Happy Halloween!!
I just discovered tonight that an old friend died on Friday. He wasn't a very close friend, not to me anyway, but he was a nice guy. I knew him because he used to work with Colin (my ex and Isla's dad), and he used to drink in the pub where I worked. Colin was quite close to him and another guy he worked with - I think he saw them as sort of father figures, as his dad died when he was young.
I don't know what he died of - he must have been in his 60's I would imagine, so too young for it just to have been old age. Apparently he hadn't been well for a long time, and was no longer working.
The guy I found out from only found out today from another friend - he used to work with him too. I have told Colin's sister, so hopefully she'll be able to let him know, and tell him when the funeral is.
He was a great guy, and I'm very sad that he died.
Rest In Peace Big Jim.
We got home at around 5pm, had to rush around feeding dogs etc, and get sorted for going out in the evening to celebrate Sibyl's and Edith's birthdays. We ate in the restaurant in La Sauvetat, and the meal was fabulous. The restaurant has recently been taken over by new owners, and the food and the service is excellent. They are really lovely people too.
Some people left at around midnight, but my mum, Sibyl and I stayed behind to chat and to help the owners clear up. We finally got home around 2am, so we've all been a bit knackered today!I have just published this on my other blog Memoirs Of A Mother, but thought it deserved to be on this blog too.
The two major world events that I can remember are the death of Princess Diana and the collapse of the twin towers.
I was 20 when Princess Diana died. I had been out on the Saturday night in Dumfries and stayed over at my then boyfriend’s (Jamie) house. On the Sunday morning, I got up quite early and a friend and I nipped out to Tesco’s to get some sausages and bacon for a proper fry up. When we got to the supermarket there were rows and rows of newspapers with the headline “Diana Princess Of Wales 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997”. I didn’t believe it – I thought it was some sick jokes dreamt up by the media. We got back to Jamie’s flat and the first thing I did was turn the TV on. I can’t remember if we ever actually got our fry up because we just sat staring at the TV watching the reports coming in about her death. I drove home somehow to find my mum, dad and Grandma doing the same thing – just transfixed by everything we were seeing. What amazed me was the public outpouring of grief. I didn’t think that we, as a nation, had that sort of public grief within us. The sea of flowers around Kensington Palace was incredible and it struck me that Diana herself would probably have preferred people to make donations to the charities of which she was patron (or any charity really) rather than spend the fortune that must have been spent on those beautiful flowers.
The tide of grief that swept through the country even had an effect on the Royal Family themselves, shaking them out of their private grief because the public needed to see that they cared. Public pressure on them was incredible.
I remember the funeral very clearly. Everyone in the country had the day off work, so everything was shut, at least for a half day. I think there were probably very few people who didn’t watch the funeral. The moment that really got to me was seeing the coffin being transported through the streets with wreaths on top, and a white envelope with “Mummy” written on it. Of course, after that I cried throughout the funeral service.%231%23.jpg)
I understand why I cried at the envelope – two small boys had just lost their mother – it was sympathy with them. But why did I cry watching a funeral of someone I never knew and never met? I’ve never particularly been a royalist, or an anti royalist – it doesn’t mean a lot to me.
Maybe it was because she was such a public figure – the poor woman had lived her life in the spotlight and she eventually learned how to use that spotlight to her advantage to help causes that she believed in. I think she was a good person, and too young to die. And I think it was because those two little boys were left without a mother.
Diana Princess Of Wales 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997
NB. Photographs Not My Own Work
Malawi has a lake. Funnily enough it is called Lake Malawi! It is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide. A mile for every day of the year long, and a mile for every week wide. It is extremely beautiful, and apparently even now, a lot of it is very unspoilt by tourism.
We used to go up to the lake quite often. We had some friends who worked for a tea estate in the south of Malawi, and the company they worked for owned a cottage on the lake shore. It was a beautiful cottage, but unfortunately I don’t have a photo of it because all of our pictures were on slides. One of these days we are going to get a slide scanner so we can have all of these wonderful memories on disc and easily accessible.
Anyway, we had a boat of our own, which was an inflatable boat with an outboard engine. However, at this cottage there was a solid yellow boat, which we used to use when we were there. The outboard engine fitted on the back, and instead of a mast we had a Carlsberg beer parasol! We have some fantastic photos of me and my cousins trying to push the boat into the lake all with different silly hats on! My younger cousin had a bucket instead of a hat though! One time we were there with some friends – my friend RP (who was one of the friends who lived next door to us) and her mum who was my mum’s best friend. My mum and dad took me and RP out on the boat one day. Quite often we would jump over the side for a swim, and we asked this day if we could skinny dip. My mum said yes of course, so we stripped off our swimming costumes, and we were about to climb over the side when all of a sudden my mum said in a firm but not too loud voice “STOP!” We stopped. At the lake we all knew that if we were told to do something we had to do it.
About 100 yards away from us were some hippos in the water. Hippos are extremely aggressive animals, and will attack humans or boats. We hurriedly got our legs back into the boat and my mum tried to start the engine. As always happens when you are panicking, it wouldn’t start, and wouldn’t start. Eventually it did, and we sped (I say sped, I think it was only a 7 horse power engine!) off back to our cottage. That was quite a scary experience!
Another place we used to visit at the lake was called Cape Maclear. I’m not sure where the name came from, but the water there was beautifully clear so maybe it was because of that. There was a lovely white beach (although there was a it of a problem with red stinging ants there) and a place called Otter Point.
Obviously it was a place well known for its otters – I never knew there were otters in Africa – didn’t twig with the name until now! D’oh!
One day we were up there with some friends and their kids who were on holiday from boarding school. I can only have been about 4 I think. Anyway, my mum and dad went off for a swim and decided it was quiet enough to have a little skinny dip. My mum slung her bikini top and bottom over her arm and carried on swimming. When they decided it was time to come out of the water my mum went behind a rock to put her bikini back on. The bottoms were easy enough, but the top had gone walkabout (or swimabout!).
She peeked out from over the rock to shout to our friend who was sitting on the beach to swim out to her with her other swimming costume – there must have been other people on the beach. The friend shook her head, and wouldn’t bring the costume out to her! She kept her waiting for a good few minutes just to wind her up, but eventually took it out to her!
Now, I'm not usually a shoe girl. Women with shoe fetishes are a complete anathema to me - I just don't get it. What is so great about shoes?
But boots on the other hand...
I love boots. I have loved them ever since I was a student and bought myfirst pair of heeled boots. This first pair I lovingly reheeled and resoled about five times until they finally died! They were like an old pair of slippers, and I have never found another pair quite as comfortable as they were. I will never stop in my quest to find them though!
I don't have that many pairs of boots. It's not a fetish, just a great liking! I have probably around ten pairs, which isn't too bad. I don't own a pair of normal shoes - I have tackies - trainers - (a work pair and a normal pair), flip flops (again, a work pair, normal pair and pretty going out pair) and I have boots. This tends to leave me pretty short of shoes to wear in the summer, but loads for the winter!
I don't spend a fortune on my boots - they are always extremely reasonably priced. However, what's reasonably priced for me is probably not what you would consider reasonably priced. My last pair of boots was from Lidl, they cost me 15.99€. Euros, not pounds! The pair before were from Leclerc and were 7.99€. And they're really nice boots. The most expensive ones I have bought were worth 75€, but I got them in the sale at 25€!
See, I might moan about living in France, but it does have its compensations - cheap boots!
I did an interesting meal tonight. The original plan was to do pork chops with Dauphinoise potatoes. I had a couple of pieces of Roquefort in the fridge though that needed using up, so I did a slightly different sauce.
150g piece of Roquefort
As much cream as required for sauce for up to six people (the cheese is strong, so the taste will be strong too)
Potatoes for up to six people
Peel the potatoes and slice them. Bring to the boil. Drain, and place in an oven proof dish.
Melt the cheese in a saucepan over a low heat. Once melted, add the cream. Bring to the boil gently, then simmer for a few minutes.
Pour the sauce over the potatoes, and bake in the oven at around 180°C for about 30 minutes.
Roquefort often goes with pork, so this is a perfect accompaniment for pork chops, pork fillet or even roast pork.
Last Sunday, while I was still away from home, I invited the family for Sunday dinner! It felt a bit weird, but it was great! I did the typical English Roast Beef - the french think we eat it all the time, but given our misconceptions about them, that one's pretty tame!
1. When you buy a greetings card are the words or the picture more important to you?
- The pictures, my mum and I make cards, so the words are always exactly what we want them to be.
2. What's your favourite kind of cake?
- Not really into cake, but I really like juicy lemon cake.
3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them?
- Not gifts, but cards.
4. What's your favourite holiday - i.e. Christmas?
- Christmas and birthdays.
5. Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where?
- Unfortunately not, but I have Disneyland Paris planned for Isla's 10th birthday next year.
6. What was the best party you've ever been to?
- Probably my friend Lyndsey’s wedding – the reception was a ceilidh complete with Scottish Country dancing – fab!
7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like?
- The reception would be a ceilidh (see above). The wedding would be simple. Personally I’d do it in a registry office in jeans, but the bloke may not like that! If it was a white wedding (I’d have a cheek!) my dress would be a sort of medieval cut – long, simple with long sleeves, and obviously the bloke would wear a kilt.
8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you?
- Nothing! I’ve never been out with a romantic man!
9. What's your favourite romantic song?
- Will You – Hazel O’Connor – it reminds me of one of my exes
10. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with?
- Ooh, probably Ewan McGregor, but he’s married!
11. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful?
- Nicole Kidman
12. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive?
- Ewan McGregor, David Tennant, Robert Carlyle (in a strange way)
13. If you could be a fictional character from a book who would you choose?
- probably Claire in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series
14. If you could be in a television sit-com, which would you choose?
- MASH
15. Which character would you like to be?
- Obviously the one Hawkeye finally falls for!
16. What's your favourite girl's name?
- Isla (of course)
17. What's your favourite boy's name?
- James
18. What's your supermarket of choice?
- Sainsbury’s in UK, Leclerc in France
19. What is your best character trait?
- Honesty, loyalty and dependability – I sound like a Labrador!
20. What is your worst habit?
- Intolerance and irritability – oh, and smoking!
The other night I was flicking through the TV channels when I came across a programme about RSPCA Inspectors. As I was watching it I though “this looks like my perfect job”. I have always wanted to work with animals in some way. When I was at school I always wanted to be a vet, but my sciences weren’t up to scratch frankly. We have always had animals ourselves, from dogs to chickens, and we have rescued some of our dogs – two privately and some others from rescue centres. Animal cruelty is something I feel extremely strongly about, and I have long wanted to work on the animals’ behalf against it.
