Is there a Gap in the Bluewater market?

Blimey, have had a roller coaster of a busy week with two trips to retail emporiums, a new pink kitchen (well a third of it anyway), a visit to the lovely Tenterton - best children's play park in area, and um, lots of using the marvellous inherited dishwasher. Oh, and an actual night out - almost to see the new Dylan Thomas film but mistakenly did not book so had to go and drink some shots of bonkers juice in the Old town instead. Which was actually quite fun. And we discovered that there are four black cabs in Hastings. Which are actually cabs and you simply flag them down and they take you home. The poor cabbie was quite overcome with our enthusiasm for his vehicle that he admitted three other people this week had also been overly delighted with it.

Anyway - to the point. In Bluewater on Friday to buy jeans for lovely M (much harder than I could have ever imagined). But we went in to Gap. Now usually the staff jump on you hard, many times during a visit. And M just won't have it. But this time I convinced him we should talk to the staff, or members or whatever they are called, and get their help. Because frankly I was running out of opinions on shades of blue, and straight or boot etc etc. And just wanted them to do all the work.

But they didn't talk to us once. There was no one at the door. Three members of staff were lurking by the jeans section but despite numerous hints about help help help please they did not even look in our direction. They were chatting but not in an upbeat way. Sadly could not manage to actually hear the conversation as would have had to get extremely close, and that would have been weird.

Then there were not the right sizes in the right shades of blue or something, and still no one helped. Then even more shockingly, we realised that the piles of jumpers were mussed up. And not one member of staff had re-folded them. Even the shirts were not 'spaced*' out on the hangers (*old bhs term for having exactly same sized space between each hanger).

What does it mean? Is Gap over? Does Britain no longer need identikit jumpers, casual trousers, and thirty pound canvas bags. Is the era of the pasted striped sock over? I don't know, but in Bluewater it certainly is not at its best.

Blogging Friends and Foes

I've just come to a shocking realisation - some people might not be friends with me because I am a blogger. Not because they think blogging is a slightly bonkers, solitary activity that makes me a bit of a loser (which they might of course). But in case I blog about them.

Stupidly, I hadn't realised that when people talk to me about possibly personal things, then say, you won't blog about it will you? that they actually meant it. But of course they did, and of course having a friend who blogs, and knowing that other friends, and in fact in theory anyone else at all in the world reads it might make you worry.

So to all my lovely friends, and even foes actually - I promise I will never blog about you, ever. Unless of course we do something utterly silly together and agree we can share it. Can't think of anything likely at present - but something on the lines of getting in a lift and just standing there until the doors re-opened, then realising we should have pressed a button. (L!). And realising the tube man was watching us and laughing.

But seriously I won't. 'Cos it is my blog, and if you want to write things publicly I'm sure you will. And I'm not even sure I want to anymore anyway, but more of that another time.

Perfectly Peculiar Pett

It's a bit strange, there are vast expanses of sand, some cool looking old fencing, a view of the nuclear powerstation but it is lovely.

Cold, but lovely.

Poor me

I infected everyone I know (or who I've ever put in my internet address book anyway) with a virus thingy this week. Not sure what it did apart from convince people I was setting up a porn empire/website. Which I'm not. Then we've had the jolly folk at MSN chasing us - how do they know our phone number and saying we need more licences or something. Either way for £65 our computer will be bigger, better, faster and more well behaved. Course we won't be paying them, as have simply changed virus programme to one that will/should actually work. Won't it?

And even worse, I have a random foot injury from wearing cheap slippers that increased in size over the winter. and somehow my foot flapped up but not down. It's been three days now and it still hurts.

And then finally, after making friends with my dentist again at my last visit when it transpired she had tried to make my first pain free and was helping my teeth generally I'm now unhappy again. Not with her, but because I've got a under the inside of tooth infection, and have had it for ages. and the horror is if it doesn't go away (with antibiotics), then more root canal work, then finally it'll be gone. I'll have lost a tooth before the age of forty. And I'll have a bridge! I've been obviously comforted by the fact that my friend L has dentist, um., let say issues too, and I'd thought he already had one. But he hasn't - and says its the steady decline towards forty.

Anyone got any cheery news? Cats saved from trees? Free false teeth etc?

My five favourite things...about today

1. Lovely Ol, upon hearing Little J is making mud soup rather than getting his wellies on straightaway and joining her disappearing upstairs. To draw a round picture of soup, cut it out, draw a ball, and glue it on and draw a rather elderly looking worm and glue it on. Then to put his wellies on and suggest to his sister this is what we need to do.

2. That we've finally improved the view out of the kitchen window - I've planted some lettuce- slightly early but hopefully ok in South Coast, re-planted a lovely cheapie rose, and popped the strawberry plant on the window sill to save it from slugs.

3. Realising that attracting more birds to the garden is the way to rid ourselves of slugs, and buying a truly Blue Peter-esque bird feeder of coconut shell and fat.

4.Loving the great English drink that is cider - only of sampling quantities today, but still..its on its way.

5. Adoring spending time with my family, and having a much needed day out. Why do we leave it so long and get caught up in DIY and blooming life so much?

6. (I know not 5) but absolutely loving living the low carb way - there is no chance of me going back to white bread and pasta, unless my body is no longer my temple etc etc. My waist is back!

Marvelous Middle Farm

I loved it, as did the children. We saw baby pigs, cows and lovely llamas. The llamas in particular were very attractive, with their long lashes and nosy dispositions. Not so keen on dirty sheep or older pigs, who were a bit rough. But it's truly the best place I've ever been to see animals. Not an unhappy fat animal in sight, and they all looked clean and well cared for. Much as I think City Farms are a good idea in principle, in practice some of them, are well hideous. And as for the local zoo here - well it is not right.

But Middle Farm has the animals, the lovely coffee and cake, the playgrounds, and the children's favourite - a barn of hay to play in. A real hay barn to roll around in with the feral cats and the friendly chicken. And there are many chickens, they've obviously learnt to lurk about a bit when sandwiches are out, and to sort of push your legs to get a bit of attention. Some of them are massive breeds, and allowed to play all over the farm. Clearly not good for anyone scared of birds, but fantastic to see what it'd be like to own them. In honesty I think I'd find it like sharing a garden with a tortoise. Which we used to, and it was kind of cool, but really a bit scary as he'd try and nibble your toes if you lay down and forgot about him.

The bestest thing about Middle Farm for grown ups though is the cider. Barrels and barrels of it to try, and then buy. We did manage to be very adult about it and only try a few varieties. Really I just wanted to pretend I was in California at a vinery and try every one. But I didn't. And we managed to only buy four pints. Four pints, at about a million times stronger than normal booze. Yay!

Are you the f'''ing farmer?

Off for a proper lovely middle class day trip out to Middle Farm this morning. Highly tempted to break low carb diet for their as yet untried apparantly wonderful cider.



It's also been two years now since we saw the lovely lovely lambs in Wales gamboling over fields in the way of the car. We weren't chasing them on purpose, but were staying in a field, sort of so had to drive very very slowly. I suspect the pesky lambs will be some of the children's first memories as we were so taken with them. Can't wait. Although Grumpy Teenage at 5 Ol keeps wanting to know if there will be monkeys, lions, and other random zoo animals. He does this everytime we go to the Country and I seem to fall for it every time - spending ages earnestly describing the natural homes of all animals.

Outwitted again.

And today's news...

The children have decided that their soft toy; Chick has got nits, and are using the nit comb on him. Sadly, a sign of being a school child is an obsession by children with nits.

I-Teddy, the one with the telly in his tummy can't take i-player programmes but now has the Sonic X music on him.

And it is so cold we had to de-ice the car door before it would shut.

Off for a slipperly walk down the hill now.

Bev

Spring is coming...

Absolutely lovely day here today, and even better we got caught in the rain. And you know what? It was big heavy drops of summer rain that smelt lovely.
I'm pleased.

How blessed thou art.

Or something. Do you know I've been thinking about how lucky I am to get to spend time with my children everyday, watch them grow up, have snacks over the kitchen table and just be well about. I was intending to blog something poignant and real about it today, and was planning to stop moaning about money, and when things go a little wrong, and being, sometimes a little under employed in the intelligence front.

However, I've just heard from a good friend that her partner has been seriously ill for the past few months. And its caught me off guard. They're such lovely people, and full of life seriously. They really don't moan about the tiniest details and enjoy what they do.

He's over the worst now, but it really make you think sometimes. And get well soon P - we're thinking about you - and will save some strange ingredients for you to produce yummy cocktails with next time we see you.