Oh What a Night!

I had Scotts 18th birthday party here at work on Saturday night, 100 teens. 


It all started off quite nicely all the girls arrived looking fabulous and the guys not looking too shabby either.  All appearing to be well mannered and politely acknowledging myself as Scotts mum and event manager of the venue.  I can't say I wasn't warned, but I had once again gone into that shut down mode where I refuse to delve into negative generalisations about teens and how they behave at parties. 


In this job I am constantly learning new ways of coping with situations 'on the job' and Saturday provided me with some humdingers.  Because the kids were 18 we had a cash bar with free coca cola etc. and the kids could order spirits/beer etc. and pay for it if they wanted - they wanted!  We have 2 wine fridges in the service area of the marquee which was basically 'unmanned' but generally one of us was in and out of there.  I caught a guy helping himself to a bottle of champagne.  With all these big people around (including me) why had we not thought to empty the fridges?? I relieved him of his shopping and sent him on his merry way without too much to say as I didn't and still don't see him as a thief, it just looked like a opportunity.   We then got very smart and locked the fridges or so we thought.  About an hour later we heard a tremendous bang and DH burst into the service area to catch 3 girls 'breaking into the fridge' and one of them had a bottle in her hand - again champagne, he ran after them but they got away after knocking a few people down.  I stopped the party for a few minutes and announced what had happened, most of the kids appeared quite shocked and some of them wanted to pay for the champagne. Bless (love that Brit saying).


So all that drama over, I get called outside to find a teen completely unconscious and lying in green vomit.  Mummy mode kicked in and I sorted her out and called an ambulance.  I love this country - I didn't need to worry about whether it was going to arrive and ever more important to me, having lived in SA I didn't need to worry about who would be footing the bill.  The ambulance took 15 mins (we are out in the sticks) but in the meantime a father collecting his daughter from the party just happened to be a Dr. so he took over within minutes of me discovering her and sat with her until the ambulance arrived.  The guys were brilliant, hooked her up to all sorts of stuff, on a stretcher and gone in 10 mins.  The girl (18) had drunk a bottle of apple sourz and is bulimic so hadn't eaten either.  So drama over......or so I thought....


  

Sunday 4 September

Since my last post

• I had a quiet birthday and turned 49.  I am having a age crisis though, seriously struggling with this aging thing.  Seriously I am a bit ashamed really I feel pathetic on top of it.
•  I had a couple of friends around for snacks and drinks and I got completely bored half way through.  Oh dear.....
• Scott bought me a bottle of Michael Kors perfume, its divine and must suit me as people mention it all the time.
• Scott turns 18 very soon and is having his party at the hall (work) OMG brat!!  Then all his 100 friends are camping on the croquet lawn.  
• I tried some clothes on at a boutique yesterday that I fancied, I looked completely ridiculous - changing your style at 49 doesn't work regardless of the upcoming fashion.  I cant do knitted dresses, gorgeous leggings and even more gorgeous knee high boots!
• Went to London last weekend for 2 days - LOVED it so did DH, we really need to do it more often, it was the first time we have actually walked around, shopped and chilled there.  We went on New Years Eve for a few hours but this was our first real trip since we got here.
• My friend/neighbour that I have grown quite fond of turned on me!  She has had a stroke so she has a few problems but I witnessed them for the first time and it wasn't pretty - we are no longer friends - pity.  Her husband said to me it was only a matter of time.  
• By 10am this morning I had ordered a book I couldn't get on Kindle, clothes and shoes and will probably have them tomorrow or latest Tuesday.  I am addicted to online shopping.
• I have a big event coming up at work and I am starting to stress!! The making or breaking of me.
• I am off now for 2 days as one of my best friends from Joburg is coming to stay.  I should be cleaning the house instead of doing this, anything to avoid hard core housework.

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.