My So-Called Life
the random and not-so-random musings of a twenty-something history geek
My So-Called Lifethe random and not-so-random musings of a twenty-something history geek |
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| Lizzie is a fully qualified history teacher having finished her course at Canterbury Christ Church University. She's also a geek who was secretary of the University of Kent Computing Society during her three year BA at the University of Kent. She is very much in love with her shiny Husband, though she is sad that he doesn't glow bloo :( More about her on her website: http://carina.org.uk |
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| Oct. 24th, 2009 @ 12:56 pm Eye test | |||
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Hiding out here: CT2
Yesterday was rather busy by my standards. It was the 6 year anniversary of Ben and I getting together and we went out for dinner at Cafe Des Amis in Canterbury - the first time I've been and it was yummy. I would highly recommend, though wish you better luck in who you sit next to. The people next to us started arguing and walked out half way through the starter. Exciting!Mostly feeling:  happyNow Playing: Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2 E1: When she was bad Ben was very sweet and got me chocolate, Season 3 of ER and some flowers. It was lovely and the flowers look so cheerful :) We ended up in town in the afternoon because he had the day off and I needed (was overdue) an eyetest and wanted him to come so I had some advice on what glasses to pick afterwards. Even if my prescription had remained the same, I needed new glasses anyway. Sooooo... previous eye test. New eye test: (Sph is my short sight, Cyl is my astigmatism) Right eye Sph: -1.75 Cyl: -1.00 Axis 20 Left eye Sph: -2.50 Cyl: -1.25 Axis: 180 So my astigmatism is marginally better in my left eye, and my short sight marginally better in my right eye, but this eye test has pretty much confirmed that my sight is settling down, which is nice. I suspect, short of laser eye surgery I won't have 20:20 without glasses, but I'm pretty pleased that it's at least not really getting worse any more. It turns out that with glasses I have superhuman sight! BWhahahahahaha - well, what I mean is, with my new glasses I have better than 20:20 vision (two notches better apparently). It's a pity that without them everything is blurry :( Will post pics of me with new glasses when I get them (on Thursday). These are them (and these are my new sunglasses). It's a bit scary how fast money disappears when you buy an eyetest and new glasses (even on 2 for 1). |
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| Sep. 4th, 2009 @ 12:08 pm Yesterday was a bad day for travelling... (for me, anyway) - long, contains angst! | |||
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I went up to London yesterday to see pot luck theatre* with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} no1typo. We ended up seeing Hairspray, which I hope to write about at a later date. I've been all writers blocked recently, even when I've had things to write about, and so this journal has been very quiet.Anyway, to return to this entirely uninteresting tale of Woe, for which Livejournal is famous and I just want to get off my chest... I should have known what the travel situation would be from early(ish) in my journey, when I drove onto the slip for the M20 (off the A249) and stopped. And stayed stopped for over three quarters of an hour after an accident on the M20 between the junction I was coming on at and the next one, which closed the whole carriageway for most of the time I was stopped, and two lanes were still closed when I finally got past. It wasn't really the best start, and very nearly made me late for picking up no1typo. After that things went mostly to plan (bar the overcrowding/traffic jams of a bus getting around London at 5pm :)) and we got our tickets, had dinner and wandered to the theatre. It was after the show that it all started to get interesting.First, as to be expected really at Theatre kicking out time, the traffic was solid for a while and it took us ages to get a bus back to Victoria - a number 38, which advertised Victoria as its destination and then kicked us (and the rest of the passengers) out at Green Park. By this time it was nearly 11pm, we were getting tired and Victoria was a dark and scary walk away across the park (yes, I know it's not far, but it was dark and scary. So we decided that, given we couldn't really be bothered to wait for a bus that may or may not come (and may or may not pick us up when it does come) we got a cab the rest of the way to Victoria. Where we found a train back to the place we had left the car was indefinitely delayed because of problems at Clapham Junction. After half an hour or so of waiting, we decided to get on a train to East Croydon, because at least then we'd be getting closer to the car and home and we could always get a train from there to Purley. When we got there we found that, again, the closest train for Purley, had it been On Time was still ages away and it was already showing as "delayed" (by this point, I was getting heartily fed up with signs at train stations merely saying "delayed"), which could mean anything for us and our wait. At which point we completely lost our heads and Definitely a mistake. All was fine until I hit the M25 (for reference this is my normal route home from my mum's) at which point it became mostly single lane because of roadworks, and to my utter woe the sliproad to the M26 was closed, meaning that the M26 itself was closed, meaning that I ended up going to the Darenth Interchange and straight on to the M2. The M25 was single lane pretty much from the point I joined to the point I came off at Darenth. Despite the fact that the route I ended up taking is only ~10 miles further than the route I usually take, it took me significantly longer to get home, because for the entire stretch of the M25 (which, I remind you all, dear reader, was single lane) I was at 50mph or less. Luckily the rest of my drive was ok, but I ended up nearly freezing myself with the aircon to stay awake, so it took me ages to thaw when I got home. So it took me forever to get home. The show finished at 10pm and I didn't get back until around 2am. It was a brilliant evening otherwise though :D *What I call it if you go with the intention of seeing a show, but are not bothered as to which one thus purchase your tickets for far less than you otherwise would from a booth like tkts in Leicester Square. (A list of what they have on sale today.) |
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| Jun. 20th, 2009 @ 09:42 am Ben's doing the London to Brighton bike ride tomorrow! | |||
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Just a quick note as I'm standardising today for edexcel. Basically benc (my lovely husband) is doing the London->Brighton bike ride on Sunday (tomorrow!). He's been riding for a year or so now, and this is a very important milestone for him. It's for the British Heart Foundation. If anyone has the time/money/inclination it'd be great if you could sponsor him. Just Giving. Thanks :) |
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| Jun. 3rd, 2009 @ 11:17 pm Euro and KCC elections, leaflets specifically. | |||
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This post has been brought on by two things. First, it's the Euro and County Council elections (at least for us in Kent) tomorrow (possibly today, depending on when I finish writing this). Second, we finally received a leaflet from Labour today and I really don't think they're even trying to contest this election. I was shocked by the poor quality and decided to share. Then I figured that I may as well document all the political bumf that Ben and I have had through the letter box during this process. Some were addressed to me, some were addressed to Ben. Interestingly, apart from the Greens, it was different letters/leaflets addressed to each of us (if they were addressed at all), rather than any overlap. Click on pictures to embiggen throughout.  An artfully arranged display of all our leaflets. I'll start with the shoddy leaflet that kicked all this off, which is the last one we have received. This one is courtesy of Labour. I'm not a Labour supporter, so I admit this might be rather biased of me, but this is possibly the worst political leaflet I have ever seen. Acres of blank space, poor grammar and spelling, and clearly has not been proof read before being printed off. Which is sad because I can only assume it's been/being passed around the district, and it's really not a good advert for the Labour Party. Read it and you'll see what I mean. ( Labour leaflet ) The Conservatives have tried hardest, sending round several leaflets, and the only party to send someone to Canvass us. I should mention that neither Ben nor I are currently registered with any political party, so that can't be the reason we have quite so many Conservative mailshots. I can only assume that they're trying this hard with everyone. ( This was the most recent. ) ( Ben had a 'personal' letter from the KCC candidate. ) ( Another Conservative leaflet. Can't remember when this one arrived. ) This last one is a copy of the main Conservative KCC leaflet. This one was hand delivered by the canvasser. We have two copies of this as one was in with the letter that Ben got, shown further up. The problem we had with this is that it reads like a particularly poor CV. On the upside, there was little wasted space and it did appear to have been spell checked/proof read before it was printed. On the downside, it does lie, as did the Canvasser about the John Simmonds (the Cons Candidate for Canterbury West, which is our ward) being "The Local Choice". The Canvasser told me that the candidate lived "just round the corner". This is untrue. John Simmonds lives in Whitstable, which is not "just round the corner". According to google maps it is actually 5.7 miles away from my address to his. I suppose it could be a very large corner... In fact, I believe the Canvasser was referring to the Conservative candidate for the Canterbury South-West Ward (Maureen Robinson), who does live "just round the corner" in Oaks Park (I believe). While Whiststable may be "local", it's not local in the sense the canvasser, and I believe the leaflet, were aiming at. Not impressed. Also not impressed with myself - I only remembered the questions I wanted to ask the canvasser (pot holes, Iceland[as in banks, not supermarkets]) after I closed the door, and I wasn't about to go chasing after him! ( Conservative leaflet for KCC. ) The Green Party sent us two leaflets, one addressed to each of us. Unfortunately they were both identical and both came through the post. Have to wonder about the Carbon Footprint of that. ( Green Party leaflet ) We also got a leaflet from the "No2EU" party, who appear to be endorsed only by Bob Crow of RMT Union fame. ( No2EU ) We have also received the now infamous BNP leaflet. Not sure what we'll do with it yet. Possibly shred it and then set it on fire. Ben pointed out it looked rather like a kebab menu, which is funny because it's true. I don't know where to start on the ways in which this hate filled nasty little piece of racist propaganda annoys and frustrates me, so I shan't even try. I only picture it for completeness and posterity. I hope in years to come I can look back and laugh on the fact that people ever considered voting for these cretins, especially on the basis of this. I just hope they don't win a significant share of the vote, especially a share significant enough to win a seat. ( BNP ) Given my political sympathies swing towards the Lib Dems, perhaps naturally as they were the party supported by my parents while I was growing up (I delivered my fair share of Focuses, did several shifts of telling at several elections at my local polling station, had an action room in our living room during a general election - tables and tables of addresses! - and even attended a Count as Lib Dem representative - all while I was 18 or younger) I am disappointed by the efforts of the local party. No Canvassing, at least, not round my block of flats. Only one leaflet about only one of the two elections. Given they say on their leaflet that "only the Lib Dems can beat the Conservatives here" I don't feel like they really tried at all. One leaflet specifically about the election, and then only about the Europeans, nothing at all about KCC. A Lib Dem publication was the first one we got during this cycle, I seem to remember anyway, but it was a regular quarterly Focus, nothing really to do with the election. It was also in need of a proof read as at the very least the URL at the bottom of page two was wrong - "www.cantlibdem" is no URL at all. What I'm trying to say, badly, is that I'm disappointed in the Lib Dem campaign, at least in my ward. I want to vote for them, but I feel like they've done nothing to deserve it. They've certainly not actually tried to get my vote. I hoped for more. ( Focus ) We got this leaflet, which is the Lib Dem Euro specific one, only very recently - possibly the last week or so? ( Euro specific Lib Dem leaflet ) I know campaigning in a Tory stronghold (Canterbury constituency has elected only Conservative MPs since 1874, the longest any current UK constituency has remained under the control of one party [source=wikipedia]), but really, if you don't make the effort (and I apply this to Labour, much as I dislike them atm, as much as I do to the Liberal Democrats) then they'll never be beaten here. Most elections here (Canterbury) seem to have a depressing enevitability about them. Purely on the basis of who sends out the most stuff and is the most visible (including on the doorstep), it is the Conservatives who are the most visible. Anyway, I should go to bed. I'm getting up early to vote! ETA: the election is today as I finish writing. It's gone 1am! |
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| May. 22nd, 2009 @ 01:49 pm Poetry | |||
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Following on from xanantha here and chaletian here, here is a poem, which is one of my favourites. Long Distance II (Tony Harrison) Though my mother was already two years dead Dad kept her slippers warming by the gas, put hot water bottles in her side of the bed and still went to renew her transport pass. You couldn't just drop in. You had to phone. He'd put you off an hour to give him time to clear away her things and look alone as though his still raw love were such a crime. He couldn't risk my blight of disbelief though sure that very soon he'd hear her key scrape in the rusted lock and end his grief. He knew she'd just popped out to get the tea. I believe life ends with death, and that is all. You haven't gone shopping; just the same, in my new black leather phone book there's your name and the disconnected number I still call. --- Your turn friendslist. What poems do you like? |
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| May. 21st, 2009 @ 11:03 pm Socks | |||
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This website (Sock Dreams) makes me wish I lived in the US. *dribbles* I have a great weakness for nice/funky/cool socks. |
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| May. 8th, 2009 @ 12:09 am Star Trek. | |||
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Just been to the Vue at Westwood Cross and saw new Star Trek. Dude. It was amazing. Just...dude. Wow. *dies of the happy* |
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| May. 1st, 2009 @ 10:44 pm A few hours in London | |||
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Some friends and I are going to see Les Mis in July, and I went up to London to book the tickets in person at the box office at the Palace Theatre. I could have done it over the phone or the internet, but I had a theatre voucher and the easiest way to redeem it was in person, so I made an afternoon of it, and went on the train which, while not the cheapest way to travel, is by far the most relaxing (when things go right!). My trusty backpack and I started off from Canterbury West. Saw a cool new train being tested (saw loads more at Ashford, mostly unliveried, which means they must be pretty new :) They certainly looked pretty). At 10:40 the train was nice and quiet so I got a four-seat with table all to myself and spread out a little.     (Click to embiggen) I went all arty on the journey, both in to London and back to Canterbury, experimenting with my camera, getting lots of pictures of trees and things whizzing past while moving...     (Click to embiggen) ...and structures when we were stopped, or going slowly.       (Click to embiggen) I met red_pill at Charing Cross, and we wandered round "Theatreland" taking some pictures and looking for the Palace Theatre so I could buy the tickets. The Priscilla, Queen of the Desert title thing and giant high heel was especially cool. The picture doesn't really do it justice - it was all sparkly!  On our way back to Charing Cross, we accidentally ran in to the May Day protests in Trafalgar Square, but we escaped without being bludgeoned by the police or the protesters :)  Headed home at 2:50pm-ish. Long way to go, but a lovely day in London and nice to be out. More importantly I was going home with what I'd come to London to get :D   All pictures. I'm getting quite excited about going now :D If only I didn't have to wait till nearly the end of July! |
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| May. 1st, 2009 @ 09:15 pm Shiny thing | |||
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My new laptop (Thinkpad SL500) arrived on Wednesday, which was extremely exciting for me. As always, I got a lot of pictures :) Now I've finished setting it up and moving files around I finally got around to getting the pictures off my camera and posting them here to show off :) My old laptop (Thinkpad R50e) was old...  ...and pretty busted :/ (Yes, that is micropore holding a corner on.)  When I got back from picking it up there was some post for me :)  It was my new copy of Ramona Forever! :D I'm not quite sure how I managed it, but I was patient enough to take pictures of the unwrappening:      The lid is shiny, but fingerprints silly easily.   Old vs New (click to embiggen). All pictures. The new one runs like a dream, even with Vista installed. I think I'm in love (sorry benc).I'm still trying to decide what to do with my old one, which is staying with me for a few weeks at least so I'm sure I have everything I need from it and I'm completely happy with my new one. Any ideas? Any people maybe interested in taking it? |
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| Apr. 19th, 2009 @ 02:22 pm Exciting post and geeky bear | |||
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On Friday there was some interesting post and for a change it was all for me! Usually all the postie brings me is bills and bank statements, but today I got a much better haul, which inserted some excitement my usually predictable days.  First up was the TV Licence (excellent value for money IMO). Ok, so it's not very exciting, but it was part of my haul, so I included it for completeness' sake. What that TV Licence does mean is that it is coming up for four years since we moved in to our flat and had a "putting Ikea furniture together and watching Eurovision" party (pics of that here, here and here). It really doesn't seem like that long. It's also worth saying that there is nowhere near that much space in our flat any more!  Next up was my Graze Box, which was supposed to arrive on Thursday, but got stuck in the post somewhere and actually turned up on Friday instead. It was yummy - especially the fresh apple, which appeared not to have suffered from being in the post an extra day :) If you want a free first box and half price second box (you can easily cancel after the free one has turned up), then go to graze.com and enter the following code: QV67PBDC.  Last in the stack of post, a set of 15 War films given away in editions of the Daily Mail a month or so ago. Huge thanks to no1typo, who sullied her bank account and house by buying the paper and sending off for the films. They arrived on Friday, with the rest of my exciting post and I don't own most of them. I'm looking forward to settling down and watching them over the next few weeks :) Finally for this post, I took the above today of my favourite bear Max posing with benc's eee 900A. I've made an icon out of it :) All of the pictures are here. Sometimes I think I have too much time on my hands ;)EDIT: On the theme of geekiness, my new laptop should hopefully be showing up on Tuesday. If you've not voted in my name poll, I'd appreciate it if you would :) |
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| Apr. 16th, 2009 @ 05:45 pm Help me name my new laptop. | |||
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So today I paid for my new laptop, a Lenovo Thinkpad SL500, and all things being well, it should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks. So now I'm thinking about names, and I want the lazywebs to help me name it. My naming scheme for computers is Lord of the Rings based. My main machine is Aragorn, my VM is Legolas, my phone is Eomer, and my current laptop is Shadowfax, named after the horse that Gandalf rides. I chose the name because the horse goes places and so does the laptop. Yes, I know the other characters go places. Just humour me ;) So, pick. Shadowfax is included in the list as I'm toying with the idea of just calling the new one what the old one was called. I also reserve the right to ignore the whole thing and go with my own choice if there is a tie, or I don't like what you pick ;) Poll #1384735 Laptop name Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 17 Eagles or Horses? If Eagles, which name? If Horses, which name?
View Answers Arod Asfaloth Firefoot Hasufel Roheryn Shadowfax Snowmane Windfola Other (say below) Other name suggestion Ticky box
View Answers It's not normal to be able to recite large chunks of Lord of the Rings (movies or books) It is totally normal to be able to recite large chunks of Lord of the Rings (movies or books) It's not unusual to be loved by anyone Tickybox Ticky Fire! Glomp! Gerbils :D LOTR++ LOTR-- Shinythings! Socks :) |
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| Apr. 1st, 2009 @ 04:47 pm Dr Who | |||
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Trailer for new Dr Who has just been released. The trailer will be first shown on TV later tonight on BBC1 apparently. The episode (Planet of the Dead) will be airing on BBC1 on 12th April (Easter Sunday). Via The Stage. |
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| Mar. 14th, 2009 @ 02:24 pm Government to track movement out of the country | |||
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I'm currently feeling rather annoyed by this. " All travel plans to be tracked by Government". Under the plans, starting to be brought in already: "Anyone departing the UK by land, sea or air will have their trip recorded and stored on a database for a decade." I don't know where to start on this, or what annoys me most. Perhaps it is the justifcation from the government: "The changes are being brought in as the Government tries to tighten border controls and increase protection against the threat of international terrorism." How does tracking people leaving the country and holding the details for 10 years protect us against terrorism? This comes across as a standard line from the government, much like how ID cards will apparently protect us, even if they didn't protect the people of Madrid. Or it might be the "condemnation" of the plans by Chris Grayling, the home affairs spokesman for the Conservatives: ""Of course we need to keep a proper record of people as they come in and leave the country. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound much like it's condemning the plans to me. Grrrr. This government is making me so annoyed with plans like this I barely know where to start. As soon as one lot are withdrawn, another lot comes up. I'm starting to feel quite worn down by it all. |
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| Mar. 13th, 2009 @ 08:51 pm Personality meme and a couple of videos | |||||
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And a couple of videos for you all, from my recent trip to Wildwood. ( Phil on a swing ) ( Phil on a mini zipwire ) |
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| Feb. 21st, 2009 @ 06:51 pm More on "One for the Chalet Fans" | |||
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One for the Chalet Fans (posted last night). I finally managed to sleep, and when I woke up my camera was charged, so with benc's help, I photographed the cover again, properly, in decent light (so ridding the pictures of that yellow fuzzy hue).Here's the decent version:  (There's also a huge version) Here's the cover, free of annotations:  --- Spent today doing the above, shopping and seeing my in-laws. I can tell you are all awe-inspired by the excitingness of my life right now ;) |
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| Feb. 21st, 2009 @ 02:03 am One for the Chalet fans. | |||
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I couldn't sleep, so I made this: Sorry about the picture quality, I took it with my camera phone cos I went to use my proper camera and found that the battery was flat (now on charge) and I was too impatient to wait for it to be ready. I'm very pleased with myself for working out how to stick them all together in Paint Shop though :) Might make a better quality one if I can be bothered. Picture is of the cover of my GGB copy of The Chalet School Reunion. It has been annotated according to the key on the last page of that edition. |
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| Feb. 12th, 2009 @ 09:34 am Lush | |||
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I have two Lush 10% off vouchers to give away - valid for shopping in person and mail order, but not on the internet. I'd like to give them to two different people. I was going to send them through the post, so it doesn't matter if you're not seeing me any time soon, you're still eligable. I'm going to leave this post "open" for 24 hours so everyone on my friends list has a chance whether they're working, or sleeping or whatever right now. Comment if you'd like to be considered. Comments are screened. |
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| Feb. 5th, 2009 @ 04:05 pm Foreword suitability fail? When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit | |||
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I've recently been reading my brand new copy of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (my old one, that I had had since I was 8 or so, fell apart from being read rather a lot). I got my new copy through the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} lj_uk Christmas Wishlist exchange - it's this edition (2008). According to Barnes and Noble (and various other sites) this book is recommended for 8-12 year olds. I'd agree with that, seems like a good age to read it for the first time.My edition has a foreword called "Why You'll Love This Book" by Michael Morpurgo, Children's Laureate from 2003-2005. Bear in mind, when reading what comes next that this book is recommended for ages 8-12. His style in writing the foreword suggests that he is talking to these young readers. The fifth paragraph starts: "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, published forty years ago, speaks to us of a time most of us know only through books of history and fiction, through archive film, as well as through movies. It is from The Diary of Anne Frank to I am David and Schindler's List and The Pianist that most of us have our haunting but distant insights into the lives of those who had experienced the terrors and horrors of Nazi persecution and extermination..." I understand that 8-12 year olds may well have read the former two (The Diary of Anne Frank and I am David) - I know I had read at least one of those at that age (Anne Frank), having both a taste for the historical and something of a fascination with all things WWII (and Holocaust - I think I was a rather odd child). However, I highly doubt they have seen the latter (Schindler's List and The Pianist), not least because they're both rated 15. Don't get me wrong, they're both right up there as favourite films, I think they're amazing. But they're definitely not for children of the age the book is primarily aimed at. I dunno. That part of the foreword just felt rather odd. Surely, given the writer's status as a former Children's Laureate, he would be aware of what a child of that age has been exposed to, and what they haven't? |
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| Feb. 3rd, 2009 @ 01:18 pm Demons, Part 16 | |||
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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 ( Part 16 ) |
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| Feb. 2nd, 2009 @ 12:28 pm Bulldozers in the snow | |||
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There's still snow here today, not as much as most of you but a good inch or so, and more is falling now, meaning UKC is closing at 2pm, and a couple of schools are closing now that were open earlier due to worsening conditions. Our stairs, which have been swept and salted twice since yesterday are overwhelmed with snow again. It's all rather exciting ;) For readers elsewhere I should explain that here in the UK, especially in the South East corner (and I'm almost as south and east as you can get) we don't usually get snow, especially snow that settles enough to do stuff in due to the jet stream which keeps Britain warm, despite it being on the same longitude as Moscow (I believe). So when it does snow and settles it causes chaos ;) Our excitement this morning was doubled (or more!) by being able to have a proper play with benc's Christmas present, Lego Technic set 8275, a Motorized Bulldozer in the snow.Research suggested it would work very well in the snow, as there are videos of the Lego development team testing one of the development models in the snow, but we still wanted to have a play ourselves. This most recent (and heavy) snow has given us the perfect opportunity. So we did. Here are the videos to prove it! First benc had a go while I filmed:Then I drove it while benc filmed:( Picture of ben playing with his shiny ) I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all :) |
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| Feb. 1st, 2009 @ 03:42 pm Snow in Canterbury, Yorvik Viking Centre in BBC History | |||
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It's all snowy here, hence the icon - apparently the only one I have, in over 100, that features snow. Apparently a severe weather warning has been issued for Kent valid from now till Tuesday. Will be interesting to see how all this turns out :) We're well provisioned, so lots and lots of snow would be lovely :D I was amused by a piece in the February 2009 issue of BBC History magazine ("Footsteps" section) about the Jorvik Viking Centre, which I think will strike a chord with all who have visited. I've transcribed it below - sorry for any typing errors :) ( Cut for legnth ) |
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| Jan. 27th, 2009 @ 05:40 am Yorkshire | |||
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I'm heading to Goole (not to be confused with Google which is what I nearly always type by accident >.<) in Yorkshire very shortly with no1typo for a few days to visit relatives. I probably shan't be online, but I'll be contactable on my mobile (see the contact details post for my number [friendslocked]). I shall also probably be tweeting. This is me on Twitter. Have a lovely few days people :) Write lots of interesting things for me to read when I get back! |
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| Jan. 25th, 2009 @ 12:09 pm President Obama's first 100 hours | |||
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| This is pretty cool - it's a bullet pointed list of all the things Obama has done in his first 100 hours of being President. Makes very interesting reading. |
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| Jan. 23rd, 2009 @ 11:38 am Political Quiz: I am apparently a hippy. | |||
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My Political Views I am a left social libertarian Left: 5.14, Libertarian: 4.25  Political Spectrum Quiz My Foreign Policy Views Score: -5.04  Political Spectrum Quiz My Culture War Stance Score: -7  Political Spectrum Quiz From ontd_political and red_pill |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:24 am MPs and FOI | |||
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Typical, that on the day the Government withdraws the plan to keep MPs expenses secret my MP should write back to me about voting against the proposed measure. For good measure, I'm putting a copy of his reply here. Bits in italics were handwritten and not always very clear ;) ( Letter from Julian Brazier ) In other news, should you have any spare cash lying around (I know that this is unlikely given the current economic climate) and fancy putting it towards a cool cause, the National Railway Museum in York are trying to gather funds so they can finish their restoration of The Flying Scotsman. "Steam our Scotsman" - the campaign to raise money to finish the restoration. |
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| Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 08:55 am Best favicon *evar*? | |||
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The BBC have done it again. In this entry I told you all about how the BBC asked people send in Olympic logo ideas, and then they published a selection, including one that was a straight rip off of Goatse (if you don't know what it is, look here - SFW, just contains a description not the actual picture.) Well they've asked for reader contributions again in the wake of Google getting a new favicon on their magazine page, saying "You've read about Google's new favicon - now design one yourself - either a personal favicon or one to represent the Magazine, and send it to us". Once again, a goatse has slipped through the net. Scroll down the page to the bottom, the contribution in question is from "Steven, Coventry" (and is SFW). Just in case the BBC take it down, I took screenshots! SFW. ( BBC magazine page screenshot ) ( Favicon closeup ) |
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| Jan. 20th, 2009 @ 08:18 am Some things | |||||
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A meme:
As with most memes, I have no idea how true it is. Weirdest advert I've seen in a long time. Saw this while watching something on tv, and boggled. Still boggling at it a few days after inital exposure. ( So I thought I'd share ;) ) Finally, I know that Britain, nay The World, is "Credit Crunched" (*shudders* - I hate that term), but I think that ( this is going a bit far in terms of swapping products to save money ) |
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| Dec. 31st, 2008 @ 07:21 pm Twelve posts/months meme | |||
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Jumping on the bandwagon. First sentence of first post of each month of the year. It was mrs_redboots who tipped me over the edge. January: Ever since Portal came out in Mid October last year, my husband benc has been more or less obsessed with Moist Delicious Cake and The Weighted Companion Cube which are both "components" of the game.February: Last night I saw the most recent Wulffmorgenthaler and it amused me. March: In other news, I've been very busy this week, doing something every day (including seeing bethanthepurple twice! hello bethan!).April: Niamh: Better than last week, pity that she seemed constantly struggling against the band for volume. May: Jodie: Seemed lucky with the song choice - I seem to think of it as a musical theatre song more than a big band song. June: I'm curious about my f-list's opinions on this because I don't really know where I stand. July: Today the NHS turns 60, and I want to wish it a very happy birthday and wish it well for the next 60. August: I went with no1typo today to Greenwich to have a wander around the market and we had a lovely time.September: benc has just come to a startling conclusion that I feel must be shared with the world.October: For those of you who are interested in going to the Tyler Hill bonfire and fireworks, they are on Saturday 1st November this year. November: Firstly I feel I should mention the US election. December: A link for those of you who are in to Battlestar Galactica (I think it's spoiler free). Finally, a very happy New Year to you all! :D  Picture courtesy of benc |
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| Dec. 31st, 2008 @ 03:27 pm Drabble: A Jo lived in Freudesheim | |||
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To the tune of A Windmill in Old Amsterdam (Song gettable from here for now). ( cut to save your friends pages ) Ok, so some of it's a bit laboured, but it amused me ;) |
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| Dec. 24th, 2008 @ 07:13 pm Christmas | |||
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Our Advent Candle has just burned out, so that can only mean one thing* - it's Christmas tomorrow! *Ok, two things - we could have left it to burn too long... but we didn't and it is Christmas tomorrow! :D  Photo courtesy of bencIn case I don't post again before Boxing day, a very merry, happy and peaceful Christmas to all of you! :) |
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| Dec. 24th, 2008 @ 06:58 pm More on Woolworths, and builders who really should spell check before having signs made up | |||
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Went in to Woolworths again the other day, had the feeling of the vultures circling, as Ben so excellently put it. He took a proper camera so I can share the sense of emptiness there.  The worst thing about our trip to town though, was this little gem that we saw at the building site in the middle of the high street - for those who know Canterbury, it's where Boots used to be (opposite LloydsTSB). It's a proper sign printed on aluminium and clearly cost more than some guy scribbling on some cardboard or something. Which leads me to wonder why during the process of producing the sign and displaying it, no one involved noticed.  All pictures in this post from benc.ETA: Have some more gratuitous gerbil pictures to finish with :D |
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| Dec. 22nd, 2008 @ 09:06 pm The state of Woolworths (and Hot Cross Buns in December?!) | |||
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Hiding out here: CT2
Disclaimer: All pictures in this post taken with crappy phone camera. Apologies for the crappiness.Mostly feeling:  sadNow Playing: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: S5 E1 Buffy vs Dracula To begin - why on earth is Sainsbury's stocking Hot Cross Buns in December? Before Christmas even?! There are still four months till Easter and it makes my brain hurt to have shop products commemorating His death before we've even celebrated His birth yet.  Today I was in town and (finally) applied for a Cathedral Precincts Pass (we live within four miles of the Bell Harry Tower so we're entitled to one giving us free entry). Other Canterbury-ites who are interested can download the form here. ( You're eligible if... ) It might be worth your while applying if you are eligible :) Free Stuff ++ . Also, Canterbury residents cards don't work for getting in for free at the Cathedral. While I was in town I also made a visit to Woolworths for the first time since the closing down was announced and it was very sad :( There wasn't a lot left and none of it was really stuff I wanted to buy. I guess the latter is the reason why they're now defunct. They've even started selling off the fixtures and fittings. That really is quite gutting to see. Can't work out why it is, but it is.  Got home to the news that the list of final closures has been published (list here) and Canterbury is going in the first wave - on the 27th December. Can't help feeling how crappy it is for those (soon to be un)employed by Woolworths. Also of interest to me were that Croydon's is going on 30th December and Coulsdon's is closing on 2nd January. More gapes in the high streets :( It's really all rather sad. More disturbing to me was that Woolworths has the below signs plastered everywhere. It was quiet (and almost cleared out) when I went, but what kind of chaos must have reigned for these to have to be put up? This is why I'm losing what little faith I had in humanity :(  |
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| Dec. 21st, 2008 @ 02:11 pm Christmas Decorations | |||
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Our Christmas Tree has been up for a week now (a week today :D) so I thought it was about time I wrote an entry about it. All the pictures of our Christmas Tree and decorations. Last Saturday benc and I went and got our Christmas Tree from Wyvale Garden Centre. We got last year's tree from there too, and knew they had little tiny ones that fitted in (the limited space in) our flat. It's almost unbearably sweet, only two feet or so tall, and potted so it can be planted out after Christmas. Last year's ended up with foo and rahslowe being planted out in their garden. I believe no1typo has designs on this one and her garden. It's nice to know that they go on living after Christmas :)( The tree was sodden when we brought it back... ) Once it was dry enough, on the Sunday, we decided to start decorating it. ( We started by getting out the decorations ) Next we ( tested our lights. ) These lights had been on our tree (also here with lights on)in the first Christmases we were at the flat (and first married), but as we accumulated more stuff, we could fit smaller and smaller trees in, so they don't fit round our trees now because they're so tiny. ( Instead we put them up round our window. ) Then we ( made sure the angel for the top of the tree was in good condition ) ( and put the tree in its new home ) ( Next we put the lights on the tree. ) Finally we ( put the decorations on the tree ) ( A slightly shaky picture of the tree with the main lights off, and the room only lit by the window and tree lights. ) We're pretty much ready for Christmas now. Decorations up, Presents brought, cards posted (all before the posting deadline, with the exception of one for Canada - ah well, at least I tried ;)), Advent candle mostly burned, food brought. Feeling pretty pleased with myself now ;) Have some gratuitous pictures of our Gerbils to finish :) ( A cool picture of Stan and (part of)Nibbler with the flash off, showing the movement of them, which I thought was quite cool. ) ( Stan: ) ( Nibbler: ) P.S. Happy shortest day of the year/Winter Solstice :) |
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| Dec. 10th, 2008 @ 12:13 pm Picture post (using crappy camera-phone pictures) | |||
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A bit of an update entry here, using crappy phone camera pictures to show a little of what I've been up to :) Firstly, due to a deal between mum and Pete I was the agent delivering 43 beers to Pete (and buying said beer), leading to a rather odd looking collection of goods when I made the purchase - 43 beers and a packet of naan bread for our dinner that evening. I'm fairly sure that the collection would have looked a whole lot less odd if it hadn't been for the naan bread.  The clunking of that lot in the car sounded quite dreadful as I accelerated, braked, turned corners... Luckily nothing broke :)  In other news, the Christmas Market is now in town! There's a stall that sells cool keyrings and 3D wooden puzzels. I've got some pictures of the keyrings, but not the puzzels :( Also, not the full spectrum of keyrings - there are lizards and frogs, and elephants, and giraffes and all sorts, all made from natural rubber :)   There's a stall with mulled wine and hot chocolate (regular hot chocolate and hot chocolate with rum or amaretto).  There's also a stall selling all kinds of Wurst, cooked over a barbeque. This stall is ben's favourite! :D  Finally, I took this picture of a very funny card: ( NSFW! ) Carols at the Cathedral tonight. I'm really looking forward to it :D It always feels like Christmas is really on its way when we have them. It also really enthralls the history part of me, as we stand in the Nave of the Cathedral with all the lights off, holding lit candles and singing carols, because I feel a real connection to the past - 100 years ago, 400 years ago, 1000 (or so) years ago there would have been people there doing much the same thing. It's hard to articulate, but it feels amazing. |
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| Dec. 5th, 2008 @ 12:02 pm CBB Christmas party and a meme | |||
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I'm off to the CBB Christmas party tomorrow. I keep worrying I've not brought enough stuff for it, though I'm fairly sure I've over prepared/brought. Have a meme. Your rainbow is intensely shaded indigo, yellow, and blue. What is says about you: You are a proud person. You appreciate friends who get along with one another. You share hobbies with friends and like trying to fit into their routines. You're good at getting people to like you. Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com. |
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| Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 08:29 pm Proposition 8, The Musical | |||
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I've been pretty wound up about Proposition 8 (with good reason), but I felt we could do with a lighthearted but pointed interlude to giggle over for a bit :) And so, without further ado, I present: Proposition 8, The Musical starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... From various sources, but the one that actually prompted me to watch to and then post was Boing Boing. Cross posted to exmormon |
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| Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 03:47 pm For those who like taking off ladies bras | |||
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Hiding out here: CT2
For those of you who like taking off ladies bras:Mostly feeling:  listlessNow Playing: Star Trek DS9: S3 E12 Past Tense, part II From here |
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| Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 11:12 am Battlestar Galactica | |||
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| A link for those of you who are in to Battlestar Galactica (I think it's spoiler free). |
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| Nov. 9th, 2008 @ 04:18 pm Remembrance Sunday | |||
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I originally posted something like this when I first went on a trip to Ypres with my Special Subject class in April 2005. The original is here on my LiveJournal, and the version I'm posting now is here on my website. I'm posting it again today because I feel it's appropriate for Remembrance Sunday. ( Cut for legnth - it's very long ;) ) |
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| Nov. 7th, 2008 @ 08:42 pm Milestones | |||
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Firstly I feel I should mention the US election. Yay! Obama won! :D I wanted him to win, and have thrown aside my cynicism for now to become really excited by a politician. A terribly important milestone too - the first black president of the USA :D I hope he could be like Kennedy for my generation. Except for the sleaze. And the Assassination. Definitely don't want those bits. So maybe not like Kennedy, maybe more like staying as awesome as he seems now when he's actually President. The less said about Prop8 in Cali and an organisation I was formerly a member of, the better. Now that's out of the way, two rather important milestones happened to me today. I. I turned 25 sometime around midday today. I suppose I'm now officially on the wrong side of 25 now ;) . I have had a lovely day, and got some lovely presents and cards. Huge thanks to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday so far :) (Various on irc, some via text, alisondh and moonhot97 on lj, and a couple via facebook). Thank you all - they were really appreciated.II. My final appointment with Nikki the Mental Health nurse was today, and we talked over some stuff about keeping well, dealing with triggers, preventing relapse and what to be aware of in terms of signs that I might be relapsing. Also lots of stuff about rebuilding trust in myself and my wellness, so one bad day doesn't panic me or those close to me. I'm told this is pretty much the last thing that comes back. I'm feeling pretty positive tonight at least, and I'll be happy if I maintain this level of okayness for a year. If I do, then comes the Big Scary of coming off the pills. But that's in the future. I want to use this space now to thank everyone who has supported me over the last 18 months or so. I couldn't have done it without you guys, whether you are aware of having helped or not. Now the Black Dog is banished to his Kennel. I hope he stays there. So for tonight I'm celebrating two huge milestones for me - being 25 and being discharged from the Mental Health team. Yay! Come celebrate with me :D Drinks on someone else!  |
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| Oct. 26th, 2008 @ 04:21 pm Nerd Tests | |||
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Nerd Test #1 Nerd Test #2  |
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| Oct. 20th, 2008 @ 09:25 pm Demons, Part 15 | |||
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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 ( Part 15 ) |
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| Oct. 18th, 2008 @ 11:22 am Tyler Hill Fireworks 2008 | |||
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For those of you who are interested in going to the Tyler Hill bonfire and fireworks on 1st November, according to a poster I saw in Sainsburys approximate timings are:
Adult tickets are £6 on the gate and £3 in advance (£3 and £2 for children). Tickets are on sale now and available from:
 Tyler Hill Bonfire (official site). Cross posted to ukc and canterbunnies |
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| Oct. 17th, 2008 @ 10:19 am Ludwig Erhard = Gordon Brown? | |||
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Recently I've been reading The Berlin Wall: 13 August 1961 - 9 November 1989 by Frederick Taylor (which, by the way, is an excellent book that I am highly recommending), and a couple of paragraphs jumped out at me as being completely and utterly appropriate to describe Gordon Brown and everything that is happening at the moment. As George Santayana apparently once said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". Perhaps Gordon Brown should pay closer attention to the lessons History has for us :) "In the September 1965 elections, the SPD made further gains. Brandt again failed to achieve victory, but the Social Democrats' share of the vote continued to edge upwards. The conservatives' share continued its decline, while the liberal Free Democrats lost quite heavily. But the conservative/liberal coalition, led by Adenauer's successor, Ludwig Erhard, hung on to power. As Economics Minister, Professor Erhard had been the architecht of the West German 'economic miracle' after 1949, but, like so many long-serving successful second-in-commands, once he finally heaved himself into the top position he swiftly confirmed why he had always been the deputy and not the chief. Erhard proved inept at both party-politicking and foreign policy. Moreover, for the first time since the end of the war, German industry went into recession and a 'black hole' appeared in the state finances. With half a million West Germans unemployed - paradisiacal, at just over 2 per cent of the work-force, as this may seem by twenty-first-century standards - in 1966 there was anxious talk of a return to the 1930s." (Pages 512-513) See what I mean? ;) If you changed some words (Erhard for Brown, West German for Britain etc) it could have been written about our ETA: I just realised I don't have a history icon! :O This will have to be rectified! |
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| Oct. 5th, 2008 @ 04:29 pm Tyler Hill Fireworks 2008 | |||
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For those of you who are interested in going to the Tyler Hill bonfire and fireworks, they are on Saturday 1st November this year. According to the poster I saw in Blean, the gates open at 6pm. No more information on timings yet, but suspect they may be similar to last year. Advance tickets are Adults £3 and Children £2. Tickets on the gate are Adults £6 and Children £3. Don't know who is selling tickets yet, but will let everyone know when I do.  Cross posted to ukc and canterbunnies |
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| Sep. 9th, 2008 @ 12:58 pm A disturbing trend and the solution to the UK's economic woes | |||
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benc has just come to a startling conclusion that I feel must be shared with the world. The last time the economy crashed Norman Lamont was Chancellor.  This time, Alastair Darling is Chancellor.  ( What do they have in common? ) ( Thus, the solution to the UK's economic woes is... ) |
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| Aug. 30th, 2008 @ 08:29 am Summer Holiday | |||
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We're off on our Summer Holiday today, heading up to Rosedale Abbey on the North Yorks Moors and staying in one of these. I'm looking forward to it more than I can say :D Yay Holiday! Yay Yorkshire! :D As with last year's trip to Skegness, this one covers our wedding anniversary. Believe it or not as of 3rd September we'll have been married for 3 years! :D If you need me then you can get my via my mobile (see Giant Floating Contact Details Post if you don't think you have it), but I won't be online till we get back next Saturday. Have a lovely week everyone :) |
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| Aug. 29th, 2008 @ 08:16 am The death of a pet | |||
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For those of you who didn't read this entry of no1typo's, Tiptoes (and here) died last night. He had been taken to the vet because he was terribly thin and wheezing a lot of the time, and he was kept over night so they could give him some thyroid and asthma medicine and be checked over properly (though the vet said he thought Tiptoes still had some life left in him), and he died during the night. He was 17 or 18 years old by my reckoning, and had had a good life, but I'm still rather sad. He came in to our lives on a wet April night making a dreadful racket, moving in from next door and causing no end of hassle by refusing to go back to our neighbours using any number of hiding places when they came to get him. Eventually he got his own way and he stayed, and was by far the most vocal of the cats with a purr that sounded like a pneumatic drill and a cry you could hear all over the house. He will be greatly missed. Entry from when Kitty died. |
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| Aug. 22nd, 2008 @ 07:30 pm Poll: Am I disabled? | |||
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Having made it through Edexcel marking and Clearing more or less in one piece I'm now starting to look at jobs and I've found one I want to apply for. I've become rather stymied by the "Do you consider yourself to have a disability" question. Thing is, I'm much better than I was, I have to be or I wouldn't consider applying for jobs at all and those closest to me wouldn't let me, but I've been off work for a year, and a year long gap doesn't look good on a CV. I'm still seeing my counsellor and I'm still on happy pills, and though I'm winding down visits to my counsellor I'm probably going to be on the pills for at least another year to make sure I'm properly better and try and stop any relapse. Apparently the first year is when I'm most vulnerable to it. My gut says I should declare it, but I also feel like a bit of a fraud for even considering it. "The University operates under the Two ticks scheme which means we will interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities". This is rather valuable, and I feel it's my only shot at an interview given the huge gap on my CV when I was essentially "doing nothing", but am I really disabled as it's counted? The University say: When answering this question, please note that under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 a disability is defined as ‘a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long term effect upon your ability to carry out normal day to day activities.’. Poll #1246569 Job application/disability poll Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10 Do you think I currently count as "disabled" under the definition above? Should I say "yes" to the disability question on job application forms? (Please post any expansion on this or thoughts in comments below) I can't help but feel that this would all be easier if I were visibly physically disabled. Any (helpful) advice or comments you lot could give would be really great. I'm feeling very mixed up about this, and a tad anxious about giving the "wrong" answer if I'm completely honest. I mean, I was never on benefits while off work (the forms scared me) so never really "disabled" in the eyes of the government. I just don't know what to say :| |
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sleepy
thoughtful
very jealous!
geeky
cheerful
11 (64.7%)
bouncy
grumpy
productive
okay
cold
giggly
relaxed
ditzy
confused
