Holiday

Sorry for the radio silence, I was away this past weekend down in london, meeting good friends, and family and such like. It was generally sunny and such like (it rained on Monday) and quite warm though nothing like the awful humidity last august.

On Thursday, after arrival I checked in then went down to Oxford St to buy some new shoes - to replace the ones i bought there last August - somehow I only find time to buy shoes when in London! I then picked up some other essentials and an extra phone charging battery thing. Then wandered home via the amazing St pancras Station; on the way passing the National Homeopathy Hospital and other medical stuff .

Friday saw me visiting the Imperial War Museum, and the London Bridge area for some lunch before jumping a train out to see my cousin & family. I haven;t seen her for almost 2 years now, so it was good to catch up with her and her husband over a curry and some beer watching the football; and also meet her newest daughter and renew acquaintance with the older daughter. they have just moved into a new house, which is pretty big (IMO) for inner London - nice sized rooms and a good sized garden, and very close to a station, allowing a quick trip back to the hotel.

On Saturday I was due to meet school friends Anna, Rach and Pete at tate modern in Southwark at noon. This was interesting due to some strange combinations of tube lines being closed; but we all made it, except Pete who had life delays. So we went for a nice walk around the Tate, seeing modern, impressionist, abstract and pother art forms - some was very good, some was interesting and some was a bit 'Huh'; we then headed over to St Paul's for a nice lunch and met up with Pete before wandering along for some drinks in a nice Samuel Smith's pub with its own ales and ciders - very tasty. Rach had to leave us but Pete invited Anna and I back to his flat for some tea - sausage and mash, a Pete classic - by combination of Tube and bus we reached his enclave in North London - with a view (just) of Essex. The day roudned off heading back into London, me to my hotel and Anna onward to Slough

Sunday was my big adventure; at lunchtime I headed to paddington to get the train to Slough to meet Anna and we headed for Windsor, after commenting (like 2 old people) about the dress sense (or not) or the Slough teenagers. In Windsor we picked up some tasty lunch - a roast beef dinner no less, in the Carpenters arm - a nice eaterie bar with a great view of the 'Crooked house'. the afternoon was really warm, so we started with a walk into the the 'Long Walk' of Windsor Great Park, and then back to a park for ice cream and a walk along the River, passing what we dubbed 'the Queen's kebab shop'; for it is opposite the back door to the castle! An early departure for London saw me walking from Paddington back to my hotel - approx 3 miles, through touristy boits of London which were becoming quieter as evening fell, including the University College Hospital which looks more like a bank headquarters, the Guardian building, British library and such like.

Monday was a touristy day, I dropped my case at the station and went to the British Museum, out to the Olympic site at Stratford, back via London Bridge to Picadilly, and then up Regent Street to the BBC and up to Regents Park and the Zoo, before heading through the rain to the Wellcome collection and then the train home.

Living life to the minimum?

Today set me thinking. Painful so soon after exams I know, but anyway.

Seeing the pics that Rach posted on her Facebook about sunny beaches and fireworks made me realise just how you can spend ages of your life only noticing what you are doing and failing to notice the world around you.

Sunday and today I achieved very little beyond the basic activities of life. I spent half of yesterday afternoon, despite the sunshine, and warmth in the flat tidying up and watching the F1. I spent yesterday evening packing for my week away, and then had a long lie this morning on another sunny warm day.

I'm not saying i could or should have climbed mountains, forded stream or followed rainbows, but I could probably have worked through some of my 'To-Do' list, or gone for a walk, or down to the seaside, or met up with some friends.

I guess what I am saying is that the weather puts me in a very positive mood at the moment, despite the exams uncertainty, and I should relish it, use it and take advantage of it to live life, and enjoy the world around me and do some life affirming things this summer - hopefully with a car.....if I can sort out the money

Another random question thing

Stolen from Rachel's blog, but with my answers, obviously.

Four jobs I've had in my life:
1. Customer service assistant
2. Library assistant
3. Youth work assistant
4. Admin Officer, Dept Work & Pensions

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Gladiator
2. The Hole
3. Shrek
4. Monsters Inc

Four places I have lived
1. North Shields
2. Student Edinburgh (Pollock)
3. Normal Edinburgh
4. Glasgow

T.V. shows I watch
1. Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares
2. Scrubs
3. Top Gear
4. House

Four places I have been:
1. Australia
2. China
3. Austria
4. Singapore

Four of my favourite foods:
1. Bread
2. Blackcurrant
3. Carrot
4. Apples

Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. End of exams
2. Last long summer holiday
3. Passing 3rd year
4. My sister's wedding

A line of red lights....

On our way back from the DIME weekend, we came round a corner on the A9 to see a line of red lights winding across the valley as far as we could see. These roadworks, to do with the construction of anew roundabout, had delayed us about 20 minutes coming north, but this queue looked much much longer.

Half the traffic seemed to be heading up a narrow road up the hillside to our left, so after looking at a map, Rachel decided to give it a go. We followed as part of a constant line of traffic down this single track road (the drivers coming the other way were pulled over and looking very bored with it all), before coming to a junction and choosing to rejoin the main road at the new roundabout, with only a short (15 minute) queue to get through the traffic lights at the contraflow.

All in all we had saved about 75 minutes, and were not far behind the bus with the kids on by the time we reached Perth.

DIME Weekend

This weekend was also the DIME weekend up at Aviemore. We had great weather- a bit damp on the Saturday, but not enough to stop the activities, and clear cold weather on Sunday. I managed to escape having to go on the bus, and instead met two otehr Leaders at Perth, and went up by car.

I was with the S1's as a Dorm leader, which we knew would always be slightly challenging as they are youngest, and not so acquainted with being away from home. They were, as expected, a wee bit hyper when they arrived, and despite best efforts to run the energy out of them, they still were a bit disruptive at bed time, so much so they didn't get their bedtime story.

Saturday was despite the rain, a good day. I was running the craft bay and we made stress balls, using salt and balloons. this was a great idea and I wish it had been mine! The kids also had options to decorate photo frames or make Hama bead creations, so all in all it was more of a quiet hour amidst the adventurous activities outside.

On my free session, I went with the S5-6's on the ropes course, and was beaten in the forward rolls game and probably most of the others, but we had a laugh with the Leaders looking almost as silly as the kids at times. However, Rachel and the blu one videoing me crawling through a net tunnel wasn't very nice, as I hardly look my usual composed sophisticated self! Then they went off into Aviemore for a coffee and I stayed on site with the younger ones.

Our Saturday night film was Monsters Inc, which I haven't seen before. The Tattooed drinker recommended it by text when i asked him what it was like. Given that he is a gore / horror fan, i did wonder what we were about to unleash, but was pleasantly surprised - it is a great film, though I do worry about agreeing with the Tattooed Drinker on anything!

The Sunday was a nice clear day, and while the kids played games, we tidied the centre, so that just after the kids left, we were finished and on our way. We stopped for a nice coffee at House of Bruar on the way and looked at the necessities of 'country living'. In hindsight, I think the main necessity is money.

Shrek the third

Tonight I went with DIME3 to see Shrek the 3rd at Fountainpark UGC, which since my last visit has morphed into a Cineworld. Thankfully none of the kids has morphed in the past two weeks. The blu one was back from her European wanderings and gave me a hug as well as telling me off for failing my exams. The kids really enjoyed the film, and so did the leaders funny how we all laugh at a U even when the rest of the cinema didn't find some bits funny!

I was really good and didn't buy a huge tub of salted popcorn (or even a small one).

Rach proved again to be the most punctual DIME TL at handing in her accounts for the last term. I'm not holding my breath to see who is last, but I bet he is Irish.

Write title, wrong song

Following Rachel's comment about my choosing the wrong song before, I think that she is right. The lyrics I quoted are the ones from the Feeling Yes, Feeling No video link pages online I think, but I'm not sure if the Scottish Office (as was) changed it when they brought it too Scotland.

The only references I can find to the 'correct' song online are like this one.....

Whose is my body? Around 1979, there used to be a radio program for children about 6PM each weekday afternoon on New York Public Radio, WNYC: "Kids America". For a long time, the program featured a song, which began and ended with: "My body's my body, nobody's but mine.... You've got your own body, let me run mine." I forget most of the middle, but I think it included such lyrics as that my body was mine to do with as I pleased.... After a while, the program stopped playing the song. I was convinced that it was because the song not only urged children to ward off undesirable approaches by strangers (which everybody thinks is a good idea...), but it also encouraged children both: (1) to find pleasure in their bodies, and (2) to reject unwanted (but not "illegal" or "immoral"!) impingements and controls by their parents[fn.15[ Go to footnote! ]] -- both of which ideas are definitely not approved of by many "conservatives". I was never able to verify it, but I always suspected that "conservatives" pressured the station to remove the song. I believe the song was replaced by something that told children to report to their parents and teachers whenever any stranger tried to approach them in a suspicious way (etc.).

However....... some sources support my original song lyric choice:....

Recognising that it's not always easy for a child to determine whether an adult's behaviour towards them is right or wrong, the Canada Film Board produced ‘Feeling Yes, Feeling No'. Some Edinburgh primary schools near my home have made use of this children's training video, with its catchy theme song: My body's nobody's body but mine. You mind your own body; let me mind mine.

Meanwhile, one source gives the clue that the 'correct' version of the song was performed by "Sneakers".

For our motto, we could appropriate a little jingle by Sneakers, that friendly clown that I remember my elementary school teachers playing for us to teach us to identify people who wanted to do us harm:

My body's nobody's body but mine
You have your own body, let me have mine.

The plot deepens.....