Author: mel

Santangelos by Jackie Collins

I had never read a Jackie Collins novel until I was sent this one to review and was expecting a Jilly Cooperesque romp!
Instead whilst there was plenty of romping I was introduced to a colourful cast of characters headed by Lucky and Lennie Santangelo in a fast paced thriller. Lucky Santangelo is in charge of her life, things are going well – until her Father Gino is murdered execution style. Whilst in the past he has had his moments he had been happily settled with his younger wife Paige and so Lucky sets about discovering the culprit and taking her revenge! After all no-one messes with the Santangelos!

Meanwhile Max, her daughter, is busy becoming the new face of a famous fashion house despite being surrounded by a lecherous boss and photographer. Bobby her son has his own problems when in the process of opening his new club he finds himself accused of murder.

There are a whole host of supporting cast members with their own desires to extricate themselves from one another. Pablo want to escape Alejandro. Denver, Bobby’s girlfriend is trying to prosecute a notorious drug dealer and putting her job before him. Willow, just wants another moment in the spotlight and is being hassled by her money hungry mother. Billy, a famous film star who has the hots for anything that moves and Venus, Lucky’s friend.

There are plenty of others and the action moves swiftly. The first few chapters introduce us to the various character groups, useful for the uninitiated, and from there the stories start to weave together as the characters cross paths in their search for stardom, business deals and love. The settings are drawn well and the characters drive the plot along at a fast pace!

I wasn’t sure how the various characters would come together but as the story progresses they interweave and you find yourself going AHA. Lucky is the character holding it all together and even as she plans her Fathers funeral, tries to get her arrested son freed from prison and get his sister back from Europe in time for the funeral she has the sense that something isn’t right! Is she correct to have such foreboding and if so will she manage to solve the problem in time? I couldn’t possibly say. Perfect for fans of quick paced summer reading!
4/5

The Truth and Other Lies by Sacha Arango

* Review contains spoiler*

This in an interesting story on a similar bent to the Tom Ripley stories. Henry is a writer, at least that is what everyone thinks. He laps up the attention and deals with the media and takes the spoils a multi-bestselling author enjoys. The brains behind the operation however is his quiet wife Martha, who does not want to have any attention and gets on with her writing at night, endlessly churning out new stories. Henry has a problem, he has a mistress, she happens to be his editor Betty – and the mistress is pregnant and he needs to make his problem go away, so naturally his answer to this is to push her car off a cliff making it look like an accident.

This proves to start him unravelling as the occupant of the car was in fact his wife, and when his mistress turns up on his doorstep distraught he has to do some quick thinking. With the end of his new novel now last and his publishing house reliant upon him to steer them out of the red Henry is in a pickle. Not only this but one particular police officer isn’t buying his story. Henry seems to talk and charm his way out of trouble, eliminating other problems as they arise, some times with a little help from his friends. To us his actions may seem outrageous but to him they are perfectly natural. Indeed even destroying his house to rid himself of a marten that has taken up residence seems perfectly plausible!

There is plenty of black humour and well observed characterisation throughout the story and you are always sure that Henry is about to be found out as his facade slips every now and again, but with quirks of fate and his money to fall back on to get himself out of trouble Henry manages to wriggle out of the problems much of the time! This is the first novel from the German author and well worth a read.
4/5

All change

Last week two of the children finished phases of their education. Pixie is moving onto the juniors and Hpops will be starting her journey in senior education in September. It hardly seems possible that they have both grown up in what seems like the blink of an eye. It is traditional at their school to have a Year 2 leavers assembly. As I watched Pixie I couldn’t help but remember the time four years ago when her sister had stood on the benches singing hymns and was collecting her mug and certificate. How could it now be Pixie moving on? It honestly doesn’t seem like four years can have gone by so quickly.

Imp moves up the upper echelons of KS2 in September, and seems to be most worried that Pixie will annoy him and his friends when she shares a playground with him once again. I have to admit I was very sad that Pixie was leaving KS1. For the last eight years we have had at least one child in the infant part of the school. They have all loved it and all been upset when they have had to leave the staff that make it so special for them. It will seem odd (if welcome) to drop them all off at the same time and, for the most part collect them all at the same time. I am hoping this means a lot less waiting around in the car -either baking or freezing!

Drop off will be around 8 as the little two can go to the early morning club while Hpops can be dropped and walk up to the senior school. On the way home she can walk back to meet us or go to homework club, we’ll see how her organisation comes along. I am more worried about the journey ahead as now I am approaching the part of education which I am less familiar with. When I have been to meetings at the school I can’t help thinking how big it is and confusing and wondering how on earth she will be able to find her way about if I can’t. On a recent visit there I discovered a hall I never knew existed as it is hidden between lots of English and History classrooms!

Of course having talked to a fair few of the students it seems that by the end of the first couple of weeks they pretty much know where they’re going, and indeed around this time the parents are invited to school to see how they are settling and see what extra curricular things they would like to participate in. Early indications are good as they actively encourage the children to try lots of things out and discover for themselves what they are good at! As an August birthday though she will still be the youngest in the class and whilst I am sure she will hold her own it does seem a big gulf, she turns 11 in a few weeks and some of the children will celebrate turning 12 within a week or two or returning to school!

I am hoping that Hpops will embrace the new opportunities on offer and gain some new experiences and confidence. Pixie, a child not short of confidence certainly is – she wants to do everything she can; dance, yoga, fencing, gym on top of riding and theatre school at the weekends. We don’t want her to overdo it and with violin as well she needs some downtime as well as time for homework and practice! We’ll see how she gets on. Imp is also looking forward to the new term with his new found ability to join in after a goof recovery from his Easter surgery! He wants to return to fencing and renew his interest in football, plus LAMDA and viola.

I think perhaps I am more worried than they are about their transitions. I feel as if the influence that was once guiding them has been wrestled away. Certainly I now see Hpops caring what her friends are doing, wearing, saying. Perhaps one of the scariest thing is the instant nature of the world they are growing up in. When I was their age we didn’t have mobile phones and iPads where you could instant message everyone to tell them what you are doing, or send a selfie so you can show your friend the dress you’re thinking of buying! I think as Hpops moves to ‘big school’ I feel less needed, and more superfluous. Obviously to some extent they need me, and I am here for them whatever they do need, but at the same time I am starting to look towards my future.

I have been privileged to watch them grow up, be there to hear about their triumphs and wipe away their tears when things haven’t gone right, and for the next fours years for Pixie this will still be the case. As we head rapidly towards the teenage years however I am writing more, studying more and working in school a bit more with a view to increasing this as they need me less, hopefully that way we can all grow together.

Marathon Day

Today was the London Marathon and Mr T after all his hard work was finally going to get the opportunity to prove himself against the course. He set-off on time leaving me and the kids to get to our first rendezvous point to cheer him on. We had made careful plans with times and contingency times if things weren’t going to plan, so naturally things our end went out of control.

We made our first point @ approximately 9 miles in plenty of time. We even had to time to take pictures of the newly named Buxton Water station signs. We found a good spot and were able to get some wifi to track the progress of Mr T. We saw the men come past and Paula Radcliffe and Jensen Button (although we didn’t realise it was him at the time, only when we saw the BBC coverage afterwards -oops!)

Then we waited for Mr T, we looked at the sea of runners and completely failed and by the time we realised we had missed him we were too late to make our second rendezvous point @ 11 miles. Of course by now we couldn’t re-cross the road so we had to walk for a mile to get to Surrey Quays shopping centre where Imp insisted he had to go to the toilet. Ten minutes later we were on our way to Surrey Quays station. Unfortunately it was closed due to overcrowding so we walked back to Canada Water and queued to get in getting off at Canary Wharf to see Mr T on the Isle of Dogs.

Unfortunately (for us!) Mr T was running quicker than predicted so we missed him again! This time we decided to try and see him on Canary Wharf as we could see he was on the road. Unfortunately (for us again!) this didn’t work out either so it was back to the tube to Blackfriars. A short walk got us to the top of the Blackfriars underpass where after about 10 minutes we saw Mr T emerge, still looking strong and shouted at the top of our lungs at his oblivious back marching onwards!

So it was back to the tube to shuffle with the crowds at Westminster, as we emerged from the station my phone pinged with a message to congratulate Mr T on his time. We made it to an internet spot and discovered he had finished in 3.54.10. To say we were proud is an understatement, especially as he had to defer last year due to injury and has been battling a cold and sore throat this week.

The running conditions today were good, cool and cloudy and a little drizzle of rain every now and again! The kids enjoyed the experience of seeing some great costumes, Tardis, Olaf, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger to name but a few as well as cheering on all those with names on their bibs! It was quite stressful spectating, trying to see one person in thousands but the atmosphere and music around the course were great. Having said that I would rather run it again rather than spectate as we all felt we were letting mr T down missing him but at the same time we tried! We were pleased to see him even if he was unaware, the kids felt immense pride at the hard work he had put in paying off, as did I.

The marathon is a challenge and if you do ever do it and manage to complete it there is a huge amount of pride involved, it is an emotional day. You hear lots of stories why people are running, and the causes they all support so a huge well done to everyone that completed it whatever the time, you are all great! Despite all the stress it was worth it, and now I am going to help celebrate Mr T’s success by helping him drink some bubbly!

All Change!

When I was not much older than Hpops I had life sorted. I was going to be a teacher, get married, have two children – a boy and a girl, and write a book for children and make my million allowing me to live in a big house with a huge willow tree with a bench underneath it!

So – I am a teacher, I have written a book, although it is for adults and written the first draft of a book for children, however millions – not even in pennies and I have realised how naive the idea of making millions from writing is. Instead of two children I have three although we do have at least one boy and one girl. The house is large but the willow is an oak and the azalea I fell in love with in our old house is still missing and there is no bench underneath! We are putting a willow tunnel in the garden for the kids so that sort of counts, can sit in it I guess!

I am still writing! The draft of the kids books needs typing and Tumbles 2 is well underway. I have two other books in note form, one for tweens. This is the book that I have always wanted to write since I was small and now have the experience and research to support it. The issue – even when it is written I am not sure I will be able to release it – what if no-one likes it? The book that I feel has been my best idea ever. To be honest I am not sure I can afford to worry about that, I want to write, maybe I even need to write it before I can move forward. I have another book I stated waiting for National Novel writing month and although I hit the word count I never finished it!

The problem is I am a self-professed prevaricator and so to solve this I have started setting myself time limits. It is the one way I can ensure I knuckle down to something and get it done. I have added an app on the phone and i-pad which tells me off if I miss a deadline and so no more prevaricating! Perhaps the most exciting development of recent days is the one I have made to re-train. I love teaching and the energy the children bring. I love it when they ‘get’ something and I know I have helped them to get it but for now it isn’t working.

The kids need me at the moment, Imp has his Perthes to contend with. This is on the mend and hopefully following his Easter surgery he should be able to return to everyday activities on the 12th May. He will still require physiotherapy and perhaps some hydrotherapy while his hip continues to recover. Who knows he may even require further surgery but at the moment things are healing well and we hope he will avoid it! Pixie is moving on to junior school this September and Hpops to senior school! Despite this their holidays still differ and so to work full time is difficult and with the puppy not necessarily the best choice. I have looked at a couple of schools with job share opportunities but with Mr T working long hours or travelling we felt that me working full time would create a lot more logistical difficulties than it would solve. This means I have made the difficult decision to teach perhaps on a supply basis for now. Unless the perfect job in the perfect location appears I will start my course to re-train in October.

Re-training is both exciting and daunting, having consulted a career adviser I have decided to go for psychology with counselling in the hope that by the time Pixie gets to senior school I will have a BSc and be well on the way to getting my doctorate. The plan is to become an educational psychologist or counsellor. This allows me to use the teaching skills I already have, open up new career paths and hopefully help me with my writing as well.

The kids have had a quiet Easter holiday, poor old Hpops suffered with an ear and throat infection and was not feeling well for half the time. Imp had his surgery so wasn’t feeling well for a few days as well and Pixie has found herself itchy and snuffly thanks to the warm weather and high pollen count. Even so I can’t help feeling blessed. I have three lovely kids, a comfortable house, a husband who works hard for all of us and career options. Yes it will be hard work and I have no idea if it is the right decision! A little bit of me hopes the right teaching job will jump in front of me but sometimes you need to take a risk!

The last few years have hardly gone to plan but we have managed through all of it and I think despite the times when we felt like we were breaking apart we have come through it stronger. In some ways the new challenge will be welcome, I have pursued OU courses in sociology, creative writing, philosophy and psychology is an area I have always been interested in. I’ve never really known where to start apart form the GCSE I did ages ago. I have lots of books on the subject and watch far too many psychological thrillers and TV shows as well as reading lots of crime novels and thrillers so it should be a good fit! Hopefully over the summer I can get to grips with some of these books before everything kicks off in October as well as taking the kids out and about. The hope is that by the summer Imp will be back to full strength so watch out beaches, theme park and museums we intend to make up for last summer!

Incidentally have to mention Future Learn, they offer free courses from all sorts of sources and in all sorts of subjects. There are no examinations but many of them offer the opportunity to interact with other students! I have been completing the Forensic Psychology one which encourages you to solve a crime and others in the same area and find them fascinating and accessible! I have also been dabbling into the Very Short Introduction books and have decided that the best thing to do is start with number 1 Classics and work my way through them. Easy to read and with reading lists for those subjects that pique your interest they are a great way to discover more!

I was worried I was going to be bored in September with more time on my hands in term time, but now with study, writing, supply teaching and an abundance of reading to do I think I am in danger of running out of time! Life is challenging and many of my friends have been going through tough times and I know I am not looking forward to the next few months. Hpops leaving junior school fills me with dread. It is a big adventure going to senior school and I only hope we have chosen the right one for her and that she will be happy, because if she is happy she will do her best, and doing her best is what matters. Pixie enters the juniors and again I am not 100% sure she is in the right place, time will tell. Imp is more settled than this time last year and is happy but there is always tension about who the next teacher will be. H-pops has several big events, the summer play, leavers disco and taster day at her new school, meeting new classmates and teachers and learning to navigate around her new school. Here Pixie is at an advantage as she has grown up around the school she will be going to and if anything is in danger of being too confident!

As parents we too must attend meetings for the junior and senior school. Wearing a name badge with the name of your child and their new teacher is a strange experience and will be no less daunting this time around. We have no idea yet if Pixie will remain with any of her friends but we too have to wonder how we will get on with the other mummies and daddies. Perhaps we will meet people who will become life time friends or perhaps we will just nod politely at the school gate – who knows! Time will tell, but for sure the next six months are going to be interesting.

Operation again

This week was a big week, Imp had his operation to remove his metal work! Understandably he was very nervous before hand and had to be up very early to get to the hospital on time.

We got there and were shown to Imps’ bed and met the anaesthetist and SHO and did the consent forms and got Imp into his gown and as he was first on the list it wasn’t long before the porters arrived and wheeled him down to theatre. Mr T went with him while he went to sleep and then the wait began. Clock watching is never good but as soon as you step into the hospital time seems to move in a different way. The minutes crawled by and eventually we were given the message that Imp was in recovery.

It is always hard to watch someone arouse from an anaesthetic, Imp was in pain and not particularly communicative and thus morphine was administered to help him manage the pain. Also waiting for us was a rattly tin with the screws and plate that had been holding him together, something which we have still not looked at. After what seemed like an eternity but was actually 45 minutes we were allowed to go back to the ward. Imp was drowsy but soon the morphine would provide a sting in the tail!

We have discovered the Imp doesn’t really tolerate morphine very well and this meant staying in hospital until nearly 10pm and we were nearly there until the next day! Since being home he has made a rapid recovery. Eating and drinking normally, managing well on his crutches and experiencing less pain as he goes along and already asking if he can go outside on his crutches. Hopefully this will be one of the last hurdles he has to climb as if everything turns out OK Imp should not require further surgery. for the next six weeks however he has to avoid contact sports and running and then subject to the x-ray being OK he can return to usual activities following this.

In the meantime poor old Hpops has a very heavy head cold and has been feeling unwell with it and so is spending a day in bed, with two birthdays approaching I sense they will be more about infection control than celebrations at this rate but you never know, things may improve, I hope everyone will feel better and we can have some good old fashioned family time.

Prior to the op the kids had their stage show in a proper theatre! They were nervous but used the adrenaline to put in superb singing, dancing and acting performances. Mr T and I were super proud of all three of them, not to mention that at the same time they were keeping up with their school work, rehearsing for a school concert and music exam and preparing for Easter.

Writing is going well, the fist novel for children is now drafter and another planned. I am currently playing with a new publishing app and will see how that goes. I have been continuing with the sequel to Tumbling and have even managed to fit some teaching in as well! Currently all seems to be going well.

I have to say of late they have all made me very proud showing us, (in the main,) their best qualities and ensuring they are doing their best at all times. Keep it up kids!

Review of You by Caroline Kepnes

This is a fantastic read. At once horrific and humorous the central character Joe and Beck come to life as do the supporting cast in a unique way. Joe is lonely, he works in a book store, he meets Beck and he falls in love. So does Beck only she doesn’t know it yet. Joe infiltrates his way into her life and attempts to remove all the obstacles to his goal.
He carries out acts that are despicable but totally believable in the form of the narrative. The book is over 400 pages long but is compelling. You read it quickly and hungrily and become absorbed by the characters and how far Joe will go to achieve his ambitions.
I really enjoyed the read and kept thinking Joe couldn’t do anything more outrageous to capture Beck, but then he does, perhaps he’d get caught out. You feel the tension with Joe as the book is written from his point of view and however warped his view is you find yourself rooting for him, wanting him to get what he wants and yet at the same time you know it will be better for everyone he does get caught.
Suspenseful, a real page turner, a romance but a thriller as well this is runs across several genres. 5/5

First Couple of hundred words of Tumbles 2! See I am writing!

Chapter 1

‘I want Jeremy!’ I scream.
This is not right! Wrong place, wrong time and wrong people, not to mention the plum sofa I am currently giving birth on has seen better days!
So here I am, Caroline Lawson, imminent mother to be. Maternity tent covering my bump and hands laden with two bulging carrier bags full of babygros, soft toys and a whole variety of things I’ve been told I simply have to have, but, at the same time have no idea about what they actually do. Today is three weeks until ‘drop day’ as my fiancé Jeremy keeps calling, and my first day of maternity leave.
All the books I’ve read have told me I need to be prepared as baby could decide to make his entrance at any time – yes his! I am still getting used to the idea that fairly soon I am going to be outnumbered 2-1. We’ve agreed on the name Ryan after many ‘discussions.’ Currently I am strolling around Smartbaby Boutique admiring the expensive, but ultra cute outfits dotted around the store. An appliquéd lion here and a jolly green dinosaur there. Grace is throwing me a baby shower next week so she has asked me to come up with some ideas for gifts. Despite telling her this really isn’t necessary she has proven to be insistent – so here I am. I make a few mental notes, particularly liking a tiny little blue number with cows lovingly sewn on. I have moved towards the entrance now, and then I notice a gorgeous quilt, it has cute little dinosaurs all over it. According to the information beside the cot there is a whole range including curtains, ;amp shades and small framed pictures. We haven’t really decided on a nursery theme yet and I’m not confident enough to buy it without Jeremy’s agreement, not to mention the cost at the end of the price tag which is enough to make my eyes water.

An eager shop assistant has noticed my lingering looks and is making her way towards me.
‘Beautiful isn’t it?’ she gushes.
I nod in agreement.
‘Boy?’ she asks indicating my rather obtrusive bump. I nod again even though I feel the question isn’t strictly necessary.
‘Well if you’d like to place an order I can have it here for you in a couple of days, I can even get it delivered to your home and assembled, for a small extra cost.’ She adds helpfully.
‘Oh, I need to show my fiancé first and my friend is in the middle of organising a baby shower -I’m banned from buying too much.’ I stutter as I become acutely aware of the bulging carrier bags from SuperMum by my side! Even so the assistant senses that she has lost this battle and offers me a catalogue, taking care to show me the page where the dinosaur range can be found. I mutter my thanks and make my escape. I’m keen to have a sit down. My feet are hurting and my back is niggly – not surprising I suppose when you have an extra person on board hitching a lift.
I visit the nearby coffee shop and order a decaf, relieved to see a squashy seat free by the window. This means I can people watch and pretend I’m not actually completely exhausted by simple every day activities. I waddle over and half place – half drop my carrier bags and then carefully settle myself into the chair. I sink in and sigh but I know I may struggle to get back up again. Whilst I am sitting I check my phone – no messages from work -good – an e-mail from Grace reminding me to put my feet up while I can and a text from Katy, Alfie’s wife asking if I need anything. I shoot off a quick reply to Katy assuring her that if I need her or get bored I’ll let her know immediately. Jeremy is working right up until the birth so he can have some time with us both afterwards so I am not surprised there are no messages from him. He is probably busy delivering papers to lots of chambers, answering calls and arranging appointments for the barristers in his chambers. Not to mention he is studying for exams and attending interviews so he take on an enhanced role with a pay packet to match.
I sip my coffee looking at the passers by – young girls on study leave swanning about in skimpy outfits taking advantage of the early June sunshine. Mothers dragging reluctant toddlers away from the bakers window and the toy shop opposite the coffee shop. I smile and rub my bump as I imagine myself as the Mother trying to persuade my own little monster that they have had enough to eat and there are plenty of toys at home to play with. I can’t help wondering how I’ll cope when the baby becomes bigger and starts walking and talking. I will have to rely on my legal reasoning skills I suppose as judging from the negotiations going on outside the window these toddlers are skilled in this area.
Coffee cup drained I begin the complicated procedure of regaining my feet. First I shuffle forwards to the edge of the seat, then one arm behind me I kind of heave myself in an upwards direction. My back is arched so I don’t fall forwards. That’s it, I’m up, slight knee bend, reach to the side to retrieve my shopping bags and off I wobble.
My final stop of the day is Babeez world! A cheaper version of Smartbaby Boutique and much busier. This shop always reminds me of my shoplifting client Timmy Simons. It is large and just about everything you could ever want for your baby, tolled and pre-school children can be found in this place. Instead of the sedate atmosphere and sense of space created by Smartbaby, Babeez World is crammed full of kids, usually racing around pressing buttons, screaming and making me wonder what on earth I am doing! There are plenty of people browsing, kids clambering about on the outdoor play equipment even though there are signs warning them that it is dangerous to do so. To add to the confusion the tannoy seems to be going off constantly.
*Bing bong*Could a member of staff please come to the delivery door. *Bing Boing* Call for Joyce on Line 3. *Bing Bong* Manager to checkouts please!
No wonder I think as I glance over and notice a heated discussion taking place between a woman waving an item of clothing about and a red-faced assistant. I have come here to try and make a decision about a pram! Jeremy wants a travel system so that we can get Ryan into cars easily. I have pointed out to him that it won’t fix to his scooter, nor will it help me when out an about on the tube. I admire one of the in vogue style perambulators , but no car seat is included and it is definitely not tube practical. I am reluctant to play around with them too much as they all have wires attached linking them to a rather loud alarm system as I discovered about a month ago when we first tried to make this decision. We were put off by my Mother telling us it was bad luck to buy a pram too early and that when we did buy it we should have it sent to her house until we needed it!

New Year, New You?

I decided this year not to make any resolutions, last year I did and I didn’t achieve any of them, mainly because life got in the way. Imp was diagnosed with Perthes and that led to lots of things changing. Now I am not working formally and I am able to fit in all his appointments , and look after the new puppy but find it more difficult to settle to work. There is always a distraction, a level of candy crush here, a few pages of a book there, and oh is it time for lunch?

If there is one thing I want to improve it is getting down to business. I tend to try and exercise in the morning, spending the rest of the day sitting down writing is not going to keep me fit. After exercise I have to look after the house, three kids, two dogs take their toll! Then the new pup seems to be rather time consuming so after he has been worn out I can finally get some writing done. I also want to aim to learn the piano – yes still! Finding ten minutes per day to practice a couple of pieces and go through the limited scales I know seems to be difficult.

Then there are the appointments to fit in and the study. I am beginning to think that my desire to get a second degree may have to be abandoned as I want to prioritise the writing, by the time I sit down to write I can’t really do both at the moment. Whilst it would be a shame to do this I think that it would be even more of a shame if I failed to complete my writing because I kept putting it off.

I am aiming to write for at least 2-3 hours per day, maybe more some days and when I can at the weekend, this can be difficult because weekends are family time but increasingly the children are off out doing things and so I can write while I wait! Each week I look ahead to see what appointments I need to attend for school, what I need to get done for the house and then I can slot in the writing around that.

I seriously considered a part time teaching job, the regular income would be great and would allow me to maintain continuity on my CV but with the puppy, different holidays compared to my own kids and the desire to write I have decided to wait until this time next Year. This year is a big one. Imp will have more surgery, this will be confirmed in February. Hpops and Pixie have big school transitions. Pops moved to secondary school and Pixie to the juniors and so the next two terms will provide a lot of lasts as we say goodbye to KS1.

We welcomed a new puppy into the home and so for the next few months I am prime trainer so he is sure to be a disaster. He can start going for walks in the next couple of weeks so that should mean that mornings become more structured and free. It is odd as the family seems to be in flux at the moment, a time of change but at the same time I seem to be OK with it. New schools, animals and routines would normally send me into a spin but at the moment I have embraced it. I am still hoping the writing takes flight as for the first time in a couple of years I am not bringing home a regular salary to contribute to the family but instead relying on monthly royalties. Better get on with the novel!

In kids news Pixie, nearly 7 (the day after Christmas she worked out how long it was until her birthday!)lost her first tooth. She has been waiting for ages and never have I seen a child so determined to lose a tooth. She discovered it was officially wobbly on the 26th December, constant wriggling, demand for apples and so on and the tooth fairy had been by the 28th! No tears or tantrums just a determination to have the tooth gone!

So in some ways new year, definitely and to some extent a new me, not because of resolutions but because that is where life is taking me. I am hoping that it will bring good things for our family and for all of you. The thing I have learnt over the last couple of years is this, plan things, take opportunities but at the same time be flexible, things change and it is not always possible to do what you want, when you want but sometimes, just sometimes it works out for the best.

Snow Globe Alert

This year we were lucky enough to go to Euro Disney for a long weekend just before Christmas. It was the first time we have been out for an extended time as a family without the wheelchair. Imp managed very well with all the exercise and for us that is a huge improvement. He had been having some pain in his ‘good’ leg and we were growing concerned that it would turn out that his Perthes would be bi-lateral. At the moment that worry has abated somewhat, not entirely, time will tell.

We had a lovely time, thrill rides aplenty, we had tears from Pixie as she was too small for Space Mountain whereas during our trip to Florida she had been big enough. However, she was big enough for the Rock’n’Roller coaster which she wasn’t big enough for in Florida. She has now ridden a coaster which did a full loop and she loved it! We waved at Anna and Elsa as they preceded the Disney Christmas Parade which featured loads of the kids favourite characters and of course Father Christmas himself.

We had fantastic meals at the Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood and fun filled character encounters at Chef Mickeys and the poshest restaurant in town in the company of mice, princes and princesses. The kids loved it and in the main were well behaved. Mr T got to put the world to rights in the Eurostar terminal as it was proven how terrible queue organisation can be, but that’s a whole other story.

We (and that is 19 of us or a whole boat on It’s a Small World) were all there thanks to the generosity of a very special friend. To thank her before the trip we had all agreed we should get her a suitable gift to say thank you and to give her a memento of the trip. It was decided that we would get her a snow globe, it featured plenty of Disney characters and played music and was a lovely piece. I ordered it, it arrived and was wrapped and placed in our luggage so that the recipient wouldn’t see it until the appropriate time.

Well that was what we thought… 2 out of the five of us had to be wander and patted down, luckily it proved to be nothing other than shoes and jewellery upsetting the scanners. As I walked over to the scanner to retrieve the bags I was asked if one of the bags was mine. Mr T stepped in to confirm that it was and it turned out that it had set the machine off. They sent the bag through again and I knew straight away it was going to be the globe but after they confirmed that as far as they were concerned there was something amiss the bag had to be unpacked. The items were put into plastic crates and sent back though until they confirmed that it was the rather large box, wrapped in heart paper that was setting the machine off.

We explained what was in the parcel and why it was wrapped and so on but they didn’t believe us, and kept telling us under their terms and conditions they could unwrap a preset. Eventually unwrapped it had to be. A few minutes later the wrapping was off, the box was open, the globe out and swabbed for explosives. Another machine then tested the swab and confirmed that indeed the globe was safe. Obviously I was ecstatic that the Disney product I had bought to thank our friend for our Disney holiday, and that we were planning to present her with while we were there surrounded by kids was safe. Several minutes after that we had re-sealed the globe and box and repaired the paper and re-packed the suitcase! Needless to say the others in our party had wondered why we were so late getting though and all found it hilarious once the globe was presented and the story told!

The fireworks show was great, images projected onto the castle featuring Olaf were wonderful and the music accompanying it made Pixie’s newly acquired light up Minnie bow change to an array of rainbow colours. Thanks go out to that special friend who took us and the rest of the group who helped us all make such wonderful memories.

Christmas pretty much crept on us this year. I had done all the preparations before we went away. As we were having dinner away from home for the first time in ages Christmas Eve comprised a trip to the cinema and a game of Trivial Pursuit, as well as catching up with friends and family. The children had a lovely time on the big day itself and were once again spoilt with lots of wonderful presents. We watched Dr Who in the evening and enjoyed another family day.

Tomorrow will bring yet more excitement. Following the sad loss of Tessa in September we had been considering what to do. We came to a decision in early December and our puppy B will be joining us tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting!). We have spent a fair amount of Boxing day making sure we all know how to deal with him and help to train him and ensure that our other older dog M doesn’t get forgotten and is established as top dog!

It is both exciting and daunting, we know he will be a lot of hard work but at the same time rewarding.

Imp’s hip is now in the re-growth phase of Perthes. This is good news and the operation to removed the metal plate in his leg has been moved forward to April. This will hopefully be the last op for a while and will not be as extreme as the others he has endured. This time there will no plaster trousers or prolonged wheelchair use. He played Joseph in the school Nativity and had to sing a solo which melted my heart, the video of which I have replayed on my phone time and time again!

We are all hoping that 2015 will be a better year for our family than 2014. Generally it doesn’t seem to have been that positive for many of our friends either as many have endured losses, illnesses or accidents that have had negative effects for them and their families. I take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2015.

If there is one thing I have learned from the events of this year it is to take as many chances as you can, yes it might go wrong but better to regret the wrong choice then miss out on the opportunity altogether. We are going to see Disney On Ice in Jan and April and Olly Murs in May as well as Take That in the summer, and if I have anything to do with it there will be some tennis viewing as well.

I am now back to writing having finished teaching for a while in November. Having committed to the puppy a couple of opportunities have arisen but I have had to say no as the kids have different hours and trying to manage them and myself adds more stress and by the time I have sorted someone out to look after the kids and the puppy there is very little money left. I have two novels in planning, a kids novel and one which I stated to write for national novel writing month. I am also in the process of editing the first draft of my first book for children and finishing the first draft of the sequel to Tumbling! This is a bit of a gamble and I am hoping that once the puppy is settled and Pixie and Hpops are secure in their new schools in September I can pick up some supply work or part time work around the writing.

My big dream is to write a couple of books for children that do well enough to mean that I don’t go back to conventional teaching, but instead go and run creative writing workshops for primary school children as this will allow me to write and teach.

The next few days should be interesting, and once the kids go back to school I am sure I will be able to blog more often as I intend to be writing every day. Watch the book shelves!