Jack Frost Nipping At My Nose

There was ice on my car this morning, ice! How dare it! I suppose I must count my blessings though, this time last year it was snowing and the journey back from work terrifying. I guess I can put up with a little ice, as long as there is nothing following it.

Sunday was slow, work dragged, as it usually does at the weekend, so I was glad to get out at three and head home to watch the last Grand Prix of the season. It wasn't the most exciting but at least someone other than Vittel won and for that we must be grateful.

Had a call from Laurence who cheerfully announced he would ring me every Sunday because he gets free calls at weekends. He seems to be coping really well and sounds cheerful enough. He confirmed that he will be joining us for lunch next Sunday. Can't wait, I will be doing my mum thing and feeding him up.

The ice was only the start of a frustrating day. They are digging up my usual route to work and have closed the road for two days. The resulting chaos on the other routes made me late and there is nothing I hate more than being late. I'll have to find another way round it tomorrow because I'm not going up the A6 again, horrible road full of maniacs. Work itself was busy, Monday's usually are, and it was hard to find time to take a breath between phone calls. Our room is being redecorated at the moment so half of it is blocked off and we are all crammed into what seems like a very small space. It is claustrophobic and unpleasant and did nothing to lighten my mood. It was even more depressing to come out at three and find it was already getting dark.

Andrew had his second driving lesson today and admitted that he'd stalled. However he did get up to thirty miles an hour. He is obviously really enjoying himself and couldn't stop talking about it, we got the lesson in almost minute by minute details, so funny.

Absolutely classic I'm A Celeb last night. We were riveted as Fatima tried to extract a cockroach from up he nose. If she doesn't win after that there is no justice. The best performance of the series.

Strictly Come Dancing had boob gate this week. Robbie Savage not only stripped off at the end of his dance to reveal football shorts, why, he also made the mistake of grabbing Ola's boob during at rather energetic Samba. Oh the scandal! Despite this the show was notably duller without Russell Grant and I found myself getting rather bored towards the end. Poor Anita got kicked off whilst Holly Valium stayed to send us all to sleep again next week. I've decided I want Jason to win as he is the only one remotely likable, the rest are now beginning to take themselves far to seriously while Jason still looks like he is having fun.

Laurence's departure has had some surprising consequences, we are now knee deep in milk. Laurence and Andrew drink pints of the stuff, plus we all have cereal in the mornings and hot milky drinks at night so we gp through a lot. We cut down the amount we usually buy this week by a quarter figuring this would be about right but we still have five pints to get rid of by Wednesday. Oh well I guess it is macaroni cheese for tea and a nice hot chocolate for bed time.

Angry!

Well blow me down, Screaming Sinitta got the boot. Totally unexpected but the public are a fickle lot. I suspect they knew that now the camp mates can chose who does the trials there is no way in hell she'd ever be chosen again. What got me is the way she said she didn't consider herself to be a screamer. She looked totally shocked at her own antics. Self delusion is a wonderful thing.

The saddest piece of news today, and one that makes me so angry I could hit someone, was that of Nellie Geraghty aged 79 who was murdered for her handbag containing her husband's ashes. Police say that she put up one hell of a struggle as evidenced by the strap she was still clutching when she was found. According to her family she had carried those ashes around for seventeen years, that's love and devotion for you, and they were so precious to her she gave up her life rather than hand them over to the teenage scum that killed her. No doubt her precious ashes have been scattered to the wind as the thugs sorted through her bag looking for money. They are probably so brain dead that they cannot even begin to comprehend what it is they have done. Two boys aged fourteen and seventeen have been caught but so far are only being held on suspicion of robbery. Of course the police have to ensure the have the right people but when they are sure I hope these thugs are charged with murder and are locked away for a very, very long time. Even if found guilty they won't be locked away for any length of time of course, the fourteen year old will be protected by his age, given a slap on the wrist and put on some sort of probation for a couple of years. The elder one might spend some time in a youth offenders institution where he will be educated in all manner of wrong doing, between trips to the seaside, and will be released a far more dangerous person than when he went in. Both will be described as coming from broken homes and having dysfunctional families. Well excuse me but how long can that go on being an excuse for criminal behaviour? I know many people from 'broken homes', I know some with pretty dysfunctional families but none of these people have ever felt the need to take drugs, rob, rape or murder. Part of the problem is the stupid human rights act which seems to put the rights of the criminal over that of the victim. We need to ditch this act which is hamstringing our judicial system. It is about time thugs like this took responsibility for their actions and were made to face proper consequences and it's about time the courts started handing out proper punishments. Rant over, for now.

I seem to be beating my chest infection and actually feel pretty good. I have a slight cough and breathing is harder than it could be but all in all this time it hasn't really slowed me down. I'm hoping that things continue to improve over the next few days.

Andrew finally submitted his UCAS form today to apply for his place in university. That is the first step out of the way now all he can do is wait.

Today has felt like a Sunday for some odd reason and I keep looking out of the window expecting Laurence to return from work. This is the first day I've really missed him and I think it is because I haven't had anything to occupy my mind. I'm sure I'll be having quite a few days like this over the coming months, Christmas is going to be the hardest as even when he has worked I've seen him. It's going to be very strange.

It's work tomorrow and then home in time to watch the last Grand Prix of the season. Hope it is going to be more exciting than some of the other races.

This Ain't No Holiday

Wouldn't you know it, the minute I actually manage to order Peter's present he goes off and works on the car for two hours, typical.

Another restful day spent mostly indoors. My chest infection seems to be clearing up quite well. I feel so much better today and am not coughing as much. Next time I will definitely go to the GP at the first sign of trouble rather than waiting to see if it will clear up on it's own, it never does. As I felt better and had time on my hands I made some banana and choc chip muffins which seemed to go down well even if they were a little bit heavy. I think I used too much banana but it could just be the magic hand I have with anything that is supposed to be light and fluffy.   Tomorrow is the last day of my holiday then it is back to work, I'm glad I took the time off to help Laurence move but rather wish the time hadn't gone quite so quickly. Apart from the last couple of days I've been rushing here, there and everywhere. I need another holiday to recover.

This afternoon Peter and I went to the dentist for our six monthly check only to discover that we are expected next Friday, that'll teach me not to try and do three things at once. Ah well it was a nice trip out and I got my car filled with petrol ready for next week and we also called into Homebase for a mooch around the paint section. Laurence's old room is well decorated but we are not sure we will keep it the same colours just yet. We've decided to turn it into a sort of library come guest room. We are all avid readers and have bookshelves everywhere but have still just about run out of room. We are going to line at least one wall with shelves, put a sofa bed, small table and side lamp in there and use it as a quiet room where you can just go and grab a book and read, no TV blaring, no music playing, no interruptions with people charging in and out just peace and quite. At least that is the plan. I'm absolutely determined that it won't just become a dumping ground for things like car parts.

Stephanie was first to be booted out of I'm a Celeb and I can't say I'm that surprised. She wasn't great and seemed totally bemused by the whole experience, almost acting as thought she'd wandered in by accident. Pat got his comeuppance in the trial and realised that it isn't as easy as it looked, he still won eight stars though. Sinitta absolutely refused to do the immunity trial, thus ensuring that one of her team (Stephanie) got kicked out. She is rapidly getting on my nerves now and deserves to be out next, she won't be of course it will be Lorraine and Tedward.

In the news the so called General Strike scheduled for Wednesday is dominating all the news programmes at the moment. Today dire warnings were issued about the amount of time it will take to get through passport control at Heathrow. Some doom and gloom merchants are predicting twelve hour queues. Anyone who has travelled through Heathrow, or any airport for that matter will not think that is all that unusual. To be honest the date of the strike has been known for weeks so anyone who doesn't need to travel on that day (by need I mean life or death emergencies) and with a shred of sense will have re-booked their flight. If they haven't then they should be prepared for the worst and not moan when it happens. Personally I think that in order to make an impact a strike has to disrupt a well ordered, speedy and efficient business. When you look at the areas that will be effected, the NHS, the civil service, airports, they are generally not known for their speed or efficiency so how will we notice a difference? I don't actually agree with striking, it rarely does any good and all the striker gets out of it is the loss of a day's pay and few of us can afford that at the moment. I am willing be proved wrong but I suspect Wednesday will be a bit of a damp squib.

Tomorrow is Saturday and Peter has suggested a trip out to look around the shops for ideas for Christmas. I might veto that and suggest we go next Thursday or Friday. Saturdays this close to the big day is going to be manic.

The Sweet Smell Of Success

Why is it that when you want to do something in secret the whole world wants to come into the room when normally you are left alone for hours?

I've been trying to buy Peter's birthday present for two days now and whenever I get anywhere close he bowls into the study, sits at his computer and stays there, for hours, while I have to pretend to be madly interested in various news website wishing he would go away. Well if it is late it will be his own fault because at this rate I'm never going to get it ordered.

Yesterday it was off to visit Rushton with Andrew. Andrew has yet to see Laurence's house and was very impressed. Laurence has tidied up now and has got rid of all the boxes cluttering the utility room, kitchen and hall. He has also vacuumed so the whole place now looks neat and tidy. He has done his first wash and as far as we can tell not shrunk anything. I've also had a text today announcing that his latest effort at pasta has been a success. I feel happier now knowing that he is more than capable of looking after himself and if there were a real crisis we are only forty minutes away. I won't be seeing him now until a week Sunday when he is coming around for lunch.

It was drug count day again today when I do my inventory ready for Healthcare At Home to phone me tomorrow to find out how many supplies I have left and arrange delivery of further supplies. Well I say they phone me but for the last four months I've had to phone them. They are not very efficient and either forget to phone me or miss something out of the order. Last month they forgot the sharps bin which meant I had to put all my needles into box until it turned up by post a week later.

Apart from that I've had a really lazy day today. I've been out everyday since last Sunday and really felt the need to recharge my batteries. I've also managed to pick up another slight chest infection so it is doubly important that I rest as much as possible. I'm hoping that as we caught it early the antibiotics will stop it developing any further, well that's the plan. I really couldn't bare being ill again. I did have some good news today, my INR count is fine so I don't have to go back until January. A whole six weeks off, maybe the bruise on my arm will have time to heal.

There was no I'm A Celeb last night because of football. What is it with this country and football? Why on earth does it have the power to kick everything off the TV? No other sport does that, well except Wimbledon in the summer, but that is only two weeks, football seems to be year round these days.

As I did not want to watch the football I watched Monday's edition of the Junior Apprentice. It doesn't get any better does it? This week they were tasked with marketing a new deodorant. They didn't get to choose the smell of the product, Lord Sugar obviously thought that bit was beyond them, all they had to do was design a package and a commercial.

Team Atomic came up with a product called Raw, sore armpits spring to mind, but despite criticism over the name won and were sent of for a stomach churning day at an aerial acrobatics firm.

Team Kenetic were on to a loser from the minute Harry M was made Project manager. In Harry's mind this meant shouting at everyone, ordering them about and bullying them into following his ideas. The girls on the team were given the task of designing the packaging. Gbemi who banging on every five minutes about being a 'designer' clearly thought this was her task alone and quickly sidelined the other girl refusing even to discuss her ideas. The design Gbemi came up with was a pink and black nightmare with a mirror slapped on the side. It looked, cheap, nasty and, dare I say it, sleazy. The commercial was superbly hampered by the ongoing power struggle between Jack and Harry. They had no plan to work to and filmed anything that came into their heads, which wasn't much, and ended up with a bewildering advert that seemed to completely miss the point. They lost the task and Gbemi took the blame and was fired. Was she upset? Frankly it was hard to tell because she only seems to have one expression which is sulky anyway. She did, however, refuse to give Harry M a goodbye hug.

I still don't have a favourite but feel that Harry H may well win just because he hasn't irritated anyone yet.

Off to the dentist tomorrow, deep joy.

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Oh my word, things are getting bitchy in the jungle.

Yes it's I'm A Celebrity and last night the camp mates were invited to have a good old moan about Sinitta, an offer taken up with gusto by some. Yes it looks as though Sinitta is not winning any friends with her shrieks and squeals. Some have gone as far as considering that it might be an act to ensure she gets more air time. I must admit I hadn't thought about that possibility but looking back on it I think they might be onto something. Whatever the reason for the dismal star count Sinitta had better buck up or she'll be finding herself in the pot.

Pat is a nasty man, he was horrible to poor old Lorraine, threatening to cut off the head of her teddy bear Tedward. I can see his point, a sixty year old with a teddy bear humm, but he really went over the top. It seems it was game play to get the viewers to hate him enough to vote for him for the trial. He said he was fed up with not eating and obviously feels he will do so much better than Sinitta, which is probably true. I can't help but feel there was more than acting behind the digs and taunts though. Whatever, he got his wish and now it is time to put his money where his mouth is. Part of me wants him to get less stars than Sinitta, just to pay him back but I suspect he will triumph and they will all eat well today.

It was Warfarin clinic day today and I swear I have to wait longer and longer each time I go. The wait today was fifty minutes for a two minute blood test. It really doesn't help that the staff stand around laughing and joking with each other for much of the time while others put their coats on and leave when there are so many waiting there are no seats left. My old ladies were obviously not happy with the way things were going today. Grace was in full flow. 'Well look at that, three of them just standing there chatting. 'Ethel was of a more resigned frame of mind. 'We just have to patient don't we, mind you they are taking their time today.'
This is phrase she uttered once every ten minutes and eventually Grace snapped, 'for goodness sake we shouldn't have to be patient. They should pull their fingers out'. Just then one of the nurses sailed past us with her coat on, probably the worst move she could have made. 'Excuse me', said Grace, 'where are you going when there are all these people waiting?' The nurse just smiled sweetly and continued on her way, Grace was livid, 'well really how rude!' Then Ethel piped up, 'we just have to be patient....' 'Oh shut up', snapped Grace and the group descended into stony silence.

They were not the only ones moaning about the wait. About twenty minutes into my wait a lady immaculately made up and dressed in a fur coat sat down on the seat next to me. Five minutes passed the she let out a loud sigh, swiveled around to glare at the receptionist and checked her watch. She continued this routine about every two minutes and was getting on my nerves when I realised she was speaking to me.
'They are very slow in here, are they always this slow?'
'Most of the time.'
'How long have you been waiting?'
'At least half an hour.'
'Half an hour! Well really that is disgraceful. I can't wait half an hour I have things to do.'
'Is this your first time?'
'Yes'
'Well if I were you I'd allow a couple of hours each trip because I'm rarely seen in under forty minutes, once I waited over an hour.'
'Well I'm not waiting that long.'
And with that she got up and stalked over to reception like a battleship on full steam. I was furious that my name got called before she came back. When I'd finished I noticed as I walked past that she was sitting back in her seat looking slightly flushed. As anyone knows, never go into battle with a NHS receptionist unless you are prepared to loose.

Andrew had his first driving lesson and proudly announced that not only did he not stall but he'd got up to second gear. I think he's got a way to go.

Had a text from Laurence at lunch time to announce he'd made himself some pasta and it was a success. He also said that he's got a Domino's within walking distance. Ah well at least I know he won't starve.

Off to visit Laurence again tomorrow and take a few bit and pieces we've found he's left behind. Will probably the last visit for a while, barring any crisis, so I will be making the most of it.

Dance Like Nobodies Watching

Meet up with Laurence this afternoon to stock up at Costco. He has bought enough toilet rolls to last him at least a year. His logic is that as he has room to store them why not and save himself endless shopping trips, petrol and money. He figures that he'll probably only need to visit Costco three or four times a year. He's a much happier boy today, the nerves have gone and now the house is more or less straight he says it is beginning to feel more like home. One down side his next door neighbours had a domestic last night and the police turned up. I hope that doesn't happen too often. We are nipping up again on Wednesday, mainly so Andrew can visit as he hasn't seen the house yet and is bursting with curiosity.

Andrew did not have his first driving lesson today, we got the dates wrong and it is actually tomorrow that he gets behind the wheel.

I am bereft, Russell Grant has left Strictly. It was inevitable I suppose but I'd much rather watch Grant than the mind numbing Holly Valance who seems half asleep during most of her performances. Grant could dance but not very well but boy did he make it fun. He danced the way most of us do when doing the housework and a favourite tune comes on the radio. You'd never dream of doing it if there was the slightest chance of being caught but Russell danced like that in front of millions. What a star! You could also see that he was loving every minute of it and the enjoyment was infectious. He was gallant in defeat but you could see he was upset. Next Saturday's show is going to have less sparkle and razzmatazz that's for sure.

I'm A Celebrity had it's live bush tucker trial last night and who was chosen to do it? Well Sinitta of course. She screamed, she wailed and she shook, mostly when just looking at things. At one point she nearly clouted Ant in the face and covered both presenters in water. Somehow though she managed to get five stars. The worst thing for her was that she had to do it in front of the other camp mates, some of whom are already muttering that she shouldn't be there. You could tell by some of the faces how frustrated they were with her performance. If the public keep voting for her to do the trial the frustration is going to grow because they are all going to starve. For me, although I found her funny at first, last night's performance began to get to me. How can anyone be that scared of everything? The screaming and flapping of arms is just so dramatic and unnecessary. She says she is trying to beat her fears but I don't see much effort being made. I hope someone else gets the trial tonight but I doubt it.

Tomorrow is a rest day for me. OK I have the Warfarin clinic in the afternoon followed by a quick trip to Tesco but that shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. The morning will be spent in bed with a nice cuppa and the papers. After the busy few days I've had I deserve it.

If I Had A Hammer

A combination of NTL and Laurence has kept me off the Internet for a couple of days so I'm hoping the damn thing behaves itself long enough for me to post this blog.

NTL did some maintenance this weekend and promptly blacked out the whole area. Our Internet connection went down late Friday afternoon and was intermittent through the evening, by Saturday it had gone altogether. A quick phone call revealed that yes it was their fault and they would have it up and running as soon as possible. Since then it has been a bit hit and miss but has mostly stayed up. Some people had it a lot worse than us though. Our neighbours lost the Internet, TV and phone line.

We hit the road at half ten and made it to Rushden just before twelve to find Laurence knee deep in cardboard and bubble wrap. Peter set about putting up the shelves and screwing tables and cupboards together while I perused the kitchen and bathroom looking for something that needed cleaning but Laurence had already done it. So I was relegated to holding piles of screws, bolts, nails and nuts and handing them to whoever needed them. Once the shelves were up the living room rapidly emptied of boxes that had been full of DVD's, CD's and computer games. The coffee table was built, then the computer desk and finally a dining room chair was mended. After that we all sat down and had a cuppa and admired the afternoon's work. I had a bit of a headache from all the thumping and banging and the noise of the electric drill but it soon passed. We left at just gone four as Laurence wanted to go to Asda to stock up and we wanted to be back for Andrew to see how he got on with his new job.

Laurence seems happy enough but confessed that the quiet got to him a little bit that first night. He'll get used to it and now his TV, X box and CD player are all up and working he can at least have some noise around him. We arranged to meet up at Costco on Monday where he is going to stock up on things like toilet rolls and cleaning materials. He likes the idea of buying in bulk and shopping less frequently. it will also save him money in the long term. For me it is another excuse to see him so I'm happy.

Andrew was home waiting for us when we got back. He didn't seem that impressed with his new job which consists of handing out leaflets in a shopping center. He did three hours and got well paid for it but at the moment it is as and when needed so not the regular income he was looking for. Still as I reminded him it is money in the pocket and will do until he can find something else. I also pointed out it isn't exactly hard labour but I think that is part of the problem. Andrew likes to use his brain so I think he found it all rather boring.

Strictly was at Wembley this week and what a fuss they made of it. We were also not allowed to forget the fact with 'Wembley' being mentioned practically every other sentence. It was a good show with, thankfully, no huge eruptions from the judges. The highlight for me was when Robbie Savage dropped Ola and she responded by hitting him in the face and cutting his nose. It wasn't a spectacular drop, more of a letting go too early and she was close to the floor when he did it so no major damage done.

I'm told X Factor was particularly boring this week with not even a sniff of scandal so nothing to write about.

I'm A Celebrity has got me totally enthralled and I'm just loving the trials. Sinetta is going to get voted for everything unless ruled out on health ground as she squeals and jumps at the slightest thing. To be honest I really do not understand why they agree to do it if they are so scared of bugs, rats and snakes. She must have had some idea of it was going to be like so if  she is really that scared that scared why put herself through it. It's different if you have an reaction to something like Freddie Starr had. After all you don't know you are allergic to something until you come up against it but you know you are a complete wimp, don't you?

It was Children In Need on Friday and Sir Terry Wogan was in his element. The event just would not be the same without him and half the viewers must just tune in to hear what he has to say. I did watch some of it but to be honest it is not my kind of thing. I do feel for the people they feature on the programme and I'm really glad that all the money goes to kids in this country but I don't give. I don't give, not because I'm tight but because I prefer to give to charities that I feel really passionate about all year round. It is very easy to get caught up in the hype on the night but I think giving a small amount every month to something you really care about means more than slinging a fiver at someone sitting in a bath of baked beans once a year.

Another busy day ahead tomorrow, I've got to iron the last few bits and pieces that Laurence has left behind then it's off to Costco in the afternoon. Hopefully Tuesday will be a rest day, at least in the morning as I have the Warfarin clinic in the afternoon, deep joy.