A Very Crepey New Year

[Cremolafoam]

Will this do ??

Herbs, I'm so sorry. crying at table just so sad. Good that you got to the bottom of ds's feelings though.

Too much poorliness already - matron clearly needed on the warpath. General health in my office seems to be very little better than when we broke up for Christmas despite all the oatcakes, seeds and vitamin drinks ostentatiously laid out on desks. Look after yourselves.

Rose - good luck with this iteration of the script and sorry you're dreading your birthday. anything crepeys can do?

Mrs S - good luck with dd1; situation sounds hurtful and infuriating but also quite complicated to me

BTM - sorry not going any better for DS. you're doing miracles performing so well at work in circus

And thanks everyone to cheerful and understanding chundering chat. As with Stropps and Mrs S it comes easily and quickly to me but I'm inclined to forget after the first three drinks. Years ago I threw up (neatly) in the 100 club in Oxford Street and rang the next day to apologise. Chap answering the phone said you're not the first person to throw up here but you're definitely the first to ring and say sorry. (obviously I know much better not to do it but he sounded quite pleased)

ps, MI, meant to say, loving your posts and pics. Is Coromandel real?

Crem, look after yourself. Pneumonia, mild or not, is Not Good. Take to your bed!! Is there any chicken soup available?

Temperature now up to 39.7. Am going to have a Dight Durse and go to bed. It hardly seems five minutes since I had this before Christmas.

It's a resurgence, MrsS. Off to bed with your Dight Durse!

Oh Crem, I didn't see that. Stropps right. And you Mrs S. To Bed!

Oh my, Crem, nasty. And while on leave.....and you MrsS. Hope you re both tucked up now.

Herbs Crying at table, in bath, in petrol station will possibly quite normal for a while. It was a sweet shop that did it for me while in NZ.

Be ready to offer shoulders to cry on. Funerals are almost useful in that you need to concentrate on the business end of things, which allows feelings to be parked for a bit.

Mrs S , that's the high temp I had afore Christmas. (103 degrees in old money) this is not good in adults and should be closely 'monitored'. You ought not to be in work mrsS.
Hope you have an ice pack (for head, not D&S obv)
Aw Herbs, what a pet ds is. Hope he feels better soon.

I'm all right. Just floppy and tired. Catching up with Christmas Specials on firestick.

MrsS, I hope you stay at home today.

BTM, I am thinking of you all.

I am having a coffee in a very nice cafe. Would have come and worked here yesterday but it was shut.

It is a great GREAT advantage of being Crepey that the hassle I used to get has dramatically decreased; I get an appraising glance and am then dismissed in a 'nice boobs legs, shame about the face' way.

Popping in to say Get Well Soon MrsS and Crem, and aww bless Master Herbs' caring so much about his DDad being upset.

Big thanks to Crem for the Rick Stein tip - we watched it last night on catch-up, and it definitely made me resolve to go. Although as every other word he spoke was "cold" we might wait a while. Food looked lush, apart from the fermented fishy bits and sheep heads. Coincidentally he stayed at the very hotel that was part of the deal I unearthed.

Hope MrsS and Crem are holed up in bed...
Beachy how has ds's return to school gone?

Hope all sick Crep's and offspring are currently tucked up in bed. I am coming out the other side, having coughed all over Rose on Monday. This cold has been in full swing for a full 10 days, moving from nose to ears and head to chest. It's quite parky here today, couldn't even think about Iceland.

I'm sorry to hear ds is no better, BTM. I hope you find a solution to the work/care situation. I've been sitting here, missing being in Italy with the family, babysitting a 'revising' ds, who is pretty much sleeping, pottering, staring at his phone etc. He is quite unnerved by just us being here, sitting downstairs with me in the evening, bit jumpy at every noise or dog bark and last night felt very down. God knows how these mocks will be for him. He looks quite amazed at some of the past papers I've shown him, like he's really seeing the format for the first time ever. I know he will have done these at school, but it's like he's had a big foggy duvet wrapped around his head since Spring (or like his head has been so full and fizzy that he just doesn't recognise things he's seen before).

On the positive news this week, I have fully de-Christmassed and I have three bunches of spring flowers all around the house. On the negative, during the de-Christmas, I have found evidence of mice, so everything has been Tupperwared to death and the traps are out!

Oh Beachy :( poor ds...

I took tree down yesterday much to ds's displeasure - but it really was getting to me (usually it's gone before New Years Day).

I am enjoying my week off - I like the fact that the world is getting back to normal then I can join it :).

Page 2???????

Those unrepeatable even if you want to hybrid meals, BD, I know those.

Am sick again meself, Crepeys, sorry for absence. Hugs to those with troublesome ds's (always a worry ime as you know). Herbs and Cocoa, and Crem, and every other Crepey. Will post when Sister has cured me.

Oh Molly, pet. Sorry you are sick as well.
I have tried to get up today and act normally, but was floored by conduction a shower, and then fell asleep in a chair this afternoon.
Dh is huffing because there's no dinner. My response to this was ungracious in the extreme.
I have the most alarming cough.

On a different note, but honestly, exuding sympathy -

Crepeys, I'm off to my singing w/e near Seahouses again in a few weeks then DH and I are staying an extra few nights in the area. Any suggestions for anywhere nice, near good food/drink, not granny or too glamorous as we will mostly have been dressed for singing and walking ... ?

Northumberland! My favourite topic.

Top tips:

Alnwick, for its castle, gardens and fantastic bookshop in old station. It's the most civilised place in the world. You can drink tea, and read the books, and there's a little train that runs around the ceiling.

Cragside - amazing national trust place, home of Armstrong who invented just about everything, including the first domestic dishwasher.

Bamburgh for its castle and beach combo.

Craster has two lovely seafood restaurants. The first, the Jolly Fisherman, was full so we went to the other one.

There's a swanky new restaurant that's opened in Seahouses, on the coast road towards Bamburgh, but I can't remember what it's called. Helpful.

Very sorry to hear about all the ill crepeys. Crem - tell DH to stick his supper expectations where the sun doesn't shine. Mrs S - I hope you're in bed and not in work. Matron will be around with a cattle prod to make sure you're being sensible.

On a totally different note, DS's endless trawl through the transport-related areas of YouTube revealed this - a trio of crepeys who have ridden every London bus route from beginning to end. They are all very splendid, and reminded me of us.

I didn't leave the office until 6.45. Most people are still off post-Christmas. And those that are there are very keen to interfere in my work because it is more exciting than theirs. I wish they would fuck off and stop interfering. Feeling worse now. Big meeting tomorrow cancelled, hoorah, so will see how I feel in the morning and either go in briefly or not at all.

Firstly a big hug and Thank you for my SS present/ book. It looks like a great read, and the title made me laugh. I know, I'm jetlagged and a bit prone to odd humour.

MrsS you know what you really should do... This will come back and bite you in the b*m if you don't rest up and take care of yourself.

Colly!!! Not again!! You poor poor love.

And that's also for the rest of you suffering lugys, revision panics and medical stuff esp BTM

I am back in Blighty having dragged myself through treacle all day and in bed and wide awake as I can be. Argh. At least all our luggage followed.

Had large Cloudy Bay Sav. at Auckland airport and penned a rather chilled email to DM. Seems to have worked. She is overjoyed to have us back, and her panic mode has dropped from a 9.5 back to a more manageable 5.0. Long may it last.

She keeps asking if any of my friends are coming to the service. I honestly don't know, and don't want to contact them because it then puts them under pressure to come IYSWIM.

I think this type of thing (ie Services) are pretty regular when you get into your 70s and 80s. My age group are running around doing their day jobs/ dog walking/ dance classes etc.

Can't wait for the day to be over tbh.

Good work on the chilled email, Cocoa - makes a huge difference. The only friends I would contact, if any, would be those you might like to come yourself? Sometimes as a friend it's hard to know if your presence is wanted or not.

Herbs thanks very much. Well tell DH all about small train.

Mrs S, hope you're still in bed.

Wishing all unwell Crepeys a peaceful day in bed.

Here the black dog has firmly taken up residence on my bed - I should have been ready for this -New Year and a looming birthday always bring on thoughts of 'what have I done with my life' throw in loss of mum and it's much worse this year. I have also realised, via week off, how toxic the place I work is and must (for own sake) learn to disengage. I also need to lay some demons to rest, or act on them.

Cocoa welcome back - can a close friend come to give you moral support? I'd do that for my friends.

Morning crepies - have missed a few days, but had very early start today with DD1 getting Eurostar, so have been up for hours. DD2 went yesterday (no they couldn't have communicated and coordinated their trains). Have put sheets in the machine and we are now back to a quiet household of three.

DH's work troublesome again, owing to much willy waving by certain senior management - I can't quite believe men are such wankers sometimes. Today, have parent meeting with DS's teachers to go through "lazy boy" school report and why/how he should get his act together.

I'm so sorry you are all ill - Crem, Mrs S, Molly. Mrs S - it does not sound as if you should have been at work yesterday. I hope you're resting up today. Cocoa is right!

Welcome back Cocoa - hope you're shaking off the jetlag - would only invite very good friends whom you have a history with and who know your Mum.

Beachy and BTM - so sorry to hear about ailing sons. and hugs.

MI - keep posting warm photos and giving us little reports (it is -2 here this morning so enjoying vicarious heat).

NU and WAF - hope you're recovering well. WAF - HH sounds awful - I've had mild gastritis and that was bad enough.

Giddy - saw you on the Oxbridge thread, whilst looking out for somebody else. Fingers crossed that it's good news.

Today, quiet day, of cleaning, washing, going back to gym after the break. Am also going to get my roots done as starting to look like an old bag lady.

Morning all. It's cold here in London too - particularly in my house since the British gas man who came yesterday couldn't mend the boiler. He's returning today with more parts but no guarantees. We also have two vet appointments this morning for insulin check and dental work. And both dh and I have to go to work. So the dds have been arguing over who goes to the (warm) vets with the cats and who waits in the (cold) house for the plumber.

The house is a mess as we've all been too cold to do anything other than huddle round the fire so no holiday washing has been done yet which will be a nuisance when dd3 has to pack to go back to school next week - fingers crossed for boiler repairs. We're avoiding 12th night bad luck though as the girls dedecorated yesterday - I don't count the thousands of pine needles awaiting the Hoover as decoration for this purpose and am too reliant on the girls goodwill re vet and plumber to risk suggesting the hoovering gets done. They may surprise me but if not i can do it tomorrow. Tempting as it is to leave it for my cleaner's return even I'm not that much of a slattern.

Sorry to those of you feeling down - but we have turned the corner to spring so I hope your spirits lift soon.