News from up North

Lectures, Journals and Chocolate

2007-10-25T19:59:00.000Z

Even I am starting to get bored with hearing myself say ......I am really busy at the moment.... so I won't start this blog entry with that piece of information ...even though I indirectly have (bugger!). In order to relieve myself from the mental strain of writing my lecture for Monday's class and trying to plow through the mountain of journal articles that seem to be growing on my desk, I have spent 2 hours this evening doing a bit of home-baking. Actually it is Lisa's birthday in the research office tomorrow, not that I needed an excuse, so I have tried a new recipe for chocolate cake which has turned out pretty scrummy! It seems that adding a teaspoon of baking powder and 3 tablespoon's of water to the mixture gives it all a bit of 'oomph'! Well I'm taking it into work tomorrow, so I hope it is a hit.

Tomorrow, I will be joining Lisa for a few birthday drinks after work which will be nice as I could do with a night out.

I can't believe that it is Christmas day in only 2 months! This piece of information was made very apparent to me after wandering into Woolworths to buy some cake tins (mine are in storage at my sister's house) and to my horror, the whole store had changed over night into Toys'R'Us! The household implements section had been depleted from two whole aisles into 2 shelves..... noooo! This was all a bit vexing but I managed to find what I wanted.....but it just made me feel anxious about the pending festive season. Up until that moment I hadn't given it much thought ... I haven't got much money and the thought of starting to plan presents, cards etc. with every thing else that is going on is not good. However I mustn't grumble and I just have to start planning!

What's been happening?

2007-10-23T22:29:00.001Z

Graduation day July 20th 2007 (l-r Katharine, Laura, Dawny, Anne-Marie, Georgia) aka American, Posh Welsh, Dave, Another American, Greek!

OK so it's been 4 months since my last post, which I admit is extremely lame. If it wasn't for the fact that Amerie put me to shame this evening, I wouldn't even be writing this ....the problem is I have just been really busy! In July I went to the IPrA Conference in Sweden and had a fabulous time. It was all really tiring but good. My paper was well received and I made lots of new friends.

(L-r Anne Furlong (Canadian Professor), Rebekah Johnston from New York and me standing on one of the many bridges in Gothenburg)
Gothenburg or Gutenberg (as the locals call it!) itself was an interesting place, lots of great architecture. I loved the trams, the buildings and the University. I wasn't as keen on the food, the price of alcohol (£5 a pint - scandalous!) and the weather ...it rained all week! but apart from that I'm glad I went.
I returned to Huddersfield and on the next day travelled down to Wales for my MA graduation. Unfortunately, I didn't have the best day. This is due to some ill fitting shoes, some chaffing (which I won't go into!), walking through St Davids Centre with my dress tucked in my pants (extremely embarrassing!), forgetting where the reception was and then getting home to spend the next 3 weeks with tonsillitis! On a brighter note it was good to see the girlies again and of course my saviour Matt, who kindly returned my robe for me as I was in a bit of pain (see aforementioned list of complaints).
So after an eventful Summer, I returned to Hudds and then hit something known as a 'new term' ....OMG what madness! When I arrived here last year it was October 2nd (yes I have been here a year, which has gone very quickly!), so term had already started. The first couple of weeks are just plain bonkers. First years wandering around with maps, looking extremely lost/confused .... Third years just wandering around looking lost/confused......Lecturers wandering around looking ...well you get the idea!
Between my teaching, doing a PCPD course (please don't ask what it stands for as I can never remember, but it's a compulsory teaching qualification), also I have started a BSL course which is great! and the main user of my time my research....I am very busy!
The only good thing is that Hudds have taken on a few more PhD students, so I am no longer in a big office on my lonesome, which is good.
So all in all I am generally contented and at peace with the world ...how long this lasts I am unsure, but I am making the most of my good mood while it chooses to visit me.
So to celebrate my happy state of mind, here is an appropriate quote ...
"Happiness is the sublime moment when you get out of your corsets at night" -
Joyce Grenfell

Splish Splash ...

2007-06-27T22:24:00.000Z

Well contrary to popular belief I am not up to my eyes in water, but unfortunately the rest of Yorkshire is. The rain has been relentless, but I am getting a bit fed up with the 'you must feel like you are at home' comments.

Anyway, enough water talk, work is going ok but I am stressing about my paper for Gothenburg. I just hope that I can avoid making a total arse of myself.

The excitement for the day came in the form of a parcel from a local Spa with a £25 gift voucher inside - unfortunately it was not signed. So I had to ring the company concerned and found out that My mate Cheryl was being very generous but also pro-active (as my B/Day is not until next week). It is so nice having parcels, something that was rare when I lived in Wales.

Well that's the state of play at the moment. I have decided to take my laptop to Sweden so I hope to provide a daily description of events. I can't promise it will be half as professional or indeed exciting as Anne-Marie's worldly travels, but I will give it a go.

Saturday TV

2007-06-16T23:28:00.000Z

There is a debate that rages among the over 35's as to whether you watched Swap Shop or Tizwas as a child. Personally I was a Tizwas child (which may not surprise you - anarchy is my middle name) but my sister preferred Swap Shop .... this led to many an argument in the Matthews' household as we are talking about a time when it was usual to only have 1 TV set per household. I know most youngsters today would think this as being unbelievable - but it's true. I didn't actually have a colour TV til I was 11 or indeed a phone.... how did we children of the 60/70's survive?
The reason for bringing this up is that I have just watched the revived one off Tizwas special and it was hilarious - the Phantom Flan Flinger ... Spit the Dog and Compost Corner were all there. As I watched the mayhem I wondered what today's youth would make of it all? In a world of Power-Rangers and computer games, has the innocence of a custard pie in the face all been forgotten? I personally think that kid's today would love it - it's the TV Executives who 'think' that they wouldn't.
I look at my sister's kids who have every toy/game that is imaginable (and all very costly) but when are they happiest? in the garden throwing buckets of water over each other ... I rest my case!

Anyway, talking of kids mis-behaving ....it was results day at Hudds Uni on Wednesday, so the English Department put a gazebo and bunting up on the front lawn and had a tea and cake party for them, which I thought was a nice gesture. When ever I had my results, it was a quick well done and a pint of 'bow and black' in the SU ...then home. There was only one 'crier' on the day, which is pretty good ..... it just felt weird talking to students about their results and giving advise etc.....I guess I still have problems adjusting to acting like a grown up!

On Thursday night an old friend of mine from BAAE visited me and we ended up having a major drinking session in town. Jugs of various cocktails were consumed and I stayed up until 4.00am reminiscing .... unfortunately Mark had to drive home at 7.00am to Birmingham (2 hour drive) so I felt very sorry for him. I went back to bed on his departure and suffered with a sore head all day!It was nice to catch up but after talking about times and places from years ago it makes you realise how much your life has changed, and mine definitely has!

"As you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction" - Irish Blessing

'Quiet' weekend

2007-06-10T20:38:00.000Z

Why is it when you say to everyone that you want a quiet weekend, you don't really want it to be 'that' quiet. I have spent the last 48 hours in my flat and haven't spoken to a single sole. It's like being in a religious retreat. I suppose at this point anybody bothering to read this will be thinking .... why don't you just pick up the phone and ring somebody? well I haven't because I always do the ringing ... nobody ever seems to ring me ... well actually that's a lie ... I do have the sporadic phone call from Wales, but that's it. Crikey it does sound as if I am wallowing in self pity, don't mean to. Just a lot going on right now, so I suppose that I have just been too busy to do the ringing people thing....so not talking to anybody has just been more noticeable.
Changing the subject completely ... weather's be nice hasn't it? ...

"The only thing that helps me maintain my slender grip on reality is the friendship I share with my collection of singing potatoes" - Holly, Red Dwarf II

My Yorkie experience

2007-06-08T22:24:00.000Z

It has been a very busy week - I've been busier than Paris Hilton's parole officer (topical comment from Dawny...finger always on the pulse of the gutter press). This is because I had to do a presentation in York on Thursday, which was pretty scary. The whole experience made me realise how much work I have to do ..... the room was full of Professors and experienced Doctors who pulled big holes out of my research....but I'm pleased to say in a constructively critical way. Thank goodness I went to York, as it was better being mauled by 20 people rather than by 400 in Gutenberg in July! I also made a few more 'contacts' which is the done thing on occasions like this and had a slap up dinner ...but it was a 16 hour day and I came home and collapsed!
Anyway mustn't keep on grumbling ..... time for bed.

Wedded Bliss

2007-06-03T16:55:00.001Z

OK so I survived the wedding and what a wedding it was too - mighty fine! I was a bit nervous going as I was attending for the first time on my own and without the support of 'the girls', but I am pleased to report that my worries were soon dispelled. The wedding took place in the fine (and expensive) St Davids Hotel in Cardiff Bay. I arrived early as the groom had told me that everyone was meeting beforehand in the bar. As usual Andrew was 'fibbing' but I will forgive him as he did have other things to occupy his mind. So when I got there I was on my own - so a quick tipple at the bar was the thing to do, as weddings always make me nervous. I ordered a glass of medium white wine and a very smiley member of the bar staff informed me that I should hand over £6. At this point I thought she had mis-heard me and thought that I wanted a bottle of wine ... but no....so rather than look complete cheap-skate I paid the lady and sat on one of their comfy leather sofas. The same lady soon brought me over a bowl of hand made crisps and a napkin - I would have preferred a 3 course lunch for that price but I just thanked her...and then spotted Andrew and some guests going upstairs to the function rooms, so I left the crisps, but necked my wine and departed. (note: there was free wine on my table all evening so I didn't need to resort to prostitution to pay my bar bill)
It was good to see Andrew and also a few of the other guests that I remembered from my youth in Brinsons. We were soon called in for the ceremony - I appeared to stand out somewhat in my black ensemble but hey it was a statement! The bride was fashionably 15 mins late, and Andrew was starting to twitch...but then she arrived. As I hadn't met Jane before I really didn't know what to expect but she was sickeningly attractive, tall, thin, blonde, you get the idea.....she looked lovely. I thought at that point that she must have no sense of humour or lack of conversation skills as otherwise she would be perfect...... after the ceremony I met her and she is...perfect. She is such a lovely person and so right for Andrew, they are both so laid back that I was afraid that they may topple over at any point - he has made a wise choice and it was great to see him so happy.
I won't bore you with a breakdown of the whole reception, but it was very nice. This was helped by me sitting next to one of Jane's oldest friends, Gwyn, who is a very witty gay bloke - we got on well and he was my saviour! Unfortunately Jane's Dad couldn't make it to the ceremony so Gwyn gave her away and also make a cracking speech - which totally outdid everybody elses, including mine! It had the right balance of sentiment, humour and appropriateness - I wish I could write one like that...but as it was 5 pages long ...it put put my 1 page poem to shame...so I scribbled another verse in a bit quick to pad it out a bit. Anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy it. Before the reception began I only said that my name was Dawn and the response I got was 'oh you're the poem lady' or 'we've heard a lot about you from Andrew' this is always a bit worrying as I am not quite sure was exactly they have heard!
So in summary it was a great day, I got through it and hopefully this is his last wedding as I can't see them ever splitting up. The only thing that made me sad is that he is the last of my friends to get married and I love a good wedding :(

So here's a wedding quote....
"Damnit, it's your duty to get married. You can't be always living for pleasure" - Oscar Wilde

HRH visit ....

2007-05-24T16:37:00.000Z

I've had a fab day today. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited Huddersfield University in order to unveil the plaque for the new Media & Arts Building. I hope you can make the photograph out ... she is the one in red! The guy on the right is our new V.C. Bob.
Anyway, it was a thrill to see her 'in the flesh' so to speak and I can't believe she is 81! I hope I'm as fit as that when I'm that age - although I suspect that I will be 6ft under, kicking up daisies, at around the 70 mark, so end of problem really!

Must dash now as I need to pack for my trip home. I've just had a call from Andrew, my friend who's getting married on Sunday, and he's asked me to read out a poem I wrote for him. Whilst I am more than happy to oblige, this means that I will have to remain slightly sober - or I'll either slur my words or just burst into tears (Weddings have that effect on me!). Anyhooo I will tell you all about it next week!

Progress

2007-05-18T23:29:00.000Z

OK so since the madness of last week I have been to spend some time on my actual research - but fat chance of that! Between getting my marking done, sending off my external marking, admin stuff, my annual research report (yes I thought it's a bit early but who am I to argue) meetings, and random interruptions ....I can't get on with anything else. This is a bit annoying as in 3 weeks time I have to give a 2 hour presentation at York Uni (which is a proper grown up Uni so I can't bullshit my way through it!) then 4 weeks after that I am in Gothenburg - yikes!

On a brighter note I am home next week to attend my mate Andrew's wedding. Yes I will be there and also wearing a dress which is a scary thought. It's his second wedding, I also went to the first one back in 1992 ..... he vowed that he was never going to do it again ...he lied!
Not much chance of me making the same mistake as I really am totally off relationships ...full stop! I saw JP today and he irritated me so much I just know I have made the right decision to bin him..... after spending 2 hours on Monday explaining why we split up.... I had to go through the whole thing again for another 2 hours tonight..so enough is enough!

Rant over!

Poster Girl!

2007-05-09T23:17:00.000Z

I have had a brilliant day today - I went to Headingly Stadium in Leeds (yes it's where they play cricket) and took part in the UK Grad poster competition. Basically you have to make a poster of you work and present it to lots of people.... in other words try and justify why you are spending 3 years of your life looking at just one thing! Well it was a great day and I managed to met lots of interesting people.

Out of the 75 posters there - Dawny came 4th - which for a first attempt I was pretty chuffed with :)

Unfortunately, I came home and needed to write a conference presentation paper for tomorrow, it was one of those "I wish I'd finished this last night instead of watching trash TV" moments! Anyhoooo I have just finished it and I am pretty tired so off to the land of dreams for me.....yawn zzzzzzzzz

What a difference a week makes .....

2007-05-08T22:11:00.000Z

OK so it's all change again in Dawn's world and I am back on the proverbial wooden shelf ... but hey am I grumbling? you'll be pleased to hear no! Yes I am disappointed that things didn't work out .... but unfortunately the cultural

differences between us were too great. JP wanted a woman to: cook, clean, wash, iron and perform other "duties" (you know the ones) for him in exchange for these services he would ..er...let me think..... he would sit on my sofa and watch me cook, clean, wash, iron and ...well you know the score .... um
sorry but the name is D. Matthews and the 'D' stands for Dawn and not doormat!
So I hit him with the golden elbow last night and I have taken back my place on the shelf before it collected too much dust!
I feel fine with the whole thing as I need to concentrate on my ever expanding work-load!

Thai meal and Castles on Hills...

2007-04-29T16:38:00.000Z

I have enjoyed a lovely couple of days (even though I still have a really silly cough which has decided to remain with me for over a month - how annoying!). Friday started with JP giving me a lovely bunch of flowers before we met our friend Alina at a local Thai restaurant. This was a pleasant surprise as there wasn't an occasion of any type to celebrate - he just thought it would be a nice gesture and indeed it was.

The Thai place was nice, however a little pricey - I should have checked the menu before booking it! We couldn't even claim student discount, which would have been useful! After a platter which consisted of 4 items each to start, and cost us £7.50 each!!! our main courses arrived. I decided to be a usual shandy lightweight and choose a creamy coconut curry, whereas JP went straight for the extremely hot 'Jungle curry' (aptly named!) which was just swimming in red hot chillies - it even melted my contact lenses just looking at it ...but JP didn't even break into a sweat!

On Saturday we went exploring as I wanted to find 'Castle Hill' as I heard there were some lovely views from there. When we found it ...the castle was actually a tower but it was worth the climb up there as the views were indeed amazing, you could see all of Huddersfield and beyond....also very good for kite flying as it was somewhat windy - hence the windswept look of my golden tendrils!

There are so many great places to visit here in Hudds and the surrounding area, I am really starting to enjoy my surroundings and feel more at home here....although I think the sunny weather has helped me to see the area in a different way!

BTW I hope that when I publish my blog today, that all of my pictures go where they are supposed to ....it all looks neatly set out at the moment, but you can bet your bottom dollar that as soon as I click that 'publish' button it will all go array - apologies in advance if it does!

So here's an interesting quote I found about the countryside, which is appropriate as it sums up Yorkshire!

"My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way that it was actually twelve miles away from a lemon" - Revd Sydney Smith

Madness!

2007-04-21T22:03:00.000Z

I don't know about anybody else but I am getting very distressed about the madness in the world. The shootings in Virginia have only highlighted how bonkers everything has become. I would love to go back 100 years and see what the world was like, did the Daily Herald report on mass shootings by lone gunman? poverty and brutality in third world countries while others enjoy affluence and wealth? Upon reflection, it most probably would which is sad as it means that nothing has changed.
The reason for this deep mode of thought, is that I have had a long chat with JP about life in Congo DR and even though I can not reprint most of the stuff he told me, not only because it's private but to be honest it is too traumatic and disturbing, it has made me appreciate how lucky we are in this country to have such a high standard of living - not just the standard roof over our heads and food on the table type stuff, but the security to sleep in our beds at night without the threat of being dragged out in the middle of the night by the security forces, freedom to speak our minds and live without the threat of civil war..... all sounds like stuff we see on the TV news but just phase out soon after ... but when you speak to people who actually experience such things it puts a lot of 'problems and worries' that you have into perspective!

Anyway, enough deepness .... this week has been a bit of a mis-mash of work and play. Went to the cinema last night with JP to see '300' - it's the one about the Spartans and the Persians. Unfortunately I had a busy day and didn't get a chance to eat much so my head was pounding a bit before I even got to see the film. The next 2 hours were spent with my fingers in my ears due to the loud battle cries of the Spartans and the unnecessary excessive volume of the UCI in Huddersfield! But apart from that the film was OK - the sight of 300 scantly clad Spartans in leather pants and all having chiseled looks and 8-packs help immensely to make up for the predictable massacre at the end...... so I'll give it an 8/10.

Next week I have to prepare a poster in which to present my research so far ...so I feel a Blue Peter moment coming on ..... blu-tack and sticky backed plastic at the ready!

Busy Bee buzz buzz buzz .....

2007-04-17T22:43:00.000Z

OK so it's been ages since I blogged but I am not going to waste space apologising it's just the way it is!

Two weeks ago I had my first set of visitors in sunny Hudds, namely my niece Tazmin and my sister Jane. This was a trial run for having guests in my flat and it confirmed my suspicions that I live in a shoe box.... or as Taz put it ' it's teeny' I note at this point that she wasn't referring to my ever expanding arse!

Anyway we had a fab 2 days, we went to the Eurika science museum in Halifax, where Taz succeeded in loosing her knitted purse (bad girl) so I have spent the last week knitting her another one! The museum had a practical demonstration of how to make a junior rocket by using an empty film cartridge, some vinegar and an alka selsa (cool!). It also had a set of mirrors which made you look thinner or fatter than you are... no points for guessing which one I loved ... ah memories!

We the went to Tropical World, which had a big greenhouse full of butterflies, spiders, snakes and fish ... quite a combination! The gardens were beautiful (see above pic) but the roses had yet to bloom....so a return trip in the summer has already been planned, this time with my parents and other niece.

On the Wednesday I drove my guests back to sunny Wales and my sister commented on how horrendous the drive is ...so I am def. taking the train from now on ... 5 hours of motorway is not fun! My first trip when home was to Cardiff to meet up Katharine and Georgia (who is still as barking as ever). K is applying for a PhD in Cardiff which looks really exciting and I hope she gets it while G is all loved up with a new man .... ahhh!

Talking of new men ... yes the rumours are true ... I have found a real live one and this time not via the Internet! His name is Jean-Paul and he is a PhD student at Hudds. At first I was afraid I was petrified ....sorry ......at first I was a bit weary of him as he's a bit 'full on' but as he is from Congo (yes I know another African but I actually get to see this one!) there are cultural differences to consider ..... since I have been back we have been out a few times and we are getting on well, so who knows..... that's all I will say on that for now as I don't want to tempt fate!

So back at home ....what happens ... yes I get ill .....catch a chest infection so Easter weekend is spent in doors coughing. During my final week I try to do as much visiting as possible but it is hard to keep a conversation going in between coughing fits :(

My drive home was horrendous.... roadworks on the bridge, accident on the M5, accident on the M6, roadworks and then another accident on the M6 ... together with boiling sun and my air-con breaking down ....and coughing ... not nice!

So back in work, which I am enjoying apart from my nose has turned into a running tap (TMI?), and also JP meets me after work for coffee and a chat which is nice. He gets to practise his English and laugh at my French - tres bien all round really! :)

An apt quote as I tend to stay away from British males:

"British men take you to McDonald's make you pay and ask if anyone is dating your sister"

- Minnie Driver

(Note: Welsh men take you to McDonald's make you pay, drag you to bed and then find out that you are their sister! ... Ewwww! - Dawn Matthews)

Pennines in the mist

2007-04-01T16:44:00.000Z

I actually left the house yesterday for a drive and a bit of an exploration... managed to find Holmfirth, where they film 'Last of the Summer Wine' but I didn't stop to find 'Nora Batty's cafe' - I kept going and found the Pennines ... wow what a view! It reminded me of the Brecon Beacons but obviously on a larger scale!

It was a bit of a shame that it was slightly misty but I just wanted to capture a bit of the Yorkshire landscape on film! As for the pic of me ...er...yes it was a bit windy! My golden trestles were being tossed around in abundance! and yes I am still surgically attached to my Cardiff Uni sweatshirt! If you want to know who took the photo well it's my new 'friend' Jean-Paul ... further details will be forthcoming asap.

I have decided that I need to explore more areas of Yorkshire, so for at least one day on the weekend (schedule permitting) I will be packing my flask and getting in the Daewoo with a view of exploring new life forms and boldly going where no welsh gal has gone before!

Talking of travelling .. I am back home in Wales next week so I hope to catch up with a few people over Easter. When I get back I am back on full power as I have conferences to prepare for!

Da Iawn!

2007-03-18T11:01:00.000Z

OK so it's taken the Welsh rugby team thrashing the English to persuade me back to my blog after a 2 week absence - apologies reader but it's all down to time constraints. So I thought I'd catch up with you today, as it's Mother's Day and I am not a Mother...there was a window for me! Anyway, I just typed my first two paragraphs and due to a small storm outside which started off with snow and now high winds....there was a power cut and my computer Internet connection was lost - am I fated with this blogging thing?

Anyhoooo back to some news, quite a bit has happened since I last wrote including a trip home for a few days. The highlights of the trip included my Niece Tazmins 7th birthday ... she loved her knitted purse, but I think we all enjoyed her magnetic dart board more :) memories of 'Bullseye' came flooding back.
On the Monday I took her to see the X Factor concert, which was fab. As we arrived we were met with droves of dodgy looking people with Asda shopping trolleys selling pink cowboy hats, bunny ears and sparkly wands. After some contemplation, Taz chose a heart shaped wavy stick with fibre optic strands out of the top which all changed colour - good call! I chose two sparkly wands for the 2 kids at home (who A. Dawn had promised a present) but of course I waved about frantically throughout the show.
The best of the bunch were Eton Road and Ray - the latter is a born entertainer and thrilled the crowd with every pelvic thrust! I am converted to the Ray Religion and have his album on order. I am now looking for a willing volunteer to come and see him with me in October in Manchester - will be canvassing for potential concert goers in work next week.

Talking of work - things are going a bit better - I have received feedback from my registration document/ presentation and i is all good (so far). The best news is I don't have to do a Mphil stage and they have moved me straight into PhD (which is good) and also I get a bursary increase of £300 in September :)
The whole problem with a PhD is the isolation of it. With my BA and MA you have a lot of people around you to bounce ideas off or just generally moan to ... I have found this hard so far as you are on your own. full stop. but I am finally getting my head around the enormity of it all - and it's only taken 6 months!

OK so I need to whinge now..... the Eurovision entry for the UK this yea is CRAP! the show last night in which they picked it was the biggest shambles ever. It culminated with Mr Wogan announcing the wrong winner! While Terry can get away with his "Irish charm" on the radio or in the commentary box ....I'm afraid his 'live' TV days are over - he didn't have a clue what was going on....even after offering to rub goose grease in Fearne Cotton's breasts - he didn't realise what he had said - he didn't even feel the burning heat from Fearne's red face! I felt so strongly that I wrote an e-mail to the BBC (Annoyed from Huddersfield) I will share their response with you ...when I get it!

So my plan for today is to brave the storm and get a newspaper, then face my ironing mountain - particular care will be given to my Welsh shirt which will be worn tomorrow to work with pride! I have been getting a lot of flack from my English colleagues about the Welsh team's performance of late - so I will take great pleasure in rubbing their noses in it tomorrow. I am teaching my Conversation Analysis 2nd years in the morning - perhaps I could get hold of a transcript of the commentary from the game yesterday for us to 'analyse'? ...just a thought ;)

So I thought a rugby quote would be appropriate.... I'm afraid it's a long one but it's worth it!

"Look what these bastards have done to Wales. They've taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our houses and only live in them for a fortnight every twelve months. What have they given us? Absolutely nothing. We've been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English - and that's who you are playing this afternoon."
- Phil Bennett, pre-game pep talk before facing England

Shock horror!

2007-03-06T22:33:00.000Z

This is hot off the press ..... I have to present a paper tomorrow at the English Department's Research Seminar ..so what's so shocking about that I hear you cry? Well I actually finished writing it at 7.30 pm today!!!! My fellow graduates from Cardiff Uni will now be scraping themselves up off the floor, as I am usually up until at least 3.00am scrabbling to finish any pieces of work on the morning that they are due ...is his the dawning of a new Dawn???

Anyway, other news .... you may be wondering what has happened to my diet plan this year - well it has hit a big FULL STOP! I am ashamed to say that the stress bug took over and that means dawny hits the fridge...not with her head in a sad desperate attempt to relieve frustration...er...no more like to empty the contents in one sitting :( Anyhow ....who cares as least if I fall in the canal there's a good chance I'll float!
Well I'll let you all know how my presentation goes tomorrow - the Dean and all of the Lecturing staff will be there, plus my 2nd year students ...so no pressure.....yikes!

I will be traveling back home on Friday (by train this time - so please don't expect my usual round of visiting!) as it's Tazmin's birthday and I am going to see the X Factor
concert on Monday :) deep joy! A full review will be provided i.d.c.
So a saucy musical quote today....

"I am the only man who can say he's been in Take That and at least two members of the Spice Girls" - Robbie Williams

Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus!

2007-03-01T21:19:00.000Z

Happy St David's Day to one and all! Yes I stood out like a sore thumb today in my red rugby shirt and shiny daffodil - but hey your patriotic nature must come first!

Anyway, I am pleased with myself as I finished my first piece of knitted produce last night, namely a pink knitted handbag, with beading and sequins for my niece Kaci. I must admit that the beading took longer than the actual knitting - but I was pleased with the result. No doubt it will all be ripped apart in less than a week but hey the thought was there. I need to finish Taz's purse this week so I'll try and remember to take a pic before I send it so I can add it on here.

I had some good news this week it looks as if my registration document has been passed by the research board, so that means they want me to stay :) so I just have to source some data and write 90,000 words - piece of cake.......er ......moving on!

Anyway, we need a Welsh themed quote to end with....

"When asked his opinion of Welsh nationalism Mr Thomas replied in three words, two of which were "Welsh Nationalism" - Dylan Thomas

I'm alive!

2007-02-21T23:15:00.000Z

Hello random readers - I thought I'd best write something before you all think that I have shuffled off this mortal coil.
I am presently back in Wales ...well for another 24 hrs anyway. It's been the usual flurry of visiting, bar-meals and being woken up at a very early hour of the morning by my adorable nieces and nephew. However, it has helped to recharge the batteries and get to grips with a few random disturbing thoughts that have been bothering me of late.....
I won't bare my soul here as it would take too long, but I think a bit of insecurity and a lack of self belief has crept into Dawn's World lately and I have been re-evaluating my situation in Hudds. It is all very hard going at the moment, lots of important things going on, but I really just have to get on with it - after all what else can I do?

Since I arrived home a lot of people have congratulated me on the MA, but it seems so long ago I just laugh and say "Oh yeah that" ....which really is quite bad as getting an MA is no mean feat - especially when you have a Discourse and Social Interaction assignment to write in 8 hours!
Anyway, enough moaning ....... I visited my friends Aunt on Sunday who has only been able to leave her house on 2 occasions in the last year, she has no quality of life and is in constant pain. This visit helped to put things into perspective as I have a good life and I am grateful for what I have and have achieved (sorry a lot of have's used there)..... so Dawny needs to get a grip.

OK lets hope I can think of something a bit more lively to write in my next blog!

No news, good news?

2007-02-07T23:35:00.000Z

There has been a distinct lack of blog lately due to my sparse free time being taken up by knitting. On saying that I am sure that I have had some free time but I am not quite sure where it went.
How did everyone manage before computers, Internet, messenger, e-mail etc and so forth? I seem to be permanently on either a desktop or a laptop - what would I do with all of that spare time if my computers were taken away from me - I'd most probably fidget a lot and knit which is not a very exciting answer...anyway enough hypothetical babbling .....

I would love to write something really interesting at this point but my brain is fried and i can't think of anything...so I'll sign off.

Apologies

2007-02-01T21:10:00.000Z

I feel I must apologise to all of my family and friends, cos for the last week I have been moaning on about my disappointing dissertation mark. It has been pointed out to me in no uncertain terms by my mate Lesley that I need to "shut the hell up" and be grateful that I've got an MA - and to remember that an MA is just a stepping stone on the long road of academia - so really it doesn't matter what mark I get and just MOVE ON! ......... point taken.

OK so other news.....ummm .....well as I am not allowed to whinge about work either .....oh yes I should mention that I went out last Saturday night with Laura "Posh Welsh" from Cowbridge who was staying in Harrowgate with her Mother - so as it's only one and a half hours away by train, we met up for dinner-which was great as we could celebrate our MA results together (see I am pleased really!). Anyway, the train journey went very quickly as I took my knitting (Amerie you'd be proud!). I must say that Harrowgate is very nice, posh but nice and it's another place on my list that I'd like to re-visit. The only problem with travelling on a train at night is that you can't see the train station names on the platform - so you spend most of the journey sat on the edge of your seat within close proximity of the door, ready to pounce .... this was particularly difficult for me as I was trying to juggle my handbag and knitting..without dropping a stitch!
This was fine on the way there but on the way back, I was a bit scared to get the knitting out as there were too many intoxicated people on the train and I thought my needles may be snatched and used as an offensive weapon.....you can't be too careful! Luckily for me the drunken banter between a gang of drunk guys and half naked drunk girls - who were all gagging for a drunken snog - was very entertaining!

So last night I went our for a couple of beers with the Lecturers from work in order to celebrate my MA, which was nice. Tomorrow I am meeting up with my mate Monika from York Uni after work for a bite to eat and more cider and black ....oh the social butterfly is back! :)

OK best go now the ironing awaits. Just wanted to add a quick congratulations to my fellow MA graduates - well done team! I can't wait for the graduation in July :) - also another congrats to Amerie and Laura for their new jobs .... I am very proud of you! and if either of you ever need a research assistant - Dr Dawn will be available in 3 years time!

So a joyful quote is in order......this one made me chuckle even if it's not p.c.!

"Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other "your round", The other one says, "So are you, you fat bastard". - Tommy Cooper

The Graduate Part 2

2007-01-26T20:42:00.000Z

Well the news hot off the press is that the MA results are out and thank goodness I have passed .... if I hadn't I think Hudds Uni would have sent me packing!

After receiving this news you'd think that I'd be jumping up and down with joy, but the fact is the whole MA thing happened so long ago it all seems like an anti-climax. Also I miss my fellow MA students as tonight we should be all down the pub drinking a few pints of God's juice, but instead I am at home on my own knitting! Anyway, on a plus point my supervisor very kindly e-mailed the English Dept. with my news and has organised drinks for after work next week, which was nice of her :) so i am sure I will have a few pints then.

I found this quote which quite frankly I found quite disturbing, but as it's relevant I thought I'd still use it.

"A Master of Art - Is not worth a fart" - Andrew Boorde, 1690

Time Management

2007-01-25T22:45:00.000Z

Apologies for the lack of postings of late - It's just hit me that I finally have a proper sort of job and wow my time management has gone completely out of the window! I seem to be permanently at my desk, whether in work or at home - not good!

I am struggling this week to get all of my lesson prep. done before the weekend so I can actually leave the flat on Sat/ Sun but it's not looking good :( Anyhooooo I shouldn't moan about it as, at least I do have a job so I should just shut up and get on with it.

Other news ... last week I lost another 2lbs.....hoorah! but this week I have not been good so I may have put that back on ..... boooooh! Bad Dawny -I must try harder next week.

I had a lunchtime meeting with my 2nd supervisor this week, who apologised for the lack of organisation i met upon my arrival - which was a nice thought but 3 months too late. Anyway, she asked me what hobbies I had to keep me busy - "knitting" I replied - you'd think I said child torture, which I think would have had a better response. Why is there such a stigma about knitting? I think it's fab!

Lisa i Uni. who has just moved house, has kindly given me a huge folder of knitting patterns and top tips - circa 1983 - but it's the thought that counts! So if everyone gets "bat-wing" jumpers for Chrimbo '07, you know who to blame!

OK that's it for now - no quote today, can't be arsed... well honesty is the best policy (which is a sort of quote, Mrs M. Matthews 1969-present)

Success!

2007-01-14T15:15:00.000Z

Well it was a start of a good day today I got on the scales and I have lost 4 lbs - hoorah! Only another 48 to go .... ah well it's a start. I don't imagine at all that I will loose 4lbs every week, I just think that my body is in total shock from the lack of chocolate and crisps it's consumed in the last 7 days!

Anyway, to celebrate my success .. I decided to do some work - yes for a change I have spend my Sunday on my laptop doing lesson preparation - the thought of working in Tesco's on the check-out has suddenly become very appealing! Hey ho such is life - so I've just finished and it's time for din-din's (low cal of course!)

I successfully completed my first on-line shop yesterday with my delivery at 3.50pm. A very nice man called Dave turned up with all of my shopping and didn't even moan about walking up 2 flights of stairs - it was def. worth £5! I have ordered so much fruit, that I have started to use my large mixing bowl as a fruit bowl - my kitchen looks like a Carmen Miranda's hat box full of exotic fruits ready for smoothies but hey it's healthy so who cares!

"I am not fat - I am 3 laxatives away from being Posh Spice" - Maria Moogan

Stormy weather

2007-01-12T22:41:00.000Z

Well I won't moan about it too much as I know the rest of the country is suffering the same - but the weather up here is terrible! What makes it worse is my elevated situation on the second floor with only single glazing - I have started to play a game every evening of "Name That Tune" as the wind whistles through the windows. I hope it gets better soon or I will feel the need to buy a kite and embarrass myself on campus.

Other news - my knitting is coming along nicely, I have managed 2 squares towards my niece Tazmin's birthday scarf - which is in March so pressure on to finish! She actually picked the wool for me so she gets the first scarf - Kaci next and then Ewan - also Brad has an order in for a jumper but I have managed to re-negotiate to bed socks as I think a jumper is a little beyond my capabilities ...for now (ever the optimist!) So it's all go - I am sure Anne-Marie would be proud ....

I was planning on venturing out for a drive this weekend, but as ever my work has caught up with me, so I will try and get loads done tomorrow so I can pop out on Sunday - also Sunday is weigh in day :( I have tried really had this week to loose a few pounds so I will let you know how I get on.
Tomorrow I am expecting a delivery - nope not a maternal type - but a grocery type. I have decided to try on-line shopping, I have placed my order and now between the hours of 3-4pm a very nice man in a van loaded with my goods should arrive. My theory is why should I struggle across 6 lanes of traffic and up 2 flights of stairs with my shopping, when I can pay £5 and get somebody else to do it??? Is this lazy, extravagant or just a way of preserving my constantly aching back ?? well I will see how it goes, if it's pants then I will have to invest in a new granny shopping trolley - deep joy!

"McDonald's in Tokyo is a terrible revenge for Pearl Harbour" - S.J. Hayakawa

1st day back at school!

2007-01-08T21:32:00.000Z

OK so today I had a bit of a mad day - busy busy bee! Meetings, teaching and more meetings, so I now feel like a real lecturer!
The teaching went well, I was pleased to see that most of my 2 classes comprised of the students I taught last year for Sociolinguistics and what a nice bunch they are. They are very polite, don't grumble when I talk cr*p, and laugh politely at my attempt at humour - what stars!

I finally have some company in my office, Matt (the only other PhD student) has moved in. To be honest it is a good thing as I now feel guilty for staring out of the window day dreaming - so much more work is achieved leaves me more time in the evenings for knitting - result!

I did have a visit today from one of the MA girls who has had a terrible time over Christmas and has now missed her deadline for 3 assignments - I felt so sorry for her as her face today reminded me of the panic I was in when doing my MA. So tomorrow we are going to spend an hour trying to get her back on track as she has a 1 week extension - poor thing!

"A lecture is a process by which the notes of the professor become the notes of the students without passing through the minds of either" - R.K. Rathbun

Diet time!

2007-01-07T22:47:00.000Z

Well today is the day - I have started my new "healthy eating lifestyle" aka DIET. I managed to get my lardy arse on the weighing scales this morning and OMG it was bad! I did intend to name and shame myself on my blog and divulge my weight but it is SO bad and as I am mathematically challenged and therefore unable to work with large numbers, I have wimped out ..... but I will record my weight loss - so you can all share the joy of me loosing the pounds.

However, I will say that I need to loose 4 stones which is 56 lbs (for my American readers) which I think is the size of a small pony? Anyway it needs to be done.

The quote for today is remarkably apt - which makes me feel such a saddo!

"I'm at the age when food has taken the place of sex in my life. In fact, I've just had a mirror put over my kitchen table" - Rodney Dangerfield

I'm Back!

2007-01-06T22:58:00.000Z

Well I'm back up North after enduring 4 hours of rain and squeaky windscreen wipers up the M4, M5 and M6. Due to the poor weather conditions, which meant that there was a lot of surface water and spray, there were loads of warning signs to advise motorists to slow down - unfortunately this did not apply to BMW drivers who obviously do not have to adhere to any driving warnings. (yeah right!) I was travelling in the middle lane doing 65 mph and following the flow of traffic, when this idiot starts flashing a me (with his lights not his private parts I hasten to add!). At first I thought there may be something wrong with my car, but then as he overtook me doing 80 mph+ he gestured at me to move over to the outside lane - cheeky mare! So I returned his gesture, but used two fingers instead of his one! He was just so damn reckless!

It is nice to be back in my own flat again - and after unpacking, washing, dealing with mail and sorting out my computer I fell asleep for 3 hours - but I am sure I will sleep again later as I need to catch up after a tiring 3 weeks.

You will be pleased to hear or maybe not so pleased to hear that I have had a new quote book for Christmas from Anna - so let's get cracking .....

No theme today so here's a random one to start with, which is also good advice!

"Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day" - Harry S. Truman

Yarn frenzy!

2007-01-04T12:54:00.000Z

Hot off the press ..... I have the knitting bug! After months admiring Anne-Marie's knitting skills I have taken the plunge and bought the "Art of Knitting" as advertised on TV. This fabulous purchase includes a 13 min DVD, 2 knitting needles and 2 balls of wool (aka yarn in the USA!). I spent 2 hours knitting a square last night which to me looks more like a rhombus - but hey it's a start!
The whole idea of the magazine is that each week they teach you to knit, but also include a different ball of wool to knit a square which when added to all of the other squares makes a pretty throw over. However, you need 90 squares to make the throw and at £3 for each magazine that's £270!!!! what an expensive throw! So I will be knitting squares, but with scraps of wool found at the end of unravelled jumpers and under sofas etc. I hope that this new form of therapy will give me something to do in my infrequent free time - also it will keep me out of the fridge and away from the sweetie counter!

My other major purchase is a smoothie maker - they are fab! All part of my healthy eating/ I need to shift/ re-locate 3 stones mission which I hope to document on my blog. If i spill the beans on my progress it may encourage me to keep it up - well that's the plan anyway!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T12:19:00.000Z

Well it's all over and done with and I can't believe that it's so long since I wrote in my blog - I can't even use the excuse that I've been doing anything important - I've just been doing "stuff".

Anyway, the whole Christmas process still succeeds in annoying me each year, as the commercialisation (is that a word?) of the day in question is indeed very tragic. I managed to attend Church on Christmas morning and the atmosphere, peace and tranquility of the service was in sharp contrast to the madness, hustle and bustle of the pre-Christmas period. Without trying to get all deep and spiritual on you, I find it quite disturbing that the only reference my nieces and nephew get of Jesus and the Christmas story is in their school nativity play - and then they are more excited about which part they play and what songs they sing. The whole Christmas event is summed up for them by how many presents they get - but who can blame them when the whole nature of Christmas can be seen in the number of TV commercials for toys and games.

Anyway enough ranting - well about Christmas anyway! My next gripe is the sales. Does Martin Kemp think he looks truly convincing when he spouts out about his super sofas at SCS? He has the same mad/crazed look on his face each year - and also is there ever a time when there isn't a sale on at that place???

Anyway, during my break home I went to Belfast for 3 days with my sister as she celebrated her 40th Birthday. We stayed at the Stormont Hotel which was a very fancy 5 star experience with large open fires and reasonable room service. The food there was fabulous and was a nice treat after my sad attempt of cooking Christmas dinner! I also went to the local Saks spa for a facial and a manicure - which was great but there was one little problem. Unfortunately my back has been playing up (due to me having to sleep in my 3 year old nephews bed) so after having to lie down flat for an hour on a treatment bed having my facial - I seized up! The lady at the salon had left me to relax in the dark with two cucumber pads on my eyes...then she left me instructions to join her at reception when I was ready. As I was unable to move ... I was slightly concerned how long she was going to leave me there before she realised something was wrong. So cutting a long 20 min. story short I managed to throw my legs off the side of the bed and fall to my knees - as I was topless at the time this was not a pretty sight! I crawled around on all fours for a while then managed to get dressed - not good!

So I have returned back to the mad house of my sisters and I will return to Hudds on Saturday for a rest! Hopefully I will have more time to write my blog!

Finished!

2006-12-11T12:47:00.000Z

I just thought I'd post a quick note to express my relief at finishing my assignment. In good ol' Dawny fashion it was a night before challenge, even though I'd had a week long extension - bad Dawny! Anyway, at 3.00am this morning I threw in the towel - my head was pounding and I couldn't even see my laptop anymore - it was just a black square in front of me.
So I got up early this morning and did a mad scrabble to finish it by 11.00 - the sense of relief is indescribable - as now I can start to unwind a bit in time for Christmas :)

I need to finish my Christmas shopping this week and wrap it all up, ready to come down on Sunday - yes I am on my Chrimbo countdown, only 6 days to go and I'll be in the M6 - M5 - M4 etc and so forth - back to the land of dodgy accents and green mountains - which really describes Yorkshire to a T!

OK I'd best get back to it - trying to blag some funding to go to a conference in New York next August - not holding out much hope but you never know!

Ciao for now x

X Factor rocks!

2006-12-09T21:49:00.000Z

For those of you with lives - you may not be aware that for the last couple of months, X Factor has gripped those couch potatoes who have forgotten what it is to go out on a Saturday night. Anyway, it was the semi-final tonight and my favourite Ray has made it through to the final next week. The anouncement of this achievement caused a major flurry of excitement both in Hudds and Rhydyfelin, as my sister (a fellow Saturday saddo) has also been supporting the Scouser. Several text messages and phone calls were exchanged and it was only after mass hysteria screaming ensued - that we realised the level of saddness that we had reached. Lord knows how we will cope with the final next week!!!

My Saturday night of sadness has continued as I have found " The Best 100 Children's TV Programmes" on E4 - ah memories! Mary, Mungo and Midge and The Clangers have brought back happy memories - but Mr Benn still scares me :(

The only major news is that I have finally met "Elephant Man" from the upstairs flat -who has actually turned out to be a 6ft bean-pole, so I can only conclude that he is Dutch and favours wearing clogs - cos the noise he makes bouncing aronnd on the floor boards is not funny!

OK that's it for now - final week in work next week :) and then it's time to let what's left of my hair down and party!

I've lost that festive feeling!

2006-12-05T22:49:00.000Z

OK so it's December 5th - normally at this time of year I am so excited about Christmas I just pee my pants at the mention of anything related to Christmas (TMI?) Well I don't know what's going on this year, but try as I might I just can't get into the Christmas mood.

In order to speed things up a bit - I went to the Cancer Research shop and bought my Christmas cards today - and a sparkly snowman snow-globe caught my attention. As my decorations in the flat are spread around too thinly to share with my office - I thought having a bauble of this kind on my desk would help. Unfortunately, it didn't - it just distracted me from my work and now I am even further behind with my research, so stressing a bit more about a deadline and now I am even less festive than I was before! darn it!

Anyway I did have a very kind invitation from Amerie to attend the pantomime in Cardiff with her and her cousin in 2 weeks - it's Jack and the Beanstalk and I am so excited! I tried to recall when I last went to see one and I believe it was in 1975 in the Bedwas Workman's Hall - a very poor rendition of Cinderella - but at aged 6 it was magical! The best thing about it was we were all given a bar of chocolate on the bus on the way home which for a sweet toothed childlike me - was the best bit - Ah memories!

I haven't included a quote for a while - so here's one for Christmas:

"Christmas is a three day festival dedicated to the birth of Bing Crosby" - Willis Hall

Crikey it's nearly Christmas!

2006-12-04T15:36:00.000Z

Well hello blog junkies! I am presently in my little biddy office and I thought
I would attempt to catch up on my blog from here as I don't seem to get around to it
at home - I just hope it works!
Anyway last Friday I held a data session here for some visiting PhD students who are at
York Uni. It was a fab day - we got loads of work done, but I won't bore you with that bit. The three gals were Monika from Germany, Liina from Finland and Riina from Estonia. They were all lovely and chatty so we all got on well. After the "worky" bit we all went to the pub which was great as Dawny was starting to have withdrawal symptoms from "God's Juice"! Anyway, we are all meeting up again in January for another session, except for Riina who has to go home for good - boo hoo! She was very interesting to talk to as I hadn't met anybody before from the former Soviet Union - all I can say is - we have got it SO easy here, we mustn't grumble!

The weekend came and went - Lordy the weather was bad! I nearly got blown over on Sunday, which taking into account the size of my arse right now, was quite a feat!

I had an assignment to do over the weekend which should have been handed in today - but something happened to me that hasn't happened before - no I'm not talking about a dream date with a "normal" guy - no - I had complete writer's block :( I couldn't even string a sentence together - this was very scary! Those of you who have studied with me in the past are aware of my "night before" assignments which sort of turn out okish - well last weekend I couldn't even muster a paragraph - not good!

So I put together a scrappy essay plan and headed to see my supervisor today. Luckily she was very supportive and commented that my brain was in pre-Christmas shut down - which is quite true! We re-jigged it and she's given me a few days to put something together - phew! I must say that this PhD thing is all pretty tough - and I've only done 9 weeks! This is a scary thought as I have another 3 years to go!

Anyway I'd best get back to it! Ciao for now x

Teaching & Brown Pants!

2006-11-30T18:24:00.000Z

Well apologies for my lack of blog this week, but it's all got a bit manic in Uni. It all started on Tuesday when I undertook my first teaching class. I decided to follow the old Scouts motto of "Be Prepared" but unfortunately a combination of nerves and the sight of 25 first year students staring at made me turned the event into more of a "Be Scared" occassion!

This may sound really silly, but I went to the lecture theatre early in order to set up for the lesson (tape recorders etc), but when I got there all of the students were already sat in there waiting for me - it threw me completely! My mind went blank and all of my introductory speech went out of the window. I decided the best thing to do was to just get going and start the lecture, even thought I was sure at this point that they could smell my fear. So I started to babble on about how preference works in Conversation Analysis - I had put together loads of hip examples about drinking beer in the SU which I thought would appeal to the younger element in the class (my sad attempt at being in with the youth of today!) but it all went Pete Tong!

I turned around, armed with my dry marker pen to write down the first of the aforementioned examples - "A" I wrote - and then "SHIT" I thought - I was only writing on the overhead projector screen and not the whiteboard! OMG! I quickly grabbed a tissue and rubbed it off - luckily it did, but the damage had been done, the sniggers had started and my dignity compromised :(

I managed to limp through the rest of the lesson, but I felt like a complete idiot.

So on Wednesday, I faced my next class with a bit of trepidation but I am pleased to report that it went a lot better - even though I have a special needs student who talks through the entire lesson and insists on giving me big hugs in the corridor (ah bless!) I felt a lot better and I decided that it was not necessary to wear brown pants to work on Thursday .....

Today I have taught Sociolinguistics to a 2nd year group for 2 hours. I had been told to do a group exercise about qual and quant research methods, as they have to hand in a project plan in a week. I could sense after half an hour that they were bored senseless, so I aborted the mission and we all started talking about their project work instead, which seemed to go down well as 90% of the class didn't have a clue what they wanted to do. Later on in the day, 2 of them came to my office to see me in order to discuss their project work - which I found very strange - it all feels so very grown-up for me to be advising students, I just hope what I told them works out!

Tomorrow I am hosting a data session at Huddersfield Uni for the visiting PhD students at York University which should be fun as they seem like a nice bunch :)

As it is December 1st tomorrow my Christmas decorations have been unleashed. A 15" Christmas tree, two flashing santa's, a sparkly snowman and a £1.99 minature poinsettia plant - very festive! I can't wait for the next 2 weeks to be over as they are going to be very busy, but then I will be coming home - whoopee

Psycho and Grice!

2006-11-26T16:33:00.000Z

OK so the tablets have kicked in and I'm feeling a lot better (hooray I hear you cry as all you've done is moan about illness) so I should be OK to start teaching on Tuesday. My lesson planning is well under way and I hope to be fully prepared - the only thing I am concerned about is writing on the board. I know this sounds sad but my handwriting has been compared to a pissed spider tap-dancing in ink - so this is something I need to work on!

Today, as well as lesson planning I have decided to dye my hair dark red, which was quite a challenge. For the few of you who may have visited my bathroom in Trethomas you may have noticed certain areas of browny red splodges on my tiles - well that was hair dye. Even though I tried to be careful, I would still end up getting it everywhere. Now Damien Hirst or Tracy Emin (I am sure that is spelt wrong!) would earn a fortune from "Dye on Tiles" but for me it was a case of getting the tile paint out and trying to cover it up.

So when I decided to dye my hair here in my rented accommodation I was concerned. I had two options either: 1. buy four boxes of cling film and cover the entire bathroom or 2. mess up three large bath towels. I chose number 2 and the aforementioned towels are now in the washing machine.

The best thing was washing the dye of after the suggested 30 mins. As I have a stand alone shower cubicle (with white tiles) in order to wash the dye off I had to physically get under the shower - which was really scary as I have just undergone a "Psycho - Janet Leigh " experience. Large amounts of red liquid pouring over me and all over the tiles - not a pretty sight!

Ah well the result of my labour is a dark copper red mullet which I thought appropriate for the festive season - and according to the box it will not fade - as it's L'Oreal - and I'm worth it!

OK back to work - I am presenting a piece to the MA group tomorrow on your friend and mine Mr H. P. Grice (Yes my MA friends he seems to be a permanent fixture in my life). The scary thing is the MA girls keep asking me my advise on stuff - as I am "the PhD student" they are under the completely wrong impression that I know more than them! I have tried to explain to them that I only finished my MA in September but this has not dissuaded them from their false sense of academic adulation - it's all a bit embarrassing as a lot of the time they know far more than me and I am just trying to keep up - yikes!

So many pills so little time!

2006-11-24T22:39:00.000Z

OK so I am still alive but rattling due to the number of pills I am taking. I have now been given steroid tablets of which I have to take 8 at a time - so with my antibiotics, that's 11 a day - I think I'll be catching up with my Dad soon!

Anyway - other news: I am now officially a part time Lecturer for Hudds Uni, I've had a contract and I start on Tuesday, do they know what they are taking on? Anyway I am starting off gently with 2 classes of 1st year BA students who would like to learn some English in Context stuff - whether they do or not with me is another thing! On Thursday I get the 2nd years and a bit of Sociolinguistics - apparently they will be wanting some advice for their first assignment - well obviously I am the right gal for the job ...... start late, say 6.00pm the night before, lots of black coffee an a good 10 hours stint......print out at 2.00am ...... job done!

Back to illness (briefly) the only good thing about getting no sleep and coughing, is that I've been glued to the re-run of This Life on BBC 2 which is on at a really silly time. Anyway, it made me realise (as if I needed reminding) how fab the series was and I can't wait for the reunion show in the new year - I love Egg and always think of Claire's cat who is named after the aforementioned.

OK I'm off now as it's medication time .... Ciao for now x

Still coughing - but it's Thanksgiving!

2006-11-22T22:48:00.000Z

OK here's the news........ I'm bored and I don't want to play anymore! I'm not talking about a game of chess here - it's this bl**dy cough! I have finally been given antibiotics by the Doctor but if there's no improvement by Friday I have to go back. I'm not quite sure what else they can do as I haven't heard of a chest and lung amputation/ transplant - but hey ho let's see what happens!

I bumped into the Head of Dept today who has asked me to start teaching on Tuesday, as my supervisor (who is pregnant) needs some help. Under normal circumstances I would be excited at the opportunity, but as I feel like a bag of cr*p and I have an assignment to hand in on Thursday - this news was not received with a lot of Dawny enthusiasm! So next week I have 6 hours teaching Sociolingustics and English and Context, plus a seminar at York Uni and an all day data session at Hudds - plus the assignment - I just hope these tablets kick in quickly!!

Lordy I am moaning like an unpaid prostitute - lets move on!

I would like to end by saying Happy Thanksgiving to my American buddies Anne-Marie and Katharine. I am SO gutted that I can't be at the dinner tomorrow as we had such a great time last year. I just can't believe that a year has gone by so quickly - and SO much has happened!

Anyway - have a great time and today's quote is dedicated to you. It's by the man you love so much George double "W".

"When I met President Bush he asked me what state Wales was in" - Charlotte Church

No TV!!!!

2006-11-20T17:34:00.000Z

Well I've come home today and the worst thing has happened - my TV is not working - or more to the point, according to a recorded message at NTL "the service to customers in the Huddersfield area is temporarily unavailable"! Oh my word, this is not good, how will I cope without "Deal or No Deal?". To make things worse how long is temporarily? the idea of not having a specific timescale has got me extremely vexed! I think the main problem is, when you are a saddo like me who lives on your own, the TV is like having another voice in the room. With 85% of the programmes on there being complete cr*p, I don't actually watch it, I just like having it on in the background - which thinking about it is something my late Nan used to do - crikey I am turning senile!

Other news - well the good weather has finally broken up here, as last night we had a really bad storm with high winds. Now this wouldn't usually bother me when I used to be in my cosy terraced house which was conveniently situated in a weather resistant dip - but now I am in a 2nd floor flat - it was slightly more scary!

As it has turned colder I did purchase a new pair of gloves on the weekend which are fab. They are fingerless gloves, but have an extra piece on the top which is secured by a little button, and when you undo it the extra bit folds down and they turn into mittens - how cool is that? The only thing missing is the string to go around your neck and then down your coat sleeves to avoid loosing them - but hey you can't have everything!

I also purchased a new woollen hat, a basic boring, plainly knitted pull-on hat - and it cost me £10! So Amerie there is a definite business opportunity for you there!!! you'd make a mint with your talent!

On a self-centred note -I'm still feeling poorly so it's back to the Doctors tomorrow All of my colleagues in Uni are fed up with my constant coughing, so I have been ordered to go back to the Health Centre (which is an intriguing word as everyone who visits the "Centre" is unhealthy!) for a second opinion.

OK I'd best end here - I will end with an amusing quote about television (well it amused me anyway - enjoy!)

"I watched Countdown once and got aroused. It's only seven letters" - Barry Cryer

I'm back thanks to Sat. Nav!

2006-11-19T17:53:00.000Z

Yes folks I am back! and it's all thanks to one of these creations from God aka Satellite Navigation. For a women with so little directional knowledge as me, these things are a must and now I feel confident to travel home in the knowledge that I will actually get there :)

Anyway, my trip home was fab, only hindered by the fact that I still have this horrid viral infection which is still causing me sleep deprivation and constant wheezing - but hey ho it could be worse I could have some sort of terminal illness - see I'm starting to be more optimistic in my old age.

I did actually type a longish summary of my trip home on Thursday, but as ever it crashed, so here's a precis.

Friday - Managed to get a seat to myself on the train home, can't think why? constant coughing may have been a factor? My Nieces and Nephew were unaware of my arrival so seeing 3 pairs of very large eyes staring out of the back of the car was cute. Even more spookily they were in total shock and were momentarily silent all the way home - this did not last! The worst thing was, poor Kaci who is 4 thought I was moving in for good - ah bless!

Saturday - Travelled over to my parents armed with a bouquet of flowers for my Mum and a £5K repayment of loan cheque for my Dad. Both were surprised and shocked to see me and we all managed to have a civilised conversation. I realised that after being 5 weeks away from home this was the longest length of time that they hadn't seen me in all of my 37 years on the planet - can't work out whether that makes me a good daughter or a sad individual? In the evening I was supposed to be hitting the town with my sister and her friend Jo, but due to illness we got a Chinese and watched the X-Factor instead - joy!

Sunday - Went to Cyfartha Park in Merthyr Tydfil with the kids and Sis. Had a great time in the park on the swings and the slide - think the kids liked it too ;) It was nice to have some fresh air and run around for a bit after being stuck in the flat on sick leave for over a week. In the evening was invited to dinner at Math and Les' house where chief chef Math surpassed himself yet again with a gorgeous lamb dinner - I have missed my Sunday dinner gatecrashing! It was good to see the kids as well Mali made me a welcome "briefly" back card - bless!.

Monday - Mad day. Went to Cardiff and saw my last supervisor Angie, was good to see her and have a chat, she made me feel a bit happier about how I am handling the work at Hudds. Then met Anne-Marie and Katharine for lunch which turned into a coffee and muffin, due to bad menu/ no chef problems. Georgia joined us briefly due to an inefficient receptionist at her work - but it was great to see her and her new hairstyle. I am still in amazement of Amerie's knitting abilities and only wish I was in Norwich for tuition. In the evening I met up with the "Girls" at the Maenllwyd. Unfortunately due to a communication breakdown I didn't pick Sharon up which made her bad day worse - whoops! However, a good time was had by all, my only grievance with the meal was the small portions, so when I got home I had to get out the Crunchy Nut Cornflakes - I am Little Miss Greedy!

Tuesday - Last full day. Had to sort out my car in the morning new tyre, tracking etc then did a bit of shopping. My parents came over in the afternoon and I cooked tea. After reading bedtime story to the girls (Sleeping Beauty - with voices and actions!) I settled down to watch some TV with Jane, but I was thinking about the long drive home the next day :(

Wednesday - Got up early to say goodbye to the kids before school - had a bit of a moment but recovered as I know I will be back home in just over 4 weeks :) As I hadn't given the Sat. Nav. a test run I was a bit concerned using it for the first time, but my fears were unfounded it was fab. Even when I decided to ignore the voice and went the wrong way - it got me back on track. I managed to get home in 4.40 hours and that's with 2 stops - amazing!

I think my trip home did me a lot of good as even though it was great seeing everyone again, nothing has actually changed since I left. I don't know what I was expecting to change but I felt I was missing out on something - but actually everything I need is here in Hudds and going home is only 4.40 hours away, with 2 stops! As Amerie pointed out when we met up for "lunch" , both her and Katharine live on another Continent, they do not have the luxury of popping home to see their friends and families- so what have I got to worry about? (she's a wise old bird!). So there you have it.

Since I've been back things are back to normal - loads of reading and meetings with my supervisor. I have found out that I am going to a data session in London on Dec. 18th at UCL but after that I can come home :) so I should be in Wales on the 19th until Jan. 8th :) I am really looking forward to it already, just a few assignmentsto get done before I leave.

So that's my catch up entry. No quote today as I couldn't find one concerning Sat. Nav. but I am sure my next edition will contain something quote-worthy!

Inhaling milky bars.....

2006-11-09T21:55:00.000Z

OK Matt here's a prime opportunity for some rude comments.....but the picture is supposed to depict an asthma inhaler .. the reason for the picture is that I have been put back on the steroids - so I will be entering the Miss Yorkshire Body Building Competition 2007 - I'll let you know how I get on.
As suspected I have a viral infection, so no antibiotics from the Doc .. but she did say that my asthma has kicked off again (you don't say...so that's why I can't breathe!) hence the medication ...so I'll be doing a lotta sucking this weekend ..... yes Matt there's another one for you on a plate with a knife and fork! ;)

Talking of the weekend, I am all excited as I have just packed my trolley dolly suitcase to come home tomorrow :) whoppeee!!!! It's going to be a fun trip for the poor person who is sat next to me on the 5 hour journey home - but ask me if i care? I just want to get back to God's Country and speak to normal people for a few days.

Another good piece of news that has lifted my mood is - my house has finally completed and I have the cash in the bank - so the Milky Bars are on me!!! It was so nice to see a healthy balance for 10 mins until I started to pay all my debts and now it's all looking a bit sick again ... hey ho such is life - and all of that!

I will end with a fab quote about money which seemed all too familiar -

"I'm overdrawn at the bank. I won't say how much, but if you saw it written down, you'd think it was a sex chatline number"
- Julie Burchill

R.I.P. Dawny ...

2006-11-09T09:56:00.000Z

It's official.... I have died. Well when I say died, I should really use the present continuous - I am dying! My chest infection has not improved and after week of surviving on two hours sleep every day I am like the walking dead :(

I think I can now sympathise with new Mother's - I don't know how they do it. I have got a Doctor's appointment for later on this morning, if she doesn't give me antibiotics - I will kill her with my bare hands, oh yey and this art my pledge!

To be continued ......

Still ill but cooking ...

2006-11-06T15:40:00.000Z

Just a quicky today to say that I am still ill ... a chest infection has struck with avengence ..so between barking, I thought I would fill you in with two bits of news.

Firstly I successfully cooked an edible meal last night. This may not seem earth shattering to the usual man on the street, but for me it was a breakthrough! I think I have finally managed to work out how to cook on a halogen hob and work the oven .. hoorah! My gastronomic masterpiece was chilli beef stuffed peppers which was lush, even if I do say so myself! :)

The second piece of news is that I've just discovered that my next door neighbour has a set of steel drums in his flat, and on a Monday afternoon he gives out lessons. Now at this point I bet you are thinking .... Dawny is about to go into a rant, but no, I actually like to listen to his student practising. Today we had "Silent Night" and "Yellow Bird", which were fab.....it makes you feel like you are sitting on a beach on a Caribbean island, but then you start coughing and realise that it's all a dream! Anyway, I'd rather listen to that than the Elephant Man upstairs pacing up and down, slamming cupboards etc.... I am thinking of buying him a pair of padded slippers and a "DIY Ballet" DVD and leaving them outside his door...as a bit of a hint.

I just hope that tonight there will be a stop to the fireworks. I love them and I like nothing more than standing in a cold muddy field with my solitary sparkler, joining in with the chorus of "Ooo's" and "Ahh's" .... but for the last two nights I have had 6 hours of fireworks.... which for any lover of Bonfire night is a bit OTT !

On a sadder note...... Sainsbury's have moved the toilet rolls into the pet food section! Lord knows why, but it was very traumatic today trying to buy my pack of four and having to pass the cat food :( I think I will write and complain.

On a happier note....good to see the boys did well at the rugby, I know it was a draw but I was still proud. I felt even better when I saw that NZ thrashed England :) It's a shame I was not in work today to rub my fellow colleagues noses in it... ah well I am sure it will keep.

Cough, Cough ....Wheeze!

2006-11-04T00:01:00.000Z

Well it was only a matter of time before I got a chest infection ... I think it may have something to do with it being -2 degrees outside and like a raging inferno of 85 degrees in my flat (due to a thermostat which has 2 settings - boiling and tropical heatwave). But hey ... it will pass, but why does it have to happen at the weekend???

Anyway, today I finally exchanged on my house sale after I lost the plot with my purchaser. My conversation this morning evolved into a total slagging match in which I lost my voice...which is not good when you are trying to put your point accross! Anyway, I should be in funds next Thurs/Fri :)

Tomorrow I am going for the chop...no not some type of northern decapitation....I am booked in for a haircut...at Toni & Guy no less....Before you say oh my word how can a student afford that?...I am booked in with the junior stylist's junior, aka the cleaner ...so I'll let you know how it goes....

Off to bed now as my chest and lungs have got together and decided to pull a little prank on me and not work in harmony ... so I am going to recuperate under the comfort of my duvet. Here's a quote any of you gals can use on your man upon the occassion of "man-flu"...

"How to tell the difference between cold and flu: if there's a £50 note in the middle of a field and you can reach it, you haven't got flu"
- Diana Wainman

Fast Food Freak Show!

2006-11-02T12:02:00.000Z

I need to share with you an experience I had from yesterday.....which involves my favourite subject....food!

I have finally found a fish and chip shop in the High Street (hoorah!) but was dismayed to note on the menu "Fish Tea-Cake"..... Now my recollection of a tea-cake is a small bun like item which has currants and is served preferably toasted with lots of butter on. So I was slightly concerned as to where the connection with battered cod came in....

Luckily for my curiosity, the guy in front of me in the queue ordered the item in question and I was relieved to see that the "tea-cake" is actually a large buttered bap - although it was still a little strange to see a big piece of fish sticking out of it! Anyway, I wimped out and just ordered a bag of chips ... only to be told that they didn't do bags....only cartons ... oh the hardship of cross cultural communication!

I will leave the description of the potato/cheese and mushy pea fritters until another occassion as it's lunchtime and the thought of them makes me feel a bit queasy!

Anyway, yesterday was seminar day followed by a trip to the pub, which is always welcomed. I managed to have a good natter with Rachel and Lisa (the MA girls) and relayed my story about my date that never happened. They agreed with my course of action as they commented that "he sounds like a right nutter", so it was nice to know that the localised opinion was the same as back home. I also spoke again to Matt my fellow PhD student who I thought was just a The Smiths fan...oh no...he only likes Japan..... well that's my next husband sorted out! (JOKE!)

Unfortunately, the night was spoilt as I managed to loose my office keys on the way home ...which didn't go down too well with the girls in the office this morning ... Lord knows where they are..but to make it worse, my Welsh flag key ring was attached to them ... not good!

So the only highlight of today has been a fire alarm.....but false alarm and no firemen so a wasted 10 minute stand in the cold :(

Ciao for now........ back to the grindstone :( Apologies for any spelling errors as I couldn't get the spelling checker to work, so I've posted without checking it as that's the type of reckless gal I am!

Good news ....weird news....no bad news!

2006-11-01T00:12:00.000Z

Congratulations Anne-Marie on your news! News which I can't say anything about as it's top secret.... and doesn't involve the pitter patter of tiny feet..unless it's kitty feet? Thought this pic was appropriate even though it's hard to think about cats...but I must be strong and move on.... Anyway when I know I can talk about the news I will..... I doubt if anyone in Louisiana will read my blog..but you never know! Anyway I am very proud if you mate, as Brucie would say "didn't she do well" (ask Eamonn!)

So that's the good news ... more good news... The Shahwan's are doing well with new baby Logan, which I think is the coolest name ever! Photo's have been exchanged, but I didn't think it appropriate to publish them on here without parental consent...but take my word for it reader...he's bloody gorgeous! I have already lined up my niece as his future wife, as I think they would produce beautiful children together ... I see no problem in planning ahead!

Weird news..... I didn't broadcast this too widely ... actually only Sharron, Amerie and my sister knew ...but I got asked out on a date on Saturday! ... I'll just wait for a few moments while you get back up off the floor....

Up yet?..... nope?....

OK now?......I'll continue....

I met a guy in an art exhibition in my local library ...he's an artist (spookily enough) ... cutting a long story short (yes I've had complaints my blog is too long!) he asked me out for a drink which was supposed to be tonight, but I postponed until Thursday...so what's so weird? I hear to ask ...

Well.....this guy seemed quite normal for his age, as in divorced with baggage (or buggage as my sister called it tonight which I think is a fab new word) but on Saturday night I had 10 e-mails...followed on Sunday by a 2 hour phone call.....followed yesterday by another phone call and today by 2 texts (!).

Now I personally agree with using all forms of communication to the max...but don't you agree that this was a bit "full on?" Within the framework of this influx of messages were the following comments ...

"I've told my friends all about you I can't wait for you to meet them" (scary)

"If we had moved further down the line I could pop over and help you with your work" (scarier)

"Maybe we could go on holiday together" (scariest - bail out time!)

So my dilemma was: do I meet him on Thursday for a drink then ring him on Friday to say, I don't think so....but then he might think it's because he has BO or bad teeth?
OR
Do I ring him tonight, tell him it's not him , it's me...I am too busy to have a "relationship" right now etc and so forth.

In times of a dilemma...always phone a friend....so I rang Claire....cos she's the only one who answered (only joking mate you are always my first port of call in a crisis!) I told Claire the whole story, we deliberated, procrastinated and various other words I can't spell with "ated" at the end...and her advise was..."He sounds weird...bin him" ... so that's what I did.

He took it OK...but did the we can still be friends and I will still e-mail you thing which is not a great result, as I have enough friends to e-mail / call ..... but I am glad to say that I watched the Yorkshire news tonight and there were not any bodies washed up in the canal, so I think he's OK.

So this experience has made me reconsider the whole relationship thing. Those of you who know me well will recall that I have spent many years a singleton, trawling the internet for a "real live one" ... but have yet to meet Mr Right- but do I really want to go out with just anyone or am I being totally unrealistic in waiting for thunder bolt time? I have decided to give it all a bit of a rest and concentrate on my new life in Hudds ... after all you never know who's on the next barge down d'canal!

So I will end here with very appropriate quote for today, which refers not only to relationships ...but is also dedicated to Anne-Marie for reasons which I can't say...but now everyone will really get suspicious! Enjoy...

"If you really like a girl and she says "I love you like a brother", suggest a weekend in Norfolk - unless you are from Norfolk in which case you probably are her brother"
- Jimmy Carr

Pics of Hudds

2006-10-29T16:33:00.000Z

Greetings from Huddersfield! I thought I would take advantage of the fine weather today and go out and about with my camera, unfortunately checking the batteries before I left the flat would hav been a good idea! Anyway, I managed to get a few nice shots but this lovely blog would only let me upload two at a time...so here are the chosen ones.....

The building here is the University not a great shot but the building on the right is the English Lang Dept., my office is on the ground floor. The other shot I am really pleased with. As I was walking back to my flat I thought I would take a photo of the canal that I can see out of my window. As I got nearer a barge appeared...good timing! so I managed to get a good pic....even if I do say so myself!

York and melancholy....

2006-10-28T15:19:00.000Z

Well apologies folks for the lack of postings this week, but a/ I have been very busy b/ I wrote a huge blog on Thursday which got zapped (not happy!) and c/ for the last 2 days I have had some sort of lurgy which has affected the brain cells ... so now I am feeling better I am back on track.
Unfortunately I can't be bothered to write the whole story again from Wednesday's trip to York, so here are just the highlights...

I travelled by train to York via Leeds as I had to attend a seminar at the University which is on the outskirts of town. I arrived an hour early as I wanted to vist Yorkminster Cathedral which was fab! I only managed to have a look around for half an hour but I plan to go back again for a longer trip. I have taken some photos, which are on here today, unfortunately they don't convey the size of the building which was huge...but it was tricky to get it all in...so to speak.....er...moving on...
....the town itself is very old and the River Ouze (which I think is a fab name) runs through it. It's definitely somewhere that I'd like to live ... as it reminds me of... me...old but classy!

The train journey to and from York was the most interesting....on the way there a young mum sat on the train across from where I was sitting with a very young baby, almost a newborn in her left arm. From nowhere she produced a bottle (thank God it wasn't one of her 40HH mammories.....much to my relief and the guy opposite's disappointment) which she fed the baby using just the left arm in which she was holding the baby .... in her right hand she stuffed a big bag of prawn crackers and downed a can of Strongbow (classy!) only shortly to be followed by a Mega bag of pickled onion Monster Munch....all at the same time! now that's what I call multi-tasking!

On the way home I was surrounded by 4 different people with Mp3 players, whose "private" musical taste (that's a laugh) ranged from Def Leppard to Justin Timberlake with a bit of Savage Garden thrown in. Lordy what can you do? I am a great lover of music but all of that racket going on at the same time really pi**ed me off!
I thought about it logically....maybe last week they all at some, stage sat on a train surrounded by the same level of noise and annoyance...their solution was to refer to that old chestnut...."if you can't beat 'um, join 'um" .

So I am returning to York next week..... and have just downloaded Duran Duran's Greatest Hits onto my MP3 ... so if I am going to pi** my surrounding passengers off ...at least I will do it in style!

On a more melancholy note...... do you ever have dreams which when you wake up the next day you believe that they are real? Well this happened to me last night (as a result of eating too much Celtic cheese methinks).

I miss my cats.

Last night I dreamt that my cats escaped from the RSPCA and went to my old house in Trethomas, my Mum rang me and told me that she would look after Marble if I snuck Chloe into my flat in Huddersfield. I planned on taking the train back home and driving up here on Sunday with my beloved cat.
So when I woke up this morning for a few seconds I actually believed that I was going home today to get my cat back. It was really horrible when realisation dawned that I dreamt the whole thing. What would Freud make of it? well I think he'd establish that even though it's 33 days since I left them, I am still missing them like mad and still feel terribly guilty for leaving them behind.

Sorry for moaning but this blog is not just for the good stuff.

Also, I signed the contracts for my house sale yesterday which is due to complete next week. I think my mood is as such, due to the fact that another chapter in my life is officially about to close. As with everything in life, talking is one thing....and as I have found out lately.... doing is another. So I will close with a quote about cats....

"A cat's got her own opinion of human beings. She don't say much, but you can tell enough to make you anxious not to hear the whole of it" - Jerome K. Jerome

Holidays and Babies....

2006-10-24T21:40:00.000Z

Well I haven't managed to write anything for a couple of days as I had an assignment due...my supervisor gave me 3 weeks to complete my first piece of work, but as per usual it was a night before 4000 words scramble....not good really as I was hoping to turn over a new leaf. Ah well never mind ... I will get feedback on Thursday so I'll let you know how I get on.
I spoke at length with Brady last night, for those of you who don't know who he is or what he looks like....I have supplied a photo which was taken on one of his infrequent visits to Caerphilly. He is a very good friend and provides me with support when all of this academic stuff gets too much...after all he is doing a PhD himself so he knows the score...anyway we were chatting about Africa, as he is from Sierra Leone and I began to realise how little travelling I have done. In fairness I have been lucky and visited Canada, America and Italy etc but why haven't I made more of an effort to travel?

Financial problems have definitely been a factor, especially post divorce and studying .....but I have decided definitely to make more of a effort. I really want to go to Africa one day and I will do this within the next 2 years...it's now in print so it's going to happen!

On happier news ...I have just heard that Baby Shahwan has arrived...hooray! Congratulations to both Lynda and Sharif and welcome to our world Logan Shahwan ...what a cool name!

I have calculated that this is my 35th child and personally I think I am doing quite well, although starting to wilt slightly....so a bit of a break before the next one would be appreciated!

tomorrow I am off to York for a seminar, I haven't been there before so I hope to have a bit of time before my meeting to take some pics. Amerie has told me that there is a good yarn (UK translation = wool) shop there...but as I have yet to learn to knit it may be a wasted journey....but I have discovered a yarn stall in the local market in Hudds, so maybe the jolly lady behind the counter will give me some knitting lessons?
I used to have an Auntie called Celia ....well she wasn't my real Auntie...it was a title given out of respect for my elders...but she used to know where every fish and chip shop was in every town and city in the country...Amerie is the same with yarn shops...quite a talent!

I couldn't find a suitable quotation regarding childbirth ...so I thought I would write a little ditty of my own to celebrate the new arrival.....so here it goes

So you have a new arrival, a little baby boy,
he will fill your life with pleasure, lasting pride and joy....
well that's what all the books say, but they don't quite say enough,
as they miss out all the bad bits when things start to get quite rough.
Waking up at 2am and then every other hour,
not letting you get on with things, like going for a shower,
Throwing up their breakfast, their lunch will swiftly follow,
but this is not a one off, as they'll do the same tomorrow!
Filling up their nappies when the old one's just been changed
your house looks like a war zone, your life is just deranged........
Even though all this sounds dodgy, there's one thing makes it worth while,
when he looks up with those big doe eyes and hits you with that smile...
all the hastle melts away and you'll forget the stress you've had,
cos now you are so special, you're his loving Mum and Dad.

I just know you will be such fabulous parents and I am really thrilled for you both.... D xxxx

Gargling gravel anyone?

2006-10-21T22:18:00.000Z

Apologies for those of you who
have already seen my flat post-furniture installation...but I did promise last week to post some pics. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to my Mother for doubting that these curtains were the wrong shade of red .... but upon arrival here I was pleased to see that they are a perfect match ... just another example of Mother knows best!
I would also like to point out that my flat was thoroughly tidied up before I took the pics...oh if you could only see it now.... moving on....

I'm sorry I know it's the weekend but I have a bit of a grumpy old woman moan to perform.... After watching the X Factor tonight, which was a Rod Stewart theme night, I thought to myself why on earth do men and women, who sound like they are gargling gravel in a cement mixer, decide to become singers??? I appreciate the aforementioned Mr Stewart has sold millions of records over his 111 year recording period .....but who is buying them...? He mentioned on tonight's show that in the 60's nobody in the UK would give him a recording contract...er..yeah ..right that's because the record executives at that time were not tone deaf!

Anyway, after he began to sing "It's a Heartache" which should be re-titled it's
an earache....I had had enough...so I decided to switch channels briefly to BBC 2 in order to watch TOTP 2....a bit of 80's reminiscing would cheer me up....but OH MY GOD ...who was on there...only Bonnie Bloody Tyler..singing......yes you've guessed it..."It's a Heartache"!!!! What torture! The two examples of gravel-throat warbling on the planet and they were on both channels. I was too scared to turn over onto BBC 1, as I was in fear of seeing Joe Cocker "singing" on Strictly Come Dancing....not good! My conclusion is that there must be some gravel guzzling TV scheduler with a cement mixer in their office, who gets a kick out of making us all suffer!......
so on that musical note.....here is today's quote....(Pam strikes again!)

"If you hear bad music, it is one's duty to drown it by one's conversation"
- Oscar Wilde

If you want a job done properly...etc and so forth

2006-10-20T20:14:00.000Z

Hello reader, well today's story is about a not so little girl who went to live in a big town called Huddersfield. She had a job in a University and was told that she would have research office ..... this was a big porky pie boys and girls...as what she she did get was a storage room full of cardboard boxes, white boards and bubble wrap.....so the not so little girl moved into her office anyway, had to beg for a key to lock the door, clear out loads of rubbish in order to get to a desk and has jumped up and down and made some noise in order to get a computer .....rah! She is now in a sort of half done working environment which will hopefully be completed next week.

The moral of this story? When you are promised something and it doesn't materialise, don't just sit back and wait for it to happen.....make noise and things will change!

The above picture is not my actual office but it is pretty close to what it looked like...as I am a self confessed organisational clean freak...this was not good...and didn't help the IBS!

Well the weekend is here...and Dawny has a deadline which is Monday...so I will be buried in my CA books for the next 48 hrs :( but hey it's only another 2000 words to write...which for a woman of my last minute capabilities is not a problem...well not usually anyway! I think at the moment I feel under a bit of pressure to present something "academically credible"...which is silly really as it hasn't bothered me in the past! but hey ho ...we'll have to see what happens....

Still waiting for news from the impending launch of baby Shahwan.....but have resisted ringing Lynda, the mother in question, as I have learnt from my Sister's experiences that the "Any News?" question is NOT welcome when you are overdue! so I will wait with anticipation for the "text of joy" which I hope to receive soon.......?

So how to end today? Well we have covered the issue of my office not being ready and also the lateness of baby Shahwan..so I thought a quotation on punctuality would be appropriate......

"I always arrive late in the office, but I makeup for it by leaving early"
- Charles Lamb

Sympathy with hedgehogs...

2006-10-19T18:25:00.000Z

Today's theme is the sympathy I have with hedgehogs. Not the rolling around in crispy leaves or the midnight crusades for a saucer of milk, but that dangerous misson they have to endure - known as crossing the road!

My mission impossible started today after work, when I decided to pop to Sainsbury's to replenish my empty fridge and have my weekly fix of staring at Caerphilly cheese. Anyway, as I needed to do a big shop.... I took my newly acquired shopping trolley with me. Yes ok I know I sound like a complete OAP, but my continuing "back" problem prevents me from dragging 6 bags of shopping across town so I purchased my little "Granny Chariot" ....and no there will not be any photos of it posted on this site!
Anyway....after filling the trolley with shopping I trundled across the car park to the main road which is outside my flat. This is a road like no other as it comprises of 3 lanes of busy traffic each way...so that's a total of 6 lanes to attempt without a safety net or the green cross code man...scary! As soon as one lane was clear......the other two weren't .... so after waiting for 6 mins and worrying that my fish fingers were defrosting ... I took my life in my own hands and sprinted across the road....
....the problem was the little plastic wheels on my trolley are designed for the slow melodic pace of the aforementioned OAP, not a 37 year old traffic dodger!.....the inevitable happened...my wheel fell off mid sprint ...OMG I am going to die...or even worse.... (considering the state of my cupboards)...my shopping will get squished!

I managed to drag the trolley, with sparks flying across two lanes and make it to the island in the middle of the road....only to face the daunting prospect of tackling the next three lanes on the other side........luckily the lights were with me at the end of the road and the traffic stopped long enough for me to cross...but my wheel was still in the middle lane of the first crossing and my desire to die wasn't strong enough to go and retrieve it....

So RIP my trolley, we didn't have that long..
I treated you so roughly, I know where I went wrong...
that rapid sprint across the road, just killed your wheel stone dead,
Next time I want some shopping, I'll just buy online instead!
(Matthews, 2006)

So after my bereavement ...I have been cheered up by a programme that they have up here called "Eye in the sky" ....basically a blonde Anneka Rice look-a-like travels around in a helicopter pointing out places of interest..... well Dawn that's not very amusing I hear you cry! ...yes but what tickled my dirty mind is that the guy flying the helicopter aka the pilot...is called..."BJ" ........which does not stand for Joe Blob .....everytime she shouts "hey that's BJ" a sad smirk appears on my face......apologies for my lack of morals!

"Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it" - Lewis Carroll

Mad woman up North!

2006-10-18T19:35:00.000Z

OK so things were all going too well..... yesterday I got a call that my soon to be ex-house has damp and my purchaser needs to get a specialist in...therefore more delays! we are already 3 weeks behind schedule and I am not a happy bunny :(
After many years inspecting houses myself, I know what damp smells like and my house, although not perfect, is not damp! Anyway, the specialist came today and confirmed what I had been saying...not a spot of damp to be found anywhere...quelle suprise!

My point of mentioning this is the annoyance of people who do certain things and don't realise the consequences. The "people" in question in this context are surveyors......the idiot who wrote on my purchaser's survey that there is a "high level of damp at the property" should be shot! or at least decapitated as without realising it they have 1) caused me a further delay in my house sale and 2)triggered my IBS to go into overdrive....thanks guys I'll be sending you the bill for the toilet rolls I've got through! (TMI?)

On a brighter note....I managed to get to the pub today :) after a seminar given by my supervisor. It's so much easier to talk to people over a pint than in Uni. One of the MA students Rachel is very friendly, also I managed to speak to Matt the other PhD student here who is "into" The Smiths and The Cult...hoorah a human life-form! :)
It was only after returning to my flat after a pint of God's Juice ...that I realised how many stairs there are for me to climb ...2 flights! Not good after a skin-full! (Note to self: after lots of beer sleep in the garden)

So I am starting to feel a bit more human today...the social butterfly was starting to wilt..but now my wings have started to flutter once more!

Well tomorrow I have decided to squat in the research office, the computer links have still not been set up and I have been working from home.....but as I am writing for the next 4 days and don't need internet access ...I can cope with just a desk and a chair. This way I will feel more integrated into the Uni rather than shut away in my bolt hole. If they see somebody is working in there this might give them the kick up the arse that's needed...well one can only hope!

Thanks for the call Janey, hope you enjoyed today's installment?

Sorry "Love Monkey" but I feel the need to end with another quote......today the theme is madness, so I found this little gem.... who needs medication when you can just get out the cook book!

"If you feel depressed or let down, my advice is to roast a chicken" - Delia Smith

Africa ......

2006-10-16T18:28:00.000Z

This is a picture of the ancient Churches of Lalibella in Ethiopia ...why is it on my blog I hear you ask? Well listener I saw this place on the Holiday programme tonight which was a poignant reminder that Brad was there in the summer as part of his fieldwork trip. He told me that it's one of the most amazing places he's seen......now I have seen it on the TV.....I feel the need to go there in person and see it for myself. So it's been promptly added to my "things to do before I die" list.

The basic thing is, I really want to get some travelling in over the next few years. I know I will be teaching soon and I have the little matter of an 80,000 + dissertation to write..but hey I am sure I can fit a few trips abroad in.....after all travelling is something that everybody should do at some stage in their lives...and as Lesley keeps reminding me.....I am 10 years behind everybody else..so let' crack on!

God says "Return of the Mack" tra la la ...

2006-10-15T18:45:00.000Z

OK it's Sunday and as I have been up here for nearly 3 weeks and have yet to get my sinful backside into Church, I thought today would be a good day to start. After careful consideration I decided to partake in the bread and wine of Christ at St Peter's in Huddersfield....I chose this Church as it clearly does not stipulate in the published literature that I have to spread the word of the Lord, and also it is a 10 am service which is very civilised...even though my name is Dawn at this time of the day I am generally not at my best.

Anyway, the Church itself was built in 1838 and that's about as much as I know! It is about the same size of St Martins and therefore is not as personal as St Catharine's. As I walked in there were about 40-50 parishioners already sat down, average age as you would expect 104.....well ok a slight exaggeration...84. As the organist strutted his stuff, there was the sudden sound of a choir together with the melodic chants of some bloke singing bits of scripture in Latin...hang on a minute I thought, am I in the right Church? I didn't see Roman Catholic on the sign outside....and also I thought how sad to have a tape playing with the "Latin Choral Society" doing their best...

I am ashamed to say that from the vestry the choir all appeared in 2x2 formation, all 20 of them, plus their musical director, assistant curate (who looks about 14) and 4 other blokes in white (not sure who they were at that point) and then of course the vicar...who is a woman...hoorah! The only woman priest I have ever seen is the Vicar of Dibley, so I will be making a keen comparison in future blog entries....

Anyway, after the relief and shame of the singing not actually being a tape and establishing that I was in a Protestant Church.....I had a sneaky peek at the congregation. Well all I can say is that the youngest person in there was me, followed by the lady sat next to me who I later found out is the wife of the visiting Arch Deacon of Halifax who was there to give the sermon.....I will mention this shortly....

The "ladies" sat behind me were worthy of note...not sure of age...I'd guess in their mid 60's...but the one directly behind me bore an uncanny resemblance to the late Les Dawson's drag character ...crossing her hands and moaning about problems "down below".....the moment she started to sing the first hymn I nearly cracked up....she had a voice like a ton of gravel in a tumble drier....made me sound like the voice of an angel....yes that bad!

Anyway back to the Arch-Deacon...nice guy....tall, skinny, grey, obligatory beard ...used a lot of humour in his 15 minute sermon which I particularly enjoyed.....especially when for some strange reason he brought up the 90's rap star Mark "Return of the Mac" Morrison, whose album is still in my CD rack and there is will stay! Apparently, the AD lived for 18 years in Leicester from where the Mac also hailed...but unfortunately I think I was the only one in the congregation who had ever heard of him......so when AD started talking about how the Mac had once said that only God can judge him....everybody in Church looked a little bewildered and there was a stony silence ever time AD cracked a joke...poor thing he was like the 1st act on at the Comedy Club....with the non-enviable task of warming up the audience...Unfortunately this lot were very cold and by the look of them, some of them will be a lot colder fairly soon..if you know what I mean???

The highlight of the service was indeed the choir who were fab, and included a young girl who sang a solo after communion, Lord she could sing ...but I think the Musical Director thought he was arranging an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical rather than a Church service as all of the "responses" were all over the shop.....I can see a lot of miming in the next few weeks until I pick up the melodies!

So the 100 mins service went by ....I had decided not to stay for the tea and biscuits but was grabbed by the AD's wife who could see and hear by my worryingly, increasingly Welsh accent that I was new in town. So she did me the favour of introducing me to the assistant curate and the vicar who are both female and ginger, so it was like the rich auburn version of the 3 Degrees stood in line by the font! In order to return her kindness I told her to inform her husband that I did have a Mark Morrison CD, so he knew there was at least one person who appreciated his humour!

The whole experience of today just confirmed a lot of the stuff that I wrote about in my dissertation and I wish in hindsight that on one of my previous visits I could have gone to St Peter's with my tape recorder...as they just all fit the profile of the over 65's I was researching..never mind!

At this point I could write a bit about my latest research but I think it would be far too boring...but if anybody does have a burning desire to know about adjacency pairs or preference
in conversation analysis, you know where to find me!

Thought I'd end this blog with another quote...just because I can and it kind of makes me appear semi-intelligent and well read ..... moving on......so for those of you waiting to get a response from upstairs...bear this in mind:

"Prayer must not be answered: if it is, it ceases to be prayer and becomes correspondence" - Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde anyone?

2006-10-14T21:42:00.000Z

"The exquisite art of idleness, one of the most important things that any University can teach"
- Oscar Wilde

Well my University does not have this module on my lecture programme ..... shame! I wish I could be idle actually I wish I could go on holiday right now, even though my flat is still giving me the hotel feel, mainly due to the extractor fan in the shower room which automatically goes off when you switch the light on. The other factor is the size of the actual shower cubicle which I believe was designed for the currently popular American size zero.....the sensation of your buttocks sliding down the tiles everytime you drop the soap was at first a novelty, now it is just confirming the very apparent fact that I need to loose weight!

The whole idea when I moved up here especially with out my car was to get fit, loose weight and generally shift the 14 pounds gained on my jam sandwich/ M&M diet during my dissertation. So far my 3 minute crawl to the library and my constant supply of Sainsbury's "Taste the Ddifference" ready meals and Galaxy chocs have not made much of an impact! .....
Talking of "Taste the Difference"...they do exactly what they say on the box.....they taste different from all the other ready meals I have tasted....'cos they taste like sh** !

Anyway I will briefly move on to my Moan of the Day section which today is autobiographies.
I love autobiographies and own several great books which describe the lives of important politicians or icons like Nelson Mandela etc.......but what really gets my blood boiling are these so called celebrities who at the age of post-puberty decide to write their memoirs! The person in question ,who is the latest to jump on the bandwagon is Chantelle ...who? I hear you cry ...exactly!
After winning celebrity Big Brother and marrying a two bit pop star ..this 19 year old...yes 19! has decided to share her "life" story with the nation. Life...what life?...God she's only just left school! Her 300 page + masterpiece could have been fitted on a 2 sided insert and placed in OK magazine with all the other bits of rubbish advertising catalogues and timeshares in Turkey....RAH! why is she allowed to get away with this? I bet the new guinea pigs who are auditioning for BB29 are already digging out their school diaries in preparation for their own publishing deals in 2007!

Ok rant over...... according to Noel Coward....who once said "television is for appearing on, not looking at" ....I can see why we are in such a mess!

Friday October 13th - Cheese crisis and M&M's

2006-10-13T19:58:00.000Z

Well I've just spent nearly an hour on the phone to Kate (who has a proper job as a lecturer in Oxford..a true academic not a shandy one like me!) she has given me lots of helpful advise about my forthcoming 3 years all of which has been digested with thanks. The sad thing about it is that we were both stuck in watching Corrie on a Friday night and after mentioning I had a bag of M & M's Kate felt the need to go and get a bag.....Lordy the excitement of being single!

Other news today......OMG crisis at Sainsbury's! I went for my usual fix of cheese ...well actually I like to look at the Caerphilly cheese as it has a picture of the castle on the front which reminds me at home....unfortunately the store is currently under refurbishment and when I got there the cheese had been moved. When I found it the Caerphilly cheese was missing...yikes!!!
One of the shop assistants saw me in distress and asked if she could help me ....I pondered for a while and decided that I would feel a bit guilty asking for some Caerphilly cheese just so I could look at the label, as actually I don't like to eat the stuff! so I declined and came home with some Irish chedder which is ok 'cos it's from another Celtic country..... they seem to eat a lot of Double Gloucester up here which I personally think is like eating sweet fudge!

On the work front haven't got too much done today but the weekend is ahead and no doubt I will have a burst of inspiration soon! The joys of Conversation Analysis are calling me.......

Here we go........continued.

2006-10-13T10:35:00.000Z

Well I am so pleased that my first (far too long) blog entry worked and I even managed to upload some pics...at the cost of not getting to bed until gone 3.00am! but then Matt rings me this morning and tells me about flickr which means I'll have to investigate how that works...oh the mental torment!

Anyway, back to the epic saga of my move etc ...... not much more to say really...
On the first Saturday in Hudds I went for a wander around town, it's got 2 large shopping centre's here including a Beatties which is part of the House of Frazer chain (somewhere I won't be spending a lot of time!). What struck me were the similarities to Caerphilly....especially at the top of town where all the "£1 shops" are. There is a constant stream of push chairs, track suits and loud 14 year old mother's ....so I felt quite at home!

The above pics of my flat were taken before I moved in, I will take some more post furniture installation as soon as I can. It is very cosy here and in a really useful location for town/shops etc. The best bit about it is that it only takes 16mins to clean....whereas my last house was 2-3 hours..not good!

As Hudds is a former industrial town, it has a canal going right through it which also runs past my flat. The building itself is a former mill and has very creaky floorboards! I didn't really notice this until last night actually...as the guy who lives upstairs (who I am convinced has size 14 feet) was visited late in the night by a friend, I am assuming who is female, but you can't be too sure these days....anyway, "they" have been thumping and humping around all night and now today, one of them is marching backwards and forwards as if they are on guard duty! Not sure what is happening and part of me really doesn't want to!

Anyway, the University itself is a former Polytechnic like Glamorgan, small and a bit disorganised! but everyone there is friendly and helpful. I am getting on well with Liz and they have given me shed loads of work to do. It has made me realise that this is a "proper" job as I have to give talks and stuff....yikes!

The only downside has been that there are not many (if any) other new PhD students, so I am really missing the student "community" spirit that I had in Cardiff ... but then again three years is a long time so I am sure it was all sort itself out!

I am now in my second week and things are definately a lot better, I feel more at home and getting into a routine. I managed to see my sister's kids on webcam yesterday which was good as they are as completely wild as ever! The best thing is they do not have a microphone on their webcam, so it was like a silent film ...fab! There's a pic of them at the top.....all nutters ...it's a family trait!

Well that's about it for today best get on with some work......

Me, Laura, Anne-Marie and Steffi at our post dissertation hand in party..trying our best to stay awake!

2006-10-13T01:50:00.000Z

Me and my "bitches" Huw and Steve ...wicked grins all around!

2006-10-13T01:47:00.000Z

Goodbye Dawny! This is me surrounded by my "old" school chums. Thanks to Nikki and Jane for standing in front of me..hiding the belly!

2006-10-13T01:43:00.000Z

OK here it goes!

2006-10-13T00:57:00.000Z

News from up North

Well it's Friday the 13th of October at 12.20 am is this a good time to start a blog? After all I have been reading all day, my little eyeballs are tired and also I have an eye infection...but I felt the need to get going on this "blog" thing.
I have never really been interested in new technology, I don't own an I-Pod and it is only last year I traded in my Walkman for a personal CD player...so the idea of joining the latest craze of sharing your every thought with the world aka blogging didn't exactly "float my boat". Upon reflection and as I am supposed to be a writer of some description I thought "what the hell" and here I am! I must however point out that I am very technophoebic and uploading photos and creating all singing and all dancing web pages is not my thing, but I will try my best!
After reading Anne-Marie and Katharine's attempts I feel very intimidated, as I doubt that mine will be as half as interesting...but hey ho let's give it a go!

So here I am in not so sunny Huddersfield. It seems like a bit of a mind melt actually being here as if you had told me this time last year that I'd be doing a PhD in Hudds I would have laughed..a lot! Escaping from the land of song wasn't an option but it's been a hard road to follow, especially after jut having a superb year at Cardiff University.

After leaving Glamorgan with a First Class Hons and some sort of prize for apparently being old but clever, starting at Cardiff fo my MA seemed the obvious next step...confidence was high and enthusiasm unquestioned. How quickly I was brought back into reality after my first meeting with Prof. Alison Wray, who informed a room of "green" students that "We can fail you!" (a day we shall all remember for a long time!). How lucky I was to met a fab group of students who were as intimidated as me in the presence of the aforementioned AW.

The "Americans" comprise of Anne-Marie and Katharine (with an "a") who I spent many a happy hour talking about anything and everything over a coffee in "our coffee shop with the nice Scottish bloke". The "German" is the incredibly tall Steffi, although a gentle giant she was particularly useful on sunny days as she gave my dwarf like body ample shade! The "Greek" mad Georgia when I say Greek I mean "Week" as she sounds more Welsh than me..is partial to a bit of bad language but a good sort. Finally there's "Posh Welsh" or Laura who lives in a huge house, is very rich, has a butler called Jeeves and finally takes it all in her stride how I take the pi** out of her postcode!
So there you have it, the collective who kept me company through 12 great, sometimes stressful months.

Anyway, the last 4 months were a bit of a 'mare! Started off really in late June, I decided to apply for a studentship in Huddersfield, not really thinking that I had a hope in hell of getting it, as I hadn't actually finished my MA. To my suprise I actually got an interview, so I toddled up to Hudds with my sister Jane for support (who actually wanted a few days away from the kids but ended up having a 'mare of a trip). We drove up which took 4 hours and found our hotel which prided itself on its "Award winning carpark"....personally I have never heard of a carpark winning an award before...would like to have heard the acceptance speech!..
Anyway, when we got there it was a "family" run firm but the guy behind the bar/reception/breakfast bar area (good use of space) introduced us to his wife and sister, but there was only one woman stood next to him (get the picture?). This did not install me with confidence!

We had a wander around the town, looked ok, but I wanted to get an early night as my interview was quite early the next day. However, I didn't read on the webpage for the hotel that it is "immediately adjacent to Johnny's Nightclub where Karaoke goes on a high volume until 1.00am" ...they seemed to have missed that bit out...strange?
After 3 choruses of "My Way" and "Light My Fire" I was not very pleased!

Three hours sleep later....my alarm went off....so we got dressed and went to breakfast....which you had to see to believe.....the reception area was now the breakfast bar having been "transformed" by a checkered table cloth...amazing! We sat at our table and were given two cups of stewed cold tea.....but then the mutation or son of the previously described proprietor came over and in a deep, I smoke 60 a day voice asked "Do you want cooked?" .....now I wasn't too sure exactly what he was offerering to be cooked, but I assumed (as one does) that he was referring to a Full English Breakfast. At this point my sister, who was trying to contain herself from laughing, managed to squeak "yes please", so I did the same. Jane's belief that Huddersfield was actually the real "Royston Vasey" was only fuelled by the breakfast experience ! I could go on to describe the "devastation on a plate" aka "cooked breakfast" that arrived, but as I have a lot to get through I will save anyone reading this the stomach churning read, but needless to say that I attended my interview after eating a Special K cereal bar and an apple!
So the interview came and went...I "dazzled" them with my gant charts and literary searches..but most importantly, when asked if I could re-locate, I was at the peak of bravado...re-locate? of course I could re-locate, not a problem at all!

The phone rings at 10.15am the next day, it's Liz Holt the main interviewer and successful candidate's supervisor...."We'd like to offer you the studentship" she said...my world changed. I accepted. I thanked her. I cried.

So that's what started my 4 months of torment. I didn't think I'd get it. I now had to sell my house, find a place to live in Hudds, re-house my cats, leave my friends, leave my family and completely uproot my life to West Yorkshire 216 miles away. OMG I panicked, did I really want a PhD that badly? what other options did I have..none! Well I could work in Brinsons Estate Agents FT, but that was not an attractive proposition! There were several reasons that made me decide to go for it .....

1. I am 37 I have made a bit of a mess of my life so far. No husband, no kids, a career I didn't want or was any good at but more importantly a feeling of low self worth and belief that I never thought I'd be capable of getting a BA without an MA (award pending!) so a PhD....OMG what an opportunity to stick 2 fingers up to those who have doubted me over the years.
2. Talking of opportunity, it is not often that these studentships come up. Funding in academia is non-existent as some of my MA pals are unfortunately finding out...and I have this golden opportunity to get where I want to be, a lecturer and researcher.
3. I am not doing this for the kudos of being "Dr Dawn" ..I am doing this for me as an individual who was always told "Dawn needs to make more effort" in school, who was kicked out of "A" level English ...and who wants to make people close to me proud, rather than see me as a continual let down and failure.
So I accepted and put the house on the market.

After selling the house ..twice....finding a flat in Hudds which is 3 mins from the Uni (so much for walking to work to get fit!) ...the only thing left was to re-house my cats..this was the bad bit. My two "children" Chloe and Marble were not just cats they were the company I had in the house when all of the 4 years of chaos of living with ungrateful tenants got too much. I loved them dearly and even writing this after two weeks of saying goodbye to them is making me upset. The guilt of giving them back to the RSPCA is terrible and I miss them more than words can say. I just hope and pray that they find good homes for them and this PhD is worth all of the sacrifices that I have made. OK need to move on now.

While all of this madness was going on, I still had the little matter of writing my MA dissertation. "intrinsic and extrinsic religious motivation: a qualitative and quantiative analysis" (so bored of writing that notice that I couldn't be bothered to use capitals?). Anyway, got my data in July....but wrote 18,500 words in the 5 days before hand in....yes DawnyLastminute.com strikes again! Poor Laura and me were in constant crisis communication...her advising me to drink lots of black coffee and me advising her to take lots of deep breaths...it was all too much! We were all in the same boat and even after handing in and attending our pre-planned post dissertation hand in piss up..we were all to knackered to paint the town red...not even a pale pink was achieved that night! (see attached pic!)
After all of that...I had 10 days to pack. Not good. A large 3 bedroomed house and 37 years worth of crap had to be fitted into a 1 bed flat.....ummm......even though I am not mathematically inclined (as Brady keeps reminding me!) even I knew it was not going to be easy. I as very lucky that my Mum and Sister helped or I never would have done it.

I had a "leaving party" at the Goodrich Pub in Caerphilly on Saturday September 23rd. It was a great night. Claire, Jane and Sharron had got to the pub earlier and decorated it with balloons, banners and lots of embarrassing photos which showed the various hairstyles of Dawn over the years...but the talking point of the evening was a "walrus arse" shot, which even tough it was the same size of my ever expanding back side..I dispute to this day was actually mine! Anyway, lot of friends from school, uni and work turned up, I was very humbled by the effort everybody made to see me off...or as John put it...make sure I go!
Everybody was very drunk, even Matthew Jones said that he'd miss me which totally threw me as words of kindness are not often thrown my way!

OK so I arrived on Wed Sept. 27th. It was a 5 hour train journey and then the cowboys arrived to deliver my furniture. Two smashed glasses, a broken mug, a chipped headboard, 3 broken finger nails and a lost temper..not bad! After they left, leaving a horrible sweaty man smell behind them, I sat on my sofa, stared at the mound of boxes surrounding me and thought "bloody hell"....in the true British spirit I had a cup of tea and got stuck in. By the time I went to bed I was aching in places that I didn't know could ache so I slept well.

The next day I had my first meeting with Liz, before which a lovely NTL man came and connected my broadband, cable and phone..I love him! Back to the meeting...it went well even though I had to stop yawning and I looked like a rabbit in the headlights. However, she did hit me with the bombshell that's she's pregnant...how inconsiderate! So I my have to teach in January which is earlier than planned..after the 4 months I'd had I just said ...Bring it on!

Friday 29th.....bad day at Fraggle Rock! Another bunch of delivery people who wore spurs and stetsons appeared to deliver my washing machine.and more importantly fit it. This did not happen. They couldn't get it to work so they left. AAAAARRRGGHH! didn't really need this. So I decided to wait for the managing agents "handy man" Jack to turn up in order to look at it. He was already booked in for Wed. as I had a leaking tap, broken toilet seat, and a window and door which wouldn't close properly (the joys of renting property). Anyway this appointment was moved swiftly forward on the Sunday, when I noticed that the connection pipes for the washing machine were leaking all over the floor under the sink. Not good.
I tried mopping it up and putting a container under it, but it was bubbling away merrily. This was the last straw. I turned the water off and went for a lie down. I began to sweat and shake, I had pins and needles in my fingers and fet and pains across my chest. With the history of coronary disease in my family I feared the worst.
I pictured the headlines "Welsh student found dead in flat - suspected heart attack due to leaking pipes"..... yikes!
In order to calm myself down I listened to Duran Duran and did some breathing exercises..it seemed to do the trick. After I felt a bit better the last four months caught up with me in 4 minutes...I cried...a lot.
What have I done? Why the hell am I here? Dawn you are such an arse...were the three main questions/statements screamed out in frustration that evening. Followed by a lot of ...Oh for God's sake pull yourself together...that old chestnut always seems to do the trick!
So the next day, feeling better after the previous night's hysterical outburst, my man Jack turned up and fixed all my drips..oh er missus! I started to like my flat again as all it's problems were solved...so there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!

I think I'd best end here as there's so much more to say but it's 1.40am......if I press the publish post button and it looses everything I have just written...it could be a swift end to my blogging experience! Ah well here it goes....