Tree top trek

Posted on by Libby Price

Firstly – those three words are more difficult to say than you would expect – try it!

Secondly – I am never, ever, ever doing such a thing ever again!!

This week we’re spending half term at Centerparcs – ‘just’ us 6, with an extra one (whilst his Mum is busy kicking cancer’s butt!)

All of the kids wanted to do the aforementioned Tree Top Trek – but as 2 of the kids are under 8, that meant two over 18s were required. So I didn’t really have a choice…….

2 years ago for February half term we went to Bluestone in Wales, and I ended up a sobbing wreck and having to be helped off (and given gin afterwards) a similar rope course, so I should have expected the worst – but I really thought I would try. Friends are going through much bigger stuff than me being scared of heights – this would be fine……….

The boys did it first – breezing it, whizzing round, and as they did it so quickly, then being allowed to do it backwards just for LOLs.

the-boys

Then it was time for Daddy and all the girls (I am including myself in that – although at 42 I realise it’s a stretch!!)

The order to try the course was – Daddy, 6 year old, 13 year old, 5 year old – with me bringing up the rear.  The first thing was a zip wire.  The first 4 went off fine.  I dithered.  I had a pep talk off the instructors.  I had a pep talk off a random Welsh lady walking past. I dithered some more.  Then FINALLY I stepped off the platform.  I screamed – and I did not land it as brilliantly as the children had……

libby-landing

I then was stuck like a beached whale for quite some time – but eventually managed to haul myself up on to the platform.

I’d only signed up for this ‘fun’ because of the requirement for all under 8s to have an adult with them – I’m just not sure I was the adult that was in mind when setting this requirement!  Thankfully the 13 year old did a sterling job with her littlest sister.

13-year-old

I hated every single obstacle.  There was much swearing – inwardly and outwardly (sorry Centerparcs) and shaking of legs.  It was HORRIBLE.  Of course this just caused more hilarity for everyone else!  The 12 year old was videoing it and threatening to put it on YouTube – and there was quite a gathering of passers by to witness the spectacle.

At the same time I was trying to be encouraging to the children – particularly to the 5 year old who had only scraped the height requirement by a slightly bouffant ponytail!  At the climbing wall I said “Mummy is so  proud of you, you’re doing brilliantly’ to which the response was ‘Well, you’re doing rubbish Mummy”…….

libby-and-5-year-old

I dithered ridiculously over the climbing wall – absolutely petrified – and announced that my large breasts would inhibit my passing across the void.

libby-climbing-wall

I think my face pretty much sums up how I felt about the whole thing!!

But eventually – I just went for it – and I DID IT!  I loathed it.  I feel no sense of achievement – just a massive headache with the stress.  In fact – I couldn’t even face gin afterwards, that’s how bad it was, I just had a pint of WATER!!!!

I fear for the rest of the week I will pointed at around Longleat as ‘that crazy woman from the Tree Top Trek’!!

NEVER, EVER, EVER AGAIN!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Posted on by Libby Price

erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows

This is another ‘sneak preview’ of a book out later in 2017 – and I have to say, probably not one I would have picked up if it hadn’t been given to me in a pile of books to read.  However, it was sat at the bottom of the pile waiting to be read – and it fitted into a few categories for my 2017 reading challenge – so I decided to give it a go.

The only quote on the front of the book, which is an uncorrected proof,  is about ‘juicy, juicy aubergines’ – so I had a quick look on Amazon to see what they said about it:

“When Nikki takes a creative writing job at her local temple, with visions of emancipating the women of the community she left behind as a self-important teenager, she’s shocked to discover a group of barely literate women who have no interest in her ideals.

Yet to her surprise, the white dupatta of the widow hides more than just their modesty – these are women who have spent their lives in the shadows of fathers, brothers and husbands; being dutiful, raising children and going to temple, but whose inner lives are as rich and fruitful as their untold stories. But as they begin to open up to each other about womanhood, sexuality, and the dark secrets within the community, Nikki realises that the illicit nature of the class may place them all in danger.

East meets west and tradition clashes with modernity in a thought-provoking cross-cultural novel that might make you look again at the women in your life…”

I am lucky enough to have good friends whose heritage is Indian – much like the main character in this book – albeit Hindu rather than Sikh.  I’ve also spent some time in Southall – where the book is set – as I used to work for a company with a factory there.  So all in all, I felt a connection to the book right away.

Whilst the central theme of the book is the adult literacy class run by Nikki – there are other characters with their own backstories that thread through the book – with subjects such as arranged marriages and honour killings also touched upon.  It was quite slow to start – busy setting the scene and introducing characters.  Scattered throughout the book are, as the title would suggest, Erotic Stories for (and written by) Punjabi Widows. These are the results of the literacy class – and, whilst more Mills and Boon than Fifty Shades – are pretty explicit none the less!  Those Punjabi widows can definitely write a salacious story or two (and reference many different vegetables it would seem!!)

The other threads of the story build to quite a climax (pun most definitely intended!) and I found the last quarter really exciting to read.

Overall I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to – and thought it was well written, and really evoked the essence of what I expect an Indian community in London would be like.  I found the characters very believable, and the whole book warm, funny and entertaining.  I will definitely be seeking out this author’s back catalogue too.

Next time I have my sari redone by Indian Aunties in a hotel bathroom (true story!) I will be wondering what erotic stories they are busy writing!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: After Hello by Mhairi McFarlane

Posted on by Libby Price

after-hello

I have raved before about Mhairi McFarlane’s books (in quite an ‘oh my goodness, I want to be her friend, she writes such fabulous books’ kind of way!)  And when I reviewed You Had Me At Hello! I specifically said I was left wanting to know what happened to the characters next. Well – it would appear Miss McFarlane has answered my wishes (although I did Tweet her asking for a unicorn, and that hasn’t materialised as yet!)  and this novella is exactly that – picking up Rachel and Ben’s story 2 years down the line.

“A short story sequel to the bestselling romcom You Had Me At Hello!
In You Had Me At Hello, the one who got away came back… but what happened next?
Together, apart and then back together again, Rachel and Ben had a rollercoaster ride to get here. But now happily in love and partners in crime once more, it feels like it’s all been worth it.
But when a face from the past reappears, misunderstandings come between them once more.
Can they hold on to their happy ever after?”

It picks up with Rachel and Ben – and the other characters from YHMAH (I’m so down with the kids with the whole acronym stuff!) – and centres around Mindy’s hen night and wedding.  As usual the reference points are totally on point – from someone annyoingly pointing out the Slimming World syns in everything eaten at the kebab house – to the description of a 30+ hangover (I’m sure they get even worse at 40+).

All in all, another great read – and it’s FREE to download it from Amazon – yay!

The only negative about this is that it’s too short – yet again I WANT TO KNOW MORE.

I’m fitting this into ‘A book published in 2017’ for my 2017 Reading Challenge.

 

 

Book Review: The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan

Posted on by Libby Price

the-chilbury-ladies-choir

I was lucky enough to be given a sneak preview of this book that’s out next month – and so it’s the first one on my 2017 Reading List challenge!  It could fall in to a number of categories:

  • A book of letters
  • A book that’s published in 2017
  • A novel set during wartime

So, as I liked the sound of the blurb – I dived in!

“A warm, funny and big-hearted novel of wartime gumption and village spirit which will make your heart sing out, and is perfect for fans of Helen Simonson’s The Summer before the War and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Kent, 1940. The women of Chilbury village have taken umbrage at the Vicar’s closure of the choir now that its male singers are at war. But when spirited music professor Primrose Trent arrives, it prompts the creation of an all-female singing group. Resurrecting themselves as The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, the women use their song and unity to embolden the community as the war tears through their lives.

Dependable Mrs Tilling sees the choir as a chance to finally put herself first, and a welcome distraction from thoughts of her son fighting on the front line. For Kitty Winthrop, the precocious youngest daughter of Chilbury Manor, singing is the only way to outshine her glamorous sister Venetia, who isn’t letting the war ruin her plan to make every bachelor in the county fall in love with her. Meanwhile, when midwife Edwina Paltry is presented with a dastardly job which she’s convinced will make her rich, she will have to misuse more than the trust of the choir’s women to carry out her scheme – and nothing is going to stop her.

Filled with intrigue, humour and touching warmth, and set against the devastating backdrop of the Second World War, this is a lively and big-hearted novel told through the voices of four very different but equally vibrant characters, who will win you over as much with their mischief as with their charm.”

The book is written from the position of a number of the main characters (all mentioned above in the blurb) by way of letters, diary entries, journal entries – and then some village notices.  This means it feels like it’s in quite manageable chunks so you can stop and start – although I read it in 3 sittings!

Throughout there is the back drop of World War 2.  It’s spread over just less than 6 months, starting in March 1940 for any real history buffs!  I’m not often a huge fan of historical novels – but I really enjoyed the wartime references amongst the various stories of the village.

It’s a really ‘nice’ book – quite easy to read with nothing too gory or frightening and no really rude bits!!  I can see why it has been compared to the books it has in the blurb.

There is apparently going to be a big marketing push for this as a Mother’s Day gift – and I can see that would be apt – but I actually think my 88 year old Grandmother would probably enjoy it more!

All in all, a lovely, gentle start to this year’s reading challenge.

 

 

Disneyland Paris – the epilogue!

Posted on by Libby Price

This has been in my drafts for FOREVER – so thought I should finally get around to actually posting it!  We’ve been away twice since then!! #holidayaddicts

So, I’ve blogged about our half term trip to Disneyland Paris, from my proposed behaviour plans in the prologue, to the ‘fun’ in the rain for Day 1, the lunch with Princesses on day 2, the ‘sod Mickey when there’s Messi’ of Day 3, the Snapchat filtering of a world famous painting on Day 4, and an emotional balloon release on Day 5.

But I thought I’d compose some advice on matters learned from our trip (and I will try and be the bigger person than just to say don’t bother with Paris, save up for Florida as they do Disney properly…………..)

Hotel
If you can – stay in the Disneyland Hotel, and if you can – book a Castle Club room.  This means you get characters at breakfast every day

mickey

(the Disney ones – and sometimes the world famous footballer ones too!! #LionelMessi) which reduces the need to queue for them at other times.

messi

The fact that you’re between the parks means you can pop back for a battery recharge (metaphorically and for your phone) during the day.  You also get to enter the Disneyland Park earlier than the general public (although only certain rides are open for these Magic Hours).

The one thing I would say is that having a Castle Club room with a park view is fantastic (we stayed in Walt’s Apartment with a connecting room as there are 6 of us) but it is noisy.  You have a great view of the fireworks from the comfort of your room – but equally little kids may not sleep through it!  Then when the hoardes leave the park it can be quite raucous (and it’s not very ‘Disney’ to shout at them to shut up from your window……..).  Then the Disney music plays until around midnight and starts again at 7am – and for us this had a Halloween ghostly theme (last time it was Christmas music though!)

fireworks

 

Food
We struggled keeping everyone happy (but we do have 4 kids with differing tastes!)

We had an absolutely amazing meal in the California Grill in the Disneyland Hotel – but the kids meals didn’t have fries, which immediately meant child 3 had a meltdown.  The food was beautifully presented and the wine exquisite (but it is really, really expensive!)

Lunch with the Princesses in the park was also excellent in terms of quality (again no French fries) and a great way to get a few more characters off the tick list.

cinderellas

The best all rounder meal, though, was in Chez Remy in Walt Disney Studios – great quality food – INCLUDING FRIES!!!!

cork

Fastpass
If you’re staying in a Castle Club room – and I think most of the Disney Hotels – you get unlimited Fastpasses for all of the rides that offer that facility.  At certain times of the day these are great (generally in the mornings) but at some points, the Fastpass queue can be longer than the regular queues – madness! And not all rides have the Fastpass option.
Sometimes using single rider queues can also be a way to beat the queues if you’re happy not to sit together in a group – I guess this depends on kids ages and such like.

Going into Paris
We paid to do a Disney trip into the centre of Paris.  This involved queuing for a coach at another hotel and driving through really slow traffic to get there.  Once in Paris we were dropped off to reconvene a few hours later.  We couldn’t face the coach trip back and ditched them in favour of the very reasonably priced train (double decker train at that) back to Disneyland Paris.  It was a straighforward, easy train ride – and so much better than hanging about and a coach.

Once in Paris then there are loads of different options for hop on / hop off trips – or even just walking – which we did loads of!

trocadero-jumping

The kids loved seeing some of the historic sites (although I’m not sure Leonardo was expecting teens to put Snapchat filters on the Mona Lisa……..)

the-mona-lisa

I am sure there are loads of other top tips I can offer – so if you think of anything then ask away – but there we go.

We’ve done Disneyland Paris…………….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading Challenge 2017!

Posted on by Libby Price

I’ve mentioned before my lovely friend who edits books – she’s even guest blogged for me!

Well, she suggested that we (and some equally geeky friends!) signed up for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2017!  Given that includes 2 of my favourite words (I am yet to decide how I feel about 2017) then I was in!

So here’s the list:

reading-challenge

I’m already trying to decide how to shoe horn some of my TBR (to be read) pile in to the different categories!  Obviously I will overshare my reading – and the categories they fall into.

But here’s to a 2017 full of lovely books!

 

 

Book Review: Five Give Up The Booze (Enid Blyton for Grown Ups) by Bruno Vincent

Posted on by Libby Price

five-give-up-the-booze

“Enid Blyton’s books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a new challenge: give up the booze.

Give up alcohol you say? Why, of course they can! Talk about an easy challenge! Five old friends set about this simple task and find all of a sudden that: the days are longer; they get to see each other for who they really are; the empty laughter of ordinary conversation is so much harder to fake. Yes, they’re saving money and losing weight, but the world itself seems to take on a slow, dreary inevitability. Soon they begin to snap at each other, and then fight – until they begin to wonder, have the Five at last found the challenge that will defeat them?

The perfect gift for anyone who has woken up and promised themselves that they will never drink again. Or at least until next weekend. “

My Uncle gave this to us just before Christmas as a funny joke, as we’d tried to be abstemious for a few weeks (he’d had a Becks Blue With Lemon a few weeks before when he’d stopped by!)  And – great minds think alike – as I’d bought this (and Five Go Gluten Free) for people for Christmas too #familyhilaritygene

I finally got round to reading it over Christmas.  I have to say – it’s not the best book ever written – but is mildly amusing.  There are some throw back references to the famous bunch (lashings and lashings of ginger beer in a hip flask anyone?!) and some building on historic EB themes (George wanting to wear trousers not a dress to a wedding) – but I definitely wouldn’t rush to read any more.

The comedy is definitely in the titles…….

 

 

Finding E…….

Posted on by Libby Price

This is like Finding Nemo or Dory – but with less fish and far more stressful for us!!

The other morning we’d all ventured down to the beach at our hotel in Dubai – not something we do that often – we’re more likely to be found by the pool – but everyone (me included, in fact, me especially) had been persuaded to brave the sand!

(I also had a stress about whether the swimsuit was Roxy or Quiksilver – which, let’s face it, wasn’t exactly the most important issue right at that point – but it’s amazing what’s racing through your mind.  The husband had told me subsequently that he was thinking about having to move to a cheaper hotel if we had to stay here for months looking for her – and he calls me the drama queen!!)

The boy and I were swimming in the sea whilst the husband and daughters played on the sand.  But as we came out of the sea the husband was waving frantically.  Our 6 year old, E, had gone to wash her hands in the showers – about 50 yards from where we were camped out on the beach – but she’d not come back.  At this point she’d been missing for just less than 10 minutes.

He’d not wanted to leave the 5 year old alone on the beach, so the 13 year old had done a full check of the route to and from the showers, and then checked around the pool to see if she was there – but no luck.  She then headed up to Beit al Bahar where our villa is situated to check that E hadn’t gone back up there and to alert the staff (who started checking the CCTV immediately, they were great).

I stayed put – frantically scanning the beach – whilst the son went one way on the beach and the husband headed off to the pool area.

I remembered I’d just taken this photo – and envisaged it being shown on Sky News

evie

The boy came back and couldn’t see her on the beach towards the bridge to the Burj – so I left him in charge of his littlest sister, with strict instructions not to move in case E headed back.

I ran up the beach (apologies to anyone who witnessed that – not pretty, and I was so stressed I didn’t even put my cover up on so was just in a swimming cossie which is unheard of for me!) asking people, staff and sunbathers, if they’d seen a 6 year old on her own – no one had.  People kept telling me not to worry as it’s a really safe hotel – but all I could think of (although thankfully didn’t shout at anyone), was ‘I bet that’s what the McCanns said’.  We were actually on the Algarve 15 minutes up the coast with a daughter 6 weeks younger than Madeleine McCann when she went missing – so it’s always been closer to home than I would like.

I decided to try some of the toilets – as the 13 year old had once got locked in a cubicle there – but no sign.  However – as I came out THERE SHE WAS – walking with an enormous man!  She wasn’t crying – although there was a bit of a wobbly lip when I scooped her up – and I thanked the man profusely but then ran off to let the rest of the family know she was ok – and to stand the hotel staff down on their searches.

Turns out E had washed her hands – but walked down onto the beach in a slightly different place to where she’d walked up –  I suspect onto the private Burj Al Arab section rather than the Jumeirah Beach Executive Pool section (can’t fault her aspirations!) and got confused when she couldn’t see us.  She said she’d looked for a bit – but then found a grown up to help (we’ve had a subsequent conversation about it being a member of staff in a uniform should she need help in the future).  The man had spoken to her in a different language (and when I’d spoken to him his English was very accented – I’m guessing he was Russian?) but she’d explained where she was staying and he’d offered to walk her back.  She’d also told him she was from England, and that she was on holiday with her parents and 3 siblings – and no doubt loads more!  The poor bloke probably had his ear bent for 10 minutes. We tried to find him afterwards to buy him a beer (or maybe a vodka if my suspicions on his nationality are correct) but haven’t found him – but we are so grateful to him.

It was such a huge relief that she was ok – and so sensible (whilst the rest of the family were being completely overdramatic) – and has prompted lots of conversations with her and her siblings about what to do if you get lost in the future.

The husband and I celebrated her safe return with pots of tea (as it was before midday and so no brandy was available!) which then got sand kicked over them.  Another good reason to stick to the pool!!

tea

 

 

 

Book Review: The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly

Posted on by Libby Price

the-mistake-i-made

 

“We all think we know who we are.
What we’re capable of.
Roz is a single mother, a physiotherapist, a sister, a friend. She’s also desperate.
Her business has gone under, she’s crippled by debt and she’s just had to explain to her son why someone’s taken all their furniture away.
But now a stranger has made her an offer. For one night with her, he’ll pay enough to bring her back from the edge.
Roz has a choice to make.”

A friend gave me this to read just before I came away on holiday so I could bring it with me – saying it was fab – and she was not wrong!

It follows Roz in an ‘Indecent Proposal’ situation – in fact it references the film, and doesn’t shy away from it being a similar issue – which I liked.  I also really enjoyed the geeky physio references that are included when following Roz in her day job – I love learning stuff about the anatomy when I’ve had physio / am doing pilates / in PT training and in another life (where I wasn’t petrified by blood!) then I may have pursued a medical career – so this element of the book appealed to me (and the fact that the author is a trained physiotherapist means you know it has substance).

I liked Roz – despite some dodgy choices at times – and empathised with her and her situation.  I also liked her relationships with different people in the book – her son, family, ex, neighbours, work colleagues etc – it gave you a proper feeling for her as a person in all of the different roles we all have to juggle all the time.

There are lots of twists and turns to the book which keep you excited – and I particularly liked the ending which fasts forward a bit to give some ‘closure’ – but still leaves you wanting more.

I will definitely be looking out more Paula Daly books in the future.

 

 

Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Posted on by Libby Price

I’ve mentioned before that I have a friend in the publishing industry who sometimes lets me have sneak previews of books (she’s ace!) and this is the one I had to take on my summer holiday.  Both the lender, and a couple of other friends who’d read it RAVED – so I had high expectations – and I was not disappointed!

Eleanor Oliphant

Usually I quote Amazon blurb here – but this book isn’t out until early 2017 – however with a small amount of Googling I found these quotes:

Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency: “Eleanor Oliphant is a bit of an odd ball. She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. That, combined with her unusual appearance (scarred cheek, sometime wearer of an eczema glove), means that Eleanor has become a bit of a loner – or ‘self-contained entity’ as she calls it. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life and phone chats with ‘Mummy’ (in prison for crimes unknown).

But everything changes when Eleanor falls for the local Hipster-band frontman, Johnnie Rivers. As Eleanor prepares herself for her inevitable union with the object of her desire (appropriate attire, new laptop for Instagram stalking), she inadvertently befriends the new guy from her office, Raymond.

As Eleanor navigates the waters of obsessive love and her long-distance relationship with ‘Mummy’, she realises she can only overcome the horrors of her past if she accepts a little help from Raymond…

Filled with unabashed wit, Eleanor Oliphant follows its quirky and troubled female narrator as she realises that the only way to survive her current state of mind is to open her heart to friendship”

 

Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge “I hadn’t been expecting it to happen that night, not at all. It hit me all the harder because of that. I’m someone who likes to plan things properly, prepare in advance and be organised. This came out of nowhere; it felt like a slap in the face, a punch to the gut, a burning.

I’d asked Billy to come along with me, mainly because he was the youngest person in the office; for that reason, I assumed he’d like the music. I heard the others teasing him about it when they thought I was out at lunch, sniggering like schoolgirls. I suppose I could have gone alone. It’s just that I’m very, very tired of always doing things alone. I knew nothing about the concert, hadn’t heard of the band. I was going out of a sense of duty, because I’d won the tickets; they were donated to the Christmas charity raffle, and I knew people would ask about it when the email went round the office.

Billy had a pint and I was drinking sour white wine, warm and tainted by the plastic glasses they made us take into the hall. What savages they must think us! Billy had bought the round, to thank me for inviting him. There was no question of it being a date – we looked like mother and son on an outing.  I suspected he preferred boys anyway.

We drank from the plastic glasses, got comfortable in our seats as the lights went down. Billy hadn’t wanted to watch the support act, but I insisted. Everyone supported someone else at one time, back before they made it big themselves. You never know if you’ll be bearing witness as a new star emerges, never know who’s going to walk onto the stage and blow you away.

He walked onto the stage and blew me away.”

 

Harper Collins Indie Thinking: “Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is fine. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except sometimes, everything.

No-one’s ever told Eleanor life should be better than fine.
But with a simple act of kindness she’s about to realise exactly how much better than fine life can be.”

 

Without doubt this is the best and most different book I have read in a long time.  It is quite simply brilliant.

I admit to bonding a little bit more than I should with Eleanor over our similarities (we both work in accounts, we both sport eczema gloves now and then for our scabby hands, amongst other things) – but the one paragraph that had me totally nodding in agreement with was about sport.

“Sport is a mystery to me.  In primary school, sports day was the one day of the year when the least academically gifted students could triumph, winning prizes form jumping fastest in a sack, or running from Point A to Point B more quickly than their classmates.  How they loved to wear those badges on their blazers the next day! As if a silver in the egg and spoon race was some sort of compensation for not understanding how to use an apostrophe.”

Eleanor is just such a lovely central character and the book is told totally from her perspective – which is, admittedly, not the most normal of perspectives in many ways.

This is a debut novel for the Scottish writer Gail Honeyman – and my earlier Google stalking found out that it’s been sold for a huge sum – and rightly so. This could very well end up being a film – move over Bridget Jones – Eleanor Oliphant is in the house!

I don’t want to write much more – as you need to get to know Eleanor yourself, that’s the whole point of the book – but

YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!