OMG Why am I blogging?

New website up and running!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:10:00 +0000

Since 2007 I have had a "home made" website for Rosia Cottage Holidays, which was a freebie from Microsoft Office Small Business - even the hosting was free!

Well, Microsoft have decided they will be doing away with their free service - which I have very much appreciated over the years, so thank you Microsoft!

The question was, do I find another freebie or pay for a nicer website. Tidyware UK Ltd seemed the better option as they have been the designers and hosts for our other website,
Trewhellows Gift Shop using their TidyV4 e-commerce design with shopping cart facility.

David Wyatt is the owner and I can honestly say he is just fantastic. I am always coming up with the "senior moment" type questions - which he takes all in his stride and answers with his usual humour and smiles. Thank you David!

So, I am proud to announce the launch of our new website: Rosia Cottage Holidays and I have even put new photos on! (OK, David Bailey I am not, but I tried! :D )

Hope you like the new website!

Kathryn

Special Offer @ Trewhellows Gift Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Today until 31st January, we are offering 10% discount on any orders £20.00 and over
@ Trewhellows Gift Shop
Enter the discount code: Twitter2601 at checkout.
Happy shopping!

and three years on......

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Goodness me, it's three years since I last blogged.

So, what has changed in my life in the last 3 years? Well, the thing that is top of the list for me is the fact that my Mum died 9 months ago.

Poor Mum, we did have a giggle at times though. :D and I miss her.

My 'children' - I notice in my profile I refer to as 'teenagers' .....well, update! My eldest is now 22, my middle one is 21 and my 'baby' will be 18 in just over three weeks time!

The eldest has left college (he said it was boring) and now attends a local day centre for people with disabilities. He loves it there and I should shout out loud, the centre is called Choice! When they have a website up and running, I will put a link on here - they are fantastic and their priority is their clients and NOT profit.

My middle 'child' is now in his third and final year taking a BSc in Chemistry. He is probably going to go on to take a Phd after this year.......but watch this space.

My 'baby' is now attending Truro College and taking her A level's (sitting an exam as I type).

Clive and I gave up the Travel Broker business (known as Richardson's Travel Deals) last year. I really enjoyed finding good deal holidays for my clients, but the firm we were brokers for Dove Travel Brokerage ceased trading. They passed on the booking centre to a new place, but they decided to call it a day, so we didn't have a lot of choice. In a way, although I enjoyed it, it didn't bring in enough money to feed the family and my time is much better spent dealing with the two other businesses i.e. Trewhellows Gift Shop - www.trewhellowsgiftshop.co.uk (our on-line gift shop) and also our holiday cottage let, www.rosiacottageholidays.co.uk

Last year was a good year for the holiday let and I am hoping that this year will be equally as good - the bookings are starting to roll in, so fingers crossed ;-)

Well, I'm expecting the Gas Man to come and check over the boiler, radiators, fire and hob in Rosia Cottage, so I will leave this as a short blog for now. Hopefully I won't leave it another three years before I come back and blog again.

Bye for now,

Kathryn

Social Services in Cornwall

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Trials and tribulations of dealing with Social Services!

Hi everyone,

Yet another long time since my last blog, but hope my readers are all well.

I have been busy trying to sort out care for my 20 year old son, who has Down's syndrome.
If you have, or know somebody who has a child (or adult) with a learning disability and leaving school/college/day centre soon - start your battle now!

Everybody is saying that disabled people have a right to live in the community and enjoy everything else that we all take for granted. Day centres are closing down and people are being given Direct Payments and Independent Living Fund to "buy" their own care, to enable them to do such things.

In principle that is fine - but my god, what a battle to get the funds! To get the Social Worker in the first place was one hell of a battle in our case. According to the Care Manager in our area, my son was not entitled to a Social Worker as he did not need one. Oh yeah? I don't think so "Matey" as you can't get the funding without a Social Worker!

To cut a very very long story short, 18 months before my son left the local Special School, following his annual review the school wrote to Social Services to get "things" put in place before he was to leave. Since then, my son left school and has just completed his SECOND year at College and we are only now getting things in place for him - that's just to give you an idea of the time scale I have been fighting this battle!!!

In January 2008 I had to take the steps of advising Social Services I was going to go to the Local Government Ombudsman, due to the fact we had to fight to get a Social Worker ............ that was followed by a week of Social Services bending over backwards to try and help me. How sad is that, why not just help in the first place!

On the 22nd January 2008, we had a meeting with the person in charge at Social Services and wo and behold, at the meeting we were introduced to our Social Worker. We decided not to take the case to the Ombudsman as we felt we were now getting somewhere.

Here I am today, 19th June 2009 and had a phone call today to advise me that the Direct Payments funding would be in the account next week - AT LAST!

All this time, with lies and excuses from admin staff in various departments who take us all for fools!

I would just like to mention here that the Social Worker assigned to my Son has been absolutely fantastic! So too have the people coming face to face with my son and getting together the care plans etc. I won't give their full names to protect their privacy, but Jo, Chris, Sue and Kate you are worth your weight in gold - too many bloody chiefs and not enough indians at Social Services is the problem.

My son will now be able to enjoy going out into the community (without his boring parents taking him) and enjoy a social life!

If you do know of a person who will be affected by the closure of Day Centres or leaving school soon, please tell their parent/guardian/carer NOT to be fobbed off at the first hurdle - fight, fight and keeping fighting for their childs rights. If not, there will be nothing in the community for them and they will just vegetate at home in front of the t.v.!

Sorry to bore you with the problems I have had (believe me, that is just a short abbreviation - if you only knew the rest!) but I feel people need to know.

Take care until my next blog!

Kathryn
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It's been so long....

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:22:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Gosh, it has been quite a while since I updated my blog!

Well, since I last wrote I have made a major purchase (for me anyway). I got fed up pressing all of the linen for our holiday let at Rosia Cottage as it took about two to three days to get it all washed, dried and pressed. So, I have invested in a steam roller press and it is worth it's weight in gold! Yesterday I cleaned the cottage, washed all of the linen and had it dried and pressed by 5 p.m. - Time is money as they say, so instead of finishing the laundry today/tomorrow, I can now list new items on our website Trewhellows Gift Shop (provided they are delivered today!).

So much time on my hands, so why have I not been blogging more?

Chickens! Eggs and even more eggs, that's why!!

The last time I twittered, I said that the hen house had arrived - flat packed and ready to build.

Well, I had the hen house as a birthday present (my request!) It was bought on e-bay - good place to buy.

Clive and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary in the usual romantic style - we bought 12 young chickens on the 31st March - ok, not romantic but far more practical than 12 red roses and they will last much longer (provided Mr Foxy does not decide to eat them). They were 17 weeks old when we got them and they started to lay exactly two weeks after.

We had our first egg on 14th April. Since then, we averaged about 10 eggs a day - until this week that is! Now they are laying around 12 eggs per day.

What to do with so many eggs! Because the hens are running around the field eating worms and fed corn, the eggs are well and truly FREE RANGE! Delicious, almost orange yolks - so we have no problem selling them! But I don't sell them all - believe it or not, I have been baking!

I am getting quite domesticated in my old age - all this pressing laundry and baking my own bread, cakes and desserts. What ever next? Dusting and vacuuming maybe??? (No, don't think so ;-0 ).

Poor Clive in all this excitement has been rushed off his feet - repairing the chicken shed every 5 minutes. Just don't mention the word GOATS to him.

Last night was a bit like a scene from Fawlty Towers - Basil would have been proud of Clive!

Probably best I start at the beginning. The chickens are kept in the same field as the goats (mistake number one!). As they seem to be rather partial to chewing a bit of wood, the first thing we did when the chicken shed was assembled, was to give it a good coating of creosote.
Once this was finished we thought it safe enough to eat our tea. How wrong could we have been!

Next thing to do - cover the outside of the shed with wire fencing - that will keep their little gnashers away from the wood (what was left of it!). Ha! That bit worked!

Once the chickens had settled, we wanted them to roam the field - but how do we keep the door open and keep the goats out? - Erect yet another little bit of fencing with a hole in, of course.

Initially we tied it up with string - hmm, who ever thought that a goat would leave that alone?
No sooner we had put it up and left them alone - Twix, Twirl and Polo ate the string and got in the hen run.

Wire was the next solution. Well, that lasted a bit longer, but it didn't take the goats too long to work out how to break that down too.

Last week they managed to get in and tried to walk up the ramp - sorry goats, it was designed to take the weight of chickens not goats, so it broke into pieces. Clive was not too impressed at having to repair it - especially when they got in for the 2nd time that day and broke it again.

For obvious reasons, I can't write down the words that he used - but I will leave it to your imaginations the *blue* words used!

Well, to get to the point - Clive *Basil Fawlty* Richardson was not a happy man yesterday! He had spent quite a lot of the day repairing little bits - like the door to the house etc. After tea he decided to go up and clean then house out, but he was not gone long before he came marching back............."advertise those *******goats! They have got to *****go!"

I don't think I need to tell you really - but they had broken down the fence again - according to Clive, they had totally wrecked the hen house this time. *arms flapping, pacing up and down*.

Unfortunately for Clive - the word *sympathy* is not part of my vocabulary and it was all I could do to contain myself - until that is, Clive said in a stroppy voice "DON'T LAUGH AT ME" - well, that did it! I had to walk away as I could only giggle and make the matter far worse!

Well, I think I have probably bored you long enough, so will say goodbye for now...........

Kathryn
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Internet Access now available at Rosia Cottage...at last!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:15:00 +0000

At last we have internet access at Rosia Cottage Holidays!

We have strived to make sure Rosia Cottage has absolutley everything you will need for a luxury self catering holiday in Cornwall.

The furniture, decor, surroundings even down to a fully equipped kitchen (I mean fully, there is even a rolling pin and pastry cutters in case you fancy baking while on holiday) have all been given considerate thought.

As the cottage was gutted and totally refurbished in 2007, we had a clean slate to start with. Everything had to be bought, so we imagined we were going to live there and went from there. That way we could make sure it would be the best place to go on holiday.

Have you ever been on a self catering holiday and the accommodation was basic? Uncomfortable beds, cheap bedding and towels.........hard three piece suite.........everything fitted out as cheaply as possible as it was "just a holiday let".

We have! We also didn't want our guests to feel the same, after all you have paid good hard earned money to buy your holiday, so why should it not be like a "home from home"?

To start with the beds - they all have memory foam mattress to ensure a good nights sleep. The bedding is also good quality Egyptian Cotton.

To the bathroom - a whirlpool bath! But if you prefer showers, there is a separate shower room.
Both have a w.c. and hand basin. The towels? Good quality, heavy, thick sumptuous cotton!

Talking of towels, the majority of holiday lets that do provide the linen always state NOT beach towels. When you have a family of 5 or 6, the beach towels take up the majority of a suit case.
so we DO provide beach towels - even the buckets, spades and windbreak!

I could go on and on about the cottage, after all I do love it there myself. But, the only thing I felt was missing was Internet Access, so we have resolved that by buying a Vodafone USB Dongle. We do charge a fee of £30, but it is refundable upon return of the Dongle before you leave. The Dongle is a Pay As You Go, so you would have to top it up before use and Vodafone charge £15 for 1GB use. Oh, you would also have to bring your own Laptop/Netbook.

The only thing we could not change about the Cottage was it's location - I'm afraid we are not on the beach, but just outside the town of Camborne. This however has got it's big advantages as if you stayed in one of the seaside towns, the traffice in and out during the summer months can be a nightmare - being in Camborne you are conveniently situated to visit any part of Cornwall. We are also situated in a quite area as there are just four properities in the immediate area, so if you want to relax in the garden you will not be overlooked by a person - only our three Pygmy Goats!

We still have plenty of availability, so why not book your holiday now? It has been said that we are in for a very hot summer this year, so why not take your vacation in Cornwall!

Check our website www.rosiacottageholidays.co.uk for up to date availability or phone Kathryn on 01209 711012.

Thanks for reading folks!

Kathryn

Makaton Nursery Rhymes DVD...........

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:44:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

I just thought I would quickly blog to let people know that we have at long last got a supply of Makaton Nursery Rhymes DVD in our shop

We have sold the Makaton Nursery Rhymes for many years now - back in the old days when it was VHS video and ever since it was released on DVD. Most of the sales are from our e-bay shop: Trewhellows Gift Shop Unfortunately, a few DVD wholesalers went out of business last year and early this year, so obtaining the DVD was getting hard.

The good new is, not only have we managed to find a new supplier, but they are cheaper than before so we are passing this saving on to our customers and now sell them for £9.99 with FREE P&P to the U.K.

Why am I so excited about selling one particular DVD?

Well, our eldest child was born with Down's Syndrome and Makaton Sign Language has been invaluable to him all through his life - he is nearly 20 now. It has been a means of communication for him as his speech is very poor.

The DVD with Dave Benson Phillips from the BBC Playdays, has taught all of us in our family how to use Makaton - and it was a brilliant way to entertain the children when they were younger.

I can put my hand on my heart and recommend this DVD to anybody with a child with learning disabilities, language delays or hearing problems.

Best wishes,

Kathryn

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:52:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Hot topic...SNOW...(or should I say "cold" topic!)

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

I do hope you all enjoyed the snow! I only put my toes out in it to go and see my Mum and make sure she was ok - but I thought it was beautiful to look at.

My children enjoyed it too. My youngest, Sarah (who will be 15 on Saturday) can't really remember snow like it. Any little bit we have had in Cornwall in the past has always melted by lunchtime, so she made the most of it Monday evening and yesterday.

Why do people always have to moan so much when the Country comes to a stand still? Why don't they just lighten up a little and make the most of it!!! One old man was going on about it being like a third world country - miserable old bugger! I would be far more annoyed if Cornwall County Council spent millions on specialist equipment for an event that only happens every 20 years!

I was going to put some photos here - some spooky ones too!!! But, I have just had a phone call and I have to do some work (for a change!!! LOL), so I will post the photos later one.

byeeee for now,

Kathryn
x

p.s. one of the spooky photos is below - a strange presence in the photo!!!

Spooky!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:26:00 +0000

Valentines Day 14th February

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:17:00 +0000

Ideas for Valentines Day...................

Do you fancy a romantic holiday to Cornwall, with the envigorating sea air to blow away the cobwebs and fill you with total Zen and relaxation?

Take a long walk along Godrevy Beach, let the sea spray brush against your cheeks and your toes sink into golden sand - hand in hand with the love of your life of course!

Then why not stay at our holiday cottage, Rosia Cottage where you can totally relax in comfort.

There are memory foam mattresses on all of the beds, to ensure a good nights sleep for everyone. Our change over day is Saturday - so you could come on the 14th and stay for a week during the half term for only £350 for the whole week. Ring Kathryn to book now on
01209 711012!

Alternatively, if you don't want to take a holiday you can buy the love of your life a special gift from Trewhellows Gift Shop

(Whoops, not ment to be inserted here, now I can't remove it!!! LOL)

Why not get a flower to last forever in the form of a Rose in a Crystal Ball like the one in the picture above?

We even have hand warmers in the shape of red hearts if you want your loved one to keep their fingers warm on these cold winters days.

So, that is my little plug for Valentines Day - don't I sound like a soppy old romantic? The truth is, I have never sent a Valentines Card or gift in my life - I don't have an ounce of romance in my body!!!

I do hope that the romantics out there are full of love and enjoy themselves though!

Take care, until my next blog.......

Kathryn

My baby has only gone and 'got all grown up'.....

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:44:00 +0000

My boy is 18 now and can legally go and buy his own pint! Where did that time go?

It only seems like yesterday when the midwife said "you are having a contraction" to which I replied "am I"? - the midwife told me that she doesn't have to actually inform many mothers about this so called painful event, but I honestly didn't feel a thing! (No, I didn't have an epidural (spelling?), only gas and air!

Anyway, this young man of mine is now waiting to hear from different Universities. He has to go to Manchester for an interview and the following Tuesday UCL. Still waiting to hear from York and Exeter - Nottingham don't want to i/v, just get 2 a's and 1 b and he has a place.

What an expense just going for interviews!!!! We sat down trying to work out the cheapest way to get from Cornwall to Manchester and it has ended up hubby and son will fly from Newquay - it's cheaper than taking a train and having to have two nights B/B. London is much cheaper to get to, so "Mummy" is keeping her fingers crossed that he gets a place at UCL!!!! Only draw back is, it will cost him more to stay in London if he is accepted.

Next question - what does a young man wear to an interview at Uni? We have been out and bought him a new suit and shirts with ties. (We did have a funeral to attend, so money not totally wasted), but a friend of mine has informed me that students don't dress up for interviews. Surely that can't be right? A Uni like UCL, who appear to only take the cream of the cream surely would prefer students to look smart at an interview - or am I just being really "old school" here and showing my age?

Well, I am going to go now - Big Brother starts in approx. 40 seconds!!!!!!!

Take care,

until my next blog......

Kathryn
x

Sale Time!!!!! Get some bargains in quick.

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Where have I been hiding for so long?

Well, fortunately I have been busy!

Earlier this year, the company that designed, hosted and marketed our website
http://www.trewhellowsgiftshop.co.uk/ went out of business. We had to frantically find a new host
before losing our website - which we did with only days to spare! Phew.
We then set about having a brand new website designed and hosted by a new company (TidyV4) which went live in the middle of September. It's the best thing that ever happend to us as the new site is far busier than the old one and in my opinion looks far more professional.

There are plenty of goodies in the sale at Trewhellows Gift Shop - so take a look before it ends.

We have also set up a 14 day sale with our e-bay store, so why not grab yourself a bargain there too!

I have also been busy with our holiday cottage . People are now starting to book their summer holiday in Cornwall. I am confident that this summer will not be a wash out like 2007 and following this very cold winter we have had, it's bound to mean a glorious sunny, hot summer in Cornwall. (Don't hold me to that though!) I mean, -6 degrees is unheard of in Cornwall!!!
I need a nice warm sunny summer to re-charge my batteries!

Well, I had better get back to work - listing to the Bee Gees in the background - GREAT!
Someone has just sent a question about One Night Only asking if Andy Gibb is projected on the screen in one of the songs - what a brilliant excuse to have to listen to my own DVD!!!

Take care folks,

Kathryn
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Sale Now On at Trewhellows Gift Shop!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I would let you know that Trewhellows Gift Shop has a January Sale Now On!

Why not grab yourself a bargain, or get some early Christmas shopping done for 2009?
Ouch!!! Who threw something at me for mentioning Christmas 2009?????

Enough of Trewhellows Gift Shop - How about seeing in the New Year in Cornwall?
OK, so it's tomorrow, but you could still pack a bag and have a last minute holiday to Cornwall at Rosia Cottage! We have reduced a weeks self-catering in our luxury cottage from £800 to £600 - or if you want less than a week make me an offer (for this weekend only)!!!

Enjoy the celebrations folks! No doubt I will be my usual party pooper and be in bed fast asleep when the New Year comes in - I am over 50 don't forget!!!! On the other hand, I might just manage to stay awake and watch the TV. It won't be BBC1 - not after last year. Sorry Nick Knowles, but your programme was somewhat slow and boring! I watched the repeat of Take That in the 02 and wished I had watched that instead. So this year, if I am awake, it will be Elton John in the 02 on our telly!

Don't drink too much folks! (But enjoy yourselves)

Bye for now,

Kathryn
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Seasons Greetings

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:16:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas!

It has been so long since I wrote on my blog, I had almost forgotten how to log on - how bad is that?

Christmas was the usual in our home, apart from the fact we had beef this year instead of turkey.

My cousin's son came to stay with us. He was supposed to be staying at our holiday Cottage next door, but we had people staying there, so he had to sleep on our sofa. (Sorry Scott, but we can't afford to turn away paying guests). Poor chap went out to celebrate on Christmas Eve, got back home at 3 a.m. and was woken again at 7.30 a.m. by people desparate to open the presents around the tree!!!

As usual, we gave the children presents that were okayish in the morning and surprised them in the afternoon with something they really really wanted - after watching their faces drop a little, but trying to pretend they were grateful for what they had received in the morning, it's lovely to see them bubble with joy with their afternoon surprises. Only problem with that is, next year they will no doubt expect a wonderful surprise in the afternoon!

Poor Clive spent the afternoon making Mark's football table - which now stands between our lounge and dining room as a huge obstacle to walk around (that's until we tackle Mark's bedroom to make a space for it).

Sarah soon got her Guitar Hero Band bundle together and much to Grannies frustration we all had a go on the drums and guitar. It was most unusual to hear Granny say "Please could you turn it down a little" as the normal banter from her on Christmas day is "I can't hear what they are saying" (referring to the TV). She ended up taking her hearing-aid out I think and then went home just after 5p.m. - Mind you, by Boxing Day evening, even I was asking Sarah to turn the volume down a little as the music on Guitar Hero is somewhat heavy metal - why don't they put a few guitar tunes from the Shadows or Phil Collins on the disc? (Don't answer that as I know people who have Guitar Hero won't even know who the Shadows are!)

Andrew just has to wait to enjoy his afternoon present (or go into his room away from us all) as he had the DVD Box Set Scrubs - much to his delight. He did have a new hoody to wear, with Spiderman and comic strips like that all over it, so he wore it for the rest of the day. (He had said he would love it when looking through a catologue - I would not have bought it otherwise). Granny was "gobsmacked" that he would even put it on his back - making comments like "surely you won't go out with that on?" (Granny is quite victorian in her ways and very much one of the "Twin Set & Pearls" brigade!!!!).

Clive had two remote control helicopters! Yes, Andrew & I both fancied them to play with so unknown to each other, bought one for Clive (or should I say "us") to play with!
It was so funny to see the cats eyes! Poppy went from a peaceful sleep in the chair to eyes wide open (almost popping out of her head - but no, that is not why she is called Poppy), and when the helicopter was close enough to almost touch her, she darted off with the wind up her tail. Sorry all you animal lovers, but we all fell about laughing !!!

I had my usual supply of Sudoku books to keep me quiet for the rest of the year! I also had DVD's and CD's of Celien Dion, Take That and Best of Bet (Middler) to watch and listen to. Granny gave Clive and I a wonderful garden swing last year that was our present for last year, this year and next year as it cost an arm and a leg. Mind you, when we did have gorgeous weather in spring/summer time (don't mention July/August as that was a wash out), it was devine to lie on the swing in the sun, just lazing about (yes, I know, I took up the whole swing for myself - but somebody had to do the work while I lay there!)

I think that is probably enough of my waffle for today! But, I would like to wish all of my readers, customers on Trewhellows Gift Shop and guests at Rosia Cottage and very very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bye for now,

Kathryn
x

The Roger Randell Ramble...........

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

We have just all arrived back home after a Great-Aunts funeral this afternoon.

Found out the details of how to sponsor my cousin (who is not well herself), who is bravely going to walk the Coast of Cornwall next April to raise money for Cancer Research and also Shelterbox.

Apart from sponsoring Dawn myself, I thought I would just try and shout about her efforts on Facebook, Twitter and also my blog.

If anybody is feeling generous, either now or at a later date, then please feel free to sponsor her
http://www.justgiving.com/dawnphilpott (This one if you want to support Cancer Research) or

http://www.justgiving.com/dawnphilpott1 (This one if you want to support Shelterbox).

Thank you to anybody that helps!

Until my next blog folks!

Kathryn
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Mamma Mia.......here we go again!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:05:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Today is a wonderful day for my son Mark..............Mamma Mia has come out on DVD!!!!!

He has been to the cinema to see it twice and just could not wait for the DVD release. We have been having a countdown for about the last three weeks. Naturally Clive had to pop into Tesco at 8 a.m. to get the DVD (and a nice surprise as it was only £7.99 - believe it or not, we sell DVD's and wholesale price is almost double that!!!!).

Instead of working this afternoon, I had a long lunch and watched the film - as already reported by Mark and a friend of mine - it is very entertaining. But I am not ashamed to admit that I have always been an ABBA fan, I will also admit that I am old enough to have been in my 20's when it was in it's prime.

It's nice when your children have the same music taste as yourself. Not sure if my 18 year old son is an ABBA fan (well, he will be 18 on the 18th December), but Mark and my daughter who's 14 love it. (ABBA music is blaring out as I type!). The whole family like Queen, Phil Collins and music of that era - so it's a very happy, full of fun music type of family.

I do also like classical music (the light hearted type) but the 1812 overture has got to be my favourite, so much so it HAS to be played at my funeral* to put a smile on everyones face - they can all picture me with it turned up full volume and holding my imaginary baton (good job I don't have close neighbours!)

*Not planning on having my funeral just yet though!!!

A piece that will always move me is Nimrod from the Enigma Variations by Elgar. But music that will always lift any mood, is almost anything from Strauss.

Isn't it funny how you sit down to type your blog and think "what can I type about today?" and I seem to have rattled on about our taste in music. Yet again, no mention of any business promotions - if I was employed I would have had the sack by now!

OK - here's the plug............ why not get your Christmas shopping done at Trewhellows Gift Shop and get in quick as there is 10% discount on all orders £50 & over on until 27th November!

And for the next one................... Fancy a holiday in Cornwall?......then why not come and stay in our luxury self catering Cottage which is ideally situated to visit any part of Cornwall. It's also next door to us, so you could come a see the crazy family for yourself! Rosia Cottage Holidays

Just in case anybody is interested (which I doubt! LOL), I have completed the DLA form for my son Mark (as mentioned in the previous blog) and it was not as bad as the last form I filled in. Apparently, the forms for under 16's are much nastier than the one's for over 16's (unless they have changed them all together). So, I'm feeling a happy bunny yet again!

Until the next blog folks!

Kathryn
x

Ohhh no... not again! Why ??????

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:45:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well. I'm fine, but you will probably tell from reading my blog today that I am not my usual bubbly self.

Why is that you ask? Well, as you may have gathered from reading past posts, my eldest son Mark has Down's syndrome - he is a wonderful chap and Clive & I are extremley proud of everything he does and achieves and we love him to bits. But in the post today came an application to renew his Disability Living Allowance - *%@**&+++ Have a heart Dept. for Work & Pension - our life has not suddenly become a bed or roses you know - it's still bloody difficult and not likely to change as I don't think anybody has found a "cure" for Down's syndrome yet! So why do you need me to tell you all about it yet again????

Filling in those horrid forms just makes me so miserable as I have to write all of the things down that Mark can't do! Reality check or what!

Apart from those bloody forms, we have had to fight his corner all of his life. If he did not have us to do this for him, I dread to think what would happen to him. He is 20 next year and we have had to spend 20 years with one battle or another be it from health to education.
Do you know, in November 2006 I started the ball rolling to get things set in place for him for when he left school. Here we are, November 2008 and I am still trying to get everything sorted for him! He left school in July 2007 for heavens sake!

To get a Social Worker was a battle in itself and I think I deserve a bloody medal for achieving that alone! Thankfully, the Social Worker Mark has now (Jo Jobson) is the best thing since sliced bread! - Yes, honestly, I am talking about a Social Worker here!!!! I don't think I could cope anymore without her, she really is a breath of fresh air.

Oh I must shut up - I'm sure nobody is in the slightest bit interested in my problems! The thing is, Mark is not a problem - he has a huge sense of humour and as I said, we love him to bits - but Government departments seem to want to make life as difficult as possible for the Carers in this world and make us miserable.

If I didn't have a thumping headache today I might have felt a bit happier, but writing it in a blog has "got it off my chest" so to speak.

I'm off to bed now and am sure I will wake up my normal self in the morning.

Thanks for listening!

Kathryn
xxx

Hangover? Moi? Of course not.......

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:43:00 +0000

Reed Diffusers @ Trewhellows Gift Shop

Sarah with a sparkler

Kathryn BEFORE the drink!

Some of the girls getting together for a chat

(Clive said that CAN'T be his tummy!!!)

Fireworks!!!!!

The party went well and plenty of wine and beer was consumed!

We were lucky with the weather as it poored with rain all afternoon. It stopped raining at 6 p.m. and the party started at 7 p.m.

Once the fireworks had finished (thank you Clive for standing at the bottom of the garden, all alone and giving us a good display), it started to rain again, so we all headed inside and tucked into some hot Cornish Pasties! Of course, they had to be washed down with even more wine and beer. hic!

My eldest son Mark managed to get plenty of sponsorship from drunken friends and family and raised £30 for Children In Need! Well done Mark. He did a sponsored walk around the special needs department at Cornwall College, where he is doing a Connect-Ed course. The students also had a sale on the Friday, selling bric-a-brac, cakes and hand made gifts etc. They all raised £224.06 in total - well, done all of you!

Sorry for the delay with my blog this week - I didn't have a hangover, honest! I just felt so tired last weekend after a late night on Saturday, so Sunday was spent as a very lazy day. The rest of the week seems to have flown by.

We have been getting busier (at last!!!) with sales @ Trewhellows Gift Shop

The Reed Diffusers seem to be flying out the window! (OK, so the photo of Reed Diffusers was meant to be here, but ended up at the top of the page instead). If you see some you want and they are out of stock, please just ask and I will get another order in just for you!

We still have the 10% discount on orders of £50 or more until 27th November, so get in quick if you want money off your Christmas shopping!

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

Thought about your holiday for next year yet? Why not come to Cornwall where we have so many beautiful places to visit. The golden sandy beaches are so close, you can be on either the north or south coast within half an hour.

We own a luxury self catering cottage right next door to us and being in Camborne, it really is convenient to see all the attractions Cornwall has to offer, without being stuck in the busy seaside towns. Why not take a look at our cottage Rosia Cottage Holidays

Until next week folks.........................................

Kathryn

I'm back.... so soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:22:00 +0000

I didn't think I would be blogging again so soon, but Martin from BT Tradespace directed me to the "add gadgets" on blogger and I just can't stop adding things!!!!

Thank you Martin, for your guidance!

Rather than repeat myself from Trewhellows Gift Shop blog, some fantastic stock has arrived today and I have just finished listing it, so if you want a peep, go here: http://www.trewhellowsgiftshop.co.uk/blog.asp

My daughter has already grabbed one of the Arab Scarves (just when I thought it would make a good stocking filler for her).

On my blogger I have added my BT Tradespace blogs - of course!

I have also added a photo of Godrevy Lighthouse. I took this earlier on this year when we had had a very stormy, wet and windy day. By teatime the bad weather was moving away and the sun just peeping through the clouds. I thought it made a very moving photo, so I am going to share it with you all.

Also added is a slideshow. I don't know if the title shows, but I have called it "It helps to be mad... if you know the Richardsons" As you will see, we are a very crazy family! I had a new camera for my birthday last year, and I somehow managed to take some very odd photos, especially of my daughter on Portreath beach - I have made her look like some alien!!!

The camera has also made me look very large indeed. Now this is just not so! I am slim, blonde and beautiful! This is not a figment of your imagination - only mine! (LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES). At least you will know what I mean when I told you about the problem with the big boobies in a previous blog!

Anyway folks, I really must go - I have been playing around on the PC most of the day when I should have been working - I BLAME MARTIN! LOL

Until the next blog folks,

Take care,

Kathryn
x

p.s Almost forgot to tell you all - Argos are going to give me a new washing machine and will collect the broken one! RESULT!

It's like Christmas here every week!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:51:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Yes, it's like Christmas here every week at the moment - no, the Christmas tree and decorations are not up and the fat man dressed in red is not coming down the chimney, we save all that up for Christmas!

Stock is arriving and it's fun, just like opening the presents. What's even better, none of it is that smelly stuff from Aunt Mabel that you don't really want anyway and I will sell it all and make money (well, in theory that's what should happen LOL). I thought I had all my Christmas stock in weeks ago, but I keep checking on the wholesalers and finding more and more good ideas that I just can't resist.

The truth is, I am doing my Christmas shopping for the family! Sorry family if you are looking, but don't look too closely at Trewhellows Gift Shop or you will see what I have bought you!!! Of course, some things I have only bought one of, so you won't find them there - ha ha!!!!

Arriving this week I do have some very pretty and highly fashionable Shemagh Arab Scarves in various colours and also a selection of Shiny Winter Pashmina's. Put these with some nice accessories that are also coming like the pretty Indian Bangles and you have some happy teenage/young ladies!

Don't forget to check out Trewhellows Gift Shop this week, to see the wonderful items due in!

All this excitement and to add to that, I am going to have a Fireworks party!!! Yes, I am a big kid at heart, but I do have three children so it's for them really - honest!!! I am just hoping that the weather will be good for us next weekend as there is nothing worse than having fireworks in the rain! Don't expect a blog from me next Sunday though as I am anticipating a headache! No, I did not say a hangover, did I? (Even if it is the red wine that will be the cause of it LOL).

I have been a good girl today though and updating my blogs on BT Tradespace

Trewhellows Gift Shop Blog and Rosia Cottage Holidays Blog

I don't know what's going wrong with the gift shop blog, but the pictures are everywhere they are not supposed to be! In preview they were fine, but as soon as I uploaded, they were higgledy piggledy. (Is that how you spell that??) I hope that anybody who see's it will just think I have artistic talent in the way I arrange the photos! LOL

Anyway friends, I have been here all morning playing on the pc, so I had better go and feed the family!

Take care, until my next blog

Kathryn

p.s. no mention of any boobies today!

What? A FREE gift AND 10% Discount?

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:47:00 +0000

Hello friends!

Shall I start about the offer on Trewhellows Gift Shop first, or tell you my tale of woe?

I think I had better look as though I am working and deal with the offer first, then if you think you are going to be totally bored by my "booby story", you need not read on! ;-)

At Trewhellows Gift Shop we have decided to extend the offer of 10% discount if you spend £50 or more until 27th November PLUS if you spend £75 or more, not only do you get the 10% discount but a surprise FREE GIFT too!

This offer applies to all of our customers worldwide too! But, we would ask that you e-mail us first for the shipping costs. With the nature of the gifts being all shapes, sizes and weights it's impossible to programme a fair shipping price for every Country, that's why we ask that you contact us for a quote first so that you don't get a nasty surprise at checkout!

Hope you enjoy shopping with us at Trewhellows Gift Shop!

Now for the "booby story":

I just can't understand why hundreds, thousands, millions of women pay good money to have their boobies enlarged. What is the attraction?

If I could give my boobies away, I would gladly! I'm afraid I am one of those people that would just love to be flat chested - be able to go about in the summer without a bra on!

What has started me on this topic? Well, I bought a new bra the other week (not a tiny little one), but what I thought was the correct size. When I got home and put it on, my boobies seem to have extended a little (o.k. so I have probably put on weight!). I have been wearing the bra, but the weight of those boobies pulled the straps so much, they twisted around and hurt my shoulders.

So, yesterday I went and bought another bra - the largest they sell in the blinkin' shop for heaven sake - and although it fits, I still don't think it's the correct size. I refuse to get any bigger (if I could) as I'm sure that everytime I buy a bigger bra, the boobies think to themselves "hey, room here, let's fill it out".

Oh dear! Not very professional talking about my boobies is it - but what the heck! I have the blog in my nick-name and not the business name, so I shall be light hearted and talk gibberish!
Hope you don't mind ! LOL

Until the next blog folks!

Kathryn
x

Clocks back .... hour extra in the bed today!

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:46:00 +0000

Hello friends (if I have any - LOL :-) )

The joy of having children aged 19, 17 and 14 is, they all want to stay in the bed until lunchtime when they don't have to get up for school or college. (That meant I was able to have a lie in this morning, with the hour going back).

Now this used to drive my mother mad! She used to bang about in a strop, making me wake up and I was TOLD to put the hoover around.

I have adopted a totally different attitude to bringing up my children - "chill" is my motto!
My daughter even says things like "I have just tidied up for you Mum, shall I put the hoover around for you?" Bless! She actually wants to help me.

Today the weather is dull, grey and wet here in Cornwall. It's supposed to brighten up this afternoon, but does not look like it at the moment. I am cold and have a cold coming, wonderful!

I think I will go and put my feet up this afternoon and watch the TV. Noel is on at 5 p.m. with Deal No Deal - I do love watching things like this on the telly!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Kathryn
x

p.s. I do use my blog to promote my business sometimes you know, but I like to "chat" a bit, even if it's just waffle! Hope you don't mind my waffle!!!
I'm not a very good sales woman you see, I feel uneasy promoting my business all the time. I think it's something to do with the fact that VistaPrint send a Bl**dy e-mail everyday telling me I am lucky and can have something for free today.
I can't stand it when you buy something from somebody and then they are like a leech, so I'm inclined to be the total opposite with my customers and I go hide in a hole somewhere.

Anyway, for the benefit of Google, I will just put:
www.trewhellowsgiftshop.co.uk
www.rosiacottageholidays.co.uk

That's my business promotion for today! LOL

Bye
x

Why am I bloggin

noreply@blogger.com (Dingdongkathy) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:46:00 +0000

check it out