Liebster Award

Recently, I was very kindly given a Liebster award by the lovely Melanie over at Mel's Corner. If you've never heard of this award, it's a really nice one to get and pass on as it's there to highlight new or relatively unknown bloggers, and give their blogs the attention they deserve. 

"The Liebster Award is for bloggers with under 200 followers and the rules of the award are that the nominee must link back to whoever awarded them, write 11 random facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions from the award giver, and then nominate another 11 bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."


So here are 11 random facts about me...

1. I was so painfully shy as a child that I refused point blank to talk to anyone for the first few months of school. My teacher warned my parents that I would never get far academically

2. My favourite colour is red…. cherry, burgundy, crimson, amaranth (ha! new one!)...all shades just as long as it's red.

3. I have hyperdontia (more teeth that I should) and as a child I had an overbite that meant I could fit 3 fingers sideways between my upper and lower teeth. Four teeth extractions and 5 years' orthodontic treatment later and I have the perfect Colgate smile I'm told.

4. I have a ridiculous memory… I can remember minute details like exactly what I was doing, what I wore and what I ate on Day X, and I have very clear memories from my early childhood. When it comes to books and films, though, I can watch or read them ten times over and they seem new each time.

5. If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d like to live near the ocean, and walk on the beach at sunrise and sunset every day.

6. The most famous person I’ve met is Lewis Hamilton (Formula One driver) – at his book signing in 2007….he was very friendly and chatty, and seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

7. I am terrified of flying. Kind of spoils the travelling lark, but I now use pharmaceuticals to cope. I am also very afraid of being in a car with someone else driving fast, suffer from arachnaphobia and detest all other small things that flap or creep or crawl (even moths).

8. I was born on a Sunday. 

And the child that is born on the Sabbath Day,
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

9. I  only learnt to drive at the age of 23. I was a very nervous learner and gave my poor husband (then boyfriend) several minor heart attacks by pulling off stunts like stalling the car in on coming traffic, doing a wheel spin on a very steep hill, and so on. He was a very patient (and brave!) teacher...

10. I  can't ski. I found this out the hard way and came down the mountain on a stretcher. These days I stick to snow shoeing.

11. I  baked my own wedding cake. A huge, square carrot cake decorated with butter icing and fresh fruit that was delicious, if I say so myself.

............

And here are my 11 questions with answers...

1. What made you start a blog?
I was young, naive and suffering from the delusion that I have something to say that someone, somewhere would be interested in reading! Now, I'm a little bit older....
Seriously, I was looking for something creative to do, and a way of recording my somewhat haphazard path through life.

2. Favourite destination?
Way too many fabulous places to pick just one! My top five would be... The Maldives, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy, Canada and South Africa. Actually that's six - you see how hard it is to pick and choose! 

3. If you could be/do anything what would you do?
A professional travel writer/photographer... unfortunately, being a professional medical writer is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds - sometimes I write about a really exciting new cancer treatment, and then sometimes I write about laxatives  - but it does pay the bills! 

4. Favourite past time?
Hiking and photography... preferably taking photographs while hiking.

5. What's your worst habit?
Procrastination. No, maybe I mean indecisiveness. Nah, definitely procrastination... I'll get back to you on that one!

6. Cooking or baking, which do you prefer?
I like the idea of baking... but I never seem to have much success. So, I'd have to say cooking as the outcome is typically more edible.

7. A summer's day at the beach or a rainy day curled up on the couch?
Summer's day - no contest. Assuming that's a summer's day in Cape Town, or Thailand, or somewhere that actually gets summer days... and not the Britain of the past three 'summers'!

8. Your most prized possession?
My husband. OK, so he's not a 'possession' in the true sense of the word, but my life would be incomplete without him.

9. What is your proudest moment?
I don't really know. Perhaps the day I graduated with my doctorate... seeing my parents' faces in the audience when I walked up onto the stage in my ridiculous gown and hat - miraculously not tripping over my own feet - made it all seem worthwhile.

10. Guilty pleasure?
Cheesy music. Flick through my ipod and you'll discover that I have very poor taste... ABBA, 80s rock, One Direction.. they're all on there and kept me happy as I pounded the pavements in training for my Moon Walk.

11. Ultimate pet peeve?
At the risk of offending any smokers among my readers, I would have to say second hand smoke! Yes the smoking ban, quiet literally like a breathe of fresh air, has meant non-smokers no longer have to tolerate smoke in any indoor places, I still get seriously peeved off when I step outside and have to wade through the mob of nicotine addicts desperately puffing away around pub and restaurant doorways, train stations, public parks,and so on. Just walking down the street in someone's smoke channel can wind me up and wish that I could carry a mini fire extinguisher with me...

To quote Douglas Adams (of 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' fame): 
If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.

.............

And now for the part when I list  the bloggers to whom I pass the Liebster award baton. It's a bit tricky, as most of the blogs I read have 1000s of followers and the rules of the Liebster are that it is passed to bloggers who have around 200 or less followers. So, I don't have 11 blogs to list but I have picked a fabulous four! Please do pop over to their blogs and say hello....

Archie and family

From Chaos Comes Happiness

Peetee's Palace
The Firefly Photo Files

And finally, here are my 11 questions to pass on...

1. What is your earliest memory?

2. If you had to eat just one type of food for a week, what would it be?

3. Which place do you absolutely have to see before you die?

4. What is your favourite film of all time?

5. And favourite book?

6. You are about to be stranded on a desert island for 6 months. What three things would you take with you?

7. If you were hosting a dinner party and could invite any four guests (famous or not), who would you  invite and why?

8. What was your first blog post about?

9.  What inspires you to blog?

10. What one thing will you never, ever do again?

11. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Look forward to your answers!

A huge thanks again to Mel for giving me the award!

37 Things I've Learnt in 37 Years...

Follow in my footprints.... and you'll get lost!

On the eve of my 38th birthday, I impart my somewhat haphazardly gained knowledge from the last few decades...

1. Do not believe your older brother when he tells you that your Barbie doll's hair will grow back, if you let him cut her beautiful long locks into a punk Mohican.

2. Similarly, do not believe your older brother when he assures you that your Baby Doll is fire retardant... when he starts a blazing fire in his walk-in cupboard and wants to use her to fight the flames.

3. Life may be like a box of chocolates, but there's no need to eat the whole lot in one sitting. It will make you very, very sick. Especially when you’re 5 years’ old.

4. Everyone thinks their family is weird. They probably are. But they’re the only family you’ve got and you only really realise how much you love someone when they are not here anymore.

5. Never cut a fringe… growing it out will take years and years of frustration. If you do persist in wearing a fringe though, do not ever attempt to cut it yourself.

6. When you hear the words "Let's have a round of shots!", leave the bar immediately. Do not look back.

7. Drunken disorderliness and flights of stairs are never a good combination.

8. Always watch your head. In particular, when you drop the soap in the tatty bathroom of your university halls’ communal bathroom, and retrieving it involves your head meeting a broken tile on the edge of a concrete shelf.

9. Head injuries bleed profusely and also get you immediate medical attention at the ER.

10. Head injury = shaved head = permanently messed up hairline.

11. Always wear sunblock. But if you do forget, at least lift your sunglasses sometimes – the tan lines from sunglasses left on a face earning third-degree sunburn are dreadful!

12. Do not pay good money to watch Quentin Tarantino’s “Dusk Till Dawn”.…. that’s 108 minutes of your life you will never get back!

13. Stop frequently on the way up to admire the view. And catch your breath.

14. Do not let your boyfriend out wearing your clothes and make-up. Even for a Rocky Horror Picture Show Party. Explaining to the police that you are not a pair of hookers can be awkward. Especially when you are incoherently drunk.

15. Some friends stick around for a lifetime – friends with whom we hope to grow old, their friendship a constant thread through the tapestry of life that migration, careers, marriage, children, and whatever else we throw in the mix will never unravel.

16. Sometimes you just have to let go of some people from your life… the ones that suck you emotionally dry for years, then do a disappearing act the one time you need their support.

17. It is possible to kill a potted cactus. Over-watering does not equate to flash flooding in the desert.



18. It is OK to fail sometimes... it may even steer you onto new paths that have better destinations.

19. Learning to ride a bicycle is an arduous task and one best undertaken in an area devoid of rose bushes.

20. A 9-hour hike up and down a sheer Swiss mountain with a sadistic mountain guide could mean that you are unable to bend your legs for at least two days afterwards, which makes for interesting toilet trips.

21.  Having a colonoscopy is not as bad as it sounds. It may also save your life.

22. Do not drink (large quantities) of cheap vodka mixed with passion fruit cordial. Ever.

23. Handwritten thank-you notes are the nicest thing you can give or receive.

24. The best way to treat angry, rude people? With extreme politeness... it completely takes the wind out their sails.

25. Always read the manual. Or at least ask someone who has.

26. Always read the small print. Very carefully. It may come in handy when you have to argue with your (evil, conniving) insurance broker.

27. Things invariably don't seem as bad the next morning as they did the night before. Apart from hangovers.

28. Do not wear maxi skirts on a windy day…. or you may find your skirt up around your ears when crossing a busy intersection...right in front of some bloke sitting in his car, waiting for the traffic lights to change. That bloke may turn out to be your future husband.*



29. Do not wear sling-back sandals if you are a clumsy ass…. not unless you fancy tripping over and sliding facedown a very steep, very muddy hill. In a very white shirt.

30. Do not go paragliding. In France, with a devil-may-care instructor. Or anywhere for that matter.

31. Do not under any circumstances ever suffer from the delusion that you are capable of skiing unless you have at least 12 lessons under your belt. Getting rescued off a mountain, in a blizzard, with suspected concussion is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

32. Dogsledding is not for the fainthearted. Or those with a keen sense of smell.... husky sledding dogs are extremely flatulent. Blame their high fat diets, essential to keep warm in -40C.

33. Do not trust Egyptian bus drivers. Secretly they all think they are Paris to Dakar Rally drivers.

34. No job is worth scarificing your health or relationship for.

35. Buy the clothes, books and music that please you, not those that might impress others.

36. It is impossible to please everyone, all the time. And there is just no pleasing some.

37. I still have a whole lot to learn.

........

* This is not our "cute, how we met story" (otherwise this could be a lesson in how to get a guy by wearing maxi skirts on windy days)...I'd actually sort of known him for quite a while by then. He did suddenly become quite a lot more interested after that little incident though...

The A To Z Of Nat

A – Arachnophobic... oh yes, the incy wincy spiders do scare me just a teeny weenie bit!

B - Baking... At the moment I am a tad obsessed (just in case you hadn’t noticed).

C - Camera. One of my prized possessions, I love photography... wish I could make a living out of it someday.

D – Daydreaming.... some days I do far too much of it, when I should be doing serious stuff like work.

E – Ego... big ones just don’t cut it with me.

F – Feet. I have two left ones, meaning I’m hopeless at dancing (and stumble through Aikido).

G – Guava... one of my favourite tropical fruits and apparently very good for you, packed with vitamin C and lycopene. I drink a glass every morning.

Guavas juiced here

H – Height: 5'6"

I – ipod. My necessary accessory on my daily walks.

J – January.... month I was born and possibly the crappiest time of the year in the Northern hemisphere

K – Kyu, as in Aikido grading... last weekend I passed my 5th kyu (second grading) yay!

L – Live in the present. I’m trying to make this my mantra this year, for the past is gone and the future is uncertain....

M – Medium... the only way I like my steak.

N – Nat – that’s me... named after a famous Hollywood actress.

Natalie Wood (1938-1981)



O - Oats. My staple breakfast... hopefully keeping my cholesterol in check.

P – Pharmacologist... that’s what I am! It’s all about the drugs...

Q – Queues... I hate them! What a waste of time, waiting in line for things. Traffic queues are my worst nightmare.

R – Right-handed, except I pour with my left and hold the phone to my left ear.

S – Spring.... my favourite season since I moved to the UK.... crisp sunshine and blue skies, tulips, daffodils, cherry blossoms, newborn lambs....

T - Tea. My beverage of choice... strongly brewed and milky but no sugar.

Cuppa tea from here

U – Unassuming... how I was described by my teachers at school. Boy, have I changed!

V – Vegetables I hate.... Brussels sprouts, peas and cabbage...yeeuuuckkk!

W – Wisdom teeth... I have a lot more than I should. Perhaps that’s why I am so wise....

X – X-rays... I’ve had a lot taken of my mouth as dentists are fascinated by my excessive teeth.

Y – Yoghurt... love the stuff, especially creamy, Greek yoghurt with honey.

Z – Zimbabwe.... country of my birth, and sadly somewhere I won’t be visiting while there’s a despot in charge.

Zimbabwean sunset photo from here

So, what's your A-Z?

The Story Of The Little Pink Dress

Once upon a time....well, back in 2006... a Little Pink Dress was made in a factory in a land far, far away (probably somewhere in Bangladesh or China to be precise). The very pink Little Pink Dress (some would even call her fuschia or cerise) was packed in a box, along with many other similar dresses, and sent on a big ship all the way to England.

The Little Pink Dress was soon hanging up in a shop called Hobbs, on London's famous Bond Street. It was there that she caught the eye of a weary Nat... a Nat who had spent the previous 10 hours desperately hunting for a dress (any dress!) and was just about to admit defeat.

The same Nat, who ordinarily wouldn't set foot into smart boutiques on Bond Street... shops where the dressing rooms have no mirrors and you have to come out and parade yourself in front of the critical eye of the brutally honest shop assistants....

"Not that one.....it makes you look even bigger than you are!"

"Never, ever, ever should you wear a skirt like that!"

But then....

"Yes! The Little Pink Dress... she is The One!".

The Little Pink Dress was wrapped lovingly in tissue and taken home by Nat. Just a few days later, she was carefully packed in a suitcase and flown out to Cape Town.... where she found herself at a beautiful wedding at the elegant, and fittingly pink, Mount Nelson Hotel.

The Mount Nelson

The Little Pink Dress quickly got a taste for luxury hotels.... just over a year later, she presented herself at another wedding, this time at the ultimately luxurious Ritz Hotel in London. And although she had to share the stage with Nat's Little Black Dress who came out for the evening reception... it was the Little Pink Dress who got to ride in the limo and make the grand entrance into the Ritz.

Palm Court, The Ritz

Fast forward a year or two, and the Little Pink Dress found herself in slightly more homely surroundings.... an old English church on the Sussex Downs, for the Christening of Nat's goddaughter. Still a smart affair, but somewhat low key after the two posh weddings.

By now, the Little Pink Dress was beginning to get a bit tired... she had a feeling that her glory days were over and she was soon to be overlooked for the newer, trendier Little Red Dress. And sadly, this was so.

The Little Pink Dress languished at the back of the wardrobe for a couple of years. Once or twice, Nat took her out and mulled over giving her one last outing, but it was not to be so. Mainly because in the years since Nat first tried on the Little Pink Dress, there had been more than the odd chocolate passing between Nat's lips.. and settling on her hips.

The truth is that the Little Pink Dress did not fit Nat so well anymore, but she was reluctant to admit this. The Little Pink Dress resigned herself to remaining forever more in the dark confines of the Spare Bedroom Cupboard.

Then early last Sunday morning, the Little Pink Dress was jolted from her sleep.... she was going somewhere.... yes definitely going somewhere! Packed in a bag and then into a car.... where could she be off to?

 

A wedding? Maybe another Christening.... possibly even a posh lunch or birthday do?

"Goody goody!" thought the Little Pink Dress.... "I'm back on trend (and Nat's lost a pound or two!)".

Where oh where are we going? A Country Hotel? A Cosmopolitan London restaurant with ambience? A lush Garden Party?

 

A CAR BOOT* SALE?????!!!!!

 

Oh the indignity of it all!!!  Draped over a box for display....jostling for space with old books, CDs and tools and all manner of old tat that Nat was trying to sell. How could the fortunes of the Little Pink Dress be so badly turned?

 

But, the Little Pink Dress quickly found herself at the centre of attention... loads of ladies came over to have a look at her, held her against themselves, hummed and hawed over whether she would fit them. But one lady in particular fell completely in love with the Little Pink Dress. She was just the thing for a wedding the lady was attending next month and she was overjoyed to take ownership of the Little Pink Dress!

And so....like all good fairy stories.... our tale of the Little Pink Dress ends happily after all. The Little Pink Dress has a new owner to love and cherish her and take her out to a wedding, and Nat has an extra £20 in her purse and free space in her wardrobe!

The End

* Car trunk in the US

Me, Myself and Nat

So...after bombarding you all with nothing but photos from my now not-so-recent South African trip these past few weeks [read “She’s too darn lazy to write anything these days!”], I thought I’d mix things up a bit with some rather random ramblings of the written variety.

Confused yet? Keep reading....

This goes out in response to this blog award that the fabulous Meowlissa at Meowlissa the Domesticated has bestowed upon me....

If you don’t know Meowlissa yet, you really should go and check her blog out...not only is she a very talented artist, she is one witty lady with a sense of humour that strikes just the right chord with me  [Meowlissa, is this enough grovelling to qualify for my acceptance speech?].... and like me, she’s a big fan of monkeys, which is always a good thing.

As is usually the case with these Bloggy Oscars, there are some acceptance rules....

#1 Thank and link back to the person that has given you this award.

Thanks M! Just in case you missed the bit above/skimmed over it hoping to get to the juicy bit, here’s where she hangs out.... Meowlissa the Domesticated

#2 Share 7 things about yourself.
OK, how on earth can I share anything even vaguely original or interesting about me that I haven’t already bored you all with written about before? More importantly, is there anything even vaguely original or interesting about me? Perhaps not, but I’m going to go for a Days Of The Week/Days of My Life theme... “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives...”

Sunday

And the child that is born on the Sabbath Day,
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

I don't fit that description on so many fronts ... but in one aspect it’s true: I made my grand entrance into this world (or more accurately, the Lady Chancellor Maternity Ward, Salisbury, Rhodesia [now Mbuya Nehanda, Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe]) in the early hours of Sunday, January 20^th 1974. My mom had a very quick labour (this being the 1970s that was lucky as it was natural childbirth and all that shite, with my dad keeping well out of things until he was presented with a clean, but wriggly little girl, weighing in at almost 8 pounds and with a full head of hair).

You can read more about the world that I was born into in one of my earliest attempts at blogging, over here.

Monday

Important things have happened to me on a Monday... I went from being Miss Nat to Dr Nat in the Jamieson Hall, University of Cape Town one sunny December afternoon back in 2001. Exactly one week later, overlooking Noordhoek Beach on an even sunnier and scorchingly hot day, I became Mrs B...but I kept the Dr Nat part too (coz I’m vain like that!).

Tuesday

I really hate Tuesdays... I do! I even wrote a whole post about my hatred for them over here.

Bad things always happen on Tuesdays... one of the most memorable for me is the tragic and unnecessary death of a bright, outgoing, 30-year old colleague who suffered an embolism after a DVT was overlooked. May 17^th, 2005 – she is never forgotten.

Wednesday

This is the day I have to don corporate gear (as opposed to my usual scruffy shirk-at-home attire) and head into my office. Typically a long day, including a 4-hour round trip, that usually leaves me feeling hung out to dry and not really fit for purpose by the end of it. Wednesday’s a good night to collapse on the couch, one eye on rubbishy TV, another perusing your entertaining blogs, and the third eye...har! Just checking you’re still awake at the halfway mark...

Thursday

Thursday evenings, you’re likely to find me being thrown around/throwing others around the mat of the Aikido dojo, and generally embarrassing myself with my ineptness and lack of hand versus foot co-ordination. 

Friday

At last the weekend is here, although sometimes it’s a bit reluctant to kick off. Why are work deadlines always set to Friday evening…especially if I have plans to get away in good time? Fridays are frequently freakin' frantic!

Saturday

The best day of the week! Given a choice, I would spent it exploring somewhere new, taking loads of photos and just generally being outdoors. More often than not, we're away visiting friends and family or hosting for the weekend, but every now and again it's nice to just veg at home, on our own. An ideal Saturday at home for me would start with a good, long lie-in, then tea in bed before an invigorating pre-breakfast….walk. Some time to potter about and maybe get some chores and shopping done, before meeting friends for dinner.

Yes, I have life-membership to the Boring Old Farts Club…

And that’s the end of that....

#3 Award 15 blogs you feel deserve the award.

This is really the worst part about these things - how do you award some people and not others? How about those who aren’t into these blog award things? Let me make my life easy... if you’re on my Blog Roll (see right hand side of page) consider yourself awarded! Haaaa! GOTCHA!

#4 Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award.

On my To Do List

It's All About Nat

A few weeks back… when I’d fallen off the blogosphere for a while… the lovely, talented Colette over at Simply Colette gave me not one but two blog awards.

Apologies for the long delay in keeping up my side of the bargain, Colette, but as the old saying goes “Better late than never!” (except perhaps in the case of Charlie Sheen’s comeback, which is better never than….)

So, first up is....

Here are the rules...
1. Link the person who awarded you! Check.
2. Post seven random facts about yourself. OK, I’m pretty random in general, so see below…
3. Pass this award along to 15 other bloggers (only if you wish)! I'm going to copy Colette on this one and award both to the same bloggers....so check out the list below award number 2!

7 Random Facts About Nat

1. I have a ridiculous memory… I can remember minute details like exactly what I was doing, what I wore and what I ate on Day X, and I have very clear memories from my early childhood. When it comes to books and films, though, I can watch or read them ten times over and they seem new each time.

2. I’ve met Lewis Hamilton (2008 Formula One World Champion) – at his book signing in 2007….he was very friendly and chatty, and seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

3. If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d like to live near the ocean, and walk on the beach at sunrise and sunset every day.

4. I was so painfully shy as a child that I refused point blank to talk to anyone for the first few months of school. My teacher warned my parents that I would never get far academically.

5. Somehow, I managed to graduate from university with my PhD in Pharmacology…some people think that means I know a lot about farming. Actually, I know very little about a few drugs (not the recreational ones!).
6. My favourite colour is red…. cherry, burgundy, crimson, amaranth (ha! new one!)...all shades just as long as it's red.
7. I’ve mentioned many times my arachnophobia (plus a great dislike of anything else that crawls, flaps and buzzes) and my morbid fear of flying. But I also have a slightly irrational fear of birds flying in front of the car when I’m driving… I worry they will go splat! across the windshield, and I can’t stop myself ducking behind the steering wheel every time one flies in front of me.



.........................................................

And secondly...

What the Award entails:

"Pass on the award to 8-12 fabulous blogs who take your breath away with how they inspire you! Post on your page who you are giving the award to, so others can visit them as well. Make sure to let them know you are honouring them! If you are a recipient of the award, please take the time to answer these questions, so we can get to know more about you!"

1. What inspires you?
To write? A piece of music, an evocative scent, a newspaper headline, a shaft of sunlight breaking through the trees as I walk through the forest…. anything can trigger a memory or provide inspiration. It can hit when I’m least expecting it.

2. What is your favourite season and why?
It’s definitely spring... this is the sunniest season in the UK and although not yet very warm, it does not have the awful humidity of summer. I love the snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils in bloom, followed by the carpets of bluebells, the cherry blossom and the budding trees. The promise of new life, the lambs on the farms….the expectation of a long hot summer that sadly never seems to materialise.

3. What are you most looking forward to this year?
Getting back to normal life after a couple of years of constant worry, the chance to travel and spend time with family and friends living far away.

4. If you could write a book about anything, what would you write about?
I’d like to write a travel comedy…but I need to travel a lot more before then, and become funny (as in funny ha ha, not funny peculiar!)

5. What is your greatest passion?

Travelling and capturing my travels in photographs… I wish I could spend more of my life doing so, but sadly there are bills to pay.

6. If you could change one thing about your life or yourself what would it be and why?

Greater self-confidence. In so many ways, I am still that painfully shy child inside a grown-up’s body.

7. Lastly, what is your favourite novel?
As I mentioned earlier, I have almost zero capacity for retaining information about most of the books that I read. One novel that has stuck in my mind though is “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini… this book really moved me and will probably haunt me forever.

OK, that's more than enough about me. Now I’d like to pass this award onto the following inspiring bloggers….

Archie and His Family

Being Brazen
Bossy Betty
come sit by my fire
Eloise In NY

From Chaos Comes Happiness

Meowlissa The Domesticated
Patrick Tillett
The Vegetable Assassin
Verbal Diarrhoea
Wandering Saffa Chick

I’d also like to pass the award onto some photography and travel bloggers that I admire greatly... they may not want to take part in a personal writing post, but I still want them to get the recognition they deserve...

Alan's Photo Blog

Life Is A Road Trip
Message In A Milk Bottle

Postcards From Malaysia

Sleepless in Gainesville

transient travels

The Retirement Chronicles

By the bye, I've been taking part in the Free Photo Competition hosted monthly by Joan at The Retirement Chronicles.... you should really have a look at all the entries for January and February.

How Did I Do?

As the year draws rapidly to an end, it’s time for me to revisit my Hope To Do List For 2010 and see how I got on with my goals...



1. Become Master Ninja at Aikido

Ha! This is never actually going to happen...I struggle to work out my left foot from my right most of the time. Then there's the minor issue of a morbid fear of rolling head over heels (break falling). Amazingly, I did manage to pass my first grading though.

2. Get superfit and svelte

I’m certainly fitter (thanks to the energetic Aikido classes and boxercise sessions with Muscle Man) but as long as there is a source of chocolate on this planet, I’m never ever going to be svelte...

3. Run the 10 km Race For Life

Well, it was more of a jog/shuffle/hobble than a run, but I did it, raising £175 for Cancer Research. Then I walked a half marathon, raising £225 for Macmillan Cancer Support. I’m very glad that I took part in both.

4. See the Dutch bulbfields

I really tried to...but I hadn’t counted on a $%^&ing Icelandic volcano spewing an ash cloud into the sky and shutting down European airspace, just a few days before I was scheduled to leave. I am still fighting for my travel insurance to cough up the money they owe me for my cancelled trip, and along with hundreds of thousands of equally conned people, I’m waiting on the Financial Ombudsman to make her final decision. I'm not holding my breath...

5. Take a city break in Berlin

Didn’t happen. I was a bit put off city breaks after the Amsterdam fiasco. I did get to see Lisbon (briefly as I was at a conference), somehow managing to fly in and out between ash cloud disruptions, and I was wowed by the beautiful city of Seville during the Andalusian adventure. 

6. Visit Canada (or China or Japan)

O Canada!  I had a fantastic trip to Vancouver Island and the Rockies in June that you may have read about in my couple of dozen posts. Absolutely loved it and hope to return soon. As for China or Japan...watch this space as we’re hoping to squeeze in a visit somewhere in the East in the second half of 2011.



7. Stop worrying about things I cannot control

Definitely didn’t happen. I have spent a large part of the year worrying about something or another, most often my dad’s health, which has unfortunately not been too great lately.

8. Overcome my fear of driving

I was forced into this.... with B being away for business and my dad in and out of hospital in another part of the country, I had to do some hairy driving on Britain’s motorways this year. Now, with the icey weather upon us, I’m trying to get to grips (literally) with snow driving.

9. Let go of people who bring me down

Again, this didn’t really happen, although I’ve learnt to sometimes screen my calls….some days I just can’t deal with anyone else’s (really quite trivial, self-inflicted) problems.

10. Plan and save for a new kitchen

This became quite urgent earlier this month, when the door fell off our oven…it’s back on now, but we broke the handle in the process, meaning we now have to prise the door open with a knife and burn ourselves senseless. I've decided I want a sleek black and white kitchen….the designs are in, finances are under review, so watch this space.

11. Learn to cook properly

While having a decrepit oven doesn’t inspire me to undertake anything too complicated, I can make some damn good lamb stew (in the slow cooker), roast chicken and lasagna, and I can bake a great banana bread. What else would anyone want? Best thing I bought this year…an egg poaching pan.



12. Watch 3 classic films

Does watching 'Love Actually' for the tenth time count? Just never found the time this year…probably because I was too busy watching rubbish TV.

13. Watch less rubbish TV, read more good books

Epic fail on this one (see 12 above).

How did you get on with your new year plans in 2010?

On All Things Decrepit

Hey ghouls and boils…hope you all had a happy Halloween!

The Night of The Living Dead may well be over, but I was doing a pretty good impersonation of a zombie this morning…..and not just because my body clock is off kilter, thanks to the switch from British Summer Time back to GMT this weekend. Hate this time of year, when the evenings suddenly draw in and it’s dark by 5 pm! Here’s hoping Parliament agree to proposals that we shift to European Standard Time next March.

I’m feeling rather decrepit today thanks to a series of injuries (stiff neck and shoulder, bruised hand and foot) acquired during my first ever Aikido grading (6^th Kyu) yesterday evening. Amazingly, I passed…yes, me with the chronic performance anxiety and two left feet…. woot woot!  Must have been the hefty dose of adrenaline coursing through my veins, as I felt no pain at the time but could hardly move by the time I got home last night and I am certainly not fit for purpose today….

A bit like the “Squeezy Jet” plane on which I flew to Spain. Our Andalusian Adventure got off to a bit of a shaky start when, just as we were finally in the air - after a two-hour wait on the plane for take-off (apparently a  knock-on of the French air traffic controllers’ strike) and a refuelling (as we’d chewed up all the fuel running the engines and going nowhere) - the pilot cheerily informed us that we’d also been waiting on the engineer to come and check a technical fault... a fault that he was going to check on take-off... 

HANG ON! 

On take-off??? What exactly was this 'technical fault'….bit late to discover it was something to do with the landing gear when we were already airborne! Not being the greatest flyer at the best of times, I was in a heighted state of anxiety by the time we made our bumpy but thankfully safe landing at Malaga.

Decrepit house, Andalusia

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, or say they say…all I know is that if smoke is coming out of your camera every time you fire the flash, there is possibly a rather serious...er... technical fault with said camera. This happened the second day into the Spanish trip and had me slightly concerned that I would be unable to capture anything from the trip…or have to spend half the day in Seville desperately trying to buy a replacement. Luckily, Old Smokey held up for the duration…it’s now on its way back to the manufacturer for a check-up.  

In the meantime, here's some of its lesser known work….taken on the Isle of Wight and just about in time for Halloween…

Pumpkins

Global Citizen.....Or Nationless?

“What do you think of the new government? Personally, I’d rather have seen the Icelandic Volcano Party in power.... it’s done more to stop immigration than Labour managed in the last 13 years!”

This was relayed to me last night by the owner of our local Indian takeaway...an anti-immigration joke told by one immigrant to another - he the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, me born elsewhere and to parents who were themselves both immigrants to that country. I’m not too sure the jolly Tandoori owner saw the irony.

Immigration is a highly contentious issue in the UK, and one that can sometimes make me feel a bit uncomfortable. Do those born and bred here look at me as “one of them, coming over here and stealing our jobs!”? Not that I am perceived as a typical “immigrant”... for one thing, with my father being British born, I have always held UK citizenship. Years ago I forfeited the citizenship of my birthplace...dual nationality is forbidden in Zimbabwe, and since the late 1990s, anyone born to parents who themselves were not born in that country is deemed a foreign national unless they renounce their parents’ ancestry.

I’ve now lived exactly half of my life in a country that is not the one of my birth....the past nine years in the UK, and the previous nine as a student in South Africa. There, I had to abide by the Aliens Control Act, allowed temporary residence provided that I paid my repatriation deposit (a lump sum of money to cover the costs of deportation if I misbehaved and had to be hoofed back over the border). I also had to promise not to seek employment in South Africa when I finished my studies.

And so I left Cape Town a week after graduation, and came to live in the UK. I arrived with no standing on ceremony, no pomp or circumstance, no “Britishness test” or citizenship ceremony to swear allegiance to Her Majesty and sing the national anthem....B went through all that three years’ ago, with me present as his guest. I simply landed at Heathrow late one night, joined the EU Citizens passport control queue and started living my new life....one that has been good so far. I am close to my family, I’m building a fulfilling career, I've made new friends and have many older ones that are living over here too, we've bought our own hovel house and travelled a fair bit.

I’ll never forget my background....I’ll always be told that I have “a slight accent” of indeterminable southern African origin, but I don’t exactly know how to classify myself..... just “British”, “British, originally from Zimbabwe” or “Zimbabwean now living in the UK”...and does it even matter? Perhaps I’ll be an “International Woman of Mystery”...

One Would Probably Not Approve