Life is sometimes sort of okay because...

[Devons Daddy]

 the baby boy whom we care for in our home,
found a box of tissues, (he is ten months old)

it one of those smile moments, as he removed the seemingly never ending supply from the box. one by one, each time with a look of pure amazment that the box had offered another for pulling.

[House of Usher]

Aww, that's pure magic!

My twin nephews have just had their 1st birthday 200 miles away. I've sent a parcel, but it's not the same as being there. I'm looking forward to seeing them both at Christmas.

[TordelBack]

I'm looking forward to seeing them both at Christmas.

Yeah, being a committed curmudgeon (tendance Scrooge) I never got the whole Christmas-presents/kids/ooh-magical thing (spoilt brats, trynna watch Great Escape here, where's me trifle?), to the point  that the future missus and I used to do volunteer work on Christmas Day to avoid it, right up until I watched my own sprog empty his first Santa stocking - absolutely wonderful experience.   It's not just rampant ad-driven consumerism, little kids genuinely love and more importantly appreciate getting /opening presents.  My father-in-law is a bit of a whizz with the jig-saw and dremel, and last Christmas made our lad a fantastic bookcase faced with a fully painted openwork surround telling the Jack and the Beanstalk story (anti-clockwise), and he was nearly hugged to death for his troubles.  Really quite beautiful to watch.

[House of Usher]

he was nearly hugged to death for his troubles.  Really quite beautiful to watch.

That is marvellous. Mind you, for me Christmas has nowt to do with it. I only make it home about 3 times a year these days, due to a combination of cost and now my family having nowhere to put us up. So it's just seeing the babies, for only the third time ever, that I'm looking forward to. They won't even know it's Christmas, except there's more colourful, sparkly junk about and more new things to play with. A pity it may be the last time I even see them as babies. They may be toddlers next time, and pre-schoolers not long after that. I don't think I could cope with real parenthood. I'd probably want to keep having more kids because 'they grow up so fast.'

I know that all sounds gloomy, but it's really not.  
I couldn't do with the hassle of having kids of my own, and I hardly knew my other brother's kids when they were babies, for the same reasons: living away from home, too skint to return often, got my own life to build. C'est la vie.

Anyway, kids are marvellous; babies doubly so.  

[House of Usher]

It's not just rampant ad-driven consumerism, little kids genuinely love and more importantly appreciate getting /opening presents.

Absolutely. A lot of parents seem not to realize that, and overdo it for no good reason. They up the ante by buying kids more presents than they're interested in, and the kids come to expect the same every year. The genie won't go back in the bottle after that. We've all seen 3-year-old kids being pestered by parents to open another parcel when all they want to do is play with the presents they've opened already. After that it's a whirlwind of paper-ripping. It's the way to train kids not to appreciate getting presents. Here endeth the lesson.

[Mike Gloady]

Witness the wise words of HoU.  Hear his words and obey.

[House of Usher]

...today I get one nice, easy class where I don't have to do anything. We're watching Anthony Asquith's sublime 1952 film of The Importance of Being Earnest, with a distinguished cast (Michael Redgrave, Michael Dennison, Edith Evans, Dorothy Tutin, Margaret Rutherford and Joan Greenwood and Miles Malleson) in giant, enormous Smart-board-screen-o-vision!!

Yesterday one of the young people sussed what was wrong with the sound. Whoever set up the Smart board and computer neglected to plug the speakers into the back of the computer.

None of the admin staff checked it out when I reported a fortnight ago that the sound wasn't working properly. I know that actually setting foot in a classroom may bring on a fit on unwellness for them, but it is their job, goshdarnit. I cursed my own denseness for not seeing the problem myself, but it's a long while since I plugged in a speaker jack. Thank goodness for the younger generation. They may not be able to spell for toffee, but they certainly know how to make computer software and electronic consumer goods work.

[Mike Gloady]

I was telephoned on my mobile while removing my mid-week roast (chicken, carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy for all you food perverts) from the oven last night.  The shock of the ringing ALMOST caused me to drop it. 

Didn't.  But I was momentarily furious that some no-bend had almost caused me to drop the chicken.  Then I realised I was about to tuck into the first roast I've had in ages (no point DOING a roast for two if only one of you can eat it).  Somehow, doing a chicken for one (I'll be doing a pie or soup with the rest after tonight's dinner) seemed sensible in a way that doing two dinners before my mum's death just didn't. 

Turned out it was my nice ex who's a doctor - she was just checking up on me and making sure I was eating properly.  I sent her a picture of the chicken as proof.

Anyway, I'm already counting down the hours to my next roast.  Mmmmmmmmmm.

[Mikey]

Good work Mike!

I enjoyed a bit of roast pork on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday lunch! It was done with a fennel, pepper and salt rub - delicious!

I got new front tyres this morning and got 25% off, bringing the bill to just under £100. 

M.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Bought some Jamaican Jerk Chicken Walkers crisps today, gonna eat them at work tonight. Hope they're tasty, otherwise I'll be slightly upset.

[Mike Gloady]

They SOUND nice though.  So long as they live up to the expectations, all is good.

Let us know if they're any good, ok?

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Full report in the morning.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

They were not bad, I seemed to be able to taste the flavour before the crisp actually touched my tongue (I may have imagined this though). Not too strong and the chicken flavour wasn't overpowered by the spices and there was no lingering taste after I had washed them down with some fizzy pop. What a life I lead!
I still prefer the Marmite ones though

[House of Usher]

I tried some Walkers mango chutney crisps last week. They're not bad. They remind me of the taste of the star-shaped Outer Spacers corn snacks you used to get (pickled onion ones were space station shaped, hotdog flavour were rocket-shaped, and chutney flavour were shaped like 5-pointed alien fighter ships). Our teachers used to sell them to us in morning break at primary school in the seventies. Every day. Can you believe that? Wouldn't happen now! Used to be the highlight of our morning.



Anyway, these Walkers mango chutney crisps taste like the old chutney Outer Spacers, except these ones burn your tongue a bit. On balance I'd rather have the Outer Spacers.

[Richmond Clements]

I've got a spicy sausage from Tesco to eat for my lunch.