Typecast

One thing that I do a lot is to think of my Mum.  She should have had so many more opportunities in life but she didn't because of ill health.  However, she always encouraged myself and my sister to be ourselves.  I didn't deal with that too well when I was younger but the hindsight afforded to age and experience is amazing, isn't it?  What you may not know is that Mum was a writer.  Not a published writer, but she had potential.  She tended to use her writing skills to enter competitions, write greetings cards inserts and create personal poems for special occasions.  Because I was feeling a bit lost this week, I went upstairs to a drawer under my bed where I keep all my 'special treasures' and pulled out a folder where I have stored of some of her unfinished pieces.  I found this ( unedited ): If my father had been a more forceful character I would have entered this world as Arlene or Dolores, his favourite names at that time.  Thankfu...

I hate it.  Hate it, hate it, hate it!!!!  It has RUINED my weekend.  I have been sat out in the back yard for most of the last couple of days, trying to enjoy the sun, nibbling away on bits of food from the barbecue, watching my granddaughter splash about in the paddling pool and it has all been marred by the constant sneezing, eye-watering, itchiness that is hayfever.

Tell Us Your Story   is giving people the opportunity to recognise and reward others who have made a positive impact on their lives or in their community over the past year. Entries are submitted online at  http://www. avivatellusyourstory.co.uk/ Launched by Aviva, for every entry they will donate £1 to the Street to School Programme - a global initiative with the aim of reaching 500,000 children worldwide, helping them get off the streets and back into education.

Editors note:  This is Chris and Harvey's story - the sixth in a series that I have called " Cancer - Your Story ".  If you are interested in sharing your story please click on the link and  contact me . Related Links : @chrisandharvey  (Twitter) http://www.weld-hospice.org.uk/   http://chrisandjo.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!9B97567B13093FCC!183.entry   http://www.wayfoundation.org.uk/   http://www.bbc.co.uk/ hampshire/content/articles/ 2008/02/10/hampshire_harvey_ video_feature.shtml   http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/ content/articles/2007/12/18/ christmas_bereavement_feature. shtml   Cancer Research UK -  http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/ All " Cancer - Your Story " posts Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt -  Pink Sherbert Photography

Today, I had an invitation to a very special fashion show and I was seated on the second row.  I was aware that the designers were new on the scene and that the audience members would be very exclusive for this premier presentation...

It started with the muffled giggles wafting through the wall and I knew that I was in for an hour of unintentional voyeurism.  It was always the same when The Bloke from the next-door flat brought home his latest conquest.  It was a different one each week.  How did he do it?  Here I am - the right side of twenty-five, single, willing and able, yet in bed before eleven rather than tripping through the streets in town in ill-fitting stilettos and a skimpy dress.  All my mates had other plans or dates of their own tonight.   Where was I going wrong?

The first ladybird of the year.  Not really amazing but we live in a very urban area and have no garden at all, so to see a ladybird at home is somewhat of a novelty. * * * This blog post was submitted for the  weekly Gallery  over at  Sticky Fingers .  This week's theme was ' Creatures '.  This digital art Gallery is all linked at Sticky Fingers and you can see all of this weeks entries  >>> here <<< Related Links: http://typecast2000.blogspot.com/search/label/gallery  

SWITCH THAT BLOODY LIGHT OUT... I'LL DO IT... I'LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS!! LondonCityMum  seems to want to know more about me and has  asked me to  demanded that I share the answers to her ten questions here on my blog.   1. Name of your first pet? I had an Abyssinian guinea pig called Cuddles (and my sister had a rabbit called Flopsy - they lived in a hutch together).  If this is a thinly veiled attempt to find out my porn star name then the street I lived on was Curzon Road. First Pet Name + Childhood Street Name = Porn Star Name "Cuddles Curzon" I quite like that actually... hhmmm * ponders career change * 2. Your most delectable piece of lingerie? Erm... lingerie is not my strong point.   It it's not grey then it's an achievement.  If it matches then it's a miracle.  If I'm wearing it in bed then it gets in the way.  I'm a lost cause, aren't I?  Maybe I should hint at some lingerie companies to kit me out? 3. Be...

John Crane Lacing Beads "Nature" Photo Credit: John Crane Ltd I was asked by the lovely people at John Crane Ltd to test one of their products with our chief tester of toddlers toys, Anticyclone Amie.  We were sent the Nature Lacing Beads (from their " Branching Out " range) which help develop thinking skills and encourage hand/eye coordination.  They are aimed at the 2+ age group but Amie is 18 months old and managed to handle the wooden pieces with ease. The aim of the product is to thread brightly coloured, chunky wooden shapes onto the red lace.  This set was called the "Nature" set and includes eight smooth circular beads and seven shaped wooden pieces.   As you can see from the photograph the shapes are two leaves, two flowers, a butterfly, a snail, a ladybird and a bumblebee.  Each shape is 2cm thick (just the right thickness for toddler hands) and is smoothly carved and brightly painted in inviting primary colours. ...

No, we're not doing the hokey cokey (although we might do at the end if you sit nicely and behave)... no, this post is about bedroom behaviour... oh bloody hell... I mean SLEEP!! It's a hot summer night... (no, this is not that Meatloaf song ) and you can't sleep.  You lie on the bed and cover yourself up... AARRGGHH it's too hot.  You fling the duvet back (narrowly missing your loved one's shoulder if you share the bed with someone) and sprawl out like a starfish, then you try lying on top of your duvet, then back on the sheet, tossing (don't be rude) and turning, flipping your pillow over to the cool side... and finally end up covered up with your duvet BUT with one leg uncovered, either hanging down by the side of the bed or hooked round the edge of the duvet. Why, oh why is that just right?

As much as I love the platform I use for my blog ( Blogger ), I was more than a little frustrated when any links that I included in my posts were opening in the same page, therefore taking my reader away from my article.  I want the link to give my readers some additional information but I also want to keep the reader at least until the end of the post, not send them off on some random journey around the World Wide Web.  I could point out here that the options available using 'right click' on the mouse show "open in new tab/window" but why does this need to be any more difficult that it already is.  Reading my blog is supposed to be enjoyable, not a lesson in CLAIT .  What was more frustrating was that in my role as contributor on two other blogs powered by Wordpress , I noticed that there was an option in the WYSIWYG * post editor on Wordpress for the facility I needed.

* * SPOILER ALERT * * If you haven't yet seen the final episode of Season 1 and want no hint of what happens then STOP READING NOW!! You're still here?  Oh, OK then.  Let's groove! If you follow me on Twitter you will have noticed that I may have made the odd remark  commented rather a lot about Glee.  I was a bit nervous about the final episode, "Journey", as I'd got a little tired of seeing Rachel sing with her eyes shut with emotion and the story lines over the past few weeks had seemed to lack...  I don't know... something Gleeful?  There have been some fabulously genius moments like Artie's flashmob in the shopping mall... ... but, I digress. My favourite bits: Sue Sylvester mentioning her autobiography - "I'm A Winner And You're Fat" ( rated: 4 tears of laughter ) Finn telling Rachel that he loves her and pursing his lips into a tiny air kiss before they went on stage ( rated: 1 tear ). The way in which Quin...

"And the award for the least-observant mother goes to..." *drum roll* ME  Yesterday, Son #2 was attending a confidence boosting course ( yes, I realise the irony in that - he's the least needy of this, isn't he? ) to aid the transition from primary school to high school.  A packed lunch was needed - all with disposable packaging - so we headed to the corner shop for a carton of drink for him on the way to school. I sent him in with a shiny £1 coin and he returned with two drinks in grey plastic bottles, sporting those flip-out spouts.   "Two for a pound, mum.  Can I take the other one for rounders practise after school?" I was re-tuning the radio, glanced over, saw the very innocent looking bottles, "Yeah, sure, love. Quick, seatbelt on.  Let's get going!" During the day, Kev got a phone call at home from Jake's teacher explaining that she has had to take Jake's drinks off him as she knows we are very careful regarding what fo...

When I heard this weeks Gallery prompt I thought that I would step out of this one.  I don't have a recent photo of myself and my children together and there isn't anything that I have in my photo archives that really fits... until I saw this...   This picture was taken on our last trip to Knowsley Safari Park and it completely embodies what Motherhood is to me.  It's a mother, protecting her baby from the invasion of strangers in their natural habitat - arms wrapped around her off-spring, stubbornly preventing the advancement of the strange objects, the snooty expression saying, " Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough! "  That is exactly how I feel about my babies (even though they are not babies any more).  I never want to be incapable of stepping in and protecting them and I think that emotion has become all the more stronger since I lost my own mum.  No-one's "make it all better" hug has come close and I miss that. But whe...

Today I have a very special guest poster - my son, Jake.  I shall let him explain further. * * * Hello, I am Jake and I am 11 years old.  I want to tell you about the new park that has just opened near my house.  A man called Mohammed (from Blackburn Council) came to my school and asked all the children what they would like to build on a park if they were allowed to do anything.  We had to draw things and Mohammed picked the best ones.  My design was chosen as one of the best so Mohammed said I could be on the design committee.  We had to go to a special meeting each week and make proper designs for the new park.  My slide and my zip wire were chosen to be made.  The slide has ladders inside it and is a metal tube that goes down and round.  The zip wire is really fast if your friends push you on it. The park has been built for a while but it was opened properly on Friday 11th June 2010.  Jack Straw ( the Member of Parliament that ...

Ok, maybe I am a tad optimistic but if I put my plans here then I've got to see them through, right? Tonight, I will be attempting the first "workout" recommended by the experts on the " Couch To 5K " website: A brisk five-minute warm-up walk then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. That sounds do-able, doesn't it? Brisk walk to the canal towpath = 5 minutes Jogging and walking in one direction = 10 minutes Jogging and walking in the other direction = 10 minutes Brisk walk from the canal back home = 5 minutes Rinse and repeat three times for one week (although I think I may do this for more than one week as my fitness levels are zero).  I should also look at getting some proper running shoes before I move onto the next stage. I'm really not sure if this will work as I gave up running a long time ago but I've heard that a lot of people have tried this method with excellent results.  I don...

Editors note:  This is Ffion's story - the fourth in a series that I have called " Cancer - Your Story ".  If you are interested in sharing your story please click on the link and  contact me . Related Links : Ffion at  BareNakedMummy  (Blog) @BareNakedMummy (Ffion/BNM on Twitter) All " Cancer - Your Story " posts Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt -  Pink Sherbert Photography * * * This post was first published on my blog:  Barenakedmummy  for a Writing Workshop. Since then I have managed to finish and update it as best as my memory will let me. Going back to the day we lost her was hard but also helped me a great deal. To friends who know my blog and read me, it bought back memories of her that will remain in our hearts forever. I have added two pics which make me smile, the first of you posing in a mad way - showing off your 'child rearing hips' as you used to call them, the second is from that first meeting when you flirted with my dear hu...