The Marcus Rule Correctional Facility for Shameless Gamblers

[DumSpiroSpero]

Ok Rule it is! Can't stop now but will be back later.

Have a good day everyone!

Only a bit hot, Small? He must be slipping. So he isn't actually on the naughty step, then?

Spiro, How sweet about your mum. If you've got two X chromosomes, you are doomed to be sucked in, obviously, whatever your vintage. [bugrin]

She was really enjoying it when she called - am seeing the olds tomorrow so will look forward to a good chinwag about it. Must take The Impressionists over for my Dad too.

Have you been Easter-ing in your corner of the world, Massive?

No Easter holiday here, Spiro, apart from the weekend. But we have had some very nice choccy eggs

Glad to hear it.

I took DD to church this morning, and for some reason my mind wandered during the service & I started thinking about BtS of all things. Had a few minutes of really struggling to keep a straight face!

That's you in the corner, that's you in the spotlight losing your religion!

I don't know where it came from but I was really struggling with a huge fit of the giggles at how inappropriate it was

Have had a really nice, chilled weekend for a change - lots of reading & lounging in the sun yesterday. Took DD to a sort of mini amusement park after. It's only about a mile & a half from our house - big playground, miniature railway, paddling pool, boating lake, pony rides, bouncy castle & ball pit etc. They had the Easter bunny & Easter chick there 'in person' & a treasure hunt. It's nice as it's free to get in and you just pay for the bits you want to do over & above playground & paddling.

Spiro, if I was into horror novels more than I am I'd think you were being Tempted by the Archfiend. [bushock] (soz if I've offended anyone, btw)

Going back to last night, I used to read Stephen King because I love his use of language and his characters are great, I could usually ignore the horror element as a load of old rubbish. He has gone off in recent years IMHO so I usually don't bother now.

Here there was loads of boring sport both live and on telly. Luckily I am not expected to be interested.

My H is currently flicking between footy, snooker & golf. I don't mind watching the Grand National or decent international rugby match, but that's about my limit.

I have seen the film of 'Thinner' by SK, but I have always have a low scare threshold, not so much during watching/reading but afterwards stuff like that plays on my mind so I just avoid it.

Oooh, I can't watch horror films at all. It must be that my scare threshold is very visual. I never thought of it that way before. How interesting. With books it's just words on paper and you can always turn the page over quick!

Tbh I think it freaks me out that the imaginations of 'normal' people can come up with such horrible stuff. H is a big fan of the Saw films but even the thought of watching them gives me the heebie jeebies.

That's a very good point. I suppose as i say I can just mentally stick my fingers in my ears and block most of the yuck aspect out. Not always though.

How are you with crime novels, a lot of those are packed with grue.

Tbh honest I generally stick to my chick-lit. Reading is all about escapism for me, it's only really since this thread started I've been inspired to try some other stuff (actually have read all of Dan Brown's books and The Pact by Jodi Picoult so have gone beyond CL a few times).

So have read Birdsong, listened to LOTN and read a fair chunk of the sequel 'The Burning Lands' when I stayed at my olds the other night. Started 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguru last week, which I suspect is going to get a bit grim. Also slowly ploughing through Far From the Madding Crowd on my phone's Kindle app.

Did you finish Sunne in Splendour? I have it for months and had just started getting into it when the library had to have it back as someone else had reserved it. Will buy it at some point as I think it will take me quite some time to get through it.

Yup, I finished SIS. my big problem was the print was so small. and the story was pretty slow-moving, wasn't it? Lots of historical colour and all that, though , far better than history lessons at school.

I love chicklit too, I have to admit, sometimes you get too tired to think about what you're reading and just want a nice wallow. I have times now and then when all I can read is cheapo women's mags. Do they still have Take a Break? That was my intellectual treat at one time

I think 'Take A Break' is still going. I love magazines. When I was living on my own in my early 20's my mum came round to drop off some washing (all my savings went on the 5% deposit & my bed & sofas so I couldn't afford a washing machine). She tried up for me and when I got home there was 2ft tall pile of glossies topped with a post-it note reading '£180 on magazines in 5 months??!!"

I am more restrained these days, mostly because there is less & less I want to read about in typical women's mags. I'll get Grazia if I want something light and I quite like Easy Living & Red and occasionally get In Style.

I guess you don't get much in the way of English mags/newspapers where you are?

I don't bother with papers in the week as don't have time to read them - get the Guardian on Saturday and Sunday Times (and read my parents Mail on Sunday while I'm over there )

You can get all the mags -though funnily enough not Grazia - here but they are so expensive, it makes me feel bad buying them. You can get an English paperback for the same price.

I did used to get In Style and Harpers in my fashionista period, now I am too busy with Gizzy to think much about must-have pieces. In the fashion sense that is. [bugrin] And there's all the MN-ing of course.

off to bed now - night!

Good idea, Spiro! Night night

Morning all - I hope you have had a happy Easter and all that. We have been quite busy and had guests for lunch yesterday, so all quite exhausting too.

Managed to catch The Handsome Stranger episode of The Vicar of Dibley last night - mmmm

Morning Lady V, don't make jealous with the Handsome Stranger, I couldn't get it as Mr Small was watching the big tele and I was stuck withe freeview upstairs. I did think about going back down and switching over but I didn't think he would appreciate it.

I think I have a cold. I have a really sore throat and runny nose and I am very tired. How can I get a cold when it's been so gorgeous here?

Hello, all. Back to normal names now are we, though I see the bunnies are still with us. Sorry to hear you are feeling poorly, Small. How many rounds of this lurgy have we seen at the Academy? The doctor had better establish an on-site team to get to the bottom of it.

Why is he laughing at what I said? [buconfused]

Thanks Massive, I've just had an icecream, only to sotthe my sore throat you understand .

I don't know why he's laughing, I guess something you said tickled him . I wish he would set up permanant resisidence though.

Hello ladiez!

Sorry to hear about your cold, Small, what a pain. I had one the other week but was not too bad, thank goodness - did feel tired & achy though. Dr Spiro suggests a day laying in the sun with lots of ice cream!

I am at my parents at the mo - having delivered Claude Monet to my Dad and The Handsome Stranger to my mum.

Got to do some food shopping in a minute - yuk!

Ooh ooh Handsome Stranger is on now! Just watched the 'should have been me scene' even SB major was laughing as she socked him one!