Back to blogging...

Well, I'm back...

It has been over a year since I last posted. And in that time it's fair to say a lot has happened. The most devastating is that I lost my beloved mum to cancer on June 1st, 2010. I'm not sure I'll talk much about that on here. We are still struggling to come to terms with her loss. We miss her everyday and I suspect people think we've doing OK, which on some levels, we are. But the agony of her loss - so unexpected, so unfair has ripped a huge hole in our lives which my wife and I are inexpertly trying to pull back together. She was a truly remarkable woman, that personified dignity, grace and bravery. And to be honest, there's nothing I wouldn't give to hold her hand again.

We are still in Cornwall. So settled it's hard to remember living anywhere else really. We are getting a new bathroom and woodburner soon and re-decorating. We are very lucky to get lots of visitors! And friends have been quick to show their love and support since losing mum, which has meant the world to us. We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary with 26 friends in a local pub and over the course of just under two weeks, had 18 people visiting and staying - it was mad but fun!

The dogs are happy and healthy. Currently curled up at my side and on my feet.

My wife works locally now. She was working in London for 11 months after we moved down. She now works for a south west organisation that does cover the entire south west (flipping large region that!). But it is better than commuting into London.

I have just given up my job! Not many people I guess would do that without another job to go to, but it was the right decision for me. I plan to write, rest, work around the house, and when the time is right, get another job.

I'm just under half way through a children's book, one of the reasons giving up work. I just didn't have the energy to work and write. I plan to finish that by the end of October... no pressure then ;)

So, that's if for now. Until the next time....

Sofa trauma

Today is all about the little jobs, post office, bank, car wash, that sort of thing. I’m driving down to Cornwall at about 9.30 tomorrow morning so I have to make sure everything gets done today. I also need to hide a stereo! My partner and I love listening to music but we don’t really have a very decent stereo. Not only that, we don’t have one at all in the lounge which means the TV by default, tends to dominate. So I splashed out on a lovely horizontal loading Phillips, which I have to somehow smuggle down to the cottage (not tomorrow but when we go down for Christmas) and set up without my partner seeing, so that we can listen to music when we go down! It sounds a little complicated I know, but I thought it would be a nice surprise. I’ll have to make sure we pack the Christmas CD! We only have the one... you can have too much of a good thing!!

The dogs are back on the sofa after what was, for them, a traumatic 48 hours. I decided to wash the sofa cushion covers and throw and so I wouldn’t let them get on the couch. In the vernacular of Vicky Pollard they kept giving me evils, as well as the occasional desperate whine, because I could sit on it but they couldn’t. As I patiently explained, when they can afford to buy their own sofa, they can do what they like, but until then, we call the shots. When eventually they could get back on, Bess (who suffered the most and I use the word in the loosest sense) fell into a very deep sleep and stayed asleep until I woke her up for bed!

My partner is away on business (she left Monday morning) and doesn’t get back until Wednesday, long after I’ve left for Cornwall and I don’t get back till Thursday. It sounds a bit soft, but it’s the longest we’ve been apart for years and we’re not enjoying it much. I think it’s healthy to miss someone though and it reminds you of how much you like being together which is nice. I’m making a stew on Thursday night when we’re all back home together. Only one problem, I’ve never made a stew before!

If you go down to the woods today...

We decided not to go to the cinema last night and instead stayed in and watched Strictly Come Dancing and Merlin. We’re absolutely hooked on Merlin and it’s the best thing I’ve seen on TV in ages! We will go and see the film but last night just wasn’t the best time in the end.

I’ve been making a list – or trying to – of homemade Christmas presents. I know I will be making chocolate, biscuits and maple and walnut scones, possibly bread and possibly jam but who to give it to, and how much? Last year, the theme was the best of English, the best of French! So we did french chocolate, tea and preserve, with organic Satsuma’s, fresh homemade bread, mince pies and apricot pies. (We didn’t make our own jam last year, this year we will.) We only did it for about 4 people and it was very well received. People seemed to really value the time we’d put in to making up the baskets – and how tasty everything was!

I’m back down to Cornwall on Wednesday as I need to visit the cottage. Yay! When we saw the house the stairs to the attic room hadn’t been finished and the sale was on the condition of them being done. So the owners are letting me pop round on Wednesday evening to view the newly installed staircase – plus we have a list of questions we’d like to ask them. It will be the first time we meet the vendors so I’m looking forward to it.

Today we’re off to the woods with the dogs. We need to wrap up warm (which means Bess will be in her rather fetching sheepskin coat!) and take a flask of hot chocolate. All of this means I need to get a move on – there’s housework to do before we leave, and I haven’t even had a shower yet. So toodle pip for now...

Round up

Well, I haven’t yet shifted this gastro virus which has left me a little useless. I did manage to get away for my smallholding course, which was absolutely fantastic.

I thoroughly recommend Bicton Rural Academy (part of Plymouth University) – it’s a beautiful campus and the course was extremely well run. I got to handle sheep, cattle and pigs, drive a tractor and a quad bike and learn some really, really useful stuff about growing fruit and veg. I’m planning to do other courses in the new year.

The B&B farm (Quentance Farm) I was staying in was nice but I wouldn’t stay again – they got my booking so wrong that I was in a different room each of the three nights I stayed! It was just too much hassle in the end. Although to be fair they did reduce my bill and it was convenient for the college, but the breakfast was fairly standard as were the rooms (and there was only one that was en-suite).

I stayed with some friends in Plymouth on the Monday night which was very cool. Except we got some take-out and even though I only ate half, it made me feel really sick all over again. (I’ve since seen a doctor and they’re running some tests, but finally after two and a half weeks I am starting to feel better.)

The idea was to house-hunt during the day on Monday but it didn’t really work out. I did view a house but it was completely unsuitable and left me feeling a bit down about the whole long distance house hunting malarkey…

On the Tuesday I decided I wanted to go back to Cornwall and just have a nice hassle-free morning. So I went for breakfast at Route 38 an American style diner and then headed to Looe (about 8 miles away). I ended up having a fantastic time – did some shopping (got chatting to a woman in a surf shop that gave me some great advice about moving down to Cornwall and being patient about finding our new house!), picked up a pasty for later and then sat on the harbour enjoying the blue sky and hot sun before finally heading home.

Wednesday I took the car in for a service and left £325 poorer. The service was £251 and I had the two front tyres replaced. I actually really like the garage, Premier Autocentres near Sidcup in Kent, a Hyundai dealership – although they deal with all cars. (We need to get the car serviced at an authorised dealership otherwise the warranty is invalid.) Premier is genuinely friendly and helpful and they do a great job. Considering how many dodgy garages there are out there, it gives you peace of mind to find a good one.

And today was notable for getting into a stand-up fight with some fuckwad in a Tesco carpark. He parked in a motorcycle only space then hit my car door with his, really hard, and then he smirked at me! So I leapt out of the car and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He thought it was cool to call me a faker (is that an insult and if yes, what does it actually mean? Seriously I have no idea.) Then he told me to fuck off and tried to act the big gangsta (pretty hard to do in a Ford KA especially as he was also too scared to get out of said car). I called him a fucking idiot and got back into my car because my temper was well and truly lost and I didn't want the situation to escalate any more than it already had. My fairly new, fairly expensive car is my pride and joy. I also really can’t stand selfish people that don’t give a shit about other people’s property because they happen to drive around in a shitty rust bucket, so this was never going to end well!

I was only in the bloody carpark because it turned out my phone wasn’t working and when I finally figured this out and fixed the problem, I got 8 texts one after the other; one telling me a friend was ill another telling me a friend’s grandmother had died and as they had been sent to me the previous day I wanted to respond straight away.

Anyway, to end on a more positive note, my partner and I are going away for a few days before Christmas (to watch the winter solstice in Dorset) and I’ve just booked the hotel. Then we’re coming back to spend Christmas on our own – something we’ve always wanted to do but never have. We normally host Christmas at ours and go all out. This time, it’s going to be just her and me and the dogs! There will still be a fancy dinner and decorations but it will be peaceful and low-key. Bliss!

(Photos: SUNSET OVER EXMOUTH, LOOE HARBOUR)

I'm back!

I'm back but still too knackered to blog in any great detail.

In a nutshell...

Day 1 - Arrive at Poltair Hotel in Falmouth go for award winning fish and chips
Day 2 - Cornwall Pride, drinks in Truro in the evening
Day 3 - Shopping in Falmouth (I spent an absolute fortune!)
Day 4 - Blue Hills tin mine, cream tea in St Agnes
Day 5 - Lands End, St. Michael's Mount, meet with the registrar (lovely woman!) and then dinner with a friend down for the wedding
Day 6 - Isles of Scilly (Tresco) by helicopter with two other friend's also down for the wedding, lovely dinner with them in the evening
Day 7 - sea kayaking, massage, dinner with our best man and his partner and then a visit to Cornwall's only gay bar!
Day 8 - another massage, arrive at the Porthminster (wedding suite with two balcony's and a gorgeous view!), pick up my mum, dinner and drinks with wedding guests in the evening
Day 9 - final breakfast as a spinster!, swim, WEDDING!!
Day 10 - Eden Project, go for a swim, drinks in the hotel bar
Day 11 - tea and cake for elevenses, drop mum off to station, Porthleven for pasties, drive to new hotel the Hen House
Day 12 - Roskilly's, Lizard Point, Coverack, Cyder Barn (for local booze), back to Roskilly for evening milking and b-b-q
Day 13 - Seal sanctuary in Qweek, Coverack, Mullion, Poldhu Cove
Day 14 - Falmouth, river trip to Tolverne (Smugglers Cottage), dinner in Mannacan
Day 15 - View a house, pick up dogs, find time for another pastie, head home very reluctantly...

Now I'm trying to find space in the house for all the new things we bought including some artwork, doing laundry and answering emails!

I still don't know...

The drive down to Plymouth was good – no traffic and I arrived at 4.45pm. I’d bought some champagne because I thought whether or not I got the job I was being interviewed for the following day, it was worth celebrating that I had got this far!

I actually slept that night. It could have been the champagne, or it could have been because I had been up since 3am and had done a morning of work and then a five hour drive!

I didn’t really hang around the next morning, the girls had already left for work and I was out of the house by 8am. Lunch (followed by the actual interview) started at 12 noon, the drive was approx 2 hours, but in the meantime I wanted to check Falmouth out. It’s a lovely place, lots of interesting shops and cafes... I actually ended up parking somewhere quiet and letting my mind drift so that I felt more relaxed at the interview.

There were three of us being interviewed, myself and two blokes, and after a light lunch where we meet the interviewers who all seemed genuinely nice, and the principal who also seemed really nice, there was a bit of wait before my interview and then I was called in!

I did really well. In fact if I had the chance to do it all over again, with the exception of the nerves and I would have liked to have been a bit more succinct on a few questions, I wouldn’t change much else. My presentation was well researched and interesting and the one thing I think that really came across was how passionate I am about Cornwall and wanting this job...

We were told that we would hear on Friday. Thursday crawled by, Friday crawled by and eventually I called HR at about 5.15pm. It seems a decision has yet to be made! They told us they were making a decision straight after the interviews, but it seems we have a split jury and I THINK it’s between me and another candidate, we’ll call him Mr Slick. I am a slightly less obvious choice for marketing and PR because I’m not slick and polished. But I do have an uncanny ability to market things extraordinarily well and my communication skills are second to none. The other guy looked like he could schmooze. I mean, really schmooze. And he currently works for a university so comes from the relevant background. This is all supposition of course (or maybe even wild fantasy!) but I suspect the battle is between him (safe choice, less creative) and me (slightly unconventional but more creative and passionate and with a good track record). Of course I could be barking up the wrong tree and they could be deciding between the two other candidates! But really, the other bloke was just weird.

Monday cannot come soon enough!

But honestly, I won’t be surprised if I get it, but I won’t be surprised if I don’t get it. I think it’s too close to call. What I can tell you though, is that I am proud of myself and what I’ve achieved thus far. I did my best and I think my honestly and passion shone through. Let’s hope it’s enough, but if not...onwards and upwards, always onwards and bloody upwards!

I came home to a letter. Another job interview! I laughed my head off. I have sent off three job applications and received three interview requests! The first job if you recall was to get me back into the swing of applications and interviews. Really weird company though. I think I blogged about this, the staff were all grey and looked like the life had been sucked from them. I decided before the interview even started I couldn’t work here. I just had this strange instinct that it really wasn’t for me. It would have been like giving a child with ADHD some orange squash and a drum and shoving them into a library filled with people suffering from acute nervousness. So I just got through the interview as quickly and as efficiently as I could.

Of course on Monday, there is the small matter of a house auction in Cornwall that we will be attending...

We’re driving down on Sunday to stay in Plymouth with our friends again. Such supportive and lovely friends that on my last visit they gave me a key! To be fair, we do live about 250 miles apart and this is my third visit in three weeks, lol!

Today (Saturday) we’re doing nothing. Stress levels are through the roof, so we’re tackling them from the bed. My partner is still asleep, so is the dog, even the chickens are quiet. So after typing this, I will be shutting down the laptop and trying to get a bit more sleep myself...

Night night Jon boy...

To buy or not to buy?

Well it’s good to be home with my straw, grit, pellets and other chicken essentials. Even though I make it sound like I’ve been away for weeks – a lot has happened in two days! (And I took the opportunity of being in Cornwall to stock up on chicken supplies without paying a premium like you might in a London garden centre).

I drove down to Plymouth on Friday, traffic was kind (yes, you heard right) and I made really good time. I stopped at Bridgewater services (Somerset) - what a dump that place is. (But if you gotta go, you gotta go!) I got an over-priced under-tasty burger and then headed off. I saw a 4x4 pulling a Kukri trailer. It caught my eye because it was a big promotional show-type trailer and Kukri do rugby stuff. As I went past written in big white letters on the side of the trailer were the words, this trailer is alarmed when unattended. Does that mean someone has to stay with it all the time? Bless. In the trailer’s defence I’d be a bit alarmed if I was left in a car park on my own all night... but you don’t think of vehicles having anxiety separation...

I was staying with friends in Plymouth whom I have learnt are regular readers of my blog. So thank you for your fantastic hospitality, it was lovely to see you, and A I hope you’re feeling better ;0)

Despite a night of red wine and beer I was up at sparrow fart the next morning, eager to start the day and after bacon rolls that’s exactly what I did. I headed first to the village where the house is up for auction to take some photos and walk around – it’s very pretty and friendly. Then I stopped off at St Kew farm shop to get ‘essentials’ like Cornish brie, nettle beer, veg and scones! And then to Bude where I sat on the beach for an hour on the phone to my partner. Then it was time to go and see the house!

I might as well cut to the chase, its lovely! It’s everything we want. But is it at the right time? And this is why I’m up at sparrow fart again today despite 7 hours of driving yesterday, because I can’t sleep. It needs a lot of work, but a lot of that work is cosmetic and could be done whilst you’re living there. The biggest job is the roof needs re-doing. The garden is fantastic but massively overgrown, but with the one of the Plymouth friend’s (a professional gardener) offering time, expertise and equipment, we could have it whipped into shape in no time. I’m not sure what the pheasants that live there would make of that...

There’s been lots of interest and the agent is fairly sure that whilst we could make an offer, the owners do want it to go to auction. She also thinks it will go above the guide price and I think she’s right. The two bedrooms are big, and the living room is too, and it looks out onto the garden. It really is a special place. Will we be buying it? I honestly don’t know, but I can’t tell you that if we can do it, we will.

I drove home very thoughtful, glad to be going home to see my partner (and the menagerie), but sad to be leaving a place that makes me so happy. I saw a car with a bumper sticker that said; yes I’m a witch, deal with it! That made me laugh.

Good mood

Really looking forward to heading down to Devon tonight and Cornwall tomorrow. And maybe it's because of my very, very good mood, but I was just thinking how lovely it was that the sun was shining and our garden is filled with birdsong and the gentle clucking of contented chickens... bliss...

All three have settled in really well and now the pecking order has been sorted out, the bullying seems to have stopped and I've now found a use for old dog bowls as well. Oh, and we have another egg!

Have a lovely weekend!

No more pocket money for you...

We had a lovely chat with our neighbour last night who was impressed that our chickens were already so tame (tame enough for Tabitha to dump on my leg anyway). We let them stretch their legs in the garden and fed them some more pellets and greens (which they love) whilst I noticed all the bits I’d missed when I painted the hen house. It was so mild that we were out chatting for about 40 minutes in just shorts and t-shirts and it felt lovely. Today of course it’s quite literally thunder and lightning, but that’s what we’ve come to expect with our weather: the unexpected!

I’m really excited about going down to Cornwall tomorrow. I’ve got to do some work tonight as well as tomorrow, so I can knock off early and still get everything done. It feels like a timely escape what with work continuing to try and win the Oscar for ‘general crappiness’. Another consultant has been brought it. I don’t know if this one’s any good because I’m not having any dealings with him, but I’m prepared to hazard a guess...

One of our senior managers has announced she is leaving, and everyone else is secretly checking out job websites and Wednesday’s Guardian in the hope that they too can jump ship.

I’ve spent too much money again this month and I’m a bit pissed off with myself. I wouldn’t say I was a compulsive spender but I do seem to buy a lot of things including clothes. As regular readers will know, mine (and society’s) continual need to buy more and more stuff is one that vexes me. I like to think that I am above all that and then I go and buy another pair of trainers… why?! Well, because I can is the bald truth of it, but what sort of attitude is that? My whole life and lifestyle is leading toward being more sustainable and treading evermore lightly on the earth and I will not achieve that if I’m forever buying more this, that and far too much of the other.

Of course part of me does think that it might be a final hurrah. Soon with a mortgage and a family, my desire for Firetrap jeans will have to go for a burton. It won’t exactly be sack cloth and ashes, but my frivolous needs will have to come pretty far down the list. So maybe stocking up now is a good thing! (Did anyone else see that tenuous justification coming?! Good, it wasn’t just me then…)

Fox alert

I’m off to see the house on Saturday. I’m picking up the keys to view the property in the afternoon. (Hmmm, that has a nice ring to it, maybe we’ll be “picking up the keys” for good soon?!) I’m very excited. But also realise I may get there and it really, really may not be what we’re looking for… I also can’t deny being thrilled at the thought of going back to Cornwall…

We’re at war with a fox. Dramatic I know but true nonetheless. The little bastard was in the garden watching and sniffing the chickens THREE times this morning. Myself and my partner can’t seem to scare him off (which is amazing because I can look particularly scary when I’ve just woken up) but when we go our there waving our arms and spitting out invectives (not too loud, there’s the neighbours to think about) he quite literally saunters off. The dog is far more effective as a deterrent, flinging himself as he does at the foxy intruder barking and slavering. The fox moves then with a speed rarely seen in anything with less than a V8 engine.

We think Tabitha (who laid a little egg for us!) is being bullied by Martha. Its true Martha has what Jewish folk would call chutzpah, but I don’t like to think of her picking on poor Tabitha who is the youngest of the trio. We’re keeping a close eye and taking a zero-tolerance approach to bullying... although how you discipline a chicken is anyone's guess...

I finished my job application - wish me luck!

Cornwall

We've seen another house... and this one we are going to see. I may be going on my own the first time and then if it's as good as we think it is, we'll both go down. It's totally the wrong time for us, but what if this is the one? Sometimes you should put bravery before logic and hope and pray that the universe is on your side...

Cornwall or bust

Not that I’m obsessed but I was planning a trip down to Cornwall this weekend; very much a spur of the moment thing. We saw another property down near the Lizard Peninsula and were quite taken with it – me especially. Anyway, as I’ve said before, it’s not the right time for us to move and I know this intellectually but emotionally I’m desperate to buy a house and start our new life…

I was going to jump into the car on Friday stay with friends half way, and then go and see the house on Saturday, head home and report to the missus either it’s not worth our time or, you need to come and see it!

We talked about it and we just can’t do it at the moment (for several reasons) so I stuck my bottom lip out but accepted the inevitable. Instead our weekend will be gardening, dinner with friends on Saturday, and friends over for lunch on Sunday. But no Cornwall, not this weekend anyway ;0)

Ironically a great job has just come up in Falmouth! I’ll be doing the application over the weekend but it will interesting to see if (a) I get offered the job and (b) what this will mean in terms of when we move down.

I saw several strange things on the way to work (or at least I thought they were strange and/or interesting) a woman chain-smoking in a car with a no-smoking air freshener and no-smoking window sticker. An old man with mobility problems drinking a can of well-known energy drink (it doesn’t really give you wings!) and for a split second this morning I thought someone was stealing my car! I pulled up at the garage to get some food because I was uber early for my morning meeting. As I came out of the garage, I saw my car being driven away. I literally did a double take with my head snapping back and forth like a flag in a stiff wind… it took a minute but then I saw that my car was exactly where I parked in. Someone had parked an identical car right next to mine: same make and model, same colour, same year!

Ok so they weren’t the most interesting things in the world, but you have to remember my commute is pretty boring…

'Andsome

Have you missed me?! I haven't posted since Dec 31st but I'm sure you've coped in my absence ;0)

Cornwall was, well, amazing. I wish we were still there. I might do a more in depth holiday dispatch later, but highlights include buying our wedding rings from an independant Cornish jeweller, spending time with friends, driving heavy horses, finding the league of gay gentlemen in Launceston, lots of lie-ins, the best fish and chips, visiting our wedding hotel again (and ordering the food and wine!) and finding a pub where we can all meet on the Friday before the wedding (right on the harbour in St Ives)...

For now though, I have to do some work, get through the laundry and do a tidy up. We unloaded the car last night and dumped everything in the front room!

Things that make me smile

1. Dogs yawning, always makes me laugh...
2. Holidays, I'm now off work for two and a half weeks and we drive down to Cornwall for two weeks tomorrow.
3. Actually, that's enough :0)

Let's go now...

We’re off to Cornwall next Thursday for 2 weeks. I can’t wait. I’m as excited about this as I was Christmas. I wish we could go now, I’ve had a really crap day and the thought of doing something as daft as jumping in the car and driving 400 miles is very appealing. Everything has gone wrong and whilst it’s nothing major, I’m very fed up. We popped down to Blue Mountain cafe for passion fruit cake and hot chocolate. And I have to admit (begrudgingly!) we did leave feeling a little better! (Yay for cake.)

Something nice did happen today, I have been looking for a flat screen computer monitor on and off for ages now. It’s not a priority so for once I haven’t been impetuous and just gone out and bought one. Today a friend told me he was selling his 23” flat screen TV which he uses as a computer monitor and I agreed to buy it off him! (He’s having a major New Year clear out!) I’m picking it up tomorrow and can drop off his Christmas present at the same time. Oh and I found the hand-held Hoover, so I can Hoover the car now... ok, not sure that is such a good thing :0)

Not sure what we’re doing for New Year’s – we’ve been invited to a couple of parties, but you know, a bottle of champagne (or 2!), putting the fire on and Jools Holland on the TV is coming out as odds on favourite!

Well, did you buy a house?

Bloody fireworks! Why don’t people or groups get together and have joint displays? Instead for over a week, there’s not been a hour without bangs and whizzes and the dog’s nerves are all but shattered and to be honest, some of them have been so loud and deep (like explosions!) that my nerves are in bits as well... no, I’m not anti-fireworks but people don’t have a clue about how badly they affect animals.

Yesterday I drove over 500 miles and my partner did about 130. We felt the car was attached to our arse by the end of it. We got home at about 2am, exhausted and a bit delirious only to be greeted by our neighbours coming in from a night out, one of whom had been punched by a 14 year old Goth on a train which had cut him above the eye. Very surreal. Then the police turned up...

Shall I cut to the chase? Have we bought a house? Not yet... We’re giving ourselves a couple of days to weigh up the pros and cons. We saw two, one in Cornwall and one in Devon. The Devon one was completely unsuitable, but the Cornwall one ticked a lot of boxes... so watch this space...

We watched the sun set over Bude beach with the dog discovering he loves beaches! Then we went for dinner and headed home.

We've been so tired today, we only got out of bed a couple of hours ago!

New homes, new babies...

It’s a gorgeous crisp, bright autumn day in lovely London and all is well. Traffic was ok, the queue in the bank was ok, the croissants that M&S kindly sold me were super and now I’m at my desk…

We’re off to Cornwall to see a house this weekend. How crazy is that?! Still don’t want to go in to too much detail but by jiminy things are moving a-pace. That said, we may see said property and just think no, not for us, not this time… in some ways that would be so much easier! Because if we go OMG, yes, yes, bloody hell yes! We need to get uber organised uber quick.

Some new friends of ours have had a baby and we met him last night. His name is Henry, he is less than one-week old, and he is absolutely amazing. I was particularly taken by his ears and his finger nails. We want to start a family next year and it was lovely to be sat there with him sleeping in first my arms, then my partner’s… I think rugby is a career option (he’s big and tall, with long dextrous fingers), others thought he might be a lounge singer…

This evening we have to fix our old computer which will be tiresome. I can never get excited about techy computer things. I just want them to work and when they don’t I have an overwhelming desire to sulk. Maybe making a nice meal with a glass of wine will help…

Enjoy the sunshine!

PS. My colleague bought myself and another colleague a breast exam glove from Lloyds Pharmacy, they are only about a fiver. 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime and examining your breasts regularly is crucial. The glove apparently magnifies sensitivity and makes it easier to examine yourself. (There's even a DVD included.) Now I haven't used it yet, but anything that can help to ensure you catch breast cancer early - when it's easier to treat - has got to be a good thing. The question is not why don't you buy one, but why wouldn't you buy one?

Cornish dream

Back in the office, too much work to do and everything seems unorganised but there you go…

We had a magical weekend. Despite the bronchitis we did go to Cornwall. Our new tent is totally awesome! It’s absolutely massive, not that difficult to put up and really comfortable. When there was a little rain we sat inside with the porch open still able to watch the world go by and I can walk about in it without having to crouch and hurt my knees! I’m still on a mission to find a comfortable way to sleep whilst camping (2nd airbed with a slow puncture!) but we’ll get there, everything else was great anyway.

The Dulwich Ukulele Club (DUC) were tremendous... My soon to be brother-in-law is in the band and had got us two free tickets for the festival, so we were DUC groupies for the weekend and a lot of fun it was too... Their second gig especially, really got everyone going and people were dancing and having a whale of a time. In my opinion they are simply one of the best bands to see live; funny, musically very good, and incredibly original.

The festival was lovely, really gentle. I didn’t actually do much other than whoop and holler for the band at their gigs – I was trying to rest as much as possible. But there felt no need to rush, or see everything or even do anything. We had nice food, some beer, sat round the fire at night, laughed a lot and just enjoyed the atmosphere and the people. It was nice to see lots of kids running around, having a great time; perfectly safe and a just a little wild… like children should be! If you fancy a really eclectic festival Port Eliot is a fantastic choice. Not sure it’s happening next year, but we would definitely go again.

It had taken us 9 hours to get to Cornwall because the M4 had come to a virtual standstill. Newbury had suffered devastating flooding, roads had been washed out - basically it was pretty awful. Coming out of London the visibility had been down to one or two metres at times. I was genuinely scared and considered stopping the car and pulling over. I didn’t know how we were going to get to Cornwall that’s for sure. But we did, eventually. It did rain, but it was light rain that lasted only a short time. It seemed unreal that the rest of the country was suffering so much.

On the Sunday we had already decided to go a visit a wedding venue in Tintagel. It had been three years since I’d visited ‘Tagel and it was great to see it again in the hot Cornish sun. We checked out the venue, but decided for a variety of reasons that it wasn’t for us. We grabbed some fresh pasties and scones and hit the road, deciding to head down to St Ives where there was a hotel we were really quite interested in. We had originally thought we wouldn’t be able to go and visit this one; it was too far south and we had to head back to London. We were also mindful that flooding and rain may still be a problem and so we didn’t want to leave it too late before we headed home. But St Ives is only about an hour and half from Tintagel and to go home and then have to make another trip back to Cornwall so soon just seemed overwhelming.

St Ives is beautiful and I just had a funny feeling that this hotel was going to be the one for us. The wedding co-ordinator was off-duty but was happy to show us around. Her attitude (and that of her colleague whom we had spoken to on the phone) was fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble and the view of the golden sands and turquoise sea from the ceremony and reception rooms was stunning. The hotel has its own sub-tropical gardens, a private pool and direct access to the beach. We waited until we got back to the car before agreeing that we had found our venue! We’ve since booked the registrar (also super lovely) and the hotel and are having our invitations designed…

It’s such a relief to have the venue sorted. It felt that nothing could progress – and I suppose nothing could progress – before that was done. So on the 30 August next year I will be marrying my beloved surrounded by all the people I love. What a lovely thought!

The journey home did take forever, but we got home just after 11pm, safe and sound and to a very happy hound who had been staying with a friend all weekend.

Monday we did some wedding stuff but otherwise I stayed in bed reading the new Harry Potter. Bliss…

Wheezer

Well, we're off in about an hour and a half. We seem to have pretty much the same amount of gear going to Cornwall for three days as we did going to Scotland for two weeks... to be fair, we are taking some equipment down for my brother-in-law's band, but even so...

People will look at us and think, now those people know how to camp! With our folding chairs and table, bar-b-q, fancy tent, solar powered lamps, air bed, duvet (I can't do sleeping bags, how can a bag that you sleep in be so complicated?!); we'll be toasting the stars with a bottle of pink fizz we bought especially, and eating fine food...

My asthma was - in the words of our young people - well dodgy last night. I had to get an extra pillow and take extra Ventolin. I must say it was a bit worrying the day before we were due to set off. My problem (and it's a bit of a paradox) it that I bounce like a rubber ball. If I'm ill I tend to get ill very quickly, but I also normally get better super quick. I just seem to be generally quite a healthy person and everything kicks in and within a short space of time of getting the right medication or resting, I start to show real improvement. Of course, it sometimes means you do too much too soon but as I loathe being ill I can't complain. The upshot is that I need to remember that I'm still ill and take it very easy...

So no blogging over the weekend. I'm hoping we miss the rain just long enough to put up our tent and that the good weather forces its way through... hope you get some sunshine wherever you are too!

(PS. I have a feeling we'll be taking the opportunity of being in Cornwall to visit some wedding venues!)

Diaries of a house wife

I’m feeling better. Isn’t it remarkable how quickly the old fashioned things work: rest, plenty of juice and water, Murder, She Wrote… OK so there’s less medical evidence for the last one but I swear by it…

Today I’m going to try and do some housework. I made a start on being a good housewife yesterday by making apple muffins for my beloved’s breakfast this morning and then puff pastries with squash, organic bacon, sage, salt and pepper with rice and vegetables. Very delicious and I was immensely pleased with myself. But today there’s tidying and laundry to do and despite having a large kitchen the washing up is threatening to spill out into the hall...

Tomorrow it’s off to Cornwall. There’s been severe weather warnings issued across the country, which is a little worrying. Hopefully it misses us but better pack the wet weather gear!