D of E!

One of my proudest accomplishments STILL, some 30 odd years later, is achieving the “full set” of "Duke of Edinburgh Awards”.  I remember the effort that I put into the expeditions, the over-riding aspects of “service” and the long term commitment to a variety of disparate “activities” including of all things, flower arranging and canoe building.  It was tough!  So, a generation later, it’s hugely gratifying to now be able to celebrate Nerea’s successful achievement of the awards too. But notwithstanding Nerea's personal determination, many thanks are due to all those at Friars who've helped her reach this satisfying goal.

2  generations, 2 sets of Duke of Edinburgh Award Badges

Rivers are my life

Somehow, rivers define me; I’m at one with them.  Life giving, abundant, curvaceous, dangerous, benign but with hidden depths….I share so many characteristics it should be no surprise that I’m drawn ineffably to them.  I too have my share of restless energy like an infant river, tumbling carelessly across the rocks of a narrow valley but similarly I can be stately and sedate when the occasion demands it.  So perhaps it was inevitable when cycling to work along the swollen River Eden, that I couldn't help but be transported back to other rivers I've known in different times and places 

"Art is tree"

I’m toying with entering this “installation” for the Turner Prize.   But on a more serious note, you can see our progress on our 2012 Christmas cards.  I still enjoy making them but can’t help reflecting how much the “doing” has changed over the past 30 years.  When Andy and I first set up home together, we’d design and create the cards as a loved up twosome.  Then, when Nerea came along, dad generally  left us alone to play with glitter, glue and paint.  But now Nerea’s away, it’s back to the two of us…………….. but there’s a lot less mess!

Whistler while you work

Andy and I are so proud of Nerea as she has just been accepted as a ski instructor on the Whistler Ski-Kids programme for next November.  She had a gruelling hour long  interview on Skype with a huge range of questions and scenarios before they offered her a place.  We’re absolutely delighted for her as not only does it mean that we’ll be ski-ing in Whistler next season (yippee)  but it’ll be yet more  experience for her future Primary Teacher plans.  The confidence and maturity she has shown for an 18 year old is astonishing and actually leaves me awestruck.

Tree surgey

We attacked the bottom of Grandma’s garden with a vengeance yesterday.  She wanted Andy to take drastic action on a tree growing out of the 15 foot high retaining wall below. But in order to get to the tree, dense ivy, galvanised mesh and several posts had to be tackled first.  It took 9 sacks of green waste, a reviving cuppa and the removal of numerous deeply embedded staples before Andy was able to “go over the top” and dispatch the tree, his ancient Whillans harness coming into its own as he belayed himself onto a post with a sling.

Possibly the worst breakfast ever..........

Feast your eyes on THIS

The Pain au Chocolat was extraordinary!

Some of you will know that I occasionally travel for work but I’d hate any of you to think it was all glamour! And these photos illustrate it!  I’d forgotten I’d taken them and only remembered when I was down-loading a photo from my iphone (recently bequeathed from “Mr Glis” who has upgraded…..such fun) that I’d taken earlier today.   So, feast your eyes on my recent “Travel Lodge” breakfast. It was probably the worst breakfast I’ve had in a long time and exemplified all that’s bad about the plasticised, anodyne, characterless, budget “hospitality” experience so prevalent all over the country.

Banksy it ain't

I can’t remember when Nerea’s graffiti wall was “born” but Andy and I have never had an issue with it.   Why would we? We’ve always felt that her bedroom was her personal space and it was up to her how she decorated it. So I must confess to an element of surprise at the shocked reaction of a colleague when I mentioned it during a discussion about “the decorating” (not that it’s featuring largely in my life or anything)!  Clearly, other parents have a very different view of how their child’s bedroom should look, unlike our own, apparently liberal, approach.

I may be weird but I do like apostrophes

I'm without my "not so Prairie-like" Home Companions!!

“It’s been a quiet week in Carlisle”, to paraphrase Garrison Keillor.

As Nerea’s in Spain and Andy’s working in Lincolnshire, for the first time in several years, I’m “home alone”, dog and cats excepted, for a comparatively lengthy period.  Believe it or not, I’m actually quite a shy person and enjoy my own company so the thought of several evenings alone after a hard day in the office hasn’t been too daunting.  I’ve disciplined myself to ignore the temptation of a good book and chocolates and continue with the loathed decorating chores.  I’ve surprised myself at how much I’ve achieved.

EDINBURGH

Up the close

Lady Stair's close paving stones

The Royal Mile

Spooky!

Greyfriars Bobby

Defeated but unbroken

Feeling the cold

Nerea came home this weekend and it was an absolute joy to see her even though it was something of a whirlwind visit and passed all too quickly.  She packed a lot in, including a day up in Edinburgh for the All Blacks v Scotland Rugby match (although I spent the afternoon geocaching as I don’t “do” spectator sports). Importantly, she spent time with Alex, spending an evening relaxing over a restaurant meal with him. But inevitably, she left a trail of destruction behind with “Nerea litter” on every surface! Unusually, I’m happy to tidy up after her on this occasion!

Decorating Doldrums!

How many layers to the lining paper?

I loath decorating: I dislike painting, stripping wall paper and even choosing new colour schemes.  But there comes a time when the evil activity can be delayed no longer and sadly, that time has come for Nerea’s bedroom.  So we decided that while she is away in Spain we would confront the multiple layers of paper lining the walls of her room and start stripping!  But what a job it’s proving to be.  It’s taking hours to get to the base layer and both Andy and I have sustained fleshwounds during the process. I keep telling myself it’ll soon pass!

A "flying" visit ...literally

We’ve just collected Nerea from Manchester airport for a weekend visit. It seems incredible that it’s almost 2 months since she went over to Vitoria.  Naturally it‘s been raining all day, which makes her transition from warm, sunny Spain all the more startling. We’ll not have much time together as the primary purpose of her visit is to cheer Scotland on to victory against the All Blacks (snork) on Sunday, but it’s lovely to see her all the same.  Naturally no visit from Nerea would be complete without some demands so dinner will be a takeaway curry from the Shaha!

Pyrotechnics. What's not to love?

How the ignition of a tube of powder can transform the velvety blackness of a night sky into a kaleidoscope of iridescent colours, chasing across the heavens like a shower of shooting stars is beyond my pyrotechnical knowledge, but no matter. My family and I love fireworks.  So it was with our usual enthusiasm that we wrapped up well and made our way to the Bitts Park Fire Show. And we weren’t disappointed.  The display, which draws up to 40 000 city residents and visitors, was outstanding, with a huge variety of shimmering cascades, sparkling chrysanthemums and twinkling, swarming beehives.

Scones at Sunrise

Dough at Dawn

Whipping up a storm (or a pot of cream) in the office

Help yourself

My colleagues frequently declare that I’m not normal.  They base their assessments on all sorts of irrational criteria, be it my penchant for singing snippets of songs (badly) as I roam about the office, my love of Bassetti liquorice sticks or my passion for geocaching.  But today, as I brought warm(ish) scones into the office, the categories were extended to include early morning baking sessions. Personally, I see nothing abnormal about getting up 10 minutes early to make up a batch of scones while our porridge cooks, fitting in my shower while they’re in the oven, but clearly others do!