One ongoing story, soon to come to fruition (we bus riders hope!) is the saga of our new bus station. The original plan had been to begin work during the summer months which for all of us car less residents who reside in our local town would have been far more preferable to when the actual work began, some time in October, thus resulting in the horror that has prevailed for us during this winter.

Firstly some bright spark (no doubt male) decided that to begin with, they would knock down our old covered stand, which incidentally had both roof, sides and back thereby making it fairly protective during any inclement weather, and then replace that with four separate completely open to the elements temporary stands which will be demolished once the main stand is completed, supposedly some time in March. (Although we bus passengers are now all confidently predicting that this will not be achieved judging by the rate of work actually taking place recently.)

So, before they could even begin any building of the actual intended bus station itself, they had to firstly demolish our enclosed stand at the other end, erect four open to ‘everything nature decides to throw at you’ bus stands, then begin to  demolish the other covered stand where the new bus station was to be housed. Follow all of that? No, neither did we!

Now we bus passengers should have known what would happen once we were all expected to use these new ‘open to the elements’ temporary stands. Yes, you’ve guessed it. We were to endure one of the worst winters for 15 years or so!  Not only that, but some bright spark (again most definitely a car owner and of a male persuasion, in fact probably the exact same idiot who came up with the first idea) decided that our buses which had always used the same stand for the last 20 years or so, should suddenly begin to use two separate stands, thereby guaranteeing that plenty of bus passengers using our particular route would  be bound to get on board the wrong bus.

Our two buses use exactly the same  route as each other when going to Bradford, which is the direction we take when travelling home from town, but they do use a different route when travelling in the direction of Halifax, and so have two different numbers assigned to them. They have in the past  (before all the upheaval and decision taken by this male moron to test whether or not we who use this particular route could see out the winter without landing in the Hospital Psychology Unit) always departed from the same bay/stand both when departing or arriving  in either direction, so of course we have all grown accustomed to waiting at the same stand no matter which destination we happened  to be heading in at the time. 

The ensuing confusion whilst all the building work has been taking place has been enormous and we have all been relating many tales to each other of journeying in the wrong direction, standing at the wrong stand etc, etc. But funnily enough, this has only applied to us, the poor saps who use this particular route.  All the other routes have been functioning in exactly the same way that they did previous to all the changes, which does beg the question, does this guy have a grudge against someone who lives on this particular route?  An old girlfriend or divorced wife?  Some other male who has done him wrong?  We can’t understand it. (We being any poor passenger who has stood waiting patiently at the wrong bus stop only to either get on the wrong bus or see their bus go sailing out from the stand further down thereby causing them to miss it!)

Worse part was of course the horrible winter, where we all seemed to be stood waiting an absolute age, as is the way of things when you are a bus passenger and the weather is bad.  During the worst of the weather, the buses tended to be running anything up to 15 to 20 minutes late, and with chill icy winds whistling down towards us from the west, many had taken to slowly shuffling their way behind someone else to try and afford a little bit of shelter.  This was fine of course if you happened to be lucky enough to have some very large bulky gentleman waiting in the queue, but not when all there was were thin stick like ladies who looked ready to be blown over or worse, collapse from the cold.  As a matter of fact, it has amazed me that no bus passenger has died from hyperthermia this winter whilst waiting for a bus in these useless stands.  We might just as well have been standless for all the good they have been.

Why couldn’t they have just left the covered one in place and extended it to accommodate another bus?  It was only one stand short as it originally stood.  This would have saved them money as they wouldn’t have had to pull it down, build the temporary stands, and then demolish those when the main bus station is finally completed!  What a farce it has all been, and we, the poor bus users of our little town have been totally fed up with it all. We do tend to be a lot of moaners around here at the best of times, but it has been the topic of discussion and rants and raves all the way through from start to finish. We who have lived through it all (and lived to tell the tale!) will not forget it in a long time, its been like an endurance test set by some unknown enemy hell bent on trying every bus users patience who has been unfortunate enough to reside in our area and use our bus station frequently.

When the new bus station is completed, and we all finally get inside it, we all ought to hold a massive passengers party to celebrate our endurance. Medals for bravery beyond the call of duty should be awarded to every passenger who managed to endure it more than twice a week. Long standing awards should be given to those who suffered during the snow storms of buses turning up at least 20 minutes late whilst they shivered under those inadequate shelters. We  should all get another medal awarded for having the patience to endure the bossy guy that they assigned to patrol the ‘designated crossing’ making sure that we all walked much further than we really needed to even if our bus was just about to depart.

It has been an absolute nightmare and I am glad that I for one won’t be around the next time they decide to change our bus station!

TG    

Just quickly getting back to everyone about K and her weeks trial at Full body and the Voice, she has not been chosen to join the two year course, so we are both very upset.

Reason given?  She doesn’t need the course as she is already proficient in all the content such as improvisation, etc.  She is a fantastic actress and they will contact us if there are any openings for a professional part.

I will leave you all to draw your own conclusions about the outcome, remember they do have their own full time acting company who are based there permanently.

TG

I told you that she is always talking to herself didn’t I?  Well here’s the proof! 

Picture created using Windows Live Photo Gallery, panoramic picture feature.  Idea blatantly copied from Vasudev’s excellent post HERE. Thank you for the inspiration Vasudev!

TG   

Yesterday K and I paid a long overdue trip to the hairdressers, in my particular case  because I won’t be able to hide my ghastly straight hair from view under a hat for much longer, now that it is beginning to look as if the weather is at last getting warmer, and K because she wanted hers styling and simply refuses point blank to miss out.  Her philosophy is this.  If Mum is having hers done then so am I! (regardless of whether or not hers is in need of cutting, styling or anything else.)

I was actually beginning to resemble the picture that I have seen so often on the internet of a cat who has just been washed, especially first thing in the morning.  Besides, I can’t do my own hair myself when it is straight, I am not able to style it with my hairdryer and brush to make it look fairly decent,  whereas once it is permed I can at least make it look presentable, and I am unfortunately not in a financial position where I can afford to visit the hairdressers every week.

So on our way there K took a picture of me for a before and after just for fun.  Following our visit to the the hairdressers we then caught the bus to Bradford to get K a new backpack because one of her old ones (she currently has two) has a very small, tiny, miniscule, you need a magnifying glass to see it, tear in the leather base, which as far as K is concerned is all the excuse she requires to need a completely new bag.  Hmm!  Now let me see.  I seem to recall someone residing in this flat stating just after Christmas that the big plan was to save up to go down to Cornwall before Mum here leaves this mortal coil for good!   What on earth has happened to that idea?

Recent must haves have included 80’s Pop hits, a grey jogging suit, High School Musical 3 (on blue ray), bottle of rose wine and chocolates for Valentines Day, (any excuse for a diet busting munch and booze up!)  High School Musical 3 CD, and of course the new backpack.  The High School Musical 3 CD she bought today from Tesco’s during our main shop, thereby pushing up the total spend at the auto checkout to a staggering £53. 96p!  Once I  had picked myself up from the floor and fully recovered from the shock, I began to think about this quandary.

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Would I place a bet on my ever treading on those fantastic looking Cornish beaches?  Or taking snaps and pictures of the ruins at Tintagel whilst wandering around it exploring?  Would I ever gaze out from one of those quaint little fishing villages I have seen pictures of?  Every year without fail,  I try to get enough money scraped together for this  ‘trip of a lifetime’ (well for me anyway!) down to Cornwall.  I have been attempting this for a long number of years.  I haven’t managed it so far and, despite the fact that K always insists at the beginning of every year that we are going to do the journey this time but then every week has to have something new,  I don’t think I ever will.  LOL

TG

On  Friday, K and I set off to refresh her memory about where the entrance to ‘Full body and a Voice’ actually is situated, as it is rather a complicated entrance to find if you aren’t totally familiar with the place, and as it was quite a few weeks ago that we actually used it, I felt it warranted a return visit.

It was a beautiful sunny morning, quite ‘springlike’ in fact.  We went down the ‘cat steps’ to catch the bus to Huddersfield and we didn’t have long to wait for one.  Which brings me to the question  have you ever noticed how if the weather is fine, then your only stood at the bus stop for a few minutes before one arrives, but if its horrible, raining, cold etc, you’ve probably just missed one and therefore have half an hour to wait?  Or is that  another  one  of Technogran’s laws?

Anyway, I digress.  On arrival in Huddersfield, I took some pictures of the Church then we continued on to the Laurence Batley Theatre where we ran through exactly where K needs to go, which door, the procedure to employ if the door is locked, (there is an intercom system employed for entrance and you have to push the button for someone to release the door and let you in) next we went over how many flight of steps she needs to climb in order to reach the company. (all the way to the top actually, so quite a climb!  Boy, is she going to lose some weight!  LOL)   Well actually there is a lift, but being the kind thoughtful and caring  Mum that I am, I didn’t point this out to her because she will then use this all the time, and let’s face it all that stair climbing will help to keep her fit!

(Don’t worry dear readers, K is no fool!  She will have already noted the lift and no doubt will  be hoping that I didn’t notice it.  And she was probably silently saying to herself as we puffed up the steps “ Ha!  Monday I am using that lift!  There is no way am I climbing all these steps!   Who does my Mum think I am? “ or words to that effect.)

Anyway, on eventually arriving at the studio, we had a quick look around.  There was no staff present and the door to the offices was locked, so K  just did a practice at ‘limbering up’ at the bar ready for any ballet that she might be requested to perform, then we reconnoitred the toilets and their position (next floor down to the studio) in relation to where she would be based.

Following that we made our exit down the stairs and outside, where we had a quick chat to Vanessa who was sat outside at one of the Cafe tables having a smoke.  She is one of the acting company’s tutors at ‘Full Body and the Voice.’  By the time  we finished our chat and said our goodbye's and ‘See you on Mondays’ it was lunch time, so we decided to have a change of venue and went into Burger King for our lunch. Then we made our way up to the bus station and returned home.

I am now feeling confident that K knows her way into the building and whereabouts to go on her first day there. The taxi firm have also put my mind at rest regarding the procedure in the afternoon should she be late exiting the building, and assured me that they would never leave without  her.  Now I know what you’re all thinking,  ‘Is this woman paranoid or what?’ but we have had this happen in the past when K was attending H college many years ago,  and she was actually left by the taxi firm on more than one occasion!  The horror and helplessness I felt on those occasions has never left me, it was a nightmare to be rung up by the College staff and be told that my Down’s Syndrome daughter was still stood outside at 14.30 pm at night in the dark, and I was miles away with no way to get to her!

So, I have now been put at my ease. She is nervous about the trial week, but I am quietly confident that she will be attending for the next two years. At least, I hope so!

TG 

Remember when K went for an interview at Full Body and the Voice?  And how her ability to attend the audition trial week and subsequently the two year acting course if she was chosen all hinged on receiving help with transport?  Well I am pleased to announce that she has been granted transport for next week, and then if she is chosen for the acting course this will continue for the next two years.

On Friday we were invited to watch their very latest production at the Laurence Batley Theatre and we both really enjoyed the performance.  It had the desired effect that I had hoped for, as it fired up K’s forgotten enthusiasm once more for performing.  She can tend to be very reluctant to change the ‘status quo’ and to uproot herself from what she is doing at present and venture somewhere new, she has always been this way.

Now that she has settled into the daily routine of the Day Care Centre and become friendly with all of the staff (which don’t forget, she wouldn’t attend for love or money for two years or so, no matter how much her social worker and I tried to persuade her!) she is somewhat reluctant to leave the cosy, familiar and comforting surroundings, but she has been assured that if she does get a place on the two year acting course she can still attend the Day Care Centre on Wednesdays, so this has appeased her somewhat that she isn’t actually completely leaving and can still attend for one day a week.

I also think that she had forgotten the whole atmosphere surrounding performing and the stage.  So I was glad to see her not only enjoying watching the play ‘That was then, this is Now’ but also being reminded of how much she loves the atmosphere, the lights, the taking part, the laughs, the costumes,  all of it.  She is beginning to get a little nervous about it now, which lets me know that she does want to make a good impression and qualify  for the two year acting course.

We were not allowed to take photo’s of the performance, and as a result I only took this one of K stood at the entrance of the theatre.  I am so happy that things seem to be working out for her, she was absolutely heart broken when it all came to an end at her previous acting school.    I am just going to be keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed that her talent as an actress comes across to all concerned with choosing the participants next week.

Will let you all know how it goes, we will be informed if she has been selected or not on Friday next week.

TG     

As I have been neglecting this blog to some extent recently, I am going to try and make up for that omission by posting this today in order to make amends. It’s been a funny and actually full and eventful week, beginning on Monday with K’s arrival home from Respite Care.

She was absolutely choc a block with cold and therefore had a blotchy red face which generally denotes that she is under the weather. (Just to fill my readers in here about the rather subtle differences in Down’s Syndrome folks to ourselves, they are almost the opposite of us in facial appearance when ill, as they tend to exhibit rosy cheeks and a mottled appearance which most of us would associate with being full of health, whereas we mostly tend to look pale when ill) She insisted on still attending Day Care though so I made sure that she went well wrapped up against the cold.

Then on Thursday we celebrated my eldest grandson’s 18th birthday with a visit to Bradford to the Gala Casino which was his choice of venue for the event. Now I have honestly never been inside a Casino before, I have only ever seen one either on the TV or in films, so it was a new experience for this Granny. Although his friend was supposed to attend as well, it turned out to be just the four of us, my grandson, his Mum, K (who would have insisted on attending this event even if at death’s door, as it was to include a meal! ) and myself. We all met up at the Interchange, they came by train, and we arrived via bus. Of course they hadn’t really done their homework properly regarding where the actual intended venue was situated in Bradford (my Grandson was blamed for this oversight) resulting in us searching around the near vicinity to the Interchange where he thought the Casino was situated,  to eventually finding it some 15 minutes later.

At that stage it had begun to snow, and panicky Gran here was beginning to get a little concerned that on spending some time inside this Casino, we might end up snowed in, or at least unable to get a bus home if they stopped running. Once inside it, we had to become members (this was free thank goodness) and following signing in and having our photo’s taken for our membership cards, we then proceeded upstairs into the Casino.

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Hmm. There were just a handful of people inside and that included the staff!  No one was playing at any of the tables and even worse from K’s point of view, there was no sign of a restaurant either!  We had each been given vouchers for £3.50 off our first drinks, and a free £10 bet. So we moseyed up to the bar to get served. This was when we found out that the actual tables did not open until 14.00pm, and so we had arrived far too early to partake of anything much apart from drinking! I tried some of the house white wine which was served in a very large glass and which went straight to my head with the result that after only three or four sips, I was feeling rather woozy!  

We decided after a quick confab to go up to a restaurant nearby called Frankie and Benny’s for our meal, a New York Italian restaurant and bar which came highly recommended by the very helpful girl who was serving behind the bar in the Casino. It was only a short walk from the Casino and so off we went, and despite the fact that we had to climb about 100 steps in order to exit the Casino in order to reach it, I don’t recall hearing a peep of dissent from K!  Inside it was actually very nice, and I had my usual Chicken Caesar salad which I really enjoyed and K had a Black Pepper Mayo Burger with chips. (and a vodka ice to swill it down! see pic.)

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Following our meal we made our way back to the Casino, where we then used up our free bet on the now open Roulette tables.  By following the young man’s advice who manned the desk downstairs to bet on either black or red, we each won a fiver!  Following that ‘dabble’ at the tables, K and I decided that we would begin to make our way home,as although it had stopped snowing we didn’t want to take any chances of being stranded in Bradford. My Grandson and his Mum wanted to stay a little longer, but I begged him not to be tempted to lose all his winnings as he had just won £30.

She sent me a text later saying that they left shortly after us, as my Grandson’s friend had not turned up and they then decided to also make their way home. So a first for all of us and a new experience for this Granny, a flutter at the Roulette table and a memorable day for my Grandson! Wahoo!  Your never too old to try something new are you?

TG   

Just thought that some might be interested in reading this article about blogging in the Times Online site where the author actually states how many Internet users actually blog whether in a professional capacity or not, and why it can become so addictive.  Makes for some interesting reading if like me you are completely hooked on writing a blog. 

A guide to the 100 best blogs - part I - Times Online

TG 

It’s not often it occurs in Britain, its been the talk of the nation, it’s stopped the country in it’s tracks, but as usual, we Brits can always make the best of a bad situation and see the funny side!   Here for your delight are some fantastic pictures that people up and down the country sent into the BBC.

They really illustrate both the beauty of a snow scene, and our famous ‘offbeat’ British humour.  Hope that you all enjoy them.

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TG

This morning, I have ventured out into the wide white yonder to do some much needed shopping for food. Well, it was either that or slowly starve to death so no choice really.  The intention had been to go yesterday, but as youngest son did not show his face until well on in the afternoon, then that shopping trip was abandoned in favour of today first thing in the morning.

Of course the best laid plans of mice, men and Technogran resulted in us exiting amid another session of snow coming down, but I felt truly confident that hooked up to my trusty son I wouldn’t slip or fall down.  You see, I do not own a pair of boots.  Now before you all gasp in amazement, just recall that we have had hardly any need for boots during the past 14 or 15 winters, in fact you could very nearly go all year round wearing just sandals on your feet the past few years, so the fact that neither K or myself possess a boot between us shouldn’t really come as a big surprise, they just have not been a necessity really.

We have managed perfectly well bootless until this winter that is. So today’s trek down to Tesco’s had to be made wearing just my usual black shoes, which are not exactly endowed with tons of grip on the soles.  By asking my son to accompany me, I had presumed that if I felt at all unsafe, I could hold on to him.  Hmm. Trouble was with that plan, I had not countered on the fact that he doesn’t own any ‘snow grip’ shoes either, with the result that he was actually slipping about more than I!  So it actually turned out safer to keep my distance from said son in case he fell and pulled me down with him!

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I took the camera down with me to get some snaps of the snow. (Well you never know, it might not snow again for another 15 years!) and captured some of my usual photo areas all covered in white.  Mind you Tesco’s seemed just as busy as usual this morning unless everyone was having to replenish their food supply in case of more snow on the way.

Back now thawing out. See you later!

TG    

As I haven’t much to blog about at the  moment, what with K being at respite and myself stuck indoors for the last few days, I thought I would let you all take a little peak at a new BBC weather site.  I was alerted to its existence via twitter (the BBC bods are on there and I follow them)

It really is worthwhile taking a look as it is quite ‘snazzy’ in design and also in how it portrays your local weather on the page in as many ways as there are available at this present time to show the weather.

Once you have inputted your local area either by inputting your town or city or your postcode, then you will see lot’s of different ‘modules’ which show your present weather for right now,the next four days, a BBC video of your local area’s weather, and a satellite view of your area.  In fact I think that they have provided on this beta page just about every way of showing your weather that is possible to do!

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Have a go, and see what you think!

TG 

What is it with this country these days?  We used to be able to cope with anything, now just two inches (see pics) of snow and life as we know it just grinds to a halt!  Poor K is now stuck here at home with grumpy mum because day care stop all services as soon as they spot a snow flake, and as they were due to transport her to Respite Care which resulted in me not booking the Access bus for her, I am not well pleased.

The transport service has contacted me since and have booked a taxi to take her there this afternoon, but I have had to warn her that if the snow continues she may not get there. (Cue sulky looks from her!) Mind you, we haven’t had it as bad as down south, where apparently London has now ground to a complete halt with no buses or trains able to run at all.

Hmm.  How on earth did we used to cope when I was a girl?  We experienced huge snow falls every winter where everyone had to literally shovel their way out of their houses to reach the road outside?  I don’t remember this ‘grinding to a halt’ going on then!  We still used to go to school, folks still went to work, so what exactly has changed since then?

Well of course!  Enter the penchant for everyone and their dog to have a car and drive everywhere!  So instead of your place of work being just down the road, its now only accessible via a journey by car. Same with the shops. Instead of being available on your local estate just a short walk away, its a supermarket ‘out of town’ and only reachable via a car journey. We have become a nation of ‘you must have a car to exist’ and this is why everything comes to a complete standstill because of a few snowflakes. And children today are so used to being taken to school in the car, that they wouldn’t dream of walking there, even if its not all that far.

We didn't used to stop getting our daily lives because we weren’t reliant on driving where we needed to go, whether it be work, school or shop. So even if the snow was in six foot drifts, we carried on.  Mind you, so did public transport such as it was in those days. It took a lot to stop the local bus service and the trains as well. What has changed I wonder from then to now that causes the trains to stop running? They were steam trains of course in those days, but would be using the same track as today, so I really don’t know the answer to that question.

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So daughter is now looking furiosly at me as if its all my fault.  (she has been outside to ‘make her footprints’ though!  LOL.)   I did warn her yesterday that this could happen if the weather forecast was correct, but as we have been warned about snowfalls before in this neck of the woods which have then never materialised, I suppose she thought that the same would happen again. Despite the fact that heavy snowfalls have been forecast, the gritter wagon has only just been around our estate road this morning, so no buses yet.

I have also had to cancel my appointment at the Huddersfield Infirmary for the assessment for the trial, (worried that if it continues I might not be able to get back home, although K reassured me that they would have a canteen there, as usual thinking with her stomach! LOL) and so I have made another appointment for March.  Hopefully I won’t get a repeat performance!

TG