Kitty's Wifflings

Ramblers Holidays, Walking from Port de Soller

2010-11-05T12:39:00.002Z

I've recently returned from a walking holiday organised via Ramblers Holidays, based from Port de Soller in Mallorca. Ramblers Holidays are a firm that has been organizing holidays for keen walkers for many years. I chose to go with them on this holiday as I was going to be travelling by myself, the single supplement was reasonable, local flight departure and the quality of the leaders. Ramblers is quite a traditional firm, and sometimes the booking process felt slow and frustrating in the internet age. Everything once confirmed was great, you receive an information pack several weeks before departure so you know what to pack, the flight tickets arrived in plenty of time, and little details like luggage labels were included.

The hotel used for this holiday was Hotel Marbell - I had many negative points about this hotel, but as I look at my latest Rambler's brochure they don't seem to be using this hotel next year, so I'll take my grumbling to Tripadvisor and not clutter up this blog post.

The holiday is graded as 'D'. While the length of the walking days fit the profile of a 'D' grade, the walking underfoot is quite hard work as the paths are stony and very easy on which to trip and slip. The location in the island meant that the walks were generally quite steep, as Port de Soller is surrounded by steep hills. As a very overweight asthmatic, of average fitness I was able to walk with the group and keep up, so as long as you're happy with walking on steep and rocky paths it's all fine. The local transport, operated by Repic were great - they were always there to meet us at the end of the day, and were only slightly late once to collect us at the start of the day.

The leader of our holiday was Bob, a regular leader for Ramblers. He was always there with a dry comment on the walk, and was knowledgeable about the terrain we should expect when giving the pre-walk briefings.

The town of Port de Soller was very walker friendly, you could order a sandwich to take on your walk from the Spar and there was a small outdoor goods shop Tramuntana Tours

I'll describe the walks we did as part of the holiday, other departures may vary, as the weather can make some of the walks difficult. A map covering the majority of the area used for the holiday is ISBN 9788480903585. It seems to be available more cheaply in the local outdoors shop in Soller. The map is 1:25,000 and very clear. Sadly the paper used for the map is very low quality and it is prone to splitting.

Day 2

Just to get us started, we had a walk taking us from Soller, to the village of Fornalutz where we had a tea break in a lovely cafe. From there we went uphill and then back down via the Hermitage which was our late lunchstop. The Hermitage had this little chapel which had very unusual decoration inside, like a grotto with rock formations and statues of the Virgin Mary.

After that it was a walk down to Soller town. We were given the option to walk the 3km into to Port de Soller, or to explore the town and catch the tram home. I went for an explore and visited the train/tram yard

Unfortunately the church in Soller was closed for refurbishment so I couldn't explore there, but the small streets, interesting shops and cafes kept me busy.

Day 3

A walk along the coastal path to Deia, calling at Cala Deia on the way. We stopped for coffee at a farmhouse cafe run by this charming french lady. The chocolate cake looked fabulous. Onwards to Cala Deia, this would usually give us a chance to have a swim, but some wild weather had blown in from the north, making the sea at Cala Deia very rough. Surprisingly, one of the cafes was still open (Patro March), so there was chance for a cup of tea and watching the waves crash against the shore.

From there it was a walk up through the valley towards the village of Deia. We had an hour to explore and get a restorative cup of tea. I walked up the hill, past the stations of the cross embedded in the walls to visit the very humble grave of Robert Graves (author of I, Claudius). The grave was marked with a simple concrete marker, that appeared to have had his name written in whilst still wet.

Day 4

The scheduled walk on this day was to travel by bus to Cuber reservoir, walk up for a total ascent of about 100m, and then walk down the Pilgrim's steps to the village of Biniarix (approximately 650m).

I played hooky this day, and went for a walk to the lighthouse at Es Cap Gros which gives stunning views along the coast.

I had a coffee at the newly refurbished refuge, part of the network of refuges support the Pedra En Sec walking route

Day 5

Official rest day! I decided to visit Palma city. There are two methods for getting to Palma, tram to Soller and train onto Palma , or the express bus 211 operated by TIB . The train + tram combination costs €14 single, and the bus is €2.90 single. There is a long siesta gap in the train service which could make getting home quite awkward.

I'd done some research on the internet and discovered a cafe that sells churros and the thick hot chocolate that is very filling and rich. So on my way into city I stopped at
Xurreria Rosaleda
Costa de la Pols, 12 Baixos
07003 Palma de Mallorca

Fabulous! So unhealthy but so tasty! After that I had to try and work off the huge amount of calories so I visited the cathedral which while small, has a large number of alters around the church. One was a recent installation by a modern artist, which was very unusual

The cathedral is also pretty impressive when viewed from the outside.

Day 6

A walk starting from the Ses Barques mirador (viewpoint) over Soller, walking eastboud to Platja Tuent. There was a stop in a valley where we could purchase freshly squeezed orange juice from a small farmhouse. It was needed as following this was a steep ascent out of the valley. Once over the saddle of the hills, we had great views along the coast, and our lunch was taken on a large rocky outcrop.

The walk continued along the coast, gently undulating until we reach Tuent. There we could stop for a refreshing drink at the cafe, or go down to the beach for a swim.

Our group of walkers had some very keen swimmers, who took every chance they could to go into the sea, as it was still warm and pleasant.

Day 7 (Or "You can see Ibiza from here!")

This is the crowning glory of the week! A bus journey to Valdemossa, from where we walked steeply uphill to join the 'Archdukes Walk'. This walk may be at the very top of the grade but the scenery is more than worth the extra effort. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Valdemossa is a pretty tourist town, featuring many cafe serving local delicacies such as almond cake, and horchata made with almonds which was very refreshing after a tough day walking.

Day 8

It was sad to say goodbye to the people in the group, who were all very kind and friendly to me, and to the beautiful scenery around Port de Soller. Hopefully I'll meet them again on other Ramblers Holidays, as they have a very loyal customer base.

Great Manchester Run Race Report

2010-05-17T11:33:00.000+01:00

Well, the day dawned bloody confusing on the weather front. BBC seemed to imply that while it was cold now, by lunchtime it would be sunny and getting warmer. After much to-ing and fro-ing about what I was going to wear, I opted for a short sleeve shirt, capris and no coat (and a fetching line in goosepimples at the start line).

The start times are getting later and later for the slow wave in this race, it was 12:20 before the last wave got under way, with the usual pointless warm up 30 minutes before the start. The usual shuffle over the line, getting funnelled into the narrow starting gates. Once over the line, everyone exploded off like champagne corks, with a few people regretting it almost instantly and having a breather outside the Rain Bar. The route was the same as last year, with a lot of the pinch points removed, but less scenic.

Fun things spotted en route:
- a girl dressed as Rose Tyler carrying a cutout of David Tennant.
- The Bupa Boost section with a guy proffering vaseline on a gloved index finger (well it made me run faster).

Bad things en route:
- Running out of jelly babies before the pink wave went through.
- Cherry powerade at the start making me gip.
- The giant 30 ft long caterpiller that ran me into the barriers 200m before the finish.

So in the end I finished in 1:19:12 a new PB for me, inside my target time of 1hour 20 and 3 minutes faster than last year. (Beat my race number too ;-) )

MrKitty finished in 55 minutes and the two guys from work managed to get round in 1hr5 and 1hr11, slightly outside their target times, but still feeling very proud of themselves.

Apparently the fat walker factor was high in the Blue wave (target time 1hr) MrKitty was going mental at all the people who were walking by the Rain bar, when they were in a wave where you expect people to be at least jogging.

Nokia - You took your time

2010-04-07T17:34:00.002+01:00

But at least you've given E71 users free navigation

http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/04/06/nokia-e71-and-e66-get-free-navigation-today/

A great 5K Series for the Summer

2010-04-06T16:28:00.001+01:00

Sale Harriers are organizing their great 5K series of races in Wythenshawe Park. All the organization of the event is flawless, with marshals encouraging you throughout the race. It's so inclusive too - when they say everyone is welcome, they are! The race timings are put up on the internet usually within an hour of the race finish, there's prizes and there are goodies at the end of the race.

Fancy it? You can enter for the individual events on the day or you can get a discount by registering in advance using this form.

Hopefully this year I'll actually get to run them - last year I sprained my ankle so badly I could barely walk while they were going on.

British weather :-(

2010-03-26T16:04:00.001Z

Booked to go camping in the Lake District ... what does the weather forecast say?

Overnight temperatures of -3!

Going to need my woolly hat I think.

Changes..

2010-03-05T10:33:00.002Z

Lots of changes in my life at the minute. The failing company I work for has been acquired by giant evil megacorp, and we are going through our 'onboarding' process.

The thing that has thrown me the most - changing my email address from my maiden name to my double barreled married name. Why does this feel so weird? Had I never accepted the name change really?

Nokia - Economical with the truth

2010-02-12T15:00:00.002Z

There has been a lot of buzz about Nokia making their navigation free forever.

However, it isn't that simple, unless you are on the short list of phones that support Ovi Maps 3.0.3, you don't get the free navigation at all. This means if you have a smartphone such as the E71 you don't get the free navigation, and there are some rumours that you cannot buy new navigation licenses.

Next time, no nokia for me.

Best Warcraft boss encounter strategy walkthrough - EVER!

2010-01-27T22:34:00.016Z

This strategy was originally written by Numi, of the My Little Pwnies guild. Their wiki has vanished and the guild's forums no longer seem very active. The pictures alone meant that we started calling Obsidian Sanctum the DUVET of DEATH!

Alright guys, Sartharion is a serious boss, and it's going to take a serious strategy to beat him. I drew up a strat for taking him out, and I want everyone to follow it to TO THE LETTER.

The encounter starts with the raid at one end of a rectangular area surrounded by lava, with Sartharion at the other. I'll be referring to where the raid starts as the "bottom" of the area, with "left" and right" being relative to this perspective.

As soon as the battle starts, the tank will pull Sartharion over to the right, rotating him 90 degrees. The tank (represented here by a bear druid) will be backed up to just before the lava, and roughly centered between the top and bottom of the area.

Here's what that looks like from the tank's perspective:

That's all there is to the initial pull. Positioning is important, but if we're a little off, it should be easy to correct mid-fight.

Melee DPS (represented here by two cat druids) will be on Sartharion's side, a bit spread out. They MUST avoid being near Sartharion's face, as he has a nasty cleave. Being near his tail will make it easier to hit Sartharion when he rotates (more on that later) and dodge lava walls (more on that later). Thankfully, Sartharion has a HUGE hitbox, so you can be a bit flexible with the positioning.

Ranged DPS (represented here by a moonkin druid) will be a little ways back from Sartharion. They should err a little more towards Sartharion's tail, because...

Healers (represented here by a restoration druid) will be in the same row as ranged DPS, more towards his head. Again, don't get too close, or his Cleave will destroy you.
Here's what the positioning will look like for most of the fight, from the DPS's perspective:

Now, the major thing about the positioning is that the platform is divided up into five or so zones:

Lava walls will occasionally rise up from either the left or the right, and slowly sweep across every other zone. This is preceded by an emote about Lava Surging around the Platform or something.
When they rise from the right:

...they'll cover the even zones (2n). If we're in position, the tank will not have to move, and everyone else (possibly even the melee, depending on Sartharion's position and how close to the edge of his hitbox they are) will have to run up to Sartharion's belly to give him a hug. Er, avoid the lava wall, like so:

Until the main tank has experience with exactly where the safe zone is, he should try to keep an eye behind him to make sure the first lava wall doesn't catch him by surprise.
When they rise from the left:

...they've cover the odd zones (2n-1). If we're not in position, THAT'S A FIFTY DKP MINUS. Otherwise, the tank will have to strafe right, the melee will have to back off, and the ranged classes will be safe. That'll look like this:

Notice that Sartharion has rotated. It's possible the melee DPS will be able to clump up near his tail and continue to hit him (he doesn't have a tail swipe, apparently). (EDIT: Sartharion does have a tail swipe that stuns.) If it's possible, go for it, otherwise chill out until the lava wall has passed and the tank has rotated him back into position. From the tank's perspective, it'll look like this:

Try to keep your camera zoomed out so you can see the lava wall forming on the horizon. Even if it's hard to see behind Sartharion, you should be able to simply look back and to your left whenever the lava emotes to see if a wall is forming there or not. If it isn't, you'll have to move!
Also, occasionally adds will spawn in the raid. These will look like fire elementals, exactly like this:

The off-tank will need to pick these up right away, followed by the DPS burning them down with AoE.

The off-tank must continue to watch for lava walls during this period. It would be nasty enough to get hit by a lava wall while tanking the fire elemental pack, but even worse, the walls will turn a normal marshmallow seal...

...a burnt marshmallow seal! Burnt marshmallows deal 400% more damage, which will probably wipe us if a whole pack gets hit by it. Therefore, the off-tank must do whatever it takes to get the elementals out of the path of the lava waves. He/she should probably keep them away from the edges of the area, to avoid surprise lava walls. Sartharion will normally summon 2-4 elementals at a time; however, when his HP gets low enough, he will start summoning more. When he does so, healers will need to give extra love to the off-tank.
...also Sartharion will occasionally lob slow-moving fireballs / meteors at a random person in the raid. You can and should dodge these. It's also a good reason to stay spread out, so he doesn't constantly drop meteors on the giant raider clump. Think Void Reaver, but a lot less frequent. I just don't know which of my stuffed animals best represents an AoE meteor.

Follow these steps, and we should be taking a success screenshot this very night!

NEXT WEEK: KEL'THUZAD, RIGHT HAND OF THE LICH KING

Blimey

2009-11-04T15:24:00.000Z

I've been totally sucked in by Twitter and haven't updated any of my blogs (not even my work one) for ages.

Should I be proud or embarassed?

2007-05-25T17:22:00.001+01:00

Inspired by a link on my friend's blog I did the nerdtest. He only got 99%, probably because he did an accountancy degree...

preparación para mi clase

2007-03-06T14:56:00.000Z

Ahora, describo la ciudad de Granada.

Granada es en la provincia de Andalucia, a lado de las sierras nevadas. La clima es bonita. En invierno las temperatures son frios pero en verano las temeratures hay calor, treintaytres grados. El símbolo de la ciudad es la granada, la fruta llamó 'pomegranate' en la lengua inglesa.

Granada es una ciudad muy bonita y antigua. Tiene la famosa Alhambra. En el siglo catorce el rey moro 'Mohammed quinto' construyó la alhambra, un palacio y fortaleza. Alhambra es muy bonita, hay jardines y fuentes pero es muy apretado con los turistas. En en siglo quince los reyes católicos conquistaron los moros, y todo la gente convirtió a la religion católica o fue a otros países. Muchos de los edificios moros fueron destruidos, pero un famoso edificio 'el Bañuelo' o 'los baños árabes' sobrevivieron.

Granada es menos grande que Madrid, pero es más bonita y simpática. Me gusta mucho comer en las churrerías, como los churros y chocolate, uno desayuno tradicional.

Martes. Día dos, semana cuatro

2007-02-20T21:52:00.000Z

Sábado mi marido y yo corramos, por 6 km. Pero, ahora tengo dos ampollas y un otro herida porque mi brasier rozó.

Sábado:
Distancia: 6 km
Ruta: A lado del río Mersey
Tiempo : 48min

Mañana por la mañana correré. Una ruta pequeña, con curitas para mi heridas.
No tengo tiempo libre. Tengo trabajo muy complicado, y estudiando español no es fácil.

Jueves. Día cuatro, semana tres

2007-02-15T22:15:00.000Z

Miércoles monté a caballo, se llama Lizzie. Lizzie es muy alta y guapa, pero no es muy melosilla. Intentó morder a mi mano.

En tres semanas, mi madre y yo vamos a viajar a 'Lake District' para dos días. Iremos a la playa y un escuela equestrian. Mi madre es más hábil con caballos como yo.

Dos pájaros con una piedra

2007-02-12T20:38:00.000Z

Yo estudiaba español para 18 meses, pero no lo hablo bien. En el futuro, escribiré mi blog en español para practicar.
Sabado:
Distancia: 5.77km
Ruta: Por Decathlon
Tiempo: 49.55. Pero paré para comprar bolsitas de té.

Lunes:
Distancia: 3km
Ruta: gimnasio
Tiempo: 30.
No me gusta correr en el gimnasio porque el aire tiene calor y tiene sabor segunda mano.

¡Tengo una ampolla! Mañana y Miércoles no voy a correr. Necesito descansar.

Day 2, Week 2

2007-02-06T21:44:00.000Z

Very bad run yesterday - I couldn't find my heart rate monitor so felt all out of control during the run, and the cold air really made me struggle. At least I got out and ran though (I guess) even if it was only 3.5K.

I've decided to change riding schools - my old one was getting really greedy on the costs and the lessons weren't teaching me anything. I've found somewhere that can do me lunchtime private lessons for £14. Fantastic! I was spending that for a group lesson with 3 other people.

Day 7, Week 1

2007-02-04T09:45:00.000Z

Gaaaah! Now I've got cold. Busiest week at work for ages coming up and I'm all sniffly and coughy today. Growl.

I'm going horseriding this afternoon so hopefully some fresh air will do me good.

Day 4, Week one

2007-02-01T21:07:00.000Z

A feeble attempt at going to the gym today. I must have been asleep when I packed my gym back as I had put in my superwarm long sleeved top, the wrong running tights and odd socks.

I did about 20 minutes on the treadmill (1.5 miles) and 20 minutes on the cross trainer. So not a total failure, but nothing to write home about.

I also tested out a new sports bra, a Royce High Impact bra. Not good at all, I didn't see myself running, but I could feel my entire chest region bouncing around - when I watched myself on the cross trainer there was a LOT of movement. So that's a bra I won't be wearing for anything high impact. Now I'm struggling to find another bra in the right size - I'm one cup size too large for Shock Absorbers, perhaps I should just try and squash them in?

Day 2, Week 1

2007-01-30T16:29:00.000Z

Distance :4.2K
Route : A run around the playing fields, and then onto the running track
Time : 32.40. Though there was a few minutes of faffing getting Groundskeeper Willie to let me into the running track.
Music: Goldfrapp - Supernature

The track was in a mess, the storms of the other week has caused a couple of trees to fall down, blocking a quarter of the track. So I ended up doing there and backs rather than laps. I did some half hearted speed training as well - some short bursts of extra fast running, followed by an even slower than usual jog while my heart rate settled down.

Tomorrow is a rest day. Hurrah!

Day 1 Week 1

2007-01-29T16:25:00.000Z

Distance :4.1K
Route : Stretford Loop
Time : 29:35
Music: Same as last time. Electro house fits my pace very well, if I listen to anything with more beats per minute I nearly die!

Something I have noticed is that I find this mostly flat route very hard going. All I can think is that it's due to the concrete paving slabs that I'm running for most of the journey, all my other routes are mostly tarmac paths and they seem to be a bit more springy. I think I might try training on the local athletics track if I can persuade the local Groundskeeper Wullie to let me in.

Hmm.. other things going on in my life - I finally went out and brought a new mattress, so I'm no longer sleeping in my 'dent' which was giving me a bad back. It's a perfect example of my procrastination, I've had the money saved up for a new mattress for over a year, but I've only just gone to IKEA to buy a new one.

Running..

2007-01-27T19:04:00.000Z

So another January and once again I've got a running target. This year I've entered the Manchester 10K on the 20th May. So once again I'm trying to learn to run an additional 5K (my furthest run so far has been 5K).

This does mean that the blog might get a bit boring as I use it to track my progress..

Run today

Distance 5.1 K
Route: Junction 1
Elapsed Time: 44:23
Music: http://www.goodgreef.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64650&highlight=flintoff

On a more personal note, I drove last weekend to Scotland on the A68. I stopped at Carter Bar border crossing and persuaded someone to take my photo in front of the sign for Scotland. It's a family tradition really, my grandad must have photos of my mam and myself stood next to the border signs for every year we went to Scotland on holiday.They almost are like height charts, some people have notches in their door frames, my family has photos at Carter Bar.

I passed!!!!

2006-12-14T15:21:00.000Z

I passed my spanish course with the Open University. I'm so happy as I've always perceived myself as being incompetent at foreign languages. My grade wasn't fabulous (about a B-) but it's the best I've ever done.

I'm positively giddy and looking forward to doing the course next year that will give me the other half of my Certificate in Spanish.

Ow, ow, ow

2006-11-09T17:42:00.000Z

Had my flu jab today...

Owie.

me duermo...

2006-09-09T09:40:00.000+01:00

Only 3 weeks until my Spanish exam! Yoiks! I've just been away on the summer school for my Open University course, which was a great experience. My head is full of spanish grammar, hopefully all of it won't leak away.

Unfortunately the airline lost my luggage so all of my books are missing. Nightmare!!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		60%
Green Lantern		55%
Superman		50%
Iron Man		50%
Hulk		45%
Catwoman		45%
The Flash		40%
Batman		35%
Wonder Woman		33%
Robin		30%
Supergirl		23%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Can you ride tandem ?

2006-08-05T20:37:00.000+01:00

I hate cycling. I get terrified by traffic, my starts are wobbly and I can't even ride with one hand off the bars. By contrast, Mark is a great cyclist, covering 50 miles without even worrying.

There has never been a way for us to both go cycling together, so to try and redress this I looked into riding a tandem. As a good tandem is expensive we booked some basic training with http://www.tandeming.co.uk/ and a longer ride on a later date. The tandem was collected from http://www.bicycledoctor.co.uk/ a very friendly bike shop in Rusholme.
After several very wobbly starts we pottered around the park and got our balance. As the 'stoker' my responsibilities were simple. Maintain cadence, don't lean with the bike on corners and don't lean round to try and see where we're going.

We were riding a Landescape tandem, which was surprisingly light and coped with our height difference (6ft 4 to 5ft).

I enjoyed riding the tandem, as it was all the 'fun' of cycling that people talk about, without the wobbles, steering issues and the fear of traffic. Unfortunately Mark found that riding a tandem took away all the good things in cycling for him, he had to keep me informed about what was happening in front, he found the bike cumbersome to manoever and the bike felt slow to him.

Riding tandem also feels slightly ridiculous, dogs think tandems are a work of satan, people actually laugh and in one memorable moment we shocked a small child out of a tantrum.

I'd ride one again though, and I recommend renting one first to find out if it's for you.

If you want smooth starts, I've got a handy hint. Normally they talk about it being important to both push hard on the pedal to get the bike going ( for our riding it was the right pedal we started with), but to get a smooth start the stoker needs to not press the right pedal so hard, but to put a lot of welly into the left pedal, to keep the bike going while the driver gets on.

Done it!!!

2006-06-29T20:28:00.000+01:00

I completed my 5K, raising £245 for Cancer Research. My time was an appalling 46 minutes, looking on the upside it means my personal best time can only get better.

5 days time

2006-06-20T21:36:00.000+01:00

And I'll have run my first 5K.

I've started running in the great outdoors which is a bit of a challenge for me. I don't have any natural instincts when it comes to pacing myself so end up completely knackered.

I'm definitely improving though - I have a 4 km route that I'm mostly running. First itme round I must have walked at least 1.5 km... tonight I only walked 0.5 km. I'm having terrible trouble with blisters at the minute, my right foot is permanently sporting at least one. I'm starting to think it might be the shoes, as I've tried blister plasters, lubing up my foot with anti rub stick, tight laces, loose laces, special socks. Anyone got any better ideas?

I'm having a lot of strange dreams at the minute, probably brought on by the new car. I've dreamt about being carjacked 3 times in the past fortnight, once was very similar to what happened to me, once it was a bit surreal as I was rescued somehow and end up in a nightclub, once I manage to overpower the carjacker and tie him up with some zip ties I'd kept in my handbag.

Where to now?

2006-05-30T16:10:00.000+01:00

I can now run 30 minutes (very, very slowly). So what do I do next? I'm still covering about 3.5 Km in those 30 minutes, so I really need to extend the range, without massively increasing the time I'm running. Hmmm.

In other news I've finally got my new car. It's very blue, but that's about all the information I'm going to give about it, just in case car-jackers read blogs.

Another girl, another planet.

2006-05-15T20:40:00.000+01:00

Still training for my run - this week it's 15 minutes run, 1 minute walk, then another 15 minutes run. It was a bit of a struggle, but I'm still on target. It feels strange as most people are doing a Race for Life now, while mine is 6 weeks away (or so.. not that I'm counting Lol!). I'm worried that I'll be outpaced by my running partner - apparently she's training at a faster pace (12 minute miles, where mine is about 15 minute miles, barely a brisk walk). My only hope is I'm training for longer durations, so that might balance out in the end.

It's Marks birthday in a week - he's not a happy bunny as it is a major milestone birthday. I only hope he doesn't take the approach favoured by Mark Oaten to cope with turning 40 and losing his hair.

I'm still dreaming about the Sisters of Mercy. This is wrong on so many levels. Andrew Eldritch get out of my dreams!!

Hot metal and methedrene

2006-05-10T09:27:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy month for me - I've had customers working in the centre pretty much every day and even when I was on holiday I was sitting in on conference calls to try and stop things going out of control.

My running is progressing, I can now run for 12 minutes, have a rest, then run for another 12. My goal is to be running for the full 30 minutes before the end of the month. I honestly didn't think I'd get this far in the training, but I'm determined to improve my fitness.

Last week I went to see The Sisters of Mercy and they were fantastic. I can't believe I'm getting the goth love all over again and I keep looking at innapropriate clothes on ebay. My only misgivings regarding the performance of The Sisters were related to the quality of the sound system they had used, the vocals by Mr Eldritch were as powerful as I'd imagined them to be. I even ended up in the mosh pit for the last part of the concert.

Keep on running

2006-04-11T14:11:00.000+01:00

I'd been following a self-devised training plan for race for life, but it didn't seem to be getting any further, as I was basically exhausting myself, but not making any progress. At one point my heart rate was at 170 bpm, so it wasn't best approach.

After reading Runners World website, they describe a plan to get you running for 30 minutes in 8 weeks.

Week 1 Run one min, walk 90 seconds. Repeat eight times. Do three times a week.
Week 2 Run two mins, walk one min. Repeat seven times. Do three times a week.
Week 3 Run three mins walk one mins. Repeat six times. Do three times a week.
Week 4 Run five mins, walk two mins. Repeat four times. Do three times a week.
Week 5 Run eight mins, walk two mins. Repeat three times. Do three times a week.
Week 6 Run 12 mins, walk one min. Repeat three times. Do three times a week.
Week 7 Run 15 mins, walk one min, Run fifteen mins. Do three times a week
Week 8 Run 30 mins continuously.

So far I'm in week 3, with 10 weeks to my race for life.

I've also been and bought my most expensive pair of trainers ... £95!!! So far they don't seem to be nipping or rubbing and I don't have any knee pain. I bought them based on an assessment at the Up and Running shop in Manchester. The trainers I was using before were of an incorrect type, possibly causing my knee problems when combined with my weight.

Photos from the holiday

2006-03-30T10:15:00.000+01:00

The bridge across the gorge at Ronda
Trevelez looking towards the Sierra Nevada
The fort in Almeria
The village of El Ferrer, home of Rancho Ferrer
Terrano enjoying a graze after getting me to the top of the hill.

Trees are hard, horses are stupid

2006-03-29T13:20:00.000+01:00

Well, I've had my nose to the grindstone recently and have done very little running training and only just about kept up with my Spanish homework.

I've just got back from holiday, Mark and I had a week in Spain at Rancho Ferrer riding horses. Overall I had a great time but with a few comedy moments and misgivings.
Great Stuff

The horses! Lovely animals the lot of them. I was riding Terrano (known as the gentle giant) and he was completely as advertised. Mark was riding a grey mare called Babieca, who was a little flighty but still very kind and responsive. They had a wide variety of horses, from safe and calm to young and giddy. Anne-Marie and the other staff made great efforts to match you to an appropriate horse.
The accommodation. We had our own little spanish house in the village, with our own kitchen and bathroom. Plenty of space to chill out and read books when we weren't riding and if the weather was good there was a hot tub and swimming pool. The only downside was the village was set up in the mountains, about 1 mile from the nearest bar, 3 miles from the nearest shop, so if you needed anything you'd have to drive to find it.
The food. Everyone's fridges were stocked with goodies to make breakfast and lunches, and the evening meals in the bar were great. Plentiful cheap booze as well.
The staff.Anne-Marie and Mike who owned the place were very friendly and professional. Don who ran the kitchen provided good food. Lindsay, Meg and Maria who guided the rides and looked after the horses provided advice about riding, local places to go and generally made the visit a pleasure. Everyone was helpful and made a great effort to make the stay enjoyable.

Less Good Stuff

The riding. The terrain around the village was very spectacular, but most of the rides were on narrow mountain dirt roads. If you were a beginner rider you'd find these challenging at walking pace. If you were an advanced rider, there were opportunities to canter. However if you're in the middle (like myself) you felt that it was a little monotonous as you were at walking pace for most of the day. However, I can understand why this was the case as there were a lot of sheer drops, and the last thing Anne-Marie would want is for anyone to be injured.
The weather. We must have been there on one of the most miserable weeks - when we landed at Malaga it was pouring with rain, and it rained for the next 3 days off and on. Some days we felt lucky to go out for a ride, as the start would be held back waiting for the tracks to dry out. Once the rain finished, we had 2 days of good weather, and then it turned windy, which can make horses quite jittery.
Trees! Horses are very easily spooked, and when Balou spooked and started cantering down hill pushing past my horse, I ended up cantering through a grove of almond trees. This would have been ok, except that Terrano forgot I was on his back and dragged me through the branches of one of the trees in his panic. I was a bit shook up by that, and more than a little bruised. On the upside, I kept my seat through all of that - I might have been a natural at jousting ;-)

We also went to Almería, Ronda and Trevélez as day trips. Almería is not a glamorous town, though it does have a good fort. The drive to there was dominated by going past massive plastic greenhouses which are not very scenic. Trevélez and the surrounding villages in the Alpujarras were very pretty, though the drive was quite hairy and we did a short walk up the Trevélez gorge in the hope of reaching the snowline. Ronda is really worth the effort and the scenic ride up there from the coast near Marbella was breathtaking. I'll post photos when I download them from my camera.

Fun stuff and keep on running...

2006-02-06T12:59:00.000Z

Yet another internet test to see what kind of man is your 'type'

Exotic Lover

You scored 60% masculine, 47% athletic, 81% exotic, and 62% refined!

You want a man who doesn't need the muscles to be a hottie. You love a
sexy, exotic face and someone who takes care of himself. You like a
clean look, but very masculine and yummy. Someone like.......Enrique
Iglesias. (

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 37% on masculine
You scored higher than 11% on athletic
You scored higher than 99% on exotic
You scored higher than 92% on refined

Link: The What type of MAN turns you on Test written by thinkandcome on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

So anyways - back to training. Managed to increase my speed on my running interval to 8km/h and really felt the difference in that I was totally exhausted when I got off the treadmill.

Last week was pretty disastrous on the training front as my left knee kept aching from Tuesday onwards, so I spent a lot of time doing gentle stretches and willing it to get better.

Day 2 - Walk at 6km an hour 2 minute/ Run at 8 km an hour 1 minute. Incline set at 3 on the treadmill. Repeat 10 times
Day 3 - 30 minutes horseriding (cross training innit!)
Day 3 onwards, knee trouble.

On the run

2006-01-30T15:27:00.000Z

Call me stupid, call me impetuous, but I've signed up to do Race for Life at Tatton Park in Cheshire on June 25th.

Those of you who've met me in person will know that I'm not built for speed and that I've not run any distance in my life. The run is in aid for Cancer Research, and if you would like to sponsor me you can do it via my website https://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/mam

The run itself is 5K, which is a distance I'd have no trouble walking, but I'm determined to run most of the distance.

So with the help and encouragement of people on Guardian Unlimited Talk I'm going to train sensibly and I will succeed.

Training Diary Week 1

Day 1 - Walk at 6km an hour 2 minute/ Run at 7 km an hour 1 minute. Incline set at 3 on the treadmill. Repeat 10 times
Day 3 - 30 minutes horseriding (cross training innit!)
Day 4 - Walk at 6km an hour 2 minute/ Run at 7 km an hour 1 minute. Incline set at 3 on the treadmill. Repeat 10 times
Day 6 - Walk 9 miles in the real world

Plans for the future - increase my running speed to 9 km/h on the intervals. Borrow a heart rate monitor to see what the damage is.

Almond Topped Biryani

2006-01-24T14:11:00.000Z

Serves 4
Preparation 30 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes
Calories per serving 340 approx

For the Biriani

600g mixed vegetables sliced (eg. Cauliflower, courgettes, red peppers, mushrooms)
250g Basmati rice
550ml vegetable stock
1.5 tablespoons of curry powder(medium strength)
1 cinammon stick broken in half
4 cardamom pods crushed slightly
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt and pepper

For the Sauce

2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
5 cm piece of grated root ginger
2 tablespoons of curry powder (medium strength)
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of toasted sliced almonds to garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Mix all the biryani ingredients in a flameproof, oven proof dish. Heat gently on the hob until simmering. Cover with a tight fitting lid and put in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes.
3. Make the sauce by, heating a pan, spray with low fat cooking spray (or oil of your choice). Fry the onions until soft and brown. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients (except the almonds), bring to boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer gently for 30 mins.
4. Blend the sauce mixture for a smoother texture.
5. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork then scatter the toasted almonds over the top. Serve the sauce on the side.

Murder she wrote?

2006-01-16T13:07:00.000Z

Why is it when you feel under the weather, there is nothing more comforting than a gentle murder? The adventures of Jessica Fletcher et al provide gentle entertainment for the slow of thinking.

However, I do think that they missed the boat by not having the final episode revealing that she was actually a really clever serial killer, bringing death and destruction to all around her.

My life has been busy of late, I've just got back from a training course in Paris and I go into a massive run of customer engagements.

Not been the best of times..

2005-11-30T10:41:00.000Z

But I'm bouncing back.

I was car jacked just over a week ago, outside my own house. So my Golf is probably on a container ship to Russia and I'm left waiting 6 weeks for the insurance company to declare it 'dead' before I can even get on with sorting out another car. It goes to show that you aren't safe from thieving scumbags even on your own driveway and there are always people who want to take a shortcut to get the better things in life when I've worked hard to get them.

Now I'm left with a dilemma, once I get the go-ahead from the insurance company what kind of car do I get. Do I get a less desirable car and feel like I'm giving in to the thieving scrotes (and even then, it's no guarantee, as a lone female you're still viewed as an easy target) or do I get a nice car and hope they don't come back?

On a lighter note - keep an eye on Luce28s blog over the next couple of weeks. She'll be posting the annual Sparkly awards which give peoples views on the best beauty products that we've encountered.

Food and Memories

2005-10-21T13:25:00.000+01:00

This weekend is a cake baking weekend for me, and I'll be making a White Christmas Cake. This type of cake was made every year by my Great Auntie Veron, the best baker in the family. Auntie Veron died this year and even thinking about baking the cake is filling me with tears as it is a symbol that she really has gone.

I might skip some of the salt from the recipe as I think I'll be mixing in some tears..

Honeymoon Part 3 - New York, New York!

2005-10-14T17:33:00.000+01:00

Or if things had been different, New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam so good they named it twice!

Accommodation and Logistics

After the relaxed idyll of Hawaii, it was a complete shock to land in New York. We landed at 7:30 am in Newark airport and caught the bus to Grand Central Station. A couple of blocks walk later we were at our hotel, the City Club, next door to the more famous and historic Algonquin. The hotel was a good price on Expedia when we booked, and it's location is good, a very short walk to Times Square and the theatre district in one direction, the shops a short walk in the other. The rooms were small (but what can you expect for a hotel in a city stressed for real estate) but the rooms were very clean, with a really good bathroom tiled in chocolate marble. Even better, they let us check in early, so we could get out of our travelling clothes and into shorts and tshirts as the weather was very hot and humid.

On the first day we got 'all loops' passes for the Grey Line bus tour. This tour is split into 3 lines, downtown, uptown and Brooklyn. You hop and off as you see landmarks you'd like to visit and you get a narrative from the tour guide which depending on the interests of the guide could specialise in architecture, theatre, food. This was a great way to get to see a lot more of the city than you could on foot or from the subway, however, if you make the mistake of going during Fashion Week and the UN in session then the busride past these locations can take forever.

Food

New York was great for food! There was everything from a cafe selling only peanut butter sandwiches near the university, a traditional american style serving meatloaf, steaks etc. vietnamese and the best food that we had was at a french restaurant called Balthazar.

What was cool

Downtown Manhattan was building heaven for me as I love the optimism of Art Deco architecture. The Chrysler building looked fantastic glinting in the sunlight, the Empire State was great and there are so many other bits of art deco detailing on other buildings that I spent most of my time tripping over my toes.

Central Park was an oasis of calm within the bustle, and amazingly large. I would have loved to find the riding stables and take a trot around the park, but I didn't get chance.

Accidentally walking around Little Italy on the start of the festival of San Gennaro - there were street restaurants, amusements and more sausages in a bun than you could believe.

What I'd do different

Arrive later in the year! The weather was so hot and humid it was uncomfortable to be on the subway, and I felt uncomfortable about going into the trendy shops wearing rumpled shorts and tshirts.

Get a different guidebook! The Lonely Planet guide that we bought seemed to have been designed to confuse and annoy.

Honeymoon Part 2

2005-10-01T16:44:00.000+01:00

I'd better write this while I remember it!

The next stage on our honeymoon was Maui, 'the garden isle'.

Accomodation and Logistics
We stayed at the Whaler on Ka'anapali Beach, which is an apartment complex, a mixture of privately owned and rentals. The first room we stayed in was 619 - if you're ever there avoid any rooms ending in 19 as they back onto the lift shafts which led to a particularly sleepless night. One room move later and then we were blessed with a view of Black Rock, no elevator noise and a terrace that wasn't in the sun so we could actually sit out on an afternoon.

Maui has a very small public transport system, if you want to go anywhere, get a car! We were driving a Chevy Aveo, which was low on bells and whistles, but more than adequate to get us up to the top of Haleakala crater, despite what the Alamo rental guy said.

Snorkelling

Black Rock was a great snorkelling place. If you get there early (as in 7:30am) there are loads of fish swarming around. We also saw Manta Rays and turtles moving majestically through the water. We booked onto a tour to go to Molokini, and to be honest we were slightly disappointed. If you haven't done any snorkelling on your holiday already then you'll have a good time, however, I felt Molokini was crowded, where you spent half your time avoiding other people instead of seeing fish.

Horseriding

We rode into Haleakala crater with Pony Express this tour is carried out at walking pace as the downhill into the crater is very steep. The horses were well cared for and very sure footed. The main role of the rider was to stop their animal from eating the endangere species on the way down the hill. At the bottom of the hill we had a picnic lunch and a good stretch of the legs before setting off up out of the crater.

When were were there, we saw several downhill cycling tours setting off. Originally Mark had really wanted to book onto one of these, but seeing the way the pace was dictated by the slowest rider he was pleased he hadn't spent the money. This was definitely extreme sports packaged in a lawsuit friendly way.

Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is a famous road trip on the island - a long and windy road (single track in places) leads to the town Hana. If you're going to do this set off REALLY early (as in 8am at the latest), as otherwise you'll end up stuck in huge tailbacks and struggling to find parking bays. To be honest, the scenery is spectacular, but neither of us were sure it measured up to the hype about it on the island.

Food

We ate out less on this island as we had a kitchen and a Safeway supermarket nearby. There were no meals that really stood out, but these restaurants had great sunset views and more than acceptable food , Leilanis and Kimos. One evening we ate at a little 'hole in the wall' bar and burger place "Jonny's Burger Joint" near to our hotel, the burgers were good and freshly cooked and the bar well-stocked. This seemed to be a place for locals to go eat and grab a beer after a long day working in the service industry.

.... to be my warfull wedded wife...

2005-09-23T14:37:00.000+01:00

How did the wedding go? It was brilliant! However, it all feels like an almighty blur, so writing this down will hopefully clear it up for me.

I had a busy few days running up to the day getting various female maintenance jobs done (leg wax, acrylic nails etc.) so by the day before I was t-i-r-e-d. I had a 'hot rock' massage and felt 100 times more revitalised, though I did find the stones a bit of a shock when they were first applied.

Then I was off to the venue, I was allocated the bridal suite for the night before and it was lovely room with a four poster bed. When we checked in however, we discovered they'd manage to mess up the booking, with 2 reservations made for my parents. The hotel was full of a 'cat fancying' group, so the tables around us at dinner were full of people discussing neutering, breeding and scratching. 10pm found us putting bows on the rows of seats in the room and assembling the table centres with the help of some cousins. Tucked up in bed after a medicinal G&T I slept like a log, in fact sleeping in until 8am when I'd been meant to get down for breakfast by then!

The bridesmaids arrived early so I didn't get too stressed, armed with bottles of fizz and orange juice. The room was organized chaos, 3 girls in huge dresses trying to fight over mirror space and plug sockets for straightening irons. It was a lovely morning though, when the photographer arrived to take pictures of the groomsmen in comedy poses (jumping, running etc.) we got to peek through the curtains and giggle.

Then it was our turn for the embarassment and comedy of the photographer, Kenn and his put-upon assistant Grace. I personally didn't have any issues with Kenn, other than I felt he took ages doing the photos, so despite staying at the venue I was late downstairs. He was very brusque with his assistant and I was told that he'd been very impatient with some of the elderly relatives. However, some of his poses felt contrived, and having us jump up and down just before the ceremony probably left me with really crap makeup (Or that's my excuse when the photos arrive anyways)

The ceremony went almost without a hitch - I got a fit of the giggles when Mark's tummy rumbled really loudly and then in the vows he referred to me as his 'warfull wedded wife' which made me almost completely unable to say my own vows. The civil ceremony was very simple and well delivered Lesley from Bishop Auckland registry office. Then the photo agony began! 1 hour later I tell the photographer that I was tired and could we wrap it up please!

The dinner was lovely, well served and well cooked. The cakes looked fabulous on the cake stand (Many thanks to the Fanny and Johnny of the fairy cake world - Steve and Dorothy) The speeches were good, not toe curlingly sweet, not too edgy. It was great to look round the room and see so many friends and family that were happy to give up a bank holiday weekend to help me celebrate.

After trying to speak to as many people as possible, it was a relief when it thinned out for the half-time nap. Plonked on comfy settees in the bar, Sam (a friend and chief organizer of the hen night) and I sat there having afternoon tea and champagne. We had a good natter, and a good giggle at the events of the day. All too soon the night had crept upon us, so it was time to stress about the first dance.

We had the buffet and then it was the trauma of the first dance. We'd selected 'Let there be love' by Nat King Cole, as it was a short song, that would get people up dancing. I danced with Mark (obviously), my granda and Charlotte the bridesmaid. It was a happy moment after all the stress.

The remainder of the night was a blur, spending my time dancing when the DJ played something good sitting in the bar when my feet hurt too much. All too soon the DJ was winding down, obviously preparing to play the slow smoochy stuff. Not at my wedding sonny!!! A quick word in his ear and the remainder of the night was dance music, finishing off on the happy hardcore classic 'Children of the Night' by Nakatomi.

Photos will be posted once I receive them..

The day wouldn't have been possible without Mark (obviously) and the help of numerous friends and family who helped out financially and emotionally.

Lists
Makeup worn:-

L'Occitane Eau des 4 Reines
MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation NW20
MAC Studio Fix NC20
MAC Powder blush Satin
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil Lilacky
Natural Collection eyeshadow Thistle
MAC Eyeshadow Creme de Violet
MAC Eyeshadow Beautiful Iris
Maybelline XXL Brownish Black
MAC Lip pencil Dervish
MAC Lustreglass Morning Glory

Music played:-
Ceremony

Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings
Wagner - Wedding March
Mendelssohn - Wedding March

Night

Nat King Cole - Let their be love
Mortorcycle - As the rush comes
Moloko - Sing it back
Lustral - Everytime

Dinner served:-

Melon
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
Trifle

Honeymoon Part 1

2005-09-19T16:10:00.000+01:00

Or what I did on my holidays by Kitty aged 32 and 99 hundredths..

Our honeymoon was split into roughly 3 sections - Big Island, Maui and New York, the hope being that a few days in New York would dent the jet lag enough that we wouldn't be zombies by the time we got back to autumnal blighty.

We flew American Airlines to get to Hawaii, and the service was adequate, but you should note that now they don't feed you on any internal American flights so you might want to pick something up in the airport to eat.

Accomodation and Logistics

We stayed at the Sheraton Keahou Bay, about 15 miles from the airport. The hotel was very clean, very well maintained and were offering great upgrade deals as it was their first year opening so we had a partial ocean view (this meant that you were set back about 200 yards from the ocean, viewing it accross the lawns of an adjacent resort, but I was more than happy with that). When you check in, they offer you something called an 'Amenity Card' for $28 a day, which entitles you to breakfast (and lots of kiddie club type things), if you are going to eat breakfast in the hotel most days, it's worthwhile as the breakfast is $19 per person.

You have to hire a car to get anywhere on Big Island, there is no public transport, hotel shuttles are very rare and taxi firms are so small that they don't have dispatchers, you ring the driver direct on his mobile and he'll see if he can come collect you in a resonable time frame.

Snorkelling

I didn't think I'd like snorkelling, as I'm not the strongest swimmer and I panic easily. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, on our first day we went to the local WAL*MART and bought mask and snorkel sets (there are plenty of rental places around if you don't want to buy and they can rent you masks with lenses for short sightedness) $25 dollars poorer we went to Kealakekua Bay and I had my first ever snorkelling session. It was great. There were loads of pretty fishes ranging from bright yellows to iridescent blues. I did have a bit a scare though, as my mask lost seal and I ended up in my panic drifting towards the rocks.

The best snorkelling spot we went to was Kahuluu Beach. This is a sheltered cove where you can walk into the sea and see fish galore (even when crowded this place was full of almost tame fish - I can only dream what it must be like if you go there early morning). Green turtles (Honu) are around there to eat their lunch and bask on the rocks, though awkward on land when basking, they are beautiful as they swim around.

Horse Riding

My birthday treat! We booked with a company called Paniolo Adventures. The horses were fit and well cared for, they loaned you safety hats, boots and sunscreen and the rolling landscape of the ranch was fabulous. You got to canter the horses and were actively encouraged to ride the horses off the marked trails.

Other Cool Stuff

No visit to Hawaii is complete without visiting Volcanoes National Park. The Park is a good 2 hours drive from the Kona district, so be prepared for a late night drive home if you decide to drive down the chain of craters road to look at the lava at sunset. The lava gently glows at nighttime but remember to bring a torch (for the walk back) and something to sit on (blanket/towel) as the solidified lava is of the scratchy a-a type which cuts and tears your clothes.

Mauna Kea! Though you can't drive to the summit without a 4 WD, you can get as far as the Onizuka Centre for International Astronomy. From there you have fantastic views of the sunset from above the cloud level and once the sky darkens they hold star viewing programs. You will be stunned by the amount of stars you can see, making familiar constellations difficult to discern as there are so many other points of light. When we visited, the moon wasn't visible and you could clearly see the planets of Venus and Jupiter. The visitor centre sells hot chocolate and cup noodles to keep you warm as the temperature drops (bring a fleece or a coat). There are a lot of tours that offer you a visit to the summit and stargazing programs, but really, just pack a picnic and drive up to the visitor centre yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Food

After a week in Hawaii I was getting ready to scream if I had to eat in another 'Bar and Grill'. However, for location alone, Huggos is fantastic. Pricey, but the restaurant is set on stilts facing over the ocean and has wonderful views of the coastline.

Things I would do differently

Stay 1 night near Volcano National Park. The drive back was very dodgy as Mark was very tired and it had been a long day. If we'd stayed on there we would have spread the day out better and done at least one of the longer crater hikes. The payment to get into the National Park is valid for a week, so it's only the cost of a room.

How soon is now?

2005-08-22T08:45:00.000+01:00

Less than a week to go to the wedding now. It's strange, as it's got closer my mind has stopped looking forward to it, I've started almost dreading it.

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse...

2005-08-19T09:42:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking about horses, and why someone like me is a complete obsessional. There was an interesting opinion piece in the Times today discussing late starting riders of which I was one.

It wasn't my choice I started riding late in life, ever since I was 6 I'd coveted ponies, devoured the Pullein-Thomson pony books and generally just loved looking at horses. However, we couldn't afford a horse, or even lessons when I was younger, so it had to wait until I had money of my own. So at age 31 I got on my first horse, and loved it. In real life I'm a very controlling person, who has to try and map thing out and has great difficulty in letting myself go. But perversely, horse riding is not based on my skill to control things, as you are trying to work in co-operation with an animal, who may just decide that today is the day where you're going over the fence. I had one terrible lesson where I fell off twice, nothing injured seriously except for pride and whiplash in my neck - but I still went back the next week.

I'll never be a great rider, if I'm lucky I'll be able to take basic riding skills and apply them on well behaved horses out of the schooling environment.

The final paragraph of the article could sum me up:-

"If you are accustomed to directing your daily life by pure force of will, the discovery, in the person of some commonplace old riding-school hack, of something entirely beyond that force feels very like enchantment: baffling, frustrating and sometimes painful, but enchanting nevertheless. What is more, horses are like measles. If you catch them as an adult, the infection often turns out to have lifelong consequences."

Tuesday is my last riding lesson before the wedding - let's hope who-ever I'm assigned at the school doesn't decide that today is the day for a Melly/Ground interface.

First Dance Trauma

2005-08-17T21:12:00.000+01:00

How do you choose your first dance at the wedding?

Is it a song that holds resonance for you? If so then the DJ better be ready to play some trance and expect to see us picking it up some.

Is it a conventional song that the grannies will love?

We'll look ridiculous anyway, we tried slow dancing at a friend's wedding and our height difference really was highlighted, where Mark is a clear 15 inches taller than me.

Hmmm. I'm off to iTunes to listen to lots of songs.

Madonna takes a fall..

2005-08-17T21:01:00.000+01:00

The dangers of horseriding.

Horses are by turns beautiful, friendly, intelligent, aggressive, awkward and plain dumb as rocks. There does seem to be a perception that horseriding is for girls, but really you've got to remember that riding a horse consists of dominating something that weighs approximately 500kg and persuading it that you know what you're doing.

Stress!

2005-08-17T20:53:00.000+01:00

10 days and counting!

I've found it very strange the way time has accelerated towards the wedding day.
I've been variously calm, hyper stressed with nightmares and teethgrinding, and just plain dizzy. Now I'm watching the weather forecast with terror (currently showers!).

It's now all at the stage where basically if it isn't organized by now it aint gonna happen.

Summer's here...

2005-06-21T15:57:00.000+01:00

... and I've got the Pimms horn!

All I want to do on an evening after work is pour a big glass of Pimms and listen to summery house music CDs.

Car Chosen

2005-06-06T16:55:00.000+01:00

My review of the cars is as follows

Seat Leon Cupra R
Exterior - looked chavvy yet was still endearing
Interior - very poor. Looked like some leftovers from a 1998 audi A3.
Driver Position - The seats were uncomfortable, in the sense that they were very long, and pressed into the back of my calves. Handbrake situated a bit far back for my stumpy arms. Pedals seemed very close together.
Drive - Very quick to pick up, you could have great fun racing away from the lights in this. The gearbox was nothing to write home about, didn't seem precise enough compared to other 'sports hatch' cars.

Golf Gti
Exterior - Looks like a golf with extra body kit. As I've never owned a Golf before I didn't get the historical references that were contained in the honeycomb grill etc.
Interior - Smart. Brushed aluminium where appropriate, not too intrusive dials.
Driver Position - Fine, could reach the pedals without risking my ribs being smushed when the airbag goes off.
Drive - Great drive. Slightly more mannered than the cupra, and the ride was less teeth jarringly hard. The power steering was nicely weighted without feeling heavy.

So the winner (for me) is the Golf Gti. I'm now looking at getting the lazy mans version with the DSG automatic gearbox as my left knee is creaking after years of abuse.

Lines and lines and lines

2005-05-26T17:48:00.000+01:00

I'm not a great driver, but I do like my cars. It's got to that time where I have to select a new car on the company scheme or opt out and take the money. Having done the math it still doesn't make financial sense to opt out (damn you whoever drove into my car in a car park - I lost any chance of no claims discount there!). I'm going to miss my Celica though, it may be looking a bit battered due to my habit of not taking my riding boots off when I drive but it was a lovely car to own. The only real fault I've had on it is a broken interior light!

After much humming and hawing I've narrowed my choice down to 2 cars, a Seat Leon Cupra R or a Golf Gti. I really would have preferred a Honda Civic Type R but my company no longer has a lease deal with Honda.

Trying to test drive these 2 cars really has highlighted the difference in the customer service of what is effectively 2 branches of the same company. Seat were very responsive, and have loaned me a car for the whole weekend. VW have generally avoided returning calls, failed to make appointments and have been really not customer oriented. After a lot of phone calls, I admitted defeat and went to the local dealer and unleashed my WARTH (like wrath, but more sparkly). Within an hour they have grudgingly given me a test drive tomorrow for a whole 30 minutes. I suppose VW believe their product is so superior that they don't have to be nice to people.

And then there were 8

2005-05-26T17:43:00.000+01:00

My hen night is rapidly shrinking in size! It's down to 8 attendees due to childbirth, clashing holidays and my general ineptness at making female friends in person rather than the internet.

I'm secretly kinda pleased though, 8 is a manageable number to get into bars with and it means my credit card hasn't got too stretched booking hotel rooms.

So the itinery is something like:-
Saturday afternoon, go to the horse races at Gosforth Park Newcastle.
Saturday evening, go for dinner - I've had a restaurant called Gershwins in Newcastle recommended, if anyone has gone there let me know! And then off to some not too rowdy bars if such things exist in Newcastle. I've had the 'Apartment' bar suggested as they sell pink champagne by the glass!

My main problem is that I'm going to have to have a 'mini-stag' for the all the boys I work with before my wedding, that's really going to be a wild and drunken night!

RSVP

2005-05-24T16:22:00.000+01:00

Why don't people RSVP?

It's not exactly difficult, I even enclosed a card to make it easy for them. But still about 50% of the people haven't bothered to say they can't come to the wedding.

GRRR

What I did on my holidays

2005-05-04T21:23:00.000+01:00

A couple of weekends ago I was off on a horse riding holiday in Mid-Wales. I booked it with Free-rein who were very professional and easy to deal with. I did the 3 day 'Onto the trail' ride which was a mixture of walk, trot and canter in the lovely Radnor hills. It also included basic horse care skills such as grooming, hoof picking and tacking up. As part of the holiday I spent 2 nights at the Red Lion where the food was really, really good for such a small out of the way place, and I ate so much I was sure that they would need to upgrade my pony.

The photo shows Friday and me just after breakfast. By the end of the holiday I'd got very attached to the pony and wanted to take her home. Like all animals she had her quirks, her favourite thing to do was to roll in puddles, which made grooming on the morning quite arduous.

First stage of my crystal flowers

2005-05-04T21:21:00.000+01:00

So this is the first buttonhole I made up. I can't get the picture to do it justice as I'm taking it indoors at night, but it's about 10cm long consisting of 6 clear aurora borealis finish beads and two amethyst ones. Doesn't look too bad for a first attempt. Before I do the remaining 24 (!) I'm going to buy some very small needle nose pliers to make the binding and twisting of the wire a bit less tricky

Apparently I'm one step to the right of Mrs. T

2005-04-26T18:02:00.000+01:00

Who Should you vote for

Who should I vote for?

Your actual outcome:

Labour -6
	Conservative 31
Liberal Democrat -22
	UK Independence Party 26
	Green 1

You should vote: Conservative

The Conservative Party is strongly against joining the Euro and against greater use of taxation to fund public services. The party broadly supported the Iraq war and backs greater policing and ID cards. The Tories are against increasing the minimum wage above the rate of inflation, and have committed to abolishing university tuition fees. They support 'virtual vouchers' for private education.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For

Well - that was a suprise for me, I thought I was broadly a leftie.

2005-04-25T20:21:00.001+01:00

Table centre from above

As previously stated I'm not all that big on flowers, so I've gone for a candle as the table centre. I bought all the bits from Matalan, it roughly works out at about £5 per table.

2005-04-25T20:21:00.000+01:00

Table centre

2005-04-25T20:20:00.000+01:00

Bridesmaid Dress - as modelled by the Manchester bridesmaid.

Long time no speak!

2005-04-25T18:21:00.000+01:00

Wow! I've been so busy recently I haven't had time to do my blog, so I'll be doing some catch-up posts over the next couple of nights.

My friends hen night was a brilliant laugh! There were 18 girls, all wearing bunny ears on the quayside in Newcastle. We stayed at the Jurys Inn, which was very rowdy as completely full of hens and stags but the rooms were very clean, and the breakfast was a lifesaver for the hungover. We didn't get very far on our pub crawl, started the night in the Quilted Camel, pretty good music and a good atmosphere. Then we finished the night across the river in Gateshead at the very cheesy Baja Beach Club . £6 in, but the booze wasn't too expensive.

Hen Nights..

2005-04-13T08:41:00.000+01:00

No not mine.. though I really should get my arse in gear and organize it. This weekend I'm off to sunny geordieland for a friend's hen weekend. I'm really divided how I feel about these occasions though, I love the idea of getting to see people I haven't seen for ages (Creamfields about 4 years ago for one of them) but on the other hand my insecurity rampages around and I worry that I'm going to be left on the sidelines. I'm sure men on stag nights don't worry about these things.

A rose by any other name

2005-04-08T13:21:00.000+01:00

I'm not a flowers person. I have been known to trill in fake delight "Oooh look dead things" when presented with flowers. So what was I going to do about my wedding bouquet?

I was inspired by an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Hell's Bells, the one with the Anya/Zander wedding) to have a crystal bouquet. These don't really seem to be available in the UK, or when they are, they are shockingly expensive. Through the power of google I found 2 useful websites.

Wedding Day Originals . Pre-made bouquets and kits

How to make a bead bouquet . A simple how to method with pictures.

I bought 2 large kits from Wedding Day Originals and for the past 3 weeks have been slowly working through the 320 stems that I need to make for my bouquet (160 stems) and the bridesmaids (80 stems each). I'm also planning on making buttonholes for the wedding party, but I am going to order smaller beads so that they don't weigh so much or look quite so imposing. Once I finish making up the stems and make them into the bouquet I'll post a picture.

Crisis Over!!!

2005-04-07T09:01:00.000+01:00

The hotel has finally got back to me, and they have released a block of rooms! Hurrah!

*skips joyfully around room*

I feel like a huge weight has lifted off me.

However, the hotel has still cost themselves money as several guests have already opted to stay at a different (and significantly cheaper) location.

British Customer Service

2005-04-05T16:01:00.000+01:00

The manager of the hotel (Whitworth Hall near Spennymoor, part of the Best Western Chain) seems to be trying to avoid my calls. The very charming lady on front desk has passed the information that the wedding co-ordinator Miranda has emailed the owner of the block booking to ask if they can release some rooms. Is it just me or is this really stupid? Just pick up the phone and ask! Email is the worst choice because
1. People ignore email
2. The majority of people do not read their email regularly.
3. You can't plead effectively over email.
4. It's asynchronous communication, so a simple discussion that takes 5 minutes can take 10 emails with days in between.

It just feels like a lazy way out for them.

*edit after finally getting through to the duty manager*

The duty manager was unable to progress things further, but he was able to provide the following information
1. The owner of the block booking has telephoned Miranda leaving her phone number, but without a status on the rooms.
2. He is willing to commit to providing me with a 'get ready' area on the morning of my wedding.
3. Miranda is not available until 3pm tomorrow, so no more progress until then.

A very affable chap, understood why I was very angry on the phone, and said 'I can imagine you thinking that if we mess this up that we'll mess up other things'

No shit sherlock!

No news is good news... Right?

2005-04-04T11:44:00.000+01:00

Tried to speak to the hotel manager regarding the lack of available rooms, but unfortunately Monday is his day off. The lady on the front desk said that she was trying to 'beg' some rooms from the block booking that stole my hotel but as yet there hasn't been any progress.

So at the moment I'm in a kind of limbo, wondering if my wedding can go ahead in the form which I'd hoped for. *sigh*

Gadget of the moment

2005-04-04T10:20:00.000+01:00

If I didn't have one already it would be on my wedding list. It's a two portion slow cooker from
Lakeland Limited. Make delicious stews, currys and chillis by putting the ingredients in the bowl and switching on for 8 hours. Fantastic to come home to an already cooked meal.

I'm just trying to distract myself from having to phone the manager of the hotel, I want to give the wedding co-ordinator chance to actually do her job.

Wedding Planning Checklist

2005-04-03T16:16:00.000+01:00

Registrar booked - CHECK

Venue booked - CHECK

Bride's dress ordered - CHECK

Argument over guest list - CHECK

Hotel rooms booked for wedding party -AAAAAARRRRGGH

I thought it was all going so well. I'd finally fought the wedding invite list down to a manageable size and have bought my invites from WH Smith (cost conscious brides take note, they don't mention that they do packs of 'fill in the blanks' 8 invites for £3.99 on their website). I've printed RSVP cards and wrote the description of local accomodation and the costs for my hotel.

Then I speak to the 'wedding coordinator' at the hotel (Whitworth Hall), who kindly informs me that there are no rooms available in the hotel as they have accepted a block booking has completely filled it. Which is a problem. A complete feck up. My ceremony is at 11am, meaning that most of my guests will be travelling the day before, as the majority are based more than 150 miles from the hotel. There is nowhere the bridesmaids to get ready, nowhere for the best man to stay. When I address this with the wedding co-ordinator, she can't see the problem. Pretty much a contrast to the promises of the brochure where they promise a 'dedicated and helpful team'. The hotel does not allow for block bookings, unless you are with this special party who seem to get better privileges than someone willing to spend over £5000 with the hotel.

Right about now I'm ready to head for vegas as I'm seething with anger.

Hello

2005-04-03T15:56:00.000+01:00

Despite being an internet geek, this is my first foray into the land of blogging..

I'm not sure my shaky grasp of grammar and my low attention span will make for great reading, but at least it's an outlet for my 'me! me! me!' moments.