... go back to the 80s

This morning at breakfast, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's version of The Power of Love played on Radio 2. Now although I think the John Lewis ad has a certain saccharin sweetness about it, for me it lacks power, the key component of this song. A song I listened to repeatedly, on 12", whilst studying for my finals. A song that still has the ability to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A song I love but that isn't the focus of this post.

I was explaining to my 8 year old that this was the original version of the song she knows and asked her who sings the one that's in the charts today. I thought she replied 'I don't like this singer' but what she actually said was 'I don't know a lot about singers'. That got me thinking.

Although I was a little older than my daughter, by the early 80s I was already poised over the record and play buttons of my radio cassette player, every Sunday, to record the chart show, the illegal downloading of its day.

Of course I didn't record the whole show. Like so many others of my generation, I waited, adrenalin fuelled, with the sole objective of trying to record my favourite songs WITHOUT any of the DJ's banter. This weekly activity coupled with the regular purchase of Smash Hits, meant I was able to hold my head up high in the playground when my savvy class mates sang the latest single by Michael Jackson or Bucks Fizz - cutting edge musical tastes at my school obviously! My need for music has continued throughout my life and the devices I listen on have progressed from Sony Walkman to Discman, from iPod to iPhone. It is a staple in my life and although  I do still have some Michael Jackson on my playlists, Bucks Fizz, I'm glad to say, have long been replaced by the likes of Bowie, Springsteen, Muse and The Beatles.

Whilst I get it that today my daughter and her friends have the whole internet at their fingertips I realise that I have finally reached that stage of my life where I am increasingly on the verge of saying 'When I was young...'. Not that I think it was better when I was a child, just different. I loved those Sunday afternoons when for two hours it was just me, in my bedroom with my philips radio cassette player and a run down of the top 40 singles in the UK; an introduction to the new and an enjoyment of the familiar. Happy days. When I was young.

...get to know Norfolk

October 2008. That's when we moved to Norfolk. Having survived a fairly traumatic summer that tested our resolve beyond all normal limits, it was a fresh start, a new area, an opportunity to regroup and refocus.

With a 3 year old in tow, life revolved around discovering places where we could take Bea. Places to play, eat, relax, socialise and learn. We had to find schools, restaurants, shops and public services. It was exciting but also daunting. 

Now four years on I feel it's time to rediscover Norfolk all over again but this time with a focus on more grown-up places. With its big skies and dramatic coast line, Norfolk is a natural home for artists and artisans, with something to suit the taste of visitors and locals. Travel through the towns and villages of this glorious county and you'll pass numerous galleries and independent shops - an absolute joy if, like me, you love to uncover something a little bit different to the mass produced products available on most high streets.


So this weekend I'm heading to Burnham Market for the switch on of the Christmas Lights by Cliff Parisi no less (honestly; I had to google who this was) before heading to Granny's Attic at Burnham Overy Staithe - an event described as 'an eclectic mix of small antiques, furniture, decorative and positively quirky objects' - frankly they had me at eclectic.

Although I won't have much time to shop (I'm co-manning the stall of The White Florist), I'm looking forward to connecting with some new Norfolk businesses and as the event is raising funds for Wells Community Hospital, it should be a good night all round.

I'll let you know what quirky gems I uncover.

...learn a bit more about parenting

Today I had coffee with my friend Rae. She's a new friend but sometimes we talk more often that I do with some of my oldest friends (thanks to Twitter and Facebook). 


Coffee and cake should be about incessant chattering, interspersed only by the mumblings of cake filled mouths and the clinking of spoons or forks on china. However, the addition of a 7 year old child, and a precocious one at that, means a longed for catch up is frequently interrupted by irrelevant requests that translate into 'give me your attention'!
So if you've read my daughter's blog post from today: 'Last Friday night', here's today's activities from my side of the fence.


Today we went to the Science Museum and we got to do lots of experiments - Today I took Bea to the Science Museum. She ran around like a 5 year old bashing the hell out of everything she could and feigning interest in the facts the 'experts' told her, generally nodding and saying yes so she could move onto the next activity. The exception to this was an experiment where she had to bounce a ball onto a metal plate and work out its trajectory, placing 5 hoops in a line so that the ball went through them all - she got it through 3 which I have to admit was pretty good. 


We met Rachel who’s Mummy’s friend and we went to the Hummingbird Cafe and we each had a cake - Bea and I met the lovely Ms Singh for coffee and cake. After a promising start where Bea educated Rae on all things Moshi, Rae and I caught up on life, cakes, French schools and our mothers. This was clearly a subliminal trigger for Bea to try every trick in her 7 year old book to be the centre of attention, ranging from 'can I have my iPod/paper/pens/magazine' to 'I need to go to the toilet now I'm SOOOO desperate'. We then wandered around a few gorgeous shops where every other sentence seemed to be accompanied by an echo that said 'Can I have this? Can I buy this? How much is this?'

I'm inside the Katsuma suit - a portable padded cell for coping with volatile youngsters

Then we went to Harrods and I had the Moshi Monster Guide signed by Michael Acton who invented MOSHI MONSTERS!!!!!!!! -  We arrived in time for Bea to be one of the first 200 kids in line and receive a special gift bag. After queuing for almost 2 hours, during which time Bea made friends with a lovely girl from SE London, we were at the front of the queue. Bea handed over her ideas for new moshlings and the Moshi Monsters press officer asked if she could film Bea for Moshi TV. The time came to leave and of course this was a completely unreasonable request. I mean why wouldn't I expect Bea to be cross, after all I had spent most of the day trying to make sure she had fun. The result was a full blown row where I of course lost my high ground by resorting to her level of commentary and Bea told me she hated me. Joy oh joy.


Then for our last dinner we went to Iberica and had some gorgeous ham and other bits and bobs of tapas - this bit is true. By the time we'd reached South Kensington on the tube, a delightful retired couple commented on how lovely Bea was and she turned the charm up to 11. I couldn't help but smile and we whiled away a couple of hours eating tapas, practicing Spanish and drinking pineapple juice (her) and cava (me). 


Basically as Rae's Mum said to her 'kids don't come with an instruction manual' but then even when things do we often dump the instructions in a drawer and muddle through without them. Tonight Bea's not in a drawer but I continue to muddle through. That said, I wouldn't swap her because truth be told I know I was exactly the same and as MY Mum would say, 'What goes around, comes around!'


Good luck to all you parents out there and here's a little something that sums up our lot in life :0) [Go to 5:16 for the bit on parenting].

...relish being a have instead of a have not

High speed BB is awesome! Well, that's a slight exaggeration, I'm not American after all. But it's pretty good. As I type I'm tweeting via my phone, watching a film online and downloading games onto my 7 year old's iPod. This may seem trivial to those of you living in urban bliss, regularly accessing speeds I can only imagine but today I have joined the 'haves' thanks to the loan of a friend's flat in Central London.

Aside from multi device access, not having to hold a phone up towards the window in the far corner of the study just to get a signal (don't even get me started on our guaranteed speed of up to 0.5M...) is a novelty I'd like to become a reality.

Guinea Fowl - West Norfolk

So over the next few days I shall revel in the speeds B and I can share as we both update our blogs (check out her first post here) and take comfort in the fact that whilst our digital lives still run at a snail's pace, our real lives are unhindered by the endless queues of traffic and stifling tube journeys.

After all how many of you can claim to see this sight on your way home? Sometimes country living has its benefits. And sometimes it's slower than I'd like.

...tick things off a list

Now properly into my 40s, like many people I guess, I'm realising there are some things in life I'd really like to experience. The usual suspects feature:

• Go tiger trekking in India
• Hike to Mount Everest base camp
• See Mount Uluru
• Visit exotic, remote islands with endless white sandy beaches and vivid blue waters
• Take the time to get in touch with family and friends

And those more specific to me:

• Buy a new wardrobe of clothes because I'm fed up of jumpers and jeans
• Wear lipstick for the hell of it instead of just when I go out 
• Finish all those stories I've started

The list is long and egocentric of course because it's all about me! 

First up on the list was a long standing ambition to go to a Springsteen gig having been a fan for more than 25 years. Finally on Friday June 22nd I saw the magic that is The Boss. Three and a half hours of raw energy that brought some of the grown men around us to tears. I watched in amazement as he pulled a woman on the stage to dance with him and she was wearing....a onesie - Courtney Cox eat your heart out! Tried not to stare when a couple arrived at 9.00pm complete with very young baby in a papoose on its Dad's chest and wearing ear defenders. We had arrived late assuming Bruce and the E Street Band wouldn't be on until at least 7.30 and had no idea who the support act was; there was no support act, just this energetic bunch of 60 year old rockers who kicked off at 7.10pm, so we missed the first song. And despite no 'Born in the USA', the set list was epic and we, his followers, united in the Etihad Stadium, sang our hearts out to the last song of the night: Twist and Shout (all the more fitting for a couple of Liverpool girls).

For now the tiger trekking and Everest trip will have to wait and I have no idea if there's a style that's particularly me but I'm wearing lipstick as I type...

... market my own business

It's late.

I've just finished work, and despite the fact I should go to bed, it's such a long time since I last posted that an extra ten minutes can't do any harm.

Life, or rather work, has picked up a notch since my last blog, which is the reason for my lack of updates but not really a decent excuse.

So work is good.

But because it's good it made me think; perhaps it's time to market myself. I spend my working life helping other businesses to market their products and services but this is the first time I've been 'client side'. Interesting.

Suddenly I'm experiencing first hand the need to make a choice and pick a brand, select a colour palette, write copy that sells what I do. It's given me a whole new perspective on how it feels to be the client.

So here's the point of this short, but at least it's here, post. If you offer a service to customers, take the time to see how it feels to be in their shoes. Hopefully you'll discover that your experience is pretty similar to their's but if you don't, at least you'll know what you need to do to make things better.

Try it; only good things can happen as a result.

Now it really is time for bed.