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Friday 15 December 2017

Our annual Festive Family get-together . . .

. . . was held this year on Sunday 10th December at http://thegeorgeinnstmarybourne.co.uk/ as this is a conveniently situated mid-way location for the Surrey kids and the Wiltshire kids. An enjoyable time was had by all - well, I certainly enjoyed it and I think everyone else did too.










FO managed to get into almost every picture and DO managed to keep out of most of them!!

Thursday 30 November 2017

Bucket list countdown.

One of the items on my bucket list of things to do before my 70th birthday was to go to a Premier League football match to see my second favourite football team, Southampton. (Fulham Football Club is my first love, and will, hopefully, be back in the Premier League one day).

I achieved this last weekend, when GT and I went to St. Marys to see Saints v. Everton.



We got down there pretty early in order to get the car parked up fairly close to the stadium, so with time to kill we took a walk around before we went in. We came across a fair few interesting characters.




This last is an Everton supporter who apparently travels to all the away matches very scantily clad. What you can't see is a backpack stuffed full of money that he raises for charity. Added later - you can read all about him here http://www.prideofsportawards.co.uk/history/2017/mick-cullen

Naturally I was too busy watching the match to take any photos during play, but when the players came on to the pitch for a warm-up session I was delighted that the Everton players warmed up just in front of us. You can say what you like about Wayne Rooney, but you can't argue with his footballing record.



. . . and there is my very cold friend.


It was a cold day, but we enjoyed the game, and the result was good - Saints 4, Everton 1. I lost my voice from shouting and screaming so loudly after our 4th goal. Thanks to GT for coming with your mum to fulfil a dream.


Thursday 2 November 2017

November five on the fifth, the wedding shoe edition

. . .  a few days early because I'm going away again this weekend.

Sandie hosts this meme, you can visit her blog itchifingers here.

GO and EG are getting married next year, I'm so looking forward to their wedding - I bought my dress a while ago and have been looking for some shoes to go with it. I found these online and ordered them. They came the other day, I love them so much I simply had to share.






Monday 28 August 2017

Week twenty eight

190


Annual (almost) cousins meet-up at the house that our granddad had built and where our grandparents lived many years ago.

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Spent a very pleasant couple of hours and had lunch here with a friend.

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Hula-hooping for kids in Andover Market Square

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It doesn't look as huge and scary in this photo as it did in real life - the body is about an inch long!

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 A tranquil spot along the River Anton

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A bit late this year, my first full picking of runner beans from the garden.

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Tomato glut.

Saturday 27 May 2017

Bucket List, return to Budleigh Salterton

Only a very brief return, but it was more or less as I remembered it. We made a trip to Devon. GM's sister and brother-in-law live in Plymouth, and in the past when we've been down to see them we've made a daytrip of it, however, having recently moved further east by 35 miles, a daytrip to Devon was just that little bit too much to attempt, so we booked a couple of nights accomodation in Sidmouth, and visited Budleigh Salterton on the afternoon of the first day. Had a wander round the town,


and then down to the beach.  This was the first thing I noticed,


 - not sure I would want to be naked under an unstable cliff!

Then turned round to see the first thing that GM had noticed.


Someone had written our granddaughter's name in dark pebbles.

Walking along the beach was quite difficult, because of the large pebbles, but we did it anyway.









Just a flavour of our walk, and a second item crossed off my bucket list.

Tuesday 25 April 2017

The Bucket List

These birthdays are a real nuisance aren't they? Just think, if we didn't have birthdays we wouldn't need to get any older - not that the numbers really matter though, how old you feel is just all inside your head, isn't it? Today I'm having what is very aptly described in our house as a dopey day, I've spent an entire weekend with my ancient mother, who is fast losing her mental capabilities and I think maybe she has leached mine as well and despatched them off to Fairyland with her own. So I'm feeling a bit oldish today, although thankfully still nowhere near to feeling as old as the number of candles which will be appearing on my birthday cake (should I be lucky enough to have one!) fairly soon. Given that the number of years I've been on the planet ends with a nine (yes, you've guessed it, I'm nearly nippety nine), next year's birthday will be a biggy.

With this in mind I've decided to spend the next twelve months completing a bucket list of things I'd like to do before I'm nippety ten, so here is that list, and my reasons for it. (To be completed in no particular order, but just over the coming twelve months)

No. 1. Many years ago when the younger two sons were little more than toddlers we spent a week in South Devon, and one of the places we visited was Budleigh Salterton. I liked it there. In fact, I loved it there, and I always vowed to myself that one day I would return without a pair of toddlers in tow. So, now the time has come, sometime during the next twelve months we'll return to Budleigh Salterton for a childfree break.

No. 2. Back in 1970 GM graduated from Newcastle University, and ever since we've been together he has wanted to go back to see how much (if anything) has changed. So I've promised him that this is the year he'll return to Newcastle, with me, so I can see it for the first time, AND what's more, we'll fly there.

No. 3. I'm a Fulham Football Club supporter through and through, but I also like to support a Premier League team, and with my historical connections to the area I've chosen to support Southampton while Fulham are in the lower division. The last time we went to a Premier League match in 2012 it was Southampton v. Fulham, and now there is distinct possibility that Fulham will be promoted back to the top flight league so this fixture might well happen again during the 2017/18 season. I very much want to attend another Premier League football match, obviously if this could be at Craven Cottage to watch Fulham then no-one would be happier than me, but if they miss out on promotion this year then instead I should like to make another trip to St. Mary's to cheer on the Saints.

No. 4. I'm a very lucky lady, in that while I have four sons I actually have five lovely ladies that I call my daughters-in-law, four of whom are current partners and one of whom is an ex partner (the mum of my grandson and one of my very dearest friends). I would love to have a DiLs day, a day when the six of us would all meet up and have a great day together. This might take a bit of planning, so be warned girls.

No. 5. I love drawing and painting but have had no formal training, so I think it's time I did. I'll see what I can find.

No. 6. GM and I have always loved walking, and whenever we've had the chance we've climbed the highest hill available at the time. Recently moved to Hampshire, I find that the highest hill in Hampshire (Pilot Hill) is less than ten miles away from where we live, so it is on the list.

No. 7. A hot stone massage, a real treat, just for me (and, in fact, already booked for 12th May - watch this space).

No. 8. Despite living in the London area for more than 85% of my lifetime, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never attended a promenade concert. This will be remedied before the summer of 2017 is out.

No. 9. I would very much like to try either pole dancing or line dancing, just the once. I have two left feet so dancing doesn't come easy to me.

No. 10. I have a friend who lives in Sussex who calls is a Mentor to Passionate World Changers, she's also known as a Happiness Experimenter, and I belong to a group that she runs called Dancing in Your Soul Shoes, so you get the general idea of the sort of person she is. I'm so looking forward to attending a weekend retreat that she intends to hold later in the year. She lives in the middle of a forest and will hold the retreat and activities in her recently acquired yurt. Sounds wonderful.

No. 11. My dad came from a large family, so I have lots of cousins, mostly girls, and all within a 15 year age range. We don't get together nearly as often as we should, it's so much fun when we do, so I'm hoping we can get something organised for this year - maybe I have to arrange this myself to make sure it happens.

No. 12. I intend to spend this coming year eating well and healthily - plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, enjoying the odd glass of wine or two now and again, drinking lots of water and a good dose of kefir on a daily basis, and also to increase my daily step count quite significantly - these measure will, I hope, lead to my body becoming more shapely and slender than its current condition and will incentivise it to stick around with me for many more years to come.

So, my twelve month bucket list, please come back next May to see how well I've done. If this catches on I might possibly do it every year.

Saturday 15 April 2017

Bucket list

My next big birthday (one with a zero at the end of it) is getting scarily close, in fact less than 13 months away, so I decided to create myself a bucket list of things to do before I reach the beginning of the end of middle age. My list will have 12 objectives, giving me one for each month. I already have a couple of ideas, but when I have a full list of 12 I'll publish it, so . . . .
watch this space.