!) before saying "Oh, I like you!" Probably because I was laughing a lot! He had picked on a couple of girls at the front basically asking if they were prostitutes! Nice!! So, my advice is, don't even blow your nose in case you get picked on!!)

End of Term ‘do’ – A BBQ and crazy golf at ‘The Sun In The Wood’ – and no rain!

The Floods - it was pretty bad here. On the last day of term we had 2 months of rain in 14 hours!! It was raining heavily and just when you thought it couldn’t rain any harder – it did! I got a phone call from Carl at lunchtime (he was at home that day as we had an electrician in) saying the water was nearly in the house...and we live at an altitude of 150m! The water was running off our garden and the garden of the house behind us who are the top of the hill, waterfalling down our steps and forming a lake on out patio as it had nowhere to go! Carl ended up 'swimming' around in it trying to find a manhole cover (there isn't one) before ripping the guttering off the wall and wedging up the fence so the water could get between the houses (there is about a 20cm max gap between our house and next doors garage) Carl videoed the waterfall (which I wouldn't have believed until I saw it) and the state of out flooded sunroom. The water was 1 or 2 cms away from getting the house! Scary stuff!!
Sadly, Ross and Nicky got flooded. To make it worse, they’d only moved a week earlier. Loads of their stuff was still in boxes in their flooded garage. Carl, Dave and I drove straight over as soon as we spoke to Nicky. Then Ross and Lou arrived followed by Putin. Travel around the area was a nightmare, with trains not running (Newbury train station looked like a canal), flooded roads, abandoned cars etc. We then spent about 5 1/2 hours sweeping/bucketing out all the water (as drains were full and water coming out of them to start with!) What a nightmare! Lou and I went to get chips at about 9.30 (I think!) and they didn’t believe we wanted 25 portions of chips!!

Family – been up to see the family a few times – but my nephew still can’t say my name! He says lots of things (especially car and lorry – at every one you pass in the street!) I thought I could trick him into saying my name by saying words and him repeating them, but when I got to ‘Auntie Ray’, he just said ‘Yeah!” He is very funny though, and I watched in great amusement as he repeatedly ran over Paul in his car!

Apart from that, we've seen the new Harry Potter film (which I enjoyed), I've read the new Harry Potter book (which I now need to read again! It was great!), we've been researching new kitchens and trying to tame our wild garden (Oh the joys of owning a house!)

Race for Life

The Race for Life is now over! Despite the rubbish weather on Sunday we completed the RfL...and didn't need to swim! We walked the race in an hour, which wasn't bad. We are going to run it next time though...Noo with get Lou and I training I am sure! Thanks to all my sponsors!

Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplugs/ for more RfL piccys.

It has been a busy week. Wednesday was fun at school, with the firebell going off twice in 10 minutes, being outside for ages and having no electricity till hometime! We had a visit from a 'popstar' today. She is a cousin of a child in schol and she used to go to our school too. The band is called XYP and are from Holland. They are very Steps/S club 7/Liberty X and are very big in Holland with a number one single under their belt. The kids loved seeing a real live 'famous person'...most of them saying they wanted to be popstars too!

Lou and I went to Body Attack again today...it seemed harder to me though! Oh dear!!

I need a holiday!

Well it has been a while...

I will attempt a mammouth update...in no particular order (mainly as I can't remember the order!)...and I may miss vital things out due to lack of memory! Mmm what happened first...

Met up with Caro and Andy - we went round there place in Reading after her birthday. Just out for pizza and a pub - very chilled. It was gorgeous weather (not like now!) so we sat outside in their garden (with only 1 shed now and grass!!) drinking tea and being visited by the dog who lives in the hosue out the back of theirs and who sneaks though the fence on a regular basis!! We also had cooked breakie outside the next morning!!
Started going to Body Attack - Lou and I decided to try and get fit...by going to Body Attack. We've been going for about a monthish. The first time I thought I was going to have a heart attack!! I was as red as a beetroot!! After the 1st week, seeing as though I didn't keel over, we went back and it was easier...except my calf muscles hate it!!! After speaking to the instructor I am going to have to extra stretch them beforehand (until they get used to it!!)
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes - Saw this with CP and the Poes. Very funny film, especially the boardroom where they have to climb over the table to get the chairs and the noise the tomatoes make. Also the tomato wearing earmuffs/headphones! Superb!
Half term - came and went far to quickly! I really do not know what I did that week! I know I had 2 migraine days, had a haircut, went to the dentist and visited my parents, Paul, Sarah and Joshua. That doesn't add up to 9 days so who knows!?!?
IOW festival - The drive down was a bit nerveracking...leaving school at 3.20 to get a 5pm ferry in Southampton! We made it with time to spare!! Amazing! We got to the Island, finally got parked and walked to Carl's folks place, ate food and walked to Seaclose Park, only to be met with the worlds longest queue. In all fairness it only took 35mins to get in (For some it took 2 hours!) but it meant I missed The Feeling - bummer. We did hear some Groove Armada (which in all honesty could have been a CD!) and saw Snow Patrol who were really good. They made the hastle and queueing worthwhile! On Saturday we saw Amy Winehouse (good but couldn't understand a word she said when not singing!), Wolfmother (very loud!), the Red Arrows (very cool and unexpected!), Ash (well we heard some of them while eating!), Kasabian and Muse (who I thought were great. They played a few songs that were a bit obsure for a fest, but they played the classics too). A day of good music, cider drinking, good company and sunshine... Sunday we saw James Morrison (good chill-out music), Paolo Nutini (ditto), Fratellis (time to bounce around!), and Keane (who were amazing!!) We did see a bit of the Rolling Stones, but weren't impressed (not recognising anything!) and we had to go catch a ferry!!
Ofsted - 'Nough said!!!!
Reports - That dreaded time of year. Luckily the weather has been rubbish, so I have not wanted to be out and about in the sunshine. I finished writing them today, so I am chuffed and exhausted!
Rosspo's B'day - Went for a lovely meal at the Bunk Inn. Ross's pressie arrived the day they went on holiday! You'll get it on Friday Mr Po!!
Dentist - yep - finally went. It was okay, after my dread of the dentist who injected my nerve and caused me pain, this one is very nice and I had no pain! I had a filling yesterday which didn't hurt at all (until the anaestetic wore of later!! Then OUCH!!)
Babies - My friend Cilla had a baby girl last week - Caitlin Amy - and she looks gorgeous! Congrats Cilla and Paul!!

Dads 60th birthday - we had a great time. I decided we should have a BBQ. Mum and Dad invited lots of people. Then we found out the weather forecast and mum panicked!! Luckily the weather stayed dry, we had too much food, mum had too much wine and a good time was had by all!!


I think they are the highlights of the last month! This weekend is the Race for Life and I have sent nagging mails to people asking them to sponsor me!! Well it is for a good cause. I am quite looking forward to it actually. (I may change my mind nearer the time though!!)

Ciao folks!