Calling up the promise land

The BBC have certainly got some tricks up their sleeves as we leap into May, certainly for nostalgic cravers like moi! Their original mammoth drama project designed to span decades past was scrapped in favour of raking up the 80s - excellent!

So what's on the menu? Well there's something for everyone - A Boy George biopic featuring Gavin & Stacey's Matthew Horne as Culture Club's drummer and George's secret love interest; Jon Moss. A Welsh drama focused on life under Thatcher set with a backdrop of the Royal Wedding of Charles & Diana. And (yes there is more) an adaptation of Martin Amis' dark comedy Money with Shaun of the Dead's Nick Frost in the driving seat and Jerry Hall riding shotgun. Needless to say I'm excited, it's good to be reminded that we actually pay our licence fee for a reason; to get some decent gritty viewing rather than re-runs of Come Dine with me (my Sunday early evening guilty pleasure...I can literally waste hours).

So, rather neatly tying in...this week (and the week before and the...) I have been mostly listening to the Human League. My current fave was released in 1990, but still - the intro, all the hair... still reeks of the 80s. Enjoy xxx (even the boy knows all the words now, goddammit its catchy!)

Monday morning wiggle

I have been busy. Yes siree. The important stuff has been overlooked (like blogging) and I have had to work. humph. The next 6 weeks are looking even more busy with Chelsea and big projects to see through and the boy is revising. So I thought we needed a bit of motivation this morning by the way of one my my fav choones.
Enjoy.

(Check out Stevies fingers dancing across the keyboard - amazing !)



oh and last night we watched 'Kick Ass' I was jubious I admit but it was brilliant !! Really good film, maybe one the best I have seen for a while !

Pull up to the bumper baby

There was an excellent Grace Jones interview in the Guardian magazine on Saturday. I have such mixed feelings towards the woman, she is undoubtedly an icon on so many levels but I can't help feeling somewhat put off by her. The aggression and outright sexuality can be a little hard to swallow, so it was refreshing to read an interview where she came across as just a bit of an opinionated party girl. I guess you need to have balls to succeed in the music industry, to be renowned and talked about for so many decades, you need to have a strong sense of character and Grace Jones is more than just memorable. She reads like a bit of a whirlwind but now I feel better acquainted with her and equipped to really appreciate her style.
I also loved how the journalist tried to hint at a touch of animosity between Jones and Lady Gaga. Really, she just doesn't care and has always been famed for telling it how it is but I bet Gaga will be more than a little down heartened to read what Jones has got to say about her...

But now, moving away from the pop playground politics to a little musical starlet; Ellie Goulding. I thought she was pretty pants when I saw her banging a drum (like she really meant it) on the Brit Awards Nomination party but I have since developed quite a liking for her (lordy I am fickle). There is something resolutely chipmunk (as in the cartoon) about her voice and the album keeps reminding me of Fivestar's Silk & Steel, although I'm not entirely sure why. Dominic Burn off of the Chris Moyles show coyly described her as having an amazing voice, and I'd have to agree. I also like the way she says 'love' in this song.



xxxx

And you still don't think it is worth watching Glee ?

Isn't spring supposed to make you feel energised ?

I may have been trying to do too much, following my excitement of the days lengthening and warmer weather. The garden is not making the progress I wanted, I am getting little help from the boys - they mostly are doing this -

However, the house is looking nice, and we are getting some lovely light in, in the morning which is so nice after the dark winter.

All my new plants are bursting with growth and they are still sitting in pots !! My roses are bundled up together - I must get out there ! But when ?

So much to do ! So little time !

That's crazy

Sister, so here's a picture of me making a cake, in my housewife florals but minus the heels! I don't know if it's something to do with the time of year or if it's my age but I am currently very distracted by those tasks I used to joke about and brush off as 'middle aged'. Sunday was gardening with the boy (Spring onions, salad leaves & beans planted) and today was perfecting a peppered Poussin with a creamy mushroom sauce - it was delicious thanks. And then there's obviously politics, The Stylist offered their next 'cut out and keep' installment of party politics today, this time with the Conservatives and I also came across Vote Match a painless quiz that compiles your views on current issues to decide which team you really cheer for - thankfully I unveiled no big surprise, but what will you come up with?
And what other better way to gain maturity and awareness than to beef up my knowledge of language. Yesterday's Dictionary.com word of the day was 'neologism' meaning a new word or expression. So how else am I to educate myself and witness a bit of neoglogism than to head to
Urban Dictionary and get on top of all the lingo spouted by those pretty young thangs. Fave new words & phrases include Stealth-call, Bootyism, Stall waiting and that's crazy...I guess you will just have to look them up to find out why!
xxxxxxx

Friday i'm in love

A Friday Treat for you - the extended SATC 2 Trailer! Aidan is back? WTF! Oh Lordy I love Aidan, hunky as hell, EYE CANDY ALERT - what about Big, how is it all going to unfold, I just don't know, so many questions, I don't think I need to tell you that I'm excited! (Hence all the block capitals)....
So anyway, calmed myself down a little now, and from one hunk to another - Dhruv! Yes I sat down last night to 2 hours of glorious Food Heaven, and happily saw Drhuv sail to victory. And handily The Evening Standard satisfied my need for more by tying up the tale with a neat little bow in this article in yesterday's paper - I actually gasped out loud when I saw him on the cover, so proud!
Last night I not only entertained the idea of sampling new culinary delights, but inspired by Masterchef, me and the boy took the plunge and purchased some scallops! Wowee, I hear you say - well this is a big thing for me since the only fish I ever used to eat came in batter. Now I've notched up prawns and tuna steaks on my list of fishy loves, scallops surely will follow! Poached in a delicious milky Thai green curry (which I basically made...with the help of some paste) the first bite was a little fishy (the off-putter for me, silly as it may be) but there after there was just this lovely soft melt-in-the-mouth consistency that slipped down very well indeed. I'm all hyped to try more...perhaps this tomato & Chorizo accompaniment will be next on the list. The beautiful thing about them is they're so quick to cook.
Perfect and light for the sunshine, talking of sunshine I was walking along the Thames to this earlier. Doesn't sunshine just bring such joy and such over excitement, not quite ready for breaking out the sandals yet, but fingers crossed!



xxxxx

Good puppies

Sister, I thought I would start to introduce you to my working world. After talking to you at the weekend, I realised the other day that you have no idea where I work or what I see everyday, so I am starting with these chaps........



awwwwwwhhhhhhh these are the doggies we work with every day. They are the pets of the lady that knows everything here (also known as 118-kate to the lads) - wizzie (aka wops / old tart / scrag bag / princess) is on the left and the boss lady, think about 8/9ish and Dash is on the right, only just turned 2 and still very much an overexcited puppy. He is also know as dish dash and stupid dog.

They are lovely and often come through to my desk for a treat / cuddle / sniff around - dash especially loves cuddling. They really make it here, when its stressful you can find them to do a trick for a treat or wrestle the rope knot thing with them, or go for a quick walk around the fields for fresh air. Which is what I am going to do now !

BTW they have got their paws on my knee as they do that for a treat !! awwwwwww

xxxxx

Drool dhruv

no, not him, well I suppose he isn't unattractive, but so pleased Dhruv won !! He was certainly the best.



I know you loved Alex (and how I dislike him - I don't know what it is about his smuggy effusive smerky privileged clean posh personality I don't warm to) but he just wasn't that good on the day - I do agree that he did do some good stuff and is more left wing and interesting.

How do these people get to be so good ? All three guys were bright and exceptional talented people in their own rights, but they can cook brilliantly too ! I have always wondered what they can taste that I can't. I'd love to try those dishes they all made last night and see for myself what truly amazing food is like.

I suppose with all that free time now, I can get out into the garden and finish that digging and start the brick circle and planting !

hmmmmmmmmmmm I do like my grub. xxxxxxxxxx

Talk to me

So last night was blackout night for me & the boy – just settling down to watch some Masterchef and suddenly, plans change! No disaster just get the candles from under the sink and stick Smooth FM on via the mobile – I’m strangely used to the dark since the new light sensor in the office photocopier room ignores me daily, despite repeatedly stamping my feet like some teenage astronaut.

So we avoided the art of conversation by turning instead to competition, an UNO grudge-match – after I’d secured my win and the electricity had returned I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a missed opportunity, the opportunity to just talk.

Don’t get me wrong, me and the boy are always talking, and often have the best most intense & impassioned conversations when we’re tipsy, really get our views off our chest. Last night, when I said “So what do we do now?” the boy replied “talk?” which we did for twenty minutes or so until card games grabbed our attention. I guess it’s that feeling of anticipation, a lack of concentration caused by the wait for power to return. But perhaps we should have taken this opportunity to just converse, the election date was announced yesterday, what a corker of a topic to throw out there. And Stylist magazine, in the run-up have started a weekly cut out and keep page (pg 33) documenting and explaining the key policies each party are promoting, and what the competition thinks. Most helpful for someone like me, who needs to see things in clear black and white and simple digestible language.

They've started with Labour, I could have shown this to the boy and thrown it open for discussion. But well, I’ve talked about politics with everyone and anyone lately, it’s apparently my new favourite conversation. Perhaps I’ve worn myself out on the subject and need to just sit back and switch on to what the media is spewing at me.

Anywho I digress, the point of this is that me & the boy have decided to make ‘blackout night’ a monthly affair (start off small), we won’t necessarily stick strictly to the candlelight, it gave us headaches but we will switch off our appliances and switch over to one another for conversation.

I think we’ll learn something from this new venture, if only how to better our previous UNO scores...

xxxx

Promise this will be the last obsessive post on quilts.......

Sister,

Found this great website / shop / blog Spool which has so many inspring projects and images of stuff others have done. I particularly like this
It is so simple and fun - and really like the wavy quilting they have machined across the whole piece. hmmmm ideas

Pity they are in philadelphia.

I also like how they put up swatches of colours for inspiration and lots of patterns to use. oooohhhh doesn't it make you want to start a project ?
xxxx

Blazin' Squad

Sister, hello! A long long time ago (probably in February?) you asked me to look into some blazers for you, and well I neglected my duties. Unfulfilled by Internet hunting, The Guardian's Fashion Statement came up trumps the other week with this excellent selection (let's just pretend that I did all the work...). I particularly like the pink Boden number.
And a soundtrack to wear it to you say? Well listening to Supergrass always puts a skip in my step, and check out the patchwork quilt, living the dream, but just how long will it take?

xxx