Is there a protocol

about posting re. a cremation and memorial service :o/ Suffice to say...it went as expected - pretty harrowing.

If I pop my clogs please can someone give all the valuable bits to those who need them, ensure medical science gets anything else of use and should there be anything left, dispose of it quietly, preferably with no one looking on. Most of all I would like everyone to have a really good party with the odd story about me with some of my exploits (good and bad), music ('80's naturellement), dancing (but you'll need plenty of space for Jon's flailing limbs especially if you play Blancmange tracks) and sustenance in the form of bacon butties or fish & chips.

Extreme gardening

session over the weekend requiring chainsaw, hedge trimmer, & pickaxe as well as the expected spade and fork. Almost nine hours hard graft later ably assisted by Mel (aka Green Fingers) we'd removed a ceanothus, buddleia, yukka and massive pampas grass. Not sure that gives any idea of how major a task it was.... the root ball on the pampas grass was about 18" deep and circumference, the yukka was 10ft high and some of the roots on the buddleia where about 4" girth you maybe get an idea of the amount of effort to get them out! Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "girls with power tools" ;o)

Putting life in perspective

Just before I went on holiday I saw one of my friends, Sue. regular get-together where we chatted about life, the universe and everything... joked about her upcoming 25th wedding anniversary celebrations and her son going off to Uni. I came back from vacation and heard the news she'd been diagnosed with terminal cancer. It's indescribable what a major shock it was to everyone, and the progress at which the disease spread was terrifying. I managed to see her and despite the enormous pain she was obviously in she was remarkably brave and positive. Within the week she was transferred to the local hospice & this morning I heard she'd passed away. She was just 48yrs old. The adage 'life's too short' doesn't begin to describe it....

How to scare your mother

Strident student's off doing voluntary work tonight - an out-reach scheme for prostitutes! She couldn't get anything to do with refugees which is what she initially wanted to do, so decided to offer to help with this programme and at a homeless shelter. On the one hand I'm pleased she's so keen to help people, and on the other I'm worried sick about what she might come face-to-face with. She's getting training/briefings from various agencies before she's sent into the red light district. Tonight she's with a policeman talking her through some of the things they deal with. I guess they become pretty jaded with what they come across and the fact they can't make a difference. I know I can't wrap her up in cotton wool but she's still so niave about life. Needless to say she's got strict instructions to let me know she's home safe and to ensure she gets her inoculations (Hep C etc.) up to date.

Work wise

the redundancy programme is coming to an end. It's been a tough exercise for everyone - the HR team and maxed out trying to do the administration; the Managers are up to their necks trying to assess who should be let go in order to still be able to deliver the business and the staff are all understandably worried and despondent. It's hard watching people I've worked with for years leaving the company and knowing what a loss it is both on a work and personal basis.

Trying to focus on the end...done most of the compulsory redundancy dismissals now - just two more to do this week. They all leave on 30th but not sure if that's the end of the story...have a feeling we'll soon be looking at another wave albeit much smaller numbers :o(

Deposited eldest

in her new abode on Saturday. What to say? ...despite the fab modern halls that you see on the Uni visits the typical student accommodation is alive (quite literally!) and well. Her new house is in a reasonable area, mix of residential housing and student flats. From the outside the place looks fine, but when she opened the door I was hit with an overwhelming smell of damp & the sight of a slug trail down the hall carpet !!!!! :o/ I'll spare you the details but basically there's a list of 29 things which need fixing - landlord had promised to sort them out over the summer after the previous residents moved out but nothing's happened. Fortunately Strident Student's room is in the loft and has only recently been converted so is not too bad. Spent the day with one of the other Mums doing a mega clean, unpacking and buying groceries and left thinking it was at least marginally more habitable. In her inimitable style she's already written a letter of complaint to the landlord on behalf of all the tenants and is meeting with the Uni accommodation officer so that'll keep her busy.

Smaller sproglets

have settled back into the school routine OK... well, bar the homework ;o)

They've both taken up new activities so I'm demented with trying to remember who is doing what each night. Minor Mayhem's dropped Tae Kwon Do in favour of Rugby and IT (and is also thinking about table tennis!) whilst Miss Sensible's now doing Hockey and Rock Climbing as well as Sax. So no night is free from operating Mum's taxi :o(

Add to that the requirement to drop off and collect from the stables at the weekend......I'm knackered just thinking about it...