Bad Blogger....
I'm sorry, ive been very lax with the business that it blogging. I'd like to have the excuse that i've been busy but....i haven't.
Christmas was excellent this year, family and friends round, too much food, too much alcohol and far too much money spent on presents but hey-ho.
New Year was a different story, I had the most awful cold (along with most of the country) and spent the evening watching crap on the box. I saw NY in with a nod in it's direction and then retreated to the comfort of my duvet.
Back to work, it hasn't improved, i'm still unenthusiastic as ever about it but I haven't got a clue about where I want to go from here, so i'm just plodding along.
So, there we go, 'was it worth blogging those few lines?' i hear you cry, probably not, sorry

Ghosties & Ghoulies...part one

Well, I survived. The castle was fantastic, exactly how I had imagined it to be. We arrived at 5pm on the Monday, it was pitch black. The door to the wing we were staying in was opened by the caretaker (just think Richard O'Brien in the Rocky Horror Picture Show...'won't you...come...inside?'). The apartment was amazing. It was converted servants quarters. There were two bedrooms downstairs and the bathroom then upstairs was the HUGE lounge with log burning stove and a nice little kitchen/diner.

Bags dumped, we headed back out to find sustinance. The Percy Arms, two mintues down the road was the perfect venue (and continued to feed us for the next three nights - the food was excellent). Back at the apartment we unpacked clothes and a surprising amount of alcohol (well, with all the ghosts, my nerves may need calming, ...cough).

I didn't sleep very much the first night. We turned off the side lights and I couldn't even see my habd in front of my face. Michael dropped off quickly (bless, he had done 5 hours driving and sunk several pints at the pub) but i stayed wide awake, admittedly, well under the covers until the early hours.

Tuesday, we went for a drive to get our bearings, we had a lovely breakfast and then a bracing walk along Warkworth beach (certainly blew the cobwebs away). Then we went into Alnwick (pronounced Anick) because I wanted to see the castle (where they film Harry Potter) but it was closed. Luckily Alnwick itself is a very nice town and we wandered around looking in the little craft shops and galleries, mentally spending hundreds!!

Must Try Harder

Oh dear, i've not been very good at blogging lately have I? tut tut...

I must mend my ways, maybe it can be my new year resolution ...'I promise to blog more often.' But to be honest, if i'm true to form, that resolution will last all of two or three days.

I've been working hard and having fun. Friends birthdays, bonfire parties (please read my friends blogs to update, they're better at blogging than me, well, except Claire, she'd just as bad hee hee!).

I'm off to Chillingham Castle for a week soon, i've been told it's the most haunted castle in Britain. We've also booked a ghost tour while we are there. I'm dead excited. Started making my packing list already! Yes, I know... Monica!!

Saturday I had planned to finish decorating my bedroom. Hang the rest of the wallpaper finish off the painting...but I didn't, I went shopping instead. I did look at curtains though, honest. I bought some lovely jeans and had to stop myself buying several shirts from Per Una at M&S.

Sunday Mum and I went to Hampton Court Palace. It was London Open Access weekend (last year I went to Royal Holloway College). We took a tour of the Grace & Favour Apartments where the fire started. We then walked around the beautiful Privy Garden and went to see the Vine. On the way out (for old times sake) Mum and I went to see our old apartment, 2 The Barracks. Mum told me how they made me a little sand pit out the back and how we used to walk around the palace grounds after it closed to the public. She could still remember the names of the grounds keepers.

Elbow deep in sprouts and parsnips today. Helping out again at the Farm Shop which I haven't done for a while. They've offered me as many weekends as I want to work from now until Christmas so shortage of money shouldn't be so much of a problem yay!

Saturday I did very little. My hung over (for a change) Brother came over with an armful of DVD's and we sat and watched such classics as Cannonball Run, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Bueller, Bueller?) whilst munching our way through fat laden snacks for the benefit of Steve's hang over (had to keep him company didn't I?!)

Back to work tomorrow, it's going to be a nightmare of a week with only two of us in the office. H.R. messed up and allowed two others to have the same week off together but never mind...sigh.

Am just relaxing, reading the Observer Food Monthly and contemplating eating the choc fudge flapjack that is calling to me from the kitchen cupboard....

I wore a shirt to work today - never done that before.

...Just thought i'd mention it.

Update Time

Lisa was home for a brief spell with Maggie which was great. Maggie is beautiful and very smiley. We had a BBQ at Katy's on Bank Holiday Sunday which was fun.

Went to Claire's for dinner and a bottle of wine and pizza later we decided it would be a good idea to mix cocktails - several later (having found one we liked) we realised we had bright blue tongues and called it a night (or early morning!)

Wednesday I took Mum up to London for the day. We went on the London Eye which was excellent as we had clear skies and could see for miles. Mum enjoyed it even though she's not good with heights. We then went on the river cruise, came off sunburnt. We then took a walk down the south bank, past the South Bank Centre, stopped to browse the book market and then we went and found the wibbly wobbly bridge (which isn't wibbly wobbly anymore). All along the South Bank there were people standing dressed as statues, musicians and street entertainers.

Went out for dinner on Wednesday evening with a friend, drank far too much and spent my day off on Thursday vegging on the sofa nursing a sore head.