The Wean Inside Needs To Get Oot!

Sometimes the wean inside you just needs to get out and none more so than today. Today, when i finally bought that pack of Black Jack chews that have been sitting tantalisingly on a shelf of 'old skool' sweeties from mine's and probably your childhoods over at the shop in work. The result is a flashback to much simpler times through the aniseed infused taste, the jaw ache from chewing and who can forget that most funnest part of all... the black stained tongue. Oh aye!!..

Ok at this point I was going to show you a photie of the aforementioned black tongue but it just looks wrong(!) so here instead is a photie of the new jazzed up version of a packet (by the way i'm sure i used to buy mine's loose? like in a 10 pence mixture poke. Oh how our ice cream van man hates it when kids ask for a mixture, ha ha!)...




Among other sweeties on offer on the shelf of childhood memories are Wham bars, Fruit Salads, Sherbert Fountains (in a new plastic tube instead of the old paper tube!), Big Giant Flumps and Mojo's which by the way aren't what I used to remember as Mojo's. I remember them being the wee chews that came in Strawberry, Banana and Mint flavour. These 'new' Mojo's are packets with gums in them! And I'm no having that!...

So as I slurp, gurgle and make strange noises whilst drinking the last dregs of my can of Cola through a straw, I hope you've enjoyed this wee trip down memory lane.

Now.. what other sweeties can you remember from childhood??... I remember that every summer when we used to go to my Pappy's house in Law (near Carluke) for a week or two's holiday we used to stop at the chippie in the Main Street in Newmains and get a Texan Bar and a packet of Tudor Gammon flavoured crisps - it was great!

Ange xx

A Day Oot with The Boy

Sometimes it's just nice to spend the day with people that make you belly laugh, make you smile and ultimately make you glad that they're in your life. This weekend has been pretty tense for a number of reasons so today i decided a day out was needed and took me and The Boy off for our first trip to Glasgow together. Days out with him are stuff of legend. When he's with his mummy he runs riot but with me he's good as gold. The drive through was filled with "oohs", "aahs" and "wows" at the dump trucks, diggers and cranes that are littering the A80 roadworks just now. It was surprisingly quiet today - must've been the crappy weather. Anyway by the time we'd passed Mollinsburn all was quiet in the back!! I keeked in the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of himself in the car seat head back mouth wide to the world purring....

Now he's taken the same trait from his mummy and granny in that when i tried to wake him up at the Buchanan Galleries car park i had to nudge him, blow in his face and bribe him to get out of the car with the promise of a drink of Irn Bru and chips! After some cadjoling we were heading into the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre along the passageway that passes over the top of Queen Street train station. We stopped for a look at the trains and then carried on, only for him to shout out "Oh look Angie, that sign says Burger King!". Further up there was indeed a huge sign saying Burger King on level 3 was open. ?This inevitably means that Burger King have got their logo/branding working right when a 3 year old who can't read can tell it from 100 metres away!! Don't worry though, i never took him. He doesn't get junk food from me - only some sweeties and the occasional drink of Irn Bru.

We wandered about in the small smirry rain down Buchanan Street into Tiso as I need (or rather would like) a new pair of trousers. In we went. He stopped dead and said "no Angie, i don't like this shop, you don't need trousers". Of course he was right, i don't but then he eventually gave in and we went upstairs for a look. The women were all over him, he can act very cute when he wants to. Then he continued to dirty the full length mirror whilst staring at himself. It was funny. We left there empty handed - I couldn't see any trousers i liked. Then headed back up to John Lewis for a cookie and a cuppa tea. I got a toffee pancake, he got a cookie. We were happy.

A quick stop at a toilet for himself and we were back inthe car heading homewards. All the way home we were singing "nee-naw nee-naw Fireman Sam, Fireman Sam". I could see us getting funny looks but we didn't care.

Aye it was a fun day indeed. Sometimes you just need these days in your life when you can act like a kid with the kid.

Ange xx

Shopping... Aye, i'm good at that!

I'm still here! Drowning under a sea of work and other things just now. (work! pah did you get the sarcasm there!). Not much to report in terms of outdoorsyness except to say that yes i've been outdoors and I've seen hills... from afar though. My mind is a buzzing with things to do, things to get, things to see, things, things, things... I'm also working on something else for this blog too. It's coming soon!

What else I've been working on is my shopping list!! Now this is what I'm good at - shopping! First thing from the shopping list to be bought have arrived...

Down Booties!! Yeah they are... really. When PTC* mentioned them on my last post a light went on in my head and i remembered Linda had got a pair for Christmas. She'd got them off eBay so rather than spend a fortune on a pair which have been manufactured for the outdoors industry I got the link from her and bought these. They arrived today and let me tell you they are warm!

After selling off a few bits i had for the trek I put aside a little fund for new gear. It's not been touched yet. I'm waiting... patiently. But over the past month or so i have been picking up some bits and bobs. These include a long sleeve base layer which i got in a sale. Feels pretty good on but not had it on outside yet.

Then there's a new pair of socks. I've always been a fan of Bridgedale socks as they fit my wee feet perfectly but whilst browsing a shop on Sunday i picked up a pair of these which seemed pretty neat too. Tried them on when i got home and they fit perfectly too but we'll see how they fare in action.

During the summer i bought another Icebreaker Amazon scoop neck base layer, this time in neptune blue. I wore it last week whilst out walking and it was ok. I hate the colour though. It's kinda a teal blue colour - more blue though (alhtough the photie below looks better than it is in real life-honest). The scoop neck is no use for me either. Too gaping for my liking. And apart from that when i got in i was soaking! I had my waterproof jacket on - it was raining, but it was really clammy too. Now i'm not sure but i seem to be getting wet on the inside of my jacket. Obviously from sweating but it's too much. The jacket has pit zipped vents but honestly they are quite stiff and when you undo them they get caught every now and again on the rucksack straps. Anyway yeah i noticed i was wetter on the inside than the outside and couldn't wait to get home to get it off. Here's what it looked like...


Also purchased have been the shorts that were never worn in the summer and which now hang on my wardrobe door like the lonely kid that sits in the corner of the classroom cos they've got nae pals!, as well as a new pair of undies... but I'm not showing pictures of those. All I'll say is i've tried them on, they are very comfy boyshorts style, navy in colour and the sizing is pretty generous. I got the small.

New kit with wheels arrived last weekend too and a special delivery is expected tomorrow although I'm not so sure it will come then. We'll see...

Ange xx

PS muscial update
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head album - Fab!