Do they know something I don't?

My horoscope this month reads:

You have been nurturing a dream for some time. You have been playing with a fantasy, exploring an idea, entertaining a vision and telling yourself, all the while, that this is all you are really doing - just whiling away a little time. Yet you have also been setting in motion a series of events that have the potential to make the whole thing happen, telling yourself, as you do, that you are under no obligation to take your opportunity, even if you do manage to create it. That's true. You are not under any such obligation. But can you resist the chance that you now have?

Do they know something that I don't know????

Other bits of interesting stuff this week:

Walkers crisps is running a competition. They have brought out six new flavours and have asked the public to vote which one is their favourite. The winner will be marketed and the others will be removed from the shelves (did I mention that the person who came up with the winning brand will receive a certain percentage from the sale of the crisps?) The general idea behind the making of the crisps is that they taste like the real thing (well, as close as they could get to the real thing). I have managed to taste two of the new flavours: Chilli and chocolate (I was very disappointed with these) and the Builders Breakfast (which tastes EXACTLY like bacon and egg). The other flavours are Fish and Chips, Onion Bhaji, Crispy Duck and Hoi Sin sauce and my personal favourite: Cajun Squirrel. I can only imagine what Squirrel tastes like....

On the news front, a former french aircraft carrier (Clemenceau) has been tugged in to Teesside where it will be taken apart and scrapped. It weighs over thirty thousand tons and will provide jobs for many people. The locals are complaining that it is yet another piece of rubbish dumped on their doorstep... I say it's their own fault as they keep pushing people to recycle (someone just took them a little bit too literally).


We have experienced severe flooding post-blizzard. As you can imagine, all the snow had to go somewhere once it melted...


Engineers are working to restore the bells at Portsmouth's Guildhall so that they will chime again.


The Liquorice Allsort character Bertie Bassett has married his sweetheart Betty at the Bassett's Factory in Sheffield to mark his 80th birthday. The company gave staff time off to attend the wedding... I ask you with tears in my eyes....


Lastly, Roxy the rock hopper penguin at London Zoo stands next to a special postbox as she prepares for an influx of Valentine's Day cards. She still has no mate at the zoo.


With these stories, who needs to make things up?

Happy Valentines Day to you!

This week has been rather strange. I have had ups, downs and a few nothings...

My week in general flows by like water from a tap - it rushes in, circles the drain, and is lost forever (charming analogy don't you think?) Since the last update, I have managed to finish yet another novel (rather astounded?) I have cooked several dinners and have really just existed.

My client is still in hospital (surprise, surprise) and so the daily visits in are still occurring (yes, even in the snow - when the taxi skates to the hospital!!!) My client does not seem to be improving, but then that could be because I see him every day (or perhaps because he isn't??) His wife is still depressed and crying all the time (yay for me!) Their friends are dwindling (can't say I blame them - but it does show you who your true friends are). The one constant is... me... (is that too presumptuous?) They have both (in different ways) built up trust in me. His wife tells me stories, trusts me with her feelings and cries in my arms. My client looks to me for confirmation when the nurse wants him to do something, he tells the doctors to ask me for permission to take some blood from him, he asks me not to leave him - to stay 'just five more minutes', he sleeps when I'm there and he tells me things he cannot tell his wife.

Earlier this week my client was having a bad day (well, a really bad day among many bad days). He looked to me to make his pain stop. When I could not help him he began yelling at me, releasing all his frustrations on me. I cannot tell you how helpless this made me feel. It ended with a personal assault: he yelled that I was of no use and that I should 'leave and never come back' because I am a 'waste of space' and 'what is my purpose there if I cannot make him comfortable and do my job'. I understood where this anger was coming from. I brushed it aside empathically.

A little later on in the week, we were discussing the crossword in the Sun newspaper when, in all seriousness, he turned to me and asked me if I would assist him in killing himself. I was astounded (I saw it coming, but I never thought he would actually ask). He said it would be easy to get some medication and give him an overdose. I calmly spoke through it all with him. I discussed why I could not do something like that, and why he should want to live.

Later on, I cried.



Yesterday, Friday the 13th, marked the 14 month relationship between Shaun and myself. I managed to arrange a present fairy (thank you!) and type up a letter for him, which I could only hope he would appreciate (as we have spent the best part of 10 months on different continents). It turns out that he did appreciate my efforts as I got a whole facebook message from him AND a status update concerning me. So, considering myself rather lucky, I trudged through to today, Valentine's Day.

Today I got an email and a facebook message to wish me a happy Valentine's Day. I was ever so grateful.

Anyhow, I woke up this morning intending to spend the day in. I opened all the doors and windows, baked some banana bread, did some cleaning and vacuuming and then had a LONG LONG soak in the bath. I listened to the radio (I have officially chosen a radio station called 'Heart' to listen to for the next few weeks) and waited. I can't tell you what I have spent the day waiting for (you know when you just have that feeling???) but I am still waiting.

I hope that whatever it is I am waiting for will come/happen soon; otherwise I will be forced to put the plug in.

Life goes on after the snow...

I left you on Saturday for my adventure out and about with Debbie, Tom and Ben.

I was collected shortly after I logged off and driven to Debbie's house. We managed to play Mario Cart Wii as well as Pictureka (a board game) before being joined by the neighbours on our afternoon walk. I quickly put a few plastic bags over my feet (yes, I also changed my name to Rustle) as I don't own any wellies.... yet....

We all went out and enjoyed a muddy walk through the fields and across the rivers. We reached the end of our walk and headed straight into the pub. It was really nice. We had a drink each and chatted until tea time. Debbie and her neighbours headed for the Indian take away joint whilst I waited with the boys. By the time we got back to Debbie's place, Hilary was there and waiting............. oops..........

Changing topics swiftly...

I had an aaaaaaah moment (that one is not copy written yet!) the other day.

There is a young male across from Tony in the hospital, who has had a particularly rough time (he suffers from Crohn's disease). The other day he went in to theatre for his second operation and came back looking full of life. The following day, the pain struck. He is on a morphine pump permanently. He was so brave, tolerating the pain with a press of the morphine and a few naps. Well, that was until his aunt walked in. She went up to him and asked him how he was. He burst into tears. It made me so sad to see.

Just my luck...

I was on my way home yesterday when a stranger approached me and began having a conversation with me. Alarm bells went off in my head ('stranger alert, stranger alert') that made me want to run away with my arms flailing about my head, mouth open screaming and legs trying to catch up with my body. I resisted the temptation (only because I had a bus to catch). Instead, I stood there whilst she chatted (I did my usual smile and nod routine, with the occasional uh huh and mmm hmmm). Once I had 'psycho-analysed' her (about 15 seconds from meeting) I was absolutely astounded that:
a) she went to college (okay, no-one said she passed anything)
b) she thought that carrying a post office bag was the bees knees
c) she had procreated.

I was SO glad that bus 169 finally arrived and that she was NOT getting on it.

On the way home I had an encounter of the postman kind (they say everything comes in threes...) He began with light topics and light conversation. BUT, by the time we reached our final destination he was full swing into complaining about the Rubbish people. He was asking me (rhetorically) why he has to deliver mail in the snow, but the refuse collectors are allowed to have the time off. I unfortunately did not have an answer for him...

I am now left waiting for number three.......

It's finally weekend...

So, I woke up late this morning - 09h30!!!!!

I was forced out of bed because the phone rang (otherwise I might still have been there). Needless to say, I had a lovely long soak in the bath and got dressed. I opened up the curtains to a beautiful clean, white environment coated in a deliciously blue sky.

Hilary arrived home and decided that I need to go out. She promptly phoned Debbie and invited me round (neither Debbie nor I had a choice in the matter...) Having had two slices of toast and a cup of tea, Hilary left for the hospital. I was left wondering which busses to catch to get to Debbie's place (as all the busses have been restructured) before 15h00. I phoned traveline (for information on travel around the west midlands) to find out how to get from here to the train station to Cheswick Way... Just as I had my journey planned out Debbie rang to ask if she should collect me on her way past... grrr... I shall spend the afternoon with her and the boys on an afternoon walk and be collected by Hilary this evening. Such fun...

Following the failed trip planning, I walked down to the shops to buy some ingredients for a yummy carrot and ginger soup!!!! whilst I was there, I spotted the gross thing of the week:

What do you notice about the flavour of the jar on the right????!!!!

On my walk back, I took a few photos on my phone of the field near the house and of the footpath to the house:

Don't you think things look ever so clean???

Blizzard??!!

Well, the weatherman said that it was going to start snowing again and worst of all, there was going to be so much that we would be unable to go out and get to work. Due to recent experiences, the schools shut, the taxi service was not taking any bookings, people took the day off work, children stayed up late, the radio presenters stayed in nearby hotels (so that they could walk to work after the snow). We all went to bed in nervous anticipation.

I woke up this morning to discover a whopping 5cm of snow on the ground. The blizzard struck with a vengeance. I could not see a way to get to the hospital...

What was I saying about the weatherman being WRONG 99% of the time?

Once I got to the hospital (through the VERY thick snow), I spent most of the day (between work) trying to decide which radio station would be the best one to listen to. Now, from my experience at home I know that there are three or four main stations to choose from (94.7, 5fm, 702, Radio East Rand ;0) ) so, I looked up the radio stations. I found, to my amazement a staggering amount of stations to choose from. I have not yet managed to choose one for a number of reasons... Firstly, they all speak English (sorry, 99% speak English, 1% speak Welsh), secondly, as I don't know the famous people (like Jeremy Mansfield) I have no idea which shows will appeal to my sense of humour/intelligence... Thirdly, they have stations dedicated to particular genres (much like 702 versus classic fm) and lastly, each region has it's own local radio stations (I suppose it is a little like the Kfm versus Highveld - the only difference is that you don't have to travel 18 hours to get a new radio station...) I shall have to keep you posted as to which station I end up listening to the most (as if you care...)

A new health craze at the moment is salt therapy. Yes, you read correctly, salt therapy. This is a gadget containing rock salt, which you use as an inhaler. Apparently it acts as a cure for allergies, asthma, snoring and other breathing problems. If you are interested in reading more, google 'Salitair'.

Anyhow, I must be off now as Bones has just started, and I MUST watch it!

The snow turns into ice...

Today was rather interesting...

I went into the hospital (as usual) and followed the same old boring routine. Near the end of my day I was informed that I am no longer able to have tea or coffee on the ward (did you know this is part of health and safety - and a bunch of nurses illustrating their 'power'). I thought to myself: 'myself, this is just great'. So now I have to walk to the other side of the hospital when I want a cup of coffee, the loo or to eat lunch (which I make at home and take with me). But, this should be just great.

It shan't get me down though, as I will stop doing their work for them, and prove just how much I actually do... they want to play games... let's play.

On the snow front...

It stopped snowing last night and was in the process of melting all day. Needless to say, the local people were rather upset as this meant they would have to go in to work afterall (even though their children had the day off - what is the world coming to?) The news channels and chat shows spent the morning and most of the afternoon debating why the country fell to pieces with the onslaught of snow - um, a wild guess would be because people want it to be a snow day (much like a bank holiday) due to the fact that they don't like work and so take any excuse not to leave the house - but then, what do I know?

These are some pictures of the back garden after the snow...

I got home from the hospital and decided I needed some fresh air, so I got my coat on and went for a walk around the area (2.4km in 20 minutes... not bad for a sloth, eh?) It was sunny and rather warm (despite all the snow), with the light reflecting beautifully off the white of the snow. I just wished I could have shared it with someone other than my id and superego (who kept debating the pros and cons to walking - what does a girl have to do to get some peace and quiet??)

After the walk, I went out into the garden and pressed my face into the snow, froze my nose off, wet my hair, lost an ear and changed my lip colour - all to see the 3D effect that it was supposed to create... (I suppose the excuse: 'my dad told me to' is not a very good one... but I swear, he did!)

Evidence of the event:

Can you see my ears????

Unfortunately, I did not manage to build a snowman, but it was just too dark by the time I got back - luckily I will have plenty of opportunities in the future to do so!

I'll keep you updated as to the... excitement... in my life.

P.S. This is my 'before' photo (before having my hair cut)

White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit...

Hello to all from white Russian England (well, apparently that is where all this snow is from)


BBC news headlines today read: 'More snow sweeping across Britain'. Having lived through the day, I now understand why this makes news headlines. I have found (to my amazement) that the UK goes into panic mode the minute it starts to snow. Let me give you a few examples:

Over 400 schools were closed - apparently it is a health and safety thing - you know the analogy: the pavements are icy, therefore people are in danger of falling down and injuring themselves on their walk to school, which means schools should be closed. Ok, ok, this may be a little cynical, but this is one of the main reasons for shutting the schools. I believe another factor contributing to the closure of schools is that it is too cold (I can hear myself saying: 'in my day..........') The really good news (if you are a pupil in any of the schools over here) is that there will be no school tomorrow due to the predicted increase in snowfall (I keep wondering how all the other countries (example Switzerland) deal with snowfall...)

The airports were closed today due to a plane coming in to land at Heathrow, and skidding off the runway. It turns out the pilot could not see the centre line and so guessed (incorrectly) which direction to travel in. Following this, all flights were cancelled or diverted (to another continent). The airlines are however, telling people to check-in on time otherwise they will lose their places on the plane (you know, the one that's not leaving for a few days...)


The busses in London were stopped altogether due to the bad conditions. Turns out the gritters had not done what they get paid to do (and the ones that did were over-eager and gritted the roads too early... such a delicate balance you know - whoever said that gritting is not rocket science, lied).

The London underground came to a complete stop. Silly me, I thought: 'underground...' (I won’t say any more).

The reporters are all complaining because the British transport officials were warned by the weather man (who is wrong 99% of the time) that England was going to experience one of the worst snow storms in two decades. Who knew that this was the ONE time the weatherman was telling the truth??? Needless to say, the locals are up in arms because of the sudden halt in public transport (now if we could just get them to experience a day in Africa…)

A new program has begun here, called dancing on ice (how very funny, considering the current weather conditions!) This program replaces another popular program called Strictly come Dancing (which is a little bit like the continuous switch between Survivor and The Amazing Race in South Africa). The basic idea (for those of you not familiar with the show) is that teams are composed of one celebrity and one professional skater. Each team skates and competes with the other teams. At the end of the show, there is a skate-off (as voted by the public) and one couple is eliminated (by judges). Anyway, the point I’m getting to is that we have just watched week three of the show. Last week, one of the couples had the entire country in stitches, so I thought I would include a link to the performances for you to peruse at your leisure.

Link one: the essence of the competition, Ray Quinn dances with professional skater: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSHAqYoXiP4

Link two: the…. um… competition… Todd Carty dancing with a professional skater: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIMOvAksRg

The British public voted for Todd Carty and so he was not eliminated. His performance this week was notably weaker (I can hear you asking if that is even possible… well let me tell you that one of his moves was diving onto the ice and doing backstroke). Needless to say, he still remains in the competition. There is a huge saga about this at the moment because people are relating it to the John Sargeant issue from Strictly Come Dancing (I’m sure your google capabilities are as good as mine).


Another issue (this time throughout facebook and the like) is the new Cadbury advert (link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugIfOSs1-8). Many people are questioning who it is aimed at and what the point to it is. Personally I think the factory is experiencing the effects of the credit crunch and need people to buy more chocolate. The only problem with this is that they can’t afford to pay someone for a good advert. Catch 22 really.

On the job front. I managed to secure a job (yes, one of the ones I had an interview for). I have however reconsidered and am planning on sticking with this job a little while longer (as it is a little too convenient). Just as well though, because I am going on holiday to Amsterdam for two weeks in March (see, good things come to those who wait… and have convenient jobs!) When I get back I shall return to my current client and then reassess life (I might as well travel and live a little while I can!)

On a personal front. I have had my hair cut and have attached a few pictures so you can all see them.

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you are all doing really well and that the new year has started out perfectly.

Chat soon!

*Nanna: I hope your knee is feeling a little bit better*