Abingdon and Kate's birthday

Yesterday was such a busy today, so today (sunday) neither of us are out of bed and it's almost midday! Anyway, yesterday Hannah and Rossa and little boy Jack came over in the car, we had a cuppa, then we drove to Abingdon in Oxford to see Sarah our old university flatmate and boyfriend John. They have a house there and did a barbeque. On the way the last week of stiffling heat broke and we drove through an electric storm, with water coming at us in all directions, fog, thunder and lightning - bit hair-raising really to drive through. It was the worst weather we'd seen for ages. Along the M40 loads of cars were pulling over and had their hazard lights on, and Rossa drove in 3rd gear, going only at 25/30 miles an hour.
But we got to Sarah's safe and sound and it was a fun afternoon.

Unfortunately another housemate Emily broke down on her way from Milton Keynes so we weren't able to catch up with her.

Little boy Jack is a proper cheeky boy and very much a daddy's boy at the moment. He is 2 and 3 months, running around and climbing all over dad Rossa; he's got a cheeky little smile too! Hannah's friend James was there too and we shared a very cramped car-ride home.



It turns out that he and the lovely Xavier look at this blog and I was so happy to hear that! Xavier just got married in france and Hannah Rossa and Jack went - she showed me their photos and it looked wonderful. He looked very snazzy and the bride looked amazing! It's so fun to think of my Erasmus boys from Griffin growing up and getting respectable!!! And knowing that this blog does actually get read is wonderful - but boys LEAVE A MESSAGE NEXT TIME!!!

After we got back at about 8.30 me and Alex went into Moseley to celebrate Kate's birthday. It was the usual crowd - Pete and Vicky, Kate, Dawn, Michelle and Nick, and a smattering of newish boyfriends who I'm happy to report were LOVELY! - it was a great chance to catch up with everyone and we had loads of fun. And god bless the new licensing guidelines - there was a much nicer atmosphere because no one was rushing to drink up at 11 o'clock.The Patrick Kavanagh in Moseley is a lovely place, best of all it's friendly, not expensive, and has a recently introduced cake selection!!! That's my kind of pub...

Little bear's 1st birthday

Nathan and Laura's little baby Emma had her first birthday and all the family gathered together last sunday.
She had a fab time, lots of presents and she was on top form all day - being entertained by both grannies and grandads, auntie vanessa, Laura's friend Emma, myself and Alex and her cousins who obviously dote on her as well. Aunties Laura and Anne were there to spoil her as well so all in all she was a very lucky little girl. She got a ball pool, paddling pool, swing and a tent thing for messing about in, lots of books, two cakes and lots more.















It was a beautiful afternoon, Alex had to work unfortunately so he missed the first part, but Nathan and Laura threw a brilliant barbeque and the weather was hot, hot, hot. In the end most of the girls ended up having a chat with our feet in the paddling pool, just to stay cool!
El domingo pasado celebramos el primer cumpleanos de Emma. Fue un dia muy bonito, con mucha gente, regalos, dos pasteles y un barbacoa fenomenal... Y el tiempo nos regalo un dia de calor y sol, fue estupendo!

Ahh sweet success

I thought I'd put something in about the job, now I'm more settled in. I found myself settling in very quickly, hitting the ground running, as they say. I'm writing reports and copywriting as though it was something I'd done forever, and I'm realising how much I'd learned from Annette as well as my time at Bright. I thought I'd attach a picture of the internal newsletter which I wrote in my 1st month. It's going to be monthly. I'm also putting in place an intranet and customer e-newsletter, it's great cause I get to imagine something and just do it! Everyone's been so supportive, and because no one was in my job before me I tend to be able to do the stuff no one got a chance to before - so I'm having loads of fun with it! My workmates Linda Wayne and Nigel are lovely, as is Karen my manager. But I'm particularly to work with Linda - she's the best. I just got told that our newsletter was shown at yesterday's board meeting and met with universal approval - yey!

And this is what I saved my voice for...

Pauline, a friend a church who is the person I've been working with on marketing/PR for the restoration, had asked me a fe years ago if I'd sing at a service in aid of a charity called the Donor Family Network. It was on Sunday, 2pm, at St Margaret's church in Great Barr. I'd been practising Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkle) for weeks and finally it was my big chance.
The Donor Family Network is a strange charity. It tries to support all those who have lost someone and been faced with the choice of donating their organs.
It was rather funny when, after the service, an ample-sized lady stood behind Alex and gripped him by the shoulders - I think he was afraid she might be eyeing him up for an involuntary donation! She didn't seem to want to let him go, and talked (worryingly) of "harvesting".
It was a strange but interesting service, and it's plain that they do wonderful work in some very harsh circumstances. People feeling the pain of loss and then being asked to give up what's left; I imagine the charity has to deal with them very sensitively. All around us was living proof that people had been dealt with with kindness, gentleness and sensitivity. Donor families and recipients whose lives had been saved sat and cried alongside each other.
An anglican friar led the service, and a surgeon whose surname was Mascaro (!) got up to speak. He made the valid point that ask most people on the street if they agreed with donation and they'd probably say yes. But ask they same people if they would donate their father, mother, brother sister or husband's organs and they would probably not know. He concluded 'talk this through with your nearest and dearest, make your feelings known'.

Mr Mascaro read this poem, which I have since found on the internet:

Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.
Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.
Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.
Give my kidneys to the one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.
Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.
Explore every corner of my brain.
Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain agianst her window.
Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.
If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weakness and all prejudice against my fellow man.
Give my sins to the devil.
Give my soul to God.
If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.
Robert N. Test
Absolutely.
Then it was soon my turn...

Bridge Over Trouble Water
When you’re weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I’m on your side.
When times get rough...And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me down.

When you’re down and out, When you’re on the street,
When evening falls so hard, I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part.
When darkness comes... And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me down.

Sail on silvergirl, Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine. All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine... If you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled waterI will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled waterI will ease your mind.

I sang quite well by the way!

The Kings Norton Festival

I have been volunteering as press officer for the Friends of Historic Kings Norton, as I've mentioned before, and annually they hold a festival to bring the community together. This year it was also to raise money and awarness of the restoration project taking place in the Saracen's Head and Old Grammar School.

I was there at 8am and raced around like a lunatic until about 4pm - I was shattered! But it was good fun. I took photos of everything and got kids to smile for the camera, I even scaled the bell tower to get a shot of the bell ringers! Looking after all the stands was a bit like running around the halls of the NEC when I worked there, or at least I got the same buzz from it. Mostly people were very nice, although like with everything there's always the odd moaner and groaner - although for once it wasn't me!


That night we went out for Pete's birthday, it was really good. This week has been the Birmingham annual International Jazz Festival, and we got to see some live jazz at a pub before moving onto the Aussie bar. I however drank water and looked after my voice, because the next day I needed to have a strong voice...

Something different I heard

Three former employees of Nat West bank, together with south Londoner Babar Ahmed and up to 20 more British residents, face extradition to the United States under a treaty signed in 2003 that grants fewer rights to British citizens than to Americans. Just four Labour MPs voted in favour of the treaty in the symbolic vote called by the Liberal Democrats this afternoon. UK citizens can be extradited to the US without the United States having to make a clear "prima facie" case that they committed a crime. Yet we need to meet a much higher level of proof if we wish to extradite US citizens to the UK. Adding insult to injury, the Government hasn't even convinced the US Senate to ratify the treaty. The Liberal Democrats campaigned against this treaty for three years - ever since it was signed and they were the only party that voted against the extradition rules when they were brought into force.

But the battle isn't over: the Nat West Three, to be extradited tomorrow, are only the tip of the iceberg. Many other extradition cases are in the pipeline, and will be decided under this unfair treaty unless the Government acts now. Thanks to today's debate and vote, the House of Commons has signalled its clear condemnation of the Extradition Treaty.

We could all write to the Solicitor General and ask him to support the Lib Dem Extradition (United States of America) Bill that would repeal parts of the Extradition Act 2003 and bring an end to these unfair extradition procedures:
Mike O'Brien
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

(Personal letters are the most effective way of lobbying him).
Together, we can put even more pressure on the Government to take action.

Our Bristolian weekend

I'm sorry guys, for not updating the blog before now! I've just been having too much fun! Work's been very busy, Alex has been working 12 hour days and hasn't had any time off so we've really needed our weekends...

Last saturday we began Operation Leave Pads by debriefing our deputy, who was Alex's mum! She had obligingly agreed to visit Pads while we were away, in the end visiting her 3 times for fun food and fuss time. Thank you Fran! Then we packed our bags and drove to Bristol to meet up with Milly and Rob.

Milly met Alex through Nathan while they were at college, but that was 7 years ago so me and Milly and Rob and Alex all know each other pretty well even though we only see each other three times a year sometimes. They bought a house in the St Werburgh's district of Bristol about a year ago and it was about time we went to see it!

We spend a lovely time walking thorugh Bristol, we saw the SS Great Britain, the first steam ship designed by Brunel, docked in the harbour. We walked along the river, had lunch in a nice bar, and then carried on up along the fishing quarter past all the quaint colourfully painted houses before climbing the biggest hill ever (Bristol is full of them!). After a pub stop, we carried on back to Mil and Rob's for a bbq where we also saw our friend Dave and his new girlfriend.



The following morning we went to the city farm, just a few minutes walk away and had breakfast. Maybe you can see the detail of the windows in the photo, the building was like a hobbit's house, carved beautifully from wood. Such an eclectic area! There is a hippy area alongside and some enormous allotments, then the city farm with this strange cafe and finally an area of council-built sustainable housing, with solar panels on every roof.



Then on Friday Milly and Rob came up to watch the cricket and I met up with them and my friend Ben who is also a cricket fan. It was Warwickshire vrs Gloucestershire in a 20twenty match. In the end Warwickshire lost unfortunately, but it was great fun, the crowd were almost as entertaining as the play! Then me and Milly and Rob walked to Moseley for a drink with Tony, who is moving back to Manchester, before picking up a curry from our favourite curry house Sylphet in Kings Heath. We finally got home for dinner, Al had lit candles and made the place look lovely, bless him, as he'd had to miss the cricket due to work. At that point, after all the sun and the long walks, and the food, I told people "I'm going to bed for a power nap" and was not seen again until the following morning. You know how it is when your head hits the pillow and you're already asleep..?

Then yesterday me and Alex had a lovely, lazy, day before heading off to Quinton to visit Mark. It was the football game of the year, the quarter finals of the world cup, England vrs Portugal. It was unbearable. There were probably 20 of us in agony, screaming, clutching our faces... and in the end we lost! It was so annoying! They didn't play wonderfully but they did well bearing in mind they were one man down, but in the end the penalties killed them. They clung on but when they stepped up for the penalty they looked dead in the water already. Ho hum. Four years to wait again!

Anyway, we shook off our sorrows and Mark stoked up the barbie. We eat well! Then we played garden jenga and twister - my favourite is twister. I was laughing so much I was crying! I was all twisted up and then Alison said right leg green, I knew it was all over - I toppled over like a house of cards!