This evening I went to see 'Jongleurs' at the Castle Theatre in Wellingborough with my neighbour, Jackie and a couple of her friends. I had no idea what it was, other than a comedy show. It was listed as 'alternative comedy' but there wasn't really much alternative about it! It was just pure comedy.
The evening comprised of a compere, Dominic Frisby and two comedians in the first half and the compere and another comedian in the second half. I didn't expect it to be very good but all the acts were very funny and I haven't laughed so much in ages. Sadly I don't remember the names of the comedians but it was an excellent evening of entertainment.
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Friday, 31 October 2008
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Wednesday
It was a strange 50th Birthday. I'm not one for big celebrations of birthdays, other than for children and 18th Birthdays, as it always seems silly to be making a big thing of reaching something like 40 or 50 or 60. Getting to such an age is not really an achievement as quite a lot of people do and it doesn't take much of an effort! Now special anniversaries are worth celebrating! Being married for 25 or 30 or 40 years IS an achievement. It is something you work at and lots of people give up long before that.
Anyway - my birthday! I was called early (as usual!) by my parents and my aunt. Katie had made me breakfast of chocolate croissant and fruit salad with yoghurt which was delicious. Then I had a call from Lizzie who was at the airport in Newark waiting to come home. It was 5.15 am her time. Frank got home from Wales in the afternoon and I opened my presents. A daylight lamp from Frank, which was just what I wanted so that I can scrapbook later into the night! And jewellery and chocolates from Katie. I had some more earrings from Lizzie when she got home.
We left here at around 6pm and got to the airport in time to meet the 8.00pm plane. At 8.45 itwas announced that the baggage was in the hall, but at 9.30 there was still no sign of Lizzie. She did send us texts to keep us informed of what was happening and at 10.30pm we finally left Heathrow. One of the baggage trolley's had got mislaid in the airport and it took them a while to find it! But eventually they did! It was lovely to have the family back together again after more than 12 months.
The worst part of the day was waiting for news about Peter, my brother-in-law! He has cancer and we were waiting to see how far it had spread. Sadly it has spread to his stomach and his spine and also his brain. We should find out today if anything can be done!
Anyway - my birthday! I was called early (as usual!) by my parents and my aunt. Katie had made me breakfast of chocolate croissant and fruit salad with yoghurt which was delicious. Then I had a call from Lizzie who was at the airport in Newark waiting to come home. It was 5.15 am her time. Frank got home from Wales in the afternoon and I opened my presents. A daylight lamp from Frank, which was just what I wanted so that I can scrapbook later into the night! And jewellery and chocolates from Katie. I had some more earrings from Lizzie when she got home.
We left here at around 6pm and got to the airport in time to meet the 8.00pm plane. At 8.45 itwas announced that the baggage was in the hall, but at 9.30 there was still no sign of Lizzie. She did send us texts to keep us informed of what was happening and at 10.30pm we finally left Heathrow. One of the baggage trolley's had got mislaid in the airport and it took them a while to find it! But eventually they did! It was lovely to have the family back together again after more than 12 months.
The worst part of the day was waiting for news about Peter, my brother-in-law! He has cancer and we were waiting to see how far it had spread. Sadly it has spread to his stomach and his spine and also his brain. We should find out today if anything can be done!
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Lizzie and Katie
Katie has been home from the US about a month now. She has had a fabulous time studying in Purdue and then travelling around the States. She managed to visit 47 of the the States and also saw a tiny bit of Canada. Her photos are fantastic and I want to go and see more of the country!
Lizzie arrives home on my birthday which will be nice. She has also been to Niagara Falls so this year we have all been there but all at different times! She is now in NYC for a few days and according to Facebook, she seems to be having a great time.
Lizzie arrives home on my birthday which will be nice. She has also been to Niagara Falls so this year we have all been there but all at different times! She is now in NYC for a few days and according to Facebook, she seems to be having a great time.
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Saturday 14th June Barbecue
Sunday 8th June 2008 - Tall Ship day
For Frank's birthday last year the three of us bought him a day on a tall ship. And Sunday was the day he chose to go.
Lizzie was already in Southampton as she had been visiting her grandmother and little cousins down there so Frank and I drove down on Saturday to join her. Sunday morning the three of us went to Portsmouth so that Frank could start his day on the tall ship. Thankfully the weather
was lovely! Calm and hot so not much chance of their being anyone seasick on the boat.
The photo on the right is the ship that they went on! It is called Artemis.


It was 10am when the passengers got on the ship and it sailed at about 10.15. Frank soon got chatting to the other people who were enjoying the same experience. There were several ladies waving off their husbands and they planned to spend the day shopping. Lizzie and I did a little shopping but had a leasurely lunch and then sat with a glass of cider for a couple of hours and watched the activity in the harbour.
Frank's sister, Carolyn, her husband Peter and Frank's Mum came to Portsmouth to wait for Frank to come back, so that they could talk to him about his day out. He had caught a little bit of sun and had a really relaxing day I think. He said he thoroughtly enjoyed his day! I hope he did!
Lizzie was already in Southampton as she had been visiting her grandmother and little cousins down there so Frank and I drove down on Saturday to join her. Sunday morning the three of us went to Portsmouth so that Frank could start his day on the tall ship. Thankfully the weather
The photo on the right is the ship that they went on! It is called Artemis.
It was 10am when the passengers got on the ship and it sailed at about 10.15. Frank soon got chatting to the other people who were enjoying the same experience. There were several ladies waving off their husbands and they planned to spend the day shopping. Lizzie and I did a little shopping but had a leasurely lunch and then sat with a glass of cider for a couple of hours and watched the activity in the harbour.
Thursday, 6 March 2008
So long!
I cannot believe it is so long since I posted on here!
Today Lizzie has gone to London to get her Visa for her summer job in America. Kat went with her and after spending the rest of the day wandering around they are going to go and see Avenue Q. Lizzie has wanted to see this for ages, but it just doesn't appeal to me at all. People walking around the stage carrying Sesame Street type puppets doesn't seem very entertaining but I am sure she will tell me I am wrong when she gets home.
Only 3 weeks left until Frank and I fly off to the States. We have our car booked and our first night in New York and now we just need to plan the other 19 days! I am so looking forward to it!
Today Lizzie has gone to London to get her Visa for her summer job in America. Kat went with her and after spending the rest of the day wandering around they are going to go and see Avenue Q. Lizzie has wanted to see this for ages, but it just doesn't appeal to me at all. People walking around the stage carrying Sesame Street type puppets doesn't seem very entertaining but I am sure she will tell me I am wrong when she gets home.
Only 3 weeks left until Frank and I fly off to the States. We have our car booked and our first night in New York and now we just need to plan the other 19 days! I am so looking forward to it!
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Films
Frank and I went to see 'Sweeney Todd' a couple of weeks ago at the recommendation of Katie and Lizzie who had seen it in Chicago, before it even opened over here. That is one good film. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter work so well together and it was interesting to see people such as Alan Rickman singing. I must say that I have enjoyed all the Johnny Depp films I have seen and he does a very good job of being English. I enjoyed 'Hell' too!
Yesterday Lizzie and I went to see 'Over Her Dead Body' and I haven't laughed so much in ages. What a brilliant film. Eva Longoria Parker is really funny in the role. Apparently she was originally auditioned for the role of Ashley but she is much better suited as Kate. So funny!
Yesterday Lizzie and I went to see 'Over Her Dead Body' and I haven't laughed so much in ages. What a brilliant film. Eva Longoria Parker is really funny in the role. Apparently she was originally auditioned for the role of Ashley but she is much better suited as Kate. So funny!
Friday, 11 January 2008
New Year
So much time seems to have passed since my last post! I don't seem to have any inclination to write on here and I don't really have anything much of interest to say!
Frank, Lizzie and I went to Wales for Christmas - we hired a little cottage and spent most of the week playing board games together. It is amazing how much fun you can have when there is no computer distracting us all. Lizzie then flew out to New York to meet up with Katie and her friends. They celebrated New Year's Eve in Times Square and so Katie got to turn 21 in a fabulous location. Katie and Lizzie went to see Rent on Broadway and both enjoyed it. Lizzie is now half way through her holiday in America!
Our New Year was spent quietly here at home. We had one guest and we had a lot of laughs playing on the Wii. It was good to catch up with a friend from the past and has spurred me into contacting lots of people that we have lost touch with over the years.
Last Saturday I went to Birmingham to meet up with some old school friends as one of them lives in Israel and only gets across once a year or so. It was good to catch up with them all but was weird to find that out of 7 of us, I was the only one still married!
College is now well under way and we have lots of new students. Mainly Vietnamese it would seem but as usual, they are all lovely. Only 5 more weeks till half term and only 13 more teaching weeks until the AS exams start! How scary is that?
Frank, Lizzie and I went to Wales for Christmas - we hired a little cottage and spent most of the week playing board games together. It is amazing how much fun you can have when there is no computer distracting us all. Lizzie then flew out to New York to meet up with Katie and her friends. They celebrated New Year's Eve in Times Square and so Katie got to turn 21 in a fabulous location. Katie and Lizzie went to see Rent on Broadway and both enjoyed it. Lizzie is now half way through her holiday in America!
Our New Year was spent quietly here at home. We had one guest and we had a lot of laughs playing on the Wii. It was good to catch up with a friend from the past and has spurred me into contacting lots of people that we have lost touch with over the years.
Last Saturday I went to Birmingham to meet up with some old school friends as one of them lives in Israel and only gets across once a year or so. It was good to catch up with them all but was weird to find that out of 7 of us, I was the only one still married!
College is now well under way and we have lots of new students. Mainly Vietnamese it would seem but as usual, they are all lovely. Only 5 more weeks till half term and only 13 more teaching weeks until the AS exams start! How scary is that?
Monday, 22 October 2007
Murder
We were invited to a murder weekend! We have been to 4 before, all run by the same people - Padwick and Ball - and they are such good fun. 3 times we have been sleuths and this is the second time we have been involved in the storyline.
We were sent a brief description of what we were going to do on Friday evening in the post a week or so before hand so we know a little of what was going to happen. We travelled down to Guildford on Friday afternoon as we had to meet Peter and Christine (Padwick and Ball) at 6.30 so we could meet the other 6 participants.
The meal started at 7.30 and after most people had finished their meal someone died. Shortly after this a second person died and then everyone met in a conference room to discuss possible suspects and clues. On Friday evening, neither Frank nor I were suspects. After a little more discussion everyone moved into the bar to continue questioning suspects. I chatted to another Maths teacher called Lawrence who picked up on something I said, which he connected with something mentioned by someone else that evening.
Saturday morning we all had breakfast and met again to discuss suspects. This time I was added to the suspect list! Christine then gave a very interesting talk about hanging and various murderers who had been hanged - Ruth Ellis who was the last female to be hanged (1955), Timothy Evans and John Christie - both from the famous 10 Rillington Place and Derek Bentley. A fascinating talk, it has to be said.
This is a picture of Christine!
We were then free to do what we wanted for Saturday afternoon so went to Wisley Gardens. It is so beautiful. There is a fabulous glasshouse which is divided into different areas - Tropical, Desert etc. We wandered around the various different gardens, looked at the fruit festival that was there that weekend and tasted some apples. Here are some of the pictures from the glasshouse - orchids and cacti!


In the evening we met again for our evening meal at 7.30 pm and after dinner we moved once
again to the conference room. Christine and Peter entertain the guests with some jokes, some music and songs before the final interrogation of suspects. A third murder had taken place during the coffee break in the morning and just before the show started there was a fourth! (Klara on the left was victim number 4).
After the show there was another discussion about who should be suspects and the final four surviving suspects were questioned by the guests. At the end of this round of questioning Frank died and so became the fifth victim.
And so to bed for our last night. Breakfast on Sunday morning was followed by Peter's talk about 'The smallest room'. As we expected this was very interesting and very funny! While this is taking place, Christine is reading all the solutions that were handed in that morning and deciding on who to give prizes to.
The final part of the weekend is the explanation of the plot and the murderers are revealed to those who have been totally baffled. The final three suspects had to stand out at the front of the room and help Peter explain what had happened. Frank had, in fact, murdered 4 of the victims and Klara had managed to murder him using poison, even though she too died by his hand. John decided it was my fault that his wife had died and tried to strangle me - but then Gary shot us both as he blamed both of us for his wife, Klara dying!

Over the weekend more of the story is revealed to us, bit by bit, and we are told what information we have to impart to our guests. It is fantastic fun and we love every minute of it!
We were sent a brief description of what we were going to do on Friday evening in the post a week or so before hand so we know a little of what was going to happen. We travelled down to Guildford on Friday afternoon as we had to meet Peter and Christine (Padwick and Ball) at 6.30 so we could meet the other 6 participants.
The meal started at 7.30 and after most people had finished their meal someone died. Shortly after this a second person died and then everyone met in a conference room to discuss possible suspects and clues. On Friday evening, neither Frank nor I were suspects. After a little more discussion everyone moved into the bar to continue questioning suspects. I chatted to another Maths teacher called Lawrence who picked up on something I said, which he connected with something mentioned by someone else that evening.
This is a picture of Christine!
We were then free to do what we wanted for Saturday afternoon so went to Wisley Gardens. It is so beautiful. There is a fabulous glasshouse which is divided into different areas - Tropical, Desert etc. We wandered around the various different gardens, looked at the fruit festival that was there that weekend and tasted some apples. Here are some of the pictures from the glasshouse - orchids and cacti!
In the evening we met again for our evening meal at 7.30 pm and after dinner we moved once
After the show there was another discussion about who should be suspects and the final four surviving suspects were questioned by the guests. At the end of this round of questioning Frank died and so became the fifth victim.
The final part of the weekend is the explanation of the plot and the murderers are revealed to those who have been totally baffled. The final three suspects had to stand out at the front of the room and help Peter explain what had happened. Frank had, in fact, murdered 4 of the victims and Klara had managed to murder him using poison, even though she too died by his hand. John decided it was my fault that his wife had died and tried to strangle me - but then Gary shot us both as he blamed both of us for his wife, Klara dying!
Over the weekend more of the story is revealed to us, bit by bit, and we are told what information we have to impart to our guests. It is fantastic fun and we love every minute of it!
Almost a month!
I really must concentrate on writing stuff on here more often! It is almost a month since I updated my blog!
Since the last entry, Frank, Lizzie and I have been to London to see Joseph which was fantastic, and Lizzie and I have also been to London to see Hairspray.
'Joseph' was brilliant and Lee was good at the role. I think he was the right choice from those that auditioned. Unfortunately one of the people we particularly wanted to see was not in it! Lizzie used to dance with Lucie Downer at Kilburn Dancing School in Wellingborough and Lucie then went off to Italia Conti in London. She has just graduated from there and is playing Dan's wife in 'Joseph'. Typically of our luck, Lucie was on holiday for 3 days in September and one of those was the day we went!
As I mentioned, Lizzie and I also went to see Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre. We went to the opening night and the lead guy is played by Ben James-Ellis who was one of the 'Joseph' hopefuls. He was 4th I think in the 'Joseph' competition but they did him a favour voting him off. In Hairspray he is terrific. Much more suited to the role which includes a lot of dancing and singing. I wouldn't hesitate to see this show again as it had the whole audience totally immersed in the show. Michael Ball and Mel Smith are also starring and as you might imagine, they are also fantastic.
Since the last entry, Frank, Lizzie and I have been to London to see Joseph which was fantastic, and Lizzie and I have also been to London to see Hairspray.
'Joseph' was brilliant and Lee was good at the role. I think he was the right choice from those that auditioned. Unfortunately one of the people we particularly wanted to see was not in it! Lizzie used to dance with Lucie Downer at Kilburn Dancing School in Wellingborough and Lucie then went off to Italia Conti in London. She has just graduated from there and is playing Dan's wife in 'Joseph'. Typically of our luck, Lucie was on holiday for 3 days in September and one of those was the day we went!
As I mentioned, Lizzie and I also went to see Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre. We went to the opening night and the lead guy is played by Ben James-Ellis who was one of the 'Joseph' hopefuls. He was 4th I think in the 'Joseph' competition but they did him a favour voting him off. In Hairspray he is terrific. Much more suited to the role which includes a lot of dancing and singing. I wouldn't hesitate to see this show again as it had the whole audience totally immersed in the show. Michael Ball and Mel Smith are also starring and as you might imagine, they are also fantastic.
Friday, 17 August 2007
Long time no blog!
I cannot believe it is almost two weeks since I wrote on here! Where does the time go?
A lot has happened since my last entry. Katie, Lizzie and I went to see Hairspray, which was a very funny film. We want to go and see the stage version which has Ben from the Joseph show on BBC playing the lead role and Michael Ball playing the mother!
Katie flew out to Purdue on Monday 13th August and arrived safely at the university on Tuesday. We are having great problems buying her the laptop she needs as there is a problem with the Apple website not accepting UK credit cards, but this is a long story which I will not go into!
Lizzie got her A level results today and she is thrilled with them. She had been told she would fail her Geography but she got a D and that included a B in one of the papers! Her other A levels were both grade C - one was Drama and the other was Philosophy and Ethics. Her AS Music was a grade D too (another long story as the Music teacher was new to A level teaching and didn't prepare them properly for the written paper!). She is really pleased with all her results as she now has 3 A levels grades C, C and D and 3 AS levels, also grades C, C and D. She will now start applying to universities for next September to study Performing Arts. She is especially pleased with her performance grade in her Drama exam as she was given 83 marks out of a possible 90.
Tonight I went to a scrapbooking crop for the second time. Last time I managed to stick 3 photos on a sheet of paper in 3 hours and that was all. At least tonight I managed to complete one page which was an achievement!

I have also completed the second page of my journal (I know - I am VERY slow) - Things I love. Now to decide which prompt to follow next!

A lot has happened since my last entry. Katie, Lizzie and I went to see Hairspray, which was a very funny film. We want to go and see the stage version which has Ben from the Joseph show on BBC playing the lead role and Michael Ball playing the mother!
Katie flew out to Purdue on Monday 13th August and arrived safely at the university on Tuesday. We are having great problems buying her the laptop she needs as there is a problem with the Apple website not accepting UK credit cards, but this is a long story which I will not go into!
Lizzie got her A level results today and she is thrilled with them. She had been told she would fail her Geography but she got a D and that included a B in one of the papers! Her other A levels were both grade C - one was Drama and the other was Philosophy and Ethics. Her AS Music was a grade D too (another long story as the Music teacher was new to A level teaching and didn't prepare them properly for the written paper!). She is really pleased with all her results as she now has 3 A levels grades C, C and D and 3 AS levels, also grades C, C and D. She will now start applying to universities for next September to study Performing Arts. She is especially pleased with her performance grade in her Drama exam as she was given 83 marks out of a possible 90.
Tonight I went to a scrapbooking crop for the second time. Last time I managed to stick 3 photos on a sheet of paper in 3 hours and that was all. At least tonight I managed to complete one page which was an achievement!
I have also completed the second page of my journal (I know - I am VERY slow) - Things I love. Now to decide which prompt to follow next!


Sunday, 5 August 2007
Anniversary
Yesterday was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. Frank bought me some wonderful earring and I bought him some binoculars. Katie and Lizzie have something coming by mail but it has been held up with the strikes - so we get a second day of pressies so that will be good!
We went to London in the afternoon as we had tickets to see Lord of the Rings and before the show we ate in Carluccio's restaurant at Canary Wharf. Really lovely Italian food!
If anyone gets the chance to see Lord of the Rings on stage in London, it is brilliant. It has had mixed reviews but we thought it was excellent. Get there early because there is pre-show entertainment by all the hobbits and at several points in the show the cast intermingle with the audience. Naturally most of this happens in the stalls, but a couple of the cast did go up into the circle.
The way the stage moves is very clever with different levels rising and falling and rotating. The guy who plays Golum is also really good. A really good evening's entertainment.
We went to London in the afternoon as we had tickets to see Lord of the Rings and before the show we ate in Carluccio's restaurant at Canary Wharf. Really lovely Italian food!
If anyone gets the chance to see Lord of the Rings on stage in London, it is brilliant. It has had mixed reviews but we thought it was excellent. Get there early because there is pre-show entertainment by all the hobbits and at several points in the show the cast intermingle with the audience. Naturally most of this happens in the stalls, but a couple of the cast did go up into the circle.
The way the stage moves is very clever with different levels rising and falling and rotating. The guy who plays Golum is also really good. A really good evening's entertainment.
Friday, 3 August 2007
Stuff
Last night I went to my first ever Scrapbook crop. It was a fun evening and in 3 hours I managed to stick 3 photographs to a sheet of paper. That was it! Nothing fancy, not even matted because I thought they looked better straight onto the paper. I looked around the craft warehouse where the crop was held (20% off everything while you are there) but couldn't find any letters that would go well on the page and nothing else that took my fancy either. Back to the computer I guess for a title and then try to find some suitable embellishments to decorate what is a very plain page. My excuse is that I had an awful headache and when I did get home I went straight to bed. These crops are held every two weeks and I will definitely go again but I know to go better prepared with exactly what I want to do, rather than just some odd photos and a few bits of paper. I have also signed up for an all day crop at the same place on 15th September, which will be just before the new term starts at college. I know I have to have lots of stuff prepared to do that day!
This morning I got a couple of magazines that had been sent me by the Gay Switchboard in Colchester. I had contacted them to see how an old friend of mine was - I had lost touch with him a couple of years ago and sadly I discovered he had died in December. The magazines contained photos of him and an obituary written by one of his many friends. Such a shame!
This morning I got a couple of magazines that had been sent me by the Gay Switchboard in Colchester. I had contacted them to see how an old friend of mine was - I had lost touch with him a couple of years ago and sadly I discovered he had died in December. The magazines contained photos of him and an obituary written by one of his many friends. Such a shame!
Monday, 23 July 2007
Harry Potter
I cannot imagine getting much of anything done today! I have even asked Katie to cook me dinner tonight! I have read just over 400 pages and have 200 left to go. I decided to take a bit of a break to check emails but after lunch I will read some more!
Thursday, 19 July 2007
Holiday from work
I am now into my third week of the school summer holiday and Katie has just got home from her 5 week tour of Europe. Lizzie is in Turkey and flies home in 5 days time and Frank is in Wales, working for Welsh Water.
I am trying to catch up with some of the scrapbook pages that I wanted to do, to document our Anniversary last year. We went to Paris for 3 days!
This year we are going to see Lord of the Rings, the musical, in London on our anniversary. All four of us are going as it will be the last chance we get to do anything as a complete family until Christmas as Katie flies out to Purdue University in Indiana, USA on 13th August to begin her year of study abroad.
It is now half past midnight and time I retired to bed. Maybe I will have another go at this tomorrow and even post some pictures (maybe!)
I am trying to catch up with some of the scrapbook pages that I wanted to do, to document our Anniversary last year. We went to Paris for 3 days!
This year we are going to see Lord of the Rings, the musical, in London on our anniversary. All four of us are going as it will be the last chance we get to do anything as a complete family until Christmas as Katie flies out to Purdue University in Indiana, USA on 13th August to begin her year of study abroad.
It is now half past midnight and time I retired to bed. Maybe I will have another go at this tomorrow and even post some pictures (maybe!)
Saturday, 12 May 2007
First attempt
So - I have finally started a blog! I am not sure how a lot of the stuff on here works but it will be interesting to find out.
I have got a couple of pictures uploaded so I guess that is a good start!
I have got a couple of pictures uploaded so I guess that is a good start!
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