Poker Librarian

2023 - Back to the Blog

2023-07-08T22:09:00.002+01:00

Well, here we are again - I have decided to continue my blog again. Since the pandemic I have got a new job - I work in a wonderful care home called Hempstalls Hall - where my dad is living now. I am a Well-Being Co-ordinator - so I basically look after residents welfare - my lovely colleague, Karen and I take them out to coffee shops, garden centres, the theatre and shops, arrange entertainers to come in and play quizzes and words games, do gardening and give them treats like a drinks trolley, afternoon teas or chocolates. It is such fun (and very hard work!) Definitely the best thing about the job is the residents. They are amazing and every one has a story.

So, what else have I been up to?

Well, I started this blog as a cancer blog - and just recently, out of the blue I was phoned by Paula from Cancer Research UK who said "We are opening a CRUK Superstore on your toen - and we'd like you, as a Cancer Survivor, to cut the ribbon on the day.

Of all the things I thought I might do in my life - I never imagined that I would be asked to open a shop!

It happened on 8th June and I had such a lovely day. There were lots of volunteers, managers, staff from CRUK media team and a photographer (and another one from The Sentinel) present too. I went into the shop with Nathan, and we had a look around and met everyone. The head of media gave a talk and then they asked me to talk about my journey through cancer. it was wonderful - and they gave me a massive bouquet of flowers. Then came the ribbon cutting. There was a huge queue outside waiting to be let in and the Town Cryer, Bill, announced the opening. I used some oversized comedy scissors for the photos - then cut the ribbon with actual scissors - just as everyone poured in. You couldn't move inside the shop - and it was massive!

Laura had taken the day off and my brother Dom and his wife Sharon came too. Karen brought some of the residents of the home - including my dad and Betty and Shirley. It was a fabulous occasion!

Life in Time of Coronavirus 12

2020-06-22T21:28:00.000+01:00

June has been really wet and stormy - some spectacular lightning shows. One night we went out in the back yard to watch the sheet lightning lighting up the neighbourhood! Until it started raining heavily!
Walks have been curtailed quite a lot - so feeling sluggish and more tired - weirdly.
Slowly working our way through or new Marvel jigsaw.
Yesterday (21st June) was Father's Day - so all 3 of us went for a very pleasant drive to Endon to visit my dad. We had to stay in the back garden and my dad chatted to us from the conservatory at the back of Marjorie's bungalow. Tried to chat - although M did interrupt a lot to tell us how marvellous her family are and to utter racist threats against Chine - as they have obviously trying to take over the world by making this coronavirus in a lab and unleashing it on the world. Didn't really explain how it works when their own population were the first badly affected. She still wants to nuke the whole country though.

I had bought my dad some Eat Your Drink novelty jellies. They are made from whisky - which he likes - and are proper strong. "Eat 5 and you can't drive!" Also came with socks with CHEERS on them!

I also had got a variety cocktail pack for us to try - and they are really nice! You can tell they have a good amount of alcohol in them. I had read about them in The Metro - and ordered them from their website.

This week is predicted to be another heatwave - at last! I have a new fence panel in the back yard waiting to be cut to size and installed and thee is some more fence along the bottom to paint in my cool green colour.

Hopefully it will get done!

Last Friday I had a Zoom get-together with the box office team from the theatre. Mandy (manager) didn't turn up until the last 5 minutes - and Linds seem to try at the very end but failed. Talked to Taz, Lou, Emily and Pete though - and Kay (who is marking person and Pete's sister) Taz says she's been doing nothing during lockdown - apart from all our quizzes! Lou has got herself an extra job at Tesco - she works 2 days week 5am-10am putting together online orders for delivery. She was very rpoud to have met her deadlines everyday. She has also designed and built a wardrobe from scratch - which looked really good.

Pete seems to have a grown a beard and Emily had to spend the money she had saved to buy a pole (for her pole dancing practice) on a Shark hoover as her old hoover packed up. She has also become addicted to crossword puzzle books.

I asked for people's Netflix suggestions - and Pete's wife, Lisa piped up from somewhere in his room about a load of true crime ones. Not sue fi they are my cup of tea though. Taz had watched Afterlife - and loved it though it was so sad. it must have been a hard watch for her as she lost her dad just at the start of this pandemic. (Not Covid though) I really rate Ricky Gervais now - fantastic series. He is writing series 3 right now.

Laura and I finished Dead to me - which was brilliant, funny, sad and surprising all the way though. Now waiting for series 3 of that too. Loved both characters and their complicated friendship!

Emily did say that all was well with the theatre and its cashflow (not sure how - what cashflow?) Today (Monday) they are starting to rip all the old seats out and the builders have set up a "wellness tent" on the car park for their workers welfare. Not sure how they are working - hardly anyone is allowed in the building. So the theatre will look fabulous soon - but who knows when it will reopen>

Bojo is meant to be making another announcement today about the 2m distancing rule - which businesses are clamouring to be reduced so they can open and make money. However, it is only meant to be safe if we have a track and trace system in place. The government have abandoned the "world-beating app" they were testing in the Isle of Wight - as it doesn't work with the Apple system. Not sure if they are going to use the one that does work - made by Google and Apple - that the rest of the world is using.

Most non-essential shops are now open - although we haven't been tempted to go out at all. No news on pubs and restaurants yet - although they are hoping the proposed date of July 6th could happen. It will depend on the 2m rule though. it had been suggested for that date if they had tables outside and people ordered via an app rather than crowding around a busy indoor bar/counter.

We shall see...

Life in the time of Coronavirus 13

2020-06-18T21:28:00.000+01:00

Well, on Monday Laura had a phone call asking her to go back into her office on Wednesday 1st July. She has been staying here with us for exactly 3 months. We packed up her stuff and food and went back to her flat on Tuesday - I helped her clean the bathroom which gets black mould in it . Spoke to her after her first day - via Duo video calling. She'd managed to get back into her work jeans! She was the only one from her team in the office - and when she got there she had a computer there with her name on so she knew where to sit. There are 2 other guys from the other team in there with her and they are spaced out. There are anti-bac cleaning stations thee too. They all had to do some retraining via video links again - then were given simple tasks to start them off. It is hard to get straight back into something when you haven't done it for over 3 months.

She seemed quite happy though - so hopefully she'll be okay. The call centre is in another room - with around 60 people in there - but there are still 100 of them at home.

One good thing is now that she is back on full wages she can re-apply for her mortgage. The estate agent said they are ready to go with the flat as soon as she has that back in place. I think a visit to the flat might be in order before she buys it as it is over a year since she viewed it! Hopefully it is still in good order as it has ben empty all this time.

So, we managed to finish our Marvel jigsaw before she went. The box had said it was impossible - but we did it!

Also while we were in lockdown together we managed to grow some plants! M&S gave me some seeds once when I shopped there - so I grew the peppers and L grew the violas. Then Dom brought over some rhubarb plants from my dad's garden in Cheadle.

They are all doing really well and have now been transferred outside. I don't have a garden here - just a yard - but they are doing okay in pots!

So, L went home to her flat on Tuesday - and tomorrow (Friday) we are having another visitor! My neice Zoe is hoping to do an intensive training course down at Stafford Uni -so that she will be able to be a relief ambulances driver for the NHS. She has been in St John's Ambulance for years and she really wants to do this. As she lives in York she needs somewhere to stay. The first day will be an assessment to see if she is suitable - and if she passes that then it could be the next 3 weekends. As she has been at home with her mum and dad - after Bournemouth Uni closed, where she was studying forensic science - and both Damian and Jan are working from home I think she should be safe in our bubble.

The latest from the government is that despite daily deaths being 170-180 they are opening all the pubs and restaurants on July 4th - a Saturday. Boris is telling people to be careful and not go crazy - but I can see carnage happening! Checked our local The Wulstan - and it is also opening. You have to book a table - whether you are eating or just going for a drink. They need a contact number in case you have to be traced later if someone had it. They say that the inside of the pub is very different - with tables being spaced out. No-one is allowed to congregate around a fruit machine or in a smoking area. You are also encouraged to order food from the app instead of going to the bar. And pay remotely.

I can't see many people keeping to those guidelines for long - especially when they've had a few drinks. Seems like a recipe for disaster - so we are not going any time soon. Even before all this happens they have already had a massive spike in Covid infections in Leicester - so that whole city is on lockdown again.

Life in Time of Coronavirus 11

2020-06-11T21:29:00.000+01:00

Every day seems the same now.

Every day at 5pm there is a Corona briefing - rarely given by the PM usually some poor government minister who has to try to defend their record and the chaos since Dominic Cummings broke the rules. It was actually Boris today - no-one sees him from one week to the next - he only comes out because he has to attend PMQs and get his weekly grilling from Sir Keir Starmer. No-one knows what he does for the rest of the week. he is never prepared for the questions or briefing he does do. Seems to make it up as he goes along.
The most damning nws recently was today when one of his scientific advisors said the it the lockdown had happened just 1 week early the death toll - currently over 50000 would have been HALVED.
BBC News

"The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK would have been halved if lockdown had been introduced a week earlier, a former government adviser has said.

Prof Neil Ferguson, whose advice was crucial to the decision to go into lockdown, said the outbreak had been doubling in size every three or four days before measures had been taken."

It is true that we are one of the worst affected countries in the world.

In other news - now that my windowsill peppers are growing so well, Nathan bought me an avocado growing kit. Just need to take the stone out of an avocado and peel off its skin - and put it in this avocado boat and float it in some water. In 1-3 months it will sprout and start to grow into a tree. I'll let you know how that goes!

Have finished another 1000 piece jigsaw - this one with shelves of Christmas books. It was fun to do - might do it again nearer Christmas!

Laura has now ordered a Marvel 1000 one - so we are making a start on that one. It says it is "impossible" - but there are so many faces and outfits it shouldn't be too difficult to get it done.

We are going to have a massive collection of jigsaws by the time we are allowed out and things get back to normal - if they ever do!

The last Zoom meeting at the theatre was a bit dispiriting - as now most staff have been put on furlough "for a period of pause and reflection" The Board Meeting last week sounds like it didn't go so well. Fiona said they could see a few "cons" with her plan of opening again in September. However the refurb is actually going ahead this week - we have been sent plans and an artist's impression of the new auditorium with its new purple seats. At least there will be SOME activity at the theatre over the summer. Not sure when I will be called back in again. Still no news from the government when theatres can reopen.

Boris is considering reducing the 2m distancing rule to 1m - under pressure from businesses - but our Covid R rate is still too high to consider that safe just yet.

Still streaming 3 quizzes a week on Mixer - as well as hosting a Community Games Night online on Saturday nights for people from Interference and the quizzes to play some silly Jackbox games - which you can join in via your phones. I enjoy that - although it was better when Rubbafish was doing it (he started it) but he is struggling right now and not feeing up to it. So, Nathan has to set it up and take control. It is still fun though.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 10

2020-06-03T21:33:00.000+01:00

On Monday - with the lockdown regulations being relaxed - we were allowed to see up to 6 people in your garden as long as we still stay 2 metres away from each other. So, I got to see Dominic and Sharon! I let them come in through the back gate into the yard - and they sat on our swinging seat.

They had just been over to Endon to drop some medication off for my dad. They'd chatted to him through the door - he didn't come out to them.

It was lovely to see them both and have a proper conversation. Much nicer than a phone call. They both looked really well - they are walking over 10000 steps everyday. They have discovered a lake behind JCB full of ducks and another at Hales Hall. They stayed less than an hour - maybe I might go over to Cheadle soon and visit their garden.

The next day we had a special delivery - arranged by Nathan's dad. It was a Survival Pack - from Lymestone breweries! It was delivered by Brad who said that he was doing okay. He has 2 pubs - one in Stone and ne in Newcastle which are both closed at the moment. He said that they had always meant to set up an online shop for their brewery - and had never got round to it. Now they have had to in order to survive. He said it was going pretty well - in fact sometimes better than when he was selling to places like Wetherspoons and had to wait 48 days for payment - this way he gets paid within a couple of days!

The pack contained bottles of Lymestone beer, Stray Cat cider and crisps! he'd even included two glasses, beer mats and some puzzles. it was great!

The weather has been gorgeous - but it changed today (Wednesday) L and I made a chocolate chip banana loaf which was yummy. We didn't go for a walk as it was rainy. We are almost finished with our latest 1000 piece jigsaw - which is of shelves of Christmas books! We are running out of jigsaws!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 9

2020-05-31T21:34:00.001+01:00

Apparently the Health Secretary (or Death Secretary as he's being called on Twitter) Matt Hancock has said we can start to loosen the lockdown and see up to 6 people outside . Boris said we can have bbqs - but Chris Whitty stood awkwardly next to him in that Daily briefing looked very uncomfortable and added that we had to still observe 2m social distancing and bring our own food plates condiments - and if you have to go in the house to the loo - wash everywhere down afterwards! Doesn't sound much fun.

The problem is the R rate - which is how many people get infected from each infected person is supposed to be below 1 before you do this. It is only just under that - but we are still getting way over 300 deaths per day. I am not sure if I trust this instruction.

As Dominic Cumming is still in the newspapers every day - with criticism of his actions mounting - Boris is trying to give people something to distract them. He knows how much we are missing friends and family - and he is trying to just deflect attention from all the calls for him to sack his SPAD DC.

In other words it is a political decision - not one guided by the science. He'd rather have extra people die than lose his special advisor - and that is disturbing.

So, our instincts are to continue to stay home as much as possible I can't see that I will be called into work for a while yet - as who would want to be in a theatre full of other people in an enclosed space yet? Or ever? So I will stay home as long as I can.

Laura has had emails from her work that say they are putting in distancing and safety measures in place and bringing a few people at a time. She doesn't know when she will go back though. She has been refused a mortgage extension though - while she is on furlough - so if her flat purchase does get ready for completion - she no longer has a mortgage! It has already taken over 12 months - it seems like it is never meant to be!

I don't like the idea that once she does go back to work - she will have to move back to her rented flat. It would be risky for us if she stays here and is working with loads of other people. We'll have to see.

Little Easter Bunnies

Posh Fox for Sharon

Lemon Biscuits

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dom and Sharon have asked if they can come round one day next week. They have to go over to Endon to take my dad his latest batch of medication. So I aid thy could come into the back garden and we can distance and have a chat. I am actually really excited to think we can see them again. They have been isolating really well - and so I trust them to be okay. They still have Nathan's birthday gifts - and I have their Easter Eggs here. Well, kind of. I got them little Easter bunnies crocheted by Tracy - and each with a Cadbury Crème Egg inside. I did eat the eggs though - so I have ordered some more from Amazon!

I still have the fox head that I knitted for Sharon too. Would be lovely to see them.

Me and L have been baking again - this week two types of cookies - lemon drizzle ones that I made and choc chip pnut ones from Lol.We are gong to emerge from lockdown much fatter than when we went in!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 8

2020-05-27T19:56:00.002+01:00

Getting a bit fed up of lockdown now.

All this week there has been nothing on the news except how the (special advisor to the) PM Dominic Cummings has been breaking lockdown and driving to Durham with his sick wife and child. Then had a day out to Barnard Castle for his wife's birthday. Quite extraordinary - given that he was the guy who made the rules and the slogan STAY HOME SAVE LIVES. Needless to say everyone is livid - but BoJo will not sack him. He really doesn't have a clue what to do without him I guess.

I think Marina Hyde explained it best in The Guardian

Here I have had a second staff meeting via Zoom with the New Vic. Still not a lot of concrete information - given that the general consensus is that theatres will be one of the last places that will be allowed to reopen - and who knows what restrictions will still be in place.

The Plan A - is to commence productions from September. They have put together a new schedule some of the plays we were going to put on and a few one night events they have managed to reschedule. They are not selling tickets or letting the public know yet - as there is no guarantee that it will happen.

They know they may need a Plan B ( and possible Plan C) - but haven't come up with that yet.

One good bit of news is that the refurb may still go ahead over the summer. The company that is making our new seating has reopened its factory - and the colour has been chosen - a deep purple! The tenders for the new toilets have been received and some are now coming in for the new stage. So, the theatre will be all ready for the next 30 years.

The furlough scheme is still being used - and we may have that extended after June - or some of us may be asked to come back part-time. I am already employed part-time - so I am not sure when I will be back. Unless we get the go ahead for our new September Programme I guess there's not a lot for the Box Office to do. Will have to see what transpires!

Me and Laura have been doing lots more baking - and we are also running out of jigsaws. Just ordered another 100 piece one - with lots of books on it. We started that one today!

Here are photos of our lemon drizzle biscuits and chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Both were delicious.

The weather has turned gorgeous again - so we had a barbecue on Bank Holiday Monday (was like every other day - except N didn't have to work from home!) We have a new swinging seat which was delivered by Amazon.
The other photo is Grumbles enjoying snoozing in the sunshine by the window.

Life in time of Coronavirus 7

2020-05-27T19:34:00.002+01:00

Laura and I went for our daily walk today - decided to do a longer one than usual so we walked to the theatre and back. I quite often walked to work - it takes 28 minutes there - so we were out an hour. It was quite sad to walk past my theatre and see that the posters outside were still advertising the shows that were on the day we had to close. It was 39 Steps and I had bought loads of tickets - as I as going to see it with Janet, Jane and Gill on the Wednesday and Nathan, Laura and N's parents Dilys and Colin at the weekend. It was going to be a treat for Dilys for Mother's Day - but of course it never happened.

We also had tickets for the Birmingham Hippodrome to see The Book of Mormon - for Nathan's birthday treat - but of course that was cancelled too. In fact I am wondering if we will ever see it now. After three months of lockdown many theatres are warning that they are going out of business as they have no income - from ticket sales, café and bar takings or donations. Among these is Shakespeare's Globe - so if they are struggling I can only imagine what our own New Vic is going through. The problem is that even if theatres do open later in the year - if we still have social distancing rules then that is not financially viable for us to put on shows. In an auditorium that can fit on 500+ people - we would only be allowed 70!

Also, even when rules are relaxed many older people will still not want to risk going out. I would say a large percentage of our regular customers are retired - so I think the revenue would still not be enough to keep the theatre going. I am not sure I will ever work there again! Once the government stop the furlough scheme - will they have the money to pay my wages again?

Theatres in Trouble

In other lockdown news - we have finished the Gothic jigsaw at last! Took 3 of us weeks to do it! There were 1000 pieces - but so many looked the same!
We have another 1000 one - but it is all about the 80s and have lots of words, logos and faces on it. Should be done much quicker!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 6

2020-05-13T20:13:00.002+01:00

Had a staff meeting via Zoom the other day. It was the first time I had used that kind of software - I had no idea what I looked like on camera - or even if my whole head was on there. I did se one or two others from Box Office - glimpsed Lou and Lyndsay. Looked like Lou was in the theatre and Lynds was at home. Random staff just popped up on my screen before we started - not sure why!

When it started I saw Hayley from HR and she handed over to Fiona at home. She was having rouble with her internet connection - so kept disappearing - in the end she did audio only. Her house looked lovely and light though. All white with lots of bookshelves. Maybe it was one of those Zoom faux backgrounds that you can download. I wanted to get a gallery view so I could see who else was listening in - but I couldn't see what to press and didn't want me to pop up on everyone's screen.

The gist of the meeting was that they have got a new schedule of plays and concerts that could start from September - but they can't go ahead and make it public until the government say that they are allowed to open. No-one knows when that will be. Fiona did say that those of us that are on furlough will be asked to use some of our holidays while we are off as they don't want people coming back and being owed loads of holiday or lieu time.

That was all they could say really. Pete had said a couple of weeks ago that some theatres he knows have decided to abandon everything until their Christmas shows.

After that meeting there was an article in The Stage by Cameron Macintosh saying that West End Theatres won't open before 2021 - unless the social distancing rules are relaxed soon.

Tasty Lemon Drizzle Cake

Pale green fences - much brighter!

One resident in the Insect Hotel!

Still keeping busy painting the fences in the yard and baking. cooking loads. All three of us are in for all three meals a day. I've never spent so much time in the kitchen!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 5

2020-05-05T16:36:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I had a Zoom meeting at work! I had never used Zoom before - and it looked like not many other staff had either! I downloaded the app and logged in with the Meeting ID that our HR department at the theatre had sent me. I managed to get in - and saw various other staff - some from Box Office I aw Lou and Lynds - waiting for it to start. No idea who could see me! Fiona - one of the Directors kicked off the meeting with an update - although she had terrible internet connection so she kept dropping out. Eventually she had to go to audio only. It was nice to see her though - and her house looked lovely!

The gist was that they still have no idea when theatres will be allowed to open again. A very few staff are in the building - including some BO who are not furloughed. They are getting through refunds and have raised £11000 for the theatre asking customers to donate their ticket money rather than having a refund - to help keep the theatre going.

Us staff who are on furlough were told that we may be asked to take some holiday during this time - and TOIL time - as they don't want us to be owed loads of time off when we get back to work. They are also looking at training for us while we are off.

Tracy - head of HR said they would be holding coffee mornings online for people to pop in and have a chat with colleagues. So we don't forget who our colleagues are! No-one can go into the building for any reason unless they call ahead as strict H&S rules are being followed

They have a tentative schedule for shows from September - but can't release that to the public until we definitely know we can open by then. Everything is up in the air.

After the meeting I saw a news article from The Stage which said that theatres probably would open until social distancing was o longer needed - probably next year!

Today (Tuesday) I had to drive to Hanley to deliver some documents to my dad's solicitor. They are his original deeds which couldn't be trusted to the post! I had arranged with his solicitor Natalie - that I could just put them through the door of their Hanley Office. Laura and I parked at Tesco - expecting to see a queue in the car park - but it was really quiet. I think the panic buying had subsided now. it was scary in the first week of lockdown to see empty shelves at our local Sainsbury - something we don't even see at the busiest Christmas time.

Shelves in Sainsbury 18th March 2020

It was like walking through a ghost town, as Hanley itself was also deserted - very strange for such a usually busy town. No shops open - except for Wikinsons - where there was a socially distanced queue outside - most people wearing masks. Life is pretty much like being in some zombie apocalypse film now - it all seems so unreal!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 3

2020-05-05T16:10:00.003+01:00

Yipee!
I went to the hospital yesterday and saw Mr Hughes - I think it was him - he was togged up like an astronaut with all his PPE. I had quite a wait in SubWait 1 - the small waiting room outside his clinic at the Royal Stoke Hospital. We are no longer allowed to take someone with us - they want as few peope as possible in the waiting areas - and we have to sit at least 2m away from each other. Some patients wear masks - but I haven't bought any yet. As there is such a shortage over the country where the NHS and care workers cannot get them - we were told not to buy them as the were needed for medical staff. It may become compulsory in public once they start to loosen the lockdown - but it is still being discussed. Don't have much faith in the government since they ignored their own social distancing advice and Boris - his health minister and chief medical advisor all caught it.

It was quite dramatic when Boris was taken into hospital and ended up in intensive care. He survive and has been recovering at Chequers before returning to work this week.

Anyway - I eventually got called through by a nurse and told to gel my hands to sanitise them before being shown into Mr Hughes's empty office. He is usually just sat there in his good suit looking at his computer but this time he popped his head into the room - and through his masks and goggles told me that my scans were alright. He was just going to get more PPE on before actually examining me It always involves putting a camera up my nose an down my throat to check for signs of cancer. He only usually wears gloves - but he returned in full gear and said "I'm sorry for treating you like a plague victim" - but that is what is required now. He told me he is meant to be dealing with patients via the phone now even new patients! he says it is impossible to diagnose them. "It's alright for me and you as we know each other - but not for anyone" One of the thing he has been told by the Head and Neck council was that they now have to give patients a third rate service - as resources are all going to corona virus. He couldn't believe it!

I felt very lucky to be given a appointment. He elaborated on the scans - the patch on my lungs had been see by the chest team too and had decided there was no cause for concern after all. They will repeat the scans in 6 months time to make sure. ut he feels that I am fine - and I certainly feel fine.

That was quite a weight off my shoulders anyway. I can just concentrate on not catching coronavirus now!

On Saturday we all - me Laura and Nathan went for a walk in the local area and discovered a park we never knew about! We walked down Porthill Bank - but took a right turn near the top and found ourselves in a small park - with a small pond in it - with a small waterfall and ducks. Including one with a cute crest!

There were one or two dog walkers in there - but it must be popular as there was bread floating in the pond which the ducks had a nibble of now and then. Along the bank of the pond there were some rodents - not sure if they were mice or water rats. They seemed to be enjoying the bread too - and kept disappearing down there holes with some.

It was a bit dull and chilly but we enjoyed the fresh air.Everyone is still being good and keeping their distamce. We are often crossing the road to avoid walking too close past someone.

On Saturday nights we join a Jackbox Party online - hosted by a guy who is always in our quizzes - Rubbafish. We have actually met him when we went to EGX last time at the Excel Centre (now the Nightingale Hospital - having been turned into an emergency field hospital by the army - to deal with Coronavirus patients if the hospitals become overwhelmed)

It is nice for us to be able to play games online that we haven't had to create or host! So, we grab a beer and play things like Fibbage or Lie Swatter with various others from our quizzes. The funniest game is the one where we have to make up rhyming raps and they are read out by robots - and voted on by the other players. It is a good laugh. I always look forward to Saturday nights. It is the nearest we can come to going to the pub and playing games with friends.

It is very strange to us when we walk down our road and see The Wulstan (where we used to go once or twice a week) all closed up and dark with no- cars in the carpark. It is usually buzzing - with kids in the playground and smokers (and vapers) standing outside with their pints. It is all eerily quiet when we pass now.

Who knows when they will be allowed to open again - or if they will survive as businesses after all this time.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 4

2020-05-03T17:48:00.001+01:00

I think it's Sunday - but everyday seems like Sunday anyway!
Laura made us banana pancakes for breakfast - a vegan recipe that tasted pretty nice.

We all did relaxing things that we like - I am trying to read all three books in the Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall series. I also realised that the series made by the BBC in 2015 is still available on iPlayer - so have been watching those too as I get through the books.

After a lunch of left-over pizza from last night's delivery Laura needed to go back to her flat to check for post and get more clothes. I went with her - just to get out of the house. There is no-one else in her flat. We decided to do our daily walk from there - just to get a change of scenery.
It was really quiet in town - the only place we saw a lot of people was in a big queue outside KFC - who have recently opened to allow drive-through orders Seems like a lot of people have missed that. I'm not sure if it is safe enough yet - I don't think we'll be trying it any time soon.

We strolled through the Queen's Gardens - there were one or two other people about but everyone was observing the social distancing so we kept away from anyone else.

People are being really good and will cross the road to avoid each other. The gardens were looking beautiful - and this weekend is usually the one when we have the Limelight Festival - with live music outdoors all over town - including the Queen's Gardens

Obviously with the pandemic - it has been cancelled.

Got back and checked my questions for the quiz - tonight we have the normal quiz with 5 rounds on different topics. I think our friends and family and players of Interference are still enjoying them - they keep all turning up! It's nice to see them in the chat and be able to ask how they are coping and if they are still well. MightyMo (N's friends from school) who is an optometrist has actually had Covid9 - and is still recovering weeks later. He is so lucky to be okay.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 2

2020-05-01T17:29:00.005+01:00

Every day is pretty much the same at the moment. Get up at 9am and have breakfast with N and L - then into the office (on our second floor) to work on our extra quizzes that we are streaming to try and keep friends, family and our Interference players busy and distracted while stuck inside.

Our Lockdown Schedule

We have lunch together at 1pm and then L and I go for our daily government sanctioned walk outdoors. We can only set off from the house - you are not allowed to drive somewhere for a nice country walk. We are exploring the streets of Wolstanton, the deserted golf course and the marshes where dog-walkers and small families play.

One nice thing that kids are being asked to do (to keep them occupied) is to paint or draw a rainbow - add a positive message and display them in their windows. It is something nice for everyone to see when they go for their walks. Another scheme is for people to put bears in their windows so that kids can go on a bear hunt like the book by Michael Rosen. It is sad to hear that MR himself is in intensive care with Covid19 himself and very poorly. Hope he pulls through.

The three kids next door to us have made us 3 rainbow pictures to put in our window - above our Paddington bear. Natasha next door asked us if they could do some for us as it would keep them busy! I said it would be fine - we could pt them up and then wash our hands afterwards like we do after handling post. They say the coronavirus can live on various surfaces - so it is the safest way.

The afternoon is sometimes watching box sets or doing jigsaws with L. We have dinner together with N in the evenings then watch films or play board games together in the evenings. We even played Pandemic (ironically) and managed to save the world. We took heart from that! It is nice that TV companies are putting lots of new stuff onto keep people occupied and willing to heed the governments instructions to stay at home. We have started watching the films of Studio Ghibli which Netflix have put on. I am enjoying The Split with Nicola Walker (BBC) and Sex Education with Gilliam Anderson (Netflix)

N is often up in the office all day as he is working from home and has all his company's equipment up there for that too. He's quite enjoying that as he can keep in touch with his team via Skype and get on with work without phones ringing or people coming by asking him stuff. I think it works quite well.

I get official emails once a week from the theatre - at the moment they are putting together a new schedule starting in September and may bring out a new brochure - but there is no guarantee that they will be allowed to open by then. Government are saying when we can ease the lockdown it will be very gradual. Can't imagine gatherings of over 300 people will be allowed right away. Everything is very uncertain!.

I get phone calls from Pete my line manager - to check up how I am.

Rather inconveniently I have had a bit of a health scare just as all this was starting. I had an MRI scan on my shoulder due to some pain in my left arm. This showed up something on my left lung so my GP decided that should be investigated with a CT Scan. I had that about 3 weeks ago and was waiting for the results to come through - I was rung by the hospital and asked to go for a PET scan. I asked why - and they said that Mr Hughes had asked for it to be done. I have no idea what the CT scan showed. I had that last week and this week I was told I have an appointment with Mr Hughes next Monday. (27th) so I may get to the bottom of all these scans and everything.

I have been being extra cautious during this lockdown in case I have some lung condition that may make catching Covid-19 even more hazardous. So, N has been doing our once-a-week shop and I only interact with L and N. Fingers crossed that all is well - I feel fine but given my history of CUP (Cancer of Unknown Primary) anything could be happening in there!

Watch this space!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus

2020-04-28T16:06:00.006+01:00

TIMELINE

Prime Minister Boris Johnson started lockdown on the evening of 23rd of March 2020

On the 5th April he was admitted to hospital after 10 days self isolating with the Corona Virus

On the 6th April he is in intensive care with deteriorating symptoms

The Queen addressed the nation at 8pm on 5th April

Excel now known as NHS Nightingale and will be a hospital for up to 4,000 patients, most of whom are on ventilators. Similar venues being used in cities across the country. Opened by Prince Charles at 11am on 3rd April🏥

Community support groups established, to support the vulnerable, elderly, immunocompromised and people in enforced isolation due to exposure, in their community

Petrol price close to home was £1.02

Schools closed on Friday 20 March. Remote learning in place - home-schooling!

Self-distancing measures required

Tape on the floors at supermarkets and others to help distance shoppers (2 mtrs) from each other

Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, queues outside the store doors

Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed People who can work from home

Parks trails, entire cities closed or restricted to locals only in their bubble

Entire sports seasons cancelled

Olympics postponed to 2021.🔵🟡⚫🟢🔴

Concerts, tours, festivals and entertainment events cancelled

Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings, even funerals cancelled

No masses, churches are closed

No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, then 10 or more. Now, Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home bubble

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and all other TV networks are on in every home daily now

Children's outdoor play parks are closed

We are to distance from each other. Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers

Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill in many parts of the world

Refrigerated trucks for the dead outside hospitals in the USA, Italy, Spain, China and more

Panic buying sets in and we have limits on toilet paper, disinfecting supplies, paper towels, staple foods, hand sanitizer. Flour is hard to get because the packaging comes from China and borders are closed

Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE

Fines are established for breaking lockdown rules

Stadiums and recreation facilities overseas open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients

Public Park areas turned into caravan parks for stranded tourists to self isolate

Press conferences daily from the PM and other government officials. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths. Government incentives to stay home. Barely anyone on the roads

People wearing masks and gloves outside

Essential service workers are terrified to go to work

Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families

82,195 deaths globally so far

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, WHO declared March 11th, 2020.

*********************************************************************************

Well - this is something I never expected to be living through - a global pandemic!

So much has happened since it started. - I am no longer going to work - in fact I have been furloughed. Who even knew what that word meant 3 months ago?

I am still part of the New Vic staff - but am being paid 80% of my wages paid by the government - and 20% by the theatre which means I cannot do any work at all for the theatre. Taz has also been furloughed - as neither of us has ever been given a work email or a login for our work systems. Lyndsay, Mandy and Lou are working from home. Mainly ringing customers to tell them that the shows they have booked tickets for - are no longer going ahead.

The theatre is completely closed and no-one knows when it can open again.

Laura is also furloughed from her job at Advantis Credit - after initially being told they had to carry on working in an open=plan office with hundreds of others - or the business wouldn't survive. They were told by bosses and HR via the internet as they were working from home! After that meeting - where many of the staff were distressed and worried they received an email telling them to stay at home.Thank goodness!

After self-isolating at home to make sure she had no symptoms L moved in with me and Nathan at the beginning of April. I couldn't bear the thought of her being in her flat all alone for weeks on end. It gave us a good opportunity to clear out the back spare room and turn it into a bedroom for her. Unfortunately all the council tips closed soon after - so our shed is full of rubbish currently!Got a nice new bedroom though!

An Evening with Brian Blessed

2019-11-28T10:44:00.002+00:00

More musings about my fab new job at the theatre. This was from back in September...

It was a pleasure having the cast of Handbagged around over the last few weeks of September. In the final week of the production and it was been getting great reviews – not only from people who’ve been in to see it and told us – but also from the press. I’ve had customers on the phone who say that they’ve rung up for tickets because The Guardian review was so great. Plus, another who came in to get more tickets – so he could see it again himself and bring his mother-in-law this time!

It will be sad to see the massive gold crown over the stage disappear. – but No Man’s Land by Harold Pinter starts on October 1^st.

Things are really hotting up in the box office as more and more schools are calling trying to get their pupils and staff into The Prince and the Pauper – our Christmas production. It’s a great deal and for every 10 kids they get to bring a teacher for free! I know just from reading previous blogs on the theatre website that so many people working in our theatre were inspired to do so by being brought to a theatre production when they were at school. It is such a magical place to bring them.

I was so lucky to be able to see An Evening with Brian Blessed -as it was completely sold out. I managed to get a ticket when a few more were released. He was only doing 10 live shows this year. Kudos to our producer Martin, who managed to get him to come here!

He absolutely loved our theatre in the round! When he first came on stage, he prowled around it, in his pyjama bottoms and tweed jacket, marvelling at how it was like “Greek theatre” and saying how much his friend Kenneth Branagh would love it. He had a chair in the middle of the stage and he was constantly moving it around so that he could address the whole audience.

What stories he had to tell! He veered between tales of classic actors such as Katharine Hepburn and Sir John Gielgud, to current ones such as Kenneth Branagh. He says that he and Ken have a father/son relationship – except that he’s the son and Ken is the father! His hilarious first ever voiceover – who remembers Cyril Lord Carpets - and how they went bust the week after!

He also told us of his expeditions to Mount Everest and the North Pole and was proud of the fact that at 83 years old he’s just qualified as an astronaut after training in Russia and with NASA. His memory was amazing as he recited whole scenes from some of his films, the moving poem he read to a dying Patrick Moore and even treated us to a rerun of his turn on Stars in their Eyes as Pavarotti.

Oh yes – and guess what music he came on to? Of course – the theme from Flash Gordon! What a legend.

New Job

2019-11-24T15:29:00.002+00:00

I thought it was time I revived my blog - I miss writing about the daily goings on - it is easy to forget details and a blog is a god way to remind yourself what you've done and where you've been!

I guess my biggest news recently is my change of job. I am no longer a librarian (well, I am really inside - it never leaves you!) However, I now work in the theatre, darlings!

It’s always a little nerve-wracking starting a new job – especially in an environment you haven’t worked in before – so coming from libraries to a theatre has held some surprises! It is such a busy place where thee is always something happening!

The box office staff have been wonderful welcoming me into their fold and very patient while showing me the ropes. There has been quite a lot to learn – who knew the Box Office did so much?

The first thing that struck me was how important it is to try to get customers who come in or phone for tickets, the cheapest possible deal they can get. Whether it is a 3 or 6 play package, an under 26-year-old getting a free ticket or a concession for disabled customers and a free ticket for their carer. Also, matinees and first nights are cheaper too in many cases - there are so many permutations to choose from to make a visit to the theatre more affordable for all. Let's face it - these days we all need an escape from reality - and the theatre is the perfect immersive experience.

The Box Office is also the custodian of all parcels and mail coming into the theatre. Whether it is a china tea set – ordered for the upcoming comedy Handbagged -which features the Queen and Mrs Thatcher’s imagining meetings at Buck House, a clinking delivery for the Gin Bar upstairs or someone dropping off some old tweed suits for the costume department.

People come in for lots of reasons, to meet friends for lunch in the café, or drop kids off for the Summer School (which is where the children in the Christmas show are chosen from) or even, one evening last week, someone asking us to dogsit their assistance dog while they enjoyed A Comedy of Eric’s. He was adorable and very well behaved in the care of the Front-of-House staff and volunteers.

The job has its funny moments too – this week a gentleman arrived, all dressed up with his wife to pick up his tickets – when we discovered he had come a week too early! My colleague said – don’t worry – we have seats for tonight if you want to swap? So, a marital crisis was averted! Looks like this is going to be a very fun job – watch this space…

A Villa in Tuscany - Appendix

2016-09-07T23:07:00.001+01:00

Knobs and Knockers of Firenze

I just had to include my collection of photos of the doors of Florence - enjoy!

A Villa in Tuscany Part 3

2016-09-07T22:54:00.003+01:00

Dan in the driving seat

We drove to Florence! Well, Dan did the driving, Nathan navigated and I kept quiet in the back. Actually, once we'd cleared the dreaded hairpin bends in Castello - it was plain sailing. It took around an hour and a half and we arrived at the private parking garage early.

Pitti Palace

We were meeting Caterina - who was going to show us our Air BnB flat in the centre of Firenze. The chap at the garage just took our keys and told us to pay when we came back for the car in a couple of days. We found the building where the flat was and sat in a nearby outdoor café to wait for Caterina. We chose this particular café because it was a sweltering hot day and they had fans that also sprayed water over guests. We ordered some chilled wine and hoped that

Our Air BnB Apartment

Caterina had got my text asking her to meet us at the flat rather than the garage as we'd arranged.

When she didn't show by 2pm Nathan went back to the garage and found her there. She came back with him and then let us into the flat. It was in an incredible building right opposite the Pitti Palace - the former home of the Medici family. We were very impressed!

In Florence at last!

Our front door :-)

Once we settled in we set off to explore Florence. I had always wanted to come here - and it was even more beautiful than I had imagined. Gorgeous buildings everywhere you looked - and no modern buildings in sight.

We headed over to the Uffizi Gallery and bought tickets for early the next morning. We only had one full day in Florence and we wanted to make the most of it.

There was a carousel in one square and a guy playing guitar and singing English songs from Snow Patrol and Coldplay. We ate in another outdoor café in a popular square where we saw the most hipster family - a chap with full suit with waistcoat and exquisite moustache, and his similarly attired wife and daughter. We felt rather underdressed.

The next day we got to the Uffizi in time for our slot and spent a few hours looking at the most amazing art - there was SO MUCH religious art and panels from many churches around the area. My favourite picture was the Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

Uffizi rooftop café

The pigeon appreciated the fountain

Enjoying a choco freddo :-)

There was a fantastic view through the galleries windows and from the rooftop café. I could have sat up there all day. The bells in Florence sound so wonderful. We wandered around the streets of Florence all afternoon just enjoying the sights and the atmosphere. When we saw the amazing ice cream shops we had to try some for ourselves.

Fab views from the roof terrace

Nathan really wanted to do the "Assassin's Creed Tour" as he has played the game and climbed most of the buildings in Florence. Sadly though, the people who ran it didn't do it on Sundays. We'll definitely come back again some day to do that!

The Ponte Vecchio from the Uffizi

We wanted to see Michelangelo's David - which was at The Academy just outside the centre of town. We found there was a queue - but you could pre-book and pay a bit extra to get in at a fixed time.

We were glad we went - David as a magnificent sight - I hadn't realised he was so much bigger than life-sized.

David - with his sling shot

There was more religious panels from churches - and we watched an interesting film about how the triptychs we made. There was so much gold leaf!

While we walked around the streets again I was fascinated by all the different knobs and knockers they had on their doors. So many styles and designs. I took quite a few photos - have a look in the next section of his blog :-)

For our last evening in Florence we randomly chose a café called Il Porcospino - the hedgehog. We just sat down for cooling drinks first - then decided we'd stay for food. The waiters were funny and friendly. As we sat there with our first drink and they realised we were English (although Dan protested that he was Scottish - which is what they called him for the rest of the night!) - they asked us if we'd like some chips. We thought that they probably meant crisps so we said yes - but then they came out with a big plate of chips!

We felt we had to eat them. :-)

"Scottish" with Franco and Toni

When it came to our evening meal though we asked what they would recommend - and they suggested seafood pasta, the Osso Bucco and a cheese and pear pasta - so we each tried one of those. They were all delicious! The waiters were chatting all evening about football and other things. They knew a lot about English teams and even knew Stoke's last match score.
The funniest part of the night was when N and I got our mains and were offered some parmesan to put on top - but Dan wasn't. "What do I get?" he asked - "You're Scottish - you get a Mars bar!" I replied. As he looked down to see the moist towel he'd been given which looked exactly like a Mar bar wrapper. He nearly spat out is drink laughing :-)

Mars bar for Scottish :-)

Three of us at Porcospino

It was a very fun night and we walked back to the flat and sat outside the Pitti Palace - where lots of people just gather and sit talking or looking at the stars. It was a really warm night and we just watched the people and admired the art sculptures.

Dan and me outside the Pitti Palace at midnight :-)

So, the next day we had to pack up once more, pick up the car and find our way out of Florence through the narrow streets. Soon we were back on the motorway and en route for Pisa. We dropped off the car at the airport - where the car rental women didn't even glance at the scratches on the car! She just saw that we were on Super-Relaxed policy - and said she'd park the car for us.

We had one more night in Pisa - before getting up at 4am to get our flight back to Edinburgh.

It was a great holiday - full of contrasts - but with great company (and wine!) Thanks to Dan for suggesting it and inviting us along!
I really want to go back to Florence again!

A Villa in Tuscany - Part 2

2016-09-07T15:04:00.004+01:00

After a couple of days in Pisa we picked up an Opel Corsa car from the airport and headed off for the tiny hilltop hamlet of Castello - which was to be our home for the next eight nights. There was a little altercation at the Hire Car place - Dan had chosen Gold Cars - a local company. He'd arranged insurance before he set off from home - but the chap from Gold Car wouldn't accept it. he wanted Dan to buy their "Super-Relaxed Insurance" instead. After an hour of wrangling (including Dan ringing his UK insurance and them putting the phone down on him!) he decided to go for the Gold Car one as well.

We were feeling a bit ripped off - but set off determined not to let it spoil our holiday. Nathan was navigating - with the help of the sat nav on his (new) phone while Dan drove carefully on the right side of the roads.

We had been warned that we must stop at the big Esselunga supermarket to stock up before we get to the villa. The note said that we wouldn't want to go back once we got there!? So, we did a big shop. In Italian supermarkets when choosing your fresh fruit and veg you have to put on a disposable glove and weigh and label your own produce before going to the till. The weighing scales had touch screens with pictures of the various fruits and veggies. It was good fun. In fact two Spanish ladies asked me how to do it - so I gave them a demo :-)

Once the shopping was loaded into the boot of our car we continued for the last 4 kilometres up a very winding road up to the villa. There was a steep drop on the one side of the narrow track and rocks on the other side, with signs warning that there were no safety fences. Then as we approached Castello there were two of the most terrifying hairpin bends I have ever seen. We got to the first and Nathan said to Dan - we have to go down there - pointing at the sharp angle - Dan said "You must be joking!" It required a three point turn manoeuvre to get round it. And there were two! When we finally reached the parking space for No. 13 I was shaking like a leaf! I dreaded ever having to go back down there. We resolved not to get in the car until we had to go home!

Scary! In fact we found a funny cartoon in the guest book - because everyone who'd been there made some comment about the road. One said his wife would need a blindfold if he were ever to have to drive her up there again!

Dan admiring the view from the terrace

However - the villa is just beautiful and in a stunning spot! It's beautifully decorated, with gorgeous furniture and pictures and a very well equipped kitchen, with Paul Rankin saucepans, We even have a washing machine. The best feature is the big terrace with fantastic views of the valley and village below.

We unpacked, got out some wine and drank in the view. Such peace and quiet. Another thing I loved about the villa is it is full of books! Every room has shelves of them. It's going to be a very relaxing break.

The next day we decided to stay in and laze around, enjoying the warmth the quiet and the books! Mike, the cheery owner of the villa came round to see if we needed anything or wanted to ask any questions. He lives just down the lane. he'd been inspecting his olive trees for flies. He brought his daughter Flora, 10, who was very happy to tell us how many "Roman miles" each nearby village was.
I did ask Mike about snakes - as it was mentioned in the guest information. He said it was mainly grass snakes - but there were a few adders - but if we got bitten we'd have half an hour to get to the local pharmacy to buy the antidote before we died. He was quite reassuring!

Our lovely terrace

The terrace was so beautiful we spent the day there - eating our meals and reading our books - in between staring at the gorgeous views. Dan was reading SPQR by Mary Beard, he was loving reading it in the Tuscan hills - brought everything to life! I grabbed The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater from the villa's bookshelves. She is the actress who played James Herriot's wife in the early series of James Herriot - All Creatures Great and Small. She bought a dilapidated villa and olive grove in the South of France - which sounded so much like the area we were in. I learned a lot about olive cultivation and pressing from it - which was really interesting as we surrounded by olive trees.

Enjoying the terrace

Nathan was surprised when Dan told him that black olives are just green olives that had ripened - which was something I'd been reading about. You can harvest in November when they're green - to make oil or leave them to ripen until January to get the dark olives.

Sadly Nathan spent the first day working - but he was enjoying the lovely surroundings instead of the office! We had just entered Interference for a TIGA award - and the judges were due to play the game to test it out. It was quite stressful!

After a day or two he did relax and enjoyed the local wine and read his Matt Parker book - Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension. This lead to a few interesting discussions. Dan does modelling for Tesco - which made me think he wore cool suits on the catwalk - but actually means he's a mathematical modeller for Tesco Bank!
He and Nathan were trying to explain why mathematicians invent impossible shapes - like the Klein Bottle which they showed me in diagram form. Also why you can't prove parallel lines. Dan maintains that maths is an art not a science!

Voldottavo

Strangely, later in the week I found a book upstairs called The Parrot Theorem by Denis Guedj - which was a fictionalised account of the history of maths - which was absolutely fascinating as it concentrated on the characters and their lives as well as their discoveries. I was understanding it all pretty well until they got to calculus! :-) N started reading it too - but didn't finish so we had to buy a copy when we got home!

At 3pm every afternoon we saw an eagle - and one day he brought the whole family. Apparently they like to ride the thermals over the valley when it is the hottest time of day.

The Church Tower

The next day we decided to venture down the mule track to the village of Valdottavo below us. We took the instructions from the guest info - and set off down trough the olive trees. Soon we were in a chestnut wood, which was shady at least, carefully stepping down on the white stones dotted around. I guess these helped the mules keep their footing. It was quite steep and we came out onto a terrace where grapevine were heavy with small black grapes. Dan tried one - but from the expression on his face it must have been very sour!

Heading down to Valdottavo

It was Sunday and mass was being said in the church - so we walked down the High Street. Although Mike had warned us that we wouldn't be able to get much from the local shops, they wouldn't speak English and were closed on Sundays - we found this to be untrue! We bought wood-oven baked bread, home-made chocolate torte, plum tomatoes, meats and local wine. This was after we'd stopped at the Theatre Bar and had some iced water and looked at the Sunday papers. Unfortunately I broke a wine glass that was by the papers! We picked up the bits and took it indoors and I said "Scuse!" - and offered to pay for it - but the smiley woman behind the bar wouldn't let me!

The steps down to the village

Walking back up to the villa was much harder as it was now the hottest part of the day and it was all uphill! We did stop to look in the church as the service was now over. it was so cool and calm in there.

Dan strode up to No. 13 in his blue linen suit - he's much fitter than me! I was bright pink and sweating when I reached the top! Luckily the villa is very cool inside and we had chilled water in the fridge - so I soon recovered.

We shared to cooking every evening. We made Dan Nathan's famous "Tag Carb" and we did tuna steaks and green salads. Dan treated us to his chicken and pork escalopes cooked with wine and courgettes and mushrooms. Everything was accompanied by fresh salad, focaccia or ciabatta bread and lots of local white wine. We felt very healthy!
Only once did we give in to dessert and share a huge tiramisu from the supermarket!

Lunches consisted of huge slices of watermelon, fresh plum tomatoes, olives, mozzarella and breads with oil and balsamic. We did add crisps too as we were craving salt! Also, fresh peaches and plums
with a drizzle of honey.

We enjoyed leisurely lunches which often lasted until 4.30pm and sometimes didn't start cooking our evening meal until 9.30pm. Then we sat on the terrace looking at the constellations and talking about the universe. Dan said it has 11 dimensions - which is just mind-boggling to me. I can't imagine more than 4! We also discussed the moon landings, what era of time we would have liked to live in and what we would spend the money on if we won the lottery.

Nathan about to get "super-relaxed"

We also had to contend with two more trips to the supermarket - down the road of doom!! Dan was so brave in offering to drive each time - the first time we actually came of the tarmac track and grounded the car on the first hairpin bend, N had to get out of the passenger seat and I had to shuffle in the back over to the left - so that Dan could roll back a little and get us back on the road! Scary!!!

Dan also aiming for "super-relaxed"

He did it though :-) The next time we had a bit of an argument with a rock as we rounded the other hairpin bend. We were a little worried about the damage to the car - but when we got back to the villa we checked it online and Dan found a video about what happened if you had an accident and you were covered by the "super-relaxed insurance" - which was absolutely nothing! No paperwork, no payments - we were all good After that we were all super-relaxed and started on the demi-john of wine that we'd picked up from the supermarket for around £5.

The useful hoist

The villa also had a useful hoist and basket on the terrace - as we were up quite a few flights of steps from the road. This came in useful for lifting up the shopping (and heavy wine supplies) - although I think it was meant for logs - as it was by the log store down below. The lounge had a fab log burner for those winter months.

That evening the people at the villa below ours - who were locals - had some people over for dinner. It was light when they arrived and they ate outdoors just like we did. However, we were getting more and more stressed at the thought that they would have to go home down that scary road - IN THE DARK! We couldn't imagine how anyone could actually do that - as there were no street lights. We thought surely they must be staying the night. But, no! They all said their goodbyes around 11pm and they set off in their car back towards the hairpins of doom!

We were fully convinced that the next morning they'd be found upside down in the gorge - but we didn't hear any sirens or anything the next day.

As it was Wednesday by now we popped down the lane and through the olive grove to Mike's own villa. He said we could ask him anything before he went back to the UK until November. All the olives on the trees were hard and light green. When it comes time to harvest them the owners put nets underneath them and let them fall naturally when they're ready. They just shake the trees to se which are ready to fall.

Mike's Place

Mike and Flora were busy packing up for the trip back to England via France. As we walked down we saw a small villa for sale and Dan seemed very interested in the idea. He asked Mike - and he offered to call the number on the sign - but sadly there was no reply. He did give him details of a local estate agent though - said she'd be happy to drive him round and show him many properties.
(I think he should choose one on a better road :-)

Dan photographing the view

Tiny village

In the evenings we sometimes played games we taught Dan how to play Sets - which he picked up really quickly and then started winning from his second game! The same thing happened when we played Dobble - a symbol-matching game. Then N made the mistake of asking him how many different symbols were needed if there were 55 cards and each card could only match one symbol with every other card.

Eagle on the roof!

We thought there'd be a really easy mathematical formula or equation that you could use to work it out - but it proved to be quite a head-scratcher. We gave p trying at midnight - as we were all so tired. When we came down to the terrace the next morning, Dan was already up and working it out again!
He did do it eventually - so we could relax again :-)

Another little jaunt we had was another suggested walk to a village on the other side of the hills. We were fortified by the promise of a cool drink in the one bar in this place when we got there. It wasn't so steep as the walk down to Valdottavo - so we set off along another mule track.

The only annoying thing about the whole stay here was the presence of so many hungry mosquitoes! For the first part of the week they only bit Nathan - so Dan and I were fine. But then the last couple of days and nights they really sent for us. it was fine as long as you didn't scratch the bites - but who can resist for long???!! Nathan discovered a great cure though - dip a metal spoon in hot water and hold it over the swelling bite. The heat breaks down the protein that the mozzie injected into you to keep your blood flowing - and this stops the itching. It's the protein that we are allergic to.

It did actually work - and we spent a few days saying "Excuse me, I'm just going in to spoon myself" :-)

So, after eight relaxing days and nights at No. 13 it was time to pack up, road up the car and brave the hairpin bends once more to drive to our next destination - Florence!
I'll leave you with a few pictures of inside the villa.

Tile above the bidet :-)

The Kitchen

Loved our bedroom door

Our bed with mosquito net!

A Villa in Tuscany - Part 1

2016-09-04T11:00:00.003+01:00

We weren't planning a holiday this year - apart from the annual jaunt to EGX (the UK's biggest gaming expo) in September. However, just a few short weeks ago Nathan got a message from our friend Dan in Edinburgh asking if we fancied going with him to Tuscany - as he had chance to rent a villa for a week or so. Didn't take us long to say "Yes, why not?"

This is how we came to be jetting off from a cool and damp Edinburgh airport a few days ago and landing in sunny Pisa. This was part one of our journey. We had a night in Pisa before picking up a hire car the next day and heading off into the Tuscan countryside to find our villa hideaway in Castello.

Unfortunate phone

The holiday didn't get off to the best of starts on the way to Edinburgh though! We'd only got as far as Stoke station when Nathan's phone was completely trashed by the taxi! It was run over - from the inside.

It had fallen out of his pocket - but by the time he realised, the taxi was down the road. Although he ran after it but couldn't catch it so I had to call the company and ask for him to come back. He reported that he couldn't find it - but when he got back and we called the phone - we could hear it ringing! The driver said it must be between the seats - and pushed the seat back to get at it. When Nathan reached in he pulled out a phone that was buckled with a smashed screen. It was still ringing though :-) The seat must have run over it - with some force!

Nathan then spent the journey up to Edinburgh trying to find a shop there, that had the same phone. There was a Carphone Warehouse not far from the station - so he sprinted up there while I waited with the cases in Platform 5 - a pub opposite Waverley Station.

Dan and Nathan on the Edinburgh tram

He made it back - complete with new white phone - before Dan arrived to meet us. We shared a bottle of Rose to celebrate the beginning of our holiday! Time to relax!

Drizzly Edinburgh Airport

The next morning we loaded our luggage and ourselves onto one of Edinburgh's new trams to the airport. It was a dark, damp and drizzly morning. Nathan fuelled up on a substantial Scottish Breakfast, including square sausage and haggis, I tried the French toast - which was delicious - before embarking on our Ryan Air 747 flight to Galileo Galilei airport in Pisa.

We got seats together - despite refusing to cough up an extra £8 each to ensure we got seats together :-)

Arrival at sunny Pisa

It was a three hour flight into Pisa - and the first thing Nathan said as we came into land over the sea "Oh look, there's Ikea!" Very Italian! :-)

The weather was sunny and hot and we soon found the road where our first hotel was. Pisa airport is close to the city - so we could walk to our B&B quite quickly. It was No. 52 - but the man in charge took us to a floor in the building next door at 50. It was a suite of four rooms with two bathrooms and a mini kitchen and sofa area. We had two of the rooms which had celling fans and a balcony too.

Pizza in Pisa

We set off then to explore Pisa. It was a nice walk past the railway station, into the centre. It was hot so we stopped off in the shady Victor Emmanuel III Square to have some lunch and our first taste of the local wine. it was just 4 Euros for a half litre carafe. The food was lovely too - I had pizza in Pisa! Dan informed us that Victor Emmanuel was the last king of Italy. He was only 5 feet tall and the only advice his father gave him was "Remember: to be a king, all you need to know is how to sign your name, read a newspaper, and mount a horse"

The beautiful River Arno in Pisa

The dazzling Leaning Tower

After lunch we braved the sun again and walked over the River Arno to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It was pretty busy in this area - everyone wanting to take a photo of themselves with the tower in the background. it was a gorgeous square and the tower itself was dazzling white in the bright sun. it's made of limestone and the angle of lean is quite alarming close-up! It is the bell tower for the cathedral next door. You can climb up to the top of the tower inside - but the was a long queue with everyone being frisked by machine-gun toting army bods. We decided not to join the queue in the stifling heat.

Icarus grounded

The tower was built over 199 years - starting in 1178 with only 3 metres of foundations in the soft subsoil - which explains its famous tilt. In fact it began leaning almost immediately!

We walked around and admired the statue of Romulus and Remus as well as the stunning fragment of a statue of Icarus.

We needed refreshment by then - so found a shady café umbrella and had lemon granitas. We decided we wanted to find Galileo's birthplace - so consulted our map and headed off.

Galileo's pink house

We found another square filled with fantastic buildings, then followed a side street until we found the place where Galileo was born. There's a plaque - but it's rather disappointing to find that its been turned into an estate agents. Peering through the grill - as it was closed - we could see some information boards on the wall - but there doesn't seem to be any museum or shrine to the inspirational astronomer.

Information Outside

Me and Nathan at the tower

We wandered around a bit more and as the sun started to set over the city we made our way back to Victor Emmanuel and found another café serving dinner.

Another beautiful Pisa square

We tried some different local wine and plates of Tuscan cured meats and cheeses, with rustic bread.
To finish off the evening - and fortify us for the walk back to our B&B we tried the Grappa. The waitress was lovely and brought us a shot each - and complimentary shots of the honey variety too.

Dan didn't seem keen - but he did have to drive the next day - so Nathan and I finished it off. I didn't like the plain one - but the honey one as delicious - but very strong!
So, we went back to our lodgings and sat chatting on the balcony, planning our next few days in Tuscany and watching the planes take off overhead.

Tomorrow we were picking up a car from the airport and heading off to Castello!

Visiting Galileo

Dinner in Victor Emmanuel Square

Professor Pigment - Revealed!

2016-06-10T22:17:00.000+01:00

As I said in an earlier post - I was invited to the premier of Pro Pig's documentary film: Trail and Error. It was held on Monday night (6th June) at the Film Theatre at Staffordshire University in Stoke.

We were on the list :-)

I was excited to have had an invitation from the artist himself - after I tweeted him a photo of one of his works which had suddenly appeared in Wolstanton. I'd never been to a premier before and Nathan and I weren't sure what the dress code would be. As Pro Pig was only ever seen secreted under hoodies - we figured that casual - but smart - would be okay.

Nello

It was a sunny and sweltering evening and we got there around 7pm to be greeted with free drinks and nibbles. Many people were milling around in the foyer and we spotted Nello, Lou Macari and The Hairy Potter who had the back of his house turned into the Britannia Stadium by Pro Pig himself. Then the Mayor and Mayoress arrived and everyone was ushered into the hot theatre to see the film.

It was introduced by Mark Garner, art course leader at Staffs Uni who said that Trail and Error had been 22 years in the making. The lights dimmed and we all watched the story of Professor Pigment and his quest to spread positive messages around Stoke through his street art. I was really pleased to hear the story of the piece that is up the road from me.

Tattooed Lady

It turns out that Dain Maginnis - the owner of Ink R Nation - had contacted Pro Pig to tell him the story of one of his customers. It was an older lady who'd had a scar all down her arm for most of her life. She'd never been able to wear short sleeved dresses because she always felt that she had to cover it up. Dain tattooed flowers over the scar - and a few weeks later she sent him a photo of herself, at the Chelsea Flower Show proudly wearing a short-sleeved dress showing her arms covered in flowers, among the flowers.

Such a lovely story, and Pro Pig must have thought so too because one morning as Dain arrived at work he saw this picture on his shop wall.

The film showed footage of a hooded figure (and accomplice) stencilling and spray painting this at 3am one night. It seems his is the preferred time for PP to do his art.

Pro Pig aka Andy Evans

The film was received with much applause and cheering - Pro Pig's art and very positive message and pride in Stoke-on-Trent has made him very popular with a wide range of local people. Mark Garner got up to address the audience once more, saying that Pro Pig had recorded a very special message just for us.

His voice was disguised and he was under the hoodie as he thanked us for supporting and encouraging him.

He also told us that this Trail and Error was the last thing he would be doing as Professor Pig as he was going to have a break, then change his name to Doddz (Defy the Odds) and spread his message further afield.

Then, his voice went back to normal and he took off his hood as the light came on. He then jumped up from a seat in the front row to reveal himself as Andy Evans, a 21 year old student, dressed in a vintage Stoke City shirt.

He said he'd be around for a little while to answer questions, but was mobbed by the press and the VIP guests. However, we thanks him for giving Stoke some of its pride back and for highlighting all that is good and fun about the place. We wish him well in the future - whatever he decides to do!

If you want to see the film yourself click TRAIL AND ERROR
To see the moment of the reveal - click this video from RADIO STOKE

Trail and Error - Part 2

2016-06-10T21:09:00.003+01:00

FRIDAY

Today was a little cooler and cloudy - so we resolved to continue our walk around the Trail and Error - looking for street art by Pro Pig (aka Professor Pigment)

We got up early and did some work in our office first - we don't want everyone to think we have a life of idleness and pleasure all the time. We are gearing up for our big re-launch of our award-wining game Interference and Nathan is busy putting the finishing touches to that.

I was coming up with content for a future word game called BLUFFED - but more of that in a future blog. It's not easy running a small but awesome Indie Games Studio you know ;-)

But by lunchtime it was beginning to look dark and gloomy so we thought we'd better get a move on if we want to finish the trail before the rains came.

Stop 10 - Trial and Error

Behind bars!

We drove to College Road and continued where we left off yesterday - at Stop 10, where we found this text - behind a locked gate.
We couldn't get too close without risking arrest!

Stop 11 - Self Belief

Stop 11 took us down the canal path by Hanley Park and to another one we couldn't get close to - without getting wet! It looks like a cute kitten - but when you look at the reflection of it in the water - it is actually now a lion!
That's what it sees when it looks at its reflection.
There's a lesson there for all of us!

Stop 12 - Catapult Yourself to Confidence

We then came back up to road level to see this interactive art - with this chap just waiting to be catapulted into the street!

It says "Pull to propel" I gave it a little twang :-)

We were nearing the end of the trail. The next one was a bit of a walk - to Staffordshire University's Film Theatre - where Pro Pig held his premier of his documentary - and surprised the audience to boot.

Stop 13 - Film Theatre

But more of that tomorrow!

We walked around the corner towards the railway bridge where we found the moving Stop 14 - which is a tribute to Lidice in the Czech Republic, which was almost wiped from the map by the Nazis on 10th June 1942. All the men and 52 women were massacred and many children sent to Germany.

Stop 14 - Lidice Shall Live

The massacre inspired Stoke city councillor Sir Barnett Stross and local miners to set up the Lidice Shall Live campaign in September 1942 to raise funds for the rebuilding of the village. There are still close ties between Stoke-on-Trent and Lidice to this day.

Stop 15 - If it's Good Enough for Rome, it's Good Enough for Home

So, on to the final stop - near the Spode site in Stoke. This is where Pro Pig's biggest painting is situated - covered over by a plastic panels to protect it.

It's his version of The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo - love the fist bump :-)

We then went into Gallery One One Six where there is another exhibition of PP's work. We chatted to the lady in there and signed the guest book. She asked us which works were our favourites - we both said the Oatcake Duck!

For our office wall - for inspiration!

We made it to the end!

We bought one of the works - we wanted to put it in our office to inspire us to Defy the Odds.

So, we say thanks to Pro Pig for taking us around areas of our city that we have never seen before and for giving us much-needed motivation and inspiration.

We promise to Defy the Odds!

Trail and Error - the search for Professor Pigment

2016-06-10T17:30:00.003+01:00

THURSDAY
Today we went on a Trail around Stoke-on-Trent - in search of art!

Our interest started when we saw a cool picture of Peppa Pig in the car park where we park in Hanley when we go to Painty at Portofino. She had a moustache and her surname had been lengthened to PigMENT. We had no idea what it meant - but we enjoyed seeing it each month.

Lady with flower tattoo

Then stories started appearing in our local paper The Sentinel about a mysterious street artist called Professor Pigment who was leaving art work all over the city.

The graffiti was related to Stoke-on-Trent culture and its personalities and heroes, Gordon Banks, Captain Smith (who went down with the Titanic) and even a duck up 'Anley asking about oatcakes :-)

Everyone was speculating who it could be and what he would do next. Then last month I was thrilled to discover one when I went up the road opposite our house. There on the side of a tattoo parlour was a Pro Pig original!
I was so excited I found Pro Pig on twitter and tweeted a photo of it to let him know it was appreciated.

I thought nothing more of it - then one day at the beginning of June I had a message from Pro Pig asking if I would like to attend the premier of his new movie, Trail and Error, on 6th June at the Film Theatre. I replied to say I'd love to - and he put me (and a plus one!) on the guest list. How exciting - I'd never been to a film premier before!

Before that, on 28th May - Pro Pig launched the Trail and Error - a guided walk around Stoke-on-Trent that took you to 12 of his art works - and three exhibitions of his work along the way.

You could pick up a map at his studio above the Entrepreneur shop in Piccadilly and follow it around the city. We didn't get chance to do it before we saw the film - but after the premier we couldn't wait to try it

The film of Trail and Error explained the story behind our local Pro Pig work - which was very touching. Check out this clip of the film here

Cool t-shirts and hats :-)

So, today we slapped on the factor 50 sun cream and headed out into the heat to do the fist part of the Trail and Error. Although it isn't officially part of it - we started in the car park with Peppa Pigment - just because it as the first one that we saw and we love it!

The beginning of the Trail and Error - ENTREPRENEURS

The actual trail starts inside this cool clothing shop called Entrepreneurs. Upstairs from the shop is the space where Pro Pig has been living, making his awesome art and even sleeping!

Sign half-way up the stairs

In fact there was a sleeping bag on top of an inflatable bed with a sign telling you to touch his shoulder. I'm not sure if it was really him - or a dummy. I didn't have the heart to try to wake him. he's been very busy recently!

Stop 1

The studio was full of his used stencils, photos, clothing, guest books and even toothpaste - as well as some examples of his work on the walls. Love the blue clock one - it's where everyone meets in Hanley as it is so distinctive.

He deserves a nap :-)

We'll meet at the blue clock

The Trail then took us out of the shop and round the dusty and hot back streets of Hanley. There behind clubs, next to bins and on car park walls we found the wonderfully inspirational works he had left the city. He is very much interested in trying to inspire and motivate people to rise up and fulfil their potential and not let anyone hold them back. "Defy the Odds" is his mantra.

Stop 2 - Edward Smith

Stop 3 -Yes We Can Can

The first outdoor work we were lead to was this of Captain Smith of the Titanic. Even though he commanded the disaster-prone ship he did go down with it to save others...

Then around the corner came Bob the Builder saying "Yes we can can." I love this one :-) A fun way to get the Pro Pig message over - you can do anything you want!

We found Cupid round the side of a nightclub, just by the bins. The speech bubble coming out of the bin says "Go home Cupid, we're drunk!"

Stop 4 - Cupid

Stop 5 - I Need a Slash

The map then took us to the public toilets in Hanley where we fund this relevant portrait - Stop number 5.

Slash has always been a local hero round here. Welcome to the Jungle indeed! We sidestepped the local gathering of afternoon drinkers to move on to Stop 6.

Stop 6 - Anyone for an Oatcake?

This one is my favourite - so Stokie to ask if you want an oatcake - they're not available anywhere else. Plus, everyone round here will call you "duck" - whether you are male or female! He's fab :-)

Stop 7 - with Kiln Kong

The next stop was at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery Thee was an exhibition of Pro Pig's work - one of our favourites here was Kiln Kong . There were lots of other paintings - many for sale too.

Is to Grow Up to Give Up?

We then moved on to the Mitchell Arts Centre where we found Stop 8 - where this inspiring art was placed.

If anyone tells you that you can't do anything - you should reply "Just watch me!" Fantastic!

Stop 9 - Defy the Odds

The afternoon as really heating up by now and we were unbelievably hot! We popped into a handy Greggs for a bottle of water and soldiered on.. to Stop 9 - in another city car park.
This is where we saw this lady and her shopping trolley. Pole dancing or what? Such fun!

However, we were pretty tired and even hotter by now so we decided to go and get an ice cream and call it a day. We will do the rest of the trail tomorrow - so we can really do it justice.

We saw a cool view on the way back to the car - a field of wild flowers planted in front of the brand new multi-coloured Smithfield Building and there in the background a bottle oven from Stoke's proud past. What a great city.

Part 2 next...

How to Enjoy the Edinburgh Fringe

2015-08-30T16:38:00.005+01:00

Hi! I'm back from Edinburgh, Thanks to Dan for putting us up (and putting up with us!) in his lovely new flat in Harrison Gardens. It was great to see you again!

So, how did we go about choosing what to see while we were at The Fringe? Well - we had only booked one show before we got there - the wonderful Time-Travelling Magicians Morgan and West. They were doing some close-up table magic in an intimate venue and we didn't want to miss that! We have seen them before - so we knew it would be good. Apart from that though - how on earth do you go about choosing what to see from over 2000 shows at the 250 venues around the city?

We decided to just wing it! We'd turn up and see who gave us the most interesting leaflet/was most enthusiastic/looked most crazy and go with that.

On the first day we walked down the Royal Mile and a very nice bespectacled man gave us a leaflet about a show called Rope. He was falling over his words with the excitement of telling us what it was about. It involved a real-life murder case in Edinburgh back in the nineties combined with a Hitchcock film and what's more it was a promenade play! This meant that we'd be following the actors from place to place as the plot unfolded. How could we resist - especially as he offered us 3 tickets for the price of 2. We were sold - and he phoned ahead to the venue to book us in. We had to go to the prestigious public School - the Edinburgh Academy as the play started in the library there.

It was a gorgeously hot and sunny day and we met in the Edinburgh Academy's courtyard. Our herder (a very nice man employed to shepherd us around after the actors and keep us from getting run over when we crossed Edinburgh's New Town roads) led us into the library, where we stood among the pillars waiting for the play to begin.

There was a metal trunk in front of us - which it turns out contained a dead...well maybe I shouldn't give away the plot in case any of you get to see it elsewhere.

What followed was a fantastic story, some scarily good actors and a 90 minutes exhilarating walk through the streets and even into a cocktail bar, while the story unfolded before our eyes.

It was a brilliant idea - well executed :-) (See what I did there? Hehe!)

After it was done we found the wonderful New Town Deli and had some fantastic wraps and cool drinks while we sheltered from the baking sun.

That afternoon as we were strolling past a pub a young chap leapt out and gave us a flyer for Martha McBrier Pigeon Puncher. This was a free show in the pub's back room - you just pay what you think it was worth at the end.

Sounded like a good deal - plus we were ready for a long cool drink - so we went inside. The gig took place in a back room where we were tightly packed in front of a tiny stage. There were so many people trying to get in! Then Martha herself came in and she told us stories of her life in Glasgow. She was really sweet - a natural-born do-gooder she said. Very sweary - but very sweet! We heard tales of working as a social worker in the Easterhouse suburb of Glasgow. Apparently Glasgow people are very helpful - but don't always look it. The story of the lady at the bus stop was hilarious - you should catch her if you can!

We then crossed the road and were offered another Free Fringe event - this time a "comedy debate" about freedom of speech. This featured, it turns out Sully O'Sullivan who we've seen twice at the ROFL Club in Burslem! He argued for curtailing freedom of speech and was joined by Rick Molland who was arguing for more freedom of speech. Both were well prepared with examples from their laptops. It was pretty funny as they picked on audience members too to illustrate their points. Jethro - the posh philosophy student in the first row proved to be a big hit :-)

At the end there was a vote and I'm pleased to say the right to freedom of speech won out against limiting it in any way!

Later that Monday night N and I had tickets to see Morgan and West. It was funny as we'd spent the previous evening arguing with Dan, about the probability of tossing a coin and getting 10 heads in a row. I said that it was obvious that if you'd got nine in a row then it was much more likely that the last one would be heads because statistically it was very rare to get 10 heads in a row at all. However N and Dan argued that the probability of it being a head was exactly 50/50 - as the coin had no awareness that we'd already got nine in a row. (It was a vey long "discussion"!)

That was the first thing that M&W started their close-up magic show with. While you could toss coins for three years before you got 10 heads in a row - it was that kind of thinking that allowed casinos to make a lot of money!
Hmm I'm still not sure about this...

Anyway - it was fun to sit so close and actually join in the games of poker, pontoon and happy families - whilst being bamboozled by their skills.

The next day we tried a different tack - we went to the Assembly at George Square Gardens where there was a box office with reviews pinned to a wall too - so you could see who was getting 5 stars. We saw that there was a Best of the Fringe show each day at 2pm - in the incredible Spiegeltent Colombino - which was literally a huge tent with mirrors and stained glass windows.

The amazing Spiegeltent Columbino

There we saw many acts - for about 10 minutes each - which gave us a good overview of the massive variety of acts available at the Fringe. It was so good - we went the next day too! Among the cool people we saw were Archie Maddocks - who really made me laugh with his topical humour and easy style.

It was a lovely area - as there were two bars in big tops - so we could shelter from the rain on Tuesday and the hot sun on Wednesday. Also there were many food stalls. The Angus burgers with fried onions were fragrant and filling and the French crepes delicate and delicious and I even had a candy floss :-)

We read the review board and saw that someone/thing called Goose was getting 5 stars from everyone. So we just grabbed some tickets for that afternoon and went to see him. It was just one man - playing out a parody of a James Bond adventure - playing every character himself! Adam Drake was totally frenetic and funny - and worked so hard he sweated so much he drenched the front rows every time he moved. In fact halfway through he handed out waterproof ponchos and umbrellas to the audience - and nominated one member of the audience to hold a towel and wipe him down now and again. It's impossible to describe the crazy plot - but it made fun of many of the tropes of action movies. He was very clever!

Breaking Bad - in 1 hour!

The last evening show we saw was something we'd not seen on the review board or on a flyer. We were just walking past the Gilded Balloon area and saw - stuck to the railings - a poster about a one-man show doing the entire TV show Breaking Bad - in one hour! How could anyone (who's seen the show) resist that?
No-one - as the massive theatre was packed with BB fans! It was called One Man Breaking Bad - the Unauthorised Parody.

He is an actor from LA and this has been a hit all over the world! His impersonations of Jessie, Walt Jr. and even Skyler are so brilliant! It wasn't until he pointed it out that I realised that all Walt Jr. does throughout the whole programme is make a website for his dad and eat breakfast! He got through so many breakfasts!!

It was good to relive some of the most iconic episodes - he is obviously a massive fan is spot on with his observations. We loved it!

In fact - if you'd like to catch this epic theatrical experience yourself - Miles Allen is doing a UK tour - and will be at Stafford Gatehouse on Wednesday 25th November. A definite recommendation from me!! Catch it while you can :-)

So that was our Edinburgh Fringe this year. It really works just going for random stuff - there wasn't one thing that we didn't enjoy. I think we'll do this every year :-)

.

Sunny California :-)

2014-11-22T01:24:00.002+00:00

New to this? Check out the First Post

Its been a week or two since we got back from the USA - and we're just starting to get back to normal. Jet lag is strange - you're tired when you should be awake and awake and starving hungry when you should be asleep. (Mainly at 4am :)

It's about time I caught up on some blogging though. Sorry it's taken so long - but my mum has been in hospital and we've been kept busy visiting her.

We had a lovely invitation to Claire and Jodi's wedding in Monterey - so we decided to make it our main holiday and spend a couple of weeks over there.

We were very excited when we arrived at Heathrow to catch our Virgin Atlantic flight to San Francisco. We'd stayed the Radisson Edwardian at the airport the night before - so that we wouldn't be late and stressed for our flight. Wasn't such a great idea as Nathan got food poisoning after the evening meal so didn't get much sleep! Luckily he was okay to fly though!

There had been a 3-day Dr Who convention going on Time of Angels - and we were convinced that we'd seen David Tennant in the foyer! Or a very good look-a-like :-)

Flying over Greenland

The flight was great - we hadn't been looking forward to 10 hours confined in a plane - but it went by so quickly. We had lots of leg room and the staff kept bringing round drinks and food and ice lollies - and I watched three whole films! N and I watched the Lego Movie (which we'd been meaning to do for a while as everyone kept telling us how good it was!( Trouble is we ended up singing "Everything is Awesome!" all week long.
I also watched Fault in Our Stars as I'd just read the book. It was wonderful - but a little heavy for a flight to the sun! Loved it though. Also enjoyed Belle - which I saw being filmed when I went for a weekend in Oxford with Janet a couple of years ago! Have a look at the original post here. That was really good too. It's pretty rare I ever sit down to watch a whole film - so to watch 3 in one go was quite a treat :-) Not like there's much else you can do!!

Lucky Nathan did survive 10 hours with no internet access - but it was a close thing :-)

Mel's shakes and malts

We had set off at 1pm in England and arrived in San Francisco at 4pm US time. It felt like midnight to us - but it was sunny and hot and very bright!
We got a "shared van"(arranged by an organised chap outside the airport) to our first hotel - the Cow Hollow Motor Hotel. Took a couple of hours through the city traffic and as our hotel was the last one the van was visiting! We were pretty exhausted by then - so just went across the road to Mel's Diner (famous for being featured in the film American Graffiti) and tried to eat something - despite being tired but not hungry. I had an excellent grilled turkey sandwich and sweet potato fries - which they kindly boxed up for me when I couldn't eat it! Although by 4am we were both wide awake and hungry - so finished it off then :-)

Our first day in San Francisco was our Alcatraz trip! We walked downtown - about 40 minutes- and discovered that SF is very hilly! Down by the waterfront we found the office to get our tickets and boarded the ferry for the 30 minute cruise across to The Rock.

The Rock

It was around 11am and we thought we'd spend an hour or so over there then come back and get lunch. However when we got there and walked around - listening to the audio guide - it was so fascinating that stopped to read the many information plaques on the walls. The story of the one escape attempt was ingenious - and the toilet paper and soap heads then made were scarily realistic - they'd even used real hair.

Let me out!!

Three of them got into the service tunnel and up onto the roof and into the bay. No-one knows what happened to them - they are officially still being sought by the FBI. Most people think they drowned as the water was so cold and the currents so strong they cant have got far. But, who knows?

Ingenious escape attempt!

While we were in the shower block the guide told us that it was the only prison that insisted on hot showers - so the inmates wouldn't get used to cold water!

We also stayed for a talk on Al Capone - one of the many colourful prisoners that had been held there. The lady lecturer told us the difference between a prison and a penitentiary - which is what Alcatraz actually was. No-one was sent to Alcatraz for the crimes they committed - they were only sent there if the normal prisons couldn't cope with them! If they were disruptive, violent or had tried to escape they'd be sent to The Rock.

It must have been after 4.30pm when we got back and we hadn't even had lunch. We made up for it though - by trying one of the many family fish restaurants on the waterfront. We had been told we should try Scoma's - so we managed to find it and the food was fantastic! I loved the King salmon I had and N tried the fish mixed grill. They have their own "Fish Receiving Station" behind the restaurant - so everything is very fresh!

Learning to Segway :-)

The next day we had an appointment with a Segway! We'd booked a Segway tour of San Francisco - so turned up at the offices at 10am. I admit I was a little nervous as I've never tried a Segway before. I thought they might be a bit tricky to steer and slow down - and watching the safety video didn't do much to calm me down! However our guide Peter, soon put us at our ease when he took us into the showroom and put us through our paces to make sure we could get on and off safely, go forwards and backwards and stop! It turns out that it is really easy! You just shift your weight onto your toes and it takes you forward and rock back on your heels to slow down and stop. To turn you just pull the handlebars either left or right.

Great way to get around!

We were lucky, as there were no other customers booked in our slot - so we were getting a private tour! Peter took us out onto the road and over to a car park to practice a bit more - then we were off following him through traffic and up and down the hills of San Francisco. It was brilliant fun!! We were out for 2 and a half hours and he said we could go wherever we liked and he'd tell us all about the history of the city. He'd lived there for 24 years, so he knew a lot about it! From the Wild West days of the Gold rush, the catastrophic earthquake to the present day. He took us along the coastline, over to the Palace of Fine Arts and all over.

By the time we got back we were buzzing - wanted to get ourselves Segways - but sadly they are not allowed on either roads or pavements over here in the UK.

Clam Chowder in Boudin Sourdough.

Delicious!!

We were hungry too - so following our friend Si and Heidi's recommendation we went to the Boudin Bakery for one of their famous sourdough loaves hollowed out and filed with clam chowder. It was really delicious and filling!

We also had to find a car to hire as we had to travel down the coast to Monterey the very next day. We were due there at 4pm for the wedding rehearsal! We found a car hire office and chose a compact car - but the helpful girl behind the counter told us not to book with her - it was much cheaper online! So that's what we did and picked up a Kia Soul the next morning at 9am. We had asked for it to be full of petrol when we picked it up - to minimise driving in the city! However - it was completely empty so we had to negotiate an extra bit of the city to get petrol. It is amazing though - less than $1 per gallon!! And yet they are complaining how much it costs!

Nathan with our Kia Soul in Monterey

Nathan did a brilliant job of driving us out of San Fran and onto the coastal highway that took us down to Monterey. The views of the cliffs and surf were amazing - though we didn't dare look for too long as we didn't want to get lost or go wrong. We took our time and got to The Jabberwock around 3pm.

We'd chosen this B&B after reading rave reviews on Trip Advisor - but it exceeded our expectations. It was so beautiful and quirky and original. A wonderful building with so many individual rooms. We were staying in the Brillig room - with a shower room made from old church doors . The owners Suzanne and Rick made us so welcome and gave us a tour and told us the history of the place. It used to be a convent at one time!

Our quirky B&B

Who is in residence today?

There was a lovely sun room where they held a soiree every evening with free local wines and home made hors d'oeuvres, where you could relax after your day, chat to other guests (we heard a lot of scary and fascinating animal stories!) and look at the menus from all the local restaurants before deciding where to go for diner that night. It was often dark and quite late before we went our to eat as it was so interesting to talk to the other people. There was a board on the wall where they wrote the names of all the guest and where they were from.

Breakfasts were amazing too. We all ate together at a big table and started off with the fantastic "JabberJuice" - a refreshing smoothie made by the chef full of oranges, pineapples, bananas, apples and coconut. A great start to the day! Then one day we had a savoury breakfast and the next one would be sweet. For example a ham and egg soufflé with fruit or French toast covered in berries - with sausage. They were all so tasty!

Jabberwock Breakfast - bread pudding, custard and sausage!

We made it down to the Monterey Plaza in time for the rehearsal and met some of the wedding party. We all learnt where to walk and where to sit and stand the next day. The staff at the hotel were very efficient and we were done in no time! Then Jodi had arranged for everyone to go into town to a place for drinks and food. It was called the Crown and Anchor and turned out to be an English pub!! Maybe he was feeling homesick :-) It was actually very nice and we all enjoyed a few relaxing drinks (some more than others!) and various appetisers and snacks. We were loving the fried artichoke hearts which are served everywhere we've been so far.

The Groom and Nathan the night before the wedding!

It was nice to meet Claire's family and some of Jodi's ex-colleagues from London. It was a really fun night - and we got some sound business advice from the best man, Kristian. :-)

The next day, Friday 17th October, was the wedding day!! It wasn't until 4pm so we had time to explore Monterey for the morning before going back to the Jabberwock to get changed for the big event. It was so nice to wander down Cannery Row and see the statue to John Steinbeck and read all about the sardine canning industry that had grown up there. We even bought a copy of Cannery Row to read while we were actually there. I'd read it before - so Nathan started it first.

Can you see me?

The wedding went really well! Nathan looked good in his Groomsman suit - an when he got to the hotel he met Jodi looking surprisingly cool. Until the Registrar asked for his fee of $100. Jodi had forgotten to bring the cash so Nathan and Jodi's mum managed to get $100 together to pay him so the wedding could go ahead! N won't let him forget that :-) (Although it has been paid back now!)

I had to do the first reading and was quite nervous. I stood there in my pistachio dress and did my best - luckily didn't stumble over any of the words! A few people said afterwards that they loved it because of my accent - and asked if I watched Downton Abbey! :-)

Jodi, Claire and her parents

The Groomsmen

Claire looked absolutely beautiful and her dress was so gorgeous and showed off her lovely slender figure. All her bridesmaids had different floral dresses - it looked really effective. I loved the ceremony too. Richard, the guy conducting it, had such a way with words.

He said something about them already being married in their hearts and souls so this was just the formal expression of their love. It was very moving. It was geld out on the terrace overlooking Monterey Bay - and the weather was perfect.

Then, there were lots of photos before we all moved indoors for the wedding meal. The next nerve=wracking part was where we each had to do a dance with our partner, whilst being introduced to all the other guests already seated. As I was a sponsor, my partner was Uncle Joe - another sponsor. We did our best - and looking back at the video now - it doesn't look to terrible! I think Nathan and his partner Ale did a better job :-)

The Bridesmaids

The tables were all named after places that were special to Claire and Jodi (The Middletons as they're now known) and N and I were lucky enough to be on the top table with the bride and groom and parents.

The Speeches!

The food was delicious - with amazing lobster soup and fillet mignon. Then we danced the night away and ended the evening in the cocktail bar. It was a lovely wedding and we were so happy to have been invited. Thank-you, Claire and Jodi!

Fun at the photo booth!

Love their style at The Jabberwock!

We loved Monterey so much that we asked the Rick and Suzanne if we cold stay an extra night. We didn't want to only have one more day there after the wedding before heading back up to San Francisco.

Alice in Wonderland reminders everywhere!

They said yes - although we'd have to move rooms. They'd told us that thee was a family of five raccoons n their garden and I was just saying to Nathan that I hadn't seen any when he said - "Well come and look out of the window" and there were all five of them walking up the tree right outside our window!! They were huge too! In fact the next night we met one by the bins as we walked home from the Hawaiian restaurant after dinner.

Nice Jaccuzzi in the room :-)

We were surprised to find that the room we had to move into for our final night at Jabberwock was the bridal suite - complete with double Jacuzzi. Very nice :-)

We spent the next couple of days relaxing and soaking up the sun and sights in Monterey.

N makes new friend in Monterey

He wanted to make sure I got his good side!

We went to the aquarium, which took most of the day! There was so much to see - we loved the many jellyfish and watching the sea otter feeding time.

Time for a paddle :-)

Also we walked on the beaches and round the coast and watched the amazing wildlife. There were so many sea lions just lying on rocks (and each other) all round the piers and seals in the harbour and so many sea birds. I loved watching the pelicans :-) We walked downtown and found a great microbrewery where we had lunch and sat outside and watched the world go by. It was so good to relax after the wedding!

Harbour Seals sunbathing

On the Forrest Gump bench.

Beautiful Monterey

On the Monday we had to head back to San Francisco and return the car. We hadn't booked anywhere for after the wedding as we wee not sure where we'd want to go next. However, the Segway tour of SF had showed us so many areas that we hadn't explored yet, we decided to spend our last few days back there. I wanted to go to Haight Ashbury to see the hippie district for a start and we hadn't yet been over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Over the Golden Gate Bridge on a tandem!

We've got to get up there!

We tackled the bridge the very next day! We thought we might cycle over it - and hen we got to the hire place they offered us a tandem - so we thought "Why not?"

The guy asked if we worked well as a team as it was vital for riding a tandem. We said that we were definitely a team! It took a little time to get used to pedalling together - but we soon got into it and set off for the bridge!

It was mainly cycle path along the way - but quite a few hills. It was brilliant to go over the bridge on a tandem - it meant that we could stop and look at the views anytime! The bridge is 1.7 miles long so it was quite a way - then at the other side we had to cycle a few miles to Sausalito - a delightful little town on the other side.

We locked up the tandem, then had lunch there at the Napa Valley Burgers place.

Poshest burger ever!

The burgers were just superb - the nicest I've ever had!

The server was pretty cool too - he could welcome you and wish you "bon appetite" in any language!!

We taught him a bit of Stokie before we left. He had "Ey up, Duck!" written down on his notepad to try out on customers :-) By then we had cycled 8 miles so we decided to take advantage of the ferry tickets we'd been given with the bike! There were dozens of folks with bikes waiting for the ferry back to SF - but they got them all on - no problem!

View from the Bridge

Golden Gate at dusk

In the hippie district

We did a lot of walking the next day - over nine miles! We went to Haight Ashbury to see where the Summer of Love and the hippie movement started back in the sixties. It as where Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead used to live and hang out. It is still a thriving area for music and alternative lifestyles. There are some wonderful costume and vintage clothes shops. One has clothes divided into decades - from the 1920s onwards - really fantastic outfits.

Where the Summer of Love started.

There are so weird shops too - we went in one (where no photos were allowed) that sold strange artefacts like bones and two-headed stuffed pigeons. I wanted to get Laura a t-shirt reflecting the musical heritage and we wandered into a shop - where the designer of the iconic HA t-shirt worked. He took us through every aspect of the design and explained it all before he let us buy one! He seemed a little spaced-out but remembered all the sixties stars and what they got up to. :-0

We were even offered cannabis when we walked down the street! It was a very interesting day!

All aboard!

We also walked through the Castro District and the Mission District before ending up at the massive white County Hall. As we got back to our hotel on our last night there we realised that the massive building next to it was actually an I-Max cinema!

The actual cable!

So, we spend our last evening in there watching Dracula Untold before going to Mel's Dinner for a malt before bedtime. :-)

On our very last day - before we had to go to the airport, we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Cable Car Museum (we'd ridden then a couple of times and it was interesting to see how the whole system worked) and then a walk down the world's crookedest street. We'd had a wonderful ten days - but it was time to return home.