Pleiades BBQ 2013

We received our annual invite to Fogg Manor for a weekend of wine, food and daftness. this year the theme was 'cartoon characters'. As you can see, The Flintstones were a popular choice (but not that popular with the dog walkers we met on our 'in character' walk along the canal tow path!) 

We dined on delicious pork, lamb and stuffed peppers; drank champoo, wine and cider; played Bartenga, dunked in the hot tub and even learned how to create kumihimo. As the evening moved on, we moved outside to observe the night sky, we saw constellations, many satellites, the ISS AND some meteors. 

If you have the chance, go outside tonight, sit in your deck chair and look up, it should be a good show. http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide

This weekend is a highlight of our calendar, a great chance to appreciate the finer things in life, food, drink, nature...and good friends. Thank you. x

Plums and people

Here's a photo I took of the moon last night - not bad without a tripod eh?

I was out gathering plums yesterday afternoon and I have to say the haul is a bit meagre and bitter tasting; so I'm off scrumping elsewhere later today - the plum wine I made last year was the best all year so I'm hoping to find enough plums to make 2-3 gallons.

Mr Fink, Nelly, Shouty Grandad and nanny were invited to dinner by Shouty Grandad's youngest sister and her husband. We went to the local carvery and enjoyed pleasant food, cracking banter and each other's company. My aunty and Uncle have been staying for a few days, along with their black spaniel, "Chalkie" (I kid you not), I think mum and dad have enjoyed having the dog to stay almost as much as Aunty and Uncle! Apart for some shenanigins with a bottle of brown sauce, everyone was pretty well behaved!

I wish my parents would get a dog, I think they would really get a lot out of it, not a young bouncy puppy necessarily, an older more sensible small dog would be perfect, Border or Norfolk Terrier perhaps or a classic long legged Parson's Jack Russell?

Right I better head to work, even though I was there Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday - feel like I have a second home there at the moment - that's the trouble with taking leave I suppose. Nelly is off to the London Aquarium with Big Mac's sister and Abu Dhabi today and I'll get to catch up with her tomorrow when she returns home to have her hair dyed back to a natural colour....by a professional.

Lastly, let me wish congratulations and all our love to HM & DM and baby Finnley Thomas, born yesterday. xxxx

Nelly's hair

Nelly asked if she could have her hair dyed. I couldn't think of a good reason why not - I used to do mine. "What colour?", "Blue". So I agreed, if she will dye it back to brown for school, I have no objections.
So yesterday we bought the home dye kit - first to blonde, then blue - how hard can it be?

Oh my ......<insert appropriate swear words of choice>.
She is, at the moment, upstairs drying her waist length wavy hair after I, her loving mother, just made the biggest hash of dying her hair blonde.
I feel sick, my stomach is churning, WHAT HAVE I DONE to my baby?

and she STILL wants me to dye it blue.

Addendum...

Panic over. Now she wants it blue.

It's much more subtle than I expected - I like it and so does she - which is the main thing.

Nelly's entry for the Michael Morpurgo competition

Standing in front of the judges has made me realise that I am truly in trouble now. After this there will be no more second chances. The finality of it scares me and my hands shake in the tight metal cuffs that encircle my sore wrists. I cannot tell them the entire truth for only the reason that they would never believe it. They would convince themselves that it was some elaborate lie to trick them into setting me free.

I will confide in you though. The words that flutter into my head recorded soundly for someone to hopefully find someday. I confide in you because I know that you are the only one who will truly listen. I shall not begin at the start because that would show how I have worsened over time, I think that if I travel back over time then I may seem a better person.

This is my story, beginning at the end.

May 13th 2005

Old, grey walls stand to attention- ancient soldiers guarding barren courtyard after courtyard. It is obvious to me know why this place is often called Satan’s Playground- it is a hell hole in every sense of the word. It is where the worst people come to end their life and Lucifer must spend most of his time here, collecting each evil soul from it’s unmoving body.

Nothing moves, nothing stirs and I can’t help but feel like I have been thrown straight into a washed out watercolour. The heavy sound of silence fills the dank air and I feel it’s weight pressing in on me from all angles. Suffocating. A pair of black wrought iron gates block the entrance yet the acrid smell of burning escapes through the metal and into my nostrils.

Below the stark grey sky is a concrete path that snakes away towards more dull brickwork, splashes of colour are only provided by the dying weeds that have almost entirely melted into the ground. I can feel the depression of this place leaking from the walls and soaking into my pores.

Despite all this I still have a small flicker of hope that my angel will be okay. That is all that is all that matters to me now.

*********************

Slowly their eagle eyes rake over my entire being, scrutinising me with any premonitions they may already have. I can see in their eyes that they do not think of me as a man, rather than a number that lies upon page upon page of legal documents. It stops them acknowledging what I have done.

I am of no worth to them.

April 1st 2005

They say that my case is being reviewed by the courts, possibly to keep my spirits up, they say that a man without hope is an incredibly dangerous one. Their efforts are in vain anyway, my happiness has already been sucked dry. I do not wish for escape, just the safety of my angel.

Every day is more monotonous than the last and after four months in these dank cells I feel the monotony weaving it's way through every thought I have. At first the other men were indifferent to me but know their angry eyes hold hostility. Each beating is worse than the last yet I daren't tell anyone as even the guards here hate me.

I try to hide the bruises, unwilling to seem weak even though I know that these men understand why I am here. I am not some wimp, nor am I here by accident. I am here for murder and everyone knows it.

*********************

I am less than a man. They can only see the words on the paper- the facts and figures but they do not know the full story. Even if they did they would feel no different. I know that I have been condemned to die. All I want know is to know how my angel is. To know that she is safe.

December 2nd 2004

Staring down at the bloody body on the carpet I feel a wave of acid crawl up my throat. I bend down and wrap my fingers around the red slicked knife, dragging it from the shredded flesh it is buried deep within. I sling the dagger across the room. His lifeless eyes are open and they stare at me with little expression other than fear. I suspect my reflection holds the same image. Fear at myself and the creature I have become. Disgusting- that is what I am. Disgusting.

I feel my stomach churn once again as I reach deep into the body's pocket and pull out the scrappy papers which are worth this man's life. She is my daughter- my angel. Not his.

I kick his limp hand's away and wrap my crimson red fingers around his ankle and pull with all my might. He is not a small man by any means and I have to exert lots of effort just to get him into the small cupboard. I can already hear the sirens in the distance and my heart races in panic. Knowing that I have no chance at escape I quickly reach for the crumpled paper and stare at it, ignoring the tears that form in my eyes I analyse every detail meticulously.

Even in this childish sketch I can make out two figures and some messy scrawl beneath them. The scrawl can just be made out to read Me and Daddy  and even though the drawings are not great I can tell who they are meant to be. My angel stands on the left, hand clasped by the man on the right who is undeniably not me. I am not in this picture, nor her life.

*********************

Even before I hear the words I know the result. Guilty. Now they give me the letter I have been begging to read this whole time and I take a deep breath as I look at the barely legible scrawl.

My little angel has written me a letter. I read it and drop to my knees, unable to take the pain that each word brings.

To Daddy,

I know that you are my real daddy because mummy said so. Mummy says that even though you are my real daddy you are not a nice person and that makes me really bad. Everyone else at schools daddy's pick them up but you don't and when they ask me where my real daddy is and I say he is in jail they run off. That makes me really sad and I am glad that you don't stay with us anymore.

I think I prefer my proper daddy because mummy loves him but she said that he isn't coming back because he's somewhere called heaven. My teacher told me that heaven is up in the sky but you can't get there very easily. Mummy says it's your fault daddy's not coming back. Just because you're my real daddy doesn't mean I like you better than my proper daddy, you're not a nice man and I don't like you.

Why did you take my daddy away? Now I have no daddy because you are going away to that heaven place too mummy says. You are a horrid man and I wish that you weren't my daddy.

Meggie

As long is she is safe it doesn't matter. That is what I tell myself but deep down I want her to love me too.

October 18th 2004

Yellow light blankets empty street, bathing everything in a sickly artificial glow. My legs are stretched out on the pavement, uncaring of the gum and rubbish pasted to the slabs below. People seem to be unable to see or hear me yet I know that I am not invisible to them because they flinch when I call to them. What is so bad about being homeless? Why do they despise and fear me so much, I am truly not a bad person. Just one who cares too much for their own good. I can see the the fear burning in their eyes as they snarl at my dirty face.

There is a sickness in my stomach as I think about the letter that has forced me to give up the one thing I truly care about. The divorce did not bother me one bit, but the fact that she is not my daughter anymore has forced a crack through my stone like heart. My angel is just a stranger to me now. Now some unknown man cares for my angel and feeds her lies about me.

I am honestly not as bad as they say.

I saw the drawings that my angel made of him- the pictures that should be of mine and belonging to me but instead feature the beast that ares for her now.

Flames of emerald green envy flicker through my body as I contemplate this. I can imagine taking the pictures from him and I feel a perverted sense of pleasure at this thought. I have only tried to help, tried to give up all that I can to help the ones I love and this is how I have been repaid.

*********************

The chair is cold against my skin but the fear racing through my nerves is much colder. My fingers can barely stop shaking as I run them over the creamy envelope and there is a fat lump wedged in my throat. As my life ends i want to make sure hers can begin in the best way possible. I feel a sickness in my stomach that is threatening to bubble up my throat.

I tear the letter open.

September 29th 2004

Slowly all eyes in the court room turn to face me. Nobody feels sympathy for me because my life is not as valued as theirs. I have less therefore I am less. My empty wallet sits in my back pocket, empty and useless but there none the less The judge has consulted the jury and now I sit and await the verdict.

Sweat runs down my forehead and I can taste the tang of metal on my tongue as I run it over my teeth. The judge stares at me, her piercing glare slicing through my entire being. I amn unfit to care for my own child. It is because  I have no money or home yet my angel was the one I spent it on. If they just recognised the fact that I have given up everything for my angel then I would stand a chance but they turn a blind eye.

*********************

Before I read the words I ask for these pages because eventually I want my angel to know the truth. I want my angel to find out how much I cared for her. I want her to know that her father was not a bad man, just a truly unlucky one. Each word I scratch down on the parchment brings a fresh sense of anger at my worthless self. Why did I let the the jealousy get to me? If I had just carried on then maybe I could have become her father again.

But I failed.

August 12th 2004

Cleanliness surrounds me in a clear plastic bubble- numbing my senses. All the words and voices around me are nothing but a drone as I drag my dirty feet along the pristine tiles of the floor. Everything is alien to me here, disjointed and unconnected, creating a bridge between the robots in scrubs and everyone else.

Each door brings me closer but speed does not change as I get nearer to my destination. Time has stopped for me. Even though teh otehr people stand out against the bleakness I barely notice them, their bodies blurred as if underwater. Finally I reach the door to reveal and angel ina  sea of wires and machines.

All of I sudden I feel dirty, unworthy of being in the presence of such a beautiful human. Her sleeping face peacefully untouched by the viperous wires that snake around her body, attack her most vulnerable spots. So much I have given up for her and she has never truly met me. I have given up my money, my house and my health just so that she could get the life saving surgery she needs and they still don't know if enough has been done. All I can do now if pray that she pulls through.

*********************

It is the end for me. I have read the letter. I have told what little of my story matters. I have lived all the life I am allowed to live. Now everything is over.

I can only tell you the specifics of what will happen to my body as I die for that is all I am certain of. First I will feel like my entire body is being burned as the electricity courses through my veins. Next my vital organs will short out leaving only my brain at the end. Finally I will lose consciousness and will slip into whatever comes next. Then my life is over.

What I cannot tell you is how I will feel as the volts shudder through me. There is no fear in me left, nor anger or resignation. I can only guess that I will feel nothing at all. I have no feelings left.

I do know that for a fact I my soul will not die and I will not feel bad for what I have left behind. It will be so much better without me. My soul will not shatter, split nor explode for that would be impossible. I have no soul left.

Just as they come to strap me down I read the letter once more and let the last tear I have escape.

Dear Sir,

Your daughter sadly passed away on November 15th 2004. You were only recently informed due to the wishes of the child's guardian at the aforementioned date. We are sorry for your loss.

Six months she has been dead.

Making The Most Of It

It's been a busy few weeks, Nelly has been on a creative writing course with Michael Morpurgo (he wrote War Horse amongst a load of other books) along with a hundred children from secondary school across our county. Nanny ans Shouty Grandad accompanied me and Mr Fink to see Nelly at the school's spelling Bee, Nelly did very well. We were also treated to her acting prowess at the recent 'Soiree', an evening to showcase the talents of the children at Nelly's school. Last week she went to Bologne Sur Mer for the day, visiting a goat farm and the historic town.

Last night Mr Fink and I went to my alma mater for an outdoor music festival where Waiting For Katherine (frontman is a school friend from 20 yrs ago!) were headlining.
I spent a wonderful day, picnicking, wine tasting and talking with school buddies about everything until the band hit the stage, then it was off down into the mosh pit for me - along with me Ju Ju Majik stick for a full hour of pogo'ing, singing and general letting down of hair. The rain lashed down, hair and clothes got wetter, the mud got thicker but we didn't notice because the music was loud, fast and tuneful. What a night. Marvellous.

Happy With our Lot.

Time for a little reflection.....to be grateful for the things I've got that I take for granted. my mobility, my health, my friends and family, I have enough food to eat and many of life's luxuries. A loving husband and a funny, happy daughter. What do I want? I don't want for anything, I'd 'like' for everyone, everywhere to be able to have what I have.

In other news, Nelly came 3rd out of 9 in the spelling bee, stumbled on a word she knew and kicked herself all the way off the stage - it looked very nerve racking. It was sports day today and she came 2nd in javelin (11.4m) and did some overtaking in the relay. At the end her form won the day.

So with all this good fortune and mellow vibes kicking about, I'm keeping my head below the parapet and not drawing attention to myself. the Chaos Fairy can go and play elsewhere!

Boaster

• Beaming moment 1: Nelly is 1 of 13 students entered into the school spelling bee. Competition to be held next Wednesday. Update to follow.
• Beaming moment 2: Nelly and some of her peers are performing their self-written play infront of paying guests in 2 weeks time.
• Beaming moment 3: Nelly and 1 other student have been chosen to attend a 2 day course in creative writing at another school. The leader of the course? It's Michael Morpurgo, the writer of War House and Children's Laureate.

Don't Play With Your Food

So, there I am, watching the Jewellery Maker channel; mushroom and tomato linguine on a plate in my lap. I stretch along the sofa to reach the note from school to tell me Nelly is in the final 13 for the Stage 3 spelling bee, when, SLURP.
The whole plate of paste slides off the plate, down into the gap where the seat cushion meets the sofa arm and promptly disappears.
Bugger Bugger Bugger, it's all up my arm, all over my trousers and somewhere in the depths of the leather sofa.
After some digging around and leather polish, I think I've retrieved all the linguine.
Note to self - eat at the table - oh, and well done Nelly!

Congratulations Ma'am - Diamond Jubilee

We visited the Fogg's new home in the wooded depths of the East Riding of Yorkshire, leafy, rural with wonderful birdsong all around.
We enjoyed a meat feast banquet at every meal, champagne and a jacuzzi in the garden. (There's nothing like a fizzy dip at 8.30am to get your blood moving!)
The Caddyfrog's (formerly known as the Cadwallader's. See meteor-hot-tub-bbq BLOG) and The Foggs really got into the spirit of the fancy dress with Mr Caddyfrog unable to tell the difference between his homemade sceptre and the real thing (cue discussion about which diamond is in the sceptre). The Caddyfrog's won the prize for best dressed, which was an 18" wide floating rubber duck that was duly knighted Dave the Duck by Mrs Caddyfrog.
Marsha and Nelly had a whale of a time, climbing trees, hot tubbin', film making, reading and having a wander round the village. We played, coits, golf, bartenga, tennis and swing-ball. We watched the flotilla on the TV and ignored the rain. We saw the villagers 'parade' to the local hall. (Actually the walked past the house in rain macs and umbrellas but the intent was there, the only fancy dress was worn by a wet weimeraner.)
I particularly enjoyed the very confusing 4 way conversations and Mrs Caddyfrog's trifle served from Aunty Gerty's crystal bowl!
As ever, a weekend of fun and frolic, wine and food, friends and family. Thank you all, xxxxx
Long Live the Queen!

Dressing up time

We have been invited to the Fogg's for the annual meteor shower BBQ hot tub experience. This year with a twist - no meteors, not that we've been sober enough to witness any thus far anyway! This year it's a Jubilee BBQ hot tub, garden game extravaganza. Also, costumes in the theme, "Kings & Queens" are de riguer. so with 4 days to go and a limited budget I have had the printer on full speed, all the local charity shops have been stripped of suitable wear and Nanny is knitting like a dervish. Tomorrow I'll get the pinking shears and sewing machine out. After The Fogg's appearance at Christmas In March in full Mr & Mrs Santa at the door, we have a lot to live up to.
So as long as we can get the costumes ready in time, we'll be looking forward to the 9m x 3m gazebo and 8 person hot tub (what water shortage?).
Look out Fogg's, here we come!

There'll Be A Welcome.....

On Sunday, Mr Fink, Nelly and I joined my sis-in-law (Big Sis), her hubby Hatter, Ivy (their daughter), Ell (their son), Scrappy (Ivy's hyperactive boxing husband), Chip, Berry (Ivy and Scrappy's son and daughter),
Silver Surfer (my father in law), Coral, Padraig and Cupid (Silver Surfer's daughter, her husband and their blond curly haired son).
We had all gathered to meet and welcome into our family, Silver Surfer's fiancée, Bonnie.
Apparently she was really nervous about meeting us all - can't think why?! Anyway Bonnie, and Silver Surfer were soon in the bosom of the clan, being climbed on by the children, fed by Big Sis and entertained by Scrappy. We spent a lovely afternoon playing with the children and reading stories, chasing Thomas the rabbit around the garden and eating lovely lasagna.
As we were sitting yarning in the living room, Bonnie asked about the tattoo on my foot, Silver Surfer looked at my foot with an odd expression. "How long have you had that?" he asked. "Since last August Bank Holiday." I said. he stood up to take a picture of it when i said, "You already took a photo, at Big Sis's wedding last year."
There was a light-bulb moment and he said,
"I was looking through the wedding pics the other day and I came across this picture of a tattooed foot and I couldn't work out why it was there or who it belonged to?!" Mystery solved, although I did advise Bonnie it might be worth checking through the rest of his pics to see what else he's forgotten!

All in all, another wonderful day with the family I love, welcome Bonnie - don't be a stranger.

Dat's ma Girl

I opened the first three of four brown envelopes this morning, all from the tax office telling me I will no longer be receiving child tax credits.

The last envelope had Nelly's school name on the postmark. "Oh heck, what's happened?" I thought. 

Another school trip to pay out for? Another letter about uniform? 

No, A letter from the Headmaster telling us Nelly had been awarded the fortnightly prize for best student in her year. She was given 25 merit points and had tea with the headmaster, whom she described as, "a really nice man". We've even been sent a photo of her shaking hands with him while receiving her certificate. How proud?

I asked Nelly why she had not mentioned the award? "I forgot." 

Humble too eh!

Dandelion Wine

Nelly, Marsha and Glumdog picking dandelions today, the traditional day to pick them is St George's Day but I was afraid the council would come and mow the field!

We gathered a whole carrierbag of flowerheads, the pollen stained our hands and the smell from the bag was.....horrible.

 After 90 minutes of separating the petals from the green parts I am left with 7 pints of petals.

 Add the zest and juice of 4 lemons and 2 oranges.

Add 16 pints of boiling water and leave to steep for 4 hours.
...to be continued

Shouty Grandad Goes Shopping

Shouty Grandad has bought a laptop and is waiting for broadband to be connected to Chez Shouty.
After months and months of comparing broadband suppliers, tormenting companies for the best deal, he settled on one and signed up, guided by the patient hand of Mr Fink (resident nerd).
The next step was to purchase a laptop. Shouty Grandad knows the limits of his knowledge so he asked Mr Fink to recommend a machine. The Finks checked out the computers locally, found a suitable one and passed the details on the Shouty Grandad. He went to the shop, had a look and said he wasn't sure about having a white laptop. White? The one we looked at was black? Weird. It transpires he was at his local branch (15 miles away) and they only had a white version. DOH!
Last night Mr Fink bravely went with Shouty Grandad to the computer shop to buy the laptop. Shouty Grandad has already planned their attack to obtain maximum discount. The plan was for Shouty Grandad and Little Fink to go and speak to the sales assistant, the premise was that Little Fink had birthday money (not quite enough to buy the model Shouty Grandad wanted) and Grandad would appeal to the assistant's softer side to get the price down for the poor wee girl, Nelly was to sniff and cry if required. Meanwhile Mr Fink was to wait by the door and appear to be in a rush, to add pressure to the seller.
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley.
Nelly refused to take part in the subterfuge.
Mr Fink and Shouty Grandad went on their own, on entering the shop the sales assistant commented of 2 strapping chaps coming in, to which Shouty Grandad replied, "We're wrestlers....a tag team."
Mr Fink (could have said) "Yes, this is Kendo Nagasaki (famous 70's wrestler known for his wrestling mask), now you know why he wore a mask!"
The upshot of the outing was a lovely new laptop with a £5 discount, Shouty Grandad's comment to this paltry sum...."You can't even buy a bag of chips for a fiver!"

Look out world, Nanny and Shouty Grandad are coming online!

Happy Days

Good Friday. Yes i agree it was good. A wonderful afternoon spent with The Glums in the local woods, walking, climbing trees, taking photos, throwing tennis balls at each other and generally enjoying each others company.
I don't have natural brothers and sisters but in Mr and Mrs Glum I feel I do.
Mr Fink was turned into a 'ninja' by Nelly and he tried to locate her zombie style. It was really quite spooky!
We finished our walk with tea (supplied by me) and cake supplied by Mrs Glum. Then we headed off to the Grand Union pub at Three Locks near Leighton Buzzard. A lovely meal with good humour.
We headed home (Mr Glum got a bit lost) and had a smashing day.
Thank you friends, we love you. xxx

Christmas Mark II

What a wonderful weekend.
We opened the back door to find this pair of loonies on the doorstep on Friday. They had parked up in a lay by just outside the town to get changed, only to attract the attention of a passing motorist who stopped to observe them dressing - weird. Imagine the motorist going home to his wife and telling her he has just seen 2 adults changing into Santa costumes at 10pm!
Anyway, we tucked into Shepherd's Pie, wine and Japanese beer, it wasn't long before we opened our Christmas presents, a couple of cuddly toys for Mr and Mrs Fogg, these toys, fart, giggle, burp and record your voice, very silly, very appropriate. I was given some lovely reminders of their trip to New Zealand and a pair of framed watercolour prints of hares (my favourite animal), Mr Fink received buckyballs (magnetic ball bearings to fiddle with), a guide to teenagers and a bell for his bike. Nelly was lucky enough to be given a fantastic camera - thank you so much, you couldn't have picked a better gift for her. We eventually went to bed about 2am.
Christmas Day was wonderful, bacon sarnies for brekky, lazy morning, Christmas dinner, very few of us managed pudding, we were that full! then a game of Guesstures (recommended) with the most entertaining mimes being Mr Fink's 'liontamer' and Mr Fogg's mime where he held up 10 fingers and then two....could Mr Fink get it? Nope. (it was supposed to be 'twelve'!) the girls' team swept the board with our feminine intuition to a massive victory (6 points). Mr and Mrs Fogg then produced another, very generous, gift, a telescope and showed me how to set it up. I managed to focus in on the moon straight away. I was so excited, it was amazing to see the golden lunar surface pockmarked with craters and contours. (I have a week off work next week and am seriously considering going nocturnal to get the best use out of the telescope!) We rounded off Christmas Day with a classic '80's horror film, "House".

A wonderful weekend with all the makings of a future tradition.
Merry Christmas to each and every one.

.....and Relax

I'm having the most relaxing week, it's half term. I decided in the end, not to head North, the snow in the South and the Freezing rain in the North put me off. (I'm also trying to watch the pennies.)
Nelly and I have had a lovely time, she is growing up into a lovely young person. Her sense of humour, kindness, sense of justice and fair play is brilliant, I am very proud to have her as my daughter and I love spending time with her, out shopping (where I'm out of my comfort zone), driving in the car or talking about TV programs.

I know our relationship is bound to change as she gets older, I just hope she stays true to herself.

Now, if I can just get her to recite the Llama Song so that I can record it, we'll be BFF's for life!

(headline pic is of some jewellery I have recently made)

michel roux? i think not

Last night Nelly and her mate Thumbs (she is permanently attached to her phone by the thumbs) had a sleep over, this involved eating vast amounts of Doritos (tangy cheese in flavour, vibrant orange in colour) and drinking lots of Tango (which we all know is like giving amphetamine to a druggy). They his the sugar rush at about 9pm while watching Lake Placid (brilliant monster movie about a man eating croc), they had given up on Inception as after 10 minutes no one knew what the heck was going on!

The sugar rush subsided and they headed off to a quiet bedtime.
I woke up to Nelly at my bedroom door asking, "Can we make brownies?" I agreed and laid in bed for....all of 2 minutes. I decided I ought to supervise or at least provide a fire fighting presence - if required!
In fact they did ok, and pretty much tidied up.
The thing that made the most mess was when they went to eat the brownies, they were so hard as to be inedible.
In the end they used them as hockey pucks on the kitchen floor.
I persuaded the girls to chuck them in the bin before their teeth and my floor tiles cracked.

2012 - Day One in the Fink House

Well happy New Year to you, may health, peace and happiness be your constant companions this year and beyond.
As is our tradition, we teamed up with the Glums and headed to Southend for New Year's Day - fish and chips.
We took Nanny along for good measure, but accidentally forgot Graham (sorry mate, next time, perhaps).

We had fish and chips at a lovely little cafe then went off to the pier for a mile long walk...but the pier cost a pound each so I said, "No, I will not pay!" and voted with my feet!
Nanny and I went off to do some metal detecting (very uneventful) while the others went off to the arcades.
After a while it started to rain so Nanny and I headed back to the car.

All in all a very gentle day with good friends, the perfect start to a new year.

A Peaceful and Happy New Year to you all!

Wow, didn't that come and go fast?

Christmas Eve was spent with The Glums, wonderful food by Mrs Glum, great home movies by Bambi (Mr Glum). the most amazing surprise came when the glums insisted (as they do) that we open each other's gifts on the spot. Mr Fink and I were handed a long package. We looked at each other in puzzlement, this gift was about 2 metres long by half a metre wide???? as we unwrapped it, we realised what it was. (In the blog entry, "you can take the girl out of Colney" - you will remember Mr Fink and I went to a junk emporium, while there we spotted the most beautiful paining of a lady in a red velvet dress reclining, we both fell in love with it but couldn't quite justify spending the money just before Xmas, so reluctantly we left it there. We mentioned this in passing to The Glums' the next day and thought no more of it. The next day Nelly and I went back to the junk shop to get the picture for Mr Fink but it had gone. Doh!) The Glums had visited the shop early the next day and bought it for us. We were speechless, what a lovely gift. Thank you!

On Xmas Day, Mr Fink, Nelly (aka Little Fink) and I spent a wonderful day with my parents, Nanny and Shouty Grandad. Shouty Grandad spent most of the day looking for The Scotch Tape (a cassette of bagpipe music with which he tortures Nelly in the campervan) and for the campervan keys. The sight of him alternately looking worried and then smiling at the annoyance of knowing the keys are in the house but "Where?", was very funny to watch and had me giggling all morning.
In the end the keys were located in one of the many hiding places he has for items of value (you've heard the one about him stashing the holiday money in his going out shoes, forgetting and being crippled all night at a party due to ten pound notes taking him down a few shoe sizes?)
We shared gifts, swapped stories and generally had a lovely morning.
We had the best dinner ever, Heston eat your heart out. Mum, you are the best.
After dinner we played the now traditional round of homemade Deal or no Deal, which can be a bit of a trial unless Shouty Grandad is losing, then it gets really funny. Nelly made a Christmas quiz for us, this year it was boys v girls and nanny and I won! Woo Hoo - we didn't brag tooooooo much.

Mr Fink has made himself a digital jukebox, which he is enjoying playing with. 2 days ago I went to collect a pasta maker from a Freecycler and got a puncture in Mr Fink's car. Yesterday I took Nelly horseriding, Marsha was also there, Marsha's horse reared up and bucked her off. Bambi and I though we were going to have to call an ambulance for her but after a few minutes she seemed ok and has suffered no damage, thankfully. (ALWAYS wear your hat and body protector if you are playing with horses.)

It's now New Year's Eve, I received a phone call this morning from my bank, checking the validity of a purchase I apparently tried to make yesterday, £291 to Emu-Oz's Party Shop in Australia. I agreed with the lady from the bank that it was not me trying to buy £300 worth of party gear just after Xmas, so they declined the transaction and stopped my card. Well done to the bank for monitoring my buying patterns and preventing a fraud I probably wouldn't have picked up till my next pay day.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and our traditional 'fish and chips on the beach' new Year's Day with the Glums, Southend, here we come!

Well, may I wish you all peace and good wishes for the coming year, may it find and leave you in good health, good spirits and with the people you love. xxx