The Battle of the Batteries

Image: frcsyk

Batteries! I hate them! I can never find one when I need one, they cost a fortune and my charger for the rechargeable ones gave up the ghost ages ago.

Batteries are dangerous. Depending on the kind of battery you use, they contain zinc, mercury and all sorts of nasties that leak out and get into the environment, damaging wildlife and ecosystems.

Around 30,000 tonnes of general purpose batteries thrown away every year but only about 2% of them are ever recycled. Apart from the leakage, that’s a lot of waste that has to be put somewhere.

I very rarely bought my children toys that needed batteries, and would ask others not to buy them for them either but eventually decided to go one step further by trying to avoid anything that I have to use batteries in. In the cases where it’s unavoidable, I look for products that have rechargeable batteries (like cameras, for example). As a last resort, I’d use my own rechargables but since my charger died on me a year or so ago, because I use so few batteries, I haven’t yet needed to buy a new one. However, if you use a lot of batteries, there's a gadget available now that let's you recharge throw away batteries. To find out more, click here.

I don’t have a personal CD player and I haven't used my mp3 player for several years. I have no hand-held games console (or any games console for that matter), a battery driven handbag sized hair dryer or any other unnecessary battery driven gadgets but I do have a torch. It's not particularly reliable though so I'm on the look out for a decent wind up version. Oh... hold on... the wall clock has a battery in it. It’s only been changed once in five years though so it’s not exactly making me a big battery consumer. No doubt there are other things but the batteries are changed so seldom that I can't even think what they might be! Except for the remote controls, that is. They drive me up the wall so I really must put a multi-purpose remote (or whatever they're called) on my wish list and maybe somebody will buy it me for Christmas (note to close friends and family: big hint dropped there).

Now that I have the battery problem more or less sorted, I really need to sharpen up and stop leaving my mobile phone charger in the socket. Either that or I need to buy a new extension lead with individual switches.

Sharon J xx

Confession time: I did once have a multi-function remote control but I threw it in temper and... well, suffice to say, it no longer works.

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Living Off Of A Little

Image: sirwiseowl

Since becoming ill and having to give up work, the money the state are willing to give me through income support and disability living allowance are all I have. It’s not a lot but I’m not complaining because I manage just fine. There isn’t room for many luxuries but then I don’t need them either so that doesn’t really matter.

What amazes me though is the number of people who say “you seem to be doing well on benefits” as if I’m fiddling the system somehow. I don’t know whether they think I’m selling imported fags and booze on the side, dealing drugs or running a secret brothel but I can assure you that I’m not. My benefits are my ONLY source of income.

By ‘doing well’ these people are referring to the fact that I’ve paid off a relatively large chunk of my debt, saved quite a bit towards my new kitchen and can afford to eat out occasionally and take a holiday once a year. But the only reason I’m ‘doing well’ is because I’m frugal. I’m careful with my pennies and never buy anything unless I either really need it or absolutely love it. Things that ‘might come in handy’ or that are fashionable fads just don’t get past the door. I repair things rather than buy new and I look for stuff that’s either second-hand or on offer. Most times, these things are better quality than they would have been had I paid a lot more for them and certainly better than their full-price, brand new counterparts at the same price. I look for things that will stand the test of time so tend to go for classic or quirky things rather than what’s fashionable.

I use websites like Quidco for money-back and use just one credit card for most spending and then pay it off immediately so that I can take advantage of the cash-back. Price comparison sites are always useful and I visit MoneySavingExpert regularly to pick up tips and hints.

I stick to a list when I’m grocery shopping, menu plan and batch cook so that there’s as little waste as possible. Next year I’m hoping to grow some of my own vegetables too, although that depends on what my health’s like at the beginning of the season.

By cutting back on stuff doesn’t make my life any worse - in fact, most of it enriches my life because I’m able to enjoy a few luxuries too. The occasional meal out with family or friends, a visit to the cinema or the theatre, a trip to Norway to see my family and friends there, or a holiday just for the sake of getting a break. But even then I look for the best deals and I still live frugally on holiday, although perhaps not quite as frugally as otherwise.

Tracking helps too. Knowing exactly where my money goes is important to me - how would I know where to cut back otherwise? I track all my expenditure, whether it’s bills, shopping, or anything else. I honestly think a lot of people would be shocked if they realised just how much they spend on ‘rubbish’ - stuff they really don’t need.

I’m not ‘tight’ - I often invite family and friends round for a meal and I’m happy to help out those in need - I just don’t throw my money away. That way I ‘do well’ on my relatively small income and although frugality isn’t glamorous, it’s very satisfying and means I can live in a way I’m happy with on a relatively small income. I really don’t have much to complain about.

Sharon J

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Awesome Autumn!

Image: Glockenblume

I was talking to my mum on the phone the other day, she was complaining about how autumn’s here now and that it’s just going to get really cold and miserable. She moaned about how she won’t be able to get the washing dry, that she’s having to put the heating on during the evening, and Lord knows what else.

Every season has it’s drawbacks but they all have their good sides too. You don’t get bugged by mosquitoes and wasps the whole time during autumn, after all, and sweating your kiskers off isn’t a problem.

I personally try to make the most of every season and there’s plenty to do in autumn that you either can’t do in summer, or just isn‘t quite the same.

Kick leaves in the park like you did as a kid. There’s no shame in being ’childish’ - we need to just have spontaneous fun now and then.

Take a walk in the woods or just around your neighbourhood and admire the colour changes. The bright flowers of summer may well be disappearing fast but they’re being replaced by some fantastic reds, oranges and yellows that can be beautiful as a single tree - like the fiery colour of the hornbeam - and absolutely breathtaking when viewed en masse.

Bake an apple pie. Autumn’s apple season and home-made apple pie with lots of cinnamon tastes soooooo much better than shop bought varieties. Hot with cream or cold with warm custard... how can you go wrong? If you don’t want to make pastry, try a crumble instead. They’re dead easy and there are loads of recipes on the web.

Have a picnic. Just because it isn’t summer any more doesn’t mean the picnic seasons over - as long as you dress appropriately, a picnic on a crisp, sunny autumn day can be really nice too. Think cheese & pickle sandwiches, pickled onions, pork pies, sausage rolls, coleslaw, hot drinks, slices of fresh apple pie, and all those wonderful berries.

Make jam. Gardens and hedgerows are full of juicy berries in autumn just waiting to be turned into delicious sweet jam. It isn’t as difficult as you may think and you don’t need lots of special equipment either. In fact, I used to make loads of ‘jam’ just by crushing berries with sugar and freezing them. Delicious when thawed on fresh bread.

Get crafting. The dark nights don’t exactly inspire people to go visiting the way the long light evenings of summer do, but they’re great for settling down inside with some knitting, sewing, card-making or whatever other craft you fancy. Let your imagination run riot. Make stuff.

Enjoy your comfy autumn clothes. I love wearing a good pair of soft, comfortable jeans, a well worn t-shirt and a wooly jumper that’s just a bit too big and luckily that’s the perfect get-up for going out for walks in autumn. Shorts and vest tops are all very well and good but there’s something very comforting about big, baggy sweaters.

Visit a maize maze and get lost or a while. Lots of farms do these to make some extra money so there’s a good chance there’s one near you. We spent a couple of hours looking for our way out last time we went so it’s a good idea to take a few sarnies and a drink with you.

Fill yourself up with stews and casseroles. As much as I love the light foods of summer, once autumn arrives I can’t wait to get the stew pot out and start cooking rich, hearty food. Make use of all those lovely root vegetables that are about now - they almost all combine really well in stews and casseroles and there’s nothing easier to cook than a one-pot meal.

Bring out blankets and cuddle up in them during chilly evenings. A blanket, a good book and a cup of hot chocolate…. Heaven!

Richard and I are off to Cholmondely Castle Gardens for a picnic today. There's no point sitting indoors when the sun's shining and double Gloucester cheese sandwiches made with bread baked fresh this morning are up for grabs.

Is there anything you particularly love about autumn?

Sharon J

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Who Tried What First?

Image: randomtruth

Have you ever thought about how we come to have such a wide choice of food available? We take it for granted that carrots, lettuce, eggs, sheep’s livers, blackberries, oranges and everything else is edible, yet somebody must have been the first to try them.

Who first decided they’d try eating a blackberry? Didn’t they know that others had gotten sick through eating berries? Blackberries could have been as poisonous as raw elderberries for all they knew. And that’s another point. After seeing somebody throwing up after eating elderberries direct from the tree, what made them try cooking them and eating them instead? Did they just fall from the tree into a hot pan of water and somebody accidentally ate one?

Then there’s carrots, turnips and stuff. Why would anybody pull up a plant and decide to cook the roots? Did they just bite into anything ‘back in the day’? And potatoes. Why cook knobbly things growing amongst the roots of a plant?

When did the first person decide to pulverise a bit of bark and sprinkle it over their apple pie? Or grate a rock hard nut over their rice pudding?

We mustn’t forget the humble mushroom, either. We all know how nasty some of those can be yet somebody must’ve curled up in agony, gotten high (maybe he or she didn’t mind too much?) or dropped down dead before the safe ones were found? What possessed them to keep trying? “Oh, the bloke next door just popped his clogs after eating those mushrooms over there but never mind, I’ll try some of these instead”. I think I’d have given them the no-no myself.

The ones that gets me most though are eggs. Milk I can understand - it comes out of our udders so why not try the similar looking stuff that comes from other mammals - but eggs? Who decided to take the hard thing that comes out of a bird’s bum and boil it? That surely must’ve been because one accidentally fell into hot water? I reckon I’d have still been a bit dubious, but I suppose whoever it was must’ve been starving. A fried egg probably came about by being accidentally cracked open on a hot rock or something.

And what about pastry and pasta? Who first made them and why? The same goes for bread and cakes.

Food’s all around us and for us here in the West, in abundance. But we do take it pretty much for granted, don’t we? Imagine if we were the ones having to try all this stuff for the first time.

Sharon J

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Consumer Bullying

Image: T.SC

Apparently, a survey has shown that around 55% of teens here in the UK have been bullied because they didn’t have the right products, be that the latest designer trainers, computer game, mp3 player or some other object that's considered ‘cool’.

I know what it’s like to have children bullied by their peers - it puts a LOT of pressure on parents. We have our own standards and ethics that we try to live by yet at the same time the last thing we want is to put our children through the torture of being sent to school each day to meet the bullies and live another day of hell. Because for the kids concerned, it really can be hell, so much so that some teens choose to end their lives rather than face another day of it.

How do we bring our children up to understand the value of things and that true happiness and contentment with life can’t be found in stuff when they’re receiving the opposite message whenever they set foot outside the home? In fact, they don’t even need to do that. All they need to do is switch on the television or open a magazine to be told that they should have whatever they want ‘because they’re worth it’? (The one advert that really make me cringe right now is the one for DFS furniture that uses Nickleback’s ‘Rockstar’ with all it's "I want..." messages).

I clearly remember my daughter asking for a £70 pair of shoes. This while we were living in an area where most people were on benefits and therefore couldn’t have had (shouldn’t have had?) much of a disposable income. Although I was working, I was on a low income and £70 was a lot of money, probably about what I had left each month after carefully budgeting for the bills, food and other necessities. Out of that I had to clothe my children, furnish our home (it was very basic back then) and run a car, the latter of which was important to me because of Paul, who was difficult to travel on public transport with. Seventy quid for a pair of shoes wasn’t only way above and beyond what I would have considered reasonable for a pair of school shoes, it was impossible to find. The result? She got bullied. Badly.

Eventually both girls were bullied to such an extreme that they were taken out of school. They were too afraid to go there - in fact, they were too afraid to even leave the house without me with them. Up until that point, they’d believed that the answer to their problems lay in having the right stuff, but eventually realised that no amount of worldly goods would ever be ‘good enough’ - the bullies would still find something to pick on them for.

And that’s it. Therein lies the dilemma. Do we give in and buy all sorts of stuff for our kids, supporting the consumer band-wagon and possibly putting ourselves into debt, or do we try to help our children understand that the bullying would go on regardless? That being the ‘cool kid’ isn’t always what it appears to be? That attitude is far more important than material status? How far do we let things go before we cave in to their consumer demands?

Mary Whitehouse may have seemed a bit extreme to most of us but she did have a point when she said that television was corrupting society only these days it’s the adverts I’m opposed to. I realise they’re a necessary evil if we’re to have ‘free view’ channels but what kind of freedom is there in being drip fed with non-information about stuff we should have but really don’t need? I don’t care how much people say “It’s our choice”, It’s akin to brain-washing and unless we’re very strong, it’s easy to be misguided, especially while we‘re young and susceptible to all sorts of influences. Yes, we can turn the TV off but does that really mean our teens will never be exposed to it? Of course not.

I don’t have the answer to the problem (but oh how I wish I did!) but it’s a sad state of affairs when our children’s lives are being wrecked because of the pressures of our money oriented consumer society. All I hope is that the credit crunch will have more parents thinking twice about what they buy their kids, and that some of the pressure will eventually lift.

Sharon J

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Help Wanted, Please

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Thanks to Jennifer at HomeMattersMost, I’ve learned that Internet Explorer won’t open my blog. It just comes up with some warning box thingy and then the page disappears. Arghhh!

I’ve no idea why this is. Jen suggested that it could be something to do with the Black Sheep Ale photo on yesterday’s post but I’ve removed that and it’s still happening. Try as I might, I just can’t figure out what the problem could be.

Does anybody have any idea? It’s working fine in Firefox but IE just won’t have it.

Sharon J

UPDATE: 15:30 - Problem solved. After all that faffing about, it must have been a Blogger thing.

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Pass Me A Stick and The Salt Pot, Please

Image: ex.libris

These past couple of months I’ve re-discovered celery.

Mum never really used it in salads or stews because she always found it too stringy but Grandad loved it so every Christmas she’d get it in special for our evening ‘light bites’ (sarnies, celery, pickled onions, jellied eels and mince pies). Grandad would douse a stick of celery in salt and then, alongside his cheese & pickle sandwich, he’d take a bite. I can still hear the sound of that satisfying crunch! It was the crunch that eventually got me to try a stick myself. Anything that sounded that good surely had to taste good too? Well, that was the philosophy of a 7 year old, anyway.

And it did. I used to look forward to Christmas for a plethora of reasons but celery was definitely one of them. I think part of it was also the sharing of something special with Grandad, the man who I respected more in my life than anybody I’ve ever met either before or since. He was such an amazing influence in so many ways.

Anyway, because I’m always trying to get more fruit and veg into my daughter, I’m forever buying stuff that she either hasn’t tried for a long time (she accepts that our taste does change) or has just never had at all. Celery was one of those vegetables that I’d kind of dropped by the wayside when I left home and had never properly re-discovered. It was time to remedy that.

Nowadays there’s always at least a couple of sticks in the fridge because it’s become one of our staple salad veggies and now, as the colder weather starts to set in, it’ll be used in lots of casseroles and stews. We’ve already tried it in a few (including spaghetti Bolognese) and are happy with both the taste and the texture.

Celery’s great for those who have to watch their weight because it has very few calories but lots of fibre. In fact, it’s said that celery actual leaves us with negative calories because celery is quite difficult to digest so the body uses more energy to burn the fibre than it actually contains. The jury's still out as to whether or not there's any truth in that though, but it could explain how Grandad managed to stay slim and muscular when he ate huge amounts of protein and calorie rich foods but also ate a whole lot of celery!

Those with high blood pressure will also benefit by incorporating celery into their diet as, thanks to the Pthalides, it helps the muscles of the arteries relax, thus allowing blood vessels to dilate. It’s also high in vitamin C so will help prevent colds - a good reason for bunging some in those stews and casseroles - and contains a few essential minerals. It also offers a decent dose of vitamin K, necessary for blood clotting (although not so good for those who have 'sticky blood' - that's blood that's actually prone to clotting).

Good celery tastes slightly bitter with a spicy after taste and although I wouldn’t suggest dousing it in salt the way Grandad did, a few grains can help bring out the flavour. It's worth using sea salt rather than table salt though; it's less of a poison. Stuffing the cavity with cream cheese is really nice, too.

Locally grown celery should be available all year round some of which may be organic, although the latter may come from further afield than the 30 mile radius that’s usually used to measure whether food is or isn’t local, but you should definitely find British grown, organic celery at least. Personally, I'd go for local before organic but that’s just a matter of choice. Of course, if I can get celery that's both local and organic, all the better (or, at least, I think it is - I'm still on the fence regarding the long-term environmental impact of organic food).

Along with onions and peppers, celery is one of the staple ingredients of Creole and Cajun cooking, which pretty much matches my own. I love using onions, could eat raw red peppers with every meal (but I don’t), and… well, you already know about the celery.

What else could be so enjoyable that's long and hard with dangly bits below it and a big, bulky head? Answers on a postcard, please....

Sharon J

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The Black Sheep

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One of my cousins has her birthday today. She’ll be 48 too.

We grew up together and share a lot of history but eventually she moved to another part of the country and we didn’t see each other quite as much. Then I moved to Norway and, apart from Christmas card, we lost touch.

One of the things I did when I got back to England was to get back in touch with her. We hit it off pretty well and would phone each other about once a month to share family gossip and generally have a laugh. We weren’t what I’d describe as close but we definitely had a friendship.

The rest of my family were still pretty much outside of my social and family networks though. I’d have the occasional chat with one or two on the phone, email with a couple of others but that was the extent of it. Those people who had all lived within walking distance of our house when I was little were now spread around Essex and East Anglia.

My dad was no doubt to blame for a lot of the ‘coolness‘. He decided about fifteen years ago that he no longer wanted anything to do with two of his sisters and their families. I know why but I can’t see that it was good enough reason to cut all contact with them, but that was his choice. My cousin would tell me about family christenings, silver anniversaries and all sorts that we’d never been invited to. And yes, it hurt. As far as I knew I’d done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment.

Anyhow, one day I received an email from another cousin, an email that I found particularly vulgar. It was outright racist propaganda in the form of a joke (remember the one that some government minister was hauled up for having forwarded?) and I really didn’t find it funny. I told her so, she replied saying that we’re all entitled to our opinions and that was that. Or so I thought.

Unfortunately somebody I forwarded it to (not as a funny joke but just to show him how disgusting it was) traced the email address that it had come to me via and contacted my cousin’s boss, telling him that she’d been using company emails to send out such dirt. As he’s Asian himself, I can only imagine what his reaction would have been.

Fast forward a few weeks and a letter arrives in the post. It’s from the cousin concerned and basically tells me that she knows I was behind it all and that I was hiding behind the other person’s name and that the whole family are so disgusted with me that I can no longer consider myself part of them.

Riiiight. Ok. If that’s the way they want it then it isn’t really such a big loss to me - it was years since I’d ever felt I had an extended family so I wasn’t likely to miss it much. What upset me though was the fact that they’d just jumped to conclusions without even consulting me first. I’m guessing they traced the domain name registration that the email came from and found out that I’d registered it. What they obviously didn’t think of though, is that a domain name doesn’t have to be used by the person who registers it. I’d register this particular one for the person who did send the email because I built their website.

I’ve since called the cousin I got along with but she was clearly uncomfortable. There have been no phone calls from her since, and no texts. I didn’t even get a birthday card, something she always used to remember. Having lost her trust is what saddens me by it all - the rest of them I’m really not bothered about. But I guess that’s just life for you. People come and go.

I’ve still sent her a birthday card though.

Sharon J

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Saving on Restaurant Visits

Image: ElectroSpray

Since turning my back on over-spending, I’ve cut the number of visits I’ve made to restaurants dramatically. In fact, since February, when I started this blog, I don’t think I’ve eaten out more than four times, and two of those were paid for by somebody else. My birthday meal was one I wouldn’t really like to give up and as I had to split it over two evenings this year, I ended up have two meals instead of the usual one, but that’s ok - it’s important to me to take my loved ones out for a meal once a year at least. Then there was lunch in the pub with Richard as a treat, a meal in Wales rather than just grabbing a take-away, lunch at another pub with a friend who just sprung it on me as her treat and finally dinner with Richard way back in early Spring. Considering I’d usually eat out at least once a month, that isn’t too bad. And I only paid for 3 ½ of those meals.

During those few meals I’ve realised that there are ways of cutting back still further without having to give up eating out entirely. Here’s how I’ve managed to keep the bill lower.

• I don’t have a drink with my meal. I ask for a glass or jug of tap water instead. Four out of those five times I’ve been given it with ice and lemon - only once was I served a glass of rather tepid water ‘au naturelle’.
  
  
• I skip dessert. I really don’t need anything after my meal. It’s enough to have eaten a good meal without having to prepare it or wash up after and to have enjoyed it with good company.
  
  
• I look for 2-for-1 offers. Pubs often have a certain number of menu items that can be ordered on a 2-for-1 basis and, in my experience, they’ve been no worse than the meals that aren’t on the offer. The offer will usually be displayed outside in order to bring the punters in so finding them isn’t difficult.

Other ideas that I’ve thought of and shall no doubt be putting into practise are:

• Go to ‘all-you-can-eat’ style grills and buffets. My daughter recently went to one and said she’d never eaten so much food for the money (and believe me, she can shovel it away!). Years ago, our local pizza restaurant used to have a buffet style lunch menu that was extremely good value so they’re definitely worth looking out for.
  
  
• Look for new ‘opening offers’. Newly established independent restaurants often have special offers in order to introduce themselves to the locals. Next time a restaurant opens in town, I shall be enquiring about their menu and prices.
  
  
• Look for special offers in the local rag. I recently saw an ad for “20% off any meal with this coupon” in our local newspaper. I didn’t need it at the time but I shall definitely look out for them before planning a restaurant visit.

I know some say that if you’re serious about saving money then you shouldn’t be eating out at all, but I do think we all deserve a little luxury now and then, no matter what our situation. It’s just a matter of balance. Go overboard and you’ll regret it - deny yourself everything and saving can easily become too much of a chore.

Saving for a better future is good but I don’t think we should ever forget that it’s today we’re alive.

Sharon J

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I'm A Bitch!

Image: altuwa

While most of us either still do or have had times when we’ve wanted to portray ourselves as being ‘perfect’, that fact is that none of us are. We all have our personality traits and the law of averages dictates that some of those are bound to be what society consider negative.

I have my share.

One of them is that I can be quite bitchy, although in a subtle kind of way. The kind of way that’s stabs just a little, but enough to draw blood.

I don’t like it and would much prefer that I wasn’t but the truth is, I actually enjoy it. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? It isn’t a side of me that I deliberately chose though - I didn’t wake up one morning and decide I’d be a bitch.

I think peer and family influences have a lot to say in why some people are bitchy and others not so much although how bitchy we get probably depends on how susceptible we are to outside influences rather than making our own choices.

I really don’t like doing anything that I know will hurt somebody else in some way, let alone doing it deliberately. Luckily I did eventually ‘wake up’ one day and decided that I’d give a lot more thought to the consequences of my bitchiness than I had before and have gradually learned to curb it considerably. A mini-bitch still lives on though and to be honest, I don’t mind her too much.

Sharon J

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Lion King, The Lyceum & Andrew

Image: mpozzobon

I’ve promised a few people that I’d write a post about our visit to The Lyceum Theatre to see Lion King while we were in London a couple of weekends ago so here goes. It’s perhaps not quite the story you’re expecting though.

The day started out bad. We were stuck in traffic, had to dash about to find a dress for LM to wear, and get something to eat. We’d had nothing since breakfast and as my mum had given us the money to go and get a decent meal on her, we wanted to find a nice restaurant. Could we find one? Not on your nelly!

London’s splitting at the seams with pubs and restaurants but along our route from Stratford to Central London via Bethnal Green, Mile End and Aldgate, there wasn’t much to get excited about. Well, there were plenty of Indian, Chinese, Thai, Caribbean & Italian restaurants but we wanted English food. Not that we have anything against ethnic food, we'd just made up our minds, that's all. In the end we decided to settle for a pub meal but even that went wrong. The waiting time was too long for us to be able to eat and get to the theatre on time, so we upped and went again.

We parked up close-ish to the Lyceum and headed for the theatre via an Italian restaurant where we booked a table for after the show. By this time we’d given up on English food. Once that was sorted, we joined the theatre queue. A long queue. Oh dear… and on legs that already hurt from walking the 200 meters from the car. But it moved surprisingly quickly so I was feeling more optimistic when I walked inside only to be faced with at least 100 stairs up to the Circle.

WHAAAAAT!!!???

I couldn’t believe it. Where were the lifts? Out of action, I was told.

How I ever got up those stairs will forever remain a mystery to me. My legs were hurting, my heart was beating so hard it felt as though I’d have a heart attack at any moment, my chest was hurting, my back hurt… I was, to say the least, a bit of a sorry sight. But I got up ‘em through sheer stubbornness. I’d paid £35 for that ticket and I’m was blowed if I was going to waste it!

We managed to find our seats easily enough but half way through the performance I needed the loo. That meant climbing back up the 20 or so steps to the back of circle again but I figured it was better to do that than pee myself. Well… you would, wouldn’t you? What I didn’t realise is that once you got beyond the door marked ‘toilets’, there were another 6 flights of stairs heading down to them. I stood at the top, wondering whether I’d be able to hold it for the rest of the performance and go on the way out. No, I knew I couldn’t. I had to tackle those stairs.

Getting down was relatively easy but once I’d relieved myself came the task of getting up them again. By the last flight I was counting them. Just three more… just two more… just….. ARGGHHHH!

My legs gave way and I went head first into the concrete wall. As I went down my lower knee hit against the metal edge of the stair pushing my knee cap up and I soon found myself laying spread-eagled on the landing in considerable pain.

Enter Andrew.

Help was called for (thanks to a young girl who happened to be standing on the landing at the time) and Andrew, a young Australian guy, appeared. And what a wonderful bloke he was! He had somebody bring me an ice-pack, sent somebody else to find my daughter for me, and once the worse of the pain had subsided, helped me get down to the stalls where he found us seats at the back (it was a full house so he had to bring in two chairs especially) and did everything he could to make sure I was comfortable. At the end of the performance he came back, waited with me until my daughter had brought the car round, helped me get out of the place and then cleared the area outside of rik-shaw people so that LM could bring the car right up to the main entrance.

I’ve just emailed The Lyceum praising Andrew for the way he helped me. He really did go beyond what I would have expected.

Anyway we go home, still starving but too late and too tired to get anything so had to make do with a take-away pizza for lunch the next day. It wasn’t quite the same. What's more, we'd been given a parking ticket because, unknown to me, my blue badge isn't valid for parking other than in designated disabled spaces in the City of Westminster. Buggar! Another £60 to fork out.

As for the show itself, if you’re ever in London and want to see a good musical, I’d definitely recommend Lion King. It’s different to anything I’ve ever seen before. I’m still amazed at how they’ve managed to re-create such a complex story in such a simple but unique and artistically challenging way.

Sharon J

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Making Friends

Image: EJP

I was watching an old programme on Sky a while back where a couple of mature singles were being ‘taught’ how to meet new people. Basically, they taught them how to be more approachable themselves, how to approach others, how to hold an interesting conversation and a bit about body language. They also taught them how to improve their social lives to give them a better chance of actually meeting new people. It was, of course, aimed at singles looking for love.

Now I’m not looking for love but the programme got the old thinking cogs whirling. I’ve lived here for about seven years now and still know relatively few people in the area. I’m not entirely friendless but it would be nice to have a few more people in my social circle but while it was easy to meet and get to know others when I was younger - most of the close friends I've had have been met through either my children or work etc - it isn’t so easy anymore. I don’t go out to work and I don’t have young children.

So what’s a girl to do?

I’ve already met one good friend though a writers' group that I was once a member of and as this person also teaches new age philosophy at his home, I’ve got to know some of the others on a “see you at the next meeting” basis. There’s at least one woman there who I’d like to get to know better, possibly two, but unless one of us makes the first move, it isn’t going to happen.

There’s really only one way to go and that’s for me to invite her to meet up for coffee, lunch or something.

I’ve decided that from now on I’m going to be bolder. If I feel I get along with somebody, I’m going to extend some kind of invitation. I know there’s a chance that some will say yes but then never contact me (although I imagine that would be a bit embarrassing for them if they plan to continue going to whatever group we’ve met through), and some may well turn me down point blank but that’s a chance I’m going to have to take. In the big scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter. And it can’t be anywhere near as bad as having to approach a member of the opposite sex in what one could call a ‘flirty manner’ and, believe me, I’ve done that enough times in the past [gulp!]. In fact, thinking back on it, I only got to know one of the closest friends I've ever made because we'd hit it off at a nightclub where we'd met through a mutual friend and, on her suggestion, had exchanged phone numbers and later met up to get slaughtered for a drink.

I’m definitely going to be more aware of the people I meet and, if they share any of my core values and seem approachable, I’ll make my move (hmmm….sounds a bit predatory, doesn‘t it?)

Friends aren’t going to come knocking on my door but people are everywhere. It's just a matter of finding the right ones.

Sharon J

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