GrannyRant

Granny calling….I woke this morning with a tongue like Ghandi’s flip flop! It was 10.00am and aunty was already pootling about in the kitchen, water, water, I need water! Martin was still snoring and Uncle wasn’t up yet either, we went to bed as the birds started singing, it could be a slow and easy morning of recovery I think. Aunty and I chatted on the deck and I came to life slowly.

Once everyone was up, we ate breakfast of vanilla yogurt, blueberries and toast with butter. Lots of tea and coffee flowed and we all felt a bit better. Aunty was sensible and had ‘left us to it’ with the vodka, therefore she was in much better shape than the rest of us. Kate was still in bed when we left for our visit to ‘The Western Development Museum’ a museum dedicated to the development of Saskatchewan from around 1910 and it holds lots of old farming equipment, cars and buildings set up as they were back in the day. They employ a lot of Senior Citizens who tell you all about how life was in the early years of Saskatchewan’s history and it was very interesting. We got loads of pictures including one of us sat at the Railway station in ‘Bootleg’ I wonder where that name came from?

Afterwards we went for our first fix of Tim Horton’s coffee and headed off to the ‘Taste of Saskatchewan Event in the grounds behind the “Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon. There a stalls from all the local restaurants and you buy tokens to sample the food, we had Pad Thai with chicken (veggie version for Martin), this consists on egg noodles, fried with bamboo shoots and bean sprouts, onions and chicken and topped with peanuts. We also had some ribs and topped it off with ‘Berry Barn’ Saskatoon Berry tart, pancakes and whipped cream. So much food, we failed to eat it all, we were all stuffed!

There was a live band playing a, called ‘September Long’ Kate knew the lead singer from high School and they were great, I will be watching out for an album which they promise is coming soon. We went to see the ‘Ultimate Man shed’ you could buy tickets to win it, what a shed! Inside there was a sauna, 3 TV’s DVD player, shower, bed, beer fridge, oven, dishwasher and a whole pile of tools that went with it, the only thing missing was a woman, I wonder why? It was huge and we all said we wouldn’t be able to fit it in our Garden’s. The atmosphere was lively and happy and we met some friends of Aunty and Uncle’s all nice people who wished us a happy holiday. There was one guy who was slightly odd though, he was called Wes, and wore huge biker boots, a bandana and looked like a throw back to 60’s USA. Nice guy but a bit of a fruit loop I think. Uncle is convinced that since he stopped boozing, he has gone a bit crazy!

From the Taste of Saskatchewan, we went to Kinsmen Park to watch Katy play ball, she played really well and hit a great strike that created a home run, threw a ball in that got a girl knocked of home base and did a great slide into 3rd base which resulted in grazed elbows and mud all over the front of her shirt, more washing for Aunty. It was great to watch, we plastered ourselves with Mozzie cream and weren’t bitten and Kate’s team won 7-5, a great time was had by all.

Back home, we ate toasted cheese and onion sandwiches, crisps and raw vegetables and dip. Drank lots of tea and water (we didn’t need any alcohol we were still recovering) and went to bed by 11.15 absolutely pooped!

Another great day, to be continued….Granny

Granny calling….I am a day or so behind, we have been busy, busy, busy and yesterday I decided I would type up the blog as we were driving to MooseJaw only to find that the netbook batteries were flat and we had no way of charging them up in the van. So first, to take you all back to Sunday.

We had some rain in the night and the deck was quite wet in the morning, the sun was hot though, so the water soon burned away. One by one everyone got up, slowly, after the huge supper and beer etc we all consumed at Joan and Henry’s. Katy had already left for work at Smitty’s restaurant so we had a lazy breakfast. Aunty and me discussed what we needed to buy at the store for supper and Martin and Uncle chatted about the previous night, we had great fun and ‘the boys’ (Henry and Dave) had promised to come round and help Uncle to get rid of a dead tree at the side of the house. It was 11am though and no sign of a phone call yet? I wonder what time they stayed around the fire pit until. This may have a bearing on whether or not they turned up, if they turned up at all. Sure enough at noon, there they were, the tools were out and Dave was up the ladder sawing away like a lumberjack! Henry, Uncle and Martin, holding the ladder, taking bit of wood to the truck (Henry will use the wood for the fire pit) and generally all mucking in to get the job done. It’s nice to see that Aunty and Uncle have such great friends and these people are always ready to help out if needed. Aunty and me pulled some weeds out of the flower beds and swept around a bit and before we knew, the tree was gone and the boys were all out the back on the deck drinking cold beer, which Dave had brought in a cool bag.

Aunty and I headed for the store and left them to it, we had guests coming for supper and needed pork chops, potatoes and salad etc. First stop Robertson’s Farm shop, we bought Garden Potatoes, Salad Onions and Baby cucumbers and sat and ate ice cream under the porch until a few too many Mozzies started to gather, a quick exit was called for and we got back in the car to head for the Store, on the way we passed Joan’s House and ‘the boys’ were still there, probably drinking more beer and unloading the wood into Henry’s yard. At the store, we looked for aunties sister, who works there but we couldn’t fine her, so we got the groceries and headed home. When we got there, Helen and Bill, (aunties Mother and her boyfriend) were already waiting, these two are amazing, they’re both 87 years old, still driving and they go dancing at The Legion, whenever they can. They decided as we were later than they expected, to go off dancing for a couple of hours while they waited for supper at around 7pm.

Tom arrived and had a beer on the deck and shortly after Gail (Aunties sister) with Wilbur the Pug; he was a lovely little dog with a great personality. We barbecued the chops, Grandma (Helen) had brought Perogies and Gail had brought ‘Drumstick Cake. Katy and Tom decided to prepare the rainbow Trout and there was much discussion about how to chop off his head’ Grandma knew how to do it and showed them how not to waste the fish. It was stuffed with onion, tomatoes and lemon salt, wrapped in foil and put on the barbecue. It was a feast and we were all suitably stuffed afterwards…by the way, I don’t usually eat desert, but Gail’s Drumstick Cake is to die for!’ she also makes great chocolate chip cookies, good job I don’t see Gail too often, I would not be able to resist!

After a couple of hours on the deck, we couldn’t stick to bugs any more and finished off the evening in the house, we are always going to get an early night, but it hasn’t happened yet! Holidays are great….

Monday morning, we got up earlier than we have been getting up and the plan was to leave for MooseJaw by 10, Katy had to take her car seat to the Garage to get a hole in the upholstery fixed and we got our stuff together to go the see the MooseJaw tunnels. We all piled in the van and I took up my usual perch in the back, I like this seat, I get a panoramic view, room to stretch out and I can snooze without bothering anyone else. It will take 2 hours to get there and we are going to meet Shannon at Smitty’s for lunch. Katy then joined Shannon and we all drove into town to go and visit the tunnels where Al Capone is alleged to have carried out his bootlegging and laid low when he was on the run from the law. We bought tickets for both tours; the second tour was an insight into the life of Chinese Immigrants brought to Canada to work on the railroad. In tour one, we were all bootleggers and actors took us around the tunnels and described how money changed hands, how during prohibition the booze was bought and sold on the black market and how 97% alcohol could kill you and that al Capone once had his tonsils lanced using half a bottle of bootleg whisky as an anaesthetic! The actors were great; Aunty was nicknamed Gidget for the tour and was put in charge of the ‘hush money’! We laughed all through it, it was great fun.

The second tour was led by a lovely lady called Ashley and was set in a Chinese Laundry owned by ‘Mr Burrows’. It was acted out by Ashley and she narrated the story as well as changing voice to the stern lady who dealt with us ‘coolies’, these people earned 35cents a day and paid half of it back to the owners in rent. Life was tough and a lot of people got hooked on opium to escape the misery. It was really informative, totally different from the first tour and really well done.

We got ice cream, Tim Horton’s Coffee, met up with Katy, who couldn’t get a haircut, said Bye to Shannon and Uncle drove us the 2 hours back to Saskatoon. The evening was lazy, we mooched around the kitchen, I trimmed Katy’s hair and at 11.15 it looked like we were having that early night. I said I’m having vodka and tonic before bed, Uncle said I think I’ll join you…OMG, 2 bottles of vodka (50 proof vodka) later and at 04.40 am we went to bed just as the sun came up…the night was a blur, but we laughed, we sang, we drank some more and I have videos and pictures to incriminate everyone at a later date, but not for public viewing so I may have to be choosy what I post! Another fantastic day….even if I am a tad hung-over….to be continued….Granny 

Granny calling….
Today we leave Calgary and head to Uncle’s house in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, where I have been warned that the mosquitoes are large enough to carry away small children. Before we leave, we are going to eat at the Mall and visit Calgary Zoo. As usual, it takes us until 11 to all get showered and ready to leave the house.
My mozzie bite finger blister, which is now starting to recover due to the antibiotics, now is the same colour as the paint in our very regal looking purple painted bedroom, with matching covers. I love this room and the colour makes it feel warm and welcoming.
Pack the bags ready for when we get back from the Zoo as we will be heading straight off for Uncle’s house when we get back. The Zoo was great, we saw Tigers, Grizzly Bears, Elephants and Gorillas, it was a nice day, we got slightly burned and we had a lovely time just wandering, which was great as would be sat for a long time, the drive to Saskatoon is six and a half hours.
After the Zoo, we went for ice cream, we had crushed raspberries, chocolate sauce and crushed nuts, it was so hot it dripped everywhere, we got covered, finger licking good.
We got back to Robyn’s, threw our stuff in the Dodge and said our cheerio’s to Robyn, (we will be back in a week) and headed out for the long drive. After an hour we stopped at Tim Horton’s for coffee for the journey (Uncle is an addict I think)!
We drove through the Badlands near Drumheller where they dig up lots of dinosaur bones, what strange land formations and rock structures but it’s pretty in a sort of pre-historic way. On the journey we saw fields of Rapeseed, which glowed bright yellow in the sun and caught sight of some deer and gofers as we hurtled along the highway towards Saskatoon.
Two hours before the end of the journey (or 4 hours in) here’s Tim’s again and we stop for a BLT Toasty, Martin had a veggie cheese toasty and we all had another coffee, God this caffeine gives you a buzz! We refuelled and set off again, as it got dark, the bugs really started to appear and within half an hour of last light, you couldn’t see through the windscreen and Uncle had to pull in and clean the screen, while fighting off the mozzies! I have never seen so many bugs in my life but they soon cleared as the lights of the city appeared and we left the country side behind.

The house is all lit up and Uncle said…oh shit, why did Katy leave the lights on in the garage, the bugs will be everywhere and will swarm in the house as soon as we open the door….he wasn’t wrong, we had to pile the bags in and in the 30 seconds the door was open, in they went and we had high-jinks trying to swat them with electronic bug zapper. Katy and her friend had made nachos and salad, it really hit the spot and we caught up on family news etc and Katy’s work news and how her job interviews had gone. We sat up until 2am chatting to Katy and her friend, zapping bugs and drinking beer and wine. A long journey but we had another great day. Martin and I are having a great time, the family are all so helpful and we are so happy that we made the effort to come to Canada……to be continued 

DAY 1 – 10th JULY 2010
Granny calling…..Today we travel to Manchester. We were awake at 6.30 and he brought tea to bed and we actually sat there quite stunned at the fact that ‘The Day’ has actually arrived! I think we are both a bit nervous, silly really bearing in mind that we usually drive across to Europe every year in a really old VW van which is far less reliable than my car and a huge aeroplane!
Valerie, (the cat) is looking suspiciously at us both, she knows something is up and I think she suspects that she’s going to the cattery for 4 weeks. She’s been before and I am not worried about leaving her, she has always been fine before and as she adopted us, so I feel it’s only fair that she puts up with the cattery for us to go away. Besides it’s a nice place and costs a fortune! There I’ve persuaded myself.
Now, you would think that two people who travel quite a lot and tend not to plan but just go where Boris (the VW) takes us, wouldn’t be apprehensive but this is a childhood dream of mine and also of his and therefore we want it to be perfect, no pressure then. Also he is terrified of flying and that is why we normally drive. 9 hours on a flight does not have the same appeal for him, especially when the first word you see when you get to the airport is ‘terminal’ and I’ve been told that Calgary airport is a bit of a hairy place to land as the approach involves the plane tilting at 90 degrees with the ground! I won’t tell him as for me it’s a means to an end and well worth the time in a flying tin can. (Check for passports for the umpteenth time).
Oh well, back to the checking and re-checking, dollars…passports…insurance….lists of lists…take me to the ‘Travel lodge’!

According to The Guardian teachers will get tougher powers to deal with unruly pupils in a “zero tolerance” crackdown on nuisance in the classroom……..

Staff will be given powers to search children for mobile phones, music players, pornography, fireworks and cigarettes, extending existing powers that allow teachers to search pupils for knives.

Well, it’s about time some of the power was given back to teachers/lecturers, I know from experience the absolute terror of dealing with an angry teenager, who could threaten others in the group as well as yourself and then suddenly thinking, if I touch this person, I will lose my job!

As a new lecturer (around 10 years ago) my first experience of teaching a group, was with 15 level 1 hairdressing students. A nice group, 13 girls, 2 boys all aged between 16 and 19 years. I wanted to stamp my authority, while being fair, approachable and fun during the session. All was going swimmingly until I asked one grumpy looking student to stop using her mobile phone to text while she should have been practicing her cutting skills on a block (practice head). The conversation went along the lines of me saying, “you know it’s against class rules to use your phone during lessons, please put it away”. Her saying, ” who the F*CK do you think you are, I am 16 years old and you can’t tell me what to do!” Before I knew it she was holding a scissors 4 inches from my face and from the look on her face, she would stick it in my eyes at any moment! They didn’t prepare me for this during my PGCE course. I managed to calm her down and another student took the scissors out of her hand, but I was physically shaken and the girl was subsequently disciplined and expelled from the course.

My point in all this is that at the critical moment my actions could have been instictively to man-handle this obnoxious little she-devil and get her out of the training salon and what would have been the consequences then? There could have been an investigation, which may have resulted in me losing my first ever teaching post and who knows what else as a result?

After 10 years of working in FE, I have seen my fair share of angry teenagers and indeed adults and I have usually managed to placate the person and calm the situation down but the threat is ever present when teaching large numbers of people who are frequently using ‘cut throat’ razors and scissors. At 16 plus, very rarely are parents involved and on the odd occasion that they are, they will defend their offspring vociferously, while never once ticking them off for their behaviour. The attitude of far too many parents, is that they put up with this stroppy teenager and if you are prepared to teach him/her then you have to deal with it too.

Thankfully the majority of teenagers are absolutely fine. They are imaginative, motivated, polite and while having their moments, they usually realise themselves that you reap what you sow in this life and that respect is reciprocal. Those are the people that teachers/lecturers enjoy working with. The satisfaction you get from working with people like this cannot be under-estimated.

Unruly students/pupils who are a threat to the learning experience of others should not be tolerated and parents should support facilitators in their quest to turn their children into well adjusted, employable young adults. As Spiderman once said, “with power comes responsibility”, I would argue that with responsibility, you should also have power!”

Granny calling,

Five days to go and I’m still not organised. I have ordered dollars,
I have finished all the washing and ironing and I am struggling to stay focussed at work due to the fact that I have so much to do and so little time to do it in. Hectic is a good description of how this week has started.

Blogging is also going to be difficult as I struggle to juggle life, travel plans and meeting deadlines for the end of this academic year. I have decided that little and as often as possible has to suffice.

If anyone has any tips for travelling let me know……Granny

Picture this, it’s someone’s birthday and you have to buy a really special card. You haven’t seen this person all year and you really want to push the boat out and post a card of distinction, not just any old card, but a £4.99 card with a lovely verse, you know the ones that are a bit like a small novel when you read them.

You pop out in your lunch break and forego eating your sandwich because it’s so important to send this card to your best friend in all the world. You take care choosing it, you read every syllable to make sure that it says exactly what you want it to say. You decide on the right one and take it to the checkout, you take care to keep it flat and ensure that you get back to the office with it in pristene condition and think about what to write on it.

Before you can write on it, you have to get it out of the bag and believe me this is not going to be easy! First you hold it up to the light to see where the little pull tag is on the plastic, you scratch a couple of areas that look likely to no avail. Calm down now don’t get into a fluster (you say this under your breath). You then realise that there is a sticky bit which opens like an envelope…phew, you breathe a sigh of relief, it’s going to be easy now, you can relax…..Or can you ?

You finally get this object of beauty out of the bag and sit back and admire it. It really was a good choice, she will love this card and I know she will appreciate the really gushy sentiment because she’s my best friend and we have been through a lot together. then…out of the corner of your eye you spot it (queue ‘JAWS’ theme music) the dreaded sticker, Oh No! It’s right over the top of the only bit of glitter on the card, if you rip it off it will take that glitter off with it. Breathe, ….that’s it.. inhale deeply, it should be easy, it says ‘peel here’ how difficult can it be?

You try to get the edge of your finger nail under the corner, no joy, so you get your staple remover gadget and try to get the pointy bit under it, it’s not happening. You ask 3 of your colleagues, one of who thinks she is the Goddess of sticker removers and you watch as she bends and twists your beautiful £4.99′s worth until it resembles a discarded newspaper from a litter bin.

Finally, you manage to lift the corner of the damn thing and you peel it very carefully until it’s off, never daring to breathe until the whole of the sticker is detached from the card and …yes….you guessed, all of the glitter and the little yellow bow, is attached to the sticker. By now the air is blue, you have to spend another £4.99 on a new card and it would be cheaper and far less stressful to just give her a ring and say happy birthday….so to all the ‘card sellers’ out there, stick your stickers up your proverbial A***………………….

Today I am excited. I feel like a kid in a chocolate factory even though I don’t really like chocolate, you can get my drift. There’s something about Friday that makes me feel, bright, breezy and downright wicked! Who knows why but it’s a great feeling. This week is especially special and if you’ve got five minutes to spare I’ll tell you why…….

On Monday (which just happens to be a bank holiday) it is my birthday. Not just any old birthday but my 52nd birthday. “What’s so special about that” I hear you say. Well, it’s a day that I have dreaded for over 20 years, I never wanted to be 52 as this was the age my Dad was when he was cruelly taken away from us to some higher plain. Now hang on a minute, don’t click the x to close the page just yet as this is not a story about death or dying, rather a celebration, a happy, go lucky, live your life to the full story, so bear with it.

I decided that rather than mourning something which happened 20 years ago, I should do what he would have done had he been here, so this morning, I got up early, pulled back the curtains, stretched, scratched and thanked my lucky stars that I could look out at the sunshine and hear the birds.

I decided that at work, I would smile at everyone, (Dad was always smiling) regardless as to how miserable they were and I would also sing the Whiffenpoof song intermittently as he did. If you are Welsh, or know Wales, you will find the humour in this.

Tonight, I will take long walk, regardless of the weather, as he would and I will take special notice of my surroundings and see things properly, in detail, take time to listen to the sounds and smells of life and the living. On return I will listen to music, cook something nice and drink red wine, I will finish my meal with strong black coffee and good Metaxa Brandy. I will celebrate life, unashamedly, for both of us.

My partner and I have a weekend in a Hotel planned and some rare down time together, so it will be eat drink and be merry, all the way. Life is too short to mourn the past, live every day as if it was your last and dance like no-ones looking…..Iechyd da – Good Health!

I had a visit today from an old friend who emigrated to Perth in Australia 3 years ago. A wonderful new life, a relatively new country and great opportunities for the kids. So what are the negatives we may ask? “Well. she says, we have to work so hard to stay white!” Aha, said I feeling smug, so it’s not all hunky-dory.

Skin Cancer, is a huge problem in Australia and she and her lily white family, struggle to avoid the sun. If they have anything to do in the garden they have to get up at the crack of dawn as by 10 am in midsummer, the temperature is in the high 30′s and in the afternoon they stay in their air conditioned houses, or the alternative is to go to another air conditioned building e.g. shops. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the positives, far outweigh the negatives and she says that there is no way they would come back to the UK, altough she admits to missing family and friends.

This conversation started me thinking once again, about how lucky we are in this country. Yes we get lots of rain, yes, the sunny days are few and far between and not particularly hot; but the benefits are not to be sniffed at. We have beautiful lush countryside, fascinating weather patterns, (even if sometimes they can be quite extreme) and with the correct clothes, nothing so extreme that we have to hide away from it.

If only we could have a 3 month summer, where tempartures averaged 27 degrees and the seasons were defined. then we would all be completely happy! Is that too much to ask?

IF ONLY WE HAD THE WEATHER

Special days, sun on faces,
Scolding Mothers, warm embraces
That healed a multitude of bruises

Hanky washes, bread and jam
Corned beef stew and tins of Spam
Telling lies and poor excuses

Blackened Father from the pit
Tired and hungry, fire’s lit
Stare into the reddened coals

Mother scrubbing at the sink
Socks and soap suds blue and pink
Darning socks and mending holes

Memories are made of kisses
Laughter lies and near misses
Gentle words not found in books

Brought together with such care
As a child you’re unaware
Of how a loving childhood looks