Monthly Archives: January 2015

Christmas? Woof! Woof!

Posted in Woofers by

20140822_103540 PUT ME IN! I say for any holiday that provides so many opportunities for a little black woofer to indulge her love of all things munchable in life.

Now, lets get one thing clear I’m not Welly, and although, when times are hard, of course I will happily get involved with a spot of bin bag rifling (what self-respecting Labrador wouldn’t?) I would far rather sample the finer things in life. But who knew, that all this time, there were tasty morsels waiting to be woofed up everywhere?

Of course I knew about the minty sticks often left for my delectation on the coffee table in the lounge (how thoughtful!). But why oh why hadn’t anybody given me the heads up that a woofer could silence the call of her stomach at anytime she pleases? All the eating opportunities missed, the sheer desolate wasteland of lost chomping chances could make a little woofer most distressed if one was to dwell on it to long. Hang on! Do I smell cheese? Yes, definitely cheese. Cheddar I think and maybe Camembert? Excuse me for a moment….  That’s better – a dog can’t blog on an empty stomach. Now where were we? Oh, yes missed opportunities. Well fear not good canine chums, I made up for those missed munchies over the last couple of weeks!

First spot:

  • Half a loaf of bread and a tub of Anchor Spreadable on the kitchen worktop. Secured, woofed in the garden. Happy days.

Second spot:

  • New tub of Anchor Spreadable left on kitchen table whilst Nana delivering cup of tea in bed to Grandpa. Mine all mine. I was now really getting into the swing of things!

(May I mention at this point that, following the fest of saturated fats, I was a) not sick (the marvels of a Labradors constitution!) and b) had a coat as glossy as a particularly glossy thing on a good glossy day).

Third spot:

  • Homemade quiche brought round by Heather’s friend, Sarah and laid out on kitchen table as part of a party buffet. Head sideways on table and boom! Two slices snaffled whilst party in full flow.

photo-6 Now, admittedly, I was told off fairly thoroughly after this incident and things tightened up on the availability front… until the lovely Triona and her open larder took Welly and I in over New Year which led to:

  •  Half a box a cheese crackers
  • An apple turnover
  • Half a bowl of pasta
  • Candy cane (wrapper and all)
  • Box of cereal

20141231_201727Only slight downside was that I got my head stuck in the cereal box whilst tidying up the last few pieces. Styled it out with confidence though and don’t think Triona suspected I had been up to anything other than a polite investigation into the preferred cereal brands of their household.

What a fabulous time of year! More parties, with more food and a few more martinis for the furless ones, leading to a little less observance of what a peckish little lab is up to…

11 months to go and counting!

The Girl With The Glass Feet – Book Review

Posted in Storytime by

 

photo-2This is the first book to really grab me in a quite a while! Totally un-put-downable, I was skulking off to bed early to get some extra pages in before the leading man choked off the lights and if I was being entirely honest, may have left the kids in the bath till the water went cold whilst reading on the stairs. Before you call child protection, I am pretty confident no child has died from a dip in a slightly chilly bath in recent times and my daughters are 5 and 7 and perfectly capable of getting themselves out if they so desired!

That said, The Girl With The Glass Feet is set in a strange world where people could well die in a lukewarm bath. The first book from Ali Shaw, it is a modern day fairytale, with hidden cottages, magical creatures, a damsel in distress and a mysterious transformation.

The story is pretty much as the title suggests, Ida MacLaird, has feet that are, quite literally, turning to glass. In search of a cure she returns to the remote islands she once visited where she believes her transformation began. Whilst she searches for the mysterious, Henry Fuwa, the man she hopes can save her, she meets Midas Crook, a man shattered emotionally by his personal history. One physically fragile, one emotionally, they fall in love. As the glass creeps up Ida legs, and he battles to save her, another transformation begins in Midas.

photo-1In the tradition of all good fairytales, Shaw’s tale is much more than a simple love story. It is a tale about the reality of the human condition. Human life is temporary, fleeting. However hard we try we are all transforming and in life change is inevitable, both good and bad. There is no fairytale ending because life does not have fairytale endings. But there is hope, there is redemption, and most of all, there is always love. It’s quite simply, beautiful.

The Best Christmas Ever!

Posted in Life and Stuff by

Well it was! Other than those magical ones when I was a child, waiting for Father Christmas, listening for sleigh bells and praying for snow, this year was pretty much Christmas perfection. Why you ask? What made this year so especially special? Well I will tell you!

  1.  We got sickness bug during the final week of term.

 Hello, your thinking – that doesn’t sound so especially special! However, early contagion meant that everyone was better by Christmas itself and for once no Christmassy bits of loveliness had to be cancelled! There was a worrying moment, when it looked as if I was going down too but general consensus is that a careless nibble on a bit of pork pie which had sat in Rosie’s sweaty lunchbox all day led to my downfall – the shame of it!

 2.  The Pre-Christmas Christmassy bits of loveliness…

 Whilst I do love Christmas Day and the wonder of seeing the little girls faces when they see that Santa has been, I have to admit for me the bit before, the build up throughout December, is my favorite part. The Christmas music on the radio, picking the presents, planning the menus, the school plays and church events leave me with a warm glow of festive cheer from fingers to toes. And this year a couple of bits really stood out:

  •  Lily’s school nativity play: – always a winner and this year a heartwarming rendition of the nativity tale entitled “Are We Nearly There Yet”. Anything which includes a song with the lines “Don’t know when the journey will end. I’m needing the toilet again!” gets my vote.
  • Rosie’s school carol concert at St Peter’s and St Paul’s church in Bromley which, with a theme of hope and peace, had me in tears. Nice work Mr J.
  • Christmas Carol Sing-along at The Royal Albert Hall. Christmas in a bowl – literally! I defy anyone to leave an event with 5,000 people, bedecked with Christmas hats and lights, singing their hearts out without feeling the Christmas magic. Book your tickets now!
  • The Nutcracker at the Coliseum. Some questioned whether my little girls were too small. But seeing my 5 year old daughter on the edge of her seat, transfixed, was simply amazing. Will be booking again next year.
  • Church Knitivity, A knitted (see what they’ve done there) version of the key players in the nativity that moves from house to house during Advent. We had room at our Inn as you can see below!

P1010746 P1010744

  • Church Crib service. Can there be a better to remember the true meaning of Christmas than to be in Church on Christmas Eve and see all the children from Sunday school act out the nativity story and sing carols?

Indeed, the only thing which could have possibly made this Christmas even better, would have been a light dusting of snow as we had wound our way home from Church on Christmas Eve. Never mind, there’s always next year – only 11 months to go!

Arghhhhhhhhhh…

PTA Christmas Fair – Part 2!

Posted in PTA and all that by

Well it turns out sticking Christmassy stickers and gems and a couple of porcelain pens is exactly what kids want to do with 500 baubles and are prepared to pay £1 a bauble for the privilege. I strongly recommend that PTA’s across the UK buy up baubles (shatterproof!) in the January sales and give it a go next year. Whilst this did not fully deplete our entire bauble mountain, it made a jolly fine dent and on the plus side we have a Christmas craft activity in the bag for the next few years!

In addition to this, feeding off the current Frozen mania, our HO craft, Charlotte, came up with a fab idea for sock Olaf Snowmen, which were a sell out success. Utilising mens’s sport socks, loom bands, an orange pom pom, pipe cleaners and a black felt tip these were simple for the kids to do, appealed to girls and boys and low cost – genius!  Below is an image of the little fellow and next week I shall provide, courtesy of the lovely Charlotte, a step by step guide to how you make them!

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Indeed, despite my previous grinch like rant, the fair was a great success (most money raised to date at over £4,500!) and gave me a jolly good Christmas cuddle to kick off the festive season!  Hats off to “HO Everything”, our Chair, Mrs Marcou, the rest of the committee, the lovely happy to help crew (who were just that) and all the staff who did not have clashing events (which turned out to be quite a few!) who made it the success it was!

Next on the agenda is the now legendary PTA quiz night! Anyone out there got any good question rounds we could utilise to save me 12 hours of googling?! If so, please email me at heather.leveton@live.co.uk – all help gratefully received!

Le Coeur des Anges Rose 2013

Posted in W(hine) Of The Week by

A good friend of mine bequeathed me a bottle of this when I last hosted wine, oops, I mean book club. I am not usually much of a rose drinker but valiantly soldiered on and gave this one a go (never one to shy away from a challenge – ahem!). To my surprise it was delicious; crisp, dry, with a lovely flinty minerality you would usually expect from a Sancerre or Pouilly Fume, overlaid with delicate spicy berried fruit tones. It is currently out of stock at Laithwaites, but if it comes back in give it a go – it makes a smashing aperitif anytime of the year or would perfectly accompany fish and light meats. Enjoy!