10 Halloweens! (by sarah)

Today is the tenth Halloween for me and Al 🙂 We started going out actually on Halloween - I skipped several parties and a workshift to do so and I wasn't even sure if it was supposed to be a date or not!

I remember faffing over which cloths to wear and went with the new things I'd bought with my first wage check of the new academic year - I'd been shopping with Becca 🙂 Lavander tie dye boot cut fitted trousers with a black lacy top with a plunging neck line and erm... trainers.

I'd printed out his email stating the time and space coordinants and the invite for dinner and then showed it to my friends for advice on weather it was a date or not Jihane said it was whilst Greg said it wasn't! And both panicked as they thought Al was a random from the internet as I mentioned the facted we'd been emailing each other. We had infact met the previous spring when Tanya had tried to set Aoife up with him - we had been emailing each other ever since reguardless of an embarrassing attempt of friends to force us together when he had started going out with another girl shortly after the Aoife set up. They were only going out for two weeks but I didn't realise that so we tiptoed around each other electronically for the whole summer!

I got to South Ken Station early and hung around - he didn't show so I walked up the steps to check up by the shops and then headed back down them and through the tunnel. No Al but he was there when I got back to the station. He was relieved that I was late as in his excitement he'd gotten on the circle line and gone the wrong way! We were married several years before we found out each others version - neither of us wanting to seem too keen incase it scared the other off!

We walked aimlessly talking of everything from scifi to social issues and my course work which I had been showing him for the last few weeks at the Union after an incident were I had fainted at Musical Theatre and ended up being brought down to the union and placed with Andy D and his friends to recover a few weeks previously. Somehow I'd ended up chatting to Al.

We ended up in Pizza Express which became like our place. We had dough balls which we shared.

We then walked some more - down to the river but my back was starting to really hurt - I had on my college rucksack and I was cold - I was already having intensive physio at the time and had also been told I had a life expectancy of 30 so I was not even sure I should be trying for a relationship. But again my health actually helped me - I had to sit down. We sat on the river bank. And I was cold and fed up of waiting to see if he would make a move so I flopped against him and snuggled up for warmth. He took this as a sign that he was allowed to make a move FINALLY and so he went to kiss me and I got the giggles. But we did kiss and it was a cheesy forever moment only shattered by the lights on the buildings all winking out as it was 11 o'clock!

Shocked at the time I waited with him on the Kings Road opposite the Blue Bird restaurant until he got on his bus - he wanted to walk me home but I felt this was stupid as he would have to walk away from his bus stop! I had also insisted on paying half the bill.

From that unsureness of each other we became inseperable and much to everyones horror we moved 'too fast' moving in with each other after only a few months - and then engaged after 10 months and married the following summer. With a baby due just after our first year wedding anniversary. But we are happy with each other and the kids - other things have been hard but they have been external to us and the thought of facing the stresses alone is an intollerable one. Now that things are improving we are being careful not to emulate alot of couples mistakes - sometimes it is the stress that binds you together and you grow apart as your both dealing with life.

We have lots of plans for our lives still and he is joining me in NaNoWriMo this year as he confessed to missing his writing time and he is a fair way into the novel/story arch that we made up together starting on that first night - it is a joint effort but I can't do my bit until he has finished his.

To celebrate this moment that has lasted a decade we are coming to London for a long weekend in November. We will visiting what is left of our old haunts (The Black Widow is gone but I'm hoping we can visit another Erri Pub, The Foundary too is gone, we may go and look at The Union but I don't think we will go in or if we do it will just be for a drink). We want to visit a Paul A Young Chocolate Shop as they have become an our place as well even though we've never managed to be in one at the same time yet!

The Natural History Museum is a must though I will probably mope outside doors I'm no longer allowed through. Pizza Express, the places in Ealing and maybe a meet up with friends.

We are mainly coming down to London to London to see Gotye 🙂

We found this artist as our friend Ulrike sent us the youtube video on Facebook - she was the first of a wave - 'Doesn't he look like Alaric?' and yes he does though Al himself says he can only see a vague similarity 🙂

We even made a spoof video - which we now actually have permission from Gotye Head Quarters to have made.

I organised the gig, Al the hotel - we still have no hotel books 🙂

Our lives are not exactly were we envisioned them but on the other hand we are all together in an amazing house that is not rented. Al is loving his job and I appear to have ended up with the career I thought I would have once I retired. And for that I owe a hug debt to Alaric - he helps me with the writing and art, doesn't get annoyed when I forget to cook dinner when I've said I would because I've got distracted by drawing or papier mache or writing. But more than that - he has given me the self confidence to get out there and do the things. this year has seen me win medals and get through to the final stages for poet laureate of Gloucestershire and so much more I can't even begin to list.

He took pity on me and sorted out the tech issues I was having with The Little Book of Spoogy Poetry 🙂 Talking of which today is your last chance to download it free 🙂 You have until midnight just click on the image below.

LEGO Land Part 1 (by sarah)

As I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing already we went to Lego land at the weekend with Alaric's cousin Maurice and his kids Harry and Annabelle. I can not say how much I enjoyed it though it was slightly too cold for me and the queuing situation ment we didn't do alot of stuff. I have to confess that though lego land was my idea I didn't realise it was a theme park! I thought it was just lots and lots of models of things and room full of lego to play on - so I was pleasently surprised especially as we got a firework display and a 4D movie as well.

There are a lot of photos which I will probably split over several posts.

As we drew near there were lego people moving lego letters into place and Jean and Daddy and Me were puzzling over them when we saw that they make a giant WELCOME! Excitement grew especially when we found that the parking lot was marked out by giant lego letters!

I then got a little over excited at all the lego models that were Halloween themed and Jeany had to come and get me before I got completely seperated from the rest of the group.

We all grouped in the obvious place - by the dino lego clock! This had Jeany most interested 🙂

The weather wasn't brilliant but I still thought the views were pretty impressive 🙂

We then went into the Star Wars exhibit - but I will cover that in another post! As will Land of The Vikings, Minni World and Dino Safari 🙂

The kids wanted to go on a water ride which had dragons all over it. (I videoed them actually going past.)

Mary got frussy about not getting to join in or being allowed out of her pram so Alaric devised a method called - rope.

And then we went into the Maze! I think Alaric was more excited about this than anybody else though Harry solved it the fastest even if it did get him told off for running off 🙂

Each of the kids had to put their heads in the wholes for photos - this isn't lots of the same pic honest!

We wanted to go in and see the Egyptian stuff but there was a 75 minute wait! So we moved on to LEGO City in search of food. Of which we found pizza!

Lego City where the kids get diggy!

Though they had to queue for ages!

I kept finding lots of extra little things to photograph as we went.

Including the hotel were we all agreed we wanted to stay and had a long involved conversation about weather or not the beds and curtains would be made of lego!

Then there was an attempt at Atlantis but the que was too long, we did however brave the que for Dino Safari ( photos of which will be in another post along with most of the ones from Lego City!) We also watched a pirate play with the most amazing stunt actors - those are real people falling off the tower!

There is a lot more to come!

Busy Weekend (by sarah)

We had a very busy weekend once again 🙂 I took Jean and Mary to the farmshop for a halloween hunt on Friday, then Saturday we had the Green Unconference and tea at a friends house and dinner at another friends house and it was all great and exciting. Sunday I woke up without any voice - I have been pushing it a bit again with the numbers of poetry readings and workshops I've been running so it wasn't that much of a surprise - but Sunday was not a day for relaxing - Oh No! Off we set at 8 am with vitals and supplies packed for LegoLand Windsor.

There we had a fantastic time with Alaric's Cousin Maurice and his kids - I took over 400 photographs which will need sorting (and many discarded!). I missed the Bristol NaNo pre-party as we stayed for Fireworks at LegoLand and I was very very tired by this point!

I am a bit worse for ware today but I had a fantastic time and I would have only spent the weekend fretting about biopsies and things if I hadn't filled it up. I took these pictures on the way home from Bristol on Saturday - I really love this bench and would love to have say our wall made like this.

Jean also loved it 🙂

All Saints Church Long Ashton (by sarah)

I attended the Green Unconference 2012 at this church - I love church buildings and so couldn't resist taking some photos. (All of which will be appearing in a slightly nicer format on my photo blog.)

The stained glass windows had me most entranced

I liked the juxtapostion of these two 🙂

Green Unconference (by sarah)

Today I attended the first ever Green Unconference in Long Ashton near Bristol, organised by Daniel Lewis. It was an amazing setting with brilliant speakers - I only wish more of the people I'd invited had turned up but apparently most of them hadn't seen the FaceBook invite until the event was actually taking place 🙁

I have come away saddened but optermistic and re-energised about the stuff I do to try and be a bit more friendly to the planet. Everything from government policies to how to garden to how to save/use waste food to feed those who are increasingly needing to use the food banks in this country was disguessed. I myself did an Upcycling and Junk Art workshop - complete with a mini talk and slides.

It was the most gorgous setting for a workshop

The girls were about as well behaved as I think I could realistically expect :/ I think Jeany eat most of the buffet before we officially had stopped for lunch!

I'm glad that people are taking on board that the average family can not afford or percieves at the least that they cannot afford organic food and that steps are being taken towards sorting this out. I wish I had managed to catch a few more of the talks but they clashed with my workshop and we had to leave early due to having triple booked ourselves for the day :/

I am going to attempt write up a few more of my junk art and upcycling projects. In making the slide show I realised I had a lot of material which I may try to collect together into at min an ebook.

(There will be a follow up post or two of the fantastic photos I got of bits of the church though I forgot to take one from outside 🙁 )

And talking of e-books don't forget to download your copy of The Little Book of Spoogy Poetry before midnight on the 31st of October! Click the image below for your free PDF.