My rambling blog posts!

  I could easily just have shared the above quote and saved typing up an entire blog post but where's the fun in that. I think there is much to be said about doing the right thing, kindness and helping others - I actively endorse this, I strongly believe kindness is one of the greatest traits any person can have.  However...a new trend seems to be on the rise where certain people only do kind deeds or the right thing when they can then brag about how kind they are, often accompanied by a selfie or video of themselves having just done the aforementioned good deed, etc. Where is there integrity!?  I'm lucky as I happen to know a lot of genuinely kind, helpful people. Indeed a load of them have helped me and my family more than they can ever know and I will always be eternally grateful to them. The one trait these thoroughly lovely friends have is that they never seek praise for their actions, in fact they never mention it because they are doing it for the purest of reasons ...

  Anybody who even remotely knows me knows that I love Christmas; the decorations, the songs, the films, the tv specials, the food, spending time with friends and family - the whole season is a joy to me... This year though, I have to be honest, has proven to be a bit problematic. Fear not, I am not going to be all curmudgeonly and scrooge-like nor am I doing a "woe is me" post, it's just been a bit more chaotic than usual. Admittedly I currently have covid so this has dampened my Christmas spirit significantly, (even more so after only just getting over a sickness bug - I rarely get ill so catching two bugs in the same year is unheard of!). I am currently lying in bed as I type this, coughing and spluttering with an aching body, aching sinuses, a headache from hell and a general feeling of "ick".  This chain of events has also hampered my usual routines and traditions; my 'Advent boards' (a Christmas advent calendar of sorts but with a large whiteboard ...

  Today would have been my dad's 77th birthday, I know he would have been moaning about it saying it was just another day, nothing special and to not worry about doing or planning anything for him, I can picture the routine as clear as day... I would arrive at his block of flats, buzz him and he would respond with "hello, oh it's you, not today thanks, I don't want double glazing", on my way to the lift I would smirk to myself thinking how pleased he was with making the exact same joke each and every time. I'd climb into the tiny lift clutching his presents which generally consisted of a hamlet cigar, a Bill Bryson book, a couple of cds of bands or singers he liked an "amusing/insulting card" and a couple of handmade cards from the kids.  Once I had reached his door, he would be waiting for me and greet me with another joke of "you never listen or do as you're told" Then laugh to himself proudly as I rolled my eyes and followed him insi...

  The title of this blog is pretty much self-explanatory - I miss our annual Halloween parties!  I know what you are thinking - "but it is still only August, why on earth are you thinking about Halloween already?". Well, the thing is that at this time of year as August draws to a close I used to start planning the Halloween party, (along with the kids birthday parties and start making my christmas cards as I make over 100 individual ones with different designs - it takes time). By this point I have the theme sorted, (for example our last ever one was a fairground spectacular, with hook a vampire duck from the swamp, coconut shy with shrunken heads, a ghost train and many other activities), and building of props has commenced.  So now you may ask "why can't you just do one then?", the reason is quite simple - my children have outgrown them. Sadly teenagers aren't so keen for parties, (who knew!), which is completely understandable of course, I can remember be...