Things that go bump in the night!!!

Happy Halloween all...On this most spooky of days I thought I'd share a recent scarey experience with you...

For a while now I've been of the opinion that I share my humble abode with a 'presence' and, after a number of unexplained incidents, which had me hiding behind the sofa, I decided to investigate.  Scared witless, and with my trusty guardians, (my two dogs Brew and Moll and Bonbon the cat), in tow I did a search of the house.  Before long I found something I hadn't noticed before, a rather sinister looking image in the form of a face carved into the stone of the fireplace....This, I thought, is not good, and after a bit of research on line I had a plan of action.  The internet helpfully informed me that, in order to get rid of the offending image I had to arm myself with, some salt, (to sprinkle on it), the usual crucifix, and errr, holy water, (rather surprisingly, available to purchase on line)..

And so, there I was at the dead of night, (why on earth didn't I decide to do this during daytime?!!), alone, as my trusty companions had abandoned me in favour of a nap, about to embark on a spot of ghost busting.....After assembling  my 'weapons', including my alternative, ( I couldn't bring myself to order any) 'home made' holy water which consisted of some herbs and plenty of oils,  I prepared for my supernatural battle. (I'm starting to think 'The Exorcist' now!!!) Be afraid, be very afraid!!!

Fast forward an hour or so and, despite my heroic efforts, the aforementioned image is still clearly visible so, after some thought I decide on drastic action.. A few blows with a lump hammer, a lot of dust, and enough commotion to waken the living as well as the dead, and, hey presto sinister image gone!!!!

All enquiries for ghost busting bookings can be made via my agent!!!

Sue x

Turnips and other vegetables

One of life's true pleasures, in my opinion, is a lovely afternoon tea.  Gorgeous sweetie morsels to enjoy with piping hot tea served in delicate china cups, what a treat!!!  A good idea for a meet up with a friend of mine, I thought.  A spot of shopping and tea somewhere nice.

So it was with aching feet, (shopping after all is a very physical business) and parched throats we sought out a suitable place to enjoy our 'tea break'.  Unfortunately as it was busy and crowded we struggled to find somewhere  suitable.  After a while, and desperate, we decided on a coffee shop neither of us had tried before but it seemed nice enough so in we went.  We ordered at the counter were given a card to identify us and sat down.  What followed next had us in stitches.   Some bright young thing, probably the owner, had devised an interesting alternative to table numbers.....Vegetable names!!! Yes really!!  All we heard for the duration of our stay was..."Carrot, where's carrot?" and then a few minutes later, "broccoli"...followed by "Swede" And then it was out turn ... The waitress walked towards us, tray in hand and sporting a huge grin, "Turnip, Turnip? Ah Yes, there you are!"... 

Happy days

Sue x

Frocks and fragrance

As you probably have read on previous blogs I'm having lots of fun trading old family photos with my cousin in Australia.  We were inseparable as children and got up to all sorts of adventures. This was obviously well before the days of 'elf n safety' and included everything from tree house dwelling to the kidnap and ransom of younger siblings, (a certain young brother never did fully recover from being tied up and locked in a wardrobe)....

Anyway, one of our favourite activities, after seeing the film Mary Poppins was to attempt to fly.  This, we thought, could be achieved by parachuting off the garage roof with my Dad's open golf umbrella.  Needless to say this did not end well, and, much to our parents relief, we decided to turn to other less dangerous things.  Having one day delved into the contents of my Mum's perfume boxes, I was convinced we could be the next Coco Chanel and start our own perfumery.  How difficult could it be??!!!  Firstly, obviously, we would need lots of rose petals, of the fragrant variety.  And where would we get said petals?  Well. That, to us was the easy bit.  Dawn raids on all the neighbouring gardens.  For some reason, as can be seen in the photo, we decided to dress up for the occasion.  This of course seriously hampered our get away and it was only a matter of time before we were caught. I guess you could say red handed!!!

Back in the present, and smelling sweetly of traditionally made perfume, I'm enjoying this lovely late summer, early autumn sunshine.  The garden is still in bloom and my dogs are enjoying their romps in the fields.  Happy days!!!

Sue x

Birthday bash

September happens to be the birthday month of one of my oldest friends, and, as expected, she's planning a bit of a bash.  Now, over the past few years she's had all sorts of ideas to celebrate the passing of time. We've had everything from the traditional 'girly' shopping trips and restaurant meals, (my sort of thing) to the rather scary 'scantily clad bloke' type of evening, (definitely not my sort of thing)...This year's event, I've just been informed will be a 'sleepover'...In response to my rather quizzical expression Janey went on to explain the finer details. This in effect boils down to a group of errr, middle aged women lounging around someone's house probably in pj's like a bunch of teenagers.  "There'll be lots of drink, food, and a heated swimming pool" enthused Janey.  Not in that order I'm thinking to myself, an unwelcome image of multiple drownings forming in my mind..  "Well it's very generous of whoever is providing all this" I replied.  "Yes" she continued. "Sam has kindly offered her hospitality for the evening. Hubby's going to the pub or locking himself in his study  or something, and we'll have the house to ourselves"  Poor bloke, I only hope he doesn't make an unscheduled appearance and finish up in the pool with a load of pjama clad drunken women thinking he's the 'entertainment'!!!

Bye for now

Sue x

Scandal

Happy holidays everyone.  Time to enjoy some relaxation and sunshine...Well, if you are fortunate enough to be in hot climes that is, for us poor souls here it's a  more a case of rain dodging and layers.  Seems the autumn wardrobe may be making an earlier than expected appearance...

On the subject of fashion. I'm planning madly for a forthcoming photo shoot which is taking place at the fabulous Cliveden House.  Among the sets planned is swimwear at the very famous pool...How exciting!!!  

To bring things back down to earth, I just had to share yet another humorous, if a little dangerous 'Dad moment'... In an effort to try and help him kick the smoking habit, especially as, following an eye operation he's under doctor's orders not to smoke, I bought him an electronic cigarette.  What could possibly go wrong, I thought as he settled down to watch athletics on tv, with a cuppa.....Plenty, it turned out.  I popped my head round the door to hear him muttering in frustration about something.  "What's up?" I asked casually. "It's this cigarette", he said waving a lighter around, "I can't get it to light!".... Eeeeek!! By my calculations, we were about a minute away from being blown up!!!    E cigarette now confiscated!!

Latest of my Kennett watch photos, below, which I must say I'm really enjoying being involved with.

Bye for now ..

Sue x

A Mum moment

It was only a couple of blogs ago that my Dad made it into print. This due, mainly to an unfortunate incident with a garden parasol.  Well now it's my Mum's turn.  I think I may have mentioned that my cousin in Australia is enthusiastically  researching our family history. At the moment she is trying to place a couple of names that have cropped up, and, as Mum is now the only surviving member of the previous generation I decided to ask if she remembered them.  Unfortunately, I didn't pick a particularly good moment to broach the subject as she had just returned from a 'girly' (average age 82) lunch.  Clearly one or two Bacardi breezes had been consumed as this is how the conversation went....

Me.."Do you remember Pat and David Rowan?"

Mum.."Jane  Parkhead"

Me.."Who?"

Mum.."Her son's often in the pub, he's workshy, never had a job."

Me..."Who are they?"

Mum..."He's his son"

Me.."Who's son?"

Mum.."David's"

Me..(totally bewildered) "how can that be, do you mean brother?...

Mum..."Errr Not sure"

Me..."Surely they would have the same surname, unless someone's remarried, maybe, possibly?!!"

Mum.."Yes,  she did remarry. A factory owner I think"

Me.. (Thinking I may be getting somewhere) "So was he called Parkhead?"

Mum.."Can't remember, she was always just Pat to me"

Me...(even more bewildered) "Pat? Thought we were talking about Jane Parkhead?"

Mum... "Hmmm!" Let me think!!"

Me.. "Anyway, back to the David connection, perhaps you could ask Jane Parkhead?"

Mum.."Not easily"

Me.."Why?"

Mum.."She'd dead!!"

I am now getting the distinct impression that Mum's not really into this family history stuff.

Anyway, back to the present, and some new photo offerings..

Sue x

Killer heels

After a particularly stormy weekend it's nice, at last to enjoy a spot of sunbathing. Doubly so as today is one of those rare days when I have reached the top of my 'to do list' and can lose myself in a good book on a sun lounger in the garden...,Bliss!!

Hope you like my latest photo offerings.  A couple from the last selection of Kennett images.

Happy sunny Monday.

Sue x