Week 6 - Cream Crackered!

Well I can't believe week 6 has been and gone already, this week has been a sad and stressful week but while everything has been going on the house has been progressing in leaps and bounds, our builders are working very hard!

We popped up there on Thursday and then again today and the difference in those few days is very apparent!

The front bedroom is pretty much done now, the ceilings been replaced and the walls plastered, just needs the radiator fitted now and then me and Jay can whitewash and paint it! yay!

The Hall Stairway has been plastered, god knows how they got up to the top but it looks fantastic!

We bought the Bathroom, boiler, rads and plumbing on Tuesday, the most expensive lunchbreak from work I have ever had and it didn't even include food! The boiler has already been fitted in the utility bit of the kitchen and two little rads are up, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom...let there be heat!!

The Dining room is coming along, they've now done the ceiling and plastered some of the walls, just the radiators to go in and the back door in a few weeks time, can't wait to see what a difference the light will make to the room!

And the Kitchen Plans have been drawn up, we are just waiting for our quote and praying we can afford it as our bathroom went over budget, why are pipes so bloomin expensive!!  Fingers crossed and our kitchen will look something like this...

Lots going on, two more weeks of building work, then me & jay will be there for a week whitewashing the whole house, then hopefully can start some painting while the builders keep working.  The kitchen will be one of the last things to go in and the windows should be fitted in a few weeks time! Its all coming together I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to fly by...

Darryl

Darryl’s passing away was a shock to everyone.  Every time he went into hospital he always pulled through and came home and so I almost took it for granted that he always will.  He had a very rare condition, he was born with half a heart.  The doctors predicted that he would not live a day when he was born and yet he lived to be 28 years old, he was simply put, a bit of a miracle.  Darryl was in and out of hospital a lot throughout his life and although these were very hard times for him and his family he always came back fighting and remained cheerful.  That was the sort of person he was, determined that he had lots more to give and more life to live.

Darryl might have had challenges with his health but he did lead a very full and happy life. He had lots of friends, he was the sort of person who befriended everyone he met and would literally talk to anyone, whether it’s someone he passed in the street or standing at the bus stop!  He had a job volunteering at Woodside Juniors as a classroom assistant, which he loved, again because he loved to be with people.  He got on so well with the kids that (I’ve heard) their spirits lifted when they found out Darryl was in charge at detention time, as they knew he’d play games and have fun rather than be stern and give them a good telling off!  Woodside holds special meaning, being where we all went to school together.  The teachers there are friends of the family and have been supportive throughout Darryl’s childhood and as an adult when we worked there.  At the funeral there were flowers from the school in the design of the Woodside emblem which were incredible and very beautiful.

Darryl is a year older than Jamie, but at school he came back a year and so was in our year at school.  He wasn’t in my class but I remember him at school.  I had no idea years later that I would get together with Jamie and become part of their family.  I actually remember Darryl more vividly than Jamie at junior school (sorry Jamie hee hee), probably because he was such a larger than life character.  Being cheeky and making people laugh always telling jokes, and strutting about in his orange and black bomber jacket, (which were very fashionable at the time I’ll have you know).  After Woodside, Jamie and I went to Shirley High but Darryl went to a different secondary school so I didn’t see him for many years.  However some years later when jay and I got together and I met Darryl again he was just as I remembered him, he had not changed, still a funny, lively person who welcomed me into the family and always treated me as a friend.

I have lots of memories from our holiday in the Isle of Wight about 7 years ago, we hadn’t been together very long and I was a little nervous about meeting Jamie’s relatives who lived over there. We stayed in a caravan on a holiday camp.  I remember nights in the disco club where Darryl, his cousins and uncle got a bit tipsy, Darryl as tipsy as he was allowed…singing away to the music at the top of his voice.  When they were younger Jamie told me he used to do singing competitions on holiday, he loved a good sing song! Then there was Darryl’s mild obsession with Bingo and I cannot forget his snoring!! Baring in mind the walls were paper thin but it was like having a bulldozer going off! I remember lying there giggling and Darryl shouting out ‘I can hear you don’t try any funny business’ and Jamie rolling his eyes and laughing.  We had won one of those teddies from a grabbing machine earlier that day, it was a George from Rainbow which said ‘Oh, You are naughty’ in a very camp voice.  We kept pressing it every few minutes when everything went quiet, to wind up Darryl and probably the rest of the family as well, as the walls were so thin!

I was introduced to the families favourite restaurant called ‘ The Eight Bells’ which they go to every time they go on holiday there and everybody laughed at the surprise on my face when I saw how big the portion sizes were, my jacket potato was like a football!

Darryl was probably fussier with food than I am! I remember many meals out, some to Darryl’s liking and others not so much!  The last meal we all went out for together was at a Greek restaurant, and everyone was unsure how Darryl was going to react to the food, as something he hadn’t tried before.  To the surprise of everyone he absolutely loved it! I’ve never seen him eat so much and so fast and demanded that they must go there for everyone’s birthdays in the future!  He had such a big smile on his face. :o)     

Anyone who knows Darryl knows he was crazy about Chelsea and football in general.  I myself am not a fan of football but I have to say watching a match at Jamie’s house with his family and Darryl’s friends there made it entertaining to watch! One match in particular their Nan and Grandad were down for the day and Darryl’s friend Andrew came round.  Andrew was supporting the other team playing against Chelsea, so the two of them spent all day winding each other up and cheering when their team scored a goal.  Meanwhile Jamie’s Nan was shouting at the telly, telling off the players for fouling and wagging her finger, which was very amusing!  Darryl was very passionate about his team, always wearing the blue and white shirt for matches and had lots of memorabilia.  Darryl, Jay and his Dad’s discussions of football scores and tactics sounds like another language to me! One of his other passions was wrestling, he loved going to see it live and watching it on the tele, much to Jamie’s annoyance as he had to listen to it as he went off to sleep as they shared a room and it wasn’t on till late!

Darryl loved to make people laugh and it wasn’t hard he was always making me laugh.  He’d come out with silly jokes all the time and had a witty sense of humour.  Whenever we start talking about Darryl no matter how sad we are feeling, we always end up laughing about something he said or did and there are so many stories that I haven’t heard before!

A recent story that springs to mind, was the gas man knocking on their door, Darryl answered the door.  The gas man asked if he could pop in and read the meter.  Darryl apologised, said there was nobody in and shut the door.  I’m not sure if he did that on purpose but it was genius!  I would have loved to see the gas mans face!

We sometimes played games at Jamie’s house, one that springs to mind was on a new years eve where we sat up and played all sorts of board games until late.  We played a dvd quiz game about films.  At the time both me and Jamie were working at Blockbuster and Darryl was outraged that we were both on the same team as we were film buffs!  It probably was a bit unfair, although they certainly gave us a run for our money! The last memory I have is of just after Christmas this year when Donna bought some new games.  I discovered one that I didn’t like, oh my god I’m not good at improvisation!  Darryl whooped my arse and pulled off some excellent pipe cleaner creations that had people guessing straight away! It was very amusing!!

Known as the life and soul of the party I believe his soul was at his party yesterday.  After two beautiful services, the celebration of Darryl’s life was held at Woodside School.  Exactly where he would have wanted, with all of his friends and family gathered together to remember him.  If Darryl is up there I’m sure he has got a big smile on his face!  Darryl lived his life to the full and there is no question he will be missed by so many people, he made an impact on the lives of so many.  I am proud to have known him and feel lucky to be part of his family.  He will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace Darryl x x x       

I Spy

I Spy with my little eye, something beginning with .............B

Hmmmmm...

No you won't guess...

Nope...

Nope...

It's a good one...

No I can't give you a clue thats cheating...

Nope...

Do you give up??

Ok ....

BASTARD!

*gasps* followed by concern

I was 7 and on a boat with my father and grandparents passing the time with an innocent game of I Spy.

The true meaning of the word bastard was soon to follow.

A Book Review

To Kill a Mocking Bird (Harper Lee)

Lots of people recognised the cover when they passed me by while I was reading this and most said they had either read it at school or studied it at college.  It’s one of those classics that I have meant to read but never really got round to, but now I have! It was a complete change to the fast paced action of the dragon tattoo trilogy which was exactly what I wanted, so it was nice to read something slower and more subtle.  Even though it’s a short book it took me a while to read this and it felt quite lengthy.  Although it appears quite simple on the surface, each of the characters has a depth and is cleverly described so that by the end you feel like you know the neighbourhood.   It’s full of questions about morals and prejudice.  

The story centres around a little girl called Scout and her brother Jem, based in Alabama in the Deep South of America in the 1930’s.  The story told by Scout, a somewhat boisterous 6 year old, shares her experiences of school, the small town and its neighbours.  It explores all sorts of typical growing up dilemmas as well as much more serious encounters with discrimination and injustice.   Their father Atticus, a highly regarded member of the community and lawyer, is appointed to represent a black man charged with the rape of a white girl.  Atticus agrees to defend this man and do everything he can to support him, all the while teaching his children to respect everyone no matter their differences, even those who turn against them during the trial.   It’s a beautiful book with subtle wit which made me smile and warm to the characters, but at the same time it deals with some very harsh themes.

One of the many great quotes 'you never really know a man untill you stand in his shoes and walk around in them'.

Week 5 - Wooo kitchen!

Kitchen is nearly done!! As in the walls...not the actual kitchen units.  Unfortunatley the kitchen we chose has been discontinued so we have had to pick a different one, I was really dissapointed as this was one thing thing we had actually made a decision on but now ive got over that I think its still gonna look wicked! The kitchen guy is coming next thursday to measure up the kitchen and sort out what we are going to order, yay!

Got to fit in some bathroom shopping at the weekend somehow, to decide what we are going to buy and where from.  Decided tonight where the radiators are going in all the rooms so they can start prepping for those.  They've still got to make a start on the ceilings and the plumbing so I think thats next on the agenda.  Checked through our budget today and what we've spent so far and we are doing ok just about on track so I think *everything is crossed, even my eyes* that we will scrape to our budget, but we shall see once the kitchen and bathroom quotes roll in...

Chain Smoking Aliens

Went to the cinema last night to see 'Paul', thats the film 'Paul' not my mate Paul...When we reached the counter Rob asked for a ticket for Paul, which I thought was hilarious and asked him why he wasn't getting a ticket for himself...god im easily amused.

Anyway first mistake of the evening was that it was Wednesday.  Bloody 'Orange Wednesdays' yeah I know its great if you've got an Orange phone or even if you remembered what it was, but the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.  So we got to Beckenham Odean to find it crammed with people and three availble seats in the entire cinema...you guessed it, in the front row.  Argh no way, im not sitting there cranning my neck and holding my glasses up in the air so I can see for 2 hours.  We came home and then found that Sutton had a much later showing.

This time being that we were unprepared for Beckenham we decided to leave ridiculously early so we could get a good seat as its unreserved.  We had an entire cinema to ourselves!! About 5 people strolled in just before it started.  I have to praise Sutton here, apart from having no queue it is ALOT cheaper than everywhere else.  Me and Rob paid less for our standard tickets that Jay did for a student ticket in the other cinemas.

As we were ridiculously early we of course had to purchase loads of crap and then precede to eat it all by the time the film starts.  Jamie happily sat munching his popcorn, Rob nearly threw nacho cheese down his jeans and I moaned about the fact that I had bought chocolates that were individually wrapped *tutt*.  By the time the trailors came on I was so hyperactive from eating all my sweets that I had got the giggles.  It's lucky we were going to watch a comedy or I may have had to leave.  Everything anyone said was funny.  In fact the film could have been rubbish and I still would have been laughing as the sugar coarsed through my veins.  For some reason oreo cookies and chocolates where not enough I had to get pic and mix aswell. 

The film was great! Its about 2 geeks who go to america to the comic-con exhibit and then a tour of all the UFO famous spots around America.  Where upon they come across an chain smoking, potty mouthed alien called Paul and end up on a mission to help him (he is a fugitive on the run from 'the big guy') return to his spaceship and fly home to his planet.  Absolutely stupid, loved it.  Towards the end of the film Paul gives us some wise words of wisdom along the lines of 'theres something we can all learn from this, how much we love and care for each other or some shit like that.'

Week 4 - I'm Slacking!

Week 4 has been and gone and lots of progress has been made in the house.  We went up there on Tuesday and Friday last week and things are starting to come together.  The Kitchen walls have been bonded, the back door is no more and I can picture it as a room now!

The Kitchen...

Minus the back door...

The bathroom has been plastered top to bottom and is smooth and ready for plumbing!  This week we will hopefully be ordering the bathroom suite!

Still a long way to go but over the next few weeks it'll hopefully start to look less like a building site and more like a little house again. We met our neighbour on Friday, at last! He seems really nice and isn't bothered by the noise and mess we are making which is a relief!  This week-some plumbing, insulation and plasterboards are on the menu...

Change

It's funny how fast things change. 

One minute counting to 100 and receiving a gold sticker from the headteacher is the only thing that matters. 

Before you know it you've grown up and counting to 100 just isn't important anymore in the grand scheme of things

Woodside

Infants and Junior school memories are starting to get a bit fuzzy.  Time is flying by year by year but I have really fond memories of Woodside that I’d like to hang on to, so I thought I’d jot some stuff down.

This is a rather random mishmash of memories but I’ve tried to think about all the different senses combined with funny moments that I can remember.  Sometimes a particular smell, taste or sound might trigger a memory or have particular connotations.  Maybe some of you reading this will join me in my trip down memory lane, please add things I've forgotten in the comments section underneath!

Taste

Mr Jenkins walking around asking who wants extras, so eager was I in putting up my hand that I always seemed to end up with the skin on top of the custard!

I remember the plastic trays we had with separate compartments for dinner and pud.

It was all about smiley face potatoes and gypsy tart, yum!!

I remember a Dinner lady helped me to peel an orange and squirted it in my eye, I’d call that unsuccessful.

Cartons of creamy milk at break times in the infants.

Sponge cake with pink icing and hundreds & thousands on top – the ONLY thing I ate during the week at Arethusa.

I’m not sure if this should go under taste-but the time where I jokingly gestured throwing my bottle of drink in someone’s face (thinking the lid was secure), they ended up wearing ribena, I think I may have got in trouble for that one…

Smell

That school dinner smell as you waited eagerly in a line under the archways waiting to approach the lower school hall, with its long tables and little round stools attached. 

The smell of rubber plimsolls that you used to wear during PE which in infants was essentially jumping around in your vest and pants.

This is a bit unpleasant to put under smell but for some strange reason we visited a sewage farm on one of our school trips…I’ll let you use your imagination.

Although a much nicer smelling trip was the one to the Bodyshop factory!

Sound

Mrs Stanford’s squeaky shoes as we padded down the corridor behind her in single file giggling. 

The sound of Mr Rogers deep voice reading stories to us in assemblies.

The lilting notes of Mrs McMillan’s piano playing

The sound of Steel Pans takes me back to school instantly.  Walking past Woodside now sometimes you can hear that familiar sound waft out into the street as kids practice after school.  Occasionally in the summer I can hear it faintly from my garden if they are playing outside.

The noise of break times, everyone running, skipping, pushing, shoving, laughing. Shouting.  The whistle piercing into sudden silence, everyone standing as still as a statue.  Hearing yourself breathe awaiting instruction to go back to class.

The squeak of those plimsolls on the school hall floor during PE.

Roller Disco’s in the hall, attempting to dance and skate at the same time, I seem to remember a few injuries occurring at those!

Country dancing where I was always the man!! Although it did mean I got to wear jeans so I didn’t really mind…some things don’t change much.

I remember one day in my last year at Woodside one of our classroom windows got smashed with a ball during playtime, but it hadn’t quite broken.  We had to move the tables away from the window and sit away from it incase it shattered, but we could hear the glass cracking all through the lessons.

Mr Jenkins booming welsh accent, the man who somehow had the power to remember every single students name, including their parents and siblings, and still does if you happen to pass him in the street 20 years later, amazing!!

Sight

The orange sparkly floor in the lower school hall

Mr Jenkins cutting his tie in half during assembly – there was a moral to that story but I can’t remember what it was!

Mrs Daily was ambidextrous and could write back to front, upside down and any which way you can imagine, that was quite a sight!

One of the projects which sticks in my mind from juniors was the Snow Leopards.  We went to Chessington Zoo where at the time they had snow tigers, they were beautiful!  It was an exciting project where you had to plan an expedition and I remember doing a drawing of a leopard.

Touch

Rugby tackles! I remember our class had a Rugby coach come and give us Rugby lessons in PE and bizarrely I really enjoyed it! We even went offsite and played against another school.  I have visions of Matt Terry being tackled by Joshua who at the time was tiny and pretty much hanging onto Matts leg while he walked.

Playing Stuck in the mud and Kiss chase in the playground, also the game of how many people can sit on a bench on top of each other…

Receiving a crumpled envelope in your hand, all the way from Gambia in Africa, with letters from children at school there, our pen pals.  I still have one of these letters somewhere that I kept.

Sitting cross legged on the hard wooden floor of the hall, and then moving up to the benches when you got a bit older.

Mrs ‘Biscuit’ the scary dinner lady who squeezed every inch of breath out of your tiny body until you thought your bones might crunch – that was if you were well behaved…

Day 13 - In Daylight!

It was nice to see the house in daylight today as we've only really been able to get up there in the evenings after work when its dark to see whats going on.  Managed to get in the garden today as alot of the rubbish has been put in the skip.  I think the fish are still alive...

Jay and his dad are doing some more wiring today and we met Phil the window man who came to measure up so he can give us a quote for our windows and doors! Rob came to have a nosey around so we just got in the way while everyone was busy working...

It seems we are on track time wise which is good, so if all goes to plan the builders work will be done by mid-end of March ready for us to go in and do bits and bobs ourselves.  Depending on how our budget goes over the next few weeks will determine just how much we can get done and how much we will have to leave to be finished as and when we can afford it...

I think the next month is going to fly by can't wait to see it taking shape!

Fairytales

All this talk about moving house has made me think back to when we moved into the house we live in now.  We moved there when I was just 4 years old and although I don't remember much about being 4 years old I do remember going to see 'our' house for the first time. 

Mum took us to look around the house and asked us if we liked it and if we might like to live there.  I said yes.  I remember very clearly what was to become my room, I couldn't tell you what the rest of the house looked like its all a blur except for that special room.  My room was pink, everything was pink.  Pink ceiling, pink carpet, pink clowns on the wall paper, it was a fairytale of a room.  Which is ironic as anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of pink and am not very 'girly'.  But that was not always the case, pink was my favourite colour and I fell in love with that little bedroom.  In stark contrast there will be no pink rooms in our new house!!

Its funny the little moments we remember, something small that stays with us after so many years.

I think for our new house it was the garden that sealed the deal for me.  I saw so much potential in the house in general but that garden is something special and it may be just me who saw that, but I am itching for spring to arrive so we can clean it up and give it some love! And it has an apple tree which in itself puts a big smile on my face, I don't know why maybe its my new fairytale.

Work Day 9: Hop, Skip 'n' a Jump

We finally managed to get a skip, hoorah!  Since we got the keys to the house back in November, we have never seen a space outside our house!! (Not a good sign for us parking, I know) So we have not been able to secure a space for a skip, being on a main road doesn't help either.  But we have now managed to grab a space and plonk a skip there, so i'm sure that it won't take long to fill up with all the rubbish they've been clearing out over the last few weeks!

The house is a bit upside down at the moment e.g. the ceilings are on the floor...

Some of the ceilings were quite badly cracked and needed to be replaced so this is happening right now.

We drew out a design for the kitchen last night to show the kitchen supplier, to make sure what we want is available and suitable for our little kitchen.  Some thought needed to go into where to put certain appliances as it is a very small space and we need to make sure we can access things and have space to move about at the same time!  It is cool to be doing this from scratch but at the same time we don't really know what we are doing, so hopefully the supplier and our builders will give us an idea of if we are on the right track!  Now the small window in the utility is blocked up and the appropriate walls have been removed (or built), the structure is there for us to play around with the space.

The Bathroom walls have been plastered so they are smooth and straight!

Jamie left a little msg to the builders in the bathroom...

Everything is progressing nice and messily! We will be back up there at the end of the week to nosy round more changes!  Have started buying little bits and bobs for the house now, and am finding all the cheapo shops coming to my aid...bargain of the day : Toast Rack £1.00! lol