Contemplation

Today it is 11 years since my father died of pancreatic cancer.
I can remember the day as clear as if it were yesterday.
My mum had died just 6 months before and I was struggling with a 2 year old and a 6 month old and my 20 year old sister was attempting to look after my sick dad and my 14 year old wayward sister...As well as working all hours god sent to bring in money to pay the rent etc...
My dad's illness had progressed at a hell of a rate and a social worker was trying to help get everything in place for my 2 sisters. A lawyer was brought in to try and draw up a will to make sure that my youngest sister was looked after and also to make sure they got the benefits that were due to them.
It was a mad day of running round and I can remember only just getting to the Post office before they shut to draw the benefits as my dad wasn't expected to last the weekend. A friend of my parents came to look after my 2 little ones while I went to the hospital to see Dad. There in the chair next to him - where she had been for the past 4 days - was my auntie. I don't really think that was my dad I saw. He was frail and out of it from the morphine. We talked to him as normal but I don't even think he knew who we were. I couldn't stay long as the babysitter had to get back for her own children. I remember leaving and saying see you tomorrow. As I got home the phone was ringing...It was my sister telling me that Dad had gone. We were expecting it but I still felt numb and cold. Over the coming weeks I spent more time with my sisters than I had ever spent.

I really can't believe that the time has passed...I don't even know how we coped....How have we managed to keep it together all this time?

My sisters came to live with me for a while until they managed to get their lives together...Don't think I have ever managed it though. We all have our own lives now but we are still extremely close. Still can't believe that is it 11 years......

Sometimes.....

....You just have to know when's the best time to pour your heart out and when to shut up...I think this is one of those times to just shut up!!!




Sat here at 4pm waiting for DS to come home..Haven't heard anything from him yet...Hope they aren't too late, don't want him to be walking hom in the dark.

Thank god that day's over

OK, so we are used to not having DS around as he has been away at camp and he is often away at weekends. It was very weird not having him here on a school night though. It will be even weirder him not being here in the morning when i get DD up for school. At least he will be coming home at normal time tomorrow :-)

Going to bed a very miserable girl tonight as I missed a VERY IMPORTANT call this evening :-(

Well this morning DS went off on his first trip at his new school. I won't see him again until tomorrow night.
It was a mad frenzy last night getting everything together as he was told on Friday that he couldn't go so I hadn't bothered with washing or sorting anything.....How can a pair of tracksuit bottoms disappear off the face of the earth? I searched the house high and low for them - and they were the new ones i bought for him to take for his PE kit - He swears blind he hasn't taken them to school yet but I think he must have left them at school on the first day. So he has gone with only half of the stuff needed on his list but it is only 2 days...well not even that...they won't have got there until about 11am today and they get home at 3pm tomorrow.

So tonight it is just me and DD....I think it will be a take away for dinner as I can't be bothered to cook for just the 2 of us.

not tonight

Feeling a bit too miserable to post an entry tonight. Better off that I wait till tomorrow so as I can post something with a little more sense....Sweet dreams everyone

and before you ask.......

.....No I didn't have a hangover this morning...because i wasn't even up this morning!!

First on all I was woken by the phone at mid-day (Did i mention before that my Nan rings me every Sunday dead on 12?) I was fast asleep and having the weirdest of dreams. Then while I was on the phone, DD came upstairs to tell me that DS had come home from his friend's house earlier (It had been a sleepover birthday party) and as we were not up he had gone over to a neighbour's house. Then I found out that he had been stung by a wasp at said party...on his eye and it is all swollen....I think I am awake now

Didn't do much today. Designed a new t-shirt - see here for details - and watched the Gorgeous Max Beasley in the new series of Bodies. Phwoaar!!! I am seriously hooked...I recorded it on DVD while I was out so I could watch this afternoon.

Definitely have the hots for the Gorgeous mr Beasley xxxxx

Who said I was drunk ???

Well I am 35 years old and never been for a Chinese...What's wrong with that? Well When I first met my late husband, he used to get chinese take away all the time but I wasn't a fan and I just stuck to chips.
So tonight my sisters and I decided to go to a Chinese restaurant and have a dignified evening instead of just getting pissed and throwing up. The place was very nice...if not a little daunting. We were a bit unsure of protocol on these occasions. The menu was huge..so much choice for a newbie is not a good thing.
I settled on King Prawn Cocktail for starter and Kung po Pork for the main dish. The Prawns were huge and I could have settled for that as my amin meal. It was very filling.
Then we were each brought a little bowl each...we weren't quite sure why. My sisters had egg fried rice each. So they were brought a little pan of rice between them. I was brought my meal on an oval plate with a big spoon and then my chips in a seperate bowl. We looked around and it became apparent we were meant to put our food in the little bowl. I really liked my Pork. It was very crispy and the sauce was quite sweet, There was some big chunky veg in there especially onion...(Or could be shallots) I do have to say that nearing the end I was having trouble as it was getting a little sickly. I was very full though and I didn't manage to finish the chips at all.

We were very surprised that when we got the bill it was only £41 which between 3 of us was quite reasonable. We decided that £15 each would be fine as we none of us had any change.

It was about 9pm when we left the restaurant so we decided to go to the Pub. Our first choice (Where double vodka and coke is £2.50) was absolutely packed to the rafters. We didn't even manage to get to the bar so we left there and went on to the 2nd choice. It was quite full in there too and the music was so loud. We spent 5 hours in there!!!! I have to say that I don't think I heard half of what my sisters said to me. I am very good at making the right noises and pulling teh right faces but the music was so loud i couldn't join the conversation most of the time. There was a hen party going on and that was still in full swing as we left after 2am.

It is 3.15am now and I must really get some sleep as have to be up at 7.30 to get DD up for her paper round..

Afternoon quickie.....

I am off out tonight so expect drunken ramblings from me later...Just realised though that there is a whole page without a mention of the Gorgeous Mr G

So here goes....Alistair Griffin, Alistair Griffin, Alistair Griffin, Alistair Griffin, Alistair Griffin.

Shop shop shopping

Unlike others I have never been one for shopping. I can't bear it. Food shopping I am fine with but clothes, shoes, household stuff..I can do without. So I am amazed at how excited I got yesterday when walking briskly into town.

Our town centre is having a major re-developement and so a lot of the stores in the shopping centre are closing down and moving elsewhere. One such shop is an eclectic kind of gift store. Selling candles, household stuff, novelty lamps, cushions etc....It is the cushions i was getting excited about. They used to be £10 each and they were now 2 for £5. Somehow this was really getting me going. I had always dreamed about having huge cuddly cushions on my sofa but they were always out of my price range but these were going to really liven up my life!!!

Imagine my fervency as I got to the shop and found that the cushions were now £2 each. I must have been in the shop for about half an hour choosing what colour and style I wanted...Oh it was cushion heaven. I chose 2 lovely cream cushions with some latin text on and a gold coloured one with more latin...(I don't have a thing for latin, I promise)
Also while I was in the shop I picked some tea, coffee and sugar jars. The ones I had before were pretty country kitchen style and I had broken a lid on one. These are Silver and fit in more with my new silver/chrome style kitchen appliances. So I left the store with my cushions and my impulse buy having spent £9...Not bad for a woman who hates shopping :)

Aches and pains of old age???

I had a plan for today.
I was going to get up and dye my hair. I am off out this weekend and I always leave it to the last minute, so I decided i was going to do it today. As it is a while since I have done it and there is now a considerable amount of grey :( I am lightening it first before adding the colour. This means it is a long job.

I woke up though and I was in pain. My neck, shoulders, tops of my arms and back were in agony. I could hardly move my head and couldn't raise my arms very highat all. It was an effort just to get out of bed but I had to, to get the kids up for school. There was no way I would be able to do my hair and I was useless for much else...except sitting here at the PC.

Once the kids went off, I decided to go back to bed hoping that if I had another couple of hours sleep, I would wake up in a better state....Well I was wrong there...What another waste of a day...even more so because I couldn't do any housework as most movement caused great pain. I so hate feeling restricted...Later on I managed to get out to teh shops but it was agony carrying the bags even though I only had potatoes and cat food.

I am still struggling to turn and watch the TV without having to turn my whole body.....I really have to get my hair done tomorrow. That means getting up and getting to town as early as possible........

I have started a second blog to write about the store so as not to bog down this one too much. It is at jembie-creations.blogspot.com

Aaaarrrggghhh!!!!

Fell asleep on the chair during lost!...How could I??
Now I am trying to keep awake for the repeat to fill in the gaps of what I missed...Need to be in bed, all these late nights are catching up with me......

10 minute days

Called such because It seems about 10 minutes since I got up Tuesday yet it is now Wednesday morning.

My plan on Tuesday was to go in the bath after the children went off to school, but I had neglected to put the hot water on so I had to wait for that....Got on with some Cafepress stuff while I waited. The whole days was messed up from then on. Wanted to get to town early but didn't get out the bath until about 10.30am. Now don't ask me why but I have to let my hair dry naturally. If I use a hair dryer, it just goes everywhere. I used to have really thick hair but over the years it has become quite fine and flyaway and would be a complete nightmare if I used a dryer on it. Of course I have wet/dry straighteners but they just do the same. My hair gets so hot too that I end up burning my hands on it (The hair that is) So I couldn't go out until my hair was dry. It did mean I got a lot of work done though.

The Highlight of the day was when the postie delivered a letter for the kids school. Now as every parent must feel, when you get a letter from the Head of the school, you can only think the worst...so I opened it with haste and was very pleasantly surprised.

"I have recently been looking at how students have progressed last year, and you will be pleased to know that B******** worked hard and made above average progress over the year. We will continue to track B********'s progress......."

I am over the moon about this and more-so that they have actually bothered to write and tell me rather than just wait until the target day in October.

Then after that the day just disappeared and they were home from school already.

Working flat out

Just got myself a Premium store with Cafepress and now I am working hard to get it all stocked up with the designs I had in the basic stores as well as the multiple designs I have on my computer that have never made it up to the CP server yet.

Of course once I have got the store sorted...I then have to start the big promotion drive. Christmas is coming soon you know...before you know it, it will be upon us.

Going to bed now.................

10 minutes of action

If you remember DS' school were given free tickets to a Derby County league match.
Well that was Sunday. The match was against Southampton and was live on SKY TV. Kick-off was 4PM.
DS and I left at around 2.50. I wanted to be able to walk there at a comfortable pace and not rush. It is a half an hour walk to Pride Park stadium. Through the Park and the hospital, past the train station under the railway tracks and along the side of David Lloyd outdoor pool (Noticed there are big trees there now so no hope of glimpses of gorgeous fit men in their speedos!)

We got into the stadium to find our seats were right up at the back...4 rows from the very top in fact...good job I am not afraid of heights and DS has got over that nosebleed thing from Xmas Xcess 2 years ago...(OMG!!! Is that really 2 years ago??!!!)

Well I am not going to bore you with my attempt at a football report except to say that the first half was absolute boresville...Don't get me wrong...I love footie and I love my SuperRAMS but I was beginning to wonder if they had actually started playing. I did chuckle at my own ignorance though as there was one particular Soton player that the 'ole East stand faithful were booing everytime he touched the ball...I just couldn't make out who it was (In my defence we were so far away from the bloody pitch...) It wasn't until later on in the game when they were singing "Dennis Wise, What a wanker" that I thought to myself...Ooooooh it's Dennis Wise.....Since when did he play for Southampton??? I thought he was player manager or something at Millwall...shows how much notice I take of the sports news these days LOL Anyway he did turn out to be a bit of a Wanker (Well it is only to be expected!!!)

So finally after about 80 minutes of play, the Derby players seemed to realise what they were actually there for. There was a good run of play and it got quite exciting. We got a Penalty which Idiakez stepped up for but it didn't go in....Fortunately the ref asked for it to be taken again and YeeHaa The man scored.....We the were also awarded with a Free kick which was amazingly converted....2-1 and we though it was all over...Until the final minutes when Derby let their guard down and Soton scored again.

So the game ended 2-2. Another point. I am very hoarse now and my hands are swollen from clapping...DS had a good time too which is the most important thing!!!!

A bad decision

I was walking to Iceland the other day and I saw a poster for a church fair. It was a place where i had sold stuff before and I thought it might be an idea for me and the kids to go along and try to get rid of some junk and make some money.

So on Saturday we packed up a load of suitcases with clutter and junk and got a cab up to the church. What a disaster......After the opening rush there were hardly any punters at all. We sat...and we sat....and we sat. Other stall holders said that it was the worst year ever. The thing was supposed to finish at 4.30 but by 3.45pm we were all packed up and waiting outside for the cab to take us home.

It didn't take us long to count up....I had all of £2.90...so after the £8 in cab fairs and the £5 for the table, I was -£10....Remind me not to do that again

Here comes the rain again...........

Had a plan today, well they do say the best laid plans and all that......All it has done is rain, rain, rain.
I thought at one time that it had stopped so I got ready to go out. Make-up, hair, shoes, coat...Got outside and it started again. I had to get some air though and stretch my legs so I went round to the local shop and bought some fruit and other stuff.
I have done absolutely nothing else all day (When it is cold and grey there is just no motivation to leave the computer) So when I came back in I was soaked through and just wanted to sit by the fire. That will be the first time the fire has gone on since the beginning of July...Sad day really. Of course when the children came in from school they were like drowned rats - poor things!! I hope they don't go down with colds and I hope there isn't more rain tomorrow.

Bizarrely, someone found a picture of me on a random photo agency site today.
The site is called newscom.com and the picture was of me on my birthday last year getting a birthday kiss from Alistair. It was at the Trafford centre in Manchester, he was promoting his new single You and me (tonight)



I was a bit naughty yesterday, I nicked a line from Corinne's blog Distant Aggravation and produced a new line of t-shirts...Lucky for me though Corinne liked it ;-)
You can see the whole line here.....Hint hint plug plug!!!!!

Phew!!

Been on the go all day today.
Got up this morning and got the kids off to school then instead of sitting at the computer for hours in my PJs, I actually got dressed and went out. First call this morning was a Jobs fair in town.

I am desperate to get back to work now. It is great having so much freetime now but there is only so much of your time you can spend doing housework. I got the floor done yesterday so that is enough for this week *g* I would also love to have more money to spend on the kids and eventually pass my driving test and get a car!!!

There wasn't a lot going on at the fair although I filled in a lot of application forms and managed to pick up a couple of interviews...Debenhams and Woolies. It sounds a bit weird though as they are open interviews..They don't talk to you individually but in a group...they tell you on the day if you have the job so we will just have to see.

After that I did a bit of shopping and came home for a drink and a little look on the forums before walking up to Iceland. Now when I say up to, that is what I mean as it is all up hill. It was hard going in the heat though. I thought I would never get there and I was dying for a drink but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea as I would only need the loo then. It took me about 20 minutes to get round Iceland. I have to spend £25 to get free delivery but i went a bit overboard last time and spent nearly £50 so I had to be very careful. I did stick in a few treats and managed to find a few BOGOF bargains as well as some reduced stuff. It came to £32 altogether. Of course the walk home was much easier as it was all downhill. I had brought some things home with me from the shopping for my lunch but really wasn't hungry.....

Next stop was up to the church. My hip was really hurting though so I had a bit of a sit down for a while before setting off up there. I got back from there about 3pm couldn't believe the whole day had gone it wasn't long then until the kids were home from school

Oh yes, forgot to start this by saying that I got up this morning and on my way to the kitchen I stood on a drawing pin. I had thought that I had picked them all up but obviously not as I now had one stuck right into the bottom of my foot. I tried in ernest to pull it out but was just too afraid of passing out with the pain. I got DD to do it for me. I thought if she just yanked it out it would be less painful. I was limping around for a bit and I soaked it until the bleeding stopped to help against infection. After a while the pain wore off and you wouldn't even know it had happened now....I will be keeping my trainers on all the time from now on!!!!!

Thinking about Alistair

It should come as no big surprise that most of today has been spent thinking about Alistair. That's not to say I have just been sitting here drooling...OH NO!!! Actually a great deal of the time I was down on my hands and knees - scrubbing the kitchen floor..However it is a lot easier to get on with household chores when you have this in your head, and this in your ears....SIGH...... I was very pleased with myself when I had done. I can't believe I had let it get so black, I should be ashamed of myself, AND I AM, but now it is lovely and shiny and I may just hold off Kim and Aggie for a few more months.

Now back to Alistair....I know I was very miserable at not seeing him Saturday. Those that were able to go were very privileged indeed, chances like that don't come around too often. The next time I am able to see him in the flesh you can bet that all the usual stalker element will be back in force and there will be no chance of getting near him. It must be over a year since I was last able to even say hello to Alistair..I know it isn't what everyone expects when they go to see there favorite singer perform but sometimes it is just nice to be able to say "Hey, you were great tonight well done!"

I sat here for a while today, just watching the video footage and crying. Sounds a bit stupid I know but if you go along to ag.co.uk you will see that it is a major pass-time for us Alfans. It really doesn't matter whether he is singing at a small gathering in front of friends and neighbours or in a huge theatre in front of all his fans, his voice is always as captivating and emotional and heart-wrenching as it could be. He seems to put no effort in but still comes up with the goods time and time again...This is when the frustration gets you. Someone as talented as Alistair Griffin can't seem to get a break whereas if you look in the charts you can count more or less 95% of the top 20 charts have little or no talent at all. What is it that they do? Why can they be as successful like that? Well it is a question that we can never really find the answer to. We can only hope that somewhere in Al's future lies the success that he deserves. All I know is that no one ever in my life has ever made me want to cry so much just by hearing them sing (well except Simon Webb actually but that is just too painful...It really hurts my ears)

Sunday morning Quickie

Feeling fantastic this morning...Got up to find a little piccie on my phone from last night sent by Gayle...THANK YOU!!!!!

As I said last night...The wonderful thing about being a Griffin fan (Apart from the gorgeous man himself) is the Tremendous people I have met along the way...I really am in a Gushy mood this morning....It may not continue as I am about to go and watch my Beloved Rams on Sky....I don't think I have ever seen them win on Sky :(

Random life of a Griffin fan

So what will you say when someone asks at work "what did you get up to on Saturday night?"
Will it be something like "Oh watched a DVD with the family" or "Went out clubbing" or even "went out for a meal" My answer will be..."I sat on the stairs in the dark and listened to some chap singing down the phone from a field somewhere on the Yorkshire Moors"

As I wrote this morning, Alistair was to be appearing at the village dance in the middle of Castleton cricket pitch. I was upset that I couldn't be there but you know on these occasions it is better to know that there are others sat in their front rooms feeling the same way...So, instead of sitting with DD and watching CSI as we normally would, I sat here at the computer with my 2 phones in front of me and kept refreshing the page on the AG site - just in case anyone else got news of what was happening in Griffin village. Now there was always the possibility that the phone wouldn't ring at all. That area is very difficult to get a mobile signal at the best of times but when there are several people all desperately trying to ring out to friends all over the country at the same time I guess it could be a little more difficult. Then at 10pm my phone lit up and I hastily picked it up and hit the speaker phone straight away. I posted on the forum so that those that didn't get a call could keep up then I ran out to the stairs, shut the door and closed my eyes to listen. The reception was good considering and although it wasn't the same as being there.....I could imagine the atmosphere. The first song he sang was the Sarah Mclachlan song Angel this is an emotional and moving song on its own but with Alistair's voice and today being quite a poinient it made it even more so and the hairs on the back of my neck were on end..It was all I could do to stop blubbing.........Next song I heard was the Eric Clapton classic Wonderful tonight. As I sat on the stairs, tears falling down my cheeks, I thought of my friend. This is one of her favourite covers that Al sings and all I could think of was I wish she could hear this......

Of course I wish I was there but this evening was just another testimony to the wonderful generosity of the people I have met through Alistair and the web community...I don't even know who it was that rang me. It wasn't the number I was expecting, I have been all through my phone book and can't even find it so if you are reading this, A big massive thank you and big hugs and a big wet kiss...sorry, not the kiss then ;-)

As always it has made me hungry for The gorgeous Griffin voice again so I am listening to all the acoustic stuff I can find.....sigh........

Football tickets and sweet dreams

Well DS came home all excited on Thursday because school had a visit from Derby County. This year the club are doing a special sponsorship program with the new year 7s. A few of the players along with the Manager - Phil Brown and of course Rammie came along to the school to chat to the kids and sign autographs.

If you look closely at the pic you can see DS right at the back!!!
He had a picture of the team signed by Paul Peschisolido, Phil Brown and Morten Bisgaard also signed his school diary...The best thing of all though is that each child got 2 tickets to the next home game on 18th September....Sadly it means we will have to leave DD at home and she is the one who would probably get most enjoyment out of it :(




So last night it was announced on ag.co.uk that the gorgeous Alistair is performing at a special event in his home village tonight following the annual Castleton show. It was nice of his mate Waggo to post on the site....Obviously they want the fans to go although I am not so sure why, maybe the population of Castleton is dwindling and they need the money!!! However of course it is with great sadness that I am forced to stay at home...short notice, no money, no transport and no friends to travel with (excuse me while I go away to have a cry ) So yet again Cinderella doesn't get to go to the ball...I am sure Alistair won't be crying about it though ;-)

So had 2 weirdly amazing dreams about the gorgeous young Yorkshireman last night. First dream had me and my sister at a community hall somewhere in dreamland where Alistair was up on stage performing his most beautiful songs. We sat down and then he finished singing...He was told that the next act was late so to fill. He got up and started walking around the room chatting to people with the microphone...Then he sat up on the windowsill and said my name....I looked up and said "Me?" He replied "Jen, come up here" I got up and walked over to him and as he took my hand...I WOKE UP!!!!!!!

Next dream I was with a crowd of people from the website and we were being led into a school classroom...apparently Alistairs old school classroom. I saw that we were being led to the back of the room and I started moaning cos I wouldn't be able to see anything to get video footage. We sat down and Al came over to chat to us. His hair was really long in this dream and he was wearing his fireman's jumper...I turned to the person next to me noting this and then he took off the jumper to reveal a hideous green thing...We all started laughing because he did look quite ridiculous. He started singing and dancing to songs from musical shows....I can't remember much more so I must have woken up as he got into his stride :-)


It is 3pm and I am still in my PJs...A protest to not being able to see The Griff

EVIL EVIL EVIL!!!!!

Got up this morning to find my broadband gone....So had my cable tv. Good job I was out today otherwise I would have been going out of my head.

Turns out that some evil git had opened up the box outside and disconnected the cables!!! The lovely guy from NTL said that it would have took them quite a while to stand and unscrew the connectors :-O Thing is, I had left OE running all night and the last email had come through at 3.45, so that means whoever it was, did it between 3.45 AM and 6AM!!!!!!!!! I might just stay up all night and stake it out....Did I mention someone has also nicked our Wheelie bin....CONSPIRACY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, Arranged to meet my sister in town at lunch-time to go look round the Jobs fair. It wasn't as big as it has been in previous years but I did fill in a couple of job applications and picked up some bumf from various different companies. I like to go for the freebies but there wasn't many of them this year either. Just picked up a couple of free pens, a compact mirror, a fridge magnet and a Derby County car flag.
After the fair, my sister suggested going for a drink. We went to a place called Caffe Nero. I ended up having a gorgeous toasted Chicken Caesar sandwich with this really melty cheese that ended up more on my chin than in my mouth and a big hot choc with cream. My sister had coffee with her sandwich. As we left the cafe, we were stopped and asked to do a market research...You know, the ones where they sit you down in front of a laptop?? I did one on yogurt's and sis did hers on soft drinks. Didn't get any freebies for doing that, oh other than a couple of free pens LOL
Also got a free bottle of Minute Maid Froot Refresh from some people giving them away in the street...haven't tasted it yet......

To end my day I have just been chasing a HUGE spider round the room...Why are they picking on me????!!!!

Off they go...................

....Well I saw them off this morning at 7.45am. DD is starting Year 9 now so will be taking her options soon. DS for his first day at secondary school. He looked really smart in his uniform and even managed to finally master the tie.
DD didn't have to be in until a bit later but she offered to walk with her brother anyway as he didn't want to leave as early as all his mates.....I keep looking at the clock and wondering what he is doing now and if he is ok.......

Grandad is Better

I spoke to my Nan this afternoon and my Grandad is back home again. She said that they had him on a drip all weekend and he is a lot better now. Of course it isn't the end of the matter. He has to go back to the specialist later this week and he has to go on a special strict diet.

History of Beer

At the beginning of the Summer a good friend of mine was kind enough to give me a free family ticket for the Bass Museum. So yesterday as a special day to mark the end of the holidays, I took my sister and my kids to Burton for the day.

It was an easy trip as it is only 10 minutes to Burton-on-Trent on the train. However, when we got to Burton, it took us half an hour to find the place as the map on the little brochure we had was totally wrong. If it wasn't for our own initiative I don't know how long it would have taken to get there.

Once inside, We were given a little tour map of the centre and an audio guide. This was a gadget like a phone. As you go around the centre, there are numbers on the wall and if you key the numbers into the guide, it gives you information as if you had a tour guide with you. The great thing about these guides is that we could all go round at our own pace and you could listen to the same piece a many times as you want in case you missed something.

First stop on the tour was learning all about how beer is made. There was so much information. It was very indepth and there was a lot to take in. Next stop was the livery and the gorgeous Shire Horses Monty and Carling. Next was all about the brewery transport and the last stop of the tour was the huge Museum of Brewing. This place was jam paced full of history. It included all about the Bass family and how they started the Brewery in Burton and how Burton became the centre of all Brewing. There was a mock up of a 17th century Red Lion pub as well as a mock up of an old games room....including push ha'penny,skittles and darts. There was also a mock up of an early 1960s pub. A display of the Carling Cup and an interactive film show featuring residents of 19th century Burton. The whole thing was truly fascinating and I could have spent a couple more hours in there can I tell you!!!

We finished our tour in the bar. We sat outside in the sun and the kids went on the play area.
The end of the tour was through the gift shop. I desperately wanted to buy a souvenir of our day. I ended up buying myself a very nice Carling chilling glass for £1.99 but the deal-maker was that you get a free bottle of lager with it :) I also bought a pencil sharpener and the kids had a pen each.
When we finally left the museum, we had been there for 3 hours. We weren't ready to go home yet so we decided to walk into Burton and go for lunch. We found a nice little cafe in the shopping centre where 3 of us had Jacket spuds with various toppings and DD had a Bacon sandwich. Afterwards, we decided to go toMcDonald's and get McFlurrys.

After a completely amazing day we got home very hot and sweaty and a bit affected by sunstroke. Very happy though!!!!

Come on England!!!!!

After my rather disturbing awakening.....I had planned a great afternoon of eating and drinking and slobbing on the sofa...first watching England footie team play Wales and then Scotland play Italy. I had to ring my sister to tell her about my Grandad and she asked me about the footie. Soon enough all my hopes for a lazy Saturday were dashed when she told me that the game wasn't actually being shown on the BBC as I had hoped and it was only on Sky Sports!!!! BUGGER!!! that would mean my only option would be to listen to it on the radio..."Well." she said, "You could come and watch it here." ...Well yes I could but It was past noon already and I was still in my Pyjamas, Could I really be bothered to get dressed and walk all the way over Town to her house??? but when she said that it would just be her and my bay niece, I decided I may as well go over and keep her company.

I rang DD who was in town with her friend and told her instead of coming home to go to her auntie's and we would meet her there. I gathered up the pizza,wedges,Pringles,dips and Beer that I had bought and DS and I got a taxi over there..I was far too tired to walk all that way.

The match was pretty average as it goes..The first half England had lots of possession and spent most of the time in the oppositions goal but there weren't any goals. Finally Joe Cole scored and we thought that would open the flood gates for a few more goals but it never happened. England won the game and that gave us 3 more points for the WC cup qualifying group and put us in 2nd place in the table.

I didn't see the rest of the games for the day...We headed outside to sit and chat and drink more alcohol.
My other sister arrived and it was to the store to buy more beer....Well actually that would lead you to believe that I got off my arse and went to the shop....We actually sent my brother-in-law to the shop for us as he needed to buy milk anyway (......So he forgot the Milk)

As always when we have had a few, are conversations went round in circles and I can't honestly remember what we talked about.

We left at around 10pm this time though as I thought I was only fair on DD as she still had to get up Sunday morning and we were planning a day out.

One hell of a Saturday

It wasn't much of a wakening. Although I got up at 7.30 to get DD up for her paper round, I went straight back to sleep and it took some time at 11.30 for me to realise that my phone was ringing. I picked it up somewhat wearily. I was soon brought to life with a bump...It was my Nan, she told me that My Grandad had been taken to hospital the previous night because his kidneys were failing.......To me it sounded such a serious statement and my moth dropped to the floor. I could feel my whole body go cold and my mouth went dry. I could feel a huge knot appearing in my stomach. Yet my Nan sounded as calm as anything.

My Grandad will be 88 this coming November. For all my life my Grandparents have been such fit and healthy and youthful people. I never really for one minute considered the possibility that they were going to get old at some point. They have had very active lives. However, about 6 months ago my Grandad started having health problems. It seemed to be one thing after another and you know each time something was wrong, the 'ole 'C' word would be there in the back of your mind. My Dad died of Cancer at the age of 53 so it was remarkable that they had escaped it. If I am honest the reason I don't visit my Granparents to often these days is I can't bear to see my Grandad so weak...I want to remember the fit robust man from my younger days....As they live so far away it is hard to visit too often but I use that excuse too much........

At this moment, We are waiting to hear word of what is happening....I guess as My Nan hasn't called yet that there is no change to the situation...No News is Good News I guess........

Knackered

Long entry coming tonight ;)

This week has been so tiring. I have had to be up at 7am this week. I have been looking after a friend of DS while his mum has been at work. Thing is, I haven't been altering my bed-time to accommodate this...So I have been having just 3-4 hours sleep. Most embarrassing was Friday when I got up at 7am but at 7.10 just out my head down a minute and before I knew it, they were knocking on my door. So there I was still in my PJs not done my hair,make-up or anything :-O.

Friday night we had planned to stay up and watch Christine but all 3 of us fell asleep watching it so we were all snoring away in our chairs!! I am definitely going to catch up before the kids go back to school on Wednesday..........