Bloggy marvellous

My blog rank has gone up to 60! People must be giving up blogging in
their droves

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First decoration in place

Amen

Some time ago I blogged about finding some of the children's old school notebooks and being amused by things they had written.

Like these three prayers, one his two hers:

Thankyou God for makeing the world, farmers, stars, moon and brown potatoes. PS I frogot to say Amen

You've got to especially thankful for those brown potatoes! And

Dear God, thankyou for the earth you made and for sending your son to earth to take away our sins, In school we learn about you witch is the moast exciting part about school. Thankyou for all the techers in school, TV and church. Amen

I think this one could be subtitled 'sucking up to God'. Interestingly, the teacher, or techer, had put a pen through 'TV and church', but I thought you'd like to read the unedited version. Finally:

Dear God, thank you for making us have so much food and thankyou for macking us so lucky hear in this country. Sorry that I am taking food for granted and that I sometimes wast some of my food. Please help others who have no food or clean water and please send rain where there is drought. Amen

Amen!

Dear Santa

Phone
Nerf gun
Lego 7686 city helicopter transporter
Vicar of Dibley DVD
Lego rockband (wii)
Place in Methody
Do well in my test

From M

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Ruane's guinea pigs

Tomorrow, my son is one of Catriona Ruane's guinea pigs. What? I hear you ask.

In her infinite knowledge, Ms Ruane (Minister for Education) did away with our selection exam used to determine whether children were more suited to grammar or secondary education. That in itself is not really the big issue as it was, perhaps, a flawed system.

No, no no. Ms Ruane's big mistake was that she did away with the exam, known as the 11+, but remarkably put nothing, absolutely no system, in it's place.

So tomorrow my son starts a series of tests introduced independantly by local grammar schools in an attempt to gain a place at one of them. However, these tests are not recognised by the Department of Education and could (to cut a very, very long story short) all add up to nothing anyway.

So basically, the lovely Ms Ruane, or that woman as she is affectionately known round this house, is playing hardball and holding kids, and their futures, to ransom to make her petty political points.

If the system was flawed before, it's totally fecked now.

An amazing Remembrance Sunday story

My son (currently) wants to be a pilot in the RAF. It says so in an Ulster Rugby match programme, so it must be true.

We were out visiting this afternoon when we bumped into and elderly lady and man. A few moments later we saw the lady on her own and she commented on my sons 'lovely blond hair'. I asked her where her companion was and she explained that he was her brother and he had gone home.

You might know him, she said, his name is Alfie Martin. Well, considering my success the night before with people spotting I was a little hesitant to agree or disagree that I knew Alfie Martin!

She went on to say that he had be shot down and had had to bale out over Belgium during the second world war. At this point she had completely got our interest, so she sat down and told us the story of her brother, Alfie.

When Alfie's plane was shot it went on fire and the pilot couldn't save it so the crew had to bale out. Alfie found himself in the countryside in Belgium where he hid in a lane way until he was ready to make his move. Unfortunately, a young lad with a herd of cows came along and in order not to be trampled to death by the cows, Alfie had to come out of his hiding place.

When he emerged, the young lad took one look at his uniform and saluted. Alfie made his way to a nearby farmhouse where he was hidden by the family for six weeks. In that time he did not cross the door for fear of being found and being killed, and having the family killed for harbouring him.

With the help of the resistance, he then started to make his journey back home, travelling through France and crossing the Pyrenees at night, wearing only espadrilles on his feet to get into Spain and eventually Gibraltar.

At one point on his journey, he saw the pilot of his plane on the same platform at a train station, but couldn't even make eye contact for fear of being found and captured.

The lady then went on to tell us that Alfie still gets a birthday card every year from the family who harboured him in Belgium, and that she herself went as a guest to meet them after the war.

Alfie had been laying a wreath, on behalf of the RAF, at the cenotaph in Belfast yesterday morning. She then told us he had also written a book about his experiences called Bale Out!: Escaping Occupied France with the Resistance. My sons's eyes lit up, and we have a copy home to read.

Today my son and I had a living lesson in History, it's so much more real when you hear it first hand from those who experienced it than when you read it in a school textbook.

On this Remembrance Day we want to say thankyou, and great respect to all the 'Alfies' out there who gave, and are still giving, so much for our freedom.

I watch too many 'Come Dine with Me' repeats

In Manchester airport tonight checking for gate numbers when a figure
appears at my elbow. I glance over, and then glanced again,
recognising the face. The man smiles at me and starts to make small
talk. Then someone comes over and asks for his autograph and suddenly
I had it.

'Oh, I'm sorry' I say, 'I know who you are now, you were on come dine
with me!'

Man in earshot's head spins round and he starts to laugh. 'That's
Rodney Marsh, ex Manchester United footballer you're talking to love!!'

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You'll never make me do it!

I'm singing with SingLive again this year. Sing Big Band: Feeling Good, Mack the Knife, Sway, Moondance, Beyond the Sea, For Once in my Life and ...

Eye of the Tiger. Sorry, but once a rock chick (now self confessed rock hen) I just cannot bring myself to sing Eye of the Tiger in four part harmony with a swing beat.

Especially for Cosmo

Avoca sultana and cranberry sugar crusted scones

• 125g unsalted butter
• 400g plain white flour
• 100g wholemeal flour
• 1 rounded tsp baking powder
• 65g demerara sugar plus extra for finishing
• 50g jumbo sultanas
• 50g dried cranberries
• 2 large eggs, 1 beaten for egg wash
• approx 250ml milk

1. preheat oven to 170oC/gas3
2. rub butter into flours and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs
3. mix in sugar anad fruit, making well in the middle
4. add 1 egg and milk and bring together to make a ball
5. roll out 4-5cm thickness
6. cut, wash with egg wash and sprinkle with extra sugar
7. bake for 15-20 mins until golden

Easy as ... muffins

From the kitchen of the Avoca cafe (Avoca is a little village in Co. Wicklow, best known for being the home of BBC show Ballykissangel) comes this recipe for very easy, excellent tasting muffins:

• 450g self raising flour
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 225ml milk
• 225g butter
• 2 medium sized eggs

1. heat oven to 180oC/gas4 and have 15 muffin tins ready.
2. mix flour, caster sugar and baking powder in large bowl.
3. heat butter and milk together until butter melts, then cool.
4. add to dry mixture with beaten eggs.
5. spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20 mins

Add whatever you fancy for flavouring; Avoca suggest raspberries and nectarine, or diced pear, or chocolate buttons and slivered almonds, but we tried banana and chocolate chunks and cranberries and cinnamon and they were both good too.

Pluto

is alive and well and commenting on peoples blogs again!

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.