A Fetish For Cowboy Boots

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In the last two weeks, I have become completely addicted to Ashes to Ashes.

There.  I’ve said it.

It started out as casual viewing over Saturday night pizzas with J and the kids (movie choices always seem to degenerate into an argument so we went with this) and has ended this weekend with me ‘n’ J watching all eight episodes of season two.

Not in one sitting mind – but it was two episodes Friday night, two episodes Saturday lunchtime, three episodes with dinner last night and the season finale over breakfast this morning! 

Plot twists flew thick and fast and combined with great 80s tunes (a particular fave is Gene revving the Audi Quattro to the intro of Duran Duran’s Rio) and great characters, this heady mix had us rivetted/riveted to our seats! (Riveted…is it one ‘t’ or two…hmmm I can’t decide.)

Season 3 started filming last November and will hit TV screens in the UK in Spring 2010. I cannot wait. What will Alex do? Who is Gene Hunt? Can Chris’ dress sense get any worse?  What is the wipe-clean wonder fabric that Alex’s white jacket (entirely unsuitable for police work I would have thought but hey, this is the 80s) is made from? Will Shaz do more than make tea? And will Raymondo get himself a girl?

Seriously, for me this is just the best mix of 80’s nostalgia trip and police drama and I love the whole slightly off-centre supernatural-ness of Alex’s dual life. If you are like me – fascinated by a puzzle and tempted by a little voice in the back of your head saying ‘what’s it all about?’ – go on and get your cowboy boots on.  It’s Ashes to Ashes time…

A Park About Politics….

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So it was announced at the end of last week that car parking charges are to be introduced to Richmond Park.  All I can say is ‘thank God it’s over!’

The issue of car parking charges for Richmond Park has been used by politicians, most recently Zac Goldsmith, to wave the flag of ‘we are the voice of the community’ and general ‘defender of the everyman’ and I am heartily sick of it.
Sick of sensationalist flyers being pushed through my letterbox.
Sick of emails (trying to be inflammatory) requesting my signature on a petition.
Sick of unrelenting requests to attend rallys to demonstrate against this.
Not one party has delivered anything on this issue other than sensationalist rubbish.  Where was any understanding demonstrated about the massive cost of upkeep to Royal Parks which all of us are free to use?  What about the preservation of a wonderful, natural space for people to enjoy?

Don’t get me wrong.  I think there are a multitude of issues here and living near Kingston Gate, I do wonder whether we will have a return to careless (and sometimes ridiculous) parking exploits in the surrounding streets and whether any parking fine revenue raised (and there will be!) will be added to the coffers for the upkeep of the park itself.  But I am tired of the grand-standing and the lack of substantive information on this issue particularly given one MPs ‘soap-box’ stance on this following their move from Green to Tory party MP for the constituency.  

My hope is that MPs will now focus on issues for the community, ones that will make a real difference to people living in the borough rather than the ones who may (or may not) visit it.  We have just come through one of the most difficult economic periods in the last few decades and I would like to see a focus on responsible economics and community values…

Let’s see who delivers.

For The People By The People

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There has been some exciting news on the work front this week. 

(No I have not been offered an amazing, multi-million pound job which involves travelling, eating and laying about – btw, how do you get one of those?)

We have launched a new site in our localpeople.co.uk network – kingstonpeople!

It’s a website for the people of Kingston but the great part of it is that it’s written by the people of Kingston so we get to bang on about politicians (who was that brave man from the Lib Dems braving the icy conditions on Windmill Rise yesterday to knock on doors and garner party support?), snow (how pretty, annoying, inconvenient, cold it is), transport (train delays), road works (including the question to grit or not to grit), and art (Out of Order, The Rose Theatre) as well as our fave (and not so fave!) places to eat, drink, shop and generally frequent…
So you can all go on and find out about the place I love to live in!  You can even register yourself and bang on about Kingston too…

Yay!  I am excited….

2010…Born To Be Alive…

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Happy New Year folks!!!  Sorry there has been a bit of a void in your giddayfromtheUK fix…only 4 blogs for December!  Shall endeavour to ‘pull my socks up’ but hope you know I was thinking of you anyway…

Well we are 3 days into 2010 and after last year’s run of death, illness and hard times for me and my nearest and dearest, I have found myself wondering what this year will bring and where we will find ourselves this time next year…in 2011!!!!  Gulp!!

And then I heard a blast from my past that blew all of that away and left me feeling inspired and, quite frankly, ‘kick-ass’.  

In 1979, I danced to this over and over in my pre-teen bedroom (I was ten!) and in 1982, a small group of 12-13 year-olds ventured on stage at the George Jenkins Theatre in Frankston (Melbourne, Australia) to perform the first of many Monterey High School Variety Night dance routines to this disco classic. 

And 30 years on, it is still the greatest disco track ever…and a fitting theme for the year ahead.

So sit back peeps, dial up that volume and take a trip back in time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H12wNmn87KM

Yeah baby…

Just One Festive Sleep To Go And It’s Already Christmas…Somewhere

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Here I am on Christmas Eve, catching up on all my Christmas emails and trying to respond in kind with a fab e-card (which is presenting some technical challenges to say the least!) when I realised that Christmas Day has already arrived for my Aussie family and friends so although they might not be up and about just yet, in case I don’t crack the e-card….

Wishing you all a magical Christmas
and every success and happiness in 2010…

Love from me, J & Alfie Bear (of course!)

xxx

12 Festive Sleeps to Go…Winning Performances

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Well it’s that time of year when  two of my favourite shows start drawing to their inexorable close – Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor.

X Factor will finish tonight in a blaze of stage effects, judge’s tears and testosterone now that it is down to Olly and Joe and for my part, I would love Olly to win.  Entertaining, cheeky and gutsy…although it will be a fight to the end and in two hours time, the artist with the ‘Christmas Number One‘ for 2009 will be announced…

But more than that, I loved this weekend’s Strictly.  All of those amazing, amazing performances and the most wicked Argentine Tango from Ricky and Natalie…I just so want them to win.  So nothing pleased me more than to see them go through to next week’s final. 

So there it is – my votes for the winning performances.  Saturday nights will just not be the same without them…

13 Festive Sleeps To Go…Gratitude

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I opened up my blog today not knowing what I was going to write.  Sometimes it happens like this and today it meant that instead of rushing in knowing exactly what was there to be said, I took some time to read some of the other blogs I follow.

Earlier in the year, a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer.  She weathered an array of aggressive treatments and has spent the last 5 months in India, giving herself the space to heal.  She only started blogging again recently and I read today that she has come home to Paris and it reminded me how much I love my little maisonette flat tucked away up here on Kingston Hill.  My sanctuary, where I can either invite the world in or take a brief respite from the little battles life presents on a daily basis.

Her words reminded me what there is to be grateful for and straight away it brought up some of the little pieces of news from family that have made my heart swell over the last week or so – like when my little sister was honoured as a life member of the NDSOC car club and I cried on the bus going to work reading how stunned and touched she was – or when my Mum’s partner got the all clear after being rushed into hospital with an aggressive form of melanoma. Or the regular newsletter from my itinerant Dad-and-Stepmum chronicling their latest travels through Western Australia over the last few weeks and reminding us all that they having been living this gypsy dream of theirs for 3 years.  Or when when I sat with my partner, his ex and his son, cheering and clapping furiously at his daughter’s end of year Christmas Dinner Concert last Saturday…

What a couple of weeks it has been.

So my brave, brave friend, in the midst of her journey, wrote her blog…and without even knowing it, became the inspiration for mine…

20 Festive Sleeps To Go…

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I cannot quite believe we are in December and I am already starting to put things in my diary for next year…like next catchups with friends (we are now hugging goodbye saying ‘see you next year’) and routine appointments (like my next hairdresser’s appointment is now January 30th!) 

There are only 20 sleeps to go until Christmas Day, the shops are getting crazy-busy, parking in Kingston has officially become challenging and brightly-wrapped parcels from home are starting to form quite a festive pile under the Christmas tree. And we are off for our first Christmas event tonight – J’s daughter’s Christmas Dance Show – complete with roast turkey meal and all the yuletime trimmings. 

Just where did the year go?  Can anyone tell me??

Time to get festive

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Christmas is creeping up on us all and with the 1st December approaching (on Tuesday), there was much excitement in our household when the cupboard under the stairs was opened, many boxes and bags were rummaged through and a very important Hamer ritual took place…the annual decoration of the Christmas Tree.

(I know it’s not officially December yet but if we are rounding to the closest weekend, Tuesday is def. closer to this weekend than next!)

So with 26 sleeps to go, I tested the lights, laid out all of the ornaments – an eclectic mix of cheap ‘fillers’ and gorgeous treats from my travels over the last few years – and spent a couple of joyful hours filling my flat with Christmas…

So so pretty…I’m feeling very pleased with my efforts indeed.  And it does makes me all childishly excited to turn all of the living room lights off and to sit in the lovely glow of Christmas…

But what’s that I can hear?  A few rustling sounds and a bear-ish grunt or two…hmmm let’s investigate…

Oh it’s Alfie Bear – he has stolen Mummy’s Christmas hat and is admiring his very first Christmas tree!

Remember…26 sleeps to go people…time to get festive!