Plugging the Zimmers again...

...because I heard on Radio2 this morning that they are going to America to be guests on a show with George Cloony as the other guest. Go Zimmers!!! The lead singer is 90 years old, and the group has a combined age of nearly 3000. They've had nearly 2,000,000 viewings on Youtube so lets get even more... The oldies are fighting back and I'm really very glad that they are...I hope I get to record a rock classic when I'm 90!. Watch it again!

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Can I just say...

...without taking away attention from my previous post... (WATCH IT! WATCH IT NOW!!)...

I am very very upset about this. I went there on my first school trip when I was 8 years old. :o(

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Marvelous, musical, magical, marvel...

Many things have cheered me up lately, for which I am very grateful... Hopefully you will see what I mean when you watch this rather amusing clip, a lesser known Harry Potter production... there are others of the same ilk on a familiar video hosting site we all know so well. I'm still laughing at it now.. :o)

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Anyone for a curry?

No? Ok then...

:o)

Taking some good advice...

...from enrish.com... It always makes me laugh...

It may be time for a... well... coffee?... during which I can ponder about this vital element of everyday life.

Classic.

More anon (see, not so miserable)

Burn-out

Ok so this is not going to be an amazing post of excitement and joy. And I have never wanted to use my blog to moan about myself, other people (not seriously anyway) or my life... but I think I'm burned-out. Or depressed. But I don't like saying I'm depressed because I feel it's disrespectful/nothing compared to people who are actually clinically diagnosed and usually have reasons for their depression...

I have no enthusiasm. I feel hopelessly sorry for myself for no good reason... I'm tired ALL the time despite sleeping quite average hours (although possibly not enough)... When I eat I don't feel nutrition coursing through my veins (the oposite, I feel tired because my body seems to be putting all energy into actually digesting the food so the rest of me sits helplessly and waits for it to finish, by which time I should probably either eat again or sleep - ok I admit that I find this particular part quite funny in a miserable kind of way) I have felt like this before but I had a Summer holiday to look forward to at this time of year every year of my life until this year... someone help me! I'm not a nice person at the moment....at least I'm nice outwardly, I hope (apart from taking it out on a particular someone who really really didn't deserve it), but I'm dreading each day instead of loving it. I just don't feel like me. I keep saying I need a holiday, but I have whole weekends to myself to do whatever I like, and I dont feel rested after those either... It been like this for a few months now so I'm getting really sick of it.

I can feel I'm on a downward spiral...

More anon... (definitely not as miserable as this post I promise)

Eurovision!

Yes lovely people it's that (hideous) time once more when nearly every country in europe comes together to compete against eachother with what can only be described as the worst music ever in the history on humankind.

I know, I know, it's MEANT to be kitch... but I get the impression that there are people taking it deadly seriously. I'll be watching because of the delightful and delectible Terry Wogan, becuase his satirical banter makes it all the more bearable, and of course, it's very important to turn on subtitles so you can see what on earth the competitors are singing about...some of this years lyrical sneak previews being:

Russia
"Oh, don't call me funny bunny
I'll blow your money, money
I'll get you to my bad ass spinning for you"... obviously... I quite agree...

Czech Republic
"Her den is there by the railway
She collects coins from fountains
And puts them on the tracks
She's building a temple, a tin bridge
The first guest is coming over
So at least his legs won't hurt"...which I personally think is ROCKIN'...

and the most sensible of all...

United Kingdom
"Ba-ba-da, Ba-ba-da,
Ba-da-da-ba, ba-da,
Duty free madam?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."... *sob*... I'm just so proud!

Having said all that, the Israeli song is making some kind of subtle comment about not wanting to be blown up by terrorists... so not all, how shall I say, lighthearted...

I'll be investing in a bottle of red and sitting down for a night in front of the telly. For those of you crazy cats who can't wait that long you can track rehearsal progress and other thrilling features on the Eurovision website. Marvelous!

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Friars, Dr Who, Harry Potter...and some food for the soul.

Oooo doing well, this is my 60th post... not as impressive as some but I feel happy that my blog now has more than 1 post by a significant amount. I'm also aware that many people have been crying out for something new to read... I mean I know that my blog is basically the centre of everyones coffee-break universe...tsk! (I really don't mean that!)

I am still recovering from possibly one of the best get-away-from-it-all weekends in the history of get-away-from-it-all weekends. I went to Alnmouth Friary, as a last minute guest, with York St John Chaplaincy. The friary is run by Franciscan monks and there are five of them living there from ages 30(ish) to 80(ish). They were inspirational people, for all the reasons you would expect, and more. Scrap any comedy monk stereotypes you may have floating around your head at this moment. My stereotypes have been completely dissolved... They were fantastic people, really funny, intellectual, down to earth, and most importantly from my point of view, they are completely in touch with what's going on in the world....possibly even more so than a lot of people bumbling around in this world.

Jessus!... no really I mean it's Jesus...

The Friary and the garden which was perfect...

The Friary is in a coastal village in Northumberland, on top of a hill overlooking the sea, with a beautiful beach, and cliff top walks going around the coast in both directions. They welcome guests of all beliefs and none. Guests could take part in as much or as little of the prayer life as they wanted. On Saturday evening, after eating supper in silence, we all wanted to watch Dr Who in the guest common room...when we got there we descovered that one of the friars, Brother Augustus, had already set the video to record it so he could watch it later (he was the coolest one!).

The Sea!

The following morning I got talking to the oldest Friar, Brother Edward, about London, and he talked about how he used to take the Tube to school everyday as a boy. Then I mentioned how the main thing I think about on the Tube is my memory of when the 5th Harry Potter book came out and seeing six people in a row all reading it. Then we started talking about Harry Potter, because he'd read it too!

Watching Dr Who... Awesome...(and my feet)

The stillness and peacefulness was exactly what I needed...to think. Sometimes I have trouble thinking straight in the city. It's too busy, too many noises that break my concentration. The weather was sunny, so I got some sketching done and no one interrupted me, and I went walking on my own. The only thing I missed out on was the library, which was one of those wall to wall Victorian style libraries complete with a sea view and so many comfy chairs it was difficult to choose where to sit. I should have paid more attention to it, but I spent most of my time outside or in the chapel.

Me and the sea... ok so I look terrible again... but the sea was bloomin' cold!

A weekend with monks is not for everyone admittedly... but I was really happy there, and I haven't felt that kind of peacefullness in a long time. It was definitely worth it.

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