slimmeroftheyea

slimmeroftheyea @ 2008-06-23T17:48:00

2008-06-23T16:50:42Z

Yesterday in work we had our annual Cycle the Towpath tour. I volunteered. twenty six miles and several hundred gallons of rain water later.......
I had this all timed you see. My colleagues told me that it might take an hour to cycle from Belast Central to Stranmillis. So I worked backwards. As we were meeting up with the members of the public at 11, I thought if I got the 9.19 train from Holywood that would give me plenty of time. And it did. I also allowed myself half an hour to get to Holywood Central and it turned out only to take four minutes. So I was a bit early.

So I took my bike on the train from Holywood Central to Belfast Central. Handily they have seat belts for bikes. Then it started raining. I biked all the way up the path from Belfast Central to Lockview car park Stranmillis WHERE IT REALLY STARTED RAINING. By the time I got up there I was soaked and wrecked in equal measure and the cycle ride hadnt even begun. And to cap it all it only took me about twenty minutes so I wound up there at ten o'clock and had an hour to wait in the rain. with nowhere to sit. and no coffee shops.

Then bike boy arrived. He announced that he was here for the cycle ride and then without drawing breath gave me a detailed breakdown on how he had spent seven thousand pounds on bikes. During this ianmcdonald's stalker arrived. She lives near the towpath and was out for a walk. Having done a number of things of a delusional nature over the past number of years, most of which have involved me, she seemed to think that I actually wanted to divulge a lot of information about my private life. I don't know why she thought I wanted to do this. When pscycho girl and bike boy started talking to each other (about bikes) I wondered how much worse this day would get. I even rang my colleague who was leading the ride just so I didnt have to talk to either of them. Eventually she left. He didnt.

So the group gathered. We had about twenty, which considering the monsoon conditions was good. We had a man who was there because his doctor had told him that cycling would help him sort out his back. And his son or grandson. Both of them in jeans. They were good craic. Then we had the fit family with two tandems - one parent and one daughter on each.

We cycled to Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park by which stage I was so wrecked that the guy leading it said he thought I should go back. None of this was helped by the fact that we had been out at a solstice party the night before. I said I was determined to do it.

so I did. I cycled all the 11 miles to Lisburn and all the way back. Also my bike chain came off.

by the time we got back to Stranmillis my colleague thought I probably needed an ambulance!!

All in all cycled around 26 miles and carried several gallons of water about my person!

garden archaeology

2008-06-01T16:18:57Z

Yesterday ianmcdonald found a napoleonic clay pipe whilst digging our back garden to there.

diary of a lunatic

2008-05-29T11:26:23Z

monday night 2 1/2 hours kayaking on river lagan
wed 20 mins on exercise bike aquafit class and 20 lengths of the pool
walk into holywood with bikes to get tyres done followed by short cycle.

sickybad

2008-05-18T12:25:24Z

Have been ill since wednesday. I now have flu on top of my non-sinister lung condition. Flu which I have now shared with ianmcdonald. who was really pissed off because it was over the weekend. actually so was mine. I AM JUST SO FED UP BEING ILL!!!!!!!!!!

lunchtime

2008-04-28T13:15:46Z

I left my colleagues sitting outside discussing the reproductive qualities of bananas.

F..k.n A

2008-04-20T11:55:22Z

white water kayaking!!!!!

tea in a china cup

2008-04-15T23:35:07Z

Today I bought a tea set for twenty pounds. My mother and my aunts always collected royal doulton and my mother always said that these things were for use rather than show. So now I have my own. Spotted, I might say, by ianmcdonald on the way from the pub to the cashpoint in holywood in the marie curie shop. MADE FOR R HOGGS OF BELFAST 20 PIECE SET. we thought they were great. Stuck my head round the door and asked them to keep it for me this morning. Returned an hour later and they had everything wrapped.

NOW FOR THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW made for Hoggs of Belfast which went in the late 80s early 90s hand painted on transfer on bone china (you can see through it) McDonald industries thinks it is 50s 60s. Whatever it is absolutely beautiful and we will be christening it with a tea party this sunday.

I sat and stared at it all night.

yesterday once more

2008-04-06T19:50:39Z

In addition to kayaking, it was also the day of the first broadcast of the sesame tree. So we were up at 6.30 so there. It was great.

Then we went out for ianmcdonald's birthday which was on monday last but which we celebrated last night because monday was the final night of the play. We went to the Ginger Tree on Donegall Pass and it was brill.

kayaking

2008-04-06T14:19:18Z

Me! kayaking! yesterday! on the river lagan!

the road to river cottage

2008-03-29T18:09:31Z

My Mum arrived about half an hour ago with a roadkill pheasant which she had lifted. ianmcdonald has plucked it and is in the process of gutting it as we speak. I am upstairs feeling faint-hearted! The cats have no idea what is going on.

In the words of the great Flanders and Swann.....

2008-03-29T15:03:56Z

I found my horn...

From age 11 - 18 I played the French horn. This is an understatement as it was something of an obsession. when not in school i would practice for at least three hours a day. I reached grade 6 standard and played in orchestras and things all over the place. then after that the drama took over and the horn languished in its for nearly twenty four years.

AND NOW IT IS BACK!!!!! inspired by a book that Mum bought me for my birthday I have it all fixed up and have started playing again!!! I am in good company. amongst the other lapsed horn players in the book is Ewan McGregor. I have been listening to Dennis Brain practising out of my Tune a Day, which apparently Mr McGregor also used!

So there yare now. What do yiz think of that?

momentousness

2008-03-29T01:17:29Z

At the age of eleven I took up the french horn the most difficult instrument in the orchestra. I did grade six. I played in youth things. I plaYED IN other things. I practised threehours a day when i cou.d. i reacheed grade six standard. i left school.

I HAVE NOW STARTED TO PLAY THE HORN AFER TWENTY TWO YEARS and it feels like a long lost friend. ianmcdonald doesbnt know what has hit him. I got the instrument sorted out and it is great. ianmcdonald by default through amazon bought me Dennis Brain aka God playing mozarts four horn concertos. listened three times the night as they say.

there ya go

St Patrick's Day

2008-03-16T11:45:33Z

Decided to develop our own sort of celebration for it. today I am going to bake a traditional tea brack. Have had all the fruit soaking overnight in tea and will probably do this this evening. Then tomorrow I am going with Mum to Saul where there is an annual walk from there to Downpatrick Cathedral which has a huge celebration. Then tomorrow night I am making proper traditional Irish stew because ianmcdonald said he had never had it - he had only ever had it made with beef which is just WRONG!!!! sO THERE.

The play's the thing

2008-03-03T13:57:39Z

Friday night went. Saturday morning himself was taking part in a very interesting discussion on Kurt Vonnegut. There was a man who was association with NASA who was there too and various academics.

Then I dragged himself round boots so that I could buy makeup for the play and a trowel for putting it on with.

And then the play was a triumph! Apparently. it is "The Country Boy" set in rural ireland in 1959 when prodigal son Eddie returns home with his American wife (me). He has basically been a complete shite to me for the past fifteen years and it all comes to a head during their holiday. There is alcohol abuse, domestic violence, bullying - all sorts of things. And then at the end I have a four page long speech where i point all this out and then he changes and decides that he has been a shite and is going to make it all better. It is a bundle of laffs. In the meantime his brother decides not to come to the great old US of A after all and to stay at home and marry his girlfriend. So it all ends happily ever after. My part is quite demanding to put it mildly but it went well on sat and lots of people said very nice things about it including the adjudicator. Well actually he said he had no criticism which is praise indeed.

So roll on the rest of the festivals - Ballymoney on thursday night and Portadown on Friday. Oh teh drama.

What a day

2008-02-29T11:54:02Z

First night of play preceded by MRI scan. Still it could be worse. Am going for my giant polomint test just after lunch. Apparently you dont have to fast. At least I hope not as I am now eating vegetable rice. The play is "The Country Boy" and it is not the best ever written. It is our festival play.

something very strange has happened to this computer and I cant seem to write in proper lines. oh well. Will let yiz know how we get on.

Adventures in Turkeyland

2008-02-05T14:51:51Z

We stayed in a hotel calle the Angel's home in Sultanahmet. It was great. Very very very nice indeed. Staff were brill. food was brill particularly fish. They have two buildings and in one they have a roof terrace which has a fantastic view of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. We went to visit both of these, the topkapi palace, a bus tour round the city, the grand bazaar, ferry across to Asia, Taxim Square, the dervish house museum which unfortunately was closed for renovations, an old turkish bath, a fish market and lots lots more. It was brill. So it was. And that is official.

Turkeyland

2008-02-05T14:23:13Z

Just got back from Turkey land yesterday. We all had a fandabbydozy weekend. My mother thought it was brilliant that she got to see such a weird and wonderful place. We got the ferry to Asia. that was so cool.

spammed

2008-02-05T14:21:16Z

Has anybody else been spammed on live journal recently?

eclection

2008-01-29T12:53:38Z

went to a surreal concert on sat - group called eclection comprised of a chamber orchestra, a jazz/rb/rock group and a sacred music choir. the show stopper was the queen number Somebody to love. All the ELO ones were brill too.

hospital blog part a hundred

2008-01-24T13:34:50Z

they must like me in there - they really must. Back in today to see the scary consultant. They like me so much that they told me I had to go back on my birthday so that they could photograph the inside of my stomach. Love indeed. I thought that I had gall stone symptoms but apparently it is highly unlikely.

My faith in human nature

2008-01-20T18:18:28Z

Was somewhat restored today. I went to the gym and on the way in noticed a lot of feline activity at the edge of the carpark. A woman was feeding almost a dozen cats. I spoke to her and she explained that the cats were all feral and that she comes in once a day to feed them. She also takes them to the vets and has had them all "treated". They recognise her car and come over when it comes in. In fact they wait for her because she is always there about the same time. she has worked out all the family relationships, who is the alpha male etc etc and has names for them all. So there.

hacked off

2008-01-15T11:20:09Z

With things. Mum got bad news yesterday about one of her friends and another one was already very ill. She is very distressed. I went round last night and spent some time with her. Really feel helpless. Not happy at all.

christmas etc etc

2008-01-01T21:41:14Z

Had mad oul christmas. Went to ianmcdonald's sisters house on christmas day with my mother. We played a mad game of trivial pursuit.

Was just in hospital for a short time this year - not up to my usual standard. But I have to go back later in January anyway. I have been having symptoms of gall stone stuff again but hopefully it is nothing.

Signed up for the "on track" fitness programme in Esporta last week. so I now have an excercise programme and will be going three times a week. Since last thursday I have lost three pounds!!!! Huzzah!!! And that was even with a huge dineer last night. Keep yiz posted. Bet you cant wait.

Adventures in cookery

2007-12-21T00:40:32Z

A couple of weeks ago I made mincemeat according to a very old recipe which included actual minced beef and shitloads of brandy. Great! Last weekend made my first batch of mince pies with (so far) two pastry recipes. Turned out really well!!!!!! Much less sweet but with a bit of punch. the meat disappears, which is presumably why it was taken out of the recipe, but they taste very nice. This is good as I have eight jars of mincemeat.

also last weekend baked my own bread of a loaf style. Had made griddle bread before but this was proper white loaf bread. Felt great when we had it with soup during the week because I had also made the soup (leek, onion and potato) from scratch.

Tonight made chocolate and chestnut cake which I have made a good few times before. The reason was slightly different though. Tomorrow we are having our christmas lunch in work and instead of doing what normal people do and going to a pub or restaurant, we are going to a secret location in the park where we are going to spend the morning doing conservation work ie cutting back invasive species which we are then going to burn and cook our dinner on the fire!!!! Ray Mears eat your heart out! I volunteered to bring desert and tin foil.

I think it is like cooking therapy.

Altogether how very Nigella!

close encounter of the squirrel kind

2007-12-20T16:13:40Z

Have been going out for a lovely walk in my lovely work each day. I walk through Belvoir Park along the lagan and up through the woods. And yesterday I had stopped to catch my breath. I heard a thud behind me. I looked round and an empty pine cone had landed a couple of inches away from my foot. I looked up into the (very tall) trees and after a couple of minutes a squirrel of the grey persuasion legged it up a branch. According to my colleague, who is a ranger and should know, they do this because they think you are going to steal their food source if there a lot of nuts on the ground. I can understand that. He said he was glad it had happened to somebody else because it had happened to him frequently (and can be quite painful) and when he told people they said he spent too much time in the woods on his own. So there yare now.