These Boots Were Made For Walkin'

It's official: I'm an Old Fart.... I've just acquired a brand new pair of wellies, not for something cool like hanging 'round the muddy fields of the Glastonbury music festival or anything hip like that...but rather for trunching through muddy fields on my daily walks when the currently gorgeous sunny weather turns murky and wet again.



Brings to mind a list of reasons "You know You're Over 30 When..." that I remember reading shortly after reaching that milestone birthday. Here are the ones most relevant to me:

1. You own a lawnmower
Yip – hadn’t actually used one (that’s B’s domain) up until yesterday when we helped give my parents’ lawn a much needed trim.

2. Before going out anywhere, you ask what the parking is like
Parking? What about traffic getting there and toilet facilities once we're there?

3. Rather than throw a knackered pair of trainers out, you keep them because they'll be all right for the garden
Guilty... in fact, I have more “gardening shoes” than “going out shoes” these days....sensible walking shoes or slippers are more commonly seen on my feet, and of course now I have the wellies that could be just the thing for serious gardening jobs.

4. Instead of laughing at the innovations catalogue that falls out of the newspaper, you suddenly see both the benefit and money saving properties of a plastic winter cover for your garden bench and anelectronic mole repellent for the lawn. Not to mention the plastic man for the car to deter would be thieves.
I’m seriously considering getting a “cat silhouette” to deter the neighbourhood cats who use my garden as a public convenience....chemical deterrents, supposed cat-repellent plants, motion-sensing-low-frequency-noise-emitting devices...I’ve tried them all, to no avail.

5. You start to worry about your parents’ health.
Particularly of late.

6. Pop music all starts to sound a bit crap
Not all, but I’m increasingly dipping back into my “old stuff”.

7. You become powerless to resist the lure of self-assembly furniture
Not so much my thing, but B has become the pro at flat-pack assembly... just as well as almost EVERYTHING we own required some form of home assembly.

8. You always have enough milk in
Milk...and tomatoes...I am not capable of going within 1 mile of a supermarket without buying both.

9. The benefits of a pension scheme become clear
Although maybe not so in these days of credit crunch, collapsing banks, deflation, recession and derailed stock markets.

10. You have a shed
Yes, but not one that houses a wheelbarrow...bit of a sore point between B and me as he insisted we didn’t need one, stubbornly lugging bags of stone and rock by hand, and even resorted to using our wheelie bin to shift slate when we were doing some “hard landscaping” rather than fork out the £12.99 a barrow would’ve cost.

11. You actually find yourself saying "They don't make 'em like that anymore" and "I remember when there were only 3 TV channels" and "Of course, in my day".
Actually, in my day, we only had ONE TV channel, and that only came on at 5 pm...and we had a black and white set till I was about 12 years old.

And I have a new one of my own to add to the list:

"You take an avid interest in household tips"....like using newspaper and vinegar to wash windows, lemon juice to descale the kettle..... and ice cubes to get deeply compressed carpets to spring back into form. Seriously, it works! We’d rearranged the lounge to accommodate the fishy fellas’ home...only snag, where the furniture once stood we had a series of “compression spots”. Leave an ice cube to melt on top of it...et Voilà!...your carpet will slowly soak up the moisture and plump back up to life...though your home may temporarily resemble a new age hippie pad, with strategically placed energy-conferring “crystals”...

Something Fishy

We will shortly be sharing our lounge with some fishy fellas....B has invested in a rather LARGE aquarium and plans to start keeping tropical fish. The tank was delivered this morning and it took a combined effort from the two of us, HandyMan (who happened to be here at the time "making good" the fireplace) plus RandomMan (a dude who was fixing some doors for our neighbour and volunteered to help/welcomed the chance to have a snoop) to carry the darn thing into the house.

No doubt there will be much activity this weekend, assembling the cabinet and positioning the tank... I'll be trying to maintain a supervisory role.

Light My Fire

I've always hated our 1970s gas-radiator-in-a-wooden-box fireplace but didn't think we would ever get round to getting it replaced. However, spurred on by the recent radical transformation of our hallway and stairs, I decided earlier this year that the time had come to give the awful contraption the hoof. First step was finding a reliable gas fireplace fitter...this being the UK, this means you have to have a Gas-Safe (previously Corgi) registered dude... here's where HandyMan stepped in to recommend a friend, which took half the stress out of the process. GasMan promptly came round, inspected the offending article and immediately disconnected it as it was ever-so-slowly leaking gas into our lounge....not a comforting thought! Armed with the knowledge imparted by our trusty GasMan, I then spent many hours on the internet researching our options and getting to grips with the techno speak. We'd decided early on that we'd prefer a gas stove, and had priced several attractive cast iron models... but did you know that this would also entail investing in a rear closure plate and spigot extension? Ha...

Before - note the "lovely" wall paint details

After - steel closure plate to be painted black

Before and After

B and I are gradually overhauling our house.... it's a 1970 semi-detached, 3-bedroom house, previously owned by a lady who can only be described as "a right bodger". We think she must have been a fan of the "10-minute makeover" type of TV show as no room escaped her clumsy, "half-arsed" attempts to redecorate. It's taken us the best part of the past 4 years to eradicate her bunglings by stripping peeling wallpaper, painting over dark, dingy colours, replacing badly laid laminate flooring with wool carpets and refurbishing the bathroom. Realising our own limitations on the DIY front, we've recently enlisted the help of a local handyman, who's great at woodworking and "generally making good". With his help, we've overhauled our hallway and stairs - I think the pictures speak for themselves:

Stairs - before

Stairs - after

Upstairs landing - before

Upstairs landing - after

Stairs - before

Stairs - after

By George!

It's Saint George's Day... he's patron saint not only of England but also of Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany and Greece; and of Moscow, Istanbul, Genoa and Venice (second to Saint Mark). He's also patron saint of soldiers, archers, cavalry and chivalry, farmers and field workers, riders and saddlers, and he helps those suffering from leprosy, plague and syphilis. In recent years he has been adopted as patron saint of Scouts.

After living in the UK for almost 8 years, I now consider this island (and England in particular) my home...therefore I am collectively suprised that few people will acknowledge or even remember that today is our national day. However, the day is slowly gaining increased attention and there are even calls for it to be made a public holiday. Perhaps one day we can all look forward to a fun day of celebration and more importantly, pride in our nation...

Earth Song

What about sunrise

What about rain

What about all the things

That you said we were to gain.. .

What about killing fields

Is there a time

What about all the things

That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice

All the blood we've shed before

Did you ever stop to notice

The crying Earth the weeping shores?

What have we done to the world

Look what we've done

What about all the peace

That you pledge your only son...

What about flowering fields

Is there a time

What about all the dreams

That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice

All the children dead from war

Did you ever stop to notice

The crying Earth the weeping shores

I used to dream

I used to glance beyond the stars

Now I don't know where we are

Although I know we've drifted far

Hey, what about yesterday (What about us)

What about the seas (What about us)

The heavens are falling down (What about us)

I can't even breathe (What about us)

What about the bleeding Earth (What about us)

Can't we feel its wounds (What about us)

What about nature's worth (ooo,ooo)

It's our planet's womb (What about us)

What about animals (What about it)

We've turned kingdoms to dust (What about us)

What about elephants (What about us)

Have we lost their trust (What about us)

What about crying whales (What about us)

We're ravaging the seas (What about us)

What about forest trails (ooo, ooo)

Burnt despite our pleas (What about us)

What about the holy land (What about it)

Torn apart by creed (What about us)

What about the common man (What about us)

Can't we set him free (What about us)

What about children dying (What about us)

Can't you hear them cry (What about us)

Where did we go wrong (ooo, ooo)

Someone tell me why (What about us)

What about babies (What about it)

What about the days (What about us)

What about all their joy (What about us)

What about the man (What about us)

What about the crying man (What about us)

What about Abraham (What was us)

What about death again (ooo, ooo)

Do we give a damn

[Earth Song by Michael Jackson]

Everything Changes

Funny how one piece of news can change your life the way you know it. I remember hearing about the first plane to hit the Twin Towers, September 11th, 2001. I was in my last year at university, it was a sunny, spring afternoon in Cape Town. I was working in the chemistry lab when one of the other postgrads came running in, saying we may want to come and look at the CNN news channel on the TV in the larger service lab...apparently a 'small' plane had just crashed into one of the towers. We grouped around the box, just in time to watch the second plane hit, and then later, to witness the first tower imploding. Maybe you don't believe this was an act of terrorism, maybe you think it was some elaborate conspiracy cooked up by the CIA and acted out by fiendish agents, maybe you think it was a justified 'revenge' for US foreign policy....whatever your thoughts and beliefs, you will probably agree that this was a turning point in modern history, and the world (and certainly airline travel) would never be the same again.

Recently, my dad was diagnosed with cancer - at the moment, we don't know how serious it is as he's waiting on some further test results and consultations with specialists. We're hoping it's been found early enough to halt it in its tracks, so can just wait, in hope, for the moment. The news was a huge shock. I've been getting this weird feeling the last year or so that things were not right with my dad...he's been having some awkward health issues, that were first passed off as IBS by his GP. Finally he was sent for some exploratory surgery, and that's when the first growths were found in the bladder. Shortly afterwards, he developed other complications and ended up in hospital for nearly a month... and that's when the specialists found more growths, this time in the bowel.

My first reaction was that of anger... why didn't they send him for these exploratory tests earlier? Was he ignored because he's a burden on the NHS, over 70 and therefore not a priority? Anger gave way to tears - I've cried bucket loads - but now I'm feeling quite numb really, almost detached from the reality and trying to get on with normal life. My dad is positive he will overcome this, and I need to think the same way, and to be strong for him and for my mom.

I'm a firm believer in keeping busy, channeling hurt and upset into something positive. I've decided to sign up for 'Race For Life', Cancer Research UK’s flagship event, which brings together thousands of women each year to walk, jog or run 5 km and raise money to beat cancer.

I've never done anything like this before, and I'm quite excited... it will give me some motivation to 'haul ass' out of bed in the mornings and get my walk in before work....I'm not a runner so will definitely be walking the 5 km! Whatever money I raise will be just a small drop in an oceanbed that needs filling....