Pretty good pumpkin eh?

 

Pre halloween

On Friday night the first of the trick or treaters came round. Thankfully they were very well dressed up, the witches costumes were very good. They wanted sweets and very really enjoying themselves. I was very relieved. We didn't have any sweets, so we gave them monster munch. I bought a pumpkin on saturday and carved it out as well as some lollies, I recon we might get a few more trick or treaters tomorrow. Lets hope they are as good as the ones on Friday and like sweets, not 2 pound coins... 

Record cover

Like a doodle. 

Julie Verhoeven

Colour and shape 

Julie Verhoeven

This is one of her outfits, not the best but it gives you a sense of, I couldn't find much on line, not as amazing as what they showed on the tv show. Worth acknowleging. 

Another Julie Verhoeven.

I really like the way she draws.
 

Julie Verhoeven

This is a drawing by julie verhoeven. Very interesting, I like it. She is a fashion designer and artist and came up on a tv prog called the art of drawing.  

This is abetter pictue. For their encore, they did a Jimi Hendrix Cover. Yat is a master guitarist and really captured in his unique mongolian way the spirit of Hendrix and rock and roll. This stuff is really from the heart, incredibly well done, well composed and marvelously played. A night to remember. 

Yat Ka!

We cancelled rowing, drove home from Ealing to Ely and went to bed for a couple of hours. It was good to have a good cuddle...
Then the highlight of the month, a night with Yat Ka. I heard them on Phil Jupitus and think they are great! It's mongolian deep base singing, punk rock and world rock and roll. The Support act was also amazing, Baba Luck, a ragga ranting Indian Londoner. Very funny and inspiring. When I heard Yat Ka's version of Love will tear us apart and heard it in a completly different way. Rather than a love song where live tears two people apart, I heard it it as love tears us apart, that day to day this goes on and it's the up and down of love, it wouldn't be love if it didn't tear us apart.
The russian drummer was incredible, the rasta bass player on his 5 string fretless bass a true musician. The other chinese/mongolian looking singer playing a traditional 2 stringed violin thing was incredible too. He too could do the throat singing but not as double bass like Yat Ka. Yat's voice was as deep as the lowest bass string. Live, his voice is unbelievable it is so deep. just incredible.
It was a fabulous, Tob had a great time as did I. The only down side was that there was nowhere to dance. We bought a CD from both artists and drove home again. Fab evening all round. 

See the earrings! Diana, Kari's Drama Teacher bought her a box full of stars and 4 fabulous pairs of earrings. Really georgeous. The rest of the evening was great, really cosy. We went on to Bar Solo for Drinks. Kari asked us if we wanted to stay over at hers rather than try to get back to Ealing and Claudes. We accepted and slept on Kari's sofa bed, going to sleep about 3am. We were up and out at 10am then after an hour and a half journey back to Ealing, had a very tasty breakfast with Claude and Leila. It was so fab, they are so hospitable. I want to have them up to Ely to go to the Farmers market. I'm so glad we didn't have to do the night bus journey back, if it takes and hour and a halft with only 6 minutes to wait between tubes, god know's how it would have been on th buses in the night. 

The restaurant was really cosy, the food was pretty good Thai food, I've had better, but the best thing was the atmosphere of the place. Excellent place and a fantastic evening. 

Abra

We think Abra has transformed her relationship with her mum forever! Kari couldn't believe that Abra had kept it a secret from her! 

The shock still shows!
 

At the Bin Tang...

We thought we were going to be late, as it turned out we had plenty of time. Kari was so surprised, absolutley gobsmacked! 

A week of GM

All of this week I've been covering the PA to the MD while Gill was on holiday. She thinks he's a bit of a monster. I actually enjoyed it and I quite like him. I made myself useful, I think I did a pretty good job and kept him in a good mood. It was a good experience. GM lives in York, I asked him about York Minster, he said it was the largest medeval building in the country. It captured my imagination. Maybe our next cottage holiday in the summer could be a cottage near York. I'm sure there are zillions of things to see and do round York.
On friday, Ellen and Dan came round for fish and chips, having had a coffee after, I ended up staying up really late and falling asleep on the sofa about 2am watching Voyager.
Saturday Morning, we slept in, got woken up by Toby's palm bleeping, he had a look, it said blackberry. We looked at each other, no clue. Later on, in the shower, Tob said, thornless blackberry! a fornight ago on the farmers market I ordered on for Ellen. Anyway, lucky he remembered. We headed into town about midday, picked up the blackberry bush and some shopping from waitrose, went and had lunch in Ellen and Dan's conservatory then came home to pack for London.
Tob wasn't feeling too well and came home an fell asleep on the sofa, I packed then got angry cos Tob had fallen asleep and left me to do everything. I felt so unsupported plus I couldn't find my nice shoes. I gave Tob hell, he got his arse in gear, and we left. We argued all the way to Cambridge and got it all sorted and kissed and made up by the time we picked up Liela in Cambridge to drive to Claude's place in Ealing.
We had a good natter all the way down the M11 with Leila, it was only the second time we'd met - I've been friends with Claude for so long and it is great to finally make her aquaintance.
From Claudes to Kentish Town...

Biker chick

On Sunday having taken Maaike, Dad and Jan to Ikea to satisfy my urge to take Dad to Ikea just once, get maaike a fairytale princess mirror and jazzy kiddy chair and so Jan could buy some bits and bobs like duvets and throws, Maaike was finally allowed to take her scooter out! We walked down the Farm, that is the pub called the farm and had a Lamb sunday roast and 2 pints of Bath Gem. About 5pm we set off for Newbury, dropped dad off and then on to a rendevous with Michelle in Emmer Green. It was great to see michelle, show here the wedding album and take the big lump of cheese she kindly brought over for me.
Nanny was looking pretty good, I thought, considering how bad her condition is. It was good to see them too.
Caversham is looking quite up market nowadays, about 5 or so years ago, I wondered around my childhood patch and it was quite run down, 10 short street certainly was, but now it's all looking very nice. Number 10 short street had a new front door, nice curtains, well kept front garden and freshly painted window framess. I'm glad. On the way out of Reading we drove past the park I used to play in and over Reading bridge, I'd spend so much of my childhood round there and it was quite amazing seeing myself now as a happily married woman. I'm pretty glad to be me now. Last night I lead an ITA and as I read the Charter, I visualised myself driving over Reading bridge, one me in the park, about 7 years old, seeing the other me in the car with Toby driving past, happy and fulfilled.
The intro went really well, 100 % as usual. Great evening. Another nice thing, I won the humsinger last week on Chris Hawkins first thing in the morning on 6music. The CD's arrived yesterday (monday) Best of Gene Vincent, Billy j Kramer, the 90's album, David Bowie, Diva's and one more I've forgotton. We listened to Billy J Kramer on the way home, very nice, 60's rock and pop, good stuff. We listened to David Bowie on the way in this morning, also very good. And now to bed to read some Pepys.  

Then just as the day was nearly over...

Maaike's birthday pressie from Jan! a Barbie Scooter. Maaike was well chuffed. 

Toby Bling

There were lots of kiddy bling, there was a Jordan style tiara, I put on and asked a few people if I looked like Jordan. Well it was pink large and bling, so yes. I gave it back to lily, one of Maaike's friends and a fight ensued. I ended up wearing the tiara most of the afternoon to keep the peace and prevent a bitch princess fight. 

Happy Birthday Spike

 

Make a wish!

 

Birthday Cake

Guess who was 4 on Saturday! We arrived about halfway through Maaike's birthday party, alarming numbers of children everywhere! At first Tob was a little intimidated by tots wizzing past eating pizza and chips but very rapidly he went would be Dad like. He even said 'can we have some?' Yes dear, next year hopefully. Maaike, as usual was a bit frosty with me but later on that evening was lovely and friendly. It always gets me, I'm so looking forward to seeing her. Michelle and Nicola would always throw themselves at me - literally! Maaike isn't them, nor should she be. 

Art on the M25

I took this great shot on the way round the M25 at just before lunchtime on Saturday. We made excellent time thanks to excellent driving conditions and weather, no thanks to my greasy Bromton mending bike shop in Ely. I ended up putting my favorite skirt in the wash 5 mins before leaving on descovering that on putting the Brompton in the car, I was covered in oil. It was like they worked on my bike having dipped themselves and it in oil. Not going there again.
I picked up Volume 1 of Samuel Pepys' Diary from the Library, some supplies from Waitrose and my greasy Brompton before setting off for Bristol about 11am.
We were in Newbury by 1.30pm and Bristol by 3.15. Very good indeed. 

Tob taking a pic of me taking a pic!

 

The Birthday Picture From Heaven!

 

11pm again

There I was yawning, the evening is over and time for bed. I have slight sinus pressure on my nose and forehead, a funny head ache in other words, ha ha. My ears are a bit out too. I keep yawning but it doesn't help.
We had a power cut today at work. About 10.30am this morning, the waterboard went through an electricity main and took out all of Chesterton. So we went on an extended lunch break and power was resumed about 2pm. During our long lunch, Amanda and I wondered down to the grafton centre and I tried on some boots I can't afford :( bought a plant for my desk and some cakes from M&S for friday (TGIF) and some mini frames for desk top pickies. We walked back, then went and sat in the park and ate lunch. The weather was fabulous, it's the 10th of october and we sat in the sun in a t shirt and ate lunch, it was like a summers day.
After work Tob and I met at Tescos, got a couple of reams of paper and a paper shredder then went to B&Q and got a £25 halogen uplighter for the living room. I have no excuse, I have to go through all my paper work, shred the stuff that can go and write some letters to let them know I've moved, got married etc etc.
Ho hum, it's gone 11 and so to bed.

Lost in Translation - 3 Stars, technically more

Technically more. Good film. Well written and well acted. A great look at europeans/americans in asia too. Funny really, I'm not sure if I can be bothered to see it again somehow. It is good and worth seeing but also ultimatley forgetable. 

Long way round - 5 stars

Edge of seat stuff. They are unstoppable but very human and have a beautiful sense of generosity and their own humanity. Damn Sexy too.