End Transmission

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Thanks Blogger. It's been fun!

I'm emmigrating and so has the 'rockin mochin'.

If you want more then follow me to:

www.rockinmochin.com
;)

A Walk in the Lickeys...

Created with flickr slideshow.

Had another fun day today. We wandered around the Lickey Hills behaving like small children whilst taking pictures :) Some of these Dad took and they're lovely!

When I was old enough to be allowed on the train to Birmingham I discovered The Oasis Market. If you've never been then you're missing a treat. This indoor center full of unique and strange stalls has been around for decades as a mecca for all things alternative.

When I was kid it was the place you went for the giant posters for your bedroom walls, the place where Span went to get her belly button pierced without permission (No holes for me thank you!), the location for royal blue hair dye to make you look 'unique during your first year at uni and the place to find the clothes i chose to wear that others might have called 'hippy'. I recently returned to this forgotten mecca when I was looking for something to wear to a 1920s party. Unsurprisingly, i was in the wrong location for that kind of thing but it did re-awaken some funny memories and rebellious feelings...

Now, my Dad has a photographic studio and apparently there are loads of models willing to do a shoot for free if you let them have the pictures for free on a disc. Dad's embraced this and now has a few female models popping to the studio on regular occasions for various shoots. He wanted to get some red stockings.... I know a strange conversation to be having with your father... where to buy slightly kinky gear... but it's all for artistic purposes so that's ok (??) My first thought was obviously Anne Summers. However, I'm not really sure how comfortable I would be taking my dad into a shop filled with vibrators and other paraphanalia.... What about The Oasis??

So we went and Mum paid for i bought some lovely 'hippy' skirts and enjoyed the stall dedicated purely to fair trade clothing. My Dad spent about 45 minutes saying "wow! I didn't know this place existed. This is brilliant!" promptly went to the cash point and then spent over a £100 pounds on Corsets, fish net tights, Fish net gloves, sexy dresses, Small net mini skirts, a top hat and a black mask....

LOF entertained himself by considering what the shop vendors were thinking as four people who were obviously Mum, Dad, Daughter and Son-in-Law wandered around a shop buying obviously vampy clothing... strange... but very funny! I suppose I should be greatful for the lack of interesting mechanial devices!

Span.. do your parents know about the OASIS? Apparently It's a hit! ;)

Rugby Bottoms

The weekend of the 17th saw us get all excited again as we disappeared off down to Reading.

In the days leading up to this little trip the pals we were visiting had warned us to wear sensible shoes and to wrap up warm. "You might even need a water proof." Our first reaction to these statements was a cry of "But our walking boots are in Adelaide!" For days we were convinced that we were off up another mountain or hiking cross country and we did our best to be prepared. As it turned out, we were off to see a Rugby match. I don't know if A new that if he'd have mentioned this to me earlier I might have pulled a face but I did admire his ability to make sure it happened ;)

As it turned out, once i knew, I was quite curious. I've never seen any kind of professional match in a stadium. I once watched "Eddy" a boy I 'fell in love with' on a cruise run around on a rugby pitch in Rochdale but that was the limit of my experience.

Approaching the stadium I was greated with loud bangs, drums and chants.... Not the warm up bands that I have grown accustomed to hearing as I enter such an establishment. Instead of plastic in the middle of the arena there was actual grass and no stage. Interesting!

I did ask a stupid question of a very symptathetic R... "So, if they're the Welsh Scarlets and they're the Irish why on earth are they playing in Reading??" R explained that they were actually the LONDON Irish and that they had moved up from london when the stadium was built. This was their home turf! RIGhhhht ;)

I watched the match. I squirmed (as usual) when the ball got even remotely close to me and it was quite fun! Being sat next to LOF meant I had to cheer on the chaps in the red shorts. I had my camera out and I tested "sports mode" and learnt all sorts of things about the game. I also noticed how much grabbing each other and rolling around on the floor there is in Rugby; just like when LOF and A get too drunk! ;)

No Bones About it!

So... the battle to get rid of stuff continues.  Ebay has made me £60 today. 

I had a range of halloween items online (all of which sold)
and some more sensible items like solid wooden blinds and a fire place.

Now, you'd expect the blinds to go for a reasonable price.  I paid about £3o each for them so, as their second hand, perhaps about a tenner each?

No such luck!

The blinds went for £4.00 each .
On the other hand.... this plastic, tacky skeleton which had a start bid of £1:50 amd that I had paid £8.00 for a year ago sold for nearly £30.00....

I ask you!!! 
Do you think you can still buy these new from the shops??? ... these bones are making me money!!  lol

Blood, planning and Affirmation.

This week saw the removal of 12 vials (sounds better than syringe i think) of my blood being removed for examination by the Borg (that's Dr Borg to most). I was sooo tempted to ask whether resistance was futile but LOF told me to calm down. I took his advice. I suppose it is important to be a little more respectful to the man who is trying to look at how and why your chemical makeup works.

He wasn't worried but his curiosity did result in a sheet covered in requests for blood tests. The nurse actual said "Dear god!" when I walked in and I left laughing my head off after having 12 samples removed. I did use it as a useful excuse to have a nice cream tea by the river before we returned home. Well, if you're in Stratford.....

As well as that i was observed this week at school. I thought it was quite funny that they had chosen me to be observed when they know I won't be there after Xmas anyway. Ah well. I have to plan my lessons well anyway so I might as well. Three people observed my lesson and, in the end, they gave me outstanding.

There are so many entries on this blog where i am disappointed in the way the observations have gone. This time I found all of the hoops and I can now leave the country having managed to leap through all of them. I got outstanding for every single element of my lesson. I'm so glad I won't be in the country next time OFSTED knock on the door! I know they'd come and hunt me down!!

London Town

Went to London this weekend to see lovely people in their lovely new flat. HOW EXCITING! Markets (with wickedly delicious food) river walks and giant eyes! I ate soo much food that I'm not sure I'll need to eat until next week ! (unless someone brings me cheesecake)

It was a lovely weekend and well over due! London is a very exciting place to be and I can see why Span love 'Crouche end' - Loads of cafes, gyms and charity shops with designer label in!

A lovely weekend :) with a lovely couple who are clearly very much in love(ly) ;)

I've always fancied myself as alternative.... Well at least in my own little way... Pink streaks, smiley faces when everyone's looking glum, a love for the classical and the rock, married by the lake with sausages in the vows... Not too different but quirky.

I love anyone else who's different. People who are talented and braver than me. People who use their intellgence to send messages to make points, messages which come with a kick, a laugh or a tear. I guess that's why music and language have always been things that interest me.

A beautiful baby grand with a skilled musician can take me away, sending shivers of calm down my spine - I wish I could still play in that way myself. I spent hours as a teenager glued to the well loved Yamaha baby g in the theatre. My escape when things were "teenage"; my solice.

Books have the same power. Carefully crafted words, characters and settings reduce me to tears for 45minutes, move me by opening up doors into possible futures and closed pasts. Waking me up, reminding me.

This man has the power to do all of this...



...His skill with language and music is awe inspiring. This song comes from an Aussie movie he's been a part of and is beautiful. I've hadn't seen him play live before; You Tube was, in fact, the only place I'd ever seen him play at all. There was something about him though that had the power to make me laugh till i cried. This man knows music. He knows it in the same way I hoped I'd know it when I was 17. He can make that piano calm me and make me howl with laughter. He is, brilliant and if you ever get a chance to go get some musical/linguistic therapy then make sure you go see him live (and
"that's a F**king homphone"!) ;)

Hillarious!

Pops and clicks meet the 21st Century.

As you can no doubt see from these pictures my mother is a little excited at the moment. She's discovered that you can buy a turntable which will record straight to your ipod and she's had a whale of a time!

It's amazing how tricky it is though. I'd forgotten what an effort it must have been to listen to music for more than a couple of minutes. No 'track lists' or 'play all', when you get to the end, you're at the end and you need to get up and change the record. Annoying!

A cool gadget though! :)

Filming, resignations and impressing the parents.

Last week was manic.  By Friday I was grumpy and in great need of cake, chocolate and copious amounts of coffee.  Monday saw my handing in my notice and being filmed by "Happy Giraffe" for 25 mins whilst I taught a lesson.  Then, Thursday was Open Evening (meaning I didn't get home until 9).  By Friday I was walking asleep!

The fruits of the filming can be seen here.  I'm in bits and bobs in the second half.  It'll give you a good idea of the place I work at too :) 

At Open Evening

Done too much flapping, now worn out and the parents aren't even here yet!

Finish at 8:30  DOH!

Moch's I D - Self Surfing

I type in Mochinbach in google to discover that LOFs appearing on several news items pertaining to car surfing.

Boy Injured Car Surfing on Mom's Ford

Surfin’ USA

When do I start charging for copyright... Those images are protected... LMAO  and....

do they not know he's not a teen???

 

 

Baby name generators

Why is my OH on such a sight ??

It suggests
Adnan Adlai,
Phil Asher
Trent Joachim Rick
David, River, Octavious
?????


Elise Beth ( which made me laugh. Poor spelling??)
Phoebe Betty
Alpha Austin

?????

What the hell has he put in the search criteria ???

and...

Why is he looking!!!!!???

possibly for the comic effect of the names it's producing??

Happy Giraffes

They're coming to video M6 and I as we make our contract.  Apparently, I'm into that kind of thing?

;p

Sunshine in September

The sun is shinning and warming your body as you drive. The window's open and you're on your way home. You take a deep breath and wait for that moment of total relaxation to happen. For a rush of warm energy to raise from the back of your spine all the way to your head; for your eyes to open wide and smile; to know you feel good; that you are good.
...

Funky

Funky Photos

We're having them.

A modern school photographer came and made the kids pose in fun and interesting ways. It was fun. Well I thought so.

Apparently some of the hormonal adolescents didn't like being asked to stand next to each other or kneel behind each other. TOO much like fun! ;)
Bless.

Made me laugh when a wise man at the meeting said "Well, I don't know who suggested that but they clearly know nothing about kids"

Had to clear my throat and lose eye contact for a minute there! ;)

I reckon doing what we did today was much more interesting than sitting on a chair, in a row, smiling inainely at a camera! LMAO

Woo hoo!

Perfect Silence

Sitting in the cinema, reading the legalities about not filming and watching the certification.

100 people.
No noise.
Not a sound.

Lovely.

Mr and Mrs Aikman

Created with flickr slideshow.

Congratulations are in order for Mr and Mrs Aikman (jnr.).  Instead of spending the weekend planning and considering the arival of students tomorrow I've spent it watching two lovely people make lovely promises to each other. :) - Much more like it!

The wedding was down in Cardiff (where they first met and where Liz's family live). It was a wonderful day.  The speeches were lovely.  I think one of the loveliest things about weddings is that it's one of the only times in your life when your friends and family publicly delcare how much they love you and proud they are of your achievements.  It was quite emotional, Jac was choked up as he talked about Liz.  Choked up despite the fact that my already drunk husband was wolf whistling at him!  His whistles were well timed though ;)

LOF had a great time.  He drank A LOT. In fact he has completly lost 2 hours of the evening as a result of alcohol consumption! LMAO.  After eating the biggest plate of food he's had in a while he declared that there was "a problem" - He'd drunk too much and we had to circumnavigate the marquee repeatedly until he felt a little better.  I ended up leaving him with his friends so I could capture Liz and Jac's first dance - i knew he'd never remember the live version anyway! Deary me! lol

Ah well. I have lots of lovely pictures of him doing what looked like the dance from Mary Poppins (Chim Chim Cheree) to Don't stop me now.  Silly bugger!  ;) Check flickr for more piccies!

The Birth of the Academy.

I saw the 4 new signs, designed to look a little like flags, along the front first, then (as I drove down the drive) I followed some very posh looking signs down a newly tarmaced drive and parked the car. New signs; every building labelled to within an inch of it's life and a really cute sign post directing you to the purpose of the building 4 meters away.

Brand new red leather sofas in reception and LCD TVs showing the days events like a professional CPD center I once knew well in Hindmarsh. It's all looking very professional, modern and new.

Of course, we're still in the same buildings and the classrooms are no different than they were back when we were just a 'school' but there is a changed mood. Even though, fundamentaly we've got a new logo and signs everything does feel exciting and new.

Change is good. :)

Back to work tomorrow

and although that's weird (I've been stuck to a computer for 6 weeks now) it does mean that I have only got 16 weeks left until the big LEAP! OMFG!

LMAO (whilst cowering and covering my eyes) ;p

Devon and Cornwall

After leaving the spa we decided we'd drive down to the South West. I didn't really think that through though did I! Lets drive for an hour north and then for four hours south the next day... MMM.. Ah well! It's all fun!

We Stayed at the Kitley House Hotel which I am sure is a beautiful location for weddings. In fact there was going to be a wedding there the day with left - with a dove release. I think the guy behind reception was relieved when I responded to this info byte with a look of digust and an "Oh god really?" He cheerfully replied by pointing out that there were sparrow hawk es near by. Poor doves! Anyway... i digress.

Kitley House Hotel is a beautiful old Manor house which was built by the Bastards. No, I'm not swearing or being mean, that really was their family name. Believe me LOF found this hilarious and took every opportunity to discuss what the Bastards had done or had been doing. Those Bastards did that!" etc... The Bastards built the house and then it has been passed down through many families (including a relation to the woman who wrote "Old Mother Hubbard" which was apparently based on the basement dwelling housekeeper at this very house) and eventually turned into a wedding money making machine.

Downstairs is lovely with large ballroom style lounges and restaurant areas. The bedrooms though have seen better days. Grafton did the whole antique furniture and gaudy bathrooms and it amused me but it did, kind of, work. At least they didn't leave you with a room with a broken towel rail and dusty radiators. (Lof took pictures of these... I have no idea why!) It was comfortable but the rooms did not match the loveliness of downstairs. It was a beautiful house though with lovely grounds and I enjoyed the fact that it was dog friendly so there were often little hounds about to coo over.

We didn't spend all that much time at the hotel anyway. We had far too much to see. The first place we went to was the Eden Project which I have decided is actually the Moch project! It was so exciting to see how a bunch of lovely people had taken an area of land that we had ruined with digging and mining and turned it into some thing so beautiful. Those people deserve a lot of praise and if you haven't been then I really thin you ought to!

I loved the symbolism of the whole place. It's like a beacon for the rest of us to work towards. I have also decided that we need a giant, symbolic seed at the entrance to the new academy. (no rude jokes please). lol

Ater we'd eaten local produce, watched a beer making demo, sampled some pasties, wandered around the bio mes and watched kids (and their very competitive Dads) make Dens in the Summer Survival section of the quarry we drove off to Torquay.

Newquay seems to be like a mini broad street with a beach behind it! Definitely schoolies heaven! It rained the whole time we were there but i did insist on sticking my toes in the sand!(The last sand I stepped on was in Adelaide!). A nice beach there with plenty of crazy people actually in the sea!!!

The next day we set of for Tintagel Castle. When we got there it was so windy they'd closed it and you couldn't go up. You could however walk on the hills on the right hand side of it. English Heritage are apparently more cautious about health and safety than the National Trust (who owned the bit on the right) we had a wander around Barras Nose and took loads of beautiful pictures of the waves crashing on the rocks.

Modershall Oaks Spa

We decided that a spa was in order and after much deliberation chose Modershall Oaks Spa in Stone (Nr. Stoke on Trent). We'd been to Whitlebury Hall a couple of times and although it is beautiful we decided we'd go for a smaller place; Whitlebury can be a bit busy at times.

We weren't disappointed by Modershall at all. It's gorgeous. The bedrooms are a million times nicer than those at Whitlebury. Full of luscious fabrics and eastern style lamps, we stayed in a ' tent room' No. It isn't a tent outside with no bed but a room styled like something from Laurence of Arabia - only much more stylishly done! Each of the rooms have their own covered decking area and access to an outdoor hot tub. The view was of a field with horses in. Lovely.

When we arrived we had a cup of very well made coffee in the bar as well as a lovely lunch and then went to explore the grounds a little. We meandered through the woodland walk (which is just over a mile). That was lovely and we really were the only ones in that wood. It was peaceful and quiet and beautiful. The walk leads you back , in a circle, towards the hotel and it's tennis courts. and there's another, shorter walk, which leads you to the other side of the large fish pond and lawns at the back of the bar. Lovely.

The spa itself was small but so quiet that it felt very relaxing. The hydrotherapy pool was lovely and relaxation was very easy to achieve! Dinner that evening was served in an intimate surrounding and was delicious! I ate vegetable Jenga - which made me laugh but was yummy!

The staff at the place make it very special as they are all very friendly and accommodating. More importantly they can all make a kick ass cup of coffee! ;)

Everything about this place is lovely! I would heartily recommend it to anyone. It's different to Modershall because it's smaller but that just meant it was even more luxurious and relaxing!

Car Booty!

We took a boot full to the Studley and sold some of it. Making about 85 squid!
We're gonna go again next week to sell more stuff :) As soon as we arrived we were bombarded by people asking if we had any mobile phones. I did and sold an old K700i for five quid - that's 25p more than I would have got on one of those trade in your phone sites (lol). Then the old stereos went and walking maps.
It was fun!

It is amusing how much people are NOT prepared to spend. Span, tried to sell your chocolate fondue set for you... no one would pay 4quid!! LOL. Still got it ;)
Got rid of the old playstation and game cube though.

Bizarrely, the people who bought our house were 4 cars down from us. (eik!) I avoided their eyes - I didn't want to hear about what they'd done to my lovely house :(.


Ah well, Next week we have a fire place to sell... ooooohhhhhhh!

1 Year Anniversaries

Saturday was our one year wedding anniversary! I can't believe that it has been a year already. It just goes to show how time flies and how, i expect, the next 4 months will be gone in a blink.

We couldn't go back to Grafton Manor for a meal as they had another wedding on! The cheek of some people - stealing our wedding anniversary! In stead we opted for Arden Cote Manor's - The Lodge. It was lovely! We had a table at 6, which meant we were the first people in the restaurant and got a table with a lovely view of the lakes and ducks. The food was lovely and the service good. It was a lovely evening.

After that we stuffed our faces with the chocolates that Mini had given us and drank champagne :) Lovely! Thank you for all of the lovely cards! I honestly didn't expect a wedding anniversary to be like a birthday! Awesome!


We're off on a little mini road trip soon - starting in a spa - so we'll be able to carry on chilling out together for a few more days yet. Can't wait :)

Bday Saturday!

This Saturday saw the celebration of two birthdays:
Ann of No.15 and Rebecca of Pinsents.
That meant I was invited to a lovely lunch with cake and chocolate mud cake (as well!) and then to a 1920s shin dig in the evening where I got to eat even more birthday cake!

Woo hoo!

It was a lovely day :) although I did have to go for a run today to make up for all that chocolate and sugar... and I am so addicted that there are currently 15 cookies baking in the oven. SUGAR FIX!!!!!

NOM!

New Year in Adelaide Confirmed

So now the plans grown larger!

We land in Mlebourne on the 30th and stay in our usual travellodge on Southbank. The next day we fly out to Adelaide and I've booked us into Semaphore caravan park for a week. That means we'll be in Adelaide for New Year and by the beach for a week to recover (mid summmer) on the beach ! :)
Yay!

I've also been sorting out the kitties. I've lodged their import permit (with the help of Lindsey) and I'm now trying to organise their flights and transport down to the airport. At the moment it doesn't look like they can travel at the same time as us or fear of being swapped in favour of some more lucrative Christmas Post! Poor kitties. Maybe if i dress them as elves??

27th december 2009

That's the day we leave the country :)

It's all been paid for and sorted. We'll bes taying the night in AbuDhabi on the way. I wanted to stay with Runky Dunk but it was about 300 quid more expensive :(. At least now I know when I'm off! I guess I'd better officially hand in my notice!

The house Completed at 3 ish today so the new people are moving in as we speak. Hopefully they've discovered the chippy down the road. I've spent hours cleaning that house; i got over excited with the steam cleaner we'd bought to get the oven clean! It's immaculate. I hope they are very happy in their new home :)

Next weeks mission is to get the cats all booked and approved. I've told them to start practicing their ozzy accents... Meeyaaooww. ;)

Days 2 +3

By the end of day 2 all of the rest of the gubbins was downstairs in a massive pile. Everything that had ever come into contact with the outside world had been scrubbed to within and inch of it's life (boots, shoes, garden furniture, camping stuff, flag poles ) and the cats had been relocated to me Ma's. I was absolutely knackered and wasn't too impressed by the cats enthusiasm to purr and walk all over me all night ;(

day three was a little easier as men arrived and did it all for us! Ace. I did insist on taking my Dyson (Do you know how much they cost!!) and so had to spend 2 hours scrubbing it's various tubes with a toothbrush. Then steam cleaning the bits that I couldn't reach -MADNESS. There really isn't a chance that that contains anything living(spider or micro organism) so I'm hoping they won't take it off me the other end!

It was kind of exciting to see everything leaving. It had all been wrapped in brown paper. I even saw them tip out some plastic tags (the ones you put on the tops of suspension files) and wrap them up! They were in the bottom of a box containing SMART board stuff. It might me laugh seeing them do that. If it had been me packing they would have gone in the bin! Pss are great at what they do though and they unpack it all for me at the other end!! woo hoo! More sitting around ;)

The remit says that they pack everything... that's what they did! We made sure our documentation was at Mum's before they arrived! :- ) But.. it's done now. My stuff is close to Span in South London and will be bunged onto a ship before we know it. A friend in Adelaide has kindly offered to be Customs' point of contact over there and then it will sit in storage until we arrive. It's all very exciting.

There are still lot of bits and bobs in the house. Stuff for ebay and car boot sales etc. I've also got to empty the fridge and the garage. I have until Friday. We should complete on the 31st so today (Saturday) I'm having a bit of a rest. ZZZZzzzzz

Day one

Day one of the BIG move has ended.
Knackered!

We've moved everything we're keeping here to mum's and flat packed all of the wooden furniture downstairs. The bedrooms are empty of their contents (which are now in boxes downstairs) and the "Bed man" is coming in the morning to take them apart ready for the lorry on Friday. The cats have brought us a dead bird a day this week and today we've recieved a bird's leg in the morning, a mouse at lunchtime and another half eaten bird this evening. I think they're a little anxious. Unfortunately they don't understand that, being vegetarian, their hunting skills are not likely to persuade me to keep them! ;)

Of course I am keeping them and they will be parcelled over to mothers by the end of tomorrow. There's still sooo much stuff everywhere though! We haven't even looked in the garage yet. Mum's coming over to clean the garden furniture to within an inch of it's life tomorrow and we'll have to put to one side, anything from the garage which needs to be shipped. That will include my SMART board! (lol)

I'm feeling ok at the moment. Which is good; i'm not always fantastic in these situations. Having been ill last weekend I'm really only getting back into my normal "nom" routine now. Just in time to finish eating the contents of the fridge ;)

I'll put up some piccies tomorrow. For now, i'm off to spend the last night i'll have in my comfy bed until I'm in Aus. I'll miss it!

The date's been set

Next Friday.

That's when a large container will pull up and we will empty the contents of the house into it. Then a week later I won't live here anymore. I won't own a house anymore and i'll be able to save to get to the land of the sane!

I continue to allow myself to be wound up by ICT things... I know I shouldn't but I do get insulted by the ignorance of certain individuals. Which is silly because i'm sure it IS ignorance rather than anything personal. However, if I am expected to attend a session on trouble shooting a "VLE" for my subject, delivered by someone who has no idea what that actually means, I will need to be bound and gagged. Can I request now that I am NOT the person that gets sent by the director???!!! LMAO.

Ah well. Lots of stressful events to come..... Watch how I hold myself together! :)

I've been really poorly this weekend :( I must have eaten something very dodgy because I couldn't even keep down the medicine I was trying to take to make it all go faster! I'm a bit better today and determind not to miss my last day with my form tomorrow.

Span is moving in to her new flat this weekend (Yay!) and will be launching a fully fledged London love nest. There will be discussions about the "shoe cupboard" and the new wardrobes that must be ordered. I am not there, professionals were hired, but i hope to visit soon enough :)

We're still packing. Although it feels more like mooching whilst waiting to get going . We should, in my opinion, be leaving this week but everyone's seems to have a slightly more laid back approach to the completion date than I'd hoped. It'll be my job to stick a rocket up their proverbial tomorrow I guess.

The cats seems a little unsettled and are clearly finding the whole process rather exhausting ;) but we're muddling on through. We have lots of bits which will need new home though. Including: christmas decorations, halloween decorations, a TV and various bits of gardening paraphenalia. Let us know if you are in need of any such items.

It's rolling ahead...

The study doesn't contain any study materials. The books and the cds are all gathered, boxed and stacked in the spare bedroom and the shelves are downstairs ready to be relocated. It's happening. It really is. The contents of our home are being sorted, sifted and packed. It's been fun. I've found loads of old cassettes with singing teens on and Vids with various gigs and shows which I am vowed to digitise before i throw them out.

An envelope arrived this morning with a set of questions from the buyers solicitors along with the contract of sale for us to sign. It really won't be long now. I kept telling my self that it was ok. I hadn't signed anything and so when that contract appeared this morning it was a little scary. Not as scary as it could be though and I am sure we're doing the right thing.

I can't help but think that when the guy we bought this off said "ah well, I've got time to wait and if I can't sell I can always rent" we should have replied with "excellent how much a month do you want a month?". We could have demanded a turfed lawn and saved ourselves a fortune. We'd be leaving for Oz in a couple of months rather than 6 and I'd be able to see where this was all going at a much faster rate.

If I were the family about to move into this lovely home I'd be so excited. It seems just long enough away that I can't really get excited yet. I'm walking back to age 16 again lol. Ah well it'll be fun. I even have my ol' bessie mate back in residence in a simliar fashion; although she'll be in her new home before I can say "HI!!!" and flash my desk lamp out of the window. Lucky lady :)

Dreams are funny ol' things. I've always had 'em but I've not always been brave enough to see them through (Especially the hard ones). I don't have any regrets and I don't want any now.

I've been checking flight prices and cancelling TV subscriptions. Onwards and Upwards! Well in 6 months anyway - in the meantime... onwards a bit and then PAUSE!

Memories..

I've been packing.. well sorting really and I've come across a few funny things i'd like to share ;)

Here's some shots from some leavers books: (click em to make them larger)










LMAO ;)
Much more to come :)

Updates! VIZORS (estate agents) rock!

Well, the couple that were buying the house messed around and then pulled out. NICE! Annoying. We decided to go back to the plan of adding extra agents to the house. We had Oulsnams and Vizors around to see what they could offer and decided that we'd go with Oulsnams. Before we could make the call to them to let them know our choice one of the sales people from Vizors called to tell us that they had a viewing for us. We hadn't even signed a contract at this point and she managed to persuade me to have 3 agents on the go. I wasn't too happy about this but didn't want to miss out on the opportunity of that viewing. I'm very glad I did agree because 24hrs after we signed up with VIZORS they sold the house!!! YAY! We can now breathe and make plans... We won't book flights... not until the contracts are exchanged but at last things are falling into place.

I didn't hand in my notice at work because, at that point, we hadn't sold and I didn't want to be without work. That means that we're hear until the end of the Autumn term but that's ok. We'll end up leaving exactly 2 years after we came back and it will give us an opportunity to recoup the vast amount of money we have lost. If you count our original deposit (which sunk when the recession raised its head) then we've lost about 40,000 (GULP) but C'est la vie! and we'll soon recoup what we need in savings. We're moving back in with mum until we do and then we'll be off around Xmas (Just got to work out when the flights are cheapest).

We'll be packing for the next few weeks and giving away all sorts of things. So vultures... start circling for your bargains! ;)

WOooohoooooo!!!!

Still haven't heard

Come on people! ALl we need is a yes or no!

It's 3:56 and I'm supposed to be completing my lesson planning for the OW MTP (Oh teacher speak -don't you just love it) but I can't be bothered!! (LMAO)It's HALF TERM and in a few hours some my lovely friends will descend upon my home and the holiday will begin. We're planning to camp and climb Snowdon this weekend (weather permitting) so by Monday I am sure I will have a whole host of piccies and tales to report upon.

We;re stil waiting for news on the house. It might have sold ( with a £30,000 deficit...) we'll have to see. It might be onwards and upwards lol

Bob the imposter Cat

Seems to have moved in! I keep kicking him out but he just keeps sneaking back in! He seems to have already told Hendrix he's boss too! :s poor thing!

I thought we hadn't seen him since this morning until I went upstairs and found him on our bed where he's obviously been sleeping all day! Cheeky!

Anyone recognise him?
He's male, unneutered and doesn't have a collar but I don't think he's a stray. he's really friendly and chats away to you!

Roller Coaster Week

(That title'll attract some people from google looking for thrill rides. Sorry to disappoint!)

It' s been another funny ol' week. We contacted some estate agents so we could decide whether we would add another agent onto the house; we'd had no viewings from the remaining agent. As soon as the appointments drew nearer we ended up with an appointment to view.

A lovely couple, who were young, had two cats etc came around and seemed to really like the house. They were here for 40 mins strolling and asking questions. Then they made a second appointment! That created mixed feelings in the house. I actually felt a little sick! I'd talked myself into believing that we weren't going had made extra efforts to get involved in England things again and try and lump it here. It came as a bit of a shock that there may be a chance I could go and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. We also had a call to say another couple were interested and would like to view on Thursday. At the beginning of the week we were mentally ordering the shipping, requesting tubs back from SPAN, setting up cat flights and walking down the beach to a coffee house in Henley.

BUT

It's all gone quiet :S. i Refuse to use sad faces however as we still dont' know the outcome and in pure "The Secret" manner I'm going to continue to visualise the next few hectic weeks as packing and organising.

The second couple didn't come on Thursday and the other couple who really did love the place are having the weekend to consider whether they want our house or one that they've seen in Churchhill North. Considering they wanted to be closer to work in Stratford i'm hoping they'll pick us! lol

Can everyone keep everything crossed :) and imagine their free accomodation in Adelaide. Positive thoughts make the world go round :)

To Ms. Niffenegger...

Monday, May 04th Selena is 28 years old,

Selena: I wake early , 8am on a bank holiday Monday and get out of bed leaving my husband wrapped in a warm duvet. Unsually, I leave him sleeping whilst i, restless, make tea, shower and go downstairs to pick up the book. I find it exactly where I had left it the night before, tired and trying not to sucumb to the final pages at around midnight last night. I read for a while until i hear footsteps above me. When i reach the top of the stairs I see Matt making Stan (the cat) dance. Stan looks un impressed as he is forced to stand on his back leggs and have his for-paws jiggled up and down in time to a track by Bowie. Now the book has to compete with the music for space inside my imagination.

I don't want to keep reading. It's gone wrong somehow. I've spent the last few days reading and enjoying; comparing Henry and Clare to to my own husband and I, believing in them, recognising them in my own relationship. Wondering whether I'd want Matt to visit me when I was 6 and to know me as a child; whether I'd want to know him as a fully grown adult before I met him in my early twenties. I decided it wouldn't be good and that, less like Clare and more like Henry, I'd probably get annoyed that my life had been decided and rebel against the truth and the love of my life. I've laughed at the mis-haps, gasped at the candidness of the intimacy between the characters; sometimes feeling slightly awkward, visualising what is being described.

I can't take it any more. It's gone dark, little red, bloodied monsters have haunted Clare and although I know she now has a child, with that elated news comes the vision of Henry's passing. I know it's coming and I can't stop crying. I keep putting down the book and walking away to hug my own husband; perhaps I'm afraid that he'll disappear. I have to return to the book though compelled....When the party is organised i know it's coming. Tears stream down my face and I can barely read the words through the blurred screen infront of my eyes. I dread the phone ringing, Matt finding me like this and although I am mortified I can not remember a time a book moved so much in such a serious way and in only 520 pages. I struggle to the end, I wait with Clare to see him again and then it's over all too soon.

Thank you Ms Niffenegger. That was amazing.

How to be the perfect Girlfriend...

ouch

The Wii's making it ache!!!

Grrrrrrrr

Damn it!

Chain Mail blogging...

LOL at Mummy Cow... but .... here we go...

I've been tagged (and so have you).
It's tag season and I’ve been tagged for the first time!
Over to you...

1. What are your current obsessions?
Selling my house and Rabid Rabbids
2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often?
My Jeans
3. What's for dinner?
Pizza
4. Last thing you bought?
A CD
5. What are you listening to?
Anything that pops up on spotify. I'm spoilt for choice!
6. If you were a colour which would you be?
Right now? mmmm... Which colour describes sleepy and proun to hibernation?
7. Favourite holiday spots?
LOL.... Holiday? Anywhere I can travel and see things!
8. Reading right now?
The Time Travellers Wife
9. Four words to describe yourself.
Bouncy, Happy, Warm and a little sleepy.
10. Guilty pleasure?
Guilty? I'll have none of that!!!
11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?
My bessie mates and my Hubby
12. Favourite spring thing to do?
Drink a cuppa in the garden when I get home... because i can!
13. Planning to travel to next?
Australia.... Please Australia
14. Best thing you ate or drank lately?
A Cafe Late lollipop from America. Cheers Mrs H!
15. When did you last get tipsy?
A week Friday on a nice bottle of white wine :)
16. Favourite ever film?
So, I married and Axe Murderer
17. Care to share some wisdom?
If you keep doing the things you did, you'll keep getting the things you've had ... so if u want something different, you gotta do something different to get it ;)
18. Song you can't get out of your head?
Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows… LOL...
19. Where will you be/what will you hope to be doing this time next year?
I'll be in Adealaide, I'll be buying a house, working for myself and strolling along West Beach towards either Henley or Glenelg

Work, and that...

So we've had the dreaded "Moderation" which turned out, for some very bizairre reason, to be a bit of a laugh! We discovered a colleagues "emotions" (in joke - too scared to broadcast on interweb ;) and reisted the temptation to eat the two boxes of choccies our lovely student had brought us (he'd got a job); instead opting for grapes and nuts. Phew. The Wii fit won't shout at me and demand to know why i've put the weight back on.

I hate it when it does that... "Oh dear. You seem to have put on 2 POUNDS. Do you know why? No? Well let me tell you about calories..." I don't like it when it tells me off! It's serious!!!! ;)

I'm busy trying to renew insurance policies and Breakdown cover at the moment. Currently been on hold for 10 minutes...... Good work RAC. All I want to do is say please renew! I might give up in a minute. Let it lapse... Although... on second thoughts, what with our "bargain" Golf, it might be better to exercise patience. After all that's what I do all day!

It's been an interesting day "patience" wise. I think I've been watching too much "Dog Whisperer" on Sky 3 (a new staple after Neighbours). I keep standing in my classroom thinking... "Calm and assertive... Calm and assertive". Amusingly, just like it did on the dangerous Staffy... it works on year 10 too! LOL. Go Ceser Milan!

I also got to speak to a pal in Oz today. He tells me that it's been raining ( possibly only told me that to make me feel better). When I commented on how that would be bad for the poor soggy Koalas he told me not to worry. 10 minutes in the tumble dryer is apparently all that is required!! He was shocked I didn't know that that was how the Aussies got them to look so fluffy! LOL.

I walked through the door tonight...

and LOF played this really loudly as I entered. Apparently I needed an intro song! ;)


Bless!

He would also like you to check out videojug.com
Lots of life skills to learn there ;)

To Mr Skinner

Australia need you...

I started singing "Hey Jo! How do you keep your prices so low?"... It's been years! Why is that still in my head? The advertising giants of Adelaide must have something!!
LOF and I were discussing it and we've decided that the sheer quality of ads such as these should persuade you of the need for your move! ;)

Oh and i even found one with a midget!!! SPAN control yourself!




RADelaide Haggle

Has bloggin died a death?
It's just that i haven't been on here in ages and yet I have placed numerous dull status updates on Facebook. I've even logged onto Twitter once or twice. I am beginning to feel overwhelmed by the many methods of communication open to me all at once. I don't know which one to visit first and what to say!

A blog is very handy when writing longer pieces but at the moment there's really nothing to report. No house sale, no nothing. I wish there was something to say but there isn't except today's face book updates:

Selena Woodward 's a bird! I can fly! weeeeeeeeeeee
Selena Woodward 11a1 coursework ? Paper work done... Revision session - planned. Now.... It's supposed to be a holiday.....
Selena Woodward Sleep
Selena Woodward is grossed out by Hendrix's protest of her having gone into work today. Make sadnwich and coffee... walk into living room see half a mouse, guts all over the floor. NICE :X
Selena Woodward Mocks away!
Selena Woodward i's sure he's written "The designer of item 2 has made a more edible layout" or does it say "incredible"? It must be lunch time...
Selena Woodward wishes her cat was see through...
Selena Woodward Mocks are done!

as you can see... nothing but work work work.... Ah i love being in ol' blighty - really warms your cockles :p

How to sell a house during a time of crunchy credit...

Anyone got the answer?

A truly silly story

"When it was all over I had a few scratches on my legs, and there wasn't much left of my underwear."



More on the Ninja, lunatic Kangaroo here....


LMAO POor little roo!

Red Nose Day 09

Well today I had red curly hair, I taught superwoman and several of my students arrived in their PJs...I t must be Red nose day!
What did you do that was funny for money?

Idiots of Ants

This made me laugh

*Bad language alert!*

The week of reviews!

Now, I've been teaching year 7 to write book reviews. This involves the use of quotations, writing in the 3rd person (not first - that's too easy), using a variety of sentence structures and giving your opinion. I wish it was as easy as that when I'm being reviewed!

This monday was the "English Department External Review". This meant that someone from outside came in to have a prod and a poke and see how we were doing. We're ace! (obviously) I was observed and was "good". So all's well there.

Then, on Monday lunchtime we get a phone call from our old friends OFSTED.... with less than 48 hours notice... They'll be here Wednesday.... CRIKES!

My routine as a result has been work all day. Come home at 3:30 and work until 11pm everynight. Thank fully I'd been keeping on top of my marking or I think I'd be asleep right now! I just can't help myself with planning in situations like that; it takes me hours to get a potential "outstanding" lesson plan and as I plan for this to be my last ever OFSTED, i wanted to do well. So, what does hours of work get you? No OFSTED inspector!! LMAO I've managed to escape again without being seen. I did manage to get SMT to take a couple of exercise books away which demonstrated intervention and pupil progress but other than that ? Nada.

Mummy Moo, bless her, knew I'd not been "OFSTEDed" so came and did a lesson ob for me period 4. At least not all of my lessons went un-noticed! It's hilarious that I spend all night making the pretty files for OFSTED and then shove them in the recycling at the end of the day- the trees we have wasted! lol. It was nice to have Mummy Moo back in my classroom. She's not not normally the one who observes me. INfact we worked out the last time we'd had a chat like that was when I was an NQT! (I think that was 6 years ago!)We're trying to work out why I always get good with outstanding features... I think we've almost cracked the code too ;)

All that matters in the end though is that the pupils had fab lessons in which they're making good progress. It was fun bringing the new student teacher into year11 and tricking them into thinking he was the inspector!! MOAH HA HA!

So... the result?

We are now officially "A Good school with outstanding features"!!!! YAY!
That means we are just as good as St Thomas Aquinas, better than Bournville (which doesn't seem to mention outstanding in it's opening statement) and are one grade behind "Kings Norton Girls" We 'like' totally ROCK!
I hope the community "read all about it". We're working soo hard at that place it's ace that we have something to prove that we really are as good as we think we are!! lol

John4hannah

Well, well, well. Now I know why I need to make sure that I have my mobile on, charged and ready! ;)

WOAH!


COOOLIIIOOOOO
and funny! Span has deserved this for such a long time :) :) I'm SOOO Happy she has found someone who is so "Crazy in love!" ;)


Span knew nothing about this at all! How exciting to be delivered to such an event via taxi. Unfortunatly for her OH he had to wait an hour or so up there on that board.... BRRRRR! Did you see the temperatures in London yesterday? Poor chap!

Anyhoo... make sure you check out John4hannah.com and you tell all your friends!

My favourite room

Powered by Plinky....

My bedroom. And no, not for kinky reasons!! (lmao) I love snuggling in my duvet with a good book. Whether that be in the morning or late at night whilst I have lost my husband to the make-believe World of Warcraft, I can sit and read and get lost in an entirely different adventure.



Sitting up, in bed, with piles of soft, cushioney pillows behind my head is soooo relaxing; especially if you can soften the light just right. Too dark and you get a headache from straining your eyes, just right and it's atmospheric and relaxing.



If it's raining outisde, as it frequently does in the UK, then it really is the best place to be. As the rain hits the window i can snuggle up a little more and know that I am warm, safe and comfy. Sometimes if I'm really lucky my cat will join me and then I have an excuse not to move. I mean, I can't deny that purring ball of grey fluff cuddles now can I?

Crikey o'Blimey it's white fluffy madness!

I kid you not. In the last 15 mins my rd has disappeared for the 3 time this week!

It's proper snow!!!

CRAZY!!!

EVEN more snow!

I can't believe it!


My school was open today but I couldn't get there!! It started snowing at 6am and didn't stop until 11:30. The kids in my street were sledging up and down the very slippery road that I would have had to drive along... Scary.
Madly, by 2pm it had turned a bit slushy and the roads were clear.
A big thank you to all those who had to cover me today :)

I've just watched the weather forcast and they've mentioned there's more on the way! I love snow but i hate all this uncertainty. It was awful this morning when I didn't know what to do!! Even worse when i realised that I was stuck.

More snow days :)

Last time we had a snowday i was very dull and boring and spent most of the day organising my lesson plan and resources for an observation that was supposed to have happened half an hour ago! More fool me! Another bought of snow has closed the school again and i'm not wasting any time today ;) I've built a snow man and a snow cat, stomped about in it and might, later on create a snow angel ;)



flickrSLiDR.

Please press pause and allow video to "buffer"

It's snowing!!

Like right now!! YAY!

Taylor Mali

In my search for inspiration today i found myself wandering around youtube. I found an American teacher who is also a poetic genius... He's ace and inspiring and I want to share him with you... he's funny too :)

What teachers Earn


Mircale Workers


Like.. You know..


The the impotance of proof reading

It's on the market!

It's official. The house is for sale. The sign was put up this morning so, less than 1 year after we bought it, we're trying to sell it again. Someone was going to drive past today and we've been told that someone "out of town" is coming to look at it next weekend. I'll not get my hopes up too high yet though (estate agents are slippery creatures!) but i do hope it all goes smoothly.

Obviously, we can't just sell and go. We still need to save a little more. Having half the amount to pay for rent ( instead of a mortgage) should make that easier though. Wish us luck!

Good Luck Dunk

He has his operation today and I know he's a bit nervous. I also know he's in a room with a balcony, a fridge and cable tv!!! (wouldn't get that on the NHS ;) )
I'm sending him positive thoughts. He has no need to worry at all and I know how much he'll love pretending he was attacked by a shark Post-op ;)

Comments at 1am

I spotted these comments this morning. At first, I thought the first comment had been made by a mate being silly; until they started making sarcastic comments about my husband. This is not something that my friends would do. Not even tongue in cheek.

The second comment about my blog being "dreadful, egotistical, self-serving dirge" made a clear statement about the true tone of the first. Just to ensure that they were clear R/regarm then made their final comment which affirmed the nature of the original post.

The first question I had was who had written such a thing? Perhaps, I thought it was someone who had just stumbled upon the blog and had had too much to drink? Being the nerd i am I always track all users on my websites, this helps me to evaluate who reads what; particularly on my business sites. I developed this skill through playing with the code on this blog. As such I am able to see who was online at 12:46, 12:51 and 12:53, where they were in the world (down to a few miles) and how they stumbled upon the site in the first place.

This made things more interesting...

You see someone who stumbled upon the blog wouldn't have gotten to it by typing in it's actual address. You have to have either clicked a link I or someone else have created elsewhere (a site referral would be logged in this case) or know/be told the address by someone (who would know me). At times, you see, people might do a Google search for something I have blogged on (usually a place I have travelled to) and google will direct them here; this would be a person who did not know me or this blog. The person commenting on the post below though obviously knows me or at least the site as they came to it by typing in the address.

I say person because, although there are two names in the comments, both of them came from the same IP Address so we're looking at a couple of people sat in front of the same PC at 1am writing.

Most would have advised me to delete the comments, to ignore them. One actual friend reminded me that they must be strange and bitter people who are unhappy with their own lives to have written something like that; particularly if they do know me. However, by writing a public blog I do open myself for such criticism and, apparently, even for attack.

I am reminded however of the assembly I witnessed last week on cyber bullying. This was aimed at children... It made the obvious point of how much easier it is to be nasty when hiding under a pseudonym. That it takes real guts, and perhaps acceptance of consequence, to say things to people's faces. That perhaps if you can't say things to someone's face (and face the consequences) you're cowardly; the traditional bully.

So regarm and trusp, thank you for your "comments". I don't think much of them however. You are misinformed and your apparent cowardice strikes me as childish. In truth, I hope the evidence pointing to the location is wrong, that you aren't on Virgin Media Broadband, on the Harborne server (to be precise) and that you don't know me at all.

My "pathetic blog" began as a means for me to vent my thoughts and frustrations. So yes, it can at times be self-serving - that's exactly what it was intended for. Now it has morphed into a place where i post about things that happen to me to my friends who live all over the world. I have NEVER "bragged about how much {my} house is worth" In fact I was merely recording my shock at losing over £20,000 grand in 10 months. Indeed, I can sympathise with others in such a predicament. As for my spelling? This 'egotistical' writer has never ever pretended to be perfect; not in any way. I am just a normal person, who has skills, interests, passions and flaws.

I hope you find this response satisfactory, being that you have checked back five times today to see the fruits of your labour.

Update on the house

So we've now had three estate agents around to the house. Now we have to do all the maths. We're definitely going to walk away having lost our entire deposit and it is possible that we will lose extra money paying up to £10,000 to move! GULP.

I think we'll be putting the house on the market for £225,000 - £227,000 which means that we will have lost 20 odd grand in 10 months.LMAO. Ah well. It'll all be worth it in the end.

It's really stressful though, trying to work out what's the best. It's apparent that selling right now really is the best option. That way we can pay less then the mortgage each month renting somewhere and, if the house sells when I hope it does, we should still be able to leave in September. It'll be rough losing all our deposit though as it will mean some serious hard slog in Aus to earn a new one for the Oz household we'll want to purchase. It'll be like starting again.

At this point, having not done the maths, I don't know how long we need to stay here to have enough money to make it feasible. I'm hoping it's September but it might be Jan 10 or it might be Sept10! lol (and eik) When I suggested we stayed here until we had enough for a deposit on a house in oz LOF had a near panic attack; his priority is to just get out! It's strange though because i'm usually the one drive by my heart and he's the practical one! Ah well.

On another note, I've been to BETT this week and have spoken to a few of my contacts from OZ which, apart from dangling a big Adelaide shaped carrot in front of me, has reminded me that I really need to start focusing on my book and my research again. One of my friends here reminded me that I probably need to stop banging my head against the wall of misunderstanding and no-vision at school and start concentrating on Teachertechnologies again. I think it might be time for a re-vamp of the site. I want to include a weblog on which I can record all of my educational research. I have created a Moodle class with some of it on but that's not benefitting the members of the teachertech and, as those in the school aren't actually bothering to even read it, that seems unfair.

Strangely, and this may seem obvious to some readers, I have only just realised how i got it all wrong. I was so used to being the one advising and consulting on these things that when I was invited to the ICT working party I fell into that role. In fact that isn't how they saw me at all so whilst I've been busting a gut to advise, the decisions are being made without me, without even letting me know what's really going on half the time. If they want to make decisions without taking advantage of my expertise then that's their choice and so I have to stop worrying about the future of a school that i may not even be a part of and start being a little bit more selfish. Of course, my research will include my teaching and so the students I am working with can benefit but I don't have the time, energy and to be honest my inclination is dwindling to keep trying to open their eyes. Sad and I hate it; I hate seeing things being done half done. LOL, I just hope I can actually sit back! I find that soooo hard!

I'm supposed to be in bed because I have to wake up at 5:30 and get to school before 7 to get to BETT on time. Decided to write here instead.

We have three estate agents coming round this week. Two of them tomorrow and one on Saturday. Fingers crossed that we will walk away from this with something still in our pockets and bank accounts. We're going to need a 4-5% deposit for our next home if we want a mortgage in Aus. The rates seem a little more realistic than they were when we were thinking about this 2 years ago. There the same as we're paying now 5.69% variable so at least that's something we don't need to worry about. We'll also get an grant of between $7,000 and $11,000 from the ferderal government to help us with the deposit which is cool. And.. we need to save £10,000 before we can leave. We have managed £3.500 in 4 months though so we're on track to leave around Septemeber, probably after Jac's wedding.

It's all getting real now. Not too real yet as I still own my house and still have my job to go to every day. This time it's no where near as scary though and although I know that there are plenty of people who don't want me to go, the thought of leaving makes me breathe easy. I have a way out.

I know that it won't be easy. Far from it infact! I'll be cursing as the date gets closer... mark my words but I do know where I belong and the way i deserve to live both professionally and personally and I can't get that here. I really can't. It's too risky what with the recession to quit my job and even try and match my lifestyle and the no-risk, box ticking system we have hear would probably continue to ignore me anyway. lol Sad but i don't think the UK are quite ready yet lol.

I'll let you know how much my house is worth tomorrow when i'm back ;)

Bett coming up!

I'm off to Bett this week and I'm going to love it and come back with an entire trolley of stuff. Of course I will also be full of enthusiasm and excitment at all the new things I will discover and full of sadness that I can't hop on the plane and share it with people who get it!! lol

On the up side have been asked to present at network day again; so at least I'll get to do another training course (1 a year *sigh*) Ah well at least at Bett I am assured lots of free pens, mugs and gonks!