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Hi, Patootie, how are you now? I've been in and out so erratically I'm starting to lose the plot slightly.
Did the money for your old home arrive safely? I really hope so, it would be so good to have that entirely dealt with so you could start to enjoy being right where you are with an undivided mind.
And speaking of where you are, how's the new kitchen working out? Is it as nice as you thought? Have you got everything into the right place now? What with that rogue radiator it took a while before things got straight, but I hope you're pleased with it. It sounded fabulous, I have to say.
Latest news here is that C1 (who as you know is working in Moscow) went to Kiev for International Labour Day and managed to get in the middle of a communist demonstration but the real high point for her was the next day when she went to Chernobyl. Yup, as close as they let you go to the ruins of the reactor. Her description of it was remarkable---it sounds like a truly eerie place. If she writes up up (and she will) I'll post it for you.
So now tell me how you are??? xx
Waves hello ... nice to have you back again GC ... been busy, busy, busy here .. several meetings to attend .. decided to 'blend away' my grey hair ... but no one has noticed .. or maybe they are just being polite ...
Please pass this website on to C1 .. I found it a few years back when I was reading up about how the Chernobyl Sarcophagus is falling apart and was lobbying world leaders to send financial help etc ...
http://www.kiddofspeed.com/
The girl in the story, Elena, went for a motorbike ride to Chernobyl ... it's a fascinating true story .... it's a truly unique view of all things Chernobyl ... unique, sad and very thought provoking ... whenever I see anything about Chernobyl I always think of those brave firemen who knowing they would die a horrible death still went onto the roof of Chernobyl power station and tried to stem the outpouring of the smoke laden with radiation ... thanks to their brave actions they managed to stop the disaster being even worse .. !!
And those poor school children who were taken to 'watch' the fire by their teachers, just shows how little the 'ordinary' folk were told about the dangers of the power station ... sadly, most of those who went to watch on that first day have died.
Fibro's been up and down as usual ... but then I would worry if it didn't .. my 'normality' is to be up and down hahahahah ....
The Silent Procession .. sounded very moving ... that's the kind of thing that brings a limp to my throat .. emotions get very intense .. and very memorable ... and a poignant way to remember those who fell in the wars ...
Tomorrow I'm going to the local theatre place to see Evita ... I have the taxi booked ... checked on how many steps I need to climb once at the theatre .. and made sure my seat is assured .. early night for me so I can rest before my 'big day' .. hahaha
Tell you all about it when I come back tomorrow ...
Oh Patootie, how totally brill!! I am SO glad you are finally getting a chance to take advantage of being a little closer to civilisation than in your old home (which sounded pretty remote, at least for England). Sounds like you're a dyed-in-the-wool theatre-goer, and now that you know the ropes, I imagine you'll go again. Especially if you can find another taxi-driver like that one
)
Evita is a great show, anyway, isn't it? I saw it here a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it (though I did find it faintly weird to hear her singing 'Huil niet voor mij, Argentina'--it was done in Dutch here, of course. And speaking of strange juxtapositions, did I tell you that when C1 arrived in Moscow she promptly joined a choir there, some internationals but mostly Russian singers. They were practising a number from West Side Story, and she said it was positively surreal to be surrounded by Russians all singing earnestly 'I like to be in America'!!!). So what are you going to see next??
Thanks for the Chernobyl link, too, I'll forward it to C1. She found it one of the eeriest places in the world, so she will be very interested in this,. How nice of you to think of it!
And HAS your house sale completed now???
My legs ache today .. but it was worth all that stair climbing to see the show ..
No house payment not arrived yet ... rather hoping it will be this weekend ... or there is going to be trouble
..... I noticed this chap acting 'oddly' .. he looked nervous .. was trying to peer over the top of the shelving towards the checkout .. and was clearly not impressed that I was whizzing past him up and down the aisles . ...
.... he kept moving to other aisles and doing the same thing .. so I was sure something was wrong ..
... then he suddenly started moving swiftly for the doors ... so I did a quick reverse ... and got my scooter down the aisle he was about to dash down ...
... the look on his face was a picture .. realising I was in his way ... he threw the items he was about to nick back onto the nearest shelf ... and with a graceful leap he jumped over the front wheel of my scooter and was away ....
.... I yelled "SHOP LIFTER" ... and the staff came flying over ... they dashed outside ... but he was already making a get away in his car .... I described the chap really well ... and they wound the CCTV tape back and got him on it ... he had indeed been lurking ... going up and down the aisles ...
.... the manager came out to thank me ... said shoplifting was a daily occurence ... then asked me how I knew something was wrong .. I said I had been Neighbourhood Watch Administrator for the local police Sector and had gone to training sessions on how to spot ne'er do wells ... he said I had given an almost exact description of the chap ... 4 of his staff had run out after him .. watch him jump in his car and pull away ... but not one had thought to notice what kind of car or take the number plate ... he said .. "I bet you'd have remembered that too" .. hahaha
But you know it makes me cross that someone would risk getting caught just for the sake of a couple of cans of drink and two chocolate bars .. why, why would he risk getting caught and getting a police record for so little ... the cost of the items was just over £3 ... but if he'd been caught it could have ruined his life !!
Now, why am I not surprised that, whilst casually shopping one day, you spotted a shoplifter and almost managed to get him apprehended single-handedly? Only you, Patootie, only you!!
But it must have been an incredible lift for the manager just to know that at least one person was so vigilant. (He was right too: you would have noted the registration number of the car if you'd been there!)
As to why they do it......if we could figure that out our whole justice system would improve beyond recognition. Part of the problem is that indeed we don't understand why people break rules: or rather, we know that they do it for a whole host of reasons. If this chap was just nicking groceries, he may well just be lazy and reckon that it's so easy to lift a few things, why be stupid and work for them? As to the fact that it could ruin his life....from the criminology I did years ago, I seem to remember that what influenced people was not how serious the penalty was, but the likelihood of getting caught. If they thought they were likely to get caught, even a fairly minor penalty was a deterrent; but if they thoughty could get away with it, it didn't really matter how heavy the punishment was.
So have you been named neighbourhood crime prevention officer yet???
So have you been named neighbourhood crime prevention officer yet??? ... NO fear hahahaha !!!
I am pleased to report I have finally got my cheque for the outstanding money due on my old home .. tomorrow first thing I shall dash down to the bank and pay it in ... should clear around Thursday !
Had a wee tipple tonight .. just the one ... nice big cheque ... but sigh ... only about a third what it would have been without the financial crash .. oh well .. no more second home stress .. and that's worth it's weight in gold ... !!!!!!
Oh Patootie, that's GREAT news!!!!! And even if you got less for the house with the credit crisis, at least a) it's off your hands and b) you've got the money! Until it's actually IN THE BANK you can't really be sure of anything these days, can you? You deserved a great big tipple to celebrate!
Actually I'm getting a bit nervous myself. I ordered a very expensive book ($180) via Amazon from a bookseller in the US about 6 months ago; it's very hard to find and I need it for my studies. It didn't come and didn't come, and the bookstore said to wait as things sometimes take a long time, which I know they do. Finally by March we both realised it had got lost in the post, and they agreed to reimburse me. But they haven't. A month ago I chased them and again they said they would repay the credit card, but they STILL haven't. And since it's more than 3 months since I ordered, Amazon won't guarantee it. I'm just hoping the delay in repayment is because they have a lot to do, because I do NOT want to lose that much money!!!!!
What about the rest of your life? Isn't your next training session due in the next couple of weeks? And what about theatre, any plans to go again now that you know the ropes?? C'mon, I need GOSSIP!!!!! xxx
If you contact your credit card company they should be able to help you get the money back .. but don't delay asking them as there is a time limit cut off point.
Gossip: yes ... I certainly do plan to go to the theatre again .. now I have been once I know better how to plan for the next time ...
.. I am also preparing some paperwork with regards to the disability access on the theatre ... it's utterly bizarre that they installed a lift ... but it only goes to the 2 boxes ... they seat 8 people .. and are usually empty for afternoon matinees .. yet they say it can't be used to get easier access to the balcony seats ... I think that's against the Disability Laws ... so am going to make sure all the info gets to the right people who can then 'slap their corporate leggies' !!
And .. I have joined a couple of online 'entertainment type' companies in the local area that have listings on their web sites about all the events happening around and about Cambridge ..
From one of them I found out about Hamerton Zoological Park .. a rather interesting looking animal sanctuary type place set in 20 acres of parkland ... http://www.hamertonzoopark.com/ ... oddly enough I actually lived closer to it where I used to live than I do now ... but I'd never heard of it .. blimey a zoo withing 25 miles and yet no one I have spoken to seems to know anything about it ...
Generally speaking I am not much in favour of animals being 'caged' .. but these days it seems absolutely necessary to have animals in captivity just to keep some breeds alive ..
.. I have rung them and asked about disability access .. they seemed really friendly and willing to help in any way .. so I will be visiting them very soon ... probably next week weather permitting .. amazingly if you pay just 3 x the usual entrance fee you get a season ticket which lets you visit anytime you like for the rest of the year ... so that makes for some cheap days out .. and I love watching animals ... it's mainly smaller animals and birds ... but enough big cats to keep me happy .. and some endangered primates and also Goeldi's monkeys which I have seen once on tv but never seen for real .. so all in all I think I will be 'popping over there' quite a few times ... 
'Training': end of this month .. and been asked if I would like to be on the interview panel for a very important brand new staff position ... I'd heard about the new job being set up .. and it's a very responsible job .. so a high honour to be involved in the interview selections .. just hope I can do it justice ...
.. I am not sure I am ready for such an important role ... it's crucial they get the right person for the job ... and I do wonder if my energy levels will be up to such 'intense' effort for a whole day ... I am going to find out more about it next week ... and if I feel I shan't be able to keep up the pace for the whle day I shall suggest someone else should do it ... it would be unfair to everyone if I couldn't do the task properly .. 
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woooohoooooooo ... cheque has cleared YYYYYYIIIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice chunk of money finally in my bank .. and all commitments for bills and upkeep of second home finally ended ............. HHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!
WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, that's really grand, Patootie!!!! I mean, you knew it was going to work out (didn't you??) but there is NOTHING like have it all signed, sealed and delivered!! I hope you did something really lovely yesterday to celebrate!!!!
And I can tell you're already back to being your busy self. You were dead right to report that idiot theatre. Fancy putting in lifts and then not using them for more than 16 people.....what CAN they be thinking? You make sure their corporate leggies get well and truly slapped, because I think that attitude verges on the insulting.
And the zoo sounds like a find. I was in Cambridge at uni, and I don't remember ever having heard of it, so I'd be really intersted in your impressions of it. Maybe it will turn out to be one of those 'best kept secrets'. Reading between the lines, I'm guessing that you have always been an animal lover, and that your time in Africa exposed you to some of the more exotic creatures so you might really enjoy that zoo. Hopefully it will be one of the enlightened modern ones that go a reasonable distance toward providing as natural an environment for the animals as is feasible.
And I do hope you'll feel up to sitting on the interview panel, cos I think you'd be brilliant at that. And the more important the post, the more valuable your peceptiveness would be. But at the same time, you're wise not to push it with the fibro. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it turns out to be something you feel you can take on, because I really think you would be a very valuable addition to the panel.
All well here. I managed to get out for a very slow 3 mile run this morning (first time since last weekend) and I'm ever so glad, because there's the mother of a thunderstorm going on out there now! C3 is at a party on his bike, so I THEEEENK he may be just a teensy bit wet when he gets home
) Think I better go put a towel by the garage door so he doesn't leavea trail behind him through the house !!!
pa-TOOOOOO-tie, where AAAAAAAREE you?????
Maybe you've bunked off to a tropical island, now that you've got the house money???? (That would be good! Just hope the long silenve is NOT the fibro acting up. )
Everything is going fine here. The weather has been idyllic the whole week, so I've been getting out for some short but decent chugging. The boys are both in the midst of exams (C2 in his first year at Chester reading Psychology, C3 doing A2's here) but it seems to be going well, fingers crossed!! C1 is having a great time working in Moscos for 6 months---she really takes advantage of being there, and is out every night and every weekend at the opera, a museum, a trip (she actually went to Chernobyl!).
Meanwhile we're keeping the home fires burning. Don't know what we're doing exactly, but there's always something. The final football match for C3's team (which Mr C coaches; some of them have been together since they were about 6 years old). I cooked about 5 kg of chips and 278394 kroketten and frikandellen. Nice 4 day weekend here (Ascension) so we've been cycling into the village to have a sandwich and a drink on a terrace and watch the world go by. Nothing special .
Now, you don't have to say much, but just give a sign of life, OK? I get worried when you don't show for a long time! xxx
Waves a white flag ....
Sorry .. times passes so fast when you are having a good time .. and yes, drags so slowly when it's a rough time .. strangely I seem to be disgustingly healthy .. barring my usual aches and pains and weird symptoms of course ...
.. ohhh, and a mouthful of very large blood blisters, must have eaten something that disagrees with me so having to sip lots of cooling drinks and easy to eat foods.
Had the latest training session ... must admit I was flabberghasted with some of the things the tutor was saying .. "Equality and Diversity" .. I would have said I hadn't an 'unequal' bone in my body, but some of the examples she said we had to agree with left me feeling positively uncomfortable and angry. I dare say she is only quoting the law .. but I've tried to look up the examples on the internet or get more info and I can only find the 'opposite' rules to what she was saying .. so I am feeling very 'anti' about the training I'm afraid.
Other than that I really am finally starting to feel all the stress and strains of the last few years melting away .. I feel much more relaxed .. things that used to seem to be so important, now don't matter .. I seem to be much more 'comfortable' being 'just me' than I have done for years .. funny how you don't realise how 'wrong' things are until they start to get better .. whatever it is .. it feels good
but I am sleeping a LOT .. several times a day in fact ... but I think it's just me feeling more relaxed and finally catching up on some much needed sleep 
Definitely going to the zoo place sometime next week .. probably Tuesday or Wednesday ... I've had time to get 'used to' the idea I am going .. so I feel really at ease .. and that seems to be the thing you 'have to do' with fibro .. take an idea, chew it over, retaste it often ... then finally go and do it .. hahahah
Isn't it funny ... weeks and weeks of no rain at all .. yet when I make my mind up to go to an outdoor type place the Heavens have opened and it's been spitting and spatting with rain on and off since Monday night ..
Still ... it has given me longer to look at the zoo place and consider the season ticket etc etc .. and I have now finally decided that I am going to sponsor an animal .. for £45 I get my name on the cage or enclosure
.. a season ticket that gives me entry on any day 'as often as I like' for a full 12 months .. and all the zoo guide books and extra info literature that comes along throughout the year .. to me that sounds like really good value .. and my money obviously swells the zoo's coffers for maintenance and animal enrichment purposes ... 
I haven't given any cash to a charity this last year while paying for two homes .. so sponsoring an animal feels good ... one of the animals you can sponsor is an Oncilla Cat Leopardus tigrinus ... the species is listed on the SITES 1 endangered animal list ... it's a small (domestic cat size) South American wild cat .. and that seems like a fitting tribute to my own sadly departed and much missed cats
http://www.hamertonzoopark.com/pbook/smallcats/smallcats.html
There doesn't seem to be a lot of info about this breed ..so I will look forward to learning more ... and in fact I hadn't even heard of it .. I can't wait to visit and see the cat !
Had a 'magical mystery ride' this afternoon !!
Well maybe not so magical .. but certainly a mystery ride ...
This afternoon I had an appointment at the mobile breast screening unit .. we are parked in Trumpington Park and Ride she said .. where is that I'd said ... after scribbling down a plethora of junctions, roundabouts and turn L, turn R instructions I felt ready to go ...
Just in case I couldn't follow her instructions I put the 'next door to the park and ride' waitrose supermarket post code into my Sat Nav ... couldn't get lost now .... could I ... ??
I set out in plenty of time ... trying to follow the scribbled instructions ... until I came to ... well ... there should have been a roundabout .. 2nd exit off the roundabout ... but .... no roundabout . just a T junction ...
Bound to find it I thought .. only two choices of direction ... left ... or ... right ... so I went left ... quickly realising that couldn't possibly be the correct direction I turned round and went back to the junction ... tried the other way .... hmmmmm ... yet more council housing ... so I read my instructions again .. hmmm .... I'm positive I had been right up to the 'mystery roundabout' ....
But .. having tried both choices of direction it was obvious I wasn't in the right place at all ... so .. I pulled my trump card out of the hat and typed into the Sat Nav the Waitrose postcode ...
Off I set again ... apparently 'miles' from where I should be ... drove through parts of Cambridge I didn't even know existed .. no idea where I was ... take the third exit from the next roundabout ... got to the roundabout ... hmmm .... cruising round the roundabout again I counted carefully ... only three exits in total .. so if I took the third I was going to go back the way I had just come ..
Try the second exit ... got going up the road ... Sat Nav said take the next turn right, followed immediately by a left ... but .. that was a No Entry ... so I was clearly lost again ....
So .. I decided to just ask the Sat Nav to take me to Trumpington High Street ... from there I would be able to ask someone where the Park and Ride was or even see some signs for it ... so .. off I went again ... yes .. this seemed a lot better ... only .... wasn't I going back towards the centre of Cambridge again ...
Suddenly the Sat Nav said you are approaching your destination ... followed by .. you have arrived ...
... but ohhh dearie me NOOOOOO ... this wasn't right at all ... I was now parked outside Parkside Police Station ... 
I never found Trumpington because I gave up and came home again ... before I got lost again ... what a daft afternoon I've had !!
Aww Patootie, what a mess, wandering all over Cambridge like that! I have to say I haven't really got the hang of the SatNav. We have one, but somehow I don't really trust it. Give me a map every time!
But I hope you'll still be able to have the mammogram (guess that's what it was for) cos it's one of the fe tests that realy do make a difference by catching any problems early while they are still easy to deal with.
But I LOVED your idea of sponsoring an animal at the zoo! How very 'you'! And as you said, it will be lovely to be able to go as often as you want and see your cat. I looked at that link, and the Oncilla cat is really beautiful. A very intriguing animal, sort of a cross between a leopard and a domestic cat, with those beautiful amber eyes. A wonderful one to choose!
And best of all, Patootie, is to hear that you are starting to realise that the big heave really is behind you, and you can relax and enjoy your new home and start to do more of the things you want to do. It's simply astonishing what you've done in the last 18 months, so you are definitely entitled to some very nice times now!!!
I hope you're having the lovely weather that we are this weekend. C2 has come home for a few days: his exams are done, and in another 3 weeks he'll be coming home for the summer so this is just a sort of recuperation visit! And it is lovely to have him home. The four of us went into the village for a late lunch on a terrasje (which means the hotel people just put tables and chairs out on the pavement so people can sit outside and enjoy the sun) and had such a nice time planning the summer and catching up. We do have a good time when we can get together! And he was so apprehensive when he went off to uni, it's lovely that it's worked out so splendidly for him.
By the way, how's the kitchen now? Have you finally got it all set out the way you wanted it? There was that little interruption when your neighbour's radiator turned out to be in your kitchen or whatever it was, and then you said you were going to take some time to see how it worked in practice. So are you sorted now??
It's getting late and I'm going to try for a little run in the morning before it gets too warm (might not make it, of course...!) so I'm off to bed. Sleep tight!
Still moving things around in the kitchen .. main problem is I can't remember where I am putting things .. so I pull stuff out to see what's there then have to rearrange it
With the typical irony of my competition wins ... at the weekend I found out I had won a Sat Nav in a monthly competition ... now that's great ... but as usual when I win something really nice .. I'd not long given in waiting to win one and bought one ... still it's a nice Sat Nav and will do handsomely on Ebay I dare say ... or maybe I will sell the one I have and keep the prize one if it looks a better Sat Nav
Been very hot here ... decided to buy a small free standing air con unit ... I could kick myself really as I gave away one I had won a few years back when I moved .. the first flat I looked at here was quite tiny and there just wouldn't have been space for it ... so I gave it away to a neighbour who'd given me a lot of help over the years ...
.. I've bought th exact same model as I know it works and is very cheap to run (uses less electricity than a fan does too) .. and as I do feel the heat here ... (central heating is just a bit too efficient) .. I am sure it will get used all year round .. strangely they are now HALF the price they were when I won my old unit.
I've started my sponsorship of the Oncilla Cats ... just waiting for the paperwork to arrive .. the nice zoo lady was very helpful and said if I couldn't spot the Cat when I went I should go to the 'office' and ask them to help me see it .. and the cafeteria is heated in winter so I can pop in for 'warm ups' anytime .. that's all very kind isn't it ...
Yes .. I really do feel more content and relaxed ... every now and then I 'pop back' and read that first 'awful' messge I posted ... was that really me ...
.. I reckon I must have been on the verge of a breakdown .. thank goodness you were all here to 'save me' especially you GC ... you have 'pushed me onwards and upwards' ever since I first posted ... I simply can't tell you how much you have helped me .. it's almost like you 'give me energy' ... you've certainly helped me get my confidence back .. and I hadn't even realised I'd lost it 
.. life is so much better now .... thank you!
Sorry to have been out of the air, Patootie, it's just been a bit frantic lately.
But it's wonderful to hear you sounding so happy---and I reckon if you look back at your first post, you have every reason to! I don't think I have ever seen someone turn their life around so completely as you have in the last 18 months. No wonder you don't feel like the same person: you aren't! And while it's typical of you to be generous with other people, at the end of the day the only person who coudl do this for you was YOU!! Big respect, Patootie, no kidding.
And now you have your very own Oncilla Cat! How lovely that you can go to see it regularly. (You will have to tell us whether it's a him or a her!) It was a fascinating looking animal, I can understand why it attracts you. Did you ever see them in the wild when you lived in Africa?
Brill that you've got airco. It's cooler now, but the heat will be back, and in the summer it can be so horribly heavy when it's hot. Hard to sleep and all that. I think it will be one of your best investments ever. Unfortunately our house is mostly sort of open-plan in the way that modern houses are (you know, the L shaped living/dining area) and to cool that sensibly would probably require the equivalent of an industrial freezer, so when I'm sweltering this summer I'll think of you sitting there, cool and composed...!
I've never had a satnav. We got one for Mr C about 2 years ago: for ages he refused to use it, but now if he can get one of the boys to set it he never moves without it! Having TWO of them is rather a luxury problem, tho: 'hmmmm, which of my satnavs shall I use today to go to the shops??'!!!
As to the kitchen, I find it's not so much a matter of remembering where things are as just trying to find out where I'm likely to look for them instinctively. Often this is NOT the most ergonomically efficient place for them to go, but if it's the place I will expect them to be, that's where I put them.
I've been putting the papers together to apply for a Russian visa! I'm going for a weekend at the end of the month to visit C1 who' s working there for 6 months. I haven't seen her since Christmas. We did think of all going, but that would be awfully expensive and with both boys in uni from September we didn't think that was do-able. But a package deal for one we can swing. Will be good to see her, but I'm terrified of givng the wrong info or sending the wrong papers or whatever!! Her tales about the ubiquitous Russian police are a little alarming.
Then I'm going to try to leave wurk a bit early and go to the running shop. Think I need new shoes: I'm getting a blister where my orthotics meet the sole, and I'm thinking maybe these are just worn out. So that's the perfect excuse for noo shooze, don't you think????
Noo shooze ... hahahaha that's great .. love the way you put that .. !!
Ohhh .. and we've done it again .. I just thought I would do a mini update .. logged in .. and found you'd just finished posting ... !
The Oncilla Cat is South American ... I was in Africa ... but we did have Civet cats, really nasty vicious things and Servals .. along with various other smaller mammals .. python, cobra and mamba snakes .. my claim to fame .. I trod on a black mamba and lived !! I think I have a 'part share' in any or all of the Oncilla's .. but I am looking forward to seeing them.
My little aircon unit easily cools my lounge 20 feet by 12 feet ... makes me feel good too as it rehydrates the air ... it's very quiet other than the occasionaly trickling noise ... and uses less electricity than a 100W light bulb to run.
I will be putting one of the Sat Navs on Ebay for sure ... may as well make a few pounds ...
)))
How exciting to be going to Russia ... my next door neighbour here is a Russian gentleman ... I think one of his friends is on holiday from Russia .. last night I was serenaded with what sounded like Russian folk songs ... those sad and sorrowful laments only the Russians have .. I turned off my TV so I could listen .... really beautiful and haunting .. I could just picture the frozen wastes and high Steppes of the old Communist Russia ... I do hope his friend comes again ... !
I had a holiday in Bulgaria once while it was still Communist ... flippin' norah those secret police got everywhere ... we had watch towers at the edges of our resort ... and soldiers with machine guns ... YIKES!! We were never sure if it was to keep us in ... or to keep the locals out ... one day we sneaked out of the compound ... and had a marvellous time hiking over the countryside ... when we came back we naturally walked along the main road to the resort ... you should have seen the soldiers faces ... absolutely amazed we had been out in the countryside ... scared they'd get told off for not seeing us leave ... and they tried to question us as to whether we had talked with any local Bulgarians .. !
The one shop we were allowed to use had nothing we would have wanted to buy .. but we did get a few gifts for our cleaner and the owners of the 'barbecued pork chop' stall that we frequented .. I gave her all my make up, tights, jeans and such things ... and some coffee we'd brought with us etc ... gave the cleaner the few Lev we had left .. the laughable thing was they didn't have any change at the shop ... you had to use all your money ... however they did have some Mars Bars that they were giving away instead of change ... so we gave those away to the kids that followed us ..
We gave a bottle of local hooch to the secret police .. and they thanked us profusely for having helped them to push start their beat up old police car which we did most mornings ... a funny old place ... Communism ... hmmmm ... it had a few good points, but many bad ones ... so Westernised Russia will be a fascinating lace to visit ... lucky you!!
Oh Patootie, what a great post! I loved your account of hearing the wistful Russian songs coming from your neighbour---I know just the music you mean. When I was a child my father (who loved all kinds of music) had some recordings made by a Russian male-voice choir called the Don Cossaks. I think they were White Russians, who had left Russia at the time of the Revolution and were stateless for a long time until they got UN passports. Then they travelled the world singing those rich, beautiful songs of the homeland they could no longer return to. And on a rather less inspired note, that was an especially nice thing to hear coming from your neighbour, considering the noise most people have to listen to!
I think you mentioned that mamba once before. I think I would have died of fright on the spot and saved the snake the trouble of having to do anything to me!!! But it's definitely a great line to be able to deliver: must be a real conversation-stopper at dinner parties!
))
I was intrigued by your memories of Bulgaria under the Communists. I had a very brief flit through Roumania when it too was still Communist, and remember the shocking poverty and backwardness of life: people with wells in their beaten-earth floored compounds, wells without even a pulley, just a long beam of wood (a sort of primitive see-saw) with the bucket tied to one end. It sounds like you managed to make friends with everyone, even the secret police----how very typically Patootie
)))))))
It will be interesting to see a bit of Russia, although I'll only be there for a couple of days, and C1 has planned for us to spend one of the days going to Suzdal. I did say I would pay for a car to take us, since otherwise it was going to be a 19 hour day, involving Russian public transport, and since I will leave home at 6 am Friday and get back at midnight Sunday, and I have to be at work on Monday morning and we have the son of a friend staying with us that week, I don't think I can afford to come back in a state of collapse! I wish you could talk to her, actually, she's a girl after your own heart. She takes every imaginable opportunity to see everything of Russia: she's been to the Bolshoi---but also to Chernobyl; last weekend she went somewhere with a long overnight journey in a 3rd class Russian sleeper train; she's drunk champagne at the Ritz, but also been to some small museums that nobody else goes to. She writes wonderful letters to family and friends to share her adventures---if it would interest you to see them, let me know and I'll email them to you.
It's been an 'odd' day today .. tried to programme my Sat Nav with a local village ... but it didn't want to know .. so I found a map online and sorted out my route ....
Half way to my destination I nearly flattened a young girl on a bike, she was having to stand up to pedal as she had a friend on the seat and another on the rear mudguard .. she wobbled off the pavement right in front of my car ... lucky for them I had somehow already seen what might happen and had started breaking and moving out across the road .. they all tumbled off in the gutter ... just silly kids having fun ... but nearly got more than they bargained for !
Then when I got to the mobile mammography unit I couldn't have the x-ray ... for non medical reasons ... so I now have to wait again until I can get a hospital appointment ... then I went to fill up with petrol and realised I'd left my purse at home ... and I'd been on the red line since I set out ... then .... yes there is another then .... then .. just as I was coming off the last roundabout to get home I had to stop for a lady pushing a pram on the pedestrian crossing (bad place to have it) ... I always leave extra space between me and these crossings so I stopped about 6-8 foot away ... just a cars length ... but the chap speeding off the roundabout hadn't seen me stopping ...
He braked hard ... tyres squealed ... I eased forwards 5 foot ... he missed me .... thank goodness for my 'extra' space ... I'll give him credit though as he quickly jumped out of the car and apologised to both me and the lady with the pram .. he was about mid 30's ... office type ... just looked soooooooo stressed .. what could I say but ... 'no harm done' ....
Re: the Hungarian secret police ... we were told on the first day .. keep buying them a coffee and giving them cigarettes .. so each day we bought them breakfast (cost about 20p) ... and for the whole fortnight they looked after us ... guarded our things on the beach .. walked me back to the hotel when I was out late at night ... great guys .... but bullies to their own people .. I suppose we go to these places ... flaunt our 'wealth' and expect the locals to be our 'slaves' during our holiday ... sad but no doubt true ...
Awww, Patootie, what a pickle of a day! No wonder you haven't felt like posting since. Two close calls and neither one your fault. But it can't have done your nerves much good, having people flinging themselves at you that way. I hope it's settled down now and that those troubulous times feel a long time ago.
All is well here. It's been fearfully busy. C3 is sitting his AS exams: his two bad ones (Politics) were this week but they seem to have gone OK, and he should pull A's in both German and Dutch so I'm fairly confident for him. Big news is that C1 has got a JOB!!! She's just finishing her training contract as a solicitor. In years past, the big law firms have kept on virtually all their trainees, but in the current economic climate the retention rate is between 50 and 70%. That's a lot of able young lawyers without jobs. What makes it worse is that a lot of them are really good people, competent, hard-working, the only problem is that the firm doesn't think it will have enough work in the areas they trained in. That must be just heartbreaking. But anyway, the announcements were made on Thursday, and she got a job in the section she wanted! It means returning to London in the autumn, which in a perfect world she wouldn't do ('perfect' being a world where she had the money to do nothing but travel for the rest of her life!) but one silver lining of the recession is that it's making people appreciate a job again. So we are very happy! (And relieved, I admit: with both boys in uni from September, it's good to know that she can earn her own way. Of course we'd have helped her as much as necessary, but it's nice not to have to.)
I will keep your advice in mind about how to stay on the good side of the local police, but from what I've heard I'm not sure it would work in Russia! I think I will just try to be very, very good, and follow ALL the rules
Have you got out to see your exotic cat yet? And what about the theatre? You so much enjoyed the performance you went to a a month or so ago. Of course you HAVE had one or two other little things to do, but now that you are more or less settled (kitchen sorted, old house sold etc) I do hope you're going to be able to do some of the things you've been looking forward to.
Oh, Patootie, I meant to ask, did you get to the second part of your training as administrator or supervisor or whatever your title in the house is? I thought that was in late May sometime, did I have that wrong?
Correction for my last post ... it wasn't the Hungarian police it was Bulgarian ... a fibro slip .. appologies!
Congrats to C1, huggly encouragement to C3 .. and good luck to C2 for September!
I haven't been to the zoo yet, slightly disappointed that they haven't sent me all the info yet .. they do seem to run the zoo with no more than a handful of staff though .. only 3 people there when I rang !!! Goodness knows how they manage to do everything .. but it's obvious that the animals are 1st priority. It's got me wondering how I could help .. maybe I could be a post room girl and put things in envelopes for them !!
Yes, I did finish the training course .. to be honest I was so disappointed with the Equality and Diversity training part that I complained .. it was targetted the wrong way round .. not to celebrate and encourage the differences in people .. weird and wonderful that they may be ... but more to 'beware' of different people and that by not 'toadying' to their differences they might prosecute ..
That is NOT the way that it should be ... and certainly NOT they way it was intended way back when I was on the working panel that wrote some of the first rules for the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act Part 1 - 2004) - the training company are reviewing their training sessions now .. to 'better reflect the joy of diversity' rather than to only 'warn of what may go wrong' .. !
Have to laugh though ... quite by accident during the to and froing of emails on the above subject ... I used my 'posh' email address that links back to me being Lady 'patootie' ... this was immediately 'seized' on by one of the staff ... hurried questions were sent to my Scheme Manager and I was asked if I was indeed a 'Lady' ...
.. oooohhhhhh botheration .. I said ... I normally only use that when I write emails to governments, heads of state etc doing Amnesty International type things .. I must have forgotten to change it back ... so I admitted to being a 'Lady' ... but the laugh is ... I do get replies to my housing queries really quickly now .. and a couple of times I've been sent paperwork to 'look over' before it gets added to the housing associations archives or used in new handouts ... flippin' Norah .. now I'm a 'consultant' ... just wish I could charge consultancy fees .... 
Still, I do have a couple of repairs I'd like doing .. so I shall put in a detailed report of the faults ... wait to see what happens ... and if they don't pull their finger out I can say 'after all I've done for you' ....
I've also decided to cut back on how much I am doing for the housing folk ... it really isn't that much .. but I am finding it is 'eating into' my energy reserves .. after any day I drive more than a couple of miles I generally get cramps in my legs that night .. which means I am tired from lack of sleep the next day .. and sore ... and I need to 'prep' my brain for the meeting the day before .. so any meeting is almost a three day affair 'energy wise' ... last week I had TWO meetings .. and it was 'half way' through the next week before I felt back to 'normal' !!
So I am cutting back and will 'bow out' of the least interesting .. I do like doing all these things and being involved ... but I just want to have a bit more time for 'me' .... and unfortunately my energies aren't enough to do everything ...
Had a GREAT day out today at Hamerton Zoo ...
It's a small place .. needs a considerable amount of money spending on it to make it up to date .. but all the animals, birds, reptiles etc are well, bright eyed and bushy tailed and breeding rampantly !
Sadly they just haven't enough money coming in to do all they want to do .. but they do have a lot of new projects underway, improvements to the animal housing and improvements for the viewing of the animals .. already over half of the zoo can be visited even on wet days as undercover walkways have been put in place ... !
The best thing about the zoo is the plethora of rare, very rare and SITES endangered animals .. Lar Gibbons, White Faced Marmosets, Cotton-Top Tamarins, Goeldi's Monkeys, Oncilla Cats, Jaguarundi, Black-Backed Jackal, Corsac Fox, Aardwolf, Binturong, African Wattled Crane, Manchurian Crane, Daubenton's Curassow, Pudu, Mammoth Jackstock and the Poitou Donkeys ... and there's more .. many more ...
The Poitou Donkeys are HUGE ... they must be the biggest donkeys ever ... easily standing 5 feet at the shoulder .. only 400 in the world .. and I have seen 3 today
The White Bengal Tiger has the most beautiful blue eyes .. and you can stand right by the Cheetahs .. I was only about 10 feet away from where they were laying in the shade .. the tortoise are absolutely GIANT sized ... heads bigger than my fist ... shells (oops that should be carapace!) 2 feet long .. just so much to see ... !!
It's a MUST visit zoo .. just don't expect plush seats in the coffee shop, or a 3 course luncheon, some cages are growing tired and some areas are badly in need of a brushcutter ... but it's clear to see almost every penny they get is spent on the animals first ... they do seem happy and content, breeding and interacting with the visitors ..
Can't wait to go again .. which is just as well ... my season ticket doesn't end until August 2010
http://www.hamertonzoopark.com/
Oh Patootie, that zoo looks amazing! I loved even the names that you listed, and couldn't resist looking some of them up on google: what a wonderful name is 'jaguarundi'! And I'd never even heard of a Poitou Donkey, but what lovely beasts they are. No wonder you loved being able to see them all! It's very typical of you to immediately start to think of how you could help---and who knows, maybe someone to help stuff envelopes is just what they need??
It sounds very sensible of you to cut back a bit on what you're doing for the housing people. Helping out is one thing, but as you said, you need to keep enough time and energy so you can enjoy the freedom and the chance to do some new things that were your motivation for moving in the first place. Do you feel really settled now? Is the kitchen in final form??
Sorry to have been out of the air for a while but I went to Moscow last weekend to see C1. We had a fantastic time, talked for England of course. I got to see her flat, and where she works. On Saturday we went to Suzdal, a village about 180 km east of Muscow where they have several dozen superb mediaeval churches. Sunday was the Kremlin and Red Square. The Kremlin especially was much more interesting than I had imagined: it's more like the Tower of London, but a much bigger area with not only government offices, but also palaces, a lovely garden, and a cluster of stunning churches, gleaming white buildings with onion domes covered with gold that shone in the sun. It was all fantastic.
Now it's just a week til hols. C3 came home from uni last night and is really loooking forward to a summer at home, which is really nice. At work I still have no idea whether I have a job or not, after a massive reorganisation, but we've done all the sums, and luckily we'll be OK either way. So I wait with interest to see what happpens!
I've been thinking of you this last week with the heat. I seem to remember that it can make the fibro worse----but I hope this time it hasn't! I think we'll all be glad when this heat breaks, anyway.
PaTOOOOtie, where AAAAARE youuuuu?????
Hope the silence doesn't mean the fibro is being a pig. If it does, then ignore this and wait til you feel better.
Anyway, you have mail in your normal email account
)))) xxx
Hi, Patootie, just looked in to see if you were around. I was thinking of you this morning looking at something that was sipping nectar from the buddleia outside the door. It looks to me like a tiny hummingbird---long needle snout that it sips with, tiny little wings that move so fast they just make an orange blur beside the body---but someone told me it's actually a butterfly! You are the doyenne of interesting and unusual animals, so I wished I could show it to you!
Hope your summer is OK? Is it still raining up there in Cambrige? Here in France we've had a real rollercoaster: it was 34 C yesterday, then this morning it was 11 C and raining, now the sun is coming out and the temperature is rising rapidly but I think it's going to rain again..... But beautiful in all weathers, so I don't mind
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Anyway .. as soon as you mentioned the 'hummingbird' I knew exactly what it was .. not a butterfly at all .. but a moth !! I had one in my garden once and had to search to find out what it was .. it's the Hummingbird Hawk Moth !
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/3063.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroglossum_stellatarum
http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/sightings/1096/humming_bird_hawk_moth.html
Looks like it might be somewhat off course though ... must have been blown about by the recent gusty winds .. !
We had a real downpour here this morning, cracks of lightning, booming thunder, huge hailstones and the car park was like a lake .. ankle deep in the middle .. !
I'm going to try and email you .. if your profile lets me of course .. if not I'll post again here ... !
Sent a message through Runners World
Oh Patootie, you're a genius! Or a biologist. Or something! That hummingbird hawk-moth is just exactly it! And it helps to have a good picture of it, because in life they move so quickly you really can't see very well how they look. By the way, I'm actually in southern France at the moment, between Perigueux and Bergerac, so these moths are not really off their usual route, I don't think. Did you come to know them when you lived in Africa? (I am now convinced that there is no exotic animal of any genus that you haven't encountere!!!)
Thanks for your email which I got, though I've no idea where your earlier post went! I've replied, so.....You've got mail!
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I think the wild weathery ou've been having is the same storm that hit us here on Monday night. Very violent thunder and lightening and absolutely torrential rain (as I discovered when I got up in the night and found I had stepped into a large puddle. Even at 2 am I realised that there shouldn't be a puddle in the corridor, and it turned into one of those sop-and-wring sessions because there seems to be a leak in the ceiling where the new part of the house (c. 1970) meets the old part (c. 1720). But it's so warm here that it was all dried up by the next morning.
And if that's right, then you should brace yourself early next week, because another big storm passed over last night and today. You have been warned
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