Hmm can I be pink & fluffy?

Last weekend I headed to the West Country to be pink and fluffy with, well Fluffy! (aka Ruth). It was good fun, and rather relaxing as well ... and the farmhouse was huge! It was so nice to have loads of room to move around in after living in a pokey little flat for too long!!! We did hovercrafting which was fab, Fluff really enjoyed that from her huge grin!!! We also did blindfold driving, which wasn't too bad in the end as it was sort of string trail for grown ups!!!

This weekend has a sort of darker tone with bright sparks, we're off to London and plan to hit the Imperial War Museum on Friday; given that's it Remembrance Sunday weekend that should make it more interesting (and I'm doing about Remembrance Day at Brownies on the Tues as its the 11th, using the Anzac Heritage badge from GG NZ as a base idea). The bright sparks come in the form of the Lord Mayor's Show which we plan to see as we're staying in the City of London. Then fireworks in the evening as part of that event. We even manage to catch up with friends over dinner on Fri & my parents on the Sat ... looks like a good & busy weekend!

Life's a Beach ... and there's a lot of shingle on it!

I've been keeping fit this week ... as for the last 3 afternoons & 2 evenings (for I escaped early today!) I've been walking the eastern beaches in about 10-15m spacings (as we have 2 or 3 of us and the spacings need to be less than 5m) ... which means you walk quite a few kilometres/ miles (the base station set ups are about 1km apart) on shingle ... not the best substance to walk on, it just zaps the energy out of you. So probably around 25-30km later the weekend has arrived!!

But it should inform us of how much beach we've lost over the last year .. and it will get re-surveyed again next year and no doubt I'll be trundging up and down the beach in the name of beach surveying ... mind you I might get to do some hydrographic surveying from my previous experience from ports days (the main surveyor had a raise of voice as if to say 'hmm that's useful to know' when I said I used to do hydro survey checks and monitoring on the pre & post dredge surveys ... so know how they work ...)

Mind you I have some choice blisters on the inside of my feet and some achey knees (as you don't get to walk level for chunks of it); so the weekend and a day off are appreciated!

Uuugh & other car stuff....

Uuugh was the reaction Dr T & I had of our first sighting of the New Fabia estate, as seen on the A34 heading back from invitefest in Hereford (for James & Ruth's Wedding...). We saw the vile back end and the Skoda badge, then computed that it wasn't the Roomster but the new Fabia estate ... and both had the same reaction Uuugh. It horrible and boxy, I think it looks more like a modern Favorit (from the full on Czech days) than the new version of my Fab (from the VAG days). Mind you I'm happy with the Fab and can't see me changing it anytime soon ... definately not for the new fab estate!

On other car news ... Kestrel & I did the usual ascent of Lyndhurst High Street that usually occurs in a Foxlease weekend ... but both liking our cars we finished the descent with noses pressed against the glass of the Ferrari / Maserati dealership ...

... I should at this point inform you of a long joked dare we've had in my old district of turning up to the dealership in full Guider's uniform and asking (and getting) a Ferrari test drive (I'm currently debating it for the 'mountain top moment' weekend our county is planning for Guiders in centenary year ...). Well none of us have got close ...

... we then wandered round near the rear of the dealership where the 2nd hand cars are ... did you know you could pick up a 2003 plate Maserati for £30k? Defianately more easy to get a test drive for one of those in your uniform ... maybe for next time? Mind you a £30k Maserati still probably has exensive running costs so the buying of the car is probably the only cheap bit!

Guiding Buzz ...

I've just spent the weekend at Foxlease, on a Region Brownie Training... and come back with Brownie Guiding Buzz!

It was great to have a really inspiring weekend of both training and socialising, I think we learnt as much from chatting as we did from the trainings! Alas I guide in a County which doesn't really do trainings for Guiders who have had their warrants a while & have the licences they want... so for once we got decent training! We get a half day county day training (when everywhere else gets a whole day, and all we generally get is that half day) ... and found out why we've been having the trainer issues we've had; and worryingly were being told the reason openly.

I went with Kestrel and although there together, for a large chunk of the training we were in different groups so got different viewpoints and experiences to take forward. We have two games we're planning to get into the meetings quick, and a got some ideas to put into the programme quickly!

We even managed to book our Pack holiday for September 2009!!! We've been meaning to go away for a while now but not quite sorted getting a place to go... but as we were there together ... we got the dates when Pack Holiday houses were free and went and booked it! And then realised that we managed to get it 2 weeks after the launch od the centenary celebrations so we've sort of decided to make that the sort of theme (which goes against asking the girls) ... so the girl decisions will come from activity ideas and areas...

Watch out Brownies .... Kestrel and Dolphin are full of Guiding buzz!

Local Game on National TV!

I got all rather happy watching the last episode of 'Rory & Paddy's Big British Adventure' which we had recorded when it was on earlier in the week...

For they had a game of my youth, and of my homeland!

For those who didn't watch the series Rory McGrath & Paddy McGuiness tour the UK trying the weird & wonderful local games and pastimes.

In the last programme of the series they headed to the South :) and Paddy headed to my homeland and the pub where my A level results (and many A level results from my school are celebrated, being he nearest to school) were celebrated and the church choir have been known to partake (as it is essentially the pub for the old village, now suburb known as Hackington).

Enough of the reminising of Ye Olde Beverlie... onto the excitment at the TV for me. Paddy had a go at playing 'Bat & Trap' ... its an East Kent Pub Game, and as I found out in the programme actually originates from Canterbury... I've played it in mainly village pubs between there and Dover/ Deal which I think is the Bat & Trap heartland! It is something I miss from summer evenings; a game of Bat & Trap or two. There isn't something like it here and I doubt I can bring it to the Portsmouth Masses! In the Portsmouth News we have a page full of Netball results from the local leagues ... we have local leagues and the Kentish Gazette has a page with the Bat & Trap results!

...and in finding the links for this post I've found I can buy the Bat & the Trap ... all I need now is a longish flatish garden ... watch out Dr T!

Odd Tyres?

Yesterday my former trusty steed of student days (well until the hols between 2nd & 3rd Year when McDs money purchased a new mountain bike!) went in for an overhaul after being mistreated in my parents shed for many years (they scuffed her paintwork and dented her chain guard) at those very knowledgeable people at Portsmouth Cycle Exchange so it will see service on the roads of Portsmouth again ... well until we get over one hiccup.

I delivered the bike into the cycle exchange on the run into work today saying I knew it needed new tyres ... and to be told that my bike has odd tyres that are hard to get hold of ... but there would be sources on the internet... its would seem my lovely Peugeot 'Tradition' Cycle is subject to a french quirk ... the tyres.

They take what's known in the cycle world as 650Bs which the french loved .... when the rest of the world seems to prefer 700s. But all is not lost ... the french quirk has a french friend which has limited stores in the UK ... Decathalon is the easiest place to obtain such tyres... so this weekend while loitering in the posh bit of Kent (aka Sevenoaks) I will swallow hard and enter Essex (LOL a comment I saw made me giggle as a Maid of Kent; Kent is the Garden of England, Essex is its compost heap) and Thurrock industrial estate (and maybe also a side trip to Ikea while there!) to obtain the tyres needed to get this much loved steed on the road again (and maybe this time she won't loose all her gears as I leave Fishbourne IOW car ferry terminal as I try to get up the hill .... I was left with 3rd gear of a 3 gear bike for the rest of the trip ... the cycle exchange nursed her back then as well). I did a bit of a ride from the shop to where the car was parked ... I forgot how high up you sit on it... and it was good to have wind in hair again! I think after being in Amsterdam in June my love of the traditional style of bike is back .... I just need a wicker basket (the original one was past revival on exit from shed) to stick shopping and work bags in and we're all go!

.. well sort of, the reason I have both my bikes down here now is in the aim that maybe I don't have to drive and park all the time ... and that maybe we can cycle into town or down the seafront... but first we need to teach Dr T (who will now use the male style mountain bike, he has no adult sized bike) to cycle on the road, he never learnt to do this as a kid... but do you know how hard it is to find adult cycling proficiency? So we'll start of with some short rides on quieter Portsmouth roads and cycle paths, fortunately we do some easy harbour side cycle rides, before the ultimate aim of cycling into the city centre shops/ work (which involves a major road that you need to be confident on before tackling...).

I'm looking forward to being on the Peugeot again ... and if its gets used lots it will get a new toy next time I head to Holland ... some funky dutch pannier bags!

Yellow Lanyard Fame!

The yellow lanyards had their moment on Lambeth Daily yesterday ... and mum got her moment ... amongst the jumpers for ladies of 'traditional build'.