Status Quo and Christmas.

The band, not the situation.

We drove up to freezing Blackpool to see them and they were pretty good - not as good as I expected, but good. I appeared to be the only one there that had never seen them before as die hard followers of the group had seen them a number of times. Or so I learnt in the Ladie's. We rocked all over the world as one man stood throughout the concert wearing a mac, scarf and Trilby, moving from side to side when the mood took him. There is something rather eccentric about the British. That may be it.

On 22 December we loaded up the car before setting off for the long drive down to Devon to send a few days with the Parental Unit, Tatiana, her partner Thomy and Todd. Before leaving I managed to do something to my back and as I pulled back the curtains in the living room I saw that I have rising damp and mold growing everywhere. There was no time to do much about anything so I folded myself delicately into the car, sniffed and we were off, windscreen wipers frantically wiping away the rain drops. And it rained all the way to Devon. Non-stop.

The news on the radio was not very comforting as the Young Ones were coming over from Brussels that day too and although the Eurostar was working (yes, this Christmas the Eurostar was on time and running), trains from Paddington to Exeter-St-David's were not. They were stranded at Taunton so my dad had to run up and get them. In the car.

Christmas was fine and jolly - we were told not to spend more than £10 on one another which would have been fine had my father told me that in November when I was being organised and ordering all my presents before a mad rush - and for slightly more than £10. Oh well. I would never have managed to get my mother, who wanted linen handkerchiefs, more than one had I stuck to the £10 - even John Lewis don't sell them. John Lewis. And they sell EVERYTHING.

Richard got me a Wacom tablet so I shall have to pick up on the tutorial and carry on learning what I can do on it before trying to put doodles up here. He also got me some nail varnish although that arrived while we were away.

It was lovely catching up with Todd who I haven't seen since August 2011 - and it is always good to see Tatiana and Thomy. I greatly missed Coralie, though, and have no idea when I shall next see her.

The journey back was awful for us all. The Young Ones had to get up at 5am to get the train from Tiveton (now that they were running from there) but my dad ended up driving them to Heathrow as there were no trains at all. They missed their Eurostar but managed to get the next one and Tatiana was only slightly late to work. Richard and I hit traffic at Bristol and Birmingham so it was a long journey home for us - and we got home to a very cold house, too. The heating had packed up and it is only today that we have heating and hot water again. The bill will be sent shortly, too.

I was turned down for another job which I'm rather upset about but let's hope that 2013 is a better year. I'm going to be 50, Coralie and her partner are going to Vietnam for 7 months and then spend 2 months travelling so who knows what else to expect.

A knees up to celebrate my 50th in Crewe, probably.

All two of us.

Oh Bloody Hell - Where did the Time Go?

It's been so long since I last posted that I almost forgot how to create a post. It wasn't until I realised that I had to sign in first that I managed to get anywhere and now it's all changed. Blogger has made everything look new and sparkly but to old people such as myself, this is really quite a nuisance. I'm sure that I'll cope.

In a manner.

So.

1. The Parental Unit came and went.
2. I've been volunteering madly at Oxfam which is quite good fun and obviously rules out the question of being employed. Still looking.
3. I've had a couple of interviews for jobs, including at a Catholic school. Ho hum.
4. Tatiana and her boyfriend visited.
5. Coralie and her boyfriend then visited.
6. Richard and I visited the Parental Unit. Mine, not his.
7. I took part in World Book Night.
8. Things happened - Olympic Torch went through Crewe! The Olympics happened. Things in the garden happened. Sales on eBay happened. My fractured wrist was a true happening.

If there is anything on that list that you want to read about in particular, do say. Otherwise another year may pass before I let you know of what's going on - if anything - and just to let you know that I am alive.

One thing that never happened: bloody summer.

I'm still here. Just.

Belgium is now high on my shit-list as it fails miserably to give me or tell me anything that I need to know. And that is after I ask for it. Nicely. What will happen to my pension is anybody's guess, what will happen to the few euros left in my bank account over there is bleak and yet my lawyers are still chasing me for money. These requests from them leave me cold as I have told them the situation: no job but desperately looking, no JSA and my house has started to chew generously into my bank account. Fuck off.

Richard and I have finally moved into the house as you have naturally guessed from the dire lack of posts. The bedroom is finished although it could do with some pictures, the bathroom is finished although I still need to clean the tiles and there is an issue involving a shower door to attach to the bath. If anybody specialises in shower doors, I could be an interesting challenge for you. The guest bedroom is finished although pictures are needed in there too, as well as two bedside cabinets. The living room is also close to being finished - we can relax in it, which is good enough. The dining room, hall and landing need to be finished and we haven't even started in the dining room. We eat off a cupboard door on top of a work bench in the kitchen, rammed up against the fridge/freezer which is a bit annoying, but there isn't anywhere else to eat.

Coralie and Tatiana are coming to visit on Friday for a very short stay so I can show them how people climatise in this part of the world. It is absolutely useless to judge what to wear by looking at those already out and about outside as on a hot day they will over-dress to the point of excess, and on a cold day, people tend to walk around in t-shirts and shorts. They're a funny bunch, up here. They will also get to see grown men cycling around town on their child-size BMXs, knees sticking out at right-angles, no lights and basically a threat to all drivers.

I can't wait to see my daughters. I'll treat them to PIES.