Blowing Bubbles Day!

Today is Blowing Bubbles Day!

I did it last week.

I'm easily confused - and you thought I was only joking when I said I struggle to know what day it is from one day to the next?

So (last Saturday) I rushed round to Asda in the certainty that they'd be able to supply me with bubbles - one pack of 'Disney Princess' bubbles later I'm at Bernie's and we're being bubble blowing princesses. Or something like that.

Space Cadet Tuesday!

Today (Tuesday 24 August) is Space Cadet Tuesday!

I've been looking forward to this one!

The hooks in the office came in useful again to hang the assorted 'glow in the dark' stars and planets (plus everyone got one stuck on their computer!)! It was a tough decision whether to stick around long enough for it to get dark enough to close the blinds, turn the lights off and appreciate the effect in full but after giving it much thought I decided to come home instead! I'm sure the cleaners and security guards will appreciate it for me!



Flying Saucers! Big tub of them! Despite the fact that the most common reaction was that these took people back to their childhoods and they hadn't seen them in years, I can assure you that they are readily available in supermarkets (Asda, 3 bags for £1)!



Ray gets to be Space Cadet of the day for sending a document to me for comment but forgetting to attach the document (my comment was that it was 'certainly brief'), and Linda (Beam me up Scotty) and Cathryn (Ground Control to Major Tom) deserve mention for their efforts too!

And finally, in keeping with the space theme, I thought I'd share one of my favourite songs/videos, from when I was a child (important to add (although it is on my i-pod)), with you - enjoy!



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Whistling Day!

Monday 23 August was whistling Day!

Ok, so for this one I bought a pack of whistles - I know, I know, they don't look ANYTHING like whistles, but trust me, they are!



Well done to Cathryn and Linda who were the only two to take me up on the offer of a whistle (they took the two pink ones)!

The only other thing I could think of for Whistling Day was the story of a distant relative of my mums (second cousin I think). Dottie Wayne - British actress and entertainer, star of variety, stage and TV, sometimes billed as "The Whistling Wonder" , still performing in pantomime after 50 years in show business. I've never had any contact with her so can only go on what Auntie Betty has told me (and a cutting from a paper listing Leslie Crowther and Ronnie Corbett as guests at her wedding) but from what I've found out on the internet people still remember her whistling act on variety performances and she was also billed as appearing in the Sunday Night Variety at the Spa Theatre, Scarborough, in 2006.

And of course.................no Whistling Day would be complete without this!



Funny, I don't remember Snow White's voice being quite so annoying when I was a child (you'll be pleased to see I've kept the clip mercifully brief!).

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Another Superfabulous Thursday!

Yay! Thursday 19 August was Another Superfabulous Thursday!

It was SUPER to arrive at Kevin and Ray's on Thursday evening for a FABULOUS evening, the food, wine and conversation were all excellent (Bernie - honestly, Ray wasn't calling you a s**t at all!) and very much appreciated after the previous 2 day low (why is that I always seem to end up playing in the supporting cast of my own life, maybe I'm just not leading lady material!).

Anyway, as I was leaving Kevin asked if I had my keys. Through the red wine mist, with crystal clear clarity, I had a vision of my keys swinging from my changing room locker at work.

So,

Taxi Driver: ** **** *** ******? (my address)
Me: Um, yes, but can you take me to work first please?
Taxi Driver: You're either very late or very early.
Me: Or I've left my keys at work.
Taxi Driver: Ah.

Security Guard at work: Yes.
Me: It's Heidi Orange, I've left my keys at work.
Security Guard: Well what sort of time is this to be coming for them (23:45)?
Me: About the same sort of time I want to get into my flat!

What happened next is something I only realised I've always wanted to do as I was doing it! I got to the 'big house' and all the lights were off down the manshun 'ouse corrider (or mansion house corridor) and all the double doors were shut. So, I fearlessly set off in the dark to the changing rooms, it probably took all of, oh I don't know, 2 SECONDS before I'd scared myself witless and took off full pelt down the length of the corridor slamming through the doors as I got to them. I know where the lights are in the changing room so I found my keys and turned back to do it again the other way (much scarier going back cos you have to stop to open the doors towards you - this is the point where you REALLY focus on the shivers down your spine and the thought of what could be right behind you!)!

Right, I can scratch that one off the bucket list then!

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Laugh in the Face of Superstition Day

Yes, that's right, Friday the 13th of August is Laugh in the Face of Superstition Day!

This is going to be a long one - don't say I didn't warn you!

So, how did Friday the thirteenth become such an unlucky day?

Fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to make one super unlucky day.
There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.
There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
A particularly bad Friday the 13th occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.

How is fear of the number thirteen demonstrated?

More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
Many airports skip the 13th gate.
Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue
In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.

And how many of you immediately counted how many letters you have in your name? (I have 11 by the way)

I spent the day breaking as many superstitions as possible. Unfortunately I couldn't find a ladder so had to give that one a miss but I did put my top on inside out and then turned it the right way round, put my shoes on the table (ok, they're not new but apparently you shouldn't put ANY shoes on a table - just to be on the safe side),



spilt salt and didn't throw any over my shoulder, put a hat on my bed, cut my fingernails, put an umbrella up inside,



lit a candle in a scone and blew it out and told everyone my wish (and no, I'm not telling you!)



Ok, I blew the candle out and ate half the bun before I realised I'd forgotten to get a photo!
Stepped on many cracks, didn't wear amber or carry an acorn with me, picked a penny up (it's only good luck if heads is facing up),



went in one door of the mansion house and out of a different door, passed Broadie on the stairs,



Seriously, I had no idea just how many superstitions there are, there's a great website which lists most (if not all) - http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary.html#friday

Oh yes, I also smashed a mirror (to much shock and horror, especially Elaine and Duncan's)..................



.......................this is the only superstition I broke which did actually bother me (and others) and gave me a moments hesitation! But heck, in the words of Johnny Logan, what's another year (or seven)? I did also have visions of the film they make of my life turning from a Bridget Jones-esque chick flick to a more Final Destination-esque horror!

But, I'm still here and all is well, only another 2556 days to go!

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Not Being At All Sensible About Anything Day!

Tuesday 10th August was Not Being At All Sensible About Anything Day.

I think I'm actually spreading this out over the whole week with a bit of silliness each day!

It was very difficult to to be not at all sensible about anything on Tuesday (I had meetings etc!) but I did manage to forget to take either my black shoes or my black socks in to work which resulted in this...................................



Hmmmm, attractive!

The only other opportunity was at lunchtime when Paul was telling me something deep and serious, while he wasn't looking I slipped a piece of my orange into each side of my mouth in an attempt to recreate the Maltesers godfather advert - I'm rubbish at this sort of thing, I can never keep a straight face so needless to say when he turned back round I started grinning like an idiot and giggling, couldn't speak and bit right through both pieces of orange (narrowly missing my tongue and almost choking myself in the process!).

Roll on Laugh in the Face of Superstition Day (lightning really can't strike twice, can it?)!

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Showcase a New Dance Move Day

Today is Showcase a New Dance Move Day - I strongly suspect though that this may be one of the days I had to reschedule (I've left the diary at work so can't confirm)! I promise it's only coincidence that it was moved to a Saturday when I knew I wouldn't be seeing anyone so would have to showcase my 'moves' to the cats ;-)

Anyway, I showcased the sailor step with a quarter turn (that's the one right after the rumba box), video below shows how it's done (yeah, when I do it I make it look cool, obviously). It's not a 'new' dance move as I didn't think of it myself (that generally only happens on the dance floor after much alcohol, removal of shoes and embedding of glass in foot), but it's fairly new to me and totally new to the cats who showed appropriate disdain and disinterest.

Bring Back an Era Day

Today is Bring Back an Era Day!

I really wanted to go for the twenties for this one (I had visions of a full flapper outfit!) but had to rely on what I already had in my wardrobe etc so settled for the fifties instead!

So, this involved (what I considered to be) a fifties style skirt, white shirt, black belt, black (seamed) stockings (it's actually surprisingly difficult to take a photo of the back of your own leg!)











and high heeled black shoes (special party shoes with a bow!),














and vintage jewellery courtesy of Great Auntie Betty!












I wasn't really sure myself but at lunch Brian immediately guessed what it was all about so I can't have been too far off the mark!

I thought I was being really good by listening to fifties music all day (Frankie Valli, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Matt Monro, Ella Fitzgerald) but I think my efforts may have been negated by the fact that I was listening to them on my i-pod! D'oh!

Of course many people were of the opinion that if I was truly bringing the era back I wouldn't be at work at all - I'd be at home, baking in the kitchen, getting my husbands pipe and slippers ready for him when he gets home and generally just doing as I'm told (hmm, I've always had a bit of a problem with that last one!).

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Another Superfabulous Tuesday!

Yesterday was Another Superfabulous Tuesday!

It was pretty superfabulous although there was no particular reason, I guess the chemicals in my brain are particularly in balance at the moment!

The highlight was Boss being mistaken, on several occasions, for a tourist guide or underground employee (which makes me think of the French resistance) while he was waiting for someone at a tube station!

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Ponder the Universe Day

Today is Ponder the Universe Day

Hmmm, does it have to be the entire universe?

I don't know what my cat is thinking or why it feels the need to try and self destruct every time I remove the cone like collar ('to protect pets from themselves' which brings to mind a bad American voice over for an equally bad TV show - 'When pets go bad' or some such nonsense) from it's neck, I'm (still) not sure where I stand (or where I'm going for that matter) - whether I'm wasting my time or whether it really is worth the effort, why Donald Duck wears a towel when he comes out of the shower when he doesn't usually wear any pants, whether I'll have a job in 12 months time, whether my landlord will want the flat back in 6 months time, why mineral water that has 'trickled through mountains for centuries' goes out of date next year, why the postman doesn't just give it to the binman and save us the hassle and on and on and on - all of that is MY universe which is quite enough for me to be going on with for the moment thank you very much!

Anyway, I went to Meadowhall today for a wander round and was pleasantly surprised to find there were indeed opportunities for universe pondering to be found in this most unlikely of places!

The Gadget Shop
Laser Cosmos - this is amazing - I want one! It projects a universe across a whole room, how very appropriate!
Castle Gallery
Mark Edwards - The Conversation. I love this painting, I don't know what the conversation's about but it looks to me like he's asking 'why?'.
Alexander Millar - Singin in the rain. I also love this painting although what it makes me feel is the polar opposite of the other one! There's something joyous and childlike about this one.

And that's all folks! I'm off to ponder why my washing machine feels the need to chew certain articles of my clothing!

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