Hi Folks, I have just posted some pictures from the Lake District on the gallery so take a look!

Well, having just looked at my blog I have realised that it’s mostly useless (if not amusing) information and there isn’t really much of anything in there about what I have been doing of late! The last diarised type blog was the end of my holiday which was weeks ago now! I won’t bore you with a total run down of everything that has gone between, but will start with this past weekend!

Friday: I don’t want to steal SweetP’s thunder on this one, once he gets the internet on himself I am sure he will update you, but it was his last day at work and so there was drinks after work! I was being good and driving rather than drinking, you see it was my job to sensible… but by 10pm I was driving Mr M home… he was well under the influence.

Saturday: Well in the morning, when we woke up, we went to pick Mini Mc up and went to watch him play rugby… I’m not used to getting up early on a Saturday… and even more horrific standing in a cold field but I must admit, I really did enjoy it. It’s quite odd really to not have children of your own and be standing amongst parents listening to their concerns, things you wouldn’t even consider!

Then after rugby we went off to get Peter’s haircut, then some food before I went home to pick mum up and go to Warwick… antique shopping. Only it was only window shopping as there wasn’t really anything particularly nice there and we had no money.

By the time Saturday evening came I had already had a jam packed day, and I believe Peter had too… so we all met up again and went off to the pictures to see, ‘wicker man’! It was really good actually… when I saw it was set in America, it kind of put me off (you see the original was set in England) but I’m pleased to say my initial reservations were not met and they did a really good job of the film. My only reservation is Nichola Cage’s perfect white, perfectly straight teeth… hmmmm…. Disturbing!

Sunday: Was a fairly laid back day, after popping out for some shopping with mum, who kindly bought me some nice clothes, it was over to Peter’s for a night of watching ‘Pride and Prejudice’. What a fantastic film, we loved it!

I’ve been a bit down this weekend… I’ve had to cancel my limo for my birthday in 2 weeks because no one can seem to make it (well not enough people to warrant a limo). I have no money and haven’t been out for a proper night out in what seems like forever… so yes I have been really down. I even considered keeping a journal, like the ones which we kept while I was doing my counselling course… but then I thought, where will I find the time? As you have probably noticed I’m less frequent in keeping this updated now, I am doing my interior design course, working, and looking at doing my masters degree next year! So I decided against the journal! I have been feeling under the weather lately though… and this stinking cold does not help! I’m sure I will get over it though.

According to The History Channel, during the Victorian age,
people would only change a baby's diaper every four days.
Whew whee!

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be
Here are some facts about the 1500s: These are interesting...

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June.
However, they were beginning to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.
The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.
Last of all the babies.
By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs--thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.
It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.
When it rained, it became slippery and sometimes the animals would fall off the roof.
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.
This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed.
Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.
That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying "dirt poor."
The wealthy had the slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep
their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside.
A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway.
Hence the saying a "thresh hold."
(Getting quite an education, aren't you)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.
Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot.
They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat.
They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.
Sometimes a stew had the food in it that had been there for quite a while.
Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off...It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon."
They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter.
Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.
This happened most often with tomatoes, so for about the next 400 years,
tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status.
Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper-crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey.
The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.
They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait to see if they
woke up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.
So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave.
When reopening these coffins, about 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been
burying people alive.
So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift")to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell"
or was considered a "dead ringer."

And that's the truth... Now , whoever said that History was boring!

Educate someone...Share these facts with a friend.

This is the first in a series of my pet hates about driving: I’d be glad to hear if you have any you would like to share!

Annoyance #1:

When in a queue of traffic, you allow a driver to pull out in front of you and they don’t bother to acknowledge you with a wave or nod of thanks.