Surprise!!!!!

We’re going out to a surprise party tonight. Having organised one myself almost 20 years ago, it isn’t something I would do again in a hurry.  Although it was a huge success and  Mr Glis had no idea until he actually went into the hall and everyone started singing Happy Birthday, the effort in keeping it secret from him was tremendous. So many people were in on the secret, it seemed almost inevitable that he would find out. I understand from the party organiser that the lucky “victim” remains unaware so we’re looking forward to the big reveal at 8pm!

Dum de dum de dum de dum...."The Titcheners"

Having missed several episodes of The Archers, I had an iPlayer fest this morning when I had some free time at home. Ordinarily, it’s the sort of thing I listen to when I’m preparing food or catching up on emails. But with the current (over) dramatic storyline (Helen is languishing in prison after stabbing Rob, her coercive controlling husband), I need to concentrate as well as shout at the radio. Unforgivably, producer Sean O’Conner has “sexed” up the storylines and given so many characters personality transplants, I barely recognise my favourite radio drama. Thank goodness he’s leaving the show soon

It may be spring but it's still chilly

It may be the end of April but it’s been perishing cold over the last couple of days.  With Mr Glis away for work, I had to be up horribly early in order to take the dogs before my own appointment at 8am in Newcastle.  I had forgotten my gloves so by the time we had finished our walk, my fingers were feeling pretty numb and it took a good few minutes in the shower to warm them up. Things didn’t improve when later that day, I took a walk along the River Tyne in the sleet. Roll on summer

They were this big, honestly!

People often exaggerate for dramatic effect and I don’t have a problem with that. In all honesty, I may have been prone to the odd spot of hyperbole when recounting stories myself!  But, “be sure your sin will find you out”  for after experiencing a tremendous hail storm at Crewe Station on Wednesday, I feel that my description of “hail stones the size of Maltesers” may not be believed. But it’s true! Some of them were huge and the noise during their frantic 10 minute cascade onto the glass roof of the station had to be heard to be believed!

Cormorants

This morning when I was taking the dogs for a walk, I saw three cormorants on the River Eden.  They had obviously been fishing (no doubt to the disgust of both the riparian owners and local fishermen) as two of them were drying their wings. With that “spread-wing posture”, they looked like a couple of Macbeth’s witches in ragged black cloaks! Apparently the structure of cormorant feathers decreases buoyancy enabling them to pursue fish underwater for considerable distances. And, although only the outer portion of their feathers is wettable, their plumage does retain water, hence the scary, washing line effect

David...and his 50 cm fig leaf

I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London last week, specifically to view the reproduction statue of Michaelangelo’s David. My intentions were entirely honourable as my interest was geocaching related. Because for some reason I had expected a life size cast, when I came across the 6m tall statue, I was totally unprepared for its height.  And that explains why, after the statue had been presented to the museum by Queen Victoria, a plaster cast of a fig leaf that used to be attached to the statue to spare the blushes of visiting female dignitaries, had to measure 50cm. 

Middlesbrough!

On Tuesday, after shivering on a Newcastle Station platform for over 2 hours during a conference call, it was a relief to crawl onto a warm train and head off to York via a detour to Middlesbrough.  Middlesbrough? Why on earth was I visiting that neglected, former mighty, industrial town sited on the Tees? Inevitably, it was because I had an opportunity to fulfil a specific geocaching mission, but actually, it was a mystical view of the transporter bridge in the misty gloom that really made the detour worthwhile. What a wonderful, albeit sad, legacy of a great industrial past!

What a hullabaloo!

Visiting time at the hospital this afternoon was exciting.  It’s just as well our friend was feeling a little better than on previous days as all the commotion was not exactly conducive to recovery.  There was a paralysed patient being hoisted from a bed into a chin controlled wheel chair, nurses on blood pressure rounds, 20 20 cricket on the TV and some unspecified cleaning activity in the nearby bathrooms. It was difficult to have any real conversation because of all the hullaballoo but at least all the commotion this afternoon may well mean this evening’s session may be quieter