The John Thornton School of Reflexology at the University of Milton North

[DumSpiroScaro]

The Principal

Get well soon Maud!

I still have the decorations off our cake. My mum brought them out o me

I has no idea mum had kept the bouquet - looks a bit dead sorry looking so it's gone out!

Found a typewriter as well complete with carbon paper!- can you remember life before pooters!!!

Almost done now - just some 1980/90 fashion to laugh at in my wardrobe . Very lucky to have been able to randomly leave things here for so long with my transient lifestyle but being ruthless now!!

Vampy, any serious fashionista would probably pounce on all that as clever little vintage pieces.

I still have the decorations from my wedding cake and The Girl's christening cake. I had plans to make an objet d'art from them.

::hollow laugh::

I thought I was a hoarder but I bow before Vampy's superior hoarding skills.

::genuflects::

You're probably right menace - I'll consider selling some of the better bits. The colonel despaired of my fashion sense when I first met him - all thick long baggy woolly cardigans. Got one on now as the castle is a tad drafty and he's finding it hard to even look at me let alone talk to my face!!

I can't even remember whether we had any decoration on our cake?. Think just flowers on top tier and rest was a mound of cupcakes!

Hmm the cheeky thing! What's his fashion sense like then, when he's in mufti?
You absolutely have to insist on putting him in dark blue Prada and Armani, like Lucas and the Man. nice Belstaff jacket, a touch of leather, mm mm.

Maud! Thank you for your respect!. I'm so glad I'm no longer a hoarder in my current life!! Can't begin to imagine what my poor ma is going through! Suddenly actually pleased that I have had 17 houses (I think) since I left here to go to university - no chance to hoard too much stuff!!

He's not Armani/Prada but probably would be if we could afford it!! Normal attire off-duty is open-necked shirt with sleeves rolled up 2.5 times and either jeans or smarter trousers depending on the occasion! Very predictable!

OMG!!! I've just found a whole box of royal family cuttings from various newspapers around fergie and Andrews wedding and princes William and Harry's births!! As well as the complete 24 issues of The Royal Family!! I'd totally forgotten I was a royalist stalker fan!! Think my current object d'affection is slightly better looking!!

Goodness, Vampy, I thought I was hard done to, with ten moves. Poor you.

i suppose we have to salute the colonel, then, in that he knows sleeves rolled up are okay, and shirt sleeves are not, except with a tee-shirt.

Maud, this could be your time to do your thang with the cake decorations. A nice epergne , perhaps, as a tasteful table setting when Mr Thornton repairs to your bood-war for a dainty tea. at least, that's his cover story

BTW, Twigs, is someone taking your name in vain, here?

The recipe looks nice, I must say.

I didn't mean shirt sleeves, I meant short sleeves. Gah, give me strength!

Menace, I keep seeing that recipe too!

Vampy, I bet you could sell all that royal gubbins memorabilia to an American on eBay!

Yes, I was going to say that all that Royal memorabilia is collectible and should therefore be sold on Ebay Goodness knows there's a load of tat (thinks of, ahem, pillowcases, keyrings and the like) on there!

Perhaps you are confused, Menacing. Mr Thornton and I take tea in the parlour where, as you say, a nice epergne would be quite a la mode. It would be most unbecoming to offer a gentleman tea in the boo-dwarr.

That recipe is hilarious, lovely as it sounds. It calls for fennel and then receives 5 out of 10 for appealing to children. Well, you don't say.

Oh and as for remembering life before computers, I am old enough that for years at work I had a typewriter with carbon paper. It was real progress when we got a photocopier and we actually employed a woman who worked full-time doing everyone's photocopying

Christ, I'm old.

LOL @ "well you don't say"! :o Fennel really is disgusting. I hate aniseed... and bleurgh at the thought of Pernod...

Ah, my mistake, Maud. Of course, it's other things than tea that you offer in the boo-dwarr.

Yum, fennel. I expect you could leave it out, if you didn't want to have all the lovely grub all to yourself.

My gran used to feed me aniseed balls. I suppose they are an acquired taste.

Though I did once make some bread rolls with fennel seeds in that were delicious....

Well I have been sat on the sofa with the boy pretty much all day and have now almost finished my Christmas shopping :)

Time for something pretty

Mmm mmm Twigs, what website do you buy those from, and can you have a wish list on there?

Hugs to poor Twigboy. he is in the wars a lot, these days, poor little tyke.

Curses, guess what. In true academy tradition, I have let the spuds boil dry.

Lucas did look a bit fraught there, I must say. Or was it Bateman? Maybe someone burned his potatoes.

Later, ladiez...

That was very pretty Twigs!

I have just been shopping and bought all the ingredients to make:

Salmon & Cous Cous for dinner
Christmas Cake tomorrow
Mojito Cake at the weekend

I will not be going near the scales any time soon methinks!

Spiro, I'd advise using 4 of the Extra Strong mints. The recipe said that 3 was very minty but I didn't find it so and thought it could've done with a touch more.

Interesting - thanks for the tip, Twigs. I thought three sounded like a lot and was going to just use 1 or 2.

I'm thinking I might grind them up in the pestle and mortar with some iridescent edible glitter and sprinkle them over rather than mix them into the icing?!

Had to laugh in the supermarket today. Saw a woman going round with 2 kids in a trolley - about 3 and 18 months, saying to them in a very 'read with mother' tone.

"Can you not tell from Mummy's voice that she's getting very close to the edge at the moment - grown ups call it psychotic..."

I nearly tapped her on the shoulder and said 'not long until bedtime' but I wasn't too sure what the reaction would be!

Do you really think some people would buy them? Although you're right there's some right crubbish treasures to be found on there!!

No food burning this week as the lovely ma is feeding us all week! Smells yum!!

Spiro - I like your shopping ingredients!! Let's all diet after half term!! I'm already on the wine nibbles to celebrate making it through my room! Less 80's fashion than I was expecting - think I must have had a clearout already a few years ago!

How's twig boy? Perking up?

I'm totally lost as to the day of the week!