Friday 31st May

As you can imagine, I have been on a little buzzy high since the scan news, still got hospital app for 12th June, so hope all the rest of 'news' will be in same vein.

Lovely weather today, and looks like it will stay sunny for next few days at least. Hubby worked on the boat most of the day, painting duties, no sons around to help and daughter on last day of College until September (providing she has passed her exams and can return!)

I had a very pleasant tapas meal at la Siesta last night, it was good to catch up, unfortunately one of our party was poorly and couldn't make it, so we'll just have to have another one soon!!!

Started off today with an excellent game of racquet ball, despite continually getting beaten I enjoy it immensely, and it certainly is a good work out!

The rest of the day consisted of a visit to town, snack lunch with hubby at the Fisherman's cafe(!), a run with the dog, some reflexology and then supper at St Catherine's.....

Not seen the Fireman all day, he has been Tractor driver instead, barely seen the Engineer, boating boy has spent the majority of the day at Ecrehous, (hope he took suntan cream or he'll be in trouble) and hubby now sleeping on the sofa, (although he'll swear he's awake really!!)

Thursday 30th. May

The "more up-to-date blog" (that was mentioned last night) is being posted by the senior male this evening...and before we start....I need not keep you all in suspenders too long this evening, so I just wanted to say that Jill had a very good email from the hospital yesterday to say that there's no change on any of her scans.....so to celebrate, her ladyship has gone out this evening with her badminton buddies.....it gives them a chance to talk about how to play good badminton, which isn't something they see very often. Seriously though, good news....really good news.....so we can relax until the build up for the next 3 month check.

So Jill is town, Jacko is on nights, Dan is in town with friends, Tom is upstairs building his latest website and Bex is on the sofa watching Benders......that leaves yours truly to compose something on the laptop.

If you think that being a States Member means you don't have hassle with Planning then you are very much mistaken. Today I have realised just how some others feel....but fortunately I have managed to sort it out. We have a roof with no slates on, and no builders to put the slates on because we are struggling with yet more "permissions". It's crazy.....I was at Planning this morning trying to make the whole process simpler for everyone....and came home to find that it was anything but simple. Anyway....we have been promised that something will happen tomorrow.....just in time for the weekend when everyone will be elsewhere other than working at out house.

I managed to find a half hour to pick some cherries this morning. I needed to change a light bulb at the very top of the mast on my boat (which is STILL out of the water) and called a very good friend that has a "cherry picker". He met me down in the boat park and up we went into the sky. What a good view you must get doing that job every day.....my light was fixed in no time.....which was just as well because the weather wasn't exactly sunny was it? Have we ever known a spring like this? With luck we may have some vegetables by September, but, at the moment, the only place that anything is growing is in the greenhouse, and even that's a struggle.

For those of you who need "doggie update".....Jessie is collapsed on the rug this evening. She has been out playing with her boyfriend Winston all afternoon. Winston is a very friendly Labrador type dog from St. Helier who sometimes comes visiting with young Tom N. The two dogs are more than happy just to chase each other around continuously.....consequently she is completely immobile this evening....which is great news for us.

Next week will be a big boat week for us. La Duchesse, Skipmaster (Jack's boat) and the RIB should all go back in the water....by next week end we will be a fully floating family (apart from those of us who don't really like boats that move around in the water). All we need is for the weather to improve....and on the news this evening the nice man said that the long term forecast for June was staying cool......so, we assume that he means usual sub-zero temperatures continuing. Wonderful.

Wednesday 29th May

Once again another fun filled day, packed with exciting things like dog walking, cleaning cars/house, playing racquet ball, cooking a roast, shopping, going to Yoga and finally checking emails......

A more detailed blog will be posted tomorrow!

With some up to date rather good news.......!!

Monday 27th May

Still buzzing from a great day yesterday, even managed to do a brief 'phone in' on the radio at lunchtime today about the race and the new gynae support group so double bonus.

Had the family round for lunch yesterday, after which i cut the grass and dug some of the vegetable patch, before finishing off with a little weeding!

Another lovely sunny day and St Catherine's woods was beautifully quiet at 8:15am with Jessie and 'no coat ' required, (for me or her!) it almost felt like summer!

I had a lovely swim at the Merton while hubby conducted some business at St Catherine's and then onto Gorey before heading to the boat park to do some more 'boaty stuff'. I did my radio piece and then back into the garden ignoring the pile of ironing and washing that begged for attention.

Was pulled up short by a motorbike rider crusing slowly by, an old friend AP, he'd seen me in the garden and stopped for a chat and drink.

I also had a lovely surprise of some pink roses and a card from the twins- totally unexpected but very much appreciated- thank you girls xx

The north coast had lovely clear views of France today, and I was looking hopefully forward to enjoying fresh fish for supper- a false promise from my two sons..... boat engine troubles meant they never left the bay- hopeless!!

Sunday 26th May

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law today, and such brilliant weather for the Race for Life!

It was a really amazing morning- about 1,000 ladies/girls mostly dressed in pink and running/walking jogging along the esplanade  this morning.

Quite emotional seeing so many people with one theme in common, and sadly often many names written on their 'labels' as to the reason they were taking part in the race.

We had the inspirational chat from the RFL organiser, and then observed a minutes silence,  thinking of all those people/friends and family that were either too poorly or unable to attend, or who are no longer with us.

We started with a very professional 'warm up' routine and dance to get us in the mood from JP and JR, and then we were off!

Huge thanks to Jdlh and JP (St Mary) who walked the race in my name, and for DW who also had my name on her label.

Support from family members Hubby, daughter, and AL/EV who though late for the warm up still walked the 5k.

Saturday 25th May

A mixed week of emotions not my own so much this week but other peoples. I feel like I have missed out on a whole year of friends lives, and of course things happen and people move on. I've been selfishly wrapped up in my own issues and not paying enough attention to what is going on around me.

Still, it's half term this week and I hope to remedy that by trying to see lots of good friends and enjoying a good catch up.

I have had a date from the hospital re the latest CT scan, an appointment for June 12th, and while I had half thought of emailing them yesterday to find out if there was any news, I thought better of it. If there is any cause for concern, I really don't want it to spoil half term week, and using that 'no news is good news' turn of phrase will leave it until then.

Short blog tonight as NOT ready for the big Race for Life tomorrow, and I am in the process of cooking a quiche/sausage rolls and two cakes whilst typing (sister-in-laws birthday tomorrow)....... so plenty to do still this evening and time is ticking on!!!

Will report  tomorrow on the days events, and no doubt photos of me and dog too!

Thursday 23rd May

I had an excellent game of tennis this morning, and was given some very delicious Wedding Cake to bring home and share with the family, such a good start to the day.

A very enjoyable and tough (well for a beginner like me) Pilates class that preceded my going into work.

Teaching sports this afternoon and it was a mix of athletics for four year olds- we practiced 'hurdles' today, they looked so sweet flying over 6 inch 'hurdles'!, and football 'skills'.

Finished the outside activities with a dog walk around the cliff paths, feel I've been blown around most of the day, lets hope the weather improves for Sunday's Race for Life.

 I have been reading the latest Tourism Brochure, and learning lots of facts about Jersey that I never knew, for instance did you know that La Moye meant 'stony heap'? And the 'five mile road' got it's name from mielle, which is a Jersey French word for sand dune, and nothing to do with a road being five miles long, which we know it isn't anyway......

Talking about words, I was horrified, yes really,  that Dan and his 'cronies' whom have suddenly vaporised into my house for their 'summer holiday break', did not know the meaning of the word 'grockle'!!! I said one of them who was badly sunburnt(!!!) looked like a grockle, nobody knew what I was talking about!!!

What is the origin of the word 'grockle'?

'Grockle' is an informal and often slightly derogatory term for a tourist. It was first popularized because of its use by the characters in the film The System (1964), which is set in the Devon resort of Torquay during the summer season. Some older dictionaries suggested that it might be a West Country dialect word. Other scholars have put forward the theory that it originated in a comparison of red-faced tourists (wearing baggy clothing with handkerchiefs on their heads) to 'Grock', a clown and music-hall performer who was famous in the first half of the 20th century.
The word 'grockle' was indeed picked up by The System's scriptwriter from local people during filming in Torquay. However, it was apparently not an 'old local dialect word'. According to research by a local journalist in the mid-1990s, the word in fact originated from a strip cartoon in the children's comic Dandy entitled 'Danny and his Grockle'. (The grockle was a magical dragon-like creature.) A local man, who had had a summer job at a swimming pool during as a youngster, said that he had used the term as a nickname for a small elderly lady who was a regular customer one season. During banter in the pub among the summer workers, 'grockle' then became generalized as a term for summer visitors.
This development seems to have occurred in, or only shortly before, the summer in which The System was filmed: the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary has no examples of the word dating from before the release of The System (though one or two people from the south-west remain convinced that they knew it before then).

Wednesday 22nd. May

tonight's catch word is OUT. Jill's out, Tom's out, Jack's out, Dan's out and Bex is out. That leaves me, the dog and the cat....and the dog would be out as well if she had her way. The cat was out, but he's just come back in.....but he'll be out again soon if the dog keeps chasing him around the kitchen.

I've just finished a couple of really long days in Scrutiny....looking at the proposed Energy Policy for the next 35 years....some long hearings with a range of witnesses....but really good stuff, and hopefully a good review to come out in couple of months.

I came home this evening to a string of emails and calls to respond to....most have which I've done (although I've just remembered another that needs sorting). I seem to have become a special spokesman for the fishing industry....oh the joys of trying to unravel the intricacies of those delicate fishermen!! I have two fishing meetings tomorrow, and hopefully a practical and commonsense outcome. I do find that actually talking to people is such a good way to sort things out.....it never ceases to amaze me how talking seems to have been taken off people's lists of "things we do to solve problems". I guess it's the digital age..emails are the only way to go apparently!

I've decided that the boat can't go back in the water tomorrow....it's just not ready.....and if I put it back in then I'll just have to take it back out again.....and if you know how much it costs to use the big boat hoist down at the harbour then you'll know why I only want to do it once. With luck the weather will improve early next week when I have a spare day or two.....and I can get on and do all the rest of the work that needs finishing. We have two charters in two weeks time....I'm sure that we'll be done for then.

Jill has just returned and she has some news about her very funny scan yesterday.....and a man in a dressing gown....so I'll leave her to tell you.

The CT scan was fine, just the usual discomfort and injection etc, but the radiologists were as brilliant and as jolly as always, especially when I told them the pressure was on them to 'produce' a clear scan!

There was one elderly gent in the waiting room when I arrived, drinking the horrid concoction that some poor patients have to drink before their scan. I was getting changed when I heard him also been given the same instructions about gowns and clothes that I'd just had. Anyway I had my scan and  walked back into the waiting room, unprepared for the sight that met my eyes.

The poor gentleman was sitting in the chair still sorrowfully drinking his disgusting liquid, however he had the 'dressing gown' (the one with the ties on) back to front, and therefore not 'done up', with his back exposed, and then the gown with the slit in was draped over his head.

Fortunately the radiologist arrived shortly after me exclaimed "Oh dear, what have we got here!" I said "it's OK I'm not looking!!" During the brief time span it took to unravel the gowns and sort them out,(no, I didn't offer to help) it was ascertained that thankfully he still had his underpants on.....Bless him, he did say "It was OK there was nothing to see"!

I was still a little tense about the whole scan thing, and it wasn't until late last night when I was regaling the encounter to hubby that I remembered the poor chap and his scan experience that I was engulfed with laughter!!

Monday 20th May

Very strange actually staying in on a Monday night, not been feeling 100% the last couple of days, just a rubbish runny nose and bit of sore throat. Didn't think it wise to go to aqua aerobics today, so other than a dog walk on the crowded Grouville beach today not really done any 'sport' as such. How's that for being sensible?

I did however enjoy my aerobics with the girls yesterday morning and took a few photos to prove it- just hope we have better weather next Sunday than those poor 'South Coast Challenge' walkers did on Sunday.

I've got my CT scan tomorrow morning, I'd like to say I'm not too bothered , but I'd be lying. Of course I'm still positive and fine, but I still have a huge hole of anxiety that eats away at me unexpectedly, and stupidly my gut reaction is always the same....I want to run away! Shame I couldn't put all that energy to good use, I could have been a marathon runner (another Paula Radcliffe without the toilet breaks)?

Sunday 19th. May

It's other members of the family left to post tonight....Mother has decided that she's having a rest.

We could state the obvious....the weather's been pants today....but then everyone in Jersey will have already known that....and if you weren't in Jersey, then you were luckier than us. We all had plans for today, and they quickly all got put in the bin. Even Dan didn't get to go boating.....engine problems for him that will need to be sorted first thing tomorrow. Dad was hoping to get to do some more work on his boat....but weather got the better of that too....he settled for a very wet dog walk on Grouville beach. Mum managed her usual keep fat class, but she hasn't been on 100% form recently and decided not to play tennis in the rain.

The only one of us that had any sort of a success story was the dog. She was discovered chewing one of Mum's new (brand new) gardening gloves late this morning. Mum decided that she was getting short of "things to chew".....so off she went to the cupboard to get out a new "indestructible" dog toy. 5 minutes later the dog has pretty much eaten one end of said toy, and there are bits of it all over the floor.What part of the "weeks of chewing pleasure" (that is claimed on the packaging) doesn't she understand? Anyway, she's been a happy dog today...especially as she had a second walk in the rain at St. Ouen this afternoon.

Daniel announced at lunch time that he is going to design a new website....and by that he means....he'll have the idea and get Thomas to design it for him. Anyway, the idea is to create a site that gives all the local boating information you're likely to need in one quick move. Basically, that translates to "get the best bits from a load of other websites and steal them". Anyway....we spent an hour or so trying to think of a suitable name for this site...one that hasn't already been reserved. Clever ones like "Salty Seahorse" and "Lazy Lobster" were already taken....in fact, anything that sounded remotely clever has already been reserved. We settled on "3gusting4.com".....yes, we know, not really catchy but then this site of Dan's will be compete disaster anyway.....so why are we bothered?

Talking of shipping forecasts....Mum has a new radio alarm clock next to her bed....it goes of at 06:30 apparently (well, none of us are ever awake at that time) and Dad is usually awake, up, dressed and done an hours works by then. On Saturday morning however he had a very unusual lie in. Two things he hadn't been told were.....that Mum had a new radio clock that goes off at a half past six, and two, that when it goes off it's tuned in to the shipping forecast. Not only did Dad jump out of bed assuming that some disaster was about to befall the house with this "commentary" that he could suddenly hear coming from somewhere....but then (once he had recovered from the shock) he had to try to decide why anyone would set their radio alarm to come on with the shipping forecast? As it turned out, it wasn't supposed to go off at the weekends.....so when Dad asked Mum what the forecast was this morning she didn't have a clue. That's a lot of use, we all thought.

....apparently Mum likes the forecast to wake up to because "the tone of voice is very soothing and relaxing".....as Dad pointed out, you wouldn't find it very blooming relaxing if the announcer says force 8 gusting 10.....and you happen to be on a boat in that particular area. You can tell Mum's not a serious boating type.

Judging by some of Dad's language since the boat came out of the water on Tuesday, the days of BIG boats may be numbered.....the proverbial "standing naked in a cold shower tearing up £50 notes" story has been reeled out a few times this week end. Time to go back to blow up plastic rings for next year?

Saturday 18th May

Well, you guessed the meaning of 'drobel' yet? Thought not, I hope it didn't keep you awake last night wondering. Reminds me of that old joke, "How do you keep an idiot in suspense?" ........"I'll tell you tomorrow!" Drobel is an adjective, and is the motion you go through when swimming in the sea and you need to find out if you're still within your depth- the act of putting your foot down is to 'drobel'. Right I'm jolly pleased we've cleared that up, now for today's events.

Why is it the days that you have no alarm and therefore could carry on sleeping, you wake up ridiculously early and then can't get back to sleep! Decided to take the dog out for a jog again today, she is reasonably well behaved, and I let her off the lead on the green lanes, she nearly tripped me up twice but we survived.

I'd like to say I cut the grass but actually I cut the daisy's, buttercups and dandelions, there is actually very little grass, and don't get me started on the moss, it makes the mower  twice as hard to push! (and It's electric...)

As hubby had been down at the harbour boat park for the morning, thought I'd be kind and take his lunch and give him a hand, after all how hard could it be scraping a bit of varnish off a boat? NEVER AGAIN!! Firstly the job I got lumbered with wasn't removing varnish, oh no that would have been far too pleasant, I had to sand barnacles from the propellers, with hand-held sandpaper. The wind was blowing grit up from the floor as well as the dust from the sanding- let's just say that an hour or so of that was quite enough. I then ventured 'indoors' and ended up hoovering/cleaning the interior, bagging up rubbish and so on- by late afternoon we both decided that showers and supper were calling.

At least the weather stayed dry and sunny for a friends wedding, which makes a huge difference. Tom used the dry weather to mow the meadow-(yes, one man went to mow went to mow the meadow.....), Jack did come down and help with sanding on the boat, but being far superior to me got to use the 'orbital sander' and did the job twice as fast! Dan has had another trip to France, with a delicious typical French lunch thrown in, such a struggle for him!
Bex has had her last working day at the Supermarket for a little while, so she gains her Saturday nights back after two years of doing an afternoon/evening shift.

Hubby and I were doing the South Coast Challenge tomorrow, but have decided to refrain as the forecast is not looking good, but wishing everyone who is braving it-good luck.

Friday 17th May

Friday 17^th May

Another week seems to have flown by and I’ve tried not to moan about the weather but it’s been hard! I keep walking out of the house at 7:30am waiting for that lovely warm gentle breeze that means SUMMER!! I try not to think of the fact that in approximately six weeks the daylight hours will start getting shorter!!!!  

I have discovered many photos that I take on my daily travels and forget to put on the blog, so here are a few of them tonight.

Two ‘renegades’ we met on our beach walk a few weeks ago, and I know times are bad and food is expensive but collecting ‘wild sea sorrel’ in bag full to have for supper is pretty desperate, they’ll be prising limpets off the rocks next!!

Standing in a large rock pool down at La Saie admiring the clarity of the water, (and hoping not to find a dead body floating- it’s one of my slightly mad friends worst nightmare apparently!), is not a good time to find a hole in your wellington boot.

No blog would be complete without my faithful companion, who after her ‘spa’ day has reverted back to looking dishevelled and smelling of salty seaweed,  I only partly resemble her on the appearance side- although I treated myself to a trip to the hairdresser today. I even had ‘wispy’ bits that needed cutting, and I confess to having a smidge of colour put in….

We have a new word to add to Jill’s Urban Dictionary “squibble” a mixture of scribble and scrabble, and it means “writing or doing something in a hurried fashion and getting muddled”. It goes well with the verb” Potch” usually associated with gardening, when you potter about doing a bit of weeding i.e. potching. On that note I shall leave you to ponder what the word “drobel” might mean…….

Wednesday 15th. May

In case our reader is starting to worry about another evening without a post, this is the senior male of the family here this evening blogging for the family.

It's been a good evening......Chelsea have won the Europa League and all is well in the Luce household. Jilly has cooked cakes for Bex to take to work tomorrow (it's her last day of placement at ITEX), Bex herself has been doing Gorey Fete work this evening, Dan has been down at the Lifeboat getting "inspected".....Jack is at work and Tom is out. The dog has been digging in the garden again....she is quickly becoming a naughty teenager....more training required?

Our new "mole man" has had some success....at the moment the score is Moleman 1, Moles 0. No chemicals....just using traps.....excellent....our vegetables are sleeping much easier this evening. Let's hope for more success in the coming days.

Were are still roofless on the building site.....which isn't great, as we have a lot of exposed roof trusses and all the other bits etc.....in fact, we're nearly ready for the tiles to go on. With luck we'll get a couple of very dry days to help get things back on track, but the last thing we need is to have to seal up the roof while everything is rather wet.

It's the cleaner tomorrow.....we're all getting instructions on tidying up the house....

The boat is out of the water and should be getting her pre-season spruce up....the only trouble is that no one has any time to get down there to do the work....diaries are full....people are all working...days are ticking bye....and the first charter is booked for Saturday week.

Speaking of charters....Dan is scheduled for a 6 hour trip to France tomorrow....and then another run out to the Ecrehous in the evening.....some of us get all the luck, especially as the weather forecast actually looks very good for tomorrow.

No doubt there'll be a proper update tomorrow form she who's blog this is.

Monday 13th May

Just a few photos of Jessie, back from her 'spa' day looking and smelling gorgeous, I didn't want to take her out and get muddy this afternoon!

Short trimmed ears again!

Trying on her new coat ready for Race for Life!

Not altogether comfortable wearing the dog coat...... 

Sunday 12th May

Bex had a good day yesterday, enjoying her friends company for most of the day, and us in the evening. 

She had lots of good wishes/cards and presents, making up for the fact the weather was too windy to go out on the Seafaris rib to the Ecrehous- that’s postponed until another day….

I managed my first 5k jog with Jessie yesterday; well more of a fast walk being pulled by a small springer appearing to be on Red Bull! Anyway I was pleased to achieve even that, even if she couldn’t really make head or tail of it. (literally)

Met my friend and went to a Zumba class, always makes you feel upbeat and ready to take on the world, (well it does me anyway). Kind neighbour/good friend Pdlh popped in bringing gifts for not only daughter but plants and vegetables for us too. So we are stocked up with tomatoes/cucumbers and courgettes, and providing the dog doesn’t dig them up lupins and lobelia to name but a few, so we are very grateful indeed!

Husband had a very early interview with BBC radio Jersey down at St Catherines this morning at 7:15am before his Holiday for Heros motorbike ride across the Island, over three hundred of them I believe. He had ‘borrowed’ an electric bike and really enjoyed it, whilst raising money and awareness of the worthwhile charity at the same time.

Meanwhile I enjoyed a fun/fitness class with the twins and co, and just managed to squeeze in a set of tennis at the club before lunch.

LV and her adorable children came over to the east for a visit, mainly to eat cake, drink tea and alternate between ‘playing’ with and ‘being scared’ of the dog!!

I have been given instructions by Dan to tell you the latest joke, passed onto him by a customer from Coopers today….

Two cats swimming across the channel, an English and a French one (the breed is irrelevant, as is the fact they should want to swim the Channel anyway, I digress). English cat called One, two,three, French cat called un, deux,trois. Who won?....................The English cat as the French cat un deux  trois cat sank (quarte  cinq) GET IT?????

Saturday 11th May

Today has been Bex's birthday.....so she has had a day full of presents and "stuff". Unfortunately the weather didn't improve enough for our trip to the Ecrehous, so we'll have to do it again when the sea is a little calmer. We've ended up with a family meal down at the Dolphin.....all good and all full. We're currently back home, arguing about whether we should be watching Avatar or The Green berets...neither is much of a choice...but Match of the Day is on soon, so dad will be able to watch his beloved Chelsea beating Aston Villa.

the boys are on their browsers, trying to find information about these films.... apparently there's am app that gives every film ever made a "score out of 10". Avatar gets an 8...which is pretty good according to us....so that's the choice.

dad went off and picked up (borrowed) and electric motorbike this afternoon. He is going to ride in the "Big Ride Out" in aid of Holidays for Heros tomorrow. He has a live radio interview at 07:15 tomorrow morning and then Channel TV at 10:00. Watch out for the bikes tomorrow...we're told that there could be hundreds of them.....it won't be much of a day to be a car driver if you're sat at a yellow line waiting for a gap to pull out into. Last year the first rider arrived at St. Catherine's and the last rider was only passing Le Hocq. That's not good.....or it's very good.....depending on whether you're in the car or on the bike.

Ma and Pa played another game of racquetball this afternoon. Dad won (again), but there's no doubt who is the fitter......you wouldn't know that Mum had been out at all, while dad is "severely injured" (according to Dad) and he has a number of muscle strains.....apparently. Either way, it was really funny watching him hobble across the car park this evening.....there's little doubt that he will hardly be able to walk in the morning.....so it's just as well that he ash the motorbike to get him about.

It's been a fairly calm day otherwise....no trips for Dan, no work for Jack....all change tomorrow with both of them starting early.....Dan cooking coffee and Jack extinguishing fires....

There's a Grand Prix tomorrow for us all to look forward to (boys that is)....not sure what the girls will be doing.....updates later.

Friday 10th May

Difficult to know exactly what day it was today, felt like a Sunday! Wood walk with Jessie this morning before a lovely game of tennis at AH's house, a bit blowy but the sun was shining!

Quick food shop, and then prepping up for the JEP 'interview' at 1pm. I was a little anxious, but had good advice from Macmillan and the 'lady' and photographer were both lovely, so I do hope that the finished article will come across OK. I have already had lots of positive feedback from people who have seen the TV interview I did, and I know first hand that it has helped one person.

Last evening I walked Jessie down to le Saie, and met a lady who had a small terrier/cross on the beach, during our brief chat she rested on a rock as she had recently had an operation and was still recovering. When I replied that last year I was in a similar situation she then asked if my name was Jill, she had, apparently seen me on TV and also, as I found out was a fellow OC sufferer. She had gone to Macmillan to ask if it would be possible to contact me, but as she had then received bad news from  a CT scan was too upset to follow it up. She was a lovely lady, and her little terrier/westie cross was adorable  (a puppy at 14months), a great playmate for Jess. I do hope she comes to our next meeting on the 6th June, and we can support/offer practical advice and share a few experiences.

Took Jess from White Rock to Jardin D'olivet and back, lots of visitors walking the cliff paths. One very strange man and his wife (German I think, not that I'm holding that against him), we were just rounding a corner on a rocky outlet simultaneously. The 'gentleman' had a long flowing grey beard, two walking poles, back pack, and was wearing a 'pirate' bandana. Not only was that scary enough but he uttered what i assume was supposed to be a hearty chuckle (heavens know why) which actually came out more like a sinister cackle. Jess was concerned and taken by surprise and barked (she very rarely barks) and he responded by barking back!!!! Seriously, he was deranged. Needless to say Jess and I walked briskly on before he did anything else 'weird'!!

Our neighbour farmer VH came in for a cup of tea with her lovely daughter, and when JP finished work, she popped in too, it was good to see them both and catch up.

Liberation Day 2013

As you can tell from the title....we're in Liberation mode. It's been a long day, but a very enjoyable one.

It started with the relevant Jersey and Union flags being flown from our flagpole at stupidearlyo'clock. A good breeze was blowing and Dad is sure that one day the flagpole will just get blown over if we continue to fly more than two BIG flags at a time.....anyway, the flags stayed up all day and the pole is still standing this evening.

Pa went off to Church at 08:30...followed at 09:30 by a pick up from Mum and an trip to town for both of them for the States sitting. They had all their gladrags on....they were both "on show"....marching down from the States buildings to the Liberation Square for the outdoor service etc. It was all done by just after 1 and they returned famished and thirsty. The weather held off and a good time was had by all.This afternoon there's been some gardening done, some sleeping done, some shopping done, some cooking done.....we'll leave you to guess who did what!

On the way back from town there had been a visit to see Vicki at the Fresh Fish trailer at Victoria Quay....so,,,,for supper tonight we had haddock, scallops and crab meat....and an exceptional meal it was too. There were "comments" all around, and all good.....in fact Tom (who had gone to Quaisne for unknown reason) will be really miffed as haddock is his favorite fish......

A visit from AA happened this evening...while Ma was baking cakes for Bex's birthday (on Saturday)...she hadn't been around lately so there was plenty of catching up to do. MV has bought a horse apparently....and he's going to use it for work....which is a vast improvement on what most horses do over here....we'll look forward to seeing the horse in action later this year.

Jaws II on the TV this evening...Dan has gone next door to Skype friends in the UK.....we thought he might have learnt something about boats from watching the film!

Unfortunately the weather for Saturday is looking windy, and that means that we'll probably not be going to the Ecrehous for Bex's birthday....that'll be a great shame as we've been looking forward to it...but there's no point in getting wet, cold and violently ill just to say that we've been....there'll be another day for the charter.

We're all tired and exhausted this evening.....we'll try to be a little more amusing tomorrow.

Tuesday 7th May

Just in from two hours netball training, got a tournament next week, fair to say we're all a bit unfit!

Once again stupid O'clock, can't possibly make a semi sensible contribution to tonights blog, ( as normal then) . Still having to two finger type, despite my typing programme installed on PC and ready to go, I have not been practicing. It would make a huge difference in the amount of time it takes me to type.

Out on a walk this morning in the woodland north of the Island I met a lady walking her two dogs, who as well as having her i pod plugged into her ears was holding her arms out horizontally on either side of her body.  I uttered some banal greeting about the weather before I realised she couldn't hear me, simultaneously wondering what on earth the outstretched arms were all about. She gaily told me that "if you walk 100 paces with your arms held out, it keeps 'batwings' at bay"....... So remember you heard it here first.

'when your arms are so jiggly, when you move them, you have bat wings'

Monday 6th May

Why do I always leave it so ridiculously late in the evening to write this blog!!

 As usual my day has been so jam-packed and the weather has been gorgeous I did not want to spend it looking at a computer screen!

Hubby and I booked a court and went off to play racquet ball before 9am this morning- he moves surprisingly fast for a 'big man' and I have to say he 'whooped' me- about 8-2 I believe! He hits the ball hard and played a lot of squash in his misspent youth, so despite the fact that the racquets are shorter and the ball is bouncier he adapted very well. I will have to improve my game immensely even just to give him a few half decent rallies.

Took the dog on another jog, (not I hasten to say what i told the lady in the pet shop, I had a bit of a mix up with the letters and instead of proudly telling her I went jogging with the dog, i told her i went "dogging"........ lets just leave that one there shall we?) This time no mishaps thank goodness and quiet lanes helped as I could let her off the lead.

Hubby had to go back to the Boat Show for a formal lunch, while I toiled away in the garden with some 'high intensity ' gardening, sawing, strimming and grass cutting!

A pleasant dog walk this evening on the beach with my daughter before the sun went down ( I bet St Ouens was beautiful!)

Sunday 5th May

Our day in photo's and videos.....

Firstly a walk from 'North to South' in aid of Diabetes Jersey, just over 7miles. We started about 8:30am and finished about 10:45am, Bex picked us at Bel Royal, so good photo opportunity.

Change of clothes and a speedy lunch before we made our way to the Boat Show, it was certainly busy, and we saw lots of people we knew. Found the Wet Wheels boat which Steve is helping to fund raise and Skipper, as well as watching the 'man who walks on water'.

lastly we went down to St Catherine and caught the end of the Genuine Jersey Market, and watched the Seafaris rib coming back in from the Ecrechous.

To finish off the day a spot of gardening, this involved a minor disagreement as to "How much space to leave between the carrot seedlings". I, apparently leave far too bigger gap, whereas 'he who knows all' spaces them out with military precision and in ram rod straight rows. I don't know why we think it matters the carrot fly will eat them all anyway!!!

Saturday 4th May

 As  it had now taken me 30  minutes to find my blog page and
 start writing an account of the day on my small htc
 phone,i  am exhausted! so it'll now have to wait until tomorrow!!!

Friday 3rd. May

It's been a day of ups and downs....especially for Dan....who has developed one of those nasty "how to lose loads of weight in a day" bugs. Who knows what has caused it? Some of us had a Chinese last night after Mum's support group meeting....and Dan was one of them....but all the others are fighting fit...so it's either Dan's chicken satay or another, yet to be discovered, bug. Dan has actually managed to get out of bed this evening...and is quietly lying on one of the sofas watching the snooker with Dad.....well, dad isn't lying quietly on the sofa, he's working on  his laptop and watching the snooker.

Dad has had a good day...after an early meeting at school to discuss IT, he went down to the harbour and got the boat out. He had been asked to provide the "media vessel" for the flotilla of boats that were coming in from Noirmont to officially open the boat show. It turned out to be a little more than he expected, and he went out twice. If you have chance to watch Channel TV News this evening there's  whole article about Wetwheels (that Dad is helping) and the boat show.....and there's lots of filming that was done from La Duchesse. Dad's well pleased to have been able to help, and secretly pleased to have found a good excuse to get out on the water....well, it certainly was  cracking day.

As for the other family members....Jack was back on the tractor run from the Airport to La Collette, Bex had a long day at College, Tom went down to Gorey to help get the new Jersey Oyster mussel barge going and Mum took the dog to Le Quesne's to buy a new collar. She needed a new one because there was little incident this morning....Mum decided to take Jessie for a jog. This entails Mum jogging and Jessie attached via a lead to a "special" belt that Mum wears (this is new idea that hasn't been tried by Mum before). The long and the short of it was that Mum was jogging...Jessie was jogging.....Mum stopped....Jessie didn't stop.....lead/collar broken!

This afternoon Jessie celebrated her new collar by digging a VERY big hole on one of Mum's flower beds in the front garden. Photos were posted by Bex on the internet.....a nice shot of Jessie sitting very proudly next to something approaching a crater in a flower border. C'est La Vie.

Boat Show tomorrow.....let's hope Dan is feeling better...as we type he has finally managed to keep down a mouthful of water and a dry biscuit.....looks like just another fun filled evening for him! 

Thursday 2nd May

I had lots of lovely positive feed-back from my TV interview that was aired last night, some lovely hugs and people understood how hard it was to 'talk on camera' about such a sensitive subject.

Tonights meeting went really, really well, and we did have a few ladies turn up to support us with our new endeavor. As well as having our local Consultant do a presentation, we were lucky enough to have a lady from the UK who is involved  with Macmillan and also does voluntary work for Ovacome tell us her own personal story. She has been clear now for 12 years, so just the kind of news we like to hear.

The whole family came and supported me and to swell the numbers, so a big thanks to them and SS, very much appreciated.

It has certainly been a very busy week for us all, hubby is racing around helping a few people out with the Boat Show preparations, as well as Open day at St Martins school and apparently a very interesting talk about IT for children in Education.

Wednesday 1st May

I have had a request for my race for life 'Just Giving' page so here it is, and ongoing thanks to all those lovely friends/family and acquaintances that have already donated.

 http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/teamjillyluce

Amount raised so far £2,410.00

I've had a very emotionally day today, as the BBC requested an interview with me this morning, the family watched it this evening and thought that it was fine, needless to say I cried whilst doing it and got upset again this evening!

I hope that our first gynae meeting goes well tomorrow night and I shall have lots to report back, so until then.....