Would you let this person into your country?

I lost my passport returning to the UK just after my birthday trip - somehow I managed to loose it between immigration and getting into the car - so I need a new one. It expired anyway in June, so am trying to get the Passport Office to issue me with a replacement/renewal. Complex. The form doesn't like anything to be out of the ordinary, so am half expecting to have to send in loads of documentation, or worst case scenario - be dragged up to Liverpool to see them. I have just been to have my photos countersigned ['cos its a 'lost' passport, not just a renewal...], and my friend has been very rude about them. He threatened to put " I have know this old bat for nearly 40 years - and her hair isn't really that colour at all" on the back... Just wait until he wants me to countersign his photos next year... They are dreadful photos though - but I have yet to see a decent passport photo - so I will just scowl at immigration officers as I go through to make myself look like my photo!

So, lets hope I get a new passport soon, as just the thought of NOT being able to leave the country if I wanted or needed to is not a pleasant one.

London Eye has a red nosepod

Went to London on Sunday 11th Feb to celebrate Ceri's birthday. I FINALLY went on the London Eye. The weather was good, and you could see for miles. Unfortunately, we didn't 'fly' in the Red Nose Pod, but it was only a few pods behind us. Took loads of photos, and spent a happy time trying to identify landmarks.

Let's move to...Lichfield

The Guardian asked for comments on Lichfield in preparation for an article in the Weekend magazine. Seeing as I was currently not at work, I sat down and wrote a few positive and negative comments about the town in which I live, and have lived for a long time. This is what I sent:

"Positive things about living here:

Good train links for commuting into B'ham
Good access onto motorway network via M6Toll
Not too many big shops - the little individual shops are still here and full
of interesting things [Dam St, Market St, Tamworth St]
Cathedral - a real gem that most people ignore when they live here
Lichfield Festival
Good secondary [King Edward VI] and primary schools [St Joseph's RC, St
Michael's CE]
Lots of places to eat out [The Olive Tree, Qmin, Ask] and loads of pubs
Local community hospital including maternity, physio, minor injuries[24hrs]
and renal dialysis
Nice little university campus which means local people don't have to travel
to study - but the range of courses could be widened...

Negative things about living here:

Too many ticky tacky boxes being thrown up on the outskirts - and more
threatened
The 'new' shopping centre is going to be awful if the plans are anything to
go by
No cinema - a trip to Tamworth, Burton or into B'ham needed
No Sainsbury's - the choice of supermarkets is dire, and all small...
Price of property for first time buyers - its high"


This is what they printed:

From the streets of Lichfield

Caroline Haddon "Not too many big shops: the little individual shops are still here - try Dam Street, Market Street, Tamworth Street - and full of interesting things. There's a nice little university campus, so local people don't have to travel to study. But there are too many ticky-tacky boxes going up on the outskirts, and the 'new' shopping centre is going to be awful. There's no cinema, and the choice of supermarkets is dire."

If you read the whole article though you can pick out some of my points which they used but didn't credit to me. But it was great to see my name in print, and a pleasant shock to realise that they actually use the information sent in to compile the article...

Let's move to...... Lichfield, Staffordshire

The snow has finally arrived!

The snow was predicted, but I didn't believe it would fall, as there is some sort of force field surrounding Lichfield and whatever weather is forecast never actually arrives here. But this morning I woke up to find I had an all white car. I know I hadn't bought a new one yesterday - so I had to accept that it was covered in snow, real, cold, wet snow. It's still snowing, so am going to light the fire and spend the day feeding logs into it, while watching the snow swirl past the window...

Knitted boobies

A hospital in Liverpool are knitting 'breasts' to help them show new mothers how to feed and express milk for their babies, especially those who are premature and in special care. What an excellent idea. Commercially available models are expensive, and these knitted ones come in a variety of colours, and are cheap to make! What a novel and innovative way to solve a problem, and the more mothers that can be shown how to breast feed the better, as it is SO much better for the babies.