Just pleasantly floundering around.....

Last night chap, friend and I went to a fantastic little music club called 'Club Uniquity' in Suffolk. There were lots of jokes about us being 'exotic' what with us journeying all the way from Norwich and when Andy said one of his songs was from south-east Africa there was some deliberation before they concluded that must be Southwold way. The stage wouldn't have looked out of place at Butlins - with the sparkly lights and smoke machine but the comfy sofa we staked out, the cabaret style seating and mix of artistes made it a corking night! (I was handing out top trump identity cards and when that goes down well - one of my criteria for 'great venue' has been ticked). Anyway. Andy got up to play his set. The compere said, 'tell us a bit about yourself Andy' to which he replied, 'I am the shyest guitarist in the world.' I could tell he wanted to get on and 'let his music speak for itself,' but there were more questions and backed into h...

Does anyone else have their driving instructor’s voice in their head when they drive? Good Old Rod from 17+. He’s not there all the time (that would be ridiculous, I need to let other people in the car) but just odd moments like: • When I go up a hill, I can sometimes hear him saying, ‘you need push that throttle – it’s a hill you know – you need more gas for hills.’ • There’s a bridge (in Cringleford) we often crossed on a learning route and every time I go over it I hear, ‘you can fit two cars at the same time, if they drive carefully across this bridge, but not a van and a car, and certainly not a lorry and a car.’ If my passenger is lucky – I actually say it our loud. Funny that a bridge can turn one into a manoeuvre bore. • ‘That wasn’t left.’ To which I would reply – how am I meant to know which left you mean? Chap has taken over this role. When I get the wrong left, I think of Rod. • ‘You only need a car and a half’s length gap to parallel park. People think going in front wheel...

I thought I'd try a literal and straightforward post to see what happens - to see if I can avoid finding some hidden meaning and intuiting all over the place. Tonight I lined some curtains. It's the second pair in six months. The first pair I did for warmth before winter and this pair I did because I hate it when bright mornings wake me up at 5 a.m. I am not a neat person or have I had any 'formal' training in needlework but with sound spacial awareness, reasonable problem solving capabilities and an old Singer turn-the-handle machine that my mum taught me how to thread up years ago....I get there. Obviously there's lots of wondering if a needle in the mouth is wise, seven pairs of scissors on the go to ensure there's at least one pair within reach/findable, thread everywhere, little tangles now and then, a lot of talking things through with myself and the odd mild swear word. I get into the flow (I was 'lost' to a Little House on the Prairie type existe...

I wonder what it actually says about us......as individuals and as a couple! Inspired by a comment from Ken D

When chap and I were newly courting (I love that verb!) back in 1997, we got together with some gummy paper and produced this picture! I did one half, chap did the other. It was very territorial. We spent the entire evening on it, absolutely absorbed in it. When people admire it, I always ask, 'which side do you think Andy did and which side did I do?' And people ALWAYS guess correctly. Wanna guess? You're bound to get it right.

I recently re-found this picture that my son did a while ago. I remember him absolutely absorbed in it as he drew himself as a secret agent in his HQ. HQs are very important places. No super hero, agent or any other significant can function properly without a HQ. I love kiddie's minds.

My latest books are out. They are called Even More Outside the Box (two books: for ages 7-9 and 9-11) and are full of more bonkers ideas (just a couple of examples below) Even More Outside the Box for ages 7-9 is dedicated to my brother: Even More Outside the Box for ages 9-11 is dedicated to my sister: Two examples of the kind of activities in them.......

As I might have mentioned once or twice before, I am going take a some time off blogging starting tomorrow. I need to break out of the post-a-day routine to prove that I am NOT addicted (and prove that blogging is not the thing preventing my spontaneous combustion - ha - preposterous idea!). I might take a few weeks off, I might blog on Tuesday....who knows....I'll just have to wait and see. So then I wondered what I would leave you with before I go on virtual leave to risk spontaneous combustion. Then my head did it's usual, whizz, whirr, tick tick, fuzz, whallop and said, 'Fact File'. I thought I would 'tag' myself in a slightly self-obsessed way. The file will have to be a slightly unusual one though because there's not much I haven't given away already. ODD SNIPPET FACT FILE ON MOLLY POTTER Worst journeys: •The 40 hour train ride from Vienna to Athens wasn't great but the people we met made it 'interesting' - especially the Austrian knife...

Last weekend, I was having a bit of a muck out. This is prompted when I either cannot a) find something or b) move. It's quite ugly to watch. The equation is: slight irritation about lost thing + bullish person + extreme chaos in physical surroundings = irritation, even more bullish person, unsettled dust and nothing achieved. (I appreciate this isn't mathematically sound but I wouldn't risk pointing it out if I were you; I'm still in chaos). I was trying to find the visitors' book that we had in our toilet for many years to share some of the wonderful comments people had written, but failed. Instead I found what I used to call, 'my self esteem dossier'. It is full of newspaper clippings of stuff I have done, special cards people have made for me and various other 'feel good' bits and pieces from a variety of places. A look through is guaranteed to make me glow from deep inside. As a teacher, I used to invest a lot in developing and preserving pupils...

I didn't mean this to be a long post. I got carried away (see enthusiasm badge). This is me messing around (forte) with one of the more silly creative thinking ideas from my book Outside the Box (9-11). In the book, I ask kids to make up what a person would have to do to achieve a set of silly badges (much like buy scout/girl guide badges). Here are a couple of examples that I give.... ******************************* Great irritator’s badge 1) Irritate three different people in the same day and ask them to sign a piece of paper that will prove you irritated them. 2) Make up an irritation questionnaire that explores what irritates people. 3) Make up three really irritating sounds and irritate at least three different people with them. 4) Keep an irritation diary for one week and list all the things you have seen that have irritated people. You must list at least eight things. 5) Tell the badge collector what you think is the most irritating thing in the world and why you think it is...

I remember reading an article about happiness some time ago. It identified many criteria that those with a generally happy disposition tended to have. There were not many surprises. It stated, for example, that severe poverty can have a negative impact on happiness but once all basic needs are met, there is no correlation between increased wealth and an increase in happiness (although many strive for wealth, I assume, with the idea it will make them happier which is not surprising considering the conditioning we receive in the capitalist western world!). It spoke about 'flow', personal 'wiring' and health and so on. However, the one happiness criteria that stood out for me was, 'the ability to transcend pettiness.' It is remarkable how we can sometimes let something that is, in the large scheme of things, quite insignificant, annoy or upset us to the point of it being detrimental to our happiness and wellbeing. Which brings me to one of my more serious catchphra...

I went to a local real ale pub this Friday and had a fantastic time. I drank a fine real ale and my outlook became a tad chemically altered. It's taken me years to work out why I like drinking alcohol. It's definitely a social thing for me. Up until recently I would very rarely drink at home (it's still not very common). What I love is the way it makes people more likely to 'connect' with others. In a pub like the one I went to on Friday, everyone becomes friendly and most people are happy to talk with anyone. So to me, the pub becomes one big 'people playground' that I can usually quite freely explore. I suspect there are some places in the world where this would be possible without alcohol. Originally, I met with friends. They like to arrive and leave early. Thing is, they always leave just as I am about to get going (I usually arrive some time after them and my alcoholic stamina is pretty good). So I bump into people - people I know, those I vaguely know ...

I have found travelling in Blogsville a very entertaining, interesting, thought provoking, self-awareness raising and enlightening experience. This is not just because of what I have read on other people’s blogs or formulated for my own; it’s also the learning I’ve gained by reflecting on writing my posts, the comments they receive and from commenting on other people’s blogs. An outline of my key learning….! 1) Writing style I appear to be able to write in a reasonably clear way, using simple language to convey my meaning. Not bad for someone that could not read at ten and carried a fear toward the written word for years!! I also realise I am the queen (or prevalent implementer) of bracketed tangents and elaborations!!! 2) Blogging community It’s surprising how you feel connected to your main commenters! It’s a little blogging community. We are all so different and each blogger also brings their uniquely flavoured comments. For example: Claire - flippant, irreverent and very funny Nick...

When I was a child my mum used to tear her hair out with worry about the possibility of me being malnourished. (There's certainly no sign of that now). You see there was loads I simply refused to eat. My most severe repulsion was towards brown, chewy lumps of meat - something my mum seemed to cook every other day. Being the 70s and having parents with war rationing deep in their psyche meant a) it was considered good fortunes to have brown chewy lumps of meat (in the large scheme of things I can see that) and b) everything definitely had to be eaten. My mother's way of dealing with my refusal to eat was to leave me sitting at the table for hours insisting I could not get down from the table until I had cleared my plate. I would remain at said table chewing the same morsel for what felt like hours. I could usually hear other kids playing out in my street and that would twist the knife a little further. I could, in fact, chew a single piece of meat until it no longer had any flav...

I have given three wedding speeches in the past and some have been more successful than others. My first wedding speech was certainly a little sloppy?....well you judge for yourself. My sister and I had just spent a truly amazing week in Istanbul. Rest and healthy living were certainly not on the agenda and we were returning to the UK desperately in need of vitamin C and sleep. My friend's wedding was in the afternoon following the morning flight home. The speech I was to deliver had not been considered at all during my time in Turkey and on the plane, I decided to write a poem about the fantastic couple Jack and Jackie (last name: Frost - no kidding). I can remember the first two lines: When Jackie first showed me Jack I thought she was joking This provoked a ripple of laughter but other than that, the rest of the 'poem' was overshadowed by just four words. On the plane my sister had suggested the line, 'Jackie has got elephantitus' and I had written it down. It ma...

I have never been to the Outer Hebrides but somehow have still managed to feel a (very) mild affiliation to them on account of the following. When I was about eleven our dad returned from work one day with the weighty speculation that we might move to Benbecular so that my dad could run the airport there. Apparently the airport traffic amounted to about one aeroplane a day. The move was carefully and seriously considered over the following few weeks. I remember feeling extremely unsettled by this idea and the more I learned about the Outer Hebrides, the more resistance I felt. Aside from being told most island children go to boarding schools on mainland Scotland for their education and that its young residents usually do very well academically because there's nothing to do but study (this really scared me) my main fear was centred around the fact that devout religion on the islands meant people were not allowed to actually do anything on the day of rest: Sundays. I can hear my ele...

This post won't be for those of you delicate of stomach. As blogging seems to have become my medium recently - how could I not use it to be gooey about my Andy Chap. A small sample of the things I love about my Andy Chap......... 1) He's my life support system. Before Andy came along a tomato and a few prawns regularly sustained me. Now I eat real, beautifully cooked food. He's a great nurse too - medical and psychiatric. 2) He's my 'put things in perspective' rock. He has a magical, to the point, way of summing things up and filtering out the stuff that doesn't matter. 3) His sense of humour. He giggles a lot. Sometimes with me, sometimes at me, sometimes at himself, sometimes with himself, often at things few would find funny and many other times. And when he giggles, I have to giggle too. 4) His hat wearing. It's something to behold. 5) His wearing of female attire is even better. He'd have made a good woman. ...

I'm not overly systematic when it comes to remembering birthdays and sending cards. I never have been. If you invite me to your party I will remember to bring a card, maybe a gift and a bottle of something but without the prompt of attendance somewhere, it's a bit hit and miss. That's not to say I don't love the people I forget to send birthday cards to. I have lots of love to give. Sometimes people reel from the overbearing nature of it. My 'giving gestures' are a little random but when you get them, you usually know. Here are just a few examples: Badges Whether it's for a wedding, retirement or a birthday celebration, I love to make loads of badges. I print them, laminate them, cut them out and put pins (or cotton for posh wedding frocks) on the back. At some point during the celebration, I issue one to everyone present so that suddenly there is a sea of badges. Here are some examples. Mr Payne retired from school and I made a badge for all the pupils in t...