Hooray its snowing!! - (On the outside)

On Thursday we had a magical Christmas meal sitting in a cosy country pub,warm as toast sitting by the window and warm radiator watching the snow gently fall - icing the pavements outside. In my opinion this is the best way to enjoy snow - from inside a warm place or even better in front of a fire at home.

Having been raised in the far North of Scotland snow was a regular occurrence usually the knee deep long-lasting variety. My earliest memories are of being towed along on a sledge by my older brothers - often the only way to get around. So you think I would be out there building snowmen and the likes - but age and experience have taught me otherwise.

As we know most of the country has had its share of snow over the weekend causing allsorts of mayhem for those travelling or trying to get away for Christmas. My sympathies are with them but I would advise them to stay warm and cosy at home.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas - Love from Mrs Christmas xxx

Saturday Nights Alright

This is one of the better records played during Saturdays "extra" night out with Kate and Karen. We had a great time dancing until around 3am.

Great quality video thats me singing at the beginning (I WISH)!!!

A Bad Hair Day but a Fantastic night!

Given that last week was our Northern Angels Christmas Meal/Party and I had a little more time than usual to get ready I decided to 'party up' my hair by curling my normally straight hair. After applying the styling lotion and velcro rollers for added volume - which did the trick - only to fall flat after 1/2 an hour I then set to with the heated styling tongs. Again this did the trick in creating lovely Pre-Raphaelite curls but after another 1/2 hour they all fell flat. Well I too was left feeling flat and fed-up...after all that effort I ended up having tie it all back in a pony-tail with a make-shift scrunchie crafted from some tinsel!

During the course of our delicious Christmas meal in Velvet - where I enjoyed the best Norfolk turkey I have had so far - we were served by Tim our favourite waiter. We hadn't seen him for a while and when I enquired where he had been he replied that he was doing an intensive hairdressing course at Toni and Guy. I told him that I could have done with him earlier to tend to my unruly tresses and we laughingly agreed that he could give me a blow job next time - of course I meant a blow-dry!!

Despite the hair horrors I had a fantastic night with our favourite ladies including Di,Bev and Karen and a couple of new additions to the flock.
After the delicious meal we danced the night away in our favourite club.
Lovely jubbly!! Best Wishes to you all.

Normal Service?

Due to a technical glitch I have been without internet access and a washing machine for the past few days. I initially thought the loss of the washing machine would be the hardest to cope without - but I have found the loss of my means of communication harder than I thought.

I remember a friend saying that she couldnt cope without her dishwasher in the days when such a thing was a luxury item - (10 years ago) I immediately disagreed and said I could manage fine - as I didn't have one then - but couldnt give up my washing machine. This is still true - I guess you don't miss what you never have.... Although the growing mountain of laundry says otherwise and its nice to catch up on everyones lives and the world via the net.

What (the hell) to wear ??....

I think that Trinny and Suzanna need to publish a new book for us girls who fret about what to wear for a night out - especially a special one (night that is!).
A simple guide....etiquette style i.e Christmas Party attire = Little Black dress,Black or flesh coloured hosiery, Black or Red shoes and hand or clutch bag etc etc ... would be worth its weight in gold. A little pocket sized guide that we could refer to in times of wardrobe and/or confidence crisis would be a god-send.

I think I feel a project coming on .....how about 'Mrs Kate's Guide to Dressing with confidence'? (Sod Trinny & Suzanna - they are too stuck up and rich as it is)
What do you think .....I think I may have discovered my pension Plan!

Furry cats

Came across this little gem the other day - thought you might enjoy it



WHAT IS A CAT?

Cats can be difficult to get along with
but they can be very loveable when they are in a good mood
They expect to well looked after - if not they
will find someone elseto live with.....
When you want to play they want to sleep
When you want to sleep they want to play
They are moody and leave hair everywhere
Conclusion

.....They are tiny women in fur coats!

The Taming?? Of The Shrew!!!

Well its been an interesting week on I'm a Celeb. Jordan has been put through her paces and it took a hell of alot of punishment to break down her ego - If indeed it has been broken....It made difficult viewing at times and the evil twins (Ant & Dec)Seemed to revel in piling on the punishment.

I hope she is genuine in her wish to spend more time with her kids - but I have a feeling she will soon forget. How cruel of her to dump the poor dope (who had apparently flown out to propose to her) live on TV. I hope she is genuine in her wish to spend more time with her kids and away from the spotlight- but I have a feeling it won't be long until she does another 'exclusive' in Hello mag.

The Law Of The Jungle

Well tonight's I'm a Celebrity should be pretty explosive as the most evil and vicious wild animal known to man will be invading the camp. This wild animal is so deadly that poor old Peter Andree has abandoned his post and run a mile (well 1/2 million miles and who can blame him?

I am of course referring to the thing that is Jordan....the question is Why......well obviously she is being paid a ridiculous fee and it makes good TV.....but I would question the moral issues. Jordan is obviously mentally unstable - and will do anything to win even if it means destroying the people around her.

I have a feeling that she will meet her match in Sam Fox (Hopefully) - I just hope she will go away and concentrate on being a half-decent human being.

I caught the end of last's night show and thought that 'Gorgeous' George Hamilton and Kim the 'Cleaning Lady' were hilarious - a great if unlikely double act.

Christmas is Coming!!

I had my first Christmas lunch today and its not even December! I love all the Christmas food even the sprouts!!
The shops are full of Christmas fayre and M&S were offering some great deals on mince pies,mulled wine and turkish delight yum,yum.
Hopefully this will be the first of many I am booked up for 2 so far but I am sure I can manage to fit some more in. All offers will be gratefully received and accepted.

Horrid Halloween

Last night saw us out in the village with Tina, Mandy and Mr & Mrs Emma who had made a mad heroic dash up the motorway to indulge in the spectacle that is Halloween. The village itself was extremely busy and all the pubs and clubs were heaving with all manner of gory fancy dress spectacles. Eden was thankfully fairly quiet and we met up with the girls and were delighted to be joined by Jenny J and Marilyn and later the lovely Marlene.
We did chuckle at the irony that none of us had 'dressed-up' in Halloween costumes and to the out-sider it would appear that none of us had bothered to 'dress-up' little do they know!
The award for outrageous dressing for the night go to Emma for the shortest skirt this side of decency and to Kate for managing to walk in the worlds tallest killer heels (5" shoe boots).

At one point in the evening in Spirit which was packed out -Tina and I attempted to head for the ladies room and had to push our way through the crowds at one point our path was blocked by a guy dressed as a marsh-mallow and another one as a bananna......as Tina said "Follow that bannana"!

We ended the evening in a packed Naps where all of the worlds tallest T-Girls were in attendance...one of them dressed as a bride with a slashed throat turned my stomach as did a few of the costumes - it was just too weird.

For me Halloweeen is a time to be avoided - especially for children my memories of Halloween back in my distant childhood are quite innocent and mainly comprise of bobbing for apples and dressing as witches but it always an organised indoor party - never calling door to door intimidating people which is sadly what it has become in some parts.

Glad its all over for another year.....Just need to get bon-fure Night over then it will be time to slip into Christmas overdrive.

My work is done here - For today anyway!

Having spent the last few days gainfully employed outside the home I spent the day catching up on my main job namely blitzing the bathroom, deep cleaning the kitchen and stuffing the washing machine full of one of the days 5 loads.
Inbetween the hoovering and ironing I managed to watch the Matthew Wright show (whilst ironing) and witness the first streaker. Before I knew it lunch time arrived so I grabbed a bowl of soup and tackled a mountain of washing up whilst watching Loose Women - talk about multi tasking!
I then hung out all the washing in the afternoon sunshine and set off for the supermarket for essential groceries and fought my way around harrased mums and screaming kids (forgot about the school holidays) and had to make a dash for the 'best' queue after passing the interrogation from the check-out girl about how many bags I had brought with me .....none as usual I had left them in the car.....call the green police please!
I got home in time to just miss the Alan Titchmarch show (that is my guilty pleasure or the highlight of my day.....tea,cake and Alan all to myself what bliss!!) ...So then it was time to pack all the groceries away and think about making a start on tea/supper. Im looking forward to getting back to paid work next week so I can have a rest!!....Good job the boss (Mr K) is nice and lets me sit on his knee and takes me out for dinner and clothes shopping from time to time!

No Fur coat and some knickers

Last week saw me attempting the impossible again......to find a new winter coat. Last year I was over ambitious in trying to find a coat and boots in one go.
I was successful on the boot front but not on the coat front. . It isn't as if I am over fussy... all I require of my ideal coat is that it is.....
1. Not black 2. Not boring 3. Not fur (got 3 already faux of course!).

So something in a nice bright colour (teal would be good) with a bit of stylish detail...nice buttons etc ....sounds simple doesn't it? But having staked out the Trafford Centre once on my own and a second time with Kate both times unsuccessfully on the coat front - although we did have a great time enjoying a lovely lunch in Cafe Rouge and I got a lovely new 'zipper' dress and spotted lots of lovely sequined dresses shoes and bags as is always the way when you are not looking for them.

Having given up on the search for the elusive coat for the time being I walked into our local Asda to do some grocery shopping and there right in front of me were rows and rows of lovely coats and jackets in lovely bright fashionable colours. I had a great time trying loads on and settled for a lovely smart looking jacket at the unbelievable price of just £20! The ironic thing is that the matching tickled pink bra and knicker combo I also bought was nearly the same price!

Strictly Salsa

In order to win the on-going battle with new scales I decided to commit to Salsa Classes. The teacher was a latino jerk who did not even so much as ask our names and made the admirers in Naps look like gentlemen. He started off by counting us in at 123- 567 (what happened to 4 and 8? and told us to follow his steps without mentioning that we were supposed to reverse them as we were dancing the female version/ to his male version. He kept rabbiting on about the man taking control and being in charge of the timing which was a bit of a joke as there was only 1 guy in the class to 8 ladies.

Fortunately for me I had done a bit of Salsa dancing in the past and reckoned it would be like riding a bike although this class was more like getting on a racing bike rather than a push-bike. I was just about able to keep up with the Cuban backs, meringues and basic salsa turns - but then he decided to throw in a copa which is a more advanced step involving dizzying triple turns - only one girl could do and it turned out she had been having lessons for 6 months!)- When one of the group missed a turn he stood on her foot!!

At break time I fought of the impulse to run out and joined the other girls at the bar for a cooling cola (I was tempted to add a Bacardi to it -but was driving home). Chatting to some of the girls who had been going to classes since September it turned out he wasn't the usual teacher as they had gone on holiday - Thank goodness I thought - now I can stand on his foot - I just wish I had worn my stilleto heels and eaten some garlic before hand!!!

A Weighty Matter

The recent acquisition of flashy new digital bathroom scales - all glass and stainless steel have led to several life style changes in our household. The unwavering accuracy delivered by them has been quite unnerving for us ...how can ones weight vary by as much as 5oz during the course of the day.??!!
According to the old faithful scales with the reassuring old fashioned needle and clock like gauge my weight never changed that much over the course of the last 10 years or more.

The new flashy scales have become the best friend of my other half - whose recent health kick which has resulted in a dramatic weight loss which is confirmed on a daily basis to provide motivation and praise.

However my own relationship with the new scales is rather different -in the past I was lucky enough to never have weight issues in fact my weight never differed by so much as an ounce. Over recent months my metabolism seems to have slowed down so despite my best efforts with power walking and trying to keep fit my weight seems to yo-yo. I have been trying to avoid them but they sit there on the bathroom floor all shiny and tempting - daring me to step-on - like a game of Russian roulette....Sometimes the old fashioned way is the best.

Poison Price

Well you couldn't make it up could you?... The Vile Vampire- aka Jordan/Katie Price who is in my book pure evil and harms everyone around her - especially those closest to her has outed Alex Reid the latest boyfriend - or should that read 'victim' as a cross-dresser and she has made sure the whole world now knows about it..............

.....This concerns me very much as the public perception of the TS world may be warped by her manipulation of the press to suit her own poisoned agenda.


I think Peter Andre had a lucky escape from her and what a genuinely nice guy he has turned out to be - staying for hours to sign albums for fans and when one of his kids said 'Mummy hates you' he replied 'Daddy loves everybody' - Bless him

Friendships

Been feeling a bit down recently thinking of friends who I have lost during the course of the last couple of years due to various reasons such as moving-on,moving-away, and very sadly in some cases passing-away.

I have always thought of love and friendship as the most valuable things in life. I am lucky to still have a few special friends who are worth more than gold and become more precious as time goes on. I was lucky enough to be with some of you last night -
.....Thankyou for a lovely evening.......Heres to many more.xxx

Mirror Mirror

I am thinking of suing Marks and Spencer over the mirrors and unflattering lighting they have in their changing rooms..... which give an almost 360 degree view (or should that be shock)..........I would advise anyone entering these changing rooms to first visit the hair and beauty salon for a full-makeover and spray tan etc and to wear shapely underwear .........if not be prepared to emerge feeling inadequate along with several f words ie fat, frumpy and fed-up. I think M&S should issue a warning to unsuspecting customers or at least offer free counselling sessions afterwards!!

Strictly Bitchin'

Having caught up with all the episodes of the latest 'Strictly Come Dancing' series -I have to say that I think all the critism of the lovely Aleesha Dixon is extremely unfair.....Having watched her performance I think she marked fairly and accurately.

I also think she had a unique perspective on how it feels to be one of the celebs involved. I always thought Arlene Philips was far too harsh on the contestants as they are not professional dancers after all.

As ever the costumes are visually stunning and the dancing is always entertaining - sometimes because it is spectacular and sometimes because it is not. I would love to have the team that transform the performers from mere mortals into goddesses at my daily disposal. The way they do the hair and make-up deserves its own programme!

Love Happens

I am delighted to report that the gorgeous Jennifer Anniston has been taking note of my advice and the title of her latest film is 'Love Happens'. According to one of the gossip mags she is taking time out to find Mr Right and her friends are finding suitable (non-celeb) men for her. If you wish to apply call her on ......Now about that fee Jen......

The Break-up

Just been watching the film 'The Break-up' with the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughan. It seems to me a very painful irony that she made this film after the much publicised break-up between her and Brad Pitt.

The films she made previously were 'Rumour Has it' and 'Derailed' which she made whilst her marriage was rumoured to have been derailed by Angelina Jolie whilst filming Mr & Mrs Smith - who obviously had her eye on them becoming Mr& Mrs Pitt.

She seems to have mirrored her life in film titles pre-split from Brad she made the following films Shes the one, Picture Perfect, Object of my affections, Friends with money and The Good Girl - all of which describe her life at that point really well.

If I were Jennifer's casting agent -(I am available Jen for a very reasonable fee)
- I would advise her to choose the title of her next film very carefully rather than opting for 'Hes just not into you' (the title of her latest film). I would suggest she opts for a title like 'Finding Mr Right' or 'The Perfect Guy' or even 'My Ex realises he was an idiot leaving me for a vampire and wants me back'.

This is Mrs Kate - hopeless romantic/matchmaker and righter of wrongs reporting.

Boozy BBQ and loads of pussy (cats of course!!)

Last week saw us heading our way south over the hills (Well the Cat and Fiddle) to a far away land where Mr & Mrs Emma were hosting one of their legendary BBQ's.

Upon arrival we were immediately plied with wine and lots of delicious food and the wonderful company of Tina and Mrs Tina who has the dirtiest laugh ever and a lovely fun personality. Mrs T is a big cat lover (she has 4 of her own - all with exotic names like Persephone) and she took to Emmas cat immediately giving him lots of cuddles and slipping him tit-bits of food (the cat not Mr Emma!)

After several hours of laughter and wining and dining in the sunshine we were persuaded to stay over - but Mrs T in a Mrs Slocum moment said she couldn't possibly stay as she had to get home to see to her puss-cats.
Here is a video of what they got up to while she was away..........

Prize -Giving

Yesterdays competition is now closed due to lack of interest.
The PMT monster has eaten all the chocolate (a whole bar of Fruit and nut!)
Mr K has eaten all the cheese as it gives him 'fabulous flying dreams' as opposed to nightmares.
The Red Bull is still available until Midnight - After which time it will self-destruct.

Tonights music is a recent JJ release It has quite a hypnotic R&B vibe In the style of Britney Spears/ Pussycat Dolls but better - she certainly is versatile !!

Saturday Night Boob

Despite my previous whinge about being deserted by my friends - it seems that the T-Girl population have not migrated to sunnier climes 'en masse'. We have managed quite a few outings into the bright lights of the village the highlight of which was last Saturday or was it the one before??. ...the hazy days of summer seem to merge at this point. We met up with Diana for dinner in Velvet and for once the music was spot on (for me that is - being an 80's babe) and after plying K with plenty of wine (I had volunteered to drive) we decided to migrate up to the bar area - feeling brave enough to negotiate the narrow spiral stair-case.

The atmosphere was very good in fact buzzing and after sitting down we were joined by Zara and her friend. Although the music was good it was too loud to have a decent conversation ( without loosing ones voice) so we moved on to Naps. We were welcomed by newly decorated sparkly silver walls and a very contemporary re-furbished bar area- complete with marble counters - business and profits must be good - probably due to the amount of alcohol that Emma managed to consume during Sparkle!!


After a quick drink downstairs we hit the dance floor and were delighted to see loads of our regular girls there. We were joined by Zara and her friend George who was a very good dancer but I had a very awkward moment whilst trying to get to the ladies as I turned Zara moved backwards and stood on my foot knocking me off balance and I grabbed her shoulders to steady myself - except it wasnt her shoulder I grabbed - lets say I made an unintentional boob!! We both apologised but I was so embarrased - that I scurried off to the ladies as fast as I could to try and regain my composure - but it was all forgotten when I was greeted by a stunning 6 foot tall (real - I think but its hard to tell sometimes- after all I was in the twilight zone) girl who was on her mobile phone trying to get rid of her ex who was calling her. We had a quick conversation along the lines of why cant he just leave me alone.....My advice to her was simply not to answer any of his calls and just ignore him - Simple - but she was quite impressed by this obvious advice and thanked me as she went along her merry way.

We had a really good night all in all I think we stayed out until 3ish can't quite remember after all the sugar rush from drinking cola all night. I do remember K getting a bit frisky after about her 5th glass of wine (or was that bottle?!!) So it was definitely time to call it a night to remember.

The music video below features Me, K and Di in Velvet bar and later bouncing on the hotel bed at 3.50. Can you guess which one is which or should that be who is who? Answers on a Postcard to Loney tunes C/O The Crazy Disco Diva A prize involving chocolate or cheese may or may not be involved. A star prize of Red Bull is available for reading this far to the first reader to post a comment.

Kisses from Mrs K

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Pleased to report that Mr K has taken pity on me and has booked 2 weeks off work to play with me (so to speak!). This is Mrs K reporting from her luxury yacht in Monte Carlo (not) See you in September!.......

Summer-Time Blues!

Why is it that during August the very month that you want to meet up and catch up with friends you haven't seen for ages and get out and about with them - they bugger off without so much as a bye or leave or even an invitation to join them on their summer holidays to glamourous places with the parting words see you in September....... Leaving you like Billy No Mates with an unfilled list of places to see and go. This is Mrs Kate signing off feeling abandoned fed-up and un-loved -.boohoo!
Tonights music takes me back to happy holiday memories of Spain and Ibizia.

Take It Easy!! (Not by the Eagles!!)

An Essence of Summer

In celebration of the lovely sunshine today - here is one of my favourite songs of summer - takes me back to my first holiday abroad in Majorca in the summer of 1978. This is the unplugged version with an Eric Clapton solo for the first 2 mins...Enjoy!

u

In Search of Summer

As summer seems to have deserted us for the present.
I thought this might cheer us all up a bit!

Manic Monday

Why does Monday come around so fast? I was reminded of the Bangles 'Manic Monday' track as I was rudely awoken by the alarm - right in the middle of a rather hot dream - well I was just about to get into a steamy hot tub with.?? Well that would be telling !!
....I love the line about kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream - sounds like the ideal holiday destination.

A Weird Night....Missing our friends..

Managed to get out on Saturday night but unfortunately there was a weird vibe in the air and far too many people around intent on getting drunk and fighting.

Neither K or myself could get into the dancing - the music seemed 'off' (maybe due to my downloading loads of 80's music earlier in the day due to extreme boredom). The only way to enliven the evening was by baiting the 'admirers' by making up bizarre false names such as Lady Penelope Pursestringer, and Felicity Flugelbinder.

We were both missing our special friends sooooo much and this track- again by the beautiful and talented Janet Jackson sums up our feelings - hey it even looks like Canal Street on a Saturday night!!! This is for you my dears...Can't wait until we meet again!

Music...... To brighten a rainy day!!

Looking back through the telescope

The question that everyone seems to be asking this week is "where were you when man landed on the moon"? I remember very vividly in the way an 8 year old does - well I was actually 8 and 3/4 to be precise! .......... I watched the whole thing upside down on the couch at my parents house (I was practising hand-stands at the time!!) - I actually wasn't allowed to do that but mum was busy in the kitchen and dad was at work - so I saw my chance to be naughty!

I think I watched it in black and white as I don't remember us having a colour TV then . The thing I remember most was wondering why they had gone all that way to play golf!!

Saturday Night Admiration

Last Saturday dawned complete with rain and cloudy skies .....and Kate and I both seemed to be suffering from PSD (Post Sparkle Depression) so we decided to cheer ourselves up by having a mooch around the sales at our local shopping centre - we are very lucky to have under one roof a New Look a Peacocks a Select store not to mention a Superdrug a QVC outlet an Argos as well as an Asda and several Hairdressers - a T Girls paradise !!!

Although we were not supposed to be looking for anything given that both our wardrobes are full to busting we managed to accumulate two tops, a dress, 2 pairs of going-out shoes, a sparkly belt, a bag, some undies and some jewellery. Pleased with our new purchases we decided to make up for missing out on last Saturday night in Naps (we had graciously stepped down so that the girls from out of town could enjoy the experience) haha!

So suitably decked out in our new 'clubbing' gear we headed out for a 'late night session'. The evening started quietly and obviously there were not all that many T Girls in - seemed to be more fellas and gays around. After a stiff drink to get us in the mood we headed upstairs for a boogie and seemed to be getting alot of attention from what I assumed were 2 young gay fellas - however they were a little too 'hands on ' for my comfort level... So we beat a hasty retreat realising they were probably 'admirers'. Later on quite a few T Girls turned up including Tanya and friends.

When Kate had gone to the loo I was approached by one of the 'admirers' who chatted away but I couldnt quite figure out why he would be interested in me until I realised that I had taken my wedding rings off earlier in the day to do the washing-up and forgotten to put them back on!!

I mentioned it to Kate on her return - Oh yeah she said he was chatting to me when I was at the bar - there I was feeling quite chuffed I could still pull (a much younger guy) at my age ...not!!

Sparkle - The Conclusion

Hope I haven't bored the socks off you all - with my Sparkle 'debriefing'. If any of you are still with me - or still awake I just wanted to say that I had an amazing time.

My top tips for surviving the whole experience are.... knowing when to call it a night (or the next morning!) .. a comfy pair of shoes for walking home in, sunglasses and of course an umbrella - Not to mention a bottomless purse for the bar bills!!

But seriously Sparkle is all about Fun and Friendship. For those of you who missed out we have mini sparkles on a regular basis - just check out the 'Angels Forum' under events/places to go.

For those of you who are nervous don't be scared - a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet!!

Sparkle 2009 Part 5 - Sunday Shopping and 'Bobbing' around the village

As Sunday dawned it was the perfect sort of day to go shopping -(dry but slightly overcast).
So off we trotted to Picadilly first of bumping into Tanya as 'Bob' and then Mandy and Tina who we hardly recognised 'without their clothes on'!! They were on their way back from Witherspoons where they had a hearty breakfast apparently the antidote to staying out until 6am!! (It was hardly worth them going to bed really). As we sat drinking a latte and listening to the Peruvian Pan Pipers near the gardens - everything seemed so normal in regard to us being out and about dressed.

We walked through Harvey Nicks admiring the 'juicy couture' bags but didn't dare stop to look at prices (not that any were on display) very much a look but don't touch kind of environment. It was a relief to cross to M&S and find my comfort zone - I am obviously not WAG material !
Kate dragged me into Primark to look for some tights and we selected some nice belts - but I couldn't face the horrendous queue - so she volunteered bless her! Despite having the luxury of a late check-out we were aware that time was marching on (why does it go twice as fast when you are shopping?) So we headed back for a very welcome bite of lunch at Velvet (Tim squeezed us in without a booking as we are such regulars now). Then it was then reverse Cinderella time to pack and 'decloak' before heading for home. .....

Sparkle 2009 Part 4 - Saturday Night ....Singing in the rain!

After a quick reviving shower we changed into our party dresses and headed out to the Chinese to meet up with the gang and were joined by Nikki and her sister (who had the same dirty laugh and vibrant personality) and her hubby. The restaurant was fairly quiet for a Saturday so the service was extra good, after about half an hour we noticed that June from Ireland was in with Penny and Deirdre who was looking really well - she had just 'come out' to her father and it had gone really well for her so she was very happy. We hadn't expected June to be at Sparkle so it was a nice surprise to see her - but she was equally gutted at the loss of our dancing facilities (she is our dance teacher).

After our meal with the usual chatter and banter we got ready to nip over to the Rembrant where Marianne had arranged to put on some live music. It was absolutely teaming down by this time and we nipped back to our apartments to get our umbrellas and gave Nikki a quick tour. The Rem was packed but the music and atmosphere were very good and we just about got a seat well Di and I shared a seat between us! I was delighted to get a chance to chat to Vikki who is Mariannes other half and she was looking really well having just gotton back from a "European Road Trip". After a couple of 'Sex In the Cities' the cocktail of the day we decided to move on to Napoleans but it was absolutely packed out and NewYork was the same. By this time the rain was very heavy so we decided to run for home (well back to the apartment!)

The cocktails had kicked in by then and we were so tired we just watched a film and went to bed!!

Memorable moment - the goth in transparent underwear leading a gorgeous 'slave' girl who was dressed in a lovely black and white dress complete with a spiky black collar as they passed us soaked to the skin she bade us a very cheery 'Good Evening'!!

Sparkle 2009 Part 3 - Saturday Daytime in the park

After a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast we headed out to see what was going on in the gardens. The volley ball was in full swing and most of the stalls were set up so we had a walk around and Kate had volunteered to help out on Teelas 'Transpose' stand so she changed into a 'Teelas Angels' t-shirt over her 'sporticus' style designer pieces doing a good impression of the 'Repartee' girls in their pink lycra gear ready for her 'shift'.

I had a little wonder around on my own and noticed that Jaimie and his wife who had been heavily pregnant at last years Sparkle were sitting on a picnic rug with their gorgeous baby boy who seemed to be enjoying the goings on - I sat with them for a little while to chat and catch up on things.

The weather forecasts had been for 'a wash-out' but despite a little bit of spitty rain the day stayed dry - I did help things by taking my umbrella and an 'emergency poncho' for extra insurance .

By 2 o'clock we were ready for a bacon butty but the catering company were a little too trendy
for their own good as the chick pea curry on offer is not a good choice for girls who are dressed in white and as I had a white skirt and jacket on the menu was a non starter. So we headed off to Taurus for a club sandwich along with Emma, Tina and Mandy and were greeted like the regulars we have become (Mrs Emma had gone to do some shopping as she needed some leggings). As we sat in the window seat watching the world go by the sun came out closely followed by Marlene sashaying down the street - she stopped for a chat and took some photos from her vantage point. As the weather was hotting up nicely we decided to head back to our apartments to change into something cooler and have a little 'time out'. Despite Kate having carefully selected some 'pumps' to match her outfit they were too tight and she had ended up tottering around the park in her 4" wedges!!

After a short break we headed over to the Shang-Hai to watch the film/video presentations - but were shocked to find that the function room - the scene of our Dancing Events had been split up into cubicles for Karaoke!! As we headed back to the gardens we met up with Bev who looked amazing in her 'Ascot' outfit a beautifully elegant navy and white suit complete with matching hat we commented that she looked like the Mayoress! We then had a slightly surreal moment when we went onboard the 'Repartee Route-master bus' and upon going upstairs Bev who is tall to start with found she was touching the ceiling in her hat and had to stoop down in order to get to the seats!

We then bumped into Mrs Emma, Mandy and of course Emma who had changed into the dreaded shorts - Then she had the cheek to complain that 2 old men had tried to chat her up! I do admire her spirit though - as she put it she should have done these things when she was 21 and was making up for lost time (30 years worth!). She also said that if she didn't do it today she never would - so we kind of forgave her - but still need counselling!! Time was moving on and we decided to have a little pre-dinner drink together in Taurus before getting ready to go out for the evening meal ...........

Sparkle 2009 - Part 2 .. Friday Night Fever!

Having got changed into our party frocks we headed up to Emma and Mrs Emmas apartment and on the way were joined by Tina and Mandy who looked great. We then had a toast to Emma who has just gotten a new job after recently being made redundant, sadly this means we may see less of her in the future.

We headed up to Villagio's which was very busy and we were joined by a new girl called Selena who had come with Teela and Dave and a recent addition to the clan- Marlene who is a sweetie. Emma kept us entertained throughout the meal as usual by threatening to wear a pair of very short denim shorts on Saturday - we quipped that if she did we would have to bill her for the therapy sessions afterwards (Emma's alter ego male is a rugby player) enough said!!!!

After a very nice meal we headed back to our apartment to change into something more suitable for dancing in (ie alot shorter) and shared another bottle of wine with Di and the Emmas. We then headed to Taurus to meet up with Michelle for dancing but I had gotten the wrong night DOH!! as the disco wasnt until the Saturday! So we settled down for a few drinks instead. Around midnight we headed towards Eden to join Mandy and Tina and the memorable moment of the night was the guy sitting behind them whose eyes were out on stalks at the sight of Di and Kate walking down the steps in very short dresses and posing for photos (the tarts!).

We then headed up to Naps for a dance and had loosely agreed not to stay past 2am -As we had all of Saturday to go - but it was more like 3.30am when we hit the hay after quite a few more drinks!! We did meet up with Michelle but we had danced ourselves dizzy by that time and our shoes or should that be feet had reached Cinderella time.

Sparkle 2009 Part 1- Friday Afternoon....... Friends old and new

Having decided to drive into town this year - rather than take the train like we did last year -allowing the luxury of extra dresses and shoes we packed our cases and drove into Manchester in record time - having had a charmed journey during which the traffic was light and the traffic lights were mostly in our favour.

We checked into our apartment which was huge and as requested in a quiet spot away from the traffic noise at the front of the building. Within 30 mins Kate was ready to meet her public and we made our way in the sunshine up to the Rembrant to meet Diana at the Welcome Party. We bumped into Anna and Jane M outside who looked gorgeous in white jeans and a summery top and after a brief chat we made our way upstairs.

The room was nicely decked out and the atmosphere was nice and relaxed. We chatted to Karina who we had met last year and her friend Michelle who I got along very well with especially when I found out that she (amongst many other things) was a Salsa dance teacher - so we arranged to meet up later for a dancing session.

I loved her attitude to life when she informed us she would be playing volleyball on the Saturday morning in a tankini I told her she was very brave but she just said "you've only got one life so just enjoy it -why worry what other people think you just never know what's around the corner". This really struck a chord with me as so much has happened since our first tentative steps at last years Sparkle when we met up with Lisa and Karen for the first time and they have become very good friends over the course of the year- but life has thrown alot at them in various different ways and for various reasons they were unable to join us this time.

I was always aware that things wouldn't or couldn't last - in the same way that we experienced during that mad but wonderful 'turbo tranny ' year that saw us out almost every week and sometimes twice aweek or more! I feel so lucky and blessed to have shared so many special times together and they will always be very special to me. ....I just hope life will treat them kindly in the future.

After several drinks with Di who looked amazing in her black jeans and black 'Rock Chic' t-shirt we returned to our apartment to change and get ready for the evening meal and entertainment.
More to follow soon in Part 2 dear reader.........watch this space but for now I am off to make tea now and attend to the mundane things in life !

Sparkle 2009 -- Introduction

Well we have just attended our second Sparkle and have lived to tell the tale!

So much to tell that I dont quite know where to start!!

Its still all a whirl in my head and I will post more soon when I have had a chance to unpack and get my thoughts in order.

In a nutshell we had a fantastic time with so much laughter and fun that my face hurts from smiling so much!!

The Only 'Girls' in the Village

Well Saturday night saw us out and about on our own in the Village and it was absolutely packed out!!..... We fought our way past the crowds- which consisted of the usual hen parties and various groups of assorted gay guys, couples and friends - to Velvet restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely 'dinner a deux' and drinks afterwards. We ended up dressed in similar blue dresses - well I had a dress on without any tights as it was so warm -but madam Kate had a tunic length dress with matching shocking blue tights and her usual high heeled stilletos .

We then decided to have another 'quiet drink' in Eden and were informed by the 2 ladies at the entrance that it was 'ladies night' ........great we thought that will do us......but then quickly realised that they meant 'lesbian ladies' ........we made a hasty retreat and headed for NewYorkNewYork as a change from Naps but we were met by a group of gobby Hen PartyGirls and a very long queue so we headed for the relative 'peace' of Naps. We nearly didn't recognise the place as it has had a bit of a make-over consisting of a fresh coat of black paint (a contradiction in terms surely?) and some new very 'open' windows fitted. It was OK in the bar area but rather disconcerting to see out from the upstairs bar where it has lost some of its 'Night Club' feel. ......I believe the Lady-Boys were on in the marquee outside in the gardens - so there was plenty of action going on outside which we could see from the new windows - (the old ones had shutters fitted over them - so we normally couldnt see anything of the outside world.

It was good to finally catch up with some 'girls' although we didnt actually know many of them apart from Tanya and friend. .............;;It was very much as if every one was making the most of things before Sparkle comes to town next week.....but I for one will be glad when it does!!!

End of an Era

Funny how recent fashions and music have been harking back to the 70's/80's. (The era of my mis-spent youth) and now sadly we have lost 2 iconic symbols of this era in Farah Fawcett the beautiful blonde in Charlies Angels - the picture of radiant health in those times and of course Michael Jackson. It makes me feel very sad that we have lost something good and at the same time very glad to have been a part of it all (I can still remember staying in to watch the Thriller trailer on TV and what an amazing thing it was at the time) .

I have to say that when I heard the shocking news about Michael Jackson - I thought it was a hoax and actually would not be surprised if it is - just think about it for a moment - this way all his debts will be dissolved - he wont have to do all of the concerts at the O2- in fact he wont have to work again- and he gets to enjoy the privacy he valued - Sempre Viva Michael.

White Shorts and Wedges - 70's style

A few weeks ago I had an extreme deja vu moment -triggered not by the usual inexplicably familiar places and people- but by a pair of white short shorts (Wham Style) and a pair of white wedged sandals in New Look that transported me right back to the long hot summer of 1976 when I was a 16 year old 'schooly' sitting my 'O' Levels. I had a pair of almost identical shorts and wedges and one of my memories or should that be traumas whilst wearing them was being late for an exam and having to run up the road in them and then run-up several flights of stairs without breaking my neck !

The good news was that despite being late I did pass the exam !!

meercats

Well In contrast to a rather lively night out with the girls last night. I have spent a boring old day chained to the laptop trying to wade through the sludge of finding a car insurance quote. I did try to cheer myself up by looking up the 'compare the meerkat.com' spoof website which I had been told really does exist and it does - and gave me a chuckle before being 'timed out' and redirected to the boring old compare the market site - the meerkat pictured is my avatar as it is small and likes to knit and holiday in Florida and has delusions of owning a flashy car.

The good news is that after nearly 3 hours surfing I did save £120 on my policy which is just as well given the amount of money we have spent this month on car tax,mots and servicing not to mention our social spending on meals out - hope my premium bonds or lottery ticket comes up soon!

What Not to wear ....

I had a job interview yesterday - on one of the hottest days of the year - so obviously my usual navy business suit was not appropriate.

As I frantically raided the wardrobe for something more appropriate I rembered a quote from Barbara Cartlands Etiquette Handbook suggestively titled "A guide to good behaviour from the boudoir to the boardroom" which had caused some amusement at the time "Women should always wear stockings at an interview and, if possible, a hat"( it asks the question of surely a skirt and top would be more appropriate).

I eventually found a nice plain white top and pink and black skirt which was part of a Chanel style suit but didn't wear the jacket as it was too darn hot!! However all that fretting went out of the window as I reported at the reception the first person I saw was dressed in a hawaiian shirt and a grass skirt!! (it was one of those trendy call centres) and they were having a beach themed day.

I felt positively overdressed - maybe I should have gone with just the stockings and hat after all!!

A Week-end Affair

We managed to get out last Saturday for Kates Birthday and enjoyed a lovely meal in Velvet with Di, followed by a cocktail in Taurus and a little late night dancing in Naps that was cut short by headbanging music and a head ache!

However I could tell that K was a bit fed-up and suggested that we booked into a hotel for this week-end as our good friend Karen from Scotland was coming down for the weekend. Having caught a further sickness bug I was feeling under the weather again and suggested that she went out on her own - sometimes a little 'me ' time is needed and I felt we would both benefit from some. So I dropped her off at the train station on Friday with my blessing and strict instructions to stay out late and enjoy a cocktail or two! We had loosely agreed I would meet up with the larger group of girls on Saturday who were out for a meal and dancing in Karens honour.

Saturday turned out to be a glorious sunny day which I spent in the garden - just me the birds (who have busy courting as we have 3 birdnests with eggs ready to hatch wrens, robbins and bluetits so a nice selection - Springwatch would be proud! ) and George Michael turned up quite loud on the MP3 player - bliss! I had spoken to Kate in the day and arranged to meet at the hotel at 7pm - it was really strange as got ready to go out it felt like I was going out on a date - complete with butterflies in the stomach - quite something when you consider we have been married for 23 years and its been over 25 years since we did the whole courting thing.

We had a great time although Kate was a bit tired from partying the night before and it was especially good to have a couple of wives - Mrs Emma and Mrs Tina with us to liven up the night.

On Sunday morning after what felt like 2 hours sleep we met up with Mr & Mrs Emma for a luxurious breakfast at Velvet Eggs Benedict and salmon darling! We sat outside in the glorious sunshine and pretended that we were in a glamourous European city although it was nice to see the canal boats meandering past it wasnt exactly glam! Manchester is a bit like me - lacking in glamour but full of fun and with a warm heart ...... Roll on Sparkle!!

In Your Dreams 007

Well I am pleased to report I have finally recovered from the ' piggin flu'. Hooray

One of the stranger side effects has been quite exciting dreams .The most vivid of which was that I had a key that would open any car - cosmic!! Obviously I tried out every sports car available to me ..... a few Porches an Aston Martin and a Ferrari (it was a dream after all) Driving at speed doing all manner of stunts . The weirdest thing was that I actually morphed into none other than Pierce Brosnan and turned up at the HQ of a large office complex where I used to work in my career girl days in an Aston Martin which I parallell parked using a hand brake turn squeeling the tyres - talk about making a n entrance! In the real world - I am actually crap at parking.... my car is usually the one parked at a weird angle - hence the reason I have loads of dents in my bodywork .

On Friday I felt sufficiently recovered to negotiate a trip to the Trafford Centre for some much needed retail therapy and as it was 20% off at Debenhams I hot footed it to the ladies clothing department and quickly picked out half a dozen dresses from the Julien McDonald 'Star' range which I love. However despite my best efforts the piggin flu bit back at me by making me feel too tired to try them all on and worst of all ...despite having survived on cheese sandwiches and water for a whole week - I seemed to have developed a tubby tummy (well spare tyre!)... I just hope I don't grow a snout or a tail next !!

Piggin' Flu for Two!!

Well of course the inevitable had to happen after tending to Mr Kate -the piggin' thing got me and I spent the weekend in bed instead of out painting the town red with Mr & Mrs Emma!

I was very well looked after but we were both gutted at being laid up - however- I am sure we will make up for it in the coming weeks!

Piggin' Update

I am pleased to report that Mr Kate is now recovering from what has become known in our house as Piggy flu (as opposed to man flu). Unfortunately I am now suffering with a sore throat - face masks at the ready!!

Piggin' Flu

Having suffered from some kind of malaise last week involving a banging headache and a feeling of wading through treacle along with extreme tiredness- which resulted in us cutting short our Wednesday night out - we just managed a lovely meal in Velvet but had to call it a night there and landed home by 10pm - In fact I was in bed by 10.30pm !!

Then off course all the fuss about swine flu came to light - but fortunately I was feeling better at his stage and had no contacts in or out of Mexico so that was obviously not the cause thankfully.

Happily we made up for the lost time by meeting up with Emma mid-week and then meeting up for Bevs delightful meal on Saturday followed by a spot of late night dancing. I also had a bonus mid-week shopping trip to Cheshire Oaks with Emma who kindly offered to chaffeur me during which we acquired a new handbag each in the Fiorelli shop - but the highlight was a 'proper' afternoon tea served on a 3 tiered cake stand complete with slivers of cucumber, salmon and ham sandwiches, chocolate brownies and scones (supposedly baked by the same lady who makes them for the queen) and of course a large pot of Earl Grey tea served with lemon slices - very ladylike and sophisticated - What a treat!!.

As I am writing this poor old Kate/Bob is in bed with the same symptoms being waited on hand and foot by me of course!! I have said if he starts growing a snout or a curly tail I will have to report him to the flu police!!

The Perfect Man

I have just found the perfect man - His name is David - and its Ok dear reader Mr Kate knows all about it..........

A friend of mine recommended him to me and he sounded just my type.... tall, dark handsome immaculately dressed in a smart suit with a toned and muscular body and all for just £10!! At the flick of the wrist he reveals all and He can do wonderful things for your lips making them glossy and tasting of creme brulee. .........

All this and he comes complete with a pheromone strip - Phew!

The fact is that he is really a lip gloss in disguise - but hey it brightens up the day - The description on the packaging made me chuckle and reads thus

"David is a hardworking man in the gym and most importantly in bed. After a gruelling 60 hour week he still has the energy to come over and put 110% into you. Undress him with a flick of the wrist to inspect your benefits package".

If you are tempted He is currenly available in good department stores (I got mine in Debenhams but Boots also stock them) but hurry a guy like this is bound to be in demand......Grab him while you can.

The good news is that their are others in the range namely Tim (Blazer clad playboy type) Eric (wears a DJ - quite fancy the look of him and the colour of the lipgloss too) and James (student version ) ...too young for me !!!

Concorde x 2

Last week Bob had some time off work and we had lunch out and en-route passed some of the posh parts of Cheshire near to the footballers houses. We then found ourselves near to Manchester airport and I remembered that Concorde was now on display so we called in to view this magnificent piece of engineering and talk about a disappointment ! It was so sad to see our Concorde enclosed in a hanger stripped of all the high tech devices all we could see was the nose cone and some steps up to the body of the plane but we couldnt get in to the hanger at all. It reminded me of a sad almost extinct animal caged in a zoo - what a terrible waste of all that technology not to mention the money spent on developing such an amazing plane.

Strangely enough it was a Wednesday so we met up with some friends for a meal before popping in to the Rembrant for the other Manchester Concord which unlike the other one is going from strength to strength and has become stronger over the years.

A Tale of Two Cities

Our good friend Karen visited the fair city of Manchester last week and Kate and I spent an enjoyable evening with her in a lovely Italian restaurant and suitably refuelled headed for a late night clubbing as we often do.......thinking nothing of it as it is the norm for us now...........

A couple of days later Di had offered to guide us around her home city of Liverpool as it has been a long time since we had ventured in that direction we travelled in by train blending in well amongst the racegoers headed to Aintree in their finery ( or should that be skimpery as alot of the ladies were only wearing dresses on a chilly spring day).

Things started off well and we walked past the lovely old buildings including St Georges Hall the venue for the famous April Ashley talk. We then headed to the Met Centre as Karen wanted some items from Mac and feeling peckish had a delightful coffee and brunch in the Cafe Rouge. We then ambled past the Cavern and headed for the new 'One' centre which is very heavily advertised on local tv and radio and seems to be Liverpools answer to the Trafford Centre. Both Di and Karen wanted to get a new outfit for Saturdays dancing event so we headed to the new Debenhams and came across some lovely dresses in the Star collection one of which I encouraged Karen to try on as it was just her colour and style .

Unfortunately I got side tracked by another dress and whilst I was looking for the correct size Karen came back and told us that a security guard has stopped her from using the changing room. We were all quite shocked especially given that the changing rooms were not marked as being specifically either male or female. We then realised that we must have been picked up the security cameras as entered the store as Karen had not spoken to the assistant manning the changing room at this point. To say we felt uncomfortable and upset would be accurate - Karen did challenge the guard about the stores policy toward transgendered people as he had no way of knowing if this was the case- I think he just muttered something about writing to head office. We turned tail and walked out of the store and tried not to let it bother us - but I could see that people were looking at us - we ventured into Jane Norman but our hearts were not in it then as the experience had shaken us.

We decided that shopping was cancelled so we did the tourist route down to the new canal and the hideous new buildings that some bright spark has slapped right in front of the magnificent Liver Buidings. In need of a drink we ventured into a 'Lesbian' Bar which Di knew about (dont ask) which was a cosy haven away from the madness outside.

We were glad to get on the train and head back for Manchester - Two cities a few miles apart in distance but light years apart in attitudes and enlightenment. If Liverpool wishes to progress and become the popular shopping venue it seeks to be it needs to educate its stores and staff in such issues!

The story dear reader does have a happy ending as it turns out Karen and Di did buy their outfits (or should that be ball gowns) in the House of Fraser Store in Manchester where they were treated like royalty and positively encouraged to try on the garments. They also acquired beautiful shoes and jewellery and were able to attend the Dancing event ...despite their ugly step sisters Liver and Pool trying to stop them going but their fairy godmother named Manchester waved her magic wand and made it happen and they each met a handsome prince who swept them off their feet and transported them away to a far away land of eternal sunshine and shopping. (Yes its only fiction they actually had to kiss an ugly frog in Naps first!).

A hard days work?!!!

Just spent the morning scouring the job market and applied for loads of job on-line and some the old fashioned way - actually speaking to a person - one of whom said they had been overwhelmed with applications and couldn't accept any more and that was only for a part-time job advertised 2 days ago!

Then I switched on the news to hear the latest on the Jacqui Smith porngate scandal - it turns out the errant husband is her 'personal assistant' on 40K a year ! I think I will apply for that position - I would imagine it is most people's dream job ...... 40k a year to watch porn!!!! form an orderley queue please.

It also looks as if her own job at 120k plus excesses I mean expenses may also becoming vacant shortly - You would think on those vast salaries that they could afford to buy their own porn!!!

Sunday Sunshine

Had a lovely taste of Spring sunshine on Sunday - suitably wrapped up in a strange combo of body-warmer, hat and shades we enjoyed an invigorating top-down journey to Sunny Southport and back - via all the quiet back roads and enjoyed Kates rally driving skills. Took some lovely photos of the very brave and beautiful early Spring flowers interestingly we noticed the pink ones were struggling to bloom - whilst the purple ones (we regard it as a T colour - being a perfect mix of pink and blue) were in full and glorious bloom!!

Excess Baggage!

Stop Press - Just found some more bags in my spare bedroom/office. I think they have been secretly breeding!

3 - blue, 1 - turquoise, 2 more pink ones and 2 cream !! Total now 48 and climbing!! I am sure some of you girls can match this???

I think E-bay may be an option in these credit crunch times!! Thanks Di!x

Baggage

Di asked me a few days ago how many bags I have and apart from replying loads I wasn't really sure so I thought I would try and round up all my bags that are currently slumbering around the house.

I have a bit of a weakness for nice bags and Kate calls me the 'bag lady' (in a nice way) as I have that many. The stock list reads: (In all shapes and sizes )

Black bags (work/everyday) 8,

Brown bags 4 plus one fur and one leopard skin ,

Pink bags 6 (for outings/ special days out),

White bags 4 (weddings/holidays),

Silver 1 , gold 2 ,

Beach bags 3 , Shopping bags 4 ,

Assorted colour bags 6 . = 40 + (there must be others in hiding!)

Whilst that may sound excessive I have used every single one of them , several times .- to me they are like old friends with special memories of days out and places attached to each one of them. The funny thing is - and this must go back to my girl guide days -that in each one of them I found tissues, a pen, paracetamol tablets and some mints and chocolate (a girls survival pack)!.

Matchmaker

I think I must have some unknown Jewish blood in my background as I always want to match up single friends - to me love is the most important thing in the world. So I have been delighted that a couple of my special friends seem to have found love recently. As they say money makes the world go around - but love makes it worthwhile.

Credit crunch shopping

Feeling a bit depressed this week about the state of the economy and lack of job opportunities around. I have discovered a new way of shopping - it isn't entirely guilt free but it does help save the pennies. I had some items to return to M&S and Debenhams and decided that the Trafford Centre would do nicely as it has both stores. So off I went using a new route (through Eccles)which was not only easier than the motorway but used less petrol. So I headed to M&S to return a number of items one of which was a matching silk bra and knicker set - (pictured left) which had been a resonable £20 at the time but I didnt really like the colour . I was really shocked when the assistant informed me that they had now been reduced to £2 each!! How can that be possible - for silk?? So I decided to hang on to them after all!! Anyway after returning some other items (some tops). I was £50 up on the old credit card so that felt good and I resisted the urge to buy more items - to be honest nothing caught my eye so I moved on to Debenhams where I returned a dress that was too big so I was in credit again by another £30. I had a quick browse and saw some nice dresses in Wallis and Julian McDonalds Star range which Kate and I love but because she wasnt there to egg me on I resisted.

I was feeling rather hungry by now so I decided to get a bite to eat - now normally when I shop with either Bob or Kate (but especially Bob) we usually eat at Ego as a treat. As I was on my own I couldn't really go there so I had a Happy meal for £1.99! which was alot cheaper than our usual £30 bill!! So I figured that I was about £100 in credit on our usual shopping trip - not including Kates usual splurge on clothes etc. Feeling better about the whole thing I allowed myself to wander in to "Guess" where I found the perfect dress for Saturday's meal and late night dancing- in a lovely shade of blue just the thing to cheer a girl up and a bargain at £20 so given all the money I had saved today I figured I deserved it as a reward- sounds like an extract from "Diary of a Shopaholic" I loved the clip when her friend is horrified that she spent £500 on lingerie and she replied that it was not just a necessity but a human right!