3 weekends

Well here we are in October.

 September was a blur. 

Every weekday I had off was spent going to appointments, such run of the mill things like the dentist, hospital, doctor and car MOT.

Then there has been the time hanging around the house waiting for workmen to turn up. Initially to lay new lino in the bathroom and then again because they had done such a rubbish job having to go through the whole thing a second time.

 Frustrating to say the least.

As for work, that's all changed.

 I've been doing the same job for the last 7/8 years but now I have been moved to a new role on a newly created section. 

This could be seen as an exciting new opportunity and I really am trying to be positive about it but I can't help feeling that in reality I am totally unsuitable.

 There are big changes at work involving many staff being moved and the truth is I wasn't chosen to do this role for any other reason than my working hours are a better fit here than elsewhere.

I felt pretty tired for most of September.

 I started the month with the worst bout of IBS I have ever experienced and finished it with a stinker of a cold, one which completely knocked the stuffing out of me. I took Tuesday off work sick and really should have taken Wednesday too but as I was starting my new job last week I went in and then spent just about all of my day off on Thursday back in bed again!

BUT, before I sound like a completely miserable moany old bag, there has been some fun stuff too, especially at the weekends.

S and I finally managed to complete the Rhino trail.

I was a bit concerned we weren't going to get to see this rhino because we read he was one of three which had been removed due to vandalism. Thankfully he was still on show at an indoor location. Love the hard hat over his ears.

Love a bit of bunting.

This rhino was sponsored by the Mayflower theatre and the decoration relates to loads of different shows which had been staged there. It was fun spotting ones could recognise.

Two of the baby rhinos S liked which had been decorated by local schools. She liked the glitz of this one

and the recycling of old plastic toys on this one.

On our way home we stopped in the Guildhall Square. There was an all day music event and although S wasn't impressed I had to stop and listen to this Ska band for half an hour. Shame G was at work, he would have enjoyed it too.

This is a bad photo of S's very good school project we made the same weekend. She had to make a sculpture out of things which would normally be put in the recycling bin. We made a bird cage from a Whiskas cat food box covered it in wrapping paper and strips of cardboard packaging. S cut a bird shape from a cake box to which she glued some shredded paper. It was topped off with the lid of a shampoo bottle.

Now on to the next weekend. Last year I went to the Tudor house for amongst other things a talk on Tudor fashions. This year the Tudor revels took part in a different location and there were quite a few things I was interested in seeing but unfortunately the timings of some of them clashed with each other.

I needed to pass some time in between events and so I went for a wander along part of the old City walls which run alongside a big brown brick office building owned by BT. I have seen this building hundreds of times but I had never seen these tiles. I liked the carving round the edges on these top two panels.

The walls, or specifically the Friary Gate, was used as a back drop by two actors talking about the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. The Friar at this time was Friar Peacock who made a speech against the King and not surprisingly ended up being thrown in jail.

The talk I was most interested in going to was by Sarah Morris. Sarah was there to talk her new book In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn and the time she and King Henry spent in Southampton whilst on Royal progress in 1535.

Sarah looked fabulous in her tudor gown and I managed to have a quick chat with her afterwards as I wanted to tell her how much I had learnt from her in such a short time. Sarah was so enthusiastic during her talk, the passion she has for Anne Boleyn was so clear to see. The book is definitely on my Christmas list.

Having a go at Tudor dancing was also on offer. I didn't have a go, but everyone who did looked like they enjoyed it.

Baking biscuits with S rounded off the weekend. The Minnie and Mickey mouse looked a little deranged in some of them but they tasted pretty good.

Saturday was a beautiful day and just right for the Autumn day in the local park.
We started off wandering around the stall selling old English varieties of apples and left with a big bag full of something juicy both S and G liked.

The ferrets were back again and here they are raring to go. The darker one is called Ferris but with the marking over his eyes I thought he should be called Zorro.

G has fallen in love with another. 
They cuddled for ages.
Her name is Boots.
She is a skunk.
In case you are wondering she has been descented.

To console G after he had to return Boots to her owner we made our way to the ice cream van. G and S's friend L chose a bubblegum sherbet dipped ice cream. G thought it looked like Papa Smurf had been frozen and stuck in a cone.