Oops... Catch up!

I'm working from home today so I thought I'd take advantage of my "lunch break" and do a catch up on my blog as I have been particularly rubbish at keeping up with it again.

We have had a lot of snow this winter. I would say "YAY!" as it is all very pretty but it has been an utter pain in the arse in terms of getting to and from work. This country seems to fall apart at the seams when it snows. I don't remember there being any weather-related problems when I was growing up in Germany and it snowed there pretty much every year! I wish our government would do some fact-finding stuff into how they cope with winter in Europe and Canada then maybe I wouldn't be losing money by not being able to get into work!! Grumble, grumble!

On 21 December the weather was so atrocious that it took FIVE HOURS to drive home from work that night... its usually about a half hour journey! I also had a few days where I just couldn't get in at all. This morning I tried for three hours to get in but gave up and came home to do work from here instead.

It is very pretty though. Here's some pics....

The view from my living room (at the back)




The view from my bedroom (at the front)




Talking of home, the house is lovely and I am all moved in properly now, however since I have moved in I have discovered that the windows don't close properly and that the under-floor-heating doesn't work properly either! Much grumbling and complaining was done to the estate agents who after a fashion did supply me with four panel heaters. All well and good but with drafty windows it was a pretty pointless gesture and the house was always cold, especially in the recent weather!

I spoke to the girl at the estate agents again as I'd not heard anything further about getting someone in to repair the heating. She let slip that the previous tenants had mentioned the heating not functioning properly and that the maintenance people had looked at it and said it was a very old system and may not be repairable! They are now trying to source another company to check it out before contacting the landlord to have the heating replaced. Also, the tenants association have decided that the windows are all being replaced with double-glazing this year! Yay! Maybe next winter won't be like living in a fridge!

Yesterday they sent round a handyman who draft-proofed all my windows and packed / sealed up the ones that don't close properly. There was an instant noticeable difference and although the house isn't warm, its not freezing either! I've stuck on a couple of the panel heaters today and I can actually feel the heat! Hurrah!

We had a great Xmas / Yuletide celebration. The best I have had in a long, long time. The 25th was lovely. Just me, Keith, Aaron and Gemima for the main meal. Jade was at her Dad's, Sophie at her Mum's and Sam decided to go to a friend's. Lots of cooking, which Keith helped with. It was nice not to have to do everything by myself. Jade and Pete joined us later on, where Jade had another dinner and a few glasses of Baileys and she and Pete opened their prezzies from us.

Jade made the most amazing gluten-free mince pies, which went down a treat. Most gluten-free stuff you buy in the shops is very crumbly and has little taste. Jade's were pretty much indistinguishable from the normal ones and didn't disintegraate into a pile of crumbs the second they were bitten into. Fabulous! Thank you Jade!

The 26th was noisy and fun. We were joined at my house by most of my family and some friends, including Jodie (who I fostered for three years), who Gemima hasn't seen since she was about 5 and was very excited about seeing again. Jade and Pete came over with Pete's parents and brother so Keith and I got to do the meet the parents thing for the first time. They seemed to enjoy themselves and stayed for a few hours so hopefully we didn't scare them all too much!

This was followed by an excellent New Year's Eve party at Dan and Laura's where Keith and I got thoroughly pickled and stayed over, sleeping on their living room floor.

Yours Truly all bunnied up and ready to go out


The Glitzy One with his unreasonably fabulous legs on display!


Uber-scrummy sparkly pink gluten-free cakes made for us by Laura:


Tomorrow I am heading off to SWF to go with Keith to have an ultrasound done. We think he may have gallstones. He has all the symptoms and has been in quite a substantial amount of pain on and off since 9th December. Fingers crossed that it's nothing more sinister and that its easily treatable. Watch this space!

Back to Reality

Back to work today. Idiot driver day on the roads. Stupid person almost parked in the boot of the Polo!

Busy day in the office but got loads done.

Got a call from Nick to say Gemima's ill and not at school... again! I insisted he take her to the GP as she's had a lot of time off sick when she's been with him.

First session at Osteopath today. He was good; cracked my spine but not in the same painful way that the physioterrorist did. Felt bruisy but good afterwards. Back again next Monday. It will be nice to have a pain-free back. Fingers crossed.

Picked Gemima up afterwards. Yep, temperature, bogies, cough, the works. Doctor said no antibiotics but lots of fluid, cough meds and paracetamol. So that's what she got.

The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell....

OK, that's just a little overdramatic! It wasn't too bad a journey at all - shorter than the way there anyhow.

We woke up at about 10am, packed up, loaded up the car and went off to forage for food. While Keith checked us out of the chalet, the rest of us wandered in the general direction of the Diner, which we hadn't tried at all over the weekend. We had a reasonably OK fry up, although some of it was questionable but it was enough to keep us going for the journey.

We were just about done when the entire contingent of SPiT LiKE THiS wandered in. Spent a few minutes chatting to Vikki and Z before heading off back to London via the scenic route through some ridiculously steep hills!

Five and a half hours later we stopped in Southend at Dan and Laura's and had much needed coffee before heading home to Keith's for kebab, a shower and an early night!

What a fantastic weekend!

Hard Rock Hell III (day two)

We woke up to alarms at about 11am. Thankfully Keith had the foresight to set them or we might have slept for most of the day!

Breakfast consisted of coffee, tea, flapjacks and crisps. Nice healthy energy-boosting stuff! We made the executive decision that we would go out in relatively "normal" attire during the day and come back later on when there was a gap in the schedule to do the Get Changed and Have Dinner things. Good plan!

Dan & Laura



Me & Keith



Full of sugar and caffeine, we wandered over to the stages. We had planned on popping our heads in to the small stage in the pub to catch some of Dumpy's Rusty Nuts (I wanted to see them because oh god, what a fabulous name!) before heading off to watch The Glitterati, who we have yet to see play. We had to wander through The Glitterati's stage area to get the Dumpy and I am glad we did. The Glitterati were all very emo sounding and 30 seconds of them was enough for me! So we all stayed to watch Dumpy's entire set. Well listen to actually, as the place was so packed we couldn't see the stage! More people watching them than watching The Glitterati and with good reason. They were awesome. Thoroughly enjoyed them - one of my favourites of the weekend. No pics though because we couldn't actually see them!

On the way back to the main stages we passed a photography place and had a group pic done and made into a print and some keyrings:



Next band we saw was Girlschool. Now THIS is how a girl band should sound - Hysterica, watch and learn!



See all the Girlschool pics here!

Tigertailz. Wow. I've seen them four times but this was definitely their best performance yet! Berzerk album back to back followed by their rendition of Motorhead's Ace of Spades joined by Girlschool. Fantastic!




See all the Tigertailz pics here!

Following on the tail of that very energetic set came The Quireboys. They were good but sadly for them, they had to follow Tigertailz who were a VERY hard act to follow!



See all The Quireboys pics here!

And here we reached our gap so after mooching about the shop and selecting pizza, chips and eggs from the limited stock on the shelves, we headed back to the chalet to do the Get Changed and Have Dinner thing. Egg and chips for me and Laura and pizza and chips for the "boys" - yeah, I use that description lightly!

One quick change later and we headed back for more fun. While Dan was outside having a smoke, KT and I were stopped by a photographer who took this pic of us:


Yes, I know. Very, very short skirt and I was very, very self-conscious wearing it but KT wanted me to and he seems to like my legs, so what the hell, why not!!

Bumped into Bitty Grim and did the photo thing:



Me and KT


Back to the music! Next up were W.A.S.P. Packed, packed area - practically everyone must have been there. We didn't bother trying to make our way through, and watched the show from the sidelines. They were excellent and I am glad I finally got to see them play. Its only taken 26 years!


See all the W.A.S.P. pics here!

We stood to one side chatting to Dan and Laura and listening to Queensryche. They weren't that great to be honest and so Keith didn't bother with the picture thing.

Next up New York Dolls. Keith had wanted to see these guys but they were another disappointment and should perhaps have called it a day a while ago. Two good songs to start with and downhill from there. Keith and I had gone to watch the show from the seated area at the back. I hadn;t realised that it was staffed by a security man and had just marched up the stairs and sat down. KT followed me and we saved a couple of seats for Dan and Laura who had gone for a wander. When they came back in they were stopped and told they couldn't come up. Apprently we were sitting in the VIP area. I had noticed the old fart on the stairs watching me as I came up but hadn't twigged that he was supposed to be screaning people - he was just staring at my very short skirt followed by KT's short skirt. After some observation we realised that he was only stopping men or women who were with men. Women on their own were allowed through without being checked. Obviously he had not got past staring at KT's legs long enough to realise that he's male!

Dan and Laura went off to the other main stage to catch the thrashy metal bands that aren't really my cup of tea and KT and I left part way through New York Dolls to go back to the chalet and make coffee. We were a little tired and didn't want to be too sleepy to see our friends, SPiT LiKE THiS close the festival.

a coffe and a tidy up (did we REALLY clear the chalet up?!) we headed back just in time to catch Lauren Harris who was running a little late. She was a bit too High School Musical for me and didn't seem comfortabe on stage but me rest of the band were good.

Then it was almost all over. Just SPiT LiKE THiS to go. They didn't disappoint. My only complaint; their set was over far too quickly. It always seems to be that way.




See all the SPiT LiKE THiS pics here!

And then it was 3am and time to head off to the chalet and from there to the land of nod....

Hard Rock Hell III

Oh My God! What an AWESOME weekend!

Goth, Rock, Metal and Chips with Curry Sauce! OK, the curry sauce wasn't great but the rest was amazing!

After seeing the Fabulous Eddie Izzard at the O2 in Greenwich on Thursday night, Keith and I got back to South Woodham at about 1am to do last minute packing and hair-dying and stuff. We finally crashed out at 3am, only to be rudely awoken by many, many alarms at 7am!

One large mug of proper coffee later, we headed off to sunny Southend to pick up Dan and Laura, who were equally excited about the prospect of a weekend of rock and metal mayhem.

We decided to avoid getting fleeced by service stations en route and opted for a huge breakfast in a builder's cafe, which judging by the looks on people's faces, had never served a bunch of goths... ever! Then we were on our way, ably assisted by Dan's SatNav which bleeped at me every time I went over the speed limit. There was probably too much bleeping really, truth be told.

The journey was long and rainy. I was already knackered from sod-all sleep. Thankfully Dan took over driving just after we passed Birmingham and I nodded off in the back seat for a bit until we reached Wales.

After some driving about in darkness, hilly roads and LOTS of rain, we finally found Pontins in Prestatyn, home to Hard Rock Hell! After a mad dash to the chalet to dump luggage and change into something suitably outrageous, we headed straight for the stages for the night.

Joy of joys - everything in walking distance - I don't have to drive - Rum here I come!!! Wahay!

Dan and Laura



Me and Keith



First up, Korpiklaani. Finnish folk metal band. They were amazing, energetic and a great boost considering most of us were running on energy drinks at that point!


See all the Korpiklaani pics here!

Next up Dutch band Delain. Singer had a great voice and Laura and I really liked her jacket... and that fact that she wasn't too girly to do a bit of headbanging!


See all the Delain pics here!

Then on to Swedish metal band Hysterica. Definitely the biggest disappointment of the event! Despite the carefully contrived "metal" appearance they were definitely the Metal Spice Girls manufactured band. They weren't up to much really so we only stayed for two tracks.


See all the Hysterica pics here!

After that disappointment we headed off to a different stage to see Ratt, an original 80's hair metal band (yeah - I cribbed that off Keith - I had no idea!). I didn't know any of their stuff at all but loud energetic and rocky was good and I really enjoyed their set.


See all the Ratt pics here!

Stomachs growling, we headed off in search of food to find the only option was Captain Cod and he was definitely wanting to shut shop! Sadly we were in the door before he did and three out of four of us had chips with curry sauce. Three out of four of us also regretted the curry sauce almost instantly! Not only was it vile, it also had sweetcorn in it, much to Keith's very vocal disgust! Laura was the only sensible one who refrained!

After that we headed back to the other stage which had thankfully been vacated by the awful girl band and was now host to Eden's Curse, a band we hadn't particularly planned into our hectic schedule but as it happens we were glad we got to see. The guitarist was brilliant and fascinating to watch play!


See all the Eden's Curse pics here!

At this point we were all flagging (and suffering the effects of curry sauce) but most of us wanted to see the last band of the evening, Sonata Arctica, and there was still almost an hour to go before they came on! Dan caved first and headed off to the shop to get milk for the morning before going back to the chalet. Keith, Laura and I decided to stick it out. Well, in a manner of speaking. Keith went off to watch Winterborn while Laura and I grabbed a table on the sidelines and I actually did fall asleep in my chair for their entire set!

Keith came back and woke us up before leading us to the neighbouring stage the long way round, which took us outside into the cold and rain. OK, yes, we definitely woke up!

Sonata Arctica were worth staying up for! I'd only heard some of their stuff for the first time in the car on the way up and I have to say they sounded much better live. Despite my extreme sleepiness, I thoroughly enjoyed their set.


See all the Sonata Arctica pics here!

Shuffled back to the chalet, did battle with the sofa bed and collapsed in a heap. Ahhhh sleep!

Lunch at The O2

Slight change of routine today. Not that we have a routine but today was very differnt from usual. I got to Keith's last night (battled through bloody awful traffic too but that's a whole other story!) to be told that his Dad had called and arranged for us all to meet up at the O2 in Greenwich for lunch this afternoon.

So it was an early start, left the house by 10:30 to get back to Greenwich for midday.

Got there a bit early so had a mooch in the O2 shop and bought a SIM for my old phone which Aaron no longer needs since we bought him an upgrade for his birthday. Gemima is now the proud owner of her first mobile phone and she is delighted!

Met up with Keith's Dad and his wife Stephanie. After a mini debate we settled on Frankie & Benny's and parked ourselves there for a couple of hours! It was lovely to see them both again, its been a very long time! Stephanie was looking well, positively glowing actually! Gemima was quite taken with her - actually, particularly with her charm bracelet. I sense a request for a christmas present coming my way!

After a lot of food and a good long natter, we said our goodbyes and headed back to my house to get everyone's Warhammer stuff in preparation for battle tomorrow, then it was back to SWF for ice hockey webcast and chilling on the sofa!

DragonForce!

Took Aaron to his first proper gig this evening. Me, Keith, Aaron, Sam and Sam's friend Connor piled into the car and headed off to the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend to see Dragonforce; one of his most favourite bands!

Aaron had brilliant time. We were 2nd from front for the whole gig - which included three support bands - one of which (Sabaton) I will definitely go and see again!

Pics on Keith's blog as I didn't have my camera!