Just a couple of pictures of me with my lovely parents on Portsdown Hill !
And two of me trying illegally to climb Nelson’s Monument and ending up with a barbed wire injury!
Archive for » September, 2009 «
Gratuitious post!
Monday, September 28th, 2009 | Author: Julia
Category: Family, My Life
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Fort Nelson
Sunday, September 27th, 2009 | Author: Julia
Dad took me up to Fort Nelson this morning while Mum prepared the Sunday roast. It was a fantastic morning – another day of clear blue autumn skies with just a breath of a breeze. I’m not normally one for armouries but this place is fascinating. One of several forts built along Portsdown Hill in circa 1880 to protect the coast from the marauding French, it is interesting to note that all of the guns point towards the back over the hill towards Southwick. In fact there is very little fortification at the front! Design or error? I’m not sure. The tunnels which run under the building are supposedly haunted but no spiritual sightings to day. However I have to say I wouldn’t go down on my own under any circumstances.
After the fort we walked along to Nelson’s monunent built to mark the death of Lord Nelson and commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. It’s been there nearly 200 years but this was the first time I’d noticed it, probably because it is set back from the road. There was something strange about it – set in an isolated position all those years ago – passed by these days by cars, cyclists and pedestrians. There was almost an eerie feel to it as though it had been long forgotten – just the sound of the crows circling overhead. If I was Derek Acorah or Colin Fry no doubt I would have sensed the great man himself, strutting up and down, patch over one eye shouting ‘Kiss Me Hardy.’ As it was I didn’t. What I did do was slash my hand on some barbed wire which had been put up to stop people walking round the side of the obelisk. There was a gap afterall and nobody was around. And Dad encouraged me – so it’s his fault.
Category: Family, My Life
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Happy Families!
Sunday, September 27th, 2009 | Author: Julia
Lovely day yesterday walking along Southsea Seafront from Eastney to The Point and back. Beautiful September sunshine, no breeze and a general feel of holiday still in the air. I consider this walk one of the best – so much to see and the Solent is always awash with boats. It also reminds me of my childhood, especially being taken down to the beach by Dad after school in the summer. Also being walked through the fair and told that we couldn’t go on any of the rides as they were only for children who were on holiday and not for children who lived in Southsea. Harsh. Well, yesterday as part of the walk we had to make our way through the fair and as usual Mum was begging for a go on the dodgems, then insisting on having a bag of candy floss and when she saw the large tatooed ladies drinking pints and eating chips outside the crazy golf – well – there was no holding her back. So, for the record – a great picture of Mum and Dad just before the Hot Walls. Dad – I know you hate that hat – but you know you have to wear it! I’ve also posted one of the cat attempting to hang herself.
Category: Family, My Life
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The last couple of weeks…
Friday, September 25th, 2009 | Author: Julia
I realised this morning that I hadn’t blogged for nearly two weeks which is quite unheard of in Blog Land so now feel the need to get writing to my cyber readers. Please therefore forgive this rather long and random post!
Well I see that my last post concerned reading so I shall continue in the same vein having just finished Dan Brown’s latest epic ‘The Lost Symbol.’ As ever, this was a heady mix of short, tightly written chapters packed with cliff hangers, unanswered questions and his trademark twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the bad grammar, spelling mistakes and obviously rushed proof reading. However, without giving too much away, I felt he could have ended the book sooner, ditching the last fifty pages which became far-fetched and pedestrian. Having said that – well worth the read and no doubt we will be seeing another appalling adaptation at the cinema in the near future.
Last week end saw us visiting Laura and her family in Twickenham and in the words of Mr P – ‘ that was one of the best week-ends I’ve had this year!’ On the Saturday Laura, Julia and I drove into Kensington to have coffee and cake and visit Linley Sanbourne House which was wonderful. A beautifully preserved late-Victorian town house which reminded me of an old fashioned doll’s house in life size scale. While we walked around this intriguing time capsule, the boys played golf re-joining us for Laura’s roast pork! On the Sunday I watched Julia having a horse riding lesson in Richmond Park with the afternoon set aside for a walk along the river and a trip to York House in Richmond which had been opened to the public as part of the annual London ‘Open House Week-End.’ This week-end in September allows the public to access buildings in London which are usually closed to the public. A couple of years ago I dragged Ian up to Woolwich to visit Crossness Pumping Station which had been opened as part of said event. Absolutely amazing. I still long to visit one of the disused Tube Stations for which there is an inordinate waiting list!
Wednesday saw me joining a Company Y team event which I won’t write about as my policy is never to write about work on this blog. However I will say it was a good day and I was able to catch up with all the news in readiness for my return in the New Year.
And what of Baby Hughes you ask ? Well, had a good day with Mrs Q and Baby Hughes on Hayling Island. Both are doing well and it was nice to see that Mrs Q had shed some baby pounds and also some of those elasticated waist monstrosities. A lovely lunch – her speciality – two slices of dry bread with some ham and cheese slapped in the middle. No relish. No chutney. No taste. But let’s get real – Mrs Q’s priorities are understandably in a much more important place these days. Like texting me pictures of c-list celebs on reality shows with the caption ‘ Fat Slag.’ Well done Mrs Q – you are a credit to yourself as always.
The voluntary work continues and I still get a great deal of satisfaction out of this – I’m really hoping I can continue in some form after I return to work.
So what of the week end? Well, Mr P left this morning for a long week end in Leeds with his friends. And what a wife I was. Brought him breakfast in bed – ironed him a number of outfits to take with him – helped him pack – and then drove him and his friend to the station with a promise to pick them up on Sunday evening. Why was this you ask? Am I just a model wife ? Why no ! I intend to use this as ammunition in a future argument to demonstrate just how wonderful I am and how terrible Mr P is. Why else would I go to such lengths ? We women plan ahead…
Category: Baby Hughes, Books, Family, Friends, My Life, Volunteering
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Addiction
Saturday, September 12th, 2009 | Author: Julia
My name is Julia Painter and I am a Bookaholic. There – I’ve said it. It’s out in the open; I’ve confessed all. But am I ashamed ? No way! The last week has seen me devour three books, all of which have kept me on the edge of my seat to the point of waking at 4am in the morning and picking up one of them to continue reading. So what has kept me so engrossed and quiet? Well – they are: ‘Too Close To Home’ by Linwood Barclay, ‘Just One Look’ by Harlan Coben and my absolute favourite ‘An Empty Death’ by the wonderful Laura Wilson. Now these have been a departure from the books I have been reading over the summer, most recently ‘Prozac Nation’ by Elizabeth Wurtzel. I’d got to page 32 and decided that excellent though the book was, I could no longer read about the young and depressed in America and took a decision to continue the book at a later date. Instead I decided to focus on some pacey thrillers and took up with The Big Three. Now if I had one criticism it would be that all three have a spellbinding journey but lack a really punchy ending. The exception here would be Laura Wilson’s amazing new book which prepares the way for a third novel.
So, a quick summary of what has kept me so busy:
‘Too Close To Home’ tells of a family shot in their own house and the removal of an old computer. What secrets were on the computer and did the murderer go to the wrong house? Written from the perspective of the father living in the neighbouring house you can guess what comes next.
‘Just One Look’ tells of the rollercoaster ride awaiting the suburban housewife who collects her holiday photographs and finds in the middle of the pack a strange, old photo which doesn’t belong to her. Closer inspection reveals that it is an ancient picture containing her husband in his younger days. Why is it there and what does it mean? That night her husband goes missing…
‘An Empty Death’ is written very much in the style of ‘Green For Danger’ by Christianna Brand. Based in a war-time hospital in London, a series of seemingly unrelated murders set against a backdrop of old green tiled corridors, light bulbs hung inside wire casings and gloomy wards sends a shiver down the spine. This is the culprit which kept me up at 4am and must be my favourite of the three books.
So what next? Well – huge excitement as three of the shortlisted Booker prize books arrived this morning! Hilary Mantel’s ‘Wolf Hall’ ( a tale of Tudor England ), Sarah Walters’ ‘The Little Stranger’ ( a post-war ghost story ) and A S Byatt’s ‘The Children’s Book’ ( story of three families and their lives from 1900 to 1918 ). I have openned all and sniffed their pages in the customary manner and now can’t wait to get stuck in!
Category: Books, My Life
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Arlesford Agricultural Show
Sunday, September 06th, 2009 | Author: Julia
I love large beasts. Maybe that’s why I married Mr.P. But I’m talking here of bovine beasts and the like. Yes, Saturday morning saw me hot footing it down to my parents to drive to Arlesford Agricultural Show. We had an early start as my parents like to arrive at places early to avoid any traffic or directional mishaps. This neccessitated me getting up at 6am because afterall if we had left it later the road could have been blocked by a tank, invaded by a herd of marauding elephants on a day out or closed due to early 6 foot snow drifts. As luck would have it our early start meant we avoided all such potential disasters.
Now this is a lovely show: bulls, cows, sheep, alpacas, goats, horses and dogs. Everything for the beast lover. And plenty of Hog Roasts which all seemed to be positioned near the animals – insensitive to say the least although I did indulge in a very tasty venison steak burger. But the stars of the show? An unexpected pen full of Blood Hounds. Wonderful dogs with so much personality – I instantly fell in love with them and could have taken them all home. They look permanently depressed until you catch their eye and they come bounding up to you. In fact it may well have been the dogs that won the day. The Greyhound Rescue tent broke my heart – four rescued greyhounds available for unlimited stroking and petting. I adored them all – definitely a breed for my ‘Dogs I Would Like To Have In The Future When Ian Gives Up Stopping Me Having One’ list.
So, after all this canine affection I returned home to a cat that despises me ( and shows it ) and my very own big bovine beast – the lovely Mr.P.
Category: Family, My Life
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The week that was – or the last 7 days
Thursday, September 03rd, 2009 | Author: Julia
Well, I’m fully recovered now post-op and the cold has shifted. Ian suprisingly pulled through his cold although we did have a few dicey moments when he felt a relapse was a possibility but thankfully no issues there.
The car was retrieved successfully from the hospital car park ( see last post ) although I felt Ian’s opening line when he returned home of ‘what on earth have you done to the car this time? It’s got NHS blue paint down both sides and it was parked between two pillars painted NHS blue. Don’t say you know nothing about it’ was uncalled for. It did have a smidge of blue on both sides of the chassis and the blue was a perfect match to that painted on the car park pillars. And it wasn’t there before I parked the car. But – does that really mean we have to put 2 and 2 together and deduce that I’d parked badly and scratched both sides of the car? No we don’t.
Still, come uppance was at the ready as the following morning I dragged out a full bin bag from the kitchen to put in the wheelie bin. Just as I approached said bin the bag split and the entire contents spewed over the driveway. Now I can’t stand things like this so reacted in the obvious way by screeching ‘Oh my God NO! No! No! I can’t believe it – IAN! Help! Eventually Ian appeared and after explaining that I had obviously a) carried the bag inefficiently b) been rushing around as always c) been clumsy as usual, he actually put on a pair of lemon marigolds ( Tesco Basics Brand ) and proceeded to clear up the mess. Now that’s what I call a good husband. Eating the remains of an old takeaway he found was a bit unusual though.
Mrs Q continues to nurture baby Samuel Reuben, introducing him to our mad crazy world. He is doing very well and changing by the day. Mr Q returns to work next week so she will be home alone with baby SR for the first time. I know she will be fine and will not take him to her local Weatherspoons and sit outside with him smoking a fag and drinking a pint. At least I don’t think she will. On the plus side she has stopped wearing that Britney Spears trailer trash skirt.
The volunteering work continues and I am really enjoying the befriending scheme through Communicare. As it is confidential I won’t write any details here suffice to say it is a fantastic programme which helps to bring the community closer together.
In terms of the book, I have now finished my first character’s story end to end. I have now started to write the story of my second character which interweaves with that of the first. I am finding this much more difficult as I had got so under the skin of No 1 that trying to get into the second is proving harder than I expected. Still, I plod on…What I have decided however is that I will now spend the year finishing the book and will stop the other work as I want to complete the first draft by the end of December.
As for the other day to day stuff, Ian and I are at opposite ends of the weight loss scale. Ian is trying to lose and I am trying to gain! So while I am making sure I eat enough calories and more – Ian is on a strict regime of control, control, control. I’m unsure where his spicy chicken burger, onion rings and chips which he had last night fits into this.
So, all in all a pretty average week. Can’t belive it is now September and the start of the Autumn. It’s pouring with rain and blowing a gale as I sit writing in our dining room overlooking the garden. Come back Summer!!!
Category: Family, My Life, Volunteering
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