It's been far too long since my last post. So long, in fact, that my line manager at work has told me that one of my performance management targets for this coming academic year is to start blogging again! So, here we go. I thought I'd give you a rough idea of what's been happening in my life over the past few months.
Things which are the same
1. My husband and I have survived to celebrate another wedding anniversary.
2. I am proud that I have managed to keep son, cat and hedgehog alive for another year, not necessarily in that order ...
3. Aforementioned son still knows more than I do about everything.
4. The mechanic at our local garage continues to hide when he sees me pull onto the forecourt.
5. I am still doing the same job and still threatening to go and stack shelves in Lidl instead.
6. I have not won Euromillions.
Things which are different
1. Michael Gove is no longer Secretary of State for Education.
2. We have a goldfish called Neymar. Ronnie is showing him a lot of love. He is currently under the protective force of the Baptist Hymn Book which is securing the lid of his tank against almost certain attack.
3. I no longer drink alcohol. This means I save money, don't get headaches and don't find myself, late at night, agreeing to take ownership, via Facebook, of random kittens.
4. Michael Gove is no longer Secretary of State for Education.
5. Did I mention that Michael Gove is no longer Secretary of State for Education?
Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Sunday, 4 August 2013
A Tour Round Norfolk: Holt
Holt, home to Gresham's School and the over-priced boutique, is situated a few miles inland from the North Norfolk coast. Holt appears to have been spared the fate of other 'market towns' in Norfolk (i.e. rapid decline) due to two factors. First, it doesn't appear to actually have a market, although I could be wrong on this point and am sure someone will gently correct me if I am. Second, as I mentioned earlier, it boasts 'Norfolk's 'Premier' Private School', and thus attracts quite a posh clientele both in terms of inhabitants and visitors.
Although I like Holt, it also fills me with an instant sense of impending doom. This is due more to associations I have with it than to the town itself.
As a young child I travelled through Holt every week day on the way to school. It represented that half way marker between home and school when you realised that you hadn't managed to convince your mum that you had stomach ache, and had reached the point of no return and death by spelling test.
Many years later I had my first driving lessons in Holt which were also cause for stomach churning fear, mainly on the part of other road users and pedestrians. I wasn't a naturally observant driver and frequently used to fail to stop at the pedestrian crossing in the centre of the town. There is always an added frisson of danger when driving in Holt as it is pretty much devoid of pavements but plentiful in its supply of ambling tourists, elderly residents and Boden-bedecked yummy mummies just popping into Larners for some Vignotte.
More recently it was the venue for our wedding and, although I felt very little in the way of nerves that day, I shall never forget driving down the road parallel to the church and seeing the rows of cars parked there. I experienced that moment of it all becoming 'real'. People had actually turned up for it and were in the church waiting for me including, I hoped, my future husband.
As far as I am aware there are few actual tourist attractions in Holt. It's more a case of the whole town being an attraction it itself. There are lots of quirky shops and boutiques, an Art Gallery and of course Byfords which does fantastic cakes. If you have a mid-morning snack there you won't need to eat for the rest of the day, but then, if you've spent the day in Holt you probably won't be able to afford to eat for the rest of the day!
Although I like Holt, it also fills me with an instant sense of impending doom. This is due more to associations I have with it than to the town itself.
As a young child I travelled through Holt every week day on the way to school. It represented that half way marker between home and school when you realised that you hadn't managed to convince your mum that you had stomach ache, and had reached the point of no return and death by spelling test.
Many years later I had my first driving lessons in Holt which were also cause for stomach churning fear, mainly on the part of other road users and pedestrians. I wasn't a naturally observant driver and frequently used to fail to stop at the pedestrian crossing in the centre of the town. There is always an added frisson of danger when driving in Holt as it is pretty much devoid of pavements but plentiful in its supply of ambling tourists, elderly residents and Boden-bedecked yummy mummies just popping into Larners for some Vignotte.
More recently it was the venue for our wedding and, although I felt very little in the way of nerves that day, I shall never forget driving down the road parallel to the church and seeing the rows of cars parked there. I experienced that moment of it all becoming 'real'. People had actually turned up for it and were in the church waiting for me including, I hoped, my future husband.
As far as I am aware there are few actual tourist attractions in Holt. It's more a case of the whole town being an attraction it itself. There are lots of quirky shops and boutiques, an Art Gallery and of course Byfords which does fantastic cakes. If you have a mid-morning snack there you won't need to eat for the rest of the day, but then, if you've spent the day in Holt you probably won't be able to afford to eat for the rest of the day!
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Happy Anniversary
Apparently today is our wedding anniversary. Oops. As we have two anniversaries a week apart (registry office on account of being the 2nd Mrs Harrison, plus church blessing) you'd think I'd manage to remember at least one of them. In fact, it's not even a case of forgetting but rather getting round to doing something about it. Anyway, this year I have failed miserably so instead of a card here is a little blog post for my husband. I hope he likes it otherwise my next entry could be called 'Does anyone know a good divorce lawyer?'We have been married for eleven years, not a hugely long time I know but still, not bad going. I have been reflecting on how things have changed in those years, what do we have to show for it? Well, clearly there are the obvious things; we now have a psychopathic hedgehog, a fairly well adjusted cat (apart from that worrying phase when he kept trying it on with a pink feather duster) and an eight year old with a Calpol habit, none of which were in existence that sunny day in July 2002. This is our third home together and we have both been through three cars each. Had we shunned private vehicle ownership in favour of a more eco-friendly way of travelling we could probably have paid the mortgage off by now such would have been the savings. We have both had several different jobs plus short periods of unemployment. We have had times when money has been tight and times when it has been a little bit less tight. We have made new friends and sadly lost old ones. In brief, we have been through a fair bit together.
So, we are both a bit older and greyer and hopefully a little wiser. The lovely dinner set we had as a wedding present has gradually been chipped, broken and used for the cat's food. The huge fluffy towels are a bit frayed and threadbare and get used to mop up when I defrost the freezer. I no longer try to impress by baking home made brownies and delicious meals totally from scratch. I still iron his shirts but not with that same enjoyment which came with the novelty of being a new wife.
So, what will the next decade or so bring? No doubt a mixture of good and bad, feeling well and being ill, having no money to spare, being able to splash out a bit. In a nutshell, our wedding vows.
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