A Trip to Ray Mill Island

Here are some photos of our outing to Ray Mill Island in Maidenhead. The Island is situated just behind Boulter's Lock and is great for feeding ducks, picnics and visiting the birds and Guinea Pigs house in the island aviaries

Maiden and Swans

Cockatiels at the aviaries

Cockatiels at the aviaries

Ana, Amy and Daddy walking

The Companions - dedicated to four boys who lost their lives on a school skiing trip with Altwood CE School in April 1988

The Companions Plague

Boulter's Weir at the top of the island - Boulter means miller, there was a flour mill owned by the Ray familyon the island. The mill was constructed in 1726 on the site of a previous mill, and continued to produce flour until the 1920s.

Ana and Amy posing at Boulter's Weir. I was having kittens about them falling into the water at this point.

Canadian Goose on Ray Mill Stream

A male Mallard duck on Ray Mill Stream

A friendly stranger that came to say hello to us. Possibly a Burmese or Burmese cross

Amy being a pixie on a toadstool

The Vivienne Mary coming into Boulter's Lock

A poem set into the bank of the River Thames

It was a lovely sunny Autumn day and we really enjoyed ourselves. Close by is Also the Jubilee River which I thoroughly recommend for a beautiful walk!

Remember them.....

so that they can live on

11th September 2001

My first hair cut in over 10 years!

The last time I had my hair cut was when my eldest daughter (11 years) was 2 weeks old and I was 18!

Today I finally bit the bullet as it where and had it done.

So I have gone from hair that was to my bum to hair just below the shoulder. I think I was a bit of a novelty at the hairdressers as I was asked lots of questions about how I managed to wash/brush my hair and why I hadn't had it cut in over ten years (never got round to it).

I had to stand up for most of the cutting to save the poor stylist's back.

They even had trouble washing my hair as it filled the sink My head feels a lot light and I am really happy with my new managable cut. I even have a new found confidence because my hair looks nice (not like a bird's nest or matted dog hair, I was beginning to look like what you pull out of the bath plughole)

An added bonus, no more kittens swinging from my hair!

To whom it may concern

Could you please stop wiping the toothpaste from your mouth on my clean bath towels? You know who you are!

Thank you.

We've been to the library!

Until recently I had always avoided the library. I had been a few times during the course of my life, but thought it a dark, musky and above all a boring place.

Running out of ideas for what to do with the girls over the summer holidays today I decided it was about time that we all joined our local library. So off we went and 10 minutes later we were all proud owners of our very own library cards and a new perspective.

The library has changed much in those fleeting visits during my youth. Gone is the dark, musty boring atmosphere, replaced by play tables, small child friendly seats. Cuddly vibrant coloured animal cushions to sit on. Shelves made into rideable cars, trains and penguins.

Initially I was worried about taking the girls to a place where you're supposed to be quiet. As lets face it quiet is something that doesn't come naturally to my children, but they managed to impress me with their hushed whispered tones as well as their good behaviour.

We came away armed with some new bedtime reading materiel and a new found love for our local library!

Fun on the trampoline

As Ana was on her second respite session with her buddy at the local swimming pool, Amy and I decided to have some fun on the trampoline in the garden.

I had been so smug, up until now

Amy has been doing really well with this whole toilet training thing. We turned a point when I purchased a childs training seat for for our toilet at home.

Suddenly Amy didn't want to wear nappies anymore and started to use the toilet independantly. It had been several days ,two major trips away from the home and we hadn't experienced a single accident. Something I recounted to anyone who would listen.

Well, yesterday Amy called me up in to her bedroom and showed me with some sense of pride the foul smelling poo splattered all over her pink carpet.

I cleaned it up and was careful to tell Amy that although I wasn't angry I was dissapointed that she hadn't gone when she was on the toilet two minutes before and that she hadn't told me she needed to go.

'But mummy, ' came the reply, 'I blewed it out!'

Odds Farm 2009

Child Beale Wildlife Park

Yesterday my parents took myself and the girls to The Child Beale Wildlife Park in Pangbourne. We were lucky enough to be blessed with a glourious sunny day!

Our Charlie O'Marley is 'famous'

A very wet day at Cotswold Wildlife Park

Today my parents took myself and the girls to the Cotswold Wildlife Park in Oxfordshire.

http://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/

We had a glourious sunny day for the first 20 minutes and then the heavens opened and rarely let up for the rest of the day.

The girls didn't let the rain dampen their spirits and still managed to have lots of fun.

Iguana of some sort
A snake in the grass!
Red Panda

Red Eared Sliders

Amy on the Merry-go-round

A very wet Ana and Amy

Ring Tailed Lemurs

2 week old baby Ring Tailed Lemur

Red Lemurs

"Those bloody Ring Tailed Lemurs get all the attention!"

A Trip To The Vet

Today was the day. Lola finally hit that magic 2kg mark, so I booked both her and Charlie in for their spay and neuter at the vets.

I was instructed not the feed them after 8pm the night before and remove the water in the morning. Of course having practically been starved all night Charlie and Lola were climbing the wall come morning.

I dropped them off at the vets at 8:30am with all the relevent paperwork. I then returned home and flung myself into the gardening to take my mind off things. The call to pick them up came at 2:45pm.

Charlie howled all the way home and then spend the first five minutes at home wandering around the house periodically crying. Lola was very unsteady on her feet so I put her in my bedroom to sleep off the anaesthetic and grab some peace and quiet. She chose to sleep under our bed, but upon checking on her several minutes later she looked at me and a swear I could read her mind. She was thinking, 'you utter cow! Look what you've done to me!'

I am actually surprised they have recovered so well. They were both flying around the house after a few hours as if nothing had happened. Charlie keeps crying at me, I think he's trying to say. 'Mum, I seem to be missing two very important parts of my anatomy!'

They have their post op check up on Monday and all being well they can go back outside after that. What's the betting it'll rain from Monday onwards!

The Data Protection Act

Vinnie was made redundant a while back, but thankfully now has another job.

However he had to claim his statutory one weeks notice from The Insolvancey Service. They send you what is called a RP2 form after your notice period is up. So if you've worked for the company for four years you get four weeks notice. Four weeks after being made redundant you should get your form.

As Vinnie had only worked for the company for 9 months he is only entitled to one week's so after being made redundant on 23rd June he should have received his RP2 form, which he hasn't.

Because The Insolvency Service won't take calls during 10-11am and 2-3pm (Vinnie's break times at work) he asked me to phone to simply ask if they had posted out the form yet.

Apparently due to The Data Protect Act they cannot discuss with me whether they have sent the form out or not.

I understand the need to protect someones privacy and private information. But to not be able to tell me if they have posted something out to our address? AGH! What am I supposed to be able to do with this super sensitive information anyway?

Be a proper mother!

This is what my 3 year old said to me when I reprimanded her over climbing on the dinning table (I swear she's part mountain goat).

'Be a proper mother and let me do it!'

When I again told her that climbing on the table was not allowed she told me she would

'do it when you're not here.'

She was told it didn't matter whether I was there or not, it was not allowed. To which she answered.

'Mummy, I want you to go in the kitchen and clean something now.'

Vinnie got the job!

Vinnie was made redundant from his job 2 weeks ago and things where getting very tight, not to mention Vinnie was feeling dejected and rather depressed.

Anyway he applied for a job as an assistant manager with Clarks Shoes for one of their huge stores. A step down from manager, but he didn't have the experience in people management (his store was much smaller and he only had 5 staff, this store is over 3 floors and has 56 staff) or in that particular field of sales that they were looking for in the job.

However he must have made a big impression as they said they were very interested in him joining the company, but not for the job he'd applied for.

They said that they would look around the company and see if there was a position better suited for him in one of their other stores and they would let him know Friday.

Friday came and went without a word and Vinnie thought that they didn't have anything for him. However they phoned back Saturday morning and offered him the job he had originally applied for.Its £2000 more a year then he was on at his previous job so we're understandably over the moon. He starts this Thursday and I simply cannot wait, 2 weeks of 24/7 with Vinnie is enough for anybody!

Charlie O'Marley is going to be famous!

Today I received an e-mail from the editor of Cat World Magazine informing me that Charlie had won their Funny Felines Competition, where you have to send in a picture of your cat in a funny situation. Charlie has won some HiLife food pouches and being the generous fellow he is he will be sharing them with Thomas and Lola.

To say I was walking on air is an understatement. So remember to grab your September issue early in August!

Redundancy Again

Today Vinnie and many others have been made redundant from their employment with Birthdays Ltd. Clintons Cards the owner of Birthdays put the company into Administration on 20th May 2009. Loads of promises were made about keeping jobs and loads were broken.

Clintons exploited a loop hole in the law allowing them to shed millions of pounds in debt and then buy back a large percentage of Birthdays Ltd. Unfortunately it's the hard workers who put Clintons where they are today that have suffered!

So this is the second time in nine months that we have trodden the redundancy path. Only this time we're a little wiser.

Most Laptops have a mouse.....

mine has a cat!

What's the best thing you've got from Freecycle?

What is the best thing that you have got from Freecycle the national recycling webgroup, a sofa, a bike, maybe a TV?



I have to say without a doubt that this is the best thing I have come across.

Meet Lola Fannola, a 9 week old grey kitten. We answered an add for her on Freecycle never thinking that we would actually be lucky enough to get her. So a new friends for Charlie O'Marley.

Shame that he has chosen to spend his time hissing at her instead of getting better acquainted.

Birthdays Put Into Administration!

Today hundreds of workers, Vinnie included woke up to the news that their jobs are at risk as Clinton Cards has placed Birthdays Cards Ltd into administration.

You would have expected such a large company that likes to portray it's caring side to the general public would have told their workers about the difficulties they faced. Sadly no, those works found out over breakfast whilst watching the news. Sickening!

So they worrying now starts.