Family Ties

Having a major dose of family at the moment. Some bits are utterly gorgeous & so snuggly & delicious, such as occasionally taking care of my cousins 8 week old incredibly well behaved baby boy - he comes and we just hang out. I get to talk utter rubbish to both the cat & the baby and I get cuddles & smiles & giggles (more than I ever get from Madam Cat) & cousin gets on with stuff she can't do with a tiny baby in tow. Luvverly!


But some bits are best described as - well amazing! I blame TV shows like 'Who Do You Think You Are?' & 'Heir Hunters' & programmes of that genre. 2 members of my family decided to "do" the family tree on my mothers side. And in their doing they have unearthed a never known of before but close relative! How close - pretty close - his father is my grandfather. But his mother is not my grandmother. There is intrigue, bigamy, a bank heist, prison, abandonment, a Swedish Gymnast & an escape to New Zealand from the clutches of European law

And amazingly despite the drama & potential for bad blood, all those involved are in forgiving & welcoming moods & there are now plans for this new relative to come meet his 'lost' family ASAP. I have seen this relatives photo & I nearly fell over. There's NO doubt who his father is! The genes are pretty strong in my family! 'Nuff said.

Why you have to love Doris Day

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=149392321&m=149840435
I urge you to listen to this interview for her recent (2nd April) 88th birthday - cut & paste into your web broswer as I have no idea how to do a link!!

Halfway to Paradise?

I had a serious ponder moment recently. Never good I know. I recently celebrated a birthday - I turned 48. And amidst the jollity & best wishes & bottles of Krug & sets of Doris Day coasters (oh yes - the BEST presents) it suddenly struck me - even if I get very lucky with the old bones thing - and I mean VERY lucky - I am over halfway through this thing called life! I will be damn lucky to get another 48 years. Wow. How did THAT happen?


And so of course the backwards glances start. What have I achieved over the first 48 years? Have I wasted them? On pondering I have done a lot - a lot more than most who were born where & when I was. I got out of the council estate & into university and managed a decent challenging job in London straight out of uni. I've also lived & worked abroad, travelled the world and I saw in the new millennium from the deck of a yacht in Sydney Harbour. I've stayed at The Ritz, learned to scuba dive, had my heart broken & no doubt broke a few, bought my own house all by myself, and after much searching finally found 'the one' & got married.That said it all feels like it happened very quickly ....


So what's for the next 48? Especially if they go so fast! Right now the desire is to step out of the rat race & run away! After a few birthday treat days in Lancashire & Yorkshire, the low stress life & fresh air is very very appealing. So who knows - at the risk of sounding maudlin (and I really don't mean to be, this realisation has not depressed me, it has genuinely surprised me!) is it finally time to accept my limited years & be brave & just make the most of what's left? Is it time to start my very own 'bucket list'?

And then I remembered this from Hunter S Thompson:

“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”

What did I say about birthday Krug?!

The Coach Trip

I had to travel for work last week. No big; it was an hours' flight time max & to be honest a trip I had been pushing to take as there is some fairly big research happening & I have not seen the "things" that are the subject of the research so fair enough I go. However the budget on this piece of work is severely limited & there was a high likelihood I would be accompanied by a client so instead of doing what I would normally do which is to secure the lowest priced Business Class ticket I can, I bit the bullet & booked economy. On BA so you would think can't be that bad. You'd be wrong. Oh. My. Goodness. If that's how the majority of the people travel most of the time I'm amazed anyone goes anywhere. Seriously. I am a FauxSurreyHousewife & I am a princess. I have never hung around queueing for so long, been so squished, so uncomfortable, or so badly served.

I am sure the fact it was right at the beginning of the Easter hols didn't help, and also that I went from Gatwick (the holiday airport) but the queues! No fast track for a start, then the queue to get on the plane & the people who just stuff up the aisles & stuff up the overhead bins. There was NO room to move. I wash squished up against the window and the backache started within 10 mins. No food - not even a sandwich. And to add insult to injury, a poor old lady who needed a stick & had ordered a wheelchair was put in the middle seat next to me. I cannot tell you how bad I felt asking her to move to let me in ... no help from the over patronising staff naturally.

So - note to self. If going on holiday drive in Volvo comfort. If going for work go without chance of being seen & get a low cost biz class ticket. Or don't go ... simples!