One of those days

Do you ever have one of those days?
A day when you are constantly interrupted and everyone that interrupts thinks they are more important than what they interrupted.
A day when you phone to book some cinema tickets and your card is refused although there is no reason whatsoever for it to be.
A day when you stand in sh*t while putting a naughty bantam to bed (no, its not OK to sleep on the garden table where Mr Fox can get you).
A day when the laptop refuses to connect to a perfectly fine signal.
A day when you get 4 calls as soon as you are not in hearing distance of your phone.
A day when every programme you want to watch is a repeat.
A day when you really need a cuddle and your other half is working nights to your days.
I do - I had one today.

Sore finger - poor me

Things you cant do when you have dislocated your right finger and chipped the bone:

Undo/do up your bra.
Open a bottle of wine.
Tie your shoelaces.
Squeeze out the toothpaste onto the brush.
Ditto the shampoo onto your hand.
Ditto the shower gel onto the sponge.
Wash your armpit.
Wrap a fajita.
Open an envelope.
Do up a seatbelt.
Pull up your socks.
Dry yourself.
Write - anything.

Luckily you also cant:
Do the washing up.
Drive.
Hang out the laundry.
Cook.
Do housework.
Do the shopping.
Get money out of your purse.

But.............. you can still pick your nose :-)

From trivial to controversial

Is anyone else bothered by the starving baby adverts on at dinner time?
Usually they are aired just as I wipe my last piece of garlic bread in my carbonara sauce.
I then dont know whether to turn away, switch channels or feel sick.
Oxfam has (of late) been quite a controversial charity. Many wealthy celebs have moved away from it as it no longer uses as much of its funding to provide contraceptive choices to the poor families who cant afford (monetarily or physically) to have more babies.
Obviously when I see a starving baby I want to reach out and rescue it - but is that really an option?
Should the parents have considered that they cannot provide for another child and until they can they should look after themselves and the family they already have rather than bring another child into the world?
I have 4 children and when I discovered I was expecting Honey I was joyful and devastated all in the same moment. We hadnt budgetted for another child, our home wasnt big enough, or our car. We both worked full-time (I worked nights as we couldnt afford childcare) and we felt our family was complete.
After a very stressful couple of weeks we came to terms with being a four-child family and knuckled down and got on with it. We couldnt afford foreign holidays or trips to the zoo but we had a week at the coast most years and kept an eye out for special offers so that our children did not feel they were missing out. We welcomed Honey into our lives and felt blessed to have her.
As my parents would say: We cut our clothes to suit our cloth.
We were lucky to be able to manage. We lived in a country that supported families with child benefit and working child credit. We had a choice.
The parents in the third world have a choice, but they are not educated to think like we do, they believe that their children are their wealth - what a mis-conception (no pun intended) that is!
If I truly felt that we as a nation could wave a magic wand and irradicate child poverty and starvation then I would dig deep and send all I could to this worthy cause.
I dont actually believe that sending money to Oxfam will achieve that aim.
So, until a 'cure' is found could they please stop airing these distressing adverts at meal times?
I work hard and when I get home I want to enjoy a meal with MM without feeling like I dont deserve it.
I dont object when Children In Need asks for support - I can see what the money is going to and the good it does. I know when the programme will be aired and I can choose when to watch it.
I have a friend who goes to the Third World with a group and they use their skills, building, plumbing etc to help individual villages to help themselves. I would rather support them - and all without being made to feel guilty of a crime I didnt commit.

WAITROSE - Hang your head in shame

I have invented a new job for which I am qualified.
I want to be a person who stands next to the shoppers queueing in the '10 items or fewer aisle' and all I will be required to do is count their items.
The reason there is a vacancy for this post is that so many shoppers are unable to count.
And the cashiers are unable to guessimate the contents of an overloaded basket.

I will then announce to the unlucky shopper 'Clearly Sir/Madam, you have 17 items, this disqualifies you from this till. Kindly join another queue and leave the shoppers with 10 items or fewer to get through this till in a reasonable time'
This has all been prompted by an episode in WAITROSE. I certainly had to WAIT while the shopper had her 17 items put through the till. I also had to WAIT while she searched her bag for her purse and then decided to count all her change before she reaslised she did not have enough cash for SEVENTEEN items. This was followed by her indecision as to which card to use.
Luckily for me the pensioner in front of me heard my heavy sigh and saw me check my watch and spotted that I had ONE item. She kindly allowed me to go in front of her which meant that I just got back to work on time. She ROSE to the occasion.
The cashier on the other hand totally ignored our grumbling about the previous customer

I wrote to the Customer Care Team at WAITROSE and this was their reply:
'I was most concerned to learn of your experience when shopping at our Bury St Edmunds branch, and I hope you will accept my apologies that this has occurred. I have taken this opportunity to forward your concerns to the Management Team at the branch so that they may investigate this matter and take any appropriate action. If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to make yourself known to a member of the Management Team when you are next shopping with us, so that we can address your concerns in person.'

Well! Do they really think I will bother repeating this experience? Inadequate service, inadequate response.

Nagging required

I have been suffering lately from a pain in my head. Just before Xmas it got so bad that I went to the docs and was diagnosed with a sinus infection for which I had full-strength antibiotics. They helped a lot but the pain and pressure is still there.
So I am thinking - what if its dental pain?
I HATE going to the dentists - but then does anyone actually LIKE going to the dentist?
I hate it so much that I got de-registered from my last clinic.
When I met MM he persuaded me to register with his dentist and I filled in all the forms but never went for my inaugural appointment.
My youngest son actually had a phobia about dentists to the extent that all his treatment had to be under full anaesthetic. I am not THAT bad.
But I am ashamed to say that youngest son now goes happily for root canal work and extractions without a murmur (after finding a very understanding dentist) while I wont even go for a check-up.
I have given birth to 4 children, 2 of them without pain relief.
I have had a broken thigh, hysterectomy, half-knee replacement and removal of appendix.
These things have to be many times worse than having any dental treatment - but still I wont go.
I am hoping that someone will shame me into going before my mouth turns into a dark cave full of festering broken stubs of green teeth.
(Puts fingers in ears and hums loudly so cant hear shouts of derision)......

Happy New Year

Well, its been a bit of a year really.
Full of highs and lows.
Much as anyone elses I suppose.
I am debating whether or not to carry on with this blog as blogging seems to be on the wane.
I find it cathartic to post on here - its almost like a diary as I dont personally know many of my followers and I disguise my identity to prevent causing unnecessary hurt to friends and family when I feel the need to vent.
Social networking sites and Tweeting seem to be all the rage now although I have never really 'got' Twitter.
I am not going to make any New Year Resolutions as I dont feel the need to 'set a date' to change anything about my life.
Mightg see you in the New Year - might not!

Not grumpy - just sad

Sad news - my lovely friend passed away on Remembrance Sunday.
She had been so strong for so long and was just plain worn out.
Although I wanted her to be free of the 'prison' into which the cancer had put her, I wanted her how she was before she was ill, rather than gone.
MM and I went to be with her when she was 'leaving' but she beat us to it.
I think she made the traffic lights go red so that we didnt have to witness the end.
We spent some time with her and helped her family as best we could and then we went home and tried to sleep (she died at 3.30 am).
After laying looking at the ceiling for an hour we got up again.
I couldnt bring myself to watch the Remembrance Day Service but I did have the 3 minutes silence. Never has it been more poignant.
I am not grumpy (for once) - I am miserable.
Things keep tripping me up - certain songs especially.
I dont want to be a misery - she would have hated that.
I want her to carry on seeing the world through my eyes.
MM and I went to London for the weekend and how she would have loved Wicked and We Will Rock You.
How she would have 'oo'ed and 'ah'ed at the Xmas Lights.
How she would have raged at the actavists 'occupying' London.
How she would have got us all lost on the Tube and made us late for the Theatre.
She will not be gone while everything I do reminds me of her.
Love always, sleep well my Jean-Jeanie x

How is this possible?????

Article in newspaper today:
woman loses 9 stone, is now 5' 6", weighs 12 stone 2 pounds, and is a size 12!

I am 5' 4 and a half", weigh 10 stone 2 pounds, and am a size 12.

One of us is lying...........

No, I dont want to - and you cant make me.

I was minding my own business walking purposefully towards the centre of town to do the post and banking when I was stopped by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (what a mouthful - even their name is self-important). Well, I say A member, what I mean is one of two members (they travel in pairs, never alone). He stood right in front of me, making me do an emergency stop and asked if he could talk to me (no, he could not). I was so shocked at his sudden appearance that without thinking I said 'Jesus Christ'! On being told that NO, I did not want to talk to him (or his friend) he wished me a 'nice day'. WHY do people who are annoying you for no good reason always wish you a 'nice day' when you turn them down. It is sanctamonious in the extreme - I was having a perfectly nice day until he appeared.

I cant abide people who want to share their personal beliefs with me. I like playing Mah Jong and Scrabble but I dont pounce on strangers and try to persaude them to do the same. I am English (or British if you write forms which dont regard English as a Nationality - and dont get me started on THAT one), and we English are private people. We like to keep our own council, we are not comfortable around people who express their feelings 24/7. I have many English friends who are churchgoers and not once have they tried to indoctrinate me into their faith.

Of course once they had gone I thought of several more eloquent replies than 'NO'. My favourite is 'Yes, of course you can talk to me, I will make you an appointment and you can talk to me in my office. I only charge £50 per minute. My time is precious and I thoroughly disapprove of people who waste it. Now, when would you like to come and talk to me?"

Back from an amazing holiday in the Cape Verde Islands. We went to Boa Vista, the most easterly of the islands - which are situated off the west coast of Senegal.

The island itself is a mixture of third world and 21st century. The Cape Verdeans live in basic houses with unfinished roofs (nobody finishes a building as then they would have to pay tax), with stone floors, minimal furniture and flat-screen TVs and sky dishes!



There is no running water as the island ran out of water years ago and there are still areas where the locals go to fetch water for washing etc. There is a nursery school (up to age 6), a junior school (6-12 years) and a teens building with library, internet etc.


They have a philosophy of 'no stress' which is kind of nice and kind of an excuse for when things dont go to plan.

On the edge of this barren land hotels are springing up at a tremendous rate as anyone can build as long as it is not on the beach itself. At the moment there are long stretches of clean white sand and pounding waves.

The roads are mostly still cobbled and you actually have to go off road to visit a lot of places. In the middle of the island is a desert which has blown over from the Sahara. There is a new road which has been built from the airport to half-way to one of the new hotels. The locals agreed to finish the road which the hotel had funded - and then built another road on the other side of the island instead - no stress!

Dont go there if you like hiring a car - there is nowhere to go. Dont go there expecting lots of touristy shops - the souvenir shops in the towns are all the same and sell the same stuff imported from Africa (there are even three enterprising locals who sell their wares in the desert). Dont go to snorkel or to surf (the waves are too fierce and the fish are not particularly colourful).

Do go there if you want to see the island before it gets too commercialised. Do go there if you want complete rest and relaxation. Do go there if you want beautiful beaches and warm sea.

I can honestly say that there were only 3 things that made me grumpy the whole time we were there - the mosquitoes, the desalinated water used in the ice-cubes and the people who wasted food (usually the people who could have done with eating less in the first place).

No stress.

Job'seekers'?

I work very near to our local Jobcentre Plus and every time I walk past I seethe.
How much do us taxpayers fork out for the unemployed?
They can afford taxis, fags and Starbucks coffees.
They wear the latest fashions.
They have nail and hair extensions (the women that is) and tattoos and piercings (both sexes).

When honey was jobless she used to go to every session available and always stayed behind for help to update her CV and to check out any new vacancies, while the other 'job-seekers' (and I use that term lightly) rushed across the road to claim back their taxi-fares! Once she had to chase the official out of the building as he had never had anyone take him up on his offer of extra help and left assuming that no-one would be interested!

When MM's son was jobless he attended the YMCA who helped him to secure a full-time job. He returned to thank them with a box of chocolates and they were astounded as 'no-one ever thanks us'.

I dont advocate going back to the days of no assistance but I do feel that we can be too helpful. When someone has been unemployed for over 6 months they should be obliged to take any job, no matter how overqualified they are, rather than continue to claim benefits.

This angry tirade was prompted by a pregnant girl of Eastern European origin, with hair extensions, full make-up and beautiful nails stepping out of a taxi with a starbucks in one hand and a fag in the other and heading up the steps of the Jobcentre; while I was racing to get to work with my packed lunch and grotty nails. How lovely it would be to be able to afford her lifestyle!!!!

Stressed? Me?

Honey is stuck in Spain
Missed her flight - twice - dont ask
No money - no fone - dont ask
British Consulate advice - get her to get into a taxi with a spanish policeman.....
You what? would you? I wouldnt!
Airport wont page her or let me speak to her
Consulate wont contact airport
She is 20
penniless
foneless
and all alone
and our consulate are about as useful as a chocolate teapot
MM paid for her to fly home tomorrow with BA -business class
Could have had a holiday with what it cost
Dont you just love MM?
I am furious with her and desperate to help her all at the same time
She will be paying us back for this (in many ways) for a long time to come
Stressed?
Me?
Whatever makes you think that????/

What if I dont want to have a nice day?

I have just been to Wilkinsons. I bought a pair of heel grips, a bath scrunchy and two packs of their own brand diarrhoea-curing tablets (you can never have too many of those when you about to go to 'foreign').

I am quite sure this massive purchase did not need the response it received from the cashier.

To whit:
Cashier (Big smile - lots of eye contact) : 'How are you today'
Me (no smile - avoid eye contact at all costs) : Fine
C: Just going to work/just left off work (studying my badge)
M: On lunch-hour
C: Are you having a good day
M: Yup
C: Busy?
M: complete and utter silence
C: Well, have a nice day anyway.....

I would like to apologise to the poor cashier who has obviously been trained to be as welcoming and interested and friendly as possible to the customers. If I met him socially and he was that interested in me I would probably want to have his babies; but I met him in a shop, in my lunch hour, when I wasnt even buying anything exciting.

May I suggest that Wilkinsons trains their staff to enquire:'Are you Grumpy'? Then we might get off on the right foot.

Anti-social networking versus blogging

Every now and then I think of giving up my blog. The world of 'social networking' or, as I prefer to call it 'anti-social networking' seems to have taken over from blogging to a certain extent.

But then I think about how I can say what I truly feel on my blog without offending people I only know vaguely who have decided they are my 'friends' and I havent had the heart to tell they are not.

I can have a good old moan and even if no-one comments then I have got it off my chest. If I do that on 'faceache' then someone is bound to either tell me to cheer up or to jump on the bandwagon and tell me how much worse their life is than mine.

Also I dont do 'washing your dirty laundry in public' - my Mother would kill me! So many people put incendiary comments on there that require a polite 'whats up' - really, to be honest, if they are my true friends I expect them to tell me without involving the rest of the world and its uncle.

I am pleased that these comments are now reaping what they sow. A local lad was taken to court for 'inciting to riot' after posting a very foolish comment - and I also see that papers can be served via faceache - theres no hiding from the law if you tell everyone your personal business.

I find that I cant help myself - if someone owes me money then I am checking their status for how they spend their social time and getting cross that they are wining, dining and holidaying.

I recently received a vitriolic comment on my status from a 'friend' who thought I did not respond often enough to her comments. I wasnt aware that it was compulsory to reply to everything posted - but apparently it is very bad manners NOT to. I made her my UNfriend and enjoyed doing so. When I next see her I shall explain - after I remove her fist from my face probably....

But heres the thing - I could just remove MYSELF from faceache but I AM ADDICTED!