Happy Birthday Hayzel

Have a really good day and weekend away in London, Hayzel.  You deserve a special break away.   I hope you have a lovely time today.   More stuff coming tomorrow! Lots of love from your mum.

A few updates ...

Sorry, I haven't been posting on here very much lately - just haven't had time.  One of the big stories from our side this past week was Allyson finished her probationary period at Hethersett Hall and she is now a permanent staff member!   Well done Ally, what you've managed to achieve this year is incredible and you must never lose sight of that fact.   We are all very proud of you.  Now you  need to keep focused, get your licence and a small car - it's all do-able and you need to set yourself some goals, so that it's done before the middle of the year.    Once you have your own wheels, you won't believe how easy it is to sort your life out.

Hayzel has a big birthday at the end of this month and she's booked for herself, Kevin and the kids to go down to London for an overnight.  It promises to be a lovely weekend for them and something really special to celebrate the big 4-0! 

We had a bit of snow!   It really was just a flurry (last Saturday).  Hayzel and I were in Tesco's and missed it ... argh!   But it snowed again last night - again just a little dusting but enough to delight the kiddies this morning.  There is talk of further snow falls later on this week and it was very cold today, so it will be great if we get a bit of snow that you can do something with :)

I have paid for my own domain and will be putting my transcription services onto a more professional footing soon - I'll post a link to the website once it's all finished and looking pretty.   I did a bit of research today - the company that I do ad hoc transcripts for here in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, are on page FIVE of a Google search for 'transcription services'.  There are pages and pages of companies who are doing transcripts, so that's really good news for me - competition is an excellent thing.  I am going to try and do more freelance work for other companies but I'm also going to push to get my own clients.  I did this for a long time when I lived in Benoni and was very successful.  When we moved to Edenvale though and I dropped the transcription work, concentrating on immigration, I found it very hard to get back into it as there are very few companies in Jo'burg who do transcripts and the one or two that I found half the time didn't even pay me for the work! 

I'm also getting a fair bit of interest with regards my art - I have a lot of followers on Wordpress (where my personal art blog is) and I've just opened up a profile on Saatchi Online.com and have got people tagging me already and following - so there is a bit of interest there and I've only loaded four paintings so far! It's a bit of a fiddle trying to figure out how much paintings weigh and I had to ask their support team but they've sent me the formulas and now it's easy peasy!   It would be so grand if I could actually sell a painting online, I'd feel like I've achieved a real milestone.

Anyway, not much else to report at this point.   Keep warm everyone in the Northern hemisphere and cool down there in Africa.  Hope Daniel is on the mend and feeling better, it's horrible when little ones have fever.    Good luck to Dave for his interview tomorrow and fantastic job, Andrew on getting such a great result in your annual performance review.  I'm so proud of my kiddies!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Leigh!  Hope you have a fun filled day, with lots of presents and good times.  Lots of love from all of us here in Long Stratton.

Snow!

The first snow of 2014/2015 fell today. Then it stopped and melted and it was all over.

Happy Birthday Uncle

Hope you have an awesome day!   Lots of love from Janice, Hayzel, Kevin, Allyson, Faye, Ewan, Laila and Teddy (whew) ... xxxx

Into the woods

It was a sunny day today but the wind's VERY cold, never mind Hayzel and I took the kids for a walk through Tyrrels Wood.   I used tripod for all these shots.

 Annoying for me that I can't get the lighting right on this camera for impromptu shots like this one of the kids - Ewan's face is over-exposed.  The only way I can stop that is putting them with backs to light and shooting with flash (as per above shot).  Not satisfying but has to do.

 Without flash (sky is washed out)

 With flash - sky colours remain as you see them ... nice.

Latest edition to our household

And already he knows where the comfy spots are ...

He's a Ginger boy, about two and a half to three months old - we haven't decided on a name for him just yet.   I came home from walking* the kiddies to school this morning, went upstairs to Hayzel's room to chat to our new baby and couldn't find him. I couldn't hear him purring either (he has a loud purr) ... I got a bit worried and started calling out to him, next minute I hear the motors running and he pokes his head out from behind Kevin's pillow ... he's snuggled up there so warm and cozy.  And what a clever boy to call me!





*Yes folks, I have vowed to walk to school with the kids every morning now (even in the pouring rain and snow ... what snow?).  Got to get my tonnage down for the cruise in April, as I'm expected to wear COCKTAIL dresses!   (Hysterically funny that, for anyone who knows me at least).

Foxley Wood and Dinosaur Adventure Park (not)

Ally worked until 12pm last night (from 8am), so to take her mind off the wrinklies kicking buckets left right and centre (3 in total died over Christmas) at Hethersett Hall, I thought we could take a drive around and find somewhere interesting to go to.
Bury St Edmunds was my first thought but then decided that walking around a pile of old stones at the Abbey might be a tad boring.  The weather is lovely today but still a bit chilly for the seaside, so the next idea was to go to a Forest/Wood - somewhere we hadn't been to before.  The largest area of ancient woodland in Norfolk is situated at Foxley, so it seemed like a good idea to head out there.   Ally paid for snacks and tasty treats, we plugged in the Satnav and off we went.

It was very wet underfoot and almost felt like we were trudging through a marsh, so after a few minutes we decided to go back to the car, have our picnic lunch and maybe head out to the Dinosaur Park, which we'd passed on our way to Foxley. 

 The Triceratops at the entrance to the parking area.

 Ewan, the dinosaur expert, was at great pains to point out that this is NOT a ka-ka (er pteradactyl to us mortals) this is, in fact, a Pterosaur ...

'No Nana, this is NOT a Diplodocus, it's an Apatosaurus (sometimes called a Brontosaurus'.   5 years old and speaks like a qualified Paleontologist already.

I've spoken to a lot of mums at Ewan and Faye's schools and asked about the Dino Park and whether they think it's worth a visit.  Most of them have said yes but I am starting to wonder what the Brits think is a bargain/good value for money.   Yes, it's situated in lovely grounds (the deer are in an enclosure to the right as you enter the park property).  I've been to the Dino Park website and looked at the park layout and amenities.   We got there at about twenty to one (so already half the day had gone by).  They wanted to charge 8 pounds for Ally, 10 pounds for me (why? I'm over 60, should get discount surely!), and 13 pounds each for the children - so 44 pounds in total for maybe one to two hours there. 

When you consider that Sudwala Dinosaur Park would have cost us about R190 (or 10 pounds for all of us), to get in (alright we'd have to drive for five hours, or at least be staying in Nelspruit!) ... it kinda makes you think that the Dinosaur Park near Foxley is a bit of a rip off. 

So needless to say, we just drove in to the grounds, took a couple of photos and came away.  I don't think Ewan was too disappointed, maybe we'll go back in the summer (but I'm not holding my breath).

Christmas Video

Grab you poopcorn and get ready to watch 50+ minutes of Christmassyness...

... Click on this link  "Click me, click me!"

Sorry, can't post the link directly to the video, so click above, It seems my video is banned Germany because of the copyrighted Christmas music playing in the background. 

You would think these multi billionaire musicians could have a bit of Christmas spirit and allow their choons to be played!

Don't forget to read Janice's post below, as it seems I always post something right after her and then her post gets shuffled down, sorry.

2014 ... what a year it was!

I'm sure I've left out some things, so apologies in advance if I have.  

January – we made a lot of day trips out to various places in Norfolk and Suffolk, including Ipswich, Southwold and the wonky houses in Lavenham (also home of the Harry Potter house)

February – Kevin was politely told the day before we left for our SA holiday that he had to look for another job, which kinda put a big damper on our trip. Nevertheless we managed to enjoy our two weeks in Jo’burg and it was sad having to say goodbye to everyone again.    Whilst we were in SA, Hayzel managed to drive over my foot and the black bruise on my big toe is still there!

When we got back from our holiday, we were also kindly informed that we needed to find somewhere else to live, as the owners of our house in Alexander Close had decided to sell it.  So February was a month of extreme changes in our household.

March -  Faye got her new Brownies uniform and did her Promise.   Ewan got Chicken Pox.

We paid a deposit to secure the house in LimeTree Avenue. A house twice the size of our place in Alexander Close.

April – Faye went on her Brownies pack holiday to Hallowtree Park in Ipswich.      On the 22^nd April, Kevin started at his new job at Desira in Diss. 

May – what a month!   Faye had a school trip to Kingswood and a trip to the Norwich Castle.   We moved house towards the end of the month – having spent a good two months cleaning up the old place.  We received our full deposit back from our previous landlords, who said we left an immaculate house!  So full marks to us all for the hard work and thanks to Tim for helping Kevin with our move – I don’t think we will do it like this again though, it was very hard work.

June – Ally arrived here on the 1^st to live in the UK permanently.   It was great having her here and nice that she got to the UK in summer time.      We went to Hemsby beach during this month Ally swam in the North Sea!   It was the Long Stratton Fun Fair this month – what a hoot.   Ewan had a school trip to Wroxham Barns.     Allyson had a lot of interest in her CV and interviews, she spent most of June getting herself organised and accumulating furniture and possessions.

July – Sports day at Manorfield and Ewan also had his name called out in the birthday assembly on the 11^th Friday.   Faye had her sports day on the 14^th.   Ewan had his birthday party on the 26^th July at Hulabaloos and the kids started their holidays the day before his birthday on the 23^rd.   The last three days of July the kids went to the Holiday Club at Faye’s school.  The Lord Mayor’s Procession was this month and we all went along (with Ally), it was an enjoyable day out, although Norwich has a serious lack of restaurants that cater for families!   It was also the local South Norfolk on Show this month and that was great fun.

August – the schools are closed the whole of this month  -so there was a fair amount of gadding about.  We did a few trips to our favourite local spot – Tyrrels Wood and also some walking in the fields, finding bits of old pottery and hoping to find some pirate treasure, or at least a Boudicca necklace … ‘twas not to be.    I took Ally and the kids to Caister on Sea but the weather was a bit crap, so we ended up having our picnic in the car!   We also went to Caister St Edmund with the rest of the family – that was very interesting.  I took the kids to Diss to see Alice in Wonderland outdoor theatre (wasn’t that great) and also to Shorelands Wildlife Garden (bit of a joke that).  We also went roller skating at the Leisure Centre on one day (well Ewan isn’t quite as much like a giraffe on wheels anymore but he still can’t skate!).  Faye had a Brownie excursion to the Norfolk Showground for the Norjam.   I took the kids and Ally to Fairhaven Water Gardens and also to Whitlingham Country Park on various days during August – both lovely days out!   Highlight (for me) was a trip to Snetterton Model and Toy shop … what a fantastic place!   We took the kids to see How to Train Your Dragon2 at the Castle Mall movies. 

September – Andrew went to India for his work and I think that was a real eye-opener for him.    Faye started her Cycle Proficiency course.    Jean, Les and Barbara came out to Norfolk and we spent some time with them all – I drove Jean and myself back to Wales, as I was going on another wonderful tour of the Scottish Highlands.   I posted a separate blog about that trip - it was fantastic and I won't forget it ever.  Faye went to the Big Brownie Birthday celebrations.  Hayzel and Ally went to the Reload 80’s music concert. 

October -    Ewan has been going to football every Thursday afternoon and will continue next term.     Faye started at ARTS and she also passed her Cycle Proficiency course.

November -  We went to watch the local fireworks display put on at South Norfolk Council in aid of the Church.     Allyson started at Hethersett Hall on the 17^th November – she is being trained as a Care Assistant and is loving the job!   She had a tough couple of months and well done to you Ally for pulling through!   David has made his debut for Eastern Gauteng Cricket, what a fantastic achievement.  He also played a LMS tournie in PE before Christmas - so looking forward to hearing more on his cricket exploits in the new year.  Faye did a mini-concert at the Church in Newton Flotman with ARTS  - she was one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella.

December – lots of Christmas Fairs and things on the go throughout the early part of December.  Most notably (for me) was the stall we had at St Mary’s Church fair – we didn’t really sell much but it was an interesting exercise.     Ewan and Faye both had their Christmas plays (at school) on the same day and it was magical going to see them both.   We posted a courier to SA with small goodies for Christmas for the famdamily back in SA.  I highly recommend PostBox Couriers, thanks Toni for putting me on to them.   We took the kids to Banham Zoo on the 21^st to see Santa.  Christmas was different this year, because we now have Ally here and it was nice having a full table.   It's getting harder and harder though to see everyone on Skype at this time of year and I found it particularly difficult this year.   My little grandson in South Africa doesn't really know his Nana but he still manages to smile and laugh at Ewan and Faye and it's so delightful to see his face light up when he see us.  He's starting to utter little words now and wave, blow kisses to us ... what a lovely little boy he is.  

I know that 2015 is going to be a wonderful year (of the sheep) for everyone  :) 

(Again, sorry if I left stuff out).