Bank Holiday Weekend

Well the children have started their mid term school holidays so its time to relax and put my feet up!!!! Never....  when you have a busy house to run consisting of teenagers and little ones it is never time to relax.  I helped Linda stay alive yesterday. Have I mentioned Linda before? No? Well Linda is a goldfish.  She "belongs" to my eight year old daughter, but I look after her wellbeing.  I keep her clean and keep her living conditions up to scratch.  Then it was time for the Eurovision Song Contest.  Something we always watch in our house.  Germany won and the UK came last.  No surprise there!!  In 1974, Germany came last in the Contest but they won the Football World Cup.  Now there is a statistic. 

Sunday....... Hunt the knitting pattern.  I have a half finished matinee jacket in a lovely Debbie Bliss wool.  But I omitted to put the pattern with the garment.  I did find it eventually so will post a piccie when finished.  It has been a great day of sport - motor racing, cricket, football and tennis.  None of which I have watched due to my two year old....... never mind!

Tomorrow...... My little one and I will be alone till three.  Ian is going on a Rail Tour to Edinburgh and will be away from six in the morning till eleven at night.  At three one of my big girls will be here to keep us company.  Once A is in bed, we will have a lovely paella, a glass of Rose and some trifle courtesy of Marks and Spencer's meal for two!!!!! 

Watch this space for plenty of crafty knitting pictures this coming week........

Hair today?

My hair..... well four years ago I decided to go really short.  I carried this on throughout my pregnancy and when my daughter was born (it is always easier to have short hair when there is a little one around).  Then I decided to grow it into a more casual style.  This is when the problem hit.  I decided to change hairdresser as the one who did the short style was only capable of doing that one style, even though I told her that I wanted to grow the short style out (hope you are with this so far).  I started going to a well known hairdresser in the Trafford Centre.  At first this was really good but after a while all I was getting was a trim for my £59.00!  So I decided to give a local new business a try.  By this time my hair had grown quite a lot.  Ooops..... not good really.  I am 43 and to be honest I felt about 53 with the way my hair was looking.  So, last Monday, Ian decided he was going to do a bit a research in Manchester, looking at the salons on offer.  

TODAY.....  I had my hair cut at Trevor Sorbie in Manchester.  Bingo, I look ten years younger and feel two stone lighter.  Lovely lovely lovely.  Paul cut my hair, may I say "thank you Paul". Go to http://www.trevorsorbie.com/.

BLOGLAND

"Blogland" is brilliant.  Well I think it is brilliant most of the time.  I follow some great blogs where people just write about their passions and try and get others interested.  I find that blogging makes me express myself in a way that I would not "in real life" due to, probably, a confidence thing.  Some people are just good at writing it down and not so good at getting others to listen face to face. 

Some bloggers write about things that are happening in their life, I do to, to a certain extent.  I will talk about my partner Ian and my children, but not name my younger children directly.  My elder daughter has her own blog, uses twitter and facebook so I don't mind naming her in my blog, as she does not make herself anonomous to others.

The blogs I don't really care for are the ones where the blogger will "comment" on something that a third party has said or done, then their followers will comment by agreeing with them and basically adding fuel to the fire of the blogger.  This must give a great deal of pleasure to the blogger thinking that there are people out there who actually agree with them, whatever they say - not really real life is it!

So..... you bloggers out there who write about their lives.  Lets stick to the positives.  You never know who is reading your blog and might put two and two together.

Over and out.

CONGRATULATIONS...........

...... to my "university" daughter who has found a job to help see her through her final year.  Well done.

Hope Ed doesn't make a balls of it.

Well so Ed Balls has entered the race to become the next leader of the Labour Party.  I don't really know why he has bothered.  He does not have the same charisma as the Miliband brothers and the stature that a "leader" should have.  Basically, he is not a leader.

Maybe his wife Yvette Cooper should have put her name forward.  The token woman candidate. 

My personal opinion is that the public would not take either of these two very seriously after their dalliance with their expenses claims.  So Ed - your fired (before you even try).

Good on you Gary.

Wow, i've just realised that you can "listen" to radio five live by watching on the web cam.  What a brilliant broadcaster Richard Bacon is.  He has just completed an interview with Sally Whittaker aka Sally Webster in Coronation Street.  What a lovely person she is.  She was herself diagnosed with breast cancer whilst playing her character, who also has breast cancer. 

It has just emerged that Gary Lineker has pulled out of writing his column in The Mail On Sunday as he says that their article about the Lord T sting could have cost us the World Cup in 2018.  Well done Gary.  The public can do even more by not buying this horrible paper.

I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IS GOING ON... REALLY

At the moment I am watching a programme on Channel 5 about the "relationship" between Dave and Nick.  It is not very informative, a little trashy I suppose, but it is pretty good entertainment.

                                                                 BATMAN AND ROBIN?

                                           
                                                                 DAVE AND NICK?
"There may be trouble ahead, but while there's moonlight and music and love and romance, lets face the music and dance".

As I'm in with just my 2 year old tonight, I am probably thinking about issues that are going on today more than I would do normally. 

Why did the Mail on Sunday do a hatchet job on our 2018 World Cup bid.  I recon there should be a campaign for everyone to boycott buying this trashy rag.  They show no pride in Britain whatsoever and do everything they can to disrespect the country.  OK, Lord T (not sure how to spell it) was probably caught in a compromising position with a pretty woman (who is now being represented by Max Clifford), trying to impress her, trying to talk up his position and what he knows.  He is not the first and won't be the last man to do this.  A couple of weeks ago the Mail on Sunday paid Gillian Duffy to do a piece on Gordon Brown and "biggotgate", now they do this....  Come on, the Sunday Sport is probably a more credible newspaper to read.

David, Ed and Gideon....

This is the man in charge of the public purse.

This man will decide how much tax we pay every month.

This man will decide who keeps their jobs and who loses their jobs.

This man will decide whether we are entitled to child benefit or tax credits.

This man will decide how much we pay for our goods over the counter.

Be scared, be very scared.

Well the two brothers Miliband are standing for the Labour Leadership.  I think David has the higher profile and is very statesmanlike. He has said that the era of New Labour is over. Dead and buried.  Ed on the otherhand has been very quiet and is obviously of different personality to his bro.  However, this is the guy who wrote the Labour manifesto, so a very clever man.  At least Labour had the conviction to stick to their manifesto, not like the Liberals. 

Gideon, sorry George, on the other hand has been telling all us folk about his plans for the public purse.  In doing so, he refrained from actually giving us any details, except for the one where he continues to blame Labour for the state of the economy, not once mentioning the GLOBAL recession.  Yes, George, GLOBAL.  How long can this little boy continue to blame Brown and Darling for the financial state of the world.

I really, really cannot wait to see what this jumped up Tory is going to do with the economy.... watch this space.

NEW DESIGNS

I am in the process of knitting some garments for a friend that is having a baby in June.  I have been trawling through pattern books and the internet for something a little different.  All the pattern books in the shops are the same.  There is no variation on the usual little jackets and hats.  Here are a few that I have found and sometimes modified.



Little vest in moss stitch and stocking stitch.

The same vest in garter stitch and stocking stitch.

This garter stitch wrap is a particular favourite of mine.  Again, knitted in once piece, very easy but keeping the edges neat is probably the most important element of the pattern.

If you would like any of the patterns shown here, just drop me a line, via my blog with your details.

FREESIA LADY.... MAYBE NOT

Ian bought me this gift of a plant pot with freesia bulbs...  He planted it a good few weeks ago and hey presto....  One seems to be coming through.  Not really a good return of 1 out of 8 originally planted.  Watch this space.....

ORCHID LADY

MY BIG LOUNGE ORCHID

MY KITCHEN ORCHID

I never really considered myself good at tending to plants, ensuring that they got the longest life possible.  Until, the lovely Orchid appeared into my life.  Orchids are lovely, delicate but strong plants.  They need lots of light, but not really direct sunlight. 

MY LITTLE LOUNGE ORCHID

THE STORM BEFORE THE LULL....

Well what a huge anticlimax this week in politics has been.  Labour seem resigned to the fact that they need to "modernise" to catch up with the Cameron and Clegg Roadshow.  I think David Miliband would be the ideal leader of the Labour party.  He gives the statesmanlike demeanor that Blair did, but he looks and sounds far more clued up than Cameron or Clegg.  Come of David, give us another Labour government rather than this smiley, touchy, phoney thing we have now. 

Going back to the phoney's, I would love to have heard what Clegg and Cameron were saying whilst walking to the lecturns in the Downing Street Gardens yesterday for their love in.  Dave to Nick - "did you know that it was three doughnuts for a pound in Sainsburys?" Nick to Dave - "shall we have a chippy tonight whilst we watch the playoff semi finals, oh by the way, Eastenders was cancelled on Tuesday for us.... how cool is that!!!"  Well, whatever they were saying give it a fortnight and they will be arguing like an old married couple. 

It's funny really, they are both always banging on about being sensible.... well here is your thought for the day....

If your son came home and said he had known a woman for 5 days and was moving in with her for the next five years, what advice would you give him?

DECISION PLEASE.....

NOW..... We need a decision.  I'm afraid I have become a mere political blogger and not a crafty blogger as intended.....

DOUBLE STANDARDS

1.  Alan Sugar was not allowed, by the BBC, to show the most recent series of The Apprentice.  They thought it would cause "political bias" as there was an election....

2.  Andrew Lloyd Webber was allowed to go forward with "Over The Rainbow" even though he has publicly come out in favour of the Tory's through a series of articles in several Tory rags.

FAIR......   Me thinks not.  This is about as fair as the person who came third in the general election deciding the political direction of the whole country.

STOP PRESS...... NEW TORY POLICY ADVISOR, TEA MAKER AND CREEP.......

INTRODUCING............    ADAM BOULTON, SKY NEWS.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csYiFeWGKZU

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW.......

......... there will be a new Prime Minister, not one that the people have chosen, but one that the politicians themselves choose.  Maybe a fairer system would be to let Andrew Lloyd Webber choose, with the help of John Partridge, Sheila Hancock and Charlotte Church. They could all  be dressed up in the same outfits  What is happening behind closed doors? Now that Gordon Brown has set out his intention to resign the office of Prime Minister, the Liberals seem keen to talk to Labour and the Tory's seem to be starting to panic.  The party making all the decisions about the future of the country, the party that polled the least votes and have only a fraction of the MP's are now deciding the future political direction of the Country.  Maybe they are not talking about our future, the future of our children and our grandchildren, maybe they have been watching Blanche's funeral on Corrie or watching Tamwar "photoshop out" Saeed and Amira from the Masood's photo. Maybe they are reading my blog and having a really good laugh at the expense of all of us.....  Maybe.......

Nick, you devil, I hope not....

What a funny week it has been in politics.  The constituency I live in has been Liberal since the Blair revolution in 1997.  The Tory's targetted this constituency as one of their marginals.  Thankfully our MP was returned to Westminster, albeit with a reduced majority.  The hung parliament outcome was no real surprise to anyone, however, I did not expect "our Nick" to go running to the Tory's leaving Labour out in the cold.  The political commentators and certain areas of the media seem to think Mr Cameron has a mandate off the British people to govern.  This is not the case.  They also seem to think Mr Brown does not.  This is not the  case.  After three consecutive election wins, whatever the state of the economy etc., Labour were never going to be popular.  They lost lots of seats, but and this is a big BUT, the Tory's did not get enough to form a government on their own.  After thirteen years of Labour "ruining" our country would you not have thought that the Tory's would have won a landslide election?  Well, they did not and they have no right to try and form a government.  Come on Gordon, show some metal.  Get the big boys behind you.  Come on Alan Johnson, David Milliband.  Gordon, you were never originally voted in as Prime Minister by the people.  Now show us what you can do......  with the help of that little devil Nick.

MY DAUGHTER, PART 2

Well, what can I say.  I give my daughter a plug on my blog and hey presto ......... she has asked for a new lap top for her birthday...... talk about capitalising on the situation (only joking Amy)..

KEEP KNITTING

MY DAUGHTER

I would like to give a plug to my daughters blog.  We are very proud of her.  She is doing a Film and Media course at University.  She is just about to finish her 2nd year is is going through the assessment stage of the year.  In September, not only does she start her final year, but she is also moving from a flat to a house.  Well done Amy. http://www.amezzeray.com/.

POOR OLD CITY, SAME OLD CITY - WELL NOT THIS TIME

Us City fans, over the decades, are used to being the underdog.  We are used to not having that winning feeling.  We seem to carry this cloud of doom and gloom around with us wherever we go.  Well yes, we did lose that fourth place last night.  Yes we could have done better as a team.  We are not and should not become a team of overpaid individuals.  BUT, and there is that big BUT.... things are not what they used to be.  I feel very disappointed today, but its not the end of the world for us.  I think with a season of Mancini building his own team and not carrying on with Hughes' leftovers, a season of playing in Europe, testing ourselves against other European sides will do us good.  I had this strange feeling that if we had reached that fourth place we would not have acheived anything in the Champions League.  I honestly believe that Spurs will bomb out of the Champions League never to reappear again in my lifetime.  Maybe Mr Redknapp should not have thrown away that champagne covered suit.  He might need it for his next job interview, or if that does not come, the filming of a tv advertisement for crisps.

Dear Mr Mancini,

Thank you for providing us with good football (in parts) and very good interviews (all of them).

Please, please, please take my advice and sell.......

Santa Cruz ..... our worst buy ever.  Must have been a very good friend of the previous Manager.  Stockport County are in need of a good striker.  Think he might just be able to run the length of that short pitch at Edgeley Park. 

Please, please, please take my advice and buy.......

Torres..... brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.  He will not get champions league football with Liverpool.  He does not suit that red shirt.  The blue one of city will match his eyes and fair hair. (Fernando, stay in Liverpool for too long and you will develop that lovely scouse accent.  That would not go with your image.  Come join us at City).

MY HANDY WORK

                                                   
                                                           A LACY/ZIG-ZAG DESIGN

                                                            A TRIO OF BEENIES

Both these sets of hats are very easy to make.  All take less than one 50g ball of wool.  The zig-zag design is knitted in babysoft dk.  The beenies are all knitted in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino 50g.

Fun on the Railway.....

Yesterday we took the children - the little ones - to The Keighley and Worth Valley preserved railway line where they were having a weekend dedicated to The Railway Children, celebrating it's 40th Anniversary.

Wow, this place is fantastic.  A real bit of yesteryear tucked away.  As the weather was slightly chilly, to say the least, it was not over crowded.  We travelled up and down the line, travelling on two different trains, one of which was the train the "old gentleman" travelled in when first noticing the children on the side of the railway. 

There was a brass band and cream tea's.  Lovely english enthusaism on a cold day!!!  Ian loves the film,  I know he won't mind me saying that, so we purchased a photograph of the final scene on the station when all the bunting is out waiting for "daddy" to come home.  Sally Thomsett, who played Phyllis, was at the event lending her support to the preservation of the line and of course the anniversary of the film.  She was 20 when the film was made, even though Phyllis was actually 8 years old in the film!!!  She is lovely and did not mind talking and chatting to people about the film.  She also signed the back of the framed picture for us, dedicating it to the little ones with us. 

Unfortunatly, due to the fact we had two children, a buggy, a ruck sack with very heavy camera, a ruck sack with kids things in and ourselves, we left the picture on the train!  We only realised this when we were home and were obviously upset by this.  We emailed and called the Railway to see if the picure had been handed in - not really expecting it to be - and hey presto....  they found it.  Still in the place where we left it, so tomorrow we will be collecting it....  Thank you Keighley and Worth Valley for a lovely day out and finding our picture.

A week is a long time in politics as they say and this week will be no exception.  Last week must have been one of the longest in the life of our long suffering Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  We all said - in our house anyway - that poor woman from Rochdale, a Labour supporter all her life and Gordon Brown, that horrible man, how dare he treat her with such a lack of respect.  That poor old granny, living in the middle of what looked like a fairly poor council estate, surrounded by Brown's Britain - sorry, Blair's really, well Cherie Blairs human rights Britain.  Well, that poor old granny is now not voting for any party.... she will be visiting relatives in Canada after selling, sorry telling her story to The Mail On Sunday.  Did anyone actually tell her that Tory Rag, yes TORY does actually support Mr Cameron, Mr Osbourne etc and not her beloved Labour Party.  Granny, you are not a bigot..... many people in this country need reassuring about immigration and telling the truth, then it will stop people like you banging on about "those foreigners flocking into our country"....  what you are is not a loyal granny.  How many times have people annoyed or upset us and we have forgiven them without taking a back hander off one of their enemies.  Hope you have a lovely holiday in Canada.

Well, apart from politics, I have had the usually busy week looking after my family.  We visited Legoland in the Trafford Centre, Manchester today.  Well worth a visit for the younger members of the family.  It was fairly expensive (£54.00 for 4 adult tickets and one child) but we all seemed to enjoy it.  Then pizza at Pizza Express where if you purchase a main meal you get another main for £1.00.  This offer is around until election day.

Me, a woman? I'm a female?

I pretended to support the Labour Party, then I sold my story to a Tory Rag...... I'm not a bigot, really, I'm a nice person, really I am.......