Miss Vicious speaks out

 Responses I have not and will not give her directly are in red.  Anything, everything, and nothing is used to feed her vicious paranoia and she's vindictive enough as it is.

my 8 year old is upset at the fact foxes are going to be ripped apart so yes she knows more than you paula who puts pictures up of foxes in her garden seriously dont put down my 8 year old or i suggest you dont visit pauls mum again smile emoticon yes its a threat!!!!!!! think paul living there is going to be quite awkward for you as he is reading your comments

you have now lost all contact. with MY Children (strange, I thought Paul was their father and that they are his as much as yours) you mind as jaylee and i are thick (something I haven't said, written or thought). I would rather be thick that sad, lonely pay for my friends, bitter!! and you and paula with allllll the money in the world  (really?  Not according to our bank accounts) still look very cheap and desperate!!. (No one else seems to think so) P.S tell paul i never said a bad word on my wall about her even after she was rude!!. (I should do this because?) I see how classy you men/friend buying woman are!!! I have saved allll the messages and yes jean your son was here a read everything!!! and now has read all this too. Your functioning alcoholics who cant hold a decent relationship between you both. Jaylee was int the car when she had that view which may i say come from your son!!!!. Remember what you told me about Paula and how skippy kangerroo is married!!!!. (ancient history) I may be thick but im happy (really?) so are my children something you bitter, nasty, cheap woman will never have!!! please share away!!! (I prefer not to feed her fantasies)  P.S I DELETED AND BLOCKED YOU JEAN as you were only on my fb for the pictures of the children!! yet you didnt seem interested yet could like the poster i put up where i said id be the asehole. (Oh dear! ) I f i was as low as you too and as unclassy (She has class????) i would put it alllll over facebook. (go for it!  Won't change my life)   Going to the kinky clubs was not a choice for you two but the only way any of you would get attention.(ROFL!) Paula is a very very sad lady who wanted your passport and personal details whilst you were under having your brain operation!!!!!. (Ummm; that was for backlash to transfer their account : something I wanted to do anyway.  Paula wasn't involved, not that facts matter and, I was in hospital but not on the operating table at the time) Remember who was there (her, amongst many others) Jean who tried picking you up when you were down!!!! (nope; no memory of her being one of them: ) who told you to go back to work!! (Well, even if I did remember, getting back to work a stupid idea at the time) who allowed you to come for christmas!!!!!!! (Ri-iiiight.  That was my Christmas present - in 2014.  Glad she was so generous) Your son has been through my facebook i have nothing to hide. (And so?  my son's relationship with me is not under her control.  Being proud of such an outpouring of vitriol is odd to say the least)

P.S there is a difference (between what and what else?) BAD bitch. and SAD PATHETIC bitches think you (cant call you ladies) missed that memo!!! (which one was that?)

share this on your wall from the thich bitch!!! Jaylee told me she thinks you dont like her like a THICK bitch i told her oh grannie loves you lol lol see how clever MY girl is (WTF is she talking about here?)

your soooo desperate for friends you allowed that woman to say that my daughter is thick and you agree "youre right" (entirely untrue don't let facts get in the way of a good story, and I didn't realise my friends needed my permission to speak)

i understand you agreeing about me but your grandadughter and on her page on her wall !!!!!!!!!!  (So she is telling me she IS thick?)

i told paul ages ago paula didnt like me when she met me as you slag me off!!!!! wendy pretty much confirmed that when she said actually your really nice! i said why whats paul mum been saying? well you know (nope.) lol lol your a nasty nasty woman!!!! my jaylee is STRONG ! KNOWS HER MIND!!! (I hope she grows up to know her own mind and not speak through her mother's filter)  got more heart and compassion than you would ever dream of having!!! your lucky very lucky !!!!!! to even have had pleasure of knowing MY daughter JAYLEE ASHBY because we both know she is an ASHBY !!! not a moir!!!! (nope.  She's a Booker, the name on her birth certificate is her father's, same as her brother) never will be!! feel lucky im not at you saying this to you1 AS THIS THICK BITCH KNOWS HOW TO THROW A GOOD PUNCH!!!!!!! (  I didn't actually recognise this as a threat when I first read it: should she choose to assault me, I shall be reporting it to the police and pressing charges) P.S so does jaylee  (my 8yo grandaughter is going to assault me too?) but dont worry i wont let jaylee know what a rotten grandmother she has!!!!!!!! (I should believe that?) as for MY son his work has iomproved since his mum has been home!! ( seems unlikely) oh dont take that as a dig (it isn't one?)  Paul is amazing with the kids just didnt get time because of his mother!!!!!!!!!!!!  (I should apologise for being ill and having a son who cares about me?) who paid for Paul before you gave him the card!!!!!! ME  (how interesting!  so she 'bought' Paul did she?  What with? )  

OH INCASE YOU DENY IT AGAIN LET ME REMIND YOU  (Again?)  

OUCH OUCH your right!!! you rotten rotten rotten human being!!!!!!!! Paul was here when i was messaging Paula he messaged her himself!!!!! Paul can tell you i done nothing wrong Paula just being nasty because of what you say about me!!!!!!!!!!  (Ahhhh; so I tell Paula what to do and say.  IDTS)   I forwarded the message i sent her see she didnt put the whole conversation where i state AGAIN not my daughters politics she just dont like the fact foxes will get ripped apart!!!!!!! she then replied well i suggest you dont listen to a 8 year old. then says i suggest you and your 8 year old get off facebook and enlighten yourselfQ!!!!!!!!  (this will be from the thread I didn't see because she'd blocked me)  

soooo glad Paul was here when i was messaging Paula MAY I ADD THIS WAS MY VIEW ON MY WALL!! IVE NEVER WROTE ABOUT HER BULLSHIT!! EVEN THOUGH I CAN CLEARLY SEE SHE HAS NO CLUE!! THIS STUPID WOMAN WROTE ON MY WALL WORKING TAX CREDIT DOES NOT EXIST!!!! LOL LOL IM THICK  (as she already said: I ught not to disagree with anything she says)  

HELD MY MOUTH WITH YOU FOR A LONG TIME  (sometimes, not always)  BECAUSE OF PAUL NOOOOOOO MORE!!!!!! YOU HAVE RUINED YOUR SON!!!  (maybe he has an opinion on that)   MAYBE IF HE WAS BROUGHT UP BY HIS FATHER HE WOULD BE A HARD WORKER!!!!!!!! YOU MADE HIM FOR YOU!!!!! A PROPER MOTHER IS THERE FOR THEIR KIDS NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!!!!!!  (then justice would suggest her son abandons her as soon as he can)   YOUR A POOR EXCUSE OF A MOTHER YOU REALLY ARE! AND YOU JUST SHOWED WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS ABOUT YOU!!!!!  (showed who?  What?  When?  How??)  WELL REMEBER SAYING I WAS HAPPY AND SAD YOU GUYS SPLIT SAD YOU SPLIT UP AND HAPPY I HAD MY SON BACK!!!! HE IS A FATHER!!!! DID YOU NOT ONCE THINK OF YOUR GRANDCHILDREN YOU SAD SAD ROTTEN HUMAN BEING!!!!!!! YOU MAY HATE ME BUT YOU COULD OF TOLD PAULA SHE WAS OUT OF LINE ABOUT JAYLEE  (If I'd known about it, I might have considered saying something)  BUT NO YOUR SOOO DESPERATE TO KEEP THEM!! WELL YOUR WELCOME TO THEM AS ME AND MY KIDS ARE GONE!! MY KIDS WILL GROW UP AND WORK HARD LIKE I HAVE!!! MY SON WONT USE WOMAN (MARK) FOR MONEY!!!!  (Mark is a woman???)  MY DAUGHTER WONT DSEPEND OR HAVE TO PAY FOR A MAN!!!!!!!!!  (well, earlier, she said she kept him 'before I did')   OH AND SID CAME IN TO CLARINS SAID HE DOESNT LIKE YOUR FIREINDS OR MARK HE DONT TRUST THEM !!! FUNNY HOW HE LIKE THE COMMENT ABOUT ME PAULA WROTE YOUR ALL 2 FACED! WITH NO BALLS ANY OF YOU SOMETHING MY DAUGHTER HAS!!!!!!!   (Balls to all that then)  

remember the name JAYLEE!!!!!!!!!!! STRONG CLEVER BRAVE CAN HOLD A WHOLE ROOM WITH HER HUMOUR . like my jaylee say haters gonna hate!!! you have lost the best thing ever to happen to you!!!! MY kids  (Actually, my son is the best thing ever to happen to me & I didn't lose them, she has made it impossible for me to see them)  
Having asked Paul to tell her I was sorry I'd upset her, 
Stick your sorry where the sun doesn't shine. Let's get one thing straight I am not and never will be part of your family I have my own Alexander and jaylee that's all I have ever needed . Paul will have to go to court if he wants you to see the kids. I will never stop Paul but I will if I find out he takes them to see you.
+
even ness said she was relived to be rid of Paul because of you im relived to loose the man i love because of you!!! i could never have a relationship with your son because of you and this was before you were ill!!!!!!!. i very rarely hate people but i actually hate you!! and just to let you know as nasty as you have been i actually liked you!!!!

So overall,  Anyone reading this must hate loathe and despise me.  I won't worry about that.

Grit, Kit, Spit and Q

The title is an example of shorthand for the pissed off and that's who I am today.

My beautiful Blu goes back to the vet tomorrow teatime to check progress since draining 500cc or more fluid from his lungs two weeks ago.  He has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.  It is no consolation to know that 1 in 3 Maine Coon have it; it's a genetic disease of the heart muscle. The effects of that are not good at all.  Tomorrow we'll be discussing referral to a cat heart specialist and may get some clue if he is likely to survive for 3 months or 5 years, still less than half the average life-span of a non-HCM Maine Coon.  There IS an outside chance he can live a normal lifespan with constant meds.  He's being such a darling about taking them twice-daily - it helps that they are liquid and not tablets.  Please gods, let me find out tomorrow the meds are working well and if continuing with them, even if it's for the rest of his life, will make that life longer.

I am devastated.  I love him so much and so don't want to lose him.  MD is no help, no FC.  He thinks I should have told Di already, that I was worried enough to take him to the vet and should be giving her constant updates.  For me,  in her position, having said someone could keep the cat I fostered with them, I would be frantic not being able to do anything from a different country and would prefer to be told when it was properly identified and everything possible known.  Still, I must be wrong.

The E seems to be under control for now at least and I loved being able to spend quality time with my sister (though I missed Blu something rotten)  My beloved son is a saint, he was here looking after BLU, medicating him, feeding him up and giving me near-daily reports: all of which were he's OK, eating OK, taking his meds, breathing better and being himself, though quiet.  That's all true but: I still think he's too thin, and too quiet even though he is just a loving and just as addicted to being fussed over.

See you around

Yesterday, my belovéd grandson managed to accidentally knock Mark's glass of wine over his laptop keyboard.  They'd been having a good time playing chess after we'd fetched the children from school and were both involved in some computer game Mark was playing.  Mark told him quite forcibly "get away from me, child" so Alex did.  I told Alex he should apologise to Mark and his wee face was so concerned when he whispered to me "I've forgotten his name" then, reminded, went off to apologise.

Everything went downhill between us from there on, I said I would have to replace it if it had died but that wasn't accepted, later, after he'd sat in the garden for a long time, I asked if he was OK, he said "yes" in one of those voices so I said "then why doesn't it sound like it?".  That got me "No, I'm not OK, I'm just not, now leave me alone" so I did.

Things got a little better later while he tried to get the keyboard off the laptop to check it, without much success; eventually it did fire up but appears to have a sticky key so he couldn't even get past his windows logon as the password gets taken over by the sticky key.  He needs to log in to some jobsite every day or have to visit the gov't A4E type people daily.  OK, so he accepted that he could use my old laptop with the broken casing and  I (had already) accepted he'd be going home today instead of whenever.  So.  I went to bed hoping we and the laptop would be back to normal in the morning, he came up after a while but was in the spare room when I woke up.  Fine.  After he got up, I muttered 'morning' but that was the only word exchanged before he collected and packed his stuff; I asked if I could give him the fare, he said"no, you're all right", which made me feel like a total shit since I know he's flat broke.  Then he gave me a hug and a couple of pats on the back before saying "see you around" and leaving.

Made a right mess of my day that did, not that I'd been full of joy the night before.  I'll cope, just wish it wasn't necessary; maybe I'm overreacting by taking see you around as last words but that's how it feels.  Letting people get close to me seems like a bloody stupid thing to do, it seldom ends well and though I let it happen less often than I used to.  Life really sucks sometimes.

Round 2

I'm now convalescent from a second craniotomy on June 5th to re-clip the aneurysm which ruptured in July 2011.  It's all much less difficult than last time, undoubtedly because my brain wasn't swimming in toxic blood this time so problems are 'only' healing from surgery.  I'm still in the final stretch of recovery from surgery for a malignant melanoma diagnosed in December, excised in January followed by WLE and reconstruction in February.  My blog for that is on Macmillan.org.uk (not for the squeamish) I've had enough of life-threatening situations.

Positive, positive, positive.  My social calendar refuses to lie down or go away so I have various places, people and events to look forward to Battleproms and a possible trip to the Lake District at the end of July, Edinburgh in August and a short holiday "somewhere hot" late October/early November to celebrate the end of Sid's and my sixtieth year as a threesome holiday with Mark because we all get on

of eggs and mice

Last night didn't go to plan at all which is entirely unfair since I was SO looking forward to it.  Dolled up 20's style, delighted Mark decided he would come out with me and P for dinner and Blind Tiger, Giving it some phwoaar! when I saw him spivved up in pinstripe and Homburg, I set off for the bus stop, just missed a number 11 and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one.

I'm sure it did roll up on time but I missed that one too after having a sodding seizure and came to  lying on the pavement with a couple of concerned paramedics doing their stuff.  John Law fetched Mark from the flat (bet his neighbours are gossiping now) and instead of a bus to a great night out I got an ambulance to St Thomas A&E.

They set me free about 11:30 after taking bloods, ECG, neuro-obs and repeated interrogation about my too-interesting medical history.  This morning, my ribs f*cking hurt but the medic said it's probably muscle damage from when I fell.  I remember none of that falling down bit but the now purple and puffy mouse under my right eye, lump on my forehead and wobbly tooth suggests I did an inelegant collapse with a clatter. They're already heading for history thank goodness.  'Senior Clinical Fellow' ( title) is determined the seizure was caused by being out on the lash the night before and lack of sleep.  Damn that Downey for volunteering such information!  Just happened to happen the day my phenytoin dosage dropped from 150 to 100mg but what do I know?  The only medifact they identified was a high white bloodcell count so I've to get another bloods check from my GP once their report gets to him.

Sincere and heartfelt thanks to the young Asian chap who put me in the recovery position and called an ambulance; he even came back to check with the ambulance crew if I was OK.  Sincere apologies to everyone whose evening I spoiled.

High-speed catchup

I was reminded yesterday that some of my friends look here for my latest news when P told me she keeps getting the same single page from 2008!  That was one of the perfect days in my life so I was glad of the reminder when I re-read it and have accepted the smacked fingers for not updating in here.  I've been blogging on a Macmillan site but that's all related to the melanoma I had diagnosed in early December, removed mid-January, and the area reconstructed just over three weeks ago.

Health-wise, I'm not having much of a good time; another Craniotomy is planned for April this year to re-clip the residual aneurysm ~ if they can.  Thankfully, I ought not to need any further surgery for the melanoma - unless they find signs of recurrence near the original site, in lymph nodes or anywhere else it might decide to manifest.  I'll be going for follow-up checks every 3 months for the next three years then every six months for a couple of years but the rate of healing this time implies my immune system is firing on all cylinders so I'm optimistic that nothing will be found.  I have a growth in my larynx that the ENT chap says is benign and 6 or 7 'nodules' in my lungs which they are following up on scans to see if they have grown or changed and consider if they might be melanoma-related or just punishment for smoking.

On the smoking front, I've made appointments for two sessions next week at a smoking clinic in London.   It's a bit pricey but less than I spend on cigarettes in a month so it will pay for itself quickly.  Longer term, I plan to stash what I would have spent to use for a trip to Capetown for myself and my magnificent man.  Oooh yeah, that's a plan I want to pay off.

Life-wise?  I've already had a wonderful one and am not planning on leaving the party early, there is far too much champagne to be quaffed and far too many other things to be enjoyed.  Plans for this weekend are a hen-night tonight, dinner tomorrow then Blind Tiger with P

There!  Blog restarted.

Anni versary

Today is the anniversary of the day my brain burst on the way to work while driving on the outside lane of the M4 out of London 

This time a year ago I was on my way to or very recently arrived at Charing Cross A&E and not doing very well at all

This year, I still haven't got to work however I'm breathing, I can walk and talk, life is different but I'm still here which is a bit of a miracle

Signed off till November 2nd

GP is not very happy about my BP which was 180/108 after two weeks on Amlodipine

Yesterday's twitch.  The IMA(Independent Medical Assessment\) report came through via email yesterday and I find myself irritated in all the old familiar ways about how work manage sick leave and how medical suport providers seem to play chinese whispers.

The report is signed by a Dr I have never heard of before and who I have neither seen nor spoken to but the report has his name on it and is labelled as expressing his opinions.  I do have the opportunity to provide information where I think the content is factually incorrect, which it is, but don't have the clarity of mind to identify and comment on the key things.

Charidee

   

  I just had a call from a Charity asking me to donate some of my clothes to the starving people throughout the world.

            I told them to EFF Off.   Anybody who fits into my clothes isn't starving.

final hours of 49

While ironing my dress for tonight, it was discovered that my sister has chosen the same colour scheme for her planned dress.  Again.  So she has changed it, after all, she's at home and has more options

Fabulous weekend - the evidence

Givaudan Crew at Cumberwell 2011 Fireworks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E68ALLs4hBA

Givaudan Crew at Cumberwell 2011 Chinese Lanterns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ii-1pEV9RU

- Lasagne for Friday night that didn't defrost in time, so we ate it on Sunday night -

- sniffiness about the fact that Lindauer doesn't really count as champagne, but we did manage a couple of bottles of the propper bubbly

- frying today on Sunday, sitting outside reading a book

- playing with cute, gorgeous, and terribly well-behaved babies

- Pimms before carriages to take us to dinner

- U2 disrupting our relaxation by using a noisy helicopter to get to Glastonbury from the other side of the park

- birdwatching and long discussion about owls - what do YOU think is the most common owl in the UK?

 

yes, we will be going back for a 4th fantastic weekend at Cumberwell next year

 

 

 

Victoria Meldrew

Dear Prime Minister,
Please find below some suggestions for fixing England 's economy.

Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks to squander on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the "Patriotic Retirement Plan" for the 10 million or so over-50's in the work force.
Pay them £1 million each severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire.  (Ten million job openings - unemployment fixed)
2) They MUST buy a new British car. (Ten million cars ordered - Car Industry fixed )
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - (Housing Crisis fixed )
4) They MUST send their kids to school/college/university - (Crime rate fixed )
5) They MUST buy £100 WORTH of alcohol/tobacco a week .....  (reclaim the cost in duties/taxes)
6) Instead of stuffing around with the carbon emissions trading scheme that makes us pay for the major polluters, tell the greedy bastards to reduce their pollution emissions by 75% within 5 years or we shut them down.
It can't get any easier than that!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members of parliament pay back their falsely claimed expenses and second home allowances
If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.   Dear Mr. Cameron,
Please find below our suggestion for fixing England 's economy.
Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 10 million people over 50 in the work force.
Pay them £1 million each severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire.
Ten million job openings - unemployment fixed
2) They MUST buy a new British car.
Ten million cars ordered - Car Industry fixed
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage -
Housing Crisis fixed
4) They MUST send their kids to school/college/university -
Crime rate fixed
5) They MUST buy £100 WORTH of alcohol/tobacco a week .....
and there's your money back in duty/tax etc
6) Instead of stuffing around with the carbon emissions trading scheme that makes us pay for the major polluters, tell the greedy bastards to reduce their pollution emissions by 75% within 5 years or we shut them down.
It can't get any easier than that!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members of parliament pay back their falsely claimed expenses and second home allowances
If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.
If not, please disregard.
Grumpies of the World Unite
Also………..
Let's put the pensioners in jail and the criminals in a nursing home.
This way the pensioners would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.
They'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc and they'd receive money instead of paying it out.
They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly, if they fell, or needed assistance.
Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.
A guard would check on them every 20 minutes and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.
They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.
They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counselling, pool and education.
Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, PJ's and legal aid would be free, on request.
Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens.
Each senior could have a PC a TV radio and daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.
The criminals would get cold food, be left all alone and unsupervised. Lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week.  Live in a tiny room and pay £600.00 per week and have no hope of ever getting out.
Think about this (more points of contention):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Appleby almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the county of Cumbria?
And, they even tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 125,000 illegal immigrants wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq ... Why don't we just give them ours?
It was drawn up by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for centuries and we're not using it anymore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse or Parliament, is this -
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal', 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians..... It creates a hostile work environment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also;
Think about this .... If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone -- YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM! It is time for us grumpy old folk of Britain to speak up!

If not, please disregard.
Grumpies of the World Unite
Also………..
Let's put the pensioners in jail and the criminals in a nursing home.
This way the pensioners would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.
They'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc and they'd receive money instead of paying it out.
They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly, if they fell, or needed assistance.
Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.
A guard would check on them every 20 minutes and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.
They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.
They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counselling, pool and education.
Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, PJ's and legal aid would be free, on request.
Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens.
Each senior could have a PC a TV radio and daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.
The criminals would get cold food, be left all alone and unsupervised. Lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week.  Live in a tiny room and pay £600.00 per week and have no hope of ever getting out.
Think about this (more points of contention):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Appleby almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the county of Cumbria?
And, they even tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 125,000 illegal immigrants wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq ... Why don't we just give them ours?
It was drawn up by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for centuries and we're not using it anymore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse or Parliament, is this -
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal', 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians..... It creates a hostile work environment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also;
Think about this .... If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone -- YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM! It is time for us grumpy old folk of Britain to speak up!

took the words right out of my mind

I think this is a stunningly good and worthwhile piece of prose, not written by me but de-personalised and edited lightly because I really wanted to be able to share it with you.

She has taken the words right out of my mind and said them for me (except that I wasn't as sensible or brave when I was 48)

This is part of an email from someone leaving their company......

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my loving family for less white hair or a flatter tum. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical. I've become my own friend. I don't feel guilty for eating that extra biscuit or piece of cake, or for not making the bed, or for buying that silly outdoor ornament that I didn't need, but looks so ‘avante garde’ on the patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

But, I have seen too many friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging, so, yes, I am leaving after 20+ years.

At the age of 48 my body has decided for me, that it can no longer ‘be’ as stationary and needs to be much more active, so I have decided to give myself a break, in the knowledge that I can live without the finer things in life, for a while anyway; to get back some of the life I have lost, to do some of the things I want to do.

I want to be able to choose to read a favourite book, surf the computer or play the piano until 4 in the morning, and then sleep until midday. I want to sing and dance to those wonderful tunes of the 60’s & 70's, and if, at the same time, I want to cry over a lost love, sentimental thought or memory, I will.

I want to blow the cobwebs off my paint brushes and just splash around a bit, expressing myself, as all of us should. Commissions welcome if you would like me to capture on canvas that magic smile or glint of an eye of a loved one, be it human, tamed or wild! 

I want to get fit, do more sailing and accomplish Coastal Skipper, complete my Dive Master exams; walk the South Downs Way, ‘Coast to Coast’ and the Pennines. Too far, you may think? Perhaps.. But there’s nowt wrong in trying, or even just dreaming.

I want to throw myself out of a plane again,and feel the thrill of speed, risk, and achievement. I want to put my motor bike back together and feel the freedom it provided. I want to learn to fly a light plane like a Piper, Cessna or Cherokee.

I look forward to walking the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and dive into the waves with abandon, if I choose, regardless of pitying glances from the toned young jet set. They, too, will get old.

Over the years my heart has been broken, several times. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one; when you realise you will never have children; when one of your pets is killed on the road unnecessarily, taken too early or denied a normal life? But, broken hearts give us strength, and understanding, and compassion for others while they mend. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am fortunate enough to have lived long enough to have my hair turning white, (just) and to have my youthful laughter forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself any more. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

I like being older. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but whilst I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. I mean to go do it now.. And I shall eat dessert every single day,..(if I feel like it).

I hope those that want to stay in touch will do so. Please be happy, seize the day, enjoy the precious present.

Good advice, I'm sure

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 -- You could grow frustrated today as your boss changes your job before you finish it. Each time you make progress, someone switches the rules once again. You are tempted to give up because you don't want to waste your time doing something that ultimately has no lasting value. However, you probably cannot see the bigger picture; it's better now to analyze things less and simply attend to your work as it is assigned. Everything will make more sense soon enough.

This horoscope business can be quite spoooky sometimes about what's going on in my life

Whatever the vicissitudes (10 points if you don't need a dictionary) of work, they put money in my bank every month, which is jolly useful

Female Affirmations : apply daily (thanks Kay!)

1. Aspire !        to be Barbie - the bitch has everything.

2. If the shoe fits - buy them in every color.

3. Take life with a pinch of salt... a wedge of lemon, and a shot of tequila. 

4. Need a support group? - Cocktail hour with the girls!

5. Go on the 30 day diet. (I'm on it and so far I've lost 15 days).
6. When  life gets you down - put on your big girl panties and deal with it.  
      
7. Let your greatest fear be that there is no PMS and it's just your personality.

8. I know I live in my own little world, but it's OK, they know me here.

9. Lead me not into temptation, I'll find it by myself.
10. Don't get your knickers in a twist; it solves nothing and makes you walk funny.

11. When life gives you lemons - buy Corona.

12. Forget  about the perfect man - he's living in San Fran with his boyfriend.

13. Hang on in there: only the first 40 years of parenthood are complicated.  
      
14. If it  has tyres or testicles it's gonna give you trouble.

15. By the time a women realizes her mother was right, she has a daughter who knows she's wrong.

Talking to my gorgeous blond

recent convos with my grandson, who is 6

~ when he saw my (only) wedding photograph in the house. -

him: who is that?

me: it's me

him: it doesn't look like you

Me: what does it look like then?

him: it looks like a woman

Me:{ouch} so what do I look like?

him: a Grannie

Me: what's the difference?

Alex: (gesturing vaguely at his forehead) Grannies have lines

{pass the botox}

~ in the hallway when I was talking to his father about an imminent trip to dutchland
(in a truly parental disapproving voice)
"you are always travelling
I don't like it
you do too much TRA-velling.
I don't think you should do TRAvelling at all
Where are you going?
Me: Holland
Him: when will you be back?
Me: Thursday.
Him: (echo of a much older conversation)
I think it's shut, don't go.
{wordless and loved}

~ in the supermarket carpark with me and his sister, looking at the early evening sky, his sister pointing upwards and saying "what's that?"

I thought she was pointing at the pale moon, and said it was the moon
She told me she knows what the moon is, not THAT, - THAT!

I thought she was talking about the long curved white jet contrail, and said it was from a plane.  Then got stuck in trying to explain the connection between a shaped cloud and a plane for her brother.
He said, firmly, "It looks like a white rainbow".
His sister said, no, THAT!!!! and eventually I saw the speck in the distance become recognisable as a plane
{specsavers here I come}

Dutchland has mozzies

and one of them drilled my hand tonight while I was having a lovely relaxed dinner on the terrace of some local brasserie whose name I didn't learn.  Now, four hours later, it looks like I'm wearing half a boxing glove, but at least it doesn't itch any more

For the travelogue, I'm in Brabant, (NO, I don't mean I'm in a toaster).   Sadly, I'm also in the room next to the boyboss and can hear him polishing on the phone;  I just hope he doesn't squeak loudly in his sleep as it will give me nightmares.

pokering

I won last night; against 13 other players; I'm proud of me

Mark gets points for finding a Dali exhibition to take me to this afternoon

I missed seeing the shorts through being miserable - must give that up

the rat

For the rest of time, my enduring memory of the royal wedding will be of watching the rat on the road outside the pub the night before.  I can't remember who saw it first, under one of the parked cars, but I failed my girlie badge by not screaming and climbing up on the seat as another girl did.

It was medium huge and not remotely sleek but relatively healthy looking even so.  Later in the evening when I was outside again, I saw the rat had returned, even closer, under the table where the shrieky girl was sitting with her (male) friends.  Hysterical laughter was almost impossible to suppress but the wee soul didn't oblige by running up a trouser leg or across the girl's foot.

I left shortly after that and was surprised to see the rat again when I got to the corner, scuttling up to the shop doorway before disappearing.  I don't think I've ever bought any food in that shop and don't now think I ever will.

Wednesday was a miserable washout since I got a migraine and spent the day in bed feeling thoroughly miserable when not asleep and having bizarre dreams instead of being at Ascot with some of the girls;  Hat, frock, picnic all wasted like the day's holiday I had booked.

Thursday was a working dream in comparison even if my theory about time-keeping has, unfortunately, been validated.  I arrived at the office at 8am for a 9am meeting, and everyone else had arrived by 8:15.  How idiotic.  If I had arrived half an hour early instead of an hour, I would have been late. 

What is it people don't do, that I do, that makes it possible for them to be obsessively early? 

Büyük Han

We went to Nicosia/Lefkosia today , walking through no-mans land past the spooky buildings with the silent reproach of bullet-holes

and visited
Selimye Mosque/St Sophia Cathedral  and Buyuk Han

There was a beautiful rainbow while we were walking back, which I did photograph, a perfect arc spanning a blue sky above a ruined and abandoned building.  The shot in my imagination would have been that same rainbow as a halo around one of the several rolls of razorwire