We're all going on a summer holiday...

We apologise for this break in service, but Team Robinson has naffed orf on holibags. Two weeks in Brittany again, but we are banking on a trip to Toronto next summer....so I hope your offer was serious, Kate'n'Chris! And I am looking forward to a bit o' traveling that doesn't involve airports or lugging a bloody great laptop with me. Actually husband is taking his laptop I think. Me, I've got a pile of trashy (seriously trashy) novels, a soduko book and my embroidery. Luxury.

Young at heart

Bit of a shock today when I went t'dentist. For the first time I was really aware of quite how young my dentist was...as in....obviously significantly younger than me.

Then my cyber-chum Kevin from Helminthedale publishes a post about a seventies children's programme and I am too young to remember it. Hurrah! I feel so much better now!

Mad World.....

Gosh, am I turning into an old tory? Because when I read stories like this I really feel this country is going to hell in a handcart.

Then I read
this and suddenly everything is a bit more bearable again.....

Or is it just me?

Mamma mia

OH MY GOD

I watched this documentary this evening. I watched it with open mouthed horror. I watched it wondering if I should phone Burnley Social Services. If you get a chance to watch it...do.

Please Mr Postman

Our post was not delivered until 5pm today. The Post Office are having a larf....aren't they?

Leaving on a jetplane..

or not. Stuck at Schiphol this time, waiting on a 9pm flight home, now scheduled to leave at 11.00pm. Never mind. Just enjoyed burger 'n' chips and two LARGE glasses of wine in the Irish pub with a colleague, so everything has a bit of a fuzzy glow to it! Off to spend money I haven't got on perfume I don't need.

I should be so lucky....

Nipped over to Leeds with my mother this a.m. She was on a mission at the request of my sister. Niece, who has just finished her first year at Leeds Met, is due to move into into a student house for her second year, after the utter luxury of her student apartment last year. Now, I was never "lucky" enough to be in a hall of residence when I was a stooodent, but frankly...these (privately built) places are posher than anywhere I have ever lived. She had an ensuite bathroom for goodness sake.

Anyway, she is moving into a house with 5 other girls..cue cat fights....and two girls actually moved in this week....so, in fact, cue panic about the awful house, the dirt, the mouse nest , etc etc.....

Mum & I were dispatched to report on the awful house in the rubbish area.....which turned about to be lovely house in vibrant Headingly......the worst we culd find wrong with it was a dodgy socket and some mucky lampshades. My neice had commented on the lack of cable TV and tumble dryer!

Honestly...what is the world coming to? This place was a palace compared to where I lived when I was a student. Mum kindly referred to my student house as a hovel, and, frankly, she was being generous. It was damp, filthy, cold, unsanitary, had things growing on the walls downstairs, had mice, slugs, and silverfish (under my mattress)...and we were happy....we expected nothing less. In fact, living in a dump may actually have been a condition of being awarded an honours degree. (and we got housing benefit!!!! Them were the days!

The windows of the world..

I'm in Sheffield, in a hotel, where the view from my window is most picturesque...the canal..complete with barges. 'cept it's p*****g down. And we are due to have a conference bar-b-q in an hour. I told our delegates from the US and South Africa not to get too excited.....

Yep -it's July - it must be our annual user conference. Two day event. So far so good. The only person I wanted to slap was a colleague not a customer, so that's OK.

Now, must remember to control drinking tonight......must remember......there are 40 + customers downstairs, include two from Salt Lake City...and my boss....must remember!

It's all about you...

I stole this from a couple of blogs I visit.....

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Working in Sales for the same company I now work for, albeit with a different name (the company, not me) (actually, that's not true. I had a different surname then)

Five things on your to-do list for today:
I'll cheat, and do tomorrow as it is late evening now -
1) Do presentation for conference on Wednesday
2) Wrap daughter's birthday pressies
3) Check she can have disco room at her party
4) Get her a birthday card
5) Pack to go to aforementioned conference

What are three of your bad habits?
1) Jumping to conclusions
2) Total lack of self confidence
3) Watching crap telly

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Stop work, have another baby, and give loads of it away.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
Oh blimey....I am queen of snacks...
Popcorn
Chocolate
Crisps
Grapes

What were the last five books you read?
Hattie Biography of Hattie Jacques
Queuing for beginners Mass observation type stuff - brilliant
Two caravans by Marina Lewycka, not finished..finding it harder going than A short history of tractors in Ukranian
Promise me Perhaps this should actually be on my bad habits list. I love these real airport reading, american crime stories. But I read them in a day, so I spend a fortune on them.
Eating for England prose, rather than recipes, by Nigel Slater. Rather lazy book actually. Not as good as Toast.

What are five jobs you have had?
Saturday assistant in public library in London
Library assistant in different public library in London
Barmaid (and a right crap one at that. I kept being told to smile at the punters)
College librarian
Present - which has included sales, training and now product management.

Five places that you have lived?
London - with my parents, till I went to .....
Manchester - to do my library degree, after which I lived in...
Oldham - when I was married, then
Sale - when I ceased to be married, and then..
Sheffield - which I loved, and really didn't make the most of, and sometimes hanker for now.


So...now I am supposed to tag others to do this..so Kate , Kevin....or actually anyone....consider yourelf tagged.

When will I...will I be famous....

I've been published....kind of. In the bi-monthly journal-thing for our professional association they have a feature called "My week". The title is kind of self - explanatory. In 300 words, you write about your working week. And, you know, 300 words is not much. Anyway, it's there, and one who knows me well says she doesn't think it sounds like me...in that it doesn't reflect my warped sense of humour...but as I said, it was only 300 words, so something had to give. Paid up memebers of aforesaid association can judge for themselves!

We are the champions...

Laura had her first sports day a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I was in London, listening to university librarians discuss the future of library management systems.......

I'm tired..

Tired of getting sick. I have tonsillitis for the second time in two months, and the 8 millionth time this year. (I exagerate, but not much). So, the doctor has agreed to refer me to the hospital to have 'em out. Knowing my luck, I'll get MRSA. But the upside is that I'm watching an ancient episode of Hill Street Blues, and I'm going to have a blog catch up....if I can find the cable to link my camera to the computer.

Working 9 - 5

Apparently, my employer has been voted one of the best places to work in IT, according to Computerworld. We are number 51 out of the top 100, zooming up 24 places from last year.

So, that's nice, isn't it?