Never a dull moment

Well, where to begin.
Little Fink had her first sailing lesson this week and really enjoyed it, next lesson on Thursday, she has also been preparing for her SATs next week.
Mr Fink has been playing squash and doing Ju jitsu.
I've been excited as my first 5 gallon batch of wine plop plops away fermenting.
We've received the kit list for the Scout camp in Denmark/Sweden - HOW MUCH!!!
Last night Mr Fink, myself and Mr and Mrs Hammer (Mrs Hammer also known as Louise...can you guess who is Thelma?) went to a Biker Club in a nearby town to see Waiting For Katherine, our local punk/ska/indie band - I was at school with the lead singer too. We managed to outstay the bikers who, by midnight were mostly drinking coffee! We had a brilliant time and the band were amazing.
Today we had Sunday lunch at Nanny and Shouty Grandad's.
Little Fink has been sent to tidy her room - she has 'previous' for getting distracted and not finishing (read 'starting') the job. She came down just now and advised us...."When I get distracted, I draw a line on my arm (hmm too much Doctor Who methinks?), each line means I must spend one minute in a cold shower." She already has three lines, she's only been up there half an hour.

Easter and Spring cleaning

Well here we are again! Nanny and Shouty Grandad are back from Aus. Grandad suffered a DVT and spent time in hospital - what a shifty way to get a seat upgrade!
I've been studying for my Certificate in Medical Terminology (level 3) and frying my brain with all the Latin and Greek terms! Mr Fink has been working hard at his mum's house laying patios for wheelchair access, sorting out ramps etc. Little Fink has been enjoying her trampolining, Easter Egg hunt with the cubs in the rain and horse riding. Little Fink is currently away with Nanny and Grandad in the camper-van, somewhere in Cumbria - we couldn't get through to them tonight, for the pre-arranged 7pm phone call, Nanny's phone is off. (The first night she went away, we were so busy at home, we didn't remember about the phone call till 10.30pm. Bad parents?)
This weekend we've been tidying the house, getting all those little jobs out of the way. BUT I have had time for the telly. Friday, The Gene Genie was back - why do I find his personality so attractive, the character is basically a racist, misogynistic bully? Don't know, don't care! Then on Saturday - The Doctor was back, the Eleventh Doctor. I'm hooked. I didn't think anyone else could play the role after DT but Matt has got something special and a bit weird going on and I like it. His sidekick is cool too (if a little under-dressed!), can't wait to see what Mr Moffat has instore for us for the rest of the series.

Doctor Who

Saturday 3rd April - The New Doctor...............................can't wait!!

The Doctor and one of 'those' conversations

Left, my favourite picture - a blue footed booby! I love it's expression!

Well, Doctor Who - terrific or what. Personally I think he is better with a companion but only because it allows us to probe his psyche more than when he is alone. I really enjoyed Sunday's episode. I really can't wait till the Christmas episode.

On a different note. I put Little Fink to bed tonight and she had a thoughtful look on her face. "Mum, what are those tube things in that blue box in the bathroom?" I realised what she was talking about, brought them out and gave her the 'talk'. she did very well, hardly giggled or went, "Yuck" at all! Well done Little Fink!

Coincidence or too much TV?

Did you watch Torchwood, Children of Earth? The basic story is...some aliens come down to earth and threaten to kill everyone on the planet unless they are given 10% of all the children on earth. The 'powers that be' decide that this is OK and start to decide which children should be rounded up and transported for the aliens to whisk away. They choose children from council estates, ones that don't appear to have a future. The health and government agencies tell the parents the children will be eligible for a free inoculation to protect them from the aliens and all they have to do is let the children go and have the injection and everything will be fine.

Now, I've been watching the news and something called Swine Flu has been making the headlines. The government and health agencies are preparing us for mass inoculations using the vaccine created for the avian flu epidemic.

Sound familiar? Or just my paranoia?

Doctor Who returns and so does my cold

Saturday 11th April - put the date in your diary, set your Sky+ and sit back and drink in Dishy Dave. I can't wait!

Anyway, back to more mundane things. Mr Fink kindly shared the briefest most unpleasant cold I've had in ages - thank you. I bought a steamer chair from Ebay ready for the Summer - it better not rain and the rabbits better not chew it.

It's the Easter hols, the children have 2 weeks off school, Little Fink is spending most of it in the camper van with Nanny and Shouty Grandad in Ironbridge and Tewkesbury. I shall be mostly...working, waiting for the dishwasher guy and taking rabbits to the vet. Mr Chips has had lumps and bumps on him for as long as we've had him. Unfortunately, one of the bumps has a nasty crusty appearance so off to the vet he goes. The anti-social anti-christ rabbit, Billie, is as fit as a fiddle but she must go too, to have her flystrike preventative treatment and to have a fur-matt removed from her bib before any nasties get into it. I feel sorry for the vet already - the rabbit is a maniac.

New Who, Bambi and Truffle Dog

Well, well, well. There you have it, the new Who, not Jeeves as he claimed "I told you, it's me, I've been up all night polishing the TARDIS!". I'll reserve judgement till 2010 although I did think he had a crazy look in his eyes and mad arms.

I'm going to miss David so much, I bet Matt won't be able to make me cry at the end of an episode I've seen a hundred times (Girl in the Fireplace and when Rose is left on Bad Wolf Bay).

Anywhoo! today Mr Fink mostly spent the day at home, trying to breathe, hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and he can get back to normal. It's been 3-4 weeks since he took ill.

Little Fink and I went for a tramp in the woods (he didn't mind) with most of The Glums. Little Fink, Marsha, Bambino and Bambi (Mr Glum) on their bikes, me following along behind with The Glum's dog, Pongo. Pongo likes to mark every clump of grass, mark on the road and stone with a sniff and a wee. I called him Truffle Dog, which i think he quite liked, although, if he had found one, I wouldn't eat it as he would have wee'd on that too!

As i was walking along I encountered a couple with an Airdale, it had mud all round it's chops and i said, "He looks like he has eaten half the forest!". The owner explained that the airedale likes to carry BIG sticks in it's mouth. He described how the dog will carry a 10 foot stick/branch in it's mouth and 'take out' passing joggers with it as he walks past.

We loaded the bikes, kids and dog into the cars and set off for Mrs Glum's yummy shepherd's pie, as we were travelling along the dark country road, a deer bounded across the road in front of Bambi's car, a stunning sight and a close shave for the deer.

Not more than 50 yards along, I caught sight of a deer in my headlights, lying on the verge at the side of the road, it seemed like it was struggling to stand. I flashed the headlights at Bambi and pulled over, we investigated and as we walked to the deer, it was clear it had been hit by a car and had been left injured and unable to stand. I phoned the police and gave them the story, they said they would send out the deer warden to deal with it.

Little Fink recons that when she grows up, she is going to be a vet and I am going to be an animal rescuer, she said she will even buy me a van to collect the animals in. (She did suggest a push bike but I declined her kind offer)!

DOCTOR WHO NEWSFLASH

~The next Doctor will be revealed tonight (Saturday) on BBC1 at 5.35.

My money is on Ioan Gruffudd.

Fingers crossed it's a good choice.

Good luck everyone.

Russell T Davies for President

Well, Mr Fink, Little Fink, J1 and I went to the Barbican to see "Inside Doctor Who" a collaboration with BAFTA, Russell T Davies (writer, show runner and all time backbone of Doctor Who) and the various departments behind the series.

We were treated to Kirsten (off SMaRT) getting Russell to make up a Doctor Who story from impromptu suggestions from the audience in under a minute. (The step ladder prop was key to the story!) We learned about the monsters, how they are made with CGI and models, the explosions, the music (I shook music arranger, Ben Foster's hand outside and thanked him and everyone involved for bring a little joy and fear into our lives!) and Russell gave the budding writers out there lots of encouragement to follow in his footsteps.

We had 2 Cybermen, an Ood, a Dalek, The TARDIS, a Scarecrow (the scariest for me) AND a sneaky peek into the Christmas special. Oh wow, what a great couple of hours. I'm going to miss them all so much.

Anywho! On the train Mr Fink was mucking about with names of famous people and swapping them around. we ended up with Rusty Lance Gob Knobbler, Dinglebert Humper Duck and Hugh Fearnley Ducking-Stool (I think the last one came from Terry Wogan!). We laughed all the way there and all the way back - what a joy our children were - mind you compared to some of the spoiled brats we saw in the Barbican and in London, anything would have been better than them!

Now Mr Fink and I are girding our loins ready for THE BUNCEFIELD BASH which is in about...3 hours! We have indoor fireworks and he isn't afraid to use them! Allons-y! Molto Bene!

Alonsi!

Did you see it?
On 'Children In Need?'
The Doctor. With a Chocolate drink moustache?
When he confronted the 'other' doctor, He had no moustache,

Ay?

An you lot thought i wasn't watching.?

Doctor Who did What?????

What a rubbish way to end a Wednesday. It was bad enough watching the National TV awards. Then, redemption, the ray of light of light-entertainment - David Tennant is up for an award, here he is, standing outside the theatre where he is playing Hamlet. Hang on, my panic gland goes into overdrive - he has an announcement to make....NO!!!!

Oh boy, I hate to admit it but I nearly cried. It won't be the same, no Julie, no Russell, no David. Little Fink summed it up perfectly, "I don't know if I want to watch it with out him in it?"

Anyway, I've been through the whole range of emotions. betrayal, anger, sorrow, denial, disbelief, then I just felt a bit sick and fed up about it. This morning I had an epiphany. I had a dream that David Tennant was filming Doctor Who and I was nearby. I wanted to see him and tell him I thought he shouldn't step down. I waited ages and ages for him to finish filming and in the end I went back to my apartment that overlooked the studio. As i looked down through the window, about 10-12 floors up, his car arrived and he left the studio, he got into the car, looked up and right at me and smiled. I knew then (in real life) I had forgiven him. Then the dream got all weird, as they do, with him sitting in the car upside down as a child might watch the TV, then I was outside his tatty rented home with allocated parking, he lived at number 39. OK I'll stop there.

The upshot is. I don't think Doctor Who will ever be as good as it has been. I think it stood a chance with a new writer (Steven Moffat) if David Tennant were to stay for a series, but I think, new showrunner, new lead and new producer might be too much for the series (and I bet that is why David has jumped ship - he doesn't think the show will be better or the same as it was).

Still here then

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/bigbang/

How cool, yesterday the world didn't end, despite CERN's best efforts. Did you know that The Fink's have what we like to call a rocket scientist in the family. He has conducted his own experiments at the big magnet thingy at CERN! Ner De Ner.

The link above is to the Radio 4 website which ran programmes on The Big Bang all day yesterday, including an episode of Torchwood, specially written for the day. for a 'Who' starved girl like me it was a godsend!

Well worth a listen, if only for Capt Jack's innuendos!

The State of The Nation

Picture the scene - the front door bell at Fink Mansions rings, Mrs Fink wombles down the hall to answer it. She finds the little roughty toughty five year old girl from the house opposite.

"Can Little Fink come out to play?"
"I'm sorry love, she is at her Nannie's house, she'll be back later, I'll get her to come and find you when she gets back. OK?"
"Oh, I'll probly (sic) be in the pub by then."
???????????

By the way - don't miss the Doctor Who Prom on Radio Three on Sunday from 11am to 1pm, (you can even tape it on Sky plus) see http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/misc/proms/ for details.

Adieu Doctor, Til Christmas

You can tell a true Doctor Who fan from the contacts list in their mobile phone. Look under 'Doctor' and if the number 07700 900 461 appears, you have found a true disciple.

I decided to mark the last episode of Doctor Who with a girlie get together. Doctor Who has always been Little Fink and I's bonding time. nothing interrupts us when it's on. I arranged for Marsha and Abu Dhabi to come round for a sleep over, bought pizza and popcorn. The episode was due to start at 6.40, I wanted us to watch last weeks episode before hand, which was about an hour long - 5.40. Little Fink was at a bowling party until 5.30 - it was going to be tight.

In the end I we got home (detour for coca-cola) about 5.50, forgot all about the popcorn etc, watched last weeks episode and THANK CRUNCHIE for Sky+! While the machine was taping the end, we watched the beginning! We were about 10 minutes behind the rest of the country!

Within the first few minutes, my hope had been confirmed that David T was still THE Doctor, there were whoops of joy, clapping and shouting. We were so happy he was there. What an episode, good luck to Steven Moffat - I don't know if he can top what Russel T Davies has done but if he can write 'Blink', 'The Empty Child' and 'The Library' episodes, we're all in for a scary ride!

I found it a bit odd when he left Rose and The Doctor II on Bad Wolf Bay, I said out loud, "That's not right, that's not the doctor'. I felt Rose had been cheated out of what was rightfully hers - a future with the Doctor - the proper doctor.

When Donna's mind started to reject the Time Lord part of her and she was begging The Doctor not to wipe her memory, I started to cry. How unfair. As the flashback flickered through her adventures, my tears fell. She would never remember what she had seen and done with him, their friendship and bond. Wilf helped The Doctor put her to bed, never to remember her time with him, I was still crying.

I can't remember a TV programme that elicited such emotion from me in recent times as this one did. It's because I was totally immersed in it, believed all the characters and the fantastic things they could achieve, had gone through all their traumas and trials with them.

Now I feel a bit lost, a bit like Rose and Donna must feel. (and, gentle reader, a bit embarrassed to admit it!)

Perhaps it is my turn to be the Doctors companion -

heaven knows I've been phoning him all week but no reply!

Doctor Who ROCKS!

Wasn't Doctor Who fab last night. Shame about Catherine Tate, when I watch her all I can think about are the characters she plays in her TV series, hopefully this will pass and I'll see her more as Donna as time goes on. The truth is, you can't beat Billie. Ho Hum.

Wow, the school holidays go so fast. 2 weeks of fun and travels. Little Fink spent the first week campervanning in Tewkesbury with Nanny and Shouty Grandad. The place had been flooded again (3rd time since Summer) so they stayed in the car park of the Hawbridge Inn, Appley and had a wonderful time. Shouty Grandad was on top form as usual and has been scavenging and recycling whilst on his trip. Apparently he met with some resistance in Tewkesbury when he wanted to find out the time to see how long he had left on his parking meter. He approached one local and asked/shouted, "Excuse me, what time is it?". The man just kept walking despite Shouty Grandad's repeated question. The next person just threw up his hands and ran away when Grandad asked him. (I know how the man felt, I want to do that some times!) The second week Little Fink and I have been visiting our friends - Little Fink has been sleeping over, we went for a lovely walk around the lakes near BigMac's house, saw cormorants, butterflies and 3 big furry bumblebees on the ground. 2 of which had apparently stung the ground nearby and died. We are very puzzled as to why? (EVEN more strange - on Doctor Who last night (series 4 Episode 1) Donna mentioned the mystery of the disappearing bees? Cue Twilight Zone music!) We had The Oracle and her daughter (Loo) round for lunch and we went to see the 3D Hannah Montana concert at the cinema. (Review - Brilliant, I really enjoyed it, sang along to the songs I knew and enjoyed the interspersed documentary bits - Miley Cyrus is a brilliant role model for girls Little Finks age. All power to Hannah.) On Thursday we went to Brightlingsea near Jaywick (see lead photo) for a beach day, (me, Little Fink, Shouty Grandad, Nanny and the metal detector). NANNY FOUND TREASURE. A 1954 ha'penny. She was like Howard Carter opening King Tut's tomb! Brightlingsea is a lovely place and needs a return visit for some further exploration. As the tide went out it revealed a gooey sticky green-black mud flat. Little Fink was instantly attracted to it. By the end of the day she was covered from knee to toe and hand to elbow in it. As we walked back to the 'dog tap' to wash her down, a passer-by thought she was wearing black boots! She had the best time. It was very refreshing to just let her get filthy without having to keep saying, "mind this, mind that, don't get mucky" etc etc. Very liberating.

This weekend it has snowed and Mr Fink and Little Fink have already been out, had a snowball fight, made 2 snowmen and come back in for breakfast, all by 9.30am!

What a fortnight - made special by all our friends.