Sunday 16 December 2012

When You Just Can't Be Bothered

Well I'm not coming on in leaps and bounds but I am improving.

This morning I've started to get the odd whiff of Olbas oil and I got a sweet taste from my tea. Not the actual taste of tea but there was definitely something other than puddle water. This is very encouraging. I am still coughing and it has become a very productive cough indeed so I'm hopeful that I'm beginning to clear things out faster than they are being produced at last. I've also managed to pull a muscle during one coughing fit so it is now also extremely painful but I'm persevering. My ears are popping and humming and my hearing is much improved so another thing to be grateful for.

What I don't have is energy. Those Christmas cards didn't get done and the Eiger is still with me but I really just cannot be bothered. So instead of getting that one small job I'd set myself done I lay on the settee and watched 'Never Been Kissed', 'The Posiden Adventure' and 'Ice Age 2' back to back between getting cups of tea and dozing off. Although I have all three of these on DVD, I watched them on TV as the advert breaks were perfect for trips to the kitchen to boil the kettle. I did manage to rally myself to put something in the oven so Peter would have something warm and filling when he got in but that was all I did, all day. Pathetic isn't it.

Desperate to get on top of this Christmas thing, cards aside, I have constructed a rudimentary list of 'must do's' which is now hanging on the fridge door. First on the list today are the bloody cards, the ironic thing is I know that because I've put them on the list they are more likely to get done. So why couldn't I have just saved myself the time and trouble and just done them? Bazaar isn't it.

The second thing on the list is the annual pantry audit. Peter will be doing this while I sit at the kitchen table vetting use by dates and deciding whether I really need to replace something I've never opened. I quite enjoy this task as it can give me a lot more space and save me money. Last year I discovered a huge bag of sausage rolls hidden at the bottom of the freezer with a use by date just two days past Christmas. They were cooked and eaten on Christmas eve with a glass of wine and very nice they were too. On the down side two bags of sprouts were quickly binned when found to be a year out of date. They were not replaced, I'm the only one that eats them so if I really, really must have them I'll buy a handful of fresh.

Strictly Watch

Well it was going to happen, we all knew it would, the only surprise is that it took this long.

The start to this week's Strictly was more nail biting than usual when a news bulletin earlier in the day had said that Brucie had been taken ill and gone home. Claudia Winkleman had been put on standby.

Oh no! Not Claudia Winkleman! I have enough trouble getting through the results show with her presenting it but a whole Saturday show and a semi final at that! Surely they couldn't do that to me? So huge relief swept over me when a familiar figure tottered onto center stage. It was obvious he was not well but he knew, just like the rest of us, that such a night could not be left in the hands of the 'Daughter of Darkness'. And so the show was on.

Lisa was the standout act of the show and for all the wrong reasons finally catapulting herself into the Novelty/Comedy act we'd all been expecting to see from show one.

Fair do's she has done really well and managed most of the routines as well as anyone else but now, finally, her size is letting her down. She may be agile, she may be quick on her feet but she can't twirl, jump or scamper around the floor the way her competitors can. In Latin any lifts come in the form of Lisa lifting Robin and in ballroom Robin can barely get his arms around her making the hold look stiff and awkward. Her American Smooth, famous for it's lifts, was completely devoid of any lift whatsoever, surely a Strictly first. Her first dance, was it a Samba, had a lift, she lifted Robin but it also had a floor twirl that left her in the middle of the floor like a stranded whale. An image made worse by Robin failing to haul her upright in one quick smooth tug.

The studio was in uproar, I was choking and the judges were in stitches. However, despite the laughter and the joy her performance brought, everyone knew it was the end of the road, or at least should be. All four of the other contenders are technically better than she is but none bring quite the performance Lisa does. The question is going to be where her popularity will outweigh her dancing skills. By rights at this stage in the competition the voting should be based on dancing skills alone, however in a free vote this will not happen. My prediction is this. Louis will get through because he is the only man and everyone wants to see his show dance. Kimberley will get through because she is a good all rounder and is currently the only one with two perfect dances behind her. Lisa will get through for sheer bravado. Which leaves Denise and Danni, we all know who I'd prefer.

Well off to decide what to put in my mouth for lunch, frankly it could be anything because I won't taste it and then on with those flaming Christmas cards. Give me strength!

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