Beauty and the quizzers

Hello readers, this post is in two halves really, but come together in the middle, in essence its a renebell night out.

I have become a regular quizzer! Wednesday nights are all about the team. When I was back in England I was never one for organised activity especially quizzes. When I think of quizzers I always think of Steve Coogan. For those not old enough to remember Coogan's Run I have enclosed a clip. 

  

There has been a pause in my writing as I got distracted and had to watch the whole episode, then I had to compose myself as my ribs hurt from laughing too much!

Quiz type people I always thought were a bit like Guy and Stuart Crump, but here I am in a team called "Hunt the Brain Cell". Occasionally when the boys are feeling rebellious they call us "Inter rimming". I am glad we don't win when we are called that as I think for shame I wouldn't collect my prize of a free round of drinks when "Inter rimming" is shouted! Fortunately we were "Hunt the brain cell" when we won on Wednesday. I love the pub too, traditional ale pub with all walks of life supping. There are so many fancy wine bars in Jersey but you can't beat the Lamplighter for a cosy pub quiz night. Fortunately we have experts in geography, film, music, sport and even a chemist nut. I am the only clinician on the team and know nothing about the before mentioned categories so I always pray that the science and nature round will have a few  "What are the bones in the arm called?"  Sadly there weren't any body questions this week but I pulled it out the bag when "How many sets of teeth do mammals have?" 2 if you are interested! 

I met my colleague's pals later that evening and I promised I would blog about it. To say my RO  is stunning is an understatement fortunately I am too (coughs) so we are a stunning duo. Her pals are equally beautiful. All fancy they were and at an average standing of  5ft 10 between them , I was a Pygmy. Thing was I was in quiz clothes I don't mean a blonde bob and a green parker but had my shoes been any flatter they would of been flip flops. My beau was also in the bar on a business dinner and he isn't a midget and I had taken my quiz pal who must be at least 6ft 4. However what I lack in height I make up in witty repartee and it was indeed a funny evening with far too much alcohol involved. I have no doubt one of my RO's pals who was every inch the yummy mummy was glad she wasn't drinking, as she watched the chat entwine. 

One of the girls apparently is very much like the headline shown in this paper. She is so like this headline that this particular photograph was taken that night as she had this article with her. Its not referring to eating, drugs sex or rock and roll but more like the ability to be like Denise Welch. Not as a loose woman or adulterer but as the big brother flasher. I have to say, I am glad I didn't get that pleasure. They were all very lovely, the yummy mummy, Denise and the stunning Keira Nightly lookalike.

That is one thing I do love about living here the constant meeting of new people. My little friendship ring is expanding all the time, with all different variables. So weekend is here, which is much more low key, maybe a trip to my allotment for Sunday dinner's veg.       

The prize goes to.......

Well not sure how to start this post, hmmnn its a thinker!

Anyway the reason I am writing this post is because I have won something. I am actually crap at winning anything, it  was once said that I couldn't win myself in a raffle. I don't think you can include winning the church tombola's prize of a tin of corned beef. Winning is supposed to promote a heady sense of exhilaration, one where you want to do a lap round the lounge with your jumper pushed up over your face. Of course I am thrilled someone nominated me for this, and after much researching  around; I was even more thrilled when I realised I had won it.. However I am also a little embarrassed.

Here it comes I have won The Versatile Blogger Award. This is an award given to a blogger from other bloggers who appreciate their written work. When I started writing this blog it was really the wittering of a home sick northerner. A blog of self indulgence. Everything around me just seemed so bloody hard. As much as I really couldn't bear Margaret Thatcher Milk Snatcher I think her statement You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it resonates with me. That semblance is the battle of calamity. I really don't know if this is how life is or maybe its me?

I really should have calves like Kelly Holmes; after all I could be an Olympic entrant for hamster wheel peddling. Generally we go through life, sometimes with it mapped out and occasionally receiving dodge balls. I have a lot of bruises from ruddy dodge balls. Despite this I like to think of myself as strong, not in an arm wrestling way but of heart. Remember my blog profile readers? I laugh in the face of adversity. I have had a lot of bloody adversity and recently I looked in the mirror to see how many wrinkles I had from it. I thought if I have a lot I can call them laughter lines. However that wouldn't stand as someone recently told me that if someone tried to pretend their wrinkles were laughter lines, her father would remark "nothing is that F****ing funny" . I starred long and hard I have one, so life isn't too bad.

Writing this blog, expressing myself this way really was a fantastic method of just feeling better about missing home and starting a new life here in Jersey. I have had to put my pumps on over the last two weeks as I have had to peddle the ruddy hamster wheel. I say pumps because I am not posh enough to own Dunlop green flash (1970's childhood reference).

Here's the bit I am embarrassed about. I am not part of a blogging community and never read other people's blogs, excluding Bernadette's who was the person who kindly nominated me. http://bernadette-davies.blogspot.com/  So my embarrassment creeps up even further;  part of getting this award includes doing the following.

• Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award
• Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award
• In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
• In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself
• Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

I can achieve most of these points. So Thank you B for nominating me. I can also do random 7 pieces of nonsense about me, image of the VBA, yes managed that. Golly, errr 15 fellow bloggers, hmmn err have to get back to you on that one. Goes bright red. Maybe this award will spur me on to read other peoples blogs. A person who obviously found my blog through the nominations link, was kind enough to leave a comment on one of my posts. A feel a bit guilty that I don't follow blogs, maybe I should.'

Anyway there you have it, my award. I will nominate 15 blogs when I take the time to read some recommendations, probably starting with R..J. Ropsen as they left me a comment on a post.

So to achieve some of the award winning requirements.
7 random things

1. I liked to lick the corks from the solution bottles in chemistry. 
2. I wore a knitted swimsuit, a turban and an eye patch whilst learning to swim age 10.
3. My heart stopped momentarily, only to be saved by a candidate on an ALS course punching me in the chest (He must of read his manual!).
4. Had I been a boy, my name would of been Farquhar.
5. I was unable to say the word ambulance until the age of 12,.until then it was ambillyillyance.
6. I only have my width certificate in swimming because my knitted swimsuit held so much water, I sunk.
7. I had a childhood phobia about Santa.

So there you go more nonsense from my wittering!

The Good Life

When I was a little girl I had a cress head. I loved that cress head, growing his hair, giving him a trim, but the thing I liked about him the most was that it was something I had grown all on my own. I didn't really appreciate I was supposed to eat him. It just felt barbaric. The shame was, had I appreciated that fact; he wouldn't of rotted away to nothing resulting  in a pair of tights stuffed with a wonky smiley face sitting in his place.

The bug of eating what you grow has never really left me and I have continued to do so. Peppers on the kitchen window sill, tomatoes in my hanging baskets and of course every growers beginning, herbs. If I had the time I would like to be self sufficient, as a vegetarian its possible. However I appear to keep dating meat eaters and I don't mean just chicken. Full blooded meat chomping men! So I have to have some meat in my repertoire. That's where my self sufficiency stops. Yes I agree meat is for eating I just couldn't kill anything. I even have issues with removing spiders as I won't bring them to their end.

I would love to be the new Barbara Good but for that I would have to be driven bonkers by a Tom. So where is this going readers? I have joined a allotment syndicate and today was my first day. It was freezing and windy and I was dirty. Not to mention the stress of trying to find a pair of pantaloons that don't look like they have been sprayed on, (caving flashback). However it was such fun. Planting rows of Jersey Royals, pulling up veg, sorting trenches. It would appear I am quite rubbish at trenches, my pal can't do potato pyramids but fortunately our other pal can do a mighty spud pyramid. There is absolutely nothing missing from this allotment it's a menagerie of vegetative matter. It's so famous it had its own spot on country file. I have popped in a clip from my allotment. Its 14 minutes long so if you scoot to 6 minutes you will see it. Already I am bursting with pride!

I wish I had been around then as one has to say Matt Baker is a touch lovely. I retract that I was there today in a Helly Hansen jacket, my pantaloons and boots which isn't really fitting for a flirting outfit.

So a couple of hours later we were sitting eating the banana cake I had baked, supping tea and looking at the fruits of our labour. I haven't met all the people in the gang yet, but looking out over the allotment you can tell they are troopers.

Well I am off readers. I have a leek, some purple sprouting broccoli and a beetroot to prepare for dinner. As  Barbara once said  "I haven't caught you indulging in some private fetish have I"? Yes its possible growing vegetables may actually be my new fetish.  Move over Columbo you may be out of luck!

Ring out the old, ring in the new!

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Lord Alfred Tennyson said the lovely words above and although the 1st signifies the start of the year; I always feel my first working day signifies it for me. Up till then its still Christmas! So the year started today. What a year its been! Some what exhausting, at times exciting and at most ever changing.

Christmas was quiet, Boxing day, busy and New Years Eve, drunken merriment. The pinata went down well, and I found I didn't need to de-stress as the beau's children were delightful. I am becoming a regular Nanny McPhee but less warty.

I missed my family and friends back home but new friends made New Year amusing. Even in Jersey I am surrounded by Northerners and no more Northern than the host of the party I attended on New Years Eve. She is fab. Her husband is just as fab. Awash with champagne and bubble induced giggling the entertainment of the evening was just magic, literally. I would go into detail but the following clip will do it more justice than myself.

  
Try to ignore me shouting "its a shame you aren't a Mormon, as I would marry you right now", I was under the influence of champagne and show biz. I have always been a fan of magic. My ex was brilliant at it although when in the early stages of dating he demonstrated what he called " a levitation trick passed down to him by the voodoo brothers" . It essentially meant he appeared to be floating when he was actually balanced on one foot. He then claimed it had took it out of him and buggered off home.! It took me 6 years to work out the trick and 2 years to get him to stay a whole night.

Anyhoo I digress. We staggered home and didn't have too much of a hangover. It has been a great Christmas but I did have a wobbly lip when a friend I now hold dear left the island. He was part of the 3 amigo midweek drinkers. Only 2 of us remain and one of them will be bogging off back to the UK in spring possibly. My wobbly bottom lip will return once more when he does go.
The pal that left is very much like myself. I could spend endless time talking about growing veg, keeping chickens and he even understood my need at times to run away and start a travelling flea circus. His last night spent on the island was shared with my beau and me. I am glad I got to see him because he is an all round hoot. Although both the beau and my pal actually ranked dumb and dumber as their top 3 comedy films. So if he is reading here is a little homage to the most annoying film I have ever had the unfortunate pleasure of watching.  

  

If you made New years resolution's readers at least try and keep them up till spring. Me well I never make them, I don't last past February. I will however promise to blog more.