When a Diamond is a Girl's Best Friend

A couple of days before we set off on holiday we celebrated my mum's 60th birthday. My dad and I had planned a surprise dinner party at a posh restaurant, involving close family and friends. The evening was a success - my mum had been suspicious that something would be happening, but she did not expect to have a group of people gathered to celebrate with her - my brother and his girlfriend had managed to come down from university, my dad's sister and his partner had come down from Birmingham, and one of my mum's sisters had secretly come to stay with my husband and I, so my mum had no idea that any of them were down in Sussex for the occasion until she walked through the door of the restaurant to all our "Happy Birthday!" cheers.

I had opted for a diamond theme, as like the Queen celebrated 60 years of her reign this year in Diamond Jubilee, so this was my mum's diamond year. She had never made much fuss about her previous big birthdays, doing nothing special for her 40th or 50th like many people do, so it was only right that we made sure that this birthday would be marked appropriately.

But I didn't only choose diamonds because it was her 60th, but because she is a diamond herself. A diamond that we wanted the opportunity to surprise, to show how much we love her by being there, by surprising her, and by treating her. My mum loves gifts - she's always been a great gift-giver herself, always finding special little things for the people she cares about - but she also loves being surrounded by those dearest to her, and we knew that this dinner party would be the best way to do this.

My present to my mum, with valuable contributions from others, was a memory book - tracing her life from birth through to this special birthday - filled with photos, loving notes, and happy and silly memories. It was a pleasure to do. I've always loved hearing my parents talk about their life before I was born - their childhoods, their wilder days, their best friends, their work, their meeting each other and their getting married, so I loved going through that material for my mum. And when I got to the pretty pink page for the year 1984, the page for my entry into their world, their first baby, I was able to admire once again the cute pictures, think back to the fond tales my mum has told me of my birth, my learning to crawl and then walk, my first word, my first snow, and my two-year-old's joy at the arrival of my brother in 1986.

Mum giving me a doll on my first birthday

And then of course, come my own memories. My mum was the first person I ever set eyes on - apparently I didn't even look at the midwife, it was my mum who I looked at first. She has been an unswerving pillar of strength for me throughout my life. She is a great mum, and I thank God for her. We do not always get on, and she frequently annoys me in a way that only a mother can, but I would not be the same without her. She has always cared for me, always looks out for me, and still remains the one person I want around whenever I am sick. She still likes to mother me, even though I am more than two years married and have lived away from her since university. She's very good at coming round and tidying bits and pieces up, maybe taking away a bag of laundry, and fussing over things. I always feel guilty, but at the same time I like that she helps me out, because I'm pretty useless at this housewife thing, and I think that she still likes to be my mum like that.

I love to meet her for tea and cake, to go and see a girly film together, to go clothes shopping with her, but mostly to talk to her about anything and everything. Despite many ups and downs, I've always been able to share things with her.

She's always been a sparkling diamond in my life. A best friend unlike any other of my best friends.

She's the kind of person who has low self-esteem, who doesn't think very much of herself. But from the input of friends and family to both her memory book and the dinner party it is clear that she has been a diamond as a sister and friend too. My dad, brothers, and I will testify that as a wife and mother she has made a positive impact on all of our lives. Whilst we're family and we will always gripe and disagree with one another, we are who we are together and because of our pasts with each other, and this special birthday was the perfect way to celebrate my mum's irreplaceable role in our lives.

A Change is as Good as a Rest

Yesterday evening my husband and I arrived home from a short holiday in Paris and Amsterdam. We've been feeling the need for a holiday for some time, what with my husband completing his MSc, my change in job, and the other hectic happenings of twenty-somethings who struggle to say "no" to stuff!

Last Monday morning we set off with full rucksacks to the station where we took a train to Newhaven. There we hopped on the ferry to Dieppe where we took a train to Paris, changing briefly at Rouen. We arrived in the evening, and after a slightly overwhelming walk through busy streets in the pouring rain from St Lazare Station we eventually found the side street that housed our hotel.

We stayed in Paris for two nights, and on Wednesday morning we set off with our rucksacks again to hang out at Montmartre until it was time to get our train from the Gare du Nord to Amsterdam. The fast train took us speeding through French and Belgian countryside and on into Holland in just under three hours, and worked out cheaper for us both than peak tickets from our hometown to London (which takes just over an hour)! We then stayed in Amsterdam for three nights, before flying home yesterday evening.

So, we did lots of exploring, lots of walking, lots of eating, and lots of attempting to dodge the autumnal rain. We are both feeling the need to rest again, but in truth a change from the norm has definitely been what we needed. We haven't had to wake up early each day. We haven't had to travel to work and put up with the daily stresses. We haven't had to cook dinner for six days. We have had the opportunity to sit back and watch the world go by. We've been able to enjoy being somewhere different, to wander around with little pressure for time, and no demand for our attention or domestic responsibilities to concern us.

It's been great to have a rest of sorts, and now we both feel refreshed (if full of cold, sadly), and ready to go again. And I hope to write a little more about our adventures in the next couple of weeks.

If You Want to Know A Little More About Me...

Back in July the lovely Kayleigh of A Million Little Somethings gave me a Liebster Award on her blog. Unfortunately it's taken me longer than I would like to, to respond. But here I am feeling bleurgh with a cold, and it seemed like a good time to finally respond! So thank you Kayleigh for awarding it to me. It is an honour :)

I've posted the award rules at the end.

11 Facts About Me

• September is my birthday month - a few days ago I turned 28, eep!
• I didn't go shopping for my wedding dress. I have no idea why, but the thought of trawling through bridal wear shops filled me with dread. I had very specific ideas about what I wanted, and I found the perfect dress online, had it made to my measurements, and then refitted by a local seamstress once I had it in my possession. To this day I still don't regret not going shopping and trying on gazillions of meringue-esque dresses in advance of finding "the one". You can read my testimonial of my dress (and see a picture) on the Conscious Elegance website. My review is about half way down the page - I wore the Tabitha design.
• I'm quite good at doing impressions of other people, but usually only when I don't realise I'm doing it - such as when reliving a situation on behalf of others. I can't do such impressions under pressure, like when people say "I want to hear your whatshisname impression!" Argh! I especially have to watch this 'characteristic' of mine when at work.
• I love polar bears. 
• I hate leaving the house without a bottle of water. Even if I'm not thirsty while I'm out, I will instantly become so if I realise I've forgotten to bring any water with me.
• Because I think a lot, and like to remember happy times a lot, I am prone to random fits of laughter in inappropriate places, like walking along the street or sitting on the train, when other people will slowly move away from me as though I am a crazy person.
• Speaking of laughing, the gym keeps making me laugh. Whether it's the ludicrous scene of rows of people exhausting themselves on machines, or the muscly men admiring their bulges in the giant mirrors, I often get the giggles when I should be concentrating on my own workout.
• My town is within the South Downs National Park, and I really love the South Downs, from admiring the view on my train journey to work, to going on long walks on them with my husband, they will always be special to me wherever else I may end up going in the world.
• I would genuinely struggle to get through each day without tea.
• I am surprisingly good at baking. Since housewifely duties generally don't come to me naturally, I'm pretty chuffed about my successful cakes!
• In my first year at university I slummed it true student style in a hideous breeze-block hall of residence that resembled a prison/cheap holiday apartments/hospital. This was more than made up for by a massive room between two turrets in this gorgeous building for my third year:

The beautiful Founders Building at Royal Holloway

Kayleigh's Questions

1. Do you use pinterest? If so, what is one pin that you wish you could just *poof* make real?

I mainly use Pinterest to find projects for the house or garden that I can actually attempt to do, as I know I would be stuck on there for too many hours than is healthy if I look at all the beautiful things that I would love to have. But, I do have a couple of boards for things that I like, but may never have or be able to make. The one thing from these that I would love to just appear from that would be this amazing Totoro cake. It's just incredible! I would love to make one for someone like my brother's girlfriend, but my sugar craft and general (lack of) artistic ability are just not up to scratch.

Look how epic it is!

2. When you choose to follow a blog, what kind of things are you looking for?

I read quite a variety of blogs, so it could be anything really. I like to follow other Christian blogs because I like to have my faith challenged, and I also value the support I've received from meeting other Christians online. Other than that I mostly enjoy humour and geeky blogs because they appeal to my sense of fun, and they're just so well written that I love reading them.

I also follow some blogs of friends, which vary from being based at their home-run craft business to their cooking adventures. Because so many of my friends live all over the place, their blogs can be a more informative way of keeping up with their news than Facebook.

3. What is your all-time favorite coffee drink?

I don't really drink coffee, mainly because it gives me a tummy ache. Also, although I love the smell I'm not big on the taste unless I add lots of sugar, so it's not very good for my teeth. Having said that, the best coffee by far that I have ever drunk was when I was in Brazil six years ago. We had fresh coffee every morning, and with a small squirt of this sweetening syrup that they had, it was really delicious. And it did not give me a tummy ache, so I was able to drink it the whole time I was there, which was a nice treat. But usually, no, I can't drink it.

I drink lots of tea though...

4. What is your dream job?

To be a full-time writer. This has always been my dream job, and I don't think it will ever change. I'm half way there, but I think I'll hit the 'dream' target when I've got something published, with a view to publishing more in the future.

5. Besides working, what do you spend the most time doing in a typical week?

Quite a lot of things, really. There's all the usual things like cooking dinner, chores, wasting time on the computer, and lots of church related stuff. It's difficult to say which of these takes up the most time because I guess it varies from week to week, and season to season. I guess if I made a spreadsheet and tried to figure it out then the winner would probably be spending time on the computer - Facestalking, catching up on blogs, playing computer games, and watching TV. I hate to admit to spending so much time in front of a screen. Thank goodness I no longer play World of Warcraft or it would be even worse!

6. What are you MOST thankful for right now?

My husband. He is my best friend, and my rock, and he is also looking after me whilst I am ill :)

7. Why did you choose to start a blog and what keeps you going?

I started a blog of sorts about seven years ago on Bebo, because I liked sharing amusing tales of happenings in my life. I decided to start a blog after I'd read a few that people had started at university, and realised that I was basically blogging already only I was using Bebo and Facebook to do it.

I love to write, which keeps me going. It's not always easy, and often my blog doesn't feel like 'real writing', but even then I find it is a good place to get the creative juices flowing if I'm struggling with my fiction. Usually sharing the story of an exciting adventure gets my brain whirring enough to kick start my other writing. Also, I've realised over the past few months how much feedback means to me, so receiving comments is great, That, and I really enjoy reading other people's blogs and meeting people that way. I guess all of that keeps me motivated to blog.

8. If you could choose, what view would be outside of the window you look through most often?

To be honest, my view out of the study window where I sit to write is really very good, and quite inspirational when I remember to look at it!

Despite that, I do still dream of living in a country house where my view is of unspoilt countryside – open fields flanked by forests and hills.

9. Besides your blog, what is your favorite social networking site to spend time on?

I guess it would have to be Facebook, which I have a bit of a love/hate relationship. I've wasted so much time on that wretched website, and yet it still remains one of the best ways to keep in touch with friends. I love using it to share photos, and it is also very popular for people to send out invitations to events via that and no other means.

10. What is your favorite childhood memory?

It's just not possible for me to answer this question, as there are far too many wonderful memories that could be classed as my favourite. Most of my special childhood memories involve my family, but I also loved primary school when I was little, so there's probably some there too. I can't even decide which one to give as an example, there are too many good ones! I'll have to get back to you on that.

11. If you could be a character in any book or movie, who would you be?

I think I would like to be Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. When I was a teenager and in my early twenties I wanted to be an actress, and Eowyn was all the things I wanted in a female character – interesting and emotional story, long flowing hair, stunning dresses, kick-ass with a sword!

I nominate the lovely ladies of these blogs, that I really enjoy reading:
Lozzz123 at Science, Spouses and Silliness
Jeanine at Wayfaring Girl on a Mission
Emily at Love Woke Me Up This Morning
Kirsti at A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings
Sara at For When Thinking Isn't Enough

Nominees, you don't have to respond to this if you don't want as I know they go round and round a lot, but if you fancy responding to any of the questions on your blogs or in the comments I would be honoured :)

My Questions

1. If you could befriend any Disney villain and help them mend their ways, who would you choose and why?

2. You've been invited to a fairy tale themed fancy dress party. Who or what do you dress as? (I need inspiration for attending such a party myself!)

3. If you could choose any activity to be made an official Olympics sport, what would you pick?

4. Where in the world would you most like to go that you haven't already been to?

5. What is your ultimate karaoke song? If you don't ever do karaoke, what would it be if you were forced to sing?

6. If you could have any famous historical figure over for dinner, who would you invite?

7. If you went to Hogwarts, which house do you think the Sorting Hat would place you in?

8. What was the best science experiment you did, or saw your teacher do, at school?

9. What's your favourite way to spend a hot summer's day?

10. What's your favourite way to spend a freezing cold winter's day?
11. If you could dye your hair any colour you wanted just for fun, which colour would you choose?

These are the rules linked to the award:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award Presenter on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.

3. Copy and Paste the award to your blog.

4. Nominate at least 5 blogs (up to 11) to receive the award.

5. Inform them of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Include 11 random facts about yourself in your post.

7. Answer the 11 questions the person that has nominated asked you and create 11 new questions for the people you have nominated.

Totoro Cake from imgfave and also on my Pinterest page - please message me if you would like to 'follow' my Pinterest boards
Founders Building from the Royal Holloway, University of London website

Bye Bye Summer

It's always funny when the youth at church ask me how my summer was. They've just had a couple of months of glorious freedom and they think that everybody else has had the same. Bless their cottons. At least they've all got a few more years of education until reality bites in the future. Oh how I miss those long summer holidays.

Summer has been just like any other time of year for us, only slightly, and I mean slightly, better weather. Life has actually been so busy the past couple of months that I haven't had much time to sit and write down stuff or even time to think vaguely about potential blog posts, so I thought it was time for an update on my 'hectic' life:

Jobs 
Work has been dominating my life somewhat recently. It is a very long story, so here is the short version: I am going back into full-time work next week. I will still be working for the same organisation in the same department, but I will be in a different team and based in a different office.

It was my last day in my other role on Wednesday and it was lovely. I provided lots of yummy cakes of course, and the team presented me with a gorgeous bunch of flowers and some great presents, including framed song lyrics - a variation on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - based on my time there. It was awesome, and I was incredibly touched.

I am glad to still be part of the same department as I will still get to work with these guys, but it won't be quite the same. I will definitely miss them, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of such a great team after the misery of my previous job.

Writing
Going back to full-time work does not mean I will be neglecting my writing, but I will miss having those two days a week at home. However I have learnt a lot about myself, about my technique, my working style, and my discipline, by having the opportunity to work at home. I still believe wholeheartedly that I am meant to be a writer, but I understand much better now that for me, writing a novel is a long process, and that isn't a bad thing. I am also more determined than ever to complete it, and to continue with future projects, because I know that I have what it takes.

In non-fiction news I have been commissioned to write two articles for a new magazine that our church is producing for older members of the congregation, especially those who are not always able to attend services and may feel out of the loop. Having already seen the work our associate minister has put into the design etc, I am really excited to be contributing to it.

Health
My husband and I have just joined the gym. My husband has been going running several times a week, and has really benefitted from it. He wanted me to join him but I hate running. However, I knew I had to do something. I have a tendency to put on weight around my tummy, and therefore well-meaning people have been making assumptions that I am pregnant when I am most definitely not. It makes me feel really rubbish to be honest.

We eat a pretty healthy diet (low carbs, lots of fruit & veg, very little processed food etc), but it's not enough. So we've joined the gym and have both had successful inductions with our assigned personal trainers. I am hoping to improve my overall fitness and tone up a bit, and will also be visiting the pool as I I really enjoy swimming. Currently my upper arms are sore thanks to the chest press, but no pain no gain right?

Social Life
Who doesn't like having a social life? I love having lots of events to go to, and spending quality time with friends and family, but on top of that there are the preparations for upcoming social events such as my mum's 60th birthday in October. My dad and I are throwing a surprise dinner party for her with a diamond theme. I'm really enjoying planning it, and have been busy making reservations and invitations.

Throughout the summer we made the most of any weekends when the sun was shining to go on adventures. We've had several long walks in the countryside, been paddling in the sea, and have even managed to catch some rays in yet another disappointing British summer weather wise.

Clockwise from top left: Delicious strawberries from our garden served with posh vanilla ice-cream; Mum & family friends in the Cancer Research Race for Life in Brighton; pretty roadside flowers on a long countryside walk; Pevensey Castle; monster footprints in the sand at Rye Beach; hubby braving the icy waters of the English Channel; Cuckmere Haven

So life has been, and continues to be, busy, busy, busy, but it's all good. The work situation is a lot less stressful now something's been sorted, I'm already feeling physically better from the gym (though it'll take a while for that belly to decrease), and autumn looks set to be a good season, hooray!

In Memory of Those Exams

This year GCSEs and A-Levels have been back in my life, as 2012 has been the year of exams for the majority of the young people my husband and I work with at our church youth group.

For those of you not familiar with the education system in England - sorry if you already know this, but I don't know what the equivalents are in the States and Australia *looks embarassed*  Ahem, so GCSEs are the end of school exams you take when you are 16. A-Levels are the ones you take at sixth-form college when you are 18, and you will have already received half the marks for these in the form of AS-Levels the year before. Your GCSEs determine your admission to college, and your A-Levels determine your admission to university. Both sets of qualifications are obviously useful in the job market too. I prefer to think of them in the Harry Potter sense - GCSEs are more or less the same as OWLS only in less exciting subjects, and A-Levels are more or less the same as NEWTS, again in less exciting subjects.

School never was as cool as HP, but at least I never had an invigilator like her

This year's A-Level results were out last week and the majority of the youth we know got into their chosen universities with their results. It wasn't happy news for everyone but for those who didn't get what they wanted they are trusting in God and making plans to fit around this unexpected and disappointing time, and we pray that they will come through stronger and even more prepared for university.

This year's GCSE results came out today, and my Facebook news feed has been alive with joyful status updates. I smile and like the happy statuses, wishing them, "Congrats!" They all thought they were going to fail, or at least mess up really badly. I think, "Oh youth, they're not that bad, you won't have failed, and you'll be ready to go to sixth-form college. It will all be fine." They are, after all, a bright bunch. But then I remember how I felt about my GCSEs and my A-Levels. I was almost physically sick just moments before I received my results on both occasions, not having eaten properly or slept well for several days.

Let's go back in time and take a peek at how I coped with the news of my results:

The month is August. The year is 2001. The time is 9:58am. I am on holiday with my family in the Lake District. I am thinking, "Could Mum and Dad have chosen a worse time to go on holiday?" We've just moved house, there's a heatwave down south and heavy rain up north, and more importantly I am waiting to find out if I've made it into my sixth form college of choice. I haven't been able to enjoy milkshakes or big holiday meals because my stomach has shrunk with anxiety. I couldn't care less about Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth because all I want to know is if I managed to get an A in English Literature and all this culture isn't helping!

It is results day. My Head of Year, Mrs M, promised she would call at 10am with my results. We are driving round and round in the unrelenting rain, up and down fells, desperately seeking a mobile phone signal. No luck. I begin to panic.

Then suddenly one bar appears on my phone. We're on a steep, narrow lane, but praise God, there is a lay-by ahead. The bar flickers and dies and then reappears as my dad pulls in. Will it stay?

10:08am. Mrs M still hasn't called. What's taking so long? I need my results. I can't expect my family to sit here all day with me waiting to hear. The tension in the car is growing. My mum passes me a pen and a tiny piece of paper from within the glovebox, so I can write my results down. 10:11am and everyone holds their breath as the phone chirrups. By this time I am silently sobbing with stress.

Mrs M is as chirpy as ever as she quickly rattles off my grades for each subject. I'm so shocked that I achieved an A* for Drama and a B for my hardest subject, Maths, and an A for French (take that Mrs E for moving me down a set!) that I start crying more. As Mrs M congratulates me and says goodbye, my crying is more than my parents can take. My dad leans back and grabs the list from me and he my mum read it together. "You've done brilliantly! What you are crying about you silly girl?" they exclaim. We leap out of the car to hug and kiss. I am going off to college to do my A-Levels to set me up for drama school, hooray!

Fast forward two years.

The month is August. The year is 2003. I am in a car with a group of friends on the way to college to get our results. We've hardly slept. We were at a small party the night before, and despite an attempt to catch a few hours, sleep has eluded us. I'd had too much guarana punch, it was really hot, I felt sick with fear, and the room I was 'sleeping' in was next to the bathroom that had the loudest cistern and pipework in the entire country.

But finally we are on our way to get those results. The stakes are high. I've decided that I don't want to go to drama school but that I want to go to university, a good university, to become a Classicist. I've chosen a University of London college. I need decent grades. My AS-Levels were not amazing, and I have done a few retakes. Were they worth it? Have I done enough to get through?

When we get to college we are shown to the main hall, and shuffled into a queue depending on where in the alphabet our surname comes. We have to patiently wait our turn. There are people smiling, cheering, crying, and looking dumbstruck. Which look will I have?

I sit down in front of the kindly looking woman for the 'H to M' surnames, and she reads out my grades. Three Bs. I got three Bs. More than what I needed. I'm in! I'm going to Royal Holloway to study Ancient History. So I burst into tears. The woman looks aghast. "That's good, three Bs are good. It says here you needed BCC, and you've got BBB." I smile through my tears, acknowledging this, attempting to point out that I've just been so worried that I wouldn't achieve that. I regain my composure and leave to let the next panic-stricken student receive their results.

Outside the hall the college is abuzz. One of my best friends got one of the top 5 grades in the country for English! A local newspaper wants her picture, and then they want mine too. They want to interview a range of students, to know our grades and where we're off to next. The whole thing is overwhelming and exciting. There is much cause for celebration.

Royal Holloway Classics Class of 2006. Try and spot me, I look like a goon.

So, GCSEs and A-Levels? At the tender ages of 16 and 18 these were a big deal. The stakes are even higher now. Most good universities require more than one A at A-Level for you to get in because demand for places has massively increased. My old course now asks for ABB. It didn't ask for BCC in my day because it was an easy course but because it wasn't that popular, but even my year, the Class of 2006, were declared to be the biggest the Classics Department at Royal Holloway had ever had, and after that the numbers just kept growing, so the entry grades had to as well.

I'm happy for our youth that have done well, especially when the pressure is higher than ever on them. I hope that those who got their GCSE results today use their time at college as an opportunity to really think through what they would like to do next. When I was 16 I saw my dreams of becoming an actress as set in stone, but college changed that for me, and I realised that I didn't want to let my love of history go.

I also hope that university is amazing for those who will be starting this September, and for those who won't be, especially not by choice, will have a year of experiences that will shape them and give them direction in their future studies.

I can look at them and think in that annoying adult way, "Why were they so worried? They've got their whole lives ahead, and there is always a chance to improve," and "They're only GCSEs for goodness sake," but the reality is that I was just the same, that doing well in my GCSEs and A-Levels was so important to me - I actually thought I would die if I failed - and that our youth have more than just cause for celebration in coming through the other side better than they had expected.

Harry Potter photo from BBC News. Graduation photo my own.

A Day at London 2012

Yesterday I went to see Olympic Wrestling... Yep...

Well, there's a bit of a story behind it all:

Both my husband and I made no secret of declaring our apathy towards the Olympics, our disdain for the vast amount of money spent, and our disinterest in the torch passing through our town.

It was sad, because when London won the bid back in 2005 I was very excited. I expected that I would look forward to the games being here, because I've always held some vague interest in the Olympics, and have always loved watching the gymnastics. I also remember moments during Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, finding my attention grabbed by swimming, cycling, and the athletics. I would always be reading a book in the living room, whilst my brother was watching the games, finding myself looking up every now and then, and eventually allowing myself to be gripped by the races for gold.

Maybe I had just been suffering some Olympic fatigue, because for the past year it's been in our faces everywhere, and we don't even live in London.

We were at a barbeque when the Opening Ceremony took place, and the majority of the party were squashed into the host's living room to watch it. My husband and I preferred to hang out in the garden, chatting to others who felt the same as we did.

It was only a couple of days later when I joined a colleague to sneakily watch James Bond taking the Queen onto a helicopter on BBC iPlayer that I realised that maybe I'd missed a good show. And then it wasn't long after that, the TV playing in the tea room at work during the lunch break, when Heather Stanning and Helen Glover won gold for the women's pair in Rowing that I began to grow excited again.

Suddenly Team GB were doing amazingly well, and it was impossible for my attention not to be caught. It was great to see the highlights of Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, the Brownlee brothers, Beth Tweddle, and others winning medals, and I found myself watching all of the Artistic Gymnastics competitions on BBC Catch Up, regardless of whether or not Team GB were competing.

It was amidst this furore that my husband suddenly declared that we should try and get tickets to see something, admitting we were wrong about the "bloody Olympics". Thus began a battle with the ticketing website to actually be able to see something. I won't bore you with the details here, but basically it would appear that tickets were available but when you put them in your basket and then tried to buy them it would transpire that they were not. So I was shocked when I got through all the way to purchasing tickets to...Wrestling! Not, admittedly, my first choice of sport to watch, but my husband was happy with it, and finally we had tickets to go to London 2012!

So yesterday morning we made our way up to the ExCel Centre in London Docklands. We arrived in plenty of time to pick up our tickets from the box office, with no trouble on the public transport network at all. There was a great atmosphere at the Docklands with plenty of volunteers around to help, and lots of excited fans milling about. There were no Team GB entrants for the Men's Freestyle Wrestling, but it was impossible not to be caught up in the excitement of other fans from around the world, notably from the USA, Mexico, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Once inside the centre we were able to find a place to grab a caffeinated beverage and then to sit and eat our picnic before entering the Spectator Zone for the Wrestling, and on into the arena.

We were sitting very near the back, but we still had a great view, head on with Mat A where the 60kg wrestlers would be battling it out. We could also see the two mats for the other two categories pretty clearly as well, but once the fighting began our attention was most easily caught by those directly in front of us.

We saw the 1/8 finals, quarter finals, and semi-finals. It was a shame not to have managed to get tickets to a medals match, but we were just pleased to have got any tickets at all, especially having decided so late in the day that we would like to go to one of the events.

The fans for other countries were so excited, which made for a great atmosphere. I often struggled to understand the rules, and a lot of the moves looked pretty painful to me, but it was still surprisingly fun to watch, and my husband definitely enjoyed it.

USA vs Azerbaijan Semi-Final 60kg Category

After this fantastic spectacle it was a relief to stretch our legs and then make our way out of the arena, just in time to see Hulk Hogan* getting into trouble for breaking through a barrier to get out by a different route.

Then it was off to Piccadilly for to meet a friend for a coffee. Piccadilly was actually far busier and more hectic than we had expected. Outside of the Olympics the rest of London was said to be a bit quieter than usual, but that didn't seem to be the case yesterday.

It was with great relief that we escaped the mania and found a small French patisserie down a quiet side street. Having quenched our thirst and calmed down from the commuter-zone frame of mind that London crowds are prone to put one into, we walked our friend to his bus stop before continuing through the posh streets of Mayfair, and onwards to Hyde Park to investigate the BT London Live festival therein.

Once we finally got to the entrance of the festival we had to queue for about half an hour, which didn't bode well for the volume of crowds inside. We were both feeling tired, hot, and thirsty; the latter not helped by the strict ban on bringing food or drink into the site.

When we finally made it through, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that whilst there were lots of people, there was plenty of room to mill around at leisure. We wandered aimlessly, sitting for a while to watch the Women's High Jump at one of the big screens, but our view was frequently blocked by people standing up and walking around. So we continued on to the big screen over the stage, just in time to see several Team GB athletes parade out and wave to everyone. We were quite far back, but we saw them  nevertheless!

By this point we were getting hungry, so we decided to head to Victoria to find somewhere for dinner before going home. We were just delicately making our way through the crowds towards one of the exits when we heard the announcement that the Men's 5000m was about to start. Ignoring our rumbling tummies for a moment, we decided to stay to cheer on Mo Farah, and I'm very glad we did.

The atmosphere was epic, with everyone getting really excited as the race began, and cheering like crazy. The tension and the shouting collectively rose as each lap was ran, and by the second to last lap we were all screaming ourselves hoarse, cheering on Mo as though he would be able to hear us all the way over in the Olympic Park. And he won the gold! He did it again!

Lots of hugging and dancing ensued from the crowds, all of us thrilled with Mo's performance, and that Team GB have done so wonderfully well this Olympics.

Snapshot of Mo, post-win, on the big screen at Hyde Park - go Mo!

We then headed off into the comparatively peaceful surroundings of the rest of the park, and onto Victoria to a little Mexican place for food, where we were able to toast Team GB's success with cocktails, and chatter about how we could photoshop chairs into some of our wrestling photos.

I'm really glad that we finally let the atmosphere of London 2012 win us over, and that despite difficulties getting tickets and then a nightmarish train journey home, we had a great time and now have a few more stories for the grandchildren.

*Sadly not the real Hulk Hogan, but a very good lookalike.

Photos my own.

Broken Toy Syndrome

My youngest brother used to have a wind-up toy Noddy. You wound him up and he scurried across the floor, from one end of the room to another. After some time, this Noddy became a little broken. You would wind him up and he would start walking and then topple over, his feet still scurrying, desperate to reach his destination, but never making it. Why am I telling you this? It is because right now this broken Noddy springs to mind when I try to describe how I'm feeling at the moment, unable to get to my destination but manically attempting to go full pelt ahead anyway.

The last couple of weeks have been very busy. Firstly summer came to the UK for one whole week, so that time was spent enjoying the great outdoors.

Secondly, and perhaps more significantly for me, I've had two job interviews and an end of contract meeting at work. My mind has been working overtime, wanting to control the situation more than I am capable of doing, and my energy has just disappeared as a result.

I didn't get either of the jobs, even though apparently I interviewed really well at both, especially the first one where they said that I was a very close second and that if they'd had two jobs going they would have given the other to me. They've also encouraged me to apply to their organisation again, which was a nice boost to the confidence. I took that rejection well, but the second one, which I received the "thanks but no thanks" call for this morning, left me feeling pretty blue.

This was on top of a reasonable end-of-contract meeting at my current job. Reasonable, in that there are potentially two further job opportunities available with them. I should be excited about this, and I think once I've considered these options in greater depth then I will be, but right now I feel sad that my current contract is definitely coming to an end, and that I will be leaving a great team of people at the beginning of September. Having said that, it would be fantastic to stay in the same organisation, even if it means working at a different office and in a different role. I'm not going to ignore the opportunities that have been presented to me, and I am grateful that I still have a choice about this.

It's just all been a lot to take in over the last few days - the first interview was on Thursday, the second on Monday, and the work meeting was today, so I've had butterflies non-stop over the past week, and my mind has been whizzing round in circles as it works on its usual attempts to control the situation without consulting God in the process. To be fair, I have prayed about this, and others have definitely been praying for me too, but try telling my brain that - it won't listen, it's still convinced it can figure out the best options on its own. I've been like that broken Noddy, trying to hurry to solve the problem right now, but clearly unable to.

It's been difficult for me to focus on stuff that isn't related to jobs, which has had some impact on both my writing and my blogging and my general enjoyment of free time. I think I would like to take some time to stop worrying, and to put some energy back into what I love, to convince my whirring mind to settle down for a bit, to stop leaping all over the place and planning for every single possible outcome to everything that could ever happen even if it may not happen, argh!

I am grateful to my husband for being a strong and calming influence in my worrisome little world, I am grateful to my friends and family who offer encouragement and ample distraction from my concerns, I am grateful to all the bloggers I follow for giving me an excuse to break from my worries to catch up on their exciting tales and ponderings on life, and above all I am grateful to God who is always the same, who wants the best for me, and who picks me up in my broken Noddy moments, fixes me and sets me back on track.

I don't know what eventually became of the broken toy Noddy but I like to think that one day he began to work as normal again and toddled off into the sunset.

Picture from Zedge