YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 28 things about you. I don't care if we've never talked, never really clicked, or if we already know everything about each other. I really don't. You are obviously on my flist, so let me know with whom I'm friends!


1. Your Name:  Jen
2. Age:  39
3. Single or Taken:  Single
4. Favourite Film(s): Back to the Future (All 3) Rocky Horror Picture show, St Elmo's fire, 10 things I hate about you, NIghtmare on Elm street.
5. Favourite Song or Album(s):  Bring it on by Alistair Griffin
6. Favourite Band/Artist(s): Alistair Griffin, Take That, Will Young, Lily Allen.
7. Dirty or Clean: Clean
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:  Just Ears pierced
9. Do we know each other outside of LJ?  No
10. What's your philosophy on life?  Take what you can while you can ;)
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?  Half empty
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?  Yes
13. What is your favourite memory of us? -
14. What is your favourite guilty pleasure? Chocolate
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:  I collect autographs
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarky) - what are they? The man of my dreams fallas at my feet and proposes to me. I actually manage to stay on a diet and lose weight, I get the job of my dreams.
17. Can we get together and make a cake? If you want to
18. Which country is your spiritual home?  England Always
19. What is your big weakness?  Chocolate
20. Do you think I'm a good person? Yes
21. What was your best/favourite subject at school?  Drama
22. Describe your accent:  Its a weird mish mosh of dialects that people say sounds posh.
23. If you could change anything about me, would you? No
24. What do you wear to sleep? T-shirt and leggings
25. Trousers or skirts? Trousers
26. Cigarettes or alcohol? Neither
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together? (If you have no idea, just say something crazy, it'll entertain me!)  Go and eat loads of chocolate drinks loads of smoothies and play on the swings!
28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you? Yes

I have recently taken up Tarot reading again.
I used to read tarot 20 years ago and was very good at it. I gave it up because at the time I thought there was more to life. I was worried about relying on all the cards to tell me how to live my life instead of just living it.

Now that my life is more steady I am taking up the cards again.
It isn't just Tarot I am interested in, I am using Runes as well as Angel cards and other Fortune telling tools. I know I have a gift and I am trying to harness it and exploit it to it's best.

Each day I am going to talk about my tarot card for the day and it's interpretation.

Today - Friday June 5th 2009

Queen of Pentacles



Official explanation

Description

The Queen of Pentacles depicts a solitary woman, much like the one appearing in the Nine of Pentacles. However, the Queen represents fruitfulness and satisfaction to a greater degree than that expressed in the nine. Here we have the Queen of sensual enjoyment, an earth mother similar to the Empress of the Major Arcana. She sits on a throne decorated with carvings of fruit trees, goats, angels, and other symbols of material success and sensual pleasure. The tree above her and the ground beneath her feet are rich with flowers and ripe plants of all sorts and she holds in her hand a single golden pentacle, which represents her material richness. At the very lower right-hand corner of the card a rabbit, the symbol of reproduction and fertility, darts out from behind some bushes.

Meanings

The Queen of pentacles represents prosperity and security. The security can be either financial or physical. There will be generosity demonstrated and you will find freedom associated with this security. Want to establish yourself TO yourself, to find your 'centre' or place where you belong, and for words (prophecies) or ideas to come to light. Keep following your star and you will get your wish. You may have to wait but what you want WILL come.

Good Fortune. You need to protect your good fortune and that of those you care about. Parties that provide you with social connections can greatly benefit you. Patronise the arts and enjoy your riches as best as you can. It will pay off. The personality of the Queen of Pentacles combines the positive earth energy of the Pentacles suit with the inward focus of a Queen. Here's what she is like: If you were to visit the Queen of Pentacles, the first thing she would say is, "Come in, come in. It's great to see you. Have a bowl of soup!" No one is more welcoming and nurturing than she. Her greatest pleasure is to care for others - making sure they are happy and secure. Her home is always overflowing with children, pets, plants and footloose friends. She is warm and generous to all. In day-to-day matters, she is sensible and practical. She doesn't have a lot of time for elaborate plans and other craziness. If something needs doing, she just takes care of it without a lot of fuss and bother. If necessary, she makes do with little and always comes through in a pinch. There is a down-to-earth, matter-of-factness about her. She is always loyal and steadfast. Because she is trusting by nature, others trust her completely. When you are hurting or in need, the Queen of Pentacles will calm your fears and share your troubles.

With Queens, the emphasis is on your inner state. The Queen of Pentacles is not a real, many-sided person, but she does express an ideal of a certain type. In readings, she asks you to think and feel as she does. For example: Are you feeling warm and caring toward others? Are you being sensible? Have you been true to your word? Do you feel generous? Can you be counted on when times are tough? This Queen can also represent a man or woman who is like her, or an atmosphere of warmth, trust and security. In a reading, she tells you that her special energy has meaning for you at this time. Let yourself be inspired by this Queen in whatever form she appears in your life.

The Queen of Pentacles expresses practical energy. She is the original Earth Mother. She's the one with the rows of home-canned goods on the shelf in the root cellar. She is able to work a full-time job, take care of the children, keep the house clean, and still have time to read the financial section of the Wall Street Journal. She probably has a little nest egg tucked away in a few bank accounts that no one knows about. Her style of mothering is practical. The punishment always fits the crime. Colour on the wall? Here, take this wash cloth and clean it up. All done? Good. It's forgotten. You will be responsible for your own actions, and she will make sure of it.

Physical description - dark haired woman. Large, strong constitution, cheerful. The ultimate mother. Personality traits - she is secure, wealthy, enjoys luxury, and abundance. Generous and sincere, but lacking sparkle. Matronly. Good head for business. Sometimes moody, generally very caring.

Pragmatic, sensuous, generous, abundance, practical, astute businesswoman, secretive, financially adept, good mother, nurturer, reserved, wealth, protective of her territory, endurance, stability, spinning and weaving, full of potential, power of prophesy, second sight, common sense, deviation, ancient tradition of earth magic, physically fit, strength, hard working, pleasures of the body, caring for and pampering the body, enjoyment of luxury, dignity, grace, prosperity, steadfast, good organiser, prosperity, harmony, regality, devoted, affectionate, warm hearted, management skills, enjoying the fruits of labour, comfort, fertility, parenthood, love of all living creatures.

Community life, takes responsibility willingly, love of nature, happy giving material help in demanding situations, shrewdness, ownership, steady employment, steady progress, evolution, voluptuous woman, material goods, all the good things in life, benefactress, emotional maturity, provider, philanthropist, display of wealth, practical wisdom, creativity, crafts, Great Mother, actions speak louder than words, confidence, down to earth, loves fresh flowers and good food, both feet on the ground, nurturer, a team player, family woman, tactile, indulgences, gifts, forgiving, firm foundation, sensible, environmentalist, bestower of life and bounty, unconditional love.

My Own interpretation...

On the card you see the Queen holding the coin. She is looking at it lovingly and longingly. You can see that it is the most important thing to her right now. She is surrounded by flowers and beautiful things and sits on an ornate throne.

MY own interpretation of this card is to treasure what you have and see the beauty in everything around you.

To my own life I see it as considering all I have and to stop coveting more things that I do not need. I do tend to take for granted everything I have and long for what I don't have. SO I see this card for today as a very positive message.

It was back in the summer when my sister offered to buy the tickets for us. From me it was the same proviso as last time - That I can pay in instalments. I think I just about paid off the ticket in time...
This time sis' friend was going too and kindly offered to drive to Nottingham to save all the hassle with Buses/trains. There was some confusion as last time we saw Will in Nottingham, It was at the Nottingham arena but this tour was a little different - It was to be a more intimate close up and personal tour calling at Nottingham concert hall.

I have been so excited all week and had the album on all the time from my laptop/PSP/phone. With gigs like this you buy the tickets so far in advance that you never think it will get here and then when it does I get such a wave of excitement with Butterflies in my tummy and inability to stop going to the toilet that I never think I will last out the day.

We seemed to get to Notts in record time. We parked up in Talbot st car park. It was weird though as we found our way out we had to go down 4 flights of stairs yet we had gone straight in off the street in the car and down a level to park.

We walked to the Concert hall and I stopped to take in the wonderful lights of the Cornerhouse...

The venue was buzzing with all the Will fans young and old, male and female.

There were lots of crowds around the merchandise stall and the program booth but I wanted to wait until after the gig as I didn't want to loose or get it damaged before the night was over.

We went to find the toilets and the queue for the ladies was huge - out the door and round the corner. A couple of ladies couldn't wait that long so actually went in the men's...rather them than me!

My sisters wanted to go get a drink but we declined as neither of us wanted to risk needing the loo again and having to queue. I like to get to my seat and then stay there for the rest of the night, having a weak bladder isn't fun. I didn't want to miss anything.

The Support act were Honey Ryder and I really enjoyed them.

I was dancing in my seat although I was a bit annoyed that a lot of the crowd preferred to sit chatting than listening. The lead singer told us that their first single "numb" went to number 32 in the charts which was pretty good really considering how they charts go these days.


She also told us that the proceeds from the new single "Fly away" are going to Children in need. You could text the number she gave to get it now and if you took your phone to them in the foyer to show them the message you would get some free goodies. I didn't do it but I saw quite a few people coming back in later on with posters and cds that weer signed by the band.
They did a good set of about 6 songs and of those that payed attention, they seemed to enjoy them - I certainly did.

Tensions rose as the band came on to set up ready for Will. The crowd went wild as the singers appeared and the lights went down. I wondered if people were going to stand up as everyone was seated.

Suddenly from the wings Will came bouncing onto the stage and waved for everyone to stand up.
"Friday night starts right here"

What I love the most about Will is his Passion and enthusiasm for his music. Touring and singing his own songs isn't a chore or a money making exercise for him it is what he does best. From the moment he comes on stage he is jumping around and dancing and wiggling his bum. He does just look so cute like a little boy on Christmas morning.
He was wearing just a t-shirt and the tightest jeans I have seen in my life. Boy he didn't leave anything to the imagination and those fans in the front row must have had quite a view all night.

Will did lots of songs from the new album. I loved Changes and Grace but my favourite was Love. It is one of my faves on the album too. He also did a few older tunes. Love is a matter of distance, You and I, Friday's child, Your Game and my most favourite from the whole night had to be Who am I. We were all sat down for this as it is a gorgeous ballad. The whole crowd were swaying along and singing. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I had goosebumps. In fact Will seemed to have the ability to turn me into a droolsome puddle more than once over the evening - A special mention has to go also to You don't know which he sang totally acoustic with just the guitar to accompany him. He was very still and you could feel the emotion in the air as more than a few of the audience crumbled.

I just love the way he puts his whole self into the performance. He also involved the singers and band by interacting with them all the way through.

Will is always really chatty with the audience and there is always a full conversation going on. He is also really funny and sometimes without intending to be.
2 girls at the front got him to give them both a kiss and he said "That's it ladies, that's as far as I go. You won't get anything else from me" Everyone laughed and then he laughed and said "Ha HA I just got that myself" Of course referring to the fact that yes he is gay and as hard as you try you will never get further than a kiss. Lots of others wanted to get kisses but he said what a weird concert that would be. "If I had to kiss everyone there wouldn't be any time for any songs"

Someone shouted out about Top Gear and he admitted that he had had a few secret lessons before recording the show. 'Well, I was a big gay going on TOP GEAR, so I wanted to do well!'
Ahhh how cute was that?! He said he wasn't going to tell us who the Stig was. He kept trying to look in his visor to see if it was Nigel Mansell - It wasn't Nigel Mansell.

There was another story about when he embarrassed himself on GMTV. Liam Neeson was the guest and Will made himself look like a fanboy by declaring he will lay down on the floor for him.

He also told us about the sad news of his shaker getting broken. He declared that we should have a minute silence in respect and then went on to tell us a very sweet story about when he was young and used to play at who can stay quiet for the longest with his Nan. Only his Nan never quite got it and would talk straight away...It didn't go well as each time he said 3,2,1 go someone would shout out "I love you Will!"

Will got really excited when someone threw a little teddy on the stage "It's got a penis!" he exclaimed and started giggling as he showed it to the band. Another teddy came on the stage too and he picked that up and then said "Oh this one's normal"

There was something that Will wanted to show us. Someone had done a mock up of a Newspaper front page stated "Will Young Elected Prime Minister!"
He read it all out to us and got a bit giddy about it and what he would do if he was Prime minister

Before you knew it Grace ended and Will and the singers and the band all said their goodbyes and disappeared off the stage...It was obvious there would be an encore so no one moved from their seats. The lights stayed down as the band reappeared and the 2 singers came on with fluorescent fingerless gloves on a-la 1983. They got us clapping and then Will appeared at the back of the stage with black jeans a black sleeveless top and some gloves of his own.
I didn't have a clue what the song was but there was some very funky '80s dancing from Will (I have found out since it was a Grace Jones cover - He also did a Joan Armatrading cover earlier on)
At the end of the song he took off his gloves and threw them into the crowd. He said that he couldn't throw the rest of his clothes into the crowd as then he would be naked (I think a lot of the fans - my sister included - wouldn't have had a problem with that) Then he told us a story about when he got a little overexcited and threw his t-shirt into the crowd at the V festival, then afterwards he realised it was his favourite shirt and he wished he hadn't.

The very final song was Leave right now. The whole crowd swayed and sang along and although I tried to video it the sound isn't great. He did the extended version but it still wasn't long enough. He said his final goodbyes (Taking the flowers someone had thrown) threw his sweaty towels to the audience and left the stage...

We left through the side door and then I realised I needed to get a program so I nipped back round to the front to buy a program (£10) and a keyring (£5) and joined the girls to walk back to the car. It was freezing outside but I was very hot and sweaty so I carried my coat as I needed to cool down.

The full set list
Very Kind, Are You Happy, Love Is A Matter Of Distance, Love, Won't Give Up, Who Am I, You And I, Show Some Emotion (Joan Armatrading cover), You Don't Know, Let It Go, Friday's Child, Changes, Free, Your Game, Grace, ENCORE Grace Jones cover, Leave Right Now.

The drive home was wonderful as I relived all the best bits and I couldn't wait to get home to look at my photos. To be honest I am a bit disappointed with them as they are mostly quite blurred but that, I am putting down to the fact that Will just can't stand still long enough for the camera to capture him!

I have just had another big row with my Nan on the phone. It is a year since my Grandad died so I should have really bitten my tongue but I just couldn't. I hate having to justify myself all the time and I hate to be told what I should or shouldn't be doing.

Families are a big pain in the ARSE!!! you can't say anything to anyone without it all getting pulled out of proportion.

I don't usually bother writing about it but I am just so mad. I really feel like packing my bags and dragging the children off somewhere elase for good away from the lot of them!

Back to school today and I really should be getting myself back into my routine but I think I will leave it until Monday...

My Cats in a box



This is my 8 year old cat Pica and my 4 month old kitten Ron
I thought it was funny.

Doctor Who....Who else?? ;)

Back in May I started to have problems with my laptop. There was obviously a faulty connection to the screen and it kept going weird. I tried to deal with it for a few weeks but the problem got worse and I had to give up and take it in to be repaired.

So therein starts the story. I was told it could be up to 6 weeks but I saw that as the worst case scenario...if only.
Each week I would go in and ask and they would tell me there was still no news.
I was like a bear with a sore head at home. Anyone could have mistaken me for someone trying to give up smoking. I was always shouting at everyone.

We do have another PC at home but with DS off school for the summer it was quite a fight to get any time on there and so I only had a couple of hours a day when he went off to do his paper round.

Then last week the shop phoned me up to tell me I am behind on my payments. I went on a rant about having this time been without my lappy for 9 weeks and that there is no way I am paying another penny until my Laptop was back.

They did a bit of work for a change and found that the laptop had in fact been fixed and dispatched 2 weeks ago but it hadn't arrived back at the store. They went on to tell me that they would investigate and if they couldn't locate the machine by the end of this week then they would replace it with a new model.

Still without a phone call I went into the shop today and the manager told me he was expecting it back any time today. In fact it arrived while I was there but it would take them an hour to unload the lorry and sign it in and everything so I took my shopping home and went back later.


It is such a relief to have my dear lappy back. Now I can sit here and do all my work and watch TV all at the same time ;)

YAY my bathroom is finally finished after a week of disruption and waiting in all day long for Workmen to appear.

A couple of weeks ago the council Plumber came round to tell me we were getting a bathroom refurbishment and he was there to measure up. I hadn't heard anything about it before that and when I asked him when it will be done he said the next week.

And sure enough on Wednesday July 23rd the Plumber was back at 8am sharp to rip out the old bath/sink/toilet and put the new ones in.

Unfortunately the work took a whole week as a different man had to come each day.

Thursday morning the Electrician came to put the electrics in for the new shower and also to put in a new light.
Thursday afternoon the plasterer came to level the walls ready for the tiles and on Friday morning he came to put the tiles up.
I had a choice of tiles and chose the aqua/green ones.
Monday morning the floor tiler came. I also had a choice of floor tiles and went for a Dove grey colour.
Tuesday afternoon the Plumber returned to finish off the job with the Shower.
I have never lived in a home with a shower before so it is a real novelty and I keep forgetting that I don't have to wait for the Bath to fill up. I always dreamed about being able to just jump in the shower at a moments notice but it still hasn't sunk in.

So here are the before pictures


And the after photos

I apologise first of all for not updating my journal recently. I am still without my laptop and don't get much time to sit at the main household PC.

However at the moment the council are in giving our bathroom a makeover.
We are getting a new Bath, sink and toilet and in addition we will also be having a shower installed.

We will also be having the Bathroom walls and floor tiled.

I know to a lot of people a shower is a normal part of life that you take for granted but I have never lived in  house with a shower so it is going to be fantastic and I am so excited that I can take a shower whenever I want instead of having to wait 3 hours for the bath to fill up when I am going out.

I will keep you updated with pics of course...

OK I know it's early but I just found what I want for Christmas...

My own personal David Tennant Doctor

Tell me you don't want one too

Thanks to maggi137

1. When did you start watching?
Of Doctor who overall? when I was a kid.

1a. Why?
It's Doctor Who!!! Science fiction that is obtainable ground level for today's TV that can be all things to all people.

2. What was your first episode?
Of the new regime Rose the first episode.


3. Which episodes have you seen?
I can't remember the old episodes. I have seen the Peter Cushing movies and all of the New Whos

3a. Favourite?
Empty child/Doctor dances, Doomsday, Blink

4. Have you been to any Doctor Who conventions?
Nope not yet

5. Have you ever dressed up as a Doctor Who character?
No, I haven' t.

6. Do you own any Doctor Who merchandise?
Yeah, Season 2 boxset and the Doctor figure from "The Wire"

7. Are you a fan of Russell T Davies?
Yes. He brought us back The Doctor and along with that he brought us 2 fantastic regenerations in Chris Eccleston and David Tennant. I love his episodes too and can never see why geeky whovians want him off the show.

7a. Steven Moffat?
Yes Moffat's episodes are wonderful - He brought us Blink after all ;)

7b. Paul Cornell?
Not really

8. What say you to Season 6b?
Dunno

9. The UNIT dating controversy?
No idea

10. The Blinovitch Limitation effect?
???

11. Multi-Doctor episodes?
I really loved "Time Crash" and "The Five Doctors" - so I would love to see more. This is maggi's answer but I will agree.

12. What's your favourite Doctor Who technobabble?
Also the Timey-Wimey Detector.- it's so hilarious. Again I agree with Maggi

13. Have you watched other TV shows exclusively because of the presence of Doctor Who actors?
Oh Yes all the time - I have no shame ;-)

14. Have you met any of the actors?
No sob sob

14a. Travelled to any filming locations?
not yet...

15. What do you think of The Curse of Fatal Death?
Absolutely Pissed myself ROFL

16. Do you have any fannish opinions that you think are fairly unpopular?
I can't stand Catherine Tate and still after 8 episodes of her I still have not warmed to Donna - Roll on her demise!

17. What's your favourite pairing?
10/Rose...Always

18. What pairing(s) won't you touch with a really long pole?
Doctor/Donna. Doctor/Jack

Hooray, Hooray It's a Holi-Holiday

You gotta love those Sun Holidays.
On Friday morning at 8.45am we set off on our weekend break to Mablethorpe. We were booked in at Haven Golden Sands. My sisters had both been there before and advised me to set off early. I had planned to get the 11.11am train but we ended up on the 9.11am train instead. The train to Notts was pretty packed but we found seats. My suitcase was a bit of a nightmare though. It is bigger than any of the luggage holds and I had a job storing it anywhere out of the way.

There was a huge gang of teenagers who all seemed to be going to Skeggy too. This didn't please me as I know that the train is usually only 2 carriages and if you can't get a seat it is a 2 hour standing journey. At Notts station we only had 10 minutes to get to the other end of the platform for the Skeggy train. Those teens all ran ahead and I was struggling along with my big old cumbersome and very heavy case. DD & DS had their own bags to carry as well as the shopping bag with all our food and supplies for the journey. As it happens, there was a whole carriage empty so we comfortably found a table seat and relaxed. Unfortunately not for too long though as that group of teens also found the empty carriage and took up residence. My lovely peaceful journey was ruined by crappy dance and rap music and lots of shouting and swearing and running up and down. There was also this very annoying boy asking every five minutes "Are we there yet?"
I had my PSP with me and attempted to watch the final episode of Skins series 2. I just about managed to blank out all the noise from the train to concentrate enough to get emotional. I was bawling my head off for most of it (Embarrassingly) but then I was crying with laughter throughout the coffin chase scene. I think that was a first for Skins setting the scene to Girls Aloud and Britney Spears which isn't the genre of music you usually get in the show. By the end of the episode I was just about emotionally drained. I had a bit of a break and then watched episode 2 of Gossip Girl. We had seen the first episode on TV but kept forgetting to watch after that so I want to catch up and carry on watching it on ITV2.

Despite the ruffians, the trip went quite quickly - Of course that was only the second leg and there were 2 more changes of transport to go. At Skegness we had to go to the bus station and get the bus to Mablethorpe. This was a 1hour trip and we had to wait 40 minutes in the freezing biting wind. When the bus turned up (5 minutes late) there was absolutely nowhere to put luggage. I first had it alongside me in the wheelchair/pushchair bit but then 2 people with buggies got on so I had to move it. I got up and some woman jumped in my seat. When I came back she told me to sit in the seat next to her by the window. Stupidly I did and was squashed in for the next hour with her bag sticking in my leg and her taking up the whole seat. She was a cantankerous old woman too. She was chatting to me but everytime she asked me a question and I gave a negative answer she would say "Oh but yes it is - I know because I live here" she was telling me how wonderful the pool was at Butlins and even when I said I didn't swim she was going on. Even when I told her I had a fear of water. I told her that we probably wouldn't leave the Haven camp anyway as there was enough to do there.
The further the journey went I prayed for her to get off but she just went on reading her book. When she finally did get off I moved to a seat by the children as the bus had pretty much emptied.
We finally reached Mablethorpe at about 1.15pm we got off the bus and were just wondering where we go to get the bus to the camp when chugging along the road came a little mini bus with Haven on the front. I clambered up the steps with me suitcase and the bus set off. The driver didn't take my money but he stopped soon after that at the bus station and took my money then. Only £2 for the 3 of us so I knew it wasn't far.
It was a funny old bus. Everyone who walked past as we sat there waved to the driver and they all knew his name. Most people got on and didn't pay (I realised that is because they are pensioners and had bus passes) 1 bloke even came and told the driver to wait a minute while he went to the butchers and bought some pies.
The Bus driver set us down outside the entrance of Haven Golden Sands at 1.30pm. It was nice to finally get there but we were 2 and a half hours early for check-in. We struggled across the car park to find the way to go. There wasn't any clear indication of which way it was and the park itself was laid out really badly. We found our way to the showbar which is where check-in was to be. We went into the Quayside bar to sit and have a drink while we waited. The service in the bar was horrendous. There was a long queue and they staff were so slow.
I waited at the bar at least 15 minutes and just as it was coming up my turn, there was a power cut and the tills all went off. When the power came back on the woman couldn't get her till to come back on, it seemed to have locked her out. By the time I got served I fancied a beer instead of the coke I was going to have. We sat in the bar for a couple of hours. We had a few drinks while we were waiting. The kids went off for an exploration of the facilities.

At 3.45 I went to have a look in the showbar (Falcon bar) and collected my welcome pack. They give everyone a Haven character card and when your character is called out you can go check-in. Our card was Bronze Naughty Ned and we waited about half an hour to be called. Then we were off to our lodging for the next 3 days. We were lucky in that our caravan was right next to the entertainment complex. You always dread a long walk when you get there especially with a big heavy case like I had (My arms are still killing now) We also had to manoeuvre over a large muddy bog because of all the rain but we were soon inside. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed - Last year we were lucky enough to get a private caravan so it has all the mod cons plus central heating but this time we were just in the bog standard unit with 2 bedrooms no heating, no toaster and no microwave. There wasn't even a grill pan so I had to be creative when making toast. It didn't bode well that I could see my breath.

We dumped all our gear and then went out for a wander. It had been a long day and we were quite hungry and tired. We explored the Amusements and the supermarket and sought out the food outlets. I was disappointed again because there was only a fish & chip shop. When we went to Haven 2 years ago there was a chip shop and a Burger King as well as the Pub Restaurant. Yet at Mablethorpe all there is is a little fish and chip shop (that didn't have any fish) and the pub restaurant. Not much variety. So we had some chips and had a play on the arcades.

We wandered around a bit and DS wanted to go up to the "Brain Buster Quiz" at 8.15pm. We weren't sure what kind of format it would take and soon found out it was just like a pub quiz. Each table was given an answer sheet and told to think up a good name. Well we were inventive, we just went with our surname. DS wanted to make a silly name but I am just too boring I guess.

Funstar Matty B was our MC for the quiz. He is from London and can't half talk for England. He went on and on and kept going off on a tangent. It took him ages to get round to the first question we could see it would be a long night. The first question was who is Phil and Grant's sister in EastEnders. Easy - Sam Mitchell. I can't remember what all the questions were. There were a few more soapy ones in there. Who had an album called the Immaculate collection? Who is Posh Spice married to? What film starred Kate Winslett and Leo DeCaprio on a boat? What is the pub called in Corrie? One of the questions asked where is Matty B from? Of course how did we know but he gave a clue about Only Fools and Horses and so we knew the answer was Peckham.
When we had answered all 20 questions it was time to swap papers with someone at another table. As we went through the answers it was obvious we were doing well. The person we marked had got 18 out of 20. When they were all marked we had to give them all in to Matty. As he went through the papers, everyone was getting 19 out 20 I was surprised because the questions were so easy I thought everyone would get 20.

So we were victorious as the only team to get 100% right. I sent DS up to the stage to collect our prize - A bottle of *ahem* Champagne and a certificate. As Matty B couldn't just be straight forward to played about and made DS follow him around the stage first before giving him our prize. As soon as I got my hands on the plonk we were out of there. Next on DS' program for the night was a magic show in the main room (Falcon bar) We managed to find a table to sit down at the back of the room so DS went to sit at the front on the dance floor with the little kiddies. He loves magic shows.
To be honest this was torture for DD and me. It wasn't the best of magic shows I have ever seen. The tricks were basic stuff that DS can do himself and it was made worse by picking precocious little kids to go on stage who weren't playing along at all. Then when that was finally over he broke into a Ventriloquist act - and not a very good one at that I have to say. You can imagine the relief for DD and me when (not-so) Magic Mike finally left the stage and it was time for the Party dances.

This is the part I most look forward to. I don't get up and dance on the dance floor but It is still fun to dance in my seat. Thing is they hardly do any that I recognise so we had to learn as we went along. After the partying was over we made our way back to the extremely cold caravan to wrap ourselves up in the duvets and drink Hot Chocolate and eat cake. We put off going to our beds as long as possible as the bedrooms were like ice boxes. I wanted to be so tired I could just drop off. I tried very hard to get comfortable but the duvet wasn't very big or indeed very thick so I shivered a long time before I finally fell asleep.
 Saturday

I woke up at about 5.30am with hands and feet like ice blocks. My nose too was so cold. Outside the caravan I could hear the wind blowing up a storm. I was worried for a moment that the caravan would be blown away just like in The Wizard of Oz.
 I played my DS for a little while until I fell asleep again. I woke again about 7.30am and managed to get up and put the fire on in the lounge area so that when the children got up it would be a little warmer.

When we were all up and fed we went out for the bus into Mabelthorpe. As we stood at the bus stop the wind was whipping up a storm. The bus came from the opposite direction and the driver indicated to us from the other side of the road that we could get on there. He said that it would save us standing in the cold. I love Mablethorpe. It is a lovely little town. Not too big and you can walk round all of it in a hour. We walked up the main street going in and out of all the arcades. Ange had told us about an arcade where they have lots of old penny machines so we had to go in there. It was fantastic, they had real penny falls machines and old fashion penny games.
  There were also some really classic arcade machines like Jolly Jack Tar and the Pile Driver.
DD & DS played a game of table Ice Hockey.
  Once we had spent all our pennies, we found a nice little cafe called the Matador Cafe. It was in a little plazza with other bars and cafes but was the only one open. DS and I had a gorgeous Tuna Melt that was huge and came with a side salad. DD had an extremely large Cheese and Ham toastie which also came with a side salad. DS had a Chocolate Milkshake with his lunch and we had cans of pop. After our lunch we tried to take a walk along the beach but we couldn't get anywhere near as the sand was blowing up a storm. We did manage to see the sea but we soon retreated.
  We walked along the front which wasn't very long then we treated ourselves to freshly made Donuts from a stall called the Pit Stop. They were gorgeous, you know when they are fresh baked and they just melt in the mouth? 5 for £1 - That is £1 well spent.

We spent the afternoon walking down the street going in and out of the little shops and arcades. One arcade had a car boot sale in the back of it. We went to have a look and it was like being taken back in time. Anything for sale on any of the stalls can't have been any newer than the 80s. There was some real relics from the past. Then randomly a stall selling eggs.
We also went in a little market that had stalls selling just about everything. There was a lovely stall that sold lots of spiritual items. Brian would have loved it as they had lots of different crystals of all shapes and sizes and colours. There were also some items that might be classified as Occult. I bought myself a little bag of worry dolls which are perfect for me at the moment. I also bought a spell candle which is supposed to suck in negative energy. There was a lovely little shell shop where DD bought a gift for her friend and DS bought some new earrings. We popped into a little shop that sold reduced price goods and I bought some cakes for back at the caravan and some chocolate for the journey back home on Monday.

The last place we looked round before going for the bus was a huge factory outlet shop. It sold everything you could think of from clothes to food to toys to fancy goods. I could have spent a lot of money in there so we got out before I did. After a hot coffee and a warning up back at the caravan we went out for dinner.

 While we were getting ready to leave I spied a wild Hare outside the caravan chomping on the grass. It was just sat there. DS went out to try and get a picture of it and it kept galloping away from him but he pursued it until he got cornered by the mud.

We fancied a proper meal so went to the bar restaurant. DS ordered Chicken and chips and I ordered the Bangers and Mash. DD wasn't too hungry so just ordered a starter of Garlic bread with cheese. My meal was huge. A great big Yorkshire pudding with 4 scrumptious sausages a massive dollop of mash , veggies and all swimming in tasty gravy. I tell you, I really fought to eat it all but I got there in the end.
  After Dinner we went down to the Falcon bar for the evening entertainment. It was packed and we couldn't find a table so we got a little stool each and sat up at the back. We got quite a good view of the stage and it wasn't too bad - apart from when I went to the bar and came back to find 2 little kids had nicked my seat. Their parents didn't seem to care and I finally moved them on when some more stools became vacant.

 Tonight was the talent show. And boy were we subjected to lots of talent - NOT! There were 2 twins who were dancing to a party dance (Well sort of standing still moving their arms around) another couple of dancers, A brothers and sister group doing a High School Musical number, A boy in a wheelchair singing Angels and a young 10 year old girl with an amazing voice who sang Valerie with no backing track. She was fantastic and should have won but the funstars decided to give certificates out to all the children and not pick a winner. I think that was a bit of a cop out myself.

The evening's evenings entertainment was another magic show by a group called Atmosphere (Or Phoenix illusion, it wasn't made clear) They were a mix of dance and magic and strobe lighting with a little bit of audience participation thrown in. The escapology illusions they did were amazing. you know the one where one of the couple is in the box and the other one stands on top? the swap was instantaneous. I really enjoyed this show. We stayed for the party dances again and then went back to the caravan for Hot Chocolate and cake. I was annoyed when we got back as the gas had run out so we couldn't put the fire on and warm up so it was duvets out again.

Sunday

 I woke up very early again with the wind howling around the caravan. I curled up as tight as I could and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. I got up at 9am to ring reception and get them to bring us some more gas. Even though she said she would get some sent right away I wasn't sure how long it would be so I just took my duvet to the lounge, made a coffee and sat watching Hider in the house. The children were up before the gas was delivered and we watched a show on Five called the gadget show where I entered a competition for loads of prizes but haven't won. The gas was finally delivered at 10.30 and I could finally grill some toast, put the fire on and most importantly have a wash in hot water.

 Although the weather was really awful we wanted to visit the Seal Sanctuary which is across the road from the Camp. It was really different from what we expected. The Seal pools are outside of the reserve so you can see them without paying to go inside but it is so worth going in.
  Inside is a huge nature reserve. It is also like a TARDIS as it looks so small before you go in but once inside it goes on and on and on.
  You can see Ponies and Owls and Emu, Pheasants, Gannets and real life Wildcats (HSM fans will see the joke)
  There was also a Time walk where it takes you back to see Mablethorpe through the ages. In there we saw lizards and a Porcupine and a Turtle. Unfortunately there used to be a Crocodile but he died recently.
  It took us an hour to walk round the whole thing, At the end of the walk you can see the rehabilitated seals before they are released back into the wild. After we had seen everything we popped into the little cafe to warm up. I had a lovely Hot Chocolate and a cream scone and the children had a chocolate muffin and a can of pop each. We bought some souvenirs in the little shop and all had a wish in the wishing well before making our way back to the caravan.
  I was ready for another coffee when I got in. The children decided to get the bus into Mablethorpe but the rain was coming down quite heavy and I didn't want to get wet anymore. I wanted to stay in for a bit and keep warm and dry, put my feet up and relax for a couple of hours. When the rain stopped though I nipped out to the shop and for a little play on the arcades. While I was out I got a text from DD saying the bus never came so they had come back. It was about 3.30pm so we took a walk to the restaurant as I fancied the Carvery for Sunday lunch.

It was gorgeous. We got the choice of Turkey, Beef or Pork and then there were roast potatoes, Veggies, Yorkshire puddings, gravy and a selection of sauces.
After our lunch we spent some more time in the caravan reading the paper and magazines and just chilling (That should be warming really as I had the fire on full!) I wanted to get to the club early for the last night so we got a good seat and got to see the whole evenings entertainments.

We got to the club in time for Meet and Greet with Anxious. Then it was Prize Bingo and the character parade followed by the Character show which was the Legend of Ar-Man-War.
  I love these shows and get right into with the little kiddies. The show did go on a bit though and I am sure that some of the littlest children would have got bored and wandered off. After the show it was time for the fancy dress competition. This was much better than the talent contest, Some children had really made an effort and brought their costumes from home especially for this night. The winners were a 3 month old baby and her 4 year old sister dressed as Minnie Mouses.

The evening family entertainment was the Funstar show "In the Mix" which was a group of the funstars (4 girls and a guy) doing a mix of modern and not so modern songs. It was quite good but went on for an awfully long time. A bit too long really and they had about 3 or 4 big finishes but then returned with new costumes.
It turned out that our good seats weren't so good after all as when the club filled up, we got hemmed in and so I couldn't get out to get to the bar or the toilets so I had to send DD to the children's bar to get us all slushies. She could just jump over the side.

DS decided to join the Party dances tonight as he was dying to win a prize and they were giving prizes to teenagers tonight. Unfortunately he didn't win - every teen around him seemed to win though so he wasn't happy. I cheered him up by treating him to a Hotdog. DD can't be around Hotdogs as they make her sick so me and DS had to go eat our hotdogs at the back of the room.

Oh the new favourite Party dance is "Big fish little fish cardboard box"
We stayed to the end of the entertainment which included an adult Game show (game show for adults) They picked 3 couples from the audience. The gist of the game was the woman stood at one end of the stage on a chair. She was Jane and shouting for Tarzan to save her. The man was to be Tarzan he had to run across the stage jump on a balloon, pick his woman up in a fireman's carry, carry her back to the end of the stage and ask for a kiss. The couple that did it in the least time was the winner. Unfortunately the woman in the first couple was quite large so it was impossible for her man to carry her. I think she was embarrassed and for the rest of the game she stood there looking like she was waiting for the trapdoor to open up so she could fall down it. Needles to say they came last. It was good fun to watch especially as the winning couple were very drunk.

We got back to the caravan about midnight and packed our stuff before enjoying hot chocolate, Ham and cheese toasties and Cadburys mini rolls. Home tomorrow and it has gone so fast.

Monday

 Going home day! I got up at 7am to finish the packing and clean up the caravan. The kids were up by 9am and when we had got everything packed and double checked everywhere several times to make sure we hadn't left anything, we made our way to Laundry to return the bedding and Reception to return the keys. Like I said before the camp is laid out really badly for those of us on foot. We had to walk all the way around the entertainment complex to reception and then all the way back around to go to the restaurant. We had hours before our bus/bus/train so I said we could go and have breakfast with the characters. It turned out to be my favourite - Anxious the Elephant - So that was great fun. I didn't fancy any breakfast though so I just had a fruit juice along with DD and DS had the full on Breakfast. We left not long after 10am. The journey home was pretty good and we got back inside for around 4pm.

I have been working flat out for 3 days and nights to bring this new Doctor Who music video.
I was inspired by 1 line in this song and though I just had to do it.

Track is "Something's going on" by Al Griffin. Enjoy...

This week is going soo slow.
It is my last week at TBG. Not much to do other than job search which can get very monotonous when you just keep finding the same jobs with each search.
This morning I thought would be more of the same until I was summoned to Clive's room. He asked me if I wanted to help out with some CV work and I thought that would be easy until he told me it would be with the Gateway to work group. These are only young people who are just starting to put together CVs and look for work. A couple of them had a CV from school as a starting place but 3 of them were starting from scratch.

I had 5 learners to work with and we settled in the IT suite. I had to think on my toes as I had to make sure I gave them all equal time. Luckily they had basic pc skills which made the job easier - otherwise I would be doing more typing for them as well as advising them on what to type.

It did get a bit stressful at one time when 2 or 3 of the learners all had their hands in the air "Miss"
It was a shame that I had to leave at 2.30 as I had helped 2 of the learners complete their CVs but the others weren't finished and I would have liked to see it through to the end.
I don't think I will be working with them tomorrow as I need to get my jobsearch done for this week.

I finally got the chance to sit down and watch Brokeback mountain last night.
What a load of pants it was!
Everyone knows I loved Heath Ledger (and still do - His memory lives on!!) but what was so special about this movie? It was slow and boring. Lots of screen time where there was no talking or where I couldn't hear the talking at all anyway because it was so quiet and mumbly.

I gave up on it and went to bed halfway through.

There is big surge of these Chinese buffet restaurants opening up at the moment. Wokmania is the newest but is a bit more classy environment.

When Lisa emailed me and suggested we have our monthly meet up this weekend I was well up for it. Because of DS birthday though I couldn't do Friday or Saturday so I suggested we meet up Thursday after I finish at TBG.
We met at 2.45 on the dot outside the Standing Order and went in there for a couple of pints first. It was great to just sit back relax and chat. There was lots to catch up on and when we get started we can both talk for England.

It was gone 5pm when we made the move and the short walk down to the "Cathedral Quarter" of Derby along to Wokmania which is set inside St Werbergh's converted church.


Inside they have done wonders. It is very classy but they have kept the features of the church which is an experience like no other.

The desserts area is right at the front of thechurch where the alter would have been which is an interesting metaphore if you think of it...

And yes that is a White chocolate fountain you can see.

There are over 100 dishes in all. There was so much choice that both of us had 2 starters. I like the finger food first but they had a great salad bar with Pineapple and Cucumber and Potato a number of mixed salads. As well as the obligatory Prawn Crackers, samosas and spring rolls. No Prawn toasts though :(
We also found ourselves having 2 mains. There are so many hot dishes and curries to choose from. I made a bee-line for the BBQ ribs and the Lemon Chicken as well as Rice, Chow mien, Garlic Mushrooms, Ooh so much I can hardly remember it all. I didn't even see the fish dishes until Lisa was merrily picking apart her spicy Prawns so I had to go back and get some along with the spicy Mussels and fried Whitebait. We could have gone back for more but we both knew we needed to save a space for the desserts section.

The toilets are on a balcony so I took a picture from up there of the rest of the restaurant.


and of the lovely wooden ceilings


Now for the best yet - the dessert section - What a selection they had on offer. As well as the Milk chocolate fountain and the White chocolate fountain there was a soft ice cream machine (You know the ones I have trouble with) and around the tables are bowls of sweeties. There is Jelly Babies and Liquorice Allsorts and Fruit Bonbons and other jelly based sweets. Then there is a huge selection of fruits with Skewers which I guess you are encourged to put all the pieces of fruit on a skewer and bath them in chocolate MMmmmmmm.

I filled a bowl with ice cream then I found the biggest Strawberry I had ever seen and lots of sweeties and covered them all in both types of Chocolate.

All this was washed down with a gorgeous bottle of white wine which Lisa treated us to.

Now I have read a few reviews of the place online and I have to agree with what they all say. The thing that lets them down is the staff. They are all very young and seemed to spend a lot of time standing around chatting. Our plates weren't cleared once and we had to move them to another table out of the way although we were told on our arrival that we could use as many plates as we wanted. At May Sum your plates are gone as soon as you turn round.
I even had to ask a group of them to move so I could go back up to the Dessert area.

I just couldn't let the evening end without having a piece of the gorgeous Raspberry cheesecake which was as good as it looked and finished off my meal perfectly.

By the time we were coming to the end of our meal the place was getting really busy. People queuing right to the back. I was glad we came in when we did.
The other negative was waiting to pay. We stood there for a while while the staff carried on chatting. We could have easily just walked out and they wouldn't have noticed.

All in all it was a great evening. Wonderful company and great food. Now Lisa says we should make it our mission to visit all the buffet restaurants in Derby. Roll on next month!