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.

Hippo Gnu Deer to Ewe

Well, Happy New Year to you all. We had a terrific Christmas with family, friends and lots of silly games - particularly homemade Deal or no Deal. Nanny made a spectacular Christmas dinner, so good I didn't have room for pudding! We spent time with the Glums, more great food and daft games. New Year's Eve we were invited to one of the Four Musketeers' house for a party which turned into a karaoke fest. We left before the shots started to be drunk as we had a beach date set up for New Year's Day. We will be staying next year tho - if invited. (Judging by the hangover reports the next day - it was a monumental party!)

New Year's Day, Nanny, Mr Fink, Little Fink, me, the Glums and Glumdog (fox terrier) went to Worthing in West Sussex. We had dry, crisp weather, a lovely walk up the beach, fish and chips al fresco and lots of beach combing. We finished with tea and sandwiches on the promenade, Mrs Glum brought her little primus stove and had freshly boiled water for the tea. We did get a few odd looks from passers by, we also got lots of people wishing us happy New Year.

Mr Fink is finally loosing the plot. He went to the cupboard to get a tin tuna for dinner, reported that there was none and walked away. I checked and there were 2 tins right at the front of the shelf?????

He pout the water on to boil for pasta, sat down, watched TV for 40 minutes, went back in the kitchen, steam and condensation everywhere. He just turned to me and said, "In 8 years time, I'll be elligible to get insurance from SAGA." Hmm, it shows!

We all wish you a happy and healthy new year. xxx

New Year's Day

The first day of the New Year. A beautiful clear sunrise on a crisp, frosty Winter's day. I collected Nanny (Shouty Grandad chose to stay in bed), rounded up Little Fink, Mr Fink, Asterix and the Silver Surfer and we all headed off to Walton-On-The-Naze for our customary New Year's Day trip to the seaside. Unfortunately, The Glums were still laid low by the lurgy and couldn't be with us this time.

We went for a walk along the pier, through the spooky deserted fairground, with Little Fink making spooky 'oooooooooooooo' noises all the way through. Mr Fink and Little Fink walked all the way to the end of the slippy wooden pier while Nanny and I waited on the not so frosty part! Then we went off for fish and chips and a wander back to the cars to collect the metal detectors. Asterix had a trip. Silver Surfer drank her complimentary cup of tea and Nanny and I went detecting. Nanny found 2 X £1 coins, 2 x 20p and a couple of 5p's. I found a pound and 2 x 5p! Little Fink spent a couple of happy hours playing in the sand with a spade she found. Bliss!

At 5pm we headed back to the cars, drank tea and ate mince pies and then set off for home.

The frost was starting to get heavy and by the time we got home, the air temperature was registering, "Flippin Freezing".

We all had a smashing time and felt it was well worth the 2 hour drive to spend some time in the fresh seaside air.

Mothers' Day and Biddies

Mothers' day was a delight. Mr Fink, Little Fink, me and Nanny and Shouty Grandad went to Southwold for the day. What a beautiful day, lovely sun, beautiful beach and lovely company. Nanny was off like a rocket with the metal detector, up and down the beach, beep beeping away. Little Fink was busy with sand and pebbles and such. Shouty Grandad and I settled into the picnic while Mr Fink helped Nanny with the digging. Disaster strikes, I forgot the tea bags. As you may know - I love a cuppa, doesn't matter where it is or what time, I love a mug of tea. I brought a massive catering size flask of hot water (cant stand tea made in the flask and it has to be in a proper ceramic mug, no plastic or metal - urgh) 2 pints of milk, ample sugar and spoons. no tea bags. DOH. Shouty Grandad thought this was brilliant and will never let me forget it. He went off for a walk into town and a general Tea Bag hunt - the rest of us feared for the people attending their beach huts. would Shouty Grandad accost them for their tea bags? Luckily we didn't have to find out, he found a shop up near the lighthouse and we had tea and picnic. smashing.
As for the metal detectoring. We didn't find any valuables, I located a couple of bits of molten aluminium but nothing valuable. Shouty Grandad resorted to asking random passers by to throw odd change into the sand, just so we would have something to find. He got a lot of odd looks but was almost successful in begging for change on one occasion! Oh the shame. All in all a grand day out and the start of the Fink Family Calendar of beach days and holidays.

This morning Little Fink had a shower (it was the Cub take over of the local swimming baths last night so her hair was like coconut matting.) she asked me to check her head as it was itchy. I looked, and looked and looked. Then, I found what I was looking for, I picked it out, pressed my fingernails against either side of it's little body and I pressed. POP it went - how satisfying. Back into the shower she went with the sacred bottle of "Not Nice To Lice" that I purchased off the Internet ages ago. About 4 years ago, she and I became infested with head lice. It happened right at the start of the 6 week summer holidays. Oh boy, I tried everything, non prescriptives, prescribed medicines, conditioner, nit combs (if you could see mine and Little Fink's hair you would know what torture a nit comb can inflict - you really find out who your friends are when you invite them round to de-nit you because you can't part your own hair for the nit cream very well.), tea tree oil, coal tar remedies. We tried everything. After 6 weeks a friend recommended Not Nice To Lice. She gave me a free sample, we used it and bingo - lice away! (It contains the enzyme that encourages the louse to moult, so by making them moult prematurely, they die. you have to re-treat a couple of days later, just to catch any that have hatched and not been affected, but it's a simple case of washing your hair for 10-15 minutes in peppermint smelling shampoo.) Hopefully after another treatment next week, we will all be "biddy" free! Oh the glamour of my life.

http://www.naturallydoesit.co.uk/shop/ this is a link to the Not Nice To Lice site.

A special mention for those that know Big Mac, she has picked her self up, dusted herself off and is doing pretty damn well for herself actually - she passed her course (not surprised after all the work she put in) with distinction and is now Head of the Universe (or something) at the school she works in/runs. Well done Big Mac - the milky bars are on you!

Happy Nyew Nyear to everyone

May I wish you all a Happy New Year and hex you all with the best of health and the most happiness for the coming 12 months.

New Year's Eve was a very quiet affair, Mr Fink and I alone in the house (Little Fink had gone to The Glum's for a sleep over) watching Jools' Hootenanny, in bed by 1am. Our 'event' is the yearly trip to the seaside.

Jan the first and up early to collect Nanny (Shouty Grandad didn't want to come - he is still recovering from the shoulder op he had this week) and thus to The Glum's. Off we go in convoy for 2 hours to Brightlingsea, a place that Nanny, Shouty Grandad, Little Fink and I had enjoyed last year.

It was very cold and there was not much beach, the chip shop was closed and I lost the will to live with all the complaints about my choice of venue and had a good old sulk.

Then Little Fink, Nanny, Bambino, Bambi and I had an impromptu game of foosball (a combination for netball/football and wrestling!) which soon got me out of my strop.

The consensus was for us to go to Clacton where it's more populated and we have been before. We had a lovely couple of hours there with fish and chips - why does Bambi take photo's of his food? Beach combing, metal detecting - still no gold - and a trip to the pier and arcades, where Bambino and I searched for the 'ugliest doll' offered as a prize - there were some horrors! (Watch out for pics in the coming weeks).

On the way back we (Finks and Nanny) checked out St Osyth's, which had been recommended to me by a couple of people at work. The village looked lovely, in the dark!, but as we followed the signs and Sat Nav to the beach, we were guided through a caravan park. The clientele of the park must have been an 'interested' bunch as on one parade of shops there was, on the end - a bookmakers, next to that a tattoo shop and next to that an off licence - on a camp site????

We headed home, Little Fink and I fell asleep and Mr Fink's cold returned with a vengeance.

We start the New Year, happy, optimistic and full of bogeys!

(Oh, and it's been a year since I had a fag! Yay me!)

Little Fink, Sand Snorkling at Weymouth

(This takes about 30 seconds to load - depending on your connection.)

She started off over to my left, crawled/swam round behind me, I only noticed her as she came round past Big Mac, which is when I grabbed my camera.

Oh my word, this is the funniest thing I have seen in ages! Even the guy from the next family over from us was laughing his head off at her!

Whirlwind

Rowan Atkinson in a sketch from The Secret Policeman's Ball where he and Peter Cook are doomsdayers discussing the end of the world. Rowan says, "Will this wind, be so mighty, as to lay low, the mountains of the earth? (All will become clear as to why this is relevant in a mo!)

Alright campers, all back on Terra firma. The Fink family had a great time with great friends. The weather was patchy, ranging from beautiful sunshine (4 days in total) to gale force storms (5 days and nights one after the other!), the rest was grey and overcast. The winds were so mighty as to lay low a lot of the tents and awnings. Many campers packed up and went home but our little group battled it out with the help of industrial size tent pegs and the Glums' awning (we sheltered in there for warmth and company during the worst of the weather).

Dorset was beautiful, lovely sunsets and big skies. Weymouth beach as always a pleasure. Mr Glum earned a new nickname from Ched and Doris, he is forthwith to be known as "Bambi", because he is long legged and accident prone, like the young Bambi - very apt. The Big yellow Bambiboat made its inaugural sailing at Weymouth, which was great because Mr Fink and I didn't think it was going to arrive at all on the top of the Glumbus, secured to an inflateable roof rack (I kid you not). You should have seen the Glumbus going down the road at 50mph with a 15ft inflateable yellow canoe strapped to the top of it! So funny. We all had a turn in the Bambiboat and it was good fun, especially when ALL six of the children got in!

The children where a delight and so funny, well behaved (in the main) but terrible at washing up! I have a terrific video, which I will treasure, of Stinky wrestling with her brother Slash on the ground, when I ask her what she is doing, she looks up in mid scramble and says, "I'm trying to kiss my big brother." He howls, claims to need the toilet and runs off. In the next film, Little Fink is wrestling Bambino (Son of Bambi, aka Goober), I ask her what she is doing, she replies, "Trying to kiss Marsha's big brother!" She fails and resorts to giving him a noogie instead!

LMI's mum and dad - Pisky (she is Cornish and looks like a Pixie) and Homer were good fun and helpful too, when Doris's tent canopy needed zipping up she needed someone really tall to help, Bambi wasn't available so Mr Fink and Pisky joined forces and with her on his shoulders, reached up and did up the zip! Mad. Homer and Mr fink went on a 9am bike ride to Abbotsbury that wiped them out for a good couple of hours after. They vowed to go again the next day but chickened out when the time came, claiming sore botties!

Big Mac and Abu Dhabi were great fun too, Big Mac kept Mr Fink entertained on trips to Lulworth and Chesil Beach, she is so funny, had me in hysterics more than once! Especially with her shrimp impression! You go girl!

The campsite was lovely, well kept, clean and tidy. When the winds were at their worst, the staff were patrolling the fields and fixing or tying down damaged tents while the owners were away, so caring - All hail the staff at East Fleet Farm Touring Park, 10/10 from The Fink. Might see you next year!

Fingers Crossed

This is Billie, say hello to Billie, she was left in a box on a rabbit owners doorstep in a nearby town. Billie will be coming to join the Fink family after our holiday. I'll be trying to introduce her to Mr Chips over the 3 weeks of the Summer Hols. "How did this come about?" I hear you ask.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeell. As you know, after the Blue Cross fiasco of finding a friend for Mr Chips I kept looking through the Tinternet and came across Agatha's Annex. A lady who lives not far from me who has been rescuing rabbits for a number of years. I contacted her, visited her and had a lovely afternoon surrounded by bunnies and guinea pigs. Agatha even showed me how to groom Mr Chips. what a lovely lady (and her hubby too!). Unfortunately circumstances were such that there mere no suitable companions available for Mr Chips there.

The next evening as i was doing my usual 'bum-check' on RabbitFink, I found fly eggs, the first stage of Flystrike' which is a serious/fatal disease for rabbits, where a fly is attracted to a rabbit because it is dirty for whatever reason and lays its eggs on the rabbit, near its behind, after as little as 12 hours, the eggs hatch and the infant maggots start eating the rabbit. Needless to say it is a distressing and terrible death for a rabbit. I have always prided myself on the fact that my rabbit was clean and well cared for, so it just goes to show, it can happen to anyone. With the help of Mr Fink, I removed all the eggs, cutting away some of Mr Chips' fur to make sure they were all gone. Mr Fink phoned our vet and was told the fee would be £105 as it was after hours - that was just to open the doors, we would have to pay the consultation fee etc. on top. Well, I was certain Mr Chips was now out of danger, so I left the visit till the morning. the vet kept Mr chips in, shaved his tail and bum (the rabbit's, not the vet's) and painted him with a medicine called, "Rearguard" to protect him from flystrike for the next 8 weeks. All to the tune of £80. Now you know me, I love my animals but why do I always feel ripped off by this Vets? On the itemised bill it showed the medicine cost £15. That's why.

Rant over.

The lady who has Billie contacted Agatha to try and find Billie a home as Billie doesn't get on with her 2 rabbits (they have the most beautiful Beagle there too - i fell in love with him!), so Agatha told me about her.

So cross your fingers that Billie and Mr Chips like each other!!

There will be no posts for 2 weeks as I am on holiday in Weymouth. Do you remember, years ago when the daily newspapers used to offer a £5 prize to anyone who could quote the phrase of the day to Chalky White carrying the newspaper? (The Sun or The Mirror I think). Well, if you spot me, Mrs Fink, in the next 2 weeks, and you say, "My word Mrs Fink, you are looking slim and gorgeous." I will reward you with a big smile and a firm handshake!

No rain dances now - we're camping!

Oh I Do Like To Be beside The Seaside...

This is Hemsby beach, near Great Yarmouth.

Mr Fink and I spent many happy holidays here in the years prior to Little Fink's arrival!

This weekend, in true 'grab the weekend by the throat and shake it til you have fun' stylee, Mr Fink took myself and Little Fink to the seaside. It is only 3 hours away but it took us 5 because we couldn't decide on a B&B we liked (I thought the landladies were taking one look at my figure in shorts and deciding their guesthouses were full, but Mr fink said it wasn't so!) they were either too run down, too remote, too expensive or in some one's house (I'd feel weird just wandering in and out) or in pubs which looked 'lively'. In the end we plumped for a respectable hotel in Gt Yarmouth that Little fink loved (she had bunk beds and a TV in her room!). It was very reasonable and I would recommend 'Sunnydene, North Dene's Road, Gt Yarmouth' any day.

We dumped our gear, went to Little California (near Caister), it was about 7pm by this time, bought fish and chips and sat on the rocks looking out to sea eating our supper. It was very misty and the lady in the chip shop said it had been so for 2-3 days, so bad that the guys working on the oil rigs had been unable to take off in the helicopter transports to get them to the rigs, for days. Ho hum, had we travelled all this way and spent 5 hours in the car for misty seascapes? The morning would tell.

Sunday morning woke us with bright sunshine and the smell of the sea. We had our breakfast and set off. We found our spot under the sand dunes, characteristic 'breeze' blowing across the sand and enjoyed 6 hours of beach fun, sun and sand. Little Fink and Mr Fink built volcanoes, pits, castles, rock sculptures and buries each other in the sand. The sea was too cold for swimming but the view was superb.

Thank you for a super day Mr Fink and I hope the sunburn on the backs of your legs subsides quickly!