Losing Streak...

its fair to say I am going through a prize winning drought, i am ok with it as I have experienced it before, but I have also got to a point out that there has been less good quality opportunities around.

I checked out a weekly link (I am not at liberty to reveal this source as its ually a lucrative one and I dont want to share) but i didnt want to win either of the prizes, and to be honest if you had put both the prizes together it wouldn’t make them more appetizing they were

Two tickets to see ringo star in manchester
Tickets for you and a friend to go up in a hot air balloon

I didnt even bother.......

I would like to win something I can enjoy with feckles and one of them is a makeover, overnight stay and tickets to the comfort high street fashion awards taking place in London in September, the tickets to buy are 95 quid each and although you do get a goody bag worth 70 quid and a four course meal, its still out of my new purse friendly austerity agenda (skint). I have been trying to win this price for the last five years maybe this year will be my lucky break.

The other comp is “embarrassing dad”, its a vote one but as i always say nothing ventured....... so armed with a funny snap and 50 words written by feckles about why her dad should win i pressed send on the email at 11.30 last night just as my peepers were involuntarily closing – home measures of gin and tonic can be so haphazard!

That prize if i read it correctly is a mixed bag of experiences worth a grand total of 2,500. So that would be nice (as long as there isn’t a balloon ride with ringo star in there) I saw him on the one show and I dont know if he was just having a bad day but he never cracked a smile and was a complete charisma bypass. In fact if he came out and said “Not only was I not the best drummer, i wastn even the best drummer in the beatles”, i might have respect for him, but the old lady on the harp would be a better drinking buddy.

Purse Friendly

this month is all about saving the pennies, last month turned our joint account into something akin to a black hole (you know, it doesn’t matter how much you put in it just vanished).

5 weeks of mayhem, what with city at wembly, rush at the Men, then roger waters, then back to wembly again.... my car insurance on the new cutie (Ford KA) fayes hair disaster being sorted out at Selfridges (yes Selfridges!) and I admit I bought a few too many plants in b and q (so sue me.... actually dont I cant pay).

Anyway thats were we are, got paid checked what has to come out this month and was has gone in and i think PROCEED WITH CAUTION (if i was thinking road signs that is).

So I swapped the cans of lager and cider this weekend for a carton of cranberry juice 65p from quality save, as I have vodka and Bacardi in. Of course I wont force sean to drink a girls drink and will get him some stella (two large bottles for £3 at sainsburys). Instead of sainsburys big shop tonight, it will be targeted shopping at aldi at lunchtime where I plan on purchasing a leg of lamb to defrost tomorrow and cook on Sunday. I have aunt bessies in the freezer/mash and roasts.

Makeup, well i ave run out of foundation but have lots of sachets I can us up, each sachet last five days, you just put a pin prick in one side and squeeze a bit out every day. As for other stuff, shower gels etc, well still using up the stuff i got for chirstmas and my birthday so thats cut down. There are a few things I wont/cant cut out, first born needs his protein food to complete his plan to look like Johnny bravo and feckles needs her packed lunch essentials. I have made three wedding cards and an engagement card from craft stuffs in my cupboard.

More on this story later.

Come on City, Come on City....

Hubs had a ticket for the final in the bag two weeks ealier, the desperate hunt for a ticket for first born was proving unlikely despite everyones efforts. A last minute phone call to hubs asking modes of transport as his lift had pulled out " does that mean you have a spare!"?, so on saturday 14th May, I took three city fans who all admitted to nerves and a lack of sleep the night before, to a collection point in Salford, where they got on a minibus with a collection of other fans, dont think for even one moment that any of these boys (and girl) checked if it was the cocktail hour, oh no the first ringpull was pulled at precisely 6.12am, so hubs texted me.

I couldnt go back to sleep so came home and sorted my house out, I had pretty much done the lot by 10.30am, and I was off to my trusty charity shop for a chat with Alice, whose late hubs, son and grandson are all city fans, a very emotional conversation took place as she said her hubs would have loved to have lived to see this day. Her own preparations included decorating his graveside with blue and white flowers and a scarf and at home she hung his city shirt on the picture rail.

I found I couldnt watch the match as I was only interested in one outcome and as that couldnt be guaranteed i had to find other things to do.

Me and youngest headed to the traff centre, where the big screen was showing the game and I counted a small group of city fans watching as close to the screen as possible. After we had had a cuppa and a posh cake (Lemon Merange thanks feckles X) we left the food court to the standing ovation city got, I cant describe how pleased I was and then my mobile went and hubs sounded emotional, I had one word to say, WONDERFUL.

They got back to salford around midnight and unable to get a taxi I went out to get them, my driving skills (or lack of) are fairly legendary and I have been through the embarrassement, the shame and now I feel it is up to others to accept my limitations and if they want a lift they keep there negative comments to themselves.

Admitedly I did mount the curb, drive on the wrong side of the road and at only just stop at that red light as they got in my little car. First born said some very spiteful things until good old Lowry said "now come on lee your ma has been good enough to collect us", then he took the the very necessary role of co pilot very well.

Once home we were all too fired up to sleep, massive mugs of tea and malt loaf were required, before we headed to slumber around 2.30am, and my last words to hubs were
I am so pleased you won, with all your support throughout the year you deserve it, but that lee needs to stop being so picky about my driving...........


Mrs Mahoo did pass her driving test, she didnt (has been suggested) swap carnal services for her pass certificate.....

Synchronicity

A star fall, a phone call, it joins all, Synchronicity

Where did you met? ..... 1985 in the Salsbury, newly single and eternally relieved I vowed I wouldn’t bother to get too close, or allow anyone to swallow my personality whole ever again, next time it would have to be someone or something I couldn’t live without.........

Walking into the Salsbury with my friend Claire, she introduced me, saying "this is Sean, I am sure you have met before", I looked upon someone who was honest, when he asked If I would like a drink I remember saying “I cant buy you one back, I dont have enough money on me”, he said I didnt ask you that, do you want a drink, yes or no, and I said yes.

The three of us went to Jillies to meet up with the rest of the gang and my friend says, I think he wants to go out with me but I dont know, I might get back with my ex, and I said, you are mad he is lovely, a decent, kind man, who just happened to be funny too. She got back with her Ex, who was a loser (why she never saw It I dont know) It was on talking that I realised I had met him before at least twice and I had heard him on the radio and this is the story....

Summer 1981

I was 14 my dad had just passed his driving test and me, mum and dad went to Chatsworth House, it was lovely, and I remember looking round the house, the violin painted on the back of the door that looks 3d, the gardens, and then into the shop afterwards I coveted the colouring in sheets but was propbrally too old for them, we came out and my dad said, go back and get them if you want, he gave me some money and so I did, as I walked back I passed a man and a woman in biker leathers, I had a rock t shirt on of course and faded jeans, and the uniform of the time was Dunlop greenflash, awkward and gangly no doubt with my almost grown out shaggy perm, I look at the man and he smiled and nodded (it was a rock thing) recognition, they were both rockers and I was too (even if I wasnt ready to stop colouring in) it was sean.

We know you, they know me
Extrasensory
Synchronicity

Summer 1983

The year I left school, sunbathing in my back garden I tuned into sweeny’s dead good, dead hard quiz”, the caller was Sean working in a colour lab in Manchester, weltering hot but having sporadic water pistol fights with his work mates to cool off, he got the answer right


The answer was – Dyer Straights

As they played the song in full I turned it off (I had listened to more Mark Knopfler than I could stomache courtety of my big brother and was cooking up a plan to wean him off the straights forever......I did with Marillion, but that is another story.....



November 1984

I was seeing Mick Clayson, who I had had a major crush on from being 15, despite my looking at him lots I had to actually broadcast the fact I was interested and liked him and see if he was up for taking me out, so its a Monday night and we are at the Brookfield rock disco on the A6, got our drinks and went downstairs, there wasn’t enough seats, so my friend Carol asked the couple in the dark corner,"are these seats taken", the man got up and brought the chairs over to us with a smile, I didnt at the time connect, we had been going out a couple of weeks and the penny dropped...


So fast forward and I am sinking a pint and getting to know this man and I said, have you ever been to Chatsworth House, he said, yes I went when I first got my motorbike I was 20 , I havent been since though.

With one breath, with one flow
you will know
Synchronicity

Did you used to go to the Brookfield on a Monday night? Yes he said I lived near there with my girlfriend we used to go,


A sleep trance, a dream dance
A shaped romance
Synchronicity

and finally, "do you remember that sweeney, dead hard, dead good quiz on piccadilly radio? and he said, funnily enough I got on in a couple of times, and once I got the answer right and won something, cant remember what it was though......

Thats my story, its got no conclusion and I dont feel the need prove it or have it believed it just is what it is.

A star fall, a phone call
It joins all
Synchronicity


After all these years hubs has never said what he thinks of any of it, there is a chance he doesn’t believe I remembered him from a chance meeting when I was 14 and he was 20 with his older girlfriend.... and thats just fine....

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Over a year ago my youngest told me she wanted to celebrate her 18th Birthday in New York, and was saving up for it. I know enough about this child to know that if she says she will do something she will (as my good friend and former work colleague once observed - your frightened of her arnt you, and Yes I was and I am, how much easier that she is now old enough to make all her own decisions, in actual fact she could have been and I should have let her do that from about 15 onwards then we wouldnt have had those awful slammed doors, crying and at times physical violence - dont let anyone tell you raising kids is fun or easy, but it is always an adventure)

Anyway rewind to 27th April and the day of the holiday, her and her boyfriend Seb had stayed the night before at ours, she had arranged for her dad to drop them off at the Airport and I accompanied them to departures..... after much hugging and checking they had their passports etc, we waved them off, I was dropped off at my GPs, to get a much needed prescription for Lanzoprazole for my Gastric reflux, completely and utterly stress related, more of that at a later date, the lead up to the hols wasnt plane sailing, but then life rarely is........

So for the week I was keeping in touch on facebook, hearing tales of their adventures, and looking at the odd uploaded snap, they enjoyed bloomingdales, central park, the zoo, victorias secrets got a lot of mentions and the empire state building was climbed, I am guessing on the inside, but knowing my feckles adventurous streak nothing would suprise me. I think the main thing I feel is complete and utter pride that she is a get up and go person, who makes her own decisions, doesnt hide behind a man for anything she wants and is independant, the Pankhursts would be truly proud as indeed me and her dad are.

thats all I have to say about that.......


mahoo

Royal Wedding Party

Despite being married to a man of Irish Catholic descent (and all that entails, the drinking, pictures of the Pope at home when he was growing up, the Phenian Rebel songs Albumn on display, anything Irish being loved from Denny's puddings to Soda Bread, oh yeah and that whole republican thing.....) I took great joy in the Royal Wedding, and not just because of the double bank holiday bonanza... I do beleive in Love and Companionship and also he had to get a move on and marry the girl before he lost all his hair and she changed her mind...

So on Friday 29th April, after a good lie in till 10am, I was up dressed in a spotty dress, pearl earrings and matching necklace and with my "props" of A Teapot, and beautiful royal dalton china blue tea set courtesy of the charity shop for just £5. the lady said they were middle of the range wedding teasets that were for best, another era and all the more prescious for it)

The Youth Club team were in charge as part of their Inter Generational programme, the big screen was on with the wedding and seated at various tables was local elderly residents, now if you were expecting a sedate affair you were very much mistaken, from the ahhhing at the beautiful dress Kate wore, to the Booing when they came out onto the balcony for the Kiss, when one lady shouted PATHETIC, not passionate enough, then another defended poor william and said he had blushed and was just shy......

after a much enjoyed buffet lunch and a glass of something fizzy, onto the competition of dressing a pair of gingerbread people as the bride and groom, one lady had the ingenius idea to make a wedding dress out of a white napkin and to use the squeazy icing to decorate wils jacket. One raucaus bunch got a bit racy with the decorations, and made Wils trousers rather revealing, her protests of "They were buttons and they just dropped" wasnt beleived by anyone, too much lambrini I fear....

A very enjoyable day was had by everyone and I returned home to find my Republican hubs complaining and how much the wedding must have cost us all, but he was watching it. When firstborn came home he said "I would like to be in the middle of a middleton sandwhich between Kate and Pippa", hubs added, and the mother is not too bad either.........

Honestly

The Amber Gamblers return.....

Remember these two, well they had to be up for 8.00am to get to Bury for their Driving awareness course, it was 3.5 hours long and I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry that they were using up a valuable Saturday morning.
The night before Hubs said “what should I wear”? my suggestion of matching orange suits was suitably ignored (again) followed by a bit of banter about how I would never get flashed as I don’t go fast enough, true, I stay at 28-30MPH and like it that way thanks very much.
Apparently they were asked to write down on an A3 piece of paper the reasons why they went through a red light, then after much discussion they realised the difference between a reason and an excuse.
Whilst all this was going on i was pushing an unruly trolley in b and q with my mum and a long list of gardening and DIY requirements, all I was missing was a pencil behind my ear. I have figured out why men love b and q so much it’s because:
They can say Screw and flange as much as they like and not offend anyone, they can scratch themselves on their heads and crotch with their car keys (I witness both on aisle 9 – electrical switches) and its one place they feel they have the upper hand on knowledge, even if they don’t.