Are we having any fun?

I'd decided that this year was going to be the year I went for an Olympic distance triathlon. In order to work myself up to this particular crazy feat I felt like I should do a couple of sprint distances to start off with. My last triathlon of last year was Leybourne. So it was due to be my first of 2014. I'd chosen it again as I knew it was a nice mostly flat course that would be a good start to my year.

Leybourne lakes lie near Maidstone in Kent and are where we go to train for open water swims. The water is clean but very murky at this time of year. I'd gone down to the lake a couple of times before the race to get myself acclimatised to the temperature - a shocking 11.5 degrees on my first trip out, enough to make me seriously consider running out of the water again, but didn't as I had people watching me! I was very grateful for those practice swims as it meant I was used to the distance and the temperature before I started.

The day started as it meant to go on for the next couple of hours. Rain, cold and miserable! I picked up Nadja and Jennice on the way to the race and unfortunately got caught in a bit of traffic on our way to the lake. This meant we were one of the last to rack up and I didn't get a chance to grab my favourite area next to prop spaces. Didn't really seem to affect me much really. As it was so cold the difference between the air and the water (which had now risen to the heights of 13.5 degrees) wasn't so bad. They'd also managed to get some timing chips so we didn't have to shout our number out to someone. We were set off in the water. At every buoy I turned to look and figured I wasn't at the back, which was good. I also missed the sunken car which I know is there on the way back in but had still given me a fright the first time I'd gone out.



Waiting for the off - I'm the tall one right in the centre with the blue cap on.

On your way out of the water the Leybourne race gives you a real help I've never seen anywhere else: they unzip your wetsuit and pull one shoulder down. Brilliant for transition! I ran to my bike and sorted myself out, teeth chattering. I even put a long sleeved top on to try to keep me warm. Out on the bike course it was chucking it down. This was not helped by the giant lorries and trucks spraying water over us as we went round the course. My top got soaked and so did the rest of me. As I came around the first time I recognised a familiar plait and as I passed Jennice I said,  Are we having fun yet? We had a fun few minutes jostling for position before I managed to pull away from her, then I managed to manoeuvre round a lorry and get round the roundabout for the second lap, I could see her still stuck behind it. I guess that's where commuting into town and back really has its advantages!

Coming back into transition I couldn't really feel my quads or even my feet. I was numb from the cold. There was even a volunteer offering to help unclip our helmets!  I soldiered on John Wayne style and started out on the run, conscious that Jennice might catch me at any moment. About five minutes into the run I realised I must have picked up a stone in my shoe in transition and if I didn't take it out I'd get a blister. So I had to stop to sort my shoe out. It had almost stopped raining, but because it was cold my glasses had steamed up - I couldn't figure out whether it was worse with or without them! Near the end of the first lap Debbie came up the track having finished her race. I called her a few choice words for finishing already but she kept pace with me and let me know that Jennice hadn't passed me yet.  She also geed me on by saying I was running really well and to keep going at the same pace for the second lap. Thanks Debbie.

 

Having gone past everyone cheering me on for my second lap, I dug in and tried to keep at the same pace. It was quite lonely for the second loop given most had finished by that stage so I spent most of it trying to decide what my Strava title would be and whether my glasses were helping or hindering my run, as well as trying to avoid the odd dog and pedestrian. I also saw a lady with a fluorescent jacket who I mistakenly thought might be Jennice on her first lap. Finally I got to the end and I simply didn't have anything left to sprint finish. I ended up doing a time of 1:42, which is pretty much the same as last September, which I was a bit disappointed with given the training I've done. Looking at my splits it looks like the bike was slower - probably due to the weather - and I made up the time in the run leg, which is great.

Jennice never did pass me to my surprise and she came in a couple of minutes later running the last few metres with her daughter which was really sweet!

My Asics

I've been trying to get myself motivated into training for the last bit of my standard distance triathlon in August - the 10 k run. If you've been reading my blog ever you'll know that running just doesn't agree with me. The furthest I've run is 9 k and I was getting worried that I'd never make the 10. Especially after swimming and cycling. So I was discussing this with the guys at the cycle shop. Luckily for me they are ironmen so they also have lots of running experience as well as cycling. So one of the guys recommended My Asics to help with my training. So I duly headed over to the site. This gives you lots of options, letting you set your goal and suggesting a training schedule. You can set the number of days you can train and which days you can train on. The site reckons I'll be able to do a 10 k in 1 hour 10 minutes given a 5 k time of 30 minutes. Which sounds good to me.
This week is meant to be easy - the next few runs are meant to get my body used to training,  which is good for me. So this morning involved a slow and easy 8 k. I'm up in Blyth for the weekend so I left my husband asleep while I trotted off to the riverside. Lovely morning and I was supposed to run about 9 min/km but managed at least a minute faster. Feeling shattered now but happy with that.

New year, new restart

Ok so I've been extremely rubbish with my blog. I have loads going on and I just don't find the time to actually write something. Plus I find that I use my phone a lot instead of my computer and writing us a lot more difficult if you have to tap everything in with one finger. But for a while now I've been getting pictures on Facebook that I want to repost but not irritate everyone on my feed. Also my friend's father suggested I write a blog about my trip to Olympic distance triathlon this year. What's this you say? Olympic distance? Why is that special? Well I have been gently going up a distance every year. In 2012 I did my first ever triathlon, a super sprint (400m swim/10k bike/2.5k run), just to see if I could. I'd joined the local triathlon group to get some training in but I recognise now I probably didn't do enough training, especially for the swim - I just wasn't ready for not stopping at the end of the pool. Nevertheless, I was hooked. Ever since then, if I'm anywhere on a Thursday evening, it's in the pool with my triathlon friends. Last year I did manage two sprint distances (750k swim, 20k bike and 5k run). My issue is with my running. I really struggle. But I was getting stronger by the end of last year. So I just have to keep at it and try to run more regularly this year. The Olympic distance is 1500k swim,40k bike and 10k run. I haven't managed to swim that far in one yet, but I have no doubt I can do it. The bike I can do. I do that in a day getting to work.! However, it's the run that worries me. I have not managed to get to 10k yet. I've done 9 so far. But I'm going to try to get to 10 at least by easter. Plus myoother challenge is to run faster than 30 minutes fo 5k. I've recently met a new friend who has rapidly become my running buddy and we work off each other really well. Now unfortunately she managed to break the 30 minute barrier without me last week but I'm determined to go for it soon. I just hope this cold I've had will go away! So I'm going to try harder with the blog this year. Will keep you updated with my training etc and we'll see how we go.

It's all going swimmingly

I love to swim. There is something about getting into a pool, or a body of water, and just feeling the freedom of floating. I tell people I’ve been swimming since I could walk, and although that’s probably not strictly accurate, it’s not far from the truth. I was lucky enough to gain access to a swimming pool on a regular basis when I was younger and encouraged to learn to swim all the strokes there were. When I went to school once again I was lucky enough to have a school that had a pool so in the summer I spent the majority of my free time there, often getting in the pool twice a day, although I’m not sure exactly how much swimming I did and how much messing around I was doing instead! Enough swimming was done for me to be the fastest at backstroke, and I often won races (although I lost a couple by turning over at the end to make sure I didn’t crash - sorry!).

My one regret when I went to university is that I didn’t stick it out in the pool. I probably had far too much fun going out and discovering the internet (which was a relatively novel invention in those days) and “didn’t have time” for swimming club. I did go swimming, every now and then, but it wasn’t particularly structured or intensive. Once I’d moved away from the swimming pool, I went less and less frequently. When I moved to Cambridge, I didn’t go at all – instead I played really bad badminton, a game I have now given up due to me being far too bad at hand-eye coordination to carry on with!

So we move to the present day. I’m now at my fittest I’ve been for a long time, but, once I’d signed up for the triathlon, I kept saying “I must get back to the pool”. I’d joined the local gym specifically for their pool but found that I was too slow for the fast lane and too fast for the slow lane, a very frustrating set of affairs. Once I’d moved to Woolwich I was five minutes’ walk from the local pool. But it took me nearly six months to get there. Why? Well it didn’t help that I was cycling 20 miles to work and back. By the time I’d got home, I was tired and hungry. Going swimming was the last thing on my mind. At weekends I’m often busy or tired. I still had faith in my ability to swim, despite the fact that I hadn’t actually been in a pool and done more than 20 laps (most of which breastroke) for a very long time.

I went along to the triathlon training day, and had a bit of a shock. Admittedly I had put a lot of effort into the running session prior to the swimming, but the sudden transition into an environment where there were no walls to hang on to and the fact I couldn’t see where I was going through the murky water totally threw me. My “strong swimmer” status was incorrect. I resolved that I had to start going to my local triathlon club to start swimming every week with them to improve my swimming style, fitness base and confidence in the water.

Training for a Triathlon

So someone asked me the other day whether I was blogging while I was training for my triathlon. I haven't touched this blog since I gave up half way through Janathon (my trainer did try to warn me that exercising every day wouldn't work out so well).
Hold the phone... Did I mention previously I was planning on doing a triathlon? Well yes I am. I heavily suspect that I got the idea from my friend and my sister doing one. I then decided that, since I could swim and cycle a bit it was the challenge for me.I even started and completed the couch to 5k plan as I couldn't run for peanuts. So, after watching people swim over each other, crash their bikes and dress up as Big Bird, I decided the London Triathlon was the thing for me. Probably. I also decided to sign up for a training day to help me with my preparations.
Round about a month ago, I went off to the other side of London. I spent a day being taken through my paces, running techniques, nutrition and race tips, swimming and how and where to get on and off the bike in transition. That day I spent some time talking to the other participants. I realised that my swimming really wasn't my strongest sport after all (although I'd been swimming for all my life, front crawl is not my favourite or most natural of strokes). I also found swimming in open water with my head down totally disorientating. This was not good. I had eight weeks to my triathlon and for the first time I was worried I wouldn't make it round the swim. One of the other girls on that day mentioned they'd joined their local triathlon group. Now I'd thought about doing this several times but had been put off by the image of super-fit people who were really hardcore and far more able than me to swim, cycle and run.
I had contacted my local club, the Greenwich Tritons, previously. I was put off at that stage by the fact that the lady had come back to me to let me know that "We usually swim around 2800 in an hour" - I'm guessing that means metres, and given I normally "stroll" through about 30 lengths (round about 750 m) in an average session this seemed a lot!
My next post will be about how I got on at my first session and how I'm progressing now...

I could be exercising... but I'm snot

This morning I made an executive decision to stop Janathon. I'm sorry but I am just feeling too rotten to continue - the cold just doesn't seem to be getting better and I feel like I need to concentrate on my health at the moment. I might come back to Janathon and of course I'll continue blogging, but this is the end of my attempt to exercise every day.

Busy doing Nothing

This morning I slept in for the first time in a while. I woke up at quarter to 11 this morning, so clearly I needed some sleep. I got up and got going straight away despite the woozy feeling in my head! I cooked up my Normandy pork and placed it in the new rice cooker my parents kindly gave me for Christmas, which also serves as a slow cooker. It has been making delicious smells all day so I'm looking forward to that for my lunch this week!
My exercise for Janathon came after lunch after I shoved myself to the gym. I'm still coughing, worried that it might be going into my lungs, and feeling groggy and woozy. So I managed 5 km on the bike and 10 minutes running which was 1.3 km. It meant I could come home and sit down for a good reason without feeling like I'd been lazy all day! So finally some running for Janathon!
I've also got loads of bulbs in my window box sprouting at the moment so very excited to see the flowers over the next weeks and months. Hopefully there won't be snow so my flowers won't die like they have over the past few years.

Shopping and Sushi

Today's Janathon exercise was yet more walking I'm afraid. I got a whole load of sleep last night, and although I wasn't exactly feeling great this morning the feeling of glass in my throat had at least subsided. I started coughing instead, so I am a little worried that it's going down my windpipe. Nevertheless I had a couple of things to get this morning. I wanted to look into getting a new pair of gloves to keep my hands warm when I'm cycling. I believe I suffer from Reynaud's syndrome, and I have to try and keep my fingers warm when I'm on the bike, otherwise my fingers go numb and white halfway through my ride. It's not very comfortable! I was using my skiing gloves but unfortunately they really didn't give me much reach around the brakes, not very safe! So I walked to Spitafields to check out Evans and Cycle Surgery and see if they had any good cycling gloves. After that I walked on to Chancery Lane via lunch and bought some running gloves.
According to multimap I walked nearly 4 and a half miles today. Which is pretty good going.
And when I got home I made sushi using my new rice maker.

It came out well... and I've got leftovers for tomorrow. Yummy!

Oh, oh, sometimes I get a good feeling...

...Or not, as is the case today. Today's random tune is Good Feeling by Flo Rida. Unforunately I'm really not feeling very well today. At least my throat doesn't feel like it's full of glass now. I am hoping that I will be able to get some rest tonight - sadly no chance of a parkrun tomorrow morning.
But in order to log some exercise for Janathon, I recorded my walk to the local supermarket.
Now I think I might go to bed.

Speak Easy

Sometimes I get random songs from way back stuck in my head. And so it was today that I ended up with Speak Easy from Bugsy Malone in my head. Again, this is quite relevant to how I'm feeling as speaking easy is difficult for me today! My throat feels like it's got razor blades in it and I have been feeling very groggy. Not good.

But today was the first day back with my trainer, Dean. So I couldn't wuss out and say I wasn't feeling very well. It wasn't bad in the end. I spent an hour pumping weights, doing chin ups, lunges, squats, sit ups and planks. We always chat. We discussed my mother's attempt to get me to move out of their flat. She decided to break this to me on Christmas day, which I wasn't very impressed with. So we will see over the next month or so what happens with that. I am desperate to move out, but I was hoping that my fiance Stuart would be able to move down first so we could find somewhere to live together. At the moment this doesn't look like it's going to happen. The job market is so slow at the moment that it's very hard for him to find a job.
Dean was also very hungry so we spent some time discussing food! I was trying to describe Lebkuchen to him, as I'd bought him some especially from Lidl (they're the best from there!). They're my favourite biscuit ever!
Today was also the day I discovered I was an auntie again, as my sister Theresa gave birth to a baby boy. Great news and congratulations to her!

Ruffneck

This Janathon post is brought to you by the song in my head today, Ruffneck by Skrillex (yes, I did have to look him up). This might become a theme for every blog post I make. Today's song I blame on Zane Lowe, who is on Radio 1 every morning this week. It's also a good euphemism for how I'm feeling today.

Today was not a great day. I get the nasty feeling I am getting a cold. I have a headache, a sore throat, and am really tired. So going to the gym tonight wasn't really something I wanted to do. However, I had to go, firstly because I'm spending a lot of money on the gym, and secondly because of Janathon. So I decided in the end I would go and use one of the comfortable recumbent cycles that they have in the gym. I could go and do my knitting and watch the TV! Yes I realise that knitting isn't exactly the thing you would associate with working out but I find exercise quite dull most of the time. I got a couple of rows done while I cycled, plus I got to watch the end of the Simpsons. Then I went home and made mince and pea curry with peppers instead of onions. It was goood.

Janathon: A Walk in the Cold

So today was the start to work, and was brought to you by the music of Chesney Hawkes "I am the One and Only" and Metallica "Enter Sandman". An interesting mashup caused by the announcement that Chesney would be appearing on Dancing on Ice and one of the authors on the reference list of the manuscript I was reading today had a surname of Chesney... Metallica because it was played on New Year's Day, and had stuck in my head. It was also a day of terrible weather, gales and heavy rain. It got very cold as well!

So I had to do a couple of errands, the first one was a walk to Mornington Crescent. Now I realise that walking is probably not the foremost activity that you would associate with Janathon, but I did walk for nearly 2 miles. Once I'd done that, I walked on to King's Cross before taking the tube home. By the time I got to Mornington Crescent I was absolutely freezing and my hands had gone white (I believe I suffer from Raynaud's and had forgotten my gloves, tut). I only managed to warm up when I got on the tube. It was a relief to get home to my warm flat and get started on my dinner - meatballs in tomato sauce - Yum!

An Inauspicious Start to Janathon

Well I feel like I've fallen at the first hurdle really. I took my running gear with me to Northumberland with the best of intentions. I even managed to go for a run with Stu on New Years Eve, who despite grumbling, enjoyed the run so much he was off miles un front of me - the guys on cycles coming the other way told me I'd better get a hurry on to catch him up - ha there was no chance of that given he's a marathon runner and I've only just made it to 5k! New Years Day exercise consisted of walking to a pub, and as the blokes would say, lifting a few pints is exercise, right? Erm well, never mind.
And so on to today. The feat of endurance I have just had to undertake is standing in the vestibule for 3 and a half hours. This has left me thirsty, numb, achey and exhausted. To me, this sounds like exercise!
But, joking apart, tomorrow is when my workouts begin. The diet starts up and I begin my "detox". Let the fun commence!

End of Couch to 5k and the start to Janathon

Well, starting Couch to 5k really hasn't helped my plan to blog more really. I was going to keep whoever can be bothered to read this blog updated with my progress.

Well, I made good progress. I finally made it to 5k on the treadmill. My next challenge was to do a parkrun - a 5k race around a local park. My first one was round Finsbury Park. Unfortunately, what I didn't realise was that I was in no way prepared for running in "real life". Running on actual tarmac is a lot harder work than on the treadmill. Plus there are these things called hills. I started off far too fast and it starts down a hill. What goes down, must go up, and I struggled to get up the other side. I started walking on the steeper bit near the half way point. Of course at that point I didn't realise that I had to go round a whole another time. Exhausted at right at the back, I had to go round again. On the second lap, I started to feel sick after eating too much breakfast and had to slow down to a walk again. I didn't know which was the turn off to come around and took a turn far too early. This meant I caught up with the end of the pack, so I waited until the back markers I recognised went past me and joined in after them. Not a great run for me all in all, but I did manage 4.7k in under 40 minutes. And learnt a valuable lesson in not eating too much before a run or taking it too fast at the start. My second attempt, a few weeks later, went a lot better, at the inaugaural Highbury Fields parkrun, and I tried really hard to run throught the whole 5k. I made it! I was the second to last but I'd run the whole distance and completed the Couch to 5k training.
So, my next challenge is to start Janathon. This involves doing some form of exercise and blogging every day, so this should increase my blogging for the next month at least!

Couch to 5k: End of Week 2, Beginning of Week 3

So when I started doing the Couch to 5k plan, I was hoping this might encourage me to post more often on this blog. But, as always, I seem to be spending far too much time actually training in my spare time to have the time to write stuff as well!
To be honest I found week 2 really hard work. It didn't help that I was feeling particularly run down and a bit dizzy during my runs - not good. But I started to feel stronger with my 90 second runs by the end of last week. Then I discovered that the London cycling group had their 'easy' ride on Sunday. Easy being 20 miles and I would bike it on my old hybrid bike that is made of steel and weighs a TON. No joke. And not easy! But I did it, just about, but it made me so nervous I hardly slept the night before.
That has been the theme of this week - bad sleep and a load of training. I finished my week 2 of Couch 2 5K on Tuesday, getting to 3K according to the running machine, so I started week 3 today. Week 3 starts you off on 3 minute runs. Yes, a lot harder work, especially when your quads are screaming gently. But I got through it, mostly with the encouragement of Laura, although I've come to associate her voice when running with slowing down, like some kind of Pavlov reaction, I wad very disappointed when she broke through two minutes through my last 3 min run and told me to keep going!

Couch to 5k

So, after several years of thinking about it, I have finally started doing the Couch to 5k. The reason why it took me so long I think was for several reasons. My main problem, given that the plan consists at the start of several 60 s runs followed by 90 s walks, how was I going to time myself? I didn't have a timer, so I thought about getting one. Secondly, how was I going to calculate how many runs I had done? I've never been the best counter. Thirdly, how was I going to fit all three runs into one week? I'm busy enough as it is!
Luckily, to my rescue came the NHS (to my amusement my phone just tried to autocorrect that to bus - I don't think the bus would help much! Hang on a sec, why am I using my phone in the first place to update this?) with their Couch to 5K podcasts - what a brilliant idea. So, the training sessions are all ready set up for you to start going. No worries about stopwatches, having to count how many runs you've done, and, as an added bonus, you have Laura (the commentator) and some ahem, groovy, tracks to push you on and tell you what to do next.
So what about the having to fit 3 runs into an all ready hectic schedule? Well, I've decided to replace my swimming (well, I can all ready swim) with a training session every week. I will also try going out at lunch times or squeezing in half an hour before pilates on Thursday. If I'm away at the weekend I guess I could try getting up a little earlier and going out before everyone else is up and awake. But the point is I don't feel like I have to squeeze it all in. So what if it takes me a bit longer, as long as I keep going up the sequence and don't get stuck, I don't have to do three runs a week, that's my aim but if I can't, then I can't.

So the first session went well I think. It was hard to guage how fast to pace the runs. I could only manage 20 minutes before pilates but I managed to finish off the last two runs afterwards. I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but at least I did it. And I'm looking forward to the next session, which will probably be on Monday.

I've even bought some new running trousers - I swore I'd never wear Lycra! And I have a new heart rate monitor to see how fast my heart's beating. So if you see a slightly mad-looking tall woman attempting to run in Central London, that'll be me...

Tall Dating - Mismatch.com

Well, last year I was going to write a second part to my dating post entitled Mismatch.com.

This is because there was a moment when I decided to try out online dating. It's not specifically directed at any particular online dating site - I mean, I could have entitled this E-Disharmony, but Mismatch.com sounded so much better!

The problem was the interesting men were few and far between. As I've described before, I'm quite specific about what kind of man I want. And trying to be specific, i.e. a man above 6'4, close to London, the results were very sporadic. There were a few nice men but none responded to my messages. Those that sent me messages were all short, and most of them were black (again, just not my type). The only taller guy that sent me a message lived in America - not exactly close to London!

But I haven't posted about this because I have started a new period of stability of my life. This is because I found a man in the real world (well, in the Tall Persons Club world). He is tall and I am happy. Apart from he lives in Northumberland.

Ah well, you can't have everything!

The Only Way is Up? Part 1

I was going to submit this to the Tall Person’s Club magazine, but I feel that it’s not really suitable for that, plus people I know might actually read it there...

Arianne Cohen, in The Tall Book, talks about “dating down” i.e. a taller woman dating a shorter man. When I heard her speak, she was going out with a shorter man, after going out with someone taller. The problems for tall dating are thus: a woman of 6'2 is taller than 97% of the population, thus only 3% are taller than her. Of these, some are going to be taller women. A proportion of the rest of the men are going to be married, in a relationship or gay. Or simply not interested in taller women. Then, she says, you can cross most of the rest off for not having the qualities you might want in a man. Which leaves you with not very many left. Of course there is an advantage to dating someone shorter – you're less likely to have very tall children, for example. But then again, just because you date someone taller, it doesn't necessarily lead to you having much taller children (if any at all!).

Perhaps I am prejudiced, as one person calls Arianne in her book. I may be one of the few tall girls who have always “dated up”, but that's always the way it has been. I tried to explain it the other day to a friend of mine. I used the analogy of a clothing store. I often don't go into ordinary clothing stores, as I don't expect to find anything that will fit me. So, if I went out on an ordinary evening, I wouldn't normally expect to find a tall man. And I would ignore the shorter men, in her words I don't “see” them. I mean no disrespect to shorter men, it's just that they simply do not interest me in that way. They don't “fit”. So, I came to the Tall Person's Club in the same way I go to a specialist clothing store to find someone who might. I think I have now, we will see.

The problem with tall men is that they often don’t care in the same way that tall women do. They have other objectives, of which I know not, and am unlikely to get hold of. Yes, sometimes it may be that they are unaware that there are tall women out there, or simply that they are scared of tall women. I find a lot of tall men (and quite a few tall women) come to the Tall Person’s Club later on in life, when they’ve found out about it and are possibly more comfortable about meeting taller people.

I feel like I've rambled on too much, so this will be a post in parts.

I Say Yes... Then I Say No..

So, I'm feeling quite inspired by a new friend I met on Friday (I hope I can call you friend?) Eleanor, so I thought I would bring you some more random thoughts from the world of Hilary.

So, I turn up to my friend's stag do on Saturday morning. Don't worry, this is not going to be a heady tale of drunkeness (for that, you can read my Twitter where I rambled quite a lot after a few ciders...)

We go to this outdoor place. A quick Google search of "shooting mendips" tells me it was Mendip Shooting Ground. First off, the guy comes up to me and says, "So you coming Quad biking then?" Of course I say yes, despite the last time I thought I probably would never get on a quad again. Turns out I was the only one that had been quadding before. So we go out, we zoom around, my quad stalls a lot (hopefully not my fault) and I think the guy who was leading us was generally impressed with me. Although i don't think my legs are a couple of days later.

Then we go and shoot some clays. First thing I say is "I don't think I'm going to be very good at this" The guy says "That's the wrong attitude to have" Actually, I agree with him. Why should I be worried about if I get any clays or not? It's just a bit of fun and, if I was up for the quadding (much more dangerous), why should I not be up for shooting a rifle? Turns out I'm not as bad a shot as I thought I was and ended up turning a clay into powder after a couple of goes!

So, the moral of this story is, have a positive mental attitude. Why not?

When People Stare...

Someone stared at me yesterday. I had an irrational urge to turn round and shout "What?!?" but then I realised, what was the point. I would be bringing more attention to myself. (I have, on occasion, actually stared back. They usually get the point.)

See, I don't mind people looking, it's when they go for the second look, as if to check what they've seen is really true that gets me. Yes, I am tall. Yes, I am (most definitely) a woman. Get over it.

The second time I went to France was the first time I really noticed it. I would stand on the Metro and guys would get on the train, look at me, and then look again, most pointedly at my legs, as if to check I wasn't wearing massive heels or something.

Didn't anyone tell them it was rude to stare?

Tall Observations

I was reading Don't Harass the Tall Girl the other day and nodding to myself. I wonder if this is a direction in which to take my blog?

Here's an example.

I don't often wear heels (some people say I should wear them more often, but I'm like a newborn giraffe in them sometimes, plus the balls of my feet kill after a while). I went out with work, all dressed up, with maybe 2 inch heels on. One of my colleagues says, "You're wearing HEELS? I'm not standing next to you then!".

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

150g butter
150g dark chocolate (preferably more than 60% cocoa solids)
225g dark soft brown sugar
3 medium eggs
seeds scraped from a vanilla pod, or one teaspoon good vanilla extract
90g whole plain flour
half teaspoon baking powder
100g walnut pieces (or a mixture walnut/cherries)

Cut the butter into chunks and break up the chocolate. Place both in a heatproof bowl and melt together in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Stir well, then cool until tepid.
Heat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5. Line the base of a shallow rectangular baking tin (approximately 20cm x 27cm) with non-stick baking paper. Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl til frothy. Mix the flour and baking powder. Beat the buttery chocolate into the sugary eggs, followed by the flour and the walnuts.
Scrape the mixture into the tin, level with the back of a spoon, bake for 30-45 minutes until a crust forms over the top. The centre will feel slightly soft when pressed. Remove and cool in the tin for over 2 hours. Cut into squares while in the tin and lever out with a knife. Enjoy.

Even Rocky Had a Montage

So, for those of you who don't know, I'm excited because it's the annual Tall Persons Club Anniversary event. I feel a montage coming on...

I Wii'd til I could Wii no more...



I bought a dress I wasn't sure about, but I'm coming round to it...



I dyed my hair and (sort of) learnt to curl it....



And now I'm all packed and ready to go...



Always fade out after a montage, always fa....

Close but no cigar

So I haven't updated this blog in ages. And it's only because Twitter isn't working that I've come here. I feel a need to SAY SOMETHING. I wonder if anyone actually comes here any more.
I'm sat on a train writing this on my HTC magic (great phone, completely feeds my obsession with social networking like tinder to a flame). I'm going backwards. In fact, this is not as irritating as usual. I am listening to November Rain and it is in fact raining. The air con is on and, just like at work, I am freezing my butt off. I brought Shopaholic goes abroad with me for a bit of froth but found it too frothy and now have nothing to read. I miss good old meaty Wilbur Smith action. The guy next to me was having some kind of moment when I got on the train, but seems to be normal now. Oh no, he's being odd again, maybe he's got some kind of OCD.
I feel better now, hope you enjoyed that random diatribe.
Update: we're running slow because of a report of a cow on the line. Brilliant.

Twitter

Ah well, I have heard the call of Twitter and gone running. From tomorrow my posts from Twitter should be posted onto this blog. I hope it works.
For live updates, visit Tall Scientist. Well I thought I'd use this handle again, why not!

Cats are Stupid

Several comfortable sofas, a couple of baskets, even the odd bed to lie on, but no, the cat decides on the vegetable box.

No Pets Allowed

...but apparently foxes are OK.
I have mice too but unfortunately I haven't been able to take any photos of them, and I decided that perhaps nobody really wants to see the end result of mouse vs. properly set mousetrap.

From Snow To Sand... and back to Snow!

From Snow in the UK to sunshine in Tobago... and I was delayed on my way home because of 4 inches of snow at Gatwick!

What Women Really Want....

I was trying to find a recipie for cake and I came across this list that I made up a long, long time ago. It made me laugh and it's still very true.


1. A Hot Bath
2. A Duvet
3. Chocolate
4. Trashy Movies
5. Boiled Eggs (actually, a lot of people hate these but I love them)
6. Things that smell nice
7. A bottle of wine

Combining 2, 3, 4 and 7 before 1 is of course completely indulgent but brilliant.

So True...

This picture, printed at PHD comics, with the footnote "Usually, my research interests add up to more than what I have time for, and some interests take up more time than what they are supposed to." just sums up my time in research. And could probably be subtly altered to fit pretty much any job. I would also like to edit "why other people's blogs are more interesting than yours" to "Facebooking"

Apologies...

Yes, been exeptionally rubbish recently. But most of my friends are far far worse.

Thoughts of the moment:

- They've had pictures of this "Amy" on the underground before and after her "cosmetic surgery". I think she looks better before. Even if she's not smiling.

- I like my new job. That's all I can say about that.

- Sitting down all day makes me fat. Oh dear.

- I love Heroes. It rocks. My favourite is Peter Petrelli. Hubba Hubba!

TPC Annual Do: Better Than Ever

New Haircut:£70

New Dress:£30

Having a fantastic time with good friends and the man I love....

ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!

Great T-Shirt Slogan Seen The Other Day

What if the Hokey Cokey
is what it's all about?

The Bus That Talks

"This is the 243 to Waterloo"
"Rosebery Avenue"

Yes, it's true. I've found a bus that talks. And it tells you where you are going. It's incredibly helpful when you have no idea where you are.

I wonder how long it'll take before it gets annoying... never mind, I'm moving next week... I hope!

Printer Farce

Last week, I mostly tried to get a printer. It was supposed to be delivered last Friday and arrived on Wednesday. There was a catalogue of mishaps along the way, including:
- My father allready being a member of the site, which meant I couldn't register with the same address, and because I was busy the next day I had to leave it to poor Tony, who was having a bad day anyway
- The printer being "delivered" on Friday - not sure what happened there, but I sat around all day jumping every time I heard a car go past
- The bloke turning up on Monday morning, just as I was going to London, being told that my mother was in the house and not bothering to knock loudly, just leaving a card
- The delivery being "returned to the branch after an unsuccessful delivery attempt" on Tuesday i.e. they couldn't find us
- Finally turning up on Wednesday, after I'd rung to check where they were and being told they couldn't find us again, only with one box - printer cartridges and no printer
- Calling them again, only for them to assume I was still chasing both boxes, and finally getting two minutes to explain I'd got one box and not two. Then I was told that they'd only loaded one box onto the van that morning. Duh. They said they'd see if they could get someone on their way home to deliver the printer
- The bloke turned up at 7:30, saying "Here's your delivery they cocked up for you"... never has a truer word been said

Worst of all... they're going to deliver something to me tomorrow. Agggh. I really hope they can get it right this time, otherwise I'll have no nice new shoes for next week! (that'll then lacerate my feet... ah well can't have everything!)

Messing About By The River

Yesterday I got to be fraightfully posh and go to Henley. Henley, for those of you who don't know, is all about rowing. Well, mostly anyway.

My father in byegone days was once a great rower and rowed this course several times. This is why he comes every year to watch, and got annoyed when, in years gone by, a certain daughter of his had Parent's Day on the last day of Henley (which, needless to say, is the finals day...). I got home on Wednesday night after midnight (not drinking, just for a change, babysitting for my sister's incredibly well behaved and very sweet children) with a horrendous throat and as a result, wasn't feeling terribly special.
We ate the most delicious lunch - I had a half pint full of shell-on prawns, very fiddly but yummy with seafood sauce, followed by crab with new potatoes and salad and to finish, half a platter of cheese. Mmm. Oh, and I probably finished off a good half a bottle of wine.
After that rather filling lunch we - that is me, my godfather and my father, decided to go up to the start, which involved a rather interesting walk along the river which was quite narrow in places, and getting out of the posh area and seeing what is rather sadly the commercialization of this event - at what point do you really want to buy silver jewellery/fat face tops/an ergo at a rowing event? We did go into the food tent where I succumbed to buying beautiful tea that expands into a flower and my father bought some garlic for my mother...

When it got to tea time, the rain started, but, in a very British manner, we sat down with our umbrellas opened, had cake and scones with champagne and eventually went home.

And There Shall Be Much Rejoicing

... for I have been offered my dream job.

Sometimes I wish I knew more internet trickery so I could bring you them dancing.

Pop Goes The Gooseberry

Half a pound of tuppeny rice
Half a pound of treacle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel

We've had a lot of rain here. Although, we're lucky because some poor people have been flooded badly up north. The problem with rain, if you're growing fruit, is that it seems to make ripe fruit burst. So, it was, as I was picking gooseberries, that this rhyme went round my head. There's something about picking fruit that makes me think random thoughts, such as "what does this rhyme really mean?" I came to the conclusion that it was a subversive rhyme suggesting that if you bought rice and treacle, you would have no money and be fat. I was almost right.
Last time I picked gooseberries, I decided that fruit plants had a "zen". I did warn you my mind wanders. The zen of fruit plants was that they attempt to hide all their fruit under their leaves so that I didn't see the ripe ones. And, in the case of gooseberries, protect them with evil thorns to put you off.
Nevertherless, I got a whole punnet of mostly non-popped gooseberries.

However, before I picked the gooseberries, I picked a whole load of tayberries. These fruit may look the same, but because they're redder and smaller, are different. My mother told me not to pick them any more, but then in the afternoon started picking them anyway. Yes, I was confused too.

I Thought Cats Sat On Laps?

So Much For The City

Well, here I am. Last week all I could see from my bedroom window was a street lined with houses leading down a (very steep) hill to the train station, this week all I can see is fields.
I miss the city.

Making It Up As We Go Along

This weekend I went to a friend of mine's house who happens to be Indian. We started to watch some Bollywood movies, the first was Bride and Prejudice, which was actually quite good and in English. The second film was entirely in Hindi with the odd English word thrown in, with no subtitles. So we made up what they were saying which made the film probably far more amusing than it really should have been.

Having A Rammstein Moment

Many years ago my then boyfriend introduced me to 80s rock bands. Many of the music he left me with (after a badly-executed finale) is still top of my playlist. One of the songs he gave me was Rammstein - Du Hast.

For those of you who don't know, Rammstein are a German rock band that, apparently, are still touring. I did try and find a decent picture but random won me over in the end.

Anyway, the years have gone by, and hard times have befallen the Tall Scientist, who is about to be demoted to Mother's Fruit Picker and Plant-Fixer. It's not that I mind helping my parents, it's just that I'm 28 now and I'd really like a life and a place of my own, but I've managed to mess that up by not being offered any of the jobs I've been interviewed for. In my rollercoaster ride of trying to find a new job, I have encountered excitement, hope and despair. There's not much I can do about the last one, but I have found a solution. It's Rammstein. Something about angry German music (never, ever listen to it in English, it's just not the same) just makes things better.

Oefs Sur La Visage

Ah... Eurovision. I'm sure at some point this was actually a competition where members of Europe competed in a song contest. Now, they let countries such as Russia, Georgia and Serbia compete, with the end result being that the Balkan states run away with the competition.
The entire show runs on one premise: introduction, then before each country's entrant comes on, they show some kind of random skit about the country (this year, it was in Helsinki, and I gather most of the skits were about snow...) , then the entrant (a lot of freaky people and/or traditional style). Interspersed with this was commercial breaks (filled for us by some scary woman in pink) and, as always, keeping the sanity in what is otherwise completely mad, our Terry Wogan (who DID NOT like the woman in pink!!!!), then another interval after all the entrants for everyone to vote where they have a weird show, which this year for some reason or other included some very mad cellists and a bloke in a bubble.... Then every country in "Europe", even the ones that got kicked out in the semi-final, get to vote, with points ranging from 1 to 12 being awarded to the other countries. At this point the "neighbour" voting comes into place, with Norway giving the most points to Sweden, Macedonia giving the most points to Serbia, etc etc. The UK, being not a very popular country, narrowly missed being stuck with the dreaded "nul points". A couple of years ago, just round the time of our invasion of Iraq, we did get that, and it was embarrassing. So, I have some suggestions for next year:-
1) Get Gordon Brown to make a suggestion that Balkan States become part of the EU (it'll never pass, and they might like us more!)
2) Get some kind of weirdo to represent us - that bloke from Dead or Alive would do
3) Get morris dancers to do it
4) Get someone whose family originally came from a Balkan State to do it (then they'd all vote for us!)
Bye, bye Scooch.

I'm Sure This Photo Needs a Caption...

How about....

"Awww, luv, I wish you wouldn't do that in public"

So Far This Week....

- someone created a small fire below our labs and due to smoke damage we now cannot do 90% of the work we do for an entire week (and consequently can't work)
- someone hacked into my Ebay account and tried to sell stuff, causing me some panic. If I'd been away this week, I would have been in all sorts of trouble...
- I tried to fix the broken front screen of my mobile, only to discover that in fact I needed a whole new fascia
- my back wheel on my bicycle went over something, it went "whoomph" and was suddenly very flat.
- trying to do tongue twisters for my singing teacher almost made me cry (not his fault)
- my badminton friend fell over and broke her arm, and will be plastered up and out of action for six weeks (not my fault, and slightly tenuous)
- in organising my life I have come across various problems, and am currently on Plan D or something... whimper
- I've had two very horrible vivid dreams, one involving a big flood with zombies who could walk through water and the other being semi-naked at work (although I obviously wasn't too bothered about this, as in my dream I just looked down and thought that maybe I should put on a pair of trousers soon....)

A Change For The Good?

In my email inbox today....

Dear Hilary,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been included on the shortlist for the position of xxxxxxxxxxxx on xxxxxxxxxxx. Please take a look at the web site to familiarize yourself with the journals http://www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To give us an indication of your skills and expertise -- and to give you some idea of what the job will entail -- we would like you to complete the enclosed written test.

---------------------------------------------------

Hilary - your horoscopes for Sat 21, April 2007!

Gemini (May22-June21)
Studying for a test will yield impressive results; you soak up information like a sponge. A friend who is in the printing, publishing, or communications industry could help you find a good job.



This is my time. I have to shine like a star or else.

Celebrity Spotting

Alan Titchmarsh in the centre of Bristol today, by the fountains. Sadly my phone camera wasn't working so I had to cycle on by.

Things You Never Knew About Your Boyfriend (And Never Thought To Ask)

Recognise this person? No? I'll leave it to you guys to guess this one.

Ross got it in 15 seconds. I never knew he had such an encyclopedic knowledge of films. He'll be on my team if I go for a pub quiz next time. His knowledge of films and my knowledge (ha) of science/nature and pop music would be a great combo.

Those of you who played this on Thursday, don't give the game away!

What Happens When You Wear Pretty Shoes

I will warn you now, that the picture I'm about to link to is gross. Those of you with a sensitive disposition, please do not whinge to me when you open it and, in fact find it really horrid.

This is what happens when I decide to walk home in my favourite shoes. It was so bad by the time I got home I bled all over the kitchen. Oops.

Just to make it worse, this morning I bashed the same toe against the door, drawing yet more blood, which caused a large amount of gurning and probably just the odd profanity or two...

I'm feeling very icky today. I definitely have a sensitive disposition...

My House Is Sweating

While I was away having a great great time over the weekend (more about that soon...) the landlady brought a plasterer round to sort out the walls. It's amazing. The Artex (or however you spell it) has GONE. No more drunken or carrying incidents where you brush against the wall and draw blood. Instead, I have a very dark and very brown hallway (it's not very nice, believe me.). The plaster goes on wet, so as it dries, as I have just discovered, all that water has to go somewhere. My front door was literally dripping - I mean, it was truly disgusting - this morning. My house smells of milky tea (yuk!). So now I'm going to have to freeze my arse off with the windows, doors etc open to let some of this excess moisture escape out of the house...

And my hallway is almost inevitably going to be brown until I leave. Nice.

Vauxhall Corsa Was Not Made For The Taller Person....

..... and I have to drive it all the way to Milton Keynes and back.

This'll be interesting.

Blame It On The DJ

I decided this morning I should stay positive, despite:
having no job in two months
having to move to London and live on no money
my experiments, which were going through a really good patch, completely failing on me again
being full of goo (yet another cold)
being at least a stone overweight
not being at all sure where my current relationship is going

when the DJ starts one of those "back in the day" slots where he plays music from a particular year. This music reminds me of:
not having to worry about money
going to the other side of the world and having a bloody good time, every night
most of all, meeting a guy who I flirted with all the way up the east coast of Australia

Ah well, I guess I'd better get back to my experiment that doesn't work, figuring out how I'm going to get to my car rental tomorrow and applying for yet more jobs...

Friday Is Good Because....

....I had loads of results to show at the lab meeting this morning, and most of it worked as well!

....I got fed LOTS of lunch (although I did have to wait two hours later that I normally would for food, which was bad)

.....I got offers of two interviews.... although now I realise that they're two different groups operating in the same place, eeek

.....I didn't have too much work to do today, which was good given that I cant work on a) no food or b) too much food

Men Wearing Pink Trousers?

Just stop it, right now.

And, it is NOT the time of year to be wearing shorts.

Mmmm.. Pancakes...

Pancakes with..
Fried mushrooms and grated cheddar cheese
Boursin (garlic and herb soft cheese)

Fried cooking apple in cider brandy (CAUTION: cider brandy is, in fact, flammable) cinnamon and sugar
Lime juice and sugar
Nutella (chocolate spread) mmmmmm
Lime juice and sugar (was so good the first time I had it a second time).

I should have pancakes as a meal more often. I love them.

Ha Ha! I'm Famous!

Hopefully only for five minutes...

Ross is loving this, and I'm really not. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Look at us looking a bit dazed in The Sun

We got half the page (and full page picture!) in the Daily Mail

Oh yeah, and I don't think we're the tallest couple in Britain. Please don't let the Guinness Book of Records get on to this one... aaargh! Go away! I like my nice quiet life!

A Bit Less Shoop, Shoop, Shoop and a Bit More Aaaargh

Well, I'm back and I didn't break anything! Hooray! Rather than give you an entire rundown of the week, I thought I'd just give you some snippets:-

Saturday night: Just catch last train from London at 11:30, after worrying all the way from Stratford I'd be horribly late, get back to Bristol after a short sleep at 1:40 with sore feet and then having to walk all the way home, get to bed finally around 2:30 after finally finishing packing, get back up again after not much sleep at 3:30, get lift to airport at 4:10, get plane at 7, sleep on plane, get on bus, sleep on bus, get to resort at 1pm. Get skis, go to bar. Fall asleep in deckchair while everyone else drinks beer. Go inside when it gets cold, fall asleep whilst sat on sofa while everyone else drinks beer.

The chalet host was 9 years younger than me, and I think I was the youngest in the group. He was mooning over some other chalet girl from the group. He did try very hard to solve most of the chaos in the chalet that wasn't entirely his fault. He also made a mean biscuit cake (cue me getting very hyperactive on sugar).

The ipod I brought was put on some speakers so everyone got to enjoy my kind of music and make various comments on the cheesiness of the music, and the randomness - well, there's Belinda Carlisle, Aerosmith, Samantha Mumba, Coldplay, Doves and Abba just to mention a few...
Down a ski slope the thought goes through my mind: "Congratulations. You have just chosen the steepest part of the slope to go down."

Solving a work-related problem whilst trying to go to sleep, and getting annoyed at myself. I was on holiday!

Commenting that I wasn't looking very pretty (I meant ski style-wise) coming down the last slope in a cable car, only for an unknown bloke opposite us to pipe up, "You were looking very pretty from behind". Whimper...

Getting more bruises off slope than on - my skiing has got to the point where I no longer fall over (and therefore get worse and worse at skiing because I don't want to fall over). On Friday night I fell twice in about five minutes down a slope and landed on exactly the same place both times! I also have various USHIs (Unidentified Skiing Holiday Injuries).

Getting home on Sunday only to get to a cold, untidy and quiet house. It was strange to share so much time with people and then there to be nothing. Then I fell asleep during Natural World.

Finding that in fact people you know can become proper friends - it's funny how you can know someone, but not really know them, if you see what I mean. I hope that I have made an "acquaintance" become a friend. Also being the person that people tell things like "I have a really bad farting problem today". Thanks for that.

It Seems That My Life Will Be Forever Touched

So, there I was. Hmmm, Valentine’s Day. The Most Romantic Day Of The Year^TM. I know, let’s go “surprise” my boyfriend in London by visiting him for a couple of hours on that night. Let’s go by bus because it’s a darn sight cheaper than booking the train the day before.
So, the first bit worked pretty much to plan. Then it all started to go horribly wrong on my way home. Nooooo…
I got to the bus with plenty of time to spare, but unfortunately lost my helium balloons from Pizza Hut in Victoria Station. Then I wasn’t in the first few people to get on the bus so some girl pinched the front seat (having very long legs means sitting in a cramped bus seat is not the most comfortable, and the front seats have the most room). This girl then proceeded to push her seat back (I won the first battle, but then fell asleep when she did it again, grrr) to make what little legroom I had to start off with completely disappear. Thanks for that, cow.
So, the bus sets off at 11:30 pm, fine, I fall asleep after a while, only to wake up an hour later to the bus driver calling his mate to say that there’s a problem with the fuel and he’s hoping he can get to the next service station before the bus dies. About five minutes later, the bus dies. In the middle of nowhere, somewhere near Reading on the M4. Oh Great. So we sit, on the side of the motorway, while the trucks blow past us, and our emergency hazards on. Fair play to the driver, he did what he could to solve the problem, but there wasn’t much he could do except wait with the rest of us for rescue. About 10 minutes later, a bus stops by us. Hopes flare until it transpires the bloke’s going to Swindon, Chippenham and Gloucester. Not much good for a group of tired people who want to get to Bristol. It transpires that the people coming to rescue us are coming in a van, and all the way from Bristol, which is a good hour or so driving away. We sat, and then sat some more, and then eventually I probably did sleep. An hour and a half (2am) after we pulled to the side of the motorway, another bus turns up. This one, it transpires, is going to Swansea and will drop us off on the way. And it has enough seats on it! Hooray! So I quickly get off the bus, in the hope I can get a better seat that isn’t being crushed by the (insert rude word here) in front. We get on said bus, and the driver starts being very randomly rude to my fellow passengers – telling them they can’t even have a very small rucksack on the bus (luckily I got away with my heavily laden handbag) and it has to be stored in the hold (?!?). I get my space at the front of the bus, somehow, absolutely no legroom whatsoever on this bus, when someone gives me back my rather lovely gloves I left on the previous bus (whoops). Thankyou, kind man.
Finally, we set off on our trip back to Bristol, the driver telling the bloke on the opposite side of me to get his seatbelt on straight away, and we leave the poor other driver to wait for recovery, which still hasn’t arrived. The driver listens to cheesy radio all the way, but I sleep. An hour later (3am) we finally arrive, tired and annoyed, at Bristol Bus Station, after an extraordinary route round Bristol that almost takes us to the train station and annoys the bus driver further. Some guy pipes up, “I guess we’re not going to Bristol University?”. The terse Welsh bus driver replies, “You guessed right”. How polite. I don’t know what happened next as I just got off the bus, happy to be a bit closer to home. The guy next to me (who, it has to be said, snored pretty much all the way home) comes out of the bus station shouting about the bus driver. I start undoing my bike, realising that I have no lights. Ah well, I’d rather cycle home than attempt to walk it at this time of night. And then, the most random thing happens. The ensuing conversation takes place:
Random man: Can you give me a lift?
Me: What?!?
RM: Can you give me a lift?
Me: On my bicycle? Are you crazy?
RM: It’s no problem, I’ll just sit on the back.
Me: I’m sorry, I can hardly push myself along on this thing, let alone anyone else.

I get home at 3:45, on my own, and finally get to my nice bed. I get 4 hours sleep before I have to go to work again. National Express is not in my good books today.

I'm Off Skiing...

Bye!

This Morning I Got Green Lights Down The Hill...

...cue crazy big woman on a bycicle going "Weee!" all the way into town

At The End of The Tunnel, There's....

[silence]


[silence]


"That's all I have to say about that."

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside..

...in the pouring hailstones?


Actually it wasn't that bad. I had a lovely day out with the Conservation Group who conserve things by cutting down trees. The trees in question on Sunday were in fact evil. They'd been planted in the hope that they'd stabilize the dune system, which they did, but then they also kind of took over the entire place, removing any chance of nice native species to grow. And to cap it all off they've got massive great big thorns on them too. So I ended up scratched and reeking of smoke after they lit a fire to burn said evil trees. We cut down quite a lot of evil bramble too, which I think did the most damage to my poor hands... Oh, and we got caught in a couple of nice downpours of hailstones, which we stood with our backs too and tried to remember not to turn round too much until they'd finished (hailstones in the eyes is not, actually, fun, funnily enough... Would you believe that we actually cleared the hill you can see in this picture, and left only sand? We did very well, and then we got to burn lots of evil plants and then go to the pub to drink cider (well I did anyway) and eat massive concoctions of ice cream, chocolate syrup and maltesers... mmmm

The Day I Got A Shiner On My Knee

It doesn't come up very well in the photo, but last week I managed to fall off my bike. To be honest I was lucky not to hurt myself more, and I hardly even broke skin in my inability to cross hosepipes. Yes, I do know I should take them straight on, but occasionally I have a magic ability to be a bit of a plonker...

A Wise Badge Once Said...

Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a good one. I had two Christmasses this year - I know, I'm very spoilt but it was more to do with the fact I spent Christmas with Ross's (the boyfriend) family then Christmas with my family. I only had turkey once, which I guess is a feat of my mother's famous cooking. I got a stinking cold which seems to be turning into a stinking chest infection and a comedy voice. Tomorrow I'm having New Year's at mine, and I'm hoping to be ready - ha ha...

I'll leave you with a picture of my Christmas tree. I picked this up as a fairly healthy plant some sod had thrown out in a skip just after Christmas one year and it seems to have got a bit bare and sad since then. I don't think it likes me much, or I'm just not taking the right care of it - any ideas? Let me know.

Thoughts of the Week

1. The house is warm again. Hooray! How long will it last this time, especially given that the heating is not making the happiest noise ever...
2. The Christmas cactus is sulking because it's warm. Huh, plants!
3. I'm (apparently) no longer allowed into a room in my house or use it as I would like. Huh?
4. All the washing up has been done pretty much on the day I created it this week (yes, I know) but the floor is sticky. However, someone, not me, broke the pail so I have to buy a new one. Humph.
5. At least 25% of the things in my kitchen are out of date. So what? Dates are now arbitrary to make people throw stuff away and buy it new.
6. I hate colds. I had one day last month where I felt wonderful, and that was pretty much it. Even taking multivitamins every day hasn't helped.
7. Why are there only 3 weeks left til Christmas? Where did the year go?
8. It's not always my fault. This week someone else made a mistake that delayed my work.
9. "Leave to me and I'll sort it out" is not actually the answer I wanted. I'll go do it myself then.
10. What shall I do now? Maybe I should ask the Magic 8 Ball.

3 Cold Street

I love my little house. Yes, it's messy, I can never be bothered to do my washing so there's a backlog of dirty dishes and I seem to have a large pile of dirty laundry too. This weekend I ironed my sheets for the first time ever - I must be growing up, I noticed that they're just not nice when they go on crumpled. Oh dear.

However, a cold house is not a good house to do anything in. For some reason or other half the radiators in my house just ceased functioning, so the only warm rooms are my bedroom and my hallway. Rubbish. This also has been going on for weeks now. I am cold! The other problem is I have a gas heater in my living room. I put this on, place my little rug over me, and bam, I'm asleep. I'm sure this does nothing for my body - sleeping on a small sofa makes me bend all wrong - or for my sleep patterns. Also I keep missing vital bits of CSI and James Bond (i.e. how on earth did he get out of that without being dropped to his death/cut in half with a laser/ruining that particularly nasty outfit (George Lazenby tries to look like Sherlock Holmes... no, no, no, no!)).

Brrr.

This Week I Shall Mostly Be Dancing...

...because I made chocolate cake!

I managed to get the special recipie of my mother's chocolate cake (that I ask for every birthday). Surprisingly enough it was real easy to make. So I danced, even though it was midnight, when it was finished.

I can make cake, me!

I know, I'm not big or clever...

Friday night is either a)time to go to the gym, b)occurs elsewhere in the country, c)go home and watch CSI (sometimes coupled with (a) d)go out with random members of department/faculty and get drunk.

This week was the turn of d). I'm sure I didn't mean to, but recollections of Friday night are mostly entertaining and slightly fragmented... This may be something to do with Brother's Pear Cider.

The end of the night involved me wandering home singing at the top of my voice, after being called a legend by some bloke called Jasper I'd only just met that night, at 3am, with some other bloke trying to proposition me by text....
It was just one of those nights.

Remember, Remember, The Fifth Of November

This year was the turn of Tarr's Fireworks Extraviganza (sic). Those of you who don't know Phil would be forgiven for not having the fear of God put into you by those simple words. It all started fairly simply, Phil produced an old set of overalls which we stuffed with newspaper (making me freeze in the process, oh yes, I forgot to mention, IT WAS BLOODY COLD!). The bonfire was made in one of those fire bins and the guy, which looked a bit like the baby from Family Guy, was propped up on top. Soon enough the guy went up in flames, and his "guts" kind of fell out of the bonfire and landed on the soil, prompting Rach, who's house the party was going to be held at, to say, "Yeah, that would have been FINE in my back garden".
The fireworks started off with a bit of a bang, and not in a good way. Matt and Garreth go off to set one off and next thing we know they're running away from a bloody great big flash of light. They didn't quite get which bit of the firework they were supposed to light. Luckily neither of them were hurt, and we managed the rest of the fireworks in safety, having a good laugh at the catherine wheel which didn't actually go round at all (whoops!)...

As I came in this morning in the fog created by burning bonfires I reflected on this and on many previous bonfire parties, and wondered how long it would be before they banned bonfires due to them giving off too much carbon dioxide. That would be a very sad day.

Today I did Something Good

I made a man happy and maybe helped someone in the world start a duck breeding program.


My friend's father is running in the London Marathon next year and is raising money for ActionAid. He seems to have been a bit down in the dumps recently so I thought I would cheer him up with a donation towards his sponsorship. Yay, it worked! I have made him happy, and I have just given enough money that would have paid for a small trip to Asda. Or someone in the world to get shelter. And I don't believe I've seen any Actionaid people trying to stop me for money in the street (which I find intensly irritating).

Right, I'll get off my soapbox now and go eat some supper. May we all be lucky enough to have supper tonight.