Life after Hadlow

Yes there is! You can't imagine it, but it exists.

Hope you are all ok and settling into the new regime, which for me is currently a regime of sleeping, eating, standing around with cups of tea and generally being in a daze.

Had a brilliant weekend on the Isle of Wight - it was great fun. Such a good atmosphere, it's amazing that there were 60,000 people all in one place, most of whom were drunk, and there was no trouble and everyone was happy. I managed to spend the whole weekend outside in the baking sun and stayed exactly the same colour. I think when Procol Harum were singing "Whiter Shade of Pale" they were looking at my legs. Maybe I was a bit over-zealous with the Factor 30, but you can't be too careful, and let's face it, I haven't seen much of the outside world for the last 4 years so I thought I should be well protected!

On Friday night the final act was The Prodigy - they were just brilliant live. Everyone was dancing and jumping - there were some real old ravers there blowing whistles and waving their arms about. I tapped my foot a bit and hummed along. Didn't want to embarrass the kids.


On Saturday night my son and I were trying to force our way through the huge crowds to the front to watch the Foo Fighters when a voice behind him said, "don't you have homework to do?" Incredibly, it was his Chemistry teacher. I don't know who went more red, him or me, as I'd taken him out of school without a good reason! She didn't look anything like the chemistry teachers from my day, the old bloke who taught me had bouffant hair and a penchant for wearing womens blouses, but back in the 70s that was just seen as being a little eccentric. Amazing that out of all those people she happened to bump into us!

The Proclaimers played on Saturday afternoon - I thought they were really good too. Back in January Tim and I were invited to a Burns Supper and everyone had to prepare a little piece of entertainment for after supper. It was quite a well-to-do crowd down in Tyrells Wood and everyone was ra-ra ing and reading out bits of Burns poetry. Well I'd tried to find something I liked, but couldn't make head nor tail of most of it, so when it came to our turn I produced a Karaoke machine from the car and Tim and I gave a rather brilliant rendition of "500 Miles" by the Proclaimers (the most Scottish song I know). We handed out lyric sheets and everyone joined in. Needless to say, it lowered the tone of the evening by several notches and we haven't been invited back. Anyway, they played it on Saturday, and I knew all the words! Result.

Stephanie, my daughter, disappeared on Saturday afternoon because she wanted to get near to the front to see Dirty Pretty Things. When she reappeared she was attached to a long haired boy with a pierced lip. Didn't see much of her after that and apparently he's coming to stay next weekend.


Primal Scream were also on on Saturday - great band.

On Sunday Stephanie was missing in action, and Justin, exhausted from having to get up for breakfast (something he doesn't normally manage at weekends), slept on a rug under some trees all day, so I wandered round soaking up the atmosphere. What a great way to relax after such a traumatic few months. Stood watching Lou Reed with the sun beating down and it was just a Perfect Day (although he didn't sing that).


Wish I'd had my sketch book (not for sketching purposes) because there was so much happening and I wanted to write it down and then tell you all about it. There was more but I don't want to bore you!

Anyway, still waiting to feel like a real garden designer. When you are about to give birth and you are thinking "I don't feel like a mother" everyone says "it just comes naturally and when you've got the baby in your arms you know you're a real mum". Well that never really happened me, and similarly, even though I am the proud owner of a degree in Garden Design, I don't actually feel like a garden designer. Maybe it will dawn on me soon.

AOB

Well this is odd. Twiddling my thumbs a bit.

I haven't had many images on the blog recently because it was all a bit too much like hard work and I had very little time to sit around waiting for them to upload. But today, the clock has stopped, my shoulders are now in a normal position, not stuck up by my ears, and for the first time in ages, I'm not in a rush.

So....here is a picture of my baby in it's beautiful entirety:



I know it's not perfect - but to me it's beautiful. Although I got the real arse-end space of the studio to pin up in - not even three boards across and various light switches, steel girders, window handles and radiators to contend with, I did my best to use every available inch, and the measuring and planning worked because it all seemed to fit in just right.

I am ridiculously proud of this assorted collection of bits of paper. I didn't like to leave it behind, and I kept wanting to rush over, spit on a hanky and rub its face. How can I leave it there all alone? No-one will understand it like I do! I just hope it can stand up on its own and not need me all the time. Got to cut the apron strings at some point.

On to other business....I have had a complaint that the words of "My Way" in my previous post were not given the usual Jackie Edwards treatment! In my defence, I was a little tied up at the time (7am on Final Pinup Day), and anyway the original words expressed perfectly how I was feeling at the time, so I didn't think I needed to add anything to them.

I'm taking today to relax a bit. And by relaxing I mean that I'm going to help my daughter revise for her History exam tomorrow, do 18 loads of washing, and try to reduce the ironing mountain that has built up over the last month and is now blocking the entrance to the spare room.

Well done everyone, there was some stunning work pinned up yesterday. Looking forward to seeing you all at the Barby. Not sure what happens with the blog now - I guess after this week it will be all over, blogwise! It's been a really good way of staying in touch with fellow students - when there's no time to socialise it's nice to know that you can still communicate. It has really helped me to let off steam, to put my point of view across, and generally stay in touch with you all - and I've had such a lot of support from everyone when things were tough so thank you.

By the way - I won the bid on ebay! So I'm off to the Isle of Wight with the kids!

The Final Curtain

Here we go pop-pickers - todays No 1 -singalong with me!

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

The Endy's

I had a second cousin twice removed called Debbie Nigh and she married a submariner (which I also nearly did rather coincidentally - not the same one) and became very religious (I don't believe the two acts were linked, but then I didn't know her well so it's hard to say). None of that is really related or relevant to anything, except that I keep thinking of her because, after the religion thing kicked in, we used to call her Debbie TheEndisNigh, or Debbie TheEndis for short. And of course, that IS relevant now because the End Really is Nigh.

Aren't words strange? Nigh is just not used now, but when you say "The End is Nigh", you know exactly what is meant. It means near or close, but don't you think that, when used in combination with the other three words, it has a real air of doom about it? It has Old Testament connotations - Judgement Day - and when you say it, you have to use a strange and scary voice and it sends a shiver down the spine. Those four short words used in unison always put me in a sombre and slightly apprehensive mood.

Words are great.

Anyway, enough of my musings and on to more interesting things. I realise that my posts have been a little dull and stressed of late, so I'm writing with Good News! I have cheered up! Obviously I still have virtually all of the last unit to complete in just under 3 days, but hey!

I decided that I needed something to look forward to after The End, something good and exciting, so I have bid on eBay for tickets to the Isle of Wight Festival. Yay! I hope I'm not outbid at the last minute! I am so excited already about the thought of spending three days in a field listening to live music, that the external examiner is a tiny tiny speck on my happiness, and the marking of the last unit by Jamie just results in a shrug and a small frown, as if I've forgotten something which wasn't really important in the first place. Best of all - I know that when I set off for the Isle of Wight on Friday 9th June I can leave all this behind and just relax.

I must now float, smiling, back to my drawing board.

Peace and love, man.