Week 52 The end of 2023. Happy New Year.

Goodbye to 2023 and to Bob the Dog. Hello to 2024 and to new adventures.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and wishing you all a Happy New Year.

The week before Christmas I went for my B12 injection to discover the GP had requested a blood test, the nurse didn't know why. I got a phone call from the surgery on Thursday to request another test next week and a face to face appointment with the GP. I didn't ask why, but my results on the NHS app show high neutrophils and high platelets again. This has been going on for 6 years now, just constant call backs and no answers. In the meantime the random shooting pains, breathlessness, chronic fatigue and migraines continue.

Child 4's Christmas cards were located on Thursday. I checked the certificate of postage and I had written the wrong house number, his neighbours hadn't bothered to pop them through their box.

358 Sunday After a lazy morning we headed up the hills for a walk then home to chill before child 2, DIL and grandchild arrived for Christmas. We had a late dinner, chilled out, watched TV, grandchild to bed at 9.30pm, presents put out and adults retired around midnight.

Very windy up on the hills.

359 Monday Merry Christmas. I was up at 5am and dozed on the sofa till eveyone else got up around 8.30am. Present opening took around 3 hours, followed by a late lunch and an afternoon/evening of playing games, watching TV and just relaxing.

Video call with grandson.

360 Tuesday We headed out to Worcester to see the Christmas Tree festival at Worcester Cathedral, had a coffee and a walk, then home to watch TV and have an early tea. Family left and after a quick tidy round it was just TV, sofa and snacks.

361 Wednesday Off to Keynsham to visit MIL for the day, took her out for coffee and back to hers to empty the attic for her to sort through and we'll go back next week to help her with donations for charity shops and the skip. Home to watch TV, a take away and chill.

Thank you notes written.

362 Thursday A lie in then down the retail park for a coffee and to buy a couple of birthday cards, home for dinner and I brought the dolls house down from the attic to finish painting at the dining room table.

Recycling sorted.

363 Friday Off to Gloucester to visit child 1, we took her out for coffee and to wander round the shops for a couple of hours. Not feeling well so home to bed and read for a couple of hours. Tax return complete. I overpaid 94p on the Capital Gains when I sold the flat last year and I'm owed approximately 1 months salary in overpayment of income tax.

Flooding at Upton Upon Severn.

364 Saturday Day spent nursing a migraine, dosed up on meds in and out of bed dozing on and off, watching TV. 

This cat has been so needy since Bob died, she follows me everywhere and steals my seat at any opportunity she gets.

365 Sunday We popped into Worcester for a coffee, Peter drove home and I wandered around the city and caught a train back mid afternoon. Happy New Year and wishing you all a wonderful 2024. Evening being spent with a work colleague and his family just up the road.

The River Severn in full flood.

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Week 50 One Daily Positive and Project 365

I've been having fun with Elf on the Shelf in work. A colleague asked me to pick one up, then it's sort of become my thing to do. The staff have called it Peter after my husband. The kids (secondary school) are trying to work out which member of staff is doing it, none of them think it's me as I'm the 'cross one' So far, I've toilet papered the learning based, left a trail of sweet papers and wrappers, hidden items, been taped to the board on a drawn Christmas tree, wrapped tomatoes up as chocolates. This weekend the Elf escaped school and on Monday he had a set of photos of his antics.

344 Sunday Awake early, some blogging done and a few things tidied away, fridge sorted through for some meal planning and I headed out to Monmouth for the day with the Bobster for some R&R and to visit a friend, getting home at 9pm to watch the last I'm a Celeb.

Bought some covers for the Bobster seats. Difficult to find as the seats rotate.

345 Monday Home from work to bake gluten free cakes for the 6th formers to sell for their charity fundraising week. TV watched an an early night. Santa came down our street. Without the dog to take out, I grabbed the neighbours kids instead.

346 Tuesday Drove to work, then walked to collect a student who hasn't been in school for a long time. Received a thank you from the Head Teacher for actually getting them into school. A busy day. After work, I went for coffee then onto youth club where I volunteer once a fortnight for the last session of the year, unfortunately I was really ill with stomach ache and had to leave after 10 mins, I struggled to drive home with the pain. I was fine within an hour, didn't have any tea and just watched TV all evening.

The elf brought in sweets for the kids.

347 Wednesday Collected the student again. Just one lesson for them then normal day for me. Really struggled with tiredness and home to decorate cakes for the charity fundraising week, enter some safeguarding and reply to work emails.

348 Thursday Another early start to set up the Elf and a birthday treat for a student. I'm shattered and been struggling with a lot of pains and breathlessness. I think it's the Vit B12, I'm now 3 weeks late with the jab, booked in for Wednesday. Home for dinner, watched a movie, which I fell asleep in front of, did some blogging, bath and bed.

I'm not impressed with the new PG Tips, the tea tastes like it's been brewed in a metal tea pot, so excited to find some pyramid bags today so treated myself to 2 boxes for Christmas.

349 Friday Out to the panto with my Friday night chip and wine friend for our Christmas gift to each other. 

350 Saturday Off to Chipping Norton to meet my longest twitter friend @mediocre_mum of almost 14 years. It was wet and muddy. I did ask if we could go shopping next year, but was told 'no'. I wore my sparkly jumper and we had lunch in a pub afterwards.

On the blog this week:

The end of 2023 and plans for 2024

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Post Comment Love 15th - 17th December 2023. Merry Christmas

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life and I.

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week and all we ask is that you leave a comment on either mine or Stephanie's post which you linked up through and at least one other post. We'd also love it if you could RT us on Twitter when we tag you to help us reach a wider audience.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hope everyone who celebrates is ready for Christmas. We're spending it with child 2, his wife and our 4 year old grandchild. The decorations and gifts were all sorted at the beginning of December so I could just switch off and relax and enjoy the build up with work, friends and family. 

I've enjoyed Pottery painting, wreath making, cocktail drinking and escapades with the Elf in school with my work colleagues and been to the Malvern Glow, had some unexpected snow 2 weekends ago on a visit with Peter to Shropshire for the day and tonight I'm off to the pantomime with my friend. Gifts have been exchanged with the rest of the family and friends, just child 1, Mother and MIL to visit, then school finishes next week and its 2 weeks off work of just chilling out.

What are your plans for the festive season?

Stephanie and I are taking a break for Christmas and the New Year, we'll be back on the 5th January, we'll tweet you a reminder.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

Want to find out more about Post Comment Love #PoCoLo? 

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Week 49 One Daily Positive and Project 365

I've got myself a nice little routine going but it will end soon, as it always does, then I'll have to find something else. At the moment I come home from work, have a cup of tea, get my lunch ready for the morning,  get changed, get dinner ready and watch The chase, eat dinner whilst watching House of Games then I do something, in my craft room, or I read, write, blog, iron till 8.30pm, have a bath and settle down to watch I'm a Celeb. 

I seem to have posted an extra photo on one day over the past couple of months and got out of sync. At the moment I can't find it, but I will rectify it at some point. I do it every year. At least I haven't missed a picture.

I had a breakthrough migraine and took rescue meds early on in the week. Keeping a full food, activity and sleep diary now ready for Neurology appointment.

337 Sunday Off to Stokes Castle for the morning. It had been snowing in Shropshire. We explored the Castle then had lunch in the Bobster, made tea and had lunch with the heater on. Home to watch TV, early dinner, blog and just chill out.

Unexpected snow.

338 Monday Work. Not feeling well around lunch time, think it's the new meds, went home early and to bed. New tumble dryer arrived, cupboard sorted and a few items put in the attic. After tea, I had a bath, watched TV and read.

Delayed by 10 minutes waiting for school delivery. Fed up having the drive blocked every day.

339 Tuesday Walked up into the Green after work to wander around the charity shops and Peter picked me up. The loft rooms need to the heating on and to be used so a bit of moving things around and two old units from when the youngest boys had them as bedrooms were taken apart and ready for the tip tomorrow. Meds were taken after smelling toast most of the morning which I've identified as one of my pre migraine auras.

The Elf had fun with the students at work with tomatoes disguised as chocolates.

340 Wednesday we went for coffee after work, bumped into a friend for a natter, then home to do some washing and try the new tumble dryer. The amount of water in the condenser has been going into the atmosphere and we've been having cold issues in the bedroom and main bathroom if we didn't turn the heating off in those rooms during the day and open the windows. I started painting the dolls house for grandchild's extra Christmas gift that will stay at our house for them to play with when they visit.

Our neighbours mum gave us this dolls house which Peter has fixed and I'm painting for our Grandchild to play with when they come to visit.

341 Thursday Called in to visit a friend after work, then home to paint more of the dolls house, sort a couple of birthday cards and a gift, then a bath and watched The Holiday, a film I've never seen before. Evening finished with I'm a Celeb and then bed.

Mum bought Pushkin's some cat nip toys. Cat is high. Cat is going to live with mum.

342 Friday Day at work, Peter collected me and I picked up an Argos order for the last of mum's presents then into M&S to get child 1's gifts and off for coffee. In the evening it was out for cocktails with work. I really enjoyed the evening with my colleagues, but was home by 9.30pm after only 2 drinks as it really messed with my meds, which advise against alcohol, as I discovered, for a very good reason.

Peter the Elf (colleagues named him) having a weekend out from school) Kids are trying to guess which one of us is doing it.

343 Saturday Awake at 5am and back to sleep on the sofa till 10am. nail bar appointment at 11.30. Home to watch TV, do some ironing, a late lunch/early dinner the the evening spent with friends at the Malvern Glow. Peter went ice skating for the first time.

On the blog this week:

What I read in 2023 57 books reading challenge - A book a week

Ready for Christmas

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Post Comment Love 8th -10th December 2023

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life  and I.

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week and all we ask is that you leave a comment on either mine or Stephanie's post which you linked up through and at least one other post. We'd also love it if you could RT us on Twitter when we tag you to help us reach a wider audience.

I decided to join in with 30 miles in November for Birminghams Childrens Hospital. I walk an average 2.5 miles per day around school and home so my challenge was to walk an additional 3 miles a day, 90 miles for the month. I walked 178, almost double my target, with my usual daily amount and raised £202. Another TA joined in and we both supported a student with her challenge of 30 miles and with a bake sale the 6th former organised added in, a total of over £1000 was raised between the 3 of us and around 300 miles walked.

If you'd like to sponsor me the link is here

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

Want to find out more about Post Comment Love #PoCoLo? 

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2023 Reading Challenge - A book a week

In 2022 my challenge was to only buy clothes I absolutely needed which I continued thoughout 2023.

For 2024 my challenge is to write a book, I'm going to write 150 words a week.

I set myself a challenge for 2023 to read a book a week.

I read 57 books.

A mixture of classics, modern day and childhood favourites.

Some have been read for leisure, some to support the A level students I work with for their A Level English Literature and some because I've felt they're books that everyone should read.

My favourite book read has been To Kill a Mockingbird.

I'm going to continue reading in 2024, aiming for a minimum of 1 per month.

January

Lord of the Flies - William Golding. Re read from O level days

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee. One of those books everyone should read

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. Re read from O level days

Off Mice and Men - John Steinbeck. Re read from O level days

Macbeth - Shakespeare. Re read from O level days

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood. Never watched the TV series, but the book was brillant

A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams. One we all think we know till we read it.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelly. The hardest book I've read to date, takes ages to get going through a series of letters.

February

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome. Loved this book so much, a travel guide to the Thames.

Good Eggs - Rebecca Hardiman. Light and easy read.

March

Pippi Longstockings - Astrid Lindgren. A childhood favourite.

Five on a Treasure Island - Enid Blyton. A childhood favourite.

The Tempest - Shakespeare. Read the summary first to get an understanding of the plot, characters came to life.

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson. A bit boring, had to persevere.

April

Agatha Raisin Terrible Tourist - M. C. Beaton. Quick read in a day.

Anything Could Happen - Lucy Diamond. A life that could've gone either way, all the 'what ifs?'

Home Truths - Susan Lewis. Dealing with your husbands murder and blaming your son who then becomes a missing person.

The Wild Roses - D.B. Carter Three friends in the mid 80's making different choices and following the paths they lead.

Oranges are not the only fruit - Jeanette Winterson. Absolutely loved the BBC drama with Charlotte Coleman back in 1991. A young woman growing up with the church and not conforming with mothers expectations of her.

The Enemy - Lee Child. Exploring Reachers military days.

May

Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe. My fathers book given to him by his Granny in 1947.

Restoring Grace - Katie Fforde. Easy read about lost love and new beginnings.

Follow Me Home - Cathy Woodman. A light hearted story about finding new love.

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell. Hard to get going, but once engaged the pages just raced past.

When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kaplanithi. Pauls' story as a Neurologist discovering he has brain cancer, how he deals with the treatment, life and ultimately his death.

Five Go Adventuring Again - Enid Blyton. I've been reading this book alongside a mentee in school and we've been comparing childhood with the now and the then.

June

Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell - Making sure my windows are locked during the hot weather

Blue Moon - Lee Child - Quite a lot of graphic violence but good plot line

The Hobbit - J R R Tolkien Very different to my childhood memory of reading this book, probably because all I can see now as I read are the characters as they were portrayed on TV

Malory Towers - Enid Blyton 'Your people are here' Parents arrive to collect their daughter from boarding school

July

The American Dream 1965 - Norman Mailer A very violent read, stuck with it as it is relevant to the A Level curriculum

F. Scott Fitzgerald - Andre Le Vot More of a book to reference and understand

August

Again, Rachel - Marion Keyes I've read these books completely out of order.

Blow Fly - Patricia Cornwall Read out of order, her niece, Lucy is now an adult and playing an active role in the case.

The missing years - Lexie Elliot A proper page turner, read in a day.

No Plan B - Lee Child Typical Reacher

Past tense - Lee Child The story seemed so disjointed but typical Reacher.

The invisible man - HG Wells Hard reading

It started with Paris - Cathy Kelly  Following several families as they suffer loss, find love and intertwine

Head over heels - Jill Mansell Pop star discovers he'd fathered a child on moving to a new town and meeting and falling in love with his ex.

Perfect timing - Jill Mansell Jilted her husband to be at the night before the wedding then goes off to find her true love.

Stone Town  - Margaret Hickey Australian murder set in an old Gold Rush town outside Adelaide

A random act of kindness - Sophie Jenkins Searching for love running a vintage market stall

Her last holiday - C L Taylor Fran is searching for answers to her sisters disappearance at a retreat in Greece.

Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty Set in a retreat in Australia, 9 strangers locked in a plot with twists and turns

The Unhoneymooners - Christina Lauren An odd couple thrown together on a romantic honeymoon pretending to be their siblings.

September

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald A man seeking to be someone he'll never really be.

POSH - Laura Wade Based on the Bullingdon Club, an all male dining club at Oxford University.

The Dark Room - Sam Blake Set in Ireland, solving an old crime.

King Lear - Shakespeare A tragedy as King Lear prepares for his death.

October

Tess of the d'Ubervilles - Thomas Hardy Hard going and went on too long in my opinion. 

Emma -  Jane Austin's Another novel that just went on too long.

Grown Ups - Marion Keyes Is it time to grow up?

November 

The Hard Way - Lee Child I'm starting to find these books too predictable.

Endless Beach - Jenny Colgan Can two friends find their happy ever afters?

Scandalous - Tilly Bagshawe Two women reunite years later to bring down the man who almost destroyed them both.

December

Don Quixote - Cervantes I started this book in February and have been reading it on and off throughout the year, it's been hard going but I've really enjoyed it. 

My father was given this oil painting on a visit to Poland in the late 70's early 80's. I'd love to find out who the artist was.

Week 48 One Daily Positive and Project 365

During November I've been raising funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital joining in with 30 miles for November. One of the students in school pledged to walk a mile a day and with their limited mobility myself and another TA decided to walk 3 miles a day each to support them. I opted to do my 3 miles a day on top of the normal walking I do everyday in work. I walked a total of 178 miles  My total to date is £162 with more money pledged yet to come in. 

I've been enjoying watching I'm a Celeb. I'm not a big fan of reality TV and don't watch the 'talent shows' or anything that looks like it's remotely scripted or staged or goes on too long. The eating challenges make me gag and there's no way you'd get me covered in bugs or spiders and I spend most of my time hiding behind a cushion but still I enjoy it for some bizarre reason.

331 Sunday Woke early, had breakfast, took a walk on the beach, packed and collected mum from her hotel by 9.30am. Left Eastbourne and called in at Aunt and Uncles in Eastbourne for a cup of tea and say our goodbyes. A long drive home, all from Peter while I finished addressing Christmas cards, read and had a little sleep, we stopped for coffee and a snack. We got home at 4.30pm via a stop at M&S to buy dinner. Unpacked the car, put everything away, wrapped some gifts for posting, watched TV, had a bath, caught up with a couple of blog post, and made lunch for work in the morning, in bed at 10pm.

Early morning walk on the beach.

332 Monday I walked to work, had a lift home and put the Christmas decorations up. It took me until 10pm and I left a right mess in the lounge. All the empty boxes were taken up a floor. 

333 Tuesday Lift to work then walked into town via the post office, had a coffee then off to Youth club for games night till 7pm. Peter picked me up and home to wrap Christmas gifts, bath and in bed at 11pm.

Sad to find Bob's Christmas advent Calendar, took it to my friends for her dog.

334 Wednesday Lift into work and Peter collected me to stop at Morrisons to buy stuff for my pack lunches, then home to cook dinner and do the washing, before sitting down at 9pm to do some blogging.

Mum made advent calendars for me and Peter.

335 Thursday I took the car to work as I was collecting our pots from the pottery painting we did in work last week and I dropped some stuff off at a charity shop and home via my friends to drop off the advent calendar I'd bought for Bob to give to her dog so it didn't go to waste. Home via the supermarket to buy snacks for tomorrow and to tidy up ready for colleagues coming tomorrow for wreath making.

Meet the Bobster.

336 Friday Off to the hospital in Birmingham for a head and eye scan. I went by train and taxi and walked back into the city, got a coffee and caught the train straight home. I met mum in the link and walked home with her. Colleagues from work came round in the evening and we made Christmas wreaths.

337 Saturday Took mum home via a trip to see child 1 in Gloucester, then onto visit grandchild to drop off 1st December gifts, then to see friends in the evening.

On the blog this week:

What I read in November.

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Post Comment Love 1st -3rd December 2023

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life  and I.

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week and all we ask is that you leave a comment on either mine or Stephanie's post which you linked up through and at least one other post. We'd also love it if you could RT us on Twitter when we tag you to help us reach a wider audience.

This week was spent putting up the Christmas decorations and wrapping all the gifts and this evening I have friends round from work for a wreath making party organised by a colleague. I think this is the busiest December (build up to Christmas) I've had since the kids were at home and I'm loving every minute of it. I'll post a picture of the wreath next week.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

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What I read in November 2023

I've read these 3 books this month bringing my total for 2023 to 56.

I'm posting this 3 days before the end of the month so I may have time to fit another book in. I am however way over my target of a book a week and I've also just returned from visiting my cousin on the south coast with yet another large pile of books to read which are going first to my mums as I've still got a book shelf full from the last visit to plough my way through.

I won't be visiting the library or buying any books in 2024, I've just got too many at the moment. They range from classics to a mixture of romance, murder mystery to thrillers.

These shelves are stacked 2-3 rows deep.

I attended a lecture last week from Peter Vardy and picked up 3 of his books to read as well as this pile of books bought this year, I still haven't scheduled for reading.

So far this year I've read the following:

January

Lord of the Flies - William Golding. Re read from O level days

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee. One of those books everyone should read

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. Re read from O level days

Off Mice and Men - John Steinbeck. Re read from O level days

Macbeth - Shakespeare. Re read from O level days

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood. Never watched the TV series, but the book was brillant

A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams. One we all think we know till we read it.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelly. The hardest book I've read to date, takes ages to get going through a series of letters.

February

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome. Loved this book so much, a travel guide to the Thames.

Good Eggs - Rebecca Hardiman. Light and easy read.

March

Pippi Longstockings - Astrid Lindgren. A childhood favourite.

Five on a Treasure Island - Enid Blyton. A childhood favourite.

The Tempest - Shakespeare. Read the summary first to get an understanding of the plot, characters came to life.

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson. A bit boring, had to persevere.

April

Agatha Raisin Terrible Tourist - M. C. Beaton. Quick read in a day.

Anything Could Happen - Lucy Diamond. A life that could've gone either way, all the 'what ifs?'

Home Truths - Susan Lewis. Dealing with your husbands murder and blaming your son who then becomes a missing person.

The Wild Roses - D.B. Carter Three friends in the mid 80's making different choices and following the paths they lead.

Oranges are not the only fruit - Jeanette Winterson. Absolutely loved the BBC drama with Charlotte Coleman back in 1991. A young woman growing up with the church and not conforming with mothers expectations of her.

The Enemy - Lee Child. Exploring Reachers military days.

May

Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe. My fathers book given to him by his Granny in 1947.

Restoring Grace - Katie Fforde. Easy read about lost love and new beginnings.

Follow Me Home - Cathy Woodman. A light hearted story about finding new love.

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell. Hard to get going, but once engaged the pages just raced past.

When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kaplanithi. Pauls' story as a Neurologist discovering he has brain cancer, how he deals with the treatment, life and ultimately his death.

Five Go Adventuring Again - Enid Blyton. I've been reading this book alongside a mentee in school and we've been comparing childhood with the now and the then.

June

Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell - Making sure my windows are locked during the hot weather

Blue Moon - Lee Child - Quite a lot of graphic violence but good plot line

The Hobbit - J R R Tolkien Very different to my childhood memory of reading this book, probably because all I can see now as I read are the characters as they were portrayed on TV

Malory Towers - Enid Blyton 'Your people are here' Parents arrive to collect their daughter from boarding school

July

The American Dream 1965 - Norman Mailer A very violent read, stuck with it as it is relevant to the A Level curriculum

F. Scott Fitzgerald - Andre Le Vot More of a book to reference and understand

August

Again, Rachel - Marion Keyes I've read these books completely out of order.

Blow Fly - Patricia Cornwall Read out of order, her niece, Lucy is now an adult and playing an active role in the case.

The missing years - Lexie Elliot A proper page turner, read in a day.

No Plan B - Lee Child Typical Reacher

Past tense - Lee Child The story seemed so disjointed but typical Reacher.

The invisible man - HG Wells Hard reading

It started with Paris - Cathy Kelly  Following several families as they suffer loss, find love and intertwine

Head over heels - Jill Mansell Pop star discovers he'd fathered a child on moving to a new town and meeting and falling in love with his ex.

Perfect timing - Jill Mansell Jilted her husband to be at the night before the wedding then goes off to find her true love.

Stone Town  - Margaret Hickey Australian murder set in an old Gold Rush town outside Adelaide

A random act of kindness - Sophie Jenkins Searching for love running a vintage market stall

Her last holiday - C L Taylor Fran is searching for answers to her sisters disappearance at a retreat in Greece.

Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty Set in a retreat in Australia, 9 strangers locked in a plot with twists and turns

The Unhoneymooners - Christina Lauren An odd couple thrown together on a romantic honeymoon pretending to be their siblings.

September

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald A man seeking to be someone he'll never really be.

POSH - Laura Wade Based on the Bullingdon Club, an all male dining club at Oxford University.

The Dark Room - Sam Blake Set in Ireland, solving an old crime.

King Lear - Shakespeare A tragedy as King Lear prepares for his death.

October

Tess of the d'Ubervilles - Thomas Hardy Hard going and went on too long in my opinion. 

Emma -  Jane Austin's Another novel that just went on too long.

Grown Ups - Marion Keyes Is it time to grow up?

November 

The Hard Way - Lee Child I'm starting to find these books too predictable.

Endless Beach - Jenny Colgan Can two friends find their happy ever afters?

Scandalous - Tilly Bagshawe Two women reunite years later to bring down the man who almost destroyed them both.

Week 47 One Daily Positive and Project 365 A new adventure

A short week in work with a trip on Monday and an inset day on Friday. We also bought a camper van on Wednesday we've called Bobster. A new adventure for us to embark on. We'd already booked a hotel for this weekend and we're supposed to be dropping mum off with her sister on Friday and collecting her next week, but her sister had a fall and broke her hip so it was just the weekend, so we booked mum into a hotel near us and spent almost 72 in the van driving down to Sussex and running around between Eastbourne where we were staying, Seaford where tow of her brothers live and Hastings to the hospital. 

With all the driving which we shared, I managed to finish writing my Christmas cards and read more of my book.

On arrival at our hotel we had to step over a drunk woman in reception, she was paralytic, it was 9pm her male and female companions, hadn't beeb drinking and were really struggling with her, she was almost out cold. On Saturday night we took a walk on the pier, it was 6pm, a woman was so drunk she had wet herself, her two friends were drunk also and the 3 off them were dragging themselves along. It was such a sad sight to see.

324 Sunday 2 years after getting our furniture back in the UK, we finally got round to hanging all our mirrors and putting up the last curtain pole and sorting pictures to hang. Whilst Peter did that, I emptied the car and sorted out what we will need to go in the camper van. Evening spent in the bath and watching TV.

325 Monday Train into Worcester for the day to the Cathedral for a Philosophy lecture with Peter Vardy, it was a really good day. Peter met me at The Range so I could exchange the curtains, home, transferred the money for the camper van, sorted the insurance, watched TV, blogged, had dinner, bath and bed. Peter did the ironing while watching the football. 

326 Tuesday Took the car to work. Home to finish blog comments and write Christmas cards, watched TV, read, bath and bed.

327 Wednesday Vitamin B12 jab before work. After work we collected our new camper van, home, got changed and off to Paint a pot with colleagues from work for the evening. Had a fab evening. I chose a jug for the van. Home for a bath and straight to bed.

328 Thursday Peter collected mum during the day and after work took mum for to her optician appointment before picking me up. We had coffee and then home to pack the camper van ready for our first trip this weekend. I finally sat down at 10.30pm after a bath, then it was time for bed.

I was showing mum pictures of her latest great Granddaughter and she wanted to send a picture back.

329 Friday Up and off for our first road trip in the camper van. We had already booked a hotel for the weekend so a good first trip for us, stopped at the services to use the loo and brewed up in the van. Took mum to visit one of her brothers. We checked into our hotels 9 mins walk apart and off to hospital in Hastings to visit her sister for the evening. Peter and I found a local pub to have dinner, then collected mum and back to Eastbourne. 

330 Saturday Up for breakfast then dropped mum at her other brothers and we explored the coast around Seaford, walking along the cliffs at Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters. Collected mum, stopped to get some food for lunch and dinner and dropped her back at the hospital. We made our way back to Eastbourne, walked along the pier and around the town to see the lights. My cousin and his wife dropped mum back at her hotel and I walked down to meet them to say hello.

On the blog this week:

Christmas lights in London and The Big Syn international Film Festival

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Post Comment Love 24th - 26th November 2023

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life  and I.

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week and all we ask is that you leave a comment on either mine or Stephanie's post which you linked up through and at least one other post. We'd also love it if you could RT us on Twitter when we tag you to help us reach a wider audience.

So we finally took the plunge this week and bought a camper van. We've been after one for over 15 years, but when we moved abroad we put it on hold then after coming back to the UK just over two years ago we just kept putting it off and after Bob (the dog) died in September we decided it was time to embark on a new adventure which I'm sure I'll be posting lots about on my blog over the next few years. No longer sharing family life, days out with the dog or our expat adventures, it's time for a change with the blog. I'll be keeping the name Chickenruby as it's who I am now, but I'll be sprucing the title page up and changing the tabs to reflect who I am these days.

We're in Eastbourne this weekend taking Mum to visit her sister for a week. I'll be popping back down next weekend to collect her.

There are quite a few work outings lined up which I'm looking forward to. The first one was Paint a Pot on Wednesday this week, next week we're having a wreath making session at our house and the following week it's cocktails in the pub. Not everyone comes to each event, but there's a nice mix and it's a great group of people to be working and socialising with.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

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Christmas Lights in London and the Big Syn International Film Festival

I was down in London earlier this month for The Big Syn International Film Festival on behalf of my friend in South Africa, who was unable to travel. It was a Black Tie event, although I did feel a little over dressed, but comfortable, compared to others, but who cares. the award ceremony was at the Curzon Cinema in Mayfair and I stayed in Covent Garden, just 2 stops away on the tube. After the awards I set off on foot for Oxford Street to see the Christmas Lights, walking down Regent Street, through Leicester Square and back to Covent Gardens.

Deborah Meadow was one of the judges.

I left the event in heels, but soon changed into my flats.

I carried my heels around London.

Covent Garden.

Oxford Street.

Selfridges.

Waitrose.

Leicester Square.

Regent Street.

Hamleys.

Carnaby Street.

Harrods.

Even Paddington Station felt Christmassy with the lighting.

I wish I'd had more time in London or we lived closer as I'd love to go back to visit the markets and the ice skating rinks. We've got a couple of Christmas events in Malvern and Worcester we're planning to attend.