Doctor Who Tattoo

I bet having a tattoo is on most bucket lists, and particularly on 50 type lists.

Who said I had to be original anyway? It was a hard job to come up with 50 things I had never done, achievable within a year and on a minimal budget.

I had several vague ideas about what I wanted for a tattoo - oh the usual stuff, a butterfly? Flower? Perhaps a line of Latin script, or a quotation from Shakespeare?

In the end, it had to be from Doctor Who, since I am such a fan, and it being the 50th anniversary of the programme too. I contemplated a Tardis for a while, but eventually went for a design in Circular Gallifreyan.

Link to the webpage where I found the design:

https://www.deviantart.com/search?q=gallifreyan


I think it says 'Hello Sweetie', i.e. a quote from the lovely River Song, but I have not checked it out for myself.

On 12th September 2013 I went with my good friend Sam to Red Inc tattoo studio opposite where I work. I was the last customer of the day, so there was nobody about, only the tattoo artist. He was scrupulous about cleanliness, wiping down all surfaces and covering things with rolls of clingfilm. He took a copy of my printed design, and transferred it to my arm, then tattooed it on, simple as that!

I think circles must be difficult to get right, but he did a grand job.
I didn't watch it being done, I chatted with Sam - oh, the tattooist was also called Sam! It helped to be distracted from the pain, it didn't hurt too much, and I am delighted with the result.

People - actually, just about everyone who has seen it - ask me the same two questions: 1. did it hurt? 2. will you be getting more tattoos?
My answer to 2. is - probably not, I am happy with my Gallifreyan symbol, it was part of my 50 challenges for the year, and I do not feel the need to have more.

Goodbye Sweetie!

Badly Drawn Boys

Item 41 on my List was to draw portraits of my 2 sons, John and Carl.
I haven't done much drawing lately - 3 years ago I took a Life Drawing class at a local college, but had not picked up a pencil since then.

They did not want to sit still while I drew them, so it was decided I would draw from photographs. Carl gave me a black and white photo of himself, which, unfortunately, I have now mislaid, but I did use it for the portrait. I find it useful to draw from black and white photos, as they show the contrasts and tones better than colour. I had John's photo printed out in both colour and B&W.

I used pencil and soft pastels for the portraits, as I find pastels are easy to use and blend. The colours I chose were not necessarily accurate and realistic, but that didn't matter as much as getting a pair of pictures which reflect my own as well as the boys personalities.

Strangely, they both chose a non-smiling pose, which I think is a pity, since they both have dazzling smiles that light up a room.

Here are the finished drawings, framed and on my wall. I am quite pleased with them, and they have received some praise.
This was a lovely challenge, one of my favourites, and I would like to do some more drawing.
So if anyone wants a drawing done, just send me some photos in colour and B&W and perhaps I will have a go!

Pointless Party

After months of waiting, the broadcast dates of my appearance, with Alex, on BBC1's Pointless quiz came around. The dates were Friday 27th September 2013 at 5:15, and Monday 30th September.

My lovely colleagues at the library decided to make a party of the occasion, arranging to keep the library open for staff after closing time at 5 on the Friday.


There was a table full of lovely food and drink, bunting strung above the bookshelves, a clapperboard advertising Pointless, and chairs set up in front of the television.

Excitement reached fever pitch as everyone gathered round for the start of the show, drinks were handed round, and we were all smiling and happy.

5:15 and the opening credits rolled as we all cheered, then came the first sighting of myself and Alex on podium 3. I did the introduction, then it time for Round One. We had to name a song by The Jacksons. My answer was Beat It, which was ok, at 27 points but Alex gave 'Scream', scoring only 4. We had a bit of luck when one contestant said 'Black and White', which scored 100, since he meant, of course, Black OR White.

Alex and I had kept the secret of how we did on the show, so it was a surprise for all watching.

Round Two was about fashion designers - I chose 'founder of the London Fashion and Textile Museum, known for her pink hair', who I knew was Zandra Rhodes, and scored 16. Alex went for 'best known for popularising the mini-skirt in the 1960s, and got 50. But we got through to the next round when Simon got 100 points for his guess.

We were so excited to get through to the Head to Head Round, but our hearts sunk when the first question was on Football World Cup teams. We went for 'most successful team in history, with 5 titles'. as Brazil. We won this round with 38 points, the others team getting their question wrong. The next question was on RAF Aircraft, there were anagrams to decipher. We went for Mosquito, they guessed Barracuda, and we lost 58 to 6. The 3rd question was photos of models turned actors. We were so unlucky to guess Channing Tatum instead of Tatum Channing. Or was it the other way round? Still not sure!
Much ribbing from library colleagues that this point!

Anyway, that was it, we were out. Alex explained our mistake by saying we shelve author surname first in the library where we work.

It was a fabulous party in the library, everyone enjoyed it and they were hugely supportive of our efforts.

The second show was screened the following Monday, and I watched it with my family at home.

Round One was about chemical elements, my guess was Neon, which scored a disappointing 31, and Alex scored an excellent 5 with Californium. At this point, we were the high scorers, so were in danger of going out - but we had some luck when the final contestant made a mistake and scored 100.

Round Two was Famous Geordies - and it was here that I made my Big Mistake!
I decided to guess the 'footballer who was transferred to Newcastle United for a record-breaking £15million in 1996 - I said Gazza, and scored 100, as it should have been Alan Shearer. Luckily for me, Lizzie also had a 'random guess' at the same question and said 'George Best', which was much more wrong than my wrong one was wrong! Phew!
Alex went for the singer who had a hit with Ain't No Doubt in 1992, and scored 16 for Jimmy Nail. We needed 29 to stay in the game, so he saved us.

Yet again we were in the Head to Head. The first question had 5 stills from films adapted from Booker Prize winning novels. We lost this round when we guessed Brick Lane, but it was actually Midnight's Children.
Question 2 was about The Beano, and I chose to guess 'Scottish city in which its headquarters are based' as Dundee, and got 21. Lee and Simon guessed the companion comic as The Dandy, and got 61, so we won that round. So it was one all, and everything rested on the final round. The question was about NBA Basketball Teams. We had to guess the nicknames, and went for Chicago Bulls, the others went for Philadelphia 76ers - they got 6, we got 47, so that was it, we were out. The 76ers was the best answer on the board, we couldn't have beaten it, not that we knew it!

I was pleased to see that Lee and Simon went on to win the £2000, worthy winners.

My family loved watching it with me, it was such fun!

Dune' Know This Book?

Having read Anna Karenina for my List, I needed another classic book to read.
I asked around for ideas, and Mike from the library suggested the classic sci-fi novel Dune, by Frank Herbert. This seemed like a good choice, so I found a copy in the library stack.

Dune was published in 1965, and is the first of the Dune saga.

The story is set far in the future and a long way off, and concerns a feud between two great dynastic families in the planet Arrakis, This planet is a vast desert where water is scarce and valuable, but there is another substance which is valued even more: spice, also known as melange.
There are plots and treachery, spies and attacks, and the story is incredibly complex.
It took me a long time to get into the tale, as it seems rather slow, but the scene needs to be set, even before arriving on the planet Arrakis. Soon after, the main man is killed, and his son Paul takes over, but is forced into exile with his mother.

I wonder if the 'spice' is a metaphor for hard drugs, as it is affects the minds of the users, and there are struggles to control the mining and distribution of it.

It is also an ecological tale, with discussions of how to make this desert planet more habitable, the collection and storage of water being key to this.

Super-giant worms live in the desert, and the Fremen, who are the native people, have learned to ride them. I haven't seem the film of this book, but I bet that part was spectacular.

Overall, I am glad I have read Dune, but I doubt I will read the sequels, there is too much detail about the politics of the Empire, the feuding families. I prefer more humanity in the books I read.

Red Letter Day

Number 40 on my 50 List is  - Get a letter published in a local paper

I have been pondering what to write about, and the opening of the new Guided Busway between Luton and Dunstable is a topical and controvertial subject in these parts. The £91 million cost of the scheme, as well as the years of traffic disruption and the replacement or destruction of several old railway bridges have generated many reports and letters in the papers.

Now that is has opened, I have heard some positive reports by people who have tried it out, but there are others who are very much against it. We get many enquiries about the Busway at the Library where I work, since we have supplies of bus timetable for the public. I have been asked if it goes near the local hospital, which is on the border of Luton and Dunstable, but the nearest stop is 700m away, and would involve crossing a major A road.

So now I had my subject, it was topical, local and relevant, giving me a better chance of getting it published.

It was the first time I had written to a local paper, it took me about ten minutes to write, and I sent it via email...

On Wednesday morning, Amelia from work said to me 'I saw your letter in the paper', so I dashed out to buy a copy of the Luton News at lunchtime, and there it was, on page 12:

The paper has headed it BUSWAY

Shuttle Bus?
Since we have no bus station in Luton, the first port of call for transport information in Luton is the Central Library.
The staff do their best to help people, but one of the most frequent questions regarding the new busway is, 'Does it go near the hospital?' 
I believe it is quite a hike from the nearest stop in Stanton Road, especially if you are elderly or ill. 
Perhaps it would be useful to put on a shuttlebus from the stop to where so many people need to go.


Janet Davis
Address supplied

Of course, I know that this is not an option, and anyway there are other buses that go to the hospital, but I got my letter in the paper, so that's another thing ticked off the List.

Please Be Seated

|I have an old dining chair that had belonged to my grandparents. Just the one, no idea what happened to the matching set. It looked rather grotty, the seat being a dull grey leather, all dirty and torn. In fact, I was going to get rid of it, and left it outside in the garden for a few months.

Having seen a friend's successful refurbishment of a set of dining chairs, I decided I would like to have a go myself. Not having done this before, it was an obvious candidate for the List.

I looked up upholstery fabrics online, and couldn't find any for less than about £8 a metre, including postage. Last week I went into Luton market, and found a nice fabric from the end of a roll for £1. Hurrah! This fabric was a plain burgundy/purply sort of colour, and was the only choice of upholstery fabric in the stall, so having no choice, it was easy to decide to buy.

I removed the old leather from the seat of my chair - it had been tacked on, surprisingly badly, with no trimming of the edges, just nailed into place and forgotten about. The padding was old but re-usable, so I left it in place. I cut the new fabric to size and wrapped it round the seat, leaving enough to attempt neat edges underneath. I used a borrowed staple gun to attach the fabric to the wood, and found it was much harder to use than I expected - you need to use considerable force to press down as you squeeze the trigger. The most difficult part was, of course, the corners. I had no idea how to do them, so it was a case of trial and error. I guess I could have looked it up on youtube, but wanted to work it out for myself. Having gone round the four sides, and then folded in the raw edges and stapled them to the recessed parts, I discovered that the seat pad no longer fitted into the chair. Argh!

It was getting late, and I felt discouraged, so left it til morning.

In daylight, it was clear that I had some bunching in a corner, and the padding had moved over to the side, thus making the seat pad wider. I undid one side, pulled out some padding and re-stapled the fabric with more care and attention.

It fits!

The wood needs a light sanding to remove some white spots of paint, but I an very pleased with the job, and there we are, another List item ticked off.

 before.....

after

Pointless Day?

List Item: Try to get on a TV Quiz Show

I rather like tv Quiz show Pointless - the format is good, the contestants seem to have fun, it is fiendishly difficult to win the money, and the banter between hosts Alexander Armstrong and ridiculously tall Richard Osman - who is permanently sitting down on the show - is charming.

Having been told that Pointless was auditioning, I had to find a partner, as it is done in pairs. There are several fans of the show at work, so I asked Vicky first, but she refused even to consider it. I asked Alex, and he agreed immediately, so I got the forms, had photos taken of us (thanks, Jean), and sent them off.

Today (16th April 213) was our audition in London. I met Alex at the train station to catch the 9:18 - he ran up the stairs at 9:17, but we made it on time. As it happens, we got to the venue in plenty of time, so we passed the spare half hour in the Starbucks opposite with a bucket of coffee. Once in the Grand Connaught Rooms, we waited with the other contestants outside the Durham Suite. There were 12 of us, plus some left over from the earlier session still there. The waiting area was a corridor with too few chairs, rather chilly too. Once we were called in, we had to fill in forms regarding identity, and disclosure / consent forms.

Next we had a general knowledge written quiz - it was like an exam, we had to turn over our papers and were given 4 minutes to answer 20 questions. I think I managed to answer 14, they were far from easy. But we did not get the answers, so I can't be sure. Next we all stood up and took turns introducing ourselves, giving an interesting fact about ourselves, which we prepared in advance. Alex was Leicestershire's longest baby for a whole year, and I spoke of my 50 List.

Finally, there was a mini version of Pointless to play in the group. After this, we all went outside, and waited to be called back. Well, guess what? We got called back!

Game on!

Eyeful of London, then down the Dungeon

In June 2013, I went with D to London. We took a 'flight' on the London Eye. Although we had ordered tickets beforehand, the queuing system is somewhat confusing, but we managed it, and got into a pod with around 20 strangers.

It really is most impressive, the views are spectacular, and it goes so high that my knees felt all wobbly, and I had to sit down as we neared the top.

We had a circular map, to identify the buildings, which was very useful.

 OK so I confess, I am not good with heights, but the London Eye was something I have been wanting to do for ages. It was well worth doing and I recommend it, but I can't see me doing it again.

On to the London Dungeon - we bought a combined ticket for both.
There was a long queue along dark corridors, which was most irritating. I hadn't realised that we were to be taken round in groups, a guided and acted tour of the attraction. There are rooms featuring the Great Plague, the Gunpowder Plot, Sweeney Todd, all the things you would expect really. The actors are enthusiastic and it was quite fun, but I lost interest towards the end, it was too long, and aimed mainly at youngsters. Very glad to get out of there!

Ah well, 2 more List items ticked off, hurrah!!

Jammy Devil

An item on my List is to make jam from some fruit I have either grown or foraged.
I have a redcurrant bush, only 2 years old, and this is the first year it has produced a decent crop. My son loves to pick and eat them directly, but last week they were at their ripest, and he was away in Blackpool for 6 days.

I picked the whole crop, and looked online for a jam recipe - there are so many!
 I chose one that had half the amount of fruit to sugar, got sterilizing my jars, and boiling away.

In the end there was only enough to fill one jar, but it is rather delicious. I goes very well with buttered cheese scones, which is what I gave my mother when she came over for lunch that day.

 
So, another thing ticked off the List, and this is something I will do again.

Bath Time

On 31st May 2013, I went to the city of Bath for the first time.
I have been meaning to go there for ages, so it is on The List.
My friend Sam drove Barbara and me there, we were on our way to the Hay Festival, taking a detour, just so that I could cross Bath off my list. My friends are tolerant and kind!
The first thing I found was the Central Library, so of course I had to have my photo taken outside the door (I work in the central library of my home town).

We went for morning coffee in the Pump Room, a very classy place - in fact I had this from the menu: 

Caramel sortb

Georgian Elevenses

Toasted Bath bun with cinnamon butter, hot chocolate with whipped cream, glass of the world famous Bath spa water £6.25.

Wish I had asked for the drink without cream, I know it upsets my stomach, so had to scrape it off! Lowering the tone of the place.

The water came straight from the pump in the room, it was warm and....nasty.

 This is the pump with the Roman Bath behind it

 The famous Roman Bath

I didn't dare to have more than a few sips of this warm pump water.

There was a quartet playing classical music in the Pump Room as we ate, the waiters were very polite and pleasant, it was a beautiful place. We had a walk round the city, full of tourists of course, but well worth going - since we didn't have that much time, I would be pleased to go back there one day for a proper look.

Then we bought a picnic from Waitrose for our lunch, a very good idea indeed. Although I dare not tell you the ultimate fate of the taramasalata, eh Sam? Hehehe, I am still laughing about that incident, shocking and hilarious as it was! Justice was served in fishy pink form.

Caramel shortbreadD

Caramel shortbre

Caramel shor

Make Hay Not War

Been meaning to go to the Hay Festival for over 20 years, so it was one of the first items on my 50 List. Sam and Barbara came with me on 31st May, to 1st June.

The Festival is free to enter, but the events are ticketed - I bought tickets for 5 events: Alexander McCall Smith, Mark Watson, Deborah Moggach, Rose Tremain and Peter Sawyer.

Sam drove us to Hay on Wye, via Bath, just for me to tick another thing off my list - see next blog page!
We got to our campsite, the Tangerine Fields, where we had hired a ready-erected tent complete with airbeds. If you HAVE to camp, then this is a most civilised way to do it. Not having been camping for many many years, I was dreading it, but there were no B&B places left by the time we decided to go, so it was the only option. Besides which, I had rather foolishly added 'Glamping' to my 50 List, leaving me with no choice but to try it. Sam and Barbara are both experienced campers, so they knew what to bring and gave good advice.

We walked into Hay from the campsite, it is full of secondhand bookshops and interesting-looking  places and people. There was a shuttle bus to the festival site, about 1.3 miles away, for the very reasonable price of £1 per day. As we took that journey, it was amazing to see how many houses along the way had been turned into temporary stalls selling all sorts of goods: tea, coffee and cakes, books, plants, a makeshift beer tent, Fair Trade clothes and bags.

Once we arrived at the site, it was a joy to behold, so exciting, yet most civilized, with covered walkways all round, the flooring keeping our feet from getting muddy.

There were stalls and deckchairs, friendly staff, places to eat and drink, lots of people walking around enjoying the view. Families with young children, many many people in their 50s and 60s, I would say the clear majority were female, but a good mix. Certainly, the oldest crowd that I had ever seen at a festival, being a veteran of Glastonbury, but come to think of it, my last trip there was 1990!

My first event ticket was for Alexander McCall Smith, the large venue was full, and no wonder, for he was a fabulous speaker, telling amusing tales, getting lots of laughs. At 7pm I went with Barbara to see Mark Watson, at the Sky Arts Studio. All the performers had a strict policy of one hour only, and Watson seemed to be quite intimidated by the big countdown clock on the stage, referring to it frequently. He read passages from his latest book - Knot - which I had heard parts of when it was Book of the Week on radio 4. He is such a funny, sweet guy, seemingly chaotic, but not really. Adorable!

We got the bus back to the town, and found a place still open for food - The Granary, which did such nice food that we went back there for breakfast in the morning.

Back at the campsite, it was warm enough to sit outside, Sam had brought a candle bag for the table, a nice idea. We were all tired after our long day, and even I managed to get a bit of sleep, but I awoke very early, and went for a wonder about around 5.30am. The showers were fine, and there was a special tent with mirrors and hairdryers, a little touch of luxury. At 8 a van opened up selling hot drinks so I got some tea for my friends and woke them up with a cup, for which they were most grateful.

Our campsite was in such a beautiful setting.
Back to the Festival site after breakfast in town, and Sam and I had tickets to see Deborah Moggach at 11.30am. What an amusing woman! She had the whole audience laughing with her funny tales, fabulous! Her new book is called Heartbreak Hotel, and I have just finished reading it, very enjoyable. After that, I went to see Peter Sawyer talking about Anglo Saxon coins, a subject he managed to make as dry and dull as ditch water sadly, He is highly knowledgeable but very elderly and doddery, a dry old stick. Oh well.
Had time to take a good look round at this point, taking in the sights and sounds of Hay 2013. I saw Cerys Matthews and her husband the Luton boy Abbo - I had been to see his band UkDecay only the week before - and you might be aware that my title for this blog is after a song called Dead From The Waist Down by Cerys's band Catatonia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVoXOfakP6E
"Make hay not war, or else we're done for"

Later I found Barbara sitting in the sun on a Hay deckchair, and joined her. Next to a pen of black sheep, oddly.

 Soon it was time for Rose Tremain at 4pm, Sam came with me to this event, and it was really interesting. Rose told many amusing stories, although she didn't have the same wacky personality as Deborah M, she was great fun.

Hay, I loved you, and I want to go back next year, although I would prefer to B&B rather than camp.
When it was time to go home, Sam asked me to navigate a route directly East from Hay to Luton, so an unconventional route home, and a very long one, but the scenery was amazing, we went through the Cotswolds, such a beautiful part of England.

I do declare, I made some eclairs!

Eclairs are made with choux pastry, which is totally different to make from other pastries I have made before.
Most of my cookbooks are of vegetarian food, but I have a small selection of baking books - not one of which had a recipe for eclairs. Online, there are hundreds, and they vary a lot. In the end I settled for Mary Berry's one as it looked simpler than the others.

http://www.mykitchentable.co.uk/index.php/2011/09/mary-berry-chocolate-eclairs/

Although it was a relatively straight-forward operation, I created an awful lot of washing-up, and masses of mess! It was fiddly, getting the mixture into a piping bag. The eclairs looked very thin when they were piped onto the baking trays, but once cooked, they had expanded and risen beautifully. Golden, light-as-a-feather, fingers of fun!

I whipped the cream too vigorously, so it was rather too thick to pipe. I spooned it into the eclairs and drizzled the chocolate sauce on top.

Result: not a bad first attempt. They could be neater, more even, but they were lovely to eat. My boys loved them, and the friends who were here liked them too.
Personally, I find that too much cream does bad things to me, I have an intolerance, so have to be very sparing in eating it.

My son has requested that I make a new batch this afternoon, and I am happy to oblige.

I gave my friend Sam a couple of eclairs, as a thank-you for lending me the piping bag, and her feedback is as follows:  "marvelous eclairs" and "divine darling!"

So, that is the 12th item crossed off the List.

There must be fifty ways to show I'm fifty

I have written a song!

More accurately, I have re-written the lyrics to the Paul Simon song - Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, so with that famous tune in mind, here are my new words:

Fifty Ways to Show I’m 50

(To the tune of Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover)

"The problem is how to get these done in just a year
 The answer is easy if you do it without fear
I'd like to try out 50 new things, step it up a gear
There must be fifty ways to show I’m 50

I said it's really not my habit to be brave
Trying out different things, that’s not how I behave
I may be middle-aged, but I’m not yet ready for my grave
There must be fifty ways to show I’m 50
Fifty ways to show I’m 50

You just go for a manicure
Maybe even a pedicure
Write a short story

Watch Citizen Kane

Read Anna Karenina
Knit a Dennis the Menace jumper
Just grow a big pumpkin
Then go glamping at Hay

Ooh do some tae kwondo
Have a tattoo, ooh
Go visiting Iceland, and
See the Northern Lights
Invent a new cocktail
Make up a new song
Go up in the London Eye

And learn a new dance

She said you have to draw a portrait of your sons
Then get on Pointless, meeting Alexander Armstrong
I have to learn to do some re-upholstery
And write a blog

You need to visit Bath and see the sights
Then solve a Rubik’s cube and always get it right
Eat only raw food for a week, enjoying every bite

There must be fifty ways to show I’m 50
Fifty ways to show I’m 50

Make money for charity
Play a ukulele
Sing the Sound of Music
Dressed up as a nun.
Get a photo of my family
Teach the kids to do laundry
Get lost on a bus, then
Walk on Hadrian’s Wall

Get a film on YouTube
Make a patchwork quilt
Find out about Didlum
And make some éclairs
Tell people they’re lovely
Learn to stitch tapestry
Just help me to do this
And I’ll love you for life!

Quite pleased with this - but now I need to learn to play it on a ukulele or something, make a recording of it, then make a video to go with it, and finally, to get it put on YouTube! No idea how to do any of those things, so advice is welcome.

Tackling Tolstoy - Anna Karenina

One item on my list of 50 is  - Read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
It is a huge book, a classic of Russian literature, and despite being a big fan of Russian books in my earlier years - Dostoyevsky of course, but others too - I had never tackled a Tolstoy, mainly because of the size.

Today I finished reading it, and I found it engaging and was rather surprised at the character of Anna. Anna is beautiful and popular, but unhappy with her older and boring husband. When she leaves him for the dashing Vronsky, she knows she is giving up her place in society for love. She seems to despair at the loss of the son she has to leave behind, but I think he is only precious to her as an idea, rather than as a real person. Anna is insanely jealous, angry and changes in mood rapidly to extremes. She is able to charm and fascinate everyone she meets, but this covers a deeper unhappiness. She takes opium every day and becomes increasingly unstable, eventually taking her own life. It is also the story of Levin and Kitty, and the contrast between this couple and Anna and Vronsky is marked. Levin is happy living on his country estate, farming and making land improvements. When he has to live in the city, he is like a fish out of water. But, like Anna, Levin is very changeable, one word or look can defeat his confidence and make him forget all the good and positive thoughts he was having. Kitty seems to be a simpering love-struck girl at first, and falls seriously ill following Vronsky's withdrawal of his attentions. However, Kitty shows her true strength when she nurses Levin's brother through his final illness, taking charge when Levin is at his most helpless and ineffectual.After reading this huge book, the ending seems to come quite abruptly, with Vronsky leaving to take part in a war, and Levin finding a religious fervour which threatens to make him more accepting of his lot in life.

I am glad I have read Anna Karenina, it is a good story, and if it hadn't been on The List, I might never have attempted to read it.

Forgot to say...I did a fundraising event for Alzheimers

At work, we have a chosen charity each month, and take turns trying to raise funds, in a variety of ways. Some can be as simple as a Wear Red Day, or a bake sale, others try different methods or events.
January was for Alzheimers Society, and Howard and I decided to combine our love for quizzes, puzzles and food.

I made a Puzzle book to sell, with ten types of puzzle, including Wordsearch, Anagrams, Crosswords, Logic Puzzles etc. I added a little movie quiz too, which I compiled by taking 10 random DVDs from my shelf, and making up questions about them. Perhaps you would like a go? Oh, go on, then...

1. 'This ABBA-obsessed misfit ditches her pathetic life and plastic friends in a small Australian suburb for big-city dreams in Sydney'. Name this 1994 film starring Toni Collette.

2. In The King's Speech, who played the speech therapist to the king, Lionel League?

3. Who was The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)? Name Anne's sister, and the actress who played her.

4. In the classic cult film from 1987 Withnail and I, which actors played the two unemployed actors who go on holiday to the country 'by accident'?

5. Moon is an engrossing, intelligent sci-fi movie from 2009, starring Sam Rockwell. Who directed and wrote the film, and who is his famous father?

6. Danny Boyle's film Millions, about 2 young brothers finding a suitcase full of cash when it falls out of the sky, is based on the best-selling book by which author?

7. The Kite Runner was a great success as a book and a film - in which country is the story set?

8. Who played the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android, in the 2005 movie of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

9. Which famous author wrote An Education (2009), an award-winning film set in 1961 and starring Carey Mulligan? He also wrote About A Boy.

10. In Walt Disney's The Emperor's New Groove (2000), what is the name of the emperor from Peru who got turned into a llama?

Howard organised a lunch-time games and food session in the staff room, where we ate soups and bread and curries and rice. We played memory game with a pack of cards, tried to Name the Celebrities before they were famous, had a go at logic questions, oh all sorts of fun parlour games!

We raised a total of £130 for Alzheimer's Society, I am delighted and very proud of this!

Plus, that was the 9th List item, hurrah!

50 Words of Grey

For my 8th List item, I wrote a short story.

I have shown it to one friend, who thinks it is rather good, so perhaps it is not too bad, for a beginner. Not sure I have got the point of view right, and the tenses too, but I can edit it. It has about 1500 words.

The only problem is....it sort of....errr... turned into a piece of erotic fiction. Well, they do say write about what you know, for a first book!

Therefore I have a dilema - do I write a tamer version, for publication in this blog, or do I keep it quiet and show only trusted friends who beg for a look on my blog?
Does it count towards my 50 List if I have shared it with only one friend?
I have ticked it off, but would be interested in finding out what anyone thinks.

Item Number 7 - Carl the Menace jumper

Here is the finished jumper, it took many weeks to make, and it is far from perfect, but Carl loves it, and he does look good in it. I hope he enjoys wearing it.

Citizen Kane

I watched Citizen Kane this afternoon, a freezing cold Thursday when I was off work with a sore throat and a lost voice.
The film was made in 1941, and was directed by Orson Wells, who was also the main character actor. Wells was only 25 at the time, and he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Citizen Kane often features in Top Ten lists of the best ever films, or variations of this theme, so I was curious about it. Realising that I have seen very few of the classic films, I decided to add one to my List, and Kane was the obvious choice. But I have also taken the opportunity to see some other classic films as part of my quest, notably some Hitchcock movies, including Spellbound and Rebecca.

So what did I think of the film? Beautifully shot in black and white, strong use of shadows and light. I like the way the story of Kane starts with his death, and his life is told through the eyes of other people who knew him. Kane was immensely wealthy through inheriting a silver mine, and used his wealth to buy a newspaper empire. But power corrupts him, from being idealistic to cynicism, and he tries to get elected as state governor. This fails because his affair with a singer is made public. The overbearing way he treats both his wives shows that power is more important than anything else, but his dying word is 'Rosebud', and when this is made known to the newspapers, there is a hunt to find out what this meant, giving the reporter a reason to interview people who knew Kane, and to tell their story.
It turns out that Rosebud was the name painted on Kane's sled, which he was playing on when his parents sent him away to be brought up by a guardian in the city, aged 8. The reporter never found this out, but I suppose the significance is of a small child being denied parental love, which affected his whole future life.

I am glad I have seen this film, I appreciate it is wonderfully made, but some of his motivations are hard to understand, and his second wife is very annoying. It is not as emotionally accessible as I would prefer, it did not draw me into the feelings of the characters enough. But this could be age of the film.
7.5 out of 10

Number 6 crossed off the List

Nearly Knitted

I was never sure about this one - Knitting a Dennis The Menace jumper for my son - as I have little experience of the craft, having previously only knitted parts of a scarf for Mike when he left work to live in Scotland, and on that occasion, I got various colleagues to help out.

I recruited my mother, Joyce, to help out, so we chose the pattern and wool together, and she knitted the ribbing at the bottom, then left the easy bits for me. I found myself enjoying knitting, often sitting up quite late, listening to the radio while making slow progress. But it grew and grew and grew, and now it is very nearly finished.  Lovely Mum is working on the complicated bits at the neck, and then I will assemble the four pieces, to create a stripy red and black homemade jumper, which I hope Carl will love to wear.



It has taken weeks, and I will miss knitting, so will my Mum. But I have no time to start another jumper, as I need to try my hand at a quilt, plus cross-stitch or embroidery etc etc

Can't wait to see the jumper completed, won't be long now, hurrah!!!