That Could Have Been Me

Over at Veg Plotting I've already spoken about how I love receiving everyone's news at Christmas time. However, sometimes that news catches you by surprise and gets you thinking a bit.

I've just had a long e-mail from E and M, the couple who are responsible for NAH (though of course he wasn't NAH at first!) and I meeting. I'd signed up for a photography evening class in Durham just after I moved there to take up my first permanent job, and I'd got to know them well. Over a pint one evening, we discovered a mutual liking for swimming, so I was invited to accompany them to a weekly social swim at Whitley Bay leisure pool. That's where I set eyes on NAH and liked what I saw immediately. However, it soon became clear he was already taken, so I had to put him out of my mind.

The months passed and I became friendly with some other guys from the swimming group. J invited me out, but that was a once-off. It turned out he'd decided that he was going to find a girl to marry and invited a succession of us out one week. I think I was Tuesday, K was later on in the week. That's who he married - I went to their wedding ceilidh. E and M had news of them, having kept in touch and I smiled at the memory I've just told you about.

A few more weeks passed and I was convinced either P or M from swimming would ask me out. In the meantime E and M arranged a pub lunch (at The Cock O' The North pub!) and walk around Durham one Sunday. That afternoon NAH and I talked to each other non-stop, even though his girlfriend was there. Somehow we contrived to exchange phone numbers and for the first time I contemplated taking the initiative and asking a boy out instead of the other way round. In fact I geared myself up to do so - 'if he hasn't rung up by the time this side of the record's finished, I'll do just that'. The record was City to City by Gerry Rafferty. He phoned during the last track. The rest is history.

What of the girlfriend? Well, just after NAH and I got together, she started going out with M (yes, one of the guys I thought would ask me out) and married him. Sadly this Christmas' news includes M dying from leukaemia this year. I'm not saying I would have ended up marrying him had we gone out together, but you never know. So I'm counting my blessings an extra time this Christmas. Strange how you think things will happen one way, then fate lends a hand to completely reshape them isn't it?

What Timing

The wand of good fortune has waved over us this week, not once but twice. We've both had one of our Premium Bonds picked out for a prize. You can always tell when these arrive in the post, so the envelope gets oohed and ahhed over until the ceremonial slitting open by the winner takes place. It's almost always the minimum prize, but welcome nevertheless as the spoils get shared for us to spend on whatever takes our fancy.

I feel the need for a little light shopping over at Amazon coming on...

What's in a Name?

This has got to be one of the best headlines ever in my view. EmmaT seems to think so too. However, I think Skimble and Jess would be a little peeved if I did get a dog.

Namewise the past couple of days have been a little trying - Victoria's in agreement today. Blotanical has had one of its revamps (sigh) and as a consequence we've had to re-sign in with our user names. For most people it's not a problem as their name is more than 4 characters and there aren't that many duplicates even though membership's over 1,000 strong. However, I've had to leave go of VP in there and it's been quite a wrench. VP is me!

I've got very fond of her over the past year even though VP came about by accident. When I signed up for a blog, I was soon faced with a decision on what I was going to be called. Being totally naive in the ways of blogging and the internet, I was more than a little nervous about being my true self. Also Veg Plotting was a bit of a mouthful and I imagined people not wanting to type in my whole name when leaving comments, so it seemed sensible to shorten it to VP. It immediately reminded me of the hilarious cartoon strip Bill Tidy used to do for CAMRA called Keg Buster. The main character's name always got shortened to KB in the strip itself, so VP's also a bit of a homage to Bill Tidy's sense of humour and characterisation.

Having read Victoria's piece today, it's been great to see the speculation from others on what my new Blotanical name would be. It actually mirrors the thought process I went through. Veg Plotting? No, that's the blog, not me. VeePee? Better, but I might get a few jokes about the Pee bit! So, eventually I plumped for EmmaT's occasional name for me - Veep. It retains the quirkiness of VP and rhymes with beep. What could be better?

If only VP or Veep had been acceptable to Emma's revamped Indyblog - it's the full blown VegPlotting on there nowadays. Help - I'm in danger of developing a multiple personality in here!

Secret Santa!

We offer a 'Secret Santa' service to our neighbours at this time of the year. We take in their larger presents which they might find difficult to keep hidden from excited, prying eyes. This year we're looking after this very pink motorbike which I'm sure E is going to love - don't worry, she's only six and doesn't read this blog. Until yesterday it was a very large box in our dining room, but then M came round, put it togther after E had gone to bed and returned it to us for safe keeping until the big day. Do you think she'll let me have a go?

How Far Can You Make Coffee Go?

How far can you make coffee go? In my husband's case much further than you think. We have a bit of a weekend ritual, the kind of thing that marks it out as different and more special than the rest of the week. Part of that ritual is a pot of freshly brewed coffee. This morning was no different. Except he caught the pot with his sleeve and in rescuing the coffee, our favourite mug fell to the floor. The one bought on the last day of our holiday in Australia 5 years ago.

It may not seem much to anyone else, but that little mug has bought so much pleasure. I can clearly remember us deciding to buy it in the gift shop close to the Central Station in Sydney and wrapping it up carefully to survive our trip home. We don't usually go for china mugs, never mind one by a wildlife artist, but this one reminded us of the trip to the koala hospital just outside Port Macquarie on the first week of our holiday and a whole host of other things about that magical trip. I smiled at the memory of such happy times every time I reached for it when the kettle was boiling. Ah well.

The coffee went all over the floor, cupboards and a wooden trolley we keep the television on. Even the insides of drawers and cupboards weren't immune to a touch of coffee grounds. All needed cleaning ready for the Christmas holidays, but I wasn't expecting to do so quite as soon, or as thoroughly - coffee grounds are the pits to clean up! Until we go to Australia again, this picture of our little broken mug will have to suffice.

One day I'll write up the diary of our trip I kept whilst we were on our travels. Perhaps then you'll understand just what I'll be missing from now on.

Wiltshire Without

Click on View All Images if you'd like to see an enlarged version of this Slideshow.

Here's 42 pictures taken this year which haven't appeared on Veg Plotting. I hope you enjoy them. The show's called Wiltshire Without because all the shots were taken outside of this fair county. A lot of the parishes around here have two main components: a Within part - the central area, which is in turn surrounded by a Without one. This often extends well beyond the built up area.

Guess what the Wiltshire slideshow's called...

Wiltshire Within

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Here's the sister slideshow to Wiltshire Without! 31 photos taken in 2008 around Wiltshire and not posted over at Veg Plotting.