Materialism Part One

I always thought I was not overly materialistic, we have a Knackered old polo, a 12 inch tv from Tesco and my mobile phone cannot do anything but make phone calls! but after listening to Radio 4 this morning, I had a think ( in bed with a cup of tea at 6.15 am after walking the dogs), of what things I would grab from the cottage if we had a fire. Well the animals and family photos, of course would be somewhere safe, but I did realise that perhaps I am rather materialistic in an antique,art deco and sentimental way.

Well The pin board in the kitchen would be a surprising choice. Like family photos, it is full of memories and happy times, a friends' 'wedding, Bev and Janet in New York, my leaving badge from Sheffield, a sympathy card. I guess it is a snippet of your life on a simple cork board.

This plate is one of the few things I chose to keep from my Mother's house after she died. Her style was, very different to mine (reproduction furniture and 1960s crockery), and most articles from the house reminded me of the"unhappier" times of childhood. This plate is a link to the happier times I want to remember.

I love glassware, and these two sets of glasses are my all time favourites. The Champagne glasses are a chrismas Pressie from Janet and Ned, and are so 1950's! Classic, hollow and stylish.

The two little tumblers come from Takashimyia (sp?) a wonderfully expensive store on 5th avenue in New York. I bought them when I took Chris for our first holiday to the Big Apple, and loved the tiny lobsters and fish etched into the glass. Bringing them home was a nightmare as they were so fragile and pricey, but it was worth the effort. They remind me of New York

Materialism part 2

The first things I would grab would be my art deco Denby terriers. Before we got Fin and Meg, I always had a slight obsession with 1930's style dogs and fell in

love with these old bookends when we were in Sheffield. I think they are beautiful.

This Telephone was my very first puchase for my very first house in Providence Road, Sheffield, and I was very proud at finding it in an old junk shop, and even more proud to find out that it still worked!.

It reminds me of the film Dial M for Murder, as it featured in the murder scene with Grace Kelly, like the terriers it is stylish and tactile

This little needlepoint is almost hidden amid all the family photos on the kitchen wall. It was completed in 1988 by an inpatient at the psychiatric hospital I worked at In York. The patient unsurprisingly enough had huge psychological problems, and I rememeber being very touched by her gift to me as it took alot of time and effort to complete it for me. I was at Bootham Park Hospital for only 2 years, but valued my time there, as it gave me a true interest and grounding in the psychological care of patients within nursing.

.....money makes the world go round....

Just worked the weekend, 8 am to 8pm both days, and have been looking after a woman with severe trauma both days. This youngish woman, according to her former sister-in-law, is a decent person, who finds it hard to make ends meet. She does not believe in benefits and obviously lives from hand to mouth, and I thought it incredibly sad to hear the story of how she went to a local back street hairdresser recently and asked for the cheapest hair cut possible, which it turned out, she could not afford. The thought of that woman's embarrassment , I thought was awful.

6 Years

We have been together 6 years next week!

arhhhh

Slyvia Syms and the Queen Mother

Saw the film "The Queen" Last night , a good film, but more a TV movie rather than a big screen one! Loved Slyvia Syms, complete with gin and tonic and very large hat , playing the Queen Mother. A scene stealer if ever I saw one.

Right At Your Door

Went to see Right at your door, this afternoon in Chester. and what an excellent film it is. The story seems a simple one: After multiple dirty bombs are detonated, spreading deadly toxic ash across Los Angeles, Brad (Rory Cochrane) inadvertently quarantines his wife, Lexi (Mary McCormack) outside their new home by safely sealing himself inside. With the city under siege and martial law in affect, Brad and Lexi struggle to survive with few supplies, limited time and no information ,all the while separated by thin doors and thinner sheets of plastic. When "help" finally does arrive, it appears to be anything but!
The two actors give wonderful peformances, but the main protagonist of the story, strangely enough, is the mobile phone! Five years ago, mobiles came to centre stage in the disaster that was 9/11. The passengers on Flight 93, and trapped office workers in the Twin Towers managed to ring their nearest and dearest with final messages of love before they were killed. Right at your door, uses that very scenario, when Lexi says her tearful goodbyes to her brother, however the mobile phone plays a much bigger role in the narrative. It is a source of frustrations and hurt to both Brad and Lexi as they face technical problems and powerlosses when trying to find each other and information from the faceless authorities. It provides a medium for parents and friends to contact the couple and rehash past family relationship problems and ultimately it causes the death of one of the main characters in a not-seen-that-coming way!
This film was an excellent choice for an afternoon flick, it was just one of those movies that you needed a good chat about afterwards.
ALSO I couldn't believe that I watched it in a Chester cinema TOTALLY ALONE!!! what a treat!!!

Mentally Prepared

Today was a bit of a red letter day as the last of the "jobs" around the house have been completed! Geoff and sidekick Glenys have wallpapered the now chinzey bathroom! (amid much laughing and chatter and cake) and the control freak and list maker in me has now finally been appeased. I had a plan before University, and that was to get all the house and garden more or less finished, especially as I am now part time in the Hospital and therefore money is a little tight.! and .........
I'VE DONE IT!!
so the house has been totally decorated,wall is up,path is down, garden completed,the chickens have their new big run, the last clematis (thanks Geoff) is in!, the car has been taxed for a year and I've even saved the front lawn!....and it is a great relief to have ticked all those small boxes.

I wonder how I would have felt if things had not been completed? Grossly upset and stressed no doubt and only today whilst tramping up the Gop, did I feel excited and ready for University. Nursing is no longer one of the most important things in my life anymore
( Boy was it, when I was a charge nurse in Sheffield?), after 24 years, it is now merely a way of paying for my education............Isn't that a strange thought? well if not a strange one then more a liberating one.

I have just read my friend nigel's blog entry on his Wales visit! which pleased me greatly, thanks for that Nige
http://en-cee.blogspot.com/

Glenys and Geoff

No, not a new Australian soap! but our old neighbours from Cefn-y-Gwrych. This couple in their late sixties, are a lesson to all people in a relationship, as they never stop talking and never stop laughing! They came up today to the cottage to help with some wallpapering in our bathroom , Glenys is the runner and paster, while Geoff is the master paperer!
I have been entertained with gossip from our old road, pregnancy stories and family anacdotes in between copious cups of tea and lashing of cake!!

They are priceless................