The curious incident of the mum in the moonlight

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!

Smelly people and early mornings

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!!