Forever Autumn #snaphappyBritmums

The tea time Club Our "Breakfast Club"

Were  you good at school ?

Were you the rebel ?

Did you wear short skirts ? ( that wasn't the regulation inch above the knee)?


Just so the boys don't feel left out : Did you wear your tie with the thin bit showing ?


Hmmmmm?


I had detention once .. I know a complete shock to you ! I will wait a moment while you sit and compose yourself.

Ready?

I forgot my Maths homework one day one I was 13 .

I'll set the scene I went to an upper school ( where in Bedford  the schooling goes like this 5-9 , 9-13, 13-18)

My school was posh it was an ex grammar school  I studied Latin and the school had its own rowing team etc.

It was a good school till the Tories shut it down, I am still having therapy for Margaret Thatcher stopping my milk.

Thatcher put a sad end to being a milk monitor.

The Detention

The detention was taken by the demonic Maths teacher known as "Nutty Nun" rumours were she was  an ex Nun. Various people were at the dentention we were all disimilar in character we were yet to form a unity. The situation was smilar to that of the greatest ever dentention on earth that of the the greatest dention film ever " Breakfast Club"

"Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you're crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms in the

most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an

athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours,The Breakfast Club."

I could not liken myself  to the Princess character " Molly Ringwald " that was the pretty blond girl in my detention. I was the brain "Hall " the lone wolf in an alien world that was dentention. There was the  sports star "Emilo Estervez" who was there for forgetting his PE kit. There was the criminal  who was always lifting sweets from Tuck shop. The basket case was in improper use of Latin verbs/ drawing on their excercise book  who knows ?

These titles identified our roles within the fabric of our school lives.. Because of stereotypes and status levels associated with each role, We wanted  want nothing to do with each other at the outset of the  dentention. ) and by two hours of time we had to kill, we the students begin to interact. 

Through self-disclosure we as the " Tea-Tine Club" learn we were more similar than different. We each wrestled with self-acceptance; each longed for parental approval; each fought against peer pressure. We broke break through the role barriers and gain greater understanding and acceptance of each other and of themselves. We ultimately developed a group identity and dubbed themselves, "The Tea Time Club."

So forever our school days were an un written nod of approva,l when ever our paths crossed in the corridors of power that was school.

Halloween Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes #wwback2best

These cupcakes are ideal when you need a chocolate lift and this gorgeous cupcakes certainly hit the spot. You will feel as if you have really indulged yourself yet they are only 4 Propoints values each!

Which is great for me as I am on the Propoints programme and I can share with my family and I don't feel as if I am missing out.

Ingredients

175g (6 oz) fresh cherries

25g ( 1oz) cocoa,sifted

150 g (5 1/2 oz) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g ( 3 1/2 oz) dark brown sugar

75g (2 3/4 oz) low fat spread

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150g (5 1/2 oz) virtually fat- free natural yogurt

100g ( 31/2 oz) low fat cheese

15g ( 1/2 oz) icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180c/fan oven to 160c and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.

2. Start by stoning the cherries: if you have a olive pitter, this works really well on cherries too. Otherwise, place the cherries on a chopping board and roll over them with a rolling pin to crush them lightly, then squeeze out the stones. Reserve six cherries , halved , to decorate then chop up the rest of the cherries roughly.

3. Reserve 2 teaspoons of the cocoa to make the frosting, then sift the rest of the cocoa, the flour and the bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, low fat spread egg, vanilla and yogurt and beat together with an electric whisk, until light and fluffy. Stir the chopped cherries into the mixture then divide between the paper cake cases.

4. Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 15-18 minutes until the cupcakes are well risen and springy in the centre.

5. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

6. For the Frosting, beat the cheese together with icing sugar and the reserved cocoa. Spread on the cooled cupcakes then top each one with a half cherry.

As teen doesn't like cherries I omitted these you can find this recipe here ...

( Thank you for Weigh Watcher letting me reproduce this recipe)

No need to be sacred about your weight this Halloween!

Weight Watchers Chocolate Cupcake #wwback2best

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Old " Love " #Gallery

With how the weather has been recently it not been the weather to keep wearing my  summer clothes really not that at my age I would be wearing the tight shorts and skirt of my youth. You know when it was cool to wear black tights underneath denim shorts and high top trainers. 

It was raining yet again when has it not stopped raining ! I am not at all down beat about the rain .. yes I would like some sun especially as I am taking a UK holiday soon which cost as much as a  foreign holiday. I normally go to far flung places but for the last two years I have stayed with the UK though my feet as getting somewhat twitchy.

I  needed to go out food shopping or some other mundane task like dusting, hoovering and finally putting the sealant round the bath that Mr T hasn't got round to yet.

Reaching into my pocket of my rain coat I pulled on a plastic puzzle the sort you would find in a good Christmas cracker but it was modern it was 1950's in style and make. Somewhat quirky , a fun little item that on closer inspection was made in England.

It was an item from my childhood My grandparents used to give it to me to keep me amused I loved it, it was pure joy to me much more than the electronic toys that beckoned to me. I had not seen it since my grandad had died  so sadness and elation combined. You can have all the tea in china as they say but for me simplicity of a cheap toy can provide the trigger of memories forever.

Old joy  with a simple slide puzzle.

Pumpazing fun!

Pumpazing is a fun filled game from Drummond Park that will have the whole family involved.

It's hectic, breathless active fun with hilarious sounds for pre-schoolers.

Watch your zingers go flying with Pumpazing! It's a pass-the parcel style game where players compete to shoot colourful Zinger heads from the toothsome Zingy unit, by pumping his arms as fast as they can! Each Zinger launched makes a wonderful whizzy noise - but if the screeching buzzer sounds when you have hold of Zingy, it means you've lost a life!

Contents

Four coloured Zinger heads and Zingy.

Object of the game 

There are two versions of the game which you can play with Zingy one is the simple ' starter' version of the game, little children take it in turn- pass -the-parcel style - to pump Zingy's arms as fast and furiously as they can until Zingy shouts "Zing" or "boing" and one of the Zingers comes flying off. Then it's on to the next player as fast as they can! But if Zingy says :Uh Oh" as the Zinger shoots across the room, the player is out.

The person who hangs onto the most of his or her four lives ends up the winner!


Older children will enjoy playing the full version of the game, where they start of with an allocation of Zingy cards, depending on the number of children playing. But watch out, Zingy can't wait to catch them out when they least expect it, he's bursting to take away their cards! Because if Zingy says "Uh-Oh", they lose a card and they just never know when he's going to do it. Its a manic, crazy pump to the last with scream of joy and elation there will be frustration but then come triumph. The last player with a life card left is the winner.

The game retails at £19.99 and as ever is available from all good stockists.


Disclosure ( I was sent this for review all thoughts words and opinions are my own)