Why are people so stupid?

I am watching the news in the worst snow we have had in the UK for 18 years (the Canadians wouldn't notice it but...). And 2 brothers decided to go walking up Mount Snowden. They did it in the summer and wanted to do it again. In this weather! They have died, despite all the endeavors of the rescue teams. But what were they thinking? People get stuck on Snowden and on the Brecon Beacons in the summer, and they go out in the coldest weather we have had all winter with snow forecast - it is utter madness. I know that British mountains aren't big by comparison with other countries, and that people feel we are such a small island that you are never far from civilisation, but people get lost every year on the Beacons in the summer, let alone in the winter. There is a very good reason why the SAS train in the beacons, and any mountain where you have fog, snow and wind is dangerous and not a place for the unwary. I feel very sorry for those brothers and even more sorry for their families, but the rescue teams are at risk in this weather when they go out to rescue people who are just being stupid and irresponsible. It is wrong.

There - end of rant. I hope Chris and co are basking in the sun and enjoying it while the rest of us shiver
in the cold.

Nicky is going to work with so many layers on (she is working outdoors) that she is at least a dress size bigger by the time she leaves the house. She was sitting here tonight under a duvet on the sofa with her warm hat on as well, (and the heating is on and I am not wearing a coat and hat) which is entertaining. Adam who normally just wears a t shirt all year round, had conceded that it is winter and is wearing a jumper.

It is snowing here now, though we didn't have any till this evening. Wait and see what tomorrow brings, though we aren't forecast to get much thankfully.

Basket

Last night we went to a Ceilidh. We decided it was a good idea as that will be the evening entertainment at Kieran and Alice's wedding and we are also going to a 60th birthday party which will be a ceilidh. We went with Alice's parents and Sue and John the former is the birthday girl. We all thought we would get some practice in before we had to do it in public.
It was one of the most fun evenings we have had. Honestly, I have the coordination of a headless chicken but I could cope with this one. (Those of you horrified by this there is another room in Great Chesterford community centre you can escape to.)
However there was one dance in which the caller said we had to do a basket. It involved the men putting their arm around the woman's waist and the woman putting her arm around the mans shoulder. Then you joined with the couple opposite and spun round fast. The idea was that the ladies feet would leave the ground during this spin. As you know I am not petite and did not think this was a great idea and neither did Trevor. However the guy opposite (in a kilt) had other ideas and goodness he was strong. I just about managed to keep my feet on the ground but he certainly made that a fast spin. It was quite hilarious. However, if the caller in May says there will be a basket - I'm out of there!
Finally, Ceilidh! Irish or Scottish? I had always assumed the former but lots of people asked me if I was celebrating Burns night when I told them I was going and there were two men in kilts. The band was Irish so I am going to keep it to the Emerald Isle

Accommodation continued

I daresay most people are sorted but here are a few more suggestions. Can I just say I am amazed that nobody corrected my spelling of accommodation in the previous blog (now corrected)
OK for those on a tight budget there is something called Cityroomz opposite the station in Cambridge. It is very basic but very convenient.
There is another b & B in Ickleton. Shepherds Cottage
You can also look at the district council site for other places.
Also there is a youth hostel in Saffron Walden which offers pretty good value.
The Crown House in Great Chesterford is now fully booked as there is another wedding.

Doctor says not to exercise

It is official. I should not be doing exercises at the moment. I started off my new year resolutions by getting up and doing half an hour every weekday morning when I went back to work on 5 Jan, and was getting on well till the Friday, when I got a pain in my neck and shoulder which got worse on Sunday and Monday, so I went to the doctor on Wednesday. Also, at the beginning of December I tripped and fell, landing on my left knee and it was very sore to touch (not surprisingly) and I couldn't kneel on it or rub it hard with a towel etc. However it seemed to be improving until the week of exercise when, on the Sunday night, it started to feel more sore as well.

Basically I have pulled a muscle in my neck/shoulder and aggravated my sore knee, so she told me not to to any more of the dvds until everything was back to normal. So now I can lie in bed and only do my usual 10 minutes of back exercises with a completely clear conscience because I am under medical orders!!! So I don't even really feel that I am breaking my new year resolution either.

Both knee and shoulder were on the left side, so I felt fine on one side and a wreck on the other - bizarre really. However I can recommend the heat pads you get in the supermarket that stick to your clothes and say they last 12 hours. They reallydo, and they really help. I love them to bits!!

love Helen

Accommodation

This is linked to an email and it is basically a list of places to stay in the Chesterford area.
In Great Chesterford itself there is the Crown House Hotel. This is opposite the church and a 5 minute walk from the reception. I don't know people who have stayed in it and it gets fairly mixed reviews on the web but it is convenient.
The next village along is Hinxton. And you can stay in the accommodation block at my work!!! There is accommodation in Hinxton Hall which I believe is quite nice as well as the accommodation block which is fairly basic. It is reasonably priced but the lady I spoke to at work today said it does get booked up early. It would appear that I don't get staff discount.You can also book this through agencies if you google hotels in Saffron Walden.
Also in Hinxton there is the Red Lion. It is a very nice pub but it has only just started doing rooms so I have had no feed back from anyone about what they are like. They are charging £75 a single and £95 a double. So not particularly cheap.
This takes us to Saffron Walden which I always find a bit disappointing for hotel rooms. The best bets are the Saffron Hotel and Archways Guest House. Which are Ok. If you are staying there then let me know andwe can arrange transport.
There are some nice b and bss around if you want to drive. People at work recommended New Inn House at Ickleton (yes, that really is the name of a village, not baby talk) the Watermill at Hildersham or Newdegate House in Wimbish (yes that too is the name of a village not an ailement).
Finally, you might find somewhere else just by googling and it might be perfectly nice. Also Great Chesterford is on the main line between Liverpool St and Cambridge. London has endless possibilities and Cambridge is not short of the odd hotel. There is the most hideous Travel Lodge about a 10 minute walk from the station in Cambridge. I like to think of it as a little bit of Harlow in the beautiful City of Cambridge. OK I'm being a snob but that photo makes it look good!
Oh yes, there is a camp site in Great Chesterford too. My freind Jill will be staying there when we are not abusing our friendship by using her camper van to transport things.

Resolutions and all that

So as usual my new year's resolutions include the perennial favourites of getting fitter and losing more weight and I read a great article about failing a bit better each year which I thought was a more positive way of looking at things if you try but don't necessary reach your goal: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/06/healthandwellbeing

But to that end I have set myself a goal which is to run a half marathon and I've just entered the ballot for the 2009 Great North Run - eek! The draw is done next week so I won't find out until the week after whether I've got a place or not. But even if I don't get a place I will enter another half marathon and I shall be raising money for Cancer Research UK. I'll keep you posted on whether or not I get a place....

My other resolutions, if you're interested, are:
1) Run a half marathon
2) Lose a dress size (hopefully resolution 1 aids the progress of resolution 2)
3) Go somewhere hot on holiday (got to have a nice one in there!)
4) Read more classic books that I should have read by now and not always just re-read Harry Potter and Jilly Cooper whenever I reach a reading impasse
5) Start a pension (if after some research I find out that's actually worth doing anymore)

Anybody else got anything they want to achieve in 2009?
Love Kate xxxx

The best things come to those who wait...

...so after 11 and a half years, Carl is making an honest woman out of me - on New Year's Day he proposed and of course I said yes :) I'm absolutely thrilled! And just in case you fear your eyes might be deceiving you after all this time, here's a pic of my lovely ring!

Not sure about actual wedding plans yet, initial thoughts are we might try and do something at the end of this year but will obviously keep everybody posted. Plans to make Saffy a ring bearer or bridesmaid (I've had friends ask me whether she'll be both) remain unsubstantiated at present....

Oh and happy new year to you all, hope you enjoyed the festive period and I hope for all your sakes you didn't eat and drink as much as me!
Love Kate xxxx

In the cold

Boy is it cold currently. I am in the computer room (a room in our house containing the computer and all the discarded Christmas packaging that won't fit in the bin) which is not well heated or insulated. Boo and Erin are in the warm lounge with their netbook and laptop respectively. Maybe I should just dig out my work laptop and join them. Then we can all sit on the same room MSNing each other. Is that a verb?

Modern technology eh, it brings families out of the cold...............

Horses

Most Saturdays we go to visit Trev's mum in her nursing home and on those Saturdays we watch horse racing on her TV (It is Newmarket). We are now almost experts on matters equine and maybe we will earn a living becoming the new Dick Francis. When we have made a fortune obviously we will have to buy a horse with the many millions of pounds we make. What amuses us is to imagine the name of the horse. In the UK a horse's name can have 18 characters but if it is all 18 characters there can't be any spaces. There are some very silly names out there. We have toyed with the idea of calling our future horse A Whisker so then the rider who came second to our horse could say they were beaten by a whisker. Similary we could call it by a nose or a short head. However our favourite choice is Neck and Neck Thus giving the commentator the chance to say it's Neck and Neck neck and neck with Red Rum........
Better get writing that novel!

Fancy dress party

My friend from university Lucy turned 30 at the weekend and had a party in Devon, where she lives, to celebrate. The genius theme of the fancy dress party was that everyone had to come dressed as a song title, which I thought was brilliant as there's a huge amount of scope to be quite creative. I ended up going as 'Purple Rain' by Prince, mainly because I had a new purple dress I wanted to wear so needed to theme my outfit around that. However I did get quite creative with the cardboard and the sellotape to create the rain element of my ensemble (that's a cloud on my head by the way...just in case you were wondering...)
There were some really brilliant costumes though, my favourite being a guy who came in full Arab regalia and had a long string around his neck with a rattle tied one end and a bread roll tied to the other - so he was 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' (or more accurately, 'Sheikh, Rattle and Roll'). Loved it. Below are some of the other girls including Cath (far left - 'Killer Queen'), Emilie (middle - 'Moulin Rouge') and Lucy the birthday girl (far right - 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds') who had the pleasure of living with me for 3 years at Aston. So was a fun party and a great excuse for a bit of a reunion. Love Kate xxxx

It'll be lonely this Christmas...

...well, it won't really be that lonely as I'll be going to mum's, but Carl won't be here to join in the festivities as the RAF in their infinite wisdom have chosen to send him to the Middle East for Yule. Booooo. However, he's out of harms way and apparently gets some form of Christmas present from the Queen - how exciting!

And of course I've got Saffy to keep me company too. Now once upon a time when Saffy lived at mum's, she was used to living under a tough regime, ruled by mum's iron fist. In this world she spent lonely nights sleeping in the kitchen and had to perch on the floor whilst the family watched TV. However, now she lives in clover at our house - sitting on sofas, sleeping on beds and all sorts. And spoilt pooch that she is, mum has now relaxed the fist of iron when Saffy goes to hers and has turned into a form of spoiling grandmother! Saff now gets loads of biccies (thanks Brian) gets bought huge bones (thanks Nicky) and even gets to sit on the sofa (gasp!). And when she came back recently she even had a new collar that mum had bought for her. So here are some pics of her modelling said collar in festive red - apparently Saff wasn't being very decisive in the pet shop between a blue one or a red one so mum had to make the ultimate decision :) Suits her don't you think?

Love Kate xxxx

P.S You can really tell how much Saffy loves having her photo taken.

For this relief much thanks!

There is a film, I think a Carry On film or a Road to film, involving the Foreign Legion. There is a scene in it where our hero and his side kick are crawling through the desert dying of thirst, they manage to get over a sand dune to find a refreshment booth. Imagine their joy! But then they realise that it is a mirage and crawl away. The camera then pans to the refreshment booth and one of the owners is saying to the other " I told you this was a stupid place to open up this business!"

Anyway, last week we went on holiday to Cornwall. Very nice it was too. There was much eating and drinking and walking and sight seeing. One day we decide to go for a walk in Tintagel. The walk book said it was 2 miles, which is no great stretch even for East Anglians, like us, coping with hills and cliffs. However we thought we should probably have some coffee and cake in the village of Tintagel before we walked along the cliffs to the castle. Little did we realise that the village of Tintagel is an ARMPIT! But not only that, an armpit that was shut for winter. No joy at the Pendragon Tea rooms or the Camelot coffee shop. We managed to get a coffee at the King Arthur Inn but nothing to eat. Still we thought we would be OK and we could go on for lunch at the much more attractive Boscastle nearby.

What we hadn't realised was the two miles didn't include a visit to the island where the castle remains were. And they are AMAZING


So we paid our money and had a good explore. The island is quite hilly. There were many steps and many amazing views and it took us a good hour to cover it all. At the end of which we were starving and we still had the rest of the walk to do before sustenance.
But lo! As we left the castle there was and English Heritage tea room. And we almost didn't go in because I was convinced it would be shut. However it wasn't a mirage and we had the best of bacon butties. Then just to ensure it wasn't a mirage we had cakes and tea. Lovely!
Refreshed we continued the walk - a little more walking to build up an appetite for tea in Boscastle.
I love holidays and I love a walk that starts with a coffee shop, has a pub lunch in the middle and finishes with a crea tea.

No Firebird

We went to see the ballet at the Millenium Centre last night. 3 short Stravinsky ballets - Petruchka, Fairy's Kiss and Firebird. Saw the first 2 and then sat down for the third, the orchestra began playing, curtain stayed down, and then someone came on stage to say there had been "an incident" and we all had to leave. We all filed out and eventually some fire engines turned up and I gave up and went home (it was 10.15 by then).

However - had the Firebird set the stage alight?
Or (and this will only make sense to those who watch Torchwood, so everyone else can stop reading now) - was the "incident" something to do with the rift and Torchwood? Perhaps a real firebird from another planet come through!!! Who can tell? It does make life more exciting going to the theatre on top of an interdimensional time rift.

Kitlers

Well with all this economic doom and gloom I thought you might all enjoy this website.
I saw it on a TV show. It's called cats that look like Hitler

Really what isn't amusing about that!

Senior Moment

The other day I came in from work. I had a couple of phone calls to make and I had to write a cheque before I went to a friends house. All succesfully performed. I went to my friends and when I came home received a phone call. I could not find the phone anywhere. I could hear it but not accurately enough to locate it. I rushed upstairs to answer the extenstion. Afterwards I enlisted Erin's help to find the phone. I pressed the button on the phone's cradle which makes the phones trill and she followed the noise with her more youthfull and accurate hearing. Lo and behold she found it. I had put it in the drawer where the cheque book lives! Fortunately I hadn't followed through and tried to put the cheque book where the phone lives!
Blush! Can't even blame the Large Hadron Collider anymore!

End of the world not nigh for another year

We can all live another year as they had to turn the Collider off as it sprang a leak. When they turn it on again next year the world may come to an end. Isn't that reassuring?

George Bush joke

Well, although I shan't be sad to see him go I do think W has been an excellent source of humour. So on that note I shall start the week with a joke I lifted from the Guardian.
Three George Bushes were walking along when they came to a river which they couldn't figure out how to cross. However at that moment a genie appeared and granted them a wish each.
The first George Bush wished to be 10 times as clever as he was. Lo and behold it was granted so that George Bush lashed together some logs to form a raft and crossed the river.
The second George Bush wished to be 100 times as clever as he was. Lo and behold it was granted so that George Bush swung from a vine and crossed the river.
The third George Bush wished to be 1000 times as clever as he was. Lo and behold it was granted so that George Bush crossed the bridge across the river.

Did it!

So this morning I ran 10k in 1 hour and 14 minutes for Cancer Research UK. This is a slower time than I had hoped to do, however the course was way harder than I thought it was going to be! We rounded the first corner and there was a HUGE hill, followed by several other hills, a nice bit of down hill in the middle and then another couple of the beggars at the end. It was also 'multi-terrain' i.e. mud track which I haven't really practised on. But I'm making no excuses, I'm proud of my achievement and it was a beautiful day so I got to see some great views of the Wiltshire country side too (it's quite nice outside of Swindon). Here's a pic of me with two other girls I know that also ran today.

Thank you very much to everyone who has sponsored me - I have had a lot of support and let me tell you, it really helps when you're puffing up hill wondering what the bloody hell you're doing there! Between online and offline donations I've actually already beaten my target of £250 but obviously it would be great to donate as much as I can. If you haven't already, you can still sponsor me here (mum!): http://www.run10ksponsorme.org/katemcnabb
Love Kate xxxx

Not Bruges

Well we managed to get booked into a hotel on the Norfolk coast and had some lovely walks, some lovely food saw some interesting birds and went on a boat trip to see seals. The weather was kind so it was a pretty good non Belgian weekend. Can't really be too angry with the large Hadron Collider. Though apparently it's more likely to bring about the end of days in 2 or 3 weeks. So we all need to keep planning that last supper!

I blame the hadron collider...

...between flooding (which did admittedly start before the collider thing kicked off), euro tunnel incidents and server meltdowns there's definitely something going on. e2train's server decided to call it a day on Thursday night and shuffle off into the dark night of the hardware graveyard. We've therefore been without email, internet, intranet and shared drive access ever since which has actually made it quite hard to get any work done! Doesn't compare with mum's rubbish working situation really but is a pain in the bum when you're trying to organise your company's annual conference.

I've also had a headache now for over 24 hours and am starting to feel really quite grumpy about it. So in my scientific opinion, this collider thingy might not have caused the world to end but might just explain some of this other crap that's going on?
Love Kate xxxx

PS: Despite all this though, there must still be a god because Strictly starts next Saturday! Did everyone see the swimmer Mark Foster, who's taking part this year, wearing a skimpy waistcoat in the preview last week? :)