20/01/2009 by Paul D.

Ok… this thang’s gone a bit sour, so I thought I’d give it a little kick.

It’s too good to let it go after all…..

If anyone sees this, post up and say so.

Today is Monday Jan 19th 09.

P.

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04/03/2008 by Paul D.

My 11 year old silver 323i cabrio daily driver has been a great car and completely reliable over the last 2.5 years, but is now getting a bit tired and due for a service, so last Saturday I decided to splash some of my ‘hard-earned’ and chop it in for something a bit more recent….

The new toy is a 330Ci in Monaco Blue, has all the bells, whistles and dangly bits, and just 9,500 on the clock. Stephen James Enfield offered me a reasonable price for Silver, and an appropriate slice off the screen price of the new one, so a deal was struck. Just got to get my number plate transferred on and she’s mine!

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26/02/2008 by Ness.

As expected my hair has now given up the ghost and almost all gone so I have been wearing a selection of headscarves and hats but today I realised how ridiculous I looked as, with my trendy red chiffon tie neck blouse and wide black belt combo, wearing a black headscarf just made me look like a Pirate - oohh aarrgghh!!

So, after spending an hour at Raouls in Paddington today I am now the proud owner of a very funky, short wig, thanks to the NHS - It’s amazing what you can get on prescription these days! Only problem now is mustering up the courage to wear it in public. This really is the hardest bit of the whole process; you don’t realise how important your self image is until it’s put to the test………

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22/02/2008 by Steve.

We recently received a subset of ‘official’ photos from a stylish wedding we attended in December, amongst which was this one of Ruby and Louie. Given the situation was posh frocks and lush hotel surroundings, it just seemed to invite a possible caption - any ideas?

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05/12/2007 by Steve.

I feel like a right hero on the home front! In the last two weeks, while Ness has been out at an awards ceremony, shopping (for work) in NewYork, and attending a girly dance weekend in Great Yarmouth, I have pottered on, looking after the house and kids, helping out big time at a school charity event and even paying a visit to Santa at his grotto in Hamley’s. I’m feeling like I’ve racked up a few points on the social credit account and hope to use some up over the next few weeks.

Now I’m not looking for praise. Let me tell you, most ‘at-home’ parents (mums) are doing this stuff all the time. So I’m only doing what’s required. But I’ve just thought - I’m writing this blog entry to tell you all about it. Actually pretty boring! And as I consider that you’re reading this, the question is what have you all been up to?

Neil made a nice contribution a week ago. What did you think of he and Jen’s achievement then? It’s lonely out there on the web when no-one talks to you, you know….

Where are all your stories?

I know that Ness has a whole lot to tell…about said awards ceremony, NY, building her own Santa’s Grotto and an outrageous girly weekend. But I haven’t persuaded her to pass it on to you all yet! Nicky was even at the same weekend, with Ness, and allegedly has the pictures to prove it. But no post yet. (In fact, rather disappointingly, no posts ever from the Elsons).

Rob! Did you all know that Rob gave generously of his time at R and L’s school Xmas fair this past weekend, to host a ‘pub quiz’ in the bar (and many thanks to him too). But Rob, we haven’t heard from you for a long time! What about all the big concerts and sporting events you’ve been attending in your stewarding capacity! Any film gigs? Let’s hear about them.

Paul E - never a dull moment with you mate, however controversial! Entered any quizzes, met anyone famous (who we would know) or tried on any new make-up? I think maybe more words, less pictures though…

Paul, Di - not heard from the Bell End for a while - you must have been doing something. I can’t imagine you staying in all weekend, watching TV. Unlesss it was in the pub maybe! How’s your new job, Paul? What ya you doing with all the spare time, now you’re not travelling into town?
If any of you read this, you must be checking the blog out occasionally. So you’re interested. So are the others. Let’s hear your news. You don’t have to write much, and you don’t have to have pictures. Stir it up a bit with a ‘thought for the day’. Make people talk back. If you visited the blog to look, you could spend 5 mins writing something!

Back to work now…..

Steve

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23/10/2007 by Steve.

While Louie was sitting eating breakfast yesterday, he noticed we had a visitor lying comfortably in the sun, on our shed roof! Bold as anything, there was a fox, in broad daylight, in the middle of the morning, watching life go on around. There are builders working next door and even all their banging and crashing didn’t faze him in the slightest!

Now THIS morning Mr Fox is there again! So I grabbed the camera and thought I’d give you all an opportunity to meet him…

As he could become a pseudo-pet, any suggestions for funny names that don’t begin with Basil and end in Brush?

(By the way, Louie was eating breakfast in the middle of the morning because he got up late….it is half-term after all!)

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15/10/2007 by Ruby.

OK, so I got a hamster from Mum + Dad for my birthday, in April. (Early present). So I took him home in a box and got his cage ready and all the business that needed attending to. Yes, he looks a bit like Elvis Presley, and no, he isn’t called that. He’s called Toby and here’s a picture of him.

Isn’t he sweet? Anyway, he was nervous, Mum tried to pick him up once but was bitten and she bled. Then he weed on her!! Is that a good thing, you might ask? It wasn’t. Now, seven months later, I’m trying to get him to like me. I managed to pick him up today…YYAAYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In these pictures, he is in his new playpen for the first time.

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09/10/2007 by Ness.

As I write this I am well and truly cream crackered - I have just attended my first (and possbly last) spinning class. No, I haven’t been out producing an attractive length of wool to knit something with - I have spent 45 gruelling minutes on a most uncomfortable exercise bike being shouted at to ’spin faster, push, climb the hill!!’ I know Nicky does this all the time (that explains the taut posterior) but I have let my fitness slip to such a low level that I was panting from climbing two floors to the exercise studio before the class even started. Oh well, I’d better book for next week, it’s now or never. When Nick and I go on our dance weekend in December I want to impress when we take up the pole dancing lessons, not get stretchered out with my legs in an emarrassing contortion. Ooer!

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03/10/2007 by Jen.

PUMPKIN!!!!

We had a rather strange ‘beanstalk’ (as quoted by a rather curious neighbour) growing right across our lawn over the summer.

First we thought it was a cucumber. But it grew a bit. So we thought, maybe it’s a squash? But it grew a bit more. OK we thought, maybe it’s a marrow? But then it slowly started turning orange.

It was this massive pumpkin!

Said pumpkin has now been harvested and is ready for pumpkin soup.

But, I hate pumpkin!

So, where did this strange triffid come from?

We had our Godson down last Hallowen. Having empied out the pumpkin of the seeds we had fun cutting out a scary face (modelled on Neil!). Seeds from last years pumpkin were put into the compost bin - say no more.

To give you some sense of it’s size, we took a picture of it next to Greebo (very difficult to have him sitting so still) and a enormous tin of Ginger Beer.

jb x

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03/10/2007 by Neil.

Funny how things can go wrong all at once. On average, thoses inconvienient events, tend to spreed themselves out, but every now and again, you get problem after problem. Sometimes they can all be completely unrelated to each other, sometime as in my cae here, they are sort of linked.. You get a years dose in a period of a few weeks.

Well it seems thats happening to our motor at the moment. I was contemplating these thoughts last Friday morning whilst standing on the hard shoulder of the M3 in the drizzel waiting for the AA main to come do his stuff. I thought, things come in 3’s, this breakdown is the third and last I hope. Pahh !

I’d recently had two bulbs go on the car, spaced about a week apart. The problem with new cars, is that changing a headlight bulb, can mean taking half the engine appart just to get at the rear of your lights. You then need specialist tools just to get bulbs in and out. A new take on the “how many people does it take to change a lightbulb” gag. 3 men, a cabinet full of tools and a bank loan it seems.

Anyway, the AA man turned up and towed the car to the garage for me. He seemed confident that the large red light on my dashboard saying “STOP CAR NOW ! “, would turn out to be something minor and cheap to fix.

£460 later………. (not including the £126 for the hire car I’ve had for the past week) I thought what else can go wrong. I had, previous to the M3 event, ear marked the car for new brakes and disc to be done this week, as they were due. That itself would be a very un-pretty penny. So I was to say the least, not particulary overjoyed when I got home last night after picking the car up from it’s major surgery, to hear, as we walked to our front door, a hissing sound coming from a front tyre courtesy of wopping great screw !

It was dark by then, and pouring with rain. Always the best time to change a tyre. I think everyone should have to do it in such conditions at least once in their life, so can realise what a joy it is. The beer after was well deserved I thought…..

So this morning, driving to work, I sat listening to every knock, bang, creak coming from my car. Awaiting the next wallet lightening opertunity my motor would present to me…

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