WHEN LIFE KNOCKS YOU DOWN YOU JUST HAVE TO GET UP AGAIN

My Dad aged 3

Well here I am again - more than a year since my last post and what has spurred me to post is my brother LONDON CABBY who has written a moving tribute to our Dad, who passed away last Friday. I won't say much more on the subject, I think my brother said it all, but I will say that however long a person is ill for you are still never prepared for their actual passing - the utter sadness you feel at losing a parent at any age is devastating.

My Mum who is swinging from grief to relief and back again has always been a very forward thinking person and at the age of 75 is still open to new ideas and just wants everyone to live their lives. Mum has been looking after my Dad for the past eight or so years, since he was critically ill in Spain. She has fed him, washed him, driven him to appointments, dug vegetable patches in the garden for him, been woken up two or three times during the night when his dementia started taking him over and he didn’t know if it was day or night and has generally been a voluntary prisoner in the house just so that she could keep him company. Of course the rest of us her children have tried to help out, but Mum is quite proud and stubborn and insists on doing everything herself.

My youngest brother lives at home and has been there for my Mum and tried to help out with my Dad also. Waking up in the middle of the night and listening to Mum trying to reason with Dad, who at 3am was fully dressed with his jacket and tie and waiting to be driven somewhere, only he knew where. My baby brother has taken the death of my Dad really badly, but inspite of this has managed to sort out all the paperwork for my Mum including: Death certificates, household bills, banking, insurances and other sundry items – he has told her not to worry and that he will deal with all of this for her – Mum is so relieved and I am so grateful to him.

With love to all my brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, Uncle, cousins and of course Mum xx

NEW YEAR, LIFE BEGINS AND ENDS

Hello Everyone,

I am trying really hard to work up the enthusiasm to continue or to take up again with all my creative stuff. It feels like I have been on a long winter sleep and I am finding it really difficult to wake up properly. Yesterday was the first really sunny day we have had since quite a while and when I went out in my car yesterday I felt like a mole emerging from a hole - the sun was blinding, so blinding that I had to put on my heavy duty sunglasses. It was too bright, I wanted to go back into my warm, safe, dark hole and not come out again. But I stayed out and admired the blue sky and the suddenly vivid colours and rejoiced in the wonder of nature.....no I haven't gone mad, I have just discovered how much I miss the sunshine - not the heat-just the light.

After a visit to my doctor a few months ago for a routine check-up I was told that I am very low in vitamin D and low in calcium, this is the main cause of rickets a disease which I thought was nigh on eradicated in the western world. It seems not - apparently this deficiency is on the increase especially with children. The main cause of this is the amount of time we western humans spend indoors in front of the TV, PC or games console or in my case spend in my office at work and then inside at the weekends catching up on housework. So I think my belated New Year's resolution should be to get as much sunlight as possible.

On a sadder note a member of my ex-husband's family has just died, it was his uncle. He had been ill for quite a long time since an aneurysm in the brain had struck him down at the age of 47 - he died last friday at the age of 62. His death was so sad because he had quite a large family and had been in a care home since he became ill, he had three sisters and two brothers, but only his youngest sister ever went to visit him. Her husband, two daughters and herself visited him at least once a week, brought him to their home for dinners and family celebrations, made sure he was kept informed of births, marriages and yes even deaths. And what is her reward for all those years of selflessness - the bitterness and scorn of her brothers and sisters who are so wracked with guilt that the only way they can cope with their selfishness is by attacking the very person who made their brother's last few years a little bit happier. I don't understand their behaviour and wish that they could leave their guilt behind enough to thank their little sister for all she has done for her family.

I didn't really want to finish on a down note but I just want to say Rest In Peace Connie - where ever you are I pray you have a lot of good company.

Love Jo xx

TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS

Phew Christmas day is over and what a day it was. Turkey with all the trimmings at my sister's house in Palmers Green. I arrived around 2pm with the boyfriend to the house where my frazzled sister greeted us with the statement that lunch was running late! No problem - since I wasn't cooking, I wasn't stressed.

The table looked stunning, so festive with the silverware, crackers and the sauces laid out in crystal glass like jewels - Cranberry sauce, Apple sauce and of course Mint sauce. All those sauces I hear you ask, why so many? Well have a bit of patience and I will get around to telling you what proceeded to appear from the magic kitchen.

On arrival to the house, hugs, kisses and exchange of greetings were followed by a nice refreshing glass of buck's fizz. Crisps and nibbles followed, good conversation with my niece and nephew and then more family arrives ready to relieve my sister of a mountain of food.

Starter of filo pastry prawns with a sweet chilli dip was enthusiastically welcomed. This was quickly followed by.... wait for it.... Turkey, Pork, Lamb (hence the three sauces), pigs in blankets (or sausages wrapped in bacon), various types of stuffing including my favourite chestnut stuffing. Then came...roast potatoes, roast parsnips, brussel sprouts, carrots, swede, peas, yorkshire puddings (that's a bit weird - no in my family we eat these with everything!) and finally the gravy.

Every year I tell myself I will not over eat and every year I end up fit to burst. This year is no different from any other and this morning I am paying for not sticking to my decision. After absolutely obliterating everything on my plate, include second helpings of my favourite items (parsnips, yorkshire puddings and potatoes) I sat stroking my expanding waistline and telling myself what an idiot I had been (again)! Half an hour later I still managed to pack away a portion of Christmas pudding with cream (argh!!!)

Christmas crackers were pulled, hats put on heads, jokes read out and enough food consumed to feed a small army. A good time was had by all.

Well if I get peckish, there is always the half leg of lamb and leftover potatoes and parsnips my sister gave me - I could fry them up with some onion and garlic and make a nice concoction.........

Oh gosh here I go again.

Happy Christmas and happy eating to you all.

Jo xx

A FESTIVE RETURN TO LIFE

I am tentatively dipping my big toe back into the world of blogging. After an absence of approximately two years, brought on by a major creative block - caused by a combination of a middle age crisis, a couple of illnesses in the family and some kind of low level depression (self-pity) - I now feel able to at least put my fingers to the keyboard and try to write something if only "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!".

As previous followers of my blog know, my major passion in life apart from my children and family is food. At present it is becoming a bit of an obessesion and all I seem to think of is what I can eat next.

My passion for food has recently been fuelled by the completion of a brand new kitchen, complete with a large five ring cooker, which has multiple ovens, acres of stainless steel and gas rings that actually work! I also am the proud owner of an all singing all dancing american style fridge freezer. This has so much room to put food into it that I am obliged to keep shopping every time a space becomes apparent. This is costing me a fortune! Luckily my sons who are still living at home with me are now able to contribute financially, both of them having decently paid work. So the monetary pressure is somewhat relieved.

I visited Waitrose in Brent Cross this morning to stock up on a few goodies. I had a £20.00 gift voucher to spend - gift from a friend for my birthday. I bought two boxes of cocoa dusted truffles (scrummy!), some smoked salmon pate, Cadbury's chocolate fingers, a moussaka for two (but in my case for one), some turkish delight for the boyfriend (yes he is still around) and some coronation chicken sandwich filler (reduced from £1.20 to 49p!). This lot probably won't last long, but I am certainly going to enjoy at least some of it today.

Happy eating, happy Christmas and Happy New Year.

Only eat what makes you happy.

Jo xx

TIME FOR A RETURN TO LIFE - AND ALL IT ENTAILS

I really don’t know where to begin. I have just read my last entry and realise how much I was involved with – no wonder I have been ill. I suffered a severe bout of dizziness and nausea, which kept me off work for two and a half weeks; I have never been off sick for more than a day or two in five and a half years!! On top of the dizziness I was told that my blood pressure was sky high and was promptly given medication (Ramipril) to help reduce it. Now, five months down the line, the BP has been reduced and I have dropped a lot of the activities I was formerly involved in – I am feeling more relaxed and thank heavens the twitchy eye thing has stopped.

At present I am enjoying time off for the school holidays. I have embarked on some DIY work around the house, which I am rubbish at. I am in the process of decorating my tiny toilet, tiling, painting and installing some tongue and groove panelling to the walls – it is a lot harder than I thought and I really think I don’t have what it takes to make a good job of it – well I haven’t given up yet.

The weather in London is very depressing – it is amazing to think that we are in mid-August and it has been so wet and dark for at least the last couple of weeks. Today at least seems to have started well (fingers crossed). My eldest son has been trying to dig out an area of the garden to create a patio and bbq area – but work has ground to a halt with all this precipitation. Perhaps today he can get some work done – it has to be finished by the 6th September as it is my younger son’s birthday – he will be 21!! He is planning to have a bbq for all the family and his friends and is intending to re-furbish the old shed at the back of the garden and make it into a bar. We are off to buy the wood and other bits and pieces today.

On other news – it is my Mum and Dad’s Golden Wedding Anniversary in January – 50 years of wedded bliss!! My siblings and I are planning a big do for them and inviting all our family from Spain and the North of England and we really are a big family – at least 100!! The main problem we have encountered is trying to find a hall with a kitchen big enough and cheap enough for us to rent – the other day I was quoted £964 for the rental of a hall for only 7 hours!! It’s incredible how expensive everything is and it’s not getting any cheaper. I am still looking; so if anyone out there knows of a decent hall for hire in the Kenton area of London, please let me know.

My poor Mummy has been incredibly depressed lately – I think it is mainly the bad weather that is causing it – of course the weather is affecting her ability to go to her beloved CAR BOOT SALES, which are like a relaxation therapy for her and she seems to be on the point of crying every moment – this is not common for my Mum so I have offered to take her to an Antique Fair that she likes to sell at once a month in the hope this might lift her spirits. It doesn’t help that she spends all day every day with my Dad and most of that time is spent running him up to the hospital for his numerous appointments with: Cardiology, Renal and Ophthalmic consultants.

I have managed to read a good few more books – especially by one of my favourite authors, Anne McCaffrey. I have read the three of ‘Acorna’s Children’ series: First Warning, Second Wave and Third Watch, also by the same author three books from the Petaybee series ‘The twins of Petaybee’: Changelings, Maelstrom and Deluge. All thoroughly enjoyable and quite easy reads for me – I can’t wait for the next Dragons of Pern book, which her son Todd McCaffrey has now taken on.

I am at present reading a book by Paul Torday ‘The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce’ about a thirtyish year old man who inherits a wine cellar and proceeds to drink himself to death all the while deluding himself that he does not have a drink problem (actually I don’t know if he dies – I haven’t got very far into the book) although the subject matter is grim it is still quite a humorous book and it certainly teaches you a lot about wine.

I am not sure when I will be back here again, so don’t hold your breath! Heh heh!

Jo xx

LIFE GOES ON AROUND US

Life has been rather frantic of late. As usual I have overstretched myself. I am trying to juggle a full-time job, with keeping 'The Boyfriend', happy, amused, satisfied, with getting involved with my school's PTA (Parent Teacher Association), with embarking on a self enrichment program, which involves mentoring three students, doing Tai-chi classes twice a week and attending creative solutions for first time managers courses! Needless to say I am struggling - I am suffering with indigestion, heartburn and my right eye hasn't stopped twitching for several weeks now. All in all I am not bad!

I have still managed to read quite a bit (twitchy eye and all) and have got through a William Nicholson trilogy for children called 'The Windsinger Trilogy'. The books were a nice easy read and I managed to get through them over three nights. I have now read the first book in the 'Seeker' trilogy, but since the other two books are not available in our library I will have to wait to finish this set. Other recent reads have been 'Mr Pip' by Lloyd Jones, about a village on a Pacific island off the coast of Australia, where the only white man on the island takes it upon himself to educate the children using the great, Mr Dickens' book 'Great Expectations' as a learning tool. It is a beautiful and sometimes shocking book, both poetic and brutal, but worth a read. Last night I finished 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak. Another beautifully poetic book, narrated by Death! It tells the story of a young german girl's life in the Second world war, her fears, her dreams, her life, her death - a wonderful book.

This Saturday the school I work at will be holding an Indoor Spring Fair and Table top sale (indoor Car boot to those in the know). This is the involvement I mentioned with the PTA, unfortunately, there are only two parents and two (and a half) teachers involved in this PTA, well I am not really a teacher but they don't seem to be too bothered about that. I think they are happy that anyone else wants to help. I think it is shocking that in a school with 2000+ students and 280 staff only four people want to help out and when it comes to getting donations of gifts and prizes from people forget it! The management ie: headteachers and deputies are yet to put their hands in their pockets and contribute so much as a bar of chocolate - hmmm, I
wonder what they spend their £60 - £100,000 salaries on??

I haven't mentioned family events for a while - we haven't had too many get togethers recently - we are all such busy people!
My Dad had his birthday in February, he was 77 - we have been so lucky to have him for three years more than we thought we would, especially after the terrible time he had a few years ago on life-support and several literally heart stopping days. He
is not a well man, but at least he is happy with his family around him, he is not in pain and is looking forward to the warmer days, when he can go out into the garden and tend his beloved tomato plants.

My Mum is going to be 70 this year and we are planning to go out 'en masse' probably to a local eaterie - not too expensive - as mum hates spending too much on going out! As long as the place we go too is not too fussy about noise and caters for children with big appetites we will all be happy.

My boys are doing well in their lives, still looking after their old (well middle-aged) mum. Both of them are working, my younger son just having started full-time work at the local Tesco as a team leader (cashier supervisor). It's all about experiencing life in its many rich and varied forms. My younger son informed me the other night, that he is certainly learning the art of patience. This is mainly due the amount of complaining customers he is having to deal with - I am so proud of him! My baby is all growed
up!!

Well checking out now (get it?) Heh heh!

Jo xx

Life in the life lane

Hello - where am I – Oh it’s Blog World!!!!

I haven’t been here in such a long time, so much and nothing has happened I don’t really know where to start.

My holiday was a bit of a washout for several reasons:

I hate where my parent’s flat is, it’s noisy, smelly, hot and dusty and if you don’t have a car, walking in 40 degrees of heat is no laughing matter.

The nearest beach is 25 minutes walk away – in 40 degrees heat.

The flat – in 40 degrees heat – has no air conditioning!!

My poor niece was ill for most of the holiday and was unable for most of the time to leave the flat or even eat anything and the temperature (40 degrees) for her was unbearable.

Did I mention the heat – heh heh!!

Most of the rest of the holidays was spent DIYing, my eldest son has built himself a wardrobe, it was his first attempt at carpentry and he has built a solid fitted wardrobe in his room – the doors don’t fit too well and are slightly different sizes, he has yet to put on the handles and the whole thing still needs painting, but for a first attempt, I think it is marvellous!!

We got a new garage door, new guttering, new slabs for under the little tool shed, cleared out: the garage, behind the garage, the big garden shed and loads from the attic into a giant skip.


The skip had amazing magical properties as whenever a metallic item was placed into it, the following morning it had disappeared – washing machines, garden rollers, old vacuum cleaners, metal chairs and assorted chains and rusty tools all vanished mysteriously – well actually they were taken away by rag and bone men (scrap merchants), who clambered all over the container looking for anything they might be able to salvage for scrap. This was actually a bonus for us as we were able to get rid of far more rubbish due to the self-emptying properties of this device.

Back to work at the beginning of September and the perennial problem of trying to find a new staff member – I am very fussy and know exactly what I am looking for, so interviewing has been quite a depressing affair, I have now interviewed around 12 people for the post of Librarian/Open learning officer and fussiness aside none of them have been suitable.
They either have no experience working with children, they cannot speak English, they cannot understand English, they do not read books or know anything about books, they know nothing about computers – the list goes on. How do they expect to be able to cope with a job where children are constantly asking, demanding, requesting all sorts of help?? I do find sometimes, that we are holding X factor auditions and have to stop myself laughing at the answers some people give to questions at interviews.

For the last 10 days I have been spending a lot of time with my Dad. My mother has gone away for a well deserved holiday with my brother London Cabby, so the rest of the family: Sister from Palmers Green, Sister from Harrow and Wealdstone and Brother Agnostic Joe, including assorted children and partners have all taken turns in spending as much time as possible with him. Since my Father was literally on death’s door, two years ago, he has been on a huge number of medications, having all kinds of treatments and numerous hospital appointments. For all these reasons we thought that we would draw up a Rota of times when we could all help out – it all worked out really well although it was tiring for all concerned trying to fit in this extra responsibility with out normal busy lives. My Dad loved being fussed over and was delighted with all the attention, he even showed the District Nurse the rota, which had been laid out in chart form by my sister in Harrow & Wealdstone. When my Mum returned from her holiday my Dad also showed it to her and she became quite emotional. I am just glad that my parents have such a big family, because looking after anyone is a huge responsibility and we only did it for a short time, some people have to look after their loved ones for years.

To all of you out there, you unsung heroes, carers of family or friends, my love and admiration goes out to you all.

Best wishes and Big hugs to you all.

Jo xx

WASH DAYS AND I'M OFF TO SUNNY SPAIN

I’m looking forward to putting my feet up next week – I’m off to incredibly hot and sunny Spain, I’m told the temperature is hitting 40 degrees and that is very hot!

I will be going just for one week to Torrevieja near Alicante; my parents have a flat there, which they haven’t been able to go to since my Dad was seriously ill two years ago. He is not allowed to fly anymore as he has a heart condition and many other ailments – despite all these afflictions he still manages to tend to his beloved: tomatoes, peppers and aubergines and is expecting a good crop this year, as long as we get some decent sun here in London (fat chance of that!) I will be travelling with one of my many nieces – I have nine nieces and five nephews – the niece I will be travelling with is the daughter of my sister from Palmers Green. She has been taking a foundation course in Art and will be starting a BA in Photography in September, so I thought it would be nice for us to have something different to photograph, apart from rainy skies. I really enjoy photography too, so am looking forward to getting some decent shots to post on my deviantart webpage, maybe something other than flowers perhaps?? Hee hee!

I finally have a new washing machine – woo hoo!! My lovely brother London Cabby took me to Comet in Colindale where I chose the machine, paid for it, my brother and son loaded into the cab, unloaded it (very heavy) and then my wonderful brother plumbed it in for me. I have already washed 10 loads of washing, it’s amazing how much mounts up when you don’t have a machine for a couple of weeks, it also makes you realise just how many clothes you have – too many really. My Mum used to say when we were children, well she still says it now and again “When I was a girl I had a dress, which I wore everyday and one special one for Sunday” and ‘neecas’ knickers or panties “ We only had quita y pon” one on one off. I suppose it makes sense really, I must have about one hundred pairs of knickers, most of which don’t fit or are uncomfortable – no wonder I have to do so much washing – we really are quite a wasteful society now.

Well I’m off to find some more washing now.

Laters

Jo xx

THANKS A BUNCH!!

Sometimes in your life you suddenly think ‘Thanks a bunch’!!

My ‘Thanks a bunch’ moment came yesterday evening around 9pm.

After a very stressful day at work – staff shortages yet again! I had people whining on about their problems at home, with their families (The Boyfriend phoned), their children, their partners – listening to complaints about aching backs, fevers, headaches and other assorted ailments - I arrived home and all I wanted was to have a quiet night, not burden my sons with my work problems and generally just chill. Everything was fine until 9pm when a friend of mine phoned, hoping to get some temp work whilst he is finishing his studies at University. I answered the phone, and yes I admit I do have a rather loud telephone voice, I proceeded to explain to him the politics involved in trying to secure him a position, the nepotism and near corruption in the educational system and that I would try my very best to get a positive result. All the time I was trying to have this conversation, both of my sons were blah, blah, blahing and generally thinking they were being hilarious (not) and I was getting more and more angry. They normally are good at spotting my anger rising, but because I was still talking, their hilarity was increasing exponentially – never a good thing when your mother is trying to have a serious conversation with a potential work colleague. Two minutes, that’s all I was on the phone for, two minutes out of their precious television watching time!! I came off the phone and they both launched into me with, ‘Why do have to talk so loud?’ ‘ We don’t want to hear about your work problems’ and ‘we can’t even hear what they are saying on the TV’.

My anger and frustration shows in two ways with my children –

1. I go very quiet
2. My eyes start to burn as the tears threaten to escape

My way of dealing with this is to sit there for about 5 minutes with an inane death mask grin on my face and then slowly remove myself from the site of frustration by slowly walking out of the room. I slowly walk up the stairs to my bedroom, go into my bedroom, slam the bedroom door and then throw myself on the bed and have a good cry - I was so tired, that I think I went to sleep within twenty minutes!

My children do not normally upset me in this way, but sometimes their insensitivity astounds me. I spend hours listening to my eldest telling me about his worries at work, about life and general moaning about most things on TV. My other son doesn’t really moan, except maybe about his brother sometimes, but then I do have to listen to all the moans and groans about football or him groaning because he has been killed on his on-line computer game. I spend two minutes talking about my stuff and I get pounced upon – there’s gratitude for you!!

Well just as well I have cyberspace to moan into – you do have a choice, you either read this or you don’t.

Thanks a bunch!!

Jo x

I AM A MASOCHIST!!

OMG – Not more birthdays!! April and May were busy times in our family – lots of procreating going on. This month it’s my sister-in-law, my elder son John (25 today) my sister Angie (my lips are sealed about her age) also her birthday today – Happy Birthday Angie and Johnny. It’s my nephew Danny’s Birthday on the 12th and my brother Joe’s Birthday on the 16th, plus a couple of work colleagues too!!

I bought my son an Ipod nano - 8 gigs of memory – this is really good, so I am told and he seemed to like it – so I did something right for once. I think he has inherited his fussy ways from me and is quite specific about what he likes and dislikes – as a result gift giving and receiving can be quite a hit and miss affair. Obviously the one exception for me is ‘The boyfriend’ who just buys mad gifts for the hell of it – I have mentioned some of the more eccentric offerings in previous posts – just to refresh your memory I thought I would show you the photo of the cow car, again.


Yesterday evening I went to an 18th Birthday party with ‘The Boyfriend’. The party was for the daughter of a childhood friend of his, who I also knew from my teen years. On arriving at the party, which was being held at the ‘Old Crown’ pub in Highgate – I told my boyfriend to wait a while as I didn’t fancy being the only oldie in a room full of teenies. I shouldn’t have worried really as most of the people in the party were our age (40ish) and most of the music was from the late 70’s early 80’s – Reggae, Soul, Ska and other similar sounds. What really surprised me was that the teenagers were all sitting at the tables, sedately sipping their drinks, whilst their parents were strutting their funky stuff on the dance floor, to the music of Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Chaka Khan amongst others. There were a lot of embarrassed young faces as they watched their parents wriggling and writhing on the dance floor – parents can really be so embarrassing!! Heh, heh!!

Today I have been nursing a little hangover, little because I only had four drinks – but I really am not used to drinking and the combination of the Dry Martinis and the smoky bar, contributed hugely to my heavy head and leaden stomach today. I have absolutely no sympathy for myself – it is completely self-inflicted. When I do get these hangovers I find that the only way I can make myself feel better is to eat a lot, so today I have had a marathon eat in.

I started the day with a cooked breakfast kindly made by ‘The Boyfriend’

Eggs, Bacon, Black Pudding and Fried Bread plus Two cups of Tea

I got home and had a cup of coffee plus two toast with butter and honey

My sister-in-law came to visit and brought:

Breaded garlic mushrooms, Garlic and Onion Dip, Houmous, Pitta Bread and Fresh Cream Chocolate Choux Pastries plus another cup of coffee.

I have just finished my evening meal of Pasta in a tomato sauce with a sizeable Sirloin Steak.

Tomorrow I am going to cry about how much weight I am putting on - I have absolutely no sympathy for myself – it is completely self-inflicted.
Yours with a full stomach and a heavy head.

Jo xx

Thanks for waking me up Wil!!

Ok, ok!! I have finally been made to feel guilty – Wil Kyle from Paradise driver has been asking if something is wrong - coincidentally, my brother ‘London Cabby’ and my Sister ‘So this is Paradise’, hadn’t written anything for ages – come to think of it my other brother ‘The Reluctant Agnostic’ hasn’t written for a while either. It must be something to do with being such a close family, we all seem to shut down at the same time and go into another mode. Anyhow, no there is nothing wrong with any of us, we are just all extremely busy people, Family, Work and extra-curricular activities, take up a lot of our time.

My problem of late has been that I have started several projects and then moved on to something else, it seems like I am never finishing anything. I am pleased to report that I have definitely finished some of the unfinished stuff (?) and it really does give me a sense of satisfaction.

Firstly the re-mortgage on the house finally came through, three months after starting the process! The paperless application process has left me with a file of paperwork at least 2 inches (approx.5cms) high – huh, so this is a paperless application – I dread to think how much paperwork the paper application would generate.

Secondly and this is due to Firstly above – I have been able to consolidate (pay off) all my loans, credit card and other sundry debts, which I have acquired over the past 4 years – this has left me with one manageable payment and a huge burden of guilt lifted from my shoulders. I can now hold my head up high and say I don’t owe anyone anything – well the mortgage company doesn’t count!! Does it – heh, heh!!

Thirdly, Finally and also because of Firstly, I have been able to do some jobs around the house, which really needed doing: Unblocking drains (again), buying a small garden shed to keep the lawn mower and garden furniture in, buying a new drill, so that I can finally get around to doing all those odd jobs around the house that require a power drill and many other small repairs that everyone’s home needs doing from time to time.

On a personal note – I am quite content at the moment. Work is going well and I am finally feeling like I am the boss (not in a bad bossy way), things are progressing and the libraries are becoming quite some showpieces, we regularly get visitors from other schools and other countries, who are told how wonderful our libraries are – I must be doing something right. I am not reading too much at the moment, I have about five books on the go, some which I started reading before Christmas. I have yet to finish: My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall, Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, Four past Midnight (Short Stories) by Stephen King, The Book of Dave by Will Self.



I did manage to finish Blood Song by Melvyn Burgess, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a children’s book, for older children. It is a fantasy, but it also deals with a tricky subject – sexual awakenings. It is dealt with in a sensitive, non-judgemental way and I think that adults should read it too – they might learn something from it!!

Well I am off to a meeting of The Brent Librarians – on my day off – I must love this job!!

Hopefully I won’t leave such a big gap with my postings this time and thank you Wil for caring.

Until the next time.

Jo xx