The past weekend has been one of such a hectic and fun filled nature (all apart from an injury in the family) that I am still recovering now as I begin writing this blog entry (Tuesday). Bear with me, I am having a busy old time of is just lately and I’m going to have to tell you all about the weekend, but I am going to have to come back and write a bit at a time…. It might be Friday by the time I post, but it’s worth the wait… I just hope I can download some pictures of Colin, Peter and I all looking rather dapper.

My weekend started at 6am on Friday morning…. 6am I tell you, most normal people are still revelling in their slumber, but not me I was up and getting ready to go to Cheltenham Gold Cup… one of the most prestigious race meets in the UK season, I think pretty much anyone who is anyone goes to it, and I had bought Peter the ticket for Valentines day! So Peter, Colin and I were all going together! Anyway, back to 6am, an early start and rushed, by the time we were all glammed up (I wore my Jimmy Choos, my Karen millen silk skirt and a beautiful white coat and black feather fascinator) and then had forgotten Colin’s hat and had to drive back to the house for it, it was about 9am when we were leaving Coventry to take the indirect route through the Cotswolds (so as to avoid the traffic on the motorway). It was a lovely drive, the sun was shining down, the roads were virtually empty and we were surrounded by glorious Cotswold countryside. Of course, the hunger got to us eventually having run out of the house empty stomached, and so we made a quick pitstop at a greasy spoon road side wagon for bacon batches… with me in a white coat it was no mean feat to eat a huge bacon batch, slathered with brown sauce and mushrooms and not drop it on the coat… but I managed it… just. With full belly’s we continued our journey, aware that we were approaching the track when we got to the back of a slow moving queue of traffic! Looking above us, there were a selection of helicopters, swarming around the track like bees to a hunny pot, they were ferrying the richer attendees to the races… there is quite a selection of socialites and plebs alike that attend Cheltenham gold cup and I definitely think that there is a hierarchy of modes of transport which determines which band you fall into. At the very top you have those priveliged members of society who arrive by personal helicopter (this probably includes a fair few Irish race horse owners), just below those are the ones who arrive by chauffeur driven limousine (there is a whole separate parking area for limos which looked like a stable full of white shiny thoroughbreds as we walked past), below those are the people who come along in their top of the range BMW’s, Mercs and Jags (we would have fallen into this bracket had we not been persuaded by the police to park a good 15-20 minute walk away at the bottom of the hill… a walk I had to complete in 3.5” Jimmy Choo heels), below those are the people who come along in standard mainstream cars, followed of course by the people who choose to pile onto a hot sweaty coach to make the journey, looking flustered (although no less flustered than me after that walk) as they alight the coach… Then there is the lowest echelon of all, those people who stand outside touting for tickets!!!!!

Anyway, after the aforementioned walk (which I hasten to add included a stile) we arrived at the course. You cannot comprehend the enormity of the track until you are actually there, it is miles and miles long, there are large hills in the background which provide a wonderful backdrop, but the final stretch is also uphill and the horses run with such tremendous speed… no wonder cars are measured in horse power! Anyway, before the races began we pottered around the many retail stalls which were located on the route in, selling handbags, shoes and lots and lots of hats, they had some wonderful wares… however, people were keeping their funds for flutters on the horses, they would be the real stars of the day and the book keepers would be the real winners I should imagine.

Finally we made our way to tattersalls, and down to the finish line (where there were no seats left) and stood waiting for the races to start in the cold weather (it had started off lovely and sunny but the weather soon changed, we were lucky it didn’t rain), £2 on a horse with odds of 200-1 would bring me in a £400 win… what a surprise that Lord Adonis didn’t even come in the first 3! The racing was amazing to see and the excitement of running to put a bet on your horse before the race started had it’s own distinct adrenaline buzz!!! Each race was run and after each race the jockeys would ride their steads right past where I was standing, the horses you can see are like the best trained athlete and as they walk past you their veins are proud, pulsing with the adrenaline that keeps them going! In one race Peter had put a bet on ‘black Harry’. A gorgeous horse which was winning right up until it’s last fence, where it fell…. It fell and didn’t get up though, Peter turned round to see my eyes fill with water as the tents came around the horse which was surely going to die! Finally I managed to quell the tears….. just as Black Harry got up and walked along the track being led by his trainers and those who looked after him… the crowd let out a tremendous cheer, he wasn’t going to die afterall yey!

The whole day was full of fun, especially when one horse broke lose and went for a run along it’s own route of the course… it was quite funny seeing the jockey chasing after him… he finally caught up though and put the reins on this naughty horse!

It was 5 o’clock, we had managed to catch up with one of Peter’s colleagues briefly, and had put bets on most races. Both Peter and I lost all of our money, Colin broke even but we all hobbled (I literally hobbled and had to remove the Choos from my poor swollen feet to walk back to the car) happily back to the car to head on home. Kuato Star won the gold cup ridden by Ruby Walsh, what a great jockey, my money’s on him for the grand national too… we all knew he would win but the odds were so lame it wasn’t worth placing a bet!

I have to say, Cheltenham is fantastic, but probably not quite so glam as Ascot might be… I didn’t see any other feather fascinators and without blowing my own trumpet, no one was quite as dressed up as Peter, Colin and I! But hey, I love being overdressed, it is what I live for! (BTW it’s now Thursday, I’ve finished the Cheltenham bit of the blog but still have to cover saint Patricks day)

www.whalesrevenge.com is trying to get a million people to sign a petition to stop whaling.

If you could tell as many people as you can about our website, that would be a great help.

Thanks for your support and remember to sign the petition.

You need to click the 'play game' to get the petition to come up.

Hello blogstreamers… intermittently between now and October I am going to remind you to sponsor me and Peter!

We are going to be climbing mount Snowdon in aid of Marie Curie Cancer care and are hoping to raise lots of money! If you follow this link you can pay on your credit card and the money goes straight to Marie Curie cancer care without any handling by me… which makes my life really easy!

Thanks

http://www.justgiving.com/LouiseG

Subject: Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?

Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic
This was forwarded to me from an associate. I thought it was clever.

"The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound"
that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Q question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law ( gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed ) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, " it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you, and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct...leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A "

Last week I was presented with a not to miss opportunity, when someone at work was selling, at half of the ticket price, 2 tickets to go and see Bryan Ferry (of Roxy music fame) in concert at Symphony hall in Birmingham. My mother has been a life long fan of Mr. Ferry, I was brought up on a cocktail of Virginia plain and slave to love, mixed in with a bit of Blondie for good measure, and mum (like many women) fancied the pants of the 6ft+, black haired, charismatic singer of the group. With this in mind and the fact that it is fast approaching mother’s day, I snapped the 2 tickets up at the bargain price of £30 for the pair. The concert was last night!

I was unconfident of finding symphony hall as in my experience every time I drive into Birmingham I get lost! But nonetheless I left the house an hour and half early for the 45 minute drive and by going slowly and concentrating well I finally managed to find the place, located in the nice nightlife part of Birmingham. Mum was totally wired exclaiming how she ‘never in a million years thought she would get to see Bryan Ferry in concert’… I had definitely picked the right mothers day present!

The symphony hall is a lovely venue with fantastic acoustics that neither of us had been to before. There were 2 support acts, the first one, the smoke fairies, were quite good! 2 girls strumming guitar and singing ethereal, hillbilly type love songs. The second was like a mix between Kate Bush and Amy Winehouse… but it was all very wrong, I didn’t really appreciate her tastes that much!

Anyway, finally the lights went down, a rather large band and backing singers took to the stage, and the man himself Bryan Ferry… the crowd went wild. With his signature floppy black hair and sleek black suit, he doesn’t look too bad for a 62 year old and you would never ever think he was that age from his unchanged voice. It must be a Libra thing (Bryan Ferry is a Libran just like yours truly). Anyway, he sang lots of songs from his new album, which is unmistakably Ferry… I mean it’s all new stuff, but it’s definitely the old sounds. He’s totally talented, as are his band. Then at the end of the night, he burst into a couple of his old tracks, lets stick together and jealous guy (one of my personal favourites) although I was gutted that he didn’t do Virginia plain and love is the drug! The crowd (including me and mum) went wild for lets stick together… it was a fantastic concert, the man is an ace performer, and mum is totally smitten… in less than a year she has seen 2 of her musical idols, Bon Jovi and Bryan Ferry… I think she is really pleased with that! That’s a far better present than a boring bunch of flowers, at least experiences like that you can hold forever! Another excellent evening in my very busy week!