Juniper

Dirty correspondence 2

2010-08-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

And so eventually my councillor responded:

Friday 1st August 2008

Thanks very much for getting in touch with us about a number of issues with the top end of XXXXXXX Rd. If I can address each point you raise individually:

Fridges

I’ve just popped round to have a look myself at your road and I didn’t see the fridges you referred to. Can you let me know exactly where they are so I can contact the relevant Council team and ask them to remove them? From past experience they are very good and do it in a matter of days, but I will chase it up if they don’t. It is a shame they have been dumped in the street given that the Council operates a free collection service for fridges. If you notice this problem in the future the Council’s ‘ C2C ’ service (http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/c2c/) is a very quick and easy way of reporting the problem.

Rubbish in front yards

This is a slightly more complicated issue as the normal waste collection teams are not allowed to enter resident’s front yards to collect waste, even if it is in bin bags, as this would be trespass. However, the Council does operate an Enforcement Team who can clean this up once they have given residents sufficient notice (usually 6 weeks I believe). I will contact this Team and ask them to take the necessary action. Again it is extremely frustrating when residents don’t take advantage of the weekly and fortnightly bin collections, especially given the recent ‘Get It Out’ campaign which provided an extra 8 collections in the space of 3 weeks for all streets in Cathays!

Litter on the street

I completely appreciate the problems with bin bags being ripped open and litter subsequently being blown everywhere including into front gardens. It is a problem which affects a number of streets in the area, and the solutions need to be long-term. I believe the ultimate answer will be the introduction of wheelie-bins for the streets, such as XXXXXXX Road , where they can be stored easily in front gardens. There has been some resistance to wheelie-bins in the past, but I hope that a case can be made that they are necessary. Unfortunately it is not possible to get wheelie-bins in the areas until the roll-out of the new food waste collections has been completed, which in reality will mean not until next year. In the meantime it is really important that we look at the schedules of when litter-picking and street sweeping teams operate in XXXXXXX Road , and do what we can to get them to clean the streets immediately after the bins have been collected on a Wednesday as you suggest.

Resident parking permits

The decision to introduce residents parking bays at your end of Woodville Rd was made after a number of complaints from people living in the area that they were unable to find parking spaces. Subsequently a survey was carried out which demonstrated that there was a significant shortage of spaces at many times of an average day, and that a residents parking scheme was justified. I should note that even in this case only half the street has been made residents only parking, and there is no obligation to park in this half of the street and therefore to need to buy a permit. However, I appreciate your main point about the cost. I believe that the £5 charge is to cover the costs of administering the scheme, but I will double-check this is the case. The need to provide a stamped-addressed envelope is a little harder to explain, and I will enquire with the team who operate the scheme why they regard this as necessary. When I hear anything I will let you know, although I should note that I am away for a couple of weeks during August so if there is a delay that will be why.

I hope the above helps to answer some of the queries, and most importantly I hope that we see some improvements in the area in the not-too-distant future as a result. As I said earlier, I’m grateful for you letting us know about these problems as it really helps us to prioritise the Council services we have available in the area.

Best wishes

Dirty correspondence 1

2010-08-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

I've been exchanging words recently with my local MP - and not for the first time. I thought I'd dig out the correspondence to bring you up to speed:

This was my first email sent 31 July 2008

> For the Cathays Focus Team,
>
> I'm sending a quick email in the hope of some action
> in my local area. I live at XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Road and
> have recently been really disgusted by the state of
> the road.
>
> There are a number of empty/old/broken fridges outside
> the Electrical store opposite the pub
> which have been lay at the side of the road for a few
> months now.
>
> There are also a large number of houses who are
> filling up their front yards with rubbish and do not
> seem to have been asked to clean them up. Rubbish is
> blowing down the street and into the yards of other
> cleaner neighbours! The sheer amount of rubbish in
> these yards is definately likely to cause rat problems
> and continues all the way up the road.
>
> Whilst I'm in my 20's and able to pop out and clean up
> my yard on a regular basis I feel sorry for my elderly
> neighbours who need to clean theirs.
>
> Also litter is often left out too late on collection
> day and therefore left on the street for another week
> and the bags are picked apart by seagulls.
>
> After the collection yesterday when I walked home from
> work the pavement was full of rubbish left over that
> the bin men refuse to pick up after the bags have
> split. Can a street cleaner be sent down after the bin
> men? Should the bin men be encourage to clean up split
> bags? If a seagull or cat has ripped open the bag
> overnight it is hardly the residents fault.
>
> I'd really appreciate some council assistance in
> getting this road tidyed up. It's a nice area to live
> but is currently looking really bedraggled.
>
> I have just sent off payment for permit parking for
> this area - not only do I now have to pay to park on
> my own road (to discourage non-residents from parking
> there) but I am even asked to enclose a stamped
> addressed envelope! What is my £5 for a permit for? A
> second permit costs £30... I can't believe the council
> are so short of money that I need to include my own
> postage paid envelope. If having to pay for your
> permit isn't galling enough, having to put a SAE in
> certainly is!
>
> Anyway, here is hoping that you can arrange for these
> problems to be looked at - at least a van to collect
> the abandoned fridges and waste would be appreciated.
>
> Kind Regards
>

Home births and a woman's right to choose

2009-05-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

I had a really interesting debate at lunch today with a friend (male) about a woman’s right to choose to have a home birth. As he was (once) a medical student, his view was that choosing to have your baby at home was a drain on hospital resources as you are taking a midwife away from a hospital where she can attend to a number of pregnant women at once.

In 2006 only around 2.7% of births in England and Wales took place at home; it’s not a huge number at all. In April the BBC reported on a study that found that “for low-risk women, giving birth at home is as safe as doing so in hospital with a midwife.” Even in those home births that then required transferring to hospital the risk to the baby was no greater than that of those who started off giving birth at home.

Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said, "to begin providing more home births there has to be a seismic shift in the way maternity services are organised. The NHS is simply not set up to meet the potential demand for home births, because we are still in a culture where the vast majority of births are in hospital."

This seems to correlate with what my friend was saying regarding the use of resources, however, does the lack of midwives mean that women should be forced to come into hospital against their will? Should there not be instead more effort put into recruiting more nurses into midwifery or providing better services? In this country there aren't enough organs for transplant available to those that need them - should we then say that no-one is entitled to organ transplant or instead look at ways to increase the number of people that sign up to the organ donation register?

In the Metro today I read a article where an incredibly on the ball husband had assisted his wife in giving birth at home after he was told there were no midwifes available to come out to them. Instead of panicking or rushing her off to hospital he simply Googled ‘labour’ and watched some YouTube videos that showed him what to do.

I have no children so I can’t fully comment on ‘giving birth’ however, I do know from the unpleasant experiences of my sister-in-law and sister, that giving birth in hospital is not always ideal either. In the case of my sister, her husband was sent home for the night leaving her to suffer in great discomfort through the night alone as she had been induced. Both myself and my mum were really upset to hear how distressed she sounded in the morning. Not one for making a fuss (as us British tend to be) she just put up with the discomfort but clearly would have been happier if she had her husband with her.

I’m not a sandal-wearing hippy advocate of breast-feeding, cotton nappies and home births, however I do feel that women and their partners should be given choices when it comes to pregnancy and birth. This goes for being able to follow a ‘birth plan’ in hospital or choosing a home birth. I don’t condone mothers who choose not to follow medical advice out of their own stubbornness either – if there is a medical need for certain procedures, or for example advice that a water birth is no longer possible because of a tricky labour then fine, listen to the doctors. However, I do believe the choice to start the birth in the way you wish is very important.

I can’t imagine how nervous I would be in the months running up to giving birth. Knowing I had to have a tooth removed I was horribly worried in the week running up to it – having nearly 9 months to get nervous is another matter! Personal control over situations is a big issue in making people feel more comfortable and I think that if medical professionals can give women (and their partners) the feeling of control on such a life changing occasion, then all the better.

Gratuitous image of my nephew Henry...

Things and Stuff

2009-04-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ohhh I've not written anything on my blog in ages. I know, I know - I'm completely rubbish and can never expect to have a burgeoning career as a blogger being this lame. Apologies. I've been very busy doing things for my actual career - and some nice freelance web stuff too. I'm happily starting to find a bit of a niche using my skills to advise people on usability for their websites - and lots of other handy tips and hints about analytics and things. I'm still definitely not a web designer - no mistakes there please - but I've got some skills I can hawk out for sure!

I've done alot of work on this site: www.guychristian.com - a fantastic hairdresser and good friend. I've been slowly tarting up his site, adding a new gallery using lightbox and fixing things from the inside out (his original site was built entirely in tables - ugh) in order to make the site work better, be more efficient and user friendly - and also to improve his google rankings. We've been looking at building an online store and maybe some other exciting developments too.

I recently finished a course with Ffotogallery in Cardiff to try and brush up my design skills - I'm pretty handy with html, css and dreamweaver but I'm like an infant when it comes to photoshop. The ideas are all there in my head but my ability to translate them into slick design is a bit lacking.

Next on the list is some work for a friend on his business site - he's a tiler so it's not going to be anything overly complicated. However, he did commit the cardinal sin of purchasing his domain name along with some horrible 'build it yourself with our freakishly awful templates that let you do nothing' package. Grr. So now i need to transfer that sharpish.

So busy busy busy for me recently - I'm also coming to the end of my wedding marathon. By the end of May I will have been to 8 weddings in just over 8 months. Add to this a few hen parties and my sister's 30th and yes, you can call me social butterfly number one. Luckily I've booked a holiday for early June - bit of sun, sea and reading I think. If i can take my eyes off the monitor for what will feel like the first time in ages I'm hoping to get back to some old fashioned book loving. If you've got any recommendations for books to pack let me know!

The curious incident of the mum in the moonlight

2009-02-24T03:46:00.001-08:00

So this weekend I went on a jolly to visit my family in Manchester, I had a lovely weekend planned - culminating in a surprise party on Sunday for my siter-in-law's birthday. Of course, me being me I then got hideously ill on Saturday night, I woke up around 1am with really bad stomach cramps and a feeling I was going to be sick..

After creeping to the bathroom twice already in the dark trying not to wake my parents I then ran to the bathroom for a third time to be sick. Exiting the bathroom in the pitch black again I was staggering quietly back to my room when this little voice came out of the darkness... 'are you ok?'....

I should at this moment point out that I am possibly the jumpiest person around - I don't exaggerate - and have always been a bit spooked by my parents big old house at night. Having imagined being jumped on by a burgalar in the dark for years it was finally happening...

So of course I screamed by head off and my mum (because OF COURSE it was my mum, who else would it have been) stepped out from the dark doorway she was looming in and grabbed me to stop me from falling back down the steps I'd just come up! The next morning my dad pointed out that he 'knew all along' my mum would make me jump and didn't know why she hadn't switched a light on or knocked on the bathroom door. I want to know why my dad didn't tell her that before she nearly made me die of a heart attack!

Divide : Scared To Death
Originally uploaded by monsieurlam Anyway, my mum got me back into bed and then bless her loveliness sat up with me for the next 4 hours as I got more and more ill and even offered to play scrabble with me to pass the time!!! I did decline the scrabble offer as I was at that point hunched over a bowl trying not to be sick, however we did have a good game of I Spy. The only ones I can remember are moisturiser, charger and water chestnuts (yes I had a tin of water chestnuts in my bedroom - isn't that normal?). Either way she definitely redeemed herself by looking after me all Sunday as I went through all the niceties of a 24 hour vomiting bug: she brought me water, a bowl to be sick in, woke me up from my sleep to stick a thermometer under my tongue etc etc... Thanks Mum!

25 things...

2009-02-13T05:59:00.001-08:00

I did was asked to do this on Facebook recently and thought it was interesting enough to post on here... lazy posting!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

1) I once fell out of a tree I was climbing whilst wearing my best Sunday dress. The back of the dress caught on a branch and I was left hanging from the tree. On spotting my predicament my Dad told me he wasn’t going to help me down which would teach me a lesson. I was probably only left hanging there for a couple of minutes but it felt like forever.

2) I love puzzles of all types and have a not-so-secret current love of jigsaws. This involved me doing a 500 piece Lord of the Rings puzzle at the weekend (my housemate rescued it from her mum’s bin). My mind always wants things to be tidy and organised.

3) Though I used to hate it I now love having curly hair. I think I look weird with straight hair and could never get used to wearing it that way. I hate being asked if I’ve got a perm.

4) I once won a competition to design a Christmas card for the local Royal Bank of Scotland branch when I was about 9. I remember doing a snow scene with Father Christmas and his sleigh and tippex-ing in the snow flakes on a midnight blue background.

5) I didn’t go on a plane until I was 18. My uncle died in a plane crash around 6 months before but I still really enjoy flying.

6) My dad’s name is Phil Taylor. My friends at home call him ‘the Power’. He plays snooker but I’m not sure if he’s actually any good at darts. He’s my absolute hero but is also as stubborn as me so we have some brilliant arguments. His initials are PMT and I like to think it’s because he has pre-menstrual tension.

7) Seven is my lucky number. I was born on the 7th March. I once put my last $20 of betting money on number seven on roulette in a Sydney casino. I didn’t win.

8) I like to sing at the top of my voice in the kitchen when I’m doing jobs and slide around the wooden floor in my socks. At moments like these I think I’m possibly the best dancer the world has ever seen. All time sock dancing favourite is probably Jaramaqui.

9) I wish I had paid more attention in university and attended more lectures. I only started really enjoying my degree in the third year and although I got a 2:1 I wish I’d have taken more away with me.

10) I’m a sea lover. I would always choose living by the sea over anything else.

11) I come from a big family. I have an older brother and sister, 2 nephews and 1 niece. My mum is one of 7 and my dad is one of 4. I have around 26 first cousins, 19 second cousins and if you factor in my cousins’ husbands and wives it adds up to a pretty long birthday card list. I would consider myself very close to all of my family however living three and a half hours away occasionally has its benefits!

12) Jack Nicholson once asked me if I’d like to pat him down.

13) Matthew Kelly once tripped over me.

14) I think my mum might be one of the best cooks going. Sunday lunch at my parents is usually a marathon of food, wine, conversation and humour. I picked up a love of cooking from her and really enjoy cooking for people.

15) On my 19th birthday I got so drunk that I was sick in my knickers. It’s a long story and best told in person with actions.

16) I once hid in a wardrobe for ages waiting to jump out on my cousin Daniel who was living with us at the time. When I eventually jumped out it was my Aunty Jane who had walked in and not Daniel. I’ve never seen anyone look so terrified. I was about 16.

17) I’ve been on TV. I was in a kids television show called Knight School for ITV. I demonstrate possibly the worst acting skills you’ve ever seen but happen to be quite proud of the singing I did for it.

18) I’ve never broken a bone but have the weakest ankles known to mankind.

19) I’m fairly mild mannered but sometimes enjoy a really impassioned rant on a particular topic, occasionally this can lead to irrational bouts of rage. Current examples include:
- My noisy boiler
- People who stroke my hair
- Shane Ritchie

20) I have itchy feet and love going to new places. I wish I could travel more and when money allows have a mental list of places to visit. Most of them involve long-haul.

21) I think empathy is a really important trait and should be paired up with compassion as often as possible – even if I sometimes have to remind myself.

22) I sucked my thumb regularly for around 26 years. I still occasionally suck my thumb when I’m really tired and usually wake up with teeth marks on my thumb.

23) I love the idea of love and romance but hate over the top men who try too hard. Insincere romance or male clinginess makes me cringe! I think deep down I might be after the cave-man approach.

24) I got flashed at three times in one visit once when I went to visit my Nanna in a unit to assess old folks with Alzheimer's/Dementia. Each time was by the same man. He was remarkably well hung for his age.

25) I enjoy making people laugh and being made to laugh. It’s my favourite pastime. Some jokes will never grow old either. Me and my sister putting my enormous bras on our heads will still do it every time.

Islands in the Stream

2009-01-29T04:01:00.000-08:00

This makes me happy. In fact Dolly Parton in general makes me happy. I defy anyone to listen to a Dolly song and not smile. Well, maybe except for a newly divorced and slighty bitter woman who might happen to catch the opening bars of 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E'. Anyway, I was singing a song all morning and couldn't put my finger on what it was. Turns out it was the opening lines of 'Islands in the Stream' and I was happily singing Kenny Rogers bit. (He's an affable looking fellow too).

So sing a long with me. Please. I swear it will make you smile...

"Baby, when I met you there was peace unknown
I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb
I was soft inside, there was somethin going on"

If you are going to complain...

2009-01-28T07:47:00.001-08:00

...then you should write a letter as good as this.

Letter of Complaint to Richard Branson

It's almost as good as the Sean-John-P-Diddy-Coombes 'I am King' fragrance advert. The first time I saw this advert I very nearly let a little bit of wee out. If you haven't had the pleasure yet then in summary he rides a jet ski around in a tuxedo and sunglasses before walking onto a beach surrounded by hot young ladies.

Do you think he wanted to call his aftershave 'I am God' but that the marketing guys thought that might be a bit too much? That maybe people might get a bit offended. In fact I can hear the conversation now... "so Diddy, I think we should go for I am King, it's so much more you. Anyways, it's like, so cool, and hey I don't know if God even knows how to jet-ski..."

I'm sure Henry VIII used to love a bit of jet-skiing at the weekend... good for gout so I've heard.

So anyway, if you wear his aftershave does that mean that you are a King or does it secretly mean that you think he is king? If he sells enough bottles does it count as some kind of peaceful coup and he gets to be King of the World?

Finally, lets ask ourselves, what do Kings smell like? I know you really want to know. Apparently Kings smell of 'premium' ingredients such as:

Cranberry, "a proprietary Imperial French berry note"
Premium Champagne-crème de cassis-kir royale
Cooling Mediterranean water
Key lime pie, and lemon cream

Kings smell of PIE! Heck, even I'd vote for a king made of pie.

Happy New 27th January

2009-01-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

Oops, slightly belated in my Happy New Year wishes here.. apologies! I hope that everyone had a lovely time and made lots of resolutions that they will never keep etc, etc.

It's been a pretty busy festive season and New Year for me. My car decided it hated life and almost clapped out on the M5/M6 before Christmas. Driving with dodgy breaks and no acceleration is not recommended. Although it can be fun to see how far you can gouge your nails into the steering wheel in terror... Actually I'd like to think I was quite badass about it all and was very pleased to get home in one piece - until mon pere informed me how much a new clutch, new brake pads, new air filter, new battery and new spark plugs was going to cost me. Ouch.

I then had all the usual Christmas lovely family time fun, it was actually pretty painless and enjoyable - I even made the starter for Christmas dinner this year - picture attached!

Things then speeded up to involve:

Two days at a wedding in the Lake District (lovely, cold, very special, beautiful)

Catching a (very early) lift on New Years Eve with my brother back to Cardiff. 2am ladies and gents. 2am. Note - if you drive in a transit van through Knutsford at 2am please be aware you are very likely to be pulled over by the police and asked to explain your business. We are not bandits...

A rather lovely NYE, NYD was even better (friends, cheese, meat, food, tv, blankets & sofa's)

Going back to Manchester on the train to pick up my mended car. Full circle.

So there it is, I feel up to date and ready to roll. Lots of other things going on but I might save those for a whole post each!

Panic, fear, dread and a Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had a phone call or message that leaves you with the worst fear in the world? When you immediately start to believe the very worst possible and create some really terrifying scenarios in your head?

I had one of those last night.

I'm going to be a bit cryptic because it's personal and I don't want to go into all the tragic details... needless to say I got hardly any sleep last night and my dreams were incredibly vivid and traumatic hallucinations of my over-active imagination. I was late into work, waiting for a phone call to say things were all ok and that it wasn't really the end of the world as I know it. My mouth has been dry since I woke up and I can't concentrate on anything.

Now I know it's all fine.

All the time last night, I knew that realistically it was going to be ok. Surely nothing that bad could have happened. Part of me actually thought it was fate and that I'd had a run of bad luck and maybe - just maybe I'd done something truly horrible to deserve this. What is all that about? I mean honestly, what is it all about? I wish I had better control over my mind and logic and all the things that would make me live a far calmer life! Panic-monger! Run for the hills.... arrrgh!

So I presume by now you are all very confused, that's if you haven't given up hours ago. Needless to say, everything is fine, normality is restored and I'm off up North for Christmas.

Happy Christmas everyone, have a lovely time.

xxx

Smelly people and early mornings

2008-12-15T06:36:00.000-08:00

Ah... yawn, stretch it's Monday morning and I had a really nice weekend - although pretty busy. I got a train at 5.30am (yes, yes I mean the 5.30 in the morning) to Manchester on Saturday for my nephew's 13th birthday. It was lovely,a good old family knees up and I got to spend some quality time with my nephew discussing BMX bikes (excellent), chav fashion(awful) and savings accounts(advised). He's still such an ace person, he constantly surprises me with the things he says - he's pretty perceptive for one so young. As the oldest of my brood of nephews (2) and niece (1) him turning 13 did make me feel a little old... however I was 15 when he was born so I guess it's not too bad!

How do kids end up either so cool or such nightmares? I know good parenting comes into but then sometimes I wonder if it's just me being totally biased!

I did really struggle with the getting up at 4.30am though, i just couldn't sleep the night before - you know that feeling when you have to get up for something important so you wake up every 40 mins to check the clock.. grr. I eventually got up and the taxi was early so I spent 30 minutes sat on the platform at Cardiff Central freezing away and trying to avoid eye contact with some of the choicer reprobates. Finally got on the train and got my seat and then a man on rather the larger size of 25 stone sat in front of me and - oh dear - he stank. Ugh. Felt guilty for being so revolted but I'm not good with smells!

Oh well, at least I got entertained with some slightly filthy texts from Mr Occasional once he was up around 7.30 ish... kept me giggling for most of the journey. Hurrah for rudeness that only you know about whilst sat in a public place!!

Boots of moon, icy paths and snug feet

2008-12-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

Winter is here, Christmas is round the corner and it's cold, cold, cold! So much so that I made a mad dash to Tesco at 10pm last Monday night to purchase a hot water bottle. It's been a fixture in my bed ever since - at least I now have something warm AND reliable to snuggle up to...

I decided this morning as I scampered to work that I actually like the icy pavements - it makes me appreciate what a fantastic purchase my moon boots were! (Gives me a good excuse to wear them too!)

I have 3 pairs of moon boots now, one traditional, real deal, cool as fuck, red pair of original moon boots. The other two are slightly more practical black ones although one pair have white go-faster stripes. This pair were velcroed round my legs this morning keeping my feet toasty with their faux fur lining. I've still got them on under my desk as I type this - I did put some proper work shoes on this morning but after my lunch excursion I've given in and kept on the comfort boots. Anyway, I'm in love with the retro coolness of my boots. I feel like a superhero. A really warm and lazy superhero.

Only one word???

2008-11-27T23:14:00.000-08:00

Oooo how exciting.. I have been tagged by a meme (what on earth is one of those?!) it seems this means I have to answer a list of innocuous questions using only one word answers. One word! For all those that know me and my lovely verbose self that's actually really, really hard. Why use one word when you can use 20? No I don't know either...

Gulp. So here goes.

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk

2. Where is your significant other? Somewhere

3. Your hair color? Blondish

4. Your mother? Beautiful

5. Your father? Idolised

6. Your favorite thing? People

7. Your dream last night? Rude

8. Your dream/goal? Undecided

9. The room you’re in? Cosy

11. Your fear? Socks

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Beach

13. Where were you last night? Yoga

14. What you’re not? Quiet

15. One of your wish-list items? Drawers

16. Where you grew up? Manchester

17. The last thing you did? Sleep

18. What are you wearing? T-Shirt

19. Your TV? Silver

20. Your pet? Tiger

21. Your computer? Free

22. Your mood? Unclassified

23. Missing someone? Family

24. Your car? Gold

25. Something you’re not wearing? Underwear

26. Favorite store? What

27. Your summer? Interesting

28. Love someone? Always

29. Your favorite color? Sky

30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday

31. Last time you cried? Friday

There we go, not too difficult and filled a bit of time! Thanks Anna!

Pavement Etiquette

2008-11-12T04:06:00.000-08:00

I've decided there are two types of people on the pavement today. The one (like me) just wants to get from A to B in as quick and sensible a manner as possible and feel that they are constantly obstructed in some form or other by slower or more inconsiderate pavement users.

The others are perhaps slower and less mobile and would like more consideration and respect from others - otherwise they are just students.

I have to be careful what I say here as I happen to work for a very well respected university and in no way do I dislike students (they practically pay my wages), although living and working in a student area does cause me a number of daily grievances. However, I fear I may digress into a general moany discourse on rubbish, flytipping and loud parties so I will go back to the point.

For those of us who wish to walk quickly (and are usually walking alone) there are the logical steps you take - moving out of the way for prams and the elderly coming the other way, giving some sort of warning before you suddenly change direction or stop and not using an umbrella as a walking weapon.

For the rest I fear there is a real lack of logic. I presume it's not just limited to students but I'm going to write about what I know here. When walking 3 abreast on a narrow pavement the polite thing to do when approached by another pedestrian walking in the opposite direction is to move aside and let them pass without forcing them onto the road. I have a colleague who I won't name who when faced with an immovable group of people will just use his shoulder to 'make a point' as it were.

So here I offer a few tips to my fellow pedestrians - a plaintive cry to the walker you might call it...

1 - when walking at night if you need to overtake a slower walker (particularly a woman) to avoid sounding like a stalker/mugger fast approaching from behind, perhaps just cross over the road before speeding up your pace. Likewise don't just stay walking right behind them either. It's weird.

2 - if you are walking somewhere and it's raining leave the golf umbrella at home. Or at the Golf Club. Either way don't walk down the road with it taking up the entire pavement and poking me in the eye.

3 - pick a speed and stick to it. Don't speed up and overtake me to only then walk really slowly in front of me. It's not drag racing.

4 - if you are wearing your funky wellies that make you look like the cool, kooky student you really want to be - don't jump in puddles and splash around when people are walking near you. It's just mean.

5 - you don't have built-in indicators or brake lights. Don't stop suddenly to look in shop windows or swerve to one side to wave at your friends. If you bump into me I'm liable to bruise.

6 - bicycles are not for the pavement. If you are scared to cycle on the road then you probably shouldn't ride a bike. Or maybe invest in some stabilisers.

7 - prams are not to be used to push other pedestrians out of the way.

I hope this clears things up slightly. Let me know if you have any other rules you would like to add to the list.

Minor gripes and grumps

2008-11-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

I seem to spend alot of my current waking hours grumbling about one thing or another, so have decided to make a short list of my favourite current grumbles.

Shoes that let rain in

People that don't read/follow instructions

Yoghurt lids that squirt you when you peel them off

Noisy breathers (yes seriously, it's cold season - try working in an office with people who huff and puff all day)

Noisy eaters (see above)

Washing machines that don't rinse properly

People who wait until they are at the till or cash machine to start fumbling in their bag for their money/card. Aaaargh!!! I'm waiting!!!

Queuing - especially when prolonged by the above

Students trying to give me flyers when I clearly don't look like a student

There, that will do for now. Deep Breath.

The best kind of puppies

2008-11-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

Without much of an introductory preamble I'm just going to squeal like a girl because I have to share this with as many people as physically possible!

Some incredibly kind and forward-thinking individual has set up a web cam so that you can watch their very beautiful and furry and lovable Shiba Inu puppies ALL DAY! Genius.

So here it is:

Shibu Inu Puppy Cam

If there is just a slide show showing when you go see it (because why would you NOT go see it I ask) then have a look at one of the archived videos at the bottom. They play. They roll around. They feed. They generally gambol around without a care in the world with extraordinarily furry faces and a wonderfully bumbling nature. Awwwwwwwww.

Secondary to this for your information I am going on my first proper hen do this evening. By 'proper' I mean one where I have to dress up and wear a sash etc etc. I'm actually pretty excited for someone who vehemently hates fancy dress of any sort. Perhaps it's because I'm going as a Geisha and get to wear full make-up and a wig. I have a not-so-secret obsession with make up design since I studied it for two years as part of a drama course. I will of course post a picture after the event...

- Oh and we are going to a Silent Disco so not only are there going to be 17 of us dressed in various Miss World costumes (I am of course Miss Japan) we will all be dancing around in silence to different songs.

Puppies, make-up and silent disco dancing? A perfect Friday I think!

Qype: Guy Christian Hair Salon in Cardiff

2008-11-07T02:04:00.001-08:00

Cardiff - Beauty & Wellness - Hairdressers

Ok, so to 'fess up first, I am officially a big fan of the Guy Christian salon. I started having my hair cut by Chris (Guy Christian himself) about two years ago and followed him to his salon when he opened it just over a year ago. The salon is completely lovely - it's a fantastic mixture of edgy/funky/luxurious decor that reminds me of a french boudouir. Not that I've ever been in a french boudouir mind you...

The staff here are ALL really friendly and relaxed whilst still being completely professional and fab at their jobs. The whole experience starts with a consultation, then a relax in one of the Shiatsu massage chairs whilst you have your hair washed and scalp massaged. They'll also fetch you a drink or a magazine and generally just be very charming.

I've got a mass of unruly curly hair and Chris is fantastic at listening to what I want as well as suggesting options for my hair (and even occasionally telling me off/giving me hair care advice). I always come away feeling really happy with the cut and he's one of the only hairdressers I've met who knows how to dry curly hair properly.

I've been getting my hair cut here since the salon opened and have become friends with Chris and the staff to the extent that I'm now editing their website (that's my vested interest bit owned up to). All that aside I would honestly recommend this salon to anyone who fancies a great style experience. It's a little bit of luxury tucked away on City Road.
Check out my review of Guy Christian Hair Salon - I am juniper_7 - on Qype

Magical disappearing bruises

2008-11-04T03:43:00.000-08:00

I don't have anything very interesting to say today apart from a general musing... I had a bruise on my arm, a pretty nasty one I think. A lovely shade of yellow, blue and brown it had a delightful maroon centre. It looked a bit like Italy in shape. It was there all day yesterday having been there for a whole week.

I got into bed last night and looked down and I swear the bruise had just disappeared. Like magically so. Earlier in the day I'd been bemoaning how unattractively vicious looking this particular bruise was. All of a sudden my skin was just back to normal, clear of all Italy shaped contusions.

This led to me spending a good while deciding whether I might have developed supernatural healing powers, much like Claire in Heroes. I can't think what event yesterday might have triggered these amazing powers but I'd be pretty pleased if I had developed them. I know how cool Claire is for being able to jump off buildings and be fine, however I'd just be happy with the ability to wear HEELS again and not worry about twisting my ankle.

*Sigh*.... heels.

On another more topical note I have been mesmerised by the twitter feed on the American Election - amazing. It's a real up to the minute rolling feed of opinion and updates. You should check it out: Election 2008 on Twitter.

Are we going mad?

2008-10-29T03:29:00.000-07:00

I had to write a quick note to try and share my frustration over the 'furore' surrounding the Andrew Sachs/Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand answerphone-gate. If you haven't seen it in the news (well done you) Ross & Brand left an inappropriate voicemail on Andrew Sachs answer-machine regarding his granddaughter and then broadcast it as part of a radio show.

It has now become front page news in the Sun, Daily Mail etc with cries of 'off with their heads' and 'sack them!'. I read an article on the BBC website today which actually featured a comment by the PRIME MINISTER critising their "inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour" . Another quote stated "the prime minister is involved and the leader of the opposition is involved."

Yes, Ross & Brand left a bit a rude message which was in poor taste (especially considering Andrew Sachs is 78) but is this really necessary? Does our government have nothing better to do than get involved with commenting on this? Our political leaders have become so populist trying to rally votes from all areas of society that they lose any real respect I might have once given them. I want to know that my Prime Minister is looking into issues of health and governance, not whether or not Russell Brand overstepped the mark on the radio.

Andrew Sachs grandaughter (who Brand joked he'd slept with) is speaking to the Sun asking for both protaganists to be sacked. It's strange really - if it had happened to my family I would be doing my best to stay out of the limelight and let the story die down in public to avoid further distress. I would pursue an apology - but in private. She didn't ask for this to happen but surely she now has a say in how it is dealt with. The cynical side of me notes that according to some reports she is an aspiring model/actress - all this publicity can't hurt in her quest for fame.

Overall though I'm just curious as to the level of 'public outrage' that the papers claim. Is there mass outrage? Yes the BBC have received a number of complaints but funnily enough those numbers of complaints seem to have increased since the papers have been flogging the story daily. How many people actually originally listened to the show on air and decided to complain? I am in no way condoning what they said or did but the level of mass hysteria the press are trying to whip up is just ridiculous. Are headlines about 'vile behaviour' and 'mass outrage' over-used to the point of numbing readers to real events that deserve those kind of reaction? When the Rwandan Genocide was positively unreported in some international countries whilst thousands were dying I think we have to question who chooses the information we are fed by the press.

Folding Pages

2008-10-27T02:23:00.001-07:00

Oh Monday Monday. Always comes around a little too soon. The clocks went back yesterday day though, so technically I did have an extra long Sunday. Whoop.

I had the joys of no electricity for most of Saturday - there is a big building site at the end of my road and they managed to cut through a power cable leaving me powerless from 9am til about 4pm. I really didn't realise how much we rely on power.. I couldn't drink tea, do my washing, clean my house, put the heating on, have a shower or watch continuous episodes of ER on dvd. So with my Saturday plans gone, I decided I'd do something old fashioned that didn't require electricity.. I'd go buy a jigsaw! I've been getting very addicted to jigsaws again recently after helping a friend with a stupidly hard one of a Koala. Then I found this website... Jigzone oh deary me... addicted, me?

So this weekend, could I find a real life jigsaw to do? No I could not. Is it too old fashioned? Are the lo-fi versions of everything slowly being made obsolete? For example, I'm still really unconvinced by eReaders. I like the feeling of a book in my hand, turning the pages, bending the spine for the first time and getting that really satisfying crease down the middle. I'm a page folder when it comes to books, I mark my place by folding down the corner of the page. I don't believe in keeping books pristine - I like my books to be well-read, thumbed and scruffy. I can't imagine reading a book from a little computer screen.. ugh!

Oh well, I'm not going to give up my quest to find a shop that still sells Jigsaws... I'm probably just looking in the wrong place. Anyway... I did notice that there is an online shop on the Jigzone website that sells them. Is that cheating?

Why does yoga make you fart?

2008-10-24T02:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think that my life feels like a series of linked unfortunate and embarrassing events whereby I trip literally or metaphorically over and put my foot firmly in my mouth. I'm fully adjusted to the fact that I have no control over my limbs or the words that come out of my mouth. I had not however, realised that it wasn't only me who suffered from random humilation at the whim of my body or wandering mind.

I've been attending a yoga class for the last 4 weeks in an attempt to get a little fitter, perhaps to try and get back the flexibility I had when i was at uni prancing around in my physical theatre classes. (I should point out that I am 28 not 50 but still, I'm definately seizing up and walking like an old lady at times). Yoga is surprisingly hard work, honestly guv'nor it really is. Some of the postures I'm completely able to do whilst in others, well, my boobs just get in the way. However, I'm loving the classes although there are a few little issues....

I can't stop getting the giggles. You see, people fart. Not me, I hasten to add, for once lack of control over my body is not an issue. However, some of the ladies in the class can't seem to stop the odd trumpet from erupting, proudly heralding their working bowel system. BRRRRRAAAAPPPPPPPPPP! Honestly. I completely thought the whole farting in yoga thing was a myth. So this morning I googled "why do people fart in yoga" and lo and behold there are 812,000 results. I even found unofficial fart ettiquette for the gym (the sum of which is to say hold it in till you can get to the changing rooms)(or pretend it was someone else). Everyone is doing it!

I looked through some of the results out of curiousity and then found this entry on a forum. I promise I didn't make this up. I actually had to do a silent creased-over laugh at my desk over this one...

"when it happens to me, i say a quick (and quiet) 'excuse me!' so that those near by--likely the only ones who heard it--also get the excuse me. when it happens in classes that i teach, i tell them that it happens to everyone.

the hardest are the vaginal gas releases after menstruation. whether i have or haven't practiced during menstruation, the first shoulder stand after menstruation always is executed with a 'vaginal fart' (though technically not a fart), and as far as i can tell, there's no way around it (mula bandha or no)."

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god. Now I have to worry about those kind of farts too? Blimey.

The other reason I get the giggles in yoga is the lovely lady who always puts her mat next to mine. She's a little older and always says hi before the lesson. She seems really nice. She also snores like my dad at the end of every session when we do the relaxation. Every week since we began she falls asleep and snores away really loudly. What if people think it's me???? Is that a really bad thing to worry about? Why can I not switch off my own mind enough to not even notice what someone else is doing? Why does it make me laugh?

I have yet no answers to these questions, although this week I had a little snooze myself in the relaxation and it was lovely... until I woke up and I'd dribbled down my chin. Brilliant.