The Forgotten

My kids forgot that yesterday was Mother’s Day (and my husband too!). So I didn’t get any card, any breakfast in bed, anything at all! My son was immersed in his GCSEss revision and my daughter was so worried about her important cup football match that thought it was next week. Anyway, at lunchtime I was feeling very low. It’s not the present that counts, I know, but I didn’t even have that, the “thought”. Something must have clicked in my daughter’s mind as she hid a little box under my plate with a small rushed “happy mother’s day” note. She found an old bracelet of mine somewhere around the house and an even older gift box, packed all together and improvised a little present. I felt better realizing that at least she was trying to cheer me up. Unfortunately a couple of hours later I found out that the little rascal conned £5 out of her own brother for sharing the cost of “mummy’s present”. O my sweet little “angel”!!!!!

A Real Bargain!

As you know, I rarely talk about clothes and accessories here. This doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in clothes. I am, and a lot, like most women. I read a few “clothing-related blogs regularly and I thoroughly enjoy them. Imogen of Inside Out Style is my style guru, Jane of The Small Fabric Of My Life is my inspiration, Sharon-Rose of Sharon Rose-Style, Thrifting, Fashion and Me always surprises me with her wonderful finds and Sher of Fashion After Forty, well she’s an American beauty, and I really like how she combines her items together to create her own lovely style.
But I don’t think I can write about clothes and/or fashion myself. I’m not an expert and I don’t have the time to think about them too much. I usually rely on friends or other people suggesting one or another item of clothing that could be useful or just nice and some bargains on sale at the moment. That’s why I’m especially proud to show my OWN fantastic finds (and in my size!).

Burberry, real leather (inside and outside and made in Italy!) shoes that I’ve just bought for the unbelievable price of £9.50, reduced from the original price of £250. And they are new, unworn and bought straight from the Burberry Outlet here in my town! Actually the label said £19 but when I went to the till they had been further reduced by half. I couldn’t believe it! The price of a cinema ticket, two Happy Meals, an M&S meal for two…
Unfortunately the store is closing down forever. So, no more of these bargains for the foreseeable future. Farewell, Adieu, Addio, Burberry!


PS. Unfortunately this post wasn’t sponsored by Burberry at all, but if they wish to sponsor me I’d be happy to oblige!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My teasers today:

...And who thought it was a good idea to rent bicycles to Italian adolescent language students? If hell did exist, it would be governed by a committee of fifteen-year-old Italian boys on bikes....

[ from page 161 - "Case Histories" by Kate Atkinson]

All the elements are in this book: humor, pathos, suspense, tragedy, emotion, irony and a small touch of paranormal. Kate Atkison at her best! Not to be missed.

Loss

Earth to Earth

Ashes to Ashes

Dust to Dust

And so I've lost another dear friend to cancer. Feelings of sadness, loss, anger and even guilt. Guilt because I will miss her although I know that now her suffering is over. Feelings of betrayal and anger because this time I really thought she would manage to win the fight.

And because I've never felt so attached to life as today.

Charlie's Choice Award

A couple of weeks ago I had the honour of being rewarded with a very important award, the Charlie’s Choice Award. Don't you know it? Shame on you! It is a very important award, much more important than the Baftas or/and the Oscars, especially because it’s got nothing to do with movies. It’s about making a small contribution for a very worthy cause. If you visit Tim’s blog, BRINGING UP CHARLIE and after reading his very interesting and entertaining entries, please look at his sidebar and click on the Just Giving link. Tim is collecting funds for the Neurosciences Department of the the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. This department helps patients who have suffered head injury, strokes or have cancers of the nervous system. They also help those with brain tumours, other diseases of the nervous system, MS and Parkinson's disease as well as Motor Neurone disease, epilepsy and many more.
I know we are constantly bombarded by money requests from all over and, after the horrendous catastrophes of the last couple of months, there are so many worthy causes to help. But please let’s not forget the local causes, hospital, centres, organizations who help us, our friends, families and neighbours when we need it. So if you have a few pounds to spare (come on, ditch your chocolate bar or your frappuccino for a day, they go straight to your hips anyway!), please visit Tim’s Just Giving page, Tim Atkinson is fundraising for Neurocare - JustGiving, and donate what you can. Apart from helping a good cause you will be able to proudly display your Charlie’s Choice Award! Thank you.

PS. Unfortunately the Jenson Button's GP cap has already been given away! Sorry!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teasers are:

"I see the King's hands put down his instruments. He picks up
a cloth and wipes blood and viscera off his fingers."

(Page 92, Restoration by Rose Tremain)

Save the BBC!

I've received this from a few friends so I'm passing in on to you. Please read it and sign the petition if you agree. Our voice is a very strong tool against these ruthless business people. Thanks for listening.
Ciao


Dear friends,

The BBC is considering sweeping cuts, cutting its website in half and dropping TV and radio stations. The reason: to enrich corporate media. According to a story in the Times, the proposal is a bid to "shrink" in order to "appease the BBC's rivals." If this goes forward, it's a giveaway to Rupert Murdoch, who sees the BBC as a threat to his profits. The BBC is a global treasure. Public outcry has prevented BBC cuts before, now we can save it again! Sign the petition and pass it along -- let's get to 100,000 signatures before we deliver it to the BBC Trust later this week, so they know the UK, and the world, want the Beeb to stand strong:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bbc/?vl

The BBC isn't perfect, but the people pushing for these cuts want to destroy it, not to improve it. The Times, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, responded by calling for further cuts such as closing Radio 1. Last autumn, Rupert's son James Murdoch gave a speech calling for the BBC to be forced to become "far, far smaller". Today's cuts are proposed in a "strategic review" written by John Tate -- co-author of the Conservative Party's manifesto, and now a BBC executive. If the goal is to reduce competition to corporate media outfits, this may just be the beginning. Murdoch -- the global media magnate -- has long seen the BBC as his biggest rival, and his media outlets have assaulted the Labor government. Now, with the recession hurting profits and a UK election coming soon, he and his allies are on the attack. We need greater investment in quality and originality by the BBC, not death by a thousand cuts. Let's raise all our voices to protect the Beeb, and deliver an overwhelming number of signatures to the BBC Trust this week -- sign and spread the word to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bbc/?vl