Brokeback mountain

I finally got the chance to sit down and watch Brokeback mountain last night.
What a load of pants it was!
Everyone knows I loved Heath Ledger (and still do - His memory lives on!!) but what was so special about this movie? It was slow and boring. Lots of screen time where there was no talking or where I couldn't hear the talking at all anyway because it was so quiet and mumbly.

I gave up on it and went to bed halfway through.

14 birthdays

My DS celebrated his 14th birthday this weekend. Another milestone for us all and another little step into adulthood.
His choice for his party this year was a trip to the megazone. It was £4 a game so I worked out how many I could afford to take which was 8. Ange asked if she could bring my Nephew and she even paid for him.

We booked in for 6pm and got there in lots of time. As we were waiting for the other lads to turn up, Disaster struck - My lens popped out of my glasses. This meant that at some point the little tiny screw has fallen out. So although DD did get on her hands and knees to look it was a waste of time. It was busy time and there were loads of people walking back and forth. I struggled by holding the glasses together but it wasn't easy and the job was made harder still by the fact that we were still waiting for one of DS friends to turn up and we were close to losing our 6pm slot.
The guy behind the desk told me that they could start and if the other lad arrived he could join them.
So off the kiddies trooped up the stairs ready for their megatag mission.

It was nice for me cos I sat in the bar with Ange and Rob. They were drinking but I didn't bring enough money to have a drink myself.

The game lasted half an hour and it wasn't soon before they all came trundling back in sweaty and tired out. It turned out that DN had actually scored highest so he felt pleased with himself and then he swiftly beat DD in a game of Pool.

It was a bit daunting walking this group of 14 yr old lads back home. For a start they all tower above me and unlike when they were just little 6yr olds, I had no authority what-so-ever. Luckily for me then that the trip home went off without incident.



DS was looking forward to showing off his new game. DD and I had bought him Guitar Hero between us. He had picked it up really quickly and it was hard for him to let anyone else go on.
It was very noisy, I am glad I opted to stay in the kitchen with my laptop. Even when I brought out the Pizza they didn't quieten any.

I was so glad when 9pm came and all but 1 of the party guests had gone, that meant I could send them off to the bedroom to play on the Wii so I could watch Torchwood.

Saturday

Saturday night I had planned a second party for family and close friends. Everyone was planned to arrive at 7pm although it was geting on for 8. Ange and DN had been outside PPS after the game with DD getting autographs and pictures with the players. They arrived a little wet and cold but extremely happy.

The boys soon set up their Poker school in the kitchen and in the lounge we tried a bit of everything.
DN wasn't too impressed with the guitar and so declared himself bored because it was stupid. Debz and Zoe tried out the DanceMat and agreed with DD that the Pop Idol game was too hard. So then the ole Singstar came out but it was the children's turn to hog it this time.

I think it must have been about Midnight when Zoe and Tori left. Ange, Rob, Debz and Carl were content to keep drinking though. Me? I was taking it easy this time. I started drinking Squash about midnight. I was very cold though and had to go put on my Cardi over my jumper.

Carl and Rob became very competitive on the Guitar hero - I can see it is going to be winner at future get togethers.

It was about 2.30am when I realised that the clocks had to go forward - with that in mind the clocks said nearer 4.30am when everyone was making their way to their taxies. Rob had fallen asleep on the sofa and Dear little Niece had fallen asleep on DS bed - face down with her bum in the air.
I had been sneakily tidying up around people since 1am so there was no mess left for morning this time.
I crawled into my bed sometime nearing 5am but it was a thoroughly great night.

Wokmania

There is big surge of these Chinese buffet restaurants opening up at the moment. Wokmania is the third but is a bit more classy environment.

When Lisa emailed me and suggested we have our monthly meet up this weekend I was well up for it. Because of DS birthday though I couldn't do Friday or Saturday so I suggested we meet up Thursday after I finish at TBG.
We met at 2.45 on the dot outside the Standing Order and went in there for a couple of pints first. It was great to just sit back relax and chat. There was lots to catch up on and when we get started we can both talk for England.

It was gone 5pm when we made the move and the short walk down to the "Cathedral Quarter" of Derby along to Wokmania which is set inside St Werbergh's converted church.


Inside they have done wonders. It is very classy but they have kept the features of the church which is an experience like no other.

The desserts area is right at the front of thechurch where the alter would have been which is an interesting metaphore if you think of it...

And yes that is a White chocolate fountain you can see.

There are over 100 dishes in all. There was so much choice that both of us had 2 starters. I like the finger food first but they had a great salad bar with Pineapple and Cucumber and Potato a number of mixed salads. As well as the obligatory Prawn Crackers, samosas and spring rolls. No Prawn toasts though :(
We also found ourselves having 2 mains. There are so many hot dishes and curries to choose from. I made a bee-line for the BBQ ribs and the Lemon Chicken as well as Rice, Chow mien, Garlic Mushrooms, Ooh so much I can hardly remember it all. I didn't even see the fish dishes until Lisa was merrily picking apart her spicy Prawns so I had to go back and get some along with the spicy Mussels and fried Whitebait. We could have gone back for more but we both knew we needed to save a space for the desserts section.

The toilets are on a balcony so I took a picture from up there of the rest of the restaurant.


and of the lovely wooden ceilings


Now for the best yet - the dessert section - What a selection they had on offer. As well as the Milk chocolate fountain and the White chocolate fountain there was a soft ice cream machine (You know the ones I have trouble with) and around the tables are bowls of sweeties. There is Jelly Babies and Liquorice Allsorts and Fruit Bonbons and other jelly based sweets. Then there is a huge selection of fruits with Skewers which I guess you are encourged to put all the pieces of fruit on a skewer and bath them in chocolate MMmmmmmm.

I filled a bowl with ice cream then I found the biggest Strawberry I had ever seen and lots of sweeties and covered them all in both types of Chocolate.

All this was washed down with a gorgeous bottle of white wine which Lisa treated us to.

Now I have read a few reviews of the place online and I have to agree with what they all say. The thing that lets them down is the staff. They are all very young and seemed to spend a lot of time standing around chatting. Our plates weren't cleared once and we had to move them to another table out of the way although we were told on our arrival that we could use as many plates as we wanted. At May Sum your plates are gone as soon as you turn round.
I even had to ask a group of them to move so I could go back up to the Dessert area.

I just couldn't let the evening end without having a piece of the gorgeous Raspberry cheesecake which was as good as it looked and finished off my meal perfectly.

By the time we were coming to the end of our meal the place was getting really busy. People queuing right to the back. I was glad we came in when we did.
The other negative was waiting to pay. We stood there for a while while the staff carried on chatting. We could have easily just walked out and they wouldn't have noticed.

All in all it was a great evening. Wonderful company and great food. Now Lisa says we should make it our mission to visit all the buffet restaurants in Derby. Roll on next month!

One week multi-post

Where did that week go? I can't believe it is a whole 7 days since I celebrated my birthday. It has been go all week.

I got some lovely pressies. Debz and Shell bought me some shot glasses for my flavoured Voddies as well as some vodka and chocolate to make up some more. Aero mint Vodka is my next target.
Zoe and Tori bought me these gorgeous candles


They are vanilla and smell absolutely goreous - even when not lit.

My loverly friend Brian bought me a DT Doctor Who figure from The Wire episode. How brilliant is that. My very own David Tennant doll to do with what I will!

He also gave my soul card in a frame.

The piece de resistance of my presents was ultimately from my friend Dot as she spent the whole week at my house tiling my bathroom. It looks fab!!

BEFORE

AFTER

I seem to have spent the rest of the week recovering from the weekend and clearing up the mess bit by bit each day.

Tuesday afternoon I had an interview at Derby County for the ticket office. It was quite awesome, going into the stadium and being taken up into one of the private boxes. I was offered a drink with a choice of juices, water or wine (non-alcoholic). The interview itself was very intnese and I panicked slightly as I realised I hadn't prepared as much as I should have done. I struggled with a couple of the questions because I just fell apart inside. I managed to get through though and then was shown to the ticket office to have the practical part of the interview.
I was shown how to use the software and had a couple of practise goes. I was very nervous and although it was very simple I did make a couple of stupid mistakes. I was so relieved when I could leave and felt rather stupid but at least it was over.

I haven't heard from them although DS said they rang Thursday they havn't rang back so either they gave the position to someone else or they will ring back Tuesday...Here's hoping because I need to get out of TBG now. I have done the coursework and jobsearch is futile if you are doing it every single day. I need work and they are useless at getting my a placement.

Its Bank Holiday weekend now. Good Friday was spent catching up on the tv we have missed. That was Sport Relief, Moving Wallpaper, Echo Beach, 2 eps of Reaper and American Dad.
I still have a few movies to catch up on too so hoping to do that Sunday/Monday.

The morning after the night before

Saturday morning- My actual birthday - and I was a little worse for where. My head was bangin so hard I couldn't lift it off the pillow. Which brings me to the point that the night before I fell asleep on the chair and I woke up on my bed - still with the sleeping bag wrapped round me - Still with a pile of laundry just strewn all over the place.

I shuffled along in my sleeping bag to the lounge and wished I hadn't because I realised the mess that we had left.


Brian was already awake and drinking coffee but all I wanted to do was sink back into the chair and stay there for the rest of the day. I couldn't of course as for one I remembered that DN had stayed the night before. He woke up in a bit of a bad mood as DS alarm had come on rather early and rather loud. I kept asking him what was the matter but he just mumbled "Nothing"
He soon brightened up when DS came back from his paper round though and they spent the morning playing Wii and DS.

I spent the morning in my sleeping bag flicking through the TV to find something decent to watch and Brian spent the morning playing Big Brain academy and Brain age2 on my DS. In fact I think he had a go on Nintendogs and a few of the other games too.

Ange came to fetch DN at sometime between 12 and 1pm. I realised that we couldn't actually sit here all day so Brian and I decided to go out for lunch. DS had already gone out and I asked DD if she wanted to come but she said no so just the 2 of us went out to May Sum.

I actually squeeed when I saw they had the Chocolate fountain on this time

We had a fabulous lunch and I was absolutely stuffed. I even made a friend on the way out.


I saw Brian off on his bus and got back home to listen to the second half of Derby Vs Man Utd.
I opened my Gorgeous Thornton chocolates and put my feet up with a glass of wine that Lisa left behind. DS was out with his mates and DD had gone off to Pride Park to try and get some Autographs/photographs of the players.

Birthdays go by very quick these days. It'll soon by DS birthday and then before you know it DD with be celebrating her sweet 16...

Wanna see my bruises?

Yes I did take pictures of my bruises so I am going to show you now.

My Shin

My Thigh

My calf

It's my party and I'll throw Vodka over you if I want to

After all the drama of the day with falling down the stairs and working against the clock to get the house ready and the food prepared. My first guests arrived. Well they all turned up together so there wasn't even time to ease into the evening. Ange and Debz partners and kids as well as our extended family of Zoe and Tori and their partners and kids. Not forgetting Debz mate Shell who I have known since she was about 3.

It was a real christening for our little flat. Suddenly it was full of people and I knew there were more to come. I made myself a Vodka and coke but I think I overdid it on the vodka for my first drink and nearly choked.
I stood chatting to Glynn for quite a while. We chatted about my autographs because there are only a few up and he wanted to know what I was going to do with the rest of them. Pretty soon Brian arrived with Tim and Al. I don't think they had been there long when Ange pounced on Brian to get him to sing with her.

I told you that I had overdone it with the Voddie as I can't even remember Lisa and her boys arriving but I can remember thinking OMG!!! They were both taller than me with their deep voices. They were only so high the last time I saw them and of course just like DD they will be 16 this year. It was great having Lisa and Brian and Tim and my sisters all the one room and then to complete it Dot and her sister arrived with young D. He got straight in with the kids and quickly got addicted to the Wii.

So here they all were - All the most important people in my life drinking and eating and singing together.
The blokes in the kitchen playing Poker




and the gals in the lounge singing karaoke,


Not to mention the kids in the bedroom playing Nintendo Wii.
I did a spot of singing too. I think I might have sang with Tim

but not sure and I have an idea I sang with Dot - Something by Wham I think - Blimey I must have really been knocking them back as my memory of actual events are a bit vague.

I do remember being nagged to get the flavoured Vodkas out. I made 3 because I only had 3 empty bottles. They were Traditional Toffee Vodka, Sour Wham bar Vodka and Double Decker Vodka. Everyone wanted a taste - even the kids. This is where the story behind my title lays.
I picked up the bottle of Double Decker Vodka off the table and shook it - not realising that the lid wasn't on. It went absolutely everywhere. All down me mostly but also all over the walls, floor, in the margarine and anywhere else I haven't noticed yet.

I couldn't believe it when 11pm came and Tim and Al said their goodbyes. It felt like they hadn't even been there long. It wasn't long then before midnight came and the local church bells rang in my birthday. Everyone pulled party poppers - mainly over my head!


It was time to open my pressies and I got some cool gifts. I didn't open all of them as I wanted some to open in the morning - I will do a separate blog of all my actual presents.

I don't remember much else. I haven't a clue when Lisa or Dot left. I do remember Debz, Carl and DD walking Shell home. I also remember standing outside with Ange while they all waited for their taxi along with Tori and Dave.
Oh yes and I remember that for most of the night Brian hogged the microphone after swearing blind he wouldn't even have a go...



The last throws of the party I remember is Brian saying it was 2am as he and DS were having a last go on Singstar. I couldn't believe the night had passed so quick. Ange and Rob were preparing to go home as they waited for their taxi and Dear Nephew didn't want to go home so I said he could stay and stay he did.
I chucked Bri a duvet to camp down on the sofa and I got the sleeping bag out and fell asleep on the chair. (However I did wake up on my bed...)

Busy Busy Busy

I am blogging now as I might not get another chance until at least Sunday.

It is my birthday party tonight so I am busy getting the house in order before I have to start with the food prep. I have done the kitchen through and the bathroom/toilet. I have started on the hallway but there is some work going on that is in my way. Hopefully it will be done by tonight.

I have a checklist and I am halfway through it which is good going for 10.34am. I also have to go last minute shopping this afternoon before finally having a bath at what I hope will be 5pm.

Everyone is due to arrive around 8ish.

ARGH! I started this this morning then disaster struck as I was putting up some pictures on the landing. The steps slipped and I fell down the stairs. It hurt. I think I am still in shock. I need to lie down but I have so much to do.

On the positive side my special birthday present is now finished :-)

No, I want that job

Tuesday brought interview number 3 and It went great.
The company was on an industrial estate not far from where my sisters live. I took a cab up there as I was afraid of the weather but I did walk back which took about 20 minutes.

I was very nervous until I got inside the building. The General manger interviewed me. He was really down to earth and didn't make any judgements. He wasn't bothered about my lack of experience and he was very positive about the future and about the interview.
He showed me around and he also gave me a little test to do.

He told me the job was mostly a little bit of typing and a little bit of taking telephone calls and a little bit of filing and photocopying. At the end of the interview he even showed me the office that I would be occupying if I got the job. WOW it was even bigger than his own office.

I left the interview feeling very positive and happy that it had been a pleasant experience. This and the now clear skies persuaded me to walk home (I actually think I might have skipped)

I even got changed extremely quickly and made it to TBG before the end of morning break. I think people could tell it had gone well...

I want that job

Interview number 2 today.
It was with a local recruitment agency initially for the job as Ticket office assistant at Pride Park.
Typically it started to chuck it down as I left the house and I was very bedraggled by the time I arrived.

Not much to report really. I filled out the required paperwork and then went through my CV with the recruitment consultant as she asked me questions about my previous jobs and my training course. She asked me what kind of work I would be willing to take and what I wouldn't want to take.
I was there over an hour and the whole thing went really well but of course, this is their job isn't it. Recruitment consultants interview people for a living so of course they are good at it.
I was there for about an hour and guess what? As I was leaving, The rain started again. I was soaked by the time I got home.
So lets see what that brings up...

Controversy on Robin Hood land

As you may know I have an autograph blog. On Friday I blogged about my recent success from Robin Hood actress Lucy Griffiths.

Last night I was perusing my stats and the entry had gotten over 600 hits. So I checked out some of the links and it seems the Robin Hood community are up in arms because in her letter to me Lucy said that it was the BBC who decided she should leave the show and not her decision as they had thought. There are links from all over LJ as well as the main websites for each of the sites dedicated to the other lead characters.
I was quite shocked that my post had caused such uproar. When I first posted the letter I didn't think it would matter as the blog hardly gets many hits and the blog itself is really more of a reference for me.

So I have taken the letter down from the blog as I don't think it is fair to Lucy. I am regretting putting it up now and if you read this Lucy, I apologise for all the trouble it has caused.

Just some of the posts I have read.

http://community.livejournal.com/robinhoodbbc/784925.html
http://lucy-griffiths.com/forums/index.php?topic=171.0
http://morwenna-r.livejournal.com/friends
http://users.livejournal.com/_the_masterplan/friends?skip=20

Unfortunately a lot of the forums you have to register to and I don't have time to do that.

Gissa job

At my last Jobsearch review Clive told me I should be getting interviews by now and so I had to broaden my search. By his statistics you are supposed to get 1 interview for every 10 applications.

Yesterday was my first interview for a job I don't really want to do. It was for a Catalogue outlet in Normanton. It took me ages to move out of there and I don't particularly want to have to go back there every day.
I can't really say how the interview went. I got there in plenty of time and was greeted by the manager who took me upstairs to the office which was a bit of a trek down corridors and round corners. It was mostly them telling me about the work and the company in general. I did get to sell myself when I was able to compare the work to what I had done at Poundplus as it sounded about the same kind of system. Although I had prepared beforehand, when it came to the "Is there anything you would like to ask" question all I could think of was that she hadn't mentioned the hours so I asked about that.

Sometimes you can get an idea of how you have done from the reaction and body language of the interviewer but on the occasion I was getting mixed signals. The Assistant was very positive and friendly where as the manager herself was very aloof. She couldn't get me out of there quick enough...So we will see.

Now I have another interview on Monday afternoon and then another on Tuesday morning. I haven't even heard from the 2 jobs that I really wanted to apply for. so watch this space.

Damn neighbours!

I was woken at 4am by lots of screaming and shouting and banging coming from my next door neighbours. I was contemplating reaching out for the phone and dialling 999 when I realised they were actually having sex - Very loudly. The banging must have been the bed knocking up against the wall.


I lay there for half an hour before finally falling back asleep. I wonder if they realised that the whole neighbourhood can hear them as their window was wide open.
Should I put a note through the door??

I finished it already

The final unit of my TBG coursework was finished and submitted for marking today. What a relief to have it done and dusted already. Its quite amazing that even with me just doing part-time I can do the whole thing in just 7 weeks.
Now I can concentrate on getting some work experience and perhaps doing the ECDL qualification. And more time to devot to Job searching so that I can be more picky with my applications with more time to get into my quota - I have to have 8 job hits per week which by the statistics should bring me in at least 1 interview per week. We shall see. I have 2 interviews lined up already although neither are really jobs that I want but I really need the interview experience.

Someone's sitting in my seat.

Every lunch time instead of sitting in the awful old canteen at TBG I like to take my lunch and sit on the big comfy seats in the Westfield centre. I have taken to going up the escalators and walking down to sit on the sofa outside Debenhams...that is until I get there and someone is already sat there.
How dare they! My heart sinks as I walk along to see all the seats full and then I have to keep on walking till I find an empty chair or sofa.

I find myself speeding up faster and faster - It's like when you get on a train and rush to get to an available table seat. I hate it when all the comfy sofas are full and I end up sitting on the little kidney shaped stools like today.

A-hunting we will go

The first time I noticed I had forgotten my purse was at break time when I fancied some chocolate out of the vending machine. So lucky I had brought sandwiches for lunch (Although I can go home as it is only 12 minutes away)

Then when DS got home he remembered he hadn't given me the list for his cooking the next day. So when he went on his paper round I went to Sainsburys local to get them. I couldn't believe the cost of chicken. He was supposed to have chicken breast but that was £3.99 and there's no way I could afford it. I got some thigh for £1.69 instead. I got Peppers too but no sign of Thai curry paste.

I went round all the shops in the area and none of them had Thai curry paste. DD went to look round some more shops but still no luck. So when DS got back from his paper round we set off on a trek to the Chinese Supermarket in town but by the time we got there it was gone 5.30 and they were closed. We took one last long shot and went to the Sainsburys in town - low and behold, there it was on the shelf with all the curry mixes etc.

The Curry better be worth it!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

This morning I was awoken by my loverly children with breakfast in bed. This consisted of toast and coffee and a chocolate digestive flapjack. Along with the breakfast was a huge card and pink Rose and a present - The 3DVD set of the TV show "The Long way Round". If anyone didn't see the show - Ewan McGregor and his lifelong friend Charley Boorman road motorbikes from London to New York via Eastern Europe. It was a fantastic show and I have watched the whole series a couple of times when it has been repeated on SKY 3. However the DVD has loads of footage that was never shown on TV as well as other extra bits so I will look forward to sitting down and watching it sometime.

I am being lazy and writing this in bed while listening to JK & Joel on my laptop.
Nan will be ringing soon anyway :)

What am I missing?

Everyone has heard of her from here to Timbuctoo but what is all the big fuss about Amy Whinehouse?? She can't sing..Everything she has done has been a load of crap (Except for Valerie but that is Mark Ronson's doing) She is just a junkie alcoholic who obviously hasn't eaten for at least a year and I just don't get it.

Did you see her on the Brits. She was so out of it yet she got a Standing ovation? What was that all about? Really! what has she done to deserve such admiration??? I swear I must have been in the loo when they gave out the brainwashing pills