Off to the Museum (by sarah)

The School sent us a letter home saying there was to be a mystery trip and what with the appearance of Giant Inflatable bouncy castle dinosuars in the playground it was obvious what sort of trip was coming so third week in and Jean was off to the Oxford Natural History Museum!

This made me very happy and nostalgic as I remember going to the Natural History Museum London in my first year of school and it was the reason I ended up doing a geology degree!

Unfortunatly I couldn't find her little day rucksac so she ended up with PikiChew who is Huge with very little capacity!

She came back very excited that she has bones in her hands but disappointed that their hadn't been any real dinosaurs!

Mummy There’s a Dinosaur in the Playground (by sarah)

It's the start of week Three and yesturday saw the launch of the schools new theme - as we were walking up to the school - it becames obvious that there is something large and big and red in the playground!

'Mummy there's a dinosaur in the playground!'

'Yes there is!'

'Girly they're doing Dinosaurs! We'll have to tell them your a geologist!'

There was an inflatable slide in the shape of a stegasuarus in the play ground! Jean managed to get in a sneaky extra go at lunch time when we were supposed to be going home!

I have sorted out a done of books for the school on dinosaurs - The learning theme is called Journey to the Jurassic! And they are going to the Oxford Natural History Museum on Wednesday 🙂

Poetry Cafe Launch (by sarah)

Yesturday I headed in to Cheltenham to take part in the Poetry Cafe Launch at the Museum and Art Gallery in Cheltenham.

The guest poets where:

Angela France

Who interesting read out a poem called the Bisley Boy which is a local legend which I may nick for my NaNoWriMo this year (more on that later!). This was from her poetry collect called Occupations - I think she's also doing the Literature Festival this year and she runs another poetry things that I've been trying to find out about called Buzz Words.

Brenda Read Brown

This Dudette has been winning slams and actually almost made me cry with her poem about a prisoner from her work in prisons. Her work was mostly humerous though - what I think is termed Slam Poetry - hence winning the slams I assume!

Peter Wyton

I really like Peters poems - he was at Earshot too and I think he did a Stanza Room Only a few years ago. I had a long conversation with him about niche poetry last Thursday which was very helpful for me.

I read Ice and A Picture of Words.

I've read both at Earshot in the past - last time I read A Picture of Words I was accusted by an English teacher asking if she could have a copy of it to work with in class (she also teaches maths). And basically the same thing happened to me last night, resulting in me being on of the last to leave the building.

Outside I tracked down one of the poets I wanted to get Live Journal contacts from as she's moving. Then somehow I ended up reading poetry in the streets as people asked for more of my work and I just happened to have my entire arch lever file full of poetry on me!

I have also discovered I'm a bit odd in having an entire arch level file full of material and I haven't even typed everything up and printed stuff out yet. I haven't written much poetry in the last year but I think I do have enough material to be getting on with anyway.

I'm hoping to get involved in the poetry festival that this is a fore runner of too!

I think it went well especially as Anna told me there had been good feed back about my poems at Earshot. Apparently they are strong - not entirely sure what that means!

I did find I was a little bit paranoid about reading to the 50 poeple in the cafe - more so than the 80 odd I'd read to the week before - these were poet conasers not drunken Freshers and well they're all talking about form and structure and I just sort of smile awkardly and try not to let anyone see my printed sheets - Anna saw them last night and asked had I ment to spell fonetically :/

Silly Sarah (by sarah)

I think maybe I have been watching too many horror movies lately.

Last night I had miss placed my phone - this is quiet a normal occurance and as the BT guy had fixed the landline I thought I'd use that to phone my mobile.

So this is what I did and there in the distance upstairs was the jingle of my ring tone. Now I was doing this becuase I was slightly spooked - Al wasn't here nor was dad and it was dark and there had been a strange sound that was a cat and there had been a huge spider fall on me from the rafters and was currently sitting on the bedroom wall looking at me.

I picked the phone up and looked at the screen - Oh my God! Someone from the village is calling me! At this time of night something must be wrong! So I answered the phone whilst heading downstairs to put the landline back on the hook.

And there was an opressive silence that then begain to echo back my own voice. I went still with panic and then realised... I'd phoned myself! I laughed and hung up both phones feeling really quiet stupid. But I was still feeling spooked so I phoned Al and we set up a skype call.

He has a camera on his laptop so his image came up but it was distorting in a way that made him look like some pale alien - I screamed :/ And woke Jean up and Alaric was non plussed to here why I'd screamed.

I also think perhapse my pain killers are making thought processes a bit harder than normal to honest :/

It sounds really silly and I have no idea why I got so spooked at all but it really was a horror movie moment and then it was a spoof moment and yes as alwasys I'm a silly Sarah :/

Well… (by sarah)

Yesturday I asked Inga one of the gardeners about the climbing plant on our garage/electronics workshop, I was pruning it like every two weeks - but the last month and a half I haven't and I was worried that it was on the phone line and stuff. Plus Barbara always moans when I prune it so I wondered if I was being too heavy handed - No apparently it needs pruning every two weeks to keep it in check.

Inga then begain pruning it for me - She cleared up and went and the internet wasn't working. This ment that in order for Alaric to get what needed to be done done we had to go to Aviator and use their free WiFi. This was with a Jean full of sugar from a birthday party :/

Al contacted BT and they texted saying an Engineer would be coming out today.

Al's meeting had also been rearranged so he had to be off early this morning to get to Reading for said meeting - becuase we had got in just after Jean's bed time I put her straight to be with only tooth brushing - this ment I was hair wahing and bathing her this morning to get pink glitter from the party out of her hair and the face paints off of her cheek.

But I got her ready and was heading out of the door when to my supprise a BT van appeared - I ushered Jean back inside to deal with him.

The line was cut - I assume from the pruning :/ So in trying to stop the line being damaged and breaking I had succeeded in garenteeing that it was broken 🙁 Also this a chargable repair - fair enough but I feel like everytime I try and make things better this happens - I have no idea how much it will cost either :'(.

Still the engineer was nice and did all the house stuff quickly so I could go to the school. Jean ran most of the way bless her. I had my stick and was attempting to motor up the hill - but I was the slow one of the two of us 🙁

We got to the school in 10 minutes! Just as they were going through the door. People then gave me letters and things and I dropped my stick and fumbled and then realised I was the only perant left in the playground.

Aching I set off for home - but the frantic walk up had just hurt me too much and I had to stop and sit on the verge by the allotments. I just couldn't walk any furthure - this is getting rediculous but its not a constant thing - August I did the whole boundary walk and was only like this right at the end.

Anyway I was feeling a bit frustrated by it all especially as yesturday my back was so bad I wasn't able to get up out of the bed - I'd had chronic hip pain the whole night and had to space myself on pain killers so thinking is a bit fugy at the moment :/

Now I have to leave to get the bean from school - I'm so tired from these walks I'm not getting any tidying or sorting done which is starting to worry me - I'm hoping it will improove - this was not a good time to have a flare up.