Genetics

My son, (who incidently has just asked me if I am pregnant), has been named Home Economist of the month at school.

And we thought the weakness was only down the female line in the family.

Context: my mother taught Home Economics. Her sister taught Home Economics. I was known to teach some Home Economics. My cousin (mum's sister's daughter) also may have briefly taught Home Economics. My children are not allowed near either a chalk board or a baking bowl!

I have a predicament

Smart casual.

I thought as much

Convinced I had walked further than the just over a mile my pedometer told me I had yesterday, today the route was measured again using a diffenert program, and this time it came to 2.6 miles!

I wonder does the extra mileage mean extra calories burnt off and does that in turn justify the extra Green & Blacks chocolate I snuffled to mask my disappointment.

Out for a dander

With the good weather and longer days, I had an urge this week to start walking again. So today, during the dry bits, I decided I should strike while the iron was hot and go walking.

So I have just completed my first walk and am able to report that I was only overtaken by a jogger, a man on a bicycle, two children on scooters and a woman riding a mobility scooter. Who I swore gave me the finger.

From my newly installed pedometer app, I have learnt that in 41 minutes I walked 2.423 km at an average speed of 3.55km/h. Is that good, I have no idea, but it was all up and down hills. Big hills.

I also burnt off 103 calories which I thought was brilliant until I discovered that a packet of crisps has 133 calories in it, so the cream bun and latte I promised myself the whole way round the circuit sort of defeats the purpose.

Reading back over those stats, I'm actually wondering does this pedometer app work, it seems ridiculous that I can expend all that energy and feel as knackered as I do and not even have worked off a single solitary packet of Tayto cheese and onion!

My son is blogging

Go look, pilotsmurf.

Plane spotting for the modern era

As you may well know, we have a wannabe pilot in the house. Fixated with all things aviation, we used to be content just to watch them fly over our house on their way into or out of Belfast City Airport.

Not any more. We have discovered sites where you can not only watch but also listen to aircraft in real time, and now hours are spent virtual plane spotting across Europe.

I warn you, before you click on the links...these sites are truly addictive!

A rant

Years ago, back in the good old days, when you bought a birthday card and it was wrapped in cellophane, the envelope was also inside same cellophane. Now they're not and you have to be intelligent enough to remember to lift an envelope with the cards.

I have just bought two cards in cellophane and no envelopes. If Darwin's 'Survival of the Fittest' theory was correct, I'd have been extinct long since.

The Island

My son has to make an island for his geography homework. I don't think it's to be of the size and stature of the Palm in Dubai, because he only has a week to make it. Currently looking for an appropriate venue off the East coast of Northern Ireland.

Last night my mother did the 'TimeWarp'

Not only that, but she did it in front of 999 other people. Oh yes, she did! Apparently, she also enjoyed the experience. Who'd have thought?

Time to state that the other 999 people were also doing the TimeWarp at the same time. No, not some kind of wacky Belfast flashmob event, but another SingLive concert, this time Movie Musicals.

Have you ever been to a concert where the conductor is dressed like an extra from the basketball court in High School Musical? I have! Mr Roberts at his stunning best.

Yesterday was momentous on a lot of counts, because not only did mum dance the TimeWarp in the Ulster Hall, but Ulster qualified for the quarter finals of the Heineken cup for the first time in 12 years. The last time they got this far, I had a baby. That won't, be happening this time.

Even more exciting is the news today that thanks to Wasps who unexpectantly beat Toulouse today, we get to play Northampton, which means we get to go to England instead of having to travel to the South of France.

Who'd have thought you could get so excited about not travelling to the South of France?

I nearly don't want to say it, but

it looks like for the first time since 1999 Ulster might...

A long, long time ago

I was 'Young Cook of the Year' and went to London to represent Northern Ireland in the UK finals.

Some years later, when I worked in the all girls establishment in North Belfast, I entered one of my students for 'Young Cook of the Year', and she travelled to Dublin to represent Northern Ireland in the All-Ireland finals, which she subsequently won.

Yesterday, my son arrived home from school with an entry form for the Dairy Council Cook of the Year.....

oh dear!!!

(That last comment was added by said son, who hacked my account)

Flashing

I had to buy a replacement dress for my concert next week because there was some concern that whilst singing and doing actions to the 'TimeWarp' in the dress from the skip, there might be a jump to the left and a Janet Jackson like exposure to the right!

Work eventually opened once they got the heating system temporarily fixed. My room is still cold though, and dark as one quarter of the lights in it aren't working.

As I type, we have no water. Again. As it is the weekend and I have all the school uniforms and sports kits to wash I am not amused. Add to that the dishwasher is full of dirty dishes and one child went swimming and the other played rugby today and neither have had a shower, you get where I'm coming from.

The Dolly got very upset this week watching the floods in Australia on TV. Her disappointment stemmed not from the fact that there was so much destruction and devastation, but because God had broken a certain promise attached to a rainbow.

I've just had the call

Work is closed tomorrow. The heating system is, em, buggered. Kids are to stay at home and staff are to turn up in their thermals.

This one looks like it could run and run

New Year Appeal 2011

Dry taps, thirsty children, smelly arm pits and sick pensioners? Just £4 a day can help to go towards a taxi to Avoniel or Shankill Leisure Centres.

People in Belfast have to walk for almost 10 minutes to get water and they have to carry it themselves - this is almost like work!

many women on the way to Avoniel have been complaining about how cold it is in their pyjamas while they are queueing up. Your £4 will go towards proper trousers, fake ugg boots or 10 Lambert & Butler for those who have been queueing for more than an hour.

Please sponsor a person from Belfast today and you can make a difference.

For more information go to www.we'vesodall2drink.com as the NI Water website is frozen

Happy New Year.

New knickers

Contrary to 'popular' belief, there was no water at 08:00 this morning.

I waited until 09:30 and then phoned NI Water. Now, you have got to feel sorry for the poor sods who are answering the phones, because they are not responsible for fixing the pipes, nor are they responsible for them bursting, but someone has seen fit to put them in the front line, answering angry phone calls from smelly customers, but have not seen fit to furnish them with any information except the (now widely acknowledged) totally inaccurate information on their website.

Anyway, being nice with the poor girl who drew my number managed to get me the information that although 'they' had been working all night repairing the pipes in our area, very early this morning there had been further bursts. And a further truth, that in fact nobody had any idea when we would have any water, even on rotation, and if I had somewhere to de-camp to, I should really de-camp.

A whiff of my son's armpits and my daughters revelation that she had run out of knickers were the deciding factors, and de-camp we did with our wash gear and a load of dirty laundry.

I'm sure my brother was delighted to see us arrive. I'm sure my niece was even more delighted as she had to vacate her bed and her room to allow us to use her shower. Thankyou!

And so we were able to shower, wash our collective hairs, use and even flush toilets, clean teeth, drink tea and wash clothes. Result! While there we also had opportunity to fill all out neighbours water holding receptacles, which we sold back to them for a small fee on our return.

In conclusion, I'd advise the general public to abandon the NI Water website and instead resort to Twitter, Facebook and even this site for up-to-date, accurate information on water supplies. I'd also advocate the purchase of emergency knickers.

Water?

Nope. Maybe tomorrow.

I should have been in bed

But I am unreliably informed by NI Water that our water (which has been off for just over two days now, 24 hours continuously) should be back on at 23:00 and I'm waiting to refill the stock saved in the bath. And then have shower. And definitely wash my hands. And put the dishwasher on. And maybe a clothes wash.

I say unreliably because their website informs me that actually I had water up until 16:00 today, which is not right, and their emergency phone line tells me that I might not actually have water until 08:00 tomorrow. Shambolic? Ineffective? I'd say!

Mind you, here's something to put it all in perspective.

The funny side of life

'Hello, NI Water, water bout ye?'

In light of the current water crisis, some people are calling for the renaming of our failing NI Water service to NE Water or even NO Water. Some wonder if we call it Ní Water can we blame the South?

So far there's been no statement from the Chief of NI Water, feeling is he's bottled it.

One of our local MPs cleaned his teeth in Harp last night and this morning melted the remains of his snowman to get water for a shave. He also tweeted to remind us that other liquids such as beer, cider, wine, vodka and petrol may contain water.

People have been phoning local radio stations and requesting anything by Wet Wet Wet, and checking WikiLeaks for information.

We'll be OK though. It'll be sorted by New Year's Eve because a number of our MLA's apparently can't drink their whiskey without water. In the meantime hope of an efficient water system is but a pipe dream!

Water water everywhere....

From the BBC:

'Thousands of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland are still without water, some since before Christmas. Northern Ireland Water said it was alternating supplies from reservoirs in a bid to give every area a limited supply, causing more interruptions. It has warned that the drought could last for several more days. Belfast City Council has opened three leisure centres to distribute drinking water, while free showers will be available on Wednesday.'

And so the panic buying began. Not a supermarket in Belfast has bottled water left for sale, except for the flavoured variety. You can go to a local leisure centre and get drinking water, but you are rationed to 20 litres and you have to have something to put it in. People are turning up with plastic bags. Drinking water is available from tankers at three council sites as well.

Tomorrow all leisure centres in Belfast are offering free showers.

Tell me, seriously, how does a country where it rains continuously run out of feckin water?

Christmas

This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone