I Think I Met Someone...

If you look at my last post you'll see that I was about to go out with three more people through the dating site. I went out with Steve and I also went out with Frank... but just once.

Because Steve was taking up all my time, was free very soon after our first date, emailed or texted me every day and seemed very interested, I decided to cancel my second date with Frank as I'd been out with Steve three times at that point and I felt quite uncomfortable dating two people. I could foresee complications if I ended up liking Frank too. Frank was good about it and said he appreciated my honesty and not messing him about.

Three weeks and loads of dates later Steve admitted to not being entirely sure what the hell he wanted. Because I'd felt this I hadn't invested any emotion into him so decided to be cheeky and contact Frank. I'd wondered what he'd been up to and thought what the hell, he can just tell me to fuck off.

He didn't. 

I asked if he'd like to go out for a drink with me and so last Sunday we met up again. We had a brilliant time and, at the end what I guess was our second date, he told me I was "proper beautiful" and asked to see me again. We've been out to see films and dinner (quick work!) and last night he asked if we can "do this thing properly?" which turned out to mean "will you be my girlfriend?". I happily agreed.

Despite not being my usual type (he's like Ray Winstone) Frank is fucking amazing. He's big and blokey and lovely and sweary and honest and he seems to adore me (he doesn't know that I'm really annoying yet!). He tells me how beautiful and lovely I am all the time and just says what he wants, plans ahead, gives me attention (and is attentive) and has made it very clear how much he likes me. 

I've only been seeing him for a week but it feels like forever. I've been around long enough to know not to count my chickens yet, but I also know what someone being honest and not messing you around looks like. It feels like the real thing and I would be truly surprised, gutted and would have egg all over my face if he turned out to be playing me.

He's a playwright for a living but speaks like a right geezer. He's really easy company, funny, intelligent, open, warm and makes me feel like a princess. I think I've finally met someone who is going to make me very happy. I already kinda adore him and am really looking forward to seeing what happens.

Man, I hope this works out... 

My Unexpected Zurich Adventure

This time last week I was in Zurich. Yup, you heard right - Zurich.

It was a bizarre thing actually. My main client emailed me on Monday asking if I was available if he needed me for a day in Zurich that Wednesday or Thursday, I said yes (not thinking for a minute it would happen), then I awoke the next day to an email asking me to meet him at 7.45 the next morning at Zurich Airport. It was a bit of a surprise to put it mildly.

Of course I was happy to go - he was paying and I could easily move some bits and pieces, plus I can work anywhere after all. The only problem was that there were no overnight flights to Zurich so to get there for 7.45am the next day I would have to leave that same day. And to get the coach to the airport in order to catch the flight, I would have to leave in 4 hours time!! Mental.

Of course I made it. I even got to use my new Red Oxx Air Boss flight bag (dreadfully expensive and imported from the US because it's the best flight bag on the planet and won't get taken off you to go in the hold which had happened to me on my last 2 flights and infuriated me so much I invested in the daddy of all flight bags which comes with a lifetime guarantee... can you tell I'm enamoured with it?) which made me feel like a complete travel pro. I have to tell you that this cabin bag is incredible.

View across Lake Zurich

Anyway, I made the plane still not quite believing that I was jetting out to Switzerland just to hand over some paperwork, and sat back to enjoy the flight to a country I had never once considered visiting. 

There were Christmas trees all along the swanky Bahnhofstrasse 

It was cold in Zurich and had been snowing but luckily I had my snuggliest, warmest jumper with me, a thermal vest, bobble hat, gloves, and knee socks. I'm well known amongst my friends for always being woefully unprepared for the weather but this time I was ahead of the game and toasty. I check into the Holiday Inn and enjoyed the hotel bar and in-house comforts until bed time.

Fountain filled with fresh roses & a festive store

After rising at 5.45am to hand over paperwork to my client at the airport (this took all of 20 minutes), I discovered that he didn't need me for a day at all and that I was now free to do what I liked. My flight home wasn't until the next morning so I went back to the hotel, slept for a couple of hours then took the train into Zurich to explore. The train was a double-decker which I'd never been on before (small things) and there was a Christmas market at the station when I arrived. In fact Zurich was well prepared for Christmas and was as festive as fuck.

The Grossmunster

Zurich is another one of those quite compact and easy to find your way around cities. I'd had a brief look at travel websites on my tablet at the hotel so circled a couple of places I wanted to visit and headed off to explore. I was still quite incredulous to find myself in Switzerland to be honest so I didn't mind what I did - although I did assume it would involved chocolate at some point of course.

It turns out that Zurich is astronomically expensive so I didn't buy any souvenirs, but I did have a great time ambling up and down and round and about the little streets taking in all the Christmas window displays and beautiful architecture. Although I'm an Atheist I do like a nice church so I had four of them on my to-visit list and each was really simple but beautiful in their own way. There was organ music playing in each church which I'd never experienced before, and the music in one was so haunting that I stood transfixed for ages. 

Apart from the cost, the things I noticed most about Zurich was how clean it was, the amount of cranes on the horizon (a sign of a prosperous city) the amount of benches, lots of birds on the river, no drunks or homeless people on the streets and it was also a very white place - not multi-racial at all. There also weren't many kids or buggies around which was odd and hardly anyone was smoking either. 

The thing I loved the most though was that on the chairs outside cafes were lots of soft throws to snuggle under and even shops had sheepskin rugs strewn on the outside sills for you to sit on. It would never work here as people would steal them, but I was completely enamoured and wasted no time in getting under a lovely purple one to enjoy a hot chocolate and warm apple strudel by the river - as you see above. 

Look at all those rugs & throws!

I took a LOT of photos of chocolate and other food items so I'm going to do a separate food post as usual for you. So my virtual friends, that was my unexpected one day in Zurich - I had no idea that I would get to go to Switzerland with such short notice, but I'm really glad I got the opportunity. Now that's Wales, Italy, France AND Switzerland I visited this year - how lucky am I?!

My next overseas trip is Austin, Texas in February for two and a half weeks for an event I'm working on which I think will be incredible. I didn't leave the UK until I was nearly 30 and now I get to go off all over the place. I really do have to pinch myself sometimes.

It Feels Like Christmas is Coming!

* Warning - geeky blog post 

2 loooooooong years ago the wonderful J.J Abrams blew us all away with a new and improved re-booted Star Trek franchise, and in a few equally long days I will get to see the much awaited second film: Star Trek Into Darkness and I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT!!! In fact, I can feel the excitement welling up inside me just typing this.

I feel fit to burst with excitement about the prospect of seeing the new film and have barely been able to contain myself during the lead up. I sqeeeeeeal out loud every time I see a trailer and eeeeeek inside when I see one of the posters in the street. I know it's geeky but I fucking LOVE Star Trek. I'm a proud Trekker and I don't care who knows it.

I must have seen the (now old) Star Trek film at least 20 times and saw it 3 times at the cinema alone. It is brilliant. The actors were so perfectly chosen for their roles and even the copious lens flare doesn't (inertial) dampen my adoration of the new franchise. Tonight the friend I went to visit in France arrives on a business trip, and next week Star Trek Girl aka La Tarzane (the clue's in the name there) will also be in the UK for a couple of days so the timing was perfect for us to see the new release.

Both of them are also shameless Trekkers and therefore the perfect people to watch the film with. Next Sunday we will use the tickets that I purchased within minutes of them going on sale weeks ago and sit back and watch a 3D masterpiece - for it will be so as the trailers are magnificent and initial reviews are also promising - plus we just fucking love Star Trek so I foresee no complaints (I hear it's a non-stop action-packed onslaught which sounds simply brilliant) and I totally fancy Benedict Cumberbatch as well so a free added bonus for me.

Funnily enough although I adore Star Trek I'm not that fussed about the original series or even the films before the reboot. I do watch The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and I love Voyager as well. Most people prefer DS9 out of them all but I'm a Voyager gal personally.

J.J Abrams has also signed up to take on the next Star Wars film and he's such a brilliant film maker that I reckon he'll do a great job on that too. Although to be honest they couldn't actually get any worse. 

If I'm this excited now, can you imagine how I'm going to be next weekend?!

One Week Until Digital Detox (Kindle Excluded)

This time next week I'll be cooling my boots in France and I can't bloody wait. I've got a friend that lives about one and a half hours drive north of Nice and I'm flying out to see him Saturday evening and staying there until Tuesday night. I cannot tell you how much I need this break.

I've been once before as he part-rents the place with my friend La Tarzane who's currently living and working in Oman. She paid for me to fly out and stay with her there about 6 years ago after I landed my dream job a few weeks before. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere with hills and trees all around the place. I think you can see some mountains as well if I recall.

All I want to do is to read my Kindle, drink coffee and wine and eat some nice food. I'm not taking my laptop, I'm turning my phone off and I just want to wrap up and sit outside with my hot water bottle and read. I'm happy to hang out with my friend of course, but otherwise I just want to be left alone. I really need a digital detox and to just relax. I need a break like you won't believe.

My friend has asked me to bring some pork and apple sausages, some tea, and some cheese. Yes, the man who lives in the land of cheese wants me to bring over some flippin Cheddar! I'm assuming I can get these things through customs; although they might be a bit offended that I'm bringing British cheese into France. 

Last time I went there I got stopped at customs. They'd spotted my hot water bottle and were baffled as to what it could be. La Tarzane came back through and started explaining what it was (she is half French) and they still didn't get it. Then she said something else to them, they all laughed, then they waved me through. She never told me what she said but I'm guessing it wasn't complimentary. Well it get's cold in England alright?! 

I'll try and take some photos so you can see what it's like there, but I simply cannot wait to relax and do nothing except eat and read all day. I'm even taking another day off after I get back - I'm going to put my out of office on and be unobtainable for a change. and I CAN'T WAIT!

Holidays And Houses

This time next week I shall be in Italy... woooo hoooo! I can't bloody wait. I don't think it's going to be that much warmer than it is here but it's going to be so nice to get away for five days. The photo above is of my dream house which is just in front of the B&B we're staying in. That's Vesuvius over the Bay of Naples in the background.

We managed to get an amazing deal as well. The flights were £30 each way per person through EasyJet, then the accommodation was just £150 for the room between us. BETWEEN US!. The hotel calls itself a B&B and I guess it is; it's an old Abbey called Porto Salvo in a place called Sant'Agnello which is about 20 mins walk from the centre of Sorrento. 

Pompeii and Vesuvius

I've stayed there twice before in fact. It has thick white walls, wooden shutters, tiled floors, and orange trees in the garden. It's lovely. And it's very cheap. Plus it's about 12 seconds walk from the edge of the cliff overlooking the azure waters of the Bay of Naples. From here you can get the train to Naples, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. I've been to these places before of course, but Pompeii was so incredible that you could go every day for months and still see something new.

Then 8 days after I get back I move into my new flat. My lovely, bright, white, one-bed flat just for me. I still can't quite believe it actually. I'll have bills to pay but, because my client is paying half of the rent (well he has actually paid the entire one-year lease up front, I'm just paying half back to him each month) I should be in a great position to save up some money for my future.

Plus I can have Christmas in my flat again. My boyfriend hates Christmas and insists on telling me over again why it's shit thus ruining the whole thing for me. I try to show him why I love it, but he's not having any of it. So this year I'm going to get me a little tree and decorate it. Yes siree. I'm not going to go mad, but you will be able to tell it's bloody Christmas in my house! I'm pretty excited about that part actually. That and having a bright place to live that looks exactly like I want it to.

I fully appreciate this is an odd situation and almost like an old-fashioned concept of having a benefactor.This guy paid for me to learn to drive, flew me to Vegas (where he pretty much ignored me) and is now enabling me to have my dream living situation - and I've met him 3 times! He is a client and could drop me or even drop dead at any point, but I'm enjoying it while I can. 

Roll on November!

I've Found a New Home!

Good news - I have found a new place already. I know I work quickly, but damn I'm good!

It was a flat I went to look at a few days ago and it was perfect. The only problem was that there was no access for Dillinger. Yesterday however, I decided that it felt like it had my name on it, so I emailed the landlady, explained that the situation had changed and that my client would be paying for it but I would be living in it and would that be ok? I figured I had nothing to lose and I really didn't want to be worried about living in a house I shouldn't be in.

She said no worries at all and that she trusted her gut feeling which said that I was ok. I cannot tell you how happy and relieved I am. The flat has a one south-facing large bedroom, a very large lounge, a little bathroom, and a small south-facing kitchen. It is perfect. It's right by the railway station, and right by a little coffee shop. The road is quiet, and she is going to paint it white for me.

The rent is £780 per month of which my client will be paying half. With my income and the money he pays me alone, my rent should be minimal and I'll just have bills and food to think about. I emailed my client to ask if the price was ok and if he minded signing a one-year lease and he said the flat sounded great and to snap it up before someone else did. I don't think he really cares as he just needs a flat for tax purposes. How effing cool is that?

I do feel bad about my little kitty, but he is far more independent than any other cat I've ever had and I don't think he cares where he is as long as he's comfy and someone feeds him. I'd like to travel more next year and, as a friend pointed out: yes I have a responsibility to him but I can't allow the next 12 years of my life be dictated by a cat. My parents said they'll even take him and, although they have 2 large dogs, they also have a 100ft garden leading out to open fields. I think he'll be fine.

Me with short hair in Sorrento a few years ago

I haven't told my boyfriend that I've found somewhere yet - I'm meeting with the landlady again tomorrow to discuss details and deposits and I'll take it from there. We did address our relationship situation today though and have pretty much broken up. I said I'd prefer us to be good friends rather than rubbish partners. We've had a good try and it's simply not working out. He's pretty sad about it but overall it feels like a smooth transition and I think we'll stay friends.

We're also still going on holiday together in a few weeks and are both still happy to go. I said I would buy him out if he wanted, but he said no. I'm pleased that everything seems fine and we're going as friends. There's much less bickering as friends and no expectations on the other person! We're going to Sorento where I've been twice before and I'm really looking forward to eating nice food and reading my Kindle overlooking the bay of Naples with a glass of wine and some cake.

Although it feels sad that something that was once great and could have been greater has ended, I do feel like I'm about to embark on an exciting adventure... and I can't wait.

Tales From The Tower

The White Tower

I love to read history books and the Tower of London makes an appearance in nearly every historical tale of intrigue, murder and treason I read; so it was kind of odd that I knew so much about the place but had never actually been. Well that all changed yesterday when I finally took myself up for a little jaunt.

I'd been thinking of going for a while but yesterday I decided to actually get off my arse and do it. So I hopped on a train to London Bridge Station (around an hour away) walked across the bridge and joined the tourists piling in to the 1000 year old Tower of London.

Henry VIII 

I'd made a bit of a faux pas by going on a Saturday when it was rammed full of tourists, but I went in around 1pm so after a few hours it was much quieter which really made a difference. It's nice to me able to get a sense of the place without so many people around as well as getting a clear shot when taking photos!

Memorial on the Tower Hill site looking towards the Jewel House on the right

The place was absolutely amazing. It was atmospheric and rammed so full of history that I could hardly bear it. Not all of it was 1000 years old of course, as it had been rebuilt and added to over the centuries, but you just felt like so much had happened there. So many people's lives were played out there - so many ends of people's lives as well.

One of my favourite places in a kind of macabre way was the Beauchamp Tower which had been the last stop for many people destined for the block. Many of them had carved their names or messages into the walls and these were still there protected by clear plastic - some were written 500 years ago. It's not often you get to see or think about something like that.

Obviously I also went to see the crown jewels which were in a series dark rooms protected by the thickest doors I'd ever seen. You go past the rows of crowns on a moving walkway which I guess is to stop people crowding round them and blocking the view. They were the sparkliest things I'd ever seen - very bling.

Traitors Gate

There was some stuff I wasn't so interested in like the gold plate and the weaponry, but seeing the armour that Henry VIII, Edward VI (his son) and James I wore was the stuff of dreams for geeky lil me. And finally seeing Traitors Gate where Elizabeth I was bought in to the Tower on the order of her sister Mary was pretty cool as well. She must have been terrified - no wonder she wasn't fond of staying there once she became Queen.

London Skyline From the Tower

We are lucky to have so much history readily available in this country. We have castles, palaces and stately homes coming out of our ears; we can go to a 7th century Anglo Saxon royal burial ground, see Henry VIII's 500 year old flagship the Mary Rose, and see stone circles that are almost 5000 years old if we want to. We live amongst our history, and I love that we're surrounded by ancient reminders of who we are, how we got here, and the people we came from. 

Happy Anniversary Queenie

We're kicking off the Queen's Diamond Jubilee here in Blighty this weekend and I think it's going to be one helluva show!

I've mentioned that I'm a Royalist before - it's part of our cultural identity and one of the things that make us uniquely British. I used to be a Republican but that was when I was younger, hadn't read up much on our country's history, and knew no better. Now I think it's one of the only things (apart from football and see how good we are at that) that brings us together as a nation.

It kicks off in about an hour with what I hope will be an amazing spectacle. The Queen's barge will lead a 1000- strong flotilla that will sail down the Thames. It will take 6 hours for it to cover a 7 mile stretch and take 70 minutes to pass one given point - how mad does that sound?!  Such a shame the weather is a bit naff today but it doesn't look like it's putting a dampener on the festivities.

Her Jubilee is actually on Tuesday but there's loads of things running up to it including a Royal Air Force fly-by. I bet people have been training and practising for this for ages. I bet it's going to look brilliant. There's not a lot I really like about England - they don't often give me much to be proud of, but Royal events always seem to make us feel happy to be British. They bring us together.

I think that whether you're a Royalist or a Republican, it is a historic occasion that we will never see again. In fact nothing like this has been done since the reign of Charles II. Not many Monarchs have a Diamond Jubilee, so to be witness to that will be something special I hope. We're part of a historical occasion today and that is something I will be glad to have seen personally. 

We're not very good at putting on events over here but I do have to say - we always put on  a damned spectacular Royal show!

Going to Vegas Baby

Such is the bizarreness of my life at the moment. I received an email from the potential employer on Tuesday asking if I was free to travel and visit him this weekend. I only had a driving lesson planned so agreed asking him where he'd like to meet me. Vegas that's where!

Yes, he is going to be celebrating his son't birthday in Vegas this weekend and wants me to come out to see him. I hope we will be discussing the potential job, but I think it may also be a get-to-know-ya situation to see if we want to work with each other. He's asked me to bring my laptop so there may even be a trial-shift situation going on.

If I do get to work for this guy, then I won't be talking about him on here although I will hopefully be telling you all about the far-flung places I'll be visiting. I've never been to the US before and I might even get to meet up with Wolynski whose Vegas blog I've been following for around 3 years now. Meeting a virtual person is quite bizarre in itself but if I'm to get this job then knowing people all around the World will come in very handy!

So I leave tomorrow morning and come back Tuesday night I think. I'm staying at The Mirage which looks kinda cool on their website, and I have no idea what to expect. I can't stay too long as I have my driving test quite soon and I want to be able to pass it first time. Then I can start travelling properly!

Possibly Something Again

Just as I had pretty much forgotten all about the mad potential job offer, on Monday I received an email explaining that he had been continuing with Christmas celebrations right up until 'Twelth Night' (alright for some) and had only just gotten around to replying to his emails. Then he said this:

"The whole driving thing is so important, that I would like you to get your license before we make a final decision.  So, what I propose is that I pay for you to take a 1-week intensive course to obtain your drivers license.  No obligation.

Let me know what you think"

Shiiiiiiit. Of course I said that this would be acceptable - who wouldn't want someone to pay nearly a grand for them to learn to drive? But I'm taking it with a pinch of salt this time to avoid any disappointment.

I've okayed it all with him and he has given me the go-ahead for me to pay for it with funds from the bank account I have access to. So now I have to send off for my provisional license again (I've changed surnames as well as losing the original 20 years ago!) and when that arrives I will be having 4 hours of driving lessons a day to get me ready for the test as soon as possible.

Although I want to get my license quickly, I don't want to rush it, scrape through my test and crash straight into the nearest school crossing! I imagine it will be hard but utter numpties have their license so I'll be damned if I can't get mine.

So I will keep you informed of my progress and let you know how I get on. Imagine if I did get the job though - I bet it would make for some interesting blog posts!

Something or Nothing?

As you know, my day job is being a freelance PA to various clients. One of them is an International businessman who travels constantly so I look after his UK interests - I receive all his post, I sign cheques and tenancy agreements, I liaise with management companies etc.

I once mentioned that if he ever had a full-time position available he should let me know. Then on Monday I received this:

You asked me once about a full time or more of a full-time position.  You are obviously very competent, and the main problem would be that you do not drive.  My assistant would need to travel extensively, including places such as California, where driving is absolutely essential.

So, I have some questions:

1)  Are you interested in a permanent position?

2)  Are you able to spend a large part of your time away from the UK?

3)  Would you be willing to learn to drive?  

Thanks!

Blimey! I replied that I needed a bit more elaboration on what the job would entail and what did 'a large part of your time away from the UK' translate as.

He replied:

The position would involve everthing from handling correspondence to chartering airplanes; from filling a car with petrol to planning parties;  scheduling dentist appointments to buying houses in Costa Rica.  Coordinator, secretary, chauffeur, gift buyer and wrapper, troubleshooter, courier.  Helping to shoot a music video (we need more glitter for the backdrop!). Taking next flight to the Cayman Islands to get the title for the yacht certified by the Cayman Shipping Register (we need it in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow)

Since I last saw you, I think about 4 months ago, I have not been in one place for more than a week.  Various Caribbean islands, Central America (ziplining in the rainforest is fun!), a dozen places all across the US, Canada, etc.  This is typical!  Before that, as you know, I was all over Europe for the summer.

As you can imagine I was very excited about this. BBF and I talked it over and decided it would not be something you could pass over. Even if I tried it and hated it, I would earn enough money to be ok while I got my business back on track.

The thing is, I have asked if we can have a chat on the phone and that was 2 days ago. Now he might just be very busy, he could be working on how I can get my license quickly, or he may have decided to leave it. But I just want to know!!!

I'm finding it very hard to concentrate as I don't know if I have the opportunity of the job of a lifetime, or if it was a glimpse of something amazing and now it's nothing. A girl from a small town in Bucks who didn't even go to university does not get these kind of opportunities very often.



I will of course keep you up to date with developments, but all I can say at this point is eeeeeeeeeek!!!!!

Off To Rome!

In a few hours I leave for 5 days in Rome to celebrate my 40th birthday on Sunday. It's chucking it down here and it looks like it's going to be no better in Rome until the day after I come back! Always the way...

I haven't been on a plane since my birthday last year when I went to visit Star Trek Girl in Jordan. I changed in Rome but didn't see any of Rome itself. BBF went when he was around 14 but he doesn't remember much about it. I love flying - when we take off I just want to shout at everyone "oh my God we're flying like birds - wheeeee!!" The sun always shines up there at least.

We've printed off all the helpful stuff we could find and are armed with phrase books. My Italian is pathetic and BBF's in non-existent so hopefully they'll be pretty good at English! Dillinger woke me up early this morning and once my mind started to whirl, I couldn't get back to sleep so I thought I'd come here and say goodbye to you lot.

My mind was mostly debating what to wear - such a female cliché! It's going to be wet but quite mild so the big question is what coat to take. The one thing I don't have to consider is the lovely dress that my best friend bought for my birthday when she came down to visit last weekend. She made me open it early honest!

There's a story behind this dress. I went up to visit her a short while ago, tried on her dress and looked great in it. It's only from Asda so it's not expense, but it's perfect. It is black, the material is thick enough that it doesn't cling in all the wrong places, the waist is dropped, the neck is round, the sleeves are three-quarter, and the length is just above the knee. I never find dresses I like so I was pleased to discover she had only just bought it.

Off we traipsed to every Asda in the area but we could not find the dress anywhere - all sold out. It was also sold out on their website too. There was only one size 18 left in one of the stores. I then went to all the stores when I got back to Brighton but to no avail. I was really disappointed and kept thinking of what a shame it was that I couldn't find one. It would have been perfect to take to Rome.

Then when the little minx came down last week she made me open my present so she could see my face - of course it was the dress! Amazingly, she had gone back to check, and that size 18 was in fact not an 18 at all but was exactly the size I needed! What a star. I was really chuffed and (apart from my being a bit thick around the middle) it looks really good so will be taking a trip to Rome with me and I will wear it on my birthday in the rain.

I know I had a bit of a rant about being 40 but frankly, whaddaya gunna do? It's going to happen so I might as well just go with it. I'm one of those people that like to do something for their birthday though, and holidays are much better than one-day affairs. You get to drag your birthday out for days! 

I will of course, write a full report of what Rome was like. I'm very much looking forward to people-watching, eating cake and drinking wine!

Taaaa Daaaa!

You cannot fail to have noticed that I have been going on about getting another cat for about a year and a half now. Since little Dexter was killed in October 2009 I had a sad pet-shaped hole in my life, and then 2 days ago I took delivery of tiny little Dillinger.

The journey down had indeed been a bit of a nightmare; the traffic was OK but the little fella had managed to poo in his basket and then tread in it. My friend had cleaned him up as much as she could, but his first experience of our house was wet wipes! He then managed to poo all over his foot and tail on 2 separate occasions before the day was over.

He settled in very quickly seeing as he had never left his Mum and always had his sisters to play with, he familiarised himself with his new home quicker than you could say Royal Canin. I kept him in the living room until he had settled in then opened up the rest of the flat one room at a time, but he wasn't too fussed about exploring without us - it seems he's very sociable.

What was also lovely was that yesterday BBF said he "liked him more than he thought he would"; he knew he'd like him but he'd never been particularly attached to the cats he'd had as a kid. He'll have Dillinger all to himself when I go up for the Royal Wedding Party in 3 days time so they may be thick as thieves when I get back. 

So as you can imagine I'm pleased as punch with little Dillinger; he's bouncy, affable, sociable and a real joy to have around. Dexter was very charming but, although Fraidy liked me, she was a moody tortoiseshell and didn't really like anyone else; in fact she'd take your face off if you looked at her wrong, so I love that Dillinger is an amiable little chap.

And thank you all for bearing with me on this one; I know it must have been really boring hearing a grown woman mourn the loss of her cats - even though it's my blog and I'll write what I want! It was a repetitive subject and you were all very supportive so thank you. I may write a post or two about him but I will try not to mention him too often. But for now I have a new kitty.... yaaaaaaay!

All Good

One more sleep until we get our new kitty! Well, let's be truthful about this - it's one more sleep until I get my new kitty; because we all know this kitten is for me! 

My best friend drives the little fella down tomorrow which could be a hassle or it could be fine; it's only about 2 hours drive away but it's a hot Bank Holiday weekend and I live in one of the towns that people flock to on such occasions. The holiday started today so she might be ok with the traffic. I shall present him to you of course, and then I'll try to shut up about him I promise.

Brighton is great on Bank Holidays, a lot of the population are freelancers and it looked like everyone clocked off after lunch on Thursday; the pubs were packed and I think it might have gotten a bit messy. Because I'm going back up to my friends for the Royal Wedding, I'm only working a 2-day week next week - nice. All these Bank Holidays and the weather seems to be putting everyone in quite good spirits actually!

The Royal Wedding party my friend is holding is going to be really good fun I think; we're having tea and cake, little sandwiches and there's been talk of bunting and tiara's too! It's all brilliantly naff and I'm getting fully into the swing of it - bollocks to cynicism, it's going to be an occasion!

My business has definitely perked up a bit since I last mentioned it; I'm not making a huge amount of money, but I'm out of danger at least and things are going in the right direction. I had basically lost interest for a short while and felt a bit unmotivated; especially as I had discovered I loved making things and wanted to spend my time doing that instead. I sorted myself out and am back on track and going great guns again now - things are definitely looking good.

The craft stuff is also going well; I approached 2 local shops and both said they want to stock the badges I make. One shop is a rather lovely Boutique who have asked for exclusivity in Hove and Shoreham, and the other is a kind of 'trendy' central Brighton shop where a lot of locals and tourists go. I haven't been back to the second one yet but my badges are already selling in the first - the shop assistant had even bought 2! 

So all good all round I guess - have a good Easter folks!

2 More Weeks!

Yup, the kitty (still potentially Dillinger) will be with us in 2 weeks. He will dragged kicking and screaming away from his mop bucket, his siblings, his Mum and the only life he has ever known, experience 2 hours of bewildered terror on his first car journey then be held hostage with 2 strangers in our unfamiliar alien home. 


Thank God he doesn't know!

Three Weeks To Go!

Forgive his little squinty right eye; the little fella had just recovered from a gacky eye bless him!

The name Dillinger is now in the running.

The Man From RSPCA - He Say Yes!

A few days ago we registered with the RSPCA to be considered for adopting a kitteh, and yesterday a fellow called Luke came round to our flat and declared that 'a cat would love to live here'!

Unfortunately it's not kitty season and, unless we wait a few months, there are no kittens to be had. Ideally we'd love a little diddy cat frolicking and tumbling about the place but this would mean we wouldn't be able to take one home until at least the end of May and would have to have the doors and windows closed all Summer so it didn't get out (it needs to be old enough to be spayed and inoculated) We then go away to work at the festival in August for 11 days and you just can't leave a new kitten for that long.

I've already been without a cat for over a year and I really miss having one around and can't bear waiting 6 more months, so we've decided to keep looking for a kitten (they can be born all year round but they're usually born from March onwards) but are considering adopting a rescue cat that is under a year old, but not a newborn. It seems a shame to deprive an unwanted cat of a good home, just because we selfishly would like to be part of the cute stage.

So watch this space as I'll hopefully be introducing a new member of our household soon... eeeek!