Gimme Gimme!

Just when I thought all the concerts I wanted to go to were in Wellington - and WAY out of my price range (Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Rock2Wgtn) glorifiedpixels pointed out that Me First and Gimme Gimmes were coming to Auckland! (Well, pointed out is not entirely correct, more - cornered and asked if I'd bought my ticket...) I'm working on it, promise! Just figuring out buses (living in the middle of nowhere - at least, according to the bus company - will be interesting to get home)

Book review!

Erak's ransom (Ranger's Apprentice book 7)
John Flanagan
It was a friend of mine - an adult, and not working/associated with kids or teens in any way - who told me about the Ranger's Apprentice books just after the first one came out.
They are great reads - sometimes a bit too much action, and I find myself skimming through just because I need to know right NOW that all will be ok. The characters are great.
I did enjoy this book, but find it slightly annoying in that it goes back to a period of time BEFORE the last two books...
Books 1 to 4 dealt with Will's time as a Ranger's Apprentice, 5 and 6 Will as a fully-fledged Ranger. And then, book 7, set just before Will graduates from apprentice level.
Apart from that - it's always nice catching up with characters you enjoy visiting.
For more info, check out the two websites - the original, Australian one (which annoyed me with the install/don't install flash message EVERY time I visited a page!) and the international one.

Hwæt!

Traditional Boxing Day movie-going done... we saw Beowulf! Yep, in 3D at Imax... Looking at the people coming out, I might have one of the very few who had ever read the original - and definitely one of the very, very, few who had read it in the original (not that 'reading' is actually the word for it! Slaved over... translated word for word... sweated over...)
Anyhoo - the people were reasonably believable in their CGI way - it was the horses that were most unrealistic, weirdly enough.
Story pretty close to the original. As the writers say, in this interview on youtube, they were telling the story between the lines. How many times did I have to say to my mother afterwards, there was no fooling around with demons in the original... Little thing I picked up... Grendel is described as one of Cain's kin (in the original) and Unferth's slave is named Cain...

If you want to find out a little more, this site has hypertext versions of both the original and a modern translation.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Belatedly! To busy doing Christmas things myself...
Happy First Christmas Isaac (that's him - under the wrapping paper)! Happy First Birthday NateDog! Yay - Kaydin could play with us!
Miss you Hannah & Collette! See you soon! Miss you, Dad.
Love to family & friends...

I'm hopping, I'm hopping, I'm hopping, hopping, hopping

When does liking something spiral into obsession?

I'm a bit concerned about my Charlie & Lola collection. I now have:
I absolutely must do colouring-in now or painting or drawing
But excuse me that is my book
My extremely very important diary 2008
A Charlie & Lola backpack

AND, just bought...
A Charlie & Lola umbrella
AND
I will not ever never eat a tomato - the pop-up edition (in my defence for this one, I really wanted the pop-up editon of We're going on a bear hunt)

Maybe the phrase is 'I absolutely must stop buying Charlie & Lola things now'

No more pencils...

School's out... and to celebrate... a fun wee blast from my favourite Muppets episode...

Ranty McRanty #3

Ooh I thought! A new shop! Specialising in underwear and PJs... heaven! Then I wandered in and soon learned that it was, at the very least, purgatory... All those pretty multi-coloured bras... and NONE in my size... So, to console myself, I wandered off to another store (an old faithful) and discovered that NONE of the bras I liked there were my size either (unless I wanted to spend a LOT more). HELLO manufacturers and designers and retailers... haven't you realised that the average size of people is growing?! A quick, informal, survey (ie in response to my rant in the workroom) revealed that the majority of us were over a C-cup... Depressed now...

It's a marshmallow world...

Inspired by Fi's blogpost I thought of some favourite Christmas memories over the years...
As the youngest of five, my parents had learnt to leave an attractive present at the end of my bed to keep me amused and not walking up the whole house. Most memorable one? A doll whose eyes closed when you laid her down. Unfortunately her eyes and tongue kept falling out of place and Dad would take her away to be fixed... until one day she didn't come back. For years later I would sneak into the pantry and climb the shelves to peer at the top shelf, where she was last sighted... just in case she' materialised.
1978 - a picnic down at the park, playing swingball. The year of my last Santa photo (there to keep our friend's baby company)
1979 - when my mum came home - and my brand new nephew was 11 months old! My sister's and I had skirts of the same style (different colours) made by a friend. I got a very pretty going-out-best dress and a Barbie.
1982 (or 83) - keeping Mum company as she slaved over the sewing machine making dolls and matching clothes for my 2-year-old nieces.
1985 - with sister #3 and her kids at home - and they slept in! So the responsible adults woke them up at 7 because we couldn't wait anymore!
Many, many, many years of starting Christmas Day with breakfast at my sister's (#2) to be around her kids - and now grandkids.
Many, many years of trying to get Dad into the Christmas spirit... putting his presents ON him while he lay in bed... and the promise he'd get up and join us after one more coffee in bed.
The horde at my brother's and we were so loud the youngest niece (just over 1) screamed - and no one heard her, including her mum, whose lap she was on. I only know because I was watching her at the time!
The fun Christmases when we have extra, special, visitors - when we open our doors to whoever needs a family.
Best of all? Every year my family have been together... which is as long as I can remember.
The saddest Christmases? The one's when someone is missing - my Dad is still missing at Christmas, even these 5 years since he died. This will be the second Christmas someone is missing, other than by dying, that is... so...
Christmas love to those not with us in body. Kia kaha Hannah & Collette! I hope you find each other, and a welcome, in London. And to Kaydin, who will be with his dad.

The sun has got his hat on...

I couldn't wait until Christmas and decided to out my Charlie & Lola backback early (if you happened to be wondering what I'd bought at the Smith & Caugheys sale). So while shopping at the Bead Hold I heard a little voice behind me say 'Mummy, that lady has a Charlie & Lola on her back'.

Then, I took a copy of I'm really ever so not well to my friend, who is recovering from a stroke. Yes, it did cheer her up!

See, the right present at the right time to the right person in the right spirit, can do wonders. Something it's really hard to keep in mind while frantically shopping at Christmas. At that's why I've decided to buy my Christmas presents for the great nephews & nieces in the summer sales. Yes, I'll be spectacularly short of cash for a few months - but less stress in December!

In the news today...

And doesn't this story make your heart happy - Nairobi slum dweller graduates from Manchester University, with only two years formal education previously. Wow.

JK Rowling's handwritten book fetches 1.95 million pounds at auction, with all proceeds going to charity.

More Christmas favourites

Anywho, I was stumbling around youtube (again!) and, on the off chance, did a wee search and - lo and behold - a video of my favourite Christmas song... with my favourite performers...

Good reads for 2007

Heading towards the end of the year makes me all nostalgic for the books I've read this year (and horribly aware of what I haven't read, and how pathetically I keep track of what I've read...)

Over the years I've had a love/hate relationship with books about King Arthur - he seemed to pop up everywhere! Especially while I was struggling through Malory, or something even more obscure...

There was the time when, within about a month, Arthur was on Gargoyles AND, bizarrely, Babylon 5 and, yep, I was writing an essay on Malory...

So, this year, there were two teen novels about Arthur and that I actually liked...

Here lies Arthur by Philip Reeve. In which the main character, a slave girl Gwyna, is taken in by Mryddin and transformed into Gwyn. By being close to the action, Gwyna sees the work Mryddin does to create the legend of Arthur - something which is totally removed from the Dark Ages bully-boy he really is.

Song of the sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell. About Elaine of Ascolat - the Lady of Shallott - in free verse and set just before the Battle of Mount Badon.

So, a couple of recommendations for you...

More photos!

More photo fun on facebook.., photos from a Christmas do cruising up past Greenhithe, and a first birthday party - happy birthday NateDog for Christmas Day.

Some days

this song says it all...


No matter how many times I watch and listen, it gets to me.

Kindred spirits...

Many moons ago... at the beginning of our web 2.0 learning journey Fi blogged about typing using typewriters, and I commented on her post... well, today I stumbled across a blog post from Robin McKinley, one of my all time fav authors, all about the 'joys' of modern technology... extract below...

Remember when we used to complain about how unpredictable and unreliable people are? (And possibly hellhounds. And rose-bushes. And . . . ) And machinery was reliable? The car that started first time, every time (and if it didn’t you lifted the lid and reached in and twiddled something and then poured a little wine on the ground and threw some salt over your shoulder and then it started). And manual typewriters. Real first-time-every-time-start machinery, a manual typewriter. Or if one of these solid, and, you know, fondlable, items didn’t work, you could usually figure out why. The engine fell out. Somebody dropped a piano on it. You may have been in a deep manure heap because of what had happened, but at least you knew what it was.

If you're exploring around Robin McKinley, make sure you read Author as Bitch from Hell

It's that time of year...

when things go all crazy... and time runs out and you just wish December was over (well, I do) - or that it would go on forever - and your bank account is even more stretched than usual.
But, on a positive note, you get to read all the new Christmas books out there, and revisit old favourites. (I'm not doing the Christmas songs thing... eek).
Working on a giant advent calendar for work has made me think about what my favourite Christmas stories are. In no particular order, they are:

The nativity illustrated by Julie Vivas - pretty much the King James version of the story with Vivas' fabulous illustrations. Jesus being born is pretty cool - and the angel Gabriel holding him is beautiful.

Ernest and Celestine by Gabrielle Vincent. Christmas shared with love and joy, not money, as Celestine persuades Ernest that they CAN have a Christmas party, even if they have no money.

Harry and the dinosaurs make a Christmas wish by Ian Whybrow & illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. Harry and the dinosaurs - enough said.

The Christmas miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski. The true spirit of Christmas. A embittered widower is paid to carve a nativity scene for a young widow and her son. And, no, it's not a romance novel, but an illustrated story for 8+.

Marta and the manger straw by Virginia Kroll & illustrated by Robyn Belton. Again, real Christmas, this time based upon a Polish tradition. Marta shares her Christmas luck with everyone and, when things go wrong, finds that she receives more love back. Picture book for 5+.

A small miracle by Peter Collington. An elderly woman raises money for food by pawning her piano accordion, but on her way home she is robbed. She finds the robber has ransacked the church and manages to get the charity tin off him, puts the Nativity scene to rights, and heads home - cold and hungry - but collapses on the way. The Nativity characters find her, take her home, and the Wise Men head off into town to sell their presents to redeem her accordian, and buy food; Joseph heads off into the woods to chop firewood; and Mary and Jesus watch over her. A wordless graphic novel.