West London chat into Autumn

[sfxmum]

let us see if anyone finds their way here

SFX that does conjur quite an amusing picture, of Mrs Tiger chasing Mr Tiger with HIS golfclubs

Hello!

Watched star wars ...

Have food in the fridge but really don't fancy cooking. Can I throw them out and get a take away?

DS1 is running a temperature. Hopefully it's not serious.

sfx, yes did see that about Tiger

dusty, so night out will be your leaving do then? , but exciting for you, just hope those references come through quickly

vbus, glad you found your glasses. One advantage of having to wear them all the time is that the dcs don't get chance to hide them, though they have managed to bend them a few times . Glad you had a nice evening

Another miserable day today, think it will be a trip to the soft play this morning, work off some excess energy (the ds's, not me btw )

I was just about to say Tilly, if you have excess energy to work off you can come round here and help us pack lol...

Yes I guess it will be leaving do (Yikes!)

Am feeling quite vulnerable atm as have given in notice to school and job and am about to pay for ferry and house, but still awaiting final clearance on jobby. Have also told other job I'm not taking it, as I felt morally obliged to not keep them hanging on any longer, as they are small charity and didn't want to leave them in poo. By me telling them, it means they can still get someone into post by the date I was going to start with them. Just hope it doesn't all go pearshaped with T'other one

Ho Hum - am sitting here trying to avoid the packing ...

dusty sounds like one of those 'close your eyes and jump' type situations, terribly exciting when fancy free but quite scary when family is involved, still sometimes best go with it

tilly my glasses used to last before dd now they end up hidden/lost broken/ bent/ dirty
thinking of getting contacts

managed to sleep till late today just playing catch up with sleepless nights

slng was that a first? expect you mean the proper one not the recent horrid additions

did I mention I watched 'Moon' it is a film by David Bowie's son with Sam Rockwell, it is excellent proper old school sci fi

Hello!

DS2 off with DH to the Tate Modern. DS1 more or less recovered but resting with me. Well, he can rest in the dim sum restaurant ...

sfx - it's the second one, on telly yesterday afternoon. Kids introduced to Darth Vader's theme tune. DS2 shouted "Bad guy! Bad guy!" every time it went "dum dum dum dumty-dum dumty-dum". All had fun.

Slng - LOL at Star wars experience Cannot wait for DS1 to get into it

Dusty - hope you get references soon, how frustrating they're keeping you hanging on, hugs to you

My parents left yetserday , it was really nice to have some help for past 2wks, esp as DS2 wasn't on top form. It was nice for them to spend so much time with Dc too.

We have the Curious case of Benjamin Button to watch tonight

(((hugs))) back to you vbus 'cos your parents have left, bet they are lovely if you are any thing to go by

Thanks SFX, this will either be the best thing I have ever done or the mostblardytstoopid, lets wait and see.

The good thing is that the stress gave me enough adrenelin to spend from 8am to now (haven't finished yet), packing, sorting, putting into storage and hoovering today. Phew! But we have really cracked it now, done all the hard stuff. I found some feminist Spare Rib magazines from 20 years ago

there's something very odd about celebrating your childs birthday when you weren't at the birth. Wonder if I shall ever get used to it?

hello all

foul weather for school run, which I did not do due to dd's scary hacking cough, one more day at home and today dh is also home sneezing and coughing I am going out soon I think

slng love the star wars experience

best find some time for study as am well behind

Yes we had Monday morning, foul weather and screaming toddler outside the school this morning

Thanks Dusty

KC - hope Gherkin enjoyed his birthday!

Sushi - hope you feel better soon

Just got an email from school about his costume for xmas play and it needs to be made and brought into school by this Weds utterly ridiculous. I don't understand why they leave it to the last min to tell you these things

hello everyone..
yes, lovely, rainy monday morning, eh?
dusty...can't beliiiieeeeeeeeeeve you're going so soon
thought it was a feb start - or was that the other job?
let's have a cuppa - or something stronger - next week.

kew, yes, must feel strange, but you celebrate family day (is that the right term) too, don't you? the more celebrations the better, eh?
vbus - pretty typical, i'm afraid. the other week, ds1 mentioned in passing:" oh, i've got to dress up as an evacuee for for our assembly tomorrow." okayyyyyy..
at least i had a chance to dive into a charity shop..his friends told their mums that night/on the morning respectively.

just been a trip with ds1's class to the poppy factory in richmond. amazing we've got it on our doorstep. it was very interesting and touching. excellent guide and tour. they made 41 MILLION poppies this year.

right, better put some washing away before pick-up - it's not raining. amazing.
toodlepip

..talking of poppies...you know when you have one of those flashbacks of idealistic-know-f-all-about-life-but-full-of-hot-air flashbacks to youth....
remember when i wore a white poppy, being a pacifist and all...now, of course, know the red poppy is to remember the serving soldiers who haven't got the luxury to think of politics, etc....now realise the two - your political views and compassion for soldiers - can be separate.
right, as you were.

I'm a big fan of wearing a red and white poppy (if I can find a white one) - supporting peace is not incompatible (IMVHO) with supporting soldiers injured in the course of their duty even in a conflict I don't agree with.

Foot soldiers need to be able to obey orders (except the patently ridiculous ones!) in order for the military to operate and I hate the thought that some poor 18 yr having sympathy for his leg blown off in Bosnia but not if it happened in Iraq.

steppie have strong feeling on the war subject
definitely anti war lots of marches etc but I am yet to meet a sane soldier who advocates war, I think it is a lovely thing to remember the dead and injured, makes the real cost of war quite clear

actually proper remembrance should make it harder for those in power to go to war

anyway

I hope both my patients wearing my patience are off to work and school, respectively , tomorrow

am sure am being mean

..exactly, that's what i meant. they're serving soldiers and do their duty, regardless of their own - or our - political views.
and we HAVE to remember them.
it is absolutely heartbreaking, though, the sheer loss of life - WW1 was such a futile war with no REAL cause..and boys, literally boys, like lambs to the slaughter. (much the same as now with lack of resources, equipment, etc, i know).
one poignant snapshot is etched on my mind. in an interview with a mum whose 19-year-old son was serving in afghanistan, she got that dreaded knock on the door.
dreading what she knew was coming, she put her hand on the official's lips, trying to stop him saying the words.
you know how you can't get some images out of your mind? whenever i hear of another soldier killed, i always think of that poor woman trying to 'shush" the words that are about to tear her heart out..

know what? yes, you've got to let your kids do what they want to do and live their own lives. but i fully admit i would do everything i could to persuade my children not to go into the forces.

...and on a lighter note, am going to
a) attempt to stay awake during flashforward this evening
b) try to understand it

haven't got a chance, though as
a) knackaroonied at moment
b) i fear i'm woefully dim...and, after tonight's episode, it's not on again until the new year.
bonkers

right, back to supervising three lots of homework by three (very reticent) children.
I HATE HOMEWORK

I hate homework too, but I feel obliged to be "encouraging" because you mustn't undermine school etc etc. But I don't see school returning the f*king courtesy. They give them sweets as rewards and treats while we are told to replace "sweet puddings" with f*king fruit salad. What fruitcake would eat fruit salad instead of sweet puddings, is what I want to know.

Have just read Logicomix. Poor old Bertie Russell would be turning in his grave if he knew of the inconsistencies these so-called education establishments throw at us everyday.

But we have no homework today, so I'm not complaining too much.

DS2 has been a complete nut case the whole afternoon, to the extend of being banned from eating the chestnut cookies we've just baked... Can someone take him upstairs to bed now please.

slng they do have a way of driving you mad don't they? we have started with the homework too

dd is in bed hope to dispatch dh to bed soon too

did a tiny bit of Christmas shopping today but need to get going if I am to have it done in time with no rushing around

steppie that is quite heartbreaking when you know what is coming but can't bear to have it spoken
I think one of my most enduring memories of childhood was going to so many funerals of soldiers (Portugal's colonial wars) I knew many who lost family through death and trauma because so many were hounded of body and mind
war is a horrible thing

on a lighter note might actually see some friends this weekend whom I have not seen for a few years,
would be lovely

Homework is ruining my life..

Totally agree with anti war sentiments. A lot of lads join the army for valid reasons, must be heartbreaking to have a young son or daughter killed in war

one of my long term ex's (which means he was a long term boyfriend and in his case also a long term ex as a friend) is ex royal artillery major and didn't know what to do with himself when he first left the army. I suggested he become a mercenary, his response? "I might be prepared to die for my own country but I'm not bloody dying for anyone else's". Truly not a mercenary in any sense of the word .

BTW he know works for the red cross lecturing on warfare (yes they do actually have that function though to be fair its mostly trying to persuade rogue armies and terrorist groups not to shoot piles of civilians).

I remember what it was like when he was posted to Bosnia - it was towards the end of our relationship and mostly I hoped he boiled his head in oil but I still had butterflies when I knew he was operating on the front line.