A taste of student life

Enforced bed rest with a dose of flu, cuddled up with Ibuprofen and a cat,  I have discovered just how addictive day time TV can be.  Houses under the Hammer, Deal or No Deal, Loose Women and a cooking programme have all had my full attention, but only because I am feeling brain dead.

I think that one day of that is enough, good reason to make sure that I'm better by tomorrow!

Volcano Refugees

Two years ago at this time, in scorching sunshine, we were crammed into a compound at Bilbao docks waiting to be loaded on to an unprepared P & O ship which had arrived to rescue us from Spain! 

Perched on our suitcases we were besieged by TV crews and reporters, all after an interview with the ‘volcano refugees’.  We all saw the funny side of our desperate situation when the foreign office vans turned up and distributed enormous juicy Spanish oranges, by hurling them across the crowd!

At least the trains were VERY comfortable

The previous day, Mini Darling’s 18^th birthday, we had spent 12 hours travelling across Spain by train and, having finally reached Bilbao, dined in the only place still open - Burger King!   She said it made her day seeing me tuck into the standard burger and bun, but my goodness we were starving and it tasted good!  Poor girl, she had finally reached the age when she could legally have a drink but not a drop of alcohol touched our lips during that day.

The only hotel space we could book was a room for 4 people in a budget hotel.  It was dire and dirty!  The bunk bed was unstable, so us three girls got a few hours sleep by sleeping crossways on two single beds pushed together and we let The Chief have the bottom bunk. We all giggled the night away! 

Once on the boat, it was a relief to be on our way back to Portsmouth and we didn’t care that the four of us had to share the tiniest cabin, surviving the three day journey with a lot of humour and plenty of wine!  We were lucky to have been able to reserve the very last one available, only with the help of our brother-in-law booking through the UK website.

On our arrival at Portsmouth we were greeted with people waving from various points along the beach and quayside, including members of the crew of HMS Ark Royal giving us warm welcoming waves.

We spoilt our holiday with hours of anguish trying all manner of ways to return home, then trying to co-ordinate the plans, followed by the months taken squeezing any sort of compensation out of Iberia Airines. Our extended holiday in Seville and the 'adventure' of a journey home was not the way we had planned to celebrate her 18^th birthday, but at least she will never forget it!

The best we could do for a birthday cake - a chocolate doughnut with a  cigarette lighter!

Goodbye to teenage years

My little baby Darling will soon be saying goodbye to her teenage years. 

I remember the thrill of the thirteenth birthday party, all the giggling girls turned up at the village hall for a disco party with the theme of 'glamorous'. How great they all looked in their Mother's old party frocks, having spent hours experimenting with make up and hair crimpers, curlers and straighteners.  We had the perfect spring weather for them to spill out onto the village green. The cricket team were relaxing after their afternoon game and thought the dancing girls were great entertainment.

This year the celebration will be a sophisticated family evening in a Japanese restaurant after we have spent a cultural afternoon together seeking out some of the latest art exhibitions.  What a contrast!


I'm glad we have moved on from the hard work of coming up with a new idea for a party and organising a very special day, but it is so lovely to have the photos and memories of such fun times and all the great friends who still talk about those events.

The Easter Bunny remembered!

The Easter Bunny still visits all the big kids in the house!

Where would we be without the basket of delights to offer a naughty nibble for the next few weeks!
These sugar coated mini eggs are just such a perfect size for a wicked chocolate fix when no-one is looking!

A trip to the cinema

I rarely visit the cinema so a trip to see The Very Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with 'The Gals' was a great treat, especially when I looked around the audience to see that we appeared to be the youngest group in the cinema.

This is what I want from light entertainment, simply a real feel good movie with a tremendous cast list of well known characters.  There is no show stopping complicated plot, it is simply a charming story, often very poignant, showing the colourful vibrant city life in Jaipur and stunning temple on the lake at Udaipur.

The all-star line up delivered some brilliant one liners and it was quite politically incorrect in places. I did find Maggie Smith's racism at the beginning rather toe curling, however as the story developed it was warming to see how she had completely changed her views.

The  audience were ready to join in with the adventures of the retired characters who had chosen to settle in this shabby, but beautiful hotel, to try and stretch their retirement savings.  We all roared with laughter at the innuendoes and jokes.

There was one moment when a bit of a commotion started down the line of my friends and for one awful moment I thought maybe 'Fruitcake' had dropped her contact lenses or worse still fallen asleep!  Not to worry, she had just realised the film was set in the stunning area of India that she had visited a couple of months ago on her yoga holiday, a bit of whispering down the row and we were all settled again!

Wonderful to see such a number of our much loved actors in one film giving us a taste of the exotic charms of India.

Photos: 20th Century Fox

Beautiful wall to wall sunshine for days on end and we had the perfect excuse for a trip to the beach yesterday. With birthday season well underway in the household, The Chief could think of no better a present than a day enjoying the sea air and a tasty meal at one of our favourite seaside spots.

There at the Coast Cafe was the table at the front of the decked area on the shingle beach, ready and waiting for us to sit down and savour the flavours of a home cooked meal, whilst gazing out to sea.

Who could believe we were still in March as we looked out at girls in bikinis, toddlers in their sun hats and the pensioners strolling along hand in hand!  The lucky builders from the construction site nearby found a delightful spot for their lunch.

Much as I am enjoying the summer weather, we are desperate for water and with the ban on using hosepipes coming into force next week, I'm going to have to rethink any plans on planting summer flowers.

I don't like Mother's Day

Is anybody else brave enough to agree with this?  It isn't that I don't appreciate the thought and all the wonderful gestures, it is just the commercial pressure to make it an amazing day, just one day. I think it all started shortly after my mother died and I was faced with the shops full of encouragement to buy something wonderful for your mother.  If only, I don’t have a mother any more.  I found it heartbreaking, and still do.

In the couple of months before the day, I feel I am being assaulted from every direction with offers to 'Make Mothers Day special' and 'Give your Mother the perfect gift', every business has jumped on the bandwagon to promote an event which can be so painful for many. I hope my girls don’t feel under pressure to make sure they have bagged a present to make me happy, simply because the rest of the country have been teased into a frenzy by media hype.  They try to make me smile every day.  I know they try their best to be helpful and thoughtful and that is how it should be.

I was treated to a ‘kitchen ban’ whilst they prepared a tasty meal, and in the evening was invited to a table set with flowers from the garden, a plate of wicked red velvet cupcakes, a bottle of bubbly and two beautifully created homemade cards.  I always use the cards as bookmarks in my cookery books and whilst cooking will come across lovely memories of the girls and their developing creative talents!   But no special lunch booked in a packed out restaurant, full of families trying to make their Mum feel special for just one day in the year. Also, they know me better than to bring a bunch of over priced flowers over the threshold, it is far more exciting to be surprised by a few blooms, for no reason at all.

I hope all Mothers enjoyed a lovely day and the children will remember to be thoughtful every day.  I am still chuckling at a comment from Major Darling, she said I really must go and sit down for half an hour, I've been on my feet in this kitchen all day! I know the feeling!