Sarahmade

Do you have thoughts that appear in certain situations? I have a couple that really annoy me and I just wish they would go away.

The first happens almost everyday when I get up in the morning and fill the kettle while wearing a dressing gown with long sleeves. I think of my Auntie Penny who once said she always dips her dressing gown sleeves in the sink water by accident and they get dirty. She probably said that to me about 10 years ago BUT IT GOES THROUGH MY HEAD EVERYDAY.

The second happens whenever I travel into Bath. I think of this bloke who lived in Cirencester and particularly his mother’s house. We once had a conversation

him I think my mum is going to sell her house
me Where does she live?
him Bath
me Where abouts?
him You know the hill when you come into Bath?
me Yes
her Her house is there
me cool

I was just making conversation so how was I to know that I was going to think about that for the next 6 years? I travel into Bath by bus, train and bike and all from different angles and everytime I look for Al’s mums house on a hill. It annoys me that Bath is in a dip and therefore surrounded by hills, but annoys me more that he didn’t offer any more detail and that I didn’t ask to see it on a map.

Today I decided to wear some vintage trainers I haven’t worn for about a year. They are so old that the rubber soles have become so hard and brittle and shiny that it’s like walking on ice. I only realised this after I had left to walk the mile to my destination. The worst thing wasn’t the slipping up it was the illusion of the sound of my steps, a very loud click rather like I was wearing stilletos. I think it meant that when people heard me coming (especially through the echoey subways) they thought it was a lovely laydee, when in fact they just saw my dirty second hand trainers and then probably got a bit confused.

I have a plan to own one of these (in chrome)…

….without paying for it.

In order to do this I may need to lie and make myself look foolish but it’s worth £179.

The plan = I am going to write a letter to Sainsbury’s magazine, of course in the style of a letter to a magazine and I am going to get letter of the week. It is going to include the picture of the strawberry shortcake, in relation to the large strawberry shortcake recipe they had in it this month and I am going to go on about how much I liked the recipe (the recipe I haven’t tried) and that I decided to make lots of small versions. It’s going to have to include some things like “…and of course, because it’s so small, you can allow yourself a little extra cream on top”.

Just watch me win.

I was very confused about this very strange story about an old couple who recieved a card through the post, which had obviously been tampered with and had this additional note inside:

“Dear customer, We had to open this letter to check for money or credit cards, next time, make sure there is some money! Love, Royal Mail.”

The “love, Royal Mail” makes it ten times funnier. The couple said it was like having their house burgled.

made by me and my mum mmmm

This weekend I will be diving in this pool

…..and I can’t wait.

In the 1880’s the swimmers had to cope with this:

Unlike today, where the water is always kept clean & warm, the pool used to be filled on a Sunday morning and emptied on the Saturday evening. At the start of the week the water would be clean but very cold about 58 degrees, by the end of the week the temperature might have crept up to the early sixties but the water had got increasingly dirty, until on Saturday afternoon, covered in green slime and full of leaves, bathing was free for those who were not too fussy.

For me Cirencester Open air pool will always be swimming at midnight at the end of the summer. With the air being a bit cooler the full moon was highlighting the steam coming off the water. There was also a slight air of drunkeness and nakedness, which made it all the more thrilling.

girl at work “mmm have you seen Orlando Bloom in that new film ‘Matchstick Boy’?”
me “um….no I don’t think I’ve heard of it what’s it about?”
girl at work “you know…I think he’s a boxer”
me “do you mean Calcium Kid?”
girl at work “yeah I do”

I spent quite an enjoyable evening taking part in a focus group about the methodology of the INTERNET (Investigating New Technology’s Evolving role, Nature and Effects for Transport) research I took part in, remember the one with the codes?

It was interesting to meet the other people who were doing it too. It was a really diverse group of people. It was strange because me and another girl were talking about how much we use the internet and I felt like we had to fend off gasps and shakes of the head from some of the other people. It seems to be ok for them to sit in front of the tv all night though. The man next to me said “but what do you do on it all night?….you ask the internet a question and it just comes up with 50 million answers, none of which are related to what you want to know. It’s useless”.

How can you possibly respond to that?

good thing rug + sunshine + lunchtime + lawn = really great sleep

bad thing students + sunshine + bbq + open office windows = impossible working conditions

Remember this pic of the WWF men?

Well about 50 copies of it just came out of my printer at work when I hadn’t even viewed the pic for months. A woman in my office found them and I think she was a bit embarrassed and though it was some sort of gay thing and said something like “I won’t ask….whatever you’re into that’s fine”…..cringe

Are they trying to escape or does it sound suspiciously like a virus?

Camping was fun and hot. My bike was a bit heavy but I managed to cycle there friday evening and our camp was set up by 6.30pm. We were the only people in the meadow, just by a stream and we listened to the radio, had a bit of wine, had raw risotto because the gas ran out, went for a walk and read the papers. We also got a bit sunburnt. Despite being only 18.3 miles (measured by my catvelo bike computer) from my house we both felt like we had been on a proper holiday. It think it must have been a bit stranger for Kate getting home in 15mins on the bus. Everyone should go on holiday near their house. It makes you appreciate where you live. Unless you live somewhere crap. Then I can recommend Newton Mill Campsite near Bath.

I really feel like it is getting near to the start of the holiday season. This weekend I am having my first practice camping on my bike weekend and it’s going to be sunny!

Tom and I are also planning our summer holiday and I have just got a really exciting email from one of the places we want to stay. It is on the Island of Saaremaa off the Estonian coast. This is what Esta had to say:

“Hello!
We have for you private cabin (small wood house) near the sea (swimming place).You can go here by bus.From Saaremaa town Kuressaare in Saturday to here drive out the bus at 17.10 and here it will be at 18.10 in Kipi autostop .You will see from the bus half of West-Saaremaa.From Kipi autostop to our center 200 m. Accommodation for 2 person cost 220 EEK in this house.Cooking facilities are near the cabin.
Esta Alev
Kipi-Koovi Matkakeskus”

220 EEK is £9.45

We are hoping to get a little 20 seater plane to the Island. Esta will give us fish and pancakes to cook on our outdoor stove if we want.

Oh the downside Tom is just about to enter his revision mode, which basically means he will shutdown communication to the outside world for 6 weeks. Even the studes on the bus are stressing me out with there nervous energy and revision notes. The nervousness of exam stress in june never really leaves you.

Tom Smith highlighted an interesting problem with my sticker plan. We were talking about the possibility of stalkers from blogs, and how it is probably important not to give out too much personal information – like for example “I am taking part in the Stratford triathlon and my start time is 10.44.45″ – so he was saying that marking the miles from my house may lead people to work out where my house is, if they find the stickers then draw circles on maps etc. I may have to put some rogue stickers around to confuse people, maybe even colour coded so that only those I know won’t stalk me can know the real miles.

I am going to spend part of this evening cycling with my cat velo bike computer, measuring Bristol. To be specific I am going to make stickers with numbers on them and mark the miles so when I am running around I can tell how far I have been. Others are welcome to use my system but you have to remember they are the distances from my house. I will initial my stickers so you know they are mine and if it works well I may branch out and label other places. The first route will be under the suspension bridge.

amazing Strawberry Jam

I completed a triathlon yesterday. It was exactly as I visualised. My friend Sarah started 45secs before me, I caught her in the swim and overtook her in transition, beat her by about 4mins in the cycle. Then she just overtook me in the run and I think beat me, but we don’t know yet becuase the results haven’t been published. It was like a film in my head, Sarah crossed the line then the clock counted down 45 seconds in slow motion, cut to me running in slow motion trying to reach the line. It was all a cruel joke though because I really was running in slow motion and I just couldn’t make that sprint finish to cross the line with 1 second to go. hmmm we’ll see when the results are published.

I think my friend Kate was traumatised, because when both Sarah and I crossed her path on the run circuit she would shout things like “THIS IS HELL” and “I’M IN SO MUCH PAIN”. ooohps I think she forgot it was supposed to be fun.

I am so upset….I have missed a chance to vent my anger about buses again, and on BBC news west! That is not the only thing – I was to be interviewed by Sally Challoner, sister of Jack of the baby fame. I decided to get an earlier bus and saw it arrive so I ran to it, running past all the people at the bus stop. I got on the bus and looked out to see Sally with a big mike, and a camera man, stopping people to have a chat. Not only was I not interviewed I suspect I will be on TV in the background, cruelly running away from fame. There was almost a slight urge to get off the bus and casually walk by, but then I would have found out she was actually interviewing me about something I know nothing about and I would have looked like a fool.

I feel out of line, misplaced, out of whack…..My Birthday Colour is Pantone 14-1227 – PEACH! I don’t do peach, especially when it is verging on salmon.

What is your birthday colour?