For every cloud…

I am having a week of two halves. Three days of waiting in have yet to bring the plumber and the right part which will give heating. I could see my breath the other night whilst walking the dog- my official method for determining if it’s cold or not- and decided it was time to dig out the hats, scarves and gloves. I am thinking of wearing them as I type, as it’s as cold in the house as outside. You’d never believe I survived many years at a Yorkshire boarding school, would you? Fortunately we haven’t had any viewings recently.

Yet two wonderful things have happened to me this week. Firstly, the lovely Silvana gave me recipe of the week, which had me fizzing with happiness. I don’t profess for one moment to be in her league, but love cooking, feeding people and tinkering with recipes, so am really pleased to be noticed…there are an awful lot of fantastic cooking blogs out there. I learned to cook by watching my dad in the kitchen. If I was really good, I got to stir the cheese that I had so carefully grated in to the cheese sauce for a lasagne. I learned to bake by helping my mum cater for various birthday parties, cricket teas and all the other things that come with living an expat life. Being encouraged to help and join in in the kitchen as a child has given me the confidence to cook as a grown up (and for that I am very grateful to both of them). It’s certainly something I have encouraged with all the children I have looked after over the years, and something I feel quite strongly about. Being involved, being around food, means that you have the skills to cook healthy fresh food from scratch, rather than only having junk food as an option.

The second wonderful thing was that my Oldies got played by Steve Wright on Radio 2 yesterday. I was just sitting in the office, doing my tax returns, when I heard my name…and I thought that it was quite extraordinary that someone should have the same name as me. It wasn’t until Nugget (WH) was mentioned, I realised it could only be me. The impression you get of my musical taste, listening back, is odd. I sent in about twenty songs, and these are the ones that were picked:

Brown-Eyed Girl, Van Morrison
Spirit in the Sky, Dr. & the Medics
Three Little Birds, Bob Marley
Wishin’ and Hopin’, Dusty Springfield
Dancing on the Ceiling, Lionel Richie
My Boy Lollipop, Millie
Sylvia’s Mother, Dr. Hook
Return to Sender, Elvis

I had to call DH out of a meeting to tell him, I was so excited. And I had a call from Mrs CPS, whose Dad had emailed her to get her to listen. And I had a neighbour come and knock on the door to tell me she had heard. I am practically a Z list celebrity in Bromley….