Constant Catch Up

That's how I feel with this blog constantly trying to catch up.  A few things really, I am not sure I want to blog anymore, just something someone said, 'a comment for a comment' WTF it just put me right off. I read peoples blog when I have the time and because I am interested in them - period.


So what is happening with me?  Last week I attended my 'speed awareness' course in order to avoid 3 points on my license, which would increase my insurance premium and eventually with enough points you lose your license.  I started the course with the same attitude as most of the people in the room - bad!  I came away enlighten and once again proud to be a Brit.  I was fined for driving at 36 miles in a 30 zone.  I spent nearly 4 hours finding out what happens to a person that is hit by a car at 30, 35, 40 miles, very interesting and great to know that somebody gives a toss about people on the roads.


I have had 2 big weddings take place at work and both left me absolutely exhausted.  The first one I spent 17 hours 'at the office' and the next one was a bit less but had double the amount of people here.  I am not so sure I can take the pace, my ankles, knees, back if fact just about everything ached.  That aside both went very well.


My knee has started to play up again and I am not allowed to go to gym for a week - damn and I was starting to enjoy it :) 


My teens are still driving me mad and I can honestly say that unless you are buying them stuff they are hideous! Cupboard love - it keeps them happy.

Talking of teens Scott has done really well in his exams and will be going off to university September 2012 although the choice is so vast he now can't decide on any, the picture is of just some of the brochures that just pour in every morning. 


   

Sad Times

I had a frivolous and light post planned to on Friday night and then with the news of the bombings and shooting in Oslo it just didn't seem appropriate.  Such a gentle and peaceful nation it is going to take sometime before they bounce back - although STRONG is something I would tag any Norwegian.


So I thought I would write about something I know little about but my closest friends know lots about GOD.


Where I work we hire certain rooms out for weddings we also have the most beautiful and charming little church on the estate, I love going in there and as a traditionalist at heart I find it very peaceful.   Sadly, the church is not used very often for weddings as most of the couples getting married choose to have 'civil' ceremonies.  I have never attended a 'civil' wedding before so it was quite a surprise to hear that God, Heaven or anything related is 'not allowed' to be mentioned during the ceremony.  Oh I didn't like that!! I hear some of my friends sniggering :)  I mentioned this to a colleague who abruptly laughed in my face and said but there is no God or Heaven anyway so why are you surprised?  The pianist started to play and the wedding began. Conversation over......


This colleague is very interested in starting a blog - more a business blog than personal as she is quite a private person so I often chat to her about blogs.  I was reading Caz's blog on Friday during lunch and I read her 16 July post to my colleague to illustrate Caz's healing process on the loss of her baby nearly 2 years ago.  My colleague burst into tears!  The post was about Heaven...interesting?  And she has never lost a baby.

I Love It

• Erin is 'working' for the next  two weeks at a hair salon about 45 mins bus ride away, it is work experience fortnight, everywhere you go there are 15 years olds working.  She catches a bus to work and home again.  I love this country.  She is just blossoming from the independence.
• Scott is looking like a Greek god, he has just arrived back from 2 weeks away on a Greek Island with his friends from school back in Cape Town.  I love this country - he paid every single penny for his trip, because he works and gets paid money he can do something with, his mates from Cape Town have never worked a day yet and speak of their dads getting them work ultimately because that's the way it works.  He is going into his last year of school in September - he has already started the work and is busy filling in his uni application forms - together with the study loan applications.  I love it.  
• My teens are fun to have around at the moment, my house is buzzing in the morning with everyone off to work and looking all grown up.

Lessons in Shutting Up!!

I have a really great job and tomorrow (Sunday) is the very important Annual Shoot BBQ - 170 people that 'shoot' or are associated in some way.  I get to be invited along with my family 'just because' and I don't think it has occurred to anyone that not everyone gets off on shooting birds and bunnies but hey we get to eat, drink and be merry.   The season is not due to open just yet this is the celebration of the 'purchasing/releasing' of the juvenile birds (partridges and pheasants) into pens in the woods to fatten them up and protect them from other animals until they are a little bigger.  A bit like canned hunting really for all sorts of reasons I won't go into here, I heard that sign of relief.   E did a little clay pigeon shooting at the football event on Tuesday night so she is looking forward to doing a little more of that tomorrow.   A rare glimpse into another world - a world that I don't belong in but I feel a little privileged to have this opportunity to get to know these people as different as they are to you and I.  I have added the video which illustrates the gentry perfectly.  

Bucket Lists

With Wimbledon still fresh in my mind I thought I would write an un-bucket list (things I don't have any intention of doing before I die) just for fun!

• Wimbledon - I don't do crowds and totally overpriced tickets blah blah.
• Glastonbury - couldn't think of anything worse.
• Bungi jump.
• Sky dive (well maybe).
• Eat at a restaurant in Soweto or any other township.
• Las Vegas.
• Sleep in an ice hotel.
• Stay in one of those Ashram thingies in India.
• Have dinner with a famous person just because they are famous.

Highs and Lows

Busy day at work today but I have arrived home feeling a little down.  The bride and groom from one of the weddings I 'watched' over a couple of weeks ago popped in to see me and collect some belongings.  I don't think I mentioned that when they left their wedding I bundled the bride and dress into the limo and placed her sleeping baby on her lap and then her new hubby gave me a big hug and we ended up crying together!  Why?  Very very sad.  He is pretty much riddled with cancer and doesn't have that long left so they wanted to do the right thing and get married blah blah.  OMG can you imagine the scene.  Thank goodness I had only been told half way through the night by his Mum - so much about him fell into place (I often can't hear him because he slurs and gets very tired when he speaks).  Today I was a lot stronger but he seemed a little weaker, the honeymoon has drained him - poor soul.  What a lovely couple and I managed to stay dry eyed when they hugged me goodbye. 


On a fluffy and lighter note another reason to feel depressed one of the models from the photo shoot we have had all week is 30 and has 3 kids!!! for goodness sake - that is just wrong!!  I spoke to her like she was 16 (the other model was 16) and yes I do speak to 16 years olds differently especially as this one was from a country way up north and couldn't communicate that well.

Btw the photo shoot was for the glossy that starts with a V and after catching a glimpse of the girls now and again in the hallways I cannot imagine who would rush to buy the clothes as beautiful as they are.  I am looking forward to a week without beautiful people all over the place.

Blogging

My blogging mojo has been missing for some time now - but I wouldn't consider stopping, I know that anyone that reads it probably gets a bit frustrated with the whole thing,  I suppose I am no longer sure what to write about.  Work is a tricky one as we all know and when you work most of the time and it is the most exciting part of your day then hey what do you write about?  I find that if I write my opinion on anything - people scatter :) there are lots of issues I would willing put pen to paper on but its all so tricky.

I am at work at the moment way past the time I normally leave but I am waiting for a bunch of models and crew to arrive from London and they are stuck in traffic.  Their delivery guy dropped off the clothes earlier - still my beating heart he was soooo easy on the eye and a Welsh accent to go with it,  he called the dresses 'frocks' - how cute is that?  So here I am waiting for a bunch of very beautiful people including one of the worlds most famous fashion photographers......

A delivery company also called and asked how late I would be here to receive a delivery from Louis Vuitton - obviously stuff for the shoot or someone is sending me a handbag - not.    Oooooh cant wait to be hanging around when they open that box.

I joined the gym yesterday - not that I have much time to go but I am going to make time!  I wasn't allowed to actually use the gym yesterday due to health and safety reasons I first have to spend an hour with a trainer but I was allowed to swim (you get used to the health and safety thing here in the UK and start to pre-empt it at every turn).  So I embarrassed Erin and the two of us swam - serious character building stuff for her, Mum swimming in a costume with pant legs, mascara under my eyes and a nose clip hehe.

Speaking of E, I am still not officially speaking to her or her to me but we mumble which suits me just fine and she has agreed to 'sell' raffle tickets at one of my events this coming weekend and I am not paying her as we get so many invitations to parties/functions for the whole family that it's time to give back she seemed okay with that though.  Next week she will be meeting the entire county football team so that should make up for it too, that little bb is going to be working overtime.