Life's confusions and solutions

Shellac Nails? Now try Gelish!!

2010-11-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have recently been having my nails done. It's not really a huge priority in my life, especially as my days consist of spending countless hours in mucky, muddy woods with my dogs or at the stables with the horses!

But I have found the most amazing thing to have done on my nails. If you have heard of Shellac then this is better - Gelish. It's a cross between nail varnish and gels and comes in the most amazing colours. The beauty of it is though that it doesn't chip or crack or peel off!! I can now spend my days with beautiful nails and not think twice about them for at least two weeks!!

Two weeks of perfect nails, and the only reason to have them done again is that my nails grow!

The other great thing is that it is really quick to have put on and it takes about 10 minutes to have them taken off.

Also my nails have become so much stronger since I have had this product on them.

It will be amazing for over the Xmas/New Year period as I only have to have one manicure to last the whole time!

It originates from America so is a relatively new product here but one so worth trying.

To try this for yourself call Nails You Love on 07956369529 and speak to Ilana who is a mobile nail therapist, so another great thing is she does nails at your convenience in your own home or place of work.

I guarantee you will have Nails you Love!!!!

Farewell my New York shopping trip!

2010-03-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

So, its farewell Victorias Secret, goodbye American Eagle, so long to Bloomingdales - for how long I don't know!!!

What is going on with the British pound? An old friend that I used to have so much fun with in the US. I guess those long, lazy shopping days are now well and truly over for the foreseeable future!

Doesn't the Queen always look so proud staring out from the bank notes. I bet as Head of State she never thought she would be Head of this country is in a State!! Very shortly, our money will have more worth as kindling for a fire, I guess that will save on the fuel bills!

So, what has led to this complete devaluation of our money? Who can we actually turn to stare at with venom in our eyes? Oh, what a surprise - Gordon Brown!!! Well, he is the main one to blame. I know the entire British government system is at fault somewhere along the line, but Gordon is accountable once more.

Since when did opinion polls panic the markets so long before a general election? Especially when we don't even know when the election is! And now they think there may be a hung parliament?

I think if there is a hung parliament or if by some cruel trick of fate Gordon Brown is Prime Minister again, it will be, 'will the last one to leave the country, who's not milking it for all its' worth, please turn off the lights'!
His wonderful decisions about selling off all our gold reserves for a pittance, his bullying tactics, his 'look at me I'm crying on tv to get some votes' appearance, (I think he must have learned that from watching sob stories on X factor or American Idol. The sob story people always get through and get the sympathy vote)! This was a new programme they added to the robot that is Gordon Brown (see previous posts).

Gordon Brown and his so called government have run this country into the most dire straits possible! Gordon Brown likes Dire Straits, his favourite song is 'Money for Nothing'. This is played to the immigrants as they enter the country!

Why would anyone with at least one brain cell even consider voting for him? Unless all the immigrants who have absolutely no right to live here are now being given the vote along with council housing and flat screen tv's.
This is actually why this government have been so lax on immigration. Imagine the gratitude of Abdul, when he comes to Britain and says, "I'm entitled to a house and health care and every luxury you can give me because my wife worked here for 2 weeks". Who do you think he would vote for? Why bite off the hand that feeds you?
And with all the controversy of the voting system here, especially postal voting and false identities, labour have it all wrapped up!

So, its down the drain for the pound - it does make a colourful sink decoration though. At least they thought to make it all different colours so we could eventually find more than one use for it.

Well, I guess until we have an election, the Pound as we know it is a thing of the past, its' fate in the hands of the bullish morons who plotted its downfall. I can only hope and pray that David Cameron will do the right thing and win the election, bring value back to our country and our money so that shopping trips to New York can once more become a reality rather than a distant memory!

OMG Dubai!!!

2010-02-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that I have been away so long - life took a long and winding turn down many dark and dismal roads, but what goes down must come up - so here I am again!
We have just returned from a much needed rest in Dubai, well it was a rest for me and part business for my husband! I wanted to share my findings with you:

Our first impressions of Dubai are that it is the Arab version of Disneyland, without the rides.
In Dubyland, the first thing that strikes you is the cleanliness. The floors everywhere are so spotless that you could sit down and eat off them. There is no graffiti anywhere, no litter, no signs that there are thousands of people that walk on the paving stones. I think people value their hands too much to dare litter. You drop something then its off with your hand!

Lunch by the pool is a wonderful event. You order your food, within 5 seconds you have a table set up in front of you - full silver service. Within five minutes your food is served. You are offered every condiment imaginable, the cleaner is on hand in case you make crumbs, there is someone else on hand with wet cloths in case you get sticky and then they offer to put the food in your mouth so you don't have to exert yourself! I think the best part is that they offer to eat the food for you so you don't have to worry about the calories!

Then you go to the gym, which makes any British gym look like a glorified warehouse. Working out and getting hot and sweaty is really a thing of the past. Here in Dubyland, there is no sweat, just people on hand to mop your brow with ice cold flannels to cool you down. And if you love the look of the gym and really want a workout without exertion, they will run for you, lift weights for you and then stretch for you. Luxury this really is.

The only thing I think is a bit of a cheek, is they get you to do some of the cooking for them. If you ever come here and you see roasted cucumber on the menu - don't eat it.
During the day, when the sun is at its hottest, they bring round slices of iced cucumber to put on your eyes. The slices then bake in the sun to a nice crispy consistency. They are then collected up and used in various local dishes.
But I guess by doing this you are doing your part in giving back - it saves them on fuel by using natural resources. I just hope they don't bring chicken wings round today, they won't be so soothing on the eyes!
The other thing I have figured out is why the Arab men wear white dresses and the women black burquas. They never have the worry of fashion choices. How wonderful, you never have to worry what your going to wear. Never have the stress of wearing the wrong thing at the wrong time. The only thing that changes for the woman each season is the width of the eye slits. The well styled Dubyland woman knows the exact size to the millimetre of the seasons peek hole.
So, we don't feel uncomfortable seeing the men in dresses and the women walking round as Darth Vadar. We weren't quite sure about the terrorist cell sitting at the next table to us at dinner last night.
Anyway, Dubyland is in a unique world of its own.
Can't wait to see what happens next!
The palm trees are swaying gently in the breeze, the sky is blue and cloudless - what more can you ask for?

Day 6
Very sadly, today, Stephen is in conference and I have been left all alone! I can already tell that your eyes are brimming over with unshed tears at the hardship I am facing.
My terrible predicament is this:
I am sitting by the beautiful pool, with the sun beating down on me, I am the only one here. I have 3 pool attendants constantly surrounding me, running over to pour me a glass of water, straighten my towels if they crease, cleaning my sunglasses and moving the umbrella position ever so slightly, every time the sun moves to keep my white, English skin protected.
I have 3 lifeguards who go on full alert every time I stand up, in case I totter over the edge of the pool.(No alcohol has been consumed this morning as yet). And if I so feel like dipping my toe in the bath that is the swimming pool , one of them jumps in, to be on hand just in case my toe starts to drown.
If I would venture down to the beach, which is beautiful, I don't have to worry about getting sandy. They have made the sand the most perfect consistency to walk on, its soft underfoot but doesn't stick to you even when wet. They have even devised a way of keeping the sand cool, even at the hottest time of day, so you never have to worry about burning your feet.
You can walk into the sea, without fear that you may get swept along by the current.
On hand is your personal lifeguard, in a little boat, who will follow your every move and keep you safe. The only thing they haven't quite mastered is heating the sea to a more comfortable temperature, but I understand they're working on this problem.

So while I'm laying here all by myself, I can fill you in on my latest findings.
We decided to venture out of our cocoon here and take a trip into town for,
'The customary visit to the local shopping mall whilst on holiday excursion'. As you can imagine, this was not your usual mall. This mall was bigger than the whole of north west London. In comparison, Brent X is the equivalent of the local 7-11.
How exciting, the shops ranged from Cartier and Jimmy Choo to Bloomingdales and Top Shop.
But why would you go there to browse these luxury stores when you could jump into a cage in the ocean sized aquarium and feed the sharks? Why waste your hard earned cash and overworked credit cards on the latest Rolex watch or Laboutin shoes when you can play with the manta rays in the middle of the mall with thousands of people gawping at you through the glass? And what purpose do these stores have when in the blink of an eye you can go from an underwater adventure to skiing off piste in a total re-creation of the Alps? Obviously, absolutely none! The shops are put there with the same importance as a coconut shy at a fairground. A minor side show. The prices are so astronomical and the layout so Primark, that you are drawn to seek out other amusements. These are provided in abundance!
Anyway, this has gone on long enough, will fill you in on our visit to the Burj Al Arab next time! Just remember, all that glistens there IS gold!
The umbrella is being adjusted, my water being poured - what more can you ask for?

Farewell to Dubyland
So following our visit to the Burj al Arab, otherwise known as, 'Yes, we were rolling in it and may have to sell a few floors to pay off our debts', the famous image of that sail shaped hotel will never be viewed with the same eyes again!
What must a 7 star hotel be like you wonder? Reeking class and understated opulence? Stylish but luxurious furnishings and unknown before to mankind facilities? Actually, not!
If you have ever been on a Carnival cruise ship, which is Americas 3 star answer to in your face gawdiness, the burj has taken a template from this and multiplied it a thousand fold to create this headache inducing, vertigo enhancing monstrosity!
Needless to say, after three hours of being in the building, my head was spinning. One option was to have a rest in the bedroom of the suite our friend was staying in. Could I bear the thought of lying on this super emperor size bed with a thousand ton gold leafed encrusted mirror covering the entire ceiling area? Did I actually want to lay down and stare at my pallid, green complexion from every possible angle? Time to beat a quick retreat to the confines of my lowly 5 star hotel.

So, very sadly it was time to say farewell to Dubyland.

But there was still one surprise to come.

We checked in at the airport, ready for the comfort of an 8 hour club flight home. Sailed through security until the final checkpoint. We handed over our passports and boarding cards to the man in the white dress. "So you're going to Lagos", he informs us. Thinking there may be a misunderstanding with the accent, we both smile very sweetly, nod our heads and say, "London". Just as sweetly, he smiles back and says "No, your going to Lagos, Nigeria", and turns the computer to show us that, actually, yes, we are going to Lagos! OMG, I never knew my heart could go from 0-60 in a millisecond! Porsche had nothing on me, I would have been the fastest supercar ever had I been given an engine at that second! Thoughts of conspiracy rattled round my mind - who did I know who could set us up and have us dumped in Nigeria? No prizes for answers on that one! Panic began to set in and my eyes darted round looking for escape routes.

And then, the man in the white dress starts laughing, "How funny, look how easily I can change your destination on the computer and send you anywhere in the world!!! If you really want to go to London, then I'll change it back for you - have a nice day!!"
Now ready to sleep as my internal supply of adrenaline has been wiped out, we board the plane for London.
And what plane have we been given? Of course! The oldest one on the fleet, with a club class cabin from the 1950's. (Slight exaggeration but you get the drift).
They do this just to rub it in that you are leaving the luxury of the oasis in the desert and returning to grimy, smelly, miserable London.
And so we are back. Was the whole thing a mirage as there definitely wasn't anyone this morning to butter my toast, put the toothpaste on my toothbrush and stir the sugar in my coffee for me.

Oh well, the sky is grey and dark, the washing machine is beckoning - what more can you ask for?

Do the right thing for once, Mr Brown

2009-07-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

The news just keeps getting sadder and sadder. In one day, we lost 8 soldiers in Afghanistan.

The questions that need answering now are these:

Why do our soldiers not have the latest and best equipment to protect them from the enemy attacks?
Why does this Government have enough money to plough into failed sex education and contraception policies for our under aged teenagers but not enough to send more troops to Afghanistan to allow their missions to be carried out in safer numbers?
What is the actual reason we are still fighting this war?
Is this a winnable war or is it another Vietnam?
Does Mr Brown have the balls to withdraw our troops and risk the wrath of Obama?

The war on Afghanistan began as a direct response to 9/11 and Al Qaeda. Britain joined in this battle to show support and solidarity to the Americans and also to help destroy the terrorist training camps. Al Qaeda seem to have fled to the borders of Pakistan - will that be the next port of call for our troops?

If Al Qaeda have fled, what now is the purpose of all this bloodshed. What are we now there to prove? Yes, we are fighting the Taliban but to what end? Are we hoping to make a democratic society there? Not a chance! Will we be able to keep a permanent peace there? Not a chance! Are any other countries apart from the US and Britain sending in thousands of troops to die? Not a chance! Have Al Qaeda terrorist attacks stopped since this began in 2001? No, remember London in 2005 and Madrid in 2004, and not only this, the London bombings were done by born and bred Londoners!

Are our soldiers dying so more children in Afghanistan can go to school? Yes, it really does seem that way!

Barack Obama said recently, The Afghan government "is undermined by corruption and has difficulty delivering basic services to its people." He could also, just as easily say that about the British government!

Mr Brown, the sand is running through the hourglass very quickly now as the sun is setting on your leadership. Leave a legacy that drags your name a tiny bit out of the mud pit it's in. Either give our troops the helicopters and safer equipment they need or bring them home. Don't let them fight this endless, no win situation because it keeps you in favour with the American government. Show some leadership, find some balls, sort out your own country and the home bred terrorists within or fade away with our soldiers blood on your hands.

What an Experience!!!

2009-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from another trip to Israel, at the moment we are doing week long stints and this was my second visit there. We travelled round the country a bit and saw, discovered and experienced lots of strange and interesting things. If you are thinking about taking a trip which involves sight seeing, hiking and people watching, I would like to share some of the things I learnt and some of the things that I am still wondering about.

1. Jerusalem - one of the places which I find the most fascinating in the world. The type of place where you could just stay in one position for hours and hours on end watching the wide variety of people, cultures and religions and just soak up the atmosphere which just seeps history from every pore, no matter which angle you are looking at it from. One question though that I have brought home with me from here is this: When you are at the Wailing Wall and you see all the very Orthodox Jews rushing to pray or to go and study, why oh why do they look so serious and miserable? Surely, for them, they are living the dream, living and learning and praying at the holiest site of the Jewish people. Should they not be skipping around with the hugest smiles all over their faces, rejoicing in their good fortune? Answers would be greatly appreciated as I really cannot work this one out.

2.Hiking - When you begin a hike in 40 degree heat, make sure you take another person with you to carry a rucksack big enough to hold 100 gallons of water. Also make sure you know exactly what the hike involves. It is sometimes a little bit too late when you are half way up a mountain and look down to rediscover your fear of heights. It's also not a great position to be in when the path down looks too scary and the path up takes you higher. Also, who carved all those stairs into the side of the mountain? A nice sloping path would have been much more appreciated but an escalator would have just been wonderful!

3. The Dead Sea - OMG it really works!!! For someone, (me), who does not do water, not because I'm worried about messing my hair up but because I'm not a great swimmer and panic when surrounded by too much water, it was the first time ever in my whole life that I floated. I didn't have to flap around and I could breathe without hyperventilating!! I just lay there and my whole body popped up!! It is something that at some point in life everyone who can't float must do!

3. Long Drives- It's amazing how much water you drink during a 3 hour hike in the heat. A word of advice, short drives are much better to stick to for a while afterwards. So we were driving from the Dead Sea to Tiberius, which was about 2 and a half hours. The guide who drove us decided to take a road where all the settlements are and some Palestinian villages, which was fine. Until not even half way there, the 100 gallons of water that I had drunk on the hike decided it had hydrated my body enough and wanted to leave. Now the road we were driving on is not somewhere you really want to stop, and no, there were no petrol stations, no restaurants, no nothing.

Now, I haven't really led a hugely princess lifestyle, (much), and I have never been in that situation before - becoming one with nature. But it looked like my big moment had arrived! For me it was a matter of pure desperation or our guide having a newly installed swimming pool in his car - now he was totally not happy about having to stop anywhere on this road - but stop he had to. So the nearest place to pull in was the entrance to a Palestinian village. Did I care? No - just get me out the car!!! Was I mortified? Totally! But across a little field I ran, into a gutter, behind a thorn bush, which decided to wrap its long tendrils of the sharpest thorns ever round my body. Then I had to figure out how to do this!! Men - you don't know how easy you have it! As I'm behind my new friend, the thorn bush who now knows me intimately, I hear these two men coming towards me, OMG!!! but those 100 gallons just kept on coming, the guide has rushed out the car, 'hurry up, hurry up!!!' Just not happening. But those voices kept getting closer and closer and enough was enough, so armed with a little less dignity and a whole lot of thorns, I raced back to the car. Only on route did he then tell us that people get kidnapped along this road. My advice, stick to the safe roads with loads of petrol stations and toilets!!!

4. Extreme Excursions - Always note that the word Extreme really does mean extreme. Not fun or exciting but death defyingly extreme! Think of a cave at the top of the highest mountain you can imagine, ok, not Everest high, but you get the jist! Now imagine the roof of the cave has collapsed and all that is left is the arch at the front of the cave. Now imagine you tie a rope to a tree and you are meant to hold onto the rope and leap off a rock and slide down the rope, miles down to the bottom. Then you have to climb back up the mountain along a treacherous path full of narrow ledges and rolling stones. Extreme? I thought so. My advice? If you go splat you're not covered on your life insurance and everyone you leave behind will be destitute. So either tell your life insurance company before hand or just don't do it!! I would go with the 'just don't do it'!

So that's just a little sample of some of my latest experiences. It's taken me a week to recover from a mad, mad week but look at all that I've learnt!!!

Doggie Name Dilemma!!

2009-06-17T14:00:00.001-07:00

Take a look at this beautiful face, by the way, he is chocolate brown and white - not black! Isn't he just totally handsome, wouldn't you think he should have the most fitting name to his beauty, well his name is apparently going to be Podgey. Podge for short. And no, this was completely nothing to do with me. I mean, who is the one who walks the dogs in the park every day? Who is the one who is going to be keeping track of 4 dogs? Who is going to be the one always screaming at the top of her voice for one or the other to keep up? Yes, of course - me! And therefore I am the one who will be screaming, "Podge, Podgey, come here". Yes, I'm already cringing with embarrassment. And what about poor little Podgey? All the other doggies are going to tease him senseless! He will have hangups before he even takes his first tentative step into the fickle world of The Park.

Think about his first puppy party, his first steps into Society, the meeting ground of all puppies who play. Who is going to have to sit there and say, "Yes, isn't he gorgeous, his name is Podge!". And being such sensitive souls, the dogs, not the people, he will sense everyones discomfort with his name and feel an outcast!

I have suggested that we have Podge as a middle name, as a nickname, as a surname, as any name other than the one we have to call him!!! Does anyone listen? Of course not.

Now take my new little girl, who is also totally divine. I'm very lucky on this one, I actually get a say in her name. So, I really like the name Saffie for her. I think it's a pretty name for a beautiful girl. Does anyone else like it? Of course not. Will they let me call her it anyway? Of course not. Do they like any name that I come up with? Of course not. What do they want to call her? Blondie because she's blonde! And no I don't live in a household of Blondes either - although I'm sure it really sounds like I do! And you can just imagine that really butch bull dog swaggering past her in the park - "Awight Blondie", he will wink garishly at her, "fancy meeting behind that big Oak tree?", poor little thing will just be shown no respect at all. At least with the name Saffie, she can hold her head a little higher and not be hit on by every dog trying their luck that comes along!

So at the moment we are waiting for Podgey and Blondie to come home. I now have less than 2 weeks in which to give these beautiful puppies beautiful names. Help please! Any suggestions that will help me convince everyone here that Podgey and Blondie just don't suit them will be more appreciated than you could ever know!!!

Lest They Forget

2009-06-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

What did you do on Holocaust Remembrance day this year? Did you even know when it was? Well, to remind you, it was Tuesday 21 April. I would imagine that most of you were going about your daily business, at work, running the kids to and from school, out shopping, lunching with friends - usual every day stuff that doesn't differentiate one day from the other. Maybe you heard a news item about it during the course of that day but only because of the outrage caused by President Ahmadinejad of Iran at the UN conference in Switzerland.

Ironically, this years Holocaust Remembrance Day fell on the 120th anniversary of Hitler's birth. Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu said to his Cabinet on that day that while Israel commemorates the six million Jews slaughtered by the Nazis, "in Switzerland, the guest of honour is a racist and a Holocaust denier who doesn't conceal his intention to wipe Israel off the face of this earth".

During my short time blogging, I have come across some very interesting people. But there is one lady whose blog I have begun reading and whose stories and poems I keep returning to. She is a survivor of the Holocaust. She is a living link to the utter horrors of that most darkest time in human history. She has shared her thoughts and her pain through her poems and stories and she has given us all something so terribly important. Even if you don't continue reading the rest of this, please visit her site, http://deborahrey.wordpress.com/, work your way through her writings, her poem, 'Free the Soul mit Arbeit' and 'Auschwitz insomnia', which will stir such emotions in you.

Our children are becoming disassociated with the past. For people my age, it was our Grandparents who fought in World War 2, it was their generation who wore the yellow star,
who were herded like sheep into ghettos, who were marched into the cattle trucks, crammed into those squalid, wooden carriages with straw on the floor and bars at the windows. Who, when the doors were opened, were met with the scenes of teeth bearing dogs, jeering Nazi's and ghastly smells in the air from the crematorium, where in a very short time, the majority of them would be.

The purpose of this is to make sure it is never forgotten. That the suffering cannot ever happen again. That maybe by reading Deborah's writings, you realise that the past is not so distant, she is a survivor who writes her heart and soul to share her experiences to ensure we do not forget.

For the doubters, look at this site, http://isurvived.org/home.html and maybe you will doubt no more. Ask yourself how one human being could possibly do this to another. This is not about God or faith, it is about the attempted annihilation of a race of people in the most grotesque ways possible.

With the uprising of the BNP in Britain it becomes imperative that we do not allow future generations to ever forget. To become complacent in this very turbulent world is an extremely dangerous thing to do. People say it could never happen again - I don't believe that for one minute. If you watched the way Nick Griffin's minders pushed people in the streets when he was being bombarded with eggs outside Parliament last week, even though they were under the watchful gaze of television cameras, shows there is always possibility.

Teach your children and your children's children. Teach them to have respect and compassion for people from every faith and of every colour. Teach them that only violence comes from hatred. Teach them the past so that they can protect the future.

Let us never fear the cattle trucks again.
Let us never be segregated and dehumanised again.
Let us never be gassed and burned again.
Let us never forget the six million who were.

The Holocaust - Lest we forget.

Out of sorrow eventually comes joy

2009-06-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

In one of my previous posts I told you about my gorgeous dog Max who was seriously ill. Sadly, we lost him a few days later. It was one of the most traumatic things we have ever gone through and we have gone through some pretty traumatic things in our lives! The void he left within the family was huge and there was a massive gaping hole where he used to be.

Nothing will obviously ever replace Max, who we just totally adored.

But now we have decided to add to our doggy family and bring home new babies. We went to have a look at a litter of Cocker Spaniel puppies. There were 8 of them and they were all completely divine - it would have been so simple to just bring all 8 of them home but sometimes you have to be a little bit sensible!

So there was this totally gorgeous little boy
In this picture he is only 5 weeks old! He is a real rough and tumble, typical little boy, full of mischief and just wanting to play all the time!! But then there was this absolutely adorable little girl -
who is just so beautiful and so delicate and loves lots of cuddles.

Was it possible to choose between the two of them? Did the head overrule the heart? Did being sensible and practical ever come into the equation? Absolutely not!!! Our new little boy and girl are coming home in two weeks time and we are just so totally over the moon and in love with them already!

I'm sure in a few weeks my house will be smelling somewhat similar to a menagerie and my kitchen cupboards will be chewed to bits, I will have been through hundreds of mops and the kitchen floor will have suffered great trauma, by the way, any offers of newspaper donations will be greatly appreciated!

If you love animals, you will always have the love inside you to give to as many as you possibly can in your lifetime.

We all know that our pets don't have as long a lifespan as we do, so we let them choose us, then we love them to pieces and give them the happiest life possible and then we let them go peacefully to heaven, our hearts break into a million pieces and out of that sorrow comes a new beginning for more puppies who need to be loved.

Religion and Politics Go Hand in Hand

2009-06-12T06:03:00.001-07:00

So I am not a Muslim but I would bet that no where in the Koran does it say 'Thou shouldst takest cash from a fellow religious Muslim rather than using the infidels banking systems'! But that has been the interpretation of Mr Shahid Malik. You remember - he is the one who got fired for his expenses claims a few weeks ago and now has been rehired by our illustrious leader, Mr Brown, as Minister for communities and local government.

Briefly, Mr Malik has been claiming for homes and offices and paying some of his rent by direct debit and some by cash, (supposedly).

And although there has been an enquiry into Mr Malik's dealings by Sir Philip Mawer - the report, (which Downing Street were not going to publish until they were squeezed so tightly by media pressure that they had no choice), shows too many discrepancies and lots of things that don't really sit quite right!!! One tiny example, either cash was paid for religious reasons or Mr Malik was too busy to change his direct debit. How many hours does he think it takes to change a payment? With modern things such as computers and Internet it can take a matter of seconds. Maybe the office space he was claiming for didn't come equipped with mod cons!

But doesn't the main reason here lie once more with Gordon Brown? Is he not the one saying proposals for a Parliamentary clean up will be out before the Summer break? Is he not the one saying that all claims must be backed up with receipts? Mr Malik has no receipts for his cash payments - but he still keeps his job (at the moment).

So another huge tarnish for you Mr Brown! What dark recess had your mind wandered into to even contemplate bringing Shahid Malik back? And just digressing very slightly (bear with me for a sec), why is Alan Sugar getting a peerage just so he can give you advice that you probably won't heed? Do peerages really mean absolutely nothing at all now - I think, once upon a time they were given to people worthy of them, not as a political back door! So I had a great idea, why doesn't David Cameron make Simon Cowell a peer? Lord Cowell would do an amazing job, dealing with people in his subtle, honest way and although he has a reputation of being a little bit insensitive sometimes, at least he doesn't have the reputation of a 'bully', unlike Alan Sugar. Mind you, I guess it fits with the current leader very well!

Now getting back on track, I did find it quite interesting that Shahid Malik brought religion into this matter.

I am certain that Mr Malik does not have a totally British Muslim Parliament in mind, but it does seem strange that when he makes a statement, be it in defence of his own actions or his aspirations within Parliament, he does bring religion into the equation.

Mr Malik, please join Mr Brown in departing from Government life. If government is to be cleaned up, we really need to start emptying the trash now!

Oh Gordon, What have you done now?

2009-06-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Oh Gordon, where are you taking us now? Only a few days ago you were standing on Omaha Beach, remembering those amazingly brave soldiers who fought and died for our liberty, for freedom of oppression from dictators, for freedom of speech, for the right to live in a democratic society where opinions can be expressed without repercussion.

And when you were standing on that beach delivering your speech, knowing all around you was animosity, with the booing crowd still echoing in your ears and the eyes of the world on your extremely diminished figure, all you could think about was Obama. What was going through your mind to rename Omaha beach, Obama Beach? Yes, they both begin with O and end with A and that is really where the similarities end! Yes, Obama was probably sitting there wondering why he was looking at you and not the Queen, who really should have received an invitation by the way, and no it didn't make you anywhere near being his new best friend. Maybe he was even comparing you to the dictators of old, although we do realise you don't shoot the insubordinates! Maybe he just didn't know what to think like the rest of us!!!

But now what have you done! By being the worst Prime Minister in the history of Prime Ministers, elected or unelected you have allowed the people who our grandparents and great grandparents fought and died to save us from into elected seats in the European Parliament. Do you actually understand who the BNP are? Does it not scare you that people are so disgusted by you they have gone completely mad and voted for the extreme of you and your party?

When you stand there hour after hour, day after day and keep telling us that in time we will see your policies working and you will not walk away, can you not hear us saying "Walk, please walk, then run, then sprint!!" Run Gordon Run!!!!!!

Are you going to wait until the stormtroopers along with the Gestapo are goose stepping through the streets of London before you realise how low this country has sunk. The Titanic was meant to be 'unsinkable' - until it hit an iceberg! Gordon, you have slam dunked into this iceberg and you are the Titanic with too many holes in it to be saved! Maybe you should ask Hazel Blears if you can borrow her bath plug!

Big Brother 2009 Takes Place This Year in Westminster!

2009-06-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

OMG!!! I am finding this all so exciting! It is better than any installment of any soap opera at the moment. We are not even having to waste money on public votes - the evictions are taking place all by themselves!! Ok, we may not be getting to choose who goes first - my choice was Gordon but I guess that would have spoilt the suspense, the will he, won't he(be a man and do the right thing!) type of build up, I never thought Governments were there to provide so much entertainment but they are totally excelling themselves - how much fun is it watching Prime Ministers question time? The casting is amazing! You go through moments where it's hysterical, then moments where you get so frustrated you want to hit something or someone just to wipe smug little grins off of faces!! Now I'm really not getting violent here, it was just an expression but what was once a dull and very boring programme is now compulsive viewing!

Take last night for instance, I wonder how many times Gordon Brown said that the Conservatives had no policies and going back to one of my previous posts when I said that Gordon the robots programming was stuck - I cannot believe he still has not yet had the right software installed to answer a direct, yes or no question. I actually do believe he is now way more than a day behind in his programming and I really do think that his Labour system has a virus which no form of Nortons will be able to treat!!

So, we started off with a full house, (cabinet), big brother (us) have been watching their behaviour, although as yet we have not heard from the resident psychologist. From the strange looking expressions on most of the house mates faces yesterday during Question Time, they are really not enjoying their experience in the Big Brother House of Parliament! The range of facial expressions were classic, we had the 'I really don't want to be here anymore but it's one of my last chances to be on TV ' look from Jackie Smith, David Milliband smiling the smile of someone who has gone temporarily insane, Hilary Benn and Andy Burnham had the doomy, gloomy looks of absolute misery and resignation (no, they haven't been evicted just yet!) and Jack Straw and Nick Brown were sitting there whispering to each other, didn't they know that whispering is rude and can lead to eviction!
The little cliques have now formed, and where the group started as one big happy family, they have now fallen down the great big fissures of failure.

I have never seen someone so severely ex-communicated from reality - even the oddest big brother contestant has been more in touch with real life (and that really is saying something!). What business is GB actually getting on with? What is he putting into action? Which country is he actually trying to run - it's definitely not this one!

So one by one they are dropping out, evicting themselves so that they are not the last ones staggering around behind Gordon's crumpled shirt tails. What will become of Alistair Darling (and by the way, does he dye his hair white and his eyebrows black or is it the other way round?)? Mr Brown spoke of him in the past tense yesterday as if he had already been evicted - will Mr Flip a House be ousted or will he join the new uprising and do some ousting himself?

Behind the Veil

2009-05-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

When I was driving through a leafy suburb a few days ago, I was quite taken back to see many women walking the streets wearing burqa's.

By the way, I was driving through a leafy suburb of London! I have nothing against any religion or representation of any religion - but I must admit - I do find seeing this quite scary. Not many things anymore make me stop and stare but ashamedly and admittedly this does.

I completely understand that dressing modestly is a very fundamental aspect of all religions, especially when you are very observant. I also understand that by covering yourself you are avoiding the unwanted attention and possible attraction of other men.

All religions have a code of dress of modesty and it is obviously dependent on how observant you are as to the lengths you go to to keep that modesty. But it does make you think...

In the Jewish religion, Orthodox married women cover their hair, either by wearing a scarf or a sheitel (wig). Some wear a scarf over a sheitel and others from very religious groups such as Satmar, shave their heads and wear a scarf. They also wear clothes which include long conservative skirts and tops with sleeves which have to cover at least to the elbow.

There can be an argument in wearing a sheitel as a form of covering your modesty and not appearing attractive to other men. Some of the sheitel's are beautiful wigs and if your natural hair is not that amazing, you actually can look a lot more attractive by donning a sheitel. Although by doing this, you are not revealing your natural beauty - you could actually attract a lot more attention. You can go from a stringy, mousy no bodied look to a full, thick head of hair in whatever shade you fancy that day! And to the extreme, by shaving your head, not only do you make yourself unattractive to other men but also to your husband?

Going back to the burqa though, I found it very interesting to read a story about a Jewish woman who lived in Beit Shemesh, an ultra-orthodox Jewish enclave west of Jerusalem. She had always dressed in the same way as the other woman, until one day she started wearing a dark cloth which she had secured across her face, not unlike the Muslim woman. One day, she was seen at the Western Wall praying, and other worshippers thought she was an Arab and were scared. Obviously thinking they were seeing a woman in a burqa on the wrong side of the wall!

Let us put men in itchy, uncomfortable wigs - although this also might help to hide that bald patch and make them more attractive! Jewish religious men wear couples at all times to show respect for God, but this really is not an uncomfortable thing to do. Let's cover the men head to toe and make them see the world through little eye slits! Would their attitude then change?

If a woman has to dress in order not to attract a man and a woman is the one who has to protect her modesty in order to keep admiring glances away, is this not being looked at the wrong way round? Is it not then the men who have a problem? Is it not the men who maybe should be wearing blinkers to keep them on the straight and narrow? Is it not the men who feel the woman have to be dressed in such a way so they will not be led astray? Is it not the men who make or interpret the rules for the women?

Do religious dress codes create more hatred towards certain groups because it makes them stand out so much?

Does the burqa sometimes inspire fear because you cannot see the person on the inside? Does the person inside cry out for self-expression? Is it God who demands the extremes or is it man?

To Have or Not To Have - A Pension That Is ...

2009-05-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

So still continuing on the total downfall of our political system (bring back Guy Fawkes to finish the job properly!) - I found it quite strange this week whilst watching the ousting of Michael Martin (Speaker of the House), that although he is being blamed for the expenses fiasco, he will still be collecting his pension pot worth up to £2million. Yes, there has been outcry from the MP's that he will still be rewarded for his dastardly work but I would imagine that very quickly the dust will blow over and the issue soon long forgotten.

If Michael Martin has been responsible in part for the nuclear bomb landing on our illustrious Parliament and we then look at former RBS chief, Sir Fred Goodwin, who was responsible in part for bringing down the banking system and the massive outlash there was about his pension plan are we going to see the same outrage from Parliament, especially our esteemed Labour ministers for the ex-speaker.

At one point, the Government were prepared to change the law to stop Fred Goodwin claiming his £650,000 a year pension. Harriet Harman had stated that, "The Prime Minister has asked him to forego it and obviously we want him to do that - that's the most straightforward and honourable way to do it." She also said the payment was a reward for failure. There is also in this case the involvement of Lord Myners, who was recruited a few days before the State rescue of the bank. The real story of how this deal was put together and how much Government involvement there was in it is still to be uncovered!

Therefore, both men are being paid and rewarded for failure. You cannot apply one set of values for one and not the other. Just because Fred Goodwin was not a member of the exclusive Houses of Parliament free for all club he has been portrayed as a greedy, money-grabbing scoundrel. Et tu Michael Martin? And the long, long list of freeloaders who frequent the Houses of Parliament?

Gordon Brown (sorry to keep swearing!), praised the Speaker for his professionalism after his resignation, Fred Goodwin was vilified. Who did the better job when they were at the height of their career?

And of course, Gordon Brown could take some advice from himself. Of Fred Goodwin he said

"When banks fail... the people who make the mistakes cannot and should not run off with entitlements and with additional discretionary payments." Now, let's replace 'banks' with 'Parliament'.

Where all of this will lead to - who knows - we are entering very uncharted territory within our political world, the maps are all in the process of being redrawn and the Captain and crew are lining up to walk the plank and the crocodiles are waiting expectantly. Can't wait for the next installment!!

2009-05-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

This is a post I wasn't going to write - it is one I didn't think I could write and hoped I wouldn't have to. It's about my dog - Max - my beautiful Cocker Spaniel who will be 7 next month.

I lost my Mum 7 years ago and within a few weeks had brought my beautiful little puppy home. He was the comfort that I needed, the cuddles and the love that he brought into my life got me through some terribly dark and lonely times. He was always there when I needed to cry, needed to sit, with him on my lap and just stare into space, trying to come to terms with my grief and make some sense of life again. He filled a part of the complete void I was feeling.

As he grew, he became the third child, sitting on his chair at the breakfast table with the children before they went to school, always happily wagging his little docked tail for any and no reason, content to sit and watch television with whoever happened to be in cuddling distance. Hitting anyone who visited with his paw, just to let them know he was there and that they could pamper him too. If he had been a person he would have spent his days in the beauty salon, getting his hair done, having a manicure and always looking beautiful.

Max is ill. He hasn't been an overly well dog since he was a baby, but the last couple of weeks he has been really sick. So on Wednesday I had to take him to the hospital. Now after waiting seemingly endlessly for test results - he has Spleen Cancer. I don't yet know the implications of this - but I know that the void and pain has returned.

The love you feel for your dog is so unconditional and the helplessness you feel when they are so ill is totally heart wrenching. All you want is one more cuddle, one more wag of the tail, one more look into those beautiful eyes and that gorgeous face. That unconditional love also means that you cannot let him suffer. You cannot let him go through terrible pain and treatments with no thought as to his quality of life.

Unlike people, you can do the ultimate kindness for animals and not let them go through suffering, indignity and pain. I know what it's like to watch someone go through that and I wouldn't wish it on anybody or anything.

So at this moment, my heart has been torn open and my emotions in turmoil. I am hoping and praying that they can treat him and make him well again. Deep down I'm not so sure.

I thought that writing about this might ease something inside me but I don't think it has. It has just shown how cruel life can be again. I lost my Mum to cancer and now my Maxie who comforted me through that has succumbed to the same vile, terrible disease. Isn't life ironic.

Britains Got Talent - A Whole New World

2009-05-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

I must admit I do love some of the reality tv shows. I am an avid follower of X Factor, American Idol and most recently Britain's Got Talent. In previous years I have cringed at some of the pathetic, waste of space, unpolished, unrehearsed 'acts', that have graced our screens. But this year has been something special, something different, a spark of hope was lit within me as week after week I have felt goosebumps rising on my skin and the little hairs on my arms stand on end.

I was really quite indifferent to this series until one day I was walking down the stairs and heard the now infamous Susan Boyle singing 'I dreamed a dream' from Les Miserables, my all time favourite show! OMG! She was totally amazing - well more than amazing, her singing was unbelievably divine! The following onslaught of world wide publicity for her was really well and truly deserved. The next singer to really catch my attention was Welshman, Jamie Pugh, also singing from Les Mis, 'Bring him home'. Having recently seen the show for the umpteenth time, he could easily have been up on the stage in the West End along with the best of them. But my absolute favourites, the act that actually brought tears welling into my eyes (not an easy feat!), were 2 Grand, Grandfather John, 76 and Granddaughter Sally, 12.

I don't believe anyone with a heart beating inside them could watch this and firstly not feel the warmth spreading through them from the total wholesomeness (you can make words up sometimes!) of this pair and secondly just love watching this special family relationship.

Some people have commented that 'A whole new world', was a strange song for them to sing to each other, but if you listen to the words and forget Aladdin and Jasmine for a minute, I think they are quite appropriate. Each generation can show the next 'A whole new world', teach them 'a new fantastic point of view' and with a grandparent and a grandchild there is 'No one to tell us no'!

Watching them also sends you on a trip down memory lane, to the carefree days of childhood when your grandparents would appear with bags of sweets or comics on a Sunday afternoon for tea and you would all sit round the table talking and maybe playing a game of cards - Kaluki was my grandparents favourite! And at the time you would never realise how lucky you were to be in the heart of your family, building memories from stories told and voices heard and specific smells and tastes that were all labelled in your mind as 'my grandparents'.

As wonderful as the other contestants have been, I truly believe that this pair is what the Royal Variety Performance should be about - special relationships. The love and respect between a grandchild and grandparent, the unique friendship they share and enjoy, the priceless life experiences spent together and the bond that even in memory will last forever.

Maybe I'm over reacting but ....

2009-05-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Did I get a shock today! I was driving to an appointment and just for a change happened to be stuck in traffic. So, as you do, when your idling your time away, I glanced up and saw a brand new billboard poster. From my position in the car - my eye was drawn to two things - the first was ''So Vote Christian' and the second was a picture of a swastika!!

Albeit, the swastika wasn't very large but being something you don't see very often, I zoomed in on it and then the traffic moved and I could no longer study the poster. For the rest of my journey I actually felt quite shocked. Admittedly I didn't know what the actual content of the poster was about but the use of this symbol actually turned my stomach. I forgot all about the 'Vote Christian' part of the poster and spent the rest of my very, very long journey wondering how using the symbol of the swastika could possibly benefit anyone.

So on my way home, I stopped and took some pictures - see for yourself:

From a driving position it's really quite hard to make out the BNP symbol which has a line through it.

Ok, I know I'm not the best photographer in the world and these aren't the clearest pictures but I'm hoping you're starting to get the drift. The message they are trying to get across is to put your cross by the Cross not the Swastika!!! ( I really hope that when I come to vote on June 4th there are no pictures of Crosses or swastika's on the voting form, otherwise, England, I am done with you!!!).

Now, after doing a little bit of finding out it seems that the Christian Party is in an advertising war with the BNP - go figure! At Easter, the BNP launched a poster with a picture of Jesus on and a scripture from the Gospel of John, to attract Christian voters, the Christian Party counter attacked with electronic billboards in Oxford Street, saying 'Britain is a Christian Country. Vote to keep it that way'. So what's the difference between the two parties? They might as well just save money and merge together!

BNP leader, NickGriffin, commented on his Easter ad campaign -“Jesus was viewed as a revolutionary figure, hated and hounded to death, not by 'evil men' but by the corrupt hypocrites who ran the church. Has nothing changed in two thousand years?" Well, actually, not a lot has changed - it's just that corrupt politicians have taken their place!!!

On The Christian Party website, they say that they would provide 'Recognition that Christianity brought Europe freedom, law, culture and public morality.' I think to respond to that point would take a whole other blog!

In my opinion, countries should be governed by people from every race and every religion, giving a fair balance in our multi-cultural democracies, freedom of speech is one thing, offensive advertising in the name of politics is another.

And for your next trick, Mr Brown...

2009-05-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

We are all totally fed up of hearing about the politicians and their expense fiasco but as much as the topic has been flogged to death this week, it is still holding some sort of fascination for me! It's not the now hourly revelations of who has had their moat cleaned or the new bath plug or who has flipped which house and how many homes they have that we have paid the non-existent mortgage for.

My fascination has been with Gordon Brown. I whole heartedly admit that I have never, ever, ever liked him! He is the typical image of the grey politicianand not only grey, but boy does he look clueless most of the time and so uncomfortable in his shoes! He is the chalk of
Tony Blair's cheese. He is the epitome of a dull and rainy, miserable day in London and after watching his performance over the last couple of weeks, he is the robot who is always a day behind on his programming!

It all began when the swine flu episode broke out and like millions of others I was glued to the news, wondering what major issue the government was trying to bury that week.

Note how he smiles his way through it, as if was the happiest thing he ever had to tell us. Perhaps he was happy because it took the heat off of his defeat in the House of Commons the day before over the Gurkha's situation.

Anyway, back to this expenses issue. Gordon Brown had his tape programmed to say to any question that was put to him that the 'system was to blame'. Obviously none of the politicians who took advantage of the system are to blame. If one is a politician then one has every right to claim for a packet of nappies, silly, silly system getting them in so much trouble. This is the same as saying when someone is stabbed, do the police arrest the knife or the person who used it?

The other thing which has become blatantly obvious is how Gordon Brown follows David Cameron's lead. Mr Brown would never have dreamt about apologising over the fiasco because it was the systems fault, he would never had dumped a drop of blame on any of his MP's door because it was the systems fault. Now, who was the first party leader to issue a public apology? Who was the first party leader to discipline one of his members? And then who copied absolutely everything and made out that it was their idea? Monkey see, monkey do!!

His programmers obviously were not working very well the day he visited a school. But look, he's smiling again! Obviously, the labour party are not Nazi's but maybe Gordon's visions of Britain becoming a dictatorship were running through his mind at the time?

Now the devastatingly handsome John Prescott in the past has leaped to his leaders defence;
'People say that Gordon Brown doesn't smile. If you go on an aeroplane, do you go and see if the pilot is smiling? No, you see whether the pilot can land and take off safely. Look at Gordon's abilities, his intellectual abilities and record." Well, John, Gordon has learnt how to smile. He has taken this onboard, he just hasn't learnt to do it at the right moments.

Well, if I was sitting on that plane, I would double check the life jacket was working, that the oxygen masks would drop down and the emergency chute would inflate when I needed to jump out! So our country is now equivalent to Gordon flying a plane.

Gordon, you have proved over and over that you are the most qualified person to take something and grind it down and shred it to bits and jump on it over and over again until it is reduced to an empty shell of what it once was.

By the way Gordon, I hear David Cameron has sent you a present -

Friends

2009-05-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Someone once said, if you can count your true friends on one hand then your a very rich person indeed. We're not talking the random, odd person you bump into in the supermarket and have a quick chat with or the receptionist at the gym or the dustman, postman, milkman or window cleaner. I mean the real in depth, know everything about you, good, bad or indifferent, puts up with you through all your moans and groans deep down friend.

The funny thing about having such close friends is that each one is there for you in a different capacity. I think I am extremely rich with the friends that I have. I may not have a gazillion falling out of the wardrobe but the ones I do have are the bestest friends in the whole world.

There is a friend for all different occasions and different situations you find yourself in. Some of these situations may not be quite 'kosher' but there is always the right person that fits the role!

Let's just examine these friends in a little bit more detail:

My friend Susan - I can't even remember how old we were when we first starting playing together, hanging out on the streets during those long, hot, (once upon a time we had summer's in England!), lazy days of school holidays. We would all ride round the streets on our bikes, (I totally loved my Chopper - it was the coolest bike ever!) Susan was the first friend I ever went on holiday with. It was the first time she had ever been abroad and she came with me and my parents to the holiday from hell, (well it was for her!).

We stayed at the most beautiful hotel in Cannes, spending our days under a cabana on a private beach, dodging leering old men and fighting constantly. Actually Susan wasn't the one doing the fighting, I admit, after all these years it was me! I was absolutely vile to her. Being an only child, I wasn't used to sharing my holidays or my family with anyone and boy did she suffer for that. It got to the stage where we had pedalled out, way out to the middle of the ocean on a boat and had a massive fight. Never being the strongest swimmer, doggy paddle was more my style, I jumped overboard, leaving her to bring the boat back to shore, whilst I gasped for breath and narrowly escaped drowning just to prove a point -what that point is I really don't know and don't think I ever did!

Umpteen years later and we are totally friends for life. We went through years were we lost touch as our lives took on different directions but in my major times of need she was there and although we can and do talk about everything and anything, she is the greatest friend to talk shopping!!!

Handbags, shoes, tops, dresses, bras, jewellery, you name it and we can discuss it, analyse it, shop for it and find it! Not necessarily together but virtual shopping can be just as fun! Above all, Susan is a total inspiration. She has achieved the most fantastic thing in her life, her determination and willpower would put the majority of us to shame. She is the most beautiful person inside and out and I really couldn't imagine my life without her in it.

Then there is Suzanne. Well, I call her Zanne. We met at school when we were 7. The history that we share could fill a massive bonkbuster, oops, I meant blockbuster! Maybe stories for another time, as I don't think this site is x rated! Zanne was the second friend I went away with, this time without family. We went to the peaceful and calm town of San Antonio, Ibiza. This is the place where you go to chill and lay in the sun, have an early night and recharge - not!!! Ibiza in the mid 1980's was not as it is today but it was still the clubbing capitol of Europe. It was the first time I had major sunburn, the worst hangover ever and met more than one boy on one night! It was the first place where I was taught that an English breakfast is the best cure for the worst hangover ever - it really does work!

It was the first time for Zanne that she got locked out of our room on purpose and had to find somewhere else to sleep, the first time that she shared a bed with more than one person, (not her fault), and the first time she was ever accused of blocking out the sun, talk about a total eclipse!

She shared the special times, when I had my babies and then 14 years later, I shared in her miraculous time with her first baby. We can talk about absolutely anything, especially any body issue and any body function! There aren't many people in the world that you can discuss these things with without any embarrassment!!!

Zanne has shown so much grit and determination through many, many tough times in her life and even through her own problems is always on the other end of the phone, text, e-mail whenever you need her. Words will never really do justice to our history and depth of relationship - she will always and forever be a huge part of my life.

Mandy is the sensible one. It's very important to have a sensible friend, one who will talk to you and make you see sense with no frills attached. She will never tell you something when it isn't true and isn't scared to tell you when you are wrong.

She is also very stylish, always looks beautiful. Her hair is always perfect, it never frizzes, kinks or sticks out in strange places, (not even going to go down the road of what mine does!). Whatever she wears never looks thrown together, (don't look in this direction!). She is the type of person who will turn heads in the street without realising, just in the way she carries herself,

with such confidence and poise. She it totally stunning!!! She has also seen me through a major crisis, (yes, my life does seem like one crisis after another!).

Claire is an everything friend. For many years we would speak every day at least five times a day, for at least five hours a day! We never said hello, the phone would ring and the conversation would carry on. As we were doing our housework, which happened much too often, we would discuss politics, medical issues, pets, children, shopping, cars (yes, women talk about them too!), computers, terrorists, you name it, we covered it, and yes, by the end of it, the world would be a much better place if we were left to run it!

Lunch was a weekly occasion where we still had tons and tons to discuss. One thing we never, ever did was run out of topics of conversation. We used to play amazing games of pictionary, where we were so in tune with each other, that even my worst stick man drawing could be interpreted as Abraham Lincoln. You can see the resemblance? No? Well, she could!

She would calm me down when I went into panic attacks about the dreaded dentist appointment and knew exactly how to handle me in any situation.

About a year ago, Claire got a job and started working full time and all of a sudden our daily marathons came to an end. A huge void came into my life. I missed our endless chats desperately. I felt as if I had lost something so huge, there was an emptiness each day that she wasn't at the end of the phone when I just needed to tell her something really quickly without having to go into a huge history. I felt as if I was mourning something and this was the first thing I really couldn't talk to her about. It wasn't her fault, she was doing something new and exciting in her life but it hurt and it was painful and I missed her terribly.

Of course we are still the best of friends and always will be and we can still pick up the phone and start where we ended last time and nothing will ever change that. It just took time to realise.

The list goes on and I feel blessed. I have my oldest friends from school like Candy and Susie and Debra that although we don't see or speak to each other that often, I know they will always be there.

Friends are the family that you get to choose and my friends are the most wonderful people in the world.

Grandma

2009-05-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

Once there was a spark in her eye, a joy in her step, a hope for tomorrow,
Once there was a future to live, a step to dance, no thoughts of sorrow,
Once there was a glimmer of sun, of rays shining through, of endless days laughter
Once there was a family surrounding, for nurturing , for giving, that was life for her.

Now she sits here old and frail, withered and pallid, shrunken and sad,
Looking back on a life that should have been good but one that turned out quite bad,
Now she sits here, fighting back tears, scared to shed them, frightened they would never cease,
Waiting each day, each month, each year for a time when she will feel at peace.

In her mind she remembers how life used to be, surrounded by siblings and close family,
Life without computers and mobiles and twitter, talking and sharing, just how it should be.
She remembers the joy of finding her husband to be,
The thrill of starting a new family.

The amazement of creating a brand new life, of that new unborn child growing inside her,
The desperation and horror of her husband battling cancer,
Of grieving his death and giving birth all alone,
Writing their new born daughters name on his stark grave stone.

But never was she the type to be beaten down,
She picked herself up and packed away her frown,
And a few years later a new husband she did meet,
And together they opened a sweet shop on Commercial Street.

Once her daughter was married, the sweet shop was sold,
And from the East End of London to the North West they moved,
But the heat from the days of happiness soon turned far too cold.
The ocean of calmness would no longer run smooth.

Her son in law was not what she once thought
And on the family many problems were wrought
All the money that she had she gave her daughter
To try and pay off all her husbands court orders.

Nothing was too much to give to help her daughter
Through years of hardship she tried to support her
And when her second husband passed away
With her daughter and son in law she went to stay.

And life took on a stability once more
Her grandchildren rapidly grew, numbering four,
And then in her world, the skies rapidly darkened, the rain lashed through her mind and the heavens were crying,
Her daughter was dying.

Life as she knew it no longer existed, the pain was too great, the hole inside too large,
To her, G-d had swept through her world, destroying it all on a trawling barge,
Her life now empty, hollow and dark,
All extinguished now, no more spark.

And so she sits there old and frail, withered and pallid, shrunken and sad,
Living among memories, watching the time tick away, remembering what she once had,
Living minute to minute and hour to hour and day to day and year to year,
Living a hollow existence no longer wanting to be here.

The power of Jerusalem

2009-05-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from my very first trip to Israel.
I have never felt the compelling need that some people feel to visit the Jewish 'homeland'. For some reason it was never on my list of places to plan my next holiday to. A few weeks ago I went.

After being in Tel Aviv for a couple of days, which is like any metropolitan city, I went to Jerusalem.

After spending many hours with a guide, where we visited all the required places, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Temple Mount, the Arab Quarter and seeing all the points of the crucifixion, I was left with many questions running around in my head, and no logical answers. We had not yet been to the Wailing Wall which was our final point.

Everything I say here is my own opinion and my own thoughts and not intended to offend anybody!

We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is built on the site, where Christ was thought to have been crucified and the location of Christ's tomb. Inside the church is a rocky outcropping which is the traditional place where the cross was placed. Archaeological excavations have demonstrated that this site was outside the city but close to one of its gates and thus would have been a good location for a crucifixion.

After seeing this and the followers bend down on their knees to put their hand in a space to touch the rock, it made me think. Firstly, there were many rocks on view but one rock had been specifically picked out as the rock on which Christ was crucified. How this was established, I am still not sure. There is no historical proof that this was the rock, in fact there is no factual proof that this was the site at all!

The Israeli scholar Dan Bahat, former City Archaeologist of Jerusalem, has said this of the church: "We may not be absolutely certain that the site of the Holy Sepulchre Church is the site of Jesus' burial, but we have no other site that can lay a claim nearly as weighty, and we really have no reason to reject the authenticity of the site."

There may be no reason to doubt the authenticity but there is still no concrete proof. The history of Christianity's beginnings do seem like nothing more than a fairy tale. It could be the story of Peter Pan or Cinderella. Many of the books of the New Testament were written many, many years after Jesus died. Many people now think that that the events described and the discrepancies encountered are too implausible to believe. The Christian faith, unlike any other religion of which there is complete solid proof, hinges on historical events. If Jesus Christ died and was not resurrected, then Christianity is a myth and a fraud. In 1 Corinthians 15:14, Paul wants his readers to take this to heart, "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain". To find proof for the resurrection is the key to establishing that Jesus was who he was made out to be.

The other thing is that when Jesus was crucified, he had a sign hung around him saying 'King of the Jews'. This was the reason he was crucified. I still cannot understand that if Jesus died a Jew, so as far as he was concerned he was a Jew, so looking at it from Jesus point of view - when did he become a Christian?

We then left Christianity behind and went to the Wailing or Western Wall. This is the holiest of Jewish sites. It is so sacred because it is a remnant of the Herodian retaining wall that retained and supported the Second Temple.

From a first glance, you could look at it and say,"Yes, it's a wall, what's so special?", but as you walk closer to it, the air around you changes. There is an almost magical charge that surrounds you, the hairs on your arms stand on end! It is mystical and ethereal.

As you slowly approach the wall, being within touching distance, you pause. Not thinking about the terrible, bloody history that occurred here, your mind just opens a communication between you and the wall or maybe with G-d. People who are around you fade away and your purpose here is between you and the wall. Tentatively, you raise your hand to touch it and as you do, you feel the cool, beautiful Jerusalem stone run through you. It is a hugely personal and privileged experience. How long you stay there is irrelevant. Seconds turn to minutes and minutes can turn to hours.

It never feels like time enough before you leave but when you do, it's not a place to simply turn your back and go. Reverently, you walk slowly away, still facing the wall, waiting till the last possible moment to turn your back on it.

It is the most profound experience I have ever had in my life. I have a desperate craving to go back and feel the stone under my hand, to feel the unbelievable connection within me, to feel completely spiritually at peace for that moment in time.

This is one of my favourite pictures from the Western Wall area. Traditional values mixed with new technology!
There are many, many more experiences and sights and sounds that you witness when you are there. I think also, I was amazed at how everyone co-exists so peacefully. After having lunch in the Arab market, which was totally amazing, with such friendly and welcoming people, and wandering through the Arab market not feeling in anyway intimidated or unwelcome, I experienced a Jerusalem that in my mind did not exist.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I had never had a compelling need to visit Jerusalem or Israel, maybe I was just never ready to face up to what turned out to be a life changing experience.

Trying to hold up the economy

2009-05-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

I have been trying so desperately over the last few months to help the suffering economy of our green and not so pleasant land!

Seriously, since the end of February when the shops had finished their sales of the last five years worth of rubbish, I decided it was time to take responsibility and do my bit for the retail industry. Where better to start then, than the wonderful new shoppers paradise of Westfield. With all those beautiful, brand new stores there, I figured I must be able to wipe out a little piece of the national debt, mind you, that was before the budget, when I found out exactly how much that was!

What a perfect place to shop. Once you figure out the car park and whether your meant to go up, down or sideways, its fine. They are so thoughtful, they even put little green lights above the spaces so you know where to park without a battle for the space nearest the lifts! The parking tickets are great too. They are little scratch cards to remind you where in the vastness of spaces you have parked, so no matter how many hours you shop for and how withered your brain becomes you can still find your way back to the car.

And it is impressive in there! Huge, wide open spaces, so you can carry as many bags as you want without being accused of using them as weapons! Or you can just pay someone a little extra and have them tag along behind you carrying your purchases. Oh - if only that was the case.

Shop upon shop upon shop - they have Bond Street, Oxford Street and the local drab high street all under one roof and was there anything exciting to buy, anything that had you chomping at the bit, foaming at the mouth, ready to bust a gut if you couldn't have it? NO! not one solitary thing. Every store, no matter how beautifully designed was boring! What is wrong with this seasons selections? Have we been driven so far into recession that they feel they can fob us of with boring? Bye Bye Westfield.

Now Selfridges is another story. What a stunning selection of shoes. Just race up that escalator and be prepared to spend hours in shoe heaven. This is the place where your heart starts racing and your hands begin to tremble just a tad. This is the place where you can see in real life all those stunning works of art that you see on the pages of the glossy magazines. You are even allowed to touch them! To pick them up and study them from every angle. Admire their craftsmanship, rave over their unusual designs and then very delicately place them back down. Slowly back away from them and feel that hollow burn deep down inside you that on that shelf they will stay. I did mention that I would help the national debt - not pay it off!!!

And so, all these months later, I am still trying, desperately hard to help. I seem to have found the most wonderful things in TK Maxx.

A pair of Valentino trousers, Steve Madden shoes , the list is endless!

So, Mr Brown, I'm really sorry but it seems that for this season I'm not going to be able to help you out very much. Maybe the Autumn collections will bode much better.

No matter how strong the wind blows ...

2009-05-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

The sun was shining when I walked into the cemetery, a gentle breeze rustling through the trees.

I followed the path round past the gravestones old and new, stones placed on some of the bases, teddy bears strewn on others. I had to cut across them to reach her, treading carefully so as not to trip over and offend anyone resting peacefully. All the others seemed crowded together, no room between them. And then I came to her, set all alone in her own space. A lonely tribute which fitted the end of an isolated life.

My mind was full, mulling over problems which have to be dealt with and problems which I had no easy solution to. Answers came easily, it was getting to the end result without causing too much distress which was the issue.

As I stood infront of her, reading again the long remembered words inscribed on the stone, the wind picked up and the skys clouded over. I looked down at the grave, "Don't you want me to be here?", I whispered into the strenghthening breeze. The wind increased and I felt as if I was being pushed but I didn't move, I just stood and listened to the voice behind the wind. And then it came to me on the crest of the wind, 'No matter how strong the wind blows, stand strong like a tree, keep your roots embedded in the ground and nothing can topple you over'.

And then slowly, the wind eased and the sun warmed the air again. My mind for that moment was at peace. Then for the first time in a long time, the tears came, for the wisdom that I miss on a daily basis from my Mum was shared with me once more.