Moving on...sort of....

I've moved. Well, the virtual me has moved.
An imminent fresh start for me here in Oman, a new (part time) teaching job and hopefully a revitalised persona as a result! So I thought it the ideal opportunity to refresh and revisit the blogging scene.

New blog = Paintbrushes and Pedicures

A bit more girly, a bit more personal, a bit more me.

All will become clear over there.

Maybe.

X

My recent School Holiday

I think I may have mentioned months back that I would be thinking of going on a trip on my own, just as hubby did with his friends to Everest Base Camp. Well, I actually booked it last Autumn for this spring. It came round pretty quick, I tell you!

I broke up from school on the 28th and was on my way to Kathmandu the night of the 29th. I had booked five days in a monastery and three days in the city. I was back in Oman on the night of the 7th and back in school on the 8th! I'd be lying if I said I hadn't stopped as I did spend a lot of time walking, reading, sitting and thinking!

I wrote a travel diary of sorts...my intention was to transfer it on to the blog. I will do but in a condensed version I think. And it may be a bit disjointed but I'll include some pictures to make up for it! A lot of the musings in the diary are rather contemplative and philosophical, I think I might spare you those. Although good conversation topics I'm sure, I think I need to make head and tail of them first. Maybe they could be a blog post alone.

I met a lovely lady from TAISM on the way out as we were avoiding the bunfight for the bus to the plane! She was meeting a friend and heading to Chitwan National Park in the south-west.

I was sat on the wrong side of the plane to see the Himalayas on landing but nevertheless got a super view of the city. It looked very textured and almost like a model village! On the drive through after being collected the city struck me as being smelly, dirty, polluted, busy but oh, so vibrant and colourful! I loved it already.

We arrived at the monastery after several detours and dubious road manoeuvres. It was behind a large iron gate that opened up into this bustling courtyard. Not what I expected at all. However, it was set up in the 70s to introduce Buddhism to the westerners and so it was already appearing very open and accepting. Little did I know I would be sitting drinking masala tea with the monks discussing Oman in the football!

I had a wander round after a nap and went for tea in the dining room. I was early so waited around at the entrance. whilst I was waiting a couple introduced themselves to me. I must have looked a bit dazed! Aussie Bob has a guesthouse in Cambodia and Chris was his friend who had gone there to stay for a couple of weeks and ended up staying five months!

I spent a lot of time with them during my stay at Kopan and it was really quite refreshing to talk openly and discuss beliefs, philosophies, thoughts and ideas.

The food was amazing! So simple and plentiful. I was veggie for the whole trip and loved it, I never felt hungry. Breakfast was a sweet porridge with Nepali bread and masala tea. Lunch was the main meal (which I didn't discover until a few days in as I just assumed the last meal would be the biggest!) I had missed out on so much! We had rice, a dal bhaat of sorts each day, absolutely gorgeous. This was accompanied by a couple of vegetable dishes and potatoes and bread. Oh, and masala tea! Dinner was usually a noodle soup of sorts with bread, butter, jam or the homemade peanut butter. Oh, and masala tea...!

It was a great experience and was what I had hoped it was. I switched off from school, I thought lots of my family but knew they were ok...so I had the time and mental freedom to slow down.

After the stillness of the monastery I went to stay in the city for three nights. Aussie Lew took me to see the hearing clinic he had set up and also the Prisoners Association of Nepal - this was the home that had been set up for children of prisoners in Nepal. A reality check if ever there was one on this trip. Since I have been back I have been desperate to simplify my life and those of my children. A little education was required for my son when he piped up that he had only two presents from me. I calmly told him about the children and I think he took it on board. As much as any boy approaching his 6th birthday could do. It was a lesson to me if anything and I will continue to remember this children's home to give me a wake-up call very now and then.

Indira, the heroine behind this association. The little boy had only been in two
days and wouldn't let her out of his sight.

The next entry will just be mostly photos from the rest of the trip. Hope you enjoy them. It was a really special few days for me.

I love Oman BUT.....

...STOP BLAMING THE LITTER PROBLEM ON VISITORS!!

Last summer's soundtrack

Way back in the summer you may remember me writing about our super summer road trip with our campervan, Betty. I often look back at my facebook photos from that month and reminisce....

One of the best things I did after that trip was ask my friends and family their favourite song so that i could make a soundtrack! What fun that was. Admittedly, I only finished it in December! But it has been played to death ever since!

So if you are interested then this is the result.

1. 'Dance or Die' - Janelle Monae. We saw her for the first time on the Glastonbury highlights at my parent's house. What sheer energy she has. And so cute!
2. 'Faster' - Janelle Monae
3. 'Tightrope' - Janelle Monae
4. Locked Inside - Janelle Monae. She played these last 4 songs consecutively with such energy.
5. 'I Need a Dollar' - Aloe Blacc. Also played at Glastonbury.
6. 'Down with the Trumpets' - Rizzlekicks. I was in the UK for a week with the kids and this was played constantly on Radio 1. They are also from Brighton so happy to support the local talent!
7. 'Pumped up Kicks' - Foster the People. Again, another one that was played so much but I never got fed up with it. Still love it!
8. 'Magic Bus' - The Who. Of course dedicated to Betty the Bay!
9. 'The A Team' - Ed Sheeran. Favourite song at the time of Bear's Special Friend from her old school.
10. 'Louder' - DJ Fresh and Sian Evans. My sister's choice. It reminded us of when we saw Kosheen at V-Festival 2002. They were just spectacular and highlight of the last great summer pre-kids!
11. 'The Lazy Song' - Bruno Mars. Mr. C's choice!
12. 'Give Me Everything' - Pitbull ft. Nero and Afro Jack. Choice of my old school best friend and her hubby. Apparently he would sing it around the house! Lucky girl!
13. 'When the Saints go Marching in' - Louis Armstrong. From The Other Mr. Mitchell. His Rugby team is Northampton, otherwise known as the Saints. When we made it to their home in Germany last summer it was a sheer relief that we made it to the furthest destination on our trip. It was just lovely, a special weekend. Anyway, many songs were played on the iPod that weekend and this was one of them! Another one was...
14. 'Inkanyezi Nezazi' - Ladysmith Black Mambazo from The Other Mrs. Mitchell. We both adored this song and it will always remind me of her.
15. 'The Fixer' - Pearl Jam. Just one of the best songs! All about men and women and how we solve things differently...how women want to talk about the problem and how men want to just fix the problem! Don't know what Eddie Vedder is talking about. ;-) Pearl Jam were played an awful lot in Betty this trip so they feature a few times!
16. 'Just Breathe' - Pearl Jam. Beautiful.
17. 'Amongst the Waves' - Pearl Jam. Uplifting.
18. 'Supersonic' - Pearl Jam. A great running song. Although I didn't go running. But if I went running this song would have been playing.
19. 'The End' - Pearl Jam. Tears every time.
20. 'Rollerblades' - Eliza Doolittle. Just cute and summery.
21. 'Skinny Genes' - Eliza Doolittle.
22. 'Pack Up' - Eliza Doolittle
23. 'Enter Sandman' - Metallica. This album was a big part of my Sixth Form life and for some reason this song was being played on the radio so often this summer!
24. 'Set Fire to The Rain' - Adele. Another radio favourite.
25. 'Red Red Rose' - Hope and Social. The first band we saw at the Deershed Festival. A great one to sing along to! And we did!
26. 'Marching on Through' - Hope and Social
27. 'You Can Call me Al' - Paul Simon. Although this features a) because the drummer of Hope and Social sang this and b) it's got Betty's name in it! ;-D
28. 'Monkey Man' - Any Winehouse
29. 'Valerie' - Amy Winehouse
30. 'Tears Dry on their Own' - Amy Winehouse. It was at the Deershed Festival that we found  out that Amy had died. Whilst I wasn't mourning her drug-induced death in the slightest, I was sad that such a great voice had gone for good. These were my three favourite songs if hers.
31. 'Last Friday Night' - Katy Perry. Admittedly this was a favourite before the summer but I heard it lots and it reminded me of being at The Duchess' house (new name for Champagne Charlie)
32. 'Delivered' - Admiral Fallow
33. 'Taste the Coast' - Admiral Fallow
34. 'Dead against Smokimg' - Admiral Fallow
35. 'Squealing Pigs' - Admiral Fallow. C-pops' favourite song to sing along to!
36. 'These Barren Years' - Admiral Fallow
37. 'Collision of Worlds' - Brad Paisley and Robbie Williams. Theme tune to Cars2. Just a brilliant afternoon in London.
38. 'Sigh no More' - Mumford & Sons
39. 'Harvest Moon - Neil Young. My Mum's lovely choice, her song of the summer.
40. This is a space for my Dad's selection....
41. 'Rolling in the Deep' - Adele
42. 'Real Gone Kid' - Deacon Blue. Played in the taxi on the way from the camper restorers to the airport. A very quiet taxi journey. :-(

Life is too short...

(Not my work, found it on facebook)

Finally!

Well, that was a hell of a blogging drought! Seriously, I really couldn’t think of a thing to write about that anyone might remotely be interested in. And to be honest my new job has taken over my life. And I knew I did not want to let this blog turn into a position from which to rant about teaching. Many others do that, and do it well I might add. It’s not me. This blog was purely meant as a cathartic release and should remain so for my own sanity. Which is dwindling by the week. Really, March already? Scary. Half way through the school year? Bloody hell….

So anyway, having a chat with my friend who used to blog about her IVF and pregnancy journey has kind of inspired me to get going again.

That reads wrong. Don’t worry/get excited, no major thing like THAT to blog about!

I still need some direction/inspiration though…

I’d love to jot down all the simply hilarious things my school kids say and write…but that would be unprofessional. I won’t write about the girl who quoted Silence of the Lambs whilst eating noodles, or the girl who asked me if I liked Justin Beaver, the Magician…I’ll keep the uncontrollable laughter at home. And I don’t want to write about teaching techniques or tips as that would be completely boring to those not in the teaching profession.

I’ll just blog about how I don’t want to write about teaching…and then write about teaching…(insert rolling eyes smiley!).

Plenty of these going around so I’ll stick this one in that I found.

Anyhoo…in the meantime I’ll talk about what’s on the Mitchell cards in the foreseeable future (not that far in the future, I can’t do that, remember!). Royal Flight Spring Fayre today. Then we’re off to the beach camping again! Trying to squeeze another weekend in before it gets too warm. We have a new camping trailer which is making camping life so much easier so we tend to try and go more often now.

Countdown's done...

...I'm now in full-time employment again! No, it wasn't quite as exciting as counting down to giving birth (Olga K!). It's my first teaching post. And since I've been back from the UK, I've been preparing for what seems like all hours. I heard the Captain say to his mum that I'd been on the computer lots but it'll all be finished soon. That was about 5 weeks ago! Not sure he really knows what's involved!

A friend of mine recently said, and I appreciate his honesty, that he cannot see me as a teacher and asked what I really dream of doing.

I take a lot of pictures that I always think I will do something with...put on a photography website, print for my wall, print for my friends' wall... but we don't have such a great printer, and I never get round to taking them to a shop, dubious (nervous?) of their quality and certainly the possibility of their sneaky editing. But I think it would have to be something along these lines...certainly something artistic.

Making a coffee table book was mentioned to me, I've made a few for friends and family but they've been just holiday snaps. Such a book has been done with Oman being the camera's subject, there were always photography books in the shops. Not sure I could offer anything different...although most books I have seen are descriptive of Oman as well as the pictures. I would just like the photos to tell a story.

I have a few of my photos on the walls in our house. I love looking at them as I walk past and I'm personally proud of them, a good photograph with the added benefit of memories within! But Hubby is my critic. When I see and hear his (rare) reaction that a photo has grabbed him then I know it's worth doing something with. His desktop is of one I took in Arisaig, Scotland. So the fact he has done that means it must have registered something! However, come to think of it this was where he used to go as a kid so maybe it's just a sentimental reaction!

I want one of my photos to take someone's breath away, with them envisaging it framed on their wall.

I've had a super career in meteorology (I would like to have done it a little longer but my path wasn't leading me that way, I guess). I seem to be rather complex...an Artistic Scientist or a Scientific Artist...still trying to answer that! But the release and calm I feel when being creative (whether it is sewing, painting or photography) is perfect. And needed. Hopefully this job will satiate this creative side, but there's still a 'what else' feeling...

...anyone else still trying to find their 'what else' ??

Just googled 'Scientific Artist' and the first site I found was http://www.scientificartist.com/ , first page had lots of photos of nature...it could have been taken from my photo albums! (still, iPhoto is down!).

However, I type in 'Artistic Scientist'...the first article's byline: Artistic tendencies linked to 'schizophrenia gene' (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).(http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17474-artistic-tendencies-linked-to-schizophrenia-gene.html

I think I'll go to bed now...!

Eid Mubarak!

We were a bit reticent about coming back to Oman at the start of Ramadan but in actual fact it's been fine, very peaceful, a lesser need to be out and about and with more time spent at home.


We're slowly getting there ... well, the Captain has been thrown back to work and is away from home again ... I would say normal service is resumed but actually him being away is not so normal! And all my friends have slowly trickled back in to the country from their sojourns abroad (How many Antipodeans were in Italy this summer?? I know of at least 5 families! And  all separate holidays! Must be harking back to their backpacking days ;-) ) So the social calendar is starting to blossom again. (Could still do with the quiet simple camping life, if I'm honest with you). But I"m looking forward to the cooler weather and getting out and about in Oman again. Still lots we haven't seen and I really want to keep up with my photography.


But now life returns to the post-holiday routine, I know I will still totally hit the ground running come start of term ... there are never enough hours in the day.


The rush to buy school shoes, uniform, pencil cases and bags begins, the chaos of the school run commences and now into the mix I have to had the fact that I will be working full-time. Approximately 8 x more than my husband per week (on average). Not that I'm counting.


I've been under paper, printing, stapling, filing and sticking, preparing for the job. I feel quite apprehensive but I am going to make myself get in to a pre- and/or post-work day routine to maintain my sanity ... half hour for a cuppa on my own, half hour meditation (both put me in a good spot!)... maybe a run. I've been (to quote hubby), "a bit shouty" recently apparently (there's no apparently about it really, I have been) so I'm determined to shake that.


Wish me luck.

Summer Trip Update - Days 38-40

Another missing UK post! The last one, I promise. No photos....as iPhoto is playing up. I will do a post after with just photos when it's sorted. (www.ilikewindows.com!)

And so it's almost the last leg of the big journey. All the major events have been attended and now we are 3 days from flying back to Oman. I could really do with another week and can't believe it'll be a year before we get to enjoy being with Betty again...we really bonded this year :-D (anyone who has classic cars will understand this....others, including some of my friends I think, consider me nutty).

We made our way south from Yorkshire round to a campsite in north Kent, near Wrotham Heath. It was one of the longer journeys and it was warm! The traffic on the M25 was it's usual...slow, and so Betty was feeling it, the kids were also roasting in the back. I had to get out at a point in the fast lane when the traffic was at a standstill and open the engine bay so she could cool down!

So the campsite was really a base so that we could get into London for the dinosaur exhibition at the 02 and to see the sites basically. C wants to go on a London bus and to see the London Eye (he thought for a while that the ferris wheel at Qurm Natural park was the London Eye when we first came to Oman...bless). It was also a chance to meet up with my baby sis (...30 this month...not so much baby sis anymore...).

We got a train to London, all part of the holiday seeing as we don't have a train system in Oman! And then it was the Tube all the way to the o2. we hadn't told the kids what we were doing, we just wanted them to see the signs. There were a few signs but they didn't really notice, I think they were just enjoying the scenery! We reminisced about the concerts we had seen here...Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Roger Waters (twice).

Before we went in the children had their photos taken next to a dinosaur. Woo hoo...any way, we got talking to the photographer and she was from Arizona, earning a bit of money whilst she spends her spare time songwriting. She is Ngawara Madison and I finally got around to googling her and listening to some of her work. It sounds like Country is her style, not my thing but I'll listen to it (although Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers is one of my favourite songs to sing out loud, bizarrely enough! Sssh, don't tell anyone!). So I'm going to keep checking on how she's doing. In the short time we spoke with her, she seemed a really lovely girl.

We had a great tour around the exhibition...it would have been quite disappointing without it as the animatronics weren't fabulous, I suppose it has to be quite straightforward being a temporary exhibition. The lady taking us round was great, good fun. Although she needs to check her knowledge...my 7 year old had to correct her at one point! ;-p

We had lunch at the Armadillo restaurant in the O2...the BEST burger ever. And then Baby Sis came along and got the kids all hyped up and excited, all that an Auntie should do, I guess! We thought we'd add to their ice-cream sugar rush and take them to watch Cars 2. In 3D. It was very good of course...but I fell asleep during one of the car chases. How random.

Next touristy thing to do was to take the Clipper boat along the Thames from the O2 to Waterloo (sis went her own way) and we went back to Wrotham Heath.

Next day, we were heading to Mum and Dad's and we stopped for a picnic and a flask of tea on the north downs, looking over north Kent. It's times like this that I realise we would be in the van every weekend if we were at home, but also that I do miss the UK, and we probably didn't make the most of it in the last few years. This trip has reminded me how beautiful our country is if you look beyond the news headlines.

Tonight's dinner was a takeaway with sis and her boyf. Mum and Dad joined us, it was a really relaxed and fun evening. This must be what it's like to have large family gatherings, loud and full of conversations and laughter. Although having a small family maybe makes me appreciate the times we do have, all getting together.


Oman-bound in a few days. I really will miss Britain this time.

Summer Trip Update - Days 35-37 - Deershed Festival

The next few posts have been languishing as drafts for a while! :-/ They'll be the last few updates from our summer trip to the UK and Europe. A super trip...we have been back two weeks and I'm still a little homesick.
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22nd to 24th July 2011

We usually try and get to a music festival in the UK whenever we are back. The last couple of years have been T-in the Park in Scotland and before we came to Oman we usually went to the V Festival, oh and we've done the Reading festival once - to see Pearl Jam especially. But we never really wanted to take the children to these events as it is so busy, large and basically we wouldn't relax. Personally, I don't think that they are kid-friendly events, although some families do attend, we'd rather not...until they're older at least.

We came across the Deershed Festival through following one of our favourite bands, Admiral Fallow (a nu-folk band, similar kind of ilk to Mumford and Sons). Admiral Fallow tend to play the smaller events at the moment. We first discovered them on the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park last year and have been following them ever since. We were a bit disgruntled that living abroad now, we'd never get to see them in the cosier, more intimate venues, the time before they make it big. (They are playing their first European gig this weekend...not long now before they're in the big league).

The festival was described basically as child-friendly and the list of activities that would be on offer says it all. Kind of like a huge village fete with extras. All four of us are keen and very amateur astronomers so we were especially interested in the astronomy events (my son's space question ...'what is there after space?'... answers on a postcard please).

"We'll have after-hours star-gazing, a cosmodome, themed kids workshops and cabaret plus some really ambitious plans which are currently in the hands of the Civil Aviation Authority. We can't afford everyone's favourite TV boyfriend Prof Brian Cox but we will have other experts with less floppy hair."

Bear loves arts and crafts and there were plenty of workshops and stalls...Other stuff included comedy, a Big Top, swingball, football, space hoppers, face painting, ukele workshops, milk bottle mask making, doodle walls, cardboard knights and fairies, clay modelling, story shows and so much more. Just have a look at the website under each category.

 I was so, so pleased that we had made it with Betty to Topcliffe, North Yorkshire for the festival. Already I was having a good feeling about it as some of the carpark marshalls happily waving us in were probably some of the children's grandparents. Seen that at Reading/T?! We found a perfect spot to park Betty and we got on with setting up the awning whilst the kids tracked down potential friends. From the website;

"We have a really spacious and beautiful parkland campsite. We will have specific camping areas for those with kids, those without, those who want quiet and those who aren't bothered who their neighbours are. In the family camping areas we will have loads of stuff to keep kids occupied whilst you argue over which bit of the tent goes up first....The average distance from the car park to the family camping is only 200m and this year we'll have porters armed with wheelbarrows to help carry all that clobber. If you have a campervan or caravan we have a spot for you too"

It's worth mentioning that the porters were scouts earning a bob or two. Brilliant!

My Dad often asks me if i'm happy. For some reason, I can never make myself say a definitive 'yes'. No reason to say no...I have my health, my family, a good and fortunate life, (as they say here, ma'shallah)... I think I'm just so distracted sometimes that I forget what being happy is about. Me: "I'll think about being whather I'm happy or not in a minute when I've fed the kids/washed up/bathed the kids/replaced the toilet rolls/watered the garden/sweep up 10 minutes after the maid has been (she's good, my kids are messy)... I  know I am, I probably think about it too much. Anyway, to the point...I have had the time on this trip to actually stop, think and realise the happy moments we are having...no distractions or chores. It's a buddhist belief that we are so weighed down with our possessions, our emotions, our ego, our very full and busy lives that we are swamped and forget what it's like to be rested, peaceful and relaxed.

The reason I write the above is that at the festival I actually had a overwhelming feeling of being happy, no strings attached, no material possession needed, just...happy. We were sat outside our tent, having finished dinner and the kids were playing with their new friends. There were families all around, there was a lovely warm friendly atmosphere, you could hear chatting and laughing, the sun was shining....bliss.

So to sum up the Deershed festival:

• Laughter, colourful, fun, bustly, friendly, lively.
• You could make conversation with a stranger and it would instantly be friendly...the likelihood is that they would be parents too...an instant ice-breaker. We met one family on the Friday, watching Hope and Social, one of their favourite bands, so we told them about Admiral Fallow the following night. we didn't see them in the crowd but I hoped they enjoyed it!
• You would smile as you pass other parents, for no real reason.
• Kids were being ferried around in wheelbarrows.
• One family had a homemade barrow.

  
• 
  

  

  Children's comedians. Genius, my kind of comedy! We watched James Campbell (hilarous!), who talked about how a farmer would bring back an escapee cow, the Wii, making friends, why grown-ups groan when they sit down...you get the idea. Can't find anything on Youtube so I may have to buy the cd...for the kids of course.

"The Sunday Times says of James, "Campbell's stand-up for kids has acquired almost holy status. Don't miss." James talks about everything that is relevant to kids and anyone who has ever been a kid. His show is aimed at children aged six, their parents and anyone who enjoys top quality comedy without swearing."

• Reasonably priced tickets and a very resonable bar
• The food stalls were a bit expensive but we'd much rather pay for authentic, local and wholesome food than an overcooked burger and fries at other festivals.



• We concluded that it was a festival for children but with music and beer for the grownups. Perfect.

The only disappointment was that some parents still felt like they could let their

children wander freely out of sight and without supervision. Yes, it's a child/family festival I know...but still....

I loved every minute of it but hubby isn't too sure about coming back next year. It was because of Admiral Fallow that we made it this year....would it feel different if we didn't know any of the bands? My attitude is that we came across a couple of other unknown bands as well as seeing our favourite so why not make that the aim of next year...finding some new music. The children had a whale of a time so why not come back at least for them.

I saw this going round Facebook this week. A few reminders to us all I think. There are LOADS in there for me!
X

I saw Britain in a good light...

...three weeks ago! Hmmm.....


Good to see the fine upstanding people of the capital cities of the UK showing how great the British nation is...really, wth??? Embarrassing. And 11/12/13 year olds involved. I was more interested in my Johnny Hates Jazz and Bros LPs when I was 12 years old.

Is it genuine protests? Nope, I think it's boredom. What else is there to do on a Monday night. In my day the 'yoovs' would just hang out by the corner shops in Owlsmoor [or town of choice], intimidating the younger kids (and me) and the elderly. Now it's a few steps up from that.

Apparently it all escalated following a police shooting in Tottenham...and it's gone from there. The criminal element of society kicking off. Which worries me about the size of the criminal element that they are overpowering the police. The government's planned police spending cuts (possibly at least 10000 fewer officers) will be the solution. No problem. Well done, coalition, well done.

I'm sure other people actually living in these districts and towns are no doubt scared, shocked and embarrassed, like many Omanis said they were during the Sohar riots (I think I can call it a riot rather than a protest now).

I can be quite old fashioned sometimes, but I'm all for bringing back National Service. Not sure nanny-state Britain will allow for that though. Bless Her, wouldn't want to upset anyone, would we...?

The other question is should the Army be involved... any thoughts? The Army is stretched as it is and really, is that what the Army is there for? Just playing Devil's advocate here, can't decide what the answer should be.


As an aside, I feel for the organisations that are organising the Olympics...1 year to go... And football matches postponed. (Although understandable given the reputation of some London team fans. My team included ;-) )


However, you've got to see the funny side of it...Wayne Rooney's social comment on Twitter (I don't tweet, just picked this up from Sky news)

"These riots are nuts. Why would people do this to their own country, own city, this is embarassing for our country. Stop please"

Please note he's that peaceful, calm, restrained, courteous Manchester United football player. As you can see from this picture: 

or this one....

I've just had to switch Sky news off...Holmes is a national institution but he's appalling sometimes!


Ooh I'm in a sarcastic mood today....


...I cannot believe I have posted pictures of Wayne Rooney on my blog...

Day 34-35

On the move again after some relaxing times in Scotland. We drove onto Herding Hill Farm in Northumberland for the night before heading to North Yorkshire for one of the main events on our trip, the Deershed Festival.

Whilst we were in northern England we made a few stops along Hadrian's Wall for the benefit of Bear who has recently been learning about the Romans at school. We had a look around the Roman museum and then Vindolanda, the roman site. It's currently a working archaeological site which I thought was brilliant!

We drove along the road parallel to the Wall and stopped in a car park for lunch. One of the best things I will remember is the little coffee cart sat in the corner. He had a proper coffee machine in the back. We enjoyed a cappacino and a white coffee in the carpark overlooking the Northumberland hills. The guy used to have a Type 2 van and then progressed to a Type 25 which he said was just like driving the type 2 but more practical and a tad more reliable!


Incidentally, this is the name of the area the carpark was in. Hubby mentioned 'Broccolli-shire' and I can't stop my childish giggles when I see this picture. I'm sorry.

Betty meets the Angel of the North (on the horizon)