Well my meeting went well yesterday. The fabric man he came, he went and he left me with a huge amount of fabric which I am in danger of drowning under. Paul is already making noises about having to reinforce the ceiling, hehehe!

I have many bags (too many to get in one photo), in each bag is many rolls of samples and in each roll is many fabrics. These fabrics date from the 1800's up to the 1940's and were bought at an auction in Paris. They are beautiful, so many different designs. Some look very contemporary and wouldn't look out of place in Habitat or Heals. It just goes to show how nothing is really original. We have been taking ideas/inspiration from history.

I must be off. I have a lot to sort out and sift through. There are sateens, moires, popelines, cretonnes and velvet flocks to tend to.

Ciaou Bellas Pin It

Mundane in the membrane

I haven’t had much to blog about recently. Life is fairly mundane just now with the usual day-to-day domestic chores taking precedence.

Baby has a cold. She has the rotten bug that we have all had and it is making her miserable. She is a coughing, snotty, clingy creature. Poor darling. I remember how horrid it feels.


My ipod is pretty much lost I would say. I did put up some notices around Appledore but I don’t hold out much hope. I guess if it’s meant to come back to me then it will. I am still mad at my credit card company. I think the worse part about it is that it’s Marks and Spencer’s &More card. I trusted M&S, they are an established good old British company but I feel let down by them. I am keeping my money in cash under the mattress from now on. I won’t let the Big Bastard Corporation steal any more money from me!

On the upside I adore my cleaner, well not her personally, although she is very nice, but just having her makes my life so much easier. She comes for 3 hours once a week and it really helps me to keep on top of the cleaning rather than feel as though I am drowning in it. Sometimes it becomes so overwhelming that I can’t do it at all and just go out rather than face it!! It's a joy having someone come and do a deep clean once a week.


I am having a business meeting this week with a potential partner. He has access to many beautiful and very old fabrics that he would like me to sell. We would then split the proceeds. I’m looking forward to meeting him and seeing the fabrics he is bringing with him!

Jasmine has learnt to play the guitar this week. Last Sunday she went off to visit her gran, the grumpy old woman to you, and came back having learnt how to play the guitar. How cool is that? She can now play 'The house of the rising sun' and 'Walk away' by Franz Ferdinand in less than a week. The girl's a natural!

I met a friend in town this week. She has just split up with her partner of over 20 years. They have one child. She has not been happy in her relationship for years and she has just taken the courageous step to leave and live on her own with her child. I have never seen her looking so happy and radiant. The move was obviously a positive one for her and so far things are very amicable with her ex-partner, both of them trying to do what is best for their daughter. I hope things work out for them all.

I’m baking today. Leek and gruyere quiche and possibly some sort of cake, I don’t know which one yet but a little peek inside the pages of Nigella’s delicious book will probably inspire me.

Bye for now x Pin It

Good things and bad things

Many thanks for all the get well wishes. They worked a treat. I thought I was better last week but when I lay down to feed my baby and woke up 2 hours later I knew I was still not right but now I am back in fighting health. My favourite get well wish came from a couple of Numptys, 2 dear little creatures that are the invention of this lovely lady. I really think they should be made up into little toys, made of vintage fabrics of course, I know my kids would adore them.

I had a bad day yesterday. I found out that I had lost my ipod. I thinked I dropped it from my pocket when picking up Alfie from a party. I was carrying baby, goodie bags, clothes that Alfie had cast off, trying to keep him from bouncing all over the place in his sugar-shocked state whilst avoiding his nasty balloon. I think it’s understandable that I may not have noticed if it dropped out of my pocket. I have contacted the local police just in case some nice person decides to hand it in, It does have my name engraved on the back, so I live in hope that the good people of Appledore will come through for me. We’ll see.

I also contacted my insurance company to see about recovering my excess now I have my car back. They informed me that the liability is in dispute by the third party. I fail to see how he can dispute that he was at fault when I was stopped, handbrake on, while he hurtled into me at speed!!! Trouble is in many cases of country lane bumps they tend to go knock for knock, but I am furious. I shall dispute the dispute. This could go on for ages.............yawn!

I also contacted my credit card company to ask why they had charged so much interest on my latest statement. Almost £100 when my balance was less that £800. I have paid off most of the balance and was amazed to see that I am paying more interest now than when my balance was 10 times this amount! I phoned and got a call center in India. I explained the situation and got a very quiet, barely audible response from the lady at the other end. She got her supervisor to explain it to me. She spoke very good English (still very quiet) but it was total gobbledegook. Apparently I am being charged on the balance back in December and to avoid being charged so much should have paid off the balance last month. How is that supposed to work? I told her that if I paid of the minimum amount that they suggested (£25.00) then I would be paying this bill for the rest of my life. She made no sense with her stock answers and I shouted that it was bullshit and that they can keep their card and hung up. I cut up my card in a fit of pique. Then I burst into tears. It seems to me that I am being punished for trying to pay off my credit card, they would prefer for me to be in debt. I still don’t understand it but they have me over a barrel. I am paying off this balance and never using the card again (well I can’t it’s in little pieces on the kitchen table!). Pin It

Donna does Dallas

Oh don't look at me. I'm just being ill. It's sooooo boring don't look at me.



Thank you, thank you, thank you for all those lovely and flattering comments. Just what a girl needs to hear when her eyes are watering endlessly and her nose is streaming uncontrollably. I didn't feel very beautiful I can tell you but I feel I must 'fess up. I think I owe my healthy look to a little product that Tats and I bought on our recent shopping trip to Exeter. We were accosted by the 'Benefit' girls in Dingles who did a bit of a make-over on us with the result that we both came away looking rather glam and a little sunkissed (not bad for the end of February). The answer? Dallas. A face powder that you sweep over your cheeks, chin, forehead and nose and voila, you get the outdoor look for the indoor girl! I tell ya, I have not had one ounce of sympathy from anyone around as I look too darned healthy.

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I'm ill

Oh woe is me. I have red sore eyes, a throbbing head, sore throat, a tap for a nose and I'm cold and miserable. Bah! and to top it all my good friend Tats has gone home. I did tell her to stop mucking about in France, she's proved her point and it's time to come home now, but she wouldn't hear any of it.

Here I am cold, miserable and friendless trying to keep myself warm in my new fluffy jacket, hehehehe

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Tats and Dons

For those of you who are missing us, here we are, deliciously chaotic but still here. Read all about it soon :-)

We are just off shopping, without the kids, to Exeter, wahay, we are soooooooo excited!!! Pin It

Pantry update

Remember this?






Well, thanks to Paul's hard work, it now looks like this






We are so proud of it we have even bought a new sign for the door (in case the mice get lost!)



But we are out of wine (Tatty please note) and many other supplies so I need to go shopping before my guests arrive.

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Tittybangbang

For some reason this comedy sketch show has eluded me until now. Last night, as there was nothing on the box, I watched 4 episodes back-to-back. Some of the characters were grotesque, bizarre and frankly disturbing whilst being very funny but I was mostly disturbed by the naked-from-the-waist-down quilters! I think my quilting days might be over! Pin It

On the one hand I guess I must be grateful for the fact that I have a life and am never bored but on the other I find it so frustrating not to be able to find time to blog. Kids, house, partner and business take up every spare moment and I find it hard to get even half an hour a day to myself to listen to my Paul McKenna cd.

So, what have I been up to? What's new in fabricland? Well............. I was taken out on Valentines Day for lunch to a lovely restaurant in Westward Ho! The view was spectacular and it felt like we were on a cruise ship as the sea was just outside. I found the waves hypnotic to watch, they were endless and we could see all the way across to Saunton Sands.

I have a cleaner. This wonderful woman and saviour is coming to help clean on Tuesday before the arrival of the Joseph Clan. I am very excited about this and know that it will help me free up time to do what I really want to do.


It was cake day at school today. Alfie helped me make cakes yesterday and decorated them himself. I was very impressed by his efforts. A litle Jamie Oliver methinks? As you can see from his face, he mostly enjoyed licking out the bowl which, lets be honest, is the best part of cake making.



I have been reading The Magic Faraway Tree to him every night. It's one of Enid Blyton's that I think is good for both boys and girls and is just right for his age group. We have just finished Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator which followed on from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He adores his stories and I love reading to him. I remember my mum reading to me and I think to impart the love of reading is a special gift to children.

My Paul McKenna experiment is nothing short of a miracle. I do not pick or pig out in the evenings. I eat the meals I want (and I mean really want, no dieting) and then feel satisfied. This is unheard of for me. I am always hungry, always looking for the next little treat, then once I have had it think, 'no, that wasn't it, what can I have now?' Now I feel satisfied, full up and happy. Why? Can't explain it. All I know is that it is working as I wanted it to. I am eating like a 'normal' person. I'll keep you updated.

I went to a charity shop today and bought a book about Nick Cave, one of my favourite men, for £1.00. I also found a huge amount of gorgeous satins, silks, crepe de chines and chiffons, all vintage. I got them home and inspected them and some were rather moth damaged but there are a few gems in the collection. I also took delivery of a beautiful selection of 19th century fabrics along with some 20's and art deco fabrics. They are all completely yummy. I will try and list them before the half term starts in earnest so do keep a look out if they are the sort of fabrics that float your boat! I love handling them and feel honoured to be touching some very rare pieces of fabric. I usually only deal with 20th century pieces so the whole thing is a novelty to me at the moment. My fabric business is taking off and I am taking it up a notch now that Lizzy is a bit older. My older fabrics will attract a new type of customer. People who collect fabrics, historians, museums and artists will be interested. This is great because after 4 years of seling on ebay I was ready for a bit of a change. I may even have to get a website going to run alongside it which is what I was just about to do when I heard of Lizzy's surprise arrival!


Finally I would like to introduce you to two new bloggers on the block. Firstly the lovely grumpy old woman who many of you have shared comments with. She has finally come out of the shadows and started her own blog. Secondly the delectable and talented Devil makes work. Wendy has been a valued customer of mine for years. As well as being talented she is a very lovely lady. Check out her designs. Pin It

My word cloud

I love the way this has come out. All my favourites are in there :-) Pin It

Sexy name decoder

What does Yours mean? Pin It

My new relationship

I have started a relationship with this man who promises he can make me thin by allowing me to eat what I want when I want to eat it. I have read the book and downloaded his cd onto my ipod so I can listen to it every day. I believe him. Watch this space!

Just to add to the previous post and to correct those who think that I am thin! I have a huge muffin top which spreads over my waistband and I recently read an article that talked of carrot tops!! This is when you wear your skinny jeans. I looked in the mirror, instead of seeing two slim thighs I was confronted with 2 carrot tops eeeeeek!

I am trying this method of weight loss because since the birth of Alfie nearly 6 years ago I am either being very good (ie dieting) or being very bad (Scoffing) with nothing in between. I am so fed up of not eating like a normal person. Weight Watchers was great for getting me to target weight after having Lizzy but I need to maintain my weight which is what I find hard. I need to learn new habits which are more about eating positively rather than denying myself foods that I love. So.............to Mr McKenna, who teaches us to observe 4 golden rules:

1 Eat only when you are hungry.
2 Eat what you want to eat NOT what you think you should have.
3 Eat consciously, taste every mouthful.
4 Stop when you are full.

This is combined with a cd which you listen to every day to reinforce what you have read. I am a great believer in the power of the mind and that my bad eating habits can be 'unlearned'.

I am on day 3 and so far so good. Usually I spend most evenings picking, constantly in and out of the fridge and eating at least 2 chocolate bars a day. For the past 3 days there has been no desire to do this. I have eaten exactly what everyone else has, not diet food, and have left food on my plate. I want to get rid of the muffin top and definitely want to say adios to the carrot tops. Wish me luck :-) Pin It

Car trouble

Well it's been over a week since I last blogged and what a week it has been.

I was feeling very fed up and down all last week for no particular reason that I could put my finger on. I was finding it hard to drag my bones out of bed each morning and had that 'what's the point' feeling. I used some of that negative energy to reorganise my life. I figured that if I felt like shit I might as well do the shitty jobs I never feel like doing when I am positive. I now have a fabulous fabric room and pristine pantry. I spent most of the week at home clearing out my junk (treasures actually but just too much of it) just leaving the house to buy groceries and to do the school run. On Friday I went to the Post Office to post my ebay parcels and then picked up my daughter from her school bus. Alfie was at a friends house for tea. On my way home I remarked to Jasmine that our lane was overly muddy and that they had been muckspreading all day. 'Looks like they have been muckspreading the lane' were my exact words. Seconds later as I turned a corner I saw a ford lorry coming towards me so I braked as there is not room for two vehicles and got ready to reverse. He was coming at some speed and I shouted 'Slow down you twat'. Jazz and I sat there dumbfounded as we realised that he was not going to stop. He ploughed straight into the front of my car with a terrific BANG. The baby screamed and screamed so I got her out of her car seat, shaking, to comfort her and check her over. The driver came to the door and said that he couldn't stop because of the mud on the road. The whole situation was unreal. I gave the baby to Jazz and looked at the damage to my Land Rover. It was quite considerable but remarkably there wasn't a scratch on his vehicle.

Jazz and I were so shaken by the whole experience. I went to bed that night, very early, with a huge headache. The next day I met up with mum and my friend Lisa in town and could barely string a sentence together. I felt like a zombie and close to tears. Mum loaned me her car for the weekend and as I drove home I cried huge silent tears as Alfie sat oblivious in the back thinking what a jolly jape this was to be in his granny's car.

So that's that. My car has been taken away to be assessed. I could bore you with tales of having to try and communicate with a remote Indian in India as I explain my situation to my insurance company whilst still being shaken up, of having no car for the weekend because the garage have already done too many hours this week so will come and get mine until Monday. It's no fun being stuck in the middle of nowhere with 3 kids and no transport. Luckily for me my mum loaned me her car for the duration. I now have a 'courtesy car', a 3 door Polo that only has one seat that comes forward and has such a small boot that the pram doesn't fit in. Grrrrrr all this makes me very fed up and I shall be changing my insurance company to an English call centre based company that will provide a decent courtesy car. Anyone know of one? Do they exist? Pin It

My shop

Today I decided to clear out my fabric room. I used to call it my sewing room but, as it is so full of stuff and there is no room to sew, I sew at the kitchen table by the aga. I have started to call it my fabric room. It was out of control. Cupboards overspilling, bags of fabrics everywhere. I could hardly get in the room let alone find anything. It took nearly all day but I am happy with the results. I removed 7 big black dustbin bags full of rubbish and things for the charity shop. At last I can see what I have got and can find things easily. I found a few unfinished projects and some things I had forgotten I had. The room needs decorating badly but it is low priority in this house! I think you'll agree that my shop has a great view too. You can usually see the sea behind the trees on the left but today the sea and sky are the same colour (grey).









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Babysitters

I put Lizzy down for a nap this afternoon. When I went back to check her 10 minutes later I found that she had 2 furry babysitters. Not sure if they were keeping her warm or using her body heat!

It was a beautiful sunny day today. Not a cloud in sight but still quite chilly. I love days like this. Spring is just around the corner folks.

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Musical Interlude

Maybe it's the time of year but I have been clearing out cupboards, throwing away clothes and listening to a lot of old music. I got the box set of The Cocteau Twins 'From Lullabies to Violaine' for Xmas and listening to it whilst listing my fabrics on ebay had me feeling all wistful and wondering what had happened to my youth! Last night Mum and I watched 100 greatest pop videos. Mostly it was great and reacquainted me with music I hadn't heard in a long time and gave great facts about making the videos that I never knew. For example Bjork was running a fever and was really unwell with no voice when she shot 'It's oh so quiet' and the unknown Sadie Frost appeared in Pulp's 'Common People' video (she was the posh totty). I loved seeing Talking Heads 'Once in a lifetime', Johnny Cash's 'Hurt' (so powerful) and Ultravox's 'Vienna' (such memories). We knew that we would hate most of the videos in the top 10 and as the program finished at 1.15pm we thought we would go to bed before so as not to get wound up but of course we didn't and the top 10 was filled with Queen, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Robbie Williams and A-ha with the bloody awful 'Thriller' as number 1. It was great seeing the brilliant Fatboy Slim's 'Praise you' (pure genius) and 'Weapon of Choice'. Bjork had a few entries which made me go and dig out some of my old cd's of hers to listen to this morning. That led me on to uploading some tracks onto my ipod. My ipod was a wonderful Xmas present. I have a huge amount of music on there and can just plug it into my car stereo. This is great, it means no more having to make compilations tapes, no more cassettes and cases all over the car floor and a great clarity of sound as it comes directly from my computer. It is so tiny it fits into my handbag and often I cannot see it in there because it is so small! Ain't technology great?

P.S I bought the Arctic Monkeys yesterday, haven't had a chance to listen to it yet but I was disappointed in the Richard Ashcroft I bought earlier in the week. I adore that mans voice but this album is dirgy and depressing. Pin It

Great Life

I wrote the previous post last night when very tired but blogger wasn't playing so I posted it this morning. In the cold (and it is) light of day I realise that it's a bit moany. Last night in bed, which had little pockets of cold, I realised that there were people sleeping rough and here I was warm and cosy in my bed with my man and my babies. What have I got to moan about? I have a great life.

.............................. Now where's that hoover? Pin It

Back to work

Today I went back to work and listed some fabrics on ebay. I have been doing this for about 4 years now. It's a great way of making some pocket money whilst still being around for my kids. However the whole thing has become much more difficult since baby number 3 arrived 10 months ago. Today she is teething and is tired and grumpy but will not sleep. She also wants to be either cuddled or to stand up, not in her baby walker but outside it whilst holding on to it. Her baby walker moves and she will fall flat on her face so I have to secure it with my foot and have her standing up in between my legs whilst trying to type on the keyboard with one hand. I also have to make a beef stew and dumplings and wash 4 loads of very muddy overalls for Paul as his laundry man let him down and the overalls are needed for a kids party on Saturday. Amazingly I managed to list 28 or so fabrics, made the stew (it was yummy) and washed all the overalls but I am finding the house and housework to be overwhelming. I know I am sooo lucky to live in this beautiful house but it's so big and gets so messy. I fantasize about having a smaller neater house but we are not neat people. To have a tidy house would mean giving up my addiction to charity shops and boot sales. I would also have to stay home and clean more often instead of meeting girlfriends in town for coffee and shopping. I dreamt about mice last night. We had hundreds running around. I was perched up high somewhere looking down on all these rodents and our cats were just playing with them like old friends, eeeek!!!

I hope you all realise that my domestic goddess tag is very tongue-in-cheek. I'm with Trac, I am more domestic slut than goddess. Remember that 'Dull women have immaculate houses'. Pin It

Titch

Here's looking at you Titch. Happy 2nd birthday sweetpea xxx Pin It

Mouse watch update

Well I have completely cleared the pantry. I found 1 more mouse that was nesting behind the herb and spice cupboard and I got Paul to remove it for me. Once I emptied the pantry I decided it would be nice to strip away the old revolting fake tile wallpaper that we inherited so I started pulling strips off. Of course it was horrible underneath so now we have James, a chap who usually works for Paul at the laser site, decorating my pantry. He's in there sanding as I type this. Good old Monty! Pin It

I'm just mad about my Sister

My little sister flies back home today. Back to her family in the USA. Bon Voyage sweetheart. I'll miss you xxx Pin It

There was a pong in the pantry, a nasty niff in the larder. It had been there for a few days. I suspected that it might be something dead and rotting in a hidden corner and thought it might be a mouse. There was evidence of mouse activity (mouse poo). I knew I had to do something about it but I just didn't relish the thought of coming across a dead mouse or a live one for that matter or, heaven forbid, a nest of the critters. I tried to ignore it and hoped it would go away but it didn't the stench just got worse. Paul was having a go at me (like he does) about all the empty containers in there, you know the lovely collectable ones with writing on. He doesn't understand why I have them when they are all empty. He doesn't get it, so every time I asked him to help me clear out the pantry he said 'yes we'll get a big bin and throw out all those useless tins'. Well that's the kind of help I don't want. He's just fed up with them 'cos once he tried to cook and couldn't find any flour. After trying all the tins that said flour on them and not finding it he rang me on my mobile to ask. It's in the jar that says flour in the kitchen of course, in between the empty flour tin and the empty sugar container. God, he only had to ask!! So realising that I was going to get no help from him I started to clear out by taking all the things off of the floor and dragging them into the kitchen, discovering little piles of mouse shit as I did so. I felt very on edge as I did this. Once the floor was cleared and no evidence of the cause of the smell found I decided to clear the shelves. I started to move boxes and tins and picked up a pile of empty egg trays. A mouse jumped out. I screamed. I mean really screamed, very high pitched and very loud. I didn't know I could do that! Jeez the thing scared me half to death. I went into the kitchen feeling all shook up and thought 'I can't do it'. I had to, no one else was going to, so back I went, slowly and very nervously removing things from the shelves. Then I saw him. On the top shelf peering down at me with his black beady eyes and twitchy whiskers. We looked at each other for a while and then he ran off again hiding behind one of my baskets. Oh that was it, I couldn't do it any more. I didn't know where he was or when he was going to jump out. I felt sick and shaky and just abandoned my task, boxes, tins and baskets lay strewn across the kitchen floor. Alfie bravely said that he would catch it for me so donned his wellies and took a Cath Kidston china bowl to catch him in (I ask you!). We saw him again peering at us from up high before he disappeared. Now if he promised to stay where I could see him I could probably clean up around him but not knowing when he was going to jump out just freaked me out. I have never been afraid of mice before, we get them regularly despite have 3 useless, heat seeking creatures they call CATS! I suspect they bring more into the house than they catch. No what bothers me dear reader is the unexpected, the suspense, the not knowing but the inevitable, the mouse is going to appear at some time, I just don't know when. I'm the same with balloons, I HATE them, I have a slight phobia about them as they are going to pop, I just don't know when. Silly thing is that when they do, It's ok, that's phobias for you.

So back to the mouse............I left the job and the next day went to see my Mum and Sister in town. They were coming back for the night and I told them my sorry tale. Mum was very sympathetic and despite being scared of mice herself she volunteered to help me when we got back but as it was Sister's last night with us I didn't want to spend it clearing out my pantry. We had a lovely evening, fish and chip supper, mulled wine then a session in the bar with CBB and topped it off with reminiscing over my Suede dvd (we were huge fans in the 90's went to loads of gigs). Just on our way up to bed, mum making hot water bottles, S said, 'where's this mouse then?". I hid behind her as she went into the pantry and I pointed to the spot where I last spotted him. He wasn't there. She told me to make friends with him and to give him a name. I chose Monty. I showed her the selection boxes belonging to Alfie and said I didn't want Monty to eat them. She said 'shall I get them down for you?' and I nodded pathetically. She brought down one box and put it on a lower shelf for me. At this point mum came up behind me and gently lay her hand on my shoulder. I jumped out of my skin and screeched again which made us all laugh. I was so on edge. S asked me if there was anything else I would like brought down and I said 'yes the other selection box please'. She pulled it down and said (very calmly and quietly), 'OK, the mouse is in the box'. I was off like a shot, quivering like a wreck in the living room. Mum said 'close the box, close the box, close the box' again very calmly but manically, then she said, 'ok, put it ouside on the floor, now RUN AWAY'. Run away?!!!!! Run away? From a tiny mouse? How did we get to this? I was still not happy about the situation as the mouse was now just outside the back door and might come in through the cat flap, aided and abetted by one of the useless furry things, so Saff went out and bravely shook the box until the mouse scurried away. After much laughter at our very silly girly behaviour we went to bed. I was so grateful to my wonderful and brave little sister for saving me. I also thought mum was a star as the last time she suported me through mouse trauma was years ago when the cats brought one in and let it free in my bedroom. That time she shouted words of encouragement to me whilst standing on the toilet, through my locked bathroom door!!


The next morning I looked at the box and its' contents outside. The chocolate was strewn across the floor and you could see that Monty clearly had a preference for KitKats as he had scoffed his way through an entire bar, spitting out the paper. I picked up the paper, untouched chocolate bars and the plastic tray from inside and took them into the house, swept up the mess and picked up the box. It moved. I peered inside, the bastard was back in the box!!!! I dropped the box and shuddering I ran back indoors to tell the others. Damn him, was I never going to be rid of him? Alfie put on his wellies and picked up the box. 'Hello' he said to the mouse, 'ah mum he's so sweet'. 'Yes I know he is now please can you take him away for me?' I asked. My little hero took the mouse around the corner and let him out near his den under the trees. That's the last I have seen of Monty, for now. I suspect he'll be back. I have still got to clean out the pantry, it still stinks, and I am still freaked out about it. Can someone please come and help me? Pin It

Mountains, chipmunks and shipwrecks

Here is another tale from our holiday in Fuerteventura. Last one I promise!

On New Year’s Day, feeling fragile from the shenanigans of the night before, we decided to go for a drive across the island to visit a shipwreck that we had heard about. It was on a very hard-to-reach beach half way down on the west coast. The journey sounded like it might be another ‘Pregonda’ trip we once took many years ago when Jasmine was small.................

That beach is on the island of Menorca and is said to be the prettiest and most deserted beach. This is our favourite type of beach so we set out to find it in our rented Nissan Micra. I was map-reading the funny little (spanish) map we had found. After many hours of driving around dirt tracks with BIG pot-holes and massive boulders, meeting other bewildered holidaymakers trying to find this now mythical beach our tempers were frayed. We rowed soooo much, poor Jazz cowering in the back of the car wishing her parents would just go to the crowded beach like all the other tourists. Eventually we decided that we must temporarily abandon the excursion as we were hungry and thirsty. Driving to the nearest town we found the most beautiful restaurant in the harbour of Fornells where we had a fantastic meal. During the meal we scrutinised the map further and realised that we had in fact been following a donkey track not a road after all (our spanish was never too good) so we abandoned the trip and we never did make it. Shame really as I hear it’s pretty nice.

This trip started as a journey along very nice, newly made roads. We went way up into the mountains, round hairpin bends and down again with only small boulders between us and the fresh air way below us. I felt nauseaous most of the time and wasn’t sure if it was due to the festivities of the night before or altitude sickness but I kept fairly quiet knowing I wouldn’t get much sympathy. We did make a few stops mainly because they were such good photo opportunities. One such stop was breathtaking. I got out to get some air and take some photos when I noticed a family of German tourists feeding a group of chipmunks. I got Alfie out of the car to come and look and he fetched his packet of crisps proffering them up for the little creatures. Well there were masses of them. Really tame and cute and they had no fear of us humans. The view was stunning. There was a mountain that I called 'Titty' mountain. You can clearly see why!






We finally reached the turning we should make to see the shipwreck but as it was now almost 2.30pm we were hungry and thought it best to get some food before going any further into the wilderness of a deserted beach. We went down to a beach that the guidebook said had some great seafood restaurants but when we got there they were all closed and the only place open was a rough looking spanish bar full of old Pedros having a heated discussion. Paul was keen but the rest of us outvoted him (my hangover just couldn't cope with too much noise) so we went back to the small town we had driven through some 7 kms back. Well we had forgotten it was Sunday, New Year’s Day and now nearly 3pm. We were being stupid English tourists expecting to find somewhere open but the streets were deserted, nothing was open and there was nobody around. Suddenly just as we were giving up hope I spotted, through a door into a garden, someone eating. I shrieked with excitement and made Paul turn the car round and drive past again. Yes there it was! A beautiful tapas bar in the middle of this mountain town and they were serving food. I was beside myself. The food was fantastic. The best tapas ever. So once again the 'Pregonda' curse had thrown us into a fantastic restaurant that we would never have found otherwise.





With food in our tummies we set off again for the shipwreck. It was another Pregonda-like track. Big boulders, pot holes and very dusty. We met people coming the other way and asked them if they had found the shipwreck. The first person put us off. He said it took them an hour from that point to reach it and that the road was almost impassable. The passengers had to get out of the car on several occasions. Well I was not up for this. I thought 2 hours of driving to get back to this point then all that mountainous driving! Paul was not to be put off, we had come this far, so he flagged down the next person coming towards us who told a different story. ‘Yes it’s fine, just drive straight on. It was worth it’.

So that was it. We went for it and I’m so glad we did. The sight was awesome, AWESOME DUDES!!! The ship was huge although the back part had sunk some months before in the last hurricane they had. The beach was covered in flotsam and jetsom from the ship and this was as fascinating to trawl through as the ship was to look at. More information about the ship can be seen here





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Here hair here

Went to Exeter again yesterday. This time to get my hair cut and coloured. It's been a long time since I last went and it had grown out of shape. To get my hair done requires military style planning. Mum has to have a day off work to come to look after Lizzy and I have to get Paul to pick the other 2 up from school. Mum is still on holiday as Sister is over from USA so we all went off for another shopping trip. The more I go to Exeter the more I wonder why I don't live there. I love the town. It has a vibrancy and feel to it that you only get in university towns whilst still being a little sleepy Devon town. I'm sure I will pursuade Paul to move there one day.

Most of my day was spent in Toni and Guy's so I didn't buy a lot but I did manage to get a gorgeous pair of high heels in the Office Shoes sale. They were £15!!! I am enjoying wearing high heels again after being pregnant and having a tiny baby. They make my legs look longer and make me feel slimmer.





P.S. Sorry about the title. Another 'Withnail and I' reference that makes me chuckle. Pin It