Blog Administrator....Martha s vineyard etc

For those of you wondering about the Removed Comments and the Blog Administrator , a delightful comment appeared after N had asked to see the blog and I had asked her permission to write about our Bra Day . She was fine with this and even contributed to the post . But the comment although excellent and witty did contain some profanities which though the modern mother accepts that her children know and use many of the same words as her parents ( when under pressure ) seeing them in print is not a comfortable experience . After much deliberation and indeed heart searching about her right to express herself as she saw fit , and indeed two reply comments to that effect , I finally exercised my right to press the delete button , with her agreement that she would write a different comment . I was sad though , to lose the kiss off comment ( isnt that what reviewers call it ? ) which went something like " I love you like fat kids love cake " and know that at least one of the profanities was due to a typo and a very amusing one at that .

Which brings me to the subject of reviews . My friend Michaela thinks I have a career in this field after I wrote a spoof review of her husband Neil's book " Martha's vineyard " ( Neil Griffin : 2006)

Go to http://www.lulu.com/content/607829

Neil had asked me to review the book but made the mistake of asking me several months after I read it and I don't know about you but if I read something last week I'm hazy about the details three hours later .


" I read this great book by Neil and I definitely wondered how Chaela would feel about her husband having relationships extra maritally on planes and in foreign parts and also that he seems to have harboured feelings on a longstanding basis for a colleague . So hey the book must have been dead realistic .
It was also dead good as it made me feel like I was imminently going on holiday / about to win the lottery or have my own inheritance appear out of the blue from a relative Id forgotten I had . There was nice weather as well . ( ??)
There was a clever twist involving a husband and some other people , and Neil got tied to a chair at one point which was dead scary . I read really fast at that point and didnt put the book down sometimes when I should have .... so eager was I for the denoument . "

If you re interested in reading Neil s book , which is excellent by the way , you would do better to read the notes on lulu.com and perhaps dont hold your breath for my (proper) review .
Even better , why not read it yourself and then review for Neil on lulu , as I know he's always looking for feedback . In my case its hard to disentangle the Bob character from the author and I did keep wondering why he picked the name Bob , though Im sure there will be a reason , I just havent had time to ask . The time constraints of modern life .

puffin island picture

Puffin island , from Thursday am .

The weekend

I havent been able to write since Friday , mainly because the whole weekend was taken up bra hunting and somehow it didnt seem a suitable topic , especially as it wasn't my bra we were looking for but N s and the problem was a tricky subject , namely that despite being tiny " on the band " , ie the measuring ladies' speak for the back , she was off the scale "in the cups " ie on the front . Friday alone saw us trail increasingly despondently from the La Senza end of the market to John Lewis and Marks and Spencer , Debenhams and various other assorted department stores where the measuring ladies became like personal friends as they measured , saw her horrified face at their pronouncements, then scuttled off to bring one after the other that didnt work........and six years ( did I say years, I meant hours ) later still didnt work and we had to admit defeat though by that time we had texted Ali who knows about these things and had recommended Bravissimo Bravissimo Big Bras, Lingerie, Swimwear and Clothing for big boobed women. But by then I had to admit I had the wrong shoes on , having after all intended only Debenhams , to take my jeans back , and we agreed to take up the search again on Sunday .

Sunday , Bravissimo , Oh Joy , the measuring ladies there were young and cool and didnt even use measuring tapes , despite being around sixteen rather than sixty, they simply eyed up the punter , pronounced , brought back a selection of perfect , brightly coloured , Big Bras ( I quote N here, who has gievn her permission for this post ) . £25 might be the least expensive on offer but hey , who s counting ? After a total of 9 hours on the case , cheap at half the price .

The jeans I took back were the ones that bent my nail ....
But the shop assistant pointed out there were another paid of tens , same make , John Rocha , slightly different design , and on sale at half the price . Result ..... new jeans and a refund on my card .

I also managed to get the SatNav fixed . Drove back again to the satNav warehouse lookalike place , N decided to stay in the car and watch a funeral taking place across the road , I went in and was greeted enthusiastically by Sarah who said she was happy to help as she rarely got out of the office , she found Dan who crouched down by the car and watched me as I switched on , waited for it to fail , and of course , it flicked straight to the map and ..... surely it cant be working . Dan looked at me quizically as I tried not to go red and wished N wasnt so sharp .... both of them waiting expectantly for my explanation . Dan however despite his youth , knew all about tact and explained that sometimes it can take up to half an hour with new maps for the satellite to place itself ( which was why Id been stuck in europe for ten minutes when I had Tried this at Home ) , and kindly stated that he had " seen himself wait half an hour once " . I smiled weakly and we drove off ......

This evening ( Monday ) though whilst trying to find a new Catcall , the satnav again declared itself searching and I found the house myself by the Driving Round and Round method before the satnav kicked in ...

Great cats , great house ......I love Catcalling .

Puffin Island

An atmospheric picture of Puffin Island on Thursday morning when I took my bike out for half an hours break from the report I was in front of from 7 am . For some reason it wont reduce so will have to wait for publication though suspect it would only be of interest to me anyway . Marks a point where I often sit for a few minutes watching the sea and the sea birds , and named Puffin Island as it sounds better than its real name which is The Middens , which to me signifies rubbish pile or slurry heap , generally place for liquid detritus whereas this place is a haven in the river mouth/ sea for all sorts of sea birds

A lovely hour in the sun in Debbie and Sally's garden with coffee and home made cake started a headache , the first Ive had in weeks and hasnt really gone yet . Woke this morning at three am and took Syndol which seems to knock it on the head but does the same to me for a lot of hours as well .

cars

Did I say , we sold the MR2 ? When I say we , it was nothing to do with me though I did help deliver it .

Had a text from D today telling me he was marooned off the Backworth sliproad off the A1 ( is that the name of that big road ) as his throttle had gone . A later report said it was the throttle linkage and a clip had gone and the lonkage had blown up or some such .
I worried that after the petrol pipe of last sunday this would finish him off , but it was soon fixed and apparently cost him a fiver at his favourite garage .
CatCalls coming in now for the weekend so the stormy weather doesnt seem to have affected holiday plans . Two new cats to visit tomorrow night and Debs at the weekend .

Woke this morning at five am , sitting in the bathroom with one of the cats, pondering a hideous feeling of impending Doom . Still no idea what it was all about but unable to get back to sleep , tossing and turning and even my Elizabeth Jane Howard book didn't help . Despite that a good day at the dayjob , back to back appointments but fun all the same . .. Doom had gone by eight thirtyand hasnt returned so maybe it was a bad dream that I didnt remember when I woke .

Freddie, once more

I really miss Freddie s blog , finding out how he's doing every day , a window into someone else s life and such an inspirational one at that . We miss people according to how they impact on us , what they mean in our day to day lives and , how much we think about them and how much they make or made us think and how what we thought changed us . ( That's what I'm thinking now anyway , as I write this . )
I think abut Mandy , who was my sister in law , whenever I'm on my bike , usually when I'm panting up a steep hill . Mandy was probably the fittest woman I knew , my head would be down as I struggled up some mountain ( they all seemed like mountains to me ) in the Lake District and I would hear this weird clicking noise and it was the gear change on her bike as she steamed past me , head down as well but how it looked effortless . Mandy who taught me without making any effort , how to be a Mother with a capital M , producing tiny notebooks and pencils and felt tipped pens from her bag when we all went to the pub or a hotel bar to eat and the kids were tired and grumpy , and she would have thought ahead to stop off in a little newsagent or toyshop to supply herself with bits and pieces to keep them happy just long enough till the food arrived . Mandy who only ever really wanted another baby ......because of how she felt about her beautiful daughter S who is eighteen now but who was only sixteen when she helped her aunts carry her mum down the aisle in her coffin .
Sometimes nothing much makes sense

Rather a dispiriting day involving a malevolent tea shop in Alnmouth . There had been so many severe weather warnings that we had called off various sunny weather plans thinking they would all be washed out , but in the event though it was very chilly , more like March than May , it didnt rain torrentially nor blow the promised gale so it felt like the day was wasted somewhat , waiting for the worst .

Barter BooksBarter Books - One of the largest second hand book shops in Europe. was as ever though and I managed to get several paperbacks and check out the dogs section for Pug Manuals . It seems Pugs are very Popular at present though , and the shelves were full of cocker spaniels ( been there , done them ....and lovely they were too , except the smelly ears ) and lhasa apsos ( sp?) whch looked both flowing and hairy and elegant .
We then drove on to Alnmouth and the aforementioned tea shop which I pictured crawling with incubus and succubus , though possibly it was more to do with my mood . Even the fact that they called their vegetable soup , broth , irritated me so it was as well when I settled down in front of a further two episodes of Six Feet Under ( more tv in the daytime , where will it end ) . Pearl snuggled up with me . She wasnt impressed with George .

The highlight of the day was playing Hide and Seek with Honey , a cute little six month old we're Calling on , all black and very playful , wriggled like a squirrel when I picked her up , all she wanted to do was chase little toys around and pounce from behind doors . The wood floors meant she skidded a lot but she seemed to like that , a bit like a child sliding along the hall ....