Sparkly Ideas

I know we’re not even in October yet so I will refrain from using the C word but there are certain things on the horizon that need planning. I was landed with organising the work festive shindig at very short notice last year. I tried ringing round local restaurants, hotels, casinos etc and everywhere was already full by that point. Quite frankly, some of the people I work with were annoying. They didn’t want to organise it themselves but they moaned about everything, didn’t offer any constructive suggestions and then dropped out with no notice. I managed to find somewhere that gave us a lovely meal and we went out for cocktails and a bit of a boogie at a bar afterwards. Everyone that went had a lovely time but despite this I was still in rage mode and vowed never to organise another one.

Self, dolled up for last year's work party

Except I appear to have been stuck with organising it again this year and I want it to be awesome so that people don’t get the chance to moan about it. I want to dress up in something glitzy and glam and have fun. We’re lucky in that we’re so close to Liverpool which isn’t short of places to go but I baulk at paying £40 a head for an average meal at a very average restaurant or hotel.

Well, a girl can dream...

I’m thinking something like a night out at the casino where we can all pretend like we’re Bond Girls and sparkle the evening away winning squillions of pounds on the roulette wheel or the blackjack table. I can count to 21 so I can definitely manage blackjack. I’m terrible at poker though and I don’t think they let you play rummy there, do they? Perhaps a more realistic casino ambition would be to hit the winning line on the slot machines. I wouldn’t need any skill for that, just luck, and the menfolk in my family are always regaling me with tales of how much they’ve won on fruit machines in pubs and on sites like JackpotCity. Surely it’s my turn to have the winning touch?

It’s not the only option though, just one that’s currently really appealing to the side of me that’s a bit deprived of sequins, cocktails, glam and the chance to win a fortune on the turn of a card or the spin of the roulette wheel.

So hit me up with ideas please. Where have you been on similar occasions that were really good fun (or alternatively really awful so that I know what to avoid?)

My Weekend

Life is busy, busy, busy at the moment. Whereas February was hectic because of work, March and April are hectic because of FUN. Hurrah! I have all sorts of trips and excursions and very exciting things planned and I'm sure you'll get to hear about most of them on here.

Let's kick off with last weekend though.  Saturday saw me spending a lot of time on trains to and from Leeds, along with people who thought it was ok to eat BBQ chicken legs at 10am. Why do people do this?! It is not ok.  It is revolting.

Anyway, train snacks aside, I had an awesome day.  I was going to Leeds to see the Northern Ballet perform The Great Gatsby (click through that link for a little video excerpt - alas it's not of the cast I saw).  Oh my goodness. It was astonishing.  Costumes, music, dancing: all utter perfection. Go and see them. I can't recommend them highly enough.

They're so good that they end up having a completely contrary effect on me. Or maybe I'm just a contrary soul. Who knows?  Anyway, I spent most of this performance thinking "Noooooo Daisy, stay with Tom!" because John Hull was just mesmerising to watch. When I saw them do Beauty and the Beast last year, I didn't want the Beast to turn back into a prince, just because Ashley Dixon was so bloody good.

Photo courtesy of the Northern Ballet and Bill Cooper

The other aim of the day was to catch up with my amazing pal Lee, drink hot voddys and eat delicious food. I haven't seen him for an age, so we talked and talked and talked all flipping day long, including the entire train journey back to Liverpool.  Yeah, apologies if you were on our carriage and were scandalised by our conversation. He's a bad influence on me.

I was muchly please to have the opportunity to wear some new shoes. Yay new shoes!  Even if they are decidedly sensible...

The weather was dreadful at the weekend oop North but with the amount of walking I had to do, wellies were not an option. Sadly, with my oddly-wide calves, boots aren't really an option either. These Clarks beauties (c/o Spartoo) are the absolute perfect pair of brogues - super comfy, proper leather and no breaking in required.

When I arrived back in Liverpool it was mid-evening and time for a meal with my girls.  It's a rare occasion now when the four of us are all together again but it's always fab.  I just wish we didn't all live so far away from each other.



As for Sunday, snow stopped play.  The mothership and I were to meant to be out fence judging at a British Eventing competition in Cheshire but we got there to find it had been cancelled. Damn it! We promptly drove back to Liverpool and had a very lazy, sofa based Mothering Sunday instead.  I'd made a picnic for our day out so we just had a living room picnic instead. Not quite the day we'd originally planned but it was equally fun!






Admittedly not the most epic picnic ever, but she's gluten and dairy free and thus tricky to cater for. There was an amazing cake as well but we kinda ate that for breakfast...

The Best Bits of 2012

2012, on the whole, was a good year.  I was rifling back through the past 365 days worth of diary entries yesterday and although according to that I spent a fair proportion of the year being cross (this is the problem when you use your diary as a venting space), I spent much more of it having a lot of fun.

Here is a random selection of some of the best bits. I'm sure I've forgotten something...

- Went to the Olympics!  Also became, as per usual, massively obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics and did little else except watch sport and cheer madly all summer.

- Watched 35 films at the cinema.  And interestingly, I didn't see a really bad one (although Anna Karenina was Not Good). J. Edgar was definitely the dullest but the homoerotic subplot saved it slightly.  Even more interestingly, James Nesbitt (who I loathe) was in two of my top films of the year: Coriolanus and The Hobbit.  I think The Artist just about wins the award for my favourite film of the year (to the extent that I don't really want to watch it again in case it's not as good second time round) but The Raid and Looper deserve honourable mentions too, just for being different.

- Started up A Blogging Good Read which has been wonderful fun and has really expanded my reading horizons.  Thank you so much to everyone that has taken part so far.  I need more contributors for this year so do please let me know if you're interested, even if you've done it before!

- Holidayed in Wales:

Edinburgh:

Yorkshire:

Belfast:

And Derbyshire:

- Got new specs:

- Had a truly amazing time at Bestival:

- Took up fence judging at British Eventing competitions. Definitely one of the best things I did during 2012.

- Went to the zoo for the first time!

- Had the best pre-Christmas treat ever at Olympia.  Amongst many amazing things, I finally got to see the Shetland Pony Grand National!

- Bought my first pair of Converse.  Am now a total convert and own a bright green pair and a tweed pair as well!

And here are some of my favourite photos from the year.  Cos it turns out that things are better when I smile instead of looking at the floor!