We’ve been to Chris and Julie’s today. Chris said he’d take Ady to this off road four wheel drive thingy place for his birthday present last year so he thought he’d better actually follow it through before his birthday this year rolls round 🙂 They were semi planning on taking Davies but decided at the last minute that he was probably happier playing with Tarly, Jack and Maisie and Ady wanted to check it out first for suitability. So me and Julie stayed at their house with the children while Ady and Chris went off with one of Chris’ mates to do blokey, brotherly, bonding stuff. They came back quite muddy about four hours later only able to communicate through the power of the male grunt and with testosterone levels so high you could taste them in the air! 😉 Well they enjoyed it anyway. Ady might flickr later on adybloke I suspect. It sounded ace actually, I’m quite jealous. Towing mishaps aside I really like driving and would love to have a go at something like that. I once harboured a childhood ambition to learn to drive HGVs (although I think it could have been inspired by Long Distance Clara in Pigeon Street tbh!), so I made them promise I can go too and have a go next time. 🙂
The children pretty much entertained themselves, there was much jumping on Jack and Maisie’s beds, playing with their pretend food and kitchen and then we let them outside for about an hour where they did lots of running around and digging in mud and came back in with rosy winter cheeks glowing and runny noses.
Julie and I drank tea, talked about Melrose, Kessingland, HESFES, teenage sex and drug taking, Home Education, LEAs and home visits, Educational Philosophies, Feminism, what we considered ourselves to ‘be’ when completing forms (Julie’s a ‘housewife’, I am resolutely NOT and I explained why – mostly because I could get arrested under the trades descriptions act if I tried to pretend to be such a thing but also because it is so not what I do)), what exactly feminism is and what the patriarchy is, how our views and what we get angry and riled about change over time and so on. We also discussed books – she’s reading We need to talk about Kevin just now and recommends it. Interesting chats all round really.
Ady and Chris came back around 3.30pm and we watched Chris’ video footage of the day which was exciting as it was just him sticking the vidoe camera up to the windscreen and then we headed for home via McDs for the kids’ tea.
The children had a bath and I read them all but two of a boxed set of Fairy stories – so we had Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Puss in Boots, Hansel and Gretel and The Frog Prince. They really like having stories in the bath and it does restrict the amount of crazy splashing they do. 🙂
Scarlett is already fast asleep having run around and bounced about for most of the day, Davies is still fighting sleep but unlikely to last much longer. Roast dinner is cooking, bath is run and wine is a-waiting. 🙂
Tomorrow is Day One of the Five Week Rolling Menu and I will be creating my shopping list and shopping accordingly.
And finally the title of this post is a lyric from Tubthumping by Chumbawamba who I only knew of from that particular song being *everywhere* in about 1997, their lesser played follow up Amnesia and the fact that one of them chucked a jug of water over John Prescott at The Brits. I thought they’d gone off to the big collection of 90s stuff in the sky along with 2 Unlimited, Gary Barlow and global hypercolour T shirts but it would appear not. At this very moment they are part of a festival of folky type artists touring the country and Julie went to see them last week. She put on their cd which she bought at the concert and it certainly bore no resemblance to anyone getting knocked down and getting back up again. Just rather surprised me is all.
Lol, they’ve been around forever 🙂 C has an extensive collection of their stuff, natch. We’re planning on going to the Cambridge Folk Festival this year, and they’re playing that 🙂
Comment by Alison — 26 February 2006 @ 8:10 pm
Oh yeah we go way back 🙂 Actually got to the know them well enough to get on guest list whenever I fancied. Saw them in Brighton, Plymouth, Bristol, and Glasgow in five days once. I remember once Danbert (the bald prescott pouring once) running across a festival field they were playing Nottingham to gloat onhow Burnley (their team) had beaten Reading the week previous. I think at some point my sister and Danbert were quite matey. Tubthumping was their worst record by far and I really hate the fact that people associate them with that. Shhhh and Slap are classics, Anarchy is pretty good. Very political and great music.
They are pretty left of left wing though Nic. My favourite song of their’s was one they only ever played live which I think was called ‘Hatrick for Harry’ – if I said it was in support of Harry Roberts you may understand their stance on many things.
Probably my favourite band ever in many ways and part of one of the best bits of my life prior to Alison. Really looking forward to seeing them later in the year.
Comment by Chris — 26 February 2006 @ 10:20 pm
Probably *my* favourite band ever too. Shhhh is just fabulous and brings back many a long fun night driving round in the back of friends vans in various states in convoy to find a good party……
Before and with Sim.
Happy, happy nights 🙂
Comment by Heather — 27 February 2006 @ 12:41 pm