wagwaan?

The dating game

So I mentioned I went on a date....  I think this whole dating thing could probably fill a blog of its own. It's very "interesting". How does someone my age meet anyone new? Especially when their job is in quite a small department, quite separate from the rest of the hospital. With lots of women and about 4 guys, who are all happily married (and not my type lol). Internet dating, that's how.  

I've been online for about 10 months and I have found that the people who want to meet me are, how do I put this politely? Not my type. AT. ALL. Luckily, there is a "search" option, so I can be a bit more picky about the kind of guy I'd like to meet.  I have been on a few nice dates, and am still in touch with a couple of guys, from a distance: they are both nice guys as far as I can tell, but they live too far away to make it work, plus they are both in quite precarious job situations at the moment.

More recently, I was chatting to a guy who lives in Wembley, which is where my mum was born. We seemed to have more and more in common, so when I saw that Friday nights are Soul/Tamla DJ nights at my nearest pub, I asked if he wanted to go with me. The place opens at 9pm but we didn't get there till 10:15 - I had a bit of a joke with Claire that I was ready for bed by that time!  He called me when he was on his way and I said I'd walk down and meet him, but he was horrified I'd think of hanging around waiting for him in the dark, so told me to stay put until he got there first.  Claire gave a thumbs up when she heard his concerns, and of course I couldn't get him to pick me up at home - not when they say you should have a first meeting in a public place. When I did start walking, I was on the phone to him (hands free) and he kept me talking until I got there, so I wasn't alone.  He seems a gentleman.

Anyway, we got to the place, and he bought drinks. It was packed and we stood at one end of the room, bopping along to the music and chatting. We got on really well and there was lots of laughter. We danced until 1am, then sat in his car chatting till nearly 3am - I can't remember the last time I was out that late. At this point of course all the street lights were off, so he wouldn't hear of me walking home. He walked me right to my door, which was really sweet of him. A quick hug and he was off. We've texted over the weekend. He's very self-assured and straight-talking and I look forward to getting to know him a bit more. I think at the very least we'll become fast friends. 

I must say, there is a weird thing with this dating lark: you can have a perfectly nice connection with someone, then go for a drink or meal; get on well, have a laugh, appear to have something to work with.... and then after a couple more texts, SILENCE.  I can understand that not everyone is going to be someone you want to pursue, but seriously? Can they not say "this isn't working for me" rather than just go silent?  I don't know. Guys are weird lol.

Anyway, so that's where I am right now. I seem to be busy all the time, and May is going to be really busy as I'm helping with an exam preparation course and one actual exam. Then there's a wedding reception for friends at the Community Centre; another meeting of the craft group; a rheumatology appointment; a staff meeting; an appraisal (I'm the one appraising) etc etc. I am seriously going to have to pace myself aren't I? Watch this space :)

Just before I go, here's a quick collage of my Sunday that I did for FMSphotoaday.

(weather not as sunny as it had been all week; new book from the library - great read; cuddling with the cat; buying new bedding; delicious Berry Hibiscus Refresha from Starbucks).  

It's Spring! It's Spring!

I thought I'd jinxed it but the very next day this is what I saw when I looked out the bedroom window

It's still freezing, but there are signs of life in the garden too - see?

And it's spring indoors too...

That's a cute chick my colleague gave me. I bit off its head. 

So yesterday, on a whim, Claire and I decided to go to the cinema. For the first time in so long, I seriously can't remember when we last went! The plan was to go Harrow on the Met line but of course it was suspended due to engineering work. In the end we got a taxi (eeek) to Vue Watford, bought our tickets (more eek!) and, as it was lunchtime, went to the concession to get some, um, "food". Triple eek!  Boy was it an expensive outing, but oh so worth it. We saw Danny Boyle's "Trance" and it blew our minds.  I can't even tell you the plot, really, and I'm glad I didn't read the Guardian's review before I went because, honestly? I don't think they saw the same film we did. 

Saturday

I never thought I'd say this, but now that I am on Facebook every day I don't really feel I have anything to bring to blogworld any more. I still remember the days when I thought "Facebook? Shmacebook!", and although I had an account I didn't start using it till I was in hospital in 2010. Since then I've got twitter and Instagram accounts and poor ol' Wa'gwaan has fallen behind.  It's just so much easier to post to Facebook isn't it? 

Having said that, though, I don't want to stop blogging because it's like a diary where I can go back and read and reminisce and I love that.  I started my first blog in the summer of 2004. Can you believe it?!  I was reading it again yesterday and so many memories came flooding back. I've also been able to pinpoint when I had certain surgeries etc, which is good, because whenever a doctor asks me I go uummmmmm and just can't remember. I've now put them in a list on my iPhone...

I guess that's just a long-winded way of saying I ain't going anywhere!

Anyway, what's been happening here? I hear you ask. Well I realise I never blogged about our girlie outing to the Grease Singalong showing near Leicester Square. It was so much fun. We didn't dress up especially but there was a little bag on each seat with props in it, and the girl doing the intro told us how and when to use them, so we all joined in with gusto. I was surprised how many young children there were in the audience. They, of course, were all dressed up as pink ladies with a couple of small boys ast T-Birds in leather jackets and quiffs - so cute!

Paper bags on heads during Beauty School Dropout.

 

Chinese New Year, Chinatown (next to Leicester Sq)

Whata else? Oh yes, I went to another Craft morning at the Community Centre a couple of weeks ago. I always forget to take pictures, but we have coffee and cake and generally have a good old natter while we are being industrious. The stuff we make there is destined for our market stall, and all proceeds go to the Centre. Last year we raised over £2,000! 

Apart from that, it just seems like Winter has gone on for EVER. Snow and ice and freezing cold. Then a brief Spring-like day or two, and back to cold and ice.  Crazy.   Nice weather for snowdrops I s'pose.

Oh and I did get some daffs one day - 10p for the bunch as they were beginning to open. Marks & Spencer do have some good offers sometimes! By day 3 they were all crazy open:

Every so often we had blue sky... 

So that's about it. Tomorrow I am going up to London to meet up with a friend of mine who will be making her way up from Sussex. She lost her sight a few years ago but she doesn't let that stand in her way. She had a guide dog but was then so ill after a pancreas transplant that then failed that the dog was taken away from her. She wasn't able to exercise him, so it was felt best. She is now much better and cannot wait to get another because otherwise she is just a prisoner in her own home. I can't even begin to think how she copes. 

In my next post, I might very well tell you about the internet dating scene... We shall see.

Another year older

Yup, today it was my birthday. I was quite ridiculously looking forward to it, too! I think it's because as one of seven children, your birthday was your "special" day, when you got to choose what you wanted to eat for dinner and what you wanted to watch on television. And you got presents too, which is always a bonus, right?

This morning Claire brought me breakfast in bed and gave me this rather beautiful present, together with a card she made. Both have a personal meaning to us and are very special.

I was so touched. She's a special girl, that one! I think the mount in the frame makes all the difference, don't you?  She's taking commissions now hint hint...

A bit later on, the doorbell went and I was told it was for me. Sadly, with my morning stiffness (thank you psoriatic arthritis) I find it impossible to just run downstairs and the guy at the door knocked again so I sent Claire down to open it. She had organised an Interflora delivery - I haven't taken a picture of the flowers but will have to do that tomorrow. I LOVE getting flowers and it's such a treat. Thank you Claire!

We rested all morning, had a light lunch and then went out to tea in the afternoon. Originally we had thought of somewhere in London but Claire has just come down with a stinking cold and neither of us are exactly flush with cash, so we went to the local John Lewis's "The Place to Eat".  It was rather quiet, which was nice, and we had hot chocolate and a slice of cake each.

It's been a lovely day. So many people have texted me, sent me cards, messaged me on Fbook and posted on my wall. I'm really overwhelmed and feel very blessed.  Thank you all, so very much.

So I'm off to bed shortly and I thought I'd leave you with a recent picture of me with one of the biscuits Claire made a couple of weeks ago. Yes, that IS what we get up to on weekends...

Oh look, a post that doesn't have the word "bed" in the title...

I didn't realise I was repeating myself in my titles, so apologies for that... You'd have thought I'd had enough snow on Monday, but no, I went out in it again on Tuesday. A friend and I realised we'd been saying "we really must do lunch" for nearly a year, and Tuesday was the day we had planned to catch up. We did wonder if we would have to cancel but bravely decided to meet up anyway, as the main roads were clear, and I'm so glad we did.  

We had lunch at a lovely place in the centre of St Albans and had a great time. We had to keep an eye on the clock because C has small children that needed picking up from school. I told her I did not miss having that problem! It's so lovely to have a grown up daughter who takes care of herself (has done so for a while now, of course).  It's strange to look back and remember all the years when I had to arrange childcare or be at school/after school club by a certain time to pick her up; all the years when I just did not have the luxury of "me time", and was unable to join any clubs or gyms because I couldn't afford to pay the subscription as well as a babysitter. It's only when you look back that it seems a hardship. I certainly didn't think of it at the time.

St Albans is really a lovely place, even on a grey day like Tuesday. Of course, a splash of red really brightens things up, doesn't it?

 

You can see it was cold by the icicles

You can't really see the Cathedral through the gloom...

Today I had hoped to work in the morning as we are so swamped at the moment, but in the end something else came up and I didn't get to work till 30 minutes before my normal start. Oh well! I'll catch up as much as I can tomorrow.  

All afternoon it snowed on and off - luckily, despite the big fat fluffy flakes, it doesn't seem to be settling. This was taken while I was waiting for the bus back to town at 5.30pm. 

Well, that's it from me, goodnight all. Stay warm where you are! 

Looking back

Just thought I'd do a quick mosaic of some pictures from December, as a little reminder of some of the things I got up to and the people I spent my time with. 

Quite effective, I think.

Yesterday I spent some time in London at one of my old haunts, Hay's Galleria. I had arranged to hang out with a guy I met recently. As he lives miles away to the East, and I live miles away North West, we found a semi-central spot which turned out to be near my old office. We had a good old chinwag at Starbucks and a very pleasant afternoon it was too.

You don't get the full measure of the lights in a photo.... so I took a video too. I might post that later. All 8 seconds of it. Hey, 8 seconds is all you need!

Fingers crossed for a couple more newborn shoots very soon. Send positive vibes for me to get the gigs, ok? 

What a small world

I'm so glad we kind of forced ourselves to go out yesterday. I had been crafting on Saturday, so I'd been out most of the day, and I didn't sleep very well that night, but we had planned on going to a Christmas Market and instead of the crowds at Winter Wonderland we thought we'd try out the South Bank, which one of my crafting friends told me about. It was quite bitterly cold, and the crowds were just as bad as at Hyde Park, but the atmosphere was great. My friend had told me there was a Chocolate Festival every year so we thought we'd check it out. Just as I had been handed a "Christmas Pudding chocolate" to sample, I heard Claire say "oh  hello!" and turned to see.... my goddaughter/niece and her boyfriend. The weirdest part is that Katy actually lives in Manchester, so it was really unexpected to see her there. We hugged and laughed and chatted and had the most amazing hot chocolate from one of the stalls, before going our separate ways. It really IS a small world!

The South Bank stretches for quite a long way, but we found out that the market was near the London Eye, which is just a few minutes from Waterloo Station. That means it's quite easy to get to from where we are, which is a bonus.

 

It was lovely to get in the festive spirit and although we did look for some presents, most of the stalls were selling food. The ones that had gifts for sale seemed to be horrendously overpriced so we came home practically empty-handed. I say "practically" because I did give in and buy a small Gingerbread House kit, which I'm really looking forward to putting together.

 So that was our weekend. Hope you enjoyed yours!

Autumn... and nearly Winter

I have so many photos in my iPhone I thought I'd upload some of them here...

First of all, this is one of my favourite Autumn snaps from this year.  Just round the corner from our place - it made my heart soar every time I walked into town.

Then there's this one: I bought Lyle some catnip and even the packaging drove him crazy!

and more recently I snapped this one on my way home from work. Yes it's that time of year again...

And the same night, from the top of the town looking down the High Street.  

Today I went out to the Christmas Craft Fair at the Colosseum and met up with my friends and their toddler. After we'd had coffee and little Alex had had his lunch, I had a late lunch with my other friends from the Community Centre who were manning a stall there. It was a real shame I don't have any spending money till next week, but I suppose that way at least there were no rash purchases!  It was gorgeously sunny early on, after a stormy and windy night, but tonight it turned quite grey and cold and I was glad to get home and have a cuppa all snug in my little house.

It's Agatha Christie's Marple now on ITV3, so I'm going to settle in for a nice evening. Busy week (off work) ahead... maybe I'll get an early night.

 

How time flies

Gosh, I think it's been a month since I came here, maybe more.  I thought I'd drop by to give you an update and to let you know that I'm not moping around feeling down and in pain any more. Isn't life wonderful?!   A lot has gone on though:

- We've well and truly settled into our new place.
- The new (part-time) job is not as hard as I thought it was at first.
- I think I've got a handle on "pacing myself" at last (I know, I've said it before), and
- The bad days are a lot fewer and further between, thank goodness.  

Now if only the weather would warm up a bit and actually feel like mid-May, then life would be much brighter all round!

Claire and I managed a day trip to Bath recently. Claire had planned it and bought the train tickets in advance. There was a tricky moment on the Friday morning when I had a bit of a relapse and couldn't face the thought of it, but luckily I had a good old rest and managed quite well on the day. I have loads of photos but they are all on the iPhone and I haven't yet uploaded them all yet. Here's a sneak peek:

View of Bath... including good ol' bright red Pillar Box (=mailbox for my foreign readers!)

 

Royal Crescent (only about one third of the whole street)

 

 

Roman carvings

We had a really lovely time and both of us felt it was something we should do more often... I'm so lucky my daughter likes to hang out with me in this way, don't you think?

Anyway, that's about all I have time for now. Sweet dreams :)

Slothful Sunday

Yes it's true, it's Sunday and in this household it's been a day of sloth. I know I had plans to join the nearby gym/pool but I'm still so exhausted from the move and other changes in my life that I haven't got the energy. It makes me sad, actually, to realise that I don't have the capacity to do much, but at least I walk, walk and WALK these days!  We haven't had a car since like forever, so we tend to do a lot of walking anyway, but where we live now there is no handy bus to jump on to get to town. These days I either walk 40 minutes to work (used to be a 3 minute stroll) or I walk half way and jump on a bus for the last bit. In the evenings I get the bus back to the town centre and walk the rest of the way. This also allows me to stop off at Sainsbury's to get any necessary groceries as we no longer have a corner shop over the road. All in all, I'm more active than before, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. 

I've been doing some tidying up of my iPhone pictures and I realised that I didn't post some of my birthday outing ones. So here's a bit of a catch up - starting with M&M World in Leicester Square:

Not a great place to go when you are trying to watch your diet, but hey, it's so colourful!

One last picture: me babysitting little dude...