Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in sL1ckbrit's LiveJournal:

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Monday, May 30th, 2005
7:28 pm	A wonderful weekend I know, I haven't posted here in donkey's years. Didn't dare check out the last time/thing I posted. But as I've just got back from the most wonderful weekend spent with very valued friends, I felt like shouting about it. :o) We (Andy and I) set off early on Saturday morning to visit Andree and Tony. Andree looked after Sharifa and very bravely and kindly "held her hoof" during her last few hours in this world. She made Sharifa's exit a very relaxed and happy one which no amount of money, words or anything would be enough to thank her for. So I finally cleared all my horsey stuff out of the garden sheds and took it over to Andree so that she could make use of what she wanted and give the rest to the Horse Sanctuary that she works for. The icing on the cake was that Rachel and Paul were also visiting them this weekend so we had a great get-together of old friends. Found a very pleasant hotel/restaurant to have lunch in and so was able to enjoy good food AND good company. Then we headed off down south to Llangolman to visit my longest-standing friend. Alison and I grew up together. Our mum's met in the maternity ward (I arrived 10 days before Ally) and we have known each other ever since. Went to the same school, were even in the same class until we reached our teens, then I moved to Epsom and we went our separate ways for a while. But a few years back we managed to meet up again and now Ally and Ian have bought the most fantastic old stone farmhouse in Wales surround by acres of fields and woodland with a river running through the bottom of their land. It has taken them two years to renovate the farmhouse and they're still not quite moved into it, but it won't be long now. As always, it felt like no time had passed since our last visit, Ally and I are just on the same wavelength and pick up where we left off. Ian and Andy get on fabulously, but then they are both easy-going, fun-loving and sociable, so it was hardly surprising. It feels like we've been on a lovely long holiday, rather than just 3 days away. Such a lovely feeling to wake up to the sound of birds and the distant babble of a river - not a car within earshot. It's made me want to move to Northern Ireland sooner rather than later. I think next time we're there which will be October at the latest, I will be paying a few Estate Agents a visit! Kxx Current Mood: cheerful (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 10th, 2004
8:26 am	Before Honey was even cold.... Came home last night to find that Dean (Jess's boyfriend) or rather his brother Shaun I think it was, had bought Jess a new hamster. Dean must have come home in his lunchbreak and cleaned out the cage and set it all up for the new arrival who was installed before Jess got home from work. TBH I don't think Jess would have got another hamster...she's not here that often now, and personally I don't think it's fair on the hamster if it's not handled every day. But he/she is here now, so not much I can do except try to devote a bit of time to him myself. I'll amend this post as soon as I have a piccie to show. Meanwhile I have one of Honey. http://www.r1pped.com/honey2.jpg. Didn't get off to the best of starts today, but I'm not going into details here. Let's just say someone severely pissed me off, and I think I have every right to feel pissed off and I hope he thinks about what I said and can see WHY I am so annoyed. Off to work now. Kxx Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 9th, 2004
8:22 am	End of eras. I am now officially Kay Wheeler again. I have taken back my maiden name as my Decree Nisi is through and in six weeks time I will no longer be married in any shape or form. On the down side, my heart goes out to Jess today. She's been really ill since Sunday, being continually sick. She finally ate something last night but felt nauseous all evening and looked like death. Just to kick her when she's down, she came downstairs in tears this morning cos her hamster died last night. I hate times like this. I've been there, I know how it feels and I wish I could step in her shoes and take the grief for her. But you can't, you have to let them experience life's ups and downs too. So we're down to one Chincilla pet-wise now, who despite being way way past her life-expectancy, continues to bounce around looking fit and healthy! Had my annual trip to Harrods on Saturday and came home with three Thomas Bears! Well they were doing a 3 for 2 offer so how could I resist? I've already found a home for one of them and I'm sure there'll be plenty of takers for the other one. Kxx Current Mood: sad (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 27th, 2004
10:43 am	Sharifa I've put together a little tribute to Sharifa for those who are wondering what all the fuss is about: http://www.r1pped.com/Sharifa. On the personal front, relationships with Dan and Jess are good at the moment which I am enjoying. Dan has a girlfriend now and Jess is still happy and settled with Dean. Dean's dad had a nasty bike accident at the weekend and is pretty smashed up in hospital. Hopefully he will make a full recovery although he has a suspected fractured spine. Dan has applied for a fill-in job at Tescos which I hope he gets cos he really does need to start saving hard if he's going to be able to afford Uni next year. Divorce is all going ahead and I should get the Decree Nisi on November 5th so hopefully will be official single again just before Christmas. I am still deliriously happy with Andy. Keep wondering when the bubble will burst, but deep down I just feel so content with him that I can't imagine ever feeling any different. I never seem to be able to get enough of laying with his arms wrapped round me watching the tv or just falling asleep. Anyway, enough of the slushy stuff. Kxx Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 21st, 2004
11:30 pm	Celebrations I know this is all out of synch, but I didn't write much about our latest visit to Larne and we had such a great time that I'm updating now. Friday was Andy's birthday and we had a wonderful day with his mum and aunt walking around Glenariff then in the evening we headed off to the Golf Club for a meal. The view was stunning and watching a beautiful sunset over the Irish Sea was magical. Finished off the evening in a club just down the road which was conveniently walking distance away. Saturday I spent a long day shopping in Belfast - far longer than I'd wanted to as I was at the mercy of Andy and Dee dropping me off and picking me up, but a successful shopping spree all the same. Then came the party. Well I knew it would be a good knees-up and I wasn't wrong. It's a long time since I reached the point where I knew I couldn't drink another drop without either passing out or spending the night slung over a loo! Having three meetings the next morning after about 4 hours sleep wasn't the best plan of action either! It was really good to meet Wilma. A lovely lady and like all of his family, she just seem to treat me like she'd known me all my life and I felt completely at home and at ease with her. I don't know if we'll ever be able to afford a flight out to Australia but I hope we can. I'd love to meet the rest of her family. Here are the photo-links for those who want to have a nose: http://www.r1pped.com/wilmasvisit2004/glenariff http://www.r1pped.com/wilmasvisit2004/party Kxx (Comment on this)
Friday, October 15th, 2004
8:13 am	Update As usual, everything's been so hectic I haven't posted on here for an age. Which defeats the object when so much has been going on. I suppose one reason I haven't posted is because the biggest and saddest news is that my pony Sharifa was put down last week at the grand age of 29. She's been a big love in my live for near 3 decades and it feels very strange knowing she's no longer in this world. Posting up here about her just doesn't seem enough so I will be doing a proper dedication on our site when I can get some photos scanned in. Also had a fleeting visit to NI last week as Andy's aunt Wilma was over from Australia and it was Andy's birthday so good excuse for a huge family party. So I've been well and truly introduced to the Agnew family now! Visited Glenariff again and it seemed even more beautiful than the first time I saw it. Got some lovely video and photo footage of it and Andy's made a pretty impressive DVD of the photos with background music. Best of all - it actually plays on the TV :o) On the downside, still having problems with a certain person at work. Seems after getting accused of being the most selfish bitch on earth, I then get forgiven after a time and (ok maybe I was being naive here) I think bridges are being mended and we are going to be ok as friends again, but as soon as that happens the wandering hands start all over again and I find myself trying to avoid situations where he's continually trying to get me on my own, and then when I snap and give him a straight rejection we have another fallout, more nasty emails and so the cycle continues. Well the final straw was getting a text message from him just before I went to NI in the evening (and minutes after I had been told that Sharifa was to be put down the next day) saying that he was working late and could I go in and give him a hug. Now help me out here guys... I need feedback.. cos to me that is asking for trouble? When I finally got shitty with him and made it clear that Andy had read these messages and was none to happy about them he got stroppy and I got greeted with one of his long, ranting, insulting emails the following day in the office. For some weird reason I answered the email, why oh why did I think I had to defend his accusations and have a go back? So of course I got an even worse seething email which I actually just forwarded home, because I knew if I read it at work I wouldn't be able to concentrate all day. So I finally came to my senses and worded a reasonably brief email that told him in no uncertain terms that apart from the sexual harassment that he was putting me through, the emails sent to me at work were also harassment and that if they did not stop, and stop for good, that I would be taking my complaint to Garry (his co-director). He had the cheek to tell me there was no need for threats! What am I supposed to do when he continually ignores me telling him that I don't want him trying to touch me, that it makes me feel uncomfortable and please stop??? Feeling very vunlerable at the moment, cos I'm not totally convinced that even a threat like that will make him stop. He is showing strong signs of obsession, stalking and is definitely losing his mind. That, in my book, is a dangerous and volotile condition. Well that's my rant done for the day. I'll try to be more positive with my next post. Kxx Current Mood: uncomfortable (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 26th, 2004
5:14 pm	Not the best of weeks Seems to have been a week of forking out money and sad experiences. Went to the funeral of one of my mum's best friends on Friday. She's been a very close friend of the family for as long as I can remember. I think the most painful thing about funerals is having to watch people you care about going through the pain a grief of losing a loved one, in this case it was her daughter who'd been incredibly close to her and had to watch her mother go through a lot of pain and discomfort before losing her. I thought I could spare a few pounds to buy the new Stephen King novel and the previous one that we still haven't got to finish off the Dark Tower series. Plus a few Steve Hackett CDs as they were very cheap on Amazon. No sooner have I spent that money than I find I have to have glasses for reading, so yesterday I ended up forking out over £200 for a pair of prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses as I do the majority of my reading sitting in the sunshine during the summer months. Then I get a call from Dean to tell me that my car is in need of serious work to get it through the MOT. I daren't even think what that's going to come to. I suppose things come in threes - this afternoon Andree phoned to tell me that my pony had injured herself last week. She has already had the vet out once (call-out for vets is around £50 before they even start to treat the animal) and she will probably have to call him out again this week. She wants me to go over there next weekend to see what I think, which really means that she doesn't want to have to make the decision (and why should she, it's not her pony and she never complains at the trouble she has to go to looking after her) as to whether or not we have her put down. I just hope I don't think about it too much in between now and then because emotions cloud my judgement with Sharifa. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to say I think she's better off out of it. What I really want is to be able to have her home with me so I can look after her and make the decision when the time's right. But I know that's not a practical decision to make. The journey would be impossible now with her leg/hoof being in pain and I have nowhere suitable here to keep her. One part of me wants to go and see her, if only to say goodbye, the cowardly part of me wishes that she would pass away peacefully in her sleep and take the responsibility away from me. Either way, it's going to be one of the hardest things I have had to deal with. Kxx Current Mood: sad (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 21st, 2004
12:21 pm	Getting there Yesterday was quite a noteable day for me in that I took the Acknowledgement of Service round to Pete duly filled in so that he could sign it. Which he did in a surprisingly calm and pleasant manner. I have to admit his attitude towards my asking for a divorce has been pleasantly surprising to me. Also had a long conversation with him about Dan who seems to be going through an irresponsible teenage stage at the moment. Need to sit him down and have a long serious chat with him to try to get him motivated into getting a part time job and sorting out his University applications before it's too late. Now have really weird mixed emotions. Part of me is jumping up and down wanting to celebrate, but a bigger part is saying you can't celebrate the fact that you've failed in the most important decision you ever made in your life. I don't regret having left Pete, I know I couldn't have gone on feeling the way I did, trying to make things work when my feelings just wouldn't change. I'm happier now than I have been for years in many ways, but always that happiness it tainted by knowing that I've destroyed a lot of the happiness and peace of mind that belonged to Pete, Dan and Jess before I made my decision. I know the other way of looking at is it that I stuck with my family for 17 years before I tore everything apart. Life carries on though and I think we've all adjusted pretty well to the situation. At least I'm still on good terms with both my children considering the problems I see some families with teenagers going through. Kxx Current Mood: pensive (Comment on this)
Monday, September 20th, 2004
1:21 pm	More unexpected visitors Last weekend it was the kitten that left such an deep impression on all of us. This weekend I attempted to tidy up the garden and as I was finishing I saw a huge dragonfly hovering over our pond. It then proceeded to lay eggs in and around the pond (well I'm assuming that must be what he was doing). It was there for so long, I had time to grab my camera and try out the 'close-up' feature. www.r1pped.com/Dragonfly - results were quite pleasing. Saturday night Andy and I went to the Lal Qilla for a meal. Used to do it on a regular (at least monthly) basis, but haven't been there since about April. Unfortunately Andy was feeling so tired (well if you must come to bed at 6.40am!!) that he couldn't even finish his beer, let alone his meal so we just doggy-bagged it and came home. Curled up on the sofa together to watch a film then I couldn't wake him up enough to go to bed, so I just went up and left him there. Jess and Dean came in about half an hour later, and bless her heart - Jess went up to the top room, got the quilt and pillow from there and brought it down to cover him up. It really feels like the two of them are finally starting to build bridges and get along ok. Last night Glen joined the four of us for dinner. One minute there's only two of us, the next I'm catering for five! But I have to admit I enjoy having the house buzzing like that. Better still, Dan turned up later on in the evening. He'd been out with friends all evening and got home and couldn't sleep so he took Misty for a walk and ended up at mine. Yet another feel-good factor that Dan will actually come round to see ME rather than just to use the computer now! I guess it's a sign that my children are starting to turn into adults. Kxx Current Mood: optimistic (Comment on this)
Friday, September 17th, 2004
8:28 am	Family matters One of my rare diary entries. I just never seem to think of posting up here nowadays. Life's too hectic. But last night Jess and Dean decided to eat with us (I'd purposely done spagetti bolognaise cos I knew they both liked that) and she suggested we sat round the dining room table. I had thought about it myself but thought she'd just poo poo the idea. So we all sat down to dinner together and had a very pleasant evening. Lots of good banter at the table and Andy and Jess actually managed to be nice to one another all evening! Just felt really good. Hope we can do it more often. Isn't it amazing how some little thing can really affect your life? Got a phone call on Sunday morning from my friend who'd found a kitten howling under her car, looking very lost frightened. As her dog would probably have had him for breakfast she asked me if I could take him while they tried to find the owner. I eventually did find the owner on Monday evening after putting posters up around the area we'd found him. But during those two days this little bundle of fur completely took over the place and even won Andy's heart! I'm used to having pets come and go with Liz, but I have to admit I've almost pined for this kitten since he went back. He really did make an impact. You can see him for yourself on this link: http://www.ofoto.co.uk/BrowsePhotos.jsp?collid=97839638633&UV=563019697159_37492738633 Amazingly I didn't have an allergic reaction to him either. Kxx Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 24th, 2004
7:38 am	Back home Well ok, I've been home for nearly two weeks now, but I knew I'd be too busy to update here as I had a big family BBQ to organise. That involved trying to transform the garden that had turned into a total jungle in two weeks back into something we could sit out in. Andy was still working on it in the dark the night before! It was a bit unfortunately the the Mole Duck Races were on Saturday which took more time out of the afternoon than I'd anticipated, but great fun and I'm glad we went along, especially as Mavis from the gym had bought a duck and called it Vladimir's Dream by Katy Lennon out of Athens in honour of our club's olympic gymnast (who did extremely well in coming 20th in the all-round competition) and the duck not only won it's race, but won the winners' final too. Weather held out for the BBQ and we had a fantastic day. Not often we can get everyone together with Tim living in Malta and Nick in North Yorkshire but everyone made it including both my cousins on my dad's side, so the day was a great success. Can't do links on here but the piccies are on www.r1pped.com/Malta2004 www.r1pped.com/BBQ2004 www.r1pped.com/Duckraces Kxx Current Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Monday, August 9th, 2004
7:30 am	Diary from Malta - Day13 Our last day here before heading off home and I have the usual feeling of the holiday having flown past. We had an easy day just reading and packing of course. Finished off the holiday with Gordon and Marika in a lovely restaurant he had discovered in Sliema. I'm sure Timmy will be frequenting there as the food was brilliant, and cheap and less than 5 minutes walk from the flat. As always, a great night with good company. Kxx (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 8th, 2004
7:24 am	Diary from Malta - Day12 Discovered how to get the best of both worlds today as we're not supposed to use the Hotel pool on a Sunday. I put a chair by the french doors of the flat where the sun was shining in and placed the fan next to me so I could sit and sunbath without roasting! In the evening we went over to Viv and Pete's as they had kindly invited us to what turned out to be the most fantastic roast dinner. Viv's certainly a better cook than me and we had a very relaxed enjoyable evening. Kxx (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 7th, 2004
12:40 am	Diary from Malta Day 11 Finally got Andy to venture over to the hotel today. We bagged a spot on the roof garden, so we were away from the crowded pool. It was actually quite a pleasant day to sit out - there was a slight sprinkling of cloud and a nice breeze so it wasn't uncomfortably hot and we managed to get a sun brolly so he could stay out of the sun. After lunch we went on a boat cruise round the harbours of Valetta. Had a very informative tour guide, although the noise of the engine drowned out a lot of what he said. Fortunately he has his own website which I haven't checked out yet, but it's supposed to have all the information we could want there. www.louishenwood.com in case anyone is interested. When Timmy got home we headed off to find a Fiesta. Went to quite a large one near Valetta, but unfortunately the fireworks aren't until tomorrow or Monday and likewise with the parade of statues, so Andy probably won't see the most spectacular aspect. The lights and decorations were still pretty impressive and worth seeing and it was quite amusing listening to the band and watching the Maltese version of a combination of come-dancing and Saturday Night at the Palladium. Kxx (Comment on this)
Friday, August 6th, 2004
12:30 am	Diary from Malta Day 10 Last night we mentioned going to Valetta today and Freddie said she'd join us, so we trundled off to the buses again and managed to get ripped off by the driver as well as copping the seat at the front right next to the engine (you can imagine the heat). Was quite interesting watching this guy at work, he had obviously got short-changing foreigners down to a fine art. Co-incidentally we had the same driver for the return journey and this time someone pulled him on it so he had to give him the right change! Makes you wonder how much he managed to pocket for himself at the end of each day. Had to laugh at all the religious stickers and junk on the dashboard - don't you just love church-goers!?! lol We went and had a drink in "The Pub" which is the pub where Oliver Reed took his last drink. It was a small dark place in one of the backstreets - about what you'd expect but very interesting. Plastered with pics of Ollie of course, but also had a lot of naval memorabilia. We then had a look round the War Museum, though Freddie gave that one a miss (can't blame her really - it was baking in there). Kxx (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 5th, 2004
12:17 am	Diary from Malta Day 8/9 Had a quiet day Wednesday, Andy staying by the fan and reading his book and me over by the pool with my book. Thursday Tim had the day off, and the car, so he took us over to the Aviation museum which was like walking round a sauna, but very interesting. Then we looked around the glass shop and watched some glass blowing before heading off to Mdina for lunch. Finished off the afternoon with a trip to the cathedral in Mosta, which is where a bomb crashed through the domed roof during second world war and bounced down the aisle, without exploding and without injuring any of the 300 worshippers who were attending a service there at the time. It was one of 3 bombs dropped and the other two also hit the dome, but bounced off without exploding. Another evening of good wine, good food and good company, namely Gordon, Marika, Freddie and of course my little bro. We went to the Dubliners and had a table by the big open window looking onto the bay which was beautifully lit and had gondolas floating past. Very scenic. Annoyingly, I forgot to take any photos that night. Kxx (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
12:05 am	Diary from Malta Day 7 Took the Bus over to Zubbug to meet Gordon again. He took us over to a superb restaurant with the surprising name of 'Bobbyland'. Yes I know it sounds like a kiddies theme park but in fact it had a really touching story attached to it. It all started with an 11 yr old boy who during the war used to take fruit from his father's store over the road to the soldiers who were camped out in the village. In return the soldiers would give the boy sweets and chocolate. He befriended one of these soldiers in particular. When he asked him his name, the soldier said "just call me Bobby". So every time the soldiers returned from their missions, the little boy would go looking for his friend Bobby. Inevitably, one trip Bobby did not turn up with the platoon, and when the little boy asked around one of the soldiers told him that Bobby had been shot down in action and killed. He left such a lasting imprint on the boy, that when he grew up and opened a restaurant, he named it Bobbyland in memory of his friend. It is now one of the most popular restaurants on the island and having dined there, I can see why. Superb food, and still owned and frequented by the now 94-year-old 'boy'. Tim joined us in the evening and (when we managed to coax Andy out of the swimming pool) we took another trip into the village for more food and drink. I'm avoiding the bathroom scales atm! Kxx (Comment on this)
Monday, August 2nd, 2004
9:21 pm	Diary from Malta Day 6 Today we managed to have another relaxing 'do nothing' day. I finished the Colin Bateman book I was reading so I'm back onto the Dark Tower series again now. Kxx (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 31st, 2004
9:03 pm	Diary from Malta Day 4 Timmy had to work today, so we had the sort of day we have been expecting most days to be like... just chilling out, me by the pool of the hotel opposite and Andy lounging about in the air conditioned flat, both with a good book. When Timmy got home at gone 10pm we headed off to the Dubliner a bar in St. Juliannes to meet up with a few of Tim's friends again. We decided not to stay too long, and walked back along the seafront, leaving Timmy to find his own way home in the early hours! It was a lovely evening for a walk along the coast. Kxx (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 29th, 2004
8:46 pm	Diary from Malta Day 2/3 Perhaps we should have been a bit more vigilant with the mosquito spray, both Andy and I look like we have chicken pox this morning - Andy more so than me! Oh well. We headed off to, hmmm, actually I'm not sure where it was - Marsaxlokk I think. Anyway, we were meeting some of Timmy's cricket friends there for lunch, which lasted until about 7pm {hic}. Lovely setting right by the sea with colourful fishing boats to look at. Met Gordon, Malta's answer to Oliver Reed! No, really, he has the same very blue eyes and cheeky smile and is a wonderfully eccentric englishman (well he sounds very english, although his mother was actually Maltese). One of those people who you just know you're going to hit it off with, larger than life and out to enjoy life to the full. So we ended up arranging to meet up the next day so he could show us round the Marsa Sports Club and he took us to all the beauty spots the tourists don't normally get to see, a bit off the beaten track. We then headed back to his 'pad' to meet Timmy and went to a restaurant in his local village, followed by a few more drinks then back to Gordon's place where Andy and I had the luxury of his indoor swimming pool all to ourselves ;o) Amazing with didn't sink really with the amount of alcohol that had been consumed that day, but actually after a few lengths, I felt amazingly sober! I should mention that Gordon has the most fantastic house, with it's own guest flat and a spectacular roof garden of which he's very proud as well as a very classy heated indoor swimming pool with underwater lighting. As he has lived for many years in Malta, he is also very knowlegeable about the country. I'm sure we learnt far more than any tour guide would have told us during that afternoon. Kxx (1 Comment |Comment on this)