tape girl

I was having a clear up (again) in my bedroom & found a bag of cassettes (I was going to write stumbled across but that made it sound like I'd fallen over them - "I'm not surprised" I can hear my mum saying "the state of your bedroom")

Now for any young drama queens out there cassettes are an audio format (a bit like a CD but older) & if you wanted to record anything to you to press record & play at the same time on your tape recorder.  You could record tape to tape at high speed on fancy stereos (think old school ipod) & the music sounded like Pinky & Perky (...oh never mind).

This treasure trove of nostalgia included:


The original Now That's What I Call Music - which reminded that side B of cassette 2 was always the dodgy side

A tape of some friends from university's band - which I still love & I wish I had the kit & know how to digitize it as I would share it as they are great.

A cassette of Mick Brown dedicating 'Rush Hour' to me & my sister number 10 in my last claim to fame list

A load of compilation tapes that I made years ago & although it's a dead format I cannot bear to throw them away.

It reminded me that I used to cut out photos from magazines for covers for my tapes

but I also used to name my compilations

this one is called Jason Donovan's Chest because that's what's on the cover (going for the Ronseal approach)

Lurking at the bottom of the pile were two tapes which I knew even before looking at the track list were heart break tapes.  

The first one 'Emotions' is your standard fare of weepy mix tape; some early Beatles tracks, Everything But the Girl (before they  went all dance on us), Crowded House & Simply Red.  I barely remember what heartbreak it was over (but think I can guess because of the inclusion of the Simply Red track).  But if it was that guy I'm wondering, why was I tormenting myself over him?  He was a dick.  I didn't love him, I liked him, he made me laugh (sometimes), but he was definitely not worthy of my tears.

The other one is just labelled Summer 95 and this one is properly sad.  I know by the date (as well as the contents) what this one is all about). 
I can just picture that poor sad little drama queen listening to her tape weeping into her pillow, nursing a broken heart.  A good cry can be so cathartic to get it (them) out of your system, but there is a fine line & I'm sure on occasion I crossed over to wallowing in it. 

Being that I probably unkindly dissected a mix tape an old girlfriend made for Mr D I thought I would share the track list:


Side A
Return to Innocence - Enigma (I know but that would fall into one of the songs HE liked)
Cross My Heart - Everything But The Girl
Love is Here Where I Live - EBTG
Apron Strings - EBTG (obviously working my way through the Everything But The Girl back catalogue)
Everybody Hurts - REM (guaranteed weepy.  I want this song at my funeral.  I want EVERYONE to cry)
No Need to Argue - The Cranberries
Jealous Guy - John Lennon
You've Got Me Thinking - The Beloved (classic of the time)
Favourite T - The Lemonheads
Bell Bottomed Tear - The Beautiful South
Linger - The Cranberries
Caroline - Misty Oldland (yeah, me neither)


Side B
I Need Your Loving - Baby D (original is better)
Badhead - Blur
Take a Bow - Madonna
No More I Love Yous - Annie Lennox
Back For Good - Take That
Sour Times - Portishead (got to love a bit of Portishead)
Driving With The Brakes On - Del Ametri
Across The Universe - The Beatles (another on the list for my funeral - love love this song)
Heaven Help Me - EBTG (again!)
The World Is Stone - Cyndi Lauper
They Dance Alone - Sting

I did say I have eclectic taste in music (Mr D insists that means it's a mix of good & shit). An unusual mix I'll admit but the odd gem in there.


Just in case you need a good cry. 

 Hopefully it falls under the 'good' music in my collection x

Claims to fame part 3 (this has surely got to be the last one...)

Well hello, it's been a while hasn't it?  Life has been getting in the way a bit but thought I really should get back into this blogging malarkey.  

I've realised I'm getting nowhere with my 40 before I'm 40 challange & so I've spent the last few days looking into how I'm going to organize a kick ass party. That's a huge headache isn't it as trying to co-ordinate dates with friends holidays & I think some people that I really want to be there aren't going to be able to make it.  And then there's the whole dilemma of kids/no kids?  My biggest girl gave me sad eyes when I floated the idea of a grown ups only party but I'm really liking the idea of taking off my mummy badge for a night & letting my hair down...

Anyway, following my claims to fame part one & two I have managed to scrap the bottom of the barrel and dredge up some more claims to fame to complete my trilogy of blog posts

1.  Joan Collins was in front of me in a queue in the food hall in M&S Marble Arch.  Well technically she was 2 people ahead of me but the woman in front of me freaked out when she saw who it was & ran off (leaving her shopping on the conveyor belt).

2. Saw Willem Dafoe in a dim sum restaurant in Soho looking like himself.

3.  Peter Purvis refused my offer to iron his shirts

4. Buster Bloodvessle from Bad Manners going into a bank.

5. Nicky Campbell - took himself too seriously

6. Alasdair Stewart - loud & very friendly

7. Carol Volderman -she did her own make up (& was very orange)

8. I saw Geoff Capes open a May fair when I was a kid

9. Ruby Wax & Gary Rhodes who were filming a sketch together for comic relief.  You could tell she hated him.

10. Met Mick Brown who played "Rush Hour" by Jane Wiedlin as a request for me & my sister

 

 remember this one?

11.  I was factious to Andy Crane when I was about 15

16.  Saw the band James in a BBC tea bar

17. Met Stephanie Lowe (Mrs Phillip Schofield), Andi Peters & Simon Parkin who used to present 'But First This'

18. Jimmy Carr took the piss out of me because I laughed too loud & too long at a joke about cystitis.

19. Ben Shepherd said hello to me on some rushes I was transcribing

20. I ignored Caroline Aherne in reception at ITV

21. I saw Brenda Blethyn outside a pub in South East London

22. I worked with Ricky Grover who was an audience warm up man but he later played Andrew Cotton in Eastenders

23. A actress who auditioned for a student production of mine & I didn't cast for the project went on to be in  Queer as Folk & Spooks (obviously crushed by my rejection).

I think that has got to be that for now.  But what are your claims to fame?  The dodgier the better as far as I'm concerned xx

picture perfect

I've been having a sort out at home.  On Sunday me & my mum started sifting through 2 huge cardboard boxes of photos I have with the view to putting them into albums. What a strange outdated concept that is these days, the only albums I've put together in recent years is on Facebook.  

It's amazing how many I have not in albums & I kept thinking how did I afford to buy film/get them processed when I was a student?  But am glad I did or I would be without the photographic evidence of our Vicars & Tarts party (so much blackmail potential for so many people) and other drunken moments.
 
So we looked & remembered & laughed.  I did throw away some (out of focus, blurry self portraits, I even was daring enough to throw away a photo of my sister's ex boyfriend who I hated).  

I then pulled out a pile of great photos and packed the rest back into the boxes (now only a box & a half, see some progress!) and put them away.  Albums will wait for another day.

I then took photos of the select few & posted them on Facebook.  Cue reminiscing & anecdotes from friends.  A productive afternoon then. ;)

6pm? but in old money it's really only 5pm

So the clocks went forward on Sunday and I don't know about you but when the clocks change in our house we tend to spend he next few days justifying not being hungry/being hungry, being tired/not being tired with pointing out what the time would have been the day before "ah, yes but it's only 6.30 really so that's why the kids don't want to go to bed...".  

It reminds me of how my parents, having lived though the change to the metric system would always tell you the price of things in 'old money'.  "25p that's 5 shillings" and my dad would forever tell us about how "we were done" as 2 old pence and 2 new pence changed in value.  

I was quite relieved when the UK opted out of the Euro as I feared I would forever be telling my children 10 € that's about 8, 7, 6, 5....(well who knows the way things are going) pounds in old money.

Goodbye

Today has been really sad for me.  I had to say goodbye (for now) to my lovely friend Lakota who is moving 60 odd miles away tomorrow.  

I have known her for 8 years & for the past 5 our youngest offspring have been inseparable.  My smallest girl maintained that she was going to marry her son for a long time (although she has now moved on to make 'goo goo eyes' at a different boy in her class).

Any one who reads her blog Faith Hope & Charity Shopping will know how funny & clever & bright she is.  I will really miss her & her sage words of wisdom & listening ears when I carp on about my shit.  She inspired me to start blogging.  And her pithy assessment of things (& people) have me in fits. 

I have been a bit of a soggy mess the past few days.  I could barely speak to her about it before today.  I set several other friends off at school today (& got a hug from my daughter's teacher).  My biggest girl comforted me earlier & my smallest drew me a memory book of things we've done together (like having 'coffy' & 'dinur')

I know, I know it's not the other end of the world & that we will still see each other (a hour or so on the train or quicker if we meet in the middle in London).  I'm really pleased for her & her family as the process of moving has been arduous & they'll be where they want. But for me I am sad.

My life is like Eastenders...

...well what I mean is there are so many moments I can think of when I have expected the duff duff drums & the theme tune to start

There are things that have happened in my life that if I share with other people I have to fight the urge to add the myself (but maybe that's the drama queen in me).  
 
My life is fairly dramatic but not quite as dramatic as this...

there was once a 'he's not my father' (but that's another story).

This past few weeks I have kind of had my fill of drama.  My mum has had a cancerous lump removed from her breast & today embarked on a course of chemo.  The thought of this all has filled me with dread as I know how hard it is going to be for her & how little I can do to help.  Seeing her being unwell is going to be hard, if she is unwell, if she reacts to the medication, who knows?  More waiting to see I guess. 

She's been amazing though.  She went to get her hair done last week as she wanted it to look good before starting the treatment, and she's already planning a spray tan to give a nice bit of colour.  She reassured me the other day that it'll be OK, we'll get through this, which was too topsy turvy for words. I should be the one comforting her but I'm a bit lost for words at the moment, yes a chatterbox like me, I'm grasping for the right thing to say.  I know we will get through this, we're strong.  We have to.

I kind of wish my life was like Eastenders.  I'd really like someone to shout 'cut' and to be able to have a break from it all.

Claims to fame part 2

So on thinking about my previous post about famous people I've encountered I realised that I have missed a few so here is part 2 of my shameless bragging (although to be honest it isn't meant that way - celebrity does not impress me much).

1. Matthew Vaughn & Claudia Schiffer checking in at LAX (they were going 1st class, we were going coach)

2.  Billy Connolly sat 3 seats along from me at a screening of a David Thewlis film during a London Film Festival

3. David Thewlis was also sitting there in the dark.

4. A sparkly suited Ben Elton followed me down a corridor.

5. Len Goodman chirped 'Good evening ladies' at me & a group of friends gate crashing Strictly Come Dancing drinks

6. Scott Maslen (Jack Branning from Eastenders - you know, the one who buggered up his lines in the live episode) posed for a photo with me & my friends at said Strictly Come Dancing drinks we crashed.  I seriously didn't want to be in the picture.  As the photo was taken he squeezed my shoulder & I physically cringed.  (I have photographic evidence.) 

7. I rode Victoria Alcock's horse when I was 10 (she is an actress who has been in Eastenders twice, The House of Elliott & was one of the Julie's in Bad Girls)

8. I was made to drink beer with Eric Knowles

9. I made sandwiches & squash for Johnny Ball

10.  Kerry Katona leaned into an office I was working in & said 'Hiya girls'

11.  I shook Paul Gambocini's hand (he had his eyes shut)

12.  At the National Theatre Brian Blessed queued behind me (he was holding a plastic bag)

13. Floella Benjamin gave me advice about marriage before I got married (never go to bed on an argument)

14. I took phone messages from Ainsley Harriet & Laurence Llewelyn Bowen

15. I talked animatedly with writer Tim Moore (after several lunchtime glasses of red wine) about Footballers Wives & Hollyoaks.

16. I saw Katie Price across a hotel foyer (v orange)

17. Said hello to Peter Andre who is incredibly handsome in real life way more than he appears on tv.

18. Saw Chris Evans across a pub in Belsize Park back in the day.  He was wearing sunglasses indoors.

19. Saw Ant or Dec in the ITV canteen

20.  Went to school with the 2nd girl to play Sam in Eastenders.