Hormones & Halloween

Not too sure if the Dolly is dressed up for Halloween or turning into
a goth!!

Steve Tilley started it!

Steve found a website that would rank his blog and posted a link on Facebook. And you know me, I'm a sucker ....

So Steve is ranked 309 in the category 'Christianity' blogs. Me? Well, I didn't dare risk investigating my ranking in the Christianity section, but I am ranked 259 in the category dubiously known as 'Life'. Out of 260 if I'm lucky!!

Rank your blog here.

63 days to Christmas

According to Judy's Facebook profile anyway. And as she has had her Christmas tree up in her study for almost a week now, she should know! 63 days will just be about enough time if you have toys or other items that need to be assembled.

Ever notice they put the age a toy is suitable for on the outside of the packaging, but never the IQ required to assemble it? It took three of us an hour tonight to assemble an item deemed suitable for a three year old.

And, while we're on the matter, 63 days should be just about long enough (at one bin collection a fortnight) to dispose of all the useless packaging you'll gather up as well.

Bah humbug.

Al Qaeda do away with washbags

I was just noticing today, as I prepared for an overnight Christmas shopping trip to Manchester, that thanks to Al Qaeda we no longer have to worry about wash bags and make-up bags. All toiletries in one zip-lock plastic bag, all cosmetics in another: sorted!

Only problem is, it's one less thing you can buy your mum for Christmas.

Chigley

Are you old enough??

Somehow managed to come across an episode of this children's classic on TV tonight and watched it with my 10 year old son. Who laughed the whole way through it at how ridiculous and old fashioned it was!

How much about it I had forgotten; not the song about the train - I was able to sing that word for word much to son's bemusement. But things like the men (please note it was strictly only men) who worked in the biscuit factory all clocked off at precisely 6 o'clock when the whistle blew and went for a dance in the open air with women who looked like they had been shipped in from Bavaria especially for the event!!

In this episode there were visitors from other programmes like the soldier boys from Pipin Fort in Camberwick green and Miss Lovelace - the hat maker from Trumpton, with her three dogs Mitzy, Daphne and Lulu.

Worth a google on YouTube if you're the nostalgic type.

With apologies to friends from Dublin

Yesterday Michael was the mascot for Ulster rugby in their Magners League top-of-the-table clash against our neighbouring province Leinster.

Such excitement I'm sure you cannot imagine, to be mascot at a sell-out match and share a pitch with such stars as Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy as well as all his Ulster favourites. And that was just me ;-)

With Paddy Wallace being 'rested' for Ireland duties, Ulster captain was Chris Henry. Now, last time Chris captained the side he forgot to take the mascot with him when he ran onto the field. No such misfortune this time - Michael had his hand stuck out blocking the entrance to the pitch from the moment Chris put foot out the changing room door.

Soaked to the skin with a dose of double pneumonia on the cards, but smiling from ear to ear. Thanks to all at Ulster Branch for making it happen.

Oh, and the result. Ulster beat Leinster 16-14; the first time they had beaten them since May 2004!!

Job well done son.

Wear it pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Breast Cancer Campaign is urging everyone to 'Wear it Pink' on Friday 30th October to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer research.

Find out more here. Then do it. Please.

When

An observation:

When Ulster rugby substitutes want to keep warm during the match, they go for a wee run round the nearest potato field.

When Edinburgh rugby subtitutes want to keep warm during the match, they climb aboard their ponsy exercise bikes at the side of the pitch.

When Ulster rugby fans see Edinburgh rugby substitutes on their ponsy exercise bikes, they sing ...

'You're not cycling, you're not cycling, you're not cycling anywhere ...'

I think that's fair enough under the circumstances

And as we're talking about rugby ...

This is going to be a big week in our house as my son is getting to be the mascot for the Ulster v Leinster top-of-the-table-clash derby match in the Magners League this Saturday at Ravenhill.

I'm not sure what he is more excited about; being the Ulster mascot and leading out the Ulstermen or being on the same pitch at the same time as Brian O'Driscoll!

If you get Setanta Ireland, (and let's face it, we live on the island of Ireland and although we got some Setanta channels, we didn't even get it even before they went bust!) you will see him do his thing live this Saturday evening.

Otherwise you'll have to go to Ravenhill or read about it here. Maybe.

Living it large

It's been a real busy week, but in between singing rehearsals, parent nights, book club and Heineken Cup rugby I have been applying myself to shortening my 'to-do' list.

I noted when I booked hotel number three on the list this evening that in the list of 'items provided in my room' it says sheets. Always good to know the basics are included in the price!

All joking aside though, if Travelodge gave loyalty points, I'd own one of their hotels by now!

To Do list

Book hotel in Bristol
Book hotel in Manchester
Book hotel in Paris
Book train to Brussels
Book hotel in Brussels

Sent from my iPhone

Autumn Poem

Another literary masterpiece by my son:

All the leaves are falling down.

Autumn is back!

Fireworks and burning bonfires.

Cold nights, Halloween nights.

Please don't get the frights!

Frosty mornings. Autumn is here!

I love this time of year

Read instructions before use

Someone once told me, or I read, or I saw or I heard that you could stuff all the expensive fancy eye creams - the best thing to get rid of big dark baggy rings under your eyes was Preparation H.

I have a few of the expensive (bought for me as gifts) and inexpensive (self-purchsed) eye creams but still look like an extra from the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video, so decided to give the Preparation H a shot.

So I am layering it on and my 'ever-curious-soon-to-be-hormonal-but-already-experimenting-with-mummy's-cosmetics' daughter is watching me and studying the packaging and after a moments deliberation pipes up with 'mummy, why does it say to put it on after you go to the toilet?'

Good question. Who would like to answer??

I want to be a Play Therapist when I grow up

It all started in a year 8 employability class when one of the pupils asked me what I'd like to do when I grew up.

Stage two was when we had to take Dolly up to hospital rather unexpectedly last week to have a series of scans and tests done. Now you would think that to an eight year old all the prodding, scanning, probing, jabbing and widdling on demand might seem a tad disconcerting, as it certainly was for mum.

Not at all. Thanks not only to the super medical staff on the ward and in the radiology department, but largely to the wards Play Therapist.

Don't you mean physiotherapist I hear you say. No. Play Therapist. Someone who looked after the little patients by providing suitable games, puzzles, activities and crafts to keep them occupied between examinations and tests.

Someone who explained in child friendly terms exactly what would be happening and why. I found that useful myself! Someone who played 'Where's Wally?' to expertly distract whilst bloods were being taken. And someone who made mums and dads a proper mug of tea.

Brilliant job, and that's what I want to be when I grow up.

PS Dolly say hospital fish and chips are the best in the world

PPS all tests came back clear :-)

Sent from my iPhone

Life without the internet

First the router, now the modem. Makes you realise just how reliant
you have become on the old tinterweb when you don't have it.

Im going to have to actually walk into a shop to buy my groceries!
And does anyone know if you can book a hotel by telephone?

Worst of all, no access to online coverage of tomorrows Ulster match.
Might have to see if I can borrow a wireless set for that one.

So, if you're trying to communicate with me in a hurry, you might want
to forego email and try the phone. I'm sure we have a landline
somewhere...

Sent from my iPhone

Nice day for it

We had a bomb scare in town today, about half a mile from where I am currently working. That meant police checkpoints and roads closed and diversions and big traffic tailbacks.

I was sitting in the tailbacks thinking where else but Belfast would you see people move out into the streets to watch a bomb scare? Hairdressers and their customers all standng at the cordon watching the bomb disposal robot approaching the package. Men with pints lounging against the wall watching and chatting with the police at the cordons. Mums with prams and shopping chatting while taking in the goings on. Kids hangning out of windows overlooking the site. And me sitting in the traffic queue with the roof down on the mini.

Of course, if it had been raining, that would have been a completely different story! Wouldn't it be good if it could be like this all the time?? ;-)

This arrived today

I need a (virgin) man

I haven't been able to use my desktop for some time as first of all I
had a router issue and now I have an ongoing Internet issue. I feel
the resurgance of my love affair with the Virgin man coming on!

Hmmmm. Judy, do you think ...??

Sent from my iPhone, and thank the Lord I have it!!

Father Ted moment

I was showing some pupils pictures of Paris and we had already oohed and ahhed at the Eiffel Tower when I switched to a picture of the Arc de Triomphe nicely lit up at night.

One pupil suddenly says 'look Miss, there's that other tower in the picture too. WOW! That arch must be massive, the tower looks tiny beside it.'

I actually heard myself saying it ... no, it's not small, it's just .....

Economics

Reading a post on Steve's blog reminded me of an experience I had myself.

In sixth form I too studied Economics. I did the 'O' level in one year (I have a B grade Steve) and in the second year went on to do the 'A' level, where I didn't do quite so well ;-) As part of our course we were encouraged to buy an entire set of essay answers written by a professor of Economics from the London School of Economics, which I of course did.

Having done well enough to get to university I followed a degree that required a certain amout of Economics knowledge so in the first year we had lectures in Economics. The module was assessed by an assignment, the title of which was 'What is the function of the Bank of England?'

Now, there was a girl who had not only been at my school, but also in my 'A' level Economics class doing the same course as me, and we were the only two in the entire year group who had ever studied Economics before. We decided that, rather than re-invent the wheel, we would just copy our 'What is the function of the Bank of England?' essay from our set of essay answers written by a professor of Economics from the London School of Economics because, frankly, we had a dozy old codger for lectures who wasn't even going to notice that she'd received two identically written essays.

We expected A grades, as you would. Disappointing then when my copy of the professor of Economics essay was graded at C- and my friends identical copy of the professor's essay got a B+. Go figure