I've just signed up for the Croydon Race for Life on 11 May.

As usual, I'm running in memory of my dear Mum-in-law, Edna Davies (nee Doughty)

Not forgetting Mary Turner (nee Huston)

and Auntie Iris Bessent (nee Holmes)

But this year particularly in memory of friend and colleague Arlene Brown

If you'd like to sponsor me, go Here

When they began the as yet not quite finished Nursery Refurbishment, they wrecked our once lovely garden and transformed it - temporarily, we are assured - into an asphalt playground with muddy bits. We let the children dig over and trample on this particular muddy bit all through the Autumn, ostensibly picking out the stones the builders had left.

So when we came back after half-term I was surprised and touched to see that this tiny daffodil had still struggled through to blossom against all the odds.

Not quite all the odds. The children came back later in the day and one of the little girls picked it....

We have been in the lovely habit, since New Year, of meeting the kids to do something interesting at the weekend. This week, as far as Ed was concerned, was an exception. We met as usual, but as the plan was to do shopping, it didn't count as anything interesting!
But it was another stepping stone towards the Wedding.

As you women will know, shops don't sell things all year round - things that you least expect are seasonal. Try and buy a pair of slippers once Christmas is over, for instance. Or a swimsuit after August. The same rule applies to Special Occasion Wear - you have to buy summer outfits in Feb/Mar and Winter outfits in Sep/Oct. Anything later that April and all you can get are odd sizes and summer casuals (or glitter and slippers).

So we had a mission to get Rick's Wedding suit, and shirts and ties for both himself and his team of groomsmen (and the Dads, while we were at it.)

We met at Marble Arch and hit the stores. The suit was relatively easy. Although we didn't actually purchase it until fairly late in the day, he tried several on and earmarked the one he would get - a slimline black wool number from French Connection. Very smart.

The struggle was the tie and shirt combo. We looked at three million ties in all the department stores and smart shops and couldn't see anything that Rick liked. He was looking for something narrow to complement the slimline suit but neither totally boring nor too loud. And in a colour to match the wedding theme. They didn't exist. (Ed would have been happy with any of a dozen choices - but he's a bit colour blind and very easy to please when it comes to ties - he just likes a new one!)

We also realised we couldn't buy the shirts without the ties, as they also had to look well together. Anyway we traipsed round Oxford Street until our feet were worn down to the knees and Rick was ready to shoot himself or us. So we paused for a belated lunch and a pint of John Smith's and a nice sit down in a pub.

Then we hit gold. We went back and bought the suit and had a look in a trendy shop for ties instead of a smart shop. And found very nearly what Rick was looking for, except it was in just the wrong shade of the right colour. But then found they did something very similar in a lovely monochrome black/silver grey effect that would go extremely well with suit and white shirt and allow for a buttonhole of the right shade of the right colour!! Rick bought 10 of them.

We then turned our attention back to the shirts. We'd looked at several variations throughout the day - coloured stripe, monochrome stripe, stitched, single cuff, double cuff etc. We tried a few with the tie. By which time it was perilously close to the start of the rugby on TV, apparently, and Rick declared he wasn't about to try on another thing. So the shirts will have to do another time, but we did decide what he doesn't want, and what he does want - no colour, double cuff, possibly some self stripe. So we declared that a win and came home.

You'll be pleased to hear I took Ed for a long country walk today...

Quite apart from it being halfway through this academic year already, I noticed time flying today when I decided to update the frontpage of my website. My links page still had 2006 as the date!!!
It all went rapidly downhill when I started blogging instead of putting my diary on my website, and I haven't created a new page since - well 2006, obviously.

But now I'm updated, with the current year proudly displayed and a new hyperlink to myface (as in my Facebook page). If you want to browse the unexpurgated life and times of yours truly, start Here and I'll see you again in - say 2010, then?

I think I've got a frozen arm. Spent the entire morning gloss painting - skirting boards and hall doorway a doddle, garden door with surrounding windows a nuisance - with Al and Ed watching as they sipped coffee! It's alright for some. Then had to hang the newly washed and ironed curtains. Looks much better now though.

So I felt I deserved the afternoon off for a spot of genealogy. Which is just as well, as I noticed a new section on Ancestry - Australian Electoral Rolls 1909 - 1936. Not complete, but enough mentions of various members of my extended Locking family to keep me occupied happily for the rest of the day!

As usual, they threw up an enigma or two. Why did Herbert Kirkham Locking of 1 Merewether St suddenly become James Herbert Locking? The wife's name was correct and I'm certain there were no sons called James... Very mysterious.
Mind you, his stepson had an even more interesting nomenclature. He started life as Herbert Arthur Turnbull; then became Herbert Arthur Locking when his mother married HK; dropped the Herbert to become plain Arthur Locking when he got married; then suddenly became Arthur William Locking in the 1930's. Strange family.

OCH3 celebrated our 1066th run today. Naturally we went down to Senlac Hill (nowadays called Battle) near Hastings, to run around the site of the famous Battle, the date of which every English schoolchild knows.
We were hosted by Hastings Hash3, who were coincidentally celebrating their 200th Run and good naturedly were prepared to share the day. It seems we were not original in our wish to celebrate out 1066th run in Battle - apparently we are about the 10th Hash to do so since Hastings were founded, some 4 years ago! Others have gone the whole hog with costumes and re-enactments and so on. Hastings turned up as the Sackson Worriers, in hessian with baking foil helmets, but we contented ourselves with a T shirt embellished with King Harold's last moments, beer mug in hand and OCH3 companion alongside.
It was a sparkling day after last night's hard frost. We had blue skies and sunshine and fabulous views.
We are home again now. What with the run, yesterday's walk and Friday's decorating, I can hardly move...

Go Here for some photos of the day.

Met the kids at London Bridge station at lunchtime happily looking forward to browsing the give away tasters at Borough market prior to purchasing a snack to eat on route.

The market was thronged with folks all with similar intentions, but we managed a tasty selection of cheeses, dried fruits and beans, olives, and bread dipped in oil. Not that it's really free, as you pay for the taste in the inflated prices for the goods to be purchased. There's a Lincolnshire sausage stall, charging over £8 per kilo, from whom I am yet to buy sausage, even though they look very good - he's from Boston.
We bought some blue Stichelton cheese (unpasteurised Stilton) some Bergblumen cheese (because we liked the name as much as the taste) and a couple of pies for tomorrow from the Pie Minister. We would have bought lunch there, but they didn't seem to be selling them hot with gravy and mash, like they did when we first saw them at the Ice Fair in December.
Instead we bought burgers from a different stall, which were very tasty, even if over-priced.

The walk along the South Bank in the sunshine was lovely. Can't think why I hadn't got either hat or gloves with me though, as it was bitterly cold.
There were plenty of street entertainers about, especially the "statues." We saw one (a "WW2 General") preparing to perform - putting out his wreath of poppies and storing his rucksack underneath his plinth - and were amused to see a pigeon perched on his low railing surround, apparently waiting for him to pose so it could sit on his head!
We went to the Dali/Picasso exhibition at the City Hall. Lots of interesting pieces, fairly badly displayed with insufficient explanation. I really liked a gold chair shaped liked limbs - I would have brought it home if allowed. I must say Dali is far from my favourite artist however. I much prefer Picasso, from his line drawings through my all time favourite picture ("Weeping Woman") to his ceramics.

We had intended to visit the aquarium, but although we didn't get there till 4pm, there was still a queue which announced itself to be over 30 minutes long, so we didn't bother to wait.
We walked over Westminster Bridge instead and took Kris along Whitehall to see 10 Downing Street and then across Horseguards and through Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square, with a nod to the Grand Old Duke of York en route. Strange how everyone knows Nelson's column, and very few the Duke's...

We had a quick look in the National Gallery to say hello to a few old favourites, and choose which new sculpture we would like to see on the 4th plinth.
I liked the "Victory" in a bottle!

We were visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past this week. Well, no we weren't, but we were visited by Eirlys and Gwilym, who were properly our friends back in the late 1970's, but whom we hadn't actually seen for 12 years (and that was a one off after 9 years before that).
However, their actress daughter Ffion has just landed a job as Cruella De Vil in a production of 101 Dalmations due to tour in Italy and they were dropping her off at Stanstead. Thinking I might be on half-term holiday (I wasn't) they phoned to see if they could come and stay for a couple of nights to say hello.
Apart from it not being half term, and the visit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see them again. A little greyer and older than last time we met, but essentially the same.
Monday evening saw us at our favourite Italian restaurant, with Rick and Kris on board to have Kris introduced. We arrived early and left late, having had three courses and coffees to allow sufficient time for a decent catch up of all the years of news. I don't think there was the slightest pause in conversation, with lots of shared memories and jokes for good measure.
While I was at work on Tuesday, we put them on a train to London, with a suggested itinerary. They had a good time, except Eirlys had her purse stolen from her handbag! (We've been going into London for years and never had anything go astray or amiss - what bad luck! When they phoned the police to report it, they were the third in the same area that morning.)
We met up in the evening in Croydon for a trip to the Warehouse Thestre to see The Mystery of Edwin Drood, as performed by the cast of the "Theatre Royale Music Hall." A fun show, where the audience got to choose the identity of the murderer. Then late supper at the local Wetherspoons pub.
A short visit, but a pleasant one. We parted with promises to visit Wales sometime soon, and perhaps less than a decade again this time!

We thoroughly enjoyed the recent two series of "Rome" with Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd as ex soldiers living on the sidelines of great events - from the downfall of Pompey to the triumph of Octavian as Augustus Caesar.

A bit exhibitionist when it came to the blood and sex, but seemed historically correct and a valid and interesting interpretation of the times, with excellent acting from the likes of Ciaran Hinds, David Bamber and Polly Walker.

Seeing the shows in concentrated form after Ed bought me the boxed sets for Christmas was even better than viewing weekly. It prompted me to think about that other brilliant series on Rome, which began chronologically just where this one left off - namely the 1970's "I Claudius" with Derek Jacobi in the title role.

So we got it as a boxed set (made in 2001) from the library and have been watching it this week. It really stands the test of time. Much less graphic - partly due to the smaller budget, where 20 men are made to look like 200 without computer generated assistance - but still a very watchable show, with excellent acting again, from the likes of John Hurt, Brian Blessed and Sian Phillips, not to mention dear old Margaret Tyzak and Patrick Stewart with hair.

Did anything interesting happen after Nero?

Having booked in October, it was finally our turn to see the Terracotta Army Exhibition at the British Museum yesterday.

It was well worth the wait. The exhibition deliberately wound round the main hall, introducing the story of the first Emperor and his achievements and legacy, giving just a glimpse of the warriors with the kneeling archer in a case, alongside video, book on wall and other contemporary artefacts used to great effect to place the exhibit in its historic setting before we actually came upon them.

The history was fascinating, with many parallels with Ancient Egyptian beliefs in eternal life and buial customs. The Warriors themselves and their horses, along with a few administrators, entertainers and other courtiers, were strangely touching. Each had been individually finished with his own hairstyle and facial features and it wasn't hard to imagine that they had been modelled on real people of the time. The details were amazing. Very impressive.

We walked from the museum through Chinatown to see the decorations for Chinese New Year - red lanterns abounded - and caught the train at Embankment for Clapham, where we met Rick and Kris.

We had an excellent Indian Meal with them and then went to see Sweeney Todd, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

We were all disappointed. The actors played well enough, but the whole thing was dreary, with only a couple of colourful sections of lighter relief which didn't quite gel with the general atmosphere of underlit gloom. The music was dirgey (mind you, I've never been a Sondheim fan) and repetitive. Even when the young hero rescued the damsel in distress, she said she would find it hard to see her dreams come true as she'd only ever had nightmares... We were overheated (small and packed cinema) and underwhelmed.

Spent a satisfying day making pancakes with the children - I'll never forget the expression on Zachary's face when I let him break an egg and it went all over his hand

When I got home, Ed was cooking dinner . Pancakes, of course - he's always been the family pancake expert since 1977 when I didn't get the fat hot enough. Delicious they were, and eaten just as they should be, standing up in the kitchen, pancake piping hot whilst cooking the next one, taking alternate ones.

Tomorrow it'll be noodles in nursery for Chinese New Year. Have a good Ratty Year everyone!

I do love the City of London - the little bit with a Lord Mayor, not the huge amorphous blob which has Ken Livingstone - which hangs its very modern flesh on such ancient bones.

We met the kids on St. Paul's steps today and walked to there from Blackfriars' Station via ancient streets and lanes that have hardly changed their course in centuries. Puddle Dock, Addle Hill, Wardrobe Court, Dean's Court ... the oldest buildings are probably only 18th century, and the great predominance is 20th century architecture, but the mapping is medieval or possibly earlier and that gives the place such character.

Luckily a large number of the very modern buildings are quite beautiful to look at, especially seen abutted against their listed older neighbours and with glimpses of the very old wall here and there.

We went from St. Paul's (viewed only from the exterior - the prohibitive fees preclude casual entry nowadays) via the Heminge and Condell memorial to the Guildhall, where we enjoyed the small but excellent clockmakers' museum and actual Guild Hall for free, and the Roman amphitheatre and Guildhall Art Gallery (containing some gems, like Millais' "Lorenzo and Isabella") for only £2.50 each.

From there we walked via the Barbican to lunch at Pizza Express, where the service was nothing like express, but we were in no hurry and the food was good, so we were happy.

Then on to the London Museum, one of my favourites, which is still in the throes of its major refurbishment, so it too was free, although they are up to 1666 and the Great Fire with their new galleries! These follow the modern trend of museums - fewer artifacts but far more imaginative settings - and are well worth a visit. Kris liked the way they are chronological, giving a real feel of how the city has evolved over the centuries from prehistoric times.

The sun shined on us and it was another good day.