The Hair squad

In February 2006 when Caroline and Adam came to stay, Caroline gave me £20 as an early birthday present to go get my hair done. Well I never did and that £20 note has been sat in an envelope on my desk ever since.

So today I finally went to get my hair cut for the first time in, I can't remember when.
I made an appointment for 2pm today and guess what, it was peeing it down all day.

I went to that training place that I took DS to as they did a good job of his hair and they are quite quiet and out of the way.

The girl that did my hair was very pleasant and chatted away as she did the job. Of course she has to get her supervisor to check every so often but that is good as it assures that you aren't going to walk out with a nightmare on your head. As she went along she kept saying how she couldn't believe I was going so short after it had been so long and I was a little worried about just how short it was going to be.

When the cutting was finished and the trainer OKed it the hairdryers came out. I was treated to 2 students to dry my hair. I felt like royalty and it got the job done a lot quicker. Then it was straightened and Voila! all done.

It feels so much better and it looks amezzin! it is very short at the back and then gets longer as it comes to the front. It will be a lot easier to work with and now I just have to dye it ready for Saturday.

Come join the parade

Today was all about celebration and elation.

Our Glorious boys in Black and white would parade around the city so we could all welcome them back from Wembley.
The parade was due to start at 6.30pm at the Cockpit island and go down The Morledge, up Albert st, along Victoria street and then round Bold street, back up Full street over the island down The Morledge again and up to Pride Park.

I thought the best place to stand would be on The Morledge as we could then stay where we were and see them on the return as well.

We got there about 6.10 and the place was already heaving. We crossed over and stood on the paving in the middle of the road. At that time we were the only ones there apart from another woman with a black and white wig on who looked like she had been camping out.

The anticipation was almost unbearable as we waited for the bus to arrive. Several more hundreds of people took up their places before us and our lovely little spot became crowded. Our perfect views were gone.



As the bus approached on the horizon the crowds went wild. I was so glad to have been a part of it. The Boys were all in good spirits waving and shouting at people and cheering as they went by. DD and her friend even got sprayed by beer courtesy of Scouser Jay McEverly.

The funniest thing for me was Paul Peschisolido on the back on the bus wrapped in the Derby flag filming the whole thing on his mobile phone. When they do stuff like that you know it means something to them. Most of the players were filming it all or taking pictures which really made me proud of them.

As they turned the corner into Albert street, lots of people streamed up the street on their way to Pride Park stadium to see the big presentation. I decided that we wouldn't bother as it would make it very late to walk back home later and so I promised the children McDonalds instead. DD's friend couldn't go to PPS anyway as she had to get her little sister home.

We waited nearly an hour for them to come back the other way but we wouldn't have had it any other way. I was caught up in the moment and this would be a great memory to have in the future especially as we didn't get to go to Wembley.

We even saw my sisters walking behind the bus and my little nephew came over to say hi which is lovely as I haven't seen him since his birthday in February.

I took some little bits of video of the bus parade and someone from Ramsnet mixed them with some interview bits which really puts a lump in your throat.

A Glorious Victorious day

Sorry if I have stayed quiet the last few days. It has been a mixture of excitement, nervousness, frustration, elation and altogether madness.

The day of the big game came and I couldn't sleep so I was up early tidying up and pottering round. I stopped to look at my emails and see what others (that weren't lucky enough to go) were doing to pass the time. Then I got up washed the pots and did a bit more tidying and sat down and read a few more emails.
This continued until it was time to put the food in. OK so it was just me and DD in for the game but I thought that as we get more nervous, it would be a good idea to have food at hand to keep our hands busy. I opted for Pizza and Wedges as they are great finger food, not fussy to prepare and they can be warmed up later if they don't get eaten (Or eaten cold for breakfast as in the pizza)
All the time I had on Radio Derby, building us up to a frenzy while they were interviewing the lucky ticket holders on Wembley way in the rain.

At 2pm with an hour to go I could hardly stand it. I put Sky Sports on with the TV on mute and carried on listening to the build up from Ross and Ted on RD.

I think I had eaten half a pizza and half the plate of wedges by the time 3pm came. I had a lump in my throat already as the Bright brothers lead out the team.
We thought we would try to watch the TV and listen to the commentary on the radio but a few seconds in and the delay was too obvious for us to continue so we had to say ta-ra to Ross and Ted til half time.

I could hardly watch as the first half unfolded. It was full of incident and exciting football.
Half time loomed and it was nil nil and still all to play for.
I was absolutely dying for the loo so what a relief when the whistle went. We switched the radio back on to hear the half time chat on RD.

The whole of the second half is a complete blur until the hour mark when this happened




Me and DD went absolutely mad. I did my patented high pitched squeal and both the kids were jumping around the room all 3 of us singing Come on Derby and all the other top Rams tunes. My heart was beating like mad and I was sweating and shivering and shaking. I couldn't bare it as the next 34 minutes went by in ultra slow motion.

Finally as the Baggies took a dangerous corner the ref blew his whistle and everybody went absolutely mental.

Derby had actually gone and done it - We are back in the premiership after all these horrible years of being in the grotty Championship. On screen we could see the players and all the coaching team going mad on the pitch. I turned on the radio again to listen to Colin Gibson as he could hardly speak through being choked up and emotional.

It was so amazing I didn't actually know what to do. I was stunned into silence for the next few hours. It all seemed too unreal. Well I guess that's Derby County for you. They take you on a massive Roller Coaster ride right up to the very last second. What choked me up though was actually seeing how the players were all so happy and excited. Stephen Bywater in particular (Derby Supergoalie) was acting very strangely by jumping on people being interviewed pulling strange faces and roaring.

The worst bit of the game was about 88 minutes, Seth collapsed as his knees just gave up on him. One of the WBA players berated him for time wasting but Seth was in pain and had to go off. This seemed to be the actual first time that Billy was going to leave him on till the end but obviously he just couldn't make it and had to limp off the pitch but as always he got a rousing send off.

We watched as the players mounted the stairs up to the royal box. It was wonderful to see Club captain Michael Johnson holding aloft the cup aside team captain Matt Oakley.
The cup means nothing really though as it is all about The Premiership and the £60 million.

1 day to Wembley

Today DD and I (and DD's friend and sister) braved the rain to walk to Pride Park and join in with hundreds of other Rams fans to see the lads off on the way to Wembley.

The team were due to arrive at PPS at 1.30pm and announcements said to be in your seats by 1pm. As it was a long walk I planned to leave about 11.30 so we could take our time and still get there at a reasonable time.

By the time we reached Pride park we were soaked through to the skin and although it was only about 12.15pm the West stand of the stadium was already filling up rapidly. We found some seats and took in the atmosphere while we waited. It was bloody cold though and the little 'un was struggling a bit with the cold.
There was lots of flag waving and singing as we waited for the team to appear. It was very exciting and although I had ummed and arred about going this morning, I was so glad we made the hike.

The Press officer Jim Fearn came out a couple of times to gee up the crowd and get them singing Steve Bloomer for the Sky TV cameras...Shame we can't get Sky Sports News being on Virgin isn't it so we can't see ourselves on tele.

Finally it was time to bring the team out but first they brought out the 2 young boys that would be leading out the Rams at Wembley tomorrow. I found I had tears streaming down my cheeks, it was very emotional, I am sure their mum must have felt the same too. You can read about them HERE

I took loads of pictures while we were there.






http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/JenM_photo/Pride Park 0270507/

I also tried to take some video but stupid me never checked if the camera records sound. So I stuck all the video together and put Steve Bloomer over the top...

Once out on the pitch, Captain Matt Oakley and Club captain Michael Johnson gave rousing speeches to the masses and then Billy Davies really got the crowd going with his speech. The enthusiasm amongst Billy and his boys was really catching and if you didn't believe they could do it before, surely you would do now!
The team did a lap of honor to cheer and clap the fans that had turned out and then they disappeared down the tunnel to their awaiting bus. When they said they were going straight away, I didn't realise they meant STRAIGHT AWAY. By the time we had got out the ground, the bus was driving off into the distance.

We made our way round to have a look in the shop but it was so chocca and they only had Wembley merch anyway so I braved the rain home again.

By the time I got in I was absolutely drenched so I think it is a hot bath for me tonight.

Hostel

Just watched Hostel on Sky and boy it really was gruesome.
I knew it had that kind of reputation but after all the hype that has followed it since it was released I thought I should at least attempt to watch it.

I was actually expecting it to be a lot poorer than it was but it had a good storyline and it wasn't just mindless violence. There were some moments where I had to hide behind the cushion.
I would put it on a par with the first Saw movie.

Nice ending too and an opening for a sequel I am sure.

Oh how I do hate hospitals

Friday was my appointment at the ENT clinic. I was looking forward to finally getting rid of these polyps once and for all and being able to breathe and talk properly again. No more waking everyone up with my snoring and no more involuntary snorting at inappropriate times either.

My appointment was for 1.40pm and I still managed to get to the clinic in good time even after getting lost around the hospital. When I arrived there was 1 other couple in the waiting room but it soon filled up after me. At about 1.45 me and another woman were called but only to sit in another waiting room about 50 feet away.
The other woman was called in after about 20 minutes and then she was in there about 15 minutes.

Finally I was called into the Consultant. It wasn't a good start as he wanted me to explain why I had been referred. Isn't that the point of the doctor sending his notes? He was very abrupt and rough with me. He looked up my nose and said he couldn't see anything. He was questioning me about the presence of these polyps when I was sent here by my doctor.
He then got the camera thing out and stuck it up my nose. It hurt and I couldn't stop myself from crying. I went there to get help not be abused.
He kept saying there are no polyps and asking me what is wrong with me. I told him why i went to my doctor in the first place and that I could feel the sinuses swollen now and that the feeling in the back of my nose is like someone has shoved 2 huge marshmallows up there.

So I was sent down to X-ray to get my sinuses xrayed. I didn't have to wait long and it wasn't too harsh an exercise. The radiographer was a lot nicer and much more sensitive than the consultant.

Now I have to wait 5 weeks until my next appointment to see what is wrong with me or if I really am just faking it.

OMG!

All about the movies

Last night I watched 2 films on Sky.
The first 1 was called Stay and starred Ewan McGregor. I confess I didn't understand it from the very first minute to the very last. Yes I did watch it all the way through and still I couldn't give you even an inkling of what it was about.



OK so Ewan McGregor was a psychiatrist who was filling in for another doctor while she was sick. That was easy enough to understand. He met 1 of her clients who had loads of issues and from then on all sorts of weird things started to happen. It all got really confusing so I hung on for the end hoping that all would become clear and sadly it didn't. It just ended with a huge flapping loose ends where nothing was resolved at all.

So I could have gone to bed then (should have) but the next film was a comedy starring Paul Nicholls of all people and Jennifer Love Hewitt called If Only. This was way more in my genre.
It was about a guy who was way too busy to give his girlfriend some time or even tell her he loved her. We follow them for 1 day and then suddenly at the end of that day, she is killed in a car crash.



He is all sad and sits reading her diary and falls asleep wishing that he had treated her different. So guess what? He wakes up the next morning but it is the same day and she is there again. He gets to live it over again and do things differently. I shan't tell you how it ends but it has a twist...

Blackpool - The full review

Well I finally finished the whole series and I have to say it is the best BBC series I have seen in a while.

I started off watching it as it was David Tennant but I soon forgot that as the whole cast were amazing and I think I have also developed a thing for David Morrissey now too. He was fabulous as the Arcade no sorry family entertainment centre owner - Ripley Holden. The character you love to hate at the beginning who goes round screwing everyone else for his own advancement. By the end of it though I was feeling sorry for Ripley. We were taken on a complete journey with the character, one which I really enjoyed.

Of course we can't forget about Sarah Parish who is a marvellous actress and I am wondering if I am going to find anything with DT in where he doesn't shag her at some point (OK so the Doctor was never going to end up in the sack with The Empress of the Racnoss ) She plays Natalie Holden Long-suffering wife of Ripley who ends up falling into bed with the very persuasive DI Carlisle (played by DT )

The series ends with the wedding of Shyanne Holden (played by ex corrie actress Georgia Taylor) to her "old enough to be my dad" boyfriend.




I also loved Danny Holden (played by Thomas Morrison) he is sooo cute and please tell me we were meant to guess his little secret at the beginning of episode 1.

Now as you might have guessed I am at a loss. The whole series was only 6 episodes long and although there was a sequel Viva Blackpool I read that reviews aren't too good.

I want to go get the boxset now though and I would urge any David Tennant fans or David Morrissey fans who didn't see it to go and buy it as you will watch it over and over again. I think the BBC should find more talented writers of this kind and get more series like this produced.

A Doctor Who worth waiting for

Thats what the anouncer said before it started and I do believe he was right.
However, you will have to wait for my thoughts as DD & DS haven't seen it yet so I want to watch it again with them before I write about it.

"BURN WITH ME"

United 93

I remember when this movie was made and feeling apprehensive about making an opinion about it. There was a lot of publicity and it seemed that the only bad comments about it at the time it was released were made by those not involved in the terror itself. Family and friends of those who died on UA93 wanted the story to be told.

The movie is about the 9/11 attacks but more specifically about United 93. The plane where the passengers fought back and even though they all lost their lives, it wasn't in vain.

The whole journey through the movie was emotionally harrowing. I knew it would be but I felt compelled to get to the end. It was really well filmed as it was almost like watching a fly on the wall documentary. This made it all the more real and horrifying.
In the 80s/90s, movies about plane hi-jacks were 10-a-penny and you kind of became immune to them but just watching this knowing it was real and that although a lot of it would have been guesswork, those calls home by the passengers as it was unfolding around them were real and nothing was left out.

By the end of the movie I was seriously holding back the tears. My mouth was dry and I was frozen to my seat.
The realisation that everybody on that plane died that day brought back the shear horror of the whole days events.

What really made me extremely angry was the whole way the day was dealt with by the authorities and the military. They just ran around like headless chickens and more or less stood and watched as hundreds of people were killed.

Blackpool

On my quest to acquire the David Tennant back catalogue I am currently half way through "Blackpool" I don't know why I never watched this when it was first on TV but it is an amazing piece of TV.

It is based (Obviously) in Blackpool and is about an owner of an amusement arcade (played by David Morrisey) and his attempt to turn Blackpool into the English equivalent of Las Vegas.
DT plays DI Carlisle who comes in to investigate the murder of a young lad found in Ripley's arcade.

A little twist is that this show is a musical. Every so often the characters burst into song which is absolutely hilarious.

Last night I watched episode 3 which contains the brilliant "Boy with the thorn in his side"



I am definitely going to finish it this weekend as I'll have more time. I will write my full thoughts after that.

Derby Vs Southampton Penalties

Sorry Brian I know you hate it when I talk about football

Wemberley! Wemberley!

What a fucking Awesome night. If not mentally knackering and nerve-wracking.
DD and her friend were lucky enough to be at the game and what a night it was for them even if it did Pee it down for most of the night I doubt they even noticed.

'Twas the 2nd leg of the Play-offs between Derby and Southampton. This was the home leg. The Lets make Pride Park Black and White night. And it worked!

OK so it wasn't an easy ride. Within a couple of minutes Derby were ahead but then a minute later we were back to square 1 as Soton equalised. It was back and forth from then on.
I could not sit still and I definitely couldn't relax. I must have really pissed off DS with my shouting and ranting and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from swearing several times during the game.

In the final minutes of the game it was tied 2-2 but as we had the 1 goal advantage from the previous game it meant we were booking our place at Wembley. Then in the dying seconds of the 90, ironically from a perfectly placed ball from Darren Moore, Greogrz Raziak stuck it well and truly in the back of the net. BUGGER! Firstly this meant that Soton were now winning the actual game but it meant that overall we were drawing and so another 30 minutes to play.

I was going out of my head by this time. I couldn't bear it to go to Penalties. We needed to score again to finally win and put an end to it.

Unfortunatley it seemed that the players were playing fro the Pens. They were knackered and there was no way any of them were going to score again.
I considered turning of the TV and just listening to the shoot-out on the radio but you know it was one of those situations where you know you should look away but you just can't.

Southampton were up first and I was praying with all my might thatthe ball woulod go wide or high or Bywater would save. My prayers were answered as Best shot wide. First off for us was David Jones with a perfect penalty and the rest of the boys followed suit with 4 perfect balls right into the back of the net.
Number 4 for Southampton was our other former Ram Inigo Idiakez. I couldn't look as he stepped up but I peeped to see the ball go sky high and then as the realisation that we had won. Southampton couldn't catch up now, We won, Derby are going to Wembley for the Final. I was clapping and squealing and jumping up and down. What a release of tension as it was finally all over!

On the screen it was bedlam as the fans invaded the pitch and then all I could think of was that DD was probably on the pitch somewhere soaked to the skin. I scoured the screen but there were so many people that I couldn't see her. Then I just had to wait for her text to tell me she was in town so I could go and meet her.

I downed another can of Skol as I waited with a huge grin on my face. At about 11.05pm I got the text so I got my shoes on and wrapped up in my coat to go face the rain.
DD was wet and tired and very happy. It was about a quarter to midnight by the time we got back and she went straight up to bed.
I still couldn't quite believe it. The Rams are going to Wembley!

Sent home

DS always leaves for school about 7.40am and DD leaves a few minutes later at about 7.50am
So Monday morning on ce DD had gone I admit I went back to me bed.

I was dozing off about 8.30 when the phone rang and it was a text from DS saying that school was closed and he was coming home. He got home about 9.30 and sat at the computer for teh rest of the day.

So its Tuesday morning and I am sat here listening to local rubbish radio FM waiting to hear if school is open or not. I don't know if I should get the children up or wait for the announcement but have no clue when they will mention it.
I hate local bloody radio, too many adverts and crap music to go with them!

What a waste of a Saturday night

This week was Eurovision and as usual what a total waste of time and money. BBC clears their boards completely to have every channel concentrated on this silly farce - I won't call it a competition as it isn't anymore!

No Casualty and No Doctor Who just so that we can go through the motions of pretending we think that UK can win when we know that no one in their right minds is ever going to vote for us, Well except for Ireland of course and Salutations to Malta for giving the UK their first 12 points since we won it 10 years ago.

The only good thing about the whole debarcle is Terry Wogan and his glib comments and ironic commentary. Now we have to wait another 7 days for the next episode of Doctor Who.
At least Scooch went into the chart at number 5 so the British people obviously like the song more than all those Eastern Europeans.

Ding ding - End of round 1

Its play off time!
Derby County just missed getting automatic promotion so as they finished 3rd in the table they get to perform in the Championship Play-offs for a chance to go to Wembley and hopefully win promotion to the Premiership.

Today was the first leg against Southampton at St Mary's and live on Sky.

What a fabulous game. Derby didn't quite start as well as they could have and went a goal down but then they picked up the pace and Stevie Howard scored a beautiful header to equalise.

The best thing about the game was it was non-stop all the way. Derby are often quite crap in front of the Sky TV cameras but not this time.
My Rams Hero - Seth Johnson - played marvellously, The man of the match for me and Stevie Howard was there at every chance. On 57 minutes we got a Penalty and the game ended 2-1 to Derby.

The next leg at Pride Park is Tuesday night and as we have the lead Derby can play their game and don't have to play catch up. I can't wait and of they manage to keep the lead then its Wembley Here we come!!!!

Cats - They never get it.

Every morning as soon as I come downstairs, my 2 cats Pica and Ashar start running round like mad things.
I go into the kitchen and they are following me round and meowing their heads off.
I open the fridge and they are there looking up at me with their pleading eyes.
I go to the front room and they are there under my feet, I get up again and it's off to the kitchen they run.

Thing is, I never have any food in at that time of day. In fact I don't ever feed them in the morning until about 11am after I have been out to buy the food for them.
Still they never learn and to them everytime I go to the kitchen it must be feeding time.

I love them to death though and they get their food in the end.

Pica

Ashar

Recovery

I know I am behind the times but today I finally got round to watching Recovery starring David Tennant as Alan Hamilton the Building manager recovering from a coma.

It is a very real emotional journey.
Once again it shows DT's brilliant talents as an actor. Every part he plays is nothing like the last. There are some actors that no matter what part they play, you just see the actor but each role I have seen David in has been unique. You totally forget that it's him and get completely absorbed in the character.

Alan Hamilton is a Building manager, married with 2 children, he and his wife are school sweethearts.

Alan is out with work colleagues one night when he is hit by a truck whilst hailing a taxi. He falls into a deep Coma but the story starts when he eventually awakes from the Coma with obvious brain damage resulting in memory loss.
The rest of the story is all about the couple's struggle as Alan's brain injury has turned him into a totally different person. His wife finds it hard to go from being a wife and lover to mother and carer.

It was one of those stories that takes you right through the emotions. I don't know if I was supposed to but I did laugh out loud sometimes but then at other times I was bawling my eyes out. There were some really touching scenes which were hard to watch for fear of a total breakdown.

I am so glad I have finally been able to watch the whole thing all the way through, It has got to be a must watch film but you have to be in the right frame of mind and be able to watch from beginning to end with no interruptions.

I'm not a buddhist and I'm not gay...

Friday night as both my children deserted me I didn't want to spend my weekend sat around on my own wondering what time everyone was coming home so I jumped at the chance when Brian invited me over.

Brian was hosting a get together for his Gay and Lesbian group. It was initially meant to be a Picnic in the park but as the weather was a bit dodgy he decided that it would be safer to have the picnic on his front room floor and then see how the weather was.

I was up early for a Saturday and sat and watched Hider whilst eating my breakfast (It was only Garth Crooks though) and then managed to get myself on the 11.11 train to Notts. As it was a Saturday, the train was well packed and it was a relief to get off.
I think I arrived at Brian's a little before 12 with my Sainsbury's bag with cooked Chicken and a bag of pre-packed salad as my contribution to the festivities.

It was great to meet Tanya and May. I just don't meet new people anymore. It is good to just get out and learn new stuff too.

There was a huge feast and soon we were tucking into Quiche, Sausage rolls, Chicken, Salad etc...
There was even a bit of chocolate to finish off the picnic.

I have to admit that I wasn't prepared for all the walking that would be done. If I had, I probably wouldn't have worn me old Spice girl platform trainers and might just have worn some more sensible walking apparel.
We headed off towards the Castle. It is a long time since I went to Notts Castle. Although neither of my children can remember, I am almost certain that we went when they were little.

As we approached the Castle, we could see there was some commotion going on. Bri spotted a couple of American cars and then we heard the music from Grease in the air. It was a promotion for the ITV show "Grease is the word"
There were 2 actors dressed as Sandy and Danny miming along to songs from the film. It was a bit disappointing that they were miming at all and these wasn't any kind of literature to explain why they were there.
None of us actually watch the show so we had no idea if they were actual contestants from the show or just any old actors. I still have no idea what was going on but it was a nice distraction anyway.
Oh if you are wondering where are my pictures? Well of course I totally forgot to take my camera along. Even though I have now got a 2gig memory card, Its no good if I never take the camera...



We walked round to the "Trip to Jerusalem" and had a look round the inside. I know I have been inside once but I couldn't remember anything about it. In front of the pub was a Student union MAYDAY event in aid of supporting Asylum seekers. This really wasn't my kind of thing and it seems I was the odd one out in the group. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the "music" but to me it was just awful noise. Some kind of black political rap band. You know I can't describe it without sounding offensive, you get the idea that I just didn't like it.
There were a few groups with tables there, Friends of the earth etc...



From here we took a long walk to Castle Marina and then an ever longer walk back along the side of the canal.
It was a gorgeous day. The Sun was out and the Sky was blue. It was really hot (Yes I was dressed in a jumper again) It was lovely walking along and looking at all the canal boats moored up but it can get a Little wearing.

We reached the train station at about 5pm and I was so annoyed with myself that I had left my jacket back at Brian's (With my train ticket in) because I now had to face the trek all the way back to his before I could get my train.

May took us to this little tea room across the road from the station. It is an art gallery which sells drinks too. I had never seen it before.
I am not really one for Art and so didn't really think much to the exhibits (Although Tanya is an artist and she didn't think much to them either)

We walked back to Brian's and then Tanya and I made our way back again to the Train station.

I was really looking forward to a sit down only to find the train jam packed full of football hooligans. Forest fans and Crewe fans. It wasn't very pleasant. I squeezed in the end of the train with memories of being on the tube. There was lots of chanting and shouting and singing and stomping of feet as well as banging on the walls and ceilings of the train and I longed for it to pull into Derby. Of course a few of the Forest fans got off at the local stops but the majority were Crewe fans who were changing at Derby so no fear of a sit down before reaching my destination.
As soon as the train came to a stop I was off and jumped into a taxi home.
I got home just in time to make a drink before Doctor Who came on.

Reading this back I have been a little harsh with my moaning. All the walking aside, it was a fantastic day. So refreshing to meet new people and see a few things I haven't seen before.
If I hadn't gone I would just have been sat here on me bum all day so I am really grateful to Bri for inviting me and I do hope we can do it again soon.

Chivalry is Indeed Dead.

When nI got on the 6pm train back from Notts on Saturday, It was packed to the rafters with Football yobs. I felt like I was in London and traveling on the tube because it was standing room only and we were all packed in like sardines. As we stopped at the few local stations between Nottingham and Derby though it thinned out as most of the Forest fans got off.

Between Long Eaton and Derby which I admit is only 10 minutes, there were 5 people stood with me and a further 5 people stood in the vestibule at the other end of the carriage. All of the people standing were women including a very heavily pregnant woman and not 1 male on that train offered their seats once to anyone standing up.

I didn't mind so much having to stand up as I fear once I had sat down it might have been harder for me to get up again. I just can't accept the fact that no one cared to offer the Pregnant lady a seat.
This is how football yobs get themselves a bad reputation.

Time to go home - Monday

I woke up at about 7am when my alarm went off on my phone. I got up and put Moyles on the radio. I wanted to savour the last few hours of our holiday instead of sleeping and didn't want to rush round like a maniac doing all the cleaning up to leave the caravan as we found it.

Once the children were up and fed we made sure we hadn't left anything before leaving the caravan and taking in the key. The gentleman on reception was the same one that I saw when I checked in. He was very friendly and asked if we had enjoyed our holiday and if the caravan was OK. I was very impressed.

We took one last walk over to the restaurant where we stayed for breakfast. DS had the full cooked breakfast. I had Sausage butties and DD had Bacon butties. When we were all finished I called a cab to the station and before long we were sat on the train on our way home. We were earlier than I had planned and instead of an hour wait at York we had just 5 minutes.

We were home before 3pm. We were all tired and hungry so I got down the menus from the kitchen and we ordered food in.

So that was our first ever holiday away together as a little family unit. It was brilliant and we will definitely do it again in the next round of Sun holidays. Maybe not Scarborough though, I would love to go somewhere more South.

Day 3 - Sunday

Again I was woken by seagulls at about 6am but I went straight back to sleep.

The plan for today was to relax in the morning. The children wanted to go swimming and I wanted to just sit and read my book and not have to do anything too energetic. However once they had been gone about half an hour, I got restless.

Derby were live on Sky so my plan was to go over to the bar around 1pm for lunch and then sit and watch the game. Instead I left the caravan about 12ish and wondered over to see if I could see the kids in the pool. DD had categorically told me I wasn't allowed to watch and in no uncertain terms was I too take any pictures of them in the pool.
Well I couldn't see them in there anyway so I had a little play in the arcades and then decided to go sit in the bar for a quiet drink.

When they were done swimming, DD & DS joined me and we had a small lunch. I did quite fancy the Sunday Carvery lunch but as they both just wanted a lite lunch I agreed we would all have Onion rings.

After lunch DD and I made ourselves comfotable on the leather sofa in front mof the giant screen to watch the game.
Derby were crap we lost 2-0 a good waste of 2 hours...

The children asked if they could go back into Scarborough. I didn't really want to go back and wander the arcades so they got on the bus and went by themselves. The last bus back was 7pm so they just had a couple of hours.

I wanted to find where the beach was. On the map it said 100 yards away. It wasn't wrong. Only what it didn't tell you on the map was that it was down a steep hill which of course means back up a steep hill to come back. It was breath-taking views though so I was so glad I had taken the walk.







The other thing that was breath-taking was the icy cold wind so I didn't venture onto the beach. I can imagine in the height of summer that this is a right little sun-trap.

I wandered back to the caravan and sat to read my book. I have to say Moyles is absolutely hilarious. I had the door to the caravan open and I bet people were wondering what was going on as I was crying with laughter yet again.

The children returned about 7.30pm and we decided to spend our last night on the park taking advantage of all the entertainment available.
We got takeaway and took it into the club. It was nearly 8.30pm and the place was deserted. There were about 6 kids on the dancefloor and about 20 tables of people.
The first part of the evening for the kiddies was a little play - Sparkey's New Clothes -


I loved it! I know I shouldn't but I did. It is great just to be a kid for a few moments. After the little performance was our last chance to see Jinx! It was tough work for them as there were few people in the room but they were brilliant. A holiday camp is the perfect place for them as they tailor their performance and their set perfectly.
The final piece of entertainment for the night was the Party dances with the Teamstars.
DS was straight down there to try and win a prize. They did his favourite dance "The court of King Caractacus" I noticed even DD was dancing away in her seat. I didn't join in visually but I was doing the dance mentally in my head.

DS did win this time - A certificate of achievement in recognition of PARTY DANCES. How proud was he?!!!

We stayed right to the end of the evening and I couldn't believe that this was it, more or less our holiday was over.
We got rid of the last of our change in the arcade and headed back to the caravan to pack.

Day 2 - Saturday

I was woken at about 6am by birds on the roof of the caravan. Mainly Seagulls I imagine as I could hear them squawking overhead too. I really felt like I lived on the ground floor of an apartment block. I lay there for a little while and eventually dropped off again. The bed was amazingly comfy. I must had got the best sleep I have had for a long time as once I did get up, I felt really good!

I got up at 9am and sat and watched Hider. I know that is a daft thing to do on your holiday but I felt well rested and ready for the day ahead.
I had brought some Eggs and Bacon so that we could have a fry-up and we all tucked into Bacon and Eggs before heading off to get the bus into Scarborough. Its only a 10 minutes journey on the bus so we were there before 12.

As we had a good 7 hours in the town, we decided to go have a look round the shops and DD needed to send a postcard to her friend.
I realised as we headed down towards the front that Stupidly I had left my camera in my suitcase so I decided to pop into Argos and treat myself to a new one. It is only a cheap little thing but it would do me for the rest of the weekend. Mind you It would have helped if I had read the specs and the instructions a bit more before I started firing it off.

I took this one picture of the front with the Castle in the background which I am sure is exactly the same as the one I took last time I was there.

I took a couple of pics of DS on the beach too but they seem to have disappeared. Told you I should have read the manual first.

When we left the park in the morning it was really cold and overcast so we were all dressed for winter but by about 2pm the sun was out the Sky was blue and people were striping off all over the place. We couldn't let the occasion pass without going on the beach and we stood out a mile in our big coats, jumpers and trainers. Of course it didn't bother DS as his trainers and socks were off and his trouser legs were rolled up and he was paddling in the sea.

You know time really goes fast as you are in and out of arcades and by 3.30 I realised how hungry I was. We found a lovely little fish restaurant and sat down for lunch. DD ordered the cheese salad and DS went for the most expensive thing on the menu, the Crab salad. Well when they came you would think that this was their last supper, there was enough on 1 plate for the 3 of us. I am glad I just opted for the Baked potato with Prawns as I got enough salad with that.


God knows how much money we poured into those arcade machines but I did end up with a nice little keyring booty that I won out of them. That is where the excitement lays. If there were machines that had no gifts, I would miss them out.

I realised that time was moving on and we should make a start back up to the bus stop. Not before DD got herself some Donuts though and DS got himself some crabsticks to take back.

It was about 6.30 when we got back and I had blisters on my feet from all the walking. #
By about 8 though we were ready to go out again and walked down to the club.

Even though it was Saturday night, there was even less people than the night before. I had expected it to get a lot busier and was surprised that we could get a table right at the front. I treated the children to a big cup each that could be refilled each time we come back.

Saturday was Party in the dark night at the club. So all the children were encouraged to bug their parents to buy flashy things.
We watched Sparkey's Funtime and then resident band Jinx with different outfits and a whole different set to Friday night.
The guest act Saturday night was a girl duo called Insomnia - most aptly named as they would be the perfect cure for it. They were really rubbish and I would have preferred another set from Jinx rather than them so I suggested we go get Pizza and take it back to the Caravan. There was a great little takeaway in the complex that did Pizza, Burgers, Kebabs, Chips, Chicken etc...

The Pizzas were gorgeous. I got a Ham and Pineapple one and a veggie one so that we could share them between the 3 of us.

We all got snuggled up in our duvets and watched TV for a it before finally getting to bed about 1amish

Hi-De-Hi Campers

Back in January I received a priority booking form for The Sun's £9.50 holidays. At first I said to myself "Yeah Right" but then I thought that surely I could scrape together the £38 and if it is only a weekend, we wouldn't need that much money.
So I collected the tokens and sent in me form and paid the money. I had put mostly April dates so that we had longer to save up and although I had to break my rule of not taking the children out of school, Luckily we got this last weekend.

So Friday afternoon off we went to catch the train to Scarborough. (Changing at Leeds). Unusually for us everything went smoothly. There was a little delay but not that we really noticed.

We got to the caravan park around 5pm and made our way to the check in point in the club room.
I was so nervous. I have never done this before. At my age you would think I had booked a holiday before but I hadn't.
As we were late in the day, there was no queuing. I got my welcome pack and my key within 5 minutes of arriving.

We were certainly given a perfect start to our break. The caravan was just a minute's short walk from the entertainment complex and right next door to Reception as well as 2 minutes from the bus stop into the town.
Our Caravan was also much more than we could have asked for. 3 bedrooms which meant that the children wouldn't have to share after all (according to my reservation we should have been in a 2 bed) There was heaters in all the rooms as well as a seperate toilet and shower.
The kitchen had a microwave and a Forman grill and the lounge area had a DVD player as well as Freeview and built in radio. It was obvious that we had secured a privately owned unit as there were a selection of games in the cupboard and little ornaments scattered about the caravan.

Our Caravan

To the left of the caravan

To the right.

Once we had got ourselves settled and sorted out the linen etc... We took a walk down to the entertainments and shop to take a look around. As it is just the beginning of the season, it was very quiet. We had a go on the Arcades and then went for some tea in the restaurant. The children both opted for Lasagne and I had Scampi.

We made our way into the Clubroom at about 8.30pm and it wasn't even half full so we were able to get a good table near the front.

As in most of these places they more or less stick to the same format of entertainments. No Rory and Bradley this time though. Park Resorts have their own characters. Firstly the hero of the hour is Sparky the rabbit along with his slightly more intelligent girlfriend Sparkle.

The other character though was by far our favourite, he is Naarky the Nardvark

(OK my pictures aren't the best)

We had arrived in time for Sparky's funtime. The children had to do daft thing to compete for point which would ultimately lead to -Yes you guessed it-Prizes

Halfway through, Naarky appeared to spice up proceedings as he caused mischief and mayhem distracting the children and going round knocking chairs over. What fun that must be. I would love to play Naarky.

DS' favourite next as the Teamstars came out on stage to do the Party dances. DS was straight down to the front as prizes were mentioned for the best dancers etc...He wasn't a winner on this occasion but he would have more chances later on.

The next entertainment was the resident cabaret who are a band called Jinx. They are a family consisting of Dad on Bass, Son on Drums and the 2 daughters doing all the singing.
I thought they were terrific. They did a huge variety of covers from Kylie/Lily Allen/Charlotte Church to Take That and even Black Lace. They kept the children on the dancefloor and intigrated them into the act and even had COMPETITION TIME half way through the set where the children had to go and fetch a parent to dance with and the girls would pick the best dancer to get a prize (T-shirt, Certificate, medal) Of course it was never an adult that won.

As well asJinx on every night, There was also a guest act. The act Friday night was a male comedian and I didn't fancy that so we went out into the arcades. It waqs probably about 10.30 went we went back to the caravan but we watched a bit of TV and went to bed as it had been a knackering day travelling.