Bloggy Woggy Dodahs

"Bloggy Woggy Doodahs" as my husbands says when I embark upon a blogging jaunt , not quite sure he gets it?! He perhaps thinks (he doesn't really) that my heads up in the clouds...

So last week I went to blog camp.. What's that I feel a present of a blogging overlord who is telling me that my blogging soul is at risk if I don't correct myself and tell you it was Blog Summit . Please do NOT say "Blog Summit" in a streetwise voice.

I met up with a group of bloggers at Birmingham New Street , at first I wasn't sure where they were but  Annie from Mamasurus who was beaming ear to ear sporting a "Geek" jumper . I am not quite sure what you call a collection of bloggers ? If I don't mention you all by name please forgive me ...

So after arriving at Blog Summit there was cake ...   cake is good , friendships confirmed new and old, a name to a face and a face to a blog. I spied my buddy Wendy Macdonald we had been to Blog Camp as it was then a long while ago, we were on the naughty row.

Blogging is fun, blogging is a mystery waiting to be discovered , shyness is my enemy but friendship battles forth and wins me over.

A beautiful collection of ladies I'll think you'll agree winning my shyness over with their friendship.

The first session was a how to use your camera properly even though I had forgotten my DSLR ( first blogger fail of the day!) but none the less I used my camera phone to capture a number of images.

Not bad pictures I think . I hijacked Geekdaddy and we had a long conversation , he really helped my photography (white balance was a problem in a number of my pictures) and he gave some very useful tips thanks Geekdaddy!! the other half of Geekmummy.

Sometimes life can deal you lemons ...

But you can go ahead and just make lemonade!

Another session saw SEO come into play and me asserting myself by asking a question, much nodding of heads and agreement that I am indeed unique and a anomaly ! Very insightful and much for my technophobic head to get around.

Last session was brand awareness which pretty much speaks for itself culminating that both blogger and PR must show each other respect. The farewell speech ended on a high with my old "mate" Andy (Motty) Cope, teaching us to be brilliant and that when we wake up in the morning being grateful that we don't have tooth ache. That we need to be BRILLIANT and ignore the "mood" hoovers we all know them it's how we deal with them that makes a difference to our lives. 

We did a envelope swapping which saw us getting another blogger to write a guest post for hopefully in the not so distant future. Then it was farewells for some and knees up for others , I was in the knees up lot until my asthma kicked in and I didn't mention it so had to bail early. I have since learnt I should not keep my problems to myself !

I need a sign making that says "Bloggers at social media play do not disturb!"

Thanks to Cat Parrott for letting me come to the blogger shindigs!

Help I Am A Southerner Stuck Up North

Help I am a Southerner Stuck up North......

When I arrived to live in Derby many years ago, my first impression was it was just as sleepy as my hometown of Bedford.

Please don't get my wrong it was lovely to change from the sleepy town of Bedford which has a river running through its heart. Sometimes Bedford was a heads down place as people battled to get to London on the train as part of their daily commute. I welcomed without wishing to sound stereotypical I welcomed the "hellos" and the "Aye up me ducks" having lived and been brought up down south  this was not an aspect of daily life that I was used to.

I have always enjoyed the slower pace of life and where I live is just right in a suburb if Derby a sleepy village at the heart but has a sprawling suburb metropolis. I am the "middle bear" where everything is just right I am in the suburbia yet a hop , skip and jump from the countryside. Don't you find that in today's climate that no one seems to have time any more to just sit and have a coffee, do a crossword or watch the world go by or generally relax.

Derby itself is only a quick bus ride or car journey away, Derby though has been going through massive changes it has in nooks and crannies the feeling of a small town and this is what puts me at ease after all this years moving from a sleepy little market town and this is what I love about it.

And when and if I need a retail fix then I'll head into the Westfield where I can purchase everything from a spoon to completely refurbishing my interior. If I want to just browse I can do so without being jostled, shoved pushed and pulled.

There are numerous cafes, restaurants and wine bars where you can relax with a drink, meet up with friends for lunch and have a natter with, for that special occasion reserve a table at one of the hundreds of restaurants for an excellent meal with the special person in your life.

Entertainment wise there are cinemas, theatre shows, farmers markets, art gallery and museum, you name it that Derby has got it, its always reinventing itself. There is a 'Big Screen ' in the market place which is absolutely fabulous. It pulls the community together especially when the Olympics and Paralympics were on.

I thought that before I moved here I wouldn't find the Derby people friendly how wrong I was, on the whole they are a really friendly bunch of people. You can find yourself having a coffee and then be chatting to a total stranger as if you have known each other years. When I have tried this in larger cities , I find that nobody has the time or they look at me as if I am from the planet Mars with a ulterior motive in striking up the conversation.

Like many a native born Derby deweller I take issue with the endless roadworks , the prospect of building yet more houses without using the ones that lie empty or developing the brownfield sites.
If I was offered the choice to move back to Bedford would I could .... No when I have all I need here  as they say "Home is where the heart is" or is that heart is where the home is either way when I have all this countryside on my door step.

I am very happy to be a southerner in a northern city ..

Hamster Of Doom The Tooth Fairy Edition

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Kids bless them.

They just love show and tell... Showing that diamond they found ( a stone ) the dinosaur tooth ( a stone) then there's the McDonalds toys the list is endless. It's a brilliant exercise to encourage children to talk about their toy etc, then there is the child who has stealth that you know is going to be prime minster one day.

"Next time I am bringing the Tooth Fairy to show and tell!"

Myself puzzled "How and why?"

"Ohh that's simple I'll take the hamster out of the cage , set a trap the fairy will rescue the hamster and then she'll take him back to the cage and then. I'll close the door . "

"But why?"

" So the fairy can answer questions at show and tell"

Fair enough.

I am not quite on their plans for Father Christmas mind.

Magpie Monday hitting the jackpot

I regularly watch antique shows and think I'd love to spot one of those , but sometimes when you go into charity shops it's the same old tat, those copies of fifty Shades of Grey , knitted doll toilet roll holders (classy) and a pair of flares circa 1978.

But the other day as I waltzed into the local Charity shop I spied two items and I just knew I had to have them.

The items in question are a Victorian coal scuttle and an arts and craft table all for £20 the cat however is my own. I really think I need an Aspidistra plant to out into the coal scuttle I think it would suit it magnificently.

13th of May Silent Sunday