In the bleak midwinter, frosty Crepes may moan

[Collymollypuff]

Earth stood hard as iron, my heart like a stone.

Fingers and paws crossed Crem - can we write a helpful testimonial for you?

Squeee at the kitty, Crem! Gorgeous!

Hatty - flu better than whooping cough, but proper flu is vile. Wishing them all a quick recovery!

Love that puddy-tat, Crem. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. Starting the new year with a new feline presence in the house sounds like a fine plan.

Hatty, sorry to hear about the flu. Boo.

Glad you had a good lunch and saw your lovely friend, MrsS. Mmm, chorizo - I must go and cook up something luscious involving chorizo, eggs and potatoes. And lots of veg. I have a sudden craving.

A few days before Christmas, I toddled off to Waitrose to avail myself of some special offer on some champagne (buy 2 bots for a reduced price). First bottle was perfectly fine, but the second bottle - opened for an aperitif on Christmas Day - was bloody foul. So bad that we poured our glasses back into the bottle and moved onto the back-up plan of cremant d'Alsace. So I've just been back to Waitrose with a 3/4 full bottle of vinegary champagne. And have come away with a replacement bottle. Which obviously I needed to test immediately.

Have to say that Customer Services did glare at me quite a bit, but the feckers have enough money off me on a regular basis for me to have enough righteous indignation to get me through that situation. Feh.

Stropps - our Waitrose Champagne was shit. Not off, but both bottles exploded so we only ended up with half a bottle of each. And DH managed to drop one of those...

Well, having now drunk half a bottle of the replacement champagne, I'm happy to report it's passed muster. And my Spanish omelette (aka massive pile of potatoes and veg fried up with eggs and chorizo) was very restorative. Dd is off out with old school friends, and ds and dh have insisted on eating a bendy pepperoni pizza and watching a frankly terrible Star Trek film. That one where far too good-looking young actors pretend to be Kirk, Spock and Co.

Stroppdog is squeaking his Christmas presents in my face. Father Christmas was a bit too generous to Stroppdog, who is now feeling very above himself.

BTM - so sorry to hear your sadness. It just sounds awful. I hope that getting home at least resolves some of the equilibrium and helps matters a bit.

Crem - that kitten is blasted GORGEOUS. You must have it, whatever it takes. We shall back up whatever outrageous claims to cat expertise you concoct.

The dog that joined us on Christmas day was a very good help in my kitten campaign. DS kept on about us getting a dog - no no no, poo, holidays, walks, etc - which made getting a kitten look like a walk in the park. Not that one would take a kitten for a walk in the park, but YKWIM.

DS has declared that he wants to join a choir. Not just any choir, but one that sings 'high pitched songs about god'. So, a church choir. I have tracked one down in Chingford that has darling little choirboy outfits, and takes them on tour to Europe. I may have to go to, just to ensure everything's Above Board.

Had NCT friends around for 'lunch'. Did Nigella's coca cola ham (good, but a bit dry), Jamie Oliver's beer up butt chicken (good, but VERY dry) potato salad of my own recipe (yum), and Jamie coleslaw (yum). Friends brought pudding. We got through six bottles of wine between four drinkers. And my eyes have been stinging all day. Think I was a bit slapdash with the make-up this morning.

Awww, am imagining Stroppdog and his squeaky toys

Thanks Herbs, it's a bit calmer now we're home and I've glugged the massive glass of Faileys DD poured me "to finish the bottle"

Choirboy thing sounds great. Maybe he will be the next Aled Jones!

We are on a 'being considered' list for The Kitten. I wont sleep tonight.Apaz he had over a hundred responses and will take his time to read them.
She is divine. And will spell the end of going out for good if we get her.
We are also considering a puppy at the same time. ( loons)
They must , however , be aesthetically pleasing in the most ridiculous way. The Vet will be giving me The Glad Eye.

Hatty , having had both glu jab AND proper flu recently, i sympathisé with the poor dcs. Its really awful. The jab only stops recent strains of flu so no guarantees of avoiding it completely.

Herbs, such a gorgeous image of ds in his surplice singing in a pure voice.
Lovely.

Taken a while ago at St Pauls. A natural.

Jeez, Cremo, 100 applicants?
I'm sure you're the best though!

Very cute, Herbs.

Aw Herbs. Fa là la la la!

BTM, You never know with Gumtree people do you. The right pet will make itself known. Reluctant to take on a kitten before we go away to Morocco, but hey ho. There would be a queue of cat sitters if we get her. ( sigh)

Nah, she's been taken
Back to the Pussy Board

Aw, Crem....the kitty of your dreams will emerge soon, I'm sure (maybe after your holiday?).

Cute pic, Herbs. DNiece was in the Guildford Cathedral choir for a while, but there was an onerous weekly schedule of rehearsals and practice which eventually put her off sufficiently to leave.

Have done diddly squat today, apart from the odd burst of "sorting" and tidying, which has been very restful and therapeutic. I have packed up three little parcels of M

Ooh, what happened to half my post?? I'm road-testing the new Android app, and it's not entirely glitch-free, it would seem.

Was trying to say I've had a very productive stint on the M

And again!! It seems as if it doesn't like the ampersand. I can't be bothered to repeat myself for the thrid time, but it involved the Marks AND Spencer Advent Calendar swapsies thread..... Let's try another ampersand and see if it cuts off

And again!! It seems as if it doesn't like the ampersand. I can't be bothered to repeat myself for the thrid time, but it involved the Marks AND Spencer Advent Calendar swapsies thread..... Let's try another ampersand and see if it cuts off

Get a nice fluffy black one, Crem. Or a grey one. Or tabby. Or, or, or!

Greetings to all!

First off: you can't get TB on the tube. In fact TB is a disease you get from close proximity - it's a household disease, not a playground one. You need constant, close exposure, not a casual cough. I will dig out more about this when I get home. The jab only lasts a few years, which is why it used to be given to teenagers (there was an assumption that it would take effect when they moved into the workplace) and is now given to children, but the reason for the areas of social deprivation is, see above, about how it's a disease of the household not the playground (if a child is diagnosed, look at the family not the class for further infection). As I say, I don't have my notes in front of me but here endeth the lecture

I am very sorry about the flu.

So I am sitting in the office of the place where my cousin teaches t'ai chi (!) in Bonkersville. It is extremely beautiful here and I am planning on doing Not Very Much for the next few days bar make some phone calls etc to Chennai. And possibly not even that.

Herbs what a cutie.
I miss my one at that age. Having said that, he's at a lovely age now... All of 18 years. He took a great pic of me outside my LEAST favourite NZ winery today to post on FB. I say my least favourite... I mean I drink the stuff, but every bring a bottle party contains at least ONE bottle of Villa Maria. It's become a bit of a cliche in these parts.

We've traversed several mountain passes, and find ourselves in a very Kiwi-esque Spa town. Am trying to persuade the boys to join me bobbling around in said spa, but they're too engrossed in their emails/FB postings so am hoping tomorrow morning I'll have better luck in persuading them.

The motor lodge we're in, has us in 3 single beds in a studio apartment that hails from the 70s. Swirly carpet. Apricot laminated kitchenette. Shit brown bed covers. Can't shake the Butlins feel. However, it is absolutely spotless.

DH and I still in truce mode

My full sympathies to those in Flu mode. I use the capital 'F' in the full understanding of how horrible it is. It floored DH over Christmas about 10 years ago... And he really doesn't do illness of any sort. I was really quite concerned at one point, but after 48 hours he seemed to turn a corner. I hope all yours are now doing the same. I think it boiled down to gallons of lemon barley water and paracetamol (almost hourly).

Oh and re flu jab: it's not the 'most recent' strains it protects you against, it's the three which the WHO has identified as likely to be the most prevalent in either the northern or southern hemisphere (depending on where the jab is administered) that year. Depending on information supplied by a network of labs around the world and decided each year. So no it won't cover you against a rogue strain, but you are likely to be covered.

And yes, preschool boosters should IFAIK protect against whooping cough.

But most of all, don't worry about casual transmission of TB. You need to be around it a lot to develop it.

Sorry, I write about this stuff for a living. . Though am also ridiculously casual about germs - I sign up to any vax going, but don't worry about food that has loitered for weeks days in the fridge or so forth. And having said that I didn't have a flu jab and should have. Again, am so sorry about the fluey kids. Flu is horrid.

Ooh cocoa, I wonder if it was one of the spa-towns we went to - Hamner Springs on the South Island?
And we stayed in the most fabulously 70's "Batch" on the lake in Rotarua, also spotless. Are you just doing the South Island? Did you do the bleak and isolated west coast (thinking traversing many mountain passes)?!

Sorry about the kitty, Cremo, but there will be more I'm sure!

BTM Hole in one!
I think we managed to get one of the last rooms in town - we were due to stay in Kaikora tonight, so had to find somewhere else... Along with several thousand others.

I have balanced the evening out by locating lush place to eat, so not all bad.

We have stayed in a whole mixture of places, and every one of them has been spotless. I love the fact that every loo - public or otherwise- has soap, love the fact there is a teapot... And tea... And proper milk. The Kiwi attitude to life feels so right - coming from an overly stressed unable-to-live-in-the-moment household. It's British. And yet not.

I fell in love with NZ 25 years ago, and this has just rekindled it.

We're just sticking to South Island. Not enough time to do both properly.

MI thank you for that info. I have missed the flu jab this year, but should have it, as I'm classed as asthmatic by GP. Will def. try harder next year.

Yes, Crem sorry about kitty. There is an even cuter one that's destined for you. Just you wait.

NZ sounds lovely, Cocoa. Definitely on my bucket list, but we can't afford to get there with five of us. about the 1970s motel - we found in several of the hotels we stayed in in the US that shit brown was the default colour for sheets, bedspreads, walls, carpets. Depressing!