Reality TV...

...where's the reality?????????

So a bunch of celebs get dumped in the jungle and have to eat bugs and things - real life...yeh, sure.

A group of assorted strangers get locked up in a house, their every move caught on camera and they behave as if they didn't know they were being watched...yeh, right.

We are currently being exposed to the auditions of "X facter" and to be honest, this is probably the best bit of the whole competition. Yes, there is talent out there to be found but I find it amazing that sooooooo many folk think they can sing **sing; verb, to produce music, musical sounds, songs etc. with the voice** - - - **music; noun, the arrangement of sounds in pleasant patterns and tunes** . Some of these folk are more than tone-deaf, lol.

From the age of 9 until my late teens I attended a stage school. I studied dance and song but never in a million years would I consider myself worthy of competing for a chance to get a record contract. Despite the rather large box up in the loft containing trophies, medals and certificates I hold my hands up and say that most of my success was due to a very talented dance teacher who had the knack for choosing just the right songs for her pupils :o)

Dear Miss Carol...

So, you wont be seeing me on any of these 'reality' shows. Not now, not ever...

I'll continue to tune in for the performing type shows - X facter, Britains got talent, Dancing on ice etc. but I'll be giving the likes of BB and I'm a Celebrity a miss.

As Bubbah has posted over on his blog....

is soooo much more me (he, he)......................................

And just where have...

..all the good manners gone?

As I struggled home on the train this evening, loaded down with shopping and not in the best frame of mind because the crop had been cancelled, I stood fuming in a very crowded carriage as two young boys tried to 'kung-foo' kick each other - and not a word of censure from the 'dad' accompanying them :o(

I was trying very hard to protect my shopping and hold my tongue (grrrrrrrrr, hurumffff).

Unfortunately, in the present climate it does not bode well to make comments as the media is full of reports about the terrible consequencies that can result - the Nottinghill Carnival is a perfect example, where a guy was fatally stabbed for trying to protect his deaf friend from a gang of taunting, bullying thugs. We appear to have a catch-22 situation...

We don't say anything for fear of reprisals and the yobs carry on behaving the way they do cos no one says anything...

But back to the main topic - manners seem to have gone the way of the Dodo.

When you are trying to negotiate your way around London Underground & British Rail with a load of shopping it is surely not too much to ask (????????) for folk to say "excuse me" or "sorry" if they bump into you - afterall, everyone is in the same position - trying to get home.

I also wonder if folk truely believe you have been standing on the platform just for the benefit of your health. The Jubilee line schedule and that of c2c do not 'gel' well so I often find myself in the position of having just missed a train. If the next service due is an 8 carriage train I am often the only one standing at the end of the platform for anything up to 30 mins (or more). So why do folk, who have only just arrived as the train is pulling in, feel they have a right to barge in front of me to get on the train. Even worse - they barge you out of the way so they can get on the train and then they STOP, effectively blocking the entrance for everyone else. Not only do they have no manners but it is clear they have very little by way of the 'grey matter' between their ears.

Are good manners really a thing of the past or is there still time to revive this dying behaviour?

I have a number of pet hates as far as BAD manners are concerned...

1. Personal HiFi / iPods played too loud - HEY 'DEAF-EARS' IF I WANTED TO LISTEN TO THAT I'D BE PLAYING IT ON MY OWN SYSTEM...
2. Queue jumping - Of course we don't mind (doh) we are just standing here for something to do...
3. Barging folk out of the way without a 'by your leave or thank you' - Sorry I'm not a mind reader, I didn't realise you wanted to walk exactly where I currently am...
4. Chewing gum with mouth open and making horrid "splonching" noises - GROSS!!!
5. Elderly folk who think their age gives them the right to be served first even when the shop staff are dealing with another customer - We all have to take our turn...
6. Folk who continue to maintain a converstation on their mobiles whilst at the check-out - RUDE OR WHAT!!!!!!
7. Nose picking - ULTRA GROSS!!!
8. Able-bodied folk parking in disabled parking spaces - Lack of consideration, I hope they never have to contend with this problem when they have a real need...
9. Parents not keeping their childern under control and condoning bad behaviour - If you can't be bothered with your kids why do you think the rest of us might be...
10. Folk who put their feet on seats on public transport - I just hope you are wearing something really expensive when you sit down on something yuk...

Oooooooooo, I could go on and on, but it's not very good manners to bore ones readers to death (LOL)....................

A Gold medal...

...and I know her mum!!!

Christine's mum works in my office and for a couple of years she was my clerical support - until we both moved on to other departments.

Pat was not at work today but I know that she will be one very proud mum at the moment (I don't propose to go into the pros & cons of Christines one year ban...it's done) and I know that all her colleagues will be passing on their congratulations.

Many congrats Christine...

Am I...

...strange???????

According to Blogthings...I am....

You Are 60% Weird
You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right?But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

122 days...

...to Christmas (according to QVC).

Just where has this year gone to???

Still, I've made a start on the Christmas cards and whilst I was having a play I made some slightly more abstract cards that should be okay for male birthdays.

I love making cards and usually once I get started I manage to produce a batch that will keep me going for most of the occasions that occur during the year - birthdays, halloween, Christmas etc.

This latest 'play' has resulted in 60 Christmas cards (well on the way to the 150 odd that I usually make), half a dozen, or so, Halloween cards and about the same number of birthday cards.

Here are just a few (lol) of the cards that I have made this time...

Another first...

...something I wrote is in a magazine :o)

Quite some time ago I posted an item about a grotty journey home - poor transport, bad weather - all the usual elements than meant I needed to let off steam. So I blogged...

A while later I received an email from Chrissie Willicombe (Life is Scrap) asking if I would mind if she 'sampled' some of the text for an article she was doing on journaling.

This morning I collected the latest issue of Scrapbook Inspirations from the newsagent and there it was...my name, my writing - IN PRINT - WOW!!!!

Chrissie had said that the article was due in the September issue so I couldn't even wait to get home from the shops. As soon as I was in the car I had the wrapping off and was thumbing through the mag...and there it was............

As I sat reading through the piece about "Journaling with Doughnuts" I came to the bit about the third layer-Dough journaling. As my words sprang up from the page I was so touched that someone had thought my words worth repeating (I admit - there were a few tears).

Words really are powerful. Just that small snip of my original post had me remembering the grotty weather, the horrid journey, the disappointment of the crop being cancelled, and CHIPS!

Just thinking about those words made me realise that journaling really does make a difference to scrapbooking LOs. It seems so much easier to write here on the blog but I really must make the effort to journal on my LOs in a way that conveys what the pictures mean to me.

Thank you Chrissie...jam doughnuts will hold a whole new meaning from now on..........

Doesn't time...

...flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

It seems like ages since I posted anything (okay...it is ages - don't rub it in, lol). Life has been busy, busy, busy and full of a number of 'firsts'.

On Friday 3 August I went to Newmarket with DH. His sports & social club at work had arranged a small trip to attend "Newmarket Nights". I was informed that this consisted of a number of races followed by a concert.

Never been horse racing and never been to a live concert so...two firsts, yeh!

We arrived by coach just before 5pm and the weather was fantastic, warm, sunny, brilliant summer's evening. Our party had passes for the Premier Enclosure so we had been told to dress appropriately (no jeans, no shorts, no shirts without collars etc, etc) everyone looked very smart...a bit like I would imagine a Royal garden party to be. Although crowded it wasn't uncomfortably so.

Then came the serious business of picking some horses. DH had the bright idea of phoning his Dad who has had a keen interest in 'the horses' all his life - East Ender, born & bred. For the five races he gave us one or two names per race and give him his due, nearly all finished in the first three :o)...unfortunately, not being experienced in such things we had only placed bets 'to win' so we only had one success all evening :o(. Never mind, it was fun and the atmosphere was great.

The concert started just before 9pm - Jools Holland & Lulu and a number of other artists that regularly perform with Mr Holland.

We had a really great evening and I would certainly recommend it to others (you might want to consider taking a picnic with you though...the one down-side was the time we waited for some food; over an hour & half for something that didn't involve any cooking ###???).

On Tuesday 7 August I attended a funeral service for a colleague. Although he had been very ill last year he had returned to work earlier this year and everyone thought things were okay. It wasn't to be and he sadly passed away in the early hours of Sunday 5 Aug. As his family were mostly in Ireland it was arranged that the body would be flown there for a funeral on the Friday. However, the family felt that something should be done here for all his friends and colleagues.

The church was packed, standing room only, which can only go to show the regard everyone felt for this person. At a time when intolerance of other faiths and cultures seems to be on the increase it was lovely to see there were folk of all colours, creeds, and faiths but the only concern was to bid a well liked person a fond farewell. A sad occasion but a heart-warming one.

What no-one knew was that the family had arranged a 'Wake' at at our friend's local - another first for me (never been to a wake before). It was lovely chatting to folk and sharing memories of our departed friend.

Wed 8th to Sun 12th, time has just flown by and I didn't get a chance to participate in the "Hold the Front page - Summer Fun" cybercrop on UK Scrappers so I just printed off the instructions for the various projects that took my eye. Some really lovely LOs and ideas. Last night at Diane's we all chatted about the cybercrop and got stuck into some enthusiastic scrapping - very productive evening...

Wed 15 Aug, DH is off to Turkey with his Dad tonight for 10 days so I will have the house to myself...wayhey!!! I feel a serious bout of scrapping and cardmaking coming on..............

Just had another play...

...at the blog quizzes.

Your Scent is Pumpkin Pie
Warm, comforting, and a bit old fashionedYou've got what men want - believe it or not!

Well, now I know...

Have you seen...

...all those blog quizzes out there?

I went for a wander via Life of a Scrappers Husband (link on right) and had a whale of a time trying the various topics - problem is...still not too good at creating links within a post :o(

Never mind...

I had a go at lots of the quizzes and could have spent even longer.

Apparently I am a "Life Blogger" according to the 'what type of blogger are you?' quiz.
I am the planet Pluto (don't ask...he,he,he), I am a plain glazed dohnut (???). I am also a Fall - no, not 'fallen',LOL - Woman (that's Autumn to us Brits) in the What season are you?

There were tons of others and I did get a bit carried away **now who would have guessed** perhaps I'll have another dabble when I have a moment free...