A busy weekend!

On Saturday me and Al visited Homebase (the obligatory monthly visit!) and got prepared for the re-potting of the mamoth courgette plant. Can't find any tips on gardening courgette/zuchini, specifically F1 Storr's Green courgette, in either my encyclopedia or the website, so if anyone knows about gardening please let me know!

Anyway (...I'm just now watching Spain vrs Tunisia in the World cup on the telly so I'm a bit distracted!) I went to the nearby primary school to see Linda (new BioCare buddy) and her friend Sarah selling their wares at the school's fair. While there I purchased some goodies for Father's next day.

Then I headed off to the church to have a guided tour of the Old Grammar School and the Wool Merchant's House and Saracen's head. It was really interesting. I know bits of facts about the site but it's easier to piece it all together when you are standing on the site. What with it being my local church, where we're planning to get married, and also I'm working on the community project I'm slowly getting to know everyone and everything about the place!

The old wool merchants house was huge. Here's a picture and the line shows the old front of the existing tudor building:















Alo in the Old Grammar School there is 19th century graffiti on the old school desks, carved out with chisels:














And still attached to the underneath of the desk are beautifully copied out lines, maybe written under duress as punishment for some boyish misdemeanor, that reads 'Industry leads to independence' - a very Victorian sentiment!:















There are some very unusual details about the OGS too, (sorry I won't bore you for too long...) such as the fact that the lower part is 15th century while the upper part is older, from the 14th century! And the window at the far end of that part is taken from a church or chapel, and we have dated it to be from the 13th century! What a mish-mash!
The school had schoolboys being sent from across the country to Kings Norton from about the 13th century until the end of the 19th, and even in 1900 when the new school got overcrowded. At one point this small building, smaller than mine and Alex's house held an impressive library collection and up to 200 schoolboys! As for the wool merchants house (known by the name the Saracen's Head because that was the name of the pub part of it was refurbished and turned into in Georgian/Victorian times) it displays in turns craftiness, cowboyish construction and delicate craftmaship. The coyboys of the 16th century added on an extensio that makes the fiascos on the television programme DIY SOS look accomplished! I mean it's all wonky and off at angles - it makes me feel sea sick! Crafty because they put s sign over a window - it said "DAIRY" but it was to fool the taxman and avoid wondow tax! But beautiful all the same. I can't wait until the whole place is open to the public again... in time for our WEDDING!!! Yey!

Seeking Lourdes

I just got a message from my friend Lourdes Ramos Isorna, Laura - she's moved to Madrid as well! Can you look out for her? She's a Sevillana (I can't imagine her ever losing that accent!) and she has curly dark her, and a deep laugh, and she's lovely! If you see her you might remember her from the boat party in Sevilla in 2001! Fingers crossed, the world is not so big...

Acabo de recibir un mensage de Lourdes, una amiga de mi ano en Sevilla. Parece ser que ha trasladado a Madrid. Seria genial a saber si conoce a Laura, por uno de estos coincidencias enormes de la vida!

Afterwards I got dressed up, a real chore when it is soooo hot, and went out to meet Annette for her 30th birthday. We went to the Mailbox, a lovely canalside development of many bars and restaurants and shops. It was Annette's 30th birthday, she was my manager when I worked at the NEC, an d a lovlier lady it is hard to find. I had fun with her and her significant other Paul and friends, here are a few snaps of them:










But my two favourite snaps are from earlier that day. We spent a year and a half waiting to see what the creeper in our garden would look like when it finally blossomed, and here it is in vivid purple. And Emma, the little madam, who since learning how to remove hats from her head has not kept a single one on!









Finally I had a go at yoga on Friday and I survived my gym class again today, so it's all good news. I doubt that I'll be quite as sprightly in the morning though..!

A Thank You

A big thank you to everyone for leaving such lovely messages of support. I feel loved!

I have started my second week at Biocare and it was a busy weekend too so there's lots to tell you, so lets start with...

BioCare. I have been taking my lunches in the sun, enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having recently. And to give you an idea of this little oasis I took some more pictures... Sorry if this is boring you, just skip to the next bit!






We went gosling hunting so I could get a shot of the cute little fluffy babies, but the second I brought a camera to work they went into hiding... I haven't given up yet though!






And this is the view from my desk! The herons make a lot of noise for no apparent reason, they just like to make a fuss. There's a main road just behind the bushes - if you look you can just about see a white truck going past, but it feels like we're in the middle of the countryside!



The first week went well. The training was very much just get stuck in, and I did. I feel like I pretty much know what I'm doing already!

This weekend the world cup began, like we hadn't noticed! Alex is currently glued to the box, watching his third match of the day, his sixth in two days! The man is a machine! So Nathan and Laura came over with Emma and we had a pre-match barbeque. There are George crosses all over the close and quite a party atmosphere here. Nathan and Alex disappeared upstairs to watch England vrs Paraguay and me and Laura entertained Emma for a few hours. Unfortunately Emma had been in close contact with her cousin who next day came out in very strong chicken pox, and because I've never had chicken pox I kept Emma at arms length. We had fun but she did occasionally frown at me as though she realised I wasn't acting normally because usually I pick her up and throw her all over the place!