Childhood Revisited

Nov27

The last month has been an opportunity for me to reflect further on my childhood and adolescence along with considering our commonly held understanding of the notion of childhood. The Oxford dictionary simply defines it as ‘the state or period of being a child.’ It defines a child as ‘a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority.’ This dictionary definition appears to concur with what was the generally held belief in history until the advent of romanticism; children were small adults. In history, children were expected to work and to dress as miniature adults (something which appears to have had some what of a renaissance in recent years but not without controversy; why a child needs to wear a thong I will never know! Mini Ugg’s however are a must!). Academic education was seen as a luxury which many could not afford up until the Victorian times when education up to the age of 10 became mandatory in 1880 and became free in 1891. The years following this led to the age for mandatory education to be raised and in Britain today it is now 16. Nowadays, no child can work (excluding in the arts and family businesses) part time until they reach the age of 13 and full time work is only allowed post 16. Elders will always suggest that children grow up much faster these days but in fact, children are now entitled to a childhood which hundreds of years ago didn’t exist. The twentieth century is commonly thought of as ‘the century of the child.’ Over the years the way children are brought up along with the toys available, have gone in and out of fashion and if anything children have greater control over their lives than they have ever had. Sylvanian Families appear to have been given a new lease of life. I loved these as a child, getting my first as a present for my bravery. The girls at the school I recently did my work experience at were very in to them and even asked if they could have my collection but I can’t part with them; they currently clutter up Mum and Dad’s loft! It’s amazing what you can now get for the Sylvanian’s too, I used to have to improvise and make accessories for them. There are so many toys now, I do wonder if children have the same imaginations as we used to have? I affectionately recall hours of fun in the garden with a simple sheet to make a tent. Most people are lucky enough to be able to look back on their childhood with fond memories and I am grateful to be one of those.

Since 1928 when Mickie Mouse was first unveiled, one thing that has endured is children’s love of Disney. One of my favourites has always been the Lion King so it followed that I dragged my partner to the cinema to see the new 3D version of it. I enjoyed it as much as I did as a ten year old and also watched Beauty and the Beast on DVD with the children at the school during their golden time. Sometimes I really wish I was Peter Pan or even that I could go back and do things differently. Mind you our past makes us the person we are today so perhaps I wouldn’t want to change it. As Walt Disney said ‘Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.’ I still long for a trip to Disneyworld Florida. My best friend recently went for her honeymoon there. The Disney legacy along with the general love of fairy tales means that for girls at least, we grow up believing that one day our prince will come. Thankfully mine did eventually although I had to kiss a lot of frogs first!

Image courtesy of Google Images

Image courtesy of Google Images

When I entered the reception classroom on my first day volunteering at our local independent primary school (originally built in 1906 as a council school), the first thing that struck me was how small the chairs were; it was like I had walked into a dolls house! The children had swimming on my first day so you could say I was thrown in the deep end (pardon the pun). Trying to get a swimming hat on a bouncy, excitable child is like trying to stretch an elastic band around a large ball! Now I know why my Mum hated it so much when she helped out with swimming when I was at primary school. The children were adorable and it was so satisfying to see them understand different concepts. I was amazed at their French skills. I especially enjoyed reading to them. I loved books as a child and my Dad would read to me every night, doing his special voices and adding his own bits into stories. I’m sure he knew ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark’ off by heart! When I was recently ill with my eye again meaning that I had to cancel my greatly anticipated Halloween party; I couldn’t watch TV, read or use the computer and I longed to cuddle up to my Dad whilst he read me a story. Children bless them are so observant and honest. One little boy asked me if my hair was turning blonde; definitely time for a trip to the hairdressers! Mind you it could have been worse; at least he didn’t ask if it was turning grey!

Anyway I came back to earth with a bump after the two weeks at school and returned to the office. The experience had confirmed to me, what I was already certain of; teaching was definitely the right road for me. Consequently this blog has been somewhat delayed because my creative writing talents have been focused on my personal statement for my teacher training application. I’m sure like all teacher’s I shall amongst everything be teaching children the importance of reading the question; advice which apparently I was incapable of following myself being that the first draft of the personal statement I did was some 4000 words instead of the required 4000 characters!

Despite my attention being swallowed by my application, I did however still find time for some therapeutic internet shopping and purchased this years must have; a tuxedo jacket. The tuxedo dates back some 125 years when it was first introduced as a less formal alternative to the tailcoat. The women’s masculine look is widespread this season. I shall be wearing mine with a glittery top, black shorts and of course sky scrapper heels!

Talking of shoes, I was less than impressed when a navy suede pair I had hardly worn became collateral damage of a girly weekend in Cambridge. We went up there for a friend’s birthday; had a meal, drinks and then on to a new club called LoLaLo. It was lovely to catch up with my friends and the majority of the time was most enjoyable. It was lovely to see my friend enjoy her birthday so much. However call me boring but I am failing to see the attraction of being squished by people with less than perfect personal hygiene when you are trying to dance, overpriced drinks and a floor sticky with spilt alcohol; clubbing is definitely something I seem to have grown out of. Even worse than this however was a guy throwing up in the middle of the dance floor, making no attempt to try to go to the toilets; hence my ruined shoes. I guess that’s students for you. I can’t say too much though as I was some what of a hedonistic wild child during my short stay at Newcastle University when I was 18. Recollections of that time came flooding back when my boyfriend and I went up there on Guy Fawkes weekend.

I chose Newcastle for university partly because the place felt like home (my Grandad was from the North East) but mainly because I wanted to get away and have the freedom to go where I liked, rolling in at anytime of the morning and trust me, rolling in is an apt way to describe it! Once given this freedom, I was not only off the rails but a total train wreck. Keeping Kookai in business single handedly, having my nose pierced and an ambulance picking me up drunk were a few of my antics along with attempting to steel a traffic cone! What I was going to do with such a thing I have no idea but it seemed that the student trophy was either this or a road sign! I finally got to see my beloved Newcastle United FC at St James Park for the first time on this latest trip and it was an historic game being that it was the last game played before the stadium was renamed after over 130 years, the Sports Direct Arena. We won 2-1 against Everton for those of you interested and were second in the league for a matter of hours. My initial reason for supporting Newcastle was fancying Alan Shearer but that is of no consequence now. Whilst up in Geordie land I visited one of my friends who has just had a baby boy. This made me even more broody as did the other weekend when my brother, his girlfriend and my niece came to visit us. I guess being a mother is someway off though being that I have not yet had the joy of becoming engaged. I cheered myself up however with a new addition for my wardrobe; a navy polka dot silk dress.

I want to take this opportunity to wish a happy thanksgiving to all my American friends. Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November each year. The ceremony is an occasion to give thanks for the harvest and a hope of good growing conditions in the spring, much like our harvest festival. I was involved in the harvest festival at the school I volunteered at, helping the children to make apples and seeds. For days afterwards I was still singing the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ song! The festivities for thanksgiving are much like our Christmas ones in the respect of a turkey dinner; however this is generally followed by pumpkin pie, rather than a Christmas pudding. In fact in the USA more importance is put on thanksgiving than Christmas itself. I would love to visit New York during thanksgiving or Christmas; I bet central park is stunning under a blanket of snow! Perhaps I would even get a nice surprise from Tiffany’s and a skate in on the central park ice rink. Mind you given our experience in spring this year on the ice rink there, I think my other half and I would both end up on our knees and not because he was proposing!

Image courtesy of Google Images

Talking of Christmas, it is just around the corner now; 27 days for those of you counting! The festive songs are beginning to be played on the radio. This is my favourite time of year, a magical time and definitely all about children. I am a big kid myself though; the advent calendar for 1^st December is ready and waiting, mind you as Dickens said ‘if you let the child in you die, you are in effect dead.’ I will definitely be taking a trip to Hamley’s and I must start looking for the elusive party dress! This year as in previous years I took part in Operation Christmas Child. For those of you who don’t know what this is; the initiative is run by Samaritans Purse and dates back 21 years. A wrapped, gift filled shoebox is delivered somewhere in the world to a child in need. After all Christmas is all about giving and children and imagine the smile you could put on a child’s face. Unlike children in this country, the shoebox will probably be the only gift they get.

Image courtesy of Google Images

I shall sign off now and continue searching for a replacement for my shoes, not that I need an excuse to buy another pair! Happy Christmas shopping!

‘It’s Pimms O’Clock!’

Sep29

I shall begin by apologising for the delay in posting but one of the things I wanted to write about needed to be common knowledge first. My blogs this week will be rather like buses; you wait ages and then two come at once!!

So I take you back to the start of September. I don’t know about you but since my school days, I always feel that 1^st September marks the official end of summer. The evenings start to become darker and the cardigans begin to come out! X factor has begun and the countdown to Christmas starts.

In order to make the most of the last of the good weather, my boyfriend and I decided to go to Broadstairs, Kent for the day, which was where we went for our very first date. I love Broadstairs and it is often referred to as the ‘Jewel in Thanet’s Crown’. Charles Dickens regularly visited there between 1837 and 1859 and wrote David Copperfield whilst staying there; it does inspire my writing imagination too. Today Broadstairs still retains the vibe of the traditional British seaside resort minus the donkey rides.

We began with a game of crazy golf, followed by fish and chips on the beach; it always tastes better by the sea even if you do get a sand garnish! The first Fish and chip shop that opened in London was in 1860. Railways played a big part in fish and chips becoming a staple of the working class diet as it linked cities to the coast and they also can be credited with the increased popularity of a holiday at the seaside. We followed up with an ice cream, then on to the arcade with the great 2p machines. I even dipped my toes in the sea but wasn’t brave enough for a swim! Many were braving a swim though; perhaps apart from protecting their modesty, the Victorian swimwear which covered most of the body was made as a result of Britain’s inclement weather? It was funny when my partner and I went to Egypt and our guide in Cairo was saying it gets quite cold in the winter, around 20 degrees and we said, in Britain if the mercury reaches 20 then we all have our shorts and flip flops on!

We finished off with a Pimms in one of the local pubs. Pimms was actually invented by the son of a man from Kent in 1823. It is now a drink very much synonymous with the British summer, hence its popularity at events such as Wimbledon.

That evening we went to friends for dinner which was a most enjoyable end to the day. I remember being sent to bed whilst my parents entertained friends at dinner parties and now I’m attending dinner parties; how time flies! The food was restaurant standard which sets the bar high for when we invite them back.

During the week I treated myself to some star print palazzo trousers after realising that my other pair of plain black ones had been badly torn by my high heels. At least now I can be on trend with the star print. I spent many evenings browsing the internet for a perfect pair of shoes to wear as Godmother at my baby nieces christening at the end of the month. My boyfriend looked over at my surfing and said ‘you really do love shoes, don’t you!’ Had it really taken him this long to notice??? Men, eh! I couldn’t find what I was looking for but did find a gorgeous pair of shoes for my baby niece; after all, got to start them young!

Image Courtesy of Google Images

That got me thinking about my first pair of shoes; little did my parents realise that they would be the start of a life long love affair. I think I inherited the obsession from my maternal Grandma; when she died my Mum found enough shoes in her wardrobe to open a shop! I’m only sad that she died when I was 7. I think we would have been great friends. My main memory of her is sitting for hours and drawing together and how she always gave us a small bottle of lemonade, some fun size sweets which were a new concept then and £1 pocket money. My Mum says she always said if you couldn’t decide which dress to buy, she would say get both! For my first birthday Mum says she bought me a dress from Bentalls which was £25 then. She was always generous to a fault. No wonder I live to shop, it’s in the genes.

I remember when Mum and I went to Bromley to get my first pair of welly boots and ended up on the wrong train on the way back! I was so proud of those wellies!

Later once I started school I remember we all had the Clarks Magic Steps shoes, mine were patent burgundy. You were no one unless you had them. These had a key in the sole. My friend actually tried to smash the key out. They made you feel like the princess in the adverts. Even now some of my most glam shoes make me feel like a princess. The power a piece of footwear has!

Image Courtesy of Google Images

This reminiscing called to mind some other fashion and footwear trends over the years. There were jelly shoes, heeled jelly shoes, crocs and Ugg boots to name a few. Does anyone else remember the Bon Bleu tracksuit? I always wanted one but alas we can’t always have what we want. It’s quite ironic really that on own clothes day at school, most kids wore the alternative uniform of the Bon Bleu tracksuit!

On a more serious note and the cause of the delay on this blog; a bombshell was dropped on me at work. They are closing our department and I will be redundant at the end of November, unless a suitable alternative within the company can be found. Guess this means I will have to seriously curtail the shopping habit! The shoe collection will certainly suffer. We had expected the day would come but I don’t think any of us thought it would be quite this soon. They sent us home early and I literally felt sick with shock. I’ve had chance to get used to the idea now though. I’m doing my best to look at this positively, as an opportunity. Perhaps this is the push I needed; after all, what I really want is to be a teacher and a writer.

I should also mention that the complaints to the shop where we got Rufus finally paid off and we got the Vets bills refunded as well as £30 of vouchers which I intend to treat Rufus with. It does pay to complain!

I shall leave it there and consol myself with a drink; perhaps ‘it’s Pimms O’clock?!’

Baby Shower

Sep4

From a wedding shower to a baby shower. Last weekend my friends and I organised a belated baby shower for my brother’s girlfriend, to welcome my niece into the world. This is generally seen as an American tradition, to which women only were invited, it was traditionally seen to be an opportunity to shower the mother with gifts, hence the name as well as sharing parenting tips.

The shower was fancy dress which I love. I went as Alice in Wonderland whilst one of my friends went as the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland and one as Jessie from Toy Story.

It was a lovely afternoon with a high tea and games. I made some baby shower themed cupcakes which came out better than I could have hoped.

We played such games as guess the baby pictures which I won, don’t say baby, guess the M&Ms in a baby’s bottle (there were 197 in case you were wondering!), pin the dummy on the baby, and baby themed Pictionary amongst others. The Pictionary was a great laugh, especially with my lack of drawing skills!

We also tried some baby food. I have been considering going on the baby food diet, popular with the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Cheryl Cole. You can eat one healthy adult meal a day and up to 14 jars of baby food. Now I have sampled it though, I’m not entirely sure that I could stomach it! The best were the puddings but I’m thinking that eating 14 of those a day would probably defeat the whole diet idea!

Sunday saw me being super domesticated. I repaired some items of clothing, did washing and made a pavlova; the recipe on the calendar for August. I also picked my first home grown tomatoes, small but very tasty.

Bank holiday Monday was good weather for a change and my boyfriend and I went to a beer festival with his sister and her husband at their local pub. I’m proud to say that I did sample quite a few of the beers despite not being a beer drinker. They also had a live band called Boneyard Junction who were very good especially with their rendition of Paint it Black.

http://www.boneyardjunction.co.uk/

What better way to spend a bank holiday than drinking and listening to a band. There was also a traditional village fete there and my boyfriend, after quite a few beers decided that he must win the guess the weight of the marrow competition. He guessed 10lb 6oz and it was 10lb 4oz. He was the closest and so we became proud owners of a very large marrow!!

Friday just gone I cooked a stuffed marrow. I thought it was very tasty but my boyfriend wasn’t keen after all that. At least the marrow wasn’t wasted though. It only fitted in the oven at a diagonal as it was so large! They do say marrows are good for losing weight although the filling may counteract this!

Last weekend saw the number of hits on my blog pass 1000! Thank you to all my loyal readers; this feels like a real milestone. I would also like to thank two of my friends who very kindly compared it to Carrie’s writing in Sex and the City, you know who you are; that was the greatest compliment anyone could pay me, being that I am slightly obsessed with that series. Here’s to the next 1000 hits!

Stepping Back in Time

Aug17

I know for most people history was probably one of their worst subjects at school but it can actually be quite interesting; you just need to find an area that fascinates you.

Having a long weekend to enjoy after the wedding, we decided to check out the Titanic exhibition at Chatham Dockyard. I must admit it wasn’t quite what I expected and I was disappointed that I couldn’t try on the heart of the ocean necklace; but I did enjoy it and it awakened my interest in history, as well as reminding me of when the film was released in 1997 when I was a teenager in love with Leonardo DiCaprio. I remember wanting to watch all his films and Mum only allowing me to see ‘Basketball Diaries’ if she watched it with me as I was too young for its 18 rating. At the time I think my walls were covered with Leonardo and Backstreet Boys! I would dream that I met them and they fell in love with me.

My boyfriend and I recreated the famous scene from the film on the railings. That evening we decided to watch the film and I cried yet again! It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I watch it, I still ball my eyes out.

I think one of the most moving things about the Titanic disaster was the arrogance of human nature. They really believed that the ship was unsinkable so saw no need to ‘clutter’ up the deck with life boats. It is also sad to see how class determined whether you were to be saved; 34% o f first class men were saved whilst only 30% of third class children.

Sunday evening, after enjoying a roast dinner, I tried to get my boyfriend to sit through the film Coco before Chanel. He was having none of it though so I compromised with The Cashmere Mafia. We were barely 5 minutes into it when the television and DVD player turned off. Turns out there was a fire in a junction box in the road and so we had to endure a power cut for the rest of the evening. If I didn’t know better, I would think my boyfriend had arranged it to get out of the girly films. I was just annoyed to already be in my pyjamas when there were fit fireman just a few doors down!

We lit some candles and amused ourselves with cards as well as polishing off quite a proportion of a wine box. It wasn’t like we could make a hot drink, so of course we had no choice but to stay on the wine! I paid for it the next morning though and even woke up talking French, much to my boyfriend’s confusion! It got me thinking about what life would have been like for the first occupant of our house in 1898 without all our modern amusements. The next day I got researching and found the name of the first owner and his occupation.

This led me on to think about Victorian and Edwardian fashion. This autumn Victorian is one of the many trends making a comeback, along with cord, 40’s and 70’s. I love the lace of the Victoriana clothes, so girly and pretty. I found an interesting website for anyone interested in learning more about fashion especially of shoes at the time of the Titanic sinking.

http://www.vintagedancer.com/titanic-edwardian-shoes-for-women-buy-or-make/

In my parents collection I discovered this old picture of my Dad’s side of the family which would have been taken around 1914. It’s interesting to see the fashion of the day.

Let’s have fun and experiment with fashion this coming season! So many eras to choose from for inspiration; where to start?

Getting back to the sinking of Titanic which will be 100 years ago next April; there was such a sense of excitement at the time it set sail, a feeling of hope and dreams of endless possibilities. This can be likened to how most of us feel as we grow up. As teenagers we believe we are indestructible and can do anything we want to do but as we get older we realise this is not always the case.

At the wedding one of our friends pointed out that we left school 10 years ago. What a scary thought! When we left we created a yearbook and put in it our dreams for the future. We probably felt full of optimism, much like those Titanic passengers. Circumstances get in the way though and we often end up treading paths we didn’t imagine. This is sometimes for the better however.

I went for a friends birthday drink with people from school, in a bar in Soho during the week called Barrio Central. I must be getting old as I don’t have the stamina I used to for drinking on a ‘school’ night! Was nice to catch up with friends I hadn’t seen for a while though, despite the ‘mouthwash’ cocktails on offer (a Mojito with an extra large helping of mint!) I was glad that the riots had calmed down; otherwise many of us wouldn’t have wanted to venture out in London. The riots were really quite scary and give us an insight of what life during the Blitz must have been like.

The weekend just gone, my boyfriend and I met up with a friend and her other half. I got to continue my birthday as she gave me my present. We got on to talking about when we first met at school at about the age of 13. It’s funny looking back and reminiscing. Perhaps it’s something about approaching 30 that we are all starting to look back.

Sunday was spent working in the garden. It felt really satisfying to get it looking nice but I got very sunburnt. Strange that I find a sense of enjoyment from gardening now, if you had asked me 10 years ago, I didn’t have the slightest interest! How things change. The neighbour kindly gave us some plums from her tree so I made a crumble; how very domesticated! Both my boyfriend and I ached like crazy that evening though; a snapshot of 50 years time when we will be sharing our aches and pains!

From bridal shower to baby shower, Sunday evening was spent making invites for my brother’s girlfriend’s belated baby shower. As I stuck down the Disney princesses, it struck me how we all dream of that happy ending. On the train the other day, I overheard a girl of 8 saying that she must keep her drawing safe as it was the plan for her wedding!

The important thing I take from these last couple of weeks is that despite us all progressing through the book of life at different rates; some travelling, some married, some parents and some in between them all; us friends can all still find time to come together on the same page occasionally. That’s true friendship for you. We share a history and despite each entering new chapters, we share a common bond. Friends and family make the world go round and always will.

‘A Bridal Shower’

Aug13

The day of one of my best friends wedding is almost upon us. I took the day before off work and treated myself to a set of false nails. I used to get these done regularly as my nails have always been a bit brittle but this is the first time I have had it done in years. I was suitably pleased with the results and the price; £20 for a full set! Apparently for some people this is still too much as whilst I was in the salon, a woman left without paying! People’s mentality never ceases to amaze me and on my walk home, I saw another example of it. One of my elderly neighbours had fallen and before I got to her, another girl just looked and kept on walking!

I took the opportunity as I was at my parents to visit my favourite boutique, Torza and came out with a beautiful pink maxi dress with pearls around the neckline. I can justify it as it being bought with my birthday money, although I have a feeling that this birthday money is going to be on a bit of elastic! I also went into the shop called Vintage and found the perfect bag to go with my bridesmaids dress. It must have been quite a find as on the day even the blokes commented on it!

Finally the big day was upon us. I was so excited but couldn’t believe that after all the beautiful weather we have had, it chose to rain on today of all days. Superstition has it that this is good luck. I had a read up as to the reasoning behind this and found various suggestions. It is thought by Hindu’s that it represents a stronger unity, being that a wet knot is harder to undo. There is also a belief that it will be a healthy and fruitful marriage, due to rain being essential for good crops.

The other bridesmaids and I met at the bride’s house early and the hairdresser started on our hair. I was determined to get my signature butterfly into my outfit somewhere so chose a butterfly slide as a hair accessory. I love to have my hair done, don’t you? It’s so relaxing. The Cava was cracked open early and we had a lovely time getting ready.

As we helped the bride into her dress, I thought how amazing she looked. It was a stunning dress with lots of lace. The bouquets arrived and then before we knew it, the time had come to head to the church.

The service was lovely and the priest made it really; he was a little on the eccentric side to say the least. I got through my reading without tripping up on my way to the stage or stumbling on my words thankfully. As we left the church, we bridesmaids were on duty to ensure the bride’s dress remained clean and dry. On arrival at the reception, the sun finally came out and the bride relaxed at last.

The father of the bride speech was so moving and it got me wondering what my Dad would say if I ever get my special day. The cake was a tower of cupcakes which must have taken the bride’s friend ages, but it truly was stunning. If you ever want a knock out cake, I highly recommend her.

http://www.sweettreatcupcakes.co.uk

As the drinks flowed, we all danced well into the night and I managed to brave it out and keep my new sparkly heels on all evening; the price we pay for fashion! The photographer went up in my estimations when I noticed she was wearing a Kookai shirt, much to her amazement. Kookai was always my favourite shop but sadly only exists as a concession in stores now. The clothes are timeless though and unusual. I still have stuff from there that I bought over 10 years ago.

The bouquet was thrown but sadly I didn’t catch it. My other half did start to talk about marriage though as did another of my friends boyfriends. Not sure if the excitement of the day or the sheer amount of alcohol brings on this conversation though!

Over a year of planning and the day seems to be over so quickly. Everything was perfect down to the last detail though. Here’s hoping the marriage will last forever and that the weather was a good sign! Congratulations to the happy couple! Enjoy the honeymoon and thank you for the privilege of making me maid of honour.

Peddling between the travel urge and the maternal urge!

Aug1

This weekend my boyfriend and I decided to get all energetic and go for a bike ride around Riverside Country Park. I think my parents were pleased that it meant I took my bike with me finally; they have wanted it out of their shed forever. Mum and Dad thought once my brother and I had gone, they’d have more space but so far that space hasn’t really materialised, much to their disappointment! The ride was most enjoyable although my bum didn’t think so; I paid for it the rest of the weekend! It’s so nice to have such a lovely country space on your doorstep. The smell of seaweed is quite overpowering though. We followed one of the cycle routes but hope next time to do the longest one, now we are reacquainted with two wheels. It got me thinking though; is our life laid out like a cycle route or are we free to peddle off the beaten track?

We went to a friend’s BBQ where three girls were mothers with young babies, one baby of which was my niece. They are all so gorgeous, I got all broody. Society seems to dictate that you should have kids in your 20’s but is this right for everyone? Yes the biological clock is ticking but are there other dreams we hold too? Is it better to be a younger or an older Mum? As I sat with some friends discussing holidays, I thought maybe there was more I wanted to see before becoming a Mum. I’m definitely getting the urge to travel again, my New York holiday seems a million years ago despite it actually being only 4 months ago.

My first ever holiday without parents was to Zante and I had such a wonderful time despite having a reaction to a henna tattoo, a rash caused by a horse and something in my eye! My friend was surprised by the first aid kit I brought with me but by the end of the holiday we had used it all between us! It has always been an in joke between my brother and me that I will manage to fall over on every holiday! After that I want on various beach holidays; some with friends and some as a couple as well as Dublin, Prague and New York, but the holiday that really opened my eyes to travel was the one I took to Morocco with two friends. The souks of Marrakech have to be seen to be believed: health and safety is really not even a second thought out there. People weld in the street without masks and when walking down the narrow streets you have to dodge the crowds, motorbikes and donkeys! The people there are wonderful though and it really widened my outlook on life.

With my partner I then went to Egypt last year which was equally fulfilling; Cairo and the pyramids were out of this world. Camel rides were interesting in both these countries; they are about as comfortable as a bike saddle. Riding a quad bike through the dessert after using the shisha pipe was also an experience!

This year we only ventured as far as New York which don’t get me wrong was fantastic, especially for shopping;

but I’m craving visiting a completely different culture to our own. My friend has not long been back from Bali which I really fancy but my biggest dream is still India. At the BBQ we talked about a girls break to celebrate our 30^th. Perhaps New York or perhaps Italy. One friend went to Verona this year and I must admit I would love to see Juliet’s house. I don’t think Italy would agree with my partner seeing as he doesn’t like cheese or pasta! Another idea I have had though is more responsible tourism which may also help me with my future career of a teacher and that is to go to Peru and volunteer in an orphanage.

As close as I get to being a Mum at the moment is Rufus. Rufus amazed us this week, mastering his ramp to go in and out between his run and his hutch. I then managed to get him to go in at night, just by telling him it was bedtime. I guess my sense of pride is similar to how parents feel when their child does something for the first time.

I suppose when you are a child you are guided by your parents, much like the way your bike has stabilisers but then you are on your own, balancing on your own two wheels or stilettos as the case may be. I have constantly carved out my own path; ending up working and then doing a degree through Open University and only finally deciding on a career at nearly 28. I guess life is all about balance, just like riding a bike. Perhaps we all just envy what we don’t have; much like in a restaurant where you always want what someone else ordered! There’s some food for thought for my readers and I’m going to get back to my glass of vino!

‘Just Friends’

Jul28

I would like to think that you had been on the edge of your seats anticipating my next instalment but I guess that would be wishful thinking on my part. I would however like to apologise for the tardiness of this new blog; its writing was impeded by my eye problems. The so called experts are still no nearer to really knowing what it is. The latest guess is a viral infection. Anyhow it has caused me to be signed off sick for the first time in my life. As a result I have become quite well acquainted with daytime television. I have now had my fill of property ladder, a place in the sun and wife swap plus some reruns of great British comedy; My Family, Keeping up Appearances and One Foot in the Grave. It did also give me the opportunity to finally watch a DVD I got for Christmas called Priceless which I greatly enjoyed whilst eating a remaining Easter egg! All of this was watched through one eye though which was not greatly comfortable. My boyfriend attempted to make me an eye patch but unfortunately it wasn’t a great success and I resorted to just putting my hand over my eye. A couple of friends suggested I could make a fashion statement with an embellished eye patch and perhaps make my birthday BBQ a sexy pirate theme!

The Sunday before last saw my first Sunday morning without the News of the World. My kind boyfriend still made me a sausage sandwich in bed and as it happens my eye was so bad that I wouldn’t have been able to read it anyway. The best bit of the paper, ‘Fabulous’ magazine appears however to come with Saturdays ‘Sun’ so all is not lost. My theory is that they started providing magazines with newspapers so that men could read the sport in the paper uninterrupted! I am however fed up with the news being dominated by the News of the World phone hacking scandal; is there really nothing more important happening in the world? I regretted asking this rhetorical question this weekend though when the phone hacking became old news after the terrible atrocity inNorway, followed by the death of Amy Winehouse. It is so sad that she is the latest addition to the so called 27 club, which for those of you who don’t know is the result of a number of musicians dying at 27; Kurt Cobain being another. I titled my blog this week in honour of her as one of her songs was ‘Just Friends’.

http://www.muzu.tv/gb/amywinehouse/just-friends-music-video/254719/

It is also rather ironic that I left 27 behind this week and became 28. The day of the birthday BBQ finally arrived and thankfully the weather held out as our house would have been very cosy with nearly 30 people! We definitely lined Tesco’s pockets for the weekend! I was really touched that so many of my friends made the journey down and greatly enjoyed the celebration, despite my eye condition which was not helped by the BBQ smoke and also meant that I couldn’t wear eye make up. I made up for it though with some statement 4 inch glittery gold shoes!

I rolled back the years with some Bacardi Breezer’s too. Mum made me a wonderful cake with a shoe; very fitting. I enjoyed showing off my finished wardrobe with the new addition of pink fairy lights which my boyfriend kindly fitted that morning. One of my friends commented that my wardrobe was a shrine to clothes!

As the party died down and there were just a few of us hard core partiers left; my boyfriends friend started to tell us about his PHD in engineering ceramics. Us girls were looking a little confused, are ceramics not pottery and tiles? Apparently he says ceramics are used in kitchen knives, thinking we would understand this association. I then said is it like in hair straightner’s and suddenly we were all back in the room!

My boyfriend went away again this week for work. This doesn’t get any easier for me despite it not being the first time and only being a couple of days. What was worse was I was awakened from a deep sleep by a loud bang which sounded like a bullet out of a gun. Turns out it was in fact a balloon from the party popping! I did feel silly.

I was spoilt on my actual birthday with many wonderful presents. It is lovely to see that my friends and family know my tastes so well. Most cards were shoe, shopping, cocktail, VW Beetle or butterfly related! I share below a picture of one very apt card which sums me up.

My boyfriend left a huge bunch of flowers on my dressing table in the morning which was very romantic.

Anyways, I’ve bored you long enough, plus I need to check out some shoe sites to spend my birthday money on! Until next time…….

blahnikgirl

Archives

Childhood Revisited

‘It’s Pimms O’Clock!’

Baby Shower

Stepping Back in Time

‘A Bridal Shower’

Peddling between the travel urge and the maternal urge!

‘Just Friends’