driving


Trying to make the roads safer 1

Before I write too much I want to apologise for the pixelated images and badly done blurring – I was shouted at in a threatening manner for taking these images. I’ve made them fuzzy on purpose to avoid confrontation. A few weeks back, around Easter time, the parking situation near one of our schools was becoming dangerous. A few parents took to Facebook asking people to park legally and considerately or have their parking photographed and sent to the police and shared on Facebook too. These photos I took were not to wind anyone up, I actually took them to try to share on my blog about road safety. Hopefully enough time has passed that I can write this without things “kicking off” at the school gates again.


Did you predict the election results? 1

Since the election “Exit Polls” went live, and then the final counted results came in the country came to a bit of a shocked standstill. Almost nobody I know voted Blue, or said they would be voting that way. Yet after the event it seems rather a lot of people did vote Blue. I’m all for choice, but I can’t say it was my choice.   View image | gettyimages.com   Either way it is decided now, the choice remains for the next five years. Nothing will change who is in power for five years, so we might as well try to embrace the change. I think all parties can get it wrong, but at the end of the day all politicians are real people. Fingers crossed things settle down now as its been a fortnight since the big count. In the first few days all the drama and protesting […]


Track time 7

It is common knowledge I like fast cars. Silly, fast, dangerous, sporty things. Well on Thursday I drove an Aston Martin and was a passenger in an Ariel Atom. Blokey bought me a gift experience for my birthday back in the summer but annoyingly the small print for our nearest race track was must have had a full licence for a year which meant November onwards. I was the only woman who was driving. In the briefing it was apparent I was outnumbered about 15 to 1. No matter, I know I can drive. “Julia?” an instructor calls. “Do you mean JuliE?” I know I should not have corrected it but it bugs me. “Ladies first” the chap says  – “After you then!” I mutter. I realise I am rather sarcastic so I attempt to shut up. I get three laps of the track in this pretty cool Aston. It’s […]


Swans don’t like dogs! 8

Yesterday the kids were bored and moaning they didn’t want to go out. They’d gone a bit stir crazy in fact and all the overly aggressive “playing” was worrying me. It was one of them days. After another time-out moment Blokey and I told them to get coats, shoes and the woofs lead. We hadn’t had lunch yet, and Blokey and I just needed to get them out of the house. We popped to a certain popular drive through to grab lunch without leaving the woof.


The New Year Storm 2

Here in Gloucester the weather was special for the start of 2014, and the word that sums it up best is minging. Sideways rain, whistling wind and chilly. No major damage, and the pets are safe, although the hutches are very soggy. We thought we’d got away with just a nearly flooded garden, a water logged, muddy mess. Then the fence came down. We struggled to find somewhere open that had a similar panel in stock in the correct size. The internet revealed Wickes had some. Yay! Only a mile from home and just £19. We got the trailer on the car and all went out after a big cooked lunch. What could go wrong?


A Whole Week Of Driving 5

I passed my test on Wednesday, that means I’ve been driving properly for a week. Yay! Today I had to see Doctor Dave in town. Today it was cold…. So today was a few firsts for me. The first time I’ve defrosted a car. The first time I’ve driven on icy roads. The first time I’ve parked in a Multi-Storey car park alone. First time I’ve had to pay a parking attendant. Sadly it was also the first time I’ve had a driver ranting and swearing and waving their hands at me. 🙁 It was a hideously impatient lady…. I was between her and a double decker bus, I was following the bus. It indicated to park briefly for a passenger to get on. I lent to my right to have a look but I couldn’t see far enough around the bus to be sure was clear to overtake and […]


Why Use A Dog Crate? 1

My Freya is settling in but does have a bad chewing habit. Plastic objects in particular, such as wheels from KNEX Jen forgot to put away, the dosing lids off of laundry soap liquid, and kids drinking tumblers. She’s a little monkey really. Whilst it’s very cute, it’s not great as it means I always have to watch her and can’t leave her home alone. I was advised by the Dogs trust she needs “indoor kennel training” which basically means allowing her to use a doggy cage in the house so it becomes normal, just another bit of furniture. I disliked the idea of cages, or crates as they’re called now, but it makes sense with a dog like Freya. She likes to nest and bury herself in blankets or the kids coats or anything she can grab that’s fabric and she could nest in a crate. Her issue is […]


Mini Adventures 11

This week I’m re-taking my driving test, having failed again just before the camping trip to Devon. I lost it in a 5 to 10 second window – I stalled on a major roundabout, had a miniture panic attack and I think it was 5 attempts before I’d restarted – by which time I was crying. Instant fail right there, bugger! I knew it was but after this we kept driving, and I had just 4 “minors” in total, and one of them was “gears” which related to the roundabout incident too, as I couldn’t restart it and hadn’t checked which gear – was second still. Seriously if I’d got first gear, I wouldn’t have stalled, then panicked, then cried, then failed! One mistake, a simple stall and I panic, I hate the “sitting duck” feeling of being on a dangerous bit, a junction, a roundabout, traffic lights, that feeling […]


Phota Your Mota 2

Righty, another one of theses Moneysupermarket blogger challenges, love them! Can you tell readers? This one is called “Phota your Mota” {Photo your Car} 😛 Click that banner if you want to read all about it at MSM. Why do I love this car? Well because it’s MINE all MINE! My “mota” is called Custard, and it is a “she”. I have photo blinds courtesy of a TravelSupermarket blogger challenge I took part in a while back. I like that Custard is yellow, and easier to find when I forget where I’ve parked. On that theme I love that pushing the “lock” button twice on my key makes Custard’s horn squeak briefly, again great for locating her! I like most of all that I can FIT in this car. I’m not the tallest person in the world, but I’m certainly not short either, and I have a problem with veins […]


Vertigo, No The Other One

For the last fortnight I’ve been a bit wobbly. I had told myself was nothing, just nerves about going to London, about Blokey being in Canada and about the driving test. I was wrong. It’s been getting worse, so I begged for a doctors appointment. I get Labyrinthitus a few times a year but this didn’t feel quite like that. The doctor said its BPPV or benign p-something positional vertigo. Different types of vertigo on NHS choices site explains the differences medically. How it feels to me… It’s like being stood on a boat, rocking and swaying constantly in the tide. I sway even when sat down. To be honest I still feel I am moving now, as I type this in from my bed. It is unpleasant, very. I feel sea sick and on dry land. Walking is a challenge as it really steals your balance, I would definitely […]


Beautiful Birthday Cakes by Baker Days

Well it’s birthday season in mine and my partners families. Most of the birthdays fall between April and July! So not a bad time to discover Baker Days really. They send cute personalised cakes through the post, and it was just the right size to fit through the letter box. I was actually having a lie in when the corrugated cardboard box hit my hallway floor with a thump, but the content was unharmed. 10 out of 10 there, you can buy a cake as a surprise and not have to ask the recipient to stay in and look out for the postie. I choose chocolate cake as you might expect I would, with a lovely pattern and some butterflies and roses. Pretty In the box was a lovely little pastel yellow cake tin and the cake fitted just perfectly in this, which I am so reusing, a little flyer and a mini […]