Street Party

It wont be long now intill the big day arrives, The Royal Wedding. Kate Middleton will marry our Prince William to become Princess Windsor, the country will rejoice (for the most part) and we all get a bank holiday and have a 3 day week - huzzah!

The realm at large will commemorate the occasion with many street parties up and down the country, a traditional celebration often seen with bunting and cucumber sandwiches. Applications for road closures have been received in record numbers, particularly in Wales and Northamptonshire where William has ties to the Spencer family. Public Liability insurance is not necessary in most cases when no money is being exchanged and many people are planning festive feast for the occasion.

Unfortunately there are some issues with red tape, some councils charging for road closures and others refusing for approval without certain insurance policies. I hope that more councils consider slashing the forms and charges regarding these events following the example of Sutton council Its a time when encouraging community spirit should be applauded :)

Our little military community is having a fanfare event for 50 people (which is 90% of the residents!) with bouncy castle, races games and a hat making competition. There is also some face painting being done and if its warm enough David will put the stocks out and you can soak dad with water bombs ;)

All Hallows 'Eve

It was a grave yard smash! The Halloween party was a thoroughly wicked night with enjoyable company and brilliant costumes. First prize to Jack and Sally for their wonderful home made ensemble.


We had fewer guest than anticipated due to the last minute on camp party organised by neighbours but we had just the right amount of people to enjoy company as well as good food and cocktails. We joined the camp party for a few drinks and had a cracking time into the wee small hours. It all went swimmingly and I had the most fantastic evening : )

Alcon 2009

Well after just getting back from Alcon and having un-packed everything from the car I am pooped! I thought I'd give a diary post review of what our weekend involved and what it was like. Its quite long but I hope I covered everything and don't sound too negative!

On friday morning I packed 5 dresses, 7 changes of clothes, 8 pairs of shoes, 3 suits, 11 belts (I know!) 3 pairs of gloves and a basket full of accessories as well as a packed lunch and some pot noodles. (essential for saving the pennies for merchandise - priorities people!) Due to the late arrival we missed a couple of things on friday. In the evening atmosphere was a bit slow, I got the impression that it was a private party and we didn't know anyone there - which of course we didn't. Despite this we had a good evening and I made friends with a fabulous man called Matthew who had on the most impressive velvet platform boots : D



On saturday I was raring to go, we went to the anime breakfast club at 10am and watched a wonderful anime called "the girl who time travelled". After that we had fun in the video games room and David came 2nd in the Mario kart Wii contest : ) They also had this awesome Rock Band drum kit with 4 cymbals and a hi-hat : D The DDR tournament had a bit of a delay but we eventually got going although disappointingly Alex got cut out in the first round!

Later in the day was the masquerade. There was a couple of great costumes but most, unfortunately, left a little be desired. I admire the effort put into costumes as a cos-player and costume lover myself, maybe I'm getting cynical or maybe I'm just getting too old for this but it did seem like a bit of a lame convention >_> I did have a good time, found some new things, I totally glomped Bowser and was very excited by the portal girl, kudos to you my friend!

Saturday evening had a better atmosphere but I felt quite "old" as Dave and I sat out from the dancing although he did have a burst of Michael Jackson-esque popping which was appreciated by everyone ; ) I also loved the group dance (despite the "d**k" being a pain as he was all weekend) and would love to learn it myself! Otaku or what ; )



On Sunday breakfast club was cancelled and we found out too late we were supposed to check out at 9.30am but we got it sorted pretty quickly and didn't loose our deposit. Once again not very well organised was the rockband competition, actually it was guitar hero and we won anyway so who cares : D The other things I wanted to do clashed with this so I missed out : ( We didn't go to the cosplay cafe as £3 is a lot of money for a cup of tea and some cake!! We did enjoy the AMV chillout though, for a couple of hours we sat reading our new mangas (Alex with his new Magic cards) and David had a nap ; ) The band that played, Machina Shogunate, we were really good too.

The over all feel was that we spent too much time hanging around waiting for things to happen. Also some of the big things clashed and you had to prioritise between them. It was a nice weekend but I would have been happier with a more professional/not so immature atmosphere and more to do. A convention should be like a music festival, always lots to do and lots to see and never a dull moment. Unfortunately this didn't quite work at Alcon, although the organisers say it was their best year. Well I think I will stick with the bigger more experienced cons next year : )

Fun things this summer : )

I often spend a lot of time surfing the net. Most of the time it is looking at things I wish I could own, there are so many fun things that you could never warrant worth while buying despite the fact they are practical as well as fun. Well as it is my birthday in August and a few people have asked me what I want so maybe a few of these delightful treats might find there way to me

First up I thought id mention a site that do lovely animals birthday cards with textured paper and bows, perfect for toddlers Panda Birthday Card. If anyone else keeps a diary its important to have a good quality one that wont fall apart halfway through the year and this Black Moroccan Day to a Page Diary is perfect. It has plenty of space each day with out being bulky and is has the reliable and handsome design from Paperblanks.

Stylish and useful pedlers have a lot of nice things including Birds on the Wire Clothes Pegs

Kaboodle is quite famous for its fun and cute gadgets and home wear, I spent a good hour surfing and bookmarking this site last week! The following are a selection of the best (in my view) they have to offer this season. Since from moving to station house I have been in need of a new USB port and this USB tulip hub is spot on : ) I simply love this daisy grass mat it would be a colourful welcome to any home.

I love photography but the past few years have rarely had the chance to print photos of and get them into an album, this neat camera photo album is versatile and useful. I have a lot of costume jewellery and love to mix and match my outfits, I'm not sure this Disney pirate's sword ring would get a daily airing but it sure is awesome.

Any one who has ever received a gift from me will know I like to wrap gifts nicely and often make it a bit special for those I love, so both this Snail Tape Dispenser review at Kaboodle graphic tape review at Kaboodle, graphic tape review at Kaboodle and giraffe kitchen scissors would make it even more fun : D

How cute would these cake roll washcloths look on a long plate in a guest room? early bird alarm clock would be cute too ^_^ I was very sad when my bargin ice cream bowl got smashed at a library in sweden but Ceramic Ice Cream Bowl Favors are pretty damn cool.

On the thread of table wear I also spotted this amazing Silver Honey Bee and these cute Mushroom Salt & Pepper Shakers.

Friends for life.

Despite a tragic start I have to say 2006 was a fantastic year. I have no doubt that I and many of my friends dealt with our grief and shock by reminding ourselves we are lucky to be alive, the summer which followed was unforgettable.

At the beginning of the summer Dave signed up and was away for 6 months training, I still lived and home and was only working part time, I was foot loose and fancy free not to mention itching to be busy. We had parties all over the place and they were all full of music, dancing and good times. A whole gang of us went to download music festival which for many of us was our first festival, and boy what a goodun it was. We went out dancing every weekend, stayed out till late and went wild (in a well behaved kind of way lol). As autumn approached I was overflowing with enthusiasm for life and determined to see through the plans that had been made.

3 years later a lot has changed and the same group of friends go to the seaside for the day. Its a celebration and one of my dear friends is engaged to be married, everyone is ecstatic! We had a fantastic day, I bought a picnic, we spent out time chatting and paddling in the sea, Noggs even had a kyte. It was a great day full of fun and friendship and towards to end of the day I started to think where we would all be in another 6 years. Watching my husband play with the dogs, and the love birds cooing together it isn't hard to imagine us together with our own kids in tow.

We are already half way there, of those at the beach there are 2 couples already married, 3 engaged and 2 have bought their own houses. Not to mention pet owners ; ) I hope that in the next few years I still have the joy of company with the same friends I have shared my life with.

Circle 2003 from left Frank, Mark, Alex, Noggs, Little Matt, Me, Abe and Jig. (whos flat we are in, the first to move out.) We are all 17 in this photo.