tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58515230208833789672024-03-05T18:40:18.844-08:00The Vino YearsThe Vino Years...
My platform for mid-life creative expression and sharing, but also a very important note-to-self, a cathartic journal, and a reminder to sip and savour life as if it were a fine wine!tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-13430722652525711602021-08-20T08:46:00.001-07:002023-05-08T06:24:36.407-07:00Magic Custard Cake!<p style="text-align: center;">Being an absolute lover of both cake and all things custardy, I was excited and a little intrigued when I stumbled upon this recipe for "<i><b>Magic</b></i> Custard Cake".</p><p style="text-align: center;">What's not to love about that I asked myself...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVlakeUY3nGsaCl-qIo00y9Vh0YgpRUvmjGijBwVGOjCVGPXKcdMuoKBZU7YEiyZbmq2vDVPiNfC0chAH333NBKl7GpBxjCop7EigX3hQsIkyoJd2KCWo_H8OMLfjuJiy84jys9yxTpIs/s2048/IMG_3611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVlakeUY3nGsaCl-qIo00y9Vh0YgpRUvmjGijBwVGOjCVGPXKcdMuoKBZU7YEiyZbmq2vDVPiNfC0chAH333NBKl7GpBxjCop7EigX3hQsIkyoJd2KCWo_H8OMLfjuJiy84jys9yxTpIs/w400-h300/IMG_3611.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Keen to get started, I checked the pantry for my ingredients (nipped round the corner shop for the one or two bits I didn't already have) and got straight to it.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The ingredients are fairly basic, as is the method, but the end result is something quite deliciously special, which certainly doesn't disappoint.</p><p style="text-align: center;">So why <i>magic</i>?</p><p style="text-align: center;">Well, the magic all happens in the oven... pop in a a rather runny, lumpy looking cake batter and 30-35 minutes later take out a scrumptious custardy, cakey sweet treat of <i style="font-weight: bold;">three separate layers... </i>how on earth does that happen?! I'm sure someone with even a slightly more sciencey brain than me could explain, but then again that would only shatter my naive sense of wonder!</p><p style="text-align: center;"> Anyway, somehow during the baking process the batter separates, creating a lovely semi-firm custard centre, sandwiched between a thin base layer and a cakey textured topping. Marvelous!</p><p style="text-align: center;">So if you fancy giving it a go yourself, the ingredients and method are listed below.</p><p style="text-align: center;">There's a cocoa version too for you chocoholics out there - simply replace a third of the flour with cocoa powder and voila... a Magic <i>Chocolatey</i> Custard Cake!</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Ingredients</b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>4 large eggs</li><li>190g caster sugar</li><li>125g melted butter (unsalted)</li><li>190g plan flour (sifted)</li><li>500ml milk (lukewarm)</li><li>1tsp vanilla extract</li><li>own choice of topping/accompaniment (see suggestions below)</li></ul></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Method</b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pre heat oven to 170 degrees c</li><li>Line a 20cm cake tin with greaseproof paper</li><li>Separate eggs</li><li>Beat together egg yolks and caster sugar until creamy and light in colour <b><i>tip: do-able manually, but much easier with an electric whisk</i></b></li><li>Gradually add melted butter and vanilla, mix on a low speed until combined</li><li>Add flour a spoonful or two at a time into the egg yolk mixture, combine graduall <b><i>tip: your mixture will become very dry at this stage... don't worry!</i></b></li><li>Gradually add lukewarm milk, mixing on med speed as you go and until fully combined <b><i>tip: mixture w</i></b><b><i>ill become runny and batter-like... it's meant to</i></b></li><li>In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, then gently fold into the batter mixture <b><i>tip: don't over mix - lumpy is good!</i></b></li><li>Pour your batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30-35 mins and until golden brown on top <b><i>tip: should be a little bit of wobble - will firm up as it cools</i></b></li><li>Allow to cool in tin before removing, slicing up, and serving however you choose.</li></ul></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Variations and Serving Suggestions</b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Serve just as it is, perhaps with a dusting of icing sugar</li><li>Replace vanilla with lemon extract / sprinkle over a little grated lemon rind just before serving</li><li>Top with a dusting of sweet spice (Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cinnamon)</li><li>Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche / ice cream / whipped cream</li><li>Pour over some single or double cream</li><li>Serve with a side of berries/summer fruits and drizzle with a summer fruit coulis</li><li>Replace approx 1/3 of the flour with cocoa powder for a deliciously chocolatey version</li></ul></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Experiment and enjoy... the possibilities are endless!</b><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-26896551160712769642020-08-21T10:44:00.001-07:002021-08-20T04:27:37.984-07:00Lockdown Lessons and Affirmations<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">As
some of us begin to emerge from our lockdown bubbles, I'm guessing there's not
a single person out there who hasn't reflected on their lives more than ever
over recent months.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHog4eo1_HSK29HpV19sEB2iH7ySq4SGgxONrVud9E54THQ_13iMl8bZDDanl04ahnfnqej8U0TLSpEpCQK8I3E2D0ssJbfE6vuv-Tiqn8SJ7uLYrCBvXL0l9-iue4_6nriX7cwEZGmoAr/s743/Lockdown.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="564" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHog4eo1_HSK29HpV19sEB2iH7ySq4SGgxONrVud9E54THQ_13iMl8bZDDanl04ahnfnqej8U0TLSpEpCQK8I3E2D0ssJbfE6vuv-Tiqn8SJ7uLYrCBvXL0l9-iue4_6nriX7cwEZGmoAr/w311-h410/Lockdown.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5851523020883378967/2666394635783196445" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Source</span></span></a></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We've
all missed those simple pleasures that perhaps some of us have been guilty of
taking for granted... a trip to the theatre, the experience of summer
festivals, a pint in the pub, and those very special cuddles from loved ones.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've certainly spent a great deal of time not only dreaming of the things I've
missed, but also thinking about some of those things that I'm in no rush to
have back in my life, such as the dreadful daily commute - I've literally
re-gained around 2 hours productive time per day! I've also given
considerable thought to some of the unexpected pleasures of lockdown that I
really don't want to let go... lunch breaks in my lovely garden, being at home
with the pets, well-managed, efficient and orderly queues at the supermarket,
not to mention everyone generally paying more attention to hygiene!</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So,
I thought I might put down on paper, and share, just a few of my own lockdown
thoughts, lessons, and affirmations - some more significant and poignant than
others, but all undoubtedly provoked or awakened by these unprecedented and
surreal times.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Solitude suits me</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Whilst I enjoy a friendly gathering and a good old natter
as much as the next person, I've noticed that in comparison with others I've
spoken to during lockdown, I haven't missed social interaction or workplace
bants nearly as much as I thought I might. Maybe certain life experiences have
somehow prepared me to convert separation into a positive state of being,
allowing time for contemplation, self-examination, reflection and growth - or
maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old loner! Either way, lockdown has
certainly affirmed for me that not only am I completely comfortable with just
myself for company every so often, but that increased time alone has had a
noticeable positive impact on my overall well-being and state of mind. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. The importance of gratitude: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course solitude is very different to
loneliness, and being alone is easier to embrace and enjoy when it's not
constant. Whilst lockdown hasn't been a negative experience for me
personally, I'm all too aware that for many it's been lonely and
isolating. Let's face it, home isn't a safe haven for everyone, many have
lost livelihoods or are struggling to keep afloat during these difficult times,
and far more people have experienced ill-health and lost loved ones than any of
us could have ever imagined. Covid has also served to remind us all of the
ongoing and numerous inequalities many experience in every day life. I
like to think gratitude is something I've always built into my daily thought
process, but boy oh boy has this dreadful pandemic affirmed just how much I
have to be grateful for.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Hairdressers work miracles: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On a lighter note... how on earth have we all
coped without our hairdressers? Some lockdown days I've looked in the
mirror and quite literally haven't known whether to laugh or cry! My
hair's pretty thick, and there's lots of it (something else to be grateful for
I guess as the years roll on), however if it's not professionally thinned out,
it grows into a shape that resembles a triangle... anyone remember Crystal
Tipps and Alistair, well Crystal's my doppleganger (except my unruly barnet
isn't purple, just increasingly grey!) My eventual and long-awaited
return to the salon recently was something of a surreal experience (masks,
screens, face shields, belongings in a bin liner... and worst of all, no drinks
service!), but I was overjoyed and relieved to see the back of my silver
highlights and ridiculous polygon styling - heartfelt thanks Chloe!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 4. I love being at home:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The Work from Home option isn't something my employers have
really bought into in the past, insisting that we all need to attend the office
in order to be efficient and productive... that is until the hand of lockdown
descended upon us. So, having little choice in the matter, I've now been
WfH since March and absolutely loving it. Productivity and efficiency has
actually increased, IT systems haven't crashed and burned under the pressure as
some had feared, and what's quite possibly of even more importance is that my
work-life balance and overall sense of well-being has never been better.
No commute, lunch breaks in the garden, Skype meetings in my PJs (obviously
audio link only!), pets at my feet loving the company, and the simple freedom
and flexibility to manage my work and home commitments in tandem. Obviously,
like everyone, I'm hoping this damn Covid 19 will do one PDQ, but I have
everything crossed that my WfH situation will continue for the foreseeable.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Technology is amazing: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Having been around before the existence of the World Wide
Web, and remembering when duplicating and fax machines were considered state of
the art, even before lockdown I did of course completely appreciate how far
technology has brought us (she says with less than fond memories of manual
typewriters and correction fluid!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
have close family on the other side of the world, which does indeed pull at the
heart strings from time to time, but with the use of the fabulous technology
most of us are lucky enough to have at our fingertips, we can still communicate
and "see" one another - not quite the same as a full on bear hug, but
the next best thing in the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of
course technology has served us well for quite some time now, but I'm sure few would
disagree that it's usefulness has been on another level during lockdown,
especially in combating isolation and improving safety. I mean, who hasn't
enjoyed the occasional Zoom "Pub" Quiz and Virtual
"Charity" Concert, and of course the eagerly awaited cutting edge
Test and Trace App that was going to save the day... erm, maybe best not go
into that!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even
those who were perhaps a little reluctant to embrace technology pre Covid have
joined in (seriously, who knew how much fun "scan as you go" shopping
could be?) and that most of it's not that scary or difficult to learn. I
think we've all realised, if we didn't before, that yes there can be a dark and
dangerous side to technology in the wrong hands, but what a positive impact it
can have when used responsibly.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">------------------------------------------</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So,
in conclusion...</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When faced with difficulty, it's sometimes hard to see light at
the end of the tunnel (particular thoughts go out here to everyone suffering
the aftermath of the recent explosion in Beirut... last thing they needed), but
one thing in life's for sure... nothing lasts forever! Good times, bad
times, emotions, and even life itself, all have a beginning and an end of some
sort - let's hope Covid meets it's end sometime very soon.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There's
a Japanese term "Mono no Aware" (for which I don't think there's an
exact translation... perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong), but it relates
to having empathy around ephemera, an awareness of impermanence, and an
understanding that everything in existence is temporary.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All
the more reason I'd say to try and look for positive lessons in whatever
circumstances we find ourselves, however dreadful they may seem at the time.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stay
safe and positive!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-66905214167173088482019-06-25T13:13:00.000-07:002019-06-25T13:34:09.648-07:00Inspired by Folk... and in Loving Memory<div style="text-align: center;">
So, I decided to have a go at writing folk songs... perhaps not as random as it might first seem!<br />
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Having spent the weekend in the fabulous company of Beardy (and non Beardy) folk, at our first <a href="http://www.beardyfolkfestival.co.uk/" target="_blank">Beardy Folk Festival</a>, I felt totally inspired to put pen to paper and try come up with my very own folk song (or rather songs plural as it turned out!)<br />
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The festival 'arena' set within the enchanted walled garden at Hopton Court, in South Shropshire, proved to be the perfect setting for a heady, summer solstice, festival experience, bursting with talented lyricists and gifted musicians.<br />
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Yes, I've been to festivals before, and been left feeling completely in awe by some of the many incredible live performances I've seen. So what was different this time? Well, having lost both parents now (dad fifteen years ago, almost to the day, and mum just a few months ago), I've been somehow searching for an outlet to express my feelings for them both, and to create some kind of personal tribute in their memory. What better way than to have a go at creating my very own folk song(s), especially for my very own folks?!<br />
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With inspiration bubbling over, I couldn't even wait to get home before having a go at some lyrics, and began jotting down a few ideas on the back of a discarded envelope, while my hubby drove us back in the old MoHo to Leeds. Once I'd started, the words just seemed to flow, and somewhere along the M1 I realised I'd put together a series of rambled lyrics for not one, but two potential 'songs'.<br />
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Admittedly my musical expertise is limited, however my love and enthusiasm for the art-form certainly isn't. Though I play a little guitar and have dabbled on the Uke, I'm expert at neither, but know enough chords to throw together a simple melody.<br />
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So that's my next challenge, to put music to the words, in the meantime here's my first attempt at folk lyrics... in loving memory of my very special folks.<br />
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Firstly mum, passed away just a few months ago. Strong, determined, and fiercely independent lady who survived many challenges. Although no longer with us, she'll continue to be a huge influence and source of inspiration as I make my way through my own remaining years. Modest, Yorkshire lass, never liked a fuss, and definitely didn't have time for life's needless frills...<br />
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<u>No Fuss, No Frills</u><br />
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Verse 1: Alone at the station, a girl nine years old, a pillow
case swaddling her world and her clothes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Leeds just wasn’t safe, Kirkstall Road had been hit, but
little Mo drew on her strong Northern grit<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Chorus: Keep it real, keep it true, want no fuss want no frills, remembering days ‘neath those Pateley Bridge hills</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Where life’s lessons she learned, not from mum nor from dad, meant for sweet-simple pleasures she’d always be glad</div>
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Verse 2: Life moved-on and she wondered how things might have
been, if she hadn’t have seen all the things that she’d seen</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yet with steely de-ter-min-ation carried on, onwards
and upwards, what’s gone now is gone<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 3: Though she worked hard to raise them, she asked not a
lot, and the grat-i-tude she deserved it meant diddly-squat</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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To the self-centered folk who be-came long-estranged,
taking with them her cash… leaving her with their pain<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 4: Then a soft Scottish voice spoke to her as they danced,
and she decided she might give this stranger a chance</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Three months later they wed, no champagne, just a cuppa,
as they made their life plans o’er a fish n chip supper<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 5: When di-ag-nosed ter-minal, did she break down, no not a
chance, though she did bear a frown</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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What with so much to do, yet with so little time… she
lived, loved, regardless, so proud she was mine<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>------------------------------------</o:p></div>
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<o:p>And for dad, who died suddenly 15 years ago. Small in stature, but with a huge heart and strong beliefs. A natural when it came to the art of poetry and music, but never realised his own worth. Proud of his homeland and of being a Scot, but willing to leave it all behind for the love of his life, and their future together...</o:p></div>
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<u>Musselburgh Pride</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 1: Wee laddie from Wallyford, head of red hair, for music
and poetry he had a flair</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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He never did make it big, not in his own eyes, and he
re-al-ised not where accomplishment lies<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chorus: In his pride, in his patience, in his Musselburgh roots,
lay the heart of a gentleman twice size his boots</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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In his sentiment, principles, left wing beliefs, lay the
heart of a giant, that now rests as he sleeps<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 2: He loved to play fitba’ in shorts to his knees, he’d
cheer on Hibernian, Hibs if you please</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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So proud of his homeland, oh some they might say, why
don’t you go back there if you feel that way<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 3: Well he married a lassie from Yorkshire you know, and the
seeds of a future in Leeds they were sown</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Settled and con-tent as a young man could be, he’d
remember old Scotland, raise a glass of whiskeee<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 4: As a proud dad, he doted on his little girl, and had it
been his, he’d have giv’n her the world</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was Fathers’ Day last when he held her soft hand,
unbeknown to them both then he’d not long to stand<o:p></o:p></div>
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Verse 5: So this wee lad from Wallyford, Musselburgh’s pride, he
left a great void in our lives when he died</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Taken too soon, from the ones he held dear,
sound-of-fiddle and bagpipes will keep his soul near<o:p></o:p></div>
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As I read the lyrics I've managed to cobble together, I can almost hear the melody, just need to figure out the chords now to make it happen! Perhaps my old dad with his ear for a tune, might give me a celestial hand!</div>
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Thanks for reading.</div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-20295082721330372972018-04-04T10:36:00.000-07:002018-04-04T12:41:49.987-07:00Their Karma, Your Karma<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: start;"> B</span><span style="text-align: start;">e mindful of your own behaviour, it will almost certainly impact upon others, and remember...</span><br />
Karma is watching!</div>
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<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?biw=911&bih=441&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=8RPCWuitCM7wgAbj54aYDg&q=i+saw+that+karma&oq=i+saw+that+karma&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0j0i67k1j0l4j0i30k1j0i24k1l2.924142.927143.0.929120.21.17.2.0.0.0.223.2043.3j7j3.13.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..12.6.875...0i7i30k1j0i13k1.0.EPPj7W7nhik#imgrc=E0eKzH0jiAxtpM:" target="_blank">Image Source</a></div>
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If you've ever been wronged, even slightly, you'll know that it can leave a person feeling somewhat grazed and disgruntled, but then hey, life's not fair, and so we move on. However if that wrong-doing is of a more serious nature, perhaps unsubstantiated claims or false accusations where you find yourself the convenient and random mule for someone else's deepest issues and insecurities, now that's different, and much more difficult to simply shrug off.<br />
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Such experiences may well result in feelings of extreme hurt and betrayal (especially if you considered the perpetrator a friend, and have actually gone out of your way to support them many times). They may leave a person feeling confused and bewildered, and questioning themselves (especially if the nature of the accusations is illogical, absurd, and completely unfounded). Who, in this predicament, wouldn't feel an overwhelming urge to clear their name and set the record straight?!<br />
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At just turned 50, I've made a few mistakes in life, and am not entirely proud of everything I've said and done during my first half century. Equally however, I have been on the receiving end of unpleasantness before, and have learned over the years (sometimes brutally), that one's words, actions (and reactions) most certainly have consequences. Karma? These lessons are not part of any school curriculum, but are learned by most of us between the lines, through our own experiences, but we can only benefit from them if we choose to learn and not ignore. If there is such a thing as Karma, I prefer not to think of it as punishment delivered by some cosmic force, but as a learning curve.<br />
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For me, "Karma" isn't about religion, retributive justice, or even spirituality, but about accepting the inevitable consequences of my actions, and the actions of others towards me (good or bad) - simple cause and effect really I guess. The real power of so called Karma however comes from what these consequences teach us and how they can shape us moving forward. Just by being aware that our actions <i>will</i> have consequences sooner or later (and that they might not be pleasant) can certainly act as a prod from our conscience, and even act as a deterrent. It can also serve to encourage the good in us, trusting that in time Karma will deliver our just rewards.<br />
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But what about those who unwittingly do wrong, or who are genuinely remorseful (sometimes good people do bad things right?) does Karma come back to bite them on the bottom too? Well if you believe there is such a thing as celestial justice, this possibly lies in the reaction of the person wronged. If they can forgive then perhaps Karma deems there is no 'grudge' to settle, and the vicious circle of revenging one another ends. If there is no forgiveness, then I guess Karma steps up and does its thing... who knows? I guess it's worth remembering though that at some point we all make mistakes, but if we repeat them they're no longer mistakes, they're decisions!<br />
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So, where did all this deep and meaningful stuff come from? Well, as you may have already gathered, I've been on the receiving end of some unpleasantness lately, namely utterly false and completely unsubstantiated or evidenced accusations. My initial reaction was to retreat, lick my wounds, and admittedly feel a little sorry for myself - but we all know that gets us nowhere. So what next? Well, I decided that a great big slap around my own face and a few positive affirmations were in order.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Don't over-analyse false claims. If someone believes something untrue about you, that is their problem not yours.</li>
<li>Don't blame yourself for being falsely accused. You are responsible for the truth in your own words, not someone else's.</li>
<li>Don't ask your perpetrator to retract their false accusations more than once, their goal may be simply to bait you into further conflict.</li>
<li>Remind yourself that one person's opinion of you does not define you.</li>
<li>If someone says something you believe isn't true, it is appropriate to state your truth clearly. Once.</li>
<li>How people treat us is their Karma, how we react is ours.</li>
<li>Be kind to others, but just as importantly be kind to yourself.</li>
<li>Seek out the counsel of wise, caring and supportive people who you can trust and who will help you rebuild your self-esteem.</li>
</ul>
Thankfully, I have a wonderful circle of support. Shout-out in particular here to my handsome hubby, super son, and absolutely marvelous mum... not to mention my darling daughter who, although on the other side of the world, shared her very sound advice. I consider myself truly blessed to have these people in my life, and love them all more than they will ever know. They are fabulous!<br />
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And what of my particular perpetrator, do I hope Karma kicks their sad, sorry, unscrupulous ass until it well and truly hurts?.. well no actually I don't. However what I do hope is that they reflect and learn, and think very carefully about the consequences of their actions in future.<br />
In particular, I hope they realise...<br />
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<ul>
<li>That they cannot project their own insecurities on the nearest unsuspecting person, simply because they cannot bear to accept anything negative about themselves.</li>
<li>That their false accusations, distortions or smear campaigns, have the potential to cause enormous emotional hurt, and even impact on a person's profession or personal reputation and character.</li>
<li>That seeking to create divisions by sabotaging good relationships around them will not work in the long run.</li>
<li>That if they are going to make allegations of a serious nature against someone who has done nothing but support them, they need to be able to substantiate those allegations, and have some idea of what they expect to achieve once the distress they have caused begins to ease.</li>
</ul>
I fear if they don't learn at least some of these lessons, then life is going to be very very difficult for them, and presumably Karma will certainly not be on their side.<br />
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So what have I learned so far from this very unfortunate experience (and I say so far, as it is ongoing)? Well actually an awful lot, and dare I say, so much so that I'm almost grateful for it! These difficulties have certainly served to remind and reinforce the wisdom behind words such as these...<br />
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<i>"You can't change how people treat you or what they say about you. </i><br />
<i>All you can do is change how you react to it".</i><br />
Gandhi<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>"D</i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i>on't let the behaviour of others destroy your inner peace"</i></span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">The Dalai Lama</span><br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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<br />tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-63878589369143470122018-02-14T03:51:00.001-08:002020-08-21T09:43:00.819-07:00Love Changes... Fact!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">For better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in
health - one thing's for sure... love changes.</span></div>
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<div align="center" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><a href="http://thirtydollardatenight.com/love-relationships/the-three-stages-of-love-a-transcript/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image Source</span></a></span></div><div align="center" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span face="" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Remember when we first fell in love?! All that dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, testosterone and estrogen (what?!) Yes, a potent cocktail of hormones more proficient in tricking us to declare our undying love than any Strawberry Daiquiri or Sloe Comfortable Screw could ever be! And so, all-consumed with chemicals and besotted with the euphoria of having found our perfect match, we embark on a journey of passion and indestructible love. Some may say unfortunately (and other perhaps thankfully) this stage is not sustainable, we'd never get anything done and our bodies and minds would be shot to pieces.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">If, by this time, we haven't completely exhausted ourselves and our feelings for one another, we'll probably begin to deepen our bond, we feel cherished, safe, comfortable. Our physical interactions may not be so wild, rampant or spontaneous as they used to be but they're sure to be more meaningful.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Fast forward a little, and we may even marry, build a home together, have children. Fast forward a little more, we may have taken to spending our Sunday mornings mowing the lawn, washing the cars, cleaning the house... (hold on, what happened to Sunday morning breakfast in bed, relaxing, reading the papers, chatting, joking, laughing together?) Remember those little things we used to find 'cute' or 'quirky' in our better half? Well we may now find them infuriating and intolerable. </span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">We're no longer excited at the prospect of spending time together, instead we simply co-exist in a state of relative comfort, which is sadly lacking in intimacy or adventure.</span><br />
<span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Time to take stock maybe?</span></div>
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<span face="" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">To quote George Bernard Shaw "<i>when two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part".</i></span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3333px;">So what next? Well, some go on, and on... perhaps lacking passion, but with comfort and familiarity being good enough. Many make it through this stage to find true and meaningful long-term love and togetherness. Others are unable to rekindle a flame bright enough to see them through, and may ultimately decide to part ways. </span></span><br />
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<span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">And the ultimate love goal? Well, in some respects we probably all have varying opinions on that one. For me, a shared sense of fun, humor and adventure are crucial, and can overcome most obstacles. But I think for most of us, love also means being with someone who not only excites and arouses us,</span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;"> </span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px; text-align: left;">but </span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">who loves us for who we are (warts and all). Someone who appreciates the good in us, and understands that any bad may be a result of past experiences that still live with us. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3333px;">I reckon at just turned 50, married twice and divorced once, I've felt the force of most love-related emotions... euphoria, passion, excitement, disappointment, betrayal, heartbreak, guilt, utter disbelief! My experiences have taught me (amongst other things) that without question, whether good, bad or indifferent.. love between two people will never remain the same over time, it is ever changing... and thank goodness for that!</span></span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3333px;">Today, Valentines 2018, marks the 9th anniversary of my second marriage. To say it's been a turbulent 9 years is something of an understatement! We're a passionate and emotional pair, which makes for some spectacular ups... and downs. Safe to say it hasn't all been plain sailing but we've reached a stage where we're secure and content with one another and in fact a bit of occasional turbulence is welcomed... it helps keep things alive. My hubby and I have been through an awful lot to be together, overcoming a certain amount of judgment and prejudice, especially in the early years. For us, acceptance of and adaptation to change has been pivotal to the survival and growth of our relationship.</span></span><br />
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3333px;">I was born an incurable romantic, however life has taught me to also apply a sense of realism when it comes love and relationships. Valentine celebrations are fun, and a wonderful opportunity to express our love for that special someone. We don't have to wait for February 14th though to invest a little time in nurturing our relationships, cultivating and strengthening them in preparation for the inevitable... change.</span></span><br />
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Here's a reading from our very special Valentine wedding ceremony 2009...</span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15.3333px;"><i>"Sooner or later we begin to understand that love is more than verses on Valentines, and romance in the movies. We begin to know that love is here and now, real and true. Love is the creator of our favourite memories and the foundation of our fondest dreams."</i></span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3333px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Happy Valentines everyone!</span> </span></span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-86302805216372745702018-01-15T13:16:00.000-08:002018-01-15T13:25:30.880-08:00Thinking of Summer... Dreaming of Asia<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, how do we fill the void between Christmas and New Year, and the next consumeristic circus events that are Valentines and Easter?.. w</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">e plan our summer holidays of course!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And, as we begin to dream of new faraway adventures and wonderfully warmer climes, we probably also reminisce about some of the places we've already visited... South East Asia being right up there on my list of favourites. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's no wonder January has many of us turning our thoughts to summer, the first month of the calendar year cannot exactly be described as the best. For a start it's cold, dark and dreary. Many folk are being good and partaking in 'Dry January' (what are they thinking, putting the rest of us to shame?) and we are well and truly over the excitement of the festive season. The real cost of that oh so wonderful Christmas is perhaps catching up on us in more ways than one... maybe our credit card statement has dropped on the doormat/appeared in our inbox, or perhaps we've begun a ridiculously brutal workout and diet regime, in line with potentially unrealistic new year resolutions (which seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, as I turn my thoughts to summer, I can't help but reflect on how fortunate I've been this past few years, and what fabulous experiences I've been able to enjoy, in some very special parts of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Vietnam</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In 2016, my hubby and I visited my daughter in Sydney (also up there on my favourites list and definitely one for a post of its own), and on the way, decided to drop in at Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An. We only had a week in this amazing country, but that was long enough for us to fall in love with the place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is marvelously mad! The fusion of intense humidity, and delicious street food aroma is intoxicating. Bustling markets are everywhere, and there is literally nothing you can't buy from the charming, friendly (and occasionally cunning) locals. As night falls, this city of apparent organised chaos, steps it up a notch (as if that were possible), with the markets and street food stalls becoming an even greater, and very pleasurable, assault on the senses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I have never seen so many motorcycles and mopeds in one place, some carrying a load that you'd struggle to fit in a transit van, and others transporting literally whole families around Saigon's busy streets. Hundreds upon hundreds of two-wheeled vehicles (which by the way often mount the pavement to avoid the traffic signals), make crossing the road in this pulsating city an experience in itself. It's certainly not for the faint-hearted!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now well and truly ready to slow things down a little, we then made our way to the delightful city of Hoi An. Situated on Vietnam's central coast, Hoi An boasts a very impressive and well preserved ancient town, not to mention a beautiful beach... it was the perfect contrast to Saigon. We had just four days in Hoi An, but boy did we cram a lot in. We hired a moped which allowed us to explore the many quiet lanes off the beaten track. Taking in views of rickety floating bridges, rice paddies, and traditional villages along the way, the moped allowed us a sense of real immersion into local life. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The absolute cherry on top of my delicious Hoi An cake, has to be the Lantern Festival, which I believe takes place once each month... breathtakingly beautiful just about sums it up! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thailand</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our tiny taste of South East Asia, certainly whet our appetite for more, and the following year we decided to try Thailand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First stop Bangkok, where we met my daughter and her partner for what we hoped would be a fabulously exciting cultural and culinary adventure... we were not disappointed! We spent three nights in Thailand's capital, and loved every minute. From huge (but friendly) monitor lizards in Lumpini Park, to state of the art shopping malls (not especially my thing, but impressive nevertheless), the crazy buzz of Khao San Road (where scorpions on sticks are the must have snack, and where ladies are more 'creative' with ping pong balls than you could ever imagine (so I'm told!)), this city has it all. Take a river boat ride, visit a temple (spiritual type or not, they're seriously impressive), take a tuk tuk to China Town (or anywhere), and (don't be shy) have a wander down Soi Cowboy... a little seedy? yes, for children? no, great fun? absolutely!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Again exhausted with the excitement of the big city, we then took a flight south to Krabi... absolutely beautiful, and a fabulous base from which to do a bit (or quite a lot) of island hopping. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Pretty much daily we took a boat at the end of the road to some amazingly picturesque settings (Railay Beach probably my favourite of all). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Beach barbeques, <i>the</i> most magnificent sunsets, speed boating, bio luminescent snorkelling, cute little monkeys, turquoise waters with stunning limestone cliff backdrops... I could go on, but you need to see it for yourself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It kind of goes without saying that if you love diverse and delicious food, made with the freshest of local ingredients, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">you're in for a culinary treat in South East Asia. And if</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> clean, comfortable accommodation, with unrivaled </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">hospitality at ridiculously low prices is your thing, then this part of the world is for you </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(though do check Trip Advisor, like anywhere there are also some flea pits to be found!)</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So what are you waiting for? Check out Asia, you won't be disappointed!</span><br />
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After all that reminiscing of far-flung and fabulous travel experiences, it's a little difficult to accept that this summer we're probably holidaying in the UK (camper-life rules right?!) Yes, it's time to try and recover a little financially from all those trip-of-a-lifetime shenanigans (I know, dull, but true!). However, it's only a matter of time before my feet touch Asian soil again... I feel a certain affinity with this part of the world. Perhaps next time I'll visit Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, or I might decide to return to Vietnam and Thailand. I was lucky enough to visit South Korea some years ago and could also be very tempted by Japan and China, or maybe I'll try South Asia... India, The Maldives, the possibilities are endless (if only my bank balance was too!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Happy Holidays!</span><br />
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-16721029154851524132018-01-02T12:44:00.001-08:002018-01-11T10:26:01.512-08:002018 - Brand New Year, Same Old Me? <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">So,
did life suddenly change for you at the stroke of midnight this New Year's Eve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Well
maybe for some it did, but I'm guessing for an awful lot more of us 2018 will
hold much of the same old, same old... and perhaps that's not such a bad thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Having
probably spent the past couple of weeks (and in some cases possibly months)
eating our way through mountains of mince pies, spending obscene amounts of
money, and having watched endless TV repeats of festive 'classics', I don't
know about you, but I'm more than a little relieved to get back to some
normality this week.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">With Christmas behind us yet again, our thoughts now turn to the brand new year ahead and what it might hold for each and every one of us. And, once the multi million pound
firework displays have quite literally gone up in smoke in capital cities
across the globe (whilst children starve and the homeless perish), when the party popper streamers have been eaten up by the
Dyson, and when you've finally managed to shake off that Prosecco party
hangover, what next? </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Will we, and/or the world around us change and improve
overnight simply because we are entering a new calendar year? I think we all know the answer to that one!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Of
course <i>change </i>(for better or worse) just happens, it is one of
life's few inevitabilities, and I shared my thoughts on this in an earlier
post <i><a href="http://thevinoyears.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/my-thoughts-on-change-only-constant.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130; text-decoration-line: none;">'My Thoughts on Change... the Only Constant'</span></a>. </i>However
the kind of change or improvement many of us look to make each new year include
things such as give up alcohol, eat less chocolate, and not just join a gym but
actually visit and work out there once in a while! Sounds great eh but if
you're anything like me, whilst all of these things are not impossible, buckets
full of determination would be required to achieve them; as well as a level of
commitment which, if I'm going to be totally honest with myself would not last beyond mid-February... at best!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">So, (not for the first time) I've decided once again that for me the dawning of a new year will not only provoke thoughts of things
I might want to change or improve, but also of those things that make me happy
just as they are. I will not therefore be half killing myself at the gym in an attempt to
achieve that washboard stomach or pretending to myself I could ever become
teetotal (hey, I turned 50 this year, I know myself very well... and neither of these things are ever going to happen). Instead I am
determined to regularly count my blessings and appreciate the things about
myself and my life with which I'm already absolutely content... those things
which I hope will <i>never</i> change.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Of course there will always be things in our lives we may well want to change and improve, but know (for whatever reason) that we never can, some things are simply beyond our control. Acceptance in this case, I have found, is the key to peace of mind (indeed sanity!) Looking back, during my younger years, I caused myself a great deal of upset and anxiety trying to achieve the unachievable, to convert the unconvertible. These days, I find it easier to accept things (and people) for what they are, take them or leave them, love them or loathe them -
c'est la vie! Cliche but true, we may not have control over everything around us, but we do have control over how we react and respond to what life throws our way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Don't get me wrong, far be it from me to rest on my laurels... I
know there's always room for improvement and that it's healthy to strive for
it. Indeed I will for sure (okay perhaps) try to drink less alcohol, eat less chocolate and
work on improving my fitness level (just a little!). However, I certainly will
not be losing sleep or be beating myself with a big stick if I happen to have
lost the will by Valentine's Day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">And
maybe... no hopefully, no definitely, I won't be just the same old me in 2018.
But the new and improved me won't be the result of anything to do with
chocolate, alcohol or any old treadmill, it will be the result of my
realisation that there's an awful lot to be said for just being happy and content
with who I am, and with what I have. Each day of the year may well be an opportunity to change and improve, but don't forget each day is also an opportunity to celebrate and be thankful for some things... just exactly the way they are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Happy New Year, and
good luck with those resolutions!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">(Adapted from my original 2016 post... two years on, sentiment remains pretty much the same!)</span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-48063659151718919752017-12-10T13:03:00.001-08:002018-01-11T14:32:08.767-08:00Tree-Trimming with Sentiment<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being what you might politely describe as festively eclectic, my Christmas tree probably wouldn't make it into the window of any fancy department store. Perfectly colour co-ordinated or thoughtfully-themed it is not... but there <i>is</i> a certain sentiment behind many of its decs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now it goes without saying that Christmas is a special time of the year, however in my humble opinion, it belongs very firmly in December. Until at least the 1st of the festive month, I absolutely refuse to acknowledge the bombardment of commercial Christmas (usually thrust upon us before our Halloween cobwebs have blown away, and the remnant embers of our Guy Fawkes celebrations are still glowing). All that said, once I <i>do</i> finally submit to the onset of all things Santa and sleigh bells, I have to admit that I love it... well <i>most </i>of it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As you may have already gathered, I can be a bit of a traditionalist (aka grumpy old sod) when it comes to the Yuletide season. As well as being irritated that it all starts so ridiculously early, I'm also frustrated that many of us buckle under the pressure to spend an arm and a leg on 'stuff' that no-one really wants or needs, and I'm saddened at the excessively decadent acts of consumption in which many of us participate, whilst others in the world go without basic human needs!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bah humbug eh... well perhaps maybe, but don't get me wrong, far be it from me to preach. I'm ashamed to admit I'm as guilty as the next person of over indulgence at this time of year (or actually any time of year)... eating, drinking, spending, you name it! However, I'm conscious it could all be very different, and would love to see a way less commercialised Christmas, with everyone taking pleasure in the simple things, relaxing without worry or pressure, and soaking up the real joys of the season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyhow, rant over... I said I love Christmas, and I do (when I finally surrender to the inevitability of it all) and here are just a few of the things that I look forward to the most:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Vino (of course), of the mulled variety; pimped-up Brussel sprouts (you know what I'm saying, chestnuts/bacon - nom nom!); roaring open fires; no clock-watching or morning alarms; playing Scrabble, Monopoly... hey, even Charades (in fact any old game which serves to drag everyone away from the TV); okay, TV (all those fabulous seasonal specials repeated year after year, of which we never seem to tire); the aroma slash taste of cinnamon and cloves; twinkly fairy lights (though actually I do these all year round); the cat and dog having an absolute ball with the discarded gift wrap; Netflix binging; guilt-free-pre-noon-fizz-sipping; silly PJs, jumpers, socks; mince pies; festive tunes - from Fairytale of New York, to absolutely anything Michael Buble; uninterrupted time with loved-ones (<span style="font-family: inherit;">cliché</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span>but true); and of course, the ceremonious decoration of the ultimate Christmas tradition... the treeeee!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now I realise some folk like everything to match, to co-ordinate by way of colour or theme, and be nothing less than fit to take centre stage in a garden centre Christmas-wonderland display. However, impressive and aesthetically pleasing as they are, (and far be it from me to judge - each to their own), these works of art for me lack soul, originality, authenticity... sentiment!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, when it comes to the good old Christmas tree decoration, what <i>does</i> tickle my tinsel?! Well, I'm a bit of a sentimentalist, and many of my evergreen's ornaments evoke some very special memories. Each year when I dig out those dusty boxes from the loft, there's an excited anticipation that I'm not only about to be reunited with some very individual and beautiful ornaments, but also reminded of precious moments, fabulous times, and incredible people. Here are just a few of my favourite Christmas tree decs...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGqB4EmrPmDuDRZcGZglLQT0BU8cPGjpoZKnVw_7Jv7J4m7NeC4Lx6TdwVskvma9e44ZxQYfse11uUIdcmCZfxg2u1cENJUHitpnIFT-cG9U3ft8aHFrIdP1IIkkIF8MtXvveYMn31714/s1600/IMG_1548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGqB4EmrPmDuDRZcGZglLQT0BU8cPGjpoZKnVw_7Jv7J4m7NeC4Lx6TdwVskvma9e44ZxQYfse11uUIdcmCZfxg2u1cENJUHitpnIFT-cG9U3ft8aHFrIdP1IIkkIF8MtXvveYMn31714/s400/IMG_1548.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many years ago I worked very closely with a little boy undergoing treatment for Leukemia (he was 4 or 5 at the time), and this one was a gift from him. That little boy I'm happy to say battled with, and eventually beat, his illness. He's now in his twenties and evidently living life to the full! He, and his family, are an inspiration and I think of them fondly when I hang this ornament.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This rather lovely pair has emerged from the loft year after year for quite some time now - made by the 'kids' (now 23 and 25), before they grew up into the wonderful adults they are today. All glitter, sequins and pva glue, I can still see their proud little faces carefully hanging these works of art, slowly and wonderfully transforming the bare branches of our tree into something quite magical!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I guess a boomerang is not the most traditional of festive tree adornments, but this one was bought as a souvenir of our wonderful trip to Sydney in 2016, and it reminds me of the fabulous and very precious time spent with my lovely daughter, who went to live there two years ago. These days, she lives the enviable life of commuting daily by ferry across the beautiful Sydney harbour, and living right by Manly beach with rooftop views of the harbour and the ocean! I long to spend more time with her, but realistically don't think she's planning on moving back to the UK anytime soon... and who could blame her? Oh well, nothing for it... I'll just have to go there more often!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">No prizes for guessing the origins of these two, the sentiment behind which is two-fold. First of all they were bought as souvenirs of a very lovely trip to Edinburgh with the hubby and kids. Secondly they remind me of my dad, who is sadly no longer with us. Born and bred just outside Edinburgh, I can still hear his soft Scottish tones, and remember how proud he was to have roots in this rather special part of the world. I think of him when I hang these decorations, and remember what a lovely, lovely man he was!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perfectly personalised, and charmingly traditional, this one was a very thoughtful gift from my parents-in-law, brought back from their special trip to see New England in the fall. A spectacle I hope to experience for myself someday!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now these rather gorgeous decorations came from Santa's very own workshop, many years ago... in the rather magical (and very chilly) Lapland! The one on the right is a shop-bought souvenir of our Christmas wonderland trip. The ones on the left are creations made by the kids (along with Mr Claus himself) during a Christmas crafting activity we stumbled upon whilst trying to shelter from the -30 degree cold!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This one was bought as a souvenir of a special day by the sea, and of a wonderful and charmingly eclectic Brighton. Hubby and I were visiting my son, Mitch (who was studying in Guildford at the time), and we decided to head for the seaside! I'd never been to Brighton, but was captivated by the Lanes' historic maze of extraordinary antique shops, mixed with a scattering of contemporary boutiques. Loved it... must go back!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This little collection was hand-made by my 86-years-young mum. She's always loved a bit of crafting, and has certainly not lost her touch over the years. Every year when I hang these ornaments, I'm reminded of what an inspiration my mum has been, and continues to be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These days, mum uses her spare time and crafting skills to create 'trauma teddies' - cute little knitted bears, donated to the emergency services and in turn passed on to children experiencing, or trying to overcome, traumatic experiences in their young lives. Great work mum, if I'm lucky enough to reach 86-years-young, I hope I'm just like you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Given as a gift by my daughter (I think just the year before setting off on her Australian adventure) this cute paper-craft Santa never fails to make me smile with pride. Little did either of us know when Elissa gave me this gift, how her life was about to change!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Having battled with cancer for a number of years, and realising she may not see another Christmas, one of my husband's colleagues made these decorations just last year. Given to loved ones, and sold to others to raise funds for charitable causes, these gorgeous hand-made hearts contain a tiny scroll... each with a very special message. Sadly, Mrs Crawford (aged only in her mid-fifties) <i>didn't</i> live to enjoy another Christmas, and it is with a heavy heart, but also with fond memories of a lovely lady, that we hang these decorations this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">No particular story or sentiment behind these ones actually... they're just gorgeous in their own right and deserved a mention. Left to right... best Christmas cracker toy ever, cute wooden jigsaw; glass 'alternative' angel, bought in Hamburg, Germany; jolly old snowman from Leeds' German Market; cute beaded wreath, sequin miniature tree, and beautifully crafted angel (school Christmas Fair I do believe).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So those are just a few of my favourites! Hopefully, over the years to come, I'll go on adding to my random, and very special collection of Christmas tree decorations</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (although might need to get a bigger tree!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">More importantly, I will also be adding to my equally random and very special collection of precious memories, fabulous times, and encounters with incredible people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Happy Christmas everyone!</span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-81245358986788542472017-12-05T13:05:00.002-08:002018-02-15T03:12:08.111-08:00Riding Dapper for a Cause<div style="text-align: center;">
One day, every year, in over 500 cities across the globe, thousands of dapper chaps (and chapettes) climb upon their classic and vintage-style motorcycles, and take to the open road.</div>
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As well as having a ton-of-fun, these finely dressed gentlefolk are also raising funds and awareness for a very good cause... well, why wouldn't you want to join in?!</div>
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The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR) was founded in 2012 by Mark Hawwa in Sydney, Australia, and soon became a global fund-raising event to raise awareness of prostate cancer and male suicide prevention.</div>
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What can I say, this event is right up our street on so many levels, as soon as we heard of its existence, Neil and I just had to take part. Neil's always been a biker, and since his early teens has had all kinds of motorcycles, from a Yamaha FS1E (the good old Fizzy) to a GSXR 1000 (extremely uncomfortable as a pillion!) He now settles for something a little more sedate (and economical) and tootles around on a Sinnis 250 Retro Star, with one eye firmly on a Triumph Boneville when finances permit. We both have an interest in all things 'classic' and 'vintage'; and ultimately just enjoy dressing up and having fun! Add to that, the fact that this event is all in aid of a very good cause, and we were totally sold.</div>
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The Leeds Leg of the DGR saw the gathering of over 200 immaculately attired ladies, gents, boys, and girls each arriving at our meeting point to the sound of throbbing motorcycle engines. It was a wonderfully bright sunny Sunday morning, in a car park on the outskirts of Leeds City Centre, and the excitement and anticipation was palpable.</div>
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Participants gathered, chatted, admired one-another's bikes and outfits, and drank coffee from a nearby McDonalds, before hitting the roads in and around Leeds as participants in this marvellous global awareness and fund raising activity.</div>
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From Kirkstall to Poole, Otley to Golden Acre Park, taking in the fabulous Roundhay Park Mansion on the way, we had a wonderful ride through some beautiful Yorkshire locations. People along the way were amazing, waving, cheering and even chatting while we waited at traffic lights, curious to know what this eclectic convoy of motorcycles ridden by immaculately turned out enthusiasts was all about.<br />
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This global event, held in September each year, is nothing short of remarkable! It's fun, it's inclusive, it's 'vintage', it's 'classic', it's a sociable motorcyclist's dream, and it makes a massive difference! In fact I understand that the Leeds Leg of the DGR alone raised over £14,000 this year, with a humongous $4,856,861 raised worldwide. </div>
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I was so taken with my pillion experience, I'm considering acquiring a customised Italian-style retro scooter of my own in time for next year's DGR. What a ludicrous idea, me becoming a fully-fledged distinguished rider in my own right?.. watch this space! </div>
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Fancy taking part yourself, or simply supporting the cause? visit: <a href="https://www.gentlemansride.com/" target="_blank">https://www.gentlemansride.com/ </a></div>
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Thanks for reading (more pics below) :-)</div>
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<br />tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-78915782568410359572017-11-17T10:42:00.000-08:002018-01-11T10:26:02.439-08:00My Thoughts on The Big Five 'Oh'... Good, Bad, and Ugly!<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, it's been just over a week since I hit
half a century, and I’ve been thinking (possibly over-thinking) what future birthdays might mean to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Having recently been warned by a so called friend
“be careful you don’t stop looking after yourself now you’re middle aged”, I am
determined to dispel any chance of becoming frumpy fifty, and over the months and years ahead will look to
explore my hidden 'foxy’ fifties side instead!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I guess as we reach a certain time of life
it’s easy to become less excited about our own birthdays, and perhaps not quite
so enthusiastic in our ‘celebration’ of becoming yet another year older. Though as I write this, I’m scolding myself...
what are you thinking woman, you’re 50 not 90 - that said, I shall be highly
delighted if I get anywhere near such a grand old age. And, the more I think,
the more I ask myself why do we so often see growing older as such a negative.
Isn’t having avoided the alternative for yet another year in itself something
to be thankful for? In fact it should be argued that actually, the
older we get the <b>more</b> there is to celebrate!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I read a quote once which went something
like “If you didn’t know how old you are, how old would you be?” and yes, some
days the answer to that question may well be 65 plus, but in all honesty most
of the time it would be a figure considerably younger than I am. All
things considered, I reckon far more good than bad comes with age, and it’s
just a matter of seeing our birthday-tipple-glass as half-full as opposed to
half-empty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, accepting I can do nothing to slow the
passing of time, and realising I am in fact super lucky to have survived and
experienced the joys, trials and tribulations of yet another year, I’ve decided
that all future birthdays will go something like this…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Good</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They will be at least a day (more if I can
manage to drag it out) of pure, unashamed, indulgent ME time. Perhaps
I’ll sip champagne and eat cake (lots of cake), and if I so wish, spend all day
in a onesie curled up in front of a log fire with the pets, watching my favourite
movie (one problem, I don’t actually own a onesie at this point in time, but maybe a pressie
idea for my next birthday). If I’m
feeling a little more adventurous I may decide to disappear with my lovely hubby for a
whole weekend (longer if the mood takes me) to enjoy some kind of mysterious romantic
escape - all paid for by him of course ;-). In a nutshell, I shall be unashamedly
selfish and do whatever my heart desires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Also, in my perfect birthday dream, I will be
inundated with birthday well-wishes from loved ones; and cards of the
hand-crafted, cute, sentimental, humorous and pure filthy variety will drop
through my letterbox and adorn my mantle-piece. If I’m lucky, my birthday
celebrations might also include parties, evenings out and, of course,
pressies! And I will remind myself, that I may be a year older, but I am
also a year <s>wider</s>… erm wiser! What’s not to love?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Bad</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Harsh (but true) I am fully aware
that post 50, too much champagne sipping will result in needing the loo in
the middle of the night, being unable to get out of bed in the morning,
puffy eyes, and raging heartburn. The oh so sweet and completely
decadent birthday cake will leave me feeling bloated, guilty, and will almost
certainly lead to tears the next time I step on the scales. I will
prepare myself for the fact that birthday surprises at this time of life might
also include a few extra fine lines around the eyes, age-spot mass
multiplication, and the odd addition to my growing collection of silver
highlights. I accept that I may also notice an increase in my short
term memory loss (although, that may possibly be more to do with the excessive
champagne sipping than age, in which case it’s absolutely worth it!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And finally... the Ugly</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, I reckon this will only set in if I
don’t spend my fifty plus birthday celebrations enjoying the good and <s>dis</s>gracefully
accepting the bad. My plan to avoid any ‘ugliness’ is to embrace my
so-called maturity, along with the knowledge and experience that come with it.
I’m going to celebrate the fact that yet another birthday means I’ve been lucky
enough to have spent a further year taking pride in my wonderful family;
forming new relationships and seeing existing ones deepen; I’ve been afforded
the time and opportunity to travel and see a little more of our amazing world,
to discover all kinds of weird and wonderful ways to have more fun (please
don't read too much into that!); to continue to learn and develop in all kinds
of ways; and to experience things I thought (or actually in some cases hoped) I
never ever would. Any potential ugliness... dealt with!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so, age-related deep thinking aside, I
can now begin to embrace the adventures and challenges of the year ahead (good,
bad and ugly) whilst looking forward to my next wonderful
birthday!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many happy returns one and all, whatever your age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wow! It's been quite a while still I last posted... really enjoyed that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Adapted from my original post ‘Birthdays, the Good the Bad and the
Ugly, Dec 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-25482471859788024102016-09-07T13:50:00.002-07:002018-01-11T11:56:07.623-08:00This thing called Swing!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Just over a year ago now, my hubby Neil and I set ourselves a challenge, learn to dance! Little did we know back then, that this thing called Swing would impact so positively on our lives.</div>
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It was during a weekend at the wonderful Retro Festival in Newbury, Summer of 2015, that we first witnessed the joy to be had through Swing Dance (click <a href="http://thevinoyears.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/vintage-and-retro-heaven.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read previous post on Retro Fest, '<i><b>Vintage and Retro Heaven'</b></i>). Neil and I share a love of all things vintage and retro, and we were looking forward to spending our weekend listening to live music from the 1920s to the 1960s, browsing stalls selling clothes and artefacts from a bygone era, and perhaps mooching around the odd classic vehicle exhibition (and we did). What we hadn't expected though, was to be totally wowed by some absolutely amazing vintage dancing.</div>
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We watched in awe as young, old, and everyone in between took to the dance floors busting their Lindy, Charleston, Balboa and Jazz moves. <i>They</i> were fabulous, clearly having a ball, and <i>we</i> were totally inspired. Right there and then, we decided to set ourselves a goal... not only would we learn one or two of these impressive moves for ourselves, but we would return to these heaving dance floors the following year and join in the fun!</div>
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As soon as we got home from our festival frolics we began our search for dance classes and soon found that <b><i>'Swing Dance Leeds'</i></b> ran a whole range of Swing Dance opportunities in our area (click <a href="https://swingdanceleeds.com/" target="_blank">here</a> for more info on SDL). We wasted no time in getting ourselves down to a Lindy Hop Beginners' class and, from that very first lesson, realised what a fantastic hobby we'd discovered.</div>
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It kind of goes without saying that dancing in general (whatever the style) is fun, and it certainly can't fail to improve those fitness levels. It also helps to flex the old grey matter, learning any new skill can be a challenge (especially when you're forty something!) and dancing is certainly no exception. However, having been involved with other dance genres in the past, I feel reasonably qualified to say that Swing Dance certainly stands out from the rest, and most definitely has a certain je ne sais quoi! </div>
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Obviously it holds huge vintage appeal, along with the amazing music and clothing styles that go with the fabulous Swing era, but there are one or two other reasons to fall in love with this particular dance scene. Twelve months ago we had no idea such a large community of dance enthusiasts existed in our very own city. Now, quite literally, we could be dancing and socialising every single day of the week (if only we had the energy!) Yes, Swing Dance certainly seems to attract a certain kind of person... friendly, fun loving and so very welcoming of anyone who simply wants to join in and dance - whether or not you believe you have two huge left feet or a sub-zero sense of rhythm - but that's enough about Neil and I (haha). Seriously, get yourself involved in the Swing Dance scene and you'll soon pick up a few impressive moves. We've found that even the most experienced and talented of dancers are far from elitist, and are more than willing to dance with us newbies, passing on their knowledge and offering invaluable social dance and learning opportunities.</div>
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During this past year my lovely hubby and I have attended regular and varied classes with SDL, we've participated in dance workshops and have hit the social dance floors as often as we can (very tentatively at first, but our confidence is growing and growing). Last year, we threw ourselves in at the deep end and took part in a public dance performance in aid of charity (again through SDL) which involved learning a routine with a bunch of lovely people (all of whom were strangers at the time, but many of whom we still meet and dance with regularly), and we've even dipped our toes in the Sydney Swing Dance scene during a recent trip to Aus (thank you to the lovely Iona for introducing us)... it's all been absolutely fabulous!</div>
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So, if you're looking for a new challenge, a little fun and fitness and the opportunity to meet and dance with some great like-minded people, do I recommend Swing Dance?.. absolutely! If you're based in Leeds check out SDL, if not just search the net for Swing Dance lessons in your area, I can almost guarantee you won't regret it.</div>
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And, did we achieve our goal? Well yes we did, although sadly we couldn't return to Retro Festival as it clashed with a rather marvelous trip of a lifetime to Vietnam and Australia :-) - perhaps a later post to follow about that. However, when we returned to old Blightly, we did attend the equally exciting Twinwood Vintage Dance and Music Festival where we confidently took to the dance floors along with the throngs of other dancers, (young and old) to soak up the music and simply enjoy this fabulous thing called Swing!</div>
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Thanks for reading, hope you're inspired to dance and have fun!<br />
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-24952278131449119852016-02-21T06:25:00.004-08:002018-01-11T13:19:17.503-08:00Liquid Lunch Anyone?<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">According to the Urban Dictionary, a Liquid Lunch is "a lunch break comprised entirely of alcoholic beverages and no food"... well not this one!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Au-contraire, not only is this liquid lunch alcohol free, it's nutritious, refreshing and tastes way way better than it looks, honest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Feeling a little sluggish and under the weather, skin looking a tad dull, and with my 50th birthday now less than two years away, I decided it was perhaps time to make a few small changes to my lifestyle. It could be said I'm partial to a little over indulgence, and can all too easily adopt the "what the hell, life's too short" attitude when it suits. Not that there's anything wrong with enjoying a drop of Merlot, tucking into a favourite chocolate bar, or sinking into the settee instead of taking some exercise (in fact I often enjoy all three at the same time)... and yes therein lies the problem! Not that I <i>don't</i> buy into the idea that life is absolutely for enjoying, but I also acknowledge the importance of looking after myself - now more than ever. So, time to moderate my all too regular over-indulgence, and get a grip! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For me, the need to change my habits wasn't anything to do with weight loss, but everything to do with feeling a little healthier and a whole lot 'cleaner' on the inside. So far (touch wood), I've managed to get through life without too many ailments, and I've not had to work too hard to keep off the extra pounds. However, I figure at the ripe old age of forty eight (apparently a time of life when everything can start to go rapidly downhill), I can't take this state of affairs for granted any longer... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, having recently made just a few small tweaks to my lifestyle, I'm already feeling the benefits. Just a few months on, I'm feeling fitter, have more energy, my skin's looking better than it has in a long time and, as an added bonus, my clothes are fitting much more comfortably.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So what have I changed? Well, for a start I needed to significantly reduce my alcohol intake. I love sipping on a glass of vino to unwind, and would think nothing of pouring myself a glass or two most nights. Now, having taken stock of the situation, this treat is restricted to weekends only. Another positive change has been my hubby and I taking up a fun, energetic and very sociable form of exercise, Swing Dance. Not only are we having a great time learning this new skill together, but we've made some lovely friends and it's working wonders on my fitness levels and muscle tone (more about this in another post).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so, onto the most recent tweak in lifestyle, my luscious green liquid lunch which I've been enjoying at least four times a week. Now I know green smoothies have become very popular recently and with very good reason. Yes, I can understand why some may find the look totally off putting, after all who could deny this concoction looks like something from the bottom of your garden pond. However just one serving of this latest lunch fad probably contains more goodness than I was previously consuming over the course of a week. What's more, it's refreshing, quick and easy to make, and actually tastes really great. Of course if you find you need something more substantial for lunch, this smoothie would make an equally great breakfast, just add a spoonful of porridge oats and/or a drizzle of honey... deelish!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>So, how to make it? You'll need</b>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: center;">Blender</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - doesn't have to be anything fancy, mine's only a very cheap and simple one. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: center;">Curly Kale</b><span style="text-align: center;"> (v large handful) - one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet! Really pack as much of this into your smoothie as possible - it's oh so good for you. Don't worry if you're not a huge fan, you'll barely taste it (same applies to the spinach and cucumber). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: center;">Baby Spinach</b><span style="text-align: center;"> (v large handful) - good source of fibre, vitamins A/C, calcium and iron.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: center;">Cucumber</b><span style="text-align: center;"> (as much as you can fit in) - low in calories and rich in a number of nutrients.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: center;">Banana </b><span style="text-align: center;">x 1 - low in saturated fat, no cholesterol, source of fibre.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-align: center;">Grapes </b><span style="text-align: center;">x 4-6 - very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, good source of vitamins C/K.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like a bit of spice? Then add one of the following:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="text-align: center;">Teaspoon of ground </span><b style="text-align: center;">Cinnamon</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - good for balancing blood sugar levels.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="text-align: center;">Small pinch of </span><b style="text-align: center;"> Cayenne Pepper</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - known to help boost metabolism. Go very steady with this until you've found the perfect amount for you... it really packs a punch!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="text-align: center;">Thin, thumb sized slice of fresh</span><b style="text-align: center;"> Ginger</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - helps aid digestion, ease nausea - also helps fight flu and the common cold.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For a bit of change you could use a small unpeeled apple or pear, kiwi fruit (skin removed), or any variety of frozen fruit (mango and pineapple are delicious). Keep the fruit to a minimum though, in order to avoid overdoing the natural sugar content. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's an absolute must for me to enjoy this smoothie super chilled. If you don't have time to wait for that, add some crushed ice before blending. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then, quite simply, slam it all in the blender and give it a good blast... voila!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I guess I should finish by saying something along the lines of <i>this liquid lunch is to be enjoyed as part of a well balanced diet.</i>.. so there you are. I should probably also say that on the days I have my smoothie for lunch, I do also have a regular breakfast and dinner. This particular tweak to my lifestyle was about increasing my intake of the nutrients and goodness found in it's ingredients, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">not about dieting!</span><br />
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-26272204010170248812016-02-14T02:45:00.001-08:002018-01-11T10:26:01.671-08:00Our Valentversary!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So what does this day of love and romance mean to you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 16.15pt;">Maybe it’s all about the flowers (the price of which would buy you the whole florists shop any other time of year), or could it be the romantic intimate table for two in the usually dead but tonight full-to-bursting restaurant, where you can choose from a ‘special’ (and triple the usual price) Valentine’s menu. Perhaps a fancy box of champagne truffles would be the key to your heart (even more-so if accompanied by a chilled bottle of the bubbly stuff itself). It could be that none of the above fit your idea of romance, and in fact you’re more of a good Rom-Com DVD (if there’s such a thing), take-out pizza, few beers, and a cuddle on the sofa kind of gal!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Well, for me and my Valentine, this day of love and romance has an extra special meaning... it’s also our Wedding Anniversary! And n</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">o, we’re not a pair of incurable old romantics, just the day we'd decided upon (mainly due to work commitments) was the first Saturday of the February school half term holidays - which that particular year just happened to be Valentine’s Day!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">And what a fantastic Valentine's Day it was! This was marriage number two for both of us, and we wanted to keep things fairly low key, but obviously still very special. So, we decided that our nuptials would have more the feel of a celebratory evening out than a ‘wedding’. I didn’t want an ivory ‘gown’, wedding cars, or bridesmaids, and Neil didn’t want a stag do in Amsterdam (well at least that’s what he told me!) or even a best man to get him organised. I didn’t want to ‘surprise’ Neil on the day so, completely breaking with tradition, he came wedding dress shopping with me – he was the one I wanted to please, I wasn't too bothered really what anyone else thought. I didn’t want to be escorted down an aisle or ‘given-away’, and we didn’t want a guest list as long as your arm, consisting mainly of long-lost family members we'd never even met.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">So, after not too much deliberation, we decided on a guest list of just 24, and our venue was a gorgeous little country house hotel on the outskirts of Leeds. The ceremony itself took place in the hotel Library, a beautifully intimate room, with a roaring fire and red carpet laid out especially for the occasion! Being a pair of fairly modest souls, we didn’t really want to make a grand entrance and so, we gathered with our guests before the ceremony to enjoy a celebratory glass of fizz. Then, when the time arrived, we casually sauntered into the Library, together with our guests (still sipping our champagne), to the velvety tones of Nat ‘King’ Cole's ‘Let there be Love’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Once the serious stuff was done, we made our way into the hotel restaurant (exclusively ours for the evening), for our delicious reception meal. The table was beautifully decorated ‘Valentine style’ with a scattering of red rose petals, love-heart confetti, Valentine’s trivia and <i>l</i>ots and lots of twinkling tea-lights... perfect!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Bellies full, feeling happy and relaxed, and having made our way through more than a glass or two of the old fizzy stuff, some of us (in fact most of us), let our hair down and had a bit of a boogie before our wonderful day sadly came to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">That’s all seven years ago now (I’d forgotten just how blonde I was! - should I go back there? uugh, no I don't think so!), and obviously we’re never going to top such a fabulous Valentine’s Day. As you fellow married folk will know, the honeymoon period doesn’t last forever. We were under no illusions though, and knew only too well that our relationship would have its ups and downs (and believe me, it has!) But here we are, still together, still enjoying the good times and working together through any not so good times... and, most importantly, we're still very much in love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">So, this Valentine’s Day, once the champagne has run dry, when the red roses are starting to wilt, and when the credits roll on the Rom-Com DVD remember this (one of the readings from our very, very special Valentine’s Day wedding) ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 11.5pt;">Sooner or later we begin to understand that love is more than verses on Valentines, and romance in the movies. We begin to know that love is here and now, real and true. Love is the creator of our favourite memories and the foundation of our fondest dreams.</span></b><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-11820781642660778332016-01-08T11:07:00.000-08:002018-01-11T10:26:01.482-08:00Brand New Year, Same Old Me?!<div style="text-align: center;">
So, did life suddenly change for you at the stroke of midnight this New Year's Eve?</div>
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Well maybe for some it did, but I'm guessing for an awful lot more of us 2016 will hold much of the same old, same old... and perhaps that's not such a bad thing.</div>
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Having probably spent the previous couple of weeks (and in some cases possibly months) eating your way through mountains of mince pies, spending obscene amounts of money on gifts no-one really wants or needs, and having watched endless TV repeats of festive 'classics', I don't know about you, but I'm more than a little relieved to get back to some normality this week. And it's no wonder some of us feel this way - evidently, so eager are we to ensure our family and friends have the most magical of experiences over Christmas and New Year, we feel the need to begin our endless preparations sometime around mid-September! Don't get me wrong I love the season of goodwill as much as the next person but, at the risk of sounding old fashioned, I do <i>not</i> love the consumeristic circus it's become. And so on to the New Year... once the multi million pound firework displays have quite literally gone up in smoke in capital cities across the globe, when the party popper streamers have been eaten up by the Dyson, and when you've finally managed to shake off that Prosecco party hangover, what next?</div>
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Well, contrary to the impression that last paragraph may have given, my intent with this post was not to rant on about how, in my opinion, the joys of a more traditional Christmas have become lost, but rather to rant on about the apparent expectation of some that we, and/or the world around us, will improve overnight simply because we are entering a new calendar year!</div>
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Of course <i>change </i>(for better or worse) just happens, it is one of life's few inevitabilities, and I shared my thoughts on this in an earlier post <i><a href="http://thevinoyears.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/my-thoughts-on-change-only-constant.html" target="_blank">'My Thoughts on Change... the Only Constant'</a>. </i>However the kind of change or improvement many of us look to make each new year include things such as give up alcohol, eat less chocolate, and not just join a gym but actually visit and work out there once in a while! Sounds great eh but if you're anything like me, whilst all of these things are not impossible, buckets full of determination would be required to achieve them; as well as a level of commitment which, if I'm honest with myself would not last beyond mid-February!</div>
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So I decided for me, the dawning of 2016 would not only provoke thoughts of things I might want to change or improve, but also of those things that make me happy just as they are. Instead of half killing myself at the gym in an attempt to achieve that washboard stomach or pretending to myself I could ever become teetotal (let's face it neither of these things are ever going to happen) I am determined to regularly count my blessings and appreciate the things about myself and my life with which I'm already absolutely content... those things which I hope will never change. And what about the things in life that I may well <i>want</i> to change or improve, but <i>know</i> that I never can? Well, I'm simply going to accept that's the case and let them go - c'est la vie!</div>
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I know there's always room for improvement and that it's healthy to strive for it, indeed I will for sure try to drink less alcohol, eat less chocolate and work on improving my fitness level (just a little!). However, I certainly will not be losing sleep or be beating myself with a big stick if I happen to have lost the will by Valentine's Day!</div>
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And maybe... no hopefully, no definitely, I won't be just the same old me in 2016. But the new and improved me won't be the result of anything to do with chocolate, alcohol or any old treadmill, it will be the result of my realisation that there's an awful lot to be said for just being happy and content with who you are, and with what you have... call it an age thing!</div>
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Happy New Year, and good luck with those resolutions!<br />
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-50245635822218537292015-11-26T05:05:00.000-08:002018-01-11T10:26:01.984-08:00My Bittersweet Week<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots to celebrate, a little Lindy Hop, and a one way ticket
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ah, where to start with my bittersweet week? A week I had been both looking forward to with excitement and anticipation but absolutely dreading at the same time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First thing to get a little giddy about was my son Mitch's graduation. Such a turning point in a young person’s
life, and the only time ever I think that his next steps were not planned. Exciting yet
uncertain times ahead. We had a wonderful day… lots of laughs, lots of
clapping, and lots of Prosecco! I must
admit there were a few tears too, mainly of joy and happiness but also at the
thought of him moving back home and making the place untidy… joke Mitch! Seriously though, I was so proud of ma boy I
could have burst! All pretty sweet so
far.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so onto the next celebration... my birthday. To kick things off, my hubby Neil and I spent
my birthday eve at our very first Lindy Hop social dance, held inside
Leeds’ magnificent Corn Exchange. We’re relative newbies to all this dancing malarkey, and to be honest had started to get a little nervous about the whole thing. However having had a few lessons
now, we decided we were confident enough to get out there and give it a whirl in public!
All I can say is things didn’t quite go to plan – our minds went completely
blank and we forgot all our moves (everything was going so sweetly until this
slightly bitter moment!) However, not to
be defeated we danced on, and with a little encouragement and a reminder of a
few steps from our dance instructor, by the end of the evening we had managed
to Lindy Hop through a whole song, standing on one another’s toes only once or
twice! We had a great evening, but when my head hit the pillow that night it was spinning with thoughts of what tomorrow had in store. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This was certainly a week of mixed emotion for me, and
today was a day that would truly test my ability to hold it all together. I woke up that morning (the day
of my forty eighth birthday) with a nauseating mix of excitement and apprehension…
and it wasn’t just the thought of hurtling towards the big five ‘0’ that
was making my stomach churn. You see, as
well as celebrating my birthday, I was also preparing myself for the fact that after today, I didn't know when I would see my lovely daughter again… she had a one way ticket to Aus, and a new exciting adventure was on the
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And this is where the real bittersweet comes in. Yes, we were saying goodbye and wouldn’t see
Elissa for an awful long time, but (thinking with my glass half full head on) this was also the first time in ages all her
friends had been round at the house together, having drinks and chatting – I’ve
known some of them since they were young girls but haven’t seen them for years.
It was heart-warming to see them all chatting and laughing as they wished
Elissa all the luck in the world. Yes, I love my
daughter with all my heart and I will miss her, but I’m so proud of the brave,
adventurous and ambitious young woman she has become. Yes, a part of me is screaming don’t go…
who’s going to look after you and remind you to re-apply your sun block, but I
know she doesn’t need looking after… she’s smart, strong and independent. There's also the fact that this gives me the perfect excuse to splash out on a holiday of a lifetime next summer... best get saving!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's a few weeks on now from that surreal moment in Manchester Airport departure lounge, and Elissa is having a fabulous time... overnight stay at Sydney Zoo, cocktails at the Opera House and most recently Insta pics of Bondi Beach! Surprisingly, I've been okay too - although I <i>am</i> beginning to question what sort of mother I am... I haven’t shed a tear since she
went, not even whilst waving goodbye at the airport. I feel almost guilty at times that I'm fine she's a million miles away and I might not see her for up to a year or two, and who knows, maybe the reality of it all will kick in at a later date. But, at least for now, I’m 100 per cent excited for her and as proud as proud could be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, as I sit here writing this post, some time on from my
bittersweet week and sipping a glass of merlot, I consider myself
blessed. On reflection, I realise I may at
times feel a little apprehensive at the uncertainty of Mitch’s next steps in
life, I may feel frustration at my apparent inability to master a few basic
Lindy Hop steps (especially in public), and I may find myself pining for Elissa
once it dawns on me she hasn’t just gone on a nice long holiday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, when I think of my bittersweet week, and of Mitch in his
mortar board and gown, when I remember what fun Neil and I had forgetting our
Lindy Hop steps, and when I close my eyes and see my beautiful daughter
striding confidently through departures, with her world in a suitcase and bound
for Sydney, I realise that the sweet far outweighs the bitter, and all I can do
is smile contently to myself… how could I not?!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-55568613386516165532015-10-31T08:02:00.002-07:002018-01-11T10:31:55.430-08:00Autumnal Tonic<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What with the long, hazy days of summer now only a dim and
distant memory, and with the stresses and strains of the working week beginning
to take their toll, I decided that a long overdue pick-me-up was very much needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I can’t think of a better way to escape the madness of the
modern world, and put into perspective any worries or anxieties, than to take a
little time to appreciate the infinite beauty our countryside has to offer –
especially at this time of year. So, with
our beloved old motorhome Billy packed up and ready to go my hubby Neil,
adorable pooch Alife and I headed off, excited at the prospect of soaking up
the natural splendours of the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After setting up camp in the charming little village of
Dent, and of course having refreshed ourselves with a good old brew (for me, just the sound of the whistling
camping kettle is enough to kick-start a relaxed state of mind), it was time to
get out there and blow off the cobwebs.
Time seemed to stand still as we walked, and with the beautiful autumn
sunshine warming our faces, we became totally engrossed in the gorgeousness
around us. Stunningly warm and rich
coloured leaves danced in the breeze, and a near perfect silence was broken
only by the tranquil sounds from a nearby stream. We found ourselves completely surrounded by
natural beauty, whichever direction we cast our gaze it was met with breath-taking
scenes, so magnificent they looked almost unreal. Even Alfie seemed to have an extra spring in
his step, and a greater-than-before enthusiasm in his tail wag!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Other than exploring our breath-taking surroundings and
enjoying the refreshing autumn breeze in our hair, we did very little during
our two day stay. We read, drank lots of
tea, I did a bit of ‘grown-up’ colouring (a wonderful creative outlet and way
to relax), we also had a little wander around the tiny but charming village
Heritage Centre. Unsurprisingly, we
spent our evenings sampling the local ales and pub grub, with Alfie loving the
cosy heat of a roaring open fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It took just forty eight hours, immersed in the natural
beauty of the season, to unwind and regain a sense of perspective on life. Indeed, our little trip to the Yorkshire
Dales proved to be just what the doctor ordered... a very relaxing and refreshing Autumnal tonic! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">During one of our delightful walks up Dent's fascinating Flintergill, we discovered this poem inscribed
on the viewpoint above Dentdale... pretty much sums up the virtues of taking time to appreciate our wonderful countryside!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks for reading</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p>tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-73191726244082373222015-08-12T06:57:00.001-07:002018-01-11T11:56:07.784-08:00Vintage and Retro Heaven!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you're just loving the revival of all things vintage and retro, you really need to get yourself to next year's <i><b>'Retro Festival'</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Having just spent a wonderful weekend at the Newbury Showground in Berkshire, where this fantastic event is held, I now can't wait for Retro Festival 2016!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whether your love of all things vintage dates back to the 1920's, or whether you prefer the more recent 1980's retro scene, there really is something to cater for everyone's interest and taste. And, if like me, you're just fascinated with anything and everything from whatever bygone era, you'll find Retro Festival a real treat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This year's Festival offered three separate live music and dance marquees. Firstly, catering for those into all things 1920's, 30's and 40's, was the '<i>Spitfire Pavilion'. </i>This tent hosted loads of authentic live acts including a lovely all singing and dancing female trio called <a href="http://www.myfavouritethingsuk.com/" target="_blank"><i>My Favourite Things</i></a>, and a couple of top vintage DJ's playing a range of fantastic tunes from Big Bands to Rockin R&B and Jump Blues. If you're the type that likes to get involved, this tent also featured some delightful Tea Dances as well as lessons from '<a href="http://www.jiveswing.com/" target="_blank"><i>JiveSwing</i></a>', who are apparently the UK's leading swing dance teachers and performers. If you happened to be feeling flush, you could also spend an extra £5 on top of your ticket price to see a variety of acts (including a bit of cheeky Burlesque) at the Saturday evening Cabaret in the Spitfire. However we weren't feeling flush, but apparently it was a really great evening... maybe next time! This tent even had a cutesy little vintage tea room inside, where for just £9 you could treat yourself to afternoon tea whilst soaking up the delightful atmosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then there was the<i> 'Black Hangar'</i> Stage, featuring all things Rock 'n' Roll and Rockabilly. If you're a lover of music and dance from the 1950's and 60's, or of the 'Revival Rock 'n' Roll of the late 70's and early 80's, then this was the place for you! My hubby and I watched on in awe as crowds took to the dance floors Bopping and Jiving and Boogie-Woogie-ing away to some brilliant live music from a range of talented bands. There was such an exciting, high energy vibe in this tent that one could possibly be inspired to take a few dance lessons ready to join in the dance-floor-fun next year... watch this space!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The third music and dance tent was the <i>'Ricky-Tick Mod Stage</i>', which according to the festival brochure was named after a Jazz (and later R&B) Club in a smoky back room at the Star and Garter in Peascod Street, Windsor - where a then unknown band called the Rolling Stones played many times during 1962/1963. This tent "<i>aimed to re-create the unique atmosphere of the Ricky Tick in the 1960's while speculating on what might have happened if the Ricky Tick hadn't closed in 1967</i>". Well, if you love all things Ska, 80s, Mod revival and perhaps a bit of Northern Soul, this was the tent for you. The Ricky-Tick for me was the one that brought back memories and evoked feelings from my wonderful teenage years (however, not sure I liked actually being able to remember an era that is now classed as retro!) There were many fantastic live performances on the Ricky-Tick stage, but my own favourite was a band called '<i><a href="http://www.lemonrock.com/theskafaces" target="_blank">The Ska Faces</a>' . </i>Brilliant musicians and vocals, who delighted the crowd with a high energy and polished set of sounds from the Mod and Ska era and the Mod/Ska revival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And if all that live music and dancing from across seven decades hadn't quite scratched your vintage and retro itch, there was more... much, much more!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I could harp on all day about this festival, but I've probably gone on too long already! So, here's just a bit of a summary of a few other things that were to be soaked up and enjoyed at this year's fabulous Retro Festival:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Trade and Craft Stalls including: Vintage Clothing and Accessories, Vintage Hair and Beauty Salon, Vintage Photo Caravan, Massage Tent.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Walkabout musical entertainment including 'The Ukelettes' travelling Ukelele show, and a vintage brass playing trio.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Activities including: Craft Marquee, Children's Corner, Vintage Fun Fair with Steam Carousel; Helicopter Rides (I think prices started at around £35)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Vintage and classic vehicles and campers including: Airstreams; Tear Drops; Race Cars; American RV; Caravans and Portafolds; Bikes and Trikes; Classic Cars and Steam Engines.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Air display.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A group of ex-Serviceman 'The Echelon' with a display of equipment, weapons and vehicles used by the British and Commonwealth soldiers. My hubby Neil was very excited by this particular exhibition and was quick to take the opportunity to chat to the guys about military history and even tried on a bit of kit!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">An array of tempting food and drink on offer all around the festival site, and the portaloos were plentiful and much cleaner than you might expect!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Very dog friendly! We took our little pooch Alfie, who was made more than welcome and not refused entry to any of the tents or trader marquees - in fact many of the traders put out water bowls and even a few treats for any four-legged friends who might just be passing by.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Great site for a Festival! Newbury Showground was a fantastic site, and the camping areas were flat and clean, with the festival frivolities not even a stone's throw away. I believe there were some very basic showering facilities, but hey we're real festival goers and made do with good old wet wipes!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being based up t'North, Newbury was a bit of a long treck for us (especially in our old 'retro' Billy who doesn't do anything above 50mph). However, the sun shone all weekend, there was an all round fabulous atmosphere, and we enjoyed ourselves beyond all expectations... trip well worth it. The other good thing about Retro Festival is that it's very reasonably priced compared to others, this year£41 per person for a weekend pass (plus £40-50 per camping pitch, depending on tent or camper). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The organisers of Retro Festival are promising an even bigger and better fest next year (12th/13th/14th August 2016), and I believe Early Bird tickets are available until 31st December at www.retrofestival.co.uk. I for one, will be purchasing mine without delay! Here's a few more pics...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some absolutely gorgeous vintage fashion and accessories</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cream Tea anyone?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Teardrop creations</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The delightful 'My Favourite Things'</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjocViTjNxf7hHmLDM3aVMimPFN0djfsBGmbfjRNJtyg6PgQ-ARHiMN97UTT8BrtcCw5cHDt0OuqOEXR1ywq7KMU2aqBgPjF2YZGMlQPThRRJST5AG1uxpFK01yFuQtRS5I4Ir_0ut4OJpf/s1600/unnamed+%252810%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjocViTjNxf7hHmLDM3aVMimPFN0djfsBGmbfjRNJtyg6PgQ-ARHiMN97UTT8BrtcCw5cHDt0OuqOEXR1ywq7KMU2aqBgPjF2YZGMlQPThRRJST5AG1uxpFK01yFuQtRS5I4Ir_0ut4OJpf/s640/unnamed+%252810%2529.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sunshine and Beer... Happy Days!</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvVxEQQfskKASH9PLuqBLU64H_gALnAAWJUh6-mq0DOZh-ITSy8wDtWRaoKXbr7wbG0n7-GvFOMAg16jD-T1f8Ntlge4K0GxfKiwJp13ijrVo2SbpZG6qMY4MnyzbsvpKaAMOn8SCutfF/s1600/unnamed+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvVxEQQfskKASH9PLuqBLU64H_gALnAAWJUh6-mq0DOZh-ITSy8wDtWRaoKXbr7wbG0n7-GvFOMAg16jD-T1f8Ntlge4K0GxfKiwJp13ijrVo2SbpZG6qMY4MnyzbsvpKaAMOn8SCutfF/s640/unnamed+%25284%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Inside the 'Ricky Tick' Tent</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8Z1y3n2ZWkP1kdIWXBIQWUuGAuMA1JzMVYc9W1Mi14NJEYi5sDl8m-9NhkxvXIdMGG6ArNc5T-cdG9GGJgcv9EM1znZiIzZ6PmKZ6fuVyoOeFtAQQj9MqblamSBbSMBrRHFLSmlSZOV9/s1600/unnamed+%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8Z1y3n2ZWkP1kdIWXBIQWUuGAuMA1JzMVYc9W1Mi14NJEYi5sDl8m-9NhkxvXIdMGG6ArNc5T-cdG9GGJgcv9EM1znZiIzZ6PmKZ6fuVyoOeFtAQQj9MqblamSBbSMBrRHFLSmlSZOV9/s640/unnamed+%25288%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Doesn't need a caption really does it?! Except perhaps... the energy was all inside the tent!</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHkpfKibNRDx6PgOUBrK5baK29OTLL5WBx_MVIZqWCEt7tRkbtw9I395X62rs-1WYkzSxDVFRCJbi5uOGiyRedeR9E4Q00aggoqTy5na56u0LgkgF_THLAWPWnt89cBOPy8UhVhzJj-Sq/s1600/unnamed+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHkpfKibNRDx6PgOUBrK5baK29OTLL5WBx_MVIZqWCEt7tRkbtw9I395X62rs-1WYkzSxDVFRCJbi5uOGiyRedeR9E4Q00aggoqTy5na56u0LgkgF_THLAWPWnt89cBOPy8UhVhzJj-Sq/s640/unnamed+%25285%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The cutest thing about the Vintage Fun Fair!</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5sCJbdaNYvKQMjBSyJ6HcC8TR5cJriiTlhyphenhyphenO4Ix7LVp7VH1ij4m0o10zukavFYvGvjfKg9rYA0cxa6XBUVT9qaGTg8cuJXYg-eFSGkjDFYxTKEJk4v3UcWLykx_bw_p60aH8LXUNtSSn/s1600/unnamed+%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5sCJbdaNYvKQMjBSyJ6HcC8TR5cJriiTlhyphenhyphenO4Ix7LVp7VH1ij4m0o10zukavFYvGvjfKg9rYA0cxa6XBUVT9qaGTg8cuJXYg-eFSGkjDFYxTKEJk4v3UcWLykx_bw_p60aH8LXUNtSSn/s640/unnamed+%25286%2529.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wish I'd had a go now :-( </span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUI6MWyl0GyiDodunLut7Y-0ugke7N_LRcp6Qj36M59vmxncceMFOildAV10cqUxfgC4hwHND0XFoeoqA9psf52FoJJBjG0d5S9ydcY7UHW42Y9QfdfDyWmCPWrRmb4HMH3R_52HLancaS/s1600/unnamed+%252811%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUI6MWyl0GyiDodunLut7Y-0ugke7N_LRcp6Qj36M59vmxncceMFOildAV10cqUxfgC4hwHND0XFoeoqA9psf52FoJJBjG0d5S9ydcY7UHW42Y9QfdfDyWmCPWrRmb4HMH3R_52HLancaS/s640/unnamed+%252811%2529.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our festivaling pooch, Alfie</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWnS-Rg7qe57w55NhQe6Ub7KUe63A3GdichmQ5hH0FIlzW59kvadQxSczpzfXe5k5Nrhl31m-LAA2jsMqnF85ERxgMev7rCutaB1Ouy4J2eOvhUQPAJCIkxNKv7AospPJ9UqB_913ivs9/s1600/unnamed+%252812%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWnS-Rg7qe57w55NhQe6Ub7KUe63A3GdichmQ5hH0FIlzW59kvadQxSczpzfXe5k5Nrhl31m-LAA2jsMqnF85ERxgMev7rCutaB1Ouy4J2eOvhUQPAJCIkxNKv7AospPJ9UqB_913ivs9/s640/unnamed+%252812%2529.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Ricky Tick 'Rude Boys'</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBj2_1nkjiJO7uOlNN0GJYh7uZWxL0haSIoghSrnrjOPH3MHI0PjMwAy0INHf-v1UAg03zDvZHEKfo0B1uTG32LHt3YQv9WqV_8axYspgcQx4l7jcs0vkMtNYG4ZB1k_xGxfOTl2o_y0o/s1600/unnamed+%252813%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBj2_1nkjiJO7uOlNN0GJYh7uZWxL0haSIoghSrnrjOPH3MHI0PjMwAy0INHf-v1UAg03zDvZHEKfo0B1uTG32LHt3YQv9WqV_8axYspgcQx4l7jcs0vkMtNYG4ZB1k_xGxfOTl2o_y0o/s640/unnamed+%252813%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Camper BBQ</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo724__seCRwjVgadXxr_jtE7KvU4m_3_Nd2VCbdH6gffogIzUxnfUJxjuV3G7wzp133GXmDwGLyPXI27_x9Yn9vrhySEgJGz7diPQLLhWm_eI0qAWjQHPV7xTkPUbtpYihddOOpZH8gD/s1600/unnamed+%252816%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo724__seCRwjVgadXxr_jtE7KvU4m_3_Nd2VCbdH6gffogIzUxnfUJxjuV3G7wzp133GXmDwGLyPXI27_x9Yn9vrhySEgJGz7diPQLLhWm_eI0qAWjQHPV7xTkPUbtpYihddOOpZH8gD/s640/unnamed+%252816%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">More Teardrop Caravans... works of art!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBCoWB5qloM_9ZSsn0YTIfDH_IlM52mhdN_oz6ZCJUB6bbW8YMZzHU8vTJUpA-B0pTkWIboUrjQ6K6h_T6sKZNzzNYVzrI6hyju6-zL8yK-brPIF6hj65tdOwDhUy-qm9ZqrEtqpUK2_G/s1600/unnamed+%252818%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBCoWB5qloM_9ZSsn0YTIfDH_IlM52mhdN_oz6ZCJUB6bbW8YMZzHU8vTJUpA-B0pTkWIboUrjQ6K6h_T6sKZNzzNYVzrI6hyju6-zL8yK-brPIF6hj65tdOwDhUy-qm9ZqrEtqpUK2_G/s640/unnamed+%252818%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and the back of the Teardrop (sorry, bit blurry!)</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU1f_2yB2Xjdxg3opVe2iTSZO7zCVk_Q1e249hvrXPT5VgA-a2CZpYvlrx7gu9FrAeF2HJ2oK7KbBW9rKvXK-vJa5-BlrypXf5to9mJ2cF-JDa_1yJgV99BUIoSrgIIZBsayMPmMd0mkl/s1600/unnamed+%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU1f_2yB2Xjdxg3opVe2iTSZO7zCVk_Q1e249hvrXPT5VgA-a2CZpYvlrx7gu9FrAeF2HJ2oK7KbBW9rKvXK-vJa5-BlrypXf5to9mJ2cF-JDa_1yJgV99BUIoSrgIIZBsayMPmMd0mkl/s640/unnamed+%252817%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Neil and 'The Echelon'</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtMuejp8PtWqjCgNkmByuaJruDlTehxCY6OVYIyvDnIhrasGDgEr5qgGDzpHaBIXrCsFVm-32JcbJmi5QYicXAMp8-Hsa19dneoPb1IFdLKuuDB1OFiCaUtjNYtKU1ED2pCVHd0954v7K/s1600/unnamed+%252820%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtMuejp8PtWqjCgNkmByuaJruDlTehxCY6OVYIyvDnIhrasGDgEr5qgGDzpHaBIXrCsFVm-32JcbJmi5QYicXAMp8-Hsa19dneoPb1IFdLKuuDB1OFiCaUtjNYtKU1ED2pCVHd0954v7K/s640/unnamed+%252820%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Lovely 'My Favourite Things' again,... this time with costume change, and addition of vintage band</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvZgEDDgfaXa_rN6ZO3q7Gf3QN9yzOKJlwCjbt4ZXJ4vMvVnX7jmm5UXeAW7cZd9qqeUZXjeDKrRG1ahvf6agmYbinVUca9ftm6KsQg_Z8knu9BgLEQAOXvKL9UZASvD7-g5VL6Sq21fd/s1600/unnamed+%252819%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvZgEDDgfaXa_rN6ZO3q7Gf3QN9yzOKJlwCjbt4ZXJ4vMvVnX7jmm5UXeAW7cZd9qqeUZXjeDKrRG1ahvf6agmYbinVUca9ftm6KsQg_Z8knu9BgLEQAOXvKL9UZASvD7-g5VL6Sq21fd/s640/unnamed+%252819%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and My Favourite Things... again, some pros have taken to the dance floor (this pair were brilliant!)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZnFdqQN5dnn5MrkfUBscffdTYk0yMQYy0DSPdUSMEHzVF55j8tIC0yGCT0iNqzlSq5uC9wiqG0fua1OW23RW3z2-NqP4eLYNi19pGpQe67D1xKXT3ldslVsqHs0JgFBj1S4M3mK5yifj/s1600/unnamed+%252827%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZnFdqQN5dnn5MrkfUBscffdTYk0yMQYy0DSPdUSMEHzVF55j8tIC0yGCT0iNqzlSq5uC9wiqG0fua1OW23RW3z2-NqP4eLYNi19pGpQe67D1xKXT3ldslVsqHs0JgFBj1S4M3mK5yifj/s640/unnamed+%252827%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some impressive vintage wheels</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpUMD__cIg7NjLsOfLjZJIHe4c873_lmHE3nI4Rw_rTJYZGUKc2eeM-JbNtsG5J9w7mdO9H9JlGXLS8MM6rq1pk2ZAr2hE_e8Un9R__ZOLjo33BX4a3crnln5J5ypmo0OG8ylSpbCnjG4/s1600/unnamed+%252829%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpUMD__cIg7NjLsOfLjZJIHe4c873_lmHE3nI4Rw_rTJYZGUKc2eeM-JbNtsG5J9w7mdO9H9JlGXLS8MM6rq1pk2ZAr2hE_e8Un9R__ZOLjo33BX4a3crnln5J5ypmo0OG8ylSpbCnjG4/s640/unnamed+%252829%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Vintage American Airstream</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6bBQVM20mmu0ctBaYgqIQMD1ne8Nowy-9eXIO0Nj8wtWzrqZL4lPyUSGZGI1kWGwgUQn91wrj3Utq4x0Dj6ErjUr5hXVsPMi6fzGQDPtvPg0KSH93P6U6FH1Z2ugS_gw9-AkX3NWphJW/s1600/unnamed+%252830%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6bBQVM20mmu0ctBaYgqIQMD1ne8Nowy-9eXIO0Nj8wtWzrqZL4lPyUSGZGI1kWGwgUQn91wrj3Utq4x0Dj6ErjUr5hXVsPMi6fzGQDPtvPg0KSH93P6U6FH1Z2ugS_gw9-AkX3NWphJW/s640/unnamed+%252830%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">More Airstream and vintage wheels</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDfeesWEqZN7Qh-d2eZbrACqaBHACMGEUoAlv8MVfyLZBLqZNExz8piApTOgBqWizh_05YCxCKVZXj5A8sD269qVrRPFWlw9QlHz06dIJxxACZN1AviZA6BxJFZVqQGGaVN2AMYyFTOSc/s1600/unnamed+%252833%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDfeesWEqZN7Qh-d2eZbrACqaBHACMGEUoAlv8MVfyLZBLqZNExz8piApTOgBqWizh_05YCxCKVZXj5A8sD269qVrRPFWlw9QlHz06dIJxxACZN1AviZA6BxJFZVqQGGaVN2AMYyFTOSc/s640/unnamed+%252833%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Someone's got their eye on the sausage!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_qsBTUE5DLCuVBLUtNoPWpPHgNuQJBgkkomOY7Wgv7kRVtCiXOhVFefv0km3JvGKyPGRxXdd9jRBq1U3b9jxes8AaXKjzZ-ASUfVxj8l6qzC1Qq98nUqDLzkCWoJ2wkdAMwZRYLVgGoj/s1600/unnamed+%252835%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_qsBTUE5DLCuVBLUtNoPWpPHgNuQJBgkkomOY7Wgv7kRVtCiXOhVFefv0km3JvGKyPGRxXdd9jRBq1U3b9jxes8AaXKjzZ-ASUfVxj8l6qzC1Qq98nUqDLzkCWoJ2wkdAMwZRYLVgGoj/s640/unnamed+%252835%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Delicious Cream Teas (treats and water for the pooches)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2d-cydO0aX5y4XsMxkrAjF8Wo1nMF8RSxWGDh0N1MhjBdZFlWQouqvlfssIE5ebf8m4J1OFjm11MEyHLi_XrIGNdcGuciHw5A6hY61mWjiss5t4rg07Pbk_wlW4UP45kS6kdZei9ybHPJ/s1600/unnamed+%252836%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2d-cydO0aX5y4XsMxkrAjF8Wo1nMF8RSxWGDh0N1MhjBdZFlWQouqvlfssIE5ebf8m4J1OFjm11MEyHLi_XrIGNdcGuciHw5A6hY61mWjiss5t4rg07Pbk_wlW4UP45kS6kdZei9ybHPJ/s640/unnamed+%252836%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Neil's mum and dad had one of these when Neil and his brother Nigel were kids... happy memories!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkaeAaxWj70eIy9Lxtf_Hd_mRWooi04vx6rPcHVKYlwR0xTAzrATc54FFXR-R99EeI22tgaKuBAuowa75P1_5r8pHFFxz4egJN6sm9Kss9IoxF-ZaIwAVAAuibrHK9CsT_RA7FB_HzngO/s1600/unnamed+%252838%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkaeAaxWj70eIy9Lxtf_Hd_mRWooi04vx6rPcHVKYlwR0xTAzrATc54FFXR-R99EeI22tgaKuBAuowa75P1_5r8pHFFxz4egJN6sm9Kss9IoxF-ZaIwAVAAuibrHK9CsT_RA7FB_HzngO/s640/unnamed+%252838%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Brilliant! Complete with plastic drive-thru nosh!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHwZwOgTktdHIfwZQVg27X4ADU9bGTVAag_AKgzaIj9ho5R7FIiKl3cnXBeCe4mMA8Epek9vk9DH1A1Px0fzg979B7GIfM9rxEwEYdOFhak-GrekExlvc3Epqu7XiG_druSgHYWKaJ2ML/s1600/unnamed+%252839%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHwZwOgTktdHIfwZQVg27X4ADU9bGTVAag_AKgzaIj9ho5R7FIiKl3cnXBeCe4mMA8Epek9vk9DH1A1Px0fzg979B7GIfM9rxEwEYdOFhak-GrekExlvc3Epqu7XiG_druSgHYWKaJ2ML/s640/unnamed+%252839%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">More vintage wheels (think she's been sitting there too long!)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMnAlpXjcuEUM8MYv5B0uJiYa9qwIPq36gltJgC3t2CUZy68n_bjcXIRt5PPBzazdKK8d5m55JIBXU8_zGfReVDpX2PuoWqghT9RtiP_ZmIg0LppN0FPrNvz4HEoOWGcJpQeqNb10yHdw/s1600/unnamed+%252840%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMnAlpXjcuEUM8MYv5B0uJiYa9qwIPq36gltJgC3t2CUZy68n_bjcXIRt5PPBzazdKK8d5m55JIBXU8_zGfReVDpX2PuoWqghT9RtiP_ZmIg0LppN0FPrNvz4HEoOWGcJpQeqNb10yHdw/s640/unnamed+%252840%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Think Neil would possibly trade both me and Alf for one of these :-) </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q3xAss_HkShH258AawXhKkP3Mpv9Xe-4isqc8hoG2Xko9gPZSwXg861e7MmT8fwPLpBjNK5DfOyDimvdBbxRzkdA4OYoP0Yvt9P5G2k-UA945GhMKXZnEWME5aTaQuFoiKZtfXCJA3Ru/s1600/unnamed+%252844%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q3xAss_HkShH258AawXhKkP3Mpv9Xe-4isqc8hoG2Xko9gPZSwXg861e7MmT8fwPLpBjNK5DfOyDimvdBbxRzkdA4OYoP0Yvt9P5G2k-UA945GhMKXZnEWME5aTaQuFoiKZtfXCJA3Ru/s640/unnamed+%252844%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Soaking up the atmos</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxamSKROU3sCN0CxDFzYuv4vqqmY5jaiVNIEU0WyL5wCx3DC52i76VDqSMg44Y0jhA-OjRNZM1wDjxAGWL7Jdz5iw8QKIehe2kj4sAzmvnIqdUG2oJkKvRnlGicgKud5zEWyQ6YRelVQN/s1600/unnamed+%252845%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxamSKROU3sCN0CxDFzYuv4vqqmY5jaiVNIEU0WyL5wCx3DC52i76VDqSMg44Y0jhA-OjRNZM1wDjxAGWL7Jdz5iw8QKIehe2kj4sAzmvnIqdUG2oJkKvRnlGicgKud5zEWyQ6YRelVQN/s640/unnamed+%252845%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Having a snooze, all this vintage and retro festival malarkey is exhausting!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.</span><br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ahK8GhYL_YE%2FVNJ-IOnxl1I%2FAAAAAAAAA_g%2FEN3V8PAjO8E%2Fs1600%2Fsignature.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" -->tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-35500827875328572302015-08-03T14:59:00.002-07:002018-01-11T10:26:01.830-08:00Change...the only constant<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change"</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Charles Darwin</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1gUXpDbJPEh2YiL923oDF-5F14lDISrpJD7GgUX6jpvAoxGeNadmRnfJ9SGopyzsWONQRuDgp-YxZFcsN8d-BNMf3Jm7vRmXRQVx56HTj9XG3N-Xj_ipHlAEFc8QB3BqwCAs_HDGNHVf/s1600/6a00d8341c500653ef0133f11999f6970b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1gUXpDbJPEh2YiL923oDF-5F14lDISrpJD7GgUX6jpvAoxGeNadmRnfJ9SGopyzsWONQRuDgp-YxZFcsN8d-BNMf3Jm7vRmXRQVx56HTj9XG3N-Xj_ipHlAEFc8QB3BqwCAs_HDGNHVf/s400/6a00d8341c500653ef0133f11999f6970b.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Image Source</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Love it, loathe it, embrace it or fear it... however we feel about it, change is the only constant - the one thing we can be absolutely sure of in our lives (apart from death that is... jolly old post so far eh?!) Stay with me, it does lighten up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some lives are, for a variety of reasons, destined to be more turbulent and complicated than others, and those who grow up with frequent change may learn to take it in their stride - sink or swim. Others may grow up with lives full of stability and regularity, but even the Steady Eddie's of this world will have to adapt to change at some point... big or small, like it or not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Adapting to change is so much more difficult as we get older, especially when it's not by choice. As adults, we like to think we're the ones in control, and it gives us a bit of a shake when we realise that's not necessarily the case.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the ripe old age of forty something, I've been through my share of change. Some not of my own choice, and at times leaving me uncomfortable, sad, or full of uncertainty at what may lie ahead. However, over the years, I've come to learn not only to accept and welcome change, but to embrace it, actively seek it out, and even force it upon myself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Within a two year period during my mid thirties, I changed jobs twice, moved house twice, divorced, and lost my beloved dad! Prior to this unfortunate spell, my life had been fairly uncomplicated and, I have to say, the events of those couple of years hit me like a ton of bricks. Although I didn't realise it at the time, this very difficult period gave rise to a totally transformed mind-set in the way I deal with life, and in particular the way I deal with change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These days, I'm a bit of a 'change junkie' - if there's been none in my life for some time, I find myself seeking it out and making it happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for 'if it ain't broken, don't try to fix it', but I've also experienced the amazing positive effect of even the slightest of change. I'm reluctant to use cliches, but for me it really is about getting out of my comfort zone, and opening my mind to all things new - changing the way I think, and my attitude towards things, as well as the way I do things. I'm not necessarily talking big stuff here, in fact on the contrary, it's often the very small things that present themselves, forcing us to take a step back, re-think and embrace something new - never to look back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, on a lighter note, here are some examples of a few slight changes I've made to my life over recent years, which may on the face of it seem relatively trivial. However, by simply opening my mind where it might have previously been closed, and with a willingness to just let go and see what happens, for me these few small changes have led to incalculable wonderful results.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First of all... Cats!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'd always disliked cats. Why? Well, I'd never really asked myself that until they inadvertently came into my life a little over ten years ago (my new partner, now hubby, had them). Turns out the only real reason I could think up was that my mum didn't like them, never had, she said they were scary - must be true then. Or perhaps not. So, with no real reasoning behind my dislike for these cute, furry little purring creatures which seem to provide so much pleasure to so many people, I decided (quite out of the blue) to find out for myself. Yes, much to the surprise of everyone who thought they knew me, I went and bought myself a gorgeous little kitten... and the rest is history, I fell in love immediately and have had cats ever since (three altogether, Jack, Lulu, and Maggie), what's more, I'd have another tomorrow!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The adorable Maggie - sadly Jack and Lulu are no longer with us :-( </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Secondly, Parmesan Cheese</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the few things I disliked more than cats was Parmesan cheese! How on earth could anyone eat that stuff, the smell is stomach churning - why would I even want to try it? Well, whilst on a romantic weekend in Rome, again with my then new partner (now hubby), sitting outside a wonderful restaurant located on an enchantingly busy piazza, sipping a large glass of Pinot, and partaking in a spot of beautiful people watching, I waited for my Fettuccine to arrive. It arrived... covered in a heavy 'dusting' of grated Parmesan aaaghh!! You know what it's like, new relationship, beautiful setting, sunshine, romance... I couldn't send my dish back and spoil the moment. There was only one thing to do, give it a try. You know what's coming next... yes, I loved it, and now struggle to accept any pasta dish without it. Why did I deprive myself of this wonderful taste sensation for so long?!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And last but by no means least...</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Camping!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so, onto the most recent change in my life. Following my first ever camping experience at the age of around 17, which resulted in tears and a late-night check-in at a nearby B&B, I vowed to myself... <i><b>never</b></i> again! And that was that, mind closed to camping for the next 30 years. More recently however, I have become increasingly interested in the music/beer festival scene, and thought perhaps I might just consider giving camping another go... however <i style="font-weight: bold;">only</i> as a necessary means to experiencing the pleasures of a festival. So, much to the complete disbelief of my hubby, I suggested we went camping... to a beer and music festival of course. I had a wonderful time, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience - even putting up the tent in the pouring rain. I knew I'd enjoy the music (and the beer!), but I was totally taken aback at how much I loved the camping element of our trip. We have, during the course of this year, upgraded from tent to clapped out old camper vehicle, but since that first camping trip to our first festival just under a year ago, we haven't looked back. If you've read some of my previous posts you'll know all about 'Billy', and we're looking forward to many a camping adventure to come. I am totally converted, and a truly happy camper!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now although life for me seems fairly settled at the moment, I know change will always be just around the corner, some for better and some for worse. So, when it is time for a change, whether or not of my own choosing, here are a few quotes I'll try to remember...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don't fight change, become a student of it, it's the only constant</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Change - expect it, anticipate it, welcome it </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">See change not as a threat, but as an opportunity</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and remember...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Billy the '<i>classic</i>' camper's first road trip was a great success.... what's more, it left me well and truly smitten with Northumberland's magnificent coastline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I promised to fill you in on Billy's first road trip. But first of all, how come I'm now referring to our old Bedford motorhome as a '</span><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">classic</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'? Well, I guess when you literally 'chug' onto a rather swanky campsite (two words I never thought I'd use in the same sentence!), its beautifully tended pitches scattered with a selection of top of the range winnebagos, and caravans only marginally smaller than our house, you kind of find yourself looking for ways to keep your pride in tact! So, feeling a little like the Clampetts, we decided to go down the self preservation route and convince ourselves that whilst our particular camping vehicle may be seen by some as simply old, slightly rusty and very out of date, he is in fact (if only in our eyes) an absolute </span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">classic</b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As mentioned in previous posts, we've had one or two problems restoring Billy and getting him to the stage where he's actually fit for the road, and relatively comfortable to camp in, so it's probably understandable that we were a little apprehensive on our first road trip to Northumberland. As it turned out, we needn't have worried. Yes, we had to take things at Billy's own pace (top speed 50mph!) but to quote <a href="http://www.martindorey.com/" target="_blank">Martin Dorey</a> (BBC2's "One Man and His Campervan"), we were "Kings of the Road" - in other words nothing but wide open road in front... all other vehicles behind! Things were pretty cosy and comfortable on the inside too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This was a bit of an experimental trip all round really. Yes, we needed to test out Billy's capabilities and stamina on the road, as well as getting to grips with his on-board facilities (you know... fridge, hob, oven, comfort of bed etc), but actually we also needed to find out whether or not we would even enjoy this motorhome camping malarkey thingybob... which luckily we did!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, apart from a few minor (but very necessary roadside repairs) which were the result of high motorway winds and dodgy wall panels! (no I'm not joking), everything went very smoothly indeed. Old Billy boy took us from Leeds to Seahouses, Seahouses to Alnwick and Bamburgh, Bamburgh to Low Newton, and across the causeway to Lindisfarne and back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course we were very impressed with the old <i>classic</i> camper's performance, but I have to say, not nearly as impressed as we were with the natural beauty of the Northumberland coastline. Soft golden sand beneath our feet (which would give any Mediterranian beach a run for its money), crystal clear rock pools, refreshing sea breeze, blue skies with a scattering of fluffy white clouds, and more magnificent castles than any other county in England. Quite simply stunning!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Considering not that long ago, Neil and I used to spend our spare time riding his sports motorcycle around the country (to be more specific Neil rode, I was pillion), it may seem strange that we're now happy to 'cruise' along at little more than 40mph in an ancient camper vehicle, but we're loving it! I'm sure at some point in the future our need for speed may return (once a biker always a biker). I know neither of us would never say never to blowing the dust off our leathers and cycle helmets (although we might both struggle to squeeze into them now!) However for the time being, we're delighted with our old Billy and our newly discovered laid back form of travel. With one successful trip under our belts and festival season on the horizon, both Neil and I are very much looking forward to our next road trip and camping adventure!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> If you've never visited this part of the UK, I would highly recommend that you do... soon!</span><br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ahK8GhYL_YE%2FVNJ-IOnxl1I%2FAAAAAAAAA_g%2FEN3V8PAjO8E%2Fs1600%2Fsignature.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" -->tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-86990466817237184372015-04-11T14:47:00.002-07:002018-01-11T10:55:32.020-08:00Billy's Makeover!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Look at him now... Billy the old Bedford camper has scrubbed up pretty well!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you've read some of my previous posts, you'll know that my hubby Neil and I (for reasons we still haven't quite figured out) acquired a rather old, rather decrepit Bedford CF motorhome late last summer, and decided to name him Billy! You'll also know that between then and now, we've faced one or two challenges in getting him ready for his first road trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Aaahh, where to start?! Well, Neil's done a sterling job on dealing with the mechanical side of things... Billy needed a fuel tank restoration and fuel lift pump, refurbished radiator, new alternator, upgraded air filter, and a full service. We also discovered old Billy had quite a few leaks which had, over the years, resulted in damp and rotting wall panels, as well as a lovely little infestation of woodlice!! On closer inspection, the soft furnishings, which we'd originally thought were in pretty good nick, had also fallen victim of the damp and needed completely replacing. So, wall panels stripped, mouldy foam seating and grubby old carpet ripped up and off to the tip, we had our blank canvas and began the process of building up old Billy back to his former glory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To be honest, it sounds worse than it was, as there were actually signs that someone somewhere along the line had taken a bit of pride in Billy, and had made a half-hearted attempt to look after him. Bearing in mind he hadn't been road taxed since 2009, we can't help but wonder if his previous owners had perhaps had no choice but to give up on him for one reason or another, and whilst he'd obviously been left standing unused,<i> </i>it appears he was not totally unloved! It might sound a bit weird to most (and it would have to me before we started this 'relationship' with an old rotting vehicle), but we've actually become quite attached to our Billy. I guess we've kind of built up our own story of what we think might have been his history, and why he might have been out of action for a while... that is before we rescued him for a better life and many an adventurous journey ahead - we hope! Actually, do any of you readers know anything of Billy's history? His reg is KOB 779W, it's a bit of a long shot I know, but it would be great to hear from you if you have any information or knowledge of Billy's life, pre August 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyhow, back to the makeover... compared to the money people fork out for some other old (and granted perhaps more iconic and stylish) camping vehicles, we paid a local garage next to nothing for Billy, and on top of his original purchase price have spent around £500 sprucing him up! At around £350, the mechanical side of things proved to be the most costly, although this would have been considerably more without Neil's knowledge and practical capabilities in this area. The remainder was spent on plywood, paint, silicone filler (lots of), foam, vinyl flooring, curtains (made with the help of my wonderful mum, from a few old duvet covers), cushions, bunting, fairy lights, and the obligatory whistling camping kettle!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To be honest, our intention was only ever to do a bit of a '60 Minute Makeover' job, and that is pretty much what we've done. Although it's taken considerably more than 60 minutes, our make-over of Billy has been relatively cheap and cheerful, and we could have done an awful lot (and spent an awful lot) more! When looking at Billy's exterior, we realise there's still much that could be done, the cab carpet could do with replacing, and we've covered up many an interior imperfection with silicone filler and a lot of paint. However, 'simplicity' was our goal... a bit of an upgrade in luxury terms compared to the old tent, and never intending to reach the dizzy heights of a modern winnebago, or top of the range caravan. Indeed far from aspiring to anything remotely luxurious, our aim was to restore something old, something that had been pretty much written off, keep it simple, and work with the abundance of character already there. In doing this, we feel we've created our very own wonderfully personalised and cosy small space, in which we'll hopefully enjoy many an exciting and relaxing camping experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We recently had Billy checked out by a camper van / motor home enthusiast / mechanic, and he reckons we got ourselves a bit of a bargain. He also reckons that we could probably make a penny or two if we sold him now... as if we would even consider that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Billy's restoration so far has actually been a really enjoyable and exciting process, however we did realise very early on that it will almost certainly be an ongoing project. There's still plenty more we'd like to improve upon aesthetically, especially to his exterior, and we're very conscious of the fact he's no spring chicken! However, despite a few hairy moments along the way, when we half considered just giving up and trading him in for scrap (how could we?!), we reckon old Billy's now good to go! And, in fact tomorrow, we set off on our first real road trip, heading for the beautiful English coastline of Northumberland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, whilst excited and raring to go, we must bear in mind tomorrow that old Billy doesn't do much above 50mph, and so far (to our knowledge) hasn't been any further than Leeds to Brid! Indeed, we will have to remember to be very gentle with him all round, if we ever want to make it to our intended destinations of Seahouses, Alnwick and the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Of course we will also make sure we have our vehicle recovery membership card in the glove box... just in case!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll let you know how it goes :-)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpI0-SY1q1tU9u13gVM0IRLgfb7uZoOD058I-ISx3gPvaQFOQ5uQjBcWU8veRU5NSWDCU2bdrK28dNljo1D9hLT_mxu4_M5anboOzq47KSNP7ileoYetWx39qsI3UkoWK9ALOAR1Wa7zw/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpI0-SY1q1tU9u13gVM0IRLgfb7uZoOD058I-ISx3gPvaQFOQ5uQjBcWU8veRU5NSWDCU2bdrK28dNljo1D9hLT_mxu4_M5anboOzq47KSNP7ileoYetWx39qsI3UkoWK9ALOAR1Wa7zw/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage5.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Old mouldy brown and mustard tartan... to fresh, clean red white and blue!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Temporary fuel tank and tool kit, now replaced with bright comfy cushions, cheery sunflower, retro radio, and a little quote we try to live our lives by!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Old tatty high sleeper... stripped out, re-boarded and freshened up with a bit of white paint. Now strewn with jolly bunting for that finishing touch... the perfect place to store our bedding, and perhaps for a daytime nap!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not much work required here actually, except for the addition of a tea and sugar caddy, not forgetting the old whistling camping kettle!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All coming together very nicely... just can't wait to get going now!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Finishing Touches!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" /></span></a></div>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ahK8GhYL_YE%2FVNJ-IOnxl1I%2FAAAAAAAAA_g%2FEN3V8PAjO8E%2Fs1600%2Fsignature.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" -->tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-53812942362828381822015-03-03T13:06:00.004-08:002018-01-11T11:54:40.699-08:00A 'Grand!' Sunday Morning in Leeds<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you've been anywhere near Leeds City Centre lately, and didn't visit the</span></div>
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<b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Just Grand! Vintage Tearoom'... </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, you simply don't know what you missed. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlJXyPdTOdLy4H1EqAb9L9LaL3z88XRjEL1KLRKYPxGwkcsSTrRoHzdVyAK88r-5Z8RKJMNMuOd4bQhYNOU52qkhbQBJpkRvY-e_6AGH2CkzK9VakiiIKiv32AydANxySw-dXeYm6SaWZ/s1600/unnamed+(17).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlJXyPdTOdLy4H1EqAb9L9LaL3z88XRjEL1KLRKYPxGwkcsSTrRoHzdVyAK88r-5Z8RKJMNMuOd4bQhYNOU52qkhbQBJpkRvY-e_6AGH2CkzK9VakiiIKiv32AydANxySw-dXeYm6SaWZ/s400/unnamed+(17).jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My husband Neil and I have recently started this thing we call 'Coffee Club'. Coffee Club takes place whenever we have a free and easy weekend, and involves taking ourselves off into the fabulous city centre of Leeds (or suburbs thereof), in search of a new independent tearoom or coffee shop to try out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't know about you, but rarely do we sit down at home and savour our weekend morning cuppa over a bit of good old face-to-face conversation (remember that?!). It's usually a case of grabbing a quick sip in between sorting the laundry, loading the dishwasher, plumping up the cushions, or something else which is, in the 'grand' scheme of things, equally trivial, tedious and totally uninteresting! What's more, Coffee Club's not limited to just the two of us. If family and friends happen to be free and fancy joining us, well they're more than welcome... the more the merrier. However, note here to friends and family... I'm afraid the drinks are NOT all on us!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, one Sunday morning, a few weeks ago we discovered 'Just Grand! Vintage Tearoom' which is located in the Grand Arcade, New Briggate, Leeds, and decided this would be the perfect venue for our next Coffee Club. Three generations of family were joining us this time (aged 21-83) and we were sure that everyone would love it. It's probably also worth mentioning that, although not relevant for us any longer (our brood all being taller, wiser and better behaved than their parents these days), we couldn't help but notice just how child friendly this place is too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We were not disappointed with our choice. This tearoom is, in a word 'delightful'. The 'oldies' among us were intoxicated with nostalgia ('oooh, we used to have one of those, do you remember?' being uttered more than once). However, if 'drunk' is the desired effect, you don't<i> have</i> to rely on the nostalgia as this wonderful tearoom is also fully licensed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The food and drink (great menu including breakfasts and afternoon teas), as well as service, and impressive attention to detail, are all second to none. From the delightful tableware, and deliciousness of home made cakes and scones, to the superb collection of vintage object d'art and furniture pieces - not to mention the fantastic sounds of 50s vinyl playing in the background. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There's also the option to go 'al fresco'. Well, strictly speaking not <i>quite</i> 'in the open air' as Just Grand! is located within a covered arcade. However, it does still get a little chilly after a while if you opt for the 'outside' seating. Fear not though... yet another delightful touch is the complimentary provision of hot water bottles (complete with crocheted covers), and some charming throws to match, which can be used to cover your lap or shoulders whilst enjoying afternoon tea, all so very cute!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We loved this place so much, we went back last weekend for more of the same, and enjoyed ourselves every bit as much as the first time. Evidently though, many others are discovering the joy of 'Just Grand!' and the place was absolutely heaving! Luckily we timed it just right and landed ourselves a cosy table for four, however for many others who were keen to sample the delights of this wonderful tearoom the answer was 'sorry, no room at the inn!'. Lesson learned from observing the disappointment of those turned away, is that we will certainly be booking next time to avoid possible disappointment. Looks like you might have to extend pretty soon Just Grand!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just Grand! Vintage Tearoom also caters for special celebrations and parties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Why not visit their website <a href="http://www.fun-keyfunctions.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.fun-keyfunctions.co.uk</a>, and check them out on facebook,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I would highly recommend that you do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">PS: Apart from Just Grand!, the Grand Arcade, Leeds, with its variety of delightfully individual and quirky shops and bars, not to mention the famous <a href="http://www.grandarcadeleeds.co.uk/category/the-grand-arcade-clock/" target="_blank">Grand Arcade Clock</a>, is well worth a visit if you just so happen to be in Leeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_H4ascleSAe4Yo9wVC9EmIfsrXlDE61zp77XWmD60gMUAZEkr0r_BapTnvZb64rWNq9wkeYc9Y4JAkUyEeFsFgYgHXq8nKkjspItQgAiD9cGzjfT92doNxYIRabT_0rlVb6WlfG7L7RP/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_H4ascleSAe4Yo9wVC9EmIfsrXlDE61zp77XWmD60gMUAZEkr0r_BapTnvZb64rWNq9wkeYc9Y4JAkUyEeFsFgYgHXq8nKkjspItQgAiD9cGzjfT92doNxYIRabT_0rlVb6WlfG7L7RP/s1600/unnamed.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVRh7abbqZ5nFlORBygH1bI2saHaVRcSc7-HSczQRz02FtzYYl3at4dq7C1IkT-79RR9mrG1sV954aSyixRPxif5SHafVPCjiBXE_WRZaSjfFZmhW_39AcUl6T4w_yn3RahYyL1XSj5NU/s1600/unnamed+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVRh7abbqZ5nFlORBygH1bI2saHaVRcSc7-HSczQRz02FtzYYl3at4dq7C1IkT-79RR9mrG1sV954aSyixRPxif5SHafVPCjiBXE_WRZaSjfFZmhW_39AcUl6T4w_yn3RahYyL1XSj5NU/s1600/unnamed+(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Just' how many teapots does one need?!</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaerQsx3x_eyXzCv0imTUAZ6MFZnwPSUgKjXJyvP_N_I1A8kWlWbdO4DsF54TLnbs231orv3wDON8z8zGDxFvhqUZZYABtcbmHA6oUEv7eU4xPmaWTaTvDE_iYN1Jyceo5vNk6rgqtjZCR/s1600/unnamed+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaerQsx3x_eyXzCv0imTUAZ6MFZnwPSUgKjXJyvP_N_I1A8kWlWbdO4DsF54TLnbs231orv3wDON8z8zGDxFvhqUZZYABtcbmHA6oUEv7eU4xPmaWTaTvDE_iYN1Jyceo5vNk6rgqtjZCR/s1600/unnamed+(3).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some fab furniture pieces and objet d'art</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ww-iCUWbTn5LMC0W5CU2s42t7-Y_V9r9lKejv60qGVf4VhBVB0TzD2lc3GKhBwg9Swn4sZpxCErSqnsZ4053rY6LzSiz5pstM7NBEU4ytz-ZL6pOx-bcuygo61uRKjlbGwtrks4n7BGp/s1600/unnamed+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ww-iCUWbTn5LMC0W5CU2s42t7-Y_V9r9lKejv60qGVf4VhBVB0TzD2lc3GKhBwg9Swn4sZpxCErSqnsZ4053rY6LzSiz5pstM7NBEU4ytz-ZL6pOx-bcuygo61uRKjlbGwtrks4n7BGp/s1600/unnamed+(4).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">lovely vintage style table accessories</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmaXMbx3UhAfL-WQcO1cWS-s8IbnH6QFDlnuUU0aUUaQKDtkysydvgMkGCrC3NDi2Z8pByyUbB64a-bSVj0kfwh9sMi1uHyidlTYgxrUf-QPI3m2U_EtRK5dYf6_yYaluKAgD7J5RVjho/s1600/unnamed+(7).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmaXMbx3UhAfL-WQcO1cWS-s8IbnH6QFDlnuUU0aUUaQKDtkysydvgMkGCrC3NDi2Z8pByyUbB64a-bSVj0kfwh9sMi1uHyidlTYgxrUf-QPI3m2U_EtRK5dYf6_yYaluKAgD7J5RVjho/s1600/unnamed+(7).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Hog and Hen' ham in the middle, poached egg on top (finished off with a bit of melted cheese) yummy!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitg4KnMI_K7fm_4JfnqB0u6NVQvcT_Pjc-on6YfLocqSzkdTqHvd9K3m1MEnLMYH260j4mzaIHWOWxqVNhQuFbQZpCACOeh8fLzWjo6s1XHYFVdolahlDsvVrZr69ji6v_BXW5_EE2EAGn/s1600/unnamed+(8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitg4KnMI_K7fm_4JfnqB0u6NVQvcT_Pjc-on6YfLocqSzkdTqHvd9K3m1MEnLMYH260j4mzaIHWOWxqVNhQuFbQZpCACOeh8fLzWjo6s1XHYFVdolahlDsvVrZr69ji6v_BXW5_EE2EAGn/s1600/unnamed+(8).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Doesn't everyone enjoy a bit of hot crumpet?!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutyVyS1DsWtHePabo5-2ebHUVFlEASCO62jAajEW3rzHpbNUxhE34Pk1q4dOFvXjspCZuI_4TBUoAmdksYyK-8qqvhazMZVwUwjNab6OoMLYVaAS_Ib8MA3RnsaYWQbQLQSL4SnKA7Dfo/s1600/unnamed+(9).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutyVyS1DsWtHePabo5-2ebHUVFlEASCO62jAajEW3rzHpbNUxhE34Pk1q4dOFvXjspCZuI_4TBUoAmdksYyK-8qqvhazMZVwUwjNab6OoMLYVaAS_Ib8MA3RnsaYWQbQLQSL4SnKA7Dfo/s1600/unnamed+(9).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One lump or two?</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDSXJlNDu7qRF3h1BO2g1uINembK6mAjyHU_TWIYrhSsUjCKVXGlTNI5YMyZhV5SgPNJr6KKrUgfTERQPCp5KBt3ks3y4fp7mdpNYC2Q9YGh8YH9Hx1dJaYk9dy4TMKdLULwKBcgiKKyU/s1600/unnamed+(10).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDSXJlNDu7qRF3h1BO2g1uINembK6mAjyHU_TWIYrhSsUjCKVXGlTNI5YMyZhV5SgPNJr6KKrUgfTERQPCp5KBt3ks3y4fp7mdpNYC2Q9YGh8YH9Hx1dJaYk9dy4TMKdLULwKBcgiKKyU/s1600/unnamed+(10).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Just' charming</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8Vrens9S60vHH4Vfsg4Ovw9MoLswFVMbCEDw3ZSVGriPGyqRufpd1HinAfY86WbdE4IYutGC0_fzOQlDhs9yVUbhSjJt0jObssoO-nX_a-f5c2jWayRpcV870dW2ntnAyciEo1ZPfxMJ/s1600/unnamed+(11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8Vrens9S60vHH4Vfsg4Ovw9MoLswFVMbCEDw3ZSVGriPGyqRufpd1HinAfY86WbdE4IYutGC0_fzOQlDhs9yVUbhSjJt0jObssoO-nX_a-f5c2jWayRpcV870dW2ntnAyciEo1ZPfxMJ/s1600/unnamed+(11).jpg" width="478" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Meanwhile back in the 50s</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGblvF2YTY3iOT-Y4svLvL7xFypL0G3E2E2Wn8CDBeHHVZgbGphqjFt7vdA9QRYaZMXrzrRfVAm1LHSbxHL-woyhpbiFyEwduTQrD2Reuom03eCOIKQZzSXZ8b7qAfF0pGI7hHGl7jNX5/s1600/unnamed+(12).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGblvF2YTY3iOT-Y4svLvL7xFypL0G3E2E2Wn8CDBeHHVZgbGphqjFt7vdA9QRYaZMXrzrRfVAm1LHSbxHL-woyhpbiFyEwduTQrD2Reuom03eCOIKQZzSXZ8b7qAfF0pGI7hHGl7jNX5/s1600/unnamed+(12).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Great loo! Would've felt waay too weird taking photos of the inside though. Sorry, you'll have to check that one out for yourselves</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1mrjQio-2l3p53nC6WAyyR0LtlUvBPcrxIrql9Umv2hsnVbtqAgGrYCKYJL_wPhfJngCUyiWCH5K-PrJF8VNrgxANd_sUNuKt0CbAQKUj0mlbEDIAukmJBpud8hKufA9DKH9KwVAZ2pQ/s1600/unnamed+(13).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1mrjQio-2l3p53nC6WAyyR0LtlUvBPcrxIrql9Umv2hsnVbtqAgGrYCKYJL_wPhfJngCUyiWCH5K-PrJF8VNrgxANd_sUNuKt0CbAQKUj0mlbEDIAukmJBpud8hKufA9DKH9KwVAZ2pQ/s1600/unnamed+(13).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Delightful attention to 'vintage' detail</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgaCA27sLBcIlJGbCX6MTMirH9TzyFVAp_kMvVh_glyJxqbp1qalPTEz2wz_i_nkALxPxNwb2QwCS6eacgeYA3oFpZAu5moMW1HPY5kotUygVJRSGuSpnX4TCUkk9974FAngY7yK1_13s/s1600/unnamed+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgaCA27sLBcIlJGbCX6MTMirH9TzyFVAp_kMvVh_glyJxqbp1qalPTEz2wz_i_nkALxPxNwb2QwCS6eacgeYA3oFpZAu5moMW1HPY5kotUygVJRSGuSpnX4TCUkk9974FAngY7yK1_13s/s1600/unnamed+(1).jpg" width="478" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hang up your hat!</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0fw9pzoQyD8RJsYgx2IfGP2_mj_S8MI59NMFJCGtaYLTXg5wWTNWkFbinwN-2g4ETsd2gjiJlhVb6TU8WGyFTIGoTKxpfafIeyugqQpdlBN9BwON80NR_aVbjt02hn_b3TfayXl9d4TC/s1600/unnamed+(14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0fw9pzoQyD8RJsYgx2IfGP2_mj_S8MI59NMFJCGtaYLTXg5wWTNWkFbinwN-2g4ETsd2gjiJlhVb6TU8WGyFTIGoTKxpfafIeyugqQpdlBN9BwON80NR_aVbjt02hn_b3TfayXl9d4TC/s1600/unnamed+(14).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Neil, waiting for the famous Grand Arcade clock to chime</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-QiE_1c9xhHGQrSuo1TZXeW1-QYVJlRqrAl6oq7H-gz0LwFn-eKCpFWXdrP0EKNU5ls89yHW8JveI2pJKK7FrJm_gVFJgpbzcdifTvRC02_jf878aPCv4HQTWIgB1_QdQVttnffyCkRN/s1600/unnamed+(15).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-QiE_1c9xhHGQrSuo1TZXeW1-QYVJlRqrAl6oq7H-gz0LwFn-eKCpFWXdrP0EKNU5ls89yHW8JveI2pJKK7FrJm_gVFJgpbzcdifTvRC02_jf878aPCv4HQTWIgB1_QdQVttnffyCkRN/s1600/unnamed+(15).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lovely 'al fresco' option</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xLuwJB1ldr6DyRjy43t6wBks3-I55bOFS8TAQnSj9LcpEqiTZlKOMRkZ14eLENaH5OhVfXdXQNV9MmVIW5A9q8GCsU1c3X1nhnBQ0BYRZ6yMp04XJpMY0DNspsCWy2EJ5Xi7bXIkvgAr/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xLuwJB1ldr6DyRjy43t6wBks3-I55bOFS8TAQnSj9LcpEqiTZlKOMRkZ14eLENaH5OhVfXdXQNV9MmVIW5A9q8GCsU1c3X1nhnBQ0BYRZ6yMp04XJpMY0DNspsCWy2EJ5Xi7bXIkvgAr/s1600/images.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Famous Grand Arcade Clock</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks for reading. </span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Post not sponsored.</span></td></tr>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-58120334689300172132015-02-09T11:53:00.000-08:002018-01-11T10:26:02.165-08:00My Best Ever Valentine... Take Two!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_IB-RVsCRBBQRBC2G81o6chgiL-wwvxXIwTbjPL3gyEYNvAHejx8F1UL5NOS3ZiWD74KpIV4mIf3MGN3Su2i1LvbnVMRtaoA_xI74vm6b-yYNhLRfAkxogtREN6QZE9u-43_Cq3jU_-1/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_IB-RVsCRBBQRBC2G81o6chgiL-wwvxXIwTbjPL3gyEYNvAHejx8F1UL5NOS3ZiWD74KpIV4mIf3MGN3Su2i1LvbnVMRtaoA_xI74vm6b-yYNhLRfAkxogtREN6QZE9u-43_Cq3jU_-1/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.15pt;">So here it is again… in less than a
week’s time many of us will spend February 14</span><sup style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.15pt;">th</sup><span style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.15pt;"> with our significant
other, shamelessly indulging in all matters of the heart. And, for me and my
Valentine, this day of love and romance has an extra special meaning; it’s also
our wedding anniversary!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year (anniversary number six),
is apparently the year of iron – if he’s struggling for inspiration, and thinks
it would be funny to buy me a gift which comes with a three pin plug, a steam
button, and a 5 year guarantee, things are only going to end one way… I may
well ‘flatten’ him! I’d like to say he
wouldn’t dare… but he would. Actually he
did buy me a steam iron one Christmas, but I forgave him as the box also
contained a diamond ring! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyhow, <i>I’ve</i> organised our celebrations this year, and they have nothing to
do with ‘iron’! I’m really chuffed with
the modest but very thoughtful and romantic gift I’ve bought for my lovely
hubby (but can’t give details here and now as it’ll spoil the surprise if he
happens to read!). Our day of celebrations will begin with a chilled Street
Food feast at one of our favourite bars in Leeds, followed by an evening with
the awesome Kaiser Chiefs at Leeds First Direct Arena… excited!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyone that reads my posts regularly
(and I know from my Blogger stats that more than a few of you do) thank
you! Although I write this stuff because
I simply enjoy doing so, it makes it even more worthwhile if other people are
reading and hopefully enjoying it. Now where was I… oh yes… if you’ve read any
of my previous posts you may remember that I posted this time last year about
our wonderful wedding day back in 2009… My Best Valentine’s Ever! Well, having read it over, I just couldn’t
resist re-posting; so here it is, hope you enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe it’s all about the flowers (the price of which would buy you the
whole florists shop any other time of year), or could it be the romantic intimate table for two in the
usually dead but tonight full-to-bursting restaurant, where you can choose from
a ‘special’ (and triple the usual price) Valentine’s menu. Perhaps a fancy box
of champagne truffles would be the key to your heart (even more-so if
accompanied by a chilled bottle of the bubbly stuff itself). It could be that
none of the above fit your idea of romance, and in fact you’re more of a good
Rom-Com DVD (if there’s such a thing), take-out pizza, few beers, and a cuddle
on the sofa kind of gal!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Well, for me and my Valentine, this day of love and romance has an extra
special meaning... it’s also our Wedding Anniversary!</span></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">No, we’re not a pair of incurable old romantics, although we can be at times -
to celebrate our special day this year, my hubby’s bought tickets to see ‘From
Paris with Love’, by Opera North at the Grand Theatre in Leeds (quite possibly
followed by a late-night McDonalds drive-thru, but hey you can’t have it all!)
Anyhow, back to the point, the only reason we tied the knot on Valentine’s Day
is that we both work in the education sector and simply wanted to get married the first
Saturday of the February half term which, that particular year, just so happened
to be Valentine’s Day.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And what a fantastic Valentine's Day it was! This was marriage number
two for both of us, and we wanted to keep things fairly low key, but obviously
still very special. So, we decided that our nuptials would have more the
feel of a celebratory evening out than a ‘wedding’. I didn’t want an
ivory ‘gown’, wedding cars, or bridesmaids, and Neil didn’t want a stag do in
Amsterdam (well at least that’s what he told me?!) or even a best man to get
him organised. I didn’t want to ‘surprise’ Neil on the day with my outfit so,
completely breaking with tradition, he came wedding dress shopping with me
– he was the one I
wanted to think I looked beautiful, quite frankly I didn’t care what anyone
else thought. I didn’t want to be walked down an aisle or ‘given-away’, and we
didn’t want a guest list as long as your arm, consisting mainly of long-lost
aunts, uncles and cousins.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After much deliberation, we decided on a guest list of just 24, and our
venue was a gorgeous little country house hotel on the outskirts of
Leeds. The ceremony itself took place in the hotel ‘Library’, a
beautifully intimate room, with a roaring fire and red carpet laid out
especially for the occasion! Being a pair of fairly modest souls, we
didn’t really want to make a grand entrance and so, when the time arrived, we
casually sauntered into the Library, together with our guests (still sipping
champagne), to the velvety tones of Nat ‘King’ Cole's ‘Let there be Love’.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the serious stuff was done, we made our way into the hotel
restaurant (exclusively ours for the evening), for our delicious reception
meal. The table was beautifully decorated ‘Valentine style’ with a
scattering of red rose petals, love-heart confetti, Valentine’s trivia and lots
and lots of tea-lights – perfect!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bellies full, feeling happy and relaxed, and having sunk a bottle or two
of the old fizzy stuff, some of us (in fact most of us), let our hair down and
had a bit of a boogie before our wonderful day sadly came to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That’s all five years ago now (I’d forgotten just how blonde I was! -
should I go back there? uugh!), and obviously we’re never going to top such a
fabulous Valentine’s Day – as you fellow married folk will know, the
honeymoon period doesn’t last forever. We knew this though, we’d both
‘been there, done that’ and we were well aware that our relationship would have
its ups and downs (and believe me, it has!) But here we are, still together,
still enjoying the good times and still working through the ups and downs...
and, most importantly, still very much in love.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, this Valentine’s Day, once the champagne has run dry, when the red
roses are starting to wilt, and when the credits roll on the Rom-Com DVD
remember this (one of the readings from our very, very special Valentine’s Day
wedding) ...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #666666;">Sooner or later we
begin to understand that love is more than verses on Valentines, and romance in
the movies. We begin to know that love is here and now, real and
true. Love is the creator of our favourite memories and the foundation of
our fondest dreams.</span></i></b><span style="color: #666666;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The following photo selection has been carefully chosen so as not to embarrass our off-spring too much, and put us in their bad books. It's safe to say they've all grown up quite a bit since 2009, and I'm sure wouldn't thank me for posting some of the shots taken back then.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What a thoughtful, considerate mum I am!! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Actually, Neil and I have changed a fair bit too - note I say 'changed' not 'aged'!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for reading!</span></span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-28789118991930002202015-02-04T12:17:00.005-08:002018-01-11T10:26:01.702-08:00Timeworn and Wonderful<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A post inspired by my hubby, Neil!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More pics at end of post</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps not the best pairing of
title and tagline, (especially if you happen to be my husband Neil reading this!) However, do not fear, I’m not about to go
into the various unfortunate consequences that are an inevitable part of the ageing
process for most of us – you know the stuff, expanding waistline, receding silver
hairline, short term memory loss… what was I saying?!I In fact, this post is <i>not</i> as you may first think, about my timeworn husband, but is actually
about my husband’s love of all things timeworn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When we first met I have to say,
I did find his fascination with old stuff, shall we say, a little unusual for
an otherwise fairly modern man. Back
then, there is no way I would have given houseroom to some of his most beloved ‘pieces’,
and actually there are still one or two things I just can’t take to, for
example his 2ft sitting figures of Laurel and Hardy - heaven knows where (or
why) he acquired them… in my opinion they are nothing less than terrifying!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These days however it’s quite a
different story, and Neil’s interest in pretty much anything from days gone by
has most definitely rubbed off. Over the years I’ve come to love his somewhat
‘quirky’ taste, and in fact now share his love of artefacts and paraphernalia which,
if they could speak, would have more than a tale or two to tell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not so long ago I came home to
find a very dirty old glass bottle sitting on the kitchen window sill. I admit at first, I did roll my eyes,
especially when over the course of the week, one muddy bottle became five muddy
bottles! Neil had found them, buried in the mud, whilst walking the dog on a
nearby field. He was so pleased with his finds(s) (which he
believes date back to the early 1900’s), I couldn’t bring myself to burst his
bubble and put them in the bin, which is exactly where I thought they belonged at
the time - I’m so glad I didn’t. The bottles actually cleaned up really well and
look very lovely on display in our home. Don’t get me wrong I love a modern
Ikea vase as much as the next person, but there’s just something really special
about these old bottles, not least the way Neil ‘rescued’ them from the ground
and gave them a new lease of life and a good home (I know… clearly this sentimental
eccentricity malarkey is catching!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another example of recycling at
its best is our mantelpiece, which was also dug up and lovingly restored by my hubby! It’s actually an old
railway sleeper from the now disused Castleford to Allerton Bywater pit line,
which used to run across the land right at the back of home. You can still sometimes get a faint smell of the
old diesel oil which has seeped into the sleeper as you walk past the
fireplace. I know this sounds a bit weird but it’s actually a really lovely and
very authentic whiff of nostalgia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And it’s not just objects and
artefacts, Neil loves a good old film too.
I remember one time, fairly early on in our relationship, he took me to
the cinema one Valentine’s evening. Did
we share the evening on the edge of our seats watching the very latest box
office sensation? Oh no, instead we settled in on the back row to watch the
1942 American melodrama that is, Casablanca.
Having not seen this romantic classic before, I wasn’t particularly
looking forward to it I have to say (well, it was in black and white, what was
I supposed to think?!) However, I now
admit ‘twas I who was the uncultured idiot, and realise that at the time, Neil’s
romantic gesture was a little wasted on me. As it turns out, I absolutely loved
the film, and looking back, think this was perhaps around the time I really
began to find my man’s love of old things really quite charming!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not quite so old, but still a
wonderful blast from the past, is another of Neil’s restoration projects… an old
1970s GPO telephone. Painstakingly
converted by him to work on a modern BT line, this is now our main house
phone. The line’s a bit crackly at
times, but other than that it works just fine, and looks great! However it <i>does</i> get more than a bit tricky when
making a call to a number with an automated reply message… what do they mean press the hash or star key,
our phone doesn’t have either?!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so, onto the very latest
addition in our collection of ‘all things old’, a wonderful and powerfully
nostalgic record player. Actually it’s
not old really, but we’ve been after one of these for a few years now, and
would have loved an original ‘Dansette’.
Sadly, these turned out to be way out of our price range, so instead, we
settled for a Steepletone Dansette <i>‘style’</i>
player, on which to bring our dusty vinyl back to life. Having
both always loved our music, we actually had quite a collection of both LPs and
45s to dig out of the loft. We’ve had
hours of fun already, reminiscing as we listen to some of the old tunes jumping
and crackling on the turntable.
Surprisingly, there isn’t quite as much ‘jump and crackle’ as we
expected, and we were astonished at how great the old vinyl still sounds. It was hilarious watching Neil give the
younger members of our family a lesson on how to play a record. ‘What do you press if you want to skip
tracks?’, ‘what do you mean that’s only half the album, and you have to turn
it over to listen to the rest?!’ This lesson was followed by what turned into a
bit of a quiz, where we challenged the young’uns to guess which records were
from my teenage collection and which were from Neil’s. So predictably, yes Michael Jackson, Shalamar
and Sister Sledge were mine, with Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Emerson Lake
& Palmer being Neil’s. There was
however the odd red herring in the form of Neil’s favourite Madonna album, and
my In the City album by the Jam. As Mrs
Hart (mum of Miranda) would say… such fun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, if you’ve read my
previous blog posts, you’ll know we recently ‘invested’ in a motor vehicle of
the timeworn variety, ‘Billy’. Billy is
a 30 year old Bedford Motorhome, which we acquired back in August 2014. Poor old Billy was in serious need of some
TLC, and Neil’s been busy correcting one or two mechanical problems and sorting
out a few nasty leaks! It’s taken a long
time to get to the stage where Billy’s mechanically sound…(ish!), and leak free
(well at least for now), and I’m excited to say he’s almost ready for <i>my</i> input. Oh yes, cushions, curtains, throws and
bunting are at the ready, and I can’t wait to get on with a bit of interior
design! We’re hoping Billy will be ready
to go on tour by the Easter break at the latest. More Billy blog posts to follow!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Actually, looking around our
home, there are many other signs and indicators that would make it an easy job
for Lloyd Grossman, Keith Lemon, (or whoever it is that hosts Through the
Keyhole these days… is that show even still on TV?!), to conclude what sort of
person lives in a house like this. For
example, we have the beginnings of a pipe collection going on (well, perhaps a slight exaggeration, we have two), one of which Neil bought for no apparent reason whilst we were
wandering around an antique shop in The Lanes, Brighton, and the other which
used to belong to his pipe-smoking granddad – actually there are still traces
of tobacco in there! (really quite sweet or really quite disgusting?... I’m not sure).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We also have, on our bookshelf, a
very interesting specimen called ‘The Volunteers’. Neil found this in an old store of his a few
years ago and was intrigued by it. The Volunteers is a series of short stories
for children - the content of which is quite shockingly un-PC by today’s
standards - it really does make quite fascinating reading. There’s even a handwritten message on the inside of the book’s cover which indicates that it dates back to 1917!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, taking pride of place on
our lounge window sill is a very lovely clock, which was handed down from
Neil’s beloved granny and granddad.
Apparently, it was a wedding gift to the two of them when they tied the
knot back in the 1930’s. It no longer
keeps time very well, but it looks great, has a wonderful sounding chime, and
is a lovely sentimental reminder for Neil of his grandparents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, after initial reservations as
to whether my husband was some kind of weirdo throwback to anything pre 1970’s,
or actually just a very charming, interesting and romantic sentimentalist, I decided
that the latter was most definitely true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m so pleased that I eventually
embraced, learned to love and in fact now share at least some of my hubby’s slightly
eccentric ways, and am excited to think what we’ll add next to our growing
collection of all things old. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the meantime (as I hurtle
towards the big five-zero myself), I take some comfort in the fact that evidently,
my nostalgia loving hubby doesn’t discard things, or see them as any less
special, just because they might be getting on a bit… he simply sees them as
timeworn and wonderful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for reading.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn87xDzCpEt0HpKVmo1vGTFlZFtThuksA6f_jjFarH77A4JlApyw-zUoO5I6hQD99M2T7lT_i4F6omXjpcVCvlI8a8CgmuRW6WCXu_OwGhPaUGp7dSzAwPVPJbWIBGxZJieGtPquN0jMGC/s1600/signature.png" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDJVEQ5Wnt1d0q0rch5-0GQQQ_FNqIM8UXX0zo_RV-dVMDpfHOnfbYMpbOxWMhyphenhypheng4GXsEdAVm2v82hKEc0ivQdwJiWAnG7NfqKrlIRyzN8DutOXXi9OvlncJDfWeEEeHfNNa6klcR6yvS/s1600/bottle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDJVEQ5Wnt1d0q0rch5-0GQQQ_FNqIM8UXX0zo_RV-dVMDpfHOnfbYMpbOxWMhyphenhypheng4GXsEdAVm2v82hKEc0ivQdwJiWAnG7NfqKrlIRyzN8DutOXXi9OvlncJDfWeEEeHfNNa6klcR6yvS/s1600/bottle1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just one old bottle from Neil's collection</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxh_vBKIQwcywdao_54MLk4fU_OLsGH2ummxvnMtRRoxN1mZHR010wf11a6hezklrbRbP2KJd09xVyIs_eDJCqhPFvhjQwU5NMFGMknV6OL8lBVDHS8kaiqoUqi_vtsLC7M_aOmvDt5sp_/s1600/bottle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxh_vBKIQwcywdao_54MLk4fU_OLsGH2ummxvnMtRRoxN1mZHR010wf11a6hezklrbRbP2KJd09xVyIs_eDJCqhPFvhjQwU5NMFGMknV6OL8lBVDHS8kaiqoUqi_vtsLC7M_aOmvDt5sp_/s1600/bottle2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And here are the others Neil dug up, teamed with a trio of modern slimline vases to add a bit of colour</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FijQKtoSl-yNGf1ibrmJwt_XbO6aKPMv6Dm_Kj0kuS7y_6n27XJ4Lqt85oz_6LWloTRDp4CoZlosEvrMmIB9EUF1T5yukrJT2MoTfw7ShOBmROPKNr9ngwN8wqhu9fzywplTGID8vgVU/s1600/bookcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FijQKtoSl-yNGf1ibrmJwt_XbO6aKPMv6Dm_Kj0kuS7y_6n27XJ4Lqt85oz_6LWloTRDp4CoZlosEvrMmIB9EUF1T5yukrJT2MoTfw7ShOBmROPKNr9ngwN8wqhu9fzywplTGID8vgVU/s1600/bookcover.jpg" width="478" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A fascinating addition to our bookshelf</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4Zx2kametTORtOuQN-GDl-rFwEAY55iJqtxprPUdUDyOSDTRgXYFn97MYZn4RnfOiciFkLr5hGZZo7It4LyELTvWxLmX08qgqVSE0n1sQlbFWJ2poW-J9-6sgiMAajDRw4E8kDl0wPKJ/s1600/bookdate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4Zx2kametTORtOuQN-GDl-rFwEAY55iJqtxprPUdUDyOSDTRgXYFn97MYZn4RnfOiciFkLr5hGZZo7It4LyELTvWxLmX08qgqVSE0n1sQlbFWJ2poW-J9-6sgiMAajDRw4E8kDl0wPKJ/s1600/bookdate.jpg" width="478" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...dating back to 1917!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A 1930s wedding gift for Neil's grandparents - not keeping time so well, but still chiming!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxInl5g2nR3avl2dOhxx6du7x2oirLEsV-Vg1FUM3bGPwlmyG0ATnr_Q2nHBT_6c5uBERCoUwDlWiV5kvvuoQ-POEbpVFXNb1b7TFx3E6-qHUripmjecmeRD4alzsynhi4s9oTpSKxGsc7/s1600/billy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxInl5g2nR3avl2dOhxx6du7x2oirLEsV-Vg1FUM3bGPwlmyG0ATnr_Q2nHBT_6c5uBERCoUwDlWiV5kvvuoQ-POEbpVFXNb1b7TFx3E6-qHUripmjecmeRD4alzsynhi4s9oTpSKxGsc7/s1600/billy.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our 'timeworn' camper, 'Billy'</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTt9zeWh7WsjFqFA-4SdIAmXcW2uaGFXa_6cknCoS7iKriTYPpLF4HaBnT55IXvI5zYHY3jfA8IsVmH0FpFayC-aiJ6hpUJY28EdQSTKK36TTnsL1EOnDbQb6T3drCYE_rFfhJbTEvjDPv/s1600/fireplace2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTt9zeWh7WsjFqFA-4SdIAmXcW2uaGFXa_6cknCoS7iKriTYPpLF4HaBnT55IXvI5zYHY3jfA8IsVmH0FpFayC-aiJ6hpUJY28EdQSTKK36TTnsL1EOnDbQb6T3drCYE_rFfhJbTEvjDPv/s1600/fireplace2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Railway sleeper mantlepiece... aahh smells lovely!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYvRmPwrgpWU_BXriPnhBj95GQCmqznIRVoNq21LlxyJ_d7cjrA_p3Ig3PNUgaTiR_MKOv4HSTA41NwuQ5-T7pTjqxL3lILhyphenhyphens8hvt5ugNS5oW2TJVSk4-3r1KW4edA7SacwDSySRQYNy/s1600/laurel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYvRmPwrgpWU_BXriPnhBj95GQCmqznIRVoNq21LlxyJ_d7cjrA_p3Ig3PNUgaTiR_MKOv4HSTA41NwuQ5-T7pTjqxL3lILhyphenhyphens8hvt5ugNS5oW2TJVSk4-3r1KW4edA7SacwDSySRQYNy/s1600/laurel.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Scary!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rAMXjFXN0HxVSRRo7kSjJb2fRqj4EoRAhyphenhyphenti6JcpxG_P48AOUNIIszInL-Jhuip5q-oPywPsLn33cOFqWDAIspqmJUMiBEg3fN4RsfmRCw0_t48UoNxgY844xkx48iwOz7SrANNh72dg/s1600/phone3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rAMXjFXN0HxVSRRo7kSjJb2fRqj4EoRAhyphenhyphenti6JcpxG_P48AOUNIIszInL-Jhuip5q-oPywPsLn33cOFqWDAIspqmJUMiBEg3fN4RsfmRCw0_t48UoNxgY844xkx48iwOz7SrANNh72dg/s1600/phone3.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1970's GPO telephone... great 'til you need to press the # key!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZdfZKkaeZQ9f5TJYWU_gWE7pkK2wvEYXg3AbDuh2y106sbe9ryWxEV8LQa192BvjXVk0NmoYtGrEEk3LCVhkPPfX9apJD-wXSuYPneKzpmutuhyphenhyphen3YIptoIJGRxs9ISvhpKD6tTHzTUmI/s1600/pipes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZdfZKkaeZQ9f5TJYWU_gWE7pkK2wvEYXg3AbDuh2y106sbe9ryWxEV8LQa192BvjXVk0NmoYtGrEEk3LCVhkPPfX9apJD-wXSuYPneKzpmutuhyphenhyphen3YIptoIJGRxs9ISvhpKD6tTHzTUmI/s1600/pipes.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pipe 'collection' - complete with leftover bits of tobacco!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprHwDwjea-74pdTEGommxXyTpINhWx_TmYFWgDGHF4Pwmos0eSdWEegJGQPFQ3AJBWDa8zYD4GNx6ubVxYm2C0AtZJr-no74a7m5wJiIc55w-YWJ9ECuwk-RHBfjvTT3p4D8hCP6W-2J4/s1600/recordplayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprHwDwjea-74pdTEGommxXyTpINhWx_TmYFWgDGHF4Pwmos0eSdWEegJGQPFQ3AJBWDa8zYD4GNx6ubVxYm2C0AtZJr-no74a7m5wJiIc55w-YWJ9ECuwk-RHBfjvTT3p4D8hCP6W-2J4/s1600/recordplayer.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Loving our new toy!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixekWZGSAYZe8l4G2YnRYQwVESS2rpkjOHJRvFYPc-BR0UIqSPvciR6uo2BuqHXbiutb-OIvM21-Ffzbp46Nko8E2-iP94Zlk0PJ41b1b4AZCPHdUh-t3hUEBbAm2rjdlUeMGIeq2PjpKO/s1600/records.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixekWZGSAYZe8l4G2YnRYQwVESS2rpkjOHJRvFYPc-BR0UIqSPvciR6uo2BuqHXbiutb-OIvM21-Ffzbp46Nko8E2-iP94Zlk0PJ41b1b4AZCPHdUh-t3hUEBbAm2rjdlUeMGIeq2PjpKO/s1600/records.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, the record collection... looking forward to adding to this!</span><br />
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-63230884385287260182014-09-22T12:54:00.001-07:002018-01-11T10:55:31.926-08:00Meet 'Billy'...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me introduce you to “Billy Bedford”, the latest
addition to our family.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJxPDfTlM11C2Kl2EjdyEJYAbxDaMRTgMBljjLrA-FElzd-ow5Hr8PZpsxVsx7nk2gJVIBfTuXu1epkL4JIeob8B50q-dY6bRm9uUqVUv4SdIrO6Zj75dfjLm3Rr8IDq7OkbqVd8Qry4s/s1600/Billy5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJxPDfTlM11C2Kl2EjdyEJYAbxDaMRTgMBljjLrA-FElzd-ow5Hr8PZpsxVsx7nk2gJVIBfTuXu1epkL4JIeob8B50q-dY6bRm9uUqVUv4SdIrO6Zj75dfjLm3Rr8IDq7OkbqVd8Qry4s/s1600/Billy5.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Billy is a 30 year old Bedford CF2 Mobile Home, and he’s in
need of some serious TLC!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Following our fabulous weekend of music
festival frivolities this summer (during which I found liberation and embraced
the idea of camping, and ‘roughing it’ in general). Also, <i>totally</i>
inspired by George Clarke’s “Amazing Spaces”, we perhaps got a little carried
away! We began imagining ourselves
spending next summer motoring around the country (who knows, maybe even Europe),
in an amazing small space of our own, taking in every beer and music festival
we come across along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have to say, an iconic VW camper van was more what I
had in mind… that is, until I realised we would need a small mortgage to
acquire one. So, we decided to settle
for our own, more affordable, version of a “classic” motor home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And there he was… jumping out at us from the pages of
Auto Trader.co.uk (actually, it was the ridiculously low price tag that jumped
out more than anything), and off we went to check him out. We were unsure at first, and in fact walked
away from our first viewing of Billy saying “it probably wouldn’t be the
sensible thing to do”. Since when have
we been a “sensible” couple?! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Two days later we found ourselves handing over the cash
and quite literally “chugging” away in our newly acquired vehicle. Neil, my hubby, was bursting with excitement
at the thought of getting stuck in to our new project. I, on the other hand (following behind in my
trusty little Peugeot), felt a little apprehensive (understatement!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rightly so, as it turned out. I’d say we got about 500 yards from the garage
before Billy came to a sudden halt! I
waited, thinking he had just stalled, but no, it seemed we’d run out of diesel
(dodgy fuel gauge!). Billy, being so
old, doesn’t have hazards, so we also had an impatient queue of vehicles behind
us, sounding their horns in protest. Things were not going to plan!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We managed to roll Billy back into a side street, and
called the garage, who came to our rescue with a can of diesel, successfully
getting us back on the road… for about a further 500 yards, until, yes you
guessed it, we broke down again… whoah, whoah, whoah!! Back to the garage went Billy. I could go on,
and on, and on, but to cut a long story short… several cans of diesel, two RAC
call-outs, and many an obscenity later, we eventually got our new “investment”
on home territory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On closer inspection, it seems there’s a problem with the
fuel tank (you don’t say!), and despite the problems so far, my hubby remains
optimistic that this is easily ‘curable’, and is a mere ‘hitch’. Once the fuel tank is cleaned up (or, worst
case scenario, replaced), we’ll realise what an absolute bargain we’ve
acquired, and will be hitting the open road in search of adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Despite his age, Billy’s interior is in pretty good
condition, and I’ll certainly have loads of fun choosing fabrics and ‘accessories’
to personalise the space. Initial thoughts
are around a ‘Cath Kidston’ type theme, but who knows where my imagination (and
Pinterest!) will take me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You wouldn’t think it, looking at him just now, but I
have a strange feeling we’ll have many a good time in old Billy. Watch this space!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSKd0QEekO-UnJbFc9-n5bdGWcOjL33LxZqMxCvZUadO0IVNPV-T7-09sKmy7YXo5t8PEMZPocplqlj0G0_Hu3ylpERBpedgF6FoyKVztA4CI-zuV0_O1PNJ76BC17ZqnmjZx5P4P796c/s1600/Billy4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSKd0QEekO-UnJbFc9-n5bdGWcOjL33LxZqMxCvZUadO0IVNPV-T7-09sKmy7YXo5t8PEMZPocplqlj0G0_Hu3ylpERBpedgF6FoyKVztA4CI-zuV0_O1PNJ76BC17ZqnmjZx5P4P796c/s1600/Billy4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil and Alfie, getting acquainted with Billy<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX47hBTmc_dQROGI6S9aplwfEzAc6OANtJrm5UStDx0e08zf2KrhTTmhjriG6HWcXFDxbm8FigOS4mMlK5SWDBqJNHYlSuw7QGmyoiSUu3YUqqAag5xC5R_1RYt-Gefyyv2sTMQtyZewr7/s1600/Billy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX47hBTmc_dQROGI6S9aplwfEzAc6OANtJrm5UStDx0e08zf2KrhTTmhjriG6HWcXFDxbm8FigOS4mMlK5SWDBqJNHYlSuw7QGmyoiSUu3YUqqAag5xC5R_1RYt-Gefyyv2sTMQtyZewr7/s1600/Billy1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bit of TLC and this'll be perfect for a brew and a bacon butty in the mornings!</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBqRbbfv99Uy18KCPB8R-d6ep-IcvMrt_tGqAgbJ4w7fG6oEn7QQF74lM8A4mw2EV2hKfM2b3H5c5hfpUeIrw-UqC6Z-nDDKADfxlvo50pFkqonpPWDUFs5us9Pitiw0IAcZmE-uip5iT/s1600/Billy6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBqRbbfv99Uy18KCPB8R-d6ep-IcvMrt_tGqAgbJ4w7fG6oEn7QQF74lM8A4mw2EV2hKfM2b3H5c5hfpUeIrw-UqC6Z-nDDKADfxlvo50pFkqonpPWDUFs5us9Pitiw0IAcZmE-uip5iT/s1600/Billy6.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Clean and tidy as it is, for its age... the Tartan will be going!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJ8RXMNyOJvpAtP3gd0P96WzgHqzbXRBwPWpHyH2hUVpIFXtWBstBn6aZ7r-0l-iYRQrFspJYxr7BoGPqTcYeWDZN7k7AM51lRRZKOGpW23Au9dF1fGf_ONhiTLsEJRmohceOfwJL_RzD/s1600/Billy7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJ8RXMNyOJvpAtP3gd0P96WzgHqzbXRBwPWpHyH2hUVpIFXtWBstBn6aZ7r-0l-iYRQrFspJYxr7BoGPqTcYeWDZN7k7AM51lRRZKOGpW23Au9dF1fGf_ONhiTLsEJRmohceOfwJL_RzD/s1600/Billy7.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 'cab' and 'high-sleeper'... still working on ideas to improve these areas - suggestions welcome!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TX7Nl_htkQbVDYLvSMfTdDJ1TZc7u9AmS2JNYaXhUpOK5tec0DmLueTP72qJMVj0BbOCeRVCqcYIFex1L2i6hx5Mog38XXYfooqVO70B6COiEVOSaUXmA-ITW3KhU1uN7Y1Ah3gqULuE/s1600/Billy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TX7Nl_htkQbVDYLvSMfTdDJ1TZc7u9AmS2JNYaXhUpOK5tec0DmLueTP72qJMVj0BbOCeRVCqcYIFex1L2i6hx5Mog38XXYfooqVO70B6COiEVOSaUXmA-ITW3KhU1uN7Y1Ah3gqULuE/s1600/Billy2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, what are we waiting for? I'm hungry for adventure... let's go!</span></td></tr>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851523020883378967.post-43767229925029959542014-08-29T09:12:00.002-07:002018-01-11T10:26:01.892-08:00Give Your Brain a Break!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Could 'Mindfulness' be the key to your serenity?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Does our modern, technology rich,
and often stress-filled world leave you with an over-stimulated mind and an
inability to switch off? Then read on…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This time of year’s perhaps not
so bad, many of us have had summer holidays and time to relax in the company of
our family and friends, leaving us feeling refreshed and our batteries
re-charged. However, we all know those lazy
hazy summer months don’t last forever, and before we know it, it’s back on the
treadmill! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, once the tan starts to fade
and the sound of the sea gently breaking on the shore feels like a dim and
distant memory, when the cold, dark winter months start to set in, and the
stresses and strains of everyday life begin to take their toll , you may want
to consider practising a little ‘mindfulness’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I, for one, am a born
worrier! Add that to the fact that (like
most people) I have an extremely busy life, working full time, looking after a family and home, trying to fit
in exercise and hobbies, (not to mention everything else in between), and it
becomes virtually impossible to ever fully unwind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’re also now contactable right
around the clock, every single day of the week (home or away), thanks to
explosive developments in technology and social media over recent years. Don’t
get me wrong, I rely on my mobile as much as the next person, but every now and
again when I’m in need of a little peace and solitude, I would gladly go back
to the times when we didn’t even have a landline to the house!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, how can we escape the
constant mental chatter, switch off and tune out all those stresfull
distractions? Well, instead of turning
to that post-work Pinot (which I’m the first to admit, does seem to do the
trick), I’ve been trying to train my brain to focus on living in the moment , not
worrying about the past or fretting about what might happen in the future, just
concentrating on the here and now… in other words ‘mindfulness’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I know the idea of Meditation
is nothing new, but it’s often associated with sitting in the Lotus Position,
breathing in incense and humming ‘omm’ to some weird and wonderful music. Well, there’s nothing wrong with that if it
works for you, but it’s not for everyone (believe me I’ve tried it!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According to an article I read a few months ago,
there is no right or wrong way to practice mindfulness. It’s simply about making regular time for yourself
(5-10 minutes a day) to <i>do</i> nothing,
to <i>think</i> about nothing but the moment,
in fact time to just simply <b><i>be! </i></b>Easier
said than done?.. yes, very much so, but it’s worth persevering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For you, mindfulness might mean
simply sitting down, closing your eyes and turning your attention to your
breathing, nothing else. Concentrating on
where you feel it the most, in your nostrils, your chest or the rise and fall
of your upper body?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It might be that your mindfulness
works best in the shower. Focus on the
sensation of the water against your skin, breath in and enjoy the scent of your
shower gel, enjoy how your scalp feels when you massage in your shampoo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even just a good old coffee break
can turn into mindfulness. Concentrate on nothing but the wonderful aroma of
the coffee and the warm soothing feeling in your mouth and in your throat,
really focus on each and every sip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bedtime might be the time for
you, as you lay there, focus in turn on every inch of your body from toes to
head. Notice any feelings of discomfort
or tension and try to imagine them easing away with each breath you take.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If your thoughts start turning to
‘I wonder what’ll happen in Corrie tonight’ or ‘damn I forgot to take the meat
out of the freezer for dinner’, stop, and bring your attention right back to
your breathing / showering / coffee sipping (I can do this for almost 10 minutes now without my mind
drifting off – quite an achievement for me!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It really doesn’t matter how or
when you practice your mindfulness, all that really matters is that you’re
taking time to focus your brain on tuning out distractions. The trick is not to try and <i>stop</i> thinking all together (I for one
would find that impossible), but to think <i>only</i>
about the moment and the sensations your body is experiencing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Apparently, practised regularly,
mindfulness can reduce stress (in turn sharpening memory and concentration),
and lead to an all-round happier brain.
Research also shows that mindfulness may support the immune system, improve
sleep, lift energy levels and help with pain management.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why not give it a go?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Find out more:
<a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/mindfulness/">http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/mindfulness/</a></span></div>
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tracy.flanaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05916594616447077602noreply@blogger.com0