*sulks*

must call out engineer in the morning!! :(

Yesterday I paniced!!!

At 4pm I switched my spa on to heat for the evening session and when I went to check on it 2 hours later, I was horrified to find it had not heated a single degree since I turned it on!!
The digital moniter still read a very stubborn 29 degrees!! So inbetween getting Dereks dinner ready, faffing about making home-made candles and giving Sirius his tea, I began frantically messing about with my tub, with a deep frown and a sinking heart. When Derek came home while all this was going on he naturally asked me what was up and when I told him his face dropped too!! It dopped even further when I told him a relacement heater would cost £500!!!
Many expleatives filled the air at Vicky Towers, I can tell you!!
Anyway I turned it off and turned it on again, gently tapping the engine aea of the spa to see if that would help, and miracliously the moniter went up a degree...and then another, a short while later. Briefly, I breathed a sigh of relife, just to have another horror filled my mind...my spa would not be hot enough for my usual 9pm session!! So as it tuned out I had a very brief and if albeit cooler spa at 10pm when the heat had only risen to 37 degees (my normal heat is 42 degrees) ...even Sirius looked perplexed!!!
Us humans really can be a very stupid species!!...When we panic, all our logic vanishes!!! a bit like the scenario of lost car keys when your late for work. ..As I sat in my marginally cooler tub I started to think. "Vicky, what time of year is it? and how warm?" Well its mid October and at night about 8 degrees! and thus was my answer!! My tub was simply not heating as quickly as it would in the warm summer evenings!! and a little knowledge of how a hot tub works comes into play here too. When the heater is switched on, the tub filtre comes on automatically so the filtered water that blows out into the tub, passes the heating element and so heating the water. When the tub is running in full bubble mode the air outside the tub is drawn in to make the bubbles and if the outside air in cooler this will in turn make the tub cooler and in a half hour session the heat can crop by 3 degrees or more, if its cold enough! I have memories of using my tub last winter when the temp dropped to an arctic -20 and my tub session were cut to 10 mins and I had to cover the lid of my tub with blankets to keep the heat in...I kid you not!!!!
I am cetainly not looking to have a repeat of last winter!!
Solution!!!! Turn my spa on to heat earlier and keep the lid covered. A little extra work, but its worth it!!
In other news...
Over the last weekend I had a vey powerfull compulsion to buy a crystal ball....I have no idea where this feeling came from or what prompted it, but the urge was irrisistable! So the day before yesterday I took delivery of a large, beautiful crystal ball. But as I know next to nothing about them I began to do a lot of research on the intenet. I do have some brief knowledge of Pagan and Wiccan beliefs and I have been using the Tarot for nearly 20 years, but this is an entirely different ball game, if you pardon the pun.

Thought I woud resurect this seeing as someone has already done it for me

http://vixtravels2.freeforums.org/index.php

HAHAhahahahahaha!!! and more to follow!!

Back in the spring of 1994 I was still settling into managing my new pub, The Wheatsheaf in Dallington, with Linda and my blossoming relationship with Derek was growing stronger by the day! Linda and I had a very cosey working routine which suited us both. I woked the mornings and early afternoons as well as re-opening early doors at 5.30pm. Linda worked the evenings, so I had the added benifit of having almost every night off, which I would spend with Derek in our livng space upstairs. Lunchtimes were very routine. Linda would come down to take over fom me at 3pm and I would hurry upstairs with my lunch and a newspaper tucked under my arm...it was here that I was to begin reading the unravelling horrors that had taken place at 25 Cromwell street.
"the House of Horrors!"
At the same time Derek had leant me a book called Peking. A huge, bulky mother of a read...and although I love horror movies and fiction, I do find it very difficult to read about "real" horrors. This was certainly the case with the newspaper reports of the gruesome finds and now and again I found myself unable to read about them as it was so horrible! This was where Dereks book came in handy. So I would fold my paper on the tiny round, formicka table, folding away the nightmare horrors contained within its pages, and resume to the comfort of my borrorwed book. However, there was no escaping what was going on and everytime I heard about it I wanted to be sick....
Earlier this year I had heard that ITV had made a 2 part drama series about the investigation into the "house of Horrors!" and I was absolutly livid!!!! People making money out of other peoples misery is very abhorrant to me, and I thought this notion was an utter insult to the poor souls who had lost their lives at the cruel hands of the West's...Now this drama was due to be screened at 9pm (my hot tub time) so I was rather pleased with myself as this was a good excuse not to watch it! So I dident. But the next day my curiosity got the better of me and I watched part one on demand, the following aftenoon, freely expecting to turn it off as I thought this was just going to be some sensationalist garbage!
Oh I was so wrong!!!!!!
Appropriate Adult tells the story of an ordinary housewife who is training to become a social worker, but is unexpectidly called on by the police investigating the West murders. Janet Leach's character takes this challange in her stride but as the story panns out, her work with Fred West as his appropriate adult begins to take strain on her personal life and indeed her very sanity!
This drama written by Niel McKay (todays Dr Who writers could do with a few lessons from this chap!!!) was handled very sensitivly and played with BAFTA worthy performances by Emily Watson (Leach) Dominic West (Fred West) and Monica Dolan as a seriously ceepy Rose West...and from the begining which takes us to the two very different housholds of Mrs Leach and Rose West, shuffling about in her slippers and dressing gown...well I was practically glued to my chaise lounge!!!
Now in todays tv world of endless, equally mindless, celebrity/reality/dance/talent shows, I have, over a space of a few years become very put off watching TV simply because of these idiotic and very cheeply done shows and I can honestly say if it wasen't for little gems like Coronation street and Waterloo road (which I love!) I would have given up watching tv alltogether!!! So I found it so refreshing to actually find wonderfully put together drama that has shown that TV does have some hope afterall. Simply put (and in my opinion) Appropriate Adult is AWESOME!! Its dark, almost grimm even...its sinister and takes us on a reluctant but compelling ride on the shoulders of poor Ms Leach as she tries her very hardest to bridge the gap between the investigating police and the mind of an evil serial killer. Believe it or not there is even some humour in here!!! Monica Dolan plays a very sinister Rose West. Her very screen presence just oozed evil and although she only had a few small parts I actually felt very scared of her character as well I should!! She was playing the UK's most evil and sadistic murderess, ever. Saying his though, all the perfomances were amazing. The muisc was minimalistic, dark and moody and the camera works, some of which where hand held shots just added to the authenticty and the utter drama!! It honestly made my flesh creep!!!
Below is just a snippit...but if you haven't seen this yet, its worth every second!!
Just dont watch it late at night, or if you are of a nervous dissposition........YES! It really is THAT good!!

"Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it."

Rene Descartes

Got a bit of a surprize when I got this, this eveing...it sounds beautifull!!

The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. The High Priestess: A pure, exalted and gracious influence. Education, knowledge, wisdom, and esoteric teachings. The forces of nature. Intuition, foresight, and spiritual revelation of the most mysterious and arcane sort.



love and h.g.w. to all x

Unfortunatly the town where I was born and bred (Warrington) has been in the news this week, for all the wrong reasons!

The Showbar in Warrington has been selling drinks for just 10p in a promotion they call "2 bob Tuesdays!" and young revellers are flocking from far and wide to take advantage to get "smashed" very cheaply....at best this is a very irrisponsibe promotion, but at worse this is down right bloody dangerous!!!!!!
When I was in my early 20's (before I moved to Northampton and became a manager for Scottish and Newcastle) I worked at the Postern Gate pub, as I have mentioned before on this blog. I worked an average 40 hour week, and I worked damn hard. As a result I would chill out several times a week at Mr Smiths club and loved every moment of it....However, there is a dark side to Warringtons nightlife, and I must say a very ugly one it is, and one that I thank God on my bended knees that I have not partaken in, in years!
Its all to do with the geography of Warrington (although *myself included* Warrington seems to breed nutters!!!LOL...Appologies to fellow Warringtonions who are not nutters!!) and the fact that its slap bang inbetween Liverpool and Manchester. So come the weekend most of the northwest appear to converge on Warrington, get pissed, and have a veritable tribe war!!! Fights, brawles, slanging matches, glassings and gang culture! All very commen in the Warrington I left behind in 1993! Sometimes I breath a deep sigh of relife for this, but I still have memories of these events taking place under my very nose, and they are not nice to recall!!
Now some utter gonk somewhere thinks it would be a fun idea to sell drinks for just 10p!!!!!
My first thought is the manager must either have an IQ of an amoeba or have a masters degree from fairy-land!!!
In my day as a trainee manager I had licensing law written in stone and engraved on my very crainium...but when I read someting like this I somtimes think the licensing law must have had a clause written into it, so managers can and do have the right to act with childish iresponsibillity!!!...maybe I live on another planet........
This breaks the law on several levels and I am mightly surprized that nothing appears to have been done!!!
And the main one is serving a person or person who appear to be intoxicated!!! YES!! its is ILEGAL TO SERVE ANYONE WHO IS DRUNK!!!
Photos fom the news show drunk bodies piled up covered in sick...so how the heck are they getting away with this??? and how on earth (or what ever planet these folks live on) can they be having a good time!!!??? Is the defination of having a good time include collapsing in a pool of ones own vomit, in the gutter??? If this is so, I hope to never ever have a "good time" again!!
My opionion??
Haul the pratt who is responsible for the Show Bar, before the courts so him/her can explain their actions and be given a very hefty fine. And have the liscence revoked for the club!
And for those of you who think I am pulling a mother Theresa act! I too have been drunk (sometimes very drunk) in my youth! I have also been thrown out of pubs for being drunk in my 20's and I have even ended up in A&E, drunk!!!! and you know what??? I hated every moment of it!!!! Being drunk has taught me a valuble lesson.
"DONT GET DRUNK!"
So these days I dont.
I still drink, and a love my chilled wine in my hot tub of an evening...but I have seen others, and personally been though hell because of drink. So I have learned to respect it too. This dosen't mean I am a party pooping stick in the mud!!! That I am most certainly not, as my close friends who know me personally will know! But the most valuable lesson I have learned as far as drink is concerned, is this:
"Excess WITHIN control!!!"
Its my wish that others would learn this lesson too................

Although the weather forcasters have promised us a bit of an Indian Summer this week, its true to say Autumn here is well under way! Leaves are turning golden and the carpet of fallen ones grows daily...and so begins my favorite season of the year!
Clearing the garden was mostly hard work, but Derek did mow the lawn for me. I got on with weeding, dead-heading and the tidying up which did indeed give me a bit of back ach...but I suppose now I am 44 I should expect this! ...However the patio was a mess and I had a huge harvest of my tomatoes which I shared with mum, and they were very yummy. After I had tidyed the patio I was struck at just how bare it looks with all my spring and summer flowers gone! So I stood scratching my head thinking of ways to make it more interesting!. Now I have a 3 foot soiled filled wooden tough with a twig trellis above it (which is where my black-eyed Susans climb in summer) and earlier that week I had bought a huge, tin, wiccan looking Jack O' Lantern from TK Maxx...why??? I hear you ask. Basically I liked it, and even though Samhain is a month away I decided to set it on the wooden tough and put a stumpy, but large church candle in it, to light it! The effect was surprizingly good!!...from my hot tub I can watch him flickering and looking menacing, sinister and fun all at the same time! From my bubbling hot steamy tub my TK Maxx Jack looked fantastic! Anyway, this hatched an idea and when I saw Sirius one evening struggling to get around my garden in the dark (as viewed by me in my hot tub) as his eyesight is not very good in the dark...
My Jack and indeed my patio was to become a feature lit by candles and now I have a veritable fairy grotto out there, than any Santa would be proud of!! I have been making my own Jack O'Lanterns using nothing more than old dog food tins (washed ofcourse!) a craft knife, some plastacine and a bit of garden wire!! and on Sunday in a space of an hour I had made 3 of them and hung them on the empty trellis above my Maxx Jack...Derek came and gave his objective opinion.
"Good! but you need to paint them!" he exclaimed
So that afternoon we did a dash to hobbycaft for some orange metal paint! However I did not paint them straight away as evening was drawing on and it was getting dark...eagerly I waited for it to get dark enough so that I could light my tin "Jacks" and Oooohh what a delight!!! I was gobsmacked by the effect, and that night I was quite mesmerised by them winking and glittering at me in my tub. They dident even need paint, I decided, as in the dark all you can see is their candle lit faces, and there is an added bonus of extra light on my patio so Sirius can see better when he decides to have a nightime forage around my garden....but I was delighted with my very own fairy glade, so much so I am planning on making more with moons and stars on!! Now this is what I CALL recycling!!!
Below are pictures and details of how I made them, if you want to have a go...But a word of WARNING!!!! craft knives are as sharp as razorblades, if not shaper, and tin cut with such knives will have edges which are equally as sharp, so NEVER let any children near them. My advice would be if your having a Halloween party make some of these as a surprize for children and hang them well out of reach on trees and bushes in the garden. Also tin with candles in gets very hot so do not touch them!!! Blow them out and leave to cool down.

You will need (as well as a very steady hand!) an old tin, washed and dryed, a craft knife like the one pictured, a lump of plastercine or modling clay which I have used, and some garden wire! (paint and brush optional)



I start with the eyes. Cutting VERY carefully!! By far the simplist shape for the eyes (as well as the nose) is a triangle! The plastacine you hold inside the can so as you cut though the metal, you cut safely into the plastacine...and not your fingers!!!



onto the next eye! again with plastacine in place benith the can! Carefull now!!!



onto the nose and here I show my modeling clay (plastacine) which absorbs the craft knife etches!!



Triangle nose finished with clay in place!



and onto his mouth which is a crescent shape and therefore a little more tricky!!
I have decided to give this guy a single tooth!!



and finally not forgetting two holes at the top of the can on either side. This is where your garden wire hanger goes!



Well this chap is now finished but this is the first one I have painted so although the cutting is done he is still basically a work in progess. My notes on using a craft knife are as follows;
*Alwasy store the knife CLOSED and well away from children. Locked away is even better!
* During use ALWAYS cut away fom your body, and NEVER towards yourself!
*Always use a buffer for the cuts in this case plastercine! and hold firmly in place!
*NEVER use a craft knife after drinking alcohol or taking drugs! Even simple painkillers can have an effect on your judgement!
*ALWAYS keep sharp objects away from children and pets...and anyone under "an influence"...NUFF SAID!!

Now here are some piccies of my Jack fom Maxx (my big boy!) and my homemade Jacks hanging in my garden!!
As I realised very recently, taking pictures in the dark, only lit by candlelight is very difficult as the pictures of the lanterns on a previous blog shows...so these piccies were taken in daylight, but the effect is lost here! They look so much more effective in the dark!!! I am sure you can imagin it! ;)

Have fun! but for goodness sake take great care if you have a go at these!

love Vix

View Full Version: Dark Tower COFFEE BAR!!
vickyanddoctorwho >>THE DARK TOWER!! >>Dark Tower COFFEE BAR!!

not bad for a forum I closed down 6 years ago!!
Very impressive infact!!

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It appears someone had far to much time on their hands!!

As a woman and a Christian westen woman at that!! I was not allowed into Hindu temples during my many travels and in 7 years of near solid travel in Asia I was only admitted only twice (probably because I was wearing a Sari and showing great respect)...This really should not have happened at all as I am not a Hindu! and unlike other faiths where you can be "converted" to be a Hindu you must be born as a Hindu.
This first time I was allowed into the outer sanctum was in Nepal. The second time was in a tiny temple in Trivandrum (south India) where my third eye was opened while I made an little offeing of flowers to the Deity in the inner sanctum, and my heart could indeed hear the "Om" the very resonence of creation and indeed the universe...Both occasions affected me very deeply. and if the soul has harmonics mine were playing me a veritable lullaby as I learned more and more about this most mystic and spiritual Faith. I found myself carried on a beautiful wave of learning and although my knowledge of Hinduism is very limited I find great peace when I meditate or even think about Lord Shiva!
Shiva is a main Hindu deity and he forms part of the trinity (with Bhrama and Vishnu) which is the very core of the Hindu faith.
His name in Sanskrit is written thus:
शिव
Which means the auspicious one! But Lord Shiva has many names...and is represented in many forms.....
Lord Shiva is often depicted as a beautiful youth while at the same time as a Yogi with the wisdom of ages. Often he is depicted as dancing the Tandava and stamping his feet on the demon of ignorance. In this form he is the Nataraja, dancing the sacred dance of creation and destruction. For as Lord Shiva is indeed the creator he is also, in turn, the destroyer and worshipped as such with very deep reverence. Shiva is also worshipped in his form as a Lingam or Linga. This form is often seen as a stone collum often thought by scholers as being phallic. But if I am honest here the Lingam does not look very phallic, but its symbolism is all important, representing creation, sustinance and passing of all things, fading out of time itself...seen as the end of the Universe.
Lord Shiva has a third eye on his forhead called Tryambakam and this has many meanings which I am only begining to contemplate. When I consider the third eye I find my thoughts drifting back to the Pineal gland, which as humans, we all have buried in the deepest and at the very epicenter of the most ancient part of our brains. (this was covered in a previous blog of mine)
Shiva wears a deer in the left upper hand. He has a Trident in the right lower arm, with a crescent moon on his head. He is said to be fair like camphor or like an ice clad mountain. He has fire and Damaru and Malu or a kind of weapon. He wears five serpents as ornaments. He wears a garland of skulls. He is pressing with his feet the demon Muyalaka, a dwarf holding a cobra.... He faces south.... Panchakshara itself is his body. His body is seen as covered in ashes!
His throte is blue as he drank poison in the waters and oceans of the world... and his hair is often seen as being curly or even matted or dreadlocked. He rides a beauitfull white Bull called Nandi, and this is why bulls and cows are considered very sacred in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka...Shiva is also seen with a great cobra which symbolises his strength over even the most wild animals!
Anyway, you can see for yourself as I have found these utterly beautifull Shiva (gifs or animations) for meditation!

Firstly we see Shiva as "Nataraja" Lord of the cosmic dance of creation and destruction! (my favorite representation!)













It has been much to my great pleasure and priveledge to have visited Varanasi (sometimes called Banares or Kashi, city of light) which is the most holy city in India and Hindu's make pilgrimages here and many hope to be cremated on the Sacred Ghats on the river of the Ganges..
This is me on my visit to Varanasi in 1995!


.....with love, blessings x

Photo blog!!

Welcome to my most peacefull place!!!
These are photos from my hot tub garden room where I commune with the Elements every night sometime after 9pm!!
Sorry for the poor quality but the only light I will allow in my tub room is candle light so I have had to tweek each photo in Corel X to try and make them more viewable.
Ok then...now for some explanation!
Being a Freemason aside for a moment I am basically a very spiritual creature! and I find great beauty, peace and tranquillity in all things of a spiritual nature. The backpacking around Asia in 95'-96' brought this side of my personallity to the fore as I learned about Hinduism, Buddahism, Jainism and many more of the rich religions of this area of the world. Derek would often loose me on days out, but he knew exactly where to find me!! In a temple or in deep conversation with a Sadu (Hindu Holy man) or visiting a Shrine and even just chatting with the local folks. There is a very deep ingrained desire in me to study all that is spiritual (and not just faiths!)l and it is not something I have much control over! This, some would call, strange obsession is only matched by my love of Tudor history which I have adored since childhood...As for my own religion, I am supposed to be a Methodist but I have rarely been to Chaple and I am ashamed to say the last time was my beloved Dads funeral in 2001 as he was indeed a Welsh Methodist which is why I was Baptised in the same faith. However I find certain degees of great knowledge, teaching and beauty in nearly all faiths and spirituallity! and I love this!!
My hot tub garden room represents this side to my nature!!
Here the Elements, of Earth (my birth sign is Virgo which is Earth) Air, Fire and Water converge in harmony with my Spirit and just for a short peacefull time each day, I get to contemplate...........Sorry there are no pictures of me or my hot tub (part of it is visable in one photo, I believe) and this is simply because when its running there is a heck of a lot of steam and my Blackberry is not waterproof!! hehehehe!!! Hope you enjoy them though!!
love and h.g.w Vix

A very special day in June this year was my wedding day!!

At least that is the only way I can descibe my thoughts and feeling and indeed chaos rippling though my very soul in the week leading up to my Raising...by the time the morning came around I was in what I can only describe as a "Masonic tizzy!" as I prepaed myself. The night before I tried some deep transendentle meditation and spent quiet time in my hot tub trying to relax, but it was to no avail...I couldent!! But fortunatly for me, mum had given me some valarien to help me sleep and they worked a treat, I am pleased to say...but as dawn shone over my morning eyes my heart began to pound again in expectation of the specal Lodge that was awaiting me!
It did indeed feel just like wedding neves!!
Having arranged all my things and studying my Ritual book, I made ready with a long bath and took great care in my appearence as I so wanted to look my best, and smartest...I had my good luck chams too!! A small crystal skull fashioned of rose quartz and my Om symbol necklace which I wore throughout my travels around the world. It was silly really because both items did not make it inot the Lodge with me, but it was just for slight comfort on my part.
My fellow betherin were as excited as me, which calmed my nerves a little when I arrived at our Lodge and when the time came in Open Lodge I was asked by my R.W.M to leave and make ready. With shaking hands and a very nervous smile I saulted and exited. My hands were all over the place as I tried to get into what I call my pyjama garb (much like I wore for my Initiation and my F.C.) and Brother Gwen helped me with rolling up of sleves and straightening the material. I do hope she dident think I was odd, but the usual chatty me had vanished and I found myself unable to speak for some reason as we made ready. When I was bid to enter the Lodge for the second time I was quite taken aback because it was in compleate darkness! I could not even make out the faces of my betherin, and the only light was coming from a tiny book torch that was held by my R.W.M and this was indeed my guide.
I was about to recieve much more beautiful light!!!
The very air arround me was sizziling with electricity!!! I could almost smell the charge!!! much like the metallic smell you get just before a huge thunderstorm. There was somekind of etheric beauty about it...it held me in its gentle bubble and I was much transfixed. As I took my O. I tried my very hardest to keep my voice strong and true but during seveal places my words were broken with emotion and I was momentarily terrified that I was going to cry...fortunatly I could feel the confort of the V.S.L. benith my hands which were far too warm to feel normal.
Drama followed....and then the most beautiful peace overcame me. Never in my whole life have I actually felt so relaxed!! and I suddenly remembered another brn telling me "you might fall asleep!" and he was right!! I was indeed so happily relaxed I could have fallen asleep very easily, but I took time to enjoy the moment which was truely awesome!! Then when the time came I was Raised by my R.W.M And quite suddenly I felt like an entirely new person!! The old Vicky Short was left behind like some ghost of a bad dream gets left behind when we wake. I felt truely renewed and as Bro John recited the Charge from compleat memory, which in itself is an awesome feat. In fact I just wanted to throw my arms around everyone to share the botherly love I was feeling at that moment. I can honestly say never before in my life have I felt like that and it was so very wonderfull!!
Now I have a problem though....our Lodge does not sit again untill October and I can't wait to get back!!! Fortunatly the lovely Bro Sally has come to my rescue and invited me to London for...guess what??? A Raising!! in September!! I only hope with all my heart that the bro being Raised has the same beautifull feelings I had!!
Guess what again???
I have aleady booked my coach ticket!! *winks*

A NEW brother Vicky!!...

....now the work begins.............

Please do some reasearch if you are considering buying these!
In the research I have tried to do I have come across a dead end as regards to any GENUINE customer reviews. Simply put, there are very few genuine customer reviews on the net, which leads me to think that there is somthing a bit suspicious about the marketing of this product. Try it for yourself!! Type Meratol into Google and you will see hundereds of results that all say "reviews" and "real customer comments" but scratch the surface of these results and all you will get is adverts for the pills and links leading back to the Meratol website. I think after scrolling through several thousand of these results I only found ONE PAGE of what appeared to be genuine customer reviews. Somehow I believe these web comments are being tightly controlled by the makers of this diet pill. (also the makers of Capsiplex)
Now onto the product itself!
I ordered mine a week ago and have followed all the instructions to the letter, and the only pounds I have lost are money ones! In short they have not worked for me, and have proved to be a huge waste of time and cash! Now I may have somthing wrong with me that is stopping these amazing pills from working? Maybe I am stuffing my face? or taking no excersise?? Answers to these is NO! I have been following a strict fruit and veg diet and walk my dog for excersise (I also have a stationary bike I use an hour a day too!) and if I take these company claims of "3-5lbs per week" I should have indeed lost at least 3lbs, but I have not...not an ounce!! But that is not saying that these pills will not work for anyone. They may indeed work for some people but unfortunatly not for me. But at £30 a bottle (a weeks shopping for me!) they are far too expensive to deliver zero results! In fact I think their claims are so outlandish and OTT considering there is not one bit of scientific evidence to back them up, are just stupid! If these tablets are anything at all they are a FOOD SUPPLIMENT!! Now I may be silly but thats a lot of money to pay for a food suppliment!
Basically there is only one way to loose weight. Diet and excersise!! Your calorie intake must be less than the calories your using!
And if you are considering trying these pills do your own research, and see for yourself!
I would love to say this product helped me lose 30 lbs!! But I can't, as I have not!
The only pounds I have lost are from my purse!!
Hope this has been helpfull!

Earlier this year my tent loving husband said something very surprizing to me!!

"I think we maybe getting a little to old for tents!!"

This had really taken me aback!! Was I hearing right??? was this the man who took me trekking and camping on possible the world highest camp site?? Everest base camp!! Was this the man who dragged me around China by the scruff of my backpack, camping??? (even though camping is very frownd upon by the PSB or Chinese police)...well I coulden't believe my ears!! My Derek was finally admitting old age is ever creeping on, and its time to ditch the 4 dome and tunnel tents we have (of varying sizes!) ??? I must admit I do like my creature comforts these days, but I actually like camping and to be put in view of the end of the lane, camping wise, by my tent obsessed beloved, was very surprizing indeed!! My eyebrows were, indeed raised!!
Over the 18 years we have been together, if we could make camp in it?? WE DID!! in all sizes of tents, from the tiny storm expedition tent (that cost the most of all!!) we used in Nepal, China, Tibet and various other places...to a huge 6 man Outwell tent, which is our latest and even has the luxury of its very own carpet!! But this practially blew down in gales we had about 3 years ago. Steadily I was realising our camping style had gone from the very basic to "GLAMping!" with the big tent including tv and dvd, a fully equipt kitchen and masses of storage space!! In retrospect, this was a sign of the getting old bit that I was reluctant to admit too, but dont we all like a wee bit of luxury as the years pass upon us?? I think we do...but for me its still hard to accept that perhaps our camping days maybe over!!
Now Derek is somthing of a "camping snob!!"
He absolutly despises caravans! (well execpt the Gypsy one we have booked for next year)
I had first noticed this when we made camp next to a pub in Rowsely, Derbyshire on our training hike in '93...After 10 miles that day I was begging to stop and a pub we came upon had, what looked like, a delightful camp site. As we found a suitable spot I began to arrange our pitch as Derek popped into the pub to pay the manager for our tent for the night. As I was feeding the flexi-poles into the inner tent I heard a woman, screech!!!!
"You can't pitch that "thing" here!!! This area is caravans only!! you will have to move or I will inform the manager!!"
How indigantly rude was this woman?
I watched her sat on the steps of her immaculate white, spotlessly clean caravan and glared at me!!! I glared back and said nothing...I simply gave this nasty bitch a filthy look and lit a ciggie, while deliberatly blowing smoke in the direction of her pristine van. I had figured that with an attitude like hers she must be part of the intolerent anti-smoker brigade!! To my relife I saw Derek striding across the field to me! only to see another short fat bloke following him waving his arms. It was the red faced, obese manager saying the same thing as the woman had but much more politly!!
We had to move our partly pitched tent to a noisey spot near the road!! Neither of us were happy!!
Derek was furious!! and since that evening I have noticed that he really does have a wrathfull hate for caravaners!!!
If we ever get stuck behind one on the road, my usual polite husband becomes an aged yob, compleate with a string of 4 letter expleaives!! He has some kind of inherent, absolute hatred of caravaners!! I find it quite amusing really....hehehehe....readers of my bolg will remember a couple of years ago I tried to persuade him to hire a motorhome for our holiday. But Derek even managed to weedle his way out of this one by booking the remote stone cottage in Snowdonia!! Behind my back!! Initially I was angry but when it came to the holiday, I was pleasently surprized by the cottage! It was cosey, warm and VERY remote, perched on the very side of Moel Sibod mountain!! However, I have spent far too many childhood holidays in that area of Wales to find it even remotely interesting!! I spent almost all week giving Derek directions on my well trodden roads of my youth! I had revenge though by spending an absolute fortune in Bets-y-coed on 2 pairs of Ugg hiking boots and an Ugg bag!!
Well this morning my travel Muse (wonders if, of the 9 Muses was there one for travel?) was certainly sat, comfortably on my shoulders and inbetween bouts of house work I surfed the net and came upon "folding trailer tents" and watched a couple of videos of them and their set-up on YouTube! I was amazingly surprized how superb they are!! and may give the answer to our age'd camping woe's!! They are easy to set up and the intierior can be very luxurious even! For a moment I thought, what a perfect solution. Derek still has a beloved tent!! but its on wheels and folds out into a delightful camper!! Now if he goes for the idea, all well and good! But if he dosen't, Im stuffed as this is probablly the last idea, tent wise!! My only concern is will Derek be able to tow a trailer??
When I was still only about 10 years of age, my parents bought a small 4 berth caravan and my dad, who was a truck driver, even had problems getting used to towing somthing, even though it was not that big! As I remember it took about a year for him to get used to it and feel confident towing the thing. Now Derek has never towed anything in his life, so I am unsure how he will take to this........
Anyway this idea is for the far distant future as our next holiday plans are set, as my readers will know...this is for perhaps a couple of years down the line when we really are getting to the "doddering old git" stage of our lives!! lol!!! I would love to do tours of whiltshire and the stone circles and ley lines of the south of England! Avebury jumps to mind here!! But I would also love to tour Scotland where I am ashamed to admit I have not visited much, and it always looks so awesomly beautifull in the Highlands!! Crikey that would be a heck of a drive from here, so perhpas I should consider passing my driving test!! *shudders" But at least if I could drive, I could give Derek a break!! That certainly happened when we went boating on the Norfolk Broards! Derek found, to his horror, that he was useless at stearing so I had to drive the boat all week, much to his delight as he could drink at lunchtime!!...He has suggested doing boating again...mmmmmm...maybe we will, if he dosn't like the folding trailer tent idea!!
I shall see what persuasion techniques I can endevor to use on him!!
:)

my Masonic Raising blog is still to come so please watch this space!! Love Vix :)

For tomorrow..............................

Our supper last night came care of my new, pyramid, chiminea and gorgeous fluffy jacket potatos!! I have no idea what it is about jackets cooked in a real fire but they certainly do taste exceptionaly good!! Even Derek was impressed!! So much so he joked "We must take the chiminea with us when we do our gypsy caravan hoiday!" Now I had found this little gem last week while searching for ever more interesting "dog friendly" holidays!!
Years ago, when I was about 10, there was a childrens drama on TV that had me compleatly hooked! It was called "Kizzy!" and followed the story of an orphaned Gypsy girl who was left alone and helpless by the sad death of her grandmother. In the story, when the grandmother died she was given a traditional gypsy service where her beloved caravan was burnt to the ground. Now poor Kizzy who is bullied by the local school kids, really is having a hard time trying to fit in, and when she is made homless she is sent to live in a proper house. But all Kizzy wants is to be able to live a "traditional" life in her very own Gypsy caravan. As she is pennyless and helpless she realises this is only a dream. In the final episode all her school friends ( who have stopped bullying her when the teacher gave them a fascinating lesson about Gypsy life!!) have clubbed together to raise funds so that Kizzy can have her own caravan!! In the final scene Kizzy is lead out into a garden where there is the most beautifull, brightly painted caravan all of her own, compleate with a gorgeous chubby white pony!! I cried when I watched this last episode as Kizzy realises her dream, and since then I have always wanted to stay in a traditional caravan....but to date I have not!!!...This, however is about to change! As I woke this morning at about 7:30am and Derek called me into his office. Bleary eyed and pulling my dressing gown on, I asked what he wanted, but he just grinned and pointed to his computer moniter. And there it was in black and white!! Our confirmation for our Gypsy caravan holiday, next year!!! I was extatic!!!!!!



And as an added bonus its not too far from Bath so I will be able to go back to the Thermae Spa for more of that pampering I so loved on our last holiday!! As well as showing Derek around Cardiff, where my dad was born!! The half Welsh side of me is never far from the surface!! But when I found this awesome holiday I was very dismayed that it was almost completly booked solid untill December this year, so when I first showed it to Derek I had said "if you do decided to book it do it quick as its all booked up and looks amazingly popular!!" Derek had given me a look that said "I know your travel agent selling waffle!" so I just said "by the way this is Vicky talking and NOT the travel agent!!" Sometimes Dereke never forgets the close bond with my job! Anyway its all booked and done now so for several months at least I have lots to look forward too!!!
Love and happy travels!! x

On a chilly, October evening in 1993, I met the man of my dreams, leaning over the bar at the Melbourne arms in Duston, just a short way from the pub I was running at the time, the Rifle Butt (now called The Hart of Duston)...I had, had 3 or 4 pints of Holstien and was more tired than tipsey and was on the very verge of going home, until I spotted one of my regulars, Brain, grinning at the bar and beconing me over. To be polite more than anything I took my pint and joined him at the bar, but still preparing myself to order that taxi back to my pub... About 15 feet down the bar from me was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my life!!!! Drinking and laughing with friends. He was over 6 feet tall with gentle brown curly hair and silver rimmed glasses framing intelligent blue eyes...without thinking I abruptly said to Brain "Good grief that is such a gorgeous guy!!!"
"Who!" Brian asked, and I pointed down the bar only o be rewarded wih peels of giggly laughter from Brian!
"whas so funny!" I asked, indignantly.
"Thats my cousin Derek!! and if you can hook him girl, you have got the richest guy in Duston!!"
"Sod the cash!!" I answered, dreamily...."He is amazing looking!!"
Brain was making to shuffle on his feet and announced...
"I will introduce you!!"
Horror struck I grabbed his arm and held him firmly. "Nooooooo!!!" I realised I was shaking "Dont!! I dont know him!!" and without another word I darted to the ladies and sat on the loo, lighting a cigarette with shaky hands. I was right!! I should have gone home. Perhaps the strong lager was having its effect on my brain. Vicky your making a fool of yourself!!! I berated myself. Several minuits later I left the toilet only to come face to face with Brian happily chatting to my Mr Gorgeous!! It was one of these "ground, open and swallow me now" moments and I felt my cheeks flushing furiously.
"Vicky!! this is my cousin!!" Brain beamed
"Derek!" mr gorgeous said in a very gentlemany voice. He extended his hand and I shook it, causiously "can I get you a drink?" he grinned a wonkey toothed smile a me. I dident feel like anoher pint so I opted for a bottle of lager instead, which he ordered while I took stock of this new handsome man. He was wearing a T shirt over a sweatshirt. It was as if he was showing off his t shirt which said "Singha Beer, Bankok!"....as we chatted it turned out to me that he was somekind of obsessive adventurer! At first I was delighted as he told me about the amazing adventures he had been on....cycling across the full length of Canada, cycling on the Great Wall of China and various hiking trips in China and Tibet. I was absolutly fascinated as I had never met anyone who had done anything as exciting as this before and I found myself asking many questions...but then the bombshell dropped.........
" Next year I am planning a two year trip around south east asia!" He announced quite suddenly. My heart sank a million fathoms..........Typical!! I was thinking...just my freaking luck...I had only just got over falling for my very closetted friend who I ran the pub with and now I meet a lovely bloke who is a obsessive traveller!! Time had been called and I slid of my bar stool to go and phone for my cab. Quite tiddled, I gave this new man a small kiss goodbye and said goodbye to Brain, and sulkily I made my way outside to wait for the taxi. Oh well! I thought, back to realtiy.
Only a couple of days later though, and much to my unexpected delight, that new, but now familier face suddenly appeared at my bar!! I asked Tracey, one of my barmaids, if she could finish my lunchtime shift for me, for which I was greatfull she said yes, and Derek and I drove back to the now very quiet Melbourne arms for a drink. A week or so passed before I realised that we were actually courting, after two trips to the pictures and a couple more drinking sessions. Things in my professional life, however were moving at top pace and so was I...moving that is...I moved from the Rifle Butt to the White Horse at Kingsthorpe, about 10 minuits drive away and this was to be my very first "relife" managers job I was to do. Derek was on hand to help me move my things to the new pub, but as it was on a main road and parked at the curb, he almost got a parking ticket while trying to unload my things from his brand new, red Vuxhaul Belmont...the new pub was a doddle to mangage as it was so very quiet. There was no lunctime menu and no kitchen apart from my little kitchen upstairs and I was lucky if I was to sell 3 pints of a lunchime. I had been for-warned that it was quiet, by Andy, my area manager. But with my blossoming new relationship, I was greatfull. I had arranged to have an evening off one Thursday as I had some staff cover, and I had asked Derek over so he could sample my cooking and to have a night in. I was downstairs in the bar when he arrived, brandishing a carrier bag. For our dinner I cooked us seak, jacket potato and a tossed salad to share as well as a bottle of wine, of which I drank most because Derek was driving. While I cooked dinner Derek began to lay out somthing on the table that he had, had in he carrier bag. It appeared to be lots of ivory white tiles with Chinese leters on them.
"Its Mahjong!!" He explained "I thought I would teach you how to play!"
Well this was certinly an amusing slant on the evening, and an enjoyable one too as he taught me how to collect as many "winds and dragons" to get big point scores and I even managed to beat him on a couple of occasions. But this first evening was to set a presedent for a years worth of evenings off, which, if we were saying in, we would play mahjong and he would bring his photo albums of his travels so I could have a look at them. We dident always stay in though. On the final week of my relife Derek and are were due to go back to the Melbourne for drinkies. As my pup dident even have a car park, he had to park in he carpark of the pub oppesite mine, across the road. It was on one pertiucular evening that he was carrying a large brown envelope that looked rather bulkey. As I trotted after him, across the busy road I asked him what it was and he just turned back and smiled at me saying I would find out when we get to the car. I got in and he passed the thick brown envelope to me...I must have looked at him baffled as he just said "well open it then!!" like it was a present. His smile was mischievous to say the least. Carefully I pulled out the wad of A4 paper the envelope contained and found it to be page after page (about 30 in all) of a very detailed itinarary for a 2 year trip around asia. I looked at him....was he teasing me??.....this was the trip he had talked about the night we had met...
"Will you come with me???" he said
Without a seconds thought on my part I squeeked "YES!!!" and flung my arms around him.
But I really should have though about it!! We opted to go for a drink at a pub in Kingsthorpe village so I could study this more carefully, and we could talk about this, but I was far too excited to be thinking rationally. Two days later I was brought back down to earth with a heavy bang, thanks to my mum. During a quiet period during lunchttime I scuttled off upstairs to phone her and tell her what had happened......
"Your GOING TO DO WHHHHAATT!!!!" my mother screamed down the phone! "I have never heard of anything so stupid!!!" she carried on with a heavy smattering of 4 letter expleatives! "you hardly know the bloke" she continued saying that for all I knew Derek was the mad axe murderer of Northampton!! I have never heard hre shout so much since I was little and it was so loud I had to hold the reciever away from my ears by about a foot. When mum did eventually meet Derek some months later her opinion of him had altered dramatically. She adored him!! His mother, however, a strict tiny red headed Irish Catholic, instantly took a dislike to me, mostly to the fact that I am not a Catholic, but a baptised Methodist. Somehow she would always show her disaporval of me during sunday lunches when I was invited around there. Dereks auntie Kitty was much more welcoming and we got along splendidly. His mothers opinion of me never changed though, sadly. To her I was a gold digging tart who ran a bar (which may as well have been a brother for all the way she carred on!!) and the distaste was always heavy in her eyes and manner. She was to die while we were in Kerala, India in 2000.....
And so the preparations for our trip began in earnest, a year in advance! Our departure date was set for the 3rd of January 1995!!
London Heathrow to Bombay (Mumbai as i is known now)
First off Derek leant me a ton of books on travelling. Mostly Lonely Planet guides. and he asked me to study them carefully. By spring 1994 I was to find myself in White and Bishop out door shop trying on my very first backpack! A green a lilic "Lady Equador 60 litre" Back at my new pub, The Wheatsheaf at Dallington I had tried it on in front of my bathroom mirror and tried my hardest to look like a backpacker. I just looked daft, I concluded. My boots were got for me by a regular, from a factory shop at cut price. Brasher size 4 hiking boots, which I wore while I was working, everyday, to wear them in. Most of the regulars thought it was hyserically funny that I was going off to exotic climes!! For this I earned the nick-name "Yakkie!!" a micky take of cross between my name, Vicky and the animal of Tibet, the Yak! I took it all in good fun. I had too!! They were the ones puting money in my tills!!! By summer I had a week off booked as Derek has suggested going hiking in Derbyshire as a kind of training trek in preparation for doing the Everest base camp trek. I eagerly agreed but I really had no idea what Dereks type of hiking was...bloody hard work!!...I had convinced myself it was just going to be a "walk in the park" so to speek. But it was nothing of the sort. On the very first day of our trip I hauled on my brand new backpack at Buxton train station and to my horror I almost toppled over backwards with the weight of it. How the hell was I going to carry this around Derbyshire??? let alone the Himalayas!! I was begining to get my first incling of what I HAD let myself in for. After a couple of miles walking just outside Buxton I began to feel quite pleased with myself only to have my confidence suddenly shattered as the ground benith my feet vanished, only to become a very steep, almost vertiacally sided dale!! I scrambled about clumsily grasping anything I could ballance myself with and this was perhaps the first time Derek had ever heard me swear!! He was to hear me swear much more on our trip. However, after scrabbling about for about an hour I reached the bottom, where bumble bees were buzzing around the wild flowers in the sunshine. My legs wer burning with pain and it was nearly 6pm!! we had been walking for 5 hours!! and I was exshausted!!! Derek on the other hand looked so glum when I sat on a large rock and announced that I was "knackered!" while rummaging around in my backpack for a quater of a bottle of vodka I had smuggled on our trip. I greedily gulped it down, in the early evening sunshine, and lit a fag as I lazily watched a hurd of cows following our path through Deep dale (that was actually the name of the dale) Derek was miffed as he had planned to go on for another 4 miles. Heck!! was he kidding!???? he may have been used to it but I wasent, and the walking that week was to get much worse. We agreed to disagree and made our way to the nearest village, Chelmorten and a little pub there. Derek had found a spot not far from the pub, in a small thicket, where we could pitch his tiny, Vango tent. Unhappily I helped if only to appear usefull, but I just wanted to get back to the small village pub and have an evening meal as the walk and indeed the inpromptu swig of vodka, had indeed made me very hungry!! I got back first and ordered us a pint each and Derek appeared soon after and together we persued the menu. When we got back to the tent that night I stupidly realised I had never slept in a tent in my whole life and I suddenly felt vulnerable. But Derek helped me to snuggle down and as I settled down to sleep in this tiny cramped tent I heard a snuffling and a sniffing sound outside and breifly became nervous. By morning I realised the noises were coming from a lone cow and a donkey in the same field!! The rest of the week was bloody hard work, I can tell you!! My legs and hips ached in places I dident even know I had "places" and my feet burned. By day 3 Derek was pushing me hard at 12 miles a day, hiking and several times I was nearly in tears but was determained to hide this from him. My abillity to do this trip was the only thing between me and his trip of a lifetime, and if I showed him I was incapable of doing it, I was terrified he would withdraw his offer....so I trundled on after him, stairing at his ever padding boots, farm after farm and mile after mile. My theme for the week was "Things can only get better!" by D-ream!!
The final day we conqured Lose Hill and Mam torr, but coming down from Mam tor I felt a crack in my knee and almost collapsed. My knee had packed up and I had to limp the rest of the way to Speedwell cavern and the bus stop. Derek dident offer much sympathy as he had planned to camp that night, but I was desperate for a knee bandage and a real bed!! We got the bus to Bakewel and booked into a small b and b there! Relife at last. On this first trip Derek and I had seen each other in the raw light of day!! I saw his passion for hiking and in me he saw a lazy mare who moaned at the slightest incline...but we were learning from each other...and the next week I was back at work...thankfully!
My birthday came and went and very soon the nights were drawing in and it was November. I was rubbing my hands to keep them warm while I took the pub shutters off every morning and just wishing the 5th of January would come faster, and I could feel sunshine on my skin.
Derek and I went back to Warrington at Christmas to spend it at my mums. However Derek was to go back to Northampton and sell his new car shortly before new year so we had arranged to meet at Northampton station on the 2nd of January as his friend was giving us a lift to Heathrow on the morning of the 5th. We spent our last ngiht at his friends house, cramped together in a single bed. Just before we settled I got out and had a ciggie, blowing smoke out of the window. Adventure lay in the future and there was no turning back.....
As we hurried through check in that fatefull morning, and then hurried even faster to the gate I caught a glimps of our gleaming while Singapore Airlines 747 sitting on the tarmac waiting for us....something inside me snapped as Derek ushered me along.
Hot tears began to sting my eyes as the full thought of what I was about to do, suddenly dawned on me. ANYTHING could happen to us out there!!! and by the time we were edging nearer to our seats at the back of the aircraft I was crying like a baby...I have no idea if it was fear, but it certainly felt as if somthing was ending...What I failed to realise as we sored over the white cliffs of England, was after an ending, there is always a new begining...what worried me was, would I like this next chapter of my life???

My new conservatory is FINSHED!!! And the long wait for my very first spa in said conservatory is TONIGHT!!!
a lovely chap called Barry came on saturday evening and finished things off and by monday I was putting the finishing touches to my new spa area!! This includes various Moroccan lanterns, Chinese "lucky" wall hangings and even a couple of Nepalese torans, mainly for decoration but doubling for some extra privacy so I can still use the jacuzzi in the nude!! Also my woven bamboo curtains are back up too and the whole thing has a weird 5 star hotel feel to it...with a very confused intierior designer (me) using furnishings from all around the world. Quite simply I wanted it to reflect mine and Dereks global wanderings, over the years, and in a bit of a slap dash way, I have achieved it!!! Yesterday, mum and I went town and I got some last minuite bits and peices to finish off the final look I wanted! We got a cab to TK Max and we had a mooch about in there for a while but mum began to feel ill so we got a cab home, early...then at 4pm the half moon table I had ordered 2 weeks ago arrived, so I have set it next to the jacuzzi draped in Balinese batik cloth, and it fits in wonderfully!! Today I have been landscaping the garden and patio area (with much back ache!) and I have ordered a chiminea for the patio and sorted out my tomato and strawberry plants, and I must say I am very happy with the way its turned out. Hopefully sometime soon Derek and I can enjoy jacket spuds for supper from the chiminea and have a long bubble session in my hot-tub-uzzi!! Yipppeeeeeeeeee!!! I joked yeserday to mum and said all I need now is a hunky waiter to bring me my wine while I bask in the tub!!
hehehehehe.......wishfull thinking!!! :)

more to follow.................

So today Kate McCann, mother of missing toddler, Madeline, has had her book (the same name as the child) published!!
What next eh??....a film, McCann designer childrens clothing??...I am very sorry to say that Kate McCann has turned the disapearence of her daughter into a BRAND!!! and in the worst possible, shameless taste!! I just can't get my head around what it "is" with this woman!!?? She claims that all the proceedes from the book will go to the fund to find Madeline!!...Errr YEAH RIGHT!! Both WHSmiths and Waterstones have slashed the price by half in a bid to shift it from their shelves! To be honest here, I would not buy it if it were 10p!! let alone £10!!! I don't wish to sound nasty, but what the hell is she thinking?? Does being parents of a missing toddler warrent celebrity status now?? Apparently so!! But personally I think this pathetic self promotion is sick!! and this is "supposed" to raise awareness of abducted children...sheesh!!! give me a break!! Mrs McCann has said she will not be doing celebrity "style" signings of her book, fearing she will be attacked, which seems to scream "guilty" to me as in she is free to write about it and have it published, but she wont show her nose to promote it...perhaps she thinks she dosen't need too? But more likley its because she is a very smart woman and does realise the public's feelings about her daughters mysterious vanishing....and now she writes to our PM to ask that the "Maddie files" be reopened to which Mr Cameron has agreed!!! Errrrrrrr 'scuse me Mr Cameron, but haven't you got more important things to be doing than wasting time backing an investigation that has remained unsolved for 4 years!!
Its a sad fact of life in the 21st century, that the parents of a missing child see themselves as celebrities, and the British people are being bottle fed by the media, such rubbish!! If Kate McCann has any decency about her she would withdraw this book from sale, and walk the earth from end to end, search every needle in a haystack and untill she was barefoot, broke and bleeding to find that child...Because if I had a child that had vanished, I would do just that!!! and I certainly wouldn't show my scrawny, self pitting mug, on tv, in newspapers and glossey mags...if it was me I would do one thing!! SEARCH!!! not engage in blatently ugly self promotion!! Self promotion should be left to admirable people who have actually got talent or have done somthing note-worthy!! Can someone please tell Kate McCann this???
Ego is a very ugly disease!! and I am sorry to say this woman is suffering from it, badly!! Just do a google image search wih her name and watch as countless, carefully posed, pity loaded pictures of her pop up!!
I would not wish what the McCanns have gone through, on my worst enemy...but there is somthing about this story that has never added up. I just wish poor Madeline had appeared safe and well 4 years ago...and not see her mother on my tv anymore!!

Sorry...I am just a moaning old git!! *winks*

The weather is amazing at the moment ( slightly cooler today) for this time of year, so I have been hurridly getting my gardening done! Last weekend I put some plants in and used some of last years compost, only to discover,to my horror, about 70 vine beetle lavae squirming around in the soil!! Arrrgh!!! Beasties!!...these guys absolutly love climbing plants, of which I have planted a veritablet ton of! So I had to carefully scoop them out and Iam not so sorry to say they ended their short lives as birdy snacks on my bird-table. Not cruel!!Just giving nature a helping hand and the birds are feeding young at the moment and will be greatfull for the extra protien in the lavae!!
On a lighter note my tomato plant seedings have just broke the surface and sprouted, to my delight. But I am still waiting for the billion other seedlings I have propagated in trays in the garden,they should only be a few days behind. They are nearly all hardy climbers including sweetpeas, black eyed Suzans, and Morning Glory (blue/purple trumpet) as I intend to get them to climb over the consevtory as a kind of floral camoflage and for added privacy. I have already added a bamboo curtain for privacy, but I think it will look nicer with the plants.....And its not all gardening either!! Today I am sorting out my black slate pyramid garden fountian (water feature, but I hate that term!) and it will spend the summer on my patio next to the open doors of the conservatory. My collection of garden birds which briefly departed during the construction of said conservatory, have now returned in abundance and are enjoying feeding, drinking and bathing at the back of my garden. The blackbirds and a couple of the Wood Pidgeons have been hopping up to the conservatory to have a closer look out of curiosity I think.
When the weather is nice during the summer(and I do say "when") Derek and I eat alfresco in the garden either on my garden dinning set or picnic syle on a blanket on the grass. However, I have to be carefull though as I have a nasty allergic reaction to garden grass! But for the Royal wedding ( a week tomorrow) mum is coming for lunch and if the weather allows, we shall eat outside. Why not BB-Q I hear you ask???? Well thats simple!!I FREAKING HATE BARBEQUES!!!!!!!! They stink, fumes give me asthma, and under cooked food causes food poisoning!! and yet much to my annoyence as soon as blue skies appear we get the stink of barbeque fumes wafting down our avenue!! and unfortunatly my immiedate neighbours are huge fans of said smelly, offensive outdoor cooking!! ...I just dont get it!!! Its far easier (and less smelly for others) to cook your food indoors and then eat outside!! Makes perfect sense to me!! and besides, who in their right mind wants hot food in hot summer weather anyway??? Salad is the thing for summer, methinks!! and Derek makes a wonderfull mixed salad!! and I make my own homemade potato salad and bingo!! The perfect summer lunch!! mmmm...... smoked salmon tureens with cream cheese are bouncing to mind here, as is warm, crusty French bread and a crisp white wine!!
*is making self hungery*
If you are planning a barbeque, please be considerate!!
Not everyone is a fan of barbeques and if my neighbours "spark up" while I have fresh washing on my line I will end up with a full load of washing stinking to high heaven of bbq fumes and will have to do the whole lot again!!! I would love it if my neighbours would just pop around and warn me of impending bbq session so I could bring my washing in and close my patio doors...but sadly the only warning I get is loud voices, squarking kids and the inevitable drifting of fumes and smoke into my garden.
*calmly sips tea as moan over with*
Really looking forward to my hot tub tonight!! *grinns* x

Heck!!!
Has i really been a week since we came back from Dorset???
Dosen't time fly??
Well the week in question was not very eventfull...it saw me back at the dentist have a check up and x-rays (I have had so much radiation recently I am glowing!!) only to be told to stop smoking (Yeah right!!!) and I need 7 fillings, a root canal and a possible extraction of one of my back molars! Lovely!!! and all this is to be done in a space of 3 months of 3 appointments. Emmm somtimes I wish I had false teeth!!....and I was back at the dentist yesterday but this time with mum who was having a new plate fitted for her dentures. Also it saw me and mum doing a drug swap with my left over ulcer tablets and some buscopan for half a box of zopiclone!! Hehehehehe!! not many folks can say they do drug deals with their 77 year old parents!! ...anyway, later we had a brief trip into the Weston Favell centre and then got the bus back to her house where Derek was waiting for us in the car.
In other news, I am getting very impatient for my conservatory to get tiled so I can fianlly set up my garden spa room!! Sadly, I must wait another 3 weeks for the consevatory to "settle" but I dont see any harm in taking a trip to the tile showroom today and pick out the ones I want and ask if they can recommend a local tiler...Now as I have a spacific look in mind for my spa room, I wanted lots of plants, but unfortunatly chlorine fumes kill plants so I am looking now at getting some flase folieage. I was not prepared, however, for the huge cost of false folieage!!! for some reason I was thinking it would be rather cheep but how wrong I was. Just for a med sized false tree type plant I was looking at £50!!!!!!! so I may well have to re-plan. I have begun to used jasmine spa oil in the tub and it zapps the chlorine smell wonderfully but I suppose real plants would still not like the fumes. I managed (stupidly) to kill a Bamboo plant I had when I placed it next to my spa!! Oh well, lessons learned and all that.........
back soon! x

Finally time came around to the holiday. Our holiday to be precise, which I have been whittering on about for at leat a year, both on here and on facebook....I had chosen our cottage about a year previous, from a website called "Classic Cottages" with the main attraction being the fact this one had a whirlpool bath and its very own private, heated swimming pool. Coupled with these things and the fact that I spent 2 days at the Thermae Spa in Bath, brought me to the conclusion of what I should call this entry, as I have never in my whole life spent a holiday emerced in so much H2O at any one time!!! Ok so we have stayed in some pretty awesome places with pretty awesome swimming pools (Bali, Indoniesia, bounces to mind here!) but frankly the places we visited were far more interesting than lounging about in some hotel pool all day! This holiday, however, was certainly a break from the norm, and I love every second of it!!
We took a lazy drive west on that Friday morning and dident reach our cottage untill about 5pm. Situated between the sleepy villages of Chetnow and Lewis, this place was idyllic! I kept telling myself that I would take lots of photos and video of the place, but sadly, I forgot, as it was so lovely!! It was a split level barn conversion with a very spacious lounge and open plan kitchen upstairs and the bathrooms and bedrooms down stairs...we were met by a jolly, weathered looking lady called Carol, who kindly showed us around and explained that she owned the 3 surrounding fields so Sirius was practially free to walk anywhere!! The upstiars living area also boasted its own wooded balcony which afforded lovely views across the countryside. It was gorgeous and I felt instantly at home! When she left us, Derek took Sirius for his long awaited walk while I sorted out our stuff and put the kettle on as I was gasping for a cuppa....Our drive had taken us through some of the lovelyist countryside I have seen since Derbyshire, and Derek had also took the route which brought us to the majestic Cheddar gorge. A place I have not visited since childhood.
This is a short, if albeit rather boring video of our drive through Cheddar gorge. I must appologise for the sound quality of the annoying car stero! My old phone picked out sounds better than my new Blackberry! Also ignore me singing at the start, but I was in a very good mood.
Also....lets play spot the Dalek!!!



Did you see my little black Dalek???

We had a cuppa when Derek and Sirius got back, and we continued to settle in. That evening I slipped into the whirpool bath, but was quite surprized at how gentle it was. The jets barely rippeled the surface of the water, but it was soothing and relaxing all the same and I added some fresh jasmine bath salts for a bit of aromothearpy touch to it. Lets face it though, I am very spoiled with my home hot tub (spa) and I had to keep it firmly in mind that this was indeed a whirlpool bath and not my home hot tub, with its hot, power bubbles for the massage. While in the whirlpool, Derek brought me a large glass of red wine and finally I was in Heaven!! I savoured it slowly, while I soaked and it was exquisite!! When I got out, which must have been nearly an hour later, I sat on the bed and phoned mum to let her know we had arrived safely, and we had a good chat...
The nex day after breakfast we headed to Sherbourne. A Pretty town with an Abbey and a small open air market. Derek went with Sirius to take some pictures and I browsed at the shops, finally meeting up together and had a slow wander back to the car. Our drive then took us to Glastonbury and again Derek and I split up as he went off to take piccies and I had a browes around the awesome shops in this town. My credit card was parted from me more times than I wanted it to be, but the things on sale we absolutly delightful. I got a Wiccan wrought iron Pentagram tea lightholder for the conservatory, several rocks and minerals to add to my already huge collection, and a gorgeous Kaftan (I wear these alot at home) with Egyptian gods and godesses on, with Hyrogliphics (need them translated) which came in very handy for my nightly trips to the heated pool back at the cottage....Now I wont go into massive detail of the week in great detail as it involved a huge ammount of driving and we took in Bournmouth, Southampton, Stonehenge, Portsmouth, Cerne Abbas (practially on our doorstep!) and ofcourse Bath....I had read up on the new Thermae spa baths in the city centre and they looked wonderfull, so I had very much anticipated this visit, and I was not dissapointed. My first session was just the basic two hour session, just to try it so to speak and on entering the changing rooms I very quickly realised how humid it was in there. Background music was coming from somewhere, which sounded like Nero plucking his harp!! But I got changed and locked my stuff in a locker with my electronic wrist band. However the changing rooms were rather like a rabbit warren, and when I finally managed to get out I could not find the lift up to the roof top spa pool, so I shrugged and took the steps...all 8 flights of them!! By the time I got to the top I was huffing and puffing like a good 'en (very unfit) and peeled off my large Ed Hardy towel, as well as slipping out of my flip flops, I turned and gazed in mild awe at this beautiful spa pool, glittering brightly in the afternoon sunshine. Gingerly, I slipped in down the steps and the water was delightfully warm and step by step I got further into this warm water. I stopped breifly and sat halfway down the steps, taking in the sun, and then just floated off into the pool in earnest. Its not a place to go diving as the pool is only just over 4 foot deep, and I could easily stand up in it. But dident want to, I floated over to the jacuzzi area and staked a claim nearby so I too could have a hot, mineral bubble session. As I looked about me I noticed a lot of people had these long blue tubes wrapped around their bodie's and floating about. At first I thought I would have to pay extra for one, but people were just exiting the rooftop pool and leaving them lying about only to be picked up by a new bather. So I spotted an unused one at the side of the steps and beant around my upper body and WOW!!!!!!!!!! What a brillaint boyancy aid this was. I now found that I dident need to swim to get about!! I just kicked my legs and floated on this simple tube. This, coupled with magnificent vews over the roof tops of historic Bath, well I thought it was paradise!!! I just bobbed about on the gentle bubbles, hot in the sun, with not a care in the world. Very soon the 2 hours was up though and I reluctantly made my way out and back down to the changing rooms, with a firm thought in my mind!! "I MUST come back tomorrow!!" Outside I hung about waiting for Derek and he appeared shortly after, and we began the drive back at about 4pm. Derek had taken a hundered photo's while I was doing my cork bobbing on the ocean impression, but my skin felt very smooth and I was positivly glowing! That night though I realised just how glowing I was! I had got sunburn on my arms knees and chest, and it was very painfull....the next morning I dident feel at all well, having hardly slept and my skin was creeping, hot and cold. For a time I was actually thinking of giving the spa a miss for this, our last full day in Dorset! But no!!! NOW WAY!!! I headed back there for a 4 hour session which included massage, steamroom, foot spa and hot stone thearapy, where you get your back massaged with hot stones. Sound painfull??!! No! its wonderfully relaxing. Also I got to take a dip in the indoor "Minerva" pool too, which was warm and the same depth as the roof top one, but thankfully less busy, so I just floated away in compleate bliss. At 4pm however it was a very reluctant yours truely, who hauled herself from the rooftop pool, to take the lift back to the changing rooms. I was so glad I had gone back to have the full spa expierence and when I walked out, rummaging in my bag for my ciggies, I fel like a million dollars!!
All in all a superb holiday (only blighted by the sunburn) and I am sorry this one has not been as detailed as my previous holiday blogs, but I have tonns to do today, and have not completly finished unpacking...perhaps, deep in my heart I dont want to unpack!! I just want to pack up and go back to Dorset, and my tranquill barn cottage in the countryside!!
Me waiting for Derek in the car at Bath!!!

This bloomin' tooth achey thingy has cost me dear!!!

Finally had it removed last week, where my tiny 6 stone lady dentist wrenched it out with all of her might, wrestling the horrid thing from my top jaw which remianed badly bruised for two days after...But all this has meant one thing I am very down about...Because of the toothach I had before it was extracted I was very hacked off that I missed my Lodge, due to the pain and the effect the painkillers were having on me, in that I was "out of it" on the bloomin' things so I could "just" function...Even after having a dose of morphine for my ulcer, at my last hospital stay that would (as my nurse put it) "knock out a bull elephant!!" I could still feel the pain. In retrospect though I should have had it done earlier as that tooth had been broken for about 2 years previous, but only started paining me about a month ago. But whats done is done and this has cost me my Raising which *was* schedualed for the 9th of April. Now although at the last Lodge my bretherin were to practice in the 3rd, because I am a Fellow Craft I would not have been admitted anyway, but this is hardly the point!! I should have been there and feel that I have let both myself down and my bretherin. Well there is nothing I can do about it now, but thinking about the day in question (when I was due to attend Lodge) I was all packed up and ready to go, when my tooth pain got to the "please tear my head off now!!!" level and I had to phone W.M Terry to let him know that I would not be able to attend and to offer my sincere apologies!!
Sometimes though things happen for a reason and I should not be too dispondent about my Raising being put back. Maybe now my Ceremony will be put back untill after the summer resess but I will now use the extra time I have left as a F.C, for more study and contemplation on my taking the Sublime degree!!!!
But for now I remain in the Middle Chamber...

In other news, the conservatory is now finished and looks absolutly gorgeous, but still has weeks to go untill it is tiled and usable as my garden spa room. The only thing that concernes me is the large gap around the base, as I am not sure it should have been left like that. I could just fill it with pepples, between the bricks on the foundations and the garden, but I am going to check with Anglian on the phone tomorrow...and thats not the only phone call I will be making as I have to bring forward my prescription at the chemist for next month due to our holiday, which I am really looking forward too!...Ahh the holiday!! well its all very well to go globetrotting all over the planet, like Derek and I have done. But what we should remember is that we have a lovely country under our noses, and holidaying here in the UK means Sirius can come with us...no jet lag...no faffing with travellers cheques...ect...But hey!! who am I kidding??? I DO miss globetrotting, and the hassle that goes with it. but I wont be parted from my dog!! :)

Trawlling through some old ELO videos this evening, I came across one of their songs that not only signified the sad demise of the awesome band, ELO but also at the same time, my first marriage to Adrian Goulding...a marriage that was never meant to be in the first place...
Looking back it was terribly sad as Adi had just lost his mum to breast cancer the same year he met me (1984) and one afternoon his dad was showing us some old family slides of his mum and I was really taken aback at just how much she had looked just like me. To be honest when I first saw those grainy pictures I got an icey shivver down my back, and realised with some dergee of horror that the only thing Adrian was looking for in me was a substitute for his mum!!!!!!!...Even now over 25 years later I am so sorry to say I was right!!!
It had been a evening when he had been on a night shift at the met office at Manchester airport, and I was alone in our cold, heartless house in New Mills in Derbyshire. The house was a tip!!! and I was basically living upstairs with Adi's ever growing computer bits and bobs and all I had for my comfort was my tv, video and my hi fi!!!....I would never sleep on those lonely night shift, nights...and just stay up all night untill he came home at 9am. One night it was late and I was listening to ELO's Ballance of Power Album and "Getting to the point" came on, and I got that same forboading shivver down my back as I slowly began to realise, I was living through, and watching my 15 month marriage crumble to nothing...

The Lyrics to this song say "exactly" what I was thinking and feeling a the time, which was sometime in early 1988
Here they are in full:

It's out of control (out of control)
And there's nothing I can do now
Out of control (out of control)
Spinning softly through the blue now
And look beyond these walls
As the meaning starts to dawn
It's getting to the point
Getting to the point.

It's out of control (nothing I can do)
Like a fire that keeps on burning
And nobody knows (what I'm going through)
And the thoughts just keep returning
And all you had to say
Was that you were gonna stay
It's getting to the point
Getting to the point.

CHORUS:
It's getting to the point
Where nobody can stop it now
It's getting to the point
Of no return
And all that I can do
Is stand and watch it now
Watch it burn, burn, burn
It's getting to the point
Where reasons are forgotten
It's getting to the point
Where no one knows
And all that I can do
Is say I'm sorry
But that's the way it goes...

Getting to the point.

Forever
Is a long, long way
Forever
Takes your breath away
I'd like to talk about it, try to understand
It's getting to the point
Getting to the point.

REPEAT CHORUS

It's getting to the point (getting to the point)
Getting to the point (getting to the point)
It's getting to the point (getting to the point)
Getting to the point.

****This is my ONLY remiaing photo of my first wedding day!! (thank goodness!!) I was just 18 years old and Adi was 21*****



(I divorced him on the grounds of his adultery in October 1988)

Later (and when I am in the right frame of mind for re-running these events) I will write them here in the hope that some young ladies might read and learn from my mistakes...and I have made many.......



**Music and lyrics are copyright of Jeff Lynne