Lee's hired!!!

Wey hey! Lee won!

Last nights 'The Apprentice' was a thrilling rollercoaster of a ride with the usual twists and turns and stomach clenching moments! The final show followed the usual format of involving all the contestants so it was nice to see a few old faces, some I wouldn't have minded one bit never seeing again (Jenny, Jennifer and Kevin in particular).

Kevin was as cringeworthy as ever. For some reason he wound me up. Everything about drove me mad with fury, his face, his attitude, the things he says, even his voice. I don't think he's cruel or inhumane or anything like that, I just dislike him as he is so, so, SO annoying.

Kevin's involvement in the final task caused a worrying moment when for a (thankfully) brief moment, I honestly began to wonder if this final was going to be the final of all finals and Sir Alan would caused a shock akin to JR being shot and hire KEVIN!

My heart pounded and I could barely type as I shared my increasingly growing fear that Sir Alan would hire Kevin in one of a flurry of texts my brother and I share during 'The Apprentice'.

To my relief, this moment of madness passed and all too soon the time was upon us when Sir Alan put a nation out of its misery (and I dare say the contestants were pretty glad the whole ordeal was at its conclusion) and FINALLY make up his mind. Bear with me while I slightly wander off the point here, but, I can't help but wonder how exactly Sir Alan amassed a fortune of £800m in business value when he is so indecisive!!

Hurridly heading back to the pint (hurrah I hear you cry), Alex and Helene were unceremoniously fired. Helene handled it well, Alex veered between his extremely angry and aggressive pose(or as aggressive as the Lost boy Alex can manage) and crying (like the Lost Boy he is!).

The diamond hard attitude of Claire that had proved so astonishing in its resiliance, proved finally to be merely a veneer as the realisation that it only one person was going to hear the two magical words 'You're hired' and it wasn't going to be her.

So it was Lee who overcame not only the ordeal of the tasks but the humilation of an application form written in gobbly gook (perhaps Alex could have translated - he was the resident linguist after all), but to have embellished his educational achievements; to be blunt Lee lied.

Sir Alan hasn't amassed such a fortune without realising that people come in all forms and it's my belief that he saw what Lee did as saying more about the way Lee feels about his formal educational achievements and self belief, than as something that detracted from Lee and his proven abilities as a whole. The programme is after all called 'The Apprentice' and Sir Alan wanted someone who had proven strengths and potential but wasn't the finished article. That person is Lee and I am really pleased. Lee comes across as someone who is passionate, determined and driven but has retained his decency and humanity and it is the latter qualities that separated Lee from the other contestants and I like to think, is what led Sir Alan to hire him.

Who will be HIRED?

Wow! The day has finally arrived. The day millions of us have waited for.it's the final of 'The Apprentice'.

For those of you either living on Mars or outside the UK; 'The Apprentice' is a cult TV show (UK) in the shape of a job interview lasting several weeks, involving many tasks and with a contestant a week facing the damning words 'YOU'RE FIRED'! The prize is a year long apprentice within the Sir Alan Sugar empire with a salary of £100,000.

Sir Alan Sugar is a multi millionaire businessman who conducts the process of splitting the contestants/interviewees into groups (with a leader per group) and then setting the groups various business and often sales related tasks which take place over a set time frame (usually from morning to evening). The following day the groups are summoned to 'The Boardroom' to face an absolute grilling by Sir Alan and heavy criticism from his two 'assistants', each of whom shadows a group garnering the information required for Sir Alan to wield his axe. The leader of the group who fails the task has to return to the boardroom (following a non entirely soothing cup of tea at a local greasy spoon cafe)with two members of the team who may or may not have had a part to play in the failing of the said task.

The contestants soon form a 'dog eat dog' mentality, mercilessly pulling one another to threads both within the boardroom as a method consistently employed to save their own necks and also back at the shared house (presumably in order to break the person by creating a no escape situation!).

It's Schadenfreude at it's most awful, but as so often the case enormously compelling verging on being addictive!! The joy for the viewer is to see the repulsive, self obsessed contestants who are so insatiably driven that they have arguably lost their minds, ultimately getting their comeuppance. The excuses and reasons given in response to Sir Alan's request that they explain why they should not be fired are quite simply hilarious. It's crucial to remember that these 'contestants' are apparently extremely successful businessmen and women. Many already earn a salary close to the £100,000 offered, several earn in excess of this amount. These people tend to be in their 20's and those in their early 30's are considered (by the other contestants) as being old! These people claim to be at the top of their game yet make the most ridiculous decisions, claims and comments. This to me is what makes this show different to all the other 'reality shows. This is NOT a show about 'ordinary' people, far from it; these people consider themselves EXTRAORDINARY yet to the viewer, the only extraordinary thing about these people is how very stupid they seem to be!

So..it's the final. Claire, Helena, Alex and Lee have each survived the gruelling and often humiliating process so far. Viewers will be tuned in at 9.00Pm on BBC 1 in their droves, each with a favourite, many (me included) shouting at the television certain that my shouting will affect the already long ago filmed final!!!

Who will it be who will hear the immortal words 'You're hired'?

We'll all have to wait but my favourite remains Lee. OK, so he lies, is illiterate and does TERRIBLE impressions, but I like him. This means alot to him and as the contestants themselves would say, 'Lee will deliver'.

How many hours is it now until the show is on? The clock is ticking!!

Surprise flowers

Vase number one


Yesterday evening someone knocked at the front door. A lady was standing on my doorstep with a HUGE bouquet of flowers. I immediately assumed that they must be for a neighbour who wasn't in; basically that they weren't for me!

To my amazement the lady said MY name! I just stared and saw the card on the flowers which also said my name! I was so shocked and surprised, the poor lady had to say my name several times before I managed to get a grip on myself and take the flowers, MY flowers from her!

Alas it was a really gloomy evening and not enough light for photos. Suffice to say that the bouquet was simply stunning, pretty patterned pink cellophane tied with raffia and the flowers themselves wrapped in silver tissue paper and themselves tied in raffia.

It took me ages transferring them all to vases but I really enjoyed myself. I love flowers and do like to buy a few bunches off my local market but although they're beautiful, it's just flowers whereas this bouquet came complete with the most incredible foliage.


Vase number 2

My wonderful brother who had arranged the flowers to be sent on behalf of him, my mum and one of my sisters had requested the card to explain that the flowers were sent in recognition of the sorrow and sadness I have been feeling at the loss of the beautiful Sophie.

My Mum had also reminded my brother that I am unable to have certain flowers such as Lillies as they are so lethal for the animals so I was extremely relieved not to be faced with the problem of what to do with lillies as they are in general a very popular flower bouquet wise.

What a lovely surprise. I have been feeling really low recently about Sophie, she is so missed and life has changed completely. It has amazed me that everything should change, routines etc, but it has. Night time is awful as we always had cuddles, strokes and kisses before bed and Sophe would watch me as I went up the stairs. Quite often Tom cat is downstairs at night and when I say goodnight to him I always cry as I feel the loss of Sophie at that time especially hard.

The lovely flowers have cheered me up enormously though, and I would like very much to thank my wonderful and ever supportive brother and of course my littlest sister and Mum who also were part of this most welcome surprise. Thank you and I love you all very much.

The beautiful and very brave Sophie

On 17th May 2008 the beautiful and very brave Sophie had to be put to sleep.



Sophie had fought an incredibly corageous battle against encephalitozoon cuniculi which is a horrific disease which affects the brain. We had several extremely cruel false dawns and although Sophie fought the battle of her life with me standing and fighting alongside her, it became clear on the morning of the 17th that Sophie could not fight on. Sophie was put to sleep in my arms whilst I told her how beautiful and loved she was.



When Sophie first arrived with her brother Humphrey, they actually had different names and after much souls-earching I decided to rename them as their original names were just too silly and unsuitable. Sophie immediately became 'the beautiful Sophie'. All my animals are stunning but Sophie was a bunny supermodel! Her apricot coat and cream tummy together with her chocolate brown eyes and long eyelashes meant she just had to be 'the beautiful Sophie'! Over time, Sophie showed how she was not only extremely beautiful but incredibly brave too. Sophie thus became known as 'the beautiful and very brave Sophie'!




I will remember Sophie for so many things. Her loss is so painfully felt and I can't begin to imagine how Humphrey must feel. I told Sophie I would take extra special care of him and I am trying to ensure he gets through this as best he can. It feels as though we have lost ten members of the family, not one, Sophie filled this house and the aching empty hole is vast.



Until we meet again, run free Sophie. We love and miss you so very much.

Birthday Wishes

A belated Happy Birthday to my sister.

Late as photo kept crashing part way through uploading! Still, better late than never and if you see this I'm glad you liked your card!

I'm back!

it or not I'm back!!!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted...it's been ages!! What can I say? Time flies, especially around Christmas and energy levels have been very poor. I just haven't had a chance really to blog, bearing in mind the need to provide photographs to reduce the potential of total boredom in reading this!!

Anyway, here I am.

The card above by the way is my first (would you believe) attempt at using my new corner rounder scissors (Fiskars). I had a nightmare trying to obtain a corner punch and when I did find them on web-sites the whole size of 'round corner' was baffling. I then happened across a range of corner rounders/decorators by Fiskars. Great value and really effective I think. It's possible to do a small or large corner (the above are the large corner) and also to do a backwards corner with the corner going into the paper. Blimey, I just can't work out how to explain that feature at all. maybe best if I do a piccie sometime! Anna Griffin papers, Heidi Swapp flowers, some gems and ribbon (can't remember brand of gem and ribbon just from haberdasherer). The chipboard sentiment is K and Company.

I'm not really into these bold cards but fun to try. I don't have any jumbo brads and the card suffers for that I believe. The small brads to hold the flowers in place just don't cut it. Unfortunately, I have a pretty useless shop in my town regarding the suply of materials so I mainly rely on the internet. It's a pain as it's impossible to buy even basic essentials, no flowers, no chipboard anything, no Anna Griffin, no Heidi Swapp/Karen Foster/Tim Holtz.. It's dedicated to the supply of Kanban. (Um).

Back to the card, I'll search for some big brads and I'm sure it'll look alot better.



I rather like the simplicity of this card. I'm really trying to try new things with my cardmaking and use some of the many (read tonnes) of beautiful stash I have. Anna Griffin papers, printed sentiment and ribbon. The dragonfly embellishment is of unknown origin I'm afraid and the Snowdrop image is from a pack of replica cigarette cards by Crafthouse Press. The cigarette cards are available in many topics, and I'm particularly keen on the roses and flowers. The butterfly set though is stunning. I have some matching papers for the roses and butterflies so must have a play.

My family

(Humphrey and Sophie)

Thankfully, Jacob is home and recovering from his dental treatment. The anaethestic knocked him for six though and I found the day really hard going as I was so worried for him.

I thought that a post about my wonderful animals would be nice, and some photos that are feel-good and heartwarming and surely would put a smile on anyones face.

Just a quick post as I'm catching up with my guys and watching 'Children in Need'.

(Jacob and Basil)


This picture is of Basil in one of last years Christmas pressies!! He's best friends with Jacob so when i saw a bunny rabbit bed I had to get it! (Jacob loves it too).

(Basil)

This photo is of Basil and Tom when Basil first came to live with us last year. I wonder if a bird on one of the birdtables maybe caught their eye?

(Basil and Tom)

I love this photo of Tom, he is so photogenic so always looks good in a photo, but this one captures him at his 'modelling best'. Sometimes he looks at me in a way that is so beautiful, just like a cat model. He's not longhaired as Basil is, but really fluffy and thick haired nonetheless. I think this photo shows his fluffiness.

(Tom)

Finally a photo of Jacob and Tom. It was just Tom, Jacob and me for quite a while until one Christmas I just thought how happy we were and wanted to be able to offer more animals a home for life. I'd love all animals to have safe, warm and happy homes, to never be hungry, in pain, frightened etc, but I realise I can't save the world, hard as that realisation is.

I try to cope with that awful feeling of helplessness by doing all I can for any animal I come across or know, to increase awareness of animal welfare issues and to ensure that my animals have the best life I can possibly give them.

(Jacob and Tom)

So, this is my family. All are such characters, so full of love and they bring me more joy than I imagined possible. As you can see they get on with one another too which is extra special.

All these photos remind me that I MUST get back into scrapbooking as I have so many photos to use!