Trapped!

I’d just been congratulating myself on being such an efficient Little Red Hen: having to move all my stuff from the big house to my new apartment, and pack every box myself, carry it down 3 flights of stairs, load it into my tiny car, and then carry it up 3 flights of stairs in the new place…

To be fair, Jem and Matty have been wonderful, M especially as he can carry the heavy boxes, and also being 6 foot 5 is great for fixing lightshades etc

Anyhoo, went over today after lunch with the penultimate (I hope!) lot of kitchen jars, all the bits and bobs off my desk, and my concertina file of documents. (And my Scrabble dictionary, so all my opponents should make the most of this opportunity!)

The underground car park door opened OK with my remote, I unloaded all the boxes, a passing resident asked if I needed help, I smiled sweetly and accepted his offer with the heavy stuff, and he introduced himself as Tommy, from a flat 2 floors down.

All the boxes safely inside, I set about unpacking and re-arranging. Jem, as I said, has been an absolute star, and donated her iPod base unit to the communal living area, so I slotted in my newly re-found big iPod (the Shuffle lives in my handbag) and the first song it chose was “Don’t You Worry Bout a Thing”.

I sang along as I hammered the feet into Jem’s computer desk, and re-arranged the position of the shoe rack in my bedroom, thanking my lucky stars yet again fro finding such a beautiful and LARGE apartment.

Still singing, I stacked some empty boxes to take back with me, and went back down to teh car park.  The roller door was stuck about 2/3 way down.  I pressed the remote button.  Nothing.  I got out and pressed all the buttons by the side of the door – no response.  Luckliy, I’d recently imported all my contacts into my new iPhone, so I called the owner of the apartment (no reply), and then the letting agent.  They in turn got the maintenance people to ring me, who asked if I’d pressed all the buttons.  Ok, they’d send someone out but it might be an hour before they got to me.

Time passed.

I listened to the radio – Dermot O’Leary was on.  I thought I’d send him a text about my predicament just to pass the time.  He played me a dedication! Paulo Nutini, too <wow>

Time passed.

Tommy re-appeared, leaving out some rubbish.  He tried pressing all the buttons, too, and nothing happened, though we had a nice little chat.

Time passed.

Another resident appeared, and started putting a suitcase into his BMW. I explained that the door was stuck, but he said “Oh it’s done this before, I managed to get it to open” and he proceeded to press all the buttons…and to my amazement, the door opened!  He wasn’t able to tell me what the magic sequence was, sadly, but Freedom!

I’d been planning on taking Max for a last walk together.  It is undoubtedly strange being in this position: tonight is quite possibly the last night I’ll spend in the big house.  And while I’m pretty sure I’ll see Max again, and take him for walkies, we don’t really know what shape the future will be.

Jem is sooo looking forward to leaving the big house, and absolutely adores the new place.  I feel sad that she feels no regrets at leaving the big house – doesn’t want any reason to come back her and doesn’t want to see Roger again. But am so impressed at her positive attitude to moving, fresh start, her helpfulness and cheerfulness.

The owner’s just phoned me as I’m typing this, very apologetic about the inconvenience.  He’d just been round himself and apparently the door is stuck again, so maybe he can put some pressure on to the maintenance crowd to get it sorted.

Meanwhile, I’m off to The Gambia tomorrow, where it’s currently 40 degrees!!!

Still singing “Don’t You Worry Bout a Thing”….

Scary Musical

Jem’s latest production was Scary Musical, an innuendo-laden spoof of High School Musical, with some hilarious pastiches of Fame, Grease, and Saturday Night Fever thrown in along the way.

The lyrics are very clever – I particulalry liked “It doesn’t have to be hard if we come together – if we all lend a hand, job done, we can pull it off….”

I’ll leave the choreography and …erm…actions to your imagination!

A very talented cast – I recgonised most of them from other MT4UTH and McMaster shows, and I thought to myself “Ah yes, the usual suspects”. And then I thought, yup, those are NI’s stars of tomorrow. And what a great bunch they all are. Remember my name!

New phone, old phone

Having been distinctly unimpressed by Voadafone’s customer service last year (new handset, had problems, replaced with reconditioned handset, had different probelms, repeat several times until they refused to replace a non-functioning handset…) I’d vowed to wait out my contract with them and then treat myself to an iPhone!

And here it is.

Now, I wouldn’t normally class myself as an early adopter, but I’m the first person in my office to have one!  OK, 2 of the guys have Blackberries so it’s not like we’re completely last millennium.

I’m a bit old skool at times – you can see an ancient dictaphone in the background, which I carry in the car with me.  I use it to make a note of any songs on the radio I like, so I can download them later.  I use it to record directions to somewhere I don’t know (I did have a SatNav but it got stolen out of the car).

And of course I used my old phone to take a photo of the new one!

2009 review

Started the year with walkies on the beach, and enjoyed Scottish Dancing at Burns Night.  Jem auditioned for High School Musical and MT4UTH.

In February Max had to go to the vet’s for his shoulder to be X-rayed, and Jem went skiing on a school trip.  In March we went to see Flashdance, and Jem sang I’m Still Hurting at her school concert.  During April we went on a bike weekend to Kesh, and saw Evita.  At Easter Jem went to a course at Bird College, and was awarded the hardest working student cerfickatick.  I went to a weekend Scottish dancing course in my alma mater, Coleraine High.

In May, my nephew did well with his goats at Balmoral Show, and I received my favourite text of the year from my sister: “Cld u get some cabbages, and if so cld u bring 6?”  We went to the North West 200, which was badly disrupted by accidents and weather.  We went to see Fame and Cabaret, and I ran a 10k run for action cancer.  At the end of the month my son turned 18; we celebrated with a family party in the Hilden brewery, and I made a montage of photos from throughout his life.

In June, Jem got to meet the President of Ireland, and appeared as Martha in High School Musical.  In July, we went to see Never Forget, and Evelyn Glennie, before heading to China for an amazing trip.  The high point for me was seeing that glorious diamond ring of the eclipse, although dancing on the Great Wall was rather fabulous, and the whole trip was truly magnificent.

In August, Jem appeared on the stage of the Grand Opera House in Godspell, and my sister described her when she dances as looking as though it’s the most wonderful thing she’s ever been asked to do. She got her photo on the front of the local paper.  Mum and Dad celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary, and we had a wonderful party with cake and a song wot I wrote: I’d converted some old camcorder tapes onto DVDs for them, and had fun making covers and and labels.  At the end of August I rode my new bike, Zucchero, to Skye, and only dropped it once!  And was able to pick it up myself. In Skye we visited Calum’s Road, where R and a group of about a  dozen bikers will be setting off next year to ride to The Gambia.

In September Harry started university, and Jem auditioned for Guys and Dolls. She also did a photo shoot for the pantomime, and her picture was used many times for publicity.  We looked after my sister-in-law’s dog, Mack, when she had to have breast surgery.

During October, Jem played the Narrator in her school production of Blood Brothers, and had her Just Dance audition.  I visited old friends in Luxembourg and Frankfurt.  November brought parents evening, where for the first time I got nothing but glowing reports!  She then totally wowed the audiences with her charming portrayal of Miss Adelaide .  In December we went to London and saw Legally Blonde, and I decided to do something about the 2 stone I’ve put on since I stopped smoking 2 years ago, and re-joined the gym.  I also decided that the deteriorating atmosphere at home, which had included many flouncing outs, 3 day sulks, and a laptop flung across the room, was untenable, and I found a little apartment for Jem and I to move into in the New Year.

I’m approaching the new decade with a positive attitude – I will lose some weight, I’ll be visiting The Gambia in February, and help Jem get through her GCSEs.  Come September who knows where we’ll all be!

Frosty Forest

Managed to take a good action shot of Max today!  This is rather an amazing achievement, as usually by the time I have lined up the framing background, called Max to me, and pressed the button, he’s way past me.  Honestly, I have a gazilion pics of the tip of his tail.

But today, in gloriously snowy magical Hillsborough forest, I captured this moment.

Run Max, Run!

I do so love the forest at all times of the year, but the current cold snap renders it a truly magical kingdom, where showers of crystal tumble upon you as you pass, and your shadow is as tall as the trees.

I know we’re all waiting for the thaw, so that traveling arrangements can get back to normal, but I’m carpe diem-ing, and making the most of the wonderful scenes that we currently have.

Christmas in London

Just spent the most wonderful weekend in London and am so proud of my little darlings – well, not so little these days!  Harry’s just finished his first term at Central, where he’s one of only 4 students doing theatre sound.  He’s absolutely loving being in London (and what 18 year old boy wouldn’t!), but I was caught unawares by one of his comments about what was so great about life in the capital city: he said, no-one had once made a remark about his appearance.  OK, I know Norn Irn is a bit conservative when it comes to its inhabitants, and sure, people with blue dreadlocks don’t merit a second glance in London.  I just never realised my tough gothy heavy metal loving son was so sensitive about  jibes at his long hair and baggy shorts.

I’m so proud of this young man, who’d previously dropped out of school.  But, inspired partly by our lunch with an astronaut at KSC last year (thank you Storey Musgrave), he decided to follow his dream, and secured himself this rare opportunity by portfolio and references.  He was working with Pink last week.

Jemima had a ball.  Which was just as well, as it was her treat for getting such great feedback from her teachers this year!  I’d asked her “Would you like a puppy? A pony? No? OK how about a weekend in London…” and was bowled over by her exuberant acceptance – literally!

We gave a standing ovation to Legally Blonde, we shopped at Harrods and bought her Christmas pressie of a lovely new red coat, we ate Chinese food in Chinatown, joined in the carol singing at the tree in Trafalgar Square,  ice-skated at the Tower of london, and drank mulled wine watching the street theatre at Covent Garden.

It’s looking likely that the pair of them will be here next year (Jem’s sent off her audition applications to Laine and Bird today), and I just wonder – should I join them?

Jade and Pearl

I had the real pleasure last week of collecting a piece of jewelery that I had designed and commissioned myself.  While in China I’d acquired a couple of small pieces of jade, and a few freshwater pearls.  Intrinsically they had very little value, but I was keen to have them incorporated into a piece of jewelery that I could wear.  Here’s the end result:

unique piece

I’m thrilled to bits with it, and am looking forward to wearing it over Christmas.  I tend to buy necklaces and the like when I’m abroad, simply to be able to answer “Oh I got it in Venice/ Luxembourg/ Skye” or something when it gets admired.  So I shall look forward to telling people about the jade carving factory just outside Beijing, and the freshwater oyster place in Huangzhou where I picked up these little  gems, and of course they are a beautiful reminder for me of a beautiful country.

And a big thank you to Margaret Forbes the jeweler for creating such a stunning piece.

Guys and Dolls

We’re in the eerie calm after the storm now that the week-long run of Guys and Dolls is over.  Jemima was playing Miss Adelaide, her first time in a principal role, and boy what a great role it was for her!  It completely suited her effervescent personality, and the songs were in a good range for her to sing.  The few weeks leading up to the show were hectic, mind, with me taxi-ing her back and forth.  But I remember the mantra I taught myself when the babes were young – make the most of every phase, and don’t dwell on the less pleasant aspects.  Because they grow up all too soon, and those happy moments will soon only be memories.

A letter from Adelaide's mother

So we’re making the most of our car time together.  We listen to a bit of Classic FM, to improve her listening skills which she needs to do for her Music GCSE, and we talk about the future.

She did her Grade 6 ballet in the same week as the show, and I was talking to her ballet teacher while she was in the exam room.  Previously she had encouraged me to persuade Jem not to go to London next year to dance college, but to stay and go to Belfast Met instead.  But when we were discussing her knock-em dead performance, we both agreed that we might reconsider.  I know like any mother, I will support her to the hilt in whatever is the best option for her future, but boy I’ll miss her when she’s gone.

take back your mink

Sadly, we’ve just discovered that she’s too young to go for Lloyd Webber’s next search, which is for Dorothy.  Basically they can’t interrupt compulsory education.  Shame, cos she’d be the right type for that role, but there’ll be other chances.  She was quite sanguine about this, and is being very industrious about preparing for her GCSEs next year.  She’s also busy filling in application forms for the main dance schools that she’s keen on – Laine, Arts Ed, and Bird.  So no doubt we’ll be over to London a few times in the New Year!

New computer

 

Behold my new computer!  My previous one, although only 4 years old, constantly gave problems with interenet access>  We’d gone to PC World origionally to get a new wireless card, but the prices of computers fall so rapidly, with a corresponding increase in power, that it made more sense just to buy a new machine.  This little HP baby came complete with a printer/ copier and scanner all in one.  It’s got Windows 7, which I’m still finding my way around, and I also get Word and Excel 2007.

 

So far so fab!  The updated software is very intuitive – for instance when I stick the SD card from the camcorder into it, it instantly recognises the clips and imports them into Windows Live Movie Maker.  From there, editing is a doddle, and it’s a push button choice of “Upload to Youtube” or “Make a DVD”.

 

Same with photos on my phone, which in the past have given me great problems.  Now, the computer recognises the pictures and imports them itself, without any need for software from the phone.

 

 

Jem has inherited my old one, minus the internet access, but with Word, Excel, Powerpoint and iTunes it’s got lots of features that she needs for homeworks and music.

 

Now all I need is anme for it – any suggestions?

Just Dance

Jemima was lucky enough recently to get through the first stage of auditions for Just Dance, a reality show to be shown on Sky 1 next year.  We flew to Edinburgh for the next round, unsure of what the format was going to be.  Turned out she had to perform in front of a live audience, complete with bright lights and scurrying camera crew, and be interviewed back stage.  The panel certainly had gravitas in the dancing world – Adam Garcia, Kimberly Pussycat Doll, and Ashley “Diversity” Banjo.  And they were being extremely strict – in the 5 or 6 hours we were there I saw them approve one dancer.  And no, it wasn’t our J.  She’d danced her little heart out – all winsome smiles and graceful limbs.  Her face lit up when Ashley asked her about the music, written for her by her boyfriend.  And all the judges’ comments were constructive and believable.  I was bursting with pride (yes again!) at her ability to cope unprepared with this tough ordeal, and to keep her chin up and keep smiling during the feedback.

Apologies for teh watermark on the video – having just upgraded my ‘puter to one using Windows 7, I’m rather disappointed that Movie Maker still doesn’t import mp4 or wav files, and so in order to capture Matty’s stunning music I had to use a free trial download.