The Greatest Crepe

[MontserratCaballe]

I hope I have remembered the chosen title correctly - I have used Crem's title (think it was Crem's) as the old thread is full.

Herbs - will be fab to have lots of time en famille in the summer but eek re new job on horizon.

Inspired by CV and Rose I have put 10 things on Ebay. They range from size 10 to 16. WTF.

We'll be off to Leicestershire later this afternoon, MI, and I am not sure when I will be able to log on. Good luck and lots of hugs for the funeral. I hope the CD turns up pronto.

Another truly miserable day: we have the oldest DGS and DH and he have been painting an Airfix Spitfire - I don't know who is enjoying it more.

The CD was, fortunately, compiled by my very lovely cousin who is a former BBC radio journalist and has made backups, kept backups, has own equipment and so on....she assures me it WILL get sorted, so I am placing my faith in her. She is v organised.

You are very lucky with your cousins, MI!

Molly, we just go to bed and sleep a usual with phones by the bed if the DC are out Only been summonsed to pick up in the middle of the night once so far!

Have been to DMs house to sort/take stuff, bank to sort stuff and Estate Agents to sort stuff (having had an hours outdoor hot tub a deux at 8am!) and now having brunch before going to take DM out for a drive and icecream. It is 20 degrees here

Bloody miserable weather here (again). I overslept, so my scheduled ladyjog was a little shorter than usual (a blessing, perhaps, as my legs felt like lead all the way round). The burned-down house on my route has finally been demolished (trampoline and climbing frame still sitting forlornly in the back garden ) so no doubt another small block of luxury apartments will be appearing there soon.

Can't help on Cork, WAF - have been to just about every other corner of the Emerald Isle (north and south), apart from there.

Gin-lovers - Waitrose are doing a 20% Off Gin promo at the moment. I may have stocked up....

Auriga, I think that is touching too. She sounds very wonderful.

We had a brilliant holiday in Galway once......

MI, that is brilliant on the words, what an achievement at such a time. I hope tomorrow goes smoothly, will be thinking of you.

WAF , I'd go for somewhere like Kinsale , which is pretty, jam packed full of restaurants and pubs, has miles of splendid beaches, and is but a short drive to the city ( recommend The English Market to stock up on local edibles) for day trips. you can also easily drive the coast road over to Skibbereen which is beautiful. west Cork does tend to be the tourist choice, but in a gentle kind of way.
East Cork is a different proposition and has a more rural feel, it's all model farms and pretty fishing villages like Ballycotton. Of course this is the food capital of Ireland and where Ballymaloe is located, surrounded by cheese makers, potters and luxurious hedgerows. Middleton is like the 1950s.

Poor you MI, thanks heavens for cousin. Well done on the massive amount of writing . Seriously impressed.

There are around 100 people in the conference room where I am seated. Two of us are women. The other woman is putting coffee cups on a trolley.

No-one ever wants to speak to me at events
like this. The assumption is woman=unimportant. And if they do speak to you, they are constantly looking over your shoulder for someone more interesting.

I always laugh grimly at the accounts told by our black women MPs, MrsS. It is routine for sniffy remarks to be made to them that cleaners really ought to use their own lifts.

God, Mrs s that's so depressing. , and Molly, how vile.
When I was catering for all male'corporate lunches, the second I put on an apron, I became invisible and just The Help. When I took the apron off, I was ogled at as if I had come in to do a striptease. I stopped doing them soon after a gentleman complained that one of my waitresses was dressed IIn a distracting manner ( black skirt, white shirt). I was supposed to understand this despite the fact that he couldn't keep a grip of himself. Twunt.

Woman = note-taker is another one

I am indeed blessed in the cousin department. And DSis is also v lovely, it must be admitted.

On my way east.

I feel I should take advantage of that 20 per cent offer...

Crem, Molly - pleass tell me that some men are not arseholes (apart from dh who has sisters and is squashed)

Mrs S - horrible for you.

I had a black friend in Paris who used to live on one of the smartest streets. She said that one of the women in the block always used to ask her how the old lady was, who lived next door to her. She used to reply, I think she's fine, and one day, asked the woman why she kept asking. The woman had assumed that my friend was the old lady's carer. And was not one bit embarrassed when my friend said that no, she was not a carer...

slumps into chair FB followers will know that I've just taken DS on a transport odyssey around east London. Object: to go on as many types of transport as possible. Route: bus to Leyton, central line to Stratford, DLR to City Airport, DLR again to Emirates Cable Car, accursed and terrifying cable car to North Greenwich, visit to plane experience thing, boat to Canary Wharf, DLR to Stratford, tube to Leyton, bus home.

It was mercifully cut short from the massive trip he had originally wanted - involving the tram in Croydon, and associated trains to get there and back - when he realised how knackered he was after the first part.

DMum's knee op now can't go ahead until next Tuesday, so sis has done sterling work setting up various carers to look after them for the few days that will be necessary. And probably after that. They seem to be getting exponentially frailer...

Cork is fab (or was 20 odd years ago :) )

MI much strength for tomorrow.

Here one of the head honchos died post op yesterday... We are all a bit

Yes, MI. Will be thinking of you tomorrow. Well, in between talk of commodes.

Bon courage for tomorrow, MI.

I'll be thinking of you too tomorrow, MI. Hope it goes well.

Herbs - what a pain about the op. But you get a gold star for Half Term Entertainment Services. What was wrong with the cable car? We loved it (but then it wasn't windy when we went on it).

Yes, bon courage MI. And get the gin!

Herbs well done! I quite liked the sound of your trip Shame about the op, but glad to hear the carers are in place.

BD at poor head honcho.

Here visit with DM was worse than yesterday. She was having a tantrum at a carer as we arrived who was trying to get her nets down to wash and was then hysterical about how she thought she'd never see us again (despite us telling her yesterday) We calmed her down and took her out for a long drive round. Not good.

And then a crash on the M6 had everything at a standstill so we did a massive diversion (thanks DH who was navigating and had me going down country lanes ) so we are still about 3 hours from home

I don't really like cable cars, or things like the London Eye, as they give me a nasty combination of vertigo and claustrophobia. I felt a rising panic, not helped by DS prattling on 'mummy, is this just held up by a wire?' 'what would happen if it fell off?' 'would we still be in the cable car, and floating, or would we be in the water?' 'oooooooh we're going to crash' etc. Felt much better once we'd passed half way!

Herbs - your FB odyssey has kept me amused on the Paris RER . He needs to watch Where Eagles Dare - big fight on cable car - or apparently there is a scary film called Frozen (I haven't seen it) about students stuck on a ski lift.

MI - will be thinking of you tomorrow.

BTM - we once tried to do similar through East Anglia/Cambridgeshire having left the M11. I honestly think it would have been quicker to stick it out in the traffic jam.

MI hugs and for tomorrow.

So sorry about your mum's state of mind, BTM - so distressing for you.

Thinking of you tomorrow, MI.

Yes, hope tomorrow goes well. Will be thinking of you. Xx

This evening picked up and I had dinner with two kick ass American crepey lawyers. Who were in a different part of the conference.

Yes Hatty, I was thinking it would have been easier to sit on the M6.... Anyways, we are home now.

MrsS, they sound great - do they want to be our American correspondents?!

MI and later.

BTM so sorry - been there, done that (re dmum). Mine is just getting frailer and frailer. Ddad not good at the moment either....

I stayed at a friends (he of the champagne in the fridge) last night - no booze, crashed at 9.00 and feel much better than I have of late.